Family Trip to Honolulu

Before Hawaii, the hubs took me to Lake Arrowhead for my birthday. It was peaceful and slow. The perfect way to unwind from a busy schedule. We fed ducks, took a book tour, ate lunch by the lake, and shopped. Flash forward to December, and we're in Hawaii with the family and my work family. This year flew!

Lake Arrowhead

Day 2 Hawaii

Happy Hour Kick Off

Decoy Dockside with the Hubs

Eddie and I had never been to Decoy, a Dockside restaurant with open windows overlooking a lake. We were pleasantly surprised by the Sunday Brunch Buffet offering. We ate leisurely followed by a walk along the lake. Saw a flock of geese and will be renting a paddle boat soon. I really loved the moments of quiet time we shared today and seeing new things.

The Hubs and Me

Veg Fest - A Staycation

Eddie had planned this great little escape - a run to raise awareness about farm animals followed by Veg Fest. What a guy! This trip was absolutely fantastic. We had a nice visit with my brother, then we headed downtown and walked around Seaport Village. Drinks/apps by the ocean, then movie time! We saw "A Family Man" and made it an early night. 7am short 5k with many carrying signs that had photos of chickens, pigs, or cows, which left us with plenty of energy to go for a quick breakfast and then Veg Fest. I had no idea they are trying to now make lab meat, basically meat made in a lab instead of raising an animal, but they need to kill baby cows to harvest it. The message - eat more plants. There was conflict on the panel on whether soy is good or bad. I'm more partial to say it's not bad. We left shortly after - these oldies need their rest! Great event, my hubs must really love me to take me to Veg Fest.

What a day! I loved hanging out with you.

2017 - A Reflection

It's hard to believe that I haven't blogged in so long. Even though a lot has happened, it also feels like not much has happened since then. Our halfs have slowed down and been replaced with heftier work responsibilities and a longer commute. We have become born again Vegans (at home Vegans - we still eat out and order what we want once or twice a week. We've both benefited from weight loss and more energy. Turning point was watching, "What the Health" on Netflix - it's life changing. Eddie celebrated his 20 year work anniversary - so proud of him! I exceeded and set records at work. I got a new massage therapist who used to be a doctor in China - she swears her work helps cure pain, improves appetite, and relaxation. I'm convinced she has magic powers, because I do feel better. I've finally finished decorating the house.

So what's on our dance card? I've developed a passion for vegan cooking - making tofu taste like cheese or chickpeas taste like tuna. It's a lot of fun. Eddie's been getting back into the gym. I stated a women's group last year, and our membership is growing. After a year of "all about work", we'll be looking forward to some much needed vacations. I officially could not complete the 2x spicy noodle challenge as seen on youtube. Warning, you may be in pain for the rest of the day.

Eddie's 20 Year Work Anniverary

Del Mar Races 2017

2x Spicy - No Kidding Around.

Paint Nite - Hidden Talents

Eddie surprised with Paint Nite at a local restaurant. First, he had me at Italian Restaurant but to plan something like this was really surprising since it was totally outside of the box. Eddie assured me that his hidden talents would be the other surprise. Judging by the canvases, it is true that Eddie has an artist touch. His rocks looked way more realistic. Mine started off looking pretty bad, but ended up looking ok at the end. Eddie is so proud of his that he wants to display it in his office! I think I'll keep my day job.

Getting into the painting mode with some wine.

The finished product presented by your local artists.

Austin - A 10mi race and BBQ

This was our first race that I totally felt unprepared to do. But Eddie was a great coach throughout the way. We finished off the race by going to a Pho place that we both agreed was amazing, and it was the best thing I ever ate. Considering we'd already been eating really good food prior to the race, that's saying something! Well, I'd always wanted to visit the South and eat BBQ, and we did it! We saw new sites, and got chance to see why Austin's slogan is "keep it weird". They like to do things their way, and the food truck scene part of that, and you do see food trucks everywhere. 6th street was ok, more for the 20 something crowd, but not us. It was a good trip, thanks to Eddie for being the planner extraordinaire.

Neat Finds
http://www.southaustinpeople.com/
Breakfast Tacos

Great Eats
http://oddduckaustin.com/
https://www.yelp.com/biz/tan-my-restaurant-austin-2?osq=pho
http://uchiaustin.com/
http://www.rudysbbq.com/page/home
https://www.yelp.com/biz/caf%C3%A9-java-austin-2
http://www.labarbecue.com/
http://www.luckyspuccias.com/

Fun Facts
Fettuccine Alfredo is not Italian.

Nothing like breakfast at Kai's after a run.

Everything is bigger in TX, state capitol Austin.

 

Duck Tour with quacker included.

Food trucks during our food tour.

Awaiting a monte cristo. Eddie loved it, but I thought it was ok.

 

Lonestar Beer, when in TX, drink like the Texans do.

Not sure why Eddie has a cone head in this pic.

Guilty! We ate pho twice in what we discovered was a little Chinatown.

Meet Starsky and Hutch, the swans that reside at our hotel.

Paper is used for plates.

My handsome hubs.

Rudy's BBQ

Valentine's Day 5k in Cornado

My hubby planned an awesome Valentine's Day weekend in Coronado. Started with picking up our race packets, then finding a surprise lunch spot with a huge booth right outside. The weather was perfect. Race - sunny but cool, great breeze along the run, flat course, music at start/finish, very cool medal/tech t-shirts, convenient start line near hotel, plenty of post race food/water. I don't have one bad thing to say about this race. We even ran into some friends from work, and ran into some more picking up some dim sum on the way home. Since Eddie lost one of his wedding rings, I bought him a new one as his V-day gift. He loved it. From feeding ducks from our balcony to the scenic ocean views, this was truly a magical weekend. Best thing is - we have the day off tomorrow.

What happens when you get gas before you had your coffee!

Dining al fresco at Shima in Coronado.

Look at these love birds at 7am on a Sunday.

Feeling great after crossing the finish line together.

Love the bibs that say "I'm Taken". Others included "It's complicated."

Looking good!

Eddie being silly - we're waiting for our friends to cross the finish line.

Busy Week Leading Up to the Superbowl

Having been gone for a work conference for a week, we jumped into house stuff on Saturday with fixing our trees. The rain storms complete with hail knocked down our umbrella, and tilted our cypress trees. Mr. Fix It to the rescue aka Eddie.

Mr. Fix It fixing our trees.

Ta da!

Mr. Fix It at it again.

And finally, Mr. Fix It gets to enjoy the game. Look at this spread!

 

Wine Tasting with Mom and Eddie and eating a Thornton Winery.

 

 

Eddie's Christmas Gift in January

Eddie has been wanting to head back to Disney for a long time, so one his Christmas gifts was a trip to Disney. We finally got a break from the rain that lasted all week, and got in a pretty full day from 12-7p. Long lines everywhere, but we got to ride Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted House.

 

Never too old for a carousel.

Eddie is happy at happiest place on earth.

 

Most people see a plate with a half eaten pancake. My hubby sees a joke.



December Whirlwind and Happy New Year!

Following a brief visit from Mom for Thanksgiving, December was a whirlwind. First, we went to Mexico with our company. Then we had our company holiday party, and ended up closing the bar down at 1a. The day after I surprised Eddie with a trip up to the Laguna Playhouse for a Snow White Christmas and dinner. The day after Christmas, we saw Star Wars and Eddie took me to pick out a new setting for my ring. It was a wonderful day. Hard to believe that 2016 is already here.



 Sunset in Punta Mita, Mexico

Holiday Party

Having a great time!

Wine Tasting at Temecula

I wanted to do something for Eddie so I booked a chauffeur to take us wine tasting in Temecula, about 1 hour drive north of us. It was great having the tour planned for us, and it was so peaceful to be outdoors. After a couple of stops, including a winery designed by the architect of Disney meant to replicate Snow White's cottage, we headed to lunch at Thorton Winery, and had the best beer battered fries ever. I said I could just eat a whole plate of those and be happy. When we told our chauffeur, unprompted, she said the same thing! So good. I liked the dessert wine at Hart, while the most unusual was the Talking Frog Wine, a mix between champagne and IPA. Our final winery was too overbooked and resembled a frat party, so we decided it was time to head home. Indian delivery was the way to go tonight. A great ending to a great day.

Enjoying the sunshine at Hart Winery.

What a view!

Hanging out in Snow White's garden at Briar Rose Winery.

Awesome 80s

Waking up at 5am on Sunday for our Awesome 80s run was anything but awesome. However, as the morning unfolded, we were both glad to be outside. Eddie felt strong and raced ahead, and I was proud of him for preparing for this run. It was a flat course across Mission Bay, perfect weather, and some 80s music to greet and welcome us back on this loop course. I'm really liking 10ks, but Eddie's got his sites set on a 10mi race early next year. I do love the excitement of halfs, but what I really enjoy are any kind of race that involves a theme or a festival so I think the Strawberry Festival Run would be a great time.

It's been a busy month, but we've found time to spend it together, which makes me happy. Thanks to the hubs for a great anniversary weekend.

Outside of Coco's and ready for breakfast.

Mom's B-Day Wine Tasting Tour

While we headed up to SF for a wedding, the timing was perfect for an early birthday celebration for my mom. She wanted to go wine tasting so we decided to take her to St. Helena to visit a some wineries we hadn't been to before. Since it's been years since we did wine tastings with my family, we were all looking forward to it. The 1.5 hour drive to Napa seemed long, but we were glad to sit down to a delightful picnic lunch, followed by visits to two other wineries. The wedding we went to was also at a winery so we unexpectedly ended up doing tastings two days in a row. It's been busy weekend with lots of activity - great to get some downtime now that we're home.

My brother and Michelle set up a birthday picnic lunch at V. Sattui Winery.

And now for a more civilized tasting, we visited Duckhorn, a winery that once hosted Obama.

A look at Duckhorn's vineyards.

Mom and I couldn't pass up a chance to eat grapes right from the vine. They were very sweet.

 

Castello Di Amorosa, a castle in St. Helena, was a unique wine tasting experience.

 

An extra treat - animals just outside the castle. This sheep was very hungry.

Happy and healthy chickens. We even saw some pigs.