My original post didn’t save properly, so I decided that it just wasn’t meant to be. On to other things then. :)
First, try the newest Altoids variety. Dark chocolate dipped mints. Maybe it isn’t new, but it’s new to me! And oh my - I can’t stop eating them!
Secondly, I’m once again accepting the fact that change is constant. I’ve struggled with change for most of my life, and yet, I’m still alive! By God’s grace… I feel like Anne of Green Gables asking why things have to change… But I also see the beauty in change, like the greens of spring and summer turning into the reds, oranges, and yellows of fall… So, I press on, knowing that “He has made all things beautiful in its time.” Ecclesiastes 3:11a
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Paul in Philippians 3:12-14
I try not to let myself get too stressed, but when I do end up getting overwhelmed… I get a cold sore on my upper lip that screams “look at me” :(. I haven’t had one in almost 5 or 6 years, so when I looked in the mirror, I was so shocked to have gotten one. This weekend Mark made me rest and I cancelled all my breakfast date with an old friend, two birthday parties and we went to pick up some medicine for me.
Usually I stick with abreva because that’s what I know and don’t like to risk change especially when it has to do with my face, but this time around I decided to visit the “natural” section at our local Fred Meyer. I found this:
So far with my new found friend super lysine and a ton of sleep… my lip hasn’t gotten out of hand, gross and bubbly and it looks a lot smaller than the first day. I got the smaller size because it takes up less space, but I’m glad I did. A tiny bit goes a long way, so the tiny tube would probably last a life time.
*I did use my abreva I had on hand for the first few hours, but wanted to try out a natural product :) The cost differnce is pretty significant: abreva is usually around $15 or more and the little tube .25 oz of Super Lysine is only $5.99.
Sorry it’s such a gross topic, but I figured at least one of two other people get these gross little things too 
Yesterday, even though I still have a residual cough, I couldn’t stand it anymore and cleaned several rooms in our home. Ah… I feel much better now. Though, I do have a “Monica’s closet,” which is our office. It’s a bit chaotic, but at least, it’s all in one room. That will be my next project.
What’s amazing is the clarity that comes to my mind when I’ve cleaned the house. I can see why there’s that saying, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” I feel like I can breathe again.
Alas, my body wasn’t ready for it, and I need to rest again…
Tip for today: keep a small mini-vac near the bathroom. That way, all the stray hairs can be picked up quickly.
This one is called the Black & Decker 18V Hand Vac - PHV1800. I don’t have this one, but it got great reviews for having powerful suction, which the hand vacs tend to lack. It’s $58.99 at Target, but with that amount of power, well worth it. There are others, like the Dirt Devil Kone. That particular one has more form than function, since it’s nice to look at, but doesn’t quite deliver power-wise. Look for power in any hand-held…
Okee, dokee… That’s it for today…
Still a little tired from the flu, I’ll keep this short, too. Steve also caught it from me, but now, I’ve gotten enough of myself together to have him take Oscillococcinum by Boiron. You can find it in most local drug stores. It’s pricey, but it’s well worth it, especially when you feel the effects or rather, lack of symptoms, I should say. Though, there’s more of a discount when you buy it in the two-package set.
(For some reason, I completely forgot to take it myself this time and am doing so now.) But please try it: I’ve been taking their homeopathic line of remedies for years and it works. So many times, Oscillo, for lack of a better analogy, nipped my flu in the bud. And I usually keep Oscillo in my makeup bag, just in case, but gave mine away and completely forgot to replace it. I think I forgot because I forgot what it was like to have a bad flu! Well, one time to forget and now, I’ve remembered!
For more information, check out their website: www.oscillo.com.
So, I didn’t get to eat champong (jjamppong), but Steve and I picked up an old friend, and had pho at Pasteur’s in Everett, instead. Good food and good company - what more can you ask for? (I had the chicken pho, to fight off the residual flu…)
Sigh… I cherish and value my old friends. There’s no need to explain yourself or apologize for this or that… They just get you, and whatever was hard to get about you, they already got over a long time ago! :)
I can write on and on about this subject, but I need to keep this short, too, since I’m not completely better yet, but stay tuned!
Seattle is one beautiful, summer city, but when the heat is on, it’s hot for us Seattleites. Temperatures will be in the mid-90s… Eek! I think most of us are going to be staying indoors for the greater part of this week. A good time for catching up on some summer reading…
And some naeng-myun:
Naeng-myun is a consistent, summer favorite of mine, which I can credit to my dad, since I genetically acquired his like of most things vinegary and pickled… If you don’t feel like making your own from scratch, one of my favorite brands is Pulmuone. This one’s the green tea version, which is good, too. Enjoy!
I have a lot of things I want to write about, but they’re all a bit too introspective for a Wednesday. So, here’s a very short review on one of my favorite household tools, the Gator-Grip!
This is a must-have. It’s one of our most frequently used tools, so I’ve given it to a couple of our friends as a housewarming gift. Every household that has to assemble or fix things should have it. It will save a lot of time and energy…
Mark and I love dim sum, but it’s hard to make the trip to the international district, so a couple weeks back we went to Top Gun in Factoria (I had known about it for a while, but always forget that it’s so close, my sister reminded us about it a while back ^__^). Besides the fact that it was hard to get a glass of water, we were able to get all these dishes in less than 5 minutes, there are people constantly going around with carts-talk about fast food, I loved it! Everything we got was made to perfection or I was super hungry. I never know the names of the dishes, so I point and smile at everything I want. Just a quick warning: the lines were really long and parking is a little tough… but so well worth it.
picture of the sticky rice ^__^
A few weeks ago, I found out that El Gaucho in Bellevue was offering a buy one get one free offer with our Prime Card and since we hadn’t been to the Bellevue location, I thought it might be fun to check it out.
My first experience with El Gaucho was at the Seattle location, was sort of mixed. I loved the atmosphere, dark and classic. The food was so so: the caesars salad was over saturated with garlic, the filet mignon was well done, when I requested medium, Mark had the lobster which was delicious, but it was huge, he was barely able to get through half, the dessert wasn’t memorable… the two things we did remember and enjoy, were free: bread and fruit platter given at the end
For our second try:
Bellevue- It was a little tough getting to the restaurant, with parking being somewhat limited, and directions not being clear… But once we were in, the staff was friendly and there was a piano playing the in the background and the sun light was still streaming in at 7:30pm. :) We got the Wicked Shrimp (one of the staff brought us extra bread to dip in the Wicked sauce and said we needed to try it, *so good*) to start, then 1/2 lb Lobsters for each of us (we learned our lesson from the first time around, to get the smaller one)with Wild Mushroom Risotto and Norigold Mashed Potatoes. We were so stuffed so we didn’t get to eat much of the sides, but we still nibbled on the fruit and cheese platter at the end. You can also watch the staff prepare certain dishes table-side: caesars salad, bananas foster and flaming sword * this is what I’m getting next time, it actually comes out on a sword with a tomato on the end, our waitress told us that the meat is very tender and the dish is quite good :). Everything we got was delicious, except maybe the Wild Mushroom Risotto… I think I will pass on that next time ^__^
*warning these pictures were taken with my phone
Wicked Shrimp
Lobster out of the shell, Wild Mushroom Risotto, Norigold Mashed Potatoes
Cheese Platter, Fruit Platter
My review for today? The Weed Hound.
I read a lot of good reviews on it, so I bought one, but it didn’t fare better than my Grandpa’s Weeder. 
Don’t get me wrong, they both work well on certain weeds and certain soil conditions, but for the “gecko tailed” Dandelion, they both were a hit and miss. So, I got a “green” weed killer called Burnout II, which is 11% citric acid. 
I’ll test it out soon, and let you guys know…