Lazy Saturday

I'm typing this at 11:08, on the couch in my PJs with Hunter passed out in my lap and Sam next to me reading the NY Times.  We are having our first lazy Saturday in a long time and enjoying Sam's Golden Weekend.  Yes, we were on vacation for a week, but Saturday morning Sam got up and went sailing with his parents and I was up early doing my laundry and packing for our drive back to Southern California.

So, this really is our first lazy Saturday at home in a few weeks.  How did we spend it?  We slept it until 8:45- a huge luxury for Sam!  He pulled up HBO-go on the iPad and we watched 50 First Dates until Hunter needed to bet let out, at which point I made us pancakes and coffee to enjoy during the second half of the movie.

When the movie was over, we just didn't get up from the couch... Sam started reading the paper, I thought it would be a good idea to keep working on my LinkedIn research, but decided I would blog instead.  We have definitely earned this lazy Saturday, we were out late last night with Ryan (and kind of Jenna too).  Ryan picked me up around 5 and we headed over to Morton's for Happy Hour.  Jenna was cocktailing the bar and patio so we sat outside and watched basketball until Sam joined us from work.

Man, there were some really douchey guys at the table next to us.  The kind of guys that took every opportunity to make Jenna feel like she was screwing up their service when in fact she was doing a great job.  Then they started going off on politics.  Let's put it this way, our table and theirs did not vote for the same candidate in the last election.  And they sounded so entitled to their money.  Don't get me wrong, I think that hard working Americans deserve to live comfortably, but you don't have to be a jerk about it.  I mean frankly, we are all eating at Morton's so life can't be too difficult for us.  They had this mentality about work too.  At one point one of them said, "Look, I run a successful construction company and these kids come in and try to tell me what to do.  I don't think so.  Sit down, shut up, and hold the f*ck on."  Excuse me?  Are you so self-agrandizing that you actually believe there is only one 'right' way to do things?  Maybe you're missing out on a great new technique because you're too busy putting everyone down to hear anyone out.  I mean they give Republicans such a bad name it's pathetic!

You know, entitled people exist everywhere.  But it really does seem like there is a higher concentration of them here in Orange County.  Perhaps that's just because we were recently home for a week and surrounded by people who have money and don't drive Bentleys and Rolls Royces or enroll their children in private schools.  Here it just seems so opulent it's ridiculous!  Anyway, I'm going to get off my soapbox now.

Here we go...

So I'm sitting at the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, waiting for my flight to Oakland to board.  It would seem my Super Bowl 47 NOLA weekend is underway!  I am here over an hour early, per usual, because that's how I roll.  Gotta love flight-induced anxiety... I am always worried I will miss my plane!

I worked from home this afternoon so I could soak up every last minute with Hunter Puppy before I left tonight.  We cuddled, he napped, we took a couple walks.  He was so bummed when my suitcase came out last night, and today he tried to lay in it while I was packing.  It was like he wanted to come too.

I said goodbye to Hunter about 45 minutes ago, and left him in his crate, which is when the guilt set in.  Our new pet sitter (recommended by dear friends who love their pets as much as we love Hunter) should be arriving in about an hour give or take to spend the night with him.

I am so worried he will be restless and up all night because everything is so unfamiliar.  I am worried he will bark or scratch at the door and keep her up.  I am probably over-thinking everything because she as assured me several times after meeting Hunter that while I may be convinced I own a little terror, he is really a sweetheart.  And she's really good about texting and checking in and letting me know how he is doing so that I don't have to suffer through 'not knowing'.

But it's Sam's Golden Weekend.  I feel like I should be spending my time with the boys and not going off on this amazing trip.  It feels horrible to leave them behind!

Hopefully once I land in Oakland and get some food I will feel better.  Good God I am so hungry!  I told Dad I would like to grab dinner with he and Mom since I am flying during the dinner hour, but that might have been a mistake.  Or I should have at least had some kind of snack before I left.  But again, I was maximizing my time with my puppy.

Mom and Dad are really jazzed, and I am sure I will feed off their energy.  Dad keeps telling us that this is "going to be an adventure" and we're going to have to roll with the punches because it's unlikely we'll have an uneventful experience.  But that is exactly what this will be, an experience.

Papa called me a two nights ago to ask if I was excited yet and I told him it still hadn't sunken in.  He promised me that this will be something I remember for the rest of my life- my first Super Bowl.  Just like my Dad and Uncle Mark had their first Super Bowl experience with Papa.

Tomorrow our charted Southwest plane takes off from Oakland at 9 AM and we land in NOLA around noon PST.  I can't even imagine how that is going to be- a 4 hour flight with a bunch of Super Bowl 47 bound 49er faithful on the quest for six and to extend our title as team with the longest winning streak at the Super Bowl.  It could be the beginning of a very alcoholic weekend.  I wish Carina were coming with us, but she flies in from Denver on Saturday because she has class tomorrow she can't skip.

I will leave you with the packing advice Dad gave me last night: #1 Bring every piece of 49er gear you own.  #2 Pack lots of hangover remedies.  Check, and check, Dad.  I am as ready as I will ever be.  And I am vaguely aware that this is going to be something unlike anything I have seen before.  Something I cannot even imagine (which is saying a lot for me).  And like all great adventures seem to start out on page one:

So it begins...

SB Boys Reunion- IE

There are some things that will never change... like the love we have for Sam's college roommates.

Nate, Ryan and Kevin have all recently moved, and we are overdue to visit all three of them.  This weekend we drove out to Upland (the Inland Empire) to visit Ryan.  Through the grapevine, Nate and Kevin found out about our trip, and they decided to make a weekend of it. 

So we ended up having a mini college reunion at Ryan's new apartment.  We also got to spend some more time with Ryan's girlfriend and meet Kevin's new girlfriend- both are really, really sweet.  One of the boys' post-college roommates happened to be town as well, and our favorite of Ry's dental school friends came out as well.  We had 6 adults sleeping in Ryan's living room Saturday night and I really wish I had a photo.  Kevin and Jo were on one air mattress, Sam and I shared another with Hunter, and Nate and Backer each had a sofa. 

I really wish we lived closer to those boys.  They are such great friends, truly they are always there for us.  Hunter got to come with us and it was so cute seeing them all interacting with him and realizing that someday they will be like that with our kids.

Ryan was just saying this weekend how lucky we are to have each other as friends, and I couldn't agree with him more.  These boys are more than friends, they are our family.

Fall Back

Sam, Hunter and I have been enjoying the extra hour today.  We all slept in (Sam slept the longest because he is the most sleep deprived) but even Hunter managed not to wake too early.  And because the 49ers have a bye this week, we were able to really take advantage of the extra hour.

To celebrate our first Golden Weekend (where Sam has both days off) in town since September, I made bacon and toast for breakfast and cleaned the kitchen while Sam was sleeping. 

After breakfast, we headed to Costco where we stocked up on the essentials (TP, paper towels, dishwasher soap, etc.) and then stopped at Ralph's on our way home for the non-bulk grocery items.  It's funny how much more I enjoy running errands when Sam's with me. 

When we came home, we and made BLTs and strawberries for lunch and started a massive laundry project.  Good God, it is unbelievable how much laundry Sam amasses between Golden Weekends.  He has dress clothes, gym clothes, scrubs, you name it!  I have some laundry to do myself, including our bath towels.

We're having friends over for dinner tonight.  So now we're going to take Hunter out for a walk and then finish up our cleaning/laundry so that we can start prepping our dinner.  I'm excited!!!

Sandy Eggo

Tonight, Sam and I are headed to San Diego with Matt & Emily for the Carrie Underwood concert.  Matt bought tickets several months ago and they are generously taking us along for our first ever overnight trip together.  I am so excited!

Matt booked us rooms in the W hotel, which I have always wanted to stay in, and this is going to be our first vacation not spent sleeping on couches reliving our college glory days since our trip to Tahoe in February.

Let me see:

• Nice, comfy hotel room
• Sleeping in
• Night out with friends

I am so excited!  Pictures to come!

Top of the World & Fresh Fish

Last weekend Sam had a Golden Weekend- Saturday & Sunday off.  Our water heater went out and while the handy man was fixing it, we decided to take Hunter on his first hike.  Obviously we all know how that turned out.

After the hike, we ran some errands and checked out this AWESOME family owned and operated fresh fish market.  We can't wait to go back!

Family Hike

Top of the World Hike in Laguna...

Hunter getting heat exhaustion

Pearson's Port: Our new favorite Fresh Fish Market

Ready for purchase!

Opo

On the grill with some corn on the cob

She threw in two shrimp for us to taste- best fish dinner I've ever cooked!