St. Patrick's Day Strawberries

Today is St. Patrick's Day and at work we had a potluck with CMS, HR and Payroll. There were delicious dishes all around. Of course what I brought was on the desert table and man was there a spread! Green rice krispie treats, cookies, brownies, cupcakes and of course my chocolate covered strawberries with a bit of fancy green white chocolate drizzled on top in a lacy back and forth pattern. My roommate Emma did a few designs also, complete with four leaf clovers. It was a delicious day!

St Patrick's Day is also the same day as my Grandma Florence's birthday. I used to take the day off and she, my Mom and I would get lunch. Today my Mom called me at work and said hello and we talked for a bit. It was nice, in way, remembering Grandma and her "Green" birthday. I miss her very much and I remember and treasure all the wonderful times we had.

Sonoma Wine Tasting

Finally- after a year of being in Sonoma County, CA, I finally went wine tasting! It was a big wine tasting weekend in Sonoma, so Emily planned a wine tour with Jennifer, Amanda and me. We started at the Francis Ford Coppola winery which had been recently renovated to include an outdoor pool! They had some delicious food to pair along with the wine. From there, we headed to Truett Hurst winery. It was a little busier there, despite the overcast weather! Then we went to the Rued Winery and lastly the VLM winery. It was a lot of fun with good friends and wine!

An Early Spring Boise Visit and Greenbelt Jog

I hadn't been in Boise for over a month, so I was due for a visit! This weekend was planned to be spent with my Family. Chuck is always AWESOME to pick me up from the airport. He even let me borrow his car Friday night as I scooted around town. The visit was perfect timing, too, because my best friend Katie was moving to Portland on Saturday and we got to see each other Friday night before she left!

The best news of the whole trip was that my Dad was once again cleared by the doctors as cancer free. He had been concerned that perhaps there was something coming up again, but thanks be to God he is still in good health. It made for a high spirited weekend of cards and food with those I love and care about very much. Sunday afternoon Mom and Dad went golfing because it was such a beautiful day out. I had brought along my jogging supplies and after seeing that my street teammate Trisha had completed a full 26.2 mile marathon... I knew I needed to go for a run as well. I headed out from my parents house towards downtown Boise. I had planned in my head to go 2 miles out and 2 back. I got to the 2 miles and thought, I can do 3 out and back. I got to the 3 miles and thought, I can do 4 miles out and back. I stopped a couple of times to take pictures because the scene along the greenbelt in the wildlife preserve area was just beautiful.
I got to the 5th mile and thought, Veterans park is just up ahead. I ended up jogging almost 11 miles and it was wonderful! I know I'm ready for the upcoming Alliance 5k, Emerald Across the bay (10k) and the Windsor half marathon (13 miles). :D So when am I going to do my first full marathon....?

Santa Cruz Boardwalk

This weekend (like every other weekend) I went down to visit Dustin in Santa Cruz. But unlike the othwer weekends, his parents Jennifer and Wayne came along too. We had a wonderful weekend of dining out at some of the great restaurants in Santa Cruz. Friday night we went to my favorite restaurant, the Hula Bar & Grill. They make superb martini's and delicious pork or chicken sandwhiches. Saturday night we went to the Harvell's favorite restuarant- Kiantis Pizza Co. We caught their show of pizza spinning and dancing; always a good time! Then on Sunday we took the opportuninty presented by the warm sunny weather to walk along the Santa Cruz boardwalk. I'd never done that before and it was nice being there with the Harvell family.

Double Decker Lanes

Tonight Brady, Amy, Dustin and I went to Double Decker Lanes for some bowling. There was quite the competition for strikes-in-a-row. We kept getting strings of X's going but couldn't seem to get more than four in a row. It was a nice night bowling and having a few drinks. I don't think we made any records, but it was more about the good company than the scores!

Cal Skate

Dustin's neice, Adrianna was visiting her Dad while he was on leave and her grandparents this weekend, Jennifer & Wayne. She wanted to go roller skating, so we all met up at Cal Skate in Rohnert Park. I brought along my roller blades, which I hadn't used in forever. I used to be pretty good, so with utmost confidence I locked them on and stood up... and promptly my feet ended up in the air! It was so embarrasing, and kinda hurt too! Once I got my confidence back I had a really nice time skating around with Dustin and his family. We got Adrianna a glow stick- sometimes it's the simpliest toys that kids enjoy the most! It was a really nice day, skating around with the Harvell family.

Tamarack 2011

It's that time of the year- for the annual Tamarack Idaho trip! This year's participants; Wes, Andrej, Sarah, Ross & Dustin. Dustin and I arrived first so we got to scope out the totally awesome cabin. There was snow everywhere (I had missed the snow!) and no one else around!



The first night Dustin and I made tacos and then cake batter drinks (my specialty martini) with a huckleberry twist- Mmm! Then we got in the hot tub and enjoyed some beers under the stars.



The second night Andrej made an authentic Croatian dish which was phenomenal! It had pork and seasoning all wrapped in a homemade bread that was baked and drizzled with an olive oil. Yum! Then Wes made an apple caramel crisp desert that was insane. Top that all off with a few drinks, some board games and another hot tub dunk to finish off the night!

We all had a great time and I'm so glad I got to spend it with my Man. Sure did miss our Ashley, though!!!! You better be there next year Ashley- promise! :D