Quick Hello

I'll be back soon.

Life is crazy with school starting next week! Here's a few teasers of posts to come:

1. Whitewater rafting with a James Franco look-a-like guide
2. Baby shower for my LITTLE sister

Coming soon...well, soonish at least.

You Know I Love These

This idea was stolen from Laura, who stole it from Facebook. I have a sore throat and this is what I feeling like doing. I realize you don't REALLY care to read a bunch of confession questions about me, so pick a few to read and consider doing it too! I happen to enjoy these. :)

1. The phone rings. Who do you want it to be? Like Laura, I love talking on the phone...always have. There are a few folks who I let go straight to voice mail (NONE of y'all...I promise!), but other than that, I love it.

2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart? Yep.

3. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener? Depends on my mood. Would love for someone to chime in and tell me which one I am!

4. Do you take compliments well? Perhaps a little too well. Just kidding! But I do need lots of affirmation, so I have to say I enjoy a compliment.

5. Do you play Soduku? No. Whenever I think of Soduku, I think of Patrick Davis - the master.

6. If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive? I'm tougher than you might think.

7. Did you ever go to camp as a kid? No and I wouldn't let my kids go to an overnight camp either. I'm too paranoid.

8. What was your favorite game as a kid? I loved to play "teacher" and as far as board games, my fave was Life.

9. Would you slow dance with someone that you knew was married? No way Jose.

10. Could you date someone with different religious beliefs than you? I did...and he converted. :)

11. Do you like to pursue or be pursued? These girls today...I tell ya. Ladies, be pursued! Any time I tried to pursue, I ended up looking like a fool.

12. Use three words to describe yourself. Extroverted, introspective, passionate

13. Do any songs make you cry? Yes, the most bizarre of which is "Hate it or Love It" by the Game feat. 50 Cent. I am pro-choice, but when he says in the song that any time he gets exhausted, he thinks about what if his mom got that abortion. Then he says, "I love you, Ma." I'm crying now.

14. Are you continuing your education? Would love to be Dr. Anisa one day! When Bert gets done with his, I'd like to go back for mine.

15. Do you know how to shoot a gun? When your daddy is from Sturgis, Miss., you better believe you know how to shoot!

16. If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you grabbed? My cat Matty...and if Bert had him, then our wedding album.

17. How often do you read books? Not nearly enough. The last book I read was probably 6 months ago. Bad Anisa. I started "The Secret Life of Bees" a few weeks ago and need to pick it back up. Any reviews on this book?

18. Do you think more about the past, present or future? I think of all of it...but I do think of the future more than I should. I need to focus more on the here and now rather than waiting for this or that to happen.

19. What is your favorite children's book? I have lots. One is "A Time to Keep" by Tasha Tudor...quite a magical book.

20. What color are your eyes? brown

21. How tall are you? 5'4" and a HALF

22. Where is your dream house located? Somewhere closer to family.

23. Have you ever taken pictures in a photo booth? Yes...some of my favorites!

24. When was the last time you were at Olive Garden? Like 2 months. Love their pasta e fagioli.

25. What is the furthest place you traveled today? Starbucks to get a hot chocolate...like I said, my throat hurts. :(

26. Do you like mustard? GROSS. Well...honey mustard is good (only if it is not dijon).

27. Do you prefer to sleep or eat? Sleep.

28. Do you look like your mom or dad? I look like my own person, but you can tell they are my parents. I guess a tiny bit more like my dad.

29. How long does it take you in the shower? 20 minutes. I know.

30. Can you do the splits? Like Laura, I can't do that, cartwheel or dive.

31. What movie do you want to see right now? Harry Potter...going tonight!

32. Do you think The Grudge was scary? SO SCARY.

33. Do you own a camera phone? Yes.

34. Was your mom a cheerleader? Nope

35. What's the last letter of your middle name? My birth middle name ends in "T" (Margrett)...my maiden is now my middle and it ends in an "N"

36. How many hours of sleep do you get a night? Not enough! Usually close to 8, but not quite. I think my body needs at least 9.

37. Do you like care bears? No strong feelings one way or another

38. What do you buy at the movies? BUY? I sneak my stuff in!

39. Do you know how to play poker? Kinda

40. Do you wear your seatbelt? Yes, or my car makes this ANNOYING beeping sound that won't stop

41. What do you wear to sleep? T-shirt and shorts/capris/pants. I wish I was the kind of person who wore cute nighties like they do on TV every night.

42. Anything big ever happen in your hometown? Johnny Cash was arrested there for picking flowers while drunk, George H.W. Bush spoke at graduation one year and that's about it! Oh - one of the American Idol contestants was from my hometown and I went to Jr. High with a former Miss USA.

43. How many meals do you eat a day? 2 or 3.

44. Is your tongue pierced? No.

45. Do you like funny or serious people better? Funny people that can be serious.

46. Ever been to L.A.? Nope...would love to.

47. Did you eat a cookie today? No, but that's a great idea.

48. Do you use cuss words in other languages? Oh yes! Urdu. Bert's favorite is the one I say that translates to "low class shoeshine owl." SO lost in translation! :)

49. Do you steal or pay for your music downloads? Pay - iTunes.

50. Do you hate chocolate? I LOVE CHOCOLATE.

51. What do you and your parents fight about the most? We don't fight hardly at all any more now that I don't live with them! :)

52. Are you a gullible person? NO. I am quite the opposite...always skeptical.

53. Do you need a boyfriend/girlfriend to be happy? I'm married...and the happiest I've ever been because I'm happy with myself.

54. If you could have any job (assuming you have the skills) what would it be? Novelist. Hands down. My dream.

55. Are you easy to get along with? I think so...not to say I can't be difficult and/or bossy, but I would like to think I'd be friends with me. :)

56. What is your favorite time of day? The moment I get home, put on jams and relax with Bert.

Labels: meme

I Left My Home in Georgia, Headed for the 'Frisco Bay

Going from Pacific Coast time to East Coast time makes for a doozy of a jetlag, but I finally feel normal today. And for all of you that have ever visited San Francisco, you know that it was totally and completely worth it. We were gone nearly a week, and got home this past Friday. Let's go on a photo tour. I'll start at the beginning.

We arrived at noon on a Saturday, checked in at the Westin St. Francis, and headed to Fisherman's Wharf via cable car. Had lunch and the waitress said we had to go to this old-timey arcade, the Musee Mechanique. It was so neat, and of course Bert beat the machine in arm wrestling on the highest level. :)

After the arcade and checking out the sea lions, we walked a short distance to Ghiradelli Square, where we shared the best ice cream sundae I have ever had in my life. I was worried about all the calories, but shouldn't been have due to the walk from hell we had to take straight up several hills to Lombard Street, the "curviest street in America":

The GPS on my phone was messed up, so after all that, we ended up walking really far through Chinatown back to the hotel in Union Square. Exhaustion.

Day two. We got up, caught a MUNI bus and went to Golden Gate Park. I LOVED the Japanese Tea Garden. If you go to San Francisco, I highly recommend this. Pictures cannot do it justice; it is truly one of the most magical places I have ever been:

We walked through Golden Gate Park and saw stunning flowers on the trek to Haight-Ashbury, the hippie district. We got some fabulous peace posters, but the most memorable part of this area was Scooter Girl:

Why, yes, she is only wearing a tutu and rainbow colored knee-socks. Why? Well, she was probably on her way to the Gay Pride Parade. Yep, we were there while 1.5 million people were there for a gay pride extravaganza. The nudity freaked me out.

Anyway, then, we ended up walking a crazy long way AGAIN to get to the Painted Ladies:

There are lots and lots of houses that look like this in San Fran. When we FINALLY got there, we were exhausted. Bert and I proceeded to get into an argument about if the Tanner Family lived in one of these. No really. But first, I belted out the "Full House" theme song. No really.

Side note. I was right. The Tanners did NOT live in a Painted Lady. See here. Bert should know to never question my pop culture knowledge. :)

That evening and for the next few days, I had a conference to attend. It was fabulous and I learned so much and made great contacts. Really wonderful professional experience.

In the evenings, Bert and I enjoyed some fabulous meals. Our two favorites were Naan-N-Curry, an Indian restaurant and our very top - Michael Mina. The Indian restaurant was delicious and reminded me of my family. Nice having a moment with "my people." And Michael Mina - WOW.

I had wanted to go to this restaurant since seeing it on the show "Giada's Weekend Getaways". She ate a lobster pot pie there that looked divine. So, Bert and I went and ordered off the prix fixe menu (which you have to do). For my first course, I chose something that sounded good and involved strawberries. It was called foie gras.

FOIE GROSS!

Little did I know it was liver. It was disgusting. I actually did not find out it was liver until the day we left when I remembered to Google it. I started gagging in the airport. Thank goodness that waiter was super nice and not hoity-toity at all. Plus Bert said it was my first time to try it, as we didn't want the chef to think it was HIS foie gras that I didn't like. It's all foie gras that I despise.

Anyway, the lobster pot pies came out - divine. It was all I had hoped for. Then, our waiter came back and said, "The chef is concerned you didn't have enough. He will send out a cheese course with his compliments." WOW. Talk about service. The cheese was delicious. The shining star of the meal was a root beer float (with root beer and sassafras sorbet) and two warm and ooey-gooey chocolate chip and pecan cookies. It was not just a good meal; it was an incredible dining experience. Five stars. After that, we went to a super cool speakeasy recommended by Alli.

Our next big excursion some days later was the Golden Gate Bridge. Magnificent.

We were told we could walk the bridge (It took around 30 minutes of crazy windiness and super noisiness with all the cars whizzing by) and would be right in Sausalito. WRONG. After walking nearly two hours, Bert and I FINALLY arrived in Sausalito. Here I am really depressed and tired:

Anyway, we FINALLY arrived, and it was gorgeous. I cried at lunch because the food was gross, but that's another story. Here is a snapshot of lovely Marin County:


I was still upset until we found a candy store, and I got some new gorgeous earrings. Then all was well.

Our last big excursion was to Napa Valley. It was nice to be back in a car and not reliant on walking belligerently long distances or taking public transportation. We went to V. Sattui, which had a fabulous lunch, and Mumm Napa. It was so very beautiful. We went on a tour at Mumm Napa, and also went to a gallery at Mumm where they had Ansel Adams photography. It was a great day, and we felt very cultured.



We had time left before having to take the car back, so we went to Twin Peaks to see a truly incredible view:


In fact, there were lots of postcard views. Sometimes the scenery was so incredible that it was hard to truly absorb what you were seeing. Magnificent. It was a great week, and after a long stretch of being crazy busy for me and Bert, it was just what we needed. And while there's no place like home and the South is that for me, I definitely heart San Francisco.

Labels: family, travel, vacation