Comida brasileira, yum

So Alex decided he wanted to keep with the theme of the day and go to Canto Do Brasil for his birthday. It was delicious! It was a cute little place by Hayes Valley and everyone was really nice, especially after Alex started speaking in Portugese. We had these yummy chicken croquettes for an appetizer and Alex's favorite soda, Guarana. I had braised chicken and Alex had red snapper stew, with the traditional rice, beans and farina, of course. Apparently, on weekends there are samba dancers and they make the delicacy feijoada. We will return....

Birthday Boy

Today is Alex's 28th birthday, and yes that is some kind of alcohol. One of his patients, who is Brazilian, gave this to him today to celebrate. We don't know what we are going to do with it yet. We don't want to give it away so it gets drunk, but we also don't want it to just be here forever. Alex thinks it's some kind of vodka....Heck, I don't even know if we should cook with it....? She also gave him a neat Brazil keychain. Funny. He got home around 1:30, a nice surprise, and took a nap. We're either going to dinner or the Sutro Baths or shopping, whatever he wants. It is funny because he keeps wanting my opinion and for once I'm just like it's all up to you. Poor guy, he's gotten too used to my whining I guess.

Salsa Party

This past Saturday was rare for us, in that we actually spent most of the day doing fun things together! First, Alex and I went for a walk and ended up at a BMW dealership. One day we would like to get one, so we test drove a car there. It was definitely neat, maybe in a few years we can talk ourselves into buying one; we'll see. Later that evening, after some studying, the 2nd years had a big salsa/potluck in our apartments. The food was delicious, and there were some very unique salsas to try, too! It was great to see so many of Alex's classmates and some wives, too:) Everyone is really nice, I am grateful for the friends we have made. Here are some pics from the night....

These cupcakes looked so pretty, I want to make some like that now. And they look so simple!

Some of us wives chatting, and the husbands, too. Except, where's Alex? Oh yes, bouncing around and taking photos, as usual.

Our neighbor, Zach, I think he was finishing up the ice cream cake. It was a favorite!

Later, some friends came up and played/watched Guitar Hero, Alex's latest toy. This is Emerson, he didn't want to stand up to strum, but he was pretty good!

Yippee for 4 years!

Today is Alex and my 4th anniversary. Wow, it seems like it has gone by fast, yet a lot has seemed to happen during this time! We ended up having access to a car yesterday so we just celebrated then by doing some shopping and eating at the Elephant Bar. We both liked it a lot and definitely recommend it! This is the only relatively good picture I have of us from the past year. Kinda sad, I know, we really need to take more together.....

Oh, Alex got me a bonsai tree from Japantown....he decided to go somewhat traditional and I guess for 4 years, it is flowers. But we have enough flowers in the place right now, so he decided a tree was close enough. It's name is Akiko Lili Shimano. I'm excited to have it, but will just have to remember to get tree sitters when we go on trips.....

Sandpoint, Idaho

For the past week or so I was in Sandpoint, ID with a family of 6 on a nanny trip. The kids were ages 7, 5, 3 and 2 months. It was quite a fun and relaxing adventure, although I was working quite a bit, too. The family's friends invited them to stay at their parents' summer property with them, that also includes a guest house. I was busy, but also had ample time to enjoy the area and relax and ponder in this beautiful place. One day I would love to go back and have our own vacation there. Here are some of the pictures I took...enjoy!

This was on our way out with the 2 pilots of our private plane! The fog was too heavy to fly out of SFO so we had to go from Hayward. What a cool experience, I could so get used to this type of flying. So much more relaxing, no security or putting everything in baggies. And yummy catering, too. The only thing missing was a bathroom, so I had to watch the water/soda intake:)

This is looking out from the guest house, which is where I stayed with 4 of the kids (the other family had 2 boys there in addition to "our" 4). I had my own room, which had the most comfy bed and carpet, and bathroom so I was somewhat detached from things.

This is actually in Sacramento on the way back (I don't know how to put pictures in order very well on here, sorry). We had to stop to gas up because the winds were stronger on the way back and the King 200 couldn't quite make it all the way.

This is August inside the plane. He and I sat on the bench seat and everyone else had bucket seats. The pilots were so nice; they even let August & Cecilia sit in the co-pilot's seat while we were in the air. I wanted a turn, too; I should've asked.

This is a view of Lake Pond Oreille from the dock where we stayed. Apparently, it is the biggest lake in Idaho. But the area is "undiscovered" enough so it's not polluted with tons of tourists.

This is inside the guest house looking down from the stairs. The kids hung out here most mornings watching Spongebob and Power Rangers so I could sleep in.

The outside of the guest house, taken from the dock.

The view from my room. It was so peaceful waking up to ripples from the lake and an occasional boater.

This is the outside of the main house. I am standing on the dock here; there is just some grass and then the water.

We also went to Silverwood amusement/water park and to downtown Sandpoint, which is home to Coldwater Creek clothing and Litehouse salad dressing (exciting, I know). It is such a cute place. A great getaway location:)

Nanny trip....

Starting tomorrow morning, I will be gone for a week to Sandpoint, Idaho (it's a bit north of Coeur d 'Alene). This is my first nanny trip with a family; I am excited, although I am also not completely sure of what to expect. They are picking me up on the way to the airport to board the private plane! I've heard it's gorgeous up there, right on a lake and warm. So I finally found a decent bathing suit and am ready to get going. I'll be back with pics and such next week!

L & L

My sister Laura and her friend Lisa have been visiting us for the past 10 days or so. They are fun girls and we have had some pretty interesting and funny adventures. Tonight is their last night here, then the long drive back to Federal Way. The picture of Lisa is in Union Street by the Sir Francis Drake hotel and Laura is in this yummy Burmese restaurant, Mandalay, with her fortune cookie. We had some good eats, but I think the favorite was the Cheesecake Factory downtown at Macy's:) Now time to get back to reality....

At The Boardwalk....

Today Laura, Alex & I went to Santa Cruz. This picture shows part of the famous Beach Boardwalk there. Apparently, it is the only totally functioning boardwalk on the West Coast. Since Laura and Lisa have been here with a car, we decided we had to get out and take advantage. It was cold and foggy in SF all day so we were very happy to be out at the sunny beach. What a cute place! Next time we will have to go on the wooden coaster and authentic carousel.

Here isa cute seal that was swimming around the beach. It was so cute; there were actually quite a few seals nearby. A few of them got quite close to some of the swimmers, it was funny.

We just had to get a picture of this. Talk about the worst thing in the world for you. They also had deep fried Oreos. They had a deal of a twinkie and 3 Oreos for $6, so of course we couldn't resist. Pretty much the whole area smelled of fried stuffs (we also saw fried cheesecake), I think I got fatter just walking by the smells.

Here's a close-up of the Twinkie after we dolled it up with syrup and sugar.

Laura and I chowing down on the Oreos and twinkie. They were both quite delicious. All three of us enjoyed them a lot. However, we all agreed the Twinkie was the better one. I also think it tastes better this way then just plain:)

This is the West Cliff Inn. I want to stay here one day, it is so pretty. It was my favorite house in Santa Cruz.

Mi amigo pequeno Daniel

For the past 4 weeks, I have been nannying for Daniel over in North Beach. He is such a cutie and we have had some fun adventures together. His regular nanny speaks to him only in Spanish, so it has been fun trying to communicate as much as I can remember to him that way. But, sometimes I tend to forget and just go with English. Today was my last day with him and I will miss spending our days together!