Touching Base

March-
My husband finished laying the tile in the hallway and the finishing touches. Looks professionally done right down to the crown molding, new textured and painted walls, base boards etc.

My Mom came to town for 2 weeks for a family wedding and to hang out with me. It was a good visit.

April-
I flew to Vegas on the 9th. Hung out with my Mom in a luxurious hotel & Spa called the M Resort. So lush and so relaxing. Won $425 playing penny machines, drove home on Saturday May 11th and checked her into a hotel (since her floors were being done and the company was paying her lodging and food per diem). She couldn’t stay at my house- messy to do remodel.

Had b-day dinner with my family and my husband’s family since my father in law and I share the same b-day. Local eatery, pizza, family oriented, lots of good eats- Gay 90’s Pizza in Pleasanton, CA.
My Mom was in town for 16 days, had a great visit with her since her hotel stay was in Livermore. Saw her lots but wished I could have seen her more considering her sister was ill and stayed at the Hotel with my Mom which eliminated lots of time I wanted to stay at the hotel with her.

May-
May 1st, celebrated my 5 year Wedding Anniversary- Wow, time flies! Went to dinner at Wente Vineyards Restaurant in Livermore, CA (our backyard- literally a 10 minute drive). My dinner was soooo good. The best Filet Mignon ever, so tender, so succulent. Our dessert even had Happy Anniversary written in chocolate all over the plate. The chocolate was sooo good, I had to mess up the writing and eat it all up
Sunday May 3rd it was raining but that didn’t keep my husband and I from going downtown to enjoy the Livermore Art & Wine Festival. We each rec’d a commemorative glass which we can use at Thirsty Thursdays (every 3rd Thursday at the Farmer’s Market that starts this Thursday) if we bring our glass, we can sample wine for free while others pay $5 each 3rd Thursday, we get each 3rd Thursday Free. It’s a heck of a deal.
Saturday May 10th- KFOG Concert in San Francisco, as always, tons of fun. It was Juli, my husband, my friend Jason, and my husband’s friends from San Jose- a smaller group this year but still fun to sit around, listen to bands, enjoy the sun (while it lasts), enjoy vendors with food and drink, watch the cold weather roll in, watch the day go from light to dark, watch the fireworks. Very Festive and basically welcomes Summer for me
Sunday May 11th- a double day of Mother’s Day. From one house to another. All family, good food, good gatherings, and a treat to see everyone all in one day. I missed my Mom. She is back in Henderson. She was unable to turn around and come back, she had to put her house back together after she returned, she loves her new floors.
I arranged for some flowers to arrive at her house last week on Thursday May 7th for Mother’s Day. I would have loved to see her face as those flowers arrived. It something I enjoy doing now that my Dad can’t give her flowers anymore
Last weekend May 14th- May 18th- was in Vegas just for the hell of it. Wanted to visit my Mom and possibly find a way to get into the No Doubt concert at Mandalay Bay or the Staind concert at Sunset Station. I will write another email with the update from last weekend. Lots to say…….

a much needed recap for February.
February was a very hard month. Lots happened a year ago. Lots to remember and look back on but mostly I am amazed that life still goes on no matter how much is lost.

Feb 1st- 1st Treat Yogurt opened in Livermore, Ca- I am a dedicated fan of this place showing up at least once a week.
February 7th- In Henderson…. it rained so we couldn’t raise the flag on my Dad’s 1 year Memorial Service (Celebration for the End of Mourning). The church service was good and the Dinner was relaxing and my Mom put together a great gathering.
Feb 14th- It’s Valentine’s Day and my husband promised me that we would go out to Sushi to celebrate his new job. So, we splurged on dinner, celebrated his new job and each other (tee hee).
February 21st- Mah Jongg game at David’s house in Danville. New people, new strategies, lots of fun.
Feb 24th- 1st Meetup (www.meetup.com) for East Bay Boardgamers in Dublin. Lots of fun, new faces, I love being social and playing board games. Stacey’s at Waterford has a grand way to get people together. They advertise on Craigslist to see if anyone wants to host a Meetup. They have a banquet room set up mid-week to accommodate 65 people. Stacey’s already has an infocus machine, a huge projection screen, 2 huge Bose’ speakers and a Wii system with 2 controllers ready to go. People arrive and find -2 brand new board games set up on tables with cotton table clothes, silverware and the whole 9 yards on the table ready to go. A special sampler menu has been arranged for that nights meeting. I am looking forward to more East Bay Board Gamers meetups every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month. This beats trying to form a Pub Quiz in Livermore. This way someone else and a restaurant are the host. I just show up.
Feb 28th- Mah Jongg- another group called the Bay Area Mah Jongg Dojo- we played for 5.5 hours last night in Vallejo. It was a treat. When one place kicked us out after 3 hours, we chose to go to Round Table, get dinner and play for 2 more hours. I had so much fun.

Now it’s time for bed.

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http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/106466/Where-You-Won’t-Shop-in-2009

My husband and I attended an Inarguable Party which had many of his old colleagues and bosses from Mervyn’s.  We went to see his old co-workers and to network for future job opportunities.  The other people there were to support Obama and to help kick Bush out the White House.  Everyone there was a democrat except my husband and I.  Were we going to tell them that?  Of course not.  Were we going to share our beliefs and talk about politics- of course not.  I didn’t watch enough of McCain’s or Obama’s campaign to have a full on conversation with anyone.  So, I kept my mouth shut.  I did indulge in some wine, some tasty appetizers and sat in the background, while people raised their glasses as Obama was sworn in.  I’m entitled to roll my eyes and want to turn off the TV anytime Obama speaks, but the fact is- he’s our President now.  I have to live with it now.  Hopefully he will only be in office for 1 term.  I really want to see if he’s able to do all the “changes” that he promised.

On Sunday, Jason Lehrbaum got my husband and I tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters at the Oakland Colesium.  FREE TICKETS that is.  2 pm was the start and it was a great show.  So many interesting, difficult tricks.  I don’t like watching basket ball but I liked watching them.  Tricks are fun to watch, an actual game- not so much.  At least the quarters were not as long as a full game and there was a lot of interaction for the children to participate.  Lots of skits, laughing, joking with the audience.  Too bad the two extra tickets we had, had to go to waste.  We had invited friends that at least an older child that would enjoy but all 4 sets of Dad’s with Son’s and a father and a daughter could not use the extra two tickets.  Bummer for them !!

Lehrbaum works for Printroom.com so his clients are the Globetrotters.  He doesn’t need tickets since he’s got his own exclusive pass- he photographs them.  He was the head photographer for the San Jose and Oakland appearances.  He can attend any of their future appearances.  I am trying to obtain free tickets for my Mom and a friend for the Las Vegas appearance at The Orlean’s Arena on February 11th.  February will be a hard month for my family, especially my Mom and if I can help distract her for just for a little bit between the 7th and Valentines Day then I will.  

Thanks Lehrbaum.  www.printroom.com

During New Year’s Eve dinner which we ate relatively late, around 8 pm because we knew we were going to be staying up late.  We watched other countries- Australia, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, China, New Zealand- celebrate their New Year’s.  At 9 pm PST, we watch New York celebrate their New Year’s in Time Square.  It’s always fun to watch the actual time when the ball drops or other places celebrate the new year.  

11 pm we walked over to our new neighbors house that moved to the our neighborhood back in March/April.  They are the same age as us but they have a 2 year old and a baby on the way.  They had finger foods set up, lots of champagne, sparkling cider and beer.  I indulged in all.  She even made these really good cookies with M&M’s in them.  I haven’ had those in almost 10 years.  The last time I had those, my Mom made those for me in San Ramon where my folks used to live until they moved to Henderson, NV.

Champagne was poured, the hats were put on, the horns were in hand, my husband opened up a bag of poppers.  We watch the New York ball drop, we yelled out Happy NEw Year.  We gave hugs and kisses to those in the room.  I think this is the only time of year that we can get kissed and hugged by total strangers (not on the mouth- on the cheek).  It’s a very joyous time.  We got our gear, drank our champagne, put on our warm gear and headed outside to yell into the night, whistle, scream out loud, explode our poppers, watch the confetti flow to the ground.  With just 5 of us outside, it was fun.  I noticed that my husband brought two cigars.  One for our new neighbor (the husband of course) and one for him.  A very low key New Year’s but very relaxing and comfortable knowing we are drinking, having a good time and we don’t have to drive anywhere.

New Year’s Eve weekend, we gave our our two Queen Beds.  To make a long story short for many of you that I have already told.  We are re-doing our floors, getting a new bedroom set, a flat screen for the master bedroom, new tile floor extending from the kitchen into the hallway, a new flat screen for the family room, getting a KING bed with a Memory Foam Thera-pedic mattress, and cleaning up a bunch of stuff.  Yes, whenever we get rid of stuff, we always have a garage sale.  I can’t wait for the floors to be put in.  Buying the bedroom set in the next step.  Lots of changes but all for the better.  This is why we don’t buy lavish things or spend frivilously so we can afford things that we need and want.  Life is great when you can live this way.  I find this more pleasurable and enjoyable when you look at your  home and realize that all the hardwood has gone into it, has been done by yourself.  The home and all the contents will last longer because the realization of the amount of work put into it- it’s called Pride and it’s a great feeling.  My husband and I always do things on our own and when we can’t do it, we hire someone but that is very rare.

So my husband has been working diligently since the end of Dec.  Networking and keeping contacts with his old colleagues.  Something finally panned out.  He had an interview last week and now he was offered a job.  He starts in the next week or so.  We are very grateful that he was able to find a job in two weeks.  2009 is already looking really BRIGHT!

Wow, lots to write about and catch up on….. so if you don’t mind go back to Thanksgiving, here goes….

 

My Mom came out for Thanksgiving, she drove with her sister and brother.  My Mom stayed with another one of her sisters and brother in law for the week she was here.  We visited and caught up on things, laughed and cried on how we both miss my Dad/her husband.  This has been a tough year for my family but with the bond of my immediate family, the communication and support from our extended family and friends- it’s all the people that make it manageable.  We thank everyone for being good listeners, good friends and overall “there” for us  Thanksgiving- giving Thanks.  I have a lot to be thankful for and I try to give thanks back to that mean the most to me- either in emails, text messages, calling them, saying I love you, etc.

Before Thanksgiving, all my christmas shopping was completed back in October.  So, after Thanksgiving up until a week before Christmas, all I did was wrap presents.

The unexpected was happening, my husband was going to lose his job at the end of December.  So, we decided to eliminate our annual Christmas party.  We were planning for the unexpected.  We started saving our pennies back in July because since July there was talk about Mervyn’s closing down and a ton of lay offs.  It was the smartest move we did.  Now we have a cushion to work off of for at least 8 months until we start to get worried.  

Christmas Eve I worked from 8 am - 1pm.  My husband out and about running errands and getting ingredients for our dinner.  I requested that he go to 99 Ranch (Asian Market) and pick up two “LIVE” Dungeness crab.  He learned that night how to cook crab live from scratch, clean it and crack it.  I am very impressed ALWAYS that he is so adaptable and willing to try or learn anything.  Now, it’s a very simple process and you can’t get any better than live fresh crab.  He prepped and cooked dinner for me.  I am so lucky to have him in my life.  He has done so much for me over the course of the year.  So supportive during the months I stayed in Vegas, so supportive when I didn’t have a job for 7 months, so loving, so caring- words can’t describe any more how much he means to me.

Christmas was nice, calm and sad all wrapped into one huge feeling of sadness.  Spending time with my family was relaxing but it will not ever be the same without my Dad there.  It seems totally odd that life continues to move on and go forward even though there is a huge chunk missing.  At times throughout the year, I wished that I could go back in time and re-live that last month I had with him.  I don’t have any regrets, I just miss the hugs, saying the word “Dad”, “I love you Dad”, kisses, big bear hugs, the short conversations- things that many people take for granted.  At the same time, I don’t want to relive this year of sorrow, the crying, the sadness.  Time needs to move on, I need to grieve at the pace, I don’t need to go back, I have such great/amazing memories of what he was and always will be to me.  I don’t need to explain to anyone, I just know.  Memories are an amazing thing.  You have them as long as you can remember.  Christmas came and past.  On the 27th, I drove my Mom back home to Henderson.  While in Henderson, I had an opportunity to hang out with my friend Jennifer.  We went to this yummy restaurant called Vox.  We devoured these White Truffle Oil Edamame which was delicious with Maltin sea Salt (huge crystal salt with a mild flavor)- really good.  Jennifer and I split a really yummy mac and cheese with truffle oil.  We had dessert and all I can say- blah!  This place or at least the bar menu is not about the dessert.  (Next time Jennifer- we need to order from the restaurant menu- did you check it out online?  It looked much better).  Speaking of truffle oil, it’s the way to go.  I purchased a bottle on line and I use it regularly.  You can only use it at the end or else all the flavor is cooked out, if you use it too early.  I flew home on Tuesday night the 30th.  It was a good visit.  My Mom had plans were her friends to celebrate the New Year and I had plans to hang and be low key at my place with neighbors.  

New Year’s Eve, I worked from 8 am - 1 pm - all this week over the holidays is double time.  My office is closed from the 24th through the 5th of January.  A very nice break.  I offered to work that skeleton crew so I can make double pay to assist with finances.  My husband and I made dinner together.  Filet Mignon with a balsamic reduction sauce, roasted vegetables- asparagus, mushrooms, carrots, squash and you can’t forget the starch- 1/2 a baked potato.  Finish that meal with a nice red wine.  Dinner was quiet, just the two of us (who else).  This will probably be the last quiet year.  We hope to have a family this time next year.

Well, since I went to bed last night really early, I am getting an early start to see my Dad.  He is buried at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery in Gustine, CA which is only an hour on the freeway.  A total of 1hr and 15 minutes from my home.  A really nice drive.  I ALWAYS have a foldable chair in the truck of my car, a blanket and the necessary tools to cut the roses and a bag to not make a mess.  I am absolutely grateful that my Dad is buried in such a pristine Cemetery.   I always drive to Safeway, grab a extra hot, hot chocolate, my dozen red roses, a little memento for the grave.  I try to remember to bring an american flag.  Last month, I placed a little mini pumpkin on his grave.  The month before that was a half drank bottle of coco cola.  Coke was his favorite soda.  The reason why I drank half of it, I didn’t want the maintenance crew or whomever to drink something that I bought for him.  So, if it’s half empty, who would drink it? Since it’s November, I can’t place a mini turkey.  I have to think of something to place other than the flowers.  Maybe I will just be traditional and place an american flag.  He will LOVE that too.  The cemetery opens at 8.  I can’t wait for “THE VISIT”.

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/11/five-gadget-whi.html?npu=1&mbid=yhp