Love my lazy weekends

Started my weekend with Friday evening yoga. After that met Alicia and Sue for dinner to celebrate Alicia's birthday. We had sushi at Sushiya--and it was Alicia's pic. It was a delicious dinner, as always. And a great time catching up with friends.

Saturday morning only an hour and a half at the gym. As I had to shower quickly and hurry home for the USA/Ghana football match. Our friends Jim and Jennifer came over and they brought some delicious munchies, too.

I had to leave the house before the game was over to for my hair appointment. (I didn't realize when I made my appointment two weeks ago that USA would be playing at that time.) I came back and the gang headed out for drinks at McNally's and then lunch at Rustica.

After that it was home for nap and then pretty much lounging the rest of the evening.

Today I was totally lazy. I never actually left the house. I was supposed to go grocery shopping--one of my least favorite tasks--but I didn't. So now I have to go after work tomorrow. I did do laundry. I watched movies, TV, knitted, etc. I watched the Laramie Project. It was very well done. Makes you think. I can understand ignorance--because you just don't know any differently. We are all ignorant about something. But hatred, I don't understand that. I find it sad and disgusting and heartbreaking.

This evening Curt and I watched Invictus--which ended up being heartwarming. The message was pretty amazing.

Back for another week at work and then a three-day weekend. We don't have a lot planned and I would like to keep it that way. July is going to be a busy month--with visitors two different weekends and us going out of town another.

We are meeting my dad and Hilda for a late lunch on Saturday. We will be celebrating my dad finishing culinary school and his externship and a new job for Hilda. It will also be a farewell lunch as Dad and Hilda are moving back to Tucson.

Dynamite!

Last Thursday when Kate and Jason were here we had dinner at T-Rex with Dan.

I had macaroni and cheese with bacon. Oh my ... cheese, pasta and bacon (and Dynamite hot sauce). What more could a girl ask for???

T-Rex makes their own hot sauce called Dynamite. It isn't super spicy, but very flavorful. I had tried the hot sauce at Sea Salt, T-Rex's sister restaurant, sometime back.

T-Rex sells the hot sauce, but Sea Salt doesn't. I bought a bottle last week. And I finally used it tonight on my veggie and shrimp stir fry and brown rice.

My friend and co-worker Amy and I love hot sauce and love to share new finds with each other. I will have to let her try this stuff. Off the top of my head I have Tabasco, Tapatio, rooster sauce, Uncle Chen's, Kickin' Chicken and now the Dynamite.

I do love my hot sauce of many kinds. Oh, and don't forget about that homemade salsa I make, too.

Great visit and weekend

I am super tired right now. So all I will say right now is that we had a super fun visit and awesome weekend with Kate and Jason. I will blog more and post the few pics I took later.

Quick overview: drinks; laughs; some amazing meals, wine tasting, visiting McNally's; mani/pedis; just chatting; watching SATC2 with a good girlfriend; drinking coffee ...

All in all a great weekend.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

I screwed up my font and I can't fix it. Bummer.

So the other day I wrote about how I bought the Lysol soap dispenser. My post received--hmmm, let's say--an interesting response from someone I don't know. I thought it was over the top. But whatever.

But it did make me think about what I try do to be environmentally friendly.

We recycle: bottles, cans, cardboard, junk mail, etc.

We compost in our kitchen and in the outside green bin.

We run our sprinklers only a few times a week and at night to maximize the soaking time and keep evaporation to a minimum.

We have lowered the water in our toilet tank by placing two bricks in the tank.

We use reusable bags when shopping at the grocery, Target, etc.

We water our garden in the evenings.

We are a one-car family with public transport used on a daily basis.

We used to live in a townhouse in Phoenix many years ago. That complex did not offer recycling, just garbage. We took it upon ourselves to buy bins and recycle our cans and bottles.

We do what we can. And those are just the things I can think of.

And I do wish that many items you have to buy (wipes, cleaners, etc.) used much less packaging.

Also, after cleaning the litterbox I really don't want to touch a soap pump. That's nasty.

Automatic soap dispenser

Last week when I was at Target I bought one of those Lysol automatic soap dispensers. (I had a coupon, so I thought I would try it out.) At work in some of our kitchens we have automatic soap dispensers. I like the idea of it.

So far I like the Lysol one for the most part. I think it dispenses too much soap, and there doesn't appear to be a way to adjust that.

In the full kit the soap options are Cucumber Splash and Green Tea & Ginger, which I bought. For those of you who know I have a high sensitivity to perfumey smells. I thought the Cucumber Splash would be less offensive. I tried out the scratch 'n' sniff sticker and bleh. The Green Tea & Ginger smelled a little more mild. I noticed on the Web site I linked to the refills come in the two smells mentioned above and Grapefruit Essence. I will have to try that one next time.

It is nice to just hold your hand under the dispenser and you get soap and you don't have to touch anything.

Who knew I could write so much about soap and a dispenser.

Another app review published

My second app review, for the Tap & Track app, was recently published. And I even received a comment. Woot-Woot!

Macworld has an amazing app guide. You should definitely check it out.

This weekend was pretty mellow. Had a few friends over yesterday to watch the US/England football match. After that Curt and I had a late lunch at Ben & Nick's. Then home for a long nap.

Today had a slow start to the morning. Watched some football with Curt, did some laundry, napped, ran a few errands, did laundry, etc. Very exciting stuff. I did some more knitting, cuddled with Joey, watch Dear John.

This evening Jacob came over to watch some football. We ordered sushi and had a good time hanging out.

Slowly preparing myself for the work week. Though I am excited for this week. Kate and Jason come into town Tuesday night. I am really looking forward to our visit.

Still a journalist?

I have recently started reviewing some apps for the iPhone (and iPod Touch). My first app review was published today.

Check out my awesome review on J's Job Jar.

Devil's Blood

I forgot to mention when we were at Alicia and Darren's on Saturday night Darren busted out some super hot hot sauce. Darren is a fan of hot stuff, like me. This stuff was freakin hot. Never had anything that hot. I put a tiny, tiny dab on a tortilla chip. And my whole tongue was on fire. I could handle it. But it was such a small amount. It did have a good taste. I can see it being put into a dish--you could appreciate the heat and taste much more.

Swollen feet and plastic bags

This past weekend was a good weekend. Had some stuff planned but not so packed that I am exhausted this morning.

Saturday morning had my usual two hours at the gym. I came home exhausted. So I pretty much lounged and took a little nap. I didn't sleep well and then well, two hours at the gym is a lot of work. Especially when one of those hours is spin.

Saturday evening headed to Alicia and Darren's to celebrate Alicia's birthday. It was a fun time. Good food, as always. Those two know how to host. And I got to see my friend Sue, too.

Sunday morning hit the grocery and actually went without my bags as we are in need of plastic bags. That actually happens to me sometimes. We need them for our small garbage cans in the house and to clean out the litter box.

Sunday we had a new friend over, David. David just moved to the Bay Area and doesn't know many people. Erica asked if we wouldn't mind hanging out with him. I really liked him and we pretty much got along instantly. The three of us had lunch in the hood. We sat outside and enjoyed yummy food and the nice warm sun. Then we walked around College so we could show him all the cool places in Rockridge.

Later on Sunday Curt and I headed to McNally's to visit John, our favorite bartender, and have a drink. While at McNally's I noticed my feet were feeling kinda tight in my sandals. Sometimes when it is pretty warm my feet swell up. I don't think it has ever happened here--it never gets that hot. But in Arizona, definitely.

I finished another troop hat last night. (Eight hats knitted so far.) Now I have 4 1/2 days to make a baby hat. My Friday night yoga teacher is pregnant and the 18th is her last day for a long time. I likely won't go to yoga that night since Kate and I will be going girlie things that day. So I want to give Suraya a little something before she goes on leave.

OK, it is Monday morning and I need to finish getting ready for work. Have a good week everyone.

Bohemian beer rules

Today while at work I took a break and headed to Petco and then BevMo.

BevMo has an amazing selection of beverages. I headed to the Italy aisle for Lambrusco. Lambrusco is a cold sparkling red wine. I had it once up in Napa with an Italian meal and am pretty much hooked.

We are going to my friend Alicia's birthday party tomorrow night and are asked to bring a beverage. So I thought I would bring two bottles of Lambrusco. Curt asked me to pick up some Grolsch for him, which I did.

While wandering around the beer aisle I saw Czechvar, which is the American version of Budvar, which is the original Budweiser from Bohemia. (My grandpa says we are Bohemian, not Czech.) So I had to buy a 6-pack. Curt and I tried it tonight (I am on my second right now) and it tastes like the real deal. We had plenty while in Prague last year. And we even brought my Grandpa one back for a Christmas gift, which we gave to him at my cousin Alison's wedding in December. (Grandpa is coming for a visit in July. So the fridge will be stocked for him. He will be happy with his Czechvar and baseball on our 42" widescreen HD TV.)

Here's Grandpa, me and Grandpa's Budvar. He saved it for a special occasion. John, my brother, is on the left.

Comment Contest Tuesday is back ... at least for today

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