We survived Tahoe

We are back from Tahoe. We survived the trip & had quite the adventure getting to Tahoe on Friday thanks to snow, road closures, map issues, and more snow. However, the rest of the weekend was clear and sunny so we had a good time. Here are some pictures to give you an insight into our weekend. I will give the full update when I get more time.


This sums up our drive there. This sign says 'Chains Required'


Check out the view from the house windows. The snow was SO high.


Scary Isicles


There was a hot tub...but, more on that later.


But, Tahoe was beautiful....

Snow in SF

Everyone here is going crazy because the news said we might get SNOW in SF. Apparently the last time that happened was in the 70's. Now, snow out here is not like real snow. I think if we got anything, it would be light flurries. It is "cold" here though because it is around 40 out and rainy. Keep in mind, we don't all have seal tight windows and heat pumping through our apartments to deal with the weather.

Anyway, here is the weather forecast-


Evie does not like the weather. She doesn't have a lot of fur and is cold!

We are leaving this "cold" weather for even colder & snowier weather because we are going to Lake Tahoe this weekend! Here is the forecast --


We are going to have to put chains on our tires of the car once we get closer to the mountains. It has been snowing like craaaaazy up there and chains are required on certain roads. It's so crazy!

There are 7 of us going to Tahoe and only 2 are skiing. haha. The rest of us plan on relaxing at the house, sitting in the hot tub, eating & drinking! Sounds like a good ski weekend to me.

Evie is not going this year. She is going to go to camp where she will have tons of fun.

Wish us luck in the snow!!

Shopping Buddies & Cinny Rolls

Yesterday, we were both off for President's Day! How wonderful to have a 3 day weekend. We got to sleep in which was nice.


First up, Evie and I walked to the Vet to get some more food. She looooves new bag of food day. She is so happy to go home, watches and stands near me as I open the bag, and then waits for me to pour it in the container. She eats it AS IT COMES OUT OF THE BAG and of course, I always spill some on the floor because she is in the way. Then, she eats it off the floor and sticks her face in the container. It's actually pretty funny.

Waiting for the food to be poured...


Gobble Gobble

After a workout and lunch, Evie & I went to do some errands. We used to drive down to the stores on our monthly Sunday trip together and she would accompany me while I did the shopping. That was when Erik used to work on Sundays & we had the day to ourselves. So, it was nice to just let her come in the car and do the errands. We went to Target & Bed/Bath& Beyond. The stores were a little crazy - I think everyone was off yesterday.

I came home to Erik brewing beer AND making cinnamon rolls. Erik Stewart was at it again.


Vanilla Porter in the works


Cinny rolls in the oven

Yummmm....they were delish!

It was a great day off with the family! This week is only a 3 day work week because we are off to Tahoe on Friday!

CELINE

I just found out that Celine Dion is going back to Vegas for another three year run of her show. I HAVE TO GO! I have never been to Vegas nor do I really care to go. But, I would go to lay by the pool, have a nice dinner or two and see Celine!! Maybe later this year we will go....

Wedding Inspiration

I have found some cute wedding blogs and sites. I found a few things that are inspiring for our wedding...next year. We really are not doing too much planning right now. I just ordered the save the date cards, which are super cute!


Cute, rustic sign to direct people to the wedding....



I love this 'Just Married' sign...I think it would look cute hanging in front of a CANDY TABLE!

I love this idea - all of the candy can be the colors of the wedding. Plus, you can do it all yourself. Just buy the glass containers at a craft shop and the candy at a candy warehouse online!


The colors at the wedding will be navy & lime green - I can already think of so much candy to buy around those colors!

Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin goes on the same shelf as Milk and King's Speech, as being a very inspirational film. Temple Grandin is an actual person - she is a woman with Autism who has a PhD in Animal Science. Temple is a well-known author and a designer of a system that cattle slaughterhouses use that is more humane for the animals.

Temple was born in the 60's when Autism was not understood very well. A doctor initially told her Mother that she should be institutionalized because Temple did not speak until she was 4 yrs old. Despite the odds, Temple went onto a boarding school for gifted children, college, grad school and received her PhD. She is known as DR. Temple Grandin and was a key contributor to this film.

Claire Danes played the role of Temple and authentically captured Temple's voice and mannerisms. She has won a couple of awards for this film and I definitely feel they were well deserved.

Temple has been a voice in the autism community & to everyone - she was one of the first people to be able to explain WHAT it feels like to be autistic. There are different levels of autism & asperger's on the spectrum and Temple is known as a highly functioning Autistic. She is a true inspiration for anyone as someone who found her voice and used it to help others.

I highly recommend this film. One thing I want to point out is that you will see how slaughterhouses are set up & work. I am pretty passionate about people knowing where their food came from & how it ends up on your plate. I know that some people would rather not know this information, so I just want to warn you.

If you ever do want to understand the food industry better, I recommend the following:

• The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
• Food Inc, a Film
• Oprah's Vegan Episode
• Modern Meat - a PBS article(graphic descriptions)
  

I totally understand there is an up and down to every situation. If no one ate meat, think of all of the cattle farmers and those in the industry who would be out of work. However, Temple was onto something when she said, "Nature is cruel. We don't have to be."

Weekend Update

On Saturday, we were rained in again. I got my hair highlighted in the AM, we had to get a smog test for the car, did some laundry...usual Saturday stuff. Then, we went to the mall to hit up the Borders Closing Sale. Borders declared bankruptcy and they are closing 200+ stores. The store in our mall is closing and everything was on sale. I have to say though, the sale wasn't that great. It just brought everything down to Amazon regular prices. I got a few books though:


We ended up eating dinner at the mall at a Korean BBQ place. We made it home and stayed in for the night. We tried to watch Prince of Persia but it was boring!

On Sunday, we woke up to....SUN. Yippeeee! Evie was thrilled to be able to go on a normal walk outside and not be rushed to get back into the warm house. I went food shopping and got a manicure and Erik went surfing in the afternoon. Sunday was the last week of Beer Week so we went to Toronado so he could try some BrandyWine Beer. We hit up Metro Caffe for those yummy cheesesteaks again and then went home. We watched Temple Grandin last night - what an inspirational film.

Book Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns is the second book by Kite Runner author, Khaled Hosseini. This book focuses on two women whose lives intertwine in Afghanistan.

The first woman, Mariam, lives with her single mother and has a father who refuses to accept her as a daughter since she was born out of wedlock. After trying so hard to get her father to accept her & trying to live with him, she is married off at the age of 14.

Laila is a young woman who has a loving family and access to an education. Her family is ripped apart due to war in Afghanistan. After Mariam & her husband take Laila in, they must survive the man they live with and the war that is raging in their own country. They must face the Taliban, hunger, and abuse.

This story started out slow for me and I was bored by Mariam's side of the story. The book definitely picks up in the second half of the book. The women endure a LOT in this book and some parts were hard for me to read - specifically, if they were getting physically abused/beat up. The violence shouldn't seem that crazy to me since I have been reading books about Concentration Camp but I think this book gave too much detail.

While I thought The Kite Runner was an awesome book, this one was a clear 2nd place. What I love about both books is how this is a historical fiction book and puts the political unrest in Afghanistan in perspective.

Beer Week

It's Beer Week here in SF. Despite the pouring down rain, we headed out to Zeitgeist on Friday night for a Sierra Nevada event. I don't really like Sierra so I had a Franziskaner Hefe and a Great White Wheat beer. Erik tried a few different Sierra beers including the BarleyWine, Hoptimum, and Glissade.

It was fun to hang out & say goodbye to the work week!

Gooooood Bye!

I just paid off one of my student loans (1 out of 2). YIPPEEEEEE!!! I am so excited. Only one more to go & I am free of college loans!!!

Very exciting!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!! "I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes..."

Last night, I made some Valentine's Cupcakes for my co-workers and the Bingo Ladies!


Yes, tonight is my regularly scheduled Bingo night so since we aren't doing anything crazy, I will bring the love to the ladies.


I got two dozen GORGEOUS red roses from my future husband :-)

So pretty!

I'm so happy I have my two valentines: E&E!

Pitty Party & Karaoke

Last night, we went to a fun event to benefit Pit Bull rescue!



The event was paaaaaacked. The Pit Boss from the Animal Planet show was there, there was a Silent Auction, and a Burlesque Show.

While I loved that this was an event to benefit dogs(& I will do anything for dogs!), I hated that there were dogs IN the bar. It's way too loud & crowded for a dog to enjoy being there.


Erik & Brett - I think they were celebrating actually getting beers & making it back to our table in one piece!

After the "Pitty Party", we went to the Mint Karaoke.

Tiffany & I belting it out







I think this pose was mid-dance. haha

No visit to the Mint is complete without getting on stage!!


Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living

It's enough to drive you, crazy if you let it!

Skyrockets in Flight, Afternoon Delight

We were out wayyyy later than we usually are. We came back to our place so they could meet Evie and can you believe, she was totally cool with them? She LET THEM PET HER, she was licking them and playing with her toys with them. I could not believe it. I think Evie can sense 'dog people' and is more relaxed around them or something. So that was a great ending to a great night!!

Book Review: Sarah's Key

Another really interesting & powerful WWII book! Just finished Sarah's Key this week and have to say this was pretty eye opening to read about an event that happened in France that I had never heard about or learned about in school.

The way this story was told was similar to Those Who Save Us; told by two people but the stories intertwined. I'm sure there is some literary word for this but I don't know it! The story is told by Julia, a woman living in France in the 1990's and by Sarah, a young girl living in France in the 40's.

Did you know that France participated in removing Jews and deporting them to concentration camps? I didn't. The Vel' d'Hiv Roundup took place in 1942 when there was a raid of Jews held by the FRENCH police. Why were the French suddenly following Nazi orders? Turns out the Germans began to occupy France in 1940 and gave the French police orders - which they didn't even question! The French Government also did not recognize this event publicly and only apologized for in in 1995!

The Vel' d'Hiv is short for the Vélodrome d'Hiver, a big stadium in Paris. Jews were pulled out of their homes (including children!!!) and brought to this stadium for days. They were barely fed and many people died. After surviving that ordeal, they were then shipped via train to concentration camps. Can you believe they separated the children from the parents? Its just so horrific to think about.

Sarah's Key is interesting because the joining piece of the past & present in the house that Sarah lived in and the one that Julia now lives in. Julia is a journalist given the task of writing about the Vel' d'Hiv anniversary and upon researching the event, she learns about Sarah, the house she lived in/is currently living in, and links together pieces of the past(& present) to find out what happened which in turn, changes Julia's life.

A very moving story...While reading, I couldn't help but think of Hurricane Katrina and how so many people went to the Superdome only to be without food/water. Many people died there, as well. While that was a result of the city not being prepared to deal with the pending devastation, did we have an unintentional Vel' d'Hiv right here in the US?

Definitely recommend this book!

Mean but Funny

Saw this on a SF Blog today...Mean, but kind of funny. Sorry Snowed In Folks who are over the snow.

Status Quo

Nothing new to report this week. We haven't done anything interesting this week. In fact, we have been so tired after work! I have gone to bed before 10 every night which is so weird for me...Work is super busy though, that is for sure.

The other morning, Evie was hanging around in the bathroom while I was getting ready. She was staring into the tub so I asked her if she wanted to go in. She hopped in & started to drink from the faucet. What a weirdo.

Yum!!

Hi Mom

Our walk this morning was so pretty. I will have to bring my camera tomorrow. When we walked up Buena Vista park, we could see both the GG Bridge & the Bay Bridge. It was soooo clear out, we could see across the Bay to Oakland!