making it our mission

Happy Halloween, all!

2010-11-09T23:05:00.001-08:00

Hasn’t it been awhile? It sure has.

But we’re here, and doing well, and are healthy and happy! It’s our first official Halloween in our home (Ian was gone last year, and the babies weren’t quite here…). Our neighborhood, Wallingford, is considered and voted the best trick-or-treating neighborhood in Seattle! Hooray for that!

So getting into the true spirit, we opted for decorating. With the help of my good friend Kimberly, who was visiting us for the weekend from Cincinnati, we managed to carve 6 pumpkins (yes, in order you see Elmo, Ernie, Bert, Grover, and 2 funny monsters).

The girls’ got especially decked out in their Muppet costumes. Sylvie went as Kermit, Jane as Fozzie. For those that don’t know the reference (which I should assume is all of you), in the movie The Great Muppet Caper, Kermit and Fozzie are supposedly identical twins.

They debuted the costumes at their daycare for the fall festival, and rounded out the appearance at our neighbor’s pre-Trick or Treating get-together.

We had high hopes for lots of trick-or-treaters, since we have tons of neighbors with kids. Alas! Disappointment. A total of 9 trick-or-treaters. What a bummer. Especially compared to our friends Carrie and Paul, who live 8 blocks away. They tapped out at 202 trick-or-treaters, believe it or not!

I won’t give up on the holiday, or getting into it. I hope one day we’ll be one of the best houses in the hood to come to—our yard is scary enough…

Sandy the Snail

2010-07-19T23:07:00.001-07:00

The Snail is built for speed—and catchy songs about the colors of the rainbow (that is sung by a man without a great voice, but is such a catchy tune, it’s in my head for days).

We got this rocking snail off Gilt last week. The girls like it so much that we also ordered the dinosaur (should be here any day now!). Fun.

Here are Jane and Sylvie (respectively) taking turns on the little smiling guy.

Jane and Sylvie hitch a ride.

Two videos: Babies sitting! Babies talking! Babies grabbing!

2010-06-29T09:39:00.001-07:00

I see you. You see me. We are learning to sit.

We’re almost 7 months old! ROAR!

About to eat dinner….

2010-06-14T23:47:00.001-07:00

And now 6 months old! More pictures once we finally rip them off the camera (yes, we have not uploaded pictures in months and months…and months).

Hope all is well in your worlds—we are happy, happy and are loving our sweet girls.

the process of discovery

2010-04-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

One of Lori's co-workers let us borrow one of those exersaucer things that babies apparently love. The girls are not quite big enough for it yet (their feet don't touch) but we thought we'd throw them in there for a sec just to see what happened.

Lori and I love watching the babies "learn" things. Our days are about these tiny, fantastic milestones that we can see all over their faces. Lori and I were talking about it the other day, and then Dr. Bailey, on Grey's Anatomy described it so well when she talked about her son learning the "K" sound. (Yes we watch that show)

Anyway, I thought I would give you guys insight into one of those discoveries

Here is Sylvie walking us, step by step through what it's like to realize that you like something. Also, since she has no actual language or sentence structure with a bank of adjectives, we have no idea what it's like to think as a baby. I'm stepping in here to fill the gap. I'll be translating Sylvie's thoughts to English so it's easier for us all.

Step one: "What the hell is this?

"I'm upright! I, I feel like I'm floating! why is my dad not holding me and just staring at me with that silly look? how come I'm not being held? when I'm upright, someone is always holding me! How is this happening? My head is touching nothing! I am unsure! what do I do now? I think I'll make that sounds and face I usually do when I'm unsure about something. I think it goes like this... am I doing it? I am"

Step Two: "oh, wait..."

"I made the sound and no one picked me up. Why am I still here?..... wait.... is, is that, is that one of those brightly colored, smelly things that grows outside? I see those on our trips to the car and when we get in and out of our stroller. I think mom calls them flowers. How come this one doesn't smell? Hmmmmm. Curious. Well, it's really nice anyway. It's red. I think that color is nice. Maybe I could enjoy this. let me take a closer look"

Step three "Yep, I like it"

"This thing makes me feel nice inside. like when I get a bottle in the morning. yum yum. It also makes my face move in a pleasing way. Mommy calls it a smile I think. I like smile. smile feels nice. WOW! HA HA! this is so fun!"

There you go. Our daughter and her thought process. Also, As you can see, I, for some reason, decided to show that there was a space between the giant orange circle and her feet. It shows scale. they are cute and tiny.

4 month visit!

2010-04-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

The girls had their 4-month visit to the pediatrician Thursday afternoon. For the first time, I had to take them by myself since Ian was working.

It was trickier doing it alone, but I have to say that I managed it wonderfully. I had little stations set up for changing their diapers and disposing of them, and felt very organized.

Even though the girls at daycare said that they didn't nap much that morning, thankfully the Sylvie and Jane were complete angels. They laughed and smiled, and were extra sweet. They both cried receiving one of the shots, but calmed soon after. It was a good day for it overall.

They're doing great! Sylvie is up to 11 lbs 14oz, and Jane is 12 lbs 8.5oz. I can't believe some babies are born that big....Jane is 26 inches long--in the 95th percentile for their age--Sylvie is almost as long.

Anyway, I snapped these while they were on the table waiting for the doctor. They look conjoined. They've come a long way since that first visit Ian posted.

Spring has sprung!

2010-03-28T20:57:00.001-07:00

We had every intention of being better about updating the blog. Instead, here we are--the girls 4 months old (today!) and hardly a post. Now I should finally admit it, instead of making empty promises--we'll post when we post.

Here's the catch-up paragraph(s)--the last 4 months. It's been great. We're lucky. Not just saying that. I know we are. Yes, we have two beautiful girls and everyone is supposed to say how lucky they are. But I think we have exceptional, good girls. They are happy. They are smiley and they laugh hysterically. They have been sleeping through the night since the day I returned to work (how did they know?!?), which has been about a month now. In fact, last night they slept 12 hours! Insane. Everyone at daycare loves them, and tells us what good babies they are. Couples in the street can't believe they sleep through the night.

Now I know what you're thinking--it won't last. And I'm sure it won't. But we're taking it for now.

They've been a joy. They've (overall) been easy. There weren't many times we felt sleep deprived. We're getting out, though I must admit it's more of an ordeal. And we even traveled to the east coast for 2 weeks when they were almost 3 months old. They were perfect on the long journeys.

I've been back to work for 1 month. The first week was great--easy because the workload was light, and daycare started off great, and the girls started sleeping through the night.

The following 3 weeks were a bit difficult--preparing for one of the biggest, most challenging meetings I've had to worry about, changing positions (taking on several new accounts), being stressed at work. My meeting was last week, and I'm moving on. Hopefully things at work will normalize somewhat.

We've also had guests for the weekend twice this month--good times overall.

Now to focus on some current things. Yesterday was a great day. One of the things Ian and I have been doing is spending a day every weekend (the nicest day, typically) to explore a new neighborhood. We hit up Queen Anne, Tangletown, and other parts of our neighborhood. The weather this winter has been exceptional.

Yesterday, we woke up around the usual weekend time (7:00), and fed the girls. They're the best in the mornings, so we lounged around and hung out with the babies. Then it's activity time for the girls. While I spent time with the girls, Ian made a delicious stack of blueberry pancakes. Yum.

He took off to play soccer with some friends at Green Lake around 11. About 10 minutes later, I had the girls packed up in their stroller and we were heading out on the town. We stopped in Meridian Park, and ran into our neighbor Jim, with his son Hughie and their new twin boys (Jane and Sylvie's betrothed). I stood and chatted with him for about 45 minutes, before moving on and walking around streets I had yet to explore. The day was gorgeous, and everything is blooming here. I met another neighbor, Helena, who has twins as well.

When I got home, the girls and I had lunch, and then took naps while Ian watched some TV. I then grabbed a shower, and we got ready to meet the Gilmartins for dinner at Tutta Bella. The girls were complete angels at dinner.

We all walked to Molly Moon's ice cream after and then went home. After hanging out more with the girls, we put them down a little after 8. At 9, we were heading over to our next door neighbors' house with a bottle of wine and the baby monitor in tow. We all sat by the fireplace until almost midnight, when Ian and I slunk back through the gate to our house and crashed.

I miss San Francisco a lot. I figured out one reason--that I know what perfect days are like there. That if someone told me to take a day off from work, and go after my perfect day, there are a million scenarios (brunch at Absinthe, walking through Hayes Valley, or Noe Valley, Chrissy Field, or Golden Gate Park...a movie at the Castro, etc....). Limitless! But the timing for moving here was poor--I was 5 months pregnant, and seemingly shortly after on bed rest. And not much time since then to figure out what my perfect days would be like.

I think yesterday would be one of them. Another one of my favorite moments was last weekend. We were walking back from Green Lake, and when we walked by Carrie and Paul's house, they and neighbors we knew were all on the sidewalk having a beer. We joined. It was a gorgeous day. After our beer, we moved along towards home, and waved at other neighbors (someone else I work with) who were all on their sidewalks hanging out. Such a fun, friendly place.

Anyway, here's a video of Jane laughing. They both get on a roll where they just don't stop--it's really funny.

Holding You Over, Part 2

2010-03-08T10:51:00.001-08:00

We haven't written in forever. But, Ian just took this video of the girls, and sent it to me at work. They love, love, love looking at their mobile. Jane's on the left, Sylvie on the right.

just to hold you over

2009-12-24T13:11:00.000-08:00

So, I was going through so videos yesterday, and I came across this gem.

When Lori and I found out we were pregnant, we decided to go visit Deedahn in Europe because we knew it would probably be one of our last chances to do so. We stayed with him in Paris and did a nice long trip to Germany. Lots of pictures were taken and Lori got pretty used to me turning the camera on her for a quick shot.

In this video, you find us waiting outside one of the castles for a tour. To kill time, I decided to put the camera on video. Lori didn't know that, so, here's the result.

If you have ever looked at our pictures and thought, "My that Lori sure does make some great faces. I wonder how that happens?" Well, question answered. she practices.

happy holidays everyone!

Ian

This blog entry was days in the making...oops

2009-12-07T16:59:00.000-08:00

When you are about to have a baby, or when you do have a baby, advice and opinions arrive by the truckload. And for the most part, they're all appreciated.

I think there was one piece of advice we received that honestly scared the poop out of us. Here it is:

"I'm sure either you've been told this or you;'ve already figured it out but things are going to change between you and Lori--some for the best, some things not exactly for the best. Just go in to it expecting some change and know that you'll be in "baby jail" (I had some slightly prozac-ed mom of two explain this to me on a plane one time) for a little while and slowly but surely you'll go from maximum security to minimum secruity to the county lockup to parole."

This made us a little nervous. We sought the advice of another couple, who also knew the couple giving the advice. They said that yes, things change. But you have to start seeing each other and your relationship as a team, and operate that way. They made us feel a little better, but there was still that fear that something about us would change.

Now that we're into it, I'd have to say that there is a bit of a change. The change is that I have realized how much of a great team we are. How lucky I am that Ian is the person I'm sharing this with. How much fun we have (still) laughing at the girls' antics at 3:00 in the morning. How every night before bed, we come up with a new game plan. It's like we have a chalkboard charting our next play in a football game. We strategize and scheme ("so...if you take Jane first and twirl her around 3 times, and I take Sylvie and hop on one leg four times, they'll sleep the full time between feedings").

Our experience so far has been that it's easier than we thought (knock on wood). Ideally, we should be getting around the same amount of sleep--it's just broken up awkwardly into 1 1/2 to 2 hour increments. During the day, the girls sleep wonderfully. And they only do 3 things now--sleep, eat, and poop. So, if they're not eating, they're sleeping. And while they're sleeping, we're cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, Christmas shopping, eating, showering...all the things that our friends told us would be impossible to do.

Maybe it's because they're really good girls. That's my Mom's theory. But I can't help but think it's just a phase they're going through--that they were born so early, they will be sleeping for weeks to come. If we catch them early enough (all the signs of hunger in their sleep), they don't even get to the point of crying.

Another idea which I know to be true is that Ian and I are both home, and we genuinely share in the responsibilities. While Ian tends to be on diaper duty, I'm a one-woman dairy farm (not my favorite, I assure you). We've changed the routine several times, and can actually feed them both, change them, change their clothes, and get them back into the crib within 35 minutes. It used to take an hour to an hour and a half.

The girls do change up their schedule on us, though. We were on a strict 8 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 5 pm, 8 pm, 11 pm, 2 am, 5 am feeding schedule. Right on the nose. But various factors played into the shifts. Two nights ago the schedule shifted to an hour later. Yesterday it adjusted to a half hour earlier than the original schedule. As our pediatrician told us yesterday, the only predictable thing about our babies will be their unpredictability.

Ian's parents have been here since Saturday, and Ian just dropped them off at the airport. It was a great visit, and really nice to have them here. Now we have today to gear up for my Dad's arrival tonight.

It will be funny to return to "normal" after all our guests leave. Our schedules have changed a bit for each round of visitors, and our routine has differed. It's been interesting to see how.

We took the girls back to the pediatrician yesterday. Jane is now 6 lbs 3 oz and Sylvie is 5 lbs 2 oz. We actually have to go back again Monday just for a weight check. She likes them to grow an ounce a day, and the girls fell slightly short of that. Our main task this week is to fatten them up big time. And of course, to give them lots of snuggles.

More later, but love to you all.

Doctor Time!

2009-12-06T10:18:00.000-08:00

Since that first night, Lori and I have really gotten the hang off this. If we stick to the routine (every 3 hours it's eat time) they are pretty much set. Right now, basically they eat, do their "business" and sleep. In a lot of ways, they are like a cat, but Lori and I don't really like cats, so in that way, they are NOTHING like a cat.

Everyone is doing great, the girls are happy, and Lori is recovering so well. We couldn't have asked for anything better.

On Thursday, they were almost a week old. we went to the doctor for their first visit and while we were waiting, we had them out on the table just hanging out. This was really the fist time they had been up and not swaddled. It was, and you can probably tell from the video, hilarious. Maybe it was a have to be their experience, but it it was funny to us.

Always good to have an iPhone around for this type of stuff.

More to come!

Day to day...

2009-12-02T13:36:00.000-08:00

Every day, every minute brings something brand new. And we're still trying to navigate the waters and figure things out. I imagine it will be this way for years.

We're doing well. We ended up staying in the hospital until yesterday, so we had our first official night alone with the girls last night. I'm not going to lie--it was really tough.

But let's back up.

Jeff was here for Thanksgiving. It was quite uneventful on my side, because of my bed rest. Poor guy. I just sat around day and night, but at least he was able to catch up on sleep (my brother is the busiest human alive).

I saw a sign of labor on Thanksgiving--I won't go into detail, just know it was there. Friday morning, I went to the hospital at 8 for a monitoring appointment. All was well.

Friday night, Ian brought me a plate of Thanksgiving leftovers (he made Thanksgiving dinner all by himself, and it was delicious). As I sat, I had a little feeling. Hm.

Let's just say that it is like in the movies. My water broke. I finished my dinner. We called the doctor. Within the hour, Jeff, Ian, and I had our bags packed and were in the car heading to the hospital.

We arrived, checked into triage. They started monitoring. They inserted an IV (how many of these can I get? My arms look terrible from all the IVs and blood draws over the past 2 weeks). An hour or so later, and I was checked into antepartum--the room right next to my old one from 2 weeks ago. Even recognized all my nurses.

I always wondered how my contractions would get worse--how real labor contractions differed from Braxton Hicks contractions, and how they would feel if you always see women screaming on TV.

Then I found out. It's weird how the minute I got to the hospital, the contractions started to feel completely different--they were even in a completely different area of my body. And increasingly, it hurt.

The nurse advised we walk around the hospital for 40 minutes, to see if labor progressed. If I didn't go into active labor, Jeff would have had to go back to the house (only 1 visitor is allowed after 9pm, due to H1N1 security). So, we walked around the hospital, and holy cow. It was painful. Every contraction (about 2 minutes apart) almost stopped me in my tracks. The whole breathing thing becomes a necessity, not just a cliche of contraction.

After 40 minutes, we returned to the room and the nurse came back in. They checked my dilation for the first time--7 cm already. They ordered an immediate transfer into labor and delivery, and the epidural.

By now, there was so much going on and quickly. Monitoring the babies by hand, then using the head monitor for Baby A, giving the epidural (it took them 3 times....not fun). I just bore down, focused, and got lost in the focus.

The doctor came in, told me I needed to start pushing--there were a few in the labor room before we transferred to the OR (all twin births are in the OR, just in case).

Then, it was just coaching, and I had my eye on the prize. The doctors and nurses were amazing--really encouraging and helpful. They told me I got the best patient AND best pusher award. Even in the midst of all that discomfort, that made me happy.

Twin A was out before we knew it, and how unbelievably amazing is that experience. To see her for the first time. After she was checked out, and they brought her to me--she just looked right back at me, and it's such indescribable love.

And then it was time to start from Ground Zero with Twin B. About 45 minutes later, and she was also out.

By the way, 2 notes about the video Ian posted. One: he wasn't crying. :) He was laughing at how funny it was she was already mimicking one of my habits. Two: She was the calm one (we thought). We've since learned otherwise.

Anyway, it was so awesome that Jeff was there for their birth, and he was able to spend 2 hours with them before hopping his flight back to Charlotte. Uncanny, perfect timing.

By now it's 8:00 am, and Ian and I are exhausted. Why must babies always come in the middle of the night? Why don't they wait until you have a full night's rest, and then come?

Everyone at the hospital was great (OK--except for one nurse. She made me feel very grouchy). But otherwise, you feel like they're really there for you and help you out. The babies roomed in with us, so there was little sleep--we're feeding them every 3 hours, and being checked on in between.

The final night, Jane and I were checked out, but Sylvie was admitted into the pediatric unit--they wanted to monitor her blood sugar and slight jaundice a bit more. That night was like clockwork. Ian and I tag teamed our roles, and while we didn't get much sleep, we had a good handle on our girls.

We have to feed them every 3 hours, but with both girls--well, we have found that it takes between an hour and an hour and a half to accomplish this. So, we're left with an hour and a half of sleep in between each time. It's challenging. I can't imagine doing any of this on my own. And, (no offense to anyone with singletons!) if we ever have another, I think it will be a piece of cake. From the birth itself, to feeding, to changing, to holding. How much simpler it would be with only one!

They are absolutely precious. They're so soft and sweet, they smell good. They're cuddly and snuggly. They make cute faces. They make funny faces. They're tiny. They have loads of silky hair. They make us laugh.

Anyway, so we came home yesterday. And a new sense of pride or awe comes over you. You leave a family of 4. You have 2 newborns. They get in the car with you. Life will never be the same.

Last night, like I said, was a bit rough. Not much sleep was had, and they were awake and fussy most of the night. It was frustrating and exhausting. But I ended up getting in almost 2 solid hours of sleep, and woke up refreshed to a sunny Seattle day, and 2 very sweet and cooperative girls. Today, so far, has been great.

And for the next phase--starting tonight, we will have guests for the next straight month. My mom is on her way now--she'll be here tonight. She leaves next Thursday--the same day Ian's parents arrive. They leave on the 15th, the same day my Dad arrives. He's here until the 31st (and I think Jeff will be back at some point during that time). Lots of guest sheet changing for us! But looking forward to it. We had our one night alone with the girls, and now it will be family filled! What to do come January?!?

Anyway, that's all the updating for now. Will try to post more pictures soon.

Love to you all, and thank you for all the emails, voicemails, and well-wishes! We'll try to answer the phone as we can, or email as we can. But our hands are a little full. :)

A funny thing happened today...

2009-11-28T14:32:00.000-08:00

Our family doubled in size.

Lori is doing so great. I mean, look how beautiful and happy she is right after two babies.

I know you are asking, "what are their names?" well, we do have names, but before I give that up, I want to make sure it's official. Lori's sleeping right now, and I think after her nap, we can make the 100% decision.

Funny, they already have their own personalities. This is baby "A". The oldest (by almost 1 hour) What she's doing with her hands; that's how Lori watches TV. hilarious.

Also, funny enough, this is our 100th post.Pretty nice how that worked out. You always want to make those big, round numbers special. I think we did that. :)

We'll keep you all posted. More to come for sure. Just know that things are going great.

Ian

All is good!

2009-11-24T13:00:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

So, the appointments yesterday went well. My bloodwork looked much better (crits and platelets both up!), the amniotic fluid levels are holding constant. They're on the lowest end of the scale, but not a huge concern. The only thing they caught when they were doing the stress test is that one of the baby's heartrates dropped suddenly. This could be because they are not getting enough fluid, or blood from the placenta. At any rate, they've got me coming back Friday for another monitoring session just to be sure.

My next round of appointments will be next Monday--more of the same. To labs to have blood drawn, to ultrasound (this time, I'll get growth as well), then up to the doctor to review everything, and finishing off with a stress test. Ah, the routine. What will my life be like without ultrasounds every week or 2 weeks? It's been the norm since June.

In other news, Jeff is coming in tonight, which is pretty exciting. I can't believe it's already Thanksgiving--I feel so unprepared! Not that I need to "do" anything. We just don't have a plan, and it will rely heavily on Ian playing chef. If I don't write beforehand, or have a chance to talk with you, I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving.

The transition home.

2009-11-23T11:29:00.000-08:00

I was discharged from the hospital Wednesday night, in time for Ian to wheel me to our last twins class, where we practiced changing diapers, bathing, and focusing on pain (or focusing away from pain).

Finding out I'm outta there!

View from my bed with lovely flowers. :)

It was odd being able to leave the hospital. Just walking out (or being wheeled out) in normal clothing. First time I had worn real clothes in almost a week.

Ian drove me home and it was a great homecoming. The house was sparkling clean, and Ian had really done a lot of work rearranging some furniture, hanging more pictures, putting finishing touches on the nursery. The biggest surprise was that he had painted the kitchen, and I love it! My favorite was the chalkboard wall, which we had talked about doing. It was such a nice surprise, and it looks great.
I felt like I was coming home to something that felt more like home, as it still had not quite felt homey since moving in.

Since then, I've had mixed feelings. It's hard to be discharged with the orders to have the same activity level that I had when in the hospital--only up for bathroom breaks and one short shower a day. It's actually close to impossible. While Ian is on standby at all times, at the hospital you're forced to stay put, and have to have everything brought to you. And you never get dressed. There was such a routine to it that I had gotten used to--it's hard to mimic and feel ok with yourself at home.

I had an appointment Thursday with my doctor, and they put me on the monitors for a bit. Pretty much the same as it has been--plenty of contractions, but the babies look great. I also had my last IV iron transfusion, which was really easy. Hope it took effect!

One of Ian's best friends from college and his girlfriend also came to visit, and stayed with us Friday and Saturday night. It was my first opportunity to hang out with them, but kind of a bummer since I wasn't so mobile and had to sit like a bump on a log. At least Ian was able to take them out to the local pub Friday, and then Saturday they were out and about pretty much all day.

Today I am preparing myself to head back to the doctor for another round of tests and checkups. I have labs first (I have enjoyed not getting blood drawn twice a day), then to ultrasound to check the girls' fluids, then back to my doctor's for review and monitoring. We'll see what comes of today. It's one of those things that can change so quickly--with this visit, they might just send me home until the next appointment. Or, they can deliver me or hospitalize me again. It's really a crapshoot.

My brother Jeff is coming to visit us tomorrow for Thanksgiving, and is staying through Saturday. I'm really looking forward to the visit, but again--a tiny bit bummed out that I can't do anything.

Also, last night I discovered that we have city views from our living room window! Exciting. Because the leaves finally dropped from the tree in front of our window, we can see a bit of the skyline...

Alright, more later. We'll let you know how things go today.

Hope! Perchance.

2009-11-18T09:46:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Here I am, writing from Command Central (my hospital bed). I've got my whole setup going...water (check), laptop (check), phones (check), pen (check), notebooks (check), book (check), magazines (check). dining menu (check).

About to hop on a conference call in 10 minutes. Trying to make the most of my fun time here, and get some work in, feel good about transitioning, etc. Plus, daytime TV isn't my most favorite thing.

I guess I got into quite the routine here, so when my routine changed abruptly on Monday night, I was a little unnerved. My 6:30 lab person didn't show. Then my night nurse didn't come in at the usual time. It wasn't until almost 9:3o before I saw anyone. Luckily, it was Nina (a nurse I had had before), and she explained that my routine changed.

So now I only have one blood draw a day--at 6:30 am. Yay for that. And I started my IV drip on Monday night of iron. Being at a hospital is quite the education. I'm learning something new everyday.

For example, I now know what a perinatologist does. They are high-risk pregnancy specialists. I know what it means to have a low crit level, and complications that can cause. I know all the symptoms of preeclampsia and HELLP. I also know what Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). They actually think I could have ITP in pregnancy....

The news as of this morning is that I might get to go home! That's super exciting, but I've also come to expect that I should just go with the flow, and that things change quickly. The perinatology team seem to think I'm healthy, and they don't believe I have preeclampsia. They think I simply have low blood platelets and iron deficiencies, which are a result of the twin pregnancy.

If that's the case, I might be able to leave. Of course, final verdict will come from my doctor, and she'll likely factor in contractions, low amniotic fluids, etc. But the thought makes me happy. All I'd have to do is come in for monitoring twice a week, and finish out my round of IVs (which will end tomorrow night). YAY!

Again, I should know more this afternoon. So funny how yesterday morning she was talking like she was going to deliver me, and then later in the afternoon the verdict changed so much. I'm thankful to be somewhere like this, where they have a high-risk specialty unit, and people who care and are on the look-out for signs that can lead to serious complications. While it may feel slightly useless for me to be here, I know it's all for the best (for the girls, and for myself).

Talk to you all soon!

My Daily Routine.

2009-11-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! So sorry for the delay in writing--don't mean to keep you all guessing over there. I'd like to say I've been busy, and that's why I haven't written. But I'm not sure that busy is the right word...

Today's Monday, and I'm still here in the hospital. I should treat this blog like Twitter, because the updates change so quickly and are so frequent. What I'd write right now is so different than the story from Friday, or Saturday, or Sunday.

Friday was probably the worst day. Mainly because it was all new, and they were getting us ramped up--they didn't "put us to bed" until after 1:30 am, and the night of sleep was pretty bad. It was a lot of monitoring, meds, shots (including steroids in the butt...ouch). Contractions were actually pretty active--every 3 minutes, so I had a shot and meds to stop them.

My days typically run in 2 cycles. At 6:30 am, someone from the lab shows up and takes blood. It has been adventurous to find new veins after having blood drawn 7 consecutive times. Then around 8, shift change has happened, and I get a new nurse. She runs my vitals and hooks me up to the fetal monitors (I get 3) for about 45 minutes. Afterwards, she consults with the doctor on the results of that, plus my bloodwork and they come and give me a plan. The same thing happens all over again in the pm (6:30 pm, lab shows up...8pm new night nurse)....

The plan has changed every time depending on the results. As of yesterday, it looked like they might induce me. As of today, no induction is in sight, but now I'm going to be getting an iron IV sometime today because my crit level is pretty low. My platelets have been low, they've gone up, then down....it's a bit of a roller coaster.

They do have 24hour room service, which is pretty good. Ian spent the first night with me, but after that--what's the point? So we can both have lousy sleep? I have sent him (reluctantly) packing so that he can get home and finish up the nursery, buy some car seats, clean the house, do his own work, and actually get sleep. Somehow it might be more depressing when he's here, because then it's both of us sitting here watching the 10 channels I have, or playing a game of UNO, or ordering room service. Makes it more obvious we're not anywhere fun, or getting to do what we really want to do.

Saturday night they added a sleeping pill to my list of meds in the evening. I've never taken one before, and boy did it work. I got a great night's sleep. I turned it down last night, and shouldn't have. It was a terrible night, and I couldn't wait until 6:30 and the lab person showed up.

Today I had an ultrasound, and it's just so strange. Instead of walking down a floor, the transport comes to get me and wheel me around laying down in a bed. It was actually a fun little ride, but makes you feel weird when you feel fine, but they don't let you up. So strange!

Ian's coming to visit any minute now. I've been working today--thankful for something else to do other than watch TV, read magazines and books. I'm actually sitting in a chair and not the bed, and no one has scolded me yet. I figure once the IV comes, I'll be locked down anyway.

So, all is well dear friends, but just a bummer to be stuck here. The scary part is that they might keep me here until I deliver, which could be goodness knows when? A week? Not a week? Two weeks? Ew!

I'll keep you up to date. Glad to get on a computer today....

Oops! See? I hadn't even posted this yet, and there's a new update. Sheesh. Dr just came in and said I will be in the hospital until delivery. Gross! I wish that weren't the case, but oh well. But she did say they won't deliver me today. ha--good to know. She said they'll hold out for a little while longer, let the steroids work (it's to help develop their lungs since they're gestationally so young), and then get my blood back in order...oh well. As long as the girls are fine, that's all that matters. Oh, and I did get scolded for not being in bed. :) oops!

Speaking of the girls, how hard is it to name a baby??!?! Well, it's terrible, I tell you. Ian and I are having the worst time. It's not like a stuffed animal or a plant...that you can rename 2 weeks later because the name doesn't quite fit or you don't like it anymore. It's a lifer! And there's so much to consider...last name combinations (Goode is very difficult, I tell you), initials, sound--and with 2 of the same, watching out for rhyming or same letters, or sounds. While some people are into that, we're not.

Alas, I guess one of these days we'll figure it out. But I really hate that we have to do it at all. :)

Oh, the drama.

2009-11-13T15:50:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are into my 33rd week of pregnancy. We had our class Wednesday night on breastfeeding--there were a lot of giggles from Ian. Not that he can't handle Boobie Talk, but our teacher is legimately funny. It looks tough, but the human body is so amazing, and I'm sure we'll get the hang of things eventually with 2. We even had little baby models (instead of using the giraffe Ian and I used at home). I'm looking forward to next week, our last class. It's more on infant care and post partum.

Ian and I both really enjoy the class. It's fascinating, really. There's one couple in there that we've somewhat clicked with. And the most bizarre thing happened. They just mentioned they were looking to buy a new house, and we responded to say that we thought our neighbor was interested in selling at some point. Fast forward 2 weeks, and this morning they had the inspection, and are closing in less than a month. Can you believe that? They already have a 4 and 2 year old, and their twin boys are due in February. Unbelievable, and pretty fun! What's also fun is that he's an architect, so we're really hoping at some point he can help us with our funky downstairs. :)

In other news, Ian and I were both excited about this morning's doctor appointment. Interested to see how things were going, how much they've grown, etc. As it turns out, they're huge! Twin B is 5 lb 14 oz and Twin A is 4 lb 12 oz. So, I'm basically carrying over 10 pounds of baby in my belly. And I can tell. This week has been tough mobility-wise. They're both super active, hearts are beating wonderfully, and they're both practicing their breathing (all great signs)!

But alas, always the drama with these twins. Both of their fluid levels dropped. So, we met with the doctor and she wants me to come in Sunday to the hospital to check again. She's unsure the cause, but they need to monitor--she said to be prepared and pack my bags to stay. They then found out, too, that my blood pressure went up. So, they took more blood today.

I thought that was it. I thought I'd blog about wishing me well for Sunday. But I just got off the phone with them--both the doctor and nurse called leaving messages while I was on conference calls for work. My bloodwork came back, and apparently my platelets have dropped. Top that off with a big weight gain jump this week, the lowered blood pressure and fluids...and well, there you have it. All indicators of preeclampsia.

So, as soon as Ian gets home and I can pack up my overnight bag, we're off to Triage at the hospital. What a bummer! No guarantee that I'll stay overnight or anything, but they have more and more tests to run.

I had decided a while ago that I never would have been a candidate for preeclampsia. I've never had blood pressure issues or anything. But, I just read the article I linked to above. And gross! Who knew? It was always the part I skipped over in my pregnancy books...I guess it's more common with twins.

Oh well. At least Ian just did laundry, so my pj's are clean! :) Will let you all know how things go.

Bracing ourselves, and storing for the winter.

2009-11-09T16:35:00.000-08:00

Finally, after all this time being dedicated to settling in and doctor's appointments and work and seemingly everything else under the sun, we are focusing on these little girls that are about to enter our lives.

With the birth of little baby nephew Lucas, with our weekly Preparing for Multiples class, with the crazy baby dreams that just started last week, with the awareness of contractions and how big they're getting...well, I'm listening, and I feel you're on your way.

We had finally bothered to register for the girls a few weeks ago. Even though we're not having a shower, we had some people ask. I know for one that I was stressing Stephanie out big time--every time I spoke to her, and she asked how the nursery was coming along, or what we've gotten for the girls, my answer was pretty much always the same: "well, we have some clothes, but that's about it." She was stressed for us.

So, the boxes started arriving, and Ian and I finally got it in us to arrange furniture and make it look more like a room (less like an extra bedroom to store stuff in). Of course, the room is tiny and it fits the one crib perfectly. Eventually--and from what we hear, a few months down the road--the second crib will need to come into effect, and we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Things will be a bit tight at that point.

Regardless, while I'm putting tiny socks into drawers, or folding little hooded towels, it is still so hard to imagine them coming. It's hard to imagine what our lives are about to become, how we'll cope, what they'll look and act like. I just can't even wrap my head around it. We gave the new changing pad a test run with our baby stand-in (a Giraffe). He was a good little baby--hardly made a sound or move before we put him back in the crib. Still hard to imagine the real thing, and how we'll actually be using the room and what we'll use and when. Just crazy to think about.

Ian even finished up the mobile and hung it yesterday, and I think it's super cute (he's pretty proud of it himself). I really love the way it turned out, and I hope the girls like looking up at them.

And I'm started to get excited about Christmas, even though we haven't done any shopping and it is also hard to imagine. I feel like it will be a gift card year, especially since we're all the way over here. My Dad will be here for Christmas--which is super fun news, but other than that--I guess we'll be doing a lot of gift shipping. Regardless, Christmas in a new house is fun--deciding how to decorate and what new traditions might crop up.

And can you even believe Thanksgiving is literally right around the corner? Not me! Sheesh. My brother Jeff will be visiting us--how lucky are we that people are willing to travel the 3,000+ miles to hang out with us. Still so much to do with the house, but these things will take time.

Anyway, I guess that's it for now. Pretty boring entry, but I feel like we're closer and closer to being ready for our family to double.

New bill o'health, and a pictureless Seattle

2009-11-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

Quick update on my health! Or more importantly, that of Twin B. Had my ultrasound yesterday, and follow up doctor's appointment today. Twin B's fluids are back up to normal, and all is well!

On the one hand, it means that bed rest did a body good. So, I'm still advised to take it very easy--only go into the office part-time, etc. But at least I won't feel guilty everytime I get up to do something. I'm so happy I won't be home-captive completely this weekend.

This week, my very good friend Carlos was in town from SF for work. I have missed him terribly, and it was fun having him. We had a great date Monday night at Wild Ginger--really delicious food. I love when you can go somewhere with someone, and hours can pass without realizing it. We shut the place down.

Last night we went for Round 2, and luckily Ian was able to join, after having gotten back from the east coast on Wednesday afternoon. We went to Bizarro for dinner--tasty treat, and nice in the midst of a rainy night. We followed it up with some Molly Moon's ice cream and some lounge time at home before taking him back to his hotel.

There have been 3 distinct times this week that I've been reminded to have a camera with me at all times here! With crazy weather like Seattle, there's always something interesting going on in the sky--between the bursts of sun, dark clouds, mountain ranges...without a camera, you miss out on some amazing shots. On the way to pick Ian up from the airport, Mt Rainier was insane. Just breathtaking. On the way to my ultrasound yesterday, it was gray and dark over Seattle's skyline--just outlines of buildings, really. But above the space needle were beams of light--so perfectly placed, and bizarre at the same time. And finally, on my way into work this morning, I passed the funeral procession for a police officer who was shot. 1500 police cars, ambulances, fire trucks. All with their lights on, but without the noise of sirens. As far as you could see--cars from Oregon and British Columbia, and all over the state of Washington. Breathtaking and moving and sad.

Anyway, Ian and I should both just arm ourselves with cameras.

Below is a pic I took from my window at work 2 weeks ago. Happy to have had a camera handy.

Seattle so far....

2009-11-01T17:13:00.000-08:00

In phases, I'm going to catch you up to date with some things we've been up to--granted, not everything, but just a couple of the major things.

Victoria

We spent our anniversary weekend in the city of Victoria, on Vancouver Island. It was a gorgeous weekend, and we had a perfect time.

We took the Clipper--about 3 hours, and arrived in the sunny harbor city. Highlights of the trip were walking the town, and discovering its extremely cute, quaint, and historic shops and boutiques, a tour of the nearby castle, food!, and the wax museum (yes, cheesy, but it was fun).

Moving In

Next major event was closing on the house (finally!) and moving in. We've officially been in the house just over a month, and boy has there been a lot of work to do. On the 5th day of our move-in, Ian's parents came to visit for a week. They were a HUGE help to us, taking down loads of wallpaper, making countless trips to Home Depot, swapping out fixtures, installing a dishwasher, painting....the list goes on. There's still a lot of work to do, which we'll tackle over time. But the main things have been taken care of initially.

Other Things

We got an annual membership to the Woodland Park Zoo--it's really close to our house, and is great. It's kind of like a large park, which happens to have animals in it. And the habitats seem nicer than the SF Zoo, which is nice. We particularly enjoyed the orangutan, who draped a blanket over his head and played up to the crowd.

Ian also celebrated his 30th birthday! That weekend, Carrie and Paul had us over for dinner and a movie. The next day we had a neighborhood potluck with a lot of my co-workers, (Ian and baked pumpkin cheesecake), and then carved pumpkins in the neighborhood, which was pretty fun and festive. Apparently, every year this guy Gene (who lives across the street from Carrie and Paul) buys hundreds of pumpkins, and invites the whole neighborhood to drop in and carve. He has all these stations set up, and provides stew and drinks. Then he lines all the pumpkins down the stairs and along the wall in front of his house. Good times.

The following day (Monday) was Ian's birthday. I surprised him by taking the day off, and we spent a relaxing day together--got a late brunch, went to see a movie, had a delicious dinner.

Ian and I started a pregnancy class a couple of weeks ago--Preparing for Multiples. It has been really interesting, and we like our teacher tons. There are still 3 classes left, so I hope I can make it that long--the good stuff is in the last 2 weeks.

But as we both mentioned in our last couple of posts, I've been prescribed to bed rest (at least for the next week). This weekend has been kind of a bummer because of it. Mainly because I feel fine and the weather was seriously gorgeous. And I stayed inside all day both days (stepping out last night to go to Paul and Carrie's--where they fed me delicious lamb stew and we passed out candy to the tons and tons of kids. Everyone gets so into it here! How much fun.

And then the final most fun news is that Ian and I become an aunt and uncle last week. Ian is now visiting his new nephew (plus, the rest of his family) right now. It sounds like he's having fun, and I'm just really happy that he was able to make it, especially before it gets too crazy for Hilliary and Francois (with the guests they're about to have, moving into a new house, etc).

But of course, I miss him.

It's crazy I'm in my 31st week of pregnancy. Not much time left, I suppose. I am hoping the girls appreciate my sedentary weekend, and that it has the effect it's supposed to on their fluid levels. Looking forward to finding out at the end of next week...

Oh! And we had been working on a project--I think I'm leaving the last part of it for Ian to finish up. We bought fabric and sewed a bunch of birds in order to create a mobile for the girls. Our birds are pictured here. It was actually a really fun project to work on together (and Ian is such a good sewer!).

the traffic report

2009-10-30T23:16:00.000-07:00

Well, not only does our relationship get better everyday, we also learn more about each other everyday. For instance, we found out that the way I push a wheelchair effects Lori the same way I drive a car. She gets all stressed out and thinks I'm going to run into everything. She has every reason to think this. During the 45 minutes that I wheeled her around, I managed to run her into the elevator wall, the back of someone's leg, and I almost ran over our guide's foot.

Don't worry, I'll get better. I need to be careful when I push you and those two tiny girls around.

Sweet dreams my pretty wife.

Oh, and I wanted to share something that Lori and I found. We lost it two years ago, but just recently, it's come back into our lives:

Autumn.

Thank you Seattle for having seasons.

Our blog is a long-distance love letter.

2009-10-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

It's raining here in Seattle. You might think to yourself--why point it out? Doesn't it always rain in Seattle?

Well, it doesn't. And even when it does, it's not enough so that you hear it on the inside. But right now there's a nice sound of rain hitting windowpanes.

It's 10:32pm, and I'm about to head to the bedroom and call it a night. Just spoke with Ian about 20 minutes ago, and he's settled into Hilliary, Francois, and baby Lucas's place.

I actually just got on to say one thing, because I got a second alert that "anonymous" posted another comment. I thought I'd respond.

I've been meaning to update the blog. Really and truly. We've had a very busy couple of months, and it has been great.

What I was going to say before shuffling off to bed is that because I'm on bed rest and have nothing better to do this weekend, I will absolutely update the blog. I even uploaded pictures before Ian took off this morning, so there are no excuses. And all of the running around I may have done--unpacking, cleaning up, running errands....well, it's kind of gone to pot now that I'm storing my blood flow, energy, and whatever else for the week to make sure B's fluids pick back up.

So, I logged on to say--Anonymous! you win! Check back this weekend! (and tell me who you are), but I noticed that not only is the header different (which Ian showed me this morning), but that he had actually written something!

And not just anything! But a love letter of sorts. I have to say that we just hit the 3 year mark, and man oh man. It's been a good 3 years, but it seriously just keeps getting better and better. If these girls bring even half as much happiness and love into my life as Ian and I already have....well. Watch out world. The seams will burst forth from the house.

My love, I'm being good. I've been drinking so many glasses of water (I refilled the Brita 4 times today already!), and since coming home from the doctor, I've been on my feet for probably 10 minutes all-in-all. If that! The only thing I will suffer from at all this week is (1) boredom. And (2) missing you.

But, I am so so so happy you are able to go visit your sister and your new nephew! It's weird to think that a new person has just entered our life for good. That we will be involved in this little person's whole timeline--graduations and weddings and births and such. Bizarro. And that soon there will be 2 more new people to add to the chaos.

I'll just leave you all with a goofy, blurry picture. When I found out I had to have 24-hour bed rest yesterday, and told the doctor we had our hospital tour, she insisted I take the tour in a wheelchair.

So, Ian and I tried to smuggle a picture. There's not a dumber feeling than when you feel perfectly normal/fine, but you still have to be pushed around in a wheelchair. At least I liked my driver. A lot. :)

Nighty night everyone.

the view from here

2009-10-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

I’m sitting on a plane, somewhere above Colorado. Maybe. I don’t know. I’m 2 hours into my 4 and a half hour flight to Washington DC and that’s my best guess. Thankfully, our pilot doesn’t like to inform us of things except when they are and are not illuminating the seatbelt sign. As if the loud “PING” and the light itself weren’t indicators of the change.

I’m thinking about Lori and the girls a lot right now.

Due to the nature of the pregnancy, we have to have an ultrasound every two weeks. We’ve gotten to the point where we actually understand what it’s showing on that screen.

I don’t speak much when I’m in there. I always feel like it would be awkward. Usually I just hang out by Lori’s side and think, “That’s the bladder. Those are the kidneys. That’s a foot pushing on someone’s head.” I also go over the different qualities of our ultrasound technician. After meeting so many, I can’t help it and I know that Lori is doing the same. We always compare notes when they leave the room. We don’t like Karen.

Typically, we have zero news to deliver. They are growing and the amount they weigh is usually the only thing that changes. (they are both around 4 pounds now) Yesterday it was different.

The amount of fluid around baby B was not ideal. They put Lori on 24-hour bed rest and told her to come back in the follow day (today) to redo the scan. We both think that it’s an error on the part of the ultrasound tech. She was having trouble getting certain measurements and so we hope the revisit will show it was just a hard reading. I hope the appointment ends with a “Keep up the good work and keep drinking lots of water. “

With this news (no matter how much we talk ourselves out of it) I can’t help but worry. I would elaborate, but I feel like “worry” really covers it.

Before I left, I made sure to demand she “take it easy” while I was gone. Like me saying that would change her behavior. She’s so incredibly independent and headstrong that I know the only way she will “take it easy” is if she wants to. It’s one of the things that makes, Lori, Lori, and I’m 100% positive she will pass that on to our girls. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’m in the window seat. 30F. I noticed my computer was a different color so I looked out the window and noticed the sun going down. This sunset is very red and curvy. My computer reads 4:05. Flying east always makes the day so short.

I’m on this trip to visit my sister. After I touch down in DC, I’m catching another flight down to Charleston so I can meet my new nephew. This is my first trip to Charleston since Hilliary and Francois moved there. I’m really looking forward to seeing how things are going for them and how they are settling into their new role as parents.

It’s so crazy how things sneak up on you. My sister and I are adults. Wasn’t it just yesterday we were reading Where’s Waldo books and eating as much mac and cheese as possible? I wonder how she’ll be? Will being a mom make her a different person? I guess I’ll find out in a few hours.

My battery looks angry. I better get back to my book and give this guy a rest.

Lori, I miss you already. side-wave

update:
Okay, since I haven’t posted this yet (there wasn’t time between my flights) I’ll just include it along with this first post.

The Tech wasn’t bad at measuring the fluids. They really were on the low side. They issued Lori a week of bed rest to get her fluids back up and if that doesn’t do it, she might remain that way until delivery.

Well crap.

Now I really wish I was home with her. Who’s going to get her cool whip? Who’s going to bring her milk or orange juice? Looks like Carrie and Paul are going to have their hands full. ☺

The Scarlet Letter

2009-09-08T17:15:00.001-07:00

Now I know what Hester Prynne felt like. Kind of. While I don't have a big Scarlet letter A, I do have something else that puts me into a grouping. Something obvious that attracts attention. It says, "This woman is pregnant. This woman has done something to become pregnant. This woman is married. This is a woman."

Is it OK that I still kind of feel like a kid? That I'm plugging away through my 30's, and am a little incredulous that I'm even old enough to have kids? It's insane for me to think about the overwhelming responsibility of caring for the peanuts for the rest of my life.

I keep thinking that I'm becoming one of those people--the people I see battling their screaming kids in stores, or trying to stop their kids from throwing cheerios on restaurant floors and banging sippy cups on high chairs. Or one of those people that forces other people into listening to countless stories about how cute junior is and what junior eats and throws up, and let me show you another 100 pictures and videos on youtube. Or I'm becoming one of those friends that sinks into the oblivion of motherhood, and no longer has time to hang out with friends, or drink lots of glasses of wine, or go on trips on a whim. I will become the one that invites people over, and spends the evening fawning over my kids, trying to put them in bed, revolve, revolve world around these things....

I sound cynical. Or like I don't want to be a mom. And that's not true. I also sound like I don't like that my friends all became moms. And that's also not true. I think it's just the hardest for me to imagine how my life will change, what those peanuts are going to be like, if I'm going to be a PTA mom or a "cool" mom or a strict mom or an impatient mom.

It seems a sink or swim situation, and no amount of preparing can actually prepare you for what's to come. You just have to take it as it comes, learn from it, adapt. But in the meantime, it's anxious waiting to find out what kind of person you're going to be. It's like being in 2nd grade all over again, and writing an essay on "when I grow up...." and then finding out 20 odd years later that I'm not actually a store clerk. That I live in Seattle, WA. That I'm 32 years old. That I'm married, work for a huge company, and am about to have twin girls..........

Alas, enough about that. What have we been up to in our new city? Well, we finally moved out of Abobo (that's the affectionate name for corp housing), and moved into Extended Stay America last Thursday. One word: wow. More like, Extended Chiropractic Visits. Or, Extended Foot Fungus. Or, Extended Time to Not Sit in the Nasty Chair in order not to catch something. or Extended amounts of time stale cigarette smoke can hang in the air.

It was disgusting. Picture the seediest motel room from some Tarantino flick, and that could be our hotel. It lasted a long 5 nights, and we just moved in with friends Carrie and Paul.

But not before we had dinner with other friends Saturday night--in a cute dog-friendly pub/eatery in Fremont called Norm's. Two couples we knew in North Carolina--it was such a fun and comfortable environment, and really great to be around familiar, old-school friends. Even greater to find out that Grace was also pregnant, and due in March. Should be super fun, although they're moving next June.

We also went mattress shopping (hooray, Labor Day!), and invested for the first time in our very own mattress. Can't wait to have it delivered (4 days after we move into the new house). And speaking of the new house, we went for a visit on Monday. Rosemary (the seller) is super fantastic, and it was a great visit. We are both so excited and anxious to move in. The house is going to be absolutely perfect for us, and things happened as they were supposed to. She gave me the tour of the gardens--I hope I don't mess those incredible plants up--but hopefully I'll learn.

We're set to move in on September 25 officially--so just about 2 weeks / 2 days! Hooray! It can't come soon enough.

Until then, Ian played a great house husband and made us a delicious Mexican feast from scratch last night. It was awesome coming home from work, and having such a great meal on the dinner table. We'll see what he cooks up next...

And our 3rd wedding anniversary is tomorrow! Crazy, no? It seems like so long ago. To celebrate, we're heaving to Vancouver Island Friday-Sunday, staying in Victoria. We get there by the Seattle Clipper--kind of like a big speedboat, but just under a 3-hour trip. Should be a great get-away.

Okie dokie, that's all for now!

if I wrote everyday....

2009-08-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

You might hear a different story about my pregnant life. I meant to write on Thursday, and I planned the beginning. I've forgotten it now, but it was going to be something about how I named myself the White Whale for the day. It's weird even now to see the fluctuations between a huge tummy, a pretty big tummy, a tiny slit of a belly button, then a rounder one, tummy slighty squishy, tummy so hard it might knock someone out. And while there is now no mistaking whatsoever that I'm pregnant, it's funny it would vary so much by day, and by outfit. It's starting to get harder to put on shoes, or sometimes get up from really slouchy couches. And the girls are kicking and moving pretty much all the time. Ian hasn't been able to feel them yet, but I sure do.

We had our first Seattle ultrasound this past week, and for the most part, all is well. They're sharing their fluids nicely, I'm still holding up well. One unhappy piece of news, which is that apparently Twin A has a calcium deposit on her heart. It's a common indicator of down's syndrome.

Now, here's where you have to take things with a grain of salt. Of course whenever you hear something like that, it's worrisome--and often creeps back into your mind from time to time (especially that day). But the truth is that we've already done the testing--we're something like 1 in 33,000th chance. It would also be strange for A to have it, and not B (at least I think so, since they're identical), and there aren't other indicators at this point.

The doctors didn't seem very worried, either. So it's one of those things that taint the overall visit a tiny bit, but that we can't really sit and worry about. Because what can we do about it, anyway? And an indicator doesn't mean it's positive. So alas, overall the girls are fine. Calcium deposits--perhaps I should switch milk brands. haha.

Things with the house are progressing as they can be. There's something new every day (welcome to the new mortgage application process!). Oh, night and day from buying our first house. And unfortunately, no one in the business currently knows what's going on, since rules and regulations change literally every day. So, it's hand one thing in today, later in the afternoon it will be something else. We've been compiling our financial history steadily now for the past 2 weeks. We really just can't wait to get in and start getting busy. So much work to be done (all cosmetic), but so exciting to make our own. Our close date is now 9/18, and we're able to move in the 21st.

Until then, we're stuck in this lovely corporate housing for another 4 days, move out Thursday into an Extended Stay America until the following Tuesday, then move in with Carrie and Paul that night until we can move into our house.

Oh, the nomadic life. It's fine. Aside from the easy proximity to work, this place is terrible. There was a raging party last night--I feel like I'm forced back into college. And we love this place and their smarts--how all the elevators are brought down for maintenance at once (and for 2 weeks)...not the most well-run place. We are constantly amazed that anyone would actually choose to live here on their own.

Next week work-wise should be fun. Seattle is definitely the hub for out-of-town visitors, and next week there will be plenty of them: at least 6. Good times. Also, Ian and I are planning our anniversary trip. I think we'll be heading up to Victoria Island, BC. It's part anniversary, part last trip before we have babies. So with even all this financial pressure lately, we think it's important to slide it in.

Today we're thinking about heading to the zoo. I love zoos, and can't wait to see the one that will be within a couple of miles from our house!!

ps--my feet are back to normal, thank goodness. It was just a NY / flying thing. whew!

And we're rolling on....

2009-08-21T19:29:00.000-07:00

My feet are huge. I am calling them my piggies. Or, it's like someone just inflated a latex glove and tried to stuff it in my sandals or flats. They're enormous, whiter than usual, puffy, and ridiculous. I hate them.

I'm hoping it's temporary. I'm hoping that they will reduce quickly--as though someone took a pin to them and they whirled around the air aimlessly, all the while getting smaller and smaller. To the size they should be. To the size that makes them comfortable to fit into my shoes. Or at least to the size where it isn't painful.

I'm going to blame it on New York. I've been in New York City this week--since Sunday, and just returned last night. It was an inauguration of sorts to step back into the East Coast humidity. It just happened to also be 100 degrees on top of that. Holy great goodness, am I happy to be pregnant on the west coast! In cities like SF and Seattle, where humidity is unheard of, and high temperatures a bit rare to find. And if it is hot, all I need to do is walk on the shady side of the street.

I'm blaming my feet on New York, because that's when--for the first time--they blew up like this. There was a woman Ian and I used to work with, and she was pregnant a few times while we worked there. Ian and I set a certain bar against her. Remaining nameless, we call her condition, "First name X/ last name Y pregnant" which is a different type of pregnant than normal pregnancies. It means that you blow up like a balloon and it's something I wished would not happen to me. But I have First name X/last name Y feet. It's depressing.

I walked a lot in NY. And it was stuffy and hot. And then I flew back yesterday amidst multiple delays and cancellations, and ended up back in Seattle a full 8 hours after my expected arrival time. Perhaps flying didn't help either.

But today, they're still a bit swollen and painful, and look ridiculous in the sandals I wore today. Alas, enough about my feet and being pregnant. I guess the last thing I will say is that all is well in that department. I'm at 21 weeks, and recently feel like I blew up (or out, I should say).

On the subway in NY, I had someone offer up their seat for me. A young woman--how sweet! It was a first. I also made friends with the man at the Westin checking me in, when he asked and found out I was having identical twin girls--he just had twin girls 3 weeks ago. He came around the counter, digital camera in tow, to share pictures with me.

I had a huge meeting in NY that I'm so relieved is over. My past 2 months have been revolving around build up for this meeting. I was so nervous, that pit in my stomach having a hard time fighting for room with the girls. But the meeting was better than I could have asked for, and I really wished at that moment I could have a huge, celebratory alcoholic beverage. But alas, I have to wait for many more months. It's tough.

I was also spoiled in NY because I got to hang out with my good Hippo friend Kirsten on multiple nights. It was like we lived in the same place again--meeting after work for dinner or a movie (or both). It was so comfortable and fun, and at the same time felt completely natural. Sad that we're not closer, but don't you love having those friends you can fall back to and it's like no time has ever passed?

In other news, I wish Ian would write on this blog! He has been single-handedly exploring the city during the day, in between networking and working on freelance jobs. He admitted to me last night that he's in love with Seattle, and is sooo happy we moved here. He's also been spending time with his new BFF, Paul, my good friend (and boss)'s hubby. He's even out tonight with other friends, and I think Seattle will be good to him. Good to us. :)

In other news, we spent our first weekend here really diving in. Saturday morning went for brunch in Capitol Hill (it was OK, not our favorite place), and then went to the Science Fiction and Experience Music Project museum. I just had to go there because they were hosting my dream exhibit--a whole exhibition on Jim Henson!! The exhibit left a tiny bit to be desired, but can you believe I got to see a real Kermit, Rowlf, Bert & Ernie, and Gobo? Not to mention all of the sketches, original commercials, ideas coming to life...what a genius. Ian enjoyed the Jimi Hendrix exhibit, and the history of guitars...and even the Science Fiction portion was cool--we saw ET, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, and Yoda.

That night, we went to Carrie and Paul's house--her brother and his girlfriend were there, along with her best friend Annie. We ordered in Thai and then just hung out--watched a few episodes of a show, and walked up to 45th street to Molly Moon's--maker of delicious homemade ice cream and treats. You have to love a place that makes waffle cones (on a waffle machine) right before your eyes and serves them up slightly warm. Delicious. No wonder there was a line down the street. On the walk back to their place, we ran into another friend from work and her husband, who only live a few blocks away.

Sunday we had a better brunch in Capitol Hill, and then hit the open house circuit. I think we must have seen 12 or so? It was exhausting, and honestly slightly disappointing because the only thing we fell in love with was way out of our price range.

Monday was a different day. I saw a house go on the market in Wallingford (the neighborhood we love, where Carrie and Paul live). The house was actually in our price range (rare for that area), but no pictures were posted yet. Ian decided to do a drive by, and then somehow worked his way in to see the house that day--it was brand new on the market.

Next thing I knew, I was going to see it too, with our realtor, and we decided to put in an offer. Long story short--we're under contract and close on or before 9/23. Hooray! It's only a block from 45th--where the great ice cream place is--and is quiet. It has an incredible garden, and requires only cosmetic work (it has a lot of wallpaper). Super exciting news. Financing is so tricky, though, so we'll see if we pass through. It's well within the budget we created for ourselves, but with Ian freelancing, it's a bit tricky to navigate financial approval waters.

Not much else to report other than those things--we did go to a concert last Saturday in Marymoor park--interesting to see how Seattleites differ from other places / people we've been. Was a nice outdoor show with beautiful weather.

So, that's it for now. I'm going to prop up the piggies, and eat some food. Maybe it will distract me from the girls completely doing acrobatics right now.

a whole new blog?

2009-08-05T20:44:00.001-07:00

This blog is about to change in a major way. Most of you know how this blog is changing. Ian even suggested starting a new blog, but I think we can all agree that that is a bit ambitious considering our blog-writing track record. So, let's give this a good, hearty continuation instead.

Our last months in SF (yes, this is the end of making the Mission neighborhood our Mission) were pretty amazing. I had a great birthday weekend back in May in Mendocino (yet another fascinating / beautiful area of Northern California), we went camping by the ocean, my great friends from college (the Neos) came to visit in July, Ian and I traveled to Paris and Germany with my Dad, just got back from a crazy week in Atlanta....we have been busy, busy beavers.

On top of all that, we found out back in April that I was pregnant. The first ultrasound revealed a surprise (read: shock)--we were having twins. A later ultrasound confirmed they were identical twins, and here's where I'd like to explain a bit, because most people ask me: "Do twins run in the family?"

Here's the thing that differentiates identical twins from fraternal: it isn't hereditary, it's not a result of fertility drugs. It's nature's own little oops. There's one egg, one sperm. Just like normal. Except when the fertilized egg travels down to attach itself to the uterine wall, it accidentally splits into two and they both attach. That's why identical twins also share chromosomal makeup. They are contained within the same placenta (sharing blood back and forth), but mine are in their own sacs.

Having identical twins automatically makes it a high risk pregnancy. I have to go every 2 weeks for an ultrasound to make sure they're playing nicely and sharing blood and fluid properly back and forth. I guess it was worrisome at first, but now it's a bit comforting to be so close to the process, and have those regular check-ins.

Fast forward to this week--I'm 19 weeks along. The latest ultrasound (yesterday!) was the big one, and everything looks great. We found out a couple of weeks ago that we're having girls. Wow wow.

The twins, and our thinking for almost the past year about making the move to Seattle, has found me here today. In our corporate housing, or first full day having moved to Seattle, and having left San Francisco behind.

It's a little surreal. I keep feeling like it's a normal trip to Seattle, which I take all the time. Ian and I left last night--I went into work this morning. Typical, really. But the difference might have been that Ian was with me, or that we checked in 6 bags total, and rented a car, and picked up keys, and drove to an unknown apartment complex, and unpacked our bags.

We've spent the past week or so frantically--finishing things up, coordinating the movers and packers, working, finishing work (Ian is officially not employed, and taking on mass amounts of freelance!), and living in a hotel in Union Square--like total tourists. We've been having goodbye dinners, and brunches, and a series of lasts. It's funny that SF ended for us in the area it did--on the street it did. It ended as it began.

And so here we are. The new office is great, and my manager Carrie made it extra special for me--she bought me a plant, snacks, folders, a mug---just so thoughtful and welcoming.

So begins a new chapter in our lives. The next series of adventures. In the past months, we've put offers on two houses (neither of which went through), and we're pretty motivated to find a place. We can't wait to keep exploring and finding the right home for us, and our expanding family. So comes the exploration, the house, the babies....so many things to continue to blog about.

Ian is out with Paul now (Carrie's hubby, and Ian's good friend)--they are so happy to finally be together. :) They went to Serious Pie for dinner. I am relaxing--have had a pretty exhausting few days.

Anyway, Ian has moved all our pictures into special backup places and I haven't had access to them. Once he's organized them, I'll be able to post pictures of our last few months' highlights--because there are great pictures!

Talk soon....

F.O.S.

2009-04-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why, but recently I have really been interested in French Onion Soup.

Before this new phase, The number of times I actually had F.O.S., I could probably count on one hand. It's weird how that happens.

I just had a bit from Whole Foods and I'm still enjoying my decision. It's become a default lunch for me. I pop in, fill up a cup with soup, grab a small thing of whatever bread they are pushing that day, a small serving of gruyere and an apple. I give the friendly/hip cashier 7 bucks and now I have lunch. It makes me sort of sad that I never participated in the F.O.S. thing prior. I mean, yes it smells a tad to the outside person (as in the person not eating the soup) but other than that, it's the perfect lunch.

Today, I brought it back and watched a bit of the movie Wall Street while I diced the cheese and dipped my bread. (I love that they talk about "new" technology and at one point, Charlie makes fun of this portable tv Michael Douglas shows him.)

As you might be able to tell, I'm dragging a bit today and feeling a little uninspired at work. I guess that's why this posting is about soup and not back flips or something exciting. 2:15. I have 2 hours and 45 minutes until it's time to go.

Why is this post about soup and not our amazing weekend with Micah and Marianna? Well, I don't believe I can do it justice at this moment. I'm too draggy slow. When I have more pep, that will come out. I believe I'll think about soup until then. Maybe it will make the time fly by.

Talk soon
Ian

What I Learned This Week

2009-04-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

"They" say you learn something new every day. I haven't gotten to share this just yet, but I learned something very interesting and very new on Tuesday.

I was riding the train home, and it was packed. Such a touristy time of year. I finally managed to make my way to the back of the train, where I could lean against the wooden cabinet and stay out of the way.

Enter eavesdropping. Or more exactly, enter--people talking so loud the words on the page of my book jumbled and blurred to the point that I was staring at a page with undecipherable black markings forcing me to instead listen to said loud talkers.

The girl on the bench--heavy, loud girl--self proclaimed "I'm part black, part Creole, part American" speaking to two French guys standing in front of her bench, holding onto the rails.

She started the conversation:

"Are you from France?"
The reply--"Yes, we are."

Small back and forth about how she knew they were French.

"Where are you from?"

"All over! I live in Oakland, but I've lived ALL over Oakland." Insert multiple neighborhood names here. "And I was born in Berkeley."

More back and forth.

"Do you speak French?" one boy asked.
"Nah, but I worked in a French restaurant."
"Oh! What did you cook?"
"Crepes--the easiest thing ever. And paninis, things like that."
"Oh. Paninis are Italian."
"They are? I didn't know Paninis were from Italian."

Enter more banter about food and origins. Then asks if she knows French words. She does. It's Bonjour.

"Oh, do you also know how to say goodbye?"
"No. But my sister speaks French. We're part Creole."
"It's au revoir."
"O river." Giggles.
"Good!"

French guy returns to food conversation. "Crepes are French, paninis are Italian--what cooking is American?" he asks, adding: "Other than hamburgers."

"Well, hamburgers yes. And pizza. Oh no, pizza is from Italian. French fries---well, no, I guess they're French.

I don't know! I mean, I'm only part American. I'm also black and Creole. So, I eat Soul Food. Greens, black-eyed peas, yams. That's American.

Oh! And BBQ! That's Amercian. I eat a lot of bbq."

"BBQ is American?" he asks.

"Yeah, it's American. It dates all the way back. Indians invented bbq. When the settlers came to America in the 1800s, or the 1300s or whatever, Indians showed them how to make the bbq sauce and everything. It goes all the way back in American history."

"Oh! Wow, I had no idea," he said.

And neither did I! A little nugget of grossly inaccurate American history is what I learned on the F Tuesday evening. Of course, it did spark my curiosity enough to check out the true origins of bbq, but her story is way better.

How I Know it's Wednesday

2009-04-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

There are 2 ways I know it's a Wednesday. One I like seeing, the other one (though utterly dependable and sometimes amusing), not so much.

1. As I leave the house, and walk up Guerrero, I pass middle school children on Wednesdays. Just a block up, on Valencia, there's a huge yellow school. It's called The Friends School. Any school with the word Friends in its name must be yellow, I think.

Anyway, I enjoy seeing these kids because it reminds me that I'm in a city and their life is different from what my life was like growing up.

These kids are in various baggy tshirts, comfy shorts of all sorts, jogging pants. Girls' hair are pulled back in loose, messy ponytails. They're running around the blocks in groups of 2-3, then the stragglers by themselves, breath jagged, faces flushed. Or the occasional kid who's way behind, arms flailing, face so bright red it looks like a tomato ready to burst.

I love seeing them running. I like seeing the tall, stick thin kids in the front. I recognize myself in the middle of the pack, hating running but not wanting to be the last.

So different, running around city blocks during gym class and up and down the hills of San Francisco, exposed to the world of pedestrians, bicyclists, people gazing out their windows, dog walkers, and drivers. How vulnerable, compared to my upbringing of circling the Brookville track over and over and over again while staring at a stark landscape and chainlink fences. Coming up on the concession stand every loop around the neverending track which drew enormous lines during Friday night football games, but during the day was a sad, concrete maroon and gold closed box.

Anyway, I like seeing them and it makes me smile.

2. Get on the F like normal. But what's different is that I have to be very careful about where I sit. I head straight to the very back, which is being a little proactive, a little defensive.

Because what I know is that halfway down Market Street, we're going to stop in front of the Civic Center. And on Wednesdays, that means the Asian Farmer's Market is in full swing.

I don't know why this particular farmer's market is considered Asian. Maybe the vegetables you can get at the market lend themselves well to soba noodles, stir fry, and general tsao. But I do know that the stop is packed with swarming old Asian ladies and men carrying loads of plastic bags filled with all sorts of farmer's market purchases.

They overtake the F. They like to sit in the front (which is why I head to the back). Where the F was once a quiet commute--the main sound being the clicking of the levers in the front, and the sound of the rails--it becomes this enormously loud, chatty, high-pitched, guttural explosion of Asian exchanges. Pushy ladies toting 6 bags and cackling loudly with their friends. Squeezing into seats on the benches where there isn't a perceived vacancy. It's almost like hearing the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill for the first time, except much more discordant and disruptive.

I do not look forward to the last half of the ride.

Anyway, that's how I know it's Wednesday, and that's how I can tell time passes. Because it'll seem just like it was yesterday next week when I pass the school kids on my way to the F.

Visits

2009-03-29T23:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a week and a half or so of visits. At least.

Picking back up with the visit from Ian's cousin James and the adorable Eleanor (who, because of the snorgles, snarfles, snuggles, and grunts affectionately became known as Piggy). It was a pretty relaxing visit--usually dinners at home, except the last night we treated ourselves to Belden Place (it was a beautiful night). By the end of their visit (Thursday), Piggy became known as Piggy the Destructor. Although she's completely precious, she had a way with chewing, peeing,and throwing up in the homestead. The grand finale being noticed after they left...the kitchen cabinets. Alas, Piggy the Destructor left her mark. But gosh darn, look at that face!

Also Thursday, Ian was packing himself for the redeye to NC for his Dad's surprise birthday weekend. Having been super sad I couldn't go (darn airline tickets!! and their prices, too!), I had to call for reinforcements, and after dropping Ian off at the airport, I quickly prepared for the next round of visits, with my bff Steph.

The next work day--ah, the first day of Spring. A day of working from home, skipping out early and meeting my friend Katie on Fillmore Street for a late lunch. Back home just in time to pick Steph up from the airport.

Not to bore too much with the details, but the highlight of the trip had to be Napa on Saturday. Being a member at Cosentino sure paid off--well worth it. And Cakebread this time was a much different experience than last (for the better). Although rain threatened all weekend, it ended up being wonderful, and we had a great time.

Another trip to the airport (this time to pick Ian up at 1:00 am Monday morning)....happy to have him home. He dropped Steph off at the airport later that day, and Ian and I were alone in the house for the first time in well over a week...*sigh*

A week full of client happy hours, dinner and drinks with a friend from NY, dinner with friends Friday night, Ian's freelance...well, it goes on.

This weekend=BEAUTIFUL! We had a pretend North Carolina day yesterday--errands like Lowe's and Home Depot in South San Francisco. Exhausted us. It's been a very long time since we had to drive places, park, go into a big box store, get back in the car, drive somewhere else, park, go into another big box store. We both got home thinking--thank goodness we don't have to do this anymore. The one other happiness that was so North Carolina is that while at Lowe's, I bought some flowers for my window boxes and a huge hydrangea bush for the patio. It looks lovely out there.

But at least it was sunny--in the 70's! We had started our day with a delicious brunch at Absinthe--and this morning, following our rule of 1 brunch having to be someplace new, we took the J down to 24th St in Noe Valley and tried a new place complete with patio--Savor. Pretty good. That neighborhood is so freaking cute.

This afternoon, I spent a lot of time outside--I laid up on the roof for a bit (again trying to relive an east coast lifestyle, pretending it's actually hot). I then decided to get off my butt, walk around the city, and shoot some medium format pictures. I used to love taking pictures--somewhere between it all (having a hubby who also loves to, maybe, or his dad who does it for a living--maybe that's intimidating?), I simply haven't been. So, I dug up my old 120 film, my Seagull and Holga, and took to the streets for a couple hours. I struggled with even loading the Seagull it had been so long. All I remembered was that it had to be in a dark place--after struggling in the closet for awhile, I ended up having to look up instructions. The last time I distinctly remember loading that camera was in Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Sitting in a darkened pew. Taking my time. Listening to the hushed voices of tourists making their lap around, snapping photos.

Everyone in San Francisco was out. It made for great people watching, and a good way to spend the afternoon. Bi-Rite Ice Cream's line rounded the corner of Dolores, the park was like an enormous quilt--each piece was someone else's blanket or towel, people gingerly stepping between groups of friends.

Ian and I made some dinner, ate on the patio, and here we are.....

Micah and Marianna are coming on Thursday night---yeehaw! The visitors continue, and with each wave comes some new happiness and good times....can't wait to see them. Yes, you guys.

Things that make you happy

2009-03-18T11:10:00.001-07:00

It's the little things. So cliche, I know, but sometimes you have to focus on all the little things that you know will make you happy to maintain a positive attitude.

It's not even that I typically have a negative attitude. But maybe it's because I make effort to think about happiness and things that might impact it, and am proactive about making sure it's right there with me.

This week, it's all about little things that make me happy about my work environment. It starts with the decision to always have fresh flowers at my desk. I looooovvve flowers. I love them at home, but when I work all day I don't get to enjoy them as much.

So, I brought one of my favorite, most compact, fun, and non-breakable vases to the office (thanks K-Dawg for the vase!), to continually keep full with whatever the bloom of the week might be. I have several flower stands accessbile from my office, so it will be a lovely treat to step out once a week and pick up a delight.

The other thing I got was a new mug from the Anthropologie across the street. Makes me SO happy with it's cheerful colors, and built-in grooves for the wrapping of the fingers. Yessss....my coffee never tasted better.

Seattle! Again.

2009-03-16T17:15:00.000-07:00

Last week found me in Seattle for work. Yippee. What was more yippee about it was that Ian came along. Yippee [squared].

He even took me to the airport at the crack of dawn...not even dawn. We left the house at 4 am. There's something wrong with arriving by plane to a place about the same time you'd just be waking up. Luckily, my room at the W was ready (and I'm now gold status...woohoo), so I was able to check in, hop on my conference call, and order up some coffee.

Walked to a newer Microsoft office that afternoon for a meeting. It was my first time there, and albeit cold, a nice mile-long stroll. Scenery was nothing to complain about.

The other cool thing about the office was my first exposure to green flushing. Not only were the handles of les toilettes covered in a green anti-bacterial plastic, but they were accompanied by a sign that read "flush up for #1, and down for #2." All having to do with water conservation of course, but I wonder if we could start a new movement? A code for having to go #2 could be: "Yeah, I have to go down, but I'll be ready to go in a minute." It sounds nicer than just about any other euphimism for having to make a #2.

Anyway, Ian got in that night and we splurged at a former McKinney client, Capital Grille. Splurged meaning, dinner cost more money than Ian's plane ticket to Seattle.

I was looking like the cartoon character from the Puff's commercials at that point. Feeling sick with a sinus infection--it was a rough night. The next morning, Carrie (my boss) and I were both referred to Life Shield at Whole Foods. Who knew the power of mushrooms? We've been using it, and I think it works splendidly. The girl said that anytime she feels sickness coming on, just a few sprays in her throat and she recovers beautifully!

Ian and I hung with Paul and Carrie over the weekend. The main highlight for me---well, there's a few. But Saturday night, we made a late dinner--we had gone to Pike Place and bought Dungeness crab, filets, and wine. Anyway, delicious delicious dinner at their place. Another highlight would be the crazy gorgeous snow--large flakes the size of baseballs Sunday morning. I miss snow.

Ian and I flew home amidst many hours of delays, and had about an hour before James arrived with puppy Eleanor in tow. Nice! Good surprise that Ian's coz needed a change of scenery from LA to work on his exceptionally smart and adorable children's book. We love having him. Here's a shot of Ian at the grocery store, toting the attention-hogging Eleanor in his cart....

All photos courtesy of my Windows Mobile device. Oh yes, the lack of camera is growing more and more apparent.....

Food Photoblog

2009-03-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

So, I told you about the Goode family culinary adventures of late, and we finally uploaded pictures from our camera (here's the sad side story about that--Ian uploaded the pictures Friday night so he could take the camera snowboarding in Tahoe yesterday--then he lost the camera somewhere in the powder--poor guy).

Sorry for not including any pictures in the past few posts (bo-rrrring), but that's what takes the most time. I guess no pictures is better than no post.

Culinary Adventure One: Valentine's Day--lamb chops with mustard mint sauce, thyme and leek couscous, and roasted asparagus. Complete with pre-dinner Maker's Marks (yes, heart shaped ice cubes--it was Valentine's Day, after all), and finishing off with a giant cupcake.

Adventure 2: Asparagus Risotto with Seared Sea Scallops

Adventure 3: Homemade French Onion Soup

A Milk Moment

2009-03-04T18:42:00.001-08:00

I can't imagine that there is a city that can incite more inspiration, more passion to fight for a cause, or more community, then San Francisco.

Around the time of the election, it came from all sides--protests, marches, propaganda covering every imaginable ounce of space, people, and things. Ian and I were overwhelmed in a sea of strong opinions. But it's obviously quieted down considerably.

A couple of weeks ago, Ian and I went to see Milk. At the Castro Theatre, no less, which was the primary location of the movie. It was inspiring and incredible, and difficult to believe that there was such intolerance a short time ago. Much of San Francisco is the same, and perhaps that made it all the more hard-hitting.

Tonight, just at my stop, the F train was about to hit some rocky terrain. Marches used to be common back in the fall, but now? It was a surprise.

Proposition 8 is the modern-day Prop 6 from the movie Milk. If you've seen the movie, then you might have recognized the scene I just saw....Market Street, thousands of people, signs....ready to march. They were assembling, they were demanding equality, and the police were organizing.

Of course when I mention the police, the portrayal in Milk has long since been abandoned, and I do admire their tolerance in this city--of all the craziness in the streets, all that could be a mob or out of hand, but somehow never makes it that far. The police are forgiving here, and understand what makes the city hum.

If anything, SF is the city of love love love. And the protesting is out of love or for the encouragement of love. Or the right to love.

Oh the rants when I get home. How much has changed since the times of Harvey Milk, and how little.

I've never been politically prepossessed, but if any city could change me, if any cause could move me, it exists here.

Some thoughts

2009-03-03T17:58:00.000-08:00

I really like riding the F train. All the trains are different, and they come from all over: Louisville, Milan, Birmingham. I've come to know a lot of the interiors by their exteriors, but I'm still surprised sometimes. It seems like some are in circulation more at different times. I'll have to take pictures of them for you sometime.

The trains from Milan are the prettiest inside (but the least fun to ride in). They have glass pendant lighting, and wood benches alongside the car. It has a back door for emergencies only, but people never read that sign and panic when the back door doesn't open: ("Back door, Driver! BACK DOOR!"). I like to hang out back there so I can tell them to use the middle door.

My favorite trains inside are the ones that feel like a school bus, but have the single seats in the front. I like those trains because they have the most room, but (as with all F trains), there's a big risk to sitting towards the front--and that's because the front tends to be the smelliest.

One other thing that makes the F different is the amount of homeless, and incredibly smelly, people that get on. They must have a lot of business up and down Market street, and I never see this many homeless people get on the buses, or on the Muni underground. Or BART, for that matter. I've had to consciously hold my breath on the F before so I wouldn't be sick. It smelled that bad.

The F definitely has the most characters. I can't help but think sometimes of the USA Network's tagline: Characters Welcome. I feel like that's on the front of every F train.

The last distinction about the F is the conversations going on. Between strangers (sometimes 3-4 get involved), between people who get to know each other because they ride so often, and my favorite: between the driver and either other passengers, or sometimes other Muni drivers.

I like to eavesdrop on these conversations, because I feel like I get to know how to drive these crazy contraptions (you have to sometimes hit it hard, then let the air out slowly, slowly to stop efficiently). Or sometimes I just like to see glimpses of humanity--mainly the good, but sometimes some badness seeps through the interactions.

I also think the drivers are typically very friendly--they've waited for me sometimes when I'm across the street, but trying to get to them. I like how everyone thanks the drivers when they get out. It's quite the community. Drivers often know names of their passengers (even, and maybe especially, the homeless).

I have come to recognize the drivers. There's this one guy, and I've been noticing that lately he's been unhappy with work. He used to be extremely friendly and laid back, but the past few times I've ridden with him, he's been snappy to passengers, impatient, and seems frustrated. I feel bad for him, and sometimes want to tell him I've noticed.

Enough about the F. My other topic for today: weather.

It's rainy season here in SF. Rain and rain for days straight. What's interesting about this rainy spell is that sometimes there are periods of brilliant sunshine in the midst of the rain. Or, it will pour, the sun will take over and beat down, and the sky will go dark again and resume pouring. It's been quite beautiful, but I'll be happy when the rain stops.

At least Spare the Air is over (you're not allowed to burn fires on certain days to improve air quality)--because Ian and I are getting ready to make some French Onion Soup, and with that goes a glass of red and a roaring fire. Thanks, Alton Brown, for the recipe. I even went out and got some new oven safe bowls from Williams Sonoma for the occasion.

It's one of our nights in Culinary Travel. I know we haven't written in awhile, but we've made some rules about eating out. One is that we can only eat out for dinner once a week (unless there are extenuating circumstances--like friends or visitors). We've been cooking instead--lamb chops, cous cous, seared scallops, roasted asparagus risotto. Yes, be impressed. We are.

Was this a random post or what? I walk around writing blog posts in my head all the time, but never actually update the blog. I'm kind of tired of apologizing for it. I've thought about canceling the blog (because I hate having it over my head), but that's just silly. I'll write when I can. No apologies.

Snowy Seattle

2009-01-27T13:35:00.001-08:00

Snowy Seattle sounds better than Sleeting Seattle, or Rainy Seattle.

But it's all of those things. Rather, it snowed while I slept last night, but today was sleety rainy.

I walked 15 minutes from the hotel to work this morning, and....freeeeezingness (note the snow-covered Qwest field building...ah yes...Qwest). But kind of a brisk change from San Francisco. All I imagined was that I wished on the other end of my walk was a fireplace and a big glass of wine. Not simply a laptop, cellphone, and a gray view from the office window.

Debaucles yesterday with the flight. Wish I could write at the time how ridiculous flying and airports can be, and all the crazy characters you meet along the way. But then after the fact, I am tired of thinking about these people and the silly situations you find yourself in, so I can't expend much energy reviewing all the details of what happened. Just know it was silly, and my co-worker Bill said that if he went through what I did, he would have walked into the meeting and punched someone in the face. :)

Carrie (my boss) and I had a big step in our relationship last night, when I met her family for the first time. Her best friend, dad, step-mom, and of course her hubby and brother who I already know. Big, big step. I think it went well.

At the hotel, my points are finally taking effect....I'm getting the gold star treatment. On the highest floor, got some VIP pass (+1!) to an event there tonight, when a co-worker staying in the same hotel did not get one. Yesssss...I'm feeling special. I'm supposed to have dinner with some co-workers tonight , but in my heart I just want to go back to the hotel, order in, and put in the dvd I brought, watching a movie in my super comfy hotel bed.

OK, that's it for now.

January is running faster than we are.

2009-01-25T16:49:00.001-08:00

January is almost over. Ridiculous. It's been (so far) a loooong month. Good, but tiring.

I went last weekend to Cincinnati to visit my friend Kimberly, her husband Christopher, and to meet their little Owen for the first time.

Wow. Cold! Leaving 70 degree weather, I donned the fluffiest coat possible and embarked on the cross country journey.

It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend. Kimberly and I drove down to Lexington, KY (where we went to college) and drove around a bit, had a pint at the old hangout, etc. Things sure have changed...

This week at work=SUPER busy. Lots of meetings, my boss flew down from Seattle, taking clients out every night. Whew. I'm pooped. Then Ian and I went to the Castro Thursday night to see Better Off Dead (the director and Monique was there after for an interview). Good times. Truly SF.

Just really trying to recoup this weekend from my overboard of being social. Tomorrow I leave bright and early for Seattle for the week. Yowsers. It continues.

Highlights so far this month:

1. Training at work. I know. That sounds weird. One training I had to speak in front of a crowd / make a pitch while being recorded, then accept feedback and watch my DVD with the instructor. Painful as that is, it's a great way to better yourself. She gave loads of communication tips, and I found it really useful...if only I can stop saying "...right?", "um," and stop fidgeting with my hands.

The other training was a personality test--I'm a green / blue. Our team took a personality profile, and then combined it to learn about each other and the most effective ways of communication. Also really interesting, and good self-discovery there.

2. Seeing Kim. Yay. Chris and Owen, too. :)

3. Carrie (my boss) being here. Good times, although we created a lot of extra work for ourselves.

4. Coming home to Ian. yay.

Because Ian will likely not post anytime soon, I'll say for him that he went snowboarding in Tahoe, and is running a half-marathon next Sunday. Good for him!

OK, that's enough. Not too excited, but again. I'm down right tired. And I have to pack for my trip tomorrow. At this point it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. I'm conserving energy.

Ah, the New Year!

2009-01-05T19:06:00.000-08:00

I've never been a big New Year's fan. It's what you might call Amateur Night. Amateur Night for the hundreds of people who don't usually go out, drink, go to parties--it means that a small, local bar you might like to frequent is suddenly 10-deep at the bar, AND you had to pay a cover.

No thank you. It's all we can do to stay up until midnight. Next year, Ian and I vow to celebrate the East Coast's new year's (so we can stay up until 9 pm, then call it a night). Amen.

We have a couple of loose new year's resolutions this year, and I haven't written any resolutions since I was in middle school. I might have to dig them up, but I remember them to be something like:

1. Dress cooler.

2. Be cooler.

3. Exercise more.

4. Follow a beauty regiment.

What does that all mean at the age of 12? Who knows? But I used to write them.

This year, Ian and I want to stick to our date nights...to put more effort into planning a special evening discovering our city and spending time with each other. We also want to dedicate a night a week to bettering ourselves: by reading, learning something new, etc. Just away from the TV. I personally want to devote more time to keeping connected with my very dear friends from far away. With each move, I develop a larger circle of people I love, and I am horrible at maintaining those relationships regularly (or at least once in a while reminding them that I care). So...there you have it. A loose promise to each other. And my last loose resolution is to keep in mind some very wise words my Deedahn imparted over Christmas---he really is a role model. He was talking about our hometown--a small town--and said he couldn't understand why someone didn't want to have anything at all to do with the town. Because "there were very decent people living there." And those are words I want to remember more often. To stop being a tad judgmental, and remember that most people are decent and that they're people.

OK, enough for that.

This past week was a dream. After spending excellent quality time with all the fam and some friends, it was incredible to just hang out with Ian for a week. Although we were both "working" at times this week, we were both really slow. It was almost like we had the whole week to just get things done. It was great.

We went to see a double feature at the Castro Theatre Saturday--a tribute to Henry Mancini. It was Breakfast at Tiffany's and A Shot in the Dark. A great way to spend an afternoon. We had brunch some days, went shopping, spent a lot of time playing our instruments (Ian bought me an electric piano for new year's, and I have been practicing everyday---kicking my 13-year old self in the piano practicing butt)...and Ian's gotten back into playing guitar. I know, I know...we're a regular Partridge Family.

So today was back at work, but we did both get to see our good friend Wendy, who was in SF for a day (for work).

You can tell the holidays are done. As I walked the 2 1/2 blocks home from the F train tonight, I passed 7 Christmas trees on the sidewalk, awaiting pick-up tomorrow morning. How sad. One had a Mountain Dew bottle in it, one still had tinsel. Ours was sadly not among the sidewalk trees--it had moved up a block on Saturday when we set it out (for the people in the "home" to enjoy, undoubtedly), and today has disappeared. Hopefully it's happy wherever it is....

And now bye bye to the holidays until next year....*sigh*

We've Landed

2008-12-31T10:07:00.000-08:00

Here we are...home sweet home. It felt oh so good to be back in our own beds Monday night / Tuesday morning. Yes, our flight arrived at 1:20 am Tuesday morning, our bags were right there on the carousel, and we were cabbing it home. Give us a few minutes to hunt down our house keys after they've been shuffled around, and we were snug in our own bed. We both put in a pretty full day at work yesterday, and this chilly morning, I find myself sipping coffee and having a leisurely morning--things are so slow work wise, I'll be working from home the rest of the week!

Our trip home was great--luck seemed to be on our side, starting with even making it home (with all the crazy weather). Weather overall for us was good, especially on traveling days. We spent 4-5 days with Ian's family, which was really fantastic. Just had a really good, relaxing time and a very nice Christmas--meals were good, games were fun, and playing with the puppies was...well...fun. I also was able to get in a decadent family-style meal at Maggiano's with most of the Hippos (minus Ashley).

We spent the next 4-5 days in Virginia with my Deedahn and Jeff, seeing Mom, Gran, Gran'ma, Chip, and new baby Parker (hope you're feeling better, trace! We missed you....). New baby is a doll--he has the squishiest cheeks, which is a recipe for a cute baby. Also had a night with my girls, Kris and Steph--and Kris brought her little man, Everett.

And lastly, we drove back to Raleigh, spent the night with Steph, Mark, and Riley, which was also just so comfortable and like home to me. Monday was brunch with Carmen, we played a game, I got a massage, and we met Ian's parents for dinner before flying the friendly skies.

Yowsers. It was packed. And Ian and I felt pretty bad when we got home. Just so much junk food. We've decided a few things that we've taken for granted since being out here, and then returning back east for awhile. Here goes:

1. It's illegal in California to drive while talking, texting, looking at your phone, etc. So everytime the phone rang when we were driving (or if we needed to text), we made the passenger take care of business. It's become ingrained that it's "bad" to do all these things while driving.

2. We become completely wasteful consumers when we go home, because North Carolina and Virginia make is SO hard to recycle. Sheesh! Really surprising the difference it makes when things are made easy for you--it hurt to throw things away (like wrapping paper!!!?!?!), but what else are you going to do with it? Drive it however many miles to a recycling bin? It's really disconcerting, and it makes me feel bad everytime we go home. Especially when you see how much "stuff" is gone through over Christmas when family is all around.

3. Food. In general. Not to say there isn't delicious food back home, but man oh man! Maybe it was just Christmas, or that we were on the road? We ate more crap than I care to think about. It was drive-throughs, and Gran's house for dinner (which was a treat, albeit laced with about a pound of Crisco, butter, and sugar), doughnuts, cakes, cookies--all sorts of things that aren't a part of our normal diet. Maybe that's why I got grossly sick on the last day (and am still trying to push it all out of my system?). Ian made dinner last night, and we had a grilled pork chop, brown rice, broccoli, and cauliflower, and my body sighed in relief.

4. Exercise--you have to seek it out there. I am thankful, thankful for having to walk everywhere here. Exercising is ingrained in daily living. There it was moving from couch to couch, from table to table, driving, sitting, laying down. We went out to play tennis once. It's not that I couldn't exercise--it's just that here you have to. There isn't a choice. And I really missed moving around. I actually think that if the weather holds out (rainy season is upcoming), I will walk to work in the mornings just to feel a bit better. Because sitting around and stuffing yourself for 10 days straight=poopiness. I think if Ian and I move somewhere, we will go on evening walks together. Because it's a nice pasttime, and a good way to be together.

Last super fun news is that Ian went out yesterday and bought me an electric full-sized piano! He said he enjoyed watching me play at Deedahn's house, and that I looked really happy doing it. How exciting. The great thing about it is that it is electric, so I can plug in headphones and not subject anyone to my crazy banging. So, it's a fun new toy....and Ian is incredibly thoughtful.

And so, it's New Year's Eve--not a favorite holiday of mine. Kind of anti-climactic. Our good friend Carrie and her new man-friend are coming over. I think we're going to have Little Star Pizza and possibly play some board games to ring in the new year, which seems just my speed.

Have a safe and happy new year. We miss our friends and family already, and thank you all so much for your hospitality and great company.

Pictures to follow, once we can upload them. :)

Merry Christmas

2008-12-18T11:14:00.003-08:00

We're out! Leaving in about 15 minutes to fly back east.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Ah, continue the holiday spirit!

2008-12-14T21:12:00.000-08:00

We haven't updated the blog too much in the past week or so. Not because we're lazy, but we just don't have a lot to say.

The past couple of weeks have been pretty normal (with Christmas cheer thrown in here and there...the shopping, preparing, etc). A shout out now to my Deedahn for ordering a large shipment from Omaha Steaks that arrived before Thanksgiving. Ian and I have been cooking a delicious treat every night (pork chops, burgers, franks, steaks, lasagna, sole fillets....the list goes on). So we've had some good eats at home.

Last night was my company holiday party, and a party it was. It was our first official Microsoft holiday party, and quite the soiree. A whole block of a building, with different rooms set to project different parts of the world by way of culinary style and music theme.

Ian and I got all decked out, got our pictures taken prom-style, drank some top-shelf liquor, wine, and beer (you go, Microsoft!), and mingled a la corporate goodness.

It was interesting to be part of such a huuuuge party--I'm never good at predicting how many people attend an event, but I'd say in the low thousands for this one. Deck the halls!

The rest of this rainy weekend (besides getting stuffed with brunch), the unprecedented happened. Ian helped me with the Christmas cards! I even have photos to prove it.

And he did such a brilliant job, making cute little sketches and saying funny things.

Much better than I could have done it, and it's so refreshing not to have to decorate (yes, it was do-it-yourself card year), write, and address all 60 Christmas cards. Because I also have to send all my clients Christmas cards, and man is it a lot! Anyway, thanks to Ian for being so sweet about it. Very helpful, thank you.

And now, we have 3 busy days ahead of us (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday), before flying back to the East Coast for the holidays. Yeehaw!

In the Christmas Spirit

2008-12-07T14:19:00.000-08:00

It's been a strange holiday season. I'm going back and forth between feeling the Christmas spirit, and feeling like it shouldn't be Christmas yet. Or like it's actually June and I'm pretending it's Christmas (in San Francisco, anyway, the weather is the same in December for the most part as it is in June).

I'm blaming it on the late Thanksgiving. The fact that we had Thanksgiving, and within a matter of days (not even a week!) we were into December. Fast forward simply a week in December, and Ian and I are flying home for Christmas in 2 weeks! How time flies! I still have Christmas shopping to do! And we hadn't even decorated....

Until this weekend.

On Wednesday, we walked up to Delancey Street Christmas trees just a few blocks from our house, and picked out this awesome 3-footer. Our trick is to pick a smaller tree then place it in our front windows on a storage container (the one we actually use to keep our holiday gear). From the outside, it looks pretty big, but in our living room, he's a little guy.

Here's an observation about buying Christmas trees in a lot. When I was growing up, I can't really remember a time where we had a real Christmas tree. For as long as I can remember, we have had the same fake tree (that my Dad still uses, and I "borrowed" for a time when living in Kentucky). So, I never realized that going to get a live tree would be such an experience.

What happens is straight out of my 2nd grade play, which was called The Littlest Christmas Tree. Or perhaps thinking about poor Charlie Brown's tree. Or the fact that my family consistently gives personalities to inanimate objects. Still. What happens is that I tend to think like my inner 8-year old self and wonder if the tree's feelings would be hurt if I don't choose it. Or wonder if they're sad they're not big and fluffy, but kind of scrawny. If their boughs droop when person after person pass them by, without so much as a glance.

So I find myself whispering my likes to Ian, so the trees can't hear. How psychotic is that! Or I'm tempted to find the most "full bough" challenged, the smallest, the crookedest tree and select that one to go home with me.

But I don't. Within, oh--about 10 seconds, I found our little man.

We tagged him, grabbed some mistletoe, and were walking home with him. Our 2nd annual tradition.

Fast forward until this weekend, and Saturday was the day! I wrapped presents to help get me in the mood in the afternoon, drinking some wine and keeping some cheesy holiday movies on in the background. Ian worked on a project and then played xbox live with his friend Cliff, and drank some holiday Maker's Mark. It wasn't really holiday, but I'm sure it helped him feel the spirit. Then we made (ok, Ian made) a wonderful dinner of filets, potato croquettes, carrots, and broccoli. We finished off by baking sugar cookies.

The fire was lit, Christmas music was on, eggnog filled my glass. And so we decorated our little tree, who I will now name Martin. It feels really nice to see these old ornaments that now tell the story of Ian and I as a family.

We bring them out, talk about where they came from, how long we've had them...good times.

Oh, it's getting so close to Christmas! We leave for NC and VA in about a week and a half. Can't wait! Time to watch some Christmas favorites....

fruit. round one

2008-12-02T16:08:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy apples. I've always eaten apples, but I feel like recently, I've really been connecting with those guys. Maybe it's because I've given other varieties a try. I'm finding there are good ones out there besides the ______ delicious breed.

Honey Crisp for insistence. WOW! they have my favorite apple trait: A good pop when you bite into them. I don't know if they have these everywhere, but MAN are they good.

How have I gotten involved with the apple you ask? well, Whole foods is the reason. For lunch, if I can't decide what to eat, I walk over Whole Foods and get a "golden gate" sandwich (toasted) or a soup. Then I walk over to the apples and pick one up for my mid afternoon snack. Since they have what amounts to an apple buffet, I started branching out. I thought that for 85 cents, I can afford to make a mistake if I don't enjoy the taste.

I still don't dig baked fruit as much as raw. I don't know what it is, but still, when I see apple pie, I don't think yum. (I do think "It might be okay with ice cream" but that's a different story)

Okay, why does it smell like Indian food in here? It's 4:30. Who is eating Indian food this late in the afternoon. It'll spoil their dinner. From what I can tell, It's not going to be very good. I usually like the smell of Indian food, but whatever that is, it smells terrible. I'm going to investigate the odor.

not what I expected.

Oh, look at the time, I want to get out of here soon. I'm meeting Lori downtown. That means I have to go home first, get some things, and then jump on the train. I hope it's not too busy down there with people doing their holiday shopping.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

How Much is that Doggie in the Window? [arf, arf]

2008-12-01T21:52:00.000-08:00

Oh, Christmastime. I read an article in Advertising Age today praising Macy's New York for making good on their multi-decade streak of beautifully decorated shop windows for the holidays. And I thought, yes, it's magical.

But can it compare to the shop windows of the San Francisco Macy's at Christmas?

I doubt it.

Not only do they deck the halls with style and flair (also piping holiday songs onto the street), but they do so in the name of charity. Here's where I get in trouble (and make a lot of detours by the Macy's windows for a couple of months).

It's the SPCA annual drive. The windows are meant to look like picturesque SF home fronts (plus the added fake snow...SF won't likely see any of the white stuff)...but, add to that scene irresistible puppies and kittens up for adoption?

Oh no...let the crowds draw close. And enter me, wiggling my way to catch a glimpse of the puppies. Oh, the puppies!

Hooray for Tiny Turkeys!

2008-11-30T20:21:00.000-08:00

Ian and I have had off work since about 6 pm last Tuesday. Yep, it's Sunday night. It felt like a lifetime off.

We had about 30 minutes to hang out at home (read: run around the house straightening) before driving to the airport to pick up my Deedahn and Jeff. I had spent some time Saturday creating them a sign, and we came equipped. I guess you could say they were a bit embarrassed.

Not to go into all the detail of our time together, but it was nice piddling, relaxing, running around the city, eating. Wednesday was super crummy weather-wise, which also happened to be the day we chose to go to Alcatraz.

Alcatraz is still cool--I'm not one for audio tours, or any tours for that matter. But the tour is very interesting, and well-worth the time.

Other highlights have to include that we stumbled upon an ice skating rink in Union Square on Thanksgiving Day and gave it a go. Ian and I always tried to go last year. We even went to the ice skating rink at the Embarcadero Center last year, only to discover it was the day sponsored by Starbucks--aka, free hot chocolate, coffee, and skating. Needless to say it was too packed and we never made it on the ice.

But this year, although warm outside, Jeff, Ian, and I donned our rented ice skates and took to the ice. Deedahn, holding numerous coats, sweaters, and 1 purse, waved to us from the sidelines. A picture of him so familiar to me through all these years.

What can I say? We're suckers for some holiday fun. I am pretty nervous in my old age, so I was a bit slow and wobbly. But at least my butt never hit the ground. And winging around to see the huge tree in Union Square (it was lit on Friday night) was not so bad, either. It was essentially a whole hour of a grin plastered to my face.

We got a late start with making dinner as a result, but Ian put out some tasty Mt Tam cheese (a delicious local favorite), and Deedahn opened the bottle of Kir Royal he brought back from Paris. Lovely. We had all the traditionals--turkey (our 2-year streak of tiny turkey breast--all 3 pounds!), stuffing, green bean casserole, mac and cheese, sweet potato biscuits, and pumpkin cheesecake. Not a bad endeavor.

The other notable favorite outtings (because why would I blog about the awesomeness of going to bed at 10pm most nights, or enjoying cups of coffee in the morning with my dad?): Golden Gate Park, our dinner at Magnolia, and brunch at Foreign Cinema.

Well, maybe also my walk with Deedahn in the morning after their arrival. It was fun taking him around the neighborhood--seeing Mission Dolores church, Dolores Park--then walking down 18th to Market and back home.

I may also want to mention our "brunch" Friday morning (post-Thanksgiving). It started with Deedahn waking up and having some cheesecake with his coffee. Then Jeff microwaving some mac and cheese for breakfast. Putting Tootsie on the TV. After I made some blueberry muffins, we all filtered in to watch Tootsie and munched on them. I also decided mac and cheese sounded good, so I made myself some. To which Ian returned that call, came back from the kitchen with his own mac and cheese AND pumpkin cheesecake. Which Jeff met, by getting his own cheesecake and heap of whipped cream. Which spawned Deedahn into asking for some mac and cheese. So we made him some, but not before he also asked for turkey. I finished us off by eating a piece of pumpkin cheesecake. It was a lovely disaster chain reaction of a morning, that found us coming out of our food / Tootsie coma at about 1 in the afternoon (still all sporting our pj's. my idea of perfection).

OK--back to other stuff. Golden Gate Park is incredible. Why don't I ever come here? I will start. We took the N pretty much to the ocean, which is also just incredible.

Then we walked to the edge of Golden Gate by the Dutch Windmill.

On through trails of fragrant trees, bushes, and flowers. All the way over to the Bison Paddock.

Yes, bison. Then further along past lakes and waterfalls, doggies, runners, walkers, bikers, lovers, kids, ducks. Onto the Japanese Tea Garden, which alas, was closed for the day.

On then to Haight Street. To Magnolia, which happens to be a place Jeff loves to eat, but Ian and I have never been there. It was perfect. We were chilled a bit, tired of walking so much. Sat in a booth, ordered our brews, and a delicious gastropub feast ensued. Stuffed, we walked down Haight, and back home.

So Foreign Cinema for brunch Saturday before they left--it's been over a year since I've been there for brunch, but man is it delicious. So glad we made that decision. We made the trek on a gorgeous Saturday morning. Sat outside, and feasted on the homemade pear and raspberry poptarts, a croque monsieur--and then we all had our separate dishes. It was delightful. Headed to the airport, and the only thing happy about the separation is the fact that we'll see them in a few weeks.

It's setting in a bit about how precious the time is...Deedahn is moving to Paris everyone (for those that didn't know). And it's so much harder to get there now that we're living on the west coast. It's like every minute counts. A rare thing that we can all be together at once. Even rarer come January, but we'll do our best.

In the meantime, Ian and I have been preparing for Christmas. The Christmas tree lot has moved a couple of blocks closer to our house, and we're readying ourselves this week to get one. It's good to see a few windows on the street donning lovely, bright lit trees. It's starting to appear everywhere--lit snowflakes line Market Street, wreaths and bows don the streetcars.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, and I can't wait!

Hello again!

2008-11-24T21:25:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot about this blog. For starters, I missed you guys. What I actually do is walk around the streets of San Francisco writing the blog in my head. So that by the time I actually might make time to update it, those words have long since disappeared to the non-existent audience in my head. Alas.

What I think is that I will stop apologizing for being remiss in writing. I even had conjured up in my head (oh, about a month ago) something clever about how this blog was Ian's puppy. How he made it, promised he would feed it and take it out, but when he finally got the puppy, his parents actually had to nurture it.

I digress. Back to my original reason for posting. I've been thinking about why Ian created this blog to begin with. While it's since turned into a narrative of "we did this, we did that:" essentially a good way to stay connected with our loved ones, it ends up getting away from its original design, which is actually selfish by nature. It was originally set up to document our life in San Francisco. The title, "Making it our Mission," while sounding completely dedicated or almost religious, is actually a pun on our neighborhood, the Mission. It's supposed to be all about our discovery of the city, or settling into new life. Selfishly, it would be great to look back on this and remember when.

We've passed a pretty big milestone in our absence from writing. Our 1-year anniversary since moving here. Unfortunately, we did start the blog much later. But if I were to comment on our 1-year, I'd say something about how different it all is now. How when we first moved here, we felt like glorified tourists for a long time. Or, how we made such a big deal about how we needed to explore, how we needed to take advantage of living in such a great city.

All of those things have evolved. It's not that we don't try to take advantage now. In fact, in the past few months we've really been enjoying the city. But I will say that what's changed is the constant desire to feel obligated to explore and discover. What I've learned about San Francisco is that it has a pulse of its own. There's a distinct vibration, and maybe once you stop trying to find every nook and cranny of each neighborhood, you'll notice it. Because it's always there.

When we moved here over a year ago, we stayed in temporary housing in Nob Hill, right on the Cable Car line. If you've ever been near a cable car line, you'll know that there is this constant humming. Of electricity in the tracks. That's what this city has all the time--a life, a vibration. It's constant and everyone and everything is a part of it. It seems like it's living to me.

If I wanted to run down the list of things that we've done since we last wrote: Yosemite Park for a weekend and our 2-year wedding anniversary. Yes, two years! Seems so long ago, and it's truly odd how I love being married more each day. I should qualify that. I love being married to Ian each more every single day. It's an amazing feeling.

Yosemite was incredible. We stayed at a bed and breakfast, the weather was lovely. I have to say that every scene looks like a fake backdrop. It was majestic, and it's incredible that we're so close to such magnificence.

I've been to Toronto for work (my first time there as an adult)--it was good. Ian came with me up to Seattle, and we had a great time exploring around. I actually was just back there last week. What else? Our brother-in-law (Hilliary's hubby) came during a business trip and we had a nice dinner together. The following weekend, Ian's parents came to visit, and Hilliary surprised him by also coming for his birthday. The weekend after that, our good friend Carmen came to visit. I've been to Napa (twice)--ridiculous that it's only an hour away...my heros live there (at least the ones I like to drink). It was like going on a Beverly Hills star home tour if I were into celebrities. I mean, imagine rows and rows of your favorite wineries! I was star-struck.

Alas, here we are and it's Thanksgiving. My bro and Dad are flying here tomorrow, and I can't wait!

Other item of note is that my office moved...I now work "at the mall." At least our offices are right above the main enormous mall in SF, and so my life has taken a turn as a result. I can go into more detail later.

I guess this is just more introductory to say we've been really busy and enjoying life. But I do want to get this blog back to where it started and to focus on San Francisco and our life here, how we've adjusted and found balance. It's been such an interesting city to get to know intimately. Sometimes I feel like I know it so well and nothing surprises me. Other times, I look around at all the familiar places and everything seems new all over again.

We both joined yelp.com and review restaurants and places that way. You can look us up and our reviews. So, we may not review so much here. Just know we're brunching it every weekend like normal, but we do try to cook more at home. :)

Enough for now. Just know that I know this blog is in serious need of attention, which it will get. Just maybe in a different way.

Strange Things Afoot in San Francisco

2008-09-08T19:10:00.000-07:00

Ah, the strangeness that is San Francisco the past couple of weeks! Here's the rundown:

1. Sitting on the couch, watching TV, one o'clock in the morning. Sirens going by, then stopping. I look out the window, and am met with 6-7 police cars parked in front of the house and down the street. Long story short, we catch from a cop telling a bystander (taking multiple pictures) that it was car theft. I saw initially the police running, shouting. Then later, the caught men sitting on sidewalks, handcuffed. Policemen retrieving their dropped billy clubs from the street. All my neighbors doing the same thing: looking out their windows, or standing on the sidewalk. What a spectacle!

2. Next night, drifting off to sleep in bed. Hear a noise, Ian gets up. He says it's actually about the 3rd noise in a row, all seconds apart. He goes to look out the very windows we were glued to the night before, and I join him. On the other side of the street, also in front of our house, are 5-6 police cars, one girl crying on the sidewalk, her red BMW crashed into a parked car. Then we look up the street and see the havoc she's wreaked. Multiple hit cars, shoved on the sidewalk or under each other, all bashed in the side. What did this girl do?!? Even more neighbors in on watching these goings-on.

3. Walking to work the next morning, a van pulled over with their blinkers on. Only to realize it's because she's in some sort of slapping fight with another woman against a restaurant front. I hate fighting, but I couldn't even stop to call 911 because the slapping and kicking was such a farce. I had to shake my head and block out the screaming, crowd gathering mess. And this, only 8:30 in the morning.

4. Ian and I are on the couch this weekend, watching TV and an enormous truck drives by, rattling everything. But then the rattling doesn't really stop. And Ian and I look at each other, and the rattling is still rattling, and we realize it for what it is: an earthquake. It stops. Later, we look online and confirm it indeed was an earthquake, our first. A 4 on the richter scale. So small that my Mom doesn't even call me immediately to ask if I'm alright (which is what she did the last time there was an earthquake, the one Ian and I were oblivious to).

5. Ah, the weather! Another oddity. Past 2 weeks, like 80 degrees. Really unheard of. Which wouldn't be bad at all if San Francisco or the Bay Area ever heard of a little something called air conditioning. Sometimes, open windows don't cut it and all you can do is take a cold shower. Ironic that the day after Labor Day was like the first day of summer here, and I donned a white dress. Then last night, Ian and I watched...literally tracked the fog rolling in. We were greeted with a chilly grayness today that seemed entirely disparate from the sunshine of this weekend.

If I were an umbrella, my name would be Stan.

Labor Day Weekend and Beyond!

2008-09-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend was good. It snuck up on us, which was better...we saw Hamlet 2. Anyone else see it? It's pretty funny.

And because it was such a gorgeous weekend, we did our first bike around the city together. We went down by the water, past AT&T Park, flew by the Ferry Building, Embarcadero, the Fisherman's Wharf, and finally landed in Ghirardelli Square for a cupcake. It was a fantastic way to see the city.

Monday, we went back to Muir Woods, but more to hike it (and less to stand and stare up at Redwoods).

We were out and about the woods for about 3 hours or so. It was nice to get away from the touristy crowds, and explore the trails in peace.

Alas, that's about all we've been up to, other than the incessant brunches. We did try a new notable place this weekend, Universal Cafe. Also tried Stacks, but it wasn't as notable. If nothing else, we sure do eat out a lot (especially for brunch on the weekends).

Saturday night was also self-proclaimed German night--we ate lots of schnitzel, spaetzle, and had large delicious German beers. Wunderbar! And Ian has been working hard (nightly) to perfect his s'mores made right in the kitchen technique.

We have a lot coming up: our 2nd anniversary is Wednesday, and this weekend we're celebrating by taking a trip to Yosemite. Then, we're both going to Seattle next week--me, for work. Ian, piggybacking off my trip and checking out the city. The following week I'm off to Toronto for work.

Exciting times ahead!

If I were a camera, my name would be Percival.

My awesome husband....have I mentioned I'm the luckiest?

2008-08-24T19:50:00.001-07:00

He makes me breakfast in bed on work days. 'Nuff said.

The stuff in between....

2008-08-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

Forgot to include random tidbits from the week before we left for NC, so here they are...

My Moroccan dinner with the sales team for work,

followed by the Chinatown Bender with my clients...

and our Saturday night in Dolores Park watching The Breakfast Club with friends and a couple of bottles of wine.

If I were a belly dancer, my name would be Sheena.

Weekend--yes, I think we're caught up!

2008-08-24T19:31:00.000-07:00

Being back in SF this past week has been good. It was good going back to NC, but good to be home, too.

Wednesday night, my friend Cyndi was in town, and Ian and I had dinner with her at the delicious Belden Taverna.

Thursday night, Ian's soccer game was cancelled and we ended up with a date night. It was my turn to plan, so impromptu I picked an Italian place over in Union Square--it was good. I actually don't totally remember the name, and am just lazy enough not to bother looking for it.

Then we headed over to Moma and to the Frida Kahlo exhibit. Would you believe my behavior? That I love art museums, and still had never been to Moma? Shame on me.

Thursdays is half-price night, and they stay open until 9:45. We had a good date night, if I do say so myself. Highly recommended.

Friday night we were super excited to go to Outside Lands Festival to see none other than headliner Radiohead.

Don't want to spend too much time on it. You can read about it here. Want to maybe point out that I think the reason it got so many stars was the line-up. Otherwise, transportation was screwed (Ian and I walked miles to get there), lines were unbelievable, you couldn't see a thing, the crowds were insane. Ian and I actually left the concert way early, and are happy we did. Although we got on a very crowded train, we heard that after the concert ended, people were jumping fences to get out, fights were breaking out, and lines for the trains were 2+ hours. We were just happy to get home.

Saturday...brunch at J's Pot of Soul in Hayes Valley. It was a new one for us. I read about it on Yelp, and the pumpkin pancakes were indeed delicious. A new good one, close to our house.

I think we might have fairly lazed about the rest of the day, and went to Little Star Pizza for dinner (so darn good). Then our buds Katie and Liz came over for famous Mitchell's ice cream and some Pop5.

Sunday...well, all I can say is we had the brunch of perfection at 2223.

Then it was down Market to the event I've been waiting for: The Little Mermaid sing-a-long at the Castro theatre! OWIE YOWIE YOWSERS! It was the stuff dreams are made of.

I loved it. Just loved it.

Now I'm blogging (have been for seemingly hours...that's what we get for being slackers)...drinking a refreshing kir. Listening to some great music (didn't mention this before, but Ian's managed to wire speakers in just about every room of the house, linking back to itunes...). Ian is playing Call of Duty 4 with Paul on Xbox Live. We're debating Indian or Thai for dinner. We have more Mitchell's ice cream in the freezer, and life is good.

If I were an aloe plant, my name would be Portia.

News: Part 2 (the bad news)

2008-08-24T19:14:00.001-07:00

Ok, friends, here's the bad news. My childhood home burned to the ground.

I think my Gran read it in the newspaper. Then my Mom drove by the house (or what was left of it. The pictures are incredibly sad.

The interesting part is that Jeff went by there, as well, on his trip home to meet Parker. The house had been sold, and the new owners had moved a few things in and were beginning renovations.

This takes me back to last year, when Ian, Jeff, and I went to the house and decided to knock on the door and ask to come in to check things out. That's when we realized how poorly the owners took care of the house, and how they had changed nothing.

We walked away that day with my 5th grade project of Stonehenge, a drawing on notebook paper my brother Brian did and was still hanging up (?), the Pizza Hut magnet, an old Garfield poster (yes, also still hanging up)...what we left behind were all the random things the people who lived there decided to keep--our welcome mats, my mom's old, useless Christmas decorations...why they lived in a mess, I don't know. Mind you, it had been 11 years since we lived there. And almost NOTHING CHANGED. Yowsers.

So, the new owners bought the house, and somehow it burned pretty much to the ground. When Jeff stopped by, the adults were there cleaning things up, and Jeff spoke with them. They had 3 kids. The best part of this whole story was that Jeff shared a lot of our childhood memories with them, told them about how the house had been in good condition and the wonderful times we had there. It opened their eyes to the possibilities, which the latest owners had deteriorated from view.

OK, the second best part of the story was this. The woman began speaking of how their oldest daughter (maybe she was 15 or 16) did NOT want to move, was really upset about it, angry, etc. Well, she was ripping out the carpet in my old bedroom, and her attitude shifted.

For some crazy reason, I had no carpet in my bedroom for a matter of years....we ripped it up, were going to replace it...and...got lazy? I don't know. But, concealed under an area rug, I began writing on the floor. With the dates (it was the 80's)....about life, how things were going. I intially intended for someone to find it years and years later...like a memorial, and like a message to a future owner.

Better than I ever expected, this girl found the writing and her attitude lifted. She told her mom she realized whoever had that room had been happy and had good memories there. It meant something to her, changed her perception, and she felt a connection with the younger me.

All I have to say is Hooray for that!! I am so excited to have heard that story, and it means the world to me.

Jeff says they plan on rebuilding the house almost exactly as it was. Of course, it won't be the same. But I do hope to go back someday and meet the new family and see what they've done. They did indeed buy a very happy, blessed home.

If I were a treehouse, my name would be Samuel.

News: Part 1 (the good news)

2008-08-24T19:05:00.001-07:00

If I said I had good news and bad news, which do you want to hear first? What would you say? Here, right now, I can't hear you. So, I'm picking for you. It's good news.

I'm an aunt! Or a cousin! Or whatever! You know, families are unique. So I have a half-aunt Traci who is only 4 years older than me. So she feels more like a cousin or another sibling.

Regardless, Traci just had a wonderful baby boy, Parker (named after my maternal grandmother's maiden name).

This is not only great news because Traci and Parker are healthy and happy, but also because it is the first child introduced to our family! Thanksgivings and Christmases have been plagued with a bunch of 30-year olds at the proverbial "kid's table," and now I think we've graduated with Parker's entrance to the family. Hooray for that!!!

I have been the youngest, at a chipper 31--well, I guess Ian is technically the youngest, but it's about time someone has introduced something small and wiggly and new into our tribe. Can't wait for the first big holiday event with a little one present.

Here are some pics with my dear Mom, Gran'ma, Gran, and Jeff.

Can't wait to meet him!!!

If I were a baby, I'm afraid my name would continue to be Lori.

NC--Rehearsal and wedding (and mush in between)

2008-08-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

Aha, our story is creeping slowly toward the purpose of our trip! After our dinners with our individual friends (thanks for the company girls, and for the wonderful dinner and coffee, Carmie!), Ian and I drove back to Tarboro (about an hour and a half) in some pretty heavy fog.

Sadly, we decided on that trip back to change our plans the next night and stay in Chapel Hill to avoid another late-night drive.

Thursday evening, we drove to Durham--I dropped Ian off with the guys for pre-wedding drinks (I think in some cultures it's called a bachelor party, but I think they just hit up the QShack and James Joyce), and I picked up Quinney (you may remember Quinney from her visit to SF) and we drove to Raleigh for Marianna's bridal shower.

The weather is something that I just can't get over (mainly the weather difference). I felt naked leaving the house with sleeveless shirts and sandals, and not bringing along some heavy back-up. I mean, we've been back in SF for a week now, and Friday night--heck if I wasn't wearing boots, jeans, a scarf and jacket, and STILL was cold.

Anyway, we go to Marianna's mom's house and there are more friends to see--mainly from McKinney (and of COURSE the glowing bride-to-be), but also the wonderful Rebecca Sketch who I was so excited to see is expecting. And met a new friend, Kelly, who work(ed/s) with the M's at Arnold.

After the shower, I drove Quinney home and picked up Ian from the James Joyce where we headed to our hotel to check in. The lovely Holiday Inn Express. Alas.

Next morning, Ian and I headed to Southpoint mall---I just had to visit the old girls at Avalon for all things "cure" (mani and pedi) pre-wedding. We soon found ourselves getting ready for our respective activities--can't speak for Ian (again, I encourage him to speak for himself in this blog...Ian? Ian? Are you there?)....but, I was off to a bridal luncheon at the Old Granary at Fearrington Village.

In fact, that's where the wedding and reception were. I'm just going to go ahead and put a fatty link here to the Fearrington Village. It is a wonderful, charming place and you should just explore that site and drool a little.

So, the luncheon was great. Got to know the bridesmaids a bit better, and Kelly from Arnold was also there....just love her.

Immediately following was the rehearsal. Can I now just prompt you to again visit the website? Gorgeous! Kind of ridiculous. It was raining a bit, so we rehearsed under a roof, but I just love the space, and I was so happy to see some old friends of the M's that had been to our house way back when, Hal and Jenn.

Can I just stop and say how much we really love Micah and Marianna (who we affectionately dubbed m&m, or the M's back in the day)? If you don't believe us, find them here and you'll have to agree.

OK, then we had a break where we all went back to our hotels and rested, got dressed again and headed to the Weathervane for the rehearsal dinner.

Delicious bbq buffet with the most amazing sweet potato mash on the side--which reminds me--I emailed them for the recipe and they haven't responded.

The bestworse part of the dinner was the procession of toasts to the bride and groom---man, I tried so hard to contain the waterworks, but was a bit hard to control with all the crazy love and support flowing around that room. Just insane.

Afterwards, we all headed to the West End Wine Bar (the Cellar, to be exact), where we met with tons of friends from McKinney.

AND my Hippos were all in town and also came to the bar.

It was a good: friend / happy to see everyone / I just love you all overdose. In a really lovely way.

I had a hard time saying no to hopping across the street to The Lantern bar with my Hippos, but alas I knew that I had a long day Saturday, and being hung over and tired was not the right answer.

Saturday morning, Ian went to meet the boys at McKinney bright and early for a little traditional golf--OK, not traditional golf, but they Tiger Woods it on the Wii.

I myself met the Hippos again at Weathervane (hey, the food's good and Hippo Kirsten had to meet her mom there at 11 anyway) for brunch.

Super fun. Miss those girls. Delicious. We laughed so hard at the silliest things and dished about the latest. We all live in different cities, in 3 different states. Ah, such luck they were all there.

Ian and I transferred stuff from Holiday Inn Express to stay at the Fearrington Saturday night. Can i just say shucks? I really wish we'd stayed there all along. It's gorgeous. I said that before. But the stay was so lovely, and the included breakfast Sunday was also lovely. I jump ahead...

Got my hair done at the Fearrington. I'm not sure how "just something kind of low...like a low knot at the nape of my neck....something loose"....translated to the bouffant I received. I knew I was in trouble when before they asked what I wanted, they yelled out--"She's got straight hair! I'll go ahead and get'er in curlers!" Or maybe a warning sign could have been: "Our usual clientele is the elderly, so it's so much fun when a young person comes in!" Plus they were running late. In fact, I had less than 15 minutes to make it back to my hotel room, put on makeup, and get dressed for the wedding before I had to meet everyone for pictures.

Marianna was beautiful. The flowers were beautiful.
Micah and the groomsmen were beautiful. I just realized that I've neglected to say both Ian and I had the honor of being in the wedding. Hope you guessed by now.

We took a few pictures, and soon it was ceremony time. Although rain had been a semi-permanent part of the landscape up until that day, the day turned out to be lovely. The ceremony was just lovely. Everything about it. Just such an honor to participate, and so happy to witness something so wonderful, and something I have such strong belief in. An added bonus is that I get to look across everyone at Ian and feel all of the love between us and know how happy I am that we decided on the very same thing a couple of years before.

Immediately following the wedding, and we had champagne and hors d'oeurves waiting for us. What a well-planned, well-executed event. Start to finish.

The reception was in the barn.

Us bridesmaids changed into the flip flops M got us for our bmaids gifts, and we headed that way. The food was outstanding.

Our biggest regret (and Ian is actually angry about this) is that we didn't eat enough.

But again, it was friends and more friends and more reunions. Here I want to interject that our experience at McKinney was priceless, and I have wonderful feelings and appreciation for our time there and the friends we made. In some ways, it made things harder to come back to knowing that elsewhere in the world were groups of people we loved and trusted and felt totally ourselves with. It's more rare than we care to admit, and I'm a little sad we've never found that here in SF.

By trust, maybe I mean that we proceeded to bust a move the rest of the night. Hadn't been dancing in forever, and we all went nuts. Haven't mentioned her yet, but I love Micah's younger sister Labryth, who is fun, smart, and lovely. We had a blast. It was such a fun, fun wedding.

After all was said and done, I escorted the extremely.....tipsy(?) Ian back to our hotel room, where I proceeded to take out about 100 bobby pins from my southern hairstyle, and we crashed in bed (not getting to enjoy fully the turn-down service that happened in our absence).

The next morning we had breakfast, then went back to our hotel for an additional nap in the bed. Ian's parents met us there, and we wandered around the village waiting on my bff Steph and her daughter Riley (almost 5, and completely precious). We all had lunch at the Old Granary, visited the famous belties (goats and cows), then shortly thereafter headed to the airport.

Lucky enough to run into Dave and Sara (from the wedding), and my Hippo Kirsten. Had a delay...basically, we were home in SF about 1 am (that would make it 4 am EST).

Back to work and the cold Monday. Had a great time. That's maybe why this post was so long, and I didn't even get in all I wanted to say about how much we lovelovelove Ian's family, the dogs (ah, Howard...you love your new home), our dear, dear friends from all walks of life.

Can you guys just come back with us?

If I were a wildflower, my name would be Gerald.

NC--Our Second Marriage

2008-08-23T17:32:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned in the earlier post, Ian lost his wedding band and Wednesday of our trip, we picked up the brand new, resized and re-engraved band.

We had driven to Raleigh--I was having dinner with some friends from McKinney (part of our dinner club from when I lived there...once a month, someone would host the dinner and plan the menu. The others would each bring something--dessert, wine, coffee, a side dish...I really miss those girls). I went to McKinney and it was great to see so many people. My favorite thing is when everyone insists how West Coast or California I now am. When in fact my style is EXACTLY the same, and there have been no drastic changes in my appearance. I'm so city, I tell you. Need I insert a big ol' WINK*WINK*.

Yeah, didn't think so.

Anyway, I also had a pre-dinner drink with another friend from McKinney, Becky (told you we had a good, packed week). Ian also came to McKinney, and he whisked me pre-dinner to Duke Gardens, the site of our wedding, before he joined up with his friend for dinner.

It had just stopped raining. The park was completely empty, and it was probably the most beautiful I've ever seen it. We had a small mini-ceremony to break in the ring. We videoed the experience, but alas the file's too large for upload. Probably better for both of us that way. Let's just say that it was a great gesture, and as it's almost our 2-year anniversary, it was nice to reinforce our commitment in a somewhat pretend-official way.

If I were a marriage, my name would be Infiniti (yes, I spelled it wrong, and yes, I'd be hippie).

NC--the beach and the goodes

2008-08-23T16:35:00.001-07:00

At long last, Ian and I made a trip to our hold home of NC for a whole week. And what a week it was. The originial purpose of the trip was the wedding of two dear friends, but we took advantage of the trip.

Just should write that we had a really great time. We truly miss family and friends back East, and we were fortunate enough to spend time with a lot of them.

We flew into RDU after taking the red-eye Friday night, and were met at the airport by my boss Carrie, and her husband Paul (who happened to be working out of the Raleigh office those 2 weeks). We immediately took off to Emerald Isle to Ian's parents' beach house, home of many holiday memories (4th of Julys, Thanksgivings, Easters...), home of excellent food, late night boardgames, hours laying at the end of the dock, quality doggy time, bottles and bottles of beer and wine, and overall joy and relaxation. It was excellent to share part of my old life with new friends...

I don't have too many pictures of the weekend, because Ian's dad and Carrie shot most of it (hope to have more soon). You're going to get stuck with too many puppy pictures, but it was so great to spend time with Howard and the worm, you're going to have to deal with it.

Alluded to above, we took naps, had amazing food all weekend, took boat rides, got some needed sunshine, played games until late in the night, and had long catch up conversations with Ian's parents, and Hilliary and Francois (my siblings-in-law!).

The only drawback from the beach was that Day One Ian lost his wedding band to the ocean (I like to imagine some seahorses down there finally got hitched...and in style, I might add). It was a bit sad, but the ring is just a symbol after all....we took care of the missing ring soon after.

In the early afternoon Tuesday, Ian and I drove Carrie to the airport in Raleigh for her flight back to Seattle. We hung out in Raleigh for a short time, buying his new wedding band, getting it re-engraved. Small tidbit: the price of platinum has doubled in two years.

The homecoming to Ian's parents' house in Tarboro was great. They had just finished a huge remodel that had them living out of various random rooms since March. The final product is incredible! Imagine getting the opportunity to design your own kitchen / master bedroom / master bathroom / craft / laundry room. All the detailing you want. They now have a dream kitchen (it's really home of the Supersize Kitchen--2 microwaves, 2 different sinks, 2 different pull-out trashcans, more counter space than you can imagine...built-ins for days.

Plus, the puppies were there again which was great. I took a swim in their new spa tub (oh, how I miss my old tub) a couple of times.

If I were a lobster, my name would be Cynthia.

The Great Reveal

2008-08-23T15:49:00.000-07:00

Alright, now that we're back from North Carolina (and Ian's new tattoo is no longer a secret), I can also share the funny pictures of the Great Reveal.

Ian went under the needle on July 3rd (the day Jeff and I flew home from Seattle). When Jeff and Ian picked me up from the airport, they were twins. Not quite the Arnold Schwarznegger / Danny DeVito kind, but they at least had dressed identical spots on their bicep to look as though they'd just had tattoos done.

I for one knew that Ian actually got a tattoo. Jeff, on the other hand, well he's just a jokester.

Anytime I asked about Ian's tattoo, Jeff would show his---"I got one, too!!!" We ate pizza, and they both had the bandages. When we got home, they each removed the bandages to reveal the final product.

I can't exactly tell which I like better (after all, Jeff's was a tribute to me as a 4th grader, and Ian's was a tribute to his dad), but I do think Ian's looks a bit more realistic.

I guess it's all in the detail.

Ian's finished product (I think Jeff's has been washed away by now. At least I hope so...):

If I were a tattoo, my name would be Helena Dupree.

Mini-trip to Seattle

2008-07-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

Had another mini-trip to Seattle this week. There was some Microsoft conference, so I actually wasn't able to find any hotel close.

Fortunately, there was still an approved hotel. And even luckier, it happened to be the Willows Lodge. I had been there once (taking clients to lunch at the Barking Frog), and had always wanted to go back. Well then, here was my chance.

I rented a car and met my boss Carrie for a few minutes to check out some houses in Seattle (don't ask...just looking). Then I drove north to Woodinville, Washington, which is a sort of wine country.

It's just gorgeous. Really gorgeous. And I thought I was in absolute heaven.

First, they're doggy friendly (they even have a dine with your dog program). I was greeted by a lazy "lodge dog" Ruthie (a mix of Bassett Hound and Rottweiler). When I say greeted, I guess she actually just raised her eyes from lazy lids at me, and flipped her tail once or twice while snuggled in her raised bed next to the reception.

When I walked into the room...well, there aren't words, and pictures absolutely don't suffice.

The fireplace was lit, music was playing. It was a mix of craftsman style with lodge--large wooden beams, slate accents, warm rich colors. An enormous soaking tub next to a large window facing TV and fireplace.

A large walk-in shower with digital-controlled temperature. A balcony overlooking the most serence landscape, including a lush weeping willow (my favorite tree!).

I never wanted to leave, but as it was 8:30, I walked across the parking lot to the Barking Frog, where I enjoyed a cocktail, a glass of Viognier, Grand Marnier marinated prawns, and snapper with a sweet potato cake and wonderful succotash.

Full and sleepy, I walked back to the room, and straight away began to fill up the tub. It took such a long time because the tub was huge. No complaints here. I put the Karate Kid on TV, slipped in the tub, and had a chat with my hubbie, who had been to the Giants game (impromptu, with amazing seats....). I wish I could have stayed here forever, and look forward to making it back.

The next morning I woke up early in order to enjoy the room service (brioche french toast, french pressed coffee), enjoy the room, the view...

Before heading to my meetings in Bellevue. Driving was really fun (I never drive here), and the weather was lovely for Seattle. The meetings went well. Ended early, I hopped on an early flight, and Ian picked me up. Good times.

If I were a barking frog, my name would be Jean Claude.

Chapter 2b--final week with Jeff

2008-07-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

Lots to put in here. Monday (this is like July 30) I met Jeff in Seattle on his way back from Canada, and on my way...well, to Seattle for work. I usually stay at the W when I'm there, so we were roomies for the week. My actual work week was typical there, except Tuesday night my boss Carrie and I picked Jeff up from the hotel, and she took us to her neighborhood of Wallingford. We saw her adorable new house, and the 4 of us (including her husband Paul) walked to a local Thai restaurant. After dinner, they drove us through some really cute neighborhoods near her, which was nice to see a little more of Seattle than simply downtown and Microsoft offices.

Wednesday, Jeff and I bought scalped tickets for the Marlins game, and that was a great time. The weather was great, we had amazing club seats. I love Safeco field. Really lovely. We had hot dogs and beer and cracker jacks. Can't get much better than that.

Thursday morning, Jeff flew back to San Francisco, and I flew in later that day after my meetings. Ian and Jeff picked me up from the airport, and as we were all starving, we dropped my bag off and walked a block to Pauline's Pizza. It was pretty delicious.

Friday was the 4th of July, and really beautiful outside. We headed to the Fisherman's Wharf and walked around a bit before taking one of the double decker sightseeing buses (the downtown loop).

We sat on the top, and were driven around for an hour and half seeing the sights of the city.

The coolest thing I learned about the city is that the water's edge is actually where Montgomery St now is--since then, there have been many many blocks added on. Essentially, all of the additional blocks were built on top of the water, and there are between 15-20 ships buried underneath the financial district.

We got some seafood at Fisherman's Wharf on our way back and sat by the water and ate (trying to avoid the grubbing, hovering seagulls). Then we headed to Westfield Mall to see Kitt Kitteredge, an American Girl. Quality entertainment.

The rest of the day is a bit of a blur, except I know we decided to go back to the house, make dinner (Mexican Mush anyone?), and play UNO (unfortunately, we didn't see any fireworks--it was an awfully foggy night, and we didn't feel like fighting the crowds).

Saturday we trekked to the San Francisco Zoo, which was great.

I always love the zoo, but it was fun with the three of us. We took bunches of silly pictures, ate a bunch of Dippin Dots.

This video is only worth watching sound on (and way up). Not as funny as in person, or the next giraffe that Jeff gave personality to--sad we missed recording that, but the giraffe turned out to be an opera star, and the crowd all loved it.

Our next stop was home, right before going to the Giants game. Yes, folks, 2 Major League baseball games in just a matter of 3 days. The AT&T stadium is really striking.
Sitting up high, you have great views of the Bay Bridge and the water.
Also a good game, although the seats weren't as great. The weather sure made up for all that, and it was a fun night.

Last full day together, Sunday morning we went to the delicious Absinthe in Hayes Valley for brunch, and shopped around there a little bit. We then decided to head to Crissy Field for some bocce ball.

We set up shop on the beach, and played for a couple of hours.

Once home, we made a quick trip to Mission Beach for some good old hamburgers.

Monday night Jeff flew back home. It was actually very sad, and I think we both had to try hard not to cry. Ian and I both really miss having him around.

If I were a kangaroo, my name would be DeeDee.

Chapter 3--Our week in between

2008-07-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Chapter 3: otherwise known as the week when Jeff went north to explore Canada, and Ian and I slipped back into our daily life together.

Highlights of that week definitely happened over the weekend, where each day was a new Bay Area treat. Friday night, I surprised Ian on a trip across the bay to the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland. It's such a quaint place. College Avenue is lined with boutiques and restaurants, and the streets leading off the main strip are laden with tree-line sidewalks and craftsman-style houses.

The destination was Diesel Bookstore, where David Sedaris was giving a reading. Kind of a fluke, the place was packed--we bought our 2 books, and then left because we didn't actually have tickets to see him read. We decided to grab a bite, and return to get the books signed.

Dinner was across the street (where we could spy on the goings-on) at a pizza joint that absolutely hit the spot. Maybe it was the red and white checkered tablecloths, or the groups of seemingly very nice people, but it was a great experience.

By the time we headed back over, it seemed the reading was still happening. We stood outside for a minute before someone told us we could fight our way through and sneak in the back to hear the rest, which is just what we did. Sedaris is such an entertaining guy, and even all the way in the back (with no view), it was easy to chuckle. Hate to admit that we spent the next 3 hours waiting for him to sign the books, but we're happy we waited. We asked him to simply sign his name, but then we also asked for him to draw a smiley face (I like to see what different peoples' will look like)...he sketched a side profile of an Abe Lincoln-looking figure.

We spent our Saturday at Crissy Park--it was our first time there, and it's wonderful. It may be familiar from movies--seems like a lot of films shot in San Francisco utilize its amazing scenery, and with good cause. On the strips of beach or expanses of wild fields, you have captivating views of the water, the Golden Gate, Alcatraz, and the city skyline. Pretty amazing to think that we live here. Continually. It's somewhat of a surreal reminder.

The occasion was the celebration of our friends marriage: Daniel and Ole.

Gay marriage is finally legalized again here, and our friends were among the first to say I Do at City Hall. Saturday, it was a mix of family and friends, lots of bottles of champagne, balloons, and a bubble machine. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Sunday we made it to Market Street for the annual Pride Parade.

We missed the Master of Ceremonies, Cyndi Lauper. Really disappointing since we stuck around far longer than we intended just to see her, and she bailed early. Still an experience just the same.

It was a hot and sunny day, we had large glasses of beer and walked amongst the throng of interesting people, from the crazy balloon people, to the downright naked ones (all of them older men).

I think that wraps up that weekend. Good and busy, and lots of firsts.

If I were a balloon animal, my name would be Olivia.

It’s Like a See-Saw: Playing catch up, and keeping current

2008-07-21T10:41:00.000-07:00

Although we’re still catching you up in chapters for the past month, when thinking about the original purpose of this blog I thought I’d interject with events of this past weekend. In case you had forgotten the original purpose like we somewhat did, essentially it was a way to talk about getting to know our new home (San Francisco), and to write about our adventures, things we like and don’t like, and how we’re making our way through the city.

This weekend we really focused back on exploring new things. For those of us that know we are constantly revisiting our haunts (Mission Beach, anyone?), it was a happy weekend when every single thing we did this weekend was brand new for us.

Friday night, it was Ian’s turn to decide on dinner, so we set out to the unknown destination, and wound up at L’ardoise Bistro. It was great (and such a nice surprise for Ian to have planned). We ended up sitting at the bar, but decided it might be just as nice (if not nicer) to have those seats. We each had a kir, split unique (delicious) escargots, and had the perfectly cooked hangar steak with pommes frites.

Located in the Castro, it sat on the corner of a cute flower-lined segment of Noe. Really fun.

We took the J down Church St Saturday morning for brunch. I had seen a place called Chloe’s Café that looked cute and was popular the last weekend when we happened by. It turned out to be delicious. Ian had the best French Toast he’s had in a long time, I opted for the Avocado and Jarlsberg scramble with rosemary toast and fresh fruit.

The coffee was great, and wouldn’t stop steaming. Not like you needed the proof, but here’s a picture anyway because it was just so fascinating.

After breakfast, we wandered around Church popping into the different antique shops, which made for a fun day of wandering. We also found a German specialty store, where I bought some gluhwein fix—very exciting! We stumbled upon 2 open houses, and were not disappointed. I think the only disappointment stemmed from the fact that the second house will never be ours. Yes, we’re used to the cost of housing being higher, but the $1.1 million price tag is beyond us. The house was much like ours in Durham in many ways. It was actually right beside Chloe Café, and was a yellow bungalow (right in the city!). Such character, in great condition. We had a lovely chat with the realtor, and were sadly on our way.

Saturday afternoon we decided to see a play. After a bit of searching and sifting through the large list of performances in the Bay Area on a Saturday night, I decided on a performance of Amadeus taking place in the North Bay. It was given by the Marin Shakespeare Company, just across the Golden Gate and in San Rafael. It was at an outdoor theatre, and we were encouraged to bring a picnic, blankets etc.

The ampitheatre and general area were lovely and pastoral. We were among the first to arrive and settled into our large wooden bench with a large blanket and a bottle of chianti.

The performance lasted until nearly 11, and by then we were bundled and snuggling. The full moon rose over the stage the later it went (the tiny dot in the picture below), and the performance was entertaining and quite funny. It at least seemed a nice, different thing for us to do, and my goal is to make it back for the other 2 performances before the season’s end (A Winter Tale and Much Ado About Nothing).

Sunday morning we opted for brunch at 2223 on Market. What a great choice that was! I’ve been wanting to go for dinner (it looks charming and delicious), and brunch was a fantastic treat. Ian struggled with the menu—because simply everything sounded so good. He ended up ordering the Chorizo scramble, but found himself picking off the large quantities of cilantro when it arrived. If it were me, I would’ve been super excited about the bonus, but Ian hates cilantro. The server, absolutely above and beyond what I’ve seen lately, stopped by and insisted that he bring Ian something else. What a shock. He swiftly returned with the new dish, the homemade corned beef hash and poached eggs, and Ian was very happy. I thought my dish fairly good—the French toast with sour cherries, valhrona chocolate, and almonds, but ultimately decided I made a poor choice (as it was like dessert). Overall, you could tell that they knew what they were doing, served scrumptious food, and engaged in thoughtful service.

We decided to go for a walk to shed off some of the feelings of being stuffed, and popped in a few stores. Ian bought a soft, new hoodie, and the walk itself was much needed. I also stopped at the gym on the way home, and was finally able to use the exceptional Microsoft discount.

In the afternoon, I made some calls and watched a movie, while Ian piddled on the computer (OK, he actually did some work). For dinner, we opted to eat out again, and had Indian food at Pak Wan on 16th. The atmosphere was lacking (the smell of smoke was so strong, our clothes still smell—and not of cigarette smoke, but of campfire smoke). The food, however, was excellent. Again full, we decided to have a walk down Valencia before calling it a night.

It was a good walk, and surprising in that we made purchases at 3 different stores. A new picture frame, some cards for friends, and the saddest—the Abandoned Planet bookstore is closing and they were having a ridiculous sale. All books were $1, except for books over $20—those were 75% off. We made out with a stack of books for $31…3 of those had been pricier, but I can’t believe what was selling for a dollar. On the final 2 days of being open, they’ll be selling all books at 3 for $1. Very sad, as it’s a beautiful store, but I was pleased with what we left with.

Alas, that brings us into a new week. It’s insane that I’m wearing boots and a sweater today (and was all weekend). It’s July, for goodness sake! What’s up with the 50 degree weather? Strangely, I’m used to it already….

If I were an antique store, my name would be Annabelle.

Chapter 2a: Monterey and Carmel with Jeff

2008-07-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

Jeff arrived in SF on Thursday. Ian took a half day to hang out with them. I'm not going to talk about what they did while they hung out (although, I did recommend a great place to them for lunch and they went--I mention this now because this blog in part is supposed to be about getting to know SF and our neighborhood. It's called Monk's Kettle, it's awesome, and it's in our hood). Mostly because I wasn't there and don't remember what they told me. Also because most of what they did when I wasn't directly involved was play Grand Theft Auto. For hours. And hours.

Anyway, they call me at work and decide they want to go to Monterey for the weekend. Perfect opportunity to get in the car and explore California. What a great way also to escape the sudden heat wave, and our lack of air conditioning. I make reservations for Friday night at the Portola, and a mere 24 hours later and we're driving south. The trip was a little long--partly traffic and partly the wildfires on 101. This is definitely something new to us. We've been near hurricanes, tornadoes even, but wildfires? The helicopters flew back and forth over the stopped traffic, attempting to get the flames under control.

Monterey was great. Sunny and warm (I hear it usually isn't). The room was nice, just about right on the water.

We walked over to the old Fisherman's Wharf and walked along the dock.

It's really quaint. It was such a boardwalk-beachy feel, but distinct from the east coast. Almost old-world. I've never been to Coney Island, but maybe this could be a small town version of it.

The sea lions are right there in the water, so we had a long session of picture taking and looking out at the boats and the near sunset. But alas, we were hungry and found deliciousness at The Old Fisherman's Grotto. A slight bit touristy, but delicious nonetheless.

The next day was packed with the famous Monterey Bay aquarium, Cannery Row, walking along the water, and gazing at nearby sea lions. Guess I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. The aquarium was great in some areas, lacking a bit in others. The views in Monterey are stunning.

We decided to stay another night in Monterey, so after eating some fairly yummy Mexican food, we bought some beers and played UNO / watched pay per view in the hotel room.

The next day we wanted to finish up Monterey in the morning--there was a pool and with the beautiful weather, we wanted to take full advantage. Alas, it rained. We spent the morning in the hotel, watching soccer, eating breakfast.

Overall, I might say that you would be fine spending just a day here. Parts of Monterey can be...how would I say it...well, a little run-down. And once you see its 3 or so main attractions, you feel like you know that part of the area pretty well.

Sunday afternoon we opted to drive to Carmel by the Sea. We didn't realize how close it actually was. And unfortunately if we had realized, we would likely have stayed there Saturday night instead. It's absolutely charming.

The main drag is just lovely, the inns are overflowing with charming Bavarian character....and the beach is just lovely. It was a nice afternoon, only filled with a little regret that we had to return so soon.

If I were a penguin, my name would be Stan.

This is less to do with what we've been up to, and more to do with how funny I look

2008-07-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

OK, so in March, I went snowboarding in Vermont with Micah, Marianna, Scott, and a few people from Arnold. Good times were had. (you may have read the giant post a few months back) As you are supposed to with these trips, you share images with the people you know and the entire world by posting them on some sort of community site. I shared some pictures.

Yesterday, for some reason, I started getting comments on one of the pictures from that trip. It came from a funny little moment where Scott, Micah, and I, very mountain manish and unshaven, decide we would up the manhood degree and make some snowbeards by shoving snow in our faces and seeing what would stick. Immediately you look more manly because you're beard is all white and snowy. It instantly inspires questions in the minds of onlookers. Things like: "That must be cold." Being cold is much more manly than being hot. "He must have just climbed a mountain." Only manly men climb mountains and come back with snow covered beards.

Here is the picture:

So here's what started the funny. A friend of mine, who has just moved to London, noticed the picture for some reason (he said he was bored and snooping around) and so he wrote a little something funny about my beard. Due to the way Facebook works, this brought the image to my "friend's" attention and so more comments followed. It wasn't long before my nerd friend in arms found a likeness of me in some of my favoroite pop culture toys.

Ladies and gentleman. I look like a G.I. Joe. A G.I. Joe with a red beard who skies. By the way, He has a TERRIBLE name. That G. I. Joe's name... Snow Job.

I mean seriously! Could the name be any worse? I'm not going to get into definitions here, but if you're resourceful enough, you can start putting two and two together. Why couldn't his name be Skier Guy or Alpine or something. Even if his name was Allen it would be an improvement over Snow Job.

Well, I think it's funny anyway and it makes me want to buy the figure. I'm glad that the only G. I. Joe I resemble likes to ski and isn't into missiles or something.

One great thing that came out of this, is that I was reminded of something so so hilarious.

At the end of every G. I. Joe episode, there were these public service announcements used in an after school special kind of way. Pretty much to keep kids from burning down the house or talking to strangers. Stuff like that. In every PSA, there were always some crazy kids doing something dumb, and at least one G. I. Joe telling them to stop and do it this way instead. Usually the Joe used was one relating to the issue. If about fire, the fire guy is used. If it dealt with girls, one of the females characters made an appearance. You get the picture.

Well, they were funny by themselves, but what's even better, is a few years ago, someone decided to remix those videos. They dubbed over funny dialog and made the situations WAY funnier. There are tons of them and I recommend you all go search them out. Pretty easy actually. Youtube is littered with them. Just search GI Joe PSA.

Anyway, there is one about Snow Job! Katie, who works with Lori, posted this video during the "Ian looks like Snow Job" set.

Pretty hilarious.

Well, I just realized this is getting silly and long and I should probably go. I started this during a break while something was uploading and it's done now. Sorry it wasn't about what we've been up to. I seem to be pretty bad at that part of the deal. Hopefully I'll be better at it later. :)

We miss you all!
Ian

Chapter 1 – Virginia, June 13 – June 15

2008-07-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

Highlights / Not such highlights of the trip:

Flew into RDU early Friday morning. Not a highlight.
Steph picked me up, and we went to Chic-Fil-A for breakfast. Highlight.
We went to see a matinee of Sex and the City (and got pedicures). Highlight.

Drove to Virginia. Ambivalent.
Trying on Deedahn’s bike helmet and deciding who has to wear it to dinner. Highlight.

Watching Jeff ride Deedahn’s bike around the circle. Highlight.

Had dinner at super essence of Lynchburg and all things small town and greasy for Jeff’s birthday with Deedahn and Steph: Highlight.
Bowl with ice cream scoops of butter (with no bread). Highlight.

Lots of fried food, brown salad bar, Coors Light, and a carafe of Woodbridge for $8. Not a highlight.
Laughing about it. Highlight.
Playing UNO and drinking. Highlight.
Having birthday cake for Jeff’s 33rd birthday, and spending it as a family. Highlight.

Mom’s wedding: Highlight.
Guy singing I Will Always Love You awkwardly during wedding. Highlight.
Torrential storms soaking us all and destroying the reception setup. At first—not a highlight. After a minute, hysterically highlightable.
Seeing Mom really happy. Highlight.
Changing out of our soaked and gross wedding clothes: Highlight.
Watching cheesy movie and ordering greasy pizza: Highlight.

Having Gran come over for a long chat. Highlight.
Playing WhooNu and having lots of wine and beer: Highlight.

Ian not being there. Not a highlight.

Our Month in Chapters

2008-07-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

Oh, it’s been so long (don’t I always say that starting out? And for those of you that are my pen pals, don’t my letters always start that way?) Alas, at least I’m consistently inconsistent.

I think the tricky thing about blogging is that not the fact that you write. It’s uploading pictures to make things interesting. And because Ian takes so many pictures (and yes, I like to, as well), there are always way too many to choose from.

In chapters, I will review the past month or so since we last updated. I’ll try to keep them concise (I will! I promise!). A main cause for our negligence is simply that we’ve been awfully busy.

Chapter 1 might include my trip “home” to Virginia for my Mom’s wedding.

Chapter 2 will likely be my brother Jeff’s visit—all 3 + weeks of it—we went to Monterery / Carmel, I flew up to Seattle for business, and we hung out that week, our touristy SF bits, the multiple baseball games (Mariners game at Safeco field AND Giants game at AT&T Park in 4 days? Excellent!), bocce ball on the beach.

Chapter 3 could be the week Jeff was traveling in Canada, and found Ian and I back in our “normal” life—attending friends’ wedding reception at Crissy Field (gay marriage was just legalized here, and we couldn’t be happier for Daniel and Ole), seeing David Sedaris and exploring the charming Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, attending our first SF Pride Parade.

Chapter 4 might be what we’re up to now (we played house this weekend), exploring a new neighborhood for us—Bernal Heights—and attending 4-5 open houses.

Chapter 5 might mention our upcoming travels and plans, which include the fantastic nuptials of our good friends Micah and Marianna in just one month (and one day), and our return to NC for a whole week (including the beach—ah, the beach. I can’t wait!!).

So, be on the lookout for the installments!

If I were a procrastinator, my name would be Lori.

I'm a terrible poster

2008-06-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

So, as the title says, I'm a TERRIBLE poster. What's funny, is I have time to post, I just don't for some reason. I have no Idea why that is.

Well, to make up for it, and because I'm lazy, I'm going to post, but it's actually a post of an email I sent yesterday to Lori's boss, Carrie.

So, Carrie and Lori are BFFs and she sent Lori this gift a few days ago. It's this little giraffe thing that has a smelly, warm pack thing in it's belly. When you heat up the removable pack in the microwave for a bit, then put it in this little tummy pocket, he gets warm to the touch. That would be why they are called Hot Hugs. Well, Lori LOVES this thing and so I felt compelled to send Carrie and her husband Paul an email about how perfect this this is for her.

Okay, so here's the email and the picture I sent them. It pretty much tells you everything you need to know about Lori.

Hey Carrie (and Paul),

Alrighty, so I just HAD to write you about this. It's not often you get to
see how a gift you gave fits into someone's life. I thought this would be
a good one to shed light on.

I ned to start from the top. I'm not sure if you knew some certain things
a bout Lori prior to sending your gift, but just in case you didn't, I
wanted to let you in on a few tiny details.

Number 1:
Lori love LOVES anything filled with stuffing or fluff. (yes that sounds
winnie the poohish)

I mean she goes absolutely bananas when she sees a furry, fluffy thing.
Also, side note, it should be said that this is a category where "the
bigger the better" takes hold. If anything is over her size. Holy crap.
It's like a 5 year old seeing Santa at the mall. She wants to go touch it
and hug it. Sit in it's lap. Whatever she can do to be close and feel it's
fluffiness.

Number 2:
Lori can't get enough of animals.

Animals in general. Dogs of course. Too easy. Anything at the zoo. WOW.
Elephants. Giraffes. Monkeys. Anything. It doesn't even have to be cute.
As long as it's never achieved speech, she goes bonkers. Example: She
spent a lot of time watching the warthogs at the SF zoo when we went.
There were only two of them and all they did was lie there in a dirty pen.
I might send you pictures to prove this.

Number 3:
If it's slightly cold, and she finds something warm, or a warm way to sit,
she'll do whatever she can to absorb that warmth.

I am always hot and it takes a lot to make me cold so, to be honest, I
feel like this is 63% of the reason she married me. The other 47% is all
right time right place. She's an "I want warm" sponge.

Number 4:
Flowers and the smell of anything flowering is a must in her life.

Whenever we walk downtown, and past all those street flower vendors, it's
like she has tourettes or a nice case of attention deficient. We're
walking along, having a chat, and... well it goes like this.

What should we do for dinner tonight? Would you FLOWERS!

It's nuts. also, she has one of those mom noses that can tell you've eaten
onions in the past 3 days. She can pick out a honey suckle from 4 blocks.

Why am I telling you this you ask? Well, you hit all 4 of those with your
hot hug giraffe gift. Literally a grand slam. (being that you scored 4
points)

I can't get the thing away from her. She doesn't stop smelling it and
keeping it close. Also, when she puts the pack in the microwave... I hate
it. Not that I don't like her holding a luke warm stuffed animal. I just
hate that the smiling guy now smells like burnt lavender. It is terrible.
Since she knows this, she will not stop moving him closer to my nose after
she's nuked him.

"Doesn't he smell great?"
"NO!"

attached you'll find evidence of all this. This is not a staged picture at
all. It is from last night. We spent the evening catching up on all the
shows we haven't watched. I got up to make some tea during a break, and
snapped the picture from the other room. You'll notice the little guy's
proximity to her nose. I don't believe she's smiling this huge from the
giraffe. I think it has more to do with her watching The Prince and Me.
(yeah)

Anyway, I thought I would make you hip to how he's fitting into our life.
Good job. I wish I would have known about this thing during birthday time.
I wouldn't have bought her a bag. Just a cotton filled animal with a bag
of burnt flowers in it's belly. :)

Paul,not sure how entertaining you found this email, but get ready for one
from me sometime today. You get to hear about how amazing I am at soccer
now, some of my take on how the Euro cup is going this year and how I
started playing guitar again.

I hope you two are having a wonderful day and seriously, when are we going
to throw heavy ball around a grassy area and drink booze?

Ian

This Week

2008-06-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

This week has been all about Clive Sweeney. Our good friend, our former co-worker, a truly good person in all sense of the definition.

It's been a very tough week. Strange to be out here, so far away from what's happening.

If you're the praying type, maybe you'll say one. If not, maybe you'll just lend some thought to Clive's family.

http://www.clivesweeney.com/blog/

Mid May...Almost June!

2008-05-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

Oh, weeks have passed. I'll try to recap what we've been up to in a brief sort of way (yes, I know--you're unsure if I'm capable of brief).

Things have been busy. In a good way. Big news is that Ian and I both broke down and now have California driver's licenses (and a license plate to go with them). It's a good step, I think, especially because Ian's gung-ho attitude to get switched over was on the heels of all our recent conversations about being happy about where we are. His change of heart to truly invest in our move and decision (truly, truly invest) has been growing for quite some time, and one day he sort of woke up and decided to make our new home a permanent thing in switching insurance, plates, and licenses.

He had always had in the back of his mind that we would be here temporarily, and then we would move back to North Carolina (where it's comfortable). But more and more he's saying that he doesn't really see that happening--it's almost like he's recognized this world and our life is where we want to make it, and it's our decision. And I think he's loving the idea of it. As for me, well--it's kind of something I always knew anyway. We just needed a push.

These trees are bloominig everywhere in SF, and are just plain fun and furry. Speaking of blooms, I spent hours clearing out our back courtyard, and planted new flowers (a lavender busy, cosmos, snapdragons, petunias, etc). It's very rewarding. Our flower boxes are also full of color.

My good friend Jenn (my sister, really) stopped in to see us for a few days last week. She's bravely leaving Anchorage, Alaska, and has been traveling for about a month to get here--her destination is Kentucky, where we met--I'm hoping she's there by now. It was a good week of having dinners with her, brunch, drinks. Just catching up after the many years apart. We had one really amazing dinner at Fleur de Lys, and found a new delicious brunch place, Absinthe in Hayes Valley.

The other thing we've been keeping ourselves busy with is couple dating. I have no other term for it. Basically, we've been really pushing our boundaries lately and going out with couples we don't know well. Someone we knew at McKinney moved back here, so we had dinner with her and her husband (who we hadn't met before). We had brunch with friends of friends, which was also fun. Last week, we had dinner at our landlord's place, and they invited the couple next door to us. It's more about us meeting new people and trying to make good, happy connections. We've even invited a couple I know for dinner next week.

And so here we are ending another week. If I were a pig, my name would be Perry.

I Don't Totally Hate Cats

2008-05-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

See?

Ian and I came across this furry little beggar on the sidewalk in Union Square. I'm a sucker. For the first time since we've been here, Ian and I donated a dollar to this little guy's dish, as his owner peeked around the corner to thank us. How he got that cat to sit there for hours, I'll never know.

If I were to name this particular cat, his name would be Humphrey.