Shop at Home Site

I just found out about this site called ShopAtHome.com They have a TON of coupons plus, when you go to the online store (like Gap, Ann Taylor, etc), you get cash back from them. A check. Its crazy.

If you want to make an account, use this link -

Get 150,000+ free online coupon codes, printable grocery coupons, restaurant coupons and more at ShopAtHome.com!

Great Soap

This scent of soap is sooooo wonderful. It smells like Christmas in your hands. It is Frosted Cranberry.

HI

Hi - Well this weekend was jam packed with holiday and fun stuff and decorating for Christmas. I am so tired right now. Dad goes back tomorrow AM, very early. I am working a little bit but have most of the day off to recuperate, clean, organize, laundry, etc. Unfortunately, I am getting a cold :-( I hate stuffed noses & sore throats!! I will catch up all of the weekend events soon! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!!

Wednesday

Today is the day we've been waiting for. It's almost Thanksgiving. The holidays are officially here! I'm working from home and done at 1pm. Then, I have some cleaning, laundry & errands to do. Around 7, my Dad gets in! woohoo.

Of course when the holidays come around, you do think about all that you have & are thankful for. I saw a homeless guy the other day without shoes. SHOES. Can you imagine? It's heartbreaking.

I am thankful for my job, money to buy shoes, the ability to pay rent and have a place to live & enjoy my life. I am thankful for Erik who is the yin to my yang, that I was able to rescue Evie and give her a great life, and that we live in such a beautiful place(although I dont feel that way ALL the time!).

Also thankful for all of my family & friends who are very caring and generous to us. Who support us & are there for us all of the time even though we can't be close to everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving! xoxoxo

Codes

Lots of codes out there for deals this weekend:

Pro Flowers - 25% off
To say thanks, take an Extra 25% off all orders made by Monday, November 30th. Plus, get a free vase with any flower order. Use promo code FF25 upon checkout ($29 min.).

Jcrew - Extra 20% off sale stuff
Use code Extra20 at checkout Plus get free shipping when you spend $150

Body Shop
Today Only - Free Shipping on any online purchase of $20 or more! Use code CAROL

Crazy of the Day

Strip place on Market st that my bus drives past each day:

UGH

Erik called & said Evie is sick. Tis the season for....GIARDIA. Basically, its wet out, Evie walks int he park, eats the grass, etc. She picks up a parasite that wreaks havoc in her small intestine. She gets diarrhea. We go to the vet, get a perscription for flagyll. It clears up immediately. Its just such a pain. She will probably get it like 3x this winter. I just refill the perscription each time but we are out so we have to go to the vet tomorrow. WIsh us luck its ONLY giardia.

Tuesday

Motivation level to work - 0%
Excitement Level for the holiday week 100%

I am sitting here reading my blogs and barely doing any work. It's so quiet here & the Clients are quiet too. Everyone is just ready for a 1/2 day tomorrow and Thanksgiving. I bet the afternoon will be busy, I can feel it.

Class tonight and then no class until next Tuesday! My Dad gets here tomorrow at 7pm. Woohoo!!

Mooned!

Everyone got mooned on sunday night football. Funny.

Nie Nie on Today

If you guys follow the Nie Nie Dialogues, she was on the Today show this AM:

Monday

Monday wasn't so bad today knowing that this is a 3 day week!! Woohoo. I am so sore from that turbokick class but think I am going to go again tonight. I can't go on Tues due to school. I also need to go to the grocery store tonight.

Today at lunch I went up to Nike Town to get a new headband to wear when I run to cover my ears. That store is like 4 stories - crazy. They are preparing Union Sq for the tree lighting. The ice skating rink is up already!

One more day of coming to the office and then work from home on Wednesday!

Sisters Keeper

Watched Sisters Keeper last night. Did not like. Book was better. Movie didn't have much character development. I know they are limited on time but in the book, the brother gets developed pretty well and you see another side of him. Plus, the ending is very different from the book. Like most books to movies, I recommend the book.

Book

Just realized I read 19 books this year. I want to make it a nice, even 20. Anyone have a suggestion for my 20th book? Next year, I think I'll shoot for 25.

Sunday

To make up for doing nothing on Saturday, Sunday was super busy. I went to the Turbokick class at 10am. This instructor is awesome & makes us work so hard.

Then, we had our photoshoot! Kira shot Evie to be a collar model for a local pet store. This local store, Cheengoo in SF and they have a line of collars. They asked Kira to find different dogs to model the collars. I'm not sure exactly how Evie's pic will be used but I think she might be on the website. How Exciting!! Evie got to model this collar & got to keep it!! She was sooooo good. Kira brought her Boston, Harley, and they played and played. So she was super happy.

Evie in her new collar

Then, Amy & I did some errands. We went down to Target, the mall, Petco..Then, we made these, a holiday favorite...pilgrim hat cookies!


I still can't believe Thanksgiving is this week!!

Saturday

Ahhh Saturday we did nothing! I got my hair cut, finished the laundry, and that was about it. Erik made a nice little happy hour for us. We had some of our wine we got last week and cheese.


We ordered Chinese in and tried to watch Tropic Thunder. This is us at about 830pm:


Yeah we passed out and woke up at like 10 to watch Food Inc.

Oh and on Friday, Erik and I officially signed up for the Run Wild 5K. This one runs past our house the Sun after Thanksgiving each year. Finally, we are participating! We went down to Sports Basement to sign up. It was also a toy drive so we brought some toys for Tots. Erik also tried on some stuff including this lovely hat that makes him look like an old golfer. haha

Food

Tonight, Erik & I watched Food Inc. I learned a lot. Here are a few things -

1. There are a few huge companies that control all of our food - like 6 slaughter houses/Meat companies that own everything. Like Walmart for the food industry.

2. Cows are fed corn & not supposed to eat corn. They are overfed & unhealthy. They produce so much bacteria that when your beef is processed, it has bacteria in it. A company was created to CLEAN BEEF FILLER WITH AMMONIA to kill the bacteria. Think about it next time you buy ground beef - it has filler with ammonia in it.

3. McDonalds is the biggest buyer of meat & corn in this country. Do you think they care about fair treatment of animals or just about their meat case order for those big macs? It's the latter.

4. Corn is in EVERYTHING. Corn is the largest crop in the US and it is used as filler in absolutely everything. It's used because it is CHEAP.

5. Chickens from big companies like Tyson are grown in horrible conditions - they are stuffed in barns and never see the light of day. They are overfed & can hardly walk. In just 6 weeks, they go from chick to fully grown when this is normally supposed to take 3 months.

6. Workers in huge slaughter houses are underpaid, overworked, and work in dangerous conditions. Get this - Huge companies(Smithfield Meats) hire immigrant workers so that our meat costs stay low. However, they are in bed with government immigrant raiders who come pick up workers & deport them. Smithfield continues to do this to have low wage workers and could care less about their welfare.

7. You can get sued for talking smack on the food industry. I.e Oprah for saying she wasn't eating beef once Mad Cow came out. It took 6 yrs of a lawsuit for her to win.

8. A 5 year old kid died from eating at Jack In the Box. He had a hamburger filled with ecoli. Took 12 days after his death for the USDA to announce that the restaurant was serving ecoli burgers.

Bottom line - we can't escape capitalism and demand for food. However, we can make choices - look up local meat/produce producers in your area. Find a local farm to buy from. Go to the farmers market. These are ways you can control what you are eating. If you go to stop & shop and safeway, you are at the mercy of those big corporations. I go to safeway all of the time but this movie is making me stop & really think even more about where my food comes from.

Friday

This morning, I'm on the bus to work. The driver stops a few stops from the end of the route and says this is his last stop. Um...but I am like 3 stops from work? He says he has to turn around because he is behind schedule!! what? That freaking bus system, I swear.

Ahhh it is raining here. Did I remember my umbrella, nope. Oh well. Yesterday sucked. We got yelled at by this client. She is direct and tells you how is so I like her. Basically, we didnt a piece of info from this vendor that we were bugging the crap out of them for. We finally got it and it increased our cost to print this project. Of course the client budget is sooooo tight so she was not happy. We had to find money in the budget, which we did. Today, is better. I found her money to cover the costs, and another client meeting went well. I like when you show clients something & they love it and have minimal changes.

So, my boss is at the Client for the rest of the day so I am going to go home early. I am going to work from home. Evie is at camp. This is sort of gross but they had to spray each apartment because people were complaining about....cockroaches!! We have seen a few but they are small - not NYC roaches. This is city living, I guess. So, She's at camp to avoid any spraying plus avoid freaking out when the guy comes in the house.

Well, we are looking forward to relaxing, doing the laundry, and NOT studying tonight. woohoo!! Have a good weekend!

Flying High

Well I am so excited because Marla booked her flight to come out at the end of Dec. We are closed from 12/24 - 1/3. We will be home for part of the time, come back and Marla comes out!! How fun.

Then, due to the JET BLUE Sale this morning, Kimmy booked a flight to come out in January!! She got a flight for $80 each way. That is crazy!!

Now, my Dad comes out next week and then the holidays are officially here. It's happy time - baking, decorating, parties. Love it!!

Photos

Erik (Tara's husband) sent me some pics from when they were here. He is a great photographer. Here are some pics -




Haight St.



Napa

Beautiful shot of the bridge

Erik in Napa

Alcatraz

Crazy of the Day

1. I saw a girl on a bike run into girl getting off the bus the other day. Then the biker had the audacity to yell at the girl she hit & say ' you have to watch where you are going'

2. Walking to the car yesterday around 630pm, I see this guy on the corner with his pants unzipped, he was readjusting his boxers and his pants. HIs pants werent DOWN or anything but still - NOT something you do on the corner of a busy street. Only here - I swear.

Funny

On Sunday, our friend Kira is going to take our picture for our holiday card. This is after she attempts to photograph Evie. I came home yesterday & told Erik to get ready b/c on Sunday, we were having our picture taken. Funny man that he is goes, 'Oh honey, you know I like going to JcPenney for our holiday portrait'. Pure comedy.

When I go to bed with wet hair...

When I take a shower & go to bed with wet hair, I wake up and my hair is curly and crazy. I look like I put my finger in the socket. Sort of like this -

Label Maker

I want a label maker. There seems to be an issue in this house on who's towels belong to who. I think I need to label the towel hanger for each of us so there is no further confusion.

Possibly big news....

If she can behave around the photographer, Evie MIGHT be able to call herself a model after this Sunday. She has been asked if she wants to be a collar model & be featured in a book. This is IF she can keep her self in check. We are going to have a talk about how not all dogs get to be models and this is a big opportunity for her. I hope she thinks hard about this.

30% off

At Ann Taylor & Loft - Click here.

Collars

Christmas is coming and I always like to get Evie a new collar. She has quite a collection but I think she likes getting a new one each year. Here are some of my faves. I love these two sites:
bigdogboutique.com





gooddoggoods.com (We used to go here on MV!)
Surfboards!


New Whales!

I might order this one so she has it for Christmas:

TNT

I had this bright idea to re-join TNT this Spring. I thought, well if I become a mentor, I only have to fundraise once this year PLUS I only have to fundraise a portion of the minimum. This means I can run twice this year for one fundraising.

I do not know what I was thinking.

I just sat in on the mentor call to see what it is all about. Basically, give up your life for the next 4 mos to attend practice, events, & meetings. I am busy enough. There are plenty of years to come AFTER I'm done with school that I can be a TNT mentor. I'm glad I stopped myself. I have a bad habit of overloading myself & then I am miserable.

Twilight

I know that Twilight is a huge phenom right now with everyone. I never wanted to go near the books or movies because I do not like that type of stuff. However, Erik rented Twilight because he thought it would be a good Halloween movie (he didnt know about all of the hype around it). So, we watched it and man, I thought it was horrible. Sorry to all of you Twilight lovers out there. I mean Edward just staring and breathing heavy for like 95% of the movie. SO dramatic. Plus, he is NOT cute. I don't know what everyone is talking about. Plus, that other guy - the werewolf looks like a sci-fi creature.

Don't buy

Glad Forceflex Trash bags. They are the worst. They are flimsy and rip at the top. Whenever I take them off of the trash can, there are holes in the top and I have to double bag. Talk about a waste of money. The best bags are from Costco in that huge box.

Run Wild

Erik & I are thinking of doing this 5K, the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We've seen the race run past our house the past two years and want to do it. If you dress up like a toy, you could win a prize. What could we dress up as? We don't have to be a couple b/c clearly Erik will beat me big time so we won't run together.

Why

don't people know how to operate two simple systems - the grocery store & the bus. I think I might write manuals and pass them out for FREE. Here are some key highlights -

Grocery Store
-Do not stare at your cell phone and navigate the aisles. You WILL walk into someone, their cart, or hold up the aisle
-Don't have a family meeting on what type of crackers to buy across the aisle. Everyone move to the same side
-Don't put different fruits & vegetables in the same bag. They all have different codes. The cashier WILL rip open your bag to see each number.


The Bus
-If you plan on standing back to back, someone WILL have to move to let people behind us out. Don't pretend like you don't realize this.

-If there is room, move back. Again, do not pretend like you do not see the empty space.

-Understand there are a lot of people on the bus. If it is packed & your stop is coming up, plan early on how to get up & off. Don't push and rush when you're at your stop.

I could go on & on.

Sunday

What another great day. After our race, we were exhausted. We went to lunch & then Erik went to lunch. I wanted to nap but I went & got my mani/pedi/eyebrows done. It had to be done. Then the grocery store, dinner, and now it is 9pm and I am totally ready for bed. Sleepless in Seattle is on Demand & Free. This is my 2nd time watching it in two weeks.

I am so sore. That class on Saturday kicked my butt and my pecs are killing me. Pecs & Glutes! So tomorrow should be hard to sit and stand in one fluid motion!! ha.

Now, off to another busy day of work tomorrow. Have a good week!!

Holiday Decor

Well, the holidays are upon us and I still want Christmas sheets. Remember, i wanted them last year & didn't get them. I haven't seen any cute ones. If anyone sees a cute SET out there, let me know.

Also, I saw this wine glass at the winery yesterday & think its soooooo cute.


Then I was looking online to find them cheaper & I found these that I like better.

So cute!

Ice Skating

Post race, we are lounging on the couch watching Ice Skating. Reminds me of how my sister & I used to put on knee high stockings and skate around my grandmas kitchen. Afterwards, we probably watched Annie on repeat. Ah the simple days of life.

5K for Hunger

We ran a 5K this morning. It was nice & sunny out and the course was through Golden Gate Park. We ran out, around Stowe Lake, and back. Erik ran it in an astounding 23 minutes. I came in at my usual 36.

Saturday

Yesterday was very fun. First, I went to the SET class at the gym which is a mix of cardio & weights. It is hard and I leave there TIRED. Then, we went to lunch w/ Betsy & Greg before we drove down to Half Moon Bay. We went to that $5 winery to get some bottles filled. We got 7 bottles of Chardonnay. After that, I had to go home and take a nap. I had such a headache & an hour nap did the trick.

For dinner, we went to our fave sushi place, Domo. SO delish. Finally, we went to Bliss Bar in Noe Valley for a few drinks. Noe Valley is a neighborhood we haven't been to before but it is great. It is quiet, clean, and has a cute street of shops & restaurants. It is perfect for us &I want to move there. The rents are reasonable and both bus & BART go out there. We'll see....

Win 50 Prizes in 50 Days

The Blind Side

I am reading the book, The Blind Side & I am already going to recommend it to you. In the same vein of a story about someone who grew up without much family, support, etc - This is a story about how a teenager in Memphis would learn to change his life and that people out there would love & help him. The movie is coming out next week.

One quote that already stuck out to me from this book is 'God gives you money to see how you will handle it' Meaning - will you help others in need if you have the means?

This is a true story.

Movie Night

Amy & I started a Monthly Movie Night. Last night was our inagural night! We saw Precious. This movie was intense & definitely not the usual type of movie I watch. But, what a story.

This is a movie based on a novel about a young 16 yr old girl growing up in Harlem. She has endured neglect, abuse, rape, incest, and illness. Her life starts to turn around when she starts going to an alternative school & realizing that she can change her life. This definitely is not a 'feel good' story or one that ends with a happy ending where everything is perfect.

This is a movie to show everyone what goes on outside of our own little worlds. Its a movie that will make you say, Man -I have it easy.

work

So i basically unloaded on my boss& told her that I can only handle X amount of projects. I gave her one project back and now she is swamped, too. She has been on these calls ALL day with that Moron and our Creative Dir talking about the same project. Unbelieveable. In other news, she agrees that the Moron is not working out and talking to our Director. We''ll see what happens.

Now that my neck pain is subsiding, I can look forward to the weekend: Movie Night, Getting wine for $5, mani/pedi, studying, and relaxing!

Pic

Here is one of the pics from last weekend in Napa.

Crazy of the Day

Homeless man riding my bus home last night. Smoking pot, ON THE BUS. No one says a word.

Only in SF.

Thanksgiving...

...is in 2 weeks. Where did this year go!?

Gobble Gobble.

TP Take 2

I may have mentioned that when Evie poops outside, she poops and BOLTS. It's funny but sometimes.....she bolts too soon. haha. Today was one of those days. She bolts and then sits down. Got up and sat down again. Had the look of the fear in God in her face. I asked her what was wrong & she just stared at me. So, of course I had to look. Someone needed a Cottonelle wet wipe. hahaha. I think I need to start bringing TP outside with me for her!! haha.

Shay

Did you see TBL this week? Shay lost 17 lbs, reached 100lb total of weight loss & also got sent home. Everyone was hitting huge weight loss #s on Tues night. She started the show weighing nearly 500 lbs. Now she is almost 400 but that is a huge difference. She could still loose another 200 so she has a long road ahead of her. I can't wait to see her at the finale.

Also, Daniel went home. He started the show last season in the 400's. He is now in the 200's. He is in his early 20's and lost 200lbs in a year. That is amazing.






After(yellow) & Before(blue)

There is now TBL game for Wii. This show is such an insipiration.

Neck & Shoulder

My neck and left shoulder are killing me. I think it is stress/sitting wrong at work combo. I think I have a pinched nerve or something b/c my hand is tingly in one spot. I could probably tell you which nerve is pinched, had I actually rememberd that from class, but I would have to look it up. Working out def helps. Oh wait, that is probably another problem. Since our friends were here, I didnt go to the gym for like 4 days straight.

Bee

Erik calls me at work yesterday & says 'I think Evie got stung by a bee. She ran in the house & under the bed and won't come out' So of course, my crazy mind goes right to - great, she is going into anaphylaxis shock. She'll be dead when I get home.

I got home & she was totally fine. Ran out to greet me. Played, rolled around, etc. So, I am not entirely sure what went on yesterday afternoon. Erik said she peed in a little bush & bees came out. Maybe she was just spooked.

The Gym, Shampoo, and Toilet Paper

Yesterday,I got home & walked Evie. Then, I went to the gym. I came home to quite a mess.
1. She went in my work bag and pulled out my thermos & Nalgene. Couldn't get them open
2. Opened Erik's backpack and pulled out tissues & ripped them up
3. Pulled some items out of the recycle bin & ripped those up

Later in the night, I went into the bathroom and saw a ripped up roll of TP. She pulled it out of the bag of TP and ripped it up. I mean, is she 6 months old? This is ridiculous. Of course, when you see the mess, she knows. She starts her wiggle dance and gets so upset and wants you to hold her and say, it's ok. Unreal!

Now for the shampoo. Yesterday, I picked up a bottle of shampoo at Walgreens. It was in my work bag. After cleaning up the mess, I picked up my bag to find it full of shampoo. All over the bag, inside. Literally, the bottle was 1/2 empty & the cap was off. I do not know what happened - Did Evie rip the cap off? Was it loose & come unscrewed during my ride home? No idea.

What a strange night. On the upside, I missed kickboxing but walked in the gym just in time for spinning.

Michael Buble on DWTS

Did you see Michael Buble on DWTS. I think I have a huge crush on him! hahaha. He is going on tour in March!!



Go to 5:13 to see his performance!

Wishlist

I have a little wishlist going in my head. Of course there are always other things you need to spend $ on before you can buy the fun things.

1. Raincoat

2. New running shoes

3. New lunch bag

4. This sweater

5. Road ID

Two Years

Wow, can you believe it? We've been out in CA for 2 years. It was this week 2 yrs ago that we arrived in SF. Man how things have changed. Here is the 1 year post.

Here is Year 2 in a review:


Dad visited in Dec


Marla visited in Dec

January - Sarah Visits!!


Erik Turns 30!

March - NYC/CT Trip


The big 2-9


The horrible Evie/small claims court incident


July - The Lunas visit!


Seattle for 4th of July!



Walk for MS


Wicked!


LA


Santa Barbara!


San Diego!



Home for Labor Day!! Saw HAIR on B-way


August - TL visited


Erik hearts his hockey team

6 Yr Anniversary



This view never gets old!