October
Is it really October 26th already?! Didn’t I JUST celebrate my birthday?! Well, this has been a busy month at work and at home and has likely resulted in the sprouting of 4 grey hairs on the top of my head this month. *sigh*
The rate of blogging on beakatude hasn’t been as frequent as it used to be. It’s been so bad lately that I felt the need to recap some highlights from this month before it ends. I’ll be traveling down to Cerritos for Halloween/Alice’s Birthday and that will require an entire post or two all on its own.
Let’s start out with some tasty eats from this month:
These are the mini waffles and 6 fried chicken wings that I had Little Skillet. Actually, they opened up a bar/restaurant right next door to the window and called it Victory Hall & Parlor. They serve the same menu but now there’s plenty of places to sit and you can order a drink too!
Ah…this is an old favorite and still as good as the first one I had. It’s an open-faced smoked salmon sandwich from Cap’n Mike’s Holy Smoke at the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market on Saturdays. KK likes it because she gets all of my capers.
For brunch one morning, I had this Crab and Avocado Eggs Benedict from a food truck called Benedict Arnold’s. It was parked at the SOMA StrEat Food Park on the morning we were there waiting for our car to be serviced by the Costco Tire Center.
It’s been nice and warm this month and we had dinner outdoors one night at Sauce, located in the Belden Place alley. These are the tater tots: made of pureed potato with bits of bacon mixed in, rolled into balls, and then fried. Reminded me of miniature potato croquettes.
OK. Now for the rest of this month:
As I had mentioned, we had a warm first half of October. It was warm enough to take a dip in our pool.
Fleet Week came and left. I saw the Blue Angels fly over the Bay Bridge one evening as I was driving home from work as they were practicing for the weekend show. We missed the show this year (on both days!) because it coincided with KK’s nap. Oh well, at least I got to see them from our condo window every once in a while.
I did a lot of running this past month and enjoyed a few solo runs in the wee hours of the morning. This morning was particularly neato because the fog was rolling over the bridge near Treasure Island.
This is my favorite photo of the month. It looks staged but it was completely not. I was just able to press the button on my phone at just the right time. I also love the fact that KK can pump a swing now.
For Halloween this year, KK is going to be Piglet from Winnie the Pooh. I decided to make her costume and was able to whip it out during her nap on the day I stayed home to take her to the doctor for her check-up. Here’s my pattern for the body. It came out a little long but I managed to tweak it just fine. You’ll see the final product a little later this week.
Sleep deprivation has also been a theme for this month. KK has been going through some weird sleep patterns this month and she kept me up every 1-2 hours all night for the past 3 days. Luckily she sorta figured it out last night and I got to sleep in 4-hour chunks. Woot!
And finally, the Giants have made it to the World Series again for the third time in the seven years we’ve lived here. 
This was the scene around the 7th inning last night before the crowd rushed out. The energy is actually pretty fun and the rowdiness has been peaceful so far (because they’re winning). I’m rooting for them to win the whole thing just out of fear that my neighborhood will be rioted if they don’t. Go Giants.
Some people at work don’t believe that I live RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from AT&T Park when they ask me where I live. This is the view from our front door and that’s Willie Mays Plaza right out front.
And of course, this month will always have significance to me because the anniversary of Koa’s passing, which also falls on the same day of KK’s half-birthday. I’m glad I took that day off this year.
So there you have it…most of October in a nutshell. Before I can even catch my breath from this month, it’ll be Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then 2015 in a flash. I’d better stop once in a while to appreciate the things around me. Luckily, I take photos of everything to remind me of how I’m spending my time and energy. My memory is certainly not as good as it used to be.
On October 12th, I completed my 27-day fundraising effort. I completed a total of 36.6 miles and raised $1063.00 for my department. Thanks to my generous family and friends, I raised the most money on my team. Amazing! I am so grateful for all the support and KK had a great time being my sidekick. She even finished the last mile by walking, climbing, jumping, and running it alongside me.
Ah…another year has passed and I have one more year left in my 30s. Luckily I had a wonderful birthday weekend of celebrations. On Friday evening, Kumquat and I went out for Happy Hour. It’s still so much fun to dine out with her and today was especially fun.
As if 2 hours at HH wasn’t enough, she also made it through a late-night dinner at a fancier-than-usual restaurant. I had a tasty mushroom risotto with fresh uni on top and Ozumo still does their raw fish and scallops well. Jes and I were thoroughly impressed by KK’s ability to keep it together so late and felt so lucky to have been able to enjoy an old dinner spot again.
On Saturday, we went out for brunch at my favorite place in SF – the Ferry Plaza. We also walked around the city for a bit before heading home for naptime.
For dinner, we went to Harris’ for some prime rib and steaks. This picture doesn’t really do it justice but oh well. It was delicious but Lawry’s is still #1 for me. 
Thanks to Jason and Jia for the yummy dinner!!
On Sunday morning (my actual birthday), I had lots of birthday texts, phone calls, and Facebook posts to keep me busy. I also wished my dear brother a Happy Birthday over Facetime.
I also went out for a solo run and finished 3.9 miles in a faster-than-usual time. I guess running with a stroller does help make you a better runner. I felt pretty good and I think I’ve gotten stronger over the past month.
During the day, I took care of my usual Sunday chores and then we went shopping for tonight’s dinner. The girls came over for hot pot and it was a long-overdue and fancier version of McWino. There was no McDonald’s this year but there was still plenty of wine.
I had a really nice birthday weekend and look forward to this coming year. I feel so blessed to have my health, my awesome family, my wonderful friends, and a job that I don’t hate. Cheers!
The Miracle Marathon is well underway and Kumquat and I have been running and scooting our way toward 27.2 miles. Luckily, we’ve had lots of good weather in the evenings and Kumquat has been really good in the stroller. She knows the routine now and says “nai-nai, snack, and bubbles in the stroller” and “Mama go running!”
We live in such a great area and The Embarcadero is such a nice place to run – no stop lights, wide sidewalk, and awesome views. This is one of the piers that we run down to get a spectacular view of the Bay Bridge and city skyline.
And this is a common view from my perspective. This toddler has a good life. Sometimes I wish she would push ME around in the stroller for 3 miles!!
Today is the first day of the Miracle Marathon and there was a kick-off at lunch time today. As a team, we walked our first mile together.
Teresa and I also got a photo with the Mayor of Oakland.
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