Amateur Tourist

So once my conference ended Thursday afternoon, I killed time by shopping around downtown and texting Scott "yes or no?":

The jacket got an over-ride yes from me, although Scott still thinks it looks baby poop brown

Then I enjoyed a sweet reunion with one of my favorite kindred spirits:

One morning we waited a reeeeeally long time for brunch; while it was good,
we probably won't wait that long again. But waiting in line with Britt was a treat in and of itself.

While the non-tourists went to work on Friday, I went for a run to the Golden Gate Bridge and back. Unfortunately, this was all I could see due to the incredible fog all weekend:

But I at least high-fived the hopper's hands for good luck.

On the way back I stopped by this gem, the Palace of Fine Arts:

Shout out to the nice Asian tourists for taking a picture for me.

I also enjoyed some great scenery on the run, which paralleled the water the entire time:

Once I got back, I did what anyone would do: eat a cupcake leftover from the place around the corner we stopped by the night before.

This one was a s'more cupcake, slightly warmed in the microwave. Perfection.

Before the worker bees got home, I did the lame stuff, like stop by Lombardi Street with 438290 other tourists:

I must note that to get to there, I had to truck it up and down this crazy hill. Holy steep, Batman:

Thankfully, I rocked the hill and made it home just before my pal. We detoured our trip to Golden Gate Park (and all the fog made it pointless, anyway) to this random museum with a ton of Rodin:

I promise this is the last photo dump. On Saturday, we went all over: Ghiradelli Square, Fisherman's wharf, Pier 39, Mama's (the brunch place mentioned above), and we finished up with an insane Dicken's fair. We sampled free chocolate, enjoyed the sites, and even stopped to purchase some fresh, warm sourdough bread from Boudin. At this time I'd like to take a break from my travelogue to share an excerpt from a poem my friend wrote describing what followed next while walking along:

Imagine the two of us strolling the pier,

Clueless to what's overhead.

Toasted to perfection, we're enjoying our samples

of Boudin sourdough bread.

 

Then suddenly...flapping, flapping & squawks,

A seagull is right in our face

Our water goes flying as arms go flailing

with squeals all over the place!

 

Then as quick as he came, that beast disappeared,

and Mare was left checking for poo.

Though she was clean, her bread was no more; he had captured it,

Yes, it is true!

 

And so from his perch, that seagull enjoyed

the spoils from going in for the kill.

Onlookers laughed and will always remember

Mary's battle of Boudin - what a thrill!

Yes, folks, it's true. This gigantic, possessed seagull totally attacked me from behind and swiped my bread right out of my hand. It had barely even left my mouth, considering I just took a bite. The scene was nuts, and definitely one for the books.

 

Now for the fair... this place names were the most off-the-wall, in-your-face recreation of Dickens' London. The places were clever, but the people... oh man, THE PEOPLE! They were incredible characters. They sang, danced, caroled through out the entire fair, some of the men got a little handsy, and the child catcher was completely detestable. There even little scene rooms set up just for the actors to portray a dinner party, ball, or scientific discovery. Shops lined the various paths, selling homemade candles, feather-tipped fountain pens, and handmade leather masks. It totally rocked my world.

Needless to say, San Francisco was one of the highlights of my year. I reconnected with a great friend, ate some amazing food, shopped in some great stores, and made unforgettable memories. I'm thinking I don't ever want my friends to move, because I need to make this trip at least once year. Here's what I'm thinking to all of you Double or Nothin' gals... San Fran reunion 2011. What do you say??

Amateur Lumberjack

Living with the in-laws means catching up on all of the family traditions I missed out on not being associated with the family before marriage and living on the East Coast. One of the many include finding the best tree ever to cut down for Christmas. Their favorite tree farm is a bit of a drive, but totally worth it. Check out this all- natural eye candy:

baby trees... one day we'll have one of those!

Racing to find the best one

Found it! Can you see Julie's feet behind me? Yes, she's cutting it down while we pose. Just call us efficient.

Hopefully next year we will have to get one of our own...

The most handsome lumberjack around

Views of the tree farm:

Amateur Belated Birthday

For a late birthday present to myself, I went to see Michael Buble` in DC just after Thanksgiving. To be sure, Scott wouldn't be caught dead at something like this, so thankfully I have some awesome co-workers who swoon along with the best of them. Have you ever seen this guy live? Amazing. He is an incredible showman - the voice, the jokes, the looks, the moves... I could go on, but Scott finds my celebrity crush pretty obnoxious, so I'll stop there. If you want to treat yourself to a night of serenades and dreams of what it must be like to be Luisana Lopilato (along with thousands of other middle-aged women and gay men), then this is your place.

Amateur Thanksgiving

After almost 5 years of marriage, I've realized my in-laws catch phrase for all events is "go big or go home." No guests outside of the family coming? Doesn't matter. We deserve a party. Bring out the pickle tray! More appetizers, the better! Multiple candy dish displays, pies, dips, decor galore... and that doesn't even brush the surface. Thanksgiving at Scott's grandmother's house is no exception. Usually we have all of the extended family, but this year, it was just us and g-rents. Yet, it didn't stop us from having enough food and party like everyone was there.

First, we start off singing a barrage of Thanksgiving hymns:

MIL at the organ

Everyone "singing"

 Then we follow up with passing around a basket full of individual names on paper slips - we each pick one and say something for which we are grateful about that person:

Mema writes the names, and usually writes her nicknames for us all.

Then we finally dig in:

Orange Jello = crucial to Thanksgiving. Its mutilation is inevitable. 

And we finish up with some gaming and some napping:

Trivial Pursuit circa 1972. The entertainment section was just that - entertaining, to say the least.

We party so hard, not even the kids can keep up.

Now think back... what was your favorite part of Thanksgiving? Mine is a solid six-way tie of the above.

Amateur Blogger

Amateur blogger - (n) a person who keeps a Web log (blog) or publish an online diary on an extremely sporadic basis.


For example: "Mary is such an amateur blogger. The last time I blogged was two months ago."


So... here we go. A quick run down of event of the past two months in a series of what I'm sure are long-awaited updates from OAL (our amateur life... yes, I'm totally nicknaming myself. Cool, right?)


I'll do you some justice and split it up among multiple posts. 

Amateur Sister II

November 2010; Annapolis, MD. 

I like to call us the alpha and the omega. We are the beginning and the end of our family.

Is it lame that I got teary-eyed watching my not-so-little, youngest brother rock the house at his last band competition of the season? 

My baby brother is growing up. I moved out when he was six years old, and that is how I will always remember him - as the kid who loved to hang out in a box on Christmas (remember that? It got very sweaty and very smelly very quickly). The kid I took to the pool every day the summer we moved. The kid whom I chased around the house. Now he's the kid that goes to homecoming dances, busts out sweet skateboarding tricks, and totes around an instrument the size of a small refrigerator. 

Seriously, where have I been? When did this happen? Where is that little kid? I suppose while I was busy getting a degree, husband, and job, he decided to grow up. I couldn't be more happy with the person he's decided to become so far. The picture below is from his baptism. I'm was so proud of him then and still feel that same pride when I think of him passing the sacrament on Sundays. Keep it up, Hunt-stud. Before you know it, you'll be going off to college and serving a mission. I can't wait! 

January 2004; Yorktown, VA

Amateur Christmas Movie Watcher

Was Halloween a mere 9 days ago? And you say it still isn't even Thanksgiving yet? Well, I say bah-humbug to you Christmas-celebration haters. Mimicking the great poetry of Emma Lazarus, I say to give me your jazzy holiday tunes, your glittery decor, your over-abundant masses of cards in the mail yearning to be read, the glorious sounds of your choral sing-alongs. Send these, the Christmas spirit, baked cookies to me, I lift my lights to adorn the evergreen tree!

Why not start early this year? We always talk about trying to make the feelings and sentiments of the holiday season last through the year, and I can't think of a better way than to emphasize the upcoming holidays of Thanksgiving (only 14 days away!) and Christmas (44 days!). I'm doing my part by listing out all of the Christmas movies I want to watch. Time well spent, right?

Don't answer that.

So I like lists and I like movies. Sue me.

First, the must-sees:
- Christmas Story (easy - TBS will be playing it non-stop, so I'm bound to catch it)
- Elf (see above)
- Family Stone (one of my favorite movies of all time for some reason. It was the first and only movie I ever went to see by myself)
- A version of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas (I'm partial to the original)
- Home Alone (one of Scott's most favorite movies of all time)
- It's a Wonderful Life (because it most certainly is, isn't it?)
- Miracle on 34th Street
- A version of A Christmas Carol (and perhaps a reread of the literary version as well)
- Nativity Story
- Polar Express (perhaps SIL Julie and I will also learn how to play the theme on the piano, too)
- Holiday Inn (not just because our wedding reception was also at the "holl-a-day eeeeeen" <--- name that terrible rap song!)
- White Christmas (hello, true classic!)

Next, the hopefully-there-is-time after the must-sees (or I will make time):
- Shop Around the Corner (what You've Got Mail, another top 5 for me and Scott, is based on, along with Jimmy Stewart again? Can't say no to that)
- Little Women (another personal all-time favorite)
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (because it just feels so Christmas-y and being Mormon, I have to find some way to include C.S. Lewis)
- You've Got Mail (why not? I watch at least a few times a year anyway)

And finally, the if-I'm-really-bored list (because I really like the actors and the settings):
- While You Were Sleeping (gotta love Bill Pullman)
- Preacher's Wife (hello, Denzel! And an awesome soundtrack to boot)
- The American President (great cast and set in DC)

So what are your favorite holiday movies? Anything I'm missing, folks?