Tag: thai food

the lion king

Really, the title of this post should be “we had a great date-night out and all I have to show for it are two snap shots before we left.”

 

 

(Don’t we look nice all dressed up?  I love my new cardigan–a neutral gray with stripes of one of my favorite colors, teal–a major find at Target.)

Don’t get me wrong, the show was AMAZING (more on that later) and dinner was fantastic, but what occupied most of my brain was all the great “documenting” I was missing because neither of us wanted to carry around the giant camera.

Seriously, I don’t know how “real” bloggers do it.  Kath bikes everywhere, so where the heck does she keep her camera?  She uses a digital SLR like Andrew’s.  I’ve even toyed with the idea of getting an uber-fancy point-and-shoot with lots of manual control settings that would force me to learn how to take good pictures.

However, I still have yet to purchase said camera, which is turning out to be a good thing, since the NEW iPhone 4S is out and I’m getting one!  And, apparently, the camera on it is the best thing since sliced bread, so maybe I’ll just use that…  I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for the iPhone (first for it to come to Verizon, then for the iPhone 5 that was rumored to come out this year) and I’ve been eligible for a new phone for A YEAR and my touchscreen is completely broken…so you can see that I completely deserve and can justify the iPhone.  (Or not, but I thought I’d try…)

The iPhone will, however, really come in handy now that I’m back in school and thus away from the computer more than I used to be.  I can take photos, upload and blog from anywhere, check movie times and get directions while in the car and use awesome apps that will allow me to count my calories and even find my car in a parking lot–SCORE!  (And apparently the “S” part of it is this awesome “personal assistant–Siri–kind of thing” that will basically talk BACK to you, which is neat.  Once I get the hang of all the voice controls, I will no longer feel guilty about what little texting and driving (gasp!  Only at stop signs and lights, people!) I do.

OK, enough about the iPhone…I’ll blog more about it later when I actually get it.

Back to our evening out 🙂

I ROCKED my second Anatomy test (ANOTHER 100% baby!) and the tickets for The Lion King were actually my birthday present from Andrew’s parents, so the hubby let me choose where we went to dinner.  I chose Papaya, which is an (as we found out, UPSCALE) Asian Fusion restaurant in downtown Buffalo.  We loved it!  Well, I loved it and Andrew liked it–which basically means he’d go back.  In Andrew’s words, “It was a very ‘me’ place.”

I loved the atmosphere; a bit modern but still comfortable.  White tablecloths, wine glasses and candles.  Diners were all dressed in at least business casual, if not a bit nicer, so that worked out really well for us.  There is (almost) nothing I hate more in life than being over- or under-dressed.  Seriously.  It puts me so ill at ease that I can barely enjoy myself.  Is it a terrible fault and should I be able to just “get over it?”  Probably.  But I’m still waiting on that magical power to appear…  So, we fit right in since were dressed up for our show.

We started with a Whiskey Sour (for Andrew) and a Pineapple Upside Down Martini (for me–YUM!) and split orders of spring rolls and potstickers. Andrew said they were the best potstickers he’d ever had.

Andrew got the Pad Thai and I branched out (I ALWAYS get the pad thai to see if I like a restaurant’s version) and got a spicy pepper chicken dish served with sauteed bok choy and coconut rice.  The rice was to die for.  It was basically dessert for dinner.  Andrew liked the pad thai and I tried a few bites, too.  It had a smokier, deeper tamarind flavor than you typically find in traditional Thai restaurants.  We both really enjoyed the meal and are looking forward to going back again soon.  Heather, you would have loved it!

We walked three blocks to Shea’s Performing Arts Center and took our THIRD ROW seats with time to spare.  Shea’s itself is a beautiful theater; its walls are ornate and decorated.  it felt like we had traveled back in time or something.

The show was phenomenal.  At first I thought it was weird that we were surrounded by kids (you know, at night, downtown, on a school night, at a play) until I remembered it was The Lion King.  Duh.

The costumes are incredible.  There just is no two ways about it.  If you like the theater and are into color and arts-y stuff and interpretive dance, this is the show for you.  It was neat to “revisit” our childhood a little and see how excited some of the youngsters got.  There was even a GIANT elephant walking down the aisle next to us!

Les Miserable, my absolute FAVORITE play (mom took me while we were in London for my 16th birthday) is coming to Shea’s this spring and Andrew has never seen it.  Guess we’ll be back there soon…

we brought the gym to Thai 9

I am so blessed to have some really great friends.  I have Bible study friends, house church friends, neighbor friends and gym friends (and more that I’m forgetting to mention, I’m sure).  Tonight, my gym friends and I went to Thai 9.  (We probably should have apologized to all the other patrons for our raucous laughter, horrified gasps and random suggestive language…we can be quite a rowdy bunch!)

Here’s the lovely group of ladies, sans myself…I was taking the picture!  (A sweet girl came over to take a group shot, but they did not turn out well at all.  No, that isn’t code for I-looked-terrible-so-I-won’t-put-it-online, but I will say the way I was hunched over in the photo wasn’t exactly flattering.)

Here’s the group of lovely ladies who sweat it out just about every day here at the local L.A. Fitness:

Here are Nicole (L) and Kelly.  Nicole is a homeschooling mom whose children range in age from pre-teen to college.  She just ran her first marathon and is one of the most disciplined runners I’ve ever met.  Kelly is a mother of two boys whose husband is about to return from a year-long deployment–woo hoo!  She’s also incredibly dedicated to her gym routine and has a lost a whopping FIFTY-ONE pounds!

These ladies are two of the funniest around!  Mia/Mimi (L) and Kathryn are both commanders’ wives, yet they know how to cut loose…pretty much whenever they want to!  Mia is the kind of woman who says exactly what’s on her mind (which may elicit a gasp or two) without a second thought.  I wish I could have just a tenth of her confidence.  I’ve had such fun with these ladies.  Kathryn was in Bible study with Susy and me this past year and started coming to the gym with Mia.

  Kathy is also a marathon runner and mother to a daughter in elementary school.  She enjoys aerobics and weights as well.  Susy and I got to cheer for her in Cincinnati this May when she did the Flying Pig Half-Marathon and Nicole did the full (her first!).


And of course, my dear friend, Susy.  She is my running inspiration, a phenomenal friend and an amazing Christian woman who I look up to so much.  Knowing her has changed my life forever.  I love you, Susy.

Oh, and if anyone is in Dayton with a mind to go to Thai 9, do yourself a favor and order the coconut ice cream with fried banana pieces and honey for dessert.  It’s rich and sweet and light and exotic and fruity all at the same time.  Other things not to miss:  Chicken Spring Rolls with peanut sauce and the Tom Kha Kai soup.  You won’t regret either of them!