Do I Really Have to Get Up?

This is why I hit the snooze button in the morning. Reg is warm and snuggly and the temperatures have started to drop in San Diego. This morning when I got in my car, it was 58 degrees out. Looks like I might have to start wearing sweatpants for our morning walks.

In other Reggie news, she spent her first day at Camp Run-A-Mutt located just outside Little Italy on Monday. As soon as she got in the car, she went straight to sleep and I think she's still pretty worn out from it. Camp Run-A-Mutt has a live webcam so you can check on your dogs all day. I recommend checking it out if you're in San Diego and need an off-leash place to leave your mutt for a few days.

Is This Lizard Real?

Reg and I saw him on our morning walk to the beach this weekend. He or she looks very authentic but didn't move when poked with Reggie's leash. Hmmm...

I'm Not Typically a Wine Snot...

...but this wine could push me in that direction. In a hurry. Get out and try some @ BevMo.

Q: Where in San Diego is this Ralph's Display Located?

After Monday night's Baninja victory, I decided to stop at the grocery store to refill my bare refrigerator. Typically, I shop in UTC near work or in downtown La Jolla. However, since PB was on the way home from my commute from Mission Valley to La Jolla, I decided to stop in and shop at the Ralph's in PB. I think PB is the only place in San Diego you'll see an entire end display dedicated to Red Bull, vodka and Jagermeister. Pretty funny!

View from JRDN at Tower 23, PB

Sicilian Festival in Little Italy

Fall is Here!

What does fall mean in San Diego? I think it’s “chilly” outside (everything is relative) because in the mornings when I wake up, it’s sub-60 degrees. When Reg and I go for our morning walks, I have to put on sweatpants instead of my capri Nike workout pants. I’ve enjoyed the “change of season” – initially when I moved out here and people told me I’d get sick of the weather being so nice, I thought they were crazy. However, as September turned into October and I’m watching football on TV, I kind of miss fall, particularly having to put a sweatshirt on to go outside and watching the leaves change. When you live in San Diego, your body gets so acclimated to 68 to 74 degree weather, 58 degrees starts feeling “chilly.”

One aspect of being on the West Coast that I love during the fall is that you can wake up and watch college (Saturday) or NFL (Sunday) football during your morning workout at the gym. I’d much rather have the earlier game starts because as soon as you’re up and about you can be watching football. On the flipside, the “late” games now end around nine or ten at night, which is much better for Monday mornings. Staying up to catch the end of a late night SNF game on the East Coast always made Monday mornings a little rougher, and adding insult to injury on Monday morning is never good. My only two wishes to make the fall season a bit cheerier – a winning football season for both the UNC Tar Heels and the San Diego Chargers. Wagers on the likelihood that both teams will have winning seasons?

Reggie Could be the “Host, Jr.”

As blog readers may or may not remember, several months ago I was concerned about little Reggie having a red bump on her lip. I felt better after taking her to the vet, who wasn’t sure exactly what the bump was but told me it was nothing to worry about (but I should wash it with antibacterial soap every day to ensure it got better). After a week of washing with persistent redness I was still a bit nervous. However, eventually the redness went away and the bump went from being raised to flat.

Flash forward about two months and Reggie’s boyfriend Hagar gets a similar red bump on his nose. My neighbor Jen did more diligence than I did on the condition (I made the mistake of assuming taking her to the vet was good enough). Jen texted me Friday morning with her preliminary diagnosis: ringworm. I think poor little Reggie is the host and passed the ringworm along to Hagar (what a dirty girlfriend). We still have to confirm the diagnosis but after reading some online research it totally makes sense: puppies are more prone to get ringworm because their immune systems haven’t developed completely.

This points out one of several ways Reggie is just like her mom: we’re both tomboys that tend to play rough (good thing I haven’t played sports with any of my co-workers recently); we both enjoy great food (okay, Reggie will eat anything); we’re both frequently challenged with stomach issues; and we’ve both been “the host” for passing along fun conditions to our friends. I gave my co-worker and his entire household influenza B after a fierce game of beer pong about six months ago. Since this incident, which caused three people to each miss about a week of work and/or school, I haven’t been able to shake the nickname of “The Host.” Just as the joke has died down, it’s become known that Reggie might also be “The Host.” I don’t know what else to say other than it’s pretty obvious whose kid she is…

You Know You’re Getting Old When…

In addition to my spin shoes, my workout routine has been improved by joining a new soccer team, the Baninjas. Yes, that team name is a cross between “banana” and “ninja,” which obviously translates into some wicked soccer players. I got connected to the team through my college teammate Anne Remy Lundquist. Anne’s younger sister Elizabeth ironically lives about a mile away from me in La Jolla and perhaps even more ironically works in the same office building as I do. Anne and Elizabeth grew up in Norman, Oklahoma, and Elizabeth moved out to La Jolla after a stint in Sweden after graduating from Wake Forest. Kind of random we ended up so close together.

Monday night the Baninjas were 5-3 victors over a team with a much less cool name. However, the six versus six co-ed format in which our team only had one girl sub made me feel like I was about to have a heart attack for about 40 of the 44 minutes of the game. I felt pretty old. I also was reminded how old I am by the nagging quad (almost) pull I had after not playing soccer in a couple of months. Despite feeling quite old, it was great to get out there and play soccer again. I’m excited for the rest of the season, which lasts through early December.

The post-game victory meal brought up a question: have you ever heard of turkey tacos? I had never heard of them but after thinking about it, I guess it’s not that strange – people have turkey burgers instead of hamburgers with ground turkey replacing ground beef, so why not replace the ground beef in tacos with ground turkey and have a turkey taco? Voila – a healthier meal that is also on special every Monday night at Peabody’s, located conveniently up the street from the Mission Valley YMCA. This might have to become my official Monday night tradition: soccer and turkey tacos.

“Club Spin”

Given the fortuitous location of our office, employees of StepStone are lucky enough to get a hefty discount to The Sporting Club located in the UTC area of San Diego and its sister club The La Jolla Sporting Club located in downtown La Jolla. The Sporting Club is a fantastic facility and includes two tennis courts, an outdoor lap pool and sauna, an indoor sauna and steam room as well as a myriad of classes with its monthly membership fee. My personal favorite of the classes offered is spin class, which members can partake in pretty much any day of the week at The Sporting Club.

It has become a weekly tradition for a group of girls to attend “Club Spin” at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday mornings. My Saturday tradition now involves taking Reggie for a walk on the beach, hitting the gym for an hour or so of strength training and then meeting up with “Club Spin” buddies at 10:00 a.m. The other members of “Club Spin” love the 10:00 a.m. teacher. I rate her as strong but not quite as highly as my favorite spin instructor, Victor (who teaches at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays). The music the 10:00 a.m. instructor plays is too consistently poppy for me; I prefer more of a variety of music during my spin classes. Victor also has more energy than any spin instructor I’ve experienced in my life. Further, he’s not shy about calling you out in front of the class if you’re slacking off. Other “Club Spin” members don’t appreciate this strict style like I do.

My past several spin classes have been made even more pleasurable by the addition of my new Shimano spin shoes. I feel much more efficient and prepared for when I get my road bike. With spin shoes you’re able to pull much more effectively on the pedals so you get a better workout during class. For regular spin class attenders, I highly recommend them. Happy spinning!

The Vacation

As my three loyal followers can tell, I’ve been on vacation from blogging for about a month now. No reason in particular other than things have been busy at work and I’ve been using all of my creative juices to crunch spreadsheets. As one can imagine, this has drastically caused a restriction in the flow of my creative juices. So what’s new and exciting in San Diego? Nothing too exciting, unfortunately other than me being entrenched in the habit of working a lot, walking the dog and getting back in the workout routine. I did recently invest in a new pair of Shimano spinning shoes that have made my spin classes more enjoyable. For those of you in the greater San Diego area, please come join Betsy and me at “Club Spin” on Saturday mornings at 10:00a at The Sporting Club. Actually, I think “Club Spin” deserves its own blog post…and so the vacation is over.

Should Reggie Dress as Almond for Halloween?