Sunday in Burlingame

Today, we woke up to MORE rain. It was pouring and so windy out. It was windy all night to the point where our crappy, old SF windows were rattling. The corner was also flooding again and this time I got some video.



 Our intersection and the one a block up were totally flooded. When thinking about our "flooding" versus true, scary, hurricane flooding, I know we don't have anything to worry about. The rain stops and we never have to worry about our homes flooding or any crazy damage happening. Our weather is pretty great most of the year so when it's the rainy season, it really is just giving us something to talk about rather than worry about!

Around noon, the rain stopped and the sun came out. Very bi-polar weather! We did some errands including one big errand down to Burlingame, CA to a car dealership. Erik is looking into getting his own car since we currently share a car and it's hard to share sometimes! We've been sharing my car for five years now but now that I work in Oakland, I have the opportunity to drive to work (& get my parking paid for). I want to take advantage of a shorter commute that might actually save me money but sometimes it's hard to sync my leaving for work with Erik coming home from surfing in the AM. A 2nd car will definitely solve a lot of scheduling issues during the week and weekend.

Burlingame is a super cute town with a downtown packed with great shops and restaurants. (Think downtown Westport, CT-ers)


We stopped at Steelhead Brewery for a late lunch.

Yum - BBQ Chicken Salad 

Erik had a garlic chicken and pepper pizza

We grabbed a Starbucks(first Gingerbread latte of the season!) before heading back to SF. A super rainy day turned into a great one! 

Lollipop 5K

Woke up on Saturday to it down pouring. Buckets of rain coming down hard. Our Lollipop 5K was on rain OR shine so it was time to get ready!

Here's a shot of the rain as I waited at a light while driving to the race. Although I don't like running in the rain, I can handle it. I was just thinking of all these girls running in the rain and how those aren't the ideal conditions to run your (for some) first 5K in!

Running Buddies had to check in early so I checked in and then went back to the car with the heat on for a little while. It is NOT cold here but I was soaked so thought maybe I would dry off a tiny bit.

When I came back to the race area, I found my school and my running buddy, Cat. There was a great group of Zumba instructors there with music pumping for the girls to get warmed up!

After warming up, we headed out into Golden Gate Park for our 5K. The rain let up a little bit which was awesome. We pretty much ran the whole thing which is really great for a 5th Grader! I didn't run my first 5K until I was 25 or something!

Here is my buddy, Cat, and I after the race. She did an awesome job and we finished in 39 minutes. Her parents were there at the end, which was so great. They thanked me for running with her and told me that "she told us all about you." It was so cute and so fun to be able to run with her! I really believe in Girls on the Run because I think these girls are getting a lot out of this group, whether they realize it now or in ten years.

With childhood obesity being a huge problem in our country, teaching these young girls to be active now will probably keep them active for a long time.

I stopped home to shower and headed out to get my hair cut. I cut about 3 in. off my hair. It was getting so heavy & long, I wanted to chop!

Erik went to the beach when I got home to ride his newest surfboard that he shaped (more on that tomorrow!). It stopped raining for a little while so I got Evie out for a decent walk doing our almost 2 mile loop around Buena Vista Park. Her leg is looking great these days!!

We watched Love Actually - which I love! This year, my favorite love story is between Jamie and Aurelia. Although they can't speak each others language, they are in love!


We spent the rainy night IN with pizza and some Edmeades Zinfandel.  Love the rain but we might have to go for a joy ride to get out of the house tomorrow. haha!

It's Cookie Time!

While I was home yesterday, I had the urge to make chocolate chip cookies. I used this recipe to make them and they came out great. I also made cookies WITHOUT chips because I don't really care for chocolate. I especially hate eating chocolate chips and having them stick in your teeth. Ick!

Well these photos came out like glowing yellow from my iphone flash but oh well. I made some plain, some with toffee bits, and some with chocolate chips for Erik.

We are supposed to get MORE rain tonight and tomorrow. I really need to get some new rain boots if this is going to keep up. This year, I am going for the big guns - Hunter Boots:

I have had really cutesy rain boots with whales and polka dots on them.They do NOT withstand the weather very well. They are not that thick and tend to split which equals wet feet. These are like official rain boots which will be very helpful when I need to be outside with Evie, in the rain!

Pouring Rain

Today I had to work from home because our Property Mgmt came through to look at all of the apartments and install carbon monoxide detectors. Instead of bringing Evie to camp for their ten minute visit, I was able to be home and just take her out while they came through.

It was POURING for half of the day.




Our corner was flooded and I was afraid the water was going to get into the car parked on the corner.


Thankfully, I got Evie out during a light rain and a break in the rain . It was a nice morning to be home though & not have to deal with the commute! This also means Evie has been by my side alllll day :-)

Last night for dinner, we had a yummy, healthy dinner bowl:
Quinoa
Sweet Potatos
Avocado
Chicken
Kale
with a light lemony sauce over it

Sooooo good. Sooooo happy to have had leftovers for lunch too!

This week is pretty calm - no big plans . December will be so busy so it's nice to just relax. This weekend is the Lollipop 5K with Girls on the Run. Fingers crossed it doesn't rain on Saturday!!

Overcoming the Stuffing

I am still feeling stuffed from the weekend. I just feel so blahhhhh and full. This is a major decision point because when you fee like this you can either say A)Ehhh it's the holidays and I'm going to be overeating until New Years or B)Workout. Get back on track. and do your best through the holidays.

I'm going for B. 

I want to credit FREE workout videos on You Tube for quick workouts this holiday season, especially Jillian Michaels. No excuses that you "don't have the DVD." because you can find so many of these workouts on the internet! 

This might be counter productive but Erik and I signed up for the Jingle Beer Run - a fun 5K that one of my old TNT coaches started a few years ago. This is the first time we will be able to join in.

I found this great article about "Ways to Recover from a Food Coma" and it is really helpful!!

In other news, today marks six months that Erik and I have been married. Woohoo! Ahhh our wedding was so fun!

Ok here's to keeping on track with the eating, workouts, and keeping that holiday stress level low!

The Mill & More Exploring

We both woke up today TOTALLY STUFFED from dinner. Ughhhhh. Like a weight in your stomache. We went for a walk to this new, makeshift coffee spot in our area. It is slowly becoming a little place called The Mill, but for now it is plywood and some adaptable employees! 

They make their own bread and it is delicious. Erik got a huge, thick piece of toast with cinnamon & sugar on it. Last week, his toast had honey & butter on it. SO good.

 After coffee, we went to Lowe's to get some Christmas lights. Can you believe our pre-lit tree is only half pre-lit now?? We finished the tree and decorations when we got home and then got those storage containers back into the storage unit.

We brought Evie back up to the Presidio for another walk. I wanted to find the Log Cabin that I have heard about but never seen. It is a venue where you can have weddings & parties. It doesn't seem to have any historical significance but it was fun to find.



We also wandered around to the Fort Winfield Scott fields and let Evie run around.

 Found another old building but nothing exciting inside

The fog was rolling in...

Erik made us homemade soup when we got home. We watched Bad 25, the Spike Lee documentary about Michael Jackson which was good!

 

Also got my first viewing of Home Alone in. Nice way to end our four days off!

Exploring New Places Day!

 Here is how we had day 2 of leftovers - salad with turkey, stuffing, and a little gravy mixed in. Yum!

 On Saturday, I took Evie up to the Presidio to take a walk. It was so nice out and we love going to the Presidio. There are SO many different areas to explore and we always find the coolest stuff up there. This time, we went up to the Letterman area (next to the Marina district) to see what we could find. This is where Dixie Restaurant is, a Starbucks, Lucas Films, and of course, the Yoda statue!

 We did find this little pond and sitting area...

 She definitely would've hopped in the water if I let her.

We found this cool, old building that looked like it was a Power Plant. It is definitely not in use now. Some windows were exposed so I checked it out through the broken glass. It looked like they just decided to one day leave the building and left office equipment there. After seeing many episodes of Walking Dead, I half expected a Zombie to jump out and get me. haha!

 Creeeepy inside the Power Plant

 We headed back over towards the Thoreau Center and Lucas Films on our way back to the car.

 She is allowed "unlimited on-leash activity" and took full advantage of it. Here she is running around like a madman.

 Here is a statue that she was BARKING at. haha

 I went home and tried to figure out what happened to that Power Plant but couldn't find anything. I did read up on the hospital that used to be up in the Presidio. It closed in the 90's and is now apartments. The hospital opened in 1898 and serviced military men during each of the wars. There were many Sailors that came into the hospital, died, and were buried in the Presidio. If the sailors didn't have family or money to be sent home, they buried them. Very crazy to think we might be walking on a marine cemetary, since it looks like the cemetary wasn't kept it up and was built upon.


For dinner, we headed up to Marin Brewing Company in Larkspur with Betsy & Greg.

 It was packed but we had a beer while we waited. They had quite a few beers on tap to try. We ate a lot at dinner including:

Small Veggie Pizza for appetizer

Onion Rings

Teriyaki turkey burger and fries

Erik had Fish & Chips

I think we are officially on diets until Christmas. haha. Fun dinner with good friends and it was fun to try a new location!