Here Today, Gone To Morro

SLO Sewers

2011-12-06T03:31:00.000-08:00

We have finally gotten together to do some crafting. A couple of gal pals from work have decided to start a sewing/craft club. We'll see how long this lasts! So far, we've only had one successful meeting. I seriously would like to continue because it's a nice time to get away and chat. Since we work together, we definitely had a gripe session about some stuff from work. It's a great tension release to verbalize all the complaints and have that comraderie. Bonus, we get some sewing projects accomplished!

Of course, I always strive for the complicated (not purposely). What started out as an easy stocking project has turned out to be a nightmare. I kept making mistakes and did so many seam ripping. I've decided to pack this away and attempt this again next year!

Let the crafting begin!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-11-25T03:16:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving with RT's family this year. Along with Turkey Day, RT had his 20 year high school reunion that weekend. We had a very nice, relaxing time for Thanksgiving along with a very delicious meal. We walked off some turkey along the Aptos pier and looked at the infamous Cement Ship, which is getting more stinky each time we see it!

Finally, we had the reunion.I got roped into going to RT's BFF and his wife. Us girls had a great time spending the evening chatting and catching up on our lives! We also had a few laughs as some girls made complete fools of themselves on the dance floor. What were they thinking???

It was very interesting to meet a lot of RT's past friends and hear what they had to say about him. Apparently, I married a "legend". I'm sure alcohol played a part in some of these guys' trips down memory lane as they rehashed stories to me. At one point, some guy took me aside to explain how lucky I was to have married this "Aptos legend" and do I understand that I married a legend? Someone else said he was honored to be in RT's presence. Frankly, I was getting a little tired of all this sycophantic behavior and being told how I should understand what I got.

It was funny, though. RT never let on about this, and maybe he didn't know about this legendary status. He also told me, "Did you notice that none of the girls said that about me?"

He did have a point. I teased, "I didn't have to worry about you rekindling an old flame with a girl. I probably had to worry about one of your guy friends wanting to take you home!!"

So, behold, we have a legend in our midst. Note: no one really said why he was a legend.

Grandpa and Obachan

2011-11-19T03:00:00.000-08:00

I think my parents see us at least once a month. Usually they come visit us since it's easier for them to travel rather than us, at this point. P loves it when they come. She calls my dad "Grandma". So technically, it's Grandma and Obachan (which is redundant, but very cute) according to her.

My Face

2011-11-11T02:53:00.000-08:00

Why are there close-up shots of my face? I am doing this facial procedure that is like microdermabasion (or maybe it is, not really sure). Back in July, my sister's face was massively peeling. It was a little gross, but then she explained what she was doing. When I saw her recently, I looked at her face and was so blown away at how much it improved. It looked awesome! I wanted the same results.

My face has so many sun spots from my teenage years of stupidly exploiting my skin to the sun, and always going without sunscreen doesn't help. So after almost 40 years of neglect, I'm finally starting to wise up.

So, the photos are my before pictures. Hopefully, in a few months, I'll see some amazing results. At any rate, I'm sure I'll be walking around with nasty peeling skin and grossing people out.

Trick or Treat!

2011-10-31T21:38:00.000-07:00

We took our little mouse to our neighbor's house, her friend Bode's house, and the Mayotts to do some trick or treatin'! She liked ringing the doorbell, and she wasn't shy about getting a treat!
This is the one and only kind of mouse that will ever be allowed to stay at our house! A really cute one, too!

Going across the street to our neighbor's house.

The doorbell is fun!

Our neighbor, Jim, and the little pipsqueak!

On to Bode's!

Final destination...

Susan with the good stuff!

Sampling the goodies.

Boo to you!

Pumpkins Galore!

2011-10-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

We made a "date" with P's crib buddies to check out a local family farm's pumpkin patch. I had no idea this place had so much in addition to the pumpkins. There was graveyard, a jail, a corn maze, some farm animals, and of course lots and lots of pumpkins and gourds in all varieties.

Success!

Date Night

2011-10-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

We had our first "official" date night through our daycare provider. We got P all ready to go in her pjs. The best thing about this kind of "Parents Night Out" is that everything is provided by Donna. She's got the whole daycare set-up with toys, activities, her diapers, and she even provided dinner for the kids. What a deal! We had 4 hours of freedom!

Even P seemed to think that something special was happening. As we drove out to SLO, she was happily singing in her car seat and reading her book.

We had a lovely dinner (although finding a place was a hassle--we never seem to have luck with being spontaneous when it comes to eating out) and had a nice time to wander around downtown and even sit and have a chance to talk and check in with each other.

This is the first time we've been able to take advantage of Donna's "Parents Night Out", and you bet that we will take advantage of the next time...in fact, we can't wait!

Singing away on the drive.

Can you feel the giddyness???

You've Got A Friend In Me

2011-10-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

We recently had a chance to catch up with RT's BFF from highschool and his family. We're really trying to make a point of staying connected and now especially since we both have little girls. We snuck in a quick visit before attending the birthdays bash at the Aptos B&B.

First of all, we finally were able to see their new house (they moved there a couple of years ago). When Mike described this house, he made it sound like it was a rinky dink shack on some land. Well, it's a 100 year-old historical home on an acre of beautiful land. The house is even painted in the colors I have always envisioned my house to be! I absolutely love everything about the house and property. Sure, they traded for better location and downsized to a much smaller house, but it has so much character and is so charming!

Anyhow, we decided that after the family party, we would head back out there to spend the evening with them. When we got there, they had the playdough station all set up for the girls. P had so much fun interacting with their daughter. I have never really seen her play with another person (even at day care, I don't really see her interact with the others).

We spent a few hours there, sitting by the fire, listening to owls, coyotes, and other wildlife. The guys reminisced about the past. It was such a wonderful feeling to be around old friends. That is something we have really missed since we moved here.

We put the girls to bed (P fell asleep in my lap, which was a treat for me since she hasn't done that since her baby days), while their daughter spent a few rounds getting up for a glass of water, etc. That was funny to witness. We know what's in store for us!

The kicker from this night is that I got roped in to going along with RT for his class reunion. Mike begged me to go so Janet would have some company. I am going but with lots of relunctance!

To old friends, to good friends!

Fall Birthdays

2011-10-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

We went to Aptos to celebrate Gram's 99th birthday! She is definitely growing old gracefully and is still sharp as a tack! We also celebrated my father-in-law and sis-in-law's birthdays all at the same time. It turned out to be quite the gathering, even though it was a family affair!

Miss P was overwhelmed with a lot of people and everyone looking at her, so she was a bit shy. It was actually kind of nice for us to have her sit still and not be so squirmy!

...and this little piggy cried whee whee whee all the way home!

RT and P between the regal nonagenarians!

The entertainment was a watermelon throwing contest!

The birthday honorees.

P entertaining her cousins.

Had to kiss the pig every time she passed by.

Lauren's pond got a major overhaul! Looking good!

The Fools

Saying bye-bye to Great Gram.

Diablo Canyon

2011-09-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

Diablo Canyon is surrounded by lots of untouched, pristine habitat.

My work had the opportunity to table an event at PG&E's Diablo Canyon a nuclear power plant located at Avila Beach (front access). It is a national security area, so there was quite a bit of hoopla before we even entered the plant. All of our personal info had to be given to security prior to the event so they could run a background check. Then, once we were in there, we had to show our ID, go through a full body scan machine that blew puffs of air (weird feeling), and then the regular scan and conveyor belt contraption like that of the airport.

But that's not all! We had to be accompanied by a PG&E escort at ALL times. I'm not kidding. We couldn't even go to the bathroom by ourselves. We were instructed to hold the stair handrails at all times. Most of didn't, but our escort pleaded with us to do so. She said she got written up before for not enforcing the rules. There were lots of guys with the big automatic rifles (I'm not even going to say the names of those guns because I have no idea what they're called...M16s or whatever!!).

The eerie thing about the day was that it was especially foggy and socked in. Very spooky and unsettling. When we left the building (no escorts needed), we were walking out to our car, which was quite a distance to the lot, and we started hearing an alarm go off. My colleague and I looked at each other and froze! Luckily, the guy behind us shouted that it was just a test alarm. Phew!

So, while it does seem like overkill, I do appreciate the security. It is a nuclear power plant after all!

There were about 20+ other nonprofits that participated. It was fun to network with other folks and exhausting to talk to the PG&E employees. All in all, it was a highly successful event for us.

My colleague and I had a lot of fun hanging out together all day.

The Cal Poly pier in San Luis Bay.

On the way to the plant, a very scenic pretty drive.

On site by one of the parking lots.

Representing LCSLO!

The entire day looked like this! Once we got to Avila, the sun shone through.

Happy Birthday ♥Daddy♥

2011-09-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

What's better than a day spent at the beach? Surfing in the morning and then beach picnic in the afternoon! The weather was perfect today, too. All the ladies in this household say Happy Birthday to our guy!

Happy Birthday and Cheese!

Not sure what's happening here!

What's that Daddy?

Nice new grill from my folks...hmmm...my husband gets better gifts than I do and they're MY parents!!!!
I was told that this was part of my birthday gift, too. Not a fan of early gifts Mom & Dad!

Happy 9th Anniversary!

2011-08-31T22:36:00.000-07:00

We celebrated nine years of marriage today. Unfortunately we both had to work in the evening, but we carved out some time and enjoyed a delicious breakfast with our little one before heading to work.

We will definitely have an opportunity to celebrate together when my parents come into town and give us a night off. We have had our rough patches, specifically with my sickness and just the natural evolution of being a couple for quite some time (we have technically been inseparable for 14 years, so sometimes our marriage seems longer!). Now, adding a baby into the mix after being just the two of us for so long, we have certainly faced some challenges.

We both understand and know that a successful marriage takes a lot of work and effort. The loving part comes easy, but it's the day-to-day communication and expectations that I think we take for granted.

We've decided to celebrate this year's anniversary as a "rebirth" of our relationship. We have discovered new things about each of us and are working on better communication. You know that whole, "What I heard you say..." and using "I feel" rather than accusatory "you, you, you" and blah, blah, blah, right? If you've ever tried it, it's not as easy as you'd think!

Anyhow, I, for one, am looking forward to the next nine years and beyond with my husband!

Also, when RT came home around 10pm, he showed me a little surprise. On our front door, there were two little tree frogs that obviously came to wish us a happy anniversary! It was quite an unexpected site! We were told that "pottery" is the ninth anniversary traditional gift. I guess RT wanted to go outside the box and deliver tree frogs! What a swell guy!

The happy couple looking perky even after a very long day at work!

Special delivery: tree frogs!

Surprise Sis!

2011-08-27T22:20:00.000-07:00

Debbie and her family (she was my master teacher once upon a time!)

My niece, her husband, and sweet little girl!

My sis's boss and lovely wife!

Dad making his rounds.

Cupcakes!

Gotcha!

Little nephew and bro-in-law.

Mom and RT with drink in hand!

Three generations!

And now the 4th generation has arrived! Looking great Granny!

Aw! Siblings can't get enough of each other!

Guests enjoying the montage of the birthday girl!

Miss P with her Aunt Ne-Ne!

My brother-in-law threw a surprise birthday for my sister the weekend before her 40th birthday. Man, was this ever so complicated to try to keep this from her! The hard part was to not tell her that we were coming into town. We were a little nervous that she was going to stop by my parents' house even though we told her that my parents were coming over to Morro Bay with her oldest son. The second hardest part was trying to convince my dad and nephew as well. Dad was confused, wondering why he and Mom were going to Morro Bay (the plan we told my sister), and my nephew is whining that he didn't want to go to Morro Bay. Hello! People, that's the fake plan! Sheesh!

RT and I had about 2 days to throw together a video montage of her first 40 years. It was fun gathering all the photos from throughout the years. We were able to segment the footage into decades and RT chose some great music representing each decade. He did such a great job and in such a short time! We hope she liked it as much as we did putting it together.

The funniest part about this whole surprise was when all of us were waiting at the restaurant and she calls and says, we're here (at a different restaurant) eating some chips and salsa. We all looked at each other and said, "What?????" We thought maybe she did know about this surprise and was fooling us all!

We had a great time. I hope when I turn 40, I'll look as good as my Sis! (Yes, it's just around the corner for me!)

See You At the Slough

2011-08-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

While visiting RT's family, we went on an afternoon outing after to Elkhorn Slough Ecological Preserve, in Moss Landing--one of our favorite haunts. We didn't see too much by way of wildlife since we were out later in the day, but it's always a worthwhile place to see. This was P's first time there, and she had such a good time especially being entertained by her cousin Joe.

3rd Grade Level Together Again

2011-08-06T22:21:00.000-07:00

Some of my former teacher friends came and visited and two of them met Miss P for the first time. While there have been many different teachers on my third grade level team, these three are the ones that I have been with the longest. We used to do a lot of really fun things together outside of work to commiserate, joke around, play games, and just de-stress. If there ever were a bunch of competitive, loud (me not so much), attention-deficit-disorderly women, that would be us!

Of all the things I miss about teaching, it was the close friendships that I have made. It was really good to see my "grade level" again and catch up on everyone's lives. It was just a short trip because I had other obligations that day which was too bad. Miss P had a fun time meeting "Mommy's friends"! Thanks for making the trip over to visit. Come back soon!

The gang with Miss P (too bad her finger's up her nose).

Miss Preas...on that phone again!

Mrs. McConnell bearing gifts (as usual)!

Beach Sand...Yummy!

2011-07-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day to go to the beach. This day we decided to go to Cayucos since it has been a while since we ventured to one of their beaches. We packed up the dog, Miss P and some of her beach toys that we've been holding out since her first birthday.

I think RT and I were anticipating playing with the sand toys more than she was! I think we both had visions of building sand castles and playing in the sand, even though we both know that she's probably too young yet.

We sat down, and it started going pretty well until she started putting the sand in her mouth. She's at the stage where she has been more discerning about what she's putting in her mouth, so we didn't really think that sand would be up her alley.

Boy were we wrong! She was eating the sand like it was candy--like gobs of it! Gross! So, we distracted her and headed to the water. The waves were actually scaring her, and the water probably too cold. We didn't last too long out there, but enough to give her another meaningful beach experience. We'll build those sand castles, yet!

Goats: Will Work For Food

2011-07-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

Goats are a great way to clear an area free of unwanted brush, weeds, or non-native invasive plants. In the organization that I work for, we've actually hired these goats to do just that at a couple of our sites. So, low and behold as we were driving home on highway 1 and looked over at the Cloisters park, we saw a bunch of goats! Naturally, we had to scope out the goats for ourselves and let Miss P have an up and close view of them.

That night we set out to visit them. The goats were very friendly and wanted to get an close-up of us as well! Too bad the electric fence separated us!

I texted P's friend Bode and let his mom know that she had to see the goats, too. The next morning we went back again for another visit.

See, who needs the Mid-State Fair (happening at this time)? We've got our own petting zoo right in our backyard!

Caution: electric fence!

Not sure exactly what kind of animals these are...

Lovin' the goatee!

Sharing our newly found discovery with friends!

All Decked Out

2011-07-16T05:50:00.000-07:00

We've been talking about putting a deck into the backyard since early this year. Of course, the most important part of constructing anything is the PLANNING AND PREPPING phase. Boy, does that part take forever!!! So, I was excited when Phase 1 of Project Backyard Deck was underway.

I really shouldn't say "we" because I had no physical contribution to the construction! Miss P's Mak and Poppa came over for a long weekend. He helped RT out all weekend while Mak helped me out in the front yard. Needless to say, we got a lot done. Thank you so much for visiting and lending some very helping hands!

Our deck looks beautiful! It is not completely finished, as RT is finishing up with the little things like the faceboard, the steps, and eventually Phase 2 which will be the pergola (my vision!).

The work begins.

Special delivery!

Getting it all level.

Poppa working the perimeter.

The first of many holes and nails to drill.

Looking like a deck!

Precise planning pays off!

Add caption

Laying the pieces down.

Oh boy, the inspector has arrived.

Ahh, I'm assuming your permits are in order?

Looks like you've got the right protection gear.

After a hard day's work, we test our agility skills.

More jigsaw pieces.

Congrats, the last screw was drilled into place. Whew!

After a nice coat of stain and sealer. Very nicely done!

For now, we plan on enjoying it and having lots of grillin' time for the remainder of the summer and beyond. Thanks RT for starting the project and finishing it in my envisioned timeline. A BBQ dinner in your honor is "on deck" real soon!

Summer Has Arrived

2011-06-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

With the summer solstice just passed, it's nice to enjoy the days with lots of light...when we get it. Not that I'm complaining because I'm not. Our summer pattern has started, so I know that when it's really foggy here in the summer, that means inland and in the valley, it's triple-digits. I can still remember those days vividly, and I'm so thankful that I don't have to endure that awful heat. It's bad enough that I have to go to work in warmer weather, but at least when I return home, it's so cool and a refreshing retreat!

To capitalize on the sunny weather this weekend, we took our gal P to the beach so she could run around freely. Don't let the sunshine fool you--it was very chilly!

Miss P had a grand time, beachcombing for all creatures great and small. She held onto a pair of razor clamshells the entire time, though. She'd give them to me or her Daddy to hold, but she'd come right back and grab them again. We found a little crab that was probably just recently deceased, so we took that little critter home for the collection, too!

As soon as we got home, we put the little beachcomber to bed, and she was out quick! Nothing like the fresh sea air to relax one's mind.

This is a pretty big playground!

What a sweet picture!

Looking at the little sand crab.

Nice camouflage!

I'll take those back, thank you.

Even the pelicans swooped down for an afternoon greeting!

Everyday Is Father's Day!

2011-06-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

But it is nice to set aside a day to give our dads some extra attention to let them know how special they are to us! This is RT's second Father's Day so I thought he deserved to give us his take on his adventure of being a father thus far.

In the meantime, here is a little idea of what our Sweet Pea did as an extra special effort to show her Daddy how much he is loved!

Roar like a lion for Daddy's morning greeting.

Take Daddy for a walk at Elfin Forest.

Mow the lawn to give Daddy a break.

Water the plants so he can ice his leg.

Give him lots of reassurance that he's very loved.

Enjoy a peaceful Father-Daughter moment...

Phew! It's Not Me in the Hospital Gown!

2011-06-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

For the first time in our history of being together, I've never seen my husband in a hospital gown (thank goodness!). RT was scheduled to have knee surgery for a torn meniscus in his left knee--not from any particular incident, but from normal wear-and-tear.

While the surgery was an outpatient procedure and done arthroscopically, we still were not sure what was in store for us. The surgery was very successful and the doctor didn't find anything unusual. He was very confident that RT would feel so much better once he was healed.

We had my mom come over to help watch P during the day of the surgery and in case I needed additional hands taking care of the "patient".

Well, the "patient" was up and walking when I picked him up! He was up and around the same evening and was very surprised that he was feeling so well and in not much pain at all. By the following day, it was like he never had surgery and was even walking around at the park! Wow! He makes such a better patient than I did!

All joking aside, I'm so glad that he's okay and feels good. The road to recovery should be promising and he'll back in the water in no time!

Looking spiffy in that hospital gown!

Post-op and very coherent!

Up and around in no time!

Scrappy Gals

2011-05-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

Our workspace.

Trying to get ready for the perfect pose!

7th Annual Scrapapalooza!

I know that I have posted about my annual scrapbooking retreat with my gal pals. Last year it was supposed to be at our house but trying to coordinate a time after P’s birth and the impending birth of Kristen’s baby, we just ran out of dates!

So, I was looking forward to a weekend filled with laughter, sharing stories, silliness, and of course scrapbooking frenzy!

My gal pals did not disappoint. We had so much fun. As we got ready for our “photo shoot”, we were trying to figure out how many years we have been doing this. Although we started in 2004, we did miss out last year. We are at lucky seven!

In years past, we also used to calculate how many pages we completed for the entire weekend to try to gauge our productivity. We’re over that! But, I did calculate the time we spent actually scrapping. We only took breaks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and stayed up until 2pm each night. Not bad for working gals and moms! We spent about 20 hours scrappin’ the night away (throughout the whole weekend).

I worked on a baby album for my niece’s newborn. My goal was to start and finish it. My mission was accomplished. Here is what I came up with this time around. It seemed to go by really fast this year. I am not sure how or why I was able to finish this album in record time. I think it was because I was much more organized and came prepared with ideas rather than thinking of ideas on the fly. Hmmm…there’s much to be said about being prepared.

Thanks Elaine and Kristen for a wonderful weekend. I can’t wait for the next one!

Layla's album:

New Addition

2011-04-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the world!

My niece and her precious baby!

The matriach (my mom) with her younger set of babies (P, Layla, and nephew Maximus)

My older nephew, whom P adores like crazy, with his new niece!

Deja vu? No, that's my nephew a year ago with P.

We welcomed Miss Layla into our household on March 28, 2011. She is my niece and her husband's baby girl. At times when I look at her, she looks a lot like P. I went to my folks this past weekend to meet this sweet little bundle of joy.

As I held her, I couldn't imagine P being so little and squeaky like that! She had that newborn baby smell and was so tiny and light. P was only a little curious and smiled as we introduced her. She didn't even care that I was holding her.

My nephew, who is 2, was also there. So as my sister and I realized, her son is 2, my daughter is 1, and the new baby is obviously newborn at three weeks--this is the same scenario that my mom had. My oldest sister at 2, my middle sis at 1, and me as newborn. We could not imagine having to take care of three kids so close in age simultaneously! Crazy! Kudos to you Mom (although it probably helped that we were such easy and great kids...ha...ha...)!

It will be fun to watch this new wave of babies, on my side of the family, grow up together.

Taco Night and Delirious Babies

2011-04-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

Starting the drinking early!

Hello? Daddy, can you hurry up and get over here?

Bode & Cody doing what guys do...

Lights out. Time for bed, or not!

After spending 4 days straight at home with just Miss P and Jannu, I was ready for some adult interaction! We have been spending time with daycare friends, who thankfully near live us. Seems like most of friends live in SLO, so it's nice to have coastal locals.

I was looking forward to taco night at the Cragheads and also seeing how all the babies would interact outside of daycare.

When P and I got there, the babies all kind of looked at each other, recognizing each other, but wondering why they were all together again. They played so well and just had an all around good time. It was so nice to be able to relax and chat with friends and at the same time, everyone was keeping the other eye on all the babies regardless of whose baby it was!

When it got close to 8:00 pm, we got the pack n' plays out and tried to put everybody to bed in the same room. BIG MISTAKE! All three babies were bawling and not settling down! After about ten minutes of intense crying, one of the moms went in. So, we all had to rescue our own. We ended up putting them in separate rooms and it worked out just fine.

We finally had dinner and more round of drinks around 9pm. We were able to have some grown-up time to chat, tell stories, laugh, and have a great time with new friends.

Zoo Sunday

2011-03-27T21:23:00.000-07:00

Peek a zoo! A sneak peek of the zoo the night before.

We have been wanting to hang out with some daycare playmates for a while. After our trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, P had such a great time that we decided to check out our local zoo. So, I initiated an invite to the zoo with two of P's playmates!

We had so much fun. I didn't realize the zoo was so small! It was really just one big loop. No elephants or giraffes! We had a picnic lunch afterwards in the adjacent park and then played on the swings after a while.

The babies were excited to see each other. It was probably weird for them to see each other in a different setting.

P definitely had her own agenda. She was obsessed with the oak leaves--looking, touching, and eating them!

After so many days of rain, it was wonderful to be outside and have the sun shining.

The gang in action.

A wallaby with a little joey peeking out of the pouch!

P's first time on a swing. She was more interested in the other dad next door!

North Coast Mommies rule!

North Coast Dads rock, too!

The oak leaf obsession begins...

...even while her friends surround her.

...getting Lily in on the action.

...hunting for more leaves.

...aha! Found one!

...and another.

...mmm--good enough to eat!

...ha! ha! ha! Look at me!

Party of 5 To the Aquarium

2011-03-14T22:34:00.000-07:00

We made a trip out for P's birthday to Aptos to visit family. We also decided to venture to Monterey Bay Aquarium. I think RT and I were last there for our 2nd anniversary back in 2003!

Of course this was P's first time to any kind of museum. RT's parents joined in the fun.

The main attraction was the seahorse exhibit. They were very fascinating. It was hard to believe that creatures like that exist in nature. They are so unique-looking and come in all shapes and forms! RT's favorites were the seahorses, leafy sea dragon, and the kelp forest. My personal favorite was the tropical fish tank where all the different colors of fish were swimming around. It was amazing to see all those vibrant colors exist in nature! I think P's faves were the penguins.

But, the best part of the day was when P went to the touch tide pools, splashed around, and held some sea stars and kelp. She had a ball!

One thing that struck us as funny was looking at this experience through the eyes of young parents. We saw stroller after stroller, and could relate and sympathize with parents and all the little babies and toddlers milling about.

Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch at Point Lobos State Preserve. Now, the last time RT and I were there was back in 2000 when he proposed to me! That place definitely has a special meaning for us.

It was a perfect ending to a wonderful trip. Miss P did such a great job. She was so good the entire time. I thought she would be too little to enjoy it, but she seemed to have lots of interest in what she was seeing. She was so tuckered out at the end of the day, and she slept the entire way home!

Our Big Get-Away Night

2011-02-23T22:04:00.000-08:00

Our evening at the theater.

On our way home on I-5, an amazing rainbow from one end to the other!

This was our first time away from our daughter (with the exception of my short hospital stay last August). RT had a work-related thing in LA last week, and I decided to go along. We decided to fit in a trip to IKEA and a debate in the evening. We took Miss P to my folks the night prior, then drove down to LA.

It was weird to be going somewhere without her. I was actually surprised how many times my husband brought up the baby. (I don't think he was aware of this, and I found it quite cute that he kept bringing her up!). Although we were both looking forward to this "getaway", it was jam-packed with a lot to do that I didn't think we could really relax and feel like we were getting away.

In fact, our evening lasted from 5pm until close to 10pm. We didn't have time to get a bite to eat because we weren't sure how long travel time would be from our hotel to the theater. So, pre-dinner was a Snickers bar!

We got back to the hotel so late that the only places open around us were fast food joints. So, our romantic dinner was Wendy's. Since we never eat fast food, it was actually quite a treat, and we both inhaled our food--we were so hungry. Plus, who can resist a good ol' fashioned Frosty?

We didn't even get to sleep in because RT had to teach the following night so we had to travel back to my folks' house and then back to the coast.

All in all, Miss P had a wonderful time with my parents. She didn't even miss us or cry when we left! Maybe this was a good trial run for when RT and I take a real vacation? We shall see.

February Is Not Starting Off Like Love & Rockets

2011-02-07T21:32:00.000-08:00

We're feeling blue...

I think I celebrated too prematurely thinking that we bypassed the flu season this year. Last week, Miss P had double ear infections, and we thought she was on the mend. Then, this past Tuesday, she came home acting perfectly fine. I fed her, bathed her, and we settled down to go to sleep when all of sudden, she starts vomiting--projectile vomiting! All the colors of the night's dinner came gushing out. Poor, poor baby. We had heard at daycare that some of the parents and even the daycare provider were struck with some strange stomach thing over the weekend.

After we cleaned her up, I was holding her and again the projectile vomiting resumed, but this time it was all over me! Oh well. We were so worried and knew that she just had to get through it, and that there was nothing for us to do. I felt so bad for her and my heart ached for what she was going through. It was a long night, but luckily she was able to finally sleep around midnight or so. To this day, she is still recuperating.

The story doesn't end there. This past Thursday, RT came home from work early. He's not feeling well. All of sudden, he starts vomiting and also has diarrhea every half hour or so for about 4 hours straight. I had no idea he was that sick at first. So, I took care of P while he was miserable.

Then, around 6 in the evening, I start to feel funny, but I think I'm imagining it. Then all of a sudden, I start vomiting. It seemed that it would never end. After 4 hours of this, RT tells me, "You've hit the 4-hour mark. It should subside." But, as always, I'm the lucky one. I vomit for 8 hours straight and my intervals are 20 minutes apart! It was brutal. I know that I was reduced to tears and begging for my mother at one point. I've never been that sick (sans pancreatitis!) like that before!

My poor husband was still sick, but of the two of us, he was in vomiting remission, so he had to take over baby duties. He even managed to take her to the ER (yes, again, a different story and she was fine) at midnight! We went through the RINGER that night. It took us a good 2 days to recover. I shaved off 7 lbs. of body fluid that night.

I really hope that this is the last of the flu season, and I hope that I do not have that kind of flu ever again.

Conservation Reception

2011-02-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

My partner in crime...party planners take a breather!

Finally, the last of my three big projects at work is over! Whew! Hopefully work life can slow down a little and I can focus on other things. So, this annual conservation is a pretty major deal for our organization. It's not a fundraiser. I think we're one of the rare non-profits that do not actively solicit for money during a big event. We host this event to celebrate our accomplishments from the past year and thank our donors for supporting us. We had 200+ folks show up this year along with a few of our county supervisors. Got a lot of great comments and feedback. While I actually love to do this type of event planning, it was stressful this year because I was trying to get things done beforehand and do more, but with the baby I had to forego a lot of my ideas. I'm slowly learning to let things go. This year, I was able to pull in a lot of extra help from volunteers. Our special events committee members also came through, too! And, most of all, my go-to girl, Miss Melissa was my biggest help and sanity keeper!

Breeding Season with the E-Seals

2011-02-02T21:14:00.000-08:00

My parents returned from their trip to visit my sister in Florida. Mom, Dad, and nephew came for an impromptu visit. They hadn't seen the elephant seals since 2006--when my Florida sister was visiting us. What a coincidence! Anyhow, we didn't make it in time to see any live births, but we did see a long stretch of the beach where hundreds of elephant seals lazed about with their harem and newborn pups! We saw one female that had some residual blood on her, so I'm sure she must've birthed a pup not too long ago. Oh well!

I don't really know whether Miss P was looking at the seals or all the people along the boardwalk. It's so amazing to see how big the males can get. It's also quite fascinating to see the bulls establishing their dominance or see them "threaten" the other bulls. Males and their machismo! They're the same no matter the species!

Let the Sunshine In

2011-01-06T21:27:00.000-08:00

With all those days of rain, we were cooped up in the house for a while, and Jannu was feeling restless. We hadn't walked one of our regular routes for a long time so she was excited when we did yesterday. It was neat to see some of the area where the water table had risen so much that it formed a little lake. As we were walking, RT came to an uprupt stop: our path was blocked by overflowing water from a little stream! Luckily, Jannu is civilized enough to not run through the water and ger herself all muddy! We did an about-face and returned home.

It was also nice to not have water flowing down our side of the street. We need a few days to dry out. All this rain is much-needed, but it is nice to see and feel the warm sun!

2011 Is Upon Us

2011-01-01T19:59:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year! We got a couple invitations to "party" with some friends, and had actually accepted one of them. But, then I started to feel like I was coming down with something and I thought it best not to infect the other babies that would be around. So, we stayed home on New Year's Eve. My cold (or whatever it was) didn't amount to much, thankfully, but I did get another ear infection. This is my third one since last year. Something is definitely going on, but will investigate later.

Lots to do in 2011!

We have lots of plans for 2011, and mostly plans to update the house a little to accomodate our daughter. We plan to move our bedroom downstairs next to her bedroom and forego the master bedroom and use it as a guest bedroom and office. It's a small sacrifice to pay for our piece of mind and to transition her to sleeping by herself in her own room. Normally, it just takes moving furniture, but in our case, we have to scrape the popcorn ceiling off the downstairs bedroom, then prime and paint the ceiling and the entire room. Hopefully, that will get rid of the musty smell downstairs. We figured, since we'll be sleeping downstairs without a bigger bathroom, we may as well update that small bathroom to make it more comfy and give us some incentive for being down there. We'll see what progresses in the next few weeks.

Otherwise, we'll continue having fun with our Little P and enjoy each day that we see her grow and change.

Welcome 2011! Hopefully, economically, 2011 will be a better improvement for many.

We're definitely on the right track with all this rain. The creeks are a-flowin' and the hills are alive with all that green!

Gotta have our rain gear ready!

Holiday Happenings

2010-12-25T19:55:00.000-08:00

We had lots of opportunities to spend with family this holiday season. Although we had so much heavy rain and storms, it did prevent us from doing some of things we wanted to do, especially if it involved traveling. Our holiday home visits started with family on RT's side. We made the trip up to Aptos and had an early Christmas with his parents, siblings, grandmother, and nieces and nephews.

Christmas in Aptos

With Poppa in her pjs after the celebration.

The following morning and more celebrating with Hunca Munca Mak!

Little P surrounded by her cousins, aunts, and uncle!

Gram with her great-grandchildren.

Then, we packed everything up again and made the trip to my family. We had my birthday to celebrate, then Christmas, and then my little nephew's. Lots of presents and chaos. Although, I have to say that we were very good this year. We didn't have any cake or desserts for the birthdays. Even for Christmas, we just had a cheesecake and an apple pie. We didn't just cut back on presents, but we cut back on goodies, too!

The festivities began with my birthday, although Little P was the star!

Dinner was a little messy, as evident from her shirt!

Christmas in Hanford

Little P with Grandpa (Lolo) and Grandma (Obachan)

My parents with all their grandchildren.

My niece, her husband, and my nephew.

The ladies on my family's side.

The last of the celebrating was my nephew's 2nd birthday!

Finally, we arrived home on the Sunday after Christmas. We unpacked a week's worth of stuff, presents, and everything else we accumulated along the way. We had our own little celebration at our house with Little P. It felt good to be home.

Opening up her present from Anne & Ed (her daycare family).

Helping unwrap the present.

Reading her book.."All About Me"

She loved her daddy's drums so much, he got her one, too!

I do love the holidays, and it always comes on so fast and intensely. It's no wonder some of us feel this "let-down" after it's all over. At least the next day was Monday, so it was back to the grind at work already. All in all, it was a very nice first Christmas for our little one. It wasn't over the top, and we were especially glad that we didn't get these huge presents that made lots of noise or had lights blinking with their obnoxiousness! Thank you family! The best part about Christmas is the time that we spend with our families. It's such a joy to see our both our families interact with our daughter. That to me, is the best gift of all.

Small Town, U.S.A.

2010-12-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons our little town is so attractive to us is because of its small town feeling. Sometimes the festivals are a pain. There's the Harbor Fest, Avocado & Margarita Fest (really?), car show, and so on. But we get. We need the tourism to keep the pursestrings full.

Last weekend, we were invited on our friend/colleague's boat. They had entered her in the Morro Bay Boat Parade. How fun and so cool! This isn't a rinky-dink little boat, but a ~50ft. livable one. Well, unfortunately, I had to work at the Octagon Barn Holiday lighting, so we didn't go.

While I was at that event, RT, my parents, and the baby did go to the boat parade. We all had fun at our separate events.

The following Tuesday, the Morro Bay police, the trolley, and other community groups ride around with their lights flashing, sirens blasting, and horns honking with Santa. They cruise up and down the streets wishing neighbors "Merry Christmas!" It's so quirky, but so Morro Bay! We love it! Everyone comes out to their decks to wave and cheer them on.

It is finally starting to feel a lot like Christmas!

This is the vessel that we could've been partying on...

Mom enjoying herself!

Dad and Little P all bundled up.

Morro Bay procession with Santa and police squad!

The Octagon Barn in all her glory!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2010-11-27T10:57:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving untraditionally this year. I actually worked Thanksgiving Day morning with RT and Little P helping out. My work hosted a Thanksgiving Day hike at one of our private properties called Black Lake Ecological Preserve.

This was the first time that we did not spend the day with any of our family. While we missed celebrating with family, it was very nice to not have to travel this year. Friends and colleagues left early on Wednesday afternoon to travel. Driving home with the hustle and bustle of commuters, I drove home slowly savoring the knowledge that we didn't have to pack our bags or brave the Thanksgiving Day rush.

We went on the hike in the morning. Our friends, the Mayotts, were in town. They cooked a turkey while we were out. We prepared everything else and had them over for dinner. It was a very nice way to spend the holiday.

For sure, the number one reason I am very thankful this year is the birth of our daughter. Life has been enriched and so different through the lens of a little one.

We had a crowd of 50+ join us that morning.

A rare view overlooking the city of Arroyo Grande.

The dunes look so peaceful and still until you hear the humming of the ATVs.

We also spent some time the next day walking along the Estero Bluffs trail which is north of Cayucos. The weather has been very cold but with the sun shining through, it's the perfect combination.

I am so thankful that we are able to live here in beautiful surroundings where there are hosts of opportunities to be out in the fresh air.

Starting out at the Estero Bluffs trail.

Taking it all in.

Even Jannu seems captivated by the view!

The last stop before returning home.

Harvest Bounty!

2010-11-27T10:11:00.000-08:00

Upon returning from our Cambria outing, RT received an e-mail from a newly established farmer's market in SLO. We had gone last weekend to check it out. They had some sign-up gimmick where you fill out the survey and also enter a raffle drawing for a free box of produce. I was filling one out for myself and RT says to fill one out for him, too.

Well, lo and behold. RT won the free box! He had to drive all the way to SLO to pick it up. We thought it wouldn't be worth the drive for a little box of produce, but he went anyway.

He returned home all smiles. We got a BIG box of stuff! Two bunches of fresh flowers, honey, beef jerky, strawberries, raspberries, squashes, eggplant, tomato, lettuce, and lots more! It was definitely worth it. We were so giddy with excitement! You'd think we won the lottery! I'd say it was worth the trip!

Weekend Outing

2010-11-27T10:04:00.000-08:00

It's nice to be able to take a short drive and get outside. With all the rain and the busyness of life, Jannu has been neglected lately and has a little cabin fever being cooped up in the house. We went on a little outing to Cambria to walk along the boardwalk and enjoy a picnic lunch.

Along the boardwalk.

Checking out the rig.

Loving it on Daddy's shoulders!

Sitting on the job!

Peeping Toms...front row seats for the search & rescue training!

Fun Times

2010-11-10T21:47:00.000-08:00

We are definitely a family that likes to have fun. These days we are usually trying to find ways to entertain our little one. We have gotten quite creative but I have to wonder if we are doing the entertaining or are we the ones entertaining ourselves? Poor kid...

Cheers!

A Lamb, A Girl, and a Guardian

2010-11-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

Our little lamb.

The cotton balls didn't last too long...

In all his glory...

The best part of my costume were these shoes! A thrift store find to boot!

Usually Halloween passes us by uneventfully. For the past few years, we've been lax about putting decorations up or evening carving pumpkins. I'm afraid we didn't do too much by way of decor this year. A few weeks prior, I was in a store and saw a cute little costume for Little P for about $10. Pretty inexpensive. I came close to buying it, but then I thought, maybe I should make her costume. After all, this is her first Halloween.

Then that same afternoon, we were invited to a Halloween party. Luckily, the invitation was actually a month before, so it gave us plenty of time to come up with a costume. Now mind you, my husband and I have actually never gone to a Halloween party since we've been together or even hosted a party (that translates to 13 years!). Crazy, now that I think about it.

Originally I was going to make an owl costume for P, but after thinking about the wings and having to hold her throughout the evening, I thought against it. So, I found the lamb idea on Martha Stewart's website. It was very simple to put together, and I must say, she was awfully cute!

For my costume, I also had to consider it being a "baby friendly" one so I could hold her without dealing with attachments and such. I chose Pippi Longstocking because she is one of the many characters in books that I have loved throughout my childhood. Again, this was an easy costume to put together as well. I found the dress and shoes at a thrift store, bought the wig, and socks, and I was ready to go. As for my husband, he took some time to come up with an idea. After shopping at some thrift stores, an idea started to morph. It changed a couple times to finally end up as a Tea Party Guardian. He held the sign and glued a bunch of signs that came from their website. It was a very clever costume, and it was a great conversation piece at the party!

P had a great time with her cotton balls. We had to take off her costume because the cotton balls were so tempting.

I only regret not going to the pumpkin patch to get some snapshots of her with the pumpkins. Oh well. One step at a time...at least we made it to a party this year.

You Can Take the Girl Out of Teaching...

2010-10-06T22:27:00.000-07:00

But you can't take the teacher out of the girl! I had the opportunity to teach a lesson to five different 4th grade classes at AgVenture at the Paso Robles fairgrounds today. (This event is very similar to the one I participated in when I taught 3rd grade in Fresno--Farm & Nutrition Day at the Fresno fairgrounds). The theme was Earth Resources and as a representative of my work, I presented a lesson using an apple that represented the earth. The gist of the lesson was to prove how important land is to us, specifically agricultural land. I showed how 1/32 parts of the earth's surface (cutting up the apple) is actually used to grow crops to feed the entire world's population! The kids were very attentive and fascinated. They were a very nice group of kids. The teacher in me came out, and it was like stepping into an old pair of shoes!

Speaking of apples, my work owns property that they lease to a local farmer. He was generous enough to let us pick apples so we could give all 150 kids an apple. Boy, did they appreciate it as did their teachers and chaperones. They were pretty hungry especially as it got closer to lunch time!

A couple days before, we took some time to "de-stress" and went apple picking! After our big Creek Day event, it was sorely needed.

Despite all the rain, it was a fun day. I even have leftover apples...maybe to make an apple pie, apple carrot muffins, or applesauce for Miss P.

It was such a refreshing day, it got me thinking that maybe I will go back to teaching after all...yeah right! No thanks! The grass always looks greener on the other side...

My blog buddy!

Mommy-to-be!

Oh happy day!

The first season's rain, and the perfect time to test out my new rain boots!

The Great AgVenture. Some of them are paying attention...

A New 'Do

2010-10-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

RT chopped off his hair! He came home last night and totally surprised me! He looks so different to me. After three years of longer hair, he wanted to "mix it up". I think he looks great! I really liked his longer hair, but it is good to change things once in a while. It'll be fun to see who notices in the next few days and see what kind of comments he'll get.

Heat Wave

2010-10-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yuck! The weather here has been atrocious! Not only have I grown accustomed to the cooler and foggier climate here, but it's the only climate our daughter knows, too. Because the main living in our house is the second floor, it gets really hot. For a few days, it has been 84° in the house! Nobody has A/C here, and luckily we still have the old '70s ceiling fan in the living room. It's almost bearable because it's a once-in-a-while phenomenon and once the sun goes down, it cools down pretty quick.

What's not tolerable is being at work. At my work, our office is in an old, historical Victorian house--beautiful house. Not so beautiful without A/C and being 91° while working!!!
I guess throughout California it's been crazy hot. How many folks out there still think that there is no such thing as global warming? This intense heat when fall just started?
The fog has since rolled back in and now I can think straight.

Camping Trip

2010-09-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

The Joad mobile in all her glory!

A partial view of Islay Creek campground.

RT with his fancy, deluxe kitchen!

No high chair, no problem!

We even had friends come visit!

Jannu did a great job alerting us of the raccoons!

This trip has been a long time in the making, even before the baby was born. When RT bought the VW bus, he had envisioned us taking camping trips. But, before that could happen, there was much he had to do to prep the bus, mainly getting a "z-bed" installed so we'd have a place to sleep. So, after two years, we took our maiden voyage and camped at Montana de Oro, not far from our house.

We wanted to go with the baby sooner, but other things seemed to get in the way. You know how that goes, when life gets in the way.

We were a little concerned--whether or not Little P would be alright. She actually held up like a champ! I think it's because I was with her the entire time, meaning, I couldn't put her in the playpen or the bouncer. It was either hold her or sit her really close by. She had such a good time and was in a great mood the whole time!

I felt bad because I wasn't much help. RT packed everything, unloaded it all, set everything up, and cooked!

For his birthday, he received lots of cash knowing that it would go towards his camp kitchen. He was very proud of that! I must say, it came in very handy. It's amazing what kind of camping gear is out there nowadays.

We didn't get settled into camp until very late Friday night. Then Saturday morning, RT had to lead an interpretive hike on reptiles for the Small Wilderness Area Preserve (SWAP) at the Elfin Forest. He didn't get through with that until early afternoon. (I cheated, and Little P and I hung out at the house while RT did this...sshhh...).

Back to the campsite and more fun! We had so much fun and thought it was a relatively easy kind of vacation, that we are planning another one in the works really soon! At the campground, we saw lots of families with young kids. All the kids were having so much fun---even our little one and Jannu. I'm sure all of us remember going camping when we were little, so we hope to instill some really strong memories for our Little P.

The one thing I regret not doing on this excursion was not busting out the s'mores! I know, rookie move. Oh well. I have saved them for next time. Until then, we'll see you 'round the campfire!

Dahlia Daze

2010-09-07T22:29:00.000-07:00

While RT's parents were in town, we found out that Dahlia Daze was going on. Lo and behold, the dahlia is Morro Bay's official flower! Who knew?? The Morro Bay Garden Club has recently revived this celebration that historically began back in '60's.

We decided to check it out and were pretty excited to be able to hopefully purchase some bulbs. While the displays of dahlias were absolutely gorgeous, I was really disappointed that there wasn't that much for sale, but I guess it isn't really that time of year for bulbs.

Nevertheless, it got me inspired and this fall I plan on planting more dahlias and hope that I can get some more varieties in the yard.

As a side note, my dahlias I planted this year didn't seem like they were growing. We figured out that they must be the "dwarf" variety since they are so small. Just yesterday, a red dahlia decided to bloom! "Dah-ling" it looks mah-velous!

Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, and Cousins, Oh My!

2010-09-07T21:54:00.000-07:00

Being sick and having no family around was a real bummer. For those of you who are fortunate to have family close by, count your blessings! We are lucky, though, that are families are within a couple hours of driving distance. My sister and mom came out to take care of Little P the first afternoon while I was in the hospital, then my dad and nephew arrived. Everyone except my mom left, and she stayed with us for a few days. As soon as she left, RT's parents came for a visit and stayed an extra day to help out. It was nice for the family to spend some quality time with Little P! She sure loved the attention and all the "new" faces!

Grandma aka "Obachan"

Auntie aka "Aunt NeNe"

Grandpa aka "Lolo"

Cousin aka "T3"

Great Grandpa Clarence aka "Lawrence"

Mak aka "Oma" and Poppa aka "Farfar"

Little P and Poppa

Another Day, Another Hospital

2010-08-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

At least I got a room with a view.

I thought I was done with ERs and hospitals for a while...not so. Everything has been going very well with me, healthwise. I was feeling really great. This past Thursday night, I went to bed with some abdominal discomfort. Not really pain, but I knew something wasn't right. As always, I think it may be food poisoning, but I've had that enough that I know what it feels like. I went to bed anyway, hoping it would go away. A couple hours later, the discomfort got worse. As I lay in bed, so many thoughts went through my mind. Who would watch Little P if we had to go the ER? Who would take over RT's class the next day? Do I want to go through the whole ER procedure?

I woke up RT and told him my concerns. We talked it over, and he told me not to worry about all that stuff I mentioned earlier. We'd do what we had to. So, after an hour, the pain increased and I was vomiting. We loaded up all of Little P's belongings (in case we took her to day care the next morning) and went to the hospital. This was around midnight.

The ER was empty! Thank goodness! I was admitted right away. I got hooked up with the IV and had all the necessary blood draws. They quickly ruled out pancreatitis (which I suspected it wasn't). I also had x-rays and a CT scan. I was diagnosed with small bowel obstruction. This can often be a side effect of past abdominable surgeries. So, I had the privilege of having an NG tube shoved up my nose through to my stomach. As the nurse explained how it would make me tear up, burn my nose, irritate my throat, make me vomit--I was scared and panicky. I did not want that tube in me! As I looked at my sleeping daughter, I mustered up the courage and said let's do it. I pulled through like a champ! It was relatively easy. It did not feel good, and I wanted to pull it out--but RT kept reminding me that it was for the best. The tube was suctioning out all the junk in my abdomen to reduce the swelling and let my bowels rest.

I had to be admitted to the hospital. By now, it was 10:00 AM. Of course, as soon as they wheeled me into the room, they explained the circumstances about my roommate. I knew that wasn't a good sign. Why do I always get stuck with the loony bins? I was told that I would be moved right away when they had a room ready for me (that didn't happen until 6:00 PM).

Overall, the hospital stay was not too bad. I was not in a lot of pain. The tube actually alleviated the vomiting. The tube was very uncomfortable.

The next morning, I had more x-rays. The surgeon came in and basically said everything looked fine. I could go home!!! They took the NG tube out (double hooray!), and I started feeling nauseated. Uh-oh. I tried to sip some liquids and vomited that up as well. But, still, I was ready to go home to see my daughter.
Finally, I was discharged and headed for home. I felt so nauseated and my head felt like it was splitting open. At least I was going home. As I walked in the door, I heard Little P laughing and having a good time. My parents had come the day before as well as my sister to help watch her and give RT some support. I gave her a big hug, but it seems like she didn't even miss me! She was having too much fun with her grandparents.

We'll see what the next days bring. I was told to not eat raw vegetables, or anything made out of wood. This was an old-school surgeon. I am going to have to be very diligent with what I eat, but how can I not eat vegetables and salad? As of now, I'm still slowly sipping liquids and have some nausea. I have a feeling that this situation can and may come up again. I hope not. At least, I avoided surgery.

RT said that I should write a guidebook to central California hospitals (I've been to 8 different ones so far).

August Days

2010-08-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

Seems like a while since I've last posted. There just hasn't been a whole lot going on with us. As with most new parents or parents with a new baby, life is consumed with baby--as it should be! I had alluded to another blog I started that was more tailored to all things baby, but took a while to get it going, so here's the link which is accessible now if anyone is interested in my life with baby http://lilsweetp.blogspot.com/.

RT took a week off last week and got a whole host of projects crossed off his list...yee haw! My world lately has been consumed with work and Little P and not a whole lot else. I did manage to resume my personal training, which is very hard to do (not the work-out part, but the part about squeezing time before work and being realistic about how motivated I'll be during these wee hours in the winter!).

Otherwise, we've been sticking close to home and haven't really made plans for much else. We press on, and life is good.

Hanging out at home.

Walking along the Cloisters path.

She's a busy girl.

Jannu relaxing after a day at Doggie Spa.

The bus gets a nice rack!

Do you think she's getting enough to eat?

Farewell Donnie Boy

2010-07-11T06:35:00.001-07:00

It seems like all the friends we've made here are leaving! Don is a friend of RT's from work. Before "the wife" moved over, Don kept RT entertained. Don was also Jannu's sitter. We decided to throw a party in his honor. We kept saying we needed to have a party--this is our first one since we moved. It seemed like a great idea at first, but as the weekend approached I wondered if we were just plain dumb because we didn't factor in working around the new baby thing. The Friday before, Little P didn't sleep until 2 am, and then got up around 7 am. It seeemed like she would never go down for a nap. We had a lot of house cleaning and food prep. Thankfully, the party was on Sunday. Finally, she slept for a chunk in the afternoon as we're racing around dusting, vacuuming, cleaning the backyard, chopping fruit, baking desserts all the while listening for the "ah-ah" sound she makes upon awaking.
These folks were mostly from Fish & Game and associates. We had a good time. Little P slept through most of the party. I actually woke her up so some of them could meet her. You can never go wrong with good food and good company. Best of luck to you Don (& Cody) in your new endeavors!

[The margarita cupcakes were a hit...maybe because of the tequila in the frosting?]

[Us before the guests arrived; me with chocolate all over my face...

I had to try the dessert, right?]

[Cody aka Mr. Co-dangles]

[The DFG crew with Anna from MBNEP]

[Don, RT, & Little P]

Independence Day

2010-07-04T14:56:00.001-07:00

(Do these pants make my butt look big? It's the cloth diapers...)

Usually 4th of July around here turns out to be quite foggy, but the day turned out beautifully. The day before my sis, bro-in-law, and nephews came to visit. It was so nice; they babysat that evening so RT and I could go out to dinner. We were a little worried because Little P seemed pretty fussy all week and seemed out of her usual routine (maybe cutting teeth). We went anyway and had such a great a time. It was relaxing to "get a way" for a while! Thank you guys!

The following day, my parents came over. We walked along the beach, barbecued, and relaxed together. It was fun to watch Little P interact with them especially when she was smiling or "talking". It was especially fun to watch my older nephew with Little P. He says that he is the Baby Whisperer and knows how to make her happy (until she cries!!). My parents brought all kinds of food for the weekend, and my dad cooked it all. That was definitely a treat! We forwent the fireworks. We weren't brave enough to deal with the crowds, and right now I'd rather see fireworks in my sleep!

Flip Style Calendar

2010-06-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

These days, I can never keep track of the date. At work, I don't have any wall space for a calendar, so back in January I bought some paper to make a desk calendar. I finally carved out some time to make it.

♪ Ebony & Ivory ♪

2010-06-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

...live together in perfect harmony♫. Some people have asked us how Jannu has been handling the new baby situation. During our pregnancy, we watched the Dog Whisperer shows and read articles on how to introduce the dog to the baby. I was a bit nervous because Jannu was the center of our attention for 9 years. The experts said to leave the baby clothes out so the dog can sniff before bringing home baby or to walk the dog before introducing to the baby. Did we do any of these things? No way! All of that went out the door as we brought home our screaming baby. Jannu was actually at my parents' house, but they ended up coming to our house the same evening we came home from the hospital (because of my begging and pleading interspersed with hormonal bouts of crying). Jannu came bounding up the steps so excited to see us, but instead what she found was going to change her life forever!
Suprisingly, Jannu showed no interest in the baby. She would cautiously sniff her things and gingerly step around her, always being careful not to touch any of her blankets or even get too near.
I think it has helped that we've kept Jannu's routine as normal as possible, walking her as often as we can. The only reaction we get is if Little P is crying really loud, then Jannu will leave the room. We did notice this strange phenomenom: when we've had visitors come and hold the baby (strangers in Jannu's eyes), Jannu became a little protective of the baby! I guess she's accepted the fact that Little P is part of our pack. It's a doggone good thing!

Scrappin' Baby Albums

2010-06-23T17:24:00.000-07:00

Over the years, I've made baby albums for close friends and my sister. I did this because I figured a new mother does not have time for a lot of things, much less a scrapbooking project. I created albums with a page dedicted for each month of the newborn baby's first year of life. So all the new mother has to do is to remember to take a picture and insert into that page. I didn't take pictures of all my albums, but I do have photos of some. Now, if I can get around to finishing my album before Little P turns one...

Mama Hens Meet the Little Chick

2010-06-22T22:21:00.000-07:00

I've called Linda & Marla my mama hens ever since they took me under their wing during our Small Group. Linda has known RT since he was a baby--a longtime/lifetime friend of his mother's. Even though we were only part of that Small Group for a few months, we met so many wonderful people through them.
The mama hens came out to visit our little chick. It was so fun to see them interact with Little P! Jannu even took a liking to Marla! When we get visitors like them, we feel so lucky and special.

First Father's Day

2010-06-20T17:32:00.001-07:00

So this is your first Father's Day,

Your first one as a dad;
Get ready for surprises now,

The wildest you've ever had.
Just when you think you've got it down,

There's a new and different stage;

This little person changes a lot

With each fascinating age.
Being a dad takes all you've got;

Your heart and mind you'll invest;

It's the hardest job you'll ever have,

And the one you'll love the best.
~Joanna Fuchs

♥A Wedding to Remember♥

2010-06-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

Finally Joe Fool and his bride got married! RT was his best man. We couldn't be happier for this perfect couple. The wedding ceremony was alongside the bluff at La Selva beach. The day was sunny, beautiful but windy! Little P and I sat in Uncle Stan's car to get out of the biting wind, so we missed the ceremony. Afterwards, the reception was at the nearby clubhouse. Little P was such a trooper! She had a long day, but she did so well! Even strangers commented on what a good baby she was. (I told RT that she has racked up bonus points for any upcoming days where she may be fussy).

She met her Uncle Steve for the first time. We were so thrilled to see him. She also met our dearest friend Linda. There were quite a few family and friends that were introduced to Little P.

RT was nervous to give his best man toast. After Joe Fool's heartfelt toast during our wedding, I think RT wanted it to be just as meaningful and personal. It was. It brought tears to my eyes!

Everyone had a nice time. There was great food, awesome cake (my favorite at a wedding!), dancing, and most importantly--love. Here's to a long, happy, and love-filled life together for Rich & Leah.

3 Month Milestone

2010-06-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

We can't believe our little one is three months already! As RT put it, "She's weighs as much as Jannu and is longer than any fish I ever caught!" Little P has brought so much joy and amazement to our lives. Doesn't she look like she's up to some mischief? Her favorite spot is on the changing table. She does this fake cough because she knows it gets her some attention...what a stinker!

While by no means do we think we've got it figured out, things have evened out and seem more predictable than before--although as I say this, tomorrow will bring about new change and a different routine!

Memorial Day BBQ

2010-06-01T09:50:00.001-07:00

We had a chance to get away from the house and mingle with new friends over the weekend. RT and I were just discussing how some of the friends we have made since we moved here are all moving away! You can't blame them...it's so hard to make a living here with scarce opportunities for jobs and if you do land a job, the pay is so miniscule that it's hard to make ends meet. For our friends who have moved on to new adventures, we wish them luck and happiness and hopefully they'll return to this area--if not to live, then at least to visit!

Anyhow, we had a great time at the barbecue. One of the couples had twin baby boys about 6 weeks old. My friend Wende is expecting in November. Her bro and sis-in-law are expecting in September, and they have a 2 year-old cutie, Aya. She was fascinated with Little P and even made up a song in her honor! Then, there was us with our 11 week-old. It was a houseful of new and expecting parents!

Owl Mobile

2010-05-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

For crafty folks, if you've never checked out www.etsy.com then you're missing out. I cannot take credit for these sweet little owls--I purchased instructions from this website the day I went into labor. Finally after 2 months, I finished the mobile for Little P's room. It was actually fairly easy, just time-consuming. So, every chance I got when Little P was napping, I grabbed my stuff and sewed away. The bodies of the owls are from little girl socks. How clever!

Real Sweet Peas

2010-05-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

My favorite flowers are hydrangeas and sweet peas. Both are fairly easy to grow and maintain. I don't know why it took me forever to start growing sweet peas. Last year when we started our square foot garden, we planted some sweet peas. They did very well last year and continue to do so with very little maintenance. Our garden has been a little challenging lately with so many slugs being enticed with our young seedlings. RT has tried organic methods to keep the slugs at bay--putting out beer apparently does the trick!
After spending the day weeding the backyard, installing a door to the shed, reorganizing the garage, RT brought me a vase full of lovely sweet peas! I was so thrilled to see them in all their pink glory. I couldn't resist taking a few photos. How sweet it is!

Returning to Work

2010-05-13T08:23:00.001-07:00

I'm sure most moms have mixed feelings about returning to work. Frankly, I couldn't wait to go back. I was looking forward to breaking up the monotony of my days. I think it would've been much harder if Little P had to go to daycare or a nanny, but she has the best "babysitter" a baby could have...her daddy! I'm slowly returning to work, going only one day and a half. My work has been so great allowing me the flexibility to pretty much set my own days and hours. RT's work is also working around our schedule, allowing him to go in later in the afternoon on Wednesdays. He still has the furlough Fridays, so I work the mornings on those days.
My first day back, I didn't really think about what RT and Little P were up to. I think I was so caught up in my work that I didn't have time to think about home. I felt kind of bad that I didn't call to check up on them. The surprising thing was that even though Little P and I spend 24/7 with each other, I actually found myself missing her a lot and couldn't wait to get back home to hold her!

VW Spring Fling '10

2010-04-29T16:24:00.001-07:00

Alas, the Spring Fling has come around again, but this year I couldn't make it because of the babe. That was ok since it gave Little P and me an opportunity to hang out with my folks. This was also a good test run to travel away from home. She did well, crying at first but settling down and sleeping the whole way.

The Spring Fling is a vintage VW show and a huge swap meet for VW parts and paraphernalia. RT was hoping to find some parts for his VW Bus. He came away with some useful parts and even some cool t-shirts and onesies!
You never know what you'll find at these shows!

A Little Taste of Freedom...

2010-04-22T17:08:00.001-07:00

I have not been out of the house on my own since Little P's birth. Sure, we'd gone to appointments and run some minor errands, but to be out on my own and actually driving by myself was so exhilirating for me! I wasn't going out to shop or have lunch or anything FUN like that. I was actually meeting my supervisor from work to discuss when I would be coming back to work. Truthfully, I didn't feel that Little P was ready for me to go back to work. I was emotionally ready, but not physically. Besides being sleep deprived, my body was still quite sore (yes, even after all this time!) from the labor & delivery and I couldn't imagine having to sit on my bum at work for hours at a time.

Our conversation went very well. I suggested another 2 weeks of time off and then going into work for one full day and one half day to start off with. Our organization just went through some major changes and responsibilities are being shifted and reassigned. As of now, my hours are minimal, but by July or so, I'll start back to three days a week. Yikes, that only gives me a couple of months to find a trustworthy daycare source!
As I glanced at my watch, I realized my time was up. I had to go back home and relinquish my freedom. It was fun while it lasted. It was a nice reprieve from baby duty.

One Month and Counting

2010-04-15T16:45:00.001-07:00

It has been a whirlwind of days ever since our little one was born. Instead of having this blog consumed with baby news, I decided to have a separate one dedicated to the baby and the trials of motherhood http://lilsweetp.blogspot.com/.
I cannot believe that Little P is now one month old. The day-to-day time has gone by slowly but the overall amount of time has really flew by. So, here she is at one month. We've had lots of visitors, so these photos have her cousins and her aunt in them.

We still look at her and think to ourselves, "Wow! We created this little miracle. She's all ours. What is she thinking?"

Welcome to the World!

2010-03-18T18:29:00.001-07:00

Introducing our little Sweet Pea!
Born March 15, 2010 at 2:31 am

7 lbs. 1 oz, 20 inches

Where Are You?

2010-03-11T21:42:00.001-08:00

My due date has come and gone...March 11. I thought for sure that I would go into labor early, but this little girl appears to be a stubborn one and will come out when she's good and ready! Because I do not want to be induced, I will try anything to get this party started.

On Friday, I went to an acupuncturist for treatment to induce labor (I had been to an acupuncturist before when we dealt with the IVF). She used the needles on me, but she also used some other things. She put some burning incense stuff on my hands and feet. She called it Moxa. She sent them home with me and said I could do it at home as well. (Poor RT & Jannu--the smoke was very overpowering!).

Friday night came and went. Absolutely no contractions happened.

Saturday has arrived. We figured we would get out and walk as much as possible. We went to the local farmer's market. We also went to the natural food store and bought some Evening Primrose, raspberry leaf tea, and eggplant. All these "remedies" are old wives' tales that people swear got their labor started.

My labor did in fact begin tonight, but who's to say what started it. Was it the eggplant parmigiana? The Moxa? The birth videos we were watching? Or, did our little one finally want to meet us, too?

Baby Luncheon TLC Style

2010-03-01T20:30:00.000-08:00

The Land Conservancy is an established organization with a 25 year history. In all of its 25 years, though, no employee has every been pregnant. My first official day on the job, as I met with our Executive Director to go over HR policies and such, I also had to let him know that I was pregnant! TLC has never had to deal with pregnancy, maternity leave, FMLA, etc., so in a sense I am their pregnancy pioneer!

It has definitely been a treat for me to witness the growing excitement throughout the staff as my due date has gotten closer. Last week, they surprised me with a luncheon in honor of the baby. It was very low-key and fun, and I was very touched!

I work with a bunch of great people. It's definitely a smaller staff than what I was accustomed to when teaching, but the family-feeling is still there and that's what counts when you work in a positive environment!

The Nesting Instinct

2010-02-23T21:47:00.000-08:00

We sure have gotten busy this past month or so. In my second trimester, RT and I had started a list of things that we wanted to get done around the house before the baby was born. During the holidays, we looked at that list and realized we had NONE of it done!
We knew January was going to be a busy month, but we really had no choice. All of a sudden our weekends were filled up, but in between those times, we managed to get quite a few things accomplished:

Scrape the popcorn off the hallway ceiling downstairs

Paint the ceiling

Sell the Mini Cooper

Buy a bigger car

Install a new front door

Paint the front door

Clean out the downstairs bedrooms

Have a garage sale

Change out light fixtures

Change out light switches & plates

Paint the nursery

Install new curtains in the living room

Build a shed in the backyard (work in progress)

To do:

Stain and glue postcaps on stairway

Replace and install new door to the garage

Paint kitchen cabinets and change all hardware

HAVE A BABY!!!

Book Club Revisited

2010-02-23T21:40:00.000-08:00

Last year, I started a book club with a friend. It started out really great with quite a few gals--in fact it seemed like there may be too many. After the first couple of meetings, things fizzled out and some started dropping out. I really enjoyed the club and the gals in it, but things in my life were just too hectic at that time. I went to Florida for a month, got pregnant, and just had too many things on my plate. I stopped going, even though I was keeping up with the reading, and finally just lost touch on it all.

One day at work, my boss and I started chatting about books and she suggested we start a book club. Since I still wanted to be involved in a book club, I was all for it! We invited all the other girls in the office to join, and after a few weeks, it was down to Wende, Kaila, and me.

We met for the first time at our house last week. I chose the book, The Help. We had such a good time! We all agreed that we wanted to read books that were more on the "lighter side" but we ended up having some pretty deep discussions about a lot of serious issues that night! So, it looks like a new club has been born!

Now, with the upcoming birth of our baby, I hope life doesn't "get in the way" and I can commit to this club. It feels good to have some female companionship again!

Yikes!

2010-02-09T21:46:00.000-08:00

August 31, 2009 and February 9, 2010

The countdown is definitely beginning. The other day at the gym, a lady looks at my trainer and me and says, "You're definitely slowing down, but you're form still looks good." As the pressure in my pelvis increases, it is harder to walk longer distances. Overall, I feel pretty good. It is getting more difficult to eat; as soon as I eat something it feels like it has no where to go, so I haven't been eating so much. The baby seems to be moving around a lot, but she's supposed to be less active soon with less room to be squirrely. Our doula says to mentally change our due date to March 25 rather than March 11, that way if she's "early" we'll be pleasantly surprised rather than frustrated if she's past the 11th. I think that's a great perspective to take. It alleviates some pressure because we're feeling the time crunch with so many things to still take care of.

An Addition to the VW Family

2010-02-01T08:40:00.005-08:00

Well, the logical choice after we sold the Cooper was to get something practical for our "growing family". Now, you could take this two ways. First of all, the obvious--with the baby coming a 4-door car with lots of trunk space is a must-have. Or, to add to our VW fleet--we've got the '66
VW single cab, the '71 VW bus, and now our VW Jetta!

Since we were in Fresno for the two baby showers this past weekend, we thought it would be ideal to buy a car while there and return the one we were borrowing from my parents. How convenient and ideal would that be? After much research and debate, we looked at a couple cars after the first baby shower and did some test driving. We were really sold on one, but thought we should sleep on it, do MORE research, and come back with a strategy and a firm price.

As RT dropped me off to the second shower, he went back for negotiations. I was enjoying the baby shower and dreaded going back to the dealer for negotiating, haggling over a few dollars, and paperwork!

I called RT to come pick me up when the shower was finished. He and my hostesses loaded up the shower gifts. I walked out to the parking lot, and to my surprise and delight, there she was! RT did a great job with sticking to his guns and getting a fantastic deal. One more major thing off of our checklist.

She drives like a dream, and there is so much room, it's amazing to us after all these years with a smaller car! BONUS: The seats have a pneumatic pump feature so I can raise the seat up so I can actually see over the dashboard! What a concept!

Cookie Craze

2010-02-01T08:40:00.003-08:00

I have two baby showers coming up, and I thought I'd make something special for my guests. I know my hostesses are already providing favors, but I wanted to try my hand at decorating cookies anyway.

I figured I needed about 60 cookies...boy, did I not know what I got myself into. I was sick and tired of onesies and buggies after all that. It really is time-consuming, tedious, and precise! My sister-in-law started a sugar cookie business. She makes some really intricate designs. I don't know how she can do it. Kudos to her!

All in all, I thought they came out pretty decent and tasted pretty sharp, too. I used a recipe from the maven Martha Stewart (the secret ingredient is lemon, which makes everything taste so much better!).

After all the baking and icing, I had to stuff the bags and do all the handcrafting. It's not so bad when you do it in batches. What else does an 8 month-old pregnant gal have better to do?

Round Two of Showers

2010-02-01T08:40:00.001-08:00

I was very honored to have two other special friends offer to host a baby shower for me. Marta and Christine wanted to host one for me, and we decided to do one that focused on the staff at my former elementary school where I taught, Ann Leavenworth Elementary. They were so kind in that they gave me a choice when to have this shower and instead of making two trips to Fresno, we decided to do the shower the next day!
I think I was more excited to be catching up with old friends and seeing my former colleagues than actually attending the shower, besides I really hate all that attention especially when you're opening gifts and everyone's staring at you!!!
I had such a good time. The decorations were a beach theme...very clever and so cute!
I was so touched to have Marta and Christine do this for me, and to have so many friends join in on this special day. Thank you to a great bunch of ladies! These students whose lives you touch everyday are so lucky to have you!

It's Raining Baby Clothes!

2010-02-01T08:39:00.000-08:00

My good friend, Kristen, offered to throw a baby shower for me. I was lucky enough to have so many friends and my sister help out--my friend, Elaine, Kathy, and sister Naomi. The really special part about this shower was that it was held at the same location as our wedding reception--at Kristen's parents' house, a truly beautiful and breathtaking location!

It was a very special time with family and close friends surrounding me and this little bundle of joy. Everything looked so elegant, classy, and beautiful. The brunch was delicious and cake and strawberries were yummy! I do remember being so hungry and getting second helpings of the food while Elaine was trying to clear my plate...I said, not yet honey!

So many special friends, whom I hadn't seen in a long time came. My mother-in-law made the trip down, my niece, and my mom were all there. The one person missing was my sister from Florida.

We received lots of goodies for the baby...a lot of cute, adorable little girl clothes. I know how fun it is to shop for little baby girls. I must confess that for a while I was starting to become obsessed with it, too!

Thank you to everyone for making this day so special!

Reconnecting With Friends

2010-01-11T18:08:00.000-08:00

Our dear friends Thomas & Esther finally came and visited us! They were our neighbors, who quickly became close friends, on Dayton Avenue. When we were around for Thanksgiving, we were able to get a short visit with them, but their two little munchkins were at their Oma and Opa's house; so we missed them by a mere few minutes.

It felt so good to reconnect with them since it had been quite some time since we were really able to catch up and have some quality time together. Most of all, it was so nice to be able to get to know little Malcolm and see all the changes in Emmy.

I hope they come back soon, and look forward to more times hanging out again!

Tragedy Strikes Close to Home

2010-01-07T21:55:00.001-08:00

Kevin O'Connor was a close friend of RT's. He was one of our groomsmen in our wedding. Kevin and RT go way back. They were roommates and colleagues when they worked with the US Forest service on the owl crew. They also shared a few classes and professors when they were taking their graduate courses. Kevin got hired on with Fish & Game first, and not long afterwards, RT landed a full-time, permanent position as well.

It was such shocking and devastating news when we heard about the helicopter crash on January 5. The other two biologists, Clu and Tom, were colleagues that RT knew as well. My heart aches for their wives, children, and family. Nothing can prepare them for their unexpected death, and nothing can alleviate their pain and sorrow. I know these men will be remembered for many things that they have contributed in both their personal and professional lives.

Bye Bye MINI

2009-12-31T09:44:00.001-08:00

The time has come to say farewell to lil' ol' T Scoop...[sigh]. When we first bought the Mini Cooper back in 2005, we had many friends who chirped, "What are you going to do when you have a baby? How are you going to fit a car seat in there?" We were trying to conceive back then and were convinced that we would still be able to manage a car seat regardless of the tight space. In fact, just to prove people wrong, we were bound and determined to get that car seat in there. Little did we know that we would enjoy the Cooper for a good 5 years before we actually had to rethink our decision of car seats and stroller space.

We put the Cooper up for sale, and it didn't take long for her to get snatched up! I'm a little sad to see her go, but know that it's better for my back (the seats are not the most comfortable for traveling longer distances) and it'll give us more space and convenience for car seats, strollers, luggage, and all that baby gear.She was a great car and so awesome to handle...maybe some day we'll meet again...

Holiday Happenings

2009-12-31T09:43:00.001-08:00

We were able to travel to both sides of our family to celebrate the Christmas season. It is always a special time to be surrounded by family. It seems this year, on RT's side, we were missing a few people because of illnesses and such. On my side, we also celebrated my nephew's 1st birthday!

Christmas Greetings

2009-12-22T20:19:00.000-08:00

Gobble Gobble

2009-11-29T14:41:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Day was a day full of preparation and logistical manuevering--all for food. It was just my family, plus my brother-in-law's mother and my niece's friend. You'd think we prepared enough food for an army! We definitely had plenty of leftovers and lots of dishes to wash. My mom was pretty ill, even though she doesn't look like it in the photos, so we were down one set of hands. As my dad, sister, RT, and I cleaned up, we thought, "this just isn't worth it!" We need to scale it down.
When we got ready for dessert, we had gotten all the pies out. As my sister grabbed the last one out of the refrigerator, she turned and thwack! Her pumpkin cheesecake slid off of the plate and onto the floor! We all just stood there in shock and then started laughing.

I was so stuffed, I had a hard time staying asleep since I was so uncomfortable. I really didn't eat a whole lot since I have to be really careful, but I had to sample a little bit of everything!

My little nephew is just one month shy of his first birthday. He is standing and taking a couple of hesistant steps. But, boy, is he starting to get into everything. Curious Max that's for sure! My other nephew couldn't join us this year as he was with his dad's family. We missed his presence as well as my sister's, who is in Florida. Throughout the whole day, I kept thinking, it's going to be so different next year with a little one. My mom is excited to have 2 little ones for next year's Thanksgiving.

Looking at this past year, we have a lot to be thankful for. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday There's not a whole lot of commercialism associated with it--thanks to the overshadowing of Christmas sales. Thanksgiving combines my two favorite things--family and food! I have always loved this time of year as well. Too bad it always goes so fast.

"Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds."

~Theodore Roosevelt

Rock-A-Bye...

2009-11-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

We started dismantling our spare bedroom to get ready for our impending arrival in March. Unfortunately the yellow I just painted in that room isn't going to work with my color scheme; so it's off to Home Depot for another round of painting.
We inherited a rocker from the McConnells, and RT thought it'd be a good idea to practice rocking the baby in the rocker. Poor Jannu was the guinea pig, and she was not happy, even with RT singing a lullaby! We are at 22 weeks in our pregnancy. There have been moments, lately, where we both stop and wonder, "Are we ready for this?"

It's A Girl!

2009-10-20T14:23:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy Blues

2009-09-28T16:35:00.000-07:00

I don't want to start posting soley about baby stuff; I know there are mommy blogs out there so I'll try to spare you all my heartache, but I do need to unload. How come nobody ever talks about all the "pain and miserableness" that can accompany pregnancy? I know everyone's different, but for those women out there who say they loved being pregnant---I hate you!!!

Now, don't get me wrong, I am completely and utterly grateful and thankful that I am pregnant and have the ability to carry our baby without a surro. It's just funny because all of my pregnancy experience, up till now, has been through my friends at my surrogacy forum--so obviously the majority of that group has never carried their own baby. In their world, everything's sunshine and rainbows, and everything is so blown-out-of-proportion wonderful! That's because they didn't have to carry the baby, and I thought I would belong to that group! I can't sleep throughout the night; I can't get comfortable. I have all the pillows and lay on my side, but nothing feels good. My back hurts. I get these cramps or sharp pinches in my belly (my uterus stretching apparently). I still have headaches off and on. And, I still get the nausea at different times of the day and there is no pattern to their madness. I can't take hot baths because the temperature is not good for the baby. I can't sleep on my back because I don't want to pinch a major vein. I'm a tummy sleeper anyway, but that's out because I certainly don't want to crush anything.

Hmm...if there's anything else, I'll be sure to post it. I'm told all of this is normal. So, if anyone has any advice for me or can share some of the icky things they went through, I would love to hear about it because right now I'm feeling a pity party come on. Poor RT, everyday is so different from the next, but he's been so supportive and knows how to keep me happy (Big Stick Popsicles!!!).

An Egg is An Egg is An Egg, Right?

2009-09-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

My scrappy friends and I had a debate a while back about the differences among cage-free, free-range, and organic eggs. When you go to the grocery store, you're inundated with a wide variety of eggs, and now they have included omega-3 enriched. You've got brown egg and Eggland's Best. Then, you look at prices and that means an extra five minutes to make your decision. Well, from what I've been reading, cage-free and free-range are pretty worthless as there are really no standard regulations for those labels. Good ol' marketing in the works! Organic seems to be the way to go in terms of what hens are fed, no GMOs or hormones, and hens are truly not kept in cages. If you really want to know where your eggs are coming from or what the hens are being fed, you could raise your own chickens. I'm not sure we're ready for that yet, but this is a good source if you're thinking about it http://www.backyardchickens.com/. Or, go for the next best thing and find a source close to home where you can actually see or visit the farm. I'm looking into a couple close by and found them through http://www.localharvest.org/. Even if the prices are higher, at least we'll be supporting the local economy and minimizing packaging and shelf life! I think eggs are the perfect food. Give eggs a break!

If They Could See Us Now...

2009-09-14T20:27:00.001-07:00

It's early...Friday morning...my alarm starts buzzing. Then RT's radio starts blaring. Ugh...where am I? What day is it? How many more minutes can I sleep in? You know the feeling. Sad thing is, both RT and I have today off. So, why are our alarms going off?

Well, I have to get up and drive myself to SLO to meet my personal trainer, and RT's hitting the waves for some surf action. I looked over at RT, and just started laughing. I thought, who are these people in this bed?

If anyone knows me, you know that I absolutely detest exercise. It's definitely the coastal air that motivates me, and the fact that everyone here is healthy and fit. Plus, I've found an all-women's gym (no, not Curves) that I absolutely love, and my trainer is fabulous!

For years, I've been whining that I need to get in shape. It's definitely ironic that when I actually started to get serious about excercising, I found out I was pregnant! Oh yeah, I also start my yoga classes tomorrow.

We are always our worst critics, but I must give a pat on the back for being committed with my training and with RT for his dedication to the waves and personal motivation.

In case you haven't figured it out yet--these photos are not of us. Are you kidding me? Even on my best day, I couldn't look that good at the gym. Maybe someday, I'll get there...

It's Official

2009-09-02T20:24:00.001-07:00

Scrapalooza 2009

2009-09-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

This was our 6th Annual Scrapalooza. Once again, our fourth member "Fern" did not make it this year, so the three of us were left up to our scruples to have a great fun-filled girls' weekend!

This weekend was also the time when we were able to let the cat out of the bag about my pregnancy. This weekend was equally special to me because three years ago on the same occasion, my friend KCo broke the news that she was pregnant and our baby is due around the same time that her son was born...wouldn't it be a riot if our children shared the same birthday?

I was so excited because for the first time ever, I was able to work on a baby scrapbook album for myself! I've done quite a few over the years (I think 7 of them) and have loved making them for special friends and my sister, but now it's my turn!

It's funny, because our first couple of years, we started out staying up all hours of the night; one time staying up till 4 am. As we're getting "older", we're hard-pressed to make it to midnight!!! We always have a lot of fun. I was so excited to catch up with my girlfriends, gossip, and snack the night away.

Thanks so much for hosting this year E!

The Aoki Family Comes to the U.S.A.

2009-08-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

My cousin Masaki and his two girls, Moe [mo-eh] and Suzuka came to the US for their first time. My Aunt Sanae came with them, but this was her third visit to the states. Unfortunately, their stay was pretty short, about 7 days, because my cousin couldn't take the days from work. So, we had to pack in as much fun as possible and lots of driving within that short span of time.

It started on Monday as we picked them up from LAX. Even though they probably hadn't slept in 24 hours, we figured they were still running on adrenaline, so we whisked them off to Universal Studios for lunch and rides. After a long day, we muddled through LA traffic and found our hotel and had pizza for dinner!

The next morning we drove back to my folks' house where they were staying for the majority of the trip. A day of rest and relaxation, and they were off to Yosemite the following day. My dad did a lot of driving and a lot of cooking! They really enjoyed his cooking. They also had a chance to eat at some "American" style dining, and loved the food. The girls hardly eat when they're home, but they sure packed away a lot of food during this trip!

The following day, they loaded up in my parents' motorhome and came up to our place. After a yummy lunch at the local fish place, we whisked them off to Hearst Castle (nobody seemed too impressed by that!) and then a barbecue at our house.

The next day, we took them kayaking and spent some time at the beach. The girls had a homework assignment where they had to collect 30 pieces of something from their trip. They decided to collect seashells. Usually, there's lots strewn along the beach, but this day we were hardpressed to find them. Before returning to my parents' house, we had lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. I am so amazed at how much they can eat and stay so slim! (I guess I missed that gene!)

Their last day here, my sister took them shopping for all their souvenirs and to experience an American mall. They feasted at Inn N' Out for lunch.

They had a great time. They wanted to fit in a trip to the Grand Canyon, but there just wasn't enough time. We told them they would just have to come back!

I had such a fun time spending time with my cousin and his two girls. I just love the girls--they were so cute and funny! My aunt was as tearful as ever during the good-byes. I hope we can see them again soon whether it's us heading to Japan or them coming back. I hope they had a memorable time. My parents were wonderful hosts and bent over backwards to accomodate them--thank you Mom & Dad! Now, everyone can breathe a little and rest...Ja mata ne!

Our Square Foot Garden

2009-08-08T18:36:00.001-07:00

Our backyard is in desperate need of a makeover. We have ideas--that's not the problem. We knew we wanted to start a vegetable garden and to use raised beds, but with so many resources out there, we just weren't sure how to get started.

Working at the bookstore for years, I remembering always shelving this book, The Square Foot Garden. Never really paying attention to it. After all this time, I came across it again on an Internet search, found their website, read a little more, and decided to check out the book. Got the book, read it from cover to cover, and was hooked! I started telling people about it, and RT's family actually got interested in it, too. His sister and nephew already started one, but we were slacking.

If you're tired of clay soil, sandy soil, adding nutrients, fertilizing, and weeds---this is the method for you! It is such a simple and foolproof way to garden. I highly recommend this book or website.

When RT's parents came last weekend, they offered to help us get started. Since they were going to try it also, they figured this would be a good learning experience for them. Well, how could we pass up that offer?

Sure enough, we bought the supplies and got right to work. It really only took us about 2 hours to do 2 beds. I was impressed! We had some seeds and bought some plants and RT planted. We're starting to see some shoots and can't wait for our first bounty!
Thank you so much J & L for your enthusiasm and helping hands!

getting the soil ready...

mixing it up...

Did we get it all?

leveling it off...

the finished product...

master gardener & his apprentice...

the "vegetables" of our labor...