November and December Projects

My goal for December is to post all of the pictures of 2012 that I haven't put up yet and possibly to blog a bit about each occasion. Since we are officially not traveling for Christmas or New Years, it will be a way to be with our friends and family from the east coast. We'll be thinking about you even though we can't be with you this holiday season!

The reasons for this are the three weddings of our very good friends in May and June next year. I will be staying in Pittsburgh for most of June and once or twice before that. Eric will be coming with me for a couple of weeks. My brother Brenden is coming home next month (I hope!), and I don't know if I will visit home or not to see him, but I am keeping the possibility open. I know he will need some peace and will need to get back in the swing of things. I will also want to be back on the west coast between weddings, as a couple of our good friends out here are having babies! They are saying there's something in the water. Good thing we have a Brita filter.

This November was a busy month. We updated our lease so we will be staying at our current apartment for another year at least. I finally cut down the tomato plant and planted some baby's tears and alyssum in our little yard for a low maintenance ground cover. This was supposed to help with keeping the carpet clean when it rained. However, the rainy season has started and I've had to steam my white carpet four times in two weeks due to a troublesome little chihuahua. I think I must have the cleanest carpet in the entire complex (and the sorest back).

I had two big projects this month. The first was an effort to write and collect holiday cards for our soldiers overseas and our veterans at home. It was really made possible by my meetup girls who were amazing contributors. They put forth a huge effort and made some creative and very sweet cards for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thank you all so much! I appreciate your contributions more than I can ever tell you! More on that initiative to follow, but here are some pictures of our cards:

My second big project this month was participating in NaNoWriMo. The goal was to write a novel in November or at least 50,000 words. I did this along with a million other writers, plus a team of software engineers and published writers to encourage us along the way. I managed to write 26,261 words by November 30th. I am disappointed that I didn't make it, since I can't say that I actually did it. I don't want to make excuses, but when one expects to write a novel in a month one should not also cook for three Thanksgiving dinners, keep up a recipe blog, initiate a letters to the troops project, work, do laundry, and be a social butterfly. I also should have planned out the novel ahead of time since it required hours of research. But I am very proud of my 26,261 words. That's more fiction that I've ever written before. NaNoWriMo really pushed me to start that novel that's been in the back of my mind for a year now. I am determined to keep writing and to see it through to the end. Updates to follow soon, hopefully.

Right now I am in wedding planning mode and on the lookout for bridesmaid dresses. 2012 was the year of visitors, traveling, and accomplishing goals. 2013 is all about weddings and babies. Besides posting the pictures of 2012, Christmas is coming. I've got a whole list of things for Eric and some ideas for the family. We still need to get a tree and decorate. I also need to get out some Christmas cards. That is another big project!

Glamour

I've had a subscription to Glamour magazine for about 8 years now, but will not be renewing this year. I used to really enjoy that magazine. Their photographs and tips on fashion and make-up were helpful, and I just loved their focus on female empowerment. While magazines like Cosmo were just about sex tips, Glamour always had great interviews with not only celebrities, but the not-so-famous women accomplishing amazing things. I loved their fiction stories selected from readers, and most importantly, their focus on military women. One of the best parts about Glamour is that it was about all women, no matter what political side that woman was on. It's true that it was sometimes too focused on "being green"--what I like to call a politically inspired way to say one is being frugal (that phrase is dishonest to me). But it never seemed to be politically biased. Glamour loves Condoleezza Rice just as much as Hilary Clinton.

I don't know if I've changed or if the magazine has changed, but there is so much of it I can't stand anymore. Not just because I sent in a picture of me holding an issue of Glamour in my wedding dress and they never posted it in the "Where's Your Glamour Been?" section. I forgave them for that. They only post pictures of readers in their bathing suits. Always. And not just because they named Selena Gomez their "Woman of the Year." Seriously. They really did that. But most of it is the fashion transition into androgyny. This is probably not Glamour's fault, but I can't stand seeing it in magazines anymore. When I go through them I feel like I'm having an identity crisis.

The male models in photographs look terribly metrosexual to the point where they are by no means attractive, but kind of scary. I honestly can't tell the difference between the women and men in some pictures. Women are wearing oxfords and menswear, and men are wearing tight pink things. Not to mention dresses. The last issue had a male fashion designer in a dress.

I love being a woman. I love everything about being a woman, including the fact that we have a look all our own. I love the differences between men and women and I have no desire to be anything like a man, yet I am independent and strong. Isn't that what female empowerment is all about? Women in control of their own destinies.

But I love men, too. When I see pictures of effeminate men I feel an intrusion into my own identity. I know who I am. I expect men around me to know who they are as well. I need a manly man, who is strong, has chest hair, and knows how to be my pillar of strength if I'm freaking out because of a spider in the shower.

When I see the models in Glamour, I feel like my womanhood is being subdued. It's like Glamour is communicating that women are so awesome, men should want to be like them, too. Maybe Glamour is trying to attract a gay audience? I have no idea. But I do know, if that's the case, they are no longer a magazine that's all about women. I also know that I do not feel empowered by a feminine man, on the contrary, I feel threatened. I thought Glamour was a magazine that implied "Go Women!" not, "Everyone's a woman!"

What's More Important?

Some quotes that I got in an email recently that remind me of the upcoming election and the past four years:

"You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift."

"You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down."

"You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred."

"You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence."

"You cannot help people permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves."

Fall Gardening

My tomato plant says it's time for fall. It did so well! I can say that my summer gardening was a huge success and I'm proud I got to take advantage of my sunny patio.

It had a good long life!

These are the last of my tomato crop.

But my parsley is flourishing!

And I finally have strawberries!

Maybe next year I'll grow pumpkins?

Happy fall!

Big Bird

Eric and I missed the first half hour of the presidential debate on Wednesday, so I was very confused about the references toward Big Bird. Eric tried to explain it to me yesterday and it seems so silly. I mean, apparently people are okay with our country going bankrupt as long as they can still watch Sesame Street? Really?

That's what all the arguments are about right? People think they can't live without their government funding and financial protection. Yes, it would be hard to lose funding for different programs and people would need to adapt, but the debt of our country is out of control and needs to be reigned in before we go bankrupt. I see that as the most important issue.

Today I saw a bunch of memes on Facebook with a dejected looking Big Bird so I decided to look into the issue some more.

I found an article from ABC that assured everyone Big Bird would be fine.

"Romney’s proposal to zero-out federal spending for public broadcasting will have little to no effect on Sesame Street’s budget because the show receives “very, very little funding” from PBS, Sesame Street’s executive vice president Sherrie Westin told CNN last week. Westin said the majority of the show’s funding comes from corporate sponsorships, product sales and donations.

“Quite frankly, you can debate whether or not there should be funding of public broadcasting. But when they always try to tout out Big Bird, and say we’re going to kill Big Bird – that is actually misleading, because Sesame Street will be here,” Westin said. “Big Bird lives on.” Read article here.

So relax you meme-making adults, if for any reason this proposal actually goes through, you'll still be able to watch your favorite children's TV show.

My Brother is Going to Afghanistan

I AM AN OLDER SISTER,

I CAN'T PROTECT HIM ANYMORE.

I MUST STAND BY AND WATCH

MY LITTLE BROTHER GO TO WAR.

BUT I'LL BE PROUD OF HIM

AND WON'T FEAR OF AN ATTACK.

DON'T WORRY AMERICA,

MY BROTHER'S GOT YOUR BACK.

Plastic Bags

Yesterday I went to Safeway to get some basic groceries, this time grudgingly taking along my reusable bags. As I was balancing my purse on one shoulder and my bag of reusable bags on the other while trying to get out a plastic cart jammed into another plastic cart, a woman came up next to me to pick out her cart as well. She immediately said, "Don't you just hate this thing about the bags."

Yes, I do. It's really annoying. It's annoying for about a million reasons. I expressed this to her and she agreed. "It's not that paying 10 cents a bag is going to break me," she said, "It's just the principle of it." I completely understood. It's about being forced to eliminate a convenience from our daily routines. It was nice to be able to chat for a few minutes to someone about it, too. It made me feel better that I'm not the only one who thinks banning carry out bags is such a pain in the you know what.

Thinking I would really like to do something about this, I did some research on the ban when I got back from the store. So stores in Sunnyvale are required by law to charge 10 cents per paper bag, to discourage use of carry out bags. This charge will increase to 25 cents in 2014. Retailers are encouraged to make reusable bags available to consumers either for sale or at no charge--these are allowed to be made of plastic. But single use, compostable/biodegradable plastic bags are prohibited at the check out counter. The goal of environmental lobbyists is not to lessen the use of plastic, but to eliminate any kind of carry out bag and force people to use reusable bags, period.

The rules are all here on this website.

It brings up the question, are carry out bags really that bad? That above website will tell you why they are bad. I can understand why Sunnyvale thinks plastic bags are annoying after reading it. But is banning the bags the answer? It seems to me that besides our annoyance at the city for forcing stores and people to do it's bidding and eliminating a little bit more of our freedom, it may cause other problems.

From a lot of the reading I've been doing it's highly likely that the ban on plastic bags will increase waste. I guess it's good the city forces a charge for brown paper bags now, because paper bags use more energy to produce and create more waste than plastic bags, as they don't decompose in landfills and are heavier and bulkier than plastic bags. Plastic bag waste may also increase. Mostly because the bags we used to bring home from the grocery store were often recycled or used over again for another purpose: trash can liner, picking up pet waste, etc. I know I will go buy trash can liners to use for small garbage cans and my paper shredder when my stock of grocery bags runs out. I guess if I can find biodegradable bags that's a plus! But what if I have a "bag" of clothes for a friend? Am I going to pass them along in my needed reusable bag? Or my paper bag that will generate more waste?


Whether banning plastic bags solves one problem and creates another problem, or actually is beneficial to the environment in some way, it's the force of inconvenience that really bugs me. Never mind that retailers should have the right to determine what type of bags they give or do not give away to their customers. Never mind that people should have the right to determine whether or not they want to bring their own bags to be more eco friendly or receive complimentary bags from a store.

While doing more research on the internet I was intrigued by a biodegradable plastics website that offered the following information:

MYTH: According to many websites and environmental groups, plastic bag manufacturing uses a large percentage of the crude oil that is consumed in the US. Some suggest that eliminating plastic bags would reduce our dependence on oil.

TRUTH: American plastic bags are made from natural gas, NOT oil. In the U.S., 85 percent of the raw material used to make plastic bags is produced from natural gas.

Banning or taxing plastic bags will do nothing to curb oil consumption.

MYTH: Most proposed bag bans and taxes use statistics based on an assumption that plastic bags are only used once.

TRUTH: Studies have shown that 80-90% of the population reuse plastic grocery bags at least once. As trash bin liners, for picking up after pets, as lunch sacks, holding wet laundry, etc. Plastic bags are also very easy to recycle, and most grocery stores provide bag recycling bins.

MYTH: Ireland's 2002 tax on plastic grocery bags reduced plastic bag use by 90%.

TRUTH: This is partially true, but doesn't tell the whole story. Use of plastic grocery checkout bags declined, but sales of packaged plastic bags went up by about 400%, resulting in a net gain in plastic bags going to landfills. This shows that most people were reusing their plastic grocery bags for tasks where plastic bags are the best solution - trash can liners, picking up after the dog, wet garbage, etc.

MYTH: In 2008, San Francisco banned plastic bags, which resulted in a huge drop in bag use, and an increase in reusable bags.

TRUTH: Yes, since plastic bags were banned, stores stopped using them. But there was not a huge shift towards reusable bags. Instead, there was a huge increase in paper bag consumption. According to all studies, paper bags are responsible for many times the pollution and oil consumption than plastic bags. Paper is heavier, and not as durable, as plastic and requires far more resources to create, and creates much more air and water pollution. In addition to this, the San Fran Ban also practically eliminated bag recycling programs in the city, and after one year, plastic bag litter (the main reason for the ban) had actually increased.

MYTH: Plastic bags are a major source of litter, and banning or taxing bags will reduce litter.

TRUTH: Plastic bags make up less than one percent of all litter. Cigarette butts, fast food packaging, and food wrappers are much larger contributors. Banning one item that becomes litter does nothing to change the mindset of those that discard trash improperly. Many of the bags that end up as litter blow off of garbage trucks or out of landfills. Landfill operators and garbage haulers should be held accountable for items that escape containment.

Since plastic bags are responsible for less than 1% of all litter, banning or taxing them will have no impact. The solution to litter is public education, recycling programs, and proper disposal.

MYTH: Landfills are overflowing with plastic bags.

TRUTH: Plastic bags are easily recycled, but even if they do end up in a landfill, they take up a small fraction of one percent of landfill space. The average person uses about 326 plastic grocery bags per year, which by weight is about the same as a phone book or two. By comparison, the average person generates nearly one ton (2000 pounds) of garbage each year.

The major contributor to landfills is paper, wood and construction debris. Banning or taxing plastic bags would mean that more paper bags would get used, resulting in more waste going to the landfill.
MYTH: Taxing grocery bags or banning plastic bags will reduce greenhouse gasses and save the planet.
TRUTH: Since bags are a minimal contributor to all the problems associated with them (oil use, litter, landfill volume, etc.), bans and taxes simply won't do anything for the environment. And because the alternatives all require more fuel to create, recycle, and transport, eliminating plastic bags actually increases greenhouse gasses. 

Sources:
http://www.interplas.com/
http://www.apmbags.com/

*Don't know if these are the most reliable sources, but it certainly sparks more interest on the subject.

Good Intentions=Inconvenience

Today I went shopping at Target. I bought an entire shopping cart full of canned goods, heavy jars of spaghetti sauce, boxes of cereal, and about 50 really tiny travel items for our trip to Yosemite. When I got to the check out counter I realized that there were no more plastic bags for the customer's convenience. This is because the city of Sunnyvale has banned plastic bags.

Apparently plastic bags are inconvenient for the environment. So now a million Target customers are going to buy 2 reusable bags a piece so Target will make $2 million dollars from reusable bag sales. And the tiny bit of cheap, reusable, recyclable plastic that was so convenient for me will no longer harm the streets of Sunnyvale.

No, even though plastic is used in almost every object that we use daily: cars, hair brushes, toothbrushes, shampoo bottles, toothpaste, appliances, mattresses, cell phones, razors, eyeglasses, light switches, bathtubs, buttons, toilet seats, contacts, refrigerators, cooking tools, trash cans, computers, ice cube trays, food packaging, furniture, milk cartons, TVs, remote controls, video games, fans, sun glasses, purses, pens, etc., the threat to the environment from plastic in Sunnyvale is over!

So, since I refused to be charged money to use bags made of cloth and trees, which require plastic parts and materials to be produced,  and I have left my many reusable bags at home, I will be inconvenienced.

I packed every single item I bought into my cart and then loaded each item into my car. The cans and jars rolled and clanged in my trunk as I turned corners and stopped at stoplights.

Thanks Sunnyvale. I will shop in Mountain View from now on, until they too ban plastic bags. Then I will drive in my car made with plastic, shop in the store built with plastic materials with my cart made with plastic materials, and will place my plastic jar of sphaghetti sauce and my plastic wrapped loaf of bread into whatever plastic bag I can scavenge. I plan on saving them from other stores and stockpiling them to use later when the city decides that convenience stores no longer have the choice to offer their customers convenience.

New Apartment

More space! Eric and I moved into a two bedroom apartment Easter weekend and we are loving it! Not only do we have room division for all our office stuff, but we also have a large fenced in patio with a little yard that Mia has claimed. There is no one above or below us so it is very quiet and we don't have to worry about making too much noise. I didn't get the extra bathroom or the washer and dryer--in fact, our bathroom is smaller and the laundry room farther away--but the ground floor, huge patio, and skylight really make up for it.

Last minute moving was a big pain, but we had the help of our friends Lindsey and Jason and Michelle and Mark. We could not have accomplished the move in time without them. Thanks guys! We thought we had at least two weeks to move but the leasing office told us upon signing the papers that we only had a couple of days. Unfortunately this forced us to move on Easter Sunday. It was stressful but well worth the price. The apartment was vacant so we got a real deal on the rent if we moved asap. It's in the same apartment complex that we've lived in since we moved out to Cali-- we just did an onsite transfer.

We were also very thankful for all the trunk space in our Hyundai Elantra Touring. We got a UHaul for the big stuff (thankfully UHaul was open on Easter Sunday), but a lot of boxes and crates got taken to the new place by back and forth trips in our car. Thanks mom and dad Barndollar!

We have made a lot of progress in setting up our new place. We've got a few new pieces of furniture in the living room and bathroom. All of the pictures are up except one painting that we don't know where to put yet. The bedroom and living room are larger. It's more comfortable and spread out; I feel like I can stretch out and make bigger messes. In fact I already used my new open space to host some meetups. In June I hosted a Lia Sophia jewelry party and a NOBLY shopping party. I could never have hosted them in my little one bedroom apartment.

Mia loves her outside. We never had much sun hit our old apartment, but we get full sun now. She immediately picked up the habit of sunbathing; whether she is lying on the carpet in front of the sliding glass door, or sprawling out in her little patch of dirt, she is always soaking up sun.

Also soaking up the sun are my vegetable plants in my patio box garden. I've been growing organic roma tomatoes and zucchini, along with a green pepper plant, strawberry plant, and a collection of herbs including basil, oregano, cilantro, mint, and parsley. It's my first real attempt at gardening and I love watching their progress. They started out as tiny little seedlings and are now flourishing. My tomato and zucchini plants are ginormous! I have a billion little green tomatoes and I have harvested my  4th zucchini. So far I've made zucchini pancakes and roasted zucchini.

In other news, we have had a steady flow of visitors all year long. We recently said goodbye to my mom and grandma who came to stay with us for a week. It was their first time in Mountain View/San Francisco and they really enjoyed it. I'm glad the weather was very mild, because when it's hot our apartment is like an oven. I miss them already :-/

We are currently hosting Eric's parents, sister, and cousin. We will be going to Yosemite on Wednesday along with Uncle Tom. We still need to do laundry, grocery shopping, and pack.

The summer is packed! My birthday is coming up July 6th and I am excited to celebrate this year. Our 2nd anniversary is on July 17th. I am having gum grafting surgery at the end of July, which I am not at all looking forward to, but I am prepared with all the necessary pain prescriptions. Maybe I will get more blogging done at the end of July. I will also be planning a trip to Pittsburgh before the summer is over-probably at the end of August beginning of September. It's wedding planning time for Miss Alicia!

It all seems much more doable in our new place. I have my own desk space now in the section of office not taken over by Eric's stuff. Will I get more writing done now? We will see!

Accident

Yesterday I got into a minor accident while en route to picking up one of my kids. My car was hit from behind while the child's sibling and I were stopped in traffic. We were talking about the price of McLaren's when we got the jolt from behind. Thankfully, the girl who hit us quickly followed my car to a side road and was very apologetic.

As I went to inspect the damage, which of course my brain imagines to be severe, I was relieved to see hardly any--just a license plate frame impression on the back bumper; another dent to add to the collection on my poor car. It felt worse than it was. The impact was enough to open the sun roof door of my car, but not enough to bother us in any way. We were perfectly fine physically, just a little shaky.

The girl was outwardly worried because it was her fault and she had never been in an accident before. I was inwardly worried about the child in my back seat. That's something I have never experienced before and hope I never have to go through again. It's a huge responsibility, especially when it's someone else's child. The possibility of a car accident has always worried me since I started driving other people's children around for my job. I hoped it would never happen. Now I will never drive that same route again without getting a bit anxious.

But there was nothing I could have done. I have to keep telling myself that. Accident's happen and they are nothing but accidents. You can't change them or prevent them. You can't think, If I would have done this, or If only I had gone the other way--who's to predict what could have happened in the other direction?

Happily, the process of exchanging information went smoothly, and the child in the backseat of my car was very cool, calm, and logical about the situation. I will still worry, of course, but I can be relieved that it wasn't a traumatizing experience and that no real harm was done.

Half Moon Bay April 27, 2012

Eric and me in front of the Ritz Carlton.

On Friday evening, Eric and I had a much needed romantic getaway at Half Moon Bay, CA. Thanks to our friend Emily who was able to watch Mia, it was just the two of us and a lovely night at the Ritz Carlton. Eric was at the hotel early for a picnic and hike--he hiked 8 miles through mud, redwood trees, and banana slugs!

I drove up to meet him and got there around 7pm. I guess at the Ritz you aren't allowed to do anything yourself, which I didn't quite understand at first but it has been a learning experience! A valet opened the car door for me, another one parked my car for me, and a third guy took my bags and directed me to the front desk. It seemed silly to have someone take my small bags that were packed for a night's stay. I was followed by a bellman pushing my tiny bags on a large luggage cart. He navigated me through the hotel up to my room and knocked on the door where Eric was waiting for me. Niether of us were prepared to give out tips so our smallest bill was $5. Lucky bellman!

Our room was exquisite! It was small but very elegant and had a large bay window with an unbelievable view of the ocean. It was so relaxing to open the window and hear the soothing sounds of the waves rolling back and forth. The bathroom was only comparable to the one in our room at the Grand Wailea Resort in Maui, and it was complete with separate shower and large soaking tub, bathrobes, slippers, large ceramic sink, and even individually wrapped cotton balls--Eric was impressed.

Since it was dinner time we didn't have much time to explore. We learned that to get your car you need to call ahead of time so that it is ready when you get to the lobby.

We drove into the small town and did some Italian restaurant hopping on Main Street, starting out with a reservation at Pasta Moon and ending with an impromptu stop at It's Italia.

Pasta Moon is a restaurant we have passed by on Pumpkin Festival trips, and one that I have always wanted to try. I was very excited to have a romantic, candlelight dinner here, but it did not meet my expectations. Upon arrival we were greeted by no one, so we stood around awkwardly for a couple of minutes trying to decide if we should seat ourselves or not. Eventually our hostess came and directed us to the only open table for two in a small room off to the left. It was the second of two tables placed in a tiny cubicle that were so close together we might as well have shared one table. They should never have tried to sit two separate couples here. There was no room for conversation. We could tell that the couple already seated next to us was put off from speaking and we weren't comfortable about speaking to each other until they left. This kind of seating only works in a place like the Cheesecake Factory where the noise level is so loud it drowns out the conversation of the other couples you are crammed in with. Thankfully, the hostess did not seat anyone else there after they left. There were plenty of tables in other rooms of the restaurant so why they chose to cram us into a corner I have no idea.

We did get a nice picture at our little table!

I ordered the butternut squash ravioli, ready to gorge myself on delicious fresh-made pasta. It was absolutely delicious, but I was a bit disappointed by the portion size. I definitely could have eaten all of the larger portion, but the waiter recommended the smaller one for me. Never having eaten here before I took his word for it. I expected them to be large raviolis but they were bite size. It felt more like a small appetizer than an entree. Eric's large portion of his pasta dish--a linguini bolognese--seemed very small for him as well. Perhaps we were suposed to order in courses? Eric's request for parmesan cheese on top of his pasta had to be repeated. My pear martini was very delicious and fruity, but not very strong. They did serve bread, but after eating that and our pasta dishes we were still hungry. Rather than order another expensive entree that might not be fulfilling, we decided to try a different place.

Love Letter--made with
raspberries and rose petals.

On the next block we found the restaurant, It's Italia! They greeted us as we entered the restaurant and were able to seat us if we waited a couple of minutes. We got a nice four person table all to ourselves and it felt very free, open, and comfortable. We were able to relax more here. It might not have been as fancy or sophisticated but the food was just as great and was served in larger portions for about the same price. The service was impressive by comparison. Eric ordered the tomato basil bruschetta and I ordered the spaghetti with meat sauce. All that and another basket of bread definitely hit the spot! I also had a drink called Love Letter, made with raspberries and rose petals. It was extremely strong and I am not used to drinking that much hard alcohol--I am usually a wine or beer person. But it did feel great to get our money's worth at this place! I think we will come here again.

When we got back to the hotel we put on our swimsuits with the intention of relaxing by the pool. We found out at the front desk that it had closed at 8pm, so we decided to take a nighttime stroll instead. The moon and a large light shinning from the roof of the hotel lit up the ocean beautifully for a late night walk. We walked down to the pool area to see where it was and found a pond on the golf course with an insane amount of noisy frogs. We also caught a raccoon sneaking into the gazebo. Closer to the hotel were some lit fire pits surrounded by big, comfy patio chairs and blankets for our convenience--it was a cool night. We enjoyed the ocean air and the fire pits for awhile.

We made ourselves get up early the next morning since check out was at noon and we wanted time to take advantage of the amenities. We had a big (and expensive) breakfast at the hotel restaurant. That's the cost of a booth with an ocean view!














We learned the night before that the use of the spa facilities was open to us and included in our resort fee. So, after having our fill of eggs, sausage, potatoes and cappuccino, we went downstairs to the spa. We went into separate locker rooms and found in our lockers complimentary robes, sandals, and towels. The woman's side had a lounge with a fireplace, complimentary tea, bottled water, and fruit, private showers with soap, shampoo, conditioner, and shaving cream, a private/clothing optional hot tub, steam sauna, and dry sauna. Eric and I met up at the coed hot tub which was completely vacant besides us, so it was like our own private jacuzzi room. There were candles lit, a burning fireplace, two tsunami showers, comfy chairs, and, again, complimentary fruit and water. It was amazing! We were very pampered and spoiled by check out time, and we loved our one night stay at the Ritz Carlton!

The view from our window.

Golf balls in the gutter, which is very close to our window!

After we left, we drove down the highway to find access to the coast. We stopped at a place called Cowell Ranch to hike down to the beach. It was a short hike, though very pretty and scenic. We saw lots of wildlife, including many different species of birds and even a little snake. The lookout to the ocean was breathtaking, and the sand below was very inviting. I hope we can return to Half Moon Bay very soon! It would be a perfect place to have a little day trip. Mia would definitely love it, and there is still so much more to explore!

"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me..."

See the snake?

My Dad on the Radio

Listen to my dad, LTC Stokes (right) on Essential Public Radio, speaking about mental health treatment and availability for Veterans. Veterans returning to their civilian lives often find it hard to cope. Sometimes they just need someone to talk to that actually understands what they experienced. That's what my dad is trying to spread awareness about. You can listen by following this link:

http://www.essentialpublicradio.org/story/2012-04-16/veterans-coming-home-isnt-always-easy-10542

Road Trip to LA and Disneyland

Me and Eric in front of the Best Western.

Our friends Lindsey and Jason invited us to spend President's Day weekend in Southern California. Lindsey had free tickets to Disneyland and we have always wanted to visit LA, so we decided to take a road trip and visit both places. After a six hour car ride through farmland and orchards, past coyotes and tumbleweeds, we were excited to drive through beautiful mountains into the civilization of Los Angeles! 

Lindsey and Eric in front of the Best Western.

In LA we stayed at the Best Western on Sunset Boulevard. It was a cute hotel built on the side of a hill with a helpful concierge, welcoming pool, and free breakfast. Our decision to stay there was based mostly on location. It was within walking distance of a great selection of restaurants, including one we were very excited about called Saddle Ranch. Our first step in the LA tour was to get lunch, so we headed across the street to this western saloon inspired restaurant and sports bar. It had a mechanical bull, huge burgers, and gigantic desserts, including a three foot high tower of cotton candy. We didn't ride the bull but were fully entertained by those who did!

The Bull.

Lindsey and Jason.

Me and Eric.

Bacon and onion burger.

Lindsey enjoys her bleu cheese burger.

After eating at Saddle Ranch, we took a bus to get to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I sat next to man's plant, which had its own seat. He proceeded to talk to me about his plant. This was a very interesting introductions to the people of LA! We walked a little farther to reach the sights worth seeing on Hollywood Blvd. We walked the entire length of the Hollywood Walk of Fame to find the stars of all of our favorite celebrities.

Me and Eric.

Lindsey and Jason.

Me and Lindsey with Johnny Depp.

Jason pretends to be Chuck Norris.

 After walking the entire Star Walk, we  went past the Chinese Theater and saw the hand/foot prints of the really famous people like the actors from Harry Potter, Twilight, and Star Wars. Since it was a week away from the Academy Awards, there were stands being set up on the sidewalks. We stopped for a picture on the stairs of the Kodak Theater and walked through some fancy shops like Louis Vuitton.

Harry Potter cast. 

Twilight cast.

Me with Judy Garland.

Jason takes a bite out of Louis Vuitton.

Going to get our Oscars!

Set up for the Oscars.

We walked back to our hotel to get our car, then headed out to Rodeo Drive to see the shops! Fortunately for Eric, all of the shops were closed so I couldn't buy anything fancy. But we got to see them from the outside and pretend like we were celebrities checking out the new spring trends.

Lindsey and me at Tiffany's

Lindsey and Jason

Me and Eric

Dream shoe made at Jimmy Choo's

Lindsey at Rodeo Drive

Me at Rodeo Drive

Jelly shoes!

We drove back to the hotel ready to crash, but I convinced everyone to go out to dinner and we decided to go back to the Saddle Ranch to try their S'mores. We had a couple of appetizers, and then roasted our marshmallows at the fire pit. We could choose from toppings of carmel and chocolate sauce--as if chocolate and marshmallows wasn't enough sugar.

Lindsey roasting marshmallows at Saddle Ranch

The perfect s'more.

Jason roasting marshmallows.

Eric eating a s'more.

We got a good night's sleep to be prepared for our full day in Disneyland! But first, we went to check out the Hollywood sign.

Gone With The Wind inspired

Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler

Me in front of the Hollywood sign.

Lindsey and Jason

Me and Eric

That concludes our LA visit. Look for part 2 of the blog entry featuring Disneyland!

Thanks to Kayla for helping me write it and for adding all the captions!