Missing Geneva

We moved back to California over nine months ago, but I find myself still adjusting to life here in the states. I miss Geneva more than I like to admit and lately it seems to be more than usual. I try to focus on the positive, being thankful for the amazing opportunity we had to live in such a beautiful country for three years and also happy to have been able to return to a great part of the US where so many of our friends and family live. But at the same time it is still very bittersweet for me. I'm really looking forward to June when we head back for a visit, even for a little while.

Jack's Prime

Today is my brother-in-law's birthday and we celebrated with a family dinner at Jack's Prime, a local burger joint. Seven of us squeezed into a booth (plus two high chairs) for a yummy dinner of burgers, sweet potato fries, and mint chip shakes. Yummy!! I love sweet potato fries, but have never seen them in a restaurant in California (I discovered this delicacy while visiting Pennsylvania). I recently learned they sell them frozen at Trader Joe's, so I will for sure be making them at home soon. I like this picture because of the folks waiting outside for a table, especially the guy leaning against the pole. I need to work on incorporating people in my shots a little more often. It just makes the shot much more interesting to me.

Thanks Karin!

Karin brought these beautiful blooms over for Cooking Club on Saturday. With all the hectic craziness of the evening there was a bit of a delay getting them into water, but as you can see they are thriving! Thanks Karin... you always know the perfect thing to bring (and the hors d'œuvres were scrumptious too!) :)

Back to School

I've decided to do something I've wanted to do for a long time... learn to become a better photographer. When we were in Geneva I took a beginning photography course and really liked it, but that was the only class offered in English, so that was all I ended up taking. Now that we're back here you would think that finding a good local photography program would be a snap, but surprisingly even in the Bay Area there aren't a whole lot of options that fit my schedule and don't cost a fortune. So I did some research and decided to enroll in the "Professional Photography Course" through the New York Institute of Photography. It's an online program where you send in your photo assignments as you complete each unit. So today I officially started and hopefully within the year I'll have completed the course and become a better photographer!

Cooking Club blooms

Tonight was Cooking Club night and I was the host! The premise is simple: 8 friends host 8 dinner parties throughout the year, each with a different theme to keep it interesting. My theme was "green cooking" where I challenged everyone to try to be a little more environmentally friendly in their cooking. Folks brought veggies grown in their yard, visited local farmers markets, bought organic, brought their own bags, and thought a little more about packaging and where their food comes from. Since cleaning is a part of cooking, I had everyone make their own "green cleaners" while we enjoyed hors d'œuvres and sipped wine. The green cleaning party and dinner turned out great and everyone got to go home with a "green goody bag". I was whipped out by the time everyone left, but what a fantastic night!

Late night shopping

This really isn't the best picture, but I was trying to get to Whole Foods all day and finally made it just before they closed. I had to pick up a few things for Maddie, including YoBaby plain yogurt, Organic O's, and some organic veggies to make baby food for her. I really try to limit what I buy here to just things for her (so we don't go broke!), but I'm always tempted to get a few extra things too. This time I just picked up a little organic chocolate. That is one thing I can't resist! :)

Baby's got a new pair of shoes

Today was Maddie's first class picture at Little Hands School. I decided to get her a new pair of shoes for the big occasion and found these adorable ones at Nordstrom's. They are just too cute! The funny thing is I don't even think you can see the shoes in the class picture, but that's okay... I know we will get a lot of use out of them!

Racing season has begun!

I had no idea that last weekend in our sleepy little neighborhood Stanford hosted the Seventh Annual Pac-10 Rowing Challenge right here in Redwood Shores! The two-day regatta featured more than 114 crew races between the nation's top universities. Gary and I were actually out house hunting when we noticed all the crowds gathered to watch the racers. I figured it was a few local teams that practice here most weekends. Nope, it was just some of the best teams in the country! Just a few blocks from our place is the start of the "Redwood Lagoon 2000 Meter Course" where the regatta took place. Next year I will make it a point to walk down and check out the festivities and take a few pictures. This year I just took some photos of the course where all the action took place... last weekend!

O-ball

This is one of Maddie's favorite toys! We discovered the O-ball when we were visiting with Pat and Dash. Maddie couldn't get enough of it so I bought her one. The next week we brought it to our playgroup and all the kids were after it! Soon all the mom's had one for their kids too. It is just a fantastic toy that is so easy for babies to grasp and play with. We now have three different kinds of O-balls and Maddie loves them all! :)

No swimming

Maddie's birthday is fast approaching (okay, it's not for another month, but I know that will fly by just like the rest of the year has!) I walked down to the picnic area where we are going to have her party and noticed this sign by the little beach there. I was a little surprised to see the warning about the jellyfish. The last time I was warned of jellyfish was when Gary and I were going to go swimming in the "Blue Lagoon" on the island of Comino in Malta. Oh yeah, and then there was the time in Nice, France when Karin got stung... but that is a whole other story!

Checking out Grandpa Frank

Today we went over to my mom's for lunch with her and my step dad, Frank. Maddie hadn't seen him in a while and wasn't too sure about his long hair and jovial laugh. She spent a lot of time cautiously checking him out, but by the end of our visit she had warmed up considerably! It was actually really cute. We are definitely going to have to make more trips up to the city so Frank and Maddie can have a little more bonding time! :)

Earth Hour

Tonight we switched off the lights (and TV and almost everything else except the baby monitor) for Earth Hour 2009, a worldwide effort to raise awareness for global warming. My dear husband is such a good sport. We participated in Earth Hour last year in Geneva where we enjoyed a candle light dinner at home (I was on bed rest then) and talked. This year he was just as great, turning off the TV in the middle of a movie and helped me gather the candles for an hour of no electricity. He gently pointed out that none of our neighbors seemed to know it was Earth Hour, but he never complained. Thanks dear for supporting my cause! You are the best! :)

Look how much we've grown!

Does this picture look familiar? It should, I took one almost exactly like it just 10 days ago when my college friends and I lined up our kids, Ari, Dylan, Hailey, & Maddie for a group shot. Today we got all the kids together again but this time little Hailey is absent... she is off with her mom doing other fun stuff. But we can see how much Ari, Dylan, and Maddie have grown in 10 days. Okay, so maybe they aren’t THAT different, but they sure are cute!

French flight

Tonight was the mom's club monthly Wine Club outing. 14 of us met up at "B Street & Vine" in San Mateo which is a wine cafe and bruschetta bar that has live music. I've heard rave reviews about the place and wow, were they right! The food was excellent and the wine was great. I choose the "French flight" with a sampling of wines from all over, including the Côtes du Rhône region (the wine region closest to Geneva and my personal favorite). Overall it was a great night and the wine bar gets a big thumbs up... I will be back for sure!

Lunch at Specialty's

This amazingly delicious bakery and cafe called Specialty's opened up in our neighborhood recently. I'm no stranger to Specialty's tasty sandwiches and yummy cookies since there is one close by to my old office at Genentech in South City. The danger of this new Specialty's location is it's within walking distance of our place... very tempting! Today Maddie and I walked over for lunch with my good friend Lori and her son Ari. Scrumptious! :)

Life is good

I really like our neighborhood, especially on gorgeous, sunny days. Our area is crisscrossed with canals that are dotted with boats. I've walked by this canal many times, but never noticed the name of the little blue boat, "Life is Good". I love it! That would be the name of my boat (if I had one). It's kind of my mantra in life... it's simple, optimistic, and so true! Because Life is Good! :)

Making plans

This last week I've been on the computer a lot! I seem to have a lot on my plate these days planning all kinds of fun stuff. I've been researching ideas for Maddie's first birthday party, I found myself as the head of the entertainment committee for the Little Hand's all-school picnic, next weekend I'm hosting our cooking club, we're house hunting, and then there is our trip to Europe in June! I've really had my hands full lately! I would much rather be busy than bored (well, that's kind of impossible these days with Maddie keeping me on my toes). Even though things have been a little crazy around here, I wouldn't have it any other way! :)

Weather vane

This was kind of a random, last minute shot. I realized I've had this little weather vane for years but I have no idea where or when exactly I acquired it. I love weather vanes and hope to one day have a real one up on top of our roof. They don't seem to be too popular around here, but that's okay, we will just have the most interesting roof in the neighborhood. Now we just have to find a house to put it on! :)

When mommies let loose!

About six months ago I got into a fantastic playgroup for Maddie. The gals in our group are just great and I feel so lucky to have gotten to know them and become friends with this bunch of wild women! Here we are (with our husbands in tow; babies are at home) after the Little Hands Spring Auction dinner. After the dinner we ventured to the Carlos Club for a few drinks. This self portrait was taken just before a round of purple hooters were ordered! Cheers ladies! :)

Bloom!

These gorgeous orange blooms have sprung up recently not too far from our house (well, I guess technically they were planted, but nonetheless, they weren't there a couple weeks ago). I thought flowers were a good thing to shoot for this first day of spring. I also wanted to capture these on film before they start to fade. Happy Spring Equinox!

Kids play

On my daily pilgrimage to our mailbox (which is located down the street from us), I came across these chalk drawings on the sidewalk. I love chalk drawings and thought these were pretty cool.

Burlingame station

I seem to find myself in Burlingame a lot these days. There are quite a few delicious lunch spots and it's a good half way point to meet up with folks coming from the city. Today Maddie and I met up with my old coworker, Nancy and her little boy Tyler. I had such a great time catching up swapping parenting tips! After lunch we walked to Burlingame High with took us past the train station. I really liked the lines and colors of the building and the old, weathered Burlingame sign.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Lately there seems to have been a bit of a "baby boom" among the gals I went to school with. Today I got together with three friends from college and our kids; Ari, Dylan, Hailey, & Maddie. We lined them up by age with the youngest on the left (if that wasn't totally obvious). Maddie is by far the elder of the group! Today is also Maddie's first St. Patrick's Day. No corn beef and cabbage for her just yet and definitely no Guinness, at least for a few years. ;)

A stroll along the lake

Today I walked an old, familiar trail at Lake Merced with my dear friend Fiona (and our kids). I grew up not far from the shores of this lake and I've either ran or walked this five mile loop hundreds of times throughout the years. I realized today it has been a few years since I've been on this trail but it still looks exactly the same as I remember it. :)

House hunting

Which way to go? Left? Right? Maybe we should just go with the little circular house with no windows. This weekend we moved our house hunting from the computer to the real world and went to a few open houses in San Carlos and Belmont. It was good to get out and actually see what's out there. They say you are never "casually looking", but today we were... we haven't found our dream house yet (at least not within our budget), but we know it is out there!

Still smiling after sleep training

Well, it has been two nights of sleep training and Maddie is still smiling! It is actually going much better than I had imagined it. The first night she only cried fifteen minutes and the second she only cried five minutes. So far, so good. I just hope the next couple of nights are this easy! This weekend we put together her "garden table" that she got from our friend Sarah in Switzerland. She has been playing with it nonstop since we introduced it to her yesterday. Maddie just loves this table and so do I, it is just so cute! I love that it talks in both French and British English. My favorite thing about it is that the ladybug is called a ladybird, I guess that's what they're called in the UK... who knew? :)

Temptation

This is a picture of Maddie's cousin, Ally. It isn't Ally's birthday. It is Ally's sister, Cameron's birthday and this is Cameron's cake. As you can see, Ally REALLY wants this cake. She had been asking about it all evening and has even poked her finger in it a couple of times. She was so cute about it... hanging out in the kitchen, trying to be sly. When it was time to blow out the candles, Cameron was so sweet to let her two sisters help her blow them out. And then finally Ally could sink her teeth into the cake she had been longing for! It's true, good things come to those who wait! :)

Maddie's sleep rabbit

Tonight we start sleep training. I'm so nervous, but Maddie has to learn how to fall asleep by herself. She is more than 10 months now and it is time. I went to a "Solve you Babies Sleep Problems" class at the Belmont library yesterday and it really gave me the confidence I need to get this started. Gary has been ready for a while, but the thought of Maddie crying and not going in to comfort her just breaks my heart. But like I said, it is time. Hopefully the road to better sleep for the whole family starts tonight. Here to help is Maddie's "lovey" rabbit, sitting here on the quilt Maddie's Grams made for her. Wish us luck!

Wedding picture

Today I met with our wedding photographer, Wendy Yalom, to finally pick up some prints from our wedding. Wendy is fantastic and took beautiful pictures of our wedding. We have a gorgeous album that we brought with us to Geneva, but with our international move so soon after the wedding, we simply did not have time to order individual prints. So almost four years later I finally ordered prints and picked them up today. I'm so excited to get them framed and put up at our house. This group picture is one of my favorites (almost all of our 140 guests are in it). Wendy was great getting this shot because she took extra time ensuring everyone was looking up at the same time. It turned out beautifully! Thanks Wendy. :)

Spring is in the air

I've been eyeing these beautiful blooms for a few weeks now. I keep thinking I will take pictures of them "tomorrow", when the weather is perfect and the lighting is just a little better. Well, it seems I've waited a bit too long because I could only find one tree in the neighborhood that still had a few blooms on it. All of the other tree's blooms have fallen off and vibrant red leaves have taken their place. I can't believe how fast these little flowers have come and gone. Life is so fleeting and sometimes I need to jump on opportunities a bit quicker. But I did manage to capture these little blooms before they fall off and are replaced by the leaves of spring.

I just love Grandpa's shirt!

Today we trekked over to Alameda to visit with Maddie's grandparents. We had a delicious lunch and nice time hanging out and playing. It was the first time they have seen her since Maddie has started crawling, so it was fun for them to see how mobile she has gotten lately. My dad (Maddie's grandpa) is wearing the coolest shirt ever... I just love it! :)

Water baby

Well, after only a couple times in the pool it is pretty obvious that we have a water baby! Maddie is so comfortable in the water and seems to really enjoy herself every time we've gone swimming. Today her cousin, Cameron, had her 6th birthday party at the swim school where Maddie takes lessons. It was a great chance for Gary to see how well Maddie has taken to the water and for me to take a few pictures (which is impossible to do at our lesson since I'm in the water too). We all spent the afternoon splishing and splashing, it was so much fun!

A walk on The Ranch

A friend of mine from Geneva was in town on business this week. I was thrilled to get to see her and catch up; it had been way too long! She was staying at a very famous (and very private) ranch in Marin County and she invited us to stop by and have a look around. The Ranch was amazing... it was stunningly beautiful and full of pop culture. This photo is from a walk we took around the grounds. Sorry, no buildings or anything distinctive in the picture, but that is how they like to keep it out there... very private. I had such a good time today, but unfortunately the time just flew by! I still can't believe we got to hang out with her out on The Ranch. Too cool! :)

My favorite cookbook

Although I'm not much of a cook, these days I've been cooking up a storm making baby food for Maddie. I'm hoping I won't have to be making baby food too much longer and she will move on to more solid foods. Lately we've been trying to get her to eat O's and these Gerber puffs that easily dissolve in her mouth but she has always spit them out... until today! This afternoon she actually ate quite a few of them! I was so excited for her. Now I'm sure we won't be done with baby food for a while... but at least we've started with some different textured foods. Hooray!

Lap swim

Lately I've been doing a lot of swimming. Gary and I recently joined the JCC because we wanted a gym with a great pool and that is just what we got. The JCC has a beautiful 8 lane outdoor pool that I love to swim in. I love it so much that now I don't have to drag myself to the gym, I actually want to go! I usually swim at night after Maddie is asleep. I don't mind so much because I always have a lane to myself, especially when it's cold and rainy like it was tonight!

Our little fish

Maddie started swimming lessons today at La Petite Baleen Swim School! The great thing is she really seemed to like it. This made me so happy because I absolutely love the water and want our little girl to enjoy it too. I was a lifeguard and swim teacher for years and I played water polo in college. Actually, both Gary and I are big time water people. We both enjoy water skiing and wake boarding and have spent many summers out on Lake Trinity houseboating together. So we hope our little fish will grow to love the water just as much as we do and today is just the beginning! :)

Dreamland

Maddie loves music. At night we play lullabies and soothing music for her. One of my favorite night time CDs is Putumayo Dreamland. It is a collection of wonderful music from around the world. Inside the front cover it reads, "Right now, it is bedtime somewhere in the world. As you read this, a parent is singing their child to sleep with the lilting melody of a sweet lullaby. The song is always soft and slow, filled with love, affection, and comfort..." I just love how similar we all are, no matter where we are in the world. While I am rocking Maddie to sleep and listen, I often think of the many wonderful places we have had the chance to visit and how the mothers from those far off lands are rocking their babies to sleep too.

Rough waters

Today the wind was really blowing and it turned our calm little lagoon into what looked like the ocean! Well, maybe not that dramatic, but I still wanted to capture the energy of the incoming storm in today's picture. I also wanted to capture the lone bird at the top of the shot who was working so hard paddling against the wind! The picture didn't turn out great so I decided to play around with the exposure and color and see what I could come up with. Not too bad. I just hope that bird got to wherever he was trying to get to before the storm hit.

Better late than never...

Okay, I know it is pretty sad, but I'm STILL writing thank you notes from the holidays. The good news is, as of tonight I'm DONE! I think thank you notes are important to write, but this past year has been a nonstop marathon of note writing. I've probably written over 100 for all the nice things people did for me on bed rest, all the Geneva folks who gave Maddie things, the people back home who showered her with gifts too, and of course the gifts from all four baby showers (both in Geneva and California). Then there were the holidays. Now I'm not complaining. I've been overwhelmed by people's generosity and writing a note is the least I can do to show my appreciation. So if you are one of the people I still owe a note too... check your mailbox, it should be there any day now. :)

Mmmm... Limoncello

After an eclectic dinner at our Cooking Club, the hostess, Christina, pulled out one of my favorite digestifs... Limoncello! Dinner was really good (as usual), but for me this was the icing on the cake. I have loved limoncello ever since I discovered it in Italy a few years ago. Christina served it to us in an assortment of beautiful little crystal glasses that were all different. I thought they were so nice and the perfect thing to sip this delectable digestif in. It was a nice end to a really enjoyable evening. Next time I host and I've already promised a tasting of honey rum from the Canary Islands... another favorite digestif of mine. Maybe we have started a tasty tradition. :)

Birthday Buddies

At our regular Friday play group Maddie and her birthday buddy, Harper, were both going crazy for the activity table set up in the living room. I just love how inquisitive they look. I love their expressions. I can almost hear them thinking... "Oh, look at this.", "Cool! Did you see this?", "Oh yes, that is very interesting.", "Oh and check this out!" They are so serious.... it is adorable! :)

Cheers!

Tonight I hosted my first Wine Club meeting. We met at a local wine bar called Savvy Cellar in Redwood City. I had been a bit nervous to host, but happily it was a big success! It was by far my favorite Wine Club meeting to date! The wine and conversation were flowing and nobody wanted to leave. At the bar there were big piles of corks which I love. I started collecting wine corks when we lived in Europe in hopes that one day I will be able to turn them into something for our bar (when we buy a house). To me they represent all the good times shared with friends over the years, which is really what life is all about! :)

Cloud gazing

I'm a cloud gazer. I've always been fascinated with clouds and their fleetingness, one minute you see an amazing cloud formation and the next it is gone, transformed into something different. I love a good storm too. In Geneva we had some amazing storms with the most incredible thunder and lightning I have ever seen (and I used to live in Virginia where there are some really good storms). California just doesn't seem to get very impressive storms, but I can always do a little cloud gazing. :)

Checking out the neighborhood

I feel bad for our cat, Scout. We live in a condo and there is no yard for her to roam around in or explore. The closest she gets these days is our porch, where she likes to spend time checking out the neighborhood. I rarely see her sitting on the porch from down on street level so when I saw her there after getting back from a walk with Maddie, I had to snap her picture. Hopefully one day in the not too distant future we will be in a house with a nice big yard for Scout to enjoy. :)

Favorite things

Ceiling fans usually aren't on people's "favorite things" lists, but it sure is on Maddie's! I had kind of forgotten how much she likes them until the other day when we were out to eat with on old high school friend and she was going crazy for the fans in the restaurant. This morning we laid on the bed and watched the ceiling fan go around which we used to do when she was younger. She shrieked with glee and laughed and laughed. I love to see that she still gets so much joy out of it and she hasn't grown out of this adorable stage just yet. I took this picture at night with low lighting. I like the way the shadow falls across the ceiling.

Self portrait

Okay, so I meant to do a self portrait way earlier in the year, but I guess mid-February is still pretty good. Hopefully I won't look TOO much older when I do this again later in the year. Let's just hope I'm getting a little more sleep by then! ;)

Date night

Tonight Gary and I celebrated a belated Valentine's Day with a long overdue date night. Believe it or not this was our very first date night since Maddie was born! It's pretty sad, but we realized the last time the two of us were out to eat together alone was last January in a little town in France (that was over a year ago), just before I was put in the hospital on bed rest. Tonight's date wasn't anything over the top, just dinner and a movie. But for me it was one of our best dates yet. We saw Slumdog Millionaire and ate at a little Italian place we ate at on one of our very first dates almost six years ago. Très romantique!

A new car (for now)

Today our 4-Runner wouldn't start. After an unsuccessful jump and a call to AAA it was determined that our starter was kaput. We ended up with this loaner car, a Yaris, which Gary can barely fit into, but at least it starts! ;)

The start of a beautiful friendship...

Today Maddie and I joined Lori and Ari for an afternoon walk and a little shopping. The weather was perfect for a lazy afternoon strolling around and exploring downtown San Mateo. Ari slept for most of our outing and Maddie was taking everything in which you can see in this picture... something off to the side seems to have caught her attention. This kid doesn't want to miss a thing! She's a lot like her mom. ;)

Sunny days are here again!

I bought this book for Maddie today. She seems to really like the soft books I've bought for her in the past and this one was so cute! I also thought the title really described our day today. First, the sun came out (which I love, even though I love the rain too) and second, Maddie and I spent the day with my best friend's family who are some of my favorite folks! We lunched at their house in San Bruno and had a fantastic time laughing and catching up! It was a sunny day and we went out to play. :)