Can man live on wine?

I have been thinking of this in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti. First, this post is not to make light of the situation there...it is devastating and I have been donating at the grocery store and had $$ added to my phone bill this month.

With that caveat out there...I have really been thinking about what happens if SF is next? There seem to be a lot of earthquakes shifting around out in the world and it kind of makes you think (especially when you live on multiple faults). We have absolutely NO earthquake preparedness kits in the house, no working flashlights, and as far as items to sustain ourselves on...a lot of wine, diet coke, one pitcher of filtered water and some perishable food! Oh, and left over cranberry goo in a can from Thanksgiving (I'd rather starve).

I guess if none of the wine broke when the earth shifted we would at least be numb to our plight but then what?! I would be lying if I said I didn't think about earthquakes at least once a day since I moved out here. Particularly when I am in tunnels, high rises, parking garages, overpasses, and below overpasses. Yet, I continue this life in oblivion and with the "it won't happen to me" attitude. WAKE UP! It definitely could.

Moral of this story...I need to get prepared. Tie shoes and flashlights to the bed frame (if it happens at night there will be glass on the ground and bare feet will not be good), get some non-perishable items, drinking water, batteries, first aid kit, etc... I have talked about this before and never done anything about it but I am going to commit to making the above happen within the next 14 days (I am being realistic). Once I have my supplies I will post pictures to prove it!

Hopefully by the end of two weeks, this:

will be supplemented with this:

I am pretty sure with the above kit I could tunnel to China so I might scale back a bit (what on earth is a tube tent?)!

But let's face it, if the big one hits I am drinking the wine!

Apparently I Needed a Resolution

I probably should have resolved to be a better blogger. I am just finding that with work and jam packed weekends my motivation to sit down with a computer in my spare time is just not there.

But, here I am! Let's catch up...

First, my wedding dress came in!! WOO HOO. No, you will not be seeing any pictures but I can tell you that is fabulous and I am obsessed with it and it is a good thing that it is staying at the dress shop or I would probably have it on right now just for fun! August 28th can't get here soon enough (not just because I am excited to wear my dress!).

Last weekend we celebrated Tanner's baptism and Kayla's second birthday. It was great to spend time with family and friends for both occasions.

The Strand Fam

Tanner was psyched about officially becoming a Catholic!

Kayla showing Kyle her bowling skills at her party.

Happy Birthday to Kayla!

All that baptizing can take it out of a little guy.

Of course with a birthday comes presents! I decided I would volunteer to put up the Dora tent. I now feel for my dad assembling my Barbie Dream House on Christmas Eve!

But it was all worth it when we climbed in with our doggies!

Gab and I relaxing after a busy day.

This week I took my first trip to Monterey for a night for work. It was a gloomy week (I am still contemplating building an ark and starting a collection of two of each animal) and the bad weather carried down south as well so I didn't really get to experience all the greatness that the area holds. But, I can definitely see the charm so I guess I will just have to make a return trip!!

This weekend we were supposed to head up to Twain Harte but Scott's mom was sick so we ended spending a weekend in the city. No complaints here. After the craziness that this week held I was ready for a little R&R. But, do we ever truly rest? NOPE! We ran on Crissy Field, shopped on Chestnut, cleaned the house like crazy people, and ventured out to try a new restaurant in the city.

Our first stop was District. District is a great wine bar with a lot of charm and of course great wine and apps!

After a little pre dinner fun we headed to COCO500 for dinner. It was a first time visit for both of us.

Scott showing off the table tent that was on our table when we got there.

A few notes...1-Still need to get that tan because I look like a beige nightmare (I mean really, my hair, face, arms and dress all match the wall!), 2-My hair is starting to pass the awkward growing out stage but I am still fighting the urge to chop it all off, 3-My wine is from Greece! Just warming up for the honeymoon!

COCO500 was good, but not great. It has not surpassed The House or Terzo on our list of favorites. That said, the food was delicious and there isn't really anything to complain about. If I was handing out stars I would give it 6.5 out of ten. The service left a little something to be desired or I might have given it 7. If you ever go...get the flatbread! YUMMY!

Up on the agenda this week...work, meeting with a florist, and PAIGE COMES TO VISIT ON FRIDAY!!! It's been over a year since I have seen her and I get to finally meet Lily. So excited!

I will try and blog sooner than later this time. Thanks for reading!

Happy New Year!

It is pretty sad that it has taken me until the 7th to post in the new year. But, I'm still here!

The past two years I have made some pretty big resolutions:

2008-Complete a Half Ironman-CHECK

2009-Quite biting my nails-CHECK

This year I haven't really come up with anything. I am really happy with where I am in my life and I just don't have a lot that I feel I need a resolution to accomplish. This year holds a lot...most importantly, our wedding. Of course, like every bride, I want to be in great shape and shock Scott walking down the aisle. But that is all just par for the course.

So, with no major resolution I have simply started my road back to fitness. Three weeks of eating, drinking, and enjoying the holidays is not exactly great on the ole bod! So, we have signed up for a 10K in April and another half marathon in July. I don't really consider this a resolution because exercise and races have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember (Although a Half Ironman does count because it was so far beyond my comfort zone and took a great deal of physical, emotional, financial, and general commitment...my life was triathlon for 10 months). This year, it is just a matter of resetting priorities...less crap, more moving!

Whew, I will step off my soap box now and share the end of 2009 with you. We were planning a low key night of cooking, card games, and movie watching, but Crick and Kyle and were kind enough to let us crash their New Years plans and we all headed out for a fun night!

Me, Kayla, Tanner and Scott checking out Duncan St. on New Year's Eve Day.

We decided to make the smart choice and opt for public transportation for the night!

My date. Forever. I am one lucky woman.

Mom this one is for you, from Chrissie. She insisted I take a picture of the wreaths on Macy's to show you :-)

Thanks for a great night you two!

Cousins!

Crick stole my date!

Don't worry, I lured him back!

We dined at Farallon Restaurant. Turns out we were still eating when midnight hit so we put on our party hats and rang in 2010!

After a nice, safe, crowded J ride home we crashed. It was a great way to send out a great year and I look forward to another in 2010!

After a final evaluation of pictures from the night, I have decided on a New Year's resolution...GET A TAN!

I will leave you with a video...