delicious pictures of food.

i love living in a neighborhood where you can stop by the turo turo, eat adobo and rice and watch filipino game shows.
where, on your way home, you can buy fresh pasta just two blocks away.
where, just a few feet from your door, you can grab some sun-dried tomatoes and basil to top everything off.


in other news, saw the movie legion in theaters last night. not worth the money. rent or don't watch it at all. my favorite parts were in the previews.

last night we also got to see: point break LIVE! (http://www.pointbreaklivesf.com) it's this cooky play that reenacts the classic keanu reeves, gary busey, patrick swayze movie about surfer bank robbers. AND they pick the guy who stars as keanu's role right from the audience! :)

hilarity ensued.

we also had to wear ponchos. (protection from: suntan lotion, fake blood, "waves," and other unmentionables..)

out-to-brunch food in the comfort of our living room!

last weekend, josh and i discovered how to make eggs benedict in the comfort of our own home!
while poaching eggs and making hollandaise had always scared me away from the idea of making this delicious out-to-brunch weekend treat, josh convinced me otherwise and boy was i glad!

we grabbed the recipe from the foodnetwork.com and substituted the canadian bacon with thick-sliced boar's head ham from the grocery store next door. link here.

the results: amazing!


in other news..
2010 is the year lily finally joined the gym. a climbing gym to be exact!

in january, the initiation fees at our local rock climbing gym (mission cliffs) were waived for new year's resolutioners, so josh and i jumped on the bandwagon and took advantage of this money-saving opportunity. we have been going twice a week since the beginning of the year and i have been really enjoying it. i'd already successfully climbed a few 5.10c's!! my next goal is to try easier routes with overhangs . .. scary!

mashed potato mountains.

said my goodbyes to the loving cup this past week. starting "full time" (read: 40 hours minus benefits) at healthline next monday.

going to miss the lc crew and all the loyal regulars (yes, i'm talking about you -- "chocolate chocolate chips").


going up to portland for the thanksgiving weekend. it's been a year and a half since i've seen liz. it will good to see her after so long. we're planning another amazing thanksgiving feast of the things we like the most: mashed potatoes and stuffing.. and possibly some kind of cake.
and, of course, good friends and good wine.

nothing else to report really.

moved to the mission recently. have been loving the location and our new place.
will post pictures some day.

out, loyal readers.

tropical weather.

the cold winds of winter are coming.
the city is cloaked in a layer of grey fog.





i miss the warmth of a tropical breeze.
i miss the sand between my toes.

traveling.

so how do you go about getting a job as a tour guide?
do you have to be a certain age?
do you have to have certain experience?
do you have to have certain qualifications?

can you walk right up to your favorite travel agency and say, "i want to be a tour guide here." ..?

i've been thinking if it would be possible, i would love to be a tour guide.
if i could make a living traveling and hanging out with people that love to travel, how is that not a win/win?!

so..
how do i do it?

camping night! and .. .

a couple of weekends ago, we took a trip up to clear lake to spend a little time outside our little fog cloud and out in the sun.

although i was still rather sick with a cough and cold, we managed to make a really good mini-weekend together. we made a delicious meal over the fire of pork chops and cheesy egg noodles. we sat around, joked, and told stories over some tasty shock top beer.




in the morning, we wandered around the state park, through some crazy veiled trees, out by the "beach" and around the grounds. we came back early in the afternoon to nap and recuperate.



on the drive home, we stopped at this random energy conservation place that for some reason happened to house the large worshiping figures from burning man a few years ago (see: http://chokeholdtightens.blogspot.com/2007/09/week-in-desert.html).


that night, josh and i got fancied up and went out to dinner at a really great italian place downtown. on the way back down to our place, josh drove us in the opposite direction a ways until we ended up in front of the palace of fine arts. let me tell you, if you have not seen this place at night, you should definitely check it out some time. the dome that during the day sparkles gold in the sun, is illuminated beautifully in the darkness highlighting the earthy reds and golds of the structure.

as i spun appreciatively around in the middle of the dome, i stopped to find josh on one knee with a ring in hand. .. !

and i of course said 'yes!'


we have not set a date nor have we really started planning at all, but i am so excited to call him my fiancé!

hiking.

hiking involves a lot of walking uphill.

i always think that i really want to go go hiking but, upon reflection, what really i want is a scenic walk in the woods. i mistake those a lot.

that being said, i had a really good time hiking up at mount diablo. the park wasn't as green as i expected but it was a really nice park and a beautiful day so i was really happy to get out and enjoy the scenery.


on the way home, it was really cool to see the fog centered immediately over the city. there was this one cloud that looked like it was a wave folding in upon itself, crashing over and enveloping this one emerald green hill. the fold was almost frozen in time, so as we drove closer, we could see the inside of the "wave."

on the bridge heading back into town, i played tourist: camera out the window, taking pictures of us re-entering the fog.