Goodbye, San Francisco! Almost...

As I prepare for my move to the Twin Cities on Monday, 12/17 (yes, I've decided to make Minnesota my new home, and yes, I'm aware that they are currently sporting up to 12 inches of snow and a temperature in the negative numbers, and no, I am still in my right mind), some of my dearest friends gathered to help send me off in style.

We gathered at Cafe Meuse, a wine bar just three blocks from my house, to enjoy food, wine and great company. While these are not all of the people I love here, they are the largest single gathering of all the many branches of my San Francisco family.

The Tadlocks: Garret, Jamie and baby Luella. Jamie and I met when I started at Learn iT! three years, and she and Garret has been there for me in so many ways. Its been so much fun to see them as parents, as they nurture Luella the same way they take care of everyone who comes into their lives.
Margo and Julian Wixson. Margo was my first friend in San Francisco, and the stories of all our many adventures ever since would fill a book. She is one of my favorite people, and Julian is her perfect match in everyway. Which means he's pretty freaking cool.
My roommate for the last four years, Alex Rothwell. My roommate from the first three years, Brad Stewart, had to ditch for work, or he would have been there too.

Andrea and Tanveer. These people came into my life in very different ways. I feel like I've known Andrea for years now, since she is a regular from the days when James and Anne lived here.

Tanveer and I met at Score!, my first job here in SF, and has been a great friend ever since. Tania and Nicole are also of those ranks, but Nicole was out of town this weekend, and some how I didn't start taking pictures until after Tania and Mike left, so unfortunately they are only represented by my thoughts here.
Zahoor and Charlie. Zahoor is Tanveer's extremely patient husband. (He heard more griping about Score! in the old days than anyone should have to live through) Charlie is one of James' dearest friends, and as he reminded me, one of my first social outings. I think I was in the city less than a week before Charlie took me to a Giants game and introduced me to the best burrito joint in the city. I've had many more burritos since then, but that was by far the best. Thanks, Charlie!
The Tadlocks
Charlie and Andrea
Tanveer and I

Julian and I
And Ms. Erin Wier. One of my favorite people here in the city, we met totally by accident. Each of us was invited to a group gathering by people who somewhat knew each other, and we got to talking, realized the other was awesome, and took it upon ourselves to get together sans the group. And thank goodness! Life would have been so tame without her influence! I am so grateful for her friendship.

Erin is a very loving person. Particularly at the end of the night, after a few glasses of wine. But let's face it, Margo is hot. Who are we to try and resist her charms?!Kelly and Tom. These people came into my life through Travis (frequently mentioned in earlier blogs), but they are definitely my friends now too. I just wish we had gotten together more before now! Lillian and Erik are also in this category, that being friends that started as Trav's and became mine. They have a 1 year old, though, and finding a babysitter in the town...
As always, I wish I had taken more pictures of the evening, but all in all, it was all I could have wished for. All of these people have made my time in SF so wonderful, and I am so grateful for their presence in my life. I expect to see them often, since San Francisco will always be my playground, and maybe I can even convince them to come visit me someday!

In the summer. When its warm. And not snowing. You get the picture.

Learn iT! Holiday Party

After over three years, I am saying goodbye to San Francisco and my coworkers at Learn iT! Corporate Training. Our holiday party was a little early this year, which means I got to be a part of it! We took a Hornblower Cruise in the Bay.

Sadly, I was so distracted by talking to people, eating good food, free drinks and dancing (not necessarily in that order :) ), that this is one of the only pictures I got of the spectacular view. One the right is the faint outline of the Transamerica Building.
The Learn iT! girls: Evans, me, Jamie and Sarah. We've had a lot of fun together.
This was a test of how many people we could squeeze into a limo that was going approx. 3 blocks. The answer is 14 people.No, wait. Fifteen. I didn't see Garret in the back there.
My dear friend, Jamie and I at the end of the night.
And one more for those of you who want to see more of my dress. This is all you get until I wear it again! Who's up for throwing a party?!

Thanksgiving Weekend in Charleston, SC

I was lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving with Andie and Connor this year! While I missed out on Thanksgiving dinner, I was very thankful to have so much quality time with the SC Doughertys.



Andie with Connor and her nephew, Shaw. He's only 1, and look at well he walks. With the help of a finger, of course.
The Merry Christmas Turtle. He's a Southern boy, after all.
Can't wait to see you guys at Christmas! Better pack those mittens!

Why I love the Bay Area, Part 2

Since I moved to California, I've gained a much better appreciation of wine. Its nice to be so close to Wine Country, and I recently headed up to Napa Valley to sample some wine with some good friends of mine. We visited places I've never been before, and enjoyed a beautiful day!

Nicole, Erin and Lillian, my fellow wine lovers.

Catalina Island, 2007

My good friend, Travis, invited me to join him on a boat trip with his parents to Catalina Island. That's about 1.5 hours from Long Beach, CA, near LA. Of course I said absolutely! And fun was had by all!

Tom, Kelly, Lillian, and Ron, Trav's dad, as we set off in the early morning.

We made it to the Island, with sunny skies, if a bit cold.
Trav and his mom, Vickie.
Trav and Tom on the dock in Avalon.
The happy crew on the way back to civilization. Travis, Tom, Kelly and Lillian

Poor Trevor didn't make it on the boat with us because of a last minute eye problem, but he was waiting for us when we got back. What a good looking pirate!

Looking forward to next year!

Washington, DC

Ages ago, the Dougherty's lived in Vienna, Virginia, just a short trip into Washington, DC. I always loved going to the Mall with the family, and especially the Air and Space Museum. Its still a lot of fun!

The Smithsonian Mall on a beautiful fall day.
Mom & Dad in front of the Smithsonian Castle.
Dad & I at the Museum of Natural History.

What's a little earthqauke among friends?

So, last night at 8pm, while I was watching TV, an earthquake hit. It didn't seem particularly strong to me, but it did last for about 30 seconds. Nothing fell off shelves or walls. There was amost no reaction from the people in my building or outside. But then, I live on Nob Hill, which may be one of the few neighborhoods in the city built on solid rock. Other people in the city felt it much more strongly.

The local news reported it as a magnitude-5.6 tremor, centered about 9 miles northeast of San Jose. They claim it was the strongest to hit the Bay Area since 1989. The shaking was widely felt within an 80-mile radius, as far away as Santa Rosa, Sacramento and Monterey.

Some think that quakes like this are a precursor to "the big one." If that's true, you East Coasters better get a move on and come visit soon!

Anyone up for a run?

So, for the third year in a row, Samantha and I completed the Nike Women's Half Marathon here in San Francisco! Each year, we've gotten a little faster, and this year, we finished in less than 3 hours! (2:59, to be exact) I am very proud, and sporting a Tiffany's necklace to commemorate the occasion.

These pictures are from our first year. Samantha has a new cute outfit every year, but I wear
the same thing every year, so I look the same. Well, maybe a little fitter. I did finish in less than three hours, after all.

Fleet Week in SF

So, the Navy has arrived in San Francisco, and they brought the Blue Angels with them! It was a beautiful Saturday, and from Erin's rooftop, we had an ideal place to view the show.

Andrea, Erin, Melissa and I on the rooftop to watch the show.

There are many more pictures, usually of 5 to 6 specks of something in the air. Since this is the first Blue Angels performance I've ever actually stopped to watch, (they do this every year), I felt it fitting that I take a few pictures. In reviewing them later, there were few that were really interesting, and I've included them. I hope you appreciate my restraint.

After the show, we hit the streets. Here I am with Melissa and Erin at Balboa Cafe. Mayor Newsome owns it, but we didn't see him there.
And Liz and Andrea were there with us too. We had the best burgers there!

Who doesn't love a state fair?!

So, somehow, I missed blogging about the Minnesota State Fair. Held the last week in August, it was part of the last hurrah for my time with family. Even though it was almost a month ago, I think the pictures are worth a look.

Dad, this first one's for you. If only Maggie was a cut out also, we could have had the whole Dougherty Clan featured here.

Anne waits patiently for her first goodie of the day--fresh roasted corn!
Seamus was determined to milk this cow, I think her name was Ellie. But unfortunately, you can't get milk from plastic. Yet.
MJ wakes up for a spell. Might have been the smell of cow manure that woke her up.
The boys loved this cut out. I have a whole series of pictures of them in and around this stand up, but this is my favorite. They were having some much fun together!

By the end of the evening, the boys were starting to fade, but James was still going strong!

Seamus needed "some time alone," so this is as close as I could get for awhile.

Finn rests in his Dad's arms. Almost time to go home.

And one final view of the fair. It was a great time, with great food. Look forward to going again next year!