Danielle's Visit!

Well Danielle has been gone a month and I am just getting ready to making a post about her visit! We had such a great time while she was here! It was very relaxing and we didn't travel all over the state of California this round. 

We named her first trip "Oh I am Tired" and this trip is named "Oh My Belly". The first trip we went from Nor Cal to So Cal to Nor Cal and all over the tourist places in Nor Cal. It was ridiculous what we saw in 5 days. This trip we stayed in Nor Cal, but ate like we were on death row. 

Danielle said she didn't care what we did as long as we went to Sprinkles and the food trucks. She wanted to relax while she was in CA. Well here is how the vacation went!

All dressed up & ready to head to church

Sammy sure liked Nellie! She brought him his very favorite beef jerky! 

Off to Sprinkles we went to get some cupcakes! I think we each bought 2 or 3! These things are so delicious!

Then it was the attack of the food trucks! I haven't been back to a food truck, since she left a month ago. Ugh the thought of them still doesn't sound that great! We ate at food trucks 5 out of 7 days she was here. I am NOT kidding! I was stalking food trucks on twitter and chasing them down with my mustang! 

Mogo Korean BBQ Taco

Garlic Noodles & Filipino Chicken 

The above food pictures are only from one food truck visit. We would get things to share, so we could taste lots of stuff.  "Oh my belly!"

Memorial Day we went to the Winchester Mystery House. This was both of our first times touring the house. That woman was NUTS! She really needed to see a shrink. A physic told her once that the people who were killed by Mr. Winchester gun haunted her. She then tried to trick the ghosts by placing doors in weird spots throughout the house. Instead of tearing down a wall or door before a new room was built they would just build over the top of things. There are cupboards that are 1 inch deep, doors that go to no where, rooms you can go in one way, but can't reenter without going ALL the way around the house. It is just strange! If you ever are in the area check the place out. I do think it is a tour to go on once.  I do not plan to visit this house as many times as I have been to Alcatraz. 

Front of the Winchester Mystery House

Back on the Winchester Mystery House

Touring the house with our hard hats! If you go on the tour outside the house and in the basement you have to wear a hard hat. Luckily this part of the tour was only $5 because it was not very interesting. 

Us in front of the house.

Memorial Day evening we got talking about areas of the house I want to redo. I mentioned I want to paint all my kitchen cupboards. Danielle then mentions she has been painting houses on the side and we could easily paint the cupboards in one day. I think I asked her 100 times if she was sure she wanted to do it on vacation. Danielle took off all the cupboard doors, while I worked in the morning. When I finished working we ran off to Lowe's to buy supplies. 

I will be posting pictures of the kitchen in another post. We painted on Tuesday and put almost all the doors back up that night. The kitchen is sooooo much brighter! I love it because if I get food or dirt on the cupboards I can now just wipe them off. I am not sure when or if I ever could have gotten that project done. THANK YOU NELLIE!!!!

Thursday the weather was claiming to be 70 in SF, so we decided to wait until then to head to freezing city! I had a marvelous idea of taking Bart to the city and then the trolley car to Fisherman Wharf. 

Us riding on Bart! 

Danielle and my mom are the first 2 people I sent all my Bart stories back when I first started riding. Danielle wanted to ride on Bart, so off we went to the city. It was a pretty calm day on Bart. Not too many crazees. 

When we arrived in the city I guess a school was on a field trip. The line for a trolley was at least a block long. I suggested we walk a little ways and then jump on the trolley. bahahaha what a crazy idea! The trolleys never emptied off enough for us to get on. We walked up hill 5-7 blocks. We were huffing and puffing after each hill. The pictures below don't even do the city street justice. One of the streets was so steep we had to stop half way up. Poor Nellie had a cold, so she could barely breathe. 

By the time we got to the top of the hills, the rest of the walk to Fisherman Wharf was all down hill. We figured we could use the exercise from all the food we had been eating. 

Ghirardelli Square - Hot Fudge Sundays

Us on the trolley!

The trolley was PACKED full of people. We were lucky enough to grab to seats. 

Friday rolls around and we were watching TV. Guy Fieri was on the Nate Berkus show. Danielle mentions how she would have liked to have gone to his restaurant. I told her I wish she had told me earlier because a new one opened up near by. I called the place to see if they had an early reservation to get us in. Danielle was leaving Friday around 11pm to take a red eye home. 

Luckily they had a 5pm reservation available. Off we flew to Johnny Garlics!

Our waitress asks us where we are from. Nellie mentions she is visiting from Michigan. The waitress then asked if she was my mom. I busted up laughing! Does she really look old enough to be my mom? lol!!!! Most people think we are the same age. When my cousins met her they couldn't figure out if she was Lacey age or my age. lol Well this chick thought she was closer to my moms age. Poor Nellie! 

Garlic Onion Tortilla Stack

I got the - Buffalo Meatloaf Sandwich

Danielle got the - Guy’s Big Bite Burger


We then went home, Danielle packed up the rest of her stuff, we sat around holding our bellies and off we went to the airport. I was very sad to see her leave. We always have so much fun together. Oh we also did play a lot of Scrabble and Skip Bo. A visit isn't complete without Scrabble!

Last Weekend Haul!

I was able to get some FANTASTIC deals!!!  

Victoria Secret has their semi-annual sale going on right now. I found a night gown for $10. It is gray & long sleeved. Similar to the one below. I love these night gowns. They are super comfy!

My deal at Ulta has to be the best deal I have ever gotten possibly in my lifetime. 

Ulta had their brand of make up on sale. I LOVE LOVE LOVE their eyeliner. It was on sale for $1. I decided to go stock up for the year. I picked up 11 black eyeliners, 1 black brown and 1 gray. When I got up to the counter the girl told they were buy 2 get 2 free and I should grab 3 more. The total at this point was  $8. I used a $3 coupon, so my grand total with tax was $5.44. I have enough eyeliners to last me 2 years. 

Yesterday I mentioned I bought a neon pink skirt at NY & Company. I also bought a black skirt too. I bought both skirts for $32.00. I really love the style and fit of these skirts. They are very flattering. 

Hot Pink Skirt

I REALLY have wanted the J Crew #2 in neon pink. I kept thinking it was a little ridiculous to spend $50+ on a hot pink skirt. J Crew does have very good quality, but I just couldn't justify the price. I also knew I could make myself a pencil skirt for probably less than $20 bucks. 

Source: J. Crew

I was off work for a couple days, so I decided I was going to find hot pink fabric to make myself a skirt. Off to Joann's I went. Can you believe I couldn't find any hot pink fabric? I was so disappointed. I REALLY wanted a hot pink skirt. Ugh! I thought about ordering fabric online, but that would cost almost as much as the J Crew pencil skirt. 

I had to go to the mall to return something, so I ran into NY & Company. That has become one of my favorite stores! I always find such great deals. They had a light pink knit skirt in the front of the store. It just wasn't what I wanted!  I didn't want light pink and I am not a fan of knit skirts. 

I went to the back of the store and they had 70% clearance. Guess what they had??? A HOT PINK PENCIL SKIRT!!!! I almost screamed. I rifled through the rack looking for my size. I FOUND IT! I snatched it up! I was so excited. I took it to the front and asked how much is this skirt? The lady scanned it and the total was $12. WHAT!!! $12 bucks!!! 

Source: NY & Company

The hot pink skirt is the same style as the black above. Unfortunately NY & Company didn't have the hot pink skirt online to snag a picture.  I can't wait to wear my new skirt! 

San Francisco Randomness!

One day I looked out the window at work and I saw this homeless guy pushing this HUGE cart. He had it PACKED full of stuff. He could barely push the cart. He kept taking breaks as he moved it a few inches. 

Wordless Wednesday

White Jacket

A couple weeks ago Art and I stopped at a church garage sale. I found a green button up shirt and this white jacket for a grand total of $8 bucks. The quality of both pieces was really good, so I didn't mind spending $8 for second hand items. 

The white jacket had potential. I knew the buttons had to be changed and the beading HAD to go! Buttons are easy enough to change and I figured I had some at home. The beading I examined to see if I could just pick it up without messing up the pockets. I brought it home, made my changes and Wa-La I have a white jacket! I had been looking at a white jacket at Banana Republic, NY & Co and a couple other stores. They wanted $50-100 bucks. I think my garage sale find is just perfect!

Jacket Before

Pocket Before

After - I had steamed it at this point. Laying it down might not have been the best option for taking a picture. 

My July 1st Sunday outfit!

 I am glad I waited to buy a jacket and was able to save $$$$. Have you found any treasures recently at a second hand store or garage sale?

Dinner Cruise

Back in November I bought 2 dinner cruise tickets from Amazon Local Deals. We were able to buy them for half off and could use them over the next year. I forgot about them for the longest time.  We went this past weekend. It was really nice! The food was a lot to be desired, but it was a nice evening riding around the Bay.

Our Boat.... Zinfandel 

Waiting to take off!

San Francisco

Port of San Francisco

Bay Bridge

I promise we are not high in this picture. We took a couple pictures and we looked drugged. The crazy flash on my iPhone just blinds you. 

The cruise took us from Alameda to San Francisco. We drove past AT&T Park right as a baseball game was ending. Then we went along the city past the Port of San Francisco, under the Bay Bridge, past Treasure Island, past the Port of Oakland and back to Alameda. All together the cruise was about 3 hours long.  It was a nice evening and suggest a dinner cruise in San Francisco. It was beautiful at night seeing all the city lights! I see the city during the day, so it was nice to see it all lit up at night. 

Take that Goliath!

In September 2009 Art and I walked a 5K for breast cancer. The walk almost killed me that day! I made it one mile and thought I was going to die. Art kept encouraging me to keep going.  I had no intention of quitting, but I didn't know how I would make it to the end. Art described it as if I was a balloon and when I saw the one mile mark I completely deflated. I had thought we had gone much further than one mile. We had over 2 more miles to go and my legs were numb. I made it to the finish line with seconds left to spare before it said 60 minutes. I think I finished in 59:58 minutes or something really close to almost being an hour. 


That whole walk has been like a dark cloud hanging over my head or Goliath taunting me. Art had asked me to talk it in 2010 again and I refused. 2011 we completely forgot about it until the day of the walk.  This year I am running the 5K. 2009 I barely could walk it well 2012 I am going to run the whole thing. In order to run it though I have to train for it....ugh! 


I decided every Sunday until race day I am going to go train at the trail.  I had wanted to do try to get in 3 days this week, since I was off work.  I ran out of time on Thursday and didn't make it over to the trail.  Then today I was sitting on the couch dreading the thought of even trying it. There was Goliath taunting me.....I couldn't do it, so why even try.....I might be able to walk it, but no way I could even run half of it. Besides it was 77 degrees outside...was I nuts. 


Part of my motivation for today was seeing my cousin blog post about the weight we have each lost. It was very encouraging to see how far we both have come. It was the kick in the butt I needed today. I got up off the couch, went to my room, changed and headed out the door. On the way I stopped for a half off Sonic peach ice tea! That was going to be my reward waiting in the car! A nice freezing cold peach ice tea. mmmmm


Rational thinking started as I headed to the trail.  I knew I could finish in under an hour. If 3 years ago it took me an hour just walking, I should be able to do it in 50 minutes or less. Shave off 10 minutes ever couple weeks, while running farther each time. I had a goal in mind that I would like to run it in 30-35 minutes in Sept.  Today I would be happy with completing it in 50 minutes, but 40 minutes would be awesome!  


I started out walking for the first 5 minutes and then I started jogging, I could feel my right upper thigh muscle was sore. Almost cramping.  There was Goliath again taunting me that I couldn't do it. I would be lucky to finish by just walking. Thursday night I did a Bob Harper DVD with lots of kicking. I must have kicked too high and pulled the muscle. I started making small goals to jog to and then walk a little bit. I was about half way done and I had been going for 20 minutes. I thought the rest of the trail looked like an eternity and was wondering how my thigh was going to hold up jogging. All the big hills were ahead of me too!


I could see my car as a little dot on the other side about 25 minutes in and I thought I have got to get busy to get this DONE! I speed walked taking long steps to help stretch out my thigh. I was three quarters done at 35 minutes. I took off running and thought I am not going to stop until I ran the length of a football field. During this part of the run I felt awesome at one point and felt like a kid again running. Then my mind started thinking I couldn't run anymore and I was going to throw up. 


I knew in order to finish I needed my running song to push to the end. I don't know how this became my running song, but I love to listen to it when I run. The song probably wouldn't motivate anyone else, but it always makes me think of my family. It's called Songs for Sale by David Nail. Talks about a guy fixing fence - reminds me of my dad. A woman who patches jeans - reminds me of my mom sewing. How some people are called to raise a family and it makes me run because I want to raise a family. 


I ran and ran...then my watch showed 40 minutes and I had a little bit further to run. I speed walked for a little bit. Then I thought no way is my watch going to show 42 minutes. 41 minutes is acceptable, but not 42. I took off like road runner! I ran faster than I have ever ran. The dust was flying behind me as I pounded the ground.  I got to the end gasping for air as my watch showed 41 minutes and some seconds.  I had done it!!!! Then I started crying!  HA take that Goliath...that stupid black cloud...it had nothing on me now. 


As I drove home I cried a little more thinking of how far I have come. Thursday, July 5 marked the one year mark, since I started this journey. It has been a journey with lots of ups and down. I have had lots of set backs over the past year, but I kept jumping back on the wagon. Days when I wanted to quit, I pushed through it and ate my stupid salad. I went through numerous miscarriages, but that didn't stop me. Each pound that came off was one step closer to hopefully bringing a successful pregnancy. One year later I am 80 pounds lighter and I faced my Goliath. 

Garage Sale

Over the weekend we had a garage sale. Art had a zillion movies to sell. I thought he would sell a few of them. Well boy was I wrong! He sold a TON of movies! 

We had a really good turn out and sold a lot of stuff. 

Here is a picture of the end of the garage sale. At this point we had sold almost all the big stuff and a ton of little stuff. 

The guys hanging out waiting for customers. 

We are planning to have another garage sale at our house in the next month. We have more junk we can get rid of. 

Happy 4th of July!

Poor Sammy

My poor little boy has been scratching his back for the past couple weeks. We have given him baths, checked for fleas, and look to see if there was something bothering him. Over the weekend Amber saw him scratching. She felt around and thought she felt something. She took him outside and shaved right above his tail. 

Poor little guy has "hot spots" sores above his tail. We have to treat the sores until they heal. He got a dose of flea medication. We had to buy him a donut to wear around his neck, so he will stop scratching. He is sooooo upset that he has to wear the donut. He has been laying around pouting or trying to rub to get it off his neck. I feel so that he had these sores and we didn't know. 

OUCH!

He refused to look at me in the truck after I put the donut around his neck. 

He came in the house, went to the bed, laid down and pouted for a couple hours. 

Menu Monday

I LOVE summer! I look forward to picnics, bbq and eating outside. Food just tastes so much better eaten outside. I can't wait for the 4th of July! BBQ and Fireworks two of my favorite things!


Here is what is on your menu for the week. 


Peach BBQ Pork - I am waiting for Krystal to post the recipe. I CAN'T wait to try it!
Pasta & Tomato Sauce
Chicken thighs & Bok Choy
Hot Dogs on Hawaiian Sweet Bread


My mother in law and I planned our BBQ menu for the 4th over the weekend. 
Bison Burgers
Hot Dogs
Potato Salad
Corn Salad
and TONS of fireworks! I just need a pack of sparklers and my 4th will be complete! MIL likes to buy those pop things you throw on the ground. She chases me around outside throwing them at my feet. She finds this so hysterical. I usually scream and run. I will be able to run much faster this year, so she might not be able to catch me. lol


Are you going to any BBQ on the 4th?  What is on your 4th of July menu?

4th of July Outfit

Do you have your outfit picked out for the 4th of July?  Are you going to be festive and wear red, white & blue?

Here are a couple cute ideas  found on Pinterest!