Catalina Island

My mom and stepfather flew in last week from Sweet Home Alabama to spend the Christmas holidays with us. On the day after Christmas, we took the one hour ferry ride to Catalina island, which is 26 miles off the coast of Long Beach (and just so happens to be a place on my California Bucket List).

Catalina is such a beautiful place. It is beachy and mountainous, and full of wildlife and uber friendly people who all drive golf carts because very few cars are allowed. And in a funny coincidence, I served on a jury a few years back for Tommy Flanagan (from the TV show Sons of Anarchy) who was accused of drunk driving and crashing a golf cart on the island (we acquitted him for the record).

One of the first things we did when we got off the ferry was take a bus tour. The bus tour took us up these really narrow roads that are literally hanging off the side of the mountain. With no guard rails! It was scary and thrilling all at the same time. The views were breathtaking and the ocean was so calm it looked like glass. At the top of the mountain, there is a really quaint airport where we we were let out to take pictures, get snacks, etc.  

When we were riding back down the mountain, our tour guide spotted a little fox that had been run over in the road. Because the fox was still breathing, the tour guide asked everyone if they would mind if he stopped the tour so he could call animal services and get some help for the fox. Everyone on the tour was kind and very concerned about the little fox, so of course we all decided we didn't mind. After about five minutes of waiting, the fox sat up and everyone started cheering, "Come on Little Fox, Come on." The fox manged to completely get up and run back into the forest! It was amazing, a true Christmas miracle (or a day after Christmas miracle). The little fox had a tracking collar on, so animal services was going to come find him and check on him. But he looked like he was going to be okay! It is moments like that you remember most when you are thinking back to the trips you took. Watching that fox trot off was truly uplifting.  

After the tour ended, we grabbed some lunch at a really good restaurant called The Lobster Trap, and played some Miniature Golf. Adam kicked my butt in the game, but I was in the lead for a good long while before I started choking. Next, we shopped a little and before we knew it, it was time to take the ferry back to the main land. But we really enjoyed our day in Catalina, I only wish we could actually live there!

Song of the Day: This Ain't a Love Song by Scouting for Girls

A House Made of Gingerbread

I don't know what typical married couples do on Thursday nights after long days at work. But we as a couple put on our pajamas and built a ginger bread house. And I think it is pretty adorable.

I once built a gingerbread house in college with my friends (in the middle of February), that my we named The Lonely Bush. So I told Adam we had to name our masterpiece, and finally we settled on the name, "Ginger-topia." And just in case you are wondering (and I know you are) that charming little snowman with the odd looking nose is named Leonard. He just looked like a Leonard.

Song of the Day: 1,2,3,4 (I Love You) by The Plain White T's

Bits n' Pieces

Just a round up of a few photos that have been sitting around forever from various happenings that didn't really merit their own post but put them together and walaah! You have a post (Plus, I have nothing better to do since Adam is totally enthralled in some Modern Warfare 3 mayhem on the PS3, why did I get that for him again?).

I just have to ask the question, is anyone else this messy when they bake/cook? Because my kitchen always looks like a disaster after I'm done. I would like to blame the messy kitchen on the fact that the counter space you see in the picture is honestly the only counter space we have. But no it's just me. I get a little crazy in the kitchen. And then some how Adam always ends up cleaning up after me. He is pretty boss like that.  This picture is from Adam's birthday baking preparations. And why yes that is my famous homemade peanut butter frosting.

A few months back my cousin Alicia, her husband, and adorable youngest two kids (Chloe and Joey) made it all the way out to Cali, and I met them at the Rain forest Cafe in Downtown Disney for dinner one night after work. Downtown Disney is a really cool area close to Disneyland, that has a lot of stores and restaurants. Plus they have live music and awesome decorations.  After dinner, we waltzed over to the Build a Bear, and my little cousin Chloe built a pretty rockin' Disney bear.  I have to admit that I was kind of jealous of that little bear with those cute Mickey Mouse ears. I snapped this picture of one of the lights at Downtown Disney because it caught my eye.

A quick and beautiful snapshot of an amazing sunset in Downtown Long Beach at The Pike.

One of our favorite restaurants is The Cheesecake Factory, although we don't go there often because it can be a little on the pricey side. But I have a life mission and that life mission is to try all the different cheesecakes produced by the factory. And so far I've had about ten different kinds. The best definitely being the white chocolate chip macadamia nut cheesecake. This is the pumpkin pecan cheesecake I had over Thanksgiving break, which is to die for and totally amazing!

I already wrote a memorial to my old car. But I have not yet introduced you guys to Felix the Honda Fit. Honestly, we bought Felix out of pure desperation, and we weren't too happy about that at the time (but I wasn't a happy camper in general that day because I had bronchitis, and we had to ride the bus to the dealership and walk a half mile in the cold. So Miserable). But Felix is pretty snazzy, and we have grown to like him a lot. Sure, he doesn't exactly have that new car smell, but at least he doesn't harbor the smell of ten years worth of dropped McDonald's french fries, stinky dogs, and those scented pine trees that hang from the visor. And with Felix we have a driver's side window that will actually roll down again! Oh, the luxury.

On my 21st birthday, my mother, Adam, and myself took a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate. While we were there, we visited the M&M factory/store. Which is the cutest store, and it has all sorts of quirky souvenirs.  So when my mother and I happened across a M&M store last summer in New York City, we had to stop by. I snapped this picture of one of adorable statues hanging on the wall.

Song of the Day: Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? by She & Him

Tree Trimming

I think my very favorite part of Christmas time is decorating the Christmas tree. Or more specifically unpacking all our ornaments. Almost all of our ornaments have special memories attached to them, and some are even older than me! So when I unpack the ornaments, I can't help but get really nostalgic. So I wanted to share just a few of our favorite ornaments.

We got the little San Francisco trolley ornament from our trip to San Francisco earlier this year, and I colored the little bear when I was eight years old (I have this most vivid memory of sitting at a table coloring that ornament with my best friend). I had forgotten all about the Golden Retriever ornament we had bought the year we brought Sarah home. Finding this ornament made me a little sad because we miss her so much, but I'm so glad we have something to remind us of our precious Goldie every year.

The little Green Bay Packer's kid is Adam's ornament. But we both love our Green Bay Packers! My mother got me the little mother/daughter coffee ornament a few Christmases ago, and I just love it because it reminds me of sitting around with my mom drinking coffee. And last but not least, we got the little snow couple ornament for our first Christmas together living in California. The ornament actually says, "First California X-Mas 09 (although the too thick marker and my terminally bad handwriting make it almost illegible)."

Do you have any favorite ornaments?

Song of the Day: Do You Hear What I Hear? by Christopher Cross

Ode to Homer my Honda

My mother brought you home the month I turned 15.  She named you Homer the Honda, a name I really didn't like at first. But when I told her your name should be changed, she threatened to name you "Harvey," instead. As in Paul Harvey.  She did this only because she knew how I hated Paul Harvey's mono-toned daily radio broadcast.  So I digressed, and the name Homer was here to stay.

My mom first tried to teach me to drive you after she picked me up from a friend's sleep over in a cemetery, where there was no living thing I could kill.  Just expensive tombstones and dead people who might choose to haunt me for the rest of my life for disturbing their peaceful slumber. This was a horrendous idea because my mother has never been able to teach me anything without me having a major meltdown (a point proven every time I ever brought home math homework).

You were with me when I failed my first driver's test.  My nerves getting the better of me, causing me to put the car in reverse instead of drive, and making me jump the curb. An automatic failure before even leaving the parking lot. But Hey! A lack of a driver's license didn't keep me from driving you (without my mother's knowledge or permission). And it certainly didn't keep me from wrecking you outside of Hardee's, after dropping off a job application on one of these joyrides (I didn't get that job-apparently car stealing and car wrecking teenagers aren't great prospectives employees).  Having to tell my mom I stole the car and wrecked it was possibly the worst thing I ever had to tell anyone. But for years afterward, anytime I did something wrong and had to tell my mom, I always was able to tell myself, "It won't be as bad as the time you wrecked the car."

You were my constant companion in college. Accompanying me on my many adventures and misadventures. You took me on that clandestine trip with that boy I liked to New Orleans. And you brought me home early the next morning after the boy had dumped me and left me wondering up and down Bourbon Street all alone. You were there to cart my friends and me around that one time we got the notion to buy a pair of water frogs from Wal-mart at 3 a.m (we named them Bonnie & Clyde). And you were there when we would decide there was nothing more we needed than Olive Garden and Krispee Kreme donuts, so we would pile into you and drive two hours to Tuscaloosa. In fact, it was on one these trips that you earned the nickname armadillo extinguisher, as we hit an unsuspecting armadillo in the middle of the night on a dark country road scaring the bejeesus out of everyone.

The day after graduation, I loaded you up with almost everything I owned, and Adam and I drove you cross country to our new home in California.  Along the way, we stopped at the home of the UFOs, Roswell. N.M,  Flagstaff, A.Z., and the Grand Canyon. And on the final leg of the trip, your front tire sprung a flat, and we were helped by the kindest old man who worked with Triple AAA, who gave us the best marriage advice. 

The other day we took you to the shop, and we found it was going to take $2500 dollars in work to keep you running. Being that you were ten years old, it seemed like an awful lot of money to put into you when we weren't sure how long you could continue to run. So we did what we had to do, and we went to the Honda shop and bought Felix the Red Honda Fit. I couldn't bear to tell you we were trading you in for parts because that would be like telling a child there is no Santa Clause.  You know, frown upon.

So I guess the reign of the Homer the Honda is over, let the reign of Felix the Honda Fit last just as long (and be involved in less accidents).

 

Song of the Day: Christmas Wrappings by The Waitresses

Sarah Lee

On Friday morning, we lost our beautiful dog, Sarah Lee. I wasn't sure I would write this post or what it would even say, but it felt wrong not to say a few words about the special little animal that was such a big part of our life. Sarah had been diagnosed with an inoperable bladder tumor a few months ago, and we knew eventually the tumor would get so big that she would no longer be able to function. But she had been trucking along just fine recently, and we had hoped that would last till Christmas.

But last week she started getting sick, bladder infection we thought. So we gave her medicine, it didn't help, and she just got worse and worse. By Thursday, she couldn't pee at all, and she literally spent all night outside trying to pee and throwing up. It was pitiful. And that night, I just knew it was over. I knew when I took her to the vet in the morning, she would be gone. The worst part of it all was Adam was out-of-town, so I had to be the one (although we talked about it, and he even said goodbye to her over the phone, she was so excited to hear her daddy's voice) to make the call. And I was the one in the room with her, holding her, when she drifted off.

During the whole process, I stayed upbeat with her because I didn't want her to pick up on my sadness and be upset. But after she was gone, I couldn't believe I could cry so much or so hard. I couldn't believe Adam could cry so much or so hard.

Although there aren't that many tears left that I can cry, there are few moments when her absence isn't noticed. There is no one to wake me up way too early in the morning because she wants to go on a walk (something that used to annoy me, but now I miss desperately), there is no one to feed, no one to give belly rubs to, no one to laugh at because of the way she scratches her back, or talk to in annoying baby voices. Sometimes Adam and my's mind will trick us for a split second, and we will look up to see what she is doing only to be faced with the reality that she is gone.

She was the sweetest, gentlest, kindest dog, and anyone who ever got the pleasure of meeting her couldn't help but fall head over heels in love with her.

So rest in peace our Sarah Lee. You were our baby, our precious goldie, and you will be forever missed.

Life Recently According to My Iphone

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and enjoyed the food and the family. And now that thanksgiving is over it is time for the best season of all, Christmas! I just can't wait.

Here are just a few snaps from the previous week:

1. I took this shot just outside my office. I found it oddly beautiful.

2. Gorgeous tree inside an Orange County Mall!

3. Adam and I went to see The Muppets. It was fantastic. Worth the wait.

4. Eggnog Gelato from the store. There are just no words for this wonderful treat.

5. One of my favorite things about Christmas is the poinsettias. Love the bright red.

6. A chicken salad sandwich and an orange juice from my favorite little cafe, Vie de France. Love, Love, Love the packaging. They also have amazing sweets. 

Song of the Day: Christmas Wrappings by The Waitresses

Thankful

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Little Things I Am Grateful for This Thanksgiving:

Spiced Apple Cider

Kindle eBooks

Christmas Decorations & Christmas Music

The Packer's Undefeated Season

Marcel the Shell

Re-airing of 90's shows on Teen Nick (Love Kenan & Kel)

Fleece Blankets

Freshly Scrubbed Hardwood Floors

Puppy Kisses (from Puppies who are now 11 years old)

Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake

Funny Text Messages

Starbuck's Red Cups

Cooler Weather

Pinterest

Clinique Happy Perfume

But most of all I am grateful for my family, my friends, a husband who never fails to be there for me, and a dog who is thriving despite all her health issues.  Happy Thanksgiving Y'all. I hope you eat until you can no longer walk!

Song of the Day: The Luckiest by Ben Folds

A Little Scrapbooking

This week I have some much needed time off work (thank you Thanksgiving break, you are lovely). I used the break to go to my own personal mecca, Michael's.  I can spend hours roaming the scrap booking aisles, in fact it took me two hours to pick up supplies for four scrapbook pages. But the best past of today is when I got to the register I found out they were having a huge sale and everything ended up costing me $15 dollars instead of $30.00.  Score.

When I got home, I put on one of my favorite movies, My Life in Ruins, and got to work scrapping a few events that happened this year (the New York City Trip, L.A. Dodger's Game, San Francisco Trip, and our 2nd anniversary). They are not perfect, but I love the pages oh so much, and I enjoy looking back through the scrapbook and seeing everything we have done in these last few years. If you want to see more scrapbook pages go here and here.

P.S.-It is seriously difficult to photograph scrapbook pages, I need to invest in a scanner!

Song of the Day: Telephone by Lady Gaga

Bueller? Bueller? Anyone? Anyone?

As a child born in the 80's, who came of age in the 90's there are certain things I hold near and dear to my heart. Like pop-up music video (and pop-up Brady Bunch), fruit roll-ups, beanie babies, tamigotchas, the game dream phone (which I played in college with my girls occasionally), and the phrase "Da Bomb." By the way, do you know that the kids from the 90's totally started the phrase "Da Bomb." And now the teens I work with have shortened it to "Bomb," and they try to pass it off as their own personal contribution to society. No respect for the ones that came before them I'm tellin you.

But one of the best things about this time period was definitely the movies! We had The Goonies! Pretty in Pink! The Breakfast Club! And one of my all-time favorites, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I mean who can forget the hypochondriac Cameron Fry? The German American Parade Scene? The annoying sister? The Save Ferris campaign? The young Charlie Sheen sighting? I know I can't.

Last week I watched Ferris Bueller's Day off with the teens at work on a VHS tape. VHS, baby. Does that blow your mind? It blows mine. Before that day, I don't even remember the last time I saw a VHS tape. And the sound of the the tape rewinding in the tape player was really nostalgic for me. I don't know if the teens really enjoyed the movie like I used to. It is not as in your face as comedy movies are nowadays. Which makes me a little sad, but oh well. There is no accounting for bad taste. Just kidding. Sorta.

When I got home from work that day, I decided to Wikipedia the movie just for fun. One of the things I learned is that while most of the film was made in Chicago, Ferris Bueller's house was actually a home here in Long Beach! I had to go see it! So after some long hours of stealthy googling (OK, it was really easy), I found the address. It is located in a swankier part of Long Beach.  And last Sunday, we went to check out Ferris Bueller's house, which looks exactly like it did in the movie!

I didn't pose in front of the house because obviously someone was home, and I didn't want to appear like some crazy person cheesin' in front of their house on a seemingly random Sunday (although I'm sure they have seen their fair share of those). But I thought it was pretty darn cool to see a little glimpse of Hollywood history.

Song of the Day: Diet Mtn Dew by Lana Del Ray

Life Lately According to my Iphone

1. A beautiful sunset I saw while I was sitting outside Adam's office waiting to pick him up from work. It sure made those 30+ minutes (he was running late) stuck in the car a little more enjoyable.

2.  I used the money I had save that I was going to use for something for myself and bought Adam the new Modern Warfare Game. And then I lied, and acting really sneaky, and made him think we couldn't afford it for a long time, so I could surprise him with it :) It was just a really big deal to him and that just makes me uber happy.

3. The best and cheapest Chinese take-out in all of Long Beach. Maybe in all of the United States. I'm not even kidding. Although, I think I go there way too often because they always recognize me and know my order. And that feels less friendly to me and more like a judgement on my lifestyle choices. But it is not, I'm just slightly neurotic like that.

4. Adam in the kitchen! Cooking! In a Hug Hefner style robe! Be still my heart! I showed Adam how to make the really simple recipe I have for breakfast casserole, because he wants to wow his family back home in Wisconsin next week by cooking them breakfast.  But oh my goodness did he need guidance every step of the way, you would have thought it was rocket science. God bless his little non-cooking heart. May we never separate because then he may starve to death.

5. Sunday we had lunch at Stacked with our friend Luther. A place where you build your own burgers on little ipad tablets on the tables. It's one of our fave places. And these are a pictures of their coasters. Just cause.

6. Our goldie, Sarah, being a ham and horsing around.

7. This really blurry pic of Adam and me was taken to prove that we are one of those annoying couples who even dress alike. Yes, we did go out to eat in our matching Green Bay Packer's Jerseys. It is like we are the wonder twins! Everyone knows that after you have been married a long time you start to look a like. And being married two and a half years is a really long time! I mean we have been married 953 days, which is 850+ days longer than Kim Kardashian!

8. A pumpkin ice cream/snicker doodle cookie ice cream sandwich. Can you say amazeballs?

9. The house where Ferris Bueller lived in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off!! I could say so much more about this, but I'm pretty sure that deserves its own post. So stay tuned.

Song of the Day: Only Prettier by Miranda Lambert

Oh, For The Love of the ...

Lately, I've been walking our dog in the evenings more and more on my own. I don't exactly know how it happened, but over the years it has just become Adam's "job" to walk the dog. You know just like it became Adam's job to wash all the dishes because one time he overheard me telling someone dishes disgust me (and he is sweet like that). Also in his job description? Hanging pictures and killing any spider I see, even if I see it in the middle of the night and he is dead asleep (it is not like he is going to stay asleep through all that screeching anyway, let's be real).

I decided to start walking Sarah because I could use the exercise, and it is nice to give Adam the occasional break. However, I feel like for the entire 45 minutes or so I'm gone this is Adam's thought process:

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I always take my tunes with me when I'm walking with Sarah because there is no interacting with her on the walk. Sarah considers her walks her time. Meaning she doesn't want to be talked to, she doesn't want to be petted, and she for sure doesn't want you to walk ahead of her. No, she just wants to sniff, to hunt for cats, and to search for abandoned chicken wings on the side of the road (by the way, how in the world are there so many chicken wings to be found?!?)

Now before I continue this story, I want to assure my mother who reads this blog (hi mom!), that I walk Sarah fairly early in the evenings, when there are tons of people around and it is perfectly safe. Because if I don't say this, I will have a million texts and one long phone lecture about how what I'm doing is not safe! And how I'm going to get killed! And how she heard of someone who got killed walking their dog! So mom this won't happen to me, I promise.

One night last week I was walking with Sarah, blasting my really deep, mind-opening music (e.g.-Taylor Swift and Kelly Clarkson).  I was stopped at a traffic light when I could tell this young man was trying to get my attention. I am not one to talk to strangers, heck I don't even like talking to my friends on the phone. Plus, most people in Long Beach only gesture at you like that when they are homeless and want money. Which is always bad news for me, because I am notoriously bad at giving away my money out of either guilt or the want to just stop talking.

So I was very skeptical and very, very trapped. I couldn't pretend not to hear/see him because I was stuck at a traffic light. But I sized him up, he was well-dressed, and there were tons of people milling around. So I slipped off one of my ear buds and he simply asked, "Could you love a man as much as you love your dog?"

I don't know what his motivation for asking me this was.  Was he flirting with me? I'm never good at recognizing flirtations unless they are REALLY direct. Basically, a guy has to actually tell me they are flirting with me for me to get it. Or had he been burned by an ex-girlfriend that chose her frilly-dressed, pocket-sized, miniature chihuahua over him and he was looking for answers? Or is he some kind of anonymous, secret, underground Sex in the City type blogger working on his next story? I guess I'll never know. I just answered, "Of course, I could love a man more than my dog." And then I added, "But I'm already married.." Just in case he was flirting and walked away.

I thought about the question on the rest of the walk. I could see why some people might find it easier to live with a dog rather than a spouse. I look at it this way. If it was only the dog and me, I would never have to worry about someone not putting their clothes away right after they wash them, which is my ultimate pet peeve, like some people do in this household. *Cough, Cough. Adam* And I'm sure Adam would say if he lived with only the dog, he could play video games all the time with no judgement.

But no as much as I love my dog, and believe me I love Sarah. In fact, I'm quite obsessed with her. I could never love her more than Adam. And I know Adam could never love her more than me!  Or at least I think I know that. But maybe I better ask him....

Song of The Day: I Am Not The Robot by Marina & The Diamonds

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! What are everyone's plans? We aren't doing much of anything tonight.  We aren't passing out candy, we aren't dressing up, and we aren't going to party all night long. And yes this is kind of sad. There was a lot I meant to get around to this Halloween season. I wanted to go to a pumpkin patch, I wanted to go to a corn maze, and I wanted to carve some pumpkins. But time just got away from us, I mean tomorrow is November 1st! Where is this year going?

But I did want to carve some pumpkins. I even asked Adam if he wanted to yesterday, but he was being a fuddy duddy who didn't want to do anything at all, and it is no fun to carve pumpkins all on your own. So we didn't. But next year he owes me. Next year we will carve pumpkins and visit haunted houses and dress in cutesy, couple costumes. So help me Bob.

But for now, my Halloween celebration will include FABULOUS spiced apple cider, character lollipops, my orange jack o'latern t-shirt, and dancing to the songs Monster Mash and Thriller!

Song of the Day: Thriller/Heads Will Roll by Glee Cast

Catchin' Up With Oliver

So who remembers this adorable little guy? Oliver is the stray we rescued who ended up living with our next door, duplex neighbor. We are so lucky this little booger lives next door to us because we absolutely fell in love with him, and now we get to see him everyday. Anytime we walk past Oliver's house, he stands up on his hind legs, and barks and cries and flips himself over backwards until we acknowledge his presence and say, "Hi Oliver." And if we walk by the house with Sarah in tow, forget about it, he loses his little mind.

Today I was doing laundry. Six hours worth of laundry. And y'all that's a lot of laundry. Our washer and dryer are outside in a shed we share with our neighbor. And on one of my never ending trips outside, I heard a little whining sound. But I couldn't place it, and finally I looked over to the fence and saw his little face peering out at me. 

Of course, I stopped everything I was doing to play with him. Who couldn't? I tried to pick him up like I used to. But I no longer can because he is grown into quite the little tonka trunk! But there was still tons of head pats and kisses to go round. He is quite possibly the cutest thing ever.

Song of the Day: Little Bird by The Weepies

Conan Live Show Taping!

It has been too long since I updated the blog! We've been really busy around here lately, and plus we both had colds this weekend. So we had a pathetic weekend full of napping and not leaving the house other than to walk the dog. And by the way, when I got married, I knew there would be some sharing involved, but I didn't want to share everything (e.g.-colds). But the vows do say, "In Sickness and In Health...."

Last Monday, Adam and I went to a live taping of The Conan Show on TBS. Adam LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Conan O'Brien, so for months I'd been trying to get tickets so I could surprise him. Finally, we won the free ticket lottery, and we were so excited. For weeks before the taping, we wondered who the "celebrity" guests would be. And the weekend before the taping we learned it would be Kaley Cucao and Dr. Drew Pinksy.

We were kind of disappointed about Kaley Cucao, only because we already saw her when we went to a taping of The Big Bang Theory! I mean out of all the celebrities in Hollywood, what are the odds we would see her for a second time? It is like she is stalking us. But Oh Dr. Drew! I was so excited about Dr. Drew! Because I'm kinda, sorta in love with him, and I promise Adam knows and he understands. First of all, he is so handsome in that distinguished, older man kind of way. Second, I work in the mental health field and I really admire his therapeutic skills. Seriously, I'm not making that up. Therapy totally revs my engine.

As excited as I was, when I found out Dr. Drew was the guest of honor, I got a little nervous. What if I got to talk to him and I got all starstruck like I did when I met Princess Belle at Disneyland? You see, when I met Princess Belle at Disneyland, I got all excited and fawned over her like she was really Princess Belle and stuttered, "You're My Favorite Princess!"  As if she was not just a lady in costume!

When the day of the taping rolled around, we drove down to Burbank, went through security, and received our snazzy wrist bands. We got to hang out with other crazy Conan fans (and I do mean crazy), and we bought matching Conan T-shirts. Eventually it was time to head over to the studio. Walking to Conan's studio was a lot of fun too because we walked right through the old set from my all-time favorite show, Gilmore Girls.

Actually entering Conan's studio was surreal because it looks exactly like it does on TV, except it was like a miniaturized version. It was so cool to see how the show is made and to see the celebrities. (And yes, Dr. Drew is just as cute in person as he is on TV, and NO I didn't make a fool of myself. Probably only because I never talked to him). When we watched it back on TV, we noticed that they do edit somethings out,  and also they tone down the laughter and hollering that goes on in the studio (probably so you can hear what everyone is saying).

It was a really fun day and a great experience, and being able to do things like that is one really cool thing about living in Southern California. And seeing Conan was on my California Bucket List, so I'm happy to to mark one more thing off that list.  

Song of the Day: Insensitive by Jann Arden

Weekend in Instagrams

1. Friday night dinner at Famous Dave's Famous BBQ. I had little BBQ mini sandwiches with a side of possibly the best macaroni on the planet. Not pictured? Our appetizer of corn fritters dipped in honey. Yummy. I think honey just might make everything a little bit better. Raise your hand if you feel me.

2. I don't know why I love this picture of Princess Sarah's backside and tail so much. But I just do.

3. A picture of our BEAUTIFUL nieces at the pumpkin patch. No, I did not take this one, being that they live 1,500 miles way. But that doesn't stop it from being my one my favorite pics from this weekend.

4. I have now lived in Southern California for three and a half years, and I can't remember ever having seen any fog. But on Friday, the buildings downtown were disappearing into the fog! We were actually experiencing weather, instead of 365 days of the same old, same old.  

Song of the Day: November was White, December was Grey by Say Hi

Miss. Sarah Lee

I've never talked a whole lot about our dog, Sarah Lee, on this blog. Which is surprising because Adam and I are practically obsessed with her. Sarah is a big & beautiful golden retriever (sometimes we call her Goldie for short). She enjoys sleeping 21 hours of the day, chasing cars, playing coy with the next door neighbors, taking out entire civilizations with her massive tail, and receiving tons of love from her mommy & daddy. Her dislikes include thunder, fireworks, and drinking water from anything but her designated bowl. And she is a loyal companion to anyone who will occasionally slip her a Mcdonald's French Fry.

Sarah has lived with us for three and a half years and is 11 years old. We adopted her from my older brother when he was losing his house and he could no longer keep her. I had just moved in with Adam at the time, when I found out Sarah needed a home, and I begged him to let her come live with us. There was a lot of tears on my part because he hates change and thought it was a bad idea, but because I'm me and he is him, she came to live with us (he has trouble saying no to me). Hehe. And we road-tripped to Phoenix to meet my brother and brought her home, and Adam fell in love with her within seconds (like I knew he would). And the rest is history!

Over the last few months, Sarah has been slowing down and not feeling the best. We just chocked it up to her getting older. But eventually we took her to the vet, and got some pretty bad news about her health and how long she will be with us. And we spent a lot of that week crying and feeling really sad. Then, we just had to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps and decide to make our time with Sarah that is left, the best time with Sarah. So we've been taking her to the beach for long walks every weekend and giving her tons of tummy rubs and treats (screw the diet!).

But the funny thing is Sarah has been acting more youthful than ever lately due to the medicines she is on. She is sooo playful and sooo active. When we took her to the beach this weekend, she was running, chasing squirrels, rolling around on the grass, and fighting us when we decided to turn back toward the car (she always wants to go farther and farther because she always forgets there is a return walk). 

Both Adam and I were beaming after that walk because seeing her like that was such a joy. It totally made our weekend. And it really hit home that no matter how much time we have left with her (and who really knows how much time that is) we are just blessed to have had her in our lives and are grateful for every single day.

Song of the Day: Trouble is a Friend by Lenka

Things Making Me Happy This Week

1. My New Anchor Necklace Made By SerendipityLicious

2. Waking Up to a Rainy Day after a Long, Hot, Southern California Summer

3. Walks at the Bluff overlooking the Beach with my Husband and Doggie Sarah

4. Sleeping in on Saturdays

5. Watching Old Seasons of Big Brother on Youtube

6. Fortune Cookies from my favorite Chinese Takeout Place

7. Acing my Client Presentation for Class

8. My Fuzzy, Polar bear Socks Protecting me from our Cold, Hardwood Floors

9. Playing the Spy Mouse Game on my Iphone

10. The Green Bay Packers Stomping the Denver Broncos

11. New Fall Flavors at Starbucks (Salted Caramel Mocha. Yum)

12. Daylight Savings Time being just around the Corner

13. Going through Old Photos on Old Memory cards

14. My Nieces' Funny Facebook Statuses

15. Reading The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

What is making you happy?

Song of the Day: Fix You by Coldplay

A Cold Stone Tragedy

The other day I picked Adam up from work, and we decided to go grab some ice cream at Cold Stone as a little treat. My mother had sent us a gift card for ice cream and just like real money it was burning a hole in our pocket. And just like I always do every time we go to Cold Stone, I started ribbing Adam about something that happened on a previous trip to Cold Stone....many moons ago.

You see we officially started dating the fall semester of my Junior year when Adam was living in California, and I was still going to school in Mississippi. So obviously we weren't spending a lot of face to face time together.  Which was hard and annoying, and every other adjective you can possibly think of to describe a long distance relationship. To fix this, Adam invited me to spend the summer between my Junior and Senior year living with him in California. And I agreed.

That summer was definitely an interesting one. Adam was living in a teeny, tiny studio apartment overstuffed with way more furniture than he needed (my opinion, not his). So there was absolutely no privacy and all we could do all day was sit around and stare at each other. You had to hang out in the bathroom to get a little privacy. And just like the place we have now, it had no air conditioning. So while he was at work, I was at home (without a car) sweating tremendously and worrying that the heat would cause me to be overcome with the "vapors."

And can we discuss how he didn't even have cable? I mean he had a few basic channels, half of which were in Spanish and Vietnamese, and somehow the Oxygen channel was miraculously, accidentally given to us. So I spent all day watching The Bad Girl's Club and Snapped! marathons. I watched so much Snapped! that I think Adam worried that I was taking tips from the murderous women and planning his demise.

The first weekend after I stepped off my plane at LAX to embark on this summer long adventure, we found ourselves at a Cold Stone. Adam was sitting across the table from me, and out of nowhere he says, "I just realized that for the whole summer you are going to be here every second of every day." He didn't say it in the, "I'm so in love with you and this is going to best summer ever!" kind of way. No, he said it in the "This is totally going to cramp my style," kind of way.

Of course I handled his words with grace and understanding, and it's not like I would ever freak out in the middle of a Cold Stone or anything. Yeah right! I am so not that level headed, and I totally started crying in the middle of Cold Stone. I only have vague recollections of what happened after this. I'm pretty sure Adam piled my hot mess of a self into the car, and we headed back to the studio. And at that point, totally convinced we were going to break up,  I was whipping out my emergency credit card and trying to book my flight home. 

Obviously, Adam talked me down off that ledge and we are still together all these years later. Now I understand that this comment came from a fear of the unknown and losing his lifelong "bachelor status." But Adam still feels really bad about this whole thing, which makes it all the more fun for me to tease him about.

Song of the Day: Why Can't I by Liz Phair

Lobster Fest

See Bernard? Bernard was my lobster. See me eat Bernard.  This weekend Adam had to stay home and work, meaning he was making boring, long conference calls every few hours. And these conference calls were making my weekend extra boring as well. So our friends Albert & Rianne offered to in essence "babysit" me. Meaning they invited me to come hang out with them and some of their family and friends at the Lobster Fest in San Pedro.

I had never had a lobster before because I typically shy away from food that has faces.  I developed a bit of a phobia of food with faces because once when I was on vacation in Israel, a guy in my tour group ordered fish and it came out looking like this: 

Hairy Arm was not Part of the Meal, Thankfully

And that is just plain scary. But everyone promised me that the lobster would taste amazing. So I was gung ho to try something new. I got my lobster, and just to make it a little weirder for myself I decided to name it, and I named it Bernard. I was told to name it Sebastien like the crab from The Little Mermaid, but I figured that was too cliche.

Once I figured out how to eat it (hey, it's complicated), I dug in. I have to say it was pretty darn amazing. So soft and so tender. And the butter sauce? I wish I could swim in it. I even ate the green stuff inside the lobster. I still don't know what that green stuff was and I probably don't even want to know.  But I am definitely a lobster fan!

We spent the rest of the fest eating other fair style foods, shopping, and playing carnival games. I was so happy that they invited me and gave me an opportunity to get out of the house this weekend!

Song of the Day: Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond

Pin-Interested

So just like a million other bloggers, I'm just a tab bit obsessed with pininterest. And lately I've been pinning some pretty tasty/pretty/random things on pinterest.  Such as...

The Perfect Table Setting

(via The Sweetest Occasion)

A Recipe To Try

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies

(via Hot Polka Dot)

A Fun DIY Project

Darlin Mini-Poloroid Magnets

(via Ambrosia Girl)

The Kitchen in My Dream Home

(via Cote De Texas)

Something from My Wishlist

Recycled Globes

(via See Hear Say)

Song of the Day: Men & Mascara by Julie Roberts

Football Season Opener!

Football made its official return to our household Thursday night. We, of course, were uber excited because as a couple we celebrate five seasons yearly: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Football! And we love our Green Bay Packers! To celebrate, I baked two chocolate cakes with peanut butter icing. One for Adam's co-workers and one for a little get together we had for the game. And I baked these when the temperatures were sweltering and I thought I might pass out. That is how much I love my husband, and how much he loves my peanut butter cake.

Everyone loved the cakes, I got so many compliments on it. In fact, one of our friends who had a piece on Thursday night called us the next day and asked if he could swing by again because he wanted another piece! I love getting compliments on my baking. It makes my day.

We had a blast watching the return of Superbowl Champion Packers and enjoyed it even more because they won! Boo-yah, take that Steelers! And I can't wait to see what the rest of the season has in store. Hopefully, it is a repeat of last year!

To see how Adam gets ready for a Packer's Game check out this entry.

Song of The Day: Dani California by Red Hot Chilli Peppers