Sunday, February 22, 2009
Foodie Fun in San Fran: the Trifecta
So, in case you didn't recognize from our last post, Scott and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on the 14th, Valentine's Day. Many of you men will notice, with jealousy, that Scott is able to tick-off two of the major holidays largely agreed upon by women to be "very romantically important". But wait....my birthday is also the very next day, February 15th....and so, the Trifecta of major holidays all in one weekend. Now I must add a disclaimer, we did NOT get married on Valentine's because we are sappy romantics - at the time, I was teaching school and happened to have a week-long break that started with Valentine's Day and we had to be practical! However, it is what it is....and now we have the Trifecta-effect. I recently said to Scott that I need a "distinct" day for my Birthday - sometimes I feel like I was born in December and my birthday gets overshadowed by Christmas. But....I digress! I'm not complaining in the least, rather, I recognize that I got to feel special, loved, honored, pampered for an entire weekend, and I loved every second of it!
This year, to mark five years of marriage, we decided to take a little trip to San Francisco - what began as a "get away" to a fun destination, ended as an unintended, overindulgent Foodie adventure of the most ridiculous kind, i.e., we were uncomfortably full the entire trip. Due to the fact that we were trying to squeeze-in a number of highly rated restaurants in the three days we "breezed" through California. And, oh yes, we were able to squeeze-in a few sight-seeing excursions as well, such as: Pacific Coast Highway, San Francisco Ghost Hunt, Fisherman's Wharf, etc. The "highlight" of those sight-seeing adventures occurred on a day that made national news on CNN for a severe-weather warning, my birthday, February 15th. We boarded the cruiser to take us to Alcatraz Island in not-quite torrential rain, but wholly underprepared for the weather: in sweaters, jeans, thin cotton scarves, and one umbrella. The boat rocked and rolled its 15-minute trip to the island and the rain worsened, pelting down on us as we disembarked and climbed a series of switch backs to reach The Rock. In the freezing rain we explored the "streets" of the penitentiary and I felt growing sorrow for the men who passed their lonely sentence in those despicably small, cold cells. Then, drenched, shivering, and somewhat seasick, we finished our walk down the Embarcadero and....bought another umbrella.
Feb.13- Lunch: Chaat Cafe, Fremont, CA
Dinner: Six-course menu at Masa's, San Francisco
Feb.14- Breatkfast: Dynamo Doughnuts, San Francisco
Lunch: Gorilla Barbeque, Pacifica, CA (we found this amazing place on the Food Network Channel - Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-in, and Dives; we waited 2 hours to order and receive our food, but it was definitely worth it)
Dinner: Roy's Hawaiian Fusion, San Franciscso
Feb.15- Breakfast: Left over Dynamo Doughnuts
Snack: Ciao Bella Gelateria, San Francisco
Snack: Ghirardelli's Ice Cream Parlor, San Francisco
Dinner: The Stinking Rose, San Francisco (a fun restaurant where everything is cooked with garlic; we even ate the garlic ice cream at the end of our meal)
Snack: Gelateria Naia, San Francisco
Did I mention that we ate a lot? We are definitely fans of food, and we were well-fed on this trip.
This year, to mark five years of marriage, we decided to take a little trip to San Francisco - what began as a "get away" to a fun destination, ended as an unintended, overindulgent Foodie adventure of the most ridiculous kind, i.e., we were uncomfortably full the entire trip. Due to the fact that we were trying to squeeze-in a number of highly rated restaurants in the three days we "breezed" through California. And, oh yes, we were able to squeeze-in a few sight-seeing excursions as well, such as: Pacific Coast Highway, San Francisco Ghost Hunt, Fisherman's Wharf, etc. The "highlight" of those sight-seeing adventures occurred on a day that made national news on CNN for a severe-weather warning, my birthday, February 15th. We boarded the cruiser to take us to Alcatraz Island in not-quite torrential rain, but wholly underprepared for the weather: in sweaters, jeans, thin cotton scarves, and one umbrella. The boat rocked and rolled its 15-minute trip to the island and the rain worsened, pelting down on us as we disembarked and climbed a series of switch backs to reach The Rock. In the freezing rain we explored the "streets" of the penitentiary and I felt growing sorrow for the men who passed their lonely sentence in those despicably small, cold cells. Then, drenched, shivering, and somewhat seasick, we finished our walk down the Embarcadero and....bought another umbrella.
Feb.13- Lunch: Chaat Cafe, Fremont, CA
Dinner: Six-course menu at Masa's, San Francisco
Feb.14- Breatkfast: Dynamo Doughnuts, San Francisco
Lunch: Gorilla Barbeque, Pacifica, CA (we found this amazing place on the Food Network Channel - Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-in, and Dives; we waited 2 hours to order and receive our food, but it was definitely worth it)
Dinner: Roy's Hawaiian Fusion, San Franciscso
Feb.15- Breakfast: Left over Dynamo Doughnuts
Snack: Ciao Bella Gelateria, San Francisco
Snack: Ghirardelli's Ice Cream Parlor, San Francisco
Dinner: The Stinking Rose, San Francisco (a fun restaurant where everything is cooked with garlic; we even ate the garlic ice cream at the end of our meal)
Snack: Gelateria Naia, San Francisco
Did I mention that we ate a lot? We are definitely fans of food, and we were well-fed on this trip.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
We Are Mass-Media "Tools"
It occurred to me the other day that as much as Scott and I pride ourselves on our shopping restraint, a high-minded sense of making informed, conscientious decisions about what we purchase and why, we are often "sucked-in" to the vast black hole that is infomercials. The exciting descriptions of new products intended to shave minutes off your morning routine, decrease your battle with mundane house chores, or simply change the way you see yourself in the mirror, are all intended to persuade you to shell out your hard-earned cash. But personally, I think it is the testimonials - whether it is an astounding before and after picture of incredible weight loss, a weepy woman describing how make-up gave her the confidence to get a job teaching, or the miraculous number of meals one can create with the shilled kitchen device - I am hooked.
Exhibit A: The first time I saw a commercial for the Snuggie, I laughed so hard I cried - I went running up the stairs calling to Scott to come and look at the television. I think it must have been the family of three sitting in the bleachers dressed like recently-escaped-from-the-monastery-monks in burgundy habits, cheering-on their son/brother while he played soccer that initially sent me in to hysterics. And yet, while Scott and I shopped at Walgreens the other day, we passed a display of the infamous "the blanket that has sleeves," we looked at each other, shrugged, and threw one in the cart. One can only mock so long before one must admit to the numerous practical uses for such an invention - fashion-forward it is not, but it is a warm alternative to a cold night. 
Exhibit B: One of the great mysteries of television infomercials is why the makers of The Magic Bullet felt it was necessary to use paid actors to peddle their wares rather than to let the product speak for itself through the real-life user endorsements. Nooooo....instead they felt it was necessary to have set the infomercial in a fake kitchen, apparently one in which any old "boozy" neighbor, or "crotchety old" biddy, are welcome to waltz into whenever it strikes their fancy. And yet....for all its ridiculousness, I found myself curious about the myriad options for how I could use it, and so I bought one. 
Exhibit C: Scott and I typically enjoy going to the Puyallup Fair just to "be there" and soak-in the excitement and action. On principal, we make a sojourn to the product areas, reminiscent of when farmers would bring their produce to sell at the county fair, not necessarily to buy anything but because it's fun to see what's being hawked. This last fall, in we went, and out we came with Sham Wow! - the German "wonder" towel. And while its powers were undeniably attractive - soaking up an entire can of soda out of a swatch of carpeting - I think we may have been caught up in the moment.
Exhibits D, E, F and G: Over the course of the years, Scott and I have succumbed to the cunning enticements of various infomercial pronunciations, including: Dermacia, a type of makeup with "amazing coverage" that also "breathes"; Sheer Cover, a mineral makeup "pimped" by Leeza Gibbons; The Firm, an exercise program involving a combination of step aerobics and weights created by a cohort of women in the Deep South - gotta love an instructor calling out the step with an accent: "Hey, ya'all take a look at thowse guuuns". For a highly entertaining event, you should see Scott and I doing these videos together; and Green Tea Patches, intended to accelerate your weight loss efforts.
Some of these purchases have been absolutely ridiculous and some have been very helpful, but the bottom line is that they are entertaining. Recently I saw the most AWESOME infomercial for a workout video, which I am now begging Scott to buy me for my birthday: the official Dirty Dancing Workout video.
Entertaining? Fo sho...... Helpful? That remains to be seen...... If you want to see a few clips from this AMAZING video see attached: http://dirtydancingworkout.com/ Maybe once we are dancing like Jonny and Baby we will post our own video....stay posted.
25 "Things" About Me
I am going to be extremely redundant, because I already posted these 25 "things" on Facebook, so for those of you who don't have a Facebook account, enjoy:
1) I am inherently suspicious of sharing things about myself....like it might come back to bite me in the butt!
2) I met Scott, my husband, when we lived as next door neighbors and ironically had an email address at the time: neighborgirl3713.
3) Starting in the 8th grade, I have sprained and/or fractured my ankles at least 10 times. The most ridiculous was when I stepped on a pinecone = fracture; the most recent was stepping on the edge of a manhole = sprain.
4) I hate snakes, rats, and spiders - when I see them I want to stab them in their faces!
5) While serving as a missionary in Argentina, my companion and I, Laura Schiess (Astle), were mugged in broad daylight - we lost our money, our books, our bags, and our dignity - the perpetrators didn't even have guns.
6) When I was in junior high I thought I wanted to be a prime time News Anchor until I did a 3-day stint at the local news channel and hated every minute of it.
7) Excluding pre-college years, I have never lived in the same house/apartment for more than two years at a stretch - I get restless very easily.
8) The place I would most like to visit is Greece.
9) I am almost obscenely curious about Regency England - think Jane Austen - and the role of women in the society, especially how conduct literature was utilized in the class/gender structure.
10) I wrote a series of papers in college on the influence of the Amazons in Greek mythology on the modern feminist movement; it was very difficult to find research materials in the BYU library.
11) My hair is my "safety blanket", so to speak - aside from one slight misjudgment in letting a friend cut my hair in the 8th grade, I have never had hair shorter than my shoulders.
12) My dream would be to have the kind of singing voice that could handle a Duettino Sull Aria from the Marriage of Figaro (think Shawshank Redemption).
13) Although I play the piano, I have to work at it, and in order to accompany someone like my husband when he sings, I have to practice, practice, practice.
14) I was hired once to play at someone's wedding: the Wedding March, the Recessional, and to accompany a vocalist on the cheesiest wedding song ever titled, "Longer" - then the bride stiffed me.
15) In 4-6th grades I took private cello lessons from Lance Johnson, who I thought was really "hot" (he was 17), and I played in the Tacoma Junior Youth Symphony.
16) When I was two years in to my college experience, majoring in the Humanities, my parents and four younger siblings took a trip to Europe two weeks before I finished my finals - I was sooooo pissed!
17) I contracted a parasite while living in South America that has completely 'jacked' my intestinal "devices" and makes digestion a real "treat".
18) My first college roommate, Heather Rudy, was the daughter of my mom's best friend all growing up, who converted to the LDS faith while they were college students. Missy, Heather's mom, transferred colleges to attend BYU and she and my mom were college roommates for a few years. Heather and I had never met prior to being roommates, but we hit it off smashingly.
19) I worked as a secretary at the Women's Research Institute for 2.5 years while attending BYU, the only job at the 'Y' where you could be suspected of having feminist-sympathies.
20) While teaching Senior College English, at Sumner High School for two years, at least 5 seniors failed my class making them ineligible for graduation. I'm not on anyone's hit list, as far as I know.
21) I consider myself obsessed with anything "small" or "miniature": horses, dogs, especially monkeys - I have toyed with the idea of creating a "miniature zoo".
22) Currently half-time I work with juvenile offenders doing family therapy with them and their families, in their homes; I have seen kids arrested for: Domestic Violence, Prostitution, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Residential Burglarly, Trespassing, Possession of a Controlled Substance, to name a few....
23) I used to consider marriage to be something that "other people" do, until I got married myself; now I consider having children something "other people" do....maybe I'll have to eat those words some day.
24) In high school I ran for ASB president against another kid from my church who had asked a boy from the junior class to be his campaign manager - so I asked that kid's girlfriend to be my campaign manager. Guess who won?
25) I plan to return to university within the next 5 years to pursue my PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy....in the mean time, I am working on writing and getting published in a scholarly publication.
1) I am inherently suspicious of sharing things about myself....like it might come back to bite me in the butt!
2) I met Scott, my husband, when we lived as next door neighbors and ironically had an email address at the time: neighborgirl3713.
3) Starting in the 8th grade, I have sprained and/or fractured my ankles at least 10 times. The most ridiculous was when I stepped on a pinecone = fracture; the most recent was stepping on the edge of a manhole = sprain.
4) I hate snakes, rats, and spiders - when I see them I want to stab them in their faces!
5) While serving as a missionary in Argentina, my companion and I, Laura Schiess (Astle), were mugged in broad daylight - we lost our money, our books, our bags, and our dignity - the perpetrators didn't even have guns.
6) When I was in junior high I thought I wanted to be a prime time News Anchor until I did a 3-day stint at the local news channel and hated every minute of it.
7) Excluding pre-college years, I have never lived in the same house/apartment for more than two years at a stretch - I get restless very easily.
8) The place I would most like to visit is Greece.
9) I am almost obscenely curious about Regency England - think Jane Austen - and the role of women in the society, especially how conduct literature was utilized in the class/gender structure.
10) I wrote a series of papers in college on the influence of the Amazons in Greek mythology on the modern feminist movement; it was very difficult to find research materials in the BYU library.
11) My hair is my "safety blanket", so to speak - aside from one slight misjudgment in letting a friend cut my hair in the 8th grade, I have never had hair shorter than my shoulders.
12) My dream would be to have the kind of singing voice that could handle a Duettino Sull Aria from the Marriage of Figaro (think Shawshank Redemption).
13) Although I play the piano, I have to work at it, and in order to accompany someone like my husband when he sings, I have to practice, practice, practice.
14) I was hired once to play at someone's wedding: the Wedding March, the Recessional, and to accompany a vocalist on the cheesiest wedding song ever titled, "Longer" - then the bride stiffed me.
15) In 4-6th grades I took private cello lessons from Lance Johnson, who I thought was really "hot" (he was 17), and I played in the Tacoma Junior Youth Symphony.
16) When I was two years in to my college experience, majoring in the Humanities, my parents and four younger siblings took a trip to Europe two weeks before I finished my finals - I was sooooo pissed!
17) I contracted a parasite while living in South America that has completely 'jacked' my intestinal "devices" and makes digestion a real "treat".
18) My first college roommate, Heather Rudy, was the daughter of my mom's best friend all growing up, who converted to the LDS faith while they were college students. Missy, Heather's mom, transferred colleges to attend BYU and she and my mom were college roommates for a few years. Heather and I had never met prior to being roommates, but we hit it off smashingly.
19) I worked as a secretary at the Women's Research Institute for 2.5 years while attending BYU, the only job at the 'Y' where you could be suspected of having feminist-sympathies.
20) While teaching Senior College English, at Sumner High School for two years, at least 5 seniors failed my class making them ineligible for graduation. I'm not on anyone's hit list, as far as I know.
21) I consider myself obsessed with anything "small" or "miniature": horses, dogs, especially monkeys - I have toyed with the idea of creating a "miniature zoo".
22) Currently half-time I work with juvenile offenders doing family therapy with them and their families, in their homes; I have seen kids arrested for: Domestic Violence, Prostitution, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Residential Burglarly, Trespassing, Possession of a Controlled Substance, to name a few....
23) I used to consider marriage to be something that "other people" do, until I got married myself; now I consider having children something "other people" do....maybe I'll have to eat those words some day.
24) In high school I ran for ASB president against another kid from my church who had asked a boy from the junior class to be his campaign manager - so I asked that kid's girlfriend to be my campaign manager. Guess who won?
25) I plan to return to university within the next 5 years to pursue my PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy....in the mean time, I am working on writing and getting published in a scholarly publication.
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