Girls' Night Out

B is a little annoyed that M is "stealing her dad" for the weekend (after a nearly two-week trip, she saw him for about an hour last night), so after sending the boys off on their Boy Scout ski trip, she and I had a fun evening together. I picked her up from musical rehearsal at 5:45, drove her friend home, and headed out to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. After dinner, we wandered through the Gap (didn't find any clothes she liked), Barnes and Noble (she bought three books and a new sketchbook), and Crate and Barrel (that stop was for me--picked up a new gravy boat). Last stop of the night was Loard's Ice Cream, our local ice cream place.

She already has tomorrow night's restaurant picked out :-)

Friends, Family, Gluttony, and a Little Excitement

If it's possible to eat too much good food, I think I've done it. Last night's Thanksgiving dinner was fun: as usual, we provided the basics, and our assorted guests brought dishes to share. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, dressing, mac & cheese, scalloped onions, green bean casserole, Tofurkey, squash soup, three kinds of cranberry sauce (two canned and one made by B), pumpkin pie, and apple crisp.

Today, Mom, Dad, my sister E, B, and I went on our usual Black Friday expedition. We don't believe in getting up early to hunt for bargains (if I really want to shop for bargains, I do it online). We meet in the late morning at an upscale shopping area (Union Square in San Francisco, Fashion Valley when we lived in San Diego, Eastview Mall in Rochester), and shop for a couple of things while enjoying the people and the stores. Today, E bought a pair of black pants, Mom got a lovely leather coat, B got a gold belt to go with her new dress (that was the hardest to find, since she's so skinny), and B also got some clothes. For lunch, we made our usual stop at the food court, where I always get the Korean BBQ spare ribs. (The second large meal of the holiday.)

The afternoon was a little more exciting than usual. As we were descending on the curved escalator to the first floor, we heard thumping noises behind us. All of us immediately assumed someone was falling down the escalator, and we all did the same thing: stepped to the side and grabbed the handrail with both hands (so we wouldn't be pushed over). Lo and behold, it was a purse snatcher, shoving people out of the way in his mad descent down the escalator, followed closely by a woman yelling "stop him!" At the bottom of the escalator, a male shopper tackled him, and when we left, the thief was being held down by two or three men, presumably awaiting mall security!

For dinner, DH and M joined us at Ton Kiang, our favorite Chinese restaurant in SF. We had another feast: scallion pancakes & potstickers to start with, Peking duck, Mongolian beef, Szechuan shrimp, Singapore noodles, spareribs in sweet orange sauce, asparagus sauteéd with garlic, and sesame balls for dessert. I was so full that I gave half of my sesame ball (one of my favorites) to B!

Take This Kid Instead

And now for a completely different shopping trip. Yesterday we dragged M out to the mall. He is heading to Disneyland this weekend for a choir trip, and has been complaining that his black dress shoes pinch his feet. So, off to buy shoes. We went to the mall. We went into one department store. Over his protests, we forced him to try on TWO pairs of black tennis shoes (the horror!), because he didn't like the soles on the first pair. We bought the second pair (on sale!), and left for home.

Leave the Kid at Home Next Time

We headed out yesterday afternoon to pick up some floor pillows for the gaming area, since the old beanbags are really uncomfortable, and a couple of T-shirts for B. We came home with a sofa for the gaming area (who knew that IKEA had $149 loveseats?), a T-shirt for B, two pairs of jeans for B, a skirt for B, a headband for B, a rug for B, and a body pillow for B. Guess which kid went shopping with us and which one stayed home?

Growing Teenager

Current mental soundtrack: "The Brain is Wider Than the Sky" from An Emily Dickinson Mosaic, by Daniel Pinkham

Took M to Tarzhay this afternoon for a new wardrobe, since he's outgrown almost everything he owns. The final tally for the afternoon: four men's T-shirts, one nice shirt, two pairs of shorts, a Personal Pan Pizza, and a box of cookies. He consumed the pizza and several of the cookies on the way home, and declared he was still hungry.

Christmas 2009

We're on the way home from our annual holiday pilgrimage to San Diego. In addition to seeing family and eating too much, we did some fun stuff.

The days before Christmas were spent shopping and wrapping gifts. I had done the big shopping ahead of time, but still needed stocking stuffers. I discovered that it's very difficult to find rolls of Lifesavers--I finally ended up with Lifesavers candy canes.

On the 26th, we drove up to The Red Bee to shop for craft supplies and say "hi" to the owners.

The next day, DH's parents rented a motel suite in Big Bear Lake, so we drove up with the whole gang and went sledding. (Pictures soon--I don't have any on this iPhone.) We started at the $25 per person tubing hill, complete with conveyer belt to get back up the hill, but after lunch it became too crowded. The following day, we found a great hill. We only had to buy two $5 Forest Service parking permits, so that was a much better deal! The kids sledded until they were exhausted, then we headed back to San Diego. DH's accident-prone sister somehow managed to sled into a rock and give herself a mild concussion, but she's doing fine now.

On the 29th, M turned 13, so we are now the parents of a teenager. We celebrated by going to the San Diego Zoo with my parents, followed by dinner at Jasmine and homemade cake.

I also squeezed in a shopping trip to Fashion Valley, two PWC rehearsals, and dinner at Fidel's Little Mexico.

We should be home in a little over an hour. No matter how much fun it is to go away, it's always nice to sleep on my own bed.

Sunset at my parents' house

Shopping With a Friend

Last night I finally worked out which pair of shoes to wear with the first outfit. After dinner, I sat down at the computer to do some online shopping. My friend MB opened a chat with me on Facebook, and since MB has always had excellent taste in shoes, I enlisted her help. We visited all kinds of websites, and after taking a look at the photo in the previous post, she informed me that I was looking for the wrong color of shoes. She suggested khaki or cinnamon, to go with the skirt. (I have a closetful of black shoes, but have never been into browns.) I was on the verge of ordering a pair of cinnamon sandals, when I remembered an ancient pair of shoes that my Mom had handed me a few years ago. She had found them in my closet when they moved out of the old house, and for some reason she kept them and gave them to me. I stuck them at the back of my shoe shelf, and forgot about them until now. Although they undoubtedly date from my high school years, they are in perfect shape, and just needed a little dusting. I took a photo of them and sent it to MB, and she approved them. So, I have shoes to wear, and I didn't even have to spend any money! Plus I had a great time "shopping" with my friend :-)

Reunion Outfits

High school reunion coming up next week! After much agonizing, here is the almost-final result of three trips to two malls and visits to many web sites:

Outfit #1
This one is for a casual get-together at a tavern (still need some summery sandals). I also plan to iron both the skirt and the top!



Outfit #2
Dinner and dancing at the Moose Lodge



Final tally:

• 3 dresses purchased


• 2 dresses returned


• 1 top purchased


• 1 skirt purchased


• 1 pair of shoes yet to be purchased

In Search of a Dress

Went into SF today with DH & sis. After a nice lunch at the mall (I always have the BBQ short ribs at the Korean BBQ place), we combed the stores looking for something appropriate for the first night of my reunion. DH was amazed at how hard it was to find the right dress. I tried on a bunch, and found one "maybe," but we finally ended up with a nice silk top that's waiting to be paired with a skirt or jeans. I'll take some photos later, after I try it on with what I have at home.

The kids have called home twice this week. They're having a great time in Minnesota: canoeing, water skiing (well, attempting to water ski), tubing, etc. They've been to the Mall of America, where B found the American Girl store and had to do some shopping.

One more week of kid-free living!

Quiet Quiet Quiet

The kids left on Monday for a road trip with DH's parents. They are headed to Minnesota to visit relatives.

DH and I are trying to decide what to do with our temporary empty nest. Tonight we went to dinner at O Chamé in Berkeley, since I had a gift certificate (thank you, Voci!). We walked around 4th Street a little, then headed home. We have tickets for the 12:15 am showing of Harry Potter tonight--we haven't stayed up that late for many, many years. I hope we can stay awake!

This weekend we have a bunch of things planned. On Saturday morning we are going to a brunch to meet a potential political candidate--we've been assured it's not a fundraiser, although I'm sure our name will end up on lists for the future. Saturday evening we're going to dinner at the home of DH's postdoc, with hot-tubbing to follow. Sunday we're heading in to SF to meet my sister, have lunch, and do some shopping. I have been scouring web sites and stores, trying to find the right outfit for my high school reunion next month. I have a little black dress that will do for the cocktails & dinner night, but the previous night is a get-together at a local bar. I've been looking for something casual but elegant--hard to find! The dresses I've seen are either too dressy (B and I found a lovely one last week, but it's more suited to a garden party than a casual tavern) or too unflattering. Maybe a skirt and nice top would be easier to find?

Always Look On the Bright Side of Life

Current mental soundtrack: see title ^

Today I saw Spamalot with the family and some friends. It was a really fun show--the whole family enjoyed it. I picked it over Wicked because I thought the guys would enjoy this one more, and I think I was right. There were a lot of empty seats, though--I hope ticket sales pick up! After the show, we had a lovely dinner at Khan Toke Thai House. The kids remember this one as the place where you get to sit on the floor, but DH and I just like the food and the atmosphere. They do have cutouts under most of the tables so you don't actually have to sit cross-legged for long periods. B & M are now upstairs playing Rock Band with my sister.

It's been a nice, relaxing weekend so far. Yesterday was the first free day I've had in over a month, and I couldn't figure out what to do with myself! I finally settled on a little shopping with B (I desperately needed a new pair of black high-tops, as the holes in mine were getting pretty big), followed by some time cleaning up the back yard. I deadheaded the roses, weeded (found a three-foot high weed behind a container), and filled the green bin up with miscellaneous twigs and sticks that have been lying around for months.

Not too much planned for tomorrow. B has a playdate with a ballet buddy, I have someone coming over to rehearse a solo, then B and three of her friends are rehearsing at our house for next weekend's Orinda Idol auditions. They're going to sing "Amayzing Mayzie" from Seussical.

Seasonal Shopping

M has managed to lose THREE hoodies in the last month. One (the new one my mom got him for Christmas) was left at school on Wednesday, and the other two are (in his words) "not lost--I just can't find them." So yesterday we took a trip to Target to get a new sweatshirt or two, since it's January and still rather cool outside in the mornings. I had forgotten that at Target (and many other retailers), January is the month where you can buy swim trunks and T-shirts, but not winter clothing. Last month they had multiple shelves of sweatshirts in all sizes and colors. This month, nothing.

M is wearing one of my old sweatshirts today, and maybe I'll be able to find some cheap hoodies online.

'Twas the Last Shopping Day Before Christmas

And all through the mall,
Many creatures were stirring,
But it wasn't bad at all!

DH and I have never been to the mall on Christmas Eve before, but somehow December got away from us this year, so we had a few things left to pick up today. We were expecting a zoo, so I actually volunteered to get out of bed early (early for me, that is), in hopes of beating the crowds. It wasn't as bad as we had expected: although there were people circling the lots in hopes of getting parking spaces close to the stores, we just went to our usual corners of the different malls we visited, and pulled right into parking spaces. The longest line of the day was the one at the grocery store, and even there we had no trouble parking. (I chatted with a guy who was retrieving carts, and he said that we arrived at the right time: earlier in the day, people had been circling for 10-15 minutes before finding a place to park).

Now it's time to wrap those last few gifts, and get the stockings ready. Our niece and nephew are also spending the night here at their grandparents' house, so I don't think any of the kids are going to fall asleep anytime soon. Maybe "Santa" can sneak those stockings out sometime before midnight...

Black Friday

Current mental soundtrack: the Wii Sports theme (guess what the kids are doing?)

My family has a tradition of going shopping on Black Friday every year. We don't buy a lot of stuff, but we pick up a couple of things on sale, do a lot of window shopping, and have a nice lunch together. DH thinks we're insane, so we leave him at home :-)

The parking garage seemed a bit emptier this year than usual, although it's hard to tell: at 9:45 am, I drove up to the seventh floor and found it nearly empty. The mall wasn't too crowded during the morning, and we were actually able to get a table at the food court at noon without waiting too long (no longer than we would have waited on a regular weekend shopping day). By the time we finished our trip, there were a lot more people out shopping, so maybe things picked up in the afternoon.

I didn't buy anything really frivolous this year. I picked up a nice pair of socks and some underwear for myself, and a new pair of dress shoes for B (since she's outgrown her old ones). My parents did buy some more expensive items: Christmas presents for my sister and me. B found some little decorations for her Crocs, and my mom bought a pair of tennis shoes.

Relaxing Weekend

I got a bunch of stuff done this weekend, but of course, not everything on the list (the bookcase straps will have to wait for another day). Saturday morning, I chauffeured the kids to their respective fencing and ballet schools, and stopped by Costco in between. In the afternoon, DH took both kids (plus some of B's friends) to the Cal football game, so I had a very relaxing afternoon. I read for a while, then went to Target. After stocking up on paper towels, soap, and juice (among other things), I went window shopping at two of my favorite stores, The Container Store and Sur La Table.

Sunday was chore day. I bought groceries, deadheaded the roses, washed six loads of towels and sheets, folded the six loads of clothing that were washed last week, and planted 25 saffron crocuses in the flower bed by the porch. The crocuses were a little bit of a pain. I have most of my bulbs in chickenwire cages, but the Dutch irises have already started to come up, so I had to carefully uncover the rightmost cage and open the top while trying not to break off any of the plants sprouting through the holes. (I only broke one, so I didn't do too badly.) About half of the crocuses are in the cage, and the other half are not, so we'll see if anyone eats those.

SuperAlto's Walking Tour of San Francisco

M & B have been wanting to ride the cable cars for a while now, so we decided to have a mini-vacation today. The itinerary I came up with worked pretty well, so I thought I'd share it (in case any of my readers ever want to try it). Things we didn't do today (but have done in the past or looked interesting) are in brackets [].

First, we drove to San Francisco, and parked in the Sutter-Stockton Garage. Sundays are cheaper than the rest of the week--three or more hours is only $7.50. When you exit the garage, take the elevator down to Level 2, and take the pedestrian exit on Bush Street (past the motorcycle parking area).

Turn right on Bush St.

Take the next left onto Grant Ave. This takes you through the main tourist area of Chinatown, and continues on to North Beach (Little Italy).
[If you're hungry for either Chinese or Italian food, these are good places to stop for lunch.]

Bear left onto Columbus Ave.
[As you cross Vallejo St., you'll pass The National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, established in 1849.]

Turn right onto Stockton St.
[After you pass Washington Square, you can turn left onto Filbert St. to visit Saints Peter and Paul Church, founded in 1884.]
[Or, you can turn right onto Filbert, and follow the signs to Coit Tower for a nice view of the city.]

Continue down Stockton St. until you reach the waterfront. There are a number of things you can try here:

• Check out the touristy shops & carousel at Pier 39


• View the sea lions at Pier 39 (Hint: don't go down the tourist part of the pier: instead, go down the wooden pier that parallels it on the left, towards the little lighthouse with the palm trees.)


• [If the weather's warm, don't bother waiting in line at the Ben & Jerry's you'll see by Pier 41. There's another one further down Jefferson St. that has much shorter lines.]


• For the classic lunch of clam chowder in a bread bowl, head west along the waterfront, past Pier 43 1/2, until you reach Fisherman's Wharf (at Taylor St.) We dined at Nick's Lighthouse, and enjoyed our lunch, but the other restaurants and stands looked just as good.


• [For burger lovers, there's an In-N-Out Burger on Jefferson St., between Jones & Leavenworth.]


• [For the world's best chocolate milkshakes (and possibly the world's longest line for ice cream), Ghirardelli Square is the place to go. Continue along Jefferson until it ends, turn left through Aquatic Park, and cross Beach St.]

To return to your car, make your way to the cable car turnaround at Hyde St. & Beach St. Look at the long line of people buying tickets and waiting to get on the cable cars. Ignore all of them, and walk a couple of blocks up Hyde St. You'll see brown "Cable Car Stop" signs along the street. Pick one (not the first one, if there are already lots of people waiting), and flag down the cable car when it comes by. Have $5 ready when the conductor asks for your ticket. Get off at the end of the line (or a little before, if you want to walk around some more).

[Union Square has lots of upscale shopping--I always like window shopping there, but I usually don't buy too much stuff. DH likes the Apple Store at Stockton & Market.]

Back to School Shopping, Part 2

School supplies are all taken care of, and it only took two trips to Staples! When the kids arrived home on Wednesday, I grabbed B's shopping list, and asked M for his. Naturally, when I returned home with the pile of stuff, we found a SECOND list of stuff that he needed for science. Nothing fancy, just some graph paper and colored pencils, but it meant another trip to the store today.

Today was the second day of school. M came home sick in the middle of the day. Fortunately, it seems to have been a short-lived intestinal bug, and he's feeling ready to go back to school tomorrow.

B also left school early today, but this one was planned. She finally got the retainer she's been wanting (in lime green, no less):


She was supposed to get a bottom retainer today, too, but that one didn't work out, so we have to go back next month and get a fancier model for the bottom.

One More Day!

I'm not sure who's more excited about school starting tomorrow--the kids or me! I've always liked school, and there's something about starting a new year and buying new school supplies that I really enjoy. I actually look forward to getting their shopping lists and heading out to buy shiny new notebooks and pencils.

Other than the school supplies, I think we're all set. They both have shoes that fit, and clean clothes. For M, I gave him some filler paper and mechanical pencils for the first day (he already has a binder). B got some cute pencils I found in a drawer: one with her name, and one with musical notes. Since she's entering fourth grade, I'm sure we're going to have to buy her a durable binder, too. I remembered to buy lunch fixings when I went to the grocery store yesterday (hot lunch doesn't start at B's school until September 8th, while M didn't like the pre-order lunch on Wednesdays).

M liked my idea of going down to the middle school this afternoon, map in hand, to figure out where his classrooms are going to be. He's also going early tomorrow, as another member of his carpool has to arrive early to straighten out a class. B's school has registration this afternoon, from 4:00-6:00. We'll try to be there around 4:00, so she can hang out and ask everyone else what teacher they will have.

Back to School Shopping, Part 1b

I THOUGHT we were done with the clothes shopping, but no, B waited until yesterday to tell me that her tennis shoes had holes in them. Off to Payless we went today in search of new shoes. I did have the foresight to have M put on his shoes for me before I left: sure enough, they are getting too small, so I had to buy him a pair, too.

B's shoes were easy enough--find a couple of pairs of plain white tennis shoes and try them on. She can wear either girl's or women's sizes right now, so she has plenty to choose from.

M is a little harder. First, he refused to go, so he was informed that he would have to wear whatever I brought home. Second, we had an experience last year when I bought him "skate shoes," and he decided a week later that they were terrible for running, so I had to buy him a second pair of shoes with better soles. Also, despite being a 6th grader, he's not so great at tying his shoes, so I was very happy last year to find a pair of men's shoes at Payless with elastic laces (he has long since outgrown the Lands' End kid's shoes). This year, no such luck. I found him some inexpensive, lightweight, black tennis shoes with an appropriate sole, but he's going to have to start tying his shoelaces.

Bagging

If a customer shows up at the grocery store with his or her own bags, then it's pretty safe to assume that he/she is trying to cut down on the use of plastic bags, right? So why do baggers take the last couple of items and give them each their own plastic bag? We're not talking about heavy cans or giant packages of toilet paper: today, it was a carton of ice cream (the 1.5 quart size that used to be a half gallon) that got its very own bag. A couple of weeks ago, it was a loaf of bread. The reusable bags were pretty full, but certainly had room for one more item.