The Great Houdini Escape Room and Half Moon Bay beach

We started off the weekend with a picnic dinner at the last movie in the Menlo Park outdoor movie series, Cinderella (the new live action version). HUGE success. I saw the movie in the theater when it came out and I wasn't sure how Valerie would do, since it seemed a little dark and sad for her, plus it's pretty long - but she LOVED it and she sat riveted to the screen the entire time. She got a little scared when Cinderella was escaping the ball and the magic spell was wearing off - I think it was a little too loud and chaotic. And when Cinderella ran into the stag in the woods, she made a loud outburst about a "MOOSE!" and the girl in front of us laughed. But overall I was really impressed. For a 2.75-year-old, she does great watching movies!

Rich, on the other hand, was appalled by the Prince-Charming-will-save-you message and the focus on appearance. I tried to convince him we can still teach our daughter to be her own woman even if she loves Cinderella and I think he came around. On our way home, I asked Valerie if she wanted to marry a prince. She said no. I'm not too surprised though. The prince really does not interest her. She just wants to get her hands on that sparkly blue dress and glass slippers. OOoohhh I hope she grows up to be the next Vera Wang or Jimmy Choo! Yes please!!

Saturday morning we did our usual workout shuffle, cleaning up the house and napping, and then our new babysitter came around 4:30 and we headed up to San Francisco to celebrate our friend Angela's birthday.

What a FANTASTIC time! Angela's husband booked The Great Houdini Escape Room at the Palace of Fine Arts for our group of 11. We had 80 minutes to solve all the puzzles and riddles and unlock all the keys to escape the room, which apparently only 25-30% of groups succeed in doing - and we made it out in 66 minutes! We were all feeling pretty proud of our skills and starving for our 8:00 dinner reservation, although not as desperately hangry as we thought we might be since they kindly provided some pretzels, almonds and snack mix in the room.

Dinner was also excellent. We ate at Sessions at the Presidio and had to refrain from licking all the plates. These cheese dumplings with cilantro pesto were especially tasty! As were the desserts and cocktails. The meal was perfectly paced, too. We loved our server, who made great recommendations and kept the beer and cocktails flowing, and enjoyed getting to know Angela's friends. It was such a fun group and the night flew by!

The only downside to driving up to San Francisco is.... driving through San Francisco. If given the choice between driving through San Francisco and having burning coals jammed into my eyeballs, I might choose the coals. So many people and cars and stoplights and endless frustration. Luckily, the drive home around midnight was much nicer, and luckily Rich was driving because I couldn't keep my eyes open. Much like Cinderella's coach, I turn into a pumpkin at the stroke of midnight.

Sunday morning we met Rich's biodesign group at Hanahaus in downtown Palo Alto for breakfast and a working session which ended up lasting til almost 1:30. We had planned to drive to Big Basin for a hike afterwards, but by the time they finished we needed to head home for naps and knew we wouldn't have time for Big Basin.

The naps were definitely needed for all of us. We woke up around 4 and still wanted to squeeze in a small Sunday adventure, so we decided to head to Half Moon Bay for dinner and some beach time. It worked out perfectly. We got to the beach at Half Moon Bay at 5:30, with an hour and a half of daylight remaining, and Valerie got to chase the surf up and down the sand to her heart's content. We kicked ourselves for not bringing towels or a swimsuit for her, but we let her run around in her diaper and managed to get her sufficiently dry and sand-free for dinner.

Dinner at Half Moon Bay Brewing Co. was a highlight of the weekend. We sat outside on their lovely patio under heat lamps, overlooking the harbor, and ate delicious shrimp, truffle fries, ahi tuna, clams and mussels, with refreshing beers and cocktails. We had a clear view of the lunar eclipse from our table, Valerie was on her best behavior, and we got to dance to the live music. The most perfect family night out. We can't wait to go back there again.

A+ weekend, California!

Oktoberfest 2015

We had such a fun weekend! A nice recovery from last weekend's hiking debacle. We started out by checking out the free movie in Downtown Menlo Park on the Chestnut Paseo on Friday evening, which was Big Hero 6. Rich and I had seen it before, and we knew it would be a little scary for Valerie, but we figured she could handle it. She did great! When she got scared we told her to look away and cuddle up with Daddy.

We brought camping chairs, blankets, popcorn and candy, and it was the perfect Friday night family activity. We're planning to go back again this Friday for the last movie in the series, Cinderella.

She was cracking us up on the way home from the movie. She kept interrupting us and saying, "Stop talking Mommy and Daddy! I have a question about Baymax" (the robot from the movie).

"Okay, what's your question?"
"What does... he... do... like... save the day." Every time she would say, "I have a question about Baymax" and we would ask, "okay, what's your question?" And she would make some vague statement. We tried to turn it around by asking her questions: "Is Baymax nice, or scary? Who programmed Baymax? Who is Tadashi?"

In spite of the scary parts, she loved getting to watch a movie with Mommy and Daddy while eating a lollipop. It's so much fun for us to finally be able to watch a movie all together! We'll have to take her to a real theater soon... maybe when Frozen 2 comes out.

Okay, I just googled Frozen 2, and apparently it's not coming out before 2018. We'll probably go see a movie before that.

Saturday morning we took turns getting our workouts in (Rich at the Stanford gym, me at Core Studio) and I made a quick trip to the Palo Alto Farmer's Market for fresh bread, fruit, herbs, fish, avocados and some rosemary almond butter (yum!!).

After a relaxing afternoon and some naps, we got ready for the Redwood City Oktoberfest. We love Oktoberfest in Cincinnati, where there are so many free events around the city every weekend through September and October, and we knew we wanted to find an Oktoberfest in the bay area this year. The big one is in San Francisco next weekend, but it's fairly expensive ($30/person) and we would need a babysitter for the evening one. We'd need a sitter for the daytime one, too, if we wanted Valerie to get her nap that day, but we really wanted to bring her if we could. She loves the music and dancing, and sausages. Redwood City is closer, cheaper, and allows kids, so we decided to go to that one.

don't miss the balloon beer hat on the woman on the left.

We fortunately purchased our tickets earlier in the week because the event was sold out when we arrived. A few of our biodesign friends were planning to meet us there, but hadn't bought tickets in time, so we were bummed about that. We waited in a long line to get our 1-liter steins and bracelets at the entrance, and then got in the beer line. Lots of waiting in the hot sun, but it was worth it! We really had a great time and were impressed by the solid glass beer steins that came with admission. I was expecting something cheap and plastic. There was live music and a few dancing shows, log sawing, and an open dance floor, which Valerie TORE UP.

She is becoming a maniac on the dance floor lately and I LOVE IT. We have dance parties at home all the time now. We'll definitely have to get her in dance classes in the next couple of years.

She was the star of the show. A photographer wanted some pictures and video of her dancing and had us sign a waiver (so maybe we will see these pictures sometime?), and lots of people commented on how adorable she was dancing in her German girl costume, which was actually a Little Red Riding Hood costume I found on Amazon. We left the hooded cape at home, but were not spared the red glitter on the skirt that got everywhere.

The beer was cold, the pretzel covered with havarti was the size of my torso, the music was loud (a bit too loud... my ears were ringing when we left), and Rich convinced me to participate in the women's stein-holding contest at the end - in which I made an impressive (for me) showing! I was one of the last 3 or 4 women standing, and the winner was crowned just a few seconds after my arm gave out. I felt pretty proud of myself. Rich tried to be in the men's stein-holding contest that followed, but he was too slow - all the men wanted to volunteer and they only allowed ten. At that point, Valerie was starting to melt down anyway so we made a hasty exit.

By then it had cooled off and felt wonderful outside. We put the top down on our new (to us) convertible and enjoyed a refreshing ride home in the evening breeze. Such a fun and memorable Oktoberfest this year!

Sunday morning I was inspired to make waffles, and Rich had the brilliant idea to top his with almond butter and nutella. I took it even further by adding some of the fresh strawberries from the farmer's market to mine - YUM! There's a whole post about the waffles on my new blog at Wordpress, LizZestLife - check it out!

I have the best waffle helper!

waffles topped with almond butter, nutella, and fresh strawberries - YEP

Our friends Brett and Ali came over for lunch and Valerie got to meet their 5-month-old daughter Amanda, which was really the cutest thing ever.

We had the loveliest afternoon catching up with them in the backyard even though it was blazing hot outside. We sat in the shade and brought a fan out to keep the air moving so it wasn't too brutal. I am so ready for some of this "not scorching" California weather that I have been promised! "You don't need A/C in the bay area," they said. "It doesn't get that hot here," they said. "You won't be sweating to death in your house for six weeks." LIES.

We had sandwiches with the fresh bread and ingredients from the farmer's market, along with tuna salad and truffle mayo that I made, and of course Sunday Funday style beverages.

Valerie and Amanda timed their naps perfectly so the parents could eat lunch in peace, and we bonded over our shared misfortune that in both our houses, the closet rods are hung too close to the shelves above for hanger clearance. An incredibly frustrating problem I never even knew existed! But we are not alone! There are others out there suffering with us! Seriously, who hangs the closet rods too close to the shelves above?!? Combined with an already too-small closet, this makes the hanging of clothes a hellish task.

Anyway, we had a blast with Brett, Ali and Amanda, and a quiet evening at home Sunday night since Rich had work to do. It was so hot in the house I decided something deliciously ice cold would be necessary.

It was a great weekend of family, friends, tasty treats, dancing and relaxation despite the heat. Next weekend's forecast is a refreshing high of 80 degrees. Bring. It. On!!!!

Epic Fail Sunday

Our family had a seriously rough day last Sunday. After our amazingly successful hike at Muir Beach the week before, we were bound to get wildly overconfident in Valerie's ability to accompany us on a hike and flame out spectacularly.

We thought we were being so reasonable. We did close to 7 miles at Muir Beach and thought we would attempt 3 miles at the Stanford Dish on Sunday morning. Only 3 miles! She can totally walk most of that, and when she's tired, we can take turns carrying her. We got this!

In hindsight, we obviously should have just brought a stroller. We wouldn't even have an interesting story to tell. "We went for a 3 mile walk at the Dish!" "Cool story bro."

this creature looks like it could probably walk 3 miles, no?

 Have you ever walked three miles with a whiny, exhausted, hysterical toddler? Allow me to recommend against it.

Our first mistake (well, after not bringing a stroller) was underestimating how long it would take to walk 3 miles at Valerie speed. Another mistake was not bringing any lollipops. I have learned the hard way that I need to always, always keep lollipops on me. They are the easiest way to keep her happy and occupied in any circumstances. Of course I brought none. We had plenty of water, trail mix, and cheetos for snacks, but a critical shortage of lollipops.

So very many mistakes.

We started out walking at Valerie's usual walking pace; the pace of a turtle on Ambien. Since the path starts out at a steep incline upwards, we were moving even slower than usual, which I would hardly have believed possible. We made it up the hill though, calm and intact. As we reached the top of the initial climb, she began to crash, crying for water and to be carried. Rich agreed to carry her on his shoulders most of the next mile or so, including one thousand water breaks, to the satellite dish, where we stopped for a snack break.

The paved path gets pretty close to the dish, but there is a chain link fence preventing you from getting right next to it, and when Valerie realized she couldn't get any closer, that was the last straw. Cue extreme meltdown. We were not quite halfway through our 3 miles and she was crumbling fast. We plied her with snacks and water but it was becoming clear she needed lunch and a nap, ASAP.

As if the situation wasn't dire enough, next we added marital conflict. We were walking a 3.2-mile loop, and we had gone about 1.4 miles at this point. We weren't sure of these exact numbers; we had a general idea, but Rich felt that we should go back the way we came since it was the shortest way back, and I wanted to stay on course to finish the loop since we were about halfway.

Neither of us would budge. We were at a standstill, and Valerie started walking down the path to finish the loop. I followed after her and waited for Rich to catch up to us. He came up, grabbed her and lifted her onto his shoulders, and turned and headed back the way we came. I stood there, dumbfounded and infuriated, and Valerie began to cry as she noticed I wasn't with them. I finally turned and ran to catch up to them, and continued running past them, still furious. Seeing me run past them sent Valerie into full blown hysterics. I finally slowed down, took her and carried her for the next stretch, and she stopped crying as long as I held her. Then we tried to get her to walk for a bit, but it was too late, she was distraught and wailed the rest of the way back.

oh look! a photo of us at the end of our hike

We made it back home for a long nap, but our day of fail was not over yet. We decided a nice dinner out would make for a better end to the day. I researched nearby restaurants that were kid-friendly, open later on Sunday, and had outdoor seating, and I thought either Coconuts caribbean restaurant or Vive Sol, a mexican place, sounded good. Rich picked Coconuts, so I jumped on the Opentable app and made a reservation for 7:30. They were only open til 8, but we had Valerie and would be eating quickly, so thought it should be fine.

We drove to Coconuts, parked in the garage, and walked over.... to a sign on the door that they were closed for a private party. This was particularly frustrating having just made a reservation. After a maddening exchange with the host, who did not seem to know what Opentable is, we left and went to Vive Sol, which was not on Opentable, but thankfully was open til 9.

Not so thankfully, we arrived at Vive Sol to learn they had a 45 minute wait for a table. Valerie was getting hangry by then so a 45 minute wait was a no-go. Crap! Now what? We needed to find something, fast. I looked at my map. Maldonado's Pizzeria was a block away. We didn't really want pizza but we were getting desperate. A comment on yelp said "This restaurant isn't a fancy place for a sit down, but that's okay..." so I thought, okay, it isn't much, but they must have some seating.

We zoomed over there to find that, nope... no seating. Just a takeout/delivery place. And we are now at three strikes. We are desperate. It's past 8:00. We need to feed our toddler before she explodes. WE WILL FIND FOOD SOMEWHERE IN THIS TOWN! We need a place that is open, with no wait, and seating at 8 pm on Sunday night. SURELY SUCH A PLACE EXISTS AND WE WILL FIND IT!!!!

Fortunately, on our fourth try, we succeeded. Amber India was another two blocks down, and I called them to make sure they were open and had no wait. Yes, they were accepting diners until 9:30. THANK YOU SWEET BABY JESUS. We will eat dinner! Valerie was crying at this point, bewildered by our many exits from and returns to the car.

We pulled up to Amber India, parked, and tried to calm her as we walked in. The host smiled at her  and she switched to shy mode, which at least was not active crying. We were seated at a table and I gave her a lollipop while we browsed the menu. Lollipop to the rescue! She was finally happy.

Now we faced another problem: what is this picky child going to eat at an Indian restaurant? Oh dear. Wait! How about naan? Yes, we'll get some butter naan, she'll eat that. What else? Naan doesn't seem like quite enough... oh! What's this chicken on a stick appetizer? Let's get that.

We ordered drinks, a beer and a cocktail, and our naan came, and Valerie devoured it as I set pieces in front of her. Okay. Everything is going to be all right.

My champagne cocktail tasted like the water of life. Happy bubbles on my tongue. We had the curried scallop appetizer, which was amazing. The first bite was pure, spicy, creamy relief from the desperation that had been building. I told myself to slow down, savor each bite, rather than scarfing it as fast as possible.

The chicken on a stick arrived and I was struck by brilliant inspiration: "Look Valerie, mmm! Chicken lollipops!  Here, have a chicken lollipop!" It worked. She ate 3 whole chicken skewers and all her naan, and her hanger subsided.

Everything we had was delicious. Navratan korma, chicken tikka masala, rice, naan, champagne, beer... we filled our bellies with our Indian feast and I decided I want Indian food for every meal from now on. Mmmmm.

Our epic fail Sunday had a happy ending and we discovered we can bring Valerie out for Indian food, which was the best and most unexpected thing we could have discovered. Chicken lollipops for the win!

And the next time somebody has the brilliant idea to bring a toddler on a hike... bring lollipops and a stroller. Noted.

The Newborn Daze

Several of my friends and facebook friends have brought new babies home in the past few months, and I am so happy and excited for them, as well as sympathetic.
I can vaguely recall the days when I too had a newborn. I didn't blog at that time. I think I was in too much of a sleep-deprived fog to put any coherent sentences together. It's the sleep deprivation that makes that time so hard, as well as hazy in my memory. Those first few months at home with your new baby fly by in a blur, although when it's happening, each minute crawls by like an injured snail. At least, that's how it was for me.
I remember wishing for each day to pass, for my baby to get a little bigger, a little stronger, to get on a sleeping and eating schedule... and for sleep. Please just let me sleep, baby!! I can't go on another minute without sleep!

fresh out the womb and ready to party

Valerie wasn't the easiest baby, although don't get me wrong, she wasn't the most difficult either. She didn't have full blown colic or any serious health issues, so I really should not complain, but I will.

#babyproblems

She cried a lot, spit up a lot, utterly failed to breastfeed and did not crack a smile until she was 12 weeks old.  Those first 12 weeks were a slog.

her first smile!!!!

The thing I dreaded most about becoming a parent before I became one was diapers. Cleaning up baby poop!?! Gross! But I quickly learned that diapers are nothing. Oh my god, so easy. Bring on the diapers. What I should have known was that feeding a new baby is the real horror. They have to eat ALL THE TIME!!! Are they eating enough? How do you tell when they're full, or hungry? Is it normal to spit up this much? Oh the agony of spending 20 minutes pumping and cleaning parts only to watch your baby spit it all right back up.

Breastfeeding was the absolute worst. My baby never latched, and my milk supply was insufficient. I got to enjoy 6 months of pumping milk which was nowhere near enough to exclusively feed with, so I also got to enjoy buying lots of formula - but not just any formula - special formula to reduce spit up because this child would keep down maybe 60% of her intake. So. Much. Mess. Those first few months were a constant deluge of bodily fluids. Mainly breast milk and spit-up, with the occasional hint of pee and poop just to mix it up. We had to always keep rags handy to clean up the imminent mess.


Pumping is the pits. I felt isolated, stressed out trying to rush through every pumping session before she would start crying again, and for what? Maybe two ounces of milk that would soon be converted to spit-up I'd be wiping off my couch. In hindsight I definitely should not have kept pumping as long as I did. So much wasted time and energy. So many bottles and parts to clean.

I longed for the day she would eat solid food. I longed for so many things. When would she hold her head up? Smile? Laugh? Roll over? Sit up by herself? Crawl? Pull up to standing? Walk? Talk? Just become a person already, you useless bundle of needs! At least smile at me! Can't you see I'm doing it all for you... just a little appreciation would be nice!

throw me a frickin' bone here!

But, babies are not known for appreciating all their moms go through. Not only are you completely preoccupied with meeting your baby's needs, you have your own physical recovery to manage, all while not sleeping. You're still carrying around some extra pregnancy pounds. The good news is, pregnancy is so miserable that the postpartum situation feels like a revelation. I felt so much better after giving birth than I did pregnant that I walked around in a cloud of happiness, delighted to not be pregnant anymore. I can lay on my back! I can get comfortable! No more shooting pains in my hips and legs! I have ankles again! I can walk! If my baby would just get it together, I could sleep, too!

I have to give it to moms who give birth by Caesarian section. That recovery is SO much worse and I honestly don't know how they feed and care for their babies while healing from being split open. Just give them all capes because they are super women.

I was lucky enough to have an easy breezy physical recovery which allowed me to focus all my complaining energy on breastfeeding, sleep deprivation and the overall stress of caring for a newborn. It's hard times. You hear a lot of people saying how much they love their babies, and they do. I loved my baby, even then, I really did. But the real truth is nobody likes the newborn stage. Does anyone? Really? Some people say they do.  They love to cuddle those tiny, innocent little bundles. Sure, I love to cuddle my friends' sweet new bundles. I liked cuddling my own bundle, but I mostly just remember wanting to put her down so I could take a nap.

I'm sure it is a totally different experience when breastfeeding goes smoothly, and you have a happy baby who digests all his milk. Someone has written that blog, I'm sure. This is not that blog.

But one day, you wake up, and your child is maybe 15-18 months old. She's sleeping through the night, walking (the early walking is my absolute favorite!! Those wobbly little baby legs... ), saying a few words, eating solid foods and never spitting up. She gives you hugs and kisses and makes you laugh with her emerging personality. Newborn hell is a distant, fuzzy memory. You can barely even remember the nightmare of pumping, bottle washing, spit up laundry, extreme fatigue, and unexplained crying. You have MADE IT!!!

Don't get too excited, it's not all rainbows and unicorns. She still needs you to do most everything for her. You dress and undress her, change her diapers, make and clean up her meals, bathe her and groom her. But when she's crying, she can tell you why. She can tell you when she's hungry or full. And most importantly, she can tell you she loves you.

how time flies

So, to my friends with new babies, this is me saying I love you, and I feel you. Unless you're one of those weirdos with an easy baby and you love every minute of these newborn days, then I don't feel you, but I'm happy for you. Either way, squeeze that little baby tight, for tomorrow she will be all grown up!

The days are long, but the years are short.

Don't burn your house down, eat hummus!

I had my first kitchen catastrophe in the new house yesterday... I was going to make cheesy zucchini brown rice and beans, and I thought I could leave the rice to boil while I walked over to pick up Valerie from school... but I was mistaken. We returned to the smell of smoke, a kitchen filled with smoke and some seriously charred black rice in my best stockpot. Sad face. No rice for us, and today the house still smells like smoke. Plus Rich nearly had a heart attack when he found out I left the stove on. We are just glad a real fire didn't start, and the worst damage is to the pot, which has been soaking until I attempt to scrub it.

Since my dinner plan was foiled I came up with another idea and it was more successful. My friend Sarah found this Layered Mediterranean Dip on pinterest and since I had been wanting to make my own hummus anyway, this inspired me to turn hummus into a meal.

from the seeded at the table blog

I made the hummus recipe from my Blendtec recipe book, which is yet to steer me wrong. I had some leftover sun dried tomatoes that I wanted to use up, so I made the sun dried tomato variation of hummus, with some smoked paprika. Wow delicious!!! I have had homemade hummus come out poorly before but this one is a winner.

I spread the hummus on the plate, and topped it with chopped fresh heirloom tomato, cucumber, red onion, parsley and feta. I did not have banana peppers or kalamata olives on hand, or those would have been excellent as well. The pesto layer from the blog version is not represented either because I forgot about it. Next time!

 It came out looking so pretty and appetizing and colorful, and tasted light and healthy but satisfying. I really wished I had some pitas or pita chips to dip in it, but we made do with some toasted Ezekiel bread, lentil chips and crackers.

A few lessons learned: don't leave a pot boiling on the stove on high; and well... I guess that's pretty much it. So, one lesson learned, and one tasty hummus dip eaten. At least the day wasn't a total loss!

Labor Day weekend adventure Part 2 - Sonoma and Novato

We made it back to our hotel in Novato after our hike at Muir Beach and Valerie crashed hard. She didn't even walk most of the hike but it still wore her out! Rich and I ordered some late evening room service before they closed at 10 and enjoyed it on our little hotel balcony before we crashed too.

We had a lovely breakfast by the hotel pool on Sunday morning and then headed to Sonoma, about 20 miles away. Our first stop was at Train Town, which was Valerie's dream destination. We rode the train through the park, and it stopped halfway through at a little miniature town with goats and alpacas for the kids to feed and some little buildings to walk through. By noon it was hot, hot, hot and getting hotter in the sun. The train tracks went mostly through the shade, though, so the ride was still pleasant. Valerie loved that train.  It was probably the best train ride she's been on, and she has been on a few train rides in her day! The Cincinnati Zoo, Hogle Zoo, Danny the Dragon at Happy Hollow, EnterTrainment Junction, and Lemos Farm all come to mind, but this was such a nice ride, with waterfalls, tunnels, the stop halfway through, pretty scenery and lots of shade. And a real steam engine at the front with the conductor blowing the whistle!

Train Town!

She also got to ride the carousel, the flying airplanes and the ferris wheel, which was fun for all three of us. We were the only ones on it for a bit and we got to go zooming around several times at top speed. I can't remember the last time I rode a ferris wheel! I'm glad we got to ride it after we missed out on the one at the St. Cecilia Festival in Cincinnati because of thunderstorms.

she never figured out how to make her plane "take off" but still enjoyed the airplane ride

Once we had used up our ride tickets we headed over to Hopmonk Tavern a mile down the road for a free live show and lunch in their beer garden. It was so nice in the shady beer garden, although it did still get quite roasty in the 90ish degree heat by the end. We enjoyed their delicious beers and huge lunches of beet salad and sweet potato fries (me), a chicken naan sandwich and fries (Rich) and chicken fingers for Valerie. The live musician played Old MacDonald along with other chill songs so Valerie and I had to get up and dance a bit after we stuffed ourselves, and then we waddled to the car to make the 20-mile drive back to the hotel for a nap.

Valerie crashed from about 5-8 pm so we found what appeared to be the only place open late in Novato on Sunday nights for dinner, Moylan's Brewery. We had a flight of seven different beers and were impressed by how good they were.

Basically, we drove to Sonoma, one of the best wine regions in the world, to drink lots of beer.

They had crayons for Valerie to color so she was pretty well behaved for her late night dinner out at a brewery. 

so cute all wrapped up in her towel

That was the end of our Sunday, and Monday we got up for the hotel breakfast and then a quick dip in the pool and hot tub before we headed back south over the Golden Gate. We were relieved to find much less traffic on the way back, and decided to stop at Nick's Crispy Tacos in downtown SF for end-of-vacation lunch, or, brunch, because they had bottomless mimosas. Score!!!!!! The best thing in life for only $15!

I loved this place.  It had a really cool vibe with red walls and chandeliers all around the bar, extremely delicious mexican food (my huevos rancheros were the bomb), and most importantly, fantastic, ice cold refreshing mimosas to complete my vacation happiness. Rich had a horchata because he is a responsible dad and driver and I adore him oh so much. :)
We ordered a bean and cheese burrito for Valerie which she refused to touch, and then it was time to go back to reality, to unpacking, cleaning up the house, applying for jobs and catching up on laundry (for me) and biodesigning and weighing all his food (Rich).

All in all, a great family vacation success! I can't wait for our next weekend adventure here in pricey but beautiful California.

Labor Day weekend adventure Part 1 - Muir Beach coastal trail hike

We managed to pull together a last-minute family getaway for Labor Day weekend to take advantage of the extra day off, and it was a revelation. We actually really enjoyed ourselves, just the three of us, and were glad to have Valerie along for the fun. We even stayed in one hotel room together and it worked out all right. I was so relieved!  We have had some rough experiences traveling with her in the past. She gets too excited to sleep with us in the same room, and when she finally does fall asleep she makes a lot of noise, keeping me awake. Not to mention frequent, unpredictable meltdowns. But for the most part she did really well on this trip.

We packed up Saturday morning and headed north over the Golden Gate bridge to Muir Beach for a hike with some of the Stanford fellows. The traffic was excruciating through the city and what should have been an hour and 15 minute drive took about 2 hours, but we made it! And miraculously, everyone in the group arrived at the exact same time, and we lucked into an amazing parking spot in a completely packed lot.

Side note: driving and finding parking everywhere in the bay area is infuriating.  It's almost like a lot of people live here and visit here and you might want lots of parking at popular tourist destinations... Anyway.

It was the most perfectly clear, gorgeous sunny day at the beach and on the hike. If I could have done anything different this day I would have planned to spend more time at the beach because we definitely have a beach baby.  We ate our picnic lunches on the beach first, and Valerie was in heaven. She stripped her clothes off, raced to the water and was the picture of pure joy. She wanted to stay and play in the surf all day. We had to tear her away from the water, brush the sand off and get her dressed again so we could start hiking.

 At first we took a wrong turn and walked through Green Gulch farm trying to find the coastal trail, but after some wandering, we got back on track and found our way upwards.

What an incredible view we found of the bay, blue skies and towns below. A local we ran into at the overlook told us it was the best day he's ever seen up there. It's usually too foggy to see much but we lucked out big time and took lots of pictures.

Then it was time to head back down to the beach. All the strong men in the group took turns carrying Valerie on their shoulders for most of the hike. Thank goodness for them! We ended up covering probably close to seven miles, with a few steep climbs, so Rich was very grateful for all the help.

We were also extremely thankful that she was in great spirits the entire time. She chatted away about any and everything, got to know our new friends, and was a joy to have along. I may have brought along a few lollipops and fruit snacks to keep her happy, which was astonishingly effective. She recently told me all she wants for Christmas from Santa are lollipops and fruit snacks. Gotta love it. Santa will be more than happy to oblige.

We decided the perfect finale to our strenuous hike would be a pitcher of beer and some fries at the pelican inn. We laid out our beach towels on their lawn and enjoyed tasty cold beer and salty fries with Shri and Hamsa since the rest of the group had to get going. There were lots of people there and a long wait for the beer with just one bartender, but it was worth the wait, and Valerie got to run around on the lawn while we relaxed, which was perfect.

It was an incredibly fun, busy, exhausting, beautiful and memorable day, the best way to kick off the long weekend!

Cinderella days

We checked out Cinderella and the Little Mermaid from the library today, as part of the Exposure-to-Disney-and-its-Princesses plan prior to our upcoming Disneyland trip.  Valerie chose Cinderella to watch first. She is pretty obsessed with all things Cinderella, and the other day when we were reading it, I asked her why she likes Cinderella so much.  She said because "she has a ball gown." The prince is not even on her radar at this point.  It's all about the dress and the shoes.

I even let her try on these shoes at Kohl's the other day. How fun are these?  $40 though. Sorry, we will not be bringing these home for $40.

hmmm... random, yet appropriate. #googleimages

Things Valerie Said While Watching Cinderella:

During previews:
-I want to watch Cinderella!
-Where's Cinderella?

During opening credits:
-I don't want Cinderella, I want Ariel!

in her defense, could these opening credits be more boring?

Once movie starts:
*slack jawed zombie style raptness*
-I don't like it! It's too scary!
*hiding behind pillow and freaking out*
-That cat is trying to get that little mouse!
-I want Ariel!
-I don't like it!
-What did they do to her dress!?
-What happened to Cinderella's dress?!

Enter fairy godmother:
*zombie mode*

-What happened to her glass slipper?!
-Where is her glass slipper!?
-I don't want Cinderella, I want Ariel!

Movie ends:
-I want to watch Cinderella again!




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Protein peanut butter cups and homemade shell topping!!!

I have to share this delicious recipe I found on pinterest for Crispy Peanut Butter Protein Cups. 
As usual, I didn't have all the ingredients on hand so I modified to use what I had - most notably I left out the rice cereal, and used sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter. These would be delish with any nut butter! I can't wait to try them with almond, peanut, cashew...  

I used:

Ingredients

For the peanut (sunflower seed) butter cups

• 3 scoops unflavored whey protein powder
• 1/4 cup organic coconut oil (melted/liquid)
• 1/4 cup organic maple syrup
• 1 cup organic sunflower seed butter
•  handful of sesame seeds

For the cacao drizzle (AKA homemade magic shell topping!!!)

• 1 tablespoon organic maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon organic raw cacao powder
• 1 tablespoon organic coconut oil (melted/liquid)

 Since it's summer and we don't have A/C, the coconut oil did not require any heating; it was ready to go. For the cups, I just mixed everything together in a bowl, portioned it into 8 silicone baking cups and stuck them in the freezer for an hour.

Now for the most important part.... the magic shell topping!!!! I am so excited I found this recipe.  There's nothing I guiltily love more than magic shell topping on ice cream... but it's sooo bad for you. This stuff is the most amazing substitute for store-bought shell! And you can just throw together a single serving super quick whenever you want some. You just need equal parts maple syrup, coconut oil and cacao powder. So fast and easy! And it hardens just like shell on ice cream or on these frozen peanut butter cups. This discovery so makes my life right now!!!

These were so easy to make, and they are such a yummy treat for a snack or dessert. Valerie loves them - definitely a hit with kids! For 8 cups, I calculated each one to be about 337 calories, 22 grams of fat, 18 grams of carbs and 16 grams of protein. Okay so not exactly low calorie. For a lighter treat, you could have half a cup for 170 calories. I think what I might do the next time, rather than make them in cups, is to spread the mixture in a pan so you can slice off small pieces, which might make it easier to have smaller portions, rather than only eating half a cup each time.