We stopped by La Boulange on Polk today, and I was tempted to ride this mini scooter away and make my way around this over-comforable dog sprawled out in the sun. The bad news is that 1: the scooter is made for a 3 feet tall people, and 2: there wasn't a Gavin sighting even though he's tagged this place as one of his "favorite spots." So far, that makes me 0 for 4.
Making lasagna at 9 in the evening somehow managed to eliminate the stress of a long work day. Of course I was so tired after making it I couldn't stay awake long enough to eat it.
The release of the movie Julie and Julia has spured renewed interest in Julia Childs and her books. They aired old-school Julia Childs episodes on Sunday which shall forever be stored on my TiVo. This makes me want to make a fish bouillabaisse, or at least want to eat some.
August is overloaded with birthdays, so if my math is right, there's a lot of "activity" going on in November. Here's my card another August birthday. I like the turban smiley- it reminds me of Jambi the Genie from Pee Wee's Playhouse. . .Mekka Lekka Hi-Mekka Hiney Ho. . . .
It was the last Friday before the start of the school year, so we got a little more climbing time in. This little monkey got to the top of at least 4 walls, which was amazing!
Took this pic while stopped at a light in the Tenderloin on our way to Hai Ky for lunch. Nothing says deliciousness like a bowl of noodle and kidneys. At least I think they were kidneys.
In celebration of the 60th birthday of Candy Land, Lombard Street was transformed today into a life size Candy Land Board. King Kandy, Lolly, and Princess Frostline are all expected to attend. I got there before random children would be pulling oversized cards and running rampant through the street, but of course, that's the fun part.
I took some shots on my way home, realizing that I've spent the last 7 years working with a one block radius of this building, and I have no idea what's in this building. I do know, however, that there is a sweatshop next door with people in little blue smocks.
Apparently, there's no way to make less than 48 wontons at a time, so it was another wonton meal. That makes three times in 4 days. At least the desserts are changing each time to break up the monotony and I made instant rice balls with black sesame for the first time followed by a little banana bread.
Sunday was a mini wonton party ending in mudslide cookies from chocolatier Jacques Torres.
Saturday was the birthdat party with my favorite 6 year old. Of course there were at least 10 cameras flashing while she was blowing out her High School Musical candle.
Our plans for climbing today got sidetracked by sleepy children, so instead we made wontons and worked another little photo project I have planned. Here's a quick and messy version of part of my project.
I'm beginning to realize how many Chinese places I visit on a regular basis and have no clue what they are called in English. We stopped by this Taiwanese place on Mission for tea eggs and beef stew, but I had to yelp it to figure out what it's called. I love soy sauce eggs, and the fact that they just drop it in a small clear plastic bag, as if you're supposed to take it and put it in your pocket. That kind of reminds me of the egg incident in 6th grade where I made easter eggs and forgot about them in my desk for 2 weeks. My teacher noticed the smell but didn't comment out of politeness. Does this mean she thought it was normal for me to smell like rotten eggs?
I took off work early on Wednesday to hang out with giant baby at the playground. What a cutie.
I had to wake up early on Tuesday to help Diana move her surfboard, and by early, I mean 8 o'clock. At least I was able to make a bunch of shortbread and brownies for her long drive home, but now I'm sleepy and cranky, so I'm posting my slogan for the day.
In the 4 part series of saying goodbye to Diana, we had dinner at Pacific Catch for the last time. For the first time, I deviated from my usuals and got sushi. Not a good idea at all. A ton of foreign cucumbers and carrots infiltrated my sushi and I was forced to rescue the little morsels of temoura out. Thank goodness I had the good sense to order sweet potato fries as a backup.
One of my mom's favorite dim sum places serves dim sum for 2 bucks a dish on the weekdays, which i probably why she was abhorred at the fact that we went on Sunday, when it costs a whole FOUR dollars a plate instead. But it was Diana's last lunch before she leaves, and they do make the dumplings look like little bunnies sharing a cabbage or little orange eyed fishies on the weekends? I don't think so! That's what the whole extra 2 bucks must be for. 
What's better than taking two and a half hours to drive 50 miles? Although I've tried to ban myself from taking pictures while driving, I had plenty of time on this drive. At least I got some shots I wouldn't otherwise take if I were driving at normal speeds. How else do you take a picture beneath Interstate 580?
I have no recollction what I did on Wednesday. So instead, I'm posting an old pic I took from the roof of our building. The roof at work brings back fond memories of sneaking up there to have mario kart races in the freezing cold. There was also the incident that bordered on a bad "after school special" on drinking. It was the last day for one of my coworkers, and so we decided to go up on the roof for one last "homemade" drink. I can only imagine that this concoction was made in her bath tub and started as rubbing alcohol. Reminds me of prisoners making alcohol with rotting fruit ad a garbage bag. Roof+alcohol+work= bad, bad idea.
It was an official cheese quest on Tuesday out to Sonoma. We had the most amazing feta cheese at the Girl and the Fig. I also was able to take some fun pics with the following disclaimer to my friends: From now on, there is the potential that you may have to hop out of the car in the middle of nowhere as a prop in my pictures.
I went to hang out with the bestest bestest dog in the world and it's recovering owner who is now sans appendix. I also got a chance to mess around in photoshop for fun.
After averaging 5 hours of sleep per night for the past week, isn't the logical thing to do on my day off is paint? I had to drag myself outta bed early on Saturday to volunteer to paint at SOMArts, but it was definitely for a good cause. Once painting was over, we got to stuff our face with dumplings and noodles, and deep fried turnip cake, and green onion pancakes, and snow peas with water chestnuts. And yes, we ordered all that food for just two people. I love how Diana is multi-tasking by eating with both hands at the same time.
Friday was an official playdate at Mission Cliffs. What's cooler than two little people fearlessly hanging 15 feet in the air. So cute!
We stopped by the Room and Board sample sale on our way to stuff my tummy with beignets at Just for You. A perfect way to start a long weekend on a Thursday.
I didn't have the privilege of seeing daylight today, so I'm dropping a pic I took for class as a placeholder.
It's bad enough I missed out on all-you-can-eat hot pot, but I ran into everyone after they were done. Unfortunately, it was after 11 and I was still at work, left to find my way to my lonely car in the dark creepy parking lot.
Since I've been eating almost all my three meals a day at work for the past week, I've been reduced to bringing my lunch in this handy dandy lunch bag. Please ignore the mess behind it.
