Overdue...things past, and things to come.

Oh my. Once again, quite remiss in writing. It has been insanely busy, and let's go ahead and face it: Ian needs to be chided. I partly wait for him to update, but noooo...start this blog thing and then force me to upkeep. Not that I mind so much. Just that I miss hearing his voice in here.

I want to begin by admitting that right now I'm just going to talk about our most recent weekend fun, when Quinney came to visit us. It's long overdue (a week and a half later!--unacceptable), and what's even worse, perhaps, is that it will be SHORT. Ian and I are leaving in about an hour to go on vacation. YAY! That's right, a real vacation. We're headed to the Philippines to meet my Dad and all the filipino relatives. It's Ian's first time, and I'm really excited for him to go. We're not staying a long time (a week), but as busy as this month will be, I'll take what I can get.

So, weekend with Quinney. I'll say it more with pictures. I will point out that the weather, although predicting rain, ended up being quite lovely. Chilly, but sunny and clear. It made for 2 great full days of sight-seeing.

Friday night, we took it easy. We had some home-cooking at home, lit a fire and barely played a game of Clue before bedtime.

Saturday, it was to Tangerine for breakfast (a new one for us, and a very tasty, unique one indeed). Then we headed through the Castro, up to Union Square, on to visit the Sea Lions at the Fisherman's Wharf, over to Ghiradelli Square for Kara's Cupcakes...hm...what else did we cram in there? We went back to the Castro (where I had NOTHING to do with Quinney's decision to buy a fab painting / picture), and then to a surprisingly fantastic and homey Italian restaurant for dinner. It was an early night--partly because we had crammed so much in. A reminder that part of good, easy friendships is that you're comfortable enough to just be comfortable. We played Trivial Pursuit (ok, ok, I'll go ahead and gloat now at my victory), and it was bedtime again.

Sunday we had brunch at Mission Beach and were off in the car to cross the Golden Gate up to Muir Woods (home of the famous, enormous redwoods). We stayed for about 2 hours, hit a fruit stand for some snacks and headed home to walk down Valencia for even more shopping. Again, I had nothing to do with Quinney's decisions to buy a sweater, dress, OR a hat.

Dinner was spent with CarrieCarrie at Foreign Cinema, and it was delightful. Ian drove Quinney to the airport bright and early (5ish) the following morning. So happy to have had her come and visit. It was just plain fun and comfy.

Next time we write, it will be over a week from now, and we should have some fun stories and adventures from the Philippines. Hooray for vacation. Check you cats out then.

If I were an airline, my name would be Stewart.

Mexican Mush Night! Ole!

It was Mexican Mush night here at the Goode household. Mexican mush is a Hippo-inspired beach dish, which basically takes all the ingredients typically found in delicious tacos (ground beef or turkey, spanish rice, black beans, cheese, sour cream, fresh guacamole, tomatoes, salsa, cilantro, hard tacos), and you mix everything up together in a plate. It's a veritable Mexican topping buffet.

Much easier to eat this delicious concotion with a fork than the old-fashioned taco way. Although it may not look as appetizing as it is (although not nearly as gross in appearance as Hippo Kirsten's Barfy Brunch), you have to take our word that it's yummy. Best accompanied by beer.

Oftentimes at dinner, Ian and I like to try out different cards of our Table Topics deck. Basically, they're conversation starters. Tonight's hot topic came not from the deck, but from simple conversation. And so I'm asking you all a serious question. And this is meant to be serious, and not to slight in any way.

The issue at hand is: if you're speaking with someone who has a lazy eye, or is wall-eyed, or you basically can't get a read on which eye is looking in what direction, how do you look back at them? Do you choose one eye and stare intently? Avoid eye contact at all? Shift back and forth between eyes? I'm unsure of the answer, and I know it's something Ian and I have talked about before, especially since we're both people who prefer to make direct eye contact. It's very awkward not knowing how to handle this situation. Any advice is appreciated.

So, it's late night now (OK, not that late), and Ian and I have both had our dose of Nyquil. I felt better today (though not amazing), and now Ian is starting to feel a bit of my pain from the past couple of days. Poor little guy. Hopefully we'll be up and running this weekend when Quinney comes to visit.

If I were a cold medicine, my name would be Susanne.

Spring Forward

This weekend was Spring forward. Hooray to that. Not only Spring on the clocks, but this was a gorgeous, sunny, pleasantly balmy weekend in SF! Thought I'd snap a few of our latest blooms from our private little courtyard / backyard. Hope you enjoy!
Friday night was pretty fun. In celebration of my new job (I accepted Friday...yay!), Ian and I went out for Indian and then made it to a movie at our beloved Castro Theatre. This time it was for The Last Picture Show, which was not only a screening of the film, but also Peter Bogdanovich (Director) and Cybill Sheperd were on-hand to discuss it. As always, the Castro puts on an extremely entertaining show: from the opening notes of the organist, right down to the last enthusiastic clap from the audience.

Saturday, we enjoyed part of the day outdoors, the other half of the day at home trying out a cleaning service (which is a life-saver--we're really happy about it). We then stumbled on a new restaurant that was oh-so-tasty: Conduit. It's just on the other side of the block. A little pricey for an everyday kind of place, but the food, atmosphere, and service were all excellent. Saturday night found us by the fire playing Scrabble.

Sunday we walked walked walked (that is, after Mission Beach brunch). Traversed multiple neighborhoods, but it was great exploring again. We walked through Hayes Valley, over to the Painted Ladies facing Alamo Square (we didn't quite see DJ or Stephanie Tanner, but we were on the look-out), back over to Fillmore, all the way to Union Street, where we had a much-needed beer and dinner. We stopped to collect no less than 6 cupcakes to take home with us, and went home to watch a movie and wind down.

Alas, it's Monday once again. I'm feeling terrible today for all that sunny weekend! Sore throat, temperature. Yuck! Ian is attending some function at the Apple store, so I am going to make myself something easy for dinner, slip into pj's and curl up.

Oh, and below is a random picture I took on the way home. I couldn't capture them all at once, and you can't get an idea of the size of these birds--but, well. Sheesh. SCARY.

If I were an enormously scary big black bird, my name would be Solomon.

I Can See Clearly Now. Sort of.

Last Wednesday found my on the red-eye "home"--to Durham, NC. By Thursday morning, my Mom was picking me up from good old RDU. We checked into a hotel by Southpoint mall, to a clean and comfortable room.

Thirty minutes later, we were on our way to Duke LASIK for my follow-up surgery. Dr. Kim had to lift both flaps, measure my corneas, and as it turned out was only able to perform surgery on the left eye.

One of the most exciting (kind of, but not really) things--Mom and I then went to Chick-Fil-A, which is right next to the hotel. By then, I was exhausted having had litte / no sleep. And one of SF's biggest travesty's is that there is no Chick-Fil-A anywhere nearby. Ugh. We took our feast back to the hotel, where I climbed in my jammies, ate my delicious meal, and got into bed (complete with protective eye wear).

Dinner was also Chick-Fil-A (hey, when it's not there all the time, sometimes it's OK to over-indulge). When Mom got comfy for bedtime, well, I am my mother's daughter. Note that not only did we bring the same pajama bottoms, but we also have identical feet.

My follow-up the next morning was fine. Then Mom and I went to a classic favorite for breakfast, Mad Hatter's. We stopped at Ian and my old house, and one of our old neighbors came out for a good chat. It was so strange to walk down the driveway of my old house. I felt like I should have unlocked the front door, and Howard would be waiting for me.

Then we went to the mall and did a bit of shopping. After lunch, Mom took me back to the hotel for more snoozing, and she headed back to Virginia. I have to say that Mom and I had the best time. I can't believe how much we are alike in so many ways--we were saying the same things at the same times. My friends (the Hippos) like to point out that I make noises when I eat ("mmm.." if something is delicious). When Mom and I were having lunch, I noticed she does it, too. Insane. We laughed and had great talks and it's just been too long since we've had time together like that. It was wonderful.

Friday night I took a cab to ol' McKinney. It was good to run into the people I did, as brief as it was. Quinney and drove over to Rue Cler to meet Carmen for dinner. Mm mm good. I love Rue Cler. It was so, so great being with two good friends for dinner. I miss having my friends around (more than just Ian and CarrieCarrie, anyway). Although, half the time I spent convincing them how wonderful SF is and how they need to move here in order to live a fulfilling life. More on that in another post. We hit another fave haunt afterwards for a beer, James Joyce, before Quinney took me home.

Last but not least, Saturday Stephie picked me up, and took me back to her house. We hung out with Riley Roo (who is a very grown-up 4). I brought her a few gifts (because every good aunt must), and I've got her squeezing the pig she creatively named Piggy Diggy. I like to call him P Diggy personally.

Then Steph and I saw The Other Boleyn Girl. I don't know so much about that history, but we're such suckers for a period piece, and I enjoyed it. When we got back to Steph's, Riley was up from her nap and we spent the afternoon coloring (she's an EXCELLENT colorer), watching The Little Mermaid, playing Boggle Jr., and Memory. Such a good time. We went to dinner at Outback (another little pleasure we're deprived of in SF), which was also fun.

And finally, Steph and I watched The Waitress and happy-balled (don't ask) until bedtime at a ready 10:30.

Flight left at 6 something...in the morning. I was home by noon. Ian and I had brunch at Mission Beach. Spent the day out and about, and by 9, I fell into bed. Had such a great time this weekend with friends and family, but it's good to be back in SF, too. Just makes me miss them a little more. *sigh*

Happy to report it's Wednesday! My eyes are doing well / recovering nicely. I had 5 interviews today for the other position in my company. They went really well.

I love Wednesdays because of America's Next Top Model, and it's also the season finale of Project Runway! Awesome.

Has anyone else seen this? It's been making me laugh so hard I'm crying--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fO3ISb97v4. The other night I put on a white terry cloth headband and tried to do it to Ian when he was looking in the mirror, when he was at the dresser, but he hates the face I make when I do it. It cracks me up. I also incorporated a little of it at work (thought it would be funny to spring up behind someone's cubicle wall like that, or come up behind them in the bathroom mirror). We'll see how it goes.

OK, that's enough for one post. More than enough. If I were a monster, my name would be Gerald. And I would be nice. And probably furry. Like Sully from Monsters Inc.