Happy Day to my Fellow Groundhogs!

Since I will not be at work tomorrow (woo hoo!) I have to post this entry today instead of on Friday. So happy birthday to Sarah and Auntie Jane! I also know a few other people that share our day, but they are not worthy of being mentioned. I hope you guys have a great day!

I don't think this guy wanted to see if the sun was out!

It only took 19 Months

Ever since we moved into this house we have been on the look out for a piece of furniture that is 33" wide. In our bedroom there is a space that narrow in between our closets. Currently we are using a night stand as a TV stand in that spot. However it is SO short that when you lay down in the bed you can only see the top 5 inches of the TV. We've been looking pretty desperately and still have found nothing close to that width.

At Christmas time we went to the Costco in Eureka and found a lingerie cabinet that was 32"! We could not believe it! We came back to the SLO Costco and found they were sold out, except for the floor model. Mr. Costco then informed me that they do not sell the floor model if they are getting more of the item in, which they were. No prob...so I thought. We returned on the day that they got more in and by the time we got there they were sold out AND had sold the floor model! I was SO mad! Mr. Costco then checked in his computer and told us there were 7 of them in Livermore. A lot of good that is going to do us! So I gave the dude the bird and then we left.

This past weekend John and I went on Ikea to check out what kind of cheap shelving we could find. We found some good stuff in a lighter baby poop color for around $200...but the shipping was also $200! Great deal eh? After some research we found an Ikea in West Sacramento and decided to stop there on our way back home this Sunday.

Last night John and I went to Costco to get some food platters for a work event he had today. While we were there we perused the furniture section like we always do...and what do we find? A book cabinet that's 26" wide! AND the color is SO similar to our current bedroom furniture! I could not believe it! So we buy it and the next step is getting it into the backseat of my car. After unpacking it in the parking lot we barely fit it into the car.

Next I had to dispose of the evidence. I first pushed the cart w/ the cardboard in the parking spot next to ours and then made a mad dash to the car...but then the cart started rolling back to my car! So then I had to push it up to the front of the store and make a mad dash. I think we would have gone unnoticed if John hadn't of brodied out.

Here is a before and after photo. I know I should have gotten the edge of the bed in the first photo, but I didn't. Deal with it.

30 is the new 21

Even though I'm not admitting I'm having a birthday this year/week, it's kind of hard to avoid it when you have such nice friends. This past weekend two of my friends here in town, (Ellie and Stephanie), took me out to get a pedicure! We started this tradition for Steph's birthday, but did not follow through for Ellie's. But I have PROMISED her we will do it in the sprint time when we start wearing flip-flops. Check out the cute hearts I got in honor of Valentine's Day.

After that we went to my favorite Mexican restaurant in town Vallartas. John and Hans met us and we had lots of fun… until I fell in the bathroom! Ok… it's not as bad as it seems. I was going to go in this one stall, but there was water all over the floor, so I stopped, but my right foot slipped and I landed on my left knee. SO GROSS! And I was still wearing my flip-flops from the pedicure! This fall was not alcohol related what so ever… but I know I would have been in a bit more pain had it not been for those pina coladas.

I also received a WONDERFUL gift from my good friend Jaymie who lives in Washington. I really was going to wait until my birthday to open it, but once I opened the card, she told me what it was. I'm innocent really. So she said she made me a Qillow and that I snuggle up in it and think about my trip, or read a book.

It was so nicely folded that I thought I would wait to unfold it since I knew I would probably never get it to look that nice. Then I thought… I bet there is a different kind of fabric on the other side, so I took a peek and there was! I opened it up and could not have been more excited!

No wonder she made the comment about my trip in the card! It's true too! When I sit and look at it, I can't help but think of the time I was there. This is one of the best gifts I have ever received… for one it was HAND made… for two it's practical (and I always use blankets as we are too cheap to use the heater)… for three she took something that means so much to me and was able to incorporate it. I really need to learn how to sew and relieve John of his button sewing duties.
Here I am in the Qillow! The quilt on the back of the couch was a wedding gift from Jaymie (that she made) as well. It is normally in the computer room keeping me warm in here, but I had to show off that girl's talent!

I was also taken out to lunch today by 4 of my co-workers. In addition to being treated for lunch they also got me a gift card to ofoto.com! Here I thought the Qillow was the one and only perfect gift, and then they get me another perfect gift! I cannot wait to use it. I just received the Amsterdam album I created on their site and it is really great. I want to create one from each country we visited... but also create some large collages. Decisions, decisions.

All I can say is that I'm so thankful to have such great (local) friends. It took me a long time to build new friendships after collage. So here's a BIG thanks to Ellie, Stephanie, Jaymie, Samantha, Jennifer, Davette, and Biggi!!

So Scandaless

This past weekend John and I went and saw Notes on a Scandal, which we both highly recommend! Judi Dench and Cate were so good! For those of you who do not know the plot, let me summarize. Judi and Cate are both teachers. Cate starts to have an affair with one of her students and Judi finds out about it. She doesn't literally blackmail her, but does a modified version of it. It was very entertaining... so much so that I didn't want the movie to tend! I think they could have added on at least an extra 30 mins to it. Both ladies are also nominated for Academy Awards as well. There is this one scene where I actually felt sorry for Cate! What the heck! She was the adulteress! The only downfall of the movie is that Cate's character's name is Sheba. What kind of name is that? Even Judi called her 'S' a couple of times. She clearly felt my pain.

**Note: For those teachers out there... it does not give teacher a bad name. After talking with mom this evening, this was a concern of hers, but I assured her that the thought "Man! That Sheba sure is a hoe! I bet all those FUHS teachers were hoes!" never entered my mind.

Noggin' Update

Here are a few photos of my head wound, in case you were interested. The first photo was taken the morning after the incident after my shower in the kitchen sink.
I think this next photo was taken about a week and a half later. Doesn't it look so much better? John says it now looks like a small pink line. No harm done for not going to the doctors! Yeah!

Photo Shoot

John needed a mug shot, I mean head shot for work last week. Why could we not get one good photo out of 16? How could it be that difficult? Who knows, but we wound up using an old photo from this past summer.

Plant Life Discovered

This weekend John and I created three indoor terrariums. I got the idea from mightygirl.com. We got our glass containers at Cost Plus and the succulents at our local hardware store. Mightygirl used plants that don't require dirt, but the hardware store did not carry those type of plants. We will see how this goes... hopefully I will not kill them, as I have more of a brown thumb than a green thumb.

Here is the variety of succulents we purchased.

Here is the man doing the dirty work.

Here they are!

The end result. (As you can see the job really pooped the dude out.)
Aren't they cute? It was super easy and very rewarding. I highly recommend it!

Waffles and beer?

As most of you know I finally posted our Amsterdam and Brugge photos on ofoto. Brussels and Luxembourg have been uploaded too but aren't ready to send out. We should be done with at least Brussels this weekend. John totally helped me out by adding comments to the album and now I need to go through make sure he didn't say anything embarrassing like how I splattered tomato sauce all over myself.

I am always very grateful when any of you comment on the photos, as it's a lot of work and I like to know you guys enjoy them. I've gathered a few of my favorite comments that I've received over the last few weeks.

Regarding the Amsterdam photos:

Why is John always with a beer?
- Big D Scott

They should have gone to Amsterdamn.
Amster, Amster (clap clap clap)
Amster, Amster (clap clap clap)
They should have gone to Amsterdamn.
- Molly A.

Nice pics of Amsterdam, although I'm not sure you captured how steep those stairs were. Tell John to get to the gym once in a while, and then it might not be such a problem! ;)
- Scotty F.

I just had a European experience. Did not even have to spend a dime:)
- Jaymie P.

After our Friday movie, I could not help but notice you are minus your bling in the photos.
– Jen C.

John is always starting new trends here in the USA, now the more of the world gets to reap the benefits!
-- Rebekkah S. (Referencing the photo of his side belt)


I have received very few comments about Brugge, but I do have one worthy enough to post:

Great photos, but waffles and beer? – Big D Scott

If you are creative enough on the upcoming albums, you just might make it here! I know it is such an amazing goal to strive for. You can do it!

Way Home

So this is the last Christmas post! I'm sure you are tried of our holiday adventures, so I will try to make this ones short!

On our way home from Fortuna, we stopped off in Ukiah to visit The Steinbucks. Well first we stopped off at Porter Street BBQ and grabbed some grub to go and then took it back to their house. We were really lucky that they were open... however they were out of chicken, and tried to serve us duck instead! JK!
Sydney got a SWEET jeep from Santa, and this was her first test drive! Was she having fun or what? We had a really nice visit with them and then we were on the road again.

Our next stop was in S.F. where we stopped to visit Corinne and Navy Morrison. It was our first time meeting Navy and boy was she a cutie! It was really great to see them and Corinne's home. It was really beautiful.I can't remember if we stopped at the GAP outlet in Gilroy or not, but I do know we stopped at BEV MO! We were to excited to see what beers/cider they had that we had sampled on our trip. They did have Strongbow, the cider I drank in every London pub! I was so excited! John also got a few Belgian beers, but I can't remember the names... like that is even important when they had Strongbow!!! We picked up some drinks for our New Year's party and then were on the road. I think we got home at like 10pm or some late hour. I think the total trip was about 12 hours. I didn't have to work the next day so I drove from Ukiah to SLO, but poor John had to get up at the butt crack the next day.

Double Down

Another Christmas entry? That’s right peeps! I still have a few more tid bits to tell you, but more importantly I wanted to post the following photos!

On the day after Christmas we headed up to Eureka because the Big Guy wanted to get a new TV, and a new TV he did get! But it was out of stock so we did not get to check it out at the house. I’m sure it’s really nice though. The mall was totally dead! I couldn’t believe how empty the parking lot and stores were. It was quite shocking. After a tad of shopping we headed to the newest Indian Casino in Loleta! If you can believe it, there are 3 casinos in Humboldt. I was impressed at how big it was… but man was it smokey! It seems like no matter where you go there are always the typical gamblers/smokers. I got to play black jack… but it was ‘Spanish’ black jack, which means there weren’t any 10’s in the deck! Can you believe that one? I mean the game is hard enough, but take away those cards and it’s like you are playing a slot machine. I may have lost about $25… but at least I didn’t lost it all! I started getting the gambling fever again after the FzioMed Christmas party (future entry). I forgot how much I like it! I wonder how often I would have gone there had the casino been built earlier.

When we got back to Fortuna we were all a bit tired. Molly put in The Illusionist, which was really good. Well the parts I saw were good! I think John was the only one that did not nod off. Then the Cox clan showed up again, and we all had to snap to it! Bowie brought over a shooting/target game he got for Christmas, which was really neat. Here he is taking aim.

I was also fortunate enough to have MORE crab for dinner. I can always count on my in-laws to stock up for my visit. Oh I forgot to mention on Christmas morning that the Big Guy handed me a bucket of crab, and I said ‘Thanks!’ Then a little later he asked where the crab was for the omelet he was cooking. ‘Uhhhhhh what crab?’ I thought he gave me the crab to eat! Not to shell! Granted I did offer to help him earlier, but I didn’t know that is when he needed it! Don’t worry, I cracked a bunch more for Jay’s omelet. However this crab was all mine:

We just hung out for the rest of the night and I fed another bottle to Allie SUCCESSFULLY. Here’s one last photo of them. They are super cute.

Da Dum De Dum

This past weekend I traveled up to the bay area to help my sister look for wedding dresses. Rebekkah came down from Ukiah on Sat. morning as well to join the mission. Man did she come prepared! It's a good thing her sister Erica got her a gigantic purse for her birthday last year. Her stash included: a comb, floss, deodorant, pepper spray, wheat thins, a toothbrush, a TV controller, poker chips, suntan lotion, etc. The only thing she needed that she didn't have was a lint roller

Our first stop was Trudy's Bridal Salon. Right when we walked in, it was a total mad house! There were brides and their entourages EVERYWHERE! I think one group may have had 10 people! I told Rebekkah that we should have brought the pepper spray! Trudy herself was even there, and you could tell she was the customer service queen. We got matched up with Shelia, who then started to get some details from Amy about what she was looking for. However Amy had no idea what kind of dress she wanted. I told Shelia babe to just bring a variety, and before she left she asked Amy what she thought about strapless, and she said that is fine with her. So w/in our hour appointment I think she only had time to try on 6 gowns. But the thing is, is that Shelia babe only brought out STRAPLESS dresses and one halter! Did she miss the fact that we wanted a VARIETY of dresses? We realized after the fact that she was just bringing out what she liked! What kind of customer service is that?

After a quick lunch break, we were on the move to David's bridal. Now at David's Bridal you can at least take photos. At Trudy's I had to sketch the dresses, and let me tell you, they were pretty sketchy… specially my spelling. I still don't know how to spell tafada!

We arrived early so we could get a good jump start. We checked in with the lady and she told us that we could go look at the dresses but we couldn't put them in a dressing room! How lame is that? Let me tell you that it was NOT that busy… well not as busy at Trudy's! So we went over and started picking out dressed and hung them all in the same area.

I had noticed that the hair on the back of Rebekkah's head was sticking straight up. The chick was having some major static electricity issues. Of course it didn't help that she was leaning into the dresses and rubbing her head on them!


After awhile we got tired of waiting so Rebekkah when to ask the chick again if we could get a dressing room. Amy and I couldn't hear the details, but it sounded like she was causing quite a commotion… and we still didn't get a dressing room.

Fifteen minutes later we were in and on a roll. Well we were first told that we couldn't handle the dresses, so we had to take our helper lady, Irene, to the dresses that we had already picked out. We had a great system going too. I would help Amy get the dress on, and Rebekkah would hang them up once we were done. She was also the paparazzi and got some sweet shots.



I think we tried on over 15 dresses in an hour. We got to try on some different necklines which was really helpful. One dress was totally hideous but Rebekkah made Amy stand and pose for the photo anyway. Right as she's taking the photo, this older lady walked by and said "that dress is gorgeous!" We all looked at each other, and could hardly contain our laughter! I feel sorry for her daughter!

Our last stop of the day was at Elegant Lace. Walking into that place was like steeping into a time machine and being sent back to the 80's. The decor definitely needed updated, and all of the photos on the walls were of brides with huge hair, sleeves, and veils. Not to mention the grooms with mullets!

Even though we were doing the time warp again they did have all current dresses, and had them organized by style, and had photos of the dresses on the outsides of the bags.

They gave us stack of rings (think of shower curtain rings) to hang on the hangers of the dresses we wanted Amy to try on. We started to take a look and found A TON of dresses with all of the elements that Amy wanted! We were so excited and had a really good feeling that we might find the one at this place. We ran out of rings, so the lady came by and took some of them off the ones we picked and let us pick 4 more.

We head over to the dressing room and the lady told us that she didn't put them all in there because there wasn't enough room. So Amy started trying some on and then the lady took one out that she didn't like, then she came back w/ some rings, but no dresses. Rebekkah spotted that and said "I think they put some of the dresses we picked out back on the rack!" SURE ENOUGH! We went back out to the racks and found at least 2 dresses that we picked that they put back! What kind of customer service is that? So Rebekkah and I come back each with 2 and the lady, (AKA Slo Mo Davis, will explain later), and she says "No more dresses!" Excuse me? You are going to stop letting her try on dresses? It was still 45 mins to closing! Then she looks at one I was holding and says "Oh she won't like that one, it's too full." I said "Can I at least show it to her?" The nerve! So then she only let Amy try on two of them… one of them Amy picked out herself and they put it back! Amy even saw it and said "I thought I picked that one out." And we said "yeah you did." Slo Mo was tired and didn't want to finish out her work day… but that wasn't our fault! Obviously they were not working on commission!

Even though the customer service was very poor, they had a ton of dresses that had the characteristics that Amy is looking for. Hopefully she will not get Slo Mo Davis… but hopefully she won't get Geena Davis, who was even slower! She could have been an impersonator; she looked so much like her!

Unfortunately we could not take photos there either, so I back to sketching. They should totally hire me on full time.

"I don't think I can have kids"

Since I’m going out of town this weekend and probably won’t be posting, I thought I’d leave you with a very exciting story!

A week ago last Tuesday (the 2nd) I cracked my head open on the bottom corner of our linen closet (see culprit below)


I went to get a washcloth and dropped it, so I bet over to pick it up and for some wonderful reason the door decided to close. (Mind you it has never done that before). As I stood up WHAM OH! I immediately dropped to the ground screaming in pain like an irate Wookie. It hurt so bad! John came running in after a couple minutes because, despite my screaming, Jack Bauer was in action on an episode of 24. I'm pretty sure he'd seen it already as it was a re-run. Apparently, on the scale of importance, I rank below 24 and LOTR but just ahead of ice cream.

He said he couldn’t see anything on my head because of all my hair. (I was bent over w/ my head in my hands sobbing.) As John tried to comfort me, the only thing I could think to tell him at this moment was not, "I'm OK, I just bashed my head." Instead my thoughts drifted to another painful subject and I blurted out, "I DON'T THINK I CAN HAVE KIDS!" At this point, John started to be concerned that there may be a concussion at work. So after a few minutes I raised my head only to see blood on my hand! I then looked down and saw a huge blood spot on my pants! How did I not know I was bleeding? Well the blood ran down the top of my and was dripping from my nose…which I thought was tears. John then told me that there was a spot of blood the carpet. That really made me freak out! Who cares about the gushing blood from my noggin’, I’ve stained the carpet!


John sat me in a chair in the office and was trying to apply pressure, although it was causing me even more pain. I told him to phone my on call nighttime RN (his mom.) She told him to check for a concussion, what meds I could take, and what the wound should look like if I were to need stitches.

I started to feel a bit nauseous, so we moved into the bedroom, where I thought I could lay down. Yeah right! What was I thinking? Did some of my brain ooze out along w/ the blood?

John could tell the bleeding stopped, but he still couldn’t see the wound (because of the blood matted hair). I had him get me some ice and Alieve, hoping it would reduce the pain.**

John was really concerned and wanted to take me to the hospital. I did NOT WANT TO GO. I think if it hadn’t have been so late at night I would have been more willing, but A) I was tired and did not want to spend the whole night in the emergency room B) I did not want any more pain to my head…meaning no shots or stitches, and C) I did not want them to shave any of my hair! I also knew I wasn’t in unbearable pain.

After we took the ice off I was able to convince John to wait until the morning to determine whether or not I needed to go to the doctor. The wound wasn’t bleeding; it was just bloody to the touch. So I put a beanie on w/ Kleenex on the inside and went to sleep. How else could I have bandaged up my head?

John set the alarm to wake himself up at 2am to make sure I hadn't bled to death. I knew that if the wound was bloody the next morning it would be doctor time for me, but when I woke up there was hardly any blood. Yeah!

Next we washed my hair in the sink. There was so much blood on my head that John was having a really hard time seeing the actual cut. After the cleaning he thought that it might need one stitch, but I was like ‘it’s not bleeding, I’m going to work.’ So I did. Well let me backtrack. I did have him call my nighttime nurse one more time. (We tried my AM nurse, (Rebekkah), but she was working that morning). He gave her an update and she said it would probably be fine.

I went to work and a few different co-workers checked out my head. Some were more terrified than others, but my boss did tell me that it probably would have needed only one stitch and it’s hard to stitch the head anyway. I’m sure some of you were wondering why I didn’t stay home, which is a very valid question. I don’t have separate sick days, so if I take a day off I’m taking a vacation day. I also knew I could work. John and I were both exhausted the whole day. It was quite tragic… but at least I know what to do if someone gets a head wound!

**Note: Now don’t think John was being mean by taking photos of me while I was in excruciating pain. I was actually working on this blog right before the incident and so like any sane person, this was my main concern. I told him to take some photos of the carnage, as it is so important to have photos w/ my entries! He did take one more photo (that I didn’t post) as the 6 driplets in the above photo look at worst like a very nasty pin pick . It was quite bloody, but I thought I would leave it out in case my sister-in-law checked this entry. Waddup Meese!

A Snowy Groundhog Day

Well it is official... John and I will be heading to Tahoe for my birthday weekend! I'm really excited even though I have no idea what to expect. I haven't been in the snow in so long that that in its self will be a treat. Just pray that there won't be a big storm coming in that weekend causing it to take us 13 hours to get back to SLO!

So it's been so long since I've been to the snow that the only snow photo I had on my computer was one from Fortuna, circa 1989. I think this was one of the first times it had snowed there. Who even knows if it stuck to the ground? This trip is definitely necessary...if anything I need some updated snow photos!

This is the other snow photo that appeared when I did my computer search. It's the Grundman clan and Campbell clan somewhere in Humboldt on the way to get their Christmas trees.

Christmas is Over

Well it became official this past weekend at 1010 Yarrow, that Christmas is officially over and the snowmen will have to hibernate for another 352 days. (Even though I still have two more Christmas entries to post). Packing up our decorations was the most productive thing we did this past weekend, (besides run a few errands). John ventured up into our unfinished attic to store the Christmas bins. He was quite disgusted at how sloppily the added on attic was built. Looks like another project has been added to the list. There are wires running every which way and the crumbly insulation really doesn't look like it's doing much. Hopefully the next time we have a visitor w/ a truck we will be able to pick up some ply wood to lay on the floor.

I have come to realize that unless we don't have an agenda for the weekend we really don't get much accomplished. I know it's good to have some lazy days, but I do like to be somewhat productive. I did finish up my Amsterdam comments and uploaded most of the photos from Brugge. (That was as small dent in a huge task). Depending on how many clever comments I get regarding the photos I may have to post them... I've already gotten two good ones.

I also have to post about my head injury last week. Let's just say that there was a lot of blood and a lot of tears. Stay tuned...

Best Dressed in Ukiah, CA

Here is Sydney in her new shirt she got for Christmas from JCG and The Nanny (a.k.a. me). I love iron on transfers.

Don't Cry over Spit Up Milk

We got up early Christmas morning and headed over to John's parents house. We made it just before the Cox Clan showed up… or should I say before the mayhem began. It was really great to see everyone, especially the twins Chloe and Allie who had grown so much since we had seen them the month before. The family had actually grown by 4 this past year w/ the addition of Molly's new pups Bonnie and Clyde. They made the trip up to LA and were really good troopers as long as their mom was near. Clyde still had to be on Molly's lap even when she was holding a twin! It was pretty cute.
Maddy and Bow were huge helpers by passing out gifts and opening their own. John and I scored again by getting a memory foam mattress cover and a clothes steamer. I had completely stopped ironing clothes in November hoping that we would be blessed with a steamer. Thanks Molly!
After the gift extravaganza we had a great turkey dinner and then just hung out for the rest of the day. I got to hold Allie for most of the day, which was really great. Chloe is a bit more particular in who holds her, as she prefers to be with her mom. I got to feed Allie two bottles as well. The first one went off without a hitch. (I've had practice feeding Sydney before). However the second one was a different story. Allie was half sleeping and sucking on the bottle which I thought was no prob until she finished. I set her up to find out that the milk had leaked all over her and myself! How did I not notice? I felt like such a dofuss!
Even though all I did was hold a baby all day, and allow her to give herself a milk bath, I was totally exhausted! I don't know how Sarah and Jay do it everyday watching 4 kids. I am truly amazed.

Wheat Thins and Trumpet Toots

We had a great Christmas Eve meal courtesy of Senora Scott. The roast did take a hour longer than expected to cook which was unfortunate, because I was starving. I was so famished that I had to break into the wheat thins! It was definitely worth the wait though. John and I really need to try to cook a prime rib… so tasty!

Next it was on to the chocolate fondue fountain! I was so excited to use it for the first time. We had tons of goodies to dip. My favorites were the pound cake, rice krispie balls, and pineapple!


After we stuffed ourselves we headed into the living room to start our traditional Christmas Free Gift Exchange. Throughout the whole year you are supposed to collect any free items you receive and wrap them up! This year I had a great variety of free crap, I mean goodies. Last year my uncle forgot to bring something, but he went out to his car and found a CD to wrap up. It was pretty good! So this year we figured that the chance of him forgetting again was high, and he did. I told him to go out to his car to find something, which he did. Sweet I thought! That was easy... yeah easy until we saw what he wrapped up!

That is right folks…it was a water bottle! Can you believe that one? I'm just glad I wasn't the one who unwrapped it! Poor Uncle Brian. I do know one thing… next year if Eric forgets, he will not be allowed to participate. After all of the gifts are distributed we then vote on who we thought brought the best gift. My dad won by one vote and I came in second. The prize was the board game Scattegoires, and since my dad isn't a huge game player I got to take home the prize!

Here are the votes.

After that we opened gifts. We do a gift exchange w/ both families and it has reduced the stress of Christmas shopping so much! John scored a sweet kitchen vacuum sealer from my dad, and I got some clothes from the GAP, some snowmen ornaments, and other small stuff.

Right when we think the night is winding down, my dad shows up with his trumpet! I think it's probably been 20 years since I last heard him play! He sounded pretty good except for a sticky key.

Don't Cry over Spilt Bloody Marys

On Christmas eve, the men got up early and headed to the golf course. My sister came over and while we waited for my mom to wake up we attempted a quick photo shoot with the pups. I think we got a few good shots. Amy found some treats in the kitchen which we later learned were stale… maybe that is why it sounded like Bella was chewing on a rock! Poor pups. They must have been pretty desperate to do tricks for stale treats!

I thought this photo was one of the funnier ones since none of the dogs are paying attention to me! You will have to wait until I upload the rest to ofoto to see the good ones.

After that we headed to the grocery store to get some stuff I needed for the chocolate fondue fountain for desert that night. Then we headed over to our friends Lori's house to visit for a few hours. It's always great to see her and her nicely decorated home. She is the one who inspired me to have an all snowman Christmas tree this year. I do love it, so thanks Lori!

After that we went over to pick my Grandma up. While Amy was getting the car, my grandma told a young man, (who was visiting w/ his grandpa), that she had two available granddaughters! I had to put the kibosh on that and him that I was sorry we were not available! It was pretty funny.

We finally made it back home and then the golfers returned w/ many stories (of course). The first one was that John slid down a hill going after his ball, so his whole right side was covered in mud! No one was around him at the time, but I'm sure it was a classy fall. A few years ago during the Christmas golf match he slid down the driving range. At least that year he didn't have any golf shoes. I don't know what his excuse was for this year.

Next we learned that my Uncle Eric rear ended the back of John and Dave's golf cart! It wasn't just a tap either! I guess Eric was driving from the passenger's side and obviously not looking where he was going! Even though some were suffering from mild whiplash, the main concern was that their bloody marys had spilled!

Sore Sciatica

So as anonymous has suggested in the comment section of the previous post, I’ll tell ya about the comments my grandma made during The Good Shepard.

After about an hour in the movie my grandma says “I DON’T GET IT!” (Which received a few chuckles). A little while later she says “MY BUTT IS KILLING ME.” To which a lady in the audience responded, “Thanks for sharing.” Once the final credits started to roll she had one last comment, which was “Well it’s got to end sometime!” I think she was just saying what we all were thinking!

**Note: Forgive me for leaving out this comical tid bit, but I’m trying to keep my entries somewhat short. I could ramble on and on, but I know if I bore you, you may not return!

Cash Only and PIP

Our first day in Fortuna was lots of fun. We spent the first two days of our trip with my family. On the first day we got up early and let the visiting commence! Man are we a bunch of gabbers! When lunchtime came around everyone had leftovers from the night before, so John and I volunteered to go to Campton Heights Market, (small market), to pick up the roast for the dinner the next night. (And to also get us some lunch). As we are checking out I had the cashier my credit card and she says they only take cash but they have an ATM machine. What the heck? Where am I in Los Osos? (No offense to those who like Los Osos… LO is the only other place I know where multiple places do not take plastic). Luckily I did have some cash from the football pool I won (see future entry in a week).

Once we made it back with our vitals we all headed up to Eureka to see The Good Shepard. Even though I am a HUGE Matt Damon fan, I wasn't that big of a fan of the movie. I also don't think it helped that I was tired. Anyway if you are a fan of spy/CIA movies then this is the flick for you. I think most of the family enjoyed it, which was good. Amy and I were the only ones that needed some clarification at the end.


Anywho, we stopped off at a new fish place in town for dinner and then headed to Costco to try to find a new TV for my dad. We thought we had found the one, however it did not come with PIP (picture in picture), which my dad informed us it HAS TO HAVE, since that is the only way he can watch TV with my mom… his show in the small screen and my mom's in the large one. So that was a slightly disappointing trip. However next it was on to Gottschalk's where John and I found a perfect gift for his mom. A solar powered home address sign. I remember her saying she wanted one a long time ago and there it was… on sale too!

On the Road

So one thing I've learned very quickly about blogging… don't get behind! Geesh! When we got back from Christmas, I thought I'd have plenty of time to write about our exciting adventures in Fortuna. Boy was I wrong! Now it's already the New Year and I'm already behind! I'm hoping now that I don't have a trip to plan for, a holiday to prepare for, or a party clean for I should have more time. We will see…

So on to Christmas… Overall we had a great visit with both families. On our way up north we did get to stop at St. John's for the cheese steaks, which were great, and also made time to stop at the Steinbucks. I was hoping to get off work early to allow more visiting time, but that didn't happen. We invaded Adam and Rebekkah's home for a short bit exchanging a few traditional gifts as well. Rebekkah brought out a collection of old photos of her and I, and some I had never seen before! They were so hideous that I had to take them with me and scan so I will always be able to remember how stylish we were with our curled bangs and perms.

I think we are holding a framed photo of ourselves. Not sure why are aren't smiling. Maybe all of the helium from those balloons was rotting our brains.

She also had found a post card that I had written to her when I went to Brussels for the first time. I described many things that I saw, but did not give her the correct name of any of them! Quote: "The peeing boy is the most famous sculpture in Brussels." I really hope I did not call him the Manikin Pis because I couldn't spell it... not because I didn' t know his name!

Anywho, we left around 10:30pm and got to Fortuna around 1am. This was the first time I stayed awake for the reminder of the trip. I always feel bad having John drive the last leg, so I attempted to keep him entertained, although I was pretty exhausted myself.