A Texas Christmas - Day 3 & 4
Monday & Tuesday Dec. 20th and 21st

Slept IN Monday morning due to staying up a bit late and from fighting my sinus infection, so by the time I got up there was time for a shower and coffee and then getting our butts in gear to Luling for the all time best BBQ for lunch! After stuffing my belly full of brisket, sausage, white bread, pickles and the famous Luling BBQ sauce... I asked for a driving tour to get started on my Texas photo collection. I am compiling pictures of everything that reminds me of Texas to make a coffee table book for myself one day.

We were off to a fantastic start as we stumbled upon a mother ostrich just off the side of the road hovering over her eggs! On the other side of the fence there was the male ostrich and some camels, of all things. It was awesome, I got some good shots. Then I realized my battery wasn't fully charged and that ended our photo excursion. But my Dad & Donna were troopers and swung back by the house for me to grab my other battery and we hit the road to Smithville where my Dad was born and raised and where I grew up going to my Mimi's house. I got shots of the house he was born in, his childhood home and then his 3rd house, as well as my Mimi's house and the school that both my Dad & his parents went to. Also in Smithville is the house I grew up loving, which is now known as the "Hope Floats" house. If you've seen the movie, you'll know what house I'm referring too. Coming back to Flatonia, we decided to catch Monday night BINGO at the Legion Hall. It was lots of fun, although none of us won a dime. I had the BEST red velvet cake (for $1!!), but when I tried to find a water fountain to wash it down, I found it was broken. My Dad replied "you'll just have to drink beer then". My Lone Star didn't quite pair well with my red velvet cake.

Tuesday: Today I insisted on getting my butt up in time to go to breakfast. This is not a flexible activity due to my Dad always meeting the gang at the same place at the same time every morning for yummy breakfast tacos. (Mine was egg, tiny crispy pieces of bacon, tiny pieces of potato that were fried up perfectly and homemade real mexican refried beans - mmmmm) We only had to be there at 8am, but this was more difficult than usual since I didn't fall asleep until about 1am and fought a cough that woke me up constantly all night long. After breakfast we went to the barn and sorted through some boxes of my childhood toys and books then came home and made a chocolate praline cake! Watched a movie, The Joneses, recommended, and then went to my favorite gift store where I always pick up a nick or nack. Bought a cute bobble ring. Later that evening we headed to Schulenberg to go to the "Cozy Theatre" to watch Tangled, but as officially run as the place is, Tangled wasn't the one showing, it was Unstoppable which my folks had already seen, but said they wouldn't mind seeing it again. I wasn't completely sold on the movie, but it was actually really good! Our pizza was delivered to us right before the movie started from the pizza place in the alley. Very handy, kinda like Alama Drafthouse!

A Texas Christmas - Day 1 & 2
Saturday/Sunday Dec. 18th and 19th

A slightly sad goodbye in Oakland as I had to leave Josh for 7 days during my favorite holiday. Plus I really would have loved to show him Texas and have him meet the Fam. Hopefully we will get an opportunity to go to Austin together sooner rather than later. I was, however, quite greatful to be heading out to sunny Texas as the forecast for the Bay Area was for a week straight of rain! I also left for my holiday visit quite stuffed up but this didn't seem to stop me from smelling the heavenly smell of TX BBQ as I got off the plane (the Austin airport is awesome, they only have local restaurants as options in the food court areas, one of those being Salt Lick BBQ). My Dad & Donna picked me up and we headed to Cistern to meet up with my brother and have a few beers at the bar before dinner. I am proud and thankful that the very first food to hit my lips was home cooked brisket... ohhhhhh mmmmmm.... it was technically just a quick snack for me as my folks didn't want me to starve before going to dinner. We left for dinner and yes, I wasn't all that hungry, lol, so I skipped on ordering the chicken fried steak the size of a football and went with baked potato soup and salad. By this point I was fighting some seriously stuffed up sinuses and my throat was very sore so I was just ready to go home. My Dad's netty pot to the rescue - except it didn't work too well :( My Dad said he'd never seen anyone as stuffed up as me :(

Sunday morning, another netty pot and with a little bit clearer head, we all headed out for brunch in La Grange. I was reminded how much I miss country cream gravy as I was pleased to see that every egg dish came with home fries, bacon and a side of biscuits and gravy - yum! And then, omg, I didn't realize my meal started with a cup of fruit and ended with a giant piece of chocolate cake! All for $12 - sweet! Spent the rest of the day hanging out with the folks and my brother Trey, watching the Cowboys win, goofing off on the computer and opening a few gifts. Just the 4 of us, not a big event, but some special gifts all the same. I got exactly what I wanted and needed: a little sound machine for my bedside table :) Between the squeeling tires of people doing their best to back into the most difficult parking spots on the steepest hill, my roommate coming home late with his whistling habit, drunk people walking up the hill to Coit Tower and then Ferrel Parrots of Telegraph Hill all heard clear as a bell with my 100 year old bedroom windows and paper thin old walls... I have become addicted to my "ocean sounds" app on the iphone. It doesn't work as well on my slow/old iphone 3G so I needed a replacement. I also got a UT scarf which I am looking forward to using next season - Hook 'Em!

The Frank, Rimerman + Co. 2010 Holiday Party

So this is the ONE photo captured (end of the night, hence my shoes in my hand and us looking a little too relaxed) due to me forgetting my purse on a table in the ballroom and then it being stolen. We took some really cute photos too :( which is what I'm most sad about since we were all snazzy and dressed up. "Things" are replaceable and although it's a giant pain to be stuck with my old/slow iphone now, I can't replace the photos we took that night on my camera.

On a better note! ...We had a WONDERFUL time!!

October 30th
New boyfriend, new apartment, new roommate, new neighborhood... and now new car. Not a happy moment at first since it was out of necessity and not planned. My Jeep was on his death bed, literally had a death rattle (transmission going out) and a high pitched squeal when in park. Fun times. So, after lots of time spent in front of my budget, rearranging some items and finding extra wherever I could, I was able to come up with a monthly car payment. Actually lease payment. My new and RELIABLE (yay!) car: 2010 Honda Fit sport -

NEW APARTMENT!

<--Out with the old and in with the new!-->
...with a few things ;)

Big Move!
...ok tiny move, just across town. But very excited, new place, new (and first unknown) roommate, new/awesome neighborhood... YAY!

I loved my first SF apartment, it was cute, had parking, a grocery market across the street and 2 blocks from Golden Gate Park. It was a good run. As soon as the opportunity came my way to move totally across town to North Beach (italian district with all the italian food you could imagine, cafe's and pub crawls and strip clubs, woo hoo :P ) I was SO done living way across town in the part of the city that is always foggy and colder when the other side isn't! LOL. I wouldn't have dared moved to North Beach if I didn't have parking or if I couldn't find a roommate to afford this awesome pad. If you take a closer look at the itty bitty photos offered up here (sorry), you might notice that in the photo on the left, my old apartment, I can practically give you a tour from the one photo. Kitchen, living room, bathroom and behind me, my bedroom. Done! In the photo to the right... you get to see my fantastic kitchen and a smidge of the living room. ha! It takes a few more photos to see the rest :) One large bedroom, <----mine, a smaller 2nd room and then a sort of 1/2 bedroom, better suited for an office or could be a kids room. We (and I mean me) like to use this for a storage room and the Bass' private bathroom quarters. We are on the top floor of a 2 unit + basement unit house and the above is a pic from our rooftop access. Very cool to watch the blue angles fly by during Fleet Week. Wish I'd gotten some pictures.


...work in process

ALASKA!

Mom flew up to SF on Thursday, the day before so we could begin our vacation relaxed and ready to board the cruise ship the next day. Friday we boarded the ship around 1:30pm and went to check out our room. Mom's very first cruise, my second, but it was my first time in a room with a little balcony! Made such a difference. Really not much bigger than the windowless room I shared with Mel on our cruise, but with the sliding glass door all the way across and mirrors on one side of the room, it was so much more spacious and fun to hang out in. Plus I could just be in my robe and stand on the balcony and get some good pictures, way more warm than being up on the deck with the wind blowing you around.

Our cruise left San Francisco and our first port was Victoria, British Columbia. Mom and I had been there on another vacation a few years ago, so we decided to do the bus tour through the city and up to Craigdarrach Castle.

Ketchikan was the next port on our itinerary. Not a long stop, but we had time to go on a rain forest zipline tour. I loved it!! While on one of the little bridges we saw movement in the trees below, noticed a half eaten salmon on the ground and were able to get a glimpse of a black bear walking around under all the foliage. That's Mom to the left coming down the last line.

We had a full day in Juneau which started with a bus ride and a little city history on our way to the our guided hike out to the

waters edge of Mendenhall Glacier. It was really pretty to see it so close and mom and I took a photo with a chuck of the glacier :) After that we headed out on a whale watching boat. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the boat was all windows, closed for the ride so we would stay warm and then once we found the area where the whales were feeding, all the windows folded up. Our driver, a 4 generation native, said that they almost always found whales, but would consider seeing a couple flukes a very good day. We saw like over 30! There were a handful of whales in the one area and they were up and down, up and down, cruising and then they would doing a really tight arch to begin their dive down and that is when the fluke pops up out of the water.



Skagway: White Pass train ride, bus tour up to Canada to see the Yukon suspension bridge, Liarsville/salmon bake

- work in process

Met Josh
June 20, 2010
Annabelle's

For the last 9 months I was having a blast with friends, enjoying my apartment and life in SF and also navigating the dating scene. Not a huge fan. I like dating someone, but finding the person to date is quite painful.

This particular Sunday I had accepted a movie date from a guy I'd had coffee with, but not much of a connection, he was nice, but there was nothing else. I wasn't really thrilled to go on the date, but I like movies... what can I say?
I had just bought my new camera so I headed downtown early to play around with it and take a few shots. Since I was dreading the movie date I had committed to I decided to grab a cocktail and Annabelle's was just around the corner from the movie theater. I was at the bar and nursing a martini while I perused my camera manual and then in typical fashion I began to chat with the bartenders. This guy sits down next to me and he seemed to know them so we were all chatting a bit. I'm not sure what was so fascinating about the conversation, but this guy and I went off on our own tangent for a few minutes and it was just really fun. It was the most fun I'd had in a very long time, but sadly I had to leave to go on my stupid movie date :( I felt silly since we'd only talked for a few minutes, but I figured if he wanted to hang out again it could be fun. I was in a hurry so I just gave the guy my card, felt impersonal and cheesy and I figured he probably wouldn't call. Couldn't have even told you what he looked like, but he had a nice smile and was wearing a hat. I wasn't even thinking about a "date" with him, I just new it was nice to laugh, have fun and easy conversation with someone and not feel like I was being interviewed.

About a week later I got an email from Josh, the guy :) We emailed just enough to find out we were both very busy most of the month of July, but that we still wanted to try to go out for drinks. We settled on Friday, July 23rd.

Josh's version (told by me so I might get some details wrong): He said it was a typical Sunday, he was in a bad mood from having worked and closed the bar Saturday night and opened the next day. He was about to walk right past Annabelle's and go to BART because he wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody. Then he changed his mind deciding he'd have one shot of Fernet and then go home. As he walked up to the bar he realized a girl was sitting next to his usual spot and he "wasn't going to sit by another pretty girl at a bar", he wasn't in the mood. Josh walked down to the end, but didn't find a better seat so he came back and sat next to the girl. Me of course :) He figured I was going on a date even though I never actually said I was, so although he also had a fun time talking to me, he was a little unsure about following up, even though I did give him my card.

Apparently it was my spazzy nature that lured him in. Who would've figured? :) Josh later told me that it was my physical rendition of my story of tripping and flailing into my bus seat and whacking a guy in the head with my purse that got him interested in me. I honestly didn't remember doing that and was a tiny bit mortified I did... but I guess I can't be too embarrassed since, well it's totally me and it worked!

First Date:
Got home from work on Friday to freshen up and then meet this guy Josh out for drinks and dinner. I was not in a first date mood, they are really exhausting. Cranky about it actually, just wanted to stay home. He texted me to meet him at B Bar at 7:00. Perking up... thinking "I like B Bar..." Allright, a little more motivated.
I'm at the bar early, thank goodness because I don't want to have to do the look around for the first date guy that I cannot remember what he looks like at all! I texted him I was wearing an orange jacket so he could have less problems finding me, in case he was in the same boat!
He arrived... Hello! CUTE :) I totally didn't realize when we met that he was so cute... and bald. Great eyes, Great smile and really works the bald thing. Tall and slim - just handsome! *sigh - yay me! First date already going much better than my cranky pants had imagined :) Then, within the first 5 minutes, I remembered why I wanted to see him again. We just talked like mad and couldn't stop, it was so much fun! We had to pull ourselves away to go to dinner. He took me to this really awesome place, Organic, where he suggested we start with Prosecco. (swooning) It took us forever to actually get to the menu because we couldn't stop talking! We had a delicious dinner, we shared everything, great wine, tons of fun conversation... it was the best first date ever. We talked and walked several blocks and I thought we were going to part ways at the BART station, it was getting close to midnight and I knew there was a last train to Oakland soon. He suggested one more drink at a bar on the corner. Ok I thought, he knows the train schedule better than I do and knows he needs to get across the bay. Josh said he just watched the clock, which was behind my head, go past the time for his last train, but he didn't care. He was enjoying our evening too much :) So at the end of our 6 and a half our date, he made me wear his coat while we waited for a cab for me. A week later we opted to meet earlier so wouldn't have to stay out so late to get a 6 hour date in... yeah, we met at 5:30 and managed an 8 hour date instead. ;)

Girls Visit - Buffalo, NY!
June 2010

Since Mel's move from Virginia to Buffalo, she and Tom found a house! It's really cute and has a huge lot, great for hanging out on their porch in the backyard. So Chandra and I flew up in late June for a visit. Melanie took us to downtown Buffalo for some live music and gave us a tour. We ended up hangingout in our PJ's, talking and watching movies for the majority of the time which is usually my favorite part of our being together :)

My second favorite was our visit to Niagara Falls, a first for me and Chandra. The force of all that water is really just indescribable and very cool to witness. We sprung for the Maid of the Mist boat ride which takes you to the middle of the horseshoe falls end. There is so much mist you can't really get any photos. A tiny bit scary too, feels like you might get sucked in closer and then be crushed into tiny bits from the force of the falls! The free snazzy blue ponchos are a bonus. After touring the American side of the falls, Melanie drove us over the border to Canada to see the view from that side. Equally impressive and so nice to face it and see it from a wider view. On the American side you are looking over the railing down at the falls or from the water looking up. We hung out on a cafe's patio and had a few beers waiting for the sun to set and see the falls light up. Once it gets pitch dark, fireworks go off, everyday during the summer... I think. We decided to start making our way back to the car while the other tourists stood around gazing at the fireworks. This was a great plan because we had to walk along the main street anyway so we could also watch the fireworks. Then, in typical Shelby fashion... I fell. Off the curb. Rolled my ankle enough that it hurt like the dickens. I limped back to the car, took some advil and elevated it for the ride home, then iced a bunch over the next 24 hours. It was swollen and left me limping a bit for a few days, but overall it could have been much worse! Ugh... I'm gonna need a walker before I'm 50.

FINALLY. I've been working on this scrapbook for over a year. There were some serious coupons for shutterfly so it motivated me to finalize our London scrapbook (2006 - I'm so terrible!).

Click here to view this photo book larger

Memorial Weekend in Santa Barbara!

I was so excited to have a little road trip by myself to go visit my dear friend Nicole in Santa Barbara for the long weekend. Nicole and I met in SF through Scott Edmonds (hiker Barrett's brother) about 2 years ago, but it seems a lot longer than that. It was a beautiful SF day on Friday when I left work early so I decided to take Highway 1 down along the coast for a bit of the drive and then hop over to the 101. Well... I managed to miss my exit to cut over and ended up cruising right though Carmel on the 1 and just decided to keep going. Such a georgous drive and really hard to fit into your schedule when planning a drive from SF to the L.A. area, so lucky me.

After a beautiful drive I hit Santa Barbara just as it was getting dark and found my way to Nicole's Hippy-Turd-Hold. The name given by her movers. It's really difficult to describe, but imagine the main road to the driveway of the house was taken out during a landslide years ago so there is a make shift dirt drive up a steep hill as the "new" driveway. Not in use during the rainy season, you must wear your rain boots and hike up. The neighbors pad is a barely visible and crumpled shack halfway down the hill, again due to landslides several years ago. And yes, she is in the infamous fire zone :( The charm of the hippy-turd-hole is it's expansive patio overlooking the hills of Santa Barbara, the fact that Nicole's room, once the living room, has a huge stone fireplace, a wall of windows with "the view" and a tiki bar :)

We were lucky to have a friend of Nicole's take us out for a sail the next day. Armed with my dose of dramamine it was a fantastic afternoon on the water! I was planning on it being much cooler out on the water as it usually is even in sunny Santa Barbara, but it was perfect in the sun. Sunday Nicole drove and showed me around, we went to the coolest place, an old stage coach stop which now has live music, a bar and they sell one kind of sandwich, tri tip. It was good... but I'm such a brisket girl I can't help it!! I will never understand why you would want to naw on thick cut, hard beef when you could have melt-in-your-mouth brisket! :P

We spent a lovely afternoon lazyin' it up on the beach where I showed Nic how to make a redneck beach recliner :) A couple down in front of us were staring and we couldn't figure out why until we saw they copied my sand recliner idea. I totally brought the redneck beach recliner to Santa Barbara! LOL

"I believe everything happens for a reason. People change so you can learn how to let go. Things go wrong, so you can appreciate them when they’re right. You believe lies so you can eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometime goods thing fall apart so better things can fall together."

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity." — Gilda Radner

"They say the bigger your investment, the bigger your return. But you have to be willing to take a chance. You have to understand, you might lose it all. But if you take that chance, if you invest wisely, the payoff... just might surprise you."

Bass-in-a-Bag

Some of my favorites - there were SO many - from the Italian Street Painting in San Rafael this weekend! A-mazing. Next year I am tempted to go by a baby square for $12 with all the kiddos - it looks so much fun!

CHECK OUT WHAT I'M DOING:

http://shelbystntexperience.blogspot.com/

Donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through my webiste are GREATLY appreciated!!

Jolly Fun in LONDON!

Hard to get back to work after 10 amazing days in London with my 2 best friends, Melanie and Chandra. We rented a flat in Nottinghill, just one street over from Portabello Road, and it was perfect!

We saw almost everything in London, took a day trip out to the Cotswalds and to Oxford (I'm a Harry Potter nerd, so I was so entertained by some of the areas used in the movies)

We also went to Cambridge for an afternoon to visit our friends, John and Andie. Drinking wine and punting along the river was too much fun!

We ran over to Wimbeldon for a cheap, late view of a mixed doubles match... wow.

Friends will be sent my shutterfly link as soon as my photos are uploaded and organized. ONLY 300 photos... not too shabby as those who know me know I absolutely love to take pictures!

Cheers mate :)

BIG NEWS for Me!!! (oh... well, and my friends, David & Amanda) :)

So an update for anyone who has forgotten, doesn’t remember, or I just happened to not mention it before… here it is:

My Dear friend Amanda, from Texas, who’s wedding I was just in last September…is officially MOVING HERE!!! How did this all come about you ask?

WELL:

DNA, her husband David’s company, is laying off the entire company in the months of June/July after the wrap of the feature film, “The Ant Bully” due out this August (starring the voices of Julia Roberts & Nicolas Cage). So everyone has been looking for another job. David has been interviewing with EVERYONE (DreamWorks, Pixar, Laika, Reel FX, Critter Pics, Vanguard, Sony, Blue Sky, etc.) since March and even though every single studio is looking to hire, they do not need to bring on Artists until late August/early September.

To add to the pressure, Amanda is a stay-at-home-Mom-to-be…due in early September! So not only is he providing for a family, but if they need to up and move from Dallas, it needs to be around…now!

So over a month ago, David had a first interview with Pixar. The interview went great. But then the waiting game began… first it took 2 weeks to see if he got the precious “second interview” where they fly him out to Emeryville, CA… he did. That seemed to go really well too… but then the waiting began for the “no thank you” call or the official offer phone call. So just a few days ago, a fellow coworker got the “thanks, but no thanks” call. David didn’t get a call – a GOOD sign! Then the another current coworker got an offer call… so David was still waiting…

As of Tuesday, June 6th (ironically 6-6-06) David got his offer call! And if that isn’t exciting enough, the offer is within the parameters of the budget Amanda and he had set for themselves to be able to accept the job in California!

The only downside… there was just a little more... can you belive it: waiting! Ugh. They had to find out which project David would be on, this either puts him starting in July or the end of September. As you can guess, end of September is not only a long time to go without work, but it’s also RIGHT when their baby will be less than a few weeks old, so just a tad inconvenient.
Drum roll please...
David's start date is July 17th!! I will be getting back from London July 2, so as of, or very shortly after, I will have new friends/family just across the bay! Yay ME!! Oh... and of course congrats should go out to David for going after his dream job... hee hee :)

Friends Forever

Maybe our mistakes are what make our fate.
Without them, what would shape our lives?

Perhaps, if we never veered off course,
we wouldn't fall in love...

have babies...
Or be who we are.

After all...
Seasons change,
So do cities.
People come into your life and people go.

But it's comforting to know, that the ones you love...
are always in your heart.

And if you're very lucky,
Only a plane ride away.

Movie Quote:

One of my many fav's...

"It's not about what happened in the past or what you think might happen in the future, it's about the ride! There's no point going through all this crap if your not going to enjoy the ride. And ya know what? When you least expect it, something great might come along, something you didn't even plan for."

- along came polly

My first 49er game... my first NFL game... and my first tailgating experience - SO much fun! We started off being forced to pace ourselves as Stacy left her tickets at home. This was actually her master plan and a good one! I still had plenty of time to have some beer and a hot dog and watch all the drunk people try not to get beer all over themselves doing beer bongs! It was a gorgous November day and I was appreciating the San Francisco way of layering everytime you leave the house - I would have been over dressed and regretting every minute of that game. No need for my extra shirt, my jacket or my scarf, it was about 75... and I know, I know... I no longer sound like a Texan! Boo hoo it's 75 and I'm sweating?! Haha! The game was great, although we lost. But considering everyone thought we were going to get killed... it was a great game! 27-29.

Hot fun in the city...

I have been a busy little social butterfly lately... and I love it! Continuing with my full social calendar, I am off to watch the San Jose Sharks play tonight - from the presidents box! That's hockey for you non sports peeps. Should be a good time with 20 of my closest friends from the firm... and let's see, I know like 10 of them! Free game, free food and free cocktails! Free is good. I like free. Especially now with the "Girls Gone Wild Big 3-0 Trip" coming up!

Thursday I am heading over to the Stanford Theatre to watch "Gold Diggers", an old black-n-white on the big screen, along with some $1 popcorn. Friday night I am off to the big city for a little pampering with the girls: Erin, Andrea, and Janet. We are getting our mani's and pedi's at Lush Life which is on Fillmore, so drinks and fun after! Then I will be staying the night in the city to check on my friend's cat, Emma.

I think I will work on the apartment and getting my xmas tree up on Saturday as my Mom is coming in for Thanksgiving!! Say, "Hi" Mom:
We have an amazing schedule planned, which I will document later, as one of the days is a complete surprise! As many of you may know, I love giving gifts so much so, that it is absolutely painful for me to have to wait

Sunday... Are you ready for some football?! My first NFL game AND my first ever tailgating party! So I guess I will be known as a 49er fan, at least for the day! And I'm okay with that. Plus I only have to chip in a few bucks to partake in the beer and grill fixins! (Are you noticing my cheap theme... it's not always an easy road)

http://www.myspace.com/paradigmca - New favorite of mine! Seen them twice at the Red Devil Lounge and have their cd. You can check out their songs on their myspace page, just click the link! I highly recommend :)

We will ignore the cult of doom and gloom and embrace the cause of zoom and boom. We will laugh at the stupidity of evil and hate, and summon the brilliance to praise and create. No matter how upside-down it all may temporarily appear, we will have no fear because we know this secret: Life is crazily in love with us—wildly and innocently in love with us. The universe always gives us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. -- Unknown