Busy busy busy...

So, we have been very busy over the past couple of months!!!
First, James finished our kitchen:

Before:
And After. Isn't it pretty?!! James did such a great job!


Then on May 24 we celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary. Can you believe it has been a year already? We celebrated by spending a few days in San Francisco.

I got to see the OCEAN!!! Yay!
We went to Alcatraz
We hit up Ghirardelli Square, of course
and I think I wore James out!!!

Then we went to Missouri to visit James' Dad and Stepmom.
They took us to see Joey Riley's Comedy Review, the New Shanghai Circus, and the "Noah" musical at the Sight and Sound Theatre (Yah, we got backstage passes)...


We had a great time visiting. Paul had been wanting to build a shooting range on his property for a while, so James helped him build it. James had to enjoy it while he could, since I wont let him get a gun.
Now Paul and Betty need to rest up!

On the way home we stopped over in L.A. and got to spend a day (Father's Day) with my family. It was so great to see them, even if it was only for a day.

Now we are home getting back into the swing of things.

Birthday Weekend

I had a great weekend!! James sent me to Seattle to visit an old friend of mine. The weekend was originally planned as a "Last Hurrah" before she gave birth to her first child. It ended up being a few days walking the halls of the hospital trying to get the baby to come on out of there. It was so great talking and catching up...even if it took place in a hospital room. As it turns out, I missed the birth by 2 days! Her baby is ADORABLE!!

I was also able to drive out to visit my brother, Tim, and his family. I was so glad that they put me up for a few nights. They all spoiled me for my birthday.

We Colored...

We Played in the bounce-house...

We went bowling...

And then I tried to take them all home with me, but they wouldn't fit in my suitcase. Looks like I need to get some new luggage!

Thanks for the great time in Washington!!

For my birthday, James took me out for a Fondue-rific dinner. We went to "The Melting Pot" for a dinner of yummy fondue dinner followed by delicious chocolate fondue. Yummy!!! Thank you, Pumpkin, for the wonderful birthday! I love you!!

Spring is almost here!!

I know it snowed yesterday, and this morning it was 21 degrees when James left for school...BUT Spring is almost here!! I was so happy to watch the sun creep over the mountains and disappear at 6:50 p.m. We get sunshine again!! I will be so much more productive now. When it is dark, my inner clock says that I should be in my PJ's getting ready for sleep.
I have already started my spring cleaning...
YAY!

The Chocolate Malted Gods are against me!!

Now the Chocolate Malted Gods are just teasing me. I went to the grocery store for some milk and other necessities today on my way home from work. I was grabbing some "Moose Tracks" ice cream, because that is my 2nd favorite flavor. I saw that Save Mart had a "Chocolate Malted Crunch" flavor! I was so excited, I put 2 in my cart. I am sure it is not as good as the Thrifty Brand because this one had Whopper size malt balls instead of the tiny little malt balls of joy. But, I thought it might tide me over and satisfy my craving for a while.
So, I am at the check stand and my wallet is not in my purse!!! I could not think of where it was, so I had to leave the store empty handed. The checker offered to hold my purchases in the cooler while I went home to find my wallet, but this store was completely on the other side of town, so I was not going to come all the way back.
Turns out, my wallet was in my car (thank goodness). I was still hopeful because there is a Save Mart by my house. So, James and I went to that store to pick up the goods. I was so excited! Wouldn't you know it...this store did not have any Knock off Chocolate Malted Krunch ice cream!! What did I do to piss off the Chocolate Malted Gods!!!!!

Another great weekend...

...but not perfect. James and I planned a trip to Sacramento this past weekend. James Picked up and purchased and set up a computer for his parents. So, there were a few things I wanted to do while we were out there. 1- We wanted to spend time with the family, 2- We haven't seen our Sacramento Friends in a while, so we planned on getting together with them. 3- I have had a hankerin' for some "Chocolate Malted Crunch" ice cream. The only place you can get it is at Rite-Aid...if they carry Thrifty brand ice cream. There are no Rite-Aids in Reno, so we had to go to California to get some. (and, yes, we brought out a cooler so that we could transport the goods without it melting)
The first two items on the list went according to plan. We played with the family while James was hooking up the computer. Then we went to dinner with the Mills family, and met up with the Crosby's and Sooz for an evening of laughter and games. We had such a wonderful time! We love getting together with our friends. We only wish we lived closer so that we could do it more often.
Great evening so far. Everywhere I have lived, Rite-Aid is a 24-hour operation, so we didn't worry about how late we stayed and played. We got on the road at about a quarter to midnight. We pulled up to the first Rite-Aid...lights out. Closed. Boo. My hopes were not completely dashed yet, though. So we kept on to the next Rite-Aid on the way home..in Auburn. Lights out...Closed, too!!!! Now I am crushed, because it is the last store on our way home. It has become an obsession to me! I need my malted crunch fix! I will be making some phone calls and perhaps some more trips to Cali.

All in all, though. Great weekend!

Our Chair

Ever since we got married, James and I have been doing things to make our house "Our Home". We have been wanting an accent chair for the living room for a long time, and everywhere we looked, they were SOOOO expensive. Something that I did not realize when we got married was that James can do anything!! He is amazing! We decided what we wanted, and he looked at it and said "I can build that" ...and he did! I have never done any upholstery before, but thank goodness for the Internet! So, we built a chair! I think it turned out pretty well!



(...and yes, that is "Notting Hill" on the TV in the background. James was at school, so I got to watch chick flicks!)

V-Day Weekend

James and I had a fabulous Valentines Day weekend!! My baby sister is going on a mission to Puerto Rico next week. Sunday was her 'farewell' talk in church. Almost all of my family was able to go down to Upland for the weekend. It is so rare that we all get together. 7 of the 8 kids, and all 13 grand kids were able to spend a few days bonding.
Saturday evening we went to the LA temple for a session, and then dinner after. I don't think we stopped laughing from the time we sat down to eat, until the time we got home...and that is an hour drive! What a great trip! Then we stayed up till about 1:00 talking and laughing some more.
Cindy's talk went well...she went over her time. Chatty-Mc-Chatterson! She did a great job. And the Grand kids sang well. Then we did BBQ with cousins and friends. Then, another evening of talking and laughing.
I love my family. I wish we weren't all so far apart. Thank you Cindy for getting us all together for a weekend!

Cute kid at church

Yesterday at church one family (mom, dad, and 3 kids) were the speakers in Sacrament meeting. Mom, Dad and the 2 older kids spoke. They didn't want to leave the youngest out, so they had him sing "I am a Child of God". The kid as about 3 or 4 years old and super cute.
He sang "I am a Child of God. Rich blessings are in stores..."
CUTE!

Tooting my own horn...

I just wanted to toot my own horn for a minute. James and I are slowly making our house a home...there are a lot of things to do around this little old condo. Right now James is working on building a Mantle over our fire place. He is almost finished; it just needs a coat of paint. I will post pictures when he is finished.
My project was sewing drapes for the windows in the living room. I finished them yesterday, and they look pretty darn good, if I do say so myself! The hardest part was finding fabrics to match each other, and the decor of the room. We finally ended up having to special order the striped fabric. I guess the other hard part was realizing that it is not really very much cheaper to make things rather than buy them anymore. But at least this way we got exactly what we wanted, and I was able to develop a talent.
One of my goals for 2009: develop talents.
Thanks for letting me brag for a second!

What is the meaning of irony...?

...because I think I experienced it this weekend.
Normally when I drive from Sacramento to Reno on the 80, I drive about 80 MPH. Never had any problem.
This weekend when we were driving home, we had an unprotected TV in the back of the car, along with other random things. So, in an effort to protect our new Christmas gifts, this trip I drove between 55-65 MPH. (The speed limit is 65MPH).
I had also just barely registered the Jeep in Reno the week before. Now I have Nevada License plates. (Boo.) So, I was driving cautiously on the California side of the highway because I know that in Nevada, Cops pick on California drivers.
We were driving in the slow lane and saw a police car parked on the side of the freeway. Of course I checked my speed when we passed him, because that is the natural reaction when you see a cop. I was doing about 64 MPH. Safe, right? Then we see the cop pull out behind us, and a second later his lights go on. We pulled off the freeway and he told me that he pulled me over for speeding. I was shocked! He wrote the ticket and then told me that he clocked me going 81 MPH. UMMM?!!
Any other trip across that stretch of highway he probably would have been correct. But this time, I know I was not going that fast. I blame the Nevada Plates!