Saturday

We had a great Saturday. First, I walked Evie up on Haight St. I love going up there at 830am when the street is empty. It's a heavy tourist stop so it is pretty packed most of the time. I wanted to check out a new restaurant on Haight that we wanted to go to.

Did some chores. We walked to the pet store with Evie. She is allowed to come in while we got her food, treats & dog shampoo. It also tires her out which is good!

After lunch, we watched the Kentucky Derby. I really wanted Noble's Promise to win. I love the story behind him. 25 'regular' residents from KY bought him for a tiny fee of $10,000. He came close but did not win.

For dinner we went to a Puerto Rican restaurant, Parada 22.


We both had the vegetarian dish with Yucca, fried plantains, white rice, white beans, and a little mixed greens.


YUM. Fried plantains.


Delicioso!

Erik's New Endeavor: Beer Making

Erik is embarking on a new adventure...beer making. He has wanted to get a beer making kit for awhile now and this Saturday, we finally got one. We went to a little shop called Brewmaster to pick up a kit complete with all of the materials needed to make the first batch.

I took some pics of everything in the store.


You can buy tons of empty bottles so you can bottle your beer

Buckets full of caps. Of course, had to stick my hand in to touch all of the caps. The starter kit came with a tool to get the caps on your bottles.

Hops & Barley are in big buckets throughout the store. We tried some & it tastes like cereal.

You can buy flavoring for your beer!

And....I guess this is how they make Root Beer!


They had coasters of different beers on the wall. Thought this one was funny!

Funny writing on the side of the beer shop.

Here's "the starter kit" You make everything in this plastic bucket, then transfer it to this glass container. It came with a lot of tubes, stirs, & sanitizer. Everything has to be kept really clean.

Think this is a really funny warning on the side of the bucket. hahaha

So good luck to Erik making the beer. We will have it in a about a month, after he starts the process. Let you know how it tastes!

Anne Frank

Last night, Lisa & I went to dinner and then to see the Anne Frank play. Dinner was good. We tried out this little sushi place near the theatre. It was good & cheap! Then, we went to the show. The "theatre" is in a building that is also a church. So, we thought that was a little strange. When we came in, they had us sit in this room.

We were laughing and thought, is this really where they are going to do the play? There's no space for them to act w/ all of these chairs. Wait, they are jewish. I dont remember an alter in the attic. haha. Then, they moved us to the 'theatre' which was super tiny.


We also had a 'glass' of wine.

Also, guess what - Anne's father was played by a Black man. Ummmm. Anyone else think that is weird!?


Unfortunately, the play was not very good. "Anne" did a good job but it was boring. I felt like we were in someone's basement watching them put on a little play. We left at intermission. OH well. We tried something different.

This does remind me of the time I thought it was a good idea to go to a Renaissance Fair. Kimmy and I walked in and were in total shock at everyone in their outfits & dialect. haha

Sunny Lunch & Harley

The Asian Salad was SO good!! Definitely recommend trying the recipe.

I met up with Kira and her dog Harley for lunch today. We sat outside & it was nice and sunny. He is super cute! See his little neck tie? She makes them through her dog clothes company, Scutte.

Friday

Today is sunny & less windy which equals a better bike ride to work! Today, I made an asian salad for lunch. Another recipe from, Recipe Girl. We'll see how this one is. I crushed up peanuts & almonds in the food processor to put in the salad in place of the turkey. I haven't really been eating meat - just fish. This salad has spinach, cabbage, carrots, cilantro, scallion, tomato, and the chopped nuts. Also, made a little asian dressing to go with it.


Took Evie out this AM and then she came and sat in the bathroom giving me this weird look while I dried my hair. Not sure what she wanted. She doesn't like the hairdryer if I try to blow dry her. She does like when I brush her though. I think she was waiting to be brushed.


Today is beautiful out & looks to be a great weekend!! Tonight, my friend Lisa & I are giong to see a play, The Diary of Anne Frank. I loved the book & hope to go to Amsterdam to see Anne's attic some day. Only interesting thing I saw about this play so far is that Anne has a Black Dad. Weird. haha. Should be a good time! Two shows in one week!

Thursday

So the bike TO work went great. The bike HOME was tough. It was super windy and like I said, its an incline to get home. I was so tired. The wind was blowing me all over. I had to stop a few times. But, I made it home. I didn't walk the bike at all. It will get easier.

After getting home, I took Evie out for an hour. She saw her buddy Jasper. Jasper is the white 1 year old Boxer. He can do so many tricks! He can spin, bark on command, jump on command, and give high five. Evie only knows sit, down, paw, up. I want to teach her hi-five but I dont know if she has that much shoulder flexibility. haha. I also want to teach her to play dead.

After that, I went to play tennis with Lindsay for an hour. I didn't do too bad but lost 6-3. Oh well, good to practice. After dinner & watching the Real Housweives of NY, I was exhausted. We were passed out on the couch with the space heater when Erik came home.

Oh my god - get this. Erik got the police scanner app for iphone. You all know how i love to know what is going on & dream of being a dispatcher someday. Well, now we can sit and listen to the calls coming in. hahaha. Too funny. We make fun of people who do this & now, here we are. Our kids are going to be so embarassed of us some day.

Pretzal Balls!

I saw these in Walgreens and for the sale price of $2.19, had to get them. They are so yummy. A little salty thought. The serving size is 30 balls for like 110 calories. I'd say you could eat 20 and be fine. The salt got to me by 30. They're so cute!!

Crazy of the Day

Last night, I was driving around looking for a parking spot after tennis. I came upon this scene. This photo was taken after I parked and got the dog for a walk. When I saw it, two cars were smashed into each other in the middle of the rode. Wonder if there was a third one that hit the bus shelter. IT was totally smashed into tons of pieces of glass and the crew was cleaning it up. What a mess.

This intersection is not on a main road and is not that difficult to navigate. Someone had to have been going really fast for all of this to happen. Scary!

Biked to Work!!

I did it. This AM, I biked to work! It was awesome. It took about 15 mins. It WAS windy so I have to remember to wear sunglasses so my eyes don't water. I wasn't sweaty and got here so early. Now, I know I can leave the house at 830 and still be here before 9. Can't say the same for the bus! How nice it was not to be crowded up against other people in a hot bus. I will HAVE to get Erik to take a pic of me on the bike, with the basket loaded up & the helmet. It is funny.

This week is going great. It feels long but I have been doing fun things. Yesterday, I worked from home. The weather was so weird - rain for 10 min, then sun. Repeat. Evie made a new friend in the park - a 5 month old named Olive. She LOVES puppies. I'm convinced she is still acting like a puppy b/c she didnt get a proper puppyhood.

Last night, I had tennis. Again, just Brooke & I showed up. It WAS cold and a little windy. We played singles again. This time, we stopped at a tie 5-5.

Tonight, I'm playing tennis again with my friend Lindsay. She is much better than me but it's good to practice.

Movie Review: Everybody's Fine

Watched 'Everybody's Fine' last night. Do not recommend. It was really depressing & sad at the end. Basically De Niro has 4 kids and just lost his wife. The kids & him were never close so he is totally disconnected to what is really going on with them. So, he decides to surprise each one with a visit. They all don't want him to visit & lie to him about what is really going on in their lives. It's so depressing. I felt bad for De Niro.

The only good thing about this movie was Drew Barrymore & Kate Beckinsale's hair. So pretty. haha.

I would not waste your time on this one.

Banana Beer

This weekend, we tried Banana Beer. ICK! It was not good. It smelled like banana bread but the combo with beer, just did not taste good!

Tuesday

I love Tuesdays. Erik is home and we can have dinner together & hang out. Yesterday, we went up to the sports store to get a bike lock. It's official - I now have my bike, basket, lock & helmet which means I am all set to bike to work!!

The sports store is up in Chrissy Field which is a gorgeous huge field & beach near the Golden Gate Park. Evie looooves going there. So, we brought her over to the beach & she was running in the water. She loved it. It was also one of those moments when I go, I am so happy I live here. I get to come up to the GGB and run around with Erik & Evie.

We came home and had halibut tacos. So yummy!!! Also, the Bachelor went home on DWTS. And, he cried. I can't stand that guy. I'm glad he is gone. He was ambitious but annoying! I also tried to stay awake for Glee but that did not happen.


Erik and I were sitting on the little couch and of course, Evie had to squeeze herself on the couch. Too funy. I do love when we are all home together as a little family squeezed on the couch together.

Peter Pan Show

Peter Pan was so much fun!! The show is done in a big white tent. They use the side & roof of the tent to change the scenery. It was really cool. It felt like we were in a 3D movie. The kids in the show hooked up to wires so that they could fly through the different scenes on their way to Neverland.




It was a dress rehearsal which was fun. This show doesn't officially start until later this week. So, we did see a couple problems with the show. They stopped about a quarter of the way through because someones aerial lift wasn't working right. Then, the pirates were carrying something off stage & the stairway fell and one guy fell! Overall, it was a good show. Honestly, I wasn't going to pay to go see this but for free tickets, it was good!

Test Ride

Today, I took a test ride with Erik downtown on my bike. It was fun! It is all downhill to get to work so I didn't even break a sweat. Now, getting home its a steady incline but it is not like the SF hills you are probably thinking of. It's probably like the hill on the street at my parents house for those of you who know it.

Anyway, my bike is a cruiser bike. Beach cruiser. Back breaks. No gears. And, it's fine. I figure that I'll ride this bike and then move up into a better bike. No sense in getting a fancy bike to never ride it. We know how I roll - jump in head first and then abandon whatever it is in a few weeks.

I got a basket for the front today. Erik is going to put it on for me tomorrow. If he gets me a lock tonight, I will be riding to work tomorrow. How exciting!!!

Peter Pan

I am sooooo excited. Tonight, I am going to see Peter Pan!! I WON ticket last week through a Twitter contest. So, Kira & I are heading down to see it tonight. Can't wait. I will let you know how it is!! It is just coming over from London.

Sunday

Another amazing weather day! We got up early to do the Walk for MS.

This view never, ever gets old.



These are Hopper's Hands. Hopper was a real guy who was an Iron Worker on the GG Bridge


Almost at the finish!

We put a note on the Wall of Hope

There are too many notes on here. Too many people with MS. Today someone from UCSF announced that they are going to start major research on a new treatment for MS. Very exciting!!

After the walk, we went outside. I tested out my bike in the parking lot. I was holding Evie on the leash and she was running next to me. Then, Erik got the rollerblades out and she pulled him and chased me on the bike. She was exhausted after like 5 minutes!! It was hot out today which I don't think she is used to.

We also hit up the farmers market. We got lobster ravioli! The people that sell the ravioli make it themselves & get the lobster flown in from Maine. Can't wait to have it for dinner!!

Super Saturday

Saturday was gorgeous - sunny & warm!! We went on hike w/ Evie thru Buena Vista Park. She was running around & going crazy.



We were hiding behind trees & she was sprinting around to find us.

She was exhausted when we got home!




Dirty Mouth

Erik climbing the tree

After the walk, we came back up and played tennis. I lost again 6-0, 6-1. At least I got one game against him!

At night, we made our own pizzas again. Sooo yummy. Erik is an awesome pizza dough maker. This time I had red sauce and broccoli on mine. Erik had a ton of stuff like mashed potatoes and onions.

We also watched this cool documentary, Beer Wars. We both love beer, especially craft beers. I do love my Coors Light but I like a lot of smaller beers, too. Harpoon, Sam Adams, Scrimshaw, Sierra Nevada line, etc. This movie basically shows how the Big 3 (Miller/Coors/Bud) have the market share and the little craft brews have to fight for shelf space and attention.

Back up Plan & Sunshine Cleaning

Last night was Movie Night. First, we had dinner at Mel's Diner. It's a 50's style diner where the servers are dressed up. They serve tons of different food including the usual burgers, fries & milkshakes. This is our monthly movie night that we started a few months ago. This was probably our most successful one - 8 people joined for Movie Night!!

Then, we saw the new JLO movie, "The Backup Plan". It was hilarious. I love JLo's movies and this one was great. Of course, there were some super cheesy lines, scenes, etc. But I loved it. Also Sookie from Gilmore Girls was in it. She is a good actress. She played such a different part from Sookie and was great.
This week, I also watched another movie "Sunshine Cleaning". I really love Amy Adams. She is such a great actress. I remember first seeing her in Junebug and she was great. It is the story of a single Mom who is trying to make ends meet as a housekeeper. She is having an affair with a local Cop who tips her off to try to cleanup crime scenes. She teams up with her sister and they start cleaning up crime scenes. Of course, they have a rough past, problems come up with the new business, but they have a great family and figure things out. Independent movie & I really liked it!

Im sure you can tell by now that I like quirky, independent films and romantic comedies! haha. Definitely recommend both films and give them A's!

Weekend!!

Wow the weather this weekend is supposed to be gorgeous!!


Tonight is Movie Night! Going to see Jennifer Lopez in "The Back-Up Plan". I heard it is funny. I like JLo's movies especially the Wedding Planner.

It is also my 10K for MS Walk!! I'm so excited. I love walking for MS each year. So far I raised just over $600!!

As for tomorrow - not sure what we are up to. We might go on a bike ride to test out my bike or go golfing!

Also, it looks like Evie might be feeling better. I think she must have eaten something bad for her to be puking. We are monitoring her poop. haha.

The Circus

I think I just had an epiphany. My life's work is to help & protect animals. Right now, I am trying to get the word about the Circus. I have known for many years that the circus abuses elephants. Now, I am speaking up about it. Just wrote letters to Senators Boxer & Feinstein to create legislation to ban the circus from coming to CA. Next up, my congressmen and the Governor.

There are many videos out there about the circus showing animal abuse. I won't post them here but you can find them online if you feel like it.

The biggest thing you can do is not go to the circus. If there is no demand for the circus, then they will have to change their ways. This is huge. It will take a lot to get the largest circus in the world to change. I actually don't care if the circus continues, just want them to do it without animals.

This Guy on my bus

Had a little Pom dog with him today.

The dog is yawning but doesn't he look nuts? haha

True

Thursday AM

This morning, I made a big salad for lunch today. It is a Mexican Salad from this great site, Recipe Girl. There is a dressing you make to go with it, too. I made a little variation to the dressing and will have this for lunch. I'll let you know how it is!

I was really running late today. I got up late. Took Evie out - she is not feeling well. Pooped like 3 gross times. Ick. Saw her BFF, Wasabii. Played in the mud. Needed a quick bath. Then I finally made my lunch and got ready.

Also wanted to share this Almond Butter with you guys. It is SO good. It is thick and nutty - not watery like some of them that I've had. Plus, this brand is local and made in Oakland.