FEAR THE BEARD!

I am so excited that the Giants won the World Series...the for first time in my lifetime! It is so exciting!! I must admit that I don't watch a lot of games during the regular baseball season. Can you blame me? They play like 200 games. However once the playoffs start it is always much more exciting. You know what is even MORE exciting? Is when the Giants are in the playoffs!!

When the Giants got into the World Series in 2002 and lost my dad said they would never been in the World Series in his life time...boy am I glad he was wrong!!
This is one of my favorite photos of my dad and I. I think I might be 6 years old? (I know I got all my hair cut off in the 1st grade, so that is what I'm going with.) Here we are sitting in the nose bleeds at Candlestick Park watching the Giants. So as you can see I my dad made me into a Giants fan very early on. Thanks dad!!

Goin' for the Gold

Daaaaaaaaaaaa daaaaaaaaaaaa…da da da da da dudududu da da da da daaaaaaaaaaaa.

That is right people! It’s Olympic time! Are you all loving the games like I am? This year John and I are really into it…meaning we are recording every possible telecast. The one problem is that they air 8pm to 11:30pm! There is no way we can stay up that late…well we can, but we don’t want to be zombies at work.

By not watching the telecasts live it has become EXTREMELY challenging to not find out who has won/lost. This is the only time that I despise the Internet. Seriously…how can they post the winners and losers BEFORE it even airs on prime time? It really makes me mad…however news sites aren’t the only guilty parties. I also had a winner outed by a famous person’s tweet!

Regardless of finding out some outcomes, it still has been an enjoyable Olympics so far. One part I love is that a lot of my favorite sports commentators are working the games. Chris Collingsworth, Al Trautwig, and Mary Currilo are a few of my faves.
Scott Hamilton is also pretty good when he gets really excited over a great jump or fall.

Did some of you notice that Johnny Mosley was commentating for the moguls? He was cracking John and I up with some of his comments. It was a great change from some of the other stuffy announcers who don’t know the sport as well as the athletes. It was almost like he was reliving his moment on the hill. He also had a somewhat surfer/Keanu Reeves vibe about him which added to the hilarity.

There is one announcer, Andrea Kramer (?), who I can’t stand. She’s the blonde lady that interviews the athletes on location after they compete. I saw her interview a retired football coach on Real Sports with Bryant Gumble, and it was really bad. I know I could do a better job than her. Oh well. One rotten apple out of five isn’t that bad.

Did any of you see the women’s snowboard cross? Let me just say that I, (along with many others), have waited FOUR years for this event. Four years for Lindsey Jacobellis to redeem herself and get the gold metal she deserved in 2006. If she won the gold this year, it would be one of the best Olympic redemption stories of all time, and I was ready to witness it!

Her first qualifying race she finished with no prob…second qualifying race (to get into the finals), she misses a gate, which disqualified her. That was it. It was over in 2 seconds. I still can’t believe it happened! I was so bummed out! How could she miss out on the gold AGAIN? It was so disappointing. There is a chance that she could come back in 2014, and if she does I’m sure there won’t be that much pressure on her. But will it make a difference? Who knows.

Unfortunately her loss broke my Olympic spirit. I know…very sad. However a few nights later it was lifted once again by USA wining 3 golds in one night. Granted it was a night where 3 of our top athletes preformed, but at least they succeeded under the pressure!
I really like Shaun White, and am SO glad he won another gold. It is amazing to watch him on the half pipe, knowing how hard it is just to keep your balance on a snowboard…well for me that is. He had immense pressure this year to win the gold again, and I’m so happy for him.

I’m still looking forward to the Women’s ice-skating next week, and Appolo Ono is racing this weekend. U-S-A!

3 Things

Lots of small things have been making me smile lately which has been much needed. Here are just a few that have and will make this week a good one:

1. Julie and Julia - This past weekend we went and saw this movie and was SO good! I was really surprised with how much I liked it, (since I really don’t know anything about Julia Childs) I am a huge Amy Adam’s fan, so I guess I shouldn’t have been that surprised. I am also a fan of Meryl Streep and she did such an amazing job playing Julia that most of the time I even forgot it was her. I really hope she gets some sort of recognition for this role.

Both story lines were really clever and I would actually get mad each time they would switch from one to the other. Of course I couldn’t help but relate a bit to Julie since her goal was to blog about her cooking/baking experiences. I now wish I would have thought of some gimmick to have been blogging about over the last 2.5 years. Even though I know my life is SO captivating, I wish I had come up with something like she did. Dang.

One thing I did not like about film was that the actor that they cast for Julie’s husband was not a good fit. What was with that dude? For one…I have never seen a grosser eater in MY LIFE! I was getting so sicked out by listening/watching him eat. Thank goodness his gorging scenes were only in the beginning of the movie. It’s bad enough to listen to someone behind you smacking on their popcorn, but to have to see it in front of you and hear it in THX? No thanks!

I was so inspired by the movie that right after we went to the bookstore and I bought Julie and Julia. I can’t wait to read the story because the book is always better than the movie, right? It’s actually killing me that I can’t read it right now as I’m supposed to be reading my latest book club book. I’m also going to be on the hunt for a good Julia Child’s biography. Do any of you have any recommendations?

One last complaint…Amy Adam’s hair was ATROCIOUS in this film! It looked like she was wearing the worst little boy wig. I understand her character wasn’t rich, but you can still be poor and have cute hair. Good thing she is such a cutie and her face distracted me from the mop top.

2. NY Giants Football – Yes I did mean to write that…and yes I am still a 49er fan. However…Cal Poly’s awesome receiver Ramses Barden got drafted by them this year and I got to watch one of their preseason games on TV last night. John and I were both so excited to see him out on the field in his Giants uniform and he even made a sweet catch. After the catch they then showed a few highlights from last year, including his touchdown in OT against Wisconsin. (Damn you field goal kicker!) It was really cool to hear the announcers talk about him as they all had good things to say about him. Even if this one dude pronounced his name as Ramse Barden from Cal Poly, Saint Luis Obispo.

I was really hoping that the Giants would be playing the 9ers this year, but no such luck. I was even considering traveling to NY, (twist my arm), if the 9ers were scheduled to play them back there, but it’s a no go. Maybe next year.

3. Project Runway – Just in case some of you were not aware, PR is premiering this week!!!! The fighting between the networks was SO lame, and there is no way we should have had to wait this long for the next season. They are even bringing back some of the past designers for a special challenge which I think airs right before the premiere on Thursday. Let's hope there is a contestant as fabulous as Christian is. Set your DVRs!!

Game Day

Well I’ve officially completed my fist two weeks at my job, and I already feel like I’m back in the swing of things. I thought it would at least take 3-4 weeks but my life as a house wife feels like a distant memory. Sniff…sniff. I’m kind of amazed that I could block something I enjoyed so much out of my mind so quickly.

One thing I’ve noticed since being back at work is that I feel more independent and I feel like I have my own life (separate from John’s). I was totally immersed in John’s ‘work life’ since I didn’t have one of my own, and since our home was my life he was connected in it all. It actually feels weird to have something that isn’t shared with him.

It also feels great to be contributing to something. Now my daily tasks are really helping others. I know doing the laundry really helped John out, but this isn’t the same. Now I’m able to use my skills to help non-family members. How significant is vacuuming, laundry, and dishes vs. helping fellow employees land a huge job? House chores really seem insignificant now. I even think I prefer to do them on the weekends vs. everyday. It’s also amazing how all of the house work I did during a week can be condensed into just a weekend. Hmmmm what does that tell me?

Remember my previous post about being so busy this summer? Well this weekend was and will be my only one home in June. Thank goodness we didn't go anywhere. (We almost traveled down south to take a look at a mini, but it had been sold). We had a really great relaxing and productive weekend. Hopefully I'll have another one next month.

Included in this month’s events, John and I met up with my family to go to a Giants baseball game. One of the highlights was that before the game they honored the ’89 Giants team! I watched the most baseball in my life in 1989, (that’s right…when I was 12), and I actually knew more of the retired players then the current players on the team! I So sad…but let me tell you it was awesome to see all of the old players. I was so impressed with how many names I still had stored in my memory...I knew I saved it for some reason! Needless to say it was very exciting, and that was before the game even started!
As most of you know, one of the best parts about going to a professional game is the food! Let me tell you that having the garlic fries made my day. Let me rephrase that…watching the Giants WIN and eating garlic fries at the same time made my day. In fact they had their comeback right after I got my fries, and let me tell you it was very challenging to cheer for them whilst stuffing my face. I managed though.
Another highlight was getting to wear my new Old Navy orange turtle neck that I got for $2. I thought I would have to save it for fall, but I was wrong!
As we were heading out of the stadium with the masses we walked by a closing pretzel stand. John made a beeline over to the cashier and asked if he can have one of the pretzels for free. ‘Sure’ she says. SCORE! I couldn’t believe it!! She then offered us two after seeing my shocked/excited reaction. DOUBLE SCORE! Then out of the corner of my eye I saw theses two HUGE lemonade vats, so I threw all caution to the wind and asked if I could have some lemonade too. ‘Sure’ she said ‘If you have a cup.’ Wouldn’t you know it…we had saved 2 souvenirs beer cups! TRIPLE SCORE! There are few things in life that are exciting as getting free food.
On our walk back to the car we passed by the Marriott hotel, and I notice a group of people standing next to this huge bus that was parked on the curb. I then realized that the bus was full of the ’89 baseball players! Even though I could only recognize 5 of them I made John wait with me in hoping that Will Clark was going to walk off the bus. We did not see Will, but we did see Kevin Mitchell! I got my camera out and was going to take a photo of him, but then I thought that would be lame. I didn’t want a paparazzi shot of him. So instead I said ‘Excuse me Kevin, can I get a photo with you?’ His reply, ‘Sorry it’s been a long day.’ EXCUSE ME? WHAT DID HE JUST SAY? Did he really just turn me down? I just stood there in disbelief! Not once have I ever been turned down for a stalker fan photo. I was SO MAD! Maybe if Kevin didn’t want to be harassed he should have taken OFF his Giants jersey with MITCHELL on the back. Seriously…how often does he get asked for autographs and photos now days? What kills me is that Ernest Miles was walking in front of him, and I should have asked him. I know he would have been nicer. So I will confirm all those rumors back in the 80’s that Kevin is truly an a-hole.

It was a good thing John and I headed to our friend’s house in the east bay that night after the game, because that snub could have seriously wrecked my entire weekend! Lucky for us our friends were just starting up Rock Band when we got there, so we were able to rock out for the rest of the night. The night before we play the Metallica version, but this night we played all of their other songs. I couldn’t believe how many they had in their database…including No Doubt’s Singles album! Talk about awesome! I think we played until 2am…way too late for this new working girl…but it was totally worth it. I feel so lucky to have spent time with my family and friends during the weekend. We were only in town for 48 hours so it’s amazing that it was all able to work out. Now if we all didn’t have to work, we could play EVERY day. Sigh.

Don't Trush Someone with Spikey Hair

I've had these photos and videos uploaded for a week, but for some reason I haven't had the time to sit and write up the compelling commentary. I also realized that I haven't posted all week and tonight is my last chance as I'm heading north tomorrow. So I hope you enjoy this speedy summary of the day we spent in Solvang for the timed trail.

As we headed to Solvang there were cars parked about a mile or more outside of the town. I could not believe the amount of people! I was really worried because there was no way I could have walked that far with my bad Achilles. I had John venture into town to see if we could find a spot, and lucky enough we found one a few blocks off of the main street! I was SO thankful.

We decided to stand just after the finish line to watch the racers. Here is John in his action ready pose.
Two hours later some nice ladies snuck in next to us and mentioned that you should never trust someone with spikey hair. Do you see the lady in the white shirt and sunglasses? That is who she was referring too.

After standing for an hour or so I decided I needed to rest my foot so I sat on the ground to make sure my place was saved. I could peak out behind the posters on the rails to see some of the riders coming in. Here was my video taking technique.
Across the way we saw this really cute baby!! Check out his riding suit!
One of the first big names that came in was George Hindcapie:
We later found out that the cute baby's dad was this guy:He held the baby on stage later and we saw it on the news.

Here is Lance riding in. It was so cool to see him. The crowd went CRAZY! John got this great photo too.

Here is Levi right after he crossed the finish line and won the timed trial. He knew he was on his way to a 3-peat, hence the three fingers he is holding up.
Here are a few videos that I took.
Lance riding in:

Levi finishing the trial:

After the race John noticed the Astana bus so we headed over to check it out. Right as we walked up a huge crowd of people walked away, so I thought I might have just missed seeing Lance. I decided to hang around anyway with a bunch of other people, and low and behold Lance came out of the bus!
I didn't have anything for him to sign, so I just took some photos and videos.

What killed me were all these middle aged women swooning over him! I couldn't believe it. A sex symbol? What about an awesome athlete? Reguardless it was pretty cool to see him signing autographs.

Overall the timed trail was great and made the waiting a lot more worth our time. Despite our awesome parking spot we wound up in two hours of traffic trying to get out of the town. We were very excited about it.

Bike Riders in CA!

As some of you were aware, the Amgen Tour of California rode through the state last week and John and I were lucky to be a part of it for two days! This was the fourth year of the race and John has been lucky to go every year. I missed the race two years ago when I couldn't take time off from my new job. Last year I was lucky because it rained...and due to the rain the riders were over an hour later than expected...which meant they arrived after 5pm...after I got off work. Sweet!

One very disappointing thing about the race this year was that it was not stopping in San Luis, but it was stopping in Paso Robles instead! I know!!! The horror! All I have to say is that it's a good thing that Lance came back, because that definitely made the trip up north worth it.

The riders were expected to arrive into town around 3pm but John was able to get off work and we got into town around noon. Our early arrival was awesome for many reasons. One - we got an AWESOME parking spot, which is key when you are a gimp like myself. Two - we got to have a nice relaxing lunch at The Crooked Kilt which was tasty. Three - we had time to scout out where we wanted to watch the race.

Next to the main road was a small brick wall that we claimed. It was perfect because I was able sit and rest my foot until the racers showed up. The other reason it was perfect was because we were able to stand up on the wall for a better view.

Here was a HUGE map of the different routes on the race: (click to enlarge)Interesting how there is no action north of Santa Rosa. What does that tell you?

Here is John waiting with his 'Let Levi Ride' shirt...with the finish line behind him. (Last year Levi Leipheimer was not allowed to ride in the Tour de France because team Astana, whom he did not ride for at the time, was banned from the '08 season for doping. Even though they fired the entire old team, and hired a new team director and riders the team was unable to compete. There was a website where people could sign up to petition the UCI, the governing body of the tour, where this shirt was for sale. John sent the site out to everyone, and one of our friends bought him the shirt. He loves it!)
Here I am sitting on our brick wall with my Lance Fan.
John went to cruise some of the booths and came back with these sweet Columbia-Highroad bikers hats for us to wear. John totally reminds me of Wesley Snipes in the 90's.
We only had to wait 2 hours for the riders to show up which wasn't that bad at all...considering they rode by us in 3 seconds! It was a sprint finish, but John captured this awesome photo of the two riders battling it out for first place.
Mark Cavendish, in yellow and team Columbia Highroad, won. Yaroslav Popovych got second. (John likes Popo because he's from Luxembourg). Unfortunately we did not get to see Lance, because the bikers rode by us so fast.

After the race we tried to make it over to the awards stage but there were SO many people it was impossible. As we were walking to get to the other side of it we decided to stop directly behind the stage and a volunteer told us that the winners walk right through this area. We also found out that they did their post race interviews as well. Here is Levi. (Even though he didn't win this stage he was still in first overall.)

Here is his bike....see the #1?

While John was taking photos, I took a video of the race. You might need to watch it more than once as they go by so fast.

Overall it was a great day. Things couldn't have worked out better for us. We didn't even hit any traffic thanks to John knowing a somewhat hidden entrance on the freeway. The next day we headed to Solvang...stay tuned!

Is there a Doctor in the House?

I've apparently injured my Achilles tendon...and I have NO IDEA how.

It was a little sore last Sunday, but I didn't think much of it. It would only hurt if I had been sitting for awhile and then got up and walked around. I'd limp around a bit and then it would loosen up. On Wed./Thurs. It hurt most of the morning but then by the afternoon I'd forget about it. But then on Friday it was hurting worse and now I'm limping around like a total gimp!

Now I've been icing it and wearing an ace bandage. I noticed it was swollen but by wearing the bandage it has gone down a bit. I've really tried to stay off of it this weekend, but unfortunately I haven't notice a huge improvement. I'm going to try to go to the doctor tomorrow and maybe he will be able to give me some info for a speedy recovery because John and I are going to WISCONSIN on Friday!!

Have we lost our minds? Are we really going from 85 degrees to 35 degrees with scattered flurries? Yes we are and I can't wait!
This coming weekend Cal Poly is playing Wisconsin in their final regular season game. For those of you who don't know, Wisconsin is a Division 1 school and CP is Division 2. Obviously it's a bit of a mismatch and we aren't expecting a victory, however we are expecting a once in a lifetime experience! We can only imagine what it's going to be like to attend a college football game a such a large school...and a game in such cold weather. I'm also very excited to be visiting another state and another college town. I can't wait to see what it is like.

I think CP will be able to stay close to Wisconsin for maybe a half. At least I hope. They have already made the playoffs so we are guaranteed one more home game. (As season ticket holders we had first dibs on the tickets). Hopefully they will get 2 play off games but I'm not sure if we will be traveling for the second one.

I have the feeling I'll have more time to blog this week if I'm ordered by the doc to stay off my feet. However with me being sedentary I'm not sure how many interesting blog topics I'll come across. Stay tuned...