Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

It’s one of my favorite holidays of the year. There’s something terrific about seeing everyone act like kids: dressing in costume, nibbling on candy, having goofy parties. And one of the best parts of Halloween is the movies—horror, suspense, vampires, scary spoofs, cartoon favorites …

So if you’re not heading out to party and trick-or-treat, turn off all the lights, curl up on the couch with popcorn and candy corn and watch a Halloweeny movie. It’s a must.

Mwuuuuhahahahahahahaha!

Here are our picks, what are yours?

Best hummus (and husband) ever!

There are many things that I adore about Jack.

Right up at the top of the list is his hummus.

Oh, man … his hummus is soooooo goood! It’s addictive, really. Although I might be a little biased in this case … trust me when I tell you that his hummus is eye-rolling good.

The other day I made up a batch using a recipe that I thought was his and gosh darn it—it wasn’t close to being as good. Frustrated, I called him at work and demanded, “What the hell do you put in your hummus that makes it taste so good?”

He laughed at me, “Baby, you can’t make hummus as good as me.”

“Whatever. What’s the recipe?”

Go Giants!

(photo: bestofsf)

One of our favorite things to do is to go to a Giants baseball game in San Francisco. There’s just nothing like seeing a game live—catching the enthusiasm of other players, paying $7 for polish dog and $9 for a Budweiser. I’m going to tell you though, that the garlic fries at AT&T park are !@#$! wonderful. They are tasty, tasty, tasty! They heap on the garlic so take heed of your loved ones and make sure they really, really love you if you plan to exhale anywhere near them. Otherwise travel with Binaca spray or a butt load of Mentos.

Jack and I went to a Giants baseball game on our first date. And we had garlic fries. Jack said he could still taste them the next morning, they were that good.

What kind of nut jobs share garlic fries on their first date? Really, once again, it’s a miracle we’re married.

Anyway …

Smile!

sunset walks

It’s that time of year when the sunsets are particularly beautiful.

I wish I were a good enough photographer to capture the beauty of the skies, so different every night, that range in color from intense fiery fuchsia to a gentle golden. I’m going to keep trying, but in the meantime here are some shots from one of our recent walks.

This hilly trail is just five minutes from our house and it has become a favorite of ours to hike or run depending on your mood. With the beautiful sunsets these days I’m inclined to bring the camera and hike while Lily runs off some of her puppyness.

Yu Xiang Bean Pot (aka Fish-Smelling Bean Pot)

After several weeks of 90F degree days (in the middle of October, for heaven’s sake!) we woke this morning to a light drizzle of rain and that crisp smell of Fall in the air. Finally! Fall is here!

While sipping my morning coffee and peering out at the drizzle I said to Jack, “You know, we should break out the bean pot. It seems like the perfect day for it.”

He looked up from reading the Sunday paper, “I was thinking exactly the same thing.”

Excellent! I love it when we’re on the same page.

I also love it when he offers to cook.

Jim who?

On Friday my friend Steve called and offered me a pair of tickets to a Jim Brickman concert happening that night.

“Jim who?”

“Jim Brickman. He’s a pianist. We were really excited to go [but they had a last minute snafu] so I want to make sure these tickets don’t go to waste. Believe me, you’ll enjoy it.”

“Uhm. Okay, I’ll take them.” In my mind I was still thinking, Jim who??

Merry Christmas!

I mean, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I went to the pharmacy today and noticed a big display of Halloween decorations. I’m a sucker for Halloween decorations and they called to me like a mama to her chicks. “Come check us out … come girlie … come … we have goodies and doodads to decorate your porch with …”

My cute psuedocraftsman front porch? Oh, I had to go see the glitter ghosts and wooden signs for goblin crossings. Oh my.

En route to the Halloween aisle I was forced to detour around the more prominently displayed CHRISTMAS paraphernalia. Eh? But … but … Christmas is still two major holidays away!

Hello.

Surfing Fort Point, San Francisco

Last week my dear friend Annemieke (waving hello at her!) was visiting from the Netherlands. She’s a busy mom of two. As many of you busy moms know sometimes you just need a break. So she came to visit us in California for a little relaxation, sight seeing and girl talk. And what a great break! We had a wonderful time visiting together after ten years apart chatting only occasionally by email or Skype.

Anyhow, I met up with Annemieke in San Francisco one evening and we went out to the Presidio, which has some wonderful lookouts for taking photos. We timed it perfectly so that we’d be there at sunset. Cool.

Unfortunately the fog was so heavy that we couldn’t see a thing. Seriously. Nuttin’. Nada. Just a big white wall of fog.

So we headed down to Fort Point, which is at the base of Golden Gate Bridge, to see if there was even a remote view to be had.

We did it! We escaped from Alcatraz!

(Photo: Water World Swim)

On Saturday we swam from Alcatraz Island to Aquatic Park in San Francisco in the 8th Annual Alcatraz Classic: Swim with the Centurions race.

Woooohoooooo!!!!!! We did it!

It’s a 1.5mile open water swim. And lest  you think we’re nuts, let me tell you, there are nuttier folks out there.