Birthday Celebrations

Can you believe my man is Thirty? Such a fabulous age with a whole new decade to embark on. When trying to list all the things that happened the last 10 years of his life, we started to get excited with how much more good stuff lies ahead. So a big "hala" to my love and his thirty years of life. Rather then go through a list of 30 things I love about him and bore you all to near death, I'll just skip to the activities and let you all know what we did.

Mom was kind enough to treat us to a weekend getaway in Monterey. The weather seemed made to order with sun and blue skies. We enjoyed a delightful walk down Cannery Row, perused through some antique shops, stopped by a market for some lunch and enjoyed it on the beach where I caught some rays and a little nap. Aahh delightful.

The highlight of going to Monterey was our trip on the Bay in kayaks. We rented a few and headed out to see if we could find some wildlife. And boy did we. We made our way to a rather large bed of seaweed and there were about 12 or more otters just hanging out. Advised by the rental guys to stay at least 50 feet away, we didn't get close enough for a picture, and was even more amazed at the speed at which we had the wildlife preserve peeps on our back ready to "answer our questions" about the otter. Right. So we enjoyed from a distance for a minute longer and then made our way back.

Okay, now for a totally inappropriate segway picture for this birthday post. While kayaking in Monterey, the rental shop had this little dedication tattooed on the wall. I thought it was extremely accurate and therefore had to take a picture. I would have taken it on my phone but since that was all the way in the car, this was the solution. And besides, the Internet world needs to know the truth of the matter. I'm just sayin.

And back to Mark, for his actual day of birth, we enjoyed a little Chili's fresh mex. Which is just delightful, and opened a few gifts that I had tried so very hard to choose. Buying for Mark is so difficult. Especially when he breaks the cardinal rule of birthday-dom; don't shop for yourself during the month of your birth! UG.

Here is Mark and his fake surprise picture; posed perfectly for the camera. We both love the movie Inception, and I had to practically tell him that I got it for him to prevent him from purchasing it on his own. And a more genuine birthday opening face which I appreciate for the photobook memories. I also got him a few books to keep his reading frenzy at bay. He seriously has been reading every book we have in the house several times over. So some new material was highly overdue.

So a happy birthday wish to my wonderful man who is embarking on a new decade of life. I guess you could say he is "thirty, flirty, and thriving." Which is what we were going for.

Garage Sales

Some people are big on Garage Sales. I am NOT one of these people. Especially after helping my mom in our first garage sale events of our lives. Exhausting and hardly worth the little income you make. Ug.

Since Mom's move about 5 months ago, we have found a lot of stuff that doesn't really fit in the new house. When word came out that her neighborhood development was having a garage sale, she thought it was a great opportunity to get rid of some old stuff and make some profit while we were at it. I headed over Friday night and we spent a good 4 hours taking everything out of boxes and deciding what the value of the object was, putting the price on it, and laying out on one of the 6 tables Mom had gotten from the Church. It all started fun, but by the end we were just throwing numbers out and not really caring what the "value" was.

Saturday morning came, only after an entire night dreaming about the horrors of pricing and selling, and by 7am we were moving the tables out of the garage into the driveway. And can you believe that we could hardly get it out fast enough before the lookers were already looking. I was surprised with how busy it all was; several lookers at a time for most of the morning. I even sold our old bed-in-a-bag set and made a little cash for our new bedroom decor. (which I then promptly spent on dinner...my bad) . By noon it had all pretty much died out and mom and I were both exhausted and just done with the whole scene. We sold a good amount of stuff but felt like we boxed up more then what we sold and dumped it in the DI truck.

So - in my personal opinion - donation is the way to go. Yeah we made a few hundred but really? For the amount of time and effort it takes to first get your sell pile together, then to price it all, then to get it all out so people can buy it, then to sell it, then to put it all away...its just a lot of work. But hey, at least I can say I've had a garage sale. Well, that my mom had one and I sold one personal belonging at it. Which is basically the same thing right?

Something Different

We're not actually moving, and I need something different to look at when I open my blog. We are such boring people. We don't have babies or vacations or fun things to report on so consequently, our blog is boring. My apologies.

I suppose I could blog about our daily lives. Like how our kitchen seems to reproduce dishes like magic. And how our dishwasher is always overloaded with bowls. And how as much as I love the look of the dark wood floors, they are more work to keep clean and pretty then I probably thought about when I choose them.

I should be embarrassed to mention how my spare bedroom has turned into the "clean linens" pile because I am too lazy to fold the laundry and put them in the closet. So whenever we need a new set of sheets, I just pull them off the top of the pile. Throw the new clean sheets in there when I'm done washing them so that when I need them...there they are. It's bad right?

I could mention about our upcoming trip to Disneyland with some of our very favorite people and how I feel like I haven't been in a million years and how I am about ready to make a paper chain to help me count the days down. It'll be jammed packed with people and probably super hot but I have plans to ride the new Little Mermaid ride which I've been awaiting since they started construction, and of course Toy Story Mania as many times as our friends will let me. And Ruby's Diner - how we have missed you.

It is easy to overlook our careers. Mark continues to learn new stuff about the pool business. He can fix just about anything and is quite the master at trouble shooting the problem. We've vowed we'll never own a pool but sure appreciate those who do. School for me is just about done. 3 weeks left makes it a struggle for the students to pay attention. We'll all be glad when it is over. Currently, the district shows no signs of hiring me into the position I've been filing even though the word on the street is that the position is available. So we'll see.

So there you have it...we don't have any pictures or good stories to tell. So a big thank you to the rest of you bloggers that keep me entertained because reading my own blog has left me realizing that we need more action.

We're moving

Only because its for sale. Opportunities like this don't happen twice. You can come and visit.

Beat That.

Dear world. If you think that I am snubbing you - think again. I just paid my monthly cell phone bill. The numbers are as follows.

50 minutes used

19 Text messages sent.

And can I just say that I'm pretty sure 17 of those messages went to a certain Washington number - because I love her. I think I need to increase my social outlets.

Wow. That is ... unreal.

Spring Break

Another reason why I am such a fan of my profession. I get Spring Break. Granted, this particular year I don't get paid for it - I still have the time off which I love. This week is turning out to be full of "things-to-do" lists.

Things-to-Do #1: Finish Bathroom!
Okay, so its not exactly finished, but it is totally mostly done. And it is beautiful! A big shout out to my BIL who is an interior design genius and help me commit to a color. And now, presenting, my totally new and totally relaxing grey bathroom. Can you believe that we tore out this whole bathroom, and reinstalled everything! B-E-A-utiful. Comments of congratulations welcome.

The Before. Especially loved the pink accent tiles.

The during - well, the best I could find.
The New-and Improved.
I totally love the 2 mirror look. So sleek.


To-Do-List #2: Celebrate Mom's birthday.

Mom had her birthday yesterday and I sort of took the easy road and took her out to dinner rather then make it for her at home like last year. But I did get her a cute new shirt and jewelry combo and a recipe book for soups which I happen to love. Delightful

To-Do-List #3: Host Mikey

My favorite BIL is visiting for the week between his London study abroad and return to Provo. He is just such a delight. And I like having him around. We mostly just sit and watch Tyra Banks talk show and other lame daytime TV but it is fabulous.

To-Do-List #4: Finish Scrapbook(s).

So I have 2 Scrapbooking projects I am trying to finish. And I love it. Mostly because I get to have a creative outlet that produces a great result. And it is good for me. And I especially like to hear the satisfaction on the faces of those whose books they are. Perfect.

To-Do-List #5: Spring Cleaning Start

As my first year as a homeowner rounds out, I feel it is important to get in the spring cleaning chores while I am out of school this week. This includes a deep clean of several things that get overlooked during the year. The blinds, the oven, the cupboards; you get the jist. So heres to my music being a little too loud, and the lemon-y smell of goodness everywhere.

Overall - Spring break is turning out to be quite successful. Happy spring to me.

Just to catch up

A blog I follow updates ALL THE TIME. At least twice a week. And I love that. I use to be a frequent blog updater, but now I can't blog at work, which is a huge inhibitor in my getting stuff down. So - just to catch up.

--Our fence is finally in the building stages. Our neighbors set up the contractor; which was nice of them, and now we are seeing some progress. Of course the mammoth size snake that was living under the old fence was an unexpected surprise. I'd be okay if we don't see another one of those again.

--I am going through a sugar cookie phase. Weird right? I am CRAVING sugar cookies all the time. Now, a few months back when I was in this craze, I actually made the cookies and consumed them all too quickly. I suppose I am healing as I don't actually make them anymore. But man they are delicious.

--We are big reality TV fans. We've been following the usual popular shows, missing others I'll admit. Although we haven't been into American Idol or Survivor, we've got ANTM, Amazing Race, Top Chef, Deadliest Catch, Biggest Looser, and a myriad of Food Network challenges. We also are fairly large fans of Modern Family and Parks and Recreation. Most our evenings are fairly chill and include some kind of TV relaxing. It's a charmed life.

--I don't know how to feel about those blogs who clarify those pictures they take with their "point and shoot" or "iPhone". Because I am pretty sure all my pictures look like those which makes me feel like my photo skills are inadequate and are not going to document my kids life as beautifully as it should. I'm just saying - I don't care if you took your pictures with a Kodak disposable, had them printed, and scanned them with your hand-me-down scanner to get them on your blog, they are nice so be okay with it.

--I am loving my job again. This really is my perfect job. I love Love LOVE it. Too bad the school system in America is less then favorable and the value of the teachers work is, again, less then favorable. But I get to hang out with a lot of great students. Many of whom will go on to forget me; but I don't know how to explain it. It is just magic for me.

--I sold my college car. My RAV4 that I just loved. The cute little perfect fit for me. I felt like I was cheating on my family getting rid of her like that. And the knife in the heart was when the buyer changed my radio station to his Latin station and had it booming while we finished the transaction. (sad face). But it really was for the better. 3 cars with only 2 drivers really was a bit excessive.

--I've started Scrapbooking Mark's life. Yes! A big project I know. But I am in need of some inspiration for another book I am working on so I started. And now I can't stop. I just love the idea of our futures being able to see pictures of us when we were young. I am addicted to scrapbooking my life. I even sometimes have the pages done before the pictures are captured. So fun.

I guess that is it. Not really exciting eh? Now you know why I don't blog much.

2 Years Down....Eternity To Go.

On this, the 2nd anniversary of the happiest moment of my life, I felt appropriate to give a tribute to my amazing wife. She is the kindest, funniest, and best friend anyone could ever ask for. Here are some good descriptive words for her.

Selfless - We had some good memories this second year. A move to Northern California that would cause for her to leave behind a job she loved dearly, but did so without any complaint. She knew she may not ever teach again, but she also knew it was the right decision.

Creative - We bought our first house this year and have had to be more than open-minded to what we have needed to do in order to make it feel like home. Kaylinn has put her touch of creative genius into the upgrading of our house and has made it feel just as we had hoped.

Dream Driven - I love how she has dreamed of certain things forever and they always come true. A couple of weeks ago, we had determined that it was time to finally plant her lemon tree that she has always. On top of that we planted an orange and grapefruit tree. We took a train to Sacramento last weekend to celebrate our anniversary, something that she has always wanted to do. I just can't wait for what will be next. These little dreams have turned from her dreams to ours.

Loyal - I am talking about her friends here. She has reconnected with friends from the past that have presented to be beneficial for both ends. Last night we planned outings with some of them for the summer time. No matter what, she is always there for a listening ear and a word of comfort to those who are need. I love that about her.

Last of all -AMAZING- that is what she is. Every aspect of her character is determined to improve on what it currently is to what it could be. I always have respected that about her. Never content with where she is because she knows where she could be. I hope that in our eternities I can keep up with that!

Kay, I love you. Thank you so much for an outstanding first two years. It just makes me more excited for what there is in store for us.

Self...Great Day

Woke up. Sun shining perfectly. Worked out minimally, but still counts. Cleaned house to smell of lemons. Had music playing nice and loud which resulted in the sweep n' step. Very therapeutic. Conference talks. Stellar. Followed by grocery shopping with the hubby which is always a favorite. Sun still shining perfectly. Open the windows & blinds that have been closed for ages, and enjoy the breeze. Delicious lunch. Catch up on distant friends lives and their beautiful blogs. I feel blessed. Some of my favorite people visit followed by Rock Band gaming, girl talk, and Chili's. Self...great day.

Old Town Sacramento

Being that our anniversary falls on Conference weekend, we decided to celebrate this weekend to ensure we were available to listen to the sessions. This year was my turn to plan our little get away and I decided to stay somewhat close to home. As usual, our weekend was full of unexpected funnies and just delightful memories. We got off to a bit of a rough start when I was delayed at school thus making our departure from home a little later then it should have been. In an effort to switch it up a bit, we made arrangements to take the train up to Old Town Sacramento. Being that we were running a little behind, our stress level was higher then it should have been, so we weren't exactly thinking totally clearly. To make a long story short, we flew into a parking spot we didn't think we snag, let a few obscenities slip as we tried to grab our luggage from the trunk, ran like mad across the tracks and barely made it onto the train as it was pulling out of the station. I felt a little like a hobo might have, trying to jump on the train while it was still moving. Ok - so it wasn't that bad, but it was bad. Of course there were few open seats so it took a few minutes to find an open row. Got seated and tried to calm down. Only to find out...what?-this train is going where? That's right folks. We got on the wrong train! Drat! So it took an extra 40 minutes but we did eventually make it to our destination.

We stayed in a hotel that we are pretty sure supported some kind of political campaign. But it was nice and right across the street from the capitol building. Except of course our room was not on the right side. We still think the view was something special. We did make an appearance at the State Railroad museum which compared to the one in my memory - was a ton smaller. We started with the tour, until the tour guide was a little drab, then just made our way around on our own. Then we walked around Old Town Sacramento and enjoyed a little pizzeria who boasted a lunch buffet. We were disappointed when the buffet consisted of 2 pizza's with a ton of cheese, one with a little pepperoni. Weird. We then went over to see the state capitol building which was built in 1875 or something crazy like that. The refurbishment in 1975 cost California 2 bucks a person. And it was something amazing for sure. We stood in front of the Governor's office and even set off an alarm while trying to find the exit. That was fun. After an innocent explanation and personalized directions to the exit; we felt we really made our mark on the capitol.

We ended out trip with a delightful meal at The Firehouse Restaurant which I would highly recommend. So although the weather was a little more wet then I would have requested, it was a great little celebration for just the 2 of us.

A little Classroom Love?

I am settling in quite nicely into my new routine. We started with WW2 which happens to be one of the better chapters so things are going great. I've put a few things up on my walls and even got the key terms wall mostly finished. (I wish every day that I didn't throw out last year's sets).

I only have one thought. Could I possibly get my room vacuumed? I've been in there 3 weeks now and not once has a custodian vacuumed my room. I have to go up and down the aisles at the end of the day and pick up what I can with my hands. I am a huge believer of a clean and orderly room. So a little vacuuming would go a long way with me. I realize that my room may not look like it needs it terribly, but I would just like a little classroom loving.

Not Cool

The wind up in these parts - I tell ya - Its a miracle our house is still standing. Our fence, however, has not been so lucky. The joy of homeownership. I'm beginning to think its not what its all cracked up to be.

The best part of this story is that this is the second half of the fence to blow down. The first half was already appraised and our insurance company has agreed to cover the costs. Then, our neighbors were going to arrange the appointment to have it fixed. And THEN the rest of the fence blew down.

So how does that work appraisal wise cuz I'm pretty sure the insurance company isn't going to come back out and pay us the difference since it took us a week more to do anything.

Bleh. Not Cool.

Green Thumbs Up

Since getting our Jack LeLane juicer, we have been juicing everything we can get our hands on. It is quite delightful; and a little expensive.

And so we've become gardners. We've planted not 1, not 2, but THREE citrus trees in our backyard. Lemon, Orange, and Grapefruit.

I just can't wait until they start producing fruit. I want so much fruit, that I have to put it in boxes and give it away! So exciting.

A Seriously Unfortunate Event

Remember that one time when our garage was broken into and stuff was stolen out of the cars? Yeah, that was bad. But this was way worse. Our house was broken into the other day.

Can you imagine it? Right in the middle of the day, some stranger used a crowbar to force the door open and come into our home. First they tried the back door, and when that attempt failed, they moved to the garage door to the outside. Then in through the laundry room and proceeded to make their way through the house picking up what their arms could carry. Stolen items include my jewelry box, camera, and our PS3 system.

Looking on the brighter side of things, of course it could be way worse. More things could have been taken, more could have been damaged, more could have been done. But for some reason, I am having a hard time focusing on the brighter side of things. And answer me this: Jesus teaches us to pray for our enemies. How am I suppose to pray for this individual to feel remorse enough to repent of their sin and be accepted into the presence of the Father one day? I just can't seem to find enough love for that yet.

Of course we have taken all the natural measures and increased the number of locks on our doors and upgraded our alarm system. But it is still a little scary knowing we are vulnerable for such evildoers. Sad story.

Missing my book

I miss this history book. Today was my first day starting with the World History classes and looking over their book was a minor nightmare. Paragraph after paragraph with no highlighted or clear information. For someone who has taught this course 8 times, I should not be as confused as I am while reading this text. Seriously, this is lame-o stuff. It is no wonder kids don't like history.

In regards to the classes, I think that things are going to be good. I only saw 2 classes today being that they have block scheduling and today was my prep day. And there was the other sub in there from the past several weeks. Lets just say it was like a fake day. And the next 2 days are CAHSEE testing (which I pronounce K.C. and they pronounce Cassie; I think my way is better) so there won't really be any classes then either. BUT - I am excited about it and am hopeful that this might get me in the door for next year. Maybe