let's go Oakland!

After finding a steal-of-a-deal for game tickets, Summer sent me an email titled, and I quote, "GUESS WHAT WE'RE DOING TOMORROW!!!!!" with this link. Alrighty...

Our $9.70 seats were pretty legit, tucked up under the overhang as a row of four (oh the poor other guy in our row...). Sum just had to get the lovely giveaway jersey, so we arrived a good hour before game time. Cool, I'll just eat. And eat we did. We made friends with the ladies at the concession stand, who hooked us up bigtime on the garlic fries. A freshly fried and steamy mound of fries with three to four times the typical amount of garlicy buttery goodness mixed in. *sigh* You know when you eat so much pineapple or Cracker Jacks that the inside of your mouth just hurts?? Yup...garlic'll do it to ya, too. But it'll hurt so good.

why yes, it does require SIX guys to water this dirt
the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum: keeping Californians employed

I wanna go to Hawaii, yaaaaaaaaaay!

Oh yeah, when they did the starting lineup (for both teams!), I knew the names of a whole three players, and for just one of those could I name the position he played. Looks like I'm a bit rusty on my baseball, which is fine by me, I'll take basketball in its place anyday...

food?! yeah. I like that stuff.

Thirteen months after receiving my very own pasta machine as a rad gift, I finally took the thing for her maiden voyage on Saturday using my recipe that I learned from the adorable Ariana during our stay at Hotel Malu in Rome.

there are literally six ingredients to this recipe: flour, eggs, olive oil, salt, water and time
(no, I spelled that correctly - this recipe takes a good 2 hours. and its SO worth it.)

rollin' rollin' rollin'

you've gotta let the pasta rest in the fridge, on the counter, before/after its been mixed, cut, cooked...a ton o' resting going on here...I recommend passing the time with a bottle (or two) of wine

flour'll turn your cooking water all nice and frothy, turning you into an impresssive-looking chef

there are no words

The results were not only completely edible, they even tasted gooooooooooood! I had 3 servings. Oops. I'm working on perfecting my skills, but that pasta machine works like a champ!!!


Sunday was Father's Day, which meant more eating was in order. We headed over to Dad's place armed with enough Kinder's ball tip to feed a small army (if you've never had it, you've not lived.) and about a gallon of their potato salad...*sigh*

the (self-appointed) GrillMaster at work

Don't let him fool you, the man loves to barbecue, and is damn good at it! He was not at all put out by having to cook his own dinner on Father's Day, no matter what he tells you. Barbecued ball tip, beer and a backyard = a great way to spend the day.

happy birthday, Rob!

Lago Atitlan, Guatemala
2005

Sydney, Australia
2006

Maui, Hawaii
2007

Sedona, Arizona
2008

Prague, Czech Republic
2009

Glentucky, Arizona
2010

he's my favorite!

Lindsay + Mike + Cabo = a newly minted Mister & Missus

Where do I possibly begin? Lindsay and Mike's wedding weekend in Cabo was easily one of the bestest and most funnest weekends in the history of all the world. The different groups in the bride and groom's lives blended seamlessly, the weather was fantastic, and the drinks were flowing...

Let's cut to the chase. Here are the pics:

"hey Rob, dare me to get in that random shelf on the wall?!?!"
(oh Rob did...)

casualties of the DJLeeJ vs. Free Tequila showdown

I loved that the boys kept poking fun at our smoosh-faced long-arm shots, and the next one appeared at some point...

the self-appointed Hoochie Coochie Man. he had a legit business card.

hey, it tasted that good, too.

...the nicest way to start a wedding day...

Now I need to share a story. It's a joke amongst Mike and his ol' buddies that he's the luckiest guy in the world. I mean, he won a trip to Whistler and a whole mess of snow gear after writing a 150-word essay on why he and Linds needed a vacation. He wins at poker. He talks his way out of tickets easily. He scores impossible-to-get tickets for sports and concerts. He got to marry Lindsay. He's a lucky guy. This, however, may take the cake.

The wedding was held on the public beach, so the public was milling around and watching the nuptials. No biggie, we expected that. What was unexpected, however, was that a real estate and agricultural gajillionaire would be so touched by the whole scene that he'd offer up his penthouse suite to the new mister and missus for the rest of their trip. To top it off, he had his pilot (gah - his pilot) buzz the resort when he left the next day.

the view from the neighboring hotel (with super zoom)

just act natural.

why yes, that is a rooftop pool overlooking the ocean. and it sits next to the jacuzzi and bar, just outside the suite and it's four bedrooms. for real.

who needs the resort's bar when you've got a resort to yourselves?!

Mr. and Mrs. B

Thank God for fantastic FOMO-free weekends with amazing friends!

just a taste...

...of what Rob gets to deal with on a daily basis (this time, via Skype chat):

[6:53:23 PM]
nicole: oh shit. i just made eye contact with the secret zebra/grama-cakes that i stash in the cupboard. i'm pms-ing hard core (youre welcome) and now i cant get them out of my mind.
Rob: did they look back at you ?
Rob: they aren't chocolate thogh?
nicole: yup. hence the eye contact. (our eyes made contact) WHAT DO I DO/!??!?!?!? HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
nicole: theyre full of good-for-you things, just like chocolate.
nicole: i'm scared.
Rob: are you saving them for a special occasaion?
nicole: no. just for being a fatty. tell me no.
Rob: haha
nicole: please.
Rob: no
Rob: don't eat those
nicole: what am i gonna eat instead, praytell?!!
Rob: save them for when you REALLY NEED THEM
nicole: i may decimate a 1/2 pound of goldfish crackers, then.
nicole: which is worse?!?!!
Rob: i am not sure
nicole: who do i save: the zebras or the fishes?!?!?!?!
nicole: HELP MEEEEEEEEEE!
Rob: would you only eat 1?
nicole: cake!?
Rob: yes
nicole: well, no. they do come in a convenient 2-pack (not tupac).
Rob: haha
nicole: i'd have to eat both. its like a law.
Rob: i did not know that
nicole: what would YOU do?!?!?!
Rob: it is 7pm. could you just eat dinner?
nicole: i havent started thinking of dinner yet.
nicole: which is a whole other danger.
Rob: why don't you make dinner
nicole: becuz i dont have to if i eat zebra cakes and goldfish!
Rob: you can have 1 cake with milk for desert
Rob: and by being good
nicole: oooooh oreos! now i want oreos. in ice cream.
Rob: put the other in ziplock and take it for lunch tomorrow
nicole: oh this isnt gonna end well.
nicole: this cant possibly end well.
nicole: ruuuuuuuuuun kali! runnnnn for your life!!!!!!!!!
Rob: ok. then eat dinner and reward yourself with one of the many frozo options nearby
nicole: oooooooooh froyo.
nicole: gummi worms. not bears. worms.
nicole: and caramel corn.
Rob: jeezus woman
Rob: when was the last time youate?!
nicole: like 3pm.
nicole: i'm not even hungry.
nicole: just craving the moon. and stars.
Rob: apparently you are...
nicole: fine. i'm gonna try to be a growed up and make an actual meal, rather than standing in the kitchen snarfing down things that come in cellophane...
nicole: ...but i'm not going to pretend to like it...
[7:01:18 PM]

floo-ers!

my farmer's market loot from Saturday included a giant $3 bouquet of cornflowers...three vases worth!

Mother Nature hater

Since Kali is a cat and has no opposable thumbs, its no surprise that she lacks any desire to conserve the earth on which she lives. The animal loves to drink out of the faucet. Or toilet. Or puddle. Or freshly watered plant. And as a little diva, she'll throw a hissy fit (hah - get it?! HISSy fit?!) if the bathroom faucet is turned off. Ever.

I, on the other hand, like this planet, and plan to inhabit it for many years to come. I've always felt horrible about leaving the water running 24/7, but no one sleeps peacefully if Kali isn't hydrated. I finally sucked it up and bought a Kitty Fountain. I know, right?! How LAME am I?! Soon enough, I'll have hundreds of cats and be morbidly obese, addicted to Cheetos and Maury Povich reruns. But I digress.

I got the box, and opened it up. I let it sit (dry) for a bit so she could scope it out.
Kal: Meh. Not interested.
FINE. I set the thing up, filled it with water and plugged it in.
Kal: Uh-uh.
I (duhn-duhn-duuuuhhhn) turned off the bathroom faucet.
Kal: WHAT.-THE.-HELL?-face

WTF IS THAT?!

methinks not.

THREE FULL DAYS passed, and despite my best efforts to show her how great it is and how its her special toy, no dice. I started to panic - what if she gets dehydrated and dies and its my fault?!?! I shared my marginally irrational fear with a few folks, who suggested I be patient (uhyahrite!). Tried it. And tonight, my friends, I'm proud to report that I can out-wait my damn animal...

Nicole 1, KLSM 0