Twenty-Great Years Old

Just wanted to share some pictures from my very happy 28th birthday. I love being Twenty-GREAT so far!

Flowers and yummy Ethiopian dinner on Friday night, a great barbecue with friends and family in our backyard on Sunday. My mother-in-law (MamaB) even made me a SuperGirl Runs birthday cake! How cool is that? My parents came by right in time to help with things so I could put my party face and dress on - and the weather was gorgeous.

We had a wonderful time, and I feel so celebrated - thank you!!

Hmm. I wonder what my twenty-greatest year will bring??

Yummy food at New Eritrea complete with a glass of honey wine!

A Saturday night cooking fest in preparation for a Sunday afternoon barbecue!

Three big jugs of delicious sangria made by Dique.

Apple and peach pie, oh my!

Friends and family in a hot backyard!

More family and friends!

Even more family and friends!

Between MamaB's cake and MamaJ bringing ice cream, I think I gained 15 pounds at this bbq.

What a fun time - thank you everyone again for making it so!

Run SuperGirl Run

I did it! With Dique firmly in position as my #1 Cheerleader and pep-talk giver, I completed both the 13-mile run on Saturday with my training group and the Bay to Breakers 12K on Sunday.




Wooo boy. My feet are tired.


This weekend was one of the hottest in the history of hot weekend in San Francisco, I am sure. Running in eighty-degree heat is not something we Fogheads are used to. That said, with water and Gu at the ready we set off at 8am from Aquatic Park and made it back two hours and forty minutes later. It felt amazing to have accomplished that loop. Dique and I celebrated by running errands and staying up until nearly midnight prepping for the bbq we were hosting on Sunday afternoon for my birthday. We really know how to pack things into the weekends, don't we?


We got up bright and early on Sunday, my legs weren't too stiff as I did some warm ups and stretched. Dique helped me tie ribbons around my pigtails -- I was borrowing our friend D*Star's SuperGirl costume to run the race. It's Bay to Breakers -- and I might be running instead of walking, sipping on Cytomax instead of PBR. But dammit. I am wearing a costume.

Dique and his family were meeting for Sunday breakfast, his parents' home is near the three-mile-mark of the race and they wanted to come out and cheer me on. I had planned to hit their neck of the woods at 9am since I was going to be taking things pretty slow. So Dique kissed me goodbye and good luck and got off the bus to head over to his folks' place and I stayed on with the other goofballs in costumes and headed to the start line.

Except the bus dropped us 11 blocks away from the start line, and the race was scheduled to start in ten minutes. So? I ran. I ran down along a back street to get to the start. When I glanced over my shoulder at the intersections I could see runners running in the opposite direction, the race had started. Luckily, every runner is given a little chip to tie onto a shoe so that your personal start and finish times are only registered when you go through the start and finish area.

Soon enough I got there and turned around. There were hundreds, thousands of people still at the start, I was in the middle of "serious runners" and not-so serious runners, and we were all bombarded by flying tortillas, hoses from the firehouse, beaded necklaces, all of it. The energy was amazing - and it made me want to run more. I ran at a steady pace all the way to infamous Hayes Street Hill. When I got there I thought I might walk up some of it, but then I remembered Dique's family was coming out to see me and I didn't want them to see me walk.

The nice thing about Bay to Breakers is that the homes along the course come out to party as the race runs by. People are having barbecues in their front yards, garage bands are on the streets, people blast their speakers with invigorating music. Right as I started up Hayes Hill the theme from Rocky came on. There was no way I was going to slow to a walk with that music and all the energy in the street. So I ran.

A little girl on the sideline yelled "SUPERWOMAN!!!" -- I smiled and wave. And I kept running. I got to the top, paused for a cup of water and coasted down the hill looking for Dique's family. After searching for a few minutes I pulled out my phone to call him, and that's when I discovered I was actually 15 minutes ahead of myself. I was making great time, so I called, apologized and we agreed to meet at the finish line.

After the hill at Hayes, the rest of the race is essentially a walk in the park. Having run that loop a few times in marathon training, I know the route and knew it was mostly downhill. I walked for a few minutes, and then just jogged the rest, slowing only to make sure the photographers out there got my good side.

At the finish, over the heads of others I saw Dique standing there with his camera and grin. I sprinted in making my time a decent 1.5 hours. Dique had a hug ready and some Gatorade and I was more than happy to accept both.

Next year Dique's going to do it with me... now we just have to decide on the costume.

Run Tuni Run

I don't have what one would call "a runner's build." I'm not long and lean, not sleek nor aerodynamic in any way. I'm curvy, soft and, well, a bit of a bombshell, really ... but that's another post.

This post is about how a girl who used to hate running, started doing a whole boat load of it with pleasure.


I know that hate is a strong word, but it's appropriate here. I hated running, loathed it, abhorred the very idea of being on a track, going in circles jogging, running, whatever. In junior high and high school I faked having ear infections in order to avoid running the mile. I liked sports - volleyball, basketball, swimming, dancing. I liked sports that required skill and strength, and made me feel graceful. Running made me feel extra bulky. I would hear my feet hit the ground hard, feel my knees awkwardly bend under my weight and my thighs and butt would be back there somewhere, lagging heavily behind the rest of me. Running made me feel like I was the Anti-Athlete, so I avoided it at all costs. The thing about avoidance, though, is that it generally makes you want that thing even more. I wanted to be a runner. I have always wanted to be able to go for a jog like it was a normal occurrence. I just wasn't one. So I avoided running and envied those who could get out there and finish a couple miles with ease, and what's more - pleasure.


It wasn't until I moved to Italy in college that I started to change my thinking. My first apartment in Bologna was on the Perimeter Street, the street that lies just outside the old city walls in a large circle. In Bologna I was able to reinvent myself - no one there knew how I was, so no one knew how I wasn't. To my new friends, I could have always been someone who enjoys jogging so why not? I thought I'd fake it till I made it: I decided to try jogging from my house half-way around the city walls to the main park. I should note that Bologna is an industrial place and industry + summer humidity = crappy air for breathing. Taking up the bad habit of smoking, eating rich foods and staying up until 4am dancing and drinking didn't help, either.

On that first run, I could barely make it from one stoplight to another. But I carried on, deciding I didn't hate running when I was out in a place I loved and didn't have an audience (especially an audience that holds a stopwatch and a clipboard). Running on my own, at my own pace, on my own terms was doable, almost enjoyable even. Over the next few years I kind of jogged, sometimes. I dabbled in running programs found in Shape or Self Magazine. I started working out regularly in 2006 and made the jump from the elliptical to the treadmill, but I still didn't feel like a runner.


Then, enter the engagement and all the wedding planning that ensued. I LOVE wedding planning. It is one of my favorite things to do (I was buying Martha Stewart's Weddings magazine when I was single, much less engaged... and I still have all of them). I knew that when the wedding was over I would need a project on which to focus my attention. In October 2008, at the gym on Friday night, doing my "run 10 minutes, walk 5 minutes" hour-long routine, I decided I would go for broke, and sign up to run the San Francisco Marathon in July 2009. To make sure I didn't bail, I also signed up for the $300 training program. I knew if I spent that money I couldn't NOT do it. Dique was on board and excited for me - my parents and family backed me up. All I had to do, now, was get out there and run.


We got back from the honeymoon on March 6th and I had an inbox full of training information:


- Training started March 16th with runs and workouts on your own.

- Group Training consists of:

Monday evening group runs along the Embarcadero

Wednesday evening track workouts at Kezar Stadium

Thursday evening informal runs, locations TBD

Saturday morning lon rungs, locations TBD

- Personal Training consists of:

Sunday active recovery (walking, biking, swimming with ease - without strain) or extra rest day

Tuesday cross-train (strength/core)

- Train six days a week, taking one day (Friday) off completely so your body can rest and heal.

- Stretch, stretch and stretch again. And when you feel all loosy goosey, stretch again.

- Drink more water than you think you can literally swallow.


The water and the Fridays off seemed easy enough; I'm a total camel when it comes to water and I consistently drink 60-80 ounces every day. The Tuesday and Sunday tasks weren't hard because I'm already active those days with a step aerobics class, and long walks with Dique - respectively. But then, oh! The running.


I did not let myself get overwhelmed, instead, I worked out a routine and stuck to it. I found a pace-group who ran a 12-minute mile in a "run-walk-run" format. We run five minutes and then walk for one minute, over and over and over and over again. This means that in an hour, we're running 50 minutes and walking 10. And when we run, it's at an 11.5mph pace so the walking time averages our pace out to 12mph. Gradually, over the past two months, we've worked up from three miles to eleven. On Saturday we're running 13 (that's a half marathon, yo!!) and in June we'll hit a 20 mile run. Twenty miles is the farthest we'll go in training, with the idea being if you can run 20, you can run 26.2. I really hope they're right.

The group of four or five ladies with whom I run every Wednesday night and Saturday morning have become a new circle of friends. We talk about our lives and laugh about hills being hard or Gu being either yummy or disgusting. Because the marathon has banned iPods from the race, I don't train with music anymore, and instead just enjoy the scenery when I'm running solo or talk to a buddy when I'm with a group. The training program has really changed how I look at exercise, endurance and what my body can do. I wouldn't have thought I'd be the kind of person who can run and carry on a conversation, much less enjoy that whole process!

Now, I'm constantly checking out other races in the area - this Sunday is Bay to Breakers (a 12K) and I'll be running it for the first time in my life. I'm no stranger to Bay to Breakers, but I've only every walked it, in costume with a beer in hand. This Sunday will be different, and I can't wait to be a part of it.

A younger self might have thought this new me to be crazy, running twenty miles in a weekend. But it excites me. I can't wait to get out there, on both days, and just see how it goes. I have no ambition to win. I just want to do it well and finish.

More than anything, I want to have a good time. Running has become a "good time" activity for me. It's something I look forward to even though I know it's going to be hard and exhausting. Turns out, fifteen years later, I am that person who runs for fun. Who knew?

Popular... I know about 'Popular'

No this isn't going to be about Dique's glory days at SI, nor mine at HMBHS. This post is slightly more, well, WICKED than that.




On May 9th Dique and I took his mom to see the Broadway show Wicked, and we loved it. I, true to my musical-theater-geek-self immediately went home and downloaded the soundtrack on my iPod. I'm listening to it now, in fact, for my daily does of showtunes. Mmmmm. Showtunes. They always go down smooth.


Dique, MamaB and I have all read the book. We all enjoyed the book. The musical is not really like the book very much at all. It's been Broadway-ized: happy endings, punchy tunes, fabulous costumes and lots of dry ice. The musical originally showed in San Francisco on it's pre-Broadway run, and this is it's first time back in the Bay Area since then. There's been months and months of advertising - Dique and I have both been shocked out of sleep when the clock radio turns on mid-way through a long high note about defying gravity. We had planned seeing the musical since Christmas, but the wedding threw a wrench in the plans so May would have to suffice.


The theater was sold-out and everyone was really excited; we had great seats and full tummies after a yummy dinner at the nearby Soluna. The set looked magical and the lights went down as the orchestra lit up. The music is great in the show - great and very loud. So loud that it sometimes overshadowed the lyrics - I feel like I've enjoyed the show more now that I own the soundtrack and have listened to the words. But, again, I'm a huge musical-theater geek.


The gist of the show, whether you hear every word or not, is simple: the green witch is misunderstood and very deep, the blonde cheery witch is happy-go-lucky and popular. Polar opposites, they surprise themselves and others when they form a strong friendship. It's a sweet story set in a fantastical world, and anyone who is as geeky as I am would love it. I will probably want to see it again at some point, because I know I missed certain elements due to the sheer overstimulation of the production.

Just, maybe, next time I'll bring some ear plugs.

Supper Club: Enchanting April at Incanto

Last week Dique and I attended April's Supper Club gathering at a little Italian place in Noe Valley. The woman who coordinated the dinner really wanted us to go to Contigo which sounded delicious, but unfortunately the restaurant had "an emergency" and weren't able to take us. We hoped it wasn't a kitchen fire or something and joked that someone called in a private party request that was bigger than the seven of us. Fingers crossed it was the latter.

Sidenote: that's the thing about Supper Club, depending on the day we could have as few as five people, or as many as fifteen. Usually we end up right around 8-10 people, which is just enough to feel like a party, but keep the volume level and the bill relatively low.

Dique and I had heard about Incanto not more than two weeks prior when we spoke to some friends about neighborhood delights. These friends consistently find good restaurants - often by the time the Chronicle's Top 100 comes out, they've already dined at 75% of them (and that's only because the other 25% aren't in San Francisco Proper, but are in the North, East or South Bay Area). Raving about the food, the decor, the service - they said we'd love it, that it was authentically Italian.

Well. We must have caught it on an off night, because it felt pretentious, stuffy and stiff -- three traits that I don't classify as Italian - non per niente! Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed what we ordered, but the service was overbearing and the food, while good, was too gussied up. It was like they were trying to put a French spin on otherwise simple Italian food which rendered a meal of tasty fussiness.

That's the short story. Here's the long one:

It was a blustery evening in Noe Valley and we were all eager to get in, get seated and get a glass of wine. It was Monday, at eight o'clock, the restaurant was a quarter full and our table was ready - naturally I was confused when my friends said we couldn't be seated until our whole party had arrived. Really? Because I see a whole bunch of empty seats. Normally I'm perfectly content to wait at the bar, have a drink and relax while the stragglers arrive. But that's because the place is packed, not because it's policy.

Eventually we convinced them that we'd ALL BE HERE, PROMISE and they sat us. We eagerly accepted the menus and the one dish we'd all heard about: the sweetbreads. Sweetbreads are a house specialty and always mixed into the menu somehow. Here's their most recent sample menu, pulled from their website:

Sample Dinner Menu

Starters
House-marinated olives $4

Artichoke soup, mint & croutons $6

Spring lettuces, soft herbs, croutons & Zinfandel $7.5

Little gem lettuce, cherries, cherry-balsamic & Blu del Moncenisio $8.5

Shaved porcini, nepitella, lemon & Parmigiano $14

Grilled apricots, rucola & pistachios $9

Marinated local sardines, celery, citrus & radish $10.5

Surry ham, Brooks cherries & pickled peaches $11

Grilled beef heart & warm marinated mushrooms $12

"Pea brain": calf's brain, peas & tarragon $13

Antipasto platter (for two) of Boccalone artisan salumi, roasted garlic& marinated vegetables $20

Pastas
Handkerchief pasta with rustic pork ragù $16Mint malfatti with beef brasato $16/$10

Spaghettini, Sardinian cured tuna heart, egg yolk & parsley $16/$10

Trofie with ramp pesto, morels & potatoes $16/$10

Baccalà ravioli, garlic, lemon & parsley $17/$11

Entrees
Sweet pea, mascarpone & lemon risotto $17

Boccalone sausage, smoked escolar, ruby crescent potato& horseradish crème fraîche $20

Whole sanddabs, asparagus & oyster-sorrel cream $20

Local lingcod, nduja, clams & chickpeas $21

Braised pork shoulder, radishes, fava beans & grilled red onion $23

Pastramied Cornish game hen, braised little gems, pickled ramps & rye $22

Veal breast, sweetbreads, multi-grain polenta & pickled green walnut salsa $25

"Leg of Beast": Beef shank, with sides, served family-style for 6-8 persons (one week's notice please)

Sides
Summer squash, garlic & basil $5

Charred shitakes & scallions $5

Plate of Frantoio Olivestri DOP Umbria extra-virgin olive oil $3

Desserts & Cheeses
Bay leaf panna cotta, berries, saba & amaretti $8

Flourless chocolate cake, malted vanilla-strawberry ice cream $8

Cream soda float & double-chocolate chip cookies $8

Preserved plum granita with rhubarb compote $7.5

Raspberry sorbetto $7.5

Selection of Italian cheeses served with accompaniments:
$7 each or plate of three for $15

So... the leg of beast sounds interesting, too bad we didn't call a week ago and order it. Dique and I have decided that we will go back with friends, for the beast's leg because that just sounds too barbaric not to try. Otherwise, we ordered the olives, and man, they give you a LOT of olives. If you're one of those people constantly craving salt, go here, eat olives and be in bliss. I will say that the portions at Incanto are Italian-esque, slightly more than enough while still being half the size of anything at the Olive Garden.

I had a pork chop with fava beans, carrots and a chutney - it was definitely tasty, though the chutney was a bit over-powering so by the end of the dish it's all I could taste. I will say that now I want to cook with favas because I've seen them in multiple menus and am intrigued. Dique ordered pasta, mint "malfatti" which translates to "poorly made". Basically it's a simple pasta dough that's been cut at odd shapes/sizes. Lots of mint had been blended into the dough and the flavor was good and strong. The pasta was accompanied with a lamb ragu. Lamb + Mint + Pasta = English/Italian food? Dunno, Dique liked it, so that's what counts. Our friend Charles ordered the sweetbreads, which Dique tried and said were tasty, if you can get your head around what you're eating.

For dessert, Dique delighted in the float and cookies, which seems to be a regular and is a perfect dessert in my book. Nostalgia AND Yumminess? Yes Please. I couldn't resist beet ice cream (mmmmm beets) and flourless chocolate cake. Beet ice cream is one I'll be trying soon at home, it's sweet and such a beautiful deep pink color. Even Dique, who has yet to appreciate the beet as much as I do, thought it was a good kind of interesting.

As for the overbearing service, it was just a little awkward: we were a group of nine people at table against a wall next to another table for two. This means there was a lot of "reach across" in order to serve the other side of the table. We suggested they just leave the pitchers of (sparkling AND still, at no additional charge) water on the table, but they weren't keen on that idea, so I felt like we were constantly talking above or below arms. I'm normally not that picky about service, as long as the person is pleasant and doesn't call me fat, I'm cool. But I tend to appreciate servers who wait to be summoned instead of hovering, but I guess that's the faux-Italian in me. I love how you don't get the check until you've asked for it in Italy, but that's because I love lingering.

In the end, it was a really good night. The food could have been dressed-down a bit whilst maintaining ample style, the servers could have simmered, but all in all - we ate, drank and were merry. And that's what Supper Club is all about, anyway.