Mike and Music

There are two things you shoud know about me.

1) I don’t  like it the way coffee tastes, so I don’t drink it.

2) I generally have a favorite dish/drink at a given restaurant and rarely try anything else.  Once I have a favorite, I stick with it.  What can I say, I’m loyal like that.

Given those two things, when friends started posting on Facebook how excited they were that the Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Satrbucks (it’s a seasonal drink), I was underwhelmed.  But tonight I went to the mall and it felt like fall.  The air was crisp and it seemed like it got dark early.  I was pushing Michaela around the empty mall in the stroller, and I felt incredibly relaxed and content.  I decided to treat myself to a Chai Tea Latte at Starbucks– that’s the hot drink I get there (my cold drink, if you’re wondering, is a Green Tea Lemonade).

When I walked into the store, I was overwhelmed by the desire to try something different.  So I did.  I got a Pumpkin Spice Latte without espresso, which apparently it called a steamer (or a creamer.  The barista used both terms).  Covered in whipped cream, the drink was very, very fall.  At first, I was in heaven.  I thought to myself, “wow!  Maybe I should start trying new things other places, too!”  I sipped the drink and imagined red and orange and yellow leaves falling around me, as I stood somewhere mountainous, wearing a wool scarf and a cute coat.

Then reality hit.  The drink is actually too sweet for me.  I don’t know if it’s the whipped cream on top or if the barista used too much pumpkin spice syrup, or if the drink actually needs to espresso to balance it, but whatever the reason, this drink just isn’t a good fit.  And so, the next time the urge hits me to go to Starbucks, I’ll return to my regularly scheduled Chai Tea Latte.

(Unless it’s hot out; then I’ll get my usual Green Tea Lemonade.)

We finally bit the bullet and became members of the Zoological Society this weekend.  The San Diego Zoo is really close to our house, it’s a lot of fun, and it’s a nice place to get away for a while when we want to get out of the house.  (Plus, I’m convinced Michaela’s going to be a veterinarian because she’s fascinated by animals.)

Tonight was the last night of “Nighttime Zoo,” when the Zoo stays open late so visitors can see the nocturnal animals as they start to stir.  We packed up Michaela and headed out, stopping first at the petting zoo, so we could get up close and personal with some of the animals.

We touched a goat…

And a sheep…

…And I got friendly with a llama!

Mike and Michaela looked at the camels.

And we ended the evening with the pandas.

Those of you who are friends with Mike or me on Facebook have probably seen these pictures already, but for those of you who aren’t, here are four pictures from today’s adventure.

Michaela and I spent some time in the Park Hyatt Aviara’s 1-ft kiddie pool.  She loves the water, and I love her, so we had a blast!

After we left the pool, we had lunch and then went to the beach.

It was Michaela’s first time really hanging out on the sand, and she took full advantage of it.

Our little beach bum!

You may remember, from our tally of food we ate at the San Diego County Fair Media Party, that Mike and I like to eat like gluttons.  Well, last night was Taste of Downtown, our favorite food event in San Diego.  According to its organizers, Taste is “a self-guided tour of some of Downtown’s sumptuous eateries. Guests sample various cuisines and food specialties from Downtown’s finest restaurants.”  Basically, you pay $30 and walk from restaurant to restaurant over the course of a few hours; each restaurant puts out a small plate (or cup, in the case of those places with drinks) of one of their specialties.  The idea is that people will try something they love and then go back to the restaurant to pay full-price for a meal.

This year, there were 55 participating restaurants.  I’m proud to say Mike and I made it to 25 of them.  Yup, 25 restaurants.  I took pictures of almost everything we ate, but I’ll spare you 25 pictures and instead share some of the highlights.

Before we got started eating, we popped into Happy Hour at the Yard House for a drink.  Mike had a Blue Moon and I had water (I didn’t want to get dehydrated while running around downtown!).

We hit Operacaffe for some arancini (rice balls stuffed with cheese, then coated in breadcrumbs and fried– delicious, but I was so busy shoving it in my mouth, I forgot to snap a picture), then on to Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza for a giant slice of margherita pizza (also yummy).

This is all that was left of Mike’s pizza slice by the time I got around to taking a picture.

When we go to our third stop, Monsoon Fine Cuisine of India, it was all I could do not to skip the rest of Taste and just stay there.  The fine Monsoon folks had a full buffet for tasters, and two delicious alcoholic punches!

I somehow managed to restrain myself and only had a little daal, saag paneer, veggie pakoras, chicken tikka masala, and a samosa.  It was difficult, though, and I’m absolutely going to go back to Monsoon.

We stopped by a combination Brazilian steakhouse/fro yo place (weird, and not good), had a Hurricane at a dueling piano bar, and waited around at Hooters for chicken wings before giving up (seriously, Hooters!  The event starts at 5– be ready at 5!) and deciding to head over to the next Indian place (where I had some veggie korma, more chicken tikka masala, and a tiny sip of a delicious mango lassie).

We hit La Puerta, which has really good guacamole (though they weren’t giving that out last night).  Instead, they were doing pork quesadillas (very good, we highly recommend) and potato flautitas.

Our next stop, Las Hadas, had my favorite non-Indian food of the night– ribs in a chipotle bbq sauce.

(forgive the crappy picture)

We’d been to Las Hadas when it first opened and weren’t that impressed.  They either have really stepped it up since then, or we ordered the wrong things.  These ribs were so tender, and the sauce was so good– and I don’t even really like ribs that much!

Next up was Irish food at Dublin Square, chilean sea bass ceviche (I don’t like sea food, so I gave mine to Mike) at Tabule International Cuisine, drunken shrimp at Dick’s Last Resort (I skipped it), pasta at Acqua Al 2, and then more Indian food at Masala Spices of India.

The food at Dublin Square was piping hot, as you can see.  Seriously, it was the temperature of the sun.

Here’s a shot of the ceviche.

Drunken shrimp.  The guy handing them out didn’t mention they were unpeeled until Mike nearly choked on the peel.  Oops.

The pasta at Acqua al 2 totally lacked flavor.  It was BAD.

Masala (owned by the same people as Monsoon) also had a full buffet out, but by that point, I knew I’d never make itto more restaurants if I indulged in it.  So I only had a drink (a mango rum cocktail, which was good, but strong) and my favorite dessert of the night: mango mousse.

The mousse was light and airy, but packed with a smooth, sweet mango flavor.  If I didn’t possess a tiny shred of pride, I would’ve licked the container clean.

We met up with some friends and pressed on, eating something called the chingadera (which is actually a Mexican swear word) at Fred’s Mexican Cafe, and some pasta at La Bocca.  By the time we got to La Bocca, Mike and I had implemented our “don’t eat anything unless it looks really good, and especially stay away from crappy pasta” rule.  This rule is key if you’re hoping to make it through a large number of restaurants.  Because there are lots of Italian places and lots of “contemporary” places that serve pasta at this event.  Most of it isn’t that good, and it’s very filling.

The Field (Irish, where we also got to see a little Irish step dancing), La Fiesta (Mexican, obviously), Henry’s Pub, and Chianti (more pasta) were next, followed by The Tipsy Crow.

The portions at The Field were giant, and the food– some sort of chicken roll up with veggies and sauce– was really rich.

For those of you who have been to San Diego before, The Tipsy Crow is where The Bitter End used to be.  I’m not sure if it changed ownership or if they were just looking for an update, but it now has a laid-back vibe, with board games on the tables (Chess, Connect 4, Backgammon, Uno, etc.) and an eclectic decor.  The Crow offered Mike’s favorite of the night, a house-made Blue Cheese Fondue with tortilla chips.  I didn’t take a picture, because he scarfed it down so fast.  I also didn’t try it, because at that point, I was stuffed.  Too bad, though, because Mike raved about it.

At Maloney’s Tavern, the gang tried the two different chicken wings they offered there, and then we moved onto more crappy pasta (but a delicious cream puff) at de’ Medici Cucina Italiana and what our friends described as the best pasta of the night, a four cheese ravioli, at Urban Bar & Grill.

A solitary chicken wing graced Mike’s plate at Maloney’s.

“Pasta?  No, thanks.   But I’d love a cream puff!”

We were getting tired, but pressed on to two more places.  We were looking for Suite & Tender, the restaurant at the upscale, swanky Se Hotel.  The hotel has declared bankruptcy, and I can totally see why.  The place was lavishly decked out with incredibly luxe touches, but it was totally empty.  I almost expected to see a tumbleweed roll across the exquisite stone floor.  The restaurant was totally empty, and there were only a couple of other people from the Taste there when we were.  They were offering some sort of lamb (I also don’t eat lamb, so I didn’t try it), which everyone said was good, but nothing to write home about.

Our last stop was the House of Blues.  I have good memories of the HOB.  We were there celebrating the night Obama was elected, we’ve been to a number of fun corporate events there.  I think their food is actually pretty good, considering it’s a chain, and I love their bread pudding.  Last night, though, they were giving out hummus and pita and something else (honestly, I was in a food coma by that point and whatever it was wasn’t worth it), which was pretty disappointing.

HOB-nobbing.

Nonetheless, we had an awesome night.  We ate like kings (well, like pigs, but why quibble over semantics), walked all over downtown, spent time with friends, and found some new restaurants to visit.  Not bad for $30 apiece!

Michaela is fascinated by Rey’s crate.  She hasn’t gotten in it yet, but she’s been close.  The other day, it looked like she was going to climb in for sure, so I grabbed my camera.  Of course, then she was more interested in my camera than the crate, but I think the resulting pictures give insight into life around our house these days.

(She’s not on drugs; she just looks like it in this picture.  Notice Rey cowering in his crate.)

Very excited to come and slobber on my camera.

She was off!  Army crawled right out of the frame.

“Oh, hi, Mommy!  I like you much more than the crate!”

Plotting her next move.

Michaela’s discovered a new way to enjoy the exersaucer.  It doesn’t involve being in the exersaucer, but she seems to like it anyway!

With Michaela crawling all over the place, we did a round of babyproofing at our house.  Part of that was emptying the wine bottles out of the wine server (a piece of furniture that has slots for bottles) so Michaela can’t pull them down on herself.  That left us with bottles of wine with no home.  What choice did we have, then, but to drink them?

Last night, Mike and I had several friends over.  Many of them had kids.  In fact, we ended up with five children (including Michaela) at our house, in addition to all the adults.  And we had a great time!  This was the first time I’d had a child-friendly party, and wasn’t exactly sure what to expect going in.  As it turned out, the most popular chair in the house was the high chair, where a rotating cast of kids got a chance to eat their dinner as the adults swilled wine and ate fruit and cheese.

Besides being a lot of fun, the party made me really excited for a time when Michaela and her other infant friends are a little older, so they can enjoy each other’s company and start building the bonds of friendship.

I try very hard not to wish the days away.  I am excited for Michaela to start walking and talking, but I try to focus on enjoying each day, as well.  Last night, while at the mall, I overhead something that made me appreciate Michaela’s innocence even more, even as it caused me to realize what parents are up against as their kids get older.

While at Bed, Bath and Beyond, I passed a mother and two daughters who were in the mirror section of the store.  One of the girls, who looked about 10, asked aloud, “does this shirt make me look fat?”  She was a thin girl, looked perfectly healthy.  There was nothing fat about her.  I was shocked, because I don’t remember wondering about things like that when I was her age.

It makes me really sad, and it also makes me worry about how to insulate Michaela (to whatever degree I can) from that way of thinking.  I wasn’t able to hear the mother’s response to the question, but I definitely started thinking about what my response might be.  I hope Mike and I can provide Michaela with an active lifestyle that will allow her to be health-conscious more than body-conscious.  I realize now how intentional we will have to be about it, where I hadn’t really considered it before.  But clearly we can’t start early enough in doing so.

Michaela started going to daycare yesterday.  She’ll go two days a week, allowing her dad to get some work done and also providing her some socialization.  We have friends who send their boys to this daycare and Mike and I have seen the great job the owner, Michelle, has done helping their eldest boy grow into a good person.  We’re excited that Michaela will have the same experience.

At the end of each day, Michelle sends home a report that details for us all the things Michaela did that day.  Everything from when she had her diaper changed to when she took naps to what she ate and how much.  The best part is that Michelle writes a little note on the back of the sheet that gives a little narrative summary.

In honor of Michaela’s first day at daycare, here’s her first note home:

“First day at school.  She wasn’t too sure what to think of the crying (Aiden’s, not hers).  It did make her cry, too (sympathy, I’m sure).  She was quite tired, as dad said, and after about 15 minutes, went to sleep.  She pulled herself all around the living room and entryway after nap (and a full bottle).  She was ready to explore!  But FYI: did not appreciate her diaper getting changed!”