Friday, April 22, 2011
my arms are aching or is it stinging from you biting me. my eyes are swollen and burn from crying. why, why, why, nolan do you bite your mommy? it hurts my heart as much as it hurts my body. today is not our best day. but, in spite of all that. i love you with all my heart. just please, please stop biting me. happy 14 months.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
2011: the year of the lost and broken things??
oh man, i really hope not. but so far, it's not looking good. here's our list as of april 20th, 2011:
1. sweet bread knife of brand new nice knife set from christmas: lost after nolan's bday party in the park (feb)
2. anthony's cellphone: shattered screen...at the park for nolan's bday (feb)
3. my makeup bag: lost on (super-fun) trip to the bay area (march)
4. nolan's favorite red wooden ball that goes with one of his favorite toys: hotel room in santa rosa?? (march)
5. xylophone that goes along with the red ball from number four: sharp piece sticking out after a hearty bang (?) during either the loading or unloading of checked bags on way home from bay area --southwest airlines...why i oughta! (march)
6. four sippy cups (two different brands): chewed through by nolan (jan-april)
7. giant pink mixing bowl (that prompted me to finally write this blog): later found in refrigerator...nice...i'm dumb (april)
8.yet another diamond out of my wedding ring: ugh...though still half in the setting...and under warranty (april)
i think that sums it up...i seriously hope we're done now.
oh! i almost forgot (oddly, considering i'm typing...). number 9. six keys off of our computer's keyboard: thank you, nolan. one of these, i have managed to successfully fix (the spacebar...but, it still isn't perfect). still missing: "v" and "b" and a few other less important keys...irritating.
1. sweet bread knife of brand new nice knife set from christmas: lost after nolan's bday party in the park (feb)
2. anthony's cellphone: shattered screen...at the park for nolan's bday (feb)
3. my makeup bag: lost on (super-fun) trip to the bay area (march)
4. nolan's favorite red wooden ball that goes with one of his favorite toys: hotel room in santa rosa?? (march)
5. xylophone that goes along with the red ball from number four: sharp piece sticking out after a hearty bang (?) during either the loading or unloading of checked bags on way home from bay area --southwest airlines...why i oughta! (march)
6. four sippy cups (two different brands): chewed through by nolan (jan-april)
7. giant pink mixing bowl (that prompted me to finally write this blog): later found in refrigerator...nice...i'm dumb (april)
8.yet another diamond out of my wedding ring: ugh...though still half in the setting...and under warranty (april)
i think that sums it up...i seriously hope we're done now.
oh! i almost forgot (oddly, considering i'm typing...). number 9. six keys off of our computer's keyboard: thank you, nolan. one of these, i have managed to successfully fix (the spacebar...but, it still isn't perfect). still missing: "v" and "b" and a few other less important keys...irritating.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
what in the world will i cook come summer?!
i love soup. any form, really...brothy, creamy, stewy, chily (get it...chili...)...yum. since i love it so, soup makes a (VERY) regular appearance in the weekly menu at our house. thus far this has not been a problem as it has been fall, winter and early spring filled with chilly (alright...so-cal's version) days. but, as spring is warming up and flying by, it is going to be summer before i know it. then what??
over the past few weeks, i've made broccoli cheddar, potato leek (the revisited failure, revamped and yum), artichoke, beef barley, (i feel like i'm missing one) and tonight, quinoa chili. i must say, they were all pretty darn tasty. i may have got a little cheese crazy with the broccoli cheddar (i have a tendency to do that). the potato leek was decidedly better than the original recipe and i would describe it as yummy, but i'm still not sure i'd make it again. beef barley = delish. the artichoke one could be tweaked a bit, but all in all, good flavor. tonight's = bomb. yup, i just said "bomb"...as in "the bomb...like the money..." anyone?? anyway, it was so good, that i wanted to share it! i forgot to take pictures...doh! but, worth making it and taking your own. :)
this is originally a vegetarian recipe (well, i suppose vegan, really), but i decided to add ground turkey for a little more "umpf". i also used chicken stock instead of veggie because i had it on hand and garnished it with a dollop of sour cream and some cheddar cheese (obviously not vegan garnishes...). soooo good.
oh...also, i should note, while some recipes claim to serve 8-10 people and actually serve four (or maybe we just eat gigantic portions in our house), this probably really does serve close to eight. leftovers, here we come.
oh...and one more thing - while delicious, the many veggies, quinoa and two kinds of beans combo could probably be used as some form of bio-fuel to propel an airplane from here to nyc, so...plan your schedule accordingly...if you know what i mean. ;)
alright...so, quinoa chili - originally found on the picky palate blog
*one cup uncooked quinoa
*two tablespoons (maybe more...there are a lot of veggies!) grapeseed oil (she calls for extra virgin olive oil)
*one large onion, chopped
*five stalks of celery, chopped (i halved these lengthwise first)
*five carrots, peeled and sliced
*two bell peppers, one yellow, one orange, diced (her recipe calls for 5-6 sweet peppers...i couldn't find these, so i sub-ed...still yummy)
*one zucchini, quartered and sliced
*two yellow (like crookneck or whatever they're called...the small ones) squash, quartered and sliced
*four cloves of garlic, smashed and finely chopped...minced, whatever...
*32 oz of broth (i used chicken...but, you could use whatever you like or have around)
*two 15oz cans of diced tomatoes
*two cans of beans (i used one great northern white and one kidney. her recipe calls for two cans white...i'm sure you could even sub black beans and healthy it up even more...)
*two tablespoons cumin
*1.5 tablespoons chili powder
*pinch of salt (coarse ground = better)
*one teaspoon lime juice
*one teaspoon hot sauce (which as i re-look over this recipe, i realize i forgot to put in. oh well.)
*cilantro (which i also forgot until dinner was on the table, at which point i was much too lazy to do more chopping!)
here we go:
*cook quinoa. combine one cup uncooked, rinsed quinoa with 1 1/4 cups of water or broth. bring to a boil, stir once, reduce heat to low, cover and cook until water is absorbed. set aside.
*brown meat until cooked through and set aside (if you're adding meat...i used one pound of ground dark turkey meat)
*heat oil in LARGE stock pot or dutch oven over med-high heat. add onions, celery, carrots, zucchini, squash and peppers. cook until softened (she says 5-8 minutes, i needed longer).
*add garlic and pinch of salt and cook another minute (or however long it takes you to open all the stuff to add next)
*add stock, tomatoes, beans, quinoa, cumin, chili powder, hot sauce (i left it out and it tasted just great...not sure baby would have handled it so well with the hot sauce...), lime juice, meat (optional...i guess we've probably covered that) and cilantro leaves
*simmer on low-ish until serving
*serve with whatever garnishes you like...avocado, salsa, tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, cilantro, sour cream...you name it!
enjoy!!
also...in case you're interested, here are the links the other recipes:
-broccoli cheddar from 101 cookbooks (the croutons are totally worth the moderate hassle of making them!)
-potato leek from my blog
-artichoke from simply recipes
-beef barley from taste of home
over the past few weeks, i've made broccoli cheddar, potato leek (the revisited failure, revamped and yum), artichoke, beef barley, (i feel like i'm missing one) and tonight, quinoa chili. i must say, they were all pretty darn tasty. i may have got a little cheese crazy with the broccoli cheddar (i have a tendency to do that). the potato leek was decidedly better than the original recipe and i would describe it as yummy, but i'm still not sure i'd make it again. beef barley = delish. the artichoke one could be tweaked a bit, but all in all, good flavor. tonight's = bomb. yup, i just said "bomb"...as in "the bomb...like the money..." anyone?? anyway, it was so good, that i wanted to share it! i forgot to take pictures...doh! but, worth making it and taking your own. :)
this is originally a vegetarian recipe (well, i suppose vegan, really), but i decided to add ground turkey for a little more "umpf". i also used chicken stock instead of veggie because i had it on hand and garnished it with a dollop of sour cream and some cheddar cheese (obviously not vegan garnishes...). soooo good.
oh...also, i should note, while some recipes claim to serve 8-10 people and actually serve four (or maybe we just eat gigantic portions in our house), this probably really does serve close to eight. leftovers, here we come.
oh...and one more thing - while delicious, the many veggies, quinoa and two kinds of beans combo could probably be used as some form of bio-fuel to propel an airplane from here to nyc, so...plan your schedule accordingly...if you know what i mean. ;)
alright...so, quinoa chili - originally found on the picky palate blog
*one cup uncooked quinoa
*two tablespoons (maybe more...there are a lot of veggies!) grapeseed oil (she calls for extra virgin olive oil)
*one large onion, chopped
*five stalks of celery, chopped (i halved these lengthwise first)
*five carrots, peeled and sliced
*two bell peppers, one yellow, one orange, diced (her recipe calls for 5-6 sweet peppers...i couldn't find these, so i sub-ed...still yummy)
*one zucchini, quartered and sliced
*two yellow (like crookneck or whatever they're called...the small ones) squash, quartered and sliced
*four cloves of garlic, smashed and finely chopped...minced, whatever...
*32 oz of broth (i used chicken...but, you could use whatever you like or have around)
*two 15oz cans of diced tomatoes
*two cans of beans (i used one great northern white and one kidney. her recipe calls for two cans white...i'm sure you could even sub black beans and healthy it up even more...)
*two tablespoons cumin
*1.5 tablespoons chili powder
*pinch of salt (coarse ground = better)
*one teaspoon lime juice
*one teaspoon hot sauce (which as i re-look over this recipe, i realize i forgot to put in. oh well.)
*cilantro (which i also forgot until dinner was on the table, at which point i was much too lazy to do more chopping!)
here we go:
*cook quinoa. combine one cup uncooked, rinsed quinoa with 1 1/4 cups of water or broth. bring to a boil, stir once, reduce heat to low, cover and cook until water is absorbed. set aside.
*brown meat until cooked through and set aside (if you're adding meat...i used one pound of ground dark turkey meat)
*heat oil in LARGE stock pot or dutch oven over med-high heat. add onions, celery, carrots, zucchini, squash and peppers. cook until softened (she says 5-8 minutes, i needed longer).
*add garlic and pinch of salt and cook another minute (or however long it takes you to open all the stuff to add next)
*add stock, tomatoes, beans, quinoa, cumin, chili powder, hot sauce (i left it out and it tasted just great...not sure baby would have handled it so well with the hot sauce...), lime juice, meat (optional...i guess we've probably covered that) and cilantro leaves
*simmer on low-ish until serving
*serve with whatever garnishes you like...avocado, salsa, tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, cilantro, sour cream...you name it!
enjoy!!
also...in case you're interested, here are the links the other recipes:
-broccoli cheddar from 101 cookbooks (the croutons are totally worth the moderate hassle of making them!)
-potato leek from my blog
-artichoke from simply recipes
-beef barley from taste of home
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
a plea for help...
april 12th, 2009, two years ago today, was the due date of our first born. a little girl. sofia. sadly, we didn't make it to that due date...instead, she was stillborn at five months on december 7th, 2008. her time in this world was much too short, but she helped lay so much of the groundwork for the lives that we currently lead and the for the way that we parent. for that, we are eternally grateful. (for the full story of our little angle, you can read "the story of sofia" - parts one and two in my blog archive- way back in september 2010.)
every april, as a reminder of her short, but amazing life, we walk. as a way to share her love with the world, we walk. as a way to raise money to help fight against that pain happening to other families, we walk.
this year is our third year walking in the march of dimes, march for babies here in los angeles. the past two years combined, we have raised over $1100! this year, we would love to push that total up over $1500. it is because of the love and support of our wonderful family and friends that we have been successful in the past. it is all of you that we are asking for help from once again.
according to the march of dimes, 1 in 8 babies is born too soon, with serious negative effects potentially lasting a lifetime and sadly, "more newborns die of premature birth than any other cause". how does march of dimes help? in short, the march of dimes champions the needs of moms and babies in our community and across the nation. the money we raise for march for babies will support lifesaving research, services, education and advocacy that help babies get a healthy start. our team web-page has more information on what the march of dimes works for. it is an incredibly important cause, please help us help them!
if you feel that you are able, please go to our team page and donate. if you are unable to donate financially, please send beautiful, positive energy and prayers (if you are a pray-er) for the peaceful rest of our little girl's soul and for health of the thousands of other babies born prematurely each year. our web-page is: http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/forourangelbabysofia
every april, as a reminder of her short, but amazing life, we walk. as a way to share her love with the world, we walk. as a way to raise money to help fight against that pain happening to other families, we walk.
this year is our third year walking in the march of dimes, march for babies here in los angeles. the past two years combined, we have raised over $1100! this year, we would love to push that total up over $1500. it is because of the love and support of our wonderful family and friends that we have been successful in the past. it is all of you that we are asking for help from once again.
according to the march of dimes, 1 in 8 babies is born too soon, with serious negative effects potentially lasting a lifetime and sadly, "more newborns die of premature birth than any other cause". how does march of dimes help? in short, the march of dimes champions the needs of moms and babies in our community and across the nation. the money we raise for march for babies will support lifesaving research, services, education and advocacy that help babies get a healthy start. our team web-page has more information on what the march of dimes works for. it is an incredibly important cause, please help us help them!
if you feel that you are able, please go to our team page and donate. if you are unable to donate financially, please send beautiful, positive energy and prayers (if you are a pray-er) for the peaceful rest of our little girl's soul and for health of the thousands of other babies born prematurely each year. our web-page is: http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/forourangelbabysofia
pictures from our first year (2009)
these are our shirts that we had made. i designed the angel on the front. the poem is one that we found...
they sent all the "family teams" blank quilt squares...this was the one i decorated.
pictures from 2010
my daddy joined us last year! and it was noly's first year!
our little family at the quilt from 2009. nolan was checking out sofia's quilt square out. :)
trunk diaper change...little guy!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
my roller coaster of emotion at the la county recorder's office
on friday of this past week, nolan and i took a quick trip to the la county recorder's office to (finally) get his birth certificate. i actually filled out the application (that was sent home with us from the hospital) some time last year...then a month ago, i actually wrote a check with the intention of sending it off in the mail. that plan, however failed when i realized if i mailed it, i had to take it to a notary first...so...a field trip. i had no idea it would be a field trip with such a roller coaster of emotion!
RELIEF: i had dreaded going, figuring it was going to be far away and we would have to wait in a big long line--dmv style. instead, i was pleasantly surprised. it took me maybe 20 minutes to get there and probably less than 10 minutes from the time i walked in the building to the time i returned to my car, birth certificate in hand! the gal at the counter said it is normally much busier than it was, so we must have had luck on our side. (we also found free parking a short, sunny walk away! nice!)
FEAR: we walked in the building and i had to go through security, which for some reason always makes me nervous...like i'm hiding some knife that i don't know about or something...i know...weird. made it through just fine, no stowaway knives and i didn't even have to take the baby out of the ergo...sweet!
JOY: up the elevator to level six...recorder's office. in the area just outside of the elevator there were two brides! all gussied up in white dresses and flashy shoes taking pictures with their bridesmaids, family, etc. at first, this struck me as odd...then i thought..."why odd?" just because it is at the courthouse doesn't make it any less special! after that brief confusion was sorted out, i felt like i was getting to participate in their weddings...and i got that warm all over, lovey-dovey feeling you get when you are in the presence of love and the beginning of a new life together.
REFLECTION: i continued on my way, through the doors and into line. a sign above the window stated what types of business could be done there. it read, "birth, marriage, death"...there it was, all on one sign, three of the most important things in life...quite possibly, the three most important. it made me think of how much of a part of peoples' lives the lady behind the desk is. i'm not sure she felt that way. ;)
EXCITEMENT: i'm up. i handed the lady our application and credit card (oddly, they don't take visa...weird. discover, yes. american expresss, yes. visa, no...hmmm...), paid $19, signed the receipt and suddenly my baby was certifiably born (13.5 months after his first entry into the world).
HEARTBREAK: i thought it a good idea to step to the side and read it over to make sure everything was accurate. then, my heart broke. the very top of the certificate it says, "certificate of live birth". i immediately thought of our sweet sofia and how we never were able to get her a birth certificate. not 13.5 months late, not ever. merely a certificate of death. i held back my tears and walked out the door thankful for the life i was holding.
RELIEF: i had dreaded going, figuring it was going to be far away and we would have to wait in a big long line--dmv style. instead, i was pleasantly surprised. it took me maybe 20 minutes to get there and probably less than 10 minutes from the time i walked in the building to the time i returned to my car, birth certificate in hand! the gal at the counter said it is normally much busier than it was, so we must have had luck on our side. (we also found free parking a short, sunny walk away! nice!)
FEAR: we walked in the building and i had to go through security, which for some reason always makes me nervous...like i'm hiding some knife that i don't know about or something...i know...weird. made it through just fine, no stowaway knives and i didn't even have to take the baby out of the ergo...sweet!
JOY: up the elevator to level six...recorder's office. in the area just outside of the elevator there were two brides! all gussied up in white dresses and flashy shoes taking pictures with their bridesmaids, family, etc. at first, this struck me as odd...then i thought..."why odd?" just because it is at the courthouse doesn't make it any less special! after that brief confusion was sorted out, i felt like i was getting to participate in their weddings...and i got that warm all over, lovey-dovey feeling you get when you are in the presence of love and the beginning of a new life together.
REFLECTION: i continued on my way, through the doors and into line. a sign above the window stated what types of business could be done there. it read, "birth, marriage, death"...there it was, all on one sign, three of the most important things in life...quite possibly, the three most important. it made me think of how much of a part of peoples' lives the lady behind the desk is. i'm not sure she felt that way. ;)
EXCITEMENT: i'm up. i handed the lady our application and credit card (oddly, they don't take visa...weird. discover, yes. american expresss, yes. visa, no...hmmm...), paid $19, signed the receipt and suddenly my baby was certifiably born (13.5 months after his first entry into the world).
HEARTBREAK: i thought it a good idea to step to the side and read it over to make sure everything was accurate. then, my heart broke. the very top of the certificate it says, "certificate of live birth". i immediately thought of our sweet sofia and how we never were able to get her a birth certificate. not 13.5 months late, not ever. merely a certificate of death. i held back my tears and walked out the door thankful for the life i was holding.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
screaming, screaming, and more screaming
last night, anthony, nolan and i went out for dinner. as we were finishing up our meal, the screaming began. at a table across the dining room sat two girls (women? they looked like they were really young 20s) and two babes (young enough to be in highchairs, but i'd say older than one). i believe only one of the little ones was upset, but, man...that kid was UP-SET! so, what did the mama do? nothing. yup...zero. not a thing. ask the baby why he was so upset? no. ask the baby to please be quite while in the restaurant? no. try to distract him with something esle? huh uh. perhaps pick the baby up or take him out of the dining area? nope. even speak a word to the baby? no! both girls just sat there nearly half smiling, not saying a word...just eating there food and staring at the kid! i was so irritated. less at the whole, i'm-trying-to-eat-in-peace bit and more at the mama-baby interaction.
qualifications to the above story:
1. i have no idea what upset the boy in the first place
2. i do not know this boy or how he normally behaves
3. said restaurant was not the lobster, boa steakhouse or some other fancy place...it was souplantation (known to you north-westerners as sweet tomatoes. i tell you, when i don't feel good, all i want is there boring, homemade, delicious chicken noodle soup and their totally un-organic, super gnarly, drippy salad bar ranch dressing all over an iceberg lettuce salad)
4. i was going on 48 hours of a mastitis infection complete with fever, chills, headache and any other flu-like symptom you can think of...so, my mood was probably not the best
alright...to continue...
when we left (roughly five minutes into the screaming...i have no idea how much longer it went on) this poor little man was choking on his tears he was so sad. i wanted so very badly to go over to her and say, "your child has been screaming and uncontrollably crying for five minutes now. if you are trying to teach him something and that is how you feel it should be taught, well, i don't agree with you, but your parenting choices are yours to make...but, why don't you pick up your child? talk to your child? remove him from the situation? if not for his sake then for the sake of all of those around you who are trying to eat!" instead...i muttered under my breath and walked out totally upset by the situation.
now, before asking my next question, i should say, nolan was being incredibly sweet throughout dinner. he was smiling and waiving at the surrounding people, eating quietly and not throwing anything. we were incredibly grateful. you see, we too have had a few angry baby meals out...when these have occurred, we have done the following: first, try to decipher why he his upset. followed by trying to solve it or distract him, combined with trying to talk to him about how it is not okay to yell at the dinner table, especially when we are out. if all of that has failed, one of us gets up with him and removes him from the situation. no, it is not super-fun to sit and wolf down food at the speed of light by yourself while your other half is walking around with the baby or walk around with the baby while your other half eats...unfortunately, that is a risk you take when you take a toddler out to eat.
so...what do you think?
a. i had ever right to be as upset, irritated, baffled, appalled, etc. as i was, but did the right thing by not overstepping my bounds and saying something to her
b. i was right in feeling as i did and should have said what i so badly wanted to say
c. i'm a horrible person, shouldn't have thought anything of it, and it is certainly a good thing i didn't say anything...and now you hate me.
d. other (please specify)
qualifications to the above story:
1. i have no idea what upset the boy in the first place
2. i do not know this boy or how he normally behaves
3. said restaurant was not the lobster, boa steakhouse or some other fancy place...it was souplantation (known to you north-westerners as sweet tomatoes. i tell you, when i don't feel good, all i want is there boring, homemade, delicious chicken noodle soup and their totally un-organic, super gnarly, drippy salad bar ranch dressing all over an iceberg lettuce salad)
4. i was going on 48 hours of a mastitis infection complete with fever, chills, headache and any other flu-like symptom you can think of...so, my mood was probably not the best
alright...to continue...
when we left (roughly five minutes into the screaming...i have no idea how much longer it went on) this poor little man was choking on his tears he was so sad. i wanted so very badly to go over to her and say, "your child has been screaming and uncontrollably crying for five minutes now. if you are trying to teach him something and that is how you feel it should be taught, well, i don't agree with you, but your parenting choices are yours to make...but, why don't you pick up your child? talk to your child? remove him from the situation? if not for his sake then for the sake of all of those around you who are trying to eat!" instead...i muttered under my breath and walked out totally upset by the situation.
now, before asking my next question, i should say, nolan was being incredibly sweet throughout dinner. he was smiling and waiving at the surrounding people, eating quietly and not throwing anything. we were incredibly grateful. you see, we too have had a few angry baby meals out...when these have occurred, we have done the following: first, try to decipher why he his upset. followed by trying to solve it or distract him, combined with trying to talk to him about how it is not okay to yell at the dinner table, especially when we are out. if all of that has failed, one of us gets up with him and removes him from the situation. no, it is not super-fun to sit and wolf down food at the speed of light by yourself while your other half is walking around with the baby or walk around with the baby while your other half eats...unfortunately, that is a risk you take when you take a toddler out to eat.
so...what do you think?
a. i had ever right to be as upset, irritated, baffled, appalled, etc. as i was, but did the right thing by not overstepping my bounds and saying something to her
b. i was right in feeling as i did and should have said what i so badly wanted to say
c. i'm a horrible person, shouldn't have thought anything of it, and it is certainly a good thing i didn't say anything...and now you hate me.
d. other (please specify)
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
bay area adventures
i learned a few things about myself this past weekend on our trip up to northern california. 1) i think it is kind of fun to not have any plans and to fly by the seat of our pants (sometimes). 2) as cool as i think the idea of seeing a ghost sounds, i'm totally scared out of my mind when it actually becomes a possibility. 3) i love the bay area.
1) i think it is kind of fun to not have any plans and to fly by the seat of our pants (sometimes):
obviously, we had plane tickets...on a plane that left lax at 6:10am (ouch...though, in then end, it worked out very well) and we had a scheduled ride to the airport (on the super-shuttle with the grouchiest driver ever, that ended up being more expensive than if we had driven ourselves and parked our car in long term parking...but, whatever). but, when we got to san francisco, we had no real plans to speak of. an idea, i suppose, but no set plans. thank goodness for telephone internet...(man, how did i fight against that for so long! iphone gps and google search: i love you).
we "googled" best breakfast in the area, found a delicious little restaurant along the embarcadero south of the bay bridge called "towns end," made only one wrong turn and had to loop around the ol' one-ways an extra time, parked, and enjoyed a lovely meal. after breaky, we walked up the embarcadero to the bay bridge and then south to at&t park, took some pictures, nursed the baby, got him to sleep, made the transfer to the car seat and we were off. short, foggy, rainy first stop in san francisco...but, it already roped me in.
we headed up the 101 to alexander valley (named after an old guy named cyrus alexander, who originally owned the land up there) in sonoma county to the alexander valley vineyards. met dale, the super-friendly wine tasting room manager, had a few tastes of wine, got a tour of the winery and the caves (soooo cool...in temperature as well as awesomeness) and then went to see where we were going to be staying.
one of anthony's wine reps hooked us up with this vineyard and accommodations and we were super-excited...and then...
we were to stay in the old alexander valley (one room) school house from the olden days. ;) it was built in 1868 and has since been completely refurbished (is beautiful) and moved to its current location at the alexander valley vineyards. on our way back out to the car to take dale back to the tasting room, i thought it a good idea (why, i don't know) to ask him if it was haunted. whoops. dale: "why...have you heard something?" me: "no, it's just so old, you know?" dale: "well, i'm not going to lie...it is". me: "well crap." apparently, old cyrus hangs out there pretty regularly and shows himself mainly to women (great...). there have been MANY consistent sightings of him doing the same three things: sitting at the desk as if writing a letter, pulling back the covers on one of the beds and opening the drawers in the kitchen. "but, don't worry...he's a nice ghost"...at first, i thought it was so neat...i later realized otherwise...but, that is part of thing number two that i learned about myself and comes a little later in the blog. :)
we spent the next day in santa rosa. i was really excited to go there as i had heard some cool things about it: very liberal, great family place, amazing park, yadda yadda...while it was super-cute and the amazing park was really amazing, the town itself was incredibly small. had it not been raining, we would have had much more to do at howarth park (lake with swimming, paddle boats, sailing, sailing lessons, kayaking, fishing, a carousel, a mini train, an animal farm complete with horsies to ride, many different picnic areas, kids play areas and open grass, tennis courts, a softball field and hiking and biking trails!!), but all we could manage was a quick trip around the park under an umbrella and a carousel ride that came with mixed reviews by nolan. by the afternoon, we had run out of things to do and ended up at the mall. yup, the mall...where the finest shop was macy's. :) there was, however, a stride rite store, so we went and had nolan's feet measusred for his first pair of shoes! (but...they didn't have his size in the two types we liked, so i'm going to order them).
monday, we got up and drove back south to san francisco with detours (intentional) through san rafael and berkeley on our way. again, i'd like to thank iphone gps for helping us navigate all over the place. we only had a couple of hours before we had to get back to the airport, so we went to fisherman's warf, grabbed some lunch and ice cream and walked around a bit before realizing that we infact do not know how to do math backwards from a departure time and nearly missed our flight (as in...we checked our bags with two minutes to spare, one of them didn't make it on the plane and we were the second to last people to board)...whoops. thankfully, my dear sweet husband kept it together, stayed positive and reassured me that "whatever happens, happens...we had a great time. if we don't make it on this one, there will be another one shortly...or we'll ride the bart back to town and stay another night...put it on m'tab" - he's amazing.
2) as cool as i think the idea of seeing a ghost sounds, i'm totally scared out of my mind when it actually becomes a possibility:
so...we saw the place, we took dale back, went to have some dinner in healdsburg (which as a side note is a super-cute town that is very "green" and i loved the h2hotel that we ate at) and got back to the ol' school house by 6:30. nolan was exhausted so, no bathies just straight to nursing and night night. he conked out and i was waiting our ten minutes before transitioning him to the bed. anthony was curled up and alseep on the couch in front of me, i tried to sneak in a meditation. couldn't do it. i couldn't keep my eyes of that stupid desk chair! it wasn't even dark out yet and i was totally freaked out. but, i tried to keep it together.
i woke up anthony and had him go upstairs to the loft where the extremely high beds were so he would be in bed when i put nolan down. i got all my stuff and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. by the time i got upstairs it was still a little bit light out, was only 7:30 and i was even more freaked out. i figured i would read a bit until i got sleepy and could convince myself to nod off. but, the only light that wasn't crazy bright and wouldn't keep my boys up was across the room...and i wasn't about to have to get up in the dark to turn it off and be tempted to look over the balcony at that stupid desk.
at that point, i caved...i told anthony how freaked i was. and...he was too! hahaha...so, we packed up all our stuff, re-loaded the car, WOKE UP OUR BABY (crazy parents...luckily, he went right back to sleep in the car), left the creepy old school house, drove a half hour south to santa rosa, found a hyatt and booked two nights there. as silly as it sounds, i was so happy with our decision. ghost or no...i was not going to get any sleep that night...and i had been up since 3:00am the night before.
3) i love the bay area:
pretty self explanatory...it is absolutely beautiful. it is green and "green". there is no smog. the people are so nice. it was even rainy two of the three days we were up there...still loved it. can't wait to go back for a little more focused time in san fran!
1) i think it is kind of fun to not have any plans and to fly by the seat of our pants (sometimes):
obviously, we had plane tickets...on a plane that left lax at 6:10am (ouch...though, in then end, it worked out very well) and we had a scheduled ride to the airport (on the super-shuttle with the grouchiest driver ever, that ended up being more expensive than if we had driven ourselves and parked our car in long term parking...but, whatever). but, when we got to san francisco, we had no real plans to speak of. an idea, i suppose, but no set plans. thank goodness for telephone internet...(man, how did i fight against that for so long! iphone gps and google search: i love you).
we "googled" best breakfast in the area, found a delicious little restaurant along the embarcadero south of the bay bridge called "towns end," made only one wrong turn and had to loop around the ol' one-ways an extra time, parked, and enjoyed a lovely meal. after breaky, we walked up the embarcadero to the bay bridge and then south to at&t park, took some pictures, nursed the baby, got him to sleep, made the transfer to the car seat and we were off. short, foggy, rainy first stop in san francisco...but, it already roped me in.
outside the restaurant
the bay bridge
that's at&t park to our left...the gal taking the picture didn't quite get that that was the point...
my silly baby and me
nolan and dada outside the ballpark
from the car window...
we headed up the 101 to alexander valley (named after an old guy named cyrus alexander, who originally owned the land up there) in sonoma county to the alexander valley vineyards. met dale, the super-friendly wine tasting room manager, had a few tastes of wine, got a tour of the winery and the caves (soooo cool...in temperature as well as awesomeness) and then went to see where we were going to be staying.
one of anthony's wine reps hooked us up with this vineyard and accommodations and we were super-excited...and then...
we were to stay in the old alexander valley (one room) school house from the olden days. ;) it was built in 1868 and has since been completely refurbished (is beautiful) and moved to its current location at the alexander valley vineyards. on our way back out to the car to take dale back to the tasting room, i thought it a good idea (why, i don't know) to ask him if it was haunted. whoops. dale: "why...have you heard something?" me: "no, it's just so old, you know?" dale: "well, i'm not going to lie...it is". me: "well crap." apparently, old cyrus hangs out there pretty regularly and shows himself mainly to women (great...). there have been MANY consistent sightings of him doing the same three things: sitting at the desk as if writing a letter, pulling back the covers on one of the beds and opening the drawers in the kitchen. "but, don't worry...he's a nice ghost"...at first, i thought it was so neat...i later realized otherwise...but, that is part of thing number two that i learned about myself and comes a little later in the blog. :)
the cave entrance
the tasting room
wine aging in the cave...so cool
nolan and dale...he really like our little guy
front "yard" of the school house
the school house
the living space...note the animal heads...creepy
beautiful view out the back window....and...a bearskin rug...no biggy
cyrus's hangout
we spent the next day in santa rosa. i was really excited to go there as i had heard some cool things about it: very liberal, great family place, amazing park, yadda yadda...while it was super-cute and the amazing park was really amazing, the town itself was incredibly small. had it not been raining, we would have had much more to do at howarth park (lake with swimming, paddle boats, sailing, sailing lessons, kayaking, fishing, a carousel, a mini train, an animal farm complete with horsies to ride, many different picnic areas, kids play areas and open grass, tennis courts, a softball field and hiking and biking trails!!), but all we could manage was a quick trip around the park under an umbrella and a carousel ride that came with mixed reviews by nolan. by the afternoon, we had run out of things to do and ended up at the mall. yup, the mall...where the finest shop was macy's. :) there was, however, a stride rite store, so we went and had nolan's feet measusred for his first pair of shoes! (but...they didn't have his size in the two types we liked, so i'm going to order them).
carousel at howarth park
crazy white rasta guy in a blazers' jersey playing the trumpet and singing outside the santa rosa barnes and noble...come on...that deserves a dollar...and a picture!
me, nolan and paper mache hearts lucy! there is a charles schulz museum there...therefore peanuts statues all over town...
nolan was a little uncertain of the situation. i'm a little uncertain why this picture won't turn...
"what?"
"why is this on my foot?"
he totally refused to walk while we were in the store...figures...
the warf
waving
crazy san francisco magnet shop...
"ooohhh...mama!"
watching mama...and the pigeons!
i also realized on this trip that i take a lot of pictures at an unintentional slight angle...whoops...
alcatraz!
all in all, a whirlwind, but great, great trip!2) as cool as i think the idea of seeing a ghost sounds, i'm totally scared out of my mind when it actually becomes a possibility:
so...we saw the place, we took dale back, went to have some dinner in healdsburg (which as a side note is a super-cute town that is very "green" and i loved the h2hotel that we ate at) and got back to the ol' school house by 6:30. nolan was exhausted so, no bathies just straight to nursing and night night. he conked out and i was waiting our ten minutes before transitioning him to the bed. anthony was curled up and alseep on the couch in front of me, i tried to sneak in a meditation. couldn't do it. i couldn't keep my eyes of that stupid desk chair! it wasn't even dark out yet and i was totally freaked out. but, i tried to keep it together.
i woke up anthony and had him go upstairs to the loft where the extremely high beds were so he would be in bed when i put nolan down. i got all my stuff and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. by the time i got upstairs it was still a little bit light out, was only 7:30 and i was even more freaked out. i figured i would read a bit until i got sleepy and could convince myself to nod off. but, the only light that wasn't crazy bright and wouldn't keep my boys up was across the room...and i wasn't about to have to get up in the dark to turn it off and be tempted to look over the balcony at that stupid desk.
at that point, i caved...i told anthony how freaked i was. and...he was too! hahaha...so, we packed up all our stuff, re-loaded the car, WOKE UP OUR BABY (crazy parents...luckily, he went right back to sleep in the car), left the creepy old school house, drove a half hour south to santa rosa, found a hyatt and booked two nights there. as silly as it sounds, i was so happy with our decision. ghost or no...i was not going to get any sleep that night...and i had been up since 3:00am the night before.
3) i love the bay area:
pretty self explanatory...it is absolutely beautiful. it is green and "green". there is no smog. the people are so nice. it was even rainy two of the three days we were up there...still loved it. can't wait to go back for a little more focused time in san fran!
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