Memorial Day Weekend

This past weekend we were all--John included--supposed to go to the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay. As usually happens, John backed out at the last minute, but insisted that we still go and enjoy ourselves. We drove down Sunday afternoon and enjoyed the beautiful coastal trail and the resort grounds. The hotel is situated on a golf course and cliffs overlooking the ocean. It was gorgeous! The next day we met up with some friends in Pacifica for surfing. The water was really rough, but the weather was sunny and almost warm. Sienna seemed to enjoy herself just sitting on the beach. She is such a sweet, happy, content baby. So fun to be with!

Recipe Review

I have been making a lot of Rachael Ray meals lately and this (via Jeff's mom) has become one of my favorites. It is simple, delicious, fresh and hearty at the same time, sweet, spicy, crunchy! It does not look as good in a photo (the picture quality reminds me of those polaroid shots in a Chinese restaurant window or menu), but these are super yummy. Enjoy!

Moo Shu Pork Pockets
1-1 1/2 lbs ground pork
1 can water chestnuts, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
12 ginger snap cookies (about 3/4 cub, the hard ones, mashed into crumbs)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 egg
hoisin sauce
1 pkg fresh bean sprouts
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 carrot, grated
fresh cilantro
flour tortillas
Combine pork and next 6 ingredients, form into 8-9 patties. Heat pan. Grill 4 patties as a time about 4 minutes on each side. Heat tortillas on a skillet until just a little crisp about 30 seconds on each side. To assemble, put a tbsp of hoisin sauce in the middle of the tortilla. Pile on the sprouts, green onion, carrot, and cilantro. Add patty, wrap the tortilla around forming a square. Great for leftovers, too!

Happy Birthday, Laura!

Sienna and I drove out to Pleasanton today to spend time with Laura for her birthday. We went to Dean's Cafe for brunch and then walked around downtown Pleasanton. It brought back a lot of memories. We tried to get an ice cream cone at the drive-thru Meadowlark Dairy, but the line went all the way down the street. So, we settled on a Thrifty's Chocolate Malted Crunch ice cream cone. We went shopping so Laura could buy some maternity clothes. I'd say it was a successful trip to the mall for both of us :) Thanks, Laura, for letting us spend your birthday with you! Hope the rest of your day was fun!

Sushi and Gelato

Glenn, Laura, and her husband, Mike, are in Pleasanton for the summer and they came to the city one day last week. We took them to one of our favorite and most fresh sushi restaurants, Ebisu. Very yummy! Afterwards, we walked to Holy Gelato, another favorite: home to such flavors as Condoleeza Rice Pudding. Even though some of us already had gelato that day, we decided we needed to finish off the evening with more. One can never have too much gelato!

Happy Late Mother's Day

Jeff started feeling bad about not doing anything for Mother's Day (or maybe I made him feel guilty), so today he took some time out of his busy schedule to take me shopping. It was definitely not what I expected. He bought me my own surfboard! I am really excited to try it out, but I think Jeff is even more excited. He wanted to buy Sienna a wetsuit to get her started. Fortunately, wetsuits do not come in her size.

Purple Half-face

On Sunday we were on a walk in Golden Gate Park and came across this purple headface. We are not sure why it's there or who put it there, but we thought it was interesting. We saw kids climbing on it and people knocking on it. It kind of looks like Austin Powers...

Being a Tourist con't

Glenn also had some local experiences while he was here: finding and eating Pho in "little Hong Kong," surfing with Jeff in Pacifica, eating at our favorite Thai restaurant, participating in our Ward Pinewood Derby Fundraiser, and attending Sienna's first birthday party (her friend turned one). Can you guess what Jeff's car is? (Think of his favorite thing to do.) We had a great time with Glenn visiting. It's always fun when family and friends come to visit because then we get do the touristy things we would not normally do. Hope we didn't wear you out, Glenn!

Being a Tourist in SF

When Glenn arrived last week for a visit, I asked him what he wanted to do and he said "be a tourist." So, we did lots of touristy things: went to Golden Gate Bridge (I made Glenn jog across it and back with me), walked around Fisherman's Wharf and ate at In-N-Out Burger and after got a treat at the Candy Barrell, watched a Giants game from the boardwalk, ate at a different In-N-Out Burger (that guy cannot get enough of it!), and visited the Picasso exhibit at the MOMA...

World Laughter Day

My brother, Glenn, is visiting us for a week in San Francisco. It was an unusually hot day in the city on Sunday, so we took a walk in the park. The temperature was in the 8o's and the park was crowded. I thought we would find remnants of Cinco de Mayo fiestas, but instead found this sign announcing World Laughter Day. We looked for a gathering of people laughing and celebrating, and decided they must be with the roller skaters who were line dancing to their 70's-disco-rocking-baby-jogger-boomboxes. They sure enjoyed themselves and so did we.

Bon Voyage

We just got back from a 10-day Mexican Riviera cruise with John. He wanted to celebrate his 72nd birthday in style and we gladly tagged along. The weather was perfect: sunny, warm, and beautiful. Sienna had a great time meeting new grandmas and grandpas. Nobody knew mine or Jeff's name, but everyone knew Sienna's name. Wherever we went, people would call for her from across the ship. And, we had plenty of babysitting offers. Our ports of call were:

Acapulco

Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa

Puerto Vallarta

Cabo San Lucas

Jumping on the bandwagon...

Well, I decided it is time to start my own blog. My sisters and I have a blog that we use to keep each other updated on our lives (I will continue to post on Germany Girls), but now I need to branch out to friends and other family members. Hopefully, blogging will help me keep in touch with others and help me become a better historian of mine and my family's life.