Last night Josh and I went out to eat. We decided to try a semi-local (20 minutes away) favorite. Phil’s Fish Market and Eatery. The knowledge of this place first came through Foder’s northern California travel book. It is always a good sign if restaurants make the book. Then just recently it was on the local news as having the food network out for a new show. Instantly I thought “there is going to be a Throw down.” The next day on the news my assumption was confirmed. Apparently this place is famous for their cippino. For those of you that don’t know this dish, it is a tomato based shell fish soup.
When we walked in there was a live band playing Johnny Cash’s “I’ve Been Everywhere.” Not very many places can get away with charging $20 for a bowl of soup that you order at a counter and take a number and get your own drink. For a Thursday night at a place pretty far from largely populated areas it was busy.
Josh ordered the world famous cippino and I ordered the ahi tuna. We took our number, bibs, napkins and utensils; got our drinks; and sat down at an open table. After less than 10 minutes a beautiful tuna steak was sitting in front of me. I took one bite and questioned how what I was eating was related to that stuff you get in a can. Josh dipped his spoon into his steaming bowl of clams, crab, muscles, bay scallops, and shrimp and questioned how to eat it.
Everything was so good. The Monterey bay area has great restaurants, but they are not the fun laidback atmosphere like Phil’s. It was a great date restaurant for people who are comfortable with each other. Eating soup with your hands is not a recommendation for a first or second date. If you happen to be in Moss Landing, CA and want seafood, definitely stop in at Phil’s Fish Market and Eatery.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
off to a bad start
(I typed this out on Monday, but am just getting around to posting it today)
Today I woke up about 6:00, played on the computer, watched the news, did dishes from dinner last night all before I started getting ready at 7:45. I got in the shower, put on a little make up then I hit me. I was supposed to be at work at 8:00 today because I switched schedules with at coworker. A very firm four letter work escaped from my mouth. It takes me at least 20 minutes to get to work from my house. It was exactly 8:13 when I remembered my schedule switched today. My hair was wet, I wasn’t dressed, and no breakfast consumed. AHHH. I grabbed my phone and immediately called my boss. No answer. Oh that’s right she is on vacation this week. Threw on some clothes, dried my hair for one minute, put on deodorant, and ran out the door. I drove almost the entire 20 minutes with the windows down and heater on high. Weaving through traffic I called another coworker and left yet another message. That’s it, I tried to communicate with the office that I would be late. No more breaking the law by talking on my cell phone while driving. I walked into work at 8:36. Not too bad right?
An interesting part to that story is that I had an alarm set on my phone that reminded me to start getting ready for work early. The problem was that Saturday I got a new phone. The date book did not transfer. Oh well. I’ve been with PB for over a year and this is my first tardy not caused by traffic (which my boss excuses).
Today I woke up about 6:00, played on the computer, watched the news, did dishes from dinner last night all before I started getting ready at 7:45. I got in the shower, put on a little make up then I hit me. I was supposed to be at work at 8:00 today because I switched schedules with at coworker. A very firm four letter work escaped from my mouth. It takes me at least 20 minutes to get to work from my house. It was exactly 8:13 when I remembered my schedule switched today. My hair was wet, I wasn’t dressed, and no breakfast consumed. AHHH. I grabbed my phone and immediately called my boss. No answer. Oh that’s right she is on vacation this week. Threw on some clothes, dried my hair for one minute, put on deodorant, and ran out the door. I drove almost the entire 20 minutes with the windows down and heater on high. Weaving through traffic I called another coworker and left yet another message. That’s it, I tried to communicate with the office that I would be late. No more breaking the law by talking on my cell phone while driving. I walked into work at 8:36. Not too bad right?
An interesting part to that story is that I had an alarm set on my phone that reminded me to start getting ready for work early. The problem was that Saturday I got a new phone. The date book did not transfer. Oh well. I’ve been with PB for over a year and this is my first tardy not caused by traffic (which my boss excuses).
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
4 Random Things
It seems that I have been tagged.
So here it goes…
1. When I go grocery shopping, I mean really grocery shopping I go to at least 4 places. First Trader Joes, next Del Monte Produce. Whatever I cannot find at those two places, I look for at Safeway. This excludes milk, chicken breasts, and eggs. Those three things I get at Costco. If I need laundry detergent or products of that nature, I stop in at Target.
2. I hate bugs. This morning on the Today show they had a segment about bed bugs. I had to turn the channel because if I watched it I would not be able to sleep tonight.
3. I get my hair cut at great clips. That being said, there are specific people that I go to there. I call ahead and get their schedules and go when one of them are working.
4. My church meets in an old theater with statues of naked people. There is also a zebra print chair in the ladies bathroom.
I tag, Andrea, Parkers, Anna, Jenni.
So here it goes…
1. When I go grocery shopping, I mean really grocery shopping I go to at least 4 places. First Trader Joes, next Del Monte Produce. Whatever I cannot find at those two places, I look for at Safeway. This excludes milk, chicken breasts, and eggs. Those three things I get at Costco. If I need laundry detergent or products of that nature, I stop in at Target.
2. I hate bugs. This morning on the Today show they had a segment about bed bugs. I had to turn the channel because if I watched it I would not be able to sleep tonight.
3. I get my hair cut at great clips. That being said, there are specific people that I go to there. I call ahead and get their schedules and go when one of them are working.
4. My church meets in an old theater with statues of naked people. There is also a zebra print chair in the ladies bathroom.
I tag, Andrea, Parkers, Anna, Jenni.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Four Days (2 of 2)
This post will be an extension of the last post. That was long.
Because some college friends were visiting San Francisco, we all decided to go to Napa Valley for wine tasting. The day did not start so great. I did not fully set my alarm so I rushed to get ready. According to mapquest the most direct route would be to go through the mountains, not a good choice. My blood pressure spiked I don’t know how many times. I ended up making good time, and when I got to the house, they were still out having breakfast. For a few minutes, I thought they left without me. I decided to get a little gas so that I would not have to fill up at night on the way back. On my way to the gas station, she called me and told me that I needed to find all day parking. That took FOREVER! After many times around many blocks, I found a pretty good spot, and I was about 80% confident it was legal. I told myself that not to worry about coming back and my car not being there. During my circling paying for my car to be towed sounded better than a tasked that seemed hopeless. (My car was where I left it when it was time to go). After all this it was smooth sailing, except for the car almost overheating.
Lucky for us, Liza is practically a professional tour guide for this region of Northern California. She took us to 5 great wineries and 1 decent one. On this outing I realized I thoroughly enjoy good wine.
Because I left Seaside at about 8, I ate breakfast at about 7:30 and it was just leftover sweet potatoes. Everyone else had a decent breakfast at about 10am. Needless to say, I was a little bit more of a light weight than the others. At about 1:30 I NEEDED lunch. Once I got the sandwich in my system, I started walking straight and stopped slurring my words. I think they enjoyed me a little off. I was pretty easy to make fun of.
We decided to make our way home so that we could get to our dinner reservations on time. (That didn’t happen, but they saved us a table.) It is a good thing I had a little nap in the car. I could not imagine trying to make the 2 hour trek home after a day of wine tasting. By the time I got home I was pooped!
Josh spent the entire day Saturday trying to set up our new TV, but I didn’t even get to see it that night because I went straight to bed without turning on any lights.
Sunday I planned on sleeping most of the day. Josh had to work so when he got home, he had too little desire to go to church. I went by myself, but ended up seeing a friend from work there, so I am glad I went. When I got home, Josh was just waking up from a nap, and ready to work. Ugh. Although I would have enjoyed spending the entire day in bed or on the couch, we were very productive. Cleaning up after whirlwind days was pretty satisfying.
When I was lying down in bed Sunday night, I thought “I need another day just to rest.” The funny part of that is that due to our reduced hours I have to take one day off every pay period. My boss asked if I could take Monday December 1st, but I requested to switch. I really regretted this decision Sunday night and Monday morning.
Because some college friends were visiting San Francisco, we all decided to go to Napa Valley for wine tasting. The day did not start so great. I did not fully set my alarm so I rushed to get ready. According to mapquest the most direct route would be to go through the mountains, not a good choice. My blood pressure spiked I don’t know how many times. I ended up making good time, and when I got to the house, they were still out having breakfast. For a few minutes, I thought they left without me. I decided to get a little gas so that I would not have to fill up at night on the way back. On my way to the gas station, she called me and told me that I needed to find all day parking. That took FOREVER! After many times around many blocks, I found a pretty good spot, and I was about 80% confident it was legal. I told myself that not to worry about coming back and my car not being there. During my circling paying for my car to be towed sounded better than a tasked that seemed hopeless. (My car was where I left it when it was time to go). After all this it was smooth sailing, except for the car almost overheating.
Lucky for us, Liza is practically a professional tour guide for this region of Northern California. She took us to 5 great wineries and 1 decent one. On this outing I realized I thoroughly enjoy good wine.
Because I left Seaside at about 8, I ate breakfast at about 7:30 and it was just leftover sweet potatoes. Everyone else had a decent breakfast at about 10am. Needless to say, I was a little bit more of a light weight than the others. At about 1:30 I NEEDED lunch. Once I got the sandwich in my system, I started walking straight and stopped slurring my words. I think they enjoyed me a little off. I was pretty easy to make fun of.
We decided to make our way home so that we could get to our dinner reservations on time. (That didn’t happen, but they saved us a table.) It is a good thing I had a little nap in the car. I could not imagine trying to make the 2 hour trek home after a day of wine tasting. By the time I got home I was pooped!
Josh spent the entire day Saturday trying to set up our new TV, but I didn’t even get to see it that night because I went straight to bed without turning on any lights.
Sunday I planned on sleeping most of the day. Josh had to work so when he got home, he had too little desire to go to church. I went by myself, but ended up seeing a friend from work there, so I am glad I went. When I got home, Josh was just waking up from a nap, and ready to work. Ugh. Although I would have enjoyed spending the entire day in bed or on the couch, we were very productive. Cleaning up after whirlwind days was pretty satisfying.
When I was lying down in bed Sunday night, I thought “I need another day just to rest.” The funny part of that is that due to our reduced hours I have to take one day off every pay period. My boss asked if I could take Monday December 1st, but I requested to switch. I really regretted this decision Sunday night and Monday morning.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Four Days (1 of 2)
Wednesday evening as I left work I thought “this should be a relaxing four day weekend” I was in for quite a pleasant surprise.
One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is looking at all of the ads that are in the paper. For some reason I think this comes from my mom. We would occasionally get the Sunday newspaper, and I loved looking through all the coupons. It also has to do with my love for getting a good deal. Thursday I woke up with my excitement because I wanted a PAPER! I threw on come clothes and was still trying to keep my eyes open when I was looking for keys and coins.
I returned home with San Jose Mercury and the Monterey Herald (side note… reminds me of home. Manhattan Mercury and Ottawa Herald). Because I wanted to extend my joy and I had a few duplicates, I organized all of the ads. Threw out the bad ones, and alphabetized the good.
By this time I realized I needed to start cooking. Although I only made two pies, sweet potatoes, and a spiced drink (and Josh was making rolls), my kitchen was still a mess from making the crust the day before. I always forget that rolling out dough destroys the kitchen. Did I really use all the dishes that were in my sink? For some reason I was very relaxed so everything took longer than it should. I realized how Josh operates. He rarely has urgency in his step, even if he is running late. We finally got to our friends house about 1pm and they were all ready for us. Dinner was wonderful and of course we were all stuffed. After a few games, watching football, and a quick run to see a few coworkers, it was late and time to go home.
For over a year Josh and I have been debating the purchase of a flat panel TV. Last year we even bought one, but I changed my mind and took it back. Were we going to buy one this year? We did some pre-black Friday shopping and found that although the TV we wanted was on the front page of almost every ad, it was the same price on Tuesday. So no, we decided against a TV. This makes sense knowing that we also are not quick to make big purchases.
Josh convinced me not to go shopping when the outlet mall opened in Gilroy at 12am, and since we were not going to buy a TV there was not much reason to get up at 4am either. So I tried to sleep in, but I kept thinking of all the deals I was missing. I convinced Josh to get up at 8:00 and head to the mall 30 minutes away. He dropped me off, because parking was impossible, and headed to a few other stores. I walked, and walked, but really didn’t find any presents for anyone. Oh, I found a few things for myself of course.
One of the highlights of this day was Josh overheard a couple in Wal-Mart saying they were going to have Sonic for lunch. We had no idea there was a Sonic in Gilroy, so Josh took it upon himself to find it. Wonderful lunch that day!
As we were getting ready to leave, we decided to stand in the Sharp outlet store line. When we first walked by the store there was a pretty long line outside of people waiting to get in. “What kind of crazy deals are they having” we both thought. At the end of the day we decided to find out. We were both laughing because we did not want anything in that store, and had no intention of buying anything. When we pulled our car away from that store we had it in a DVD player, present for someone, surround sound speakers, universal remote, and … a flat panel TV. You know the TV we decided not to buy this year. Well not the exact TV, but one a little smaller and a lot cheaper (but still good quality). If anyone needs a marketing ploy, this is a great one. Limit the number of people in your store to about 30. Make everyone else stand in line outside. Crazy people like Josh and me will wait in line just to see what is going on and then buy all sorts of goods.
We got home at about 10:00 that night and we were both exhausted.
One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is looking at all of the ads that are in the paper. For some reason I think this comes from my mom. We would occasionally get the Sunday newspaper, and I loved looking through all the coupons. It also has to do with my love for getting a good deal. Thursday I woke up with my excitement because I wanted a PAPER! I threw on come clothes and was still trying to keep my eyes open when I was looking for keys and coins.
I returned home with San Jose Mercury and the Monterey Herald (side note… reminds me of home. Manhattan Mercury and Ottawa Herald). Because I wanted to extend my joy and I had a few duplicates, I organized all of the ads. Threw out the bad ones, and alphabetized the good.
By this time I realized I needed to start cooking. Although I only made two pies, sweet potatoes, and a spiced drink (and Josh was making rolls), my kitchen was still a mess from making the crust the day before. I always forget that rolling out dough destroys the kitchen. Did I really use all the dishes that were in my sink? For some reason I was very relaxed so everything took longer than it should. I realized how Josh operates. He rarely has urgency in his step, even if he is running late. We finally got to our friends house about 1pm and they were all ready for us. Dinner was wonderful and of course we were all stuffed. After a few games, watching football, and a quick run to see a few coworkers, it was late and time to go home.
For over a year Josh and I have been debating the purchase of a flat panel TV. Last year we even bought one, but I changed my mind and took it back. Were we going to buy one this year? We did some pre-black Friday shopping and found that although the TV we wanted was on the front page of almost every ad, it was the same price on Tuesday. So no, we decided against a TV. This makes sense knowing that we also are not quick to make big purchases.
Josh convinced me not to go shopping when the outlet mall opened in Gilroy at 12am, and since we were not going to buy a TV there was not much reason to get up at 4am either. So I tried to sleep in, but I kept thinking of all the deals I was missing. I convinced Josh to get up at 8:00 and head to the mall 30 minutes away. He dropped me off, because parking was impossible, and headed to a few other stores. I walked, and walked, but really didn’t find any presents for anyone. Oh, I found a few things for myself of course.
One of the highlights of this day was Josh overheard a couple in Wal-Mart saying they were going to have Sonic for lunch. We had no idea there was a Sonic in Gilroy, so Josh took it upon himself to find it. Wonderful lunch that day!
As we were getting ready to leave, we decided to stand in the Sharp outlet store line. When we first walked by the store there was a pretty long line outside of people waiting to get in. “What kind of crazy deals are they having” we both thought. At the end of the day we decided to find out. We were both laughing because we did not want anything in that store, and had no intention of buying anything. When we pulled our car away from that store we had it in a DVD player, present for someone, surround sound speakers, universal remote, and … a flat panel TV. You know the TV we decided not to buy this year. Well not the exact TV, but one a little smaller and a lot cheaper (but still good quality). If anyone needs a marketing ploy, this is a great one. Limit the number of people in your store to about 30. Make everyone else stand in line outside. Crazy people like Josh and me will wait in line just to see what is going on and then buy all sorts of goods.
We got home at about 10:00 that night and we were both exhausted.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Layoffs.
Scary word right? Last week every department in Pebble Beach Company was read a letter from the CEO. Basically the just of it was…
-The economy is tough right now and businesses are hurting
-A company wide reduction in hours worked (which results in one day off every two weeks for me!)
-29 people were laid off from the company
-two stores would be closing indefinitely
-one hotel would be closed for an entire month
What a somber day here. Most people knew that something was going to be done to combat the situation, but I did not expect drastic measures so soon. I still think Pebble Beach is a good company to work for, but I still am not 100% confident I will have my job past March. I mean I have been pretty busy lately but still hope the sales managers can really step it up a notch. It can happen because staying at Pebble Beach Resorts and playing the courses is truly a once in a lifetime event. If you know anyone who wants to play, send them my way. We are offering some great rates.
Scary word right? Last week every department in Pebble Beach Company was read a letter from the CEO. Basically the just of it was…
-The economy is tough right now and businesses are hurting
-A company wide reduction in hours worked (which results in one day off every two weeks for me!)
-29 people were laid off from the company
-two stores would be closing indefinitely
-one hotel would be closed for an entire month
What a somber day here. Most people knew that something was going to be done to combat the situation, but I did not expect drastic measures so soon. I still think Pebble Beach is a good company to work for, but I still am not 100% confident I will have my job past March. I mean I have been pretty busy lately but still hope the sales managers can really step it up a notch. It can happen because staying at Pebble Beach Resorts and playing the courses is truly a once in a lifetime event. If you know anyone who wants to play, send them my way. We are offering some great rates.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Elections
Elections,
Yesterday I was invited to a prayer meeting for the elections. I thought it would be a great idea to go, until I saw this video of John Piper talking about the election. It reminded me that although I do need to pray, God is still sovereign.
Check it out.
Yesterday I was invited to a prayer meeting for the elections. I thought it would be a great idea to go, until I saw this video of John Piper talking about the election. It reminded me that although I do need to pray, God is still sovereign.
Check it out.
Monday, October 20, 2008
5 whole minutes
I am running a marathon.
Not any time soon. Actually April 25th. I think I might be a little over my head. Not because I am just not sure about this whole 26.2 miles, but because of which marathon I am running. According to many reviews that I have read The Big Sur International marathon one of the more difficult courses. The famed Heartbreak Hill has 80 feet of incline, but Big Sur has a 400 foot incline. But running along the most "greatest meeting of land and sea" sounds pretty amazing.
Although at this stage in my blogging life, I am sure I have few followers, but it really was an internal struggle to write about this. According to my training book The Non-Runners Marathon Guide I should tell all of my friends and family my new goal. What if I fail? What if I lack the discipline to make myself get off the couch and lace up my tennies and hit the pavement. Thinking of a marathon is a little overwhelming.
Before I can focus on 26.2 miles, I am concentrating on 3. I am ashamed to say that these past few runs have been much more difficult than I would have imagined. At the beginning I was so frustrated. I have been exercising regularly for at least 9 months, and doing a spin class for about 5 months. But when it comes to running, I got nothing. The first week I was to run for 2 minutes, and walk for 4 repeat 4 times (30 minutes total). This was a struggle for me. My throat was burning and my heart was pounding. Each new week and additional minutes of running has been so encouraging for me. Yesterday Josh and I ran for 5 minutes x4, and it felt good. My throat was not on fire, and I never once thought "I'm not going to make it"
I did a few calculations and between now and April 25th I will have ran about 500 miles. My knees hurt just thinking about that.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Oh Sushi!
Last week Josh and I were at the end of our budget period and I realized that we had just enough money in our eating out envelope to have a nice dinner. Friday in the Monterey Herald there was a coupon for 10% off a new sushi place in town. Now I have had a love for sushi since Josh's uncle made me my first roll over two years ago and I am a sucker for a deal. As I was explaining to Josh where this new restaurant is, he said "the old bbq place in the travelodge?" Um yes! The Travellodge in Monterey is a little run down. I know what you are thinking "you work for Pebble Beach Resorts, of course the Travellodge doesn't compare" If I had to stay there, I would probably take my own sheets (Josh was not impressed the first time I did this). Needless to stay we had pretty low expectations.
As we walked in the door it was nice and clean but almost had a cafeteria feel. We ordered, waited in anticipation, and then it came. The BEST sushi I have ever had! I cannot tell you exactly why it was so good, but it is now my new favorite dining establishment in Monterey.
There is a group of girls that I work with that love sushi and will from time to time go out for dinner. When I told them about Oh Sushi they all gave me a look of disbelief and almost disgust. It doesn't matter to me. I am still a fan.
As we walked in the door it was nice and clean but almost had a cafeteria feel. We ordered, waited in anticipation, and then it came. The BEST sushi I have ever had! I cannot tell you exactly why it was so good, but it is now my new favorite dining establishment in Monterey.
There is a group of girls that I work with that love sushi and will from time to time go out for dinner. When I told them about Oh Sushi they all gave me a look of disbelief and almost disgust. It doesn't matter to me. I am still a fan.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
return of the blog
I'm back. It has been about a year, but I have decided that I am going to start blogging again.
This past weekend Josh and I went camping with another couple from church. Of course we did not plan anything until Thursday night, and because of the wind no camp sites would allow fires. "No big deal" we thought. It was so cold! Both nights it got down to the 40s.
Besides that, the redwoods were so beautiful. These trees are huge. At the state park headquarters there is a cross section of one of the bigger trees that is about seven feet in diameter. Some poor soul counted all of the rings and found that the tree sprouted in 579 AD. There are little markers for major events in history two inches from the bark is the marker for 1776 (singing of the Declaration of Independence).
Because it was so cold I decided against washing my hair, therefore no pictures.
This past weekend Josh and I went camping with another couple from church. Of course we did not plan anything until Thursday night, and because of the wind no camp sites would allow fires. "No big deal" we thought. It was so cold! Both nights it got down to the 40s.
Besides that, the redwoods were so beautiful. These trees are huge. At the state park headquarters there is a cross section of one of the bigger trees that is about seven feet in diameter. Some poor soul counted all of the rings and found that the tree sprouted in 579 AD. There are little markers for major events in history two inches from the bark is the marker for 1776 (singing of the Declaration of Independence).
Because it was so cold I decided against washing my hair, therefore no pictures.
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