Sunday, November 30, 2008

The Most Beautiful Place in America


This past weekend Paul and I went on a hike to the famous Lands End cliffs in San Francisco. We have lived here for 2 years now and we have not hiked down these trails yet and I am so glad we finally did this past Friday! We started off at Ocean Beach, which is an amazing place to visit and look at the grand Pacific Ocean. This particular area on Ocean Beach had huge deadly waves that only some of the surfers dared to brave. It really is an amazing place to just walk along and clear your head and enjoy it with someone you love. I plan on going there a lot more often - looking forward to taking Zach there too.








We then hiked along the rocky cliffs that dance along the Pacific Ocean and look out over the Golden Gate Bridge and some beautiful scenery, it is all so breathtaking. We were there for hours and got some amazing pictures of he coast in all it's glory. It's nice to be able to still do things outdoors in November and not have to worry about it being too cold or worry about the rain or snow. The temperature always seems to be just right here during the day and nice and cool at night making it wonderful for sleeping. It hardly rains and never snows - San Francisco is really the place to be!!












Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving 2008!

Above: Zach giving thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving! This Thanksgiving was one of the best. We all shared a delicious feast at Carrie & Iggy's house. Zach's grandparents Nanny & Pops were in San Francisco with all of us from Boston to enjoy the day. It was great seeing Nanny & Pops and we look forward to seeing them in a few weeks in Boston for the Christmas holidays (Lois hide your cookies.) below are a bunch of pictures of our Thanksgiving. As you can see, we all have a lot to be thankful for.

Above: Ciara's beautifully decorated Thanksgiving table.

Above: Yummy cookies by Ciara.

Above: Paul and Zach.

Above: I love this picture of paul & Zach.

Above/Below: Carrie took these two photos of Zach & his dog Snoopy - very cute.



Above: Iggy carves the turkey.

Above: Zach shows off his plummer's crack while Snoppy is enjoying the smell of Thanksgiving.

Above: Carrie and Nanny dig in!

Above: Chef Ciara gets dessert ready.

Above: The two "dishwaser" clean the plates!

Above/Below: After the feast, we all took a walk on the beach.


Above: A beautiful shot of the boats on the bay.

Above: Golden Gate Bridge on Thanksgiving Day.

Above: Carrie, Zach & Paul walking along the beach.

Above: Carrie, Zach & Snoopy play football on the beach.

Above: Paul & Zach playing football.

Above: Zach really enjoying himself on the beach.

Above: Zach & Pops

Above: Snoopy trying to save the ball before it goes into the ocean.

Above: Carrie and Zach in a great sunset on the beach.

Above: Love this shot of the sunset.

Above: Everyone resting on the couch after great Thanksgiving Day.

Above: Me totally crashed out on the couch.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

American Music Awards 2008 - Winners & Losers


The 2008 American Music Awards was filled with several performances from the biggest pop stars of this past year. Some of them fell flat, some soared and others were just all right. I won’t list all of the 19 performers that were on the show but just highlight the highs and lows.



(The best performance of the night - Annie Lennox is amazing!!!)

HIGHS:

Many of the young performers should learn from the living legends that have been performing on stage for years. Annie Lennox was given the Award of Merit for her amazing career of over 25 years. Annie sang one of my all time favorite songs called “Why.” She showed up everyone on the stage and sang the hell out of the song. It truly was a bone chilling performance of a classic song.

Beyonce never stops amazing me with her amazing dance performances on stage. Her new song Single Ladies will be the number one song on the Billboard charts this coming week. The song is a great dance song and terribly catchy but what is even more amazing is the music video she made The dancing in the video is awesome and she showed of those moves live on stage and sang. I loved every minute of it.



Ne-Yo was by far the best male performer on stage showing an old school classy rendition of his hits “Miss Independent” and “Closer.” I was truly impressed by his vocals, dancing and overall classy expression of his songs.

Alicia keys can do no wrong in my eyes. Her voice, talent and charisma just mesmerize me and she really appears so humble and not driven by wining awards or how many number ones she has like another female performer (Mariah Carey). Alicia sang her hit “Superwoman” and flashed images of powerful women in he limelight today focusing on Michelle Obama at the end. It was a very inspirational performance.


MIXED:

Christina Aguilera opened the show with a trip down memory lane showcasing her hits over the past 10 years in the music biz. She started off the medley with her hit Beautiful that was amazing but then she fell flat and appeared out of breath as she went into to her other hits over the years.

As much as Rihanna is my new favorite artist of the past couple years, she hit a flat note with me on her performance of her latest single, “Rehab.” I love he song and how she showed off her vocal range but the outfit was a bit much. Too much focus on the visuals – it was too over the top.



Pink is having an amazing year with her first solo number one hit “So What” and what is looking to be her biggest selling album to date. Her voice was amazing in her latest single “Sober” but overall the song fell flat and she really appeared uncomfortable on stage. I do have to say she redeemed herself singing with Sarah McLaughlin later in the show.

LOWS:

The lowest of low had to be Mariah Carey. She told the American Music Awards that if she were not given an award she would not perform on the show. I would have said ok, goodbye and hung up the phone, but the AMA’s felt the need to have her on the show singing a song that no one has ever heard about a whale farting. So they made up an honorary statue thingy for Mariah so she could perform. She had the stage presence of a wet fart! WEAK!

One of the many reasons why The Pussycat Dolls will never be taken seriously is because they always showcase themselves as cheap, tacky strippers and they didn’t disappoint that reputation. Put came the stripper poles and the trashy dancing. Terrible.



The more music award shows there are the more we have to listen to the ego-filled, whinny, righteous voice of Kanye West. Kanye here’s a little tip, shut your big fat mouth it really turns your fans off from buying your music. I love most of your music but I am at the point where I can’t stand you as an artist and your ego is overshadowing your music. SHUT UP already!

Bolt

Above: Rhino the Gerbal, Bolt and Mittens the Cat.


Zachary really enjoys seeing the latest kids movies at the theater and usually it's a snoozefest watching the films, especially the dreadful Clone Wars that we saw a few months ago. Today we took Zach to the new film Bolt. I did not have high hopes for the film and was already starting to nod off the first 5 minutes of the film. Once the film started to get going though I started to gain interest in it. I have to say that Bolt is a good kids movie but an even better film for adults. The humor in the film was excellent! The real standout of the film is the alley cat called Mittens. When Mittens came on the screen and started talking I could not place the hilarious voice - I asked Paul if he knew who the familiar voice was and after a few minutes I saw his eyes light up and said "It's Suzy from Curb Your Enthusiasm!" Yes, it was the comedic actress Susie Essman who plays the loud foul-mouthed wife of Jeff on one of my favorite shows Curb Your Enthusiasm. She really was hilarious as the voice of Mittens.

Above: Zach and Paul getting ready to watch Bolt.

I recommend the film for everyone who wants a good laugh. It's truly an enjoyable film Zach enjoyed it but I think Paul and I enjoyed it more.:-)

Above: Zach doing his impression of a plastic army guy at the theatre.

Above: Zach in front of the promo prop for the upcoming film Marley & Me.

Above: Zach and Paul in front of the Christmas tree inside the theatre.

Above: Zach about to be eaten by a dinosaur.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

We March On!

Above: Great picture of the protest in the Castro.

Above: Andres, Ryan and me marching down Market Street.

Above: An amazing photo taken by PJ.

Above: Powerful protester.

Above: Paul shielding himself from the hot sun.

Today was the nationwide protest against hate and discrimination on gays right to marry! If you're not out there protesting and speaking your mind, then get off your ass and do so! There were hundreds of people from all walks of life protesting and speaking their minds. We walked from City Hall where the main protest was right down Market street into the heart of the Castro. It's a great time to be living in the heart of the protest, San Francisco, and being a part of history. I took several pictures of the march and many of the interesting signs people had made. Check out the photos!


Above: Me listening to the protest.

Above: Andres, Ryan and me marching on.

Above: Puppy Love.

Above: Got rights?

Above: That sign is priceless!

Above: Don't know if I agree with this sign, it would be interesting to see what would have happened if my parents couldn't get a divorce...

Above: The huge march in the Castro.

Above: Love thy Gaybor - hell yes!

Above: What the Cluck!

Above: Great picture PJ took of the Coppers.

Above: Me in the march with Ryan and Andres.

Above: God Bless America.

Above: Love this sign!

Above: Good question!

Above: Ryan and Andres listening to the rally.

Above: Great sign Ryan!

Above: Another great sign!

Above: Maybe gays will have to start living in cages. Cluck!

Above: United We Stand!

Above: City Hall in San Francisco.