Here Comes The Bride

It seems to be the talk of the town, so I thought I'd chat about it here, too. No, it's not world peace or new inventions. It's THE Royal Wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton. There are tea cups and coins and commemorative plates. There's even some crazy plumber that had William and Kate tattooed on his teeth! Seriously, click here to see.

I cannot imagine, even for a minute, how stressful life must be for Kate Middleton right now. I get nervous thinking about my own wedding day... let alone one that basically has the entire world watching. Not to mention, she has some very serious shoes to fill. Following in Diana's footsteps must be extremely nerve wracking.

In addition, there are all sorts of really well kept secrets like what will Kate's dress look like (I think it will be a silhouette style) to what music will be played (I think a mix of classical and contemporary pop, however, I don't think the Queen will be doing the funky chicken... her loss). Then there are questions as to what her title will be once they're married... there are a ton of potentials.

I think what people are most enamored with is the fact that Kate Middleton is just a normal person, like you and me. Let's be real, we all love a good love story and one that involves a "commoner" becoming a princess is just plain irresistible. What's not to love?


So, long story short, yes, I'm taping it and will watch on Friday. I'm not as into it as a lot of people seem to be, but I definitely am curious. Thank God for DVR so that I can fast forward through the boring parts!

Shadow Learns Yoga

As part of my biofeedback program at Kaiser, the nurse recommended that I try yoga. I promptly told her that I don't bend and that I'm mortified to try to bend in front of other people. She suggested that I get a yoga tape to try in the comfort of my own home. Some of you may remember that once upon a time in college I tried yoga and it ended quite badly (I'm talking to you Dad... do I need to bring up the coffee can?).

But I digress. Today I purchased a video that has two workouts - one for the morning, one for the evening with different focuses (invigorating you in the morning and releasing stress in the evening). Mike was not home, so I decided to give the PM yoga a try.

I actually found it very relaxing. I felt some stretch in some of the poses (read: not entirely comfortable, but I think I'll get there) and I really liked the focusing on my breathing. That's the basis of the whole biofeedback program, so it makes sense that yoga would be a part of it. I think I'll definitely do some more practicing at home before venturing out into the real world yoga classes.

The best part was that apparently Shadow has been feeling some tension lately, so he decided to come over and check out yoga for himself. He started sniffing me and then decided he was going to lay down and focus on his breathing. I almost lost it when the calm voice on the tape said "Now it's time for downward facing dog". Shadow promptly rolled over on his back and moaned.

Seriously, I couldn't make this up...

It's Raining, It's Pouring

Hopefully that song is now stuck in your head like it is in mine! No, I'm not talking about the current weather (which, ironically, has consisted with off and on rain for the last day), but rather Kati's bridal shower. We had decided to do an English-style tea party for Kati's shower, using my parent's spectacular garden as a backdrop. The weather actually cooperated with us - for the bulk of the shower we had partly cloudy skies and it was pleasant. It did start sprinkling on us at the end, so we moved the party inside to open presents!

The day before the shower I went over to my parents where we cooked and cleaned all day. Mom and I had the vision of pretty much baking everything ourselves, which ended up being a ton of work, but well worth it. I found a fantastic scone recipe that we ended up using as a base dough and adding or subtracting the filler ingredients (we ended up making plain, chocolate chip and cranberry orange). Mom also made three different tea sandwiches - curried chicken salad, cucumber with herbed cream cheese and egg salad. They were delicious if I do say so myself! We also served Madeleine cookies, lemon cupcakes, devonshire cream, home made whipped cream, lemonchello candied almonds and fresh berries.

The Food Table

For the outside tables, I also really wanted to stick with the formal tea setting feeling. As favors for the guests, I spent the last couple of months scouring thrift shops to find tea cups... we had a complete hodge podge, but everyone really seemed to like getting their own piece of china to take home! I also used satin fans with the guests names printed on them as place cards at the tables. They were finished off with pink roses (one of Kati's wedding colors).

The Guest Tables

Here are the tables filled with people (and a view of the stunning roses growing on Mom and Dad's overhang!):

Garden Tea Party

Of course, we played shower games. The first was called 15 Questions and consisted of guests answering various questions about Kati, Nate and their relationship. The second game we played was actually a lot of fun. I had to visit my local Costco to get a lot of toilet paper to make this one happen. The ladies were broken into five teams of four to five people and given as much toilet paper as they needed. Each team had to pick a "model" and build a wedding dress for her out of TP. The rules were that they could do anything they wanted with the TP, but couldn't use anything else to aid in their dress making. The results were both stunning and hilarious:

Our Toilet Paper Brides

We then had some sprinkles, so we moved inside for the opening of presents and Bridal Bingo - each guest got a blank bingo card that they filled in with items they thought Kati would receive as presents.

Finally, here's a picture of Kati and some family - I really liked this one! From left to right: Elizabeth (Kati's soon to be sister in law), yours truly, Kati, Cyndy (Kati's soon to be mother in law) and my mama.

Family!

For more photos, hope on over to Kati's Facebook page - I think she'll be posting the remainder of the pictures soon!

Half Mast

It seems like Shadow is finally starting to feel a little better... yesterday, for the first time in three days, he was not only able to sit down but also to bring his tail up half way. It was very exciting! Trust me, it's really funny to see a dog try to run without using his tail - apparently they really do use it for balance! Poor little guy is still a bit uncomfortable. He's going to be on the meds until Saturday, so hopefully he continues in the right direction!

He's been hilarious on his medicine... it makes him more than a little loopy. He spent part of yesterday morning in his pen just staring straight up into the trees. Last night he got all crazy because it was raining. I can't wait to have my normal puppy back!

Rudder Tail

On Sunday night Shadow woke us up around 1am with whining, barking and general moaning. We spent the rest of the night up with him, trying to figure out what was wrong. At one point, I noticed that his tail was abnormally tucked. Those of you who know Shadow (or any lab for the matter), know that the signature of their breed is a wagging tail. Shadow couldn't seem to even lift his up, sit or lay down.

We went into the vet the next morning who promptly told us that Shadow had "Limber Tail Syndrome" also known as acute caudal myopathy, rudder tail and cold water tail syndrome. Basically, there is a cluster of nerves at the base of the dog's tail that when exposed to cold water (often swimming, but can also be bathing) gets seriously inflamed. This becomes so painful that the dog can no longer lift his tail up.

Our vet prescribed a medication that helps with the inflammation and pain (one that Mike later told me is a narcotic sometimes given to people who cannot tolerate Vicodin!) and needs a little rest. Basically, he's still a little uncomfortable, but is high as a kite! It takes 3-5 days for his tail to come back up... we're patiently waiting!

Droopy Tail Shadow

Poor puppy.

Oma's 82nd Birthday

Saturday was my Oma's 82nd birthday. We all headed to the Bay Area to celebrate with her. Adam and Eva had everyone over to their house for some amazing tri tip sandwiches! They also got Oma a delicious burnt almond cake from Dick's Bakery. Sadly, I'm still off the sweets for Lent (only one more week!), so I had to pass on the cake. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we had lunch and cake outside on the patio.

Oma On Her 82nd Birthday

Here's Oma, Kati and I.... can you guess where I get my blue eyes from? :)

Oma, Kati and I

Oma also posed for a picture with all the boys... including Marley!

Oma And The Boys

Today we had a fantastic day. I went to mass at the church that Mike and I are getting married in... so happy we picked it! After that, we headed out to Lake Tabeaud to take Shadow for a swim. He got in a good 25 minutes of swimming, followed by a jog around the lake (~2.25 miles). Shadow even saw his first horses - they were out walking on the trail. He had no idea what to do! Then Mike and I did another lap. It was a good hard run, with way more heat and hills than I'm used to (which would be a couple miles on the air conditioned treadmill). After that, we came home and I took a nice long nap. Tonight we've just been hanging out and relaxing. Not a bad Sunday!

Farewell to the Kings?

Well, things are not looking very good for the Sacramento Kings. I've been a fan for a very long time, and you've seen lots of pictures on this blog of the games. I've loved the team through good times and through bad. I think that's part of what makes a good fan.

Sacramento has always been known as having some of the best fans in the NBA. In fact, for a very long time, other teams did not look forward to coming to Arco Arena because we had the loudest fans in the NBA. Our fans have stood by the Kings through absolutely heartbreaking losses.

Due to a major serious of political and financial issues, it looks like the Maloofs (who own the Kings) will be filing to move the team to Anaheim, where they will become the Anaheim Royals. They can't stay the Kings because in addition to having two other basketball teams, LA has a hockey team named the Kings.

Here is the video of Jerry Reynolds and Grant Napear signing off for the season (and possibly forever). These two have been commentating for the Kings for years:

Absolutely heartbreaking.

I sincerely hope every owner in the league votes against the Maloofs. We'll see... The only real ray of light is
a billionaire by the name of Ron Burkle who claims to want to buy the Kings and keep them in Sacramento. All indications from the Maloof camp have been that they're completely against selling the Kings at all. Again, we'll see what happens. The NBA has pushed out the deadline to May 2nd, so we have another few weeks to speculate and agonize.

I'll leave you with a picture from our very last Kings game:

We Love Our Kings!

Biofeedback

Today I had my introduction to biofeedback class at Kaiser. I was diagnosed with migraines back in December/January and have struggled with my headaches. My prescription medicine works, but scares me since I sometimes get one of the side effects - jaw pain. Odd, I know. I checked and it's not anything serious, but it's not my favorite thing in the world. So I've still been doing a little relying on the Excedrin, which my liver will not thank me for in 30 years.

Kaiser offers this really cool program called biofeedback. Basically, they hook you up to all sorts of sensors that monitor your heart rate, your hand temperature, muscles in various parts of your body, etc. All of these measure different levels of stress, which can either be from the pain of your migraine or the cause of your migraine. You then learn to use your breathing and heart rate to bring some of those signs down... all while watching them on the screen. The general idea is that once you know how to bring yourself down, you'll be able to do it on the fly when you're anxious or stressed.

Today's session was just to teach us about what the class is and set up our first one on one with the nurse. I'm going next week and I can't wait!

Movie Review: Secretariat

Last night Mike and I finally got around to watching our latest Netflix movie, "Secretariat".

Director: Randall Wallace

Main Actors: Diane Lane, John Malkovich and Margo Martindale

Synopsis: (from IDMB) Housewife and mother Penny Chenery agrees to take over her ailing father's Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. Against all odds, Chenery -- with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin -- manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in twenty-five years.

Rating: This was a spectacular movie. I absolutely love Diane Lane and I think she did a fantastic job in the role of Penny Chenery. I also love the storyline - all about a horse who just wants to run. I wish they would have involved Secretariat's personality a little more. He was known as a powerful, intelligent horse who liked to pose for pictures. They showed a little bit of this, but the movie was more about the people than the horse (well, as much as a movie about a race horse could be about people). It was just very touching to see the relationship between horse and jockey/owner and I would have loved to see more. This is definitely a must see movie if you haven't already!

Animal Rescue Class

Today I took a really cool class through my C.E.R.T. team. The purpose of C.E.R.T. (Community Emergency Response Team) is to expand the footprint of the fire department during a disaster. Our team is also trained to do non-disaster work such as standby medical aid at events.

C.E.R.T. is near and dear to my heart and in my four years as a member, I've volunteered hundreds of hours (no joke!). Today we took it one step further and learned about how to handle animals in a disaster. It was a really great course that taught us all about how to "read" animal behavior in case we encountered them during a disaster situation (for example, while doing search and rescue). While learning about dogs and cats was interesting, I was really happy to learn more about how to handle the livestock (horses, cows, alpacas), sheep, goats and exotics.

I'm so proud to be a part of this program and so excited to see it continue to evolve (this is the first time this animal rescue class has been offered to us). If you're interested in joining a C.E.R.T. team (there are many in the greater Sacramento area), let me know and I'll get you in touch with the right people!

Ronald McDonald House

I know I don't blog much about work (for very good reason - I think it can definitely get you into trouble), however, I work for a fantastic company, Intel. Besides making the best processors on the planet, Intel is also very conscientious about doing good in the community. At least once a quarter we all don our blue t-shirts and head out to do something to help others.

Today we went to the Sacramento Ronald McDonald House to volunteer. In case you're unfamiliar with what they do, let me enlighten you. Ronald McDonald houses provide a "home away from home" for families who's children are undergoing treatment for anything from cancer to traumatic injury in one of the five area hospitals. The families are given a private bedroom with shared kitchens, playrooms and living rooms to allow them to be close to their children during their difficult times.

My team was there today to complete two projects. The first was creating journals that are given to the children and families. They can draw pictures, write down their feelings and document their experiences. We used rubber stamps to decorate the pages and tied them all together with ribbons. The second project was to create greeting cards for the families to use while they stayed at the house. They could use them to send thank you notes to doctors and nurses or notes home to other family members.

While it was heartbreaking to hear some of the children's stories and even more heartbreaking to hear that there are so many families in need that the Ronald McDonald House actually has to turn them away, it felt good to be able to help out, even if it was in a small way!

Album Review: Adele "21"

My most recent musical purchase is Adele's sophomore album, "21". For those of you unsure about who Adele is, she's an English singer-songwriter. You may have seen her on the Grammy's in 2009 when she won best new artist. Her albums are titled by the age that she was when they were written and released. She's very honest in her songwriting and writes about the love and heartbreak in her life. She even does a cover of The Cure's "Lovesong" with a really cool bluesy, jazzy spin to it.

What I love most about this album is Adele's voice. She has a very bluesy, gritty voice that I could listen to all day long. Even better, she knows how to use it. From her careful phrasing choices to dramatic runs, you want to continue to listen to the album to see what she'll do next. This is definitely a must own album!

Favorite songs: "Rumour Has It", "Set Fire to the Rain", "Take It All", and "I Found a Boy".

My Orchard

I spent a good portion of this last weekend doing some very therapeutic gardening. For me, there's just something about planting something in the ground and watching it grow. I'm actually nerdy enough that I go out almost every day and look to see if I can see if anything has grown (believe it or not, if you pay attention to plants, you can sometimes see changes over night!). It's hard for me to describe why that makes me happy, but it does. There's nothing like a beautiful flower or a fresh apple to make you feel like the digging and watering was worth it!
I am determined this year to pay better attention to my vegetable garden - last year it produced a lot, but I was terrible about actually getting out there, picking the food and then cooking with it. I've also made an effort to plant things I'll actually eat! Here's what went into the veggie garden:

Watermelon
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Three types of peppers
Artichoke
Strawberries

I also started an orchard. I did pose the question on Facebook as to what actually constitutes an orchard and most people agreed that it's a group of trees planted in a row. The wikipedia definition is as follows: "an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production". Yup, I've got one of those! The Blankenheim orchards consist of the following:

2 Granny Smith apple trees
2 Fuji apple trees
2 apricot trees
2 orange trees

Further away on the property we have 2 olive trees, two avocado trees, a peach tree and a lemon tree. Needless to say, in the next couple of years I intend to do some serious pie/strudel baking. I honestly can't wait to have fruit on all of my trees! I'm pretty sure I should have invested in some Lowe's stock... in fact, the one thing that I think is missing is some cherry trees! I'm going to check our local nursery because Lowe's only had the ultra-dwarf versions that don't get very tall and with the deer, we need something that has some height. So happy it's spring!

Anna Get Your Shot Gun

On Sunday I did something I never thought I would do... I fired a shot gun. Several recent events prompted me to pick up a gun for the first time in my life. I don't care to go into too much detail regarding one of the incidents, but I'll just have you know that I feel the need to be able to protect myself and my home. The other is the latest in pictures on our game camera:

Mountain Lion

Here Kitty Kitty!

Yup, we've definitely got mountain lions. Big ones. Well fed ones. Who apparently don't have any issues hunting.

Mike and I went out with our friend Logan to teach me how to use the gun. I was scared to death... it probably took me a good ten minutes to pull the trigger the first time. Even after being told how powerful the shot gun is, I was still a little surprised (and very surprised the next day when I had actual bruises on my shoulder from the kick!). Once I got going, the shooting part was not hard at all.

I hope to never have to use the gun, but I feel more confident that I can take care of myself now. I spent a long time thinking about whether or not I would actually be able to pull the trigger, and I believe I could if faced with serious danger. I feel really good about being able to protect myself, my family and my home.