Blue Ribbon Winner!

Above: Love this artsy picture of Zach waving his blue ribbon in the air.

Zach has been religiously going to swimming practice every Sunday and loving swimming. This past Sunday, Zach went to his swim class and was told he completed the list of requirements in order to win a blue ribbon!! See the list below:


Zach was so proud of his blue ribbon - he was beaming and showing it off and placed it on the refrigerator and was so damn proud of himself. It was so cute to see how proud he was of his accomplishments. He brought the blue ribbon to school today and told all his friends he was a REAL blue ribbon. LOL

Above: Does it really get any cuter than this!?

Above: Blue Ribbon Winner!

Academy of Friends 2009 Oscar Gala

Above: Me and David all tuxed out!

I enjoy watching the Oscar Awards - always have - and I usually watch them at home with friends and chat about the winners and root for certain films to win. This year we were invited to a black tie event presented by the Academy of Friends called "A Night of Superheros Villains and Divas - sounds like they are describing Joan Crawford!

I went with my good ole pal Ryan - Paul was not able to attend - we had a blast making our way to the event in the pouring rain - it's been a monsoon here in SF lately. I have to say the event was rather impressive - it was a huge venue with hundreds of people all dressed to impress. I rented a tux - it was not the one I wanted - but it worked for planning at the last minute.

Above: Me and Matt - I look short compared to his 6'5 frame!

Above: The event was so well lit - it was beautiful.

Our friend Richard got us VIP tickets and we mingled with the VIP'ers. there were so many people, a vast silent auction and they were raffling off a car! Pretty cool event with tons of booze and amazing food/snacks. it felt like we were at the Oscars!

Above: Me and Ryan were the belle's of the ball! Peach & Daisy!

Above: An amazing performer on stilts the entire night!

Above: David and Matt are all smiles.

Above: Glinda the good witch!

Above: Awesome art sculpture.

Above: A night to remember!

Break-In

This past weekend has been interesting...Paul and I were looking forward to a nice long weekend with Monday (Feb 16th) being a holiday and Zach was with his Mom and Nanny all weekend, we were going to have a lot of time on our hands. So we decided to finish up the new apartment and on Saturday morning we headed to IKEA to get some last minute picture frames and such.

We had a great time together selecting some nice finishing touches that would really complete our new apartment - on Valentine's Day. I even saw a few co-workers there and we chatted about our similar purchases and how good the cinnamon buns smell when you leave IKEA.

Paul and I headed home after leaving IKEA, but we decided to stop at a sandwich shoppe in our new neighborhood -- we waited a good 15 minutes for two sandwiches to be made and I was losing my patience, I just wanted to get home, eat and then get on with the rest of the day.

We got home and carried a few of our purchases up to our place .. It was 2:15 in the afternoon. We came through the back door and entered through the kitchen. I noticed that the kitchen window was slightly open and the shade was extended over the sink. I thought it was funny since that window was almost impossible to open. I headed into the living room and noticed right away something was wrong and someone had been in our apartment. My work computer was gone, they ransacked my workbag with many of my personal possessions in it and Paul's laptop was gone as well.

As my eyes searched the place, Paul and I heard the gate downstairs to the building slam shut and we realized that the burglar was still in the apartment when we came home and they fled out the front door. I ran down the stairs to see if I could see anyone running..but it was too late. I called the cops and landlord and we dealt with the logistics of it all.

Having your home violated really sucks especially after just moving into a place, but I have to say I am thankful no one was hurt and we stopped the burglar from getting anything else by coming home when he was in the house. The police were great and with the details of the robbery we have a strong lead to who the person is.

At first, I was really bothered, pissed, angry and all..but it only lasted a few hours and didn't let that incident stop me from doing the day-to-day things in life. Just another one of life's tests and yet again, I passed:-)

Home

Above: No, it's not a Pottery Barn catalog...it's our new home!

We have been in our new home one week and we have made a lot of progress with decorating the place. I have to say that this is my favorite home ever! I just love this place - it;s so beautiful and we have decorated it so beautifully so far - we still need some art on the walls and small stuff, but the big stuff is done. Pictures to come of the bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen!

Above: Living room.

Above: Another view of the living room.

Above: Zach loving his new home.

Above: Dining room/office.

Above: A view of the apt. coming from the kitchen.

Above: Ryan and me showing Joan her new home! Ha!

Above: I was lucky enough to find a really cool rug for the living room.

Above: Me and my bug eyes!

Above: Dining area.

Above: Zach helping put together the new TV stand.

Above: Zach looking like a carpenter AND a plumber!

Above: Home.

Sidewalk Stencil Art

Above: Our new home in Lower Haight.

We are finally all moved into our apartment and living in Lower Haight in San Francisco. We are still exploring the Haight district of SF. So far I am lovin' it. Our old neighborhood, Noe Valley was a bit more middle to upper class families. Lost of kids in strollers and families walking around and on the outskirts of the heart of the city. The Haight is much closer to all the action and the people are interesting. I have seen such a variety of different people walking around the Haight - yes, there are many of the potheads that made the Haight what it is known for, but I like it. The vibe is positive, fun and energetic.


One of the things I noticed walking around our new neighborhood are sidewalk stencils. I walked by a bunch several times and thought, these are really cool and took some photos to share. Check em out! Stay tuned for more photos from our new place all decorated:-) I should have been an interior designer!:-P

Zachary Phelps

Above: Zach the Fish.

It's funny when you're a kid and growing up - you fall into a niche of what your interested and what you enjoying doing rather than what your parents/caregivers think you may be interested. Last year, Zach was enrolled in soccer lessons and it didn't go so well - so Zach decided to bow out of it. I even think we talked about softball with Zach a while back, but that also didn't seem to be his thing.

Above: Zach getting ready for his swim class.

One thing that was very noticeable with Zach throughout his short life so far is that he loves the water. On vacations with his family, he would love going in the ocean and swimming pools and it was obvious he was developing a passion for the water. Carrie recently enrolled Zach in swimming classes and Zach loves it! Carrie was telling me how he was swimming on his own and diving for trinkets in the water and I just couldn't believe it.

Above: Zach dives to the bottom of the pool to retrive the green object. Impressive.

Above: Zach swimming with a kick board.

Above: Underwater.

I went to Zach's swimming class this past weekend and I was floored at how much Zach loves the water and how well he can swim at the young age of five! I am truly impressed and excited to see Zach enjoy something he truly likes - swimming.

I remember when I was a baby, my mother told me that my father read somewhere that if you through a baby into swimming pool that they will naturally swim to the surface. Not sure where he read this BS, BUT that's what my dad did with me and I sunk to the bottom of the pool like a rock. I had a phobia of the water ever since then and it wasn’t until I was 12 years old that I conquered my fear of the water. I took swimming classes, excelled at it and was on a swim team for a short period of time. I, like Zach, love the water and when I bought my first home - the first thing I did was have an in ground swimming pool installed. It was amazing and I would swim day and night in that pool.

Above: Zach and his friend Justin listening to the swim instructor.

I am excited to see where Zach's passion for swimming takes him. It's interesting we are both water signs in the Zodiac and we love the water. One fish to another:-)

Above: Future Olympic Gold Medalist.

Vertigo

This week has been on of he craziest weeks for us. Sadly, Paul was diagnosed with a sever case of vertigo. It started this past Sunday night as what seemed to be the flu but turned into something far worse. By Monday morning, Paul was very dizzy to the point where he was throwing up and not able to do much of anything including walking. He spend most of the day in the hospital on Monday and has been home ever since pretty much confined to the house because if he gets up or moves around for an extended period of time he gets very dizzy and weak.

Vertigo is a bizarre illness that could go away in a matter of days, weeks or months. One never knows. I am hoping Paul gets better soon - it sucks seeing someone that was so physically active just crumble like this.

The upside is each day has shown some progress for Paul but it's a slow progress.....stay tuned.

First Look at New Apartment

Above: Zach and me in Zach's new bedroom reading a book.

We moved some stuff over to our new place today - check out some of the photos of the apartment. The apartment has brand new cherry wood floors throughout the entire apartment. All the rooms are very spacious and the kitchen has been newly remodeled as well. It's exactly what we were looking for!

Above: Me in the living room looking into the dining room - looks big huh? IT IS!

Above: Zach showing how big the place is.

Above: Zach looks like a dwarf in the large living room.

Above: Newly remodeled kitchen!

Above: Me excited about the hose like faucet in the kitchen.

Above: Zach and Me checking out the kitchen.

Above: Zach's bedroom!

Above: Clowning around.

Above: Zach hiding in our bedroom closet.

Above: Yeah!!! - a new home!