Steve and Sarah Curtis

11 Months

2011-10-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is getting pathetic. If I make it on here once a month to post Jill pictures, I call it good. But it's not. I don't think I've even mentioned the fact that we closed on our home back in August and have been living in it since. Pictures to come on that, I promise. Later.

For now, Jill is 11 months! And she is everywhere, getting into everything. She is not just walking now, but trying to run. I can barely catch her nowadays before she reaches the stairs or the dog bowl. She is keeping us on our toes, that's for sure. It is so fun watching her learn new things every single day. She copies us, what we do, what we say . . . we need to start being careful! She says mama and dada and baba, but still not so much with meaning yet. Her real word is "HI!" She says it all the time.

Now for some pictures:

Taking the popcorn popper for a walk.

Um, sorry, that sock does not belong to either one of you!

All of them smiling at the same time!

She's a leaner. Especially against the dog. Obviously he loves it. Especially when she grabs on to his tail for dear life.

Jill's new favorite toy to sit/stand/climb on. I haven't gotten a picture yet of her standing on it while raising her hands above her head. It's a toss up between scolding her and making her sit down...or grabbing my camera.

Brushing teeth while bathing. Or more accurately, biting off the bristles while bathing.

Must put hand in every water glass. Must.

She found her nose. Wonderful.

What a mess! We're just glad she does SO much better with solid foods than with milk.

First time falling asleep while eating.

Helping me pack Dad's lunchbag.

10th Wedding Anniversary

2011-09-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

It's been 10 years today since Steve and I were married. So much has happened in 10 years. In no particular order: we've moved 7 times, lived in 4 states, completed 3 degrees, purchased 2 homes, been employed at 6 full-time jobs, lived apart for several months at a time (twice), left the religion of our families, survived a cancer diagnosis, got a dog, experienced infertility for many years, and then also experienced the miracles of pregnancy, childbirth, and a new little baby.

But the most important thing is we have gone through every single one of these life changing events with 100% support from each other. Which makes all the difference in the world. I married the love of my life 10 years ago, and he is still exactly that today. The love of my life.

Happy anniversary babe! Here's to many, many more to come . . .

10 Months

2011-09-14T17:34:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy month. Another post to come on the new house. But in the meantime, Jill continued to get older and bigger and is now 10 months!

She is keeping us on our toes. Right after she turned 10 months, Jill started taking more than just a step or two at a time. Sometimes it's 4 or 5 now. And it's usually when we're not looking! She'll push off one of us, or the couch, and by the time we notice, she's halfway across the room. She's very sneaky about it. And doesn't like to do it on demand. She also loves to climb everything.

And she has a couple pretend words she likes to say over and over but I'm not sure what they mean. For example, she will often yell out "Nein!" from her crib or while playing or eating. Perhaps her German side coming out? I have no idea! She says "mama" and "dada" but not sure she really knows what they mean all the time yet. And I'm pretty sure she's saying her own version of "hi!" all the time.

We have established a weekly play group in the area, which we host at our place once a month, or more. Jill loves having friends over, she is quite the social butterfly. And it's nice to have someone to talk to that can communicate back, I have to admit!

This is her concentration face. Concentrating on taking out the outlet covers. Which she is successful at now. Both kinds. Wonderful.

The kiddos. Blackjack decided he wanted to be in the pics too.

Jill's favorite meal: grilled cheese.

Popsicle face.

Grandma Curtis came out to help watch the baby while we worked on the new house. What a lifesaver, thanks Grandma!

9 Months

2011-08-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened since the 8 month post. Jill now has 8 teeth. 4 on top and 4 on bottom. In the 2 days since I started typing this, she got her 7th and 8th, it's non-stop!

Jill has become very independent. That is the nice word for not wanting to eat anything but solids, not wanting me to pick her up, refusing her blankey, throwing things on the floor, banging on the walls while in her crib, and basically acting like she's going through the terrible 2's. And that's when I realize she's been teething. Always blame it on those darn teeth.

She is walking along with her little rolling toy, uses the high chair with wheels to walk with, and uses the kitchen stool to scoot along too. We have not been encouraging her to walk, especially since I apparently started walking at 7.5 months. But I guess she's figured the steps out on her own so the inevitble is in our near future I fear.

Jill has mastered going up the staircase, all the way to the top. And knows how to go down a few stairs on her belly, but much prefers to go up and stay up.

Height: 99th percentile
Weight: 43rd percentile

She now climbs all the way into the dishwasher. It's pretty much impossible to unload it now without her doing this.

Blackjack's toys are so fascinating to her.

Tantrum.

Clawson Family Reunion 2011

2011-08-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

We had our Clawson Family Reunion at a cabin in Heber, UT last month. Such fun!

Jumping siblings oldest to youngest, left to right. Is this supposed to look cool? We look like a bunch of crazies! Except Stephen, he looks pretty awesome. The reunion was in honor of him. He just got home from a 2 year missionary stint. We missed him!

Family Picture. I didn't have time to blow dry my hair that day and it shows. Oh well.

Grandma and all the cousins except 3.

Grandma and Jill.

Jill's favorite Uncle Timmy!

Cousins 1 and under!

Had to get a picture of the ladylike way in which Jill sits in the high chair. A lady always crosses her legs.

Day trip to the Olympic Park up in Park City.

We took Jill down the rec center big water slide several times. Wish we got a picture, she loved it! Looks like we've got an adventurous one on our hands.

Just when the dog finally got his own space to rest . . .

The roadtrip. 14 hours each way is a looooong time in the car with a baby. And a dog.

8 Months

2011-07-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

Last month was another month full of firsts. Jill now pulls herself up to stand on pretty much anything she finds. The couch, her crib, the treadmill, the barstools, my legs, and her newest, the dog. He's not a fan.

She also loves to climb. Especially the stairs. Which is problematic because babies learn how to go UP stairs much earlier than they learn to go DOWN them safely. So baby gates it is.

Climbing the stairs.

Climbing on the treadmill.

And her newest, climbing in the dishwasher.

She also loves crawling in, around, and through everything. Especially squeezing through tight spaces.

Crawling behind the couch.

Crawling behind the table.

Crawling through the table.

Climbing under the barstool.

She finds a way to fit between anything.

We went to another Giants game this month. Decided to take a chance and do a night game, even though the game started right at Jill's bedtime. She did great! Took maybe a 30 minute snoozer while there, otherwise she had a blast watching everything and charming the people behind us. What a trooper.

Still not aware that some toys are the dog's. Blackjack doesn't quite know how to deal with the issue.

Blackjack as a little girl. Couldn't resist trying the hat on him.

Bribing a baby. Starting young.

Swing time!

Some meals don't go as well as others.

I crawl, and I climb!

2011-06-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

Jill is officially crawling. And not just army crawling, she's been doing that for weeks. She is up on her hands and knees now and also climbs on everything. The stairs, her toys, the bumbo, the dog . . . whatever is in her way, she just climbs right up and over it.

Swimming

2011-06-26T20:04:00.000-07:00

Jill loves the water! And I am determined she will take after me and FLOAT, unlike her dad and his side of the family. They swear they all sink in water and can't float. So this is our first attempt at getting little Jill to learn to not only swim, but FLOAT.

Baby's first bikini.

Tuckered out after an outing at the pool.

7 Months

2011-06-09T07:24:00.000-07:00

Newest things this month:

Jill is army crawling everywhere! And especially fast when the dog pulls out one of his squeaky toys. She loves his toys. And Blackjack knows it!

We have found some foods so far that Jill is not fond of. I've tried butternut squash like 10 times now and every time she makes faces and gags. Strange, because she loves regular squash and winter squash. Corn isn't going so well either. Perhaps it's the color yellow?

Jill can push herself up on her hands and knees now and rock back and forth. And she just learned to push herself into a sitting position from her belly. So we find her in the crib in the morning sitting up playing, too cute.

Teasing the dog. Notice Blackjack's tongue, Steve is bribing him with treats!

Look, I'm standing!

What a cheeseball.

Playing nicely together.

Getting into mischief.

Climbing.

When I go over to the computer on my desk, Jill books it across the room and slides between the chair and the desk so she can do this:

But then she gets bored and decides to go for the cords.

At a friend's 1st birthday party.

The 4 hour party was just too much for her. She crashed on Dad's shoulder.

6 Months

2011-05-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

I cannot even believe Jill is 6 months already! (actually, she's almost 7 now, but I just got her pictures from the photo shoot). She has two bottom teeth that she got at 5 months, and she is army crawling pretty fast across the room. She still loves her solids. She has yet to not like something. Carrots, peas, squash, apples, peaches, pears, beans, tomatoes . . . she likes it all!

27.5 inches (96th percentile)
15 lbs 13 oz (47th percentile)

And some other pictures from home:

My First Mother's Day

2011-05-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

I got my first Mother's Day card ever this year. And I'm keeping it forever. I LOVE the little hand! Steve told me it wasn't easy to get, and he had to improvise a bit. But I absolutely love it. I waited a long time to be a mom, and little things like this make me so very happy.

Jill vs Blackjack

2011-05-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

If you only watch a bit of this, watch the end, it's too funny! Blackjack has only done this once before, and somehow he happened to do it on camera the other night.

Latest Happenings

2011-05-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

I can sit on my own now!

(sorry for Blackjack's bootie, it somehow manages to make it in so many pictures)

Some of you know Jill used to cry every time I put her in the car. Even while driving she'd cry. My sister's 10 year old son, Timmy, was the only one that could keep her from crying when we were out in Tennessee a few weeks back. I wanted to bring him home with me to permanently be her car buddy! Solution: can you find Timmy in the picture below?

Jumping

Favorite place to roll: under the couch

You put shoes on me, this is what I'll do with them.

With all the baby craziness, sometimes Blackjack just needs his space.

Eating Solids!

2011-05-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

You want me to eat what?? Where's my bottle?

I'm really not sure about this stuff Mom.

We waited a week and tried again. Now she loves her solids! So far, she especially loves carrots, sweet potatoes, and pears. Peas and avocados went ok, but she did not suck them down like the others.

P.S. Jill now has two teeth! I haven't been able to get a good picture of them yet, but you can see them a little in the smiling picture above. Her first tooth came in right at 5 months and the second came in a week or two later.

Giants Home Opener 2011

2011-04-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

Steve won the lotto to purchase tickets to the Giants home opener against the Cardinals. We decided against selling the tickets and making a profit, we wanted to go support our World Champion Giants! We had such a great time. We arrived two hours before the game started for the pre-game festivities, and then the game went 12 innings. It was a loooong day! But so fun. Especially since the Giants won. And it was Jill's first real game. She's quite the little Giants fan, she gots lots of attention. And was such a good sport. She watched the game, then napped, then watched the game a little more, then napped . . . she was ready to go by the 12th inning though. Or maybe the 10th, but she held on so we could see our Giants win!

You can see the Bay Bridge in the distance. AT&T park has the most incredible view. It's totally worth dealing with the wintertime weather in summer to be on the bay! It was semi-warm in the sun for the first hour or two, then it was FREEZING as usual. Who ever heard of bundling up for summer baseball games?! Giants fans, that's who.
Sleeping baby. Look at the packed stadium!

5 Months

2011-04-04T21:42:00.005-07:00

Jill's first doll.

Abusing Blackjack's ear. What a good sport he is.

Playtime has turned into, "let's see what I can find to kick my feet on," time.

Reading time with Dad. She loves her books.

Last bathtime in the sink! This baby is way too wiggly and grabs everything in sight!

Cupcakes are TOTALLY the new black. And I am so cool.

Some pictures from Jill's baby shower in Arizona.

Jill's favorite way to fall asleep, wrapped in a nice soft fuzzy blanket.

Best Cousins

2011-04-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Jill got to meet up with her cousin, Laura, while in Arizona.

I have no idea what they are doing here! Picking lice?!

Hey, where do you think you're going?!

I guess Laura got sick of Jill at this point and decided to just push her off the couch. Or is she punching her in the back?

I'm done smiling for the camera, go away! Poor Laura. Or maybe she just didn't want me holding her, she wanted her mom.

Laura peeking over the stroller at Jill.

And then, after all that effort trying to make the girls play together and look cute for a picture, we heard them over in the corner and found this:

Fun with friends in Arizona

2011-04-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

New best friends! Hadley took Jill on a trip to the Phoenix zoo.

Apparently the zoo got boring for someone after a while.

Wedding fun. Jill loved dancing with Pam! Also pictured, Megan and Haddie on the right, and Heather gettin down and crazy in the middle.

The loud music put Jill right to sleep.

Giants Spring Training in Arizona

2011-04-02T09:42:00.000-07:00

Off to our first Giants spring training game of the season!

Chilling with Mom.

Naptime on Dad's shoulder.

Still happy after the game.

Us girls at a game later in the week. Totally watching every play. . . . . . um right.

Naptime. How she manages to just sleep when she's tired, no matter where she is, I'll never understand.

We had a blast in Arizona with all our friends and family, and of course our GIANTS!!! See you next year Arizona!

A week in the life of my sister (Tennessee)

2011-04-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

My sister, Tearsa, flew me and Jill out to the Nashville area to watch her three kids while she and her husband went on a cruise. Tears is one busy lady! We spent much of our time in the car, transporting the kiddos all over the place. And Jill HATES her carseat. But we found a solution. My nephew, Timmy (10), is a baby charmer. When Jill would cry, all it took was Timmy looking over the seat at her and she was happy. Timmmy is also the best bottle feeder! And we have had such issues with getting Jill to eat, it was so great to have Timmy there to help me. Jill just adores him.

Timmy (baby charmer)

Family time.

Kicking time.

Meagan and Jill.

Nate and Jill.

The dreaded carseat.

Sugar's birthday. We made her a healthy birthday cake out of potatoes, carrots, and blueberries. Yum!

Catch Up Time

2011-04-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's been way too long. I need to fit this blogging thing into the schedule, but where oh where does it fit in?!

In the last month I have travelled with Jill to Tennessee and Arizona and back and she is now 5 months old. Lots to catch up on. Pictures to come very soon . . .

4 Months

2011-03-04T21:31:00.000-08:00

Discovering her feet was a big one this month!
13 pounds(37th%) and 26 inches (95th%)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Blackjack's 3rd Birthday

2011-02-24T10:14:00.000-08:00

I made Blackjack a "healthy" cake for this birthday this year. Rice cakes topped with peanut butter and veggies. He's on a diet (as is his puppy mama), and since dogs don't seem to care what their food tastes like anyway . . . it was a hit! He snarfed the whole thing!

Crazy baby

2011-02-24T10:04:00.000-08:00

Hmm, not sure BOTH fists are going to fit in at the same time silly girl.

Our Little Valentine

2011-02-14T08:52:00.000-08:00

Our little valentine. Complete with a stream of drool coming out her mouth : )

3 Months

2011-02-04T07:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, this blog is getting so neglected. I will at least post the pictures I put on facebook!

2 Months

2011-01-04T15:49:00.000-08:00

Jill is very sociable. She smiles and coos all the time. In fact, we often can't get her to finish eating cuz she just wants to smile! I have to try to either not look at her when she's eating or keep a serious face so she won't get distracted.

53rd percentile for weight
95th percentile for height!

Happy 2 month birthday!

Sad eyes.

Still sporting the mohawk.

6 Weeks

2010-12-17T08:26:00.000-08:00

Such a little lady!

Daddy/Baby Time

2010-12-14T20:53:00.000-08:00

Jill loves it when her Dad gets home from work!

1 Month

2010-12-04T14:37:00.000-08:00

Some pictures from the past month. Jill is growing up so fast!

Blackjack and Jill becoming best buds.

Oh the hours I spend during feedings looking down at this! Such a poser!

Baby's first bath. She loved it! She also loves diaper changes, she literally smiles at us every time, guaranteed.

Our little fro head.

Jill's Birth Story

2010-11-21T09:46:00.000-08:00

We arrived at the hospital to be induced the morning of Nov 3rd. At that point I was 9 days past my due date, 90% effaced and dilated to a 3. Pitocin was started, but after getting to the highest dose allowed at 2am the next morning and no real progress, we decided to give it a break, get a few hours of sleep and try again later that morning.

A few hours later, they hooked me back up to the pitocin, but again, after a few hours of little progress we decided to have them break my water. 5 minutes later, this huge contraction hit me like no other had. Things were finally happening, and they were happening hard and fast! I got my epidural, and when the midwife came to check on me a few hours later I was at a 10 and ready to push!

It took 2 hours of pushing and maneuvering, but baby Jill finally emerged. She got stuck crowning the last 30 minutes, but finally decided to come out. She was so perfect and so sweet and had so much hair, and she was so alert! And she was OUT of me! All 8 lbs 7 oz and 21 inches!

Amazing amazing experience. I can’t even believe I did it, it seems like I was watching someone else. I can’t believe this perfect little girl was inside me all this time and I can’t believe I pushed her out of me! Just the most amazing and beautiful thing I’ve ever experienced. I am so in love with our baby, and more in love with Steve than I’ve ever been. I can’t stop looking at her, she’s the cutest little thing and it’s amazing to think she came from me and Steve and that one little embryo they put in me. We waited so long for this and it was so worth it.

Newborn Photo Shoot

2010-11-18T09:36:00.001-08:00

This last picture below was taken at the very end of the photo shoot, just seconds before Jill peed and then pooped all over Steve. When you take a diaper off a baby . . . beware!

Baby Jill is here!

2010-11-18T09:24:00.000-08:00

Jill Ann Curtis arrived Nov. 4th (10 days late and 2 days into an induction!) weighing in at 8lbs 7oz and 21 inches long. She is such a sweet and calm baby. We are loving our new life with her!

More to come later, but for now, a few pictures . . .

Blackjack is adjusting well. He just ignores her most of the time, or sniffs her and leaves her alone. If she cries at night he goes downstairs to sleep. If I'm downstairs with her at night and she cries, he goes upstairs.

TARDY!!!

2010-11-01T20:35:00.001-07:00

Well, it looks like this little missy is not going to come out without a little encouragement. I am being induced later this week. Being dilated to a 3 and 90% effaced means nothing apparently, even after walking around like that for a month! So, it's on to pitocin.

Stay tuned for more news by the weekend!

Not only did she wait to come until the Giants made it to the World Series but she waited until they WON the World Series! YEAH GIANTS!!!

3 Days . . . or more!

2010-10-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

I am beginning to prepare myself for a late baby. 3 days until her due date and she is still hanging on. I'm dilated, effaced, and ready to go any second. But have been for two weeks now and still nothing. With all the contractions I've had this pregnancy they kept telling me she'd never make it all the way to 40 weeks. Well, she's proving them wrong! Apparently she enjoys the contractions and doesn't feel like leaving. She must be stubborn like her mother, we're in trouble!

I think once you reach the point where you can barely walk anymore, that's when it's time for the baby to come. That would be YESTERDAY! I bet she's just waiting for the Giants to make it to the World Series and then she'll come during one of the games :)

Maternity Pictures

2010-09-29T08:34:00.001-07:00

3D Ultrasound

2010-08-31T20:44:00.001-07:00

We had another 3D u/s last week. Pretty cool, although baby girl wouldn’t turn to face us completely so we just got half shots. And I had to keep changing positions to get her to move her hands and feet away from her face, holy flexible little girl! It was cute. The tech said she has tons of hair! And long fingers, and uses her left hand a lot more than her right, interesting. She had her hand in her mouth (not her thumb) and she was grabbing her feet, too cute!

So . . . who does she look like?

Baby's Room

2010-08-24T13:20:00.001-07:00

Finally, we are done with the baby's room, we kept it nice and simple.

Entering the room:

We decided to keep the corner desk in there since we have another one downstairs.

The TV was great when we used this room as our gym. Not sure how much tv an infant watches though :)

Napa Valley Wine Train

2010-08-10T07:52:00.001-07:00

Steve and I took a little trip to Napa to ride the wine train last weekend. It was really nice. Such great scenery, the vineyards were amazing. And so was the food, yum! Can't wait to go back when I can actually do the wine tastings.

Infertility Is . . .

2010-08-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine posted this video from RESOLVE on her blog the other day and I wanted to keep it going. Although because we have finally achieved pregnancy (7 years, and eventually IVF/ICSI), I do feel like somewhat of a traitor. I don't know which group I belong in anymore. This video brings back so many feelings that I realize can't possibly be understood unless you too are experiencing infertility. Help support RESOLVE (www.resolve.org).

I love my stroller!

2010-08-03T10:32:00.001-07:00

So we purchased a stroller and infant seat a few months back and had it sitting in the garage. It was pretty neutral, but just ok cute. Then I started having major buyer regret. I wanted something more girly! I know, totally doesn't sound like me, right? What can I say, this little girl is growing on me . . . uh, literally! So Steve took me back to the store and we exchanged it for this adorable one that I LOVE! I know people say you should get gender neutral stuff so you can use it again if you have a boy later, but honestly, I'm focusing on the here and now, this little girl might be our only baby. And down the road, if we decide to try for another, then we'll get a new stroller if it's a boy. That is not important to me right now!

And PS, I'm officially in the 3rd trimester!

I Miss Work??

2010-07-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

So I was laying in bed reading the other afternoon, after a pretty normal day for me. Which consists of pretty much the same thing most days, now that school is out and I don't have tutoring or Junior Achievement. Sleeping, eating, shopping, running errands, reading, internet surfing, prenatal pilates/yoga, taking care of the dog . . .

Some days I have doctor's appointments, some nights I have prenatal or birth classes, but really that's about it. It's been really nice to have few commitments and to just be able to take care of myself and this baby for now. I haven't been bored. I've had plenty of time to get things done (sometimes it doesn't feel like it though if I'm not feeling well), but I rarely feel bored.

So it kind of came out of nowhere yesterday that I started feeling like I missed working! Like a real full-time job, not just a few hours here and there like I've been doing. I miss getting up every day and getting ready and getting to work starting new each day at my own desk. Having projects that are my own to work on and be accountable for. Socializing with co-workers that always understand because they work with you every day with the same people. It's not any particular job I miss, it's just the office atmosphere in general. And the structure perhaps.

It took me a year to have these feelings! I can't believe I'm even typing this!

Ok, time for a nap. Or maybe I'll go shopping for accessories for the baby's room. Despite missing work sometimes, it really is wonderful having this time to prepare. Just a couple more months until she's here!

Baby's First Outfits

2010-06-08T13:06:00.001-07:00

She is going to be a well-dressed little lady if I have anything to say about it. Steve appreciates the Giants outfit, that will be well-used next summer. We let Blackjack smell one of the outfits and he promptly grabbed it in his mouth to take off with it as his new toy. Hmm, there will be more training in store for him I can see.
One of these even came all the way from Paris, can you guess which one? (Thanks Donna!)

Monterey Trip

2010-06-02T09:17:00.001-07:00

Steve took me to Monterey for my birthday weekend. What a great time we had!

First, a hotel right on the beach with amazing views! I woke up to the sun rising over the water one morning, beautiful.

The view.

Perfectly content, eating breakfast while looking out at the view of the bay.

The cool jelly fish at Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The amazing sea horses, probably my favorites! Some of them looked so much like their surroundings it took a while to even find them, crazy. Did you know it's the male sea horse that carries the babies??

Stinky, but cute, sea lions.

We're sailing! The plan had been to go whale watching, but we found out they wouldn't allow expectant mothers, darn. So instead we found a private captain to take us out on his boat for a few hours. It was beautiful out there!

Thought we just might tip over at one point . . .

My little makeshift birthday cake.

Cute Steve, walking the beach one morning.

One of the stops along the 17-Mile Drive.

Playtime

2010-06-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

It's a GIRL!!!

2010-05-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

For my 30th birthday, Steve took me for an early 3D/4D ultrasound to find out the gender. The three lines were pretty clear from each angle and it's a GIRL! (90% sure). What an awesome way to start out my birthday weekend! More details on Monterey coming as soon as I get the pictures downloaded...

Steve calls this one the cheerleader, love the little open mouth! She was very active!

Smiling and waving!

14 Weeks

2010-04-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

By all calendars, I am now officially in the 2nd trimester.

Utah Visit

2010-04-27T07:16:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a week at my sister's in Utah. Beth had her 4th boy last month, little Evan. Becca also happened to come to town and our visits overlapped by a few days. Her little girl, Laura, is 3 weeks older than Evan. Robb's kid is a few months older.

Russell, Laura, and Evan

Word is out . . .

2010-04-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

The word is out, Steve and I are expecting in October!

Kite Flying

2010-04-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

The weather was so nice last weekend, we decided to go to our neighborhood park and fly a kite. We had a lot of fun. Blackjack did too, except in the beginning when the kite was on the ground, apparently he thought it was going to eat him.

Giants Spring Training in Arizona

2010-04-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Steve and I took a trip to Arizona a week or two ago to see friends, soak up the warm sun, and take in a few Giants Spring Training games. Somehow, the only pictures we came away with were from the games.

The packed lawn "seating." This game was completely sold out.

Oops, caught texting during the game.

My old co-worker, Mer, met us there with her husband and his friend. You know how it works at these games, especially when you have lawn seats. You end up talking the whole time. In all honesty, I think I saw only two plays the entire game! When I start to hear loud cheering I look up, just in time to see the homerun.

Camp Bow Wow

2010-03-18T09:58:00.001-07:00

I dropped Blackjack off this morning at his doggie camp for boarding while we're out of town. I love watching him from my computer, so fun! He's having a blast, lots of high-energy dogs there today for him to play with.

King of the mountain!

Packing

2010-03-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

Packing is the best part of traveling. I love picking out what to bring and organizing it all nice and neat in my suitcase. And how could it be any more exciting than when packing using new luggage! We finally gave in and bought quality luggage. We've been dragging around cheap suitcases from high school that have started falling apart. But not anymore! Now we each have our own set of good luggage and I can't wait to use it for the first time this weekend!

Bagel Thins

2010-03-06T13:56:00.000-08:00

Can I just say, what a great idea, I love these! Now I can have a bagel with cream cheese and not feel guilty about eating 500 carbs just for the bagel. A regular sized bagel always was too big anyway.

Churros!

2010-02-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's Day, I asked for flowers and a fancy dinner out. Steve asked me to make him a yummy dessert. I decided to suprise him with one of his favorite carnival treats. Churros! I'd never made them before but it was actually really fun. And they turned out yummy.

Happy 2nd Birthday Blackjack!

2010-02-25T21:07:00.001-08:00

Dogs are such simple creatures to please!

"I'm on a horse"

2010-02-23T20:52:00.001-08:00

If you have not seen this Old Spice commercial, you must watch it NOW! It's freaking hilarious, I can't stop laughing even as I type. Enjoy!

Playdate

2010-02-23T20:00:00.000-08:00

Blackjack's first foster sister, Pepper (new name is "Juno"), came to stay with us last weekend while her puppy mama and pops went out of town. She and Blackjack played and chased each other around pretty much every second they were awake. Then when they got tired, they kept switching beds! As you can see, Blackjack is way too big for Juno's bed, but he just couldn't resist something new and velvety soft. Silly dogs.

(sorry, bad quality cell phone pic)

Avatar

2010-01-26T19:45:00.000-08:00

So Steve and I both were part of the group of people that thought the previews for Avatar looked really silly. In fact, they showed so many previews of Avatar I started getting annoyed. Then it comes out and everyone talks about how great it is. And to top it off, one of my cousins and his wife said they felt the same way we did, that it looked silly. But they got talked into going with a group and really enjoyed it.

So last weekend we decided to take the plunge and spend 3 hours in an IMAX theater. I have to say, it was definitely better than expected. And I didn't even fall asleep, which I have been known to do in the past. Movie candy helps. But it really was a decent movie. Very predictable, and I'm not promoting it or anything, just saying that sometimes even really dumb looking movies can actually turn out ok. Twilight is not one of those movies.

Anti-Wrinkle Cream and Turning 30

2010-01-20T11:37:00.005-08:00

Ok, somewhere along the line I heard it said that every woman should start using some kind of anti-wrinkle cream by the time she is 30. Seeing as that number is just around the corner here in 2010 for me, I went out and bought some night cream and have been using it for about a month now.

Holy cow, why did I not try this stuff sooner?! I don't know if it helps keep the wrinkles away (I didn't have many to begin with), but it sure does make my skin all nice and and soft and smooth! And it really helps keep it moisturized through the night, without being too oily.

Anyone out there have any aging secrets I wish I'd known about sooner?

2010 Winter Olympics

2010-01-19T20:47:00.003-08:00

Anyone else getting excited about the Winter Olympics? I can't wait! My favorites are figure skating, luge, bob sleigh, short track, and ski jumping. But mostly figure skating. My Tivo is going to be so full next month, can't wait!

Did I really make these by myself?!

2010-01-15T10:12:00.009-08:00

Now, I am not posting this to brag. I am posting this because I am so incredibly proud of myself for taking the time to make hazelnut turnovers. I made my puff pastry from SCRATCH (huh?!) and actually used real hazelnuts IN THE SHELL and had to husk them and everything. My fingers still hurt. None of that fake Nutella stuff here. And it worked out! They are delicious!! Nice and flakey and crispy outside and yummy, gooey hazelnut chocolateyness on the inside, yum! And it only took like 5 hours :) But I did it! So not like the me of the past but I am really enjoying my kitchen here and all my new kitchen toys I got for Christmas. It's very exciting. Don't make fun of me.

Now, anyone want to come over and help me eat all these?

Blackjack Roasting by an "Open" Fire

2010-01-10T16:05:00.002-08:00

Sometimes he'll lay there so long he starts burning up and panting. We have to turn the fire off and force him to get some water. Funny dog.

I'm Bothered

2010-01-10T14:21:00.008-08:00

That's how I'm feeling right now . . . bothered.

Bothered by the judgements of others.
Bothered by their ignorance and close-mindedness.
Bothered by their self-righteousness.
Bothered by the way they think they know what is right for others.
Bothered by those who think others are less than they are because they have chosen a different life.

Bothered by those that don't believe us when we say we're truly happy.
Bothered by those that talk about us behind our backs and spread their judgements as if it were truth.
Bothered by those that can't just accept that we are intelligent beings who made the right decision for us.

That's it. I just couldn't keep it in anymore. I'm feeling too BOTHERED.

What I Wanted / Got for Christmas

2010-01-06T20:00:00.003-08:00

This KitchenAid Mixer!!!

I've already used it more than a few times and love it! I even made my first loaf of french bread today from scratch WITHOUT a breadmaker. Steve knew I wanted one but I had decided I didn't really NEED it, it was more of a want. Which is why he decided to get it for me because he knew I wouldn't get it for myself.

I got me a nice husband. Or at least a husband that wants me to bake more goodies for him. You got it babe!

Pretend Christmas at the Curtis'

2010-01-03T23:10:00.005-08:00

A few days after Christmas we headed over to Steve's parents house for a late Christmas celebration. Several of Steve's sisters were in town so we went to hang out. Blackjack LOVES Grandma Curtis! She'll sit there with him forever and rub his back or belly and feed him treats all night.

We brought Blackjack's stocking for him to open while the nieces and newphews opened gifts. He loves his new toys and he hasn't chewed apart any of them yet! He's growing up so fast : )

White Christmas

2010-01-03T00:43:00.027-08:00

We drove to Utah for Christmas and ended up with snow almost every day. And apparently we were so lazy we forgot to take many pictures so there's not much to share here.

We're not used to having to scrape our windshields, we're way out of practice. Pretty though, huh?

We drove to Reno the first afternoon and stayed the night at my brother, Larry's house. He and Chantelle were gracious enough to let us stay the night with Blackjack in tow. The kids had a blast, it sure was funny watching them chase him around. My 6 year old nephew, Adam kept thanking Blackjack for eating all the crumbs off the kitchen floor because that meant Adam didn't have to do his chore: sweeping the floor!

The next day we made it to my sister, Bethany's house in Saratoga Springs where we stayed the next two nights. Her boys are so funny. And she's expecting a 4th one in March! We hung out, talked, played games, and ate good food. Oh, and figured out that my molasses sugar cookie recipe does NOT work in the Utah altitude! And adding extra flour just makes them too cakey.

Bethany's youngest, Dallin, being crazy. This kid makes the funniest faces!

And lest I forget the most important part of staying at Beth's . . .
She got her ears pierced!!! The day she found out she was having a 4th boy she decided she needed more feminine stuff in her life so she took the leap. It was just about exactly 10 years ago my "evil" cousin, Krista, took me to get my ears pierced at the age of 19. My family thought I was scandalous and my grandmother called our ears "mutilated." As you might remember, at our last Sisters Reunion, Tearsa went for it and finally got her ears pierced. Beth was the final sister, the four of us are now complete in our mutilations. Just think, what would grandmother say if she found out I have a belly piercing and a tattoo?! (that's a JOKE, by the way!)

We headed off to my Aunt Nancy's house the next night out in Elk Ridge. They really put us up well, it was like a posh hotel room! Nancy and Julie made us dinner and then we watched the Las Vegas Bowl together while Blackjack got all the attention he wanted from them. They are really dog people, Blackjack had a great time, as did we!

Blackjack exploring the snow in Nancy's backyard.

The next day it was off to my mom's. Mom isn't a dog person so Blackjack stayed at a local kennel the next few nights. It was great to just hang out and take it easy for the holidays. Christmas Eve afternoon we all met at Beth's house for a big family lunch which was great fun. Lots of food, lots of dessert, games, and great company.
Family lunch at Beth's.

Looking back, we didn't really DO all that much while in Utah. We mainly just hung out with family and ate at all the places we miss not having in California. Those places would be:

JDawg's (Best hot dogs ever!)
Burgers Supreme (Fry sauce, yum)
Cafe Rio
Paradise Bakery
Shirley's Bakery (The rolls are so soft and delicious! We waited in line 40 minutes and it was worth it.)
Creamery on 9th (Nowhere else gives you that much creamy fatty ice cream for so cheap. The Utah/Mormon addiction. For some it's alcohol that poisons the liver. For others it's ice cream that clogs your arteries and ruins your heart. It's all the same really.)

We had a nice relaxing time but it's good to be back home where it's a few degrees warmer and there's no ice to scrape off our windshields!

Twilight - 1 star

2009-12-31T10:46:00.009-08:00

Ok so I'm one of those people that has refused to get into all the Twilight/New Moon hype. I have to admit, I'd never read the books or seen the movies, the whole idea of a vampire love story was just too . . . weird for me. So when I was in Utah and I saw my sister-in-law owned Twilight, I figured I might as well open my mind and give it a try, what was there to lose? I fell asleep watching it 4 different times! I did finally finish it though and here are my thoughts:

Not for me. Main character girl had NO personality! Vampire dude was annoying and disgustingly pale. Vampirish blood-sucking sexual tension = CREEPY and just plain WEIRD to me. I suppose I can see how some can get really into that "I want what I can't have/living on the edge" theme but it just didn't do anything for me.

So, I guess I was right, vampire love stories are not for me. It's ok, I'm sure I'll find something else to waste my time reading or watching, no worries.

Happy 30th Babe!

2009-12-18T07:13:00.008-08:00

Today my sweet most amazing and wonderful husband turns 30. Seriously, he's the man of my dreams. I know people say that just to say it, but not me. Anyone who knows me well knows I don't say anything I don't mean and I am ALWAYS 100% real. Can't help it. Sometimes I wish I could hide better what I'm feeling but alas, that is not one of my talents.

Back to the topic of the day. STEVE. 8+ years into our marriage and I still consider him my one and only, my best friend, my lover, my support system, my confidante . . . He makes me laugh every day and he has my back 100% and always lets me know it.

Of course let's not forget he has his faults too. Like he thinks vanilla ice cream is better than chocolate. And he prefers his eggs scrambled instead of over-easy. And sometimes he forgets to email me when he gets to work so I know he got there ok (I have major anxiety). And sometimes he'd rather watch football than listen to me go on and on about my feelings. And once he even ate the last piece of chocolate, thinking I didn't want it?!

Nevertheless, I continually forgive him for these shortcomings because I'm such a good person. Ok, who am I kidding here, this husband of mine is pretty much the greatest husband ever. I feel bad for the rest of you because I took the best man out there. He makes me incredibly happy and I'm so glad I have him in my life. And that I get to celebrate his 30th birthday with him!

Happy Birthday Babe!!!

P.S. I hope I didn't embarrass you too much : )

I did it!

2009-12-13T19:51:00.003-08:00

I finally did it! I actually bought and cooked a turkey for the first time in my life. I know . . . an almost 30 year old who's never cooked a turkey. But hey, I've never had a need to, someone else always ends up doing the turkey at Thanksgiving or Christmas and I've never made the effort to cook a turkey for just the two of us. But this week as I passed the meat section I decided to drop one in the cart and that way I'd be forced to figure out how to cook it. And it worked! Yum, I forgot how delicious nice and juicy turkey is. But even more delicious is the creamy gravy, ahhh.

Looking forward to turkey sandwiches this week. Given the smallest turkey I could find was 13 pounds, there are a lot of leftovers. Anyone hungry?

Thanksgiving in New York

2009-12-08T07:19:00.084-08:00

Steve and I took a trip to New York City for Thanksgiving. (Thanks Alison and Curtis parents for watching Blackjack!). We spent a week there, staying with our awesome friends Sabrina and Jose. They have an apartment in Manhattan with an amazing view, it was so great! I don't know who's going to read all this as it's going to be long, but I'm posting it more for our own memories than anything. Blogging is my only journaling!

View from their 20th floor apartment.

View from the rooftop terrace.

Tuesday morning, we got up early and made our way to the NBC studio audience for Who Wants to be a Millionaire with Meredith Vieira. It was fun to be in the audience, this time without the pressure of having Steve as a contestant! And Meredith is SO much nicer than Regis, I love her.

After the show we booked it over to Rockefeller Center where we had tickets to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The guests were Claire Danes and Chad Ochocinco. Not a huge fan of either really but Jimmy Fallon was really fun to watch. Being an audience member is so interesting, you get to see some of the behind-the-scenes and all the work that goes into producing a show, it's really neat.

The famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. They didn't light the tree until the next week so we just got to see it with all the scaffolding. It's huge!

Wednesday morning we were out the door long before the sun came up to make it to Good Morning America. Steve surprsed me once for my birthday a few years back and took me to New York and we were in the GMA audience which was so fun! This time the guests on the show were the final three couples from Dancing with the Stars (Donny Osmond, Mya, and Kelly Osbourne). We don't watch the show so it wasn't a big deal to us, but we happened to be one of a handful of people they pulled to the sidelines of the "red carpet" where the finalists ran in. The woman next to us kept asking us to shield her from the cameras. Apparently she'd called in sick to work and was worried she'd be on national television. And she was, haha, too funny!

We didn't stay for the taping, I was bored and mad that both Robin Roberts (my favorite anchor) and Diane Sawyer were out of town. I got to meet Diane last time but Robin was out of town that time too, sad. Chris Cuomo just doesn't do it for me.

Then it was off to do the . . .
. . . Sex and the City bus tour! I know, I know, you're all thinking I'm such an idiot. But seriously, the tour gets great reviews and I just had to see what it was all about. Not only was it way fun and entertaining, but it was a perfect basic overview tour of NYC. Steve even enjoyed himself, as much as he and the other husbands and boyfriends dragged along tried to pretend they didn't ; ) How could they not when they're on a bus full of hot women?!

That night we went to dinner at this really great French restaurant and saw the broadway musical "In the Heights" with Sabrina and Jose. I hadn't heard of it previously but it was really quite entertaining.

After the show at Times Square.

Awesome picture of 30 Rockefeller Center disappearing into the fog.

Thursday morning was the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade of course. We didn't feel like getting up early to stake out a good spot so we just meandered over and stood at the back of the crowd for a while. The balloons really are gigantic!

Sabrina and Jose enjoying the parade.

Then it was back home to start cooking Thanksgiving dinner. And by "cooking" I mean taking the plastic wrap off our pre-ordered feast and heating everything up in the oven. Such hard work :) It was delicious! Then the obligatory Thanksgiving nap and Christmas movies.

Black Friday we joined the crowd at Macy's to take advantage of some good shopping. Yes, it was really THAT crowded on the main level!

Saturday we met up with my sister Becca and her husband Jay. We tried out a couple fun food hot spots, including Magnolia Bakery. They are best known for their cupcakes, but better than their cupcakes is their banana cream pudding! Oh wow, we made a second trip to Magnolia's just for the banana pudding it was that good.

Me and Becca at Magnolia's.

The good thing about vacationing with others is we had someone to take our picture and document we were both at the same place at the same time.

On the subway.

We stopped by Dylan's Candy Bar to check out the candy displays.

The snozberries taste like snozberries!

That night we went to the holiday Cirque du Soleil production of Wintuk at Madison Square Garden. It was cute, very family-friendly.

But then we saw these big posters outside the stadium . . . Nadia Comaneci! How could Beck and I NOT get our picture in front of that?!

Me with my "Perfect 10."

Sunday morning, after brunch we headed to Central Park. It was the first completely sunny day with not a cloud in the sky, beautiful!

Sabrina and Jose also got us in for free at the Museum of Modern Art. Interesting, but I just am not into the artsy museums. I guess most of the time I just don't "get" it.

For instance, this is supposed to be some kind of chair. ???

Monday we had tickets to go up to the crown of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was the only really bad weather day of course. Rainy, drizzly, windy, and COLD. On a ferry, fun stuff. But we hiked up the Statue of Liberty which was really neat, especially getting to look up into the body of the statue from inside, so cool. Then we headed over to Ellis Island. They have some really great displays set up there, very ineresting statistics and information that's been gathered over the years. I could have spent more time in there but we were in a hurry.

Ellis Island

Steve told me to stand in front of this picture . . . of what he thinks I should do all day every day. No honey, I blog all day, not wash floors!

We raced from the Ellis Island ferry back to the subway, grabbed a slice of NY style pizza and ran to catch the New York Public Library tour. We couldn't hear the little old man from our spot in the back of the crowd so we broke out on our own. What a beautiful building! I wish we had more pictures.

The main lobby entrance of the library.

One of the intricate ceilings.

We wandered the city a while in the rain, running in and out of Starbucks locations and trying to find shelter. We ended up at the "Charmin - Enjoy the Go" restrooms in Times Square. So fun! Normally there is a huge line, but that rainy afternoon there were just a few of us. Charmin pulls out all the stops for this "experience" each year and it's very cool. They set up 20 private restrooms, each with 6 different types of Charmin toilet paper, an iPod or TV, and someone comes around and cleans each restroom between EVERY person! How cool! I still put tp on the seat before going, can't get over that habit. Anyway, so while you stand in line to "go," the MC guy is up front entertaining all of us as we wait. It was hilarious, he goes around asking people on the mic if they plan to go #1 or #2. Then he tells the men we'll know if they went #2 because their coats will be off. It was too funny! Such a normal thing to do, and yet when confronted about it in public people get so weirded out. I thought it was great.

Can't spare a square.

When we left Charmin we saw the Broadway discount tickets booth and decided to go see another show spur of the moment. We found cheap tickets to a comedy off-broadway show called "Newsical." It was in this tiny little theatre, very cozy. And it was pretty funny, singing and a little dancing, but mostly comedy sketches on recent political and entertainment issues. Before the show we had dinner at this cute little restaurant called Sweet Emily's. Yum!

Tuesday morning we got up and wandered the city, hitting the last of the hot spots we wanted to see before heading back to the airport.

Helpful tip for future NYC visitors: Many of the subway stations do not have escalators or elevators for your luggage. In fact, even if a station does have one, there is no guarantee it will be working! We got a good workout dragging our huge suitcases up and down flights of stairs through the subway system. But it was all so worth it.

We ate at tons of great places, saw lots of interesting sites, walked miles and miles through the city, and came away with many wonderful memories of our Thanksgiving in New York City. Thanks Sabrina and Jose!

Double Trouble!

2009-11-09T19:58:00.006-08:00

Our new foster, Holly, is almost Blackjack's twin! Holly is an adorable and very playful little Puggle. She’s about one year old and loves to chase and play with Blackjack. She also loves playing with her toys and dragging her blanket around with her. Holly likes to play hide and seek, and hides under chairs, tables, and benches and then pounces on Blackjack when he comes by. She’s very sweet and likes to sit by my feet or cuddle on the couch after playtime. She already knows some commands like “sit” and “up” and is anxious to please. She does well on walks and knows her potty spot outside. This sweet happy girl’s curly tail is always wagging! She's looking for her forever home, let me know if you are interested . . .
http://www.tvar.org/RP_AdoptMe.asp?aid=7961

Sunday Mornings at Our Place

2009-11-08T09:01:00.002-08:00

Even Blackjack is a spooner.

Trick or Treat!

2009-11-02T11:25:00.003-08:00

Blackjack was a fireman for Halloween. We took him out trick or treating with my brother Ben's kids. He had fun doing his duty and putting out "fires" on every bush with his built-in fire hose.

Our Little Conehead

2009-10-21T15:21:00.004-07:00

Poor little Blackjack has an infected toe and must wear the dreaded cone for a few days to keep him from chewing and licking his feet. Needless to say, he's not liking it. The vet put the Halloween handkerchief on him, I would never do that!

Here's Blackjack barking at his reflection in the fireplace. "Who IS that with that big weird looking plastic thing on his head?!"

8 Years and Counting!

2009-09-22T15:20:00.023-07:00

Today is our 8th anniversary. We've done a lot in our 8 years of marriage. According to my calculations we've lived in 4 different states and 6 different homes. We've driven accross the country together twice and we've taken trips all over the U.S. (from California to Vegas to Colorado to New York, etc.) but only recently did we finally take our first trip together out of the country (Cancun, Mexico counts, right?).

But for our anniversary we decided to stay local and spend the night in San Francisco to do some touristy site seeing and to see Wicked! I very much enjoyed the show, it was fabulous. Steve's reaction . . . "It was weird." But he seemed to enjoy it enough while we were there, enough so that I'm hoping we'll go again when we're in New York for Thanksgiving.

The amazing view of the Bay Bridge from our hotel window! We NEVER have good views from our hotel rooms, we always end up with a view of the building next door or the alley or parking lot, this was such an awesome surprise!

The view from the other window. The Ferry Building and the Bay Bridge.

Our hotel, the Hyatt Regency. I love this hotel, so strange but so interesting.

I thought this "Les Croissants" place looked like a fun place to grab some breakfast . . . until I saw the last part of the sign, take a look. "Pastries, Donuts, Espresso, and VIETNAMESE SANDWICHES." Um, no. I mean, I'm not saying Vietnamese sandwiches aren't good, I'm just saying I'm not eating a donut at the same place that specializes in Vietnamese sandwiches, that's too weird!

Street view of two things San Francisco is famous for: the cable car and the insanely steep hills.

The high voltage cables just above our heads on the touristy open-top bus tour.

The Transamerica Pyramid.

Chinatown. I didn't know it is the largest Chinatown outside of Asia. The things you learn as locals on these tours.

Happy Anniversary babe! We've made it 8 years, what's another 60 or 70 more? ; )

Labor Day in Hollywood

2009-09-13T18:12:00.007-07:00

For Labor Day weekend we decided to make a trip down to southern California. Despite growing up in the state neither of us had been to the L.A. Universal Studios or done any of the Hollywood/L.A. scenes other than Disney. So we drove down and stayed in a really cute hotel in Burbank. I had yelped good places to eat in the area and we restaurant-hopped the entire weekend. Such fun! What can I say, sometimes the best part about vacation is getting to eat out and try new places. We ate the most delicious chocolate coconut cupcake ever at this little place http://www.joansonthird.com/. I'd seen it on the Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate" series. It lived up to the hype, I was craving them the rest of the weekend! We also frequented a cuban bakery called Porto's more than once. Yummy. Really, everything there was so delicious, it just makes me sad there are only two locations and they're both in L.A.

The first afternoon we took one of those Hollywood Star Homes tours and I have to say, I really enjoyed myself. I thought it would be creepy and weird but it was actually very interesting and a very good time. Even if it was 3 in the afternoon with no top on the van.

The tour took us down Hollywood Blvd, Sunset Blvd, Rodeo Drive, Santa Monica Blvd, through Beverly Hills, Bel Air, etc. We drove by lots of celebrity homes, including Courtney Cox, Tom Cruise, Jennifer Aniston, Christina Aguilera, the Playboy Mansion, Simon Cowell's new home, the old homes of Lucille Ball and Jimmy Stewart, etc.

The tour guide also took us down what he called "any street" which is where the outsides of homes in many Hollywood films have been filmed. The home the Halloween films were filmed at is below, creepy! I'm sure the current occupants just love these tour buses that come by every 30 minutes!

The outside of the home Michael Jackson was living in most recently. Recognize this view from the media?

View of Los Angeles. Nice smog.

The postcard view of an L.A. sky.

Friday night we were on the waiting list to see Jimmy Kimmel Live but didn't quite make it in. Gerard Butler was the celebrity guest for his new movie The Gamer.

Saturday we headed to Universal Studios.

Our favorite ride was by far the Simpson's simulator ride, really great fun. And because the lines were so short we were able to go on it several times.

The Mummy ride was also pretty fun, although what is it now with simulated rides now trying to scare us by installing little feather things they blow air on during certain parts of the rides to simulate spiders or scorpions or whatever, freaky!!!

Normally there are huge lines at amusement parks on weekends, especially on holiday weekends. But for some reason the park had practically no lines. I don't remember waiting longer than 5 or 10 minutes for any ride, other than the Simpson's. And that was only like 20 minutes. We got through the park in record time and didn't even have to stay until closing to try everything. And we did every single show/attraction they had.

We went on the Universal Studios park tour which took us through sets from different films and showed us how they do some of the special effects. Very neat.

Gabrielle's house on Desperate Housewives.

Sunday morning we drove back to Beverly Hills to visit the Greystone Manor, which is where many famous Hollywood films have been filmed, such as Batman and X-Men. These are the actual gates the batmobile drove out of in the movie.

We headed for a bite to eat and tried a fun little cafeteria-style restaurant that had blueberry mint lemonade that was so tart and delicious. Then it was off to Venice Beach. Traffic. Oh yes, let's talk about traffic, shall we? Our hotel was within a few miles of pretty much everything we went to go see. And yet somehow it seemed it took us an hour to get there! The freeways are ridiculously crowded and there are fender benders around every corner. And there are just not enough lanes to support the population, very frustrating.

We got to Venice Beach and waited for a spot in the packed parking lot. After 45 minutes of just waiting we finally got in, paid our fees, and set off for the sand. Perfect day on the beach. Perfect clear skies, perfect sun, and a light breeze, just enough to keep you cool while reading a good book in the sun. I'm reading "Wicked" by the way. Different and somewhat odd as I'm not much of a sci-fi reader, but a fascinating book. My review for that will be on GoodReads soon.

Once we were sufficiently baked, we took a stroll down the famous Venice Beach trail. Such interesting people watching.

And that was our Labor Day. Lots of driving, lots of site seeing, lots of good food, good company, and over all just a fun weekend getaway.

PEPPER (Blackjack's new foster sister)

2009-09-09T07:40:00.015-07:00

We hadn't been planning to start fostering for a few weeks (once we'd been to training) but when the shelter called desperate for a home for this little puppy that was on "the list" I couldn't say no. I picked her up yesterday and she is doing really well. We've named her Pepper. She and Blackjack get along great, they chase each other in circles and tug on toys together. I think she's a good influence on Blackjack! They follow each other everywhere and copy everything. I finally had to separate them last night when Pepper was tired and wanted a break and Blackjack wouldn't leave her alone. They sat on opposite sides of the couch staring at each other, pretty funny.

If anyone is interested in adopting her, or knows anyone that might be, she's cute as can be. She's about 1 and is a black terrier mix with white speckled feet. When she's with Blackjack or has toys she's very playful and prances around the room. ("very girly-like" says Steve). But when she's by herself she's cute and snuggly and likes attention. She slept through the night last night without a peep in her crate and she seems to be house-trained, but time will tell. No accidents yet and she's really good at going right outside on the grass.

She'll be at the Pleasanton Famers Market Dog Adoptions on Saturday from 10-1.

Now I just need to learn how to walk two dogs at the same time . . .

A 2-car garage that now actually fits 2 cars

2009-09-01T08:38:00.004-07:00

We cleaned out the garage last night to make room for the new car. Blackjack hasn't taken a ride in the Fit yet but he found his "seat" without any help. Gotta love hatchbacks.

Have a Fit!

2009-08-31T09:44:00.012-07:00

After hours and hours of negotiating (including an overnight break), we finally drove away with our new car. A Honda Fit. We've been wanting a Fit for months, but weren't expecting to get one in orange! Excuse me, "copper." But the color is really growing on me, I love it and it's so fun to drive! Now we just have to go make room in the garage for it . . .

While we were at it we decided to get Steve a new car too . . .

J/K, but doesn't he look great next to it! Some day I'll have me a convertible. But probably not in blue.

Santa Cruz

2009-08-30T15:56:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we took an excursion down to Santa Cruz. We started at The Mystery Spot up in the Santa Cruz redwoods. Very interesting, but it really bothered me that I couldn't figure out the weirdness. Perhaps there is something to it. They call the area a "gravitational anomaly."

Steve is actually standing straight, or at least he thought he was!

Craziest house. I immediately felt dizzy the moment I stepped inside.

Even the trees in that area grow crooked.

Before heading to the Boardwalk we decided to have some fun with our GPS and see what bizarre tourist attractions might be around. And boy did we find something. Just a few miles down the road we found this little museum:

Bigfoot!

We finally made it to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We dipped our feet in and MAN was it FREEZING! Nobody was really in the water, most were just sanbathing or playing volleyball.

We tried out one of the rides . . . The Haunted Castle . . . ends up it wasn't so haunted. But the spider on top was a little spooky.

Mt. Diablo

2009-08-27T15:39:00.014-07:00

Since moving back to California we've been trying to get out and do some kind of site seeing every weekend. It's been great fun! Two weeks ago we went out to Mt. Diablo. That was the first time we'd been there since high school. The drive wasn't as scary as I remembered but I still had to remind Steve to slow down on the curves because otherwise you're pretty much destined to drive right off the cliff. This is no joke, I remember this happening to a woman from church growing up. I've been scared to death of driving on Mt. Diablo ever since. The woman survived, luckily, and with only bumps and bruises. I remember she looked black and blue from head to toe.

ANYWAY, here we are, on the "devil mountain." Mt. Diablo was also the name of our school district growing up. The devil's school district, it's got a nice ring.

On a clear day you can see San Francisco and the Golden Gate. This day was not a clear day, but it was still really pretty from the top. We could see Antioch, Clayton, Concord, Martinez, and parts of Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek.

Me, looking for spiders in one of the caves . . .

Visitors!

2009-08-22T20:10:00.016-07:00

Last weekend we had our first real visitors stay with us for a few nights. My sister and her family came to see Pleasant Hill where we grew up and San Francisco. I headed out for them one day to do some touristy stuff.

First we headed to the San Francisco coast to catch the low tide at 6:30 in the morning. I had forgotten how cool the tidepools were. And to think growing up here we took field trips to see these kinds of things all the time. Lucky us!

A starfish.

A sea anemone.

Eww, a huge crab!

Seals . . . just taking it easy.

The cute Gardner Family. And all of them smiling at the same time!

Next we stopped to walk part of the Golden Gate Bridge.

View of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge.

Then we headed off to see the redwoods in Muir Woods. Sadly, this is the only picture I took while there. I love the smell. I even bought a Christmas ornament made from real redwood that really smells like redwood. Is it the holidays yet???

It was a fun time with the Gardners. Not only did we get to hang out and visit but I got to do some siteseeing I hadn't done since I was a kid. Come back again soon!

Single or Multiple Subject? That is the question . . .

2009-08-19T19:47:00.005-07:00

I'm really confused. As I've posted previously I am working on making a career change into teaching. I thought I was pretty well convinced on teaching middle school math. But now I'm not sure, I'm still considering grade school (upper grades preferably).

Yesterday I helped a neighbor-friend set up her 4th grade classroom to get a better idea of the whole teaching thing. She teaches 4th grade at a Catholic private school in Oakland. She's going to have 36 students this year! (That was actually the first time I'd driven through downtown Oakland alone, a little scary but not as bad as I was expecting). Anyway, her classroom was so cool! Just walking in got me really excited. All the books, the posters, the calendars, the desk organizers . . . even the class bunny. It just looked like a lot of fun. I know, I know, teaching is not all fun. Believe me, I know that virtually NO profession is ALL fun. But it was neat for me to feel some kind of connection or excitement with the teaching career since I have yet to find even the idea of another profession that makes me feel that way.

Although it was really neat to see her classroom, I left even more confused than before. Perhaps I'd rather teach multiple subjects instead of just math? Would math get boring after a while? Would I rather focus on one set of 30 or so students all day and get to know them better or focus on 150 students each semester for just one hour each day? I'm not sure. I feel like I need more time in the classroom to figure this out. I can't change my mind halfway through the certification program. In California you have to pass the specific certification exams prior to applying to the separate certification programs. Meanwhile I'm finding it very difficult to focus on studying my math textbooks when I'm still unsure about what I want to teach . . .

Comments welcome, especially from you teachers out there or fellow career-changers!

Clawson Rucker Reunion

2009-08-04T13:15:00.016-07:00

Rucker Lake (Sierra Nevada)

Building the campfire with Uncle Robb. (more like Uncle "Wobb" for these boys)

Chilling by the fire.

Kristin and Blackjack playing in the dirt. For once Kristin had someone to boss around.

The swim across the lake to THE ROCK.

Halfway there . . .

This is what Blackjack was doing while the rest of us were swimming hard across the lake. After a full day of eating every possible piece of food off the ground, he was just too tuckered out to do much of anything. Notice his treat bag right by his head and he doesn't even care!

And finally, the awesome cabin in Truckee where we stayed once the excitement of camping, bugs, and dirt wore off.

Too cute not to post

2009-08-04T12:59:00.004-07:00

Nail trimming time, too cute!

Fort Funston

2009-07-20T10:31:00.029-07:00

Sunday we drove to Fort Funston in San Francisco with a picnic lunch. It's not only a really beautiful beach but it's an off-leash dog park. When we left our place it was in the high 80's . . . by the time we got to the beach it was low 60's in San Francisco. So strange to need sweatshirts on the beach!

The upper part of the pathway leading down to the beach was so green and pretty! We didn't get a picture of the long sandy hike back up to the parking area.

Blackjack of course had a blast teasing the other dogs.

Lots of dogs having fun. On the left you can see the dead beached seal, sad.

Hang gliding! This may be next on my to-do list . . .

The beaches in northern California are SO different than the warm beachs of Mexico or Florida! Steve and I both remember taking trips to the beach as kids where we would convince each other to get in the water because "you warm up as you get numb!" We weren't in the mood to get "numb" this trip, maybe next time.

Winchester Mystery House

2009-07-15T14:53:00.064-07:00

Steve and I drove down to San Jose last month to tour this strange mansion. It was interesting, but more than that it was just weird. That woman was really out of it. If you've ever lived in or visited the Bay Area you may have heard of the strange Winchester Mystery House. If not, it's basically this mansion down in San Jose that was built back in the 1800's by a woman named Sarah Winchester. Apparently when her husband died she kind of went crazy and had this mansion built. But construction never stopped on the mansion, she kept having the workers continue building because a psychic told her if she ever stopped construction she would die. By the time she did die some 38 years later there were 160 rooms and the mansion was 7 stories. (the 1906 earthquake destroyed part of it and it is only 3 stories now).

There are secret passages in some of the rooms and also secret areas where she could spy on her servants. Some of the other strange details of the mansion . . .

Stairs that lead to the ceiling.

Stairs that are so short it takes a few switchbacks to get to the same height one regular flight of stairs would take you.

Some doors open up into the wall. But this "Door to Nowhere" on the 2nd floor actually opens to the outside!

Below on the left side of the picture is a window that opens to . . . a wall. And I am standing inside a 6 inch little gap or closet looking thing that is of absolutely no use at all.

One of the ballrooms.

View from out a window.

I hear they do flashlight tours on Halloween night . . . now THAT might be a little spooky!

Back from Mexican Paradise

2009-06-26T13:33:00.110-07:00

We're back from Cancun safe and sound!

For some reason there were a couple of things that took us by surprise in Mexico.

Starting with the not so good things:

1. Mexico has CRAZY NASTY humidity! Ok so that should not have come as a surprise, but I guess we just didn't think about it.
2. The Mexican sun is much much stronger than even the Phoenix sun we'd come so accustomed to.
3. Mexican chocolate and butter is just not very good. Good thing I found me a place to buy Snickers bars or I don't know what I would have done.

And then the good things that took us by surprise:

1. The service at our resort was spectacular.
2. Our concierges were very good looking guys! And so helpful.
3. The beach was just gorgeous, all the time.
4. They had petit fours waiting for us each night in our room, yum!
5. The restaurants had the most superb dinner entrees, we were never disappointed.
6. The resort's on-site entertainment was really great.
7. The wireless internet connection at the hotel was very dependable, we were able to check in on Blackjack through the puppy camp's webcam every day.

On to the pictures . . .

Check out our room and the amazing view!

We called the trip our anniversary trip, although it wasn't really, that's not until September. But the timing was right with just having moved and not starting work yet so we took advantage while we could. It was actually within a day or two of the 11 year anniversary of our first kiss. So it counts. There were SO many honeymooners there it was funny! We were constantly asked if we'd just gotten married. It was a fun time, although many of the other couples were honeymooners we were all right around the same age. And we all had one thing in common: all of us were nursing sunburns at some point or another during our stays.

Here are our legs (unknowingly) burning the first day on the amazing beach.

We were so good about putting on sunscreen and re-applying but that Mexican sun and sand just had it in for us. We were nursing our sunburned legs and faces for the next few days. Here we are the morning after "laying out" by the shaded pool. I've never gotten a sunburn on my upper legs like this one. It hurt to even use the restroom!

A couple of the days quick rainstorms passed through. We all just stayed put and waited it out while trying to keep our things dry under towels. The rain was nice and refreshing.

Here we are one night, after much effort to cover up our burns and make ourselves presentable in public. I even put some powder on Steve so his sunburned face wouldn't shine too much.

There was nightly entertainment. This was the crazy fire show.

We came back to our room each day to these fun towel animals:

The view out the opposite side of the hotel. There was a lagoon and a little kayak rental shack that I'm pretty sure these five mexican guys lived in. We never saw them not sitting at the table outside, not even at 1am or 5am.

The amazing infinity pool.

Dinner at the Oriental restaurant one night. I even tried the sushi. My favorite were the banana rolls (no fish).

We got up early one morning to watch the sunrise on the beach. It was like the movies, so beautiful!

One day we took a tour bus to Tulum to see the old Mayan ruins. The tour bus stopped by this funny little souvenir shop. Doesn't Steve just fit right in?

It was ridiculously hot, I wasn't sure I'd make it through the tour. Our tour guide was this cute little mexican guy but I just did not care enough about the history to make it through the heat.

Thankfully at the end of the tour there was a beach. We all stripped down and jumped in. It was such a pretty beach and the water was perfect. And we'd brought our disposable waterproof camera.

When we got out and went to get our things we found these iguanas taking over our side of the beach!

Our last day in Mexico was by far the best. We had a couple of spa treatments included in our package. The scalp treatment was SO NICE. It was like a head massage combined with a really nice hair treatment for 30 minutes. It was even more relaxing than the back massage.

After the spa we went out to the beach and found some guys to take us parasailing. SO FUN!!! I wanted to go out again as soon as they brought us in.

Pictures taken of us from the boat:

Pictures from the waterproof camera we took up with us. Look for the big sea turtle on the bottom right of the first picture below!

Then it was off to the pool for a while and then a romantic dinner on the beach. The food at this resort was so good. Dinner was always just amazing.

And they always had the cutest fruity drinks.

All in all we had a great time and can't wait to plan our next vacation!

I love you and then I hate you

2009-06-14T10:21:00.007-07:00

We went to the DMV last week to register our car and get CA drivers licenses. We made appointments online and they were ready for us when we walked in the door. It was really great! I've NEVER had such an easy time at a DMV visit in my life! This was my 5th time getting a new license. In fact, I've never had the chance to get my license renewed because we've never lived in the same state long enough to do so.

Anyway, back to the story. I received my original license in California when I was 16, however it expired more than 10 years ago so I had to start from scratch and take the written test. Blah. I'll never understand why they ask some of those questions. If it were my test I would just keep it to the basics and ask: Are drivers allowed to tailgate? NO! Should drivers be courteous on the roads? YES! Do we follow all signs and signals? YES! Do we pull over when a police officer turns his lights on behind us? YES! Good, now here's your license. Seriously though, I've been driving since I was 16, do I really need to take the written test all over again? It's not like the California road rules are so different from other states. Red still means stop and green still means go.

I passed the written test just fine but there was another test I failed. The dreaded vision test. I have been barely squeaking by for years on this test. But California tests differently than other states. Not only do you have to have 20/40 vision on both eyes together, you also have to have 20/40 on each eye separately. Without glasses. Apparently I passed the together test and my right eye tested 20/40 but my left eye was like 20/100+. Oh boy. They even let me stick my head in this little machine to do a more extensive test just to make sure. Failed that one too. You know it's bad when they ask you to read line 3 and not only can you not read any of the letters but you can's even tell which is line 3! My license will now forever read "CORRECTIVE LENSES NECESSARY." Argh!! I have been trying to avoid this since I first realized my vision was going downhill 6 or 7 years ago. I blame it on all the spreadsheets. I do have a pair of glasses and I do use them every once in a while. Like when I know I'll have trouble seeing long distances, if there's going to be a projector screen in a work meeting...in interviews because I figure glasses make people look older and smarter, right? But one place I hate to wear glasses is in the car. I've never gotten used to them. Headlights glare on them and I feel like I can't see as well with them on when trying to change lanes and such because of the reflections. But I can definitely see better with them on, for sure. I can actually read the names on the street signs, that's a plus. But I don't want someone telling me I HAVE to wear them ALL the time when driving! Now if I get pulled over and am not wearing them I can be ticketed.

So that's my story. In and out of the DMV in under an hour with our licenses and our car registered.

I love the California DMV!

But now I'm just positive I picked up a flu virus on that eye machine. Steve and I have been miserably fighting it ever since (and with company at our house!) and better be over it by Tuesday because we're finally taking our trip to Mexico!

I hate that nasty germ-filled California DMV!

The Innards

2009-06-10T19:38:00.036-07:00

Ok, the house is finally beginning to have some kind of order though it's still a work in progress. But I figure it always will be to an extent so I gave in and took some pictures tonight. Let's take a little virtual tour, shall we?

First, here is the shared garage entrance, then our private garage. We're down to one car for now and it's great to have the extra storage space!

Here's the little storage room just inside. Steve has been assigned the task of retrieving all items from the garage and storage room. Spiders have been spotted down there and I will not be rummaging through boxes and such at the risk of coming into contact with one of those nasty 8-legged creatures. On the bright side, Steve now has a great place to hide my Christmas and birthday presents . . .
(Sidenote: We lived 2 years in Phoenix and NOT ONCE did I have a bad spider experience. For that reason alone I may convince Steve to move back at some point).

Next we go up a few stairs to the front door entrance.

Then take a left up two flights of stairs to our main living area (technically the 3rd floor).

The kitchen is right at the top of the stairs, very open concept. We got lucky, this kitchen is my dream kitchen! And finally a fridge with a water dispenser! I've been waiting for one of these all my 29 years, I can now die happy.

Off the kitchen is the laundry room.

Then the living area. Steve finally got his big screen as a graduation present.

We decided to do away with our dining room set to have more room in the living area for the dog and for a better thru-way to the balcony.

Our new "dining room."

Blackjack's "room."

Our HUGE balcony! This was one of the major reasons we chose this place. Although we had a little warmer weather in mind when imagining sipping cold drinks in patio chairs! A high of 67 in June is just not going to cut it. Notice the high glass sound walls. Blackjack loves this balcony, he could sniff around all day. I'm going to have to videotape the noise he makes when he sees or hears a dog passing on the street below. It's the funniest thing, he sounds like he's whining and crying at the same time and then he books it down the stairs to the front door thinking he'll be able to meet up with the other dog. It's too cute.

View from the balcony looking south. That's 580 in the distance.

View from the balcony looking west. Our street has 3 lanes which was meant to accomodate the traffic the big shopping center across the street was to bring in. However the project has been put on hold so as of now there is only a Lowe's and a Buffalo Wild Wings which results in very few cars passing our place.

Back to the house . . . off the kitchen are a couple more stairs to the half bath.

More stairs to the 4th level.

Round the corner landing and then just a couple more stairs . . . you can make it!

To the right you'll see the first full bath.

A little to the left you'll find our office slash gym slash guest room slash miscellaneous whatever room. And I have to say, we are pretty awesome. We managed to fit a desk, a bike, a treadmill, a couch, and a tv all in one spare bedroom. With room for an air mattress in the middle. Every inch of this space is being utilized.

And to those of you who have missed Kramer welcoming you into our home . . . he's ba-ack!

The master bedroom. Please excuse the mess, this room is a work in progress.

Another balcony off the master bedroom.

The master bath.

Whew! So those are the innards of our place. Do you realize you just climbed 49 stairs during our little virtual tour? Congratulations, give yourself a breather. And if you're ever in the bay area visiting, give us a call! Or better yet, come stay at our place if you're willing to put up with the stairs . . . and the dog.

Our new home

2009-06-08T23:39:00.012-07:00

This is the outside of our new place in Dublin, CA. We're about 40 miles from San Francisco but just 10 minutes or so from Steve's new office. These are townhome style condos. Ours is the one in the middle that has the covered 2nd floor balcony and uncovered 3rd floor balcony. It's actually 4 stories since the garage is on the bottom level. We're getting our exercise, but even better, Blackjack is getting his exercise running up and down the stairs all day every time he hears a noise.

This is the view looking down the stairs. It's a much more menacing view looking up the stairs from the front door. Especially for the movers. Sorry movers! You did a great job! And sorry about the one mover that started having a burning sensation in his chest while his arm went numb. Yeah, scary. I guess moving a treadmill and queen-sized bedroom set up to the 4th floor can do that to you.

We got the keys to our new place a few days before the movers came with our things. The place was FREEZING! I mean, it's one thing for the outside high to only get in the high 70's but it's unacceptable for the inside to be in the 60's! I'm used to the thermostat set between 78 and 82. This was my attempt at staying warm on a lovely June day in California. What did I get myself into?!

Moving Day

2009-06-08T23:31:00.005-07:00

Moving, moving. Moves are always such fun. Although it's so much better when someone else comes and does your packing and moving for you. Thank you Chevron!

The move has been especially hard on Blackjack. All the unfamiliar boxes stress him out. In fact, we had a fun little visit to the pet ER when he couldn't keep his food down all day and we thought he had some rawhide blocking his intestines. He was just fine. The move has just got him a little stressed out and turned him into a very needy puppy. He has to be ON TOP of one of us at all times. And seeing as he's slightly larger than a lap dog this can make things interesting.

Officially an MBA!

2009-06-08T23:14:00.007-07:00

Steve is officially an MBA! Two years of late nights and short weekends but such a fun time for us both as well.

I have no pictures of my own of Steve from graduation day since he took the camera with him so this is my attempt at recording that day using pictures I found on facebook.

Steve is in the middle of the last row below.

Obama

2009-05-14T12:06:00.028-07:00

ASU commencement last night . . . wow. It was amazing! Sure we had to arrive at the outdoor stadium at 3pm in the 102 degree Arizona sun, go through security and then commencement didn't begin until 7. But the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES was there. How cool. By the time commencement started the stadium was pretty much filled,especially if you counted all the students sitting ON the field. That's 70,000 people! Steve's MBA group was right in the middle of the field in the sun most of the afternoon but my group had seats way up in the stands just on the president's left and they were SHADED the entire time! Awesome. Doesn't get better than that.

Here's our group sitting up in the stands way up there. Me, Meredith, Jenna, and JT. Can you find us?

A view of the crowd. Thank goodness for casual dress!

We had a great time hanging out and people watching and just chatting through the afternoon. Alice Cooper came and performed which was neat. Especially since JT is friends with Alice Cooper's sons that were in the band and he was calling their cell phones just before they came on stage. Too funny.

We were sitting just above where the snipers set up watch, which was way cool. And we had binoculars. Air Force One flew just overhead above the stadium to Sky Harbor about an hour before the ceremony. Then we had the perfect seats to see the president walk in. Awesome.

His speech was great. One of hope and encouragement. And of course he joked throughout about not receiving an honorary degree from ASU, which was cool. Then he stayed for the entire commencement and shook all the doctorate recipients' hands and others. Poor guy was sweating in that heat and wearing his robe.

All in all it was a great night and I'm so glad we went! A once in a lifetime opportunity for sure. I still can't believe so many chickened out because of the heat. Wussies!

(Thanks to Sabrina and Mer for these pictures!)

Who Let the Dog Out

2009-04-25T15:23:00.003-07:00

Blackjack is a good dog. Most of the time. However he is not 100% trustworthy alone in the house so we crate him when we're at school/work. Here's how it goes:

Whoever is the last to leave in the morning puts the dog in his crate (he runs to get in when we say "crate it!" and waits for his treat, too funny). We give him a treat and lock the crate up, lock the house up and leave. I was the last one out the door yesterday.

Last night Steve got back from class, opened the front door and . . . no dog to be seen. The crate was wide open. Of course Steve thought I must have come home early. Nope. So he looks around and finds the dog . . . in our bedroom, laying on our bed, with socks, underwear, and bits of tissue scattered all around him. I remember giving him a treat this morning, but apparently I skipped that next step of LOCKING HIS CRATE!

This morning's poop provided evidence of just how much tissue he scarfed while enjoying his independence a little TOO much. Oops.

Pros and Cons

2009-04-20T18:56:00.014-07:00

As I drove to work this morning, I started thinking about all the things I'm going to miss about Phoenix. And it made me really depressed, even though I'm very excited about moving to San Francisco. Phoenix is the only place we've lived that I feel like we could truly call home for a long time. I mean, how could I not love:

1. The actual tan my skin gets here! No laughing, it IS tanner than it's ever been in my life.

2. The wonderful DRY heat that is so nice to lay out in. A lazy river in Phoenix is as good as it gets people. I never knew the sun could be so relaxing. Apartment pools are everywhere and they're open year round with no lifeguards.

3. All the outdoor things to do around here (albeit they are much more fun to do October thru April).

4. Not having to highlight my hair so much, the sun is a more natural way to go. Going without highlights is not even an option. I would highlight my hair over eating. As my mom once said, my natural hair color is "dirty dishwater blonde." YUCK.

5. Phoenix is driving distance to lots of cool places: Vegas, Grand Canyon, Mexico, Flagstaff, Sedona, Las Vegas . . . Vegas is my second favorite city, for many of the same reasons Phoenix is. DRY HEAT = perfection!

6. We can leave the door open for the dog October through April and not worry about the heat or a/c going out the door. No bugs here either, but that may just be our complex.

7. I don't have to stress about big spiders, cicadas, and bugs falling from the trees overhead or off the underside of the backyard deck. Yes, this was an issue back in the DC humidity! It was TERRIFYING.

8. Burning more calories in less time due to an increased amount of sweat.

9. My box of winter clothes stays in storage. The coldest weather here is at the office when the a/c is blasted too high.

10. I'm going to need a whole new wardrobe for San Francisco weather. We Phoenicians wear just enough clothing to cover the bare essentials. Such freedom, I love it!

To make myself feel a little better, I made a list of all the DOWNFALLS of living in Phoenix.

1. Triple digits are expected tomorrow and it's still April!

2. My electric bill will go way down.

3. I won't have to fight Steve on whether to keep the a/c at 82 degrees or 84.

4. I'll no longer get in my car only to find my water bottle that was sitting there all day is not just hot, it's literally at boiling temperature.

5. I won't dehydrate after 5 minutes of hiking.

6. I can wear my hair down for more than 6 months out of the year.

7. I can go outside for more than 10 minutes without sunscreen.

8. I can walk barefoot by the pool, and flip-flops won't be a necessity at all times. Even at the waterpark in Phoenix, one must wear shoes all the way to the slide and hold them over your head as you slide down.

9. I will no longer come home from a day in the sun to wash my hands in the sink only to find that the water temperature gets no cooler than lightly scalding hot between the months of April and October. How refreshing!

10. All this sun = more freckles = me no happy!

I suppose I could give San Francisco a try . . .

California here we come

2009-04-12T14:37:00.012-07:00

It's official. I've put in my notice at work so I can officially announce we are moving to the San Francisco bay area next month. Yeah for Steve for his job offer and yeah for it being in San Francisco and not Houston! Boo for the high cost of living. Ah well, there's a reason people are willing to pay so much to live there right?

Steve and I both grew up in the bay area but moved away right after high school and have not lived there since. My family has all moved away as well except one brother and Steve's parents are the only ones left there on his side. From California we moved to Utah for school, then to DC for our first jobs, then to Arizona for grad school, and now we're headed back to California. There were short stints in Houston, Florida, Argentina, and Russia along the way as well. We'll see how long California will take us for :)

We've already started making a list of all the fun weekend trips we'll be taking. Tahoe, Napa, Route 1, Monterey Bay, Yosemite, Santa Cruz. . . there is no shortage of places to visit that's for sure.

We're hoping to take a few weeks off between jobs to get settled in, do some exploring, and take a trip down to Cancun for a few days to relax and unwind before starting this next journey. We're very excited!

Springtime has arrived!

2009-04-04T18:54:00.030-07:00

For some reason I feel like I can't post on the blog unless I have pictures. This is why a month might go by without a post. Not because we haven't been taking pictures to talk about. But because I'm too lazy to load the pictures onto the computer. The very simple task finally made it to my to-do list for today and what do you know, I'm actually going to be able to mark it off.

So let's see, what's been going on here . . . The weather is starting to warm up. Although it's been going back and forth between 90 degrees and back to the low 70's(which is quite cold for us here in Phoenix). So we've been getting outdoors a lot more lately, that's always fun. I'm beginning to understand why my skin never got anything past pasty white in DC. When it's not winter, it's too stinking humid to go outside for more than a minute or two! Since moving here, my skin color has gone from pasty white to a slightly more golden version of pale. I'll take it! We love Phoenix. We're retiring here, it's official.

Last night we went to the Greyhound dog racing park, something we've been meaning to check out since we realized it was just around the corner from our place. It was very . . . interesting. I had a hard time finding the line between having fun and feeling bad for these dogs chasing the "bunny" around the track. Don't they eventually realize it's NOT REAL?! My favorite was a male named "Late Night Luvah." He came in first in his race.

Steve is on an ASU co-ed softball team made up of the MBA students. Here's the team during their first game.

Steve after a nice swing.

Off and running.

Steve playing outfield.

Now for the Blackjack pictures, of course:

Dogpark dog wrestling. Round 13 or so. These two couldn't get enough of each other.

And apparently this little guy couldn't get enough of Blackjack. Now would this be considered "nurture" or "nature?" :)

This morning we hiked South Mountain again, only this time with the dog, and we managed to stay on the "real" trail and didn't get lost. No rattlesnakes this time either. I love this picture, check out Blackjack's very white underbite. We'll have to think about headgear when he gets a little older . . .

Playdate with my co-worker Mer's chocolate lab Muley, her parents' beagle Snoops, and Blackjack. Muley spent most of the time jumping in and out of the pool retrieving her toy that just "happened" to keep falling in, while Snoops spent most of the time hiding from Blackjack. Eventually Blackjack convinced Muley to play with him and they raced each other around the backyard. Too funny.

And finally, Blackjack really thinks he's a human. Lately he's taken a liking to sleeping up on my pillow with my head. But he's so cute it's hard to make him move.

I'm eligible!

2009-03-06T17:46:00.003-08:00

I received my annual Social Security Statement in the mail and it's official! I've earned my 40 credits! I now qualify for retirement/disability/medicare benefits. And it only took a short 13 years in the workforce.

But then of course came the kicker:

"Your estimated benefits are based on current law. Congress has made changes to the law in the past and can do so at any time. The law governing benefit amounts may change because, by 2041, the payroll taxes collected will be enough to pay only about 78 percent of scheduled benefits."

I'm not planning on receiving any type of government sponsored retirement benefits, so it's interesting that their numbers still show a 78% payout prediction. We shall see.

Oops, I just went out and pulled out last year's statement to compare and apparently I was eligible last year and didn't know it. You mean I worked all of 2008 for nothing?! ;)