A lot of firsts happened the last week, so for the kids out there, let’s review some ABCs:
A. Arm knitting- I knitted my first ever scarf with my arms! It was an easy craft project and it only took 20 minutes! Search “armkntting” on youtube and you will find several informative videos (the Michael one is good), so you should give it a try. And just look how happy I was?
B- Balloons- this past weekend I went to my very first hot air balloon festival. It was at 5 am… So that was fun driving an hour to it. Unfortunately, the conditions were too bad that they couldn’t lift off. But I got some great pictures of the hot air balloons and enjoyed the trip.
C: Car driving- I conquered my fear of California driving. I drove in three different highways AND drove the Golden Gate Bridge for the very first time. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought, but I probably was driving at the least busy times ever. Now rush hour and I’ll be a pro
D: Dancing (swing)- so this isn’t the first time I went dancing this weekend at Jack London Square, but it is the first time I learned to swing dance! It was the west coast swing, a little different from the swing dancing I’m used to. But the best part of the night, one of my dreams came true: I actually got to dance the east coast swing (& didn’t look like a fool). Maggie and I have a little Latin dude that is our favorite person. He knows how to dance and lead which makes anyone look like a pro. Salsa is his and Maggie’s dance. He lead me on east coast swing and that made it an amazing weekend to begin with.
E: Emeryville- I decided after waking up SUPER early on Sunday for hot air balloons, that I was to bike to Emeryville for the first time. It is about 5 miles away each way, making a very nice, respectable 10 mile bike ride on a Sunday afternoon. Emeryville has pretty cool shops around it and it is nice organized. The Bay Trail was beautiful to bike despite the wind, so I will be going back to check out the sunset sometime soon.
F: Food trucks- The SF area has these Off The Grid Food Truck pods that move all around the Bay Area. I was told I should definitely check it out before the summer is up. So when Sarah and I were looking for dinner, we stumbled across Off the Grid by chance! The food was great, as most food trucks are, and the selection was awesome. I had my first every rice balls and then bok choy. Sarah had a chicken curry that was AMAZING 🙂
G: Gardening – This past Saturday I was able to help Garden and weed at a local non-profit ranch, Slide Ranch. I volunteered there (which was near Muir Woods and man, I need to get used to driving up steep mountains…) and was able to learn about the organization which teaches children about the environment and plants as well as milk a goat! It was an awesome time that I will definitely do again. I also got to go to Sausalito and saw the beautiful bay view of the city and the boat docks.
H: Healthy chocolate- I made some vegan chocolate bark this week for the first time and it is super easy! Mix coconut butter (~1/3 cup melted), cocoa powder (~1/4 cup), sweetener of choice (I did maple syrup) and as much as you want of it depending on how sweet you are and add your favorite add ins (be creative) and freeze. You can use coconut oil but it melts faster (even though coconut butter melts in the sun super quickly which I learned the hard way). Easy quick snack that is delicious.
I: Inside Out- Even though I got ditched by my co-workers (okay, ditched is a harsh word, but they didn’t come), I found one of my housemates and got to enjoy Inside Out the night before the release! I highly recommend the movie for all ages, it is adorable and endearing. The references to SF were spot on as I can now say I live here. If you haven’t seen it, go!
J: June 21st – Happy Summer Solstice. I enjoyed my first ever 50-60 degree summer day (from my memory).
These are 10 ABCs that I got to enjoy for the first time. I will continue on once I have experienced the rest of the Alphabet 🙂
Namaste Here 