So You Think You Can Dance in the Barrio

My take on the Barrio: Why is it named Barrio when its Bellevue location is the opposite of a ‘neighborhood’? I think maybe HighRise or SkyScraper is more appropriate, but I guess the Barrio sounds more appetizing.

Yes, the food was great, but we did make the mistake of bringing Tatum and she was not down to sit…down. So instead of an intimate Birthday Dinner where we spoke about our hopes for the upcoming year, the schedule for Christmas and whatever else came to mind, we minded our increasingly independent two year old who wanted to explore the restaurant.

It had been a long day of work and when we arrived, I was excited to cocktail it up. I ordered an Absolut Pear with Soda (light and refreshing). They did not have Absolut Pear at the Bar, my server told me, but let me know that the Bartender was willing to muddle some Pears and mix it with Absolut and Soda. I would have been fine with just switching to Absolut and Soda with a lemon and lime as that is my go to drink anyways, but the offer was intriguing and I liked the extra effort made to accommodate me. The drink was good despite the fact that Pears don’t muddle so well.

We ordered the Rolled Taco (taquito) app that were some of the best rolled Tacos I have ever had. It was fried to the perfect crispness and the meat inside tasted of a quality I am not used to for a Taquito. We also order chips and homemade salsa. They give you choices on the salsa which I thought was fun and we went with the two salsa selection. I wanted Fresh Tomato and Habanero, but was overruled by the Birthday girl who preferred the Tomatillo over the Habanero. I realize now that she was not only ordering for herself but also for Tatum who would probably be blaming us for her Sting-Ring if she ate the Habanero. The Salsa’s were fresh and delicious but bordering on too sugary. I was starting to feel happy with my special Pear Drink and yummy apps. Then Tatum took me away from those things to climb the stairs in the restaurant and pick up all the things she had thrown on the floor.

By the time I was able to convince Tatum that Santa wanted her to sit down at the table so that Mommy and Daddy could eat, my entrée had been sitting their for a few minutes. It looked good. I had ordered the Braised short ribs because I had never seen that on a Mexican Menu and because I love all ribs. The dish had a unique presentation with the meat on the bone sitting atop cooked Squash. I sliced the extremely tender meat up, combined it with some squash in a tortilla (add some of our fresh salsa appetizer) and I was magically transported to real Barrio in little coast town on the Yucatan Penninsula (not really, but I did enjoy it).

We followed Dinner up with a Churro for dessert. The Churro was recommended by my sister who is one of the Manager’s at Purple the adjoining restaurant which can be accessed by a snakey corridor between the two restaurants. I remember being introduced to Churros as a kid at Disneyland and ever since they have inhabited a warm place in my hea… er, stomach. These churros came with a dark chocolate dipping sauce that was very rich and not very sweet but not bitter.

I like to try new foods and only half the time do I actually think it’s an innovation worth continuing. Barrio had a couple of new twists on my favorite foodre (genre of food)…Mexican. Jess and I both agreed that we still think Purple has an advantage over Barrio, but I would definitely go back sans 2-year-old to try other intriguing things I saw on the menu.

After dinner we went home to watch the Finale of one of our Favorite TV shows (up there with the Office) ‘So You Think You Can Dance?’ Russell, the Crumper (yes Crumper) from Boston ended up winning. Congratulations to Russell, he was my favorite Dancer throughout the season and man, I have to admit, I like watching good Crumping. I even kinda like saying Crumping. If you like watching great dancing and not just looking at the hotties on Dancing with the Stars (and I don’t mean the Stars), I highly urge you to watch SYTYCD. I personally love Breakdancing and Popping and now… Crumping.

So there you go two plugs in one post… I should get paid for this.

Things that Would Make my life easier: aka my life as Jane Jetson

Just some "pie in the sky" wishes...

1. NO MORE DOG HAIR: Now of course I don't want to get RID of my dog. But I have to vacuum a LOT. Then I roll the vacuum to the hall closet, put it away with a smile on my face, waltz into the living room, and the carpet is already black and fuzzy. We groom him, brush him, take him to pup scrub... there has to be another solution. I could shave him, but its cold out and the poor guy would freeze. Plus I don't know how therapeutic petting bare dog flesh would be. So that's out. I thought maybe I could roll him in glue, to keep the hair stuck to him. But then I had a vision of calling him for breakfast and Jackson running in with couch cushions stuck to his sides. So I am now on the hunt for a doggie pill that reduces or eliminates shedding.

2. A JETSONS GET READY MACHINE: C'mon you've all thought about it early in the morning when you're trying to shave, shower, hairdry, makeup, etc before you want to be out of bed. What if you could get on a conveyor belt like George Jetson and it would take you through all of the steps without lifting a finger? Its better than a carwash, and would make my life so easy.

3. A WEEKLY MAID: A girl's gotta dream right? Or better yet: ROSIE! (See: Jetsons).

4. NATURALLY FAST METABOLISM: I would still work out to be toned, but if I could eat even a few Christmas cookies without the fear of 4 extra ass dimples, life would be easier. For those weeks where I travel and eat restaurant food without enough excercise, just knowing that I won't gain 5 pounds automatically would really reduce my stress. Plus, spending a few hours less on working out would free up some time and #3 wouldn't be necessary.

5. REPLACING SLEEP WITH A PLUG: I can work on my computer while its charging. What if I could plug myself into the wall to recharge, while simultaneously catching up on Desperate Housewives and folding laundry? Even if I still needed like three hours of sleep, because I actually like a little sleep, I'd surgically add an outlet to my back. Hmmmmmmm.

6. A FETUS SITTER: Okay just hear me out. You can get a babysitter, but what if I could be like "here trusted lady/sister/mom, carry my unborn baby for a night so I can go to dinner and share a bottle of wine and then sleep through the night without peeing 8 times. I'll take it back in the morning and you'll make $100".

7. A PRIVATE PLANE: Roomy seats, go where you want on your schedule, avoid recirculated breath of a 100 strangers. Knowing that if there is pee on the floor of the "bathroom" because of ill-timed turbulence, at least you know whose pee it is. So many reasons this would make my life easier. Plus how fun would it be to like "lets hop on my plane and head to Cabo for the weekend." heck I'd settle for a Jetson's flying bubble car thingy.

Okay as I can't plug myself in, and I have to wake up early and get myself ready after waking up 8 times to pee, its time to go to bed. Busy day tomorrow, full day of work plus the need to vacuum and work out. Better go get my 7 hours.

Barrio Birthday dinner

Happy Birthday to Me

First of all: my dear husband took me to dinner tonight at the new Barrio in Bellevue. We decided to take the tot because we wanted to go to Snowflake Lane afterwards. Our dear Yaya offered to watch her but I thought "hey, I want to hang out with my cute kid". As a result there wasn't a lot of adult conversation but watching a guy make tortillas with Tatum made it worth it.

If you want a kid friendly restaurant, this latest addition to the Heavy restaurant group (also owns the Purple Cafes and the Barrio Capital Hill) probably isn't a first choice. If you want colorable kids menus big squishy booths to hide in, stick to Zeke's pizza. But, they weren't kid UNfriendly either. It wasn't like How to Cook a Wolf where we were told "we don't have high chairs for a reason" when we dared to bring one child to 8 adults (great food by the way, for an adult night out). The server put water in a covered drink cup and offered to bring some blank paper and a pen, and they were able to concoct a kids quesadilla.

The food was fabulous, I had pork tacos that were a different than pork tacos I'm used to. They weren't "shreddy", but strips of almost steaklike pork with a great savory seasoning. The portion sizes were great, and the one bite of drunken beans I had provided a nice light side dish. Unfortunately Tatum ate the rest of the beans, and I'm hoping the results of that will become apparent tomorrow while my mom is watching her.

The night was capped off with Kenny giving me a birthday present that he designed himself. I think were I not simultaneously attending to a two year old I would have cried. His mom helped him find beads of aquamarine and something that is escaping me right now (I want to say saphire but that can't be right?)... the stone of sagittarius, which we both are. He then searched all over for the perfect necklace, and ended up with a sterling silver chain with two pounded silver circles as a pending. The circles were one within the other, and on the very inside, Kenny hung the beads. It was beautiful and thoughtful and I'm a lucky girl!

Friday... At last

I finally have calmed myself from the stresses of this week and have relaxed into my Friday night.

Having just put Tatum, my 2 and half year old Daughter, to bed after reading her a bedtime story (llama llama Mad at Mama), I can now make myself dinner (Turkey Sandwich) and watch some TV (right after I finish this post).

Jessica has been gone since Monday at 6AM. She has been in Parsippany, NJ at her company's week-long training, planning meetings, motivational extravaganza. She is currently flying home to me in Seattle (Kirkland actually). It has been a week in which I proved to myself that I could do it and I think I deserve a beer. Hold on.

Ok, there we go (Beer on desk now). What did I do? I survived hell week for Dad. I truly feel for Single Moms... this has been a taxing week... I cannot imagine going even a year without my spouse (and I got family help this week).

Starting on Monday, I had an 8AM conference call. Tatum woke up simultaneously to me dialing into the conference. I listened to the call as I changed diapers and prepared her breakfast. Apparently I have a lot of work to do, that's the gist of the call. Great, happy Monday.

Get Tatum going and off to daycare, while getting me going and off to work is a slow tornado of activity (and I am pretty slow). Jess has the process down to a science, while I have the process down to a frustrating Science problem in 7th grade. I am lucky enough to work from my home office, but I spend most of my time calling on distributors in "the Field". Sales. Today, my Sales Manager is flying in from Chicago for three days of Sales Calls. I pick him up at the Airport at 11:15 and drop him off at his hotel at 4PM and go get tatum from Daycare at 5. Feed the Daughter, Feed the pets (Cat: Coconut, Dog: Jackson), get Tatum to bed, answer some emails, plan for the next days meetings while I watch the end of Monday Night Football, make myself dinner and sleep. Rinse; Repeat two more times. It has not got above 35 degrees Farenheit this week (and the mornings are in the teens), that makes it harder but at least it didn't snow. My pets have gotten major cabin fever and are being needy. On Wednesday I discovered that Jackson has some sort of bleeding bed sore on his Cheek. I have no idea how he got it but its gross. I clean it with some Dog ear cleaner (works on cheeks too) and then put some human neosporin on it (works on dogs too). Go to sleep. Tatum wakes up at 4Am and wants to snuggle in my bed. How can I resist, but it doesn't help me get my beauty rest.

On Thursday, I finally made it to the Gym, which helped erase the guilty feeling I had been having. Now its Friday, and I have kept both the Pets and the Daughter alive with the Wife returning in T-minus 2 hours. This beer taste good. The house is a mess, but the beer still tastes Good. Now to my Sandwich!

Cleavage is a good sales tool

Tonight at our sales convention we were to wear something nice, something evening oriented. Businesslike but appropriate for an evening awards dinner. So, I packed a lovely black cotton dress that I purchased last summer, pre-pregnancy. Its not to short, or flashy, looks good with the baby bump, seemed perfect.

However I forgot about the tots. Pregnancy can bring out a lot of things: mood swings, peeing all time, acne, sickness, huge boobs.

Having no backup dress, I put on a sweater (that doesn't close in the front), brushed my hair forward, and ventured downstairs to a sea of 500 people. I looked down to the nametag on my lanyard and realized it fell neatly between and just below my pillows.

It was amazing how many people suddenly knew my name. Their eyes would glance down and to excuse their stare I'd get a bright "Hi Jessica!". "Hi, uh, Dave from the finance department who I've never met". I saved them all from embarrassment by wearing the nametag. I caught a few just blatantly staring. So intently that when I looked at them to let them know I caught their rubbernecking, they were so engrossed they didn't even notice they'd been made. I am not exaggerating for the sake of a story. So I would pull my sweater together and awkwardly hold it together until I needed release it to shake hands with someone.

I've been here for three days now, and until this point a greeting consisted of an extended hand, good eye contact, and "hi I'm Julie from Texas, what's your name?". This despite the nametag around my neck. Tonight, even women were saying "Hi Jessica" and forcing their eyes away from my jugs. "I'm Sally from Cleavage, Cleveland".

Today's Morale: Work+ second trimester = turtleneck.

Goodnight.

My new Regional Sales Vice President still has a retainer

I just don't feel like there is anything more to say on this subject matter.

Oh, I see now

Well, now that I posted my first blog and can see the order of the blogs, I realize that the lady bug post came first and then your intro blog second. This marks the first of many times I will be wrong while posting on this site.

My Actual First Post

Hey thanks for the beautiful set up Babe, but next time you offer to "Hand the blog of to my Honey", please don't follow it up with your own post that says "there's a lady bug in my room". I think it confuses people into wondering about the orientation of your husband. I did think it was cute that you named your lady bug "spot" though. But it probably is Not what I would ever title my first blog post.

I did feed the pets... because they begged me the moment I walked in the door from work. I did read your first post to my Mom, who loved the fact that she was mentioned in it. I did brush Tatum's teeth before bed.

I look forward to combining writings, thoughts and stories with you on this site. Although, right now I am looking forward to sleep. It is tiring when you are gone. Get home safely, only two more days! I love you. Good night.

Honey did you feed the pets

In the work full of minutae complete with chores, social engagements, and seemingly 24-hour work schedules, interaction with loved ones seem to be minimized. My husband and I sometimes feel like our most meaningful conversation begins and ends with "Honey, did you feed the pets". At least its a twice daily conversation, but its not exactly super fulfilling.

On a broader letter, there are so many "things" we want to do. We both enjoy writing, want to be entrepreneurs, want to do something for eachother, and with eachother. We need something more meaningful. So, as a hobby we thought we'd start a blog. Perhaps nobody will read it. I'm sure my mother in law will. If anyone else reads it, maybe they'll hate it.

We want to share views of the world, document our opinions, and generally lubricate our brains. Nothing against our careers, but we aren't exactly setting the world on fire. So, if we can start to excercise some outside thought, who knows what it will lead to? Vague yes... open ended yes... but here we embark.

I am currently in New Jersey on business. I have to trust that Kenny fed the pets. I look forward to my turn at pet feeding on Saturday, and I'll now hand the blog off to my honey.

Jessica

There's a lady bug in my room

I just retired to my hotel room during a weeklong sales conference to be greeted by a ladybug. Its December in New Jersey and there was a snowstorm last night. Is it ladybug season? But in this lonely hotel room, I shall name her Spot and keep her for a pet.

As I work my way through a corporate meeting complete with 500 sales and operations people from my company, I have observed the epitome of schmoozing. I am not sure what is more taxing: watching people do it, or engaging in the act of schmooze. I have started to assemple a dictionary for any newcomers to the corporate world.

1. Wandering Eye : When the person you are talking to starts looking over your shoulder, off the side, clearly looking for the next conversation. Appropriate action: wrap it up and excuse yourself. Its better to break it off first.

2. Nuetral Intro : When a colleague introduces you to another colleague, and you aren't sure if you've met them before, avoid "nice to meet you". A nice nuetral introduction is "how are you" or "always a pleasure". It is very awkward to say "nice to meet you" and be volleyed back with "yea, we were in the same group at the last sales training". Oops.

3. The "line of sight" schmooze : Make sure your boss doesn't think you're just gossiping in the corner with your work friends, even though that's what you want to do. Make sure to ask questions of the finance people, shake hands with upper management, and exchange ideas with counterparts from elsewhere. Important: make sure your boss can see you. Then, when you practice #4 he/she won't feel that you are a less than dedicated employee.

4. Subtle Escape : If its a daytime event, conveniently leave something in your car, or take a call outside. If its a convention, make sure you know the backway to your room. It can look like you saw someone in the foyer, but you can steal away to your room and a pay per view movie. (important note: if expensing, be aware that the title of the movie will likely appear on your hotel invoice).

5. Conversation kindling : When put in a position to talk to those you haven't met, and especially those who are poor conversationalists, have a stock of questions. "How long have you been with the company?" "What part of do you live in?" Avoid questions about where they went to college (if they didn't go, it gets awkward), kids (you're asking to see a million Iphone pictures and hear stories about Frankie's soccer), and gossip (unless they are a trusted confidant).

That's all for now. I'm exhausted from rubbing elbows.