dunker of the century

I never would have thought that waiting until the last minute to buy tickets to an event would score some of the best seats in the house! It's risky but it worked for Derek and I this past Friday when we decided to go to the Warriors/Clippers game an hour before it started. We found an awesome pair of tickets at 1/2 price on Craigslist just minutes before and sat in the 7th row. Up close and personal with Blake Griffin. Neither of us are huge NBA fan's but Derek was not about to pass up the opportunity to watch Blake Griffin live in action- (he's an Oklahoma alum, of course).

Derek has sat me down and made me watch YouTube highlights of Blake Griffin's slam dunks, so I was fully prepped on what I was about to witness. Now that I think of it, I'm pretty well educated when it comes to sports players affiliated with Oklahoma these days. It's called OU Sports Edition 101. I've passed Derek's classes on Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray, Blake Griffin, Marcus Dupree, Landry Jones, Adrian Peterson, Ryan Broyles. I could go on but I'll spare you...

Blake Griffin definitely did not disappoint in his performance. Basketball suddenly seems more interesting to watch live when there's a beast running around on the court jumping and dunking over other professional athletes. And he's only 21. I wish I was his age and signing contracts worth $60 million.

My masterpiece.

 

life in advertising

This amazing website pretty much sums up my experiences in the world of online advertising! Hilarious.

suburban relaxation

The Ducks have left the Bay, and the Wildcat is here to stay! On Saturday the fam headed out to Arizona for the long weekend to attend the BCS Championship Bowl game- Oregon vs. Auburn. Meanwhile I stayed behind and watched over Wyatt and my parents house in Marin. Over the course of the weekend I couldn't help but laugh at the circumstances I was in. At one point I was on a walk picking up after Wyatt's (let's just say) "dinner" and I received a text message from one of my sisters reading, "It's Margarita time!!" with a picture of the fam at a Scottsdale Resort sipping margaritas -- and wearing nothing but t-shirts I might add. And there I was, picking up Wyatt's dump in the freezing cold and walking him back to Cornell Ave, you know, back to the house with the giant OREGON flag out in front of it? I felt conflicted with tears, jealousy and laughter at the same time. It really was quite hysterical. Since I know my family is probably reading this, I should say: no hard feelings on leaving me behind. I probably would never have agreed to go to the Oregon game anyway, ha!

Overall, I was relieved to take a break from the city and stretch out my legs for the weekend. Derek and I often feel like we live in a cardboard box in San Francisco. That is to say, a cardboard box we pay almost $2K per month for. I love the city but I do appreciate suburban life to a whole new degree now. More space, no parking stress, crowds, laundromats, loud noises in the middle of the night. It's nice to take a break every now and then. Luckily I have that opportunity here.

View of the Creek off the bike path in Larkspur

Wyatt's favorite part of the day.

The Margarita text message.

Tailgating before the game. Looks like Christmas morning for Mark.

A gloomy and freeeezing day for a walk.

Derek's a better disciplined dog-walker than I am.

Derek trying to explain the game of "Canasta" while Adam, Arin and I stare at our cards with blank expressions.

Serious card players right here!

brickyard shenanigans

Yet another interesting night out on the town...

a visit to st. francis

Last week Cher and I went to visit Alex at the St.Francis Hospital in San Francisco. She had just gotten surgery to repair the perforated disc in her neck, which has been causing her pain for quite a long time. Alex had her surgery performed on Tuesday and we came by to visit the following day.

It was a little surreal riding the elevator to the 10th floor of the hospital. I tried to recall the last time I had been inside one. I think it was while I was in school several years ago- my fingers swelled up like sausages in the heat and my rings started to cut off all circulation in my hand. Yes, that actually happened. My hand was purple. The ER nurse at the time had to slice the rings off with a metal cutter. (I've seen better days). When we arrived at the 10th floor there were dozens of nurses running around in their blue scrubs, clip boards and diet coke in hand. I felt like I was entering into an episode of Grey's Anatomy- except people on Grey's Anatomy are much more good looking than the people in real-life city hospitals. No offense St. Francis. 

I had imagined Alex would be pretty fatigued and immobile for the most part, seeing as we were paying a visit the day after her big surgery. But in fact she was just as energetic as ever. Maybe from the pain killers? Ha! Despite the certain pain, she was able to sit up and slowly move around. Cher and I got the play-by-play on her agenda for the day:

1)  9am: Breakfast (Coffee and Prune juice optional)

2) 10am: Walk around as tolerated.

3) 12pm: Lunch (Pudding for dessert. Oh la la!)

4) 1pm: Move from ICU to regular floor

5) 2pm: Learn to take shower

6) 5pm: Call for help 

* Evening Entertainment: Pirates of the Caribbean + Brothers Grimm TV marathon.

By the way, none of us could figure out what #6 entailed...

There's an Irish saying: "A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book." I'm glad to see that Alex was able to bounce back in such great spirits- with smiles and confidence. What a relief it is. We're wishing you heal well and fast!

Pretty plants and flowers in the room, and a gorgeous view!

Lovin the blue Nordstrom Rack socks.

Classic hospital beverages

The city from the 10th floor

The disc replacement in Alex's neck. Crazy!

Just got the stiches out.

Shattered disc removed during the operation.

The "Pain Assessment Chart." You can learn how to say your in pain in multiple languages.

tongue in heart

This makes me smile :-)

heavenly 80's new year

In celebration of the new year, Derek and I organized a mini Tahoe getaway for 4 days and 3 nights. Three other couples joined us for the long weekend at a cabin near Heavenly. The rental was amazing! Flat screen TV's in every room, a huge kitchen and living room, fireplace and hot tub in the backyard. It took us several tries to get the hot tub working but we eventually got it going...thank god.

We arrived on a Thursday evening and hit up the Heavenly Stagecoach/Boulder slopes the next morning. It had been probably 9 years since I've last snowboarded. Getting off the ski lift on a snowboard is absolutely terrifying to me. I clinched onto Derek with my life every time we exited the lift. I was able to pick it right back up again and make it down the bunny slopes without killing myself or anyone around me. I think the hardest part was forcing my body to carry on despite the fact that it was 1 degree outside and the wind chill was almost heart stopping. By the time 2-3 hours passed, I was ready to go home and jump into the hot tub. I'm clearly a warm weather person, hence why I chose to live and go to school in desert climate. Tahoe in the winter is quite a change from Sayulita, Mexico (this was the first time in 3 years I hadn't been in Mexico for the new year).

Later in the evening most of us were sore and exhausted from skiing (or in my case, falling) all day. We managed to rally for the big night and celebrate 2011 the best way possible: 80's style. Derek and I dressed up as Saved by the Bell's AC Slater and Jesse Spano, while others collaborated in 80's ski gear and jazzercise spandex. Random costumes always seem to make a party more interesting. We played a lot of Kings cup, beer pong, thumpers, charades, and even tuned into CNN at midnight to watch the ball drop. We joked about how officially "old" we are now that most of us would prefer to watch CNN at midnight than go out and get wild at the South lake casinos. What can I say? It was 1 degree outside and snowing. I think we made the right decision staying in.

On New Years day we woke up to find that it had snowed more than 14 inches over night. Erik's car was completely buried and so was the hot tub. We spent a majority of the day inside being lazy and hungover, watching the bowl games and cooking Mexican food. I watched it snow from indoors all day long and it was absolutely beautiful. I'm not sure I could live permanently in such weather but it is quite a breathtaking sight to see from the comfort of the couch ;)

Happy New Year to you all. Cher/Lee and Liz/Rob, we missed you very much!

Our cabin living room.

Derek and I hangin out on the couch after the long drive in.

Riding the ski lift at Heavenly.

View from the lift.

Jenna and I taking a much needed break. I look somewhat like a terrorist in that ski gear...

Relaxing in the hot tub, we all have sore muscles.

Jen and Erik (right) borrowed Cher's parents old ski gear for the occasion. Those jackets are awesome!

Serious photo shoot by the fire.

Arin/Adam (left) hangin in the kitchen. Jenna/Chris (right) taking pics with the iPhone.

Workin it for the camera man.

Risky business.

All the ladies.

We set the camera to auto-timer at midnight and this is what we got...wow.

Jen's amazing 5-8 layer dip + beer. Does it get any better than this?

Cooking shrimp taco's.

Derek and Arin cooking the meat for our "Mexican night" fiesta on New Years day.

Derek and Adam breaking icicles off the side of the house. Derek's was almost 4 feet long.

Our sad trip back to reality...bye bye Tahoe, it was fun!