Evie's Newest Trick

She can now " Roll Over"!

New Endeavor

Tonight, I made a batch of dog treats. I found a recipe & made them for Evie. They were really easy to make. The recipe had peanut butter, flour, honey, oatmeal & a little vegetable oil. They were so good that I even had a few. haha

Rolled out the dough

Used my cookie cutters





Finished product!


So good & Evie loved them!! I already have a huge plan in my head for how I am going to have a dog treat business. I just have to plan it all out. It could be great!!

Sunday Breakfast

This morning for breakfast, I made scrambled egg muffins. I got the recipe from a food blog, FAnnetastic Food. Anne & I went to college together and she is always posting yummy recipes.

The recipe is super easy to make. Just mix together eggs, a little flour, salt, pepper & add in whatever you want. I put in cheddar cheese, spinach, & red peppers. You can get the recipe, HERE.

Sunday Morning car crash

I woke up this morning to Erik yelling 'holy shit!' I leaped out of bed and looked out the window. An SUV was on it's side & people were trying to get out of the car. Four guys in their early 20's got out of the car. They had run into 2 cars and ended on their side. What are 4 guys that age doing up at 7am on a Sunday driving so fast that they tip over? Who knows....












We opened the blinds & watched from our bedroom. How convenient.




And, the removal of the car -




Always something going on here!

Party in the 'Burbs

Yesterday, we went out to Pleasant Hill, CA which is about 40 min east of SF. We went out there for a birthday party for Owen, who turned 3. Owen is the son of our friends Kelsey & Sean. Erik & Sean play hockey together. They have an awesome house in a great town. It's WARM out there - it feels like a real summer. No fog & grayness like we have in the city. They have a big fenced in yard & a big area for a garden. It was so nice & warm and QUIET there. No sirens or crazy things happening nearby. No homeless people yelling at the sky. We were both like - let's move here.



It was HOT yesterday - in the 80's or 90's. They rented a huge water slide. Which, all of the adults went on. It was so funny. You would slip down really fast and slam into the "wall" on the bottom of the slide. I think Kelsey took some pics that we'll have to get our hands on.

We've been talking about moving now for approx 6-8 mos and we always say, yeah but not now. However, we've been talking a lot about Erik's job & if he should start looking for something else. This was a good starter position for him but now it's time to move on. It would only make sense to move outside, if he was able to get a job outside the city. We could rent an entire house for what we pay for our tiny apartment.

I think we are feeling like we've enjoyed our time in the city but this apt is so tiny & we have a desire for more space, quiet, etc. This won't happen any time soon but I think we are both ready for a change....

Happy Hour that starts at 3pm....

On Friday, my co-workers and I went to happy hour at 3pm. You know how that will end up. I would just like to say that I was the most sober out of all of them. First, we went to this place Taverna Aventine, which is great. Good wine selection & truffle popcorn!

Then, we went to Cigar Bar which has a huge outdoor patio. We got a table, some apps, and more drinks. I stuck to white wine since it was so nice & warm out.

Last night, Lauren, Lisa, & I went to Roam for dinner. The restaurant's concept is around being eco-conscious and using only fresh ingredients from local purveyors. According to its website, “Roam is committed to utilizing sustainable meats and produce, as well as other high-quality ingredients in its menu, which begins with 100 percent grass-fed beef, free-range turkey, all-natural bison and an organic veggie burger.”

I had the turkey burger, classic style. This had butter lettuce, tomato, onions, cheese, and 'special sauce'. I love when places have special sauces or secret sauces. They also have different fries you can order such as sweet potato(yum!), zucchini straws, or regular fries with spices on them. You can order different toppings too, such as truffle oil. Delish!!

This wasn't the best burger I've had but it was pretty good despite that I had to send it back to the kitchen because I didn't think it was cooked well enough. After dinner, we went to Unwind for a glass of wine.

I was so tired this AM. Two nights of dinner & wine = tired. We have happy hour tonight with our team, too. This is why I never workout!! Too many drinks.

Anyway, Evie seems to be fine. No infection where she was grabbed. TGIF!

Banged up car & dog & boy

To start this post, last night Betsy came over & we had dinner and lots of wine which was really fun. So that was a great Wednesday night!

First up, our car hood got dented. Someone backed into the front of car, denting the hood and knocking our poor little Honda symbol off the car. So sad. The car is approx 6 yrs old and the outside is so beat up. We park on the street and people bump into us all of the time. I don't think we're going to get the hood fixed because the cost will be more than it's worth. There is a high chance of it happening again. We might try to hammer it out ourselves but I think we really need to come to grips that our car looks a little ghetto. :-(

Second, Evie got kind of jumped last night. We walked into the park where her boy Jasper was. This other dog that looked just like Evie except she was black & white, named Lucy, was also there. Lucy started to trot over & her owner must have seen something in her b/c she was telling Lucy to behave. We walked away b/c Evie was sniffing, etc. Jasper came over to play with Evie. They started to play and suddenly, Lucy came over and jumped on Evie. The owner was yelling "Lucy, no, no, no stop". Lucy grabbed Evie by the back of the neck skin(thankfully she has a lot of extra). I had to pull Evie away and she grabbed Lucy. The dogs scratched me & my leg was bleeding. Wonderful. Evie has a little puncture wound but I cleaned her off in the tub & I think she is fine. Unreal. If your dog is going to go crazy, GET HER ON A LEASH.

Third, Erik is sick. I think he has a cold. Some people on his hockey team have a cold. He has a sore throat & cough. I hope he is not really sick!!

Thank goodness it's Thursday. Busy day & half of the day at the Client. I have dinner plans tonight at a new restaurant....Roam.

Wednesday

Last night, Erik & I had an impromptu dinner out at Nopalito. Nopalito is right across the street from our house & we have never been! We shared a couple dishes & it was pretty good. Service was horrible though!

We had:
Totopos con Chile (Chips cooked with salsa on them, with cotija cheese, sour cream & lime)

Taquitos de Papas (Crispy rolled tortillas, potatoes, jalapenos, tomateos, guac, salsa, sour cream & a cilantro salsa)


We also had Quesadilla with squash, zucchini, leeks, jalapenos, cilantro, cheese & salsa.

Finally, we shared the Pescado a la Talla. Seared cod with chile ancho, on a banana leaf with cinnamon/oregano/tomato spice and rice.

So yummy! We sat a the bar to eat, too. After dinner, Erik had to leave for his hockey game at 930. They won & he scored!

Monday

Today is totally crazy as we work towards a deadline of Friday for a project. I am leaving soon to go to the dentist though. Then, I am calling Bingo for the Russian Ladies tonight. Can't wait!

I also dont know what to do about my knee. It doesn't really hurt today. I didn't bike to work though, either. I think that helped.

Weekend

Well, I was able to read & watch movies this weekend because that is about all we did! Some weekends are jam packed & others definitely aren't.

On Friday, I worked from home & then stayed home at night. I didn't even turn the TV on. Evie & I hung out and I finished my book. I am teaching her how to roll over now. I'm also trying to get her better at finding treats. I hit treats under plastic cups & she couldn't find it at first but she got better at it.

Saturday, we went to breakfast at the little place near our house. Then, we picked up a planter for all of our stuff. I moved my cucumber, scallion, & cilantro plant to a long planter. The cucumber just sprouted. I'm so excited!! I hope I get at least one. After playing with Evie while Erik was on rollerblades, we watched Easy Rider & relaxed. We finally went to dinner super late at, Domo, for sushi.

(Cucumber, scallion, then cilantro in the back)

Today, we tried to play a little tennis but my knee is really bothering me. I am calling a sports med doctor tomorrow. I think I diagnosed myself with a pulled LCL. I really don't think there is much that can be done. I know that biking, walking up & down stairs, & the act of pushing off my left leg does not feel good. Tennis today was more just hitting while I stood in one spot.

Oh forgot to tell you that Evie played with an adorable 3 1/2 month old pit bull puppy this weekend. SO CUTE. The puppy jumped on her, grabbed onto her face/ears, and Evie just didn't care. She loves puppies. He looked like this -

Movie Reviews: Easy Rider & Rachel Getting Married

Erik rented Easy Rider and I am NOT going to recommend this movie. SO boring!! Man a movie from the 60's moves reallllyyyyy slow.

Easy Rider is a 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers (played by Fonda and Hopper) who travel through the American Southwest and South with the aim of achieving freedom.

A landmark counterculture film,^[2] and a "touchstone for a generation" that "captured the national imagination",^[3] Easy Rider explores the societal landscape, issues, and tensions in the United States during the 1960s, such as the rise and fall of the hippie movement, drug use, and communal lifestyle. Easy Rider is famous for its use of real drugs in its portrayal of marijuana and other substances.

Bottom line - BORING. I dont care if it's a classic.

Rachel Getting Married.

One word to describe this movie....heavy. This is a movie that takes place over a few days. Kim gets out of rehab(for one of the numerous times she's been) just in time for her sister's, Rachel, wedding. Set in Connecticut, this family has been through a lot including Kim in multiple rehabs, the young son dying, the parents divorce, and now Rachel getting married. The days of the wedding just cannot be peaceful since Kim is home talking about recovery, making amends, and bringing up the past. The family is clearly still hurting over a lot of things happening in the past few years. All of the relationships in this film are very strained but the one that might be the most important, between the sisters, shows promise - no matter how many times they have hurt one another.

Anne Hathaway was nominated for an Oscar for this film & I can definitely see why. Recommend - but have a few drinks while you watch it so you don't get depressed!

Book Review: I'm Down

Well, it took me two months to finish Empire Falls and two days to finish, I'm Down by Mishna Wolff. I love memoirs & have been wanting to read this one for awhile. Here is the synopsis:

Wolff details her childhood growing up in an all-black Seattle neighborhood with a white father who wanted to be black in this amusing memoir. Wolff never quite fit in with the neighborhood kids, despite her father's urgings that she make friends with the sisters on the block. Her father was raised in a similar neighborhood and—after a brief stint as a hippie in Vermont—returned to Seattle and settled into life as a self-proclaimed black man. Wolff and her younger, more outgoing sister, Anora, are taught to embrace all things black, just like their father and his string of black girlfriends. Just as Wolff finds her footing in the local elementary school (after having mastered the art of capping: think yo mama jokes), her mother, recently divorced from her father and living as a Buddhist, decides to enroll Wolff in the Individual Progress Program, a school for gifted children. Once again, Wolff finds herself the outcast among the wealthy white kids who own horses and take lavish vacations. While Wolff is adept at balancing humorous memories with more poignant moments of a daughter trying to earn her father's admiration, the result is more a series of vignettes than a cohesive memoir.

I love reading about other people's lives & liked this book. However, it wasn't very funny. I felt bad for Mishna throughout the entire book. She was blamed for everything, told she wasn't good enough, forced to do the sports that her father wanted her to do, and never really cared for that well. Erik and I were talking about how we grew up & we were never really forced to do anything. The cabinets were overflowing with food. We didn't really have to worry about a lot.

I thought this book was interesting to see how the white family tried to fit into a black community. They weren't black enough to fit in but when it was Mishna's turn to fit into a white school, she didn't quite fit there either. I recommend this book, just don't look for a ton of laughs.

If you are looking for a funny memoir, I highly recommend my favorite: Dark at the Roots by Sarah Thyre. Very funny.

Book Review: Empire Falls

I finally finished, Empire Falls by Richard Russo. It is centered in a small town in Maine and Miles Roby is the main character. Miles runs a local diner, Empire Grill. He is in the process of getting divorced and has a daughter, Tick. We soon find out that there is a powerful family in town that he is connected to in a weird way & that the matriarch of the family owns the diner he works for. His ex-wife is intending to marry one of his regular diner customers. He dreams of leaving ME and moving to Martha's Vineyard but Miles Roby is a responsible guy with deep ties to his little town in Maine.

This book has a lot of characters that are all intertwined. Some relationships are explored thru the book that I felt never had any meaning to the rest of the story. Or, other characters were talked about thru the book that didn't really contribute much to the book.

This book took me a long time to read(mostly bc I gave up my bus ride reading time) but also because it was nearly 500pgs and just not that riveting. There is a TV movie that was made that I am going to rent & see how that is.

This book was OK but I wouldn't really recommend it. I didn't see it as an exciting Pulitzer Prize winner.

Really Funny Phone Videos

iPhone 4 came out & everyone was in line to buy one. Well, Sprint came out with their Evo that is a iPhone-like phone. Of course, people love their Apple. If they want the iPhone, they will get it. This hilarious video shows that:




Here is the rebuttal:


Too funny. I am iPhone user and I would be the girl in the first video. I need the iphone 4. I dont care. I need it. haha

Got my Groceries!

I got my groceries today! They were to be delivered between 7-9pm. They arrived at 730pm. Everything was there that I ordered. I loved just walking down a few steps to get my groceries! You pre-pay online AND the drivers cannot accept tips. So, you are all set when they drop the stuff off.

I would definitely consider doing it again. I get my fruit/veg at the farmers market, my coffee down the street, my milk across the street, and then everything else from Safeway.

Also, I did not ride my bike to/from work today and my knee is feeling better. I might just try to stretch & do yoga. I bet I just pulled something.

Verdict

Today was interesting. Back on New Years Day 2009 in Oakland, there was an incident involving a Black man named Oscar Grant and a cop(J. Mehserle) for our train system, BART. So there was an argument or scuffle with the group of Black guys and the cops put him on the ground. Then, Mehserle shot him in the back. Mehserle gets accused with the murder but he pleads not guilty and says that he pulled his gun out by mistake. What he really wanted to do was pull out his taser.

So, as you can imagine - people are upset that a 22 year old guy was shot & killed by a cop who tries to say it was all a mistake. Originally, the trial was going to be set in Oakland but riots broke out. So, they moved the case to LA. Well, today was the verdict of the trial. It was announced around 2 that the verdict would be read today. I was over at the client in Oakland. We were in a meeting around 3 and someone came in to say the building was closing at 330. We had to stop the meeting and basically, get out of the office. When the office closes, they wait for no one. We rushed out. Other offices were clearing out too, for fear of riots. People were running to BART. Shoving into trains. Luckily, I walked onto the train like normal and even sat down. But, people were squishing. The verdict was that the cop was charged with involuntary manslaughter.

I went home after I got back to the office just to avoid any craziness in the city. However, SF and Oakland are like two separate universes. It was all over the news & the mayor gave a speech with the police. I was just reading on twitter that things are getting ugly in Oakland. Windows of a bank were broken & a store was broken into. So crazy!! The clients will probably work from home tomorrow. Hopefully, this calms down. Even the family of the Oscar Grant asked for peace & for no riots.

Thursday

How great that it is Thursday already! Work is a little crazy but not too bad. So, yesterday I ordered groceries online. I keep getting these 'free delivery' coupons from Safeway so I decided to try it. I see the ups/downs of doing this:

Ups

• Don't have to go the store
• Can stay within budget by seeing your total as you go
• Don't have to go to multiple stores to find something, if one store is out of something

Downs

• Don't pick out your own produce
• Have to wait for the delivery(2 hr time window)
• If you forget to order something, you still have to go to the store to get it

We'll see how it goes....

In other news, I did something to my knee. About a week ago, I was standing on the stool outside hanging the flowers. Evie came out of the house & stood on the porch. I heard someone downstairs and thought she was going to run downstairs. So, I jumped off the stool (sort of did a split/fall really) & the stool fell over. She didn't run & I got hurt. I thought I pulled my hamstring but its actual right behind my knee. It hurts to bend down. I can't push off of that leg to stand up once I am on the floor. Hurts to walk too fast. It mostly hurts when it is bent. Definitely hurts to bike. After I biked home yesterday, I could hardly walk. I iced it for a little bit. I guess I might find a doctor to go to....

Tuesday - Another day off

I took Tuesday day off since Erik was already off. Why not extend the holiday weekend since I have so much vacation time! We drove up to Healdsburg today. Healdsburg is in Sonoma County and is a cute, small little town that has some wineries.

Heading out of foggy SF, up north

It was nice, warm, & sunny up in Healdsburg. First up, we had lunch at Bear Republic Brewing Co.



Yummmm - wheat beer

We stuck to downtown tasting rooms after lunch. The wineries in Healdsburg are much cheaper than Napa, or free! We tasted for free at two wineries and paid $5 for a tasting at the last one. Napa charges anywhere from $5-$20!

First Stop - Kendall Jackson Tasting Room

Haha - Wine Conisseur

We tasted two whites & two reds

Next Stop - Williamson Wines. Such a unique winery that I loved!

The wine maker's son served us & everything was complimentary. With each course of wine, we had a small food pairing. For example, we had a brownie bite with a red wine. We had cheese & apricot with another wine. It was great! I love small wineries like that.



We stopped at a cute little book store - Copperfield Books

We also stopped at a little dog boutique - Fideaux. We picked up some 4th of July cookies for Evie.

Then, we stopped at Murphy-Goode for our last tasting. Only $5 for six tastings! Local wine & really only sold out of the winery & online. The petit verdot was delicious! The wine maker is from Minnesota so they have a cute shot on the wall:


Their main color is also purple (for Vikings).

It was so nice & sunny up there!

Of course on our way home, we entered into the fog zone again....



Now, we are thinking about what to have for dinner! Back to work tomorrow for a crazzzzyyy three days. Such a fun 4 days off!

Well, this was our first time staying in the city for the 4th. And....we decided that we truly enjoy leaving town for the 4th of July. We like getting away & relaxing. We like being on a beach. We are used to doing a BBQ and fireworks on the sand. So, next year, we will most likely be going somewhere for the 4th! We're glad we experienced the 4th in the city though. Hope you had a good weekend!

Monday, Day Off!

We both had the 5th of July off which was great. I lounged all day & tried to read my book. Erik brewed a new batch of beer.

Later that day, we went over to Oakland for the A's/Yankees game! We had bleacher seats which are really not bleachers but real seats. So, that was fun. Yankees won 3-1 which was great!!

Pouring the sugar into the beer mixture

Watching the process

Bag of hops

The hops are added






Mariano Rivera came in to close the game. Overheard a funny convo between a father & son behind us. The son was busy texting someone and the Dad says, "You're missing this. When are you ever going to see a legend like Mariano Rivera pitch again?" The kid says "Dad, I can look him up on You Tube & see him whenever I want." Hahaha....We felt really old to laugh at that one!