plateau

deery lou.
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Last night had to be one the best unexpected New Year's I've had in a long while. There's nothing like ringing in the new year with friends. Originally, I hadn't planned on doing anything that night but things just sort of fell into place.

I spent the earlier part of the day with d&j. We went to Target in search of a Christmas tree but with no luck. So instead, I bought some non-Christmas essentials. Afterward the three of us went to grab a bite to eat in Noe Valley. Then we finally had our Christmas together. Having a late Christmas is always nice. I scored some sweet gifts from the boys.

That night I had dinner with kiki & her #1 gal. I always enjoy going there for dinner. They have a way of making you feel very welcomed. After dinner we were joined by d&j as well as r&d for a round of cocktails. Around 11:40 we headed to Dolores Park to watch the fireworks. This was actually the first time I've ever watched the fireworks in SF for NYE. We had an amazing view of the them. Watching the fireworks with the city in the foreground was simply breathtaking.

There were quite a bit of people out in the park celebrating. Two guys decided to get naked and run across the park once midnight struck. How typical for SF. There was also a guy behind us you kept saying, "Holy shit, it's 2012", which has now become the official motto of 2012.

I hope everyone else had a great new year's as well. Just where will I be next is any one's guess. Happy New Year's!

stay gold & be well

mothra

deery-lou.
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And just like that Christmas is over. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I know I did. As I've mentioned before, this was my first Christmas in SF. I was a little nervous about staying here. I thought that being alone this holiday would make me miss my family all the more. Luckily, some friends were still going to be in town and I was able to celebrate with them.

 My holiday started off with a lovely Christmas Eve dinner with Butterbean & Jill. We feasted on cheese, meats, nuts, crab, ham, and cookies. We drank bubble stuff. We played scrabble. Christmas presents were exchanged. And we finished our evening watching Bitch Pudding on youtube. The evening couldn't have been more perfect.

Christmas morning like all other mornings, I awoke early. I immediately headed into the kitchen to start throwing the ingredients in the crock pot to make split pea soup. I wanted it to cook most of the day. Once that was going, I called my pops to wish him a merry Christmas. We chatted for a bit. He seemed in good spirits which was nice to hear since I'm never sure how he's going to be during the holidays. He loved the stuff that Zoe & I had sent which was an added bonus.

This was definitely a year of firsts. Instead of just talking to my sister on the phone, we had our first Skype Christmas together. My nieces and nephew opened their presents from me while I watched through the computer. Then my sister and I opened our gifts. It's not the same as being physically together but it's a great alternative. I snapped a picture of my sister's family to capture the moment. :)

The rest of my Christmas day was spent relaxing, eating, & watching TV. My split pea soup turned out to be simply delicious. I ate two bowels, stored some in the fridge, and froze the rest. My evening came to an end with me watching The Sound of Music.  I still love that movie. So now I've officially created my own Christmas traditions. I can't wait until next year. Just where will I end up next is any one's guess.

my Christmas loot
1. money
2. gift card
3. steamer
4. frother
5. Jonathan Adler design book
6. sleep pants
7. Jersey Boy tee
8. Robin figure
9. Samuri action figure (gift to myself)
10. Gypsy Witch fortune telling cards
11. and lots of stocking goodies

What did you get?

stay gold & be well

what a wonderful world

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

Ah, Christmas Eve is upon us. This will be my first Christmas that I spend in San Francisco. Usually, I go home this time of year but since I went home for Thanksgiving I decided to stay put. I think that's part of the reason why I've been filled with "Christmas Spirit" this year. I'm looking forward to starting new traditions. I'm having some friends over tonight for Christmas Eve dinner then will most likely spend my Christmas morning on Skype with my sister opening presents. You've got to love technology.

This time of year is always hard. I've been thinking about my mom a lot lately and all the Christmases we spent together as a family. She always had the house decorated for the holiday making it feel like a magically place. Christmas definitely hasn't been the same without her. However, I'm truly thankful for the memories of Christmases past and for the all people I have in my life. I hope that everyone has a wonderful & magical holiday. Just where will I end up next is any one's guess.

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year

stay gold & be well

Dad & Mom, Christmas 2000

christmas wrapping

deery-lou.

previously on the e-list…

Happy Holidays!

stay gold & be well

still ill

deery-lou.

previously on the e-list…

Wow! There's only three days left until Christmas and I haven't even blogged about my Thanksgiving trip yet. I'm going to do my best to catch up so that I can begin 2012 on track with my blogging. Hopefully, it'll be more eventful than 2011. Perhaps it's time for me to create my own fun. Anyway...on with the blog.

I spent my Thanksgiving break in South Florida, Orlando, & Atlanta. All around it was a great trip. I got to spend time with both family and friends. What more could one ask for. My trip started off in South Florida where I spent a few days with my sister and her family before I drove up to Orlando. HP that me crash at her pad while I was in town. She's always a great host. The day I arrived HP & I went to Hurricane's to have lunch with some old high peeps. It was great to be able to catch up with them while drinking some ice cold beer.

That night, HP, Kat, & I drove to New Smyrna Beach for an evening of F.U.N with Jill T. It was a night of drinking & dancing our way through the town. In the morning we went to Toni & Joe's for breakfast where Farrah became an instant hit. She's always the talk of town. Later that day, HP & I met Jill G. for lunch and hung out a bit.

On Monday, I met up with my sister's family for a day at Disney. It's been a long time since I was at the Magic Kingdom. It was day filled with long lines and fun rides. I almost forgot how exhausting a day at Disney is.

On Tuesday, we packed up the car and headed to Atlanta for Thanksgiving. The drive was pretty uneventful until we hit traffic and rain outside of Atlanta. We spent the rest of week at my aunt's house for the holiday. The days were filled with family, friends, food, and lots of drink. I can't think of a better way to spend the holiday.

We headed back to South Florida early Saturday morning. The following Sunday my sister and I took the little ones to Hollywood Beach. It was gorgeous day. There's nothing like having lunch and beers while looking at the ocean. My sister and I spent Monday and part of Tuesday doing marathon Christmas shopping. We basically knocked out all the gifts for the little ones. We are so good! My flight back to SF left Tuesday night which ended up getting delayed due to the heavy fog in SF. Go figure!

That pretty much wraps up my Thanksgiving Holiday. I hope every one had as good of a holiday as I did.

stay gold & be well

gone!

deery-lou.

previously on the e-list…

It's beginning to get cold out and I like it. I feel so invigorated when it's cold. Not really sure why but I do. It might have something to do with the air being so crisp. Or perhaps I'm just glad to bust out my winter coat again. I feel like I blinked and fall was gone. It didn't seem like we had much of a fall this year. One day I was wearing shorts and the next thermal underwear. The longer I'm in SF, the more I miss fall in New England. There's something about seeing the leaves change color that brightens up my day. While walking around Stowe Lake the other day I noticed that most of the leaves had already changed. They were a golden yellow. The reflection of the yellow leaves off of the lake was breathe taking. I'm so glad that the park is so close to my house. Being in nature is quite nice at times.

It's the 7th of November already. I leave for vacation in nine days. I'm so excited. It'll definitely be nice to get away from work for a while. I'm very thankful to be working but that place is bringing me down. Hopefully a bit of a break is what I need. I'm really looking forward to reconnecting with some old friends as well as spending Thanksgiving with family. 

For the most part, my Halloween was quite uneventful. It basically consisted of a school party. The students seemed to enjoy themselves and I did manage to throw together a costume at the near last minute. Last Diaso! You're a life savor.

Some things I learned this past month:

1. red velvet cake ice cream is awesome!

2. I didn't lose my creativity, it was just dormant

3.  Han Il Kwan is still one of my favorite spots

4.  photographing dolls is hard

5. last minute dinner with a friend rocks

6. eating chocolate covered pretzel pieces at 2 am can't be good

7. sleeping is my enemy

8. Whatever comics in the Castro is the place to buy comics

9. I think I have a juice addiction

10. foot massages should be done regularly

Just where will I end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well

pumped up kicks

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

It was hot in the city today. Set out for my morning walk around 9 am. Stopped in Halloween City to get some inspiration for Halloween and then walked around the Mission working on my photo project. Afterwards I jetted over to Japantown for a bit. Here's are some things I saw during my outing.

Just where will I end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well

he's got the honey

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list...

I'm currently revisiting my past by reading my blog posts from Korea. Some of the things that happened I can barely remember even after reading about it. I've been quite amused by some of the comments left.

Anonymous said…
you drink too much

Anonymous said…
that's why you get stomachache in the middle of the night. I'm not sure how old you are I'm guessing early 30? It'll make your skin look tired and eventually aging your skin faster. I know you do care about your skin. and staying young

Just where will I end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well

appalachian lullaby

deery-lou.
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Huegel came into the city on Friday night and we spent the evening drinking with Kiki. We started out at the Pilsner and finished the evening at Lucky 13. I've never laughed so much in my life. Those two definitely bring on the giggles. After we parted ways with Kiki, Huegel and I headed back to my hood where we made our ritual stop at the donut shop. For reason donuts always taste so good at 1 AM. Just where will I end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well

louise

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

The final lost drafts from my time in Korea. Here are three poems from July 5, 2007.

banana
bananas are yellow
it is delicious.
i like bananas and monky likes too.
i peeled bananas and i freezed it
and then i ate it
—charlotte

i like cookies. cookies are sweet, savory, and soft.
their shapes are circles, squares, triangles, and rings
they have chocolate, peanutbutter, cinnamon, and raisins
cookies taste very good
—caroline

play
funny computer game
funny soccer
funny basketball
with my friends
—spencer

Just where will I end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well