Mission: Accomplished

Last night I went to my first Yoga class at 24 Hour Fitness in Santee, Calif. I've been trying to make it there for a week now, but kept getting there after the class had already started. So, last night, I left promptly at 715pm for the 730pm class. I got in, grabbed a mat, and got to it! And THIS time, I did not fart in class! There were a few touch-and-go moments, especially during the half-pigeon pose (ask me, I'll be happy to show it to you). But I held strong and made it through the entire hour without one hiccup (or it's opposite). Mission: Accomplished! Now, I'm off to tackle some other new activity!

Concert Goers

Saturday night, Justin and I headed down to Chula Vista, Calif. for the Maroon 5/Counting Crows/Augustana concert. I was there to see Maroon 5 and Justin was there to see Counting Crows. (Only Ginny knows how this Augustana is.) Unfortunately, on the carride there with Ginny, Jason, and Kimmie, we were informed that the frontman from Counting Crows was sick and so they wouldn't be performing. I've never had that happen to me before, probably because I don't attend too many concerts, but boy was Justin bummed :( Good thing we brought adult beverages, our bean bags, and Kimmie's handicap parking ticket. We partied up in the parking lot--some more than others--and then headed in for the show. The vote: Augustana=sleepytime. Maroon 5=good times!

And in between the two, we just relaxed. The other kids were in the lawn, but I splurged and got seats. Maybe next time we'll see Mr. Jones, too!

The Fall of September

In honor of September 11th, seven years after the attacks, I would like to offer a little sign of love. I saw a red leaf near the base of a tree in El Cajon last night. It was the first change of the season I've seen so far, and I was shocked I could see some resemblance of autumn in Southern California. Not only is fall my favorite season (I was inspired to make pumpkin bread last night too), but it also serves as an annual reminder that things change. Sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better, but they're continually pushing us to be better. We get second chances, we get to try again, start a new year, and start over. So enjoy fall and enjoy your chance to evolve and change!

With Love,
Stephanie

San Francisco Pictures

I'm attaching the link to my slideshow here: Kodak Gallery Pictures, but if the link doesn't work someone let me know! (I have the password so it obviously works for me.)

Just in case, here's a shot of Justin, Sean, me, and Nate (Justin's friend from college) at the Chargers game at the 49ers stadium. It was cold, but we had a blast!

And here are a few more.

Figs

PS. I had a fig today. My first ever! My suite mate at work brought on in for me to try. It was bright green on the outside and a light purple on the inside. It kind of tasted like a sticky Vitamin Water. Random! :) If you think I'm nuts, try one yourself!

Saturday in SF

The second day we were in San Francisco we headed to the Fisherman's Wharf. I loved it there! It was chilly, but super clean and there was a ton going on around us. Justin said that SF is known for the street performers. We saw the normal silver guys doing the robot, but also this lady dressed like a mermaid with a fisherman's body "holding" her (her boobs mostly), and a guy with an instrument like Dick Van Dyke plays in Merry Poppins. We saw tons of sea lions sunning and fighting for spots on the floating docks. A few of them held their arms up to dry off just like Kath used to in college :) We went to Ghiradelli Square which was great for people watching and warming up in the sun. There was a cute little fountain in the middle and a guy singing to the crowd. I had clam chowda' for lunch, but we avoided the trolleys since they looked too crowded and touristy (for Justin).

Finally after a few hours of Sean driving us around--including down Lombard Street--we headed to our new hotel near the airport. We took a nap, had some munchies, and just chilled. We were meeting up with my friend Tracy from grade school who moved to SF to go to Berkeley as well as this girl Sean's dating, who was home in San Jose for vacation. So around 630pm we headed back into the city to Little Italy and landed at Delucca's. It was super cute! I had an amazing bowtie pasta and it was great catching up with Tracy. So afterwards the four of us headed to a little bar down the street for a few drinks while we waited for Meliza and her friend to catch up with us. After much drinking, another bar where we ended up at a birthday party, and some dancing, it was time to head home. Unfortunately, the car was locked in a parking garage. With no way in the garage, we were forced to find a cab home. It was a little dicey for a bit--none of us were happy about having to cab it back to the airport--but Justin, Sean, and me are still friends, so that's a good sign I guess :)

After a silent cab ride back, we hit the sheets and passed out. We'd deal with the car situation on Sunday.

The City by the Bay

Justin, Sean, and I visited San Francisco (please don't refer to it as San Fran unless you want people to know you're a tourist) this past weekend. I had half of Friday and all of Monday off of work for Labor Day and this was Sean's last weekend of freedom before his senior year begins, so we took advantage of the timing! Justin and Sean drove up the coast Thursday night and picked me up at the airport Friday afternoon. We checked into our hotel and went right to the Charger game. It was the last preseason game: Chargers v. 49ers. We played a little corn hole or bags (depending on where you were born) and then headed into the stadium. It was freezing, but it was fun to see another stadium. I might have to make a tour one of these days. Unfortunately, we left in the fourth quarter right before the Chargers returned a fumbled punt for a touchdown. At least it was only preseason :) We drove back to the apartment downtown, changed, and were off to meet Justin's friend Nasty (aka Nate) and his buddies at a little bar called John Collins. SO cute! If I wasn't so tired and grumpy it would have been great. We still managed to have some fun. Nate's friends and brother are super friendly, of course. Sean and I hit our wall around midnight so we parted ways from the rest of the group and headed back to the hotel. Justin and his friends stayed out to go clubbing, but eventually made it back to the room. Thank God! We would have liked to sleep in a bit later than we did, but we had to get up to check out. And to see San Francisco!

More to come tomorrow, along with my pictures. I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!