Our weekend getaway to Northern Cali

So finally, I get to post some pictures from our weekend getaway up north. We left Saturday morning around past 7. Thats my early drive picture...

We made some stops to eat, get gas and for potty...Arrived in San Bruno round past 2 and then checked in at 3 pm. After checking in we all decided to go to San Francisco and what a fun way to take the train. We could've taken the Bart but we didn't know where it was and later found out it was next to the Caltrain track hehe. We took the Caltrain Northbound around 6:17 pm. We took some pictures while waiting for the train.

Once we arrived we walked and walked and got tired so we took a bike ride from "Crazy Tony" thats what John & Jaime would call him. He pedalled his bike from the pier 28 to our destination pier 39. That was a very tiring ride since Kat and I had to sit on our bf's laps during that grueling ride, we could've just taken the taxi and saved $10/person w/c how "Crazy Tony" charged us for. Man he was an expensive bike ride hehe.

We were really hungy so we went to eat at Swiss Louis, this Italian restaurant. Didn't really like it there, it was my 2nd time there and the first time I went there was for my CDA (California Dietetic Assoc Conference) with my co-interns, we had bad service and food that is a bit salty. We wanted to have seafood but John is allergic to certain seafood. We took some pics again...btw my chicken saltimbocca was pretty salty, I think it was the mushroom sauce, liked the mashed potatoes and veggies tho...the view was really nice but I dont think I wanna go back there again...(expect a review from me on yelp...hehe)
After dinner my friend Shiela & hubby Wayne came to meet up for some drinks. We all went to Burlington, to go bar hopping...first bar was at Alibi's the other one I forgot the name but I really liked it, itwas really nice, it had a dj, nice bar, very neat ambiance some type of fushion restaurant too.

a pic of Shy & I before we left for the bar...me, Kat & Shy...The next day...Garlic Festival in Gilroy...weather, sooo hot I had to buy a tank top because it was soo cold in San Bruno but when we got to Gilroy it was sooo hot!!! Food was great though, everything made w/garlic...yummy!

my godson Jakey...

Our last day on a Sunday, went to have a big breakfast at the Millbrae Pancake house...pictures below of Jaime & John's "hearty breakfast" hehe, I call it heart attack breakfasts...I had the eggs benedict and Kat had the chicken fried steak...breakfast was really good, we were all full...

Jaime's pigs in the blanket his sausages wrapped around in pancakes... John's approval of his blueberry pancake breakfast...

After our lovely breakfast on our way home we went to the Winchester Mystery Mansion in San Jose...This 160 room-Victorian mansion had modern heating and sewer systems, gas lights that operated by pressing a button, three working elevators, and 47 fireplaces.

a stairway that leads to a mystery room...
Tiffany art glass windows made by the famous Tiffany store...all of them are in storage, they never got to finish installing all the windows after Mrs. Winchester passed away...

Jaime trying to fit in those little aisles...my silly baby...
venetian style sink imported from italy...
the oriental roomJaime inside the closet acting scared...lol...refrigerator back in 1884

John climbing the high rise stairs, its very narrow...Sarah Winchester was only 4'10" and had arthritis, she didnt like climbing regular stairs so she had high rise stairs made just for her mansion...room where Sarah Winchester passed away...one of the 47 fireplaces...tiles were imported from Europe...

Okay, I think this was a really long blog...hope you enjoyed reading our trip to North Cali...

earthquake!!!

im sooo glad everyone was ok after the 5.4 earthquake that hit southern california...i was at work in the rest room when it started shaking, i thought i was just dizzy then the bathroom was moving back and forth...after going to the restroom i ran out of the break room and went to the work area and saw some of the staff under the table, the shaking stopped and everyone was shaken and scared...tried calling everyone, mom, jaime but the lines were dead & busy...tried again after an hour and was able to get through and everyone was ok...thank god!!!

here's some of the news from today:

LOS ANGELES — A moderate earthquake, the largest in Southern California since 1999, struck 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday morning. It swayed buildings and tossed food off grocery store shelves, but there were no reports of major injuries or damage.

The earthquake, which registered a 5.4 magnitude, was centered near Chino Hills in San Bernardino County and was felt as far east as Las Vegas and south to San Diego.

“This is moderate,” said Erik Pounders, a geologist with the United States Geological Survey in Pasadena. “Which means it was strong enough to be felt, but wasn’t even powerful enough to knock everything off your desk.”

Still, cellphone lines were jammed throughout the region as people frantically made calls in the immediate moments after the jolt. Officials in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s emergency management office urged Californians to free up the lines for emergency use.

State and local officials immediately raced to inspect bridges, levees and other major infrastructure projects, but found only a water main break. Train service in many areas was disrupted as the inspections continued, and at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, visitors were taken off rides. Inspections there yielded no reports of damage, officials said.

“This earthquake reminds us yet once again that in California we have to be prepared for everything and anything,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said at a news conference in Los Angeles.
Some schools and office buildings were evacuated temporarily as people braced for the roughly 50 aftershocks by midafternoon, one of which registered at 3.8. The Los Angeles City Council, meeting downtown, adjourned briefly to regroup after the event.

The quake began slowly about 11:40 a.m. and continued for several disarming seconds. Many residents experienced an eerie, dizzying sensation of having rolled from side to side on rollers that are common in high-rise buildings retrofitted to withstand earthquakes, which leave buildings swaying for several seconds after a quake.

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eventhough everyone was shaken and scared about the quake, life still went on at work...some clients still came in to pick up their checks for this month and we still did a lot of calling for our broken appointments...hopefully no more of these scary quakes but then again, i live in the quake state...

finished baby afghan

It's been a while since I posted something, we went up North for a mini vacation (I will blog on that later and post some pics) and I never got to post the finished baby afghan I made for my ex-MNT (Medical Nutrition Therapy) preceptor Shannon. I stopped by the day of her baby shower and she really liked it, I picked the color theme she have for her baby's room: pink, yellow & green. I took pictures of it from my cel phone so it looks too light, its the lighting in my room too, should've taken it w/my camera but oh well...hope you enjoy seeing it from different angles...


that's the whole blanket...
blanket when folded...
blanket from another view...

blanket from closer view...

okay time to go to bed...i will try to blog tomorrow our trip from northern california over the weekend...i'll do it after studying...

Some of my quirks...

Here are some of my quirks, in response to Ate Amne's. She listed 6 and I will list 6 and a few more...

1. I self diagnosed myself with OCD. I like keeping things in order, usually in alphabetical order. I love organizing things so everything will be easier for me to find.

2. I am not a big fan of driving around LA county. I know, I live in LA county but the traffic is horrible, a lot of street construction. When I was doing my internship, most of my assigned clinics and classes were located in Downtown LA. Sooo horrible, I would sit in traffic for 2 hours going to my destination and 2 more hours in traffic on my way home. Glad thats over with and I am soo happy I have my TomTom with me now to get around whenever I get lost. I have to thank my loving bf Jaime for giving me that to me as a Christmas present.

3. Whenever Im stressed out, I whip out my crochet hook, yarn and make afghans to give out to friends, family members and pets for my friends. So far I've made 3 baby afghans for my godson Jakey, Ate Myleen's baby Gianna, and Nicole's baby Asia. Blankies for my friends pets: Beth's chihuahua Baybee, Autumn's puppy, Khalilah's puppy and my bff Crystela's kitty Callie. My new project, a baby afghan for Shannon's upcoming baby shower in 2 weeks. I will be posting the finish product once Im done with it.

4. I love to cook. Prepping to cook is a lot of work and sometimes takes long, but I love and enjoy cooking a lot. I love following directions, I believe that things always turn out good and right when you follow directions.

5. I love to clean. My favorite place to clean is the kitchen. I am a clean freak, I hate a messy kitchen, room, well a house. Once I move in w/my bf, my project is to organize some things in his apartment hehe...

6. I always bring disinfectant wipes w/me to work everyday. I float to different clinics everyday and almost always I will be getting a desk that needs wiping, especially the keyboards, mouse, and desk. No matter how clean the desk is, I always always will end up using my wipes on the keyboard before I start work. (hmm, I think that is a bit OCD'ish...hehe). I can also add that I bring purell with me at all times, my bff Crystela knows the reason why we have to have it w/us all the time...hehe...

7. I enjoy grocery shopping. I can be grocery shopping everyday if I could. I can spend hours in a grocery store, well maybe it depends if I have time. If Whole Foods or Trader Joes is close by I would be there everyday.

8. Im a big fan of reality tv. I call it my guilty pleasure, every channel has its own reality tv, it keeps me entertained and you know it will be a good topic to talk about the next day at work. My channels of choice: bravo channel, vh1, mtv, fox, we and style. I still love shows like "Grey's Anatomy", "Ugly Betty", "Nip Tuck" and "Desperate Housewives".

9. Things that are divisible by 3. I know it sounds weird but the #3 is my favorite number. I like eating foods that are in multiples of 3 or as long as it can be divisible by 3. When I get married, the date has to be divisible by 3. I know, Im weird.

So that's about it for now, time for me to go to bed...

These are a few of my favorite treats...

I am soo addicted to this gummi candy, once I start I cant stop eating them. My favorite ones are the red gummi bears so I save them last. I know I sound like I have OCD but I eat the ones that I dont like first like the orange and yellow ones, or I just give them to my bf or sisters, then save the green ones and red ones last for me to enjoy hehe...

I also know where to buy it for a cheaper price, Stater Brothers only sells them for 99 cents, while other stores sells them for over a dollar.

I thought that Hershey's Dove chocolate is my favorite but now I have a new one, Bliss. Its soo smooth, rich and tastes soo good. I love the chocolate filled flavor and the plain chocolate. We have this candy bowl at my bf's place and I would fill it with chocolates and a few days later its almost gone. I think the boys enjoys it too. You can get Bliss for a cheaper price at Target.

Happy 4th!!!

Hope everyone will have a fun & safe 4th of July!

Our plans for this weekend? Maybe to stay home, relax and rent movies :o).