Day 2: A Favorite Movie

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

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

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

(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

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?

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

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. :)