Grandpa's 90th Birthday!

Back in August, I organized a family event to celebrate my Grandpa's 90th birthday! Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins flew from various states across America in honor of my Grandpa's celebration. It was so satisfying to see the huge smile on his face when he realized that this party was for him and to see all this children (He has a total of 8!) together again under one roof! He was constantly smiling and laughing all day, which definitely meant the world to my mom, who primarily takes care of him daily. It is a tough job, but my mom is a very strong woman (cancer survivor!) and she seems to be the only one that can truly care for my Grandpa. He's the kind of man to sneak in a mini bottle or two of Johnny Walker to any event and will readily share his party favors with you! I am so lucky to have this man in my life, at a time when my own father disappeared from my life. Happiest of birthdays to my amazing Grandpa and hope you have a happy, healthy year with many more to come!

Lake Life

I've fallen behind again at blogging again...big surprise! I've had this post in a draft, but I just never pushed that publish button. It's taken a surgery to remove my appendix, a new job back in the psychology field, and a new laptop to finally sit down and organize some thoughts and photos to reflect on. More on this later! I promise!

Back in June,  Z's sister graduated from UCSF Dental school and their family decided to celebrate by packing up and heading up to the Northern / Nevada side of Lake Tahoe for a bit of a vacation. Below are are snaps from my time there. Lake Tahoe is one of my favorite places to visit because it is always incredibly beautiful to visit; it does not matter what time of the year it is. From the lush green trees to the sparkling blue lake and its endless activities, Tahoe is definitely going to be a great time for all. When the time comes and I've saved fifty billion dollars instead of blowing it on dresses, shoes, and things for my spoiled pug--maybe I can buy a vacation home up here to escape from the busyness of the city every once and a while. Hope you all had a great weekend!

Wave Runner

I remember the first time we took Finnegan to the beach. He didn't understand that you couldn't and shouldn't eat the sand, but that it is also okay to get your paws wet. Finnegan has some OCD tendencies in that he hates having dirty paws and will go out of his way to avoid stepping in puddles, on rain drains/grates on sidewalks, and other things that we may encounter on our walks through-out the city. This is great for me since a clean dog makes me a happy pug mom. Flash forward to today and Finnegan has finally embraced running head on into the crashing waves at a beach and was totally bro-ing out. He went for the waves, immersing himself, when usually he would not dare come near them. After romping around Fort Funston, our usual go-to spot for Finnegan, we stopped by Unleashed by Petco in Daly City to self-serve bath him. I love taking him there because I don't have to worry about cleaning up tons of little black furs in my tub and the selection of shampoos are pretty swell as well. Hope you all have a lovely week! Cheers!

Mother's Day in Livermore

Mother's Day always makes me a little bit sad that I do not live near my Mama. I called her earlier in the day and left her messages, but she unfortunately had to work the weekend at the hospital. My aunts texted me that they all had went and had coffee together before she headed off to work. Luckily, later that day I was able to talk to her on the phone and catch up on the latest family gossip. I miss her so much and I can't wait until I get to visit her later this month! 

I spent the day with Z's family and we made his mom breakfast in the morning. We had an Italian Frittata (sausage, bell peppers, tomatoes, pesto, mushrooms, spinach), hash browns, fruit salad, and freshly squeezed mimosas! Afterwards, we drove out East to Livermore to check out 4 different wineries. My favorite wineries on this tour were the Singing Winemaker at Tesla Vinters and Fenestra Winery.  The first winery not only offered generous tastings, but provided entertainment in the form of the Owner/Winemaker himself singing all the greatest hits! The second winery was more rustic and had a beautiful picnic area to share some wine, cheese, and appetizers with friends/family. I would highly recommend these wineries if you're ever in the area, which I am not sure why you would be since Livermore is way the heck out there. Hope you had a lovely Mother's Day!