Like Mother, Like Daughter

This is a quick post to wish my mom a Happy Mother's Day!
I'm finding that I'm turning out more like my mom everyday. I'm happy though, because if it means having the same laugh (with a thhhuu sound sometimes), then I've got myself a pretty good deal. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to spend today with my mom, but I know she enjoyed some delicious turkey. Which, by the way, makes me jealous since the love of turkey is another thing we share in common).

And for those that like photos, here's a few Mother - Daughter shots:

A Bit Loco

Josh has been a bit stressed during this final (pun intended) stretch of law school. Graduation is just around the corner, but he has three finals and papers to write before the celebrations came begin. Being the nice person I am, I decided to give him some wish flowers (aka dandelions) while he was studying to brighten his day. I added a few extra flowers thinking his wishes were more likely to come true with a few more. He posed a bit for my camera, but ended up looking like he was going to eat the flowers. I think he's going a bit loca en la cabeza. Here's the shots:

Refreshing Blends

You may have heard that Starbucks just released a new frappuccino recipe. In fact, Happy Hour started yesterday on 5/7 and goes until 5/16 everyday from 3-5pm. During this special time, not only do we play special music, but all frappuccino's are half off. Crazy good deal. This means I'm a frapp-making-maniac. To celebrate this frappuccino craze, I've been partaking in them myself. I must admit, the new recipe is quite delicious (scrumdiliumptious even - see my post). It's all fresh dairy, and made to order. My past few frapps have been caramel goodness. I get the Coffee Frappucinno light with Sugar Free Caramel. This is with non-fat milk and a syrup that is Stevia-based. How to “call it” (order it)? Tall, Sugar-free Caramel, Coffee Frappuccino Light. Please!

A Breath of Fresh Air

A day off (yes, a weekend day...holy cow). Good weather. Adventurous Spirt. This calls for a hike outdoors!

There are three places that I've heard people mention that are nice for hiking: Skinner Butte, Spencer Butte, and Mount Pisgah. I opted for Skinner Butte since it was a shorter hike, free parking, and good views of the city. I put on my sunglasses, grabbed my camera, and jammed.

My handy navigation system, brought me to the park. A good start. Then I had to ponder: should I bring my jacket? I made the right decision there - turned out warm and sunny. At first I wasn't sure where to go since there was a bottom park. Where was the trail head? I decided to just walk and if I saw a break in the woods, uphill area (aka the butte) then I'd break for it. Finally, I found an entrance. Up I went!

The hike - okay, I'll be honest, it's not a hike, more like a power walk - was quite nice. I stopped and smelled the flowers (not literally). Along the way, I snapped a few photos, pretended I was Bella in Twilight (dork), and then just enjoyed the birds tweeting and the fresh air.

I encountered some strange people too (remember this is Eugene). Some guys were carrying bags and a net, catcher pole. I asked what they were doing - why not? And they were apparently looking for bugs as a school assignment. I also got a guy to take some pictures of me at the top where there was a view of the U of O Stadium. We chatted about digital photography a bit. I really can't contribute much to this topic yet, but I was able to say stuff like, "why, yes this is the age of digital for sure." Did I mention yet that I'm a dork?

I hung around the butte top a bit, then headed downhill. It only takes about 10-15 minutes to get to the top (or bottom). I realized once I was on the top, that you can drive. Lame. Anyway, at the bottom is the Willamette River. Also, I saw some random people biking, soaking up the sun, play with kids, or throwing frizbees.

On the way home, I detoured to the Saturday Market. The Saturday Market is a huge outdoor market during the summer. There is food, art, crafts, jewelry, music, and all sorts of interesting hippie stuff. I returned home somehow smelling of incense (Josh noticed too).

That's it. I came back, posted photos, and wrote this entry. A nice little outing. Note: Josh is going crazy studying for finals. Perhaps I'll write a post about him and his studying this week.

Starbucks gone IKEA

I originally was going to call this Star-IKEA to indicate how a recent task I did for work reminded me of putting together IKEA items; however, Josh said that made him think it was a Star Trek reference not Starbucks. I even giggled as I was typing thinking how clever the title was, but sadly I opted to change it to Starbucks gone IKEA. Still clever, right?

Actually, I probably think too much about titles and spend lots of time thinking and not enough time writing - or getting to the point of the blog post for that matter. So let's get to the point!

Yesterday I was assigned to do my first promotion setup. If you've visited a Starbucks recently and enjoyed a frappuccino, then you would have experienced our lasted and greatest. No visit recently? Or didn't get a frapp? Well, we came out with a new frapp recipe - one that uses all fresh ingredients and customizable. You can make it decaf, any milk (or soy), sweeter, etc. Oh wait, you're not a customer...anyway, when we launch these promotions, we put up new banners, retail, stickers on windows, and more. The setup comes as a kit in boxes - just like IKEA! And you know what else is like IKEA, the instructions. It show a picture of the pieces in step one and then they are in the final product in step two. You're left looking at a box full of little things that make you think, "hmm, I wonder how this is going to work?!?" Then the instruction book is like a novel. However, I'll admit, it was a nice change up from the everyday routine.

Here are some pictures of my fabulous setup and my latest artwork;





Here are some other signs I've done recently. Can you guess what we're promoting?? That's right VIA is still going strong! Would you like to take some VIA home with you or for the road? Oh geez, I keep reverting back to my sales talk. I'll just run with it...if you want some delicious VIA, stop by our store today!

Apple Love

Well, I do love apples. They are quite delicious. In fact, I have one practically everyday. Whether it's in my salad, alongside peanut butter, as a crisp, or on it's own. Yum, crisp apples. HOWEVER, this blog post is not about apple as the fruit. This is about apple the Apple (aka Mac). Hmm, Mac Mania would have also made a good title to this blog.

Like most people you probably looked at the picture first before reading my lovely post, so you must have already guessed it: I got a new computer! My lovely Mac Book was dying a slow and painful death. I had moved practically all my documents onto a remote drive since it was incredible low on space. I had to check it every day to make sure it didn't drop below 1GB. Lower than 1GB and the crash possibility is almost a given. Too much precious stuff to let that happen. The kicker was when I returned from Chicago and was not able to download my photos. I had to download them to Josh's computer and them post them to Flickr from there. I couldn't stand it any longer. I needed my pictures. I needed my space. I needed a new computer.

I'd been contemplating options for about a month now. Yes, a month. I'm a horrible decision maker especially with bigger expenses. I took the dive Thursday and we headed to the U of O campus bookstore that has an Apple-like store (no Apple store within 2 hour drive of Eugene mind you). Considering my want to pick up photography and my love for lounging on the couch with a computer, I opted for a combo: iMac and iPad. The iMac is much more power and get-your-money-worth type of computer. The iPad makes my lounging possible. In fact, it might make me more technically mobile - just look what the iPhone did to me.

I'm super excited (no buyers remorse). I'm lovin' both my new iMac and iPad. The screens are fabulous. We'll, I could go on, but I fear I shall bore you to death. You get the idea I think.  Anyways, here's the new and improved Heather desk area:

Apple Craziness: iMac, iPad, iPhone

Family Fun

Sheesh, stop jumping to conclusions. I didn't go to the Family Fun Center or play miniature golf. Actually, it was fun times with family. And not just my immediate family, but all the relatives. This past weekend I was able to fly out to Chicago (elongate the "a" in Chicago as you say it). Not only was it to visit family, but to celebrate some momentous events. Momentous you say? Yes. Grandma Ruth turned 89 years old and Cousin Erin is having her first baby. Let me tell you about the weekend in bullet points - it's the easiest way and not to mention my favorite.

• Traveling: My flight to Chicago started at the wee hours of the morning on Friday. Eh-hem, yes I know I get up early for work and should be used to it. Let me tell you something...you don't get used to it. period. But it was worth it. The itinerary was having me start in Eugene with stops in Denver at then Madison. Denver was being Denver (crazy weather, etc) and my originally on-time flight was late due to our pilot having to slow the speed approaching Denver and then circling until we got clearance. I get off the plane and run to my connecting flight, but it was closed. Luckily I got transferred to a flight straight from Denver to Chicago. Sadly that got delayed with mechanical issues (mention of starting with just one engine as we taxi to the take-off queue - hmm), then it snowed and possible de-ice, and last we had to wait for our turn. Although all this happened, I (A) still got to Chicago by 3:30 when I was original scheduled for 2:30pm - not bad, and (B) I got some awesome views from the plane at Eugene take-off. Please Note: I tried talking to the Eugene representatives about getting on a different flight because of my tight layovers...they said I'd be just fine...yea right! The return flight was only through Denver and both were early arrivals. Not to mention great views again.

• Erin's Baby Shower: The first day was preparing for the shower. We picked up some delicious cupcakes from Sensational Bites (we also snuck in some apple-ras crumble to snack on that night - yum!). And I did some wrapping extravaganza. Saturday we had a luncheon-style baby shower. It went really well. We had some great salads and cupcakes of course. There were also some fabulous games: (1) Name that Baby - everyone brought their own baby picture, we posted them on the wall with numbers, and people had to guess who was who. (2) Sock Laundry Timing - Erin got a buck of baby socks, mixed up, and had to match & fold them while being timed. Beforehand, everyone guessed how long it would take her. (3) Future Baby Story - a sheet with places to guess the baby's life. For instance, favorite subject or activities as a teenager. On the game topic, I did get in 2nd on the Baby Sock game - just 7 seconds off. Then just chit-chating and whatnot. On an ending note, Erin is a beautiful mother-to-be! Oh, and it's a boy!

• Grandma's Party: Immediately after the baby shower was Grandma's birthday party. It was a party day! We headed to Hackneys (more to come of food) where we had a private room for all the relatives to gather. Practically all the family showed up - the Peru Aunts, Bossharts, Lesses, and O'Neills. We enjoyed some catch-up time with all. The cousins formed a table, and we got to have cuz time. I met Scott's girlfriend, Katie, who was super nice. Man, us cousins are growing up. Grandma got some cake and presents. Just a good ole birthday celebration.

• Billy Elliot: Sunday was a day out to downtown Chicago. We headed over to the Theatre District to see Billy Elliot, the Musical. It was playing at the Oriental Theatre which was very cool inside - ornate and classical (ok, I don't know art decor terms, sue me; I think you get it though). The play was great. I enjoyed the ballet and tap dancing. It was a nice balance of singing, dancing, and story-line. All Elton John music too. In a nutshell, very fun and very worth it. I've had the movie from Netflix to watch beforehand since it'd been a while since I saw it. I didn't get to it before, so now I plan to watch it in the next few days. [Side Note: Across the street we made a quick pit-shop in the old Marshall Fields, now Macys - you'll see pictures on Flickr. I also found an interesting article on Frango Mints.]

• Merkner-Time: More family fun! Monday mom, dad, grandma, and I headed out to McHenry-Wauconda area to visit my Uncle Chuck and Aunt Sue. I also got to meet their little doggies, PJ and Lulu - very cute. Even more exciting was Uncle Chucks Extensive Train system. It was a whole room dedicated to trains. Literally a whole room. The entire space was filled staring with a table and four different train systems. A little town, noises, controls. Crazy. Then we enjoyed lunch together at a near-by waterfront restaurant, Lindy's Landing.

Uncle Chuck's Train System from Heather O'Neill on Vimeo.

• Baby Time: My Uncle Terry and Kellie have the two most adorable kids. Riley (20 months) and Emily (8 months). I got some quality time with Riley on Monday afternoon. In my life I haven't had many babies around, so it was a special time to get to know my newest cousins. It was so fun to bond with Riley (and she apparently looks like me when I was a baby). We played at the playground - when down a slide, roamed around, we played with all sorts of toys at home, read some books, and I watched her eat some dinner and take a bath. So Cute. I didn't see too much of Emily because the poor thing was not feeling well and Kellie took her to the doctor to get checked out - she's okay though.

• Food: According to my parents, there are some must-go restaurants to "hit-up" when we're in town. I don't know if this requirement comes from some childhood memories, that "these are the best" places to go according to many, or just plain habit. Whatever it may be, we must go every visit. Plus, each restaurant has a very specific item that you should order (emphasis should, I rebel and usually get something different based on my eating habits). Like most trips, we managed to squeeze them all in. Here's the list: (1) Gale Street Inn for ribs, (2) Hackney's for ribs, (3) Portillo's for Italian Beef, and (4) Lou Malnati's for deep dish pizza.


• Humor: My uncles have quite a sense of humor. I carried some of this humor back with me. I told the muffin joke and ocean joke to co-workers. They laughed and then said I was goofy. I also showed them the new fist bump, or alternatives to the bump me. Bump it and blow-up and the park-the-bumb.

P.S. Photos on Flickr for viewing. Or check out the video of grandma.

P.P.S. My forefinger feels better from the time off. It gets tired at work holding the milk pitcher and punching at the register. Poor finger.

Freedom

Freedom is a day with no obligations. This is something to cherish. No work. No appointments. No need to do anything specific. A day like this is rare, and today I got to enjoy such a day. (Well, honestly I could find something to do, but I decided to put those aside. Also, then my whole post concept of freedom wouldn't be possible)

What does Heather do with a free day? To start, it's entirely necessary to stay in PJs as long as possible. Sure, at some point I start to feel the guilt seep in, but one must try. I managed to stay in my PJs until 12pm; that's freakin' awesome. I love PJs. They are just so comfy and nice. I can be pretty productive in them too mind you. I know others might not have this ability (or should I say skill), so I'm glad I am able to be one of the few that that pull this off. I don't mean going outdoors. Stacey and Clinton would kill me (note: that's a reference to TLC's What Not To Wear, a guilty pleasure of mine...guess it's not so secret anymore). However, I am productive online or doing random stuff. For example, I did some emailing, scheduling (for other days, not today!), and whatnot. Productive in PJs.

As I said, by noon I was out of the PJs. Actually, the changing out of PJs is in part thanks to it being a nice, sunny day. And it was the sunshine that drew me outdoors. I'm not a lay-in-the-sun gal. Plus it's was still a tad bit chilly, so I decided on a stroll. I've been meaning to walk the other direction on the path at Alton Baker Park (recall the Alton Baker Park post earlier in the year). This is exactly what I did. I brought along my camera to practice. For instance, I have some shots playing with angles and some of ducks butts. Yes butts. Curious? Check it out on Flickr.

With some fresh air, I moved on to indoor type stuff. I headed to Trader Joes, Target, and Market of Choice. I was gathering groceries, obviously, for a picnic planning for tomorrow as well as to make my favorite Cornmeal Cherry Scones (recipe from Berkeley's Cheeseboard cookbook - thanks Melissa & Jeff).

Along the way I made a pit stop at TCBY for Waffle Cone Wednesday - good deal. I ate that in the sun as well. Got to get that Vitamin D; soak it in. I also stopped to say hi to a friend, Kim, at Full City Coffee shop downtown. I bought a delicious pumpkin cookie for tonight.

On my way home, the clouds started to return. Now, it's raining. There goes the burgers on the outdoor grill. Indoor skillet here I come. At least, I got to enjoy the sun. Really, if you see the sun here in at this time of year, you've got the seize the moment. The weather in one day here can change very quickly. In fact, I may get to the grill yet. Let's hope the sun is around for our picnic tomorrow.

That's my free day. Tomorrow its back to the grind.

I'm a Survivor

Josh just finished an audio book called The Survivor's Club by Ben Sherwood. Along the way, I've been told about all types of survivor tips and stories. For instance, he mentioned that the people we consider lucky aren't necessary lucky but have these innate qualities that lead to survival and success. Qualities like remaining calm, relaxed, and optimistic in situations. This is all second-hand, mind you, I just listened to Josh tell me about this stuff.; I didn't actually read the book. However, it actually sounds quite intriguing. I don't think I'll end up reading this book with my imagination though.

Although I don't plan on reading this book, my interest was sparked. I wanted to know if  I was a survivor. Would I do the right thing when the time called? Would I survive in the face of danger? How would I do this? Well, there just happens to be a cool survivor profiler type survey that corresponds with the book.

A survey you say? I'm in! I've always been a secret (okay, not secret) fan of surveys and the sorts. My family probably recalls me filling out the feedback forms at restaurants when we went out. Or those dang emails around high school and college days where you'd get an email with questions about yourself and then send it to people and then they'd have to fill it out. Yea, I liked secretly liked those too. That said, it wasn't too surprising that Josh was able to convince me to take this survey.

I'm in luck as the Survivor Profiler confidently declares me as a Survivor! Not only that, but I've got a well-defined survivor personality and tools that help me overcome any crisis. Woohoo! Yippee!

Here's what it says about my Survivor type...

Survivor Type: Connector

My Top 3 Survivor Tools: Love, Empathy, and Purpose

The Blurb: Your Survivor IQ tells you precisely which kind you are. After analyzing your answers, it’s clear that you’re a Connector. You overcome incredible adversity by harnessing and mobilizing the power of your relationships and bonds with other people. You are deeply devoted to your family and friends. Your love for your parents, spouse, partner, children and friends motivate you to tackle enormous obstacles. You know that your family and friends depend on you and need you. You hold these relationships sacred, and you will go to any lengths to protect and preserve them. You draw strength from these primary relationships and you often rely on support groups or social networks to help you through difficult times. You’re able to lean on others for aide and you know how to reach beyond your regular circle of friends to find the help you need. You’re a good networker who makes the most of your connections. You often feel great empathy for others who are struggling. You take care of other people before you look after yourself. You’re good at reading strangers and situations. You know how to get along with others. You play well on teams and work effectively with others to get things done. You survive because of your powerful bonds. You would endure anything – and go to any lengths – for the people you love. Above all, you’re a Connector.

Bottom Tools: Adaptability, Intelligence, and Flow

Wowwza. I'm a Connector. Makes sense really. Josh took the test too. He's got different survival skills, so perhaps if we're together our chances of survival are even greater with our shared strengths.

Survey Fun! And better yet, I might just survive!

Scrumdiliumptious

Blog Purpose: To get your mouth watering [Note: Scrumdiliumptious Definition]. Here we go...

Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares - I made these delicious, oaty, lemony things last night. I was very impressed. In fact, I liked them enough to bring to work. And let me tell you, I don't bring in everything (as in the faulty stuff) to work. Seriously people, I have a reputation to uphold; can't give the wrong impression. The recipe comes from a blog I follow, The Pioneer Women (btw, she's become quite big in the entertainment world - might have a movie made). I saw it and thought they'd be fun, spring type snack. They did not disappoint and easy to make!

The Divine Cupcake - Actually, we just returned from this scrumptious experience about an hour ago. A spur of the moment outing on a nice day to get something sweet. Plus we've been meaning to give this place a try for a while now. It's all the rage in Eugene because it has gluten-free and whatever type products. Don't miss interpret me here; I don't mind gluten free so long as it tastes good. I got a carrot cake cupcake while Josh got the red velvet cupcake. Then we got a mini lavender cupcake to share. They were quite good; not Sibby's in San Mateo, but quite good. Pictures Below!

Humble Beagle - Josh and I had dessert at this restaurant last night. We tried the Spiced Chocolate Pudding. It caught our attention on a previous visit, but we just never go to it...until last night. Now, it sounds very Eugene-like (aka hippy, vegan stuff), but it was pretty good. It was quite rich actually. I recall using words like complex and intense. It was a silken tofu pudding. The waiter mentioned that it was a take-off from a New York Times recipe. For me, a few bites was enough as it was very chocolatey, spicy, and rich - all deliciousness though.

Somewhat Recent Baking - I made a few goodies somewhat recently that we've enjoyed. This includes an Apple Rhubarb Crisp, Banana and Chocolate Chip Muffins, and Lemon Ricotta Cookies. However, there was one flop with Snickerdoodles. These were just over baked unfortunately. I'd like to blame our decrepit oven that doesn't close all the way and warms the house up nicely when on (I say this in the early spring when it's cold still). Really, I think it's because I left the dough out on the counter too long while I got absorbed in something else and the butter got too soft and then they spread out too much in the oven...

Annual Bunny Visitor

The Annual Bunny Visitor is my effort (emphasis on effort/trying part) to come up with a clever blog title for Easter. I think it's probably pretty lame, but hey it's the best a girl can do sometimes. In fact, the titles are one of the harder parts for me with this whole blog thing. I either come up with way too many ideas/options or just one stupid one. I guess today is the latter.

Okay, enough on titles because this could be a very boring post otherwise. Scratch that; this is probably going to be somewhat boring. We didn't do that much for Easter. I know it's an important day to celebrate (esp. religiously), and that didn't go unrecognized; however, we just didn't do too much to write about. The little we did do though I will share with you...

I started Easter at the wee hours of the morning. As I drove to work in the dark (yes, there was time change but that doesn't mean it's light out that early), I thought I might see a bunny hopping to houses. Like Santa, the bunny comes during the night for my family. Blast to the past: When I was a kid the bunny would leave a trail of easter eggs from my sister and my bedroom door to a certain area of the house. Then we'd have to search that area for our baskets of goodies.

As I was saying, I started Easter at work with an opening shift. It was a slow day. I think this was because every other store was closed nearby including the mall. We got a few folks that wanted good coffee to enjoy with their brunch (El Torito and Marie Callendar's were open at not too far away) and/or people that wanted coffee before/after church. The slowness wasn't too bad though since I find this as "good catch-up on other tasks time." We also got to be creative with samples (see picture). We thought samples of Easter pastel colors would be festive and fun. We made raspberry white mochas, caramel white mochas, and green tea lattes. And then arranged them on a sample tray. Beautiful!

After work, and back home, Josh and I opened up Easter "baskets" (Hallmark gift bags with goodies). The Easter bunny worked through the mail this year. We also enjoyed a bit of lunch out at a little place near our home. I had a tasty crepe.

The rest of the day was everyday stuff. Josh worked and I did grocery shopping and cooking. I put together a delicious meal - no ham or eggs involved. Randomly, I attempted meat for the first time in a long time. I made Ellie Krieger's Marinated Flank Steak with Blue Cheese Sauce - see recipe. It turned out quite good even without a grill pan (I used a griddle instead). I also made Snickerdoodles, but they got over cooked (dang it, must try again).

And that concludes our 2010 Easter celebration.

Easter Last Year (2009) and Easter This Year (2010):



On a totally different note...I uploaded more pictures on Flickr from our Seattle trip.

Here's a preview:

Northern Exposure

Runners Up (on Blog titles): I had a hard time deciding, so I thought I'd mention these too...Neighborhood Watching, Sleepless in Seattle, Scoping Seattle, and a few others which I've forgotten now so they must not have been that great anyway. Oh and one with following the 5 to the Emerald City, a Wizard of Oz reference. P.S. I didn't watch Northern Exposure so I hope there are no crazy deeper meanings.

The Distance:  The distance between Eugene and Seattle is closer than many would first think. It's actually driveable and takes roughly 4-5 hours. We opted to drive so we had my car and navigation system (we started calling the system Wifey on this trip). Josh did the driving on the way up Friday morning - we got there in 4 hrs 15 mins. I took over the wheel for the majority of the city navigating with some awesome parallel parking. In general, it could probably be called Mrs. O'Neill's wild ride.

Sunday we headed back in the afternoon just in time for the rain to return (so that's an indirect way of saying we had good weather all weekend). And it returned in torrents. The windshield wipers were seemed to be on crack and the rain came down in sheet. Luckily, I got us safely down to Portland. Due to the stressful conditions, Josh took over and drove us safely home. The return drive took roughly 5 hours (longer if you include the stops for gas, dinner, rain, traffic, etc).

Exploration: Take a look at this chart. Now, you can imagine why I was slightly panicked at the amount of exploration and investigation necessary on our ~2 days in Seattle. I calmed down after sitting down and reading though some other articles. And calmed down even more so after talking with our Seattle friend, Andrea. Andrea gave us the low down on all the neighborhoods. In a nutshell, keep north. Our favorite areas included: Ballard, Fremont, Green Lake, Queen Anne (lower), Bellevue, etc. Another fun fact about downtown street names is that they go in twos - two P's, two U's, two M's, and two S's (PUSM sounds funny tho). We now have a much better idea in mind on how the city is setup and where to begin if/when the time comes. Oh, and a Farmer's Market on Sunday = yay!

Non-Exploration: I haven't mentioned yet that Josh's parents were able to join us for our weekend adventure. They were our fearless passengers as we bopped around the city. It was great seeing them and enjoying some time together. Also, we meet up with our friend Andrea for lunch on Saturday (recall: mentioned above she gave some good Seattle tips). We had a nice little lunch catch-up time. We even squeezed in a quick hi and hug with Vince and Jonita, Brown family friends. I guess we not only saw Seattle, but friends/family too!

Food: Nom Nom Nom <-- That's the written version of me munching on tasty food. I imagine you now know that we ate some good food. A few sweet highlights include: banana bread at Columbia City Bakery, orange currant oatmeal cookie and raspberry oat bran muffin from Fresh Flours. As for food, a few savory delights included: crepe at Miro Tea, lunch at Purple Cafe, and dinner at Long Provincial Vietnamese. Seattle definitely has a happenin' foodie scene and the blogs that have been screaming Seattle as the current food trend were not lying.

Frozen Yogurt: I (practically) didn't have this all weekend. Yes, opposed to popular belief I can go without it for a few days without a meltdown. Don't get me wrong, it's tough, but possible. But it turns out Seattle was sadly lacking in this department. I did have the radar turned on though. You probably noticed I put "practically" in parenthesis in the first sentence. This is because I did taste some at a shop in Bellevue called Shnoo. However, I didn't not get a yogurt. For one, it was in the morning and I don't allow myself to eat it before noon (note: a few exceptions). Also, after a taster (or two. ok three), I decided that it wasn't that great. It's the trendy tart stuff and I deemed it just mediocre. Fear not, I have some bookmarked for future ventures north.

Pictures: I'm working on pictures. I forgot my camera, but luckily Don brought his along. I already have a few on Flickr that I took with my iPhone, but more should be coming soon. Keep checking out Flickr.

It was a great weekend and get-away!

Josh & Me in Fremont

Home Sweet Home

This past weekend I was in sunny San Diego. And yes it was sunny - WooHoo! It was a really nice weekend visiting my family in Encinitas and going to my childhood friend's wedding. Rather than have run-on sentences (ok, that'll happen anyway) and unorganized babble, I thought I'd set this up in my favorite style: bullets.

Travel

• I was able to snag a couple days off work and head down Thursday after work and return Sunday. The flight down to SD was like a trip to Europe - it took forever with all the layovers. I had stops in Portland and in San Fran. To give you an idea, I departed Eugene Airport at 5:45pm and got home at midnight. To top it, the last leg of the flight was uber-turbulencey and the flight attendants didn't even come out nor did we get our beverage service. The return flight was one layover in San Fran, but still long and late. And to throw in the pity card...I returned at midnight and guess who got to open the next morning...2-3 hrs sleep, oh boy. Needless to say, the travel portions weren't glamorous - but worth it!

Friday

• Froyo Alert - Yes, my radar went off yet again this week. I spied this place as I was enjoying Chicks, a lunch favorite, with my mom (more specifically, the chicken bowl dish). The new shop was in the TJ Max center across the street and I saw the glorious words...frozen yogurt. We popped on over for further investigation after our lunch. To my delight, the flavors included my all-time favorite, Cookies 'n Cream. That raised the place up in my book. The name is Swirls, and apparently there are a couple of them here in North County SD. It passed the taste test and ambiance with flying colors. The texture was smooth and rich and tasted oh so yummy. The store had the trendy, almost IKEA style going - very white, clean, and sleek. The logo was also nicely done. This is officially now my new place to go when I come home (not to mention, it's closer to our home than Golden Spoon - I still love GS though mind you). Please stay Swirls! Maybe I should seek out the owner and ask them to test the Pacific Northwest market.


• Blast from the Past - Being retired, my mom has been helping out at the school she taught 4th grade, La Costa Meadows (LCM). It also happens to be the elementary school I attended oh-so-many years ago. We had to make a pit stop there Friday to drop of some art project. Although there were many changes, it was like a blast from the past. I remembered the old classrooms and playground. It was weird to be back.


• Intense Relaxation - The afternoon was intense, or should I say intensely relaxation. It began with my hair. I headed to my usual girls at Entourage. These girls are great. Josh and his parents went to this salon when they lived in Carlsbad and were friends with the girls that own the place. Since I met Josh I've been going and kept it up since they do a good job. After hair, I hurried back, picked up mom, and we headed to the spa for our pedicures. It was a very nice place and we left with beautiful feet. Except...the crazy Russian lady that did my mom's nails. She just kept talking and we couldn't understand half of her conversation (but it did make for a funny conversation afterwards). The evening was finished with a nice meal at Sbicca and movie time with my parents at home.

Saturday

• Around Town - The morning my dad played tennis and went to a softball game, so my mom and I hung out. Of course, we ate breakfast at my favorite Honey's Bakery and Bistro. Yum oat bran muffin - the best ever! Then we roamed The Forum and shopped around. Then we met up my dad for lunch at yet another favorite, The Counter. Then we headed to the closest mall, UTC, since my mom needed eye liner. We ended up getting our make-up quickly done at Chanel for the wedding. Oh and a real mall = heaven.


• The Wedding - My childhood best friend, Jessica Trogler, got married! Yup, I came on this particular weekend because it was her wedding day on Saturday. She married Chris Anderson at Rancho Valencia, a gorgeous resort in Rancho Santa Fe. The ceremony was outdoors with a trellis at sunset (beautiful but a bit blinding with the sun - you'll see in the picture). It was a smaller wedding, but very lovely. The reception was at the resort. I enjoyed how they did the first dance upon entering the reception. Also, there were some cool things like the 1,000 cranes and guest book with polaroids. In a nutshell, a beautiful wedding and good fun.

Sunday

• Taxes - Blah! That's about all I can say. Blah taxes! But they're over. Yippee! I spent the morning working on my taxes with my dad around to help with all that tax mumbo jumbo.


• Pizza Port - This place was discovered over Christmas at home. Josh saw it in a micro-brew beer magazine...I guess it had good beer, but it has good pizza. Although my dad declared it a bit noisy inside.


• Randomness - After some stuff at home, the four of us (mom, dad, sister Lindsay) roamed around North County doing a bit of shopping. We found some invitations, my mom got instructions on how to use the make-up she got Saturday, food for my flight, etc.

As usual, I'll end with some photos. To jazz things up a bit, I've made my pictures into a slideshow below for your view pleasure (some random photos in there, I know).

Lastly, in the words, of Porky the Pig, that's all folks.



Wedding & Weekend Home from Heather O'Neill on Vimeo.

CBS Vivanno

I actually haven't gotten this lately, but it's a good one that I do order when I am looking for something with a bit more umph to power me along (aka: a snack). It's Starbucks Vivanno smoothies. They are pretty good and my favorite is the the Chocolate Banana Smoothie with my own personal twist (of course...just like Sally). I lessen the chocolate, add caramel syrup, non-fat milk, and reduce the protein mix. How to “call it” (order it)? 1 Pump mocha, 3 Pumps Sugar-Free Caramel, Non-fat, 1 scoop protein, Chocolate Banana Smoothie Please. [The cup would look something like this: 1-Mo, 3-SFC, N, 1 Pro, CBS].

Froyo Alert

My froyo (frozen yogurt) rader went off this week...beeeeeep, new froyo shop in town. Beeeeeep!

Of course, being me, I had to investigate this supposed new froyo shop. My friend Kim joined in on the first visit adventure. Going into it I was a bit apprehensive. Would this be a tart, plain, original froyo shop that's all the rage right now? Would it be a hippy, organic, hemp place common to Eugene? The hopes were high entering into it though. I mean YoCream is just up the road in Portland, so there was a fair chance this could be a great place. The only way was to make a visit...

Upon entering the store, I was a bit shocked at the brightness. It wasn't sunny, but it was sure darn yellow inside -- the walls were neon yellow! They took it to the extreme with the neon and candy everywhere. It was like a little kids heaven. I definitely knew who the target was for this place...kids. What about us young adult with crazy like addictions? Would this work? I continued further.

I spotted my friend inside toward the back where the machines were located. Good news...YoCream. The shop owner was there helped us out and giving samples (my appetizer). The atmosphere was forgiven when I saw three beautiful machines - that means six flavor options. Oh boy, oh boy!

Of course, I had to discuss the froyo with the owner. Does she really know her stuff? I mentioned the article I found online with the local newspaper. Apparently her husband and her got the idea from a Cali visit, the land of froyo. She really didn't seem to want to go into much further detail, so I decided to go for a taste test.

Sadly, I found that cookies 'n cream was a recent past flavor (so hope for it next visit). There was peanut butter, blueberry, strawberry, cheesecake, chocolate, and vanilla. Very standard. In fact, most of these flavors are at the sub shop. If you know me, you know I tend towards the cookie type flavors so I opted for the PB and chocolate and vanilla swirl combo. Verdict? It was decent. The texture was decent, but not as smooth as it could be (Yumi is safe). I think they might need to play with the temperature and mixes a bit to get it more velvety. Perhaps I'll mention it next time if I find the same situation.

As for pricing, well it was self serve. I get carried away with self serve and it can add up quick. TCBY is cheaper for sure. However, it could have been worse. On a good flavor visit, this could be totally worth every penny. I shall just have to visit again SOON.

All in all, I was happy to get my froyo fix and hang out with a friend. Oh, and BTW, I did join their FaceBook group. You can check it out.

Kim & Me @ Sweety's

Erin Go Bragh

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

To start, I would like to share a favorite Irish saying:

“May those who love us, love us; and those who don't love us, may God turn their hearts; and if He doesn't turn their hearts, may he turn their ankles so we'll know them by their limping.”

[Side Notes]: 1.Yes, I did say the above saying to a few customers and co-workers - they found it funny, and 2. I don't actually know Gaelic - referencing the blog title.

With the last name O'Neill and being roughly 25% Irish, it's important to recognize the Irish holiday. I hope you are wearing your green and getting into the spirit of pinching those who are not. I am certainly decked out in my green. Even at work the green was possible...Starbucks classic green apron. Plus, I also had a bit o' green on my shirt collar. Now, work is over and I'm sporting all my Irish jewelry (i.e. claddagh necklace, shamrock earrings) and a green sweater.

Although it brings out childhood memories, I don't think I'll be watching Darby O'Gill and the Little People. I tried re-watching it a few years back and I just couldn't get into it. It shall have to remain a nice memory. Also, I think I'll leave the Irish drinking music to my parents. Actually, the music is mostly my dad; he just loves it. However, my mom did try to make an Irish drink based off a Irish song once. I wasn't there, but the stories say it ended up being mostly just whiskey.

If you're having trouble getting into the spirit, I got a fun quiz you can take about the holiday -- check it out. Who doesn't like quick, fun quizzes (remember those emails that used to go around where you had to fill out the quiz about yourself and email it out to people - those were the days)? Or, you can find out more history here.

As for food, I won't be making corned beef and cabbage. Naww, what's the point? Sure they eat it and it's an Irish dish, but guess what...it's really not that common there. From experience I find you should have brown bread and tomato soup. I ate that everywhere when we visited. They even served the brown bread as the "before dinner" bread at an Italian restaurant (we got tired of Irish food, so yes, we did eat Italian in Ireland). You could also do chicken cordon bleu - that was on the menu all the time. Oh, and not to mention potatoes. They served those with everything. And to drink, Guinness - but not for me (ahem, yes I know I'm Irish, I still don't like it). I think I'll just stick with wearing green today.

That's about it folks. I'm sure I'll remember something and wish I had mentioned it, but for now this should do it. To bring it full circle, let's end with another saying (or blessing):

“May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”







O'Neill Pub

The Forever Framing

After WEEKS of hard work, we finally got our photos on the wall. Yes, you heard me right, it took weeks (hence the forever in my title). Our neighbor was nice enough to print out some large prints of some of our photos. We decided to frame them for our living room to spice up the place a bit. Well, the print size was a bit large and non-standard, which turned this simple idea into a quest. The quest became to get them framed and the twist, framed in a low cost way. This low cost way ended up taking us from store to store trying to to find the best deal and options.

In the end, the frames came from Target, the matting (we had to do this because of the odd print size) came from Michaels, and the photos from Steve (the neighbor). Looking back, we think that considering the time and money we spent, it's worth just going straight to a custom frame store. (Note: No Aaron Bros here, that might have been nice, sigh). However, the end result...Fabulous!

Framed Living Room Photos

All the photos are those I've taken on our travel adventures together. Starting on the far left, an Amsterdam bridge, then the Millennium Bridge in London, and last (far right) is the Hanalei Pier in Kauai.

And since we were framing, we also framed the awesome print Josh got me. It's a great saying and keeps me going. Check out the background on Wikipedia. Now my office is super cool.

Framed Office Photo

LOL

Some studies have shown that laughing makes your life longer and happier. Another that your friends influence your happiness. I thought I'd help you out. These are a few links I keep saved on my computer and watch occasionally to cheer up.

• Old Spice Commercial (follow up with this)


• Scrub's Diner Dance


• Anjelah Johnson on Pedicures


• SNL Justin Timberlake Immigrant Tale


• Dance Revolution


• Treadmill Dance


• Scrub's Sanford & Son JD Turk Dance


• Wedding Dance down the aisle

Apparently I think dancing is funny. By the way, just in case you weren't sure, LOL means Laugh Out Loud.

P.S. Josh, my official blog editor, hasn't been reading my posts after I've written them, so I apologize for any grammatical errors recently. You may see some slight updates once he's had a few moments to read and edit.

The "Big" City

Two notes before you begin this blog: (1) It's not in chronological order, (2) you might enjoy listening to this Cake song as you read - at least the beginning of the song seems fitting at parts because of the hipsterness of the area...Now onto the post:

Here I am sitting in a tiny, cute-as-a-button coffee house in Portland while Josh is hard at work (cool logo/branding too - makes me think of Scrubs ostriches). He's taking an ethics exam that's necessary for lawyers in a some states. Washington doesn't need it, but neighboring Oregon and also California do require it...really it's just in case dash who knows where we'll end up safety. So, while he is busy taking the exam, I'm out exploring.

Exploring is a favorite pastime of mine (aka roaming). I love walking around new areas and finding awesome places such as this coffee house on Alberta Street called Random Order. I ended up on Alberta Street, after roaming around the University of Portland (where Josh has the exam). I took a few shots of cherry blossom trees as well as some nice river views. It's a pretty school. At least, as cool and neat as schools go, but only 20 minutes of exploration is really necessary. Now we transition to...Alberta.

To be perfectly honest, I've been in this area previously. In other words, I'm not exploring a entirely new area. However, I didn't roam much last time and recalled thinking it was deserving of more exploration. For some background the last exploration, we basically were here just to eat and network. It was at a place called the Tin Shed and Josh and I met up with a gal I met through an Acxiom co-worker when I was pursing the Portland job market more vigorously (pre-Eugene living).

I'm excited by my return to Alberta Street. There is definitely one end of the street that the newer and more trendy, hippy. The other end was in more need of growth and stores. Since it was an absolutely beautiful day, I walked the length of the street . To my dismay, most stores don't open until 11am. Ehh, back to the nicer area and find a place to chill (or plop down, to say it in a fun way) for the remaining time. That brings us here, to this moment of me writing this blog in a free wi-fi coffee shop.

<<RING RING>> Josh just called and the exam is over! Blog to be continued...

Okay, now I'm back home in the evening to finish this off. Before I go on to the rest of the day with Josh, I'll mention Friday (note: today is Saturday). Friday after work and an appointment, Josh and I packed up and headed to Portland. We got into town and checked in to our hotel, Hotel Fifty. We got a great deal on Priceline and it was conveniently located downtown. The trip started off really great with a street parking spot right in front of the hotel - that means no paying for pricey hotel parking. Woot! We threw our stuff in the room (ok, we didn't literally throw, but you get the idea), and headed out for a stroll to uptown Pearl District for dinner. I was very hungry, so we opted on a tried and true favorite, Silk. We were not disappointed. It was a awesome meal of fish and curry. We even splurged on dessert of banana bread pudding with tapioca pudding....melted in our mouths. Tummies full, we strolled back to the hotel via Powells Book store. Josh did some final studying and I did random computer stuff.

Back to Saturday before the exam. We had to get up early - ugh, early on a non-work day (boo). Aren't I a dedicated fiancee? We got breakfast at North Star, which turned out to be quite good coffee. That was just a side note since I wanted to mention the breakfast place. Now, back on track. I picked up Josh after he called and we headed back to the awesome coffee shop for lunch. We enjoyed pot pie (Josh) and sandwich-salad combo (Heather). We strolled around the part of the area I didn't quite get to thoroughly. We also got tasty tea at Townshend - btw, we've tried it in Bend before and liked it immensely. So we strolled with our drinks on a sunny day. And if I like anything more than exploring, it's exploring with Josh with me! Heavenly day.

Oh, and that's not it. We drove back across the bridge to downtown and hit up the real mall experience and Pioneer Place. How I missed you mall! I got a free mini-facial (with product sales, of course) at Origins. Josh got a Mac Store "fix" and all we well in the world.

And I'm still going. We ended the fine day at YoCream. You CAN'T, I repeat CAN'T, go to Portland without a stop for decent, real froyo. I was a bit disappointed in flavors, but I still loved it.

After all this, we drove home and here I am. One complaint: I have to open the store tomorrow (aka wake up insanely, inhumanly early). But I I'm going to go watch some How I Met Your Mother and be happy.

Pictures to come soon, Here's some as a preview. Perhaps a video (thinking about it & whether my "old" computer can handle it). Perhaps Perhap. Oh, and in case it didn't make send, the song reference on top is because Alberta, and Portland in general, is hippy and it's a hipster type song.

Heather's Exploration Shadow

The Usual

As the title suggests, not much has been happening lately. Just the usual stuff. Sometimes people ask me what "the usual" is for me. I guess it makes sense that "the usual" is different for everyone, although I really think my usual is pretty dang usual. Of course, there's always those things that everyone does routinely. Or, I should clarify, at least you hope they do them regularly or they have them done by someone regularly (note: the latter would be quite nice). Anyway, those things are never-ending, blah tasks such as laundry, dishes, bathroom cleaning, vacuum, etc. Ugh. Besides those, there are some other usuals like reading, cooking slash preparing meals (includes planning, shopping, cooking, clean-up), watching tv, etc. Pretty usual, right?

You probably know that the usual change slightly through time. It's only natural. Who watches the same show over and over? Maybe you jazz up the meals occasionally. So the usual progresses and changes over time, but this is still all in the usual category. This might be getting boring (and too deep?), so I thought I'd delve into some more specific things I thought would be fun to bring up...

Cold Season - This is usual, right? You're bound to get a cold especially during wintertime. In fact, I just go over what seemed like the forever cold. It was a pretty bad one and really "got to me" this time. It's rare that a cold hits me so hard that I'm landed on the couch all day, but that's exactly what happened. Sadly I missed a few fun outings that were planned (and could have been potential awesome blog entires - one factor towards the lack of posts lately). The good news is that besides the constant nose running, I'm over it now (2 weeks later!). My warning: Don't get this one that going around if you can avoid it. My recommendation if you can't: Zicam.

How I Met Your Mother - I love, love, love this show right now. Josh and I are going through season by season on Netflix. We're in Season 4 right now. I love it so much that when Josh said we should finish up the Netflix disc that evening, I actually started jumping up and down in joy. Yes, that happy. I think it's a generational type show though. It really shines true to a lot of folks our age. Ted, Barney, Marshall, Lily, Robin. All I can say is...Legendary. (I also considered saying, awesome there but legendary was the clear winner).

In The Kitchen - You know me always trying to experiment and have fun in the kitchen. I was in a funk for a bit and wasn't doing anything wildly exciting, but I got a few things to mention. Monday I made a Banana Pumpkin Bread Pudding. I tweaked the recipe Heather-style (and I didn't have all the ingredients either). It wasn't to-die-for decadent, but it was a decent dessert snack.

I also tried a new eggplant recipe from a blog I follow. It was a bit salty, but I re-vamped it into a pasta bake which ended up being quite delicious. Another recipe I made and added to the week night repetour is Ellie's Balsamic Chicken.

Spring Sneak Peaks - We've had a few days of beautiful sunshine here in Eugene. Also some Cherry Blossom tress have started to bloom. I drive around looking and wishing I were some awesome photographer so I could capture the gorgeousness. Alas, I'm not, but I'll give you my best shot. See below.

Addictions - There is always frozen yogurt, but I'm sure you're tired of that by now. Another addiction which you already heard before: pumpkin. More specifically I'm enjoying pumpkin cookies from local bakeries. Sweet Life and Full City. Yum!

To sum it up, colds are usual, tv is usual, cooking is usual, the seasons changing is usual, addictions are usual. I have lots of usuals.

Coming Soon...There are some exciting weekends for me in March and April, so the posts will be more interesting soon. I promise!!

Spring Sneak Peak