Honeymoon!

First of all, I absolutely can't believe that we're already at the last day of February! Two months through the year! I also can't believe that I'm still sick. The one thing that makes being sick bearable is booking your honeymoon to a tropical location. Yesterday Mike and I finalized our decision and are headed to beautiful St. Lucia in the Caribbean! I am beyond excited and can't wait to go!

Map of the Caribbean - St. Lucia is on the right!

We will be staying at the Sandals Grande St. Lucian Spa and Resort. I seriously cannot wait to be there! Our room will have an ocean view and the resort is all inclusive. Basically, we get all of our meals, all of our drinks, sailing, water skiing, snorkeling, other water sports, land sports and rides to and from the airport.

I want to be there NOW!!! :)

Book Review: Decoded

A few weeks ago I watched an Oprah show where she looked back on some of her favorite interviews, one of which was Jay-Z. She talked about his new book, "Decoded" which I decided to give a try. Oprah has always had a problem with rap music, especially the use of the "N word". They had a candid discussion about rap music in general as well as the language that rappers use. In his book, Jay-Z goes into even more detail.

Synopsis by Jay-Z:

"When I first started working on this book, I told my editor that I wanted it to do three important things. The first was to make the case that hip-hop lyrics—not just my lyrics, but those of every great MC—are poetry if you look at them closely enough. The second was I wanted the book to tell a little bit of the story of my generation, to show the context for the choices we made at a violent and chaotic crossroads in recent history. And the third piece was that I wanted the book to show how hip-hop created a way to take a very specific and powerful experience and turn it into a story that everyone in the world could feel and relate to."

I bought this book on my Kindle. It kept my attention because Jay-Z would spend a chapter talking about a specific part of his life and then a chapter of lyrics from his songs. The Kindle made it interactive, so when you hit certain lyrics, you could click on them and read a footnote by Jay-Z explaining what the synonym was or more details about the lyric.

I really liked how Jay-Z brought his life experience into the book and explained the "rapper persona". He says that hip hop artists are describing the only world they know through constant metaphor. His discussion about the "N word" is actually very interesting - he claims that people give words power and by not using them out of shame, you give the word more power than it is worth. Think about that for a minute. We're all taught that "shit" is a bad word, so we replace it with "shoot". The meaning is the same though, isn't it? Regardless of what I thought about the use of these words, Jay-Z makes you think in his book. I highly recommend it!

Album Review: Esperanza Spalding "Esperanza"

In watching the Grammy's this year, many people were very surprised to hear Esperanza Spalding win  the Best New Artist award. In fact, most people probably said "Who?". I decided to download her latest album "Esperanza" and give it a try. I was very pleasantly surprised. Not only does she have a beautiful voice, but she rocks the stand up bass!

This is definitely a jazz album, so pop people, beware. You'll notice very different chord progressions and harmonies than you're used to hearing in pop music. I really love the tone of her voice and she is very talented!

Favorite Songs: "Precious", "Espera" and "Love in Time".

Sick Again

Arg... here we go again. Last week I felt that telltale sore throat and here I am 5 days later with a raging sinus infection. To make matters worse, the antibiotic and my tummy did not get along well, so I ended up coming home today. Hopefully round two goes better.

The good news is that while I was sick all day yesterday, I quarantined myself to the sofa and caught up on a couple weeks of TV. I am not totally caught up on Oprah, Teen Mom 2, Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice! I am beginning to wonder why I have never watched Oprah before... it's really a very interesting show! She's had some cool people on and has covered some amazing topics.

Well, that's all from my little corner of the world. Not too interesting when you feel yucky!

Snow Day

The last couple of days have been awesome from a weather perspective! We got a nice little cold front that brought us our first snow of the season! We had some snow yesterday that led to a power outage... that lasted for several hours. It was a bummer because I was supposed to have my first work from home day in a while. I ended up at the Starbucks in Jackson, where it was noisy and caffeinated. Thank God, my future sister in law, Nicki called and invited me to come work from her office!

The bad news about the power going out is that not only do we lose our electricity, but we lose our water. That means we basically only have what's left in the pipes & toilet tanks. So no showers and only as many flushes as there is water in the tank. While that doesn't sound horrible, it does get annoying after a while. Mike is currently researching generators... we think it might be a really nice investment for us. We're looking for something that is going to power pretty much the whole house. One of the neighbors has one, and every time the power goes out, their house is like a beacon on the hillside.

This morning we woke up to some more snow... a good solid inch of fresh powder. I took Shadow down to the pen to play in it and he had a fantastic time frolicking around. I took some awesome pictures of the views we have and, of course, the pup playing.

The View of The Valley From Our Deck

Pretty Shot of The Trees

Shadow With Snow on His Nose

Later in the morning, I met up with Nicki, Skyler, Mike's mom, Mike's aunt and Nicki's dogs for a walk along the Mokelumne River. I took Shadow along for the adventure and was pleasantly surprised... he does really well with Molly and Ruby (Nicki's dogs). We walked for about an hour and a half. The river was absolutely raging and it was beautiful to see!

I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and napping. I picked up another cold and I'm really hoping that this one doesn't get as bad as the last one. At least I have a three day weekend to try to rest up!

Grammys in Your Jammies 2011

Welcome to the 2011 Grammys in Your Jammies review! This year I'm rocking my flannel owl jammies (Eva, you'll remember those from Hullabaloo a couple years back). Here we go! I do think it's sort of sad that we don't get to see more of the awards... I know that people want to see the performances, but it's like an hour in and I've only seen like 2 awards!

Performance Reviews

Aretha Franklin Tribute: Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welch, Yolanda Adams and Martina McBride performed a tribute to the great Aretha Franklin. Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Hudson can do no wrong in my eyes - both have absolutely amazing voices. I'm pretty sure that Jennifer Hudson is making a name for herself as the Aretha of our generation. I liked the harmonies between all five of the women. Martina McBride was not bad, but I've had a hard time with her ever since she made that "oldies but goodies" album... something with her just doesn't click with me anymore. Apparently Florence Welch didn't get the memo that everyone else on stage was wearing black... I'm not gonna lie, I had to look up Yolanda Adams, but the woman can SING!

Lady Gaga: I've been very slow to get on the Lady Gaga bandwagon. Not because I can't stand her music but because sometimes I just plain don't get it. I actually think she has a great voice, but she's just a little too abstract for me... I really liked this performance of "I Was Born This Way"... she can definitely dance and put on quite a spectacle. I think I might want to see her live to see what I think. That said, her costume was totally see through... like the top part. Was it plastic?

Miranda Lambert: I absolutely love "The House That Built Me". I wish Miranda Lambert got a little more publicity... she has a really cool old time country voice. There has to be something said for standing in the middle of the stage and singing your heart out. I loved that she dedicated it to the people before her and then showed video of the greats.

Muse: They have always sounded very 80's band to me and this performance of "Uprising" was really no different. It was an ok performance... nothing to spectacular. It was very Depeche Mode meets the Queen guitar riff.

Bruno Mars, B.o.B. and Janelle Monae: I really liked the string version of "Nothin' on You". I loved the black and white doo wop feel to "Grenade". I haven't heard of Janelle Monae before but I wasn't really digging the whole cape thing. She sang "Cold War" and while it was a good performance, it wasn't as catchy as the first two songs. Seriously, what was up the weird crowd surfing?

Justin Beiber, Jayden Smith and Usher: Am I the only person on this planet who doesn't think Justin Beiber is all that and a bag of chips? I'll give it to him, he can dance. But his voice is a little annoying to me. Maybe I'm getting old? That said, I loved the drum stuff. Very Polynesian! Jayden Smith needs to do some more work with his dad on the rapping stuff. Usher's dancing was awesome, as always.

Bob Dylan, Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers: I sort of liked Mumford and Sons... they did a very cool little performance.The banjo player cracked me up... he was really rocking out! I also liked the Avett Brothers - maybe more folk music is making a comeback? And then came Bob Dylan... *sigh* I just have such a hard time with him. I'm sorry people, but he's not a singer. One of the best songwriters of our time? Absolutely. Singer? Not even a little. His performance was terrible. He sounds like he swallowed soap. More banjo, less Bob.

Lady Antebellum: Excellent harmonies on "If You Don't Know Me By Now". I can't get enough of this group! I also liked the acoustic version of "American Honey". "Need You Now" is one of my favorite songs... I love Charles Kelley's voice. Again, I love when they just stand and sing... to me that's a true sign of an amazing performance. I'm so glad they won Best Country Album right after singing!

Cee Lo Green and Gweneth Paltrow: Puppets? Seriously? It's like the Muppets barfed on stage. And that was a lot of feathers. About two days ago, I did an album review saying how much I loved his new album... this weird performance knocked it down a little bit. I saw Gweneth sing this on Glee and she did a pretty good job... I liked it live too!

Katy Perry: I was actually pleasantly surprised by Katy Perry's performance of "Not Like the Movies". She's like the sparkly version of Lady Gaga. I thought it was a really cool touch to play her wedding footage in the background. Of course, she had to sing "Teenage Dream", which wasn't all that bad!

John Mayer, Norah Jones and Keith Urban: I LOVED their version of "Jolene". First of all, you have two of the most talented guitarists out there right now... and it was a cool folksy twist on a country classic. Norah Jones still has such a cool voice... I wish she got some more recognition!

Rihanna, Dr. Dre, Skylar Grey and Eminem: I really like the song "Love the Way You Lie". I liked the opening with just her and the piano. Eminem was awesome, as always... I don't think he puts on a bad show ever. When they transitioned into the new song "I Need a Doctor", they introduced Skylar Grey, who has a beautiful voice. And of course, Dr. Dre. I think it's been forever since he's performed live... this was awesome! Probably my favorite performance so far!

Mick Jagger: I love that man. He's so quirky and weird and it just works. The man is 67 years old and prancing around on stage like he's 20. Absolutely amazing. He sang "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" as a tribute to Solomon Burke, who died last year and the song went on forever, but in a good way. Totally felt like a live show.

Barbra Streisand: You either love or hate her, but you can't deny that she has a fantastic voice. Again, another just standing and singing performance (with an orchestra!). She still has amazing control over her voice!

Rihanna and Drake: Wow, Rihanna really teamed up with a lot of people this year! And apparently wanted to stay with the fire theme. She and Drake sang "What's My Name". I liked the dancing around the fire... kind of a different idea!

Arcade Fire: Not gonna lie, I hadn't heard of them.... but it was a very rock star performance with a twist of classical instruments and megaphones. Pretty neat... I'm going to have to look up their album! Joe Walsh so already beat them with the whole camera on stage thing, but the bikes were kind of fun.

Clothing Reviews

Ricky Martin: I actually said wow to his pants. Skin tight silver? Wow...

Bruno Mars, B.o.B. and Janelle Monae: I loved the throw back outfits, complete with retro hairstyles and spats!

Hayley Williams: (from Paramore) What the heck was up with that pink/black dress?! Pink and puffy at the bottom, black and see through in the middle... I was not digging it!

Lea Michele: I liked her dress... black but with a pretty bit of lace.

Miley Cyrus: Her dress was pretty, but she always looks like a little girl playing dress up to me... I think she needs to switch up her wardrobe a little bit!

Gweneth Paltrow: I was so worried for her boobies during the whole performance... it takes guts to wear something that plunges down to your belly. She definitely rocked it!

Seth Rogan: I really liked his suit! It was grey, but had some nifty texture to it!

Kris Kristofferson: He looks great and his all black outfit was really nice!

Jennifer Lopez: She looked HOT in her sparkly silver dress!

Who Got Screwed

Jay-Z: He really should have won for record of the year but because "Need You Now" and "Love the Way You Lie" were played so much more at the end of the year, I think he got overlooked.

EVERYONE in the Album of the Year category. Really? Arcade Fire over Eminem, Lady A and Gaga?

Quote of the night: "Country music is three chords and the truth". I love it!

Burn, Baby Burn!

Today Mike, Charlie, Chris, Tim and Raymond put on another training burn. Basically, people donate their homes/buildings to be burned to the ground by the fire department. The homeowners don't have to pay for the home to be demolished and the fire fighters have a space to practice in. This was my third burn and like all of the others was really cool to see. Each one is a little different, but the basic idea is the same - they are able to take a space, maintain the fire for 4-5 hours and allow all of the newer fire fighters a chance to practice in a "controlled" environment.

Fire!

The whole process actually starts long before the burn itself. Mike and the crew go into the house several weeks/months before the prescribed burn and remove anything that would be super toxic (carpet, shingles, windows, etc). They ensure that gas, electric and propane lines are all disconnected. Then they take the empty space and build plywood covers for the windows and for some of the doors. This way, they're able to control the fire as it burns.

Fire Fighters Getting Ready To Go In

Kristine, Amber, Luke, Mom and Dad all came up to watch with me today. Kris and I were talking about how mesmerizing fire is... we found ourselves staring at this burning building completely unaware of what was going on around us!

Luke, Amber, Kris and I at the training fire.

We made it up in time to hear the briefing (that's where they fill all of the firefighters in on what the action plan is for the day, what happens if someone gets hurt and how the whole day is going to play out). After that, Mike and Chris lit the house using bales of hay and pallets. The fire fighters were broken into groups and took turns going into the house to practice. The first couple of rounds were a chance for them to look at fire behavior and ventilation. The rounds after that were all about actually working to put the fire out starting from the very beginning outside - putting on all of their gear. It was really cool to not only see the fire fighters practice but to watch Mike and the other experienced fire fighters control the fire.

Finally, after everyone had their turn, they let the building burn to the ground. The primary objective there was to ensure that none of the surrounding structures or trees caught on fire.

Check out my Facebook page for all of the pictures... we got a ton of really cool ones as the house burned down!

Album Review: Cee Lo Green "The Lady Killer"

When I first heard the song "F**k You" on the radio, I instantly thought I recognized the voice, but couldn't quite place who Cee Lo Green was. In doing my research for this post, I discovered that he was in the group Gnarls Barkley (their big hit was "Crazy").

The whole album is spectacular! Be ready for a little shock; the song on the radio is censored to "eff you" but the song on the album throws it all out there. Shy of one other song on the album, the rest of the songs are clean (beware: "F**k You" definitely makes up for it!). Still, it has that Outcast-meets-old-school-R&B feel to the whole album... it's very catchy! I think Cee Lo has really found his niche... this is definitely his style of singing! I love the tone to his voice and have listened to the album several times in the past few days!

Favorite songs: "F**k you"

Super Bowl 2011

Well, that was underwhelming.

There were a couple ads that I thought were funny, but nothing that really had me thinking... in fact, I had to look up what products my top two favorites were for! That's not the end result advertisers really want!

My very favorite was the Bridgestone beaver ad:

The beaver's little "what's up" at the end totally cracks me up.

My second favorite was the Faith Hill Teraflora ad:

 I absolutely love when she says "So, you sent that...".

I was really disappointed in the National Anthem (seriously, Christina, you forgot the lyrics?!) and the half time show. Having seen the Black Eye Peas live, I expected a pretty spectacular half time show. I thought the sound quality was horrible and that they didn't really do anything spectacular.

Finally, the game itself. I was cheering for Green Bay, so I'm happy about the outcome. I know not every game is going to go down in history, but I felt like there wasn't really anything super exciting in this one. Don't get me wrong, it was a good game (and got close... I always love those games that are nail biters), but it just really didn't do it for me! 

Night Out With The Girls

Tonight I went out with some of my favorite girls for dinner. It's been forever since Brigitte, Amber, Kristine, Alyse and I have hung out! The girls came by my parent's house to see my wedding dress (I got to put it on again! I love it!!!). Kristine brought Luke who was VERY angry to see me in my dress... a couple years ago he proposed to me at Red Robin. For those of you who don't know, Luke is Kristine's little boy. I'm pretty sure he's going to punch Mike at the wedding.

After modeling my dress, we headed over to Red Robin to have dinner and catch up. It was so nice to just chill and chat! We followed up Red Robin with some Leatherby's ice cream. Holy cow, I love that place! It's been forever since I've been there, but they make the BEST banana splits!

We had the best time hanging out, talking and laughing! I love those girls!

Engagement Pictures!

As I updated you a few weeks ago, we met up with Michelle Trujillo to have some engagement pictures taken. I'm so incredibly happy with the outcome!

We took our pictures at the Sutter Hill fire station and managed to make that one place look like several different ones! Michelle was very creative with her choices in poses and made both of us feel relaxed. I have to admit, I actually go nervous! I'm not the greatest at posing and was worried I wouldn't look good! Michelle was so easy to work with, made us laugh and we had a lot of fun!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

Mike & I By The Fire Truck

Mike & I By The Fire Truck

Mike & I By The Shed

Mike & I By The House

Mike & I By The Rocks

There are a ton more posted on my Facebook page (all 48 pictures!), so visit the link if you'd like to see them! She did a bunch in black and white that are really beautiful as well! And if you're in the Sacramento area, I highly recommend Michelle - she takes excellent pictures and is VERY reasonably priced!

It's February!

I know, I'm stating the obvious. But holy cow, time is flying! We're already one month into the year!

Tonight I made home made fried rice and sweet and sour chicken. You must try it at home... it's delicious and super easy to do! I bought the little packets of seasoning, lots of fresh veggies and about 30 minutes later had dinner! Yum!