Browse Month: July 2008

I miss home.

Brother and Joy came up a couple weekends ago and it reminded how much I’ve missed home and the people I’ve left behind. I had a brilliant plan for my return to Southern California back in June and then it was foiled by my wedding fiasco that weekend. So, it’s been about 4 months since I’ve been home and I’m itching to go back. I’ll be back from August 7-9 for a wedding but I’m not sure it will be enough for me. I think it’s time for me to ask for some time off and book a flight for a random weekend in SoCal. And here are the photos from a couple weekends ago.

Wednesdays

I like Wednesdays. It’s not because half the week is done but because it’s the day that Jes and I go out to eat. On some days we go all out and try a new fancy restaurant. On some days we just go out to a local restaurant. Regardless, it’s an excuse for us to not make a mess of the kitchen and to be gluttonous.

Last night, we decided to go somewhere local and it happened to be a game night too. So, we hung out at Paragon at one of their outdoor tables and watched the crowd come through. It was a sunny, breezy afternoon with blue skies and I had a nice cool glass of Riesling and a hot steamy bowl of mussels sitting in front of me. Ahh…that certainly hits the spot.

Loving Retirement

My parents are having way too much fun. I used to worry that when they retired, they’d be sitting at home in front of the TV bored to tears. But no, it’s been about 6 months since my mom retired and 18 months for my dad and they have a more interesting social life than mine. In fact, they’ve take trips to Thailand, Catalina, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, and of course, SF. 🙂 They’re out all day, take naps in the afternoon, and go out some more with their friends. I can’t wait to retire.

Shuck and Suck Sunday

dsc_1847a.jpg

We drove to Tomales Bay for some oysters and a little BBQ by the water. We arrived early enough to snag a table and grill by the water and enjoyed a day of oysters, BBQ, and sunshine. Koa also came along and got to run off-leash along the water and he even ran into the water a few times to get his feet wet. Jack had his first taste of Kalbi and got a kick out of hangin’ out with his buddy Koa. On the drive back, we stopped just short of the GG Bridge and took a couple touristy photos. What a beautiful day it was today!

Wine Tasting

dsc_1690a.jpg

This morning I got up and went for a run up to Chinatown with Koa, Brother, and Joy. Once we got to Chinatown, we picked up some porridge and Chinese doughnuts. We then caught the 30 bus back home and Koa had his first bus ride. We brought the muzzle along but the bus drivers and passengers were cool so he didn’t need it.

After our porridge breakfast, we headed up to Napa. Our first stop was Pride Mountain Vineyards, which turned out to be pretty fun. The tastings were only $5/person and their wine was really good. Thanks for the recommendation, Vyl! We also went to Taylor’s Refresher for some bacon/cheese burgers and chili cheese fries. Yum. We had one more tasting but it wasn’t very good. Dinner was at Brix, which had a really pretty garden in the back. The food was pretty tasty and Brother tried a little Absinthe, which turned out to be pretty crappy.

Another thing that I got to do today was try out the D300. Brother’s company got one for the office and he brought it up. It’s a slightly larger/heavier camera with all the bells and whistles. For example, my D70s has 5 points of focus to choose from while the D300 has 51!!! It was so much fun to play with it today and the photos were amazing! For some reason, the color saturation and sharpness were both so much better than my D70s. I sooooo want a D700 now.

Summer Homework

letter.jpg

I’ve been working with a 2nd grader on his handwriting these past couple months.  He’s on a month-long vacation this month and I gave him “homework”.  I like to call it “suggested home program activities”.  Ha.  Anyway, one of his assignments was to write me a letter every Wednesday and mail it to me.  A week and a half passed and I totally didn’t think I’d get a letter.  But, I was wrong.  In my mailbox at work this afternoon was a handwritten letter from my little pen pal Max.  Sweet.  And looking at his writing…we’ve got some work to do when he gets back.  🙂