Thursday, October 30, 2008

Redlands East Valley Freshman team Rocks!

I went to Buddy's football game today. I have only been to half his games as I work a lot of Thursdays and damn if they aren't smack in the middle of the day!

I had today off and was so excited to watch the Freshman team rock a win.

Final score: 28 to 8!

The team is good this year and my son is a big part of it. I don't really like sports but when buddy is out there, I scream like crazy person.

A few highlights.



Buddy is in the red jersey, #67 and his butt is closest to the screen (he would be so pissed at me for describing him this way).



Can't see his number, but that's him closest to the screen blocking the other guy!



They scored on this play.

Buddy had one sack but I didn't get that one.

After the game, we had dinner at Johnny Taco, a popular sports bar in town. We go there after each home game. Baby2 came with B Boy.




We had a great time. I couldn't help but notice that the sports bar, normally crowded, was empty tonight.

Just a reminder of the tough economic times that face us today.





Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The road to recovery



Have you ever lost someone that when you lost them, it shook you to your core?
Made you face what you are made of?

At this time, three years ago, I was in Kauai mending my broken heart. I had just left a 5 year relationship and I was pretty devastated. It was mutual, had to be done. Still hurt like a mother.

Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.

I hurt so bad, I wanted to run. So run I did. I booked Kauai because I wanted to go to the beach. Baby1 (oldest daughter) begged me to stay in the States. She was afraid I would end up on CSI.

I left a week later.

I admit, the first few days were hard. Especially mealtime. My theme of my trip became "just me" as I was asked "how many" at the restaurants and my answer was always "just me."

I ended up having a fabulous time. I took a helicopter ride. I was terrified to do this but that is exactly why I did it.









I hiked some awesome trails.



I hiked the "little grand canyon" of Kauai

I saw these on the way







And finally made it to my destination

Top of waterfall

Other side:

Some other great memories:
Rockin Red Freedom!
ed!
Sun bathing Sea Lion





I left some pieces of my heart in Kauai. Buried some of my past so I could move on to my future.

I know I will never be the same.

In a lot of ways, I'm better.





Monday, October 27, 2008

PDA

I was leaving work the other morning and I saw this:



Now that is PDA!


Sunday, October 26, 2008

A day with Buddy and his buddy.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the day with these two boys:



Jealous?



Super Saturday in Frisco

I'm just a little behind on my race weekend re-cap.

Slept in on Saturday. Felt. So. Damn. Good! Looked out my window and saw this:



And this:




Decide to visit the Ferry building. I have never been there and I've been to San Francisco like 8 times!

My friend and I walked there. Two miles. Downhill. What was I thinking? Apparently, not about the trip BACK to the hotel. More on that later.

I love to walk, especially in the city. There are so many things to see that you would not see if you are in a car or on the bus. Like this:



After many stops to check out the goods in Chinatown, we made it to the Ferry building.



The Ferry building is a warehouse building on the bay. It's filled with many speciality shops of candies, cheese, wine etc. A nice bonus today- the farmers market. The fruits were so fresh and many of the vendors had samples. Yummers!

After our satisfying our taste buds with so many good fruits, we sat down at Peet's coffee for a nice warm cup of mojo. we sat outside and enjoyed the view. Nice conversation and plenty of people watching. I heard some chatter and looked over to see this:



The birds had quite a feast but I love the look on the ladies face at the next table.
I'm sure she would be very happy to know I captured her in such a flattering manner.

I had a meeting at 3:00 so we decided we better head back. But first, just one more picture:



So, away we went. The long, walk back to the hotel. Uphill. The whole way. What was I thinking?

Apparently, not about the fact that in 17 hours, I'd be running 13.1 miles.

What an idiot.

Made it back, a little tired, aching feet and very sweaty just in time for my meeting.
Lots of info and motivating stories. One of the speakers told us:"If you think your training was hard, try chemo." Makes me feel so fortunate that I am healthy and can train for this 1/2 marathon. Grateful I was sitting here, in this meeting and not having chemo. Very inspiring.

I was a bad girl and skipped the pasta party that is provided. I am fairly out going and I like to talk to people but, I really don't like to be in large, crowded places with a lot of people I don't know.

Instead, dinner was here:


Yabbies Coastal Kitchen is located in the charming Russian Hills area. Yabbies, named after a freshwater crayfish found in the waters of Australia is a must if you come to San Francisco.

The restaurant is casual with dim lighting and soft music. The service is impeccable and nice on the eyes;)

I only took one picture (again, idiot) and that was of my Caesar salad.



This was the best Caesar salad I have ever had. They make the croutons themselves. Although I'm not a fan of croutons, these were divine. I ate them all even though I had to suck them to soften them up ( I have braces).

My entree sesame crusted seared ahi with sticky rice and ginger soy sauce and carrot Dallon salad. This was a religious experience of it's own.

Dessert. Chocolate lava cake. Good, but not the best I have ever had. The design on the platter was incredible though. Shit, I wish I had taken a picture.

Yabbies has an extensive wine list and I soooo wanted a glass. I passed. Figured I better not drink and run;)


Thursday, October 23, 2008

Pleasure is just a fingertip away

It was Monday night, 10:30 pm and I was watching The Travel channels Antony Bourdani's No Reservations. During a commercial break I got up to get a glass of water and I heard this:
"Thrilling vibrations at your fingertips". WTF. Am I watching Saturday night live?

I turned around and I saw this:


Hmmmmmmmmmm.

So, like any normal, sexually starved girl, I wrote down the web site:
Vibratingtouch.com

The site is very helpful Even demonstrates how to put your little purple pleasure on your finger:

Step 2

Step 3

The website has "tips at your fingertips."
Tips at Your Fingertips

The Trojan Her Pleasure Vibrating Touch
fingertip massager may be used alone or with
your partner.

How to use:

Remove the fingertip massager from the foil pouch.
Slide your finger under the band and forward so that your fingertip is completely covered by the soft sleeve.
To turn the massager on, firmly push on the black button and release.
Use finger to apply vibrations externally as desired. The Trojan Her Pleasure Vibrating Touch fingertip massager is designed to stimulate a woman’s sensitive area.
To stop vibration, push in and release the black button.

Always clean your Trojan Her Pleasure Vibrating Touch fingertip massager after every use.

How to clean:
Remove the hard plastic massager from the soft sleeve. Note: the massager is not waterproof.
Using running warm water, rinse the soft sleeve and apply hand soap to clean. Take care to thoroughly clean the textured molded parts.
Rinse the hard plastic massager, being careful not to submerge in water (submersion in water or any other fluid may ruin or shorten the life span of the product).
Wipe the massager and soft sleeve with a clean dry cloth. Replace the massager back into the finger sleeve opening.
Store your clean fingertip massager in its storage pouch so it is ready for your next use.

The Trojan Her Pleasure Vibrating Touch fingertip massager will deliver vibrations for up to 30 minutes.

How to change the batteries:
Remove the hard plastic massager from the soft sleeve.
Using both hands, twist battery cap off counterclockwise.
Tip the bottom half of the massager upside down and gently tap with your finger to dislodge both (2) batteries. If clear plastic insulator falls out, place it back inside the battery holder, covering the metal contact.
Insert 2 fresh LR41 (or equivalent) batteries into the case. Make sure the (+) side of each battery faces up towards the opening.
Replace battery cap, twisting the cap on clockwise. Insert the reassembled massager into the finger sleeve opening.
Dispose of old batteries according to local law.

This little wonder has up to 30 minutes of vibrating pleasure.

Good thing I'm a travel girl and watch the travel channel. Otherwise I might have missed this purple pleasure:)

Order up Ladies!



Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Friday in Frisco.


I used to love to fly. Travel is of course, a passion of mine (duh, I'm travel girl!). But since 9/11, it's become a chore to travel for many reasons but I will name my top three.

1.Arriving at the airport 2 hours prior so you can make it through all security checkpoints. More often than not, I'm waiting around at the gate.
2.Taking off my jewelry, jacket and shoes at the security checkpoints.
3.Liquids and gels in 3 ounce containers and ALL placed in a plastic bag(hello, I'm a female. Do you know how many fucking 3 ounce containers I took? Just guess!)

Yes, I know that you only have to worry about number 3 if you carry on but, I love to carry on. I don't like to check my luggage. I'm worried something will break something. Have you ever watched how they load the luggage on the plane? YIKES.

I'm also worried they will lose my luggage. The airline lost my friend's luggage with many pricey items. It was never recovered(well, I'm sure someone recovered it).

Anyway, I didn't want to check when going to SF because I was only going for 3 days and it's only an hour flight.

After an uneventful flight, we landed in Oakland and took a shuttle bus to SF.

It was a beautiful day. Sunny and warm by SF standards.

I checked my bags at the hotel and walked a few blocks down to try to find something to eat. I read online about an Indian restaurant and I wanted to try it.
I couldn't find the place (found out few days later they changed locations).

I ended up in Union square at Lori's, a reliable hamburger joint.

I headed up the street to pick up my race packet

After I pick up my packet, I roamed around the expo. Many freebies: pedicure, massage but the lines were soooo long I decide to skip it.

Walking back to the hotel, I walked by Niketown and that is where I saw all 20,000 names along the wall. It was so amazing! Of course, I posed with my name for a picture. I was lucky that my name was in the middle. One girl had to stand on her friends back so she could pose by her name.

The rest of the day I strolled around at a leisure pace, enjoying the weather and the many people.

I had dinner at a Chinese restaurant. I brought my camera but, forgot to take pictures. So like any smart blogger, I stole some pictures from the website:)

Brandy Ho's Hunan food is a simple, inexpensive Chinese restaurant outside of China town.If you have never eaten Hunan food, it's know to be spicy. This is the first time I have ever eaten here but came highly recommended. The ambiance is superb and the food is excellent.

Gon Pou Chicken. The chicken was so tender and just the right amount of spicy.


Vegetarian green beans. Yummy. So crisp. So spicy. So. Damn. Good.

Nice walk back to the hotel.

Dinner was a perfect ending to my most fabulous day.

BTW: I took a total of (drum roll) 15 three ounce containers. UGH!



Monday, October 20, 2008

I ran like a girl!





Wow!

The Nike 1/2 marathon was an experience of a lifetime. I ran like a girl with 19,999 women and men (yep, there were some men who ran like a girl).

Some amazing highlights:
-my name in Union square among all the other 19,999 participates.





-Waiting in the cold (starting at 5:30am) with 19,999 others. Emotional. Excited. Excellent. Many goose bump moments (literally and figuratively).

-Crossing the start line at 7:23.
-A woman with prosthesis leg who fell while going downhill. She jumped up and continued running, never uttered a word.
_A woman racing with her 9 month old on her back in a backpack.
_First hill at mile 6,was a piece. of cake. Snickered to myself until mile seven. Second hill F! I wasn't snickering anymore:)
-Amazing views of the Golden gate bridge, the city, the bay and the ocean.
-All the volunteers who handed out water, gatorade and snacks and cheered us on.
_ Mile 11. My hardest mile. I thought of what they told us: if you think the marathon is hard, try chemo. I thought of Jenny and I kept running.
_Mile 12. Adrenaline kicked in and I. Ran.Fast. (think, run Forest, run!)
_Then I saw this:

What a rush! Finish time 2hours 37minutes.

Here I am after the race with my goodies:)


I didn't prepare for after the race. It was so damn cold and I was so sweaty. I could have checked a jacket before the race to wear after but, being the rocket scientist I am, I thought I wouldn't need a jacket. It was a big mistake. Huge!

They gave us these to wrap around us:



Wasn't enough. By the time I got back to the hotel, I was frozen. I couldn't wait to take a shower.

As I striped my wet clothes off, I got a glimpse of my boobs. OMG. They were purple! And my hot shower made my boobs tingle like no man ever has:)

What a fabulous weekend.

I'll blog a little tomorrow about some great eats, fabulous sites and cool apartments.