anniversery-cation!

so october 10th was the 5th anniversary of our fabulous (yet not-legally-recognized) relationship! i do promise not to turn this post into a bitchsession about gay marriage rights, though.

we went to port townsend and stayed at www.chevychasebeachcabins.com -- in cabin #7. yes, it IS that cute in person! :) anyhow, it was an event-filled weekend, so here's your official re-cap:

we left friday to drive up there and we took the "long way" through olympia on hwy 101 N. it was super scenic & pretty - the leaves are in varied stages of changing, so there was a lot of diverse foliage lining the road. we made it to port townsend early and drove all over town & around the countryside sightseeing. we ate linner (lunch+dinner) at the pizza factory. we were drawn in by their slogan, "we toss 'em, they're awesome!"... the pizza was good, but we were still hungry so we headed down the street to elevated ice cream. yum-O. lemon custard was one of my favorites growing up in boise (we got it from Delsa's back then...), and i must say that the elevated version was almost identical to what i remembered from when i was a kiddo. so, we decided to stop in safeway to snag mindy some wine - we picked the one that was the "winner" from the camp division wine-tasting-slash-outing from early september. it's called red guitar and is an imported red spanish wine. well, it looked AMAZING splashed all over the duvet, wall & bedside table of our little cottage.... NOT!  i almost killed mindy, but was not surprised when, she spilled the wine all over everything. we hurried to clean it up, but of course, with red wine, you've got negative 3.5 seconds to do so. so, sonofa... wine was everywhere and we had to dash back to safeway for some mr clean magic erasers, which was the only thing we could think of that would help in any way to remove wine from the walls, wood floors, mouldings, etc. well, on our way BACK to the cabin, we were heading up the hill toward qfc and mindy says to me "oh crap. i'm going toooo fast." she then slams on the brakes as she notices she's gone over 40 in a 30mph zone. weee-oh-weeee-oh-weeeee... yep. COP. seriously? on our anniversarycation? nice one, mins. i was even pissed-er (more pissed) and i acted like a baby in diapers that haven't been changed in a while... i feel like an ass now, but at the time i felt i was justified. $124 ticket, why thank you, officer port townsender!

saturday we got to sleep in (woop woop!) and then we went to sweet laurette & cyndee's french bistro for breakfast. i had the 'frenchman's toast' and mindy had the croque madame. mine was delicious, french toast made with real vanilla bean and cinnamon. i've never had french toast made with baguette before, but it was totally amazing. mindy's samwich was delish, too... it had fried eggs, all-natural honey-smoked ham and gruyere cheese (which neither of us have had before) all between two pieces of organic yummy sourdough toast. needless to say, we weren't gonna need lunch if you know what i'm sayin... we proceeded to traipse through the port townsend farmer's market, which was incredible - we bought some "dilled carrots" - they're like dill pickle-carrots. they are BOMB! then we went back downtown and walked through all of the shops. we found a chicken that matches mindy's famous turkey (it's a mexican pottery-ish bank). we almost died and had to have it, even though we know we overpaid by like 2000%. we cruised around downtown until the shops were closing and then headed to a little hole-in-the-wall mexican place called el serape. i thought it was yum, but mindy's not really a mexican-food-fan, so if you ask her, she'll say it was just "ok." liar.

sunday we also slept in a bit, and decided to go BACK to sweet laurette & cyndee's because it is unbelievably delish and we felt it was way less touristy because it's in fashionable "uptown" port townsend, which is typically frequented only by locals and very, very educated tourists such as ourselves. ;)  ok, truthfully, we found out about it in sunset magazine, which is one of my faves of all time. i had the pain perdue (sp? i'm no frenchie!) and mindy had her same yummy sandwich, because truly, it IS that yummy. mine was good - though not as good as the frenchman's toast... but i desperately wished i'd gotten the bowl of scotch oats that are cooked till al dente and served with nuts, fresh fruit, brown sugar, maple syrup AND cream. i could die. anyway, if i had sunday to do over, i'd get the oats and not the pain perdue. then we went up to sequim, then port angeles, and then to olympic national park up to hurricane ridge --- umm. breathtaking. if i wasn't such a slouch, i'd learn how to upload a photo so i could share the joy of that view with ya'll - but hey, that's what facebook's for, right?! it was snowing up on the ridge, a snowplow was out & proud in the parking lot of the visitor's center, so we stayed until we were slightly frostbitten and then decided the warmth of the car was just too much to pass up. on the way back down the ginormous mountain, we stopped and got some badass pictures off this little trail. it was nearly hidden, so we were the only two people for miles. the trail ended at this little viewpoint that was spec-freakin-tacular. we got some cool pics despite the snowy, friggggggid air... did i mention the frostbite??! we then drove back to port townsend and hung out downtown some more. we had waterfront pizza because we're on a budget, yo, and it was affordable and filling. not to mention gourmet and delish. the crust was sourdough made from 150 year old starter, which i was drooling over. YUMMMMMMY. we had leftovers, which we just devoured a few minutes ago.

this morning we got up early because check-out is 11. we headed south on hwy 20 and ended up coming home through poulsbo (adorable!) and bremerton. who knew the toll on the narrows bridge is up to $4.00 each way now?! damn.

so here we are, safe and sound back home. i'm going to go bake an 'apple thing' and do some more laundry like a good little housewife... oh wait, i mean good little househomo, right???

should we register?

so, mins and i have been together for 5 years - our anniversary is in 5 days. i'm feeling really torn about it because this is an anniversary that gets celebrated in hetero-world, yet we don't really have a way to embrace the meaning of this relationship... especially not in a publicly-accepted way.

i'm thinking we should just go for it and "register" - as if we're getting "married"... and we should have a "shower"... because, even though we cannot literally marry - why shouldn't we reap the benefits all of the heteros around us have and do??!  i don't mean for this to sound really petty and immature - like all i care about is stuff - but at the same time, it blows to have to attend shower after shower - whether for weddings or babies - and know you're not going to be included.

so, i'm thinking, just for fun, that we should register! we should put together little invites - have us a nice little reception somewhere, and send out those cute little cards saying "the happy couple is registered at Target!" or "check out our registry at Macy's"... why not, right? it's a crapshoot either way - but still, it'd be a fun social experiment just to see how we are embraced (or not). and it might educate a few people on what it's really like to be gay and have absolutely zero recognition of your relationship.

with referendum 71 on the ballot here in washington (it'll essentially protect rights already given to heterosexual life partners over 65, and gay partnerships, too... if, that is, it passes. if it doesn't, the rights will go away) - it's more important than ever that gay relationships (positive long-term ones, especially, as those buck the right-wing conspiracy theorists off their high horses) get recognition in the public sphere. we're heading to port townsend to celebrate this big milestone - however, we're making a detour in olympia so we can officially file our domestic partnership paperwork. it's a big step, and one that we've been putting off because we don't want to "settle" for less than what our peers & friends & family all have - marriage. so, now i'm thinking.... screw convention, let's make our own definition of what marriage is and can be.

and bring on the presents, suckas! we need some new pots & pans. ;)

stressssssmonster!

i tend to internalize things - so whenever i'm stressed, despite the impression my outward personality gives off, i tend to keep it all inside. inevitably i'll get to the point where i explode - but usually after some lengthy provocation.

i'm getting a sore throat today, and i'm fairly sure it's because of one of the following:

• too little sleep
• too much stress
• a fervent need to keep reading my book until i'm DONE... as it's 726 pages, it's a tall order

so - essentially, i'm fairly sure it's a mixture of the three bullets above. the book i'm reading is the hour i first believed by wally lamb. the first wally lamb book i read was she's come undone and it was as if a light bulb popped when i read that book. first off, i was unable to believe it's written by a dude. whaaa? really? how does he know that's how women really feel about themselves, etc? craziness.

anyhoo - i'm trying to *will* my sore throat away right now as i type this. i need it to go away because tomorrow night i've got tickets to a badass concert ---- dar williams at seattle's famous triple door... yay!
plus, that means i get some yummy eats from wild ginger - a delicious eatery with asian fusion cuisine. yum-o.

the concert starts at 7, so i have t minus 19 hours to start feeling myself again... here's hoping!

Little Heathens...

i just finished reading a book by mildred armstrong kalish called little heathens: hard times and high spirits on an iowa farm during the great depression. loooooved it. the book is full of warmth & witticisms about thriftiness, 'making do' with what you've got, and most importantly - it's about family.

my family is very unconventional and has always been one of my biggest blessings - but also one of the biggest challenges. recently (in may, but it's recent to me still) i lost my grandma to the ravages of diseases caused by smoking. in a way, i am so pissed at her for smoking in the first place, i find it hard to remove my animosity about smoking from my unbearable sadness at having to live without her. i think that little heathens resonated with me so much because at every turn of the page, i yearned to call my grandma (who i've always referred to as goatie) because i know she would've gotten so much joy from this book.

i'll end up doing what i would've done if i could've talked to goatie about it. i'll scrutinize the recipes, stain-removing ideas, clever uses for household items, etc. and i'll end up employing them. the apple cream pie sounds heavenly and might make an appearance at this coming thanksgiving. the applesauce cake will come before the pie and will no doubt be devoured. these two recipes in particular caught my eye because i am an apple fiend. but i'm very choosy. goatie is partially to blame for this trait as she helped me to discover my favorite apple of all: the pink lady. i will not compromise on my apples.

anyhow. i still think i haven't dealt with the fact that i'm now grandparentless and at odd moments in my day it'll just hit me like a ton of bricks. i'll kind of sit there, with the wind knocked out of me, struggling not to cry. i started life with only 3 grandparents, so i was already at a disadvantage. i lost my dad's mom first to a tragic car accident in the early 90s on an icy idaho backroad. next my grandpa succumbed to pneumonia or some other wintry ailment about four years ago...

... essentially i cannot fathom the idea that my parents are "next in line" now. not that life is ever that predictable, i know. losing goatie has also forced me to think about who i am as a person and who i am to my family. i'm not who i want to be, but at the same time i recognize i'm not doing anything to alter the course i'm taking. i need to be a better influence on my sister's sweet babies, and i need to be more supportive of my dad - despite the fact that his politics make me want to run in the opposite direction...

if you get the chance, you really should read little heathens - it was a wonderful exploration of how life "used to be" - and how much things have changed in the past 70 years. the book helped me to identify what's truly important in life. suddenly my ipod, laptop, car, and other material possessions became completely meaningless. the value of loved ones, pets, shelter, friends and community all sort of crystallized into a wonderful mass that made me feel incredibly lucky to be alive right now in this moment.