Life in Sunny San Diego

Comedy.

2010-11-01T19:48:00.001-07:00

Me: "Your drug test was positive for meth."
Client: "I knew the lady at Starbucks gave me a funny look when she handed me my latte."
Me: "So, you're saying a Starbucks barista slipped meth into your drink and that is why your drug test was positive?"
Client: "Yes! Can you believe it!?"
Me: "Yes I can, actually."
Client: "Really?"
Me: "No and neither will the judge."
Client: "You can't say I didn't try...."

That is my life as a social worker. At times it can be stressful, emotionally draining, and heart wrenching but then something like this happens and I can't help but be grateful for the hilarity it also brings to my life.

Vote!!

2010-10-22T11:56:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I submitted a few photos from my travels to msnbc.com's travel section. Well, this week it is featured in their photo contest!!

And best of all, the photo they chose ( you can submit 3 at a time) is one of my photos from my trip to India... of Agra Fort! I'm so excited... that was one of my favorite places and one of my favorite photos!

Go here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38060532/

Click on Agra Fort and vote!

Update.

2010-10-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

In regards to the last post, I ended up buying this dress:

http://www.eshakti.com/clothpdpage.asp?catalog=Clothes&cate=day+dresses&productid=CL0020022&pcat=

And, I love it. I am addicted to that website and have gotten several co-workers to buy stuff off there, too. I just bought a few more things since after I purchased that dress they sent me a $15 gift certificate AND some 10% coupons, which I can combine. How awesome is that?

In other news... did I ever mention that I won a trip to Maui? Thanks to NBC739, I won a trip back in May. When I saw my name flash on the screen while I was getting ready for work, I started to scream so loud that AJ thought something was wrong with me. We finally booked our trip, Dec 13-18. We will be flying Hawaiian Airlines and staying here:

Yes, that would be the Grand Wailea!
I'm so excited. I wish we could go right now.

I can't believe it's already October. Where did this year go?

Obsessed.

2010-07-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me well, probably knows that I love dresses. I have discovered a new website that I love and browse everyday trying to decide which dresses I want!
www.e-shakti.com.

The best part is, you can customize the length, type of sleeves, etc. You can also input your measurements for a better fit for a small fee.

Anyway, I want this:
http://www.eshakti.com/clothpdpage.asp?catalog=Clothes&cate=day+dresses&productid=CL0020022&pcat=

And this:
http://www.eshakti.com/clothpdpage.asp?catalog=Clothes&cate=day+dresses&productid=CL0019612&pcat=

And this:
http://www.eshakti.com/clothpdpage.asp?catalog=Clothes&cate=day+dresses&productid=CL0016590&pcat=

And maybe this:
http://www.eshakti.com/clothpdpage.asp?catalog=Clothes&cate=day+dresses&productid=CL0019861&pcat=

I am also obsessed with Yogurtland. Not just Yogurtland, but their special flavors. I was so disappointed with they took away the Red Velvet Cupcake Batter flavor that I refused to go back for a few weeks. But now Yogurtland has redeemed itself by bringing in the Chocolate Coconut Truffle flavor (hello, Almond Joy!). My co-workers and I go to Yogurtland at least 3 times during the week. Yesterday, I had it for lunch (and because I put some mango on top, I considered it healthy).

2010-05-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted anything. Mainly because we haven't really traveled anywhere. We did make the road trip from San Diego to San Francisco a few weeks ago and what an amazing drive!

Here are a few photos:

Purple Sand!

In other news, I signed up to run a 5k race in August. I started training for it this week using the "Couch to 5k" training program. The only thing I have done different is run for 5 days instead of 3. AJ signed up to run the same race, only he will be running a half marathon! We have enjoyed running together in the evenings. I think I may actually like to run. Who knew!

We are also starting a Biggest Loser competition at work on June 1st. Each competitor puts in $20 and after 8 weeks whoever lost the most percentage of weight loss will win the money pot! There is about 15 of us so far, so I'm determined to win. I'm hoping the 5k training will help out with that.

The AJ was accepted into his dream school/program, UCLA, for the fully employed MBA program. While he was studying for the GMAT (for MBA admissions), I became a GMAT widower. Come September, I will be a MBA widower. I'm so proud of him, though! UCLA FEMBA program is ranked 2 in the nation! He was also accepted to USC and UCI. UCI gave him a scholarship and a fellowship, too!

I guess that's all for now! :)

Namaste!

2010-01-09T23:15:00.000-08:00

Just a few of my favorite photos from my trip....

Some things I learned about India/Indians while in India:

Everyone is OBSESSED with having fair skin. While I knew about this already, I didn't know the degree of the obsession. Every other commercial on tv is for a skin "fairness" or "whitening" cream, most are made by Neutrogena! Younger kids sometimes put talcum powder on their skin to make it look lighter, but it only makes them look gray.
The air is incredibly smoky. I was told that once you land on the plane, you smell poo-like smells, but I'm glad that was wrong. You can smell the smoke in the air once you start to descend. You get used to it though.
Two lanes of traffic consists of 4 lanes of cars/autos/bikes across. It was scary at first, but then I realized how it works because people actually PAY ATTENTION while they drive. They all drive so close together, make sudden turns, and change direction quickly. If that were to happen here, there would be accidents galore. One day the rickshaw we were in did bump into a car, but they just looked at each other and went on their ways.
Going back to the fairness thing... I did stick out in public, in some areas. The area where I stayed is filled with all the government building and embassies, so you do see other white people around who live there. However, it did not stop men from taking photos of me. A few asked to take a photo, then pushed AJ out it, haha. Others would hold their camera down near their waist and snap photos as I walked by. Next time, they should try turning off the shutter noise. It made me laugh. If they would have asked, I could have at least posed.
People don't go to work until about 9-10am. The sun didn't rise until after 7am, but still! Granted, they don't leave work until after 6 or 7pm, which explains why everyone eats dinner at 10pm.
The poverty in some areas is so sad. Women and children often go up to the car windows and ask for money. But I was told not to give them any since if you give it to them, you will suddenly see about 10-15 others right up at your window.
Indian food really is yummy. So is a delightful, refreshing drink called fresh lime soda.
There is so much history there. We saw some monuments dated back to the 1200's. Most of what I saw were from the 1500-1600's, and it was all so beautiful and had so much detail in the architecture.
Everything is incredibly cheap (which makes me understand my boyfriend's frugal tendencies even more now). Seriously, we would take a taxi for several miles and it would only be about 50-60 rupees, aka about $1.
EVERYTHING is negotiable. While shopping for some gifts to bring home, I would pick out something I liked and then AJ would negotiate the cost with the shop owner. There were times we would walk out of the store and be 2 stores down and the dude would call us back in and agree with our price. It was so much fun to negotiate and argue! It's all very dramatic.
If you are a foreigner, expect to be ripped off at some point by locals selling things or asking to be your "tour guide". Even at the national monuments it happens. For example, it cost 100 rupees for AJ to get into the Taj Mahal while it was 750 rupees for me.
Don't make eye contact with anyone selling anything or else they will bug you until you yell at them to stop. They don't understand the word no. Good thing I had my sunglasses!

And finally... it really is a beautiful country! Delhi is a huge city and was SO much fun! The crazy traffic, people everywhere, open air markets, old buildings, etc was so different from anything I had ever seen before.

Hello from... India!

2009-12-31T02:13:00.000-08:00

I finally made it! After a total of 24 hours of travel time... I am in Delhi! I'm not as jet lagged as I thought I would be. I didn't sleep much on the trip from Newark to Delhi, so I could adjust to the time difference. I slept until about 11am this morning though!

We haven't done much today. We walked to a local market area to get some lunch; Indian-Chinese food is so yummy! We will be going out for NYE tonight, so we came back to relax since it will be a late night. Although, Rhea did have a Thai massuese come in and gave me a fabulous much needed massage!

The traffis here is INSANE. Sure, there are traffic lanes, but no one follows them. Apparently, they are just "guidelines". Most people drive in the middle of the lanes and will stop suddenly to try to cross 5 lanes of traffic to turn somewhere. Scooters are everywhere and there is constant horn honking! There are also tons of roundabouts that have made me feel like we just drive in circles!

The air is smoky but it's somewhat warm and sunny!

I'll try to update this during my trip so I don't forget any details. :)

2009-11-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

I haven't updated this in forever. But anyway...

Madyson is now almost 3 months old! Sorry for the bad quality. I can't seem to find my camera charger so these were taken with my phone.

That is all :)

Madyson is here!

2009-08-21T17:05:00.001-07:00

Madyson FINALLY arrived on 08/20/2009. She weighed 8lbs 3 oz and has a full head of beautiful auburn hair! She is just so gorgeous....

Grammy and Madyson!

Proud daddy!

Madyson's stats!

Holding daddy's fingers!

First family photo

Proud Papa!

Auntie Kayla and Madyson

Mama and her beautiful girl!

1 day old!

Sushi Cupcakes

2009-06-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

I LOVE sushi... so when I found these cupcake "sleeves" that look like seaweed, I didn't think twice about buying them. I've had them for about 3 months, but this was my first chance to use them!
They came out so cute! And were, of course, very yummy :)

Yellowstone... a sneak peek.

2009-05-26T16:07:00.000-07:00

Boston

2009-05-16T07:20:00.001-07:00

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Boston. What a beautiful city! The only downside is that my camera died on Sunday afternoon, so some of the pics were taken with AJ's phone. Above is Trinity Church!

Inside the Boston Library

Newbury Street!

BEAUTIFUL Boston Common park right in the middle of the city...Tulips EVERYWHERE!

Fenway Park!

View of the city from the south end of Boston.

Cool graveyard in Cambridge.

Harvard!

Harvard Library. We tried to go in but you have to have a student ID.

These are dorms at Harvard...so cool.

Crazy looking dorms at MIT!

North end view of Boston.

Sam Adams' grave.

John Hancock's grave.

Beacon Hill!

View of Cambridge

Marlborough Street... the street I want to live on.

Boston Common park again. I made AJ go there with me each day so I could see the tulips.

KFC is mean.

2009-05-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, I was one of the 10 million people who downloaded the free KFC meal coupon. It's a free meal and I love their cole slaw and biscuits. However, when I tried to use it today, I was informed that they are no longer accepting the coupons because of "high demand." BUT just wait! If you fill out this annoying form, while sitting in the drive-thru holding up everyone else who is trying to order, KFC will mail you a RAIN CHECK coupon in 2-3 weeks!

Who does that?

So I decided to pay the 5 bucks for my meal (although several cars backed out of the drive-thru once told they couldn't use their coupon). When I got back to my office, I opened up the bag and saw a coupon for a free drink with your next meal purchase. Only, that coupon expired a week ago.

KFC is voted off the island.

That's our new phrase that we use at work when people drive us nuts.

On a good note....we leave for Boston tonight!

Strange Day

2009-05-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

I don't blog very much, but today is a day that needs some blogging.

So today, I decided that Chick-fil-a would be good for lunch. I head down there and see the Cows standing outside holding signs that every 10th order in the drive-thru is FREE! I pull into the drive-thru and am waiting patiently in the long line. I look onto Sports Arena Blvd. and notice that the Cows have jumped into the street and are helping man push his car into the gas station. At first I thought "how nice of them! I would have just pretended not to see him" but then I started to laugh. People kept honking as they drove by, but not to be rude. I mean really, to see people in Cow costumes pushing a car down the street, is just funny.

Oh, and I didn't get free lunch. I was car number 9! If I had won though, I would have ordered more food.

On my way home from work, I noticed that there was a group of people outside the Scientology building downtown. But, they were wearing masks from the movie, V for Vendetta. It was pretty creepy. Apparently, Scientologists don't pay taxes? That's what the signs said, anyway. Why they chose those masks, I don't know but to see like 15 people wearing them holding big, neon, green signs, is just strange.

I was interviewing this cute little girl today at her school. When I asked her if her mommy was at home or if she works, this is the response I got: "well she works but now she is at home because she has to wait 2 days to see if she has the Swine flu."

LOVELY.

Some Thoughts

2009-04-29T21:10:00.001-07:00

I am highly annoyed at the Swine Flu. Not just because it is going to disrupt my trip to Cancun next month, but I'm just tired of hearing about it. Yes, people have died. Yes, people in the US (and San Diego) have it. But I'm not going to start walking around with a mask just yet. I had about 5-7 people ask me today if I had canceled my Cancun trip yet and when I say that I haven't, it results in a *gasp!* "why not? are you crazy?" Yes, I am. I really want this Pig Flu so I can use my 110+ hours of sick time. Duh. Honestly, the main reason of not canceling yet is due to Continental Airlines. They will only "re-route" trips planned up until May 15th, so far.
Speaking of masks....Today, I ran to Target for much needed replenishment of my desk's snack drawer and there were these two cute old ladies wearing big white masks. While browsing near them in the same aisle, I sneezed and they gave me a dirty look and waddled away. I couldn't help but laugh. It was hard to stop laughing actually. Even the other woman in the aisle started to laugh too.
We are going to Boston next weekend, if the Pig Flu doesn't disrupt that, too. I've heard Boston is pretty and cute and all historic. It better live up to it. East Coast, here we come!
I am addicted to Wii fit's balance games. They are so much fun.

That is all.

Reason #984798173891 why I won't drink from public water fountains...

2009-04-09T09:40:00.001-07:00

After work last night, I went for a walk through Balboa Park. On the way back to my car, I notice this cute little squirrel running through the park. I watched him run to a water fountain, run up the side of it and then he sat down in the bowl of it. I thought he would drink the water drops from the bowl area, but I was surprised at what he was doing. He stuck his mouth straight into the spicket and sipped the water out.

Gross.

I stopped to watch him but as I was starting to walk away, I thought I had seen water coming out of the spicket. I stopped and looked again and that little squirrel was in fact, holding down the button to have the water flow right out. He took a few good drinks and then ran down.

What a smart little squirrel. I wish I had my camera last night!

Just another reason why I won't drink out of public water fountains. Cute, yes. But so gross.

GERD is NOT my friend.

2009-03-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

Last summer, I started having this weird pain in my upper stomach area. After a few times it happened, I decided to self-diagnose myself with gall stones, per webmd.com's symptom checker (love that thing). Only after two doctor's visits, was I diagnosed with Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease aka GERD, not gall stones aka doesn't make for a good story to tell people.

I haven't had any symptoms in a while, until last night. I always know when I'm going to have an attack because my mid back gets really tight. Then it spreads to my upper abdomen, right under my chest and an enormous amount of pressure builds up. Oh, and 99% of the time it haappens in the middle of the night. No matter how I sit, stand, or lie down, it's uncomfortable. It's not any sharp pain, just pressure that worsens with touch. Usually, I can pop in 3 motrins and it'll go away.

Until last night. I decided to call the Kaiser after-hours nurse people at 4am because it wasn't going away and I needed sleep. They proceeded to tell me that ibuprofren will make it hurt more because it irritates my stomach and I should take something like Tylenol. My doctor failed to mention that part! (gotta love Kaiser) They told me to make another appointment with my doctor if my symptoms last more than 3 days. 3 DAYS? I can't imagine dealing with this for 3 days. I was ready to go to urgent care after 2 hours!

So, I'm running on 3-4 hours of sleep and my stomach is still somewhat tender and making weird noises.

I almost wish I had gall stones because at least I could have my gall bladder removed and be done with it.

The good news is I have tomorrow off work! Thank you Cesar Chavez!

My first car "accident"

2009-03-25T17:35:00.000-07:00

I was minding my own business today, going through the parking lot in front of my office. I headed down the main aisle (like I do everyday) when I see this gold SUV come down the aisle perpendicular to where I am. That aisle ends into mine. Everyone knows when you are going to turn, you stop and look first. Apparently, this SUV driver needs a refresher course of Driver's Ed. Did he stop? Nope. Did he look? Nope.

My car now has a pretty big battle scar. Along the passenger side, from the door to the bumper is a long, wide scratch with some dents.

The SUV driver's excuse was that the sun was in his eyes and he didn't see me coming behind all of the parked cars. Right. That is why he proceeded to hit me and THEN look up in shock. He wasn't even paying attention! It's not like he hit the front bumper of my car, or the back. He hit it smack dab in the middle. My car was already in front of him when he turned.

I'll have photos later. Thanks to my brother in-law who walked over from his office to snap some pictures.

Tempting....

2009-03-12T18:13:00.000-07:00

Click the link to print a 30% off total purchase for Banana Republic (my fave), Gap or Old Navy... works at the outlet stores too.

http://www.gapgiveandget.com/np/lls.html

I may just have to go get some summer clothing this weekend!

March is here already.

2009-03-01T19:11:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's already March!

Anyway, AJ's friends that live in Calgary (who we visited in November) came down for a visit. We met them in Vegas and then they drove back to SD with us. I'm glad the weather cooperated for us, since in Calgary it's been like -5 for them. We had a blast. I love living in SD and had so much fun being "tourist-y" with them.

Dinner at RumJungle in Vegas.

SO much food.

Cresseide, AJ, and Prasad

On Coronado

Cabrillo

La Jolla... it is "pupping" season so a lot of babies were there!

I've lived within 3-5 miles of the USS Midway for nearly 3 years and just now went inside. It is a pretty cool thing to see. I'd recommend it :)

True Pilots. AJ put his headphones to his mouth as his mouthpiece, haha.

Lunch at Mission Beach!

Everyone is so excited about The Bachelor right now. But, I'm nosy and read spoilers. I'm actually pretty disappointed (not in who he picks) but if the spoilers are right, I've decided there is no longer anything "real" about reality tv. It's all fixed at the cost of someone's emotions and life. That's all I'm going to say. But if you like to read spoilers, I'll give you the site (the guy has been right about almost every outcome of past Bachelor seasons).

I'm not ready for a crazy, busy, insane work week that's ahead of me. It's officially "March Madness" in the CPS world and I wish I were still on vacation!

A year of travel

2009-02-15T08:29:00.000-08:00

Last year, we did a lot of traveling. I decided to take one picture from each place we visited, blow them up, make them black and white, put them in nice frames, and use them to decorate my room. Here are the ones I chose!

Officially on vacation!

2009-02-13T17:12:00.000-08:00

As of now, I won't have to go to work until the 23rd. I know it seems like I'm always on vacation, but this next week will be spent relaxing, spending time with visiting friends, and hanging out in Las Vegas. This time off is much needed, as with our office moving to a new location and new management, comes new duties. My job is now much more intensive and this week was spent in and out of a court room and Children's Hospital for pretty much only 2 of the 26 cases I have. So I wasn't able to get much done this week as I had hoped!

I also got my tax refund! I'm saving some of it, but I decided to have some fun with it too. I haven't shopped in a while (I've been a "good" girl and following my budget) so I'm going to do that this week too.

I made these fabulous cupcakes for work. I love cupcakes. They have become a weekly baking item now!

What's up?

2009-01-24T08:18:00.000-08:00

This is what has been going on...

Christmas! McKenna loves the Lion King, so here she is imitating Rafiki and holding up her new baby Simba!

And she got a giant Simba too.
Every present was greeted with, "what's inside?"

Ashley was in town from Texas and Jenn was home from NYC, so we of course, got together and caught up!

We went to 2 Charger games! And had GREAT seats.
This is everyone celebrating when we beat the Colts.

At the Colts game.

AJ celebrating in the parking lot.

This was at the Denver game. Great seats! Our friends won the NBC739 seats and gave them to us!

Spent some time with my cute niece! Here is her monster face. She's too cute.

It's been 80* so we went to the beach!

The end. =)

Oh Canada....

2008-12-13T12:17:00.001-08:00

After visiting Vancouver and the Calgary area, I began to wonder why many Americans choose going to Mexico over Canada. Honestly, I was not initially thrilled about AJ wanting to go there because I thought it was going to be boring and cold. But, I had never heard of some of the beautiful places we saw before I did research on the cities. Canada isn't so lame after all eh, it's actually really pretty and the people are friendly!

The view from the hotel room in Vancouver

View of North Vancouver!

Capilano bridge, so much fun!

Where's AJ?

They already started decorating for Christmas!

On the bridge! It was pretty shaky when people would walk by... I held on tight.

This is on the Treetops Adventure. Once you crossed the bridge you could walk on walkways connected by huge trees. It was pretty cool!

So pretty!

On the bridge!

AJ and his homies.

I joined in.

This is when we went to Calgary. We went to drumheller, which is this cool grand canyon looking place that has the largest number of dinosaur fossil finds in the world. So we went inside this awesome museum with tons of real fossils on display!

On the way to Lake Louise and Banff!

Castle Mountain!

Pit stop in Johnson's Canyon... it felt like winter wonderland! Yes, I was cold.

Cresseide wanted to go sledding but we didn't have a sled, so...

Lake Louise! In the summer the lake is a very emerald green. Now it's frozen over!

AJ and 2 more homies.

Calgary! The view from top of a tower.

Standing on the glass part of the tower... I almost had a panic attack.

A sneak peek...

2008-12-07T21:21:00.000-08:00

Here is a sneak peek into our Canada vacation....

I will post the rest this week, along with details of how I bruised my tailbone :)

3 Day Walk

2008-12-07T10:14:00.000-08:00

Photos from the Susan G. Komen 3 Day, 60 Mile walk! It was one of the best experiences of my life. I can't wait to do it next year already.

Opening ceremonies at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Heading down to the beach... right before we had to go up Torrey Pines.

Grandma and me with Bustin' Out Billy!! He was one who drove around the walk route and would stop to cheer us on. He had his own pins and a different costume everyday!

Another group of route cheerers. These girls were so funny.

Some cheerers in OB on day 2!

The team at dinner at camp!

Thousands of pink tents!

Day 2 - in Mission Beach with grandma's family who came to cheer us on!

My feet! They are still healing from all the blisters. I've never had blisters on my toes before!

Remembrance Tents. Each tent had little notes and thoughts written on them from walks around the country prior to ours.

Day 3 - getting ready to head out!

Get Your Pink On team on Mission Bay!

So was their dad! Too cute.

You can see the lines of thousands of walkers!

I didn't take many photos of day 3... probably because I just wanted to get done! I discovered that rubbing Ben Gay all over my hips and thighs made me feel like I had new legs. We put it on for the last 5 miles of the walk and man, we were walking like it was the first mile of the first day again!

The walk was a very touching, life changing, and emotional experience. We also had so many laughs and SO much fun. The people who come to cheer us on are the ones who truly make the difference. You turn a corner with your legs aching, and your feet in so much pain from blisters, and then you see a small crowd with signs and cheering for you, it makes you keep going. While walking through the victory walk in downtown, with hundreds of people lining the streets to cheer, you can see how genuine and sincere everyone was who was cheering. You don't even know these people around you, and they are so quick to give you a high five and a big smile.
One person said at opening ceremonies, that this walk represents how the world should be. How true that is! I can't wait to do it next year, Nov 20-22, 2009!

These boobs are made for walkin'....

2008-11-20T07:18:00.000-08:00

I'll be walking 60 miles with about 6,000 other women this weekend! I'm excited for the experience, but nervous for my feet. I haven't had a pedicure in months because we've been told not to do so since we need all of our calluses so we don't blister. I bet you can guess what I'll be doing on Monday then!

I'm actually only $8 short of reaching the $2,200 fundraising goal. A man my grandma works with donated $250 to me. I don't even know him and my grandma didn't even know his last name until he presented her with a check. I was pretty much shocked when she called me and told me how much he donated. He told her he was going to donate to me to help me out, but I had no clue he would give me practically all that I had left to raise.

You can still donate though! Every dollar goes towards finding a cure (and some of the funds provides us walkers with food, snacks, and cute pink tents to sleep in!)
click here to go to my website!

On Tuesday, AJ and I are off to Canaduuuhhh. We are going to spend about a day and a half in Vancouver and then will be going to Calgary for 4 days to see his one of his best friends, Prasad and his wife. I'm going to FREEZE but it'll be fun. No traditional Thanksgiving meal for me this year.

Look at how cute McKenna was for Halloween...

I'll post about my walk and Canada when I'm back in 10 days!

Fashion Valley

2008-11-05T07:18:00.000-08:00

I am disappointed in Fashion Valley Mall. Yes, they've always been more of a "high end" mall, but all of a sudden they have become practically ALL "high end!"

The other day, I was walking to Sephora and decided to walk through the entire mall, since I hadn't done so in a while. They just opened a Hermes, Henri Bendel, Barney's Co-Op, Jimmy Choo and much more things I can't afford. It has turned into a bunch of one designer stores, an Old Navy, JC Penny and H&M.

At least they finally put in an Anthropologie! That makes me happy.

Gas!

2008-10-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

I saw gas at Costco today for $2.74. I was shocked. I can't remember the last time I saw gas for under $3. I was so excited that I filled up my tank, when I already was 3/4 full. While inside Costco, a guy ran over my foot and my toe started to bleed. And he didn't even apologize! He just looked at me and said "oh well excuse me." People inside were in a frenzy because one of the sample stations was a free Yoplait. They were acting like they never had yogurt before. It was insanely annoying.

But, I love Halloween time!

A Fabulous Wedding

2008-10-20T20:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from Kirsten's Wedding!! It turned out gorgeous and was so much fun! I'm pretty sure the only crisis was that the zipper of my dress broke before the ceremony, so I was literally sewn into my dress! Everything else turned out great. The pics are out of order and I'm too lazy to put them in order right now.... but enjoy!!

This table setting was gorgeous! The jewels were so pretty.

Apples!

2008-10-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

To get into the "Fall" spirit, AJ and I went to Julian for the day. We went to a local orchard and picked our own apples. I think AJ had more fun kicking the bad apples over the trees (and almost hitting fellow apple-pickers) and eating the good ones. We got about 7lbs of apples for 10 bucks! They had 7 varieties too, and some of types of apples I had never tasted before. But they had Fuji! Since those are my favorite, we got a lot of those.

Afterward, we went into Julian and shared a slice of pie! Julian really does have the best pie.

When in Rome...

2008-09-29T18:01:00.000-07:00

Rome was amazing and HOT. It is beautiful because it is so old, but not very green. It's a lot of buildings and streets, unless you're near the river, that's where the trees are.

The first day we took a Vatican tour. I'm so glad we did a tour because we wouldn't have learned anything! You can just walk through the Vatican on your own, but our little Scottish tour guide dude was very knowledgeable. The Vatican museum is 9 miles long of corridors, but we only did about 2.5 miles of it or so. They have some of the most amazing art pieces in there. Michaelangelo's art was all over the place, and of course, on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel! It was amazing to see the ceiling and to see how he basically had to paint it while up-side down. No pictures of the Chapel though... apparently when Nikon restored the paintings in the 80's, the deal was that they have all the rights to photographs, so we could take pics inside everywhere but there!

The Basilica was beautiful too. Most of the art inside there was mosaics, which I thought was interesting. They had some of the past Pope's altars open, so you could actually see the embalmed Pope, which was pretty much creepy.

I thought the Basilica was a little vain though. It's kind of funny! They have this part of the floor where there are names of other cathedrals around the world, and the length from the front door of the Basilica to the name of the cathedral, is how long those cathedrals are. This of course, was to prove to the world that the Basilica really is the largest cathedral in the world.

I think that probably the coolest thing in Rome was the fresh, COLD, water fountains throughout the city. Water is always flowing through it, so you can stick your head under it to cool off or, as we did a lot, fill up our water bottles. The water was SO fresh and cold, it was awesome. We would look for a fountain wherever we went.

The Pantheon was neat too. It is a huge dome and services are still held there. Kings of Rome are buried inside there. The Trevi fountain was so beautiful! It was peaceful to sit there and watch the water flow.

Here's pics from our first day in Rome... the Vatican, Pantheon, and Trevi Fountain!

Pinecone courtyard inside The Vatican

Inside the Vatican, looking out to Rome!

The Pope walks down this hallway.

Michaelangelo's famous piece, Pieta.

Trevi Fountain!

Pantheon!

Next post... Rome, day 2: Colosseum, Roman Forum, and much more!

Barcelona!

2008-09-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, back to the trip...

After a short time in Paris, we jetted off to Barcelona! Barcelona is a very laid back city. People there are friendly and very helpful. The city is huge, so we did another hop on/off tour thing. Unlike the tour in Paris, which had 9 or 10 stops, this tour had 3 different routes and probably 25+ stops. My favorite part of the trip was taking a cable car up to Barcelona Castell (castle) and having amazing views of the city and of the Mediterranean! We also walked along the beach and played in the water. The water was actually kind of cold, I expected it to be warmer. And, that is when we noticed that I was pretty much the only woman around with a top on. Part of the beach is a topless beach. We saw some young, 20-something's sunbathing that way, but then there would be middle aged and older women, some with children and grandchildren running around. It gives you a culture shock at first, but then you see how natural and nonchalant everyone is about it. All I could think about is how my "girls" would fry in the sun since they have never seen direct sunlight and I plan to keep it that way. They had a lot of shopping and cool outdoor restaurants, too.

It was a pretty cool city. I hear they have a very happenin night life, but we were too tired by the end of the days to see any of it!

You can see how dense the city is behind us!

I was excited because it was the first time I saw the Mediterranean in person.

Barcelona Castell

Olympic rings from 1992 Olympics

The 2 major cathedrals were under construction

Barcelona futbol stadium

Next stop is... Rome! Be prepared for A LOT of pictures. I was camera happy there.

Seriously...

2008-09-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

How cute is my niece?

Paris!

2008-09-09T18:05:00.001-07:00

Paris was by far my favorite city we saw. The architecture was beautiful and the city just had a sophisticated feel to it. We got there late at night and the first thing we did was open our hotel room window to the terrace and we had an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower. The Tower glows blue at night with a white light shining off the top. We got up early and ate breakfast at the hotel and then headed out to the Tower.

We climbed up 668 steps to about halfway of the Eiffel Tower! We wanted to take the lifts to the very top, but the lines were really long. The line to walk up the tower halfway were so short but to take elevators were about 1-2 hours long. So we decided to hike up it! It was tough but so worth it. The view was so beautiful!

After we climbed back down the tower, we headed to a tour bus that would take us all around the main city. We stopped at the Lourve and I was so disappointed it was closed on a Tuesday! But I now understand why it's the largest museum in the world, it was huge! The buildings were beautiful too. The Lourve has several parks around it, which were so pretty. We walked through some gardens all the way up to the Arc di Triumph. It was probably a good 2 miles or so, but was the best way to see that part of the city. We had yummy crepes for lunch. The Champs de Elysees street was filled with so many shops and outdoor restaurants. The atmosphere reminded me of NYC because there were so many people walking around.

After the Arc, we got back on the bus and drove through to see some other sights and eventually ended up at Notre Dame. All the cathedrals are so dark inside, it's kind of creepy. We walked to the Latin Quarter too and then saw more of the city.

I definately want to go back to Paris! There was so much we didn't get to do and see, simply because of lack of time, but it was so worth just spending 24 hours there! Who knows if I'll ever have the chance to go back, so I'm glad I got to see a glimpse of Paris!

The view from our hotel!

BEAUTIFUL views!

We made it! And are very hot and sweaty.

I believe Napoleon's body is in the dome.

The Lourve!!

Arc di Triumph. The pic of me is a bad one. :)

Notre Dame!

Next is... Barcelona! Land of topless beaches.

Europe!

2008-09-02T15:37:00.000-07:00

We are back from our whirlwind trip to Europe! It went by so fast, but felt like we were gone for 3 weeks, since we did so much in such a short time. I took over 700 pictures, so of course won't post them all here. I think I'll go into detail for each city on different posts so it's not a novel here.

First we went to London. AJ's best friend and his wife live there, so we stayed with them. They pcicked us up from the airport Saturday evening and we went back to their place and talked for a bit. Kevin Spacey lives in their building so they showed us his cute little cars in the garage, ha. Sunday, we got up and had breakfast and headed out and about. We went to Tower of London and Tower Bridge, walked along the river, went to St. Paul's cathedral, saw Kensington Palace and Hyde Park which was beautiful. Then we went back home and relaxed before going out to dinner. We went to eat at Levant, which is a middle eastern restaurant and even included belly dancers entertaining us while we ate. We went back and slept early to get some rest.

Monday, we got up sort of later than planned and drove around the city some more. We had more fun in the little car than we did in their condo. We went to Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar and Nestor Square, and just walked around central London. AJ and I left for Paris that evening, so it was a shorter day.

We came back to London on the following Saturday morning. We hung out at Nishant and Rhea's for a bit and then went out to eat some Indian food for lunch! We came back and AJ and I took a much needed nap, since our flight from Rome left at 6:30 that morning and we had been up since 2am! That night we ate dinner at home and then went out to the city for dessert and went to a lounge where Prince William is supposed to frequent, but sadly, he wasn't there that night :( Sunday, Rhea and I hit the shops and wandered around south kensington area. We met the boys for lunch for fish and chips and then drove around the city some more. The 4 of us had a blast whenever we were in the car, for some reason Rhea and I would get very giggly and the boys would argue like a married couple. We had Chinese food that night and then stayed up late at home, since it was our last night there! The boys had a dance off, which Rhea video taped, so I need to get a copy of that, since it was hilarious!! We left Monday morning and got back Monday night US time.

Anyway, here are some photos!

Big Ben and House of Parliament

It smelled so bad in there.

Tower Bridge

Tower of London

St. Paul's Cathedral

Kensington Palace

the boys having fun with the belly dancer

Dinner!

Trafalgar Square
the Globe Theatre

Buckingham Palace

Next post... PARIS!

And....we're off!!!

2008-08-22T07:21:00.001-07:00

We are leaving tonight for Europe!! We will be in London, Paris, Barcelona and Rome!

I still need to finish packing.

Plenty of pictures to come =)

My new favorite lunch item.

2008-08-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

I have found my new favorite lunchtime meal.

I call it my Fabulous Spinach salad.

Fresh Spinach.

This dressing (my fave!!) Brianna's Blush Vinaigrette

And Sargento's Salad Finisher Bistro chicken with chicken, almonds, and tomato basil mozzarella cheese.

Throw it all together and viola! The yummiest salad.

Easy, yummy, and it makes all my co-worker's jealous that I have a fabulous salad while they have an overcooked lean cuisine.

Things that make ya go hmmmm....

2008-08-12T17:59:00.000-07:00

Work is getting busier. I'm scared for September because the kids all go back to school and we will be flooded with reports (aka overly dramatic teachers).

I get to deal with the craziest parents, hands down. Gloria gets a lot of the cases with kids dealing with weird medical stuff and Kathy gets a lot of custody battles. I, of course, get the weirdos. You know, the bi-polar, schizophrenic, manic depressive types. Oh, and a Munchhausen by proxy lady too. That one is a doozie. I also recently met with this one mother who decided to have a full on conversation with a person to the right of her. Only, there was no person. I listened to her ramble and enact scenarios with this invisible person for about 30 minutes. I was actually quite impressed at the quality of the conversation. She used a lot of big words. Schizo or meth addict? Only time will tell.

Next Friday we leave for Europe!! Can't wait, can't wait. We will be in London, Paris, Barcelona, and Rome! 10 days is not nearly enough time, but it's better than nothing!

Here is a cute pic of miss McKenna. She was trying to sneak in a quick drink of pool water. Crazy kid.

Puerto Vallarta!

2008-07-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

AJ and I went to Puerto Vallarta. It was beautiful!! (and humid). We had a lot of fun and enjoyed relaxing. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip.

We went to Yelapa, a secluded beach and village that is only accessed by boat. We walked around downtown PV. And we relaxed on the beach and at the pool A LOT.

And, it only rained one night!

Next month = London, Paris, Barcelona, and ROME!!

Breast Cancer Walk

2008-05-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my cousin and I had a garage sale to raise money for our walk coming up in November. We raised over $700!!! We will split the money, so I'll get over $300, which is AWESOME. I was not expecting to raise that much from a garage sale, but we were pretty excited. We also had some interesting people come by. One couple, who were high as a kite, bought so much stuff, then tried to give us a fake $100 bill. My cousin caught it and told them it was fake and they freaked out. I think they thought we were going to call the police. We just wanted real money! So they gave us another bill and we checked it for watermarks, etc. We had a lot of laughs yesterday.

It was a success and we had a lot of fun with it.

Here is a link to our site!

http://08.the3day.org/goto/kaylabaker

I caved...

2008-04-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

So I caved and started a blog.

I suppose I'll start by saying that AJ and I went to San Francisco this past weekend and we had a blast! We both had never been there before, so we crammed a lot of the tourist-y things into 2 days. We were exhausted yesterday, especially since our flight left at 7am and then we went to work after we got home! But I'm trying to save my vacation time for longer vacations later this year. Anyway, when we first arrived, we picked up a rental car and headed to the Golden Gate and crossed it to Sausalito, where we had lunch! It was such a cute little town. Then we headed to Muir Woods and walked around for a good hour, admiring the beautiful scenery. It was so beautiful! I have always wanted to see redwoods :) After that, we headed to the city and drove down the famous Lombard street, then got lost on our way to our hotel. We stayed at a really nice hotel near Union Square. We relaxed for a few hours, then went out for dinner and walked around afterwards.

The following day, we got up early and headed to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. We had Clam Chowder for lunch then headed out to Alcatraz! That was an interesting experience. The island had so much history and an amazing view of the golden gate and the city. After that, we did a short bay cruise, going under the bridge and cruising around Angel island. We walked around the city after that, and then met one of AJ's friends for dinner. We had Thai and it was so tasty!

It was a great, but short, weekend and we definitely plan on going back again!

Here are a few pictures....