Good Times with the Smithskis and KK Turns 30

Back in June Kathy decided what she wanted to do for her 30th birthday - a simple party in the park where we could play childhood games and relax with good friends. So we booked a few picnic tables in Golden Gate Park and waited for the weekend to arrive. I mentioned the party to Lauren and Stu, who found out a few weeks before the big day that a friend was driving up to SF the weekend of the party. Lucky me - a great friend's birthday and some of my favorite people in town on the same weekend. :)

Lauren and Stu arrived Friday night, and brought Mini KK along with them. We left her at home and headed out for dinner at Kennedy's Irish Pub (for Indian food, of course) and met up with a friend of theirs from law school on Union. They got to suffer through a truly Marina evening and know understand me on a whole new level. I never get to cook for anyone, so I invited them over for breakfast on Saturday morning and we made breakfast tacos. They were edible and possibly even good. We set off for the party, figuring Muni was the easiest way to transfer a life-size pinata.  

We had so much fun hanging out at the park together. Despite the frigid temperatures and bad wind, we managed to have an egg toss and a pinata beating. 

Happy 30th KK! I love you and am so thankful for your friendship.

The Mandas

On May 8th Julie and Jamie became The Mandas in a lovely ceremony at the Sir Francis Drake in downtown San Francisco. It was a wonderful evening filled with many special J and J moments, from the Florida State football references during the ceremony to home made cakes in all the best flavors.

Happy Couple

Ridiculous - both the cake and the view

Can't imagine life without these women!

Mission Peak Hike

Kicking off Half Dome training with a hike at Mission Peak in the East Bay. 5.6 miles out and back, with a 2000 feet elevation change. Ouch! 

Sonoma, Baby!

So, maybe it doesn't have the same ring to it as Vegas, Baby!, but it definitely suits the girls much better.

We took off for a night in Sonoma to celebrate the soon-to-be Mrs. Manda. Unfortunately she came down with the stomach bug. After biking to two wineries we spent the day at the pool relaxing and indulged on Mary's Pizza in the hotel room. It wasn't exactly the send-off to married life we had planned, but it was so relaxing and nice to spend time together.

Date Night!

Saturday night was date night with Kathy. We are on a roll of getting out of our neighborhoods and went all. the. way. to Noe Valley (only in SF is 4 miles a journey). We started the night at Fattoush, an amazing, cozy Middle Eastern restaurant on Church Street. The food (appetizer sampler, freshly baked pita bread, beriani with chicken, potatoes and garbanzo beans) was amazing. Unfortunately the only dish I took a picture of was the one thing we didn't exactly love - a ground lamb filled doughy thing (technical term) with date sauce. It was a sweet and savory mix gone awry, but doesn't it look pretty? We found the place here. I highly recommend joining the mailing list for your city, if available. The great deals are fun, but even better is reading about restaurants you'd never come across otherwise.


We saw the J run past the restaurant a few times and decided instead of taking the same route we used to get to Noe Valley we'd jump on the J and see where it took us. We're crazy girls like that. We ended getting off in the Castro, where an urge for ice cream hit me hard. I decided I wouldn't look for ice cream, but if a sign appeared, it was meant to be. As we moved from the Castro to the Lower Haight in search of a bus to get us back to Yuppyville, I literally almost ran into a sign screaming "Organic Ice Cream". Not really sure it could have been more meant to be. I have no idea why Kathy turned right as I snapped her picture (to point at the sign I had determined was our sign to stop and eat), but the resulting photo is hilarious.

Next up was finding a way home. It was 10:00, AKA the time at which I turn into a pumpkin. We decided to walk off our ice cream a bit only to realize we were walking straight into the ghetto. We are independent women, but we're not dumb. So we rerouted ourselves and walked towards a different bus line. We ended up at the bus stop only to turn around and find the KK Cafe. Kathy had actually read about it (I'm convinced she now googles her initials to find places) and claims it has the best vegetarian burger in SF. We've got a location for our next date night! 

Happy Birthday, AZ!

We celebrated the beginning of Alyssa's 33rd year with a very pink party on Saturday night. She went all out decorating her apartment and we all got creative bringing red and pink appetizers. Cupcakes and cookies were quite the most popular item. I started my day with a 20 mile run and decided that gave me leeway to try both types of cupcakes and the cookie. Luckily we were all so full we didn't even slice the cake. (Yes, we need to plan better. I didn't even get into the savory selections, but rest assured I tried them all.) Side note: If you need an easy, crowd-pleasing appetizer, try this mini version of a Caprese salad. Slice mozzarella balls and cherry tomatoes in half and add both to a toothpick along with a basil leaf. If you use marinated mozzarella balls, you're done. If not, toss in a bit of balsamic, olive oil, and salt/pepper.

Like all Girls Nights, it was a lot of fun. I hobbled home smiling after a great night with a group of awesome women.

Chronicle Wine Festival

The San Francisco Chronicle hosts a wine competition each year and follows it with a tasting event a few weeks later where wineries can show off any awards they may have won. I've gone three of the four years I've lived in the city, this year being the third. Julie, Jamie, Vanessa and I enjoyed an afternoon of wine, baguette, and little cheeses and chocolates. (J, V, and I started the day with a killer 12 mile run through the Presidio so we could enjoy the snacks guilt-free all afternoon.) We also learned a few things: Target box wine is not so bad (though we did try it 10 minutes before the event closed, so perhaps our judgement is not to be trusted) and Livermore has wine tasting right off the BART line. It was a great time and an excellent way to enjoy the last day before my dry month (New Year's goal) started.

Me, Vanessa, Julie

FYI - Vanessa does indeed have two legs, unlike the picture above would lead you to believe.

Valentine's Day Weekend

What a fun weekend! To kick it off, I got home from work Friday night and found in the mail my first letter from Jyotirmoy, my little sponsored boy from India. He's only four, so not quite able to write his own letter, but along with the letter written by one of the staff he sent me this. How can a Valentine's weekend that starts with a flower from a four-year-old half a world away not be good one? I am not sure what the rules are on posting pictures of the children, so I think I should hold off for now, but imagine a cute little Indian four year old boy who loves to play 'bat ball' and tell rhymes. I really am only using this blog as a way to capture memories, but if anyone is reading and looking for a good organization to get involved with, click here.

Friday night I got to spend time with the Texas branch of the Collins family who were in town for a wedding on the Piper side of the family. It was so much fun to visit with Nicole and Brandon, Jeff and Julia, and Aunt Karen and Uncle Tim. It was also great to meet some of the Pipers I've heard about for years! Definitely a fun group and made me again so thankful to be from a big family. We had a few glasses of wine at the Blue Mermaid in Fisherman's Wharf then headed to meet the Rehearsal Dinner party at Buena Vista for an Irish Coffee. One more think on the 'Must-Do: San Francisco' list that I can now check off. It seems I only get these things done when out-of-towners are around.

Me and Julia (hoping she becomes a cousin soon!)

Julia, Me, Aunt Karen at Buena Vista with our Irish Coffees

Saturday night Kathy and I ventured back to our Kathy-and-Beth roots - Berkeley! We went to see Mortified at the Starry Plough. It is a  show where people read excerpts from their junior high, high school, and college journals to the crowd. It was absolutely hilarious and mortifying. I don't think there is anything that could get me to revisit those years. The teenage philosophy and inner-reflection was by far the best part. So was the realization that I am the dork I have always thought I was and I am quite thankful for the apparently sheltered life I enjoyed. The best non-intentionally funny part of the evening was when one of the presenters read a comment about some girls at her high school and referred to them as probable lesbians - the crowd had been laughing for an hour and went silent. Lesbian jokes are not appreciated in the East Bay! I forgot to get a picture of Kathy and I, but it was a fun date night and nice to get out of the city for a few hours.

On Sunday Alyssa, Adam and I went to St. Anthony's for the day. Alyssa is who introduced me to the Dining Room back in early 2009, so it was great to finally go with her. It was very slow (not a bad thing!) so we got to catch up and it was great to spend time with Adam and get to know him better.

One of the best Valentine's weekends I can remember! ♥

Kaiser Half 2010

Me, Vanessa, Julie, Megan

The girls and I did the Kaiser Half Marathon for the second year in a row this past Sunday. It is always held on the morning of Super Bowl Sunday. Perfect - we get our 1300 calorie burn out of the way by 11am and are ready for and well-deserving of the afternoon food coma!

We did things a little differently this year and only got to the race 1/2 an hour early. (This is Alyssa, Julie and Vanessa last year when we arrived pre-dawn.) While we definitely missed Alyssa out on the course this year, we did not follow her 6:50 am departure time! Sadly we are getting to be old ladies and despite not arriving at the crack of dawn, we all chose to crash after the race instead of heading out for the Super Bowl. Oh well - I thoroughly enjoyed watching it from my couch and alternating between napping and eating my much-anticipated burrito.

The half is a beautiful course that starts in Golden Gate Park, heads up and around the Panhandle, back through the park, out onto the Great Highway, and then back into the park to finish.

I can't finish this post without bragging about what awesome women I am friends with. Vanessa is my new running hero - she ran the coveted sub-2 hour half-marathon on Saturday. Not only did she break 2 hours for the first time, she killed it with 1:56:12!! And Julie cut 11 minutes off her time from last year - that's pretty

much an extra mile's worth of time! Kathy completed the 5k for the second year and, deciding 3 miles just wasn't enough, walked home from the park to make it an even 10 (this is another sign that she absolutely has it to join us next year for the half!).

I didn't break any records at this race (2:08:44 - definitely happy to keep breaking 10 min miles, but 1:30 slower than last year). However, I was the big winner of the day with the lowest bib number - 133 out of 10,000! Maybe this makes me the big loser?

Birthday, Part Two

The January edition of Ladies Night was a bit of a birthday celebration for me. Julie hosted and made my favorite funfetti cupcakes. Regal helped herself to the "B", "E", "T", and "H" cupcakes while we were making appetizers in the kitchen, but the rest were delicious. As usual, the night was full of laughter and love. And more food and wine than necessary.

Have I mentioned lately that I love my ladies?

Twenty eight highlights to capture my 28th year, in no particular order:

1. Running the Kaiser half marathon with Julie, Alyssa and Vanessa

2. My first triathlon and crossing the finish line with Lauren

3. A very impromptu trip to Turkey that was more amazing than I can ever describe

4. Seeing all four members of my immediate family at the same time five different times

5. Bonding with Vanessa as we took on 13.1 miles of SF on a beautiful July day

6. Deciding to take on another marathon and getting excited about running again

7. Taking a risk and starting a new job that I love

8. Volunteering at St. Anthony's

9. Meet in the Middle Weekend - the first of many annual BFF girls weekends

10. Running a PR during the Stadium to Stadium 10k

11. Camping and hitting up as many Wal-Marts as possible on a road trip to Oregon with Lauren and Stu

12. Mom coming out for a weekend and running a 5k with the girls

13. Finding an awesome new golf course in Oakland with Sean

14. A crazy night in Hawaii with Jen

15. The best first date ever

16. Tuesday and Thursday morning runs with the best running partner ever

17. My first NFL game

18. Going to three Giants games - I'm really a San Franciscan now!

19. Celebrating Dad's 50th birthday in Pebble Beach

20. A New Year's Eve day hike through Malibu and finding the most adorable winery ever

21. Muddy Buddy with Alyssa

22. Seeing JBPF for the first time in four years

23. Lazy Christmas day with the family, eating queso and working on a puzzle

24. Learning that single is oh so much better than being with the wrong person (I'm sure I'll continue to learn!)

25. Spending hours in the park visiting with friends on 4th of July

26. Vegas for Becky's birthday

27. A warm January day on the beach with Kathy

28. A million every day memories with people that mean the world to me

I can't wait to see what 29 brings!