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Ah, specialists are special. They actually know what they are talking about. And I like them. :)

As most of you know, I have been pretty sick lately...crazy headaches, swelling in the right side of my face, no energy, etc. I spent some time in the urgent care facility early this week and got some meds. But several days later, the meds hadn't done a whole lot. So, this afternoon, I went to a specialist.

He gave me my first CT scan. For those who don't know, the machine looks something like this:


I'm a big fan of this kind of technology...really, any kind of technology that lets me see inside. I just think it's AWESOME! I informed my doctor of this, and convinced him of my sincerity and desire to learn. He then proceeded to give me a school-like lecture on everything I was seeing. He was great! Answered all my questions, told me more than I could possibly remember, gave me interesting factoids as well as scientific jargon, and spent more time with me than he probably had allotted. I like specialists, remember? :)

I was so stinkin' excited to see my pictures. I just had to share. Aren't they COOL?!?!


Now you wish you had a cool CT scan like this too, don't you? It's okay. You can admit it.

Valentine's Day

This year, I spent Valentine's Day with my parental units. We started the day with Starbucks (of course) and then went to the Seattle Home Show. There, a cute little Tiger Scout gave my mom and me a rose...just because. It was soooo sweet. :)

While I enjoy going to the Home Show, it really really makes me want a house...or at least an apartment that I can paint and/or remodel. *sigh*

After spending some time there, dreaming, Dad and I went off for a few hours of geocaching. And it was a very successful day. We found 3 out of 3, and actually stumbled upon a letter box cache that we had no idea was there. So we found 4 out of 3! Ah, Valentine's Day brought us good luck.

Here are the pics!

The beautiful flowers that my parents sent me at work!

















Dad and I snagged some cool Hot Wheels from the geocache for my two nephews. :)

Marley and Me

I went on a Daddy / Daughter date the other day. We went to see the movie Marley and Me. I really really liked it. Granted, it isn't a movie I would take kids to see. There were definitely parts that were really difficult to watch. But overall, very good.

It was an honest movie. A portrayal of life's joys and difficulties. And a depiction of how a pet can truly become part of the family.

So, I decided to share a few photos of some of my family members from over the years. :)

I love....

National Geographic magazine. A few years ago, I went to a garage sale and saw about 100 issues. I bought them all! Okay, so they only cost me a dime...seriously. But I couldn't pass them up. :)

So this year, for Christmas, my parent's gave me a subscription to National Geographic Magazine. YAY! And the first 3 issues came in the mail on the same day. I'm so excited!!

Guanaco's Tacos Pupuseria

I love trying new things. In fact, it's one of my all-time favourite things to do.

This weekend, when we were trying to decide where to go for dinner, I got a hankering for something new. So I pulled out my trusty iPhone and started shaking the Urbanspoon application. Up popped Guanaco's Tacos Pupuseria. Sound interesting? I thought so. And it only took me 1 1/2 hours to convince my parents to go! haha :)

This was after the persuasive speech. I was pretty excited!

Very colourful facade

Have you ever heard of a pupusa? I hadn't, and was certainly intrigued. I later found out that they are a traditional Salvadorian food that look kind of like a savory pancake. Turns out, they are corn tortillas filled with beans, cheese and pork. Yum. I also had a yuca frita ("tropical tuber like potato, served with curtido [marinated cabbage], radish, tomato slices and bite size morsels of pork") and a pastelitos guanacos ("flash fried corn flour pocket filled with beef, onion, carrots, served with curtido"). To wash it all down, I ordered the Horchata, which is a traditional Salvadorian drink that I can't even begin to describe properly...but I will say that it was a sweet mixture of flavours, light brown in colour, milky, with cinnamon, cocoa, almond, and ground rice (for texture). It was a very tasty meal, overall. :)

Mom and I, about to devour the tasty goodness

Top left, yuca frita. Top right, pupusa. Bottom left, pastelitos guanacos. Bottom right, curtido.

Our drinks. Dad's Bud Light Lime. My Horchata. Mom's Cola Champagne.

The definition, and pictures, of "Guanaco"

2 year old runaway

Yesterday, my brother-in-law, Rob, had the day off from work. He decided to get up early to make breakfast for the boys and read them books. While they were reading the Clifford book, Marc-Andre said, "I want to watch Clifford and Dora on the TV." Rob told him, "No television. Maybe later." Marc-Andre kept pressing to watch the TV, and Rob continued to say "no". No kid likes hearing that, so he started to cry and fuss about it. Rob sent him to his room until he could stop crying.

A little while later Marc-Andre came out of his room, fully dressed in a Cars t-shirt and his cowboy boots, carrying his little suitcase packed with clothes, and declared, "I'm going to go to Seattle."

:)

Sickness invades

As you've seen in recent posts, my sisters and their families came for a visit in early January. Marc-Andre decided to bring sickness along with him...and being the nice little boy that he is, he decided to share with the rest of us.

The very first night, Marc-Andre got sick. The next day it was Luc. The next was Mary. The next, me. They stayed for 12 days. The sickness is still here....7 days after they left. *sigh*

So I thought I'd post a few photos of the poor little guys. :(

Marc-Andre, all cozied up on the couch watching Cars

Luc, also watching Cars

Luc even got hives from the stress of the sickness!

But don't worry, we are all feeling a lot better now. Not 100% yet, but a LOT better. :)

Lions and tigers and bears...oh my!

The zoo... My parents bought me a membership this year. So when my family was in town, it was the perfect activity. Marc-Andre kept exclaiming, "I'm going to go see a giraffe!!" That's all he cared about. I didn't even know he knew what a giraffe was. :)

When we got to the giraffes, Clayton picked up Marc-Andre so he could get face to face. He was so excited!!

Hungry hungry hippos

MA and me looking at the tigers

Clay, Trees, and Autumn enjoying the zoo

I love this pic of MA! He's sitting on the komodo dragon statue. :)

Rainy day at the park

On a lovely, rainy Seattle day (prior to everyone getting sick), we decided to head down to a local covered park to let the nephews run around and play. It was a blast!

The family invasion begins

For most, Thanksgiving and Christmas mean family get-togethers. But this year for the Cutter clan, January is fortunate enough to get the fun reunion privilege. What a great way to start the new year!

On January 1st, Teresa, Clayton and Autumn arrived! They spent a week here as a “long layover” en route to Hawaii, where they are moving for Teresa’s schooling (she’s completing her Masters of SE Asian Archaeology at U. of Hawaii in Honolulu). I was so excited to have them here! Autumn is now 4 months old, and is SUPER cute.

Autumn and Teresa in their swimsuits getting ready for Hawaii

I had a fantastic time with them here! We went to Pike Place Market, cracked and ate Dungeness crab, and went to the Botanical Gardens Christmas lights. Here are some of the pics from our adventures...

Pike Place Market

Me with baby Autumn

Trees and Clay

Trees and me

With one of our fabulously tasty crab

I love this one! Look at Autumn's face staring at the crab. haha

The family at the Botanical Garden Christmas Lights