Oh, I am shopping today, don’t you worry. I do need some dresses for all the winter festivities coming up and I’m totally in love with this Tadashi Shoji one at Nordstrom and I found some cute ones at Ann Taylor too (I tried a code ebates50 for ebates shoppers and it worked for 50% off everything!!! but I’m not sure how long that code will last.) And it’s restaurant week in Seattle this week so some friends and I tried out Dahlia Lounge for lunch and it was pretty yummy too.
(Except I have to admit I was a teeny bit disappointed that there was no 3 course lunch meal with dessert. It was just the healthy parts. I would prefer lunch and dessert to appetizer and lunch, especially if I could say I HAD to get dessert because it was included versus actually admitting that the only reason I go out for lunch is to eat dessert, but maybe that’s just me)
The best thing I shopped for was this weekend at Uvillage and it wasn’t really something you usually shop for but the season for shopping for it seems to be RIGHT NOW. I was shocked when I read this story about Seattle vaccinations and how there are so many people not getting vaccines here and the reasons behind it are fascinating. And after meeting Bill Nye and hanging out at the Gates’ foundation a little while ago I never realized how lucky we are in Seattle to have such easy access to vaccinations. I heard stories of people in other countries waiting overnight to get vaccinated, walking great distances, or even not naming their children because families were afraid they might not survive childhood illnesses that we’ve prevented here with vaccines.
In our family, it’s been a no-brainer forever for us to get vaccines because a lot of our family members are healthcare workers. We just do it and it’s a part of life. But I realized this weekend how super-pleasant getting a vaccination in Seattle can be. We went to Virginia Mason Medical Center at Uvillage because it is so awesome that at UVIllage you can literally plan where you want to eat and shop while you wait for your vaccination. Last year I tried the nasal spray/mist vaccination for the first time and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but this year I’ve decided it’s an awesome way to get shots if you don’t want a sore arm. NO SORE ARM when you’re holding your bags at Uvillage. No sore arm to complain about later and no scary needle. I think I was the worst at needles in our family before and it made everyone else scared, so all of us did our nasal spray vaccines oh so bravely. (Do you still call them flu shots if it’s a spray or mist??? Does it still need a scary name, or can I say I got misted instead of I got my shot?)
And then we ate at Din Tai Fung. The beans and dumplings there are AMAZING. And oh so worth getting a little dead-ish virus sprayed up my nose. (I don’t know enough to tell you what the science behind what a vaccine actually is. This information from Seattle Children’s Hospital might tell you a little more. And so can your doctor. Not me. So definitely ask them.)
Anyways, the guys and I are still doing okay despite having our vaccinations a couple days ago, so I think I’m pretty happy with how this went down.
I’m now saving my arm for giving blood which hopefully I’ll get the courage to do in a few weeks too. It’s the least I can do to help out in the world, I think and it should be pretty easy. There are so many brave people out there fighting all the scariness we’ve all seen in our facebook feeds lately, and I think it’s time I do my part to help out too. So vaccines and blood is where I’m going to start. And maybe if I make a habit of doing this every October, I can make it kind of festive as it sort of fits a Halloween theme.
So happy Monday to you and if you’ve ever given blood, please let me know what to expect because I am a little scared and I’d love to hear about it! And if you’ve found some fab shopping deals, I’d love to know too.
(PS. it was International Sloth day this Sunday too! Did you celebrate? I wore my shirt, but had to chase the guys around a little playing soccer, and I ran a few errands so I think I’m entitled to a slothfully indulgent re-do on another day of my choice and so do you.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)