wow! I just read this fabulous blog. Karen does a great job of putting into words the emotional experience of being a baseball fan. I, too, feel a huge void come October when baseball ends. What on earth will I watch on TV now?!?! As well as, in the Spring, I have a renewed sense of exhilaration, hope and rejuvenation when baseball returns. Each team starts with a clean slate… what will happen over the next 7 months is anyone’s guess!
Go Giants!
I read this story earlier today and I still have tears streaming down my face. Wow, is all I can say. I cannot even begin to imagine the emotional experience this woman endured…. giving birth is emotional enough.
Please take the time and read this story…. it will for sure change your life.
Some of these I learned from my mom (wise woman), some I learned to internalize over the years, and a few of them I found on Wikipedia!
Any others you’d like to see added to my list? Please submit a comment below.
And an inspirational photo from my hike with Lucy yesterday.
I ran my first real race in 5 years last weekend: The Nike Women’s 1/2 Marathon. Oh how I yearned for the days when running a 1/2 marathon was something I could accomplish without thinking twice.
When my girlfriend, Alice, pinged me 3 weeks before the event to say that as a Nike employee (she is a pace leader for the weekly training runs… not her “real” job, she also works her ass off at IBM during the week), she was able to get a last minute entry to the race…. a race that sells out in moments and is typically only available to those affiliated with the Nike Run Club….. not independents like me.
I thought about it for 5 seconds and said, “YES, I’m in!” Never mind that I’d only run a maximum of 7 miles in the past 5 years since I burned out after Ironman in 2004. I figured that I could run 7 to 8 miles and walk the rest.
What was my motivation? To be honest, mainly the Tiffany necklace that is presented to all finishers at the finish line by tuxedoed SF Firemen (grrrrrr!), but I also wanted to test my endurance.
Cut to race day… what a day! One of the best in recent memory. Got to AT&T park where they had free parking with free shuttles to Union Square and the starting line. OMG! took me 1/2 hour to park because it was mobbed (duh 20,000 runners of course, you just don’t expect it at 6am!). Finally on the shuttle, starting to sense that telltale nervous energy that is always unavoidable at Marathon races. Mysteriously I’m not feeling it… after all, I’ll likely walk much of the race (ha! read on)
At Union Square… WOW! Having run Boston, LA, SF and Idaho (C’oeur D’Alene for the IronMan race), I have never felt a greater sense of exhilaration at the starting line than at the Nike Women’s Marathon — guess it’s true, girls rock!! : )
At the start line, my favorite memory is listening to Beyonce: “Single Ladies (put a ring on it)” — good stuff!
Finally we start, very slow jog to start, which is good… gotta pace myself. Feeling great, but knowing the importance of pace-setting.
Running along the Embarcadero/Marina Green — just fabulous, reminders of life when I lived in SF… great crowd support, no complaints!
Love how at mile 6 or 7 or so, my breath hit that steady rhythm that makes me feel like I could run for days and days… steady, easy, euphoric!
Okay then we hit the hills: NOT so fun. But I was determined to keep running and I did so. I think I was afraid if I stopped, I might never start again!
Mile 11 or so when we hit the Cliffhouse, what a great surprise to see a big screen displaying us runners as we approached. I did not see myself on the screen unfortunately, but it was still quite cool!
Miles 12-13, I figured, what have I got to lose at this point? So I kicked it up a notch and cruised into the finish line with a respectable time (considering I hadn’t really trained) of 2:06! No one was more surprised than me!
And, YES, the firemen in tuxedoes were WELL worth it. I am still kicking myself that I did not get pictures, but I will cherish my tiffany necklace forever!
Completing this race, which years ago I would have registered for as a “training run”, but now was quite a challenge, has only served to make me itch for the days when running a marathon was doable and something I could plan for with a months’ notice.
Mark my words: I will be back. Got some things to take care of first, but thinking 2012 is not an overly ambitious goal!
I know this is not a “recipe blog” per say, but I’ve been experimenting in the kitchen lately so I thought I should share some of my creations with y’all. I’ve always been the type of cook who prefers to DIAL for dinner or on a good day, bake cheese toast for dinner. So no one is more shocked than I that I’ve been moderately successful at this whole cooking endeavor…
… Perhaps I did acquire some of my mom’s gene’s after all? That woman can COOK, and that’s an understatement. A typical meal at my mom’s house: lobster bisque, signature crab salad, beef wellington, roasted veggies and poached pear for dessert… seriously. amazing.
This summer has been heirloom tomato summer for me. I eat at least one every day. I am lucky because my sister, Laura & her family have a ginormous garden full of heirloom tomato vines, so each time I see them, I’m given a giant bag full of gorgeous, luscious tomatoes. There is never any way I can eat them all, so I end up giving many away to friends.
My favorite thing lately is heirloom tomato salsa. This morning I made a batch and threw in a cucumber as well. Fabulous!
- 2 heirloom tomatoes, diced
- 1 persian cucumber, diced
- 1 small jalapeno diced
- handful cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 lime juice
- splash balsamic vinaigrette
- splash olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
combine all ingredients, refrigerate. I actually like the salsa the next day, when all of the flavors have a chance to blend. I eat it straight out of the tupperware container, but of course, it’s great with tortilla chips!
Yep, that’s how I’ve been feeling… ever since it was announced that Giants’ pitcher Tim Lincecum would be the starting pitcher for the National League in tonight’s All-Star Game in St. Louis.
He is, after all, OUR phenom. Nicknamed “The Freak” and “Sea Biscuit”, Lincecum is one of the most talented, electric & just plain filthy pitchers in baseball today. Since I’ve only really been a fan of baseball since 2001 or so, I have no comparisons to make with other pitchers from history…. but I’ve heard others compare him to Greg Maddux, Roy Oswalt and John Montefusco.
All I can say, is when he pitches, the world pays attention.
It’s awesome that he’s gotten the Nation’s attention as well. Love hearing from my nephews in New Jersey that they wish they could have Lincecum on their “fantasy baseball” teams.
So, this is my blog tribute and good luck wish to “my boy” Lincecum!
I’m sure that Charlie Manuel, the manager for the National league team, will be tempted to keep Lincecum in the game for as long as possible… but he’s OURS and we need him to pitch well this weekend. Although it would be really fun to watch Lincecum make a bunch of All-Star American league players look silly.
Oh, here’s a fun picture that @sf_giants twitpic’d today: http://twitpic.com/ac4hq. Roy Halladay, who will pitch for the American league wears a suit… while Lincecum wears a beanie cap. Love it!
Be sure to catch the game at 5:00pm PST…
Most of you know that my 14 year old nephew, Austin, stayed with us for a week. He just left with his parents after a fun week with “parental rules clueless” Uncle Pete and Auntie Sheila. Suddenly the silence is deafening.
A week with the kid, who definitely tried my patience (but I’m impatient and virtually EVERYONE tries my patience sooner or later)… and I’m sadly remorse that he is no longer around to a) take out the trash, b) inform me of the ways to cheat at Wii or c) respond “I don’t know” when I ask him what he wants to eat for dinner.
I could definitely see the challenge in this situation on a day to day, month to month, year to year situation… but dammit I miss that little booger and he left just an hour ago.
I guess all I can say is hopefully one day, Pete and I will also breed and create an offspring as cool/smart/talented/funny/sweet as my nephew Austin. Kid, don’t let it go to your head!
I love the town where I live (Alamo, CA). It’s a peaceful, picturesque, charming town… of course it is also one of the most affluent areas in the East Bay Area [we rent our house]. I could totally imagine raising well-adjusted, happy children in this area. Generally speaking, Alamo residents are friendly, smart, progressive and successful (duh!)
So no one was more shocked than me when I heard the following story which occurred at a park less than 1/2 mile from my house.
One of Lucy’s favorite pups on the trail is a gorgeous chestnut colored pit bull named Rocky. We see Rocky and his mom running the trail pretty much every morning. Rocky’s mom & I let the pups off leash and while they chase each other around and around, we get a chance to catch up for a bit.
Rocky’s mom (shameful that I don’t know her name, but I will refer to her as RM going forward) is a petite, stunningly beautiful, dark-skinned Brazilian gal.
We ran into the duo this past Saturday and, as usual, stopped to chit-chat. RM seemed pretty distressed, but I’m not one to pry. Finally she unloads this story that left me completely shocked.
Apparently RM took her 9 year old son and two 7 week old pit bulls who she was babysitting to the Hap Magee park in Alamo recently.
They were tooling around the park, baby pit bulls on leash. RM’s son ran off as 9 year old boys do. So RM got a bit distracted and in the confusion, the puppies got loose… as puppies do.
Well…. a group of 15 people were picnicking/bbqing at the park and where do you think the baby pit bulls went? … you got it… straight to the yummy smelling BBQ beef.
Turns out baby pit bulls found the 15 assholes that live in Alamo.
RM ran immediately over to the scene of the crime, apologizing, trying to grab the babies who are at this point chewing on tasty prime rib (LOL, sounds like the scene from a Will Farrell comedy, huh?) Here is where reasonable people would realize that this poor woman was trying her best to grab hold of her puppies and avoid a major conflict. But NO. Instead, privileged, affluent, entitled white person mentality kicked in and the group decided to make RM’s life even more miserable.
The leader of the crew, a 6′5″ white dude decided that the situation called for him to start kicking the <10 pound pups and he started screaming at RM to “go back to the ghetto”. OMFG (just breathe). The others in the group decided to call 9-1-1. (REALLY? pathetic is the word that comes to mind).
Cut to the Danville police (they probably have nothing better to do) who rush to the group asking, “where’s the pitbull?” No doubt expecting to see some 60+ pound beast in the vicinity. Clearly our fine diners had no sense of embarrrassment when RM displayed the “vicious pitbulls in question”… weighing all of 10 pounds apiece.
Needless to say, the Danville police told RM to go home and relax. RM, bless her heart, told the police that she wanted to press charges for animal cruelty. Apparently the police told her, “it just isn’t worth it”. So she went home.
I am stunned. There are so many things I could rant about: the baby pitbulls, the 9 year old son who has to experience racial discrimination for the first time, etc, etc. simply SICK.
The reality is if said picnickers had been reasonable people, RM would have gone to the store to purchase them a boat load of meat to replace whatever meat the babies had eaten, done whatever was needed to remedy the situation. Instead, they chose to be jackasses and flaunt their ugly, entitled selves… in the process tainting the beautiful community which is Alamo, CA.
I am quite embarrassed about my rather shameful disappearance over the past few months. I really have no excuse. My favorite standby, “I’m SOOOO busy” gets old real quick. I hope to make it up to you fabulous readers (whoever is left, that is) by committing to blog regularly. No longer will I commit to blogging once a day, cause that’s just too darn difficult given the other obligations in my life. Perhaps when I finally win the millions I’m due to win at Super Lotto, I will have lots of time to write creative and inspired blog entries (as I sip frosty fruity drinks on the beach at whatever vacation destination I happen to be at the time)…. SNAP! Back to reality, girl.
The reality is it’s Monday after a long Holiday weekend. In typical Sheila fashion, I went HARD! Paying for it today, but phew, what an amazing weekend.
Where do I begin? My sweet, talented, 14 year old nephew, Austin, is staying with us until this Friday… which is just awesome. I went to pick him up on Friday and enjoyed lunch with his parents (my sister Laura and my bro-in-law Keith). On the way home, we stopped off at my favorite adult toystore, Best Buy, to pick up the Wii FIT (currently borrowing the Wii game console from the fabulous Jackie & Mark, who are traveling the world at the moment). The Wii FIT fitness module appeals to my UBER fitness crazed self. It did not disappoint. Pizza dinner and hours of fun playing on the Wii that evening. What a great entertainment invention. The best part was KO’ing Pete multiple times in Wii boxing – he he he!
Saturday morning, up and at ‘em. Lucy and I decided to run 6 miles instead of walk. I hadn’t run in over 1 1/2 months since I stubbed my toe on the couch (this is a blog entry of its own, note to self to write about it)… so I started with trepidation. Luckily we ran into many of Lucy’s puppy & people friends on the trail, so we got lots of chit-chat breaks and I was able to complete the run without any problems. Hurrah!
Next, I chucked my running shoes to the side and turned into Baking Queen. I whipped up some coconut macaroons (these beauties are ridiculously EASY to make and everyone who has ever tasted them seems to experience some kind of intense orgasmic pleasure). I also made some tomato mushroom tarts using fresh tomatoes from Laura/Keith/Austin’s tomato garden. I had never made them before, so was a bit worried, but they turned out a-ok (it’s pretty difficult to mess up puff pastry and loads of cheese!)
Why the baking spree you ask? Well, Saturday (4th of July) was the annual ultimate Independence day BBQ/Pool Party at Ayelet’s house. This is a not-to-be-missed yearly event. I wanted to contribute to the party hence the baking spree… although I should have known Ayelet would prepare enough food to feed an army. She always goes all out — grilled steak, veggies, multiple salads, tasty appetizers, etc etc. This year she outdid even herself by making a giant batch of paella on the BBQ!! Jeez, that paella also deserves its own blog post! Ayelet is the hostess with the mostest. She’s one of the most generous people I know… and that’s the least of what makes her great. I’m lucky that she’s one of my closest friends.
Anyhoo… cut to 10 hours later and we’re finally getting ready to head home. You know it’s *some party* when you stay for 10 hours! DRINK FOOD FOOD DRINK FOOD DRINK FOOD DRINK FOOD FOOD DRINK. That was my day Saturday… with a bit of swimming, games, laughter and fun with good people. EPIC is the best word to describe the day. Oh, yeah, also I beat Austin in a little swim race a couple of times too! Notice a trend? yah, might have a few competitive bones in me. 
OH! and the weekend is not over… onto Sunday. Simply memorable. Austin and I took BART into the city and met up with pals Alexandra and Wilson to catch the Giants vs. Astros game. First of all, kicking myself that this was the first game I attended all season. How did that happen?!?! So wrong. There is just something about Sunday afternoons at the yard… Back when I worked right across the street from AT&T Park, I loved mid-week day games as well… but there is something about Sunday afternoons that screams baseball. What made the day so much more special is that I got to meet the fabulous, charming PCon (Patrick Connor, producer for KNBR). Those who know me well, know that the KNBR Morning show is very much a part of my life…. almost as much as my family (I said ALMOST people, no need to get your panties in a bunch!) PCon, as he is affectionately called on the show, is the producer and most definitely integral to the success of the show. He’s one of the most real people I have ever known (and met now!) Ex-marine guy, sharp as a tack, not afraid to speak his mind, scarily knowledgeable and just plain adorable. Anyways, I was a bit star-struck, tongue-tied, (lame) when I met him… but it was so fun to get a picture with him. Also, simply thrilled to be “connected” to him on Twitter! Gotta love social networking.
Back to the game….such a fun afternoon, but sadly the Giants did not win. I am going to let it slide cause they are playing really well lately and, guess what? It’s early but they are leading the Wild Card race… a girl can dream can’t she?!?!
A great friend of mine has produced and directed an indie film called Beer Wars. The movie is very compelling and will be showing on one day only at 440 theaters across the nation on April 16. Ben Stein is hosting the event LIVE in LA… pretty cool stuff!
I am fortunate to have experienced the evolution of this movie over the past couple of years. I’ve watched a couple of the early screenings and have truly enjoyed each new and improved version. I haven’t seen the final version, so I am really excited for April 16!
In light of my excitement, I’ve decided to have a little contest for my fabulous readers. I am giving away two free tickets to the movie at a theater of your choice. Here is a list of theaters to choose from: http://tinyurl.com/cpvkmg.
I will have a random drawing on Tuesday, April 14. All you have to do to register is: #1 post a blog entry or Twitter about the event. #2 enter a comment on this post linking to your blog entry or Twitter ID…. that’s it!
Here is a short synopsis of the movie: BEER WARS LIVE on April 16th, One Night Only. Beer Wars LIVE marches into select movie theatres in a special live simulcast event on Thursday, April 16th to tell the David and Goliath story of the American beer industry.. Beer Wars LIVE will take you inside the boardrooms and back rooms of the big business of beer — a microcosm of American business today where the big are getting bigger, consolidation reigns and free enterprise often takes a back seat.
The evening will feature the world premiere of the groundbreaking documentary Beer Wars, followed by a spirited and timely LIVE discussion led by Ben Stein with some of America’s leading independent brewers and experts. Playing in 440 movie theatres nationwide on Thursday, April 16th, Beer Wars LIVE will take you behind-the-scenes of the daily battles and all-out wars that dominate one of America’s favorite industries.
Presented by NCM Fathom and Ducks In A Row Entertainment, in partnership with Reason Foundation, Yelp! and All About Beer magazine.
For more information, visit www.beerwarsmovie.com. Purchase tickets for the LIVE event on April 16th at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/8pm PT (tape delayed) at www.fathomevents.com/upcoming/details/Beer_Wars.html
Here is a link to the trailer, http://beerwarsmovie.com/trailer/large/
Oh, and by the way, I’ll be experiencing this epic event in San Francisco at the Century 9 San Francisco Centre Cinema (at the Westfield Shopping Center). Let me know if you would like to join our group. I’ll send you an invite to our Facebook event.
