The new dollar bill went into circulation Monday

Hee hee!

I do have to say that it didn't feel like we were in an economic crisis while at the Arizona Inn over the weekend. But I guess for some rich people it doesn't hurt them as much.

I am not rich at all whatsoever. But seriously, I haven't noticed it as an issue. My Onyx stock and options suck--but that isn't money I rely on. It is more of extra bonus money.

But what goes down must come back up, right?

No jury duty service for me!!!

So I could have been called for jury duty today. I checked yesterday at 5:01 p.m. and I wasn't needed for the a.m. session. But I had to check back between 11 a.m. and noon for possible afternoon service. I wasn't needed again.
And you know how often I get called. I have lived in California for 3 1/2 years. I think I have gotten about seven summons. Yea, at least two a year. I recently found out one of the reaons: My middle name is on my DMV but not on my voter registration. So as far as they are concerened I am two people. As soon as the election is over I will be calling the voter registration people and let them know to add my middle name.
Thank goodness. Because this is so not a good time. My friend, co-worker, and another legal team member, Amy, had jury duty last week. She had to go in. But she just sat around all day--studying. I had it today. And our boss has it next Tuesday.
And today is one of our legal team's last day. So work is going to be even more busy and hectic until we find a new paralegal. But I know HR is all over it. Plus, Greg and I have some patent deadlines coming up, which we need to work on.

3 down, 6 to go

For this holiday season I am making 9 gifts. I have three done. I am also hoping I have time for, and it seems I will, this scarf project. (Penny sent me this project recently.) While in Missouri next month Curt's mom, grandma and I are going to work on this project.
It is a great feeling to share your hobby/craft with others who really need a little boost--whatever that may be, a beanie to keep them warm in Iraq, or on the streets or after chemo; a scarf to make someone feel cared about; a blanket to keep a baby a little warmer, etc. This may be something I focus on more in the future. Taking my craft to more of a charity level.

19 minutes

Over the weekend I finished the book 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult. The book is about a school shooting.
Jodi Picoult is an amazing author and writes about real stuff, only as fiction. When we were in Newcastle I read My Sister's Keeper in about two days. I stayed up late one night so I could finish it.
Anyway, back to 19 Minutes. This book really made me think about the way that I treat people and the way that others treat others.
While in school I was never a bully and was never bullied. I was just a regular, normal kid--not a popular kid and not unpopular.
Junior High was pretty much the worst two years of my life. One day in 7th grade one of my "friends" decided to somehow convince our group of friends not to be friends with me anymore. And that was that. I never figured out why she did that or why my friends followed along. It was devastating.
My sophomore year in high school I had a class with that girl. She signed my yearbook and apologized for what she did 3 years before.
I did witness some bullying and never intervened. Probably because I had no idea I should. I still remember Carl twisting a rubberband and releasing it into Roland's hair in sixth grade. I remember Roland trying to cut it out of his hair. And the next day he came to school with a haircut.
The things we say and do to people can have a real effect. The fact that kids get tormented, beat up, humilitated every day at school needs to be stopped.
Kids think they are just having fun joking around. But at someone else's expense and feelings is just wrong.
It hurts me to know that kids like Peter Houghton (character in the book) hate themselves because of how they are treated by others. They avoid any sort of confrontation, whether it is walking in the hallway, changing in the locker room, even looking at the bully, etc.
I don't know how the problem can be resolved. But it needs to be.
I hope everyone who has kids have an open communication about this. No matter what side they are on, the bully, the bullied, the bystander, etc.

Please don't be offended

This blog post is probably geared more toward people who don't actually read my blog. But I still feel like I need to write this.

This past weekend Curt and I spent in Tucson was about Curt and me. We celebrated our 5th anniversary.

We did have brunch yesterday with my mom, Fred and my two grandparents.

I purposely didn't make plans with any friends in the area or any other family members.

When in town, whatever the reason, I try to see my parents (tho. now my dad lives in San Francisco) and my grandparents. Anyone else is gravy.

So I hope everyone understands why this weekend wasn't about them, but about us.

On that note, check me out with my yummy Strawberry Eegee!

We're home

We are home safe and sound and tired.
We had a great weekend. But it is always nice to be home.
I told Curt that I wish we could afford to spend more weekends like that in Tucson.
Hope everyone has a good week.

Five years ago today ...

Curt and I were married. We are celebrating our 5th anniversary at the Arizona Inn, where we were married. There was a wedding earlier today. I just got a quick glimpse of it. Today has been a leisurely day. Curt and I had a nice lunch at the Inn. The out to the pool, which was hopping. Curt spent a little time out at the pool with me. (I think I had the best Bloody Mary ever at the pool.) Then he did some walking around and some football watching. I came back to our room about 3:30. Did some reading and took a nap.

Then we got cleaned up for dinner. We ate at Caruso's, which was a family favorite when I was a kid. Nothing fancy, but good. They weren't too busy since it is homecoming, which is good, because you usually have to wait for a table. 

Tomorrow brunch with Mom, Fred, Grandma and Grandpa. Then who knows what for the rest of the day before we take off. Definitely an Eegee's.

Here's a nice shot from my camera phone while hanging out at the pool today.

Wanna race?

Yesterday after hanging around the Inn for a bit Curt and I decided to head to the Buffet for a drink.

Our rental is a red mustang. On the way to the bar a truck pulled up beside us at around 5th and Euclid and asked if we wanted to race. I didn't realize people really asked people that.

So we had our drink at the Buffet after safely getting there sans a street race. 

After that we decided we wanted something to eat. So we drove around. I realized I wanted Los Beto's 3 rolled tacos with guac (I used to eat that all the time in college) and some horchata. And Curt wanted Arby's. Mind you, where we live places like this are hard to come by. Yes, there are tons of taco trucks around. But with very little commercialism in the Bay Area I don't think we have ever seen an Arby's in the 3 1/2 years we have lived there. And seriously, where else can I get a vat of horchata?

We got our food and came back to the room for relaxation.

We're in Tucson

Curt and I left Oakland this morning for warm and sunny Tucson. Our anniversary had to land on the same weekend as homecoming. (We are celebrating our 5th anniversary here at the Arizona Inn, where we got married.)

Oh well. Everything has been smooth so far. 

Once Curt and I checked in we had a nice lunch sitting outside, enjoying the weather and wearing shorts. I rarely ever get to wear shorts. 

After lunch, back to our room to relax. Some napping. Now we are just hanging out. Not sure yet where we are gonna eat dinner.

Tomorrow we plan on doing some lounging at the pool and then going out for dinner. 

The plan is to do some lounging and relaxing and just enjoying ourselves.

Road Rage

So road rage is really nothing to laugh about. But last night on the way home the guy behind me was having a fit and I was watching him in my mirror quite entertained.

After work I headed to Target. Getting there was no problem. But there was a huge accident on the 880 early yesterday morning and everyone having to go south that way had to find a different way home. Which meant the other freeways and city streets were crowded. I found a decent route to get me home. It took some time but not as much time if I had taken a more regular route.

For about 10 mins there was a guy behind me with total road rage. He was just yelling to himself, out the window, if we had to stop to let someone cross the street, if we had to stop at a light. I was highly entertained watching him in my rear view mirror. At one point he was in front of me. I was so tempted to bump him to give him a bigger riot. But I decided that wouldn't be a good idea.

When pumpkins drink ...

I am finished!

I put my last stitch in my last military beanie last night. I made a total of 20 100% wool beanies for The Ships Project.
I will be mailing them out along with the other beanies friends have made in the Nov. 1-7 mailing.
So, if you have beanies you are sending me I need them next week to be able to sort, label and pack up and have ready to mail on Nov. 3.
Don't forget that if you still want to participate in making beanies the next available mailing is Jan. 1-7. Or you can make a donation to The Ships Project to help with the postage costs.

Knitting and buttery crab goodness

Lots of knitting has been going on this weekend. I am more than half way done with No. 20 military beanie. And that is my last one. I can't believe it. And what is more unbelievable is that I never got bored with this project. I mean the same thing day after day ... But I am excited to ship these 20 beanies off along with all the others friends have made. If you are making beanies and want to send them with the November shipping to The Ships Project you need to get them to me sometime the last week of October. I need to have time to label all the beanies and get them packed up for shipping on Nov. 3.

So most of the weekend consisted of knitting. But last night we had dinner with our friends Jason and Bernadette. They came over to our place and then the four of us headed to Art's Crab Shak for buckets of crab. (It's a good thing I worked out for two hours at the gym.) We each had a beer and put on our plastic bibs and ate lots of yummy buttery crab. We also had garlic bread and cole slaw. Yum!
After dinner we went back to our place so everyone could wash their buttery hands. Then to McNally's for a beer. We had a lot of fun with them. Good time!

Before leaving Art's you can buy some gum to cover up that beer breath.

It just takes a click

The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman.
It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on 'donating a mammogram' for free (pink window in the middle). This doesn't cost you a thing.
Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammograms in exchange for advertising. Here's the Web site! Pass it along to people you know.

Marriage equality for all

I am a big believer in marriage equality for all. If two people love each other and want to make a committment to each other then they should be allowed to do so not matter if they are gay or straight.
On the Nov. 4 California ballot Proposition 8 will be voted on. I plan on voting NO. If this propostition passes it will be written into the State Constitution that marriage is between a man and a woman.
This morning San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom was on the Fernando and Greg morning show. He mentioned that a good amount of the money supporting this proposition is coming from outside of the state. I was shocked to find that out. And also a lot of money is being funded by the Mormon Church.
You all know how I feel about equality marriage rights for all.
So check out this site and video on Mormons for Marriage (for all).

We are without the Internets

Comcast is having an outage. We first noticed yesterday morning. I mean, c'mon, how long do they expect us to go without the World Wide Web at home? At least the cable isn't out--now that would really suck.

Wanna see something gross?

On Sunday I hung out with Mia and Lexi. When I got to their house I had little Halloween gifts for Lexi and Cooper. They each got a grow your spider/witch bigger and little spider and witch lanterns to make. After thanking me they immediately ran into the kitchen to dump their spider and witch into glasses of water.

Mia took the above pic yesterday evening. And she said this morning that spider is even bigger, poking out of the glass. (And when that spider first went into the glass it fit fine flat on the bottom of the glass.)

Got my cute lunch bag today

Some time back I talked about these cute insulated lunch bags through Lean Cuisine and Susan G. Komen. Only $9.95 each, which includes shipping and handling and 5 bucks goes to breast cancer research.

Well, I got them in the mail today. And I have to say I am very happy with the bags. I ordered all three designs. One for me, one for Mia and one for Amy.

They are so cute. They look like little purses. I still can't believe how cheap they are.

You can still order one for yourself.

Many celebrations

I had a good weekend.
Friday after work I headed to my yoga class. After that I buzzed back by the office to pick up Alicia and Sue to head to the Townhouse for dinner. Dinner was so yummy. And we had a great time chatting, too.
Saturday morning I went to spin class. Spin is still the hardest class for me. And my lungs were having a tough time. My instructor even came up to me to make sure I was OK. I musta looked like I was dying. After spin was 30 mins of abs/core. The gym added a new class after abs/core: 30 mins of sculpt/conditioning. So I took that class, too. Man, am I sore. I worked out for 2 hours!
Which is good since I ate all of my pasta at Tratorria La Siciliana. Yum. The food is so good there. The appetizers we had were delicious. They have the best olive oil ever! And my penne arribiata (sp?) was as wonderful and spicy as always.
Sunday I spent a girls' day with Mia and Lexi. I got to their place about 10:30. I had little Halloween gifts for the kids. They pretty much immediately dumped their witch and spider into a glass of water to watch those things grow. According to the package they will grow 600%. I also bought these cute little lantern kits, one a witch and one a spider. I bought myself a ghost one and put it together Saturday. (I put up our few Halloween decorations up Saturday. I love the lights!)
Mia, Lexi and I had appointments for mani/pedis at 11. We had some nice pampering. Then the plan was to have sushi for lunch. We get to the place and they don't open until 3 p.m. and it was noon. So we wandered over to Macaroni Grill and had pasta (fettucine alfredo!!!). The food and the wine was good. Then they give me this HUGE piece of cake for my birthday. We had a little and then packed it up for Cooper and Todd.
It was a good weekend. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep well. So I didn't make it to yoga this morning. Oh well.

A true leader

Nope, not talking about Bill Clinton or Nelson Mandela or Madeleine Albright. I am talking about Curt Poff.
Yesterday at work there was a meeting and then some awards were given out. Curt received the Leadership Award. (Apparently he was nominated for all three awards that were given out.) I am very proud of Curt and am elated that the people above him recognize his hardwork and talents. Also, Curt is not in a management position, so I think the award means even more.
Congrats again Curt!

Good birthday

Thank you to the many well-wishers via e-mail, Facebook, ecards, phone calls, texts, etc.
And I have to say I was a very lucky girl to get so many great gifts. People were so kind and generous. I got two handmade items, which I absolutely love. Appropriate thank-you cards will be going out in the mail soon.
I had a nice day off from work yesterday. I went shopping in the morning. Jessica, I have replaced you with Ralph--Ralph Lauren sunglasses that is, and they are much better! I met Mia for lunch. She brought me some beautiful sweetheart roses. After lunch I did a little more shopping. Then off to the best massage ever. I mean, I seriously think that was the best massage I have ever gotten. I go to a little day spa called Bellissima Day Spa. Han, who has given me mani/pedis before had never given me a massage before. Apparently massages are pretty new for her. But man, next time I am asking for her!
After I got my jelly self home after the massage I showered and did a little knitting. Curt came home. I opened all of my gifts.
Then we headed to Sushiya for dinner with Monica. I went to pull my wallet out to pay Monica for my Wicked ticket she got got me for the show in May!!!! And no wallet. I was a little disturbed by that. Wallet found--it ended up falling out of my purse onto the passenger seat of the car. Whew!
We came home and watched The Office while I ate a Skinny Cow. So, good birthday!

Anniversaries

October is a big month of celebrations for me. My birthday. Today is my 3-year anniversary as a full-time employee at Onyx. And in two weeks Curt and I will be celebrating our 5-year anniversary.

I am 34 today ...

and 38 years younger than John McCain.
(If you want to buy your own shirt, click here.)
I am taking the day off from work and going to do a little shopping, have lunch with Mia and get a massage. Tonight Monica will meet Curt and me for dinner at Sushiya.
I woke up to many well-wishers via e-mail and Facebook. Thanks everyone.

I would also like to wish my British twin, Karen, a happy birthday! She is the older twin.

Beanies, beanies, beanies!

Over the weekend I finished military beanie No. 14. Just six more to go.

Sunday I started a beanie for our nephew, Jackson. He turns 6 on the 17th.

I finished Jackson's beanie last night. The white stripes are glow in the dark. I haven't figured out a way to take a pic of it actually glowing in the dark. But believe me when I tell you that it is super cool. And apparently the glow in the dark yarn is on sale at Michaels this week.

Jessica Simpson, I want my 60 bucks back!

After I started wearing contacts I had to get real sunglasses. On a Sunday in May it was super sunny and I squinted all the way to Tootsies (shoe store, which also sells some sunglasses). I tried on many pairs, most of which were so big I looked like a bug. I found a pair I liked and a kind of turquoise color--much different than typical black.
I haven't even had those things for 6 months and they broke today! To me spending 60 bucks on a pair of shades is a lot. I used to be notorious for losing or breaking or sitting on my sunglasses pretty quick. But this time I took care of them and almost always put them back in their case when not wearing.
I am hoping super glue will tied me over until I can go shopping on Thursday or over the weekend.

Oh, and Mia wants her money back, too. She bought JS sunglasses at my pedi party last year, almost a year ago, and hers broke pretty quick, too.

Fun-filled weekend

Friday night I hosted my CAbi party. Five women attended, plus Jennifer, CAbi consultant, and me. We had a great time having munchies and wine and chatting.
The fall line is so cute. There are so many clothes to choose from. I made my list. As a host I get so many items at 50% off. Depending on how much is sold.
People were there late Friday, about 11 p.m. We had a good time.

Saturday I woke up tired and dehydrated. I stayed up until 1 a.m. (super late for me) and I had some wine and not a lot of water. There was no way I was gonna make my spin class. So I just lounged and knitted. Once Curt and Ryan got up we made coffee and watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which was pretty good.
The guys headed to the Cal/ASU game about 11:30. I dropped them off. I ran some errands and got ready and headed to Monica's for her art birthday party. It was a fun time. Then about 4:30 picked up the guys. Home for some lounging and then Sushiya for dinner. Ryan treated us.

Sunday I headed to Alex's birthday party (lots of Libra friends) at Kitchen on Fire. We cooked food and then got to eat it. It was fun and yummy. I am no whiz in the kitchen so my group had some issues. But we did OK.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Lenore is famous!!!!

Check it out right here.

Portland adventure and pictures

We had a great time in Portland. It makes me want to move back to Oregon so much. I have never actually lived in Portland--but Curt did. So I spent a lot of time there.
We arrived Friday night in good time. I love Southwest! (And SW now only takes CC for drinks, no cash. Interesting.) We got to the hotel, checked in and then were off to Montage for dinner with Angela. We had a good meal and fun time chatting and catching up.
Saturday morning I worked out at the hotel gym. We met Stefanie, Aaron and Alex for brunch at Kornblatt's in NW Portland--Curt's old stomping grounds. I love that neighborhood. After brunch we walked around a bit.
Then we were off to meet Craig (Curt's brother who was in town for work) and his friend Johnny for a beer at the County Cork.
After beers Curt and I headed back to the hotel for a little relaxation.
Then we got ready and headed over to Angela and Michael's to meet Lenore. She is such a good and sweet little baby. We gave Lenore all of her gifts: books, Curious George CD, tutu, knitted blanket by Aunt Ann, Berkeley tie-dye shirt and I am 72 years younger than John McCain bib. I think that is everything. Angela loved the tutu and immediately put it on her.
Micheal's mom came over about 6 to babysit and the three of us took off for the Klotter Oktoberfest party. (Michael was at his sister's watching Oregon football and met us at the party.)
The party was a blast! Great food, great beer, great band, a good time. The band was amazing. They were so versatile. We had fun eating, drinking, dancing and laughing.
Michael met us at the party. And so did Craig and Johnny.
Everyone agreed it was a great party. I told Curt that if we aren't living in Portland by the next Oktoberfest in two years (the party is every two years) that we are definitely coming back for the party.
Sunday morning Curt and I packed up and headed to Powell's. We had some coffee and pastry in the coffee shop. Curt wanted to take a walk to Portland State. So he took a walk and I looked at some books. I like to look in the literature section and children's. I found some political books in the kiddie section. Some just general and some specific for Obama and McCain. There were three McCain specific books and six Obama specific books. I read one of the McCain books, by one of his daughters. At one point she mentions how he was a POW and after he came back from the war he met and married her mom, Cindy. Hmmmm. There was a little info left out.
After Powell's we headed to Angela and Michael's for another visit. We walked around their great neighborhood and stopped at a coffee shop.
It was nice to visit with Lenore both days. And we got to see Angela all three days!
After their place we were off to the airport. We had lunch at the German restaurant Gustav's. I actually had a burger.
Since you have been so patient with my summary weekend (and any typos) you can now look at pictures.
Click for Portland pictures here.
Again, sorry we didn't get to see everyone we know in Oregon. It is tough to see everyone when you are in town not even 48 hours.

Busy, busy

We had a great and fun-filled weekend in Portland. Came home and pretty much immediately back to work.
Curt's friend Ryan is coming into town tomorrow. So my evenings are consisting of grocery shopping, cleaning and getting the house in order for his visit.
And on Friday I am hosting a CAbi party. So making sure I have the right snacks, plates, napkins, cups, etc. and a nice looking house for the fabulous ladies who are coming over.
Plus, I am trying to keep on track with my military beanies. (Plus a few birthday gifts I have to make.) Tonight I will finish No. 12 and start No. 13.
Also on the plane home I started reading 19 minutes by Jodi Picoult, which is so good and I just want to read and read and read. Unfortunatley when reading you can't also knit or vice versa.
And work has been a little nuts this week.
Whew! I will post pics and a play-by-play of our Portland weekend ... soon.