My 39th Birthday
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!!
Last night, Kumquat went to sleep around 8:30 and woke up at 11:00 with a weird cough, a hard time catching her breath, and wheezing. She also coughed so hard it made her throw up. Her breathing wasn’t normal after a while so I decided to take her to the ED at my work. It’s weird to think that we had to drive across the bridge to get to a hospital but we are actually at the midpoint between my work and UCSF (where she was born). When we arrived, it was eerie being there so late but there was something comforting about being about to go to a place that was so familiar. I also also never stepped foot in our ED and was getting a first-hand experience from the other side as a parent.
At check-in, we saw the triage nurse first and KK was so pissed. She was still wheezing, coughing, and now crying because all she wanted to do was go back to bed. 
Instead her parents put her in the car and took her to a place where people put stickers on her toes and squeeze your leg for a blood pressure reading.
Once we were placed in a room, she continued to cry with the first nurse. Vitals were taken again and we were given cool mist to blow in her face. After a few more minutes, the Resident came in to check her and she calmed down and let her examine her without any fuss.
Then for the next two hours, we sat in the room with the cool mist and an occasional video on Jes’ phone. She perked up quite a bit and played with the tubing and gave GG a little treatment too.
Finally by the end of the visit, she was diagnosed with croup, which is a viral infection of the vocal cords. That’s what caused the barking cough that she had. She was also given some apple juice and a low-dose steroid. By 3:00, we were sent home. She’s sleeping quietly now and at 3:50 am, both Jes and I are still awake. I guess I’m not going to work in the morning. I’m just glad she’s ok and that she responded to the treatment so quickly. Overall, I’d say we had a good experience and we’ll probably go there again if we ever have another emergency.
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.
We had a fun time in Southern California this past weekend and Kumquat was a great little traveler both there and back. 
On Saturday, we flew down to Southern California for a wedding. It was going to be an evening of no kids and our first night without the kid since she was born. After settling down in the Magical House, we drove up to Culver City where we checked in to the Four Points Sheraton. Everyone had already arrived and we all met them at the hotel bar, which we had asked them to open outside of their regular operating hours.
Joel had warned us they were serving an all-vegan dinner so after a couple drinks, we piled into one car and went to In-N-Out for our pre-wedding meal.
Since there were 6 of us and an SUV, Jes rode in the trunk all the way up to Topanga Canyon. He said it was actually pretty comfortable back there. It was just funny having to let him out the back when we pulled up to the valet at the ranch.
The wedding was outdoor in a little ranch but it was pretty warm out there – a balmy 95 degrees I think.
Everything was beautifully decorated with those little personal touches that make their wedding special.
Joel was dressed in all white and all the boys were in black panchos. Those poor boys. 
The bride was in a crocheted dress and the whole set-up was very hipster – just like our Joel the Indie Rockstar.
It was an open bar and their specialty drink was a cactus margarita, which matched my top perfectly.
Here is my plate of vegan lasagna with “faux sausage”, “faux carnitas” made out of jack fruit, and a kale salad that was the best thing on the table. I should have gotten more salad.
After the wedding, we were all starving so we made a stop at Johnnie’s Pastrami for an awesome after-party meal.
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