California Academy of Sciences

Last weekend, we went to the California Academy of Sciences with our friends and their 4 year old son. We've been wanting to check it out for a while, so we were pretty excited.

We got tickets for the planetarium show in the morning and the 3D bugs movie in the afternoon. Greg enjoyed a nice nap at the planetarium, which was surprising. Guess he's not that into stars and planets. I really liked the rainforest sphere with all the animals and butterflies. One of the giant butterflies with blue wings landed on my camera lense! And then it quickly flew away. Boo.

The aquarium was a pretty neat too. I think I like the Monterey Bay Aquarium more. Although it's probably not a fair comparsion because the Cal Academy of Sciences is more than an aquarium. We really enjoyed out time there and plan to go back. It's a great place to take kids...even big kids like Greg! Next time we plan to try the pho a the cafe because our friends raved about how good it was, but they didn't have any noodles the day we were there.

You can check out pictures here.

Audrey and Alan's Wedding

Yesterday we attended Audrey and Alan's wedding. Audrey played on our Monday co-ed volleyball team, Crazy Monkeys. The ceremony was a traditional church ceremony with singing, a reading and a homily. Audrey looked amazing! Alan didn't look to bad either. =) Quite a few of our volleyball friends were there as well. It's strange seeing our volleyball friends dressed up. I almost didn't recognize a few of them because I'm so used to seeing them in t-shirts and shorts.

Audrey is a huge Mickey Mouse fan. In fact, there was a Mickey Mouse theme to her wedding. She had the Mickey Mouse head silhouette on their invitations, programs, favor boxes and menus. The favors were Mickey Mouse shaped soap. Their toasting glasses had small. frosted Mickey Mouse head silhouettes. Even the cake was decorated with Mickey Mouse!

I'm not sure if you can see it in the photo. In addition to the beads shaped like Mickey Mouse, there are Mickey Mouse sillhouettes embossed on the cake.



Here's a close-up of the top tier of the cake:















I loved all the Mickey Mouse touches because it wasn't overdone and was very much Audrey. I don't think Alan is as much of a Mickey fan, but I'm sure he's okay with Audrey's love for all things Mickey Mouse. If you want to see more photos, click here.

Mocktails/Cocktails and Appetizers

Every few months or so, a group of our foodie friends get together for a meal. It used to be dinner, but 2 of them had kids, so they've become lunches. These meals usually have a theme and everyone makes something to bring. When we first started doing these events, my cooking skills were pretty basic. Boil water? Check. Operate microwave? Check. Use an oven? Check. Despite my novice cooking skills, my foodie friends were very welcoming and usually let me bring simple things like wine, beer, soda and dessert (that I'd usually buy from a bakery...heehee).

Our most recent gathering was at Rob and Linda's place in San Francisco, and the theme: Mocktails/Cocktails and Appetizers. Rob and Linda made homemade salsa and guacamole plus a summer salad from The French Laundry. Rob also made greyhounds and a special peach/mint cocktail. Sylvia and Ken made seared ahi tuna and guacamole ahi poke salad. Ken gets special props for beautifully plating the seared ahi tuna. Viv and Eric made skirt steak sandwiches with a chimichurri sauce and two flavors of homemade sorbet, grapefruit and apricot/muscat. And we brought...(drum roll)....pigs in a blanket with mustard. Yeah, our contribution wasn't quite on the same level as everyone elses. That's why we're hosting the next gathering. The theme is Trailer Trash, but after my marketing spin it's now Comfort Food.

If you want to see more photos click here.

Greg's Fourth Annual Tahoe Camping Trip

This past weekend, we went camping at Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe. Greg planned the first camping trip when we first started dating. It's become an annual event that we hope will continue for a long time...even when all of us have kids.

We arrived at our campsite on Friday afternoon and promptly set up our tent, Tachi's tent, camping chairs and coolers of food/drinks. Once the campsite was set up, we enjoyed the beautiful afternoon by hangin' out with Char, Ed and Tachi. We even took a short hike to a nearby vista point before getting dinner ready. Dinner on Friday: chicken and beef fajitas. Yummy! The rest of our friends started arriving just in time to chow down. Of course, no camping trip would be complete without a camp fire and s'mores!

On Saturday, Nelson took a group of folks and doggies on a hike. We had 6 dogs at our campsite: Tachi, Buddy, Buttercup, Muffin, Spike and Maddy. Tachi went hiking with Nelson. We heard that Tachi found all the shady spots on the hike and stopped to rest at each one.

Another group went fishing. We gave them instructions to bring what they catch back to camp so we could make it for dinner. Between the three of them, the caught one fish and decided to let it go. What's up with that?! Good thing we weren't counting on them to catch dinner for us. We'd have starved to death. =P

Greg and I went mountain biking with Ed and Christi. Ed planned the mountain biking trip, and I don't think we should allow him to plan any more mountain biking trips! It was advertised as an easy to moderate trail, but that is totally false advertising. It was all single track and VERY technical. I had to get off my bike every 20 ft because I don't know how to ride my bike UP a 2 ft rock. It felt like I was hiking with my bike and not really riding. Christi and I sent the boys ahead and said we'd catch up with them when they turned around. =) We eventually met up with the boys and headed back to the car. This whole experience was a nice reminder of why I mountain biking is not fun and gives me anxiety because it brings back memories of that time I fell and had to get 14 stitches in my knee.

When we got back to camp, a bunch of us took the dogs down to the beach for a swim. I dragged Tachi into the water. He didn't like it very much, especially when the water got above mid-leg on him. But that didn't stop me. I took him out a little deeper and encouraged him by pointing out that Buddy, who hates water, was out further than he was. Tachi wasn't buying it. He tried to climb up onto a large rock to escape the water, but wasn't successful. Any chance he could, he'd desperately try to swim back to shore. We eventually swam back to shore and dried off in the sun.

For dinner, Greg prepared salmon with fresh dill, tri-tip and steamed veggie packets. Ed started the campfire and made baked potatoes in the fire. Everything was really tasty. I was stuffed. After dinner, we all sat around the campfire, drinking beer, making s'mores and chit-chatting. It was the perfect way to end the day!

A Very Active Weekend

We had a really active weekend. It's been a long time since we've been this active. And boy, could I tell. My butt still hurts from this weekend!

On Saturday, we paddled in Paddle for Life, a charity dragon boat race at Jack London Square. Most of the teams seemed to be corporate sponsored teams. Our team, Doggie Paddlers, was a rag-tag team of friends and friends of friends. We had a few folks who had paddled before, but most were newbies. As part of the race, the organizers arrange three practices so people can learn proper form, timing, race starts and commands. While our team did get three practices, I don't think our entire team was at a single practice. You can blame it on volleyball. =P

We won our first race (the American Bridal Community Cup), came in dead last in our second race and took second in our last race (we missed first place by half a second!). But we got lots of compliments on our team t-shirt, which Edric designed. It was a good fun for a good cause. Thanks for organizing the team, Judy! Can't wait to do it again next year. Woof! Woof!

BTW, Greg and I met at a dragon boat race. It wasn't this exact race, but a different race that's held in the early fall/late summer at Lake Merced in San Francisco. Greg was paddling on Christi's corporate team, and I was paddling on my friend Doug's team, Dragon Warriors. Christi needed some extra people for their championship race because a lot of people on her team had to leave early. So, I volunteered to paddle in their boat. I must've wooed Greg with my impressive paddling abilities! =)

On Sunday, we woke up early again to ride in the Tour de Cure, a charity bike ride benefiting the American Diabetes Association. I rode with Team Cisco/WebEx. Greg just rode along with me (e.g. he didn't register for the race). Why didn't he want to ride with Team Cisco? He "couldn't justify paying money to ride a route that he's ridden for free many times." But it's for a good cause? Blink...blink.

Anyhoo, we rode 75K or ~45miles. The ride started at the HP campus in Palo Alto, around Woodside and Portola Valley, out to Canada Road and back to the HP campus. Now, even though we've ridden this route several times before, I haven't been on my bike in about 4-5 months. So, my butt, legs and lungs were not ready for this ride. It didn't help that my left leg and butt cheek were sore from paddling the day before. Greg, on the other hand, was fine. Sigh...it's just not fair.

It's definitely been one of the more active weekends we've had in quite a while. We'd both like to have more weekends like this...without the getting up early part. =)

The Napa Valley Trail Half Marathon

So, today was the half marathon that I signed up to run with Grace and Ann. I've supposedly been training for this run. I say supposedly because I wasn't nearly as disciplined as when I was training for the San Diego Rock-n-Roll marathon. I've been really behind on my training plan, and the longest distance I managed to run before this race was 6 miles. Let me tell you that running any race with little to no training is a bad idea. So, I decided that I should probably run/walk this one. Grace and Ann really didn't seem to mind either. =)

Unlike some of the other runs I've done before, this one was really low key. No corrals, timing chips or fancy finish line. It was also a well organized and supported event. We finished in about 3 hours and 30 minutes, which isn't bad considering we walked a good percentage of the course. The course was very scenic and peaceful with a few stream crossings. It was a bit tough in parts where there was pretty steep downhill and the ground was muddy. You could see where a few folks has slipped from the imprint on left on the ground. There were also some pretty steep uphill sections as well. I don't think I would've been able to run up those hills even if I had trained for this race. Even though it was a chilly start and slightly damp and muddy out, it was a fun event.

Before the race Grace asked me if I preferred trail races to regular races (e.g. pavement). I told her I'd have to let her know after this race because I've never really run a trail event before. While I thought trail running would be easier on my joints, the downhill sections really weren't that forgiving for my knees. Plus with the rocks and tree roots, it's pretty easy to turn an ankle or slip and fall. From a better-for-your-joints perspective, I think it's probably a wash. I think I prefer regular races because there's a different energy. There's always random people along the race route cheering you on. And that's pretty cool! I know there've been many times when I thought I couldn't do it, but then you'd hear someone in the randomly shout, "Good job! Keep it up!" And all of sudden, you get a burst of energy.

Aside from the run, the weekend was great! Not only did the boys meet us at the end of the race, they also prepared a delicious lunch for us girls back at our rental house! =) After relaxing for a bit, we went shopping at the Napa Outlets and then had dinner in downtown Napa. On Sunday, the boys slept in and the girls made breakfast for everyone. Kinda cute, huh? After packing up and locking up the house, we went wine tasting for a few hours before heading off to Oracle Arena. Greg, John and I met up with Dardy to catch the Warriors v. Mavericks game. All-in-all, it was a relaxing and fun-filled weekend!

Red Egg and Ginger Party

This past weekend, I (Greg was at a bachelor party) went to red egg and ginger party for my friend's new baby girl. I had a great time seeing my friend, her husband and their adorable baby girl. It was really nice to catch up with her extended family and our mutual friends too. Her daughter slept through most of the event, which is amazing considering the noise and all the little kids peeking into her stroller or poking at her to get her to wake up.

Speaking of little kids, I was amazed at how many kids were there. It seemed like everywhere I turned there was a either an infant, toddler or kid who was about 7 or younger. Where did all these kids come from?! I guess we're getting to that stage of life...

Happy Non-Valentine Day!

While I was in Chicago, my co-worker asked me what Greg and I would be doing for our first Valentine Day as a married couple. I looked at her with this blank stare and said, "Valentine Day? Uhhh...we don't really celebrate it."

We actually discussed this when we were dating. Is it unromantic to not celebrate Valentine Day? We don't think so. We think Valentine Day is a commerical holiday that's over-hyped. Everyday should be Valentine Day. Why do you need a special day to tell/show someone that you love him/her? Shouldn't you do that *everyday* you're with that person?

So what did we do for Valentine Day? Since we had a bye for volleyball, Greg and a friend, made dinner for a few of our mutual friends. And they did a FANTASTIC job. The menu:

• Deviled eggs and baked caprese salad for appetizers
• Spinach salad
• Tomatoes and peppers stuffed with wild mushrooms and goat cheese
• Cioppino
• Home made s'mores for dessert
  

Several folks brought wine or desserts too. After dinner, we sat around chatting and then played Rock Band. It was a really good evening with really good food and friends. I think Greg may have set the bar rather high for the next time he decides to host or co-host a dinner party!

Thank God for a Quick Metabolism

7:00 pm - arrive at BJ's Brewery

1. Beer
2. Long Island (love Dardy)
3. Scooby Snack (love Ann)
4. 3 Wise Men (love Eddie)
5. 151 (love Eddie)
6. Tequila (love Eddie)
7. Chocolate Cake (love Jen)
8. Irish Car Bomb (love...I dunno)
9. Buttery Nipple (love Ann - thanks for taking this one Dardy)

??:?? pm Dardy takes Greg to visit the bathroom

??:?? pm Ed takes Greg to visit the bathroom

Greg spends the rest of the night at home in the bathroom

I love my friends dearly.

Pictures of the chaos can be found at http://www.wilcopix.com/wilco/greg%20birthday

2/2/08: no hangover! woo hoo!