Back

Im back in SF. So much to tell you about the trip. An amazing, rewarding, unforgettable time. Met some awesome people & was so sad to come home. Definitely going to be an adjustment to going from drywalling a house back to work. Tons of pics will come soon.

Oh and also, Evie got stiches. She got cut at camp and they stitched her leg. Its on her shin area & she is fine. That dog has been stapled, stitched, scraped, drained....

Off to New Orleans!

I leave bright & early for New Orleans tomorrow!! I will get there around 4pm. We are going to be staying in the French Quarter for the weekend. I can't wait to explore NOLA before we get to work.

We will meet up with our group on Monday evening for dinner. Then, we start work on Tuesday. I heard it is very hot down there. I am so excited though! It will probably be quite the changing from experiencing the touristy areas and then moving into the area to rebuild. I hope to meet some great people on the trip with Dickinson.

Amy & I keep joking that this will be like Troop Beverly Hills. We are going to be in bunk beds and making meals. We are probably going to bring our fondue pot like Phyllis Neffler. haha

I will let you know how the trip went & post photos when I am back in a week!











"New Orleans, What a Thrill!"

Thursday

I was so upset last night. It was supposed to be my last tennis and it RAINED. It was this sideway mist that made everything just damp enough so that you a)would skid on the court and b)couldn't really see when you were walking. I did find a potential partner in the area though so looks like I can keep playing.

Last night, I felt like I had a toddler at home. Evie was bored. We weren't outside that long because of the rain. I had to keep playing different games with her, wrestle with her, give her a bone, pet her, and also try her training. I am trying to teach her two tricks 1)hi-five and 2)Bang! She did hi-five for me once. Bang is...I point my finger at her like a gun and say Bang & then she lays on her side like she's dead. She doesn't like it but she will get it. You just have to do it like every day until they get it. That is how she learned Paw. One day she just finally handed me her paw. haha. Wont it be so funny if she really does 'Bang!'. hah

I am off work tomorrow. I have to pack and get ready for New Orleans. I am flying down on Saturday morning and get there late afternoon. I am meeting up with Amy & her friend Greta for a fun weekend. Then, we meet up with our work group on Monday. I've never been to New Orleans & I think it will be fun!!

Vote For Evie

I put Evie into the running for the cutest pet in SF!! Will you vote for her? You can vote once per day until 5/27. Then, we see if she made the Top 10. There are over 100 pets so hopefully we make it!

Vote HERE.

Thanks!!

Wednesday

Maks & Erin made it through to the Finals!! I really want them to win the whole thing. We'll see.
Last night, Erik was home & had NO hockey game. However, hockey play offs are on. We had to switch back & forth between the game and DWTS. Thank goodness for DVRs!!

We had a yummy dinner last night - Halibut, Brussel Sprouts mixed with Leeks, and mashed potatoes. Erik made the potatoes. So good. I love leeks.

Tonight is my last tennis lesson :-( It was fun and I will try to sign up for more. I don't know if they are having a summer session so I might have to wait until the fall.

Only 3 more days and then I'll be in New Orleans!!

Monday

It is still raining here in SF, in May. This is uncharacteristic!! Normally, our rain is over by March/April. So, I rode my bike to work yesterday and did not think twice about rain. Then, it was raining when I got out of work! I started to ride home but I just could not see. The rain was hitting me in the face. So, I got on the bus instead.

Then, I rode my bike in the rain to get up to Haight St. Betsy is doing a Triathalon w/ Team In Training so I went up to the bar where she held a fundraiser. I figured that if I was going to get there in the rain, the bike would allow me to get thru it faster! It was a good time. $2.50 beers can't be beat. I do love drinking for a good cause!

I also caught DWTS Semi-Finals on the DVR. I really want Erin & Maks to win the whole thing but I'm sure Nicole or Evan will. Maks is hot.

Bay To Breakers

Today was the annual SF Tradition, Bay To Breakers. The race starts at 8am with the elite runners coming through. Then, real runners come through for about an hour. Then, the crazies come through. The costumes, floats, drunks, and more! This time, we sat in the park with some drinks & food to watch. It was COLD out. Last year, it was sunny & warm. This time, we were bundled up in sweatshirts.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, every day commercial people haha



This girl was the Icleand Volcano. She was shaking baby powder everywhere to act as volcanic ash.



OK this girl had a cape on. Then, she whipped it off and had no top on. She also had hairy arm pits. And, she hula hooped.



Me, Ryan, Amy, & Betsy

Funny


Our friend brought this flamingo/beer funnel thing. The body held the beer. It was pretty funny.

Everyone gave it a whirl



Evie watched the craziness from the window.

After the show, we saw all of the drunks puking in the park. They were also crowding our fave burrito spot while we tried to get lunch. Needless to day, we got the food to go and came home to nap!

Saturday

On Saturday, I finally got my haircut. I have not had it cut in six months and my ends were looking bad! I felt SO much better when I walked out of there!

After the haircut, we stopped by our neighborhood Block Party. They had a taco truck, a jump house for the kids, and some local businesses were there to pass stuff out. We got veggie tacos from Kung Fu Tacos. So good!

After that, we hit up the sidewalk sales nearby. The sales weren't that great/most businesses weren't participating! So, we went to Fly Bar instead. We had a few beers and 1/2 price pizza during their happy hour.

We didn't go out on Sat night. We made muffins for Sunday morning, which is Bay To Breakers. Goonies was also on. Love that movie!!!

Sushi & TGIF

Thursday wasn't such a bad day. I met my friend Lauren out for a few drinks at a little bar nearby work. Then, we ended up going out to dinner at my fave sushi place, Domo. It was a fun time.

Friday, was a mess. We are so close to launching a project next week and on Friday, were told that a big part of our project had to be redone. The Client wants to pay extra $$ for it to happen and it was stressful all around for everyone. SO annoying.

On Friday, I started to not feel so well. I was so exhausted and stressed out that I truly started to feel sick. Like run down/need to be in bed. I left work early, got home, & climbed in bed. It was amazing. Evie and I took a nap. We woke up, had pizza & watched stuff on the DVR. We just relaxed and rested. Thank Goodness my project launches on Tuesday and I have a short week next week!

Thursday

Today was supposed to be a crazy day but it turned out not to be so bad. Plus, it is ending with drinks with my friend Lauren who is up here from San Diego. Woohoo.

Yesterday, I went to tennis and only 3 of us showed up. I guess some people lost interest. We played doubles and our instructor played. Sadly, my partner and I lost 6-1. Oh well. Next week is the last week :-( After that, I will have to scour for partners! There are some good sites out there that hook you up with other people at your level. So, I might try that.

I love Thursdays. It's like the weekend is upon us, but not here yet. Work is almost over for the week. NY Housewives are on. Its just a good night. Tomorrow is Friday!

Injury on the field

This AM, we went out to the park and met a 6 mo old Boxer. So cute. Then, this other big dog came over to play. He was like a Ridgeback mix dog. Also super cute. Evie & the two dogs were running around and all 3 of them were grabbing the stick and running. So cute.

The Ridgeback, Dexter, had a toy that he was running around with. Evie was chasing him. Then, he'd drop it & she would grab it. They were having fun & kept taking turns. They were running & someone dropped the toy. They all went for it. Then, all of the sudden, the Boxer's mouth was bleeding. No idea how it happened. I felt so bad. I have no clue what happened. Kind of like the time Evie's ear ripped open and we did not see how that happened at all.

Poor little guy is only 6 months. I wanted to give the lady my # so she could let me know he was OK. I know how it is to have your dog bleeding in the park & no one caring or helping you out. He probably got stepped on or someone's nail scraped him or something. It was truly everyone playing & something happened.

So scary. I hate when dogs get hurt.

Tortilla Soup

I'm working from home today which is great. I needed to just stay home and do work. I took a break to make a quick Tortilla Soup. It literally took 10 mins. I threw the onions/garlic/scallions in the food processor and dumped everything in together.

I added a little bit of cheese on top & it's so good!
The recipe is from Whole Foods.com

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 serrano chile, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper
2 cups water
1 tablespoon lime juice, more to taste
1/4 cup grated Monterey jack cheese
1/4 cup crumbled yellow corn tortilla chips
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Method

In a medium soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until the onion turns translucent, about 5 minutes. Add chile and cumin and cook a minute longer. Add tomatoes with their juices, water and salt. Cover the pot and cook gently, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Stir in lime juice. Taste and adjust seasonings. Ladle soup into bowls and top with grated cheese, tortilla chips and cilantro. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 10oz/285g-wt.): 100 calories (45 from fat), 5g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 3g protein, 12g total carbohydrate (3g dietary fiber, 6g sugar), 5mg cholesterol, 480mg sodium

Wednesday

Work is totally crazy right now. We are still understaffed and going crazy. The clients think we can do more than we can.

Anyway - Erik has started his beer making. Right now a bucket full of unfermented beer is sitting in his closet for a month. He is SO excited. I hope it tastes good!!

Nothing really to report. It's nice out today & Im excited to go to tennis. Only a few more weeks left. Actually I think next week is the last time.

Im off to New Orleans in a little over a week. Also excited but nervous for this!!

Hummingbird

This morning, I saw a hummingbird really close to me. He was probably 5' away just buzzing around the flowers! So cute.

Spiced Nuts

Yesterday, I made Spiced Nuts. Soooo yummy. I just did almonds but I also love doing this with pecans. Here's the recipe:

1 lb. nuts, pecans, walnuts, cashews--your choice

1 egg white, lightly beaten

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1-1/2 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. brown sugar

Optional seasonings:1 tsp. each, cinnamon and vanilla; for a more Asian flavor, add 1 tsp. 5-spice powder, 1 tsp. ground ginger, 1 tsp. soy sauce; for an Indian taste add 1 tsp. ground coriander, 1 tsp. ground cumin, 1 tsp. garam masala; --or invent your own seasoning mixes.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Toss nuts with egg white and seasonings. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake until crisp, about 10-15 minutes. Serve the same day, or store in an airtight container.

Sunday

Happy Mother's Day!! Hope you all had a nice day with your Mom's. I sent my Mom chocolate covered strawberries which she loved!

Erik made me pancakes yesterday for Mother's Day. Evie's camp gave me a Mother's Day cookie. haha. Hey, Dog Mom's work hard too!

Today was 'Sunday Stuff' kind of day. We hit up the Farmer's Market, grocery store, did laundry & cleaned. This week will be another busy week.

In other news, I sold the beach cruiser this morning. I sold it because I am getting my Hybrid bike on Tuesday via Fed Ex. woohooo!!

OMG.

I don't regularly watch SNL so I don't know WHO this character is with the little arms. But, OMG. What is she doing!?? I was dying at her final little ditty song and licking the squirrel!!

I'mmmmmmmm 50!

Last night, SNL was hosted by Betty White. Can you believe she is 88? After a Facebook campaign took place to get her on as a host, they finally had her on the show. She was hilarious!

What I liked best about the episode was that old SNL actors came back for the show including Molly Shannon & Tina Fey. I love Molly Shannon. Her skit as Sally O'Malley is hilarious.

Saturday

Saturday was an interesting day. We decided to go up to Napa because a)we had a wine shipment sitting in our winery since March and b)the winery was having a '07 Cabernet release party for members which was free. So, we thought, let's go up, get our wine, drink for free, have lunch and head home.

Our winery where we are members is Alpha Omega. We started going there a few years ago when they were just getting up & running. We loved it. They were personable and friendly. Paid attention to everyone and have amazing wine.



We had some Sav Blanc, 06 Cab, and 07 Cab. The 07 Cab was delish and goes for about $65/bottle.

Yeah! I'm happy. I'm in Napa drinking wine!

Then, we went inside to do a tasting and it took 10 minutes for us to be waited on. AO is now so popular, they have crowds. It's the complete opposite of what we want in a winery. We were NOT happy.


We finally got our tasting & went outside to enjoy the sun.

We got extra tastings because I told the woman we were not happy with the service. They are going to get a letter from me, expressing my disappointment. We are probably going to cancel the club, too. We don't get regular shipments anymore anyway, so it's not like we are losing out on anything big. Plus, we don't even like going there anymore. Yes, I am sticking my tongue out at AO.


Napa is beautiful but we might explore the Russian River area next time.



After the wine debacle, we went to Tra Vigne Pizzeria where we got awesome pizza. I love the pizza there!

We headed home to get Evie from camp. She was tired!

We took the Bay Bridge home. This bridge never gets as much love as the GGB but it's a pretty cool bridge.






Coming back into SF


Sitting in the back, yawning...


She got on the floor in the back seat to take a nap! haha

Needless to say, when we got home, we were so tired. Despite the poor service, we did have a nice day!

Friday

Friday was busy busy at work. I had a fun night though. I met up with some friends to play tennis. We went and tried to play doubles but two of the girls have never really played. So we ended up playing my favorite game, "See how many volleys you can do".

Then, we got dinner at my fave spot: Little Chihuahua. A salmon taco, the salsa bar, and a beer w/ lime was a great way to end the long week!!

TGIF

Some weeks, TGIF is an understatement. This was one of those weeks. Tonight, I am gearing up for a night of tennis & mexican. Playing doubles tennis with 3 friends and then hitting up my fave spot, The Little Chihuahua. I havent' been there in so long. Can you believe it!!?

Not sure what the rest of the weekend holds.......

Thursday

Yesterday was super busy at work. We are launching a project on Mon and one next week and of course, lots of loose ends to tie up. I was on the phone w. clients until about 630 which means I did not get home until 7 which means I did not make it to tennis. Oh well, I was tired anyway.

Did anyone see Parenthood this week? I love that show. I hope it sticks around!!!

Also, finally Pamela went home on DWTS. I think Erin or Niecy might be next.

Also, BACHELORETTE is coming back on 5/24. How exciting!!

More work news

Well, we got some bad news at work yesterday. That other client I was helping out on was only able to pay for us to help out on a project. They are too small to pay us to be their full time agency. I was upset. I was frustrated when I found out. Then, due to my recent enlightenment, I thought - this is not a big deal. It's a disappointment but really, is it something to be upset about?

What would Kelly Cutrone do? Well, she would not cry over it. She would move on. Forge ahead. Find another client & push to work on it. Don't stop and ponder.

In the overall scheme of work, something else will come along.

My Little PIg

Took Evie to Alamo last night. She loves going there to see all of the dogs & roll down the hill.


























Erik had hockey last night & unfortunately, his team lost. It was a playoff game & they lost in a shoot out. Oh well. Another season starts in like 2 months or something. They play all year.

Email Down

Email is down at work. What can you do when email is down? Not much. I called my clients but they don't call back. They probably emailed me. Great. So, in the mean time, I went online to look for recipes. I have been eating only fish & ground turkey lately. Eggs freak me out so I cut those out. I've been eating lots of beans & veggies.

Found a new blog which is awesome called, Smitten Kitchen. OMG. Such yummy stuff on here!!

Like this cabbage, corn & lime slaw.







Or, Avocado Salad w/ carrot & ginger dressing!











These black bean tostadas look awesome too, from Vegetarian Times.

Do you guys eat beets? I have been reading a lot about them and want to try them. I have had raw beets & they taste just like potatoes. I'm thinking of trying a roasted beet salad.

Tuesday

So yesterday, I did not ride my bike home. I put it on the front of the bus. It was a struggle. You have to pull down the bike rack & hoist the bike on there. Then pull this thing up to hold the bike on. Thankfully, some nice people waiting for the bus helped me out. I rode to work today and will do the same thing to get home. My bike arrives from CT on Tuesday. I put the Cruiser on craigslist and already got one call about it.

Anyway, DWTS was on last night. I think Niecy or Pamela might go home tonight. I like Niecy - she is funny. Pamela is a space cadet.

And the NJ Housewives started last night. They are funny but they whole show is about them hating Danielle. It's so immature. Get a life, find something else to worry about than hating on some girl!

Evie played with another puppy last night. They loooved each other. She adores puppies. I can't decide if it's because she missed out on a true puppyhood or if she is acting like a mother to them. The puppy last night was 6 mos old and named 'You-Go'. I think it means something in another language but I didn't ask. So cute.

Well, tonight Erik is home and I think we might play tennis. Hope it is not too cold & windy out. Last night, I had to wear my ear band due to the wind!!

Bike Update

Ooooook. So, the ride to work is great. The ride home is not. I need to get the cruiser up a steady incline hill. It is a single speed bike. This is not working out very well. I have a beautiful hybrid bike at home, with gears, just begging to come live in CA. Thankfully, my parents are going to ship it out to me. I will put the Cruiser on craigslist for someone else to enjoy. I love biking to work but the ride home is just so hard on that bike.

Today I rode to work but I plan on putting it on the bus to get home. ahhahaha

Sunday

This weekend was so beautiful out. Even today's weather is awesome! Yesterday, we checked out this place that has 'NYC Bagels'. I would say they are sort of NYC bagels. I wouldn't walk all the way to Hayes Valley to get the bagels.



Evie sat patiently while we ate in the little park. You see, she is no longer on the prong collar? I can walk her on the flat collar. She is not lunging at people/bikes/dogs. She listens when I tell her to Leave It. She is growing up.

Erik impatiently waiting for us to leave so we can go play tennis.

After the bagels, we went to play tennis. I lost to Erik 6-1, 6-3. This is an improvement despite my loss. Last week I lost 6-0, 6-1! I was so happy to have gotten 4 games against him!! It was HOT out. I got sunburned, which I HATE. Sunburn = skin damage.

After tennis, we hit up the farmers market. They have these AMAZING snap peas there. I walk around and eat them right out of the bag. They are so good. Erik made pizza for us for lunch with some of the veggies we got at the market.

Today, I am a little tired & achy. My foot has been bothering me from the tennis. Might go see the DPM to see if they can do anything! Here's to a good Monday!