An October to Remember

October has been a very fun month! I was fortunate to be able to get tickets to see the Sharks play twice - in mid October I watched the game from a luxury suite and on October 30 I saw a great game where the Sharks beat the Anaheim Ducks. In other local sports news, the San Francisco Giants made it to the World Series! I was not expecting that to happen this season, but after all, "It's Magic Inside," so perhaps that had something to do with it. While baseball isn't my most favorite sport, I have to admit that I've jumped on the bandwagon to cheer for the Giants now that they are in the World Series.

Another highlight this month was my much-anticipated trip to San Diego with my brother, Andy, to see the New England Patriots play the San Diego Chargers. It was a great weekend. We stayed in downtown San Diego at the Omni Hotel which is right next to Petco Park and had an amazing views of the ballpark and surrounding areas. We arrived on Saturday just in time to head to the sports bar and watch the Giants beat Philly and earn a spot in the World Series. Sweet! We were up bright and early on Sunday morning and had breakfast at Maryjane's Coffee Shop located in the Hard Rock Hotel before we headed off to Qualcomm Stadium on the trolley. I was quite surprised how many Patriots fans were there - seemed like half the crowd was cheering for them. We even ended up sitting next to some fellow Pats fans! The game was indeed close, but the Pats managed to hang on at the end and win. We had plenty of time before we needed to get to the airport so we decided to have dinner at Nobu (also located in the Hard Rock Hotel). Hands down, it was the best sushi that I have ever eaten. If you have an opportunity to try it, I highly recommend it.

And what better way to end October than by celebrating my favorite holiday - Halloween. Although I didn't dress up this year, I did wear my adorable Halloween-themed Mickey Mouse ears.

It's hard to believe that it's almost November 1. As always, time is flying by. I'm looking forward to the start of the holiday season and all of the wonderful things that go along with it. I'm already gearing up to start on my holiday crafting projects and you can be sure that I'll be posting some photos on the blog-o, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, I'll be cheering for the Giants as they play in the World Series! Wishing you a wonderful week full of smiles. And speaking of smiles, I'll wrap up with this quote:

Life is like a mirror. Smile at it and it smiles back at you.

-Peace Pilgrim

The "Suite" Life at the Shark Tank!

Not only did I get to see the San Jose Sharks play at their home opener on Saturday, October 16, but I watched the game from the Penthouse Suite! How totally cool is that?!! My friend Joyce has a friend who works for the Sharks who was able to get us regular tickets for the game, and then she upgraded us to the suite. I have to send a big shout-out "thank you" to Joyce and her friend for making this happen. It truly was a memorable event (despite the Sharks losing to the Atlanta Thrashers).

The Sharks host a "street rally" in front of the Shark Tank before the first home game of each season so Joyce and I spent some time checking it out before heading to our suite. I was lucky enough to get my picture taken with SJ Sharkie. Other goodies at the rally included temporary Sharks tattoos; face painting in a variety of styles - with teal paint of course; photo opportunities on the Sharks Ice Zamboni; and the chance to win Sharks logo items such as t-shirts and hats.

We enjoyed a variety of food and drinks (water, beer, wine, juice, soda) in the suite including hamburger sliders, fajitas, assorted cheese, crackers and fresh fruit as well as some tasty sweets for dessert. We were even able to catch the end of the Giants game on one of the two televisions in our suite (the Giants won game one against Philly). Other goodies in the suite included free Sharks t-shirts for everyone, complimentary copies of the Sharks program and individual boxes of chocolates! What an absolute treat!

I am so happy that I had the opportunity to watch the game from the suite and that my friend Joyce invited me to be her guest. What an honor.

Perhaps some day I will watch another Sharks game from the Penthouse Suite (another option for celebrating my 40th birthday next year), however in the meantime, I'm looking forward to seeing another game from the regular seats in the not too distant future.

Hoping that you are enjoying the weekend. It's cloudy and drizzly here in the Bay Area - it definitely feels like an autumn day. I'm off to take care of some things so that I can get ready to watch the Giants play tonight against Philadelphia. The Giants are getting closer to being in the World Series!

Leaving you with a fun hockey saying:

-My other car is a Zamboni.

World Card Making Day

October 2 was World Card Making Day, so in honor of this I decided to spend some time making cards this weekend. It's the perfect opportunity to share one of the cards that I made because I originally created this blog to showcase cards and other paper crafting items that I create. I happen to know several friends and relatives celebrating birthdays this month, and while the card shown in the photo here has a general "autumn" theme to it, I was able to modify this design slightly and turn it into a birthday card. So as not to spoil the surprise, in case you are someone with a birthday this month reading my blog, I decided to post a photo of the seasonal card.

I hope that you have had a nice, relaxing weekend. I have enjoyed my weekend thus far. The weather was perfect for taking a couple long walks, which included an eight miler with my friend Zeva at Sawyer Camp Trail in San Mateo (photo below). I've also gotten my "sports fix" this weekend, between watching the Giants take on the San Diego Padres, the 49ers vs. the Atlanta Falcons and the Oregon Ducks over the Stanford Cardinal. The fun continues on Monday night when the New England Patriots take on the Miami Dolphins - can't wait! I've also been busy in the kitchen whipping up the following dishes: Tortilla Soup with Black Beans and Pumpkin Blondies. I love cooking and baking, especially during this time of year. I'll be sharing the Pumpkin Blondies with my co-workers on Monday.

Wishing you a wonderful week.

The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

-Joseph Addison