I blogged EVERY day for an entire month as part of the Nablopomo group.  They might not have all been long, thought provoking posts (not that I do much of that around here anyway) and most were just a couple of lines and a photo or link, but I DID IT and I'm so glad I did.  The more I blog the more I remember how much I love writing.  That was kind of the whole reason behind starting this thing.  Since I'll never be as famous as Dooce or Blurb or Bossy, the only thing I have going for me here is my writing and hopefully a little wit.  I do hope those of you who read this dribble enjoy it to some extent or least like to procrastinate for a few minutes everyday to read about where I am.

Goodbye November - thanks for keeping it real.

Pot of Gold Bowling at Earl Anthony's in Dublin.  I won all of $2.50, plus an extra $0.50 because the caller on our lane was being an ass to everyone but me.  It didn't make me like him any, but I'll take the $0.50.  So for Pot of Gold you have to wait till you get a colored pin (red, green, yellow or blue) and depending on the pattern the pins are in you can make anywhere from $0.50 to $100.  I didn't get many opportunities to bowl for money, but it was still a lot of fun. Keith and Chris did well, Laura and I did about the same and Cory joined us and made $5 even though he hadn't played American bowling in years.  Humpf.  Beginners luck.  ;-)

Fun times...




Laura going for the spare



Cory showing off the stylish shoes



Keith hoping for $0.50



Just thought this was cool with all the colors and movement.

Is the food coma over? Or has round two just begun?

It's day 28 of Nablopomo. I'm drawing a blank over what to talk about. I've realized the more I write on this blog, the fewer intimate things I can talk about. I don't talk about dating because honestly, I won't write about anyone I'm just dating and not in a relationship with. Even if it may be good blog fodder.

Fodder - that's a word, right?

I've also stood my ground about writing anything specific about my job. Except that the market sucks and it's greatly affecting the type of work I'm in.

So besides work and dating, what else do I do? Sleep. Play with Shelby. Watch TLC (which by the way - What Not To Wear marathon on ALL DAY today. Fantabulous). I've basically stopped my exercise routine. I definitely plan to start up again next week, but how much yoga do ya'll want to hear about?

Basically, I'm not sure what I'm writing about anymore. This is supposed to be, "Where's Steph?" Either physically, emotionally, mentally.... WHere am I today? Hard to say. I'm physically at home, although I went over to Laura and Jason's for a few hours for dinner and a rousing game of Mexican Train. 

Emotionally, I think I'm doing ok.  Holidays are hard.  My mind is on the passing of Uncle Vince, of Clair home with her family in NY, and me not in a relationship this year.  I was on my own for years during the holidays and never had a problem with it.  I always looked forward to time with family and seeing friends home from college, but then I had three great holiday years with K and I guess I got used to having someone special around and it made the holidays even nicer.  Honestly, the holidays are a bit empty this year.

Mentally, I feel good.  Feel like i'm paying more attention to the world.  I'm also a totally wiz at the Chronicle crossword puzzles.  I also kicked Jason's ass in the Family Feud (yahoo games version) tonight.

So where are you guys?  How are you doing?

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving. Here's a family favorite...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

I think I'm going to have THE most mellow Thanksgiving EVER. 

I'm driving to Pittsburg on Thursday around mid-day for dinner with the family and then coming back home that evening.  Then...NOTHING.

I'm so excited I can't stand it.  There are books to read, nails to paint, possibly even a productive moment of cleaning my bathroom or vacuuming my bedroom.  But other than that I plan to sleep in and center myself with lots of TLC.  The cable channel, not the other acronym.

10:45am - tailgate



ah, yeah.




Stands fun



Crowd surfers




Thatcher and Mel



We won!



Only game they'll let you rush the field for.

Go Bears!

Finally home after a very long, fun-filled day. After the bears won 37-16 and I got to see my first ever Axe exchange, I meandered my way down to bart, got to my car and drove into the city for the annual St Dominic's contemporary choir pre-Thanksgiving dinner party. Everyone is required to bring something they've never made before. I made truffles and they were delicious (kept them in a cooler of ice in my trunk while I was at the game). All the dishes were good - and after three years we haven't had a bad one yet. It was super fun to see everyone, but I was so drained from the game and my earlier partying that I decided to NOT go to the Rocky Horror cast party down in Brisbane, and instead I drove back home and am now laying in my bed about to shut off the light. I'm so tired. So full. So happy.

Good night

So far, I'm late getting to the tailgate, but other than that I'm good.

Stay tuned for updates throughout the game

The white knot is the new symbol for marriage equality. It takes two traditional symbols of marriage—white and tying the knot—and combines them in a simple way to show support for the right of gays and lesbians to marry. All loving couples deserve the same legal rights, benefits, and respect that civil marriage bestows.

Visibility is our goal. Whether you are gay or straight, please show your support by wearing the knot and telling people why you are wearing it. It may seem like a small thing, but imagine the white knot gaining the pervasiveness and instant recognition of the AIDS Ribbon.

Wear your white knot to work, to school, to your place of worship. Celebrities will be wearing white knots down red carpets this awards season. Together, we will keep the topic at the top of people's minds and keep the conversation going.

Events I plan to attend this year that would be more fun if I was going with a friend or relationship-like-person...but it looks like I'll be going alone.

Cal vs. Stanford Game this weekend (extra ticket going to waste)
Alice 97.3 holiday concert on Dec 12th (extra ticket going to waste)
Smuin Ballet in Walnut Creek next week
Interested in seeing La Boheme while it's playing in SF
New Year's Eve - thinking about going to see Jackie Greene play at the Independent. But if not, maybe something where I get to dress up.

Don't get me wrong, I know I have many friends, but most of them are out of town or are busy. I usually feel so independent that I don't care...I guess I'm just tired of being by myself when I want to have fun.

Dear soccer mom in a ridiculously big Tundra;

First of all, the speed limit is 35 on the road leading to the BART parking lot in Castro Valley, NOT 15. Please go the next time the light is green instead of slowing down because you figure you might not possibly make it and then heaven forbid you might end up in the intersection when the light turns yellow.

Second of all, there's NO STOP SIGN when you enter the parking lot. All other sides have stop signs, but we do not because the entering traffic has the right away. STOP stopping; you're pissing the rest of us off.

Also, your big, fat ass truck can't fit into that tiny space. No matter how many times you back out, try again, and repeat to no avail, there's no way your car was made for tiny BART spaces. Go park in one of the far empty spaces next to a curb so you have a little extra room to take up and then you're not hugging the space line so little cars like me have to bang into your car to exit our vehicles. Not that I feel bad for banging into your car. You are an idiot after all. Why have such a large, honkin' car when it takes only you and then sits at BART all day?

So I just thought I'd write this in hopes that you might consider looking around you and noticing that there are other people that live in this world besides you and your Tundra. I'm sure if you realized that fact you would try to be less stupid.

Thank you.

All I wanted to do today was leave work on time so I could get to the dry cleaners to get my chorus uniform hemmed and taken in.  BUT, Bart was packed, I took the train back a couple of stations, in the process missing my train, and then decided I might as well go all the way down to Civic Center so I can definitely get a seat.  At this point I knew I could JUST make it if I took the next Dub/Pleasanton train.  So, I'm waiting and waiting, and my train is next, i get on, go all the way to West Oakland and then as the doors are closing I think, why is this train SO empty?  Usually ALL the Dub/Pl trains are jam packed - so what's up?  And then I think...HOLY SHIT, stupid ass BART stuck ANOTHER Pittsburg/Baypoint train in between the Richmond and Dublin trains.  HOWEVER, there was already a Pittsburg/BP train in between the Richmond and Dub/Pl train, so WHY would there be another??? Because BART SUCKS LARGE BALLS.  So I got off at Oakland 12th street, worked my way down to the lower platform and waited for a Fremont train, which was SIX cars and packed, so I ended up standing, which if you missed it, was the WHOLE reason for me going to Civic Center and getting on the train there.  So then I got the Fremont train and had to transfer at Bayfair and get on the Dub/Pl train and I got to my car at 6:30pm.  NINETY friggin' minutes after I left my office and and four trains later..  I wanted to cry.  I honestly thought I might.

Couldn't possibly make it to the dry cleaners and not be that awful person that shows up at closing and requires special attention for hemming and taking things in, so I put on my pjs, took out my contacts and made dinner and I'm now curled up on the sofa trying to block out the world eating chocolate ice cream.  Shelby is being boarded to tonight at the K-9 Club, so I don't even have her to make me feel better.  At least Jon & Kate + 8 is on tonight. 

And if you ask me if I'm PMS-ing I'm going to find you, chase you down and throw something heavy at your head.

Thank you for listening.

Well, it has been a while since BOSSY started her Poverty Party and this is the first time I've contributed.  So I'm a slacker...I don't think you're really that surprised.  

I finally got my butt in gear around 4pm this afternoon; grabbed my GAP friends and family 30% off card and headed over to Stoneridge to attempt to use it on something I really needed - jeans.  I have two pairs of jeans that I wear most often, one from Lucky Brand and the other is a great pair by Michael Kors that I got on sale at Macy's last summer.  I love both, but the Lucky Brand isn't very work appropriate and sort of a lighter wash, which I don't like.  The MK jeans still look good, but the length is really only good for flats or flipflops and I've been unable to wear cute boots or heels without looking like I'm flooding.  With the cooler weather I thought this would be a great time for me to get new jeans that I can wear more winter-appropriate shoes with.  That's a real reason!!  Thus it must be okay to spend the money.

Sooo, instead of heading to Nordstrom's or Macy's for the more expensive jeans, i head directly to GAP - along with everyone and their mother who also got one of these pretty, green cards:



 I tried on about 10 pairs of jeans and determined that I really needed a 12 regular size, not A (for ankle length?) or L (for long length).  Just R - for Regular.  BUT OF COURSE, they didn't have any 12Rs out on the floor for the pair of jeans that I loved, so when i realized once I was in the dressing room that the other 12 options wouldn't do, I stuck my head out to get the teenage boys' attention to go find a 12R while all the moms in line glared at me.  I can't help it  that they have only a handful of rooms for ALL THE PEOPLE!  Anyway, he came back with what I needed after a minute or so and I loved it, plus I found a second pair that sort of looks like a trouser cut, so that'll be good for casual Friday.  So, for about $98, which is less than what I can get for one pair of jeans from Nordy's, I got two pairs of jeans and with the coupon I ended up saving $38.70.  Whoo! for coming up with a good reason to spend money!

Whaddya think?

 
trouser jeans


regular (or as GAP calls them - the "Essential") jean

Don't judge me by my messy room.

Because I'm tired.
Exhausted, actually.  Can someone please tell me why I can't seem to get enough sleep lately??

I have many, many things I need to get done today and so far I've just had breakfast, answered some emails and thrown in a load of laundry.  Need to go by the dry cleaners/alterations before they close at 5pm.  Need to go by Target, swing by the grocery store and I was hoping to hit up the GAP today because I have a friends & family coupon burning a hole in my purse.  I need to call people back, but really don't feel like talking to anyone; this could possibly be that I had to talk to so many people yesterday and will have to do it again tonight.  At least tonight is the finally night for Rocky Horror Show and then I'll have my weekends back.  Oh yeah, so I need to get up so I can get to the show.  Sigh.

And CAL isn't winning. They aren't doing well at all.

8:34am - Remembered it was the 12th and immediately took a picture of what I was doing.  Reading Bossy.



8:35am - Then I took a picture of my little collection of post its and notes and Cal things.  The block letters say MATH.  Although sometimes they say HAWT or WHAT depending on my mood.



8:36am - My MP3 player sucks.  The battery won't stay charged and it often tells me that it's memory is full when i KNOW there's still room left.  The only thing I still like it for is the FM tuner so i can listen to the Sarah & Vinnie Morning Show on Alice.



1:27pm:  Long meeting made me take a late lunch at my desk.  But at least it was yummy tomato soup.  Also looking at Pioneer Woman's Flickr page.



4:12pm - The sun sets so early now.  Gorgeous skyscape from our conference room; too bad I couldn't get the glare from the office to go away.



5:30pm - Walked over to Chipotle at Market and 2nd to help one of the analysts get the office dinner.  Mainly it was so I had an excuse to get out of the building for the first time since I arrived there in the morning.  They also scored me a burrito bowl.  Sweet



7:14pm:  Returned a call from a guy that I met on Halloween and we decided to go meet up in North Beach so he could eat dinner and I could get dessert.  This was at the corner of Clay and Sansome on my walk from my office to Columbus and Jackson.



7:58pm:  mmmm, polenta.



7:58pm - hadn't been to Caffe Macaroni since Kelly, April, Lindsay and I went there in college and discovered the bar/club Kell's across the street.  That's how I met Captain Dave.  When my date suggested this place it made me laugh at the memory of us four girls splitting bottles of wine and then somehow dancing with sailors by the end of the evening.  I think I've mentioned that story a few times here - I guess it's just a fun memory.  :-)




8:58pm - mmmm, gelato.  This place was so cool.  They encouraged us to try everything.  Plus, they put cool items in the gelato tub so you know what it is.  Pumpkin = pumpkin.  Coconut = coconut.  Get it?  Ok, just checking...


9:44pm:  Barting it



11pm:  Home and getting my Top Model fix.



11:01pm:  Maybe not...I'm soooooo sleepy.


OKAY, just in under the wire today for Nablopomo.  Hope you enjoyed 12 of 12, even if it is late (so I threw in a 13th shot for being late).  Check out Chad's link HERE for other 12-ers.

"...thank you so much for auditioning for Ray of Light Theatre's 'I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change.' We expect to have to have some casting decisions early next week."

Sigh.

Just in case I don't get home in time to post my 12 of 12, I thought I'd get something down.

Long day at work is turning into a great and spontaneous evening. :-)