Happy Halloween!

We Definitely Felt That One!

As we were sitting here watching a seasonal childhood favorite, It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!, we felt the house start to shake. At first, I thought Loretta from upstairs was moving around some heavy furniture, but the house kept shaking. It was quickly confirmed that it was an earthquake with a 5.6 magnitude that occurred just north of San Jose. That was certainly the biggest and longest tremblor we have felt yet! Time to pack the Chef Boyardee and bottled water!

Where's Peter?

So, a truckload of Peter's stuff has arrived this week from his recent journey to Halifax. Some clothes, an F1 racing wheel, momentos, and some priceless pictures. Here is just a taste of the good stuff to come: Joachim Nielsen at the Royal Boarding School of Sweden, or Sigtunaskolan. Priceless!

Weinermobile Sighting!

Peter and I were out running some errands today, and I could not believe my eyes! I spotted the famous Oscar Meyer Weinermobile! I have always heard legend of the car shaped like a giant hot dog and sure enough there it was in all of her glory parked near San Francisco Airport! Sadly, the pics are not that fantastic, since all I had was the camera on my phone, but Peter humored me and gave me my moment with the giant hot dog on wheels.

Sucka-Free Weekend!

Well, over the weekend we really did a whole lot of nothin' and it was fantastic! We have both been on the road over the past 2 weeks and some downtime was long overdue! After our bocce ball win Friday night, follwed by an intense, very close game of Cranium, (it was high time Peter and EP finally showed up to play!) the rest of the weekend was filled with movies, sports, and of course some of our favorite food! The highlight was when Peter indulged me with his famous Swedish pancakes complete with fresh fruit and topped with Nova Scotia maple syrup! Deelish! His killer nachos weren't too shabby either! It was like it was my birthday or something. Oh yeah....that is coming up too!

See You on the Mayan Riviera!

The invitations for my sister's wedding have officially been mailed out! We just received ours today, and it came as a message in a bottle! Fantastic! My sister did not miss a single detail, even the color of the bow around the box matched the embossed lettering on the invitation! And good font choice as well! (Trust me, it's a girl thing!) Not to mention, the sand in the bottle was actually from Playa del Carmen! Congrats little seester! Chris is so lucky to call you his bride. I know I consider myself lucky to call you my sister! Sniff.....

Happy Birthday EP!!

It was great to see our girl EP on her special day. We surprised her (well, kind of....) and showed up for dinner at Poggio and then we had a quick stop at our Chez Nielsen for a birthday toast, which ended up turning into a dance party. Good times were had by all, and the dance moves were some of the best yet. Probably because there was no video camera! Here's to your birthday Eeps! Thanks for keeping us young at heart! You are the best! Cheers!

California Wildfires

I am still hanging in there at my conference in Anaheim. I am starting to run out of steam, but after another day of meetings and standing around our booth trying to pretend I know what I am talking about, I will make the journey home later tonight.

Meanwhile, I am surrounded by over a dozen wildfires that are ripping through Southern California. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes. The weather conditions are terrible: hot, dry, and fierce Santa Ana winds that are blowing at 60 mph at times. My boss saw his house on the news with the fire looming and his family was evacuated immediately. I am 50 miles away from the majority of the fires, but the smoke is incredible, and you can smell it even behind closed doors. The governator has delared a state of emergency, and hopefully things will begin to calm down soon.

I am certainly looking forward to coming home, and feel lucky that I actually have a place to go.

Good Times in Hali

So last week was spent in Halifax for some business with NSBI and other Nielsen Global clients. Naturally, the most important part of the trip was to catch up with friends. Stefan came through with an an evening at the cottage, filled with good food, good beer, good friends and some time in the hot tub. Stefan also held a private demonstration for myself and Colin on the intricate ins and outs of the operational procedures of his dad's new toy, a Kubota backhoe. Fun stuff indeed, and a good thing that we did this in the beginning of the evening rather than when the beer was all gone. :)

I also had the chance to see Stu and Robin's baby-Charlotte for the first time. She certainly is a cutie with a big smile on her face and a love for dropping some funky dance moves once the tunes are cranked. Obviously, her smooth moves are not something that would have been inherited from her father, commonly known as Disco Stu (or Un-Disco Stu).

On my way to Halifax I had a two-day stop-over in Montreal for some more business, this time on behalf of Evolve. Good times were had here as well, including a stop-in at my old haunt, Stogies. Pictures from Montreal are unavailable for public viewing at this time, but please enjoy the montage from Hali.

Off to the Magic Kingdom

I am headed to Anaheim this week for our biggest conference of the year. Hopefully between standing in the booth, and entertaining customers, I will be able to catch a glimpse of Mickey.

Mile High Miracle

The Colorado Rockies are National League champions and heading to their first World Series in franchise history! I have sat in that field for years eating many a dog while enjoying a refreshing Coors Light, and who would have thought they would ever be on their way to the World Series? Unbelievable!

Phat Ride

Hey P.... I saw the Aston Martin DB9 zipping around the city today. Although, I am not sure if the one in this pic is actually a DB9, since the windows look a little different. I hope you are having a good time in Hali! Have some tasty chicken quesadillas at the Rogue's Roost for me! I miss you!

The Purple Haze

My sister and her husband to be were lucky dogs that got to go to the Rockies game last night. She said it was so cold and rainy that they were all decked out in their ski gear! I think the temp dipped down into the 30s! It still looked like they were having a good time to me. Only one more game to the Pennant! Woohoo!!

Adventures in Travel Continue.....

I was in meetings this week in Palm Springs and didn't quite make it home on time due to some weather delays in San Francisco. My friend and soul sista Erika was also at the meetings and then was headed my way for a weekend o' fun. After sitting at the airport for 6 hours, we decided to pull our bags off the plane (which was a shock that it was even an option) and stay in Palm Springs for another night. It ended up working out for the best. I am never one to complain about an extra day by the pool! Pics and details of the weekend o' fun to follow.....

The Colors of Fall

It seems this is a busy travel week for everyone. My girl EP is over in Boston to do some work ths week and she mentioned the changing colors of fall are beautiful. She was suddenly having the desire to go and buy a box of 64 Crayolas. I loved my box of 64! I was always partial to cornflower blue and burnt sienna. She said she could really rip it up with cerulean blue. It then occured to me that there really aren't four seasons in San Francisco. There are only two: brown and green. Or as Crayola would call it, raw umber and mountain meadow. Last night was the first hard rain of the season, and it was fantastic. I love the smell of rain just as it is hitting the ground. Or the sound it makes as it hits the outside of your tent while you are curled up in your sleeping bag with nothing but your candle lantern and a good book. Here's to the beginning of the green season.

Adventures in Travel

Note to self: If you are going to wear a Spanx bodysuit, you have to make sure you don't see 6 inches of it peeking out of the top of your Jordache Jeans that you have had since the '80s when you bend over to grab your hideous rolly bag! Am I right ladies?? I am in favor of holding it all together, but come on!

Other things to note: cupping your hand over your mouth while talking on your cell phone does not make your voice any more quiet or tolerable.

And, why do I get my nail file taken away in security, while a pair of 8" knitting needles gets through with flying colors?

On to the next flight...

Heading to Halifax

Peter is off to Hali for some work, and of course, some play. I have a feeling it will be a little more of the latter. He will be gone for 2 weeks and I am going to miss him terribly! Luckily I am going to be pretty busy while he is away. I am actually off to Palm Springs for the rest of the week for a little golf and a little work myself. Send my love to the Canadian boys and be sure to have a couple of Keith's for me oh, and some G and Ts at the Bitter End, oh, and maybe a couple of Dark 'n Stormys®....I guess you better be sure to bring the Zantac too! I miss you already. Sniff....

Pic of P and T feasting on some massive crustaceans at the Lobster Shack outside of Musquodoboit Harbour. (September 2004)

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian friends! Many cornucopia wishes going out in particular to our pal Andy Howes. You are a sick bastard, which seems to make us love you even more! Cheers!

Rock Beats Scissors.....

Well, it was quite a day at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa. People came out of the woodwork for the 5th Annual Rock Paper Scissors Tournament complete with costumes and their hunger to win. We all made it through the first round and felt pretty good about it. Peter was actually quite strong and had many betting on him in the crowd. He wore his sunglasses to intimidate his opponent and said, "the only person I am here to beat, is myself." I am not even sure what that means. In the end, he had to face Brett and did not quite cut the mustard against his pal. I actually made it to the final round, with the top 12 Rosham'pros', but alas, Rock beats Scissors everytime. It all came down to the last throw. Doesn't it always?? Although I didn't win, I did get some props from the Press Democrat. My goal is always to win, but more importantly, my goal is to get press. So, as far as I am concerned, I am a winner!

Today's Special

Seared halibut with a pressed pesto cous cous and encrusted eggplant topped with a petite mezcal green and a reduced tomatillo sauce.

My brother has stepped it up a notch and has taken a job as a chef at The Briarwood Inn. This has been a great fine dining establishment in Golden, Colorado for years. In fact, I think I may have even gone to dinner here for prom one year. (insert visions of poor choice of hair style and pouffy dress here) This is just one example of many delicious meals my brother can chef up. He sure has come a long way from Top Ramen and PB&Js! Keep up the good work little brother!

It's Official.....

Not only have I signed up for the RPS Championship, Pedro and the Van Emsts are also going to test their mad throwing skills as well! We are all officially entered in the contest in an attempt to win the $2500 prize! We are ready, are you?? Click here to see our first practice session.

RPS Championships

The Rock Paper Scissors Championships, sponsored by Roshambo Winery are this weekend up in Santa Rosa. I am seriously thinking about entering......