Saturday, December 30, 2006
HOUSE!
So it's not 100% yet (the seller still needs to sign the paper and send it back), but it looks like I've found my new house! We've gone through several days of offers and counter-offers before settling on a nice price for me. I'm so excited and so happy! I'll give more details as soon as I can - I should hear tomorrow as to the finalization of everything. Once that happens, we go into the 14 days of loans, appraisals and inspections! If all is well with that stuff, I'll be handed the keys at 5:00pm on Friday, January 26th! This is such a dream come true for me - I've worked so long and hard for this! It's totally scary and exciting all at once! I'm exhausted but excited! With those few contradictions said, I'm off to bed. Good night to all!
Monday, December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas!
MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Mine was great - I got some wonderful gifts (yeah for MAC makeup and the whole "Friends" collection!) and spent time with my family. We sang midnight mass last night, which was beautiful and Kati's home, which is always a blast. I took the rest of the week off, so I plan to do a lot of sleeping (time to catch up from the past few crazy weeks) and some more house hunting. Most of all, I plan to relax and spend time with Mom, Dad and Kati! Thanks to everyone who called, texted or emailed today!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Weekend Wrapup
Another crazy week here! Thursday night I dyed my hair dark again - only this time I did it on my own and finally got it dark enough. I'm pretty sure that my hair dresser refused to do it that dark because he was scared. I love it. Now I have to face him the next time I go in for a hair cut. That's always the awkward part. But hey, I'm saving my money right now, so the hair and nails had to go. It's a good thing, really. I would much rather have a house!
I spent all of Saturday morning in the yard raking leaves. I woke up with this brilliant idea that I was going to earn my keep and get it done so my dad wouldn't have it. It didn't look like a lot of leaves... boy, was I wrong! Three hours, one entire "green" garbage can and four gigantic Hefty bags later, I was done. Cody and I were so pooped we had to take a 2 hour nap. Seriously, my little shoulders are sore today - who would have thought that raking would be so much exercise? And who would have thought that three little trees could drop so many leaves!?
Today was spent researching puppies. I've been looking just for kicks - I definitely want two when I get the house for protection (and company), so I thought I would be proactive and research the best breed for me. The first that came to mind was the Siberian Husky. It's one of the most beautiful dogs in the world, however, the following was on EVERY website I found:
THESE DOGS WILL RUN AWAY IF LEFT OFF A LEASH, EVEN IF YOU THINK THEY'RE TRAINED".
Um, yeah, not what I would like to deal with. Not to mention the fact that they like to jump and can jump as high as 8 feet. I definitely don't want a dog that could hurdle me.
Next up on my list was the German Shepherd. They're friendly, easily trained and fiercely loyal. They also have a double undercoat that they shed at least twice a year. Now, I am officially not allergic to dogs (thank you allergy tests) but I don't know that I want to deal with that kind of fur. I've seen the fur fly, so to speak, with Cody and it's a mess.
After German Shepherds was the lovable Labrador Retriever. Things got interesting here. They come in three colors (ok, four, but I'm not paying for the rare silver one) - chocolate, yellow and black. They are great watchdogs, very loyal, easily trained, although a little more independent and stubborn than their cousins the Golden Retriever. Basically, it's me in dog form. I want two. Now. A boy and a girl, one yellow, one chocolate.
Now that that's settled, I just need to get a house...
I spent all of Saturday morning in the yard raking leaves. I woke up with this brilliant idea that I was going to earn my keep and get it done so my dad wouldn't have it. It didn't look like a lot of leaves... boy, was I wrong! Three hours, one entire "green" garbage can and four gigantic Hefty bags later, I was done. Cody and I were so pooped we had to take a 2 hour nap. Seriously, my little shoulders are sore today - who would have thought that raking would be so much exercise? And who would have thought that three little trees could drop so many leaves!?
Today was spent researching puppies. I've been looking just for kicks - I definitely want two when I get the house for protection (and company), so I thought I would be proactive and research the best breed for me. The first that came to mind was the Siberian Husky. It's one of the most beautiful dogs in the world, however, the following was on EVERY website I found:
THESE DOGS WILL RUN AWAY IF LEFT OFF A LEASH, EVEN IF YOU THINK THEY'RE TRAINED".
Um, yeah, not what I would like to deal with. Not to mention the fact that they like to jump and can jump as high as 8 feet. I definitely don't want a dog that could hurdle me.
Next up on my list was the German Shepherd. They're friendly, easily trained and fiercely loyal. They also have a double undercoat that they shed at least twice a year. Now, I am officially not allergic to dogs (thank you allergy tests) but I don't know that I want to deal with that kind of fur. I've seen the fur fly, so to speak, with Cody and it's a mess.
After German Shepherds was the lovable Labrador Retriever. Things got interesting here. They come in three colors (ok, four, but I'm not paying for the rare silver one) - chocolate, yellow and black. They are great watchdogs, very loyal, easily trained, although a little more independent and stubborn than their cousins the Golden Retriever. Basically, it's me in dog form. I want two. Now. A boy and a girl, one yellow, one chocolate.
Now that that's settled, I just need to get a house...
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
The Rape of Big Red Part Deux
Yes, I know it's been a long time. I've been busy. Sorry. Before I get to all that, I'm sad to report that yet again, some dumb punk decided to smash my car window. Only this time, they didn't get anything because there's nothing left in my car for them to take! HAHA! Take that stupid vandals! I'm considering leaving a little steno notebook in my glove box that says "Please sign my guest book". That said, it was fairly easy to fix - the nice glass guys came right out to my house! Fortunately, I have great insurance with a really low deductible, so it didn't hit the pocketbook too hard.
Here's my lovely car window at 11:30pm on Sunday night:
On to happier things. Well, sort of. A week or so before the big performances, I got sick. Go figure. I had gone since February without feeling so much as slightly sick to drop dead sinus infection. I tried to talk and think my way out of it, but, alas, I was definitely sick. I even stayed home from work! I managed to get it all pulled together for production week and the shows went off without a hitch. I was so excited that Adam, Eva and Oma could all make it along with almost my entire church choir! I'm so touched that everyone took time out of their Saturday night to listen to a little music! The shows were awesome - honestly, the Christmas show is one of my favorites. I love the audience sing along because it's so amazing to hear and entire theatre singing back to you!
I did manage to make it back to the pool today. I'm contemplating masters swimming, although I'm not sure if I'm ready for the time commitment. I just like the idea of having coaches (makes working out so much easier) and potentially being able to do some races (it's been forever, and I won't necessarily go back into full blown competitive mode, but maybe just one every now and then). I definitely need to get back into shape, and that might be the way to go. I'll probably wait until after I get the house to get that all worked out.
Finally, to my dear friend, the anonymous commenter (freedom of speech is great, isn't it?). Please know I meant no harm in my last post. Having lived in San Diego for 7 years, I made friends with many Latino people (according to the 2000 US Census, those of the Hispanic/Latino race actually do outnumber other races in San Diego and other cities close to the boarder). And you do tend to find the best authentic Mexican food in our great state (try finding it in Georgia... I'm not kidding). That said, I'm quite sorry if I offended you - in no way were my statements meant to be taken as anything other than a lighthearted joke.
Good night!
Here's my lovely car window at 11:30pm on Sunday night:
On to happier things. Well, sort of. A week or so before the big performances, I got sick. Go figure. I had gone since February without feeling so much as slightly sick to drop dead sinus infection. I tried to talk and think my way out of it, but, alas, I was definitely sick. I even stayed home from work! I managed to get it all pulled together for production week and the shows went off without a hitch. I was so excited that Adam, Eva and Oma could all make it along with almost my entire church choir! I'm so touched that everyone took time out of their Saturday night to listen to a little music! The shows were awesome - honestly, the Christmas show is one of my favorites. I love the audience sing along because it's so amazing to hear and entire theatre singing back to you!
I did manage to make it back to the pool today. I'm contemplating masters swimming, although I'm not sure if I'm ready for the time commitment. I just like the idea of having coaches (makes working out so much easier) and potentially being able to do some races (it's been forever, and I won't necessarily go back into full blown competitive mode, but maybe just one every now and then). I definitely need to get back into shape, and that might be the way to go. I'll probably wait until after I get the house to get that all worked out.
Finally, to my dear friend, the anonymous commenter (freedom of speech is great, isn't it?). Please know I meant no harm in my last post. Having lived in San Diego for 7 years, I made friends with many Latino people (according to the 2000 US Census, those of the Hispanic/Latino race actually do outnumber other races in San Diego and other cities close to the boarder). And you do tend to find the best authentic Mexican food in our great state (try finding it in Georgia... I'm not kidding). That said, I'm quite sorry if I offended you - in no way were my statements meant to be taken as anything other than a lighthearted joke.
Good night!
Friday, December 1, 2006
Signs You Live In California
I am a "CALIFORNIAN." That means...
- I live next door to Mexicans
- Our chicks are WAYYYY hotter than yours
- I say "like" and "dude" and "totally" and "peace out" and "chill" and "tight" and I say them often
- I know what real cheese & avocados taste like
- I don't get snow days off because there's only snow in Mammoth, Tahoe, Shasta, and Big Bear
- I know 65 mph really means 100
- The drinking age is 21 but everyone starts at 14 (legally 18 if you live close enough to the border)
- My governor can kick your governors ass
- I can go out at midnight
- I judge people based on what area code they live in
- I might get looked at funny by locals when I'm on vacation in their state, but when they find out I'm from California I turn into a Greek GOD
- We don't stop at stop signs... we do a "California roll"
No cop no stop baby!
- I can get fresh and REAL Mexican food 24 hours a day!!!!!
-We're the Golden State. Not the Cheese State. Not the Garden State.....GOLDEN!!!
- We have In-N-Out!!!! (Arizona and Vegas are lucky we share that with them)
- IF we wear shoes, they are always sandals
- All the TV shows you "other" states watch get filmed here
- All the best athletes come from here
-We have Stanford, Cal, UCLA, and USC all in one state
- We have the most representation in the House of Representatives!!!!!!!, which means MY opinion means more than yours, which means I'm better than you
- I live next door to Mexicans
- Our chicks are WAYYYY hotter than yours
- I say "like" and "dude" and "totally" and "peace out" and "chill" and "tight" and I say them often
- I know what real cheese & avocados taste like
- I don't get snow days off because there's only snow in Mammoth, Tahoe, Shasta, and Big Bear
- I know 65 mph really means 100
- The drinking age is 21 but everyone starts at 14 (legally 18 if you live close enough to the border)
- My governor can kick your governors ass
- I can go out at midnight
- I judge people based on what area code they live in
- I might get looked at funny by locals when I'm on vacation in their state, but when they find out I'm from California I turn into a Greek GOD
- We don't stop at stop signs... we do a "California roll"
No cop no stop baby!
- I can get fresh and REAL Mexican food 24 hours a day!!!!!
-We're the Golden State. Not the Cheese State. Not the Garden State.....GOLDEN!!!
- We have In-N-Out!!!! (Arizona and Vegas are lucky we share that with them)
- IF we wear shoes, they are always sandals
- All the TV shows you "other" states watch get filmed here
- All the best athletes come from here
-We have Stanford, Cal, UCLA, and USC all in one state
- We have the most representation in the House of Representatives!!!!!!!, which means MY opinion means more than yours, which means I'm better than you
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Lessons Learned Over the Past 24 Hours
In an effort to not get any sicker than I already am, I have turned to radical treatments. I stayed home from work today, cocooned in my room with the humidifier on. I've eaten every fruit known to man and am religiously taking my vitamin C pills. Last night, just before bed, I remembered a trick told to me by my very wise vocal coach in college. It worked then, so I assumed it would work again (see Lesson #1). The trick was to take a raw clove of garlic, chew it and swallow it. Sounds simple, doesn't it? So, here I am, standing in the kitchen with my parents watching me like I was about to jump off a building. I had picked the largest clove I could find, thinking more garlic = more things to fight disease (see Lesson #2). I took the first bite, chewed it and choked it down. This led mom to say something along the lines of "You're taking that like a man". Never a good sign. The second, third and fourth bites were very difficult. In fact, at one point, my eyes teared up because my tongue felt like it was on fire. Being the brilliant young woman that I am, I decided to have a "chaser". It works for tequila, doesn't it? So I pour myself a great big glass of orange juice, thinking that the sweet taste might balance out the burning fires of hell on my tongue (see Lesson #3). So, here I stand in the kitchen, garlic in stomach, empty glass in hand. Things began to churn, so I thought, maybe I need something else in my tummy to help calm it down. There were bananas directly in front of me, so I wolf one down (see Lesson #4). At this point, I decide the best thing to do is to brush my teeth and head off to bed. I get past the toothbrushing part and lay down to sleep. That's when the really bad stuff started. Apparently your stomach doesn't like raw garlic, orange juice, bananas and laying down. The bad news is that I barfed. The good news is I think it was mostly oj and banana. The garlic seemed to stay down. I went down, had another banana, brushed my teeth and went to bed. When I woke up this morning, the first thing I smelled was garlic. Never a good thing. Ever. Today I still felt sick, so I stayed home from work. I did a little research on the effects of garlic (see Lesson #5) and, surprisingly, have felt a little better today than yesterday. I'm thinking this might get better sooner rather than later. The research did point out one little thing:
The ingestion of one to two cloves of raw garlic per day is considered safe in adults. The most common side effect of ingested garlic is breath and body odor. Consumption of excessive amounts of raw garlic, especially on an empty stomach, can cause gastrointestinal upset, flatulence, and changes in the intestinal flora. There have been reports of allergic dermatitis, burns, and blisters from topical application of raw garlic.
Now, I'm not sure what intestinal flora are, but I don't think mine have changed. I did notice a little garlic "odor" today, and pretty much everything I ate or drank had a distinct garlic flavor. It appears that I only had one of the adverse effects (thank God it wasn't the flatulence), which was the gastrointestinal upset. Kind of a nice way to put it. When I talked to Brig today she mentioned that now we were "barf buddies" (she had a little "episode" this weekend after a long night out). So gross Brig. We'd never make it as bulimics.
Now, all of that said, I decided to give it another try tonight. Mom made a great stew, so I cut up a clove and added it to my portion. The results were wonderful - no "gastrointestinal upset"! (see Lesson #6). I'm also happy to report that my sore throat is mostly gone. Woo hoo!
Lessons Learned Over the Past 24 Hours:
The ingestion of one to two cloves of raw garlic per day is considered safe in adults. The most common side effect of ingested garlic is breath and body odor. Consumption of excessive amounts of raw garlic, especially on an empty stomach, can cause gastrointestinal upset, flatulence, and changes in the intestinal flora. There have been reports of allergic dermatitis, burns, and blisters from topical application of raw garlic.
Now, I'm not sure what intestinal flora are, but I don't think mine have changed. I did notice a little garlic "odor" today, and pretty much everything I ate or drank had a distinct garlic flavor. It appears that I only had one of the adverse effects (thank God it wasn't the flatulence), which was the gastrointestinal upset. Kind of a nice way to put it. When I talked to Brig today she mentioned that now we were "barf buddies" (she had a little "episode" this weekend after a long night out). So gross Brig. We'd never make it as bulimics.
Now, all of that said, I decided to give it another try tonight. Mom made a great stew, so I cut up a clove and added it to my portion. The results were wonderful - no "gastrointestinal upset"! (see Lesson #6). I'm also happy to report that my sore throat is mostly gone. Woo hoo!
Lessons Learned Over the Past 24 Hours:
- Lesson #1: Things that used to work for you in college generally do not work after college.
- Lesson #2: Don't bite off more than you can chew. Literally. Less is more, especially when it comes to cloves of garlic.
- Lesson #3: Garlic and orange juice don't mix. Ever.
- Lesson #4: Garlic and bananas don't mix. Ever.
- Lesson #5: Research radical cures BEFORE doing them.
- Lesson #6: Mixing raw garlic WITH food is good!
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Sick?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. The reason you had to wait for 7 days is that I'm formulating the best blog ever! Actually, probably not since I'm feeling poopy today. I woke up with a really sore throat that was followed by major sinus pressure and a headache. Things are not looking good on the sinus front. It's like the immaculate conception of sore throats though, because it doesn't feel like anything is dripping. It's just sore. Very weird.
Anyways, Thanksgiving was wonderful! Kati and Derrek flew in Wednesday afternoon. I was so happy to finally see her again and to get to spend some time together! We hung out and relaxed after a brief trip to the mall (you know Kati). On Thursday, we drove to Adam and Eva's house for the Third Annual Thanksgiving Hullabaloo. As always, it was amazing. Dinner was delicious and "elimination pictionary" was totally a blast! I won a Starbucks card! That's right, my family's Thanksgiving has prizes! Neener neener neener.
Here's the yearly "kids" picture... we decided this year it should be a dog pile:
It was so good to see Jake, Emy and Jared again! The King and Queen of the Hullabaloo (ie. Adam and Eva) put together a wonderful spread!
Here's the whole family gathered around the chocolate fountain:
And, of course, what holiday is complete without Onyx in costume? This year she made a brief appearance in a turkey sweater that was so tight it would make Britney Spears proud:
Can you tell she loved every minute of it?
After all of that yumminess we stopped by Grandma's house to see Grandma, Aunt Sandi and Geoff. We then drove back home.
Friday we hung around the house and watched movies - much needed rest! Friday night we decided to hit the town and go dancing... here's our pre-dancing picture:
We had a great night out on the town and tried a new club that was actually pretty cool!
Saturday morning we got up at the crack of dawn to go to San Francisco (can you tell we tried to cram all kinds of fun into 4 days?). Derrek had never been, so we hit all of the "cool" places.
The Golden Gate:
Pier 39:
And Union Square:
We also went to Lombard Street and did some shopping at Union Square. Then, all of the sudden, it was all over and Kati and Derrek were heading home. Boo! Now I'm home sick. Double boo!
Anyways, Thanksgiving was wonderful! Kati and Derrek flew in Wednesday afternoon. I was so happy to finally see her again and to get to spend some time together! We hung out and relaxed after a brief trip to the mall (you know Kati). On Thursday, we drove to Adam and Eva's house for the Third Annual Thanksgiving Hullabaloo. As always, it was amazing. Dinner was delicious and "elimination pictionary" was totally a blast! I won a Starbucks card! That's right, my family's Thanksgiving has prizes! Neener neener neener.
Here's the yearly "kids" picture... we decided this year it should be a dog pile:
It was so good to see Jake, Emy and Jared again! The King and Queen of the Hullabaloo (ie. Adam and Eva) put together a wonderful spread!
Here's the whole family gathered around the chocolate fountain:
And, of course, what holiday is complete without Onyx in costume? This year she made a brief appearance in a turkey sweater that was so tight it would make Britney Spears proud:
Can you tell she loved every minute of it?
After all of that yumminess we stopped by Grandma's house to see Grandma, Aunt Sandi and Geoff. We then drove back home.
Friday we hung around the house and watched movies - much needed rest! Friday night we decided to hit the town and go dancing... here's our pre-dancing picture:
We had a great night out on the town and tried a new club that was actually pretty cool!
Saturday morning we got up at the crack of dawn to go to San Francisco (can you tell we tried to cram all kinds of fun into 4 days?). Derrek had never been, so we hit all of the "cool" places.
The Golden Gate:
Pier 39:
And Union Square:
We also went to Lombard Street and did some shopping at Union Square. Then, all of the sudden, it was all over and Kati and Derrek were heading home. Boo! Now I'm home sick. Double boo!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Breaking and Entering... sort of
Today I was out running some errands. It's been a long two days and I'm a little tired. As I was leaving Target, I walked up to a car that looked identical to mine. I pushed the little unlock button on my remote and it didn't work. I sighed and figured it was time to get a new battery, so I stuck the key in the door and opened it... only to look inside and see it wasn't my car. That's right, my key opened someone else's car that happened to be red and sitting one row over from where I parked my car. I was completely in shock and actually said out loud "This isn't my car". A guy who was walking by looked at me and said "cool". So, here's my question - who has the key to my car?!
In other news, KATI COMES HOME TOMORROW! Woot! I'm so excited, I don't even know if I can sleep!
In other news, KATI COMES HOME TOMORROW! Woot! I'm so excited, I don't even know if I can sleep!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Aida
The highlight of my weekend was seeing "Aida" with my Dad. It was the cutest thing ever - I really wanted to go to the opera, but mom was working and none of my friends really care for it. So I was going to go by myself, but Dad said he'd take me. In case you didn't know it, Dad really doesn't like opera. He tried so hard. I sent him the synopsis the day before ("Aida" is in Italian - I figured he'd like it better if he knew the story before he went). He read through it and then in between each act read through the synopsis in the program so he know what was going to happen next. I think he only nodded off once (he claims he was just listening with his eyes closed). It was such a fun night and just goes to show how much my daddy loves me. :) The best part was on the way home. We were talking about the story and the music and Dad (who, by the way, had been on a plane all day flying back from the East Coast - we're gonna chalk this one off to being tired) turns to me (after listening to three hours of opera) and says: "You know, it's almost like they were singing in a foreign language.". Um, yeah. LOL
Here's us looking all cute in the lobby between Acts 2 and 3:
In other news, I'm SO excited that Kati and Derrek are coming home this week! Woo hoo! We have the Hullabaloo on Thursday (our family's quirky version of Thanksgiving) and I just got the greatest pajamas. They're called "Santa Claws". Basically, it's a bunch of lobsters dressed up like Santa with little seahorses pulling their sleighs and palm trees with Christmas lights. I know we're still a few days before the Christmas season, but I had to have them!
On that note, I'm going to get ready for bed. Tomorrow is my BIG presentation (think happy thoughts between 2-4pm) and then it's smooth sailing to Turkey Day. Night!
Here's us looking all cute in the lobby between Acts 2 and 3:
In other news, I'm SO excited that Kati and Derrek are coming home this week! Woo hoo! We have the Hullabaloo on Thursday (our family's quirky version of Thanksgiving) and I just got the greatest pajamas. They're called "Santa Claws". Basically, it's a bunch of lobsters dressed up like Santa with little seahorses pulling their sleighs and palm trees with Christmas lights. I know we're still a few days before the Christmas season, but I had to have them!
On that note, I'm going to get ready for bed. Tomorrow is my BIG presentation (think happy thoughts between 2-4pm) and then it's smooth sailing to Turkey Day. Night!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Looooooooong Week
Sorry for the lack of posting lately... it's been a seriously crazy week or so at work. I have a pretty hefty presentation coming up on Monday, with a mini-version tomorrow, so it's been work work work for a while. That said, tonight I pulled everything together and am all set to go (I think). I'll feel a lot better after tomorrow's presentation which is basically a "dry run". I'll know what I need to update and what worked. Think happy thoughts!
In other news, I've been hard at work getting ready for the SCSO performances on December 8, 9 and 10th. Speaking of which, if you'd like to go to the show, I have some extra third row tickets for the December 9th performance (GREAT SEATS) for only $35! Let me know if you'd like to come!
Also, Kati gave me some great news today as well. Not only is she coming home for Thanksgiving, but she's bringing her boyfriend, Derrek! It looks like we have a day trip to San Francisco (he's never been) and, of course, the Hullabaloo in the near future! For those of you who don't know, the Hullabaloo is our family's version of Thanksgiving. There's games, food, and naps. And, of course, pajamas! It started a few years ago as a joke (I decided I wanted to wear jammies to be more comfortable, so I went out and bought a pair of adult blanket sleepers), that caught on. Now we all wear pjs and try to come up with the best pair! I'm heading out this weekend to find the perfect jammies!
Is anyone else doing something fun for Thanksgiving?
In other news, I've been hard at work getting ready for the SCSO performances on December 8, 9 and 10th. Speaking of which, if you'd like to go to the show, I have some extra third row tickets for the December 9th performance (GREAT SEATS) for only $35! Let me know if you'd like to come!
Also, Kati gave me some great news today as well. Not only is she coming home for Thanksgiving, but she's bringing her boyfriend, Derrek! It looks like we have a day trip to San Francisco (he's never been) and, of course, the Hullabaloo in the near future! For those of you who don't know, the Hullabaloo is our family's version of Thanksgiving. There's games, food, and naps. And, of course, pajamas! It started a few years ago as a joke (I decided I wanted to wear jammies to be more comfortable, so I went out and bought a pair of adult blanket sleepers), that caught on. Now we all wear pjs and try to come up with the best pair! I'm heading out this weekend to find the perfect jammies!
Is anyone else doing something fun for Thanksgiving?
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
Oh, the DMV
Wow, first things first, whoa there angry blog readers... deep and calming breath. No honestly, sorry. Work has been consuming my life the last week or so for a variety of reasons I choose not to discuss. Just a couple more weeks until it's over and I get a little breather.
Now, with no further delay, the world famous In-N-Out costumes. Poor Lauren. She probably doesn't even know what In-N-Out is, yet Matt dresses her up...
I have to admit, it's a dang good costume. One I might snag for next year.
So today I voted, which was a pretty cool thing. This cute little old lady stuck one of those "I voted" stickers on my shirt and said "Young lady, you did good by God and your country". To tell you the truth, I felt a little patriotic.
Which quickly dissipated as I went to stand in line at the DMV. Let me tell you, that place scares me a little bit. First of all, why are all those people there at 9:30am? Don't they have jobs? Not all of them could possibly have flexible jobs like mine and no way can they all decide on the same day to go stand in line. Secondly, why do I always get sandwiched between they yucky/scary people? Today it was scary dude all in black wearing his sunglasses indoors (really? Is it that bright? You had better have some sort of eye condition if you're wearing them inside, in my humble opinion) and smelly smoker dude. Gentlemen, let me tell you that there is nothing sexy about a smokers cough or smelling like smoke. Nothing.
Finally, I got several new CDs today - Josh Groban's "Awake" (love it), Keith Urban's "Love, Pain and the whole crazy thing" (haven't listened to it yet) and Dave Matthews Band "Best of What's Around" (not really "new" - more like a greatest hits, however, there are some new live cuts that are pretty good). Yes, music makes me happy.
On that note, I'm off to bed.
Now, with no further delay, the world famous In-N-Out costumes. Poor Lauren. She probably doesn't even know what In-N-Out is, yet Matt dresses her up...
I have to admit, it's a dang good costume. One I might snag for next year.
So today I voted, which was a pretty cool thing. This cute little old lady stuck one of those "I voted" stickers on my shirt and said "Young lady, you did good by God and your country". To tell you the truth, I felt a little patriotic.
Which quickly dissipated as I went to stand in line at the DMV. Let me tell you, that place scares me a little bit. First of all, why are all those people there at 9:30am? Don't they have jobs? Not all of them could possibly have flexible jobs like mine and no way can they all decide on the same day to go stand in line. Secondly, why do I always get sandwiched between they yucky/scary people? Today it was scary dude all in black wearing his sunglasses indoors (really? Is it that bright? You had better have some sort of eye condition if you're wearing them inside, in my humble opinion) and smelly smoker dude. Gentlemen, let me tell you that there is nothing sexy about a smokers cough or smelling like smoke. Nothing.
Finally, I got several new CDs today - Josh Groban's "Awake" (love it), Keith Urban's "Love, Pain and the whole crazy thing" (haven't listened to it yet) and Dave Matthews Band "Best of What's Around" (not really "new" - more like a greatest hits, however, there are some new live cuts that are pretty good). Yes, music makes me happy.
On that note, I'm off to bed.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Possibly Even Better Than The Penis Costume...
... my cousin and her friend were "Rock & Roll".
Yes, they have rocks and empty toilet paper rolls glued to them. I think this takes the cake for most creative!
Tomorrow I'll be toning down my pirate costume for work. A little more black and a little less tummy. I sort of like my job. :) I'm taking my camera because we're going to have some awesome pirates... I'll post what I can tomorrow night!
P.S. I think my world is crashing down... if these two can't make it, who can?! http://people.aol.com/people/article/0,26334,1552282,00.html
Yes, they have rocks and empty toilet paper rolls glued to them. I think this takes the cake for most creative!Tomorrow I'll be toning down my pirate costume for work. A little more black and a little less tummy. I sort of like my job. :) I'm taking my camera because we're going to have some awesome pirates... I'll post what I can tomorrow night!
P.S. I think my world is crashing down... if these two can't make it, who can?! http://people.aol.com/people/article/0,26334,1552282,00.html
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Halloween Comes Early
After an incredibly long, frustrating week, I definitely needed to blow off some steam. What better way to do that than dress up like a pirate and party it up?!
Friday night we went to Amy and Rachel's Halloween/housewarming party. So much fun. I got to see some friends from high school that I hadn't seen in forever and Amy has the cutest little apartment! Here are some fun pics of us getting ready:
Amber the crack whore:
Kristine the prom queen who came in second:
Brigitte the go-go girl:
Me, the pirate:
Me and Will:
Me and Amy:
The girls:
Then, on Saturday night we got all dressed up and headed over to Brigitte's parents house for their Halloween party. It was a blast and there were definitely some "creative" costumes.
There aren't really words:
Brig and I:
Amber went from crack whore to duck hunter overnight:
Alyse's new dog, Taz - he's only 10 weeks old!
They had some cool ideas - Brig and her mom took pictures of everyone and framed them (right then and there) and then added little tags that said "Halloween 2006". So everyone left the party with a really cute picture! The house was decorated REALLY well and was totally cute!
More exciting news... on January 12, 2007 we will be going to see Justin Timberlake! Woo hoo! I can't wait to see him bring SexyBack live!!! :)
Today is recovery day (and stay the heck off my feet day - holy cow, wearing boots with 3 inch heels all weekend is not a great idea). Happy daylight savings!
Friday night we went to Amy and Rachel's Halloween/housewarming party. So much fun. I got to see some friends from high school that I hadn't seen in forever and Amy has the cutest little apartment! Here are some fun pics of us getting ready:
Amber the crack whore:
Kristine the prom queen who came in second:
Brigitte the go-go girl:
Me, the pirate:
Me and Will:
Me and Amy:
The girls:
Then, on Saturday night we got all dressed up and headed over to Brigitte's parents house for their Halloween party. It was a blast and there were definitely some "creative" costumes.
There aren't really words:
Brig and I:
Amber went from crack whore to duck hunter overnight:
Alyse's new dog, Taz - he's only 10 weeks old!
They had some cool ideas - Brig and her mom took pictures of everyone and framed them (right then and there) and then added little tags that said "Halloween 2006". So everyone left the party with a really cute picture! The house was decorated REALLY well and was totally cute!
More exciting news... on January 12, 2007 we will be going to see Justin Timberlake! Woo hoo! I can't wait to see him bring SexyBack live!!! :)
Today is recovery day (and stay the heck off my feet day - holy cow, wearing boots with 3 inch heels all weekend is not a great idea). Happy daylight savings!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
WORST TO BEST
Holy cow... today went from the worst day ever, to the best day ever. It started with some major computer problems on my work laptop. To make a long story short, I couldn't access my email all day. I started with the tech people at 7am, ended up in the office with them until 3:30pm. Crazy.
But here's where it gets good. Carrie had invited me to the Kings game tonight. Lo and behold, they no longer have their box seats - instead, we were EIGHT ROWS FROM THE FLOOR! Holy cow, I could almost reach out and touch them! It's amazing, the players look so much bigger from that low! The coolest part was how into all of us Kings fans were... we were cheering like it was game 7 of the playoffs! We had the absolute best time. Here's Brig and I at In-N-Out:
Here's Carrie and Amy at the game:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h19/annasmithson/KingsGame10-24-06003.jpg
Here are a couple of Mike Bibby (who didn't play because he has mallet thumb):
And here's all of us girls after the game:
Peja and Bobby both play for the Hornets, so we got to see them again - I have some cool pics of Peja! If you want to see the rest, shoot me an email!
We also had "A1" parking. As in row A, stall one. Which meant the only way we could have gotten any closer would have been to park on the front lawn. We felt like superstars!
To make matters even cooler, Amy's boy toy works there and got Carrie down on to the floor to play one of the tie out games (she did really well and won a t-shirt and a mini-Slamson). THEN he gave us all tickets to get an autograph after the game from one of our new players, Louis Amundson. I can't even begin to tell you what an awesome end of the day it was!!! THANK YOU CARRIE!!!
But here's where it gets good. Carrie had invited me to the Kings game tonight. Lo and behold, they no longer have their box seats - instead, we were EIGHT ROWS FROM THE FLOOR! Holy cow, I could almost reach out and touch them! It's amazing, the players look so much bigger from that low! The coolest part was how into all of us Kings fans were... we were cheering like it was game 7 of the playoffs! We had the absolute best time. Here's Brig and I at In-N-Out:
Here's Carrie and Amy at the game:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h19/annasmithson/KingsGame10-24-06003.jpg
Here are a couple of Mike Bibby (who didn't play because he has mallet thumb):
And here's all of us girls after the game:
Peja and Bobby both play for the Hornets, so we got to see them again - I have some cool pics of Peja! If you want to see the rest, shoot me an email!
We also had "A1" parking. As in row A, stall one. Which meant the only way we could have gotten any closer would have been to park on the front lawn. We felt like superstars!
To make matters even cooler, Amy's boy toy works there and got Carrie down on to the floor to play one of the tie out games (she did really well and won a t-shirt and a mini-Slamson). THEN he gave us all tickets to get an autograph after the game from one of our new players, Louis Amundson. I can't even begin to tell you what an awesome end of the day it was!!! THANK YOU CARRIE!!!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
S.A.D.
I am sad to report that Eva has officially been diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
Here are the official details about SAD:
With winter just around the corner, daylight hours are dwindling along with the upbeat energy that many people feel naturally during the summer months. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) affects an estimated half a million people in the United States alone, who feel lethargic, grouchy and depressed during the winter months. Women are four times as likely to suffer from SAD than men, and the onset of the condition typically occurs after age 20. The incidence of SAD increases as you move north, where the change in daylight hours from summer to winter is most drastic. While there is no confirmed cause, SAD is believed to be triggered by a biochemical imbalance in the brain that regulates our sleep, mood and appetite. Daylight prompts the release of serotonin, an important brain neurotransmitter. Experts hypothesize that serotonin levels drop in the winter months, thereby affecting a wide range of body functions. At the same time, the body’s production of melatonin, a hormone believed to activate the sleep process, increases, resulting in the following symptoms of SAD:
— Weight gain
— Cravings for sweet and/or starchy foods
— Fatigue
— A tendency to sleep longer
— Difficulty concentrating
— Irritability
— Avoidance of social situations
— Feelings of hopelessness or helplessness
— Weakened immune system
— Depression
Fortunately, says Jazzercise CEO Judi Sheppard Missett, you can alleviate many symptoms of SAD with the following prevention strategies:
— Get outside during daylight hours. Research indicates that a 60-minute walk in winter sunlight is equivalent to 2 1/2 hours under bright artificial light.
— Maximize your exposure to natural light. Sit by the window. Open your curtains. Paint your walls in bright colors that reflect the light.
— Get a good night’s sleep. Try to go to bed and wake up at approximately the same times every day. Establish a bedtime ritual, such as stretching, taking a warm bath or reading, which allows you to relax and settle in for the night.
— Eat smart. Load up on fruits and veggies, lean meats and low-fat dairy products. Try to avoid processed foods that are high in refined flours and added sugars.
— Plan a mid-winter get away to a sunny climate. Breaking up the tedium of winter can do wonders for your mood.
— Seek counseling and/or light therapy if your symptoms are particularly difficult.
— Get plenty of exercise. Cardiovascular exercise is particularly effective for elevating mood and relieving stress, and exercising as part of a group can provide valuable social interaction.
I seem to be stuck with the "doesn't want to get her booty out of bed" symptom. There are several things that are killing me right now:
1. The sun doesn't seem to come out any more. At 7am I looked out the window and it was still dark. I got home tonight at 7:30pm and it was already dark. What happened to daylight?!
2. I'm sick of these half cloudy days. Rain, dang it!
In other exciting news, I cut/colored my hair today! I went with my winter brown, some new layers and bangs. Here are some rough pics (I'll have better ones from my performance this weekend). I still say I have the best hairdresser in the world. Not only does he tell me that I'm beautiful (what girl doesn't love that?) but he brought me breadsticks and a glass of wine! Now, THAT'S a haircut!
Here are the official details about SAD:
With winter just around the corner, daylight hours are dwindling along with the upbeat energy that many people feel naturally during the summer months. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) affects an estimated half a million people in the United States alone, who feel lethargic, grouchy and depressed during the winter months. Women are four times as likely to suffer from SAD than men, and the onset of the condition typically occurs after age 20. The incidence of SAD increases as you move north, where the change in daylight hours from summer to winter is most drastic. While there is no confirmed cause, SAD is believed to be triggered by a biochemical imbalance in the brain that regulates our sleep, mood and appetite. Daylight prompts the release of serotonin, an important brain neurotransmitter. Experts hypothesize that serotonin levels drop in the winter months, thereby affecting a wide range of body functions. At the same time, the body’s production of melatonin, a hormone believed to activate the sleep process, increases, resulting in the following symptoms of SAD:
— Weight gain
— Cravings for sweet and/or starchy foods
— Fatigue
— A tendency to sleep longer
— Difficulty concentrating
— Irritability
— Avoidance of social situations
— Feelings of hopelessness or helplessness
— Weakened immune system
— Depression
Fortunately, says Jazzercise CEO Judi Sheppard Missett, you can alleviate many symptoms of SAD with the following prevention strategies:
— Get outside during daylight hours. Research indicates that a 60-minute walk in winter sunlight is equivalent to 2 1/2 hours under bright artificial light.
— Maximize your exposure to natural light. Sit by the window. Open your curtains. Paint your walls in bright colors that reflect the light.
— Get a good night’s sleep. Try to go to bed and wake up at approximately the same times every day. Establish a bedtime ritual, such as stretching, taking a warm bath or reading, which allows you to relax and settle in for the night.
— Eat smart. Load up on fruits and veggies, lean meats and low-fat dairy products. Try to avoid processed foods that are high in refined flours and added sugars.
— Plan a mid-winter get away to a sunny climate. Breaking up the tedium of winter can do wonders for your mood.
— Seek counseling and/or light therapy if your symptoms are particularly difficult.
— Get plenty of exercise. Cardiovascular exercise is particularly effective for elevating mood and relieving stress, and exercising as part of a group can provide valuable social interaction.
I seem to be stuck with the "doesn't want to get her booty out of bed" symptom. There are several things that are killing me right now:
1. The sun doesn't seem to come out any more. At 7am I looked out the window and it was still dark. I got home tonight at 7:30pm and it was already dark. What happened to daylight?!
2. I'm sick of these half cloudy days. Rain, dang it!
In other exciting news, I cut/colored my hair today! I went with my winter brown, some new layers and bangs. Here are some rough pics (I'll have better ones from my performance this weekend). I still say I have the best hairdresser in the world. Not only does he tell me that I'm beautiful (what girl doesn't love that?) but he brought me breadsticks and a glass of wine! Now, THAT'S a haircut!
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Baby's Got Her New Shoes On
So I finally got them.
And I have to admit, they're not Nikes.
There, I said it.
Today I made the trek to the sports store to get new running shoes. I've been having all kinds of aches lately and I attributed most of them to lack of cushioning. I tried on almost every shoe they had and finally tried on the Asics Gel Kayano XII.
Wow.
I felt like I was walking on little puffs of air. I'm not kidding. All of the aches went away. Worth all 13,499 pennies. I love them. I came home and took them on an inaugural 2 mile jaunt followed by a 1.5 mile walk. Fantastic. I didn't even want to take them off. Who doesn't feel great in a shoe that has "an advanced system that creates a pocket between the Trusstic System® device and the midsole, allowing for greater midsole deformation and more efficient foot function"? Not to mention that they pretty darn light. And, of course, they're in cool blue! Click here to see my cool new shoes and read about all the cool new things (heel shocks! who would have thought?!). Do the exploded tech view of the picture to see all the cool goodies that are in my shoes!
On that note, I'm a happy, worked out, tired girl who is going to bed. Good night!
And I have to admit, they're not Nikes.
There, I said it.
Today I made the trek to the sports store to get new running shoes. I've been having all kinds of aches lately and I attributed most of them to lack of cushioning. I tried on almost every shoe they had and finally tried on the Asics Gel Kayano XII.
Wow.
I felt like I was walking on little puffs of air. I'm not kidding. All of the aches went away. Worth all 13,499 pennies. I love them. I came home and took them on an inaugural 2 mile jaunt followed by a 1.5 mile walk. Fantastic. I didn't even want to take them off. Who doesn't feel great in a shoe that has "an advanced system that creates a pocket between the Trusstic System® device and the midsole, allowing for greater midsole deformation and more efficient foot function"? Not to mention that they pretty darn light. And, of course, they're in cool blue! Click here to see my cool new shoes and read about all the cool new things (heel shocks! who would have thought?!). Do the exploded tech view of the picture to see all the cool goodies that are in my shoes!
On that note, I'm a happy, worked out, tired girl who is going to bed. Good night!
Monday, October 16, 2006
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Woo hoo!
What an exciting day! Apparently it's ticket sale Saturday. I'm very excited to announce that Brig, Amber, Kris, Alyse and I will be attending the Sacramento Kings game ON MY BIRTHDAY! I'm so stoked... tickets were only $47 for second deck seats, which I'm perfectly happy with. It's going to be the best birthday ever!
To top that off, we (the five Musketeers) also got tickets to the March 10th Christina Aguilera show in San Jose. Eva and Adam are very graciously letting us crash at their place and we might even make a weekend out of it. What a blast it's going to be! I'm definitely taking my camera to both events!
I spent the rest of today relaxing. Well, not totally. I actually ran again this morning and I have to say I think I'm becoming addicted. I've been running every day for the last few weeks and it feels great! In fact, I actually feel a little weird on the one or two days that I haven't run. I really think it's an addiction. I've made myself a promise to go get new shoes tomorrow... I'm ashamed to say that I'm still running on the shoes that I did my triathlon in. Big no-no. According to most sports docs, you should get rid of your shoes after each major race. An expensive habit? Yes. Saving you from major joint damage? Also yes. So tomorrow is shoe shopping day. I'm a little nerdy and actually get excited about that as well.
To top that off, we (the five Musketeers) also got tickets to the March 10th Christina Aguilera show in San Jose. Eva and Adam are very graciously letting us crash at their place and we might even make a weekend out of it. What a blast it's going to be! I'm definitely taking my camera to both events!
I spent the rest of today relaxing. Well, not totally. I actually ran again this morning and I have to say I think I'm becoming addicted. I've been running every day for the last few weeks and it feels great! In fact, I actually feel a little weird on the one or two days that I haven't run. I really think it's an addiction. I've made myself a promise to go get new shoes tomorrow... I'm ashamed to say that I'm still running on the shoes that I did my triathlon in. Big no-no. According to most sports docs, you should get rid of your shoes after each major race. An expensive habit? Yes. Saving you from major joint damage? Also yes. So tomorrow is shoe shopping day. I'm a little nerdy and actually get excited about that as well.
Monday, October 9, 2006
Why Parents Drink
You know, Mateo, we all can't be witty all the time. Dang it, I'm tired. The last week or so has been exhausting and I've spent whatever "free" time I've had sleeping or laying on the sofa. That's all two hours of it. Ok, maybe I'm being a little overdramatic. :) It's been a busy few weeks for me and I apologize (AGAIN) for the lack of blog.
I just got done with SCSO rehearsal. Things are coming along nicely for our first show... I think it's going to be great! As always, the rehearsals are fun, but draining. I come home on this little singer's high (shut up Matt, there is such a thing) and then I crash. That and the fact that I've been up since 5am. But, I digress. This choir continues to amaze me. We're tackling some seriously difficult music and it's really coming together. There are parts where we sing fortissimo (really loud, for you non-musician types) - and let me tell you, 200 voices singing in harmony at the top of their lungs will definitely give you some serious goosebumps. I love it!
Check out the movie review section for some new updates!
Here's a little Monday evening humor, courtesy of Amber:
I just got done with SCSO rehearsal. Things are coming along nicely for our first show... I think it's going to be great! As always, the rehearsals are fun, but draining. I come home on this little singer's high (shut up Matt, there is such a thing) and then I crash. That and the fact that I've been up since 5am. But, I digress. This choir continues to amaze me. We're tackling some seriously difficult music and it's really coming together. There are parts where we sing fortissimo (really loud, for you non-musician types) - and let me tell you, 200 voices singing in harmony at the top of their lungs will definitely give you some serious goosebumps. I love it!
Check out the movie review section for some new updates!
Here's a little Monday evening humor, courtesy of Amber:
A boss wondered why one of his most valued employees had not phoned in sick one day. Having an urgent problem with one of the main computers, he dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a child's whisper. "Hello?" "Is your daddy home?" he asked. "Yes," whispered the small voice. "May I talk with him?" The child whispered, "No." Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, "Is your Mommy there?" "Yes." "May I talk with her?" Again the small voice whispered, "No." Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, "Is anybody else there?" "Yes," whispered the child, "a policeman". Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?" "No, he's busy", whispered the child. "Busy doing what?" "Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman," came the whispered answer. Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background through the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, "What is that noise?" "A helicopter" answered the whispering voice. "What is going on there?" demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive. Again, whispering, the child answered,"The search team just landed a helicopter." Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked, "What are they searching for?" Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle..... "ME."
Sunday, October 1, 2006
San Francisco
What a fun weekend!
Friday was my lia sophia jewelry party. Lots of people showed up and Brigitte did an amazing job! I'm so excited - I'm getting lots of cool jewelry!
On Saturday Brigitte, Amber, Kristine and I headed out to San Francisco for the day. We purchased "hop on, hop off" trolley passes - they take you around the city and give you all of the historical details. It was a blast. We started at Pier 39 and went to Ghiradelli Square (yum), through some of the most beautiful houses, to Union Square, through Chinatown, and back to the pier. The kicker was we decided we were going to hop on, ride for the whole tour, then get back on and stop at the places we wanted to see. Apparently that's not the deal with the hop on hop off plan - you only get to go once. So we got a little sneaky and walked to Ghiradelli Square and hopped on there, with a different driver. He had no idea we had already been on the rest of the tour - just thought we had hopped off and were getting back on. Dang it, we got our $18 worth! Here's a pic of the walk to the trolley - we went past all of the little shops along the Bay and decided this pirate needed a little lovin':
After that, we spent a good deal of time at Union Square, looking at all of the things we can't afford. It was actually fun. We went to Macy's, Tiffany's, the Coach Store, and the H&M store. For some reason, I thought H&M would be expensive (after all, Madonna is their new spokesperson), but it was actually quite affordable. Brigitte got the cutest little wool skirt! We shopped for most of the day. At about 4:15pm (we had been there since about 10am) we realized that the trolley service might actually have a cut off time. Brigitte called, only to discover that the last trolley back from Union Square was at 4pm (although, I believe this to be a lie on the part of the trolley service - we saw one go by later as we trekked back). We decided to get our exercise and to walk back to the Pier. It's a LONG walk. We went through Chinatown along the way:
It's not all it's cracked up to be. I can't ever remember having been there before, but it was smelly and mostly junk. Along the way we went past one of the cutest cars I've seen in a while:
We made it back to the Pier and ate dinner at the Hard Rock cafe. After dinner we walked around the Pier, saw the sea lions and got some great shots of the sunset:
We then ended up in a hat store with the giggles. We didn't buy any of them, but we definitely left with sore tummies from laughing!
We left the city at around 8:30pm and began the trek home. Somewhere near Vacaville, my "check tire pressure" light came on. I pulled off the freeway at the one exit that didn't have a gas station, so we had to hunt for one. I filled my tire and we got back on the road - only to hit a DUI checkpoint. Obviously, no issue, but we did see someone getting arrested. Boo for them! By the time I got home it was 10:30pm. What a long (but totally fun) day!
I slept in until 9:45am today - I think that's some sort of record for me! This week was just exhausting! I spent the rest of the day being sluggish and lazy. I blame the weather - it was chilly and overcast for most of the day. I managed to get in a good run this morning (definitely like running in 65 degrees vs the 90 degrees that I was running in last week!) and did pretty much nothing the rest of the day. It was great!
Friday was my lia sophia jewelry party. Lots of people showed up and Brigitte did an amazing job! I'm so excited - I'm getting lots of cool jewelry!
On Saturday Brigitte, Amber, Kristine and I headed out to San Francisco for the day. We purchased "hop on, hop off" trolley passes - they take you around the city and give you all of the historical details. It was a blast. We started at Pier 39 and went to Ghiradelli Square (yum), through some of the most beautiful houses, to Union Square, through Chinatown, and back to the pier. The kicker was we decided we were going to hop on, ride for the whole tour, then get back on and stop at the places we wanted to see. Apparently that's not the deal with the hop on hop off plan - you only get to go once. So we got a little sneaky and walked to Ghiradelli Square and hopped on there, with a different driver. He had no idea we had already been on the rest of the tour - just thought we had hopped off and were getting back on. Dang it, we got our $18 worth! Here's a pic of the walk to the trolley - we went past all of the little shops along the Bay and decided this pirate needed a little lovin':
After that, we spent a good deal of time at Union Square, looking at all of the things we can't afford. It was actually fun. We went to Macy's, Tiffany's, the Coach Store, and the H&M store. For some reason, I thought H&M would be expensive (after all, Madonna is their new spokesperson), but it was actually quite affordable. Brigitte got the cutest little wool skirt! We shopped for most of the day. At about 4:15pm (we had been there since about 10am) we realized that the trolley service might actually have a cut off time. Brigitte called, only to discover that the last trolley back from Union Square was at 4pm (although, I believe this to be a lie on the part of the trolley service - we saw one go by later as we trekked back). We decided to get our exercise and to walk back to the Pier. It's a LONG walk. We went through Chinatown along the way:
It's not all it's cracked up to be. I can't ever remember having been there before, but it was smelly and mostly junk. Along the way we went past one of the cutest cars I've seen in a while:
We made it back to the Pier and ate dinner at the Hard Rock cafe. After dinner we walked around the Pier, saw the sea lions and got some great shots of the sunset:
We then ended up in a hat store with the giggles. We didn't buy any of them, but we definitely left with sore tummies from laughing!
We left the city at around 8:30pm and began the trek home. Somewhere near Vacaville, my "check tire pressure" light came on. I pulled off the freeway at the one exit that didn't have a gas station, so we had to hunt for one. I filled my tire and we got back on the road - only to hit a DUI checkpoint. Obviously, no issue, but we did see someone getting arrested. Boo for them! By the time I got home it was 10:30pm. What a long (but totally fun) day!
I slept in until 9:45am today - I think that's some sort of record for me! This week was just exhausting! I spent the rest of the day being sluggish and lazy. I blame the weather - it was chilly and overcast for most of the day. I managed to get in a good run this morning (definitely like running in 65 degrees vs the 90 degrees that I was running in last week!) and did pretty much nothing the rest of the day. It was great!
Thursday, September 28, 2006
24 Tease
OMG. The strip tease workout was probably the most hilarious class I've ever taken. Even funnier than turbo kickboxing. The whole set is an hour and a half. The first half is dance technique - sort of serious ballet moves and stretches. The second half hour is salsa - SO much fun. Thank God Kati has shown me the moves before or I probably would have been lost! The third is, you guessed it, "24 Tease" a half hour of fun filled stripping. Apparently, my body didn't like idea because right before the stripping class started I got a bloody nose. Yes, stripping gives me a bloody nose. So I grab my towel and hold it on until it stops bleeding. Now, it's the same teacher for all three classes and she goes from this salsa queen to a dirty talking stripper. I'm not kidding, I've never been talked to like that. It was so hard to stop laughing. They turn down the lights and start some mild moves, just some hip movements and such. It gets gradually worse until she tells you to grab your prop. Now, I had taken a towel which I had proceeded to bleed profusely onto. I figured swinging around a bloody towel probably isn't very sexy, so yes, I took my shirt off. Mind you, I had a sports bra on underneath (Jess took hers off too!), but I don't normally work out in just a sports bra, so it felt racy. We're dancing, swinging our "props" around and doing some pretty funky hip gyrations. We thrusted, we crawled and we shook it for all it was worth. A total blast. I think it's ironic that every male trainer in the gym managed to need a ball or something out of that room during that half hour. And that a whole lot of guys decided to hop on the treadmills which were conveniently facing into the room.
Seriously, it was a blast. I haven't laughed that hard in a while and the dance technique class kicked my butt.
Yesterday was Julie's spa party - also a blast. She had all kinds of yumminess to eat (chocolate covered strawberries and graham crackers, cheese) and the coolest products. I bought the hand scrub - it's seriously amazing! I also got the little neck pad - you warm it up in the microwave or cool it down in the fridge and then it wraps around your neck. SO NICE! :) Plus we got to try all the other products and pretty much feel totally pampered.
On that note, I'm off to finish cleaning for my jewelry party tomorrow and then to watch "Grey's Anatomy" and "ER". Woo hoo!
Seriously, it was a blast. I haven't laughed that hard in a while and the dance technique class kicked my butt.
Yesterday was Julie's spa party - also a blast. She had all kinds of yumminess to eat (chocolate covered strawberries and graham crackers, cheese) and the coolest products. I bought the hand scrub - it's seriously amazing! I also got the little neck pad - you warm it up in the microwave or cool it down in the fridge and then it wraps around your neck. SO NICE! :) Plus we got to try all the other products and pretty much feel totally pampered.
On that note, I'm off to finish cleaning for my jewelry party tomorrow and then to watch "Grey's Anatomy" and "ER". Woo hoo!
Sunday, September 24, 2006
The Dump and Singing
I've discovered my favorite part of rehearsal. The drive home. Ok, I know that sounds bad, but I mean it in a good way. Today we had a two and half hour SCSO rehearsal. On the way home, I discovered how amazingly warmed up I am after that. There's nothing on the radio that I can't sing! Seriously - all of those songs are written in normal person range, so when you walk out of a classical rehearsal, it's a piece of cake!
This weekend was pretty mellow. My allergies have been horrendous (sinus pressure and a headache that makes me sleepy) and I ended up laying low most of the weekend. I made a trip to the dump with my dad Saturday morning (one of the few productive things I was able to do besides cleaning out my closet and doing my laundry). It was actually really neat - quite different than the dumps I remember from when I was little (it's probably been 15 years since I've been). They actually recycle everything they can, compost a ton of stuff and then bury what they can't do anything else with. It's a pretty smooth operation. I learned something else exciting as well. I have always been more than a little upset that my city doesn't recycle... the Bay Area has those cool little bins and stuff. Well, apparently, my city has one-upped the Bay. We don't have the cool bins or anything like that, but once your trash gets to the dump, they have someone there who sorts through and recycles whatever they can. So basically, you're forced to recycle and have to do none of the work. What a concept!
Speaking of the Bay, I'm going to SF for the day next Saturday with the girls. I'm so excited - I haven't been since last Christmas time. I'm looking for cool things to do there besides shop and walk around the pier. Maybe a trolley tour or something fun like that. It should be a blast and I promise to take lots of pictures!
Well, I'm off to bed. This week is going to be crazy busy - rehearsal tomorrow, book club Tuesday, spa party Wednesday, stripper workout Thursday (did I catch your attention with that one?), and my jewelry party on Friday. I'll update you each day (yes, you have to wait all the way until Thursday to hear about the stripper workout!).
Good night!
This weekend was pretty mellow. My allergies have been horrendous (sinus pressure and a headache that makes me sleepy) and I ended up laying low most of the weekend. I made a trip to the dump with my dad Saturday morning (one of the few productive things I was able to do besides cleaning out my closet and doing my laundry). It was actually really neat - quite different than the dumps I remember from when I was little (it's probably been 15 years since I've been). They actually recycle everything they can, compost a ton of stuff and then bury what they can't do anything else with. It's a pretty smooth operation. I learned something else exciting as well. I have always been more than a little upset that my city doesn't recycle... the Bay Area has those cool little bins and stuff. Well, apparently, my city has one-upped the Bay. We don't have the cool bins or anything like that, but once your trash gets to the dump, they have someone there who sorts through and recycles whatever they can. So basically, you're forced to recycle and have to do none of the work. What a concept!
Speaking of the Bay, I'm going to SF for the day next Saturday with the girls. I'm so excited - I haven't been since last Christmas time. I'm looking for cool things to do there besides shop and walk around the pier. Maybe a trolley tour or something fun like that. It should be a blast and I promise to take lots of pictures!
Well, I'm off to bed. This week is going to be crazy busy - rehearsal tomorrow, book club Tuesday, spa party Wednesday, stripper workout Thursday (did I catch your attention with that one?), and my jewelry party on Friday. I'll update you each day (yes, you have to wait all the way until Thursday to hear about the stripper workout!).
Good night!
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Wow
Amber sent me this - I had heard bits and pieces of the story before, but never the whole thing. I am utterly amazed. Please watch the whole video (click the link below after reading the story).
"It's sometimes good to sit back and realize that there are people in this world with bigger problems than our own. It's amazing what the human being is capable of. I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck. Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and peddled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars, all in the same day. Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right? And what has Rick done for his father? Not much, except save his life. This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs."He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life," Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. "Put him in an institution." But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. "No way," Dick says he was told. "There's nothing going on in his brain." "Tell him a joke," Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!" And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that."Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described "porker" who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried."Then it was me who was handicapped," Dick says. "I was sore for two weeks."That day changed Rick's life. "Dad," he typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!"And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon."No way," Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.Then somebody said, "Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?"How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried. Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think? Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? "No way," he says. Dick does it purely for "the awesome feeling" he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together. This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th BostonMarathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992, only 35 minutes off the world record,which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time."No question about it," Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century."And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape," one doctor told him,"you probably would've died 15 years ago."So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life. Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day. That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy."The thing I'd most like," Rick types, "is that my dad would sit in the chair and I would push him once."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryCTIigaloQ
Makes you rethink all of those times you're "too tired" to go to the gym, doesn't it? I'm completely amazed.
"It's sometimes good to sit back and realize that there are people in this world with bigger problems than our own. It's amazing what the human being is capable of. I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck. Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and peddled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars, all in the same day. Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right? And what has Rick done for his father? Not much, except save his life. This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs."He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life," Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. "Put him in an institution." But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. "No way," Dick says he was told. "There's nothing going on in his brain." "Tell him a joke," Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!" And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that."Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described "porker" who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried."Then it was me who was handicapped," Dick says. "I was sore for two weeks."That day changed Rick's life. "Dad," he typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!"And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon."No way," Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.Then somebody said, "Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?"How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried. Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think? Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? "No way," he says. Dick does it purely for "the awesome feeling" he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together. This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th BostonMarathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992, only 35 minutes off the world record,which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time."No question about it," Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century."And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape," one doctor told him,"you probably would've died 15 years ago."So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life. Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day. That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy."The thing I'd most like," Rick types, "is that my dad would sit in the chair and I would push him once."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryCTIigaloQ
Makes you rethink all of those times you're "too tired" to go to the gym, doesn't it? I'm completely amazed.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Construction Workers SUCK!
So who in their right mind thinks it's ok to be moving heavy machinery in a residential neighborhood at 6:15am!?! And for God's sake, turn the damn beepy thing off or stop driving up and down the street backwards!!! And finally, don't park outside my window and congregate with all of your other construction worker buddies to chat. I can hear you and I'm trying to sleep! @&%!
It's been an interesting few weeks with the road work going on here. I can't quite figure out the method to their madness... they've repaved patches of the street, but have left others all torn up by the bulldozers. Now, maybe it's just my organized mind, but I would have started at one end and paved to the other until I was finished. The way it is now, you'll be driving down the road and it's all smooth. Then all the sudden you hit this drop in the pavement (I'm not kidding - it's 2-3 inches) that feels like you've just run something over. Then you're back on bumpy road. Scares the crap out of you if you're driving home and not really paying attention to the road (and I mean that in the sense that you're focused on driving, just not expecting that kind of jolt).
Sorry I've been a slacker posting as of late. It's not for any great reason other than I've been busy and lazy. It's an interesting combo, I assure you. I promise to blog more often from now on! :)
It's been an interesting few weeks with the road work going on here. I can't quite figure out the method to their madness... they've repaved patches of the street, but have left others all torn up by the bulldozers. Now, maybe it's just my organized mind, but I would have started at one end and paved to the other until I was finished. The way it is now, you'll be driving down the road and it's all smooth. Then all the sudden you hit this drop in the pavement (I'm not kidding - it's 2-3 inches) that feels like you've just run something over. Then you're back on bumpy road. Scares the crap out of you if you're driving home and not really paying attention to the road (and I mean that in the sense that you're focused on driving, just not expecting that kind of jolt).
Sorry I've been a slacker posting as of late. It's not for any great reason other than I've been busy and lazy. It's an interesting combo, I assure you. I promise to blog more often from now on! :)
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
SexyBack
Today Justin Timberlake's much anticipated album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, came out. I absolutely love it. Honestly, it's the best pop album I can remember buying. And I'm only five songs into the album. Amazing. He was definitely influenced by Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna, but there are other flavors in there that I can't quite put my finger on. I have a feeling some of these songs will definitely end up in my top 25 on my iPod. It's a little gritty and a little dirty in that "I-was-on-the-Mickey-Mouse-club-but-I-am-a-25-year-old-male" kinda way. I kinda like it. :)
In other news, I think I figured out why I've been having a hard time sleeping (well, besides the obvious stress). Last week it was the worst and I think it's because I cut back on some of my running. I've been running (or kickboxing) for the last three days and have slept like a baby. Exercise, the miracle sleep aid! :)
Other than that, nothing too new and exciting.
In other news, I think I figured out why I've been having a hard time sleeping (well, besides the obvious stress). Last week it was the worst and I think it's because I cut back on some of my running. I've been running (or kickboxing) for the last three days and have slept like a baby. Exercise, the miracle sleep aid! :)
Other than that, nothing too new and exciting.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Never Forget
So, quick weekend recap - basically went into a mini coma for most of the weekend. My major accomplishment was showering and getting dressed for a party on Saturday. Oh, and by the way, the "big thing" I had going on on Friday was POR, this scary, ugly thing at work where you present to all of these higher ups and pray they don't fire you. It went really well, but I was so stressed and tired from the last three weeks of 15 hour days that I crashed for most of the weekend.
Shout out to Greg, Matt and Ryan who threw an awesome housewarming party on Saturday night. They have a great bachelor pad setup going and I was introduced to the wonder that is beer pong. Apparently I missed out on this in college. I tried to claim it's because I went to Catholic college, but Greg went to Gonzaga and had done it, so my theory didn't float. For those of you, who like me, somehow missed this important lesson, beer pong is a game played with a bunch of red solo cups, a ping pong ball and four semi-drunk people. Now, I was sober sister, so I was only a spectator, but had I not been driving I could possibly have been convinced to play. You fill the cups halfway with beer and line them up like bowling pins on each side of the table. The teams stand opposite each other and try to toss the ball in the other team's cup. If they make it in, the other team drinks. Goal is to be the team that doesn't drink the most. Somehow, everyone wins. It gets more and more entertaining as the hand-eye coordination begins to slip...
Anywho, it was really fun hanging out with the gang from work outside of work. They're some cool cats!
On Sunday Brig and I hauled our lazy butts out of bed and went to the 11:50am showing of "Step Up" - in our sweatpants. Two reasons. One, it was comfy. Two, any guys that we would be interested in were probably not going to be seeing "Step Up" at noon on a Sunday. They're most likely still sleeping off the night before. It was a good movie. The acting was bad, the dancing was "eh", but Channing Tatum sure was nice to look at.
Today is my parents 30th wedding anniversary! How crazy is that? Congrats Mom and Dad! Love ya lots!
Finally, just a little pause to remember the horrific events of five years ago. I was driving to work listening to my local country station and they were talking about everything - it still really gets me all emotional. I'll never forget skipping class to sit at home watching TV with Daniella all day or waiting to hear if Troy was still deploying. They say this is the defining event of my generation - just like many people know where they were when JFK was shot, most of us can remember where we were when we heard about the September 11th attacks. It's a crazy world we live in. The only thing I can draw from it is while there are terrible people out there who do horrible things to innocent people, there are also amazingly brave and selfless people who will do anything to try to save a stranger. That's what we need to remember.
Shout out to Greg, Matt and Ryan who threw an awesome housewarming party on Saturday night. They have a great bachelor pad setup going and I was introduced to the wonder that is beer pong. Apparently I missed out on this in college. I tried to claim it's because I went to Catholic college, but Greg went to Gonzaga and had done it, so my theory didn't float. For those of you, who like me, somehow missed this important lesson, beer pong is a game played with a bunch of red solo cups, a ping pong ball and four semi-drunk people. Now, I was sober sister, so I was only a spectator, but had I not been driving I could possibly have been convinced to play. You fill the cups halfway with beer and line them up like bowling pins on each side of the table. The teams stand opposite each other and try to toss the ball in the other team's cup. If they make it in, the other team drinks. Goal is to be the team that doesn't drink the most. Somehow, everyone wins. It gets more and more entertaining as the hand-eye coordination begins to slip...
Anywho, it was really fun hanging out with the gang from work outside of work. They're some cool cats!
On Sunday Brig and I hauled our lazy butts out of bed and went to the 11:50am showing of "Step Up" - in our sweatpants. Two reasons. One, it was comfy. Two, any guys that we would be interested in were probably not going to be seeing "Step Up" at noon on a Sunday. They're most likely still sleeping off the night before. It was a good movie. The acting was bad, the dancing was "eh", but Channing Tatum sure was nice to look at.
Today is my parents 30th wedding anniversary! How crazy is that? Congrats Mom and Dad! Love ya lots!
Finally, just a little pause to remember the horrific events of five years ago. I was driving to work listening to my local country station and they were talking about everything - it still really gets me all emotional. I'll never forget skipping class to sit at home watching TV with Daniella all day or waiting to hear if Troy was still deploying. They say this is the defining event of my generation - just like many people know where they were when JFK was shot, most of us can remember where we were when we heard about the September 11th attacks. It's a crazy world we live in. The only thing I can draw from it is while there are terrible people out there who do horrible things to innocent people, there are also amazingly brave and selfless people who will do anything to try to save a stranger. That's what we need to remember.
Thursday, September 7, 2006
One...
... more day until the madness is over. Think happy thoughts for me tomorrow between 9:30 and 10:30am!!!
Monday, September 4, 2006
Labor Day Weekend!
What a fantastic weekend!
Friday night Matt came to town and we partied like rock stars. We tried a new club, The Park, that we actually like a lot better than some of the other places we've been to. It was a hilarious night which is pretty much summed up by the following picture:
I know Brig, you hate me for posting it again, but I can't stop laughing when I see it. Amber was getting ready to take a picture of us (believe it or not, this is in the car before we started drinking) and hit the button early. My camera does this crazy anti-red eye flash and it caught Brig and I by surprise. This picture was followed by one where our faces were red and our eyes were watery from laughing so hard we cried. It was awesome to see Matt again! I'm sad he's moving to Orlando, but so happy for him and Lauren. And now I'll have another place to visit! :)
Saturday was a mellow, clean the house kind of day. Definitely some much needed relaxation after my long crazy week at work! We rented "RV" which was actually a pretty funny movie!
Sunday was my favorite day of the weekend. It was Country in the Park day! Brigitte, Alyse, Tori and I went together and since the SCSO was performing I had a VIP parking pass. We got to pull right through this little coned off area and park where the other important people and vendors parked - lol. :) We went in and found a spot for our blankets (which later proved useless) and then I headed back stage to find the rest of the group. Honestly, it was so cool. We got all of the free food we wanted (gourmet food - tri tip sandwiches, sushi, beer, salads, and all kinds of other yummy stuff). Little did I know, but I actually ate lunch next to Josh Gracin's band. It was hard to tell who was who back there. They had the tour buses all circled up around a bunch of picnic tables and everyone was just kind of hanging out. No, I didn't meet anyone famous - they were all hanging out in their trailers. It was a really cool feeling just to hang out backstage at concert and be treated like royalty!
After we warmed up and all that good stuff we went out on stage. I can't even begin to describe what a cool feeling it is to stand on a real stage and look out at 10,000 people. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it! Let me tell you, I could definitely get used to that! Here's a picture of us on stage:
And here's a picture of me singing:
Special shout out to Brig, Tori and Alyse for being my "stage moms" and taking such amazing pictures! :)
After we were finished we hung out for a while and then I headed out to watch the concert. It was so great! We ditched the blankets and stood up front, and when I say up front, I mean first/second row. Most of our pictures look like the artists are singing directly to us! The first band, Heartland, was ok. They came in at the last minute because their van broke down on the way back from Tahoe and they ended up doing a short acoustic set. A little bit disappointing. Josh Gracin came out next and was absolutely amazing! His show was energetic and super exciting. Alyse even caught a drumstick he tossed off the stage! This is Josh singing just to us (hey, four single girls can dream, can't they?):
After him came Phil Vassar who was also an amazing performer. The thing I loved most about him was that even if you didn't know who he was you definitely know at least one or two of his songs. He is a great songwriter and a lot of his music is sung by other musicians. I was wowed by his skills on the piano and by how great he was live! Here's Phil on the piano (he seemed to enjoy it up there):
Finally, Sara Evans closed the show. She was absolutely amazing. I was never a really huge fan (not as in didn't like her music or voice, but I think she just flew under the radar), but she definitely won me over with this performance. First thing, she was beautiful. I can't believe she has three kids and still looks like that! Secondly, she has an amazing voice and is a great songwriter. And finally, I love that her sister and brother are both in her band. There's nothing like the good old family vocals! Here's Sara doing her thing:
She's going to be on "Dancing With The Stars" next week - I loved that show last year and can't wait to watch and see what she can do!
Of course, no concert is complete without the typical Anna/Brig picture. We're not sweating, we're "glowing":
Today I went shopping with my mom. We had a total blast! I bought a new purse.... drumroll please... I got a Coach purse! I NEVER, EVER spend that kind of money on myself and it was definitely hard to do, but I totally love it and am glad I got myself a little treat! Back to saving for the house! Here's a link to see my new purchase:
http://www.coach.com/content/product.aspx?product_no=8543&category_id=200
Mom got some REALLY cute clothes and we had a lot of fun! I haven't been to Arden in forever - and I haven't been shopping in forever!
Well, that's all folks. Email me if you'd like to see the rest of the pictures from the concert - between Alyse and I we have a total of 223 pictures!
Friday night Matt came to town and we partied like rock stars. We tried a new club, The Park, that we actually like a lot better than some of the other places we've been to. It was a hilarious night which is pretty much summed up by the following picture:
I know Brig, you hate me for posting it again, but I can't stop laughing when I see it. Amber was getting ready to take a picture of us (believe it or not, this is in the car before we started drinking) and hit the button early. My camera does this crazy anti-red eye flash and it caught Brig and I by surprise. This picture was followed by one where our faces were red and our eyes were watery from laughing so hard we cried. It was awesome to see Matt again! I'm sad he's moving to Orlando, but so happy for him and Lauren. And now I'll have another place to visit! :)
Saturday was a mellow, clean the house kind of day. Definitely some much needed relaxation after my long crazy week at work! We rented "RV" which was actually a pretty funny movie!
Sunday was my favorite day of the weekend. It was Country in the Park day! Brigitte, Alyse, Tori and I went together and since the SCSO was performing I had a VIP parking pass. We got to pull right through this little coned off area and park where the other important people and vendors parked - lol. :) We went in and found a spot for our blankets (which later proved useless) and then I headed back stage to find the rest of the group. Honestly, it was so cool. We got all of the free food we wanted (gourmet food - tri tip sandwiches, sushi, beer, salads, and all kinds of other yummy stuff). Little did I know, but I actually ate lunch next to Josh Gracin's band. It was hard to tell who was who back there. They had the tour buses all circled up around a bunch of picnic tables and everyone was just kind of hanging out. No, I didn't meet anyone famous - they were all hanging out in their trailers. It was a really cool feeling just to hang out backstage at concert and be treated like royalty!
After we warmed up and all that good stuff we went out on stage. I can't even begin to describe what a cool feeling it is to stand on a real stage and look out at 10,000 people. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it! Let me tell you, I could definitely get used to that! Here's a picture of us on stage:
And here's a picture of me singing:
Special shout out to Brig, Tori and Alyse for being my "stage moms" and taking such amazing pictures! :)
After we were finished we hung out for a while and then I headed out to watch the concert. It was so great! We ditched the blankets and stood up front, and when I say up front, I mean first/second row. Most of our pictures look like the artists are singing directly to us! The first band, Heartland, was ok. They came in at the last minute because their van broke down on the way back from Tahoe and they ended up doing a short acoustic set. A little bit disappointing. Josh Gracin came out next and was absolutely amazing! His show was energetic and super exciting. Alyse even caught a drumstick he tossed off the stage! This is Josh singing just to us (hey, four single girls can dream, can't they?):
After him came Phil Vassar who was also an amazing performer. The thing I loved most about him was that even if you didn't know who he was you definitely know at least one or two of his songs. He is a great songwriter and a lot of his music is sung by other musicians. I was wowed by his skills on the piano and by how great he was live! Here's Phil on the piano (he seemed to enjoy it up there):
Finally, Sara Evans closed the show. She was absolutely amazing. I was never a really huge fan (not as in didn't like her music or voice, but I think she just flew under the radar), but she definitely won me over with this performance. First thing, she was beautiful. I can't believe she has three kids and still looks like that! Secondly, she has an amazing voice and is a great songwriter. And finally, I love that her sister and brother are both in her band. There's nothing like the good old family vocals! Here's Sara doing her thing:
She's going to be on "Dancing With The Stars" next week - I loved that show last year and can't wait to watch and see what she can do!
Of course, no concert is complete without the typical Anna/Brig picture. We're not sweating, we're "glowing":
Today I went shopping with my mom. We had a total blast! I bought a new purse.... drumroll please... I got a Coach purse! I NEVER, EVER spend that kind of money on myself and it was definitely hard to do, but I totally love it and am glad I got myself a little treat! Back to saving for the house! Here's a link to see my new purchase:
http://www.coach.com/content/product.aspx?product_no=8543&category_id=200
Mom got some REALLY cute clothes and we had a lot of fun! I haven't been to Arden in forever - and I haven't been shopping in forever!
Well, that's all folks. Email me if you'd like to see the rest of the pictures from the concert - between Alyse and I we have a total of 223 pictures!
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