Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Ocho Kandelikas

Happy Chanukah Everyone! Now, please let me know any and all songs that only have C, F and G cords...


Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Bye Bye Baby

Welcome to the last Tower Tuesday of 2014!


This could very well be the last Tower Tuesday ever. I have feelings about the sustainability and general structure of Extra Super Fantastic. Feelings are good, but they can also make things happen. THINGS. Am I alluding to something? Perhaps. I guess we will find out! At some point!

Monday, December 15, 2014

We Are Family

The family that eats fro-yo together has a happy dog together.


Friday, December 12, 2014

Fool For Your Loving

Now THIS is how you spend a no-school day during a mega storm!


Kudos to you, husband and son. Kudos.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

It's A Small World (After All)

Throwback Thursday: Disney World, January 2006. One of the last business trips I did with PlanningShop; I flew from Dublin, Ireland to Orlando for an entrepreneurship educators conference. The jet lag and the strange familiarity of being back state side contributed to my desire to just stand there and stare at Spaceship Earth at Epcot. And take lots and lots and lots of pictures. Like this one!



BTW, there were no hella storms or super storms or mega storms or STORMS OF THE DECADE at the time. The only storm was the storm of awesome and cotton candy that engulfed my very soul. Just sayin'.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

Well, apparently the STORM OF THE DECADE is fast approaching. By this time tomorrow, those of us who haven't moved onto arks and kayaks will have to transform into mer-people. Which makes me feel the following things:

1. Happy we live on (near) the top of a big hill.

2. Compelled to stock up on Duraflame logs, hot cocoa mix, and mini marshmallows.

3. Suspicious of the gargantuan eucalyptus tree in the backyard and it's intentions.

4. Totally ready for a trip to somewhere beachy and all-inclusive!

Tuesday, December 09, 2014

Fade Into You

Tower Tuesday Sez: "What? I can't hear you. There's fog in my ears."


Thursday, December 04, 2014

Time After Time

Throw Back Thursday! Seven years at Siempre Verde in Pescadero!

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Tuesday, December 02, 2014

You Won't See Me

Turkey Sandwich is a dog who has lived her 3 1/2 year life in a draught. So when it was time for her to go outside at 6:30 this morning and pee, she wasn't having a single bit of it. She looked at the rain. She looked at me. "No, thank you. What sort of animal pees in the rain?" YOU, TURKEY SANDWICH. A DOG PEES IN THE RAIN. I do not believe she was convinced.

So happy Tower Tuesday, stay dry, and don't let your dog be in charge in matters of when/where/whether or not to pee.

Peek-a-boo! Here I am!

Monday, December 01, 2014

The Final Countdown

Yeah, yeah, yeah--it's December already, how did the year go by so fast, what's with all this rain--I get it.

Thanksgiving was yummy and sleepy, and the rest of the long weekend was wet and muddy. In a good way! For example, Sunday at Siempre Verde in Pescadero! Wow, that is one seriously mud-filled place.


Lot's of time to run, chase and swing:


The recovery period was pretty damn cute as well:


If you're looking for Tower Monday (and who's not looking for that, am I right?!), it has been re-branded and will be re-released tomorrow as Tower Tuesday. Because duh. 

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Little Bird

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Here are a couple of pictures of my very favorite turkeys:



Gobble gobble, y'all!

Monday, November 24, 2014

A Different Point Of View

Every Monday, I take a picture of the Sutro Tower from the same spot on my walk to the Coffee Bar during morning break. My shop is next the Potrero Muni building, so the sky is pretty much covered with wires and cables until I reach the end of the block. So here's something a bit different, just to shake things up. Because that's how I roll.


Friday, November 21, 2014

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Happy Friday! It's been a long week, and I don't really have much to say, but here's a picture of the amazing brunch beverage I had last weekend on the way to the airport to fly back to my not-snow-covered home: Bloody Beer!

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Escape (The Pina Colada Song)

Throw Back Thursday! Let's go waaaaaay back to three whole years ago:


Why yes, I DO like pina coladas! This was our first all-inclusive-resort type vacation, back in November 2011, in Cabo San Lucas. We had a great time. So great, in fact, that we're going to reprise our roles as pasty white American tourists (well, not Max...he's not pasty enough for that) and drink us some all-inclusive cocktails by the all-inclusive pools with some super awesome all-inclusive friends.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

I'd Love To Change Your Name

A couple of gems from my trip to Minneapolis last weekend:

The couple in the row behind me. He was trying to teach her how to play Settlers of Catan. He honestly did not stop talking during the entire 3 1/2 hour plane trip, and she kept the Jack & Cokes coming. The more he talked, the more she drank. She got drunk and he got annoyed with her inability/lack of real desire to learn the stinking game in the first place. Hilarity ensued.

My friends' elderly cat spends most of her time sitting in an empty Costco-sized strawberry box in the kitchen. When the new neighbor passes by the kitchen window, he gets a partial view of the cat's head poking out over the top of the box. The new neighbor doesn't know her name and thusly refers to her as Strawberry Box Round Head. Of course, I now need to take pictures of every box I see on the street, text it to my friends, and affix it to the cats new moniker. For example: Pomegranate Box Round Head and Mac Fries Round Head. Hilarity ensues.

The actual Strawberry Box Round Head


Pomegranate Box Round Head?

Why not Mac Fries Round Head? Yum!


Monday, November 17, 2014

Colder

I think I may have brought some of that Minneapolis polar vortex home with me--sorry 'bout that. But it is nice and crisp outside, and a great reason to get out some cozy pajamas and puffy jackets and what not. And you know how much I like me some what not!


Keep warm, and enjoy the under 60 temps!

Friday, November 14, 2014

Sweater Weather

Happy Friday everyone! Have a great weekend! And stay warm! Please. Because I will not be capable of that.


Thursday, November 13, 2014

The Cap'm

Happy Throw Back Thursday!


Halloween, 2003. And may I say, YIKES! This one goes out to my peeps in the freezing cold tundra of Minneapolis; please set out a dozen extra blankets for the weekend, and I'm gonna need whiskey. LOTS of whiskey.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

My List

Hello, list lovers. Did you know that other people make lists, too? Not just me! That is so ratchet.


To find out what most of this stuff means (I'm way too old for most of this), this article explains a lot of it. Maybe Chick-fil-A isn't so bad after all? No, it totally is. Never mind.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Big Balls

I know I'm not writing much and totally phoning it in, but I'm *pretty* sure this video will make up for it. You're welcome.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Zero

Tower Monday: no tower today. I think it overslept in a fluffy blanket of fog...lucky tower.


Thursday, November 06, 2014

I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)

You know what? Sometimes my kid is an asshole. Last night, he was behaving like a total jerk and was talking back like you wouldn't believe. It was about homework, and my strong opinion that he should be doing it, and his unwillingness to to do what he was fucking told to do.

After threatening to take away his Halloween candy and two of the birthday gifts he had received from friends, I calmed down and was able to focus on my inner mantra. We managed to eat dinner, brush teeth and get ready for bed without strangling each other, but it was time to look for help--consistency and and a calm demeanor are not on the Top Five Awesome Things About Me list.

So I turned to the smartest person I know: the internets.

I googled "7 year old son talks back" and clicked on a link to a discussion called "How do you deal with back talk from your kid?" And there I found the best response ever:

"I rarely have that problem because my son already know mommy don't play that."

That what I want. I want Samson to finally figure out, once and for all, that mommy don't play that.

Push out the jive, bring in the love.

Party

TBT: OK! Let's party! I may have been a year or two late, but...


Ireland, January 2007. Somewhere north of Dublin on the DART line...Howth maybe?

Wednesday, November 05, 2014

Got My Mind Set On You

The kiddo has been singing/humming/do-do-doo-ing Got My Mind Set On You for the last few days, says it's stuck in his head. This is excellent for many reasons, but here are the top 2:

1. Showing him the video on you tube, and having to convince him that the fella singing was, indeed, George Harrison ("but he's so old! George Harrison doesn't have grey hair!")
2. Using the awesomeness of the video to segue into the Sledgehammer video by Peter Gabriel. Honestly, I've rarely seen this kid so in awe of something, so obviously impressed. And now, of course, we have grand plans to make our own stop-motion clay-mation video. Coming attcha in 2017! 

Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Comfortably Numb

So, it basically went down like this. More or less:

Max: I'm getting Samson a kid-friendly Swiss army knife for his birthday.
Me: I don't know...sounds emergency room-y...
Max: Nah, this one is for kids. Says so on the package.
Me: ...errrrmmmmm...

six weeks later...

Max: Happy birthday, kiddo! Be careful with this knife. Always cut away from your self (and some other safety tips...I wasn't really paying attention)...blah blah blah...
Samson: AWESOME! You're the best, dad! Let's go cut things.
Max: Yes, let's. I love you, son.
Samson: I love you, dad.

that afternoon...

Samson: I'm going to open this box from uncle Paul with my new pocket knife!
Me: Allrighty, then. Be very careful. Cut away from yourself...
Samson: AAAAAAAAAAAH!
Me: AAAAAAAAAH!
Max: AAAAAAAAAAH!

a bit later...

Urgent care doctor #1: Sorry, our laceration specialist isn't here. Head to the urgent care across the street.
Samson, frowning: Stitches? (tears)



two hours later...

Urgent care doctor #2: It will only take me 3 or 4 pokes with this intimidating gigantic needle to numb your thumb. Then, I can sew it closed with this even more intimidating gigantic-er needle. Don't move. No. really, please stop squirming.



Well, you get the idea. This will help us earn our umpteenth Parent of the Year award. Clearly.

During the first of three numbing shots. That look is one of extreme distress that will be spoken of for many years to come.


Monday, November 03, 2014

Unhappy Birthday

Here's your Monday tower:


That should hold you over until I a get a chance to write about the fun-turned-gruesome birthday of my now 7 year old kid. Spoiler alert:


Thursday, October 30, 2014

It Won't Be Long

Countdown to the big 0-7! It's just a few more days until my little baby is a slightly older baby. What's that, one year in dog years? So yeah, totally still a baby.


I know there are other things to be excited about today--the Giants having won the World Series last night, Halloween coming up tomorrow--but for me, it's all about the little curly headed boy who sometimes, somehow, seems to control every aspect of my life. In a good way.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Damn Good Times

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this post is worth, like 6,000 words. Right? Right.

My Day As a VIP At the SAP Center in San Jose, Home of the San Jose Sharks, October 25th, 2014


The inner-workings of a hockey arena: these tubes supply beer to the concession stands in the Shark Tank.


Extra goals hanging on the wall.


Is that a Zamboni you're sitting on or are you just happy to see me?


Mere feet from Marleau as he takes shots during warm up.


Yes, Marleau again, seconds after the high-five/fist-bump parade of insane fun as the Sharks walked from the dressing room to the ice.


Still drunk on happy in the VIP box during the first period. You know, before the Sharks lost to the Buffalo Sabers, AKA the Worst Team in Hockey. 



Monday, October 27, 2014

Distracted

Too busy today to blog about my amazing VIP experience at the Sharks game on Saturday. More on that tomorrow. Here's a tower.


Friday, October 24, 2014

Here Comes Science

Did you know that there was a partial solar eclipse yesterday afternoon? Well, there was. I think lots of folks had a pretty meh reaction. Those folks don't work where I work with the people I work with.

For instance, here is Keegan explaining the whole situation to me (Don't judge. Math is hard. Shopping is fun.). The apple is the moon, and the calculator is the Earth. And now I know all about the lunar cycle and tides and the equator and lots of other stuff!


My multi-talented boss, Richard, made a super cool box so we could look "at" the eclipse, pinhole camera style when the time came, at about 2:30:


And it totally worked!


When it was time for round two, the 3:30 peak time, our metalsmithing neighbor, Adam, brought over his special eye-shielding mask! This made the whole experience quite sci-fi, and amused the folks walking by:


Yay! Science!

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Take Me Out

TBT: the kiddo fell asleep on our way home from his first giants game on May, 2011. Hot dogs, ice cream, and the stuffed Lou Seal from the Build-a-Bear workshop in the concession area behind the outfield. Hooray for capitalism! And hooray for the Giants!


I just realized that this was during the phase when he would wear his Superman cape EVERYWHERE. It was one of those special birthday gifts that keeps on giving.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Movin' On Up

This little seven day old bundle of joy is going to be SEVEN YEARS OLD next week.


How did that happen? Honestly, all I did was take a bathroom break and when I came back this had happened. 



How is a tiny little baby TYING HIS OWN SHOES?! And he had lost eight teeth. Seriously, life. WTF.