Warriors v Lakers!

T-Rev and Itachi

It's rare for T-Rev to pose for a pic so imagine my surprise when he
asked me to take this one with his "son" Itachi. Yes, that would make
me a grandma... ;)

Snacker and Zoe

Taylor's dog, Zoe, LOVES Snacker and he LOVES her too - it is so cute to see them together. Notice Zoe's tail wagging in the background - she's so happy. :o )

Gingerbread House 2008

This past weekend the boys and I went to Derek's house and hung out with him and his girls. I had a gingerbread house kit that I bought at the end of the season last year (those things are like fruitcake - they don't go bad, right?) so I decided to bring it along to let the kids have some fun. The results are in the attached slideshow (yes, I'm now addicted to photo slideshows). Samantha and Snacker did one side and T-Rev and Taylor did the other side - T&T were a little more unconventional with their side but I think they all did a fabulous job!

Pics from the 49ers v. Jets game

Warriors v. Bucks Dec. 10, 2008

49ers v Jets

Sharks v Oilers!

I Love New York

This video makes me LOL every time! Any time I'm in need of a good laugh, I take a quick peek to perk me up. Today was one of those days... "New York" (Flavor of Love 1 and 2, I Love New York 1 and 2, and New York Goes to Hollywood) is making a commercial for a Japanese energy drink. I don't know who is funnier to me - New York or the director...

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2009 NBA All Star Ballot - Vote Now

My quest to a 10-minute mile

This past week I started running again. To push myself, I've decided that I'm going to work on running a 10-minute mile. Before last week, I hadn't run since my corporate challenge run in September.

(BTW, I finished the corporate challenge in 43:44 and it was 3.5 miles, not a 5k as I previously thought.) So... my first mile was really slow at 14:36 - Eeekkk!



Before the corporate challenge, I could consistently run a 12-minute mile, so I was a bit discouraged when my first 4 attempts were over 12 minutes (I'm missing a pic of my 12:36 mile)


However, I was pleasantly surprised on Sunday when I ran the mile in 11:10! Not quite a 10-minute mile yet, though, and I have a feeling that it's going to get much harder now!

Passing on the love of the game...

So, J and I went to the Warriors v. Pistons game last night. Basketball is by far my favorite sport - I love the fast pace and the near-constant scoring. Many people have suggested that I would love hockey and I'm sure that I will love it when I go to my first game (Sharks v. Capitals on Nov. 22 and I'm very excited), but the fact that the scores are so low in hockey is a real turn-off for me (and I'm pretty much always on the edge of being turned on when it comes to men and sports... ;o ).

Anyway... Since I have half-season tickets to the Warriors this season, I had an opportunity to take J to his first basketball game. It is always great when you introduce someone to something new and they enjoy it, but it is even better when you introduce your child to something new and they LOVE it! J was cheering the Warriors, booing the Pistons, chanting DE-FENSE at the right time, attempting to distract the Pistons from making free throws, stomping, screaming, jumping, cringing... and just plain enjoying himself! It was by far one of the best mother/son experiences I've ever had!!!

I have been asking J to play basketball for several years now and he hasn't shown any interest in it. As we were driving home last night he told me that he would now like to play!

Woo-hoo!

BTW, I'm a Los Angeles Lakers fan - I go to the Warriors games because it's just more practical...

GO LAKERS!

And Go Warriors!

Warriors v Pistons

Hi from J! We're at the game tonight.

Raiders v Falcons Debacle

So, obviously the Raiders lost and they played really, really poorly... but it was a great day at the Coliseum. T-Rev enjoyed the food - he had 3 hot dogs, hot links, a pizza, root beer, and a lemonade; J played video games the majority of the time (if the Raiders were actually playing he would have watched the game) and ate popcorn; Levi was just thankful that he isn't a Raiders fan (though he was a good sport and wore a Raiders shirt); and I just enjoyed a very warm and sunny day at the game with my boys and my friend.

Victory is oh-so-sweet!

On Saturday my friend Levi and I went to Dave and Buster's for a bit o' fun. We started out at the bar, watching college football and sipping on margaritas - Patron margaritas for him and watermelon for me. I was looking forward to some delicious Goldfingers (Dave & Buster's version of fried chicken - I am a southern girl afterall) but was also considering the peppercorn sirloin steak so I asked the server for her opinion... and thankfully she was honest because it turns out that Dave & Buster's recently changed their Goldfingers and they're now pre-battered!!! WTF!!! Why would they change a great thing??? So I ordered the peppercorn sirloin steak and Levi ordered the Black Jack BBQ chicken & ribs. My first comment was that everything just looked "cold" almost as if it had been sitting on the plate for hours and, well, the loaded mashed potatoes were room temperature and the ribs, chicken, and steak were just below hot but it certainly wasn't the worst meal I had ever eaten and since we opted for the Eat & Play Combo so we would get $20 cards plus our meal for $27.99, it was certainly worth $7.99. When Levi commented that at least our server was quite attentive even if our meal wasn't up to par, I laughed because it reminded me of Mark & Darron's Casual Critics website and blogs so I took a minute to tell Levi about it... (BTW... When are you guys gonna start that up again??? I love the concept and you could be the Zagat guide for the average guy (and gal).).

But this blog isn't about the food or the Casual Critics - it's about the competition and, ultimately, the winner. It's about me, of course... So, after lunch and a couple of margaritas, Levi and I familiarize ourselves with the the Dave & Buster's layout - things had changed since the last time we were there and we noted a few new additions as well as the absence of the Mocap Boxing game (though we later found it in the far corner). We decided to start our afternoon with the new and very "realistic" Nascar race game. Levi whined a little bit because I picked his driver and, honestly, I don't even remember who I picked - it might have been Jeff Gordon - or not. We raced against another man and his son and admittedly I only came in third place but what really matters is that Levi came in fourth, behind us all, and I was ultimately victorious against him! We wanted to play Super Shot next, but it was crowded so we played Skeeball instead... and, once again, I was victorious. Levi, ever the gracious loser, appropriately commented on my soft roll and admitted that he would never attempt a 100-point jackpot (mentioned because I had attempted and obtained one). Victory was so sweet at this point...

Next we played Super Shot basketball (Levi-5, Lali-0 (ouch - guess I'm gonna give up on that WNBA career)), D&B Downs horse racing (Levi-3, Lali-2), and air hockey (Levi-2, Lali-1) and I was starting to get discouraged so I HAD to find something that I could win... So we played what I fondly named "Jumpin Jack Crack." This machine simulated a jump rope, but lights flashed from your feet, up and around an arc and back down the other side. You had to jump over the lights and each time you jumped over them it sped up a bit more and you got more and more points for every jump. I went first to show Levi how it was done and did a respectable 6 jumps (in heels, I might add). Levi tried 3 times, though, and was unable to complete even a single jump - not 1! Mission accomplished - my confidence was back! For the tiebreaker we picked the water races game, where each player aims a water gun at a target, thus causing a car to "race" up a track. Obviously this game takes zero skill... but nonetheless, I won and that's all that matters!

As victor I got to choose Levi's "punishment." I decided to get a SpongeBob tattoo from the prize center and to put it on his forearm... I loved the idea of him explaining his loss to his co-workers when they noticed the tattoo on Monday... Had they offered medals in the prize center, I would have gotten one to commemorate my win! LOL! It's great to be a winner! :-D

5k warm up

My 5k is on Wednesday so I decided to run a 5k this morning to
practice... Not bad!

It's such a pain in the subtalar joint...

For the last several months I've had an ache deep in my right foot when I walk or after I run or dance (but not during those last two activities - odd, but ok). The location of the pain was elusive... it seemed like it was kind of in my ankle area, but more under the ankle... and since I hadn't experienced any foot or ankle injuries within the last year or so, I was a bit baffled. After meeting with my doctor, getting 3 x-rays on my ankle, and waiting the inevitable 2 months for a "new patient time slot" with a podiatrist, I now know the cause of my pain...

It turns out that I have a "chip" in my subtalar joint, which is right below the ankle joint. And, well, it can't be fixed. Fortunately, though, the pain isn't so unbearable (yet) that it prevents me from walking, running, dancing, etc. - it's just a bit annoying. The doctor suggested that orthotics could relieve the pressure in that area when I walk so I'll most likely have some custom made for me (Orthotics is such a sexy word, isn't it? Not.). I also received a cortisone shot directly into my joint and supposedly this could relieve the pain for several months or it could do absolutely nothing for it. I just got the shot yesterday, though, and apparently the pain of getting the shot lingers for 24 hours or so and as of now I am not pain-free in that area... but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it works! It's so much fun getting old...

Walk/Run

I walked and talked for the first .5 miles then did .1 walk/run
intervals... I felt out of breath during my runs... Not a good day...

Raiders recap...

Ok, so obviously the game sucked... but I still had a great time at the game with JoJo. We had planned on getting there around 4:00 to tailgate with my friend Rob, but of course we didn't get to the game until 5:45. We tried calling and texting Rob and while we were waiting for a reply, we decided to take a shot from the bottle of Cabo Wabo that I had in the trunk of my car for sharing at the tailgate. And, of course JoJo had shot glasses in her purse... but no lime... and, since JoJo didn't want to take shots of tequila without lime, she approached another tailgate party and asked for lime... (btw, that's a pic of the lime I found on top of my convertible at the end of the game... lol) but then offered shots of tequila in exchange... not quite an equal exchange, but ok... Fortunately, the lime providers realized the uneven exchange and offered up some of their yummy carne asada as well and since JoJo and I were starving (we were planning on eating at Rob's tailgate but had yet to hear back from him), we took them up on their offer! After 4 shots of Cabo Wabo and 1 really big piece of carne asada on a warm corn tortilla, we thanked our new friends for the hospitality and were off to find Rob (he had called with directions). Either we were too drunk or Rob's directions were lame because we couldn't find him. We did, however, gets lots of attention from other Raiders fan and one man even tried to get in on one of our pictures!

After Noni put the game on "WTF" status and our buzz wore off, JoJo and I decided to head towards Rob's seats so we could buy him a drink. Thankfully we had a drink on the way because after trekking all the way to the other side of the stadium we find out that Rob is visiting a friend 2 rows behind my season ticket seats (which are in Section 146, but Noni was sitting in those seats - I was sitting in my half-season ticket seats in Section 147). Funny enough, Rob's friend (he's in the white hat) and his son (he has his sunglasses on the back of his head) are in this picture that I took of Noni during the game... Anyway... When we finally find Rob we tell him that he now has to buy us a drink and he graciously complies... but JoJo decides to head back towards Rob's seats because she saw a friend and wanted to say hi. Ridiculously JoJo asks me to "hold" her drink so she can quickly head over and then come back. Needless to say, by the time JoJo returns both my drink and her drink have been consumed and unfortunately the "bar" was closed as it was after the 3rd miserable quarter. When the game had 4:35 left in the 4th quarter and Raiders were down 41 to 7, I announced that I couldn't take anymore so JoJo and I headed out in search of something to eat.

We ended up at an In-n-Out and after going through the drive-thru (the dining area was closed) we sat in the car and ate. (Here's a pic of me in the parking lot - I'll let you speculate as to what exactly I'm doing...) And, since we had suffered enough punishment for the night, decided to head home. FYI, the Raiders lost - 41 to 14... Yeah, they were definitely annihilated... :o (

BTW... I few comforting words from my friends who supported me (and the Raiders) even though they couldn't make it to the game... "Wow. This is bad." "This sucks. I'm disappointed... Sorry!" "I turned on the game and thought I was watching track and field, as many yards as the Broncos were running... LOL." Thanks for the support guys!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

Recently, a friend of mine broke up with her boyfriend. Later on that same evening I called to make sure that she was ok, etc. A piece of our conversation was hilarious (to me - not to her) and I just had to blog about it (nothing like kicking someone when they're down, right)...

Me: Hey, T-Rev baked a cake tonight. Do you want me to save a piece for you?
Her: No, I just had ice cream.
Me: Ice cream? Yum!
Her: Yeah, I finished off the rest of JC's ice cream.
Me: Oh, he had ice cream at your place?
Her: Well, I bought it for him.
Me: Ice cream sounds good. What flavor was it?
Her: It was gross - butter pecan - I practically had to choke it down.
Me: LOL. Then why did you eat it??? I like butter pecan - I would have eaten it.
Her: I don't know. I just wanted it gone so I wouldn't be reminded of him.
Me: Yeah, well... those extra pounds will remind you of him for weeks - LOL. I'll bring you a piece of cake, though, so you can blame the weight on T-Rev instead.
Her: Gee thanks - you're such a good friend - not.
Me: Well, I would have eaten the ice cream for you had you offered it to me - now THAT is a good friend, is it not?
Her: Yeah, well... you're about 20 minutes too late.

More running...

I guess I should admit that I signed up for a 5k corporate challenge
on Sept. 17. So I obviously need to get some practice in the next 2
weeks!

Running again...

Can I stay motivated this time around...?

Another Mouse Tale

I recently remembered another "funny" mouse tale - this time, though, the story has nothing to do with Mark and it makes me shudder rather than laugh when I think about it. But it's still worth recounting...

About 15 years ago, my boyfriend and I decided to go to Tahoe for the weekend to ski. We set out on a Friday night in a lowered '88 5.0 convertible Mustang - the perfect car for a trip to the snow, right??? Um, wrong... We planned on driving up I-80 and stopping somewhere for the night and then turning towards Tahoe in the morning since I-80 is usually much clearer than I-50 (details you don't necessarily need, but I've included them nonetheless)... Even though we didn't have the best car for the snow, we at least packed snow chains (and of course it snowed). When we were required to use the snow chains, however, my boyfriended decided that it would be safer to take the next exit off the interstate (which happened to be the exit towards Emigrant Gap) rather than to just pull to the side of the interstate... and of course we got stuck in the snow because the snow plows don't plow the exit ramps (just the interstate) and the snow was too high for the lowered Mustang. Good times.

I'll skip the 2 hours of frustration at being "stranded" on the side of the road because this blog isn't about that - it's about mice... but eventually we were picked up and taken to the Bates Motel. Ok, maybe not literally but it was certainly very spooky and seemingly out-of-the-way at that time of night. There were approximately 12 rooms, none of which appeared to be occupied - the fact that there were no cars in the parking lot added to my suspicions. And, the rooms didn't have a bathroom - there was a communal bathroom down a long dark hallway that I refused to use for fear of being hacked by Norman Bates himself while showering (or going potty for that matter)... Our room consisted of one bed, one nightstand, and one window with hardwood floors - it was very basic and practically bare. This information is only relevant because it added to the "spooky" factor for me and it certainly wasn't very comforting.

Moments after turning out the light and settling in to bed (fully clothed, of course, because I just knew that I was going to have to run for my life at some point throughout the night and I wanted to be prepared!), I hear scratching sounds on the wall!!! Of course every conceivable (and some inconceivable) reason why someone might be scratching on the wall instantly ran through my head and none of them calmed my nerves!!! Thankfully it didn't take me long to figure out that there were mice inside the walls, but I was still very freaked out! I made my boyfriend pull the bed away from the wall because I felt safer and I tried really hard to fall asleep so that morning would come quickly! Whether it was real or imagined, I heard mice running around in the walls and in our room all night! And, throughout the night, I "felt" mice running around on the comforter and would kick my legs out to send them flying just in case I wasn't imagining it! Needless to say, at the crack of dawn I was up and out of the Mouse Motel without a second look back! Eek!

Raiderettes

The best thing 'bout the Raiders on August 23 was these fans...

Back to running...

And so out of shape! Ugh...

Mouse Tales

So Jay apparently has a wee bit of a mouse problem in his house. On Sunday night he caught a mouse in a trap and last night he said that he "chased" another one around for a bit... While laughing my ass off at this image, I remembered a very hilarious mouse story about little Marky and for those of you who don't remember (or have never heard it), here goes:

When Marky moved to San Diego, I moved in to his townhouse in Hayward... Marky was helping me move my things in (which had been in storage for several months, I should add). When Marky picked up the second-to-last item (my table top) in the U-Haul, a mouse ran out from behind it and ran behind the last item (my desk top). Needless to say, Marky screamed like a little girl - yes, it was only one scream, but it was still a very high-pitched girly scream - and jumped out of the U-Haul with my table top. So... I'm in the U-Haul with the desk top and the mouse and Marky nervously peering inside. When I pick up the desk top to bring it out of the U-Haul, the mouse runs directly towards Marky who begins screaming repeatedly in his high-pitched girly voice, "Ah anh ah ah ah" while kicking the air with his foot. The mouse lands on the ground near Mark and then runs into the neighbors landscaping... Marky still screaming and kicking the air for a full 30 seconds after the mouse runs away. I, of course, crumble to my knees in a FIT of laughter, unable to move for fear that I will pee my pants!!! That was, by far, one of the funniest Marky scenes I've witnessed. Obviously, I reminded him of this scene over and over and over for many months, but it was eventually buried in my memories until Jay pulled it out with his mouse story... So, thank you Jay - now Marky's story is in my blog, never to be lost again... safely stored for my reading pleasure (and all of yours) for all eternity.... :o )

Week at a glance

August 8 to August 14

Friday: Raiders/49ers Game

Saturday: JoJo's B-day Party (Sac)
Zokku's w/JoJo and Becca (Sac)

Sunday: KVN Giant's game and tailgate party

Monday: Night Secretary

Tuesday: Dirty Dancing (the movie)

Wednesday: 24Hour w/Jay
Cooked fried chicken dinner (MmmMmm)
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

Thursday: Tunel 21 w/JoJo (Sac)

Battle of the Bay "Recap"

Obviously I went to the Raiders/49ers Battle of the Bay game on Friday... and my Raiders pulled out a fabulous 18-6 victory against the 49ers. That's about all I can tell you about the actual game, though! Unfortunately I drank a bit too much and didn't really watch the game... You see, I spent the first half of the game away from my seats: (1) looking for something to drink other than beer (are there really only 2 cocktail stands at the Coliseum and why did one of them run out of tequila before the end of the 1st quarter???); (2) standing in line to buy cocktails (I had to buy 2 at a time after all my efforts to get there, right?); (3) taunting the 49er fans; (4) giving dap to the Raiders fans; and (5) visiting a friend on the other side of the field to see the view from his seats. I was in my seat for the second half of the game, but half of that time was spent getting to know my fellow season ticket holders - or the suckers who paid double the ticket price to be at the game in their stead... Regrettably, I was way to tipsy to remember a single thing about any of them - hopefully they were all tipsy as well. :o ) BTW, kudos to my date (Jay) for being my equal (though opposite in taunting and dapping the other fans) throughout the evening - what a trooper and maybe even a keeper!!!

p.s. If you lost your Ed Hardy sunglasses at the game, I found them! But I'm sure you will agree that they look much better on me and you won't mind if I keep them... Thanks!

Battle of the Bay

Tonight is the 2008 Battle of the Bay game between the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers! Noni and I are at work, anxiously counting the seconds 'til time to head out to the game! Both of us are taking 49er fans as our dates for the game - you gotta love a little rivalry... especially for the Battle of the Bay game. Go Raiders!

Week at a Glance

August 1 to August 7

Friday: Sh Boom's

Saturday: Chili's
Stacey Monroe's

Sunday: Sacramento
OT

Tuesday: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Thursday: KMEL Block Party

Black Gold

I am obsessed with the reality show Black Gold. Has anyone else seen this show??? Basically it showcases 3 different teams - each with a "driller" and a few "roughneck" helpers. Obviously, each team is drilling for oil. I have learned that my understanding of drilling for oil was a little off, but oil drilling isn't why I watch the show...

I watch Black Gold because I am incredibly turned on by dirty men. No, not the kind of dirty man you conjur up when someone refers to a "dirty old man." I'm talking actual dirt on a man. It doesn't hurt if that same man is a little sweaty (not a lot, but just a little...) and there is also something to be said about a man working hard for his money... Fortunately, the roughnecks in Black Gold are constantly getting dirty and man-o-man is that incredibly sexy to me! Now I know why men get off on female mudwrestling.

One side note... Since I'm not a huge fan of sitting in front of the t.v. during an allotted time each week, I purchased the Black Gold series through iTunes. Basically, as each episode is released for sale, it is automatically downloaded to my iTunes account and then added to my iPhone when I sync it with my computer. (While this is a fabulous way for Apple to make more money... If anybody knows how to rip video content from the Net for free, please let me know... :-D).

Week at a Glance

July 25 to July 31


Friday: Sh Boom's



Saturday: Recovered from night at Sh Boom's
Played darts at Crown Billiards

Sunday: Happy Birthday Trae!
Carmen's BBQ
The Great Debaters




Monday: Night Secretary
Uncle Yu's
Charlie Wilson's War



Tuesday: Happy Birthday Lisa!
Found out T-Rev has been skipping summer school
Met with DJ and T-Rev re plan of action
First Sunday


Wednesday: 94.9 Comedy Jam's Best Comic Standing Search at Cobb's






Thursday: Ankle x-ray at Eden
Ran 1 mile, Rode 4.5 miles
Night Secretary