From Candy Pills to Viruses...

Originally, after my Dad's surgery to remove his glyoblastoma brain tumor last October he was put on two different chemotherapy drugs: Tarceva and Temodar.
I've tended to keep myself somewhat removed from all the medications he's on so I don't become completely overwhelmed...there are details for days and I'm incredibly grateful for Andrea, my step-mom, for keeping on top of it all. One day I remember my Dad mentioning how much Temodar pills bugged him. They were "candy pills" in his opinion- big and bright, filled with colors that will easily attract a young child. What are the producers of this drug thinking? Chemo pills are deadly to kids, and essentially poisonous to those adults that take them; They are highly potent and not to be trifled with, so why the outside appearance of Pepto-Bismol? We don't know and it remains an annoying mystery.

But enough talk about the candy pills. Now that the tumor has reared it's ugly head again we're breaking out the big guns and turning our attention to a new clinical trial at UCSF. This one, in very simple terms, injects a virus into my dad's head where the tumor lives and then acts as a catalyst for the drugs he will take by mouth during the following months to attack this tumor with its now virus companion. It's fascinating, really, and extremely mind boggling. The technicalities of this trial can be found HERE.
We're trusting that the Lord will continue to lead us in the direction of this trial up until the surgery date of November 5th. If He has something else in mind, we'll be following that lead.
Thank you so much for all your prayers!

Just me and D.C.

I was in Washington D.C. on Saturday, without obligation to go into work and decided to spend the day checking out the mall by myself, since my one friend had to work a 15 hour shift.

I've decided I don't like doing things like this alone; maybe sometimes, but not this day. There were crowds (thousands) of people for some One Union rally and I didn't know where to find food and I wasn't in the mood to be friendly and fun. Plus I wasn't wearing the correct shoes so my feet hurt from all that darn walking...but don't get me wrong, I'm all about walking in new places....usually.

I was, however, grateful for the beautiful sun that really only came out this one day our of the 8 I was in D.C. and that I brought my camera with me so I could take some pics. The days leading up to this perfect day were filled with tropical storms and the days following were normal rainy/cold days. The East Coast is strange.


The National Botanic Garden has a Jungle room with humidity fans and warm mist, making the room incredibly warm, as you can imagine. Within that room you can climb a couple flights of stairs to walk the canopy where it's even more humid and hard to breathe. By the time I circled the place I was dripping with sweat from head to toe all the while envisioning my make up being melted off and there being no chance I could hit up a good restaurant later looking like I had just run a marathon. To make my insecurities worse, when I came down I received weird stares as if these people didn't just see me climb down from the canopy! It was hot up there!

Greta is Bride to Be!

We celebrated her last couple weeks of being single in Napa wine tasting, eating good food and playing hilarious bridal games.

We began the "wine tasting tour" (by limo, I might add :) at Mumm Napa, one of my old stomping grounds. I used to be able to taste for free being a student at the CIA and I have to say it remains one of my favorite spots! The outside seating is beautiful and looks out to an amazing valley of vines, which are perfect right now being it's right before harvest.

You should swing by Mumm Napa if you're in the area and if you do, take a chance and try their Cuvee Red, it's quite unique and vibrant.

Oh! and don't forget to stop and grab a few out of this world, cheap and delicious carnitas tacos at La Luna Market and Taqueria right down the street!

(diligently filling out our cute little wine tasting booklets)

I couldn't have said it better myself...

Quite the Fall Mixer

My Dad knows how to throw a party; He and Andrea truly outdid themselves this time.
A live jazz band, catered dinner, fresh flowers, perfect weather, wonderful friends and family (70+ came!) and lots of delicious red wine...and other beverages, of course -- Have I ever mentioned how big of a wine connoisseur my dad is?



The DD's of the night...I think "cool cats" fits them much better.

I was the first to request champagne...


Check out how HUGE this bottle is!! It was even more crazy how fast it disappeared!



My dad's old high school buddies-- one hilarious group of fellas.





They held a raffle towards the end of the night giving away a great Napa Wine book, a beautiful wooden wine opener and two amazing bottles of wine. I was slightly disappointed I didn't get to snag any tickets!

Cheers to my Dad for making it through one of the hardest years ever. We most definitely will be celebrating this time next year with another fabulous party!

Fairwell to Summer of Color

Manhattan Beach...and other Southern California beaches (?) painted their lifeguard towers in funky 80's colors for the summer. It was a pleasant surprise as I stepped onto the lukewarm/turning into fall feeling sand to put my feet in the cool water. My favorite is the bright green one you can hardly see. Will they have a fall painting party soon to make them normal again?

I hope they continue the painting trend into every season :)

Eating Crabs like a Marylander

Have you ever eaten soft shell crabs in Maryland?
This is far from your Alaskan king crab leg event out in sunny ole California...this is an experience to be had...

First things first, tables are covered with boards to protect the wood during hammering and layers of newspapers and cut up paper bags are placed on top.

Crabs are then placed in a big pile in the middle of the table for all to grab.

Well hello there, Mr. Crab. These crabs are seasoned heavily with a mixture including lots and lots of Old Bay Spice. In case you were wondering, celery salt is one of the first ingredients. This stuff is seriously intense, making your mouth feel on fire throughout the whole dining experience, which is why you have a beer there to keep you company.

Everyone has their own method of how they choose a crab out of the pile. Annie, Matt's sister, tries to get the heaviest ones since "they are usually denser and more moist." I just tried to pick the ones with the biggest claws...I think I'm forever in the "larger claws=better crabs" mindset from eating all that Dungeoness.

Matt went step by step through how he takes apart his crabs; very methodical and precise. He couldn't figure out why I kept getting shells in my mouth but I think I must have not been following the rules well enough...woops!

It's just common sense that you will drink National Bohemian Beer or "Natty Boh" (originally brewed in Baltimore, MD) with these beauties...

Tearing apart crabs with this much seasoning is a messy experience. Matt's mom was kind enough to lend me one of her work-out shirts so I wouldn't get this stuff all over my white blouse. I know, I know, who wears a white blouse to a crab eating party, right? It won't happen again, cross my heart.


It's a real social event, which is why I think I quite enjoy it. You chat, bang on crab legs, drink beer and have a merry time!

Maddie couldn't exactly join the party, though she probably would have been a fine crab eater.

Thank you Metzbowers for making my first Maryland crab eating experience one of a kind!

For the record, I ate 5 whole crabs! Yowza!

"What! You've never eaten Five Guys?!..."

I'd be lying if I said Five Guys hadn't been built up to the extreme measure before I ate there. After going to culinary school with many east coasters and being friends with one of the most opinionated east coaster EVER, I'd heard about the burger joint that Matt claims, "doesn't compare to In-n-Out." He also states that "In-n-Out is weak and a perfect example of how Californians don't know what real food is." Strong words, right?

I thought so and also knew I had to try it and compare it to my favorite burger place in the entire world.

There is a logical reason I love In-n-Out and that's my obsession with ratios. Not ratios a male would necessarily like, but ones that I do. I enjoy the petite patty, thick piece of lettuce and small, slightly crispy bun sitting atop the perfect amount of secret sauce. I like that the toppings are simple and perfect and their "weird" fries are delightfully crisp if eaten in a reasonable amount of time.

Five Guys is good, real good, but it's different. So different I don't think I want to compare it at all to In-n-Out. Don't get me wrong, Five Guys is definitely "in a class by itself," but I can't say it is better.
The fries are thicker, the normal burger comes with two patties instead of one, there are tons of topping to choose from including sauteed mushrooms and hot sauce and they have peanuts for you to munch on while you wait to remind you about the fries being fried in nothing else but peanut oil. Very manly.

The staff was friendly and the service was prompt at the one we went to in D.C. but after biting into the ginormous burger I did have one small complaint. It was just a tad bit dry and in need of more sauce. Not a huge deal, but something to note. The burger Matt ordered was perfectly sauced but I think it was because it also had cheese and bacon to fill in the gaps where sauce didn't hit...





Matt, the In-n-Out dis-liker in all his glory. Quite the host, I might add.