This whole month was supposed to be devoted to the subject of Home.  I had grand plans of exploring all the places I have lived, but I've barely scraped the service of Pittsburg or San Ramon and I didn't even mention my summers in Livermore or my seven years in San Francisco.  What can I say, I took the easy way out and talked about superficial things most of the time.  This is partly due to my schedule.  Sometimes I feel like I hardly have time to breath.  There's work, friends, family, events, commitments, fun time, down time, me time, time to clean, time to organize, time to exercise, time to shop and time to sleep.  There's not enough time for everything and even though blogging is easy enough to do on my blackberry while i'm on the train, sometimes my thoughts don't come together that early in the morning and by the time I head home all I want to do is sit and stare out the window in silence.

And all of this doesn't just take up my time to devote necessary blog planning, but it takes away my energy.  So even when i have a good hour or so to just blog, I can't scrounge up enough emotional energy to open myself up in these entries.  So I try to look on the bright side, except for the second of June, I blogged every day for a month. I hope you found it, at most, entertaining, and at the very least, a way to procrastinate from your own busy lives.  I love having this outlet, but don't be surprised if I'm gone the next couple of days; 30 days of writing, even if it wasn't everything I had planned to discuss, is a lot of writing.  

This also doesn't mean I have to stop talking about the different places I've called home, it'll just seem a bit more random than usual.  But everything I write is random...so who knows what will pop up here.  And if you have your own blog and ever thought about doing Nablopomo, the July theme is FOOD.  I'm skipping it, but maybe one of you will be inspired by the theme.

Laters...

The last of a two-concert series was a little more mellow and the intermission included some taco bell. Here's the list of CDs that I sang along to all the way home from Reno.

Steele Horse Stampede, "Live at the Onyx" - Picked it up at their set last night at the Peppermill. They're really good - even if my brother's not playing on the CD because he joined the group after they recorded it. I like the original stuff, especially "heartland" and "cadillac boogie."

Marie Digby - Another copy from laura and jason. I'm really digging this one, except for her cover of Rianna's "Umbrella," that one is a bit odd.

Duffy, "Rock Fairy" - only my second listen to this CD. Decent, but upbeat so it got me through the vastness of nothing between Reno and Sacramento.

Frank Sinatra, Best Of - One of the longest CDs I own, I knew it would take me from Dixon to San Ramon without repeating a song. I love singing along, even if Ol' Blue Eyes and I have completely different natural keys. I usually end up singing way high in my headvoice and super low in my chest voice. But I like messing around with the harmonies while no one else is in the car to judge me.

Next concert, I mean, roadtrip is with Clair in July on our way to a fried's wedding; set list TBD

I lost the $11.25 plus $25 more. Dagnabit. But then some guy bought me a drink and let me play blackjack with his money - that was weird.

I sat down at one of those video casino games while I waited for my order at the sports deli to be made and put in two dollars. I never understand these games. You choose your betting amount and hit go and then it digitally "spins" and there are bunches of lines that cross the screen and I can never tell the difference between winning or losing. It's not like a regular slot machine where you need three similar images in a row - these are random pictures in random orders. And sometimes you do so well that it goes into a bonus round and then the machine really does everything for you, you just sit and watch as you rake in the points. So I hit go, nothing happened, hit it again, nothing happened - I'm down to $1.30 and I go again. I get three bonus images and go into a bonus game for 15 free spins. Awesome! But then my number is called for my mini-pizza and I don't know what to do. So while my machine is spinning and spinning and raking in the points, I run the 10 feet over to the pick-up window and run back to watch the last three bonus spins. Luckily, no one tried to claim my machine's seat. In all I won over $9 and left the machine with $11.25. Not bad for starting out with $2. I basically just got a free lunch, which is good, because the pizza was pretty awful. But the rootbeer was refreshing.

List of CDs that got me from Walnut Creek, Ca to Reno, NV. It was a great one-woman show, unfortunately it was one of only two scheduled performances for this weekend and you have to be in my car to hear it.

Charlotte Sometimes - not sure of the name of the CD, but she totally rocks. Thanks for the copy Jason!

Jackie Green - Sweet Somewhere Bound. Two times! I just love this CD. I think, "oh, this is my favorite song" with each new song, I can't get enough of this one

Bryan Adams Live in Concert - totally one of my favorite guilty pleasures. Who doesn't love belting along to "summer of 69?"

And that's it - 4 hours of music. It was quite a concert.

Alright kiddos, I'm off to Reno tomorrow after a (hopefully) short 1/2 day at work.  I'm pretty much packed - I think I've packed everything because I honestly don't know what I want to wear, what I want to do or what the weather will call for.  It's supposed to be in the mid 90's, BUT there are going to be thunderstorms ALL weekend.  Great!  I might just try to get a salon and/or spa appointment and stay inside pampering myself.  Heck, I deserve it.  What for you ask, well, you'll just have to believe me that I deserve it.

Oh yeah, the REAL reason I'm going to Reno for the weekend is to see my brother's band perform at the Peppermill.  It was supposed to be a big family event, but it's turning into, oh, JUST ME going.  Check out his band's website - Steel Horse Stampede, and I'm sure you'll be hearing from me tomorrow, sometime late, in a smoky bar, drinking a martini.

I arrived home at 7pm tonight - EARLY for me!  I walked in with thoughts of dinner and relaxing on my mind, but instead I walked into the front door and was greeted by a Shelby dog and a pile of bile.  Honestly, if the roomies are going to leave the dog all by herself in the house, can they leave her some dog food so she doesn't feel the need to eat the house plants which make her sick?

Sometimes I feel like the only person with a brain.

In other news - I've been sleepy all day today, so I think I'll give in.  Goodnight. 

More shots...these are on the interesting side. 



Jason is sowing some wild oats before settling down with my sister.



Chicks, MAN!



Mmmm, I love original recipe in a bucket.




This was at the pirate booth.  When did the county fair start offering pirate gear?



I love alliteration.



Bull Riding?  Really?



What's up, Doc?

 I'll post more to my Flickr site tomorrow night, but for now, here are some of my favorite shots from the Alameda County Fair.



She looks like a Rita to me.


Anyone feel like jamming?



Carousel, sepia tone.



Hi Mr. Bunny.



Good old-fashioned soft serve.

Some guy just randomly proposed to his girlfriend in the bottom of the fourth during a play where the Marlins tied up the score 2-2. They were a few rows above us in the section to our right. Completely random.

Oh, and the guy selling ice cream just let some dude wearing a Saints t-shirt carry his ice bag around and sell a couple of ice cream bars before gicing the bag back. What the...?? Was that dude in training? But why wasn't he wearing the neon green colesium shirt? I'm so confused.

What is wrong with today?

I'm working on my second beer and the game doesn't start for another 10 minutes. Thanks for driving Jason!
Oh yeah, and happy birthday Laura!

I can't exactly pinpoint why spending time with Boom and her family, staying up all night telling stories and eating spam and eggs in the morning would make me feel so relaxed, but it does. And now I'm laying on the bed with Boom and her nephew watching cartoons while he falls asleep. I didn't plan on spending a second night, but the karaoke and Guitar Hero fun seemed like too good to pass up. And tomorrow is Saturday, so the fun continues!!!

Things have changed and no one thought to tell ME.
Went to the Raley's in Pittsburg to pick up popcorn for my moviefest with Boomie and they changed the aisles around! I walked around For-Ev-errr trying to find the snack aisle.

THEN, I was driving to Oakley on Highway 4 and THEY CHANGED THE EXITS!!!! I couldn't find the right exit so I had to call Boomie and she didn't know because she doesn't live here anymore either and so her brother directed me.

Geez, warn a chica.

Warm, breezy summer nights
The smell of muddy grass in the fall
Yellow roses with splashes of pink
The song, "Jubilance" performed with lots of horns
Laying in bed listening to the rain
Mist on my way up to Lone Mountain
Singing a Dan Schutte song without having to look at the words
Blaring Journey's "Lights" before hitting the town 
Playing on the swings in the park, trying to swing as high as we can.
Spam and Eggs with rice.  Only one more day!!!

Domingo and I are cheering on the celtics at knuckles sportsbar on the wharf if anyone is around and wants to join us.

Who am I kidding? I'm completely inept in the kitchen. I try. Sometimes.... Anyway, when I do get in the kitchen and have to make myself dinner I have a few standbys that I loved eating when I was growing up and perfected my senior year of college when I lived in a dorm apartment with a real kitchen.

Tonight I attempted my first spin class in five years. It was my second spin class ever and besides feeling a tad bit sore in the nether regions ;-) I really, really liked it. The instructor was great, upbeat, but without being annoying or insincere. She caught me not breathing at one point and she told the whole class, "Don't forget to breath!", which caused me to inhale deeply and smile, knowing she was talking about me. She winked at me and just kept going. I liked it enough that I'm going to try to hit up the class again on Wednesday.

But I digress, this is about food. Anyway, I was hungry after class and wouldn't get home until 9pm, but knew I had a lot of food at home that I could make, and forego the In-and-Out Burger dinner that I was craving. Not that what I made ended up being gourmet or a helluva lot healthier, BUT, I made it and it's the ONE food that means down-home, comfort food to me beyond any other food that could fall in the "comfort food" category. My meal tonight consisted of, fish sticks, green beans, ANNNNND Original Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (with Velveeta!). I'm sure I've mentioned this before on this blog, but honestly, I'm not joking, if I HAD to eat only one food for the REST OF MY LIFE, I would choose, without hesitation, Original Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with the Velveeta packet. OMG, I could devour an entire family-sized box on my own. I won't let myself, BUT I COULD.

Box of cookies? Pffftp, whatev. A carton of ice cream? Nah. A box of mac'n'cheese - Hell to the YES.

The Bay Area is my home, but there's so much of it I still haven't explored. Here's a list off the top of my head of places and activites that are still a must for me and hopefully by writing them down here I'll actually put a bigger effort into achieving these things. Or, maybe smart guys that want to date me in the future will think about these activites for dates. I'll have to keep the permalink on my bookmarks for when such guys come around.

In no particular order:

1. Hike on Mt. Tam
2. Take the ferry to Angel Island
3. Rent bikes to ride across the Golden Gate into Marin to explore
4. Take the ferry to Sausalito to explore and maybe have a nice dinner then take a ferry back and view the city lights.
5. Go to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival
6. Visit the new NutTree in Vacaville. I yet a few times while I was growing up, but haven't been back since it was renovated in the past couple of years.
7. Go to the Black and White Ball
8. Get asked out for New Years Eve and get to dress up and dance the night away at the Hyatt or the Fairmont in the city.
9. Get dressed up and go to the Starlight Room to have a martini and and pretend to know how to dance to the swing music.
10. There's a floating restaurant near the wharf - I'd like to check that out.

Feel free to list your own Bay Area To-Do list.

I caught up on all the epidsodes of "So you think you can dance," that were saved on our DVR and after a quick trip to Target I saw the new "Living Lohan" on the E! network. Yeah, my intelligence has grown tremendously today.

Oooh, look, a new episode of "The Soup" is on. Yea!!!

Meh Did you just break your phone??

Jess: oh no!

Me: what's this?? (Picking up tiny dial and tiny bolt)

Jess: I don't know, it's not important.

The tiny dial ended up being her bberry pearl roller ball. Great, how do we call a taxi now?