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Miss Austen

2011-12-15T21:04:00.000-08:00

During the Winter months, I am much inclined toward the literature of Miss Jane Austen, as her great appreciation for the seasons in all their kinds and her apt recollection of a wintertime hearth do much to raise my spirits, and leave me feeling particularly festive at Christmastime. It is for this cause that I have made in the past, and gladly continue the tradition of partaking of these literary expenditures during the holidays. I furthermore look forward to imparting said traditions to my offspring upon their coming of age to aptly appreciate such narration.

At present, I am reading her much loved fictional account of Miss Woodhouse in Emma. I find the social commentary therein much to my liking as it provides me a detailed glimpse into the society of the time, including all its nuances and boundaries. I am finding even further enjoyment as this is my fourth or fifth reading of the work and I find my own humour satisfied and heightened even more due to my knowing the outcome of such complicated sensibilities between characters before they themselves have quite deduced the conclusion.

In closing, I am fully aware that my commentary on Miss Austen in the style and theme that I have presented it exposes me to my peers as the most insufferable dolt, but I find myself quite unable to resist, possibly owing to the air of the season or the time of night. I pray, dear observers, shrink from all criticism and but wish me a Merry Christmas in the stead thereof.

Ruby Jean

2011-08-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

Look what I made:

Ruby Jean born Aug 10. 7lbs. 7 oz, 20 1/2 in.

Out Like a Light

2011-07-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

We got Olivia a "big girl bed" because she is just too tall for her toddler bed. It is a loft bed and she LOVES it! I have faced a few challenges as the height of the bed and my enormous belly prevent me from getting a perfect view of the top without some discomfort. Just a minute ago, I went in to check on Livs while she was napping and discovered her missing. I freaked out for a minute as I realized she was definitely nowhere else in the house. My last shred of remaining logic forced me to go check the bed one more time. Imagine my relief when I heaved my myself up the ladder and saw a lone ponytail peeking out from behind the pillows at the back of the bed. She had nestled in back there and was fast asleep, just out of view from the ground. I was so relived to learn that I won't have to kill anyone today, i.e: kidnappers.

She does lots of funny things in her sleep. Here are some cute bedtime pics:

Telepathic Posting

2011-03-25T01:17:00.000-07:00

*Sigh* Blogging would be so much easier if I could just convey my thoughts and images to my computer telepathically and then hit "post" with my mind. The only thing that makes me feel better about not posting lately is that a quick survey of my fellow bloggers has shown me that most of you have gone even longer than I have. But, here's the latest:

We are settled in San Diego and I'd like to say I'm loving it like usual, but I'm kind of just getting by. I miss being close to my family, who all up and moved to UT and I really feel like a fish out of water. Add that to the fact that I'm having a not-so-smooth pregnancy and you can see how the shine has come off the apple. I hope warmer weather will lift my spirits in the next few weeks.

In other news, yes, I am all knocked up again. I'm just about five months along and expecting my next beautiful, perfect creation in August. We find out next week if it's a boy or a girl and I'm very excited about that. I'm not very excited about how fat I'm getting, how many times a day I still hurl or the numbers that keep flashing across my digital blood pressure monitor. If the doctor tells me to try to take things easier one more time, I swear I'm going to sic my two year old on his office.

Olivia really wants a dog and I am feeling so guilty that I just can not manage one right now. This is the first time in my life that I've been with out a canine companion and I hate it as much as she does. But I'm running so low on nurturing juices lately that I shouldn't even be allowed to take on a new house plant. To try and stave her off a little, Gabe and I got her some hermit crabs which she named Happy and Shadow. Happy pinched her on his first night home but she promptly forgave him and enjoys helping me keep their cage clean and going down to the beach to get them fresh sand.

That's all the excitement in our world right now and that's good because it's all I can handle. I'm tired and a little lonely so all of you people should come visit me. Show up with ice cream and you'll be welcomed with open arms.

The above picture is of Olivia on a day when she chose to wear her swim goggles to Target. She's awesome.

The Leaves They are a-Changin'

2010-10-03T22:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted forever!!! I'm sure no one reads this anymore. So, what's new? I am officially done in FL and I've never been so excited to leave a place in my life. I made some really good friends there but it's just soooooo hot and there are so many bugs. I seriously don't know what crazy human beings ever thought it would be a good idea to settle there. It's not. It's a bad idea. The sad thing is that Gabe is still out there finishing school. I miss him like crazy but he'll be here in 2 weeks and then we'll get our life back. We're not sure where we're moving to yet because we have a few offers to choose from. I'll post about that as soon as I know for sure.

Here are some fun pictures of what Livvy and I have been doing in UT:

My Best Friend

2010-06-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

It's taken me about a month to get to where I can even post on this topic so, bear with me. About a month ago, I had to put my sweet dog, Lexi down. She had a tumor in her ear that we couldn't get rid of that kept getting infected. Because she was old and her heart was weak, she couldn't have surgery and, in the end, the only thing I could do for her was end her pain. It broke my heart and has been so much harder to get over than even I expected. We were together for a long time (9 years) and I still don't feel like myself without her.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of a great girl who loved babies, snuggling, long walks on the beach, swimming, sleeping in my bed and whose favorite color was red:

Trying to wake Gabe up.

Lexi and Fritzy.

Toilet water in the best!

Protecting Jaxon from the naughty puppy.

Lexi on Pride Rock.

Lexi with her daughter, Phoebe.

Pitiful bath time face.

Pretty girl before she went completely gray.

"Don't make me get off the bed."

Co-pilot.

Snuggling with my pregnant belly.

Keeping an eye on the kids at the park.

Snuggled in for the night.

Happy family.

Tell Me About Bees

2010-05-06T11:58:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why but Olivia loves bees. This was all well and fine in the winter time, when her only exposure to them was in the story books I read to her, but we developed a little problem when spring hit. They were everywhere in our yard and Livvy was sure she wanted to pick one up. She would chase them down with a youthful zeal and I just knew she was going to get stung. I had a long talk with her about bees and how, while they're pretty to look at, they can be "ouchies" if you touch them. I wasn't sure it had sunken in until the conversation we had later that day over dinner:

Olivia's Great Ideas

2010-03-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

Olivia's idea of cleaning:

Olivia's idea of miniature golfing:

Olivia's idea of resting in the emergency room:

Olivia's idea of putting her shoes on:

Olivia's idea of keeping her snacks on the table:

Olivia's idea of rainy day activities:

Blue Spring Manatee Preserve

2010-02-22T10:25:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, we made the 40 mile trek to Orange city to visit the Blue Spring Manatee Preserve. It was by far the coolest thing we've done since we've been here and the pictures I got are fantastic. I think they really show how beautiful Florida can be when it wants to. Blue Spring is a natural spring bubbling up from the earth and forming a river that's part of a whole system of rivers and lakes called the intercoastal waterway. The water from the spring is always 73 degrees and that makes it a favorite winter spot for West Indian manatees, which are severely endangered animals. Learn more about manatees here and more about Blue Spring here. The manatees were so beautiful and the alligators that live there with them were pretty neat too. I took about 100 pictures and I wish I could post them all, but I'll have to do my best to narrow it down for you.

First, a few shots of the setting. It's such a pretty park:

Here you can see the fissure under the water where the earth has opened up to release the water from the spring:

Now for the Manatees! Here's a mama and her baby:

A group of them congregating in the sunshine along the shore:

The river is teeming with them at this time of year. Aren't they beautiful?!

Some Manatee artwork from the little museum there:

Last but not least, the Anderson's at Blue Spring:

Dallas and his friend, Matt were here for the weekend and they came with us. They, of course, were to cool to just enjoy the experience and instead spent the day shouting things like, "The manatees are man-eaters! Do not put your hands in the water!" The other tourists looked on in horror at the two idiots who would say mean things about manatees at the preserve. We just tried to stay a good distance ahead of them so no one would know we were together.

We had such a nice day at Blue Spring and I can't wait to go back. Once spring comes and the manatees head back out into the river, people can swim there and go canoing and scuba diving. Count me in!

New Blog

2010-02-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

Check out my new environmental blog, My Eco-Rhythm at www.mendearth.blogspot.com. There are some good ideas about how you can make a difference in the world, without spending tons of money or time. While you're there, click on the ads so I can make some money. :)

See the Sights

2010-02-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

The mainland side of the riverfront is definitely the nicest part of town here and we live just a few blocks away. the park we like to take Livvy to is down there and I took some pictures the other day to show you how different things are here. The park is separated from the parking lot by a little swampy area and you have to walk across a bridge to get there. The park also has it's own dock and boat ramp, along with several piers you can walk out onto and check out the river.

The plantation style homes along the riverfront are AMAZING!! It was hard to get good pictures, though because there are so many trees.

One house had a manatee mailbox:

Many of the homes have their own private dock and they line the river bank:

This week Olivia...

2010-02-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

was reunited with Bubbles, her teddy bear who she was separated from after she threw up on him at the SLC airport. He had to go home to Cami's to get washed and then mailed to us.

insists on feeding herself:

discovered sunbeams.

is still beautiful.

Olivia's First Haircut

2010-01-28T05:48:00.000-08:00

Livvy's hair is getting long and she refuses to wear a ponytail or barrette or anything. I finally broke down and cut her bangs. It was a big day for us and made me a little sad.

Before:

After:

Lovely Atlantic

2010-01-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

Since I arrived in Daytona Beach, I could hear the sea calling to me. I’ve had so much to do with cleaning and unpacking that I had to ignore it but on Sunday afternoon, the siren finally lured me in and Gabe and I headed to the coast. We skipped the main beach in Daytona because the crowd there is not our speed and opted for the very lovely, more upscale town of Ormond Beach. We headed across the river over the bridge on Granada and turned north, away from Daytona on Atlantic Ave. We turned right on Neptune and found some empty beach parking with access to the shore. We loaded up the baby and padded down the ramp. I could smell the salty air and my heart pounded a little at the sound of the gulls and the waves. We stepped off the cement ramp onto fine, red sand. It was very soft and the wind was able to whip it around a little, making beautiful patterns and skiffs. Unlike the barren, rocky nature of the Pacific beaches, this beach had vegetation growing right up out of the sand. Houses that line the beach have back yards green with sea grass and reeds and their extensive wood decks reach almost to the water because they can; there’s no violent tide reaching up to try to wash them away.

I could hear that the waves were different from my beloved Pacific ones even before I had a chance to take a good look at them. Rather than crashing to the shore, furiously trying to drag some of the land back with them, these waves broke several hundred yards from the shore and rolled in gently, greeting the sand like and old friend. The water calmly spread across the sand, forming little pools of fairly warm water that Livvy liked to splash in and then carefully slid back to sea, leaving everything on the shore the way it was before. It was like a courteous tea party between the sea and the shore, at the end of which the sea kindly left a parting gift, a jelly fish or a pretty shell, before heading back home for an afternoon nap. Comparatively, a Pacific wave seems like a police raid where the door is broken down with a battering ram and the wave hastily overturns every item of furniture until it seizes whatever it was looking for and heads back to the station, deserting the shore before it’s had time to clean up or even hear any complaints.

I stopped for a minute to stare out at some “surfers” easily navigating the calm water and could tell that there was something else different. The horizon seemed closer to me than I was use to. I thought a minute, trying to figure it out and decided that it’s because the waves break so far out, the shore feels closer to the horizon. That coupled with the balmy air gave me the feeling that I was safer and less exposed to the elements. It was a stark contrast to the wild, untamed feeling I get from the Pacific coast. There, the sharp wind nips at my face, warning me not to go out too far and the ocean is a huge, vast landscape that leaves me feeling insignificant and a little reckless.

When we were ready to go home, Gabe headed back to the car with the baby a little ahead of me and I stood alone in the quiet for a minute, the only person on the shore for as far as I could see. I could feel the history of the place with the historic houses with their huge decks and balconies behind me and I knew that so many people had stood there before me. I could almost see an aristocratic woman from the 1800s standing there next to me, with her big veiled hat and her petticoats reaching all the way to the sand, spending a summer on the shore in a weak attempt to escape the stifling, heavy heat of the East Coast.

I could go on and on but I’m sure you’ve had enough and Olivia wants me to put her tutu on so… back to life. I hope you like the pics and I hope they can give you some sense of how clashingly different the two coasts are; the one that I’ve loved all my life and the one I’ve loved for about 2 hours.

Livvy had fun, as always:

Some long views of the beach:

Take a closer look at these pics and you'll see that the sand here has huge swaths of red. That's because a lot of it is made from cocina shells:

Here are a few of the houses that line the beach that I really loved. These are their back sides:

This one's my favorite and it's for sale, only $1.2 mil.

Home Sweet Home

2010-01-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

This part of Florida is very beautiful. The mainland and beach are separated by the Halifax river and a coastal strand called the "beach side" which means this town has two water fronts: a beach front and a river front. There is wild life everywhere and the vegetation grows wild, uncontolled and GREEN. Daytona Beach is certainly not what I expected. The West Coast perception of "The World's Most Famous Beach" is a coastal party town full of Nascar fans and girls in bikinis. I was a little nervous that it would be too much for me to handle compared to the laid back Pacific Beach, but my concerns were for naught. There are no people in Daytona Beach. No rednecks, no bikini girls. No night life, no day life... no signs of life. I tell you, it is the strangest town. There are hotels, gift shops and restaurants everywhere, but they're all closed down. Everyone is out of business and all of the buildings are for sale. The entire county, as far as I can tell is totally run down for the most part. Everything is dirty and in disrepair and the only industry that seems to be thriving are the thrift shops. The beach front property is the worst part of town, drug ridden and full of prostitutes. The nice homes in town are on the main land on the river front and even those need some serious love. I'd say at least one in four homes along the river are empty and for sale. I can see that this town has been hit very hard by the slow economy and I'm just praying that we can find jobs here to get us through Gabe's school; it's not looking too promising. It's a shame because it's such a beautiful area and the town has so much history and tons of potential. I just wish I had a bajillion dollars so I could fix it up.

After a little drama, Gabe and I were able to find a cute little house just north of Daytona Beach. It was FILTHY when we moved in but beggars can't be chosers so we cleaned for days and finally got unpacked. Click on the link below for a virtual tour of our new digs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXgnt2rCQ-4

More Daytona info and stories to come in the very near future.

FL Blues

2010-01-13T05:25:00.000-08:00

Getting settled into Daytona has taken a lot longer than I anticipated. I feel like I haven't had time for anything lately except cleaning, cleaning and cleaning. Olivia is starting to get use to her new surroundings though, which is nice. She has been so stressed out since we left her cousins that she threw her first public temper tantrum a few days ago. Yesterday she was much more calm though and I was able to take her to the park and to Toddler Time at the library. I have my fingers crossed for a good day today too.
We're so glad we had a little time in uT before we headed out here. It gave us the chance to catch up with some old friends and gave Olivia a chance to spend some time with her cousins who she LOVES! She was so happy there. Here are some pics from Livvy's "salad days."

Blogging for Mommy

2009-11-02T07:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics to tide you over-

Beach Baby

2009-06-12T21:49:00.001-07:00

Wait for Mama!

Playing with seaweed.

Eating sand.

Not afraid of the water.

Favorites

2009-04-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

Here are my top 25 favorite songs in the world for anyone who's interested. I tried to do top 10 but I couldn't narrow it down any more. I limited myself to no repeats on bands to cut some. Disclaimer: This list is subject to change at any time.

Drum role please....in no particular order:

Aerosmith: Hole in My Soul
U2: Bad
Jimmy Eat World: If You Don't, Don't
Foo Fighters: Times Like These
Aaron Neville: Bird on a Wire
Hal Ketchum: Past the Point of Rescue
Cold Play: The Scientist
Alabama: Dixie Land Delight
Postal Service: Such Great Heights
Queen: Under Pressure
The Killers: Indie Rock and Role
Billy Joel: For the Longest Time
Marvin Gaye: I Heard it Through the Grapevine
Bob Seger: Night Moves
Mr. Big: To Be With You
Guns N' Roses: Sweet Child of Mine
Feedy Johnston: Bad Reputation
The Verve Pipe: The Freshmen
George Michael: Faith
Journey: Don't Stop Believing
Dashboard Confessional: Vindicated
Elvis Presley: Suspicious Minds
When in Rome: The Promise
Blackhawk: Goodbye Says it All
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody
Counting Crows: Einstein on the Beach
Georgia Satellites: Keep Your Hands to Yourself
Keb Mo': Am I Wrong?
Eric Clapton: Love Comes Over You

1st Amendment

2009-04-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

I saw a clip on Yahoo! this morning that made me kinda mad. They were saying that the reason Miss California didn't win the Miss America pageant was because, when asked if she thought gay marriage should be legal in our country, she said, "no." First of all, why ask her a question and then criticize her for her answer. If they don't want to know how she feels about gay marriage, don't ask her. Second of all, when did being an advocate of gay marriage become a requirement for being Miss America or even for being a good person. I have my own feelings on gay marriage that fall somewhere in the middle of condoning and condemning it so I can't state my own opinion on it but the whole issue is really starting to irk me. The pro-gay marriage community has every right under the first amendment to state their opinion and to lobby for their cause. Good for them for putting the democratic machine to work and trying to make a difference instead of just sitting around and complaining without trying change anything. However, the anti-gay marriage community has just as much of a right to state their opinion and lobby for their cause. Democracy is about peacefully moderating opposition and getting the voice of the people heard without persecution of EITHER side. Miss California has a right to her opinion every bit as much as Perez Hilton does and I'm proud of her for being brave enough to tell the truth about how she really feels on national TV. Finally, let's not forget that even though the media would have you believe differently, Miss California's opinion is not even an unpopular one; Prop 8 banned gay marriage in California by popular vote. That means that democracy did it's job and protected the rights of the majority vote.

Happy Anniversary to Me!!

2009-03-08T21:46:00.000-07:00

We celebrated our second anniversary this week. We're too poor to do anything as spectacular as last year, but we still had a great time together. We had some free zoo passes so Gabe, Livvy and I headed out for a whole day at the world famous San Diego Zoo. It was so fun to spend the day together and Livvy really loved seeing all the animals. This was her thrid time at the zoo but the first time she seemed to really understand what was going on there. She laughed out loud at many of the animals and drew as big a crowd of loving fans with her gleeful squeals as the animals did. Here are some pics of our fun day:

This orangutan sat by the window and showed onlookers how he could rub dirt into his fur. Olivia put her hand on the glass and he made a kissy face at her!

This is the silver back in the gorilla group and the youngest baby there:

Livvy had fun spending most of the day out of her stroller, hangin with Daddy:

Day At the Beach

2009-02-04T14:44:00.001-08:00

25 Things

2009-02-01T15:53:00.000-08:00

Kell tagged me for a 25 things about me post so, here it is:

1. I'm super clumsy. I fall down way more than most grown-ups do.

2. I want to do a pretty background for my blog but I don't know how. Every time I ask someone how, they say, "Just type it in the html," but I don't know what that means so, my blog's still pink.

3. Just when I start to think I'm a good writer, I read something someone else has written (Arlene) and remember that I suck. How then, can I account for all the "A"s in my lit classes?

4. I love my hair. That's interesting because most women hate their hair.

5. I have 2 bad dogs but I don't care that they're bad because I love them so much. I think the reason they're so bad is because I love them so much.

6. I can't chew spearmint gum because it makes me feel car sick, even if I'm not in the car.

7. I made a huge thing of pasta fagioli soup for dinner. It's in the crock pot right now and the smell of it is making me so hungry!!

8. I am mother to the cutest baby in the world. I'm not kidding.

9. I think that divorce will be the ruin of modern civilization, which is ironic because I'm divorced.

10. I really miss having a purse since I started the whole diaper bag chapter of my life. Purses are so much cuter.

11. The previous item and the fact that I have about a dozen really close girlfriends is surprising since I was such a tomboy growing up.

12. I feel homeless since my parents split up and I don't think the feeling will ever go away. Sometimes I feel silly for feeling that way when I'm an adult with my own husband and child.

13. I don't like pepper because it gets stuck in my teeth and burns my tongue.

14. My baby can say "Mama" but she only does it when she's sad and wants me to help her. I think I'm flattered by that.

15. I paint my own toenails because going to the salon and having those tiny Asian women do it makes me feel fat. Every time I relax my legs their little stool on wheels scoots a little and that's not my idea of a relaxing time. I'm pretty good at it and lots of other average sized women now have me paint theirs so they don't have to suffer the indignaty off the scooting stools.

16. I can pick things up off the floor with my toes.

17. I like to paint with watercolors.

18. I drive between 20k and 30k miles per year. That's a lot!!

19. I'm getting really tired of writing about myself.

20. I like being outside more than inside. Olivia does too and I get a kick out of that.

21. I love a good conspiracy theory. ie: The shooter on the grassy knoll, We never walked on the moon etc.

22. I'm afraid of the desert. It's so desolate and quiet. Creepy! One time, I was driving back from AZ at like 2 in the morning and this big Ford truck pulled up behind me and started weaving back and forth on the road like it was trying to force me off. I was freaked out when all of the sudden they turned out their lights. I looked in my rear view and could see them back there without their lights on but when I turned around to look out the back window, they were gone... disappeared. Creepy! And no, they didn't veer off the road, there was no time for that. They seriously just vanished. The desert got them.

23. My favorite food is ice cream.

24. I wish I lived closer to my sister so we could stay up late and play Taboo.

25. I'm a Sagittarius.

Gabe Got Dunked

2009-01-21T10:49:00.000-08:00

2 days before Christmas, Gabe was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (He's a Moromon now!)or, as my heathenesque family puts it, he got dunked. He made this decision all by himself after being a fairly involved non-member for about 4 years. I'm so happy about his decision because I think it will save Olivia some confusion if we present a united front on the religion issue. I'm also very excited for the three of us to go to the temple together next year to be sealed together as an eternal family. For more information about the LDS church, you can go to www.lds.org and click on "About Us" . I love you Gabe!

Facebook

2009-01-20T14:03:00.001-08:00

I joined Facebook and I feel like I won a popularity contest. 25 friends in 2 hours. I'm a virtual celebrity! I think I'm too old for Facebook but I have a hard time keeping in touch with people so maybe this will help.

Seasons Greetings From Olivia

2008-12-03T20:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T17:04:00.001-07:00

Some pics of me and Livvy at Sunset Cliffs:

We've been doing some landscaping and we have a big mound of dirt in the back yard. Our dogs have been playing "King of the Mountain." Lexi still kicks Fritz's butt even though she's getting old and he's bigger than her:

Not Dead

2008-10-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

Wow! I haven't posted for a long time!!! I have had way to much craziness lately. (New baby, husband laid off, post-baby surgery etc) but I'm back in action. I have some zoo pics and stuff I want to post but it's too late tonight. For now, here are some pictures of the baby to tide you over. I know that's what most of you want to see anyway... I have had a great outcry from my UT peeps demanding that I bring the baby for a visit but the problem is that staying home to take care of her (which I love!) has rendered me poverty stricken. I can't afford to travel so you will have to come to me. I have the beach anyway.

Life With Baby

2008-09-24T21:18:00.001-07:00

This is how my baby usually feels:

This is how she felt after her vaccinations:

But she was back to normal by the following morning:

Olivia had her 2 month check-up last week and she did very well, even when they gave her shots. She is in the 98th percetile for height and the 59th for weight, which means she's tall and skinny... and beautiful.

Everything is going really well here and I LOVE being a mom. It's funny because, when I was expecting, almost every other mother I talked to told me that I would feel overwhelmed and frustrated a lot during my babies first few months of life, but I don't feel that way at all. I think having a baby is totally fun and I love every minute. I don't attribute this to my positive outlook or unflappable patience, but to my sweet baby who spoils me because she is always so happy and easy going. What a cutie!

Nap Time

2008-09-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

The baby is sleeping! This is a rare occurence. My baby usually takes only 2- 30 minute naps per day but then wakes up only once during the night. I know I'm very lucky that she sleeps all night but it does make getting things done during the day more difficult. At this moment, she has been asleep for 2 hours and she's still going strong. Hallelujah!! I've cleaned my house and thought I would take a minute to blog.

I'm going to update my book review blog. I don't have cable at my house so I have been reading while nursing (about 8 hours a day). I'm going to try to start posting reviews of all the books I'm reading for anyone who's interested. The link to that site is on the side bar of this blog.

I don't have anything interesting to say because I talk to a 1 month old all day and I'm still too sore from giving birth to go out and do anything interesting... Maybe next week...

Baby Pics

2008-08-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Planet

2008-07-24T22:44:00.000-07:00

I had a baby last week! Olivia Louise was born at 7:15pm on July 18th. I really don't know what else to say except that she is the most beautiful and wonderful creature on Earth. I'll let the pictures do the talking. I also uploaded a 3 minute video of her moving around, making baby sounds and getting the hiccups.

Gabe, Olivia and I right before we left the hospital:

The baby loves her daddy:

She's so tiny!:

Olivia and her cousins:

Beautiful baby, 5 days old:

Word From the Whale

2008-07-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted on my blog for almost two months. I've had these past two months off with no work or school and I've pretty much slept the entire time. I go to the beach and sleep. I go to the pool and sleep. I sleep through Oprah on my couch. I sleep through dinner in my bed. Obviously, I'm tired. With all the sun I've been getting and my now watermelon sized belly, I resemble a large, brown whale. Since my last post though, I had my baby shower. It was super fun and everyone that pitched in to help with it did a great job. My sister made this diaper cake:

It's a cake that you don't eat. The tiers are made out of diapers (something I will desperately need in about one week) and it's decorated with other baby necessities and ribbons. Cute, huh?

In my time off, I've also managed to waddle my way to Sea World a couple of times to spend some time with the other whales. It feels good to be among my own kind. One of my friends got to have an "Interactive Experience" with the Arctic animals as a birthday present from her husband and I got some fun pictures of that:

In other news, the birth of my child is supposedly rapidly approaching and I'm getting excited and very nervous for that. It should be sometime within the next week or two so as soon as she gets here, I'll post some pictures of her; as long as that doesn't violate the deal I made with People Magazine for them to give me $5 million for the first shots of her.

G-Day

2008-05-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

Daaaaaaaa Da Da Da Daaaaa Daaaaa, Daaaaaaaaaa Da Da Da Daaaa Daaaaa. That's the graduation music because I graduated yesterday! Yea!!!!!!!!!! I am now have a degree in Literature and Writing studies and am officially an expert. Go ahead, ask me anything....

The ceremony was at the Del Mar race track and we were seated in the sun on a beautiful, 80 degree San Diego morning. I know that's not very hot but, coupled with the black polyester cap and gown and I was ROASTING. Luckily, I'm sporting this huge belly now so the attendants brought me water. I'm sure I was more comfortable than every one else was. My face got sun burned a little but it was still so fun to be there and experience the whole thing. I don't think graduations are fun or interesting at all so I didn't ask anyone to come except my mom, dad and Gabe.

My stomach is huge now and there's no missing the fact that I'm pregnant, even in those tent/gowns. When I walked across the stage to receive my diploma, all of the faculty members that I shook hands with commented on it. One guy said, "Congratulations, for two!" Another woman said, "Looks like you made it just in time!" And the president of the college said, "Careful, sweetheart." Overall, it was a great day and it was fun to share it with my little baby, even though she's not made her debut yet.

Here are some pictures of me, my mom, my dad and Gabe after the ceremony and at lunch afterwards. The smokin' hot one is my husband, the handsome silver fox is my dad and the beautiful enchantress is my mom. I'm the one that looks like a harbor buoy:

Too Funny!

2008-05-05T16:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, my back hurt so bad that all I wanted to do was lay around on the couch and do nothing. I skipped church and turned on the T.V. Gabe and I aren't big T.V. people and we don't have cable or anything. The only thing I could find to watch on our two channels was Sesame Street. I'm so glad I did! I know it's for kids but I'm sure the writers know moms have to watch it too because the humor is great for adults. I saw a skit of Andrea Bocelli (opera singer) singing a goodnight song to Elmo to the tune of "Time to Say Goodbye" and it was so cute. I've posted the link for it below so you can see for yourself. I also posted the normal version of Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. Watch that one first so you know how it's suppose to sound. You'll appreciate the Elmo duet that much more.

Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLHq7rgHOLk

Elmo and Andrea Bocelli: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgUnYzXU-Fo

I can't figure out how to add actual You Tube videos onto my blog so I just posted the links. Can someone please explain to me how to put the video on there?

The Wrath of Jen Jen

2008-04-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd better post because I don't want Jen to get mad at me. I know I'm a big blogging slacker, and I know it's no excuse but, I'm tired ALL THE TIME. Seriously. I can barely keep my eyes open on the drive home from school. The good news is I graduate in 3 weeks (yea!!!)and that will ease up my schedule so I can blog with reckless abandon for a couple weeks until the baby's born. (yea!!!)

The other reason I'm behind on blogging is that nothing interesting ever happens to me anymore now that I never leave the house except to go to class. I do have some weird dreams though so maybe I should start blogging about those. Also, my hormones or something has caused my temper to be short so I'm irritated comparatively often. I guess I could lodge complaints here about the injustuces done to me in traffic and at the grocery store, but I don't want to bring you down. Then everyone would be all grumpy when I return to my normal, sunny dispostion after this kid comes out.

The last blogging option is for me to start posting pictures of all the baby stuff I've been accumulating but I have a feeling the rest of the world might not find tiny hats as entertaining as I do. So... I'll wrack my brain and try to come up with something contributory to post on. I welcome any suggestions. I'll post again this week, even if it has to be another one about the doggies.

In Loving Memory

2008-03-17T18:33:00.000-07:00

I have had a CRAZY couple of weeks, so this is going to be a long post. Before I tell you all about it, I would like everyone to observe a moment of silence for my beloved Jeep, who I totalled last week making a left hand turn in Pacific Beach traffic. She is my favorite car ever and she will be sorely missed.

I am fine and the baby is fine but it really was a pretty bad accident. I was trying to turn left to pick up pizza but traffic was really backed up. They broke to let me through and a woman waved me on but it was a big mistake for me to go. A guy coming up the right hand turn lane at about 45 nailed me and that was the end of the best car in the world. I had Fritz (baby dog) with me and it scared him so bad he threw up. I felt really bad. I was letting him hang his head out the front passenger window at the time and I could've killed him. I could've killed me or really hurt the baby. I was really lucky though; no one was seriously injured. I sprained my ankle but that's it. It actually turned out pretty cool because I had to go to the hospital to have the baby checked out. They kept me over night for observation and Gabe and I got to spend all night on labor and delivery, listening to her heart beat and her moving around. We met all the doctors and nurses and saw what the rooms were like. It was like a test run for the real thing and since every one's okay, I kind of liked it. I went out last week and got a new car. I traded down for a Chrysler Pacifica which I refer to as the mommy wagon but Gabe says it rocks. Truth be told, it's actually nicer than the Jeep. It has third row seating that folds up and a DVD player and all that fun stuff but it just doesn't have the cool factor that the Jeep did. It's really pretty, though. Here it is:

I spent all weekend after the accident in bed because I was really sore but, come Monday the 3rd, I had to dust off my dancin' shoes. It was our one year anniversary and Gabe had a big night planned for us. We had so much fun! We went to Indigo Grill for dinner, which is where we ate on our first date. Actually it's where he ate, I was too nervous to eat. It was nice to sit there and relax and actually taste the food. After dinner he took me to the sold out

concert. They are a favorite of both of ours and they were so good! They played their regular set on the main stage but half way through the concert, a second stage lowered out of the ceiling and they ran out the catwalk and did a 45 minute acoustic set on that stage. Then they wen back to the main stage and played for another hour. They played for almost 3 hours and they were amazing! It was so fun!

After the concert, Gabe said we had one more thing to do and though I acted excited, I was so tired that I secretly prayed it was a hotel room. My prayers were answered when we pulled up to the Heritage Park Inn; the bed and breakfast where we stayed on our wedding night. We snuggled in for the night, had breakfast with the other guests in the morning and went home. I had such a fun date with him. He really went all out and I had no idea ahead of time what he had planned. He's so sweet. Here are some pictures of the inn:

Our pretty bed:

Hand painted ceiling:

Finally, I saw this sign for the writing lab on campus and maybe it's just the Lit person in me but I thought it was HI-larious.

Baby For Our Baby

2008-02-27T15:14:00.000-08:00

With all the recent talk about our impending bundle of joy, I've neglected to showcase our other new baby- an 8 month old Boxer named Fritz. I named him that because Boxers are German and, believe me, he's on the fritz. He is the cutest little guy EVER!!! True to puppy from, he's a real handful and Gabe hates him. He wants me to give him away but he's a really good dog so I just implore him for patience. We adopted him from poor living conditions and he's just trying to get up to speed. The previous owners were not up to the puppy task and had kept him in his kennel constantly since they brought him home at 8 weeks. They even let him potty in there which poses a problem for me because kennel training is my preferred puppy-breaking method. He's really doing great. It was so funny because Gabe said, "I didn't know puppies were so much work!" It was at this moment that I became doubly determined to keep the dog. I think it will be good practice for him for the human baby. Still, if anyone has some stellar Boxer training tips, I would appreciate it. Isn't that top picture cute!!!? You can see how gray Lexi has gotten; her face use to be black. Sweet old girl!

C'est Une Fille!!!

2008-02-22T18:43:00.000-08:00

That means it's a girl!!! We had our 5 month ultrasound today and we're going to have a little daughter in July. I'm so excited!!! Here are some pictures of her for your enjoyment...

This is her face in profile:

This is her foot. She has cute, long toes like me:

Tagged

2008-02-06T15:01:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged by Kell. I feel so special!!
Here are the rules:
* Link to the person that tagged you.
* Post the rules on your blog.
* Share 6 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
* Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
* Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

1. I hate talking on the phone. It feels antisocial.

2. I long for a fresh, bouncy haircut but I'm terrified that if I go any shorter than my shoulder blades, I'll be forced to revisit the harrowing days of my sixth grade mushroom cut.

3. Since the whole pregnancy thing, I have anti-nesting syndrome. I have lost any and all desire to clean my house. I fear my husband may kill me.

4. I'm too tired to read and keep up with my classes this semester so I'm contemplating having my mom do all of my reading and writing papers for me. It's a constant struggle for me to resist this temptation.

5. I'm afraid of prisons. I can barely stand to drive by them because of the high concentration of really bad men in there. I think on some unconscious level, I'm scared there will be a spontaneous jail break at the exact moment that I'm stuck in traffic and I'll be forced to drive across Mexico with hardened criminals.

6. I want to spend my retirement starting and running a no-kill animal shelter. See www.bestfriends.org to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Let's go Janae, Cristina, Jen, Loni, Logan and KJ!

Winter Wonderland

2008-01-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

I took a trip to Utah the last week in November and there was a nice winter storm in at the time. It was so nice to see the snow and wear all my winter clothes. It was especially nice to know that in a few short days, I would be returning the the comfort of San Diego. It is winter time here too but that means temperatures as low as 40, not 14. It's kind of weird posting these pictures when we just had a sunny, 70 degree day here. These are photos I took up at Sundance ski resort, which is in the town where I grew up. I'm cold just looking at them.

Look What the Stork Dragged In!

2008-01-14T17:52:00.000-08:00

I know this is what you all say you've been waiting for, still, I'll understand if you don't find it as impressive as I did. This is a picture of the baby at about 9 weeks (I'm 14 weeks now). On the top right is it's head, the bottom left is it's bum, and up there in the middle, on the top are it's beautiful little feet. I think it's the cutest thing I've ever seen. I can't wait until Feb. 22 when we get a new picture. That's also when we find out if it's a boy or girl so I can stop calling it "it." Feel free to print this out and hang it on your refrigerators. That's where I'm keeping my copy.

Back From the Dead

2008-01-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted for such a long time. I have been feeling so sick and tired with the baby the past month. I've lost 15 lbs! That coupled with work and finals and I really haven't had the energy for blogging. The good news is I got really good grades for the semester: 4 A's and 2 B+'s. Not bad considering everything that's been going on. This semester will be my last and I'll graduate in May. Very Exciting! I want to have a big party. I figure I was with Gabe for 2 years when we got maried and had a big party. I will have spent 11 years on my bachelors degree so I definitely deserve a part for that. I'm really tired but I have tons of pictures to post; Christmas, baby, beach, so I'll try to get that done soon.

Big News

2007-12-07T14:46:00.000-08:00

I'm pregnant, which is VERY exciting. I'm just over 2 months along and, believe it or not, my belly already pokes out. I don't feel very good and I am so tired. I think being pregnant is like having narcolepsy. I just fall asleep any time or any place without the slightest warning. I'm also having a hard time eating because the baby only wnats macaroni and cheese and chicken strips. From what I've heard, all this yuckiness will pass soon and I'll start to fell better. I can't wait for that!

I gave notice at my job so I can finish up school in the spring so I'll be unemployed in a few weeks. I need to get a new job but I really need something working from home. If any of you know of anything like that, let me know.

West Coast Sunrise

2007-10-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

I live out on a peninsula jutting out into the ocean which curves around and gives me an eastward facing view of the sunrise. This morning it was particularly breathtaking. Any of my California peeps who are missing the sunrise, come to my house at about 6:30 in the morning:

Bird Dog

2007-10-26T15:49:00.001-07:00

My Dog, Lexi has always loved swimming but lately she's picked up an interesting new sport; bird hunting. The problem is that she's not a bird dog so she has no instinct for it and she's getting pretty old. She loves to chase after the seagulls that are peacefully floating in the harbor. She swims right up to them but, as she approaches, they lazily take flight and land again, 10 yards away. She follows them and this process continues until she is clear across the harbor. She's no spring chicken and she has arthritis now so I worry that she'll go too far and not make it back. To remedy this problem and allow her to keep swimming (which is very good for arthritis), I bought her a doggie life jacket.

She was confused about what to do with it at first but I showed her a duck out on the water and she took off after it. She swam around quite happily for a long time and, when I called her back, she made it all the way to shore with seemingly little effort. She even picked up a styrofoam cup that was floating on the water and brought it to me so I could throw it away. She's concerned about the environment! She's so cute!

Fire Pics

2007-10-24T09:38:00.001-07:00

My coworker took these pictures from her home. I live by the coast so I'm not in any danger but where my office is located in East County, a lot of neightborhoods are being evacuated. I've been calling customers all day, every day to make sure they're ready to go. I've been so impressed and proud of my city for the willingness of everyone to help their neighbors. This really is a great city. 60,000 people are staying at Qualcomm stadium right now and there is no stealing, no fighting, no rape. On the news this morning they said there are officially more volunteers than evacuees. With over 300,000 people evacuated that means there are a lot of volunteers. I love San Diego! God bless us.

Fire in the Hills

2007-10-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

San Diego's on fire again and it's a really bad one. Just an update for my friends, we're just fine. We have some freinds staying with us who were evacuated but the fire's not near us. Plus, we can just head out in the kayak if it gets too close.

Weight Loss Propaganda

2007-10-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

I have a pet peeve that is becoming increasingly more annoying to me. It is women who feel like they have to look like a Jr. High student in order to be attractive. I don't think it's good to be fat and we have to take care of our bodies but a woman should look like a woman. All these movie stars with their sternums sticking out are such a strange ideal to me. In previous generations, a healthy woman was a sign of fertility and therefore attractive. Makes sense from a primitive standpoint, right? So, it seems very unnatural to me that the new standard for beauty is one that would preclude many women from being able to have children because of their lack of nourishment. When I'm at school, there are girls running around in skirts that are so short that their butt cheeks should be hanging out, but they're not, because these girls have no butt cheeks. I'm serious! Then, today, the straw that broke the camel's back:

I was reading a health article on Yahoo! that was suggesting drinking water only (no soda or protein shakes) as a way to cut calories and therefore lose weight. There were a myriad of comments from readers who were agreeing that this was a good way to lose weight. One woman's comment really struck me as yucky, "Gabreille is exactly right on! I've always been fit - and slim. In my late 40's I noticed I was putting on a little weight and that was NOT okay with me. I was exercising and eating well. I cut out soda - and lost 10 pounds...now I'm back to weighing what I did in the 8th grade! Smart thing to do - easy and effective!" WHAT??!! What WOMAN should weigh as much as a 14 year old? They don't even have breasts yet!!! Why are we striving for this?? And starving for this?? Why am I feeling pressured to fit into my jeans from Jr. High? Whatever happened to the goal of "Getting back to my wedding weight?" It has been replaced with the goal of, "Getting back to my pre-pubescent weight." I tell you one thing; I am not on board. I will not be brainwashed! When women come to their senses and realize how unhealthy this attitude is, I'll be ahead of the game. I'll be the hotty in town with my curvy bum and double D's. Then they will be publishing health articles with revolutionary ideas like eating 3 meals a day.

My Apathy

2007-10-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

On days when I don't have school, I try to go for a long walk in the morning to get some exercise. I usually go about 3 1/2 miles and it takes me about 50 minutes. Gabe has been going with me the past couple of weeks because he's not back to work full time and he's trying to build his strength back up. Last week, we were walking out by the harbor, past a boat repair shop. There is a half wall that surrounds the parking lot there. As we were about to cross the driveway, a man in a pickup truck turned left in front of us into the driveway and into a parking spot right next to the wall. We heard someone start shouting, "Ouch! Ouch! Oh my God!!" and we realized that the man in th pickup truck had run over the legs of a homeless man sleeping right next to the wall. We ran over to see if he was okay. It was all very shocking but what was even more disturbing was the reaction of these two men and the bystanders in the aftermath of the accident.

First, the man in the pickup truck: He didn't realize that he had hit the homeless man and was only alerted that there was a problem when he saw us running over. He got out of the truck and grumpily said, "What's going on?" We told him what had happened and pointed to the man still calling out on the ground. The first words out of his mouth were, "Well, that's not my fault. People aren't suppose to sleep there." He didn't say, "Is he okay?" or "Call 911." He instantly started trying to cover his own ass. He didn't show the least bit of sympathy or concern.

Second, the homeless man: After the truck ran over him, he cried out for a minute and attempted to sit up. He seemed really disoriented. He was clearly not capable of caring for himself because he was dirty, skinny and had dried pee all over himself. As he came to some level of consciousness and realized that there were about 6 people standing around watching him, he quieted down and gained some composure. He said, "Does anyone have a cigarette?" We all answered no and he said, "Does anyone have a dollar?" We all answered no again. He laid down and went back to sleep.

Third, the reaction of the crowd, including Gabe and I: With the exception of the man who actually ran over the homeless man, Gabe, myself and another, older couple who had been walking by were very concerned. We all crowded in close to this man and tried to find out if he was okay. But, no one, including myslef, made any move to touch him. I didn't even consider lifting up his pant leg to look at his ankle until Gabe and I talked about the incident later. And, once he began asking for money and smokes, we all quickly dispersed and went on about our day. Later, Gabe said that we should have called the ambulance but it seriously didn't even cross my mind until a couple hours after we got home.

I think this all goes to show how apathetic people in my city have become towards homeless people. The homeless themselves seem largely like empty, shells of people existing only to get one more cigarette. The people in the city seem to have retreated from aid and just try to look the other way whenever possible. I could try to redeem myself by listing all the times Gabe or I have given these people money or bought their dinner when they were standing outside a restaraunt we were going into. But that's not the point since, obviously, our sympathy has a limit. It seems like I didn't really see this man as a person, but as half a person. I would've reacted much differently if the person who had been hit had been a clean, familiar member of my community. I would've helped him up and made sure he could walk. I would've called 911 or given him a ride to the hospital or home in my car. But when I saw the condition of the man who had been hit, it's like I automatically downgraded the seriousness of the situation. Isn't that so sad?

New Apartment

2007-09-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

There's really no reason to post pictures of the inside of our new apartment because it's just tiny and average. We have no view because we're in a flat behind a bigger house but we do have a little back yard where we can sit and eat dinner. The important thing about our new place is that it's right on the harbor, about 20 yards from the water. I LOVE IT! We live in a cul de sac that ends at the water and there are hardly any other people who use the beach. I love to go walk down there with the dog and Gabe and it's just quiet and pretty. The pictures I posted were taken on a Friday afternoon at around 5 pm. Notice that there are no other people in the pictures. Pretty sweet digs, huh?

A Funny Email My Mom Sent Me

2007-09-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Dogs and Cats,

The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate of food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years --canine or feline attendance is not mandatory.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt.
I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About My Pets

1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture.
(That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

Remember: Dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3 Are easier to train
4. Usually come when called
5. Never drive your car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8.Don't worry about having to buy the latest fashions
9. Don't wear your clothes
10. Don't need a gazillion dollars for college, and
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children.

My Update

2007-09-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

Just when you think it can't get any worse.... just days before my husband was ready to go back to work part time, his service truck with all of his tools on it was stolen from in front of our house... the day before we were set to move out. We went out in the morning to load up and get the hell out of Dodge and the truck was just gone, along with Gabe's livelihood. The Sheriff found it last night a couple cities over but it was just the cab and chassis, the utility bed and tools were gone. The good news is that we had it all insured for the most part so we just have to wait for all that to pay out and he can start getting set up again. And the fact that Gabe is even kind of ready to go back to work after his burns is a real blessing. It could be worse but it puts him out of work for at least a couple more weeks and I just went part time at my job so I could handle my very heavy class load.

The good news is we're getting settled into our new house. It's REALLY tiny but it's right by the water (like 20 yards away). We should be able to live comfortably there until we have a baby; then we'll have to find something else but hopefully we'll be able to buy a place by then. The bad news is I can't post any pictures of it because my camera broke. Hopefully the insurance will give us enough money that we can squeeze out a used kayak off the top so we can row around the harbor where we live. We're going to get a doggie life jacket so Lexi can come with us. Free entertainment! It could be worse and it'll get better...

The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

2007-08-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

In these days of catchy hybrid names like "Brangelina" and "Bennifer" there's a new kid in town; the pluot. I brought some back to the office today for lunch. I picked them out myself and when I walked through the door with them my coworker said,

"What is it?"

I said, "It's a pluot."

She said, "What?"

I said, "A pluot, it's fruit."

She said, "Are you speaking French to me?"

I said, "No, it's a pluot. It's a mix between a plumb and an apricot and I've heard they're really good. Try it."

We ate them and it's true that they are good but I don't see anything special. They just taste like red plumbs. I really see no difference except the inside is a pretty red that fades to yellow. The pluot's only advantage that I can see is that it's more aesthetically pleasing than a plumb. It was kind of a disappointment because a plumb would've cost a lot less.

Getting My Creative Juices Flowing

2007-08-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first day back at school for what will be my biggest semester ever. I want to graduate in May so I'm taking 18 credits this semester in order to prepare for that. I am an English major with an empahsis on literature so all of my classes feature a great deal of reading and writing. Usually on the first day of class, the professors like to ask us for a writing sample that they have us spend 1/2 an hour on during the first day and hand it in on the spot. This helps them get an idea of our literary voice and plan their classes accordingly. In my first class, the teacher asked us to write about our relationship to the war in Iraq so I wrote about my brother who's in the Army. My second professor of the day had the funnest idea: He wrote a poem on the board with blanks in it and asked us to fill in the blanks with our own words, kind of like a Mad Lib. Here's what he put on the board:

Fanatics have their dreams........................
.................................................and the savage too
Guesses at Heaven.................................................
...................................................................................
...................................................................................
For only Posey can tell her dreams......................

Here's what I came up with:

Fanatics have their dreams, each with their own obsessions
The civilized, the blissful and the savage too
Guesses at Heaven are still just guesses
With no certainty of reward for deeds done
As an after-thought with no goodwill abounding
For only Posey can tell her dreams in times like these.

Now you guys try it. Fill in the blanks with your own poetry and show me what you come up with. Class is in session!

Four Eyes

2007-08-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

I'm going back to school next week and I've been making preparations for my 18 credit semester. I've been having trouble with my eyes the past year, especially at the end of the day and it's been giving me headaches. I went and had an eye exam on Saturday and got myself some reading glasses. They cost $250 bucks and I got them on sale and with discounts and stuff!! I had no idea glasses were so expensive. I wish I could have passed on them but my eyesight keeps getting worse and I really need to be able to see for school so I just gritted my teeth, threw out my grocery list and bought them. Here's to my first step in becoming a grandmother. Don't I look wise?

Literary Bon Vivant

2007-08-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

Gabe's home from the hospital. He's still pretty sore and really tired but he can walk a little ways now (at least to the bathroom and back) and his skin is healing very nicely.

On a lighter note: I started another blog for me to post book reviews on. I read A LOT of books and I think this will be a good way for me to catalogue what I thought and my first impressions so I can show it to others students and possibly future employers. It will be kind of boring but check it out if you're interested: www.amateurnotes.blogspot.com.

Hotel Hospital

2007-07-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

Gabe's extended stay at the hospital has transformed our life into a blur of work, hospital and sleep. Well, just hospital and sleep for him. They expect him to be in there for a couple more weeks so we're trying to make the best of it. I've read a couple books, including the new Harry Potter and we watch movies and do crossword puzzles. Here's some pics of the hospital stay. I have updated pics of the burns but I'm worried it's too gross for the general audience. If any of you are medically inclined and dying to know the extent of the damage, let me know and I'll email them to you. It's pretty amazing what that sunburn looking wound from the first day turned into. Fire, bad!

Gabe and I chillin in his room. He's so tired.

Gabe and his wonderful nurse, Dan. He's handsome, smart and single. He's looking for a nice girl. Any takers?

Gabe has a little infection going so I have to wear a mask during scrubs to prevent the spread of germs. I'm a little chlostorphobic so it makes me crazy!

Burn Update

2007-07-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

You know how sometimes, when you spend the day out in the sun, you feel fine when you get home but as evening hits, so does your sunburn? Moral of the story: Burns take a while to present themselves. The burns on Gabe's legs in the previous post were 3rd degree by the time he was admited to the hospital on Friday night. We've been there all weekend scrubbing, dressing, crying and sleeping and we're not nearly done. It looks like Gabe will be in bed 2 weeks and out of work at least a month. He's in a lot of pain and he's exhauseted. I'll spare you the updated photos for those of you who are squeemish but, trust me, he needs prayers.

My Husband Freaks Me Out

2007-07-20T14:46:00.001-07:00

My husband is the most unlucky person I know, which is strange because I'm really lucky. He always gets pulled over, even when he's not speeding, he always has his business deals messed up by strange, unseen problems and he never picks the right line at the grocery store. He is a mobile auto mechanic and has all the tools he needs to fix cars stored in a utility bed on his truck. This morning when he was on his way to work he saw a motorhome on the side of the freeway that had caught fire. The family who owned it was standing there freaking out so he pulled over to help them. He took the fire extinguisher off his truck and started spraying the engine to put the fire out. Here's where his luck ran out; something (he's not sure if it was the propane tank or a fuel line or what) blew up and sent flames bursting out of the vehicle and singed the first layer of skin off his legs from where his shorts end to where his socks start. He looks like he layed in a tanning bed about 48 hours too long. Poor baby.

My First Publication

2007-07-09T11:21:00.000-07:00

I got my first story published in an online magazine this week. Nothing big but they gave me $100 and my first official byline! Check it out:

http://www.commonties.com/blog/2007/07/09/a-cruise-line-crime/

Ghetto Living

2007-06-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

When my lease was up at our beach apartment last month we were thinking about buying a condo. Since we hadn't picked one out yet we decided to stay with my mom and dad for a couple weeks until we figured out what to do. We must be bad luck because they decided to get divorced and my mom moved out into her own apartment. My dad asked us if we can stay there for a couple months to help him with rent and we said sure. We now live about 5 miles east of the coast in a little bit rougher part of town. Our street is very quiet and all the homeowners are clean and respectful but the outlying neighborhood is not a place I would go walking at night. Here's the news from SD last night:
A manhunt continues Thursday for a possible kidnapping suspect who was involved in a police pursuit Wednesday night.The chase ended with the suspect rolling his van near Interstate ***and *** Avenue in (Name of my neighborhood). He then took off on foot, and police were unable to locate him. A portion of south Interstate *** was temporarily closed, and traffic backed up while officers searched the van for evidence.No description of the suspect is available at this time.
By 11pm there were about 10 police cars on my street and officers and K-9s were scouring our block. They shined lights in our windows and helicopters were swooping overhead. The police even came in and had a look around our house and yard. It was scary and exciting. Gabe loves police stuff and he can't help but get involved. He stood out on the front porch periodically trying to listen to what their radios were saying. We didn't get to go to bed until aroud 2am when they moved the search to the next street over. Crazy!
I'm definitely homesick now. I miss my apartment where the only sounds I heard were the college kid parties and the murmurs of the tourists and I knew all my neighbors.

Divorce Part II

2007-06-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

Not to beleaguer the point but I have more commentary on divorce. I seem to have a preoccupation with it lately as I see some of my loved ones struggling in their marriages and my head is constantly filled with anxiety over the issue. I know couples who are in the process of splitting up who still hang out together every day. They talk about everything and even have date night still, even go on vacations together. I can see the point of all of this if they were still in the process of working on the marriage but once papers have been filed it seems to just be dragging out the pain. Besides, if you can stand to be best friends shouldn't you be able to make a marriage work? I hope I'm not asking for lightning to strike me and show just how difficult marriage can be when compared to friendship but it seems to me that liking each other is the biggest obstacle to overcome. If you can maintain a genuine affection for each other surely you can work out the other areas. It breaks my heart to see people who really compliment each other and who seem to be a good match hurting so badly over a separation. I'm sad. I think I need a vacation with my husband to just think about fun stuff for a while. Who would like to pay for the trip?

A boy's first time..

2007-06-15T11:54:00.001-07:00

A girl asks her boyfriend to come over Friday night& have dinner with her parents. Since this is such abig event, the girl announces to her boyfriend thatafter dinner, she would like to go out & make lovefor the first time. Well, the boy is ecstatic, but he has never had sexbefore, so he takes a trip to the pharmacist to get
some condoms. He tells the pharmacist it's his firsttime & the pharmacist helps the boy for about an hour. He tells the boy everything there is to know aboutcondoms and sex.

At the register, the pharmacist asks the boy how manycondoms he'd like to buy, a 3-pack, 10-pack, orfamily pack. The boy insists on the family pack because hethinks he will be rather busy, it being his firsttime & all. That night, the boy shows up at the girl's parentshouse & meets his girlfriend at the door. "Oh, I'mso excited for you to meet my parents, come on in!"
The boy goes inside & is taken to the dinner tablewhere the girl's parents are seated. The boy quicklyoffers to say grace & bows his head. A minute passes, & the boy is still deep in prayer,with his head down.10 minutes pass, & still no movement from the boy. Finally, after 20 minutes with his head down, thegirlfriend leans over & whispers to theboyfriend, "I had no idea you were this religious."
The boy turns, & whispers back, "I had no idea yourfather was a pharmacist."

What's the Glory of Living?

2007-06-14T16:03:00.001-07:00

Everyone I know is getting divorced!!! It's so diheartening. Several people that I'm close to are considering or already in the process of getting divorced right now and it's crazy. I'm a newlywed so I feel great right now but divorce is really beginning to feel like an inevitability when I continue to see couples who have stuck it our for 10, 20 or even 30 years decide to throw in the towell. Doesn't anybody ever stay together anymore? It's like death; everyone dies. It's just a question of what kills you in the end. Everyone gets divorced. It's just a question of what the last straw turns out to be. I know it sounds silly coming from a divorcee but people seem to give up way too easily. I'm normally a raging optomist but I'm feeling a little deflated on the whole traditional family thing. It seems the very thing I'm working towards is quickly becoming extinct. I guess I'll just put my nose to the grindstone and hope for the best. Still, I sometimes feel like a happy marriage is just a naiive person waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Surf's Up

2007-06-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I had some free time after church so I took my new surf board out and gave it a try. I promised I would post pictures of me surfing once I went but the problem is that I suck at surfing. Appearantly I suck even more on my new board. It's very light weight and I couldn't keep it under me. I didn't stand up at all. I just paddled and paddled and wore myself out. I'm going to need way more practice and some surf lessons to break this one in. Progress report to follow.

Report Card!!

2007-05-31T10:22:00.000-07:00

I had a rough semester with working full time and taking 15 credits but I came through fine. I just want to brag a little. Here's my report card for the Spring semester:

Global Literature: A
English Literature: B
US LIterature: B+
Literary Commentary: A-
European Cinema: A

Mom, print these out and hang them on the fridge!

School's Out for Summer!

2007-05-14T11:26:00.000-07:00

I realize that no one reads my blog anymore, probably because I don't post on it enough, but I still like to write in it.

I just finished school for the summer and I'm looking forward to a little time off. I'll still be working but the thought of having my evenings to myself is very refreshing. I have a couple of goals for the summer that should keep me busy. The first is to get some articles published in magazines or the newspaper or whatever in an attempt to build some kind of writing portfolio that I can give to potential employers. The second is to learn a foreign language (probably French since I've already had a couple years of that but maybe Spanish because it's acutally useful) and test out of it at school so I don't have to take the classes. The problem is I need 3 semesters of a foreign language but I only have 2 semesters of school left. I really need to pass the equivelancy test so I don't have to worry about those classes.

Gabe was laid off from work so he just started his own mobile auto repair business and it's going really well. He's been working really hard and his knuckles are all cut up. We decided to put of buying a condo for at least 6 months in order to give him the time to get that up and running. I'm kind of sad because I'm tired of renting but you can't win 'em all.

My sister and her family just moved closer to us for the summer so I'm sure I'll be spending a lot of time hanging out with them. We took the babies to the beach yesterday and it was so much fun! I wanted to go surfing this weekend to celebrate my new found freedom but I had a tetanus shot on Friday that has made my left arm FREAK OUT. It's all swollen and it's too sore to swim so my new surf board remains in pristine, wax free condition. It's so sad.

That's all the news with me. If anyone has any tips on how to learn a foreign language in 3 months time, let me know!

For Jen and Kam

2007-04-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite pics from the wedding...

2007-04-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

I'm wasting my time in college. All the things I need to know I could've learned from Ed:

2007-04-11T11:18:00.000-07:00

Eddie Silva is a retired Dallas Police Lieutenant who decided to move to the country outside Dallas and do a little farming. Being a cop may have been easier and safer.

*Ed Silva Ropes a Deer
An excerpt from the diary of the newly found "Gentleman Farmer" Ed Silva:

I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and Pat and I would have it processed and eat it. Of course, the first step in this adventure was getting a deer.

I figured that since they congregated at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away) that it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home. Pat was skeptical, but silently agreeable.

That should have said something to me, that is her being quiet about something, having no opinion or story about a previous incident.

So, I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The cattle, who had seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it. After about 20 minutes my deer showed up. 3 of them.

I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold. The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step towards it. It took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope and received an education.

The first thing that I learned is that while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope. That deer EXPLODED.

The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope with some dignity. A deer, no chance. That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling
it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I originally imagined.

The only up side is that they do not have as much stamina as many animals. A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head.

At that point I had lost my taste for corn fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope. I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the thing and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual.

Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared
some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in, so I didn't want the deer to have to suffer a slow death. I managed to get it lined up to back in between my truck and the feeder, a little trap I had set beforehand. Kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back in there and started moving up so I could get my rope back.

Did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody so I was very surprised when I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and then let go.

A deer bites you and shakes its head, almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts. The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective. It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now) tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the bejesus out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose.

That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day. Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp. I learned a long time ago that when an animal like a horse strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape. This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously
such trickery would not work.

In the course of a millisecond I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run. The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head. Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and three times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me
down.

Now when a deer paws at you and knocks you down it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head. I
finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away.

Now for the local legend. I was pretty beat up. My scalp was split open, I had several large goose eggs, my wrist was bleeding pretty good and felt broken (it turned out to be just badly bruised) and my back was bleeding in a few places, though my insulated canvas jacket had protected me from most of the worst of it. I drove to the nearest place, which was the co-op feed store. I got out of the truck, covered in blood and dust and looking like heaven. The guy who ran the place saw me through the window and came running out yelling "what happened" I have never seen any law in the State of Texas that would prohibit an individual from roping a deer. I suspect that this is an area that they have overlooked entirely. Knowing, as I do, the lengths to which law
enforcement personnel will go to exercise their power, I was concerned that they may find a way to twist the existing laws to paint my actions as criminal.

I swear. Not wanting to admit that I had done something monumentally stupid played no part in my response. I told him "I was attacked by a deer." I did not mention that at the time I had a rope on it. The evidence was all over my body. Deer prints on the back of my jacket where it had stomped all over me and a large deer print on my face where it had struck me there. I asked him to call somebody to come get me. I didn't think I could make it home on my own. He did. Later that afternoon, a game warden showed up at my house and wanted to know about the deer attack. Surprisingly, deer attacks are a rare thing and wildlife and parks was interested in the event.

I tried to describe the attack as completely and accurately as I could. I was filling the grain hopper and this deer came out of nowhere and just started kicking the heaven out of me and BIT me. It was obviously rabid or insane or something. EVERYBODY for miles around knows about the deer attack (the guy at the co-op has a big mouth).

For several weeks people dragged their kids in the house when they saw deer around and the local ranchers carried rifles when they filled their feeders. I have told several people the story, but NEVER anybody around here. I have to see these people every day and as an outsider, a "city folk", I have enough trouble fitting in without them snickering behind my back and whispering "there is the ding-batt that tried to rope a deer."

Well that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Ed

Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. - Henry David Thoreau

2007-04-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Let me tell ya 'bout the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees and the moon up above....and a thing called love. I know I've mentioned this before but I LOVE SUMMERTIME. I am so happy right now because the weather's getting warmer and the days are getting longer. I really think the quality of my relationships are improved when daylight savings time ends because I have more time to spend with the people I love. In the winter, when I get home from work it's already dark so all we do is make dinner and watch a movie (and snuggle, which I also love). Lately we've been going for bike rides and walks after dinner. I have turned exploiting all the daylight hours into an art form in years past and am looking forward to contiuing the cycle this year. I might not be able to afford to go to school this summer and I'm kind of relieved. Instead I will be able to spend my afternoons down at the bay reading Thoreau, a man after my own heart. I also plan to really learn to surf. This is step one of my backup plan for when I don't graduate from college and need to find a better job with no education. By the end of the Summer I should be professionally sponsored by a surf brand such as Roxy or O'Neill which will allow me to quit my job and tour the country on my surf board with my dog and husband in tow.

Get your own pictures!

2007-03-31T09:59:00.000-07:00

Hello! My wedding pictures are ready so anyone who wants to look at them can at http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thumbpage.aspx?e=2801562 The password is fanuel. If you want to purchase pictures from this site, you're welcome to. It will have you fill out shipping info and the pictures will come right to your house. For those of you in town, I will have all the proofs on a disk by next week and you can print them that way if you want.

Honeymoon IV: Puerto Vallarta and the Wrap Up

2007-03-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

We spent Thursday of our honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta which was my favorite place. The city is really clean and nice. Out of the 300,000 people that live there, 15,000 are American so the city is pretty wealthy by Mexican standards. They even have Nissan and Ford dealerships. During the day we went on a hike in the jungle and had lunch at a little restaraunt up there and at night we went out to a private island and had dinner and saw a show. It was a great day and we will definitley be going back to spend more time in Puerto Vallarta.

This is a picture of me and Gabe on the hiking trail in the jungle. You could so get lost in there!

We followed this river all the way through. It ran through the jungle like a terrace, creating different pools on it's way. It was so beautiful!

After our hike, we stopped for lunch at a place called El Eden. It's a little restaraunt built into the side of the mountain right above the river at the side of a pool. You can swim in the pool there and all the dining is outside. They even cook the food outside. Their claim to fame is that this is the area where the movie "Predator" was filmed. All of the signs leading up to it say (in Spanish), "Welcome to El Eden, home of the Predator." They even have one of the helicopters from the movie on display in the middle of this beautiful place. It was so funny because the people there would ask us where we're from and when we told them California, they would ask us, "Do you know Arnold Schwartzenager? He was in the Predator. If you see him, tell him we said 'hello'." They love Arnold there. Here's the helicopter "monument."

We weren't very hungry so we just had quesadillas for lunch but Gabe ordered a margarita. We couldn't believe how big it was. We had to take a picture. He said it was really strong too.

This is the pool that the restaraunt is next to. You can swim in there and the rocks at the back right side serve as a water slide.

Driving into the jungle, we had to take a bus up a NARROW road with a cliff to one side. Our amazing bus driver is a gray haired, blue eyed native of Puerto Vallarta. All the people there think he looks like Bill Clinton so they call him Bill. I decided to have my picture taken with the President.

The island we went to for dinner can only be reached by boat. As we approached, we could see that the whole thing was lit by candles and torches and there were men standing on the rocks at the waters edge, blowing on conch shells to welcome us. You wouldn't believe how loud it was. The rest of the pictures didn't turn out too good because it was getting dark but you get the idea.

The sign says "Welcome to Las Caletas" and this couple led us to our table. We had the best food ever there. Grilled Mahi Mahi and all the extras with chocolate pie and cheese cake for dessert; all prepared on the island without the use of electricity.

After dinner we sat in an outdoor amphitheatre and the residents of the island put on a show. They beat these huge drums and played homemade instruments. They did all different kinds of dancing too, including a fire dance. I felt as though I could be sacrificed to their Pagan gods at any minute but they let me get back on the boat when it was over.

On the way back to our cruise ship, the guides hosting us on the boat had a little party. They had a full open bar and put on their own production of "Mexican Grease." One of the male tour guides dressed up as Olivia Newton John, sporting toilet paper breasts, and another as John Travolta. They were actually really good dancers. It was hilarious.

We spent the last two days on the boat, heading back to LA. We participated in some of the planned activities but for the most part, we just took it easy and entertained ourselves. Gabe tried on my sun hat one night before dinner and it looked so nice, I thought I'd get a picture. He wouldn't wear it at the pool though. It makes him look like an explorer or something, "Dr. Livingston, I presume?"

You're assigned to a specific table for dinner and eat with the same people every night on the ship. The people we ate with were fantastic and we had so much fun with them.

Before the wedding, my bridesmaid gave me a "Naughty or Nice" bridal shower. I mostly just got a bunch of lingere and Victorias Secret gift cards but one girl brought me a pair of fuzzy handcuffs. I thought it would be funny to pack them in our stuff so Gabe could find them when he was unpacking. After we got on the boat, our luggage was suppose to be delivered but it still wasn't there by 10pm. I threw a little fit and they located our baggage. Turns out my impatience was unwarranted because security had held my baggage, stating that we were carrying illegal paraphernalia. They had x-rayed the baggage and just thought they were normal hadcuffs. It was a little embarassing but mostly funny when they made me open my bags myself and hand over the furry ones. We decided they make a good story so we went to security and claimed them when we got home. We're going to hang them on the wall above our bedroom door when we buy a house.

So, to summarize, great wedding, great honwymoon, great husband, great life.

Honeymoon III: Mazatlan

2007-03-19T11:12:00.000-07:00

We spent Wednesday in Mazatlan. We toured the Mangrove forests and looked at all the different birds that live there. The pelicans in Mexico are very friendly, which is very different from the standoffish ones here in SD. They will come right up to you and try to eat from your hand. They even ride along on the boats. The pelican above is riding on the engine of a boat that's moving. The one below pelican flew in and plopped down next to our tour guide. The tour guide said his name is Pancho and that he would not leave until we fed him. He said you can always tell it's him because he has a mohawk and blue eyes. Sure enough, he stuck around until we gave him some fish. He was so beautiful.

These are some fishernmen we saw on our tour. They work all day on this little boat fishing for bait and shrimp.

Gabe and I in the boat we were riding in with about 20 other people.

We stopped at a "wildlife preserve" and looked at some caymans. This is what the enclosures they live in look like. This one even has a baby in there with her.

You would run around like a chicken too if you lived with a bunch of caymans.

After our boat ride, the guides took us back to town by towing us in a cart pulled by a tractor. We went right up the beach for about 10 miles with the ocean on one side and the coconut groves on the other. they said if the tide had been in we would've had to walk back. That information was not in the tour description.

We stopped on the way back and had lunch at a restraunt and layed out on the beach. Some women came and braided my hair all into rows. I have A LOT of hair and they got this done within about 15 minutes, including putting in beads and flowers.

The finished product:

What my hair looked like when we took the braids out a couple days later:

The pelicans came to see us off as we headed back to our ship.

Honeymoon II: Cabo San Lucas

2007-03-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we spent the day in Cabo San Lucas. The city was typically dirty and poor but the port was very nice and the landscape was breathtaking. You could tell where the wealthy people lived because their houses were HUGE. The people in Mexico during our entire trip were nothing but kind and humble. We loved them! We kayaked across the Sea of Cortez where it meets the Pacific Ocean to a place called Lands End. We snorkeled there and spent some time walking around Lover's Beach. It was so beautiful. The coral isn't in bloom right now so there weren't too many fish but we saw a few. The water was so clear you could see straight to the bottom.

After we kayaked back to Cabo, we walked around the town for a while and checked stuff out. We went into some of the shops on the peir. My favorite was Senor Sweet's. I bought a whole wheat muffin there that had blueberries in it the size of marbles. They were so juicy they stained my fingers. It was so good. I couldn't even eat the whole thing and had to give half to Gabe.

Once we left the peir and made our way into town, Gabe had a couple of stops he wanted to make. He's a big Van Halen fan so we went to Sammy Hagar's place, Cabo Wabo and Gabe had one of their famous margaritas. He was so excited to be there, he was like a kid in a candy store. After that we went across the street to another famous bar called The Giggling Marlin and got him a shirt from there.

On the way back to boat we saw a really cool Mexico edition Harley Davidson. The owner told us that it is one of only 100 in the world. This was number 75. My dad's a big Harley fan so we took pictures of it to show to him. I was wondering out loud to him about how a bike like that ended up in the poor neighborhood we were in when we saw it and my dad said, "I'm not surprised. Drug lords can afford nice things." It's sad but he's probably right.

It was a cool bike, though and the owner was really nice. He even offered to give us a ride back to the boat on it or let Gabe take it for a spin but we politely declined. We didn't need to be picked up by the Federalis for not having Mexican licenses and put in jail there. Don't nobody wanna go to jail in Mexico! I did see the Federalis though and even they were very nice and let me take their picture.

Military Man

2007-03-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

I digress from my honeymoon extravaganza for just a moment to give a little shout out to my brother, Dallas. He just joined the army and he left on Tuesday morning for boot camp in North Carolina. I wish I could say that I'm happy but, truthfully, it breaks my heart a little. I wonder how my sweet baby boy who I use to take swimming every day is now a soldier. It seriously blows my mind. I am, however, very proud of him and excited about the opportunities available to him now. I miss him already and he can't call home or email for a couple months. He can only write letters and we won't have his mailing address for two weeks. This will be the longest I've ever gone without talking to him and it's bugging me. Everyone remember Dall and all the other sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, dads and moms that are so far from home during this turbulent time. Keep them in your prayers, pray that they'll come home soon.

Honeymoon I: Our State Room

2007-03-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

Our first day of our honeymoon we spent on the boat because we were travelling that day. We just layed out by the pool and got settled into our room and all that stuff. I get motion sick really easily so I took Dramamine the whole time to quell my motion sickness. It worked as far s settling my stomach but I could still really feel the movement of the boat and I was VERY dizzy whenever we were moving. I kept bumping into the walls and banging my shoulder on stuff. One time I stood up from the table at lunch and I tipped right over. gabe caught me and stood me back up but I had a really hard time with that. Every day when we got back to our room, the housekeeping staff had made a different animal out of towels and left them on the bed. We took pictures of them. They're really cool. Here's some pictures.

These are pictures of our state room. It was really nice and cozy. There is a second room with some bunk beds in it but we just used that room to store our suit cases.
Our "towel creation" on the first day was a bear.

A pig.

Some kissing swans.

A monkey.

An elephant.

A Triumphant Return

2007-03-12T23:21:00.000-07:00

Gabe and I got married last weekend and our wedding was GREAT. It was so much fun! We left on Sunday for a cruise to Mexico and the entire trip was so stellar. We had a great time together. I got REALLY dizzy from the boat and it just started to wear off tonight so I decided it's time to put up my first post on our adventure. So, here I am, humming the song Brick House and typing away. That song was played every 7 minutes on the cruise. The other two songs that were played were Mercy Me and She Bangs. I'll be singing those songs forever. I have tons of stories to tell you guys and I got pictures to back them all up so the next few weeks will be all about me.
The first day of our cruise we were at sea so we just hung out on the boat and layed out by the pool. There is a lot to do on the boat. We watched comedy shows and ate out and all kinds of things. There's even a casino. We don't really like to gamble but we played roulette for 5 minutes and I won $5! It is a very cool experience to be out in the middle of the sea where all you can see is water.
The sunsets are spectacular. More to come!!!

Better Board

2007-02-19T10:11:00.000-08:00

I got a new surfboard this weekend. I've been having a hard time with the last one because it was too long and I couldn't get it turned around in time to catch the waves. It kept flipping me over and I was getting beat up by my board. We found a really big surfboard sale in Oceanside this weekend so we picked up this board for me. It's a little shorter and it's very pretty. Gabe's going to ride the longer one now. I'm don't have time to go surfing right now but as soon as I get back from my honeymoon it's on. I think I'll have my mom and dad bring it with them to pick us up from the boat in LA and we can stop and surf on the way home. I'm still a terrible surfer so I'll try to get some good wipe out pictures and post them in a couple weeks.

Dispelling Myths and Providing Facts

2007-02-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

Mark brought up an interesting point when he commented on my blog yesterday. He and his wife were trying to guess how to pronounce my name and they were both wrong. It occured to me that I talk to some of you pretty regularly and I read all these things about your lives, I feel as though I know you and that you're my friends. It's not right that my friends don't even know how to say my name. In this post, I will provide some pertinent information about me that may have been left out previously so you might get to know me better.

1. My name is spelled Tiecen but pronounced Tyson. My mother named me Tyson but wanted it to look more feminine and came up with Tiecen. I know, I know, all of you are saying one of two things, "Tyson, like the boxer," or "Tyson, like the chicken." But it's Tiecen, like the girl who does not like boxing but does like chicken. No one who is close to me calls me Tiecen as I have a muiriad of nick-names; Edwina, Eddy, Tiecee... I could go on and on. Most people call me Tie.

2. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, more commomly known as Mormon. I am not perfect but I'm fairly devout and I try to do my best. We are not polygamists. There are people who broke away from the church that practice polygamy but actual LDS members do not. We are Christian. We believe in Christ and our gospel is based entriely around him. You can't read even one page of The Book of Mormon and not find his teachings there. It coincides very closely with the Bible and we study and follow both books. I am also open to the teachings of other religions and have found truth there too. Bhuddism is my second favorite religion and I love the ideas of Kharma and transcendance. I love having friends of all different religions so we can trade ideas and beliefs. San Diego is a great place for that because everyone here is so different.

3. I am a Literature major in college and I will graduate in about a year. I don't know what I will do with that degree but I'm looking at teaching. I love to learn and I'm sure I'll attend some kind of school for the rest of my life. I have a true thirst for knowledge that I can never seem to satisfy. It's wonderful. I'm actually considering opening a pre-school and I'm excited about that right now. I'm known for changing my mind as far as school and career goes though so we'll see how it pans out.

4. I am 26 years old and I'm very happy. I can never be sad for too long, it's just not natural for me. My main goals in life center around having a family and being a good wife and mother. I love my family very much and I'm very close to them. Maintaining those relationships and the relationship I have with my soon-to-be husband (two weeks!!!) are the most important things to me and everything else is secondary. I am blessed with great friends that help me keep these goals and priorities in line.

5. I love animals and especially my dog way more than is reasonably healthy. I think of animals as people and I always have. I definitely attatch human emotions to them and I even worry sometimes if I think I've hurt the dog's feelings. Needless to say, Sea World is one of my favorite places.

I think those are the main components of me. That's the important information anyway. I've definitley had fun blogging and I've loved getting to know different kinds of people.

Global Warming??

2007-02-03T10:18:00.000-08:00

Global warming is the talk of all the news nowadays and I, being somewhat of an environmentalist, am kind of worried. I heard on the radio yesterday that "they" ( I don't know who "they" are) have come to a unanamous agreement that global warming is real, that it's caused 90% by humans and that even if we changed our habits now, the problem would continue to worsen over the next 100 years before it will get better. I'm a little worried because it's been really cold here lately and they say it's because the cold water running off the polar caps melting is causing colder weather here. Is San Diego going to become more like Alaska? Is the sea going to swell and swallow up my town altogether? Is my apartment going to flood one day while I'm at the office and sweep my doggie into the ocean? I know I just sound paranoid but this problem really does have an impact on my decisions in the very near future: We are hoping to buy a house here within the next year and now I don't think we should. It seems really risky because if we buy the house now when the market is really expensive and San Diego turns into a winter wonderland, our property will depreciate and I won't be able to afford to sell and move elsewhere. We'll be stuck here when California finally falls off into the ocean!!!!

On the other hand, we can't really afford to quit our jobs and start all over in the midwest right now so we have to stay. Should we continue to waste our money by paying an enormous amount of rent rather than buying just to avoid this risk? I just don't know. Gabe says we should just buy a house here because all of this will take a long time to have any real affect on us, but it's already a lot colder this year than last year.... If Nebraska's going to be a tropical paradise in 20 years, I want to get in on that action now.

I'm a very good swimmer but the Pacific Ocean is very cold. It's not realistic for me to walk around wearing my wet suit all day just in case we fall into the ocean. Those things are REALLY hot when you're not in the water. I would just carry it with me in my car everywhere just in case but the neoprene gets ruined if you mistreat it and it wouldn't keep me warm anymore. Gabe doesn't even have a wet suit. Also, I' not sure how long I could survive with me, Gabe and Lexi all floating along on my surf board. It's big but it would be crowded on a long term scale.

I'm done venting now and I'm not really that paranoid. I just added dramatic effect for the sake of a more interesting read. Don't be surprised if we move to Vegas or Phoenix though. It's been snowing there this winter anyway so maybe it won't be too hot in the summer anymore.

I Love School

2007-01-26T10:59:00.000-08:00

I started school this week and I love it. This is my first semester where I have a full schedule of only Literature classes and it's so nice. I still have to spend all day is class but all the things we're talking about are things I want to talk about. Everything discussed is something I'm interested in and I'm really enjoying it. The rest of my life is SOOO crazy right now between work and the wedding that it's almost like school is a nice reprieve because I'm forced to sit down for two full days a week and just focus on something interesting instead of running around like a chicken with my head cut off. (That aweful run on sentence is evidence of my current attitude.) It's so refreshing. I feel much more centered now.

The wedding plans are coming along great. I have five weeks to go and everything seems to be falling into place. I wish I had more money but that seems to be the story of all our lives. I'm just counting my blessings where I find them. For instance, last night Gabe and I went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner becaue it was his birthday and the 2 year anniversary of our first date. We ordered key lime pie for desert and mentioned to the waitress that we wanted to serve the pie at our wedding. We told her we couldn't find a key lime pie anywhere for under $35 so it was turning out to be really expensive. The head chef was working last night and she sent him out to our table. He told us he'll just order us some pies with his order before the wedding and we can have them at cost, which is $12 a pie. I was so excited. That saved me like $300! That guy was so nice; what a stark contrast from crazy ranger man a couple weeks ago.

Part of going to school so much this semester is I have to work on Saturdays now. That should give me more time to update my blog since Saturdays are slow in here. I'll try to do better at keeping in touch with everyone. I just keep repeating my mantra, "This will all be over in..." Right now the ending of that is 5 weeks. Once the wedding is done I get to have a nice vacation and chill for a while. FREEDOM! I can see the finish line of the race I'm running and it looks good!

The Park Ranger From Hell

2007-01-10T11:05:00.000-08:00

On Saturday morning, we went to the Point Loma light house to have our engagement pictures taken. There are som fantastic tide pools there and the scenery is really pretty. We brought the dog with us because we wanted some pictures with her too. We were standing up by the light house when a ranger walked by and told us that dogs aren't allowed at the light house, only down by the tide pools. We apolagized and headed down to the more dog friendly area of the park. On the way down, another ranger in a pick up truck came speeding in our direction, cramming his hat on his head as he approached. Gabe, who's New Year's resolution is to be more patient with the public, murmured, "Oh no. Here we go."

The ranger walked up to us and said, "I'm sure you're already aware of it but we don't allow pets here." We apolagized and said it was an accident and that we were already headed to the car. The ranger said, "NO PETS doesn't mean hurry in here, do whatever you want and then try to leave before you get caught." We again explained that we didn't know she wasn't allowed and it was an accident. He said, "Look, what else do I have to do to get the point across to you people? We posted a 6 foot sign that says no dogs at the light house. Can't you read?" At this point the dog started growling a little and I could feel Gabe tensing up. The ranger continued on, "I'm so sick of people like you coming in here like you own the place and don't have to answer to anyone...." It was at this point that all of us (Me, Gabe, the Photographer, her two children and the dog) somehow unanimously, silently decided it was time to split. We all turned our backs on that guy mid sentence and headed down the hill with him shouting at us not to walk away from him.

Seriously, what is wrong with this man? He gets to spend all day in a beautiful place helping friendly tourists. Even if people are occasionally grumpy with him, I'm pretty sure this guy has a great job. We were really apolagetic too and he was completely unforgiving. What is he, the light house god? Sometimes I meet people and I really wonder how they ended up so unhappy. I thought about reporting him to his supervisor but I think a more productive thing would be to find him and offer to refer him to a good therapist.

Aside from crazy ranger man we had a really nice day. It was beautiful and so nice to spend an afternoon just concentrating on each other and being productive while snuggling at the same time.

Happy New Year

2007-01-03T11:08:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! How was everyone's holidays? Mine were pretty fantastic. I saw my family a lot and spent some time with my in-laws. I was sick the whole time with a nasty cold so I really just stuck close to home and slept a lot but it was so nice to see everyone and have a little break.

Now it's back to work. This semester I will be working full time, taking 15 credits in school and getting married. It's a lot at once but all of those things are important to me and I can't afford to slack off in any area. I feel like that little chick in the picture. I'm facing this huge, wonderful obstacle and it's really overwhelming. I'm not afraid though, I can handle it. Being really busy actually makes me feel good because I have this great sense of accomplishment. I think this is gonna be a good year.

Break Time

2006-12-18T14:56:00.000-08:00

I just finished my finals last Thursday and I meant to update my blog over the weekend but, naturally, I got really sick as soon as finals were done. I spent most of the weekend in bed with bronchitis and the rest of it Christmas shopping. I'm done with school until the end of January and I'm so glad to have a break. I really have to try to maximize my time during this break because next semester I will be taking 15 credits, working full time and getting married. It's pretty much suicide for my social life.
Speaking of wedding, I'm so excited. We set the date for March 3rd and we're doing it here in San Diego. I just booked the caterer like 5 minutes ago and they gave me a really good deal. It's a little Hawaiian BBQ restaraunt in my neightborhood and they're doing 100 guests for less than $700. The next thing I need to get is a photographer but it's so expensive. I want someone who can do pictures and a wedding DVD. Kell, I think you should come all the way to San Diego, pay for your own hotel room and food, follow me around for the entire weekend and take all the pictures and do a DVD for me for free. Come on, it will be fun. I'm just kidding of course. I will pay you $30.00 and you can sleep on my couch with my dog.
Winter in my neighborhood is so different. There's not a lot of people around and it's cloudy a lot of the time. I actually miss the tourists. It has been nice too, though because without all the extra people, I'm starting to get to know my neighbors better. I see all the same people in the morning when I'm out for my run and they all recognize me and say hello. It's a nice homey feeling. I wish my apartment wasn't so small so I could live there forever. As it is, I'll have to be moving right around March 3rd.

It's About Time!!!!

2006-12-04T10:15:00.000-08:00

Maybe I spoke too soon. I got proposed to on Friday night! It was so fun! We had a big bonfire at the beach with some of our friends. We do it all the time so I wasn't expecting a proposal at all. The sky was very clear and the water was very calm so the lights from the city were reflecting on the water. it was a really pretty night. It was about 10:00 pm and the fire was starting to die down a little. I said, "I'm cold."

Gabe: "Do you need some mittens?"

Me: "No. I'm okay."

Gabe: "Well, How about a ring?" Then he kneeled down in front of me.

Me: "Right now!?"

Gabe: "Yeah."

Our Friend Meg: "Right now!?"

Gabe (exasperated): "YES! Please say you'll be my wife."

Me: "Yes, of course I will."

We had just a minute to hug and kiss before the other girls came over with a flashlight to inspect the ring. It was very romantic and very sweet. My boyfirend's so cute! Excuse me, my FIANCE!!!

Happy Holidays!!

2006-12-01T15:55:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! I love the Holidays. I hate the cold though so San Diego suits me well. It's been cold here at night, in the 40s and I don't have a heater in my house. In the mornings it's so hard to get out of bed and put my feet on the cold floor. The picture above is Lexi staying in bed while I get ready in the morning. I covered her up with a Snow Man blanket because she was shivering. I need to buy a space heater.

So, what's new with me? I went to my sister's for Thanksgiving and it was way fun.

Gabe and I bought the my nephew one of thos big green ballons that you tie the rubber band to the end and then you can punch it and it comes back to you. It turned out to be the best time I've ever had for $0.98. He was hitting all of us with it and chasing everyone around.

I've been expecting a proposal from Gabe since he bought the ring a couple months ago but I haven't gotten one yet. I don't know what's taking him so long. He's had lots of opportunites and I thought Thanksgiving weekend would be perfect because my family was all together and it was my birthday. I even encouraged him to hold my sister's baby because she's so cute and me and Gabe both want kids but still...nothin'. Maybe he's changed his mind and he doesn't want to get married after all. We'll see how this weekend goes. Do you ever wish you could read people's minds? I'm usually glad I can't but once in a while it would be nice.

Overall I had a great holiday and it was nice for the kids to be able to see their grandpa who they love.

Kell, your story of your dad totally reminded me of my dad. He's up for anything. He sings sometimes with a classic rock band here in San Diego and he's awesome. He even won 2nd place in a big Karaoke contest down here that the local clubs do for charity. He sang Marshall Tucker's "Can't You See" and he did so good. I wish some of that had rubbed off on me. I've been playing the guitar for over 10 years but I get so nervous when people watch me that I feel like I have all thumbs. I can really only play well when I'm alone so as far as the public is concerned I can barely play at all. I'm a great public speaker but for some reason music stuff makes me really nervous. I can only sing in the shower. I really admire people that can get over their stage fright and rock the house.

I'll post again next week, when finals are over. Wish me luck and Happy Holidays!

Sorry Mark!

2006-11-15T11:28:00.000-08:00

Mark brought to my attention that I haven't posted anything in a while. I'm sorry but sometimes my life feels so uninteresting. So, what's new with me? Me and Gabe went out of town for the weekend. It was really nice. We went up to Southern Utah and visited some friends and then spent Sunday in Vegas. We just visited all the hotels and hit the tourist spots. A lot of people say, "I don't like Vegas because I'm not much of a gambler." To them I say, then you haven't tried Vegas. It's so fun there. We went to the Ferrarri museum in the Wynn, the the mall with the ceiling that looks like the sky outside at the Venetian, we watched the volcano blow up at the Mirage, I bought a cow gril hat with shells on it and Gabe bought a sweatshirt that said: CSI Las Vegas. It was way fun and a much needed break. My best friend, Jen came down and met us for dinner and we had an awesome buffet. They had great crab legs there.

I love food which brings us to an interesting point. I'm an average sized girl. I'm not very fat but I'm not very skinny either. I have noticed lately that people keep commenting on my eating habits. A vendor brought us lunch at our office last week. She brought pasta, bread sticks, salad, pizza and chicken. It was a lot of food so I just took some pasta and bread and started eating. She kept insisting that I eat some salad or chicken and I kept politely declining. She got kind of mad and gave me this dirty look while saying, "You don't need all those carbohydrates. You need to eat some protein." What the freak??? Then, a few days later, I was talking to my boss and I mentioned that I'm a picky eater and he said, "You're not picky. You're always shoving something in your face!" What the freak??? I eat twice a day at the office. Almost always yogurt for breakfast and soup for lunch. I showed one of my coworkers a picture of me as a baby. I was FAT and my legs had creases in them like sausage links. She said, "Oh, you were so cute. Your legs look just the same now." She wasn't kidding or if she was it really didn't seem like it. What the freak??? My legs aren't shapely but there are no creases in them. These aren't the only comments I've gotten. I don't get it. It seems so rude to me that other people who aren't my spouse or my mom would comment on my eating habits or weight. Am I just being sensitive or does this seem way off base? Here is a current picture of me so you can make a fair assesment. Pretty average right? I don't think I'm one of those really fat people that shoves buckets of food into their mouths at restaurants and grosses everyone out. So, what's with all the comments? I think this is sort of like Kell's problem where people keep asking her and her friends why they're still single. Kell, me and you need to practice saying with force, "None of your business!"

Never mind about the pictures. This stupid thing won't let me download pictures today. If you forgot what I look like, refer back to "Lost in AZ." There's a picture there.

My Kind of Personal Ad

2006-11-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

I found this article on Yahoo news. These are the only personal ads i've ever found interesting. I'd never respond to them but I'd love to read them every week and i bet I could write a few good ones too.

Love is strange: Wait till you see my feet
By Paul Casciato Fri Nov 3, 10:46 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - If your romantic fancy leans towards serial embezzlers, self-harming flautists or beardy physicists known as Naughty Lola then you should advertise for a mate in Europe's biggest-selling literary review magazine.
The venerable London Review of Books has published a compendium of the weirdest and funniest advertisements from the eccentric readers who write to its personals column seeking love, sex or simply correspondence with like-minded people.
Long seen as cold fish compared to the torrid Latin lovers of Italy and France, the book, titled "They Call Me Naughty Lola", shows that Britons are not all stiff-upper lip with this collection from the world's strangest lonely hearts section.
"Woman, 32, needful of the finer things in life seeks stinking rich bloke, 80-100," one ad says. "Must be willing to fibrillate his ventricles when he becomes tiresome or bankrupt or both. Also interesting thirtysomethings for illicit, immoral affair to be conducted concurrently with the above."
In a big departure from other personal ads with their coded GSOH (good sense of humour) and promises of good looks and fun, Review readers flaunt their foibles and parade their oddities in a mild-mannered display of that special British madness.
"Medication free after all these years!," says another, apparently from a psychiatric ward. "Join me (anxious, overweight, self-harming flautist, F, 34) for congratulatory drink (or seven) in side ward of nation's finest."
In their search for a soul-mate, men trumpet their flatulence, baldness and kleptomaniac tendencies, sometimes with alarming frankness.
"Bald, short, fat and ugly male, 53 seeks short-sighted woman with tremendous sexual appetite."
One offers to make yours a truly family Christmas.
"Obnoxious, drunkard uncle for hire (62). Belches the national anthem in three octaves, scratches inappropriately and is seemingly never satisfied by your very best efforts. Is dinner ready yet - and if not, why not? December will be magic again at Box no. 5610."
"IN A MENTAL BREAKDOWN SORT OF WAY"
The personals column is the creation of London Review of Books advertising director David Rose (M, 32, married) who also edited "They Call Me Naughty Lola".
Surrounded by a colourful mix of contributors, subscribers and London eccentrics at a party to launch the book, Rose said he started the personals column in 1998, imagining a genuine lonely hearts section for the sensitive and erudite.
Then his first submission arrived.
"67-year-old disaffiliated flaneur picking my toothless way through the urban sprawl, self-destructive, sliding towards pathos, jacked up on Viagra and on the lookout for a contortionist who plays the trumpet."
Rose held out for serious submissions but to no avail. Eventually he succumbed to the column becoming a notice board for the strange, hilarious and downright bizarre.
"It became very clear very quickly that it was going to be very silly," he told Reuters in an interview at the book launch.
He suspects that many ads are written for laughs, but has had calls from indignant advertisers, angry because they've paid 80 pence ($1.53) a word and haven't received a single response.
"And I'm like that's because you spent the whole time talking about your mother and your wooden leg," he said.
Taken together, the ads provide a curious kaleidoscopic view of Britain, its capital and the unusual lives of its denizens.
One commuter desperately seeking someone writes:
"You were reading the BBC in-house magazine on the Jubilee Line (12 November). I was coughing hot tea through my nostrils. Surely you can't have forgotten? Write now to smitten, weak-kneed, severely burnt, bumbling F (32, but normally I look younger). I'll be quite a catch when my top lip has healed. And this brace isn't forever."
The ads have resulted in marriages, children, at least one divorce and countless liaisons.
But love among the literati can also be elusive.
Susan Wolfe, (F, 60, but looks much younger) says she wrote an "embarrassing number of ads", but has now stopped.
So far she's had responses from a serial killer in a U.S. prison, an "infection-free" pensioner and a date with a cross-dresser who took her shopping to find himself a gold lame miniskirt and a union jack thong before lunch at a rundown Chinese restaurant on her 60th birthday.
"I lost my sense of humour," she said.

Wedding Preparation

2006-11-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

Gabe and I have been taking a dance class so we can look good together at our wedding. I filmed some of it, check it out...

http://www.dancesisterdance.com/myvid/index.php?v=37138c645d59f

It takes a minute to download, but believe me, it's worth it!!

5 Things Tag

2006-10-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged. Thanks Mark. I actually think these things are fun.

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:

1. I would get married and go on a honeymoon.

2. Buy ocean front property for me and my mom and dad. (There goes my million dollars and then some.)

3. Start a no-kill animal shelter.

4. Set up an education fund for my future babies.

5. Hire a personal trainer.

5 bad habits:

1. Making a plan for everything.

2. Speaking before I think/ Giving my opinion, unsolicited.

3. Taking my horoscope seriously and making decisions based on it.

4. I never make my bed.

5. Eating out because I hate to cook.

5 things I hate doing:

1. Cleaning the bathroom.

2. Being alone for too long.

3. Staying indoors.

4. Discussing politics with my brother or my dad. But I feel compelled to do it because I'm over-opinionated.

5. Being wrong.

5 things I would never do:

1. Have a one-night stand.

2. Hit my mom.

3. Heroine.

4. Purposefully hurt an animal.

5. Drink and drive.

I'm up for pretty much anything else, depending on the situation. Never say never.

5 things I regret doing:

1. Being cruel to a couple of the "not cool" kids in grade school. I wish I could find them and apolagize.

2. Taking so long to graduate from college.

3. Getting fat. Even when you get thin again, your body's never the same.

4. Having poor eating habits. Cheap Mexican food is not a food group.

5. Not taking a honeymoon the first time I got married.

5 favorite things:

1. Ocean, mountains, lake; Being outside.

2. My family and friends.

3. My dog, Lexi.

4. The Atonement. What a life-saver!

5. My beach cruiser.

5 people I choose to do this: So who would I like to see give me five.....

1. Kell

2. Logan

3. Nickel

4. Jen

5. Any one else who reads my blog.

The Freaks Come Out At BINGO

2006-10-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

B I N G O

My brother, J.D. turned 18 this weekend and he was dying to do something that he wasn't previously entitled to. Since I'm not really one for strip clubs (as aforementioned, See 24 Houre Tease) I decided to take him to one of the casinos around here. I am not at all lucky when gambling so, rather than waste $20 in 5 minutes on a penny slot, we wasted $12 for 3 hours of BINGO. This was not my first time at the BINGO pavillion. I actually love to go play so I felt right at home. I showed J.D. how to set up his cards and check all the numbers quickly. We picked out a plethera of multi colored daubers and went to work. The first game was like a warm up round and the pavillion was silent in concentration, accept the caller with his radio D.J. voice. As soon as the first 80 year old yelled BINGO however, that was all over. The entire pavaillion let out a loud, "Come on!" in unison, everyone disappointed that the game had ended when they were so close. I had warned J.D. ahead of time that these ladies get a little heated and not to cross them. We had been laughing all the way to the casino about my stories of grandmas shushing me and looking over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't too close to winning. Since he had been warned that his chances were very slim and he probably wouldn't win, I was surprised when, after that first uttered, "BINGO!" he let out a not so quiet, "Son of a B*$#h!" The tiny Vietnemese woment sitting across from us started chuckling and reassured him he would do better next time. J.D. was so funny! He got so into the game. Each time some not-so-sweet old woman cried BINGO he would utter his disapproval, throw the losing card away and stoically prepare himself for the next game. This preparation consisted of gripping his dauber with white knuckles, trash-talking the most recent winner and then saying something like, "I better win the next one or else!" At one point, I stopped to check my cell phone in the middle of a game and he reprimanded me, "Tie, pay attention!" When the game was finally over, and neither he nor I had won any money, the Vietnemese ladies, who had a huge crush on him by this time, asked him, "You come next time?" To which he answered, "Yeah, I'll be back, but I better win." It's these entertaining moments with the BINGO fanatics that make it totally worth $12 to sit in a crowded pavillion for 3 hours. It's so much fun and I'm thrilled that my brother turned out to be a BINGO freak. I'm guaranteed a good time as long as I go with him.

I Wanna Rock and Roll

2006-09-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

How is everyone? I'm so busy with school and work right now, it's ridiculous. I'm really feeling the need to just do something fun. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when a 30 min bike ride is the funnest thing I've done all week. I'm so glad the weekend's here. This weekend I'm going to try to do fun things and homework at the same time. I'm going to go down and lay out at the beach while I do my reading at the same time. I just keep telling myself that someday I'll graduate and this will all be worth it.

How to Hug a Baby

2006-08-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

ATTENTION ALL DOGS!!!
THE FOLLOWING ARE IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS FOR EVERY DOG TO KNOW

Instructions for properly hugging a baby.
1. First, spy a baby.

2. Second, be sure that the object you spied was indeed a baby by employing classic sniffing techniques. If you smell baby powder and the wonderful aroma of wet diapers this is indeed
a baby.

3. Next you will need to flatten the baby before actually beginning the hugging process. **Note: The added slobber should help in future steps by making the "paw slide" easier.

4. The "paw slide" - Simply slide paws around baby and prepare for possible close - up

5. Finally, if a camera is present, you will need to execute the difficult and patented "hug, smile, and lean" so as to achieve the best photo quality

Dogs, if this is properly done, it will secure you a warm, dry, climate-controlled environment for therest of your life. Good luck to all of you!

A Day at the Races

2006-08-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

The horse races are in town right now at the Del Mar Race track and me and my brother, Dallas went to them on Saturday. It was really fun. I've never been to the races before so I had no idea how the betting worked. Dallas had to show me everything. I bet $20 for the whole day which consitst of a series of 10 races. I was betting $3 a race at the beginning. You can bet on who will place, who will win, who will lose... it gets really complicated. For fun, me and Dall covered up the odds and picked a horse to win each race based on the horse's name. By race 9 I had lost all of my money and was down to my last $2 which I had on a horse...and I won!! $7.40. The 10th race had my favorite horse of the day in it, Popcicle Gal and she was picked to win. I bet all $9.40 on her and stood with baited breath as the gates shot open and the horses lunged forward. It was a flurry of churning legs and flying turf and trotting along, at a leisurly pace, at the very back was Popcicle Gal. I lost everything! It was devistating!! It's probably for the best though because If I had won hundreds of dollars, anything I spent the money on would've turned into a pillar of salt as soon as I got it home because it was purchased with filthy lucre. The day wasn't a complete wash. For around $40 I got a whole day of entertainment, some good food and we saw a free Jimmy Eat World concert at the end that was REALLY good. They're one of my favorite bands so that was great. If any of you are ever in town in the Summer, I denitely recommend the races. Even if you don't want to bet, it's still fun to be out with all the people and witness the excitement "where the surf meets the turf, down at old Del Mar."

Back to School

2006-08-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

I am starting my Fall semester of college tomorrow. I will be going to school full time and maintaining my full time job. I'm trying to graduate next year so I'm taking 12 credits this semester. I'm a Literature major and these are my 4 classes:

Folklore and Mythology
Studies in Shakespeare
American Politics
American Society (Psychology)

I'm gonna be sooooo busy with homework that I'm sure I'll have no social life by the end of the semester. By the time Christmas comes my boyfriend will be married to someone else and my parents will have already had a memorial service for their long lost daughter. Truthfully, I love school and I always have. That's why I've been in college pretty much full time since I was 16. I think I've finally picked a major and I'm excited to get my first Bachelor's degree next year. Wish me luck!!

One Millionaire

2006-08-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

Being a resident of the US of A I am acutely aware that there are so many gajillionaires that live here. It is baffling to me how these people managed to accrue so much money. How did they do it? You read there personal histories and it always starts with them getting lucky. Warren Buffet took his $24,000 inheritance and sunk it into one stock that took off and made him wealthy. I should be so lucky. That kind of thing would never happen to me. Even $1 million is such and abstract number to me I can't even fathom what I would do with that kind of money. $1 million is like chump change tho these big business tycoons. The wouldn't even notice if they spent that much money. Which brings me to the point of this blog. I don't think it's too much to ask for just one American gajillionaire to give me $1 million measely dollars. Here's a little shout out to Oprah, Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, Bill Gates, etc. Just one million guys, come on. If you split it between you it's like a trip to the grocery store for you. I promise I won't squander the money, I'll use it to buy a house and food and stuff.

There's only one small problem with this scheme: No one reads my blog. Certainly not the countries top gajillioaires. A lot of people read Mark's blog and I honestly have no idea how all of his readers found out about him. Mark, I would like you to use you obviously adequate netwroking skills to attract the countries gajillionaires to my blog. Thank you in advance and please, no foreign gajillionaires. I don't want to go through the hassle of overseas banking.

Tagged: I'm It

2006-08-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

Kell tagged me to answer the following questions about books in my life... So here goes:

ONE BOOK THAT CHANGED MY LIFE: I'm a Literature major in college so this category has a vast expanse for me. I'm a devout Mormon so obviously the Bible and the Book of Mormon. It's amazing how the principles taught way back when can still apply to our lives today.

ONE BOOK THAT I'VE READ MORE THAN ONCE: "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd. Hands down my favorite book. It's so poetic and poignant a story about how we all just go on even when life sucks. My aunt sent this to me when I was going through my divorce. On the inside cover she wrote, "Dear Tie, May life's journey bring you once again to the well of love from which you sprang." Beautiful words, beautiful story, beautiful book.

ONE BOOK I WOULD WANT ON A DESERT ISLAND: Coffee table books. Specifically the Time Life series. They're like a photographic history. I can stay entertained with them forever.

ONE BOOK THAT MADE ME LAUGH: Recently, "Bare Necessity" by Carol Matthews. The author's Brittish dry sense of humor cracked me up!

ONE BOOK THAT MADE ME CRY: "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls. Little Ann and Old Dan break my heart to this day. I really miss those dogs. I could cry right now.

ONE BOOK I WISH HAD BEEN WRITTEN: A book about the adavantages of waiting until 30 to get married. This should be in textbook form and taught to high school students as part of their cirriculum.

ONE BOOK I WISH HAD NEVER BEEN WRITTEN: All of the "The Cat Who..." books by Lilian Jackson Braun. STUPID! Pseudo-murder mysteries written from the point of view of a cat...kinda. I can't explain it except to say that I've weeded my way through two of them because they come so highly recommended and they totally SUCK! A complete waste of my time.

ONE BOOK I'M CURRENTLY READING: "Hawaii" by James A. Michener. My mom gave me this book and it was given to her mother by one of her aunts many years ago. With the history of the book, I loved it before I started reading it but the story inside is epich. It is a history of the Hawaiian Islands told through the lives of fictional characters. The writing is vivid and beautiful. It's a really long book but it's okay because I don't really want it to end.

ONE BOOK I'VE BEEN MEANING TO READ: "The Devil Wears Prada" by Lauren Weisberger. I want to read it before I see the movie. I just bought it off Amazon.com for $2.50 and I'll start it this week.

NOW TAG 5 PEOPLE: I don't think 6 people even read my blog so... whoever reads this is tagged... I know who you are!

Pilot's Dilemma

2006-07-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

You are a South African bush pilot. You fly in some critical medical supplies, enjoy a quick lunch at the hospital. It's a stifling 100 degrees in the shade and you're eager to get back up to the cool, high blue yonder. On the way back to your plane, you discover that the only bit of shade, within 10 miles, has become very popular . . . You start calculating the distance to the plane door . and wonder . . .

"Do I feel lucky today?"