What dreams may come

Thatdad's latest book was just released. As usual, the publishers sent us a box. My favorite part of my dad's publications was always searching for myself somewhere in the book, since he loved to include stories of Thatbrother and I. This one is a latest edition of an earlier work, so I already know exactly where (what I lovingly refer to as) "my chapter" lies. Instead, I turned to the acknowledgements, which don't remain exact throughout the editions.

It was like reading a message from him, from wherever he is now. Obviously it was written long before he died, but reading about how the support of his family helped him survive his heart attack and quadruple bypass all those years ago seemed almost prophetic and dissolved me into a mess of tears. I cried on Thatboy's shoulder - "it's not true, because he didn't...he didn't survive." But Thatboy reminded me that he did survive his first heart attack, and he did survive the bypass. And now it's the same family support that will allow each of us remaining to survive. Because really, that's what his message was to us - that we will survive.

Given all that, it is no surprise that lately I've been dreaming of Thatdad. The setting is always fairly mundane, a soccer game, a vacation, an open house - and his presence there is unremarkable. Except for the fact, even in the dream I'm semi-conscious that there's something not quite right. There is usually some discussion about recooperation, or running into someone who "hasn't heard the news" as though death were just another form of illness, or as though he was recovering from some surgery. I wake up feeling sad and reflective.

This weekend was mostly filled with non-stop errands. One of those weekends where we hit the ground running around 7 and don't get home till about 12 hours later. We did take a break so Thatboy could see Star Trek since he was such a good sport about not going to see it opening weekend. I'm not as familiar with the orignal, having grown up a "Next Generation" kid, but I thought the movie was phenomenal. Very fun, and unlike the current movie trend, not too long. I loved how J.J. Abrams got a little time travel in there too. I was definitely expecting a couple of the survivors of Oceanic 815 to show up on the bridge. I think the man's a bit obsessed. If anyone's going to build a time machine, I'd put my money on him.

We also hit up the farmer's market that's a block or two from Thatmom's house. It's one of my favorites because of the size and the variety of stuff you can get there - everything from sausages to oil paintings. We stocked up on an obscene about of berries, kettle corn, produce for dinner, as well as a gift for Thatnephew who has a birthday next month.

It's been two weeks since we've had it last, so Thatmom requested her favorite chicken dish for dinner. We picked up some fresh corn from the market which I coated in some cilantro lime butter I whipped up and then grilled. And of course, I made enough for leftovers - someone has to keep Thatmom eating during the week and it certainly isn't going to be That"I eat beans straight out of the can for dinner"brother.

A few of my obsessions

You know how it is when you discover something that's new to you and it kind of becomes your life? I get like that with ingredients. It drives Thatboy crazy. Currently I am obsessed with three new ingredients I've come in contact with recently.

1) Salt Pork. I'm now using it in practically every soup recipe I can. I LOVE IT. And so does Thatboy. He thinks it's a little stronger than bacon flavor. I like how the fat melts to cook my veggies. I like the salty quality of it and how easy it is to use - comes in a nice pre-sliced package at the store and it keeps for just about ever. It kinda makes me feel pilgrim-y, back when they would salt their meats because they didn't have fridges. It adds the best flavor to my soups.

2) Kale. Kale isn't really new to me, but lately I can't get enough of it. It's another great soup addition, but also a great green veggie. I like to saute it with garlic. Thatboy isn't as impressed but, he's not as in to bitter vegetables as I am. He doesn't mind it in soups, although if you asked him, he'd probably tell you it was spinach.

3) Parsnips. Back in the days of "scavenge in an empty fridge" following Thatdad's death I found a bunch of these in Thatmom's fridge. She was going to use them in a minestrone soup, but instead we made a tomato barley and threw them in. I think they're the secret love child of carrots and apples. And I decided they would become a new staple in Thathouse. So earlier this week I souped them up.

Potato Parsnip Soup

• 5 slices of Salt Pork (about 3 oz) diced.
• 2 parsnips, peeled and diced
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 cups milk
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp flour

1. Cook salt pork in a heavy bottomed pot until the fat has melted and the pork is browned. Pour out all but 1 Tbsp of the fat.
2. Add the parsnips and potatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add 1 1/2 cups of water, cover and cook on low 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
4. Slowly add the milk and continue cooking over low heat.
5. While the soup is heating, melt 1 Tbsp butter in small pan and stir in flour. Mix 2-3 minutes until thoroughly combined. Add about 1/4 cup of the soup liquid to this butter/flour mixture slowly. Slowly, while stirring gently, add this mixture to the soup pot.
6. Let simmer 5 minutes more to let the soup thicken a bit.

All My Life's A Circle

Who's ready to get all existential with me? Prepare yourself because this is where I tell you that birth is the same as death. Well maybe not so much "the same" as opposite sides of the same coin. I came upon this realization last week when L&J brought forth her own little initial, W. My first thought was of course, "they're going to need food." Which got me thinking - I always bring over a bunch of prepared meals to my new mommy friends, but I never realized how important those meals really were until almost three months ago.

When Thatdad died, we were inundated with people all the time, friends, relatives, and we were severely lacking in the food department. People brought cookies and cakes, but our refrigerator was in a constant state of empty and there was very little real food to be found. When no one was over, we scavenged bits of what we could find. Around dinner when the people poured in Thatbrother, my cousin China, and I took turns calling and ordering food and running out to pick it up for everyone. We obviously weren't grocery shopping, and really, neither was the family who had come to support us. I thought how similar it was to my new mother friends - the last thing you have time for is really the most important - making meals and running to the grocery store. And the family that comes to stay and help out really wants to be there for you, and not running errands. Of course there's probably a fairly constant stream of visitors, many coming at prime meal times and no matter what's going on in your life, a good hostess never wants her guests to be uncomfortable.

So as soon as I got word of W's arrival, I began planning meals. L is semi-vegetarian, in the "no red meat" camp so I wanted some things that were high in protein, but low in animal.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos (and L&J, since I know you read this and right now are scratching your head about those extra burritos that never made it to your home......I blame Thatbrother and UDubb who acted as my taste-testers. ) Veggie free, dairy free, and super easy to heat and eat. They can even be eaten with one hand, in case you need to hold a baby or something.

Baked whole wheat penne with turkey sausage. This one isn't as hands free, dairy free, or meat free - but turkey isn't red meat and I wanted to give her something that would feed a crowd, in case a crowd showed up. And a pasta dish with meat is usually a pretty big crowd pleaser.

Black Bean Burritos. As Thatboy would say, these are "enchilado style" (which is his favorite way to eat burritos). These are a my compromise - vegetarian, but with loads of cheese. Less hand friendly, still good for a crowd.

Before I drove all these goodies over to L&J's home in Alaska, I gave her a little text telling her I was going to be stopping off at Whole Foods on the way up to do a little grocery shopping for her and did she have any requests? They don't have Whole Foods in her neck of the woods, and I thought they might be in need of some basic groceries. Even though L's mom was staying to help out, I didn't want her to have to run out and pick things up.

So I stopped off and picked up soy milk, bread, eggs, juice, cold cuts - just the basic stuff for a quick breakfast or lunch. I also snuck in a couple of chocolate bars because of their "Twilight" themed names. L&J both LOVED the series, even though L is the one who convinced me not to read any past the first because of my constant anger and outrage. "It's only going to get worse, and you're only going to get more upset," she warned me. So when I saw "New Moon" and "Eclipse" in the chocolate aisle I knew I had to throw some in the bag. Thatboy questioned why they didn't have "Breaking Dawn" which is funny because that's exactly what J said when he made his discovery of the treat.

I threw in a couple of nylabones for L&Js four legged friends (and a good thing too, it kept them occupied the entire time I was there!) and we were on our way.

My plan was to drop the goods and run, but I ended up staying and chatting with L&J and L's mother for a bit. I haven't seen L in a couple months - since our "let's make strawberry cupcakes" impulse date, so we traded stories about things we missed out as she nursed little W. For those of you who "know" L, you'll be pleased to hear everyone is doing really well. J is a HUGE help - L commented that he's such a natural he often tells her how to do things. L is healing quickly and looks tired but happy - really happy. Very zen relaxed happy. And as for little W? He's ADORABLE. And tiny! L&J think he looks big - but he doesn't. He's got these clear blue eyes (not a big surprise) and little old man face (typical for a baby. I hear they grow out of that and then back into it again). He's gaining weight like a rockstar and so far seems to like being part of their lives (I'm sure he'll feel differently around 14 or 15).

It's so heartwarming to see L&J with W, and a reminder to me that life does go on and good things do happen.

Where we live

Yesterday Thatboy and I spent our museum day at the Museum of San Diego History. Since neither of us are natives it was fun to learn a little bit about our home. There were many other non-natives here as evidenced by one of the exhibits in which you had to pick a color that matched your status and fill out a little card- San Diego resident, San Diego visitor, and San Diego native. You would not BELIEVE the number of San Diego natives that were born in other countries....looks like someone needs to become better friends with their copy of Websters.

The museum isn't as big and flashy as some of the other museums. But then again, San Diego isn't as big or flashy as some other cities. That's kind of why we like it so much.

The floor of the museum has a scale map of the county. When you live so close to the coast, you forget how giagantic the county actually is. It extends East for miles and miles and miles. Thatboy decided we need to do more lake exploring after seeing how many there were.

If you've been to San Diego before, you've no doubt seen our red trolleys. They were my main means of transportation downtown when I was in school because really who wants to pay for parking? AND the stop was in the complex behind mine which made getting home after a night at the bars very easy. Those red trolleys apparently used to be yellow. Like a school bus. I can't decide if I like the red or yellow better... Both are pretty friendly, right?

San Diego was once big time mining country. Rumor has it, there's still gold in dem dar hills. I thought this miner's 10 commandments was funny - but for those of you who don't have super human vision, here's the text:

Ten Commandments

A man spake these words and said: I am a miner, who wandered "from down east and came to sojourn in a strange land and 'see the elephant'". And behold I saw him and bear witness, that from the key of his trunk to the end of his tail, his whole body has passed before me: and I followed him until his huge feet stood still before a clabboard shanty: then, with his trunk extended, he pointed to a candle-card tacked upon a shingle as though he would say read, and I read

THE MINER'S TEN COMMANDMENTS

1. Thou shalt have no other claim than one.
2. Thou shall not make unto thyself any false claim, nor any likeness to a mean man by jumping one: whatever thou findest on the top above, or on the rock beneath, or in a crevice underneath the rock—for I am a jealous dog and will visit the miners round with my presence to invite them on my side: and when they decide against thee thou shalt have to take thy pick and thy pan, thy shovel and thy blankets with all thou hast and go "prospecting" both north and south to seek good diggings: and thou shalt find none. Then when thou has returned in sorrow thou shalt find that thine own claim is worked out, and no pile made thee, to hide it in the ground, or in an old boot beneath thy bunk, or in a buckskin or bottle underneath the cabin, but has paid all that was in thy purse away, worn out thy boots and thy garments so that there is nothing good about them but the pickets, and thy patience be likened unto the garments: and at last thou shalt hire thy body out to make thy board and save thy bacon.
3. Thou shalt not go prospecting before thy claim gives out. Thou shalt not take thy money, nor thy gold dust, nor thy good name, to the gambling table in vain: for monte, twenty-one, roulette, faro, lansquenet and poker will prove to thee, that the more thou puttest down, the less thou shalt take up: and when thou thinkest of thy wife and children, thou shalt not hold thyself guiltless, but insane.
4. Thou shalt not remember what thy friends do at home on the Sabbath day, lest the rememberance may not compare favorably with what thou doest. Six days thou mayest dig or pick all that thy body can stand under; but the other day is Sunday, when thou shalt wash all the dirty shirts, darn all thy stockings, tap all thy boots, mend all thy clothing, chop the whole week's fire-wood, make up and bake thy bread and boil thy pork and beans, that thou wait not when thou returnest from thy long tour, weary. For in six days' labor only thou canst not work enough to wear out the body in two years; but if thou workest hard on Sunday also, thou canst do it in six months and thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy male friend and thy female friend, thy morals and thy conscience be none the better for it: but reproach thee shouldst thou ever return with thy worn-out body to thy mother's fireside, and thou strive to justify thyself, because the trader and the blacksmith, the carpenter and the merchant, the tailors, Jews, and bucaneers defy God and civilization, by keeping not the Sabbath day, and wish not for a day of rest, such as memory, youth and home made hallowed.
5. Think more of all thy gold and how canst make it fastest, than how thou wilt enjoy it, after thou hast ridden, rough-shod, over thy good old parents' precepts and examples, that thou mayest have something to reproach and sting thee, when thou art left alone in the land where thy father's blessing and thy mother's love sent thee.
6. Thou shalt not kill thine own body by working in the rain, even though thou shalt make enough to buy physic and attendance with—neither shalt thou kill thy neighbor's body by shooting him, except he give thee offence—then upon principle of honor; without principle; thou mayest, even though by "keeping cool" thou hadst saved his live and thy conscience.
7. Thou shalt not grow discouraged, and think of going home before thou hast made thy "pile", because thou hast not "struck a lead", or found a "rich crevice", nor sunk a hole upon a "pocket", lest in going home thou shalt leave four dollars a day, and go to work, ashamed, at fifty cents, and serve the right: for here, by staying, thou mightest strike a lead and fifty dollars a day, and thy manly self-respect and then go home with enough to make thyself and others happy.
8. Thou shalt not pick out specimens from the company pan, and put them into thy mouth or in thy purse. Neither shalt thou take from thy cabinmate his gold dust to add to thine, lest he find thee out, and straightaway call his fellow-miners together, and they hang thee, or give thee fifty lashes and two hours to leave the country, or brand thee like a horse thief with R upon thy cheek, to be "known and read of all men" Californians in particular. And if thou steal a shovel, or a pick, or a pan, from thy toiling fellow-miner, hanging will be too good for thee, and thou ask to be kicked and cow hided for thy pains: and forever hang down thy head.
9. Thou shalt not tell any false tales about "good diggings in the mountains" to thy neighbor, that thou mayest benefit a friend who hath mules, and provisions, and tools, and blankets he cannot sell—lest in deceiving thy neighbor, when he returneth through the snow, with aught save his rifle, he present thee with contents thereof, and like a dog, thou shalt fall down and die.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's gold nor his claim, nor undermine his bank in following a lead, nor move his stake, nor wash the tailings from his sluice's mouth, nor throw dirt upon his bank, And if thy neighbor have his family here, and thou love and covet his daughter's hand in marriage, thou shalt lose no time in seeking her affection; and when thou hast obtained it, thou shalt "pop the question" like a man, lest another more manly than thou art, should step in before thee, and thou covet her in vain, and in the anguish of disappointment, thou shalt quote the language of the great and say, "Let her rip!" and thy future be that of a poor, lonely, despised and comfortless bachelor.

The end.

A LITTLE ONE THROWN IN—Thou shalt not dig up a public road, unless thou canst afford to fix it again as good as before, otherwise thou injurest the teamster to benefit thyself, and he curse thee every time he passeth. Amen.

FORTY NINE
[James M. Hutchings]

Right around here is where I noticed the "no photography" signs so I put away my camera. You'll just have to believe me when I tell you about the galleries of San Diego artists, and the exhibit on Marston's Department Store, a San Diego icon.

Okay - it's time for the season finale of Lost - Thatboy is conviced that Jacob and "the man in black" represent God and the Devil...guess we'll find out!

More Fun With The Firsts

First and his insta-family are trying to make the most out of their time in California. While First makes it out here sporadically, it is First Wife's first visit here and obviously First Child has limited travel experience racked up in her first 2.5 years. So they're trying to cover all their Southern California bases. Today they spent the day in San Diego and are working their way up to Santa Barbara over the next week. We met up with the Firsts for dinner tonight in La Jolla.

The requirements for dinner was some place kid friendly (First Child) with some healthy dining options (First Wife) and beer and man food available (First). I gave them a list of some options and First chose the Karl Strauss Brewing Company. I'm not terribly surprised, I had a hunch that was going to be his first pick.

For those not in the know, Karl Strauss is a San Diego based brewing company. It's a chain, which I usually try to avoid when people are visiting, I mean you don't need to travel across the country to eat something you can find in your backyard, but all our favorites aren't exactly loads of fun for a small child. The food is good, fun, and easy, but the beer is the highlight. And we must have looked cute, because our waitress brought us all samples of the brews to try while we ate. We all got different burgers, except First Child who had chicken fingers. I didn't take pictures because while First would probably accept my eccentricites, he brought along an old friend they're staying with and I get enough strange looks from strangers not sitting at my table. Besides - y'all know what a burger looks like, right? We had beef burgers, turkey burgers, veggie burgers - quite the diverse little table. First Child spent the entire night regaling me with stories about how dogs chase cats and cats jump over fences.

After dinner, I dragged the crew next door for some tart ice cream. They don't have it where First's family comes from and First Wife has been trying to cut out her sugars lately since she gets to wear a gorgeous white dress in a couple of months. It's called Green Apple and we all decided that was also the best flavor. Other choices included chocolate raspberries, blackberry, and original tart with lemon. It was a huge hit with everyone, including First Child who insisted on only eating hers out of the little sample cup. Then she insisted everyone sit at the teeny tiny tables made especially for people like First Child. How cute is the First Family?

It was fun spending time with First and his family and I know they're going to have a great rest of their trip. Tomorrow they're headed up to spend some time with Thatmom, Thatbrother, and UDubb.

In the Sun

Back when Thatboy and I lived in Orange County it wasn't uncommon for us to awaken to a phone call on a weekend morning:

"Wanna meet us for breakfast in thirty minutes?" It was always Thatdad, and it was usually around 7:00 in the morning. You don't even know the restraint he showed by waiting until 7:00, since he had already been up for hours by that point in time. On weekends he'd let Thatmom sleep in till 5 or 5:30. Waiting later than 7:00 am to eat breakfast was practically like eating lunch so there was never negotiations to move breakfast to a more reasonable time like 9 or 9:30.

Although Thatdad and Thatmom went out to breakfast every weekend at "their place" which we won't be returning to anytime in the near future, Thatfamily would always meet for breakfast at The Cottage in Laguna Beach.

We haven't been to The Cottage in a while, and Thatmom thought it might be nice to have a Mother's Day breakfast there - but not on Mother's Day because we had too much to do. So Saturday morning we headed down to Laguna.

UDubb lives across the street, so her and Thatbrother got the phonecall at 8:00 that Thatboy and I used to get on a regular basis. See how sweet we are, letting them sleep in a whole extra hour? We still beat them to the restaurant, so Thatboy entertained himself while we waited. His arms are not broken. They work perfectly fine.

Thatboy had your basic "Junior Breakfast." When I told him he didn't need 10 pancakes he argued with me, making a circle with his thumb and forefinger telling me how small they were going to be. We brought almost all of those pancakes home. Is anyone else addicted to cold pancake leftovers or am I just weird? When his meal arrived, Thatboy actually asked where his egg was...the waitress kindly directed him to check under his mountain of pancakes. And I know a number of you are probably surprised at the absence of bacon on the plate. I know I was. Apparently someone felt like being "different."

The reason for so many breakfasts at The Cottage? The buckwheat blueberry pancakes. Thatdad always got them with walnuts, Thatmom always got them without.

UDubb's Laguna Scramble. Don't worry! She got eggwhites! So it's SUPER healthy. Just ignore all those fried potato things. I'm pretty sure she did.

I'm not usually a pancake person, but I was intrigued by the buckwheat cranberry orange pancakes. When Thatmom mentioned they piqued her interest also we decided we'd go halvies. I'd order these, she'd get the blueberry and we'd split them. I think the blueberry won out, although these were an interesting change of pace. I like the tartness and was feeling in kind of a cranberry mood on Saturday.

Thatbrother's Fajita Omlette. Apparently he wasn't aware it had chicken in it. UDubb tried to tell him he usually orders the same thing she gets, but I guess he felt like being a little "different" also. Notice the absence of fruit on his plate? I'm thinking that when you order an omlette filled with cheese and egg and a side of potato they assume you're probably not going to eat any fruit. Which is a shame, because Thatboy ate most of his, UDubb was sitting too far away, and I obviously couldn't steal any from Thatbrother.

After breakfast Thatbrother and UDubb headed to work and we walked around Laguna. We picked up some presents, hit up one of Thatmom's knitting shops, and browsed for most of the morning. Then it was errands the rest of the day.

A lot of my weekend cooking comes from magazines because I cook for Thatmom. Magazines mean she can look at a dish and let me know if it's something she'll eat, or something that looks good to her. She's not a great eater during the week, so I really concentrate on making things for her on the weekend. Last week I got the new issue of Bon Appetit and saw a recipe I knew she'd like: Shrimp Scampi with Green Onions and Orzo.

I was right. She liked it so much she didn't even put cheese on it - which is a HUGE thing for her. She puts cheese on everything. This one will definitely go into the rotation.

After a little trauma drama (because what weekend would be complete without) Thatbrother and UDubb came over so we could all watch Benjamin Button. Thatmom and I had been DYING to see it and the weeks surrounding it's release on the big screen were accompanied with a flurry of emails back and forth between the two of us. See, from the previews I was beyond confused. This movie looked like it was based on Andrew Sean Greer's The True Confessions of Max Tivoli, a book I had loved so much that as soon as I finished it, I bought copies for all my friends and Thatmom so they could read it too. Thatmom had emailed me asking if the movie was based on the book and I did a little research and all signs pointed to the fact that it was based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald story with the same premise. There are a number of articles written about the story/book/movie that we sent each other as soon as they turned up. So Thatmom and I read the short story - which (from the coming attractions) seemed to be completely unrelated to the movie. Except for the premise. Which again, was also the premise of Max Tivoli. AND the previews seemed much more similar to the book than the short story. With that background we watched the movie, which is nothing like either the book or the short story, except of course for the premise. Neither of us were a big fan of the whole "Katrina" aspect which we found unneccessary and once again, the book proved MUCH better than the movie. Even the short story was better if you're looking for a quick read.

Sunday, Mother's Day, had us heading up to the Cousins in LA. I am terrible with cousin designations - 1st, second, removals, ect. because in our family there is no designation. Everyone is just a "cousin" and we're close with all of them - no matter how related, or how far removed. Thatmom grew up with Repro and Knits almost as siblings, which is how she always considered them and we likewise grew up with their kids. Knits just moved out to California and since her son was visiting with his future family, Repro thought we should all meet in the middle, his house, for a little mother's day celebration.

Repro manned the grill. Salmon, burgers, hotdogs, and some of the best chicken you've ever had. I think everyone had some chicken, and those that didn't soon rushed over to remedy their mistake.

This was the indoor spread - as distinguished from the "grill spread" - as distinguished from the "outside spread." In other words, there was a ton of food. Obviously, I come by "cooking for an army" naturally.

We kinda segregated ourselves between the kids and the adults - with Thatmom sitting at the kids table. For most of us, it was the first time meeting First Wife. Her and First live across the country and are going to be married this fall. This is probably a good time to explain that her moniker is "First Wife" not because we expect First to marry someone else in the future, but because she's marrying First - the first grandchild in our family. Even though it's only by 2 months, he never let me forget he's the oldest. Coincidentally, he's also going to be giving us the first grandchild of the family when he marries since First Wife brings her adorable daughter into the mix. First calls them his "insta-family."

Because none of us is very smart, we followed our ginourmous meal with a little 3-on-3. I love this picture because it shows everyone...even though it's a little hard to make out Mustang there in the back, and Bass is doing his best to keep his eye on Thatbrother's "killer D." I think everyone ended up with an elbow or ball to the face at some point in time during the game, and Thatboy asked for a stopping point on numerous occasions. He's definitely getting old. And you can't see from this picture, but UDubb played in sandals. And she still managed to run circles around these guys. She's a definite rockstar.

I get by with a little help from my friends

Prez has this super-hero thing backwards. By night she's a mild mannered homebody who likes nothing more than curling up with a good book. But by day she transforms into a woman who is working on saving the world from cancer. Lately, Prez has been spending a great deal of time in Brazil spreading her good work there. This means it's been a looooooong time since I've seen her and we haven't really been able to get together due to the fact that when I'm in town she's out of the country and when she's in town I'm usually up with Thatmom.

About 2 weeks ago we figured out we were both going to be in town this week and we penned the occasion on our calendars (pen so it absolutely could not be changed). Spending last night with Prez reminded me how long it's been since I've had social contact with my friends and how desparately I was in need of it.

I showed up and Prez had a glass of wine in my hand almost instantly. By the time her boyfriend, Zorba, arrived home we had already finished a bottle. Prez knows me. Usually the two of us cook together, but I was more than happy to let Prez cover this one, so we caught up as she fixed us couscous with mustard basil chicken. "You do like couscous?" she asked as she confided that Zorba hates it and therefore she hardly ever gets the chance to make it. Good thing I adore couscous.

I love being with Prez because we definitely take turns monopolizing the conversation. We began with the "Thatgirl show" where I caught her up with all the ups and downs my life is made up of right now. Then I got to hear about her frustrations with Zorba and her time in Brazil. We took turns filling each other in on our families - one of Prez's sisters is the same age as Thatbrother and even went to the same college as him. We traded tales about mutual friends and gossiped about whether we'd be invited to a certain someone's wedding. Neither of us is counting on it, but it does ruin the Vegas trip Prez can't plan because it might coincide with a wedding event.

We made plans for each other's birthdays that we knew neither of us would attend. I do love that our friendship is at that level where we've accepted each other's schedules. I've been missing out on a lot of parties lately. Prez is tempted to celebrate her birthday at her parent's house which is not too far from Thatmom, but because it's on a weekend, I still wouldn't be able to make it. If she has it in San Diego I'm out for the exact same reason. On her birthday itself she's planning on going to Disneyland "because it's free," which means no drinks after work. I'm going to have to content myself with celebrating with her sometime that week. My birthday is going to pose much of the same problem, except for the fact that right around that time she'll be heading back to Brazil. I miss spending time with Prez and I wish we could do it more often. We set up a couple of double dates that we also will probably never make and I was on my way, feeling better than I had in a long time.

Reflections on the past

This morning I ran into an old "friend" on my way in to work. The two of us worked together as law clerks and were involved in the same after school activities, but we weren't really very close. We spent a brief few moments catching up, including her recent engagement to an old co-worker of mine. For some reason seeing her made me think about the different paths our lives had taken. It also brought out all my insecurities. Seeing people from the past can do that to you. I wondered what she was going to say about me to our classmates who she keeps in touch with, or her fiance. Which is silly, and a bit egotistical since I'm sure seeing me was hardly a blip on her register, but all the same it's hard to shake that nagging feeling that people are talking about you.

Fittingly, today we spent our Tuesday lunch at the Museum of Natural History, looking back in time. The neatest thing about this museum is that it really features the history of San Diego. It's crazy to think that at one point in time there were zebras, mastedons, and dinosaurs that lived where I lived during law school....well, right by where I live. I don't think my complex was around back then.

I think there's some sort of rule that a Natural History Museum has to have a giant dinosaur in the main entrance. It's written in the "So you want to open a Natural History Museum" guidebook. Right after the chapter entitled "Do or Diorama"

The water exhibit had a demonstration where you used your physical strength to power a faucet. Check out the stream of water this kid has going!

Thatboy had to get in on the action - but notice the decidedly smaller stream of water. Kinda embarassing don't you think? Sure would't want to be married to that guy...oh...wait...


I've heard that there are whales to be sighted in San Diego. In the past five years I have yet to see one. I guess they hang out when I'm not around. Thatboy used to see them in college on his way to the beach for surfing. Frankly I don't think I'd get into the water after spotting a whale in there. I have a hard enough time understanding how he can surf just a couple feet from dolphins. I mean, sure I hear they're friendly and I'm thrilled to bits to watch them from the shore - but those things are PURE MUSCLE and I'm not quite sure that they understand that "play" might also mean "kill" in certain circumstance.


This is probably only funny to a very select few. Let me put it this way - Thatboy was NOT amused, but I couldn't help myself. I decided that I should quit my job and pursue a career as a magnetic poet.


Thatboy insisted that this was a mystery animal. Even though the sign identified it as Harlan's Ground Sloth. This guy lived in San Diego...back when he lived. Now the ground sloth has gone the way of the dodo, the saber tooth tiger, and the unicorn. All we've got now are tree sloths, and the only ones that live in San Diego are the ones in the zoo.

Thatboys work anxieties as well as the big decision I'm currently facing prompted a discussion as to whether we would have made the same choices if we had to do it all over again. We talked about decisions we had made and the impact they've had on our lives, but we also looked to the future and the choices we'll make to ensure we don't become overwhelmed by those decisions. It was a pretty productive lunch. I like to leave Thatboy with some positive thoughts since he tends to get bogged down by the negative fairly easily.

And since I like to leave you with some positive thoughts too I'll share with you an interesting tidbit I learned about Thatboy's typical workday. Thatboy's office isn't in a typical office building. Instead, they work in a house, with each office being a different "room." It makes for a very interesting workplace as Thatboy's office has a beautiful bay window...which apparently looks into a brothel. Thatboy informed me tonight on our way home that he thinks the house next to him pays young women to live there and film themselves in sexual acts. Apparently on more than one occasion he's looked over to see young women making out with each other while watching a computer screen and changing positions accordingly. Today the girls weren't wearing pants - just shirts and underwear. I asked Thatboy how he was able to work if he was spending his days oogling half dressed women and he admitted that they "make it very hard to concentrate" on work. Yeah...I bet. Well, at least now I have an explanation if Thatboy is ever late picking me up on carpool days.

Running Around

So our brilliant plan to get Thatmom down to San Diego didn't work out so well, so on Friday night we once again headed up to her. We have a pretty standard routine that involves us eating a quick meal while we discuss our plans for the weekend, then the three of us curling up on the couch and watching Dollhouse. I think Thatmom watches it because she thinks Thatdad would have liked it, the same reason we watch Castle on Monday nights. It makes me so sad that he never got to see any of these shows. He was such a television fiend - which I attribute to the fact that he never got to watch tv growing up. His father died when he was 7 and he started working shortly after. Their brand new house now has a television in every room, so he never had to miss out.

On Saturday morning we were up at the crack of dawn as usual. Thatboy needed a haircut, so we all headed in to Orange for Breakfast at Watsons.

My boring ole eggs. Really, all I wanted was the biscuits...


Thatboy's eggs and bacon. You can see they are more than generous with the potatoes here.


Thatmom's super healthy eggwhites and fruit.


Thatboy is slightly less healthy. He actually had this chocolate ice cream soda BEFORE breakfast arrived. Good thing we were with my mom and not his.

Then Thatmom and I ran some errands while Thatboy got his hair done. After we headed over to AAA for some title changes and registration renewals. That place is a zoo on Saturdays! Thatbrother and UDubb took a break from their constant studying to meet us at the movies where we saw The Soloist. All of us really wanted to see it, and it didn't disappoint. Thatmom loves movies that provoke discussion and afterwards we got into a great one about homlessness and mental health. Thatmom's background with medical compliance and my own research on legal rights of the mentally ill added a layer that I don't think Thatboy was prepared to deal with. As Thatmom said, it's probably very difficult for him on the weekends to be surrounded by women telling him what to do. Of course we had to stop off at Red Mango to try out their new flavor, Tangomonium. They were giving out a free smalls with 1 topping on Saturday and there was no way I was going to miss free Red Mango! And because Thatmom is allergic to mangos and no one who worked there seemed to know what was in this new flavor, they gave her a free pomegranate yogurt instead.

I thought the new flavor was alright, and maybe good for a change of pace, but it was starting to be a little sweet for me, veering more toward the regular kind of frozen yogurt. And I don't blame the employees for not knowing what flavor it is, we had a hard time pinpointing it too. I kept getting peach and pineapple. Thatboy thought it might be passionfruit and pineapple. It's billed as being citrusy.....I think it would actually be pretty good swirled with the original.

We went back to the house and I whipped up some more jambalaya before Thatboy and I piled back in the car and headed home.

This morning I woke up extra early for my first race in months. In general I like to run every month, it's exciting and I like the adrenaline rush. Plus I like having short goals so I can feel a sense of accomplishment. But between traveling for the holidays and the blur that has been the past few months I haven't been able to take part in any events. Last June I found out about the Race for Literacy 8K and I've been itching to do it ever since. I mean, how many 8ks do you know about? And this one is the second largest in the nation. I've really wanted to run it and I didn't want to wait till next year, so even though I've been woefully out of commission because of my back I figured I should run anyway. I mean, it's not even 5 miles - I can do that!

I really love the races in San Diego - the courses are always SO much fun. One of the reasons I wanted to do this run was because it's a Balboa Park run which are my favorite kind. I love running around the park and then they always close down a portion of the freeway for us to run on also. I love running on the freeway. I always wonder what the cars on the other side are thinking as they pass us. Because this run was longer than the typical Balboa Park 5ks, they also closed off most of downtown and we got to run on some of the main streets, which is also very fun. I love that the race doesn't double back on itself and there is always such neat scenery to see.

The first mile was really difficult for me. The first mile is usually the worst for me. It takes me a little bit to get into the rhythm and as anyone who has run with me can tell you - I have pace issues. I run WAY too fast in the beginning, keeping pace with whoever is beside me. When I hit the first mile marker and realized how quickly I had done it, I made myself slow down. By the time I hit mile 2 I had found my stride and from then on it just felt good. When I was at 3.4 miles I realized I really sell myself short by only running 3 miles in the morning, so I think I'm going to start upping that.

My only regret is that I ended up running it faster than I thought I was. I was counting on being pretty slow since before last week it had been about a month since I last ran so I created an 8K playlist that was an hour long, with the most high energy songs towards the end when I thought I might need them. But I finished before my playlist, so I didn't get to hear all my songs! I made Thatboy listened to those songs on the way home as I sang into the banana he greeted me with at the end of the race.

We decided to take it pretty easy for the rest of the day, so we went home so I could shower and then headed out to breakfast at Crepes and Corks. We were feeling like a French breakfast and the best one isn't open on Sundays so Crepes and Corks is a good substitute. It's small and filled with locals at tables of varying heights. It's also close to our place which makes me happy. I love the selection of drinks - arranciata anyone? I like a protein heavy meal after a race, and Thatboy didn't get a banana and had been up for almost as long as me so he would have eaten just about anything.

Thatboy's bacon, egg, and cheese crepe. Anyone noticing a trend here with bacon and eggs? I think Thatboy would live off of bacon if I'd let him.

My ham and brie crepe, that's basalmic vinegar drizzled on top. The ham was salty, the brie was sweet, and I ate the WHOLE thing - which is pretty unusual for me. But I also don't usually run 8ks. We brought home one of their fantastic red velvet cupcakes and curled up on the couch together. We watched a movie, took a nap, and did a little online shopping for Thatneice and one of my many babies to be born in the next few months.

And for those of you who run, I'll share with you my 8k playlist...at least the portion that I actually used.

• You Know I'm No Good - Amy Winehouse (I thought this would help my pace start slow...it didn't)
• Bad Things - Jace Everette
• Ohio (Come Back To Texas) - Bowling for Soup (Now we're starting to pick up the pace)
• Perfect Situation - Weezer
• Short Skirt and Long Jacket - Cake
• This is How We Do It - Montell Jordon
• Last Name - Carrie Underwood (When this song came on I was just hitting the freeway and it gave me a surge of energy)
• Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps - Cake
• Wake Up Call - Maroon 5
• Paralyzer - Finger Eleven (Best line? I wanna make you move/because you're standing still)
• Stronger - Kanye West (Best line? That that don't kill me/can only make me stronger/I need you to hurry up girl/cause I can't wait much longer)
• How Far We've Come - Matchbox 20
• Los Angeles is Burning - Bad Religion
• A Friendly Goodbye - Bowling for Soup
• Pain - Jimmy Eat World (What a great song to finish to. I usually put this somewhere in the middle of my playlist, but it ended up being the song I crossed the line. It's true, it really does "take my pain away.")