Friggin egg.

Baby Steps

2009-10-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

A little more about our house to set the tone for what's to come...

When we bought it, it was actually in fantastic condition. Absolutely nothing "needed" to be done, it was completely move-in ready. That said, there were (and are) plenty of things we want to do, and as time has gone on a few "must do's" to throw in there as well. Let's not forget that we're still adjusting to a giant mortgage payment during tough economic times, so everything we have done and will do is on a very strict budget. (Hmmm... that sounds like a disclaimer, but it's not!) Basically all this means is that we have to be patient and creative to get things done around here.

So when I had a $100 gift burning a hole in my pocket and promises of rain to come, I found the perfect project to tackle: the planter box in front of our house. The eyesore that greeted me when I came home at the end of the day was starting to get depressing. It's not that it looked like a dump, it just didn't look like we had put any effort into it at all - uh, because we hadn't. A 3 hour project turned this (actually, by the time the project started all but the giant bush in the middle was dead):

Into this...

Moving a big bush to a better spot, adding a few new plants and some festive pumpkins and the house looks so much better. We had already changed out the porch light and added the house number to the front by the garage and love the results. But we're definitely not done yet. Also on the list? Shutters for the window on the right (can't decide on a color - I want to paint the whole house a new color scheme, but, again, the money issue. Thoughts?? I'd love some input here!!), potentially painting the front door, and a bench for the porch. And what about the brick of the planter? I like the natural brick look, but for some reason it just looks.... messy? Anyway, we also need to fill in the back corner of that planter box, but you can't really see it due to the giant lemon tree that mostly blocks it, so I'm focusing on the rest first.

I'm opening this and every other project to feedback and ideas. I have the creativity of a fruit fly, so any help would be much appreciated. :)

PS. The before and after pictures look glaringly different mostly because the Before pics were taken at noon in May and the After pics were taken at 6 pm in October. Oh, and my photography skillz are nonexistent.

Property Virgins

2009-10-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

Well hello!

I heard from a little birdie or two that I need to update this here blogorino, so off we go!

The last time I checked in I mentioned that we were busy with some house hunting among other things and I'm happy to report that we were successful! On June 18 we closed on our very first home - an 1100 sf, 3 bedroom, 1 bath house that is all ours. We've painted, planted, drilled and hammered to our hearts' content over the past few months. My favorite part of all of it has been not having to ask anyone for permission first or debate whether or not the original effort will be worth it since we'll just have to "undo" it in a year or two when our lease is up. Everything we do increases the value of our investment, and when a huge chunk of our income goes to keeping this roof over our heads, that's a really good thing!!

I'm thinking that for awhile this blog will serve as a documentary of little projects and big projects... at least until I come up with something more interesting to write about. :)

My, my, my...

2009-03-10T20:14:00.001-07:00

Where has the time gone?

All of a sudden it's almost the middle of March?! Nutso. Anyway, lots going on 'round these parts. A little house hunting, a couple pregnant friends (yay!), some volunteer work, a bit o' party planning, the new kickball season... All I can say is if all goes well, the next few months are going to be pretty freakin sweet. I don't usually have a lot of exciting things to look forward to, so you can imagine how thrilled I am that there is a lot going on. :)

For now, I'll share a little story with you.

The other morning as I was driving to work, I noticed some major junk and trash at everyone's curb. Turns out it is "pick-up week" in the next town over (which is, like, 2 blocks from our house) where residents can essentially unload the contents of their overly stuffed garages and the nice Garbage Fairy will come, wave his wand, and take it all away. ::sigh:: Unfortunately, we don't technically live in that city, so our garage remains depressingly cluttered with our crap. But I digress.

As I'm driving along, I start to get really annoyed that I'm having to constantly swerve all over the road to avoid running into/over said junk. A chair? Check. A mattress? Check. Mattress Numero Dos? Check. A toilet seat (just the seat)? Check. And so on. Alright, so we're putt putt putting along and I'm glancing into these piles because... well, I just can't help it. I'm intrigued by that little glimpse into other people's lives. For some reason I find it fascinating... ANYWAY. For the love of Pete, I cannot stay on point.

Where was I? Right. Peeping. Which, to tell you the truth, has absolutely nothing to do with this story. Sorry. After I passed the second mattress laying in the middle of the road, out of absolutely nowhere this random guy pops out right in front of my car, snags something out of the road and runs. I busted up laughing when I saw what he took. It appears as though he was going through pile after pile of junk tearing each one apart to find the one thing that alluded him.

A used toilet seat. Lovely.

19

2008-11-15T14:23:00.000-08:00

So what was I listening to as I soaked up some rays this morning?? My favorite "new" artist is Adele. She is amazing. Beautiful voice, absolutely adorable girl. I first heard her on Saturday Night Live and was completely mesmerized by her voice, I think my jaw was dragging on the floor the entire time. Her entire album is incredible, but my favorite songs are "Chasing Pavements" and "Cold Shoulder."

If you haven't already, I strongly urge you to go download 19 by Adele. You won't be sorry.

"Chasing Pavements"

I've made up my mind,
Don't need to think it over
If I'm wrong, I am right
Don't need to look no further,
This ain't lust
I know this is love
But, if I tell the world
I'll never say enough
Cause it was not said to you
And that's exactly what I need to do
If I end up with you

[Chorus]
Should I give up,
Or should I just keep chasin' pavements?
Even if it leads nowhere
Or would it be a waste
Even if I knew my place
Should I leave it there
Should I give up,
Or should I just keep chasin' pavements
Even if it leads nowhere

I build myself up
And fly around in circles
Waitin' as my heart drops
And my back begins to tingle
Finally, could this be it

[Chorus]
Or should I give up
Or should I just keep chasin' pavements
Even if it leads nowhere
Or would it be a waste
Even if I knew my place
Should I leave it there
Should I give up

Or should I just keep chasin' pavements
Even if it leads nowhere
Or would it be a waste
Even if I knew my place should I leave it there
Should I give up
Or should I just keep on chasin' pavements
Should I just keep no chasin' pavements
Ohh oh

[Chorus]

Just stopping by...

2008-11-15T13:24:00.000-08:00

You would think that being away from blogging for a few months would give me a lot of material. And you would be right, except that it would take me a few months to recount everything that has gone on around here! Suffice it to say, I think blogging for me was something that I used more as a procrastination tool than anything else. Now that school is finished and I actually have a life, I'm out living it and don't have a lot of time to blog about it. Either way, I'm not giving up the blog, but entries will continue to be sporadic, I'm sure.

A quick update on just the last two weeks:

- We spent over $700 at the vet for a biopsy on a gigantic mole that sprouted up on Harley's leg, vaccinations for both dogs, some weird procedure on Harley's eyes that ended up clearing his sinuses so he doesn't snore anymore (Honestly? This alone was worth the money!), and two different kinds of eyedrops for the H Bear. No word yet on the biopsy. Please cross your fingers it's benign.

- Rusty's car had to go into the shop the same day as the vet. We're not even going to discuss how much that cost.

- I taught my very first class at work. I had been freaking out over it for weeks for no reason at all. My course evaluations came back from my "students" and I got nothing but positive feedback. Woot! Go me ;)

- Kimmie came to visit!! I think she took exception to the fact that it snowed at home so early this year. Whatever the reason, I'm so glad she came. We had a ton of fun, without stopping for a second. After a visit to Santana Row for shopping, eating and a mani/pedi for each of us, my kickball championships, two parties, a new drinking game based on Gordon Ramsey and how often he cusses, and meals at the best Mexican and brunch places in San Jose - I sent my oldest friend home a happy girl... if a bit sad to leave us (and vice versa!). Luckily she'll be back in the spring for a trip to Napa!

- Brodie broke a window on Monday. The mailman had the nerve to actually deliver our mail. Sheesh, what was he thinking? Don't worry, Brodie is fine, not a scratch on him. We have a cardboard box in the window now (which is not ghetto at all) and when all is said and done, it will cost us almost $1k. God, grant me the serenity to not kick this dog's ass...*

- I spent most of the morning laying in the sun, listening to my iPod. Did I mention it's over 80 degrees here? It's the middle of November!

I'm spending this weekend relaxing, running some errands and catching up on sleep. It is so nice to have a break! Hope you all are enjoying your weekend!

*Please don't worry, no dogs were harmed in the destruction of our house. :)

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T12:19:00.001-07:00

Hope you all have a fun Halloween weekend!

Welcome Baby A!

2008-09-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

Our new nephew was born!! And he is just perfect.

Baby Ashton

Born September 15, 10:34 am

7.8 lbs, 20 in.

Of course, we can't forget the super-amazing, Kylah!! Monday night after work, we called the hospital and had a special chat with the new big sister. She was so excited to tell me that she got to hold her new baby brother, it was adorable! I can't wait to see the two of them together in action, but for now I just have this picture. It is so sweet, I think I just got a cavity.

Talk about a cure-all for any kind of sour mood. Every time I look at this picture, I smile. Which is great since it is currently the background on my laptop at work. How lucky am I to get to be their Aunt?? :) :)

Freefalling

2008-09-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

Friday morning when my boss asked me if I had any big plans for this weekend, my answer was a sad little "no." That is, unless you consider running errands and cleaning the house "big" plans. Which I don't. So when a coworker (P) came up to me right before lunch and said he had two questions for me, I thought nothing of it and figured it would be about benefits or some other HR thing. Instead, this is what he asked me:

Question #1: How much do you weigh?
Um.....

Question #2: Do you want to go skydiving tomorrow?
Um.....

I sent a text to Rusty to ask him if he thought I should do it. Something about potentially jumping to your death seems to me like a topic that should be discussed with your spouse first. His response? "Hell yeah!" And who am I to disagree with my husband? I told P I would go because I've been itching to skydive again, particularly in better weather than my first jump.

But that still didn't explain the need for my coworker to know how much I weighed. Not that I'm embarrassed about it, it was just a weird question. The diving place needs to know so they use the right equipment and pair you up with the proper tandem instructor. So unless P was a secret pro-skydiver and the plan was to jump tandem with him, I wasn't seeing the connection.

Apparently, he's a pilot! He offered to fly me, and two other guys I work with up to Lodi so that he could do his first jump. P had gotten his hands on a small, 4-passenger Cessna 172 for our trip and weight is a major factor in whether or not the plane will leave the ground and stay in the sky for the duration. Kind of a critical detail. Luckily, I was well below what they needed my weight to be, so I was in!

So bright and early yesterday morning, I met up with the guys at the Reid Hill Airport in San Jose and we took off for Lodi. Can I just say, flying in such a little plane was something I was a little nervous about, but all my fears were laid to rest. This was the smoothest flight I have ever taken in my life. And having a 360° view of the mountains and valley from about 5500 ft was INCREDIBLE!

About 35-40 minutes later we made it to the airport where skydiving takes place. Within a half hour of us landing, we were meeting our tandem instructors and getting strapped in to our gear to take off, yet again. I elected to jump with a photographer again so that I could get some better pictures than I did from my first jump when the weather was crappy. Here are a few highlights from my 60 second freefall:

Coming out of the plane we did a backflip into a nosedive.

The photographer reached out and grabbed my hand and we spun around a couple times. (sexy goggles, huh?)

I'm flying!!!!!!!

And just like that, it's over and we're back to solid ground.
And for the third time in as many hours, we were back to our plane, taking off to come home. I was exhausted and ended up with a vicious head cold, which happened last time, too. Something about the air shooting up my nose messes with my sinuses and I sneeze alllll day long. So I spent the rest of the day sleeping and I feel great today. Who knows? Maybe I will go again!

Oh! And to top off an already great weekend with something even better? Rusty comes home tonight after being gone for 11 days! Yippeeeee!!

Introducing...

2008-08-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

Genevieve America Arzabal! Born August 27, 2008. 6lbs, 3 oz.

She's beautiful! So cute, peaceful and perfect. :) Congrats to Rebecca and Mike, the incredibly happy parents! We are so happy for you and can't wait to meet her!

I am the smartest man alive!!!*

2008-08-28T21:15:00.001-07:00

Well... make that "woman."

I did it!!!!! I just checked my grades and I finished my last class with a 97.5%! Which means that I have officially graduated and earned my Masters degree with a 4.0 GPA and the highest honors!

I have never done this before. I've come so close to getting straight A's or a 4.0 GPA in the past, but never quite got there. I don't think I can accurately express just how excited and relieved I am right now. And dare I say it? I am fucking proud of myself. :)

This. Is. Awesome.

*Props to anyone who can tell me what movie that quote is from. Hint: Which timeless classic addressed the age-old question of whether it was shampoo or conditioner that was indeed better?

Someone pinch me.

2008-08-20T17:28:00.001-07:00

Because this has got to be a dream. And by "this" I mean "being finished with my masters degree."

I just got home from my very last final exam. Ever. No, seriously. Think about it: You graduate from high school, but then there's college. You graduate from college, but there is still the option of a graduate degree hanging over your head. Do you do it? Do you not? Is it worth it? If you don't do it, will you regret not trying? For me, it was worth it, so I busted my butt for almost 3 years to finally be at a point in my education where I can actually say that I have done everything I can to prepare me for my career. This means no more homework. No more case studies to read, papers to write, exams to study for. Nothing. Nada. I'M DONE.

So you would think I'd feel all light and freeeeee as a bird, right? Well, I don't. That test was complete BS and I still have that guilty feeling like I should be doing something productive instead of sitting on my arse on the couch.

I think I might still be in shock - I'm sure I'll get over it. In the meantime, I'm going to go do a little happy dance. :)

August

2008-08-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

Exciting things are all around this month...

1) I am exactly 20 days away from the last official day of the Summer 2008 semester. In other words, 20 days from now I will officially have my Masters degree!!!!!!

2) Today is my five year (full-time) anniversary with the company I work for. Can't wait to see what the next 5 are like!

3) I'm joining a kickball team. More specifically, the reigning Silicon Valley champs: The Booze Pirates.

4) Our friends are expecting their first child (a girl!) to arrive later this month.

5) We only have ONE wedding left to attend! Wooohooo!

6) I get to see Jess and Chris this weekend! And the dogs get to have a sleepover with their cousin, Indy.

7) Soccer camp is almost over for the summer, which means I might actually see Rusty for more than 30 minutes. Score!

Life is good.... :o)

Holla!

2008-07-31T21:38:00.000-07:00

Nothing makes me happier than hearing Tim Gunn say, "Holla at ya boy!"

Awesome. Simply awesome.

Tim? Timmy? Can I call you Timmy? I think I love you.

Pet Peeve Du Jour

2008-07-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

It drives me absolutely insane when I am trying to drive through the parking lot at work to get to my office only to have to crawl at -10 mph because people decide they are going to walk 5 across at a snail's pace, in the middle of the road and not get out of the way. Um... do you not hear the car right behind you? Do you not care? Do you have a death wish and want me to run you over?? WHAT?!

Now, the funny thing is, this doesn't bother me as much if I'm at the mall or something. But the fact that I work in an office complex makes it no secret that I actually HAVE to be somewhere like, oh, I don't know - my JOB? You taking your sweet ass time strolling through the parking lot is not only preventing me from getting there, but you're also pissing me off and making me want to find out what it would be like to run over your foot.

I now pronounce you...

2008-07-28T17:34:00.001-07:00

Husband and Wife!!

A huge congrats to a couple of our best friends, Derek and Michele! They tied the knot this past weekend in a beautiful wedding in Cincinnati, Ohio. The ceremony was held at Holy Cross Immaculata Church and the reception was at the Hyde Park Country Club. Michele totally outdid herself and impressed us all with her cross-country planning. Everything went off without a hitch and she looked absolutely stunning. Seriously. Like a Barbie doll. :) The best moment was at the end of the night when Michele looked at me with a look of quasi-terror on her face and said, "We're going to be an old married couple now!" Don't worry, Michele, it's really not that bad. ;)

Another plus from the weekend was meeting more of their family and friends. Everyone couldn't have been nicer, more welcoming and more fun. I can honestly say I think we made some connections this weekend that will last longer than just the few days we were there.

Not only were we thrilled to be there as guests, but we felt honored to be a part of the wedding. Rusty stood up with Derek as a groomsman and I helped out in my official role as Program Distributor. It's a skill, people. I'm amazing. Really.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend...

Rehearsal dinner...

The ceremony... (didn't take many pictures. I was too busy being a sap and crying!)

Rusty escorting our new friend, Karen :)

Time to party!

Rusty and the best man, Jason

He cleans up pretty good, eh?

I love the look on Michele's face in this picture. Too cute!

Thanks for everything guys, we had a blast! Best wishes to you both and welcome to the club!! :)

Odds & Ends

2008-07-20T21:12:00.001-07:00

It's the little things that make me happy...

- Since I won't be going to get my eyebrows waxed anytime soon, I thought it was a good time to invest in a really good pair of tweezers and upgrade from my dull Revlon ones. Off to Sephora I went where I found a cute (and sharp) pair that were right up my alley. I hate plucking my eyebrows, so I might as well do it with something a little more fun and functional.

- While we were making dinner Friday night, my phone drowned on the counter where a bag of ice had been sitting. (Yes, I charge my phone on the kitchen counter. I kind of asked for it.) Lucky for me, I was getting close to having to renew my 2-year contract with Sprint anyway so it was perfect timing. Not only did I upgrade my old flip phone to the new Samsung Instinct, I also signed up for a more comprehensive, cheaper service plan, AND worked out a special deal where I got a $70 credit to my account! Hurray!

- We saw The Dark Night today. Wow. I loved it. I'm not sure if any of you braved the crowds for its opening weekend, but I'll ya. Totally. Worth it. It was a little weird seeing Heath Ledger in that role, especially in the beginning. But he does such a great job as the Joker and you're so focused on the character that you completely forget about the actor. Definitely a must-see movie.

- Feeling an unfamiliar urge to be domestic. I know... weird. In response, I decided to try a new recipe and bake "Blueberry Breakfast Cornbread" while I was still half asleep this morning. Surprisingly enough, it was really good! :)

- I got a new phone. Oh. I guess I said that already... But all I've been doing since yesterday afternoon is play with it. It is so cool! So shiny and fancy. And I can check my email or go to the navigation feature by tapping one button. That's it! Very similar to the iPhone, but for a whole lot less. Who doesn't love that? One more thing and then I'll stop with the phone stuff, I promise. If I haven't already asked you, please email or text me your phone numbers! The damage was too severe to transfer my phone book. Thanks!

- And probably the finest moment of the weekend... some peace!

Bloody hell

2008-07-14T18:27:00.001-07:00

What better way to end a really stressful, yet productive day at work than to drive into a stationary object?

I worked late in order to (successfully) work out a deal for tickets to an event we want to take a potential client to. Working late meant that I kept Rusty waiting when he had to get back to work. So when I finally walked to my car, I get a call from the Hubster and he tells me that I need to boogie and get home to the dogs so he can leave. The combination of being pumped up after I did something awesome at work and being in a rush to get home, I didn't pay attention to how my steering wheel was turned or the fact that I was parked right next to a giant post. I started to pull out of my spot and BOOM! Right into the post. Followed by some colorful language that I'll leave out since this blog should be at least semi-family friendly. I quickly look out my window to see if anyone saw or heard me and there were two guys about 7 cars away staring at me. Sweeeet. Embarrassing? Sure. But whatever, they don't know me. And then I saw my boss pulling out about four cars down. Double sweeeet.

Oh, and I almost did it a second time because I was so flustered.

Luckily, damage was barely noticeable and my car is totally driveable. Thank god. Because while a ding here and there doesn't really bother me, the last thing I wanted was to pay a $500 deductible to get it fixed.

Seriously... I hate when stuff like this happens. I am such a moron.

Mandy & Nathan

2008-07-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I get really sad that I'm so far away from home - that is, the home where I spent the majority of my "growing up" years. It means I have lost touch with some good friends I made back in Jersey and I usually miss big events because I'm on the other side of the country. So when my one of my oldest and dearest friends, Mandy, told me she was getting married, I was thrilled! But so sad at the same time because I wasn't sure if I would be able to travel to North Carolina for her wedding.

Lucky for me, as a result of a variety of reasons, Mandy and her new husband, Nathan, decided the best locale for their wedding would be Saratoga! Woo! This meant that I didn't have to travel AND I got to stand up with her as a bridesmaid. Their wedding was at the picturesque Hakone Gardens and despite the 100+ degree heat, it was a beautiful ceremony. The scenery was outshone only by the love Mandy and Nathan clearly have for one another. Thankfully, after we got through taking pictures, we were able to escape the dreadful heat to go to the reception at Trevese in Los Gatos. This place was incredible. The food, the wine, the decor... just awesome. I can't wait to go back.

Since I was in the wedding, I wasn't able to take many pictures. Hopefully I'll be able to come back with more pictures later, but for now here are a couple pictures to document the past 2 days.

Mandy and I at the Cielo Terrace - the top of the Hotel Valencia. This is the first time in about seven years we've seen each other in person!

The gorgeous bride! Can you believe she altered the top of her dress from a weird halter to this amazing sweetheart neckline? By herself? Yea. I'm impressed!

Finally! Air conditioning! Us after the ceremony.

The newlyweds cut the cake... and then smash it in each other's faces. :)

Mandy made the programs, seating cards and everything (except the Sensu fan) by hand. This girl is awesome. She kept with the Japanese theme very well and even gave all the girls a card explaining the significance of the Sensu fans in Japanese culture and weddings. Our seating cards all had a different movie quote about love that she picked especially for each of us. Mine was a quote from Moulin Rouge, "Love is a many splendid thing. Love fills us up where we belong. All you need is love!" I love it! :)

Congratulations, Mandy and Nathan!!! I know you've waited a long time for this and I'm so happy you are finally husband and wife! I love you both and wish you all the best. We can't wait to come visit you in Charlotte!

If it wasn't so funny, I'd cry.

2008-07-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

For those who get their eyebrows waxed: Have you ever laid there with your eyes closed while the aesthetician goes to town, worrying about what you're going to look like when she's done? I have. Most of the time it's completely unnecessary because I come out looking normal, like myself - just with pretty eyebrows.

Today? Not so much.

I went into my trusty neighborhood salon to get my unruly brows tamed, but my regular lady wasn't there. I stupidly let someone else work on me for what seemed like a half hour. The entire time I'm lying there thinking "this is taking way too long..." But being someone who hates confrontation, I didn't say anything. I then convinced myself that it was taking so long because she's "just that good!" Oh, how wrong I was.

I now have a tan line where most of my eyebrows used to be. A TAN LINE, people!!! What the hell was this woman thinking?? And to top it all off, do you want to know what she said to me right before I closed my eyes and she got to work?

"Not too thin, right?"

Riiiiiight. Did I mention that I'm in a wedding on Thursday? Good times...

Just because

2008-07-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

There is one thing that sets Brodie and Harley apart (aside from their vast difference in size) and that is their affection, or lack thereof, for the sun. Brodie will find the smallest sliver of sunlight to bask under, whereas Harley will do anything to stay in the shade. So it came as no surprise when we noticed that Harley chose to lay in the dirt with the flowers on Friday to stay cool.

A Place in the Shade from meghan johnson on Vimeo.

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T09:33:00.001-07:00

Dan & Sandi

2008-07-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I've let it go for so long before putting up a post to congratulate our friends, Dan and Sandi, on their nuptials! They got married at Bass Lake near Yosemite almost a month ago and it was beautiful. Everything from the weather to the scenery to the gorgeous bride. It was a great day and night!

Here are some of the girls hitching a ride to the ceremony from our cabins.

The view of the lake from where Rusty and I sat.
Beautiful bride...Smooch!

Centerpieces

Yummy cake

Us in front of the lake

Congrats and Best Wishes to the happy couple!

Mas, por favor!

2008-07-01T18:09:00.000-07:00

What's that? You want more? Okay, okay. Twist my arm... ;)

We've been to Epcot and the Magic Kingdom so far. We went to both parks a second time later in the week because we didn't get to see and do everything on our list the first time around. However, there is way too much to document here, so I'm going to try and only hit the highlights. Alright! Next stop? Animal Kingdom where, among other things, we went on a jungle cruise, a safari ride to see some beautiful, exotic animals and a petting zoo for your run-of-the-mill sheep and goats.

Kylah wanted to brush every single one of them. She was so sweet and gentle with them.

Brothers!

The family in front of the Tree of Life. It's hard to see in this picture, but there are different wild animals carved out and sort of blend together. It is pretty amazing.

Next it was back to Epcot! This time, we focused on wandering through the countries and I tried to get some good pictures.

This is my favorite from the whole trip... I love the reflection of the clouds in the glass.

Me and my love in..."France." Can I just take a moment to comment on the fact that I HATE humidity. Every day I had to wear my hair back. Its making for some boring pictures...

We ended the night by staying at the park to watch the Epcot fireworks. We had great seats, right on the lake. Very cool.... particularly because they came with an ice cold margarita. :)

Lets just round this out with some of my favorite pictures to sum up the rest of the week...

Kylah loved her Crush doll we gave her.

::Sigh::

That was fun... So uh, when are we getting together again??! :)

Wish Upon A Star

2008-06-26T11:19:00.001-07:00

We had a fantastic time with our family at Disney World. However, this was not an endeavor for the faint of heart! We braved rain, wind, blisters, ponchos that smelled like a tacklebox, mosquitoes and some wicked sunburns that will no doubt drain the world of its supply of aloe. All kidding aside, these were just tiny bits of our trip that just gave us more to laugh about, because who has ever been on a vacation where everything goes perfectly? (If you are raising your hand right now, you can just go ahead and slap yourself for me. ;))

I will now try to sum up our vacation with more pictures than anything else. Lets just put it this way, I think between all of us we have more than 600 pictures. I went through them and pulled 81 out that are must haves for our album (luckily it fits 200 photos, so I get to pick more!! mwa ha ha ha!) . But I am obviously not going to put up 81 pictures because, as awesome as we are... no one wants to wade through that many pictures on someone's blog. And I don't have the patience to upload that many either.

So here we go...

Rusty and I arrived to Orlando on Friday, June 13. We had a fantastic crab dinner (crab cakes for me... yummy!) to kick things off right. We were all excited and wound up but knew we had a big day ahead of us at Epcot, so we hit the sack relatively early. But first, Kylah helped me check out our new digs for the next week.

The parks we covered during our stay were Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Disney Hollywood Studios (some twice!). All were ridiculously fun and provided an unimaginable amount of walking. I wonder how many miles we walked overall...? I had to keep reminding myself not to complain out loud because my wonderful sister-in-law held up just fine and she's 6 months pregnant! What a trooper. :)

Anyway, I'll be up front with you all right now and say I honestly do not remember everything we did. Occasionally I'd write notes in my cell phone to remind me, but not often enough to remember what we did each day. Let's start with Epcot, shall we?

View of Epcot from our balcony. This was especially awesome because we could watch the fireworks from here every night!

First family picture of the trip...
We had heard Donald Duck was hard to spot. He was the first character we met!
Rusty and I in front of a waterfall in Norway...

Kylah got to meet almost all of the Disney princesses at her princess lunch. She met Cinderella, Sleeping Pooty (she can't say "Beauty" yet...), Ariel and a host of others but Belle was everyone's favorite. She was gorgeous and so sweet.

While Kylah got autographs from some other characters, Goofy gave me a big hug :)

Beautiful family... outside the Finding Nemo ride.

Most important picture of all: the family with Mickey!

The next day we headed to Magic Kingdom.

Sheesh! Only been here an hour and we're in trouble already! Haha!

"Can I see??"

You thought I was kidding about the ponchos. Seriously, they're making a comeback! In any case, when its raining as hard as it was, you'll wear ANYTHING to stay dry!

Uncle Rusty holding Sleepy Kylah... this makes my uterus ache... ;)

Kylah and I settle in after a looong day to watch Ratatouille.

That about wraps up the first couple days. I have more that I'd like to share with everyone, so stay tuned!

Bueller? ... Bueller?

2008-06-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

Is anyone here??

Fear not, for I am back! I just got home from a 10 day vacation to Disney World with the in-laws and I.Am.Beat. Right now I'm working on going through the hundreds and hundreds of pictures we all took while we were there. As soon I've managed to whittle them down to a reasonable number, I'll put up a proper post.

For now, please entertain yourselves with a little clip of the inspiration for the title of my blog. Our beautiful - and funny - niece, Kylah. God, I love this kid.

Inspiration from meghan johnson on Vimeo.

I can see clearly now

2008-06-04T21:24:00.001-07:00

Well, now that my pupils aren't dilated to the size of saucers and I'm wearing new contacts. Yay for being able to see!

For the past week I've noticed that my vision has been kind of blurry - for things near and far - even with my contacts. I'm 27! I shouldn't have to worry about reading glasses! In any case, yesterday was the last straw. I could hardly see my computer screen and had the worst migraine from squinting all day. I wasn't sure if it was just my allergies or if my prescription had changed. I went ahead and made an appointment with a new eye doctor since I got new vision insurance. At the time the appointment was made, no one mentioned they'd be dilating my eyes since I'm a new patient and that just maybe I should have someone there to drive me home. Thank god I brought my old glasses with me, because I couldn't wear my contacts after the eye exam and subsequent burning eye drops that opened them up so big I'm sure they could see into the deepest recesses of my brain. If I thought the headache I had during the day was bad, the one I got at the eye doctor was that times about a million. So bad it literally made me sick. The bright California sun I usually adore became my worst enemy. Somehow I got myself home safely, although I wouldn't have been surprised if I ended up at the other end of California with all the signs I could read.

Learn from my mistake: If you go in for an eye exam, ALWAYS ask if they'll be dilating your pupils. And if they are going to, make sure you have a ride home. I'm so pissed I had to drive like that. Not only was it painful and I felt like puking the entire way home, but it was dangerous too. There is your PSA for the day. :)

La la la

2008-06-03T12:49:00.001-07:00

What to write, what to write...

As I mentioned in my previous post, life has been all sorts of topsy-turvy these days. In addition to the two major occurrences of last week, work is totally crazy, my very last class for school has been super hard and we've got something going on every weekend for the next month. There just doesn't seem to be any time to get things done or god forbid, relax. We've got our family vacation to Florida coming up next week, so I've been trying to prep my pasty, pudgy self by working out a little more (and by "a little more," I mean "at all"), getting some sun and trying to find some affordable, new clothes to get me more excited and get my mind off everything else. While a little retail therapy is usually a cure-all for what ails me, I should always remember that bathing suit shopping has the exact opposite effect. Dear Lord in heaven, it ain't pretty.

Unfortunately, no matter how much I hate it - and we all do - my ass feels like it has grown to epic proportions lately (at least for me), and last year's suit now resembles more of an overstuffed sausage casing than a sexy bathing suit. Icky. After trying on about 30 different styles and sizes, I finally found a cute little number at Old Navy. I'm completely over spending lots of money on swimsuits. I figured that by going the cheaper route it won't matter if it doesn't fit next year! Who cares? Go ahead, eat that box of cookies! Wooo! ahem Not that I'd ever do that.... (uncomfortably looking away...) Back to my point. Cute, huh? Lets hope it looks good on, too...

Pink Paisley String Bikini, Old Navy

For the record, I just want to say that as I stood in those horrific dressing rooms with terrible lighting, I realized how much I hate all those lucky ladies with long legs, tiny waists and long torsos who look so good in a bikini. You all suck. There. I said it. I (of the stubby-legged, hipless, short torso'd variety) am really trying to be "comfortable" in my own skin, but I'll tell ya, with every new dimple of cellulite it gets that much harder!

Hmmm.... TMI, perhaps?

A ray of sunshine

2008-05-29T19:05:00.001-07:00

I adore my boss.

I have had a pretty horrible week, details of which I can't go into here. Suffice it to say, I'm pretty disheartened with people in general right now. Let's hope that time will change my opinion. I was also unexpectedly reminded how unpredictable, short and fragile life is.

My boss knows it has been a rough few days, so after lunch she came into my office bearing this gift which totally helped cheer me right up. Looking at this makes me smile. Not only because it is so pretty and was such a sweet gesture, but also because it serves as a reminder that there are way more good people out there than jerks. :)

And we're back!

2008-05-27T18:06:00.001-07:00

I got home yesterday and I am still exhausted. But never say that I didn't put aside my own suffering for the sake of my blog. :)

Anyway, my trip home was great! Too short, but totally worth it. I flew in to New Jersey Thursday night and finally left the airport a little past 1am after waiting for my bags for an hour. Not fun. Luckily I had nothing planned for Friday except sleeping in and catching up with my dogs and oh yeah, my parents!

Friday night I met up with Kim, my oldest, bestest friend from high school. We headed over to Grasshopper Off the Green, a cool Irish bar in Morristown for some drinks, dinner and good old catching up. SO much fun I can't do it justice. I love my Kimmie. :) (Hey Kim, "Mierdamente!" "I can still do whatever the fuck I want!" "You gotta honor your craft, man!" I have no recollection of what any of that means. Gotta love notes on a cocktail napkin after a few drinks!)

Saturday morning my sister, Bridget, and I hopped on a train into NYC to meet up with our other sister, Kristy for a fun weekend, just the three of us. First up: Rent at the Nederlander Theatre on Broadway. Just as good as the first time! I'm so sad its leaving. I'd go a hundred more times if I could!

After the show, we wandered through Times Square (ugh, not exactly the most fun, but necessary to get to our car) and found some fun billboards. Like this one for Sex and the City. Okay, it was really for Bacardi, but they used the girls to get more attention ;)
Saturday night the three of us went to my all-time favorite destination in all of New York: Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village. ::sigh:: This place never gets old for me! We got such awesome seats, we were literally ON the stage. Check it out. I took this from where I was sitting - no zoom.
Here's me and my sisters having a BLAST! Between all the beer, the awesome music and crowd, how could we not??
Sunday we helped celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge by walking across it. Great views and impressive construction made it something to remember.
Heading towards Brooklyn...
The construction geek in me couldn't get over how incredible the craftsmanship of this bridge was...Walking back towards Manhattan, the view to the right...

And the left...

We walked around more of the city and past Ground Zero. Not much to take pictures of there because of the construction fencing that blocks everything. Even though we didn't see anything, I'm glad we went. I kind of felt like it completed my trip into the city.

That about sums it up! I spent Sunday night eating my favorite dish of my dad's - lemon chicken (mmmmmmm....) and learning how to make it, playing with the dogs and chatting with my mom. Unfortunately, first thing Monday morning I was in the car driving back to the airport. :( Have I mentioned I'm tired? Because I am. I feel like I need a vacation from vacation! Lucky for me, I've got a 10 day trip to Orlando coming up in 2 1/2 weeks. Woohoo!!

Hope you all had a great, long Memorial Day weekend!

Fire!

2008-05-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

Oh my god, all morning I've been following this story. When I woke up, 100 acres in the Santa Cruz mountains had burned. By the time I left for work, it was over 500 acres. When I got home for lunch and to finish packing? THOUSANDS of acres. We have friends who live over the hill, who will probably be fine, but I can't help but worry especially considering the 40 mph gusts of wind we've been having all day. Scary stuff. Its horrible to see the people losing their homes and also all the animals. People have horses, goats, etc. out there in addition to family pets. I just hope everyone - people and animals - get out safely. "Stuff" you can replace, loved ones you can't.

Please, even if you don't live around here, keep the residents of Santa Cruz and all the firefighters in your thoughts and prayers today. They're saying the fire should be easier to fight tonight when the winds die down... I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Photo courtesy of KGO.

Heading East

2008-05-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

As soon as I stop feeling as though someone is twisting my stomach like a wet rag, I'll be packing to go home for a few days. I'm SO excited!! First stop: good ol' New Jersey! I'll hang with my parents and my dogs for a bit before catching up with some friends. Then its off to spend two days in NYC with my sisters - what I'm sure will be the highlight of my trip! Luckily, the weather is supposed to be absolutely perfect, because as much as I love New York City and being home, its just not as fun when its raining. Now the only thing that can ruin this trip is if I don't start feeling better...

Soooo, I'll be back next week with pictures and a rundown of all the fun that was had - Jersey style. ;)

Is it over already?

2008-05-18T20:42:00.000-07:00

Weekends never last long enough. I'm totally pulling for the 4-day work week. Who's with me?!

We had a fantastic weekend, and yet it completely consisted of manual labor in some intense 97 degree heat. As I mentioned before, two of our best friends, Derek and Michele, just recently bought a house. So Rusty and I offered up our services to help with some of the projects, namely painting and laying their new bamboo floor. Well, I'm happy to say that as I type this, the guys are making the last cuts and laying the last few boards and Michele and I are in relaxation land since we finished the last of the painting earlier this evening. I am sore in the weirdest spots and totally covered in paint. I'm not kidding. I have paint in my hair, on my face, all over my arms and chest, my clothes, and the best? In my CONTACTS. But honestly, it was totally worth it. Michele and I had two full days of one-on-one time for some girl talk which is always a welcome distraction from my home full of boys. I cannot wait for their wedding in July! Oh, the fun we'll have...

Even though we worked from 11am to 11pm yesterday and all day today, this was one of the best weekends we've had in awhile (well, for a weekend that didn't involve traveling to some fun destination). Last night was my 5 year college reunion and I had contemplated going for months, actually I had every intention of going. Then I saw the list of attendees and when I didn't see anyone on the list who I really wanted to "reunite" with, I decided against it. Instead, the money will go into our house fund which will bring us that much closer to the weekends when Derek and Michele will be spending their weekends helping us with our house! ;)

Now its time to kick back, relax, and get some homework done for the end of the week, because next weekend? I'll be in New York!! Wooooo!!!

Just to end on a fun note - I can always find one of these cards to fit a situation in my life. Today I found three!

This just made me laugh...My friends keep getting their emails blocked when they write to me at work...Getting stoked for next week...

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend as well! Now buck up, little camper and get back to work! :P

Reason #538729 Why I Love California

2008-05-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a monumental day for equality and I truly couldn't be happier for all those who now have the right to marry the one they love. The response around here to the state Supreme Court overturning the ban on gay marriage has been incredible and inspiring. I am so proud to say that California is my home.

And yeah, this totally made me tear up... Look how happy they are?? Too sweet for words... :)

Hot as Hades

2008-05-12T19:01:00.000-07:00

Where the hell did this come from????

Forgive me

2008-05-12T15:45:00.000-07:00

... for being so incredibly boring lately, but I just can't seem to muster up anything interesting to write about! I don't have a house to renovate or dedicate an entire post to; I'm not really into partying anymore; I'm not a particularly good photographer, cook, baker, etc. so there's not a whole lot there.... (translation: I'm a horrible housewife. Hence, the reason I will always work.) ... blah blah blah. What I do have is a job I love, a husband I love (and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual ;)) and two dogs who keep me on my toes (as you can see here and here).

I'm incredibly grateful for all I do have, but I'll admit I have moments of jealousy over the things/skills I don't have. I'm always on the hunt for a new hobby that I might be good at, better than average even, but so far I haven't found anything aside from work and grad school. Neither live up to the definition of "fun" but I am pretty good at both and they give me a solid feeling of accomplishment.

So. Now that I am entering into my very last class to earn my graduate degree, I've been thinking a lot about how I want to spend my new found free time come September. I've been throwing around a few ideas:

Volunteer! Ideally, I would be able to do this at one of the local SPCA/Humane Society sites. If my career can't involve animals, I might as well dedicate some extra time to them!

Get a second job. Okay, so admittedly, this is not my favorite option because I am inherently lazy and my favorite thing to do after work Monday through Friday is walk in the door, take off my heels and work clothes and settle into my slippers and comfy fat pants. This generally does not happen when one has a second job. However, the Husband and I have upped our deadline to buy a house, so there is no time like the present to start sacrificing some free time to make a little extra cash. (Mmmmmm.... discount at Banana Republic..... drool.....)

Go to the gym. Hahahahaha! I know. Who am I kidding? I can't even believe I wrote that!

Join a book club! Take a knitting class or cooking class! Visit my grandma so she can teach me how to sew! She's just up in San Francisco, so its not that far and I really need to be spending more time with her. So...

Let's just go ahead and make that one a definite: Visit Grandma WAY more often!

There are all sorts of things that I could do in my spare time (once I have it). I'm going to weigh the pros and cons of the volunteer vs. second job thing, which is going to be hard because both have 'pros' that I am very passionate about. Its just that one only benefits my heart and my karma, while the other puts good ol' dinero in my pocket. Or our savings account to be more exact. So we can all look forward to the coming months as I'll actually have a life - I hope - from which I will draw upon in an attempt to make this blog thingy ever so slightly more interesting. :)

Okay, so this photo has absolutely nothing to do with my post, but I've been missing having a tiny puppy around. So in my perusal of Harley's puppy pictures, I found this pic that I had to share. Harley at about 15 weeks old greeting our niece (7 months old). She slept right through this...

It's in the water

2008-05-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

Babies babies, everywhere! Just to name a few: my sister-in-law is due in the fall, as is the wife of one of our groomsmen, the sister of a friend of mine just had her baby yesterday and a couple weeks ago I found out that another friend of mine at work is expecting! Yay! I'm so happy for everyone, I could literally explode. :) And my coworker found out last week that she's having a boy! Double Yay! This fabulous news prompted her to question what is in the water at our company because every woman at work in the last 3 years has had a boy (some of them have had more than one boy in that span of time). It makes me wonder if when we're ready, - whichisnotrightnowthankyouverymuch - should I still be working there when I get pregnant since I want at least one girl??

I kid I kid! But it has sparked a conversation or two - granted they are mostly in my head - about what exactly our plans are in terms of kids and why do we bother making plans anyway? Its inevitable that whatever we "decide"will be overridden by the man upstairs. Of course, for the most part we can control the timing of the whole thing, but there are other issues too. Anyone who has ever wanted kids has at some point said something along the lines of "I want two kids. One boy and one girl, preferably in that order." Okay, so that's what I say... whatever. ;) But I think its a well known fact that, except for the lucky few, we rarely get what we want.... or think we want. When it comes to kids, in the end it really doesn't matter if we have all boys, all girls or one of each because its not up to us. Then you've got my husband, ever the optimist, who figures with our luck we'll have one and when we go for the second, we'll end up with twins or ::gulp:: triplets! Yikes!

The point I think I'm trying to make is I'm trying really hard to not over plan our future because... well... its pointless! I've seen people try to live their life by a timeline or a "plan" and when things don't go accordingly, they're lost and upset and that makes me sad. It's great to have goals and all that and try to time things as best you can, but in the end, the best thing we can do is just let go and live by the que será, será attitude.

I know I know. Easier said than done... :) For now, these two mutts are all the kids I can handle.

May lightning strike me

2008-05-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

... if I'm lying, but I am so happy classes have started again. I just had a couple weeks off from school and at first I really enjoyed the freedom to go out or just lay around and do nothing without feeling guilty. But by the end, I was getting really bored. I tried to get out and do as much as possible so I could really enjoy the free time I had but when you're trying to save money, there aren't a whole lot of options! Instead I spent a lot of time on the couch, vegging. And honestly, there is only so much Lifetime and HGTV a girl can stand. I know, right?

Because I've been feeling so useless, I offered up my services as Painter Extraordinaire to our good friends who just bought their first home. We spent all day yesterday at their place working on Step 1: lay the subflooring for the new bamboo floor. As a result of a few snags, including some stripped screws from the girls' attempts at drilling them into the floor, we never got to the painting stage of the project. But since its going to be awhile before the Husband and I are able to purchase our first home, I'm more than willing to hang in there for as long as it takes. I love projects like this. When I was younger I loved to watch This Old House and Old Yankee Workshop with my dad. I mean, its not like I ever actually did anything, but I love the idea of learning how to use all the tools we have. Rusty let me play with some of them and my eyes almost popped out of my head with shock when I realized just how powerful a circular saw feels in your hands. Cuh-raaaazy!

Since we're all about packing as much as we can into a narrow window of time, after we left their house, we went home to change and immediately turned around to go to the San Jose Earthquakes Opening Day at SCU. It was amazing to see so many people on campus and the new facilities and amenities we got as a result of the Quakes using our stadium as their home field for the next few years. Semi-boring game that picked up at the end but the real highlights were the fireworks they set off during the national anthem and all the service men and women who held a giant flag. Very cool.

Of course, as I'm sure many of us did, I finished the weekend with some hardcore spring cleaning. Mostly because I had ignored it for a couple weeks, but also because even though I am happy for class to start again, I will still look for anything to put off homework for a few hours.

Uno Mas!!

2008-04-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

So I got my grades back today for the two classes I took this semester. The verdict?

I GOT TWO A's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That brings me to 10 out of 11 classes completed with a cumulative GPA of 4.0!!

Only one class left and I will officially have my Masters of Science in Human Resource Management. Hooray!!

BOOYAH!

2008-04-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

I finally had my review today at work and it went GREAT! I wasn't really worried about it, but I don't think anyone actually looks forward to those, right? Anyway, the performance evaluation went extremely well, but the part that makes me very happy was my compensation review.

As many of you know, the husband and I are determined to buy a house in the next year and a half while the housing market around here isn't as outrageous as usual - at least by Silicon Valley standards. We've given ourselves a budget, started saving and planned out our finances as well as we can for the next year. Needless to say, I was a little antsy to see if my comp adjustment would reflect all the hard work I've put in over the last year, but just as important, will it make a difference in our savings plan? The good news is YES! Granted, I didn't win the lottery or anything, but I did receive a pretty solid raise and every little bit helps, so I certainly can't complain. Woohoo!

And as if I deserved MORE good things at work, I'm just finishing out the second week with my new boss. She. Is. Awesome. A little background: two years ago, I was promoted to the HR Manager position to build an HR department. All by myself. I had no experience and at the same time started going to school in the evenings to get my masters degree in Human Resource Management. While I believe I've done a really good job so far with the HR dept., I'm realistic and know that there is only so far my department can go without some help and guidance from someone with more experience. Well, apparently my boss (the president of the company) was thinking the same thing and we hired the HR consultant we were working with on a few projects to be our Director of HR. She is amazing, funny, witty, super smart and has the most adorable British accent ever. I just can't believe how much nicer it is to go to work now that she's on board. The best thing about her? She's all about incorporating shopping into any and all offsite meetings or business trips. Who can argue with that? :)

Finally, a few pictures I took after work today to brighten up this post before I lose my 3 readers for good!

Pretty floral arrangement from my company...

Flowering ivy outside our kitchen window...Baby peaches on our tree!

...aaand I'm spent. The large furry things that live in my house are summoning me again... Have a Happy Friday, ya'll!

At Peace

2008-04-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

Early Monday morning we got the news that my father-in-law's fiancé lost her battle with cancer. Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with him, her daughter and the rest of the family right now.

I really wish we could hop on a plane back to NJ for the funeral and to be with Rusty's dad but we just can't afford the flights. Sending our love, good thoughts and lots of prayers will have to do for now.

Come back, Kim!!

2008-04-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

I just had a fantastic weekend visiting with my BFF from high school, Kim. She and I met at soccer camp in New Jersey the summer before our freshman year. Actually, we had both been going to the same camp for a few years and I knew who she was, but frankly, she scared the crap out of me! I was totally intimidated by her because of her skills on the soccer field and how outgoing and confident she was. Thank god she turned out to not only be an amazing soccer player, but also super funny, loyal, smart and sweet. Because when we officially met we realized that we were going to spend a lot of time together over the next four years as a result of soccer and being in almost every class together since we were both nerds and would be taking all the honors classes. Since then we've been the best of friends regardless of the fact that we only see each other once a year at best. Fric and Frac. Francesca and Bianca. Kimmie and Meggie.

Kim comes back to visit at least once a year and I absolutely love it when she comes because she is always SO.EXCITED! California is Kim's Shangri La. It didn't matter that the weather didn't cooperate or that we didn't do much until 3 in the afternoon every day. She didn't even complain when we got to Great America yesterday and saw that the park was closed! Blurg.

In any case, we had a great time lounging around, going to a soccer game, shopping, eating, visiting with friends, hanging out at the beach, eating, playing the Wii, eating..... I think you get the idea. :)

Just a few shots from our weekend...

Sandy and Franny

The guy in the red hat was dressed like a pirate. And played the harmonica. It was weird.

Enjoying the view

My girl!

Kim's sweet ride down to San Diego
Franny, I'm gonna miss you!! Can't wait to see you in May! :)

Oy vey...

2008-04-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

You all may recall my post about a month ago about the "highlighter incident." Since then, Harley had been spending his days in the crate to protect our belongings (and his health since that dog will clearly eat anything). Since we have company coming this weekend who we need to make room for and the house is all clean, we decided to put away the crate and let Harley have another chance. Since he has a tendency to go for office supplies (paper and highlighters), we figured we were good to go.

Well, apparently not. This is what we saw when we walked in the door at lunch today:
In case you can't tell what that pile o' fun is...

Yes. Feathers. Lots and lots and lots of feathers. This was the victim (among yet another pile of feathers in the dining room):

*Sigh* I just don't know what to do with him. On the one hand this was absolutely hilarious. We actually had to RAKE the feathers into a manageable pile and then run the vacuum about a thousand times to pick it all up. And as I sit here typing this, I can still see feathers floating around! Will they ever be all gone?? But on the other hand, he keeps finding things to chew up that we never thought he'd attack. And this pillow was almost $40! (Please don't judge me for spending that much on a stupid pillow.) Who knows what will be next!

Anyway, there was definite comic relief when, while we ate our lunch, we watched Brodie walk away with a single feather stuck to his ass. That. Was. AWESOME! I just wish I had gotten a picture of that. But just to give you an idea of how bad Harley is at tricking us into thinking he had nothing to do with the destruction du jour, look close at this picture and you'll see a big white feather on Harley's nose and feathers sticking out of his mouth. This is exactly how we found him when we got home. Gee, I wonder who the culprit was?

Hace mucho calor...

2008-04-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

Summer decided to make a grand (and early) entrance this year. All weekend its been at least 85 degrees. Great for me! Not so much for Rusty or the dogs. Rusty's been coaching all weekend and the dogs (especially Harley) sometimes have a hard time cooling off in the heat. Today was the perfect day for a little something extra...

I couldn't get the video to show, so click here:
Bobbing for Ice Cubes on Vimeo.

Action Shots

2008-04-10T18:12:00.000-07:00

Now that it stays light out a little bit later, we have more time to get outside and throw the frisbee around with the dogs. Please forgive me, they are kind of blurry, but the dogs move a lot faster than I can click the button on the camera!

Look how high Brodie can jump!
Harley, on the other hand, doesn't bother to leave the ground to catch it. Or it could be the extra 20 lbs he's carrying around. ;)

I love how funny Brodie looks in this one... It makes me chuckle.

That's all for now. I hope you didn't mind the dog-centric post. In case you hadn't noticed, I am slightly obsessed with my pups. :)

The Right Stuff

2008-04-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe I’m going to admit this publicly, but I am STOKED for the return of not one, but TWO of the best things to happen to the 80s and 90s. Yes, that’s right, 90210 and New Kids on the Block.

I know what you’re thinking. "Meg, you need to get a life." (and you would be right)

But honestly, this is just too much! I know it won’t be the real 90210, just a spin-off, but can anyone look me in the eye and say they aren’t just the tiniest bit intrigued about the return of the Peach Pit? Hmmm?? Of course, since Aaron Spelling is no longer going to be enriching our lives with (what are now) cliché dramas about teen angst, I’m sure this spin-off will pale in comparison to the original, but whatever. I will totally watch it and probably love every horrible second of it.

As for the New Kids, (Sidenote: can they really be called that anymore? I mean, they’re hardly “new” and I definitely wouldn’t call them “kids." Helloooooooo, Joey! ;)) they are another comeback that I’m super excited for. Now, I know you all probably think I’m lamer than lame, and normally you would be correct, but let me clarify. I’m not excited in the OMG-I-HAVE-to-have-the-new-NKOTB-sleeping bag/umbrella/cassette, etc. kind of way (as most of us were back in the day). More like in the I-can’t-wait-to-see-this-trainwreck-but-I-secretly-really-hope-they-kick-ass, kind of way.

Follow me? Good.

Now all I need is for Debbie Gibson to come out with a new album and for Saved by the Bell to come back with Saved by the Bell: The Married Years. I can see it now, Kelly Kapowski marries Zack Morris only to have a love-child fathered by AC Slater, who married (and subsequently cheats on) Jessie Spano. The best part? The only happy couple in the group is Lisa Turtle and Screech who end up marrying, popping out 6 little Lisa's and Screech's and living happily ever after. Oh and who can forget Mr. Belding! He is the crotchety old man who lives down the street who always yells at the kids to "get off my dang lawn!"

The End. :)

&%!$

2008-04-07T18:13:00.001-07:00

Please excuse the weird changes in the layout of what I'm sure is a daily staple for all 2 of my readers. ;) This site is currently under construction and I'm quickly finding that I'm Blogger-challenged...

Happy Monday!

Somehow this doesn't seem fair

2008-04-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

It is such a pretty day out...

This is the apple tree in our backyard

And I'm stuck inside writing a paper. Boo. :(

I want to squish you and put you in my pocket.

2008-04-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

There is entirely too much cuteness in our living room right now...

8 Years

2008-03-31T22:13:00.000-07:00

One guess as to who the romantic one is in this relationship:

RJ: So tomorrow's a special day, huh? (with a little smile)

Me: Oh, really? What's tomorrow?

RJ: .....?

Me: D'oh!! (a la Homer Simpson complete with forehead slapping)

Tomorrow, April Fool's Day, will be the eighth anniversary of when Rusty and I met. Cuh-raaaazy! At dinner tonight, we started talking about everything that has happened in the past eight years and couldn't stop. A lot has gone down for us, both as individuals and as a couple. And there are some days when I still cannot believe the way everything turned out. It has been quite a ride so far and it ain't over yet!

The icing on my double chocolate cake? How awesome is it that I found a guy who always remembers important dates?! :)

Harley Bear

2008-03-31T12:07:00.000-07:00

I'm all about the pictures these days. :) I've been starting out slow, trying my hand at Picasa first before I start playing around with Photoshop. So what are your thoughts on this one? I messed with it a little but I'm not sure it looks as good as I think it does.

Either way, I love how peaceful he looks with the water from the hose in the background - something that would normally have him and his brother frantic with excitement.

A Portrait of Silence

2008-03-29T22:36:00.000-07:00

I'm just really proud of this picture. You have no idea what it takes to get them to be quiet and sit still like that!

Aren't my boys handsome? :)

TGIF!

2008-03-28T18:02:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I am so happy this week is over and the weekend is finally here. I really need a couple days to sleep in and relax. Okay, maybe the relaxing part won't be happening in spades, but close enough. :)

Yesterday was a pretty nice day so I left the front door open to let the dogs bask in the afternoon sun. As I was petting them, I looked up and saw our grape vines are starting to grow back!

For the past 6 months, the main stem and branches have all looked like the one on the right. Pretty dreary if you ask me. Not to mention, that's the only "separation" we have from the house next door. So we feel especially exposed during the winter. Sidenote: That's one thing I don't like about California - how close together all the houses are. I'm more used to having some serious space in between each house. A girl needs her privacy sometimes! ;)

I'm going to try and take a picture of this every couple weeks or so to see how it grows. Truthfully, I didn't pay much attention last year because our landlord had said not to worry about or touch it and they would deal with it. Well... that didn't happen. It got a little unruly and they ended up having to pull out one of the main plants, so this year I'm going to take care of them whether they like it or not! Wish me luck!

Oh, man... I hope I don't kill this little guy...

Sixth Sense

2008-03-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

Proof that dogs are indeed smarter than we are.

From now on I promise to investigate when Brodie is staring intently at the wall for 30 minutes at a time. Who knows what might be in there!

Menaige Trois Bonne Anniversari Extravaganza!

2008-03-24T15:03:00.000-07:00

I had a chance to get my butt down to L.A. for a visit with Jess to celebrate her birthday (yesterday), my birthday (last Sunday) and Jess's friend, Sam's, birthday (next Sunday). We kept things low key on Friday night with some Chinese food, warm chocolate chip cookies and a couple episodes of What Not to Wear. Ahhh, my kind of night. :)

Saturday, Jess, Sam, me and about 20 of their closest friends met up at Eclectic, a fantastic wine bar and grill in North Hollywood. Yum yum YUM. And that was just the pomegranate martini! After dinner, we headed down the street to Skinny's Lounge to dance the night away. As Jess would say, "the drinks were strong, the bartender was friendly and the lights were dim." All good things except when 2 of those 3 things lead one to fall and sustain some very minor injuries. Not that I have any idea what that would be like....

All in all, we had a blast, which of course meant that I was doomed to a Sunday filled with nausea and headaches (aside from the pain from what felt like getting punched in the face). And somehow I still managed to get through what felt like the longest 1-hour flight I've ever taken in my life.

Anyway, here are some pictures from a great weekend that I will not soon forget. Thanks Jess, Chris and Indy for putting me up for a few days!! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESS!!!! :)

Furbabies

2008-03-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

Meg's scare with Gordon today really got me thinking about my dogs and how even with all the stupid stuff they pull we still love them to pieces. Both of our dogs have had weird things happen to them where they very easily might not have lived to chew up another shoe.

Brodie walked through the railing and off our second floor balcony when he was only about a year old. Then a year or so later was hit by a car in front of our house. Both times he walked away with pretty minor injuries if anything.

When Harley was about 13 weeks old (3 weeks after Rusty gave him to me) he got really sick to the point where he peed the bed multiple times in one night, wouldn't drink or eat and was completely unresponsive. We rushed him to the emergency animal hospital and a few hours later he was back to his old self. Albeit with a sack of fluid sloshing around on his back, but still back to being a puppy.

Last week I posted about how Harley chewed up that green highlighter. It was pretty funny at the time, but the next morning, we woke up to find that he had actually eaten quite a bit of the plastic pieces from the marker. He had thrown it up in the middle of the night, but we can't help but wonder what might happen if he does it again. Will we be so lucky that it won't damage any internal organs? Our family dog, Jaxx, ate something when he was about 4 years old and ended up needing a really expensive surgery that resulted in him losing about 18 inches of intestine. We were all grateful he made it through to live another 5 awesome years.

I guess where I'm going with this, is why do we do this to ourselves? I'm an enormous animal-lover, so its no question why I love having dogs. But we all know that they eat things that aren't supposed to go into their bodies and do stupid things that have the potential to make them sick or even worse. We know that with having pets there is an inherent risk that something could go wrong at any moment through no fault of our own. Yet, we still bring these animals into our lives and then blame ourselves when things do go wrong.

I shouldn't have left the door open.

I should have cleaned up the house better so there would be nothing to chew up.

I should have paid more attention.

Shoulda coulda woulda. There's really no point. These animals are in our lives to make them better for the time they're around. We all know that dogs don't live as long as we do, so we adopt these little furballs knowing they're only going to cause us heartache in the end. But it is so worth it when you get moments like these...

Hang in there, Gordon! We're all pulling for you!

Birthday, Part 2

2008-03-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

All I seem to do is whine on this thing, so to lighten things up a bit, I thought I'd share the rest of my birthday weekend fun with ya'll. :)

Saturday night was amazing. Our dinner at Picasso's was undeniably the best meal I've ever had. I'm drooling just thinking about it!

Sunday, we woke up and just lounged around for a while. Then we braved the valley winds and headed off to Great America. I LOVE amusement parks and rollercoasters and what better way to ring in another year of getting older than by screaming your lungs out like a little kid?! We had so much fun. And the best part was not having to wait in line for more than 10 minutes - the upside to going on the first day the park opens! Although it did occur to us that maybe going to ride dangerous rollercoasters when the teenagers who work there are still being trained on how to operate them, might not have been the brightest idea we've ever had. But it all worked out, we survived and I even had a chance to wear my new cashmere scarf from my momma!

Unfortunately, someone (ahem Rusty) drank a few beers before we left for the park, and I'm sure you can imagine what being flipped and turned and spun around did to his belly full of beer. So after going on every ride that was open, we decided to head home where Rusty made me dinner. I've been told birthday cake is forthcoming because we'll both be out of town this weekend and contrary to popular belief the two of us cannot down an entire cake in less than a week... although we've tried.

Thank you to everyone who remembered me this weekend and especially Rusty who went above and beyond to make sure I was spoiled all weekend long. I love you!

Hey, Google? You Suck.

2008-03-17T14:58:00.001-07:00

Gah! Is anyone else out there having trouble with Google Reader?? For a week now, it has given me the same stupid message:

Information is temporarily unavailable.

Hmm... forgive me, but in terms of all-things-internet, "temporary" is a few minutes or hours, right? But not days! Things should have been up and running, smooth as silk within minutes of a problem occurring. Especially at Google! Or are all of their employees too busy playing beach volleyball or eating at one of their 11 (yes, 11) gourmet cafeterias on campus? I mean, seriously? That's more than my college had.

Anyway, being located so near to Google's headquarters, I get pretty tired of hearing about how they've been voted the #1 best company to work for a hundred years in a row, they’re so cutting-edge, yada yada yada... and yet I find a lot of their gadgets to have so many bugs you'd think you were in Florida! (HA! I'll be here all week, folks!)

Since it is driving me nuts today, we'll use Google Reader as an example. It's a simple device that allows you to enter the blogs/websites you peruse frequently. It will then notify you when one of these sites has updated, therefore saving you time and energy – since we were putting in so much effort before with all that typing. The point is that it is incredibly addicting and easy to get carried away. Once I figured it out, I started adding websites willy nilly without a care in the world! Tra la la! And subsequently, I got addicted to every single one. I can't even remember the exact web address for all of them, but that's okay, because Google Reader is an internet lover's best friend and takes care of everything for me!

Unfortunately its not all sunshine and roses because I have problems with this stupid thing all the time. I tried to add a pretty popular blog, dooce.com (Btw, if you live under a rock and have never checked her out, you should. She's immature and funny and gross and imperfect and I love her.) But for some reason, it would only link to a certain post with comments attached instead of the main page. (Sorry for those of you who don't use GR, you probably think I've lost my mind. You would be right.) I cannot figure out for the life of me how to fix that. I’m sure I’m not the first person to try and add this particular blog, so why is it being such a snatch?? Grrr…. Anyway, I guess I’ve come full circle back to what started this rant in the first place:

Information temporarily unavailable.

i.e. We’ll get to it when we feel like it. I’m pretty sure the "Googler" who is supposed to be monitoring this little gadget is probably eating a filet mignon while getting a mani/pedi at their desk instead of fixing what has come to be a staple in my life of never-ending procrastination! Damn you, Google! You and your incredible benefits and perks! Stop distracting your people from fixing my shit! ..... Okay, I admit. Maybe there's a small amount of jealousy here too, but that's totally not the point!!

*Sigh*

Alright, now that I've gotten that off my chest, is anyone else having this problem? Or do you know how to fix it?

*Update: After I wrote this whole post, I previewed it and when I went back to tweak one tiny little thing, I noticed that it had reverted to a version I wrote over a half hour ago! (yes, it takes me a long time to write these things) I wonder if that was Google trying to send me a message…. Or if its just another case of their crap not working… hmm... food for thought.

Sip Bacardi like it's your birthday

2008-03-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to MEEE! Ok, I'm jumping the gun a little since its not really until tomorrow, but the great thing about your birthday falling on a Saturday or Sunday is that the entire weekend is all about you! Or at least it should be. And you can quote me on that. :)

The weekend started out pretty slow as far as birthday fun goes. I had class this morning, followed by more homework for another class. Of course I did make sure to take some time out to go to this cute little place called I.B.I. Boutique nearby that is owned by a girl who went to Santa Clara University, my alma mater. I love her stuff, especially her handmade jewelry. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend going to check it out. Usually I go and just drool all over everything because its so cute. And who doesn't love supporting a fellow Bronco?

After I treated myself to some unnecessary jewelry and hair accessories, I took off to go wander around the local farmer's market. If I had some cash on me, I would have left with an orchid taller than me and some tulips that had a vase waiting for them in my living room. But it didn't matter anyway, because Rusty ended up coming home with enough flowers to fill 3 vases! Yay!

Once we trimmed all the stems and found somewhere to put it all, we set out to walk the dogs. Of course, we realized after it was too late that it was super windy and cold and had forgotten the frisbee to play with at the park. Either way, it was nice to be outside, forget about work and school and just be with my guys.

And to round out Day 1, my super awesome husband is taking me out to dinner tonight for tapas and a pitcher or two of sangria at my favorite restaurant downtown, Picasso's. I can't wait! ("Topless tapas!")

And finally, I wanted to share a conversation between Rusty and I. On our way home from our walk, we passed someone's house where a bunch of people were outside. We glanced over and one of the guys waved.

Me: Do you know that guy?

Rusty: No.

Me: Hmmm... I wonder why he would wave.

Rusty: Maybe he thought I looked like the unibomber and he wanted to be friendly so I didn't pull some crazy shit.

Me: Sure. I can see that.

Rusty: But you make me legit. You in all the argyle. (I was wearing an argyle sweater.)

Me: You're right. It's the argyle. Argyle makes you feel safe.

He does kind of look like the unibomber here, doesn't he?

Blah

2008-03-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

Today is one of those days when I really would have rather stayed in bed under the covers than get up and deal with life. And I think everyone around me would agree. Not that there is anything in particular that's wrong, its just... one of those days I guess.

Part of it is that I'm insanely busy and stressed out. I have a full-time job (that I love) and I'm working on getting my masters degree. I've been in school for the past 2+ years, but I still haven't gotten used to the fact that I have ZERO free time to do whatever I want. And if I do take some time out just for me? I end up feeling guilty about not reading the latest chapter of Strategic Human Resources or whatever crap I'm supposed to be learning about. All of this just makes me a cranky bitch that no one wants to deal with. I can't imagine why...

Other things about today that suck? In my grueling 5 minute commute to work this morning, I was unnecessarily cut off at least 3 times. Annoying? Yes. But bearable if I'm at least warned its coming. So will someone please explain to me why the hell people don't use their effing blinkers???? It is not difficult to use. In fact, your pinky can do all the work! Its also a safety tool since it keeps you safe from me trying to murder you when you don't use it!

AND, I'm a terrible wife. Rusty went above and beyond to help me put together a tournament bracket for a bocce ball tournament my company has every year. Instead of graciously saying thank you, I get all pissy because I will actually have to add. Numbers. In my head. I know, right? Someone call an ambulance, I'm about to have an aneurysm! So, I'm sorry sweety. I'm awful. I don't know how you haven't strangled me yet. It must be love!

And last but certainly not least: Harley. I swear this dog will be lucky if he sees is 3rd birthday. Yesterday we came home at lunch to see that he had chewed up some junk mail and a credit card that I had finally paid off and was ready to cancel. The afternoon went by without a hitch and he got plenty of praise for being such a good boy. Today? Lets just say that I no longer have a green highlighter with which to do my homework. How did I know it was Harley, you ask? See for yourselves:

Caught green-handed...

He looks sorry....

... but I'm not taking any chances.

Tag! I'm it!

2008-03-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, this should be interesting (I hope!). My dearest Megs has tagged me, so I'll do my best to come up with 7 things about me that someone might care about... Here we go!

1) My husband and I met on April Fool's Day. We're just going to leave it at that. ;)

2) I'm very allergic to cats, but still went ahead and adopted a kitty, Jasper, when I graduated from college. He was great, but had a few flaws. First, he had the worst dander EVER. Rusty couldn't breathe in the same room as him. And instead of your typically sweet "meow" of most cats, he howled like a cat being mauled by a racoon. All. The. Time. After we gave him to a friend's family, we found out that my previous assumptions were right and he was deaf and, much like deaf people, couldn't hear what was coming out of his mouth and it affected his ... speech. (?) I loved that cat.... so did Brodie.

3) When Rusty proposed, he did it with a new puppy! Harley wore the ring around a purple collar (my favorite color). I was so excited about the dog, I didn't even notice the ring. Poor Rusty, as if proposing is nerve-wracking enough!

4) One of the first things I notice about a person is their teeth. Probably because I'm obsessed with my own teeth. I had horrible buckteeth as a kid. Horrible. I've had braces twice now. Three years of regular braces in grade school and I just finished a year of Invisalign. While I should have just kept wearing my retainers so that I could have save a few thousand bucks, it was totally worth it!

5) I was born in Redwood City, CA. I lived in San Francisco until I was 7, when my family moved to Rockaway, NJ where I lived until I came back to California for college. Overall, I have now lived in California longer than I lived in Jersey but consider Jersey my home. :)

6) I talk to myself when no one is around. It helps me gather my thoughts and practice what I'm going to say at a presentation or meeting or something. Is that weird?

7) I love reality television. I can't help but get sucked in! Its like watching a train wreck and I just can't get enough!

The only people I know to tag have already been targeted today! I guess I'll just have to wait for Jess to finish hers!

Another day, another dollar

2008-03-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

Or in my case, just another day busting my ass at work and not getting compensated for it. If you're ever presented with the choice, go for hourly versus salary pay. Not being paid overtime for the 7 hours of work I put in on the most beautiful spring day (a Sunday no less!) just sucks.

C'est la vie.

My weekend wasn't as bad as I'm making it sound, really. I just like to complain. ;) I had my fabulous cousins over for a sleepover on Saturday night and got to spend some serious quality time with them which I don't do nearly enough considering they live all of 10 minutes away. It still amazes me that they are 13 years old. When I came back to California for college they were 3 going on 4. And now they're taller than me!! Okay, I know that's not hard, but whatever. Shut it.

And the 7 hours of work I did today? Totally worth it in the end because I impressed the pants off the execs at my company with the event that I put together and hosted. WOO! Go me :) The worst part? Other than missing out on amazing weather that I should have been laying out in? My back is KILLING me. Now, I wear heels to work almost every day. They're pretty, they help my pants fit better (see above: I'm short), they're pretty, they make me look taller, and did I mention they're pretty?

Generally at the end of an 8-9 hour day my back feels fine. I could run a marathon in those babies! But on a regular work day I sit at my desk for most of the time. Today was completely different. A hostess doesn't sit! The only other time I felt like this was my wedding day. And any of you that saw my dress that day and/or have worn a wedding dress yourself, you know how hard it is to sit in one of those suckers.

Moral of the story? Invest in some cute flats and hemming my pants. In the meantime, I fully intend to continue wearing those gorgeous heels.

An Open Letter to Harley

2008-03-08T08:44:00.000-08:00

Harley, you know I love you. I would do anything for you. And for the most part you are the best doggy ever (after your brother of course).

With one, very stinky, exception.

Your ass. Seriously, I've been sitting here writing a paper for class and within the last hour, you have farted.... wait for it..... 10 times. Yes, you read that correctly. Ten. Diez. Dix. Zehn. I'm sorry, but in my book that is WAY too much. I mean, sure its funny sometimes. Like last night when Rusty told you to be quiet and stop whining. Your natural response?

"Toooooooooooooooooot!"

Who can stay mad at a puppy who communicates with you via his butthole? I know its not your food, so I can only guess that you're doing this to essentially turn our living room into a veritable gas chamber, forcing me to go outside and play with you. Well, buddy, I've gotta hand it to you, that's a great plan.

Now that I know what you want, will you please please PLEASE stop with the farting??

Love,
Your Momma

PS. Feel free to keep farting in your dad's face. Now that? That's pure comedy.

"Friggin Egg." Take One.

2008-03-07T22:26:00.000-08:00

Well, hello there!

I'm excited to start this blog and attempt to document more of my life with my husband and our two crazy, adorable dogs. I'm hoping this will give me a better reason to take more pictures and an opportunity to share them with family and friends instead of letting them pile up - unviewed - on my laptop. So expect lots of pictures and random entries about what we're up to!

Blog title inspired by our 2 year old niece. It sounds so much nicer when she says it...