neither one is a very good pretend sleeper - either that or they both smile when they sleep :)Friday, July 31, 2009
my guys
neither one is a very good pretend sleeper - either that or they both smile when they sleep :)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
seattle review
the hot topic during our joyous time in the great pacific northwest was whether the things we did, tasted or saw were “bloggable”.
so in effort to best communicate all emotions experienced during our time in seattle, and to seriously and fairly evaluate the city, i thought the best way would be through nothing more than an easy read list. here we go....
things to write home about:
mount si – quoted as one of the moore’s “favorite” hikes, it was a pretty intense 3 hour climb to the summit. we aren’t sure how this compares to our previous hikes in colorado, as hindsight is always 20/20 and you always forget the intensity (and lack of shape and youthfulness of your body) after it is all said and done. the climb was over 4,000 vertical, emphasis on vertical, feet and had a great, rocky view at the top (note previous post pictures). i think im comparision, we may still prefer the rockies, as there was a grassy hill rewarding us then. with mount si, we had the option of our view, or climbing up yet more rocks for a panoramic view. both equally great creations of our God, but i think my heart still lies in colorado (tear for jaci)
cookies from “specialties” – this cookie was so warm, soft and dare i say moist that it couldn’t pull it out of the bag. highly recommend the desserts over the actual food, but great nonetheless
dinner from “endoline” – this was a cute, quaint restaurant in their neighborhood that used to be, you guessed it, the “end of the line” for a train track. my dinner of smoked mozzarella raviloli “frolicking in a tomato vodka sauce” was wonderful, accompanied by a locally brewed beer from elliot bay.
pike market – literally overwhelmed by all the wonderful fresh fruit and veggie options – not to mention the gorgeous boquets of flowers for only $5. honey, if we lived out there, i just know youd surprise me each week with them to add to the décor of our lovely home, right? apparently at the market, there is an end known for their fish throwing into the crowd. we didn’t really stand around for that, but we did get our picture taken with this golden pig. yeah, I know, pretty sweet
alchi beach – cute little area just about 5 minutes down the road from danny and jaci. the awesomeness of this beach i believe would be found by renting a fire pit for an evening down by the water. the mountains are in the distant background...
“pegasus” pizza – imagine bazbeauxs in town. and we all know pizza is the key to my heart
lowell’s – famous breakfast/brunch hot spot right in the middle of the market. reasonable wait (compared to my home love, “taste”) and pretty great food. the overall winner of this meal was the awesome view of the olympic mountains as we ate (and of course the company)
random island i can’t remember the name of - fun little day trip via ferry from the heart of downtown. i feel like all we did was eat and drink on this trip. this island, among others, would be a great way to go explore the city in a quick afternoon and feel like you are in a whole other world. not to mention i’m sure there would be some additional great photo opportunities with that new camera….. (hint, hint)
grilled salmon on a plank – well aren’t they so domestic? soak a cedar plank overnight, slap a salmon in some secret marinade and smoke cigars while grilling (men only) and viola!, you have a quick, amazing meal!
all in all, there are so many more things to blog about (including getting coffee at the first ever starbucks and mount rainier that never really peeked out at us during our visit) – but the best part was being able to spend time with some of our dearest friends (enter the “awwww”) who moved quite frankly just too far away. brandt and i really love exploring together, and this was another great weekend to add to our list of adventures.
so in effort to best communicate all emotions experienced during our time in seattle, and to seriously and fairly evaluate the city, i thought the best way would be through nothing more than an easy read list. here we go....
things to write home about:
mount si – quoted as one of the moore’s “favorite” hikes, it was a pretty intense 3 hour climb to the summit. we aren’t sure how this compares to our previous hikes in colorado, as hindsight is always 20/20 and you always forget the intensity (and lack of shape and youthfulness of your body) after it is all said and done. the climb was over 4,000 vertical, emphasis on vertical, feet and had a great, rocky view at the top (note previous post pictures). i think im comparision, we may still prefer the rockies, as there was a grassy hill rewarding us then. with mount si, we had the option of our view, or climbing up yet more rocks for a panoramic view. both equally great creations of our God, but i think my heart still lies in colorado (tear for jaci)
cookies from “specialties” – this cookie was so warm, soft and dare i say moist that it couldn’t pull it out of the bag. highly recommend the desserts over the actual food, but great nonetheless
dinner from “endoline” – this was a cute, quaint restaurant in their neighborhood that used to be, you guessed it, the “end of the line” for a train track. my dinner of smoked mozzarella raviloli “frolicking in a tomato vodka sauce” was wonderful, accompanied by a locally brewed beer from elliot bay.
pike market – literally overwhelmed by all the wonderful fresh fruit and veggie options – not to mention the gorgeous boquets of flowers for only $5. honey, if we lived out there, i just know youd surprise me each week with them to add to the décor of our lovely home, right? apparently at the market, there is an end known for their fish throwing into the crowd. we didn’t really stand around for that, but we did get our picture taken with this golden pig. yeah, I know, pretty sweet
alchi beach – cute little area just about 5 minutes down the road from danny and jaci. the awesomeness of this beach i believe would be found by renting a fire pit for an evening down by the water. the mountains are in the distant background...“pegasus” pizza – imagine bazbeauxs in town. and we all know pizza is the key to my heart
lowell’s – famous breakfast/brunch hot spot right in the middle of the market. reasonable wait (compared to my home love, “taste”) and pretty great food. the overall winner of this meal was the awesome view of the olympic mountains as we ate (and of course the company)
random island i can’t remember the name of - fun little day trip via ferry from the heart of downtown. i feel like all we did was eat and drink on this trip. this island, among others, would be a great way to go explore the city in a quick afternoon and feel like you are in a whole other world. not to mention i’m sure there would be some additional great photo opportunities with that new camera….. (hint, hint)
grilled salmon on a plank – well aren’t they so domestic? soak a cedar plank overnight, slap a salmon in some secret marinade and smoke cigars while grilling (men only) and viola!, you have a quick, amazing meal!
all in all, there are so many more things to blog about (including getting coffee at the first ever starbucks and mount rainier that never really peeked out at us during our visit) – but the best part was being able to spend time with some of our dearest friends (enter the “awwww”) who moved quite frankly just too far away. brandt and i really love exploring together, and this was another great weekend to add to our list of adventures.
until next time....
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
teasers
so i'll admit, i kinda picked that title because it sounds cool and thought maybe youd check up my update sooner. anyway, thought id put up a few of the photos ive uploaded from our weekend trip to seattle. more to come!
Monday, July 20, 2009
meet the voights
extremely defining pictures of each of us below:
me in my element: playing the washer with spoons on stage with men in lederhosen.
brandt in his element: enjoying life on a lazy river taking a snooze
Friday, July 17, 2009
flexitarians
in order to be the credible blogger i strive to be, i wanted to provide you just one more fun fact and update on the voights from this past weekend.
if you recall, i mentioned meeting some new friends at bonge's last friday night. with these new friends came some interesting vegetarian/lifestyle viewpoints. we met the overhisers (hi if you are reading the blog now!) through one of our good college friends, meredith, who is also really cool :)
first, i have to give them credit, as brandt is usually resistant to many new or "on the bandwagon" type ideas. kudos to your unbiased presentation of alternative living! their take on being vegetarian was so welcoming that i couldn't help but keep asking questions...and eventually experiment myself! so here it goes:
i won't bog down the blog with all the many pros and cons of vegetarian-ism, but i will tell you i think they've got something going on! the best part is that their type of living is "flexible", which in turn gives us the name "flexitarian". i mean, sometimes, the worst part about trying to be a vegetarian (or vegan for that matter) are the limitations that are put on you outside of the whole consumption thing - i.e., social ramifications. i mean, you can barely eat anything fun, so it seems, so you never get to go out and be social by those pesky rules. so, being flexitarian allows you to bend the rules. heck, it allows you to make the rules yourself.
the overhisers were inspired by a book called food matters (and yes, you are right if you are thinking that i will never get around to reading it because quite frankly you know i don't read if you know me at all!) from our discussion, and of course my wonderful practical application, i learned it highlights meat's carbon footprint throughout the world, the unsustainability of high american meat consumption, and its health "unbenefits". i know you can argue both sides very well (how do you get your protein? yada yada) but for the sake of blogging, and our unpartisan take, we most likely will never get into that debate nor take one certain stance. we like to be difficult like that.
the most intriguing aspect was the fact that they spend a good amount of time together each night finding a recipe, going to the store to select the items, preparing the meal together and then of course, enjoying the fruits of their labor. this is very different to the voight mentality of any meal, as it usually only takes us 15 minutes to eat anywhere. 2 hours for a meal? impossible!
so, here we are. inspired. striving to be healthy. and officially satisfying our curiosity of flexitarian-ism. so our rules? well, we are striving to not consume meat before 6pm (aka not eat it for lunch). not that we are so much saving the world one cow, chicken or duck at a time, but that it encourages us to eat more vegetables and try new things. we are working to cook more, and even walk to the store to make a whole night of it. and like any good rule, it can be broken, exceptions are the whole point after all, so you can smudge the lines when the opportunity arises and is up to consumer discretion on validity.
the long and the short? we've prepared two awesome meals of tons of grilled and cooked veggies, black beans and tonite they are having us over for fried tofu - wish us luck!
p.s. we hold the right to discontinue, or continue, our flexitarian-ism at any time without the risk of guilt, mocking or any other such nature.
if you recall, i mentioned meeting some new friends at bonge's last friday night. with these new friends came some interesting vegetarian/lifestyle viewpoints. we met the overhisers (hi if you are reading the blog now!) through one of our good college friends, meredith, who is also really cool :)
first, i have to give them credit, as brandt is usually resistant to many new or "on the bandwagon" type ideas. kudos to your unbiased presentation of alternative living! their take on being vegetarian was so welcoming that i couldn't help but keep asking questions...and eventually experiment myself! so here it goes:
i won't bog down the blog with all the many pros and cons of vegetarian-ism, but i will tell you i think they've got something going on! the best part is that their type of living is "flexible", which in turn gives us the name "flexitarian". i mean, sometimes, the worst part about trying to be a vegetarian (or vegan for that matter) are the limitations that are put on you outside of the whole consumption thing - i.e., social ramifications. i mean, you can barely eat anything fun, so it seems, so you never get to go out and be social by those pesky rules. so, being flexitarian allows you to bend the rules. heck, it allows you to make the rules yourself.
the overhisers were inspired by a book called food matters (and yes, you are right if you are thinking that i will never get around to reading it because quite frankly you know i don't read if you know me at all!) from our discussion, and of course my wonderful practical application, i learned it highlights meat's carbon footprint throughout the world, the unsustainability of high american meat consumption, and its health "unbenefits". i know you can argue both sides very well (how do you get your protein? yada yada) but for the sake of blogging, and our unpartisan take, we most likely will never get into that debate nor take one certain stance. we like to be difficult like that.
the most intriguing aspect was the fact that they spend a good amount of time together each night finding a recipe, going to the store to select the items, preparing the meal together and then of course, enjoying the fruits of their labor. this is very different to the voight mentality of any meal, as it usually only takes us 15 minutes to eat anywhere. 2 hours for a meal? impossible!
so, here we are. inspired. striving to be healthy. and officially satisfying our curiosity of flexitarian-ism. so our rules? well, we are striving to not consume meat before 6pm (aka not eat it for lunch). not that we are so much saving the world one cow, chicken or duck at a time, but that it encourages us to eat more vegetables and try new things. we are working to cook more, and even walk to the store to make a whole night of it. and like any good rule, it can be broken, exceptions are the whole point after all, so you can smudge the lines when the opportunity arises and is up to consumer discretion on validity.
the long and the short? we've prepared two awesome meals of tons of grilled and cooked veggies, black beans and tonite they are having us over for fried tofu - wish us luck!
p.s. we hold the right to discontinue, or continue, our flexitarian-ism at any time without the risk of guilt, mocking or any other such nature.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
bbq rules
below is a little tidbit that was passed along to me today and has turned out to the highlight of my day so far. i'll give my husband a "pass" on step 9 as he does this just as wonderfully as #4 and 7!!
We are amidst the summer and BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity, as it's the only type of cooking a 'real' manwill do, probably because there is an element of danger involved.
When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:
Routine...
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables and makes dessert.
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the manwho is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.
Here comes the important part:
(4) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.
More routine....
(5) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
(6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he deals with the situation.
Important again:
(7) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
More routine....
(8) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces and brings them to the table.
(9) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
And most important of all:
(10) Everyone PRAISES and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(11) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed 'her night off.' And, uponseeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women....
We are amidst the summer and BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity, as it's the only type of cooking a 'real' manwill do, probably because there is an element of danger involved.
When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:
Routine...
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables and makes dessert.
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the manwho is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.
Here comes the important part:
(4) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.
More routine....
(5) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
(6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he deals with the situation.
Important again:
(7) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
More routine....
(8) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces and brings them to the table.
(9) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
And most important of all:
(10) Everyone PRAISES and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(11) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed 'her night off.' And, uponseeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women....
Monday, July 13, 2009
so much to blog, so little time!
greetings followers,
the voights had quite a busy weekend. i myself thoroughly enjoyed having last thursday and friday off from work (not to rub it in). so getting back into the daily grind today has been quite the task.
i'm personally quite overwhelmed with the information to share with you, after my 5 day long hiatus from the blogosphere: do i tell you everything at once? or keep you coming back day after day for tid bits of our life? and then you must ask, is it fair to keep you hanging all week on things we did what was so long ago? but i fear that with so many exciting things coming down the pipeline, i will overwhelm you again.
i hear from my readers that my picture stories are a hit. and since the second indy girls wine club is taking place tomorrow night, i'm sure i will have more stories to share amidst my hangover on wednesday morning.
so here is goes: a montage of photos depicting the last several days:
on wednesday, i headed out with some of my best friends for a girls night out on the town in cinci. we spend most of our time at my ultimate favorite place, the hofbrauhaus (http://www.hofbrauhausnewport.com/), for a nite of bierstein drinking and the best beer cheese and pretzels you could ever imagine! as a side note- i first found this nugget of heaven when the husband and i were in munich a few years ago. it is the epitome of germany to me and has a lot of unique and interesting history behind it. long story short, cinci (and now pittsburgh and las vegas) have made replicas to imitate its awesomeness. oh, and i also danced on staged playing the washboard!
i came home on thursday to some surprise flowers from my husband - quite funky and trendy for his usual taste - and i love them! in fact, i noted how great they look in that corner...and since my husband doesn't really enjoy "fake" flowers, don't we all agree this should be a weekly decor option? :)
and of course we cant forget the little guy got a new bed on friday- and boy does he love the ease of a circular bed! it can contain his bones (but only up to 4 at a time mind you) and serves as a better head rest than the wood railing of our bed.
then comes our friday night excursion - bonge's (http://www.bongestavern.com/Home.html). we tried this new place out with some old (and new!) friends. the beauty of this place is that you drive about an hour outside of indy and tailgate while you wait! (no flying objects are allowed in the parking lot - which crushed my husband's hopes of corn hole). we were pretty much playing amateur hour as far as our tailgating skills came - with some wine, beer, doritos and a fancy dip our friend meredith made - we didn't quite stack up to the portable jack daniels porta-table our neighboring car had...with cheese and crackers too! it is a really unique, fancy pants place to eat...and a month or two ago, mr. manning was there himself. and this place is so small you'd probably would've waiting in line for the restrooms with him!
alright - if you are still with me, congrats! but think - this only an update THROUGH FRIDAY! whew. ill stop for now and leave you wanting more. tomorrow ill give you the low down on the remaining weekend-o-fun with the voights!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
slap bet
a few nights ago, i was "slapped" awake, in the face, by my husband. he whispered to me, "oh i'm sorry...my hand fell" and continued in his sweet slumber. i was officially awake the rest of the night.
slap bet on.
that is all. 
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
bone collector
last night we went to bed to the sound of milo's tapping feet across the hardwood floor. after several trips from the living room to the bedroom and back again, i hung over the side of the bed to reveal his new bedtime routine: bone collecting.
first, he had 3 bones. 2 on his bed and one rejected on the perimeter. apparently this is the runt of the bones and is not worthy of sleeping with him on his bed.
after he got settled with his bones, he proudly looked up at me.
something wasn't right - "i think im missing one"
"one of my favorites - you get the bed"
after all his hard work, i looked down and heard a thump. it was milo on the other side of the room. i guess his bones were "bed hogs" or perhaps just light sleepers?
first, he had 3 bones. 2 on his bed and one rejected on the perimeter. apparently this is the runt of the bones and is not worthy of sleeping with him on his bed.
after he got settled with his bones, he proudly looked up at me.
something wasn't right - "i think im missing one"
"one of my favorites - you get the bed"
after all his hard work, i looked down and heard a thump. it was milo on the other side of the room. i guess his bones were "bed hogs" or perhaps just light sleepers?
he eventually made his way back to his bed, with all 4 bones now added and his face, yet again, dreaming under the bed. or maybe there is a 5th...but if that is the case, this spoiled dog is just plain pitiful.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
what's under the bed?
the past several nights, i have noticed milo has been falling asleep with his head hanging off of his bed and underneath our bed. we spent some time pondering a logical reason for this - is it cooler under there? is it too bright in the room for him to really enjoy his shut eye? is he afraid monsters will get him?so i sent the husband on a mission. and what did we find? a plethora of doggie delight: his favorite glow in the dark/indestructible green ball, three (count them 1, 2, 3!) bones, his orange rubber chicken and of course, plenty of his winter coat...just think of all the sweet dreams this pup has been having after staring at such goodness!
however, now that we know this and thus once pulled these items out from the abyss, he now sits and gazes under the bed softly whining until one of us musters up the energy to retrieve what has slipped from his paws, across the hardwood and under the bed. good thing i'm the one who is in charge of giving him his medicine - looks like this is the husbands new "fatherly" role!
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