Part Two

We made it to London around 10am ready to go. As I expected, our room was tiny. The bathroom reminded me of my basement apartment bathroom - very small. We did the standard touristy things.



Outside the National Gallery in the center of London


"Big Ben kids...Parliament"



Outside Westminster Abby. Theerrr's Parliament in the background.


BBC 1...BBC 2...BBC 3...BBC 4.


My friends Eddy and Patsy. Well, their clothes. Still pretty cool. I earned that coffee mug as a news anchor. Did I forget to tell you I studied broadcasting? I was flawless!


$1 to make a call. Good thing I had no one to call.


Eurostar! Going 184 mph to Paris.


Angelina's in Paris. Drinking chocolate and real cream. So good.

Poor statue.


Outside the Louvre. No time to go inside.


Inside the Notre Dame.


Outside the Notre Dame. It was cold in Paris.


Eiffel Tower. No time to go up. Maybe next time.


Cool photo looking up the tower.


Done with Paris and trains and the subway train that got re-routed while we were waiting for it. Ended up walking back to the hotel about 2 miles. Not a fun way to end the day.


Penny Lane!


Tower of London. Lots of bad things happened here.


Pondering Stonehenge. Or maybe the sun was in my eye.


Our long journey home with our British goodies; Vimto and Walkers Roast Chicken flavored chips. Both were very good and so was our flight.

I realized at lunch I'm officially old

Glasses that I haven't worn in a year.
Eye cream.
Taking NPR's advice on a good place for lunch.

Check, check and check.

So my eyes have decided to crap out on me lately. I think they've said, "hey, we're not young anymore so remember those glasses you sorta needed when we were younger? Ya we need them now".

I'm actually thinking it's a combination of things like the ridiculous lighting situation at work. Half the office has no lights on - think caves or basements - and the other half sit like they are on the sun. Guess which side I'm on. I should just wear my sunglasses. I might get less stares with those on instead of my glasses and hearing, "You wear glasses?" I'll start responding with, "I do?!"

And it's really dry here. Not good for eyes. I'm not crying (even though my work does make me want to cry all.day.long), my eyes are dying for some moisture.

Speaking of aging eyes, I've got wrinkles that have just decided to pop up around them! Does it all go down hill from here? Guess my years of squinting at the computer screen pretending I didn't need glasses has caught up. I bought some eye cream and have been eagerly using every night. We'll see if that expensive crap works.

I was in denial about my age even with the wrinkles and the need for glasses but not anymore. I realized I'm old(er) because of NPR today at lunch. I've listened to NPR for years. I don't want to hear how you think I'm lame because of it - whatever, we've all got our lame things in our lives and now that I'm old(er) I can say stick it!

Thursday is restaurant review. We heard of a BBQ place near work. Justin wanted to go because it sounded good. I agreed. We went today and it was good. Until some older people (older than me now) walked in and was talking to the cook. All I heard was "we heard about you on NPR!"

My life is over.

Ok, just kidding! I've only been 30 for 2 weeks and it's not bad at all. I can basically do what I want. I had ice cream for dinner the other night. I hear my mom and sister do that all the time. I don't see what all the excitement is about though. It's just ice cream. I was hungry an hour later. It was really dumb, lesson learned.

And isn't it about lessons learned through out life?

So I'll go on listening to NPR. I'll keep using my sunscreen (MIL loves me for using sunscreen. I know tan fat is better than white fat but no wrinkles kicks all their asses combined.) and eye cream and I'll get a new prescription for my glasses. I'm 30 and I like the surprised look when I tell people that. Lesson learned.

*going to get Scullers from her Cali vacation this weekend. I should have the rest of my photos up at the foell.org gallery when I get back for those who are interested.

Part One

Just some of our Thailand photos:


We stopped in Tokyo for some goodies.


View from our room in Pattaya. Yes it was that hazy and humid.


Getting ready to go boating. The waves were rough and the winds were high. Oh and 3 people got sick and the boat wouldn't start. But we made it back.


Red Bull in a medicine bottle. It cost us $.33!


Eating yummy Thai food.


Justin's food was smoking!


Wat Po with some of the wedding party.


Adit, Paveena, and Adit's mom Sarita at the Ring and Mehendi Ceremony. No clue what happened but it was really a greeting line. Party #1.


Henna time.



The Baraat (Indian procession to meet the Bride). Party #2. We made it to Party #3 later that night (basically a really big wedding reception) but I felt sick so we left early.


After the ceremony. Justin, Adit and I waiting to depart for the Doli (to pick Paveena up...again). Party #4 about to start.


Walking through Paveena's neighborhood on an Elephant. All the white people have seen "When Animals Attack" so we stayed away.


Successfully picked up Paveena and Adit's crew, including Justin, carried her to the last reception. More dinner, dancing and boozing.


See the glow? It was humid.


Justin, as he looks in his natural state.

Stay tuned for part two.

London in Eight Days

We actually have a few days left here. I'm just waiting for Justin to get up so we can head up to Liverpool to visit the hometown of The Beatles. Internet is expensive here. Actually I just looked at my credit card bill and I spent $111.00 on 2 shirts! So I'm really watching what I spend and if it's something I can get at home, I don't buy it.

London is a complete 180 from Bangkok. It's so nice and friendly. Traffic jams are replaced with subway delays and hookers are replaced with pubs.

It's hard to say if I'd go back to BKK. I need some time to think about it. London on the other hand, I'm totally coming back to. There is still so much we haven't done. But so far it's been great.

Yes, I've had some great Thai food, British food (guess that can be hard to believe) and we had some Lebonese food last night. Yes, I've taken lots of photos including photos of Justin and I in our Indian outfits. Don't worry, we'll post them up for all to see. On our way back from Paris Justin took a photo to show how I was feeling at the time. You'll be able to tell which one.

Well it's time for a traditional English breakfast. We'll be home Tuesday night. Don't worry work friends, we'll be in the office Wednesday at 7am!

The Longest Wedding Event EVER

It's Saturday Morning here(11:00am)and the final wedding event was last night. Adit rode down Paveena's street on an elephant (seriously) to pick her up. The temple marriage was simple compared to all the other events we've been to here. It's like they are royalty because cameras are always flashing. It's really impressive.

It's been a crazy but amazing event (all 4 of them). I'll post more when Justin fixes his space bar-it's stuck-hard to type.

Overall we've had an amazing time here in Bangkok. Shopping is CRAZY here. We went to one mall - 5 levels. 1 level all cell phones! People love their cell phones here. More shopping today. We leave tomorrow night for London. Hopefully I'll get some photos up once we get there.

Have a good Friday night...I did!

Thailand here we come

In case you come here and wonder where I am -- I'm in Thailand. But I'm sure I've told you and everyone I see.

I'm mostly packed. Just need to do my trik tik itin and wrap it all up. Justin is taking one suitcase. Lets just see if he starts packing his souvies in MY suitcase.

I'm debating on getting my second shot today. I don't want to get it on my birthday because that would suck. Maybe I'll wait until I get home.

I did pack some snack foods in my suitcase including soup just in case I'm totally grossed out. I do have a limit when it comes to Asian food. 2-3 times a year is enough for me. So the next 3 years will be covered in this trip.

Well, since this post is boring, I'll leave you now.

Happy Birthday Elsa!

You Say Goodbye and I Say Hello!

My twenties didn't suck too bad. I got married, graduated college, got my first "real" job and got laid off from that "real" job. I actually had a dream last night that my old HR lady from that place came to where I work now and fired me. And for some reason I believed her except she didn't give me a box like everyone else got last week.

We had a lay-off day last week. I knew I was on the chopping block. Once I saw the girl next to me was gone, I grabbed my personal file and a few other things and just waited.

Then I got the notice; "Can you come into my office?" I didn't want to go in there empty handed so I grabbed a notepad (always ready for notes) and a pen and smiled my way to that office. I figured if it was going to happen it'll be a big relief. Then I remembered I have the BIGGEST vacation of my life coming up and having no money would be bad. (We've saved up plenty...don't worry.)

I walked in and sat down. "Shut the door." Oh crap. This means business. But before he started talking I realized something: A)If I was going to be let go, it wouldn't be by him. 2)there was no one else in his office (i.e. my BOSS). So I was eager to hear what he had to say.

I'm not laid off. I got a job. Surprised and somewhat sad who they let go, but I was excited to finally have a job description. What a huge relief.

Speaking of the BIGGEST vacation of my young life...I was asked the other day at lunch if Justin and I get really excited before a big trip. I said yes and no. Yes for obvious reason. No for stupid reasons. Gotta get Scully taken care of, gotta get all my travel documents and shots. What to take (dress for 2 climates!), what kind of outlet thingies do I need? Oh and the biggest, flying over water for oh, 12+ hours, multiple times. So I'm stressing over that. Justin just says "if we're going to die, we'll die together." So reassuring.

But I just have to look at the big picture. Planes fly all the time and nothing happens. It's just a really long flight and I need to get over that. So I'm thinking about all the things I'll be doing mostly in London. Bangkok will be exciting but that time will be taken up with wedding events. But I would like to go fabric shopping in BKK. Imagine all the fabric! Same thing in London. Fabric stores everywhere!

Here's an inside of what we'll be doing:
Fly to BKK
Spend time in Pattaya
Wedding in BKK
Fly to London
Go to Paris (Chunnel), Liverpool and Bath
Take the Magical Mystery Tour, visit the BBC (totally dorky but I LOVE the BBC) and Stonehenge and all the other touristy things in London (too many to list!)
Fly home

Done. 2 1/2 weeks of adventures to cover us for at least 2 years. I'd say that's a good way to say goodbye to my twenties and hello thirties.

Oh sh**. I think I'll go cry now.

Speaking of Adit's Wedding

I was talking to Justin yesterday about Adit. He's good about sending emails saying "you need to do this and that, blah blah." But when you ask a question, the answers are somewhat cryptic. As a Groom I feel he should have all questions sent to his best man for answering since he's probably busy planning an overseas wedding and all. But that's just my opinion. He gave us a run down of the wedding events and this is what it looks like:

- Wednesday, 2008 7:30 P.M Ring and Chunni Ceremony followed by Dinner and
Dance

- Thursday, 2008 Departure of Barat & Serhar
Bandi: 5:00 p.m Sharp& Will Proceed to the Hotel until 2:00 am

- Friday, 2008 Anand Karaj 11:30 a.m (Ceremony)Lunch 12:30 P.M at Gurudwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha Proceed to Indian Party House for Dinner and Doli 7:30 P.M


Confused? Me too. But I was glad to receive that bit of information so I started doing searches. But what to search on? OK, the ceremony first. What not to wear. Apparently clubbing clothes aren't acceptable - darn, I was hopping to sport my tube top. Actually, since it's a religious ceremony, church clothes are called for. Who would have known. And I get to wear a head scarf and NO shoes! I'm totally down with no shoes. I love it already!

More research lead me to read it being acceptable wearing traditional clothes. And it's not just Sari's my friends. There are many choices here but would it really be acceptable by my friend's family?

I asked the groom. Cryptic answer came, "Call my mom." Justin said, "We spent 6 years at each others houses, she knows me so she'll know you."

And with so many events, what is the dress code to each? We have no idea. So I placed a call to the Grooms mom. Of course she did know me and she answered all my questions.

Semi-formal, Formal, church clothes, semi-formal. The best part, she seemed really excited when I said I'd like to dress accordingly to the ceremony (in a Salwar Kameez). So, I've picked one out - special ordered from India.

We only know semi-formal. See below.



Lets hope we look better formal.

Shots Suck

Thanks to Adit's wedding in Thailand next month, we had to get our shots. And thanks to our anxiety of shots (both Justin and mine), I passed out completely. Good thing I was sitting down. Poor Justin was trying to talk me back but he couldn't take it. He ended up on the floor with his legs up on the counter at the health department before his shots.

Once the smelling salt got me back, my blue lips went back to normal and I saw my husband on the floor. What was going on here?!

We are such babies.

Lucky me, I go back in one month for a booster. The nurse promised to have an ice pack and the smelling salts ready for me. And Justin promised not to go with me.

Family Cruise 2008

Starring Mom and Dad, Chris and Angel, Heather and Joe, Jessi and Justin.

Us waiting at the terminal while they found a "broken pencil" in my dad's carry-on. 10 points for the person who knows what a "broken pencil" is.

You too can exercise on vacation by running 10 miles on a cruise ship. It's only 60 laps. Easy!


It was only 99% humidity in Guatemala. It felt like 200% on a bike going uphill to see waterfalls.


Don't let your brain go to mush on vacation. Take a class! I learned how to make towel animals. Cute aren't they?


I knew I got my "boozing" gene from someone.


My sister, the iced tea.


Ok, there she is with her Joe. Or is it Joe and me and "oh there's Heather?"


On the boat in Honduras where we should have stayed. But Justin needed that trompo.

Incase you didn't know...

Las Vegas is terrible. For the third time during a holiday season, we've had packages stolen from our house. This time, the person came into our back yard and took it! I'm not in the holiday mood now even though my tree isn't done with decorations and my house doesn't have the lights up. Who knows if I'll put them up now. I don't even want to wrap anything or buy anything else.

The only thing I want to do is get new locks on the house and a security system and never have things delivered to the house.

Oh and MOVE!

Justin called it "Seasons Stealings." I think its appropriate.

**
Update: I called my shipper and they are overnighting my order for free...to my work address. Lesson learned. Holiday spirit back on.

Random Weekend Info

For the first time since living here in Las Vegas, we saw tons (and I really mean like 6 of them) of famous people in a 30 min time frame. After all our shopping on Saturday, my cousin drove in from North Carolina for the night. We headed over to the Palms 9 restaurant. We'd never been there but I'd heard great things about it.

We had to sit in the lounge but it was probably the best place to be. While hanging out, my cousin Josh and friend, Chuck, saw some basketball player. I have no idea who it was but they were EXCITED.

Not 10 minutes later, Big Pussy from The Sopranos and some other peeps came in (a comedian maybe). Then Mario Lopez (aka Slater) breezed by us and sat right behind us with a bunch of chicks. Sweet.

Then (yes, one more), Kid Rock came in. His hair is really stringy. Needless to say, my cousin and friend were impressed.

Also a first for us, we bought a Christmas tree. Justin doesn't remember that we had one our first year, but he went with it so I'll consider it a first. I LOVE it and our house smells so good. I also made some ornaments (marbleized) for it.

So tonight I'll finish decorating it while sipping cocoa and mini marshmallows that Justin made (yes he made marshmallows). We are total homemakers.

I knew he had it in him

It's amazing what one can do in 2.5 hours. Since the run I've been lazy. I'll admit it. But last night, I got home from work and cleaned my house. Not because we have company this weekend (well, mostly) but because things had been driving me nuts!

Actually what kicked it off was Justin. He's not the type to initiate cleaning but on Tuesday (sick day, and he was really sick), he organized the pantry! Guess he knew how annoyed I was about it. Or it could be the fact that he was sick of me buying canned vegetarian refried beans thinking we were low. (I tend to go through 2 cans a week.)

Either way, when I came home and saw him organizing the cupboards next to the fridge, I was shocked. He didn't say anything except, "I'm making my way around the kitchen." Naturally I thought he just started. But when I opened the pantry to get items out for dinner I was floored! He told me what shelf was what and where to find things. Oh, and we don't need anymore chicken and beef broth (a staple in my mind and you can never have too many) or refried beans. I just laughed and secretly thought I could easily fit 2 more cans in there.

I was so happy he started something without me asking! I knew he had it in him.

He didn't finish his project but we had plans to finish it last night. The plan was to hit up the British store and get some malteasers for his ice cream, go home and finish organizing the kitchen cupboards. Once we started, I couldn't stop. He stopped to make ice cream but I kept going. I figured if I gave myself until 8pm then I could relax. And that's what I did.

His little act of kindness/annoyance/boredom or whatever he was feeling made me happy. Maybe all the organizing shows I watch got through to him. Either way, I knew he had it in him.

Crappy Run...Literally

My second attempt at the Las Vegas Marathon was Sunday. Vowing to never do a full again, I did the half. 13.1 miles; still a lengthly distance and still difficult. But when you see the 6 mile marker, you're almost half-way done. So it's a good mental boost.

I knew I'd be on my own since Justin is faster than me and has done maybe three training runs at my pace. And my other partner injured herself as did her husband (who was to run with Justin) so they stayed back and took it easy. So we were on our own.

A few things I did differently with this run that cost me:

1. I didn't take the two nights before it seriously like I did with long distance runs while training for the full marathon. Nothing greasy, no beer, lots of water, sleep and stretching. I just thought, "eh, I've done 10 milers with no prep, I'll be fine!"

2. No headphones. I thought, "eh, I'm running in a big crowd, I don't need them!" The most boring part of the race was the second half. Why is that?

3. Not taking any precautionary meds with me. When I did the full, I had a few Advil and some Immodium in my pocket for emergencies. I didn't even have pockets this time! Stopping 4 times at the scarce port-o-potties was not fun or time saving.

4. Only hitting the restroom once before the race. See above.

Things I did differently this time that was rewarding:

1. Since my husband ran and we've got connections, he was able to put the medal on me when I crossed the finish line. That was sweet.

2. I wore pants not shorts. So I didn't freeze.

3. I had the endurance to run from water station to water station. Or from port-o-potty to port-o-potty. However you look at it. On the full, I was done at mile 20. And when I was done I mean done, I didn't want to take another step.

4. I didn't sleep the day away. I slept maybe 30 minutes and hung out the rest of the day. And I came into work today!

Do I have a sense of accomplishment? Maybe. I'm not really sure because it was a crappy run and I know I could have done better. But I finished. I guess there will be other runs out there, but I won't let people talk me into them either. I love the idea of doing races like that, but it's the training that I feel takes over my life for 6 months or longer. I'd rather casually train for something longer than 6 months so it doesn't seem so daunting.

Yesterday, when we got home, we watched the recording of the event, Justin asked, "I don't know how you did the full."

Honestly, I'm surprised too.

4 days left

And I promise I won't sign up for another marathon. Justin and I run the half this Sunday at 6am. The good thing about this is I'll be done no later than 9am (at my slowest), back in bed by 10am. Awesome.

I got a spa gift certificate from the directors at work. At "thank you" gift for all the work I did on the conference in October. I think I may make an appointment after the marathon for a spa day. Well deserved I think.

Justin and I got back from our Cruise to central America on Sunday. Minus a few days of bad weather, 3rd world countries with "one dollar" kids, and running 10 miles on the boat, it was a good trip with my family.

Pictures to come as soon as my sister sends me the 517 she took compared to the 20 we took. She was able to capture classic Jessi and Justin moments. You won't be disappointed.

What's that smell? Monarail! Oh I mean Tuna!

I just made tuna casserole for lunch. Everyone loves me.

Blocked

Ok, so I don't have anything good to report regarding the chili cheese burrito, mostly because I had a mental block. Since I've finally noticed how chubby I am, I'm starting to use that nutrition minor I got back in college and eat a bit better. Before I left work I visited Taco Bell's website; 370 calories and 16g of fat for on chili cheese burrito. Oh my garage! I just couldn't do that to myself. Seriously. No really, I couldn't. So I came home and had some yummy vegetarian, fat-free refried beans. Less than 300 calories and only like 4g of fat! (I had 2 servings. Totally worth it.)

I'm glad I've got that mental block there to stop me. But I'm sure some day it'll feel like this:




I wanted to yell at him to move so I could get a chili cheese burrito, but his gigantic head stopped me from overloading...oh and from enjoying about half the show that night. From what I heard it wasn't all that great.

A Miracle Just Might Happen Today

Planning ahead for my dinner, I was thinking it'd be a good bean burrito night. I'm craving refried beans as usual. But then, and this could be seen as a miracle in itself, our friend Poodle called me today. He figured with my extensive background and love of bean burritos I would already know this information he was about to tell me.

I didn't.

Turns out, he had a chili cheese burrito last night. Not one, but three! And he's not in Canada right now. If he was, that'd be a very mean joke. He had them in Las Vegas! Due to one of their high calorie specialties out right now, chili cheese nachos, they've brought back the burrito. No f-ing way!

So, I will go tonight and ask for one with confidence. And when they look at me with the usual glazed look, I'll just ask for my usual "pintos and beans". (Long story short, I didn't know pintos were beans. Justin has laughed at me for 7 years and counting.)

Full report tomorrow!

People's Choice

Not a very flattering photo, but eh, I'm chubby from all angles. The annual Halloween party was great. Not too many embarrassing photos and no scandalise stories to report. Everyone was "smoking" candy cigarettes and gum cigars. My tray was handy for a drink and camera tray. Everyone was totally jealous of the convenience.

As usual was, surprise surprise, the same girl won sexiest costume with her standard short skirt and boobage all over the place. No shock really. But what was shocking, Batman won sexiest male! Heck ya! You know you can't resist this:


And yet another surprise: I won the people's choice award outdoing the boobage girl! After 4 years, Justin and I won something. We were pretty excited. Can't you tell:

I am a Marketing Specialist Specializing in Travel Arrangements

Maybe today is "write about your work" day because over at Writinggal, she wrote about her past experience in an office. Luckily, she doesn't have to deal with dressing up when clients come to the office anymore. Or dealing with car pick-up problems with said clients. Or make sure clients get their breakfast and lunch and then their ride back to the airport. That seems to be my job ever since my company had our annual conference 3 weeks ago. That explains my lack of posts over the last two months.

In August I was asked to help with the conference by making all the travel arrangements. I was super excited. Finally I was going to do the job I was paid for; Marketing. Well on the bottom end of it. I didn't have to do all the planning and marketing materials that my boss had to do. I just did the travel arrangements. Oh and this was for 160 people. So ya, I was busy for 2 months. Booking flights, hotel, car service which always seems to be a fiasco. But for some reason that's the easy part - booking it. When the time comes for it to all come together, that's when it'll fall apart.

I really shouldn't judge myself so hard because everything actually went well. I was a mad woman for 3 days during this event. Everyone remembered me smiling, saying "hi," "what do you need," "I can do that for you," running around causing my bunions to hurt. But I got the job done no matter how hectic it was. It was almost like my days at Lone Star Steak House. But I didn't go home each night smelling like steak. The level of responsibility might have been too much for me. Because I got sick about a week later.

I thought I was done with it until today. Once again I was asked to take care of travel arrangements for about 10 people. Easy! But I should have known better. Actually the only thing that went wrong was the car was late picking up the guys. But they made it in time and all got fed and sent back home. One guy asked me what my official title was. "Marketing Specialist" I think he was looking for "Secretary" with all the arrangements I've been doing.

With our upcoming trip out of the country, I'm doing my own travel arrangements. Hotel, airfare, transportation but Justin will be my only client and I think I can smile at him all day long... but my bunions will still hurt.

Halloween Disappointment

Last night I wanted to finish my Halloween costume. I worked hard on making the top look like the costume I modeled it after - the Playboy cigarette girl. But once I started attaching the skirt I knew I should have just bought it. So with disappointment we went to the store to buy it. $60 later (so over priced!), I'm the owner of a costume that Justin says looks "to the tee" like the one I made. Well minus the skirt issue.

Had I known they used a swimsuit type fabric that would have made a HUGE difference. But I probably should have gone to the store to look at it first before tackling this project.

So now with mine out of the way, I'll be working on Justin's. I'll post pictures after the party since his is a secret. Need a hint? Last year the hot tub at the party was called "Justin's Cove" this year he's request it be called "Justin's Cave".

Halloween Party!

It's that time again for the annual Halloween Party! We've been working on our Halloween costumes since August. Ya ya, we know, we are crazy but we just get so excited for it! Shannyn and her husband Joe throw a great costume party so we have to take it seriously.

Justin's costume is a secret. He wants it to be a surprise. I say whatever. I don't want anyone showing up dressed like me so I've told anyone who's asked. I'm a "Cigar...Cigarette" girl. See the candy links on the right? Apparently they still sell candy cigarettes. I thought those were banned! So I bought them from Amazon. They smell so yummy. The cigars taste ok. It's gum and it's a lot of gum to chew. So I might be going home with a bunch of those.

I'm playing around with my hair to see if I can do it up 40's style. Since it's so long it might be hard. But I'll keep trying.

The fun part will be getting up at 5am after the party for our 11 mile run. I can't wait til the training is over and I can run when I want. It's true what they say - training's the hard part, running the marathon is easy. Glad I'm only doing the half!

Justin's foot is still bothering him so he won't be running 10 miles on Sunday. And I'm just bothered in general because I'll be running all 10.

I left my heart in Sam Franks Disco

This past weekend was our 6th wedding anniversary. Thank you to all who called and wished us a happy day. We actually celebrated it early by taking a trip to Northern California. We figured we should go before we move (not sure when that'll be, but it could be soon).

We had a weekend filled trip starting at Atwater California - my birthplace; Yosemite National Park - giant trees; San Francisco - where Justin mentioned he left his heart many times. I kept singing "be sure to wear sunflowers in your hair" (or is it "some flowers" in your hair?) It's an old song. If any one knows the song I'm mentioning, you're s-m-r-t!

Blink and you'll miss it - Atwater!

Learning about trees!

Big tree fell down!

I think Justin wasn't interested in the bridge when he took this picture. Nice dirt patch.

Not too bad for someone only 5 feet tall.

On our actual anniversary we went shopping, had a nice lunch and chilled for the rest of the day since we were running 9 miles on Sunday. Surprise to us they actually lowered the mileage to 7. But Justin and John ran the entire distance. Show-offs.

I know I'm slacking but there's a good reason!

After two weeks of craziness at work, I was finally able to relax somewhat this weekend. My mind was officially gone when I started to quote people flights from locations they weren't at. I knew it was time to go home on Friday.

I was determined NOT to think about work. (fyi: I'm planning this huge convention/show/event whatever you want to call it. Booking airfare, scheduling shuttles and anything else that goes along with it for 150 people.) It's all waiting for me today. Yeah!

I actually sewed on Saturday and Sunday. It was relaxed until I f-'d up my serger. Finally realizing I just needed new needles. I'm an idiot. I made 1 top and started on another one (hope to have it finished tonight). I still suck somewhat at sewing clothes but I'm learning. And the serger makes things look nicer. If I can only thread it faster.

Justin and I went out to eat on Friday. We read on our Thailand guide book to leave some food on our plate since it's a sign to the host that you were well taken care of. But it was mentally hard to leave any amount of a $20 piece of fish on my plate. But we managed to do it.

Oh and we are going to Thailand :) Justin's friend in Minnesota is getting married. So we are heading to Bangkok in January the day after my birthday for his wedding. But I still get to go to London for my birthday. Just a week later. We'll make it around the world. I think that's cool!

Well here's to a week that less hectic and idiotic. Oh and to a 3-day weekend on Friday!

It's Finals Week

2007 DCI season is coming to a close this week and I like to predict my top 12. Last year I was actually right with top 5. But it was easy to tell about half way thru who was going to place what.

This year, it's different. Honestly, I have no idea. The last show I saw was Phoenix where it was almost rained out right when the Colts came on. They stopped playing their opener and called it quits. We on the other hand went under the stadium hoping they weren't going to cancel it. I didn't drive 5 hours and pay $80 for 47+ plans to fly over every single corps then for it to rain.

At last, the rain let up and the Colts came back on...then it started again. This time, drizzling. They continued and did great on wet grass. Same with Crown (who's guard is awesome!), Regiment and Cavaliers. I zoned out after the 47th airplane passed over which says a lot for the last 4 shows. Not even an airplane could distract me. Great shows.

I can't predict this year and I'm not going to try. My opinion is just that and I'm not going to have people say, "Your crazy to think Regiment will be Cavies!"

I don't think I am. See some of you in Pasadena!

Whoppers vs. Maltesers

In 6 months, I'll be heading over to London for my 30th birthday. To get started with the celebrations, Justin and I have been reading about London, Great Britain, England and any other books on the area. It's really all the same isn't it my British friends? Just kidding.

Anyway, we visited our local British food store over the weekend. Justin's been on the hunt for these things called Maltesers. Apparently, they are the British version of whoppers. I like whoppers only at Halloween. They aren't an everyday type sweet for me. I don't even consider them a treat. Just another chocolate sweet in the sea of chocolate sweets.

But Maltesers are a bit different. Like all chocolates in Europe, they know what's up. Our chocolate can't even compare to this rich treat (yes, Maltesers are a treat). It takes this somewhat boring sweet to the next level. I actually like Maltesers and it's not even close to Halloween.

So if you have a British store in town, pick some up. They are also available on line.

Farming Life in Idaho

We can't afford them kids. We sprung for these fancy farming tools.

No, You Da-Hoe

Lesson learned: Don't take your heart rate monitor up to Idaho. It'll end up in a shoe bin in a camper of a cousin you haven't seen in 5+ years.

Oh, bring your fly swatter.

It's On

Full strength - baby fever that is. Going to a double baby shower probably didn't help my situation out at all. Justin and I drove up to Utah to see my sister and attend a shower for my Aunt and a Cousin. It was good to see everyone but the talk was babies. "When are you going to have one?" "Your mom is waiting." FYI - I doubt that. She's got four to play with.

Or my Grandma Dot saying, "I've got too many. I don't need anymore at my age." Phew, we're off the hook with her at least.

Speaking of Grandma Dot - While Justin, Heather and my Grandma (Dot's daughter) sat back laughing, I was trying to cram her into the van after the shower. She was laughing and teasing me the whole time. "Ouch that hurts! Just kidding." According to Justin, it was the funniest thing he's seen in a long time. I'm glad someone was having a good time.

Overall, everyone seems to be doing well up there. All of my little cousins are grown up, married and/or having babies. These are kids I knew when they were born. Some I didn't get to see because they aren't around anymore. Sarah and her big sister Angel whom I miss, are off working at Disney World. Their dad, my Uncle, likes to read my blog. This is my shout-out to you Doug! And I forgot to give you that playbill for Avenue Q again. It'll eventually end up in your hands.

I'll be heading up there again over the 4th of July week for a secret surprise party for the Dot-ster. She's turning 90 and doesn't know everyone's coming up. As I said good-bye to her yesterday, she said to me, "Should I cry because you're leaving?"
"Only if you want to." The Dot-ster is quite the jokester.

2 years later and I said yes again

Actually it was around the fourth of July when I agreed to run the Las Vegas Marathon. This year, two months earlier. I was talking to my friend and co-worker John about the marathon. He's now big into fitness (which is great and it's showing on him) so while discussing it, I mentioned I'd never do a full again but maybe a half. So he said, "Wanna sign up?"

"NO!"

But after many people talking me into it, including Justin, I agreed. This time around will be different. I'll have people I know training with me; John, his wife Chris, Matthew (husband of a friend at work), Nita and Justin! I had a friend the first time but we all know how that ended-sorry Poodle. I'll actually strength-train and cross-train this time and not be a sissy. Obviously that's why I was so weak when I did the full.

Not that I'm going for a competitive finish time, I would like my training to be easier and yet still challenging. I went into the first one weak and dumb. I'll just go into this one dumb but stronger!

So our first run is this Sunday...for 20 minutes...or so I've been told. But honestly, I could build up 13 miles in 28 weeks. I'll keep everyone posted.

Kitchen Update!

Justin and I always have big plans for our house, but it usually takes forever to actually get it done. So we set aside Saturday to finally put up our stainless steal back splashes and I have to say...I love the finished look!

Before: This is right before we started installing. So normally my espresso machine and other kitchen gadgets are around.


Installing the first panel!


So far so good.

Almost Done!


Ta-Da!



We think it turned out great! This was a big job and Justin did a great job. Up next: our under cabinet lights (that have been sitting boxed up for almost a year). We also put up a bar but our bar stools won't be in for about 5 weeks. So I'll post pics when that's complete.

Becausing Helping is Good

Justin and I are participating in the Race for the Cure - Las Vegas in May. And since we both haven't done any running since my marathon, we are sticking with the 5k walk. A bunch of friends from work are doing it too so it'll be a great time. I told Justin he should bring his yo-yo so he can practice walking and yo-yoing. Cause that's a trick that most can't do. (Ask him about the Wee Willy Wonka trick--my favorite)

So this gives me about 2 weeks for us to do some fundraising for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. We both pledged $150-easy with your help.

You can go to my page or Justin's page and see our progress and make a donation.

Thanks friends! See you May 5th!

I Wasn't Expecting That.

(click on picture to play)

Can't Wait til Next Weeked

Sunday night, I told Justin "I can't wait til next weekend!" He yelled "Why?"

"So I can do nothing!"

Actually, I had a very restful weekend and yet I got a lot done. I sewed up a new purse (which I'm going to put in my shop) along with a bunch of fabric. I organized my fabric closet and found some that I just have no use for. So off to sell them.

I also altered a pair of co-workers slacks. It was interesting because I had never altered a waistband. But I think they turned out great. I rule! Except I forgot to bring them in. I kinda rule.

Justin and I saw some movies. It was weird to rent them, something we haven't done in a long time. We watched Children of Men on Saturday night. Overall a great movie but much too deep for me on a casual Saturday night. Then to continue the trend of dramatic entertainment, Sunday we watched Babel. Again, great movie, drama all around but this one I could handle. I recommend both movies.

And if I haven't mentioned this to every person I've seen over the last month or two, my braces come off today. I'm excited mostly cause I'll be able to eat an apple whole. Oh ya, and that they'll be straight and purty. That too.

Of course I don't have pictures of anything listed above. But I figured after the beautiful photo of the El Bomba for a week, I'd spare you any imagery. My mom thanked me for posting something to move it down. So you're all welcome!