Scrumptious Explorations

Apologies, Wiggles, and Seals

2012-03-06T16:35:00.002-08:00

Apologies
Please accept my apologies. I blog in my head, but you can't hear it. I'll try to be better about using one of my many internet connected devices to post the ever-entertaining thoughts that appear between my ears. Warning: some are quite random and you may wish to avoid trying too hard to link the thought to a rational context.

Wiggles
Our house wiggled yesterday morning and woke us up. We are thankful it was a wiggle and nothing compared to the tornados in the mid-west. People in the news called it a jolt, but I heard a loud boom and then felt the bed wiggle.

Seals
A's brother, also with an intial A, has encouraged us to Run for the Seals. If you'd like to support the swimming wiggly creatures, they would much appreciate your donation to The Marine Mammal Center. You can support our participation in the Run for the Seals event by looking up our names at this link:
http://tmmc.marinemammalcenter.org/site/TR/Events/General?pg=pfind&fr_id=1050

Doesn't every seal pup deserve a fish milkshake?

Off to a Good Start

2012-01-02T21:27:00.000-08:00

Following some fairly wild New Year's Eve festivities, A road-tripped with his brother down to the Rose Bowl game. They were at the stadium today to watch the Ducks win their second Rose Bowl (last win was in 1917). Go Ducks! I looked for them in the crowd on TV, but it appears that all Ducks fans look alike and I could not spot them.

I had a most glorious quiet day at home catching up on things and getting organized (mostly work related) for the New Year. I finally watched the movie Bridesmaids, and even exercised. I'm feeling rested and energized for a great 2012. Perhaps I should take down the Christmas ornaments so we can put the dead tree out. Maybe next weekend. (oh wait, is that a little bit of new year procrastination, already?)

Cheers to 2012!
Let's get this party started.

P.S. We met the deadline of finishing all of the homemade Christmas treats before the New Year. That way, the Christmas calories don't count!

Settlers of Catan

2012-01-01T14:22:00.001-08:00

One of the things I love most about the holiday season is having time to play board games. It feels great to sit around a table of family and friends in a warm cozy house, perhaps even by the Christmas tree. This year, Santa's elf (aka my Sis) put the game Settlers of Catan under the tree. A and I used to play this game with our pals in Boston and are having a lot of fun with it again. It's been great taking time over New Year's weekend to play Settlers of Catan. It might be that it replaces Risk as the game of choice in this household. We'll just have to see.

Of course, we didn't completely ignore the modern world this weekend. We did have some Wii fun too.

Here's my take on Settlers of Catan.

It's a strategy game that everyone can play. The rules are not complicated. You spend your time gathering and bartering for five resources: sheep, wood, brick, grain, and rock. The goal is to build roads, settlements, and cities working your way to ten victory points to win. There are dice involved which means most of your fate rests on luck. But, you have to be ware of the robber.

He's pretty good at keeping you from your resources.

Happy New Year! May the time for board games be plentiful in 2012.

Deer Update

2011-12-28T15:14:00.001-08:00

Spoiled. That's me. That's us.

2011-12-28T15:12:00.001-08:00

A and I definitely have more than we could ask for. We are happy just being with each other. These days we look around and think "wow"' we are two lucky people. We have good jobs, our health, each other's love, and a more than comfortable lifestyle.

My friend Sam likes to pick a word for each year. I'm not one to commit to one word for the whole year, but have been thinking about the word "spoiled".

We've worked hard, set priorities, and have a long term plan, so I guess we are deserving, but it still feels like we are extra lucky. The other day, in the spirit of Christmas and thinking about the things I am thankful for, I told A that I'm still enjoying last year's present of a new house. For that matter, I'm still exploring the benefits of the Kindle Santa brought me last year.

This year, we bought a new car. Our first ever brand-new-right-off-the-lot-super-shiny car. A house and a new car and a kindle. What more could a girl ask for? Well, Santa kicked it up a notch and put an iPad under the tree for me. This is my first blog post from the iPad. I'm sure I will find a million uses for this right sized handy machine. I'm looking forward to my first Skype session, and to being one of those corporate folks taking notes in a meeting on a iPad. Can I Skype into the meeting and take notes while looking at the folks on the other end? The opportunities are endless.

I want to point out that an iPad was not on my wish list. I didn't think I needed one. However, I'm super excited about it and have been glued to it since Christmas night. What it helped me realize is that technology is improving fast and even though some of us may like the way things are with old fashioned email and phone calls (as opposed to texting), technology is bound to find us at some time. Can you remember what life was like before cell phones? Before email? Before texting? Before google maps? I'm sure I won't know what to do without my iPad soon.

Back to the word "spoiled"... A and I are looking forward to a great year of continuing home improvement projects. Santa also brought a few Home Depot gift cards that will help the year start off well. A new bathtub for the master bathroom has been ordered, and next Christmas I hope to be enjoying long hot baths in it. Are there water proof covers for iPads so I can blog and bathe?

Happy post-Christmas! Remember, Christmas calories don't count, so finish all those goodies before New Year's Eve when the exercising and eating healthy resolution kicks in.

Reflections

2011-10-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

Fall is in the air. It rained for the first time since spring and the yard feels fresh. I’m inspired to reflect on this past summer’s scrumptious explorations.

Thanks to M&D’s generous time share gift, we kicked off summer with a weeklong trip to Whistler, British Columbia in May. The snow was still ski-able, but that wasn’t our purpose. We went to relax. Whistler and the surrounding mountains are absolutely breathtaking. We saw 13 confirmed black bears (and several unconfirmed). We visited some of the Olympic facilities, hiked The Stawamus Chief, toured the mining museum, successfully made it through the Lost Woods without getting lost, and did some great relaxing.

If you’re a fan of the trail up to Yosemite’s Half Dome, you will love The Stawamus Chief. There are three peaks so you can “choose your own adventure”. Each of them (I’m told) involve chains, ladders, and other climbing features. It’s not nearly the time commitment of Half Dome, but arguably more vigorous. We were very pleased to have stumbled onto this adventure and earned the post-hike Oreos.

We spent a day in Vancouver, what a beautiful city, and stopped in Seattle to experience the home of the Mariners. When we got home, the months of June and July were busy with house projects. We did have some graduation, bachelorette, and birthday fun during those months too. After our relaxing vacation, we were excited to get back to work on the house. Our motivation was the July 30th BBQ we hosted. It was our first shindig in the house and are looking forward to many more.

After the BBQ we entered “project appreciation mode” and dived back into the house projects a couple weeks later. This leads me to the house status report.

Inside Status:

The Living Room is no longer being used for storage. We purchased a giant comfy couch from our favorite store (Costco) and have a REAL living room. Suitable for hosting guests! (Clearing out the storage involved putting the bookshelves together and actually unpacking the boxes. What an idea!)
“The Construction Zone” is still in full effect, but much progress has been made. The exterior walls in the office are insulated, sheetrocked, mudded, and primed. Ready for paint! The radiant heating leak is fixed with shiny new pipes and ready for the concrete pour. Then we can re-build the wall we took down and actually put the office together!
We got a new tankless water heater / radiant heating boiler installed and are looking forward to all of our floors being warm this winter.

Outside Status:

We let ourselves be distracted by outside projects during the warm summer weather.
The oak tree stump is cut down to the ground. All of the wood rounds that were strewn across the patio are neatly cut and stacked into a custom (hand crafted) bin.
The overgrown vines are slashed and gone which means, our yard has been less appealing to the deer, but they still come through.
We’ve got patio tables, chairs, and a BBQ. It was great fun entertaining in the back yard this summer.
A worked hard to re-build the outside of the family room. He had a minor trip up with some wire mesh resulting in six stitches, but that area of the house is now stucco instead of mismatched rotting plywood and looks great!

It’s been nine months of home ownership and we are still in love with our house. We are also still Giants fans and had a great time watching their games this season. Although they are not in the playoffs, and I’ve been working too hard the past few weeks to watch baseball, I’m looking forward to some quality October baseball. The Giants had a great season and will come back stronger next year.

Other summer highlights include:

Visiting the Jelly Belly Factory
Touring the Budweiser Factory (right around the corner from Jelly Belly, so why not?)
Wedding fun in San Luis Obispo
Betting on the good looking horses at Golden Gate Fields while eating food truck yumminess.

I welcome Autumn with open arms and look forward to our first holiday season in our house.

An Ode to Home Ownership: Part 2

2011-05-06T18:27:00.011-07:00

We have been proud home owners for 4 months. The projects continue to grow and the fun never ends! We've slowed down on the inside work since we're living comfortably and the weather lends itself to outdoor projects.

Inside Status:

fully operational and stocked kitchen;

home office/ guest bed set up in the family room;

complete and furnished bedroom in which we sleep (future guest bedroom);

complete dining room;

living room being used for TV watching, bicycle repair, and storage;

Two bedrooms are cordoned off as "The Construction Zone". Amazingly, the dust never escapes from there into the rest of the house (ha!). (These are the Master Bedroom and future home office)

The bathrooms are funky but after the replacement of one toilet and a full bottle of draino down the bathtub in great working condition.

Outside Status:

A has been hard at work organizing our outside storage capacity in the car port, the side storage shed, and the garage
I've been hacking at the vines invading from our neighbors' yards.

A is in the midst of patching tar and painting the roof before we add more gravel
Upcoming: pressure wash and paint the house!

A continues to cut and stack fire wood from the oak tree. We've still got the stump.

Here is our first Before and After picture:

Behind the slatted louvers was a screen covered by plywood. No insulation. Now, we've got matching siding, and an insulated wall!

Other highlights from our home:

We washed the car in the driveway (that's a true benefit of being a home owner!)

I walked into a web of baby spiders trying to clean up the bushes in the front of the house.

We found the nearest Papa Murphy's and confirmed that a pizza fits in our funky, old, wall oven!

We're procuring patio furniture and looking forward to some back yard summer BBQ fun.

The deer continue to visit our back yard. They are adorable.

2011-05-06T18:05:00.001-07:00

I am convinced it was the cupcake, not the claritin, that cured my allergies.

Who said the world does not revolve around cupcakes?

2011-05-04T09:30:00.001-07:00

Celebratory Bin Laden cupcakes...and a news article discussing the phenomenon

2011-05-03T18:13:00.001-07:00

a spider crawled on me today and I did not die

Giants vs Nationals

2011-04-30T20:17:00.001-07:00

Nats Town is apparently not called Nats Town any more, but that is where I was today. I was proud to be one of the many Giants fans in the crowd. Our loveable team brought a lot of money into the Nationals Stadium. They should thank us.

Some of the food vendors sold out of food before the seventh inning stretch because they aren't used to having that many people.

It wasn't the best pitching performance by J. Sanchez, but thankfully the Nationals starter, Lanan, was just as bad, if not worse. The giants squeaked out the win with a walked in run. We got to see Posey playing first base, taking a break from catching today, which left Whiteside available to hit a game tying home run! Wilson gave us the true Giants torture in the bottom of the ninth inning by loading the bases with walks.

It was an interesting game, with some rare features (Posey playing monkey in the middle) and a beautiful day in DC.

Cross-Country Dining

2011-04-27T18:51:00.001-07:00

I may have invented a new sport today. I'll let my meals over the last 24 hours do the talking:

Tuesday: Dinner in San Francisco

Wednesday: Breakfast of Champions at JFK airport (chocolate croissant and orange juice)

Wednesday: Lunch with colleagues in Boston (sandwiches and cupcakes at Flour)

Wednesday: Dinner with colleagues in DC (Four Sisters vietnamese)

How many different states can you eat in during one 24 hour period?

It all started with a plan to ride the red-eye from SFO to JFK connecting to IAD (Washington-Dulles). Well, apparently there was fog in Boston which made the plane arrive in SFO late and I missed the connection in JFK. The next flight to IAD wasn't until 5pm and it was currently 8am. They put me on a flight to Boston with a quick connection to DCA (Reagan International). Well, as soon as I boarded the Boston flight the pilot announced that we would probably taxi for 30 minutes due to the long line of planes set to take off. Needless to point out, I missed the quick connection in Boston. I opted to stay until the 4pm flight and use the opportunity to visit my pals for lunch. It is super easy to hop on the Silver Line from the BOS airport. We indulged in chit chat, sandwiches, and cupcakes. There could be worse travel stories. Par for the day, my flight to DC was delayed by half an hour, but I arrived. I walked out of the airport into a torrential rainstorm with a tornado watch in effect. I arrived at my dinner plans a little soggy from the rain, but laughing about the events of the day. Phew!

All in all, the Jet Blue staff were very helpful in booking me on all these various flights. I'm proud to say that I've been to four airports in less than 24 hours. Now, I just need my luggage to be delivered.

Vote: Indulgence or The BEST Indulgence Ever?

2011-04-15T15:50:00.001-07:00

A colleague (and friend) of mine just sent this. (We were pondering about cupcakes, and I mentioned I didn't think I'd stumble upon one this weekend, but I have Thin Mints.) Here's the recipe. You tell me if you think it's worthy of the title.

The BEST Indulgence Ever

1. Get a box of thin mints.

2. Get a bowl of bryers mint chocolate chip ice cream. (why do we have to use a bowl?)

3. Do NOT get a spoon.

4. Use thin mints as a scooper.

Heaven!

An Ode to Home Ownership

2011-02-28T16:46:00.005-08:00

I’d like to take this moment, not to make an acceptance speech for winning an Oscar, but to acknowledge two months of being home owners. In these two months we have enjoyed many “firsts” and conquered our first several challenges. An ode to home ownership:

First cooked brunch: French toast with blueberries
First felled tree: a rather large oak; only one broken window, no injuries
First baked item: brownies (gotta test the oven somehow)
First baked dinner: lasagna (yum)
First kitchen sink clog: A plus snake plus many hours equals a sink that drains!
First detected radiant heating leak: pending resolution
First art project(s): painted cupboard doors (and coordinating dresser)
First breakfast guests: deer in the back yard, munch and rest all day long
First construction zone: master bedroom and office

We are cherishing the firsts of many things: painting walls, laying bamboo flooring, installing new toilets, watching the sunset over the fabulous view, finding the mail in our box wet from the rain, being invaded by ants through the kitchen window, meeting the neighbors, hiking on the nearby trails, walking to 4th street for dinner, etc.

We love our new ‘hood and love our house projects.

the purpose of a pickle

2011-01-20T15:50:00.001-08:00

This afternoon, I was scarfing down a Michael's Sourdough sandwich for a late lunch. I'm usually a slow and meticulous chewer, but was so hungry that my sandwich disappeared into my stomach rapidly. I found myself sitting at my desk thinking "hmm. My stomach is full. My sandwich is gone (that was fast!). My mouth wants more stimulation". Then I noticed the pickle I had earlier cast over to the side. Perfect!

That, I suppose, is the purpose of a pickle.

Earthquakes are for real

2010-09-20T16:05:00.001-07:00

When was the last time you did an earthquake drill?

Is there room for you to drop, cover, and hold on under your desk?

Encourage your employer and family to particpate in California's annual earthquake drill!

www.shakeout.org

Summer is over? I disagree!

2010-09-13T17:59:00.003-07:00

Some are saying that summer has ended. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was welcoming summer adventures? I don't believe summer can end until the baseball season ends. That makes sense right?

We've had some great adventures:
*A and I got out our backpacking gear, and spent a blissful two nights in the wilderness. It was just us, some roaming cows with cow bells, a very bright moon, a lot of dust, and the fresh dry air of the high sierras.

*We've made many trips to museums this summer:

California Academy of Sciences (you can watch the pengquins online!) The re-model is quite impressive and they do have an amazing living roof.
De Young, Legion of Honor Both of these museums are hosting exhibits focusing on Paris and the impressionist era.
Oakland Museum of California There is an incredibly fun exhibit about Pixar, an amazing History of CA exhibit which focuses only on our beautiful state, how it came to be, and the memories of the more recent decades such as the 60s.

*We have enjoyed getting together with our friends and their little ones. People grow so fast!

*I recently had a great time with the ladies in Ashland, Oregon at the Shakespeare Festival. Note: We didn't actually see any Shakespeare Productions. We saw a speed version (2 hrs 45 min) play of "Pride and Prejudice" and an absolutely phenomenal musical called "She Loves Me". (She Loves Me is one of the stories which inspired "You've Got Mail".)

*Of course, we've been to more baseball games. Just yesterday, we saw the Red Sox play the A's. I love that the restaurant behind home plate is open to everyone, and we're allowed to sit at a table for the entire game. What a great view! The Red Sox squeaked out a win to stop the A's from sweeping them despite Beckett's not-so-good day of pitching. He walked the bases loaded and then walked Coco Crisp home! I would've been happy if the A's swept the Red Sox even though I was sporting a Youkilis shirt.

I'm sure I've missed recounting some of our adventures. Feel free to post anything you have to add or some of your own favorite summer adventures!

Crunching and Reading

2010-09-13T17:57:00.001-07:00

This afternoon, during document review, I grabbed a bowl of pita chips, hummus, and guacamole. It seemed like a perfect afternoon snack. EXCEPT the crunching was too loud for me to concentrate on what I was reading. I'm looking for quieter snack alternatives.

2010-07-22T12:39:00.001-07:00

A's fortune cookie reads "If you are still hungry, have another fortune cookie."

Novel idea, right?

What happens when the bag of delivery is empty and there are no more fortune cookies?

Summer Fun

2010-07-12T15:44:00.003-07:00

Dear July 2010,
How did you arrive so quickly? I am enjoying the adventures you bring and hope that you never end.

July 3 - Beach Day in Point Reyes National Seashore
The stairs down to the light house were a bit tedious, but worth the walk. Did you know the light house was first lit on my birthday 107 year before I was born? It's such an amazing and dynamic coast to explore. After wandering the windy light house point, we spent the afternoon on Drake's Beach. We found a spot a bit sheltered from the wind, ate our delicious picnic, took a nap, and then dove into the sand. A dug a hole almost to China, but ran into some water. He built a sand wall, I built sand turtles. I named them Tommy and Teddy Turtle. When we left, we encouraged some kids to use our hole play with the turtles.

July 4 - Mom and the USA's Birthday
A great family day of lunch, birthday cake, monopoly, and fire works. The birthday cake (made by my Sis) was super creative. It had cupcakes on top of the cake! The garden themed cake was decorated with vegetables and flowers. It was almost too pretty to eat. Almost. Of course, we all ate and enjoyed it.

July 7 - Yankees vs Oakland A's
I have become quite a baseball fan this season. I will always love the Red Sox, although they are harder to follow from the west coast. Thus, I've been attending Giants and A's games this season. The Giants have been of great interest to me this summer but you can't go wrong with $2 Wednesday's at the Oakland A's stadium. My sister and I cheered for opposing teams during this Yankees vs A's game. She has a thing for the Yankees...and they are quite good. Coco Crisp and Ryan Sweeney (my favorite A's players) just weren't having the best luck that night. I just love being at a ball park and watching the kettle corn guy dance.

July 9 - Tuolomne Meadows Lodge
We arrived at the tent cabins in Tuolomne Meadows, Yosemite, reconnected with some of A's high school pals and made some new friends with happy hour (snacks!) in the high sierras.

July 10 - Hike to Clouds Rest
Fueled with oatmeal and bananas, A and I hiked 7 miles from Tenaya Lake to Clouds Rest.

Starting elevation: 8,000 feet.
Elevation of Clouds Rest: 9,600 feet.
Number of mosquitos: relentless

Yosemite is hands down, my favorite place in the world. To experience this hike, and the view from Clouds Rest for the first time was incredible. I have hiked to the top of Half Dome four times and thought that was a treat. The view from Clouds Rest looks down on Half Dome and provides a 360 degree view of the Sierras including Yosemite Valley. It showed me there is soooo much more to the Sierras than my beloved Yosemite Valley. I'm eager to explore it all.

July 11 - Introduction to Rock Climbing
Our Yosemite pals, have recently picked up the hobby of rock climbing. We went to the base of Daft Dome (in Tuolomne Meadows) and watched as they morphed into spider people scrambling up the face of the rock. It was a great introduction to the basics of rock climbing (what gear you need, how to move on a rock, how tiny a "juicy" grab really is, etc). Our wobbly legs were not up for an attempt that day, but appreciate knowing a little more about it.

Thanks again, July, for all of the fun. I look forward to the adventures yet to come.

Sincerely,
C-Bart

Food is Ready

2010-07-06T12:06:00.001-07:00

This is what the microwave tells me after it has waved it's micro magic for the amount of time I specified. "FOOD IS READY". What if it's not ready? What if the needs some more wave action to be warm enough for my liking? What if I burned it? How can the microwave make such a proclamation?

Conflicting Fortunes?

2010-07-02T13:10:00.001-07:00

Snacktime today included two fortune cookies.

The first fortune reads "If you want it...take it" (with the chinese translation for "eye" and lucky numbers 2,5,8,11,15,and 50 on the back side)

The second fortune reads "Do not desire what you do not need" (with the chinese translation for "lettuce" and lucky numbers 20, 23, 37, 41, 45, and 48 on the back side)

Questions

2010-07-01T16:33:00.001-07:00

Why are people named June and August but not July? Isn't July an equally fun summer month? Have you ever met anyone named July?

Hmmm...

2010-02-26T17:17:00.000-08:00

I order a "small", they give me a "tall". Where am I?

All four food groups in one pot.

2010-02-04T20:46:00.000-08:00

When left to my own devices, my favorite way to cook is to make one dish meals. This one is cheese tortellini, rotisserie chicken, asparagus, mushrooms, a few olives and tomato sauce. Yum!

Happy February!

2010-02-02T18:03:00.001-08:00

Where does the time go? We are 1/12th finished with 2010. The Olympics are just around the corner. Before we know it Leno will be back at his 11:35pm slot and the Heroes season will be over.

This year is a fast and fun year! Yee Haw!

Movie Reviews

2010-01-31T21:00:00.000-08:00

My Sister's Keeper: Read the book. Skip the movie. The endings are different!

Avatar: Pandora is a great place! Watching this movie made me very angry at our white man society.

Feeling Good

2010-01-30T11:30:00.000-08:00

Dim Sum to go: $7.49
Waking up for yoga on a Saturday morning: priceless

Virtually Scrumptious!

2010-01-29T17:33:00.002-08:00

Here is a new blog where you can be honest about what makes you drool and weigh in on your scrumptious opinions. Kristen, of the Kristen Chronicles, and her husband Dane are documenting their culinary adventures. They pose a lot of "food for thought" which is actually food related. It's quite fun!

Treat your tastebuds at There is No Sincerer Love Than the Love of Food.

Welcome to the Club, Sis!

2010-01-25T16:00:00.003-08:00

Let me tell you about a scrumptious weekend of celebrating Sis's milestone birthday.

Saturday evening we dined with her pals at Le Colonial. Their signature drink was popular at our table, but I preferred The Grand Greyhound which featured fresh basil. The family style appetizer platter is a must. After dinner, we attempted to go for cocktails at Swig, but due to the private party, they sent us to Bourbon and Branch (down a block and over a block, no windows). I'm a bit surprised to find they have a website. We were spinning around on the corner looking for a place with no windows, when a man with a black jacket and "Security" cap crosses the street hollering at us.

"Are you looking for Bourbon and Branch? Well, what are you doing over here? Come this way!" He points us to a line outside an unmarked door. Though the sign for the building says "American Anti-Saloon Legion" or something. When we got to the front of the line we were told to wait and the door shut again. Five minutes later, the lady opened the door and said "Password?"

We all looked at each other. The "Security" man hadn't given us a password... Somehow we were let in. We were ushered into a room through a hidden door (camoflauged as a bookcase). This room was packed with people blocking access to the door. We felt like hide-aways. I have no idea what a password would've gotten us. Into a different room? It was a great adventure, and actually looked like a very fun place. Now we know we need the password next time. Better yet, reservations!

We walked back up to SugarCafe. Their gimmick is that they are a coffee shop by day offering desserts and cocktails by night. The service was uber slow and they were down to two dessert items available by 9pm. Great concept for a late night hang out without the "club" atmosphere but very poor execution. Of course, we laughed it off and enjoyed our round of cocktails.

We finished the evening back at Le Colonial in their very hip lounge which had transformed to a dance floor with a DJ. Sis got her groove on celebrating her entry into a new decade. (and I, always love a dance floor!)

On Sunday... Sis and I enjoyed afternoon tea at Neiman Marcus' Rotunda restaurant. It is always a delightful mix of little sandwiches and desserts. The Eros tea is fantastic.

Following tea, we walked to AT&T Park (aka Telephone Company Park) for the final San Francisco performance of OVO by Cirque du Soleil. It was absolutely amazing!! The actors came into the audience a few times. The theme of OVO is bugs. Cute, acrobatic, ones. At one point, the circus leader bug came out in the audience bzzzz-ing and indicated that an imaginary fly landed on Sis's head. He was about to whap her with a giant fly swatter, but the fly flew away. Phew!

It was a scrumptiously wonderful celebration weekend. Welcome to the club, Sis!

Health Tip

2010-01-25T15:40:00.000-08:00

Take your weight in pounds. Divide that by 2. That is the number of ounces of water you should drink in a day to stay hydrated.

Simple!

Give a Day, Get a Day and Yosemite News

2010-01-23T09:18:00.003-08:00

Disney's inspiring 1 million people to volunteer this year by offering a free ticket to Disney in exchange for one day of volunteering for a participating organization. There are opportunities galore. Check them out here. If Miss Piggy can do it, we can too!

If only, a day of volunteering in Yosemite National Park got me a ticket to Disney. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?

Speaking of Yosemite, I just learned that the Yosemite Fund and the Yosemite Association are merging into one organization. I think this is great! They both raise funds and offer wonderful things to the park. I'm glad to see they are pooling their resources and look forward to the enhanced services they will be able to provide.

Cartier in America

2010-01-23T09:10:00.002-08:00

Last weekend was a well rounded culture weekend for A and I. We loved the SF Symphony on friday night date night. It was amazing how quiet the audience gets so the music can explode in the room. (We also laughed that when the music stops everyone takes that opportunity to cough, fidget, sneeze, whatever they need to do. It's like we are all holding our breath to hear every single note). I felt completely immersed in a different world. It's not often that one gets a chance to relish this kind of experience. We loved it.

On Saturday we enjoyed the Cartier in America exhibit at the Legion of Honor museum in SF. This, too, was a fabulous experience. Any girl who dreams about wearing tiara's and elaborate sparkley jewels will love this exhibit. I hear SF is the only place it will be in the U.S. so come on out to SF and be dazzled!

Two Thumbs Up!

2010-01-23T09:07:00.000-08:00

That Takes the Cake gets two thumbs up from A and I. We stumbled across this little cupcake shop on Union Street in SF last weekend and just had to try it. D E L I C I O U S!

Go to the website...They have cocktail cupcakes on Saturday nights. What a fantabulous idea!

Date Night

2010-01-15T11:53:00.001-08:00

Tonight is Date Night!

Two half price tix to the San Francisco Symphony thanks to Groupon and a free dinner at Hahn's Hibachi won on the Jack London Square Facebook page.

Haiti

2010-01-15T10:57:00.002-08:00

Visit the American Red Cross website to see how you can help.

Mobile Fundraising: I think it's impressive and convenient that you can text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief Effort. This is so simple. If everyone did this, we'd all be giving a little, but Haiti would get a lot. (That's profound)

I spent .20 cents on texting to support the mobile fundraising, because I think it's a great concept. It's a simple message easily spread via social networking media (facebook, twitter, etc.) Brilliant!

01.13.10

2010-01-15T10:53:00.003-08:00

On a day that work began for me at 5:30 am (in the dark), this scrumptious rainbow appeared outside my window and brightened my morning. Priceless.

Sedona

2010-01-15T10:32:00.006-08:00

2009 closed out with a bang! We spent Christmas week in Sedona, Arizona. Luckily enough, we were there for a very rare occasion of SNOW! It was my sister's first official White Christmas (despite her attempts to have a white christmas in Boston).

We enjoyed the change of scenery, visited Meteor Crater (experience the impact!), the Petrified Forest (really old wood turned to beautiful rock via mineral replacement), forged trails in Red Rock Country (Bell Rock loop?), and traveled the wilderness by train watching for bald eagles and their nests. The most fun activity, however, was participating in Red Rock Fantasy. It was a contest of christmas light displays. They were themed and absolutely scrumptious. We got to vote for our top 5 out of 20-ish and it was tough to choose! It turns out I voted for all three of the winners.

Fun Geology Fact: Sedona is at the edge of the Colorado Plateau. The Colorado Plateau is rather large encompassing parts of the four corner states and is a plateau (go figure) which was uplifted as a result of various plate tectonics. The Grand Canyon is cut through the Colorado Plateau. In Sedona, we were looking at the side edge of the Colorado Plateau and seeing many of the same geologic layers visible inside the Grand Canyon. Fun!

Mirror Day

2010-01-02T12:15:00.001-08:00

Happy Mirror Day! Also known as palindrome day. Today's date is 0102 2010.

Welcome to 2010. Happy New Year!

'Tis the Season

2009-12-18T17:47:00.007-08:00

The month of December is jam packed with excitement. Well, every year it starts off with a glorious day. A day in which I inherit another year's worth of wisdom and maturity. This year, my sis (the one from the previous post who absolutely rocks) made me a gorgeous cake. It was poppyseed cake with two filling layers of freshly sliced strawberries. YUM.

The first weekend after my birthday, we celebrated Festivus with some of my best college pals. It was a great reunion and welcoming back to the west coast. We thoroughly enjoyed the tradition we started in college of a potluck thanksgiving dinner with friends. Mikey has perfected the turkey roasting and was a gracious host to us all. Happy Festivus!!

Sis hosted a holiday party the following weekend. I have mentioned the profiteroles. YUM.

Dad took us to a local holiday play in San Jose to help enjoy the spirit of Christmas. I greatly enjoyed the production and the experience of the very small playhouse. The entire play was acted with two actors. I laughed. I cried. It was a good show.

At home, in Jack London Square, we are relishing in the California style holiday decorations. The palm tree grove is covered in christmas lights. They flash in all different patterns and colors. You can even text your color/pattern requests. First requested, first played. Holidy Buy Night in the Jack London Square Farmer's Market Building was the perfect opportunity for me to get all my christmas shopping done. And I did. It was wonderful to meet the local vendors and buy locally made products for my loved ones.

Merry Christmas!

Pumpkin Profiteroles

2009-12-14T15:16:00.002-08:00

You may know that my sis is professionally trained in baking goodness. She hosted a holiday party this past weekend and served many scrumptious treats. The most scrumptious of all were the pumpkin profiteroles. YUMM!

Imagine a poppable (bit-size) profiterole (usually served with ice cream in the middle) with pumpkin cream inside topped with a maple caramel sauce and sprinkled with toasted walnuts. You're imagining goodness, right? The pumpkin cream she made from scratch by whipping up whipped cream and adding her own spices to mimic the pumpkin pie flavor, then she folded in real pumpkin. It was delightful. She also made the maple caramel sauce from scratch, on the stove, right in front of me. I was happy to be the taste tester for all components and proud to say that I toasted and chopped the nuts. What else are sisters for?

I apologize for not having a picture to share. I was too busy popping the profiteroles in my mouth. Did I mention YUMM?

Is it eavesdropping when you can't help it?

2009-12-07T15:29:00.001-08:00

"I thought I was going to have to beat you over the thumb."

This is what I thought I heard the sweet girl with a southern accent say over her cell phone just a few seats down from me on Amtrak. She's talking to a loved one and thought they were crying about how they missed each other. In retrospect, she probably said "phone" not thumb.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

2009-11-11T06:59:00.001-08:00

For me, today, it's the banana and fresh strawberries in the kitchen. They are calling my name.

What is this falling from the sky?

2009-11-06T14:25:00.001-08:00

Rain? I thought I moved to sunny California.

In seriousness, the rain is good. We're apparently in year three of a drought. I saw the most convoluted sentence on the State's Department of Water Resources website saying that the recent major rainstorms did not significantly reduce our accumulated water supply deficit.

Several sunny days this week allowed is to use the pool, the hot tub, and the wogging path. Life is good.

Happy Weekending!

Phew!

2009-10-30T21:52:00.001-07:00

We are home. Our travels were splendid, fun, awesome, and a tad tiring. We have a busy weekend of unloading Fred and unpacking, but we are so glad that we aren't travelling anymore, it doesn't seem like a chore.

I think I just made a rhyme. You be the judge.

Happy Halloween!

Scrumptious Autumn

2009-10-25T08:19:00.001-07:00

A and I are driving 95 in CT and appreciating the beautiful fall colors of New England. We are on our way from Eastham, MA on Cape Cod to the District of Columbia. We've been on the move since October 8th.

After a quick stop to get our new apartment in Oakland we headed down to Los Angeles for a few days. The traffic there hasn't changed. The freeways are still massive and filled with plenty of people. I think some double decker highways are in order down there.

We lived the So Cal life in Long Beach for a few days. Sis and A had fun while I was working and we all enjoyed dinner with Grandma, a tour of the St. Mary, and a trip to Universal Studios. The new Simpsons ride was GREAT! The absence of a crowd meant we could re-live the wonderful days of childhood where we ran from the exit of a rollercoaster right back around to the entrance over and over again. We'll always be kids at heart. The Jurassic Park ride soaked us many times. We screamed and laughed a lot! That's the American dream, right? Churros, screams, roller coasters, and bad jokes. We had a blast and were scrumptiously entertained. I was particularly impressed with the larger than life Whoopi Goldberg cut out welcoming us to the tram ride. Instead of a lion or mouse, Universal has an Oscar Winning Whoopi as their mascot.

From Universal Studios we said "see you later" to Sis at the airport and took a red eye to Boston. Didn't we just leave there? Amazingly, it felt great to be back, even though we weren't really. A recognized the landmarks of the region from the airplane as we approached in the morning sun. The fall colors were abundant and gleefully gorgeous.

We hopped in a bright blue 2010 VW Beetle at the Rental Car lot and headed for Cape Cod. We joined up with A's family in a super relaxing house in Eastham and attended a beautiful wedding at the Orleans Inn. The bride and groom had their names printed on Hershey's chocolate bars! It poured rain during the whole wedding, but we hardly noticed. It was a sunny day inside.

We worked hard to finish the 1000 piece puzzle that was started before we arrived and went for a lovely walk on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. It was the most relaxing two days I've had since .... hmmm... I don't remember.

Today is beautiful and sunny. I understand we missed some snow in New England while we were gone. We are grateful for the good weather for our glorious drive in the blue beetle to DC.

Home Sweet Home

2009-10-19T15:40:00.004-07:00

After a wonderful night in A's childhood 'hood, we have a signed lease and have a new apartment. Waaaaaa Whooooo!!!!

Sis came up to be our first visitor. We enjoyed lunch at Bocanova in Jack London Square, unloaded our car, and are off on more travels via airplane. HeShe (the car) is glad to have a rest!

First destination: LAX.
A and Sis are coming on the trip to have some So Cal fun while I do business.

It certainly feels great to be back in the Bay Area. Our new home has amenities that our old home did not: washer/dryer in the unit, hot tub, pool, Jack London Square, walking path along the bay, and much more! The four flights of stairs will help us get in shape, or encourage us to have groceries delivered to the house. We'll see.

Our road to heaven

2009-10-18T11:09:00.001-07:00

Today is our last full day on the road. This trip has gone by fast. Neither of us are tired of being in the car. We are still enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Pacific Northwest as we travel south from Eugene, OR.

The hills are covered in a foggy mist which makes for scrumptious views. Heading up one long uphill road into the clouds A said it was "our road to heaven". We are on our way to the heavenly state of CA.

Oregon's fall colors, sheep, and cows are entertaining us along the way. We had a great time with Andrew and Lynn despite the pooring rain in Eugene. Andrew's giant TV (seriously, movie theaters might make an offer to buy this thing) inspired us to buy a Wii now rather than later.

We bought a Wii!
We have a Wii!
We named it Wiible.

Last night there were many boxing, bowling, basketball, frisbee, and more competitions. My Mii wears pink. She is sooo cute.

Road Trip Stats:
Miles from Longmeadow: 3,420.
Number of States entered: 13 (including Ontario)

Apples to Apples

2009-10-18T10:50:00.001-07:00

We hummed and hawed over the option to go to the Haunted Corn Maze and the boys decided to play a video game featuring barfing zombies. This was less scary than humans lurking in dark corn fields with chainsaws. The video zombies were only interim entertainment until the Apples to Apples connection arrived.

Apples to Apples is the best game ever! It's one that anyone can play and is perfect for more than four people, unlike Candyland. A and I find Apples to Apples is a great game to play with groups of people we don't know well. He is really good at it! If you haven't played Apples to Apples give it a try! AND feel free to invite us to play!

Hello Oregon

2009-10-16T19:22:00.000-07:00

The drive from Seattle was rainy and slow. There are many more people on I-5 than in North Dakota and Montana combined.

We're in the hospitality of A's brother in Eugene for the next day. Apparently the haunted corn maze here is pretty fun.... We'll see if we are brave enough to enter.

Our lucky day

2009-10-15T21:30:00.001-07:00

Amber has shown us a fabulous time in Seattle this evening. We visited the fish throwing public market, strolled the Chittenden Locks, and dined a scrumptious seafood dinner at Ray's Boathouse. All of the fun culminated in 6 cupcakes for the price of 3! Cupcake Royale in the Ballard neighborhood should be added to all Seattle future cupcakerie tours.

Cascades

2009-10-15T13:58:00.001-07:00

We're driving through the Cascade Range at Snoqualmie Pass. We had gorgeous views of Glacier Peak covered in snow rising above everything, including the clouds. Mt. Rainier seems to be hiding in the clouds.

The drive across WA has been breathtaking. This state has it all, farmland, gorgeous gorge, mountains, ocean, and Amber! What more can we ask for?

The Gorge

2009-10-15T12:13:00.001-07:00

Somewhere in central WA.

Leaving Idaho

2009-10-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

Coeur d'Alene is even more beautiful in the daylight! We're on the road to Seattle. See you in a few hours, Amber!

Coeur d'Alene

2009-10-14T22:13:00.001-07:00

If you haven't been to Coeur d'Alene, ID I highly recommend it. We are about 40 miles outside of Spokane, WA. Coeur d'Alene has a very fun little downtown area on the lake. We strolled the boardwalk which goes out on the lake in a horseshoe shaped path.

The weather is wonderful. It's cool but not cold and the air has the fresh smell which follows the rain.

One thing to note is that restaurants close early. It was tough to find an open establishment serving dinner at 8 30PM. We thought it would be fun to try the Coeur d'Alene Brewery but they closed their kitchen at 8PM due to the lack of demand. The Mexican Restaurant across the street, Toro Viejo was surprisingly delicious! The chips and salsa were scrumptiously crunchy and salsa-y. A is a qualified Mexican food connoisseur, so you can trust is when we tell you the Mexican food we had in Idaho is worth going back for.

That's the word from the 11th state of the trip.

Welcome to Idaho!

2009-10-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

Idaho's welcome sign was a rectangle, not shaped like the state. We are in the Pacific Time Zone now, but Pearl is still on east coast time.

It's dark and rainy in this state. We're headed to Coeur d'Alene for the night.

Misty West Montana

2009-10-14T17:57:00.000-07:00

2009-10-14T16:02:00.001-07:00

We stopped for gas and Lemonheads in Butte, MT. We're getting into the mountains.

More signs for the list:
Life.... A beautiful choice.
Pure Wool. No Bull.
Without the bread of life, you're toast.
Crazy Mountains

We've come 2,440 miles since Longmeadow. Montana is the 10th state for this trip. Gertrude says we'll be in Seattle at midnight. We haven't crossed into the Pacific Time Zone yet and probably will stop to sleep before we reach Seattle.

We passed through some serious rain clouds and their accompanying rain, but the temperature at 60 degrees relieves our worries about ice. It's sunny again. We're chasing the sun towards the West Coast.

Lunching in Billings

2009-10-14T11:55:00.001-07:00

A and I see dining at one of our favorite establishments across the U.S. : Cracker Barrel.
Signs we've seen in Montana include:

C'mon Inn
Howdy Hotel
Lewis and Clark Trail
Welcome to Beef Country

2009-10-14T08:49:00.001-07:00

P.S. Last night we saw the Home on the Range sign in North Dakota. There were no services at that exit, so I hope the folks at Home on the Range have what they need.

Go ahead, sing. Home, Home on the Range....

Jimmy Buffet also proves to be great road trip music.

Good Morning Montana!

2009-10-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

When we crossed the border last night everything was dark. It was pitch dark after we traveled back in time to 7PM. There was a sign posted when we entered mountain time! I had been worried that we wouldn't know what time zone we were in. There are signs welcoming is to new states, but time zone signs are less common, I feel.

We had a very restful sleep and woke up to the beautiful frost tipped plains of eastern Montana. The terrain has become more rugged (less rolling) and interesting but is not yet mountainous. There seem to be plenty of cows and farms in this state as well as the previous states we drove through.

We are 230 miles from Bullings, MT and listening to Neil Gaiman's novel "Stardust".

Hunkered Down

2009-10-13T19:27:00.001-07:00

We are hunkered down at the only Inn in Wibaux, MT. It's starting to snow outside... Hopefully it will be done in the morning.

New Salem Sue

2009-10-13T17:03:00.001-07:00

And.... We just waved to New Salem Sue, the world's largest cow statue.

Bismarck, ND

2009-10-13T16:39:00.001-07:00

We just stopped in Bismarck, ND for Taco Tuesday at Taco Johns and we are back on the road. We're naming all of the farm animals we see from the road. Many of the cows share the name Bessy and many of the sheep share the name Fred.

Fargo!

2009-10-13T13:56:00.000-07:00

We just walked Fargo's Walk of Fame! When Hollywood is under water, the U.S. will always have Fargo's stamped hands and footprints in concrete. Weird Al, Bert and Ernie, Def Leopard, Barney, Bill Gates, Barney, The Monkeys, and more! They had to relocate it from downtown to the visitor center off the highway. That made for a convenient road stop. Of course, then I wanted to drive thru downtown Fargo, which we did. It looks like a nice, very agricultural, place.

The billboards encourage folks to R.A.P (report all poachers).

We're back on 94 now with a speed limit of 75. Waaaaawhooooo!

I was informing A of the "World's Largest" features along 94. These include the largest Buffalo, Sand Hill Crane, and Holstein named Sue. When I clarified that they are statues and not real animals, he said "At least the ball of twine was real and not just a statue of a ball of twine."

We've come 1,640 miles since Longmeadow. Gertrude says we'll get to Seattle at 9 am, but we might stop to sleep a couple times before we get there.

Roadside America

2009-10-13T10:20:00.001-07:00

The website with directions to fun roadstops is called Roadside America. That's how we found the giant ball of twine. It was pretty darn big eh. There was not much else happening in Darwin, MN. One other couple had stopped while we were oogling. One of them had even been there before!

We are on I-94 headed to Fargo, ND.

It's a beautiful sunny day and fun to see the farms covered in snow. It's a good thing the ball of twine has a glass gazebo to protect it from weather and birds. Imagine how many nests could be made with all that twine!

Minneapolis Fun!

2009-10-13T08:28:00.003-07:00

We had a BLAST with Sam and Jason in their new home and tasting cupcakes in Minneapolis. I felt like we moved in since we were there when the movers arrived. We had a real bed to sleep in once the movers brought it. Our shampoo was in the shower. A helped set up the TV and the Wii. It felt like home. Armando tried to stay by hiding behind a box. He doesn't realize that he would be very unhappy in a Minnesota winter. Photos are on Picasa. One event not captured on camera was Date Night at the local Italian restaurant. Dinner for two includes one appetizer, two entrees, a dessert, and a bottle of wine for $40. Sam and Jason have already befriended the waitstaff. They are really going to enjoy life in Eden Prairie.

This morning we are driving through rural Minnesota a bit to see the World's Largest Ball of Twine rolled by one person. It's wonderful scenery along the road. Farms, barns, silos, fields of corn, fields of dry grass, fall colored trees, and remnants from yesterday's snow storm. I love snow. Yesterday was winter and today we are back in fall. I love Mother Nature's adventures.

Good Morning Minneapolis!

2009-10-12T06:52:00.001-07:00

I wasn't ready to get up, but A laughed so hard when he looked out the window, I just had to see.
It is beautiful! I love snow. Happy "Winter comes before Halloween around here" Day.

Welcome to Minnesota!

2009-10-11T20:07:00.001-07:00

We'll be here for two nights.

Larger than life animal statues

2009-10-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

Speaking of giant buffalo statues.... It appears that folks in middle America also enjoy making larger than life animal statues.

We have seen a giant rooster, a super large apple (or tomato), many giant mice climbing up to or sitting on enormous hunks of cheese, and two super sized orange moose. The mice and moose were sighted in Wisconsin. There are A LOT of cheese stores in that state! There were not one, but TWO (which is one more than one) orange moose outside of the Orange Moose Bar and Grill. There we're even arches over each moose to frame it appropriately for a Kodak moment. It was dark and late when we drove by, otherwise I would've climbed up for a photo op.

We are 45 minutes from Sam and Jason's place. We have traveled 1,288 miles since Longmeadow, MA and are almost in the eighth state of the trip: Minnesota! The state tally includes Ontario Canada.

On a side note: We are sad for the Red Sox and the Twins who are BOTH out of the running now. Our cheers move to the Rockies.

2009-10-11T15:05:00.001-07:00

We just passed a sign for Bobbleheads Sports Bar and Grill. I wonder if they have as many bobbleheads as Jason has Pez dispensers.

Welcome to Wisconsin!

2009-10-11T14:56:00.001-07:00

The coolest welcome sign I've seen... We passed under a bridge which had stonework that said Welcome to Wisconsin. I was unable to catch it on camera, but Armando saw it too.

Road Musings

2009-10-11T13:25:00.001-07:00

We are skirting around Chicago on 294. We just stopped for gas, gummy bears, an energy drink, and to use the restrooms.
Today we have entertained ourselves by watching the scenic farms of Michigan. Why did red become the chosen color for barns? I like it, just wondering who picked it and why?

We caught up on the MLB happenings through Pearl.

We've been listening to various music and short stories by Neil Gaiman. I have a hard time telling when one story ends and the next begins. I wish there were chimes between them. Sometimes, we pause and discuss the story because I often have questions.

We made a secret stop to buy something to share at Sam and Jason's tonight. I'll tell you about it later. They read these updates and we won't be there for another six hours.

Armando keeps asking if we are there yet. Adrian just told me I have beautiful eyes. He wants you to know that the buffalo statue outside of Joel's Frontyard Steakhouse was much bigger than lifesize. Please consider this a correction to my previous post.

2009-10-11T09:27:00.001-07:00

Lunch

2009-10-11T09:25:00.001-07:00

What more could one need from a road stop than tractor supplies and a Steak 'n Shake? Cracker Barrel had too long of a wait, but is also very appropriate road food. This is our first time at Steak 'n Shake. It's kind of an upscale In 'n Out with Johnny Rockets atmosphere and table service. We are sharing a Butterfinger milkshake and awaiting our steakburgers.

The waitress says we are in Grand Ledge, MI.

Welcome to Michigan!

2009-10-11T07:50:00.001-07:00

We are back in the U.S. As A said "It's amazing how stressful crossing the border is." Armando was able to cross without a passport. The check into the U.S. was much more thorough than entering Canada. He poked through our trunk and backseat loaded with stuff. I think he was trying to decide whether he needed a new computer. I guess green stickers just aren't his style because he left my laptop for us. He didn't even want the apple or guacamole we have in the cooler.

We're on the road to Flint, MI now. HeShe (the car, we don't know if it's a he or a she) is driving great. We have traveled 600 miles since Longmeadow....

We just saw Elk for sale. Overall, animal sightings have been plentiful. Hawks, herons, gulls, cows, Canadian cows, geese, brown squirrels, black squirrels, a vulture, tweet tweet birds, and lots of used to be animals along the road.

a Suite for my Sweet

2009-10-10T18:47:00.003-07:00

We are staying at a Quality Suites outside of London, Ontario tonight. Canada in the dark looks just like any other place in the dark. We're heading west towards Sarnia, Ontario where we'll cross back into the U.S. arriving in Minneapolis, MN tomorrow night. Go Twins!!!

(We thought we'd have time to explore Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but our country is so darn big...we're saving that for another time. London to Minneapolis is a 12 hour drive according to Google.)

Walking around Niagara Falls was beautiful! The massive amount of water and mist among fall colored trees back-lit by a setting sun was absolutely scrumptious. I'll upload pics to picasa momentarily.

2009-10-10T16:10:00.001-07:00

We're on the Rainbow Bridge waiting to enter Canada.

2009-10-10T15:08:00.002-07:00

This sign is outside the ticket booth for tours down to the bottom and behind the falls. I'm not sure damp is the right word. Wet or DRENCHED might be more appropriate.

2009-10-10T14:52:00.001-07:00

2009-10-10T14:51:00.000-07:00

a cellular pic of Horseshoe Falls.

2009-10-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

Made it to Niagara Falls!

2009-10-10T09:41:00.001-07:00

Lunch stop outside of Oneida, NY: Joel's Front Yard Stakehouse.

How can you pass up a restaurant with a lifesize buffalo statue? They are all decked out for Halloween. It feels like being in a haunted house. There are ghosts hanging from the carousel. Yes, there is a carousel in here. We are sitting next to a warm fire.

Haunted eats!

2009-10-10T07:19:00.001-07:00

Now entering New York State.

The autumn leaves along the turnpike are breathtaking.

Time Check

2009-10-10T06:35:00.001-07:00

We're on the move. Entering the Massachusetts Turnpike from I-91 and heading west!

Meet Armando

2009-10-09T17:24:00.004-07:00

Armando was given to Adrian by his mom long before I entered into A's life. Actually, Armando and I got off to a rocky start. I walked into his home (a blue plant stand) and his pot (holding him) crashed into pieces. A and I picked out a new pot (the one in the picture) and re-planted him with care. I think he has forgiven me, but I'm not sure. He's a pretty quiet plant of a guy. Armando adventured across the country with us in 2005 and is looking forward to seeing the country in reverse. Here's a picture of Armando from today's photo shoot:
We spent today in Longmeadow, MA (Thank you western MA Hobarts!) storing the motorcycle and doing laundry. Armando found some time to play in the leaves. Autumn in New England is a real treasure.

Tonight we root for the Red Sox. Tomorrow we head west (for real). The first bathroom break is scheduled for Niagara Falls.

Note: the photo link on the left now leads to pictures of our road trip. Starring..... Armando! There may be some guest appearances by C-bart and A. (We'll try to get the rest of the Asian Adventure pictures up once we are a bit settled.)

Earthquake preparedness

2009-10-09T11:58:00.001-07:00

www.shakeout.org

If you're in CA you should definitely participate!

October 15 2009

Nomads

2009-10-08T19:30:00.001-07:00

We drove away from our apartment. It's locked and the keys are inside. We are nomads cruising down the Massachusetts Turnpike.

It was a weird and somewhat solemn feeling pulling away from our home....

See You Later Boston Part 2

2009-10-08T07:15:00.001-07:00

It seems like people know that it is my last day in Beantown (for a while). On my way to work I was asked directions to the aquarium. I told him to follow the path along the water. Then, I was asked if there were any good pastry shops around. Boy, do I know pastry shops!! I gave him directions to Flour. Yum. He is going to love me for it and never know how to thank me.

As for me, I'm enjoying a large chai latte with skim milk from the Boston Common Coffee Co. They make the best chai lattes I've ever had. The milk is nice and fluffily steamed. AND They put cinnamon on top. Yum.

Jaywaking in Boston

2009-10-08T07:06:00.001-07:00

Guess how much the fine is for getting caught jaywalking in Boston? $1.

Guess how much the Mayor wants it to be? $20.

Guess how much jaywalking I do on a daily basis getting to work in Boston? priceless.

See You Later Boston

2009-10-07T19:09:00.007-07:00

Tomorrow we say "See you later" to Boston. I'll miss our East Coast friends and family. I'll miss New England in the fall. I'll miss making snow angels in the front yard. I'll miss the annual cupcakerie tour! I'll miss the Red Sox. I'll miss running along the Charles River. I'll miss long walks through the City in the Spring. I'll miss the Make Way for Ducklings ducks in the Public Garden. I'll be back!!!

Fred has all of our stuff. Safe and sound, with two locks on his door. We'll see him again on October 30th. We've been cleaning the apartment and purging our remaining goods over the last few days. Our co-workers have hosted "see you later" lunches for us. We're set to go. Tomorrow night we leave for Stop #1: Uncle Alan's in Longmeadow, MA.

If you've ever wanted to visualize a packed Portable On Demand Storage unit there are a few pics on our picasa site in the album named Fred. It's an organized chaos. Trust me. All of the items were packed strategically by a licensed engineer.

2009-10-05T08:47:00.001-07:00

A wrote this and I think it sums up our situation pretty well. I, now, have the cold but A is feeling better!

"So we are packed, what a weekend… The cold (illness) and the rain (from the sky) didn't help but we did it. Our POD (Fred) is loaded and on its way to CA… Now we have to clean up and wait to leave."

Time check

2009-10-04T22:13:00.001-07:00

The PODS unit is packed. We call him "pod" as in "Whassup Pod!". The air mattress is inflated and we are crawling into insta bed.

Pod is scheduled to be picked up between 7 30 and 10 30 tomorrow am.

A New Beginning

2009-10-03T19:30:00.001-07:00

With the start of fall, A and I are embarking on our next adventure. Our Adventure of October 2009 officially began today with the arrival of our portable storage unit.
My husband continues to amaze me. He is recovering from a cold. It was raining all day. Yet, he tirelessly carried box after box out to the storage unit and packed everything with care. I was busy boxing our remaining items and stayed pretty dry. I am truly amazed at the progress we made today. I am proud of ourselves for beginning the packing and purging process over a month ago. We have one more day of packing and loading and then we'll be nomads with only the clothes on our back.

Our October itinerary is packed with action so check back often to read the story of the day.

For those who like to read the last page of the book first. We'll be unpacking our PODS unit on Halloween. Not because it takes that long for the PODS unit to get to Oakland, but because we have adventures planned until then!

Scrumptious First Anniversary

2009-09-20T19:53:00.001-07:00

(please sing along to the tune of Happy Birthday. I know you know it.)

Happy Anniversary to us!

Haaapppy Annnniveerrrrsssarry toooo Ussss.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Are you surprised to hear that we spent our first anniversary with most scrumptious eats?

We slept in, following the rule of Sunday (Sleep Until Nine or Noon) and walked downtown to the Prudential Tower. From our house this walk is about 1 hour. The weather was so lovely and warm we had to stop for a Gatorade. At the Prudential Tower we took the elevator to the 52nd floor where the Top of the Hub serves an AMAZING Sunday brunch. The views of Boston were most spectacular. Thank you Mother Nature for such clear skies on our special day.

Detailed pics of the meal are on our Picasa Website.

On the walk back from our SCRUMPTIOUS anniversary brunch, we were sucked into the EMS store. Of course, we made a few purchases...Then, it was amazingly magnetic. The movie theater pulled us in. We saw Inglorious Basterds. Who says we need to be conventional and romantic all day long? The movie got a thumbs up from both of us. It's Quentin Tarantino, so of course it's bloody, but there's a lot of good, well played, humor throughout the film.

We had a fabulous day and look forward to remembering our First Anniversary celebration in Boston with such glorious views.

Before, I get back to packing... there's one more thing: HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOBART! (A's dad turned 60 today)

Shanghai Bubble

2009-09-17T17:14:00.003-07:00

A and I know this bubble well. We wandered past it several times in Shanghai. The cruise we boarded for the Yangtze river was just down the way. This article explains the amazing feat accomplished under the bubble with an underground ferry terminal. It's interesting to the planner in me that the property owner had the foresight to plan for the highrise and protect the scenic view. I love the waterfront park serving as a ferry terminal concept.

I write this from 39,199 feet above Iowa.
(posted from a Virgin America flight via GoGo internet)

Water Animals

2009-09-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

Sister and I spent a glorious day in Monterey CA yesterday. Here's how our fun went.

Stop #1
$10 per day parking lot one block from the Aquarium.

Stop #2
Snack shop across the street from the Aquarium for a ham and cheese croissant and a ham and cheese quiche. A warm and delicious breakfast for a day of water animal viewing.

Stop #3
Aquarium ticket taker man.

Stop #4
Restrooms

Stop #5
Otter Days information table. The posters and toy otters were not free. To get one you had to answer all of the questions on an activity sheet. We think we were older than the target audience by about 20 years, plus the questions involved reading. We did not get a poster or toy otter.

Stop #6
Kelp Forest and other fishy points in the main building. We had a blast watching the school old sardines swim in a circle. Tammy loved the Sea Otters. One was grooming and looked uber cute. We also liked the little beach birds in the Nature Center.

Stop #7
A bench outside. We needed a rest. We watched the bay and posted on each others facebook pages from our mobile internet devices.

Stop #8
The Secret Lives of Sea Horses. This was the main attraction for us. I'll tell you the big secret about sea horses. It's that the males get impregnated by the females. The males are the ones who give birth to many many many little sea horses from a kangaroo like pouch. Then the female comes back and impregnates him again. The sea horses use the model of create millions of babies so that a few will survive by chance. The rest get eaten. Have you seen a baby sea horse? They are tiny! Really tiny. If you were a whale or leopard shark and you sucked in a big gulp of ocean water, you wouldn't even know there were baby sea horses in it. They are that tiny. And so adorable!

Stop #9
Wild About Otters. It was the last weekend for the river otter exhibit. I'm not sure where the river otters are going, but apparently they have some where else to be.

Stop #10
Penguins. We couldn't go to the Aquarium and not say hello to the penguins. They would have been insulted.

Stop #11
A board game where we each were a hermit crab and had to spin the wheel to find out how many spaces we could move. For most of the game we landed on boring spaces, we didn't get eaten or rescued. Near the end, Tammy was just taking the lead when a human picked her up and the space said "game over". I won!

This reminds me of a fun game we played in the sea horses exhibit. We had to camouflage our sea horse to match his surroundings. Tammy was doing a great job changing the colors and spines on the sea horse when poof! A fish came by and ate it. We had no idea that was going to happen. After failing a second time, we were ready for the fish. I said "this is scary". She said "I'm stressed out". We were so nervous for our sea horse. We didn't want to kill another one. He lived! The game lit up and celebrated our job well done. We walked away while we were ahead. Phew. We went to the aquarium for a relaxing day and got stressed out over a little video game.

Stop #12
The gift shop. This is always relaxing for us. We found a few items to purchase and left in pursuit of a meal.

Stop #13
Amarin Thai Cuisine. We sat. We dined. We reminisced about all the cute little critters we saw.

Stop #14
Strolling down Cannery Row on a mission for a candied apple, I was distracted by the sock store. You should see the fun knee highs I got! We picked the Avalanche Apple which was covered in caramel, rice krispies, mini marshmallows, and drizzles of white and dark chocolate. They sliced it for us and we walked, talked, and ate our apple. Walking while eating sugar negates the calorie intake. Tammy didn't buy this theory.

Stop #15
The big grassy park at the end of Cannery Row. We watched otters, seals, birds, and kayakers out in the bay.

Stop #16
The car. We headed back up 101.

Stop #17
The Gilroy Factory outlets. Is it possible to not stop?

Stop #18
The couch. What a great day!

Amtrak

2009-09-13T08:02:00.000-07:00

Continuing with a transportation theme, I'm blogging from a comfy seat on an Amtrak train which just departed San Jose and is headed for Sacramento. So far the ride is smooth, and I'm glad I don't have to drive. The ticket was a mere $32. A fine price to pay for peace of mind and some time to read, work, and play. The train is fully equipped with an outlet for my laptop. I haven't asked about WIFI.

From Sacramento I'm hopping on a bus coordinated by the conference to Tahoe. So Green! I'm hoping for some nice weather for four days in Tahoe.

Virgin America vs Jet Blue

2009-09-13T07:56:00.000-07:00

To Anonymous, I'm still not a fan of first class options, but I did recognize the amenities in Main Cabin Select were way better than cattle class on Virgin. At least on Jet Blue everyone is the same and gets free all you can eat snacks!

On my recent flight with Virgin, the snacks were not free, the on demand movies cost $8, and most of the Direct TV channels were not getting reception. This put them right on par with Jet Blue in my book which makes free video games equal to free snacks for rating purposes. What kind of logic is that? Snacks are way more important than games.

I'll continue to fly both Jet Blue and Virgin. For now, the decision will be based on price and schedule. However, if Main Cabin Select seating is comparably priced for a Jet Blue flight, I'd choose Virgin for the amenities of free movies and free food.

A Scrumptious Idea:

I thought of this as I was watching the map channel and looking out the window on my last flight.

Something the airlines should implement in addition to neck rubs is a live camera connected to one of the TV channels showing the view under the airplane. Sometimes its straining to look out the window or there is a wing blocking the view. What about the people seated on the aisle? They don't have the view of the Grand Canyon or Salt Lake from 30,000 feet. It seems to me that a little camera looking down connected to the TVs wouldn't be too hard to install. I think people would enjoy it.

Virgin America

2009-09-11T07:57:00.001-07:00

This is my second time flying Virgin America. I was very impressed on my last flight that anything I desired could be ordered through the little TV on the seatback in front of me. I got movies, food, and beverages. What more could I ask for?

Today I am wondering which button to push for a neck massage.