Biebered

Sometimes I develop weird little hobbies and likes, but I have to say that Justin Bieber is still not one of them. I can't help feeling like a perv whenever I watch him sing a nasty Usher song. He's 16! Hhh, sick. But: I WAS a fan of his April Fools' Day joke, which you can see HERE.

I wish I could swim immediately after eating.

Newsies:

I have been waiting to post this until it was official, since I often jinx myself:
We're (myself, Nolan, and the Sr. Caldwells!)officially headed to Peru on July 2, returning July 17! And this is official as in:
-have the tickets
-have peruvian permit
-have hiking gear
-approved with work
-feeling excited
Thank you, best mother-in-law and father-in-law, who are taking us with them!
On July 9th we'll be touring one of the wonders of the world, Machu Picchu! And there will be days and days of hiking interspersed with getting to know Peru and its lovely Andes!

This is me being really, really excited and overusing exclamation points!

Half-calf

This weekend I got to go watch my dear friend Sarah run her half-marathon that we had been training for. She was awesome! It was good to see her, too. And I even got to pass along the fantastic books I have been reading to her. Thanks, Ash U for getting that started! Here's a couple pics of Sunday:


I have almost always been the one running in races, so I never got to just stand by and watch, but I have to say that it's super interesting to see not only all the different body types (and I mean REALLY TOTALLY DIFFERENT), but also different styles. And since there was also a 10k going on at the same time, we saw people from an even broader spectrum. There were several very pregnant women running, a barefoot guy, a guy who was sooo burnt to a crisp from the sun (except his head), a girl wearing/carrying several ponchos, a man in a lobster hat, and a guy hunched over a walker. Yes. Let me just say that again: THERE WAS AN ELDERLY OLD MAN WITH A WALKER RUNNING A HALF-MARATHON. Now if that doesn't make you feel lazy, I don't know what will. Needless to say, I hit the gym hard today.

In San Francisco

I post stuff from San Francisco every once in awhile...yesterday it was the great meal at Samovar (though I had meant to post a picture of it's unique location, but forgot to take one). Today it's little treats that are pretty commonly served here, like mochi:

This is something I never saw until we moved here, and now I'm in love! Little rice marshmallows filled with tasty stuff (sugary peanuts in this case). Who knew?

Turkey

This past weekend at Easter, I think we actually took 0 pictures. With the exception of when we were leaving, and Nolan STOPPED THE CAR...because there was an impressive male turkey with his feathers up and all pretty trying to woo the ugly lady turkeys. But I've got a slow trigger finger, and so by the time I took the picture he demanded, this is what we got:

...which is: a few very unimpressive ugly turkeys running away.

Yesterday in SF, the weather was absolutely gorgeous! Bright and sunny, and perfect for sitting outside for lunch :) So I grabbed lunch at Samovar, a tea lounge here, with a friend, and captured a picture of the most delicious salad (and masala iced chai), with a giant grilled portobello mushroom on top! Behold:

Now THAT is my idea of how lunch breaks should be.

Caved!

Raisinets have been my downfall once again, although fortunately I gave half the box to my coworker, so I wasn't tempted to inhale them all...just half of them. Also I forgot to mention the name of the book I am into now. It's "The Chronicles of Chrestomanci", and let me just tell you: having a good book is the ONLY reason I look forward to the muni rides each day.

Love

Thanks to ylehsa, who begged me to give her credit (and I should), I have discovered a replacement for my white mochas...which I gave up for Lent and had a long and passionate romance with for Y E A R S prior to that. The answer? Skinny Hazelnut Lattes. No sugar, no fat, and d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s. I think I'm in love. But this doesn't mean I'll be getting one everyday, so wait to be amazed by my self-control.

What's harder than this? Giving up Raisinets as Nolan and I are going back to a healthy diet. SOB.

Also new in my life: Ash U introduced Nolan and I to a new book yesterday, and so far I can't keep my eyes peeled away. Think Harry Potter with a dash of Twilight, a hint of Lemony Snicket, and a pinch of AWESOME. It'll be a while before Nolan can pry this one from my hands to read it himself.