feminisim

I feel like I've been writing this blog post for weeks, or well, I guess I have, actually.  I was recently reading something on one of my favorite random essay sites about the different types of feminists. While it was written heavy with sarcasm, it made a/some good points. I think that most women now a days are feminists, or think of themselves as such, even if they wouldn't say it out loud (due to the way they look at the word 'feminist'). The part of this particular essay that got me thinking was, when it was referring to a particular type of feminist,  it said that 'they' (being the type of feminist they were referring to) among other things "believe in feminism because women are equal and everyone should love each other" and all though this statement was among other kind of silly funny things, I found myself thinking about this statement a lot. I mean, isn't the true point of subscribing to any sort of 'ism' to highlight something or a group of people who have been marginalized and by lending your voice champion their cause in some way that at least raises awareness to their need? I feel that its in my heart to treat others as equals, no matter their age, gender, or any other thing that distinguishes them from other people. It does seem like kind of a quaint notion to think that people actually live like that, since it's nearly impossible, but its still a nice thought. I like to believe there's a part of me that's (hopefully) growing that feels that it might not be that hard. I believe in potential, and I know that we all have it in us to actually think of others first (and by others, I mean outside of your immediate family or friend group) and not just focus on superficial things all the time, no matter how fun or immediately satisfying it is at the time. Oh, and just so we're clear about how much I love that site that I linked to earlier in this post, here's a GREAT essay on feminism written by a man, that pretty much says what I'm trying to say HERE. (you took the words right out of my mouth AGAIN Ryan O'Connell! I swear we were separated at birth or something...)

Faux-versary

This weekend Jared and I went up the peninsula a bit to Sequim for a weekend away, and to kind of celebrate our anniversary (since Jared will be on the road for our real anniversary). We've been curious about the area for a while, so it was cool to get to do that. We had dinner at one of our favorite dinner spots, Ajax cafe, over in Port Hadlock. It was amazing as usual, but we didn't get to the rental house until late on Friday so we couldn't really see the view, but, holy moly! It was so nice to wake up across the street from the ocean!

this is where Abbey decided to sleep...

We went to breakfast at a great local place then headed out to check out the Sequim Saturday farmers market. Sequim is the 'lavender capital of the world' so we picked up some loose lavender, as well as a few other treasures there. We went out to port Townsend to try and hit up a couple of favorite spots, but ended up 'killing' too much time at the coffee place. We missed our window for lunch and didn't feel like waiting for dinner, so after a little shopping (the fabric store there was having a huge remnant sale!), we went back to Sequim and ate at a great little hole in the wall Mexican place. Not quite as good as Cazadores, but it's hard to hold a candle to our favorite restaurant in Poulsbo!
We finished out the evening at the Dungeness spit, it was a bit windy, but man, what a view! You can literally see Canada! There's a 5 mile walk out to the light house there, but since it was pretty late in the evening, we decided to save that for another day. We couldn't bring the dog out there, so we brought her back to the rental house and played with her on the private beach there, it was pretty heavenly :)

 Dungeness Spit

it was pretty cold

the little sign next to the diaper says biodegradable diapers take a year.

they had this posted, what a great reminder!!

Sunday we had breakfast at the house before we checked out, then headed up to the sol duc hot springs. We soaked for a while up there and took a break for a lunchy snack, but when we got back the tub we had been enjoying was closed for a cleaning cycle, so we headed back to Port Angeles to check out a couple of shops and find a dinner spot, and boy did we! We ate at Michael's Steak house and it has definitely made our top 10 northwest best restaurants. Maybe it was because their menu seemed to be reading my mind (cucumber infused vodka bloody Mary? smoked salmon Alfredo?! chocolate mousse banana parfait??! where has this place been all my life?!?!?!?!!YES PLEASE!!) I don't remember the last time I ate that much or felt that painfully full, but it was SO WORTH IT. Thank you, Olympic Peninsula. once again, you didn't fail us, even though the weather kinda did. (65 and cloudy Sunday. meh.)

thank you oly penn!

Colorado, Colorado, Colora-a-a-a-doooo

I just returned from a trip to, you guessed it, Colorado this last weekend. I was there Wednesday-Saturday last week, and it was so much fun! I got there Wednesday night, met up with Jared on Thursday in Denver, who was in town with the band, had a delish brunch all by my self like a big girl,

 best eggs Benedict ever, sorry aunt Vicky

then was able to bring my cousins, and a few of their friends to the show Thursday night at the Fillmore auditorium (it was wonderful, obvi)

 fleet foxes, sold out

Friday I met up with my cousin at the Boulder Bookstore in downtown Boulder (where she works) and we went to an amazing local brewery, introducing me to some fabulous new beers, and simultaneously changing my mind about 'hoppy' beers forever! Now to find it in Washington somewhere...

 enjoyed since 1979, just like me!! 

Saturday we hit the Boulder farmers market, which was great, but it was mother hot, so I ended up only getting a lemonade. We went hiking later that day and I managed to not die, even though it was almost 100 degrees (something my Lily white skin hasn't experienced live in at least 2 years)

 stop frowning! you're going to have wrinkles!

 the top of that mountain is just behind that tree on the left...

Later that night, we went to see on of my favorite bad movies, Point Break, at the outdoor cinema they have in  Boulder.
I had to leave super early to try to catch the first flight out, Sunday, which didn't happen, but i did manage to get on to the next one (4 hours later) since some of the people ahead of me bailed (thankyouverymuch) but we still sat on the plane at the gate for over an hour while they ran some computer diagnostic crap (which is fine, except there was a devil child on board who would not stop shrieking at an unworldly decibel) but finally we were off, and I had a double bloody Mary to celebrate!
A super big thank you to my cousin Christine and her BF Dan for letting me crash on their couch, and taking me to see the sights, and also to my other cousin Bradley who took time out from grad school and being 'the other Bradley Cooper' to hang out with me/us, and his GF Erin, who came hiking and put up with this grandma having to stop every 2 seconds because she's old and lives at sea level ;)

skinny bitch

I've never been the cutest/prettiest/coolest/smartest in any group of average girls, but I have been the skinniest. I'm really not saying this to be braggy, and it's really not that great by comparison (no guy outside of Los Angeles or the Fashion/entertainment industry has ever been heard saying, 'I really dig skinny chicks, I don't care how pretty they are' not that I've heard anyway) and it doesn't matter if you're being made fun of because your too fat or too skinny, it hurts either way, trust me.
Anyway, as ubiquitous as the quest for skinny is in the life of the American female, I have to say, I was given a good foundation. We always ate pretty healthy growing up, and I have the physical tendency toward skinniness, even though it doesn't necessarily run in the family. I was(am) never(not) particularly athletic, and not into sports, but always active (and now with the farm, i mean...) and never really gained weight until I was in my mid 20s. At my most unhealthy though, it wouldn't have mattered if I weighed 100 or 1000 lbs, I felt like shit. I was tired all the time, my skin sucked and all of my clothes made me feel like sausage. To contrast that, when we first started farming and getting into more holistic body care(?)(using less chemical stuff, etc) I was doing physical labor most of the day, eating extremely close to the ground (so to speak) and had a killer tan. I may have been dirt poor, but I felt amazing.
I'm currently surfing the space between. I eat more meat than I did a few years ago, and don't always have time to prepare every meal from scratch. I use oil of olay and sometimes even eat (gasp) fast food. I try really hard not to be a totalitarian about any of this stuff, and as strongly as I feel about being healthy, I hate the sound of my own voice and cringe at the memory of the times I've gotten super preachy about it. So, if I ever got on your nerves with my 'down with monsanto' ethos, sorry about that. love ya!
At this point I feel balance is king, all the rest is clanging gongs, ya know?

my 1st lunch today (I usually have 2 small breakfasts and 2 small lunches)

 remains of the yummiest breakfast I ever made

 tuna noodle casserole from (sort of) scratch

before and after

Eggs and Strawberries!

I was super bummed I didn't get the garden up and going before I hurt my back, but summer is making such a slow approach this year, I might not be too late after all, and I definitely want to get a jump on some over wintering.
Currently we have strawberries and eggs! I had mentioned in an earlier post that I wasn't sure if the strawberries would produce this year, and they very much are! yay! I absolutely love fresh strawberries, so I'm so super excited!

Here's a few pics, Eggs, fresh from the nest, and our modest 'farm stand' (AKA  "the blue cooler")

 here's the strawberry field, a few strawberries on the vine, and fresh picked!!

I also have a small row of potatoes going (that's a surprise volunteer to the left there) and some Italian culinary sage that overwintered, and is now flowering with pretty purple flowers! (the chickens lay their eggs in there sometimes too! :)

I never got my chives planted, but they seemed to do pretty well in the wheelbarrow ;)

the bunnies are back too! caught this one with the camera as it was getting away...

Whenever I start to get bummed about our short growing season here, I catch a glimpse of something beautiful that makes me grateful for the place I live...

Anyway, I'm hoping to get some tomatoes and a few other things going in the green house, but I'd also like to get beets, carrots, and greens going for over wintering in one of the green houses as well. Lots of work to do and plants to pick up! hope the farmers market is still brimming with viable starts like it was a couple of weeks ago, fingies crossed!!

on me own for a bit

Dropped Jared off at the airport yesterday for another 5 week run. 3 weeks in Europe, and 2 weeks (or so) in the US. I'm really hoping to meet him out on the road this time, either Chicago or Denver, and planning to drive down to Edgefield for the last show of this run too. Cross your fingies for me!
I had a great time last night with my Dad, step mom and sister for a late dinner/happy hour for Fathers Day! Who would have known that fried mac and cheese dipped in spicy ranch was EVERYTHING! Good call Brianna!
I'm getting together with two of my friends that I've known the longest for dinner tonight and I have a feeling Jameson and Poutine are in my future...yesssssssss

It's been a while

So a lot has taken place in the last few weeks since I last posted. I had plans to get the garden started, but ended up hurting my back pretty bad, actually, probably the worst injury I've had this far in my life. boo. So I've been resting up ever since, and haven't been able to get the garden started at all. Thank God we got the strawberries in when we did! There are some berries starting to make their way out, but it's been pretty cold so far this year, which was a major bummer last year, so I'm really just  trying not to stress about it, and not be sad when I see other people's gardens. ;) I'm more and more glad that we're not committed to the markets, and that we're focusing on 'regular' work for now. Jared's been touring for a few weeks but was home the last 2 weeks, so we took the opportunity to go out to Port Townsend for the day,

 We hiked from Fort Warden to Point no point with Abbey. We found some beautiful rocks and even a few pieces of sea glass. it was really great!

  We also went camping, something we haven't done since last year. We decided to go out to the San Juan islands, Jared had never been up there, and it has been like, 15 years since I've been there myself.

We stayed at Moran state park, which had awesome hiking and camping

We also saw this, which is pretty much one of the most awesome things ever...

so that's pretty much where we're at now! jared's leaving on sunday for 5 weeks, but I've got chelsea handler and sarah silverman to keep me company...