San Fransisco '08

Rice - a- ronie anyone?

Well a weekend come and gone, but what a great time it was! I flew down on Friday morning after I watched the cabby crash into mom and dad's car at 6:00am. Long story short, as he was pulling up he saw a young pregnant women trying to crawl over the snow with a suit case as best she could (that would be me), so in an attempt to "help me" he jumped out of the cab (forgetting to put his car into park) and crashed into the back of the Mercedes.

Luckily (or not so lucky) there was damage already done so no additional "harm" done. It really was time for another adventure and get-a-way.

7hrs later I was in another cab heading for the hotel where Marcus was. He spent a week there for work, visiting clients and raking in the doe for Mommy and Baby. After a quick freshen up at the hotel we were off and ready for what turned out to be a fantastic weekend. We started the afternoon on Friday with a huge lunch at a great Mayan restaurant before hitting the sites. Marcus drove me around in our rental (ahem, a caddy - high roller) and took me to the local sites like Lombard street (the windiest street in the world),

The Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods, (which I loved!), Muir beach, Fishermans Warf and Pier 39. That evening after a day of running here and there we enjoyed the best crab cakes I have ever had at a cute little sea food place along the warf.

Saturday morning we were up and off to see the sun rise in the restaurant at the top of the Hilton. It was a beautiful morning, clear as far as the eye could see. After brekky we headed straight to the warf (by trolly of course) to try and book a tour out to Alcatraz. Unfortunately we were too late so that tour will have to be saved for next time. Unsure of what to do next, we grabbed a coffee and headed down to watch the sea lions to think it over. That's when Cous came up with a brilliant plan.....Napa Napa Napa! In minutes we were up and in the car driving out to the world renown, Napa Valley. We spent the day touring vineyards and sampling local California Wines (well Marcus did), I had a few sniffs and got the general idea. The weather was perfect and the detour was a fantastic surprise. The two vineyards we spent the most time at were: Robert Mondavi and V. Satuui. V. Sattui is one of the oldest wineries in Napa as well as a deli, complete with a busy bbq and area for a picnic. We took Silverwood trail back and headed home after a long day out in the fresh air. That evening we had a quick dinner in Union Square and Gelatto for dessert! All in all a great time, one of the best weekends we have ever had.

Now back to the snow, again!

Some tummy pics.....

Six months.......

The "Bucket List"

My Bucket List:

1) Run a half marathon (hopefully dad will come with Linda, Heather and I)
2) Write a book(s) and have it published
3) Return back to Nepal with Marcus and my son to complete the Annapurna Circuit in the Himalayas
4) Make a difference in someones life
5) Make a difference in my own life
6) Visit Europe with Marcus and my son
7) Go to Africa with Marcus and my son
8) Go to South America
9) See the pyramids
10) Find a job that is more to me than a mortgage payment
11) Create annual traditions to look forward to, to be passed on.
12) Rent a car and drive up the coast of Ireland
13) Look back on every stage my life with no regrets
14) Win BIG
15) Backpack again with Marcus
16) Become a mother
17) Spend more time laughing and less time crying
18) Never be to old or busy to act like a child.
19) Surprise Marcus with a trip somewhere exciting and not tell him until a few hrs before the plane takes off.
20) Rent a villa somewhere with the family
21) Take a sister retreat
22) Feel like I have acomplished as much as my parents have
23) Buy a boat and go on a sailing adventure

Note: These ideas are subject to change and grow but just something to get things started. I'll cross things off the list as I complete them.

*legal disclaimer: these items are subject to be stolen and used for personal bucket list purposes.

Ultrasound # 2 and a big surpise!

On Monday Marcus and I went for ultra sound number 2! The Dr was really happy with the results of all of their tests so now we can breath a sigh of relief!

We also found out that it's a boy! Yep! we saw a little wee wee. A real little mover and shaker. He wouldn't sit still throughout the entire ultra sound which made it hard for the Dr.s to take their measurements. He was yawning, playing with his hands and bouncing all over the place. I think we are going to have our hands full!

Now a name....how do you choose a name? This name could seal this poor kids fate! So far nothing seems to fit but we do have four months to decide. I think we'll keep the name as a surprise because after all...you can't please everyone so once it's set in stone all critics can't really say much at that point!

Back from St. Lucia and Back to work!

Well a week back into the swing of things after being away. I don't really have much to comment here seeing I can't smell the ocean any longer nor appreciate the warm sun rise every morning. However, with that being said it is always nice to sleep in your own bed.

St. Lucia was beautiful! The resort itself was nothing to brag about but all in all we had a good time. The highlight of the trip was taking off in a six person plane over to the Grenadines, then jumping on a catamaran for the day sailing from island to island, sun tanning, snorkeling, swimming with great big sea turtles etc etc. Union Island is where we landed and took off from. Being a typical island everything conducted there was done so on a very typical "laid back" sort of manner. For example, when our plane was late it was the Bar tender outside of the bar who notified us that it was coming. "I think I see your plane coming". We could not stop laughing about it for the rest of the evening.

Anyway, I have attached some pics from xmas and from our trip just to get this journal of mine a little more up to date.

Next week is the second ultra sound (and almost five months preggers) so I will report back in with the details.

and back to winter.......

P.S My New Years resoultion is to create a "Bucket List" (idea stolen from the movie staring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman). It's a list of everything I want to do before I "Kick the Bucket". - Now if look at this in a not so morbid light it's sort of a cute idea. You make grocery lists so you don't forget anything, so why not a bucket list? Once it's complete I'll post it, and encourage whoever is reading this (and whenever to do the same). Keeps us on track and helps us to remember just what the heck we're all here for anyway.

The Family Diary

I'm four months pregnant and ready for whatever is to come next!

This last year has been crazy for us both from moving into a new home to both Marcus and I starting new jobs. My belly has now just started to pop so I will be sure to post pictures soon.

Next week we are off to St. Lucia for a final get away before our bug arrives. Katharine and Mike will be down there with us so we are really looking forward to it.