TIME MACHINE TUESDAY: A trip to Seattle

Chapter One

As per one of my recent posts regarding my crappy blogging habits, I am hereby instituting "Time Machine Tuesday". (Being a Microsoftie, I live amidst a sea of acronyms, so I'm calling it TMT. Deal with it.) My goal is to play "catch-up" with my TMT posts. I'm going to try and keep up with 'current events' blogging, but TMT will be dedicated to catching up with the more interesting stuff I've missed in the past few months. So here goes (rewind sound):
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In late March, I got the fantastic opportunity to go on my first “grown-up” trip. I spent a week in Seattle for Tech Ready 10, learning about the coolest new products and attending these great sessions and meeting Microsoft employees from all over the world. It was freaking amazing! But my poor husband did not get to go and had to stay back home with the munchkins for the week. But before you start to feel sorry for him, let me first inform you that my Dad came up here to help. For the whole week. That is like having Alice from the Brady Bunch plus Tony Micelli all rolled up into one, cuz the man cleans, cooks, launders, & babysits like a true professional. Plus, my mom & I stocked the fridge to cover almost every meal while I was away so Jordan didn’t have to worry about cooking. So do not pity the fool.

Meanwhile, I was enjoying incredible meals, making new friends, and learning sweet stuff about new product releases & other nerdiness. I also got to do a lot of sightseeing: The Space Needle, Seattle Aquarium, Public Market Center, Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum, and just meandering around downtown. To top it all off, for the last night of the convention, we hit the attendee party at the Redmond campus and were spoiled with great food, incredible entertainment (I may or may not have sang onstage with a live karaoke band), and lots and lots and lots of free booze. Perfection.

But I missed my kids crazy bad, so much so that by Friday, I was on the verge of tears and just wanted to get on the next plane to Fargo. Which is easier said than done. I had an uncomplicated trip back home and even though I had a blast in Seattle, I have never been so glad to see the vast brown dirt pancake that is Fargo when we came down out of the clouds in that little puddle-jumper plane. Can’t wait to go back again someday soon – maybe next time the hubby will get to go too!

The most delicious Steak Oscar I've ever had.  The alien antennae are sweet potatoe strings... YUM. This place had great beer samplers too, which our European friends were not as impressed by, but was a fun way to taste the local brews. I could think of worse ways to spend almost all my daily food stipend in one sitting!

Kurt Cobain's guitars at the Experience Music Project.  Just to the left is Dave Grohl's drum set.  Sweet.

DJ Jazzy Shanny playing with the turntables.  I got 2 turntables and a microphone.  Where it's at?

Touring the Sound with some of the guys from Romania and Germany, and 4 of the Fargo crew.

Me in front of the Aquarium

This was about halfway into the Mixology class they had at the attendee party.  Mojito in one hand (I made it myself!), Bud Light in the other.  All class, folks.

Showing Andrei what we thought of his camera.  While eating the best Mexican food ever!

Our last night in town, after eating at Spaghetti Factory.  Dean is seen here playing "Asian Tourist", I am censoring the inappropriate Starbucks mermaid.  FUN night!!

I saw some pretty cool sights out there, but none could compare to this sight when I returned home again...