emergency snack kits

Ever since I experienced the NYC blackout of '03 I thought it'd be a good idea to create a disaster preparedness kit. The infamous East Coast blackout happened the third month I lived there, which sent my imagination spiraling and my heart a-pumpin. I was always on "high alert" due to a healthy dose of anxiety and elevated terror threats. I freaked out anytime the subway paused in the tunnel longer than normal, so you can imagine my fear when all the city's lights flickered out, and stayed out, and no one knew what was happening for hours.

Well, despite my anxiety, I never made the kit...until this month! My favorite magazine, Bust, published an article essentially saying "Hey sister, don't be sitting around waiting for Red Cross when disaster strikes. Be prepared". I took the magazine and the list of kit essentials to Fred Meyer this weekend, where I filled my cart with a first aid kit, jugs of water, and a flashlight. And snacks. Lots of snacks. When I got home and filled up an old backpack with the stuff, I realize that I may not have a multi-tool, solar blanket, or a whistle, but I do have 17 different types of nuts.

The problem with the kit is: you have to be home when disaster strikes! I'm mostly not at home, which creates a problem. But at least it's better than nothing. My other problem is that now Dave knows there's a Snickers bar in the bag. I really should keep an eye on inventory.


In other news, I booked our honeymoon flight to Mexico on Saturday morning, about an hour before I walked out of the house to encounter doomsday-type headlines (are there any other kinds?) regarding the pig flu throughout Mexico. Well, shoot. I mean, our honeymoon is not till late July so we have time on our side. But it took a TON of legwork finding a destination that time of year that wasn't hurricane season, rainy season, rattlesnake season and was within our budget. I guess there's always something, you just gotta roll with it.

In much better news, I always walk past a neighborhood children's store that sells baby clothes. I spotted this ridiculously cute snail onesie, which I finally purchased for my cousin Ali. She's having her first baby, and the first baby of our generation.

a girl's gotta eat

When I'm not hanging out in tropical paradise, I find some time to work on freelance projects. Here are some recent ones. (Copywrite Shawna M, 2009!)

A Save the Date for my friends who are tyin' the knot. I'm also going to create their jack n' jill and wedding invites.


A business card for my dear pastry chef friend.

Mahalo!

We are back from a fantastic trip to our 50th state, Hawaii. Dave and I hiked, kayaked, helicoptered, drove, ate, and indulged in "general relaxation" around Kauai with my sister and her man. Kauai is Hawaii's Garden Isle, which loosely translates to Cloudy Isle. I gotta say, we were forewarned. Some friends who are familiar with the islands noted that the weather might be iffy this time of year. Regardless, we did just fine on our tropical vacay.

I'd say the highlight of our trip was an afternoon of wine drinkin' and grasshopper pie eatin' in Hanalei. Once we'd gotten our sugar fix, we walked down the road to Hanalei Bay, where Dave and Jeff hoped to catch some big boogie boardin' waves. Dave had a great idea to wear flippers so he could swim out against the surf. Jeff agreed. Watching them cruise the beach in flippers was priceless; Ashley and I died laughing from ashore. Then we realized we were being lame and decided to brave the water. Not as warm as we hoped but still nicer than Puget Sound on its very best day.

The lowlight of the trip was Dave's food poisoning, which he got from our first Hawaiian dinner. After five hours of being violently ill (and sleeping intermittently on the bathroom floor), we decided to hit up the ER. We went to one of the island's two hospitals. The doctor obviously rolled out of bed to treat Dave, the lone patient, and I wouldn't be surprised if he went surfing after he hooked up the IV (Dr. Feelgood rocked some Nike high tops and was no older than 30). Dave recovered in 24 hours but it was an odd intro to our long-awaited vacation.

All in all we had a fabulous time. It's always nice to get away from email, public transportation, the daily routine and to experience a new place. Before our trip, I  felt that a pre-wedding vacation was indulgent. My travel buddies convinced me I was being a silly nanny, and that we should go anyways. I'm happy I succumbed. Money spent on travel is money well spent. 

on the wagon

According to the inspirational envelope that my sis made me, tonight I'm scheduled to update my blog on Prohibition progress. There have been some distinct stages in this month of sobriety.

1) Dread and determination- I set off with a bang. I remember alternately looking forward to the challenge and then thinking of what a looooong month March is. Dave confirmed that I was a drag this first leg of Prohibition.

2) Acceptance- I really hit my stride around Week Two. Armed with seltzer, limes, sparking juice, and coffee, I had a little extra spring in my step and my cheeks were so damn rosy. I felt that I could embrace Prohibition past April 1st. Hell, I'd do it one more month!

3) Anger and bargaining- Sometime between Week 2 and 3 I came to a plateau. What do you mean I can't have one innocent little beer? Well what about Kaliber non-alcoholic malt beverage? What about now? Can I have a sip now? I broke down and bought a sixer of faux beer. It wasn't too bad.

4) Reflection- So here I am in the home stretch. I'm still on the wagon. I'm learning some things about myself.
a) Booze is the spice of life that should be enjoyed in moderation. No need for the two-drink minimum every night.
b) If I don't drink wine, I'm going to seek out the sugar and empty calories elsewhere. Like in a jug of ice cream. Might as well stick with the devil you know.
c) I work hard, work out, watch what I eat. I think that blowing off some steam with a vodka gimlet here and there is perfectly okay. And fun.
d) You can find mocktails and non-alcoholic beer all over, you just have to look harder.
e) If I'm not drinking, I'm watching a LOT of movies.

It's not that it's impossible to have fun on the wagon. It's just that I enjoy a glass of wine at the end of the day, and maybe a couple cocktails on Saturday night. Life without booze is just a little...duller. I'm happy for the detox but I can't wait to toast my sister with some champagne in a few weeks. Clink!

Campbell's Soup & Libraries

I donated money to KEXP for the first time...and they gave me a shout out on the air! I'd been meaning to donate for some years now. KEXP is the local independent radio station that has solid programming, a crazy good website, and no commercials. One of my favorite shows is Michelle Meyers' on Friday nights. She plays Aretha's 'Rock Steady' every week to kick it off, an alarm bell signifying the weekend's arrival. Such joy! I learned about KEXP before I even moved here. I used to stream it to my computer at my NYC office and I can honestly say it had some part in drawing me here. I thought, Wow their radio station is cool, I bet the city is cool too.

I think I'm donating money to these local causes as a one-man bailout strategy. I'm trying to pump up our economy. The state of the world makes me a) sick b) want to invest in my community and take it back to small-town livin'. Not that I want to LIVE in a small town, I just want to keep my dollars in my neighborhood, my city, my wallet...or maybe a credit union. I walked past my Bank of America today and imagined a 'Going Out of Business' sign in their window.

You know how I'm coping with the recession? Coffee. Affordable, delicious, warm, fits within Prohibition 2009. That stuff never goes out of style.

Piece of trivia: this recession has benefited Campbell's Soup stock and increased use of local libraries. Nothing like some split pea soup while reading a good book....and listenin to Michelle Meyers. Well, I think I just mapped out my next Friday night.

feel goodery

Dave and I attended our first fundraiser last weekend to support his cousin Kim and her husband Dan. They are farmless farmers who run CSA (food delivery) program, and they're raising money to purchase farmland near Tacoma.

We didn't really know what we were signing up for. For example, Dave attempted to leave the house in jeans and a hoodie. I'm not really sure how fundraisers work but I suspect people wear ball gowns when their dinners cost $75 a plate. Or at least not sweatsuits. Dave argued that this was for farmers. In Washington. He changed anyway. All I knew was that there'd be be home-grown food, a bluegrass band and presentations.

The Founders Dinner rocked! It was my favorite fundraiser evarrrrr! We just so happened to sit with some fellow urban planner types, and there was plenty of organic wine, brussel sprouts, pulled pork, and rosemary pear cake to go around. All of it was washed down with a jammin bluegrass band. You could tell the hopeful farmers put a ton of work into the event, and once the keynote speakers got into the importance of supporting local economies, eating locally, and giving the next generation of farmers the boost they need, we couldn't get out our checkbook fast enough. It was really inspiring and amidst all the gloom and doom of today's news, it really made me feel good about something. Even if we do not have extra money lying around, it's worthwhile to invest in community assets and to support sustainable farmland practices.

I think we've done our good deed for the year but check out Tahoma Farms if you're interested in their venture.

Prohibition 2009

My sister and I are challenging each other to NOT DRINK for the month on March. Yep, we're taking the family challenge.

I was inspired by my friend who has taken on a similar venture this month. Ahem, the shortest month of the year, but who am I to point fingers? He challenged his buddy to sobriety for all of February, to the tune of $500. So, if one man drinks before the end of the month, he must pay the friend (opponent?) $500.

We are not raising the stakes that high. We're doing it in the name of health, glowing skin and hot bikini bods for our upcoming Hawaii trip. In leui of a wager, we are creating envelopes for each other and will send them in the mail. Inspiring envelopes. Every time we save money by not drinking (i.e. not buying a bottle of wine for dinner) we put cash into the kitty. At the end of March, we'll each bring our envelopes aflow with cash to Hawaii, where we will spend it on a rockin' sisterly excursion. Maybe lunch, maybe dinner, most likely an ice cold beverage will be involved. Wish us luck!