Dracena my Love

Dracena Park is one of the most beautiful and serene parks in the area. I clearly remember the first day I stumbled upon it. It was gorgeous spring morning and I was just finishing up my jog/walk, when I decided to turn down a road I had not been before. Through the sound of Muse piping into my ears I could faintly hear the sounds of birds. I quickly removed my earphones and absorbed the sounds of nature.

I quickly became envious of those who live on Dracena Rd, to be across from such a gem, I vowed that one day, just maybe, they would let me join their club.

For now it is my reward, to sit and relax with a book or to just pass through, sets all of my senses to bliss.

We did have a minor falling out a while ago. This is where I fell, yes right there on the road. It mocked me, took a piece of me and I took a piece of it (really should have that bump looked at). We have made up however and now it is love all over again.

Spellbound

For the next little while this is what I will be obsessing about, isn't it so pretty...

Finally I made a decision, largely based on a really great price on Amazon, and bought a new camera. Just in time for my Family Reunion, oh my nieces and nephews are going to hate me by the end.

I am so excited to get to know all of the great things it will do for me. My vocabulary will improve substantially since I will no longer be conduced to swearing fits every time I attempt to take a photo.

For now I patiently wait for the battery to charge and then I get to play.

This is also officially the last photo I will take with my Olympus, it has treated my well until a year ago, which is fine it's about 7 years old. Rest in peace little camera.

**Alert** Vanity Post

"I'm a model you know what I mean
And I do my little turn on the catwalk
Yeah on the catwalk on the catwalk yeah
I do my little turn on the catwalk" I'm Too Sexy, Right Said Fred.

Oh yeah I did bring that jewel of a song to your subconscious and now you will have it on repeat all day. You can thank me later.

A couple of weeks ago my friend Masha needed to take photos of people for her photography class and since I fit in the "people" category I offered to be a "model". Considering that I am not always comfortable in front of the lens it took a while to get me to relax. You can see it in the progression of photos.

She did make me look good and now I have a myriad of profile pictures.

Some of my favorites below.

Mt. View Cemetery

One of my most favorite places to be in Oakland is Mt. View Cemetery. In fact I love it so much that when people come to visit I take them there. It is beautiful and rather large. I can roam around for hours. I usually gravitate to my favorite Angel and then move on from there. I love to read the headstones, peruse the mausoleums, walk the windy roads or just sit and read a book.

Playing Dress Up

The other day the Christensen girls came over to play. When I asked AC what she wanted to do, she promptly and quietly said "I want to dress up like you". I was taken aback a bit, asked "You mean wear my clothes?" and then led her to my closet.

She pulled out her favorite pair of shoes, grabbed a necklace that she noticed I wear a lot, pulled down a scarf and raided the bracelets. KC came in found her favorite pair of shoes, suggested the sunglasses and the look was on.

It kills me that my shoes fit KC...I am going to have to find a lock for my closet.

I have to admit I was touched. I think we all have a sense of style and when a little girl wants to emulate how you dress (hopefully it is appropriate) it is a sincere form of flattery. I was more than happy to throw open my closet door and let them have at it. It certainly was one of the many highlights of what turned out to be a very busy yet fulfilling day.

By the way I think the tie dye shirts add a little something, considering the proximity of Berkeley. They had just made them a few days before.

Oh look a food post...

Granted this may be one of those filler posts and just plain boring to read. I mean come on who wants to read about what I eat or don't?

I have a tendency to think I am not going to eat out as much and stay home and cook. I also think that I will eat just a bit healthier. I buy a lot of produce and I also throw away a lot of produce. I know, a crime, considering that I have access to amazing produce.

As you can see the broccolini below even started to flower a bit, that is when I decided instead of throwing it away to get off my lazy butt and do something about it.

It made a lovely salad that I enjoyed every day for a week. Maybe next time I won't wait until it is almost bad and use the produce immediately.

Baseball and Fireworks

Every year the Oakland A's have a few fireworks games right before the 4th of July. Even though I am not a huge baseball fan I was told that this was a great fireworks show. A-gril and I took the really long way to the game, which was fine by me, and showed up later than expected.

I have this tendency to attract the obnoxious in movie theaters, airplanes and now at baseball games. The theater can be practically empty and someone will inevitably sit right next to me. My friends joke about it and when there is more than one with me they will flank me on both sides. Well this held true at this game. The guy sitting in the seat next to me was drunk, wanted to warn me not to knock down his "talls" that were residing under my seat and thought that a way to impress me was to scream obscenities toward the field so that I would swoon at his general knowledge of baseball. After a few minutes of this I decided it was better to wander around and visit the many friends in attendance.

The A's lost, but because they were playing Colorado I could claim it as a win, having once lived in that great state.

After the game they clear the stands and everyone ques up to sit on the field. We managed to get a great spot thanks to Sam and waited and watched for thousands of people to find a small blanket spot on the grass.

One of the few photos A-gril will let me post.

The show was great and practically on top of us. It was a fun time to share blankets with Sam, Marielle, Erick and Jessica. Hadley surprisingly didn't freak out with the fireworks and rather enjoyed them.

It turned out to be a fun night and maybe next year I will attend again, it was worth the $8.

Like most women...

I have a hard time having photos taken of me (no problem taking photos of others). There is always something to pick apart. The lack of chin to neck ratio which inevitably shows multiple chins. The body image issues, this is to large, this is to small, that is just plain flabby and my favorite that wasn't there before.

This weekend while camping my dear friend Masha pulled out the new camera and was testing several settings, promising that she would not post any of the photos on FB or the like. We all became her subjects.

I am proud of myself because this photo has the 3 things that will make most women run when a camera is presented. We had just returned from swimming in the lake, I have no make up on...that alone makes me shun camera's, lake hair and a Swim Suit.

Thanks to Masha's skill she actually made me look decent. At a time I am not feeling so hot about the shape I am in, something about turning 35 makes you work for it, I needed this for my well being.

Instead of her posting it, I am, if only to start getting over my issues.

Picnic in the Park Anniversary

A year ago I wanted to get a whole bunch of friends together for a spontaneous dinner. There isn't a lot of room in the green so I suggested we meet at a park nearby. It has turned into an event. Now once or twice a month we meet on a Sunday afternoon for food and conversation. 

I can't believe it has lasted this long and I am sure that we will continue to meet for another year. I have loved being able to get everyone together and meet new friends.  A few of our friends have moved away (Macbeth's and Syme's...sniff ) and we miss having them around. 

It has been a group effort to keep the tradition alive. If it weren't for the word of mouth, gathering of emails and great food, It might not have lasted.

I am so happy to have such amazing friends who love Picnic in the Park as much as I do!

I love these two! Every time she would stop to talk to him, she would put her arms behind her back.

Britta!

Today is Britta's Birthday. Her husband Shay sent a quick email yesterday to get us together for a Surprise Party.

Although I was late and missed the actual "surprise" it worked, Britta fell over when she walked into her apartment and saw all of these people in her living room. She thought they were being robbed.

It was fun to see and chat with everyone. Unfortunately the thought of a picture came after a few people had already left. We are a good lookin group!

Happy Birthday Britta! 

My Father...

I am a lucky girl to have a Dad like mine. He is a wonderful Father even though sometimes he gets a bit overwhelmed with his girls and just shakes his head at our silliness. He is loving and kind. He will brag about his kids to anyone willing to listen. 

I wish I was there to celebrate with him and I am sure he wishes I were closer. Don't tell my sibling's but I am by far his favorite...wink wink.

Happy Fathers Day!

My Arms Ache to Hold Her...

I found this in my email the other day, thanks to my Sister for sending it. I just want to hold her and let her know that I am her favorite Aunt.

I can't believe she is growing up so fast. I am counting down the days until I get to see her again.

Considering my Brother in Law would prefer not having his daughter wear pink, she certainly is covered in it.

How to Relax in Vegas

I am not a lover of Las Vegas. I am not a huge fan of the strip or the crowds it generates. I am not tempted by the "sin" in sin city. What does draw me to Las Vegas are great friends. I am lucky enough to have a few that now live in the area.

My main purpose however was to visit the Ricks family. They have been asking and I have been promising for almost 3 years to visit them. It was time. 

It was so much fun to see them and catch up. All I wanted to do is is relax with them granted they are parents of 2 very young children and probably don't know what relaxing is. 

It was fun to watch Curious George, play at the park and go swimming (although the water was freezing) with little P. and rock Baby T to sleep. They are both extremely beautiful kids, then again of course they are because Brandi and Tim are not shabby looking.

We did visit the strip. Tim has connections at Mandalay Bay Aquarium. Nothing like getting in for free. 

Little P. sits in the stroller as if it were her throne. She wanted to continue to run around. We were ready to go eat.

See I really did go to the Strip. Even for a Monday night it was crowded of course.

My camera is not the best at night shots. A not so good picture of the fountains at the Bellagio.

The garden in the Bellagio. Made out of Flowers.

Thanks go out to the Ricks for being such amazing hosts. It was exactly what I wanted and needed.

I also was able to see my friends the Syme's. They moved to Henderson 6 months ago and Oakland has not been the same with out them. Shane has an incredible job there and Jentri is going stir crazy trying to find one and a house to buy. It was fun to see them and eat at Cafe Rio which I haven't done in ages.  

All in all other than the slot machines everywhere, visiting Las Vegas was a nice surprise and I am going to have to make a trip again soon.