Looking Through the Lens

Like a Glove

2011-02-15T09:32:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful, perfect Saturday morning. The sun was warm, the skies were blue. My mom arrived the afternoon before just in time for a delicious dinner at our favorite Mexican food restaurant. We left in plenty of time, though parking was somewhat challenging.

My mom and the seamstress helped me change - it's definitely one thing a bride cannot do alone. I can't even do up the bra top in the back without help. It felt so wonderful to slip into my dress again, the crisp white fabric cool against my skin. I feel just like a princess every time I put it on. It fit like a glove when we bought it last May, all it needed was the bustle. The seamstress pinned the dress for the bustle markings...it's going to be beautiful.

The only difference on this day was that the dress didn't fit quite so well as it did before. It kept slipping down, being dragged by the weight of the fabric. I was sick with the flu only a week before and had lost 8 lbs. I later remembered that I had lost about 10 since we bought it. On the upside, at least it was too big rather than too small. They're doing the bustle now, and we'll wait to take it in until closer to the wedding.

The fiance joked that we could go out and splurge to gain weight...that won't be happening. I will never deliberately gain weight. It was gratifying to actually have lost. I've been working on toning and definition, I plan to keep it off. It's just rather entertaining since before it fit absolutely perfect. But I'm not worried, it will fit like a glove again soon. :)

Engaged Adventures

2011-02-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

Whoops. There I go again, all MIA. Will you forgive me if I tell you I had a light virus for a couple days, was fine over the weekend and then had the flu? I spent Monday through Wednesday laying in bed feeling miserable last week. I was so stubborn and went to work Monday morning. May I recommend NEVER trying to go to work when you've been sick less than 6 hours before? Having to cut across two lanes of traffic, jump into your passenger seat and roll down the window is NOT an adventure I would recommend. Just saying.

The good news is that I was fine over that weekend before I got the flu and the fiance and I had a fabulous time with our photographers capturing our engagement session. I have never really done a photo shoot or anything like that, and let me tell you, it was a blast! We had such a great time and I know the pictures will be amazing! Not only did we get to take pictures in the restaurant where the fiance proposed, but we just happened to be able to take them at the table where he proposed. :) We brought one of the engagement wine bottles he made and used them in some of the shots.

If you have never had the opportunity to do an engagement shoot or a photo shoot, I would highly recommend it. We have such an amazing time hanging out and just playing around. It was fabulous getting to know our photographers better, we had such a great day. I cannot wait to see the pictures.

Playing Grown Ups

2011-01-10T20:14:00.000-08:00

Like many little girls, when I was little, my cousin and I would play Barbies for hours. We'd spend hours setting up our Barbie furniture and accessories just right, everything in its perfect place. We'd imagine all sorts of stories and scenarios. There were of course always the two beautiful young girls, often princesses, usually 16 or just turning 16 (thank you Little Mermaid), they always had the perfect boyfriends. Perhaps a little bit of drama thrown in for excitement, because there has to be conflict before you get the happily ever after, right? We would play at being grown ups. To us of course that happened naturally at 16 because that's when you met prince charming, got married, had a mansion (or a castle or palace, anything huge and grandiose worked), horses, carriages, servants, etc. Thankfully we passed through that age a little bit wiser as to how things really worked and we didn't expect to live in a castle. Meet a prince charming perhaps, but not the other stuff. As the stories have it, things never go exactly as you might have imagined...they turn out better. Mine sure did. I am marrying the most wonderful prince charming I could ever have imagined.

I told him the other day that I feel like I'm going to feel like we're playing grown ups for a while and that eventually someone will come in and tell us to put our toys away, it's time to eat dinner or go to bed or something. As of New Year's Eve the fiance and I officially became home owners. It's still surreal, a total "wow". We own a house, we're getting married. It's exciting and crazy and thrilling and just completely mind blowing all at the same time. A wonderful and amazing way to start the new year. Playing grown ups. But for real this time.

Welcome 2011

2011-01-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe it is 2011. It is shaping up to be a year of amazing changes and new adventures. It's been ages since I sat down to write anything, though there has been plenty to write about. I hope that 2010 treated you each well and holds many fond memories and starting points for an amazing 2011.

There are so many new and exciting as well as a few sad events to share. Rather than try to cram them all into one massively long (and possibly boring) catch up post, I'll put them into a few smaller posts over the upcoming days. A fond hello to all my friends and cheers to the new friends sure to come in the upcoming adventures of 2011.

Hi, it's me again

2010-09-24T11:19:00.000-07:00

Hi, remember me? I'm that girl with a camera who never seems to post anymore. Life is crazy that way. Sometimes I want to just step back and watch it all happen instead of being wrapped up and swept away in the ever racing current of life. Of course those moments are rare and far apart.

What's new for me? Let's see, I got a promotion and a raise. I'm in the office with my boss now, which is fun because it's a little bit quieter and I have more of my own space. It's weird not being in the main office area anymore, but I'm getting used to it, and I have to say that I like it. And my third monitor. And my Mac. You know, fun toys.

We are slowly but surely getting everything done for the wedding. We found and booked our amazing photographer team and videographer team, I am SO excited. I know they are going to capture lasting, incredible memories for us. I am really looking forward to doing our engagement photo shoot with our photographers too :) We know where we are getting the cake, just have to go put in the order. It's DELICIOUS. As a cake baker, I can truly appreciate the deliciousness of the cake we're going to be getting. (one of the first things that happened in the planning is that my mother and my fiance forbid me to make the wedding cake....a demand I was more than happy to comply with) We will be putting the invitations together soon and choosing the bridesmaid dresses.

With the weather cooling off as we go into October, I find myself wanting to spend time in the kitchen baking up deliciousness with fall flavors and spices. Perhaps I will indulge this weekend.

Moving Up

2010-09-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

It finally happened. I got a permanent position! I now no longer have to worry about being renewed every summer, and as an added bonus, I got a raise! I was SO worried about this, I honestly didn't think they were going to choose me for the position. Not for lack of qualifications or anything, I already rocked this position (it's essentially the full time/permanent version of my original position)...but you know how company politics can go. I am absolutely thrilled to have been able to accept this new position.

I moved into the desk in my boss' office, it's nice having my own space that's a little bit quieter. I get along great with Lily, so it's fun to share an office. I'm just getting used to the new digs and getting myself organized. I'm still floating on a high from all of this last week. I seriously have had a goofy grin on my face most of the time. I cannot express how edifying it was to receive all the congratulatory emails and phone calls from my colleagues and coworkers...apparently a lot more people were rooting for me than I even realized!

HR kind of stole my boss' thunder though, they sent me an email right before she and her boss pulled me in to tell me about the unanimous decision to give me the position! It was still awesome though, I am so excited. I feel so renewed and re-energized. I had been waiting and going through interviews for quite some time, and was rather stressed about everything. It was like an instant weight was lifted from my shoulders. :)

I know I have been rather neglectful in posting, but I wanted to share this so much. As always, I will endeavor to post a bit more frequently, but no promises. Things are kind of in a whirlwind of work and wedding plans that are keeping me quite occupied. I hope the beginning of the school year is going well for everyone. I'm looking forward to the cooler fall weather and all the wonderful things that come with it.

Nostalgia

2010-08-28T16:36:00.001-07:00

This time of year always brings with it a bout of nostalgia. I love working during freshmen move-in, the lead up and excitement are things I love. It wasn't all that long ago that I was moving in for the first time at college, now I'm getting married. Crazy world.

It's that time of year where I have to talk myself out of buying super fun and shiny school supplies that I don't need, but are ever so enticing. It's like a siren song. I don't know what it is about back to school shopping, but I love it. My kids are going to have awesome back to school gear. (you know, those theoretical kids far off in the future)

I hope every has a fabulous end of summer and a wonderful beginning to fall.

Magical Memories

2010-07-28T08:19:00.000-07:00

A few months ago my mom and fmil and I went to look for my wedding dress. First store, four dresses later and we found the dress. I absolutely love it and feel like a princess when I wear it. I did not want to take it off. I nearly went back to the store the next week just to try it on again.

It wasn't supposed to come in so early, but I got an email about two weeks ago letting me know my special order had arrived. The downside is that they won't store it for me. I love my apartment, but it's a fairly small studio and I simply do not have anywhere to hang a wedding dress for 8 months. Timing is everything. My neck finally slipped out after first trying to make my head explode (I was very near asking the fiance for his drill to relieve the pressure). The symptoms had been bothering me long enough that I decided I needed to make a quick overnight run home to see my chiropractor. (he's one of my favorite people right now) It was instant relief when he made the necessary adjustment (same one as always, go figure, at least I'm consistent) Since I was going home anyways, I picked up my dress and took it to hang safely in the back bedroom at my grandparent's house.

I was on a tight schedule and didn't have time to try it on at the store. I am so grateful that I was in a hurry that afternoon. My Mom and Grama helped me try it on before my chiro appointment. It felt so good to get into the dress, even though I didn't have the undergarments that go with it. (added bonus: it fit perfectly) I cannot even begin to relate how special that moment was when my Grama and Papa first saw me in my wedding dress. It was such a wonderful, special moment that I will remember forever, trying on my wedding gown in the front bedroom at my grandparent's house. Magical. Precious. Unforgettable.

Summer Tales, Volume Two

2010-07-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

There are so many summer stories that make me smile. This one makes my cousin Ariel and I blush and laugh.

My cousins and I always slept in the green room when we visited our grandparent's. It was formerly our aunts' room (including my mom). It has three beds in it, I always slept in the "big" bed. We called it the big bed because it was taller than the others, at the time I usually had to climb up from the other trundle-ish bed or take a running leap to get into it (much like my bed junior year of college that was lofted so high that it was occasionally comical to watch me try to get into it, especially if I was tired)

My cousin Ariel and I both woke up around the same time one night even thought we'd all been in bed, sound asleep, for some time. We weren't sure why we had woken up, but started whispering for a few minutes. We were talking when we heard a thud, followed by some other strange sounds. We thought there was a burglar in the house. We had a brief, whispered conversation about what we should do before hiding under the covers and pretending that we were asleep. That lasted all of maybe two minutes, during which I think we heard another strange noise. We decided we couldn't just lay there. We crept out of bed and cautiously opened the bedroom door. We peeked out into the long hallway towards the living room. Once we were sure we didn't see anyone, we flew down the hall to our grandparent's room. We woke up my grandpa and told him what we'd heard, then climbed into bed with our Grama while he went to check it out. He came back a few minutes later to confirm that everything was fine. We weren't convinced until he pointed out that their dog, Doogie Bowser, hadn't made a peep, and surely he would have barked if there were anything wrong. He then suggested that what we'd heard was merely the air conditioner. We accepted this explanation (though we probably secretly thought we'd heard something...this may have be the summer of "there's something fishy going on") and went back to bed. Naturally, it took us a while to fall back to sleep. Before we fell asleep we heard a similar noise...this time we realized that it was clearly the air conditioner, trying to rob the house of the summer heat.

Checking In

2010-07-24T21:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted. Well, I guess I can, but it really just seems like yesterday that the fiance was out of town and I found that splendid Jane Austen inspired movie.

I just really haven't had words lately. So many things to share, but a completely blank canvas which I have not been equal to filling as of late. No real rhyme or reason, who knows. I hope everyone has been having a fabulous summer. Mine is going in fits and starts. The weather can't seem to make up its mind whether it wants to be summer or fall, makes it slightly challenging when it comes to morning wardrobe selection. I hope you are taking it all in and enjoying every second of summer. I'll eventually be around to visit everyone. Time seems to be handing me the short end of the stick lately.

Lost in Austen

2010-06-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

The fiance has been away for a conference, which has left me staying at his house to take care of our puppy dog Kara while he is away. Last night I stumbled across this movie/mini series called Lost in Austen. It was quite accidental, but it had an interesting premise and the user review decided it for me. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, and I'm always up for Jane Austen.

Incredible. It's not often that I'm lost for words when it comes to Jane Austen and my favorite work, Pride and Prejudice, but...wow. It takes liberties, but then, this kind of movie is intended to be that way. I'll be honest, I'm watching it again right now. The basic premise is that a modern English girl, a Jane Austen enthusiast, accidentally switches places with Elizabeth Bennett, right at the beginning of the story. It's an incredibly interesting twist on my favorite novel. I cannot recommend this movie enough. Seriously, go watch it. Also, fair warning (since I didn't notice this when I started the movie) it's about 3 hours long. Completely worth it though. I almost even think this Mr. Darcy can rival that of Colin Firth...which is near sacrilegious for me to say. He definitely wins for the lake scene. Seriously. Go. Watch. I'll be here finishing it myself when I should be sleeping.

The fiance has promised to watch Pride and Prejudice with me soon...the A&E Colin Firth version, of course. :)

Summer Tales, Volume One

2010-06-21T16:22:00.000-07:00

My brothers are coming to visit me this weekend while my parents go to a conference, I'm so excited to spend some sibling time with them. On our way to meet up with my parents again on Sunday, we'll be stopping to pick up one of my younger cousins to go and spend a week with the boys. Reminds me of when her older sister and brother and I would spend a week each summer at my grandparent's house. Initially it was just me and Ariel, but when her brother was old enough he joined us for our week-long visits. We have all kinds of fun and crazy memories from those summers, stories that elicit insane giggles even now. There was one visit in particular that was one of my favorites, it was quite an eventful week.

It was the summer that Ariel and I started wearing training/sports bras. We were beyond cool. (trust me, this is important) As always, it was blazing hot - typical desert weather. Not bad if you have air conditioner and a house that likes to stay cool like our grandparent's do. I think there may have been some thunderstorm type weather, I don't remember exactly. But for some reason, the power went out one afternoon. It wasn't bad at first, but as the day went on, it got fairly hot. We of course made a game of it, as we did with most things that came our way. Well, Ariel's brother got to run around wearing just his shorts, boys stink like that, Ariel and I weren't happy, it was TOTALLY unfair. We tried to convince our Grama that it was so hot that we needed to walk around in our sports bras. I guess it must have really been hot (or she just knew, cause our Grama is amazing) because she let us do it. We strutted around thinking we were just too cool for words. To be honest, it did help cool us down.

Despite the heat, we were actually (initially) disappointed when the power came back on because it interfered with our no power game we had devised. We compromised with being able to watch Homeward Bound 2 but still pretending that the power was still out (ya know, minus the television...and the microwave popcorn)

Pardon me while I have an excited wedding moment...

2010-06-10T13:52:00.001-07:00

I always anticipated having a lot of fun planning our wedding together, but I think I seriously underestimated just how fun it would actually be. Even the littlest things have brought huge smiles and giggles. Of course the fiance teases me all the time about it, but he actually loves how excited I've been lately. It seems like everything is just falling into place since we booked our reception venue. We have our wedding party asked and confirmed. I found my dress!!! My mom and the fiance's mom came with me and we found THE dress at the first store we went to, 4th dress I tried on. I absolutely adore it, I didn't want to take it off. Now all I need are shoes and whatever jewelry I'm going to wear. We found the most amazing and delicious caterer, they are SO nice. We'll be booking them by the end of next week. I seriously cannot wait to eat at our reception. (we did a tasting a couple weeks ago) I have already asked my mom and the fiance's mom to make sure I get something to eat at the reception.

The fiance's parents are throwing us an engagement party/kitchen themed shower this summer, so we started off our registry with kitchen items. Talking about our entertaining wants and selecting things we would love to use was really exciting. What's even more exciting is that some of the items are being purchased. The fiance's counterpart at work was the first, her gift is the only one that I know what it is. (unintentionally) Let's just say that I absolutely love her to pieces and she is beyond generous. I came home last night to find a fairly large box on my doorstep from one of our registry stores. I was so excited, even though I have no idea what it is. I could probably figure it out if I wanted to though, I'm sure. The fiance says he knows what it is. He's so cute about the gifts.

We are just about 10 months away now and things are just perfect. I am so happy and having so much fun. Everything just makes me smile. I'll be even happier when we find and book our photographer, videographer and florist. Those are the only other major vendors we have left to figure out. Hopefully we will have everything sorted out and booked by the end of the month, including our honeymoon. It's really exciting, if slightly overwhelming to look at honeymoon options. There are just so many great choices and packages. The fiance is taking point on that topic though, which is both incredibly romantic exceedingly helpful. I love how involved he is with everything. He's not overbearing, but I get input and help making decisions. Did I mention that he's absolutely perfect? I'm so very, very blessed to have such a wonderful fiance.

Crossroads to the Front Row

2010-06-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

Choices. We all make them, every single day. Some are as mundane as what shirt will I wear today or what should I make for breakfast. Others choices have greater impact on our lives and the direction in which we are headed. We come across many crossroads and paths throughout our lives and we must choose which direction to follow. Some decisions are easy, others take a while to think about and weigh the options. Regardless, once the choice is made, we set off in our chosen direction and the alternate route is closed off, at least from that particular point of entrance.

Sometimes I wonder about the choices that we make to bring us to where we are today. My musings generally have to do with choices that were outside of my control. Typically, this is in the form of nostalgia. Imagine your closest friend. The one with whom you can share everything in complete honesty without worry of judgment. Someone who shares your joy and your pain, your ups and your downs. Someone who shares your faith and in who you see God. Now multiply that by 6. That was my family the last year or so of college. We were the closest of friends. It's difficult to describe such a deep friendship, such an amazing dynamic, unless you've experienced it. There is truly nothing like it. I cherished it and reveled in it until the end. I'll never understand why we were ripped apart through petty jealousy and stupid hormones. But we were. Fractured and splintered, small pieces of what once was. I can't say that I am sad, because I am blessed to have known such friendship and love for the time in which it was mine. It has changed me for the better.

There was another group of friends very similar to ours. We were all friends, sort of an extended family. But there were two cores. Mine split apart. The other, the one that I started out being a part of freshman year, has stayed strong. I am so thankful for that, that they have managed to overcome everything and remain strong. It is a true blessing. I don't go on Facebook much these days, I got over it after we spent countless hours on it when it first came out as a college network. (and that was before apps and the other gadgets and games it now boasts) I have pictures from my core, from the good times, the memories. And I love them. Sometimes it hurts, but I can still think of the good times fondly. The beautiful pictures of new encounters and adventures amongst the other core of friends, the ones still intact and strong, makes me smile while simultaneously pulling at my heart strings. Bittersweet. Nostalgia. Communication amongst old friends is an interesting thing. Interesting to see which communications people work to renew, choose to keep, allow to dwindle, or which they seemingly refuse to acknowledge.

I have been blessed to have many friends over the years. I have many acquaintance with whom I love to meet. While on occasion there have been larger groups, I have always had a small circle of truly intimate friends. I get along with many people, quite happily so, but have always seemed to keep a smaller circle of those closest to me. It's not intentional or by design, it just how it seems to work out. And, truth be told, I am happy. I deeply cherish those I hold closest. Quality, not quantity, is what fills my life and warms my heart. I would rather have one very dear friend than 100 mild acquaintances. But sometimes I see friends who have many, many close friends (or what appear to be close friends) and I wonder if I've done something wrong. It leads me to the what ifs, a game which I but rarely indulge, for it is typically without purpose. In discussing certain wedding plans, there are quite a number of close friends of both myself and fiance who will be invited. But I have noticed that I have only a few friends from high school and college with whom I am truly close and have invited. I see others who have dozens of friends from these chapters of their lives and I wonder if maybe I'm wrong somehow...or maybe they just function differently than I do.

I believe that God brings people into our lives when we need them or when they need us. Everyone has something to share, something to teach us. If we are smart we will embrace these opportunities as often as we can. People pass in and out of each others lives, leaving their footprints behind as a mark. And from these people, the few, true souls we are meant to share our lives with, remain with us. That is not to say that some people are bad or unimportant, just that everyone has those people with whom they are meant to develop deep and meaningful relationships. By definition such friendships cannot exist with everyone. It would diminish their importance and purpose. Someone once described our lives as a theatrical production in which we get to fill the audience. We get to choose who is in the front row of our lives, who is in the back, and who isn't even inside the theatre. It's quite an interesting concept, one which I have thought about on many an occasion. The front row cannot hold an infinite number of people, nor should it. Some seats rotate, others remain constant, yet others may still be open waiting to be filled. No ones front row has the same number of seats. After all, each life is as unique as a snowflake, thus the architecture of our personal theatre is unique in its style and design. Relationships are not perfect, life would be boring if they were. These front row relationships are the most important in my life. I know who is in my front row. Who is in yours?

All Stars

2010-06-02T10:01:00.001-07:00

God is recruiting an all star team. That's what my friend said when I called to tell him that one of our student technicians passed away yesterday morning. He couldn't be more right, he couldn't have said it better. Our office is mostly shocked, I think. One of my friends is mad, very mad. I think she expected it more than the rest of us. I thought he was doing better. The good part is that he's no longer in pain, his brain is no longer bleeding, he is at peace. I for one, am still a little shocked. I didn't know him as well as I would have liked, but I always had fun when he was in the office, we had some great conversations.

Please keep Matt's family and friends in your prayers. This was a short, fast battle. He got sick around Christmas. His brain was bleeding, and they discovered he had cancer. Over the weekend he went back to the hospital and there was more bleeding. The doctors said the damage from the bleeding had been done and there really wasn't much they could do to stop it or prevent it from happening again. Like I said, fast. Shocking. Prayers are good.

Summer is Coming

2010-05-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

May. Graduation time. A time of changes, of new beginnings. Greetings and partings.
The overcast June gloom is setting in early, bringing with it an unusual bout of chilliness.
It's beautiful though, the beautifully annoying parrots are returning.
Our garden is blossoming, a bright splash of green across the back bank.
Summer is in the air.
I'm looking forward to long, sunshiny days and cool, refreshing nights.
Swimsuits and sunscreen, watermelon and lemonade.
Catch up on reading, writing and pictures.
Try out new baking recipes, finish my cake classes.
Wedding plans, projects and fun.
Here's to summer. Your timing is impeccable.

How Time Flies

2010-05-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

Time certainly flies when you're ~~busy~~ having fun. We had the memorial desert trip for Moe. It was intense, fun, sad, wonderful, memorable, emotional, closure. We had a carpet of purple flowers welcoming us on either side of the road as we drove into the flats, it definitely set the tone for the weekend. We knew Moe was there waiting for us. The valleys were covered in purple flowers. Now, I haven't been going to the desert for very long, but some of our friends have been going for close to 20 years. They have never seen purple flowers out there, not like this. Yeah. Intensity. The crack of dawn ride was incredible, watching the sunrise from the top of a dune after being cleansed with white sage by her brother was an amazing experience. Camp was huge, so many people. The ride out to the memorial valley was epic, so many people whose lives she touched. I know she was right there with us, loving every minute of it. I broke my quad. Well, my quad broke, but it wasn't my fault. I think it was Moe's way of telling me I am ready for a bigger bike. That's what I get for showing off for her playing in the dunes above the memorial valley. It makes me smile.

We booked our reception venue last Friday. It's such a relief to have that figured out. We met with a caterer last night and will hopefully have the food booked by the end of next week. Everything will flow together after that, the venue was the biggest obstacle/stresser. I'm getting so excited. We registered for kitchen stuff over the weekend, it was a really fun experience. And, let's be honest, those little scan gun thingies are incredibly fun to play with. The fiance's mom is throwing us a summer kitchen Jack & Jill wedding shower so she needed us to at least register for kitchen related items. I'm looking forward to completing our registration, it really is a fun experience discussing and deciding on the items we would like to have for our life together. It seems so simple, but it's really meaningful and a lot of fun.

Photostory Friday: Crazy Daisies

2010-04-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

Hosted by Cecily and Mamarazzi

A bit overdue, but here are the pictures of the grand finale cake we did in my fondant and gumpaste class. Let me just tell you that this cake was a comedy of errors in the making. I iced and covered the cake before we left for the desert that Thursday night to keep it fresh (and minimize the work I had to do when we got back Sunday night for my class on Monday). I made the mistake of covering it with saran wrap.
I came home to a hug fondant bubble and wilted, wrinkly sides. I had ripped the fondant a bit in the first covering and had planned to recover it anyways, but this definitely made sure that I had to recover it. I stayed up till about midnight on Sunday making all of the daisies, only to walk into class Monday night and realize that I'd left them at home. Funniest part is that they were sitting on the table, right next to the cake! I did the garlands and borders and trinket box in class and added the daisies when I got home. The pictures don't show it very well, but I did a very light sparkly dusting on the cake itself to make it shimmer a little bit. (and to hide some of the imperfections in my fondant covering)
I really like the design itself. I combined two designs from the books to make this one. I loved the daisies spilling out of the trinket box on another cake, so I decided to use that for the center of my finished product. The cake itself was a yellow cake with vanilla flavored buttercream filling and icing under the Wilton pre-made fondant. We used that for class, and honestly, I don't think it's half bad. It has the taste and flavor of an airhead, in my opinion. All but one person at work liked the fondant. I guess it's all just a matter of taste. This is definitely one of my favorite cakes though, so bright and cheery.

Hosted by Cecily and Mamarazzi

Much Ado About Cakes

2010-04-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

We went to Disneyland for my littlest brother's birthday instead of having a big party. He really wanted to go to Disneyland, and a big party just didn't seem to fit into the crazy baseball schedule they've got going. I seriously do not know how my mom does it. She's got to be superwoman, I'm absolutely convinced. Since we didn't do a big party, my aunt and uncle offered to do a cake for my brother at Easter for the family. Since I didn't get to make him a big, fun cake for his birthday, I got to make him a smaller cake for Easter. This is the first and only pre-formed pan cake that I have ever made. Some of the contours were a but more challenging than I had expected. But I am overall pretty satisfied with how it turned out. The little imperfections actually work for this cake, being a pirate ship and all. My brother was really excited about it, which was enough for me. The cake itself was a white cake with butter flavored buttercream icing.

This is the birthday cake that I made for my cousin Ariel. We almost always have a cake for her at Easter since her birthday. Since I've been learning to make cakes and can always use the practice, my aunt and uncle took me up on my offer to make the birthday cakes this year. My
Cousin loves bright colors and gerbera daisies. Her favorite color is green, which is why the accent border is green. I had a lot of fun making the daisies, even though I had to repair a few petals that I broke. Gumpaste gets very fragile once it dries...at least when I make delicate flowers. My cousin knew what the flowers were right away and absolutely loved the cake. It was a gluten free dark chocolate mix with an irritating but delicious cream cheese filling and butter flavored buttercream icing. All the decorations are gumpaste or a gumpaste/fondant mixture.

In Which I Vent

2010-04-13T13:25:00.001-07:00

Let me preface this by saying that I am irrationally venting. I've been in an apathetic kind of mood most of the day. I know everything will fall into place, that I'm likely hormonal and just need to bury myself in dark chocolate and strawberries. Or dark chocolate covered strawberries. Oooh that sounds good. I should get the fiance on that.

We are less than one year away from our wedding. The ceremony is in place as far a time and location, but I don't have the reception yet. This is getting increasingly stressful, because the longer we wait to book a place, the harder it's going to be. Half my problem is that everything is so damn expensive. It's incredibly frustrating to try and plan a strictly budgeted wedding and not be able to find a lot of places to choose from because if they aren't charging you thousands of dollars just to have the room, they're charging you $75 a person to be there, or both! I know plenty of people pay this without blinking. Kudos to them. I don't have that kind of money. Yes I know cutting the guest list is a great way to save money, we may end up thinning it out, but I need numbers first!!

We are technically on the books for a site, but we have no numbers and no contract, and to me, until I have those things, there is no guarantee. It's a newer place, so I understand that they don't have everything all packaged and whatnot which is fine, I understand that. And they are great and I love them, I just need to get things figured out so that we can get to work on the rest of it.

I know that something is going to work itself out, it always does. But at this particular moment I feel like a stubborn child, stomping my foot, throwing my toys and saying I want it NOW! Is that really too much to ask?

I had a dream last night that was kind of amusing but also a little stressful. Nothing was planned for our wedding except that I had my dress and somehow people were coming. For some reason we were up at my parent's house for the wedding. We were trying to get things ready, but nothing was planned, so we didn't have anything. It was in the last hour before the wedding was supposed to start and I hadn't even started getting ready. The fiance and I, my parents, my brothers, my grandparents and some of my cousins were all sitting around our long dining room table, I was in my wedding dress. I was at one end, the fiance was at the other. We were debating postponing the wedding because we weren't prepared, but we were worried because there was only an hour till the wedding started and we knew that some people (specifically my two bosses for some reason were in it) were likely almost there if not there already, and had driven at least 3 hours to get there. We finally made the decision to postpone the wedding. I was inconsolably upset that the fiance had seen my dress and we weren't even going to get married that day. Somehow we all ended back up at the table again. Someone, it might have been me, suddenly sat up and asked, wait a sec, what year is it? Someone (I think my mom or grandpa) answered, 2010. And I was like, omg, we're a year early!!! The wedding isn't until 2011!!! I think we started laughing out of sheer frustration. It was at this point that I woke up.

Yeah. I need the reception venue nailed down with numbers and a contract, stat.

2 - 365

2010-04-09T08:58:00.001-07:00

2 - the number of years the fiance and I have been dating (as of yesterday)

365 - the number of days left until our wedding

Infinite - how indescribably happy I am

Hello

2010-04-05T14:10:00.001-07:00

Apparently I'm not entirely past that whole blog writing apathy thing yet. Working on it. Time seems to be short these days. Or rather, I just have too much with which to fill it. But don't worry, I'm still here, I haven't disappeared (contrary to what my lack of posting might indicate)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. Ours was rather eventful what with the ground rolling for 2-3 minutes. Longest earthquake I've ever felt (that I remember) The fiance was sitting down and wasn't feeling well so I went out to the back patio to get him a glass of water. As I was standing there, it felt like the table was moving....or I was moving. I'm usually really fast at this stuff and hyper sensitive to earthquakes, but this one took me a moment. My whole family was together, gathered throughout the house, wondering when it was going to stop. My mom was leaning against the door near where the fiance was sitting, and ended up having to sit down in the fiance's lap because she got so dizzy. I wasn't inside at the time, but it was a rather entertaining story. The water in the pool sloshed a good 5 or 6 inches over the side, it was crazy.

I finished my fondant and gumpaste class, I learned a lot and am having a great time with all the new creative possibilities. As for the class itself, I relied on my visual learning and the pictures/instructions in our book. By the end my teacher was speaking primarily in Spanish, but at that point it wouldn't have mattered if she was speaking Swahili, because I had switched to visual learning. I definitely won't take another class there, but I'm glad I got the fondant and gumpaste under my belt. I will have 3 new cake pictures up later this week.

We're rapidly closing in on the one year mark to our wedding. Things are starting to get going, still have a lot to do though. I couldn't be more excited about everything, it's so nice when everything falls into place :)

The Language of Fondant

2010-03-09T09:19:00.000-08:00

It's a good thing I didn't write this post last night, or it might have come out sounding frustrated and even a little bit mean.

I had my first fondant and gumpaste class last night. I guess I should have taken into consideration where I was taking it, but it didn't really cross my mind. I have a new found compassion/sympathy/empathy for ESL students and Spanish speaking students who come into schools where English is the main or only language.

My teacher kept switching between English and Spanish, but even when she was in English her accent was so heavy and she spoke so softly and mumbled her words, it was difficult to understand her. Thankfully, the two girls across the table took pity on me and translated when necessary, but even they were confused at times. She is definitely not nearly as good a teacher as my last one. I think I can still learn and make it through the course. I will not take another class at that store though. I'll drive to another store up by where I did my student teaching if I have to.

On the upside, fondant is fun and I'm glad I am learning to use it. It's definitely a cool medium to learn.

Rainy Weekends

2010-03-08T13:33:00.000-08:00

Rainy days make me smile. Don't get me wrong, I'm still clamoring for the warm summer sunshine when I can spend my days in tanks and flip flops. I just love the rain. It makes for excellent indoor relax weather. I did an invitation mock up design Friday night while the fiance was at work. My mom loved it and so did the fiance and his mom when I showed it to them Saturday! I'm really excited about it :)

The fiance ended up being able to work from home Saturday and Sunday, so we had some nice hang out and relax time. I got signed up for the Wilton level 4 Fondant and Gum Paste class, I start tonight, I'm SO excited!!! (don't worry, there will be pictures over the next few weeks) We spent a pretty relaxing weekend. The fiance wanted to try his hand at fondant. I didn't want to touch it until I did my class, so he was on his own, but he did a really good job. We watched a bunch of House too this weekend. One disk left of Season 5...the last episode we watched last night was rather depressing though. I'm half convinced that Joss Whedon wrote it. (not that I don't love Joss, but still) The fiance also made an incredibly delicious tortilla soup. Perfect for a stormy day.

That said, bring on the sunshine. I'm ready for sunscreen, sandals, sand and fun. I promise not to whine about how hot it is. Well, at least not very loudly. :)

Wedding Musings

2010-03-05T10:15:00.001-08:00

I absolutely adore the fiance's groomsmen. I work with three of them, and they are just funny, awesome, all around nice guys. They are such good friends to the fiance and I'm really excited to have them standing with us when we tie the knot.
I should not work on wedding stuff right before bed while watching Mamma Mia. Even if it's just organizing stuff into the notebooks. Stressed out wedding dreams are not relaxing. And I'm not even really stressed out! That night I dreamed that nothing was planned, I didn't have a dress and my hair wasn't done, it was pouring and nothing was going right. Definitely not restful. I had another wedding dream last night, it was different, but odd at the same time. That's two wedding related dreams in three nights. Maybe it's because we're slowly counting down to the one year mark? Who knows. Don't worry, I'm not going crazy, I'm not even stressed. I'm just laughing at the insanity of my dreams.
We have our centerpieces. Well, we know what they are going to be, and we have all of one of the designs. I'll post more about that later, but let me tell you, they are going to be awesome!
We had our chapel tour and orientation. Turns out the fiance knows the chapel wedding coordinator! He's friends with her daughter. It makes everything that much easier to work with, she is SO nice. Our deposit and papers are in so we are officially, 100% booked for our wedding.
I still have to go look for my dress. Oh, well, I guess that's the only potential stresser I have. With the disorganized insanity of the little league schedule, my mom isn't sure when she'll make it down to go shopping with me. I WILL NOT go dress shopping without my mom. Period. We're working on finding a time that will work.
We have asked all but two members of our wedding party. I have to ask my final two bridesmaids, I'm just waiting for an opportunity to do it in person. I can't wait for their reactions, I think they're going to be really excited. (they're two of my younger cousins)
I think we've decided on the cake design, but still have to figure out the flavors, pricing and baker.
The fiance and I are going to another bridal expo in about a week. I was thrilled that he was excited to go and told me to get the tickets right away. I'm sure to see a few repeat vendors, but probably see some new ones with new deals as well.
All in all things are going well. The fiance has to work this weekend, so I'm planning to hang out in my apartment, tucked away from the rain and work on wedding stuff.

LCD

2010-03-03T21:30:00.000-08:00

I'm planning a ritual gravity defiance courtesy of my stupid cell phone. Well, not really. Unless they actually let me throw it off the roof. They being the fiance and one of our groomsmen. (sorry, he doesn't have a creative nickname yet, too annoyed at the moment) They may have just been trying to make me smile earlier, we'll have to see.

The darn thing worked just fine when my mom called this morning. I didn't drop it or anything. I walked into the office, set it down on my desk and forgot about it for about 20 minutes until I went to call my grandpa to ask him a quick question about a music book I was ordering. The phone worked, but the screen did not. My guess is it's either the backlight or a connection. I don't know the inner workings of phones like I do computers, but my guess is a connection. That or the damn thing just hates me. At least I can still make and receive calls. Forget about texts though. I get to go to the cell phone store tomorrow. At the mall. Yeah, notice the excitement in my voice. I just LOVE the mall. <---there would be a bunch of strike throughs back there except I don't remember the coding Mr. Lady so kindly provided in a recent post and I don't feel like looking. I'm even too irritated to try to link to her. With my luck today it would break. If you don't know her, you should. She's on my sidebar. Whiskey In My Sippy Cup. You can thank me later.

I promise photographic evidence if the phone attempts to defy gravity. It might even have its own song...

Dictionary

2010-03-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

Apathetic-

1. having or showing little or no emotion: apathetic behavior.

2. not interested or concerned; indifferent or unresponsive: an apathetic audience

That's kind of how I've been feeling about my blog lately. I don't know why, it's not like I don't have a million things to write and share. I haven't gotten around to reading many either, my reader count is inching steadily higher each day. Part of the reading or lack thereof has been because things have been rather busy. I wish my blog could just read my mind. My mind is really the place to be, it just apparently hasn't felt like sharing with my computer.

I finally finished re-reading the Twilight series. I adore those books, they completely suck me in. The only thing I don't like about books in general are the endings, especially the ending of a series or a single favorite. I always get sad that the story is over. I love to read though and have been making more of an effort to make the time to do so, there are over a dozen books sitting on my shelf waiting to be read and several dozen others waiting to be re-read.

Back when he bought his Xbox 360, the fiance bought me Beautiful Katamari to persuade me not to give him a hard time about the new system when he didn't often use his Wii. (don't worry, I still gave him a hard time) We've been playing a lot of Katamari lately, it's so much fun (though sometimes frustrating) Seriously, where did they come up with this thing? I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in the board room where they pitched this game. "Okay, so, there's this little round ball. You roll it around and pick things up. As you get bigger, you can pick up bigger things until you're picking up people, building, ships, mountains, continents, worlds and galaxies. All during which we're going to play this light, fluffy music and have a cyllinder shaped king talk at you." This is seriously my favorite game of all time. The fiance kind of laughed at it at first when I told him about it and that I wished they had it for the Wii. It wasn't until he started to play it that he truly appreciated it. Seriously, if you have a game system that isn't the Wii, you should totally try Beautiful Katamari. It's freaking awesome

Several Letters

2010-02-18T12:21:00.000-08:00

To the two morons in the street,

One, you were j-walking. Yes, most of us have done it at some point in our lives. It doesn't make it any less stupid. Two, you were about 15 feet from the stoplight and a crosswalk. Seriously? Just walk the extra few feet. If you decide to go ahead and do it anyway, then do it quickly. Do not saunter at a snails pace across the pavement. You do not look cool swaggering across the street in the face of oncoming traffic. You look like a complete moron without a drop of common sense in your body.

Questioning your brain function,
The girl in the car who very nearly almost considered running you over, even though she doesn't like Darwin
-----------------------------------------------
Miss Last minute,

Let's be honest, we both know you were going to merge. You had a ridiculously long distance to merge over, yet you waited until you were about to run into a sign to turn on your blinker and try, forcing me to slam on my breaks to let you over. You are lucky I'm nice.

~The girl glaring at you in your rear-view mirror
-----------------------------------------------
Dear Aunt Flo,

I hate you. Make up your mind or go away.

Love,
Jaina
-----------------------------------------------
To everyone who drives a car,

They have this remarkable new-fangled technology to let other drives know when you're going to change lanes or turn. They're called BLINKERS. They're stupid simple to turn on and you are LEGALLY required to do so. Am I the only one who passed driver's ed? You are not exempt, nor are you more important than anyone else on the road. If you don't use your blinker, don't be surprised when I speed up to not let you over. I strongly dislike people who can't manage to follow simple rules. Same goes to tailgaters.

~The girl actually using her blinkers
------------------------------------------------
Dear characters in my head,

I love that you're all clamoring for attention after a long, long hibernation, but seriously, you're making me ADD jumping between your story threads. But if it gets the threads out of my head then I guess I don't mind too much.

Inspirationally Yours,
Jaina
------------------------------------------------
My sweet chocolate covered strawberries,

I love you. That is all.

Random Stuff

2010-02-15T19:34:00.000-08:00

I feel like a lizard soaking up the beautiful 70+ degree sunshine. I'm hoping it sticks around longer than they predict, I'm ready for it to be warm all the time again.
Fan Fest at Petco Park is pretty fun. The Padres locker room is a big circle...one of the guards there made a crack that contrary to what we had been told, it wasn't the locker room but rather the set for the new Star Trek (insert some sort of Padre/baseball related statement here) movie. It totally fit, I thought it was hysterical.
We found part of our centerpieces and bought the number we needed over the weekend, they are totally awesome and chock full of character.
We also decided to look more at tropical, oceanside honeymoons rather than Europe. I think we might just be able to pull this whole thing off without breaking the bank.
I'm very disturbed by season four of House. I DO NOT like the missing team. I have complained very loudly to the fiance, who keeps telling me that I can't change the storyline and to just keep watching. I still don't like it. (but I am rather addicted to the show)
Valentine's Day was really cute and funny. Total line twist towards the end had me beside myself with laughter. Did NOT see that one coming. You should go see it, it's worth it.
The fiance made me chocolate covered strawberries yesterday. With sprinkles. 'Nuf said.

Messages of Love

2010-02-09T17:22:00.000-08:00

Moe once told me that she wanted to be there for me during the wedding planning process. She wanted to be the one I came to when I was stressed or frustrated, to be the person I could talk to and vent to when I needed. She would be there for whatever I needed help with. I wasn't far enough into planning to take her up on this offer before she left.

The fiance and I were talking about wedding stuff at lunch and I've been thinking/stressing most of the day now. I was standing at my stove cooking quesadillas, stressing about the wedding and how we're going to make it work in the modest budget we have available, including the honeymoon. As I continued stressing, I started thinking how this would be a time to talk to Moe, to share my fears and stresses and hear her tell me that it was going to work out and then make a few brilliant suggestions to help it work. I was stressing how I didn't know what I was going to do now, because Moe isn't here anymore. Who was I going to talk to?

As I was standing there in the midst of these thoughts, mentally freaking out, I get this text message from the fiance:

Moe loves u princess

I can't tell you exactly what went through my mind at that moment. I texted the fiance back and said I know. A lil random, but i know. She loves you too.

It was his reply that got me: Hahaha not what I meant but she does I meant muah
I was stunned. I replied with Wow, and then completely lost it when he said Hahaha yea something happened.

Yeah, Moe used you to send me a message. Right when I needed it most. Right when I was stressed and freaking out and worried. Right when I was thinking about how much I needed her to be here, for so many reasons, not just for this. And then came the text.

Moe loves u princess

Not exactly an answer, but it's all I needed to know. The fiance has a Blackberry. Muah coming out as Moe was not an accidental typo. Fresh tears subsiding, I know I can do this. So does Moe.

Voices

2010-02-06T20:52:00.000-08:00

It poured rain today. Fitting, in a way. I'd have expected nothing less for the memorial for Moe today. It was truly beautiful, it was breathtaking to see the number of lives she touched. Beautiful words were spoken, memories shared, tears shed. I thought I was going to pass out when Bells spoke, my chest was so tight I could barely breathe. I wanted nothing more than to wrap her up and steal her away from this awful nightmare. No 15 year old should have to go through this. Instead I brought her a pack of double stuf oreos, our favorite desert snack and one of her favorite treats.

My tenses are blurred, fluid. There is no strict line between past and present. Moe isn't gone, she never will be. I feel like she's just gone on a vacation or that I just have to run down to her office or out to the house for a family game night. She's always are the corner, just out of sight. She had a remarkable presence in life, an energy that can never be lost in death. She has become a voice in my head. I can hear her and see her, know her reactions and what she would say. Hear her laugh. It's strangely comforting. I know my guardian angel by name and hear her voice in my head and my heart. I can tell stories, share memories, but I can never truly explain just how special Monique is to me, how deeply she has touched my life. She will always be with me.

My deepest thanks to those who have left such encouraging and caring comments the past week. I haven't had the strength to respond, but please know that I have read each and every one of them and they have given me strength and each felt like a hug from a dear friend. And it may seem a ridiculous thing to admit, but yes, I have cried. Several times. Now, even. It is cleansing, it relieves the pressure in my head, I know it's part of the process.

Process

2010-02-02T21:28:00.000-08:00

But I don't understand, I don't understand how this all happens, how we go through this, I mean I knew her, and now she's...there's just a body, and I don't understand how come she just can't get back in it and not be dead anymore. It's stupid! It's mortal! and it's stupid! And Xander's crying and not talking, and I was having fruit punch and I was thinking that well Joyce will never have fruit punch, ever, and she'll never have eggs, or yawn, or brush her hair, not ever, and no one will explain to me why. ~Anya, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 5.16 - The Body

Moe was only 42. She beat breast cancer, she was a strong, amazing woman.
Wednesday she found out that she had liver cancer.
Thursday afternoon she was in the hospital, then on life support.
Early Friday morning the tumor or whatever it was crystalized and burst, essentially poisoning her. She had a heart attack. They worked on her for 26 minutes. The doctor finally told her husband that they could continue and buy her maybe another 30 minutes, maybe a couple hours.
3 days. That's it.

I've only known Moe for about a year and a half. She was a dear friend of the fiance's and I met her through him. We all work for the same place and the first time she and I actually met was over the phone soon after the fiance and I started dating. I was helping her with some computer stuff. Moe is welcoming and loving, I was instantly family. She was a great person to talk to. She'd give it to you straight, because sometimes that's just how you need it. No holds barred, no secrets, you always knew what was on her mind. Without Moe it's fair to say that the fiance and I would not be engaged right now. She steered our relationship away from the rocks several times. We both implicitly trusted her, and she never broke that trust, not once. You could count on Moe. She was just amazing like that. She is a true friend, and I am so blessed to have had her in my life.

I am absolutely reeling right now. Like Anya, I don't understand. I cannot make sense of it. Death seems to be a concept that is too great for the capacity of the human mind to understand. It is most certainly beyond mine. I've glimpsed it here and there. I was so young when my aunt and paternal grandfather passed away. Too young for it to really hit me. The fiances grandparents hit, but it was subtle. Though I loved them, I barely knew them. Moe is the first time I am really having to face this head on. We were very close, she was a mix of friend, sister and mother.

I have many happy memories with Moe. And I can't seem to wrap my mind around it that there will not be additions to those. Nothing new. Moe changed the lives of everyone she met. She will always influence mine. I can hear her voice in my head, hear her laugh. I can picture the two of us nursing spritzers in the desert, spending most of the day pleasantly fuzzy and enjoying great conversation while the rest of camp was out riding the dunes. Moe is the reason I got back on my quad and still ride today. She was my teacher and my friend. She lived life without regrets. I know I will miss her. I'm not there yet, because I still don't accept that she's gone. It just seems like she's gone on a trip or something. Just out of sight around the next corner, just over the next dune.

I feel split. Compartmentalization to the extreme. A part of me is standing rationally (or irrationally, I'm not truly sure which) to the side, watching the other part of me curl into the fetal position, trying desperately not to face this. This horrific monster called death that stole Moe from me, from Bells, from the fiance, from all of us who knew and loved her. That rational part of me knows that everything happens for a reason and that she is safe and out of pain. The curled up one doesn't care because it hurts so much. In all my actions I can hear her voice, her comments and what she would say. I know we have a new guardian angel watching over us and the idea comforts me.

Tears

2010-02-01T21:59:00.000-08:00

I think I might be falling apart. But I'm consciously aware of what I am doing. I compartmentalize pretty well...comes from having to deal with lots of drama over the years. I compartmentalize to function. Distractions help too. My mom's visit couldn't have been more perfectly timed this weekend. I had a wonderful time hanging out with her, watching movies and going to the bridal show. More on the happy stuff later. I'm not in a happy mood.

If I don't cry it's not real. I can't help the tears that spilled over a little bit...they were excess, and I'm exhausted, my eyes are tired. I know that it's not true, but there is some part of myself that is clinging to the idea that if I don't cry, then it's not real, though consciously I'm almost laughing at myself for such foolishness. It's not happening. It's just a bad dream, some awful, ill-conceived and incredibly early April Fools prank. I consciously know that this is not really the case. I know that the longer I ignore it while looking it in the face, the harder this is going to hit. But I don't care. It's unbelievable, therefore it can't be true. Tears are wet, tangible. They represent a detached reality that I don't want to face. Thus, if I don't cry, it's not real. I think it might be what they call denial. I'm not sure, I don't think I've ever been there. It's easier for my mind to detach. I don't like to think much. Thinking hurts when the thoughts are nonsensical and have no conceivable rational explanation. Compartmentalization to function. No tears.

2010-01-29T10:23:00.001-08:00

Moe died this morning.

Cancer is a Bitch

2010-01-28T22:07:00.000-08:00

You might remember stories about my friend Renee. Her real name is Moe. She's my riding coach, but so much more. She's a wonderful friend. Her daughter, Bells, is like a little sister to both me and the fiance. We consider them family. Moe is one of the most amazing people I know. She is always there when you need her, always has words of wisdom to share, and you know she'll tell it to you straight. She is really, truly a gift.

Moe successfully fought breast cancer a number of years back. The fiance and I found out this afternoon that she has cancer again and is currently in the hospital. It's liver cancer, and it is aggressive, they have her on morphine right now. They are going to do an oral chemo treatment, I believe for about 2 weeks, which has about a 50% chance of having any effect on the cancer.

She is a fighter, I know that much without a doubt. But right now she needs all the help she can get. Please keep Moe, her daughter, her husband, and all of their family in your prayers. Prayer is an incredibly powerful blessing. Please pray for Moe. Pray very, very hard.

Cozy

2010-01-19T14:14:00.000-08:00

The upside to having a persistently obnoxious cough and sore throat is that I get to be tucked away, safe and warm inside my apartment as the storm rages outside my windows. These heavy winds I'm used to at my parents', but they are unusual for here. The rain is driving against my windows, hammering away. Yet here I sit, sipping my hot tea spiked with lemon and honey, comfy and cozy in my pajamas. Now if only this annoying cough will go away, it's getting a bit old.

I hope everyone stays safe and dry.

447

2010-01-17T21:20:00.001-08:00

Not feeling well is not fun. Scratchy throats that induce coughing is not much better. Toss it into a three day weekend and it really sucks.

A fiance who is unbelievably sweet and will go out in the rain to get you mint chocolate chip ice cream to soothe your throat is absolutely incredible. A future mother-in-law (in 447 days) who makes you hot tea with lemon and honey because she hears you coughing from the other room is also incredibly sweet.

I am so incredibly blessed.

Photostory Friday: 2 am

2010-01-15T09:13:00.000-08:00

Hosted by Cecily

2 am

Never fails.

It doesn't seem to matter how prepared I am,

how difficult the design is

how quickly I work,

You will find me in the kitchen

surrounded by icing, decorator tips and couplers,

spatulas, toothpicks and icing bags,

until

2 am

Results like these? Make it all worth it.

Hosted by Cecily

**Hopefully it's apparent, but this is a surfboard, modeled after my future father-in-law's board, the board which our friend Shawn loves. The cake is for Shawn's last day working with us before heading to a new job.

Refocused

2010-01-14T10:52:00.001-08:00

When I hear the phrase writer's block, I think of not being able to think of anything to write. Lately though, it's been the exact opposite for me. It's too much thought that is causing the block. I instantly reject what I sit down to write. I have great ideas, but my mind jumbles the words as it tries to shovel them relentlessly through the funnel of my mind. The result is that I shy away from my blog, which is the exact opposite of what I want to do. I've realized that I seem to have lost sight of why I blog in the first place. First and foremost, I blog for me. I love my blog readers and I love getting feedback in the form of comments and emails, but ultimately, I need to satisfy myself through these words. I also need to remember that my blog is not a single story, written through from beginning to end. It is like a collection of stories and pictures, gathered together under the banner of looking through the lens, the lens of my life. Armed with these thoughts, I'll proceed. And as Yoda would say, try not. Do, or do not. There is no try. Yoda's one smart muppet.

Happy 2010!!

2010-01-05T13:18:00.001-08:00

Happy 2010!! I hope that everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday and New Year. Mine was amazing, if a bit on the chilly side. We left the east coast at under freezing and stepped out of the airport into 70 degrees. I loved the east coast, but I was sure happy to be home in my warm California sunshine.

I have lots of stories to share from up and down the east coast. Fun adventures, long walks, nights with my cousin and her boyfriend, historical sites and all sorts of fun. I think the highlight of my trip was sitting around the living room with my Uncle Don, fiance and grandparents on New Years Eve, just chatting for a couple hours. It was quality time with my uncle that I absolutely loved. That's not to say that the rest of my trip wasn't amazing, it absolutely was. That moment was just one of the most meaningful.

I spent more time on the east coast in December than I did in California. Consequently, I had my first real encounter with jet lag. I went to bed at 5:45 last night and did not get up until 6 this morning. 12 hours was wonderful though and most definitely needed. Sadly, the fiance's grandmother passed away while we were gone, so we were at her funeral yesterday afternoon. It was a beautiful service though, I think she would have liked it. The fiance is doing pretty well, but I'm sure that prayers would still be very much appreciated.

I've cleaned most of my apartment but still have a few things to do. The spring cleaning bug always hits me after New Years. I guess I just like to start the year out clean and organized. It will also help as we delve into our wedding planning. I'm really excited. I should hear back from the chapel wedding coordinator hopefully Thursday to secure our date. I am SO excited!

I'm planning to keep up regular posting this year, let's call it a New Year's resolution. Maybe not everyday, but at least a few times a week (though daily would be great). I will also do my best to get more photos up as well since my blog did initially begin as a place to post my pictures. I have a few ideas for some series/themed type posts as well, but more on that later.

Holiday Hiatus

2009-12-16T13:59:00.001-08:00

I light of the 2 + week trip I'm about the leave on, I am taking a short blogging break for the holidays. I had thought about scheduling a few posts to keep you entertained while I'm away, but I ran out of time and I am SO tired right now. By the end of today I'll have worked 33 hours since Monday. Crazy, huh? At least it saves some of my vacation time.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! Be safe, have fun and enjoy the season. I'll see you in the new year in which I plan to resume a regular posting schedule. Let's call it my New Year's Resolution ;)

Wave

2009-12-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

So almost my entire office is having a blast playing with Google Wave. The closest I can come to describing it is that it's IM on steroids and speed. It has the potential to be a great collaboration tool (or possibly time waster...) It really is a lot of fun getting to know my way around. It's still in testing so it's not perfect yet and it's not available without an invite.

That said, I have 6 invites left for this thing. If anyone wants an invite to Google Wave let me know. I'm willing to give away at least 4 of the invites here to whoever asks first. Just leave me a comment with your Gmail address and I'll get it sent to you.

Update: I actually now have 22 invites left. Let me know if you want one! :)

The first race

2009-12-07T14:12:00.000-08:00

I. Am. Sore.

Flat, hard packed desert = full day of riding (as opposed to a few short rides in the dunes)

Bumps, lifts and bounces = lots of standing while riding

Riding all day + lots of standing while riding = a great workout with a side of really sore muscles. But in a good way. Minus the whole soreness pain stuff. Honestly, I feel like I had an amazing workout, and I did.

My outer thighs from my butt down to my upper thighs hurt. My inner thighs hurt. My upper arms, across my chest, around my shoulders and over the top of my back hurt. Like I said, a great workout. Totally worth it, I rode really well Saturday. I was proud of me and so was the fiance. I love the dunes, but I get to ride more at the hard packed desert. (don't worry, I never ride without my chest protector) I was doing really well Saturday, really enjoying riding and getting some speed going. It was like a switch flipped and my muscles decided they were done. This was of course after many hours of riding, so no big deal.

The fiance had his first race on Sunday, he did great! There were three of us scattered around taking pictures of his first big race. There are a few modifications he wants to make to the bike, including a twist throttle since his thumb gave out on him during the third lap and he had to slow down. But not bad at all for a first race, I am SO proud of him. Poor thing is super sore today, probably more sore than I was yesterday. At least today I'm starting to be able to move a little bit more.

When it rains, it pours - Updated

2009-12-04T09:48:00.000-08:00

This was not the post I wanted to write today.

My Great Grams was in the hospital earlier in the week with what turned out to be pneumonia. My Grammy lives with her and had to call 911 to get her to the hospital. She was doing much better and came home Wednesday. This morning my mom called to check in and see how everything was going and hit their answering machine. My Grammy called her back to tell her that she'd had to call 911 again because this morning Grams was cold, clammy, had stomach pains (which my Grammy thinks was actually chest pain) and was moaning. That's about all I know at this point. Grams is an amazing woman, fiery and wonderful even though she is losing her eyesight at 93. She is my dad's grandmother and I absolutely adore her. I would greatly appreciate that if you are so inclined, if you would pray for Grams.

Update 12/4, 3:08pm: Grams is home. I don't really have any other details. (don't get me started on the aunt who is there atm) I did get to speak with Grams and she sounded good, if a bit tired. I'll update when I hear back from Grammy.

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

2009-11-30T09:39:00.001-08:00

I love Thanksgiving in the mountains at my uncle's cabin, it's such a great Thanksgiving-ish setting The fiance loved it too.
For all of our deciding not to spend a lot of money on buying presents, we definitely got some great deals this weekend.
The fiance bought me a Cricut machine and 4 cartridges (plus the one cartridge I bought). He cannot resist spoiling me. Plus, we're going to use this machine on the wedding invitations, thank yous, place cards, table numbers, favors, etc. It will be well used. :)
We leave for the east coast in just over 2 weeks! Talk about a whirlwind trip. I've NEVER done anything like this.
The fiance took me to see New Moon yesterday. They did a much better job with this one (not that I disliked the first one). I also now want the soundtrack score. I may force myself to wait until after Christmas, since I don't really need to spend the money right now.
We got the coolest new brush for Kara, the FURminator. It's a lot of fun to brush her...until she gets bored and runs away.
I love long weekends, they're quite relaxing and fun.

Thankful

2009-11-26T08:02:00.000-08:00

In following the blogland trend around this Thanksgiving time of year, here are a few things for which I am thankful:

my amazing fiance
my family and friends
my beautiful and energetic puppy
a warm place to live and good food to eat
my wonderful job and co-workers
the ability to make a last minute decision to fly across the country to spend the holidays with my uncles and an amazingly supportive fiance who will skip the biggest desert trip of the year to go with me and even after we decided not to go to Wisconsin for Christmas this year
the power of prayer
modern medicine
my supportive, loving, kind and caring bloggy friends, I cannot tell you how much you each mean to me, I am blessed with your friendship

I wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving with your families, friends and loved ones.

An East Coast Christmas

2009-11-24T21:46:00.000-08:00

Never thought that would be something that happened. But it's official. I bought our tickets tonight. I feel much less panicked than I have since my mom first brought this up yesterday morning. We're working out the details, but we will be on the east coast for Christmas. I hate the reason we're going, but I'm looking forward to seeing my uncles and family back there. It will be interesting for sure. We are spending next Christmas with the fiance's family, whether that is in California or the midwest. It's only fair. Maybe Easter too.

Cancer Sucks

2009-11-23T21:04:00.000-08:00

I've been trying so hard to hold it together all day. I can barely see straight. My words are merely syllables of frustration.

My mom imed me this morning to let me know that they are contemplating going back East before, during and/or after Christmas and to ask if I would be interesting in joining them.

I found out a few weeks ago that there are two new spots in my uncle's brain, from what my mom said today they are small tumors, between 1 and 5mm from what my mom said today. I don't know all the details, but they're planning to do some kind of localized radiation or something...I'm not sure. But I guess after that he found out that it looks like there are more coming back in his lungs and now a rib. I don't know more than the very basic details about this. And this follows on the heels of the news that a friend of my mom's, a mother of 7, has breast cancer that is much more widespread than initial imagined.

So we are looking at going back to the East coast for Christmas. This could be all just too much worry, but the fact that my mom decided to look at doing this makes me worry even more. My uncle is a man of great faith and has spoken so many times of truly feeling the effects of prayers. My mom said that he is fine with all of this, his faith is keeping him strong. Now if only I could share that. All I can do is pray. And in the meantime figure out vacation days and astronomical flight prices.

Links to a few previous posts about my uncle.

The Farting Dog

2009-11-22T21:34:00.001-08:00

The fiance and I spent the weekend at my parents house digging through (cleaning) my bedroom while my dad and older little brother were camping. My mom and I would like to turn it into a guest bedroom, but between all of my stuff and various things that she and others had tossed in there, it needed quite a bit of work. I gave myself three options: give away, trash, put away/box up/organize for later. It took all of Saturday and quite a bit of time today, but we managed to get it done. There is no way I'd have gotten through it without the fiance...he gave me the motivation when I was about ready to scream, and helped keep me on track. He even set up the frame for the bed my parents are going to put in there.

The weekend wasn't all work though. The fiance satiated our appetites with amazingly delicious meals: his special eggs (with veggies and meat mixed in), turkey wraps in whole wheat tortillas, amazing whole wheat pizza with a few special twists and buttermilk waffles with a touch of vanilla and cinnamon. We ate incredibly well, and my mom enjoyed the break from cooking. My grandparents were even able to join us for three meals, it was wonderful. :) My mom also rented The Proposal for us to watch Saturday night. What a great movie, we really enjoyed it. I definitely recommend it if you haven't yet seen it.

I'll leave you with the funniest story from the weekend. My parents' dog is pretty old (at least 14 years old) and she has what looks like doggie MS, she can move and stuff, but the nerves running to her back legs just aren't quite working properly. She's a Queensland though, so she's still eager to play and doesn't even seem to notice that she's having physical trouble. Since she was whining a lot Friday night and she and Kara weren't getting along very well this trip, we had moved her dog house upstairs to my mom's room for Saturday night. We were trying to get her upstairs (which she can still make on her own) but she just didn't seem to get that we were trying to get her up the stairs again. So for the second time that night I picked her up and carried her up the stairs. About 2/3's of the way up, she farted. (pretty sure I literally squeezed it out of her) My mom was a step or two behind me and was right in the firing zone there...and it stank. I forget her exact reaction, but I was laughing so hard I nearly dropped Angel. I managed to trip up the last two stairs and somehow managed to put the dog down gently without dropping her or hurting her before I ran into the wall at the top of the stairs. Luckily I got my hands out in front of me. It was a rather loud thud, I'm surprised I didn't wake up my little brother. I ended up sitting at the top of the stairs because I was laughing too hard to walk at this point. My mom got Angel into her house and we finally made it back downstairs, laughing the whole way down. I made it to right in front of the fiance (who witnessed the whole thing from downstairs) before I was on the floor again. There's something about ridiculous laughter that makes my legs and muscles not hold me up. I finally managed to stop laughing when the coughing started, but even that was kind of funny. (minus the part where I don't like feeling asthmatic) But it was by far the funniest story of the weekend.

Photostory Friday: Pumpkin Pie

2009-11-19T21:10:00.001-08:00

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

The challenge:

3 guys. 3 8" pumpkin pies. 1 can of whipped cream. Full office of spectators.

The prize:
Came to $20.

The title: 2009 First Annual Inter-departmental Pumpkin Pie Eating Championship Contest

The progress:

The winner:

$20 at the price of a small stomach ache. He even ended his pie with a squirt of whipped cream straight into his mouth. Interestingly enough, all three guys were hungry a few hours later.

The inner happenings at an IT Help Desk when we have way too much pumpkin pie in the office.

Welcome to my world.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

One of those days

2009-11-19T18:10:00.000-08:00

It's been one of those days. The ones where it starts out and you seriously consider staying in bed, but then against your better judgment you decide to brave the chilly morning air and venture from the warm, inviting safety of your bed.

Class went well, even though I'm frustrated at not being able to process things well enough to be able to play even moderately fast on trombone. It's just practice, so I know I'll get it...but until then it's still incredibly frustrating.

Things were going fairly well until I got back to work and drove around for nearly 30 minutes looking for parking, watching the minutes tick by and slowly but surely add to keep me at work later and later. I finally came to my wits end and called the fiance to pick me up from the far reaches of the campus. Right after I parked it turned out I was able to use his boss' reserved space since he's not here and they had the temp pass for it. If only I hadn't already wasted 30 minutes of my time.

Clearly I wasn't off to a great start. Right before our potluck lunch I got a call from a professor about the bounceback emails he was receiving. I explained that due to a compromised user account we were unfortunately being blocked by multiple outside providers. (by the way, DO NOT give your username and password for anything out to anybody if they ask you for it in email. They will not shut off your account, send you money, delete your profile, etc etc because they are liars and trying to make my life miserable!) He then proceeded to keep me on the phone for at least 15 minutes going on and on about why this was bad and what were we doing and one account getting hundreds/thousands blocked just seems like a bad system (over which we have NO control...go talk to Barracuda and ever other IT security company and bitch at them for an hour), and that people didn't believe him and that it was "hard to believe". Frankly, I don't care if you believe it and I'm sick of talking to you. To make it worse he wasn't even yelling, he was just going on and on and on and on and on.

The only bright spot was the impromptu pie eating contest we had with three of the guys, complete with a rocking soundtrack (including Eye of the Tiger and some Jock Jams thrown in there) That was fun. But now I have to sit at work until nearly 7pm, with just enough time to go home and pack for the weekend and then go to bed. Oh how my bed is calling to me. I am SO ready for this week to be over. Trooper, I think I need some Friday Demotivation, stat.

Head in the Clouds

2009-11-17T20:47:00.000-08:00

I cannot tell you how many posts have be in my head but never made it to posting because I never actually managed to find time to write them down. I have to admit, my head has been a bit in the clouds lately with wedding fantasies, plans and dreams. Suffice it to say that things are coming along quite nicely. :)

I'm heading home this weekend with the fiance so my mom and I can finally clean out and organize my bedroom so it can be used as a guest room. Don't worry, it's been planned for a while (partly so I have a place to stay when I'm home!), it's not just because I'm getting married. I'm looking forward to it, I haven't been home in a while.

I really am planning to get back to regular posting without completely driving you nuts with wedding talk and actually writing something substantial. Hey, at least I finally got caught up with my reader, right?

Fighting to Breathe

2009-11-03T12:31:00.001-08:00

Let's start this by saying that asthma sucks. I don't get it very often, it's usually illness induced, occasionally weather changes are the cause and one time it was stress induced. But when I feel my lungs constrict and feel like bricks are being placed upon them, when I start wheezing and coughing so bad I get horrible headaches and my throat starts hurting, I know it's time to pull out my trusty inhaler. One or two puffs from a non-expired inhaler brings nearly instant relief with air rushing back into my chest. Only now it's not such a trusty inhaler. Not since the environmental...enthusiasts...got ahold of it. Now it sucks. The relief is no longer forthcoming, and I have to turn to my nebulizer for a breathing treatment, just to get the medicine into my lungs. And according to the doctor I just saw, apparently this mediocre inhaler is going away too, and is going to turn to the powder type. Now, I've had powder inhalers, and they're great for their purpose...which functions as a long term solution for treating and preventing asthma symptoms. It is not fast acting. It is not an emergency inhaler.

I am mad. I am furious. I may not need my inhaler very frequently, but it's reassuring to know that it's there when I need it, waiting to send a burst of medicine in to free my constricted airways. And I usually do not have it so bad initially that I need the absolute emergency feature of the rescue inhaler. But lots of people do. My brother and two of my cousins for instance. My little brother has had to deal with asthma his whole life, and sometimes that rescue inhaler is vital. Same for my cousins...and multiple other members of my family.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for saving the environment. But really. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think a few rescue inhaler are going to do too much damage. Why don't they focus on the big things that hurt the environment like cars, chemical plants, deforestation? I would be willing to bet that the people who started attacking rescue inhalers and similar medical technology have never relied on one before. I'm sorry that my desire to breathe is so awful to you. To those who initiated these changes, leave us the hell alone and go "fix" something else. Your "input" is not wanted nor is it welcome. Now I'm going to go to a breathing treatment so that I might have a few minutes without coughing and feeling like I can't breathe. And when I finally get this under control and can breathe again, I'm going to go to my cupboard and take my old expired rescue inhaler outside somewhere, and I'm going to puff it until it's empty.

Happy Days

2009-10-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

I was trying to pull my words together for a post when I remembered one I'd read earlier. Heather posted about things that make her happy, it was really a great list. I decided that I wanted to make one of my own. So in no particular order, here is a list of some of the things that make me happy:

my fiance
my family
long talks with my mom
the sparkly ring on my finger (and everything it symbolizes)
rain (especially thunderstorms)
a steaming cup of soy chai (but not too steaming, or I can't drink it for a while!)
a wonderful book
hearing music that intrigues me
listening to old favorites
reading hilarious stories on notalwaysright.com (seriously, helps relieve stress at work)
riding my quad with the fiance
talking to my little brothers in the morning
thinking and dreaming about my wedding
girl weekends with my cousin Ariel
taking pictures
the first day of school smell
pumpkins and cool weather
roaring fires with hot chocolate
cuddling with my fiance
playing with my puppy
art projects
making things for family and friends
designing and baking cakes
fireworks
sunshine
Christmas lights
wrapping gifts
smiling
laughing
being silly
long summer days
fall colors
strawberries

Ready to Ride

2009-10-23T07:36:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to head out. This weekend marks the first desert trip of the season. I cannot express how excited I am to get back out there. It's so relaxing and fun being out there with our friends, away from the city. We're approaching the season with a new tactic of inexpensive and easy. We're pre-making just about all the food, keeping it simple. It saves time and energy on prep and cleanup, and gives us more time to ride. Keeping things simple also means that we have more money that can go towards our wedding.

Just gotta get through the work day and then we're outta here! Can't wait to get back on my quad, it's actually mine now. The fiance traded his 400 that our friends crashed for their 250 plus a little extra to make it an equal trade. The 250 is now officially ours :) I can't wait to go riding! (and I promise to be very careful)

He's Awake!!!!

2009-10-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

I know it's been quite some time, but I have some wonderful news to share. You may remember my dad's friend who was in that really bad accident quite a few months ago.

My mom just imed me to give me the wonderful news that Dave is awake and has been awake for about a week!! He is talking and sleeping and waking up, and he even took a few steps today! He still has a long road ahead of him, but he is awake and healing, this is incredible! Thank you so much for all of your prayers, I know that they have made a big difference for Dave and his family. Please pray that he continues to heal and recover.

Do it right the first time

2009-10-20T17:56:00.001-07:00

Haha, typical me to post that I'm engaged, throw up a couple pictures of the absolutely gorgeous (and VERY sparkly) ring on my finger and then disappear.

I would rent the first apartment I ever looked at because it was absolutely perfect, and then not too long after start the first real and serious relationship I've ever had.

And then, 18 months later, would become engaged to the first guy I was ever in a real and serious relationship with and fell madly, head over heels in love with.

Because that's how I roll. I guess that when it comes to things that truly matter, I just know how to pick 'em right the first time.

All I can do is smile. I'm getting married! :)

Disclaimer - I promise some regular posts will come soon, but I'm still walking on a cloud and I'm finding it incredibly difficult to focus on anything but smiling.

The Ring

2009-10-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are a couple shots of my amazingly gorgeous and sparkly engagement ring. I cannot stop looking
at it!!! It's just so sparkly and shiny. I absolutely love it. The fiance did good, very good. It was the most perfect, romantic proposal ever. We've already started planning.

The One Where She Says Yes

2009-10-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

I am absolutely ecstatic to share something, especially following the more melancholy post yesterday. Thank you to everyone for your kind wishes, I really appreciate it. I am officially changing the bf's nickname. He is now the fiance!!! We got engaged last night!!!! =D

It was so perfect! Yesterday was our 18 month anniversary since we started dating. He took me to the Italian restaurant that he took me to for our one month and one year anniversaries. :) After dinner he came over to my side of the table with this wine carrier, which he'd said earlier had presents in it for me but there wasn't wine. When he opened it, there was wine...he gestured to it and I pulled out one of the bottles. It was inscribed with the verse: "There are three things that last faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love." Below that it has a Celtic cross with Celtic knots and whatnot. Below that it says "will you marry me and love me always and forever" and then has the date, October 8, 2009. And then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! =D =D =D

I am SO excited!!!!! It was even more significant since yesterday was exactly one year to the day that he took me to Julien for our 6 month anniversary, after which we stopped at the winery where we work sometimes. It's also the day that I first tasted the tawny port wine there that was and is still in the barrel. I've been waiting for them to bottle it for the past year. I now have the first and only two bottles currently in existence. He let the fiance bottle it and cork it and everything himself. :) We're friends with another winery couple up there that also does bottle etching. He etched the bottles for the fiance!!

I am so absolutely ecstatic. I am floating on a cloud and I can't stop smiling! =D

Dancing with Angels

2009-10-08T15:29:00.000-07:00

I didn't get the chance to know you long, but I'm glad for the time we had. I liked you from the moment I met you, the twinkle in your eye, the feisty nature of your spirit and your sharp wit. I loved to see your smile light your eyes. I understood that you didn't always get along with everyone, that you were often critical and cross, but you were always nice to me. I was sad as your health and mind deteriorated. I'm sad that I didn't get to know you better, to see you more, especially as things sped rapidly downhill. You were always in my prayers though, which was as close as I was able to be.

I know it is for the best. I know you're in a better place, out of pain, no longer debilitated by the degeneration of your earthly mind. But I'll still miss you. I never told anyone, but I had this picture of dancing with you someday at my wedding to your grandson. I think you would have liked that, I think he would have too. But I now won't get to, because now you are dancing with the angels. Rest in peace, I will miss you.*

*Please keep the bf and his family in your prayers. His grandfather passed away late Tuesday night.

The Birthday Barrette

2009-09-23T07:26:00.001-07:00

I have this lovely little barrette, I've had it for nearly as long as I can remember. It's a rather pretty little thing, slightly dulled with age but still beautiful. It has bright, bold beads attached to a silver barrette, and strung through those beads are heart shaped beads that clickety clack when I move or shake my head. Now, I'm sure I wore it more often than this, but since I was little, I remember always wearing it on my birthday. I fondly call it my birthday barrette, I look forward to clipping it into my hair every year.

Today I snapped it into my hair and smiled at the familiar clickety clack of the heart beads bumping into each other. Today my barrette makes a trip to Disneyland to celebrate 24. It's going to be a great day. :)

Tricks 'n things

2009-09-19T23:49:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to finally be posting again and sharing some great pictures of the puppy that I forgot to share all her commands and tricks that she knows!! Of course there are the standard commands - sit, down (lie down), shake, come, stay. She has also learned leave it, take it and drop it. The really cool ones are high five (taught by our trainer), play dead (the bf turned this natural behavior into a command), kisses (yours truly) and crawling...sometimes. We will probably work on getting her to wave, our trainer showed us how to teach it, we just haven't worked on it much yet.

The three of us (the bf, puppy and I) had a fabulous day that started with breakfast at our favorite local coffee shop, followed by a day working in the tasting room at the winery, and then a BaaaaaaaarBQ at a friend's house. (it's International Talk Like a Pirate Day) We were going to have the bbq regardless, but it made a great reason and theme for the evening. Hung out with some friends and made some nice new ones, it was a lovely evening. Tomorrow we're hanging out down at the bf's place. His mom recently had a surgery and is recovering but still sore. We're having a bit of a birthday celebration since she and I share a birthday on Wednesday (the 23rd), and the bf's birthday is 6 days after. It should be a lovely relaxed day. We're up at my parents' next weekend for my brother's birthday party (he turned 13!!!) It will be a happy birthday to me and the bf as well, but the focus will be my brother. I'm making his cakes. I'm making two just to make sure we have enough. I'll tell you more about it later, complete with pictures.

Photostory Friday: Graduation Day

2009-09-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

You might recall that the bf and I recently got a puppy. She has been an absolute delight and we absolutely adore her. We've been taking training classes at our local Petsmart with a fantastic trainer. We've all learned a lot and had a great time in the process. Sunday was her test to see if she would graduate. The bulk of the test was with me, since we already knew that her commands were great with the bf...she lives with him and sees him more often than me, so sometimes it was a little bit hard getting her to listen to me. She still listens to the bf better, but she's doing really great with me too, and did wonderfully on her test last weekend.

At first she tried to shake the cap off. It was rather cute, because everytime she did it fell down over her eyes.

Finally she just resigned herself to the fact that this was one of a very few number of times her crazy owners would ever subject her to wearing something so utterly ridiculous. Besides, she looked absolutely adorable!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

A Moment of Silence

2009-09-11T15:01:00.001-07:00

I thought long and hard about the right words for today, to commemorate and honor those who lost their lives that tragic day 8 years ago. Hard to imagine it's been 8 years. I finally realized that I don't have words for this, they simply don't exist. I offer instead, a moment of silence in remembrance of all the brave men and women, our countrymen, who lost their lives that day. We will never forget.

Bring It On

2009-09-09T07:56:00.000-07:00

Summer lingers, it warmth still kissing the air. But Fall is coming, breathing a cool crispness in its approach. I've been incredibly aware and appreciative of the seasons this year, since the birth of Spring. While I've loved Summer and the warmth and sunshine it brought, I'm ready for Fall. For the crisp freshness and the beautiful leaves. I'm ready for desert season and learning to ride the 400 with a clutch. I'm ready for pumpkins and Pilgrims, followed by colorful lights and good cheer. The bf and I have already nearly worked out the holiday situation, which is pleasant and enjoyable. Still working on the particulars, but we are on the same page, cordial and thoughtful. I'm gathering my supplies to begin all my Christmas projects. The goal is to have things done before December so that I can soak in the joy of the season instead of pulling all-nighters to finish gift projects. Bring on Fall. I'm ready.

Relaxed Weekend

2009-08-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

The goal for this weekend was to relax. The bf and I have been running around like crazy, and this was the first weekend in a while that we didn't really have to do anything. It was glorious. We headed up to the wineries with the Manager to pick up the bf's wine club shipments. I discovered a new favorite wine...I like this one even better than ice wine! (and it's about $10 cheaper and double the volume too, which is nice) We followed up the wine trips with a delicious bbq lunch at Famous Dave's. It's not super close to us, so it's always a treat when we get to stop there. The evening was spent relaxing and hanging out down at the bf's house, getting the mini fence up for our puppy so she can be in the main part of the backyard.

Today was early to mass and delicious homemade breakfast burritos when we got home. It was a beautiful start to the morning. We finished up the other fencing bit so that the yard is puppy friendly. After, the bf took me and his mom to our favorite store, where I proceeded to NOT buy every item I put in the basket, which was nice. Kara had her puppy class. She was being stubborn today, and it's always a little discouraging for me when she refuses to listen to me. I can't blame her, she's around the bf a lot more than me. But I know we'll work it out, because I can out-stubborn her any day. That said, she's doing really well. She sits, shakes, lays down, gives high fives (this one is REALLY cool), and the bf taught her to play dead. It's super cute. We're working on rolling over and crawling. Coming on call just depends on the number of things distracting her. She's definitely my dog...shiny things are awesome :) The bf VOLUNTARILY wanted to watch Twilight last night, but we didn't have time. So he put it on tonight. I will never say no to watching that, especially when it's his idea.

All in all it was a lovely and relaxed weekend. We definitely needed that. Especially considering we're working for 12 days straight beginning tomorrow. It'll be fun, but definitely tiring. I'm hoping I'll have time to fit in at least a few posts. I also have pictures of my cousin's ring to share...we did a mini photo shoot when she was down here last weekend. Her ring is gorgeous!

Happiest Birthday Wishes

2009-08-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Wishing a very special and wonderful day to the fabulously talented Kim. I hope you have a wonderful day with your little girls and your husband, I hope he found the perfect gift for you. I can't wait to hear what it is. :) Happy birthday my friend.

Defying Gravity

2009-08-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

I've loved the music from Wicked since I first heard it through friends in college. I sang along and dreamed of seeing it on stage one day. That day was Saturday with the bf, my newly engaged cousin Ariel, the Manager, my boss Lily and her friend. I expected it to be amazing, but WOW. I have never seen anything so incredible in my life. Every minute detail, from the sets to the costumers, the lyrics to the musicians, the actors, oh the actors. It was absolutely breathtaking. I had to bite my cheek to ward of tears at multiple points, the music was so incredibly powerful. The attention to every detail was phenomenal. The cast was incredible, what wonderful actors and singers, I absolutely loved each one of them. My best friend Ani's parents have seen Wicked in 4 different productions, and said that this was hands down THE best cast they've ever seen. I don't personally have anything to compare it to, but I can definitely believe them.

It was such an incredible experience that I got to share with such special people. We had amazing seats in the lower mezzanine. The tickets were a little pricey, but well worth it. It was absolutely perfect. I could not have asked for a better performance, it was absolutely flawless. I only wish I could go see it again each and every night while it's here. (I don't think my bank account would appreciate that though) It's so wonderful to finally know and understand the entire story, where before I only knew bits and pieces. I've really been wanting to read the book, as well as Son of a Witch, I want to read it even more now. Hopefully I'll be able to pick those up and get them read.

Wow, I'm STILL gushing over this performance. I really have loved all the musicals I've ever been to. I saw Jesus Christ Superstar on Broadway in high school, it was my first large scale theatre experience, though I'd seen and been in other shows. Phantom of the Opera was phenomenal last summer, and Rent was really neat earlier this year. But Wicked, there is just something, well, magical, about the whole thing. If you haven't seen Wicked yet, do yourself a favor and get to a performance anytime it happens to be near you. Or go out of your way to see it. It's magical, simply magical! My words are not capable of doing this musical justice. You just have to see it for yourself, and then treasure the memories.

Wedding-zillas

2009-08-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

In only a few short days I've found myself already stepping into my role as Maid of Honor. I know a lot of my wonderful readers are married and have already been through the wedding planning experiences. What I'd really like to know, is what do you think about the whole process? Is the day about family, or is it spotlight on the bride and groom? How much say should the parentals have? Who gets to make the final decisions? How do you balance everyone's ideas without hurting feelings and without making people mad? How do you deal with the 'zillas, whether they're parents, brides or grooms? Does anyone have stories to share about the wedding planning process? Wedding pitfalls and faux pas to watch out for? Great advice or wedding secrets?

I'd really love as much input as you can offer, go ahead and write post-length comments if you want, I know you will have all kinds of things to share with me. I'd love to get some real world advice, opinions, views and stories to help draw from as I fulfill my role as my cousin's Maid of Honor. And hey, it's never to early to start learning for when it's my turn, right? C'mon, help a girl out. :)

Great News

2009-08-12T21:25:00.000-07:00

I went to bed around 9 or so last night (cause I'm old like that) Put my phone on vibrate so that any "late" night callers wouldn't necessarily wake me up. Naturally, my phone started vibrating not too long after I'd settled into bed. It was my aunt...not one who usually calls me. It was unusual enough that I answered, curious as to the reason for the call. I was greeted not by my aunt's voice, but by my cousin, Ariel*.

"So you are officially my Maid of Honor!"

Me (sits straight up in bed): WHAT?!!!!!!!

My cousin got engaged last night :) I am SO excited. It's going to be absolutely fabulous. What wonderful news to get, I was SO excited. I couldn't contain myself. I'm so honored to be her Maid of Honor, she will be mine when my time comes**, we've discussed and planned this for ages, especially the past few months/year since we've actually been seriously dating and these topics have come up. I'm so incredibly giddy right now! It's perfect timing that she's coming down for the weekend because we're going to see Wicked. It's going to be AMAZING!

*Note: I use nicknames here in blogland. If you click the snazzy new "Who's Who" link up top I have a short little guide explaining each nickname. :)

**Incidentally, I've been with the bf to the jewelry stores several times. :) I don't mind browsing around and getting sized and stuff, but he knows that I don't want to know which one, price, or anything like that. There are lots of shiny and sparkly things in the jewelry stores. :)

Morning Rituals

2009-08-07T21:42:00.001-07:00

I've always been incredibly close with my grandparents and absolutely love spending time with them. One of my favorite things was our morning wake up routine when I would stay at their house. (and quite clever on their part, I must say) When I was little I would wake up at the crack of dawn. Every. Single. Day. At my grandparents house I would stay in bed even after I woke up, listening very carefully for my grandpa's special morning whistle. Once I heard his whistle I would run down the hallway and jump into bed between my Papa and Grama for some early morning visiting. Papa's whistle still makes me smile, all these years later.

I won't get the special whistle in the morning, but I will get a lovely breakfast and day two of a fabulous weekend with my grandparents, kicked off with a fabulous jazz concert in the park tonight.

Fabulous Redesign

2009-08-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

I've already gotten quite a few wonderful compliments about my new blog design (thank you for all of those), but I wanted to write about the whole process as well. I have been lucky enough to work with the fabulous Jessica of This That and Your Blog on my new design. I found Jessica after I won a blog makeover from the eternally classy OHmommy, and what a wonderful experience it has been.

I'd definitely been wanting a makeover, but just couldn't decide what I wanted. I gave Jessica a few ideas and some insight to me, and she instantly went to work. She flawlessly pulled together the many different aspects I described (or rather, attempted to describe) She worked with me down to the tiniest details to customize everything exactly the way I wanted it, no detail was too small for her attention. As she said, she's not satisfied until her customers are in love with their new design. I definitely am. She was incredibly professional, really efficient and just plain fabulous. (wow, I sound like quite the advertisement...but hey, incredible happy customer here, and I rave about what I love) I definitely recommend that you check her out, even just to see how amazing her work is. If you've been thinking about a blog makeover, I'd definitely go with Jessica.

The Many Reasons

2009-07-27T22:24:00.000-07:00

... I've been so remiss in posting:

Lots of baking, cupcakes to be decorated. Wouldn't those baby ones be cute for a shower? I had a lot of fun piping the clown bodies into different poses.

My first ice cream cake for the bf's dad's birthday. (full post on the making of this cake will come soon)

Had to hang around with these guys for a bit and see the new routines.

And then this cutie just begged for some fish. The bf, his nephew and I obliged.

And of course we had to go visit the mouse and help save the galaxy from the Evil Emperor Zurg. I hit L-4 with a score of 264,800. I love that game. :)

And of course I have this beautiful little
girl to keep me and the bf quite busy.

Time out for a post of irritation

2009-07-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

For the most part I try to steer clear of politics and such on here, but sometimes even I can stay silent. Feel free to skip this post, I know that it's probably been written before by more eloquent bloggers than myself. I'm sure by now you've probably heard about this incident that has been blown completely out of proportion all the way up to an executive level. I'm so dumbfounded by the situation that I hardly know where to start.

First off, yes, racism and discrimination, unfortunately, does still exist in many places and in many forms throughout our world. I am not naive enough to think otherwise. Yes, this is a big problem that needs to be continually addressed, corrected and counteracted to the fullest extent possible. I have no problem with the "race card" when it is actually a race/religion/ethnicity related issue. More power to legitimate uses. However, the use of the race card in a completely unrelated situation just plain pisses me off. It distracts from the true issue at hand and has absolutely nothing to do with resolving the issue. It is misleading, and in my humble opinion, perpetuates racism and discrimination. It's a sad thing that many people have been conditioned through experience and teaching to expect racism, but to qualify every possible question as a race issue, is just plain ignorant. While not wholly related to this issue, I do feel the need to point out that racism and discrimination is not just reserved for people of color. I have seen and have personal encounters with incidents of reverse racism and discrimination. I don't recall the source, but I recently read a statement that tolerism is a two way street. I couldn't agree more with the sentiment.

This whole incident had nothing to do with race, and the cries of racism from this well-educated man are ridiculous and completely unfounded. Dr. Gates' behavior was absolutely unwarranted and unacceptable. Sergeant Crowley was doing his job responding to a possible break in attempt. How this has anything to do with racial profiling is beyond me. Sergeant Crowley's presence that night had nothing to do with racial profiling. Dr. Gates' behavior had nothing to do with racial profiling. Yes, racial profiling exists and unfortunately there are incidents where African Americans and others are stopped simply for being colored. That is not okay on ANY level in any situation. However, this is not such a situation.

Okay, so you happen to see a guy trying to get into a house without using a key. I could care less if he was green with purple polka dots, I would call the police and describe them as best I could, because like it or not, physical characteristics, be it skin color, eye color, facial shape, hair color, height, etc are physical descriptors that can help identify a person, criminal or otherwise. For Dr. Gates' response to and office responding to a legitimate call about the potential security issue to be uncooperative, belligerent behavior, is completely unreasonable and I would even go so far to call it irrational. After all, we know I have about zero tolerance for irrational, illogical behavior, which is probably why this incident has me so irritated. Sergeant Crowley's presence at Dr. Gates' house that night had nothing to do with the color of his skin, his religious beliefs or anything else. It had to do with a legitimate report of a possible crime. I would have expected Dr. Gates' response to have been one of cooperation and thankfulness, not outrage, belligerence and racial accusations. The police report is available and details the entire encounter. Dr. Gates was warned to calm down multiple times with the expressed consequence of legal arrest for belligerent behavior. He walked himself right into that one. It's a legitimate arrest of which he was warned. It had absolutely nothing to do with the color of his skin. It had everything to do with his outrageous and unnecessary behavior. To try and make it into a racial incident is to refuse to take responsibility for your own actions and behavior. The color of your skin does not give you license to act in this manner. I would have expected far better behavior from such a respected scholar. Heck, I'd have expected better behavior from anyone.

For President Obama to say that the police acted stupidly? First, why don't you read the report and get all of the facts before you make a statement. Period. People will respect you more if you admit that you are not fully briefed on the details of the situation and would like to refrain from comment until such time as you do have all the details. I understand that Dr. Gates is a friend of the President's. This does not give him license for poor behavior. If anything, it calls for even better behavior than one might reasonably expect. Dr. Gates, NOT President Obama, NOT Sergeant Crowley, Dr. Gates is responsible for his own actions. His actions have nothing to do with the color of his skin. He simply chose to make it an issue of his race. Now, I do not know Dr. Gates. I have no knowledge of his history with legitimate discrimination. I can certainly understand that he probably faced a great deal of challenges in working to achieve his current educational level and status. But past incidents do not give one license to behave in such a poor manner. The unwarranted use of the race card, in my opinion, weakens his position in this entire incident, which wasn't all that great to begin with. Incidents like this detract from true incidents of racism and intolerance. It's completely counterproductive and weakens the progress towards true tolerance for everyone.

5 Words

2009-07-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

Preston had a really fun meme over on his blog Me and the Blue Skies. It's pretty cool. Basically, you read through this post and then comment, and I'll reply with 5 words that remind me of you. Once you get your words, go ahead and think about them and then write your own post about your 5 words. As Preston quoted Linh over at Girl in Georgia:

Reply to this post… and I’ll give you 5 words that remind me of you. Then post to your own blog with your meditations on those words, inviting others to ask you for words.

I really liked this meme idea so I asked Preston to give me 5 words so I could play along. Without further ado, here are the words he sent me and my meditations on each of them...

Creativity - this is of course one of my favorite words. I live and breathe creativity, it's one of my passions (which, incidentally, is one of my other 4 words!) I love creating things and trying out new ideas. I have a pretty well stocked art supply caddy and several overflow containers of materials. I am constantly coming up with new projects to try. (and often spending too much time and money at the art supply store) The only problem is finding time to turn all of my ideas into finished products. I like to think that my creativity stems partly from my overly developed imagination. As I revealed in my last post, I've recently started learning the techniques for a new tasty, edible creative outlet. I also find creative activities incredibly relaxing and therapeutic. There is so much stress and ugliness in this world, it's so relaxing to use my imagination to create beautiful things to brighten the world around me. I also think that handmade gifts are often more personal and meaningful and love making things for my friends and family. Creativity also helps with unique solutions to various challenges that I come across.

Determination - Some people may also call it headstrong or stubborn. (but never in reference to me, of course...umm...just don't ask the bf about that one, mmkay?) I'm pretty mellow and easy going the majority of the time, but when I get an idea or a goal in my head a fiery determination ignites inside of me and pushes me towards my goals. Determination can sometimes get you into trouble, but it's often what gives you the extra push you need to succeed. Life is often hard, but determination and occasionally some good old fashioned stubbornness will get you over some of the toughest hurdles.

Independence - Independence. So many things come to mind when I head this word applied to myself. It nearly caused the bf and I to break up on several occasions. On the flip side, we didn't break up, but actually got stronger. I treasure my independence like a rare jewel. I like to be free and I hate feeling caged or trapped. I think that independence fits nicely with determination. Both things have brought me to where I am today. The important thing to remember that I think so many people forget is that independence does not equate to isolation. Part of being independent is knowing when to ask for help and that it is okay, even good to ask. We cannot do everything on our own and it's foolish to even try. Independence. One of my favorite words, particularly being an American. Independence. Beautiful.

Passion - "Passion...it lies in all of us. Sleeping, waiting, and though unwanted, unbidden, it will stir, open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us, guides us...passion rules us all, and we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments; the joy of love, the clarity of hatred, and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts, sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace, but we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank...without passion, we'd be truly dead."

I keep trying to formulate words to describe the word passion, but I keep coming back to this quote. Angelus narrates this over the powerful episode Passion in Season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's such a beautiful, poetic description of the power and nuances of passion. It describes the depth of passion in the human soul. Passion is part of what makes us uniquely human. Without passion, we'd be truly dead.

Photography - The beauty of capturing moments on film. (well, in my case on a digital memory card) There is so much beauty in this world, I love to capture as much as I can. The world looks different through the lens of a camera. You can make even the most seemingly insignificant details the focus and show the true innate beauty of the world around us. You can capture joy and laughter of friends and family, showing the true beauty of the human soul. Photography can express emotion in a way words cannot always capture. Photography is a form of art and creativity. It's a means of expression and artistry. I long to learn more about the wide world of photography.

If you want to play along, leave me a comment here and I'll give you 5 words that make me think of you. (I'll cross comment to let you know when your words are ready) Thank you Preston for these fabulous thought-provoking words.

Photostory Friday: Let Them Eat Cake

2009-07-17T15:36:00.000-07:00

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I know I've been rather scarce of late, but I have an excellent reason. (aside from just being way too busy for my own good) I've started taking Wilton cake decorating classes at our local Michaels. I've always wanted to do this, and with classes 50% off this month I just could pass it up. Here is my first cake that we did in class on Wednesday.

I brought it to work on Thursday and it was devoured rather quickly. It was a white cake with strawberry pie filling and extra almondy flavored frosting. And I do mean extra almond. See, that can happen when a certain girl (me) misreads a recipe. Teaspoon and tablespoon are two very different measurements, in case you were wondering. It still tasted delicious, just extra almondy. Almond extract reminds me of Christmas, so I love the flavor and scent. Here's a picture of the filling before I layered the cake.

I was up till 12:30 icing this and getting all my class buttercream prepped, but it was so much fun! The next day we found out that one of our guys was leaving today because he got a job to pen a screenplay for a major motion picture. Totally random, but really exciting. I immediately decided I wanted to practice my new cake skills. I knew I wanted to do a film reel and found some great ideas online. I was thinking about a few other things, and the bf suggested a screenplay sheet cake. It all turned out really well. I came home from class around 8:30 and worked until about 2 am. I finished everything up last night and got to bed by about 11:30. Later than planned but much earlier than the previous nights. (I'm still in need of sleep though)
The screenplay turned out pretty well...that was the first one they cut into. Dave was very surprised and very thankful that I'd taken the time to do this. The bf helped me carry them over to their office. They were all really excited to see two cakes. The film reel is still my favorite, I'm thrilled with how it came out.
Both cakes are devil's food with colored vanilla icing. The black circles on the film reel are colored chocolate icing (started as vanilla). The "film" is fruit-by-the-foot. I got the idea to use that from one of the websites I found when looking for ideas to help me out. The best part is that I made both cakes using just the things that we have learned in our first two classes. Everyone really enjoyed them, both visually and tastily. (shut up, I'm tired and allowed to make up words if I want) And Dave was really excited, which was the best part. I would really love to design and make cakes as a business someday, and I already have people at work commenting about it. So much fun, I'm so glad I finally decided to do this. I will definitely post more pictures as I make more cakes! I'm slowly building a portfolio. Three cakes already in about as many days. I'm ready for a good long nap!

Today's Photostory Friday brought to you with inspiration from the lovely ladies below. Check it out and play along!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I'm Still Here

2009-07-10T14:17:00.001-07:00

Don't worry, I haven't run away to San Francisco again. I've just gotten unexpectedly crazy busy this week. I still have one more day to recap from San Francisco, lots of wonderful stories (and pictures) of our beautiful new puppy (seriously, that initial picture did NOT do this baby girl justice), tales of our day working at the winery last weekend, pictures from the Sailboat race and shots from our day trip up to Temecula.

The bf and I are headed up to my parents' house tonight after work to add a few things to the patio and just relax for a bit. I'm really excited. I'll be back next week with pictures and updates and lots of fun. Have a great weekend everyone!

San Francisco - Day Three

2009-07-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

Sunday dawned bright and early and beautiful. The bf and his co-worker (I'm still deciding on a nickname for her) had to be to the convention center bright and early, which meant I was on my own for the morning. I did wander up to the bf's room when our wake up call came since I knew it was before his. I wanted to wake him up (I had a key to his room) Unfortunately he spoiled my plans by being up when I walked in! He made up for it though by climbing right back under the covers to cuddle a bit before his actual wake up call came though. The bf walked me back to my room on his way down to the lobby and I promptly fell back to sleep. When I finally woke up I had a nice leisurely morning getting ready and grabbing breakfast from downstairs before heading out to explore Union Square.
There were SO many people out around Union Square. I used some of my alone time to give my grandparents a quick call to say hello and tell them how my trip was going. They were definitely happy to hear from me. :) I lounged in the warm sun on a park bench in the dead center of Union Square.The statue on the left was in the center of the square. The heart was a statue that was by the entrance to the square closest to our hotel. They had all sorts of tables and whatnot scattered around the center of the square, people were out and about drinking coffee, chatting and reading newspapers. Isn't the heart so beautiful? They had several scattered around with different images, but this was my favorite. (I also managed to not get pictures of the others...but trust me, this was the prettiest)
I wandered around the shops, peering in windows and just generally enjoying the unusually beautiful weather. (the locals told us it was unusually beautiful, so sunny with just a slight breeze) I went into Williams and Sonoma. My goodness but that store is incredible!! They have the best product displays and totally made me want to start cooking things. Their prices leave a little something to be desired at times, but you can find expensive cookware lots of places. They definitely had quality merchandise. I think my favorite was all the baking products and sprinkles. Their lemonade mixed looked pretty good too. (they apparently sell several pantry products there as well, I had no idea!) I wandered into several other stores like Victoria's Secret and H&M, just browsing around. I didn't realize I was so close to Market Street until I saw the crowds gathered for the PRIDE celebration parade. There were thousands of people. I didn't venture all the way down to Market because I was by myself and don't like such dense crowds of people, not to mention that there were also quite a few protesters with overly large signs down there too. (seriously, can someone please explain to me how homosexuality is a threat to national security?) There was an incredible turn out though and I could hear all the cheering. I definitely thought of a wonderful blogger friend and wished he could have been there to see it. I heard that the mayor of the city was in the parade, pretty cool.

The bf got done around noon and met me back at the hotel. We walked up to Grace Cathedral up on Nob Hill. I have a thing for cathedrals, particularly any kind of gothic architecture. The cathedral was only about 5 blocks away from our hotel, but the hills, oh the hills. They got steeper as we walked. I swear the last one was nearly straight up. It definitely was steeper than 45 degrees, no joke. (incidentally, I saw women pushing strollers up similar hills...I don't know how they did it!) I knew from Google maps that it was steep, but wow. It was steep! It was worth it though. The cathedral was gorgeous. We spent over an hour photographing the interior. I have to edit some of those photos to lighten the details and such, but they'll be up soon. There is just something magnificent about cathedrals like this one. I absolutely love them. It's just this innate kind of passion, I could get lost in these types of structures for days. The National Cathedral in Washington D.C. is one of my favorites. I'm sure Notre Dame will join the ranks when I finally get over the pond to see it in person! I also have a thing for castles both Medieval and Renaissance...Versailles here I come!
After getting ourselves lost in the beauty of the Cathedral we wandered around Nob Hill a bit before walking down into Little Italy to find a place for a late lunch/early dinner. We looked at menus as we wandered along. The owner of this one little place was outside and asked if we were looking for a place to eat. It was a special day at his restaurant so the ladies got a rose and a complimentary glass of wine. The menu looked good, so we headed in. The owner was such a nice man, I really liked him. He definitely sold us on his restaurant. It was a cute little place on the corner across from the St. Peter & Paul Church on what I believe was Washington Square Park (if I remember the guide book correctly) I chose a Cabernet as my glass of wine, it was surprisingly delicious. I don't always like Cabernet's right off the bat but this one was tasty. I couldn't decide between two dishes, so the bf and I got both to share. One was a salmon over a bed of sauteed spinach, it was perfectly cooked and absolutely mouthwatering. The other was a cheese ravioli with some kind of mushrooms (don't remember the name) in a creamy sauce. OMG that was divine! The flavors were heavenly. All of the food there, right down to the bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar was absolutely divine. It was my favorite meal of the entire trip and in such a beautiful setting. We were in the corner window of the restaurant that looked right out onto the sidewalk and the park across the street. It was such a quaint little place. I loved the way the owner was personally inviting people in. He also poured and brought my glass of wine, and of course the beautiful pink rose when we walked in. You can see how beautiful the rose is in the picture with the food...I draped it over the bread basket for the shot. :)
After our late lunch/early dinner at Michaelangelo's the bf and I headed stopped in for a few minutes in the beautiful church across the park to see the inside. Just like Grace, it was absolutely breathtaking. We didn't stay too long though before heading back towards the hotel. We hopped off the cable car to check out the Cable Car Museum. It was so neat seeing all of the old cars and machinery. I think the neatest part was seeing the working cables that pulled the cars all across the city. The cable cars don't move on their own power. Rather, they grab onto the cable running under the street, it's pretty cool to see. There was this place where you could go downstairs and see the actual wheels as they run under the streets. It's incredible to imagine that these are scattered under the pavement throughout various parts of the city. It's really a rather ingenious system really. I love that they still run the cable cars exactly as before when they began. As a history student I particularly enjoyed the history. The Cable Car Museum had lots of great historical information and photos. I was really glad we decided to jump off to check it out as we passed. We didn't stay too long as the museum wasn't that big and it was awfully hot and sticky inside. It had a bit of a funny scent, but I think that was just from all of the machinery and whatnot running and spinning. It's really a neat thing to see if you're there.
After the museum we went back to the hotel to enjoy the evening Club Level cocktail hour. They've got a nice little lounge for the Club level guests where each evening they serve wine, champagne, mixed drinks and sodas. They also have cheese and crackers and the host serves slices of artisan type pizzas. Really a great little set up and very classy. We spent some time there each evening I was there, it was a lot of fun. The bf and I weren't too starving and neither was his co-worker, so we got a recommendation for dessert from our doorman. He definitely knew the best places to eat. We went to a little place next door to the hotel. The bf and his coworker got crab cakes, she got bread pudding, and I got creme brulee. Creme brulee is absolutely one of my favorite desserts in the world and I get it very very rarely, so I definitely enjoy it when it is available. I've made it before too, but haven't in quite some time. I want to make it again this summer sometime. It was a great little place and the food was delicious. When we finished the three of us walked over to the drugstore to get some candy to snack on later. I got a pack of airhead sour belt licorice stuff. We wandered back to the hotel to have a relaxed evening. I hung out with the bf in his room watching the food channel and proceeded to eat my sour belts. (the bf had maybe 2 of them) We were having a nice layed back evening which was well deserved after all those hills and walking we'd been doing. Evidentally my body had a little too much of the sour sugar to handle, because a couple hours later I was throwing it all back up. Definitely NOT fun. I felt a lot better after though. The bf was such a sweetheart taking care of me though. He definitely made me feel better, making sure I had everything I needed and rubbing my back to relax me. I have to say, I'm not a fan of being sick, especially on vacation, but the bf made it so much better and was such an absolute sweetheart. All in all it was a fantastic day, and I slept really well that night too. And seriously. If you get up to San Francisco anytime soon and like Italian food, you HAVE to try Michaelangelo's (it's at 579 Columbus Ave). It's SO delicious. Your taste buds will thank you. :)

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

I now interrupt your regularly scheduled San Francisco tales to wish everyone a wonderful Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July!!!

I will be enjoying the day at a 4th of July celebration parade and relaxing to some music at the park with the bf, his parents and our brand new puppy Kara! Have a beautiful day full of friends, picnics, swimming and fireworks. Take a moment to remember the meaning of the day. What an incredible history of such a beautiful country. I'm proud to be an American. Here's to Freedom!!

San Francisco Day Two (the bonus story)

2009-07-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

I have the most romantic and wonderful boyfriend ever. I'm even more in love with him after our San Francisco trip, it's crazy and incredible and beautiful all wrapped into one. We are both part Irish and love the meaning and symbolism of the Claddagh ring. I know that he looked at Claddagh rings for me once quite a few months ago. What I didn't know is that he never stopped looking.
While we were waiting for our table at the Pier Market for dinner, we went into this great little shop on Pier 39, Treasure Ireland. (doesn't the name just send a delightful shiver down your spine?) There were all kinds of beautiful treasures to browse through. One of the first things that caught my eye was the collection of Claddagh rings. The bf asked the shopkeeper to help me try them on. He showed us the special collection of rings. It was a perfect fit. The bf bought me the most beautiful silver Claddagh ring. I wear in on my left hand facing in. We're not engaged, not yet anyways. It's a promise ring. And it is absolutely beautiful. I keep my Claddagh on even when I'm asleep, I only really take it off to shower. I am the luckiest girl in the world to be in love with such a wonderful guy. He's perfect :)

San Francisco - Day Two

2009-07-02T08:02:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning began beautifully sans alarm clock, which was definitely nice after a week of early alarms. We started with a great continental breakfast in the restaurant that is complimentary for Club Level guests. (we really enjoyed the Club Level perks) We set off down to the cable car turn around to get a 3-day Muni pass that let us hop onto any cable car or bus for three days. We took our first San Francisco cable car ride all the way down to Fisherman's Wharf. It was an absolutely beautiful day, lots of sunshine and plenty of warmth, with a hint of a breeze to keep things from being stifling. It's crazy to see them turn the cable cars around. I guess that's part of the charm. They roll it onto the circle platform and then the two guys spin it around and push it back onto the opposite set of tracks. It's all done by manpower...it's incredible to watch. I think being a cable car driver would be really interesting, but I think you have to be a guy to do it because those things take muscle and they definitely are not light. But I bet they meet so many different people and hear so many crazy stories. They probably see their share of freaky people too, which probably provides for some interesting dinner table
conversation. I can just imagine the stories.
We went all the way to the end of the line and then walked the last couple blocks to the wharf. It was gorgeous along the water. We explored all around, saw a submarine and some ships from WWII. There was a little museum type place that had all sorts of old fashioned coin operated games, a lot of which you could still play. It was a neat place. We wandered around Pier 39 looking at the various shops and places to eat. I love seeing all the street performers...they are definitely creative. We also saw the famous bush man! I was so excited. My cousin warned me about him before I went to San Francisco in high school, but I never saw him. He is a homeless gentleman who hides behind some branches that he's cut and scares people as they walk by. I saw him as we were approaching and got really excited. We got to watch him scare a few people, it was absolutely hysterical. The funniest part is that a lot of the people went back and paid him because it was so well done and to be honest, quite clever. There were also the standard silver guys that freeze in poses. We saw all kinds of interesting acts. The bf's co-worker joked that she was getting ideas to file away just in case for later, what with the economy and all.
We also got to see the famous sea lions that laze in the sun on the floating docks just West of Pier 39. I love listening to them, they're so cool. I got some great pictures of them sunning and playing. This one is one of my favorites because I caught several of them in their "proud" pose while enjoying the warm California sunshine.

We also got our first views of the Golden Gate Bridge from down along the wharf. Luckily the fog wasn't obscuring it, but rather sitting just below it which made for some awesome pictures. It's really such a magnificent and beautiful structure, and definitely a well known California landmark. We didn't cross it or anything on this trip, but I did get to drive across it in our bus on my high school trip up there. It was cold on the other side from all the wind. Cold but beautiful. We walked up to Ghiradelli Square on the recommendation of the bf's
There was incredible wine store there that had a port syrrah that the bf and I tasted. It was pretty good, but not as good as the price would indicate. We enjoyed tasting it though. The bf's co-worker and I both got ice cream from the Ghiradelli Ice Cream Parlour. She got some ice cream in a cup. I got Ghirdelli chocolate in a chocolate dipped waffle cone. It was intensely delicious. I finished that off as we headed back down the hill (there are seriously a LOT of hills there...just in case you didn't know) and back down to the wharf. We got clam chowder bread bowls from Boudin's Bakery Cafe. They were mouthwatering and very filling. Boudin's makes the BEST sourdough bread, I absolutely loved it. We got sourdough complimentary with nearly every meal we ate in San Francisco. We took a break to rest at the hotel before dinner. Dinner took us back down to the wharf to a seafood restaurant right on the water at Pier 39, I believe it was called the Pier Market. I got fish and chips which was so perfectly cooked. The bf and his co-worker got a sea food sampler that had calamari, fish, crab and I think shrimp. We all agreed that the food was wonderful there. We also had an incredible view of both the city scape and the bay from where our table was situation near the window. It was back to the cable cars for the trip back to the hotel. I got to ride on the runners, it was SO much fun! It wasn't hard at all either, you just have to stand on the running board and hang on tight (don't worry, the bf was nearby making sure I was safe, he's protective like that...I love him SO much!) Here's a shot of how steep some of the hills were. Just imagine the downward view...it was pretty exhilarating. I'll end my day two recap with this night shot of Union Square as we approached it on the cable car. Our hotel was just around the corner. Saturday was a fun filled and fabulous day. I
definitely slept well that night when I got to bed. I have to say, the beds in our hotel practically sucked you into them they were SO comfy.

San Francisco - Day One

2009-06-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

San Francisco was absolutely incredible, I had such a great time. I only wish I didn't have to be home already. There are so many stories to share that I'm going to have to split it up by day so that I don't overwhelm you with one ridiculous long post. Instead I'll give you several ridiculously long posts. ;) I also took TONS of pictures. I'll have quite a few up in posts and many more will be up on Flickr! as soon as I finish sorting and editing. (they'll go up in waves) I'll hopefully get some new ones up later tonight. (Flickr! button on the right)
Friday was a whirl getting my little brothers to their camps, getting all of our stuff into the car, handing them and their things off to my parents and working all at the same time. It was fun though...really great to see my parents and to have gotten such an amazing week with my little brothers. Everything got done and the bf, his co-worker and I jetted our way up to San Francisco. It was a pretty pleasant flight, I got to sit next the the bf which was fabulous after barely seeing him the whole week. There was a little bit of turbulence at the end that I wasn't fond of, but I got to cuddle up to the bf so it wasn't quite so scary. It's been several years since I've been on a plane. I like the shorter hops where you don't sit for hours.
We had a nice trip through the city on the way to our hotel on Union Square. It was so neat to see all of the architecture. As we got closer to the hotel and deeper into the city, the buildings gave way to the stereotypical look and feel that you expect from San Francisco. It was absolutely beautiful to see. We got some great cityscape photos on the drive to the hotel and saw some incredibly clever architecture that the bf and I both really liked.
We got settled into the hotel and then headed out to explore and get some dinner. We headed into China town which was only a few blocks away from the hotel. There were a lot of really neat shops with lots of shiny things to look at. They had these cute little hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil monkeys sitting out on benches in various places along the sidewalk. It was a beautiful evening for a walk. We ended up walking all the way into Little Italy. We went as far as the St Peter and Paul Catholic Church. Isn't it beautiful? We were actually within probably 5 blocks of the harbor...we walked a REALLY long way. We might not have gone quite this far, but I saw the church towers and had to go see them. I have a thing for cathedrals, particularly gothic architecture. This isn't quite gothic, but it was still absolutely beautiful. I was enthralled. It sits across the street from a nice little park. The bf finally managed to get me to put my camera away so we could head back into China town to get dinner. There were so many people out and about and so many delicious looking places to eat. I kept thinking that I needed a month there just to try out all the delicious food venues!
We went back into China town to a restaurant that our doorman recommended. It was absolutely delicious, we all loved it. Their prices were reasonable and they gave you a ton of food. We did a family dinner that came with won ton soup (my favorite!), rip tips, beef and broccoli, house fried rice, sweet and sour pork and some other kind of chicken with veggies. That beef was so good it literally melted in your mouth. The fried rice had tiny little shrimp in it, which I surprisingly liked. And of course the standard hot tea they served was perfect.
The restaurant had a really great view of China town, we sat right by the window overlooking Grant Street. Our doorman was definitely spot on with this recommendation and we were sure to tell him so when we returned to the hotel.
Being up North, San Francisco definitely stays lighter way later than down in SoCal. We didn't get back to the hotel until nearly 10 pm and it wasn't quite all the way dark. It was such a fun filled first day there, I absolutely loved it. Our hotel was fabulous and boy were those beds comfy! I slept so well at the hotel. The room I shared with the bf's co-worker was lovely and had a great view of the street in front of the hotel. It was so wonderful. The feel of the hotel was just so unique, definitely not a cookie cutter hotel. The staff was wonderful as well. I would definitely stay there again.

A post about posting and other things

2009-06-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this week...the week just got away from me. It tends to do that when you're having a blast with two amazing little boys. My little brothers are so great, it's been so much fun having them this week. They've both learned a lot and had a ton of fun at camp too. They both want to come back and do it again next summer. I hope it works out. And perhaps next summer I won't be going away the weekend right after so they can hang out a little longer and have some free time.

Speaking of, I leave for San Francisco this afternoon with the bf and his co-worker. I'm really excited..it's kind of surreal, I don't think I'll believe it till we get on the plane...maybe not even until we land. The timing of this trip is perfect, as it will distract me from my brothers going home. I'm really sad that they are leaving today, but I'm really excited for San Francisco. At least I won't sit home and be terrible depressed like I was last time my family stayed down for a weekend...I literally sat in my apartment and cried after they left, until the bf came over after work and just held me. (he was super sweet) I definitely find myself getting more homesick, which I think is kind of odd. But hey, it happens. So San Francisco will be a nice distraction, and a lot of fun too! The bf has all of Saturday to just sightsee and play around the city. I don't come home until Monday night, it will be a nice length trip for me. I will have tons of pictures to share, along with my pictures from various things this past week. I don't know if I'll get a chance to post while I'm up there this weekend, but you can be sure I'll be posting when I get back.

Also, everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Kara.
The bf's dad said yes and everything worked out with her current owners. They are keeping her until we're back from San Francisco. We're going to have a playdate with her on Friday, just to make sure everything works well with us. I'm SO excited! They just got her shots updated and had her fixed, so we're helping with those costs because we were going to do that anyways. I'm so excited to meet my little bat puppy. :) There will definitely be many more pictures of our beautiful Kara. :) I'll be getting around to catch up with everyone next week. This week has just been crazy! Have a great weekend!

Still Here

2009-06-22T15:49:00.001-07:00

I haven't disappeared on you so soon...I promise I haven't. Just been busy and had a busy weekend. My parents brought down my little brothers on Saturday and we've been going to sail boat races, parks and summer camps. They're staying with me for the week while they go to summer camps here...one is in baseball, the other in swim. We are keeping quite the busy schedule...I don't know how my mom does this every day. I'm absolutely loving it, but it's definitely busy. Not that I didn't respect my mom before, but I have a newly heightened appreciation for everything she does.

I will have pictures from our jaunt up to the wineries in Temecula from Saturday and pictures from the sailboat race on Sunday soon, but they may be slightly delayed in being posted since I'm spending as much time as possible with my brothers while they are here. I don't often get to spend such extended periods of time with them anymore. I'm loving it, busy-ness and all. :)

Also...the bf's dad said YES to our bat dog. However, the family we were getting her from is undecided if they actually need to give her away, so we are waiting to hear. Yaya, I honestly do not know how you do it. I know that pets and children are vastly different in many ways (and I in no way intend to imply that I know how you feel, because I don't), but if this is just the tiniest little fraction of how you must feel...wow. Just wow. I REALLY hope you find out soon...and that the news is what you want to hear. You are in my prayers!

Already in Love

2009-06-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

This is the photo the bf emailed me yesterday. Isn't she beautiful? I love her already. The nephew of a work friend has to give her away because they just found out that their daughter is allergic. She's ours for free if we want her. Which we absolutely do. We're both already smitten. We just have to convince the bf's parents to let us get her, since she'll have to live with the bf. (I'm not allowed to have puppies in my apartment complex) We showed her to his mom last night, I think we've got her. Now we just have to work on his dad. We think that if I ask, we just might get her. His dad's a big softie once you get to him. We want her SO badly. We're hoping to at least convince him to let us do a trial period of at least a month. That will give us all the time we need to get him sold on the idea. Especially once he meets her.

Look at her, I love her ears. She's my little bat dog. She's a blue heeler/yellow lab mix. She's 4 months old, completely house trained and will sit and shake on command. I want her SO badly, I'm absolutely in love with her. Hopefully we'll convince the bf's dad to let us have her. I don't know what I will do otherwise...I'm so absolutely in love with her and I haven't even met her in person yet. If you can, send some good thoughts and prayers our way that we get to keep out little beauty here. :)

Missed Connections

2009-06-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

We've all received wrong number calls. They're not completely uncommon. I've even gotten the occasional wrong number on my cell phone. But wrong texts? Those are rare indeed. I've gotten one in the past, something about someone needing to reschedule a nail appointment. Not sure what that was about, but I let them know they had the wrong number. I was rather amused. Here's tonight's wrong texts from "Massimo":

M: Celeste is this u? Its Massimo
Jaina: Wrong number. Sorry.
M: Oh sorry to bug u
Jaina: Np

I much prefer wrong texts to wrong calls...wrong texts can be so intriguing and entertaining. To the two I've received (both within the last 6 months I believe), I've replied to both, letting them know they have the wrong number. The nail salon one realized they had the wrong area code. It was rather amusing. But seriously. I have to wonder about Massimo and Celeste. First off, the name Massimo makes me think of The Wedding Planner. Great movie. But that's beside the point. How did they meet? Why was Massimo trying to reach her? How did Massimo get the wrong number? Did Celeste meet him in a bar somewhere and give him a fake number to let him down easy? (not that I condone such action...because it's going to hurt the guy eventually and lying is not okay) I wonder what the real phone number is, if it's just a number away from mine. So many questions that will never be answered. I could write silly stories about the whole thing. Hey, that's not a bad idea. Maybe I should concoct stories about Massimo and the elusive Celeste.

Oh I feel a blog series coming on. Don't worry Gramma Ann, I may even get so into my story weaving as to take pictures to go along with it! Either way there will be plenty of pictures coming on here. :)

Sail Away - Photo Edition

2009-06-15T20:54:00.001-07:00

I initially began this blog as a place to showcase my photography. Somewhere along the way, I stopped being so good about posting pictures, as Gramma Ann has mentioned on occasion. (see, I get it...eventually) I think part of it was not having a reliable internet connection on the computer that my photos lived on, but not entirely. Around the same time I got really into the actual blogging and community part of having a blog. What I forgot is that the two are not mutually exclusive. I can blog AND post my pictures. Novel concept, right? The lovely Mama Geek and Cecily do it AT LEAST once a week for Photostory Friday.

I can't guarantee that I'll get on top of things right away, but I'm going to try. I also have a shiny new camera that the bf bought me this weekend as a belated 1 year anniversary gift. (belated all thanks to Dell....I love my computer, which mostly makes up for the camera incident) So, in the spirit of getting on top of the initial purpose of my blog, here are some photos from my sailing excursion on Saturday. (they are taken with the bf's SLR...I didn't get my shiny new camera till Sunday...and the SLR is still better...even though mine is SUPER shiny and I absolutely LOVE it!)

This one is of another sailboat out a bit farther out to sea than we were. We stayed fairly close to the coast so the guys could practice coming about, which in sailing language means turning around and moving the sails. It was actually a pretty cool process.

This is a bit of an artsy pic to show the unusally cool ring around the sun. It was nice to finally see the sun! We hadn't seen the sun in nearly a week and a half. (not long compared to some of you out there, but for here that's crazy) Of course it's supposed to rain tomorrow, so we probably won't see the sun then either.

This is the Ocean Beach Pier from out quite a ways from the shore. I had the telephoto lens on for this one. This was one of the last ones I took before I realized that staring through the viewfinder in the wavy open ocean was making me a little nauseous and thus abandoned the camera in favor of sitting back and relaxing in the breeze and rolling waves.

Sail Away

2009-06-14T20:58:00.000-07:00

You'll never guess what I did yesterday. I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't been there. I got to go out on a sailboat...and I steered the sailboat for a bit a couple times too! It was SO much fun. I've never been out sailing before, it was so neat.

One of the bf's friends wanted to race his sister's boat in the marina race next weekend and he asked the bf to be part of his crew. The crew is made up of some of the desert guys, so it's really neat. They did a test run yesterday afternoon and I got to go along. I took a bunch of pictures until we got out into the open water and looking through the lens started making me feel not so great...then I just enjoyed being out in the ocean. It was such a neat thing to do, I can't believe I've never been on a sail boat before. It's definitely an experience I recommend. :)

Pool Party

2009-06-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

My mom's friend C always hires a lifeguard when she has pool parties at her house. She has a dark bottom pool with little corners where you can lose sight of a kid really easily. She was also at a party once where a little brother and sister nearly drowned in the jacuzzi because the littler one got stuck in the middle and panicked, pushing the sibling down under the water in an attempt to make it to the surface. C was the only one watching, though there were multiple adults standing less than 5 feet away, completely oblivious. I've always understood why she hires a lifeguard...but after this weekend, it's even more clear to me. (note, this did NOT happen at C's house...there was no lifeguard)

My littlest brother (Munchkin) had his last ball game of the season, I was so excited to make it home for this game. They won 11-8, it was a pretty great game. They had the team party afterwards at a teammate's house. It was a pool party. The kids were all splashing around in the pool having a great old time. I was hanging around the edge, snapping tons of pictures. The kids were having a great time letting me take pictures as they were midair jumping off the diving board.

The host's family has a LOT of kids. (like, 7) One of the youngest boys, let's call him Ben, is a recent swimmer and probably shouldn't have been in the big pool with this many kids around. My brothers and a couple of the other kids had been helping Ben out in the big pool. A lot of the kids had gone into the jacuzzi and Munchkin was helping Ben after he'd gone down the slide. It took me a minute to catch on, but as I watched Ben was pushing my brother down trying to keep above the surface. Munchkin was coming up for air every little bit, but I did not like what I was seeing, he was staying under water far too long, and Ben seemed to be panicking. I set down the camera I was holding and started slipping off my shoes, calling for my older little brother (The Adventurer) at the same time. I got his attention about a second before I was going to jump into the pool. He dove over from the jacuzzi and pulled the Ben off of our little brother and got him to the side of the pool where I was. The Adventurer is SO tall he got there almost instantly...maybe half a second. He's also a ridiculously strong swimmer. It's great. He saved me from going in the pool fully clothed (not that I would have minded...my brother is the most important, obviously). Incidentally, I later realized that I would have been buying a new phone, because though I'd dropped the camera, I forgot my phone was still in my pocket until later. But cell phones are replaceable. Little brothers are not.

Anyways, all's well that ends well, but my adrenaline was definitely pumping. Munchkin was fine, I'm not even sure he realized he was in trouble. He's convinced that he and the Adventurer both saved Ben. Which, I suppose is true. So please, with all the summer water fun that's going on right now, PLEASE keep a close eye on your children, even if they know how to swim. Munchkin knows how to swim, he's a pretty good swimmer, but he still needed help. So please please please keep an extra close eye on any kids in the water.

Weekend Plans

2009-06-05T16:03:00.000-07:00

Heading home for the weekend. My littlest brother's last ball game of the season is tomorrow. I haven't gotten to any of his games this season and he may not play next year, so I really wanted to make this game. The boys do not know I'm coming home tonight :)

The bf is in Wisconsin and has been there since Tuesday visiting family and such. I was so sad dropping him off at the airport, I miss him SO much. We've been texting a LOT and talking on the phone before bed. I can't wait to pick him up Sunday :)

I got my shiny new computer on Tuesday, which has served as a fabulous distraction from being sad and mopey missing the bf. I love it, it's so pretty and fun. I did a bit of rearranging. I have a small studio apartment. Originally I had my tv/dvd player in the main room and my computer in the kitchen area. Since I have a nice new 20" widescreen monitor, I decided to move my computer into my main room and use it as my dvd player as well. I think my apartment looks much nicer without the computer in the kitchen. I got a Dell Studio Slim, which is awfully shiny. Only thing is that while it's the same basic size as a normal desktop, it's much skinnier. It doesn't fit on the shelves of the little desk I was using for my computer before, and with it being so slim, I'm afraid of having it topple over sitting on the carpet. The bf called me Tuesday as I was browsing through computer desks online because I thought I might have to break down and buy a new one, and he told me to wait until he got home and he'd build me a new one next weekend! My bf is absolutely fantastic, he is the bestest. I'll have a shiny new custom built desk to match my beautiful new bookcase. I'm SO excited. :)

In addition to the rearranging, I also seriously cleaned my apartment. I still need to clean the blinds and windowsills (they're filthy), but I scrubbed my kitchen floor last night, in addition to cleaning the bathroom, dusting, vacuuming and organizing stuff. Like, literally on my hands and knees scrubbing. It feels SO good to have a clean apartment. Especially knowing that I'll come home to a clean apartment on Sunday. :)

Also, I want a koala.

Wine and Sunshine

2009-05-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

I'm utterly exhausted after a very full day, but it was fabulous and absolutely worth it. The morning started off with the discovery that it was actually rainy. I love the rain, but I definitely wasn't expecting it this morning. The bf and I met up with the Manager and a group of about 18 other young adults from our church group this morning to drive up for a day of wine tasting at the bf and my favorite winery. We organized the trip and I have to say it turned out extremely well. We had such a great turnout and we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. You're probably sitting there wondering how that could be with the rain I said we had. The bf and I were laughing because every time we've gone to this winery it's been really stormy and rainy at home, but the sun always peeks out and it's always beautiful at the winery...today was no exception.

Everyone in the group really seemed to have a great time. They did wine tasting and the owners made pizza in their brick oven with wood from 50 year old oak wine barrels. The pizzas may have originally been from Costco, but boy did they turn out fantastic. I think that was about the tastiest pizza I've ever had. It was so great to see the owners again, the bf gets along particularly well with the husband of the operation...just today he decided that the bf was like his son. It was really cute. He asked if we wanted to work at the winery, helping out when he and his wife can't be there to do tastings. I'm going to send him my photos from today for their website...the bf and I want to get up there to do a photo shoot sometime, and we've offered to help out at special events and whatnot up there. I'm really excited. I just absolutely love it up there and they are just such wonderful people. I know that we brought them a lot of business today because not only did we do the wine tasting and pizzas, but a number of people in our group bought a bottle or two of wines to take with them. I really hope that the bf and I are able to have our own winery someday. :)

We came straight down to his parents' church when we got back to help out with the Bazaar. It was a lot of fun...we were there last night until nearly 10 helping get the booths set up...yes there's a bit of a story there, but that's for another post. Without doing anything I managed to irritate my knee up through my hip (seriously, it's acting like I abused it going non-stop crazy at Disneyland for 12 hours) Typically, I compensated for it with my right side, and now of course my right hip is protesting too. I swear I'm only 23. Anyways, I'm just about done icing and the ibuprofen is kicking in. I think it's about time for bed.

Wait, wasn't it just 10:30?

2009-05-27T18:52:00.000-07:00

I accidentally stayed up till 2 last night. Well, I guess that's technically this morning. (does the spelling of "this morning' as two words bother anyone else because when people say it it sounds more like one because we don't enunciate clearly and we speak too fast?) My friend Bells lent me a book called Marked. It's the first of another wonderful Vampyre series (yes I meant to spell it that way) that just keeps getting better. I was in the middle of the third book Chosen around 10 last night when the bf left to go to work (they had a network thing last night from like, midnight to 5am...but at least he got to go home and go back to sleep all day after...that and study for his certification test tomorrow) Anyways, I was just going to read the rest of the section I was in before he left. Somewhere in there I finished the book and it was 12:30. Not exactly sure where time went...I think it sped up or something.

It could have ended there, but see, these books follow the same story line and lead into the one following. Chosen practically threw me into book four, Untamed. Before I knew it it was nearly 2 am and I FINALLY found a spot that I could maybe stop at. I had to resort to some deep meditation breathing to slow my mind down to actually fall asleep. Needless to say, I was a little tired today.

Okay, that's it. Sorry for the lame post (minus the part where I told you about an AMAZING series you totally have to read...I'll do more of a review soon), but it's really all I could think of at the moment. I've had a sort of apathetic writer's block of sorts. I'm sure I'll get over it soon. At least I'm caught up on my Reader. Gotta love summertime. Oh, and sorry for the shiny distracted random parenthetical comments littered throughout the post...my mind seems to be running like a hyperdrive or something. And yes, I did just make a Star Wars reference. My name is Jaina, and I'm a geek.

Already Tuesday?

2009-05-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

Wow. Good intentions aside I've really sucked at the posting thing lately. I was doing really well posting daily or so on my exercise blog...but then I took a couple days off...and, well, it's all downhill from there. Hopefully I will pick that back up today or tomorrow. My work schedule just switched back to 8 - 4:30, which is great for not being tired in the mornings and maybe getting my workout done in the am now. We shall see.

My lovely cousin Ariel graduated Sunday, it was really a lovely ceremony. The bf and I spent the night at her place on Saturday evening to make the early morning Sunday a little easier. I was really excited to be able to go to her graduation, I'm SO proud of her.

I'm loving the 4-day work week, even if it's throwing me off that it's Tuesday already instead of Monday. I'll figure it out by Friday. This weekend is dedicated to the Bazaar at the bf's parent's church. The bf's mom is pretty much running the entire thing, so the bf and I are volunteering to help out all weekend. The only time we won't be there is Saturday morning/early afternoon. We're hosting a wine tasting event for the Young Adult group up at our favorite winery. It should be lots of fun, I'm just finalizing details for all of that. I'm really looking forward to the day trip.

Prayers for Andrew

2009-05-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

A while back I posted several prayer requests, one of which was for a little boy named Andrew. Preston over at Me and the Blue Skies has posted a heart wrenching update. Andrew is 8 years old and has a tumor in his cheek that is crushing his sinus cavity and wrecking havoc with his teeth. His father just found out that he is going to be losing his job because the company he works for is going out of business. Because of this, he cannot qualify for COBRA in the midst of Andrew's medical treatments.

Andrew and his family need a lot of prayers. Please add them to any prayer chains you know of or are a part of. Preston is looking into setting up some kind of donation fund for Andrew. As soon as I have more information about that, I will be sure to post that up here.

Another one of the many reasons why I love him...

2009-05-20T22:23:00.001-07:00

The bf and I went to Dave and Buster's tonight with the Manager, one of our Wednesday traditions once or twice a month. The bf and I usually head down a little early since the Manager doesn't get off until 7 (except starting Monday we switch to summer hours and he's off at 5 ALL SUMMER!! Granted, that means I'm there until 4:30, but I'm actually excited about the extra sleep in time) The bf hit jackpot on this ball dropping game he loves quite a few times. Now, we've been to D&B's quite a lot and have quite a few tickets saved up on the bf's Gold Card. (I think around 30,000) Anyways, the Manager and I were perusing the prize shop while the bf finished entering our most recent batch of tickets. We'd been chatting with a couple boys and their father about the games and whatnot, and the boys were amazed by the number of tickets we had to enter and already on the card.

Evidentally while I was in the shop looking at hysterically colored, oversized velvet ties, the bf found out through conversation that one of the boys' favorite video games had been stolen. Now, Dave and Busters actually had that game in the prize case. The boys didn't have enough tickets to get it though. I wasn't there for the actual conversation, but the bf decided to help them get the game. They fed the remainder of their new tickets onto the bf's card, and he "bought" the game for them. Haha, it's making me grin like an idiot right now just remembering it. :) The boys and their dad were so excited and SO thankful. I was SO proud of the bf for being such a generous, nice guy to complete strangers. I mean, I knew he was a generous nice guy, but it was so touching to see it in action. I know that he made that family's night, and that he totally fulfilled that little boy's wish. That in and of itself made my night. :)

Update on my Uncle

2009-05-20T07:24:00.001-07:00

My uncle's surgery went very well and he is recovering, if in a great deal of pain. Considering they stretched vascular muscle tissue from his neck up to help cover and heal the hole in the back of his head, it's to be expected. My grandpa said that my uncle is hoping to be out of the hospital by Friday. At present, he is resting and recovering. Please keep him in your prayers as he heals, and that the pain will lessen. Right now he is on a morphine drip to help ease the pain.

Thank you so much for your prayers, they mean so much to me, my uncle and my family.

Prayer Request for my Uncle Don and others

2009-05-18T21:43:00.000-07:00

My uncle is having surgery tomorrow morning at 7:30 am, East Coast time. The opening in the back of his head has widened again and is leaking a bit, so they have to go in and close it up...again. This time the surgeon will also work with a plastic surgeon to help try and make this the last surgery he has to have. Please keep my uncle in your prayers.

I do not have any new updates on my dad's friend Dave's condition at this time. As far as we know he is still in a coma. Please continue to pray for his healing and recovery.

Finally, my mom just learned that the daughter of one of her friends is battling cancer. I'm waiting for complete details, but it sounds like she is doing fairly well in the later stages of chemo...it seems to be working. I'll post more details about her later as I get them.

Thank you. :) Please share any prayer requests of your own in the comments. I'd love to include your intentions in my own prayers.

A Series of Letters

2009-05-15T20:51:00.001-07:00

Dear U.S. Government,

I didn't believe it at first, but after calls with my mom. her tax guy and your automated system, I'd like to say thanks. I wouldn't have expected you to catch an error that gave me a much larger refund than I expected. I sure won't complain about it though, now that I'm confident it wasn't a mistake.

Thanks
~Jaina

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Dear Jillian Michaels,

Until I met you I didn't realize it was possible to love and hate a person so rapidly within the space of twenty minutes. I guess the important part is that it begins and ends with love, right?

Yours,
~Tired and a little sore

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Dear After-hours Support,

Mistakes happen, I get that. But when you continually screw up, it's on you. Take responsibility.

~Frustrated Technician

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Dear IT employee,

I can understand you installing IE8 the first time. I can maybe even let the second time slide. But my job description does not entail fixing willful stupidity when you call us because a web based system is not working and you've installed IE8. Again. This is the fifth time. There is no excuse. I'm going to start ignoring your calls. We don't have a fix for stupid.

~Wishing you would listen to instructions

Sunday Smorgasbord - Sunburn Edition

2009-05-10T20:39:00.001-07:00

-Note to self: get sunscreen to live in your car/purse so that when you take an impromptu visit to Sea World with the bf and his parents, your back does not fry while watching Clyde and Seymour and the dolphins. Then remember to apply said sunscreen. If you DO get a burn, keep shea butter lotion and noxema handy for the post burn relief and moisturization.

-Sent a gorgeous vase of tulips to my mom for Mother's Day. Only I didn't put two and two together that they were going to my cousin's dance recital and weren't home except for this morning. Luckily I talked to the florist and they'll deliver them to her tomorrow. I'm definitely a little disappointed.

-I conduct my movement of Swan Lake tomorrow with the orchestra...I'm a little nervous. I'm ready, but I'm nervous. I'll hopefully be one of the first ones up so that I don't have time to sit there and freak myself out.

-Tuesday is my conducting final. I'm so not ready for it with the two new excerpts I got assigned. I'm a little sad about this being the end of the semester, I've really enjoyed this class and learned a LOT from my professor.

-I finished Day 11 of the 30 Day Shred and am doing great. Just started Level Two today. I absolutely love it and am managing to be incredibly consistent. I started a new blog to track my progress. It's helping me stay on top of this, it definitely helped me not skip the workout the other day.

-Happy Mother's Day to all of the fabulous mothers out there. I think we definitely need more than just one day to celebrate how wonderful you are.

Update on Dave's Condition

2009-05-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for your continued prayers for Dave and his family, I know they are making a difference.

Dave came out of surgery for his knee and hand just fine, but remains in ICU. They have determined that he is in a coma. He is holding steady, not getting worse but not getting better either. He's going on a week now. Please continue to pray for Dave's continued healing. Pray that his brain is able to repair itself after this massive head trauma. Pray that his body continue to heal. I cannot thank you enough for all of your prayers.

Again, feel free to pass this prayer request on to your friends, family and any prayers chains you know. Dave needs all the prayer warriors he can get. I greatly appreciate all of the supportive comments everyone has left, I know Dave has people all over the country and the world praying for him, and that is a powerful thing.