Guest Post Tuesday

Tuesdays are the day I post guest posts on Go Fit Girl!
I wish it were every Tuesday ... that is the goal.

Anyway, Erica wrote a guest post and it is up today.

Alicia wrote one last Tuesday.

And Jen wrote one about a month ago.

If anyone wants to write a guest post please let me know, send it my way or something. And if you want to write more than one you are more than welcome.

The three guest posts have all been very different. And I have enjoyed all of them. Thanks so much ladies for helping me out. There are some more in the works. So check back.

Back to the grind ... almost

First, I finally posted pics from Ronda and Chris' wedding, which Curt and I attended last weekend. I guess a week isn't too long. There are still other pics I need to post. Ahh, some day.

Friday night I had dinner with my friends Alicia and Sue. Alicia used to work with us at Onyx. We still keep in touch and try to hang out sometimes. Alicia had a June birthday so Sue and I took her out to celebrate. Alicia picked Cafe Biere, where none of us had been yet. It was a good pick. They had a huge selection of beer. I had a Czech Pilsner. I had a Risotto for dinner. That was one of the specials. It was really good.

We had a good time hanging out. We even sat outside, which was nice until the sun went down.

I got Alicia these cupcakes for dessert and to take home. Faye, a co-worker of mine, owns her own business called Sweet Citrus. She makes the best cupcakes. I think I like her minis the best. Aren't they so pretty? The owner of the restaurant loved the cupcakes and asked for the name of the bakery. I gotta get some cards from Faye--help her get some business. :)

Saturday was the norm two hours of exercise at the gym. I knew my spin teacher would give me a hard time about missing two Saturdays in a row. So I just told her, when you go out drinking the night before spin sometimes you don't make it to class.

Some house cleaning Saturday afternoon--always my favorite. Then later met Curt at McNally's for a Bloody Mary or two. Man, those things were strong. Different bartender. But still very good. My first Mary was good and had a kick to it. Curt and I got to see Tag finish his golf game on the TV. He ended up tying for 7th place today. Not a bad paycheck.

Today was a relaxing and easy morning with some coffee (which Alicia and Darren roasted for us) and some newspaper and some soccer. Curt went for a bike ride today. Afterward we headed to Ben & Nick's for a late lunch and beer. It was a perfect day to sit at the window with the breeze blowing and the warm sun. Love it.

I got to wear shorts two days in a row!!!! The weather was so nice this weekend. I wish we had better weather here. Oh well. I will take what I can get.

Is Michael Jackson dead?

TMZ is reporting Michael Jackson has died of a heart attack.

So apparently he really is. I have been kinda busy at work today--so I couldn't keep close watch on whether the news was true or not. I mean, I am at work! (I am updating at 6:06--I know, remember I am at work.)

Let's go A As!

Damn it! I have hiccups!

Anyway, that is not what I was going to blog about ...

Went to the As game with Cyrus & Becky, Monica & Malcolm, Angie & Joe, and Curt, too.

It was $2 night, $1 hot dogs, and As vs. Giants.

Curt and I left and it was 6-1 Giants. Curt is now watching the USA/Spain soccer match. And he doesn't know who won. He is in the cone of silence.

Anyway, I met Curt outside the ballpark, soon after that Becky & Cyrus and Angie & Joe joined us and then Monica and Malcolm with the burrito orders. Everyone ordered a burrito but me. When I think ballgame I don't think burrito. I think hot dog, nachos, even a burger. I had two hot dogs. The $1 dogs are pretty little.

It was fun hanging out with the gang. That is a good group. We always have fun together.

Me in my As shirt for my team. Second pic is my second drink and last of the night.

Homegrown carrots and a few radishes

Last night Curt pulled some of the garden carrots and radishes. Our carrots are much better this year. They are bigger and they taste pretty good. Last year they were tiny and tasted like wood.

When we were showing our garden off to friends the other day we noticed one of our chili plants has a chili growing!

Our pineapple has taken and new little green shoots are growing out of the top. Two more years and we will have fruit. Woo-hoo!

Alicia wrote a guest post for Go Fit Girl! Check it out.

I have never watched the show. But I have to say I am so glad to hear that Jon & Kate are going on hiatus!!!! I am so tired of those people. I have no sympathy for either of those two people. I am not a huge fan of the fact that they purposely had so many freakin' kids. And then they display that on TV and exploit their children for the sake of money. Those poor kids are going to be in therapy forever.

I knew there was a reason I disliked Ford ... 1,000

Another great weekend!

Friday night we had dinner at Tachibana, a sushi place in our neighborhood with friends. Joe and Angie and Becky and Leila met at our place. We walked to Tachibana. We had to wait a little while. But eventually got a table and had a great dinner and some fun conversation.

After dinner we headed to our place for more drinks, a lot more laughs and a good time. We sat around talking. And then Curt and I put on a Pursuit of Excellence show we have saved on the DVR about ferrets and their owners. That show gets funnier the more I watch it. I am sure the few drinks I had that night helped, too.

Saturday morning I tried to get up for spin. But that just wasn't gonna happen. I was still tired and dehydrated. And I don't like to go to spin dehydrated.

A little after 1 p.m. Curt and I headed toward the city for Ronda and Chris' wedding at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in MacLaren Park. It was a 2:30 wedding--which was short and sweet. I can't believe how much I cried. Ronda looked so beautiful and happy.

After the ceremony we had lots of food, drinks and a good time. The day was sunny but a little windy. But it was nice outside and the surroundings were gorgeous.

We left a little after 5 and headed home.

We did take a good amount of pics and I will post them soon. (Just kinda tired and lazy right now. I still gotta post my Boston pictures.) OK, here are two.

Top pic: the newly married couple. Bottom: Curt and me with the bride.

We had a nice relaxing evening Saturday night. I watched Flash of Genius. That was a good movie. It was sad. Ford was pretty sneaky in stealing an invention from a guy. I understand how patents work and how easy it is for a large company to steal an invention from the "little guy" because the little guy can't afford to fight infringements. Anyway, I do recommend the movie. And I think Greg Kinnear is a great actor. After that I watched Made of Honor--eh! If you don't see it you aren't missing much.

Sunday morning. I actually slept in until 9:20. Man, I must have needed it. I headed to the gym--elliptical. After the gym headed to the grocery. Then home for late breakfast and a shower. Then off to Jacob's birthday party at Tilden park. I have lived in the East Bay for more than four years. And I had never been to Tilden park until this month--Jacob's birthday party and Becky and Cyrus' wedding two weeks ago.

Tonight we met Dad and Hilda for dinner at Sushiya for a Father's Day dinner. (Sushiya now has a Web site and they deliver to certain areas.) Dinner was delicious as always and we had a nice visit with Dad and Hilda.

Oh, and this is my 1,000th post!!!!!

Look at our garden squash grow ... and other things, too

I tried to post this earlier but was having picture issues. So trying again. (Posted 8:38 p.m. Thursday.)

The squash in our garden has been growing beautifully and quickly. The plants took off and have been getting so big we fear they will take over our whole garden plot.

Before getting in the car this morning I got a good look and decided to take a pic with the phone. Man, the squash are really doing very well.

This is a pic of the squash I took tonight. Don't they look just beautiful?

Tomato plants are getting bigger. And I noticed one of the chili plants has really shot up. Our broccoli leaves are coming in nicely--and those were planted from seed.

When I got home tonight Curt told me that one of our tomato plants had a tomato. Schweet!

Here is a little tomato. Isn't he cute?

Broccoli is looking good. Picture directly above is our radishes and carrots.

Lazy, lazy bum

My laziness on the weekends is becoming more of a norm lately.

Saturday morning I woke up with a tummy ache--so I didn't go to the gym and put myself through the normal 2 hours of torture. And soon after I decided not to go to the gym I became very sleepy and took a nap.

But Saturday I did go to the grocery, visit Subaru on some paperwork issues, and clean the house. Also about 6 p.m. I started preparing dinner for our guests, Jim & Jennifer.

We had a good visit with our good friends, who we hadn't seen in way too long. We think the last time they were over here was Halloween. Oh wait, no, they were here for Thanksgiving. Oh, and now that I think of it we hung out with them the day after Christmas. But still, that is waaaaay too long.

Sunday I woke up, watched Dangerous Liaisons. Can you believe I had never seen it before? OK, if you are totally gonna pretend you are someone else it is a lot easier to get the girl (polite term used here) than if you are just your charming (another polite term) self. It was an interesting movie. But it also kinda pissed me off--the way people (OK, women) were treated.

Anyway ...

Yesterday was spent, napping, watching TV and movies, snacking, lounging, a little knitting, etc.

Today I have a work training session at the Claremont Resort--near our house. So I will be working from home this afternoon.

I must close so I can get dressed and head out there.

17 years ago today ...

Wow, 17 years, half my life!
So, 17 years ago today I moved out on my own and have been on my own since.
I do believe: If you live under my roof, you live under my rules. And I didn't want to live under my mom's rules anymore.
I had graduated 3 weeks earlier when my girlfriends and I moved into an apartment together. The roommate thing didn't last very long. They all moved back home, and I got my own place.
My family was not supportive and figured I would fail. That gave me more reason to succeed. I am not saying it was easy. Life was tough, money was tight, keeping up with school full time added a challenge as so did working almost full time.
When I moved out my mom and I weren't getting along so great. But that changed and now she is one of my best friends. She was my maid of honor when I got married. If she weren't my mom I would still want her as my friend.

(I know the blogging has been slacking. It probably will be less than the norm for a while. I have been so busy at work, working long hours. So life just ain't that exciting. Plus I come home exhausted and just veg--also not very exciting. But I LOVE getting comments. So comment away!)

Yeeea! Squash

I have been slacking in the garden updates.

We already had our first set of radishes grow in. They were yummy and spicy. Curt planted more and they are coming in nicely.

Our tomato plants are growing big and strong and already have a few blossoms. We have pulled our leeks and trying to figure out what to do with them. They are pretty yummy just raw. One of the chili plants has blossoms.

Broccoli leaves are coming in pretty good. Last year we bought those as plants. We couldn't find plants this year so we planted seeds.

Our squash plants have gotten huge. Last week or so we noticed blossoms. And the other day we noticed actual squash. Cool!

A really great weekend

Friday night after work Curt and I met a co-worker of his, Ellen, and her husband, Andy, for drinks at The Trappist. I hadn't met them before. But it was like we were instant friends.

While hanging out we saw our friend John who was there with his friend Dave. Soon after that Nicole (married to John) also joined us for beers with her co-worker Greg. Eventually Ellen and Andy had friends who joined us, too. It was a great time. It was so cool for everyone to run into someone else we knew. We had good beer and yummy cheese plates and a really fun time.
After beers Curt and I headed to Sushiya to get some takeout sushi.
Between the beer and the soy sauce, let's just say I was retaining water like no one's business when I woke up Saturday morning. Headed to spin, abs/core & body conditioning. I came home completely wiped out. So I took a nap. When I woke up I noticed all three of us were napping. We are such a cute, lazy family. I think Joey loves when we are lazy.
Saturday evening we headed to the Brazilian Room at Tilden Park for Becky and Cyrus' wedding. The setting was absolutely gorgeous.
The ceremony was short and sweet. Cyrus is Persian. So there were some cool traditions incorporated.
Becky and Cyrus had planned to only have wine for the reception. So mine and Curt's gift to them was a pony keg of beer from The Trappist: Maredsous Blonde. It was a huge hit. Our friend Joe said he thought he and his wife got them the best gift (can't tell you what it was--it was cool though), but he said the keg of beer was definitely cooler. :)
I thought for sure there would be beer left over and we would be drinking it today. But the beer was gone after about two hours. I would rather it be all gone then be wasted, that's for sure.
The dinner served was really delicious and pretty healthy. The toasts were really good and funny. The best man announced he was single--which was hilarious.
The dancing was a ton of fun. Our music came from iPhones, iPods and a laptop. I think during the dancing I worked off all the wine I consumed.
Oh, and there was audio recorded of the wedding, but not video. So Cyrus--who does a lot of radio pieces.
A few pics (all will be going up soon): (OK, I actually posted the pictures on Facebook.)

Top photo: new husband and wife (Cyrus and Becky) kiss. Second: The newlyweds walk down the aisle together. Third: Curt and Ann take a picture with the lovely natural background. Fourth: Joe, Cyrus and Curt. Fifth: Trying to get a pic with the bride can be tough. One must be creative. Last: Finally a lovely pic with the bride, Becky and Ann. (I have no idea why this is underlined and I have given up trying to fix it.)

June showers ...

We are having unusual weather for this time of year.
I woke up this morning to the sound of rain. Also right before I left the house this morning I heard a strange sound ... thunder. Even though it rains a lot here we just don't normally get the whole show of thunder and lightning. I love thunder. And a good lightning show is good, too.
I hope it doesn't rain on Saturday for Becky and Cyrus' wedding. I have no idea if they are supposed to be getting married inside or out. Whatever, it will still be a wonderful day to celebrate our friends.

What does a state do when it runs out of money?

California is slated to run out of money on July 29. What does a state do when it runs out of money? Panhandle? Get a loan from the bank? File for bankruptcy?
I am a liberal and I am OK with paying more taxes. I believe those who need a little extra help in life should get it. But I also don't want my money spent frivolously and irresponsibly.
But California (and I am sure many other states) has to make some serious cuts. Schools are already bare bones, kids are hungry and not all of them have health care. There is a possibility of shutting down the poison control hot line. WHAT?
So for all you rich people who don't want to pay more taxes ... open those fancy wallets and designer purses.
I would rather pay more taxes than know that a child is hungry and has no health care. There is something seriously wrong when the richest country in the world has problems like this.

Chronicle did a nice piece on Ron

There have been a lot of stories about Ronald Takaki. The San Francisco Chronicle's piece was really nice.