Social: To be or not to be?

Those of you who really know me know that I am not too social. Its not for lack of trying its just that I don't feel the necessity to be out all the time talking to people I don't know at bars spending money weekend after weekend. I am fully aware that is how you make friends but sometimes I am just too lazy to put myself out there. Some would refer to me as Debbie Downer but hey, its what it is.

I do have to say I have improved these last few weeks! I have been a party animal, saying yes to any invitation that comes to me. I thought it would be more of a nightmare than it has been.

First weekend was a bridal shower at my moms house. Nothing too exciting but I enjoyed it. We then had dinner out with our dear friends Seth and Bea and went out for ice cream with them. So much fun! Hubby and Bea celebrate birthdays really close to one another so it was a sort of birthday ice cream date. Yummy.

Second weekend was a halloween/birthday party for Bea. Games with new people. I only knew a handful and made conversation almost the whole night. But I did become quite depressed after this party due to meeting a man my age going through a divorce. I just couldn't wrap my head around the situation. I felt so bad for him and I didn't even know him. I just wanted to hug this man and fix his relationship. The woman even had the nerve to take his dog in the divorce. He had the picture on his phone as the background and everything! I don't know why it affected me so badly but it did. Divorce isn't a light word or subject. It is something I never want to even consider. We made a deal never even to joke about it so to meet someone in that situation made my heart ache.

Third weekend I had a wedding and a family get together "Tamale Fest 2012". New families and new family members. My sister was the Maid of Honor so I went to watch her run the show. She did amazing and the bride was beautiful and happy. Then at "Tamale Fest 2012" My cousin shared amazing news with us, she is expecting! May 1, 2013 little P.J.J (Pete Jacob Jr) will join this world and I couldn't be happier for her. She has a ultrasound with the baby sucking his thumb! Adorable! By the end of the family gathering my stomach hurt from all the laughter. I love when family gatherings go so well and everyone is happy. I am a sentimental person so those are memories I will always cherish. My other cousin leaves for what he calls it "the slave ship" next week so this was our chance to be around him before he is gone for another 5 months as a sous chef on a cruise line. He loves the job and even mentioned a sweet family discount that I hope to be able to take advantage of in the near future....Hawaii anyone?

All in all I feel that being social has been good for me, especially when good news is celebrated and happiness is abundant. Have a great week!

Comedy Club

Thursday night our friends got free tickets to Harvey's. We got there a little late due to some traffic delays. Try an hour late. Oops. This turned out in our disadvantage because the only seat they had was right up front next to the stage. Do you know what that means? Being part of the act at times. We got there and were walked in during an act. 

She immediately made fun of us. I didn't make fun back, not my style. Boy were we glad to have arrived during her segment not to have to hear it all. This woman was VULGAR and offensive. If she is any look into what comedians are like I am glad I don't personally know any. She was saying the worst things about her own family members! Not to mention revealing intimate private details about herself and others she knows. I was offended by many things she was saying and I know others were too. How does someone get away being that raunchy and obscene? Basically, we did not enjoy the first act.

The second act, however was amazing. His name was Dante. Apparently pretty famous? Who knew? Both our friends and ourselves don't have cable nor do we watch BET which he entertains on. He has performed for more troops than Bob Hope. So he was funny. Husband particularly liked the joke "I met my wife while crossing a bridge and I couldn't answer her riddles". Should I be offended? An hour of laughter from this guy.

Our friend gets promotional tickets often so we hope to go back again. It was nice because we all had friday off so it wasn't bad being out late on thursday. 

Mt. Hood

We had an amazing snowboard trip the other day. Hubby's work offers a 30$ bus ride and lift ticket special which was TOTALLY worth it. We didn't have to drive or wait in line for a lift ticket once we got there we just got on the lift!




It was night skiing- my favorite. I like night skiing because there are less people. I like less people because I am an AWFUL snow boarder and the less people that have to avoid me on the slopes the better I feel. You see, if you know anything about snowboarding you know that a person is either "goofy" or "regular" meaning right or left food first. I simply cannot decide. So instead of one foot facing down hill the whole time I slide down both feet facing forward and sometimes when I am feeling brave one foot goes before the other the tiniest bit. That is why I fall. I am not a lover of speed so going down like I do can control that. The one time I rode like a normal boarder would I had a good fall. My chiropractor wasn't too happy about that one....


Unfortunately taking pictures as an inexperienced rider is out of the question. So we took these while sitting down, most likely post-fall.

It got really windy after a few runs. This meant that I couldn't control where I was going so I sat the rest of the night out. Hubby went out a few more times and really enjoyed himself. 

Sunny Sunday Adventures

We started the day with some Junior Apples to Apples for B's birthday

Read through a dog book to figure out Delilah's breeding and Dude happened to be sitting like a greyhound when we were thumbing through this picture. We know he isn't but its very similar...

Delilah's ears are all whacko!

O and Delilah sitting in a tree...

Car ride fun. O doesn't like to smile

After Sky High we took a ride up in the hills outside of Portland. The kids were stuck in the back with Dude

Windy steep hill 

 

O deep in thought

Hubby so excited to go for a bike ride.

 At the top of the hill seeing Mt Hood and St Helens

Spectacular view 

 We were taking hubby up for a bike ride down the hill. This is where we dropped him off.

Delilah came for the ride too!

I can tell he is smiling in the helmet ;)

O strapping down the scooters while "Poot" rides off

 Then we left and waited at the bottom of the hill. 

I like this with me and Delilah

 

 

Then we picked up hubby and drove down the great drive of highway 30 towards Portland

St Johns bridge my least favorite. Its only my least favorite because during the Portland Bridge Pedal its the furthest out of town and takes too much work to ride your bike too. 

Portland

House in Snow

Last week we had snow. I ran outside before it had a chance to melt to snap a few pictures of the house. It really wasn't much but for an Oregonian in the Portland-Metro area it was something. 

Food Review.

Well folks, theres a reason Andina was booked and Limo was not. Don't get me wrong the food was alright but I certainly prefer Andina. Andina provides a more authentic Peruvian experience whereas Limo was more of a Portland restaurant that had peruvian food. The prices are comparable so its really about personal choice.

Why is Andina more preferable? Their Lomo Saltado has the same taste as it does in a native Peruanos home. Anyone who has had it home made in Peru knows what I am talking about. At Andina they provide you with almost any drink you could have found in Peru. Inca Kola which is a Peruvian soda that tastes some getting used to is offered. Pisco is the drink of choice in Peru therefore it is offered at Andina. I was a rotary exchange student to Peru back in 2004-2005 and required to attend Rotary meetings during that time. Pisco was served even to the students. As I was 16 at the time I didn't enjoy it as much as the rotarians but none the less its somewhat of a tradition to Peruvians. Andina offers many seafood dishes as well as Peru is known for its seafood. My family enjoys these.

As for Limo. Why is it my undesirable? They didn't offer Inca Kola or even Pisco. Their website stated many months ago they were getting their liquor license but they still do not have it. Instead I tried Sangria, which let me tell you, is not Peruvian. And it wasn't even good. The only people who had authentic Peruvian beverage was my grandfather and hubby who had cerveza Cristal. Which guys, can be purchased at most stores in the area. I have found Cusquena  at Whole Foods and Fred Meyers. So offering it on their menu was not impressive. The Lomo was in a soupy base that I did not approve of. It's not supposed to be soupy. Yes, the meat should be juicy but not dripping. Just google it and see what the images look like. Its not that hard Limo.....My family had seafood dishes and thoroughly enjoyed them but I am a much harder critic as I lived in Peru and they only visited for a few weeks.

This was taken at a school lunch at Colegio Lord Byron in my town Arequipa. The top right is what Lomo Saltado should look like, authentically speaking.

And I will provide you with a shot of 16 year old me enjoying Arequipa's plaza