Two years

I don't know where all of the time has gone since I last wrote! Sometimes I have a free minute at lunch to jot down some thoughts, but not this week. As of Monday, my sweet husband and I have been married for 2 years. We reminisced this weekend about the past year and how it has flown by. That's one of the engagement pictures that we took in the Spring of 2004. Love you, Honey Bunny! Let's have a great year three.

Well, as you all may know, I turned the big 3-0 this weekend. I spend my 30th birthday exactly the way I wanted to - at the lake house with my man and my dogs. It's so relaxing out there. I could sit on the porch and stare out at the lake forever. I took a book of Sudoku out there and I think Lee is hooked now too. We watched an excellent Woody Allen movie called "Match Point". I don't usually like his stuff, but this wasn't his normal comedy thing.

We drove back on Sunday to celebrate my mom's birthday. For those of you that don't know, I was born on her birthday. What a great gift, right?!! Mom and Dad came over to the house and we went to Patrizio. It was a nice birthday celebration.

I just got my score from the PE exam and I found out that I got an 80. Passing is a 70. Considering about only 55% of people who take the exam pass it, I'm pretty happy with myself. That means I either really knew my stuff or guessing "B" was a good strategy. I think it would have been higher if I wasn't structurally engineering inept. That's the best thing about this exam being over - I never have to see another truss or beam again. EVER. Structural Engineering is my arch nemesis. To give you an analogy, kryptonite is to Superman as Structural Engineering is to Tiffany. Anyway, all of this lead to a feel-good moment at last Tuesday. A lady at the gym asked me what I did for a living and I told her I was an engineer and for the first time I really felt like one. It's been nice. And that's all I have to say about that.

PASS! PASS! PASS!

Just when I had sworn off the PE Exam and told him never to call me again, he goes and brings me a dozen red roses and a big box of chocolates.

I PASSED THE PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING EXAM!

How exciting is that? I don't know my score yet because they only posted "pass" or "fail". The actual scores come in a letter a little later. I honestly don't care what I made because 70 was all I needed, but I am still curious. This is a huge relief because I never have to take the test again and I can stop checking the website ever 5 seconds. The Board didn't shatter my dreams after all.

Happy Fathers Day!

That's me and my dad our Vespa! Happy Father's Day, Dad!! More of that later...

This is my last full week to be in my 20s. Sigh. This officially means I can't use word like "crunk" or wear really low rise jeans without sounding or looking completely ridiculous. Not that I throw out the word "crunk" or wear low rise jeans anyway, but if I wanted to, I'd really need to take advantage of this week.

This weekend was one of those weekends that I can't remember what happened because everything went by so quickly. On Friday night we took the Vespa down to Patrizio and as I got off the bike, I looked up and this little red-headed three year old was standing there giving me a thumbs up. I've still got it. We had a quick dinner and then tried to watch End of the Spear, but I can't make it through movies when we start them at 9pm because I'm almost 30 which means my movie-watching age is 85.

The next day I subbed a weights class in the morning and then proceeded to waste the rest of the day. Actually, Oprah sucked me into a black hole. When I start watching Tivoed Oprahs, I can't stop. If I'm ever in a coma, don't play Oprah in a hospital room because it will only make be drift deeper into the coma. I showed the downstairs unit to two different people and one of the ladies called me today to say she wanted to move in. She's really nice and she has a little girl so I think it's going to work out well. That night we went to dinner with our friends, Mike and Shannon, and then saw Nacho Libre. It was okay, but I didn't love it. It from the same guys who did Napoleon Dynamite so if you didn't like that then you won't like this.

Sunday, I got ready for the Father's Day Cookout. Lee's parents couldn't join us because they were in Vegas. I made spinach, artichoke, and crab dip for an appetizer and feta, black bean and rice salad, grilled corn and hamburgers for dinner. We used our grill and ate outside for the first time since we've lived here. Mom made banana pudding for dessert. I got dad a crunk new cordless phone for Father's Day along with a bumpin' service plan so that they can get a new battery every year for free. Right now when I call, they can never get a phone to work or the battery is low or some such nonsense so maybe this will solve all problems.

After dinner, it was Vespa time. Mom wanted to try it out so Lee took her for a spin around the block. This wasn't mom's first rodeo. When my aunt lived in Jakarta, their driver's personal vehicle was a Vespa so she had ridden on one before there.

Still no word on the Professional Engineering exam. I'm a member of this PE Exam message board (basically a giant nerd forum) and they said that results could take up to another 2 weeks. One of my goals was to become a PE before I was 30 and now it seems that the licensing board is going to shatter this little girl's dream. I'm so over the PE exam. It's like a bad relationship that I can't make end or that lazy cousin who says he's just there for a weekend visit and then stays for 8+ weeks. I want you out of my life, PE Exam. To quote Sandy during her dramatic breakup with Danny Zuko after the pep rally, "You're a fake and a phony and I wish I'd never laid eyes on you!".

Our Northern California Vacation

I finally have a free minute to blog all about our wonderful vacation. We spent June 4 - 10 in Napa, Sonoma, and San Francisco and it wasn't nearly enough time!! It's so hard to get back into the swing of things with work, laundry, grocery shopping, and cooking. I am now on a self-imposed detox and diet. Lee and I decided that if we win the lottery, we're buying a vineyard on Spring Mountain in Napa and I'm going to run a little B&B out of the house. The weather was wonderful and I was only cold our last day in San Francisco. I won't bore you with all of the details, but I'll go day by day and let you know what we did. If you'd like to see our pictures, you can click here.

Day 1 - Napa
We arrived in San Francisco around 10am, picked up our rental car and immediately headed north. Our first stop was the Golden Gate Bridge. We couldn't see anything when we drove up to it, but once we crossed the bay, the temperature warmed and the clouds parted. We headed north to Sausalito and stopped for lunch at a place called Fish. right along the water. Everything was fresh and delicious.

Then it was on to Napa. We actually stayed in St. Helena at a Bed & Breakfast called The Ink House because there really isn't that much in the town of Napa. All of the wineries and hotels are all north of Napa. Our B&B was made famous because an Elvis movie, Wild in the Country, was filled there. It was really nice, but the rooms were tiny since the house was built in 1884. We dropped off our things and headed to Beringer for a historic tour. By this time, we were getting pretty tired from traveling all day so we went back to the hotel to relax, play some scrabble, drink some wine and topped off the night at Martini House.

Day 2 - Napa (Spring Mountain)

The Ink House had really great breakfast in the morning. We ate and got an early start driving up to the Spring Mountain District of Napa. This by far was my favorite area that we toured all week. We went to Schweiger Vineyards, Barnett Vineyards, Pride Mountain Vineyards, and Terra Valentine. All of them were small and family-run. Barnett had the best wine and the best view. That's us there in the picture on the right. We took a picnic lunch and ate at the top of Pride Mountain. All of those tastings can really make you tired!! Interesting fun fact - Terra Valentine was started by this eccentric guy who invented curb feelers and the rust-proof tail pipe. Why can't I think of this stuff? We spent the rest of the day walking around St. Helena downtown and had dinner at a local Italian restaurant, Tra Vigne.

Day 3 - More Napa

We started off the day at Opus One. This was probably the most high tech of all of the vineyards we visited and gave the best tour. The wine is super expensive there and in my opinion, it is overpriced. Next stop was Frank Family Vineyards for more tastings and then we went to lunch in Calistoga. Next time we visit Napa, I would like to stay there because was a really cute town. We had a 3:00 tasting at Quintessa so we headed south on the Silverado Trail. This is our favorite wine. A few years ago, we won a 1999 magnum at a symphony party and drank it on our one year anniversary. It's so good. If fact, I guess you could say it's what really peaked our interest in wine.

That afternoon we went back to the hotel and played some scrabble and gin before dinner. Sometimes I found it hard to be on vacation because I'm used to going all the time. It was actually hard for me to relax! By the end of the week I was used to it. That night we ate a really late dinner in Oakville.

Day 4 - Sonoma

Next time we visit the wine country, we're going to spend more time in Sonoma. It's a lot more laid back. We only got to a few wineries and I really wish we'd seen more. In our quick day, we hit B.R. Cohn, St. Francis, Matanzas Creek, Ferrari-Carino, Preston, and Bella Vineyards along with the La Crema tasting room in downtown Healdsburg. Count 'em up - SEVEN . We had a lot of fun at La Crema, but that was probably because we had gone to six wineries prior to our stop there. Every winery we visited was so different. We really like the Matanzas Creek wines so we joined their wine club. We purchased wine from almost every vineyard we visited so it was a giant pain in the butt getting home on the airplane.

We stayed in a darling little B&B in Healdsburg called the Camellia Inn. It was right in the heart of downtown and that evening we had dinner at Willi's Seafood and Raw Bar. If you're ever in the area, I highly suggest it.

Day 5 - Redwoods/San Francisco

We woke up early and headed out to Korbel in the morning. Under normal circumstances, I would not be up for drinking Champagne at 10am... well, who am I kidding - yes, I would be. I would drink it at 6:30am instead of coffee if I didn't have to go to work every day. It was interesting because all week we'd learned about wine being made and this time we experienced champagne making. On our way east, we stopped at Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve. We were going to go to Muir Woods, but I figured you've seen one redwood, you've seen them all and this was closer. At this point, we made our way to coast to drive Highway 1 and I started praying to God and everyone that I wouldn't die. The windy road is about 500 feet above the ocean on this sharp cliff, there are no guardrails, and there are washed-out mudslide areas all over the place. When you pair all of this with Lee's driving and my car sickness, it completely shoots my nerves. Lee does this thing he'll put the car on auto-pilot while he points out something to you in the distance and looks at it at the same time. I totally thought we were going to wind up like Thelma and Louise. Only I wouldn't be holding his hand on the way down, I'd be hitting him and screaming "I told you to watch the road!!!"

San Francisco... I don't really know what to say about it. Wonderful food and shopping... but Dallas has that with a lot less crazy-eyed bums. Lee and I turned down one street and got caught up in a bum herd. We quickly realized we were near a soup kitchen. Anyway, San Francisco happens to be the time when our luck with hotels ran out. I made reservations on-line with Expedia at the Hotel Herbert. Looked cute online. We drove the block once and couldn't find it so we made the block again (which is not easy because we're in Union Square). The second time I spot it. See if you can find it in the picture on the right. See it? Look right above the crazy-eyed bum... there it is! Inside the Betty Boop diner! Not- kidding. There is an elevator inside the diner and you ride it up to the second floor where the manager who barely speaks English lives. The Hotel Herbert is also a residence on Floor 2-5 so when I took the elevator up, I could hear the daughter of one of the elderly residents screaming at her mother to quit calling her "so damn much" and there was a crazy-eyed bum in the hallway. To make a long story short, we stayed at the Hilton in Union Square. After unloading, we walked Chinatown, which is a place I've wanted to visit since I heard about it when I was a kid. Now this place would only be cool if I needed back scratchers and 4 tee-shirts for $10. That night we had an awesome dinner at Kuleto's. Another recommendation if you ever make it out that way.

Day 6 - San Francisco

We woke up early, had breakfast in bed (very fun!), and took the cable cars to the Crooked Street, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, and the Ferry Building. The night before the bartender at Kuleto's suggested a good sushi restaurant in Castro. It was there that we witnessed the craziest bum in S.F. The restaurant was small and it was thin and long. We were at the sushi bar and the man behind us finished his meal and left. It was about this time, a bum walked in the front door, strolled up to the sushi bar and asked for some food like the guy behind the counter is going to throw him some toro or something. then we walks behind me and starts eating the food off the table of the man who just left. They shoo him out and he screams "So let me get this straight!! We can nuke you people, but I can't eat your food?!!". Check please.

We also saw the Painted Ladies (the Victorian houses) and then we bought a riddling rack from an antique dealer in town. Riddling racks were used to remove the yeast from the Champagne bottles before it went automated. Picture on the left. We're going to use it as a wine rack in the dining room. After that, we headed back to the hotel to walk about Union Square and then had our last dinner at First Crush. Yummy.

Day 7 - San Francisco

We felt like we'd pretty much done it all at this point. We went to Coit Tower and Pier 39 to see the sea lions. They are stinky. After a quick bite to eat at the Tadich Grill, we packed our bags and headed for the airport.

And that was it. It was so much fun, so relaxing, and while not entirely bum-free, it was beautiful. I would love to go out there again next year, so it any of you want some wine tasting partners, give us a call!!

Good news!!

I still have no idea if I passed the PE exam or not, but... I just got promoted! Yea!! However, this increases the pressure to pass the exam just a wee bit. What's done is done and there's nothing I can do but wait. And wait.

I worked on our vacation pictures and the blog for 2 hours last night and it's taking me a while. It took forever to upload all of the pictures to Kodak Gallery and I wanted to link that to the blog. So maybe I'll have it done tomorrow... Keep checking back.

Back home

Lee and I are back from our seven day holiday in Napa/Sonoma/San Francisco. We'll be posting pictures soon - here are two panoramic shots I took of the Golden Gate Bridge and Barnett Vineyards.

Six weeks

The day is finally upon us. Six LONG weeks ago, I took the PE exam. They told us that the scores would be posted within six to eight weeks. Why I thought they would actually post them on the low end of that range is beyond me, but here I sit constantly refreshing the screen hoping that on the next click the "April 2006 Exam results will be posted when available." link will be active. And it's not. I feel like I'm 6 years old, it's Christmas Eve and my mom has just told me that this year Santa will deliver our presents any day between December 25 and January 8 so keep checking the chimney. And the worst part about it is that I don't know if Santa is just going to chunk a lump of coal down the chimney and scream "maybe next year!!" or deliver that three story doll house with blue siding, black paper shingles, and shutters scotch taped on the side because my parents thought they could assemble a gigantic doll house 12 hours before I woke up. Those are my favorite Christmas morning pictures - I am in matching pajamas, robe and slippers and I'm so freaking excited that Santa gave me a dollhouse that was as tall as me and Connie and Dave look like they just came in from a 24-hour rave. It's Shirley Temple meets night of the living dead and the living dead are pretty pissed off that Shirley woke up at 6:15 AM.

So keep checking back for news. I'll be right here hitting refresh.