"Bella" meets the gang! :-)

Well.  Bella met the family today.  She was finally able to come out of the garage and into the house.  (Vet said) :-)  

She is safe from Parvo now, had her shots, and in the house!

It went much better than I thought it was going to go!  I can tell that there will be some disagreements between her and Chloe over food.  Some disagreements between her and Pudge over butt sniffing.  Some disagreements between her and myself over WALKING AROUND ON THE TOP OF THE COFFEE TABLE.  Some disagreements with Seth over shoe chewing.  And some with Bishop over the idea that CATS should NOT be inside.  :-)

I keep telling everyone to be careful because she is a street dog.  She's tough!  :-)

Hopefully we all make it.  I'll keep you posted!  :-) 

Stray-Animal magnet.

Okay.  So why does this happen to me?  :-)

I was on my way to work today and saw this puppy.  Scared to death.  Darting across a busy street, hiding under cars.  Of course I stop.  :-)  I try to get the puppy to come out to me... and she just starts darting across the street even worse!  I try to tempt her with potato chips.  (hey- it's the only thing I had in my car)  I finally just grab her and pull her out from under a car after I see her almost get hit.  

I put her in my lap.  We drive home- to the garage.  (aka- the animal shelter) I noticed that I still had the kennel out there from the cat that I had saved about a week later.  I can't help myself.  I have to laugh out-loud.

I call work.  I am going to be late.

I call Animal Control.  Leave a message.  He is out on a call.  Oh great... Now I have to sit here and look at this poor baby.  :-)

I get her some food and water, and she goes to town on it!

Finally, an hour and half later, I have to go to work.  The baby will just have to stay the night in the garage.  Animal Control can come in the morning.  :-)

So... off to work I go.  I get home and give her a bath since she was COVERED in transmission oil.

Animal Control will come in the morning so everything is fine! :-)

Well.... Animal Control came.... and left.... without her!  :-)

Hey- I am attached now!  :-)  She was not micro-chipped.  No one had reported her missing.  So- she is staying!  Off to the Vet tommorow for shots and check-up!  :-)

Girls Day!

Katie and I have had our first "Monday is Girl's Day."  Will DEFINATELY not be out last! Maybe even every Monday.  Or at least once a month or something.  All I know is it was SUCH a great day!

We hung out and got caught up on some "girl-talk" which was very much needed!  :-)

We then went to Applebees and got the "Two-for-Twenty!"  WOW! Did we eat!  And eat! And eat!  Then we got the new desert.  Can't remember what is was called but it is crushed cookie crust.  Then peanut butter ice-cream.  Then a layer of peanut butter.  Then Whipped cream.  Then chocolate syrup.  OMG!  So...we ate some more!!! :-)

Then we wobbled home.  :-) Hung out for a bit more.  And went to Jack and Lane's to hang out for a bit.  Which was awesome too!

We talked to Jack about his new garden. (Man- that man is talented) We talked to Lane about all of our "virtual farms" :-), we facebooked, ate an awesome salad which I must find out how to make, and sat at the table and talked about ALL kinds of things.  :-)

When Jack crashed out for the night, us three girls all got on facebook and played around.  :-)

What a great day!  I can't wait till next Monday.  I am going to Fresno!  This is going to make my weeks so much easier to push through.  

Good times with best friends make life!!!

Life is GOOD!

KABOOM!

What a great day!  I was able to be part of something great today!

Kaboom! is a non-profit organization in which Lemoore Parks and Recreation has been working with in order to get a playground built for a community in dire need of one.

And it all came together today.  All of the hard work payed off!  We had over 300 volunteers out today, all rushing to build a playground in one day!  Well, we accomplished that... and so much more!  The playground was not the only thing built.  Friendships were built, a sense of hope for this community was built, connections amongst very different people were built, and a sense of community was built.  I was so proud of everyone.  Of my community.  Of Parks and Recreation.  Of the members of this neighborhood in need.  Of Kaboom!  Of all the volunteers.  And of human kind as a whole.  

Word was spread through the media outlets that this community had no place for all the children to play.  That it was a low-income neighborhood.  And that they were finally going to get a safe place for their kids to play.  Off of the streets!  Having to get 300 volunteers seemed scary at first.  However, as soon as the word got out... it was DONE!

The day came- and we had OVER 300 people.  All working so hard to get this done in one day so these kids in this neighborhood have something to be proud of.  

I went out there yesterday.  The day before build day.  The land was being leveled.  That's it!  Everything else would be done today!

I was not there at 8 am when it all started.  I had worked a graveyard so I needed to get a couple of hours of sleep.  I got there at noon... and this is what I drove up on.

Seeing the looks on the kids faces at 4pm when we did the ribbon cutting ceremony was awesome!  I am SO inspired!  What a hard day that was worse every blister from shovels, every drop of sweat that burned the eye, every clump of dried concrete on my body, and every bit of sunburn. 

Project of the day!

Lately it seems that I have a project to do everyday that I am off work.  Which I am kind of enjoying.  It's nice to have things to do around the house when you have the time.

Today's project has actually been a thorn in my side for some time now.  My sister and I decided, out of the blue of course, to paint one of the walls in my spare bedroom.  The room is all black and white with one red accent- the awesome red velvet headboard.  

So.... I was thinking of painting the one wall behind the bed black.  But Caitlan says, "NO!  We have to do black and white strips!"  NEVER AGAIN!  :-)

So...we get busy taping off our stripes.

And then... on to painting.  Well, I started painting.  By this time, Caitlan had realized that it wasn't much fun.  She was already out with her friends.  :-)

So...off comes the tape.  That tape that took so long to get it put up in straight lines.  

Drum roll....and....I HATE it!  Because of the texture of the walls, the paint lines are not straight. 

So, needless to say, I have to figure out something to do!  I took a few days to do that.  :-)

I then decided to get red velvet ribbon that matched the headboard and attach it to the walls, covering those hideous lines.  

About 50$ worth of ribbon and every kind of wall adhesive.... and I am ready!

Only problem is.... the day after carefully gluing every strip of ribbon on... it's all on the ground.  :-)

So.... plan C? D? I lost track.  :-)

I think today I finally finished it!

It was a pain in my butt, and I will most likely never do strips again.  However, I LOVE it now.  I think the harder things are to get accomplished, the more you appreciate them when they DO get accomplished!

Until next project..

African Violets

Katie posted a blog about her African Violets from her and Zack's wedding, and it was so nice to hear her talk about them.  I, also, LOVE my two African Violets from her wedding.  Every day while I am standing at the kitchen sink, I look at them and smile.  It is so nice to have a reminder right there, in your house, of how beautiful that day was.  Every time I look at them, I remember another part of that very special day and it always makes me smile.  

Now, Katies are a lot bigger than mine.  I still had them in the same pots they were in at the wedding.  So- after seeing Katie's post, off I went to Lowe's to get them bigger pots, African Violet soil, and African Violet food.  They are so happy now.  They are already getting bigger.  

Katie and Zack- what a great gift to send home with people.  Just know that they are very much appreciated by a lot of people!

I love Spring!

I love Spring weather.  (Just wish my allergies loved it as well!)

Seth and I decided to grill a Tri-tip on the grill, make twice-baked potatoes, and steamed Zucchini for dinner tonight.  The weather was so nice, and I just love being out in the backyard now, so we decided to eat outside.  It was so nice!  Probably didn't help my allergies any, but hey- I can't stay cooped up inside all the time!  :-)

As I was in the kitchen making the potatoes, I kept hearing loud bird chirping.  As I approached the window, I noticed that there was a nest in one of my homemade wreaths on the front door.  I was so excited!  There wasn't a bird in the nest- but several right outside my front porch- apparently standing guard.  (Making a lot of racket!)

So I ran outside to snap some pictures before Mommy bird returned home!

As I was taking the photos, I realized....there's eggs inside!!!!  Man, I love Spring!

As I was snapping the photos, the "guard birds" were going crazy.  I assume they were alerting Mommy bird that there was an intruder.  So, I quickly snapped the picture of the eggs, and ran inside.  I just can't wait until these babies hatch!  My front porch will most likely be very loud...but worth it!

Just another reminder that....."Life is Good!"

First trip to the Delta!

Seth and I went to Susan and Dale's boat over Easter weekend, and had a blast!

We just hung out, had an awesome tri-tip dinner, cruised around, watched seals play in the water, got the boat in the largest dock slip EVER, :-) went to West Marine (where I bought an awesome pair of boat shoes), got the boat all tied up, and headed home.

It was such a nice weekend!  We have decided to take Kelly Day up there and keep it at the same Marina, so I am looking forward to a great summer.  :-)

Getting it together!

Okay.  I will be better!  :-)

I now have a computer that is not so difficult just to log on to, so I am now up and running again.  

Expect some posts from me finally.  :-)

Love you all.

Remember- Life is good!

Birthday dinner at Susan and Dale's house!

Last night we went over to Susan and Dales to celebrate Dale and I turning one year older. Which, by the way, happens for the both of us on the same day. That's right. We have the same birthday! :-)

It was really a nice night! Zack and Katie were able to make it! YAY! So, we were all there!

We had onion dip (my favorite) with crackers. Then, pizza and wine! Shush! My "dessert" wine is good with anything. :-) And, then...brownie with homemade peppermint ice-cream! Oh my!!!

And, of course, Dale and I opened gifts and cards. We got Dale a bottle of Scotch and a Obama campaign CD. I think I will be bugging him in the near future for a copy of the CD. :-)

Dale and Susan got me a gift card to Maurices. I love that store! A pet store/groomer addition for my Snow Village. A Valentines plate, cute heart napkins that are now hanging on my stove, and M&M's.


My Snow Village Pet Store


Zack and Katie got me a bunny rabbit Jim Shore. He is officially my most favorite of all of mine now. And.... Rain boots!!! With peace signs all over them! AMAZING! I love those two!



Isn't he the CUTEST!


This birthday has just gotten better and better!It was really a fun night.

We sat around the living room and talked about aliens, our favorite tv shows right now, Area 41, and traveling in time faster than everyone else and them aging but not you (still confused on that one Zack- I need more instruction.) :-)

I am so glad that we were all able to get together and just have a chill hang out night. It was really nice. Seth and I are looking forward to the next one!

Once again, a reminder to me that...Life Is Good!

Birthday Trip to Tahoe!

Just got home from such an amazing trip to South Lake Tahoe for my Birthday! It was the first time to Tahoe for both me and Seth. Definately won't be the last! It is so amazingly beautiful there. It makes you fall in love with yourself, each other, mother nature, and those around you! Not sure if that makes sense, but that is the feeling that I had.... just pure LOVE for everything! It reminded me once again that.... LIFE IS GOOD!

We left the house at 10:00am on January 14. And yes... that is later than the planned 8am departure, but oh well! We were off! Getting onto the freeway I am thinking... "YAY!, I have both cameras...I think, plently of gas in the tank, do I have the hotel confirmation? I think so. The money was left for Katchie (animal-sitter), I left very detailed instructions for her on what to do with all the animals. Gosh I hope all the animals are okay. Did we pack enough warm clothes? Am I going to have to buy chains? No... I don't want to put chains on. I won't! We will just turn around and come home. Man, this breakfast burrito is going to be GOOD! RANDELL- STOP! You are thinking too much! You are on your way to Tahoe for your birthday! It's going to be fun! So sit back and drive... 41 to 99 to 50! Easy!" Awwwww! This is nice!

And down 41 we went! And then... BAM! The fog has us going about 15 miles per hour. Seth and I look at each other. We can both tell that we are thinking the same thing; this is going to be a LONG day! A little ways down, there is an accident and Highway Patrol has us pull off the freeway and take a detour on the old freeway. So, about twenty minutes later we are pulling back on to the freeway. Still, however, driving 15 miles per hour. And then, all of a sudden, NO FOG! Sunny skies! And we're off.....again!

On to 99. Wow! These people drive like maniacs! I HATE 99! After driving in two lanes the whole way, people spending past like the traffic will not affect them like it does everyone else, cardboard flying out of trucks and slamming into my windshield, I see it! The sign that says 50- South Lake Tahoe! Yay!!!!!!

On to 50! Almost immediately it begins to get beautiful! 30 minutes later I am out of the car already, snapping photos. Let the photo taking BEGIN!

We get into Tahoe and it is beautiful! People walking around dressed in "snow gear" with their boards in hand. I notice that everyone else seems to be as happy as I am! This is going to be a good time, I can already tell.

We get to our hotel, Harrah's Casino. Check in with no gliches! Get to our room. Very nice! His and her bathrooms! What a wonderful idea! A woman HAD to have thought this up! He can leave his seat up and toothpaste in the sink... and I DON'T CARE! :-) And the view from the room was gorgeous! See...

We relaxed for a little bit (ten minutes was all I could handle), and then it was off to explore! We decided to go ice-skating at an outdoor ice rink. It was a 2 minute walk from the hotel. So after dropping a couple of bucks into some slot machines (penny slots of course), down the street we went. I was SO excited! Of course, that is because I thought that I would be good at it and that I would even be BETTER than SETH! This was SURE to be fun for me! :-)

Well... that is not exactly how it ended up happening. :-) I was AWFUL! Seth was abnormally good! I would have sworn that he had once been in the olympics for figure skating. Okay- not that good, but pretty darn good!

Seth continued to speed past me, going what seemed to be 70+ mph, while I hung on for dear life to the side as if falling would mean DEATH! Every once in a while, speeding past me (don't forget- at 70+mph) just was not good enough for Seth, and he would add in a little fast turn, ice flying every where, trick in there. I swore if I ever made it away from my little 3 foot high "security blanket" wall, out into the center of the rink where he was...I was going to KILL him!

Then it happened. I fell. HARD! Everyone gasped! It was, well, wet and cold! Right then, Seth came speeding up (70+mph) and took my hands and pulled me up. AS HE WAS SKATING BACKWARDS... CHEWING BUBBLE GUM! That's enough I thought! :-)

I told Seth... "it's because you tied your skates better!" :-) So off the rink we went for him to tie mine "better."

Well... that wasn't it! hehehe

I never did get much better. I stayed to my wall and did a sort of walk/shuffle thing. Seth continued to get better. Which was something that I did not think was possible at the beginning.

I finally decided that the REAL reason that I wasn't doing good was because the ice wasn't fresh. It had skate marks in it! All those damn little kids had skated around too much on it. :-) Yes- those LITTLE kids were SKATING AROUND! The whole time thinking I am sure... "get off the ice ol' lady!" hahaha

It didn't matter who was better (which is what we say when Seth is the one that is better), We both had a BLAST!

Then we were off to Harvey's Casino for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. This place always makes me miss my Mom and Dad! We sat at a cute table for two, and enjoyed our big ol' cheeseburgers and fries. I was freezing the whole time, and even asked the waitress if there was a hidden fan blowing. Just on me. :-) We later realized that I was so cold because I was WET from ICE-SKATING! hahahaha

After dinner we went back to the room to get dressed and relax before our 9pm comedy show. The "big" comedian was the Dad off of the show Thats's So Raven. Super funny! We laughed the whole show!

After the show, we were EXHAUSTED! We knew we needed a good nights rest for the upcoming day. BIRTHDAY DAY!

Then, Birthday day is here! YAY!

We woke up early, by alarm even, that day (8am). We got ready and went and ate breakfast at the Forrest Buffett. It was on the 18th floor of our hotel, and had amazing views!

We had been told that it was the best buffett in Tahoe and that we had to try it. Boy, were they right! Corned beef hash and bisquits and gravy Birthday breakfast, and this girl is HAPPY! :-)

Once we were as full as we could get, we headed out for the day.

We went to Heavenly Village and purchased tickets for the Gondola, and the Zip Flyer! We couldn't wait to ride the Gondola up this beautiful mountain and then zip line back down half of it. (The longest zip line in theUnited States).

So, up we go...

We got to the mid point of the mountain, and you can get out to take pictures and what not. Wow!
Then, back on the Gondola for the rest of the ride. We got to the top and it was so beautiful! We immediately went to check in for the zip line. It was 10am. The guy, armed with a sad face, informs us that the zip line has been closed due to high winds! He said that we should wait around until 1 to see if they opened it again. And, that if it was not open at 1, then it would be closed for the day. :( So, since we don's ski.... we grabbed some Starbucks and took a seat to people watch!

We started to get a little crazy around noon.

At 1:05, we walked up to the zip-line shack and was told the bad news. No zip line today! So, we were refunded our money and... back down the mountain we went!

We then walked around some shops. Found a LOT of snowboarding clothing that I SO wanted. Problem is... that I don't snowboard. :-)

We then went back to the hotel, and I was DETERMINED! I just KNEW that I was going to win big. Because, come on, it's my birthday! So, we played some slots. I was up a few times, down a few times, back up a few times, and in the end.... DOWN! But- I had a hell of a time losing that money! :-)

We then went to the room to get ready for dinner. I wanted to go to a nice little Italian restaurant for my birthday. We asked the conceirge where to go and she said she had the "perfect" place. Man was she right! It was a cute little place named Scusas. It was DELICIOUS!

We had an appetizer of roasted garlic. YUM! I had the carbonara, which was to die for. Seth had shrimp scampi linguine. He said that it was also to die for! We then had a dessert of our choice, on the house, since it was my Birthday! I chose the brownie with homemade ice-cream and raspberry syrup! Double YUM! And, the best of all, NO SINGING! :-) We will definately be going back here on our next trip!

We then went back to the room, changed, and headed to Cabo Wabo! This place also made me miss my parents terribly! There was a middle-aged gentleman that continued to throw up his "rocker fingers" every time a song came on that obviously took him back in time. Man, where is my Dad when I need him! :-)

There was a live band there, and they were really good! It was a great time! I had some birthday drinks, and was having a blast! What a good ending to a great birthday!

I crashed hard that night! We were both so tired! When we woke up the next morning (traveling back home day), we grabbed some Starbucks breakfast downstairs (at noon). We checked out :-( and got in the car to drive around the town a little. We stopped at a couple of places, and went into a couple of stores. Then, headed home. It was a little sad driving away from town, and seeing the views disappear in the rear view mirror, but we both knew that it would NOT be our last time in Tahoe. And, we still have plenty of things that we want to do next time! And that damn zip line better be open! :-)

We had a good drive home. Stopped in a cute little town, Placerville, on the way home for some In-N-Out Burger! Yum! And finished home.

The dogs and cat where as excited as ever to see us walk in the door, which is always nice to come home to. And, the "report card" from the dog sitter was glowing! :-) She said that Chloe's barking was down to a minimum and that she was now even letting her scratch her head and chin! :-)

We were TIRED! We munched on some snacks, looked at our pictures on the computer, and then crashed for the night. The next morning was back to work for me. :-(

What a good birthday trip! Anyone ever need a place to go and "get-away," I completely recommend Tahoe! And, can I go with you? :-)

As I got into bed that night, I couldn’t help but think, man, LIFE IS GOOD!