Saturday, January 31, 2009

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday...



Ikes! I'm dropping behind here. It's ok, I'm still not over a week late so I'm good to go. Wednesday night I had a fun night out with a bunch of my old co-workers from Knock Around Camp. I always have such a great time with that crazy group. It's especially a treat when we see each other outside of summer. It's so easy to lose contact even with people I worked with only 5 months ago, but it's great to see that the bond still survives.

Thursday was the first day that I just forgot to take a picture. Boo to that, but nothing too exciting happened anyways. This last week I put in a serious 42nd wind in the job search and applied for A LOT of jobs. It's so tedious job hunting and really disheartening too when you hear all the bad news about the economy, etc. I'm trying to filter out the bad stuff though and only concentrate on getting myself pumped up again on job hunting. I'll keep you posted though if anything happens (you may be waiting for a while though...)

Friday evening Scotty came into town for his annual visit. We picked him up from the train station and attempted to hit up Phil's BBQ, but the line was all the way around the building so we went to In-N-Out instead. (Don't you worry though, we still got some Phil's for dinner tonight.) Then last night we watched Step Brothers, which I really didn't like all that much, to my dismay considering the amount of hype behind it.

Today Daryll and Scotty went to play some baseball while I stayed home and finished up a calendar project that I'd been working on. It was a good week for scrapbooking and I was able to add a few completed pages to the books, as well as the completed calendar project now. I never tire of that feeling of accomplishment that I get when I finish something and it looks beautiful. In the afternoon, we headed down to Mission Bay to meet up with Daryll's co-worker Ryan and his fiance Rebecca. We were happy to discover that they're using our photographer for their July wedding! This evening we played some Wii, ate Phil's, and baked some chocolate chip cookies. Overall, a good week/weekend. Next week I may not be able to write because I will be on vacation with my mom in San Luis Obispo. But be assured that I will take at least 1 picture a day and I will be sure to write about it later.

p.s. Tomorrow is our 1st Annual Superbowl Chili Cook-Off and we are super excited about it. I made my chili tonight so that the flavors really have time to develop. One sad thing though is that I touched my eyes with jalapeno hands! They haven't stopped burning yet!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Poor Lulu!


This morning I had to take my poor little girl in to get spayed. I felt so bad taking her (and I wish that Daryll could have done it). And not only did she get spayed, the vet called and said that they needed to pull 4 teeth too! She was sooo tired when she got home that she was literally falling asleep on her feet. I was worried about leaving her to play softball last night, but when we came home, her tail was curled again and even wagged a little bit. I know she's going to be just fine (but I still feel bad!).

Monday, January 26, 2009

A Sweet Moment


Caught this quick picture of Lulu and Ella cuddling today. I like how Lulu's leg is swung over Ella's body.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

House to Home


Daryll and I are slowly making changes around the house to make it more our home. It seems that these changes happen in waves; moments where inspiration strikes and we find the perfect paint combination or matching piece of furniture. We got a big boost this weekend when my mom and Pete brought down several pieces of furniture for us. She gave us the brass bed that was mine throughout high school and that will give the guest room that perfect rustic touch. Also they brought an iron kitchen hutch that will look great in there once I spraypaint it white. A big addition that is already making a difference is the L-shaped desk that went into my scrapbooking room. It is so nice to have a big enough space that I can leave layouts out as works-in-progress and still have room to pull out another. But my favorite addition is a square kitchen table. The small wooden table is the perfect compliment to the white chairs that had been awaiting their assigned duty in the garage. Daryll and I even stopped to buy flowers on the way home which added the perfect touch. Since even before we moved in we had aspirations of sitting at a breakfast nook on Sunday mornings, eating breakfast and sipping a cup of coffee. Can't wait for next Sunday now in our newly revamped kitchen nook!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Productive Saturday


So Daryll and I had intended to sit at home and do nothing today. It was supposed to rain and then we were just going to read and relax. But it didn't rain. So we decided it would be best to leave the house for a bit. We went to Coffee Bean for our weekend coffee and sat there and read for a half an hour or so. Then we drove down to La Jolla Shores and went to the Cheese Shop to order sandwiches. The weather was still looking great, so we headed over to eat by the beach and enjoy watching the waves, the seagulls, and of course the people. (Might I add this would have been a perfect opportunity for a picture of the day, had I remembered to bring my camera.) When we ventured back home we decided that it was time to do a deep cleaning, so we both got to work and soon enough the house was spotless. Yesterday I spent a ton of time cleaning out my scraproom and I swear it makes our house look bigger now. There's nothing obstructing the doors, all of my scrapbook papers are organized by color and theme, and all of the other junk that had been piling up since we moved in has been abolished to the garage (or the big black trash can inside the garage). Ahhhh, now we can relax in our wonderful clean home. So today's picture is of the puppies keeping me "company" in my scraproom.

Friday, January 23, 2009

If You Ever Need a Laugh...


....Just look at this picture of Lulu! Tonight, I was cooking dinner in the kitchen and I heard Ella getting into the recycling box. I thought I caught her in time before she took anything out though, so I continued my cooking. A few minutes later I left the kitchen only to find that Lulu had gotten the lid off of an oatmeal container and effectively gotten her head stuck inside of it. She looked so defeated sitting there with her head back against the wall. So of course I whipped out my camera to take a picture. Ella was so confused by her sister's appearance that she started barking at her like she was a new toy. But quickly after I got the picture I removed the container from Lulu's head. The poor girl, the thing was really suctioned on there! Maybe she learned a lesson about stealing my recycling today though. Doubtful, but maybe...

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Scrapbooking- It's Good for the Soul


Tonight I spent a little bit of time working on the scrapbook. I'm so far behind that it's not even funny, but I guess that's the life of a scrapper. I so love scrapbooking though. It really brings out my creative side and allows me to focus on something other than job hunting right now.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

2009 Inauguration


I wasn't going to write a blog on the Inauguration since it's obviously everywhere right now, but then I got to thinking about my memory and how it tends to not be so great sometimes. And I know that I'd be kicking myself in 20 years when my kids are doing a project on former President Barack Obama and the only thing I can remember to tell them from the Inauguration is that Aretha Franklin was wearing a hat with a very big bow on it. (Yes, I was a politcal science major in college...) So, on that note, here are a few reflections I had on the day.

First, I thought it was wonderful how many former Presidents attended the Inauguration. In a time when the rest of the country seems to be pulling together, it is good to see that the solidarity can extend into the political field as well. Much of this Inauguration period seemed to be about bipartisanship, which is overdue and much welcomed. My own political beliefs have become more centered in recent years as well, and I like to believe that I extend a hand of tollerance in most situations.

I also appreciated how our new President gave America a call to action, and I am encouraged to see that people have actually been inspired to lend a hand and get out to volunteer. We shall see if this inspiration continues to carry people through the next several years (or months, or weeks...)

Overall, I believe that for the first time in a while people felt proud to be Americans and are excited about the new leadership and direction that the country could possibly be heading.

I was not able to attend the Inauguration, but today's picture is of Barack Obama taking the oath of office on my television (thanks to ABC news).

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Pug People



Pug People are a special breed. Never have I seen a group of people who are more excited to run into another person who has the same breed of dog. We ask each other questions that we already know the answer to, such as "Does your pug run around in circles like a crazy dog?" and "Do your pugs give incessant kisses?". (Of course we already know that pugs, as a breed, are pretty much the same as the next pug, but that doesn't decrease our delight in discovering that "Yes, my pug will do anything for food".) Today at the dog beach I ran into some of these Pug People. They had a fawn and a black pug just like we do. We started chatting about where we got our pugs and found out that one of their pugs was actually Ella's half-sister! It was all very exciting for me and the other Pug People. I took a picture so everyone could enjoy. Can you tell which ones are Ella and Lulu?

Saturday, January 17, 2009

A Long Day


Daryll and I left early this morning for his baseball tournament in Rancho Cucamonga. His first game went well (they mercied the other team), but the 2nd one... not so much. Daryll decided to stay there tonight so that he wouldn't have to drive back and forth again tomorrow, so I went to visit Uncle Joe, Tony, Shelly, and the boys. It was wonderful to see them, as per usual. :-) The picture for today is of Giuseppe saying goodbye to me before I drove away. Sooo cute!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Unnecessary Expenses


I missed a day. But I'm not going to worry about it. Nothing of consequence happened yesterday anyways. And we ate pot pies for dinner last night. But Daryll did bring home some beautiful roses for me that served a great purpose as the picture for today.

We're working on saving more money, which means cutting out unnecessary expenses. For me, the greatest sacrifice in this new program is that my Starbucks intake is limited to 2 coffees a week. (FYI, Daryll has the same restraint put on him and he's taking it harder than you might imagine.) Now, it's never really been about the coffee. It's about the atmosphere. It's about getting out of the house, having a routine, saying hi to my local barista. It's having a place to study, a place to read, a place that has free Wi-Fi. It's about memories and friendships, traditions. But despite all that, I am sad to say that I haven't stepped foot into a Starbucks since Christmastime. I'm not even sure if they're still serving the holiday drinks or if they're gone. Did they have a holiday clearance sale? I don't know! My mom told me about some cute new cups they have in stock, but I haven't seen them. ME! The girl who collects Starbucks mugs from around the world to display in my kitchen. The girl whose Christmas tree is half decorated with miniature Starbucks Holiday Edition Cups. *Sigh...* Honestly, I'm not sure that Starbucks can last without me in this economic climate. But who knows...maybe Daryll will read this post and have some mercy on me. (Either that, or he'll think I'm a Starbucks-deprived crazy lady. Let's hope for the former.)

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Snuggle Bugs



Ella and Lulu's favorite time of day is snuggle time. Actually, they usually get to experience snuggle time more than once a day. They start in the early morning when Daryll takes them downstairs to go outside. When they run back in the house they jump up on the couch and look up at Daryll longingly. Usually he gives in just because the couch, blankets, and puppies sound much more inviting then getting an early start on the day. When he leaves for work they sleep in their bed for a while longer before they wake me up with whines and big brown eyes looking up at me. When I walk downstairs they jump on the couch again and I usually give in as well. Ella immediately dives for the blanket and Lulu snuggles up right next to me and they're asleep again in minutes. Their final snuggle time is at night when they're so tired they can hardly stand anymore (well, at least Lulu is). But I must admit that I think I like the snuggle time as much as the puppies do. They're just so warm and cuddly...

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Fitness First!


The ball was a shot hit down the left field line and I jumped on my horse to get down the line. As I was rounding third base and heading home there was only one thing I was thinking...."I really need to start working out again!" Of course, even when I am working out all the time sprints still tend to do me in. But really think I should get back in the gym. The problem is a lack of motivation. I need a work out buddy. That, or a really, really good incentive for working out consistently. Fitting in my wedding dress (or actually Aunt Betty's for the rehearsal luncheon) was pretty good motivation a few months ago, but we are past that now. And honestly I pretty much stay the same size whether I'm working out hard or hardly working out. Somebody at church on Sunday actually told me the other day that I looked thinner than the last time they'd seen me. I can attest that this is not true. However, I am happier when I'm working out, so I hope that somebody forces me into the gym soon. Otherwise at least there's always softball!

Monday, January 12, 2009


Today was a most beautiful San Diego day. I've often said that really Southern California is the only place where you can find a Christmas tree and a surf board on top of the same car, and this wondrous January day is my point exactly. So what, you might ask, did I do on this absolutely glorious day? I stayed inside and baked cookies for Daryll's first class of trainees. Luckily, they were delicious enough to make me forget what I was missing out on just outside the sliding glass door. And, I still got to wear a tank top in January, so it was a happy day.

Daryll's been working really hard at his new job. Last night I went over to the office with him to help him put together binders for the new trainees and I got to see first hand all of the changes that he's implementing in the training program. The booklet looks much more professional now than it did before and I'm really proud of all the work he's putting in!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

San Diego Super (Lame) Chargers


Thankfully, I'm not a full fledged Chargers fan yet. Yes, it is easy to get sucked into the "Charger Fever" down here in San Diego, especially when they squeak into the playoffs every year. However, if I were a Charger fan I would probably be in a pretty bad mood after today's game. Undoubtedly I would wonder how they could have only had one offensive play in the entire 3rd quarter, which was intercepted by the way. I think I'd be thinking that Weddles looked pretty ridiculous when a ball was punted and bounced off his helmet, only to be given over to the Steelers for an imminent touchdown. Or I could be mad about the fact that L.T. is never healthy when it really matters. Luckily, I'm a Ravens fan. And they're moving on to the next round. Sorry Chargers, maybe next year.

p.s. The picture is of a group of us at Jeff and Lindsay's house after the game.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Hurray for the Weekend!


Hello,
This is Daryll writing the blog for a day. Today was a beautiful San Diego day, which we enjoyed by heading over to Mission Bay and relaxing/reading there for a little bit. Unfortunately dogs are not allowed, so the girls had to stay at home. Then we watched the Ravens-Titans game, which was really close but the Ravens pulled it out in the end. If the Chargers can defeat the Steelers tomorrow they would host the Ravens next weekend in San Diego! Then a quick dinner before making some cookies from scratch.

This week was one of the busiest ever at work. Really getting started as a manager this week, managing both the company training program and the telesales-supplies team. I am very excited about the change, but it certainly is a lot of work! I spent half of the work week in meetings, between an all day manager's meeting on Tuesday, a Sales kickoff on Wednesday afternoon, and a telesales kickoff on Friday afternoon. Not to mention trying to prepare for the Training program next week, was up until around 3:30 Thursday night working on that and still not quite done...but I know once I get settled in a little bit and all the new year craziness wears out it will get better. I've worked hard to get here, not afraid of a little more work to stay!

Sad news of the past week was that John Smoltz spurned the Braves to go to Boston! The last of the big 3 (well Glavine is a Brave now but he left to the Mets for 5 years in between...) and my favorite. Though if the Red Sox make it to another postseason, they COULD have two of the best postseason pitchers of our time in Smoltz and Schilling...if both aren't retired by then. He's also the last player from the 1991 team (again, Glavine too. Also Bobby Cox). Personally, I think the Braves GM could be fired after next season. This offseason he FAILED to resign Smoltz, Hampton, couldn't get AJ Burnett, Jake Peavy, and was publicly humiliated by Rafael Furcal. None of that ever would have happened to John Schuerholtz. I should send in my resume now.

Really excited for Trish and her schooling stuff, as well as the fact I ordered another copy of Guitar Hero which should arrive soon. Quick story on that too. Before I decided to go for Guitar Hero instead of Rock Band, I had ordered a Rock Band "Tracks" CD. Basically for Rock Band you need to buy "Tracks" CD's for more songs, they are like $20 and I bought it for half that...anyway, the Guitar Hero guitar and drums don't work for Rock Band, but I could still sing the songs on the CD. Pretty lame, but I love pretending to be a rock star still. Only fun for so long, but I do think Trish enjoyed my version of Boston's "More Than a Feeling"...Here's our picture from sunny San Diego!

Friday, January 9, 2009

My Unexpected Life


After 4 years at UCSD, working several unpaid internships at the same time as regular jobs, I never expected to be in this situation after graduating. Job hunting is rarely an enjoyable task, but it has been especially hard this time around. I hate to think of myself as a victim of the broken economy, but that's where I'm at (and it's not an easy pill to swallow). At this point, I could either wallow in self-defeat or press on, so I'm choosing the latter. Being in this position has forced me to reevaluate what I really would like to do with my life. My whole life I have had in interest in home renovation and design. Once I started college, the idea was still there and I talked about if often, but I felt that it was more important to finish my degree from UCSD than to switch to a school where I could do interior design. Well, in the past few months Daryll and I have had the opportunity to do some research on design schools in the San Diego area and I will hopefully be starting a program in August at the Design Institute (barring acceptance)! I'm excited about even just the thought of going back to school to accomplish my dream. I'm also excited to be studying a subject that I am passionate about and that leads to a specific career set at it's culmination. However, I am a little bit nervous as well about going into a program that is 180 degrees different than what I did at UCSD. But overall more excited than nervous :-) I am so thankful that Daryll is 100% supportive and encouraging. What a true blessing! In the months leading up to the start of school I will be taking a few classes at Mesa College so that I don't have to take any G.E. classes at the Design Institute and hopefully finding at least a part-time job. Anyways, just wanted to catch you up on the latest and greatest. Also wanted to say a big THANK YOU to everybody who encouraged me to follow my dream.

p.s. Today's picture is of me and an old friend Kathy. We met up for lunch today and it was wonderful to see her :-)

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Cookbook Obsession


I have a minor obsession. With cookbooks. Actually, cookbooks, cooking magazines, recipe websites...basically anywhere I can get my hands on a hidden gem that is just waiting to come out of my oven. When Daryll and I got married, we decided that we should shake the dust off of the old cookbooks and put some creases in the new ones so we made a pact to try out one new recipe a week. Well, to be honest that probably lasted about a month and a half until we got back in the rut of stir fry, lemon chicken bake, and frozen pot pies. I'm beginning to feel a renewed passion for my new meal a week pact though, so I will post some upcoming delicious gourmet cuisine on this blog in the near future. As for right now, I've got to go put away the leftover chicken bake...

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Fondue for You


Tonight we got to spend some time catching up with some friends. John Mark and Lauren invited us over for a night of games and fondue. Fun was to be had by all. We started out with some delicious chocolate fondue, which all of us overindulged in (just a little...) and then moved on to some A to Z, a wonderful game that Daryll and I are attempting to spread to everyone we know. Unfortunately the boys beat the girls 2-1 in 3 rounds. I feel that I must give them credit for the win because it is such a rare occurrence. After A to Z, John Mark busted out the Wii and we played a lot of crazy games that will leave us with sore arms tomorrow. All in all a great night! And we're very thankful to still have some friends in San Diego to share random game nights with.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Softball Tuesdays

Tonight at our softball game Daryll was pitching and got nailed by a ball hit back up the middle. The worst part is that it hit him square on the shin bone, so he probably won't even have a good bruise from it. I took a picture of it, but it looks pretty lame today, so I'm going to spare him the picture post. Maybe if it bruises up tomorrow I'll share it with the world. Instead, tonight here's a video of Daryll and Lulu.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Bye, Bye Miss American Pie

Today I was beginning to doubt whether or not I'd actually be able to keep up with my picture a day. I know that we're only 5 days into 2009, but today was the first day back to normal, everyday life and (let's face it) there's not always something exciting or picture-worthy going on. However, it seems that the puppies read my mind and gave me a blog-worthy story and picture for the day. When I left the house for lunch the puppies were sound asleep, so I thought I'd leave them out of the kitchen. I put away everything that I thought they could get into and then walked out. When I returned the house was in the order that I left it in except for one small change. Our BRAND NEW Guitar Hero game disc was in the middle of the floor. With teeth marks in it. Yes, somehow, someway the puppies had ejected the game disc from the Wii console and chewed it up just enough so that it no longer works. I guess they were just jealous of the time that we were spending on Guitar Hero that we should have been spending on them. (Silly humans...) Anyways, it is quite unfortunate, but all you can really do is laugh at it. Who would have ever expected our dogs to be that smart? Thus today, January 5th, 2005, is the day the music died. (At
least until the new copy we ordered off of amazon
arrives :-)

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Day of Rest


Today was a restful day for the most part. We watched the Ravens dominate over the Dolphins this morning while Daryll BBQ'd up some tri-tip. Then Dad, Amy, and Conor left for home and Daryll left to get a haircut. Tonight, we're just relaxing, gearing up for a new episode of Housewives. Today is a little sad though because it seems like the official end of the holiday season. The decorations have come down and tomorrow starts the first "normal" week in quite a while. However, a new year always brings new beginnings and something to look forward to...

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Go Chargers!





Excitement and anticipation were in the air as we arrived at Qualcomm Stadium to watch the Chargers take on the Colts. None of us had ever been to a playoff game before and the game didn't disappoint. We spent the afternoon tailgating and visiting with friends. Conor had his first authentic American tailgating experience which I think he enjoyed more than the game itself. We got into the stadium just before the game started and from there time sped up. The game was back and forth and the crowd kept jumping up with cheers and then sitting down with disappointment. Admittedly I was nervous when the game went into overtime. We all held our breath through the coin toss....and it was tails! The Chargers would receive! The crowd went wild! I took the opportunity to give Conor a little lesson in American football. As everyone was cheering about the coin toss, I leaned over to Conor and told him that we won the game! He said, "what we won the game?" and Amy and I started busting up laughing. I'm not sure he'll ever let down that moment of gullibility. Finally, however, the Chargers did march down the field to score the game winning touchdown! Overall, our first playoff experience was more than we could have asked for. Let's just hope the Chargers can keep the streak going next week in Tennessee.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Guitar Hero World Tour


On Christmas Eve, Dad and Melanie surprised Daryll and I with a large box. Inside was a gift that Daryll had been dying for and I had been dreading: Rock Band. Of course Daryll was delighted about the gift but he quickly noticed a problem...it was Rock Band for Playstation 2, but we only had the Wii. We decided that we would try to exchange it, but after calling every Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, and Walmart within a 50 mile radius we weren't sure it would be as easy as we expected. Daryll spent the last week eager with anticipation for the new arrivals, all the while with a new idea churning in his mind. Guitar Hero World Tour was just like Rock Band...guitar, vocals, drums (and cymbals too!). And of course when Daryll saw that G.H. was in stores and available TODAY, the decision was already made. Thus, the peaceful household we once had has subsided to the loud and obtrusive Guitar Hero. And I hate to admit it, but I actually like it. A lot. I'm not sure that the neighbors would say the same though..... :-)

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy 2009!


Happy New Year! We kicked off the new year with a game night with a bunch of our friends and my Dad. Of course the women dominated and won the majority of the games, as per usual but the guys kept us laughing with their moves in Guesstures. Daryll and Greg amused us with the newest installment of their yearly edition of New Year's Videos. (Perhaps a clip from this video shall make it into a future post.) Ella made it til midnight and beyond with energy to spare, but Lulu crashed around 10 and hardly flinched when the ball dropped. I set the self timer on my camera to catch the start of 2008, but unfortunately Daryll and my heads were out of the frame so I don't think I'll be posting that one anytime soon. Instead here's a picture that Jen took of Daryll and I at the start of our first full year married.