Browse Month: September 2013

Birthday Treats

On my 38th birthday, I was lucky enough to have 5 different birthday treats.

IMG_5288The first one was at work where I got a tasty lemon tart, ice cream, and warm chocolate chip cookies.  Thanks, Patty!

IMG_5299Later that evening, we had dinner at La Briciola and the restaurant brought out a tiramisu for me.

IMG_5368The next was on my actual birthday.  Joy had bought a triple berry cake from a place in Manhattan Beach opened by a baker who used to work for Sweet Lady Jane.

IMG_5445On Sunday, I had brunch with Holly and she brought me a chestnut cake from Paris Baguette, which was basically a pastry with a crossaint crust and a tasty cake baked on top.  She also brought candles but didn’t have enough room for all the letters of “Happy Birthday” so I got the I, T, and R.

IMG_5446Then that evening we had dinner with Jes’ parents and I got a strawberry cake that tasted like fresh strawberries.  Kumquat wanted a piece for herself that night.

Somewhere to Sit and Sleep

IMG_8529Our new couch arrived this morning.  It was a little stressful trying to coordinate with the shipping company this morning but it made it upstairs.  Unfortunately, “they just dropped off the box and boned out.”  That’s what Jes said.  I’m not sure how he did it but Jes actually took it out of the box, assembled it, and put it in the spot I cleared for it all on his own.  It’s leather, has no sharp corners, it’s easy to clean, and converts to a twin-sized bed by folding the backs down to flatten it out.  It’s just what we needed.  Boy, slowly our house is getting furnished by Costco.  First our bedroom set, then Kumquat’s shelf system, and now this.

Even Stevens

IMG_5199On Sunday we went to watch the America’s Cup Finals again.  Oracle Team USA started out with a 2-point penalty and was getting their butts kicked early on.  At one point, it seemed pretty pathetic and that the Kiwis would take it all very easily.

IMG_5200On Sunday, the score was 8 to 3 with New Zealand favored to win it that day.  They only need to get to 9 to win the cup and there were two races scheduled that day.

IMG_5201Once again, I ran to the park with Kumquat in the stroller and we got a good spot on the lawn again with a giant beanbag and all.  We had plenty of time to do a little shopping in the stores and grabbed lunch from the truck parked inside before the races began.

IMG_5232We had empanadas, garlic fries, and shared the water bottle of wine that we brought from home.

IMG_8484Well, the two races were actually pretty exciting to watch and USA won both races!  Amazing.

There was a race yesterday (Monday) and two today (Tuesday).  USA won all three and now their tied at 8 to 8!  Who would have thought this would go on for so long?!  Everyone expected there would be a winner by the end of summer but it’s fall now and we still don’t have a winner.  If the conditions cooperate, there is one more race scheduled for tomorrow.  Too bad I have to go to work because it would have been fun to go watch it.  I honestly don’t care who wins.  It’s just been a fun event to mark the summer of 2013 for us.

Update 9/25/13: They won the America’s Cup today!  Wow, unbelievable.

Double Surprise

IMG_0013On Friday, I was really swamped at work.  While I was waiting for people to call me back in between patients, I got a random text message from Keni, the husband of my very good friend from OT school.  He and Dahlia were in town for the weekend and he was asking if I was free for lunch on Saturday.  We didn’t have any plans so we agreed to meet for lunch to surprise Dahlia.  At the end of the work day, I went downstairs to figure out my schedule for Monday.  Our front office assistant came by and told me that I had a package that was dropped off by someone special.  When I saw the bag it was labeled “TOTORO”.  What?!  I recognized that writing right away and was shocked that Dahlia had actually stopped by to surprise me but I wasn’t around to see her.  It was a bag filled with Totoro stuff that she had found in Chinatown the day before.  That was so sweet of her.  Her note said that they were in the area and wanted to surprise me but someone told her that I wasn’t at work that day.  She sounded so disappointed in the note. Hm, maybe I didn’t actually need to go to work after all!!

Anyway, on Saturday, we met up at M.Y. China at the mall.  We arrived first and got seated.  Keni and Dahlia arrived shortly afterward and the host who was walking them to our table was blocking Dahlia’s view all the way to the table.  IMG_8475So, when he moved away and she saw me, she was in so much shock that she gasped and then started to cry in her usual Dahlia way.  In fact, while this was all happening, Jes was in the restroom and could hear her from there.  Haha…we sure know how to make a scene.IMG_8476We had a big long hug and I was so happy to finally be reunited with my friend after not seeing her in over 8 years.  Oh how I wished Heather (Oregon Totoro) was there to enjoy the moment with us.

IMG_0009Over lunch, we got caught up, reminisced, and had a lot of laughs like old times.  Unfortunately, Kumquat was so overwhelmed by the crying and hoopla that she was afraid of Dahlia from the start.

IMG_5649As soon as she went over to say hello to Kumquat, I got a big boo-sad face and then she started to cry with her arms stretched out toward me.  Oh shucks.  Maybe next time.

IMG_0011The funny thing was that she liked Keni and flirted with him throughout lunch and even let him hold her.  Look at how she wouldn’t take eyes off of “Crazy Auntie” as they were posing for this photo.  Funny girl.

Anyway, it was a wonderful reunion and I’m so glad that we were able to pull this off on such short notice.  I’ve missed her so much and glad that see that she’s doing well down in San Diego.  Can’t wait for the day when all three of us can be in one place at the same time.

IMG_0722-2005Here’s a photo of us 8 years ago.

For those of you who don’t know what Totoro is, here’s a link to give you a better idea.  The reason why we call each other Totoro is because we used to watch the movie in grad school and thought they were so cute and funny.  Heather also started knocking on my door and calling out “Totoro!” every morning before class.  After a while it stuck and it was our little inside joke and nickname for each other.  Sounds really silly when I have to write it all out but I guess you just had to be there.  🙂

finally upgraded

IMG_5175The new iPhone 5s came out yesterday and it was sold out everywhere as expected.  On a chance, we actually got up early and headed out to the Apple Store on Stockton to see what they received overnight.  There was a short line outside before the store opened at 8am and I got my hands on a voucher for the 32GB space gray iPhone 5s.  I originally wanted the silver one but realized that it doesn’t really matter.  All I really wanted was a new phone with greater than 16GB and I got it.  I’ve had the iPhone 4 for over 2 years and had gone through water damage and two cracked front screens so this is an upgrade regardless.  I waited through 2 upgrades and now I have a better camera and I met Siri for the first time today.  I also realized that this is the first retina display in our entire household of Apple products.

IMG_5191It’s so pretty…

IMG_0001 1I also got myself a pretty good case.  It apparently has an Impact Mesh that is supposed to be better at withstanding a drop or two.  Let’s hope it does because I’m tired of looking at a cracked screen and this little munchkin has made my poor phone more at risk for damage by at least 10-fold.

Run, Sun, and Sailing

IMG_8428Sometimes I feel so lucky to live where we live.  On Sunday morning, we packed up the stroller and headed out for an action-packed day.  It started with a good run all the way to America’s Cup Park.

IMG_8432At the lawn, all the beanbags were claimed so Kumquat and I found an open spot and set-up camp.  A few minutes later, I looked over and saw an empty giant pillow AND a beanbag chair!!  Yes!  After looking around to make sure I wasn’t stealing it, I dragged it over to our campsite and it was ours for the rest of the day!! Woohoo!

IMG_5113For lunch, I went over to the food trucks parked nearby and grabbed a bacon-y feast of a fried chicken sandwich, bahn mi, and chili cheese fries.  The food truck was called Bacon Bacon so EVERYTHING had bacon in it.  There goes my low-cholesterol diet right out the door!!  It went perfectly with the water bottle full of wine that we brought from home.  That saved us about $22!

IMG_5112They also had these nifty water stations for refilling your water bottle (with actual water).

IMG_8450We got an awesome view of the race from the big screen and they have cool visual tracking technology to help us see how fast they’re going and where the start and finish lines are on the water.

IMG_5124The lawn got packed quickly as the first race was about to start and as people were practically sitting on top of each other, we had a luxo spot on the pillow with Kumquat’s stroller folded flat on the floor.

IMG_8451I managed to buckle Kumquat into the half-stroller and pulled the shade over her.  It was PERFECT!  She actually slept almost two hours and woke up right after the second race finished.  That was some pretty ideal timing.

IMG_8453Both races were close and really fun to watch.  Who thought sailing could be so exciting!?!  By the end of the afternoon, Jes was sunburned, Kumquat had a runny nose, and I was exhausted.

IMG_8455We had a great time and got a good dose of Vitamin D too!