Southwestern Corn and Black Bean Salad

Last week we had our monthly Book Club meeting with an extra bonus celebration for Kate's Birthday.  We read The Glass Castle which is a raw and startling memoir about a family moving around the US living in poverty.  The author's parents were clearly mentally ill and the children were forced to fight for their own survival.  I've read a lot of memoirs in my day and this was one of the most interesting and eye...

Weekend Update: Sweet Victory!

Man oh man!  I am beyond exhausted after this epic weekend and can hardly believe I made it to work still standing, but the feeling is worth it.  I am still processing all the emotions of the past few days and I'm not yet fully functional, so for now I will leave you with some of my favorite pictures from the...

Week 2 of Bed Rest: Restless Bed Beard

Poor Figgynoodle is on his second week of Bed Rest.  We had our vet appointment last Saturday and after the doctor saw that Fig is still limping, she decided that he needs to see an Orthopedic Surgeon to determine the next steps.  The Orthopedic Surgeon does not have an open appointment until February 24th (what!) so in the meantime, Fig must remain under "restricted activity."  No running, no playing fetch, no...

Hump Day: 10 Years in the Making

"10 years ago today, I left my cold, snowy Midwestern home to get on a plane to San Francisco. When I landed, I was greeted at the airport by my good friend Alan, the 70 degree sunshine, and cool little apartment in Noe Valley. I remember thinking that moving here was the vacation I always wanted to take; a chance for me to really get to know a place for longer than a few days. I never thought that vacation would...

Bed Rest, Bed Beard

It's hard to explain to a dog that he's on Bed Rest.  A dog doesn't understand that running up and down the stairs, playing fetch, jumping onto the couch  - things he does daily - is exactly what he's not supposed to be doing this week.  My poor little noodle-nugget has been moping around all week acting cranky because no one is playing with him and wondering why I'm carrying him everywhere.   Even worse, he...

Weekend Update: Green and Gold

What a great weekend for so many reasons! #1 - It was absolutely beautiful.  High-60s and blazingly sunny all weekend, it was a nice reminder of why I love where we live.  It's never too hot or too cold around here and there's just nothing better than a Beach Day in the middle of January. #2 - Lots of great food!  We had Zushi Puzzle for dinner Friday night with Shawn, Kate and Jason. ...

A Joyful Life, A Joyful Bed Beard

This week has been a tough one, dear readers.  I spent most of the week in Rowe, New Mexico with my family, saying good-bye to our cousin Amanda, who passed away tragically one week ago today.  I want to tell you her story because I think it holds an important message to share. Amanda was a senior in high school, 18 years old.  She was a cheerleader and a straight A student with a 4.0 GPA.  She had 6...

Office Bed Beard

One of the things I really love about my new job is that I get to bring Figaro to work with me.  It's nice not to have to worry about rushing home because poor Fig's been alone and lonely all day.  Now he can spend the day with me, my co-workers, and their adorable dogs who also frequent the office.  Fig loves saying hi to everyone, alerting us as to when the UPS man has arrived, and exploring every nook and...

Weekend In a Nutshell: Packers Win

What a lovely weekend of doing not a whole lot!  The Hub and I celebrated Christmas Part II on Friday night by opening up all the gifts from my family that arrived earlier in the week and drinking a lovely Italian red that I'll be telling you about on Wednesday.  It was nice to extend the Holiday celebrations by an extra week, which also kept me from feeling guilty about the fact that our tree was still...

A New Year, A New Beard

Well, we've made it through the first full week of the year!  I have to say, 2011 is already shaping up to be a pretty good one.  My little sister got engaged (congrats Tori and Patrick!), I went to the Rose Bowl (we won't discuss the outcome) hung out with some of my favorite LA ladies, the Packers advanced into the playoffs, and last night I had dinner with an old friend that I hadn't seen since my...