Saturday

On Saturday, we took Evie to Training and went to downtown Berkeley. Then, we went down the Wharf and saw the Ghiradelli Sq tree.

Friday

On Friday, after Thanksgiving, we put up the Christmas decorations & had an Italian dinner in North Beach at Firenze By Night.

Our tree is 9.5 feet high. It's fake and pre-light.


The balsam fir rocket has landed!


Wrapping the tree with ribbon

Putting on the ornaments

Our stockings

Now this special section of the tree is called the 'Pet Memorial' because it is an ornament of Molly(RIP 2006) and Poodge (aka Woody, aka Poody, RIP like 10 years ago?? - we don't really know because oh wait, we didnt own him!)


The Tree!

Thanksgiving

OK onto Thanksgiving. We had a lazy morning and then prepared...the turkey. Now, last year Erik and I spent Thanksgiving in CA. We bought a turkey that was already prepared & in a bag. You just put it all in the oven & it cooks.

This year, I wanted to play Martha Stewart and do it for real. How it played out:
1. "I'm scared what the turkey will look like when we take it out of the wrapping"


2. "Yeah I heard there is a neck in the turkey and this bag of like liver & pancreas"

3. "OH MY GOD. This is digusting. (Screaming by both of us). Ilk. Look at the skin and what is that? Oh gross. Heather - get out of here, I will do this" (Kimmy pulling the NECK out of inside the turkey & throwing it in the trash).

4. "OK let me rinse this thing out. oh groooooooooss. (screaming)


Ok so then we get it onto the rack. We stuff it with onion and stuffing. We baste it with wine/butter/lemon mixture. Looks good, right?


We take it out & check it, baste it, etc. It is looking good. So then we stick the thermometer in and it feels weird.

Everyone says, "Where's the meat?"

Amy "Oh my god. Did you guys cook the turkey UPSIDE DOWN?"

ummm yep!


Finally - here is what it looks like...


Next year, its turkey in the bag or I'm getting it cooked and delivered!!


And....here's Evie trying to swipe a cracker.

Last Week

Ok I am feeling better & stopped crying. I will be watching Christmas movies every night through December and that will make me happy. So, last week was great. Here is the breakdown:

Tuesday
Kimmy arrives. We had dinner at this awesome restaurant, Betelnut.

Wednesday
We got a mani/pedi and made 2 apple pies while we finished off a bottle of wine.

Get ready, apples!


Kimmy doing the crust

Evie wondering, 'When do I get my piece?'

Almost ready

Yum-o

Nice work

Needless to say, we made 2 pies for 4 people. So, we ate 1/2 of one on Wed and then the other 1/2 on Thurs AM. So, then we had one left for dessert on Thanksgiving.

On Wed night, we went to the Little Chihuahua for tacos and watched a Christmas movie!

Sad

Well I have a lot of updates to post mostly what we did all week. Here is a quick rundown:

-Had great week with Kimmy & had a lot of fun
-Ate a lot, drank a lot, danced, and watched lots of Christmas movies
-Decorated for Christmas
-Cried when she left

I am sad. I am at work and sad and had to stop crying b/c obviously, I am at work but I dont want anyone to talk to me today. I also feel like I want to pack up and move home like right now but I know that feeling will pass.

My dad is visiting in a week and then Marla comes out for a week so we will have lots of visitors this month!!

Black Friday: Out of Control

Worker dies in Black Friday store rush

VALLEY STREAM (WABC) -- A Wal-Mart employee died and four others were hurt in the Black Friday rush to get into the Valley Stream store this morning.

The injuries occurred as the shoppers crammed into the Wal-Mart when the doors opened at 5 a.m.

Police said the shoppers knocked the man to the ground at 5:03 a.m., three minutes after the store opened.

A 34-year-old Wal-Mart employee suffered an apparent heart attack and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Happy Turkey Day!

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Ok

OK - I took Evie to Buena Vista Park and she played with dogs and we hiked up the huge hill and she was huffing & puffing and her tongue was hanging out. Now, we are home and she is asleep on the couch. Just an hour of sprinting around and she is good to go. I guess I will keep her. The SPCA has enough dogs. I'm kidding. You all know I would never get rid of Evie. I adopted her from a shelter! She is still a crazy puppy-ish dog.

Now I am just finishing cleaning and then we pick up Kimmy soon! Hurrrrrray!

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!! Gobble Gobble

Evie - On Thin Ice

If Evie is not exercised like someone training for the Olympics, she is full of energy. The problem is that its dark at 5pm. There are hardly any dogs in the park to run around with, she can't be off leash(but she runs on her looong one), if you walk her its not enough, if you run with her its not enough. We can't take her to camp daily because 1)too expensive 2)too far away to drive down & back with work.

So - I am stuck with a dog who is a looney toon. Every night at 8pm, she loses her shit. She is barking and jumps. You take out a toy, she ignores it bc she just wants to wrestle with you. I take her to the parking lot and throw a stick for her b/c the only place she will play with the stick is in the lot, not the park(weird).

Today, I threatened her that I would take her to the SPCA. I said this to her. I dont' think she understood. I told her if she wasn't good, Santa won't come. No response.

I got this from: This is what I meant by that

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial –I don't like cutting trees down for entertainment

3. When do you put up the tree? This year, maybe the 6th or 7th

4. When do you take the tree down? Jan 2nd

5. Do you like eggnog? GROSS

6. Favorite gift received as a child? No idea. Maybe a Cabbage Patch Kid or Nintendo & Mario 3

7. Hardest person to buy for? ERIK

8. Easiest person to buy for? Mom/Kimmy

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, Erik and I dress up and Evie is baby Jesus. Ok not really.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail! Email is tacky

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hmmm no idea. Maybe a green suede purse when I was about 14 from an extended family member

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? So cliché but Charlie Brown’s Christmas and Home Alone

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Before Thanksgiving

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? no. But if we are forced to do White Elephant with the Clients, I am putting the yogurt maker I got last year in the mix.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Apple Pie

16. Lights on the tree? Yes but white only

17. Favorite Christmas song? This year - Step Into Christmas by Elton John but normally anything Bing or MitchMiller (Must be Santa) and Suzy Snowflake. Oh the list goes on.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? The past two years, stay in CA. Next year, CT

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Yes

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Red bow

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Day

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Oh goodness, maybe the fact it doesn’t last long enough

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? My Little Mermaid ornaments

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Turkey

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A new fleece jacket since Evie ate the pockets out of my old one and for my 401K to bounce back and for the economy to turn around and for world peace

Pilgrim Hat Cookies

Step 1




Me, looking crazy

Almost done

Chocolate Hats

I never took a picture of the finishing product, but here is what they look like:


I dropped them off at Erik's work to enjoy because even though I love making these, I've never eaten one and probably never will!

McDonald's - We did it

You know how we wanted McDonald's? Well, we got it. I got the chicken selects. I have a stomachache now, just as predicted. Oh well, it tasted good. Now, I won't want it for another 2 years.

Fun Week

I am so excited for this week! Today is my only day of work. Tomorrow, I am off and Kimmy arrives tomorrow. I can't wait. We are going to go to dinner tomorrow & Erik's hockey game. She is here until MONDAY. YIPPEE!!

I can't hardly do any work today because I'm so excited for the week and Kimmy and Thanksgiving and turkey and no work and Christmas music!!

Mouthguard, finally

Well, I went for my 'fitting' for my mouthguard today. It is basically this bulky, hard plastic retainer type thing for my top set of teeth. The dentist kept putting in & out of my mouth, marking it, shaving it down...Then, he had to put this NASTY goo on it. You know what a nail salon smells like - acrylic nail powder? That is what it smelled like and TASTED like. He put it in and it burned my tongue and went down my throat a little. YUCK. I tried to think of people in worse situations other than my own for those 2 minutes. Now, I am the proud owner of a very expensive mouthguard that I will wear at night to hopefully stop the grinding & the pressure on my gums so I don't have to pay like $50,000 for new teeth in 10 years!!

Weekend!

This weekend was fun & busy!! On Friday, Cristin and I went to Domo for sushi and it was SO good. Then, we watched the Santa Clause. Yep - before Christmas.

On Saturday, Erik and I took Evie to training. Then, we went to lunch and stopped by this surf swap show. At night, we went to Ozumo for sushi. I am sushied out!!

Today, I went food shopping at 730am. Yep - I wanted to beat the rush of people buying stuff for Thanksgiving...Then, I made pilgrim hat cookies for Erik to bring to work. Pictures to be up soon. We took Evie on a hike in Corona Hts. Then...I headed to mall to get some Christmas gifts AND we saw The Secret Life of Bees. The movie was good but the book was much better. I recommend the book.

Now it is on to ONE day of work! I am off on Tuesday and KIMMY ARRIVES. The excitement mounts.

$25 Haircut

Remember when I said I was going to the Paul Mitchell school to get a haircut? Well, I got it. It cost me $25 with TIP. Unreal. The guy did a good job. I told him what I wanted & brought pictures. He is a student but there are Supervisors that come and check everything out so you do not leave there if you don't like your haircut. They also will not even start cutting until the supervisor approves what they are about to do.

I almost died when the woman near me who got her hair HIGHLIGHTED paid $50! Unreal.

I will definitely go back. You cannot beat a $25 hair cut.

Evie at Training

Here are some pictures of Erik & Evie at training today. During a break, he brought her over to me and I took them.






Froggy Dog



Rolling in the Grass

Pictures with Evie

Random pictures we took last week of Evie.



Evie is the Baby

This one is like, "Dad.....put me down"

Evie standing. ha.

BABY

Ashlee Simpson had her baby. She named him:

Bronx Mowgli Wentz.

MOWGLI as in the kid in the Jungle Book.

"I'm a mancub"

Kota

I went to Target tonight and saw this....

For $269.00

Do you know what it is? It's Kota an animatronic, life-size baby dinosaur. It stands over 3' tall and comes to life with realistic sounds and motion. It responds to your voice and touch with roaring and laughing sounds, and expressive tail, head, eye, mouth and horn movements. It also plays four different adventure-themed tune. For $269.

Oh and when you think this dino has worked up an appetite, be sure to feed him his leafy snack — it really sounds like he's munching on it!

Lazy Mayze

Evie's nickname for the morning is Lazy Mayze. She is so lazy. This morning, I got up to run and tried to get her up at 730 when I got back. Nope.

I tried again at 8, 830...Erik was still in bed & so was she.

9, 930....no movement.

10:15 - she gets up!

Now, she is asleep on the couch & twitching like a mad man. I love the smell of the inside of Evie's ears. Is that weird??

Hallmark Channel

The Hallmark Channel is also doing a Christmas lineup. They even have a movie with DJ Tanner!!

McDonalds

There is a McDonalds right next to my office. We never go. We always see people going there, the place is always packed, and people bringing it back to the office. I haven't had McDonalds since December 2006.

We want McDonald's.

We set a date to go. We are going on Monday, 11/24. However, now this calorie thing is happening. But, guess what. I went on McDonald's website and looked up the calories. 4 chicken nuggets and a medium fry is only about 400 calories. I know, the fat, etc aren't good but still - that is not that bad.

No Bailout

To add to my rant on the Detroit automakers, how about the fact that the 3 big CEO's took PRIVATE JETS to DC to cry poor to the government about their companies. Maybe if they didn't buy jets that cost $35MM in the first place or pay $20K in gas to get to DC, their companies would be better off. MAYBE if the CEO's didnt take $16M bonus every year, the company would be doing better. MAYBE if they had thought hybrid and smaller, they would be in a better place. I know Obama is in favor of bailing these idiots out, but right now, I am not. Teach these corporate AHOLEs a lesson!!!

One Warm Coat

In early December, we are going to a party at the Aquarium by the Bay. The entrance fee is... a coat.

If you are cleaning out your closet and want to donate a coat, you can ship it to me & I'd be happy to donate it. Or, if you don't want to ship it but want to donate. Go here to find out where to donate your coat locally.

1.5

I got up and ran another 1.5 miles today. I will have to start doing 2 loops next week. Then, I can just do 2 loops and try to get better at doing 3 miles before the 5K.

Yesterday, I kept my food/calorie log. By 5pm, I was starving. I said to Cristin, when you are trying to lose weight, do you have to starve? She said, yes! That is why people on diets are always in bad moods. I think an easy way to snack is to eat vegetables during the day....

Anyway, its 55 and foggy here today. Blah. I am working from home which is always great. I have to go to Petco(where the pets go) today. I also want to go to Target to get 2 gifts I need down there. I saw the Target ad that will be coming out for next Friday...do you want it? it has goooood stuff in it. Here is the front page. Get excited!

Casting Calls

CASTING CALLS—Food Network's upcoming show, Dear Food Network, will be filming in San Francisco and they're looking for fans of Guy Fieri and Giada de Laurentiis: "Love to watch the Food Network but can’t cook as well as your favorite star? Now’s your chance to have your Grilling question answered, possibly even in-person! Inspired by letters from fans, Dear Food Network features top chefs answering your cooking concerns"

Sweepstakes

It seems like everyone is doing a sweepstakes right now & giving away a lot of stuff.

Here are a few:

1. Rachel Ray is giving out a new prize daily but you can enter daily to win that prize for a week. It's very easy to enter because they add up all of the prizes for you every day. Click Rach for the sweeps.


2. Women's Health is giving away prizes daily


3. Win a trip to LA and a makeover from Real Simple


4. Win Free Dental for Life ($25,000)

Cute Sign

I love this sign from LLBean. I want to get one that says our CT town. How cute!!

Tight Pants

Back to the calories thing, I know I have gained weight in the last year because these jeans I bought almost 1 year ago are tight in the waist. I had a freak out on Erik last night who is Mr. Healthy and works out and does yoga and eats well. I was like, Ive never had to worry and now I have a pot belly!!

So, this morning, I got up and ran 1.5 miles. I am awake anyway at 630 so why not get it over with. Its too cold and dark after work. So, I did. I ran the entire time which is good for me.

I realize I need to cut back on the cheese, cereal, beer....

Save Detroit

I think it is completely, utterly, ridiculous that the 'Big 3' are going under and begging the Federal Govt for $25BILLION dollars. It is not the consumers fault that GM kept making huge, gas guzzing Tahoes for the past few years when gas prices were up and no one could afford gas let alone to buy a car. Instead of realizing we have an energy crisis and looking into alternative fuel and hybrid, smaller cars, they just kept out pumping out the huge cars. They are stupid & should have made changes 2 years ago. I know that if GM goes under, then car prices go up and imports come flooding in but I think these companies need to start learning a lesson!! What's next - will groceries stores start begging for money, how about clothing stores? Did Mervyn's call the gov't? No. They filed bankruptcy and closed stores.

Calories

I have known this forever, but it is really coming together in my head that if you eat a lot of calories and do not work out - you gain weight. I have never had to worry about this in my life and suddenly I do because I am no spring chicken anymore and my metabolism is slowing down. That means my jeans fit tighter.

I can not just have a goal of 'be fit' because I won't do anything. I have to have a specific goal like - burn 500 calories per day. That is not hard. I think the food thing is less of an issue that exercise.

I went on this site and did a calculation to see how many calories I get per day and I should only eat 1500!! That is nothing. Wah. Anyway, I finally am understanding what those magazines mean when they say keep a food journal. I could definitely see myself having one & marking down the calories next to everything - then you know if you are in your range.

Counting calories is like a budget for your body!!