FLU = YUCK!

I've been sick for the past 4 days and it's been the pits - majorly!
I was excited to have last Friday off since the husband was off from work, and the little boy didn't have school - but my weekend was reduced to a lot of sneezing, coughing, bitching and napping.
It's tiring to be sick.
It's hard to take a nap when you NEED to take a nap but when I have to do anything else, taking a nap sounds like the BEST idea.

I went to work yesterday - because the intranet at home wasn't working.
I went in at 9. By 11:30, I was on my way home.
I didn't think anyone would miss me, let alone want to hear my hacking.
I hate being sick! Did I say that yet?

Friday was spent with my Mom & sister. They were also both off from work and so we decided to have a girls' day out. We went to the mall and walked around. Yeah, just walked around. My mom isn't really a big shopper so she was just happy to get out of the house. My sister had other things to think of, so shopping wasn't in her mind but just like Mom, she just wanted to hang out. I, the big shopper that I am, wanted to go around and look for stuff but had to display the toughest self-control. I can't shop the way that I do, with the two women with me. I can get away with it with the husband in tow, but not my mom & sister's glare.

We went to Nordstrom and tried on shoes. Tried, Oohhed and Aahhed... and took it off and put it back. We went to the perfume counter - sniffed, touched the bottles, and put it back. We were ready to have lunch at the Nordstrom cafe and when we got up there, they were not in the mood to wait in line no matter how much I told them that the line doesn't take long at all. Instead, Mom was in the mood for CPK. How long did we end up waiting to be seated? An hour! Grr!!! All in all, it was a great day of bonding, gossiping and (quasi) shopping. We used to do this a lot years ago. Mom thinks it's time to get back to it. We ended the day having coffee and just lounging around. Ahh...nice.

I almost forgot to mention that a couple of weeks ago, the boys and I took BART to the Ferry Building in San Francisco. It was such a beautiful day in the city - with no fog in sight. Taking the train was the best idea since we didn't have to be hassled with parking (and parking fees) and we just strolled all over town.

I finally got to taste the most-coveted Miette pastries and it was OH-so good! They were on the Food Network a while back on one of the Food Challenges and so the husband and I thought it would be great to taste what they were known for - organic French patisserie. We ordered different flavored macaroons and cupcakes. Now we know what the whole hype is about - and it was totally worth it. The store was too cute, with the whole shabby-chic look to it. I wanted to buy everything in sight! Even the antique cake pedestals they sell!!

We ended up having lunch at the Ferry Building. With all of the "hip" places to eat there, we couldn't decide on what to have for lunch. Either that, or we wanted to make sure that Jake ate the weird-sounding organic food. We just opted for a carb feast, buying a couple of loaves at Acme to eat (and bring home) as well as a couple of sandwiches and a half of a roasted chicken from Prather Ranch. Thank goodness it was a (very) nice day so we were able to eat outside without having to fight with the chill from the fog. We capped off our lunch with a treat from Ciao Bella, who had the BEST mango gelato I have ever tasted!

From the Ferry Building, we decided to cross the street to do some shopping at the Embarcadero. But because it's a weekend, not all of the stores were open so the husband and I thought "why not walk it to Union Square?" It's my old stomping ground so the streets were familiar - although strolling through the Financial District on a weekend seemed so surreal, with no people bumping next to you hurrying to work. We thought we would just walk up to where we can walk, then take the cab to Union Square, but we ended up walking the whole way. Jake was in the stroller so he was a trooper and didn't complain but I'm amazed that we were able to walk all that way.

We finally paid homeage to the new Bloomingdales. It's as beautiful and worth all the hype. I agree with my (geeky) architect brother - it was nice that the Westfield company decided to keep the old Emporium facade intact. Bloomingdales was so just like the one in Manhattan - very posh, very chic. I wanted them yellow and black totes they were giving away, but I wasn't in the mood to walk along with the crowd so the husband and I didn't really go around that much. But guess who was at the mall at the same time? FLAVOR FLAV! All that hoopla for him - it was crazy. People who probably wouldn't otherwise listen to his music, nor watch Flavor of Love, were all shouting his name for him to turn around and have everyone take his picture. It took us a while to avoid the crowd. The ironic part of it all? He was inside Movado!!! If you know Flavor Flav, that would be the one store he would be in :). I wonder if he bought a wall clock/necklace? Was he with Delishish? Hehehe :)!

We went into Zara - found nothing. We went into MNG, which I guess is the same Mango store that is the craze in Manila - found nothing. MNG seems to be the same as Zara - just like Anthropologie is to Urban Outfitters. But even then, found nothing. Went into H&M - the 3rd in the city in the span of a year - got Jake an argyle sweater and got me a sweater (which sheds like a mofo!! GRR!) and a skirt. The husband wasn't too lucky.

The new mall is nice - but I'd rather be next door at the Shopping Center where it's more quiet. The only really neat thing about the new mall is the food court down in the basement. It is by no means your ordinary food court. Gourmet food is served and there is a big Bristol Farms inside the mall too. I wanted to try Beard Papa's but the crowd was just way too big - maybe next time. The really only convenient thing is the access to the BART station right there. I'd do it again :).

It's Thanksgiving next week. It's also the husband's 33rd birthday. Then it's Christmas. Oh god.