Take me out to the ballgame ...

This weekend just flew by. But what's new, right?

Last night Dad and Grandpa came over to visit with us. We hung around the house and chatted and had a drink. (I think Grandpa really loved our TV.)

Then we headed to Marica's for dinner. Delicious as always.

Today we met Grandpa, Dad and Hilda for a Giants game. We had an amazing view of the ballpark and its surroundings.

It was a typical Giants game, it was warm and sunny at first and they were stinkin' it up. Then they came back with a grand slam and it got foggy and breezy. It ended up being an exciting game. Glad Grandpa got to see a good game. He seemed to have a great time.

And Grandpa got to appreciate almost all the seasons of San Francisco while here: unseasonably warm weather, cold and foggy, nice weather, but no rain.

Check out pics from the game.

My grandpa is here!

My dad had to go to Tucson last week and came back with my grandpa. I haven't actually seen Grandpa yet. But I have seen pictures, like this one:

Dad, Hilda and Grandpa are supposed to come over the bridge to our side of the Bay tomorrow night and have dinner. I want Grandpa to see where we live and our really cool neighborhood. Then on Sunday Curt and I will be joining the gang for a Giants game. It is male Chihak tradition to be a Giants fan. So finally Grandpa gets to see the Giants play in San Francisco.

I am still shocked that he came out here. I am so happy he did. I mean that man refuses to drive to Phoenix from Tucson (for those who need reference that is about 120-mile drive).

My dad was telling me that this is the first time Grandpa has been to California. Wow!

Thing is when people think California they think beaches and warm weather not sweaters and fog and wool coats in July.

Anyway, I am looking forward to visits this weekend with my grandpa. I cherish that I still have two grandparents left.

We are ready to drink beer!

So it has been confirmed. Curt received our confirmation for the Hacker beer tent. This is the one we wanted. Here I come 2 litres of beer and half a chicken!

Curt has set up a travelogue page for us to add video, pictures and blog entries while we are traveling.

I am starting to get excited!!!!!!! (I have a lot to do before then. But I will get it all done. I always do.)

Guest Post Tuesday

You know what day it is? Guest Post Tuesday on Go Fit Girl!

Have a read!

Hmmm, interesting ...

Today I attended training through the American Management Association--Transition into Management. The AMA is very organized and has a nice facility in the city. So far I am learning a lot and have met some interesting people. (Tomorrow is Day 2 and the final day.)

At the beginning of the training Angela--the trainer--had us all stand in a circle and say three things about ourselves that someone wouldn't know by just looking at you. It was interesting because we talked about non-work things, which I find kinda cool. There were 12 of us, 13 including Angela. I am almost 100% certain that everyone, including the instructor has children.

As my friend Alicia put it, us childfree by choice people are rare. :)

I realize I didn't explain the title to my post yesterday. We have a few neighbors who have some beautiful rose bushes that just grow like crazy. When I went to get my hair cut and run errands in the neighborhood I stopped ... and smelled the roses. A neighbor saw me and asked me if they smelled good. Anyway, it is a regular thing for me if they are in bloom. That's all. :)

Sometimes you gotta stop and smell the roses

This is the last of the lazy weekends for some time now. My grandpa will be here next weekend for a visit. Then the weekend after Ed and Marilyn. The weekend after that Curt and I take off for Europe. Woot-woot!

Then we are almost in October. We will be recovering from our trip the first weekend of October. Then the next weekend my mom and Fred are coming. Weekend after that my cousin Alison and her fiance, Marsh. Then a rest weekend: our anniversary and the following weekend: Halloween will also be a rest weekend. November is not quite as busy ... I won't bore you with the details there, but there is one trip to Missouri. And that brings us to the last month of the year. Yikes! We have my company holiday party, then Alison's wedding, then end of the year at work will be nuts. Then Christmas ...

Anyway, yesterday did my usual two hours at the gym, then got the hairs trimmed and ran a couple of errands. Curt and I had a late lunch at Ben and Nick's. Then a nap was in order for me (and Joey, too). Curt even shot video of us snoozing. (Check out the video on Joey's blog.) Lazy evening watching Coraline--which was pretty cute.

This morning I headed to Target to get the usuals ... toilet paper, garbage bags, toothpaste, etc. and then stuff for our upcoming trip. There were amazing sales at Target. If only I needed a mini fridge or microwave for my dorm room. After that to the grocery--typical stuff, plus stuff to refill our earthquake emergency kit. Hopefully I will never have to know what Hickory Smoked Spam tastes like.

Got some stuff done around the house: laundry, cleaning, going through the mail, paying bills, working on kitchen drawers and closets. Fun stuff.

Getting ready for my training in the city the next two days. Gonna try out my new backpack that has a nice padded holder jobie for my laptop.

Have a good week everyone.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

About a month or so ago the building at work added a bin for compost. We have trash, recycling and compost. It would take me (and many others I noticed) about 5 minutes to figure out where to throw away what.

About a week after the compost bin came to work I started one at home. We just have a mini trash can with a lid where we throw things in there "that come from the ground." That is the best way to think what to compost.

It's really easy to do and I feel even better about the environment by doing this. (Above is the sign we have above our green compost bins at work.) If you have a green bin for grass clippings and such, that is where you can also throw your compost.

I have been trying to be environmentally aware these days. I have pretty much recycled since I have lived on my own. Now we are doing the compost at work and home. And recently I went to Ikea to drop off these long tube flourescent lightbulbs that were left in our back parking slab. You can't throw those things away. Ikea has a bin for you to drop off any of those types of blubs.

I also recycle batteries. We have a bin at work--pretty convenient. Ikea may also take batteries. The one I went to no longer does, but maybe the one near you does still take them.

I recently went to the ewaste place and dropped a bunch of stuff off. And I have started another ewaste pile for another drop off in the future.

As Billy Joel said, we didn't start the fire. But I feel like we need to take some responsibility for this. (My spin teacher actually played that Billy Joel song last night. Ha! Brought back some memories.)

Guest Post Tuesday

We have a second-timer today with Guest Post Tuesday on Go Fit Girl!

Check it out!

Gettin' stuff done

Listen to this first before you read the rest of this post.

This is the closest sound I could get that would be a good opening to say ... the shredding is complete. I still can't believe it. My revamping of the spare room/office is almost complete. I still have a couple of boxes to go through. But it is minor stuff.

Saturday after the gym (and a shower) Curt and I headed to San Mateo. One of Curt's co-workers, DW's son, Buddy, decided to have a lem-o-lade stand to raise money for kids who "don't have that many toys." I mean, Buddy is like 4!

We had some lemonade and treats and hung out for a bit. Then we headed to downtown San Mateo for lunch. DW and his wife, Rose, recommended a place called Sushi Sam's. And it was good stuff.

A nap was in order for me when we got home (and actually part of the way home, too).

Eventually I got back to the shredding. Then Curt and I watched Gran Torino last night.

This morning I headed to the grocery. It is so much more pleasant to go to the grocery store when there are not many people there.

Then late this morning I got a wonderful massage and a much needed one. Han at Bellissima Day Spa gives an amazing massage. She is this tiny woman but man she can give a good massage.

This afternoon I got a ton of stuff done around the house: finished the shredding; did laundry; straightened up and cleaned the linen closest; did the same to the bathroom; and then the same to the pantry (I also went through our earthquake kit and threw old stuff out and made a list of replacements needed); and I washed the car.

Whew! I feel great about what I accomplished this weekend. And I still had time to relax, have fun and enjoy myself.

And it's Friday ...

and payday. Though that money is pretty much already spent. Good ol' bills. But some of those bills are for our upcoming trip, so that's a good thing.

I don't have much to write about. But I do have a funny story to share. So my poor little Joey has a cold. He has been sneezing a lot the past couple of days. He has written about his cold on his own blog. Anyway, he normally sleeps at our feet at night. But if his food bowl goes empty during the night (I try to remember to feed him before I go to bed. I don't always remember.) he wakes me up to let me know he is STARVING! He will head butt me and nudge me and he usually sticks his face in mine to see if I am awake. The other day right before the alarm went off he was looking at me wondering when I was gonna feed him since he is malnourished and the little punk sneezed in my face (like a little kid). Even though it was gross it cracked me up.

Tee hee

Photo by Melissa B.

I saw this picture posted on a couple of my Facebook friends' pages. It is so cute. And I just had to share it with all of you. Hey, two posts in one day people! Now comment already! Here is the link to the story about this photo.

I am always amazed ...

when we get to the middle of the week, then Thursday and then Friday.
For obvious reasons I am not a big fan of Mondays. And as I have said before I may work hard but I like the people I work with, my boss and the company I work for. Still no job is perfect.
Lately a big focus for me has been work/life balance. I think it is going pretty well. I do work 40+ hours a week--but with the things I am working on right now that is inevitable. And sometimes I do have to do a little work at home.
But I am still making it to the gym 5-6 times a week, I try to get out of the office for some sort of break (doesn't always happen), I make sure that every night I come home I just don't veg in front of the TV like a blob. I feel pretty accomplished with things personally: working on our spareroom/office at home and a few other areas of the house; reading up on becoming a supervisor; hanging out with friends; keeping up with Go Fit Girl!, trying to cook a decent meal a few times a week, etc.
Anyway, I still get a comment (not as in comments on my actual blog--remember, I like comments) in person or on the phone or whatever saying you haven't blog in awhile. Yup, the personal blogging just can't and won't be happening as often.
But just wait until next month when Curt and I head to Europe for his big birthday trip. You can follow all our fun via blog. And Curt set up a travelogue (which I will post the URL for eventually) where you can read, watch videos and look at pictures.
Happy Wednesday!

Guest Post Tuesday

Yup, it is Tuesday.
Check out today's guest post on your favorite health and fitness blog, Go Fit Girl!

Weekend Wrapup

Work on Friday was kinda rough. My norm on Fridays after work is to hit yoga and then whatever after that, sometimes dinner with friends, sometimes a quiet night at home, etc.
Curt and I had plans with friends and they were all gonna meet at The Trappist kinda early. I got to the pub about 6 and got there right in time for the ordering of the cheese plate. We hung out with Andy and Ellen and Ellen's mom, Donna. After drinks we headed to dinner at Sushiya. Yum!
Saturday was the norm two hours at the gym. Afterward I hurried home to get Joey and take him back to the groomer. Last Saturday when I took him for a bath and mat removal Paul, the groomer, missed one.
After the groomer a little lounging and relaxing, then a few things around the house.
About 3 Mia and Lexi showed up. Mia hung out for a bit and then took off.
Lexi and I went to Bittersweet for a treat and to chat it up. Then we came back to the house and did some knitting. Lexi, 11, has been wanting to learn to knit. So for her birthday I gave her needles, yarn, bag, book and gift card to Joann's. I have to say Lexi picked up the casting on and knitting rather quickly. I was impressed.
Eventually we made homemade pizzas. Once the pizzas were ready for eats we put in Twilight. Lexi hadn't seen the movie and was looking forward to watching it. (And, I, of course, checked with Mia to make sure it was OK.) Lexi thought the movie was great and I think is crushin' on Edward as much as I am. Hee hee. :)
This morning Mia and Koko (family dog) came over about 10:15. Us girls and Koko headed out into the hood for brunch. We got a nice spot outside and had a yummy breakfast and as always a great chat.
I came home and took a nap. After my nap I headed for a much needed mani/pedi. On the way there I stopped at a shoe store to check out some new tennies. I didn't buy, but I have some ideas.
Once home I started some laundry and some more shredding. Our spare room is pretty much looking good and normal and under control. But there is still a lot of shredding to take care of. Still have a lot to do--but it is coming along.
Curt went to the pasta shop this afternoon and got us pasta and sauce for dinner. Just had that and a salad for dinner. YUmmy stuff.
Now I am in the spareroom/office shredding, drinking wine and watching SVU.
Hope you all had a good weekend.

Guest Post Tuesday

OK guys! It is Tuesday and you know what that means!!!! Guest Post Tuesday on Go Fit Girl! Jen. F. has graced Go Fit Girl! today. Check it out!

My furbaby

Joey spots himself from Curt Poff on Vimeo.

Ann's cat thinks he sees a familiar face as he watches the video of himself in the laundry basket.

Joey is online all over the place these days: YouTube, my blog, updating his own blog with posts and more video.

The above video is Joey watching a video of himself on YouTube. Funny stuff. Enjoy!

Productive & feeling good

I was very productive over the weekend. I did a ton of shredding (still have a ton more to do). But our office/spareroom is looking so much more normal after my weekend attack.

Last week was pretty long and tough for me. So Friday after work and after yoga I headed home for some relaxing quiet time. I had been invited out to dinner with friends. But I really just needed some quiet alone time. I actually did a little house cleaning while drinking wine. Then I watched Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. It was cute--but one of the story lines was dumb and annoying and sometimes gross.

Saturday, usual gym. Then 12:30 headed to the groomer for Joey to get a bath, nail trim and get some mats taken care of. After I dropped him off I headed to the ewaste place in Oakland to drop some stuff off.
Once home Curt and I headed to McNally's for a drink. I had my regular Bloody Mary. Yum! Then I got a call from the groomer saying Joey was almost ready and what a good boy he was. Awww.
After we got Joey home the spareroom/office project continued on. And I went nuts. After the shredder gets warm and hot it has to cool down so it stops itself. So in between those times I had to do something productive. I pretty much revamped the closet in the spareroom--which is really Curt's closet. I made the space much more usable and cleaned up and we threw away a bunch of crap and found a bunch of stuff to donate.
Saturday evening I relaxed and watched The Talented Mr. Ripley, which I saw many years ago but wanted to watch again. That movie is weird!

Sunday I attacked another closet in the living room in the morning. Then I took a break to have coffee with my friend Kim. That was a nice visit. I hadn't seen her in some time and it was great catching up.
After my coffee visit I was back to shredding and attacking closets. I feel really great about the stuff we threw away, stuff we will donate, the organizing I did, the cleaning and the shredding.

A few people have mentioned that I don't update my blog as often as I used to. Yup, that is true. (It is going to continue to be that way with work being as busy as it is.) Work keeps me pretty busy during the day. And then once home I am exhausted and really, do you want me to blog about: "Work was busy. I am so tired. Time for bed." That's boring.
But I have been very regularly updating Go Fit Girl!
And Joey recently updated his blog. (Oh, yea, we just got a little Flip HD camcorder for our upcoming trip. So check back for videos of Joey.) Here is one video we took Friday.