A Day Trip

Nicki took some photos of us today  in the city. Not sure why because I probably won't send Christmas cards... but it was a great excuse to get to the city, enjoy the beautiful weather, and hang out with friends. 

The hubby was looking super cute today. Let me mention how much he loved taking these photos... if only I had a penny for every sarcastic comment he shared with us. 

After hanging out at Chrissy Field for a bit we headed to Sausilito... one of my most favorite places. It's such a quaint little town with a great view and great shops. And let me not forget to mention the best burger place in the world. If you haven't been here you must really take a day trip to check out the water, shops, and Hamburgers.

You order your food in a single file line that usually goes out to the curb

Then you watch your burger cook on the rotating grill in the front window,

Finally your burger is cooked to perfection and you head over to the water,

And eat. Perfect Saturday. 

Seriously?

How could this happen? These 2 love birds broke up. DeAnna is lame and I still love Jesse. 

The Top Ten

reasons why we let the other team win the 1st game in the double header kickball championship game: 

10. We didn't want to win without April and Matt there. How they planned a trip to Hawaii during playoffs I will never know. 

9. How could we let our dug out down?? Every game we won we were in the right dug out. And then for playoffs they switch it up and put us in the left... winning happens in the right dugout. 

8. The other team was playing the most annoying music. There was no way we could tolerate another game with that music in the background. 

7. We didn't want to keep getting stalked by the nosy catcher anymore. He already knew our names somehow and we didn't want him digging up personal dirt on each of us by game 2. 

6. If it wasn't Taleo in the chamionships then it definitely just wasn't worth playing. 

5. We were tired of saying "That's What She Said."

4. Our team didn't have time for the state playoffs... we are approaching the holidays. 

3. We wanted out post game pics to look good- we look a lot more relaxed and not sweaty here at the Hopyard. 

2. Who really wants another oversized t-shirt... even if it does say "Kickball Champs."

**DRUMROLL**

1. Even when you win, you're still a loser. It is kickball league. 

Glad

Glad... 

-to have had this sign up

-that the election is over

-we won

-this sign is coming down. 

Raw Meat = Gag Reflex

As I watched my mom cook when I was younger I remember being slightly repulsed as she handled all the raw meat. She literally would cut every piece of fat off the chicken breast (I knew I got it from somewhere) so quick and fast. I will never be that fast... mostly because I have to take small breaks because I think it is so gross to try and saw off  fat of a dead animal. And then there was meat balls and meat loaf. It is such a weird food... meat, eggs, and other random things all mixed together... with your hands. Sick. I think I promised myself as a child that I would never ever make meatballs and never eat meatloaf. I just don't know what it is about meatloaf. Anyhow... to the point of my story. 

I bought a new book, Positively Ageless, which I love. It's chalked full of good for you information with some great recipes (except for the Pesto Speghetti Squash, don't make that one). I really wanted to try the Spanish Meatball Soup but I knew that went against my belief system. What to do, what to do. 

So I just broke down and made it. I was simmering the base ingredients and then I had to make the turkey meatballs. I put all the ingredients in a bowl and I practiced saying, "I'm going to mix raw turkey and raw egg together with my bare hands." I put my hand in and it was so cold and so gross and I just started mixing. Then I thought to myself I should capture this momentous moment on film. I took the bowl in one hand, walked across the kitchen to grab my camera, and took a photo with my left hand. I mean, we must document the moments in our life where we grow up, but are still grossed out. {The soup was to die for}.

The Black Widow

I was wandering around our itsy bitsy front yard last week and I saw a web in the flowers, with a giant spider in it. It literally looked like one of those Halloween spider rings so I thought someone had created this disgusting sight. I take a closer look. Pretty sure this was real. 

I freak out, take a picture, and call Cameron. I'm frantically telling him about the black widow and all he can say is "There is no way there is a black widow in our front yard, you have no idea what they look like." I say, "Um, I'm pretty sure I do." 

Cameron gets home from work and says, "Huh, I guess that is a black widow." Men. Here is the massacre of the black widow. 

Bittersweet

I don't know what to do today. For the past 5 years I have driven to Lafayette to teach pilates to my awesome clients. Last Tuesday was my last day. I've decided to relax, not work a million jobs, and just be. That is very hard for me, but I did it after months of thinking about it. Saying good bye to the people who I have known since I moved out to Cali, who have been through everything with me, and who I consider family was really hard!! But hopefully it is not goodbye and I'll see them at fun places like restaurants! Now I'm going to go vote {let's PLEASE get this election over with}. 

Halloween Recap

This was exciting as our Halloween got... witnessing one doctor perform CPR on another. It was very dramatic. 

Brooke reserved the game room at their condo so we all had fun  

eating pizza and salad,

socializing,

watching the boys play an intense game of fussball,

watching the winners rub it in everyone's faces,

reenacting make believe Halloween scenarios, 

and making out.
What a great Halloween. Hope yours was happy! 

Welcome To The Fam Al

My sister got engaged engaged last night! I'm so sad I can't be there to see the ring, hear the details in person, and give you and Alan a hug! But Congratulations and we love you guys!!! Alan planned such a cute engagement and what's not fun about a carriage ride in the rain?? Congrats!! 

Dell' Osso Farms

Saturday we headed out to Dell' Osso Farms for some good ol' Halloween fun. If you haven't been there and plan to... be prepared for lines like at Disneyland and Ikea. Who knew this place was so huge? It was seriously awesome though, especially since we carpooled in the April's parent's suburban. We were all having high school flashbacks. 

First up: pumpkin blasting. This made the boys feel very macho and manly. We try to encourage self-esteem boosting activities as much as possible. 

How do you blast pumpkins? First,  you load the pumpkin in the barrel.

Next, you concentrate.

Aim, blast, and do it again. It's hilarious.  

After we were blasted out we pretended to get scared in the not so scary haunted house. 

And then we attempted to get scared in the very large corn maze. Look at Cam trying to scare us with a ghost story... it's not working.  

 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! 

Double Header

So kickball got a little intense this weekend- we had a double header. Who knew we would all be sore from 2 kickball games.... thats a bit embarrassing. But now for the juicy details. 

{Taleo's, I hope google picks up this post because this one is for you}

We were kicking up our feet after our first win and were waiting for the second game to start. We knew it was going to be a good one because out of the corner of our eye we saw this... the banner was back. 

Then we hear (from the opposite team), "Who's the blogger? Who is Shannon?" Check out Shelley totally calling me out. 

Turn's out that Taleo gets an email whenever there is a blurb about them on the internet. Turn's out they read this post about our first game. Ironically, the Taleo sponsored team is in fact the employees of Taleo. Point of this story: I'm going private (kidding). 

Anyhow- the game was a blast, Teleo is still competitive (but hey, who's not... it's kickball), we won (sorry Taleo... you guys are awesome and fun to play) and championships are in 2 weeks. We are SO going to win those t-shirts. 

And now for the game highlights: 

I Promise, I'm Really A Natural Blonde

So this is what my hair typically looks like at work. I know, I'm no fashion model. 

Yesterday a woman walks up to me (who I see regularly) and says, "I barely recognized you, you died your hair brown!" I say, "Um... no, it's just been 2 months since my last highlight." Awesome. 

League Standings

Does it get much better then being number 1 in the kick ball league half way through the season? I think not. 

Mini Pumpkin Mold

Every year I buy mini pumpkins to decorate. 

Every year I love them for about 5 days 

And then I see this... 

It makes me want to scream.

Bonding In The Car

Things to do on a Sunday:

1. Drive to Pacifica for a birthday party 

2. Stare at all the other people driving with you into the city for Fleet Week and the 49'ers game while trying not to get annoyed (that did not work for me, big surprise). How can you not get annoyed when it takes 2 hours to get there and 2 hours to get back? 

3. Entertain yourself by taking pictures of your hubby

4. Continue to entertain yourself by taking pics of you and the hubby (Cameron is not entertained)

5. Check out the sweet views of the city

 

4. Meet cool new friends in the Peninsula that we wished lived closer to us. 

{Note to self: avoid driving into the city whenever possible}

Have You Ever...

gone into a nail salon for a mani-pedi, picked out your hot pink nail color, and then dropped it on the floor to watch it splatter all over the rug, counter, chairs, and other people's clothes? I have, it's awesome.