OM is rockin' a Vacation - see you after Halloween!

don't miss me -- read some of your old favorites!

stinky keens
ER visits
mommy boo-boos
wolves with breasts

and in the meantime, a spooky, junk-filled Halloween lead-up to you! (and don't forget to brush and floss)

namaste & three cheers -a

Oprah & Dr Oz’s What To Eat When You’re Feeling Moody – When You’re Feelin’ Nuts, Eat Nuts!

Dr Oz Says Brazil Nuts Helps Us Nuts Feels Less Nutty

I bought it. 

The big splashy Oprah covered magazine on the rack next to the cash register at the book store - just for this article on page 68 this month.

“What we eat can trigger the release of neurotransmitters and hormones that influence everything from agitation to anger. So next time you’re in an emotional rut, you just might need a trip to the cupboard or fridge.” Says Dr Oz.

There might be an obvious DUUUUH here – I mean, who hasn’t reached into the fridge/freezer for that Pint O’ Ben & Jerrys Make Me Feel Better Mud Marshmallow Marvel? 

However, this is the real deal, apparently, with less guilt-ridden and muffin-top making snacks. Read on!

For Anxiety

Dr Oz: Eat Brazil nuts to increase your selenium.

Stressed?

Dr Oz: Eat large doses of Vitamin C from citrus fruits or bell peppers to lower cortisol levels.

Agitated?

Dr Oz: Drink tart cherry juice (!) for it’s high level of melatonin.

Foggy? (which happens quite frequently in the Bay Area)

Dr Oz: Eat your colorful fruits: pineapples, cranberries are full of antioxidants. Want some more? Throw in some salmon with Omega-3s for snappy neuron functioning.

Angry? Annoyed? Irritated?

Dr Oz: It’s as easy as eating a plantain or good old banana to increase your serotonin.

So get your little snack-stash organized now! Just like we do for our kids. Throw a baggie of them in your backpack, purse, glove compartment and - voila! - we're feeling better already.

And can you imagine how much more love there would be in the world if we all just ate more bananas?.... When you’re feeling bananas, road rage lycra people in the Whole Foods parking lot, go on in and get yourself some organic, anger regulating, serotonin stuffed bananas!

We’d all be a lot happier.

Namaste & Three Brazilian Nuts and a wink to you always -a

ps. If you have any other brilliant mood foods, share them below!

Record Breaking 1,775 Pound Pumpkin Featured at Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival This Weekend, Oct 13-14

California's Largest Pumpkin Ever!

‘Tis the season! Not for hot cocoa and all that yet – rather, for hot CIDER and corn mazing and pumpkining and all that.

Yes, we celebrate fall, too, over here on the west coast – ‘cept our fall celebration also happens to be with an ocean view here in Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco along the coast.

Fields and fields and pumpkin farms of fields of pumpkins screaming their crisp autumn orange against the blue, blue sky, and then LOOK, there’s the ocean! This is a strange and almost magical combination for a native New Englander where our fall is celebrated amongst rolling green mountains and syrupy Maple groves.

This year’s bell of the pumpkin fest ball in downtown Half Moon Bay is the gorgeous and gorged gord – the massive 1,775 pound super pumpkin – breaking all California records and looking like a major steroid experiment gone wild.

The most pressing inquiry in the group was the ever-curious: I wonder what happens when it starts to rot? For we’ve all seen what a hot day can do to our relatively puny pumpkins on our own front porches.  Hmmmm.

Pie eating contests. Pumpkin carving. Costumes. It’s all here!

Namaste & Three Pumpkin-y Cheers –Annie

For details: http://www.facebook.com/HalfMoonBayPumpkinFestival?fref=ts

Good Looking Lunatic Throwing Himself From Outer Space Back Into Inner Space: Felix Baumgartner

Have you met Felix Baumgartner? Me neither. But I’d like to shake his 3 shots of Red Bull jacked hand. 

Felix is attempting a Supersonic Freefall tomorrow. It was supposed to happen yesterday (we are monitoring with baited 10 year old space crazy breath over here) – but due to gusty winds, the 55 story balloon that was supposed to carry our Felix into the edge of outer space was misbehaving and mission was aborted for the day.

Hang on to your seats, ladies and gents. Here’s the fun part: when Felix throws himself out of the balloon lifted pod 120,000 feet above Earth, he will, as he is falling, Break The Speed Of Sound. With his head. 

How Super Hero cool is that?

According to my thrilled son, there are 4 world records about to be broken if all goes well for Felix tomorrow. The video footage on the website is phenomenal and worthy of an Emmy or an Oscar (or Webby, right?) – clearly Red Bull is funding this well and Bravo to them!

Check out the website and ENJOY the thrill!!! http://www.redbullstratos.com

Oscar worthy you-tube video:

Namaste & Three Cheers -a

50 Shades of Grey Wolf & the Big Bad Sexy Wolf Halloween Costume

I’d just read that they’ve taken the Wolf off of the Endangered Species act in Wyoming.

Big Bad Sexy Wolf? The New "50 Shades" Fairy Tale

So when I was at the pop-up Halloween extravaganza store yesterday scanning the aisles and costumes with my kiddos amongst the Naughty Dora the Explor-oh-yeah-baby! and Ally Catraz Prisoner handkerchief sized costumes for “big-girls”, the BIG BAD SEXY WOLF costume jumped out at me.

First of all, it’s a whole rewrite of the “3 Little Pigs” story. Tell me how that story would go now with the Big Bad Sexy Wolf showing up instead….. “And I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll……..”  Ahem, YOU fill in the blank. Pigs high -fiving all over the place, texting their pig-friends at this 50 Shades of Grey Wolf porno about to be acted out….

But, secondly, and to the point of this piece, the grey wolf in Wyoming may be sexy and may be big, but apparently it’s the furthest thing from being bad. In fact, in another almost ridiculous 50 Shades word-play moment, it’s been great for the beavers. The beavers in Wyoming are thriving from the increase in population of the wolves. Which is why I almost titled this article: WHY THE BIG BAD SEXY WOLF IS GREAT FOR OUR BEAVERS. Ahem.

And wolves are not only good for our beavers, but they also “have a powerful effect on the well-being of the ecosystems around them – from the survival of the trees and riverbank vegetation to, perhaps surprisingly, the health of the populations of their prey,” according to the Op-Ed piece “Why the Beaver Should Thank the Wolf” by Mary Ellen Hannibal in this Sunday’s New York Times.

And this is why a group of non-profits are challenging the federal government’s decision to remove the Big Bad Sexy Wolf from the Endangered Species Act.

We need to protect our sexy wolves.

And the Three Little Pigs.... and even a Little-Red-Riding-Hood Gone Wild…. just might agree.

Namaste & Three Cheers- a

For more info:

NYT "Why the Beaver Should Thank the Wolf" article

The BEST Bike Ride On Earth – The Sausalito, Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Loop

Fall is here, friends, and with it – finally -- the gorgeous, cool-ish weather and crisp apple air. What better time to hop our bikes for this, seriously, breathtaking ride??? (Get a sitter, get ready, go!!!!)

The Sausalito – Golden Gate Bridge – San Francisco Loop

Our Start With Mt Tam in Background

Our Start: Mill Valley through Sausalito:

We start on the Mill Valley Bike-path with the massive, green Mt Tam over our shoulder. Bike over the wetlands and into the funky So Cal feel of Sunny Sausalito. Through the busy, little tourist town on the well marked bike path. Watch for jet-lagged Europeans carrying cameras jaywalking into every lane – swerve wisely! And we head up one of the few hills on the loop through the narrow hillside streets. Grunt, moan. Keep going. We’re heading towards the Golden Gate Bridge and we can FEEL it getting cooler and exciting by the ocean. Grunt, moan. Now we’re going up the final real hill of the entire ride, past the Discovery Museum for Kids, into the Marin Headlands, and…. TRUMPETS PLEASE. We’ve made it to one of the most glorious symbols of the United States of America. The Golden Gate Bridge.

Golden Gate Bridge Looking North

Over The Golden Gate Bridge:

We stop at the lookout. Breathe. Appreciate. This massive structure is a mile long and a loud, thrilling ride. Check which side bicycles are allowed to ride on that day and, wheeeeeee, we go for it! Glorious vistas of Alcatraz, downtown San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, Berkeley, Angel island are to our East. Wide open vistas of the powerful Pacific are to our West.

GG Bridge to Fisherman’s Wharf, San Fran:

Pause at the end of the bridge. Photo op! We grab a lucky stranger to take it of us, throwing our arms up in the air with the exhilaration of it all. Something magical in the air. And hop back on our bikes, winding down around more Europeans with cameras, through the restored and festive Chrissy Field, past the Marina, dodging lycra-clad San Franciscans walking dogs, soccer fields with tiny toddlers, up one mini hill (grunt, moan) into Fort Mason….. and zip down – boom! – into Aquatic Park. We stop fast and admire the chilly-nuts swimming back and forth in the frigid San Francisco Bay. Then push our way carefully down Jefferson Street, into the Heart of Fisherman’s Wharf.

Friendly SF Local at Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman’s Wharf:

We swerve for trolleys, crab carts and pirates. We stop to admire clam chowder bread bowls, glittery street performers and sea lions. Parking our bikes, there’s a crush of county fair like activity to partake in – cotton candy, popcorn, trinket shops – and we quickly grab our wallets and enjoy!

SF to Ferry to Sausalito:

Time to buy tickets for our bikes at Pier 41 and head to our ferry back to Sausalito. While waiting in line, there is a noticeable waft of animal from the giant sea lions lounging across the way on Pier 39. Unfathomable in their size. How do they do that???  Ferry arrives and – hop! – we’re on and now enjoying the break in the fog and the warm sunshine on our skin on the top deck and steady our own cameras as we zoom past Alcatraz, closer and closer to the Golden Gate, and see Sausalito and Marin County from a completely different angle – looking like Mediterranean villages dotting the gentle rolls of land into the bay – and watching downtown SF get smaller behind us.

Early seating at Bar Bocce - 30 minutes later it was packed!

Back Through Sausalito: 

Now comes our reward! We dock back in Sausalito, hop back on our bikes, and head down the main boulevard, back the way we came. Dotting this route, there are fantastic harbor-front restaurants to have a casual snack or lunch at. So we pick our favorite that day, lock up the bikes. Take off the helmet. Shake out our helmet hair. And order a beer and clams and a tasty arugula salad as we watch the sea otters play in the kelp just steps away.

And that is the most gorgeous bike loop on the planet!

You can start it from anywhere and it’s a blast to go in either direction. And, if you want more biking, you can take the ferry back (or from) Tiburon instead. With the same fun reward of GREAT harbor-side restaurants in Tiburon to have lunch or a snack.

Ps. Full disclosure, I’ve done variations on this ride many, many times. We did this particular ride in May, but right now, with this weather with low to no fog and gorgeous clear days, it’s an ideal time to pedal. I’ve got to take it easy on the epic rides right now, but it doesn’t mean you have to!

Fun Waterfront Sausalito Bike-Ride Restaurants:

Bar Bocce

Fish

New Place next to Bar Bocce (name anyone?)

Le Garage

For drinks only – Wellingtons

Fun Waterfront Tiburon Bike-Ride Restaurants:

Sams

Guaymas

Servinos

Namaste & Three Cheers! -a

pps. Have your own BEST bike ride on the planet (hello Colorado and Idaho people!) please post it below to share the news....