My New Favorite Things...

This song is so cool--I bought the music but it's been a work in progress...Thanks Jessica for teaching me about this guy's website!


This is the most fun music book! It's just piano solos of beautiful melodies that are quick to learn and sound great!


We got these bags at the store a couple weeks ago and I HAD to have it! It doesn't go with a lot but the colors were so cute I couldn't resist. :)


Isn't this the cutest flannel? My grandma found out about this fabric store online and I bought this piece for the perfect baby blanket. I'm excited to start working on it.


My new favorite shoes! I'm not really a name dropper, but I found these Michael Kors shoes at Ross for $14.99--originally $160! That's 93% off! They were such a great deal that I just picked them up and bought them! I didn't wear them for awhile and now I wear them every chance I get--totally cute and the most comfy heels I've had in a long time!

Toothache...

This weekend was a blast. My Aunt and Uncle came to town to visit and we hung out with them and my cute cousins and played games, colored and just plain ol' relaxed. It was very nice. Well, Monday rolled around and I started getting a toothache. It was a little bizarre. The last time I remember my mouth aching was when my wisdom teeth started growing in. At first I figured that's what the problem was is that it was just continuing to grow and maybe bugging another tooth. Well, by Wednesday is was unbearable. A great diet tool because I didn't want to, and couldn't eat hardly anything, but other than that it was pretty miserable. I called the dentist to make an appointment and they could get me in Thursday (yesterday) or next Thursday--(I would have gone insane waiting that long!) The only problem was that I couldn't get out of work because my dad was out of town. So, Brian graciously stepped in to go to the store in the morning and would head off to his job when I got back, so yesterday I headed up to the dentist.
Of all of the professionals that are allowed to poke and prod, the dentist is my least nerve racking. I still get a little antsy, but nothing compared to the rest of the medical world. So I got there and told him what the problem was a he took an x-ray...He then said the only problem could see right off would be my wisdom tooth and that he could 'extract' it if I wanted. HOLY COW! I was not prepared for that. I was thinking he'd refer me to an oral surgeon and give me something for the pain while I waited. I didn't even think dentists took out wisdom teeth anymore. I asked if I could go to the restroom first, so I composed myself and came back ready for the 'extraction.' Which, by the way, I think they should have code words instead of these awful ones. Extraction sounds terribly painful...if he called it 'cotton candy' instead, even though he's doing the same thing, I don't think it would psych people out as much.
So he gave me the usual q-tip with ambesol and let it sit while he prepared the shot. (you may want to stop reading if you get queasy..) In my head I was thinking, "I can't believe I'm losing a tooth today.." Usually when something like that happens you have a couple days at least to think about it...rather than the couple seconds I had. So, the normal cheek wiggle and two quick shots on the outside and then, the most painful think I've felt in a while, he stuck a shot in the roof of my mouth! I actually let out a little squeal of pain, and I consider myself pretty tough. Wowsers. He did tell me though that's the best his arsenal had so I guess the worst was over, right? The only thing really keeping me going was knowing that a friend of mine had been induced the same morning and if she could have a baby, I could get a lousy tooth pulled. So I got all brave and numb and the dentist came back in. He did a small filling first being as I was numb and then began the 'cotton candy.' See, doesn't that sound better... I can honestly say it was the weirdest feeling in the world. There was intense pressure, but no pain. ewww...I'll spare you the details, but lets just say I'm all for the quick band-aid rip rather than the slow go which is what I got on my tooth. And word to the wise, close your eyes so you can't see the shiny tools being used. Anyway, it was like 2 minutes and then done. He went over how I needed to take care of it the next few days and then I was off. Well, not really. I went to go pay and get an appointment for my teeth cleaning and I felt so dizzy. I figured it's because I didn't eat breakfast and then like a water pitcher, I felt the blood pour out of my face. I asked the lady if I should feel a little dizzy and she grabbed me and sat me down. I don't recall walking but all of a sudden my head was between my knees and I was on the couch. THAT was fun. So I sat there for a few minutes and then the dentist took me back and told me to lay down for awhile. The problem was that I had gone alone (i didn't think I would have a tooth pulled) and my dentist is in Placerville. (trust me, when you find a good one, you'll make the drive..) So, he told me to stay awhile so I would be okay to drive home. After about 20 minutes I hopped in the car and headed home. What a morning! I stopped by Costco to pick up my prescription and I'm sure I looked like a wreck. I had gauze still in my mouth and the numbness was wearing off, so each step I took rang in my mouth. The pharmacy gal looked at me like I'd just come back from the dead...
Anyway, yesterday was pretty bad, but today I'm feeling much better. I'm still sore, but nothing like it was. I do find the whole thing a little ironic though that I went in with a toothache and came out with a whole MOUTH-ache!

such a cute box for such scary procedure...and I know, that tooth is disgusting, but I couldn't believe how enormous is was!!

Long Beach: Episode 2: All Alone...

Some of you recall the first episode of "Long" Long Beach with my momma and the security search and the plane ride and the barf bag and the 'Wicked' adventure...Quite the experience. Anyway, my bro and his wife needed help again with Sam-Sam during their busy time and I was crazy enough to do it. (Secretly I was hoping I could get my mom to come again, but business was a little rough.)
SO, I got all my courage up and packed my things in the car and began the adventure. Yes, I drove this time--even though I HATE to drive, especially alone, but I hate throwing up even more, so I was okay with the white knuckles rather than the nauseated stomach. Well, it started off alright--I drove down the day before labor day, so a Sunday, and thanks to Austin's IPOD I had plenty of 'church music' to keep me occupied. About an hour after I hopped onto the 5 I was really sick of driving and I still had 4 HOURS TO GO!! Ugh...The worst part was that I have a hard time keeping my speed steady, I would just follow the car in front of me, but there were a lot of cops out on the road so we would be going along and then all of a sudden, everyone would slam on their brakes. In fact, I started to count cops to keep myself entertained. Well, I stopped at 14 because it started getting depressing. I don't think I've ever seen double digit cops in one month's time, let alone ONE DAY! The good part was that I never saw one driving, they were all pulled over with victims looking sad in their seats. heh...I decided I should just set the cruise at like 82ish and not worry about them. Only one problem: I didn't know how to work the cruise in my car. I've only had this car a little over a year and haven't been on a trip ever in it, we've always taken Brian's more roomy car. Well, with gas prices as high as they are--(well, were on labor day weekend), my little Jetta would have to do. I looked all around for a 'cruise' button or switch and after turning on my windshield wipers, flashing my brights, spraying my windshield, and trying every other switch on the dash, I FINALLY figured it out. Whew...the car in front of me must have thought I was insane! Turns out it was on a wand right behind the bar in my steering wheel so it was well hidden. The rest of the drive was alright...boring, but okay--until I got onto the 405. Man, I've hated being a passenger on that freeway since I was a little kid, and have only driven it like twice before, once when I was an invincible 18 year old and once at night when it was quiet, so it was quite the white knuckle drive. The cars are going like 85 miles an hours and following behind each other by 6 feet! The crazy part is that they aren't just clunker bumper cars, they're $80,000 mercedes, bmw's, and I even saw 2 bentleys. CRAZY! Needless to say, I was happy when I finally got to Long Beach. My fingers needed a rest. :)
The week with Samuel was filled with fun...and lots of tears...his AND mine! On Monday I felt quite confident that I could help him form the habit of falling asleep in his crib rather than the car, but 12:30 rolled around and the munchkin was tired! I read him a story and plopped him in his crib...well, lets just say I gave up on that idea and we went for a car ride. ;) Sorry guys, but that's a battle I'm not patient enough to fight. I did get VERY familiar with the roads down there--no freeways of course--but I had a nice little half-hour and hour loop depending on how stubborn Sam-Sam was feeling for nap and bedtime. I do have to say, there aren't very many places I've been in the world, but the SoCal coast is one of the prettiest places in my book. From about Huntington down to Laguna, it's just GORGEOUS! There's nothing more perfect to me than 75 degrees and the wind, and the sand and the sound of crashing waves. Ahh...it makes me miss it.
Anyway, apart from anything related to sleeping, Samuel was a fun guy to be around, exhausting, but fun. And super smart! It was great to watch him little mind soak everything in. We read lots of books, played cars a lot, went to the park and the beach, waded in the pool, went shopping and fed the ducks a few times. Well, twice we fed the ducks...The first time he had a BLAST and there was a park close to their house so we went there and he would just say "quack quack" and laugh and clap and a couple times clocked the ducks in the head while throwing them bread. I put him up on a picnic table because there were some geese as big as him and I remember being little and deathly afraid of the big white ones. (they still make me a little nervous). So the second time it was hot and shaded picnic tables were all full so I decided we could be brave and feed the ducks on the ground...At first there were just little guys and Samuel was loving it! Then out of nowhere a swarm of both ducks and geese came over to get in on the food action. They started making me nervous so I helped throw some food farther away from us to keep a safe distance and then I felt a pinch on my leg! Not a light pinch either. A GOOSE BIT ME! Not a little goose either. He came up to my waste and got me bad! I think he was a baby ostrich. I totally screamed--one from the shock and two because IT HURT! He came in for another bite and I didn't know what to do so I kicked him! Yeah I know, I'm not proud of it but I was terrified! And I must have hurt him because the squawking got louder and weirder. I grabbed Samuel and ran for the car! He started crying because I'm sure my screaming scared him too. Whew, that was the end of the duck park.
We also had a lot of fun at the grocery store. I know how hard these Loooong bookstore days can be so I wanted to make the bookies this yummy Indian dish I just discovered. I was a little nervous to go with him because I didn't really know how he would react if he saw something he had to have and I didn't get it for him. It turned out just fine. In fact, it was pretty entertaining. I'd hand him whatever it was we were buying and he'd turn around and launch it into the back of the cart then he'd clap for himself with a huge grin on his face. It was cute. He even got some stickers from the check stand man. Score!
I don't really know what other entertainment to share with you since it's been almost a month since I've been down there, but I'm ready to go back. Sorry guys, not to watch Samuel, but to visit DISNEYLAND!! We were sooo close to it but there was no way I would take him by myself, just because I would be too sad paying for a ticket and not getting to ride all the fun rides. :) Soon....

Okay, I totally don't know what he's doing here, but it was so funny I had to record it. He would make funny noises with his mouth and fingers and if you did it back to him he would just laugh and laugh and laugh!


Having Fun at the Beach!


What's in the bucket?


Alright, this is an awful picture of me, but his face says it all...

Really?

So today I went to Fed Ex to drop off some boxes for our Cupertino store and on my way out you'll never guess who held the door for me...The UPS man!! UPS delivering to Fed Ex...seems a little fishy to me.

Mammoth Lakes

After a long hot summer, Brian and I really needed to ditch town for the weekend. My dad was kind enough to watch the store a few weeks back on Friday and Saturday so I could get a MUCH needed break. I told Brian to take Friday off and I'd surprise him with somewhere fun to go. Well, first I thought Monterey...then Tahoe...then when I was all out of ideas I called my brother who told me to check out Mammoth Lakes. Wow, I'm sure glad we did because it was B--E--A--Utiful! Three days is really not enough time to enjoy all it has to offer.
When I hear about Mammoth, my first thought is ski resort...and it is BIG for that, but the summertime is gorgeous and the hotels are cheap! There are lots of mountain bikers as some of the ski slopes are transformed for summer fun. It has a cozy feel and the town has a free little trolley that will take you all around. We really had a blast. We went hiking to some beautiful sites and just hung around the town, but the highlight of our trip was DEFINETLY the horse back ride.

Wow...

That's really all I have to say about that...

It all started because Brian has never been horseback riding. A friend I had when I was young had horses and a little ranch so I was familiar with them and then in high school one of my besties had horses that we would take and ride around the neighorhood and out onto some trails. Anyway, I thought it would be a blast to ride around with Brian on the beach in Monterey. It seemed totally romantic. Well, when we saw the sign for horseback trail rides around beautiful Mammoth, we had to give it a try. Again...wow.
We picked a trail that went around a few lakes and the description sounded perfect. "Beautiful scenic ride through wooded forest, wildflower covered hills, and spectacular views of Lake Mary and Lake George." From the sounds of it, two hours was not enough time to take all that in! It was quite the experience. I knew we were in for it when we were asked if we wanted a helmet and to sign a waiver in case anything were to happen to us on our ride. So, we bravely got on our horses and started out in our group...Brian on a giant named Dar and me bringing up the rear with Blackie. The guy getting me situated told me that Blackie could get lazy so I'd have to give him a few hard kicks to keep up. Great. There were 8 of us brave souls on this ride with two guides. One at the front and one four horses back..Brian and I were at the very end of the line. Not the place for a beginner and someone who hasn't been on a horse in forever! Right off the bat I got a little uncomfortable. I was hoping it would be a little more elementary school field trip style where there's a leader in the front and a leader in the back. But nope, it was just me and Blackie at the end. Not the place I would have positioned Mr. Lazy pants. About 5 minutes into the ride my horse and I could barely see the group ahead despite all the kicking and clicking. The guide finally came back to me and handed me a stick to smack my horse with everytime we fell back. What a nightmare. Two hours suddenly looked like it was going to last an eternity. I'd smack Blackie with the stick and he'd gallop about two strides and then I'd have to smack him again. As for the scenic tour--yes, there were parts that were beautiful, but the majority of the time, my personal scenic tour involved a huge horse's rear and a few bathroom breaks along the way. Sounded just like the brochure to me!
A little before halfway I started to get really anxious to the point where I really wasn't having fun anymore. I was just ready to be done. We were not just cruising along flat ground, our horses were hiking up rocky steep hills to these outlooks of the lakes and in my mind I realized we'd have to go back down them. Getting up there was scary enough! As Blackie went down the rocky steps I'd have to lean waaaaay back in my saddle to stay on because he'd put his two front legs down and then wait a second before getting his other feet down. Ugh, the stomach ache is coming back to me now.
We finally got safely back to the corral and I've never been more happy to be on my own two feet instead of Blackie's four. Definitely not the romantic horseback ride I envisioned Brian and I going on, but it sure makes a great story for the rest of you!
Anyway, our trip was too short and we will surely be back to Mammoth again in the future...next time though, we'll be skipping the horses.

Here we are at Mammoth Mountain

An great view of the Minerets; a group of mountains in between Mammoth and Yosemite.

We hiked down to rainbow falls one morning to see the beautiful place.

The ridiculous stairmaster to get down to the falls.

Brian looking teeny tiny next to the monstrous falls.

This is Devil's Postpile..a national monument that was made from volcanos and ice a few hundred years back...I didn't really get the whole story, but the kid walking next to us said the rocks looks like giant french fries...I concur. ;)


The sign that started it all...

The real "scenic view" they forget to tell you about.

Alright, excuse the horrific posture, but really, my face says it all. And if you look closely, you can see the stick I taunted Mr. Blackie with the whole ride.

A truly spectacular view of one of the many lakes around, I think this was Lake George

On our way out, we ventured over to Bodie, a real live ghost town.

Work!! Work!! Work!!

So August for our family doesn't mean a last ditch effort to squeeze in summer fun...we basically kiss our summer goodbye after the 4th of July...it's been work work work from then on! Only now are we getting to relax and recoop...(and blog..). So here's a look at my life in the month of August...

 

The smile was purely for the camera as it was above 100 degrees I'm sure...glad those days are almost done!

Summer Time!

Alright, for the most part, Brian and I have had a pretty laid back summer. He just started a new job at the beginning of July making time off a little hard, and my busy time at work starts the end of July lending NO TIME OFF there, so seeing that September is here and Summer's gone I figured I'd post the few fun times we had.
As tradition has it, our youth took a lake trip this summer that I went along on. It was a ton of fun...(except the burning nose from all the water I inhaled..oh, and the burning skin after my sun screen washed off...) One of the leader's brought her husband along to drive the boat and he is a crazy good wake boarder. I figured if I was gonna learn to wake board, it wouldn't hurt to learn it from the best. I wish I took some video because he was doing flips and 360's...it was cool. So, I get all brave and head out with a bunch of youth wanting to learn to and the closer it got to my turn, the more the pit in my stomach grew. In fact, when it was time for me to strap in, my legs were shaking so bad I could hardly get the booties on. Whew, just thinking about it makes me a little nervous. Anyway, off into the water I went with great instructions: keep your arms close to your chest, turn the board as you get going and easy peasy, you'll pop right up.
Well, first try...the rope snapped right out of my hands. I don't think I was quite ready. Attempt number two...I got a three second ride being pulled through the water...Number three...well, the rest of my attempts were basically the same--with me inhaling more water every time I fell back. By the time I was safely in the back of the boat again, I realized what the problem was. I hate having my head go under the water. Naturally growing up at the beach I love the water...but I never did the surfing of boogie boarding thing. Sun bathing was my specialty. On occasion when we were insane enough we'd go out and jump the waves and feel them lift us high off the ground...but never did I put my head under the water. As I got ready each time on the wake board, I felt myself pull hard to try and get up and at that pivotal moment where you straighten up, I would whimp out, knowing that if I straighten out too much, I'd been falling uncomfortably forward face first and not calmly on my back.
It was terribly embarrassing because truthfully I don't like to try new things unless I am confident enough that I will succeed at least to a small degree. But no, nothing...I wasn't even close to getting up once. And thanks to a patient driver and passengers I tried for a good while before giving up...(also something I don't normally do..) I had tried wake boarding once awhile back when I was 15 or so at my annual youth lake trip so I figured I was a little more coordinated--not the case.
Anyway, despite the embarrassment, it was a good time. We all had lots of fun..and one of these days I'll be brave enough to give this wake boarding thing another go and get my head good and soaked.




This first one I was ready freddy...all smiles and confident that THIS time for sure I would get up...but, as this bottom picture shows the only thing I got better at was the splashing...hmph!

4th Of July!

Hope everyone had a happy fourth of July! I know, I'm a little late posting...usually I love posting mumbo jumbo on my blog, but when events back up, I don't look forward to playing catch up. So, anyway, my 4th of July was quite relaxing. We closed the store for a couple days before and I finished up my drapes that have been looming for like 8 months now, and we had some family in town so we just hung out and played at the parks, ate lots of good food and of course, lit some fireworks. I was a little bummed out leading up to the 4th because as a family we have gone to Lake Tahoe for the past few years and enjoyed the amazing fireworks lake side. My parents equate it to a spiritual experience...which I don't know if I'd go that far, but it does instill a tremendous sense of pride for the country we live in...and Tahoe holds a special place in my heart because I got engaged there 4 years ago. :) It turns out we had a great time just being together and laughing and playing games and building lincoln log villages.

Pump it Up!

I learned about this indoor bounce world called Pump It Up when we went there one night for mutual and have been talking about getting our family together to go there sometime. Well, my sister and her family were in town the end of june and so we decided to rent it out for an hour and go wild! It was soo much fun! They have giant blow up slides, an obstable course, jousting, boxing, basketball and whatever your imagination can dream up. It was a blast. When we first got there I felt a little embarrassed when the lady asked us how many kids there were. Luckily we had little Russell, but HEY, we all act like kids...does that count? So we had our little "adult party" she called it. Here's some shots and video of the fun!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What IS that?

Did anyone guess spinach pasta? I know, it looks like something out of a sci-fi movie that could come to life at any moment. I've had the baking bug bad these last couple weeks. I made rolls, whole wheat bread, (which by the way, makes the BEST grilled cheese..) and then the spinach pasta. I've only made pasta once before...no, I take that back...I've WATCHED the pasta making process once before and it looked like fun to add spinach into it. So, three hours and a bicep workout later we finally had dinner. It was like 10:00pm before we even ate. You have to like knead in flour, let it rest, knead in more flour, let it rest...let's just say if I would have read through the whole recipe first, I wouldn't have bothered. It was a lot of work for some funky colored noodles. It reminds me of a friend who used to hate cooking, she said it was because it took so long to make and then was devoured in minutes. I'm siding with her on this one. NEVER AGAIN! I guess if I did it in a mixer it would have been much easier--so maybe I will do it again, because despite the hassle and time they were DELICIOUS!

Pick-Up Trucks

Alright, so this happened a couple weeks ago, but I remembered it and told Brian the other day so I thought I'd share it with you. I was coming home from work one day and waiting at one of the 50 billion stop lights I get stuck at..(sometimes I count how many times I really have to stop at a light and have contests from day to day...but then it gets depressing counting all the precious time i'm wasting.)

ANYWAY...out of the corner of my eye I saw this guy in a truck waving his arm around. He was motioning me to roll my window down. I thought for a second and then rolled my window down to see what he needed. He asked me how to get to a certain street from the one we were on and I had no idea. You'd think after 4 years of living in Sacramento I'd know my way around, but no. Anyway...I told him I knew he could get there from the freeway but we were a few miles away from there. Then the next thing he asked me was, "Is that a wedding ring you're wearing?" I said, "yes." Then he was like, "awww..man...I know where I'm going, I was just trying to work my magic." Wowsers...then I really didn't know what to say...I just kept chanting in my head, "green light...green light.." Then he asked me if I was happy, I of course said yes. What a creep. Then after what seemed like eternity the light turned green and I zoomed away.
So, there you have it. The ultimate 'pick-up' truck.

Tagged!

1. What was I doing ten years ago?

Rejoicing for summertime between 7th & 8th grade. I was never much a fan of school and LIVED for the three short months we had in between. As I look back though, middle school was definitely the most fun. I won't even tell you that my husband was just getting home from his mission ten years ago, that's another story. ;)


2. What are five things on your to do list?

a. Make it through this week. I must admit, even though I took a day off, I have yet to recover from the mountains of drama going on and on and on and on...
b. Go on a date with my hubby...(yes it's on my to do list since I'm such a homebody, I like to stay in on the weekends and he wants to get out!)
c. Finish my living room curtains.
d. Wash & vacuum my car..
e. Clean bedroom #3 (that's been on the list for as long as we've lived in our house...it's the perpetual 'thing to do' when all others are done, hence the reason it's been so neglected.)


3. What snacks do you enjoy?

During the summertime, FRUIT! Especially berries and watermelon...mmmm...also apples and cheese (don't knock it till you've tried it..), and natural cheetos (sounds like an oxymoron I know, but they're tasty).


4. What would you do if you were a billionaire?

QUIT MY JOB!! Get a great financial advisor and invest the majority of it to keep giving me back...then I think I'd go to culinary school just for the heck of it and open a bakery. Sell my house and buy a better one, maybe not a bigger one, but a better one, with a big backyard, and then I'd buy my doggie back. I am a cheap skate at heart, so I'd mostly hoard it and watch it grow.


5. List three bad habits.

a. I love to bake sweets. Not normally a bad thing, but lately I've been trying to watch what I eat and so I've had to fight the urge to play with flour and sugar.
b. I don't talk about my feelings. Again, not normally a bad thing except that once it gets to be too much I can't really function properly.
c. I enjoy teasing my husband to the point that he gets irritated...definitely a bad thing. :)


6. Places you have lived.

Grover Beach, Nipomo, Provo, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova



7. List five jobs you have had

a. Flyer girl (you know those annoying fliers on your doorstep? Yep! That was me! As a cute little 10 year old, it was a good gig.)
b. Hallmark Employee
c. MTC cleaning supervisor...yes, a blue vest girl. Someone had to keep that brass shiny shiny!
d. Bookstore manager
e.


8. List five things people may not know about you.

a. I love roller coasters! The faster and higher the better!
b. I sweat A LOT! Something I just found out about myself in the last couple years...I've always lived in mild weather so I thought I never sweat but in the heat in Sacramento...well, let's just say, triple digits and I are not friends.
c. I enjoy doing "handy man" jobs.
d. I love a nice relaxing bubble bath, but can only handle it for 15 minutes, then I'm done.
e. I can wiggle my ears.

Bible?

Alright, I just have to share this for all you book-ies out there. We've been going through our store to send out books we have an excess of and one of our great employees asked me if he could type in the ISBN and it would tell him the author to look up. Well, the book was The Oxford Study Bible and I happened to know the author to avoid him doing extra work. It's just listed under "bible" for the author and he told me he was tempted to look the book up under "God."
So, maybe you had to be there, but it made for a much needed Friday afternoon laugh!

SUMMER OLYMPICS

I've been getting excited these past few weeks for the Summer Olympics to start. I know August is still a couple months out (thank goodness!), but I love watching them on tv; Summer especially! One day, I'd love to go to the opening ceremonies and catch a couple of events. I'll have to get over my issue with crowded places, but then I'M GOING. After watching this video and knowing my aversion to crowds and maintaining personal space...China is far from my dream Olympic experience. So, I'll happily watch this year's events from the cheap seats in my living room.

Just Call Me Deputy...

I love my job...heh...rrrright. So it's not what I would have chosen to with my life, but it pays the bills. In fact, the more I think about it, it's not that great at all, but it definitely keeps me on my toes.

FOR INSTANCE...

Last Friday we had a guy come in who looked a little shady, (which I feel a little bad about judging him so early on, but it was justified by the time he left.) He bought some books with a temporary check, but I didn't think anything of it until he came in to return them. We have a check clearing machine that approved it so I gave him cash back. Well, come to find out when I was in the back he came again and wrote ANOTHER check and then returned a book on that receipt. DEFINITELY SHADY! So, we decided we wouldn't be accepting his checks anymore if he came in again.
SOOOO, today he strolls in and a few of us recognized him and came up with our plan to refuse his checks and the next thing I know he's leaving the store with a larger stomach than when he came in...(and a little pointy too!) He had put a book under his jacket and left!

NOT ON MY WATCH!!!

We've had theives before, so I'm a seasoned veteren when it comes to confronting loonatics. I chased him down and said, "GIVE ME THAT BOOK BACK NOW!!" He was around the corner by then and trying to get on his bike when I saw him reach under his sweater. At this point I thought, "great, he's gonna pull out some sort of weapon and I'm gonna die for a stupid calculus book." Not the blazy of glory I was hoping for. Well, lucky for me he pulled out the book and threw in on the ground and I said, "You just stole that book!" And do you know what he said, "uh, yeah, sorry."
Oh, sir, thanks for the apology, you know what, you keep that. You almost got away anyway. PSH! Was that supposed to make me feel better?? So, I yelled at him a little, told him I'm calling the cops, and to never come back again. I hate having to deal with these situations. And worse, I just felt violated.
Sadly, the story continues. HE CAME BACK!!! Didn't I tell him I'd be calling the police!?!? I guess it's true what they say that crooks are stupid. He came to sell back some books and the employee I had doing them called me over to deal with it. Yeah, and I dealt with him for good!!! You could tell he was a little shocked to see me again. :) ha! That's right, I may be a woman, but I could have taken him!

Need A Good Laugh?

Here's some waterslide fun!

Scouty

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Tragedy Strikes

Well, tragedy struck 3 weeks ago, but I haven't been able to think about it without losing my composure and crying my guts out, but I need to document the bummer stuff too I guess.
SOOO, Brian works for a work comp. company and the account he's on is switching companies. He's been to a ton of interviews, had a couple offers but sadly none close to home. (With gas over $4 now you'd think that's the tragedy I speak of but it gets worse!) He'll end up commuting 45 min each way to work everyday which sounds fun.
The problem we're faced with is our puppy. We don't have a yard so we kept our Scouty inside while we were gone to work and Brian would come home for lunch and take him for a walk so the longest he was ever alone was 4 hours. Well, commuting a farther distance he can't come home, and I'm a ways out too. We explored every avenue for the dog: dog walker, doggy day care, leaving him in the yard, another dog, etc... The only problem is everything we read and researched said dogs aren't solitary creatures, and as it was our poor puppy was getting a little big of separation anxiety.
We had to give him away. Now, to you people who aren't dog lovers you won't understand, but even just typing that makes the pit in my stomach churn. Luckily, there's a gal that works with Brian who has a beagle and desperately wanted another so it was perfect, and even though Brian's job won't switch till July, we decided it would be better to cut the cords now rather than have it looming over our heads for the next two months. So, a few Fridays ago, Brian took him up to his co-workers. I've never been more devastated in my whole life. I'm have my fair share of heart breaks and upsets, but NOTHING COMPARES TO THIS!
Sadly, that's not the end of the saga. So, Saturday rolls around after no sleep and with so many tears I'm sure I dehydrated myself we decided to de-dog our house and get rid of as much evidence as possible. Our plan of action then became to stay out of the house as much as we could to keep our minds off him. By Saturday night we were both dying...it was pretty pathetic, but worse yet is the phone call we got saying the gal couldn't keep Scout, that her dog wasn't getting along with him.
So, thank you for chopping my heart into a million pieces and serving it up on the blue plate special. We didn't know what to do.
Well, we pulled up our big girl panties and drove out to our dog who was very happy to see us. It made the whole thing unbearable.
The worst part is that after grieving over him terribly, I didn't know how to feel. Do I get attached again knowing I'll have to re-break my heart? The next couple of days were hard even though we had him back...it became a losing battle.
The story does have a happy ending...for Scout at least. That next week we got in touch with a beagle rescue Brian had heard about from his dog park friends and the guy in charge liked Scout so much he ended up keeping him! So we know he's in good hands, but we sure aren't. We've been in shambles ever since. I've decided to keep myself VERY busy to keep my mind off him, but I miss him too much: The baying at the garage door if I took to long to come in the house, his happy wagging tail that made his whole back end wiggle, the pitter patter of his feet up and down the stairs, his warm tummy on my lap after a long day, the dryer sheets he'd steal and shred when I'd fold the laundry, even trash day reminds me of him! (when we'd walk on trash day, he'd hunt down every piece of shrapnel left behind from the wind)
Anyway, I'm hoping writing this all down will help. Hopefully it will ease this constant heart ache, but so far only ice cream seems to do the trick.

Laundry Room Update

BEFORE:

AFTER:


Alright, so the paper products up top are still an eye sore (can you tell we're costco shoppers?), but MUCH better than it was! Now I just need some help spicing it up. I thought it would be kinda fun to randomly put quotes up on the cabinets with vinyl lettering and then paint the walls a really fun color. In AG next to that yummy deli they had the cutest purple house with white trim...it's tempting. ANYWAY, project #1 DONE!

Never a dull moment

Business has been S...L...O...W to say the least, so I've found myself dreaming up all kinds of projects to do: food storage, crown moulding, new backyard...you get the idea. Sitting in front of a computer all day I have loads of time to browse the "information highway." I've investigated a few of those projects thoroughly enough to know that most can't be done in the next two weeks before we get busy again at the store. I've settled on our laundry room. I'll take a before and after for you, but let's just say the "before" is sad. Right now all the stuff we use just sits on top of the washer and dryer because the one shelf that's in the laundry room is like 7 feet tall. No place for the daily detergent to reside. So, I have been surfing the web trying to find the best deal on a set of shelves or cabinets that would fit in the room and give me lots of extra storage for all my cleaning supplies. They're a little scattered right now--hall closet and under the kitchen and bathroom sinks--I want to consolidate it all, and have it look nice too. (Ambitious, I know.)
ANYWAY, Ikea seemed to be the best deal around, and lucky for me I work not far from one. So today I was able to sneak away for a quick jaunt to the super store and pick up a selection of cabinets to fit perfectly above my washer & dryer. It made me so excited! I can see the clean room now! I must have been envisioning the sparkling room because I loaded everything in my car, closed the trunk all set to go, and even tucked my purse securely in the rear with MY KEYS IN IT!! AHHH!!
It was a slow motion panic as I pushed the trunk door down and saw the glimmer of my keys. Then the dreadful "beep!" My car's reassuring sound to tell me we're locked and loaded. UGH! I stood there for a minute not knowing what to do...I checked the sun roof...(side note, the first time I locked my keys in the car was about a year ago at a gas station when my card wouldn't work at the pump so I had to go in--I was in a hurry so I locked the car and ran in forgetting the keys and was lucky enough to have left the sun roof open. I couldn't jump high enough myself so I asked the guy filling up behind me to give me a boost into the car. Embarrassing I know, but better than waiting around.) SO, today I checked the sun roof first, no such luck. The car was sealed shut from every angle. The good news is that Ikea has a courtesy phone, for which I am eternally grateful.
I called Brian in a bit of a panic and the phone call went something like this--

"Claims, this is Brian"
"Hey Bri, I'm at Ikea and my keys are locked in the trunk!"
"OK, I'll be there as soon as I can."
"HURRY! I'm parked in the 15 minute loading zone!"
"Alright, I'm on my way."

So, I went back out to guard my car to put up a fight against the parking police since I would definitely be there longer than the 15 minutes allotted to me. I found myself a catalog and sat on those oh so comfy poles outside. Luckily it's not too hot here yet, or it would have been a bigger nightmare than it already was. So, about 45 minutes later my knight in shining armor appeared in jeans and a polo; a definite sight for sore eyes. He came and rescued me from the parking lot of pain. Thanks again Brian. You can put it on my HUGE 'I owe you' tab along with the millions of other things you do for me.

Mad Math Minute

Soooo...I've got a confession to make.

I can't do subtraction.

Now, this might not seem like a big deal to some of you, but in middle school I was the reigning "Mad Math Minute" champ in my class 3 years running. Every morning after the daily bulliten was read, our home room teacher would pass out a half-sheet of paper with 30 math problems on it. Every day was something different: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, percentages...etc. We had one minute to do the problems and we were to raise our hand as soon as we were finished. My heart would race looking at the blank side of the paper (so we didn't cheat before time started). Then, our teacher would give a countdown...5..4..3..2..1..GO! I would take a deep breath and jam through the problems almost always being the first to fling my hand into the air and smile at the approval on my teacher's face. (i have issues I know..) On occasion a boy in my 7th grade class tried to challenge my title. In a good week, he would beat me twice...I still remember his name...JayDee.
Well, I don't share this to brag, but I did always pride myself in doing well at math. It has just always clicked for me. It wasn't until a few days ago that I realized my skills were in need of some repair. Working in a retail shop, I'm left closing the store at night after we've locked up. I run reports, count the register money and do a simple equation to show how the day went. Doing this daily involves adding and subtracting. I've used an adding machine for quite awhile now because my fingers are MUCH quicker than my brain. Well, in an effort to save additional time, I have started doing the reports right next to the machine that prints them and the adding machine is on the other side of the store. No big deal right? I'll just do the simple math in my head...yeah...right....

Last night I hit rock bottom.

Usually I write down the numbers, and have no problem...but last night I was just pennies off so I subtracted 39 from 51. I just stared at it, knowing the number was small, but I had to physically write down 51-39 and cross out the 5, put a 4 and carry the 1 to subtract the 9. 12! Was that so hard!? It's pathetic I know.
That said, I think it's time to relinquish my title of "Mad Math Minute Champ." Sad, I know, but it was a good ride. :)

We Love The Coast!

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Thank you Ryan, Jessica, and Russell for letting us crash at your place and for all the fun! Thanks Sam Sam for sharing your first birthday with us and giving us an extra reason to celebrate. Thanks Gordon and Janet for all the laughs and late nights. Let's plan a fun adventure like this again soon! (Landon, Natasha, and the girls we missed you!) WE LOVE OUR FAMILY!

UGH! I COULD HURT YOU PUPPY!

I wish that was the look of shame on my Scouty's face...but sadly I think it's the flash. ANYWAY...it finally happened. The first pair of shoes have fallen victim to the dog. But why did they have to be my all time favorite-had since high school-wear every where-every season-reefs? I was too sad about it to really even be mad at him. I guess that's what I get for leaving them out. ugh...We've had lots of other mischievous adventures with dog...it's always a surprise when we come home from work. He found the garbage (which is now baby-locked and Marissa locked, I HATE those things...), chewed on the legs of a dining room chair, dug up patches of grass, and MUCH MORE! The day he decides to chew on the piano is the day he goes. I love my dog...but my piano will be around for a lot longer...and it cost a lot more.

Lucky Find!

So, while watching Russell, I had one of these popsicles, which aren't really popsicles but frozen yogurt on a stick. Oh man...they are delicious! When I got home, I started the search, first we thought we'd try the mexican markets but to our surprise we didn't even have to go that far! They are such a treat and I'm sure we'll love them that much more when the triple digits roll around!

Monkey Boy Memories!

Alright, I was just clearing some pictures off my camera and realized I haven't shared my adventures with Monkey Boy. Spring semester started for my sister and she didn't have anyone to watch her little man. I ran down there the first week of April and stayed a few days to help out. We had some fun! (and I'm not being sarcastic...) Aside from the monotony of doing the same activity over and over we had a good time together. I did learn that you don't introduce something fun to do without wanting to do it FOR EVER! For example...we blew bubble outside for THREE HOURS! I can't complain too much though, it was a beautiful day. I planned on taking him on lots of adventures but it's a lot harder to tote around a two-year-old that I thought. We tried to even just go to Pets Mart to look at the animals so I rounded him up while he rounded his toys up and we drove over there...well, much to my surprise the toys didn't want to stay in the car...he even had a nice carrying cup for all the cars he had. I was NOT having it. I do have to give him points for being smooth...I told him I'd give him a piece of gum if he gave me his cars. Well, of the 6 he had, he so generously gave me ONE! Smart guy, but no deal child! It was pretty funny!
It was also kinda fun to be in the town I grew up in and I tried to take a small walk down memory lane. I visited some old friends, and even drove down to get a root beer freeze at the best place on earth! (no exaggeration...) My mouth was watering the whole drive and I even had little Russell saying "treat" since I told him we'd be getting something yummy. Well, we pull up to the place and the parking lot was EMPTY! I was sad because I thought people were abandoning this little family run joint for the McDonald's down the street. Well, much to my surprise they were CLOSED...on a WEDNESDAY?! Honestly people, who does that? So poor little Russell (and me!) didn't get their treat. Luckily I had some fruit snacks in my purse and he thought that was just as good!
Well, there was still one other thing I wanted to do down south before I came back...Farmer's Market. Again, nothing like it on earth! I mean, there are Farmers' Markets around but this is more like a Thursday night street fair. They shut down the main street of this little college town and have not only your normal fruits, veggies, and flowers, but little bands entertaining crowds, bounce houses, face painting, crafts, AND McClintocks tri-tip Ka-Bobs. MMM...There's nothing like eating out of a cardboard box on the sidewalk curb! I kept debating whether or not I wanted to stay for Farmers or drive home since I'm not much of a fan of night driving especially on those little two lane roads with trucks, but that ka-bob and beans were worth not getting home till one in the morning! YUM-O!
SOO...long story short...Monkey Boy and I had some fun, ate some yummy food, oh, and got our eyebrows done...(well, monkey boy's mom and I). It was such a good time I'm bringing Brian back with me next week for some more adventures!
Russell is actually eating!?!? I had heard of this happening in the past but never seen the rare occurrence first hand. ooooo....aaaaahhh...
Well, it might look like a sad cowboy meal to some of you, but those of you who've had the privilege say it with me..."YE-HAW!"

Spoon+Paper Clips+Tape= FORK!

Alright, I got all set to eat the salad I brought for lunch today and realized I had no fork! The spoon would not do, so in hunger mode I created this little gem. And the best part...IT WORKED! (like a charm I might add.) And the salad was delish!




After I was finished, I realized I could have walked next door to the restaurant and gotten a human style fork! Oh well, it made for an entertaining lunch!

Feelin' Crafty?

So I've finally decided to share my latest hobby with the world. It started a while ago when I saw a purse I couldn't live without--the girl told me, "it's a seatbelt bag!" So I looked them up online and it turns out I could live without it! They're quite expensive. So I quickly put it out of my head so it wouldn't tempt me. Well, much to my delight, my car was totaled and when I went to collect it's remains, it became the perfect opportunity to cut the seatbelts out! Now it's the most expensive bag I own! So, anyway, long story short, I've now made a few of these for some special people and trying to decide if I should sell them. "Buckle-Up Bags" maybe? No, something more clever. Anyway, if you've got any ideas, let me know!

Watch out Kujo--Scout's coming!

So, Scout's favorite place to be is the dog park. Lots of room to run, wrestle, play, and STEAL OTHER DOG'S TOYS! He is the WORST! He'll let another owner play fetch with a dog, wait till they bring the toy back, and when the other dog drops the toy for it's owner, Scouty will snatch it up and take off running! Once he did it to a basset hound, and let me tell you, I have never seen a basset move like that! It was hilarious! One of these days we'll get the little thief on video. This time at the park he was having a blast because he found a friend that looked like him! At first he couldn't figure her out...but two minutes later they were having a ball!

This is the best part about the dog park--he comes home pooped!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

We have had beautiful weather in Sacramento the last few weeks and I am excited that the bulbs I've planted are sprouting! We've got both Ranunculus and Peonies: my two absolute favorite flowers. Sadly--puppy dug up two of the peony roots, boy I was MAD, but the other couple are doing well! Oh how I love the Spring!

This (above) is the beginnings of my Ranunculus---and these flowers (below) are what I hope they'll become in a few weeks! I've got high hopes for these little guys!