Looking Back- ICL Eye Surgery

It's been 3 years since my eye surgery. So hard to believe! Looking back, I'm definitely glad that I decided to go through with ICL (implantable corrective lenses). However, it wasn't all easy. It was a full fledged surgery on each eye, which required multiple trips to the outpatient hospital. There was also a slight complication in my left eye, what I have come to call a "glare spot" in one eye. I had 2 follow-up surgeries to try to remedy the issue, but it was decided that it was just the way the corrective lens interacts with my eyeball. So, I had to choose to have another surgery to take the lens out again or leave it in. I choose to leave it in and I'm so glad that I did. It's leaps and bounds better than wearing glasses/contacts again. I've also learned to deal with the glare spot. One day when there's a step change in the implantable lens technology I may decide to try again.

On my last eye test, I was still seeing 20/20!

Here's some past posts about my surgery:
Eyeballs: Step 1
Eyeballs: Step 2
Eyeballs: Step 3
Eyeballs: Done!

0

Slope

I'm on the slope this week, so limited posts from me ...

Here's a picture of my glorious room:

 

I just woke up and my back is so sore, the mattress is hard as a rock. It also smelled like sewage, apparently the poop truck gets emptied near my room. Haha. 

Besides that things are going well :)

2

Gumbo with Friends

A couple weeks ago Charles and Kelley came over for a late cinco de mayo dinner. Minus the Mexican food... :) we had seafood gumbo and margaritas. This batch of gumbo had crawfish, chicken, halibut, and venison sausage. I really liked this combo. 

I also liked all the sunshine!!!

0

Kaity's Bachelorette Party

We celebrated Kaity's Bachelorette party over the weekend. The big day is rapidly approaching... June 29!

Here are some pictures:

Emily had her house all decorated. So much for the "Man Cave" :)

Tequila!

The Tequila Sour face.

Kicking off the party. (Anjili (MoH), Kaity (Bride), Kim, Sierra, Emily, & I

The limo ride to Girdwood for dinner at Jack Sprat. The views were amazing along Turnagain.

Here's a story for you...
Hunter (the groom) called the restaurant and arranged to pay for all of our meals/drinks. It was a pretty awesome surprise. Take notes gentlemen!!  :)

3 years ago: Cook'in on the Smoker

2 years ago: Hike: Bird Ridge

1 year ago: Cape Town: Sights

0

Hike: Winner's Creek

On Mother's Day I tagged along with the Schultz clan to hike Winner's Creek, complete with a new baby and 3 dogs :)

I think we all agreed that the hike was snowier and icier than we'd anticipated at this time of year. Nonetheless, we persevered and cut the hike a little short to make our dinner reservation.

Jake and baby Paxton aka Pax aka Pac Man. (Jake is Kirsty's brother-in-law).

Kirsty and her Momma.

3 years ago: Eyeballs: Step 3a

2 years ago: Catorce de Mayo

1 year ago: South Africa Candid Close-Ups

0

Mother's Day 2013

My mom AND my mother-in-law both live in Houston, so Mother's Day has consisted of a FaceTime call the last couple years :(

But, my buddy Kirsty and her Momma live in the same city, so she asked me if I wanted to share in their Mother's Day Festivities: Hike and Jack Sprat. To be honest, you could ask me to do a whole lot of really boring things and tack Jack Sprat at the end and I'd be in. It's only my favorite restaurant in the great state of Alaska. No big deal. But in this case I was really looking forward to the hangout/hike too, dinner was just a bonus...

Here's some pictures of our fabulous meal:

Kirsty and I

Appetizer: Wine and Yam Fries. My FAVORITE!!!

Appetizer: Hummus Nachos.

The Special of the night: Halibut with Crab Toast

Baked Ricotta Cavatelli (tomato/eggplant/mushroom/bufalo mozzarella & pine nut pesto, topped with grilled chicken). The house made pasta is so amazing! I'm not a big fan of pasta but this stuff will rock your world

Kodiak Sea Scallops (bok choy, edamame, miso)- cooked to perfection

Dessert Special: Chocolate Torte. Think smooth and silky dark chocolate. It was also gluten & dairy free- made with avacado. I really like this one.

Dessert: Tiramisu

What a fun day, even though the Momma(s) were far far away!

3 years ago: Mommy's Lap Dog

2 years ago: Blue Man Group

1 year ago: Cape Town: Views at the Top of the Mountain

0

A New Do Y'all!

I chopped my hair off last weekend and I kind of love it :)

Before.

Decided to get a few highlights because I was feeling drab, like the weather.

Cook'in. 

After!

After my haircut, I headed over to Kaity's for a pre-wedding hair trial extravaganza. BUT, since I cut all mine off there's not as many options for me... so I mostly watched :)

Sierra. 

Emily did a pretty fabulous job getting kaity's hair just right. 

Kaity's big day is in a month, but the bachelorette party is sooner than that :)

0

Family Hike: McHugh Creek

First hike of the season is under our belt!

We had a family outing last weekend to climb McHugh Creek. Though we didn't "summit" this time around, we had a nice family trip, logged some milage on the pedometer, and enjoyed the views, as always :)

3 years ago: Crawdiddlies

2 years ago: Backpacking... Check!

1 year ago: Table Mountain Views

0

Anchorage Dishcrawl

Ross surprised me for a midweek date night with tickets for a culinary walking tour, aka Dishcrawl. Ross found out about it from a co-worker and he thought I might like it too... because I love food :)

What is a culinary walking tour anyway? You walk to four different restaurants and they have a pre-fix meal practically waiting for you. And you leave without paying, which basically makes you feel like a rockstar.

The weather couldn't have been more beautiful and we had a lots of fun!

Stop 1: City Diner- Breakfast Slider, Chicken Fried Bacon, and Blue Cheese Chips.

 City Diner Verdict: Skip It!! The food was just not good. Granted I'm not a greasy spoon kinda gal, but all the other "Dishcrawlers" seemed unanimous, this one was a thumbs down.

Stop 2: Kubo Filipino Restaurant- Adobo Chicken, BBQ Pork, Egg rolls, and rice

 Kubo Verdict: Not bad. If you're in the mood for fast, cheap food this would be a good stop. Another good neighborhood alternative on a crowded weekend night. It's tucked away in the corner of a fairly obscure strip mall, so easy to pass by. I liked the adobo chicken the best. Ross tried a new beer so he was extra happy.

Stop 3: Peter's Sushi Spot- Ceviche roll, Cucumber sushi roll, Almond Scallop

 Peter's Sushi Spot Verdict: My favorite stop. I definitely will go back there to eat. The place has nice decor and the sushi was fresh and well priced-ish (sushi and well priced don't belong in a sentence together).

Stop 4: Superstar Pastry- Red Velvet/German Chocolate mini cupcake, chocolate chip/snickerdoodle cookie

Verdict Superstar Pastry: I'm picky about baked goods, but this place passed the test. The cupcakes were moist and had good flavor. I wasn't a big fan of the frosting, but otherwise good. The cookies were probably even better.

GREAT date night Ross! Can you say brownie points?? :)

3 years ago: What's a Brookie?

2 years ago: Seward Cabin

1 year ago: Hike: Table Mountain

0

Asian Peanut Noodle Salad

Here's another mid-week recipe to add to your "meal hopper" :)

I recommend buying a rotisserie chicken and multiplying the ingredients by 4 so that you have leftovers to feast on for another meal!! 

Asian Peanut Noodle Salad with Chicken, Shredded Carrots, Red Cabbage and Green Onions, in Sweet-Spicy Peanut Sauce

(Makes about 1 lunch portion)

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked linguini noodles (cooled), drizzled with a touch of olive oil to prevent sticking
1 skinless and boneless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
¼ cup red cabbage, shredded thinly
¼ cup carrots, shredded thinly
1 green onion, sliced
2 tablespoons crushed peanuts
1 tablespoon cilantro leaves, chopped
• Sweet-Spicy Peanut Sauce (recipe below)

Preparation:

-Add all of the ingredients through the chopped cilantro leaves into a medium-size bowl, and toss together gently until well combined; to pack up and store, add these ingredients into a container, either a plastic Tupperware with lid, or glass container with lid that you can take with you, and store the Sweet-Spicy Peanut Sauce in a separate small container, and keep refrigerated until ready to enjoy.

-To assemble at lunch time or when you’re ready to eat, just pour the Sweet-Spicy Peanut Sauce as over the noodles/chicken/veg (you may or may not use all of it), gently toss together to coat, and enjoy.

Sweet-Spicy Peanut Sauce ingredients:

1 ½ tablespoons honey
1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 ½ tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon peanut butter (I used all-natural, creamy peanut butter)
1 clove garlic, pressed through garlic press
3 to 4 drops of Sriracha sauce (this is spicy, so use to your liking)

Preparation:

-In a small dish, combine all of the ingredients with a fork or small whisk until very well blended and smooth; keep in a small, snap-top container in fridge until ready to use. (*If the sauce gets a bit too thick from being in the fridge, just warm the container that it’s in under some hot water for a moment or two to soften the sauce and make easier to pour.)

3 years ago: Hey Frenchie

2 years ago: Haiti

1 year ago: Minus 9

0

Springtime, Maybe?

Here's a picture challenge for you today. Can you guess why Ross is so happy in this picture?

Don't worry, it's multiple choice...
a) It's the weekend
b) He's drinking wine
c) The snow in our yard is almost all melted
d) We're now getting 14+ hours of sunlight
e) all of the above

Did you guess E as in Elizabeth? :) I think I might have made this one too easy, so here's another:

What's Roma thinking?
a) I wish it was snowing again
b) Mom's porkchop looks good
c) I love the new dog my parents got for me to play with
d) I'm glad Mom paid for a pooper scooper to come pick up all my melted poopies in the backyard
e) b and d

Did you get it? E for Elizabeth?!!

Thanks for playing games with us :)

3 years ago: Cook with Steph & Liz #5

2 years ago: Baked Breakfast

1 year ago: Cape Town Sights

0