So Excited!

CB2's San Francisco location is opening tomorrow. Yippee! Now I can peruse all of the cool stuff.

Anyone want to go shopping?

Happy Birthday Lauren!!!

Today is Lauren's 11th Birthday. I can hardley believe it.

I adore her. I affectionately call her "Bug". She is the blonde hair, bubbly, tumbler in the family. She gives the best hugs and is always willing to share her room when I come to town.

She excelled in gymnastics and just started playing soccer, which she is a natural.

I love you Bug! I wish I could be closer to celebrate with you.

Band Links

Lovely Marielle asked that I add more Band links to my "Ahh Music to my Ears" section. 

Have fun perusing....

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Those of you who know me well, know that I don't like Baseball. I prefer Cycling, Soccer and Hockey. Baseball bores me, unless I am up close and even then I am done after an hour or two.

However my Company has pretty decent seats at the Giants Stadium and it is worth going every once in awhile. I get excited for the Hot Dog and Garlic fries. The fact that it is July and you have to wear a parka. Oh and don't forget some of the cute guys around (not the baseball players, some of them are just plain chunky.)

Chris, Masha and A-gril joined me last night as we watched the Giants beat the Nationals. It was actually a pretty good game with a couple of out of the park Home Runs. Chris is a pretty big baseball fan so we stayed for the whole game. We had a grand time. I am happy we went.

How comfortable are you with your masculinity? Would you be willing to wear a pastel heart beanie?

My camera sucks (a post on that later). The Bay Bridge looked lovely last night. Soon this bridge will be no longer. It will be torn down when the new "safer" bridge is complete.  So sad, it is an icon. Anyway this is my attempt to get a decent picture.

iPod Check

At little frivolous fun.
What were the last 15 songs played on your iPod, computer, or MP3 player?
My iPod is currently on shuffle so here is the list:
Try Me Bicycle - My History Bore a Knife
The Veils-Pan
Sufjan Stevens- The Avalanche
Okkerville River- John Allyn Smith Sails
Fiest-How My Heart Behaves
The Long Winters- Bride and Bridle
Arcade Fire- My Body is a Cage
Coldplay- Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love
Snow Patrol- You Could be Happy
Margot & The Nuclear So and So's- Skeleton Key
Elbow-Some Riot
Mellowdrone- Madison
Once Soundtrack- All the Way Down
Ludovico Einaudi-Giorni Dispari
Muse-City of Delusion

It is interesting to see it all typed out. If you want to play, leave your recently played songs in the comments (it doesn't have to be 15). It would be fun to check out some new music.

Obsess

1. To dominate or preoccupy the thoughts, feelings, or desires; beset, trouble, or haunt persistently or abnormally.

2. To think about something unceasingly or persistently; dwell obsessively upon something.

So I'm not proud to say that I have been obsessed lately. I have not been able to blog, do anything productive, get my chores done. My oil needs to be changed, the bathroom needs cleaning, I desperately need to exercise, I ignore most phone calls, and a pedicure would be nice.

Since there is nothing on prime time TV, A-Gril suggested watching Roswell. I had never seen this show. I can't remember what I watched in 1999 but I know this wasn't it. 

I can't stop! No matter how cheesy it gets, I can't wait until the next episode. I rush home after work, I am reluctant to make plans.

The only saving grace is that I am totally not opposed to doing "Mystery Science Theater 3000" with it. Oh the many laughs I have had.

There is a light however, only 1 more season to watch and the trance will be broken. I will become a contributing member of society again.

Dr. Horrible

My Brother in Law Brian sent my sisters and I this message.  I really am a nerd and love Joss Whedon's humor.

"This is some bizarre little thing done by Joss Whedon, the creator of Firefly. It's free to watch until Sunday night, though you could probably find it on You Tube. Kinda Funny..."

Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog

With Characters like Dr. Horrible, Captain Hammer and Moisture Man, how can you go wrong. If you are a fan I highly recommend it. 

Thanks Brian, you are awesome!

Picnic in the Park

I love impromptu picnics in the park. Sunday was the perfect day to gather friends and get out of the house. We met at 5 at Piedmont Park. 

It was filled with great conversation, laughter and a hodge podge of delicious food.

We have decided to picnic at least once a month. It will help rid us of the Sunday night blues. It's what you get when you dread going to work on Monday.

I look forward to gathering with great friends again in the near future. Hopefully more will be able to make it.

With Love from Costa Rica

My sister Melissa spent the last month in Costa Rica. She had a grand time, visited beautiful places, and ate great food.

While she was there she thought of all of us and sent us love.

It is BEAUTIFUL and the perfect lightweight throw for these warm summer nights.

Thanks for the love, Melissa!

Happy Birthday Dave!

Hip Hip Hooray, it's Dave's Birthday!
Growing up I always thought he had the best birthday. We were usually on vacation somewhere. My fondest memory is eating the cookie monster cake while sitting in a motel in Salmon, Idaho. I am pretty sure that was his 4th birthday. However I don't think he loved the traveling.

I hope that you have a wonderful birthday Dave, if you were in the Bay Area I would treat you to Tacos at Cactus and yummy ice cream at Ice. Maybe next time you visit.

Farmer's Market

I love the Farmers Market. Oakland has a really great one on Saturday's.  It is within walking distance, although up a very big hill on the way home. 

My friends Masha and Chris had no idea that it was so close. I just had to show them how great it is. Yesterday morning we walked over and had such a great time tasting all of the great fruit. Chris even had some brisket. 

There is nothing like fresh produce and buying only what I need. I hate being wasteful and this way I will be able to eat everything before it turns bad.

I splurged and purchased Brazilian Cheese Bread. It is $11 for just a dozen, but they are really yummy. 

I can't wait to dig in.

Mexico- a very long review

My trip to Mexico was very busy and was spent in a lot of conference rooms and yummy restaurants. Most of my photos were taken from a moving car. They aren't that good and I couldn't really tell you what most of the monuments are. 

Sunday we flew from San Francisco to Mexico City and then up to Monterrey. The day started at 7 am and we didn't get to the Hotel until after 9pm. When I woke up I only had enough time to eat an apple for breakfast, little did I know that lunch would not be until 2:30. I was starving. Unfortunately we ate at Applebee's, I didn't care to much at that moment because I was starving but really I'm in Mexico and eating at an American chain. Ick.

After that we arrived at our agents office and they wanted us to try some recipes that they created, ugh I was not hungry then. This seemed to be the theme of the week, either feast or famine.

Dinner was wonderful. Monterrey is know for their Meat. They have a specialty with baby goat, of course I didn't try it. It was a very late night and we had to be up at 4:30 am to catch our flight to Guadalajara.

Sunrise and Mountains in Monterrey.

Guadalajara- is a blur. It was 1 very, very long day. We arrived at 8 am, rushed to breakfast meeting with the owner of Pepe de Pollo. The restaurant specialized in some sort of chip covered in sauces. I was brave (and not realizing that it was still to early) and ordered the plate with mole. It was extremely spicy and would have been better as lunch instead of breakfast.

After many meetings and a very delicious lunch we caught a flight to Mexico City.

Just before lunch. I ate a lot of dessert. I just love the Strawberry

I should know which Roman goddess this is, I don't. She guards the city.  Chicken anyone?

An artist made a different sculpture for each major city in Mexico. You can't miss them they are all bright yellow.

Mexico City-Wow what a crazy and amazing city.  I want to go back. There is so much to see.

We stayed at the Camino Real in Polanco. It was a modern hotel, my brothers would loved the architecture. We were staying right near the Bosque de Chapultepec. One of the oldest parks in Mexico City. It was started by the Aztecs. It houses many museums, the zoo and a castle. If only I had time to explore.

After many meetings and a very long lunch (which involved the entire very fancy restaurant engrossed in the Germany vs Turkey match), we had a moment to shop and sight see (from the car). Ivan, our rep in Latin America, was not about to let us wonder about by ourselves. 

Just outside my room. I LOVE Yellow.

Ivan let us out of the car momentarily.

Unique benches line the sidewalks. Each one is different.

Mexico City's Sculpture. Do you know what it is? A horse's head

We went shopping at a market. It was sensory overload. To much to pick from. In the end I couldn't buy anything. Ivan hired paid these musicians for a song, little did we know that he paid them to follow us around until we bought something. Oh the pressure.

More photos from the car:

For those of you who know me well, know that I can not eat at McDonald's. It not a matter of principal because it is corporate, it is the fact that no matter what I eat there I end up in pain. It makes me very ill, I try to avoid it at all costs. Unfortunately for me, McDonald's in Mexico purchases our beans and puts it on their version of the Egg McMuffin. Look they still use the old Styrofoam plates, oh the memories. 

Little did we know that Teotihuacan was very near one of our clients. Ivan didn't tell us that he was going to "stop by". I really wanted to visit, however not in a pencil skirt and heels. Needless to say I didn't get to climb to the top. I will be going back with good shoes.

The dinner that night was at an old Hacienda in San Angel. It was a beautiful place with the best food. It was also right next to Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo's houses. Even though they were married, they had separate houses. They liked their space.

Pictures from the Hacienda

I am really happy that I was able to go and on the companies dime. I will be returning if only to climb Teotihuacan.