Week in Review

This has been a craaaaaaaaaaaaazy week! Good crazy. 
Read on for pictures and stories!

Sunday my best gal and I had a Skype date...while we baked...brownies (unplanned!!!)

I miss her badly. It was looooovely to catch up and to share the very exciting things going on in our lives (boys! food! job bashing! get together plans!). It was so much fun. Clary. A year ago this time you were here...during black biker week...ehh....at least we suffered through it together (and binged on "Once Upon A Time")!

THE (secret recipe) brownies

Now I was making brownies because I was asked to participate in a career fair at one of the middle schools on Wednesday. This is my second year and it's pretty fun. Last year they paired me with the woman who runs the Edible Arrangements here. She is so sweet and we had so much fun. She even had some chocolate dipped fruit delivered to me at work. So, to repay her for her kindness, this year I made the best brownies on the planet my mom's infamous secret recipe brownies...coveted by all who taste them. I've made a few tweaks of my own and LOVE these things. They are not for the faint of heart and even the most seasoned of chocoholics must pace him/herself. Mmmmmm mmmmm! I had left over peanut butter frosting from some cookies I made a few weeks ago and decided to spead that on a few brownies. I've decided PB/choc is THE BEST combo EVER. Ohmylantus so good!!!
The career fair was fun BUT this year I was left on my own. I was so sad. HOW in the world can I possibly make nutrition/dietetics exciting for a group of middle schoolers? Uh....Nutrition Jeopardy! Oh yesss! It worked! Well, they at least had fun. I think. 

On Monday, some pals and I from church decided to have a cake decorating contest. I made 2 confetti cakes, cut them in half and we went to town! 

The finished products.

Two of our other friends arrived late, as we were finishing up, so we declared them the judges. Which is your pick?

We decided this one looked like a frog!

The winner was the first one. And that was mine!!! WAHOOOO!!!!! Then we ate them with ice cream. Mmmmm. I love ice cream. We will discuss this later.


Next. Tuesday I went for a run and as I was walking back to my apartment, I turned the corner to walk up the stairs and there IT was.

A big black SNAKE.

Coiled up at the bottom of the stairs. Friends. I freaked. Except I didn't. I froze and mentally stuttered and I'm prettysure my heart stopped. I'm pretty sure I nearly had a moment of fear-induced incontinence. (Nearly. I didn't actually). I have never been a huge fan of snakes but this confirmed how much I detest, nay, abhor them. And I am not exaggerating when I say it was probably 2-3 feet long. I DO NOT DO SNAKES. After about 10 seconds of no brain activity, gawking in fear, shock, and amazement, and the flight-or-fight kicking in (which resulted in me just standing there, frozen. So much for flight!), all I could think was I can't get to my apartment. Well don't worry. After I remembered to breathe and got my brain function back, I remembered I could always go up the other set of stairs on the other side of the building (oxygen does wonders for the mind!). So I took the steps 2-3 at a time mentally screaming WHAT DO I DO!!!??? WHAT DO I DO?!?!!?? Now, my intentions were pure, ok? Let's get that straight. This sick, nasty creature was sitting a mere few feet from my sweet elderly neighbor's door and all I could think was, heaven forbid she opened the door, either the snake would lunge at her or she'd drop dead of shock. AND THEN I thought of all the dogs (uh, HELLO, SCOTTY!!!!??? and his pal Poppy, who lives next door) that live around these parts and what if I had been walking Scotty and unbeknownst to the poor pooch, he walked right up to the snake and it bit him?? So at this point I'm panicking. Sweaty, stinky, and freaking out. So I ran down the stairs again (only to the second floor because I was at least distancing myself by a flight of stairs) to see if the snake was still there and decided to...yup this is pure genius, I know...through a pebble at it to see if it would move. It did and it hissed. Great. At least I knew it was alive because there was NO WAY I was touching a dead snake. Well that still didn't solve my dilemma!!!! So then I called the HOA and left a message about this grotesque creature. I mean what if there was a nest nearby. AND WHY WAS IT THERE???? WHY???? Then I wanted to take a photo so I ran back down again and...

IT WAS GONE.

GREAT. What if it was now lurking under the stairs? OR in the wall??? OR in the bushes??? I decided I was never leaving my apartment again. Then I realized I was being overly dramatic and really, really, really girly. Mark called, after I sent him a frantic text about a snack (darn autocorrect) lurking at the bottom of my stairs. And being the awesome guy that he is, he called to tease me to calm me down and make sure I was ok. What a stud! :) Mostly we just laughed at how silly I was reacting. BUT SERIOUSLY. A SNAKE!!!! GROSS!!!! AHHHH!!!! Let me just tell you, that evening when I took Scotty out before we went to bed, he was not allowed in any bushes. Strictly asphalt and grass. I still look around whenever I walk down the stairs, waiting for it to lunge out of its hiding place. I have an overactive imagination, I know. I haven't seen that thing since and the director of the board of my complex returned my call the next day basically making me feel stupid for freaking out. He reminded me there was wildlife (he emphasized this, apparently thinking I didn't know this) around us including frogs so snakes are sometimes common. What I wanted to say, but didn't, was that A) I am from New Hampshire and grew up surrounded by plenty of wildlife and am well aware of what wildlife is and B) don't talk down to me mister. I did tell him I had been told (and this is true) that there was a nest of snakes a few buildings down and to be careful when walking my dog AND that I had never ever seen a snake around this area. So take that, crackerjack! 

Thursday Amy and I made our live TV debut. We're going to be famous!!! Local celebrities. Watch out. I joke. But we really were on live TV. We were asked by the local news channel if they could interview us about healthy grocery shopping for 2 live segments (~3 minutes each) . It was such a blast. Albeit, frightening and terrifying, but fun. We refused to let our manager come, but the director of marketing, who helped set up the times and details, came. Uh. Hm. I appreciate the support but I was not so much a fan. I didn't want an audience. Plus, she intimidates me. I didn't need the address stress!!!! Overall, we were pleased at how well it went over. In the first segment, you can tell we were nervous the first 30 seconds and then we took off and did well. I liked the second segment better. Overall, it was actually really fun. If you so choose, you may watch the interviews, but before you do, please remember I do not enjoy public speaking, my hair is huge, yes I talk with my hands and really fast (genetics...), and don't be too harsh, ok?  
Healthy eating Interview 1 Healthy eating interview 2
Afterward, our manager said we could go out to dinner but it has been so blimey hot, we decided to celebrate with... Sonic. I confess. I have only been to a Sonic maybe 3 or 4 times in my life. I got a strawberry creamslush....mmmmmmmm mmmmmm good! The next day, Dr. W asked me how it went so I said well, and then later---after the marketing lady POSTED the interviews on the hospital's website....YIKES!!!!---when I came back up the floor, Dr. W EXCLAIMED how well we had done. I blushed. Aww shucks! 

So let's talk ice cream for a sec. As you may or may not know, I. LOVE. ICE CREAM (soft serve, hard ice cream, frozen yogurt, gelato...let's just lump it into one category because I love 'em all). It's summer, well not technically, but it may as well be here because it's HOT and all I want to eat is ice cream. Every day. Amy had to run to the doctor's Friday and she brought us back each an oreo McFlurry. It's been SO long since I've had a McFLurry. It was DELICIOUS. THEN Mark sent me a picture yesterday of a chocolate frosty he got from Wendy's (my second favorite fast food dessert, second only to In N Out's chocolate shakes, which are the best shakes I've ever had. To date.). I was jealous. So at 9:30pm I almost left my apartment to get either a chocolate Frosty or a vanilla cone from McD's but then I remembered it's Black Biker Week, and I refuse to leave my apartment unless I have to work or someone is dying because it's scary out there. Wrecks galore, too many fatalities, scantily clad women, awful drivers (I do believe the middle line separating two lanes of traffic DOES NOT COUNT AS A MOTORCYLE LANE!!!!!), gun-happy idiots, and the like have come to Myrtle Beach for the weekend. Not leaving my apartment. Looks like chocolate chips it is! 

I'M GOING HOME IN 9 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My time with Scotty is coming to an end. It's bittersweet but I'm happy about it. He'll be happier with Hemma (Heath + Emma, my brother and sister-in-law), in NH where he can run free and be spoiled rotten by Hemma, our neighbors and their dog, my parentals! I'm also TERRIBLY in need of a excited for a vacation. I get to see my family again (FINALLY, since I have been shunned while living in southeast where no one wants to visit me *insert very sad face here) and be home. Pure happiness. I can't wait! Along with lobster, Lago's, SHAKE SHACK (my first time!), seeing the Atlantic (and hopefully sea glass hunting), and all the wonderful things I can't list (because the post will be infinity long) that come with being home in New England, I cannot wait. I just have to survive the flight home...with Scotty...who hates flying...*gulp*

AND. Sara Bareilles is FINALLY coming out with a new album! I have been waiting FOR AGES. Whenever I hear her music, I think of baking because I always seem to listen to her stuff when I bake. I have already pre-ordered her new album. YESSS!!!!!! Also, her music always makes me want to live in a city. So then I dream about living in *Boston* or NYC one day. *sigh* Maybe one day. A girl can dream. 

Today is Sunday. Sunday means baking day and I can't think of one thing I want to bake. Well actually, that's not true. I wanted to make my copycat of Levain Bakery's dark chocolate peanut butter chip cookies but alas, I don't have peanut butter chips. FOR SHAME! I thumbed through all of my Pinterest recipes and flipped through my trusty recipe binder and couldn't find anything. This saddens me, greatly. I did make enough dragon noodles to last me through the week. Mmmm....I have a new found love for sriracha! But jeepers creepers it's Sunday!!! I need to bake something!!!! I'll have to look again. 

Yay it's May!

So. 

Let's recap. 

This may be a long post BUT it has lots of pictures (and yes, a lot of food pics. Don't pretend to be shocked)!!! That means it'll mostly be pictures with my commentary. Muahaha!

Ye have been warned. Birthdays are kind of A HUGE deal for me. The bigger I can make it, the better. My pal Amy had her 24th birthday on the 23rd and the day before I had brilliant ideas poppin' out of my brain cells. I couldn't wait. These are the results:

*Eh hem* FIRST of all friends, let me just say I made my own caramel...WITHOUT a candy thermometer. WHABAM! And it was great! The author of the recipe said I could do it and she was right. Boy I felt like a million bucks. Also I'm glad because otherwise I would have had to make a late night trip to Wally-world (eh...) for caramels to melt (aka the cheapo way). Well, thank goodness it worked. 

 I felt it completely necessary that I "taste test" some so I put it atop some leftover brownies I had in the freezer and then thought, "what the heck?" and topped it with some sea salt and whipped cream, or "keem" as my darling nieces used to call it. Delish friends, DEE.LISH.

Now the point of making the caramel? Well, Amy's favorite candy bar, or one of, is Twix and I had pinned (I will admit, I am a Pinterestaholic. Yup. *no shame*) a homemade Twix recipe months ago and now had a reason to make them! YES! So I made 'em, cut up in attempt to make them kinda, sorta look like Twix bars and then got all crazy (this is what happens when I am scheming, the ideas just FLOOOOOW. It's amazing) and decided to wrap them up so they looked like candies. 

AND THEN. I decided that Twix bars weren't enough, because, like I said, I like to go ALL OUT on birthdays. I decided to make some peanut butter pudding cookies. Amy and I had made these together months ago and I remember us both devouring them so I thought these would be a hit. Instead of peanut butter chips, which I didn't have because I kind of decided to make them on the fly, I just used Reeses Pieces, peanut butter M&Ms, and chocolate chips. 

SOOOO YUMMY! And you know I taste tested that dough about 5 times. I gave her 24 cookies and she was kind enough to share. Mmmmm! 

THEN. And this was the AHA! moment I had right before I left work on Monday and decided to gather all my goods to super surprise Amy on Tuesday: decorate her desk/half of our office. Oh I was bursting with excitement! I got to work super early and decorated and was so nervous she would come in extra early (she always beats me) and I would be in the middle of decorating. Well, as it turns out she was running late and ended up getting in loooong after I had finished. Thank goodness. She was surprised and I was pleased. 

Now we decided to throw a birthday bash on Saturday and I got all crazy and made spinach dip (from a packet but it was from Mark from this fabulous store in Texas!) with homemade pita chips, and, now this is a big deal, guacamole. For the first time. By myself (which means without the guidance of Mark, who showed me how to make it). Now I realize it's not rocket science but I'm a baker, ok? This means I like specific amounts with specific ingredients and clear cut instructions. Cooking is a little more lenient in amounts and ingredients so I was a little nervous making this for the first time, and for a party no less. Fortunately, Mark is amazing and walked me through about 5 times. He even Skyped with me while I made a test batch. Yes he is that awesome. And yes I am pathetic. It's the curse of perfectionism. 

THEN. In my attempts to get back into making dinners more consistently that are a little more wholesome than a PB/honey sandwich, cereal, or a Greek yogurt, I found a super easy salad recipe which involved black beans, corn, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and a homemade cilantro-lime dressing. Friends, it's off the hook good. I added some spicy tilapia and whoa buddy it was good. YAY for leftovers! 

This shouldn't be anything new but I just am not feeling running as of late. I don't know why. Actually I do. April, well, after April 10th, April and I were not on good terms. No siree. Work sucked the life out of me (you work 3 weeks straight sans a day off and tell me how you feel. Yeah that's what I thought), I was recently asked to be the director of a girls camp my church does every year and usually the director is given this assignment months ago and I have kind of been thrown into the whirlwind of planning (with a mere 2 months to go until camp) while trying to get myself up to speed, plan, etc. etc. etc., while trying to maintain my personal sanity. This is no small task. I believe many of you would say, "Welcome to being an adult" or "Welcome to reality. Yeah well...fine. At least hand me some more cheese for my whining. Provolone preferably. Or sharp Havarti. 

I was talking to Amy, who is running a marathon this weekend and another in Philadelphia in November. I was telling her I didn't really want to run the Myrtle Beach mini-marathon (half marathon; I don't know why they call it a mini-marathon because there is nothing mini about 13.1 miles thankyouverymuch) in October. I didn't like the course and, I donno, just wasn't feeling it. Amy suggested I run the half marathon in Philly when she runs the full. 

DONE. I am slightly more motivated though probably not until after the chaos of June is over. But still. Now I have a goal. AND it's my first distance race. We're making a little trip out of it and driving up with a group of friends, a few others who are running the half and a few coming to cheer us on. I am pumped! And you better believe I will be running up the Rocky stairs! 

Next month this cutie will be back in NH to live with my brother and sister-in-law permanently. I'm a little heartbroken because I love him so, but I think it'll be better for him: more room to run around and two people to care for him. So I busted out his dreaded carry-on bag to get him ready for the flight home. I can already feel my stress level rising. 

Per the request of Amy, I made rolo cookies for her because this week has been a bust for us both. Like I'd turn down a request for cookies and the opportunity to bake. NEVER! 

And now for today. I had yesterday and today off. Yesterday was devoted to errands and today was my fun day. I let my mane go free--and it was windy so I looked like a human Mufasa--and busted out my mint cords and loafers, and you know that means I'm in for some serious fun. 

The fun started with Iron Man 3. Dude. First showing of the day cost me a whoppin' $4.75. That pleased me GREATLY. And hooooooly catscans it was a GREAT flick. Robert Downey Jr. is one of, if not my favorite actor. This role was made for him. Go see it. You will not be disappointed! Then I went to get froyo for lunch. It's been awhile since I had some. I got hazelnut, chocolate, and vanilla froyo and topped it with--ready for this??--chocolate chips, brownie bits, chocolate-covered pomegranate seeds, cocoa puffs (why not??) and topped it off with chocolate jimmies (or for those of you not from New England, chocolate sprinkles). Ooooooh yes I loved it! AND this makes me SO excited to go home in June to a) see Heath and Emma and my New England family and b) go to Lagos, the best ice cream place EVER. I'm drooling already. OHMYLANTUSIMSOEXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then I decided to "pop in" to Anthropologie. Right. Pop in. Ha. I don't shop at Anthro for their clothes. Not quite my style, though cute. I shop for their kitchen stuff, sometimes home stuff, and random books/literature/note pads/writing stuff. I honed in on this cup and plate (pictured left) when I walked and I ended up walking up with that plate because I have an obsession with nautical stuff and therefore I had to have it. I also loved these little ceramic sailboats (pictured right), but what would I really do with them? Eh. Not worth $24. But still cute. 

LOVED this tape dispenser.  

And my eyes popped out of my head a little when I saw these AH-dorable sticky notes. And hello! There were 480 in there! But I told myself I have enough stationary/sticky notes (For now. But that's a lie. It was a tactic to talk myself out of them and it worked...this time). 

 Then I got home and the top I had ordered for my new bathing suit had arrived!!! My new suit is ready! Now, woman to woman--or hey if you're a man, woman to man but let's face it, what I am about to tell you is probably more exciting and understood by a woman--I had to order a smaller size in my bathing suit bottom. Yeah. I almost died with happiness. You know that feeling right? Oh yes. AMAZING. 

Now. May I please just tell you how much I adore my brothers. I can't even tell you. There are no words except to say I am the luckiest sister ever. I love and adore and admire these fine men. They are some of the best friends I will ever have. 

Heath (on the left) graduated from Brigham Young University the end of April in Electrical Engineering (WAHOO!!!!!), was accepted to the University of New Hampshire's law program, and got a scholarship. I am SO freakin' proud. And I get to see him and his fabulous wife in a month. We're going to have some serious sibling time. I CANNOT wait. 

Dane (on the right) is rockin' and rollin' as a missionary for our church--The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is doing very well and I am SO proud of him. You can read about his experiences and adventures here.  

Finally, OneRepublic came out with a new album in March and friends, it is AAAMAZING. I LOVE IT. Michael Buble also came out with a new album in April, but, to be honest, I like OneRepublic's better, at least right now. And I found a really cool recipe for homemade rosemary soft pretzels. I think I'll give 'em a try tonight. And I thumbed through a macaroon recipe book at Barnes and Noble today (and used my iPhone to snap some of the recipes; does that make me a bad person? I did't want the whole book!), and I think I might try to make some macaroons tonight, or tomorrow. Hmm...baking and listening to OneRepublic? Yup that sounds like a swell evening to me!

WHABAM!

Let's just cut to the chase shall we? 

We shall.

Ran half marathon #2 yesterday and....

...it was THE BEES KNEES.

This calls for story time!

To be completely honest, I did not feel ready mentally or physically. I didn't do much running the week before the race and thought I would be lucky if I tied my first time. Really. I was not ready. But when I woke up on Saturday I felt surprisingly good. I was extra motivated from a good luck call from absolute darling friend of mine (4:30am my time, 3:30am his time). I ate, got dressed and was ready. At this point, I was going into the race not really caring and just wanting to get this race over with...and I think it really helped. The weather was perfect (well, perfect by running standards). It was cold (40s) but I like running in the cold and actually, I thought it was warmer than my first race in October. The race began at 6:30am and I told myself to go start off easy this time. Last time I was flying the first half of the race and then paid for it dearly the second half. I picked off my two (unofficial) pacers by the time I got to 5 miles and was feeling good. Now, there was a marathon and a half marathon and we all ran together until around mile 11. I couldn't find the 2:00 half marathon pacer, though I knew I began the race in front of him so I decided to just keep my eye on the 4:00 marathon pacer and noticed that as the race went on I was creeping closer and closer to him. This pleased me. I felt surprisingly well when I hit mile 8 and ate a shot block and decided I would eat another, if needed at mile 10 or 11. Well, for the love of mankind THEY DIDN'T POST THE NEXT MILE MARKER UNTIL MILE 12!!!!! You see, when I hit mile 8 and was still feeling pretty good, my competitive side revved up and I decided I was going to try to PR this race.  Trust me when I say I panicked a little after mile 8 and didn't see mile markers because I didn't know what mile I was at or what my time was. AH-NNOYING. I could tell I was at least at mile 10 when my quads starting talking to me, so that was kind of nice but for the love of running where the HECK were my mile markers!!??!?!? Every 2 miles huh? HUH? HUH??? LIES!!!! 

Well. All of the sudden I saw the mile 12 marker and was ecstatic, relieved, and then the exhaustion hit me. But my adrenaline also kicked it into (higher) gear and I was determined. Also I noticed the dude next to me perk up a little when we saw the mile 12 marker, I gave him a side ward glance and secretly challenged him to a running duel. And then the sensible side kicked in and I decided maybe I should just aim at finishing the race at my current pace (instead of trying run really fast/sprint the last 1.2 miles like I thought of doing for 0.3 seconds) so I let him get a little ahead of me but I kept pace with him. WELL. Then I saw, what I thought was the mile 13 marker, so I picked up my speed a little bit only to realize after I had passed it that the marker was the 26 mile marker for the marathoners and in actuality I was quickly approaching the REAL mile 13 marker. So once again I got my adrenaline going for the 3rd time and I was in some serious pain. But a good pain. But still, pain. And at this point they funnel the runners in so it got kind of tight. Well, I passed the mile 13 marker, say the clock and the finish line and SPRINTED. FOR. MY. LIFE. I'm sure my quads were ready to kill me but I was darned and determined to PR this race and be done. 

My unofficial time was a 1:57....

SET A NEW PR!!!!!!!

And then today I checked for my official chip time...

1:55:48

WHABAM!!!!!

I beat my first half marathon time by a little over 5 minutes!!!!!!

I felt like a rockstar. Could not believe it!!!!! I'm still floating.

And now in other news.....

My visitor over a long weekend left Tuesday evening (sad, sad day). It was, undoubtedly one of the best times of my life. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much fun. Pure bliss.  

Well, I walked into my office on Wednesday morning, I had this waiting for me:

Thank you my dear colleagues for 1) the messages and 2) messages on STICKY notes everywhere!!! I have an infatuation with sticky notes. I love them. It's kind of ridiculous but I do, I love them. 

Oh and hey! It was Valentine's Day too! I decorated Valentine's Day cookies with some of the rehab patients and the staff. It was fun!  

And my stepdad sent me chocolates. I am now a part of the tradition. I wish I describe to tell you how utterly happy this makes me. Happiness. 

AND my best friend sent my a Valentine's Day card with treats. 

Love this girl!

AND!! OH SNAPDRAGON! IT SNOWED IN SOUTH CAROLINA!!!!!!

(This is considered a heavy frost in NH, but I was still excited to see some white stuff here in the south. I'm sure the snowbirds weren't...bahahahaha! And you thought you could escape it!!! MUAHAHAHA!)

Also. Tim McGraw came out with a new CD. It's FABULOUS!!! A throwback to some of his old stuff, his GOOD stuff. Love it. I bought the whole CD and have been listening to it all week. A few songs even made it to my half marathon playlist. 

It's been the best week ever.

California Love

Ok. I've been putting it off long enough. Not really intentionally, but for the love of chocolate I just need to finish telling you about my visit to California. And then some other random things, naturally. 

So I spent 2.5 days in San Francisco. My second favorite city ever.

OHMYLATUS!!! A cable car!!! 

 This was the view from our place in Ghirardelli Square. I died from EXTREME excitement about 58 times that day. Amazing. I couldn't believe I was in San Francisco. It's on my bucket list and I was there. Golden Gate to my left, Ghirardelli Square below, Alcatraz in the distance and the splendid city waiting for me to tear it up to my right and behind. 

GHIRARDELLI CHOCOLATE!!!!

Heck yes you better believe we marched right down there and indulged in some hot chocolate. Mmmm MMMMM!!!

Then we walked along the wharf, the piers, and mostly along the waterfront. We just had to pop into Boudin because everyone in San Fran knows about it and I wanted to too.

Crab-shaped bread? I don't think I need to say anymore about how cool this place is. 

Plus it's bread. 

This dude was awesome. He created this piece with spray paint and odds and ends in a few minutes. It was pretty cool to watch him. This picture doesn't even do it justice.

We happened upon this snazzy merry-go-round and the following conversation was had:

Mom: Gabe, do you want to go on the merry-go-round?

Gabe: YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Will you go with me????

(Thinking with full confidence she would say yes)

Mom: No.

Gabe: WHAT!!?!!

There was no merry-go-round riding. Some people. GOSH.  

This is one of my favorite shots. 

The next morning (Monday) I woke up at 7am. That in and of itself is impressive because I woke up WITHOUT an alarm. Who needs an alarm when you've got excitement? Well I had it by the bundle because I got ready as fast as I could, thinking the parentals would be up and ready to go. FALSE. About 1.5 hours later my mom popped into the living room where I was watching TV. I was starting to doze. But then the excitement came flooding back and we headed out to explore the city.

I looked out this window every chance I could get. While I was waiting for the parentals, I think I hung out of the window for about 45 minutes just watching people. 

With a view like this, how could not just sit and watch and take it in?

OK. I rode my FIRST cable car. It was one of the highlights of my trip. Seriously. 

I know I say this often, but I really had the excitement of a 6 year old. I was standing on the very front because I wanted to see as much as I could. It was AMAZING. I loved it! And we passed another cable car going the opposite way and they were this close |--------|. I gave a high five to a girl riding on the other cable car. Made my day. 

Chinatown!

The Bay Bridge

We also wandered through the Ferry Building and sampled olive oils, baked goods (of course!), and gelato (6 flavors to be exact and they were goooooood). One of the many reasons I love my mom: she loves ice cream/froyo/gelato as much as I do so we do a lot of sampling and eating. Kind of like how we had froyo almost every day...Dan laughs at us. But he's a foodie too, so he gets it. Love it.

The Rents. Cuuuuuuuute!

THEN. We went to Sausalito which, of course, required us to stop and take some touristy pictures. 
It really is a beautiful bridge. 

Sausalito was really neat too. Quaint AND we had the best tacos I've ever had there. We ate at Copita Tequileria y Comida. HOLY CATSCANS. Go there. If you go to Sausalito, go there. We each got an order of three small tacos and shared. Great idea and each was very distinct and unique. I'm salivating just thinking about it. 

Photo from here

Then we cruised along on the opposite side of the Golden Gate. So beautiful. 

Then we decided to explore some parts of the city. We googled it and found this:

I know what you're thinking: By Jove, it's not!!! Yes. Yes that is the Mrs. Doubtfire house. 2640 Steiner Street. *sigh* I love that movie. 

Tuesday Dan had to work so the Madre and I decided to head out to Golden Gate Park. This darling mother of mine was proud of herself for driving in SanFran all on her own. Me too. She did very well. 

Golden Gate Park is H.U.G.E. We hardly scratched the surface of it. We wondered around and discovered several little gardens, some open, some not. Next time, we are spending the day there. We lucked out in that the Conservatory of Flowers was open for free to the public (free the first Tuesday of the month!). 

 Then we picked up Dan and headed back home. But first, we stopped in Oakland to see the LDS temple. STUNNING view from the temple. Oakland in the foreground and San Francisco in the background. What a spectacular sight. 

The view had nothing on the actual temple itself. 

Over the next few days, we did some exploring of some of the little towns nearby. My favorite was Danville. We spent some time wandering, a tiny bit of shopping (Papyrus because I have an obsession with stationary), and of course, popping into our 8th(??) bakery. That cupcake was good. We split it. Tasted homemade. Gabe and Madre approved. We know a homemade cupcake from a boxed mix. You cannot fool our tastebuds. 

 

 This is staged but at one point as we were finishing up dinner, I looked up and for once I was not the one on my phone (blowing up Instagram and Facebook with pictures). These two were!!!! So I giggled and told them to pose so I could capture it. 
Family dinner in the 21st century.

One of the last days there, we headed up to Napa Valley. 

We stopped at (!!!!!!!) The Culinary Institute of America.

And sampled some of their baked goods. Mmm! And watched some of the students hard at work. I want to go there. Yeah today we're learning how to make chocolates. Darn. What are you studying? Oh Organic Chem? *evil snicker* 

This day was probably my favorite food day. We ate at Bistro Jeanty . 

Some superb French cuisine. 

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They were very well known know for their tomato soup with a puff pastry top.
Dan got some and let me try it. Friends, let me tell you, it is really good. 

My mom and I got the exact same thing. We started off with their special soup of the day: Butternut squash pear soup with a dollop of bleu cheese. Now, I do not like bleu cheese. Not one bit. However, this soup is the exception. It was exquisite and just the right portion size (I'm not saying that because I'm a dietitian; I'm saying that because it was satisfying without ruining my appetite for the entree). Then we got the Salade Mâraichère, which was to. die. for. It was  a green bean salad with warm goat cheese oven roasted tomatoes, and honey vinaigrette. I don't care for green beans that much, usually because they are the nasty kind from the can, but these beauties were fresh and perfect. Trust me when I say, my mom and I oooooohed and aaaaaahed while eating this. INCREDIBLE. If you are in Napa Valley, go to Bistro Jeanty. It's a fun restaurant, very French feeling, with a splendid menu. As we were leaving I saw that they are well known for their frites (fries). I was a little crushed that I didn't know this before, because you better bet you bottom dollar I would have ordered some. Oh well, another time. The meal was perfection. 

And then to top of the perfect lunch, we popped into Bouchon Bakery.

  I sampled a really good macaroon when we were in the Ferry Building but their macaroons looked exquisite so I got a hazelnut one.

And I'm pretty sure my eyes popped out of my head a little because it was 

AMAZING. AH-MAZING. AAAAAAAAAMAZING.

I never understood why macaroons were such a big deal. Well. Friends. I have been converted. I see. I get it. And I am a big fan. BIG fan. Next time I'm in San Fran I am buying 5 of them. And no, I will not share, sorry.

And then the sad time came for me to leave. BUT as promised, a story to accompany this photo: 

There is a deli called Brass Bear and when my mom got married and I went with my new sister, they raved about it. It's a tradition and a family favorite for them. My mom and I came here for lunch so I could try it and INDEED it is yummy! Sourdough friends, it's all about the sourdough. Well, my mom had to mail something and Dan said I needed to get a sandwich for the flight (like I'd say no to Brass Bear. Come on people.), so I ran, yes, ran to Brass Bear and stormed in a little winded and the owner took my order. He was amused. I'm sure it was amusing to see me burst in, try to regain my composure, and then order my sandwich all the while trying to breathe normally and act like I was a regular or something. I got the dutch crunch this time instead of sourdough, because that also comes highly recommended, and it was wicked good. So now I feel maybe a little more like a Reeve girl. :) 

And then I flew home and was a little sad to say goodbye to California and my family.  

But it's ok because I'll see them in 14 days. YESSSSSSSSSS! IN NEW ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now on to the latest and greatest. I ran 6 miles this morning, because I'm trying to PR the next half marathon in February. Well. I might have gone a little nuts this weekend. I ran Thursday and then went to the Barre class that evening. I woke up yesterday feeling a little sore but it wasn't until I really starting moving around that I realized how sore I was. Well, I decided to make use of the time I have with Amy's Garmin watch and ran 3.5 miles yesterday and then I went to an hour and half yoga class with my friend Britney, which kicked my butt but I loved it. BUT, I was feeling pretty sore last night. Well, this morning I woke up and thought I might not go running because everything hurt, but then I thought of Amy's Garmin watch and how disappointed she'd be if I didn't go and how disappointed I would be if I didn't go running so as I was walking Scotty this morning, I gave myself a pep talk and decided I would do 5. Then as I was getting changed I thought I would aim for 5 but maybe 6 (which was my original goal a few days ago). Then I started running and right off the bat I knew it was going to be a rough run. It was. At mile 3 I was really feeling it. MILE THREE. I was really frustrated with myself, but I pressed on at a very unimpressive pace. Well I did it. I ran 6 at a 9:19 pace, which I was surprised about but I was trying to break my 8:36 10K pace. I realize that was a little unrealistic given how sore my legs and butt are, so I'm pleased with the time and that I did it. 

So, I have a Christmas party tonight at church and then my pal Gloria and I are going to see the final Twilight movie. Yes, I am going. Yes I have seen them all and yes I read all of the books. And yes I want to see the last movie. And, yes I am excited. YES!!!!!

Oh! And. I forgot to mention this but last Sunday evening my brother opened his mission call AND he has been called to serve a 2-year proselyting mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in.....

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA!!!!!!

Pretty. Dang. Awesome. I've already informed the parentals I will be joining them to pick him up in 2015. AWESOME. I am BEAMING with pride and happiness for this stud. Also I see him in 2 weeks and I am freakin' excited. You have no idea. 

And finally, HAPPY DECEMBER! This is my favorite Christmas song of the day. Pentatonix is the acapella group that won "The Sing Off" last season. I love acapella and I LOVE "Carol of Bells" and I love this video. Please watch and enjoy.