A breath of fresh air

My vacation has finally started to kick in. I woke up this Monday morning around the same time Derek does, 6:30am, and sprawled out on the bed as he got ready to go to work. For the first time I didn't have to leave the house before him in the morning. I got to stay and sleep. It was an enjoyable moment and I woke up feeling so refreshed and happy. (Although, I am bummed that Derek still has to go to work this week)...

I met up with my friend Nida in the afternoon and we decided to take Shorty, her fluffy Maltese pooch whom i adore, on a walk around the city. We strolled about North Beach and Nob Hill, catching up and admiring the beautiful scenery. Walks in San Francisco never get boring. I'm still so in love with every aspect of this city: the architecture, views of the Bay, cable cars...and even just "people" watching. Every city has its diversity and interesting characters, but native San Franciscan's really do stand out to me. There are so many pet lovers, hipsters, musicians, free-spirited hippies who just hang around in the park holding hands and dancing to their own beats (I'm not kidding, I actually did observe this earlier today). I appreciate these people though. They are part of the reason why I love living here. San Francisco just wouldn't be complete without the eccentric personalities.

Nob Hill

Huntington Park

Grace Cathedral

Shorty

merry christmas

Merry Christmas from the Stenson household!

Derek with his niece/nephew in Oklahoma. We missed them!

Codename: Cobra

Last night a bunch of co-workers and I went and played Laser tag out in Mountain View. By no means am I the slightest bit skilled when it comes to shooting fake laser guns, in fact I'm quite surprised that I didn't place dead last. Every time I turn a corner and see someone's laser pack light up in the dark I just scream and run in the opposite direction. It's actually really pathetic. I'm proud to say that I (Codename: Cobra) placed 8th out of 14 this time around.

Side note, I'm somewhat convinced that my boss is involved in some sort of underground laser tag society. He placed 1st last year and still holds his title as #1 this year. I'm out for revenge in 2011. Watch out!

A nice Italian dinner to relax after a rough couple of rounds of Laser tag...

Best commercials of 2010

My top three favorite commercials from 2010:

A Girl's Guide to Fantasy Football

It's too often that most of us ladies find ourselves waking up on a Sunday morning only to find our man slouched on the couch with a half eaten bowl of cereal and ESPN Sportscenter blaring in the background. It's like pulling teeth to get them to go outside or even turn on a light inside the bat cave. Unable to share in this phenomenon of Football Sunday we tend to reach out to other girlfriends and complain together about how much football season sucks. "I never get to do anything on the weekends with [insert boyfriend or husband's name] when its football season. Why can't it be over already?!"

This year my friend Sophie decided to start her own *all girls* fantasy football league: Hot in Spandex. Knowing all too well that I would channel my fiercely competitive and overachieving instincts, I decided to join the league and try to get more into the sport. Of course I didn't know squat about pro-football, the players, teams...none of that. I barely paid attention to the NFL. But I took the idea and ran with it, slowly enabling myself to relate to how exciting football Sundays actually are. And I suddenly realized there are plenty of women who like football on a much deeper level than worrying about game day recipes and which tight end has well, the best tight end...

Although I had an awesome time in my first fantasy football league, I'll admit that my team was an epic FAIL. Hey its only my first year right? I’ve been finding myself doing a lot of personal consoling, thinking "Don’t worry, you’ll kick ass next year,” and “You have every right to hate Alex Smith,” and “Maybe next time you should vow never to own a Panther.” Sometimes you just can't predict what's going to happen. I'm preparing myself for next year though, and I'm lobbying to get a lot more of my girl friends involved. I'm sure Derek is feeling proud (and relieved) that I'm able to occupy myself in a similar fashion during football season now!

My final playoff game stats vs Sophinator. I was in 2nd place for most of the season until the playoffs...where I placed 6th out of 8. So sad! 

Citizen's Band

I'm adding a new restaurant to my Top 25 Favorites in San Francisco. Citizen's Band is a unique Nouveau style diner, without the over-priced menu or fancy frills. I went there for lunch with a couple co-workers and at first was shocked as I skimmed the menu. The list consisted primarily of all sorts of comfort foods. I'm talkin fried chicken, onion rings, mac and cheese, fried potatoes, bacon cheeseburgers, chili cheese dogs. They all sound like items you'd order at a ball park, but this place knows how to class it up. It was like eating at an upscale diner where the soul food is served with a little extra something nontraditional. For example, the chili dog was served on a bun with fried mac n cheese and coleslaw. Random combination? You'll just have to try it out for yourself to understand what I mean...

The infamous crispy chicken sandwich

Emily's chili sausage cheese dog. Wow.

The kitchen staff workin hard...

The seasonal seven train has departed

One thing I love love love about the holidays is the plethora of food available for my consumption. It's disastrous working at Glam this time of year because we have so many cookies, cupcakes, candy canes laying around at every corner. It's actually a bit absurd how much junk food we consume on a weekly basis, particularly between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yesterday we had a "cookie exchange" party during lunch, and the week before that Emily and I were sent out on a mission by our boss to go find treats and bring them back to the office. (We brought back two boxes of snowflake shaped sugar cookies. They only lasted one day). Despite the crazy amount of sweets being shoved in my face and the numerous holiday parties to attend to, I simply cannot deprive myself of enjoying the best part about this time of year...clearly, its the food.

Last night I got together with a few good friends for a potluck before we all disperse for the holidays. Potluck gatherings are probably one of my favorite things in life. You get to try a variety of home cooking and everyone always brings something unique to the table. Plus, its a great opportunity to bring friends together. Cher, Felicia and I each brought a dish to share over to Laura's place in Noe Valley. We had a killer dinner line-up: goat cheese and bacon stuffed peppers, hummus and cucumber dip, rice pilaf with tomatoes and onion, rice krispie treats and brownies. It was a delicious. Thanks to you all for the great food and even better company ;)

So, my train to the Seasonal Seven has officially taken off and there's no stopping till the new year. Damn you holidaysssss!