Freedom

Long awaited - The last credit card statement.

When I arrive home tonight after going to a double feature at the old Stanford movie theater (Breakfast at Tiffany's?... perfection) - I came home and checked the mail on the way in the door.  There was a single, solitary, envelope in the box.  The statement to the last credit card we have a balance on.  I opened the envelope and actually smiled, how often does that happen to you when you open a bill?  I smiled because it is the last credit card statement in a long line of statements of us paying off our credit card debt.  We've been buckling down for over a year, paying extra to the credit cards, paying of each of them one at a time - and we are finally going to be done!  Heaven.  I think this may call for a good old fashioned hand written check, a trip for the two of us to the mailbox, and a celebratory drink with my husband.

Yin Yoga

This is not us, but gives a good idea of what
yin yoga looks like.

I have been in and out of different types of yoga classes on and off for years.  I always have wanted to have Chris give it a try, but he refused again and again despite my efforts.  A few weeks ago Chris hurt his back, and after hearing about a yin yoga class I wanted to try, he finally agreed to come with me to yoga.  Yin yoga is a very calm and soothing type of yoga.  The purpose is to have long deep supported stretching and to have a restful and relaxing practice.  The class uses props such as blankets, bolsters, straps, and blocks to use to support your body as needed in each pose.  Most of the poses are on the floor and are held for 3-5 minutes.

Chris loved the class, as it provided him some relief from his hurt back.  I loved the stretches not only for my back, but also for my hips and legs which have been tight since beginning running again.  Plus it doesn't hurt that the class is so relaxing that all I really want to do once I'm done is crawl right into bed.  Chris actually signed up for a whole month of classes under a promotion for new students and has gone again with me - and we are planning another trip this afternoon.  It has actually been wonderful to be able to share a class with him and to go through the experience of doing something good for ourselves together.  Thanks honey for being willing to give it a try - I've loved being a new Yogi with you!

Tradition

Handwritten Postcard Invites

Chris and I have been plotting our 3rd Annual 'Last Weekend of Summer' at the Lake for months now.  As the last weekend of Summer is fast approaching it was time to finally finalize the list and invite people.  Last year we did a simple e-mail invite, but I discovered some cheesy vintage looking postcards up at the lake last year and snapped them up for the invites for 2011.  They have been waiting for me in a brown paper bag tucked away in 'a safe place' all year.  Meaning that I had to spend about 30 minutes searching for them as I didn't see them in the 'safe place' at first, then checked there again and of course they really were there all that time!  

I've had a fun hour figuring out just what to write down on these postcards - with the dishwasher whooshing away in the background - typing out the words on the computer so I knew I wouldn't spell anything wrong, then putting ink to postcard slowly and carefully.  I hope that these postcards - tucked into mailboxes and under office doors will bring a smile in the coming days to our friends, at the receipt of a good old fashioned handwritten invitation - and the prospect of a relaxing weekend away at the old log cabin and the dock at the lake.

Check out the 'Last Weekend of Summer' 2010 Post Here

Seven Years

Holding hands at the beach

Husband,

Seven years ago today I promised to love you and cherish you for the rest of my life.  Little did I know that I could love you even more than I did that day.  Little did I know that I would cherish you more deeply than anything else in my life.  You are my everything.  I love you more and more everyday.  Thank you for making my life full and happy.  Thank you for understanding me more than I do myself and loving me the way I am, now and in every moment of my life.  Thank you for supporting my hopes and dreams, for pushing me, for helping me not to be afraid.  These seven years have been better than I could have ever imagined, here's to 70 more.  

I love you,

Your Wife

Day Tripping

Pondering over the menu at Scrambl'z

Chris and I went of on an adventure today.  We hopped in the car and headed south.  We stopped for breakfast at a new-to-us place in San Jose, Scrambl'z.  We sat outdoors and had a lovely meal - anywhere where you can pick from a list of sides for breakfast that includes items like grilled artichokes, cranberry trifle, and roasted jalapenos is alright in my book.  Happily fed we hit the road to Monterey.

The glory of the Sun Fish at Monterey Bay Aquarium

The Open Sea exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium may be one of my favorite places in the world.  The aquarium is an amazing place and is probably one of the top ten aquariums on the globe.  But 'Deep Blue' as Chris and I call it is the gem of the building to us.  We spent hours there today, on the upper level balcony, sitting at a spot on the floor and gazing into the tank in awe.  The room is dark, lit only from the light coming through the water, and is as stunning as any European cathedral could be.  It's special to us, as the place we went on our second date, and seemed a fitting place to go with our seven year wedding anniversary rolling around tomorrow.  Arriving at 11:30 and leaving at 6:30 - with only a break for lunch, we headed back to the car feeling peaceful and overly relaxed.  What a special day - thanks honey, and happy anniversary!

Simple Life

Playing darts in a friend's garage

Every once in a while it's good to be reminded to just enjoy the simple things in life.  A game of darts played in the garage with the door opened to the evening air.  Playing tug of war with a dog.  Watching an old movie at home with a couple friends.  Sitting on the stoop.  Thanks to M & R for a lovely, blissful, and simple Friday night.

San Diego

Posing with the Dragon outside of the folk art museum.

Catching up; Father's day weekend this June I hoped on a plan down to visit my Grandmother and Father in San Diego.  We had a wonderful time with each other, filled with quiet time at Grandma's house, a father daughter technology project to get the blue ray player hooked up to the Internet, coaching Grandma through streaming Netflix and setting up a Pandora account, and being booted out of the house for father daughter alone time (Thanks grandma).

Gardens at Balboa Park.

The feisty 3rd generation of the family had pre-planned a few outings for Dad and I (to get us out of her way I'm sure).  One of the days she shipped us of to explore Balboa Park, making recommendations for lunch and museums gracefully.  We ended up having a lovely day with a lot of conversation about Dad's life that I didn't know about before.

Exploring the tropical greenhouse with Dad.

Growing up without a lot of time with my Dad and living long distances away from each other has unfortunately hampered our relationship with one another in the past.  We had a lovely day, building new memories, learning about each other, and strengthening our relationship.  Love you Dad.  Love you Grandma.  Thanks for the wonderful visit!

Scavenger Dash

Finding the Grinning Sculpture & matching the pose.

Catching up; In early June Chris and I completed a 'Scavenger Dash' in San Francisco.  We were given 12 clues to solve and 4 hours to get to each clue and take a photo to document completing the clue and/or challenge.  We were allowed to walk, run, and take public transportation.

Chris finds the rocket ship and 'takes off'.

Thank goodness for smart phones!  Chris and I managed to solve most of the clues and map out a route to run around the city as quickly as possible.  We found a fortune cookie factory hidden in an alley in Chinatown, hoofed it up Nob Hill, ran down Market Street, found Forest Gump's running shoes at Pier 39, rushed through Little Italy in search of a buried time capsule, and hopped on and of buses and light rail all around the city.

Finding two perfect strangers to blow bubbles with

Challenges included getting perfect strangers to blow bubble gum bubbles with us, transferring cotton balls using the Vaseline tip of one of our noses, and shuffling skittles around from place to place using only straws.

A well deserved beer after completion of all 12 clues.

We had a blast learning about our big SF city, discovering how friendly and helpful SF citizens are again, passing our competitors on the street, plotting our routes and cheering each other on.  If you are a walker or runner and Scavenger Dash comes to your city - don't hesitate, it is a must do.  Scavenger Dash is country wide in cities like Tucson, Chicago, and NY.  Check it out at: http://scavengerdash.com/ 

Mother Goose

Spicy deviled eggs and 'goose juice' at Mother Goose

My friend E wrapped up her 8 month internship at work last week and yesterday a few of us got together at Mother Goose Bar & Grill in Menlo Park for a little goodbye gathering.  We found a table on the back patio and enjoyed a simple and lovely evening with our friend.  It was wonderful to get some time with E, to hear about her plans (applying to an opening at our place, fingers crossed; road trip home to Michigan), enjoy the weather, and laugh at the funny prices on the menu (7.32? 4.28?) and each other.  A lovely goodbye.  Take care E, hope to see you back at the office, permanently, in a couple months!