New Years Eve

I have the day off today and am literally just loafing around, I slept until 10:30 (delicious). I figure I mind as well enjoy it before the New Year starts and I promised myself I would not be so lazy in the new year. We will see what happens.

The weekend was pretty nice. Saturday we went and ran errands, went to the mall to get a belt for Tim and we also got our annual photo booth photos taken - so fun! Then we went to Target (I had to return something) and we went to Costco. For Christmas, my parents gave us a gift card for Costco and we purchased a Sirius satellite radio with it. When we got home we made some coffee and ate the cinnabon's we got at the mall, as I read the instructions for wiring the antenna to the radio in my car. It sounded more complicated that it really was.

Sunday, Tim went with me to the monthly membership meeting at the Maltese American Social Club. It was his first time there and the meeting was hilarious (as always). It was the current President's last meeting so he had to give his speech about his accomplishments, etc. We also had to vote on some new positions. The President has been a member of the club since 1947, which I think is incredible. He has basically done everything there and it was his time to retire. When the meeting was over we came home and wired the new radio into the car. I had to run some wires beneath the dash board which was actually kind of fun because it was a challenge. I only had time to run the antenna before Tim had to leave for a tennis match. When he got home, I finished in the dark of the driveway and activated the radio. Since that was done we decided we had to go for a drive to check it out. We went out for dinner and had a fun time playing with the radio. I think it will make my commute a little better, did you know there is 4 NPR stations on there? I don't have a long distance commute, just a lot of traffic and it seems to be getting worse over the years - that is what makes it long. So now, while I sit in traffic, I can be listening to a Grateful Dead concert on the Dead 24/7 channel or I can listen to a great interview on NPR talk. The options are endless. I love it and haven't really even explored all of the channels. There is even a Martha Stewart channel!

Anyway, I have to run out for a walk to the drug store soon - I need some black nylon stockings. Tim and I are going to the New Years Eve Dinner Dance at the Maltese Club tonight. We have never gone out on New Years Eve, all the years we have been together, this is the first time we have gone anywhere. It should be fun! I will report back tomorrow if I have the energy to blog.

Happy New Year! Be safe tonight whatever you do!

Highs and Lows of 2007

Well, I actually had to look back at my past posts and my journal to compile this list. This past year was a blur, I tell you. With so much focus on the adoption, I forgot about some other things that I did this year.

Highs:

• Took Ballet 101 Class at San Francisco Ballet and got an in depth and behind the scenes look at the ballet.
  
• Recovered myself from identity theft - pain in the ass, but I recovered everything, so I count it as a high.


• My brother came to visit in February and in July!


• My sister came to visit in April (with my Mom) and in August!


• Finished ALL adoption paperwork (home study visits as well)


• Angela had baby Frankie!


• Katie (cousin of Tim) had baby Reece!


• Got a new fridge (after three weeks without one)


• Reorganized my craft space

Lows:

• Missed the Yoga Journal Conference due to illness
  
• Had to cancel India trip last minute because someone stole my identity (didn't get as far as they could have, but it was bad enough, believe me).


• Got serious Spring/Travel Fever and still have not gotten over it


• Sneezed my back out of whack on my 33rd Birthday


• Apache, need I say more? (see Sept. 5 post for more info.)

Well, not as good of year as I was hoping for, but I think 2008 is going to be a goodie!

Almost 2008

I have been thinking a lot about the end of the year, reflecting on 2007 and thinking of resolutions for 2008. Seems like when I wrapped up 2006 last year, I had a lot of things accomplished and I don't have too much this year. Maybe when my list is done I will feel better about the year. So far my biggest accomplishment was finishing the adoption paperwork process. We will see if I come up with more.

To be continued...

Back to the Grind

Hey folks, hope you all had a nice Christmas.

I slept through midnight mass, I couldn't rally to get out the door, Tim went without me though. I also decided when I went to bed that I would sleep through Christmas since it was just Tim and I this year and we didn't really have anything special planned PLUS I have been sad, depressed, homesick, etc. I only made it until about 11:30 AM though. I woke up and the top half of the Christmas tree had burned out or the fuse blew, if that was any indication of the day ahead, I wanted to go back to bed. So I slept for another half hour or so and then Tim woke me up and told me Santa left something for me under the tree. He brought me the companion book to the TV Show "No Reservations" (Anthony Bordain), which I love. I was completely surprised because he remembered that I mentioned wanting it one day when we were at the store. I also felt bad, because we had decided not to buy each other stuff for Christmas since money is way too tight right now. It was very sweet though and made the day a little bit better. The rest of day we just hung out at home, I tinkered around with my sewing machine and made a big pot of spaghetti. We watched "Home Alone" in the evening and then went to bed. Back to work today as if it were not even Christmas, kind of sad. Next year should be better (I hope).

Merry Christmas to All

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Have a wonderful holiday and enjoy being with your friends and family.

Getting ready to enjoy some hot coffee here in order to stay up for midnight mass. We are walking to a church that is close by, it should be nice. Just Tim and I this year so we thought we would take advantage of being able to get to mass in the middle of the night. Next year (God willing) we may not be able to do it because we hope Olive will be here.

Sleep tight, I hope Santa leaves you all some nice things under your tree.

Holiday Sweets & Treats

I love holiday sweets and treats (maybe even a little too much). I am a sucker for packaging as well. I wish there were more things available throughout the year that came in cute packages like Panettone does at Christmas time. Who can argue a great sweet bread treat that comes in its own carrying case with a ribbon on top in which to carry it by?I also have a soft spot for peppermint. Candy canes, peppermint ice cream, peppermint mocha, peppermint bark, you name it, peppermint can do no wrong this time of year. I think my fondest memory of peppermint is sitting at Church with my Mom on Sunday mornings and she always seemed to have starlight mints in her purse. I got a whiff of them each time my Mom would exhale, they always smelled so good, but I didn't really enjoy the taste as a child. So maybe peppermint is more of an adult thing, I am not sure, but I do love it.

Recent Crafts

A couple of weeks ago I made these cute teacup candles. Seems like I have seen them in a couple magazines the past few months (Martha Stewart and Country Living) so I decided I would give it a shot. They were super easy to make, and people seem to like them. It is amazing the amount of teacups that are missing saucers (not to mention cute shapes and patterns) you can get for next to nothing at your local thrift shop or Salvation Army. The hardest part for me was deciding on who would get each teacup! I made twelve of them and have some left for random gifts, etc.
Here are 2 of my favorites...
Another cool thing I just did, well not really a craft, just spray paint. I spray painted this old twine holder I had, it was rusty wrought iron and not very fun, so I gave it a face lift - it looks super cute with my gigantic cone of bakers twine on it, don't you think? The little loop on top used to be a cutter for the string, but it is super old and does not cut anymore but I love it.

The City in Lights

Here are a couple photos I took last night when we went to see "The Wizard of Oz", which was, so incredible! I have never seen it on the big screen PLUS with live orchestra, it was amazing! I highly recommend it. Here are photos of Davies Symphony Hall (where we were) and the War Memorial Opera House (where the Nutcracker is currently being performed). They are right across the street from each other. In the last photo, you can see my blue jeep, great parking spot for the evening huh? I got super lucky with that one!

Christmas at Home

I did a little photo shoot of my tree and thought I would post it. I want to remember next year, what I did this year so I don't repeat. Anyway, here she is surrounded by my collection of bottle brush trees and vintage holiday characters in all her glory.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road...

Tonight Tim and I are going to see "The Wizard of Oz" at Davies Symphony Hall and the symphony is going to play all of the music live! We usually go to the Nutcracker, but this year, we decided to change it up a bit.

I am excited to go to the civic center area tonight. Everything will be lit up and festive and maybe it will start to feel like Christmas to me. I really didn't get into it at all this year. I think part of it is due to the financial exhaustion from the adoption and we are still saving for the last chunk. I tried to plan all of my homemade gifts for the summer time so I would have them done and that didn't happen at all. Oh well! I guess there are going to be years where things like this happen. I should probably start next years stuff now though if I am going to go in the handmade direction. Who knows, I may have a baby by then!

Mail from Malta!

I was sort of down in the dumps when I got home from work today, but when Tim handed me the mail and an unusual stamp was peaking out of the usual stack of bills and Christmas cards. I grabbed the corner with the stamp and slowly pulled it out, it was from Malta! It was a very sweet card with a note from my Mom's cousin and her husband and my second cousin (AKA Mary Rose, Frank and Father Ray). I was so excited about it, my eyes teared and I called my Mom to tell her about it and read her the note that was inside. Funny thing is, I have been thinking about them so much and have really been wanting to go to Malta again to visit them. I sent them one of our cards and a letter as well - hopefully it will get there soon.

Anyway, not to poo poo all of the other Christmas cards we have been getting at all, I love them all, just was surprised to hear from Malta! It made my day!

The Ladies of the Maltese Club

I am a little behind on my posts, but last Tuesday was the annual Maltese American Social Club Women's Committee gift exchange.

We had a nice sit down dinner together. My new pals at the club will only speak to me in Maltese, they tell me that is the only way I am going to learn. Tough love I guess.

Anyway, we had a nice dinner, dessert and then the gift exchange.

I gave a painted Italian pasta bowl from Macy's that I will admit, would have loved to have kept for myself. Last year I was number 36 in line to pick my gift from the pile, but this year, I was number 5! No pressure, I was surrounded by lovely wrapped gifts all calling out "pick me, pick me". I went for a mid size box, wrapped in snowy white paper as shiny as ice with the print of holly berries dancing all over it. Atop was a nicely tied simple red ribbon.

I took my gift back to my seat and proceeded to open it. Beneath the paper my gift reveled itself. I got a nice set of glass candle holders with round white candles to go with them. Honestly, they are not my style, but they are nice and I was glad I didn't get the snowman fountain that the lady next to me got.

It wasn't as exciting as last year, when I started the fire (by accident of course) but it was really nice. I love hanging out with the ladies at the club, I wish there were more people there my age, but I guess everyone is too busy to get involved in their culture. The ladies I sat with were telling me what it was like in Malta during WW II and all that they went through as children, it was amazing and sad at the same time. The human spirit is incredible to me. These are some strong women that I completely love and admire. I thank God for leading me on my trip to Malta, finding my family there and also introducing me to these fantastic ladies. I will never know my Grandfather but I would like to think that he would be proud that I am involved with the Maltese Club and I think I see a little of him in the men at the club as well. If they are a tiny glimpse of what he was like, it makes me sad to have never met him.

These are a few of my favorite things....

Hey, if Oprah can have a "favorite things" list in her magazine and a "favorite things" episode on her show, why can't I have one on my blog.
Here goes...these are a few of my favorite things right at this moment.

Clementines

Cranberries

Falling asleep while watching "It's a Wonderful Life" on my little DVD player next to my bed.

Hammonds Christmas Ribbon and Snowflake Candy

Christmas Get to Know Me

My blog friend Karen Beth turned me on to this and I couldn't wait to fill it out.

Thanks KB, Happy Holidays!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper and real ribbon

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real if I had the space, for now, my little 3' table top has to do the job

3. When do you put up the tree? First weekend in December

4. When do you take the tree down? Weekend after New Years Day

5. Do you like eggnog? SoyNog yes, eggnog I like it but would be a snotty mess if I drank it

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Cassette recorder - it was red and I was in love with recording myself

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, I have three. One was Grandma Nettie's when she was in the Arnold Home, I love it. One of them is tiny and inside a gourd, Wendy gave it to me this year, it is in my office.

8. Hardest person to buy for? This year, everyone, I don't have any money to spend so I don't have to worry about it.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Emily, always.

10. Mail or E-Mail Christmas Cards? Mail, the post people are heroes this time of year

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Lets not go there, everything was given to me with good intentions and love and that is really all the matters.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Christmas in Connecticut

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Didn't shop this year, but did plan on what to make people back in July.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes, to the Salvation Army, but not re-gifted - I think that is bad juju

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Any cookie made by my Mom - favorite are her springerle cookies

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? White, clear, anything but colored.

17. Favorite Christmas song? anything off the Johnny Mathis Christmas Album in my parents basement or Barbara Streisand's crazy version of Jingle Bells. To be honest, Christmas music most of the time makes me sad and home sick and I only listen to it when I know I can handle it (on a non emo day).

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home is in Michigan with my family not here in San Francisco - but I have not been there for Christmas since I moved here in 1996. Traveling during the holidays, the mere thought of it will give me a panic attack although I don't know what is worse, crying on Christmas or traveling and waking up in my childhood home on Christmas. Maybe next year, I will go home.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Yes, because I have 'twas the night before Christmas memorized

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel, but my little tree would fall over with her on top, so I don't have her on there right now.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? If there are presents to open, Christmas morning please.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Commercialism, Greediness and Grinchy people

23. Favorite ornament theme or Color? White lights, with silver ornaments, they reflect the light nicely.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Did you read how long it has been since I have been home for Christmas? I don't remember what my Mom used to cook when I was home. Come to think about it, I have not had a Christmas dinner since I moved out here, that is REALLY sad. We usually have what is in the house, cheese, crackers, soup, frozen meal, etc.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I want to be able to go to Mass on Christmas Eve with my husband and sleep in on Christmas day.

Looong Weekend Recap

Wow, I really took a break from everything (including my blog) during my time off from work.

Here is a recap of what I did with my time (you can fill in all of the missing time with sleeping and reading - I was pretty slothy, I have to admit).

Wednesday - Slept until 11:00 AM. Cleaned the coffee maker, I can't believe we have never done this before, Tim is such a coffee snob, I was surprised. Washed dishes, cleaned off the crash pad (kitchen table) and did a couple loads of laundry. Between all of that, I watched The History of Thanksgiving on the History Channel, which was pretty good. Tim came home at about 6:00 and we hung out, ate dinner and just tooled around, very mellow evening.

Thursday - Happy Thanksgiving! Slept until 8:15 AM, made a crumble topped apple pie. Washed dishes, pressed my clothes for the day and took a shower. By the time I was done in the shower, Angela and Frankie arrived! Tim and I were so excited to spend some time with them. We can't get enough of Frankie, he is super cute and full of energy! He is eating baby food now and it is so fun to watch him eat, and also fun to feed him. We left San Francisco at about 1:00 PM and headed down to Campbell to Robin's parents house. We arrived at about 2:00 PM and had some little appetizers and started to put the final touches on dinner. Robin made some wonderful little carmelized pearl onions and I was on gravy duty. Kenny usually makes the gravy but he was recovering from surgery so it was up to me to make the gravy happen, it was fun. I love cooking with friends, it is always nice to have a good friend at the next burner. Dinner was fabulous and the company was wonderful. I am so thankful to have such good friends close by when my family is not. I am thankful that my friends parents think of those of us who don't have family in town and invite us over for Thanksgiving Dinner. Frankie fell asleep at about 7:30 or so, so we stuck around and cleaned up and headed back to SF at about 9:00 PM. When we got back to the city, we quietly unloaded the car and got Frankie in the house without waking him and he slept until midnight. It was nice to have a baby in the house, good practice for Tim and I. I purposely did not sleep with ear plugs on so I could hear when the baby woke up (which wasnt much).

Friday - We all got up at about 7:00 and Angela drove Tim to work while I stayed with Frankie and fed him breakfast and got him ready for the day. Angela and I walked to 24th Street and window shopped a bit and stopped for lunch. Frankie fell asleep while we ate, which was nice. We ate at Savor, and split Vanilla Buttermilk pancakes and also a Tuscan savory crepe - they have really good food and great prices! We walked back to my place, fed Frankie and Angela packed the car for their trip back to Sacramento. It was such a nice Friday. Very mellow, got some good exercise and was with great company. After Angela and Frankie left, I took a nap on the couch until Tim got home from work - I know, it was endulgent, but I did it anyway. Tim came home and we had leftovers from Thanksgiving that Ginny packed up for us before we left their house.

Saturday - Slept until 11:00 AM (epic). Tim woke up and played tennis, I stayed in bed and slept with BayLee until he got home. We took our annual trip to KMart in San Mateo to check out the Martha Stewart Christmas stuff. There is some cute stuff out there but most of it was sold out already. I checked it out online before we went over there. Here are a couple things I thought were nice:

Looooong Weekend

I am so excited to announce that I have tomorrow, Thursday and Friday off - I have a 5 day weekend! I am super duper excited.

I found out that my parents are putting up their holiday decor this coming weekend so I am trying to convince Tim that we should get out our stuff too! I love putting up our little tree and all of the fun stuff that goes with it. We even have holiday dishes that we swap out our regular plates, bowls, mugs, etc. for - it is red with snowflakes on it and I love it!

Anyway, sorry for the short post, I have to work tonight and then I am off tomorrow to clean, bake and hang out for the long weekend!

Little Dirty Secret

I didn't have the wherewithal to travel last night, so the chips are still in the cupboard.

I was however, trying to come up with a system to get my "stuff" organized around the house. I don't know if any of you know this, but one characteristic of a cancer is messiness - which always miffs me because my Grandma Netti was a cancer and was so completely neat, it was crazy. The one area for me that ALWAYS has needed help, my ENTIRE life has been my bedroom (Mom, feel free to comment on this one). I am pretty organized when I cook, sew, craft, whatever else, but once I get in my room, I just put things on my dresser and pile my clothes on the trunk at the end of my bed. The worst part is my dresser...poor girl, she is so pretty when she is clean, but as of late, she is covered in jewelry, things I have pulled out of my pockets when I get home from work, random receipts, folded socks, hair clips, rubber bands and cat toys that have gone flying in the air and have decided to land right into no mans land. I was thinking about getting someone to come in and help me organize my home, with the baby coming, etc. but it is SO expensive there is really NO WAY that is going to happen. Then I spoke to my friend Angela, who has offered her help and is the one person that has been privy to my "inside world" who I know would help me without any judgment and would make me laugh the entire time even though I would be so embarrassed of my immature untidiness. My plan right now is to manage the little things that I can organize on my own and bring her in as the voice of reason when it comes to the larger things, making space for baby and putting things in storage. If I have Tim help me, we will argue and I will feel bad about being messy and that is not fun. Plus, if it isn't his stuff, he wont really help anyway.

Anyway, I have a couple things to put my jewelry in (a pretty glass box and the fabulous pink jewelry box Wendy got me for my Birthday) but those are on a shelf in my closet and I need a little more room and found these fabulous beauties at Pottery Barn Teen and thought I would share them with you. I can't afford them right now, but maybe after Christmas I will purchase them for myself - hey, maybe they will be on sale then too!

My plan after getting the top of the dresser done is that I am going to finally finish my closet and inside the dresser purge. I have this book that Lucky magazine put out a couple years ago and it tells you how many of each item of clothing you should have. I can tell you, I have scaled down a lot, but not nearly enough. Really, I wear the same 4 pairs of jeans all the time, the same black cardigan, the same tank tops and the same shoes the majority of the time. So, I am getting ready to purge, yet again, and try and make some money off of the things I no longer need. The problem with me is, when I am in the cleaning mode, I just want to get the stuff out of my home and not keep it, take it to a used clothing place, etc. besides I don't have any really nice stuff anyway, so I may be making a donation to the Goodwill very soon.

OK, enough of all that. I am secretly hoping that by airing my dirty laundry it will help me out a little. I think the first step in mending an unsavory trait it to recognize it and come up with ways to fix it.

A Vacation Anyone Can Afford

For those loyal readers of my blog, you know I have not had a vacation since October '06 when I went to Malta (my homeland). I have been really itching to travel but am in lock down money wise and my next trip will be to Vietnam to pick up our little one. With all of that said, I truly believe I have found the perfect solution for those who need a vacation but can't afford to take one. I would like to let you in on my new find...I have not opened the bag yet. First of all, I am allergic to mold (cheese), but am willing to give these a try; who knows, it may be worth it. Second, I need to get bathing suit ready, pack my bags and make sure I have up-to-date sunscreen. You bet your booty when I open these, I am expecting a full ray of sunshine to burst out of the bag, my cousins will be there to greet me and a mandolin will play 'O Sole Mio or Volare as I put the first chip in my mouth. As I make my way through the bag, my olive skin will begin to darken to the color of the perfect cappuccino (which I hope to find at the end of the bag). I won't be gone long enough to mail you all postcards like last time, but I am on my way. I will try to take some photos while I am there.
Ciao!

PS - If I don't post again for the next couple days, it means these chips really deliver! Please call the Kettle Chip company and let them know what I wrote above REALLY happened to me and they MUST choose some other destinations for the travel deprived!

Cooking Shows and Christmas Time

I stayed in all weekend and watched cooking shows and dreamt of Christmas time.

Tis the season to fire up the oven, start baking more and start staying home after work to finish up all of the holiday projects I started over the summer. I still need to get my timing down. I think I literally need to start projects right after the new year for the holidays next year. I tend to put things down for a while and then pick them back up when I am in a rush to finsh which is not good. I need to give myself more time to put my heart into it when I am working and not just pick it up to "get it done".

I feel like I am skating by for Thanksgiving this year, which is kind of nice. I am making desserts for a gathering of 10 and that is my only responsibility, which I am excited about. I already have some recipes picked out, but need to narrow them down.

Other than thinking about and planning for the holidays, that is about it for my weekend.

I want to give a shout out, one day late to all of the Veteran's out there, Happy Veteran's Day! Thank you all for your service.

CRABBY but still smiling...

Ugh, the last couple days have been really rough emotionally. Most of you know Tim and I are in the adoption process, and we recently heard some disturbing news about a couple of the provinces our agency works in. More info at Operation Olive, our adoption blog. All of this is very upsetting to both of us and we are keeping our heads up and our hearts committed to our baby that is out there some where for us. We have faith that everything will work out for us when it is supposed to.

I had to get out of the office for lunch today and needed a laugh so I had Wendy take this photo of me. I am a cancer afterall, and needed to find humor in something today.

The Color Purple (the musical)

This afternoon, I went to see The Color Purple which is part of the best of Broadway series. It is a musical based on the movie (which happens to be one of my favorites). Sort of the same story line, but with a couple changes and of course, singing and dancing. Robin planned the outing for Angela, Wendy and I - it was an early Christmas present and so much fun. Robin, you are too kind, thank you so much for getting us together today. I wish we all lived closer to each other so we could get together more often.

Following the musical, we went to Pad Thai for dinner. Everything we ordered was fantastic! The pad thai was better than I had last time (I updated my post called "the search continues"). Tim was a good sport all day, dropping us off at the theatre and picking us up, he joined us for dinner which was nice.
A good weekend all around.
Stay Tuned...

It's November!

I cant believe it is already November! Tim is flying by so fast and before we know it, the holidays will be here. I have already gotten a few holiday catalogs in the mail and so far, Wisteria has some of my favorite things for the holidays. These are the things I have picked if
I had the time and money to decorate for the holidays this year. If anything I think I will put my mini tree out and little Christmas village on our console table.

Some sizes of these candles are already sold out!

I have a tiny tabletop tree, but if I had a real full size tree, this skirt would be perfect.

I love these little birds, I would love to just have them and some cranberries on my tree this year. Simple and sparkly, l think the lights on the tree would reallly make these birds pop, I love it.

Friday at Last!

This week went by sooooo slow and thank heavens it is O V E R!

I officially have a new boss. Not my top pick, but we will see what happens. I am trying to be really optimistic about it and we will see what happens. The one positive thing is that I will be assisting just one person by 2008 (fingers crossed) as opposed to the 4 I have had for some time now. Looks like I might just be getting the job I was hired for 6 and a half years ago. My dream job is still radio DJ. There are a couple places here that are looking for an "on air personality" but I need to make a sample CD of my voice, etc. and am not too sure how to go about creating that. Anyway, somewhere in my future, I WILL be on the radio! I don't have any experience, but I think my personality will crush that! ha ha!

I am currently doing a pretty good job at balancing my two jobs (second job is part time at Craft Gym), home life and getting ready for baby and I still have time to ride my bike and go to yoga and keep my mind in line. I am having a lot of fun at this point in my life as well. I miss Apache so much though, that is one thing I would like to add back in, but can't because of the cost associated with riding. I am so sensitive about Apache, can't write anymore about him or I will cry at my desk and I don't want to do that right now.

I am so looking forward to getting home tonight. We have plans to watch a movie (Mr. Brooks) and just chill out. I have not gotten home early at all this week and I am aiming to get out of here at 4:30 today. Wish me luck!

Halloween is next week. Wendy and I are going to be Laverne & Shirley. We are still trying to figure out how to get the Shotz logo on our blue factory smocks, but I think I have it down (stencil and fabric paint). I am going to put the "L" on mine this weekend. I need to go and get decorations for the office this weekend or on Monday, that will be fun!

Well, I hope you all have a nice weekend!

The Search Continues...

I know I have not mentioned it before on my blog, but I am on a quest for the best Pad Thai in the Bay Area. I used to work up in San Rafael where I believe the best is there on 4th Street in one of the two restaurants - Tim and I have to go up there to determine which one it is. I think it is Tavan Thai and not My Thai, but like I said, we have to go check it out.
If anyone has any leads on a great place for Pad Thai in the Bay Area, let me know.
So far, I have tried:
~ Dusit Thai (too sweet and orange)
~ Pad Thai (you would think it would be the best, right? WRONG!) UPDATE - Went there for dinner tonight (11/4) and the Pad Thai was pretty good. Maybe I had it delivered before which damaged the taste, tonight it was very good though. Yummm.
~ Berkeley Thai Palace (WAY too much shrimp paste or something fishy)
~ Boran Thai Restaurant (nothing to write home about, lots of sauce)
~ Thai Stick 2000 (pretty good, we are getting close)
~ Herbivore (vegan and very good, it has a peanut sauce which I like, but it isn't the traditional Pad Thai so I feel like I cant officially enter it into the contest)
I know, I am not being very specific about what was so great about the best Pad Thai ever, so when we go up there to see if it is still the best and what it was about it, that made it the best. I remember it had broccoli and big pieces of carrot in it. I used to have lunch there every Friday with my old co-worker Greg. Maybe I need to look him up and find out what place it is - it has been years!

FRANKENSTEIN!

Look who I ran into at lunch today!!!!

Hard Knox Cafe

Do you like soul food?
Do you need soul food?
Do you have to have soul food?
Do you want to go to the best soul food restaurant run by a Vietnamese family this side of the Mississippi?

If you answered YES to any of the above questions, you MUST go to Hard Knox Cafe in Potrero Hill (San Francisco).

HUGE portions, CHEAP prices and the food is KILLER...

Check out the menu: http://www.hardknoxcafe.com/

Local Crafty Event!

http://sfcraftmafia.com/mafia-made-2007-winter-trunk/

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day

The Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day trailer was at the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin and Art Festival. I super love all of these products and just loved the purple trailer with the towel drying rack on top. The girls working inside did not seem too thrilled to be there, but whatever, I still loved it. If you have not used these products, you must treat yourself and get some. They are all natural, safe around animals and children and the smell will make your cleaning experience that much more enjoyable. They aren't too much more then the chemical products that cause cancer and they work just as well PLUS they wont ruin surfaces or the environment. over time. Wouldn't you rather be safe then sorry?
Be kind to yourself and the earth and try Mrs. Meyer's products.

PS - There is a new holiday Gingerbread scent in some products available online.

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin and Art Festival

We are trying to check things like this out this year before we take the baby next year. We definitely want to make this a fall tradition, it was so much fun!
Cloudy and cold, but still a wonderful time.

Chicken Pumpkin Sausage!

We went home with this killer broom! Handmade and solid, here is the link to the site that sells them www.broommagic.com however, we got a deal buying it at the festival, they are more on the website. I have always loved my mothers Amish broom and now I have one close to it, the corn is from the Amish in IL, everything else is from Oregon.