Browse Author: beakatude

One Year Later

It’s been almost a year since we found out I was pregnant and I had to change what I ate and drank.  One of the things I missed was going to Hog Island Oyster Co. and having raw oysters paired with a nice glass of white wine.

So, today we walked to the Ferry Plaza and took Kumquat to one of my favorite places to eat.  She sat quietly in the corner while we had quite a feast.  Since Kumquat is taking a bottle this week, I was in the clear to have my glass of Riesling with my meal.

The meal started with a half-dozen raw Kumamoto oysters (yum) and four baked oysters (my first time!)  The raw ones were as tasty as I had remembered and the baked ones were actually pretty good.  Then again, they were prepared with bacon so how could it be bad?!

We also shared a frisee salad that was topped with the prettiest beets I’ve ever seen.  The color was a unique pink color that made me think it was raw hamachi at first!

Next was the ooey-gooey/crunchy grilled cheese sammich with the tastiest pickled radish on the side. And of course, we had my favorite clam chowder (pictured at the top of this post).  Aaaah…delicious!  By the way, there was a couple seated in front of us who each got a bowl, ate all the clams, and then left most of the broth (the best part) in the bowl!!!!  I died a little inside when I saw that.

Afterward we stopped at the Humphry Slocombe stand at the Farmers’ Market outside for a HUGE scoop of Secret Breakfast.  If you don’t know what it is, it’s bourbon ice cream with cornflakes hidden inside.  Man, it’s been WAY too long since I’ve had it.

Typical Day

My days with Kumquat sort of blend together now but I’m still having a great time.   Here are a few things that usually happen on a daily basis for us.

We usually get a FaceTime call from my parents and it’s been more fun for them now that Kumquat can see them on the screen and will often smile or talk to them.

We also take lots of walks with and without Koa.  Now that Kumquat is a whoppin’ 15 pounds, I’ve switched from the Infantino to the Ergobaby carrier, which is a lot more comfortable for my lower back and shoulders.  It’s a funny coincidence that both our brothers purchased them for us (Jason/Infantino and Johnny/Ergobaby).  Thanks, Brothers!

Still Scowling

As you know by now, Kumquat was born with her Daddy’s scowl.  She doesn’t do it as much nowadays but this morning I caught her imitating Jes while they were reading the morning news together.  Here she is scowling at 5 days of age.

Less than a month

*sigh*  I have less than a month of maternity leave left!  This month has been feeling like a really long Sunday night.  I’ve always hated that feeling of dread every Sunday night whether I was in school or even now as a working adult.  I’ve been off since March 21st and I’m supposed to go back to work on August 6th.  This has been such a wonderful time in my life.  Does is really have to end?

I’ve been having lunch with my buddies at work every Thursday and I get the scoop on what’s been going on at the hospital.

I miss seeing them everyday but I admit I don’t miss the work.  What will make it worse is having to leave my sweet baby every morning.  Can’t I just bring her to work?!  I have lots of people who would love to keep her company!

Sunday Jazz

On Sunday we went to the Fillmore Jazz Festival as we always do every July 4th weekend.  This time we had the baby and it wasn’t really any different with her.  As usual, we took the bus to the festival and enjoyed some street food once we got there.  The weather wasn’t as hot as it was last year, which was a nice change from our hot day in the sun on Saturday.

After walking around, we headed over to the stage on California and Fillmore and found a good spot on the fake grass to watch our favorite performer, Kim Nally.  There was also a bar right behind us selling beer and wine and James and Sylvia brought kettle corn from up the street.  Perfect.

We ended up hanging out at Grove for more drinks afterward the festival ended and then had dinner at Florio.

Kumquat was perfectly happy sleeping in my arms the whole evening.  By the end of the day, I had a total of 3 glasses of wine and experienced my first buzz in over a year.  It was a good Sunday.

Around and Around

On Saturday, we drove out to San Rafael to watch James ride in the San Rafael Twilight Criterium.  It was a series of races that took place in Downtown and the cyclists went basically around a block 40 times as fast as they could.  Since they went around so many times, it was a fun race to watch and I got lots of opportunities to experiment with my camera settings.

It was a pretty warm day out but since James is on a team that’s sponsored by Muscle Milk, we got to hang out under their tent for some relief.  Kumquat did rather well that day and only napped at the beginning.  It was too exciting for her and she seemed to enjoy the noise and all the hustle and bustle around her.  It was also a good trial run for us for Hawaii.  We experienced what it was like to have warmer weather with a sweaty baby and no stroller.  This is us in the Japanese restaurant where we had lunch.

We had to take turns holding and entertaining her while we ate.  It’s an interesting challenge – especially when she’s hungry too.

I managed to get a couple of decent shots of James in the race.  They zoom by so quickly that you have to be just as quick with the focus, pressing the shutter, and moving the camera with the rider.

After James’ two races, he and Jes went to the beer garden while Kumquat and I hung out on the curb watching the other races go by.  We also found a Starbucks along the course and got a really good corner window seat to watch the action in the air-conditioned shop.  I also had to be creative with where I changed her diapers too.

Later that evening, we had dinner at a restaurant that was along the course and saw the pros zoom by from the window.

We finished in time to catch the last half of the race and they were so fast that it was just a blur and a huge gush of wind that would blow by every 30 seconds.

I’m surprised I managed to capture this rider with my camera.

Here’s a video of them going by.  Jes had a good time watching right up front with his trusty cowbell.