"That's a lot of cheek for your little palm"

The grandparents with baby Mia.


Just call me Mr. BBQ.


Who said teenagers couldn't help out?


Cupcakes anyone?

So I don't even know where I left off. The weekend, which I was ominous-feeling about (You can just call me "Little Black Cloud") actually turned out pretty good. I rushed off to get my haircut in Fremont after work on Friday- my 2nd cut in about 20 months. Needless to say, I was overdue. I can always tell when it's time for a trim when I can no longer get a brush through it. Believe me, I was waaaay past that stage. Rosa does such a good job, I was the only one in the salon (for a 6 PM apt.), and it was just what I needed to wind down. From there, I smashed it to Jodie's place to pick her up and head to S.F. for a night out with Mo.

We cabbed it from Monica's place in Noey Valley to North Beach and tried eating at a Greek restaurant. However, an entire basket of bread and 15 minutes later, with no sign of being waited on anytime that evening, we left! I was too scured to just walk out, so they convinced me to go first and followed. In the end, we went to Figaros (where we had our company party for Go West Tours this past Jan.). The food was good, we got an appetizer and dessert comped, so no one could really complain. Next was off to a neat bar/restaurant a couple of blocks away, and they had Chimay. Mmmmmmmmmmm good! They soon closed, and so we went back down the street to an Irish pub. It was packed- yeah- packed with d-bags! Honestly, who do some of these guys think they are? On the plus side, Jodie was chatting up 2 cops from Colorado who bought all our rounds. Gotta love when that happens.

Sat. was lost to the black hole. We slept in until noon (I'd been up for 23 hrs the day before, so pls don't judge me too harshly). Headed to the cafe (as in Cafe Borrone) for brunch and then to Stanford for some shopping. I needed to get Holly's b-day present, and it was a huge success. I was stressing, but in the end, found something that was just right. I'm not sure that just anyone would appreciate this particular gift, but I felt pretty confident that she would. I ended up getting her Lippmann collection booties with lavender sachet insoles that can get warmed up in the microwave- yeah boyie!

Went to the barn later that evening and gave Pokey a little ride. She was good girl. I just hopped on bareback (something I'm doing less and less of these days, so it was a nice change) and then hosed her off since it was pretty warm. I finally got back on track with my Netflix (apparently I was too lame/lazy to add anything to my queue, so I hadn't gotten anything for over 2 weeks). I had been wanting to see The Other Boylen Girl and Atonement. The first was a dissappointment, the 2nd just plain depressing, but good.

I'm not feeling like boring you all with the details from Sunday but basically it was: sleep in, bubble bath, cleaning, Holly's bday BBQ (see pics below) and then the barn which resulted in Pokey pulling a shoe (and part of her hoof with it). So....... no riding for me for a while, I guess.

Yesterday's swim was great, and if I could remember what it was exactly that we did, I would tell you, but I can't. So there. I'm now realizing how important sleep is and how much it affects me. Over the past 2 weeks, my body literally hurt - EVERYWHERE - when it was time to get up in the mornings. I felt like I would drown in the pool, and the bike rides into work were no fun. I now know that it was due to lack of sleep! (Well, I'm n99.9% sure). I got 9, yes nine, hours last night, and had one of the best rides into work this morning. The last 3 miles, which are basically all up hill, were a breeze, and I really do think it's b/c I was well rested.

Ta ta for now. Bisous, Elizabeth

Touch head!

Some quotes that you may (or may not appreciate):

"Dance puppet."

"I wish my girlfriend was as pretty as you."

"Check between the toes!"

"He's not a cabbie. He drives a Lincoln."

Swimerama

Now how's about a little inspiration?

Wednesday's workout:

400 warm up
400 pull
400 IM
300 pull
100 back
100 free fast
20x15m kick
100 cool down
Total = 2100m

Friday's workout:

-600 free warm up

-2 x 50 for time (i'm on 45 sec.)
-1 x 100 on -5
-2 x 100 on cruise
repeat twice

-300 pull (first is on -5, second and third on cruise)
-100 pull back on +40

Total = 2,200m

(If I would have been able to stay to finish the set it would have continued to be 200 pull, 100 pull back, then 100 pull and 100 pull back. Alas, I had to get my hieny out of the pool and head to work).

Oh Madonna

Please don't kick my butt for posting this video in my blog.

Have I Mentioned Lately How Much I Love SYTYCD?

Jodie, this is the one I wanted you to see:

Gotta Love

Starting off the day with a little.....

Pearl Jam and Jason Mraz. I'm loving his song "I'm Yours".... it's a little bit Jack Johnson, and I looooove him.

Yoshi's in S.F.

From L to R: Anne (my co-worker, one of the "galley girls"), Melissa, Me (duh), and Jodie

Me & Mike

Audra, the birthday girl & Richard. They are such a cute couple!

Love this pic. You girls look gorgeous!

Oula is what I’d be saying right now if I were French.

It was a heck of a week- y’all know pretty much what I was up to from the last post. So drinks after work on Friday were good, but I just wasn’t feelin’ it. I did manage to make it in for a swim that day, and I’d told myself that I would just take it easy. Well Tim (the coach) had other things in mind, and we got WORKED.

I was home and on the couch by 9:30 Friday night ready for a good night’s sleep. I had set my alarm for 5:30 on Sat. to try and make it in for a 6 AM swim, but in the end figured I’d give myself a break. Woke up at 9 and just laid in bed txting friends and cuddling with Mr. B. By 11 I was up, out to run a couple errands, and out to the barn. Pokey and I had a great ride in the hills (one of these days I need to remember to bring my camera and take pics of the scenery/views). I hosed her off and grained her and then got Atoli out to longe him since Jessica was away for the weekend. What a nut! That horse just cracks me up.

I think I got back home around 3:30 which was just enough time to sit on the couch for an hour or so before Jodie came over- with ALL her crap (o; We got ready to go, picked up a burrito for the road (of course!), picked up her friends Mike and Melissa and were on our way to S.F.

The timing worked out pretty much perfectly, and by the time we found parking, we needed to cab it over to Yoshi’s. Waited in line for about 15 min., didn’t have to pay any cover charge (yay!) and made our way to the bar for some Prosecco. The place started to fill out quickly, the DJ was excellent, and the people watching could not have been better- lots of neat outfits. All in all it was a good time. Great idea, Audra!

Today I went to breakfast and then the barn with Jodie. I hadn’t seen her new place, and it’s nice. They even have monkeys (o; By the time we got back home, I needed to hop in the shower to be at Jed and Holly’s for dinner. Helped him cook some pasta primavera with a yummy salad. Jed’s reading about the “5 Languages of Love” OMG freaking hilarious. Mia was her usual adorable self. Man, does she stay consistent. She still loves her little caterpillar comb and still goes nuts for my watch.

Lots of birthdays this month: Jesse, Shannon, and Claire last week. Audra and Maximo the week before, and my Dad and Holly’s bdays this Sat. So…. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you all.

Not too much on the agenda for the upcoming week. I have to go to the dentist tomorrow (yuck. Although the nitrous oxide is nice and definitely makes the whole experience a little less awful). Hopefully some swims/bike rides and a little extra time with Pokey. Jodie, Monica and I are goanna get together in the city on Fri., and I guess that’s it.

xoxo,

Elizabeth

Pics from Seattle- 4th of July

Andrea, Simon, and Jesse: you 3 are kind of sickly good-looking in the pic.



Andrea and Jesse: my 2 Frenchie-American gal pals



Can you guess?



For some reason, this pic just makes me think of Austin Powers.



Remember I told you I got the cutest shoes ever? Yep, those are the ones, and comfy too!



I think Luke was panting for more cider.



This is Andrea's infamous head hug.


"Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'm funny"

Natty Dread

Well, I was dreading the gnats alright- that is on my bike on the way in to work, but I’ll get to that later.

So, the trip to Seattle- yes, it was sleepless but only b/c there was just so much fun to be had. I left straight from work on Thurs. after feeling miserable all day. I didn’t even know if I could get on the plane. Jodie, bless her, came and met me over in Menlo Park and then drove me to SFO. Almost 4 hours later, I landed in Seattle, ran out to give Andrea a hug and then darted back into the baggage claim (ahem, yes, I checked a full-sized suitcase). From there, we went back to her place to pick up her man and then headed over to Simon’s for a little birthday celebration. Jesse came and met us, and it was so great to see her. I don’t think we’d seen each other since she came to S.F. to do visa stuff at the French consulate in Sept. It was a good time!

Friday was the 4^th, and we kind of just hung out at Andrea’s place, BBQed, took a walk around Green Lake- which is just spectacular! I can’t believe she has this just outside her front door. The neighborhood has lots of cute little cafés, neat one-of-a-kind boutiques, restaurants, shops etc… I think there was an exceptional amount of activity this day due to the sunny warm weather. It was a great day, but I didn’t see one single firework!

On Saturday we bummed it around, went to Northgate Mall to meet Jesse and her friends, Amy and Amber, for a late lunch and had fun chitchatting. Andrea and I went back to her place to get ready to go out. Simon, sweetheart that he is, dropped us off downtown. We popped in and out of several bar/bar-restaurants before finally settling down at Amber. I’d gotten the most amazing pair of shoes while at Northgate- they are soooooooooo cute. However, I almost had a disaster at Amber. We’d met these 2 gals visiting from North Carolina (I think) and one of them helped me fix my shoe, while I stood on one leg, at the bar, for a good 15 minutes. From there, it was off to (Fill in the blank b/c God help me, I can’t remember the name for the life of me) Billiards for dancing! The DJ played just my type of music, and I think we danced non-stop from the time we got there until the lights went on around 2 AM. By the way, you should probably know in the event you visit Seattle, you can NOT get hard alcohol in a store after 8 PM~ yeah. Haters.

Sunday was a lounge-ish day (It’s my blog and I can make up words if I want). I’d been waiting to touch base with Jesse and see when we might be able to meet up, so after grabbing coffee and getting a tour of Microsoft with a friend, I arrived at her place just in time for dinner with her and the family. Her Dad built their house, and it’s cozy with lots of custom and unique pieces (like the quilted chair seats that her Mom upholstered). We took a long walk around her neighborhood, and I can’t believe that she has such a beautiful trail to walk just from her house. Lots of wildflowers, open fields, ponds with frogs- we even saw the cutest little bunny. I think we were out there for almost 2 hours. We were both pretty tired after the weekend so were in bed not long after we got back.

On Monday I was up early to head to Jazzercise with Jesse and her mom. Man, could I get addicted. This is something that she always does when she’s home from France, and since I’ve heard so much about it, I was thrilled to try it out. It was so much fun and a great workout. Plus, they handed out frozen towels at the end to cool off- brilliant! From there, we jammed back to Jesse’s place to grab my stuff so that we could go over to her grandma’s house right by the lake. We hung out, ate some potato salad, and enjoyed the warm sunshine out on the dock. It’s so spectacularly beautiful and tranquil out there; Jesse’s lucky to have grown up with a place like that to visit. She dropped me off at the airport, and I rolled up to my gate at the exact minute they started boarding. We couldn’t have worked it out more perfectly.

I was back to work on Tues. Had a nice bike ride in to work, except for the fact that we have a heat wave going. When I was riding by the salt flats I thought to myself, “This is total mosquito weather” and BAM- I rode straight into a swarm of nasty gnats. Unfortunately for me, I’d loaded up on the chapstick and I feel like they all got stuck in it. I had to do the first 4 or so miles with my mouth closed for fear of eating one (hello! I’m a vegetarian)!!). I heard that it was 107° F in the afternoon, so I was a little nervous about the ride home, but it was fine. Thank goodness the beginning is all downhill. It seemed like there were more bikers on the road than usual, and although I’ve never thought of myself as a competitive person, I’m noticing that I kick it up a notch when there’s someone in front of me just to see if I can catch up (which rarely happens, if ever).

Holly had a minor surgery on her hand, so my Mom and I brought over lasagna (which everyone loves) and a salad for dinner. It was nice to see them all. Mia is absolutely 100% head over heels for Kendall, and it’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen. Kendall is so good with her and can brig out a laugh that I hadn’t heard her do before. She’s a lucky baby.

Coming up for the rest of the week:

-Swimming with Liesl (yay!! I’m goanna feel like we’re in high school again- back when we were lifeguards at Hacienda) on Wed. morning. Then the A’s game in Oakland later that night.

(The swim was: 100m warm up, 400m pull, 300m IM, 300m pull, then 10x15m sprints, followed by 300 easy, then 10x25m sprints, and another 300m easy. Total = 2100m)

-Bike to work on Thurs. and then go horsebackriding with Liesl. Normally, it stresses me out to put someone on Pokey, but in 100 heat, she’s too hot to do anything stupid.

-Friday I’m really hoping to make it in for a swim. Then drinks after work with people from work.

-I’m taking care of a friend’s horse on Sat. and Sun. and haven’t really spent much time with Pokey lately. She needs an overhaul in the grooming department, I’m sure. I wonder if I could recruit Jodie to clip her up….. She does the best job. Hint hint if you’re reading this (o;

-I get to get all dressed up on Sat. night for Audra’s birthday. We’re going out to a fancy new club in S.F. and I’m sure the night won’t disappoint.

-I really really need to pick up a book and do some reading. It’s been way too long, so maybe the Netflix will have to get put on the backburner, at least for a while.

A big congratulations to Mateo who was one of the 4/26 students to pass his exams (on the mechanics of large planes in Paris). I know he’s thrilled to be done with school!

Hugs and kisses to you all,

Elizabeth

Murdered Out

Yes, that was me this morning in the pool with my black swim suit (new!! and reversable), black cap, and matte black goggles. For those of you who share in the love formerly known as Rob and Big ("do you know what it feels like?"), you will know what I'm talking about.

Also worth noting is that today was the first day that I actually felt pretty good in the water (as in not going crooked and all over the place while doing backstroke, gagging, dying etc... you catch my drift). We did some sprint sets and I found that I had more than my slow-ass speed to give, so those were pretty fun, and it felt amazing. I'm going to try and keep track of what we swim, but sometimes it gets a litle hard to remeber, however I think I was successful today:

1. 300 warm up

2. 4x200 free/back

3. 200 cruise (@ 1 min. 50 each 100)

4. 2x15 sprint, 50 for time - @ 1 min 40

2x15 sprint, 50 for time - @ 1 min 40

100 easy

(this pattern was repeated 3 times)

Total swam = 2400 meters

I also must say that I rather kicked butt on my bike yesterday. Brittney hasn't been giving me any lip lately, so I decided she'd earned a rub down and degreasing after I got home from work. I had a great ride both to and from, which is always nice. It's so much better minus the wind. I also love starting my day off with The Cure AND my favorite: Chris Brown playing on the radio. Yay for cordless radio headphones!

If you've been to any mall in the past decade, you know how much Abercrombie smells. It must be some type of marketing strategy (combined with rediculously half naked gorgeous people) to lure you into the store. Well anyways, on my route I pass by Stanford (the shopping center, that is. Cruel, I know) and I can freaking SMELL Abercrombie- even at 6:30 in the AM!!! It's crazy.

So I got tix to the Giants game on Monday night. Sad story. I don't even give a rip about baseball (Dad I swear I really am your daughter), but this was just shameful. I went up with one of the Galley Girls, Anne, who'd gotten tix from work. We decided to drive up straight from work since CalTrain was like $12 round trip- each person and we had free parking. So we hit up MoMos for a beer before the game, and I got carded so hard-core. I even had to wear a wrist band. Laaaaaaaaame. Nevertehless the the game was fun- who doesn't like beer and garlic fries, right?

Last night I met up with Jodie and Liesl at the W for some much needed girl talk. It was a blast- I just love those girls, and man does Liesl know how to tell a story. Too funny!

I leave for sunny (hopefully) Seattle tomorrow for the 4th! Whoo hoo. I can't wait. Over and out.

xoxo,

Elizabeth