I Am Completely Yours

Missing SoCal

2012-01-30T11:52:00.000-08:00

Most know that I am a SoCal girl, born and raised, and that I am a transplant to the NorCal area. Now there are some pleasant changes that I have experienced. There are the seasonal changes. The leaves are so beautiful during fall and the flowers so bright and cheery during the spring. Also, I love the green, the more trees the better but it's just not home. I miss being in a freezing cold building and walking outside to the bright, warm sun. I miss breathing in the hot air and feeling my skin soak up the rays. I miss being a drive away from a beach, an actual play in the sand, dip your toes in the water beach. It's just not the same here. Obviously there is sun up here but this sun is wimpy. It requires SPF 30 not 75 and that's only in the dead of summer. The feeling is just not the same.

I miss fast paced traffic, drivers who know what a gas pedal is used for as well as side mirrors. I miss people who are too busy with their schedules they forget to pry into yours or the feeling of appreciating a clear day. I mean there are two sides to every coin but when you've spent 22 years on tails, it's hard to switch to heads.

My point is I miss home, the weather, the people, the lifestyle. Maybe this all just came on because I just visited my happy place but I just wish that visiting didn't make the feeling stronger. That's all my whining for today.

Started With Tears, Ended With Tears

2012-01-26T20:44:00.000-08:00

Don't get me wrong, the trip was great but it started and ended a bit rough. I'm getting ahead of myself, let's start at the beginning. Dom and I visited my house this past week. We were having "Christmas" with my family. We flew out on Friday and Came back last night, Wednesday. Now, a smart person would see that there is usually a lot of weather change in January and that if they're scared to fly they would try and work around that. Well, this person isn't so smart..........me.

We arrived nice and early at the airport since that's the only time we could get a ride, and so I killed some time knitting and Dom worked on his laptop. This is the start of a hat. I've made it twice before but I'm really excited about this one for me. :)

Then it was our turn to fly out. It had been raining the past couple of days, but it was clear skies this particular morning, nice and beautiful and sunny. SO not the case 30,000 feet in the air. This was the roughest ride both Dom and I had ever been on. Rough take off and it only continued to get worse. Then the pilot gets on saying, "Ok folks, the crew can only bring you water since it's too turbulent to put the drinks together." About a minute later he gets on again and says, "Well, it's deteriorating fast and we can't do any drinks, the crew needs to be buckled in for their safety." We flew out of our seats at one point, around here is where I started to cry. Poor Dom, he was trying so hard to make me feel better, but I just couldn't hold it together. You see, it's all in my mind and these moments where my mind gets the best of me is where God and I have some good one on one time. I'm thinking I should get the picture and have this kind of time with God when I'm not forced to. Anyway, a super rough landing later, we made it. Phew! I've never been happier to see the Ontario Airport.

Thank goodness I got to see these cute little faces above me to cheer me up after such a horrific experience. Of course, they were occupied with their Mac this and Mac that, but once and a while I would get them to acknowledge my existence. ;) And since I'm the guest of honor, I got to choose where we went for lunch. Da da da daaaa......Rosa Maria's!!!! Double wrapped chicken, rice, and cheese burrito with guacamole on the side. SO GOOD!!!!!!!! Seriously guys, I fantasize about what's pictured below sometimes.

After the amazing burrito was stuffed in my face, we went up to Big Bear for the weekend. Here's a picture from the drive up:

We stayed one night and got to walk around town and enjoy the lovely weather. Of course, I dragged my mom to a yarn shop. I didn't get anything.....can you believe it? Me either. After all that fun we went on home and enjoyed the desert. I got to see friends for dinner Monday night. SO fun. Well duh, they're my friends, of course I find them fun. Catching up is always nice. One of them is getting married so it's nice to talk wedding details and the others have new jobs or new areas they've moved to. So many things going on in their lives to be happy about.

I LOVED playing with my mom's dog Piper. This little girl is a hoot. Her little stick legs move so fast; it's hilarious to watch her run. She's like a ninja. One minute you're sitting on the couch eating a snack and the next she's right at your face standing on top of the pillow behind you eying your food. In the picture above she is standing on top of her kill, a stuffed lobster. Well, it was stuffed before she ended its fluffy little life. I need to come up with a plan to steal her next time I'm home......maybe a sound proof bag?

One of those friends I mentioned before is now a dental hygienist and offered to clean my and Dom's teeth. This is her cleaning up Dom's dirty mouth. It was quite funny talking to her about things while she's digging into Dom's gums. He's all nice and clean now and looking good. :)

Now, our last night there my dad made us this amazing feast. Chicken, tri-tip, green beans and salad. It was SO good, so good in fact that I ate enough for three people......this is where the story goes downhill. I think that second helping of green beans did me in. I was up the entire night and spent the whole next day on the couch sleeping, all of this while running to the bathroom. My stomach hurt so bad at one point I cried.......again. Dom hugged and consoled me. My mom covered me with blankets, propped my pillows, my dad brought me medicine and 7Up, Dom sat by my side and my brothers came home from school early to see how I was doing and to say bye before Dom and I headed home. I did have a cute little Piper cuddle in my lap to make me feel better too (pictured above).

I didn't eat anything but about 10 crackers that whole day so this is what our dinner looked like at the airport. Pathetic huh? It was hard to watch Dom chew on his burger and sip on his milkshake, not because I wanted it but because it turned my stomach just to look at it. Anyway, our flight was on time, we didn't have to wait long, we got a seat in the first row, it was a smooth flight and we got home safe and sound!

So what have we learned? What I learned is that I'm a huge baby whose nerves are as weak as a Hollywood marriage. I can't handle anything. That might be a bit dramatic, I guess the more positive outlook of this trip is that I have family who loves me and I am truly blessed. Let's hope the next time I visit home it will be less dramatic or that I can at least learn to handle myself a little better.

We're Outta Here

2011-11-18T15:23:00.000-08:00

Vacation time baby! Dom and I will be gone for a week visiting friends and family. We will start off meeting up with friends in Fullerton, have a mini Thanksgiving and then road trip it out to Vegas with them (I will be watching What Happens In Vegas today to prepare). Then we'll meet up with my family in Arizona, get our turkey on, then quad our little hearts out. I'm SO FREAKING EXCITED!!!

I can't wait to be home again, places and faces I know and love. It's been too long.

I mean how to do you stay away from these guys that long?

Also, Vegas with friends? Friends that won't get too crazy but will still make it a memorable trip. Uh man, it's just too good. :)

Twi-hard

2011-11-17T09:15:00.000-08:00

I'm crossing over into true Twi-hard territory. My husband, sister-in-law and I are going to see Breaking Dawn tonight at midnight. We all three have read the entire series and loved it and have seen all of the movies together so we said we would go see this one opening day. Well, Dom and I won't be here tomorrow night so we are taking Havilah tonight instead. We aren't dressing up or anything but discussion of custom made shirts was had. Maybe for the last installment of the series. I'm pretty much just hoping it won't be as eventful as the last opening day experience I had. ;)

There's Always Cause To Celebrate

2011-11-16T22:46:00.000-08:00

I am still celebrating the best question I have ever been asked: Will you marry me? Last night was the three year anniversary of when Dom asked me to marry him and so I decided to surprise Dom and take him out to dinner.

I got all dressed up in his favorite dress of mine and waited for him to come home. He walked in and hugged me, said hi to the Scram, talked a little about his day and then looked down and went, "Oh, don't you look nice. Why are you all dressed up?" Another good question Mr. Parisi. I grabbed his coat and mine and headed to the car.

His wheels started turning and he asked what date he proposed? I just smiled and said I'm not sure. Then he asked where we were going and I said I'm not sure. He asked a few other questions to which I replied I'm not sure. We drove right by the yarn shop I work at and he looked disappointed. Like oh, surprise, you get to buy me yarn but no, I took him to Macaroni Grill. He really likes this restaurant.

I'm not a huge fan of this place but it had been a while since I'd gone and I do like Italian food so I thought I would give it another try............still don't like them. They do let you draw on the table though so that's fun. The hostess asked if we were celebrating an anniversary since we were dressed up and I thought I would give her a little more information about us in my doodles:

Too much? ;)

Something sweet sounded pretty good after dinner so we went and got me a cupcake from Fresh Berry. It was so good I couldn't wait to get my camera out before I took a bit. I'm craving one right now mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

It was a very nice evening spent with my husband. :)

Baby It's Not Cold Enough Outside

2011-11-15T14:57:00.000-08:00

Finally we can use our fireplace again. I love that we have one and I love cuddling up in front of it with either knitting, a book, or Dominic. It's just a happy place of mine and, even though we have been able to use it lately, it just hasn't been cold enough. We get to use it at night but when Dom is at work during the day, I just want to flip that baby on and snuggle up. I just want to wake up in the morning and put on my slippers, make some coffee and sit in front of the fire. The time is drawing near but come on, it's November and I'm tired of waiting. Here's hoping for frost bite. ;)

My Mini

2011-11-14T21:46:00.001-08:00

I got to see Mindy yesterday!!!! It was so nice to be able to talk to her and enjoy her crazy little self in person. She came down on a road trip from Oregon with her friend Kelly, who I finally got to meet, she is quite fun and I hope I get to know her better. Anyway, Mins was in San Francisco, so Dom and I met up with Mini, Kelly and Kelly's Brother Sean to enjoy the city.

We picked them up and went to Golden Gate Bridge, well we went passed it and then up the hill a bit but it was SO beautiful. It was nice to get a different view of the city and the bay. Pictures galore. Below, you can see Mini dancing/singing to the song from Love Actually and Dom trying to dip me, which Mindy cut off from the picture so we just look weird. ;)

Also, we have this little beauty. Sean was asked to take a picture of the three of us and this is what I got back:

Yeah, it really deserved a zoom in so you can see that not just one of us was off but all of three of us are a little lost/confused/disturbed.

Next you can see the two different views we got of the Golden Gate. One from up high and then one from down low. We took this beautiful little trail down to the beach. It was secluded and gorgeous.

Also, there was a bunker. I have a thing for bunkers. I don't know why but I love them. I love trying to picture what they were like when they were in use and the action they experienced.

I'm telling you the view was gorgeous:

It was a fun trip, the only thing I didn't like was how short it was. Hopefully Dom and I can go and visit Mini in Oregon soon. It's quite pretty there too. :)

An Experience

2011-11-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard, the new Call of Duty game came out. It was kind of a big deal. Dom wanted the game and I figured I would get it for him while he was at work and surprise him when he got home. Then he mentioned that he would be getting it himself and I didn't want to lose my chance, so I decided that I would somehow sneak out for half an hour at midnight and pick it up for him.

I called the local Gamestop and asked about how this whole ~~nerd~~ game thing worked. Would they be open at midnight? Did they have enough? Would it take a long time? To this, the guy answered in two parts, each made me groan. The first was, "Did you pre-order?" No I didn't pre-order. It's a video game, not a Gucci purse but apparently to them the game is just as important. If I didn't pre-order, I wasn't guaranteed a copy, which was a problem, and I knew this because of the next part of his answer, "A line started forming at 2pm."

Uh huh, a line. He said to come down quickly to purchase a copy and then come back at midnight to pick it up. So I got ready, asked Dom to take a quick trip with me and took him to Gamestop. At least he was surprised. We bought the game and then went home and killed time. When we went back............the line was wrapped around the building. We still had to stand in it because that was just the pick-up line.............there were wrist bands involved people. It was cold out but we hopped in line and waited.

Oh my gosh you guys, there were energy drinks, hoodies, and video game lingo. One kid asked another, "You going to school tomorrow?" to which the kid replied, "Nope." And the best part was that the line faced the street to leave so that those who had already picked up their copy were able to brag. One guy was standing out of the sun roof with a copy in each hand screaming, "WO-HOO!!" Then we were mooned, shouted at and I heard so much exhaust it was ridiculous. My favorite part was the Mini Cooper converted into a Mini Truck. :) I was the only girl there that I saw, besides the one working, and I was not surprised. Anyway, it was quite the adventure and I had fun with my sane husband.

Snack Attack

2011-11-09T21:57:00.000-08:00

It's 9:37 pm and all I want is a Krispy Kreme doughnut, strike that, I want TWO Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. One just reopened near us and I have definitely taken advantage of that a few times. I watch them come out of the fryer and my mouth waters. I love how it just kind of disappears when it hits your tongue and leaves behind this delicious taste. I've figured out what that taste is by the way. It's not just doughnut, it's funnel cake with a hint of a doughnut. Oh man, what I wouldn't give for a couple fresh ones right now.........I need to calm down.

30 Day Challenge Recap

2011-11-08T21:25:00.000-08:00

In case you missed it. I did a 30 Day Blog Challenge where I was given something different to write about for 30 days. Here is a little recap of my solid month of blogging:

Day 1: A Favorite Song
Day 2: A Favorite Movie
Day 3: A Favorite Book
Day 4: A Favorite Television Program
Day 5: A Favorite Quote
Day 6: A Moment You Wish You Could Relive
Day 7: Five Things You Couldn't Possibly Live Without
Day 8: A Thank You Letter To Someone Who Has Changed Your Life
Day 9: A Photo You Took
Day 10: A Photo Of You Taken Over Ten Years Ago
Day 11: A Photo Of You Taken Recently
Day 12: A Song You Played At Your Wedding
Day 13: A Guilty Pleasure
Day 14: A Vacation You Would Like To Take
Day 15: A Person You Admire
Day 16: A Song That Makes You Cry
Day 17: An Art Piece
Day 18: A Time When You Felt Passionate And Alive
Day 19: A Talent Of Yours
Day 20: A Hobby Of Yours
Day 21: Something You Know You Do Differently Than Most People
Day 22: A Website
Day 23: A Way In Which You Want To Be Remembered
Day 24: A Movie No One Would Expect You To Love
Day 25: A Recipe
Day 26: A Childhood Memory
Day 27: A Physical Feature You Love
Day 28: A Scar You Have And It's Story
Day 29: Hope, Dream And Plans You Have For The Next 365 Days
Day 30: A Motto Or Philosophy

Now I did this so that I could get into the habit of blogging and right after it's done I have a 3 day absence. I didn't forget about blogging I just decided to take the weekend off and then I got busy yesterday but I have some new things to blog about so stick around. :)

Day 30: A Motto Or Philosophy

2011-11-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

"Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified." -Galatians 2:16

This pretty sums up my beliefs. All it takes is accepting His magnificent gift of grace and having faith that He died for your sins, past, present and future. You cannot repay Him, and thinking that you can by living your life through works is an insult. You would be nullifying His amazing gift by thinking that it's attainable by your deeds, and it's not. That's the beauty of it, it's free! Show that you are thankful by loving Him and having a relationship with Him, but know that what you do could never "repay" Him.

This has been a great 30 days. Thank you everyone for reading along and I think I am pretty much in the habit of blogging now..............we'll see how I do from here on out. :)

P.S. The Scram picture is just because he's super cute and I didn't have a specific picture for today. Isn't he a cute baby?

Day 29: Hopes, Dreams And Plans You Have For The Next 365 Days

2011-11-03T21:43:00.000-07:00

Well now let's see.............what do I want to do with my life?

Some Hopes:

I hope to make even more friends
I hope to become a better child of God
I hope to relax a little

Some Dreams:

I dream of no pain in my joints
I dream of a long vacation with Dom
I dream of contentedness

Some Plans:

I plan on trying new things
I plan on seeing family and friends
I plan on learning more

Who knows how the next 365 will go. I have no clue and I think making big plans or trying to make sure things go a certain way can lead to disappointment. It's good to a point but being rigid about it is not the way to go. Anyway, my year will go how it goes and I'll keep you posted.

Day 28: A Scar You Have And It's Story

2011-11-02T22:41:00.000-07:00

I don't have any dramatic scars, at least not yet, so I had a hard time coming up with something that could be visible in a picture. This is what I came up with:

You see that line? That's the best I got. I wish I could say I got it while doing something dramatic or even traumatic like saving a baby or falling down some stairs. Nope........I got this from my high heels. That's right, Candice = 0, femininity = 1. I had my legs crossed and when I uncrossed them my heels dragged across my skin and left this little beauty. I remember seeing some blood and thinking, that's ridiculous and I've had this ever since. At least I looked good at work right?

Beauty is pain.

Day 27: A Physical Feature You Love

2011-11-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I don't know if this means a physical feature I love on me, a physical feature I love on someone else, or physical feature I love in general? Hmmmm, Maybe I'll just address all three. On me that's a toughie, I'm picky about my physical features just like everyone else but I guess I would have to say my hips. I mean I have them, they're wide and they prove I'm half Mexican. Some of the most beautiful women to me are Latina and those curves really make it. I'm proud that I have some of that. :)

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

On someone else, that would have to be Dom's eyes. Wow, they're amazing, perfect really. They aren't exactly blue or green or hazel, they're Dom color and he has long, beautiful eyelashes and perfectly shaped eyebrows to go with them.

They look green here but don't believe it.

A physical feature in general would have to be eyes. I mean they're the window to the soul right? It's the first thing I focus on and you are able to get so much out of someone's character by looking them in the eye, you don't have to stare them down or anything but just take a peek once and a while, you'll be surprised. :)

Day 26: A Childhood Memory

2011-10-31T18:25:00.000-07:00

My mom and I used to live in Desert Hot Springs when I was little but she worked in San Bernardino, so we would have to get up super early and commute. Well, we had a little tradition of stopping off at Hadley's for a Banana Date Shake. I'm pretty sure we got them on the way home but the details are a little fuzzy from 20 years ago. Anywho, these shakes are AMAZING!!!!
It always takes me back to when I was a tiny and sitting in the front seat with my shake, having trouble seeing out the window. My mom would also let me sit in her lap and stear the car on the way home (calm down, it was on a deserted road). My mom said I was always really serious when I got behind the wheel, even when we would go on the ride Autopia at Disneyland. It's all about staying in the lines perfectly. It was such a fun time with my mom and she made me feel so special and important. It's a great memory. :)

Day 25: A Recipe

2011-10-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

Dominic loves French Toast. I mean the man can't get enough so I try and make it often. Here is what I do, I don't really measure but I can give you an approximation.

French Toast

4 slices of bread (french bread is best)
2 eggs
1 Tbs Vanilla Extract
3 Tbs Milk
2 tsp Cinnamon

Mix ingredients, submerge bread in batter and fry on buttered pan.

I did not test the measurements, I usually just eyeball it and I think what I listed is pretty close. So if you try it, just go with what you feel is right, it's mainly about the ingredients. My family has always used vanilla in our French Toast batter and I love it and so does Dom, he also LOVES cinnamon so I put in a lot. Enjoy!

Day 24: A Movie No One Would Expect You To Love

2011-10-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

OOoo, I have a good one for this. Even though I love movies, there are obviously some I don't care for, can't love 'em all. Tim Burton movies are usually prominent members of my dislike club but for some reason I LOVE Alice In Wonderland! I don't know what got me to watch it but I pretty much had that movie on repeat for the next week afterward. I nearly jumped for joy when Netflix brought it back to instant watch. I say back because they gave it to me, got me hooked, and then took it away. Publicizing my thoughts about this matter would be wrong so let's move on.

What is it I like about this movie? Well, in a nutshell, Johnny Depp. Not in a ooohhh he's so dreamy sort of way but in a he's so brilliant sort of way. He does a fantastic job as the Mad Hatter. This is not the only reason I like the movie though, it's fanciful, colorful, adventurous, and fun. I think Tim Burton was the perfect director for this story, I mean Alice In Wonderland is a bit odd to begin with so why not use an odd director? It worked out wonderfully.

Now I am starting the book to get a better idea of how the story was first told but so far I have only learned more about the author and......well.......let me put it this way, I think he and Tim Burton might have been good friends. So, if you haven't seen the movie yet you should. This is an official recommendation. :)

Day 23: A Way In Which You Want To Be Remembered

2011-10-28T23:34:00.000-07:00

I want to remembered as useful. I'm not a natural leader, I don't like to run the show but I do like to play an important part. I like to take care of the small things that people may overlook but if it wasn't there, or not taken care of, then the whole thing wouldn't go as smooth. For example, I don't feel comfortable being a hostess or in charge of a big event but I love bringing desserts and making sure there is enough of this or that for everyone. That may not seem like much but if you went to a party and there were no snacks or not enough chairs you probably didn't enjoy it as much as you could have.

That's a small example but hopefully you get the gist. I'm more of a quiet person, shy for a bit and eventually I come out of my shell but I don't mind being known for this, I just want it to be coupled with being useful. Taking care of those small things that don't steal the spot light but are still vital for success. Does this make any sense, ugh, this question was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. Well, good luck trying to figure out what I meant. :)

Day 22: A Website

2011-10-27T22:26:00.000-07:00

A website..........Google, ever heard of it? JK. How about Ravelry.com? Most likely if you know me, you've heard of Ravelry. It's an online community for knitters and crocheters. There is a huge database full of free patterns, as well as, ones you can purchase. Also, you can upload pictures of your projects and give details about how you made it or what yarn you used, that way others can see how the pattern turns out. You can look up yarns and see how they knit up or find out where to buy them. It's wonderful and responsible for about 25 50% of my time. ;)

It's free to join, in case you haven't already signed up, and my Ravelry name is castandcount. Look me up or send a message, whatever you feel like. If I learn you are new to the site, I will probably keel over in excitement that you, not only learned about the site here, but also joined it! Happy pattern searching. :)

This is the login you are greeted with. Love all the fiber.

Day 21: Something You Know You Do Differently Than Most People

2011-10-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

Hmmm, I've been thinking about this one since I first read it and I just can't come up with anything better than what I first thought of. So here it goes, I eat Doritos differently than most people. I like to lick off all the cheese powder and then eat the chip. Gross huh? It so good this way though. I sometimes like to eat dessert before dinner but I am pretty sure everyone under 10 likes this too so I'm sticking with the Dorito thing. Try it sometime, you might be surprised. :)

Day 20: A Hobby Of Yours

2011-10-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

I'll give you one guess as to what I'm going to say.................Yep, KNITTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Hurray. :) I knit all the time, or as much as my wrists and hands allow. I had to take an extended break recently and it nearly killed me, especially since it didn't do much good. Oh well. Now I'm back and trying to work on my tension so that I don't kill my joints.

This hobby just plain makes me happy. I LOVE it! I love all the different colors and feeling of the yarn and the way it can play a pattern up to make it even better. I love knowing that I can make something for myself or others that I put a lot of care into. Each stitch you're thinking about that person and if the object is for me then I'm thinking about how much fun it will be to use it.

It's just two stitches, knit and purl and when you mess around with them you can make beautiful things like this:

Or this:

Who wouldn't want to do that? I hate realizing that there probably isn't enough time in one lifespan to knit everything I want to make but oh well, maybe there will be knitting in heaven. I would love to wrap Jesus in my knitting and say, hey thanks for that whole grace thing, it's pretty cool. :)

Day 19: A Talent Of Yours

2011-10-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

Talent? Ugh, really? This is something else I just don't do. I can't sing......at all, I can't do a back flip and I'm not a great public speaker, so what do I say? I guess I have a talent for face mobility or rather facial dexterity. You're probably wondering what this means, let me explain. I have pretty good control over my facial muscles. I can do the whole eyebrow wave thing, I can scrunch each side of my nose individually, I can make my lips criss cross, wink quickly, wiggle my ears individually as well, and my tongue can flip and make a clover.

This little talent of mine is not exactly going to take me far, in fact sometimes it gets me into trouble. My mom would always have to remind me that when I would go to friends house's for dinner to try and control my reactions to the food. If I didn't pay attention, they would give away how I really felt about it. I've gotten better over time but if I'm relaxed around you then my face will always give me away. ;)

Day 18: A Time When You Felt Passionate And Alive

2011-10-23T17:52:00.000-07:00

Now obviously I could say knitting, I feel passionate and alive every time I knit. I could, and do, spend hours looking at patterns and thinking about yarn but since I could literally answer knitting for the next five posts, I'll choose something else for this one.

Hmmmmmm, passionate and alive huh? Just to let you know, I'm not a very passionate person. I just don't get that way about stuff. There have probably only been three passions in my life and since I said I wouldn't use one for this and the other is quite obvious, since he's shown up in almost every post, I will use the remaining one here. Drum roll please............VOLLEYBALL!!!!!!

It's not so much a passion now since I no longer play but when I did, I LOVED it! I think it should still count since it says a time when, not what makes you feel passionate and alive now. Anyway, I had an amazing high school team. We went to finals and then lost in a very close five game match. It was devastating, seriously worst day ever. I know, it's just a game but since I was passionate about it I was heartbroken because we SO deserved it. I'm not bitter anymore..............really, I'm not.........moving on. ;)

We worked hard but we had fun and our, what should have been two hour but always ended up being three hour, practices were pretty much the most fun you can have working out. We would be winded, sweating like pigs and all bruised but we always left with a smile. Our team became quite close too. The picture above is from a team retreat we took before our senior year. We did all kinds of team building exercises and learned a lot about each other. These girls were like my family and I am so happy to still be in touch with a lot of them. Seriously, you should have been there, we did some pretty silly things in order to build trust. Let me show you:

Now I don't know how this built up trust but let me tell you, dressing up like g-units and then taking pictures of it definitely made these girls my homies. I miss this time in my life, pretty much organized sports in general but I have a ton of fond memories to look back on and lots of close friends to relive it with. :)

Day 17: An Art Piece

2011-10-22T17:25:00.001-07:00

My friend Kelsey made this for me. I LOVE it. She does great abstract art and I asked her to do a small piece for me once and she came up with this. It was pretty much my life at the time and then what she saw in the future. The yellow stripe represents me and the white is God. The small, vertical red line represents when I got saved. It's the only straight line for that reason. Then there is a sputter of yellow under the orange line, representing a sputtering out of an influence from my past (big answer to prayer). The orange stripe represents Dominic and how she predicted it would be me, Dom and God from then on I don't know, but she definitely got it right. She made this in 2007. Thank you so much Kelsey for my favorite piece of artwork. :)

I started this post at 5:25pm and so it shall remain. I did not mess up two days in a row. Denial runs very strong after midnight I've found.

Day 16: A Song That Makes You Cry

2011-10-22T00:34:00.000-07:00

Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's 12:34pm and I was in bed all ready to go to sleep and realized........I DIDN'T BLOG!!!! So since I didn't fall asleep yet, it's still today. At least I made it half way through without any hiccups.

Now, onto the challenge. Songs don't really move me like this, at least not by themselves. Watching a performance or a music video to a good song can bring me to tears, especially when I'm a bit more sensitive, then stupid commercials like, "Be all you can be" can start the water works.

I have been thinking about this one for a while though and I do recall one song that did me in, it was a song Dom wrote for me. He made up the piano music and the words and it's beyond amazing. He is quite talented but I was totally blown away with this one. The words are so loving and special and the music was, of course, great but I don't feel like sharing it with you. Sorry, but part of the effect this song had on me was that Dom wrote it special for me and when he preformed it I literally cried because it was just that good and sharing every part of that with everyone might be more than I am willing to do. Just take my word for it, IT'S AMAZING!!!

Day 15: A Person You Admire

2011-10-20T16:36:00.000-07:00

This one is simple, I greatly admire my mother. She is very strong, talented, beautiful, funny, outgoing, warm, intelligent and kind. This woman can accomplish anything she puts her mind to and will come out on top.

She was a single mom for a while and did it so well. I never went hungry, homeless, or unloved and she had the good sense to marry someone who would make a great dad (I love you too Big Mac). These are my parents below. Aren't they an attractive couple? ;)

My mom continues to amazing me with her wisdom and love. When I was at home I didn't have to deal with the real world much and when I went out on my own I quickly learned that my mom made it look easy. I still constantly call with questions from small things like, what temperature do I bake chicken? To big things like, what are some loan options to buy a home? She's the kind of mom who walks me through each step and then sends me emails at 2am with research she did on my question, just in case I needed more help. Wonderful. :)

I love my mom very much and there are so many things she does that I admire and look up to. The woman is a powerhouse and walks around like it's no big deal. I love that, she can run her own company and still clean up after a house full of boys. ;) Thanks for being a role model for me mom. You're a dang good one!

Day 14: A Vacation You Would Like To Take

2011-10-19T19:27:00.000-07:00

I would LOVE to go to Bora Bora! I mean yeah, a month long trip to Europe with Dom would be amazing but I have been there before and I have always wanted to go to Bora Bora. I think it all started when I was around 11. I saw The Parent Trap in theaters with my mom and there's that scene when she says her friend was on a trip with her family to Bora Bora, well I didn't know where that was so I looked it up and have been longing to go ever since. Just take a look at the place:

Not only is the island amazing but it's where you stay that really won me over. They have houses on the water. You just walk out your door and jump in if you want, into the crystal clear water.

I would love to snorkel right by my room in the morning. Swim on up to the beach and sunbathe and then swim right back to my room to eat my room service lunch. Then get onto a little dingy tied up to my dock and putt around the island with Dom.

If you want to join, I'm sure group rates are more affordable. ;)

Day 13: A Guilty Pleasure

2011-10-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

I am SO embarrassed to be admitting this publicly but my guilty pleasure is watching Sister Wives.

Oh boy, it's out there now. I don't know how to come back from that one. Maybe I should explain myself. I started watching it because I was curious about how in the world polygamist families function. I am quite the handful for Dom, I couldn't imagine anyone handling an additional 3 wives. Where do they live, how do the kids take it, how to the wives treat each other?

If I were a cat, I'd be dead since I have now added this to our DVR. I will probably never hear the end of this with Dom but I'm invested now, how do I walk away from cliffhangers like, "The fourth wife will be announcing big news on the next episode?" Oh well, blushing is not something I do but if I could watch your reactions to this confession, then I might not be able to avoid it. The only solace I have is that your guilty pleasure might be as bad. :)

Day 12: A Song That You Played At Your Wedding

2011-10-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

The song Dom and I danced to at our wedding was Sea of Love by Cat Power. We chose this song because well, we loved it. It took us away, away from the business of the wedding planning, the craziness of people who R.S.V.Pd but didn't show and the eyes of everyone watching us. We were in our own little world, a world we had just vowed to never leave and one where I could spend forever telling Dominic how much I love him.

*Siiiiiiiiiiiigggggghhhh. What a great moment. :)

Day 11: A Photo Of You Taken Recently

2011-10-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

Dom and I went to Apple Hill last weekend and one of our first stops was Bodhaine's. They sell pie and it's his family's favorite. He looked so cute shoving in his favorite slice of French Apple Pie. See:

I ended up having a slice of Blackberry Sour Cream. This was kind of a bad idea on our part. I mean it was yummy but the whole rest of the day we were complaining about how sick we felt. Too much sweet; too much food. This of course didn't stop us from buying 2 1/2 gallons of apple cider, fudge, an apple and kettle corn to take home for later. :) It was a super fun day and I can't wait to go back.

Day 10: A Photo Of You Taken Over Ten Years Ago

2011-10-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's me when I was twelve I think. Something you should know, I've looked the same since I was tiny. Seriously, I think the only thing that has changed about me is that I have made an attempt to tame my eyebrows but the rest of my face is pretty much the same.......the body is obviously different. If you don't believe me then just look for yourself:

(One and a halfish)

Anyway, the top picture is me in my room, drawing. Let's point out some choice pieces of decor shall we? Notice the N*Sync poster on the left. Justin Timberlake was working it even then, and the Dawson's Creek poster above my bed. I honestly didn't even remember I had that, let alone put it there until my mom sent this picture to me. One last thing, the clown picture on top of my dresser. Clowns freak some people out but I don't mind them and I think it's cause I had a clown theme when I was a baby. It wasn't creepy and I am rather fond of this particular picture. If I knew where it was I might try and work it into my current art collection. Incase anyone wanted to visit me, ever, I would make sure to put it somewhere discreet. ;)

Thanks mom for riffling through pictures of your little girl for me!

Day 9: A Photo You Took

2011-10-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

This picture is from a visit to Dom's house while we were dating. I must have taken it 3 or 4 times because it kept coming out blurry due to the lighting and when it did finally come out I loved it! I loved how we are holding hands and it shows us touching the water to show we were officially there. I know, I know OMG more info. about Dom? Obsessed much? I bet you said this in a 13 year old girl's voice like I was thinking it but yes, more about Dom and how I love the man. I mean you're learning a little more about me and so he is bound to show up time and again. :)

Anyway, there is a little river or maybe more of a stream over by his house and we took a walk to see it. Dom's little theory is that if we are by water then we have to touch it or else we weren't there and by this time in our relationship I thought it was more of a, if we didn't swim in it then we weren't there kind of thing, since we always ended up that way, voluntarily or not.

Side story, Dom used to throw me into water.................a lot, or at least tried to get me as wet as possible when near water. The picture below is when he came to visit me for the first time and threw me into our pool, fully clothed. He did this again at the river near Folsom, fully clothed and then picked me up and ran me through the water fountain stream thingys at Marine World, again fully clothed. Bathing suits didn't matter much to him and thankfully he has grown out of this and now all I have to do is touch the water when we go somewhere.

The first picture shown is hanging up in our home because of how much I love it and probably always will be. :)

Day 8: A Thank You Letter To Someone Who Has Changed Your Life

2011-10-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Dominic,

I love you. I love that I know exactly why I love you and the reasons are foundational, not conditional. You know that, obviously, you're an important person in my life but how important may not be clear. Let me explain. When I fell in love with you it changed me and when I found out you loved me back that change became irreversible. This is a good change, a great change in fact. I got to see what God's love is like so much better, that unconditional, never failing love and I still get see to everyday because you loved me enough to commit your whole life to me. Thank you for that, by the way. ;)

What I really want to be thanking you for is that change I was talking about. Loving you made me want to become a better person. I wanted to treat my family, friends and neighbors better, I wanted to become smarter and well kept (it was hard to ditch the UGGs everyday look) and mostly, I wanted to live up to the love that you showed me. This is all wonderful and definitely deserves a thank you but what I am truly thankful for is the fact that you brought me closer to God. I finally understood what true justification meant. You were patient enough to explain it to me time and time again and work through my warped understanding of God's grace.

It's as simple as believing in Him and that He died on the cross for my sins, past, present and future and that I don't have to and can't do anything to repay Him for that. A works based faith doesn't work and this was my natural reaction to the good news. Now I've got it right and it's all because of you. Thank you! Thank you for your love and showing me what grace is. I love you more than you know and always will.

Sincerely,
Your Grateful Wife

Day 7: Five Things You Couldn't Possibly Live Without

2011-10-12T16:36:00.001-07:00

Hmmmm, that's a good question. Let me think....Alright, here we go. These are in no particular order:

1. Yarn & Needles
(technically that's two but they really go hand in hand)

I live to knit. If you didn't already know that then this is your first time reading my blog.....nice to meet you. :)

2. Prayer

I'm not a prayer warrior or anything but this is how I stay most connected to God. I love being able to talk with Him all day long and ask for his help and know He is listening and loves me so much it's incomprehensible.

3. Movies

I LOVE T.V. but whenever I haven't had cable I have gotten by just fine popping in my favorite movies and watching them over and over again. I love getting lost in a story and exploring a new place visually along with the characters.

4. Books

Books are a step up from movies for me. I get to picture the perfect setting and actors and I get to know the characters more. These two quotes give you a glimpse of how I feel about books.

"A good book should leave you... slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it." ~William Styron, interview, Writers at Work, 1958

"I get absolutely and undeniably attached to book characters to the point where I cry and laugh with them, and physically miss them when I finish reading the book." -author unknown

(Seriously, I don't usually quote)

5. Junk Food

Chips!!!!!!! Dense, moist brownies, soda, cheeseburgers, onion rings.......MMmmmmmmmmmm! It's all SO good.

I hope you guys share in some of these and if you do, I would LOVE to chat about them with you. :)

Day 6: A Moment You Wish You Could Relive

2011-10-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about this one all day. I mean how do I approach this? Is it a moment I regret and want to fix or a moment that was highly embarrassing that I want to turn around? I know that relive and not redo usually indicates that it would mean a moment I loved so much I want to do it twice but is that how I want to answer this? Taking into account all three options, I had a hard time narrowing it down to even a few choices.

Uh, do I want to do the obvious and talk about moments from my wedding or those times when I thought I would suffocate I was laughing so hard with friends or how about playing with puppies? Who wouldn't want to have a chance of playing with their dog in the puppy stage again? Volleyball games/practices, moments I made my mom laugh, getting awards, every brownie sundae I've ever had from CPK.......And then there's the entire dating period Dom and I had. I replayed those moments time and time again after Dom dropped me off for the night that I might be ok to skip this option but it was just SO good that I'm having trouble ruling it out. I guess I should be feeling pretty blessed right about now that I have so many moments in my life that I want to relive because they were just that good. :)

So what's it going to be? What moment did it for me that, if asked by a genie tomorrow, I would be completely prepared to relive? I'm going with: When Dom proposed to me. I don't know if you know our proposal story or not but it was up on our wedding website but that's gone now so I'll put it here. It's kinda long so you can skip down to the bottom if you'd like.

The Proposal:

Well you guessed it, he proposed and the joy that I experienced before was childs play compared to the complete and utter happiness that I am experiencing now. Let's just say that life definitely got better. There is a bit more to it than that though so let's start off at the beginning. Dom and I try and go on a big date at least once a month if we can and then little dates whenever possible. Well, we had not done either in a while and so he told me to prepare for a big date soon. I was super stoked and started counting down the days, seeing as how he told me about two weeks in advance.

Now when we do dates the one who plans it doesn't tell the other what is going to happen. We try and keep everything a surprise as much as possible. This date was of course going to be a surprise but I did get to know one thing, we were starting the date off at the beach.

Well, the day finally arrived, Nov. 15, and I was so excited that I hopped out of bed before my alarm went off. He picked me up around 11am and we headed to Huntington Beach. Now there had been fires in our area and so there were heavy smoke clouds looming over La Mirada which we were able to escape at the beach. It was a perfect day, 90 degrees, not too crowded, we found a great spot and set up camp. Laying on the blanket, we took in the glorious rays of sunshine and reminisced about our relationship. We eventually wandered to the water where we dipped our fingers and toes in just to make sure we had been there and then proceeded to make a sand castle. It was quite the amazing castle if I do say so myself, comparable to the Taj Mahal. After that we played volleyball and threw a Frisbee around.

By the end of our beach adventure the smoke clouds had caught up with us and had started to take over the sky. As we were packing up we were in admiration of the beautiful reflection that the clouds had on the water. We got a couple pictures of it. After this, we moved into phase two of the date but not before an intermission. Normally if we have to split up in order to get all ready and beautified we only take the time necessary to do so, this time around Dom said we had an hour and a half to get ready because he didn't want to rush me. He also said I could get as dressed up as I liked. I love to get dressed up so I took him up on his offer and put on a new dress that he had never seen.

After the hour and a half was up, he came to the door and we exchanged comments about how great the other one looked and then we were on our way. Seriously though, he looked good! Suit, tie, watch...he pulled out all the stops. Due to the fires some freeways were closed and so we had to take an alternate route, which put us a little behind schedule. This was fine with me since I had no idea what we were doing. We finally arrived at our destination, P.F. Changs. This is my favorite restaurant! He said we could order whatever we wanted and so we did, appetizers, entrees, and dessert.

After our meal was complete we went on to our next destination, the movie theater across the street. Once we got there I realized he had just recreated our first date. We had gone to dinner and a movie at the same locations and then went to the beach afterward. It was a cute realization. Unfortunately since we ordered desert we had made ourselves late for the movie which didn't matter since it was sold out anyway. We tried the old buy a ticket for another movie and just sneak in anyway trick but it didn't work, they wouldn't let us in. We ended up going to the movie Changeling. It was quite the opposite of what he had originally intended us to go see (James Bond) but we had a ton of fun joking around and laughing about how it was such a bad date movie. :)

This is where I thought the night was going to end. We had mentioned going to get coffee earlier but we never stopped anywhere and I figured the date was so much fun anyway, it was a good time to go home and smile about it while getting ready for bed. Well, Dom had other plans. As we passed my street and I began to get suspicious he said that he wasn't through with me yet and that we should go and see if they had put our bench back.

I will have to pause to give you some important background information about our bench. There is this little park by school that we always take walks in and there is a bench at the end of the park where we have had many important and long conversations. No matter where we are in our relationship we always seem to be able to talk here for hours. Well, at the beginning of the semester when we took our first walk after Christmas break we noticed that they had taken our bench! We didn't know why or when they would replace it. After many more disappointed trips to the park we began to give up hope but it seemed Dom wanted to try one more time on our date.

So, we parked by the entrance and started walking. As we were strolling through the park he stopped and pointed out something in the concrete, it turns out he was just killing time but it was fun nonetheless. We talked and danced and hugged for a while before we moved on to our spot. As we got closer I saw something glowing in the distance. I thought someone had put up Christmas lights on the fence and how that was odd, thinking where did they plug it in and would the city allow that? I then realized, after several more steps that the glowing came from tea light candles in white paper bags that outlined the walkway up to and around our bench. There were also two huge vases full of beautiful roses on either side of the bench on the ground and flower petals lining the walkway and all over the bench.

As the wheels started turning I began to smile thinking this could be it!! He walked me through the flower petals and sat me down on the bench. Taking both of my hands he stared at me and said how much he loved me and how he couldn't imagine being without me and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. Then he took a box out of his pocket and opened it up to reveal my gorgeous ring and stood up and said, "Candice Ann Clark....(got down on one knee) will you marry me?" At this point my brain stopped working and I went into shock. I remember him saying my name clearly but everything else is a little hazy. I eventually stammered out a yes and he sat down with me and put the ring on my finger!

I am pretty sure that I said, "Are you serious?!!" about a hundred times and his handsome, patient faced smiled back saying yes. I smiled so big it hurt and I began to laugh and cry into my hands. I have never been so happy in my life! We hugged and smiled and then prayed together. It was all so wonderful. We were then greeted by his roommates a little later since they came to clean everything up for us. They set everything up as well, they are so nice. After this we scampered off to celebrate. We couldn't really think of anywhere that would be open at 12:30 at night so we went to a 24 hour doughnut shop we had seen. I was too giddy to eat but it was fun being able to talk about spending the rest of our lives together!

He dropped me off around 1:30am and I ran to my room to wake up my roommate a.k.a. one of the maids of honor, Mindy. After a quick dispute of unbelief from my half-asleep Mindy, we screamed about the news for about an hour and a half before I drifted off into a dream land that wasn't nearly as good as my reality. :)

Well, you made it to the end. I applaud you! I hope that you enjoyed the journey as much as I have. :)

So, when he asked and I said yes I basically broke down. I put my hands to my face and cried through my giggles and smile. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders and the happiness was almost unbearable. Pretty much every time I was with Dom I would be shouting in my head, "I want to marry you! I want to marry you! I want to marry you!" and because he wanted to keep everything a surprise we never had a serious discussion about our future together. To know that he felt the same way I did and all my dreams were coming true and I no longer had to wonder and hope, it was greater than any happiness I had ever known. So yeah, I would definitely love to relive this moment. :)

Day 5: A Favorite Quote

2011-10-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, I swear this whole challenge isn't about my favorites. There are actually other questions I have to answer that have nothing to do with random things I like. In fact, this is the last favorite one. Anyway, I'm not really a big quote person, I mean quotes like this. I quote movies, T.V. shows, and friends constantly but quotes where you can either gain some knowledge or teach something, hardly ever. I asked Dom and he agreed that I don't do that sort of thing so it was hard to think of one for today. I was even looking up quotes but I thought, no, I don't use this and then a light bulb went off. I have actually quoted this before and even though I got it from someone else, I still love it. Here it is:

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one." - C.S. Lewis

My Friend Mini (Mindy) quoted this on her facebook page about our friendship and I couldn't have agreed more. We met in college, we were assigned to be roommates and one weekend when our other roommate was gone (we did miss you Sam), we decided to rearrange the entire dorm room. It took a while and we even had to take a break and eat dinner, this was pretty much our first quality time together and that quote sums up how the entire weekend went. She is now one of my best friends and was my roommate all through college. So there you have it, a quote I love and have used. :)

Day 4: A Favorite Television Program

2011-10-09T18:21:00.000-07:00

Friends......duh. What else is there? JK. I do like myself some Office, as well as, So You Think You Can Dance and a lot of Bravo competition shows but they are all easily surpassed by Friends. I mean who do you know that can't hum along with the theme song? Or know at least half of the character's names and their main personality traits? My favorite character is Chandler. I can't even count how many times I have cried from laughing at the things he has said. His physical comedy is also top notch.

I have watched through every single episode and then after I got all 10 seasons for my birthday, I watched through them again. It's safe to say that my favorite episode is from Season 4 titled, The One With The Embryos (episode 12). That's where the above picture is from. This show is just SO good. I love the characters, the comedy, the plot, and even how it ended. If anyone wants to sit through 10 seasons of Friends with me, I'm totally down. :)

Day 3: A Favorite Book

2011-10-08T01:23:00.000-07:00

Easy peasy lemon squeezie, my favorite book is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. She is also my favorite author because she writes this series that is just wonderful but anyway, Redeeming Love is AMAZING! It's based off the book Hosea from the Bible and at times can be heartbreaking but the growth, love, and redemption you experience with the main character is awesome.

This book has helped me to see that no matter what shameful things I have done in my past, God still loves me. He doesn't love me like how we love people, He loves me like He created love to be. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails......"

I don't know about you, but my love fails often, like when I'm easily angered or when I won't apologize because I know I'm right. God is love and He does all of these things at the same time, perfectly and He forgives and continues to love me when I mess up. Redeeming Love helped me see that my past is forgiven and even though I know God has forgiven my present and future as well, it was hard for me to let go of what I had done in the past. I am redeemed and it feels SO good. :)

Day 2: A Favorite Movie

2011-10-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

You know how I talked about those posts where it would take a little more time for me to figure out an answer? Well, this is one of them.......Ugh, I LOVE movies! I have so many favorites that this questions is just about impossible for me to answer. Pride&Prejudice (A&E version of course), Now&Then, First Wives Club, The Holiday, Boondock Saints, In Her Shoes, A Christmas Story, You've Got Mail, Sense&Sensibility, The Lake House, Grind, Baby Mama............I mean the list goes on and on.

Ok Candice, serioulsy, just choose one. This isn't a lifelong commitment, no one is going to hunt you down if you claim that some other movie is your favorite in the future..............A favorite movie of mine issssssssssssssssssss: Now&Then.

I think I'm choosing this one because I've loved it the longest. It's a great movie about camaraderie, figuring out who you are, and adventure. I just love how their different personalities balance each other out, not to mention Devon Sawa is in it (major crush on him in Elementary School). Also, it's set in the 60s and they ride their fabulous beach cruisers everywhere. It makes me want to throw on some keds, a fuchsia shirt and ride around town with my girls. :)

Day 1: A Favorite Song

2011-10-06T09:21:00.000-07:00

Some of these challenges are going to require some thought and reflection but to start off, this one's easy. My favorite song is Together We Will Live Forever by Clint Mansell. It's fantastic! In fact, the entire soundtrack to The Fountain is fantastic, that's where the song is from. If you ever have time or want something playing while you are cleaning up or working on the computer, this is the way to go.

The intense part of the soundtrack might make more sense if you've seen the movie. It's about two people in love, in the past, present and future and the man's quest to keep her alive in all three eras. It's basically a fight against death and the realization of its futility. It may take a couple viewings in order to get the gist of what's going on, or at least it did for me but it's a good, intense movie. Here is the song, the background is a shot from the film.

Now tell me you didn't just fall in love with it? Ugh, it's beautiful and moving. This would have been the song Dom and I danced to at our wedding, since he likes it too, but we didn't want to cut any of it out and it's rather long to dance to while everyone's watching you.

I know it may be shocking to some to read that my favorite song is not hip-hop but I move on from those so quickly. It's true I have favorite hip-hop songs but mainly I kill one, meaning I play it on repeat literally all day for a couple weeks, and then move onto the next one. This song captured me forever and it will always resonate with how I feel about Dominic, therefore it's my favorite.

30 Day Blog Challenge

2011-10-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

Yuuuup, I'm going to do one of those. :) I seem to be at a loss some days for blogging ideas and then overflowing others. With this challenge keeping me on track with a different topic to write about each day for 30 days it's a perfect solution. The hope is that this will get me into the habit of blogging regularly and that I'll keep up with it after the challenge is complete.

I debated about giving you the list of everything I have to complete for each day but I thought it would be more fun to keep you in the dark and let you travel back to see what the next day has in store. You're going to learn a bit more about me, whether you wanted to know it or not is unimportant. JK. Hopefully this will be fun for the both of us.

I'm sure that I'll still add little snippets of my everyday life to each blog when things come up, just to keep you informed, but for the most part my writing will be dominated by these predetermined topics. Soooooo, who's ready to have some fun?

Technically this is day zero, so the challenge begins tomorrow!

New Job

2011-10-02T03:31:00.000-07:00

(The beautiful yarn Dom got me as a gift at our Grand Opening. Did I mention it's 100% Cashmere?)

Alright, here is where I tell you all about my new job. Soooo we opened a month ago but did you really think I would get to writing about it right away? Hello, procrastination is my middle name. Anyway, lets get started. I got a new job at a yarn store!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could fill the rest of this page with exclamation points and that still wouldn't get across how excited and happy I am about this new job. Knitting consumes me, I LOVE IT and so what could be better than to be surrounded by beautiful yarn and talk about knitting/crochet projects all day long?

I currently have a part-time job with a Hemophilia Healthcare Company with my family and it's great but I work from home and since I moved up here from SoCal I didn't know anyone, and never leaving the house isn't really conducive to creating a new possy. So, I went through a phase of trying to find another part-time job to try and make some headway in the friends department, although Scramble is adorable, it's just gets a little weird when you start discussing your thoughts on the latest novel you're reading with your dog. Since I refused to give up my nights and weekends with Dom, the choices were quite slim. For some reason employers in this economy aren't cool with their potential employees only willing to work when it's convenient for them, who knew? Needless to say I found nothing and gave up.

So, one day, I get an email from someone in my knitting group (yep, I have a knitting group) that there is a new yarn shop in the area and she is looking for people to hire for part-time work........the exact times I tried to get hired for! I decided to type up a resume and head over to the shop, which wasn't open yet, and talk to the owner. We immediately started talking about yarn and knitting and crochet and how much we love it and why, projects we've worked on and other interests of ours. And then Cindy (my new boss) looks at me and says, "Well, you're hired." I about died from happiness, especially since I went over knowing I wouldn't get the job because there was no way she would hire someone who hasn't been doing this forever or didn't have an extensive knowledge of yarn.............and it was just too perfect but I had a calm spirit. I prayed about it on the way over and gave it up to God one way or the other and BAM, God hits me with a very undeserved blessing.

I still work with my family, which is wonderful but my new job at Got Your Goat Yarn Studio is where I thrive. I love it! I love my boss, my co-workers, the location. Ugh, it's just such a huge blessing........serioulsy. So, to sum up, I got a new job at a yarn shop, very blessed, extremely happy. :)

You should take a look at the website, linked above, and get a sneak peak of what it looks like, or find directions so you can stop in and say hi.

3 Day Weekend

2011-08-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

I'm always thrown off when Dom gets a three day weekend. I never plan correctly so when I wake up I'm thinking of all that I need to do and start to go about my normal schedule but then realize, oh hey, there's a husband here today. Even though it's startling it's a nice realization that you get to hang out with your favorite person all day long. So what did we do with our extra day together? Nothing. :) Well, not nothing but we didn't do a whole lot and that's how we like it. He needed a break, a day to sit back and relax and that's what we did.

One thing we did do was play Frisbee Golf. Dom loves the game and played a lot in college and has been getting back into it recently. Well, I don't play. I usually just stay at home while he does his thing or I walk around the course with him as his inefficient caddy but this time I thought I would give it a try, beats walking around in the sun waiting on the people ahead of you, trying to figure out which of Dom's 10 yellow discs is the Wraith. I am shocked to say that I liked it. :) I got par on hole 9, which you can see below and started to think that maybe I could play this game, that's a BIG maybe. Dom and I have played together twice since.

I think Dom likes that I play with him now rather than tagging along yelling about how I have no idea which one is his mid-range or how I can't finish my text in time before the next hole. :)

Saturday was another chill day. We shopped around Fry's, went to church (we were early!!!!!!!!) and rented R.E.D. What a rough day huh?

Sunday was awesome because it was our third day sleeping in and because we got to hang out with Havi (Dom's little sister). We watched So You Think You Can Dance, since we have the whole season recorded, and played some Mini golf. I was the blue ball, Havi the yellow, and Dom the orange.

It was a lot of fun laughing about how I hit it into the water twice or how my ball stopped on a hill half way to the hole (below). It was a great time with the little sister.

Later, Angelo and Jenn came over and we finished up an episode of SYTYCD, where we promptly tried to learn one of the beat-boy moves. We all failed until Dom showed up and got it on his first try. :) Then Havi drove us to In-N-Out, she just got her permit and it was quite fun being packed into a car on the freeway, on her 5th time driving ever. We finished up the weekend by watching Lake Placid. Not a bad way to spend a three day weekend.

Can I Stay Please?

2011-08-04T13:28:00.000-07:00

So it's been two weeks, so what? I like to take time to recover from my awesome trips and soak in all the good times I had. Also, if I feel required to blog about it, which I do because I had such a good time and remembered to take some pictures, I will procrastinate for the simple fact that I am a procrastinator. All that being said, this post will be about my trip to SoCal with Dom at the end of July.

To start off, we drove down........yuuuupppp, we packed ourselves up in the car with a buttload of snacks (almost all of which were sweet because I made the mistake of taking Dom with me to the store), pillows, beach towels, and an audio book. It was cheaper this way, although after bringing along Nibisco, Little Debbie and the Wal-Mart brand, this might no longer have been true. Our first stop was the Woods' place for dinner. We got to hang out with Sam too. The Woods were watching this adorable little mutt puppy that happened to have ears like Scram and the body of a wiener dog. Her name was Mika..........I'm pretty sure, I just kept calling her cutie. Behold the adorableness:

Dom wouldn't allow me to kidnap her, which I think her parents appreciated. Dinner was great and super fun, as time with the Woods always is. I hope we can see them again soon, it's always such a treat. Next we hit up our final destination, The Mahlers. We would be staying at Andrew and Allison's the whole week...........jealous? You will be after this post. They greeted us with a blow-up mattress, a cute apartment, and A Ticket To Ride, which Dom and I had never played before. It was pretty fun but made even more fun by the fact that we were playing with good friends.

The next day we collected Tony and hit up the beach, unfortunately Andrew couldn't join us since he had to work but Dom, Tony, Allison and I had a pretty good day in the sun. Reading books, eating junk, soaking up the rays, dipping our toes in the water and digging our feet into the sand, what could be better? If that stupid wave wouldn't have come and washed away Dom's wedding ring it would have been perfect. He was quite bummed but we have pictures of it, it was special when I got to place it on his finger when I committed myself to him but now it will be buried in one of God's most beautiful creations forever. Also, since he does own a jewelry store, we get to make him a new one that will hold special memories of its own. :)

Dom and I enjoying a beautiful day in the sun.

That night we all had dinner together, provided by Allison and her wicked culinary skills (Yum) and then went to Dave & Buster's for some half off fun (Wednesday's are half off everything). Love that place, especially with a group of people who appreciate how awesome a grown-up arcade is. :)

The next few days were quite a blur of fun, and since I didn't take any pictures I will just give you a run down.

Thursday: hit up the Rainbow Factory and bought myself some new flip-flops. LOVE the ones I got! Yep, that's plural because I had to get a fun pair as well as a traditional pair. ;) Next time I am definitely getting Dom some. I figured out I was definitely getting him some as we got on the on-ramp to leave. I believe indecisive is my true middle name. The rest of the day was a girls day. The boys were gone for the night at the bachelor party, did I mention we were down for one of Dom's old roommate's weddings? Well, since the boys were doing their thing us girls decided to do our own. It was me Allison and Allison..........I think it might have been entertaining for them every time I paused after saying Allison to try and specify it by adding a last name and then tripping over it as I then had to correct it mid-pronunciation to their new last name. I need to come up with a better system, I gave up after an attempt or two and just stared them down before I decided to talk to one of them. It worked quite well.

Us girls did the night up right, talked about boys, clothes, home decor, cooking, baking, marriage, family, frustrations and praises, we watched A Walk To Remember and cried, ate chocolate, and then talked some more. I think if a boy walked in the room he would have suffocated from all the estrogen floating about. The night was epic and one of the best girl nights I've ever had! I feel so blessed to have met these girls and to able to get to know them even better is such a privilege. :)

Friday: Went shopping in the morning and Allison.......Will-......Mahler! You see? I need to come up with something better. She got new boots, gorgeous, brown, on-sale boots. I refrained from spending anymore money as I was currently rocking one of my new pairs of Rainbows. Then, we hit up Del Taco since we both like it and never get to have it. I know there is one down the street from me but since Dom doesn't like it I only have it on the rarest of occasions.

Then, we went home and watched Pride & Prejudice (the new one) while we waited for the boys to come home from the bachelor party. Once they got home they took a short break to rest and then reconvened to play Frisbee golf while us girls got stuff for dinner. We had another big group dinner with the Mahlers, Parisis, Patrick and Tony and his girlfriend Kaitlin. She is great! So laid back and cool, basically the female version of Tony, which makes them one of my new favorite couples. We all went and played games at the Mahler's church after dinner until we were too tired to carry on.

Saturday: This was rehearsal for the wedding so most of the couples from our group were off to that for the day while Dom, Patrick and I stayed back and had an adventure or two of our own. Adventure #1, Quiznos...........right? Oh come on, who doesn't think eating at a place that will probably be extinct in 5 years is exciting? JK. Adventure #2, The Arboretum. Plants, dirt paths, beating sun, racial exhibit, turtles, dead rabbit, and a wedding. Quite the adventure. I thought this was pretty though:

Dom climbed up in the tree in the background of the wedding videographer.

Annnnd Adventure #3, Yogurtland. Dom LOVES Yogurtland and since we don't have one it's a huge treat for him when he goes. We haven't had it in about two years and he finally got to have a bowl. Nothing could disturb him right? Wrong. You know those huge green, black beetle things that fly? Well, one came after Dom.......no really, it had a vendetta out on him and when it was unsuccessful at clobbering his face it decided that it would ruin his long awaited treat. It pulled a kamikaze right into his bowl of delicious yogurt. No lie, see for yourself:

Dom took it like a trooper, but I think when you are involved in such a bizarre event you have no choice but to laugh at it. Later that night, when all the couples got back, we played Pitt, which is a loud, crazy game. Then we hit up Dave & Buster's again (Yes!!!!). Once everyone had their fill of ticket winning, we went to Johnny Rockets for some grub and then headed home.

Sunday was the wedding. We went to the Mahler's church in the morning and then the girls and guys split up and got ready. The wedding was in Chino Hills and at a beautiful location. Here are a few shots from the day:

The wives and the most-likely-will-be-a-wife girlfriend (too much?). From left to right: Kaitlin, Allison Mahler, Allison, Me and Melissa.

The Guys, from left to right: Tony, Patrick, Joey, Andrew, John and Dom.

The girls impersonating the guys (standing in correspondence to their other half).

They did sparklers for the send off. Dom got a little carried away. :)

The next day, our last day, was spent packing up and eating lunch one last time with the Mahlers. Well, Andrew was waiting on the rest of us while we ate lunch since he happened to be working at the restaurant we chose to eat at. It was a great send off, then we hit the road for a long 8 hour drive home. What a great trip right? Such great people and such wonderful relationships formed and enriched.

P.S. After such a long trip I got to come home to a package waiting for me from my swap buddy. It's sort of like a pen pal with another knitter. We send each other packages with knitting stuff and I got my first one when I got back. :) And I thought the trip couldn't get any better. Here is what she sent:

Recent Readings

2011-06-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

Let's start with The Historian, Mini recommended it to me and since it was about Dracula I was on board, plus she has a way of getting you all fired up about anything she's interested in. Her passion is super infectious, one of her many wonderful qualities. Anyway, this book is about the connection between Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. You follow a couple of historians on their journey to find the truth behind this theory. I was consumed by the idea and the way the story unfolded was so interesting. I had just finished the first two books in the Friday Night Knitting Club series and the writing was so poor that I was eating up every word, sentence and paragraph in this book. Unfortunately after about 2/3 of the way through my interest peaked when I hit quite a slow section, it was tethered in again but ultimately met it's fate in the end. I wasn't as pleased with the ending as I was the beginning and middle but I do feel like I got a better picture of the Balkans, as this is where the majority of the book is set. At least there was quite a feeling of accomplishment after I closed this 642 beast.

Next up we have the Last Song. I was going on a trip and I wanted an easy book that I could get caught up in and I knew I would find that in Nicholas Sparks. I figured after an intense book, jam packed with intrigue and history, I deserved a break. I definitely found solace in the Last Song. I was hooked at once, getting attached to the characters right away. I love Sparks' character development, you just want be a part of these people's lives. His love affairs consume you and he always seems to have someone that you gain a soft spot for, this time around it was the dad. It becomes a bit tragic but not before learning the lesson of unconditional love. I feel like Christianity always has a way of peaking into his books and even though it's not the main point, I still feel like I can gain something out of it. This book left me in tears, seriously, I was balling like a small child who just found out Santa isn't real but I had a smile on my face in the end. Great book overall. :)

Have you heard of The Hunger Games Trilogy yet? It's supposed to be the new teen craze. They are making movies so naturally I had to get on board. I consumed these! The first two books are fantastic and the last one left me wanting but it wasn't entirely bad, just not as good as the first two. It's about a post-apocalyptic life where 13 districts are run by a capital who keeps a majority of the populace in poverty. When district 13 organized a rebellion they were destroyed by the capital and as a warning/punishment to the other districts they created the Hunger Games, this is where one girl and one boy tribute, between the ages of 12-18, from each district are chosen to fight to the death. Pretty intense huh? I thought oh, it's a teen series it won't get that gruesome, I was wrong. There were times when my jaw would drop, I mean it's not super gory or anything but just not something I would expect to read in this genre. That being said, it was fascinating. Very original and clever. I have already lent the book out and my husband is in the process of reading them as well, at my request of course. ;)

I was really loving how the last couple books sucked me in so I decided to go for it again with another Nicholas Sparks, Nights In Rodanthe. My mom said she loved this and has been asking me to read it, so I did. It helped that Brooke happened to be giving it away for free. This book, only being a couple hundred pages, went really quick. Another love story with loss but a lesson to be learned. I wasn't a huge fan of this one, it was good, great writing but since it was so short I didn't really connect to the characters like I do in most of his other books. I would recommend it to someone for a plane trip or a pool side venture but it's not high on my list.

Now I am working on Talent Is Overrated. Dom asked me to read it, it's been hard transitioning from fiction to this........management genre book? I am not exactly sure what genre it is but Dom got a lot out of it so I thought it might be worth a looksy. I really like Colvin's writing style, he is able to keep my attention by giving relevant examples to the point he is trying to make, even though I don't agree with his thesis which is, "That the greatest achievers succeed through endless 'deliberate practice,'" as opposed to talent ever being a definitive factor. I definitely agree that practice makes perfect and that those who don't show a talent for whatever they are trying to accomplish can achieve just as much as a "natural" through hard work but I still think talent plays a part in some people's success. Dom believed this too but I think this book opened up his thinking a little which is why he wants me to read it. I let you know how it turns out.

Phew, that's quite a bit of reading. I wish that I can get more out of my books, I mean, "The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it." ~James Brycewhen. I think in order to do this I need to learn more about literature and how to break it down so that I can retain more from what I read. I should start keeping some notes on my thoughts as well. Maybe you'll benefit from this in the future. What are you reading lately? Please share. :)

Fan-atic

2011-05-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

I just saw this music video for Adele's Rolling In The Deep song. Now, I already loved Adele but this music video just sealed the deal. She has a fantastic voice for one but the video totally captivates me, seriously, I get the chills every time. There's nothing really life changing about it but it just happens to have all the elements I love about watching music being played out. Let's break it down shall we:

She sings along and looks fierce, but I love how it's not all about her.
There's dancing, a must have, but it's beautiful and awesome at the same time. Pretty much genius in the way they play up the movements.
They emphasize the beat of the drums........need I say more? Usually the main reason why I like songs is the beat and when they show it off well in videos I'm hooked. They nail it with the water, brilliant by the way, with the light over the drummer, and with the dishes. SO good.

Now that I have thoroughly explained to you my love for this video and simultaneously confirmed your suspicion that I'm off my rocker, please enjoy the show if you haven't seen it already.

Right???!!???!??!?! The dancing samurai in powdered sugar is my favorite. I wish I could be that graceful, I also wish that I could sing like Adele, wow.

Sensing Memories

2011-04-07T15:52:00.000-07:00

DCHS Volleyball Team (you'll read why later)

Have you ever had a moment where you are just taken back? Where, BAM, you are just hit with a memory and you take a second to relive it? I love when this happens, when my senses launch me into nostalgia. This happened recently and it got me thinking about how all these different memories are connected to my senses and it's interesting to see which different sense will bring up which different memory. The recent encounter was with my sense of taste. I had Berry Kix, which I haven't had since I was a kid. I used to get this cereal all the time! It was the best and I was sad when they stopped making it and that's why when I saw it in the store, I snatched it up before any other sticky fingered child could get to it. It's not as sweet as I remember but it definitely brought me back.

I was instantly transported to my kitchen table in my childhood house. I was in shorts (because it was always summer there in my mind) with my bony legs tucked up under me and milk dripping down my chin since I was shoveling it in faster than necessary, waiting for my parents to get up. Oh man, those were the days, when I all I had to worry about was putting my bowl away when I was done. I know a simple box of cereal shouldn't get me all sappy but I love how our memories can be so vivid for such insignificant moments. Like how every time I see a Tiki-Torch I remember the porch my dad built in our backyard and eating dinner on it in the summer with the torches blazing or how every time I hear Songbird by Kenny G it's 4am, I'm 5, and I'm rolling my eyes at my Grandpa desperately asking him why my mother has to blast this song every time we get ready for the day?

The best memories though are the ones connected to smell. Why is this? It is explained pretty well here, but the gist of it is that our sense of smell has a direct neural connection to our hippocampus, where our long-term memories are created. This is why every time I smell Eternity by Calvin Klein perfume I am 7 years old again, helping my Grandma take off her boots after a long day of work because she always wore that perfume. It's uncanny though, this smell envelopes my brain and instantly everything is Grandma. I love it! There is no better memory than the ones connected to smell. I love the smell of Bath and Body Works Cucumber Melon because it reminds of 8th grade or the smell of tomato sauce because it reminds me of my Grandpa's amazing food or the smell of the leather on a volleyball because I am at practice drenched in sweat but filled with energy because I'm playing with my best friends and they're good at what they do.

Anyway, I'm just rambling on about random memories but it's all to say that I think memories are such an amazing, fun gift from God and I like how they pop up out of nowhere and make your day. :) If you feel like it, take a minute to see how your senses and memories are connected.

Me and my Grandparents mentioned.

One Day

2011-03-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

When Dom and I talk about our dream house we each have our own dream room. He has a killer music room and I have the mother of all craft rooms. I mean this room would make Martha Stewart cry because her career would look like a joke compared to the organization and creativity put into this space, probably not but again, dream room. I have been thinking about this a lot lately since I am in constant danger of being buried alive every time I go into the closet to get a ball of yarn or needle and thread. I have gained a unique set of skills braving this monstrosity that has served me well in disorganized sales sections. I can fish out a decent buy with my eyes closed.

That all being said, I hate living this way. I want to open up my closet doors to a yarn lovers haven, a sewer's nook and an overall crafter's dream. I want to see columns and cubbies, bins and drawers, symmetry and labels, a place that gives you the fullest potential with your supplies. I don't want to spend 10 minutes digging through piles of stuff to eventually give up and I really don't want whatever can't fit into the closet to then be put in my room in the open. What has been stopping me from making my dream a reality you ask? That's simple, me. I was not blessed with brilliant organization skills and am highly lacking in this area, especially when I am not able to start from scratch and have limited space. This is why I have been fantasizing about my perfect craft room because I wouldn't have to compromise or learn to compact my stash but would be able to display and set up individual stations.

Let me show you what I am talking about:

I would love to display my yarn like this

In cubbies like this. And the different work stations are great.

Or even these. I just love the clean lines used in these rooms and any room with books displayed grabs my eye.

This would be great for everything non-yarn related. Office supplies, scrap booking, even sewing supplies.

See what I mean? Doesn't that just make you melt or get giddy? It's like you're on a first date with Ikea or something. Maybe one day I will get my act together and compromise with a system that enables this level of organization in my limited space and then, when I am able to, I will graduate to an entire craft room that even Monica Geller would be proud of. :)

Off The Leash

2011-03-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Dom had to change his car battery so I thought I would bring out the Baby Scram and myself to keep him company. Well, we couldn't just stand there forever while he worked, so I let the Scram off the leash.................Oh Boy! He was SO happy. He took off running with ears peaked and tail wagging. It's been raining here for a few days and the water has accumulated into giant puddles and Scram proceeded to find the biggest one and bound through it over and over again. Then he threw himself onto the shrubbery and rolled around, popped up and dashed into the puddle again. The best part was he listened really well to us. He came to us when someone was walking by and we wanted to hold him to make sure he didn't get them wet, he kept away from the street and showed himself when we would whistle for him to check in.

Well, by the end of it all we had quite the wet/dirty Baby Scram. He got a bath, a long, laborious bath. I wish I would have taken video of his adventures or at least of photo but he pretty much looked like this:

Maybe not as wet but pretty close. He was such a happy puppy and even with the clean up it was totally worth it. :)

Spoiled Wife

2011-03-17T02:30:00.001-07:00

Let's start off by saying this, I'm picky. I mean even my own mother gets me gift cards because that's a safer bet. I think it's because I'm very particular but very indecisive so finding something I really like and would use is a challenge. That being said Dom has never picked out certain things for me. Clothes and shoes to be exact and although it's good because I wouldn't want to hurt his feelings if I didn't like it and he wouldn't want to waste money, I am curious to see what he would choose for me. Well, he nailed it on his first try.

For Valentine's Day Dom picked out some beautiful green yarn for me. I loved it! I know you might be thinking yarn? Yarn is not as complex as clothes or shoes but let me tell you, I'm picky here too. And some shops won't let you return yarn. He went to the local yarn shop after work while I was out of town and went all around picking out things he thought I would like. He settled on Madelinetosh Tosh DK in Moorland, this vibrant, gorgeous green. I have always wanted some Madelintosh because it's so soft and such great quality but it's a little pricey so I've never bought any, this is something I mentioned to him a couple days before Valentine's and he just thought SCORE!

Well, I opened it up and was blown away. I couldn't stop feeling the yarn and was so happy and touched that he did this for me. I wanted to knit it immediately but I didn't want to make yet another small project so I searched on Ravelry all night and found a pattern I really liked, started on it the very next day. I finished in time for our anniversary a couple weeks later, my first garment! Dom took pictures for me at Bodega Bay, where we spent our Anniversary. :)

It has pockets! It's the main reason I chose this pattern. :)

If you think he did well for Valentine's Day, let's move on to our Anniversary. Somewhere around 6 months ago I was at the family jewelry shop and saw this ring, now I am not a big jewelry person but this ring was gorgeous enough for me to seriously ask Dom for it. I mean he works at a jewelry shop, I thought it was about time I tried to reap the benefits of that. ;) It was a bit pricey so he was thinking no, which I understood, I visited the ring a couple more times but one day I came in and it was gone............GONE! I was like no way they sold the one piece of jewelry I actually asked for so quickly. Yep, they did, at least that's what they told me. I had my suspicions though. Well, Christmas goes by, birthday goes by, Valentine's day goes by and no ring. I gave up. So on our anniversary I didn't know what to expect. He pulled out a little box and I opened it to find my ring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He had kept it all this time to throw me off and it so worked. It's gorgeous isn't it? I love it. :)

I think we can safely say that my husband is great and he makes me happy, even apart from the wonderful gifts he gets me. He listens to my interests and makes it a point to show that he cares, again, I love this man. :)

P.S. The surprise date went pretty well. He had no clue, thank goodness. He came home and I was all dressed up, wearing my Madelintosh top of course, and ready to go. We went to dinner and had planned on going miniature golfing but there were way too many people there so we went to Origin Coffee and played cards and sipped coffee. Over all, a great date. :)

He wouldn't take a serious picture, this is my frustrated face.

Much better. :)

Surprise Date

2011-03-11T15:45:00.000-08:00

Dom and I have received some lovely gift cards to restaurants lately and a couple to our favorite place to eat, P.F. Chang's. I'm thinking that I would put together a last minute surprise date for the husband and I tonight. Since it is quite last minute I might just have to keep it simple and classic, dinner and a movie. I'm hoping to feel the muse and come up with something more clever later on, but seeing as how I have nothing out for dinner and feel like getting dressed up, also to just have come up with this to rectify the previous two statements, I don't have much hope that my creative light bulb is suddenly going to flicker. Anyway, it's time to get ready. Maybe cleaning up the apartment will be the romantic equivalent of bringing flowers for the girl. I'll let you know how it goes.

P.S. For those of you who talk to Dom, surprise is in the title. Let's not make the next post about you. Thanks. :)

Officially Official

2011-03-07T15:12:00.001-08:00

So Dom and I started dating about 3 1/2 years ago but we talked for a while before we put any sort of label on it. This was because I wanted to take things slow, be friends first, yadda, yadda, yadda. The joke was that we were having about a 5 month long DTR. Since we hung out all the time and didn't want to see anyone else it pretty much meant we were official in everyone else's eyes but my own..........so, on July 8, 2007 when I said we could make it official Dom joked and said, "Oh sure, we're unofficially official." I asked when we would be officially official and he said, "Second year of marriage." This has been the running joke of our entire relationship. Well folks, we just had our second anniversary, we are officially official!!

The wedding was just a ruse. JK, but seriously, this man deserves the world. He shows me constantly, day in and day out pure love, God's love. He is always patient, understanding, kind, thoughtful, and encouraging. The way he acts towards me proves his vows and reinforces mine. I love this man and I can't wait to see what God unveils for us as we grow even closer. :)

Our Vows

To Him

From the beginning you have been my source of light, my joy, my friend and the greatest gift that God has given me. Your compassion softens my edges and forgives my flaws, your strength and approach to life have changed my fears of the unknown to excitement for the opportunities that lay ahead, and your love and devotion have opened my eyes to the type of love that God has for us. I have learned so much from you and the fact that I can continue to do that fills me with a happiness that is incomparable and unfading. I want to encourage you like you have always encouraged me and never leave your side like you have never left mine. I love you with everything that I am and can't wait to walk through life holding your hand. :)

To Me

Candice, I am completely yours. You are beautiful to me in every way. Your smile makes my heart race, and I am overwhelmed by the depth of your love for me. You make me forget all my weaknesses and trials, and you help me to see the good that is in me.
You make me better. ;)
I don't know what our future holds. What good times and bad we'll have to go through. I don't know what pain or happiness lies ahead for us, but one thing I do know. I know that through it all, no matter what happens, I will be by your side to share in your laughter and your tears. There's no where I would rather be.
You are my best friend, my favorite person to spend time with, and spending the rest of my life with you is joy that I didn't think could be possible.
I love you with all that I am, and I will for the rest of my life.

SoCal Bliss

2011-01-19T12:23:00.000-08:00

Let's just take a minute to look at that please. It's 9pm and warmer than our entire week here. Oye.

I just recently got back from a trip home and it was glorious. One of the best. It was filled with friends and family, enough to sustain me for a little while but soon I'll be itching to go back. Since I was there for over a week I won't give you a play by play of each day but rather I will give you a highlights reel. :) Here are some things I particularly enjoyed about the trip:

1. Landing safely (I hate flying)
2. Talking about God with Brooke
3. Being greeted by Steph, Whitney, and Shelly!!!!!
4. Feeling like I was in High School again (talking about boys, laughing until you nearly peed your pants and a sleepover)
5. Eating a huge, delicious breakfast I didn't have to cook
6. Giving people their knitted items. Ex. Steph and her hat below

7. Listening to the playlist below on repeat while driving to Allison and Andrew's wedding

8. Seeing my husband after being apart for three days
9. Allison making everyone laugh talking about her nerdiness as she's getting married
10. Seeing Dom so happy around his friends. He's constantly laughing. :)
11. Getting to know the guy's girls better
12. Watching the guys dance.............Probably one of the highlights of the highlights
13. Randomly seeing Mindy and Taylar since I haven't seen them since May
14. Patrick and Mindy finally meeting
15. Mindy calling me at 11:45 saving us from missing our noon check out
16. Walking through the twilight zone aka Irvine with Mindy, Tay and Tim
17. Watching Jenny run around in circles as we walk up to The Woods place
18. The Woods
19. Listening to Piper whine outside our door because she knows we're there

20. Austin's reaction to Brooke saying she would choose him if things don't work out with Drew. He immediately said YES and then under his breath goes, Goodbye Drew. :)
21. Dom and I looking at each other in disgust as we watched Love and Other Drugs
22. All of the Mexican food, especially the Cali. B. Dom finally got to try

23. Juice It Up
24. Dom getting the nickname "Giggles" by a friend I haven't seen since freshman year of High School
25. Dinner with the family as we all comment on how Dom never eats
26. Pigging out with Brooke and Drew at Midnight
27. The thick, amazing fog we went through to land
28. Landing, again. :)

Well, that was a great trip and I only wish you could have been a part of the hilarious jokes, amazing dance moves, and delicious food.

Wish List

2011-01-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

Wish Lists aka To Do Lists for the lazy; this is the revelation that I have had this year. I have talked about my laziness in the past but I feel like I have finally just come to accept it. Rather than set goals for the new year, I am going to make a wish list. That way when I don't achieve most of my list I won't feel bad about myself, I'll just keep wishing. :) So here are my wishes, in no particular order.

1. Get chores done early
2. Make dinner more often
3. Keep yarn organized
4. Keep desk organized
5. Take care of work promptly
6. Learn the Ukulele
7. Blog more
8. Read everything Jane Austen ever wrote
9. Start the process of learning a new language
10. Read the Bible more

That's all I can think of right now or at least these are ones that I find substantial enough to even wish for. I know all this takes is a little will power and discipline and who knows, maybe when I turn 24 (which I consider the, "stop messing around you're a grown up now" age) those two ingredients will magically appear.

Here's wishin'. :)

My kind of Thanksgiving

2010-12-01T17:15:00.000-08:00

So, it's been a while and I know I said that I would be posting often buuuuuut that didn't happen so I am going to write a super long post today about my Thanksgiving. :) This year we got to spend Thanksgiving with my family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you tell that I was excited about that? The past two years were spent with Dom's and it's not like we missed it this year, we did everything we would have done on the actual day with them just two weeks earlier. I have just missed all of my traditions and being surrounded by my family and being in a familiar environment that I was just so excited to go home.

The past two years I have made Spanish Rice and brought it to Dom's family's house just so I could have a taste of home but it's not the same. I missed the Enchiladas at every meal, the tortillas, papas, over easy eggs, Spanish Rice and Tapatío and boy did I get my fill of it this year. I am still stuffed from our trip. :)

We left last Tuesday and arrived with enough time to visit with my friends before we headed out to Arizona (were my Grandparents live) the next morning. It was SO great to see everyone. We got caught up on each others lives and recounted memories, which we can't help but do aaaaaaannnnnddddd I sold a hat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Again, something I am really excited about.

I started this crocheted hat that morning on the plane to keep my self occupied and finished it up while hanging out with everyone and one of my friends bought it off me!!! She was very generous too, I kind of feel bad seeing as how I would have given it to her as a gift but she insisted. Also, I got an order for three more hats and a scarf! I wish you could have seen me jumping up and down with Dom after I left but then again I looked like a tard so maybe it's a good thing. I want to start my own Etsy shop but I don't know if I would enjoy having to knit under a deadline and you have to sell original creations, I work from patterns. Maybe I'll figure something out one day but this is a nice segue into selling my knitting.

Anyway, Wed. through Sun. was spent at my grandparents and we ate, went quading, ate, went quading, ate, shopped and then went quading........and then ate again. Seriously, it was the best. My Grandpa makes the most amazing breakfast you will ever have in your life and no one can duplicate it, trust me, we've tried. I couldn't get enough of it.

Quading was fun as always, everyone who wanted to go had a seat and Dom got to drive the Rhino and a quad so he got a good feel for my traditions. My mom, Grandma, cousin and I went shopping in Henderson, NV on Black Friday and that was the only big event separate from the quading adventures. We did get to go shooting and drove through Laughlin............I spent a total of $5 at the casino. Most of which was a the nickle slots. :)

Here are a few pictures from the trip:

Dom and the Rhino

Dom and Logan

Us, all ready to go for a ride :)

Thanksgiving Dinner

So much yummy food

A little Monopoly and a little Knitting

The boys went on a long ride while the girls shopped

My Grandpa's Birthday

The Christmas Tree

Hiking after a ride

Indian Hieroglyphics

You get a bit dusty after a ride :)

The whole gang and all the bikes

I crocheted the same I hat I sold for my cousin while I was there.

Hit up the best doughnut shops at home before leaving

My wonderful parents :)

It was all so much fun and I'm glad I got to go home this year. It had been too long. Hope you enjoyed all of the pictures.

Louis Vuitton Needs Me?

2010-11-04T14:28:00.000-07:00

Alright, so I'm not one of those girls who is obsessed with designers, I just happen to subscribe to InStyle Magazine and would do anything for a Louis Vuitton hat box suitcase. Honestly though, most of my wardrobe is from either Ross or Forever XXI, but I have always dreamed of owning a gorgeous, durable hat box suitcase and Louis Vuitton happens to make one that fits my every need: quality, durability, looks and size. Observe:

The fact that it costs more than my husband and I make in a month is a bit discouraging but not a complete turn off. This will just have to be one of those items I'll dream about owning and would purchase if I ever had such a disposable income.

Back to the point, my husband's jewelry shop does repair work for the Nordstrom's in our area and they referred Louis Vuitton to us! So, since I go in and pick up the repairs, I get to go to Louis Vuitton too!!!!! :) I think by the number of times I have said Louis Vuitton in this post you can understand how excited I am. This means I will be spending about 20 minutes in front of my closet to come to the conclusion that I have nothing to wear and how it would all be better if I just owned a Louis Vuitton hat box..........then I'll throw something on that I picked out in the first 5 minutes and rush out the door because I will inevitably be late.

So wish me luck, I am hoping to impress them so much with my outfit and pizzazz that they want to offer me my choice of any one item for free, which would of course be my beloved hat box, and that they don't solely focus on the childish smile and awe on my face coupled with the pinch of discomfort from my 4" tall high heels, which I love but need to learn to walk in. :)

The Usge

2010-10-24T01:52:00.000-07:00

(Disclaimer: He only wears the headphones when his old roommate is playing online)

The husband and I spent a lovely Saturday doing the usge, knitting and playing XBOX, he does one while I do the other. I'll let you figure out who does what. You would think this would get old or that we would try to spice it up a bit but nope, we are happy doing this day in and day out.......now don't get me wrong, this isn't all we do, but mostly what we do. The end of the day did consist of a rousing game of walleyball (said sarcastically since I had to stop early for my aching tummy) followed by a movie, Paranormal Activity. Only half of us did that since the other half is a pansy........Dom. So you see, we do have lives, it's just that we like to relax and that's how we do it.

Plus, I just got this amazing yarn! It's baby alpaca, which happens to feel like heaven in a skein. I am making a cowl for my mom and it's just so much more fun knitting with nice yarn. I ran out so I have to go back to the yarn shop on Monday, boo-hoo. My list of supplies is growing quite rapidly since I have more time to look up patterns that I want to knit. I blame Dom for this since I wanted to go today to get more but unfortunately he has developed an aversion to yarn shops, scarred by years of his mother dragging him and his brother to them, apparently against their will. Lesson learned, get a baby sitter when you have little boys and feminine hobby shopping to do. Well, I think it's time to get back to the needles, said while my husband just assassinated the enemy. :)

Questions

2010-10-15T16:15:00.000-07:00

The other night I was at my knitting group and we were all sitting down eating dinner together. Well, one of the girls in the group is 13 and in 8th grade, she is our youngest member, and the other women in my group asked her a very simple, traditional question for a child of that age, "So, how was school?" I seriously stopped what I was doing because I was taken back about 6 years to when I was the age where my parents asked me that question. It has been so long! I started laughing because I didn't expect to feel all nostalgic about a question like this but there you have it.

Ciara, the 13 year old, is special. She likes to talk and so she went on and on about her day but usually when parents ask this question you hear the traditional answer, "Fine." This got me thinking about when I am a parent of a child who's in school. I don't want to hear the traditional answer. I want Dom and I to ask deeper, more interesting questions about their day so that we hear something more than just, "Fine." They don't have to be serious, "How many kids did you catch picking their noses today?" would work but I think that if you want a serious answer than you need to be specific. "How was school?" is so broad. Something more like, "What was the most interesting thing you learned today?" or "Which new math fact interested you the most?" That last one is because I'm a math nerd. I LOVE math but it's been a while so the intimacy has faded a bit. I want them to have a passion for learning and I think by asking them more about the specifics they learned and even allowing them to teach me can aid in that.

So here's to being a creative parent when the time comes and not hearing one word answers. :)

Too busy to stop being lazy

2010-10-07T15:39:00.000-07:00

That's right ladies and gentlemen, I am still in my pajamas. I was taking Scramble out on his afternoon walk and I strolled around my apartment building wearing this little number:

I'm wearing pink, polka-dot, fleece pajama pants, with a bright red Awana shirt to match. I always hope that I don't run into anyone when I do this but it never fails, the second I come outside the whole neighborhood decided it's time to go to the store or sit out on their patios or just pop their heads out of their caves to inspect and I never let them down. I'm writing like this is some special occurrence when actually this happens quite often, really, I should blog about when I actually do leave the apartment in normal clothing before 5pm.

Anyway, I sort of have an excuse this time. I have been super busy this morning with work. Data entry, booking flights for co-workers and getting back to people who wrote me yesterday. So you see, none of these things required me getting ready for the day and all of them together did not allow me to even try. So, now that it's pushing 4pm I think that I shall change and freshen up, after all, I am about to leave the apartment again and I am hoping to shock the neighbors with a second dazzling appearance.

Happy Scram = Happy Candice

2010-10-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my husband asked if I wanted to go for a walk and said we could take a Scram. I am always up for going on walks with him but when he says we can bring the baby Scram then I am raring to go. He didn't tell us where we were going and ended up taking us on this dirt trail that follows the train tracks behind our apartment building. We were able to keep Scramble off his leash the whole time.

We walked about a mile down while watching Scram tumble through the bushes and wrestle in the sand. He would run ahead and then circle around to check in with us, whilst spraying us with his slobber and some dirt. He was such a happy camper and that made me so very happy. I guess it's the small things in life that really bring you joy but I just can't get enough of a happy Scramble. :)

I guess I'll take it as a compliment.

2010-09-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

So last night Dom and I are on our computers when all of a sudden he starts cracking up, I mean he was dying laughing. I look over and he is looking at his phone and I am now curious, so I ask him what's up? He proceeds to let me read a text message he just received:

"Hey, do you remember me, Tim, I sold you that boom stand a little while back. A buddy of mine is shooting a porn, it's going to be 3 volumes, you get paid $2,000 per volume and only do about 20 hours of shooting, you would be just the body type for what he is looking for. Would you be interested?"

Yep, my husband just got asked to be in a Porno.........gross yet, hilarious. He bought a boom stand, which is a stand for a boom microphone. He found him on Craigslist, bought it and moved on with his life but apparently made an impression on Tim. What I find great is that this wasn't just a mass text saying hey, do you want to get down and dirty, no, he took the time to explain who he is and the business proposition because he remembered what my husband looked like................I guess I'll take this as a compliment.

Dom wrote him and said, uh, thanks but as a Christian I believe this is wrong. I, however, have been having a field day with this information. My comments to him now center around his body build and whether or not he should negotiate for more. This is now one of my favorite stories. If you ever meet Dom please ask him how his "career" is going. ;) JK.

Clutter

2010-09-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

Oh man, since the sickness, visitor and overall laziness I have converted our apartment into a Hoarders: Buried Alive episode. No joke. I finally got some motivation and cleaned up the nastiest part, the kitchen. I took out two full trash bags, boxes and empty containers and then cleaned the dirty dishes. I felt so good after but unfortunately this was only the beginning. I didn't take pictures of the kitchen because that would just be too embarrassing, I prefer to retrieve my humilation by typing out detailed descriptions for the whole world to see. :) Anyway, I did take pictures of some of the mess that collected on top of my desk:

This was what was piled up on top of my desk, sky hi. I had all of this teetering on the corner while I still typed and surfed. Once it started falling onto my keyboard and messing up my messages I decided it was time to clear it off.

It may look like a tornado hit but there is a method to my madness. Each one of these piles has a classification: put away, file away, find a home, go through.....etc. I don't know if anyone else uses this method or if you happen to be too mature to even implement a system like this since you put things away when you get them........whatever, but I find it strangely therapeutic to take an absolute mess like this and organize it. I don't use this as an excuse to go crazy with my messiness but when it happens, and I finally get around to cleaning it, I am left felling good about myself. I just push away the truth that I would never have had to do that if I had just been organized in the first place. Repression never hurt anybody right?

Now, I can finally see the bottom of my desk:

It's still not perfect but I'm getting there. I awoke with the intention of going on a cleaning rampage but work actually got in the way. I know, I actually had more than a couple hours of work to do today. :) I have some errands to complete but when I get home I will continue to blast my awesome new playlist and clean my apartment. I wonder if my neighbors are getting tired of "Like A G6" yet?

Excuses, Excuses

2010-09-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

So, I know I said that I would be posting at least twice a week but some things have come up like sickness, visitors, and laziness. The last time I posted was when I got back from my trip home when I thought I was getting better, I went to a baseball game for crying out loud, but my sickness took a turn for the worst after that game and decided to take up residency in my body forever. Not really, but I have been sick for about a month now. I finally feel better, I just have remnants of a cough and side-splitting pain from the muscle I pulled in my ribs from coughing but no big deal, that's why God invented Advil.

My goal is still to post twice a week I just honestly didn't do anything while I was sick. Didn't change, eat (as much as I normally do, not much deters me from eating), sleep or clean. It was quite gross and now I feel up for it, as well as, blogging. :)

Now that I have given you all of my excuses and you might still have rolled your eyes I'm just going to get into updating you on what I did this past week. I'm not going to back track a month because, 1: I can't remember and 2: I don't think it was anything that interesting. So moving on, one of my best friends Brooke came to visit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She came up with her family and boyfriend (OOOooo) to San Francisco. They have family friends there that just happen to own two large homes and one is empty but has everything visitors need. We got to stay there fo free and they provided a ton of food for us that Brooke's parents made delicious breakfasts with, I love waking up to the smell of french toast and sausage! Dom and I went up on Friday night and Saturday, us youngsters/couples went into San Francisco. We walked from Pier 1 to Ghirardelli Square and back. If you aren't familiar with the layout of San Francisco, that's effing far but it was way fun and I LOVE San Fran so I was cool with it.

We moseyed around Pier 39, saw the seals, which apparently Brooke didn't remember from our Senior Class visit there but we took a picture this time just so it would stick. Then we walked Fisherman's Warf and had some Starbucks and then hit up a wax museum. Brooke's boyfriend went to one in Washington D.C. and said it was amazing but sadly that was NOT the case this time. These wax figures were some scary version of our beloved historical figures and celebrities.......It was still a fun experience and I would show you pictures but, like a loser, I left my camera battery charging in our room. Oh well, Brooke took her new camera and will eventually give me pictures.......................................we'll see. After the wax museum we got some yummy ice cream and chocolate at Ghirardelli Square. This was our last stop and on the way back to the BART station at Pier 1 this huge fog cloud rolled in and enveloped the whole city. It was amazing and gorgeous. It looked like it was 5am. I took one picture with my phone:

Sooooo pretty. :)

Sunday was spent lounging around and then we took Brooke home with us after her family and boo left. Monday was awesome, sleep in, shop and then go out to dinner. We were celebrating Brookie's Birthday! Her actually birthday was on Tuesday but she was leaving in the afternoon so we celebrated early. April, Brooke's close friend since Elementary School and my friend since Jr. High, who happened to move up here right before I did and who happens to be my hairdresser now, came and celebrated with us. Dinner was SO good and here is a picture of us girls:

(Brooke, April, Me)

We went back to the apartment after dinner and talked and hung out while my lovely husband made us a large Pizookie of our own (we went to BJs for dinner and got a free mini pizookie for Brooke's B-Day, not enough). Did I mention he made it from scratch? Yeah, he's pretty amazing. Anyway the crazyness continued:

It was a fun night. The next day I got to say Happy Birthday for real but I also had to say goodbye to Brookie. :( It was such a fun trip and I love my friends and husband so I couldn't have been happier!

I Remembered

2010-09-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

So I did it, I remembered to take pictures at the game. It was quite a fun night. We thought we were going to be late since it was the last game of the regular season and traffic was gross but we made it right on time. We had awesome seats too, only ten rows away from the field. See:

I was all ready for the game too. I had my hat I told you about and I managed to find a baseball shirt to wear too, fitted and cute. I didn't go all out on the dolling up but my eyes were pretty dolled, unfortunately you can't see that very well. I didn't get anything free, even though they were giving away free stuff all night but my husband thought I was cute so score. Here's the hat:

Now buying food at games is ridiculous so I packed some contraband since you're not allowed to bring in food or drinks. I just put them in plastic bags and then put those in a make-up bag, so I was prepared when they made me open my purse to check for said contraband. Yum.

So the game was pretty interesting. The River Cats started out killing Vegas but about half way through the tables turned and then they just ended up getting spanked. Final score, 15-10. We lost. There were a ton of home runs and a great double play so all in all, good game.

Baseball

2010-09-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

That's right, my husband wrote me yesterday saying, "How about we ditch small group and go to a baseball game instead?" Me being the epitome of a good Christian replied, "Yes! That sounds like a blast." I've been a bit disappointed with my small group lately but that's a whole different story. Anyway, Dom got us tickets to a local baseball game for tonight and I am stoked to go. I used to have this bomb, all black cap but I lost it, so yesterday, as I was doing the grocery shopping, I bought this really cute one that says Ford on it. It has the mesh back like a trucker hat and it's all tattered in the front. I'll try to remember to take pictures at the game to show you. I wanted to look like an authentic baseball fan, since I like watching live baseball but have only been to a few games in my life.

My plan is to get all dolled up in the hopes of scoring a free T-Shirt or something and if not, I'll settle for looking cute for my husband. :) I love it when he does stuff like this and since it doesn't happen every other day, I really appreciate it and enjoy it when it does. It makes it special. So, I'm off to start the dolling up process. Hopefully my next post contains some pictures of the fun night to come.

Vacation

2010-08-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

Well, obviously my vacation has been a blast since I haven't written yet right? Right. First off we had a long road trip.........8 hours in a car with my brothers sitting right by each other can get a little old. They fight, my parents yell, then we all get along again until the next little tiff. What family isn't like that though? I did get to knit on the trip which was nice but knitting a cable pattern hat in the car can be challenging.

I finished a couple days ago and it looks wonderful it just happens to be about 5 sizes too small. I guess I should heed the warnings the pattern gave me about coming out small. It doesn't even fit my youngest brother and he has a small head. Oh well. Some little girl will be happy, I just need to figure out which little girl.......any suggestions?

We went to Big Bear first before we came home and it was lovely. We only stayed there one night but what was fun was the next day, as we were at breakfast, this huge rain storm came through. It was super warm, bright blue skies and totally clear when all of a sudden the rain fell like there was no tomorrow and then there was lightning and thunder, it was awesome. We left and when we got to the desert we were welcomed by 115 degree weather.......it was like the surface of the sun. It took a while for me to get used to this weather again, especially all of the air conditioning. Outside it's sweltering but inside it's freezing. Unfortunately I picked up a sore throat because of it but it's not that bad yet. Actually I am drinking hot tea (yuck!) to try and ease the pain and heal it but I just ended up burning my tongue.

Throughout the week there was been a lot of lounging around, swimming in the jacuzzi sized pool and family time. When the weather is warm like this the pool feels like bath water, it's so nice when you can just hop in without the shock of the water temperature. My mom did treat me to a spa day yesterday. It was heavenly. This beautiful spa in La Quinta that had powder rooms, locker rooms (nice ones), showers, a steam room, jacuzzi, and lounging rooms. We both had a facial then we got our eyebrows waxed, took a couple minutes in the steam room before we couldn't breath and were drenched in sweat and enjoyed their super pressure showers. It was so nice, I love girl days. :) I do have this lovely picture of me and my mom in our spa robes but she said I couldn't post it cause she doesn't like how she looks in it. What a girl.

After that we went out for sushi. Now some of you are all wow, the spa and sushi, sounds great. Well, I don't like sushi but apparently my family has sushi Friday and so we all packed up and went to Sam's Sushi. I ordered Miso Soup and that's it......they made me try a mango, spicy tuna wrap and this was my reaction:

Needless to say, I didn't like it. Now we are getting ready to head to San Diego for a night. My parents are going to the taping of Sean Hannity and I am going to hang out with Brooke, Drew, and Whitney, good friends. :) I'm excited but now I have to go pack an over night bag and scout around for some throat lozenges. Talk to you tomorrow.

Last Minute

2010-08-23T00:16:00.000-07:00

Alright, so it's still Sunday for me even though it's past midnight, but I still haven't gone to sleep yet so the day isn't over for me, meaning I made it in time for the second post this week. Phew! I have been running around the apartment cleaning all night. Why you ask? Because my family is coming into town tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh yeah, I get to be around the people I grew up with who understand why I put my dishes in the dishwasher right away or why I like spicy food, because they taught me to. :) Another bonus of them coming into town tomorrow is that we no longer have to take care of Piper. Now I know that in an earlier post I raved about how adorable she is and how I was never going to give her back.......things changed. She is still completely adorable but after a couple weeks of "special surprises" in the apartment our friendship took a turn. Now I am looking forward to having just one dog to look after again, one where all I have to do is put the trash can and my knitting up before I leave and I am good for about 6 hours.

Until they arrive though, I have a million things to do. Laundry, present wrapping, dropping off Scram, packing and making dessert. Oh yeah, did I mention that I am tagging along with them as they head home? I'm so excited to visit with them for a week. We are going to hit up Big Bear and San Diego. I can't wait to relax and hang out with my lovely family. I hate to leave Dom, who can't go with me because his job sucks......I mean because he has work, but he will survive and it's always fun to come home to a food deprived husband, then my cooking tastes fantastical. Jk. I will seriously miss him and wish that he could come along. In the meantime our separation will be reminiscent of when we were dating, which is always fun. Well, time to get back to my tons of chores. Next time I write I will be back in my favorite place, Southern California. :)

How long will this last?

2010-08-19T23:37:00.000-07:00

Alright, I never blog anymore. I should since I am home all day and don't have anything better to do but that's exactly the problem, I'm home all day! What could I possibly have to write about? How many Scramble hairs I found in my cereal? Or the number of times I actually left the couch? How about what time I actually changed out of my pajamas and brushed my teeth? See, nothing much to write about but I am going to try anyway. If it's too boring then you can peace out mid-paragraph and check back again later but I am going to try and post at least a couple times a week........I know right? A couple times a week, don't overexert yourself Candice. I know me though and I am innately lazy, a couple times a week is like practically asking me to throw together a novel for you.

I just want to warn you that my blog posts will be like my iTunes playlists, random. I might actually write about which TV show interested me the most that day or how many times I bump into that neighbor I am trying to avoid but I'm sure that once in a while, or at least I hope once in a while, I will write about something with substance, something that is worth while and when that happens you'll know that I actually left the apartment that day. Until then I leave you with this, don't hold me to it.

The Little Piper

2010-07-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

My family goes to the Midwest each summer, for the whole summer. These past couple of years they have done a road trip on the way, which may take a week or two. This time around though, they have a new addition to think about, I'm talking about their new dog Piper. Well it's hard enough finding a hotel at the last minute anyway and making sure that they cater to dogs makes finding one at the last minute even harder.

Piper is a 10 month old Maltipoo, which is a cross between a Maltese and a Poodle. She is 8 lbs. and absolutely adorable. See for yourself. :)

It has been a bit more responsibility watching her in an apartment. Instead of just throwing her outside to go potty I now have to take a turn for both dogs. Oh well though, she is just too cute to care about all of that. It's such a change from having a big dog. You lose her so much easier just because she'll walk behind you and you didn't notice. Or she can step all over you and you barely feel it. I love being able to pick her up and snuggle next to her fluffy, little body.

Scramble gets a little jealous but I think he likes having someone to play with even if he thinks of her as a squirmy chew toy. We have had her for a month now but we'll have her until the end of August. I am going to be so sad to see her go and sometimes I just think I am not going to give her back but I am sure my mom will pry her from me somehow.

Nightmares

2010-06-26T23:59:00.000-07:00

I hate nightmares. The ones where you think they are so real it takes you a minute to catch your breath and realize it was a dream, or the ones where you wake up and your face hurts because you were crying so hard. They don't always start out this dramatic but I feel like they gain in their potency with age. When I was little, I used to have weird, abstract nightmares. The earliest one I can remember was actually somewhat normal, I was five and dreamed that wolves were surrounding my bed trying to get me, but as long as I was under my covers I was safe. From this I developed a tick where I automatically raise my feet off the floor when I'm scared. My knees get cramped during scary movies because I have my legs tucked in so close to me, just in case something, or someone, claws at me from the end of the bed or from under the couch.

But then something changed and my nightmares went all Salvador Dali on me. I kept having these reoccurring nightmares with abstract objects floating in the air like I was in the middle of the universe and, for some reason, it freaked me out. I don't know when those stopped but the last nightmare I can remember from my childhood happened when I was about 10 and I dreamed that I was skiing and fell and then somehow turned into my skis, which were sort of buried under the snow, enough to where people kept skiing over them/me and I thought I was going to die. This one required a trip to moms room and her lying in bed with me until I calmed down and fell back asleep.

Since then my nightmares have become a little more realistic. I have had the traditional falling off a building and waking up before you hit the ground but that usually happens in the car. Going to the bathroom in public, these ones aren't so much terrifying as they are embarrassing, but that amount of embarrassment terrifies some people........me. Lately it's been more heights related, being on the top of a hundred story building while it sways heavily in the wind and I'm about to go over the edge. I've had quite a few of those recently, to my dislike. Or, being kidnapped. I had that one in high school and was pleased when dream Candice grabbed the wheel of the kidnapper's car in an attempt to save herself but in the end the effort was useless.

I would gladly take any one of those dreams over the heart-wrenching nightmares. The ones where you wake up drenched in sweat, crying about what just happened and you automatically need to check in with reality to make sure none of it was true. I'm talking about the ones where you lose a loved one, by any means. I have had a few where my mom has died. My face has never experience such pain as I sobbed in slumber and in reality over the loss of my mom. I immediately went to her room again in tears as she assured me she was alive or I have called her to make sure she was still around for the advice, hugs, laughs and love that I sill need from her. Each time she has made me feel better but the dream still leaves a little scar.

And, after last night, I have a new sort of dream to add to the heart-wrenching category. The betrayal of a husband, which I count as a loss. I dreamed that Dom cheated on me with someone I hadn't seen since Jr. High and the most awful thing about it was that dream Dom didn't seem to care, and he seemed to be in love with her in the most endearing way. They had pet names for each other! Gross! I can't remember his for her, something cutesy, but hers for him was "Big," like the character from Sex and the City. I could give you all the details of the dream but it's not important, besides they aren't fun to think about. Anyway, I woke up in shock and started crying like I was in the dream and even woke up Dom to calm me down. He felt awful about it and assured me that he never has and never will do anything like that, not that I needed any assuring because I already know this about him, but the sweet way that he said it did help. He held me until I felt better and we moved on but the loss that I felt was just as painful as losing my mom. The funny thing is that right before I went to bed I told Dom that I was tired of dramatic dreams and wanted a peaceful nights sleep, filled with dreams of friends, pretty colors or anything soothing..........oh well.

I am crossing my fingers for a better nights sleep tonight and that hopefully I can take away something from each of these nightmares, either the reminder that I truly love those closest to me or the simple lesson of facing my fears, I don't plan on going potty publicly anytime soon but maybe I could get over the heights thing. Well, cheers to a peaceful nights sleep.

Dog Park

2010-06-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

Our little Scram has quite a bit of energy and, even though they said that this breed can get used to living in an apartment, he still needs to get out and flex his muscles. The way that we try to expend his energy is to take him somewhere with property for him to run around on. This includes:

Dom's parents house

This is their front yard

and the dog park

Lately, I have been trying to take him to the dog park more often so he can be a happy puppy and he loves it. For his birthday he got a tennis ball launcher:

and he goes crazy for that thing. If you have a dog who likes to play fetch at all, get yourself one of these. You fling it so far with less effort and your dog gets worn out twice as fast. If you really want to wear out your dog though, take him to the park when it's super hot out and use the launcher. They're done after about half an hour for the rest of the night. I was playing with Scram the other day in the heat and he all of a sudden jetted out of sight to go lay under a tree for shade. :) I think that my little guy gets to the happy exhausted point though, because he may be panting but his tail is still wagging. :)

Coffee

2010-05-31T15:51:00.000-07:00

I am not a huge coffee person. I don't like the bitter taste and so when I do get coffee I like it exceptionally sweet. I'm a fan of caramel macchiatos, caramel frappachinos and such, pretty much anything dowsed in sweet, delicious caramel. When I make it at home though, it is just plain coffee and so I have to improvise. The way I go about this is to add enough milk to make it look like caramel and then add about a pound of sugar........not really but two to three table spoons of sugar. I tend to never finish my coffee and so Dom always tries to help me out by killing it for me. He drinks his coffee a little more plain because he's a man like that and so when he takes a sip of mine it takes him a minute or two to come back down from the sugar high. He says finishing off my coffee is his guilty pleasure. Well, this morning I went a little over board and am having trouble not puckering my lips after each sip. I can't wait to see Dom's face after he tries to finish this cup.

Proverbs 28:13

2010-04-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

Have you ever experienced God in a slap-you-in-the-face sort of way? I mean you see God working in your life all the time, especially in hindsight but there are those times that you just know, that was God, no doubt about it. Well, I have experienced that twice now in my life. I will tell you about this last time.

I have never been a big fan of my brother-in-law's wife. There wasn't any justifiable reason, it was all petty and all me. If I had to pinpoint a time that it all started I would have to say that it was when Dom and I first got engaged. What I was told her reaction was to my future brother-in-law was this, "We're not going to beat them huh?" From then on I was in competition. I guess it just triggered something inside of me, I was offended, seeing as how they hadn't even been dating a year and she had just turned 18. So, needless to say we were not friends.

Family dinners became who cooked a better dinner, or who had the better activity? I guess it was natural that jealousy followed shortly after the competition began because if she won, which I thought she always did, I would be jealous that she did it better. As the year progressed these feelings only deepened into an unexplainable hatred. Now, I am not proud of this but even though I wanted things to change since it was making my time in NorCal miserable and all family activities miserable it was just easier than changing my entire way of thinking to do the opposite, get along with her.

Just recently I had reached my breaking point, I had hit bottom and I was finished with feeling like this. I decided to be honest with God and give it all up to Him. I boldly admitted to Him that I hated her and I had no reason to and that I wasn't going to do anything about it, He had to. No joke, a few days later she calls me to invite me over to hang out. I soo didn't want to go but I did in some kind of effort not to be a total B but my heart was not in it. The night was short but not too bad and I went home unharmed. Well, she invited me to hang out again for a longer amount of time and I was all, really? I don't know if I can make it through this one.

Even though I still didn't want to give in, we ended up having a really good time and found out we have a lot in common. She stayed over and talked with me even after her husband went home cause he was dog tired. Well, somewhere in the wee hours of the morning I asked her why, after all this time, she had all of a sudden decided she wanted to be friends? She said that they wanted to give us space because we had made it clear when we first got married that that's what we wanted, but she also said that she thought I hated her.........So, it was out there and what was my reaction? You would think it would be to cover it up or deny it or laugh it off based on my behavior so far right? No, I said, "I did." She had made me feel comfortable and we were being open and honest with each other and I thought that it was about time to put an end to this and God couldn't have made it any easier for me. Honestly though, I never thought He would use her to confront the situation. I thought He would eventually soften my heart or harden hers as well, something stupid like that but God faced it head on and made me feel completely at ease. :)

Now even though my confession was harsh and abrupt she didn't cower or get hurt she laughed and we spent the next few hours in confession mode, her telling me she had felt the same way and us reliving instances where we were both being ridiculous. I admitted that my jealously ran deep since she is pretty and talented and she admitted that she reads my blog and likes my hair. The feeling of liberation after letting go of such an awful, unreasonable feeling was heavenly. After dropping her off at her place at six in the morning, I drove home praising God. I couldn't believe what just happened, it was something that I had day dreamed about, just having the guts to confront her and get it over with but it was now a reality, God had made it all possible and so easy.

Since then, we have watched movies together, gone shopping, played walleyball and Nertz. It's so nice to have a friend here, a girl who I can vent to or laugh with, someone I can relate to about marriage or NorCal or being a new Parisi. I'm so happy that my idiocy had an end and that God still gave me a friend out of it. I only hope that He continues to work in me and our new friendship. :)

Proverbs 28:13 "He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy."

How fast can you type?

2010-04-20T10:50:00.001-07:00

I have been wanting to improve my wpm (words per minute) lately and have been testing/practicing here. Dom and I will compete but really there is no competition, he kills me. On our first official date we went to Fashion Island and while we were walking around we went to the Mac store. We both got on the kids computers and raced for best typing speed and accuracy. I am pretty sure I beat him but oh how the tides have turned. His first time on the site above he got in the 80s! I average in the 50s with good accuracy but the more I want to beat him the worse I become. I think that I just need to focus on improving myself and not demolishing my husband in a wpm race. You should take the test and let me know the result, also, I love looking at where the excerpts are from that you just typed. I have gotten a few famous books and a few quirky ones. Let me know what book you got as well. :)

The Lovely Bones

2010-04-19T10:10:00.001-07:00

On Friday Dom went skiing with his brother and while he was out doing that I did my errands for the day and then decided to kill some time at Chick-fil-A. Dom doesn't like this restaurant and so I thought I would treat myself to a late lunch/early dinner while he was gone. I didn't want to sit there alone forever with nothing to do so while I was picking up some stuff at Wal-Mart I grabbed some reading material for my meal. At first I thought about getting The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks but I didn't really feel in the mood for a sappy love story and decided to look for a thriller. I found The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, which I knew had been turned into a movie, which was perfect cause I love watching books come to life after I have read them and so I decided to get this one, especially after I read the first line, "My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." I thought, this is going to be good.

I ate and read, and kept reading and reading and decided it was time to go home after they had cleaned up my tray for me and asked if I wanted a refill twice. When I got home I plopped down on the couch and continued to read. The author's style was unique and I loved the way she explained things or described people or situations. Example: "Had my brother really seen me somehow, or was he merely a little boy telling beautiful lies?" I guess it's nothing profound but it flowed well and was different. Anyway, I read until we went to bed and then read in my pajamas the entire next day until I finished. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending but I think that's because it wasn't traditional, this was purely a story, something to make you think and feel and doesn't really fit into any category that I know of. I would definitely recommend it and I hope to be reading another book by this author, also, I can't wait to watch the movie. It's next in my queue on Netflix.

Painted Nails

2010-03-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

You know those things that just make you feel dainty? Like, dangly earrings or perfume? Well, a big one for me is painted nails. I painted my toe nails and finger nails today and I feel so girly. I used OPI because it's just amazing and the colors I used today were:

"I'm not really a waitress"

and "Sweetheart."

The names crack me up and make the experience even more comical. I say comical in the sense that you just have to have a sense of humor when painting your nails or you'll just end up in a little frustrated ball cursing whoever it was that invented nail polish. It is just inevitable that right after you put on a fresh coat you will smudge it doing something absentmindedly and you just have to shake it off knowing that if you paint your nails yourself they just aren't going to look professional. I hope the nail polish will last long this time and all the dish cleaning and hand washing doesn't destroy it too early on.

1st Year Celebration

2010-03-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

So, it has taken me a week to write about my adventures but they are still just as amazing as they were a week ago. As I have mentioned before, Dom and I went to Mendocino/Fort Bragg for our first year anniversary celebration. We rented a beautiful loft surrounded by redwoods that sits on top of an art studio. The whole house was beautiful with its vintage barn look. I am getting ahead of myself though, let me start from the beginning.

Dom got Friday off and so our celebration started Thursday night. We decided to exchange gifts then since what I got Dom was too big to bring in the car. He opened his first. Here is a video of the fun. :)

I got him a Djembe if you didn't know what it was he pulled out of the box. His roommate had one and he always played with it. He said he was waiting to ask for one for Christmas but I though he deserved it now. I covered it with one of my quilts and when he said, "You got me a quilt?" I thought he thought I made him one. He laughed at me later for that. :)

I was next and so excited about presents. Dom wrapped it when he came home and when he came out of the office I just laughed. He did an amazing wrapping job that I was quite impressed with but he accidentally wrapped it in Birthday paper. He said that he was half way done when he realized what he did but it didn't really matter. Here is my video.

Dom got me pearls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The clasps has diamonds in it and is the shape of a star/flower. It looks beautiful and vintage/antiqueish, which I love. Here is a better picture of it that Dom has taken:

Now in the video Dom said, "He will explain that later." He was talking about the writing on the box, which said, 3/7/09 1st Anniversary. Now I have always wanted a pearl necklace. I think they are elegant, classic, and beautiful. I always pictured my dad giving me one on my wedding day or my husband presenting me with one on some special occasion. Well I never told my dad but I did tell Dom shortly after we got married that I loved pearl necklaces and wanted to own one someday. Well they had one in the shop and it just so happened to be his favorite piece and so he had it put on hold for me a year ago and planned on giving it to me for our first anniversary!!!!!!!!! How perfect is that? Needless to say that I love them and am so happy. :)

After our wonderful gift exchange, we packed everything for our trip and went to bed early. We left at 7am Friday morning since the drive was supposed to take 5 hours. We took his parents route to Mendocino which took small highways through beautiful scenery. I drove the first three hours while Dom slept and then we switched. I got about 15 min. of sleep in before the road got too bumpy for me to even stay in my seat. It turns out that one of the little highways is in the middle of nowhere and ends up going down to one lane on a horribly paved road.

Whilst making a blind turn on this horrible paved, one lane road someone was coming the other way a bit too quickly and was cutting in the inside (where we were) and Dom had to slam on the brakes and the guy swerved and barely missed us. He ended up sliding off to the side of the road and would have gone over the edge except his car got stuck on one of the road reflectors and it stopped him. The whole thing could have been much worse.

Well we parked our car and put on the hazards and went to go see if he was alright. We get to the car and out steps this white, freckle faced Rastafarian. I am not even kidding. He had the massive head wrap, wreaked of weed and talked just like Bob Marley. We tried to push the car out but it wouldn't budge and so our new friend began to ask God to, "Send love from a broda wit a truck." I am pretty sure that Dom and I were praying that God would do the same thing so that we could get out of there and sure enough less than 5 min. later two hillbillies come around the corner in a truck.

They stopped and said they would help and with big smiles on their faces said we could "burn one after." They tied a rope to the car and pulled it out. We were all relieved but the hillbillies were anxious to receive their payment. As they were working out the weed deal Dom and I hopped in the car and took off. This experience was one we will never forget.

We finally arrived at the cabin and it was even more gorgeous than the pictures. We were so excited to be staying in this beautiful place. We headed into town and had some lunch after seeing our cabin and later we went to Fort Bragg and walked around the beach and through downtown. We came back later that night to a little coffee house which had live jazz music. It was kind of different. There was a piano, a mandalin, and the drums. It was great to listen to. Here are a couple pictures:

That says Happy Anniversary. :)

The next day we barely made it to the Skunk Train. It a train that was built in 1920 and you can smell the engine before you can even see the train, that's why it's named the Skunk Train. It takes you an hour and a half into the Redwood Forest and stops to have lunch at this little campsite and then brings you back. It was very pretty and there was an open car that you could walk out onto and take pretty pictures. That night we decided to do the fancy dinner for our anniversary since we would be on the road home during dinner time the next day, our actual anniversary day. We went to this gorgeous French Restaurant that over looks the water and had live music. The food was unbelievable and the dessert was even better. We spent the night talking about our past year of marriage and what we learned about love and how it met and differed from our expectations. It was very romantic and encouraging to know that we love each other so much and we made the right decision.

I bought this dress for our rehearsal dinner and ended up wearing something else but I knew that I wanted to wear it for something special and chose this occasion a year ago. I was so happy to finally wear it for my handsome husband. :)

Our last day was spent sight seeing. We went to Glass Beach, which ended up being a total dud so I am not even going to show a picture and then Russian Gulch Park and the Point Cabrillo Light House. I loved the light house!! it was so cute and they reconstructed one of the Lighthouse assistant's houses to 97% accuracy. I love historical things like that. We bought a Point Cabrillo Christmas Ornament for our souvenir, since we got an ornament on our honeymoon too. I think we will start a tradition if we can.

After the sight seeing we had our honeymoon lunch over looking the water. On our honeymoon we had a little kitchen and so we bought and made all our own food. We had the same lunch everyday, bologna and cheese on a asiago cheese roll with chips and snacks. I got all the stuff again for this trip and surprised Dom with the meal. He said I was thoughtful and cute which is pretty much what I was going for.

After this we went back to the loft and packed up and left. We took Google's original route home and made it there in 4 uneventful hours. All in all, this was a perfect trip. I couldn't have asked for anything better. I enjoyed celebrating with a wonderful man I am proud to call my husband! :)

My Second Job

2010-03-02T20:05:00.000-08:00

Whenever Dom needs new clothes I am the one to get them for him. I am his personal shopper. When we got married he said that he wanted to start dressing better for work, sort of like a business casual.....jeans and button downs mainly. Well last time we went down to visit my family we lost a pair of his jeans.....I don't know how. Since then he has been short a pair and that just won't do and so I have been on the hunt.

Three pairs bought and three pairs returned later, I finally found a pair we like at a great price. $20 Vans jeans from Marshalls. I love this store. He is wearing them now with all the tags still on. I think it's safe to say he likes them.

Lots To Look Forward To

2010-03-01T20:47:00.000-08:00

It's the beginning of a new month, a month full of amazing events that I honestly can't wait for. Event number one, my husband and I will be celebrating our first year of marriage this weekend!!!! We just booked this amazing barn type loft, as seen above, in the Mendocino area. We plan on enjoying our time together lounging around this gorgeous little place and then adventuring out into the town and even heading up to Fort Bragg. All I need to do is get a gift for Dom. No worries though, I already know the perfect gift to get him, phew.

Next up on the list of events is seeing my mom!!! That's the two of us when we went to a work convention in San Francisco. She is coming to visit and bringing along the new little addition to the family, Piper. She is the one asleep on the desk. I can't wait to see this little girl. I figure my mom and I will knit, shop, and maybe cook. I am hoping she can try and teach me how to create something edible.

Only a few days after my mom goes home, my wonderful friend Brookie is coming up to visit!!! This picture was taken during my birthday trip to Chicago. I don't know how it all worked out this way but I am just too freaking excited to care. We will also be knitting, then beading, visiting a childhood friend of both of ours who happens to live by me now and who happens to be my hairdresser and will be cutting both of our hair while we visit, and chit chatting about any and everything. I am just too excited for words. When God wants to cheer you up, He really goes all out. :)

Good Husband

2010-02-01T15:09:00.000-08:00

As a random post I would like to talk about my wonderful husband. Would you like to hear about how great he is? Well too freakin' bad cause I'm gonna tell ya. The other day, I think it was last Wednesday, Dom came home and gave me the usual kiss and hug and then disappeared into the office for a while. In the meantime I was warming up some leftovers for dinner, some nasty meatloaf I had made a couple days earlier. Side note: I have made that meatloaf about 6 times since we have been married and each time it has come out delicious and for some reason the culinary gods where not with me on this one. Anyway, as I am half way through warming up the first plate he says, "Stop!" I ask why and he says that we are going out on a date tonight. As my jaw is dropped, I stop the microwave and then give him a dubious look and say, "you're kidding." He just laughs and smiles as I continue to disbelieve him but he was actually serious. We went to the restaurant of my choice (CPK) got dinner and dessert and then went and saw The Book of Eli in theaters. This was just such a fun surprise!! Dom usually has a hard time totally surprising me but he definitely did it this time.

Thrift Stores

2009-12-23T16:01:00.000-08:00

Today I went to Goodwill and although they tend to be a bit more pricey then local thrift stores, you can find some good stuff. I found a small tea light candle holder that is shaped like a present, for Christmas, with star shaped holes in it to allow the light to come through. Also, a neat pot and a small bowl to hold Scramble's treats. Now until we do get some good local thrift stores, I will just have to make due with Goodwill. I miss home where we had amazing thrift stores scattered all over the desert. When I go home I'll just have leave room in the suitcase for my finds.

Crunch Time

2009-12-19T10:52:00.000-08:00

There are six days until Christmas and I am feeling the pressure. I have a few projects that I need to finish, well some that I need to start and finish, and some that I should have had done already. I just don't seem to have the motivation that I need to get the ball rolling. I have plowed through the entire 1st season of L.A. Ink and have now resorted to a terrible movie called Food Boy to assist in my procrastination, so instead of feeling the satisfaction of being done, I now have the desire for a tattoo and I'm hungry. Everyone has their presents, it's just that these little projects are the icing on the cake. Wish me luck.

Christmasy

2009-12-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas time and I guess I didn't realize how much until I left everyone else who took care of the Christmas cheer for me. My mom has the best decorations to get you into the Christmas season and Mindy always has a killer Christmas playlist that played nonstop starting Thanksgiving night. Now, I am the one in charge of all that and I am finding that I can't wait to get it going. I had music on before Thanksgiving and a few presents under our tree the night it went up, which was before December even started. I have gone crazy with twinkle lights in the apartment and now have the beginning of a little Christmas village. There are two silver Christmas trees that I made out of mardi gras beads that sit over our stockings and Christmas themed dishes that are filled with Christmas candy. The tree is full of awesome ornaments and there is a plethora of gifts under the tree for Dom and I.

Before we had family dinner over here the other night, I was looking at a couple more Christmas decorations with Dom at the store and he said that if we tried to be anymore Christmasy that he would have to gain two hundred pounds and wear a red suit. I thought that might be taking it a bit overboard and decided that we had enough decorations for this year.

Pain

2009-12-14T10:06:00.001-08:00

I can't move, just a touch to the skin kills, and going to the bathroom has turned into a work of art. Dom and I have played walleyball the past two days with his brother and cousin and since I haven't worked out since Dom and I got married, due to some knee problems, my muscles are in shock! Walleyball is volleyball played on a racquetball quart with a men's height net and you can use the walls during play. I had so much fun diving and hitting and playing with my husband, but in my current condition, I am beginning to wonder if it was all worth it. I have to use what's around me to lower myself into a sitting position and I have to make sure that my limbs don't rest on one another due to the sensitive muscle pain.

Playing volleyball again was like drinking a cocktail of happiness and adrenaline. I love the game and my sincere devotion only comes when it's played indoor and on a court, so this was right up my alley. As I recover, I think that I am learning to appreciate what it is to be "in-shape." Once I can work out again, I am going to make sure that a couple games of walleyball don't send me to traction.

The Sled

2009-12-12T22:37:00.000-08:00

I have this other post that I have been working on slowly that updates you all on my recent trips but I know if I keep waiting to finish it I'll never blog again. I'll just update you on what happened today and if I feel like telling the story of my business trip to San Francisco or vacation to Napa Valley, Monterey Bay, and Atherton, or my trip home this past week then I will later.

Today Dom and I went to the mall to buy "Our First Christmas Ornament" and the first house of the village I want to start collecting. We live about a mile from the mall, if that, and we decided that with the holiday traffic that we would just walk there. Well, today happens to be our third rainy day this week and we got soaked but it was great fun. We stopped at Starbucks on the way to enjoy some goodies and then headed out into heavier rain.

We found our ornament at Crate&Barrel! We looked at Macy's, Sears, JC Penny's, and Hallmark before we found it. It's a wooden sled with little red mitten's attached to it. I am so excited about it and about starting this new tradition. I don't think I'll let this tradition slip away from me because it involves shopping. Unfortunately, we didn't have such great luck with finding the village house. My mom owns a small village, one house will fit in your hand, and she has a whole collection. The place she got hers from is closed now and all the ones we saw are about the size of my head and they light up. They look adorable but I don't know where I will put them once the collection really gets going. I think that I am going to give in though and buy a Department 56 village house.

All in all, I had another great day with my husband, especially since this was all his idea. :)

P.S. "Fail" I forgot to put up pictures from my last post but it's been so long that I didn't want to dedicate this title to my failure. :)

San Francisco

2009-10-23T17:47:00.000-07:00

Next week I am going to San Francisco for a work conference. It is pretty much a trade show but I won't be working at the booth. I will be meeting and greeting and trying to get a better understanding of the Hemophilia world that I work in. Seeing my parents again is what I am really looking forward to, I will take the train in on Thursday morning (I am so excited for this) then stay with my family for the night and Dom will come up the following day after work and then we'll have our own room. We didn't stay in a hotel on our honeymoon and haven't really gone anywhere since, so I am looking forward to our first hotel stay together.

Sunday is going to be devoted to sight seeing and hanging out with my family. As long as we get out a little and explore the town I am happy. What's going to be best is having my wonderful husband there to share it with me. Things are much better with him around. I will hopefully have some fun pictures to put up when I get back but we'll see if I remember to whip out my camera or if my next post title is, "Fail" then I definitely forgot.

Weekend

2009-10-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

So, Friday night went fantastic. We did end up sitting by older people with children that are full grown and out of the house and some that are in high school so that part of the night was a little bit of a let down but, to my astonishment, I actually really enjoyed learning more about our church! I thought that it would be a big lecture all about the church history and what they are doing now but our pastor and the executive pastor got up and said a little bit about themselves and about the church's beginning but most of the time it was Q&A. We learned about ministries and the church's views on some tough issues. The food was great and we finally got to meet our pastor face to face. He is super tall and really expressive but so nice. We loved hearing more about how he prepares his messages and a little bit about his beginnings as a pastor. All in all, Dom and I had a blast

Sat. was a relaxed day but something that I thought was funny happened right before we went to bed. I was mad at Dom for something and I was being ridiculous as usual. As we were laying there in the dark, not talking to each other and trying to fall asleep, this is how the conversation went:

Me: I don't like going to sleep mad at you.
Dom: Then don't.
Me: But you're a butthead.
Dom: You're a bigger butthead.
Me: OK.
Dom: OK.
Me: I love you.
Dom: I love you too.

Then we snuggled and fell asleep quickly. Oh the joys of marriage. :)

Sunday was also fantastic because I finally got to go to Apple Hill with Dom. His family has been telling me about this place since I met them and I could never go with them since the season to go was always during school. Well now that I live up here I could finally make a trip to see the famous High Hill and ginormous crates of apples. It was much different then I though it was going to be. The only details I heard about was there was a great pie shop, lots of apples in huge boxes, a High Hill that the boys used to storm and that's it. Nobody ever said that there were a couple dozen different apple orchards that spread out over three exits on the freeway and each orchard had a pie shop, boxes of apples, and crafts like at a swap meet. I guess they failed to mention that the details that they had shared were just of the places that they like best of all the ones available at Apple Hill.

We went to a few of them and I saw the famous High Hill that Dom and his brother used to storm. What I mean by storm is that they would run up it. I pictured a tall grassy hill that they would run to the top of. No, it was basically a ditch that looked like a half pipe that was all dirt with some trees who's roots lined the ditch. I ran it with Dom and it was quite fun. Your momentum leads you up the other side quite quickly and hince the tons of fun I have heard about for two years. We had great pie and bought apples and amazing apple cider. This was a wonderful memory I finally got to be a part of. ;)

New Comers

2009-10-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night we will be attending the New Comer's dinner at church. We signed up in order to meet new people but I am sure that it is going to be sufficiently awkward and that Dom and I will try and stick to ourselves to avoid it, but I do have hope that we will be strong and put ourselves out there. It is going to be catered, which I'll admit is one of the reasons that we signed up, and they are going to be explaining to us more about the church, where they are heading and goals they have, things like that.

All I want to gain out of this is one good conversation with someone I have something in common with. That seems pretty dismal but I don't want to get my hopes too high, expecting to come out with three new best friends, or couples that Dom and I will dine with every other night, no, I want to be level headed and realistic. I will tell you that I thought about these things as possibilities when I first heard about the dinner but I have realized that whenever I think like that I am usually very disappointed in the actual outcome and so now I take precautions when I make my predictions.

Anyway, I am excited to be getting out with Dom and consider it something resembling a date. I know I will fret about what I am going to wear and how to do my hair but I will be having loads of fun trying to decide each.

We got tickets.....

2009-09-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

This Saturday we went to the gun show. We want to get a gun for home safety and decided that the gun show would have a wide selection for cheap. We got there and were sadly disappointed. There were two large buildings filled with guns but most of them were rifles and then a bunch of collectible paraphernalia. We found about two cases filled with hand guns and only a few of them were 45 caliber, which is what we want to get. We did find one that was in our price range and the caliber that we wanted but we didn't know much about the brand. We asked our parents (dads) if they had idea if Ruger was a good brand for a gun and they each said yes. We decided not to buy it though because we still weren't sure and then we left the gun show.

We still wanted to look for a gun though so we went to another place that sold guns and they said that Ruger is a great brand and that they have them on order but because of the democratic take over in office, people decided to stock up on their guns and replacing them is taking a long time. So, we went to another gun store that had a Ruger but it was still more expensive than the one we saw at the gun show. We decided to have a family meeting and figure out wether or not we should go back and get the gun we saw in the first place. We decided yes and took off back to the gun show.

We got there and the gun was gone. Someone bought it and they didn't have anymore. We were disappointed but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. My dad is going to try and get us one, the same one we were going to get, in Arizona. Apparently California is a pain when it comes to buying guns and the paperwork and laws are ridiculous so Arizonia might be a little easier. Dom and I both hope that my dad pulls it off and that we will be the proud owners of a new Ruger P 345 single, double action gun soon. :) If not then we will continue to be on the hunt.

Psycho Puppy

2009-09-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

Now that Scramble is getting bigger he is getting a bit more rambunctious. He freaks out whenever Dom is trying to get ready in the morning to go to work. He follows him around everywhere, which is normal I grant you, but when it comes to tying his shoes or hugging me goodbye Scramble is all over him.

During the day while Dom is away he now tries to attack me while I try and do anything. I was knitting a scarf on the couch the other day and he decided to lay on the scarf while trying to chew on the knitting needles. Also, now that he is getting bigger he can reach things better like the counter. He still can't get his head on top of it to grab anything but he does like to sniff so when I am cooking he is sniffing away.

When Dom gets home then he is just a whole different dog. He jumps up all over Dom, which is something that we need to control, and then he starts barking if we don't pay attention to him. He'll jump on the couch and try and play with you. Then, if he is just too frustrated that you aren't playing with him and aren't listening to his barking then he will just start doing laps around the apartment at top speed. This is extremely entertaining but also nerve wrecking. I always think he is going to eat it big time but he has been lucky so far.

Now I know that all of this sounds more like our fault, that we are being neglectful owners and not teaching him right but seriously, I think he is moving into the puppy equivalent of the terrible twos. He is still absolutely adorable and has a sweet side it's just that he doesn't like to show it as much these days. :)

Six or Eight Legs?

2009-09-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

On Monday Dom and I went to Grassvalley to have dinner with some friends. We saw their adorable new Jack Russel Terrier puppy and Scramble had so much fun playing with their mom's older Wippet mix. We had some delicious barbeque and ate it outside so we could watch the dogs play. It started to get a little dark and when I sat down at the table outside I felt my feet and legs go into a cobweb, I moved over a little and didn't see a spider so I thought I would be ok. Later on my foot started to itch all over and when we finally went inside and had some light I saw that I had been bitten a few times and one on the only toe that had a toe ring. I thought that maybe there were a couple ants and I would be itchy for a little while......

Once my toe started to swell I thought that the creature that bit me might have had eight legs instead of six. My toe ring started to get a little tight but I figured the swelling would go down soon enough. I was wrong. It just continued to get worse through the night and the entire next day. I turned our closets upside down looking for wire cutters but couldn't find one. Dom saved the day by bringing home a ring cutter that sawed through my toe ring with no problems. Taking it off felt so much better, however, it made me sad since I have been wearing that ring since 2004 without ever taking it off. It was a gift from a close family friend. Dom is fixing it though so it is only a matter of time before I have it back on again.

Now, there is a line from where the ring used to be on my toe and above it my toe is purple. I have three bites on my foot that I can see that have now turned into itchy white bubbles. I know this is extremely gross but I am not oozing or anything and I have all the hope that this will clear up soon enough, at least I hope it will heal before Dom and I go on our three day backpacking trip this weekend.

Current Hobbies

2009-08-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been wanting to read a good book and something that I know I'll get caught up in. Well, a couple of friends suggested the Harry Potter books because they loved the whole series and I thought that I should finish it up. I have read the first three but couldn't get past the big Quiditch match at the beginning of the fourth. I know that I may sound like a nerd to you but I like them and I have started to read them again. I am on the second book and I am determined to read the entire series this time. Dom gives me a hard time about reading these. He says it hurts his soul to see his wife reading these books. I am hoping one day he will just give it up and read them too. I got him to read Twilight but he says Edward would kick Harry's butt any day. Whatever.

Something else that I have been up to is Dom and I have started to watch Lost. He was sucked into the fourth season when his roommates were watching it and so now we are starting at the beginning. It's so weird but they have a knack for leaving you wanting more. Cliffhangers are their specialty. There are 25 episodes in the first season alone and they aren't short episodes either. I don't know what we are on now but I am sad to say that I am actually getting into it. I think that I should be able to use this as leverage to get Dom to read Harry Potter with me but somehow I just don't think it will fly. Anyway, this is what I have been up to lately.

SoCal

2009-08-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

I got back on Friday from a wonderful trip to SoCal where I saw family and friends. Dom and I got in late on the 7th and just kicked back on Saturday with the family and their amazing pool and then on Friday we went to a beautiful wedding by the beach. I don't know if any of you Biola people know the couple, Allison Remmington and Joey Ross. It was really fun to see all of Dom's old roommates and their girlfriends. We had a really great time. That Monday Dom and I spent some more time by the pool and then it was time to say goodbye to my wonderful husband. He had to go back home that day in order to be back to work on Tuesday. As a special treat though my dad, who is getting his pilot's license, flew Dom to the nearby International Airport in Ontario for his connecting flight. Dom said he had a lot of fun and was only nervous in the beginning. He is a brave man.

That night with the husband gone, I had some of the girls come over for a sleepover. Taylar, Stephanie and Brooke all spent the night. It was so fun staying up late and talking about our lives and friends and Twilight. That next morning was filled with doughnuts and hugs as I said goodbye to the girls. The rest of that day was so lazy. Wednesday morning was a movie with mom, The Proposal and then she dropped me off at Brooke's house. It was so nice to hang out with her all day. She was leaving early that next morning so this was the last time we would get to hang out until she comes and visits me in September.....hopefully she comes to visit. That Thursday was shopping with mom which was amazing and the pool. Friday we left early to take me to the national office of my parents company for me to see first hand the products I order for our patients and then I was off to the airport to go home to my husband.

Now when I would come and visit Dom while we were dating It would just be heaven when I saw him and we would try and stay out as long as we could so we could be alone together before we went back to his house. It was so nice to be able to be alone the whole night. I was so happy to see him again and to be able to have a whole night alone with him. When we got home I opened the door to a super clean apartment. The night before, after we got off the phone at midnight, he vacuumed, cleaned the kitchen and took out the trash. He is just too good to be true.

That next day we went to the river with some friends and then we picked up my baby. :) He is so big! I could hardly believe how much he had grown in only a week. I was so happy to be back with my little family even though I had such a wonderful time at home. Everything is better with Dom around though. :)

Homeward Bound

2009-08-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

I am visiting home tomorrow!!! I am so excited about it. Dom and I leave tomorrow night and he comes back on Monday and I come back the following Friday. I am hoping that next week is filled with visits with friends and time with family. I can't wait to be on my home turf. I has been a little difficult for me being here, so far away from everyone I know and in a "foreign" place. It will be nice to be by the familiar and such great people that I love. :)

Even though I am just going back home, I am excited to pack up and get away. I love packing for trips. I am a weird packer I guess but this is how my mom packs and so I learned to do the same. I pack in outfits. Funny right? I always pack too much and usually stay up late trying to figure out what I want to wear for the next week or so. I am thinking it might be a little easier this time since it is just home and I don't really have anyone to impress. I also need to pack up for Scramble like he's my kid or something. I have a list of what he needs and what I have to take to my In-Laws for him. I even typed up instructions for how to take care of him. I could be going a little overboard but I like going that route rather than missing something and having a problem.

All in all, I am stoked to be going on a trip home!

Follow Up

2009-07-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

So, as a follow up to yesterday, I actually got most of my list done and in good spirits. Scramble was pretty calm and it was nice to have his company when I did my chores. I gave him his medicine in the morning and there were no problems. He swallowed it all right up and didn't squirm. I ended up not needing to call the doctor's office because I received a letter in the mail that gave me all the information that I was going to ask for. I really lucked out on that one. :) It wasn't the best news but I was happy not to have to make the call. I cleaned the whole apartment, even more than I was planning on doing and in good timing too. Scramble was out of his crate and just follow me around. He got a pretty decent amount of NOs yelled at him but for the most part he was a champ. All of the pieces are cut out for my friend's bag and the letters for Scramble's bed are cut out as well. I am very happy with what I accomplished yesterday and I am hoping that by the end of today one of the sewing projects will be done. :)

P.S. Emily- Thank you so much for your suggestions. I love that you give me advice. :) I was thinking I was going to do a little something more for Scramble's doggy bed. I wanted to put a space of fabric in between the top and bottom layer. This is what is intimidating for me but I think I might just do what you suggested that way he has a nice bed that is done this year. Thanks again.

Against My Will

2009-07-28T09:37:00.000-07:00

I have a few chores today that I do not feel like doing. The chores are as follows: give Scramble his deworming medicine, call my knee doctor's office, clean the apartment, make Scramble's bed, and make Mimi's bag. Now these things seem pretty simple and could even be considered fun to some people but today is not the day that I consider them fun. I am in a lazy mood and when things intimidate me I really don't want to do them. I shall explain my apprehensions for each chore.

First off, giving Scramble his medicine is really not that hard. It is this yellow liquid that is in a syringe that I just put in his mouth and have him drink. I just know that he doesn't like it and that it tends to fall out of his mouth once he takes it. This happened last time. I am just not looking forward to fighting him and then cleaning up all this yellow gunk but he needs it and it must be done.

Second, calling my knee doctor should be a quick and simple thing right? Wrong. I need to call and see that the knee surgery that I am scheduled to have on Aug. 18th will be completely covered by my insurance and find out how much the physical therapy is afterward. I am a complete dope when it comes to insurance stuff. I can't for the life of me understand premiums and coverage, co-payments and deductibles. It's just way over my head and that is basically what I need to call and figure out. I miss having my mommy take care of everything in this department for me.

Third, cleaning the apartment is something that I do consider fun as weird as that sounds but it has now become a little more difficult with Scramble in the picture. He likes to be involved in everything you are doing and that is a little difficult when you are working with chemicals. I need to do this with him in his crate and hopefully I can without him whining. I feel bad when I put him in there when I am in the house and awake.

Fourth/Fifth, making Scramble's doggy bed and my family friend's bag. I bought the fabric and zipper for his little bed and it should be very simple but I just don't know how to "free hand" a project like this. I am definitely intimidated and keep putting it off, even though poor little Scramble keeps laying on our throw pillows or Dom's clothes. I think he'll really like it, I just need to figure out what I am doing and just do it. The bag that I have to make is definitely doable and it isn't so much intimidating as it is time consuming. I have made two of these bags before and one just the other day but it took me all day and I messed up a different way for each bag. I am hoping that the third time is a charm and that it goes smoothly.

Now that I have thoroughly complained about mundane projects that I need to accomplish today I will share with you a bit of exciting news that I saw this morning. I am friends with our wedding photographer on Facebook and he posted a link to an article he wrote about wedding photography and one of the pictures from our wedding was in it! I was so excited and hope that you have time to take a look. Here is the link: http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/2251. Thanks and I hope everyone is having a stress free, productive day. :)

Tired

2009-07-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

People say that having a puppy is pretty similar to having a baby. Getting up in the middle of the night, watching them constantly, making sure they're ok. I don't think it is the exact equivalent but after taking care of my baby brothers, I can say that there are some similarities.

Scramble is slowly learning all the things he needs to. He went from getting up every two hours to three, then four, and now he sleeps seven hours in a row. Almost a full night through. He knows how to sit and come and occasionally he will lay down when commanded to. My favorite thing he is learning is asking to go outside to go to the bathroom. I am trying to make sure that whenever he is near the door I say, "outside" and then take him outside so he knows that's how to ask. Well, yesterday we were in my bathroom together and he wondered off like usual and I went after him and I found him sitting in front of the door patiently waiting for me to come and let him out. I did and he went potty right away! I was so proud of him and so thankful. He did it again today.

Something else he is learning is to ride in the car without freaking out. I heard most dogs don't do too well their first time or two and Scramble was no exception but now he just lays down and sleeps. I took him to my In-laws yesterday which is half an hour away and he did just fine. The next thing I would love for Scramble to learn is how to walk on a leash. For now he gets distracted too easily and runs into my feet and gets tangled up in his leash. I want him to be able to walk by my side or in front of me. I need to give him time. He is after all still a puppy.

So even though I am tired and always on alert about what he is doing, I love this adorable little puppy and I am so thankful that he is here with us.

Professor Scramble

2009-07-13T16:21:00.000-07:00

Introducing Professor Scramble:

We finally got a puppy!!!! Yesterday I was searching on Craigslist as always and found some Min Pins for sale and asked Dom if we could go take a look (he doesn't particularly like that breed of dog) and he said yes. When we got there we saw tons of Min Pins in a cage but this little guy was just roaming about the property. I asked if this was the breeders personal dog and he said no, that he bread Springer Spaniels as well. He was just too adorable and Dom liked him better than the Min Pins so naturally we asked if he had a girl. He said there was one and when we went to look at her she shyed away from us and ran to her mom. She never came near and the entire time we were there the puppy shown above tagged along next to us. He played with me and nibbled on Dom's shoe lacies.

We did take the time to look at the Min Pins, especially since that was the type of puppy went to see but we kept going back to the little puppy that chose us. After some discussion and a little haggling, we took Professor Scramble home with us. :) We had a little bit of a rough beginning, what with car sickness, fleas, and pottey training, but in the end we just kept saying how cute he was and he gets more used to us by the minute. Dom's family came over last night and took pictures and played with him and Dom's mom and sister came over again today to do the same thing. It has been so fun and I am just so happy about the new addition to the family. :)

P.S. An explanation of the name: Dom's little sister has a number of stuffed animals she has collected over the years and each time she gets one she names it. When she was younger she would ask Dom what she should name the new addition and he would always say "Scramble." She would just roll her eyes and name it somehting else. So now that he can name his own real pet we decided to go with Professor Scramble. We just say Scramble but on our Honeymoon we came up with this full name and decided to stick with it.

"Busy"

2009-07-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

This is just a life update blog. I have been semi busy this week. Monday: doctor's appointment, Wednesday: movie with sister-in-law, dinner with Dom's parents and sister, Thursday: lunch with Lindsay, doctor's appointment, Cold Stone run with Dom as celebration for our two year dating anniversary, Today: dinner with the entire Parisi family at his brothers. I am hoping that this weekend is just relaxing with my husband alone.

Update on the puppy search: So Dom and I really want a Shiba Inu and they are quite expensive so Dom has been calling breeders seeing if they are willing to trade for jewelry. He has gotten a couple bites but nothing concrete yet. Meanwhile my mut hunt has been put on hold until he is done with his trade attempts. I think this is good though. As much as I want a dog I might have to wait a little longer since I will be gone in August for a week and wouldn't be able to take the pup with me and then I am going to get knee surgery soon so I can't take it for walks for a little bit. God is still in control but trust me, the overwhelming desire to have a puppy is still very much alive.

Productivity

2009-07-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

My main responsibilities of the day include: picking up after myself and Dom, doing whatever work orders come in, and making dinner. I have recently become accustomed to actually doing most of my chores at the beginning of the day (besides making dinner) and then having the rest of the day to do whatever I want. Before I got married I pictured that I would spend this time reading and sort of self-educating myself, try and get some culture. I really like to read and have done quite a bit lately but my biggest weakness has gotten to me again. I watch way too much T.V. I have been watching more T.V. then I have been reading and I at least realize my problem but now I am trying to figure out a solution.

I figure maybe I can take up a hobby that I can do while the T.V. plays in the background and while I am not reading. I like to knit but I am not that great at it and need to go back to Dom's mom for lessons. Unfortunately, I forgot everything she taught me because I didn't keep up with it. Something else I thought I could do and have always wanted to do was to take sign language classes at the local JC but either their classes have already started or they are at a time that I cannot attend. Since I also suck at sewing/quilting mainly because I have no clue what I am doing, this is another flawed idea. This leaves me at a loss of how to spend my free time.

I want to be productive but I just don't seem to have the motivation to get past the learning stage of a hobby enough to truely enjoy it. I have a problem where if I don't get/understand how to do something right away I don't want to do it. I need to learn to push past the beginning stages of things and learn to persevere if I want to get anywhere in life, especially if I eventually want my children to have this characteristic. Now I would love some ideas or suggestions on what I can do with my free time that would seem productive. If you have anything for me just leave a comment. :)