Seattle Recap
I finally have a little time to write about my trip to Seattle for the TESOL conference. I got back on Sunday at about 8pm and had class the next day so things have been a little hectic. In fact, blogging is my break from grading compositions (the ones I got right before I went to Seattle).
I traveled out there by myself and it was really nice because it's been a long time since I've traveled completely solo, something I enjoy from time to time. My first impression of the Pacific NW was that it reminded me of Duluth with all its hills and pine trees. Then I got into the city and of course it was far too urban to be anything like "up north."
I stayed at a hotel downtown so I spent my first day walking around, taking in the sights, and of course checking out Pike Place Market. I was quite tired because I hadn't slept well and flew out early that morning.
The next day, a number of my colleagues arrived so a group of us took a tour of the bay which provided some great views of the city. I also surprised myself by becoming very interested to learn about the shipping industry and see all the boats and cranes that make it happen. Our guide on the tour gave a great commentary and lacked the usual corniness so that was quite helpful.
After the boat tour, we headed to the aquarium. I absolutely loved the otters (one of Austin's favorite animals) and loved seeing all of the brightly colored fish. I even got to touch some starfish though it wasn't as fun as petting the sharks and stingrays in Las Vegas.
Some of the memorable meals included going out for Brazilian barbecue and for African food. The Brazilian restaurant had a nice buffet of side dishes and then servers came around with huge skewers of meat and fish that they sliced right onto your plate. They were actually Brazilian too so I used some of my pathetically rusty Portuguese. The African food was great, right in the market with a cozy ambiance and it reminded me of the Blue Nile in Minneapolis. That is, I ordered some lentil dishes and scooped them up with the injera bread. Really lovely to have that again since it's been about a year since I've had Ethiopian-style food.
Besides the touristy stuff, there was work going on too. At check in, I received a huge catalog of the various seminars, workshops, presentations, etc and so I was able to choose from a large number of options. I chose anything that involved Spanish bilingualism and particularly liked a presentation on using videos to teach pragmatics. Some sessions were just not impressive so I quickly learned to have back-ups selected in order to ditch out and not waste my time.
On Saturday, the last day, I presented with a colleague on using rubrics. We were at the very top of the Sheraton and I could look out at Puget Sound while presenting. We received really positive feedback so it was a good experience overall. The mix of tourism and professional development made for a great spring break.
Highlights:
-Pike Place Market
-Art Galleries/Blown Glass
-Restaurants
-Boat Tour
Need to do next time:
-Space Needle
-Museum of Glass (Tacoma)
-More galleries
-Sculpture Park
-Bring Austin :-)
Etiquetes de comentaris: seattle, travel
Bloggin' From Seattle
I love this city. Always wanted to visit, finally have, and it's beyond my expectations. I've taken in some sights and tomorrow will be spending lots of time working.
Highlight of today: catching a flying salmon on the first try.
Spring Break 2007: Seattle
Ok, it's not all-out spring "break" because I'm going to a conference with partial funding from my employer but nonetheless, it's going to be a lot of fun. I have always wanted to visit the Pacific NW so this will be my first good taste of it. I can't wait to check out (buy?) some of the famous blown glass, eat some good seafood, and take in some of the touristy stuff too (Space Needle).
I'm going to
try to blog and maybe put some pics on Flickr while I'm out there.
Etiquetes de comentaris: travel
Shallot Soufflé
My colleague gave us a soufflé dish for our wedding and since then has promised a savory soufflé recipe for us. She came through last week and we decided to try it on St. Patrick's Day. We served it with a green salad with the French vinaigrette (dijon, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper) and a nice loaf of bread. Can't wait to make this one again.
Shallot Soufflé4 egg yolks
4 egg whites
1 T butter, softened
2 T finely shredded Parmesan
1/4 finely chopped shallots
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
2 dashes hot pepper sauce
1 c. milk
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Allow egg yolks and whites to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Spread 1 T of butter over bottom and sides of 1.5 qt soufflé dish. Sprinkle inside of dish with Parmesan, turning dish to coat; set aside.
Preheat oven to 325. In medium saucepan, cook shallots over medium heat in the 1/4 butter until tender but not brown (note: we felt we could have easily used more than 1/4 c. shallots). Stir in flour,salt, and hot pepper sauce (note: we used cayenne). Add milk all at once; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat.
Stir in cheddar until melted.
In medium mixing bowl beat egg yolks with mixer on high sped about 5 minutes or until thick and lemon-colored. Slowly add cheese mixture, stirring constantly; set aside.
Thoroughly wash beaters. In large mixing bowl beat egg whites with mixer on medium high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold about 1 c. of beaten egg whites into the cheese mixture. Fold cheese mixture into remaining egg whites. Bake for 65 minutes or until knife inserted just off center comes out clean. Serve immediately. Serves 6 (note: we each took about half and it was divine!)
Etiquetes de comentaris: cooking
Austin's Shrimp Recipe
I need to get this recipe posted because it is currently scrawled out on the white board on our fridge. One accidentally brush up against the fridge and the secret could be (sorta) lost.
Austin made these notes when he was making one dish for me. The idea is that you can keep most of the ingredients on hand and make as much or as you'd like at a moment's notice.
Shrimp Pasta1 t olive oil
1/2 minced garlic
1 T butter
2 T white wine
3 T lemon juice
1/4 lb raw shrimp
1/4 lb pasta
Sautee the garlic in olive oil until it just starts to brown, then add butter, wine, and lemon juice, and shrimp. Cook until shrimp are pink and dust with cayenne. Toss shrimp and sauce mixture with linguine, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and fresh cracked black pepper. Serve with crusty bread.
Etiquetes de comentaris: cooking
Bad Luck
Austin was out of town and, on his way back home late Monday night, his car was robbed while he stopped to grab some food. He lost his overnight bag and my iPod Nano as well as some books and other assorted items. He didn't realize he was robbed until after he got home (with an unexpected detour no less) and looked in the bag seat for his things. By the time he called the county dispatcher, received a call from an on-duty police officer, and filed his report, it was really late. He stayed upbeat, though, and realized it could have been much worse.
Etiquetes de comentaris: whining
Good Luck
A colleague of mine had been asking last week when I'd be in my office on Monday. She emailed me a couple of times over the weekend to confirm when she'd be able to talk to me but never hinted at the nature of the conversation, causing me to wonder if it was bad news of some sort. Finally Monday afternoon rolled around and she told me she had hired a masseuse from the Wellness Center to do chair massages for a few of us. It was a wonderful surprise and the massage was very relaxing. I've never had a professional massage and I was left feeling really happy for the little, good surprises in life.
Etiquetes de comentaris: good things
Good Weekend
Austin and I have been making small changes to eat a little healthier but on Friday night, we splurged on a Papa Murphy's pizza (onion mix and tomato) and some hard cider. It was delicious but the volume that pizza and cider require was something that we were not accustomed to. We went to bed early, shamed by our slobby behavior.
Saturday was gorgeous-- sunny and warm enough to melt a little snow. Austin and I ran a few errands and found a nice piece of luggage for my upcoming trip to
TESOL in Seattle. I only have a huge backpack which is great for tromping around Europe but for a professional development opportunity where I'll be staying in one place the whole week, well, it was time to invest in something a little more appropriate.
Saturday night Austin recreated the shrimp dish for me; more on that in a future post (with a pic). We enjoyed more nice weather on Sunday and suddenly it's Monday morning, sprung into daylight savings time. I hope my students are awake today but it's not likely.
Etiquetes de comentaris: weather, weekend
Austin's Magic Shrimp Pasta
Last night we were excited to try a new recipe, some sort of shrimp pasta with onion, garlic, tomato, pancetta (ok we used a jar of real bacon bits), and fresh basil. The concept sounded foolproof but, well, it didn't quite work out. Austin was despairing after a long day of workiness so I dumped the ill-fated tomato mixture and assembled some butter, garlic, white wine, and lemon for him. He accepted the mission, threw in a little cayenne for good measure, and not only salvaged our dinner but made something remarkably delicious.
I know that the recipe itself isn't innovative but those ingredients go together for a reason. The resulting shrimp mixture tossed with linguine turned out to be one of those meals where at random intervals well after eating, we were still saying "that was sooooo good."
We'll definitely be making it again soon and will pay attention to quantities so I can post the recipe and a photo. I think it needs a different name, though.
Etiquetes de comentaris: cooking
More Cooking Gadgets
My cousin had a Pampered Chef party last night and while I am not a big fan of Tupperware-type parties, it was fun and there were a few things I needed. I ended up purchasing an egg separator, a lemon juicer, and kitchen shears. The egg separator was needed because it was formerly either my fingers or the shells. The lemon juicer is something you can use right over the bowl (kind of like a garlic press) and we only have the pointy thing with the bowl underneath or the reamer on a stick that allows all the seeds to fall through. The kitchen shears we have are very old and of poor quality. The PC ones have nice rounded tips so you can snip up your herbs right in a prep bowl. So, the Lunderoy household will now be in possession of even more kitchen gadgety things. I should think of something to make using all three tools.
LAN Party!!1!1!
Saturday's LAN party was a success. Austin and I ran errands in anticipation of the exciting event and we attempted to clean up a little on Friday night. All day Saturday, the die-hard gamers were at it. Guests arrived beginning at 9:00 a.m. and some stayed until midnight. They were all playing in the basement and it was a stereotypical male interaction, that is, very task-focused and not alotta talkin'.
On Sunday we just recovered from all the fun and I read a lot. School and house work were avoided. Yesterday was the typical Monday and I'm more in the swing of things today. One of my colleagues actually came into my class (students were working in groups so I wasn't instructing) and brought me a Starbucks latté and pastry to thank me for teaching one of her classes. My students were so cute, wanting to know who she was. If I had been feeling more creative, I would have invented a funny story. In the afternoon, I busted out the markers and crayons to make posters using the new vocabulary which went over well.
Now I'm doing some work in my office (well, not
right now of course) with the goal of getting enough done so that I don't have to take anything home with me.
Etiquetes de comentaris: daily, weekend
Attack of the Snow
I am titling this post as a nod to
Attack of the Show, an obnoxious program that my husband occasionally watches. I couldn't think of anything else and sometimes writing post titles is tricky.
Anyway, round two of the snow has come through the area in keeping with the whole March/lion thing. All the schools were closed except, of course, the University. It's ok by me since we do have a very generous winter break. Still, I was ready for the work day to be over.
Now I'm home (lesson plans were left unwritten, ack) and waiting for Austin to get done with work. We are going to pick up our new glasses; we each actually found something that looked good with our unusually shaped noggins. The optician said my frames looked "studious" and they were called "chica" so this added up to a convincing argument for a Spanish teacher who still fancies herself young enough to be a chica.
We're also going to stock up on groceries because Austin is hosting a LAN party and needs to entertain with Doritos and Mountain Dew or whatever it is that nerds feed on when they are gaming. I, on the other hand, plan on making some artichoke spread (have been craving it lately) and sipping on drinks made from
Pama (one of our guests works for a distributor and obtained a bottle at a reasonable price).
Besides that I think I'll have lots of tea and read.
Etiquetes de comentaris: daily, weather
