On Fairy Wings

Catch up

2012-01-02T20:19:00.000-08:00

November

August

September

Pretty Girl, Silly Girl

2011-08-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

This is Leanne's favorite napping position lately. Notice the toys scattered around? Well, if you look at the upper picture you will see a green ruffle sticking out from under her stomach, that is her zebra teething toy.

Decorating the home

2011-08-12T22:52:00.000-07:00

Family photo in the family room.

Pictures above Leanne's crib.

Old 4th of July Pictures

2011-08-12T22:40:00.000-07:00

General Updates

2011-08-07T17:26:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or does it look like she is wearing a shawl? After I took this picture I untangled it from her arms and within minutes she had pulled it back onto herself in just the same way.

Leanne has been turning around in her crib over night lately, so when I check on her in the morning she is often lying like this; a full 180 degree turn from how I had her the night before.

Mom made this beautiful blanket for Leanne

Attempting to crawl?

2011-08-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

Leanne has been making attempts to get up on her knees, is she getting ready to start crawling soon?

Torgny & Co.'s Ring Pictures

2011-07-31T19:31:00.000-07:00

My New Rings

2011-07-30T22:55:00.000-07:00

Waiting for Torgny & Co.'s more professional pics to arrive, then will post those to show rings better. Even in this cellphone pic you can tell just how beautiful they turned out. I am so happy with how they turned out.

Updates

2011-07-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the wait. Here are some new pictures.

Leanne's first attempt to sit up on her own. She still isn't able to balance long enough to stay up for more than a couple seconds.

She has learned how to get her toes all the way to her mouth. Don't we all wish we could be that flexible?

Ducky Princess

New bathing suit. This is listed as a 12 month size and it is a perfect fit.

We went in for the ring fitting on Saturday, the 23rd. This is a picture of my ring before the stones have been added and the metal polished. It was a perfect fit and I love it already. I didn't want to take it off, lol.

We finally bought a new bed. It is a Cal. King and it is a firm mattress with pillow top. It also happens to be several inches taller than the previous mattress. We had to buy new fitted sheets because the old one (yes, one) was unable to fit the depth of the mattress.

Leanne has become very vocal. She especially likes screeching, loud enough to reverberate off the bedroom walls.

OMG she did it!

2011-06-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

Leanne was laying on the bed between Scott and I as usual tonight when she started trying to roll over. This is not a particularly new occurrence, after all her nickname is Wiggles, but the result was a surprise. Now, I've read and even been told by her doctor that babies at this age will likely manage to roll over but only from stomach to back and that rolling from back to stomach is much more difficult. So difficult in fact, the doctor said not to worry if she doesn't manage it until at least 6 months, maybe even 8. Well, you were all wrong! At 4 months and 1 week Leanne has managed to roll from her back to stomach. Of course, she hasn't managed to go from stomach to back yet, go figure. Sadly I didn't manage to get her rolling onto her stomach on video but I did get her working up to it again after we had rolled her back onto her back.

My Ring

2011-06-25T16:30:00.000-07:00

I have been (not so) patiently waiting for the computer rendered designs for my engagement/wedding rings from Torgny & Co. and they finally arrived on Friday. They are great! My ring is going to be a work of art; something no one else in the world has. The fact that I helped conceptualize and design this ring astounds me. I wanted a ring that represented what Scott has already given me; something that everyone wants in a loving relationship and in a marriage. I wanted heaven and earth. Ron, the designer and owner of Torgny & Co., had done designs with sun, moon, and star motifs but never with the earth, so I know my ring is unique.

It is 3 rings combined and will be made from white gold.

A sun in the middle with a moon and earth on either side.

The earth will be made up of sapphires and a few emeralds in a domed shape.

The sun will be 14kt gold rays with a yellow diamond at the heart.

The moon will be a half of a pearl (my birthstone).

This close up allows you to see how the ring is designed to "lock" into place. The individual rings have to be rotated into place. I specifically asked that the rings not be "free roaming." I never even imagined such a complex design. Once the parts are together it will become one ring.

There are only a few minor changes we made to the design when we went in today. The earth will be the darker blue shown in the above picture. The 3 small diamonds on either side under the earth and moon will not be in the final design, they seemed superfluous since they would be covered by my fingers. The stars cut into the sides of the sun will be replaced with my maternal grandmother's diamonds, one on either side. And the long rays at top and bottom will also be shortened so they only reach as far as the bevel around grandma's diamonds.

I cannot wait to see the final product! I will be going in in about 2 weeks for a fitting before they put the stones in and the ring should be finished about 1 week later. Ron is also offering to do an inset or engraved version for Scott. Scott is seriously thinking about it. I think similar ring designs would be very cool.

Doctor's Appt

2011-06-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

Poor Leanne had a doctor's appointment today. She is 14lbs 8ozs and 24" long, which puts her in the 75th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height. Dr. Holbrook was very happy with her progress and she was impressed that Leanne is already able to sit up on her own for a couple of seconds (something she said isn't typical of a child younger than 6 months). The doctor gave me plenty of advice on baby food, but said it was up to me and Leanne's reactions in determining when to progress her eating schedule. Leanne then received 3 shots and an oral vaccine, none of which made her particularly happy. I was so proud of how well she dealt with it, only crying for a few minutes then completely forgetting about it once I was holding and singing to her.

These are Leanne's new rattle socks. I found them at Vons and thought they were cute. So far Leanne seems to like them. She was pretty entertained by the sound they made when she kicked. Scott was confused about why they had two different animals, but gotta keep the kids interested.

Fun Week

2011-06-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

This has been a fun and busy week. We had Leanne's Baptism class on the 12th, my birthday on the 13th, Leanne's 4 month birthday on the 18th, and Scott's first Father's Day today. The class was about an hour and a half and gave us an overview of what will happen at the baptism and the reason for baptizing. We will be baptizing Miss Leanne on Sunday, July 3rd. My 26th birthday wasn't very inspiring, sadly, since I had to work, but we did get to go to P.F. Chang's for my birthday dinner on Tuesday. I have never been to P.F. Chang's before, though I have been wanting to for quite some time. It was great! I hope to be able go again soon. We "celebrated" Leanne's 4 month birthday by introducing her to rice cereal, which she loves. It is very thinned out, only 1 tbsp to 4 ounces. I hope to get advice on how best to upgrade that amount from her doctor on Monday. Today we celebrated Father's Day by going to Cisco's Father's Day Brunch with my parents; they had a great spread. We then went home to take a nice long nap, followed by going to Marce, Scott's sister's, house for dinner with her, her husband, and Scott's parents. We also went to Torgny and Co. on the 11th to design my engagement and wedding ring. I can't wait to get the initial computer draft of the ring.

Balloons from Cisco's for Scott's Father's Day.

One of Leanne's new 6-9 month t-shirts, that fit her perfectly right now.

MeeMaw holding Leanne, styling in her new sunglasses, after my birthday dinner.

Leanne talking.

Scott playing with Leanne and Leanne eating burp cloth.

Poor Scott

2011-06-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

Scott and I have been meaning to get our teeth cleaned for a while now, so I made us appointments on Monday. Scott's was today and it didn't go quite as expected. Scott hasn't seen a dentist in about ten years, which turned a simple cleaning into a painful four hour ordeal of a deep cleaning. When Scott got home he was in serious pain even with the max dosage of pain killers they could give him. As soon as he got home he passed out on the bed with a pack of ice and Leanne joined him in a nice 2 hour nap. Hopefully mine goes better. Feel better Scott.

Sub-note: My dentist appointment did go much easier, but I was still sore afterward. And funny enough, my dentist has a June 13th birthday, too.

Busy weekend

2011-06-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

We are getting closer and closer to Leanne's baptism, which is scheduled for 2pm on July 3rd at the St. Paschal's Catholic Church. Next Sunday will be the baptism class that Scott, Jen (the soon-to-be godmother), and I must attend before the baptism. In response to this, Jen and I thought it would be a good idea for her to see Leanne for the first time since her birthday (Jen was waiting in the hallway with Dad when Leanne was born). So, on Saturday we had lunch and spent a few hours together. We even introduced Leanne to Jen's family. It was a good day and Leanne enjoyed the attention lavished on her by Jen, Marsha (Jen's mother), and Anna (Jen's younger sister).

On Sunday, I attended Orchard's second employee meeting from 6-8 (meaning I was up at 430am to feed and change Leanne before work). Then Scott, Leanne, and I went to Cisco's (our favorite restaurant) for our weekly Sunday Brunch. Of course, I was running late getting ready so they left without me and I caught up a bit later; giving myself just enough time to scarf down a fruit plate before heading to Camarillo.

In Camarillo, I headed to Alayna's Bridal and Formal Gown Shop to, you guessed it, look for my wedding dress! Alayna's is a cute little shop with great people working there. They were having a bridal gown sample sale on Sunday only and I could not pass it up, so Scott handed me $400 and said have fun. Jen and Dee met Leanne and me there and I proceeded to try on dress after dress. Most were ridiculously small on me in the torso and bust area, and dangerously long (I almost did a face plant more than once). One, however, stood out as soon as I put it on and every dress after was compared to it and found lacking. So, once I had exhausted the all the choices I bought my $100 dress. Yes, I said $100s, can you believe it? (You can see it here: http://www.edenbridals.com/1344_p_8.html) It will need a few minor alterations, like strap and skirt length adjustments, but over all it is almost like it was made for me. Now all we have to do is get the designs for the engagement and wedding rings done and we can start looking into the big decisions, like New York or Hawaii for the honeymoon, lol.

Leanne's New Teddy

2011-05-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

Up until recently Leanne hasn't had much interest in toys. Well, on Mom and Dad's last trip they brought back a teddy bear for Leanne and today every time I put it next to her she would pull it closer to her.

More Pictures

2011-05-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

Leanne's Pictures

2011-05-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

Now that we've transferred Leanne's pictures from the camera to the computer, here they are.

Men!

2011-05-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how many times I have told Scott to keep an eye on Leanne when she is laying on the bed or her changing pad and he'll nod and go back to his game. Well, today Leanne, "The Wiggles Extraordinaire," decided to show him why I'm always harassing him about it. He had her on her changing pad on the bed and was on the floor below her playing his game while I took a bath. All of a sudden I hear her start wailing. Apparently she had "slid" off the pad and landed on Scott. She is fine, after all she had a well padded landing on Scott's stomach. Still, I'm hoping he'll start paying more attention in the future. All my fingers are crossed, are yours?

Update

2009-07-01T11:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry about how long it has been since I wrote, I haven't been spending much time on the Internet lately. So, a brief overview of the last several months. I didn't get the Corrections job, they sent me a letter after my interview saying "thanks, but no thanks." Gene and I went on our trip to San Francisco and had a great time. The Castello di Amorosa was gorgeous and the wines were amazing. Gene and I are no longer dating, we broke up in January. A few days before I was let go from my job at the Police Department actually. So that was a difficult week. My ex-boyfriend Alan decided to take me to Vegas with him and his friend Danny to cheer me up when I told him what happened. We stayed at the Venetian and had a great time. The Venetian is an absolutely beautiful hotel. Alan and I are dating again, though we aren't sure where it's going yet. In March I got a job with Chipotle at the restaurant that had just opened in Westlake Village and one with OSH in Santa Barbara, where my best friend Jen works. In April I started a Phlebotomy class, that taught me how to do blood draws so I could become a Certified Phlebotomist Technician 1. I am currently only working at OSH so I could concentrate on class. I have finished all the classes now and aced both the midterm and the final. On June 6th Jen married Henry, her boyfriend of almost 5 years, in a beautiful outdoor ceremony at the Wedgewood in Ventura. On June 13th I turned 24, though I celebrated mostly alone since Jen was on her honeymoon, my parents were in Colorado, and I was working.

So I think that is everything up until now. I start my Phlebotomy internship on July 6th at VCMC and I am both excited and nervous. The internship is a week long, Monday through Friday. After the internship I take the state certification test and will be able to get a position as a Phlebotomist. Since my parents were out of state for my birthday we are celebrating it on July 7th by seeing the play Spamalot. Well, that's it for now. I will try to get some pictures up of recent events.

Disneyland and San Francisco, Oh My!

2008-10-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

Well the interview went alright I think (hope). I should find out by this Wednesday if I made it into background checks (cross your fingers for me). Dad was a big help, he told me things I had never thought about when it comes to interviews. I learned how to smooth a jacket unobtrusively as I sit down, that relaxing in a chair and using some small hand gestures when talking is better than sitting straight and not moving, and I learned that answers are better if they are more than a few words but less than a "paragraph." Thanks Dad!

Last Wednesday I went to Disneyland with my brother, Matt, his wife, Chris, and their two older kids, Naia (7) and Miles (2). We had a great time but we were all exhausted by the time we left. We saw all of Disneyland except for Toontown before leaving and heading over to California Adventure for Mickey's Halloween Costume Party. We lucked out on how long we spent in each line, the longest we spent in line by far was 30 minutes for the Storybook ride. All the lines were typically 15 minutes or less, well there were ones that were longer but we got fast passes for those. Whoever came up with fast passes should receive a medal or something, they are so great! Sadly Miles was not able to go on more than half of the rides, he was too short, but he took it really well. Naia got dragged on some rides that she was probably tempted to curse Matt and I for later, she isn't fond of the dark (so she hated Space Mountain) and she doesn't like them to be "too fast" either (which I think is odd since when we went on the Tea Cups she had hers going as fast as her arms could manage). Chris and I aren't real big on taking pictures so there aren't many to show but I will add them as soon as I load them on the computer.

Gene and I are taking a trip to San Francisco from Nov. 6th through the 10th (this will be the first vacation I have ever taken with a significant other). It should be great, we are both very excited, not only about going to SF but also about having almost a full five days for just the two of us. When Gene first told me what days he could get off we only had a little over 3 weeks to plan the trip and at first we were debating between New York and SF, but since I couldn't foresee getting my hands on over $600 on such short notice we decided to go with SF (definitely cheaper and I have been really wanting to go for a while). We got a room at the Opal Hotel in the Civic Center area of SF, the reviews are very mixed but overall fairly good, so I have my fingers crossed that it will be a pleasant stay. I have never actually made it to SF, the closest I have been is San Jose so this will be totally new for me, but Gene has been before so hopefully he won't be bored seeing things he has seen before. He was excited to find out that the Raiders (a football team that Gene is a huge fan of) will be playing in the area on the Sunday we are there, so I am letting him drag me to a game. Those that know me know that sports are not very high up on my list of things to watch, the only sport that has ever held my attention for very long is Ice Hockey and I don't even watch it unless I go to a game, which is rare. I have decided that if I see nothing else I will see the Castello di Amorosa Winery, it's a winery with an authentic Italian castle that my parents saw while on a trip to Napa Valley. It is about an hour and a half drive from our hotel, but I have been dieing to see it ever since my parents told me about it. I also want to see Pier 39 and Alcatraz; well really I think I would enjoy seeing all the touristy things they have there, but there is only so much time and neither Gene nor I are morning people so that would cut down the number of things we could see too (since stores often close around the time we night people are really getting going, oh well). Anyone have any places they thought were the best and that I should definitely see?

Nervous

2008-10-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

Well, my interview is coming up in a few days and I have mass amounts of butterflies in my stomach. I don't think I have ever wanted a job as much as I want this on before. I just hope it is as good a job for me as it looks, not to mention that I am actually able to get it. My interview is at 0800 on Wednesday and anyone that knows me knows I am so not a morning person, but I will prevail! Also it will be a panel interview with 3 people! Sheesh! I can just see it now, me sitting there shaking and trying not to stutter while 3 people shoot questions at me. Great now I want to crawl into a dark corner and hide. Anyone with some sound advise? My dad is going to prep me with some questions the day before, since he has some experience on hiring panels. Maybe I should brush up on my meditation skills, can't hurt, right?

On another topic, I have dropped out of college for right now. My stress levels were through the roof, I was skipping classes, not doing any homework or studying, and I was beginning to have minor panic attacks before class (generally not a good sign), so I decided enough was enough and dropped my classes. I will likely go back next year, but I am not going to pressure myself to do so, if I am ready when classes start then I will go back otherwise I will wait until I am ready again. My only regret is that I wasted my parents money, they paid $1700 of the $1950 for this semester. So I will be paying them $100 every time I receive a paycheck (so every two weeks) until I have paid them back not only for this semester but also for my laptop and the down payment on my car that they lent me the money for. All of that comes to a grand total of (drum roll please)... $3900. Yeah, ouch. My parents are too good to me. It is likely to take me a couple years to pay that off at $200 a month (if there are no unforseen problems), but I will pay them back.

So for those of you that don't already know, my best friend Jennifer is getting married! They have finally set the date! Yes, on their third attempt to set a date it looks like it will be June 6, 2009. Oddly enough, only 4 days before Jen's birthday and exactly a week before mine. We went wedding dress shopping in Santa Barbara this week. I am getting way too familiar with wedding dress shops lately. It was a nice little gathering of people that went: Jen's mom, Marsha, her fiance's mom, Sandra (?), her younger sister and bridesmaid, Anna, her (and my) best friend and bridesmaid, Jessica, and of course me, the maid of honor. We went to three shops, if you count the first one which was out of business, in just over 4 hours. Jen actually thought she might make it to 4 shops (1 per hour)! I think she is nuts! She is learning as she goes though; apparently she didn't check to see if the places she wanted to go to required appointments, which was our main set back (silly girl). I know as the maid of honor I should have asked but I just assumed that her mom would have mentioned it or she would have noticed it as she was looking up places to go, my bad. Jessica thinks we should take a look at David's Bridal but I have been adament that that would be a bad idea (mom and I both think that their prices are too high for the quality, or lack there of, of the fabric and general make of the dresses), thankfully Jen agrees with me. Poor Anna is having trouble finding anything that would work for her as a bridesmaid, she is at that size between flower girl and bridesmaid that makes things difficult. Of course, I am having some trouble too but that is because I am so very curvy that the dresses they have as samples just don't fit, something that I have become pretty used to. Lol, also I have found out that apparently I am the deciding factor on what color dresses the bridesmaids get and not because I am choosy but because my skin tone is so difficult to match (I have a redhead's coloring). Jessica, of course, is having no troubles with the dresses she fits into almost all of them perfectly and none of the possible colors look bad on her, (sigh) it almost makes a girl want to hate her, no matter how much you love her any other time.

So I have decided to let my friends help me improve my (apparently) terrible taste in clothing. I have always prefered comfortable clothing over fashionable clothing, since I wear a uniform at work and (in my opinion) don't really have a reason to waste money on expensive clothing that isn't particularly comfortable or serviceable. Now that I have a serious relationship that I really want to work, I have begun listening to what is being said about my typical appearance. Man, what a downer! I dress like I'm in high school, I have too much black in my closet, my tennis shoes are ugly and manly, I walk and sit without grace, my hair looks terrible up (this one I have been hearing for years), etc. I think I would prefer to go back to peaceful oblivion. God, it just occured to me that if I actually took the time to care about my appearance my typical tardiness would be even worse! Hehe, maybe I should mention that to everyone, maybe then they would leave me alone! (Evil cackle) But no seriously, I am trying to be better.

My Mr. Right?

2008-09-27T15:42:00.000-07:00

Everyone meet Gene. He is my new boyfriend (I mentioned him in prior blogs). He is great, a guy that really seems to understand me, even at my quirkiest. He understands and is ok with me typically running late, he doesn't expect me to wear makeup and seems to even like that even when I do it is light, he likes my laugh and my smile, he thinks my glasses are cute (when I don't wear my contacts), and he is very intelligent so I never feel like I need to censor or reword my thoughts. Hell, I think he might be more intelligent than I am (I'm not saying that I'm a genius, but sadly the guys I typically date make me look like I am by comparison). He graduated high school after 3 1/2 years and then graduated with a BA in Business Management from CSUN in 3 1/2 years. He is very focused when he wants something and as far as I can tell has always gotten what he wants. When he looks at me I swear he is trying to memorize my face. He compliments me and I never feel the need to say "Bullshit," which is almost always my response to compliments (especially from guys). He is polite, but not overly so and it doesn't feel forced (like a guy that thinks he will get brownie points if he pretends to like pulling out chairs or opening doors). Oh, he gives great back massages, too! I love that he doesn't mind public displays of affection, I hate it when guys feel the need to have a foot between us because we are walking outside. Ok, I think I am done gushing about him now.

Nothing interesting on the school front. Nothing new with work.

Something that is new, however, I am back to actively for an apartment. It has been time for me to move out for a while now but I keep pulling back at the last minute. I am pretty comfortable living with my parents, but living with Gary is not at all comfortable, even though he isn't nearly as much of an ass as he used to be (I think he has just learned some subtlety, not kindness). I had been thinking about getting roommates, even talked to a couple guy friends and looking for a 3 bedroom place, but now one of them invited a woman with two kids to join in. At first I thought I would be ok with it, but the more I think about it the more I think it would be better to get my own place. To do so I will be paying more and likely getting less, but one of the reasons I want to move out is to have more space. I have so much stuff I could decorate a house, though I would still need things like tables and couches, lol. I have been compiling a list of places to drive by and look at. I have a good sized list of places in Ventura, Oxnard, and Santa Paula that are in my price range. I am looking at places that have a rent up to $850, with at least a couple utilities included in the price. I have an appointment to view a studio in Oxnard on Wednesday, it is a couple blocks from the hospital, so I hope the neighborhood is ok. The price is great, $650 with all utilities covered. The downside so far is that it is attached to a house, but I am told it has a separate entrance (we will see). The pictures of the place give me hope (though it doesn't have a bathtub just a shower by the looks of it, pout).

Oh, I almost forgot! I finally got a call back regarding the Corrections position, my interview is in about two weeks! Hip Hip Hooray! Wish me luck!

The bad with the good

2008-09-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

Man I feel wrung out and beaten to a pulp. I have allergies (or the beginning of a cold) making my sinuses go haywire, which of course means my ears keep plugging up, my head is throbbing, and I feel like I have a faucet in place of my nose. Not to mention the monthly round of cramps, fatigue, and a killer need for chocolate.
Seriously, what kind of sadistic entity could possibly come up with this torture?!
I feel like my brain has taken a hike down a long tunnel, because it is taking for ever for thoughts to process. No, blonde jokes! I am not blonde on the outside or the inside thank you very much!
So, on a happier note, I did my first on stage performance for acting class and I did really well! The assignment was to re-enact two ordinary minutes of our life. So I chose to do me doing my hair and putting in my contacts. Well, I didn't have time to wash my hands before performing so I didn't actually put the contacts in, but almost everyone thought I did! Woo-hoo, go me! I even convinced the teacher I had actually put them in!
Also I got a new phone! It's a crackberry, I mean blackberry. I love my new toy! It has everything; web, email, gps and navigation, calendar, camcorder, camera, voice recorder, notetaking, texting, and of course cellphone, among other things. I am so hooked! I am seriously thinking the thing is worth the dough I shelled out for it and the monthly charge for all the capabilities. For $80 a month I get unlimited web and email, 450 call minutes, unlimited texts within Verizon, and 500 texts outside Verizon. I don't think I will ever be able to put it down again! :)
Okay I think I am done gushing now. :)

Hey

2008-09-14T20:50:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been over a year since I last blogged! Well, lets see, I am attending CSUCI and I have just changed my major from Teaching to Sociology, I am working full-time as a Records Specialist, and I have a new boyfriend. I have been considering transferring to CSUN because they have a Sociology course with an emphasis in Criminology, which CSUCI does not. Who knows if this change will last, to tell the truth I really don't know what I want to do. The reason I was going with Sociology was because I am interested in being a probation officer (which requires a BS in Sociology) but I may change my mind again. (Sigh) I hate not knowing what I want.
I have applied for a position as a Correction Services Officer and am waiting for the interview. I hate working in Records, my supervisor is a B.I.T.C.H.! Almost everyone in Records (hell, most of the department) feel the same way; it seems like the only people that don't agree are the Senior Records Clerks. I heard recently that even people at the Sheriff's dept know how bad she is. We have people jumping ship left and right lately. One woman just moved to Mississippi to get away from her! One is waiting to sell her house then she intends to move to Texas, one is applying for a position with LA county Sheriffs, and I am applying with Corrections. I don't know how they are going to be able to fill the 2 openings they already have let alone the ones that are going to be opening soon with so many people leaving.
Classes are okay. I am taking 2 Sociology classes and an acting class. By far my favorite is the acting class, which is no surprise to those who know me. The Sociology classes are interesting but not exactly fascinating. Sociology is an unusual science, you don't really have anything to study and yet you have everything to study, because society isn't an entity that you can actually see and yet every person in the world is a part of a society. Weird, huh?
My new boyfriend is named Gene, he is amazing, intelligent, and HOT! We met on EHarmony. He manages Sports Authority and on the side he flips homes. The funny thing is he seems to be as fascinated by me as I am by him. I was surprised when he told me that on our first date he was thinking what is this beautiful woman doing here with me. I had been thinking something along those lines too! Hehe, maybe that makes us perfect for each other, huh? My best friends Jen and Jessica both approve of him (which is actually unusual). He and I have been on 6 dates now and everything seems great so far. He has an interesting dating policy, at 1 month, 4 months, and then 4 years in a relationship he evaluates how the relationship is going and whether he wants to stay in the relationship. He has actually had a couple 4 year relationships! Sheesh, I haven't had a relationship last 1 full year let alone 4! LOL, I am told I am picky, but I see nothing wrong with that.
So I think that is everything for now. Hopefully I will start remembering to do this more often. :)

Hey everyone!

2007-08-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry I know it has been months since my last blog entry. A lot has happened in that time, too. Scrapbooker's Villa is now out of business, it closed June 28th. I bought a new-ish car on July 1st to replace the one I totalled in May. I got a silver 2006 Chrysler Pt Cruiser. Scott and Jennifer got married on August 11th (a truly beautiful ceremony and reception). Now to get down to the new news.

I have been accepted to California State University Channel Islands! I will be taking one class at Ventura College (anatomy of murder, I am really excited about this class). I will be taking another 9 to 12 units at CSUCI. The class at VC starts on Tuesday, August 21st and the rest start August 27th.

On a much less happy note, my car (the one I have had for exactly 49 days) broke down today! The cable that connects to the battery corroded and broke off!!!!!!! I am so not happy about this! It was lucky that when it did brake I was parked and only a few blocks from home. Dad and I had the car towed to the dealership and we'll be going back in the morning to see what they intend to do about it. If their attitude doesn't improve on what we got today we are going to tell every person we know never to go there.

My 22 B-day

2007-06-13T23:18:00.000-07:00

This will be short since it is a quarter after midnight here. I had an interesting birthday. It started off with me being awakened at 9AM (I didn't go to sleep until after 3AM, bad Rie-Rie) with a phone call from my Sarge offering me a position in fingerprinting. I have been requesting this position for over a year now, so I'm totally jazzed. Then I spend the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon playing with Addison, while Rachel sleeps, and watching Season 2 of Top Chef (I am now officially addicted).

At a little after 3PM Rachel, Addison, and I head over to the Paisley Pot to do some ceramic painting. When we get there there is a sign in the window informing customers that the business will be going out of business July 31. You're probably thinking too bad but how does that affect us right then? Well, right next to that sign is another sign informing us that they are out of ceramics, but do still have some mosaic pieces. No ceramics! Sigh. So we go in anyway and look at what mosaic pieces they have. It consisted of an incomplete alphabet, some numbers, and a couple rhinos. Hmmm, no thanks. So next idea, movies! Rachel and I decide to take Addison to her first theater movie. We saw Surf's Up, it was actually really cute and Addison was really good throughout the movie. She enjoyed stealing the straw out of my soda, she went through 3 before we gave up and put the soda on the floor.

At about 8:30 we headed over to the Asian Grill because I wanted Sushi and this way I could get that and Rachel and John could get something that they liked. Well, we get there at about 8:50 and notice that the Grill closes at 9. Oops. They let us in anyway but the sushi bar was closed, so I got Chinese instead. Oh well. For desert we went back to the house and had a very cute little chocolate cake with chocolate icing, that was actually a good size for just three people. I finished off the night by watching the first episode of this season's Top Chef.

Just something I thought I'd throw out that I found amusing. I got calls from my friends Rich, Henry, and Dan wishing me a happy birthday. As well as Mom, Dad, Matt, and Gary. I also got an e-card from Wenona, and myspace birthday wishes from Breanne and my friend Allen. Did anyone else notice that none of my female friends (Wenona, you're family) wished me a happy birthday, most significantly my two best friends Jen and Jess? Ok, I should mention that Jen and Micki sent me early wishes (Jen on the 8th and Micki on the 11th, both in response to the b-day wishes I sent them, so does that even really count?). Lol, I just find it amusing that my guy friends remember my birthday (and my brothers actually made the effort to call me) but my female friends didn't. Go figure?

I've started writing

2007-05-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

Hmm, I'm beginning to think nobody reads this except Mom and Rachel. Oh well I guess that means I can write whatever I want and it won't matter right? Hmmm, blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda. :) LOL, ok moving on. So, I have finally begun writing the children's book Dad suggested I write months and months ago. I only have a very basic storyline, but would like some opinions (that means the good and the bad, please). Here it goes.

The main character is a young, red-haired witch, named Rowena. She has a small, red dragon, named Ruby that goes everywhere with her. The meaning behind this story is not to judge others by how they look.

Rowena and Ruby are walking through the forest, near the hills. They come across a little, long armed, furry, green haired monster. Rowena and Ruby scream and dive behind a bush. The monster dives behind a rock. After a few minutes of hiding Ruby looks over the bush to see if the monster is still there but doesn't see anything. Ruby whistles at Rowena, so she looks too. Just as she peeks over the bush, the monster peeks over the rock. They all scream and duck again. Ruby gets curious and flies over to the monster's hiding place.

"Don't hurt me," yells the monster.

Shocked, Rowena looks towards the rock. "We wouldn't hurt you!"

"Yes, you would. I know what you are!"

Ruby cocks her head and whistles questioningly. Rowena stands and walks over to the rock where Ruby is hovering. The monster whimpers and tries to make himself smaller behind the rock with his arms covering his head. Rowena leans over the rock a bit and asks, "What is your name?"

The monster shivers and whispers, "Go away."

Rowena looks at Ruby and shrugs. "But why," she asks. "We haven't hurt you."

The monster angrily declares, "I know what you are! You're a witch and that," he points quickly at Ruby, "is a dragon!"

Still confused, Rowena says, "Yes, so?"

"Witches are evil! They're always putting spells on people! And dragons breath fire!"

Rowena laughs. "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. I am not evil and why would I put a spell on people? And of course dragons breath fire, but Ruby is too young to do more than light a candle."

The monster peeks around his arm, then hides again. "It is not stupid. All witches are evil!"

Still giggling at such a silly idea, Rowena sits on the rock. "If I was so evil, then wouldn't I have already put a spell on you?"

"Maybe." The monster peeks again and seeing Rowena sitting, whimpers and tries to move away without uncovering his head.

Getting tired of this, Rowena sighs and says, "Oh, for the Mother's sake, I am not going to hurt you and neither will Ruby!"

"Ruby?"

Rowena smiles at Ruby, who whistled happily at the sound of her name. "Yes, Ruby is my dragon. She is my best friend. My name is Rowena. Now, will you please tell me your name?"

The monster looks up carefully, ready to hide again if necessary. "Rork," he mumbles.

"Your name is Rock?"

Annoyed the monster says, "No! RORK!"

Startled by the shout Rowena jumps a bit. "Oh! Sorry. Rork. Is that right?"

So that is what I have so far. What do you think?

Diet time

2007-05-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like I need to go on another diet. I've been noticing the past month that my work pants are getting tight, especially along the waist and thighs. Another reason I need to go on a diet (though I doubt anyone wants to know this, it is my blog so I can say what I want), if I don't start losing weight soon I'm going to have to go up another bra size. That is the last thing I need. I have enough trouble with C-cups but I'm fast approaching D-cup with my recent weight gain. Lol, I think the only person that will be happy to know I'm going on a diet and picking up my exercise routine again will be Dad, because he dearly loves having someone suffering and sweating right along with him when he exercises. I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions for a diet, well other than eating right, I've already started doing that. It is amazingly difficult to eat right with my jobs. Both the PD and the Villa have chocolate, candy, and soda everywhere. My downfall is always when I'm at work, because I don't have the willpower to not eat a piece when it is sitting there calling my name. Suggestions, PLEASE?

Baptism

2007-05-19T23:20:00.000-07:00

Addy had a very busy day today. She had a photo shot at 11AM, a baptism at 3PM, and a party at 5PM. Of course, there was also all the requisite entertaining of family members, feedings, naps, and so much supervising she had to do. So busy.

Her photos were beautiful of course (you'll have to look at Addy's blog to see them though, sorry). The baptism was very nice with only family invited, even the father performing the baptism was family (John's uncle). John's brother, Jim, and I are the godparents (thanks Rachel :D). The party was very nice too. John made burgers and hot dogs on the barbecue. Rachel and John have been working frenziedly to get the house and everything prepared for the party. They now have a beautiful gazebo and fire pit out side, as well as a mural downstairs. The house looks absolutely wonderful (someone at the party actually suggested Rachel become an interior decorator, that is how great it looks).

I can't wait for my vacation time. I'll be taking two weeks in June (from the 3rd to the 17th) to come out to Colorado and spend time relaxing and of course getting my Addy fix. This time is my gift to myself for my 22nd birthday and my graduation. I lucked out though because Mom and Dad are going to pay for my tickets for my birthday and I'll be housesitting for Tanya, Rachel's friend, for some of the time and then housesitting for Rachel my last weekend since they'll be going out to Cali. It will be really nice to have two weeks to do what I want when I want, no work and no school to worry about. This is definitely my idea of heaven, well if I could get paid during that time it would truly be heaven, but this is close enough.

Sneaky Rie-Rie

2007-05-18T23:28:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to sneak this in before Rachel or Mom got their blogs in. It's kind of nice to be the first to blog something, lol. Anyway we arrived in Colorado at about 11AM (Colorado time) for which we had to be leaving the house at 4:30AM (California time) to get to the Burbank airport on time. Mom and I got about 2 hours of sleep, Dad about 3, and Gary, well he got however many he wanted since Mom and Dad predominantly packed for him. It was a good thing we went with Mom's advice of leaving at 4:30 instead of Dad's of waking at 4:30 because the lines for security check were about 3-4 times longer than I have ever seen at Burbank. However, we ended up having plenty of time since our flight started boarding about 20 minutes late. We rented a PT Cruiser for the weekend. Mom and I took turns monopolizing Addy, we did try to give Dad some time with her but she started fussing shortly after each switch, oh well more time for me (evil grin). Admittedly Addy was fussy, period, for the most part, Rachel thinks she's teething. I actually did have her the longest but that was because I managed to get her to sleep and if I shifted she woke up, so I repeat "oh well more time for me." Well that's it for tonight.

My terrible, horrible, f****ing frightening Saturday

2007-05-10T13:36:00.000-07:00

Well I bet by now everyone has probably read mom's blog about my accident, but I figured I would just expand on it. Well my Saturday was already on a bad standing, since I was late to the Villa. I had been up until after midnight the night before helping my friend Jessica get her dress whites and boots ready for the next morning (Jessica is Naval Security and had honor guard duty the next morning). So by the time I got home I wasn't thinking beyond the fact that I had to be at work the next morning, so I set my alarm so I would be able to get to the Villa at the normal time. The problem was that normally the store opens at 10AM, but that Saturday (National Scrapbook Day) we had a crop that started at 9AM. The next morning as I'm about to leave I get a call from Debra, the Villa's owner, asking me where I am because there had been people waiting at the store for a half hour already. I freak out and drive as fast as I safely can all the way from Camarillo to downtown Ventura. Being an hour late to work is never a good way to start a day.

So I finally leave the Villa at about 3:15 and I'm driving along at about 75mph. Well, I get to the Santa Clara River Bridge and glance down to check my gas gauge and back up to see brake lights in front of me. I slammed on my brakes and skidded for a couple seconds right into the car in front of me. I was probably doing 40-50mph when I hit the SUV. I remember screaming when I realized there was no where to go and no way I was going to be able to stop in time. The squeal of my brakes and the booming crunch of my car as I hit still rings in my ears when I think about what happened. I was thrown forward on impact and my knees hit the dash. I'm so glad that I am a nut when it comes to having seatbelts on while in a moving vehicle, because it most definitely saved my life. The seatbelt kept me not only from flying through the windshield, but also kept me from doing a face plant in the steering wheel since my airbags never deployed. After the accident I sat dazed for a few seconds, then the driver of the SUV came out and started in on me. Shortly after that a CHP officer was there and told everyone to get back in their cars and move farther down the road to the shoulder. Of course my car was in no shape to move on its own so the CHP gave my car a push with his car and I drifted to the shoulder. I attempted to use the brakes but since my car wasn't on they didn't work and I resorted to my emergency brake which thankfully worked.

I am so glad that the only damage done to me was some truly spactacular bruises on my knees and chest, bruised collar bone and ribs, a fabric burn on my shoulder from the seatbelt, and whiplash in my back, neck, and shoulders. Nothing appears to be broken or torn and I'm alive so all in all probably a miracle or at the very least some damn fine luck.

Friday the 13th Strikes

2007-04-13T22:48:00.000-07:00

You know I don't think I have ever really had a problem with Friday the 13th; my bad luck always seemed to come during vacations, but I digress. This time was only slightly
different, in that I actually knew someone that was hurt on Friday the 13th. Okay so I was scheduled to work Friday night and therefore have the rest of the day off, but I woke up at 10:24 AM to my cell ringing. It was one of my employees, the one working the morning shift (which had only just started) and she tells me she needs me to come in asap and take her shift. The poor girl's mom had just gotten into a car accident and needed Megan to take her to the hospital! Her mom is fine, just a case of whiplash and disorientation, thank God. I'm thinking that working a double shift is nothing compared to that, so yet again not such a bad Friday the 13th for me. I hope everyone else's Friday the 13th was even less eventful than mine.

The Afterbath

2007-04-13T22:42:00.001-07:00


Addy talking

Tickle-me Addy

2007-04-13T19:23:00.001-07:00


ADDY LAUGHING

Happy Easter Everyone!

2007-04-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

Well Mom, Dad, and Gary left for Colorado at "oh-dark-thirty" Sunday morning. I, of course, was unable to go since I have classes this week. If it had just been work I'd have said see ya in a week and gone too, but oh well. I attended Church services with my friend, Jennifer's, family at their Lutheran church. It was a nice service. Jen and I then went back to my house and I gave her a baking lesson, we made chocolate chip cookies. She got half of them and I took the other half with me to Matt's for dinner. Matt's girlfriend, Chris, made a lot of food; apparently Matt's co-workers were dropping in throughout the afternoon to eat. Chris is nice, as were her daughter and mother; I didn't get the chance to meet the baby (pout). The food was good too. She had chicken, egg salad, cucumbers, beens, rice, corn on the cob, and banana pudding. I've never had banana pudding before but I enjoyed it. It was a nice Easter.

A measuring stick for bad employees

2007-03-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

These individual quotes were reportedly taken from actual employee performance valuations in a large US Corporation:
"Since my last report, this employee has reached rock bottom and has started to dig."
"His men would follow him anywhere, but only out of morbid curiosity."
"I would not allow this employee to breed."
"Works well when under constant supervision and cornered like a rat in a trap."
"He would be out of his depth in a parking lot puddle."
"He sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them."
"This employee is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot."
"Got a full 6-pack, but lacks the plastic thing to hold it all together."
"He certainly takes a long time to make his pointless."
"He doesn't have ulcers, but he's a carrier."
"I would like to go hunting with him sometime."
"He's been working with glue too much."
"He would argue with a signpost."
"He has a knack for making strangers immediately."
"He brings a lot of joy whenever he leaves the room."
"When his IQ reaches 50, he should sell."
"A prime candidate for natural deselection."
"Gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming."
"If he were any more stupid, he'd have to be watered twice a week."
"It's hard to believe that he beat 1,000,000 other sperm to the egg."
"Some drink from the fountain of knowledge; he only gargled."
"The wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead."

Had to share

2007-03-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

Ok I just read this one and had to share.

A young couple was in their honeymoon suite the night of their wedding. As they undressed for bed, the husband, who was a big burly man, tossed his pants to his bride, and said, "Here, put these on." Though the wife was confused by his request, she put them on. The waist was twice the size of her body. "I can't wear your pants," she told her husband, "they're too big." "That's right," the husband said, "and don't you forget it. I'm the man who wears the pants in this family!" The wife whipped off her panties and flipped them to her husband. "Try these on," she said. Knowing he needed to pacify her if he hoped to get lucky, the husband did as she demanded. He tried the panties on and found that he could only get the lacy material up as far as his kneecap. He said, "Hell, I can't get into your panties." And the wife said, "That's right, and that's the way it's gonna be until you change your damn attitude."

My Housesitting Escapades

2007-03-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

My first attempt at housesitting has been a very interesting experience. There are two dogs at this house, a female pit bull mix and a male (I'm not sure what he is, maybe a collie mix). The male dog I like, but the female is driving me nuts. She's bitten me three times already (not hard, just enough to leave red marks and a couple minor bruises) and I still have tonight and tomorrow morning to deal with them. I can't figure out if she is just being playfull or aggressive. She keeps jumping on me and no matter how much I push her down or talk to her in a "dominant" tone, she keeps doing it and she is only getting worse. This morning she ran up behind me and went for my side, I heard her coming so I shifted enough that she only got my shirt but it scared me. I'm almost at my wit's end. I don't want to do it but I think I may have to try to put her in a submissive position. The thing is I don't know if it will help or make it worse. Help somebody! Heck, maybe I should just muzzle her (sadly I don't own a muzzle, though maybe I should, it might help with Gary too, hehe).

Ghostly Apparitions?

2007-03-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

Probably not. Ok to give a little background: our front doors don't latch very well without a good yank on the inside lever and it was really windy yesterday (see where I'm going with this?). Well a guy comes in yesterday with his two kids, teenage girl and boy. The girl is looking around and the Dad is following her, while the boy sits next to the door. The dad and girl are in the back section of the store when a gust of wind opens the door, that hadn't latched after they entered, and then slams it shut again. The dad, probably thinking the boy had left the store, walks to the front and seeing the boy asks what happened. The boy says he doesn't know, that the door just opened and closed on its own. Well at this point the dad starts looking a bit wierded out, so I explain about the wind probably opening it, and he calms down. I jokingly say "Not big on ghosts huh?" The guy shivers, actually shivers, at the word ghost! Then gives an embarrassed laugh and tells me if he can't see it he doesn't want to be hearin' nothin' about it. Of course at this point the demon on my shoulder piped up and told me to tell the ghost story of city hall, but I figured running a potential customer out of the store, no matter how entertaining the process may be, probably wouldn't be a good idea. Oh well, still makes for a fun blog right?

I'm Back

2007-02-05T12:31:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Thanks for all your comments on my last blog. Sorry it has taken me so long to write again, I've been busy and sick so I haven't had a chance. We've been having fun here at the Villa (ScrapbookersVilla.com), going to CHA (Craft and Hobby Association's Craft "World Fair") and having our big Super Bowl Super Crop. Anyone that comes to our store knows that we have been making room for all the new merchandise we bought at CHA. Well things are beginning to come in, like our new adhesives, Scapper's Solution, and our new Quilling supplies. We've also gotten in some new things from Flair, Basic Grey, and Reminisce. Lol, I know I'm going on and on about work but CHA got all of us here at the store really hyped up and looking forward to all the new things coming in as well as some of the changes we'll be making. Well I got to go I'll post again soon.

My New Blog

2007-01-30T23:42:00.000-08:00

All right, so I have officially started my own blog. I know very few people will read this but I figure what the hell, why not give it a try. My mom and my 2-month old niece have blogs and everyone seems to enjoy adding to them. I figure this will be my place to vent as well as share my world with others. Since it is so late this will be all I write for tonight even though it is my first entry. I'll add more as soon as I have time.