Pictures Galore

Here are pictures from the past month starting with Tim and Liz's visit to our week at the beach with my family.  We have had some very nice times this summer.  Fine memories...

True Love

The Lovely Tim, Liz, Jess and Z

A Fine Group

A Peaceful Moment at the Beach with Z

A Perfect Evening in South Carolina

High Tide during Hurricane Irene

Back to Normal after Irene

The Fam

A Sweet Moment

Baby J Hunting for Shells

Happiness

A Wonderful Family

Nerding.  Oops, I meant to say Birding.

A Quality Moment Looking for Herons

Amazing

No Lies

A Very Happy Husband

Charleston!

A Lovely Old Graveyard in Charleston

Quick Update

I can't believe September is here.  Not really sure what happened to the summer, but I am quite excited that fall is just around the corner.  Apparently September and October are very pleasant months in San Francisco, so I am looking forward to some sunny fog-free days here in the city.  Aaron and I just got back from a lovely week at the beach with my family.  I need to post pictures soon.  We managed to survive Hurricane Irene and a case of the bed bugs.  Poor Aaron, those critters always seem to find him even while staying at a nice hotel.  Next week we are taking a short trip up towards Redwood National Park to visit the beautiful monstrous trees.  Zuri will get to travel along as well, which she will be happy about.  In late September I am planning a girl weekend with my BFF Julie Oh.  I think we will stay up in Napa for a night or two.  It will certainly be good fun to visit with her.  There is always so much to chat about! 
This week I have had to say farewell to my Duke girls living in the area.  They're fellow travelers and will be moving on to other assignments.  Fortunately they will both be relocating to NYC, so I am very hopeful to sneak out east sometime this fall for a visit.  It has been wonderful to have these two nearby for several months.  We have had some fine moments getting mani/pedis, eating good food and enjoying the city.  You girls will certainly be missed!

Farewell Carolina

Well, we had to say goodbye to Carolina this week and send her back to Chile.  It was bittersweet to see her go.  We both consider her a very close friend, and she was a pleasure to have during the past month.  Fortunately I had five days off in a row before she left, and we had some great nights out in San Francisco.  We met up with some of my nurse friends and enjoyed dancing at the clubs and singing along at the piano bar.  Aaron had a couple nights off, and we had a great evening at Yoshi's eating sushi and seeing Blues Traveler!  John Popper's voice just takes my breath away.  He is an awesome musician, and it was amazing to see him perform live!   
Anyways, it was a fine visit with Carolina.  We're very hopeful to see her and the family in Chile in the near future.  This week we have Aaron's cousin and his wife visiting the city.  We plan to spend some time together here in San Francisco, and then drive up to wine country for a night.  We're very excited to spend time with them and enjoy their visit.  After that we head to S.C. for a week at the beach with my family.  Lots of good times ahead!

Duke Girls!

Asia SF

Blues Traveler

Carolina and I at Yoshi's

The Shady Trio and Our Final Drink

The Magician

Lately I have cared for many four year old patients at work.  This is unusual because I normally have babies or older children, so I am stumped when it comes to this age.  I have learned A LOT in the past two weeks, and am now a bit more comfortable with fours.  After being met with lots of tears, screams and a few kicks during my recent shifts, I have come to rather enjoy this age and realize that the child is really in control.  I just do as much as they will allow for me to and then quickly exit the room.  It really is very heartbreaking to see them suffer and cry through so many of the pokes and procedures they experience during hospitalizations. 

Thankfully there is a very wonderful priest who makes his rounds a couple of times a week.  I really believe that he must be Heaven sent.  He is always so happy and kind.  He comes in and talks with the children and their families.  The patients normally scream for fear of one more interference in their day.  After some time chatting he slowly breaks out his magic tricks, and the mood quickly shifts from sad to joyful.  It is truly incredible to see the happiness that he brings to these hospitalized children.  They get especially excited when he shows the mouse that lives in his sleeve.  And silly me, I usually end up getting tearful because it is so endearing to see smiles and hear laughter from our sick little ones.  His presence is such a comfort to our families.  Even when the unit is crashing and things are very bad, he comes and brings such warmth and love.  He can even make a four year old smile!  No doubt, this man is magical.  Who knows, maybe he really does have a mouse living in his sleeve?

Company

Well, our friend from Chile arrived two weeks ago, and we have enjoyed having her in town.  Aaron and Carolina are currently both in Colorado, so I have a week to myself here in San Francisco.  I must say that I am enjoying the solitude, and I have some fun things planned for the next couple of days.  It was nice to come home from work last night and have a glass of wine and do absolutely nothing.

I think we have shown Carolina a pretty good time so far.  She was quite out of sorts her first week here  adjusting to a new time zone, getting over jet lag, and eating a different diet.  We took it pretty easy and just spent our free time showing her around the city.  We eventually made it up to the Russian River area and stayed in a cabin for a couple of nights.  The wineries we visited were great, and as always we came home with a perfect variety of reds and whites.  The Russian River wine country tends to be less touristy than parts of Napa and Sonoma.  There are many wineries to choose from and they are tucked away so perfectly in the quiet countryside.  It was good we had a map or we most certainly would have missed the places we visited.  I love this part of California.  The small towns are quiet, the woods are full of towering Redwoods and lush green forest, and the air is especially fresh.  A very special and unique place for sure.

This past weekend Carolina and I went out and experienced night life in the city.  I tend to enjoy the pub scene more than a wild night of dancing, but we just had to dance.  After working all day, I ran home and changed into skinny jeans and heels and managed to dance til closing time at two in the morning.  I was even at the gym the next morning by nine.  Anyways, the club scene is most interesting here in the city.  The first place had a twenty dollar cover charge and drinks also cost a fortune.  It was pretty much an Asian dance club, so we stood out a bit.  Our next destination was free of charge and had great pisco sours.  There was a large gay population here, so that made for an interesting time.  We laughed a lot at this place!  The last club we visited was the Tunnel Bar, and it had a lovely mix of people.  We both got a beer and head upstairs to dance until closing time.  Good times!

Fortunately when Carolina returns to the city I have five days off, so we can enjoy the remainder of her time here together.  We have a party to attend on Saturday and then a concert on Monday.  Maybe there will be one more night of dancing, and hopefully Aaron can join us!

C and Z

Carolina and Aaron, Half Moon Bay

Carolina meets The Castro District

Beer time on Haight St.

Golden Gate

 View from Marin County

Quick Update

We have really been enjoying our days off lately.  Here are a few pictures.  We had a great time watching the Giants play.  It was especially exciting to watch Lincecum and 'The Beard' (Wilson) pitch.  I have also included some pictures of recent recipes.  I have had way too much fun cooking up new and interesting foods for us to try.  Also, here are some pictures of Zuri searching for moles in Golden Gate Park.

 

Aaron really enjoyed a day in the park yesterday.  He took a sandwich and his book, and Zuri had her own little pack of treats and water.  She spent about five hours running about and chasing moles while he enjoyed a leisurely afternoon.  When I got home from work she was pouting and acting like she had been trapped indoors all day.  Bad dog!

Our friend from Chile comes in Monday.  We are incredibly excited about her visit!  I hope she comes home and gets a nap so that we can enjoy a fun evening of fireworks and celebration!

A Lovely Day

This morning I woke up quite early and head out with Zuri for a run.  We did a quick four mile jog along the beach.  The weather was quite perfect with plenty of sunshine and minimal wind (very unique this time of year).  It was a great way to start the day.  We got home, and I managed to wake Aaron up so that we could eat breakfast and be on a local hiking trail by mid-morning.  I did some quick research on dog-friendly trails, and I found Sweeny Ridge Park, which is just a few miles down the 280.

We didn't make it out as early as I had envisioned, but that was okay.   Very typical actually.  We were amazed to arrive at the park and immediately feel the difference in temperature.  It was about fifteen degrees warmer in San Bruno, and we're no longer used to this kind of heat.  Oh well, we decided to brave the warm temperatures and begin climbing the 1,200 foot hill that stood steeply before us.  It was a beautiful walk at least, with plenty of interesting plant life, birds and lovely views of the bay.  We took a little water break at the top and enjoyed relaxing on a bench, chatting and taking in the scenery.  After our little respite we explored the ridge for a while and enjoyed the trails that took us through deep shrubbery and then onto a boggy area.  The hills are still nice and green, and there were plenty of bugs for Zuri to try and catch.  It was so nice to get out of the city for several hours and to enjoy the solitude of nature.  My feet are feeling very tired after a four mile run and six mile hike, so this afternoon we're taking it easy.  I think tonight I will make Hungarian Chicken for dinner and then we're planning on going to a comedy club.

These are the kind of days I want to have this summer.  Plenty of activity, time with the husband and dog, and enjoying the night life in San Francisco.  It has been very pleasant, so I had to quickly jot it down so not to forget.  I go back to work tomorrow for one day, and then I work all weekend.  It shouldn't be too bad.

Here are a few pictures from our hike today.

 The Bay

The Pacific