Curled up with a dog, a cat and a good book.

Not to mention unending boxes of tissues.

Our gander down the California seacoast over New Years was so special and so dear to my heart that I almost feel it would be crass to share too much. Sometimes with blogging I have to remind myself to keep certain things earmarked as just for me- instead of braying them all over the internet. On that note, I am simply going to post up a few photos from our adventure and leave it at that. Earl, Linus and I had an amazing time exploring the shoreline and rang in 2010 in an unforgettable manner.

I hope you all had a stupendous New Years.

One of the many beaches where we stuck our toes in the sand on a foggy grey morning.
The way the waves were crashing into these rocks and sending ocean spray flying- not only was the air perfumed with salty goodness, but the visuals were absolutely stunning.

We sat for a while watching the tide flow in and out from in between this rock gully.

Interesting looking erosion on this seaside rock. Apparently it has an interesting smell, as well!

5’ in front of the picnic bench where we sat sipping our coffee, this was going on:

Oh, joyful way to wake up on a lazy morning!

One of the state parks we visited had this placard about how it used to be a butter and cheese mecca. Sounds like my kinda family empire

We took a tour to see Elephant Seals!

An Alpha asserts his dominance.

They looked like big sea slugs just lying around! We were about 25ft from them at all times. Moving around at a surprisingly fast clip, we saw them undulating like big eels.

Slapping sand over themselves to stay warm and ward off bugs

A little further away, we saw a mother seal give birth, and a swarm of gulls descended to eat the placenta. There was also a very brave coyote skirting around hoping to get some placenta and dead seal pups.

Nerd vs Elephant Seal

This is Ano Nuevo Island. It used to be a Peninsula, but has since eroded into an island. Also, this house was built in the 1920s from redwood planks. It has been abandoned since 1950, but still stands true despite being zero maintenance and constant beatings from ocean waves and winds. A testament to the strong redwood boards and old-style craftsmanship. It is also entirely inhabited by seals, sea lions and gulls! Humans do not set foot on the island.

An Alpha and his “harem.” Bow chica wow wow….


This guy found a spot all to himself! Must be an exiled beta.

We whiled away an afternoon noshing cheeses (and cheeses, and cheeses) at a goat farm

Hadley Farms hosts ornate gourmet, locally grown dinners in the goat farm in this charming old barn. We’d love to come back for one, although at $150 per ticket (for a 5-hour “experience”) they are a tad beyond our current budget.

Hullo, ladies

Hadley Goat Farm

Our stowaway! We did not drink champagne on the balcony at midnight (we were erm… in bed!) nor did we utilize the outdoor hottub, but E and I have avowed to return and take full advantage soon.

We cozied up with a bottle of this

Oh hey! You’re eating brie on a rosemary olive oil rustic loaf? I’d like some if you’re feeling kind.

CJ + couch + corg

Oh, hello there! Our co-habitant, Ivy in all her glory.

Canine and swine bond over their love of carrots! Linus was *very* scared of Ivy. He was curious, and went up to smell her, but then was skittish and backed away whenever she would stick her nose through the fence. Ivy was SUPER friendly- very personable!! She was such a sweet girl and completely charmed us for the days we stayed with her. The pig makes a hard case against eating bacon.

Sniff, sniff. You guys got anymore carrots out there?

We happened upon this pumpkin field of sheep. I wish I had a polarizer, because this photo does not do the colors we saw justice! Think very bright greens with striking oranges.

Wouldn’t be a complete trip without a burger and a beer!

As Sam noted, it’s freeeEEzing here in San Francisco! You know when the arch enemies band together for warmth, things are pretty chilly in the apartment.

I don’t think our apartment is built for weather under 50*. I actually made a fire in the fireplace tonight all by myself while Earl was still at work (normally we only make a fire if we’re going to lounge around in front of it and have a romantic evening) just to warm up the joint. Even broke out the down comforter.

Supposed to be doing a hike tomorrow afternoon up Mt. Sutro with my friend Andrea (and Linus). Then my to do list has pre-making some pie crusts for Christmas, organizing the grocery shopping list for Feastivus (eight people have already RSVPd!!), writing Christmas cards, and catching up on friend’s blogs. With the chill in the air, we better dress warmly for our hike! Perhaps I will pack a thermos of hot cider. Brrr.

Just because.

2009, aka the year I saw a river otter in the wild, is winding down.  Also winding down is my current 24-hour shift.  Off for a pre-dentist and otherwise boring errands-day snooze.

Lucy found herself a snug nook curled up in our down comforter. Funny how she smooshed down the goose down and the rest puffed up surrounding her to form a soft, warm bed.

Kitten was purring up a storm! I actually heard the “engine” rumbling from another room and walked over to investigate what was going on.
Just look at that cute little nose.

Never was a cat person til I fell in love with a handsome, nerdy cat owner. This cow-colored furball pawed her way into my formerly feline-adverse heart.

In other news, today was a SUPER productive day. It’s amazing how much better you are at getting things done when you’re already busy. Back in ye olde Days of Unemployment just one of these tasks would have been completely arduous and taken up the whole day; I would have put off all this stuff for days on end. The phenomena of “when you’re already busy, you tend to be more productive” warrants a more succinct, catchy moniker. Paging Malcom Gladwell.

Today I:
- went running with Linus in the morning
- dropped Earl off at work
- went to Quest Diagnostics to get my blood drawn for my new job (and they said it might take up to TWO WEEKS for the results to come back because they have to ship it to SoCal… ARRRRGGH WTF?!?!?! i know you have a freaking analysis center right there in the back of your lab just RUN IT NOW I WANT TO START WORKING!!!!!! ARGH!@#@!#@# Also- back when I was on the trading floor at JPMorgan, I worked my butt off for weeks running prospectuses around to institutional investors for Quest Diagnostic’s IPO. way to pay me back with crap slow service, Jerks.)
- met my friend Elaine and her husband Tyler in the Castro for coffee and a leisurely chat (and we sat on that exact same stoop as that photo, heh)
- met Earl at his office and we went to get our Affidavit of Domestic Partnership notarized for our insurance benefits
- drove to Redwood City
- got fitted for my new uniforms for work
- waited an hour and a half for my uniforms to get tailored
- came home and did a load of laundry
- caught up with my good friend Terri from back east for an hour on the phone
- made a butternut squash, pear & onion au gratin casserole (topped with breadcrumbs, crumbled bacon, walnuts and Romano cheese- YUM) for dinner. in the oven right now and DAMN does it smell so dern good!!

Some photos from the uniform shop:
Apparently these flashlights are all the rage. They were flying off the shelves- four policemen/sheriffs came in and bought them while I was there getting my alterations. From what I overheard, they are super bright, last for several hours, charge in 90 seconds and don’t take any batteries. Revolutionary!
I have noticed during my brief tenure in EMS that any product with the word “Tactical” in it tends to be more desirable and also way jacked up in price. Tactical golf balls! Tactical underwear! When no ordinary flashlight will do… extremely dark darkness demands a TACTICAL flashlight (right under the flashlight display they were selling tactical polo shirts).

[unrelated: several *extraordinarily* hunky CalFire men also came into the uniform shop while I was getting my alterations. just pointing that out. ATTN single ladies- stake to uniform stores to meet cute guys!! though this uniform shop wouldn't work for that... you needed a writ of employer (ie- your employer paying for your uniform) to get inside... very high security... maybe they had too many single ladies in there trolling for dates while dudes were trying to shop, haha]

Back to photos, something tells me “the man” is in on the joke:

And finally- MY NEW WORK UNIFORMS!!! still in the plastic wrap to avoid being “furred” from my two four-legged loves who enjoy nothing more than helping decorate my laundry. I also got some new black boot polish for my work boots and picked up a couple crisp white new under armor under shirts. MAN I AM SO PSYCHED FOR MY FIRST DAY. wish that freaking blood work would come back already.

update: ha! after writing this post and finishing up some stuff online I went to the bedroom and found this. Not only is Lucy staking out “her man,” but she’s made another “nest” out of the fluffy down comforter. she must be in kitten heaven in this picture!! hilarious cat.

ps- yes, all the cat ever does, really, is laze around in bed. sometimes she chases around the sunbeams.

Love these shots of Linus playing fetch on Tank Hill!

Earl and I headed over there a few weekends ago on a gorgeous, sunny fall day. Tank Hill is a stone’s throw from our apartment; it’s a shame we’d never explored it. I plan to mosey over with a corgi, a coffee and a newspaper again soon.

Tank Hill would have been a stupendous place to have watched tonight’s meteor shower, however we are both totally EXHAUSTED and can barely muster the energy to look out the window for meteors, let alone schlep a blanket and some wine up a big hill.

I start new job on Friday!! WHOOO. Been busy these past couple days getting my uniform(s) fitted, uniform voucher, MORE blood work done (ugh) and filling out W-4s. Everything is coming together.

Sunbeam Cat soaks up the early morning November California sunshine:

Lucy can always be counted on to locate the nicest spot in the sun. E and I were chatting last night about where in her life Lucy has been “happiest” living (she is quite the jet-setting cat, did you know she’s lived in Russia, Thailand, Wisconsin, NYC and Cali? More places than I have!), and E informed me he thinks she’s happiest here “because of all the spots she has to sit in the sunbeam.” That is very true. Here she does have a large quiver of nice cozy cat nooks in which to sit and soak up rays.

When the afternoon comes and the sunbeam moves, she waddles over to on top of my desk to catch the late afternoon sun.

having accomplished my Principal Life Task of feeding the cat, i am off for a 5 mile run con Woof. it’s been a while since we’ve gone that far, i’m a *leetle* nervous (hence- classic stall: posting cat pictures on internet).

still riding out the tail end of this crazy bad cold, so i anticipate a lot of the hacking up of things while running. think that’ll be good… break up all the congestion a bit. with that, having run out of reasons to putter around in bed [...but the covers are so warm! and the world is so cold!] it is time to get my butt out there and freaking go running.

There is something so enticing about snuggling with a cuddly woofer early on a gray Monday morning. This is the first day that E has beat me out of bed in a long while, mainly because he is starting his new job (!!) today.

Linus is extra psyched because we finally sold our freaking bed so now he can hop right up onto the mattress/boxspring, which currently sit right on the floor. Very corgi-height friendly situation

Thank you for everyone asking about Linus’ health! He’s doing *much* better, although we have strict instructions from the vet to “take it easy” for a little while longer. Final diagnosis was a pulled hip. So we are going to sloooOOwly reintroduce some little jogs over the next couple weeks… just don’t want to push it and want him to stay happy and healthy. He certainly is back to eating with gusto, chasing the squeak ball enthusiastically and digging with glee, so we know mentally he’s feeling better! We went to the beach yesterday and buddy was overjoyed to have a short spastic romp.

I have about a bazillion pics to upload and update with, hopefully will get to it tonight after work. Happy Monday!

An ethical puzzle:

If you ceaselessly devout your wee morning hours (from 5am-7am) to the undertaking of being as obnoxious as possible in the hopes of wearing us down so we become exasperated, get out of bed, and feed you, do I have the right to retaliate with a playful tail yank when it is time to wake up?

This is the arm of a woman who has been walked back and forth on, MrrRRrrRRoww!ed at for two hours, waved away endless soft pawing mittens to the face, and otherwise attempted to snooze through the ungodly racket created by Hurricane Lucy.  ‘Tis astonishing how such a wee thing can create such a maelstrom.