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!