Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Our Holiday

Christmas this year was wonderful, albeit busy! We kicked off our celebrations on Tuesday the 22nd with a quiet get together at my Mom's. Mitch brought a girl to a family gathering for the first time, which was cute. Shaundra (sp?) was very nice, down to earth, and easy to talk with. I enjoyed her company immensely and am glad that my little brother is keeping company with such a nice young woman.

Wednesday the 23rd, we celebrated with Matt's Dad, Helen, and all of the siblings and spouses. This gathering was super fun and I'm excited that we're turning it into a new tradition. 

Christmas Eve was at Matt's Mom's house. We had a lovely dinner and a fun white elephant gift exchange. 

Christmas morning was spent at the Allen's, as always. Emmy was super fun this year as she is three and "gets" Christmas a little more than she has in the past. Santa even made a surprise visit and brought her and Skylar presents. Very fun. We finished the day at my cousins home with my side of the family. 

For New Years, we are getting out of town and heading to the family cabin in Tahoe. I'm excited to escape the worries of which parties we're going to attend, how we're getting home, and what I'm going to wear! 

Friday, December 18, 2009

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

I really do love the holiday season. I love the cheer that seems to waft through the air, I love hearing holiday songs in the stores, I love having a Christmas tree in our house all decorated and lit up, I love wrapping presents and giving gifts, I love being with my family. Which is what makes this time of year hard in the midst of all that I love. 

My Dad has been gone for seven years, seven months, one week, and one day. I remember every detail of his last 24 hours with us vividly, and probably always will. I remember my heart being broken when it set in that he was going to leave. It has stayed broken, probably always will be broken. Don't get the wrong idea, I definitely don't consider myself as one to dwell on it. I don't mope around or burst into tears every time he is brought into conversation. Quite the contrary actually. I love to hear others talk about him, tell stories, remember him. People have often told me that they're surprised when I do open up about losing my Dad....I just don't let people into that part of me very often, and it's only particular individuals that I allow in.

You would think that it would be his birthday, Father's day, or the day that he actually passed away that would make my heart hurt the most. None of those do. Though I miss my Dad every single day with all of my being, the single hardest day for me is Mother's day. That's another post in itself. After Mother's day, for whatever reason, the Christmas season is water that I tread lightly. I have been thinking of why a lot this year, and have come to the conclusion that it isn't anything exactly that can be pinpointed. I think one main thing is not having him in the group of family that we spend so much time with. Oh, I miss him so. 

I recently had a dear friend lose his mother far too early, and much too suddenly. Very reminiscent of how I lost my Dad. The only piece of comfort I could say was that it never stops hurting, but the hurt does get better. And it truly does over time. But, then there are those days like the ones I've had a lot of recently where the hurt is just as fresh, stinging and unbearable as it was the minute that his heart stopped beating, the minute that my Dad was gone. 

And then, after I've let the sadness wash over, after it feels as if my heart has broken into a million pieces for the umpteenth time, after I've cried all that I can, I remember who my Dad was and how much he loved me. He would not want me to shed a single tear. He would want me to enjoy the season, and the people that are here with me, and his memory. So, that's what I do. Every single day this time of year, I have a meltdown, I pick myself back up, and I continue with life. Because that's what he would want me to do. He would want me to live.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Post-Thanksgiving Update

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday. It started out with our family celebrations. First was my side. Every one was there to share LOTS of appetizers (my favorite!) and a wonderful lunch. Our evening was spent at Matt's Dad's with Matt's side of the family. It was a nice celebration as well. 

Friday, we began our Christmas light endeavor. Now, this was no small feat because I was well into a cold (that I'm still battling today) and I was not the most pleasant person. Thank God for our neighbor and friend James who came to the rescue and helped my all too patient husband finish the task. The house and yard looked great for about 5 minutes until a fuse was blown. That's on Matt's "fix-it" list for this afternoon! Ha!

Saturday, we watched Four Christmases and just hung out. I was tired, sick, and just wanted to laze about. Sunday was more of the same. I should have done laundry, but didn't. I also should have studied, that didn't happen either!! This will make the next three days of my life hectic, but it was worth it to have four days of being completely "school-less".

And now, it's back to the day to day. I'm at work, begrudgingly, and tonight I need to clean the microwave out and...STUDY. I'm also making Matt chicken and dumplings because it's one of his favorites and because I love him : )

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Bad Blogger!

It's terrible, but I haven't updated on here in over a month. Really, there just hasn't been anything super interesting to share! Every day life is just fine, the same, and I'm okay with that. However, there have been some events here and there that are key, so this post can be a jumbled mess of randomness!

1. School. It's going great. I'm about 3 weeks out from the semester being over. I think I may end up getting an A in anatomy, which would be fabulous. As underacheiving as this may sound, I'm perfectly fine getting B's. I was able to get into the classes that I want for next semester. I'll be taking Physiology with the same intructor that I have for Anatomy (LOVE her!!) as well as Microbiology. After that, I need a Chem class and pharmacology and then I can apply to nursing school!

2. Running. I am far from officially being a "runner". But, I've been trying. I ran my first 5K last Saturday. It was the Turkey Trot in Davis and Tiffany and ran together. I ran the whole way. I finished. I did it! Next, a 10K in February. The final goal is to complete the Nike Women's half marathon next October. We'll see....

3. Work. It's work. It's the same. Nothing bad, nothing great either. I do my job and I get paid. That's pretty much it. It does make me realize how my calling truly is to be a nurse, so it's motivation to keep working toward that.

4. Family. They're all good. Alex is getting ready to have little Henry next month. He's due on December 23rd. I have a feeling he'll be the best Christmas present there ever was. 

5. Friends. They're all good too. Busy with the holiday season upon us. We did have a nice get together last weekend for Jason's birthday. It was good times.

6. Random happenings. This Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, Tiffany and I are planning to be ambitious and do the Black Friday thing. Matt and James are going to put up Christmas lights. Then we'll all eat crock pot dinner and go to the new rollerskating rink. Saturday night we are going to Transiberian Orchestra. Skylar along with Chuck and Judie are joining us. I'm excited to share it with them.  Matt and I have plans EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND in December. Tis the season I suppose.

Finally, I was thinking I should do a separate post for the following tomorrow, but I'm worried we'll be too busy and I'll forget. My Thankful list. Being that it is Thanksgiving, I wanted to share all of my blessings.

My husband

My Mom and Brother

Our family

Our friends

My, as well as all of the people mentioned above, good health. 

Our home

Our dogs

Our jobs

The opportunity to go to school

A husband that is willing to be in charge of dinner once a week

Wonderful neighbors who are really more like family

Pictures

All of the babies that were born this year

Support

Love

Respect

(And now the superficial stuff!)

E-mail and Facebook

A four day weekend

My car

My cell phone

DVR

I'm, of course, thankful for all of the above every single day of the year. It just seems appropriate to list it out today!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

It's been two weeks...

....and I don't have a whole lot to update on! Well, the normalcies of every day life, but other than that I'm pretty boring!

Last Friday, Matt's aunt got married in Monterey. It was a beautiful ceremony, followed by a really fun reception. The rest of the weekend was super low key. Judie and I took Skylar and Emmy to the pumpkin patch, but being the bad photographer that I am I don't have any pictures. My front walk looks really cute though all decorated for fall with pumpkins : )

I have my third test in anatomy class tomorrow. I'm about half way through the semester, and it has flown by. If the next two semesters are like this, I'll be in nursing school in no time! It's really nice to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and to know that soon I will be doing what I truly want.  SO EXCITED!!! 

Matt finished the paint in the third bedroom of our house, so now all we need is a little carpet and the office will be finished! No telling how long it will take to actually get carpet in there, but progress is progress!

That's about it for now....

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Happy Fall Ya'll!

Okay, so I know everyone has a blog post with the above title this time of year, but I can't help myself...it cracks me up!

Anywho...I feel as though Fall is officially here. Even though summer is my favorite season, and about the middle of January I will be ready for warmer months again, I love Fall. I like the crisp feeling in the air, the fall colors, soups and stews for dinner, fall decorations, snuggling in early on cold nights and watching movies. 

I think the official season "click" happened last week. You know what I mean, kind of like when a car shifts gears. You can feel the seasons click into place. Fall has clicked. Yay for Fall! And because I am a bookkeeper, yay for the start of the fourth quarter! Ha!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

What's Happening Wednesday!

For lack of a better system, I'm gonna use bullets for this post! I like bullets...
  • Dinner this week has been weird. We had left overs Sunday night, I can't tell you what we had Monday night because I don't remember and last night I had left overs again because Matt was gone. Tonight he is cooking some eel that he caught on his trip this weekend. Tomorrow I think I'll do bbq pork sandwiches.
  • Macy is doing great! She is well on her way to being back to normal. I went home during my lunch break today to check on her and let her out to potty. She has been in the laundry room while we've been working the past few days. Upon arriving home and going into the laundry room, Macy was no where to be found! I looked at the window that is above the dryer, and saw that it was open with the blinds array and the screen off. She had managed to jump onto the dryer, get through the blinds, and the screen of the already open window!! Yes, I'd say she's feeling just fine. PS, she'll be residing in the yard again!
  • I have an anatomy test tomorrow. The test is on all of the bones and muscles. I am nervous, but hopeful that everything will turn out at least half way decent!
  • Bonnie and Jerod decided to move back to Scottsdale. They left yesterday. It was hard to see them go, but I know Bonnie and I will remain close and still see each other - just not as often. I already miss little Jackson like crazy! I'm so thankful to have been near them for the entire summer : )
  • Our friends Tandy and Joel are getting married this weekend. I'm really looking forward to the wedding because a.) I feel like I haven't been "out" in a really long time and b.) I'm excited to see everyone!
  • Every Friday afternoon I get to watch little baby Laine for Nick and Jordan. Last Friday was my first day and it was great! I'm looking forward to our weekly "dates".
  • While Bonnie was packing to move, she came across a digital camera that is not very old that she doesn't use anymore and gave it to me. I'm hoping this gift results in more posts with pictures!
  • And finally, since it is Wednesday, here are my wish list items in no particular order:
  1. A finished office (I'm hoping I can nail Matt down to finish the paint and order carpet this weekend!)
  2. An A+ on my anatomy exam
  3. A detailing of my car
  4. New black boots like these:

Monday, September 28, 2009

What a Weekend!

Friday afternoon, I'm sitting at my desk at work and my cell phone rings. It's Matt, which is not unusual. Upon answering the phone, I hear his voice, completely frantic, telling me that Macy has somehow cut herself open and that he is on his way to the vet's office with her. I tell him that I'll meet him there.

When I arrive at the vet, I see Matt sitting on a bench in the waiting room. He's practically shaking and tells me that he's not sure what happened, but that Macy sliced her little chest open while he was mowing the lawn. The veterinarian comes out and chats with us, saying that she has "quite the cut" and that surgery will be required to fix it. He brings her out to see us before she goes under, and I immediatly understand why Matt is so upset. There is a cut, about 15 inches long, going down her chest and to her belly. All of the muscle layers have been sliced through, and there is a good 3 inches of skin hanging from her body toward the floor. Despite all of this, she was in great spirits!!

Of course, this just happens to occur on the Friday afternoon that Matt is to leave for a weekend long bachelor party. I tell him that he should totally still go, he's had the trip planned for weeks, and that though it will be hard, I can handle Macy and her ailments alone. 

My Mom and I go to pick her up at 5:30 Friday evening. She is completely out of sorts from the anesthesia, doesn't seem to recognize me, and has a long stream og drool hanging from her mouth. Poor girl!! Getting her in and out of the car was interesting, but we managed. She pretty much just slept the whole rest of Friday, which was good. 

The vet had to insert drainage tubes in her little chest, which meant that to keep her from tracking bodily fluids all over the house, I had to keep her dressed in a t-shirt. She was (and still is) quite the site with her lamp shade on her head and a t-shirt on. 

The first drainage tube came out Saturday evening. I think she scratched it out with her back leg. Fortunately, after talking with the vet's office, I was informed that it didn't have to be reinserted, and that I could snip the sutures holding it into place out if I was comfortable. I was, and I did. The second drainage tube was a goner yesterday evening. 

Upon getting her checked out at the vet this morning, we were told that she seemed to be doing fine and that we should just keep doing what we're doing. The sutures can probable come out in a little over a week. She's in great spirits, which makes it hard because she can't run and jump and play like she normally would. Ah, the joys of a puppy!! We're just glad that everything turned out okay and that she's going to be fine. I have a feeling that she may have a slight limp for the rest of her life. A constant reminder of what happened, and sign of what we have to be appreciative of. I'm optimistic that she'll again be my jogging partner in about a month - just as the weather is cooling off. 

The thing at the forefront of my mind Friday was what could have happened. How did she manage to gut herself like a fish???? I was worried that Cash may have possibly gotten too rough while playing. However, upon entering our back yard, I looked to my right and saw the rotatiller that has been parked in the same spot for a couple of weeks. I walked over to it, and on the top blade that was sticking up, saw some hair and skin tissue. I had found the culprit. After talking with Matt, the most we can figure is that she went running across the yard and tried to jump over it, catching her underside on the blade and ripping her chest open. The rotatiller has since been moved. I'm just glad that it wasn't caused by Cash. 

So that was my weekend, knee deep in pain meds, antibiotics, hot compresses for drainage tubes, curclating loads of laundry so we could change her t-shirts and the sheet that covered her bed. I couldn't have been happier when Matt walked in the front door yesterday afternoon!!! Good thing that little lab is worth every moment : )

Monday, September 21, 2009

Not much...

...has been going on. Well, it feels like we've been really busy, but that's just kind of every day life!!

We've had some great evenings with good friends. Last week one night was with Jerod, Bonnie and Jackson, and the next we spent with Jordan, Nick and Laine. The weekend absolutely flew by - more so than usual. I had the pleasure of going to the river with my friends Ryan and Diana. It was a good, relaxing day. 

This week is full of more every day stuff. I need to get some cleaning in. Also, I have a test in anatomy next week, so studying over the span of time until then is required so that I'm not "crashing" the night before! Dinner this week looks like this:

Ahi with red potatoes and green beans

Mushroom Parmesan with salad

Bacon wrapped pork tenderloin with steamed carrots and pasta

Who knows what Matt will decide to fix?????

Matt's leaving for a bachelor party in Dillions Beach this coming Friday. I'm excited for him because I know he'll have a great time, but of course, I will miss him. Luckily, the bachelors counterpart is having some festivities of her own Friday night, so I'll have some fun girl time! Also, I have a massage scheduled for Saturday morning. Yay!

That's about it for now. Another boring post, I know. Hopefully with two up coming weddings and the holiday season approaching, I'll have something more exciting to share soon!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Something I forgot to mention...

....one great thing about Fall....Fall TV!!!! I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I'm a bit of a TV junkie these days. Thank goodness for Tivo! Ha!! Really though, I'm super excited to see what happens on both Grey's and Private Practice. Three more weeks, yay!!!

Fall is approaching...

...and I can't tell you where the summer has gone!! I do love the changing of seasons, however, about two weeks into Fall, I always find myself longing for summer again. I am definitely a flip flop kind of gal!

Not much new this week. I'm looking forward to Labor Day weekend though. Dinner this week is:

Tri-Tip with green beans and mashed potatoes

Chicken-Stuffing casserole

With these two meals, I have a combination of left overs for one night so that's why I didn't plan three meals. 

I've started getting into the groove with walking the dogs, which is nice for them and for me. The whole getting up every morning to walk them isn't working out, mainly because I'm a sissy and when Matt doesn't go with me and it's still dark I get nervous and scared. So, they get walked on Tuesday and Thursday when I don't have class until 8:00. Plus every evening M-F. I think Matt and I may also throw in a bike ride after dinner tonight, so that's even better for me!!

School is the same, good but tedious. I can certainly see the light at the VERY far end of the tunnel now, though. Work is alright, but I generally prefer to not talk a lot about my job on here. Hopefully someday that will change. Sigh. 

That's about it for now. Nothing exciting to report, maybe next time that will be different. Until then, happy hump day!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Show Us Your Life - Wedding Showers

Kelly's Korner is hosting another edition of show us your life Friday. This time, it's wedding showers...

My dear friend (and now sister in law) Carrie threw me a beautiful bridal shower!! It was held at Matt's Aunt and Uncle's house, which is out in the country. They have a gorgeous yard, and the weather could not have been more perfect!!

This is the table that is in the entry hall. Carrie put our wedding invitation in a nice frame and placed a beautiful vase of tulips next to it.

This was the drink table.

Here are the favors. Carrie planted marigolds in little individual pots and had the guests take them home.

There were tables set up all over the patio.

And here is a picture of the happy bride!!!

It was a wonderful day : )

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Catching Up

Last week was a busy one for us. First, I started the school semester. I love love love my anatomy professor. She's great at explaining and teaching, and really has a way of holding my interest during lectures. I can already see that I'm going to be successful in this class. 

We went to Tahoe with the Allen's and didn't take a single picture!!! Lame I know, but all cameras were left at home and we kept forgetting to buy disposable ones while at the store. We did have a great time, but the boat broke again. Yes, my fear came true!!! We did get in a good day on the boat Friday, so it wasn't a complete bust. Matt thinks it may be the fuel pump and was working on that yesterday evening. 

Sunday night, we hit up the demolition derby at the fair. It was fun!!! I stole the following pictures from Bonnie....

As far as dinner this week, it's like this:

Monday - Spaghetti, salad and bread

Tuesday - Matt's night (we had pizza)

Wednesday - Artichoke chicken with squash and stuffing

Thursday - left overs: Pick Your Poison!!!

Sunday, we are going to a Giants game with Matt's Mom, Carrie and Zach. It should be a good time!!!

Now, the last thing about this scattered post is a dilemma that has been going on in the Shellhammer household. Macy will not stop destroying certain parts of the yard!!! She has dug up two sprinkler heads repeatedly, and is a little bit of a digger in general. Matt came to me this morning and said that this would be the dogs last day in the yard and he would be putting them in the side yard during the day. I do not want this to happen. There are many reasons, the main one being that I don't think it's fair to them, in addition to the logistics of why do we have dogs so they can be "watch" dogs during the day if we're going to lock them up??? 

I've done a little research this morning and I think I've found some methods that may help. The first two have to do with the digging sites. First, I'm going to bury dog poop in the places that she digs. Apparently this deters dogs from digging spots because they don't like the smell. I'm also going to sprinkle some pepper in these places. This is supposed to make digging an unpleasant experience as the pepper gets in the dogs nose and makes it itch. Next, I'm going to give Macy access to the side yard during the day so that can be her designated digging place. From what I've read, digging is natural for dogs and sometimes they just need to do it, so it can help to let them have a spot that is used for that. Finally, I am going to get up an hour earlier than usual to walk them. This may sound extreme, but I think having a little morning exercise will help (the dogs AND me!!!). Afterall, a tired dog is a well behaved dog. Wish me luck with all this....I still have to run my plan past Matt!!!!!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Coming to a Close

When I was a kid, the sign that the end of summer vacation was near was always when the Yolo County Fair began. We had been back to school shopping, the smell of harvested tomatoes and churned up dirt was in the air, and we were full of anticipation to see our friends at school. The fair would come to town, and we would beg our Mom to let us wear our new school clothes to the fair. She never did, which I now understand, but for whatever reason every year we would fight this battle. Then, within days of the carnival rides and food booths pulling out of town, we would lay in bed the night before the first day of school. Thinking about the upcoming year of learning, our teachers, the school events that would take place...but we would also be reminiscing about the summer vacation that had just passed. 

The Yolo County Fair begins for another year this evening. Still a sign that the summer season is coming to a close. And what a fabulous summer it has been!!!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

READY!!!

I am SO ready for it to be Friday!! For some reason, this week seems to be dragging by. You would think that would be a good thing, considering that it's my last week of summer before school starts up, but the problem is that time only drags while I'm at work!!!

Tuesday, Matt, Jason and I took the boat out. After Sunday's incident, I was nervous that we would be "boatless" for our Tahoe trip. Luckly, Matt had a slow day at work on Tuesday and was able to give the X-10 a little TLC. The three of us went for a short river cruise that evening, and everything went smoothly! Let's hope that holds true on Lake Tahoe in a week!!

Last night, Matt and I went to dinner with his Dad and Step-mom to celebrate. Shellhammer Constructions bid was accepted to build a duck lodge out in the middle of no where. Basically, they'll be the general contractors for the completion of a main "lodge" house and five smaller residences (2 bed, 2 bath each), and I think one or two other buildings. It was quite the surprise that their bid was accepted as they were competing with three other contractors, but no complaints!! We're super excited, and very thankful : ) There hasn't been a day this last year that Matt has left for work and I have been saying praises that there is work to be done. 

Tonight, we've got some work to do in the office. I think my time with assisting the business is drawing to a close. Matt really has stepped up so much since his sister left, and has made a 110% effort to learn the ins and outs and improve things. I'm so proud of him, and am really happy that he's educated on what is going on in the office and not just the jobsite. 

Tomorrow, my two co-workers and I are doing a light shopping trip to the outlets. I'm excited for that - hoping to get a pair of jeans and maybe one or two fall tops. As my health and fitness plight continues, I don't want to invest a whole lot in new clothes as I'm hoping that in a few months I'll be down a couple of sizes! Then, after shopping, I think I've convinced Matt it's time (three months after we started!) to finish painting our third bedroom. Once that's done we can get flooring in there and make it an office, which will be so great for when I'm in school - especially with the online class I'm taking this semester. 

Saturday, we are thinking of getting out of town. Originally we wanted to go away for the whole weekend, but with the Tahoe trip being next weekend the logistics just weren't there as far as funds, the dogs, etc. So, probably a day trip to the coast....we'll see! 

Sunday, we'll be boating with the Allen's. It probably seems like we do this a lot, but in all reality we have to plan trips with them WEEKS in advance. This particular trip was planned so far ahead that I forgot about it and accepted an invite to a bridal shower. Oops! Luckily, Matt reminded me of the Allen's and I was able to correct my acceptance in a non-rude amount of time. Don't worry, I'm still sending a gift!

Well, this whole post pretty much ended up being a summary of our week long events. Kind of boring. Hopefully soon I'll have a good story or something besides the regularities of life and menu plans. Ha!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Manic Monday

We had a good weekend. Friday was "date night". We don't do this often, as there always seem to be plans with friends, and in between those we like to be at home, but we had planned this night for like a week, so it happened. It started out with dinner at Mikuni's (a sushi restaurant) in Davis, and then we went and saw The Hangover. It was funny, but a little crude at parts - definitely not something I would want to watch with my Mom! All in all, we had a great time. 

Saturday we just kind of hung out. Had some champagne with the Allen's before they went to Tiffany's 20 year class reunion. Then, we rode our bikes down to the park to say hello to some friends that were at a party there. I stayed home the rest of that evening - it was relaxing. 

Yesterday, we attempted to take the boat out, just the two of us. We got out of the launch area, and the boat started over heating (again). Luckily, we were able to get it out of the water without trouble. But, it was a bummer that we didn't spend the afternoon on the water as planned. Now, I don't know what we're going to do as far as getting the boat fixed goes. Matt said taking it to the shop is too expensive. My thought is, if taking it to the shop is too expensive, isn't it too expensive to have a boat in the first place??? We'll see.....I still think we should sell it and put in a pool : )

My menu is kind of weird this week. I had originally planned a chicken dinner, but then there happened to be some fish on sale at the store, so I got both.  One of these meals will carry over to next week....

Herb crusted tilapia, broccoli cheese potatoes, salad

London broil, squash casserole, green salad

Ranch chicken cutlets with veggies

Chicken stuffing casserole (most likely the meal for next week!)

Friday, August 7, 2009

Wedding Reception & Honeymoon

Kelly's Korner is hosting another wedding "Show us your life" Friday. This week, it's wedding receptions and honeymoon....

Our reception was held at the same place as the ceremony - RH Philips winery. It was a blast!! 

For food, we did heavy appetizers instead of a sit down or buffet dinner. Actually, there were so many appetizers it was like a buffet (no one walked away hungry!), but people were able to "graze" as they wished - there wasn't a set schedule for dinner hour. We went right into dancing after everyone had gotten something to eat and drink. Here's Matt and I having our first dance:

The rest of the reception was fabulous! We kept it simple. I didn't even have a cake to cut - though we did have a lovely dessert bar : ) The dancing went on for hours. I believe these two pictures are to the song "Shout". Ha!

And then, we were off to our honeymoon!

I have yet to develop the pictures from our honeymoon (Oops!). We didn't take our digital camera, and used one of those disposable things instead. We spent a week in Puerto Vallarta and it was amazing. Lot's of good food, the beach, swimming, playing, etc. We even swam with dolphins, something I've always wanted to do. I don't have any of my own pictures, but I found this online - it's the resort we stayed at....

Monday, August 3, 2009

August Already???

I seriously cannot believe how this year is flying by!! Wasn't it just New Years?!?

Anyway...not a lot to report. We had a nice weekend. Friday night we went to a graduation party for Matt's step-brother. It was fun, but we felt old!! Saturday we took the boat out to the river. It was a nice, uneventful trip. And yesterday I convinced Matt to do a little clothes shopping for himself. We went to JC Penney and were there for about 20 minutes and then he was done. He did get four shirts though, so it's progress! After that, we came home and I cleaned and he lounged. We had a last minute dinner date with the Allens. Always a good time! Speaking of dinner, here are my three meals this week:

Steaks, asparagus & garlic stuffed red potatoes

Mushroom Parmesan, salad & tomatoes (our veggie meal)

Hamburgers, potato salad & green salad

I've been recording a few cooking shows that I like to get some new ideas for dinner, so hopefully I'll be making some new recipes in the coming weeks. Paula Deen, Sunny Anderson & Claire Robinson ROCK!!!

Friday, July 31, 2009

Show Us Your Life - Wedding Party & Flowers

My husband and I were married on May 31, 2008. Our ceremony and reception were both held at RH Philips - a winery near our hometown. For our wedding, we each had four attendants. Here are mine:

From left to right - Michelle, Stephanie, myself, Shara and Carrie. Michelle and I met on a house boating trip in 2004. Friendship was instantaneous with her, Carrie and I.  Stephanie became fast friends with Shara and I in the sixth grade. Shara and I have known one another since we were three and in preschool, the rest is history! Carrie is also Matt's sister. She actually used to be Shara's after school "nanny" and is the reason that I first saw Matt at age 15. Three years later, she showed up at her brother's to find me on the couch. She and I became close quickly, and couldn't be happier to not only be friends, but sisters too!

Here are Matt's groomsmen, plus my brother and his Dad:

From left to right - Justin, Zach, Marc, Matt (the groom - what a hottie!), Jeff, Mitch and Jason. Justin and Matt have been friends since they were babies going to the same day care. Zach is Carrie's (Matt's sister) husband, he fits right in with all these boys. Marc has been Matt's step-brother for seven years and they are pretty close. Jeff is Matt's Dad. Mitch is my brother. Jason is Matt's good friend, and was his best man.

And here are just some fun pictures, taken after the ceremony:

The whole wedding party - Justin, Zach, Mitch, Marc, Jason, Groom, Bride, Carrie, Steph, Shara, Michelle....

                                                                   Matt and the Girls...

Me with the Boys...

I have to include a special picture of my brother and I. Our Dad passed away when I was 17 and Mitch was 14. On my wedding day, I couldn't imagine anyone other than my little brother giving me away. He did an amazing job and it was so special to share that walk down the aisle with him.

And here's a picture of my Mom and I. She was wonderful on my wedding day, and on all of the days leading up to the wedding - thank you Mom!

I didn't have a lot in the way of flowers for our wedding. Our ceremony and reception was held at a winery, so I felt like the natural landscape was pretty much enough in the way of decor. For my bouquet, I did orange-red calla lilies. Matt's boutineer matched. The girls had bouquets of white callas and the groomsmen, my brother, and Matt's Dad also had white.

My centerpieces were Gerbera Daisy's in a square container with silver-black marbles. They were on all of the tables, as well as the table that held the guestbook.

For ceremony music, we had our DJ pick a classical piece for the parents to be escorted down to. Then, our wedding party walked in to Pachebal's Canon in D. Finally, I walked down to "Unchained Melody" by The Rightcheous Brothers. Untraditional, but I loved walking toward Matt while that song played. Here are some pictures of my husband and I that day. A year later, I couldn't love hime more!

I'm so excited about these show us your life posts!! It's really fun to go back to the best day of my life and share!!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Blah

It's just one of those weeks. Mostly because I'm sick. It started Sunday with a sore throat that came out of no where, and by Monday morning I was in full blown head cold mode. Stayed home from work and slept ALL DAY. I was back at work yesterday, but still under the weather. Hopefully I'm back to 100% by the weekend. 

Matt left for Tahoe to do a job up there on Monday afternoon. He's coming home today. But, because he was gone and I'm sick, I slacked on my menu planning this week. Last night I had a frozen dinner. I don't remember what I had on Monday. I have some ground turkey defrosting at home now, so I need to find a recipe to make that (I already have a few, but I want something new). I also plan to make lemon basil carrots as our veggie. Tomorrow will be Matt's night for dinner. My prediction is Vince's!

Other than that, things have been "normal". School starts back up for me on August 17th, so I've begun to think about spending an arm and a leg on textbooks. The Yolo County Fair is the same week that school starts, and we're going to the destruction derby on Sunday night. Also, that same weekend we'll be in Tahoe with the Allen's. Should be fun! Since I have no pictures to share, I'll just include one of my favorite spots in Tahoe, Sand Harbor. We love to take the boat over there for the day and swim, people watch, snack, and chat! This makes me excited for our weekend up there!!!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Wedding Dress

So, this is late, but I really wanted to participate in the installments of Kelly's "Show us your life - wedding dresses". So, here's my wedding dress:

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

A fun night out and Wish List Wednesday!

Last night, Carrie, Bonnie and myself went out for a couple of drinks. With Bonnie having Jackson now, this time together was planned way in advance and we had all been looking forward to it for about a week! We decided to go to Morrison's. Dummy me, I should have known that it would be packed due to a funeral for a local young man. It was just too busy, impossible to get a drink, and I almost got in a fight over an available table. We decided to leave and go elsewhere. While heading over to Tazzina (I've heard they have a great bar!), Carrie mentioned that The Stag was an option too. That sounded more fun, so we went! Oh my gosh, it ended up being better than Morrison's ever could have been!! The three of us sat at the bar and talked and laughed for a good two hours. Then, to end the night we all sang kareoke to Debbie Gibson's "Shake Your Love"!!! It was a blast!

Now for my wish list items. Here they are, in no particular order:

A professionally landscaped back yard (along with two dogs that won't tear it up!)

A weekly, one hour massage for the rest of my life. 

A personal chef. Oh wouldn't that be nice. The only catch, the chef would have to let me cook when I wanted to - I do like cooking dinners and such, but sometimes thinking of WHAT to make gets tedious.

This duvet cover set. Maybe I'll be able to find it on Ebay for less expensive than the real thing!

To be able to quit my job and go to school full time. This is actually a pretty serious wish list item. Matt and I have been talking, and it's looking more and more possible. Keep your fingers crossed!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Menu Plan Monday and Our Weekend

I started off this week by cooking our first meal last night. We were boating all day and I decided that having a crock pot dinner ready when we got home would be best!

Beef Chicana in tortillas with corn on the cob (it was delish and totally hit the spot after a long day on the water!)

Cheese tortellini with vodka sauce, green salad, and bread (our vegetarian meal this week)

Pork ribs (made in the crock pot) with corn on the cob and potato cakes

Matt's night this week is Thursday. He had me take some hotdogs out of the freezer this morning, so I have a feeling that will be what he makes : )

I have to say, I'm loving this whole menu plan thing. It's nice to have three meals picked out for the week and to go shopping on Sunday morning when the store is EMPTY! I also feel like I'm doing better at eating somewhat healthier because I'm not constantly popping something quick and easy into the microwave. 

So, our weekend was great! It actually started a day early on Thursday evening. Matt and I took the boat to Swabbies with the Allens. It was a blast, though I was feeling it on Friday morning when the alarm went off at 6:15!!! Ha! Well worth the headache though! Friday evening, we had another couple of hours with the Allens and Emmy. Dinner and visiting, then we went home and flopped. Saturday we had a wedding of a friend of mine in Nevada City. I was WARM, but a nice wedding and Shannon looked gorgeous. We had a nice time. Sunday, we took the boat out with half of our siblings....Carrie and Zach, Marc and Melissa. It was a nice time. We were out there for the better part of the day having fun. 

As for this week, I plan to swim today, Wednesday and Thursday with my Mom. Tomorrow night, Bonnie, Carrie and I are going to Morrison's and Sunday we are having dinner with Matt's Mom. Should be nice!!!

Lastly, this is the day I said I would start with WW during the day. So, for breakfast I had one of their frozen quesadillas. It was four points. For lunch, I'm actually having some left overs and from what I can tell it should add up to about 7 or 8 points. I've also had about 2 points worth of cashews. So, let's say that after lunch I'll be at 13 points. That will leave me 8 points for dinner which is great!!! Plus, I'm swimming today so even better, right?

I need a grocery shopping trip to stock up on some healthy snacks and frozen Smart Ones!!!!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Menu Plan Monday...Ahem, Tuesday

Alright, I slacked yesterday on dinner plans. I really don't have quite the menu I was hoping for this week anyway as it's gonna be another crazy one. Instead of three meals, I have two. They are as follows:

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Won Ton Soup and Portobellos

Mustard Salmon with Squash and Red Potatoes (yes, I am carrying this over from last week!)

We have some office stuff to do in the evening, so for my third night of cooking I'll probably do something easy (i.e. the frozen lasagna I have on hand with a green salad). Also, Matt mentioned that for his night this week we should go to Morrison's and have dinner in the bar! I'm okay with that : )

Our weekend was good. Friday night I had some girl time with Jordan and little Lainers, which was great. Love spending time with those girls. Saturday we headed out to Pine Ranch for the night.  Pine Ranch is up in the Capay hills. Shellhammer Construction built a 7,000 square foot house there, along with a 3,000 square foot guest house a few years back. The Pines recently added a pool to the compound. It was a good time and I'd love to go back someday.

It's funny, I feel like there isn't much to talk about this week and yet, I feel super busy! Hoping to get some boat time in at some point. We are going to Folsom on Friday night to see Isaac's girlfriend Liz sing and then Saturday we are going to the wedding of my longtime friend Shannon. I'm really looking forward to that!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

SUMMERTIME

Alright, even though I already posted once today I thought I would share this little summer survey thing (plus, I'm bored at work!):

Favorite Summer Food? Anything bbqed!
 
Favorite Summer Drink? Lemonade. Oh, and of course the summer staple, beer.
 
What do you look forward to when summer comes? Boating boating boating
 
Do you join any sports? Um, no.
 
Favorite Beach? Third Beach at the river
 
Would you rather it be winter? No.
 
How many times do you hit the beach? Not too many
 
How many BBQ's do you have? Lots
 
What time do you go to bed in the summer? Around 9:30-10:00 normally
 
Do you go camping? We don't have any regularly scheduled camping trips, but we've gone twice this year so far!

Flip-Flops or shoes? Flips
 
Beach or Pool? A beach at the river.
 
Bug-Bite or Sun burn? Sun burn
 
Layout or fake bake? Layout
 
Hit the clubs or BBQ's? BBQ's
 
In a relationship or single? Happily married
 
Hang with friends or Family? Both!

Last Summer:

How old were you? 23
 
Did you go to Clearwater Beach? Um, no.
 
What Vacations did you go on? My honeymoon to Puerto Vallarta
 
Who did you hang with everyday? Matt
 
What was the worst memory of last summer? Don't have one.
 
How did you celebrate the Fourth of July? At Jason's house
 
What was one thing you did EVERY week last summer? Boating
 
Favorite summer clothing item? Flip flops
 
Favorite song? Johnny & June
 
This Summer:

Where will you be going on vacation? Um, we went to SLO
 
How will you celebrate the Fourth of July? We had a BBQ with friends and neighbors
 
The best place to be this summer? On the X-10 floating down the river.
 


Thankful Thursday & Our Fourth of July Weekend

Things I'm Thankful for this week:

That we had a fun and safe Fourth of July. Although the Fourth is my favorite holiday, I constantly worry about someone blowing a hand off or our house catching fire.

Good friends and neighbors. We truly have the best of both. I don't know what I would do without them.

A husband who is super mechanical and was able to fix our boat (we think) without having to pay top dollar at the dealership

Our home. I'm trying to keep in mind that we are sooooo fortunate to have a roof over our heads (and a nice one at that), even when the floors are dirty, there's dishes in the sink, and the bathrooms need to be cleaned!

Again this week, our health. My co-worker's mother goes in for surgery today to get the rest of the malignant tumor removed. And, I realize some people may say, "But Lindsey, your husband has been diagnosed with the beginning stages of MS, why would you say you both are healthy?" The answer is, we both ARE healthy. Even though we are dealing with that whole thing, it's manageble. It's not a death sentence, or even a "sick" sentence. He takes a shot once weekly, meds twice per day, and visits with a doctor at UCSF every few months. The rest of the time, no one would even realize that he's dealing with this. And for that, I'm thankful. It really could be so much worse.

The desire to be healthier. Because let's face it, if the desire weren't there, it simply wouldn't happen.

Onto the weekend.... finally have some pictures to go with my weekend post. Ha!

So, as I mentioned, the holiday weekend worked out so that it was a three day-er for me. Nice! Friday, my Mom and I went shopping in Natomas. We hit up Mimi's first for a delicious breakfast and then headed over to Off Broadway Shoes. My Mom found a few pairs of sandals, and was nice enough to treat me to some cute flip flops (as if I need more, right?). Then, we went into Target. I happened to come across a cute sundress that looks great. I can wear it to work this summer, and also to a wedding that we have in October. Last, we went to Kohl's. The mission on this trip was to find a dress for my friend Shannon's wedding, and the mission was accomplished! I found this dress that wasn't wonderful on the hanger, but looked great on! Yay!!

Saturday was the Fourth of July. In the morning, Matt and Macy took off for some time on the ranch with Gil. I took Cash for a walk, and then cleaned. After that, I vegged on the couch for a bit. Then, I decided I was bored so Skylar and I went on a bike ride. Matt got home, and it was time to get ready to head to my Aunt's house. She does a BBQ for the family every year, and we wanted to make an appearance prior to being at home for the evening with the dogs. Anyway, it was fun for the hour or so that we were there. Right as we were getting ready to head out, Jordan and Nick showed up with Laine. I had to get some baby time in, and Matt even held her. Completely melted my heart!! He's going to be such a great Daddy, but not anytime soon!!!

Saturday evening, we grilled with the entire culdesac. We even had some great friends join us!! Hansi, Bonnie, Jerod and Jackson, as well as Shara and Chase came over. Some how, there isn't a picture of Shara and Chase from that evening, so I'm including a cute one of them from another day : ) 

We had a great Fourth with awesome friends, good food, and great fireworks. The dogs did alright, but we definitely will not be going anywhere in the future. We need to be able to be home with them so that they can stay inside with the television on. 

Sunday, we went (where else?) boating with our neighbors. Our boat was still on the outs at this point (but has been fixed since), so we took their boat. We got to the lake at about 10:40 and didn't leave until a little after 7:00. It was a fun day of sun, water, beer and friends!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

WW...We'll find out!

So, my original plan for today's post was to talk about the weekend and our Fourth of July. But, I have a confession to make...I NEVER take any pictures. Ever. It's really terrible, I have a digital camera and just need to get a bigger memory card. It's just not something that's at the top of my priority list, but it really should be. Anyway, so, I never take pictures. Which means that in order to have pictures of events on my blog, I steal them from others. I know, terrible. The reason I can't post about this last weekend today is that I'm waiting for a friend to post pictures on Facebook so that I can steal them to include in my post. I know, horrible!!! I'll get better soon, I promise.

Anyway, being that I'm not posting about our weekend today, I thought I would post about my current diet/health plan. First off, I have a disclaimer. I detest dieting. Absolutely detest it. I think it creates horrible body image, and half the time is a lot of effort for little to zero results. I am, however, a huge proponent of exercising. I know I feel better when I work out, and I think it's pretty much that way across the board. I think the trick is to find an activity that you enjoy to be able to burn some calories off.

Now, I am not a gym girl AT ALL!! I have been a member at two gyms. The first one, I was faithful for maybe 6 weeks. The second I went to for about 6 months consistently, then fell off the wagon. The problem was that it became a chore. Not fun at all. So, I have found my "fun" exercise: swimming. I have always loved the water, and still do. When I swim, I love that I am able to have some alone time to just be. No conversation, just me and my thoughts. I also love the idea of running, which I started in June, but fell off once it hit 90 degrees. So, the goal is to be a swimmer in the summer and a runner in the winter. I will do either activity three times per week for forty minutes. So far, so good. If I want to throw a little extra in, I plan to do squats, crunches and push-ups at my leisure (i.e. while cooking dinner, doing laundry, etc.). Every little bit helps right?

So, my true weight loss journey began last March. My Mom, Aunt, Cousin and I started a biggest loser competition. At the end of the month, I hadn't lost very much, but I did lose some. It was encouraging. Then, I weighed myself again at the end of April....I was down 12 pounds in two months. Not bad. And the thing is, I can't even really tell you what it was that did it. I swam, but only about 2 days per week on average (sometimes more, sometimes less). I cut out my wine whilst making dinner, which was probably a little help. Plus, I just kind of cut down on portions. But now, I've stayed there (at least I haven't gained) and I want to finish up by ending at 140 pounds, so I've got about 18 or so to go. I know to get there, I have to get more serious. So here's the eating plan:

Weight Watchers. But here's the thing, I refuse to go to weekly meetings and I'm too cheap to sign up for their website. I have a lot of the materials, so I'm just going to do it on my own. Also, my meals at work for breakfast and lunch will be the WW Smart Ones frozen meals - super easy. I know this will be okay, because I buy them to eat even when I'm not doing WW, and I like them. In fact, I have a love for their breakfast quesadillas that I cannot shake : ) So, it will be Smart Ones for breakfast and lunch, and fruits and veggies (maybe popcorn on occasion) for snacks in between. Dinner will be normal, because I don't really cook too terribly to begin with! This will all be starting as of July 20th. Until then, I'm just going with the flow.

So there it is, my plan. We'll see how it goes, though I already have a good feeling about it. Here's to being the hottest I've been in years in a bikini next summer!! Cheers!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Menu Plan Monday

The three meals for this week will be the following:

Quesadillas & Green Salad

BLT's & Tomato Soup (or maybe green salad if it feels too hot for soup)

Mustard Salmon with Squash & Red Potatoes

I'm going to try and make one meal per week vegetarian (we need a little less meat in our lives), so this week the veggie meal is the quesadillas - made with cheese, black beans, corn, and olives.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Thankful Thursday

Okay, to start, I just have to say I rock! I've been doing pretty good at posting a few times a week. And that makes me happy.

On a side note, being that I have a THREE DAY WEEKEND for the Fourth of July, my next post will be Monday, which means it will be Menu Plan Monday.  This weeks events have made me decide to tweak how I am going to treat my menu planning. From now on, I will have three meals per week planned, with no particular schedule as to when they will be made and eaten. The reason for this is our schedule. We're just busy in general, and always have last minute stuff popping up. For example, I had planned to make certain things on certain nights this week, and I have made ONE of the planned meals. That's right, ONE. And it's Thursday. Tonight, we are having left overs from that meal. Then, tomorrow we're eating out for Gram's bday. Saturday we're grilling for the Fourth, and Sunday I am making a second planned meal. Anyway, the point of this is to say that if I have three meals planned, and especially one that can carry over to the following week it will be less food (and time shopping) wasted. Kind of a rant just for menu planning, sorry.

On to Thankful Thursday!! Thankful Thursday is going to be based on what I am thankful for in the current week. Obviously, I am thankful for all of the people and things in my life, but to write a post about it all would take months. So, weekly I will write about my thanks for that week. Here we go....

This week, I am thankful for:

A boss that is understanding and considerate - he is paying us 4 days early so that we have money for the holiday weekend.

A husband who doesn't get upset with me when I get tipsy on a weeknight. Last's nights boating trip was fun, but I'm paying the price now.

My health. A co-workers mother was diagnosed with cancer this week. Enough said.

A husband (yes, I'm thankful for Matt twice this week) who is all that he is. Last night I saw some old friends (and "the one that got away") after boating. The song "Unanswered Prayers" that Garth Brooks sings went through my head all night long : )

Nicotine Patches. Slowly but surely, I am kicking the habit. By October, I hope to be smoke and patch free.

Three day weekends. There's just something about that one extra day.

Our military. I am a proud American, and it's in thanks to the men and women that serve our country every single day that I can wear what I want, have a relationship with my God, go to school, get up every morning and come to work, and be free. To all of those who serve and have served, thank you. I hold you in the highest regard.

The Fourth of July. It truly is my favorite holiday. I'm glad it's here again, and that it's rolled into a three day weekend. Yay!!! Bring on the fireworks smell!!!!

That's it for this week. Count your blessings, and make your Thankful Thursday list. It's a good feeling! Cheers : )

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Our Weekend

As mentioned previously, we went camping at Bullards Bar last weekend! It was actually boat camping, which means that the campsite we were at is accessable only by boat. Matt and I took off at about 1:00 on Friday, made it up to the lake by 3:00. We dropped the boat in the water, I parked the truck and trailer, and stepped onto the boat to hear Matt say, "Oh no....we have to get outta here!!! The boat's overheating!" Not good news. 

Sooooo...I asked him what he thought was wrong. He said that the impellor most likely needed to be changed out, but fortunately he had a spare in the glove box. Well, changing the impellor out wasn't exactly as easy as it sounded. The engine to the boat was HOT, and Matt had to lean on and around it to even get to the impellor. It truly took him about an hour and a half to get the old impellor (that didn't even look to be that anymore!) out. Then, he put the new one in. Boat is still running weird. He then tells me that he thinks he may have put the new one in backward. Great. In the middle of all of this, he's changing all of the parts and pieces out with a keychain and bottle opener. My little Mcguyver! 

Finally, a fellow camper/boater comes up on a jet ski and asks if we need help. We do, and he has more tools than we do. In the end, he just tows us to shore near our campsite. By this time, we had been floating on the lake for three hours. No cell service, no way to tell our friends that are camping with us what is going on. Luckily, fellow camper boater guy knew roughly where our campsite was, so that's where he towed us. So, Matt and I are trying to anchor the boat, and here comes Diana. Stumbling toward us with a big old grin on her face. She's had a lot of beer and a lot of sun and her picking her way down the hill toward us made me laugh out loud for about an hour! We had found our party!!!

Friday night was okay, but for Matt and I it was overshadowed by the impending cost (Matt said it could be up to $6,000) to fix the boat. Saturday morning, Ryan helped him fix it. It ran great all day long, we had lots of fun. Then, Saturday evening the same thing happened. Today Matt is going to put a brand new impellor in and we're going to test it out tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed!

All in all, a pretty great weekend despite out boat troubles. No one got hurt, we had lots to eat and drink, and we were with great people! No pictures to share because I'm a slacker!!!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Menu Plan Monday

We had a long (but fun!) weekend! More on that in tomorrow's post. For now, here's our dinner plan for the week:

Monday: Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Bread

Tuesday: Pork Tenderloin, Potatoes, Squash

Wednesday: Quesadillas & Salad

Thursday: Matt's night

Friday: Gram's birthday dinner on the River!

Friday, June 26, 2009

Fabulous Friday!

So, I am a slacker. This I know.....I missed my post yesterday. No excuse other than I just plain forgot! Oh well!!! 

Had I blogged yesterday, it would have been about Farrah Fawcet and Michael Jackson. I think the media is covering both of those subjects enough for every one at the moment, so I'll leave it at that.

On to FABULOUS FRIDAY!!!! So, this week Friday truly is fabulous. Matt and I are going camping with some of our favorite people at Bullards Bar this weekend. And not just regular camping....BOAT camping! Carrie (Matt's sister) and her husband, along with my good friend Ryan DePaepe and his darling Diana will be with us. Ryan is a firefighter, and it's hard to work trips like this into his work schedule, so I've been looking forward to having a long overdue trip with him for a while! 

To make up for yesterday, I'll do a "double" Friday post. The picture for "Foto Friday" is this:

This was taken on Easter Sunday of this year. As you can see, Matt has a mimosa in his hand, so here's to the drinking we're gonna do this weekend! Cheers : )