101 in 1001

I've been working on this page for a while, so it's finally complete!  You can find "101 in 1001" in my tabs and it's pretty self-explanatory.  As I complete items, I'll be updating the page.  My next goal is to complete the "About Me" tab!


It's Sunday morning and I'm drinking coffee, blipping some songs, and relaxing.  I don't have anything pressing today, so I'm going to play it by ear.  Normally I'd be up running by now, but I think I'll wait a little while longer.  I'm trying to finish a couple of books (The Likeness by Tana French and Operation Beautiful by Caitlin Boyle), so I'm thinking of going to a cafe in North Beach later and having a coffee and reading.  Tonight I think I'll catch up on some DVD watching and I'm going to make Pretzel and M&M Blondies!


I went dancing last night at New Wave City for their 19th Anniversary Party.  I can't believe I've been going since 1993 when it was the last event at the I Beam in the Haight!  That's a lot of years of '80s dancing and good times.  I was invited to the VIP Party from 8-9PM and then free entry to the club.  I had a good time, but left around 11:30 so I could get a good night's sleep.  I guess I'm getting old!  I also started my "no alcohol for a month" goal (#8 on the 101 in 1001 list).  I'm actually trying to go without alcohol until after the Napa Valley Marathon in March, but I thought 30 days would be more manageable for the purposes of the 101 in 1001 list.


Well, I guess I'll get ready to do my 3 miles, so have a great Sunday!  I'll try to post a pic of my Blondies later.  

Happy Friday!

Yoga, SFMOMA (Stein Exhibit..Matisse & Picasso), 54 Mint, and this picture...The Saloon seeing my friend sing.



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OMD - Telegraph

I love this song and hope they play it on Saturday night at the club when I go dancing!

I'm experimenting with posting video from my phone, so I hope this works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dodOK5ToPd4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Sent from my iPhone

It's My Friday!

Tomorrow is my day off and my "official" training for the Nike Women's Half Marathon starts on Saturday. I'm hoping to be able to go to yoga tonight, but I'm not sure if I'll make it after my haircut. If not, I'll run a few miles tonight and go to yoga tomorrow morning before lunching & museum-ing with a friend.

Last night I went to Grand Cafe for happy hour with a couple of friends...both met through Twitter! I forgot how pretty this restaurant is. Here's a shot of the bar:




They have some good deals on apps, wine, and some cocktails. Unfortunately, my cocktail was full price. It was called a Basil Berry and was tasty, but a little sweeter and less basil-y than I'd hoped. It was pretty, right?




I'm hoping to finish another tab for the top of this blog by the end of the week. I also want to add a photo, but I'm having trouble getting anything to not look HUGE and take over the entire top part of the page!

Have a good Thursday!

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Blek le Rat - Amy Winehouse

Blek le Rat - Amy Winehouse, a photo by Miss Kim SF on Flickr.

This was a great piece by Blek le Rat that I snapped at his opening at the White Walls Gallery in San Francisco, CA in 2010.

I was listening to Amy Winehouse last night and remembering how excited I was to purchase Back to Black. Every song was a winner.

Spa Sunday

I ran almost 6 miles this morning and then did a little laundry and goofing around before my massage and day at the spa.

My legs were feeling really tight, so the massage definitely helped (especially the quads).

I just made my overnight oatmeal, so I'm going to slip into my jammies and get back into the book I'm reading.

Oh, this is what I had for dinner:



And this (when they realized they didn't have enough of the cheap sake chilled):




This stuff was REALLY smooth, so I know I'll probably want this every time I go in.

What did you eat for dinner?

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What A Day!

It's been a super busy day even though I barely left my house!

I got up after a bad night of sleep and had a great 6 mile run down Fisherman's Wharf to the Ferry Building and back. After that I spent 6 hours doing laundry and cleaning to a Spotify soundtrack of tunes that I own, but on LP or cassette. (Today's soundtrack included The Colourfield, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, Cheap Trick, Xmal Deutschland, and The Go-Go's.)

I picked up a running book at the library and then spent a while working on something that I'll be incorporating into this blog, doing a Yelp review, and some Blip DJing (see my badges for updates!).

Now I'm having a glass of wine and a homemade dinner: sautéed zucchini scrambled with an egg, Greek yogurt, and salsa!

I think I'll do a little reading tonight and watch my True Blood DVD I just got from Netflix (Season 3 Disc 1). Tomorrow I'll either run or go to yoga and then have a massage scheduled. Yay!

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend so far!

Oh, here's my dinner...and my Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon wine glass.



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This Week's Progress

I've managed to make some progress on the new blog this week despite not really having any time to work on it (more about that in a separate post).

I joined a website called Daily Mile and added a badge in my side column.  I already track my runs through an iPhone application called Runkeeper (which accesses GPS to track mileage, calories burned, etc.), but this badge will allow me to share my training more easily.  Right now it looks like I never run, but that will change when this week's craziness is over.

This week is really unusual.  I had two heavy workouts over the weekend (ran 10 miles Saturday and then back to back Turbo Kickboxing and Yoga classes on Sunday), so I needed to take a rest day on Monday.  I just didn't plan on being so wiped out on Wednesday (two nights in a row of not enough sleep) and I already had plans to take Friday as a rest day.  Anyway, tomorrow I'm running and Sunday I'll do some cross training, so next week will be normal.

I also adjusted the title and description of the blog (which might change a little still) and added two nifty badges for the races I've run.  I can't wait to add 26.2 to the wall!

This weekend I'm going to try to add an image to the header, finish a couple of posts that are half done, complete the About Me tab, and also complete another tab that I'm adding.  Bit by bit I'll get there!

What are you doing this weekend?

Registered!

I just registered for my first full marathon! It's the Napa Valley Marathon on March 12, 2012.

I wanted my first marathon to be local so there wouldn't be any stressful travel involved. It's also relatively flat (compared to San Francisco) and scenic. It starts in Calistoga and goes down Silverado Trail through St. Helena, Rutherford, Oakville, and Yountville, so there will be plenty of vineyards to see. It winds up in Napa, which is a cute little town.

More later, but just had to share!

XOXO


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Healthier Eating - New Breakfast!

I've been reading a few fitness and healthy eating blogs and have been inspired to attempt to make more of my own meals and vary what I'm eating. 


Here's one breakfast dish that I’m going to work into my diet a few times a week.  It’s really easy to make and contains a good amount of insoluble fiber, Omega 3s (see my recipe), and even some protein. 

Overnight Oatmeal

There are a lot of recipes for Overnight Oatmeal on the internet and I don’t think you can really mess it up, but I based my recipe on one that I read about on Peanut Butter Runner.  I think her dishes look a lot more appealing than mine, but I'm still learning!  Here's what I used:

• 1/3 cup regular oatmeal
• 1/3 cup almond milk (You could use any kind of milk, but I’m partial to Blue Diamond’s Unsweetened Vanilla, which has 1 gram of fiber for 8 oz., but only 40 calories.)
• 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt (You could probably use any flavor you like, but I like buying plain so I can use it in place of sour cream or add honey, granola, and fruit to it to make a different type of breakfast dish.)
• ½ diced banana
• 1 Tablespoon Flax Seeds (You could skip these.  However, 1 Tablespoon contains only 35 calories, but a whole 4 grams of fiber and a lot of Omega 3s.  I just happened to have a bag in the cupboard waiting to be used.)
• Dried cranberries (You could probably try any dried fruit here.  I'd suggest dicing up any larger dried fruits, like mango or apricot.)
• Cinnamon
• Any other fruit that’s in season (I added blueberries, but you could experiment.  I’m thinking about shredding up some apple next time.)

Put all of these ingredients in a covered container, stir, and leave in the fridge overnight.  In the morning the oatmeal will be nice and soft.  You can add other things if you wish, like nuts, other fresh fruit, coconut…the sky’s the limit!  I’ve been adding a tablespoon of Trader Joe’s Mango Butter, but you could also add any other kind of jelly or jam or even some more milk. 

This makes one serving, but if I'm eating it on the weekend (when I'm not rushing to get to work) I like to have half of it first thing when I get up and then the second half of it after a workout (if I head out right away to exercise) or right before I leave the house (if I've been puttering around for a while). 

Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds

I saw Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds at Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago.  Kid Congo is a music legend (click on his name for more info), so I felt lucky to be able to see him (and his current band) in such an intimate venue.  He's played with a ton of bands, including The Cramps, which is one of my favorite bands of all time.  I remember going to see them every year at their Halloween show at The Warfield in San Francisco by myself (except for once when I convinced some friends to go with me) and they were always awesome and at times, hilarious.  (Like the time Lux Interior crawled into the balcony with a blow-up doll and simulated "loving" with her just out of eyesight of the audience.  Later he was on stage and used his broken wine bottle to cut his bodysuit off his legs and accidentally cut himself and was dripping blood on the stage.  I'll never forget that show!)

Anyway, the Kid Congo show a couple of weeks ago was awesome.  They played The Cramps song "I'm Cramped," so here's a clip of him playing it at a show in 2009.  Take a listen to it even if you think you won't like it.  Kid Congo and The Cramps are really traditional rock and roll and you can really hear the 50's rock influence in their music.

What music are you listening to this weekend?

The Weekend...So Far

After last night's festivities at Bloodhound and then dinner at Rocco's Cafe, I had a pretty good night's sleep (even though I was awake in the middle of the night when a 3.3 earthquake centered in Berkeley hit and I felt the building shaking).  I woke up a little after 7AM and was super eager to use my new Nathan Quickdraw Elite water bottle that I bought yesterday for a long run.

As a little background, I normally don't carry any water with me on runs.  I know that sounds insane, but I pretty much use the same routes that I learned when I was part of a training group.  Those routes just happen to have water fountains conveniently spaced for hydration.  (Also convenient is the fact that I don't sweat profusely!)  What's not convenient is boredom with the same old routes and the need to venture to new territories (that don't have fountains).

A couple of weeks ago I tried an 8-mile run that incorporated a hilly part of the Nike Women's Half Marathon in October.  I was venturing into unchartered territory, so I brought my water bottle that fits in a waistband and sits at my back.  I thought I was going to scream before it was over.  Belt riding up my waist, bottle bouncing on my back...no bueno.

Anyway, I did a 10-mile run this morning using my new hand held bottle and had a much easier time of it!  Granted, I ran one of the same old "water fountain" routes, but at least this time I didn't need to stop for hydration!  I had to transfer the bottle from one hand to the other once in a while, but that wasn't bad.  It fit comfortably on my hand and I didn't find myself gripping it tightly.  The fabric was also soft.  It was worth giving up the freedom of empty hands to be able to get rid of the belt!  (I might give it to my Mom.  I think it might work better for walking.)

After having a gel manicure and a pedicure this afternoon (aaah...), I came home to try to make dinner and tomorrow's breakfast from scratch.  I'm not really that good at cooking and improvising, but dinner turned out great!

Dinner a la Fog Chick

This probably looks like a disgusting mess, but it's quinoa, broiled eggplant (that was marinaded in Trader Joe's Sesame Soy Vinaigrette dressing), zucchini sauteed in soy sauce, a tablespoon or so of plain Greek yogurt, and a couple of tablespoons of salsa (also Trader Joe's).  It was filling, but it was tasty and I feel good.  (Oh, and I paired it with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.  Yes, Trader Joe's Charles Shaw.  Sorry, but that stuff is good!)  Best of all, I have leftover quinoa, eggplant, and zucchini, so I might try to incorporate the veggies into an omelette or something tomorrow morning.

So, it's Saturday night and...Fog Chick is staying in.  I have several different options tonight (Club Vogue at Cat Club for dancing, New Wave City at The Blue Macaw for dancing, or all-you-can-eat shabu shabu in Japantown with friends), but I just feel like staying in and hanging out by myself.  That probably sounds weird, but sometimes I need to be by myself.  At heart, I think I'm a loner.  Plus, I have too much stuff going on next week and I'm stressing out about getting enough rest, not eating or drinking too much, and getting all my workouts completed.

I have dinner plans Monday and Tuesday (which means I'll have to get up no later than 4:15AM each day to go running and get to work on time), a Yelp Elite Event on Wednesday (I can do my run after work and still make it), and cocktails and dinner Friday night with a friend.  With all that going on next week, tonight's agenda is trying to finish my book (about Madame Tussaud), catch up on writing some Yelp reviews and uploading some food photos, and maybe working on this blog a little more.  (Oh, and maybe buying some new music from Amazon.com and finally watching the Netflix DVD that's been sitting here for two weeks.)

Tomorrow I'm not sure what I'm doing.  I kind of want to see English Beat at Stern Grove, but I'm leaning toward SFMOMA (Picasso/Matisse exhibit) and maybe a movie and glass of wine after the museum.

What fun stuff are you doing this weekend?

Happy Weekend!

I've finished the Running page. Yay!

Starting the weekend off with Happy Hour at Bloodhound (Folsom St. @ 7th in San Francisco). I had a Recoil (Bulleit Bourbon, Lime & Ginger Beer), which was delicious! I'm now having a Trumer beer (and then I'm stopping because I have a long run tomorrow).

Here is a photo of the bar. I love the birds on the ceiling!





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Multi-Tasking

What better thing to do when I have insomnia but to buy a new app that will make posting from my phone easier?

I guess I should try to sleep again. The blue light from this phone probably isn't helping!


Here's a drink I had the other night at Prospect in San Francisco. It's called Fleur d'Orange (vodka, Elderflower, sparkling wine, soda, & an orange twist). Only $5 during their daily happy hour! It was refreshing, but packed a kick!

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Day One Success

I just had to do a post and say that Blogger is WAY easier to manage than Wordpress.  I had a blog there at one time and was trying to start it up again (this one), but I thought I'd experiment a little with this site.


It was so easy for me to customize with the fancy badges from Blip.fm, Yelp, and Goodreads.  They would call to me, but Wordpress couldn't support them, so I was forced to just create links or RSS feeds.  Not as fun!


It's also a lot easier to post and manipulate photos and edit entries.  Best of all, the "Gadgets" (the things you access to decorate your blog) are exponentially more numerous than the ones on Wordpress.


I don't want to bag on Wordpress too much because they do have a lot more templates and I did learn a lot about HTML and setting up a blog on there, so I'm thankful for that.


Anyway, I almost got too caught up in this to go running and then almost talked myself out of it, but I ended up doing a little over 5.5 miles.  I just reminded myself that I've never felt worse after a run or workout and tonight was no different.

This is an old photo, but I ran down by here tonight.  (Wow, it's even easier to post photos off to the side and then type!  This was impossible for me to master on Wordpress.)




Anyway, I'm slowly but surely building my blog and will keep at it until I have it right.  


Thanks for reading and I'll post again soon!


XOXO
Fog Chick

Testing 1-2-3

I'm just starting this blog and doing all the designer-y things, so bear with me!  I'm doing this test post to see how everything looks.  See you soon!

Birthday dinner with my parents at Le Garage, Sausalito, CA

Fog Chick