Mom & Aunt Elaine's August Visit
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Chan-Shel-n-Mel in San Antonio
20 Years :)
Friday morning we hopped in the car with a "mix tape" of songs thanks to Chandra (what do you call the modern version of a mix tape? Mix tape just sounds so perfectly cheezy and romantic that I can't imagine what would be as good). We stopped at Chandra & I's old stomping grounds in San Marcos for some lunch at Palmer's Restaurant. It's still a nice place, but funny how we remember it being SO fancy when we were in college since those days were usually $5 dinners if we were lucky and had the money and Palmer's runs in the $10-$15 average, lol.20 Years :)
Back on our way,
we headed to San Antonio to check in at the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort. So awesome! 
Huge hotel, great rooms, fabulous pool with lazy river and out in the middle
of nowhere so we just secluded ourselves there to relax for 2 days. It was great to spend time with my girls. Melanie and I had a hysterical ride in a joint tube down the 
water slide, we lounged on our chairs, chatted, read our books, had lunch and took dips in the pool and rides around the lazy river. Fantastic if you ask me. At dusk they leave the main pool open and show a movie. Melanie had to take part in the smores and then we made our way around splashing kids to a spot in the pool to enjoy some of "Despicable Me" before heading over to the adult edgeless pool to have some chit chat time.Had to leave it all behind on Sunday, but we stopped in New Braunfels at my favorite restaurant, Huisache! Chandra worked there back in the day and it's still just as good as I remember. YUM! Then back to Austin to hang with Josh & Izzy for the evening. We all had breakfast the next morning and then dropped Mel off with her folks and Chandra drove me to the airport.
Til next time...
Saturday, July 09, 2011
4th of July
It was a great weekend. Another joyous moment when Josh told me he didn't have to work Sunday or Monday!! Last minute is impossible to do any overnight trips
on a holiday weekend, but I did score us 2 kayak rentals to go 10 miles down the Russian River on Sunday the 3rd. It was an amazingly sunny, hot, perfect day. We cruised down the river, stopped to have our picnic lunch and wade in the cool water and continued cruising. Then, as we passed a little beach full of people enjoying this holiday weekend I heard "Shelby?" What the... haha, it was my friend Audrey and her fiance! I can't believe she recognized me under my sun hat and out of all the people passing by at a constant rate. We pulled over and enjoyed a beer with them, then headed on our way. Right when my hands were going to give up from all the paddling, our stop was just ahead. We bussed back, got our car and headed home, but not before a quick stop in Santa Rosa at one of our favorite beer pubs.
Monday the 4th was great. Josh and I had a yummy breakfast outdoors, then went
to visit Sally and his godson, Azure. He is getting so big, he used to fit on Josh's forearm. Sally is looking at moving back to Germany in September or October :( She's ready to be back in her own home and also has to get it packed up for when Kevin is done with his stint in Afghanistan in early Spring. Hope they get stationed somewhere much closer!!
Josh and I then went over to his friends, Dean & Amanda's house to ring in the 4th. Amanda is Josh's sister's best friend since they were 13 and now they are moving to Portland :( They have 2 adorable kids, Sadie & Wyatt (now I can't use that name! lol). They were troopers, but since it doesn't get dark til way after their bedtime, we had to do the fireworks at dusk. Oh, and Amanda gave Phillip a mohawk. Lots of great photos!
It was a great weekend. Another joyous moment when Josh told me he didn't have to work Sunday or Monday!! Last minute is impossible to do any overnight trips
on a holiday weekend, but I did score us 2 kayak rentals to go 10 miles down the Russian River on Sunday the 3rd. It was an amazingly sunny, hot, perfect day. We cruised down the river, stopped to have our picnic lunch and wade in the cool water and continued cruising. Then, as we passed a little beach full of people enjoying this holiday weekend I heard "Shelby?" What the... haha, it was my friend Audrey and her fiance! I can't believe she recognized me under my sun hat and out of all the people passing by at a constant rate. We pulled over and enjoyed a beer with them, then headed on our way. Right when my hands were going to give up from all the paddling, our stop was just ahead. We bussed back, got our car and headed home, but not before a quick stop in Santa Rosa at one of our favorite beer pubs.Monday the 4th was great. Josh and I had a yummy breakfast outdoors, then went
to visit Sally and his godson, Azure. He is getting so big, he used to fit on Josh's forearm. Sally is looking at moving back to Germany in September or October :( She's ready to be back in her own home and also has to get it packed up for when Kevin is done with his stint in Afghanistan in early Spring. Hope they get stationed somewhere much closer!!Josh and I then went over to his friends, Dean & Amanda's house to ring in the 4th. Amanda is Josh's sister's best friend since they were 13 and now they are moving to Portland :( They have 2 adorable kids, Sadie & Wyatt (now I can't use that name! lol). They were troopers, but since it doesn't get dark til way after their bedtime, we had to do the fireworks at dusk. Oh, and Amanda gave Phillip a mohawk. Lots of great photos!
Monday, May 16, 2011
June 20th = day I MET Josh (not first date)
It's the first year so I think it's perfectly acceptable to be silly and celebrate 2 anniversaries :) The day we met and then a month later, our first date. However, he will actually be out of town backpacking in Yosemite for the second one.
Other June excitement:
It's the first year so I think it's perfectly acceptable to be silly and celebrate 2 anniversaries :) The day we met and then a month later, our first date. However, he will actually be out of town backpacking in Yosemite for the second one.
Other June excitement:
Welcome Baby Nolan!!
Congrats Amanda & David and big sis Emily!!
May...
Officially, as of May 1 - I have a new roommate! Oddly enough she's stayed at the apartment about 30% of the time anyway as she is my ex-roommate's girlfriend. Which sounds odd since I didn't care for him too much, but she is really great. Super sweet and fun to chat with. She cooks a lot too and sometimes offers me some :) I'm wondering if I couldn't just give
her my $10 a day allotted for food and eat whatever she's cooking... I wish, lol. Although, I am actually going to just enjoy my single girl habit of picking up food here or there or cereal or whatever. Waaay to soon I am aware that things will never be the same. In a good way. Once Josh and I move in, we'll have more reason to cook for each other, someone to eat leftovers so they don't last 5 days and both motivate each other to eat out less. And then one day, a while from now, I'll have to worry about not just feeding myself! All good reasons to live in the now and just go with my own flow. I want to see if I can get sick of my absolute favorite mexican food joint just 2 blocks from my house :) Nick, the bartender and part owner of Don Pisto's, is already a little annoyed that I have an expiration date set for when I'm no longer a neighbor. *sniff. Nick and I hit it off right off the bat as he lived in Austin for a while and owned a restaurant there. Don't ask me what it was, I don't remember and didn't know of it when he said it anyway. PS: the weird pic, it's my alley and I looked up and saw the asparagus poking out. Huh.
Things I love about my neighborhood:
- Walking to work when the sun is out (yes, even when it's cold, just not raining!) and knowing I get to be a
part of this quaint neighborhood at this special time. It's quiet :)
- Entertaining myself on the walk to and fro, looking in all the shop windows
- The smell of the French-Italian bakery that I stop in nearly everyday for the ultimate croissant. (I'm not biased, I've brought several people one as a treat and they all rave about it) and the old ladies who run the counter and ask "what have you hon?" They know, but ask anyway :)
- All the crazy old asian ladies in Washington Square who do their odd yoga dancing every morning. I'm really not judging, they obviously have put 2 and 2 together and realized that frequent exercise is they key to being 100 and still trotting about all over the city. Who would've thought? (sarcasm)
- All the old italian men, haha... just so picturesque. I actually get really sad thinking about what will happen when they are all gone? Are their enough Italians still in North Beach to keep a flock of old men about?
- The Hill. ugh, yes I said it. Some days my nemesis... but either way I have to get home and my body thanks me. That is, as soon as it's done hyperventilating.
her my $10 a day allotted for food and eat whatever she's cooking... I wish, lol. Although, I am actually going to just enjoy my single girl habit of picking up food here or there or cereal or whatever. Waaay to soon I am aware that things will never be the same. In a good way. Once Josh and I move in, we'll have more reason to cook for each other, someone to eat leftovers so they don't last 5 days and both motivate each other to eat out less. And then one day, a while from now, I'll have to worry about not just feeding myself! All good reasons to live in the now and just go with my own flow. I want to see if I can get sick of my absolute favorite mexican food joint just 2 blocks from my house :) Nick, the bartender and part owner of Don Pisto's, is already a little annoyed that I have an expiration date set for when I'm no longer a neighbor. *sniff. Nick and I hit it off right off the bat as he lived in Austin for a while and owned a restaurant there. Don't ask me what it was, I don't remember and didn't know of it when he said it anyway. PS: the weird pic, it's my alley and I looked up and saw the asparagus poking out. Huh.Things I love about my neighborhood:
- Walking to work when the sun is out (yes, even when it's cold, just not raining!) and knowing I get to be a
part of this quaint neighborhood at this special time. It's quiet :)- Entertaining myself on the walk to and fro, looking in all the shop windows
- The smell of the French-Italian bakery that I stop in nearly everyday for the ultimate croissant. (I'm not biased, I've brought several people one as a treat and they all rave about it) and the old ladies who run the counter and ask "what have you hon?" They know, but ask anyway :)
- All the crazy old asian ladies in Washington Square who do their odd yoga dancing every morning. I'm really not judging, they obviously have put 2 and 2 together and realized that frequent exercise is they key to being 100 and still trotting about all over the city. Who would've thought? (sarcasm)
- All the old italian men, haha... just so picturesque. I actually get really sad thinking about what will happen when they are all gone? Are their enough Italians still in North Beach to keep a flock of old men about?
- The Hill. ugh, yes I said it. Some days my nemesis... but either way I have to get home and my body thanks me. That is, as soon as it's done hyperventilating.
April
Josh and I were lucky to squeeze in another little getaway, a surprise destination planned by Josh! :)
We originally planned for me to take time off one Thursday so we could just have a normal full day together and do things we keep saying we wish we could do. Then Josh asked me if I thought I could get a Friday off too. I said "but you work Fridays" and he replied "yes, but I was going to ask off" ...so he told me to pack casual and not to get too excited. The night before we left was great because I got to meet his oldest sister who was visiting from New York. We, including his little sister Beth and her boyfriend, went out to dinner and it was fun being around his siblings (minus the 2 younger brothers). Thursday morning we grabbed breakfast and got on the road and I still didn't know what direction we were even headed! South. Ok. Then an interesting detour in San Jose, Josh showed me the house he was born in :) Back on the road we wer
e now going west so I guessed correctly we 
were heading to either Santa Cruz or Monterey. As we kept going past Santa Cruz, Josh clued me into his plans which were to drive along Hwy 1, take me to Hearst Castle, stay in Monterey and do some light hiking around Big Sur. Plans were changed due to a landslide on Hwy 1 just 20 miles north of the castle. 
We were both a little disappointed but it was a sunny, beautiful day, we had great music, snacks and enjoyed driving the scenic route. He took me to a famous spot in Big Sur, the McWay Waterfall Trail that has a view of a movie set looking beach with a waterfall. Can you imagine this being your backyard? There was once a house built on this cliff and once it became a state park they tried to keep the structure, but it was too unstable. Back in the car we stopped at a different trail and hiked down to a spot where there was a little bench and a middle aged couple was already sitting enjoying the waves and a bottle of wine. Come to find out they had come here accidentally on a first date 20 some years ago and were celebrating an anniversary. 
They were really sweet and took our picture. As we were heading back to Monterey we saw a little dive restaurant bar in the middle of Big Sur with a "Happy Hour 5pm-7pm" 
It was 4:59 so we immediately pulled over and as we did I just about died that there was a giant turkey we almost ran over!
Back to Monterey to check into our hotel, we cleaned up and headed out for dinner & drinks. Nothing fancy, but we had a great time especially at a local bar "observing" some of the locals ;)
Josh and I were lucky to squeeze in another little getaway, a surprise destination planned by Josh! :)
We originally planned for me to take time off one Thursday so we could just have a normal full day together and do things we keep saying we wish we could do. Then Josh asked me if I thought I could get a Friday off too. I said "but you work Fridays" and he replied "yes, but I was going to ask off" ...so he told me to pack casual and not to get too excited. The night before we left was great because I got to meet his oldest sister who was visiting from New York. We, including his little sister Beth and her boyfriend, went out to dinner and it was fun being around his siblings (minus the 2 younger brothers). Thursday morning we grabbed breakfast and got on the road and I still didn't know what direction we were even headed! South. Ok. Then an interesting detour in San Jose, Josh showed me the house he was born in :) Back on the road we wer
e now going west so I guessed correctly we 
were heading to either Santa Cruz or Monterey. As we kept going past Santa Cruz, Josh clued me into his plans which were to drive along Hwy 1, take me to Hearst Castle, stay in Monterey and do some light hiking around Big Sur. Plans were changed due to a landslide on Hwy 1 just 20 miles north of the castle. 
We were both a little disappointed but it was a sunny, beautiful day, we had great music, snacks and enjoyed driving the scenic route. He took me to a famous spot in Big Sur, the McWay Waterfall Trail that has a view of a movie set looking beach with a waterfall. Can you imagine this being your backyard? There was once a house built on this cliff and once it became a state park they tried to keep the structure, but it was too unstable. Back in the car we stopped at a different trail and hiked down to a spot where there was a little bench and a middle aged couple was already sitting enjoying the waves and a bottle of wine. Come to find out they had come here accidentally on a first date 20 some years ago and were celebrating an anniversary. 
They were really sweet and took our picture. As we were heading back to Monterey we saw a little dive restaurant bar in the middle of Big Sur with a "Happy Hour 5pm-7pm" 
It was 4:59 so we immediately pulled over and as we did I just about died that there was a giant turkey we almost ran over! Back to Monterey to check into our hotel, we cleaned up and headed out for dinner & drinks. Nothing fancy, but we had a great time especially at a local bar "observing" some of the locals ;)
Next morning we grabbed a relaxing breakfast and drove the scenic drive around Monterey - I cannot get over the eye popping electric pink-purple flowers that cover the ground:
After that we drove towards Carmel to check out Point Lobos.
Josh had been several years ago and I'd heard about it several times but not been. A really beautiful place with easy hiking/walking around trails. Usually VERY windy at some of the points, but we lucked out with a less windy day so it was perfect.
After that we drove towards Carmel to check out Point Lobos.
Josh had been several years ago and I'd heard about it several times but not been. A really beautiful place with easy hiking/walking around trails. Usually VERY windy at some of the points, but we lucked out with a less windy day so it was perfect.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
March Madness!
LOL... growing up with my brother Trey, this is stuck in my head whenever I think about March. I'm amused that both my work calendars have chosen March to be burnt orange (from Austin/UT... yeah it's ok if you don't get it).
March is a little mad, my computers are defintely mad and making it near impossible to get work done so I'm going to end up going mad. Working a lot, babysitting, finding time to do the little things we all have on the to-do list, hang out with Josh, save money and then... oh right, I need to squeeze in that whole gym thing :(
I'm seeing my wonderful chiropractor, the amazing Dr. Chae, only once a week now. Was going twice a week for 5 months and will keep going once a week throgh this month and then, fingers crossed, every other week. Dr. Chae is actually a friend of Josh's and really helped him after his big motorcycle accident a few years ago. I've recommended two friends from work who seem to love him as well. One girl is in her early 20's, a very fit runner, but kept complaining of nerve pain and the other girl has similar back issues as me but also lives with fibromyalgia and he's working with her on a specific diet he learned about to hopefully help her more! Now that I have the chiropractor doing his thing and helping my spine and body be aligned and healthy, I need to do my part! Although the budget frowned upon extra expenses, I knew this was important and I also knew I needed help. I have never been a workout person. I like to be active and I want to be healthy and fit to have kids, grow old and still be active, etc, but I hate working out!! I hate gyms. I think I hate them because I have no earthly idea what to do there. Go to classes? Um.. yeah, I am so out of shape I'd last 5 minutes, leave with low self esteem and never go back. I need to get a little stronger first. Machines? What the hell are these do-hickies and how do I know I'm using them right much less with the right form so I don't walk away injuring myself further? So I got a (sigh) gym membership at the Club One which is right in my office complex so I will require less motivation to at least get to the gym (this really is key.: getting to the gym). When you start they offer a special for 3 sessions with a trainer. I hate when trainers don't take my back situation seriously. They act like "everyone has back issues". Really? Is everyone as physically weak as I am? Does everyone throw their back out to the point of not being able to move, sit and therefore miss work? Anyway I got a trainer and she was ok, but she kept cancelling on me so then of course I wasn't going to the gym to walk around not knowing what workout I should be doing! Finally I made an appointment with a manager there and told them I was not happy with my experience, that I really did need the guidance of a good trainer to even start coming to the gym regularly. They were really embarrassed by what happened (they had also just found out she just up and quit) and so they offered me 3 new sessions with a better trainer. I ended up getting a call from the head trainer and he said he'd work with me until he could find one of his other trainers to help me. It was the BEST training session I've ever had. Everything we did was a full body exercise and they all were with perfect form and perfect for my back. I was so sore the next day but did not feel my back ache once!
With me luck, I have to make myself go!!
LOL... growing up with my brother Trey, this is stuck in my head whenever I think about March. I'm amused that both my work calendars have chosen March to be burnt orange (from Austin/UT... yeah it's ok if you don't get it).
March is a little mad, my computers are defintely mad and making it near impossible to get work done so I'm going to end up going mad. Working a lot, babysitting, finding time to do the little things we all have on the to-do list, hang out with Josh, save money and then... oh right, I need to squeeze in that whole gym thing :(
I'm seeing my wonderful chiropractor, the amazing Dr. Chae, only once a week now. Was going twice a week for 5 months and will keep going once a week throgh this month and then, fingers crossed, every other week. Dr. Chae is actually a friend of Josh's and really helped him after his big motorcycle accident a few years ago. I've recommended two friends from work who seem to love him as well. One girl is in her early 20's, a very fit runner, but kept complaining of nerve pain and the other girl has similar back issues as me but also lives with fibromyalgia and he's working with her on a specific diet he learned about to hopefully help her more! Now that I have the chiropractor doing his thing and helping my spine and body be aligned and healthy, I need to do my part! Although the budget frowned upon extra expenses, I knew this was important and I also knew I needed help. I have never been a workout person. I like to be active and I want to be healthy and fit to have kids, grow old and still be active, etc, but I hate working out!! I hate gyms. I think I hate them because I have no earthly idea what to do there. Go to classes? Um.. yeah, I am so out of shape I'd last 5 minutes, leave with low self esteem and never go back. I need to get a little stronger first. Machines? What the hell are these do-hickies and how do I know I'm using them right much less with the right form so I don't walk away injuring myself further? So I got a (sigh) gym membership at the Club One which is right in my office complex so I will require less motivation to at least get to the gym (this really is key.: getting to the gym). When you start they offer a special for 3 sessions with a trainer. I hate when trainers don't take my back situation seriously. They act like "everyone has back issues". Really? Is everyone as physically weak as I am? Does everyone throw their back out to the point of not being able to move, sit and therefore miss work? Anyway I got a trainer and she was ok, but she kept cancelling on me so then of course I wasn't going to the gym to walk around not knowing what workout I should be doing! Finally I made an appointment with a manager there and told them I was not happy with my experience, that I really did need the guidance of a good trainer to even start coming to the gym regularly. They were really embarrassed by what happened (they had also just found out she just up and quit) and so they offered me 3 new sessions with a better trainer. I ended up getting a call from the head trainer and he said he'd work with me until he could find one of his other trainers to help me. It was the BEST training session I've ever had. Everything we did was a full body exercise and they all were with perfect form and perfect for my back. I was so sore the next day but did not feel my back ache once!
With me luck, I have to make myself go!!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Mini Vacation - Monday 2/14
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!
First off - holy crap it was windy and cold by the coast! We drove up about 55 miles north to Crescent City (almost to Oregon now!) It looks cold & windy... but I'm telling you the photo doesn't do it justice. You really can't tell that the wind was pushing me and inflating my jacket and my pants, I was giggling and trying to yell at Josh to hurry up with the flippin photo!
Then we drove inland a little, much warmer and less windy! Ok, not a ton warmer... but into Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park. Josh wanted to show me the Smith River. It's color is amazing and Josh was actually a little disappointed by it, said it is so much more emerald green and blue when the sun is out. I was impressed by how green/blue it was on such an overcast and rainy day!
Then we headed back a bit south and Josh found the trail head he wanted to take me on so we pulled over and hiked down to where the original highway was - can you imagine this was the highway? I have other pics where it literally just drops off. Hoping that back in the day there was a little more land on the coastal side... You can see the middle white lane stripe in this pic. We even found an old highway marker. 
We grabbed some wine at the only little "market" and headed back to the house for Valentines Dinner that Theresa was cooking up for all of us! SO sweet they wanted to share their prime rib valentines dinner with us :) We were very grateful and had a lot of fun.
Then we drove inland a little, much warmer and less windy! Ok, not a ton warmer... but into Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park. Josh wanted to show me the Smith River. It's color is amazing and Josh was actually a little disappointed by it, said it is so much more emerald green and blue when the sun is out. I was impressed by how green/blue it was on such an overcast and rainy day!
Then we headed back a bit south and Josh found the trail head he wanted to take me on so we pulled over and hiked down to where the original highway was - can you imagine this was the highway? I have other pics where it literally just drops off. Hoping that back in the day there was a little more land on the coastal side... You can see the middle white lane stripe in this pic. We even found an old highway marker. 
We grabbed some wine at the only little "market" and headed back to the house for Valentines Dinner that Theresa was cooking up for all of us! SO sweet they wanted to share their prime rib valentines dinner with us :) We were very grateful and had a lot of fun.
Mini Vacation - Sunday 2/13
Sunday morning we slept in and on the way out we swung by a local favorite spot of ours, Cafe Trieste to grab lattes and egg sandwiches for the road. I was in the driver's seat and am not a good driver-eater so I am just as surprised as the next person that I did not have bacon grease and bits of egg all over me :) And out of Oakland we go! An hour and a half into it, we knew we wanted to swing by Santa Rosa, CA to see if we couldn't grab Josh a taste of Pliny the Younger from the Russian River Brewery. It only gets brewed once a year and they can only do a small batch. Last year it sold out in one day, this year they made some precautions to help that. You can only order a 10 oz glass, you can't buy it in a growler to take home, etc. As we drive down the street we go "There it is! ....and there is the ridiculous line everyone is waiting in to even get a chance to get in... :( " So we get back on the highway feeling a little bummed. We were definitely going to try again on our way back home on Tuesday... but if they sold out in one day last year, what are the odds they will still have some on Tuesday? To cheer Josh up I told him to google brewing companies and see what pops up on the map that sounds interesting and not far off our drive up north. We settled on waiting to get up to Fortuna, CA (200 more miles north) and popping in at Eel River Brewing Co. So glad we did!! I am a total fan and this is coming from someone who really doesn't give a crap about beer. They won an award in SF in 2010 for their Acai Berry Wheat - really good, I had a small 10 oz. and I also tested their Amber and fell in love so we got a growler of that to take as a gift to our hosts (Yes I was hoping they'd share!). Josh had to try their double IPA and as I already was skeptic since I do know I do not like hoppy beers, have never had an IPA that tasted anything near drinkable... why would a double IPA be any better? Wouldn't I dislike it twice as much? Shockingly, I really liked it. Very fun and also a weird experience for me as I had no idea I liked beer so much until Eel River! (Which I also learned, the actual river, does have fresh water eels - eeeee! yuck).
Backing up, back on the road from our Santa Rosa failed beer stop about 127 miles more of my driving, I saw a road sign for the drive through tree! I remember seeing the 1950's postcards of the drive through redwood tree and dreaming of being able to see it. I also remember reading at some point that you could no longer drive through it and maybe that it had even died/fell down. All these vague facts, but I do remember being a bit sad I'd never have the chance to drive through the tree. Little did I know there are more than the one famous tree that was in the postcard and more importantly it was going to be on our way!! I can't explain how childlike and excited I was. Josh said he could care less (also probably because he grew up around redwoods, I'm sure it's a lot less exciting) but he laughed at how enthusiastic I got and was more than happy to detour off the highway.
After the tree and some photos of us goofing off in a hollowed base of an old redwood, we hopped back on the highway 101 another 80 miles until Eel River beer time. Then it was just another hour and a half to Orick, population 650 - woo hoo, party! Well we did actually, but just in the confines of our hosts living room :) There really isn't anywhere else. Another fun surprise... Josh had told me nothing of the couple we were visiting other than they were in their 50's, had known him for about 12 years from being regulars at his bar and they had kids about his age. Left out the part about them being Dead Heads. It was certainly not a big deal to me, just a funny little surprise we were staying with total hippies who used to follow the Greatful Dead and sell tie dyes out of their van, lol. SUPER sweet and awesome couple, we had a blast hanging out in the evenings with them. She cooked us ribs for dinner that night too! Yay for home cooked food!
Sunday morning we slept in and on the way out we swung by a local favorite spot of ours, Cafe Trieste to grab lattes and egg sandwiches for the road. I was in the driver's seat and am not a good driver-eater so I am just as surprised as the next person that I did not have bacon grease and bits of egg all over me :) And out of Oakland we go! An hour and a half into it, we knew we wanted to swing by Santa Rosa, CA to see if we couldn't grab Josh a taste of Pliny the Younger from the Russian River Brewery. It only gets brewed once a year and they can only do a small batch. Last year it sold out in one day, this year they made some precautions to help that. You can only order a 10 oz glass, you can't buy it in a growler to take home, etc. As we drive down the street we go "There it is! ....and there is the ridiculous line everyone is waiting in to even get a chance to get in... :( " So we get back on the highway feeling a little bummed. We were definitely going to try again on our way back home on Tuesday... but if they sold out in one day last year, what are the odds they will still have some on Tuesday? To cheer Josh up I told him to google brewing companies and see what pops up on the map that sounds interesting and not far off our drive up north. We settled on waiting to get up to Fortuna, CA (200 more miles north) and popping in at Eel River Brewing Co. So glad we did!! I am a total fan and this is coming from someone who really doesn't give a crap about beer. They won an award in SF in 2010 for their Acai Berry Wheat - really good, I had a small 10 oz. and I also tested their Amber and fell in love so we got a growler of that to take as a gift to our hosts (Yes I was hoping they'd share!). Josh had to try their double IPA and as I already was skeptic since I do know I do not like hoppy beers, have never had an IPA that tasted anything near drinkable... why would a double IPA be any better? Wouldn't I dislike it twice as much? Shockingly, I really liked it. Very fun and also a weird experience for me as I had no idea I liked beer so much until Eel River! (Which I also learned, the actual river, does have fresh water eels - eeeee! yuck).
Backing up, back on the road from our Santa Rosa failed beer stop about 127 miles more of my driving, I saw a road sign for the drive through tree! I remember seeing the 1950's postcards of the drive through redwood tree and dreaming of being able to see it. I also remember reading at some point that you could no longer drive through it and maybe that it had even died/fell down. All these vague facts, but I do remember being a bit sad I'd never have the chance to drive through the tree. Little did I know there are more than the one famous tree that was in the postcard and more importantly it was going to be on our way!! I can't explain how childlike and excited I was. Josh said he could care less (also probably because he grew up around redwoods, I'm sure it's a lot less exciting) but he laughed at how enthusiastic I got and was more than happy to detour off the highway.
After the tree and some photos of us goofing off in a hollowed base of an old redwood, we hopped back on the highway 101 another 80 miles until Eel River beer time. Then it was just another hour and a half to Orick, population 650 - woo hoo, party! Well we did actually, but just in the confines of our hosts living room :) There really isn't anywhere else. Another fun surprise... Josh had told me nothing of the couple we were visiting other than they were in their 50's, had known him for about 12 years from being regulars at his bar and they had kids about his age. Left out the part about them being Dead Heads. It was certainly not a big deal to me, just a funny little surprise we were staying with total hippies who used to follow the Greatful Dead and sell tie dyes out of their van, lol. SUPER sweet and awesome couple, we had a blast hanging out in the evenings with them. She cooked us ribs for dinner that night too! Yay for home cooked food!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Mini-Vacation!
Time away with Josh, Finally! I am so excited to just be with him for 3 days straight and look forward to relaxing!! All we do is work completely different schedules, never a full day off together to even do a fun day trip, much less any type of overnight vacation so I just can't wait for this quality time :)
Josh knows a couple who have continually invited us up to their house in Orick, CA and with our budgets this is the perfect little vacation. Gas money, food money, done. It's about a 5+ hour drive to this tiny town north of Eureka near the coast, then we have 2 nights of free, homey lodging, with I'm assuming lovely people, relaxing and eating is about all we are gonna do and I am perfectly ok with that. We want to go hiking on Monday, but yay for 100% chance of rain.... oh well, we've decided we'll attempt it anyway. Once your up under all those redwoods, the rain doesn't hit down as hard and who cares if we get wet? What else are we doing? :) At some point, most likely on the drive back down, Josh is looking forward to stopping at a few of his favorite breweries for some beer tastings. Then back to work Wednesday... ok, I'm just not gonna think about that right now.
Time away with Josh, Finally! I am so excited to just be with him for 3 days straight and look forward to relaxing!! All we do is work completely different schedules, never a full day off together to even do a fun day trip, much less any type of overnight vacation so I just can't wait for this quality time :)
Josh knows a couple who have continually invited us up to their house in Orick, CA and with our budgets this is the perfect little vacation. Gas money, food money, done. It's about a 5+ hour drive to this tiny town north of Eureka near the coast, then we have 2 nights of free, homey lodging, with I'm assuming lovely people, relaxing and eating is about all we are gonna do and I am perfectly ok with that. We want to go hiking on Monday, but yay for 100% chance of rain.... oh well, we've decided we'll attempt it anyway. Once your up under all those redwoods, the rain doesn't hit down as hard and who cares if we get wet? What else are we doing? :) At some point, most likely on the drive back down, Josh is looking forward to stopping at a few of his favorite breweries for some beer tastings. Then back to work Wednesday... ok, I'm just not gonna think about that right now.
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Non Happy Day Post (beware)
Blogs are great to remember the good times, the fun moments, the "keepsakes", but not many venture to diary about the negative stuff. It's ok, I usually prefer to avoid it myself. Opens the door up for commentary on something that is already bugging or upsetting you. Today is a bit different as I just can't get this angry bitter voice out of my head whose been lingering there for months now, so I decided just to vent it out, hoping it stays here and not in my head where it's doing nothing but damage. And when I look back over my memories and good times, I'll hopefully have a very satisfying feeling of "Remember that shitty time?! Thank god it didn't last..."
And so my selfish rant begins.
I'm on a huge budget crunch and it's never ending so the motivation is tough to come by when there is no end in sight. People think I'm doing so good, I'm not going on vacations, I'm not buying new clothes, not eating out at restaurants... no people, I'm not shopping at all, not even for groceries. I'm not trying to sound pathetic and homeless, I'm trying to vent off some frustration because I feel very alone and very misunderstood these days. I avoid going to the grocery store because it's so expensive! Unless you want to buy the processed crap and ramen as your staples, fresh fruit and veggies cost a lot! This is why I just go home and end up eating cereal as my main course, along with the occasional pasta dish and toast. Toast is filling and I like toast. This is why the $4 subway sandwich is cheaper than buying the fixings at the grocery store. It doesn't go bad, doesn't go to waste and if I'm not in the mood for a stupid sandwich again then I just don't go buy one. I opt for the $5 soup across the street. I've been working a ton, which brings in no more income than before, just more worry about when and what am I going to eat to give me fuel to get through the long days without spending money. Which is probably why I got sick. I'm not stupid, I know my body needs vitamins and nutrients to be healthy, but then we are back to the expensive ass grocery problem. I babysit part time to bring in cash to fund any other items that pop up on the budget, my cats food and litter and other personal products. It's hard to work at a fancy firm and try to look fancy so you get promoted when you feel like a loser. I could stop going to my hair salon, but that would be the day I lose it and would have to be clinically admitted. Probably not the best budget slicer then.
Then there is the friend alienation feeling. Nobody purposely doesn't invite me places or doesn't want to be my friend (god I hope...sometimes I'm really not sure, but lets not go there), but when you cannot afford to do anything, why would anyone invite you anywhere? I could just keep turning people down and keep my tight budget to myself, but I don't want people to think that I don't want to hang out. But if I tell them I can't hang out because of a tight budget, then they feel guilty and say they'll pay for something or another if I can come out - I can't do this because this is not a short term tight budget, so when does it stop? I accept a freebie from a friend one day, (honestly it's painful for me to do any day) but I mean they won't keep offering, and to be VERY clear, I would never accept anyway, so the long and short is, they know I can't afford to do anything so they just don't ask. Without a social life I live for the time I get to spend with Josh. This is great cause I am so lucky to have such a great boyfriend. But anyone who knows will tell you that without your own life, you won't seem so interesting to a significant other. Awesome right? I'm unhealthy, tired, sick and have no friends. So tell me... why is it SO easy NOT to throw a little on your credit card? Oh I'm not wavering yet, don't you worry, I've gotten so good at not spending any extra money it's awesome... yeah, super awesome.
Blogs are great to remember the good times, the fun moments, the "keepsakes", but not many venture to diary about the negative stuff. It's ok, I usually prefer to avoid it myself. Opens the door up for commentary on something that is already bugging or upsetting you. Today is a bit different as I just can't get this angry bitter voice out of my head whose been lingering there for months now, so I decided just to vent it out, hoping it stays here and not in my head where it's doing nothing but damage. And when I look back over my memories and good times, I'll hopefully have a very satisfying feeling of "Remember that shitty time?! Thank god it didn't last..."
And so my selfish rant begins.
I'm on a huge budget crunch and it's never ending so the motivation is tough to come by when there is no end in sight. People think I'm doing so good, I'm not going on vacations, I'm not buying new clothes, not eating out at restaurants... no people, I'm not shopping at all, not even for groceries. I'm not trying to sound pathetic and homeless, I'm trying to vent off some frustration because I feel very alone and very misunderstood these days. I avoid going to the grocery store because it's so expensive! Unless you want to buy the processed crap and ramen as your staples, fresh fruit and veggies cost a lot! This is why I just go home and end up eating cereal as my main course, along with the occasional pasta dish and toast. Toast is filling and I like toast. This is why the $4 subway sandwich is cheaper than buying the fixings at the grocery store. It doesn't go bad, doesn't go to waste and if I'm not in the mood for a stupid sandwich again then I just don't go buy one. I opt for the $5 soup across the street. I've been working a ton, which brings in no more income than before, just more worry about when and what am I going to eat to give me fuel to get through the long days without spending money. Which is probably why I got sick. I'm not stupid, I know my body needs vitamins and nutrients to be healthy, but then we are back to the expensive ass grocery problem. I babysit part time to bring in cash to fund any other items that pop up on the budget, my cats food and litter and other personal products. It's hard to work at a fancy firm and try to look fancy so you get promoted when you feel like a loser. I could stop going to my hair salon, but that would be the day I lose it and would have to be clinically admitted. Probably not the best budget slicer then.
Then there is the friend alienation feeling. Nobody purposely doesn't invite me places or doesn't want to be my friend (god I hope...sometimes I'm really not sure, but lets not go there), but when you cannot afford to do anything, why would anyone invite you anywhere? I could just keep turning people down and keep my tight budget to myself, but I don't want people to think that I don't want to hang out. But if I tell them I can't hang out because of a tight budget, then they feel guilty and say they'll pay for something or another if I can come out - I can't do this because this is not a short term tight budget, so when does it stop? I accept a freebie from a friend one day, (honestly it's painful for me to do any day) but I mean they won't keep offering, and to be VERY clear, I would never accept anyway, so the long and short is, they know I can't afford to do anything so they just don't ask. Without a social life I live for the time I get to spend with Josh. This is great cause I am so lucky to have such a great boyfriend. But anyone who knows will tell you that without your own life, you won't seem so interesting to a significant other. Awesome right? I'm unhealthy, tired, sick and have no friends. So tell me... why is it SO easy NOT to throw a little on your credit card? Oh I'm not wavering yet, don't you worry, I've gotten so good at not spending any extra money it's awesome... yeah, super awesome.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
January 2011 - went by in a very very work induced haze unfortunately. Still a bit fuzzy to be honest.
I came back from Texas and it was back to the daily grind. Hurumph. Super happy to see Josh after 9 lonely days away from him, but part of the reunion was a little disappointing for me. For 2 quick seconds I'll recap my own pathetic feel sorry for myself moment. It's stupid. Are you ready? It was our FIRST christmas and we didn't get to be together and I had gotten over that, kind of. Well first of all, Josh is soooo hard to buy for! He knows what he likes and is rather picky, plus he would be very disappointed if I spent much money. So what in the world do I get?! I consider myself to be a pretty good gift giver, but was at a complete loss while shopping for him in Texas and felt the pressure of the "first gift" thing too. PLUS his birthday was Jan. 7th so I had that looming as well. I opted for the last resort option which was his specific gift request: a sweater that had small zippered neck which I was happy to find they were in style and Macy's was having last minute sales, bonus. That also meant slim pickings and it seemed everything that caught my eye was out of his size :( Long story short, ok not really, I found 2 "ok" sweaters and they were complete failures. *sigh. They were ugly and didn't fit him. I told him we'd go shopping and get him something else... It's February 5th and we still never have. With him working weekends it's not like we run many errands together, but it's mainly that he will not let me buy him anything while on my huge budget crunch. So there you go, first xmas not together and I gave him nothing. Sweet. Everyone says it's not a big deal, but the firsts are fun and a big deal at the time and mattered to me. A few years down, sure, we'll have a good laugh at my sucky gift giving. Plus he did pretty damn great on my gifts - dingus! Got me a hat from a little old and well known hat shop just down the street from my place in north beach, I love hats, and a cookbook for idiots. Ok, not really "for idiots" but it really is a cool cookbook that gives you secrets to cooking and will hopefully rid me of some of my cooking anxiety! Maybe...
For Josh's birthday he enjoyed the afternoon with his sister and friends while I worked and then I met them at a bar and from there Josh and I did end up having a very cozy and romantic dinner at Dopo near his place. It was pretty fantastic. Great food and great conversation :) I gave him a coupon I bought for 2 (him and a buddy) to go play paintball sometime. Then I was informed that it's not really that fun with only 2 people and more fun with a group. Sweet, another fail. :( Well, on the bright side he definitely does not love me for my money or awesome gifting skills.
That's it. The rest of January has been almost 7 days a week constantly working mostly due to lack of help in one office and new/difficult clients AND then me trying to do a more than usual impressive job on all this chaos so as to make manager later this year. After 7 years I better!! This on top of my random 2+ weekly babysitting gigs, trying to make time for Josh, the chiropractor and gym time... which was seriously once a week because there was NO time. I've been exhausted constantly.
So it's February. Fingers tightly crossed Josh can get the days off he requested so we can go on our "first" (yes, setting expectations super low) little vacation. I just want to relax and actually spend more than 12 hours in a row together! Just a road trip up north and staying at a friend's house.
I came back from Texas and it was back to the daily grind. Hurumph. Super happy to see Josh after 9 lonely days away from him, but part of the reunion was a little disappointing for me. For 2 quick seconds I'll recap my own pathetic feel sorry for myself moment. It's stupid. Are you ready? It was our FIRST christmas and we didn't get to be together and I had gotten over that, kind of. Well first of all, Josh is soooo hard to buy for! He knows what he likes and is rather picky, plus he would be very disappointed if I spent much money. So what in the world do I get?! I consider myself to be a pretty good gift giver, but was at a complete loss while shopping for him in Texas and felt the pressure of the "first gift" thing too. PLUS his birthday was Jan. 7th so I had that looming as well. I opted for the last resort option which was his specific gift request: a sweater that had small zippered neck which I was happy to find they were in style and Macy's was having last minute sales, bonus. That also meant slim pickings and it seemed everything that caught my eye was out of his size :( Long story short, ok not really, I found 2 "ok" sweaters and they were complete failures. *sigh. They were ugly and didn't fit him. I told him we'd go shopping and get him something else... It's February 5th and we still never have. With him working weekends it's not like we run many errands together, but it's mainly that he will not let me buy him anything while on my huge budget crunch. So there you go, first xmas not together and I gave him nothing. Sweet. Everyone says it's not a big deal, but the firsts are fun and a big deal at the time and mattered to me. A few years down, sure, we'll have a good laugh at my sucky gift giving. Plus he did pretty damn great on my gifts - dingus! Got me a hat from a little old and well known hat shop just down the street from my place in north beach, I love hats, and a cookbook for idiots. Ok, not really "for idiots" but it really is a cool cookbook that gives you secrets to cooking and will hopefully rid me of some of my cooking anxiety! Maybe...
For Josh's birthday he enjoyed the afternoon with his sister and friends while I worked and then I met them at a bar and from there Josh and I did end up having a very cozy and romantic dinner at Dopo near his place. It was pretty fantastic. Great food and great conversation :) I gave him a coupon I bought for 2 (him and a buddy) to go play paintball sometime. Then I was informed that it's not really that fun with only 2 people and more fun with a group. Sweet, another fail. :( Well, on the bright side he definitely does not love me for my money or awesome gifting skills.
That's it. The rest of January has been almost 7 days a week constantly working mostly due to lack of help in one office and new/difficult clients AND then me trying to do a more than usual impressive job on all this chaos so as to make manager later this year. After 7 years I better!! This on top of my random 2+ weekly babysitting gigs, trying to make time for Josh, the chiropractor and gym time... which was seriously once a week because there was NO time. I've been exhausted constantly.
So it's February. Fingers tightly crossed Josh can get the days off he requested so we can go on our "first" (yes, setting expectations super low) little vacation. I just want to relax and actually spend more than 12 hours in a row together! Just a road trip up north and staying at a friend's house.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
A Texas Christmas - Day 9
Dec. 26th
Dec. 26th
Goodbye Texas :(
Woke up and had my mission - to pick up some Round Rock donuts! I can't tell you how many people I've heard say "I don't like donuts, never eat them. But I love RR donuts!"
I was seriously glad I had my new winter coat - holy jeez it was 29 earlier that morning and by the time I ventured out around 9:30 it was 34 I think. Rather a painful breezy morning as I fueled up my Mom's car and got her a car wash on my way to get my sinful breakfast treat... eeee! I can only eat like 2 of them before I feel ill and can't begin to remember how I could down a bag of donut holes for breakfast every morning during high school. Healthy start to a quality day of education! :) After donuts it was off to the airport...
At the airport I had a very happy moment as I realized the Austin airport DOES have a ThunderCloud in it!! I never walked that far down so I didn't know! Oh happy days. I went to Earl Campbell's bar for a few beers and to waste time, then right before boarding I was going to hit up T-Cloud mmmm. This was after having a slight panic of indecision over several of my favorite Austin spots as options for my "last meal". Salt Lick BBQ... Mangia Pizza.... Schlotzky's... Amy's ice cream - oh the agony.
After being slightly delayed and sitting on the plane for about an hour, the man sitting next to me realized they were not kidding when they told us they were waiting for paint for the plane and he kinda disappeared only to come back and be the guy that saved the day! Apparently he worked for FedEx and got off the plane to make some calls and get our plane hooked up with some paint. Got back to Oakland safe and sound albeit much later than I would've liked. I was exhausted, but ridiculously happy to know Josh was on his way to meet me at the BART station :) We exchanged gifts, mine sucked. Ok they didn't totally suck, I got him what he asked, but they didn't fit him very well. He knows me well and got me a hat from this old, well known hat maker just down the street from my apartment in North Beach and a very very cool cookbook. It explains some of the technical stuff behind cooking that you wouldn't know otherwise when looking at a recipe. I'm excited I might actually learn to have fun with cooking and do it well... one day!
Woke up and had my mission - to pick up some Round Rock donuts! I can't tell you how many people I've heard say "I don't like donuts, never eat them. But I love RR donuts!"
I was seriously glad I had my new winter coat - holy jeez it was 29 earlier that morning and by the time I ventured out around 9:30 it was 34 I think. Rather a painful breezy morning as I fueled up my Mom's car and got her a car wash on my way to get my sinful breakfast treat... eeee! I can only eat like 2 of them before I feel ill and can't begin to remember how I could down a bag of donut holes for breakfast every morning during high school. Healthy start to a quality day of education! :) After donuts it was off to the airport...At the airport I had a very happy moment as I realized the Austin airport DOES have a ThunderCloud in it!! I never walked that far down so I didn't know! Oh happy days. I went to Earl Campbell's bar for a few beers and to waste time, then right before boarding I was going to hit up T-Cloud mmmm. This was after having a slight panic of indecision over several of my favorite Austin spots as options for my "last meal". Salt Lick BBQ... Mangia Pizza.... Schlotzky's... Amy's ice cream - oh the agony.
After being slightly delayed and sitting on the plane for about an hour, the man sitting next to me realized they were not kidding when they told us they were waiting for paint for the plane and he kinda disappeared only to come back and be the guy that saved the day! Apparently he worked for FedEx and got off the plane to make some calls and get our plane hooked up with some paint. Got back to Oakland safe and sound albeit much later than I would've liked. I was exhausted, but ridiculously happy to know Josh was on his way to meet me at the BART station :) We exchanged gifts, mine sucked. Ok they didn't totally suck, I got him what he asked, but they didn't fit him very well. He knows me well and got me a hat from this old, well known hat maker just down the street from my apartment in North Beach and a very very cool cookbook. It explains some of the technical stuff behind cooking that you wouldn't know otherwise when looking at a recipe. I'm excited I might actually learn to have fun with cooking and do it well... one day!
Monday, December 20, 2010
A Texas Christmas - Day 7 & 8
Dec. 24th & 25th
Friday
Melanie came for a a very quick visit over coffee, but quick or not, I'll take it! I hate that my besties and I are so dang far apart. We opened up our gifts left with my mom from Chandra who spends every other Christmas in Colorado with family so we miss her terribly :( But we did receive the cutest family photo! Black and white, casual family photo taken by a professional photographer, it turned out great! Trey arrived just after Mel left and it was pouring down Texas rain style as we headed out for our day of "errands" ugh. Trey and I still needed to pick up a gift for Thomas since Dick's Sporting Goods was so helpful the other day. Academy to the rescue we found a Spurs shirt for Thomas! We swung by Cover 3 to have a yummy little lunch and to miss some of the rain, then went to visit Thomas in the hospital. God he didn't look good :( (as of writing this Mom says he's gotten a lot better, yay!) We organized his xmas cards and chatted a little considering he can barely talk :( After that we went to Cavender’s for Trey’s xmas shopping. After being convinced khaki goes with black, he got a cool jacket and we helped him decide on some jeans and then it was off to Nana's! It was a bit of a sad visit for me as her eyesight and hearing are just about gone and she seems to be getting more nice to the point of verbalizing her appreciation for our mom out loud and in front of us! (long history there) I'm afraid that means she is possibly feeling like getting her "affairs" in order. She also gave me and Trey cool gifts, inheritance
items...
After Nana's we were finally on our way home to relax for Christmas Eve. Mr. Born came over as usual and brought some of his newest carvings to show me. I need to figure out when I'm going to play with mine! We had Mom's amazing tortilla soup for dinner, my chocolate glazed rum cake was a success and we stayed up chatting. I lovely evening :)
Saturday
Woke up and pulled a classic Shelby and broke one of mom's vases :( Not entirely my fault... it was in a bad place on a flimsy table! Sorry Mom. Although that was me getting Trey's opinion on my jacket mom bought me and I decided it was fantastic and I was keeping it! (earlier I had tried on Mom's new coat and liked it better which is where my indecision began). I made a frittata and english muffins with jam for breakfast and then Trey, Mom and I sat down to open presents. Mom got lots of little goodies and I got a very cool present from Nana: A purse made by my grandpa. He killed the deer, skinned the hide for the leather, designed the purse himself and did some leather work for a simple design, then sent it to be made into the purse. Amazing! I am very honored to have this and happy to have such a fun memory of my grandpa. Mom got me a cookbook and desk calendars I had picked out on etsy.com, a cute 40's looking winter hat, a scare and my new coat of course. Trey had previously gotten a wallet made by grandpa, but Nana wanted him to have this itty bitty fragile bible of hers. Mom said she didn't mean for it to be a message to Trey about religion, it was more that it was something special to her from her past and she wanted to pass it down to him. Very sweet. Trey and I had taken each other to the Spurs game so that was our gift.
Like many families, Christmas afternoon is meant for the movies!! One of my favorite things :) We all headed out to the Alamo Drafthouse to see True Grit, however once we got there they only had 2 tickets left! We were disappointed and a little unenthusiastically decided to see The Fighter instead - it was really good! Mom and I shared a bottle of champagne while Trey went with the beers and we also got chips and queso, fried pickles and a big bowl of popcorn with real melted butter! Oh... and I also had to have Amy's vanilla with espresso - mmm...
After the movie we hugged Trey goodbye as he had to get home, unpack and work the next day. Mom and I swung by Honda to get her car shopping a start. (and a few days later I learn she bought an Accord, ha!) Back home mom helped me strategize my packing, ugh. I still don't know how she can pack so neatly!! Even though I was checking my suitcase, my carry on was still a heavy pain, happens everytime I don't know why I am surprised by this or why I don't plan better. Then we sat down to bruscetta and a great bottle of wine: From Camellia Cellars “Diamo Grazie” 1999. yummy, while watching HGTV design shows. I love watching HGTV with other people - can't stand it by myself!
Dec. 24th & 25th
Christmas Eve!
FridayMelanie came for a a very quick visit over coffee, but quick or not, I'll take it! I hate that my besties and I are so dang far apart. We opened up our gifts left with my mom from Chandra who spends every other Christmas in Colorado with family so we miss her terribly :( But we did receive the cutest family photo! Black and white, casual family photo taken by a professional photographer, it turned out great! Trey arrived just after Mel left and it was pouring down Texas rain style as we headed out for our day of "errands" ugh. Trey and I still needed to pick up a gift for Thomas since Dick's Sporting Goods was so helpful the other day. Academy to the rescue we found a Spurs shirt for Thomas! We swung by Cover 3 to have a yummy little lunch and to miss some of the rain, then went to visit Thomas in the hospital. God he didn't look good :( (as of writing this Mom says he's gotten a lot better, yay!) We organized his xmas cards and chatted a little considering he can barely talk :( After that we went to Cavender’s for Trey’s xmas shopping. After being convinced khaki goes with black, he got a cool jacket and we helped him decide on some jeans and then it was off to Nana's! It was a bit of a sad visit for me as her eyesight and hearing are just about gone and she seems to be getting more nice to the point of verbalizing her appreciation for our mom out loud and in front of us! (long history there) I'm afraid that means she is possibly feeling like getting her "affairs" in order. She also gave me and Trey cool gifts, inheritance
items...After Nana's we were finally on our way home to relax for Christmas Eve. Mr. Born came over as usual and brought some of his newest carvings to show me. I need to figure out when I'm going to play with mine! We had Mom's amazing tortilla soup for dinner, my chocolate glazed rum cake was a success and we stayed up chatting. I lovely evening :)
Saturday
Woke up and pulled a classic Shelby and broke one of mom's vases :( Not entirely my fault... it was in a bad place on a flimsy table! Sorry Mom. Although that was me getting Trey's opinion on my jacket mom bought me and I decided it was fantastic and I was keeping it! (earlier I had tried on Mom's new coat and liked it better which is where my indecision began). I made a frittata and english muffins with jam for breakfast and then Trey, Mom and I sat down to open presents. Mom got lots of little goodies and I got a very cool present from Nana: A purse made by my grandpa. He killed the deer, skinned the hide for the leather, designed the purse himself and did some leather work for a simple design, then sent it to be made into the purse. Amazing! I am very honored to have this and happy to have such a fun memory of my grandpa. Mom got me a cookbook and desk calendars I had picked out on etsy.com, a cute 40's looking winter hat, a scare and my new coat of course. Trey had previously gotten a wallet made by grandpa, but Nana wanted him to have this itty bitty fragile bible of hers. Mom said she didn't mean for it to be a message to Trey about religion, it was more that it was something special to her from her past and she wanted to pass it down to him. Very sweet. Trey and I had taken each other to the Spurs game so that was our gift.
Like many families, Christmas afternoon is meant for the movies!! One of my favorite things :) We all headed out to the Alamo Drafthouse to see True Grit, however once we got there they only had 2 tickets left! We were disappointed and a little unenthusiastically decided to see The Fighter instead - it was really good! Mom and I shared a bottle of champagne while Trey went with the beers and we also got chips and queso, fried pickles and a big bowl of popcorn with real melted butter! Oh... and I also had to have Amy's vanilla with espresso - mmm...
After the movie we hugged Trey goodbye as he had to get home, unpack and work the next day. Mom and I swung by Honda to get her car shopping a start. (and a few days later I learn she bought an Accord, ha!) Back home mom helped me strategize my packing, ugh. I still don't know how she can pack so neatly!! Even though I was checking my suitcase, my carry on was still a heavy pain, happens everytime I don't know why I am surprised by this or why I don't plan better. Then we sat down to bruscetta and a great bottle of wine: From Camellia Cellars “Diamo Grazie” 1999. yummy, while watching HGTV design shows. I love watching HGTV with other people - can't stand it by myself!
A Texas Christmas - Day 6
Dec. 23rd
In Boerne, TX at Trey's place. We woke up and went to pick up breakfast tacos for us and his coworkers - YUM! ...you know... I'll never understand why we don't have breakfast tacos in San Francisco. We've got Mexican food and we have the breakfast burrito. Is it really that far of a stretch to the breakfast taco?! Come on people! *sigh.
Mom was driving up from Round Rock to pick me up at Trey's work. He's a lighting consultant and his work has a great showroom so it was fun to look around and dream about what things I would get if I ever owned a place. It's over an hour and a half for sure and once Mom picked me up we were planning on meeting Aunt Elaine for lunch in Austin around noon. Well as 10:30 and then 11:00 rolled around, Trey and I had to laugh. Mom is NOT the quickest one out the door if she doesn't have to punch the work clock. However, this particular time I'll give her a little leeway as there was some incredibly heavy holiday traffic. Then once she did arrive, she had to have a chat with Trey & the guys and then of course got distracted by the fixtures, etc.
We finally left and Elaine was super sweet to be so flexible and not meet us til nearly 2pm for a late lunch. I picked East Side Cafe to eat at which I hadn't been to since my college graduation party! Love this place!
It's a tiny house with a garden in back where they grow fruits and veggies that they use in their dishes and it's located on the "east side" of Austin, which is actually a cute area, but probably a hooker and a crack addict just a street over :P
We started off with brie and apple chutney and a bottle of champagne - cheers! I had a yummy salad and a side of acorn squash with ginger soy something or another. Elaine got me the cutest UT/Texas brac
elet which I can't wait to wear next season as the Longhorns remind everyone how awesome they are!
After saying goodbye to Elaine, Mom and I took the scenic downtown Austin route home since the highway was still packed. On our agenda was a tiny bit of last minute shopping which took us over to the Domain where we went into Dick's sporting goods to get a Spurs hat for my Uncle Thomas. Walked in and immediately saw the racks of UT apparel, along with Texans and Cowboy stuff, so we figure there is a basketball section or something, but after wandering up to the second floor with no luck we ask the staff. No they don't carry Spurs stuff because "we aren't near San Antonio" was their reply. ... um... my reply "We aren't near Dallas or Houston, but you have Cowboy and Texan stuff... and for that matter, Houston & Dallas are twice as far away as San Antonio!" What the hell. I realized they did not carry Spurs items but I wanted a better answer, lol, so I asked a different sales person and got the same damn retort. I'm writing their marketing team because I can't handle such stupidity. I'm SO not an A&M fan, but there are a ton of them living in Austin, so if you aren't the co-op or a shop located right near campus, you should be selling Aggie stuff don't you think? After that we hopped over to Macy's hoping for better luck finding Josh a sweater he would like. He asked for one with a zipper by the neck which we found lots of, just none in his size :( I did my best, but once I got home and exchanged gifts with Josh, they were a disappointment, not the best fit. Oh well, guess we are going shopping soon! Never fear Mom and I did find a good buy ;) I got a new coat and just in time as Saturday, Christmas morning it was flippin freezing in Austin!
On the way home we grabbed ThunderCloud Subs - so simple, so good. I'm not sure many people outside of the ThunderCloud Fan Club understand. It's really sad they miss out. I worked at the RR location when I was 16 and still, to this day, best job ever! Ok... best job ever if you can afford to live on $5.00/hr. LOL! Ahhh... good times.
Dec. 23rd
In Boerne, TX at Trey's place. We woke up and went to pick up breakfast tacos for us and his coworkers - YUM! ...you know... I'll never understand why we don't have breakfast tacos in San Francisco. We've got Mexican food and we have the breakfast burrito. Is it really that far of a stretch to the breakfast taco?! Come on people! *sigh.
Mom was driving up from Round Rock to pick me up at Trey's work. He's a lighting consultant and his work has a great showroom so it was fun to look around and dream about what things I would get if I ever owned a place. It's over an hour and a half for sure and once Mom picked me up we were planning on meeting Aunt Elaine for lunch in Austin around noon. Well as 10:30 and then 11:00 rolled around, Trey and I had to laugh. Mom is NOT the quickest one out the door if she doesn't have to punch the work clock. However, this particular time I'll give her a little leeway as there was some incredibly heavy holiday traffic. Then once she did arrive, she had to have a chat with Trey & the guys and then of course got distracted by the fixtures, etc.
We finally left and Elaine was super sweet to be so flexible and not meet us til nearly 2pm for a late lunch. I picked East Side Cafe to eat at which I hadn't been to since my college graduation party! Love this place!
It's a tiny house with a garden in back where they grow fruits and veggies that they use in their dishes and it's located on the "east side" of Austin, which is actually a cute area, but probably a hooker and a crack addict just a street over :PWe started off with brie and apple chutney and a bottle of champagne - cheers! I had a yummy salad and a side of acorn squash with ginger soy something or another. Elaine got me the cutest UT/Texas brac
elet which I can't wait to wear next season as the Longhorns remind everyone how awesome they are!After saying goodbye to Elaine, Mom and I took the scenic downtown Austin route home since the highway was still packed. On our agenda was a tiny bit of last minute shopping which took us over to the Domain where we went into Dick's sporting goods to get a Spurs hat for my Uncle Thomas. Walked in and immediately saw the racks of UT apparel, along with Texans and Cowboy stuff, so we figure there is a basketball section or something, but after wandering up to the second floor with no luck we ask the staff. No they don't carry Spurs stuff because "we aren't near San Antonio" was their reply. ... um... my reply "We aren't near Dallas or Houston, but you have Cowboy and Texan stuff... and for that matter, Houston & Dallas are twice as far away as San Antonio!" What the hell. I realized they did not carry Spurs items but I wanted a better answer, lol, so I asked a different sales person and got the same damn retort. I'm writing their marketing team because I can't handle such stupidity. I'm SO not an A&M fan, but there are a ton of them living in Austin, so if you aren't the co-op or a shop located right near campus, you should be selling Aggie stuff don't you think? After that we hopped over to Macy's hoping for better luck finding Josh a sweater he would like. He asked for one with a zipper by the neck which we found lots of, just none in his size :( I did my best, but once I got home and exchanged gifts with Josh, they were a disappointment, not the best fit. Oh well, guess we are going shopping soon! Never fear Mom and I did find a good buy ;) I got a new coat and just in time as Saturday, Christmas morning it was flippin freezing in Austin!
On the way home we grabbed ThunderCloud Subs - so simple, so good. I'm not sure many people outside of the ThunderCloud Fan Club understand. It's really sad they miss out. I worked at the RR location when I was 16 and still, to this day, best job ever! Ok... best job ever if you can afford to live on $5.00/hr. LOL! Ahhh... good times.
A Texas Christmas - Day 5Dec. 22nd
After breakfast with Dad, Tom & Barbara I packed up and we headed to San Antonio. First stop, visit Aunt Joanne's to s
ee her, Debbie & my Mimi. Since falling twice and breaking near everything it seems, Mimi is home & doing great! Despite her requests to be taken to heaven, I am very happy to see her doing so well and am greatful to still have her with us. We made a pact that she is too stay around until I give her a grandbaby... those terms are still a bit negotiable as I'm not so confident she'll get one by her 90th birthday.
Then we headed down to the Market Square to my all time favorite mexican food restaurant, La Margarita. LOVE their food, love the market square and I love that they always have a fantastic mariachi band playing. Had a simple but favorite dish of mine: cheese enchilada with chili con carne sauce, crispy beef taco, side of guacamole and rice & beans. And of course a giant goblet of Dos XX to wash it all down :)
Early dinner left Trey & I plenty of time to get across town for our Christmas present to each other - Spurs game!! They played the Denver Nuggets and I can't begin to express what a phenominal game it was! SO MUCH FUN! Well fun and a slightly anxiety ridden 3rd quarter when they were down by 9. Neck & neck the whole game, down in the 3rd and then just a fantastic show in the 4th. GO SPURS!! Got my first jersey - #20 Ginobili :)
After breakfast with Dad, Tom & Barbara I packed up and we headed to San Antonio. First stop, visit Aunt Joanne's to s
ee her, Debbie & my Mimi. Since falling twice and breaking near everything it seems, Mimi is home & doing great! Despite her requests to be taken to heaven, I am very happy to see her doing so well and am greatful to still have her with us. We made a pact that she is too stay around until I give her a grandbaby... those terms are still a bit negotiable as I'm not so confident she'll get one by her 90th birthday.
Then we headed down to the Market Square to my all time favorite mexican food restaurant, La Margarita. LOVE their food, love the market square and I love that they always have a fantastic mariachi band playing. Had a simple but favorite dish of mine: cheese enchilada with chili con carne sauce, crispy beef taco, side of guacamole and rice & beans. And of course a giant goblet of Dos XX to wash it all down :)
Early dinner left Trey & I plenty of time to get across town for our Christmas present to each other - Spurs game!! They played the Denver Nuggets and I can't begin to express what a phenominal game it was! SO MUCH FUN! Well fun and a slightly anxiety ridden 3rd quarter when they were down by 9. Neck & neck the whole game, down in the 3rd and then just a fantastic show in the 4th. GO SPURS!! Got my first jersey - #20 Ginobili :)
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 th
e 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!
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 th
e 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!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
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!
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!!
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