32 Years and Few New Traditions

I guess it was bound to happen, what with marriages, nieces and nephews and an ever-growing family that now spans two continents…after thirty two years of spending Christmas Eve at home with the family, enjoying cracked crab and home-made raviolis, Martin and I started our own new Christmas traditions this year.

The day started as most do, with a nice big European style breakfast, and lunch was skipped in favor of coffee and cake.  Although on this special day, we enjoyed the Breuer Family Christmas Eve Frankfurter cake, which was traditionally made by his grandmother and now his mom, and always eaten on Christmas Eve.  The cake was a decadent, three layer piece of art work that took two days to make, made a complete mess of the kitchen, included butter-cream frosting, marmalade filing and caramelized nuts and resulted in Martin exclaiming “being a German haus-frau is hard work”

After coffee and cake, the unthinkable happened…Martin had previously convinced me to attend Christmas Eve service and, for the first time in 10 years, I went to church.   After researching our options, we settled on the Norwegian Seaman’s Chapel in Russian Hill.    Martin goes fishing in Norway every year, so it seemed perfect.  Situated on the cusp of Russian Hill and Fisherman’s Wharf, the old mansion provided beautiful sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the Bay Bridge. Arriving early, we were able to enjoy the views and spend time with both the pastor and organist, both tall stoutly blondes with hospitable smiles and general good cheer.  And after answering the obvious question (why two non-Norwegian speakers chose to attend a Norwegian service) we were immediately welcomed into the fold (complete with coffee and waffles). 

Enjoying the views from the balcony

The service was beautiful (both in the native language and those parts translated into English) and I was able to practice my Norwegian under the cover of singing…below is one of the Pslams we sang!

We ended the night in my favor, with a yummy meal, a bottle of Dom Perignon and a night cap.  And in accordance with Martin’s traditions, we opened up our presents that night, under our decked out Christmas tree.  While it was something new, I loved every moment of the day and our new traditions.

Oh, and that crab dinner we missed…We ended up having it on Christmas Day with the family…and again on that following Thursday.

Spending Time at City Hall

San Francisco’s City Hall is a beautiful building.  It was re-built in 1915 after it was completely destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and its dome is the fifth largest in the world.   The main rotunda is especially beautiful with its sweeping grand staircase and overall, the building provides for some perfect photo opportunities.    

Prior to this November, I had never been in the building. This month I made up for the lost time.  

With some major life events occurring this year, including the condo conversion of our home, the immigration filing for Martin and the additional paperwork required for our upcoming nuptials, I have spent numerous days in the City’s headquarters paying fees, completing paperwork and walking required documents back and forth between numerous offices.  My favorite trip involved paying our property taxes for the condo conversion process which included two trips to the Tax Collectors Office and two trips to the Tax Assessors Office all to make one payment and receive one receipt. Man I love this city and government!  At least everyone was incredibly helpful and nice.  

For those who have never been, I would recommend the trip!

Venue Hunting

While some might claim otherwise, I have never wanted a big wedding; they seem overwhelming, overly stressful and a tremendous amount of work.  And unlike previous assumptions made by ex-boyfriends, a celebration of love in my eyes does not require an over-the-top affair including exotic dancers and pink elephants (which I suppose is one of the many reasons why they are exes).  So, old opinions aside, when Martin and I started planning our San Francisco wedding I knew I wanted a simple and intimate affair of friends and family. 

Similar to our house hunting days, we thought our list of must-haves was pretty straightforward – a single location for both the ceremony and reception, ideally with unique architecture, an outdoor element and an in-house caterer.   We thought a good restaurant would be the easiest option (both from a planning perspective and also for our out of town guests).  And so began the search.

The very first option I found in the very first wedding magazine and on the very first bridal website I looked at was Foreign Cinema…and I was immediately in love.   It was perfect!  It had an outdoor space for the ceremony, indoor options for dancing and bad weather, it had excellent food and I knew Martin would appreciate the architecture and space.  And so with the vision already developing in my mind, we went there for dinner in late September to check out the space in person (and of course, have a nice dinner to celebrate the engagement).   Dinner was perfect and the space was even better than imagined…  We were sold… Although not quite yet; it is never that easy. 

Unwilling to potentially miss out on another great option (at a cheaper price), we spent the next 6 weeks exploring websites (both bridal and non), getting recommendations from friends and trekking through the city.  We saw and/or researched almost every spot available in San Francisco, but unfortunately all spaces we saw were either: too small, too large, too commercial, too boring, too cool, too expensive or too much work.  It was like Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  All was not lost though; just like Goldi, we did have a few enjoyable meals at several great restaurants throughout the process. 

In the end, we simultaneously admitted defeat and victory and booked Foreign Cinema!  With the contract signed and deposit paid, I couldn’t be more excited!

I Think I Will Do a Half Marathon This Week

The past weekend was the Nike Women Marathon and I decided to participate.  But wait, you didn’t know I had been training for this?!  I resent that…I trained all week!  I went to the gym for the first time in a month on Tuesday for yoga, I found out a co-worker couldn’t use her bib on Wednesday thereby kicking up the training program intensity, I walked home from work on Thursday for a proper 1.5 mile workout and then I carbo-loaded with wine and beer on both Friday and Saturday night…After having done the race for the past two years I was mentally, if not physically, prepared.

But that was beside the point, because this year was less about my finishing time and more to prove a hypothesis I came up with a while back…That I can walk faster than I can run.  It might seem crazy, but between over-exerting myself during running and the constant pace I can keep when walking, I wanted to test out my theory and what better way than on the same course I have run the past two years.

So on Sunday morning while I watched the women around me struggling with the hills, grunting and panting each and every step, I was able to push through, keep my stride on the inclines, do my fancy speed walking gait, enjoy the view and even smile for the cameras. It was a completely different experience and one I thoroughly enjoyed. The only thing the same was the inability to walk the next day…Training or not 13.1 miles is too far for my body to go without some long-term pain. 

And as for that hypothesis, I will let you decide:   my walking time was only 13 minutes slower than last year’s time and 25 minutes slower than my first year’s time when I actually trained.  To really prove my point I suppose I will have to walk it again next year, with training.

Anna and I the morning of the run!  Unlike me, Anna actually prepared, trained and finished with a great time!!!

A Three Day Cleanse

Blame it on the week long work conference that involved happy hours every night and a free Red Hot Chili Peppers concert…or blame it on the food hangover from a week in New York for work (I had no choice, what with client dinners, a champagne and lingerie party with college friend Katya, breakfast with Jason from Zurich, lunch with my soon to be cousin-in-laws, and a weekend of brunches, lunches and dinners with Erin).  Regardless, I had a moment of weakness and decided to do a three-day juice cleanse – the Blueprint cleanse to be exact…The same one that Erin has tried and failed three times.   

The juices arrived Tuesday afternoon and I set to work Wednesday morning.

Day 1: I picked a bad day to start a cleanse.  The whiskey bacon shots and tequila punch bowl last night sounded like a good idea at the time, but this first green juice makes me want to vomit; the second one isn’t so bad, but I am dreading the next green one; by mid-day I am physically nauseous, I have a headache, I am shaking and am seriously craving a cheeseburger;  Finally home from work and powering down juice five, I have a new- found resolve after Dana tells she expects me to fail by noon tomorrow; With Martin out of town I end up watching really bad TV and find myself consumed by all of the food commercials…I have never wanted Papa John pizza before today but that commercial just speaks to me;  It is finally 9pm, I am calling it a day.

Day 2: I weigh-in in the morning and am down 1.5 pounds already, it must be the water weight; Thanks to the noted progress I am now craving the first juice, however the first sip stops all craving…maybe I should hold off on brushing my teeth until after Juice One; the day continues without much to note, although every time I walk past or through the office kitchen I think “I could totally have a cup of nuts or bag of chips right now…I am not, but I could”; I end Day 2 with the satisfying cashew milk drink.

Day 3: Down one more pound, which is great, but the joy is tainted from the really messed up dreams I have been having; just six more juices to go! I could actually do this one more day, I am going to miss being the crazy girl at work with her bag of juices to go; 7pm, last juice is finished and I feel great, I feel healthy and I no longer crave a cheeseburger, alcohol or anything unhealthy.

Day 4: I break down and order a glass of white wine and a massive omelet for brunch.  By the end of Day 5 I have consumed a 6 pack of beer in 4 hours and eaten a whole bowl of guacamole for dinner. Whoops!  It was good while it lasted I guess. 

Let the Planning Begin

With Martin officially out of the country for three weeks, I thought it would be the perfect time to let my crazy type-A self get to work planning.

Too bad I looked like a crazy single white female buying all of these…the engagement ring is currently getting re-sized.  Oh well, let the sales lady at Barnes and Noble think whatever she wants, I know I am not crazy...at least in that way.

An "American" Martin

I love my Martin.  There is nothing I would (or could) change about him.  But if I were going to try and make him more "American" I would take the following steps:

Step 1: Dress him like an American

Step 2: Teach him some American drinking Games…including flip cup and the ice luge (compliments of the boar)

Step 3: Have him “grow” a mustache.

Step 4: Marry him!(Photos coming in 6 to 12 months!)