W-A-S-H-I-N-G-T-O-N baby DC!

Last month I joined Ben on a family trip to Washington DC. 

The Glenn Beck Rally was in bold and at the tippy top of the itinerary, which I won't lie, I was a bit apprehensive about. Although I did start a ridiculous "Things I Learned From People in Glenn Beck Shirts" list which was, in full disclosure, slightly snarky and facetious in nature, but I was otherwise well-behaved. I am also pleased to announce that besides one slipped comment about Palin's tendency to use words of the not real variety, I blended in with the conservative crew pretty well, or at least appeared to be more like an aching thumb than a sore thumb. 

Instead of attending the rally, I took the opportunity to visit two of my oldest friends, Heather and Eagan, who have been living in the DC area for the last few years now. 

They took me to breakfast at The Founding Farmers, which was magnificent. It's always great to be able to catch up with these two. They are witty and charming and I am honored to call them my friends. They recently celebrated their ten year anniversary, which is impressive to say the least. There's is a relationship all couples should strive for. We later met up with Ben and because we're gluttonous fools, went up for a dog at the famous Ben's Chili Bowl. It wasn't just a stop for their famous half-smokes, but also to visit a historic landmark. During the riots of 1968 after Dr. MLK Jr's assassination, Ben's was a place of refuge for activists, local citizens, policeman, firefighters and others trying to return peace to the neighborhood. It was one of the few places left standing in decent shape after all the chaos and violence from the riots. I was glad to have a reminder of what Martin Luther King Jr should be remembered for among all of the uproar with Beck choosing the same date as King's I Have a Dream speech. The tasty chili dog and milkshake weren't too bad either.

Ben's brother just returned from serving a mission in Germany. It was lovely to meet him and even more enjoyable to be able to watch the four Craghead brothers interact. I'm pretty sure they communicate on a different wave length. I'm happy he was able to spend some quality time with his family and I the chance to get to know them all a little better. Entering a family vacation with a family that is not yours can make for an unsettling adventure, but luckily the Craghead Crew were welcoming and kind, not treating me as an outsider in the least. Another thing the Cragheads are really good at is making adorable little rug rats. It was fun to play with Ben's niece and nephews, although it did make me miss Liam, Elsie and Molly in a dreadful way.

We were sight seeing machines!

Tatum, Me (apparently as Boy George), & Pacen

View from the top of the Washington Monument

Ben, Reuben, Whitman 

Cather & Tatum

Ben, Will & Reuben 

The 5 kids in tow were champs!

the heat... it does things to my brain (& hair).

Jarom, Evan & Ben

Learning about wheat at Mt Vernon

a group of regular ol dandies.

Ben & Mom Carol

Junk mail in Colonial Williamsburg?! fail!

traffic cone & coke at mt vernon?! double fail! 

Other findings:

Will & Reuben flew out of Baltimore, so we took a day trip back to Ben's seasonal stomping ground from last year. After a groundhog day's experience of being denied a crab cake with Faidley's being closed, we stopped for lunch at the sensory overload diner, Paper Moon. I love this place. I wrote plenty about it in January, but it made for a nice consolation prize to missing out on the pure joy that is a faidley crab cake. 

paper moon decor

It was a quick trip, but a memorable one. I'm already looking forward to my next DC visit to see Brady & Dani... which will hopefully be sooner than later.

i am lucy moran

Voodoo donuts is a Portland donut shop known for it's wild and crazy donuts. Maple Bacon Bar: Check. Chocolate with Cocoa Puffs: Check. Crushed Butterfinger: Check. Strawberry Marshmallow: Check. If you can imagine it, or even if you didn't think you could, they've probably put it in or on a donut. They even had a cough syrup filled donut years ago before the FDA put a stop to that one. With two locations, one conveniently across the street from my work, the other on the east side of the river which can somehow be made "on the way home" no matter where I'm coming from, both open 24 hours, it's my go-to place for fried cakes. I had a hankerin for a donut Wednesday night, so if course Ben & I stopped by. Just as we had narrowed our choices down, which is always a challenge, the lady working mentioned that because it had been slower she had a variety of $5 boxes. As our specialty donuts would have been $2.50 a pop, and I'm a sucker for frugality AND mass amounts of food, we took it. 

(don't be fooled: this box is THREE donuts deep)

Ben & I have been watching David Lynch's 1990 television series, Twin Peaks the past few weeks, so naturally I took advantage of our obscene amount of donuts to be like Lucy Moran and set up a donut feast that would have made Agent Cooper and Sheriff Truman proud.

They were delicious. 

What do you do with leftover donuts? 

Fry up some bacon and eat em for breakfast.

And even more leftover donuts?....  i might just have to make my first bread pudding. With donuts, of course. Stay tuned for the artery clogging, heart stopping goodness.

**UPDATE**

operation voodoo puddin: success!
recipe to follow

livin the dream thirty floors up

It's hard to believe that four years ago tomorrow I will have been at the Grill for 4 years. Such anniversaries aren't typically cataloged in this brain of mine, but starting work in the tallest building in Portland on 9/11 had a way of sticking out.  It's been an eventful 4 years to say the least and my relationship with the joint has been one of the love and hate variety. Working with the general public, especially in the food industry, can be daunting and tiresome, but all in all I feel really lucky to be employed by such a prestigious restaurant. This is my 9th year (10 if you count an old folks home) working in the food industry. I've spent plenty of time moping about it and even gave a desk job a go last December. Despite the hardships that come along with serving tables, you really can't beat the pay, and I couldn't ask for a more perfect schedule to coincide with my work as a massage therapist and school. It's certainly helpful that I've adored every coworker I've had there. The fast pace can be exciting and even though I've bordered on being burnt out in the industry, I'll admit there are still plenty of nights I have fun doing my job.

I read a quote from an actor not too long ago about a project he was given grief for working on, his response was "It's not what I do, but I take pride in doing it." This had quite the impact on me. I've "been over" waiting tables for quite sometime, but needed a kick in the pants to help me see how lucky I really am.  

Portland City Grill is an upscale, Asian influenced seafood and steak house. With a gorgeous view from the 30th floor of the US Bank Tower, (known as "Big Pink" due to it being a large, not to mention slightly hideous, pink building) it's a destination location for locals and tourists alike.  Although we get our fair share of the famous folk, which can be exciting, I get the most enjoyment out of knowing I can help create memorable experiences, such as the couple last week who were celebrating their 25 wedding anniversary and the wife beating cancer after a 5 year battle. I'm not doing the work of a saint or changing the world, but I can suggest the best of the best desserts, find a perfect wine pairing for your meal, and crumb your table like a ninja!

Considering some of the other restaurants I've worked in (microwaved pasta and bread sticks, anyone? *gag*) I have just about made it to the promised land of the culinary world. It's refreshing to work with actual chefs (whose creations I happily get to sample and expertise I constantly call for in my own culinary adventures) and the sushi menu alone is enough to keep me motivated to stay on the payroll (read: employee discount!). I don't know if I can say in all honesty that I'm ready to commit to another 4 years, but I can say I'm proud to be among the staff and even though waiting tables isn't who I am, I am pleased to say I take pride in my work.

my awesome uniform
(minus my white jacket equipped with shoulder pads... because no one needs to see me, or anyone else for that matter, in shoulder pads.)

yum

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