Kellybean
Random bits of life

You know those where you think it’s going to be a good day, but then you realize that you have, not just one, but three, yes THREE soy latte stains on the front of your white shirt? D’oh!

To add:

*The San Francisco Board of Education district has announced that they are closing 4 schools. Thanks Ahnold – way to go!

The irony is found on my starbucks cup today:

The Way I See I It #28

Our schools can be fixed! It is my belief all children deserve a quality school in their neigborhood that will not only serve as a place of learning, but as a haven of safety. I believe that educators along with the citizens of our country can make this happen. – Betsy Rogers, 2003 National Teacher of the Year.

*And a few weeks ago, Senate OKd the drilling in the Alaskan refuge.

I feel completely helpless right now.

On the bright side, Lucie’s launched her website! :o)

Well, for starters, you’ll never believe where I’m writing this from! (I’ll post a picture when I figure out how!) A mac mini ! Sylvain broke down and purchased a mac mini for my birthday! It’s quite neat! It’s small and oh-so quiet. It’s amazing. I have to hand it to the folks at apple, especially their marketing and design guys – they do quite a job! I was in awe of everything in the apple store – it’s just…swell. ;o)

The festivities began Friday night…S + I met some of his co-workers and Dutch colleagues at the Grand Cafe for drinks. After a lovely glass of Sancerre, we headed out to the Mission to meet the Darlings for dinner at Limon.

Saturday, my mum took me out to lunch at Caffe Delle Stelle, a fabulous Italian resto near Davies Symphony Hall and the Opera House. Our waiter, we found out, was/is from Lille and when he found out that mon mari is francais, we received an affogato from the waiter’s compliments. We then trekked up and down Hayes Street and found birthday gifts galore at Flight 001 and non-birthday gifts at Paolo.

Sunday is when S + I headed down to Union Square for some birthday shopping at Macy’s, Louis Vuitton and Neiman Marcus (I couldn’t find a thing that I really wanted and needed – well, I did need those Louboutin espadrilles, but not quite for $245 – I think that something was wrong with me that afternoon). We ended up at the chic apple store and took home our mac mini.

Today is my actual birth day, and Sylvain is taking me out to dinner.
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Meet Janne…

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Standing next to Lilo, Janne begins the line up of toys on my monitor stand. He arrived in California by way of San Diego (a gift from gcw) and the Czech Republic.

And Barnabus…

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Barnabus’ job is to watch over (read: kick the crap out of) the hp deskjet that has been causing me grief the past 3 weeks.

*This past week, people in China have been flocking to the Pig Olympics! (I’m so not kidding, either.)

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Aren’t they cute?

*In my effort to really drink 64 ounces of water a day, I’ve purchased many a Nalgene bottle to help me reach my goal. Yet, I still prefer to drink water out of the plastic bottles they come in. Now, the plastic bottle is looking more appealing.

*I had other random thoughts on my mind, but now they’re gone.

*Giada rocks! So far, all her recipes that I’ve tried have worked out well. Made the labor consuming Lasagna Rolls last night and they were wonderful (even without the Parmesan – we were all out)!

*Health magazine has selected a group of 29 food products that offer taste and nutritional value, offering ideas for complete meal options as well as snacks.

Camilla, darling, it just begs the question, what were you thinking?

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The feathery chapeaus must run in the family…Wills and Harry’s step-sister, Laura is pictured below.

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Sylvain and I don’t pretend to be wine snobs. We know the basics: drink whites slightly chilled, make sure that the reds breathe before you drink, store the bottles out of the sun and on their sides (to keep the cork sealed well). However, this past weekend we were able to host a wonderfully fun wine tasting evening with friends. We purchased/provided 6 bottles of wine: Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon (Known as the big six grapes). They ranged in price from $8 to $30. We bagged them and labeled them A thru F. We all tasted, shared our thoughts, scored the wines and nibbled on cheeses and charcuterie in between. So the overall group results from our first wine tasting party is as follows (ranking from highest to lowest):

[1] Cabernet Sauvignon, Los Vascos, Chile

[2] Merlot, Christian Moueix, France

[3] Riesling, Langwerth Von Simmern, Germany

[4] Pinot Noir, Robert Stemmler, Carneros

[5] Sauvignon Blanc, Kirkham Peak Marlborough, New Zealand

[6] Chardonnay, Oxford Landing, Australia

Of course we ended the evening with friendly (no money) and not so friendly (money involved) games of poker.

Only in California would this occur…“the little old lady from Pasadena” is now in Livermore.

Here’s a tale about the retirement set adding a bit of NASCAR into their lives. Too cute!