Artichokes

I love artichokes.  They are absolutely delicious!  But apparently, I've been saying the name wrong.  When I pronounce the word it sounds like - R-D-Choke.  I realize it's not exactly proper pronunciation, but it's how I've always said it.  Case in point, when I was about 6 and Stace was around 3.  We played this game called "Grandfather's Shop."  It was kind of like 20 questions for something you would find in a grocery store.  So this is how it went.

B:  Is it something green

S:  Yes

B:  Is it a vegetable

S:  Yes

......So I ask about every single green vegetable I can think of and I'm still not getting it.....

B:  Can I have a hint?  What's the first letter?

S:  R

B:  I can't think of a green vegetable that starts with R, what's the next letter?

S:  D

B:  Stacey, there is no word in the english language that starts with R-D

S:  Yuhuh, R-D-Choke!

We laughed so hard.

Babysitting

Our neighbors were going out for their anniversary, so we watched their 2 oldest girls.  Isabel (4.5) and Zoe (2.5).  They are adorable and we learned what it would be like to have 2 kids....tiresome.  We actually had a great time!  We went to the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose where we played with sand, bubbles and water and made fake pizzas and corn husk dolls (well, Auntie Bryn made 2 corn husk dolls.....too much hand eye coordination for 2 and 4 year olds).

The girls spent the night and it was actually pretty easy.  We made sure they didn't get to take a nap at all.  And they fell asleep around 10-11 and didn't get up until around 7AM.  I call that a success.  We painted eggs and played wii and had a pretty good time.  Then loads of other folks came over for a Easter brunch for dinner party.  Good times.

When Angie and Mike got back, they brought Mochi a treat - he was probably the most traumatized over the whole event - banished to the kitchen etc.  They got him some awesome treats from the three dog bakery in Sonoma.  The treats look good enough for a human.

After 10 years.....

Well...Nick says it better.

http://www.nickloper.com/2009/04/after-10-years/

Jay Walking

There's a church by our house.  It's not quite a mega church, but it's much larger than your typical mom and pops church.  There are so many people that attend, that they park in other areas of the business park.  I'm ok with this.  Except for one thing.  When church is over, they jay walk.  There is a sign (set out by the church) that specifically states "Cross at the crosswalk."  There are multiple signs.  I've seen them.

And to be honest, I'm ok with jay walking.  I once got in trouble for it while walking back to my dorm in college.  It is actually a relatively decent time saving measure - when done appropriately.  But I'm not ok with slow jay walkers.  If you are going to jay walk, hustle your buns.  Don't cause cars to slow down.  If you can't hustle, don't jay walk.  

FYI - when I got in trouble for jay walking in college, I crossed a crosswalk inappropriately (i.e. the little crosswalk man was red....not green).   There were no cars coming, so no big deal.  I'm halfway down the block when a cop asks me if I know the fine for jaywalking.  Nope.  Turns out he saw me 3 blocks back.  Seriously, 3 blocks?  Honestly, go bust some kids for underage drinking.  

Harry Potter vs. Twilight

I've read both books and have enjoyed them both - couldn't put either of them down.  But let's be honest.  There is no comparison.  Harry Potter kicks Twilight out of the water.

JK Rowling is a much better writer than Stephanie Meyer.  Just pick a page from either book and read it.  There's a lot of fluff in Twilight. 

Hermione>>Bella

JK Rowling laid out the entire plan for HP on a train.  She knew the story before she started writing.  I think the sequels to Twilight were kind of an after thought.

Harry Potter movies > Twilight (the sequels may improve, and HP does lose some points for postponing the 6th movie for so long.....but Daniel Radcliffe is a much better actor than Robert Pattison).

I could go on, but there's really no point.  I love both series' of books, but HP will always have a special place in my heart.  Let's be honest, I'm still waiting for my admissions letter to Hogwarts.

What was I thinking

I signed up for the Nike women's marathon (the half version).  It was a raffle.  You gave them your info and your credit card and then IF you are randomly selected, you GET to run.  I kind of figured it would be fate...and it looks like I'm running this biatch in October.  Oh geez. 

Phoenix 2009

Friday morning (EARLY) we headed to Phoenix for some spring training.  Let me start at by recalling our morning.  Flight leaves at 7AM, we leave at 5:20AM.  Around Hayward...or 5:40AM, we realize we forgot the tickets.  So we turn around and get the tickets.  Leave the house at 6AM and RACE to the airport.  We park and spring for the shuttle and literally walk onto the plane just as they begin boarding the B group.  Amazing race style.....Nick Loper likes to cut it close.

We arrived in Phoenix and headed to Goodyear to hang out with Kellie and watch Chris tear it up with the Indians. 

Here he is after pinch running.  Notice his body position at 2nd base and again at 3rd. We have the right hand on the hip with the left foot on the base.  Very casual.  I like it.

On Saturday we hit up the M's in Peoria.  Since Ichiro and Felix were both at the WBC, we caught Griffey instead.  What a great kid.  Classic Griffey.  He flubbed it a few times in left, but it's cool.  He's getting a little old and we don't need him to get injured.  Man, I'd love to be at Safeco on opening day.  

After a little baseball we headed to a bar to watch the Huskies play Purdue.  At one point the bar shut off the game and 10 of us crowded around an iPhone.  It was great....and then we lost.  I'd be winning my bracket right now if the huskies could have pulled a W.

We spent Sunday with Kellie at the Phoenix zoo.  The highlight was the giraffe.  We wanted this leaf really bad but just couldn't reach.  He stuck his tongue out and even stood on his tip toes.  It was so cute.

We had dinner at Chino Bandido - Chinese Mexican fusion.  It was actually pretty good.....but I got sick later that night.....so no more Chino Bandido for me.