[sharonpdx]

colorado photos

finally got the photos of the trip to Breckenridge up on flickr!

breck pics

and then today, it snowed.*

*et puis aujourd'hui, il a neigé

i didn't intend for this to be a two-part post - it's only a coincidence that i mentioned the weather in my little french lesson yesterday ... but then it snowed this morning and it's almost April which makes that kinda weird.  but it was funny when this guy at my office walked by and asked, "So, what's everyone doing for Christmas?" with a totally straight face.  it took me a second to get it but when I did, I laughed.*

*J'ai ri.

also, on the off chance the universe reads this blog, i have big plans this weekend.  big. plans like going to get indian food with ravi + erica tonight and then dancing our pants off at the goodfoot all night.  plans like joe's grand unveiling of his first, self-published book of poetry at East Burn on Saturday night, with proceeds from the book and 20% of our group's food and drink sales going toward Big City Mountaineers on behalf of Doug and his upcoming Mt. Whitney climb.  plans like picking up secret treats across town because Saturday also happens to be Joe's birthday [shhh!  secret treats.]

plans that do not go well with snow.

aujourd'hui en portland, c'est jeudi, et il fait froid*

in high school, Madame Nick said the fact that i was dreaming in French meant i was becoming truly fluent.  and it is true that by my fifth week in Paris during the summer of 1995 i was feeling pretty confident about my ability to navigate both the city and the language.  i blame time and the Spanish courses I took in college for the fact that, at this point, i can barely count to dix (10) in French anymore - a fact that disappoints me, considering where my mastery level used to be.   

to that end, i've started listening to French podcasts via iTunes.  i'm truly going back-to-basics and using the French Ecole's French for Beginners podcast.  what i like the best about it is that it includes a downloadable PDF file of each week's lesson - no point in being able to understand it if i can't remember how to write it, you know?   also, there's a picture of a frog on the front.  i'm not sure why.

*today in portland, it's thursday, and it's cold

oh wait. it turns out that i like peeps when they get all dolled up as buffy characters

check out this gal's flickr set of her buffy the vampire slayer peep diorama. 

no freaking way.  i think GilesPeep is my favorite.  but then, i've been in love with Giles since season three.

because it was easter yesterday. and i don't like peeps.

peeps in a microwave.  do try this at home. while chanting die, peeps, die!*

now that easter's come and gone, here's to 364 peep-free days!**

*sorry Suzanne.

**yes, i know they now sell green & red peeps at christmastime.  but those are just fake peeps.  i bear no ill will against them as they already suffer, being sold at such a confusing time and all. 

orange tofu goodness

i love orange chicken.  so, now that i rarely eat chicken, i was totally psyched to learn about this recipe from a post on ravelry:  Orange Chicken Style Tofu

i chopped up red, yellow, and green peppers and sauteed them with the tofu ...

... and sliced off a small piece of orange peel, chopped it up, and sauteed it with the garlic & green onion. 

 

other revisions:
tripled the amount of orange juice.
used more cornstarch than called for.

spooned the final result over brown rice;  the verdict: very tasty.  and - bonus! - super easy to make.  this will definitely be making a second appearance in my kitchen.

sharonpdx gets a facelift

and a much-needed one at that.  wasn't at all in love with my last banner ... so doug made me this new one.  for free.  how'd i get so lucky?

seriously, though, if you usually view sharonpdx.com in an RSS reader, come by the actual site and check out the new adornment.  it's very slick.

happy first day of spring.

    

there are daffodils blooming everywhere here. 

even in my living room.

your post has been deleted due to insufficient memory runtime error

so yesterday i started composing this post and then this evening after dinner [but before washing the dishes, shhh] i log on to complete it and: it's gone.  why, Save as Draft function, why?

oh well, just goes to show.   [i don't know what.  maybe, don't trust the Save as Draft function?]

some things you should know:

1) i intend to post more frequently on this blog.  i have a list of posts in my head and several new snapshots on my camera toward that effort.  [dear Save as Draft feature, i'm going to need you to start cooperating soon.  your friend, sharon]

2) my humble blog is just a small piece of the deliciousness that is the internets, and while online i often come  across something i want to share with you.  here's a smattering. 

"Your flight has been cancelled due to late flight crew sickness."  Hey, British Airways, your excuses would have more impact if you could just stick to one at a time.

Tracy Morgan stumps for Obama on SNL Weekend Update.  i thought the Robin Givens part was particularly funny. 

it's a doughnut!  it's an egg!  it's a ... burger? 

some folks believe that you should throw a ball to your  dog yourself, and that if you build a robot to do it for you, you are lazy.  whatever.  that dog is happy.  i dare you not to smile.

this is probably going to become  a regular thing so, i hope you liked it.

it's all about the ladies. [naturally!]

...this weekend in PDX, it seems, the ladies are it. 

Cinema 21's showing the movie Girls Rock!, which i've been wanting to see ever since i saw the trailer before There Will Be Blood last month.  lauren & i are seeing it Saturday night...

and

Sunday is International Women's Day, and Portland's doing it up right at PSU Sunday afternoon - plus: one of the bands they have lined up got their start at the very same Rock & Roll Girls Camp that is the focus the above-mentioned Girls Rock! movie.  you can bet i'll be over there checking things out after brunch with Emmy in the [late] morning.

 girls totally rock.

in related news, i'm hoping that erin + jess + suz will send me their photos soon [hint!  hint!]  so i can get some pics of our girls-only Breckenridge adventure up on here.  it turns out my camera was not used for any of the group shots.

but here is Jess and a dog named Breck (hee!), who we rescued Sunday morning while we were snowshoeing!  he'd run across Hwy 9 while his owners were trying to pack up and head home - then, fortunately, he spotted us on the hill above him and decided to come check out what we were doing.  phew, no more dog on the snow-packed, slippery highway!  the snow was so deep we were sinking up to our knees - and he could barely propel himself forward in parts - but he still snapped a low-hanging branch off a tree and brought it to us for a game of fetch!  instead, we held him until we all decided there was no way to reunite him with his owners except to snowshoe with him down the hill... which i did, holding on to his collar as i slid down toward the road where their was parked.  a happy ending - and all within our first 10 minutes out!