bravo, nbc, bravo!

so i wasn't planning to post anything else in '08 BUT i cannot pass on this gem. nbc's new show, momma's boys is absolutely GENIUS! most of those reality dating shows give me anxiety, but this show takes it to a whole new level. the show features 3 men looking for love with the help of their moms who live in the house with all the ladies...and i use the term ladies loosely. on last night's episode, the mom's got to pick one girls' file to read. the files contained background checks, credit checks, personality profiles, photos...basically every piece of dirt they could dig up on these girls. this one chick's file revealed that not only had she posed for playboy, she'd undergone a ton of plastic surgery including 2 boob jobs, a nose job, lip injections, hair extensions and more. she also had a whopping $136,000 in debt ~ and not the good kind, like school loans or a house payment ~ all from shopping and surgery! and what reality dating show wouldn't be complete without a meltdown from one of the girls. i think she had a little too much wine and the pressure just got to her. oh, monday night's just got better again!

merry (belated) christmas!

i know it's a little on the late side, but i was busy celebrating the holiday with my wonderful family! here's what i've been up to this past week or so:

• since the snow pretty much trapped us, my roommate and i walked in the snow to happy hour. we called a couple girlfriends who also walked to meet us. it turned into a very fun, snowy night.
• got a flat tire...that sucked.
• spent christmas eve with the fam and got to play with hailey AND caser. it's SO much fun to have these little blessings in our lives. i can't wait until next christmas, when baby yost joins the party!
• spent christmas day watching movies and eating really good food with the fam. santa came, too :)
• went skiing for the first time this season at crystal mountain with a couple girlfriends. although i had a great time, my new boots are a tad too...ummm...i don't know. i can't tell if they're too small, or too big but whatever they are, i loose all the feeling in my toes. gotta figure that one out.
• went to a restaurant opening called 'cantinetta' in my neighborhood. the apps were great, so i can't wait to actually eat a meal there. of course, i'll post my thoughts on that.
• went skiing for the 2nd time after much work on the boots. i still couldn't feel my toes so i have no idea what to do.

this week, i'm heading to whistler with a couple friends for NYE and some skiing. despite the fact that it's 1 degree C, i'm super excited! and i guess it doesn't matter how cold it is, seeing as how my toes are going to fall off anyway from lack of circulation. i'm sure i'll have lots to tell about the trip when i get back. happy new year!

OH NO!

YIKES!

my co-worker took these pictures today when she was coming back to the office after an appointment downtown.

someone was happy i was working from home...

rocco was pooped and just couldn't get close enough. sometimes, he's too cute for words!

this is for you, aunt lynn honey!

this never gets old.

thankful...

that i have a job that allows me to work from home!! and i got the chance to play in the snow with my landlords adorable son. we made a snow man (and by snow man, i mean 3 snowballs stacked on eachother) and threw snowballs and sang. so fun! he didn't want to go in and take his nap.

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

i'm LOVING the snow! even though the temperature gauge on my car said 18 degrees on my way to work this am, i LOVE IT!!! what makes it even better is that the sun is out ~ i know, in seattle! i can't wait to see what this next storm brings.

yummy, yummy goodness!

went to another GREAT restaurant last night. it's called marcello's and it's on roosevelt up here in the city. it was sooooooo good! i had the pollo valtellina which is a fancy way of saying boneless chicken covered and baked with provolone cheese, prosciutto, mushrooms, almonds, and a cream sauce. all of my favorite things! meat and cheese covered with more meat and cheese. i died and went to food heaven. i can't wait to go there again!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

i googled 'thanksgiving' in the images window, and this is what came up first.

it's such a pretty picture and fall is my absolute favorite time of year, but somehow doesn't really capture all (or any) of the things i'm thankful for, which include:

my family ~ ALL of you!!!

my friends

my job ~ PTL! ~ and a steady income

a functioning car

a warm, safe place to live

rocco ~ of course!

and most importantly...

...love, patience, forgiveness, blessings and grace from the man upstairs.

Happy Thanksgiving!

apparently i've been under a rock...

i just found out about the COOLEST thing. the amazon kindle is a wireless reading devise that you download books onto. i guess oprah dedicated a whole show to it (does anyone even watch oprah anymore?) you download books right onto the devise so you never have to buy ~ or haul around ~ a book ever again. (although, i do love a good old fashioned hard back book). it's designed to look like an actual book with pages and ink, not like a computer that can be harmful on the eyes. the only drawback is that it's kinda spendy right now but i'm assuming the price will drop eventually. technology is amazing!

i drank the koolaid...

just got the whole set and already started the first book at lunch. i'm hooked. alicia, i can't wait to chat vampires with you. there goes my social life.

thank goodness...

the elections are OVER! no more political ads ~ well not for a while any way. i'm grateful for the democratic process but hate to see what it does to people. regardless of who you voted for, i think we can ALL agree that it's time to move on. 'nuf said.

Happy Halloween!

so i know i've been bad but things have been CRAZY! last week, i was in a super intense training session ALL week long...i was a little consumed working on 3 presentations and studying for 2 exams ~ yes, i said exams. what is this, college? this week has been equally busy. i got my first 4 orders in, so YAY! anywho, today is halloween. our whole office totally gets into it so everyone's dressed up in themes. and let me tell you, these people are creative. we have a pirates of the carribean area, a monopoly area, a wizard of oz area, a tailgate area, a military area, and we're the bug's life area. here's a pic. a little later, i'm going to go through the haunted house in the warehouse and maybe partake in the adult version of trick-or-treating (not what you're thinking...libations, people!) buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

happy halloween!

i love...

BOOKS! well, not all books but some books. this past weekend, i read the new nicholas sparks book, the lucky one. loved it. super easy and quick to read. however, it's very predictable...total nicholas sparks fashion. if you've ever seen the movie, bounce, you kinda know the premise. even still, i enjoyed it. my next one will be the queen's fool, by the same author as the other boleyn girl, which i adored! so excited! stay tuned for that review.

made it...

to my 2nd class at the gym. i could barely walk yesterday and today is no exception. but it was worth it and i plan on going back on monday. ps ~ today i learned that jimmy the former drill sargent is also know as jimmy the former male exotic dancer at a place called 'polar bares.' yikes!

classic...

check this out.

i love my new...

wallet! i can't remember the last time i had one, but i can't stop staring at it. i don't normally love pink or purple, but this being october and all, i'm kinda digging it. hey, somebody's got to keep this economy moving right? now i just need the matching bag...

the gym...

so since i've changed jobs, my whole work-out routine has gone right out the window. and by out the window, i mean i've turned into a complete SLUG!

i decided to check out an early morning step class, because nothing gets you moving like stepping up and down on a step. i showed up a little before the 6am ~ yes, i said 6AM ~ start time, and was greeted by a gentleman who said 'oh, a new face! yay.' i'm thinking, this class might be a little on the easy side judging by the man's age...not that he was old or anything, but i figure if someone my dad's age could keep up with these hard stepping sequences, i should be able to hang, right? that, and the 2nd person to greet me was a little woman named 'verlene' if that give you any indication of her age...let's just say that she HAD to be enjoying some early bird specials down at the local dennys.

so then, jimmy comes in. jimmy is the 65 year-old former drill sargent who teaches the class. yes, drill sargent but he was really nice. did i mention he was wearing spandex? anywho, jimmy was very welcoming and told me not to worry to much, that i'd be overwhelmed at first but to just keep moving. a few more ladies walk in and immediately greet me and say 'oh, a new person!' and then also told me that it's hard to keep up at first but i'd get the hang of it. then, a very feminine man said hello, and told me there would be no shortage of mother hens in the class. i'm looking around feeling pretty darn good right about now. then the music started. let's just say these baby boomers were running CIRCLES around me. i was shocked. i kept up pretty good, but at the end of class, one of the older gentlemen said, 'your face is a different color than it was when you came in here.' i'm assuming he was referring to the shade of red i was sporting ~ must remember to breathe when i go back on friday...assuming i can still walk.

yeah, i'm already pretty tight. but that could also be due to the fact that last night at the gym i got on a treadmill next to a cute guy who was running, so of course i had to run, too...

oh man.

new office policies...

check out the email i just got:

NEW OFFICE POLICY ~ EFFECTIVE October 1, 2008

Dress Code:
1) You are advised to come to work dressed according to your salary.
2) If we see you wearing Prada shoes and carrying a Gucci bag, we will assume you are doing well financially and therefore do not need a raise.
3) If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you may buy nicer clothes, and therefore you do not need a raise.
4) If you dress just right, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a raise.

Sick Days:
We will no longer accept a doctor's statement as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

Personal Days:
Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturdays & Sundays.

Bereavement Leave:
This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for dead friends, relatives or co-workers. Every effort should be made to have non-employees attend the funeral arrangements in your place. In rare cases where employee involvement is necessary, the funeral should be scheduled in the late afternoon. We will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch hour and subsequently leave one hour early.

Bathroom Breaks:
Entirely too much time is being spent in the toilet. There is now a strict three-minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall door will open, and a picture will be taken. After your second offense, your picture will be posted on the company bulletin board under the 'Chronic Offenders' category. Anyone caught smiling in the picture will be sectioned under the company's mental health policy.

Lunch Break:
~ Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch, as they need to eat more, so that they can look healthy.
~ Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain their average figure.
~ Chubby people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that's all the time needed to drink a Slim-Fast.
Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternation and input should be directed elsewhere.

The Management

if you're still thinking this is real, it's not. my company is way cool. they don't post pictures on a bulletin board...they actually go on the company intranet.

the peasant princess...

if you have some extra time, i HIGHLY recommend you listen to this series called the peasant princess. it's pastor mark's sermons on verses from song of solomon. it's SOOOOO good. each sermon is a little over an hour, but definitely worth it.

iphone...

i did it. finally converted to the latest technology and I LOVE IT! so far, my favorite feature (besides the touch screen) is an application called shazam. it's a super cool program that tells you the title of ANY song you're listening to. seriously! you hold the phone up to a speaker, or just hold it out so it can pick up the tune, then it searches and finds the song. it even gives you a link on itunes to buy the song right then and there. i'm obsessed!

unclutterer...

here's a fun website i stumbled across with has tips for staying organized.

How to Get Past Regrets...

so apparently i'm in the mood to steal postings from other people today. this is a daily devotional i got in my inbox this morning. let's just say it's a very timely message.

How to Get Past Regrets
by Rick Warren

Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands. Isaiah 43:18-19 (MSG)

*** *** *** ***

How often do you play the “If only” game?

· If only I could do it over again.

· If only I had listened sooner.

· If only I could erase the past.

· If only I could forgive myself.

The thing to remember is that no one is perfect. We all have regrets; we’ve all made bad choices, and said foolish things; we’ve all wasted time, and hurt ourselves and others.

How do you release your regrets? In my experience as a pastor, I’ve seen several strategies we tend to use that simply do not work:

· You try to bury your past. But burying the past will never help you get past your regrets. You can try to minimize (“It wasn’t a big deal”), rationalize (“Everyone does it”), and compromise (lowering standards), but your regrets are still there, and if unresolved, they’ll keep coming back to haunt you over and over again like a creature in a horror movie.

· We blame others. This tactic is as old as Adam and Eve. When Adam sinned, he took it like a man: he blamed his wife! We use blame to balance out our guilt.

· We beat up on ourselves. We try to pay for our guilt unconsciously through illness, depression, setting ourselves up for failure, and other forms of self-punishment. The problem with beating up on yourself is this: your conscience never knows when to stop! Some people spend their entire lives in self-condemnation.

What does God want you to do with your regrets?

· Admit your guilt. Own up to it. Don’t make excuses. “A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance”(Proverbs 28:13 LB).

· Accept Christ’s forgiveness. He’s waiting to clean your slate. Ask him to clear your conscience. “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 NIV).

· Forgive yourself and focus on the future. “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands” (Isaiah 43:18-19 MSG).

oh, our poor seahawks...

this post made me giggle...it came from the seattle times photographer's blog.

Did the Seahawks sell their souls to the Devil in order to get to a Super Bowl?
Did Mike Holmgren, Tim Ruskell and Tod Leiweke secretly meet with Beelzebub outside of a Kirkland bar in the fall of 2005, asking for a monster year by Shaun Alexander and a trip to Detroit for Super Bowl XL?
I looked through my archives and I don't have any photographic proof that such a meeting took place.
But if it had, might it have gone like this?

Devil: Let's get this straight -- you want to go to the Super Bowl this season.

Holmgren: Yes. Once more before I retire.

Devil: Remember -- the Super Bowl is in Detroit. You sure you don't want to wait until it's in a warmer climate?

Leiweke: We don't care. We think we can beat Pittsburgh.

Devil: It'll cost you...

Ruskell: We know. How about you take Steve Hutchinson and let him sign a poison pill contract with Minnesota?

Devil: Well, I do owe Minnesota. I did once take their hockey team and move it to Dallas.

Holmgren: What's it going to be?

Devil: How about I take six wide receivers from you in 2008?
(Holmgren, Leiweke and Ruskell huddle together...)

Holmgren (whispering): Let's do it!

Leiweke: We're completely mortgaging our future!

Ruskell: Who cares? We might not even be in Seattle. I heard some rich goofus in Oklahoma City is trying to move a team there.

They turn their attention back to the black-clad figure.

Holmgren: Deal! We go to the Super Bowl, you get some receivers down the road.

Devil: Great. Done. Now excuse me -- I have a meeting. The Steelers want to meet with me...something about NFL officials next February...

pair...

checked out a little place called 'pair' last night. if you love cheese ~ who doesn't, right? ~ then you'll like this place. my main dish wasn't that great (the nightly special which was supposed to be fettucini but it lacked any form of heavy cream, a staple in my mind) BUT the fondue was amazing. our waitress said it was cambozola, which had the slight flavor of blue cheese. it was yummy and i guess you can buy it as is from the store, so i'm going to have to pick some up!

so this is funny...

as previously posted, we all went to oktoberfest this past weekend. WELL, we also went last year. about a week before the event, i received an email forward from a friend who i haven't seen in quite some time. she got it from another friend, saying 'isn't this your friend shawna?'

this picture was on the email-blast that was sent to patrons with all the other info. THEN, someone sent me THIS link, where we're featured again. i'm famous and know my parents are proud that fame comes to those who attend beer festivals. i know, sorry mom. side note ~ when the photographer who took this picture saw us again this year, he said 'oh, i remember you guys,' and pretty much rolled his eyes at us as if to say 'you already had your 15 minutes of fame.' whatever.

oktoberfest

this weekend, we all went to oktoberfest in fremont. it was pouring down rain (not fun for an outdoor festival) but we still managed to have a blast! here's my favorite picture from the night:

update!

well, i'm just kicking off my second week at the new gig, and it's going pretty great so far. just lots of soaking up information, learning a new industry ~ terms and all, and getting to know my new co-workers. everyone seems really nice and it's a great work environment. that said, my cubicle needs a lot of work so i spent the better part of my weekend being creative. here's the before:

i found some great patterned supplies at staples by this designer. i'm in love with the happy colors she uses. i got a bunch of frames at target and put these brightly colored papers in them. i also found a fun bulletin board to hang along with a really great mirror i picked up at target. oh, i also grabbed a fun desk clock and a magnetic white board. i even made my own magnets and push pins. i'm so crafty. once i get everything up, i'll post an after picture. i figure i should wait until every one's gone before i start pounding nails in the walls.

THIS JUST IN ~ as i'm typing this, someone just handed me my new business cards. i'm official now!

thanks to you all for the prayers as i enter this new stage in life. i'm really excited to see what's going to happen next!

labor day fun!

i cannot believe it's already september! but at least labor day weekend was fun ~ not sunny, but fun. took it easy on friday, then saturday headed to the seattle coug game, which was a blast! we ended up with tickets in a suite on the field! here's a fun pic of our crew...

and one of the view:

too much fun! then i finished off the weekend at a bbq with the yohanns, yosts, campfield and torgerson families. it was so great to catch up with everyone. happy labor day!

i almost forgot...again.

i realized i haven't been keeping up on my restaurant reviews, so here are a few quick mentions:

• bick's broadview grill ~ YUM! it's in a really weird location but the food is excellent.
• piatti ~ in u-village. one word boring. not horrible, but absolutely NO flavor in my pasta dish.
• smash wine bar ~ DEEE-LISH! the yukon gold “Pot- Tots” cakes were to DIE for!
• eva ~ really yummy grilled pancetta and cheese. a little on the salty side, though, even for me!
• oliver's twist ~ can you say garlic truffled popcorn? SOOOO good, but you only need a handful because it's really rich.
• sonrisa ~ also in u-village and the shrimp quesadilla was amazing.

i think that's it for now. looking forward to going back to a few of these, maybe with some of my favorite yohann, keen, mahlum, lamb ladies?

spring cleaning...or something like it.

maybe i should call it summer shopping? BUT since our summer is over ~ yes, i realize it's only august 27th ~ i decided to clean out my closet and make room for the fall stuff. AND since i'm starting a new job in a few weeks, i also thought it was an appropriate time to revamp the wardrobe, seeing as how it's sort of 'back to school' time. i'm loving the colors out for fall right now...jewel tones look great on everyone. here are a few pieces i picked up at express:

the sweater on the left, i got in a really pretty blueish color called venetian teal. the pink satin shirt goes with a cute grey and pink pinstripe vest and pencil skirt. i also picked up some new dress slacks. express editor pants are the BEST dress slacks ever and they're on sale right now ~ buy one, get the 2nd pair half off! i also found this great INC sweater from macys:

and let's NOT forget about the shoes! look at these adorable tuxedo shoes i snagged from macys. and these cute cut out pumps, also from macys, in brown.

i just LOVE back to school shopping!

it's official!

i've accepted a position at BDA as an account manager for the sports & entertainment division. i'll be traveling the country to work with teams in the nfl, nba, mlb and nhl to come up with promotional items for fans and sponsors. now all i have to do is pass the background check and figure out my start date, and i'm all set. i'm super excited! thanks to you all for all the prayers.

what have i been up to?

things have been crazy...what's new, right? here's a quick recap:

• rented a boat for seafair, and took all my friends...the blue angels are SO cool.


• started my job hunt


• got a call from a company not even an hour after i applied for a position


• joined the seattle athletic club...i really like it


• had my first phone interview; set up in person interview


• mariners games


• went to mindy's rehearsal dinner on friday


• was in the wedding on saturday...so much fun!


• had 2 in-person interviews


• went to chelan...yes, again.


• went to bbq to honor fw young life leaders...and play with hailey ;)

lots of fun stuff. here's a cute pic of all the girls at mindy's wedding...minus mindy. she was getting ready for her grand entrance.

now i'm onto the next round of interviews and looking forward to more FUN! stay tuned for more details about the job search.

happy chelan!

went to chelan this past weekend for our final work party (in case you haven't heard, my department no longer exhists after september 30th) and we had a blast! here's a quick run down of what our extended weekend included:

• bbq'ing
• sun tanning
  boating
  wine tasting
• volleyball
• apples to apples
• flip cup
• dinners
• king of the dock
• swimming
• and so much more...

there was also an incident with dumping our RV but i'll spare you the nasty details. let's just say my uncle buzz can totally relate because he went through a similar situation. it was such a great weekend. i'm so blessed with great co-workers. there are some big shoes to fill with my next career path...

good friends, good times!

spent this past weekend in crescent bar with all my girlfriends for mindy's bachelorette party. i LOVE crescent bar. we spent most of the time sitting in the sun, playing games, laughing and just plain having fun. we plan to make this an annual trip, regardless of engagements. GOOD TIMES!

another fun...

...activity in this city. went to an outdoor movie on friday. it was so cool, and it was free. mandy, brett and i loaded the car with blankets and snacks at headed to south lake union for their big outdoor movie festival, happening almost every friday this summer. (you can sort of see the screen in the picture above.) the movie was the 80's cult classic, 'the heathers,' which was totally random. but in all, it was such a great night, and there's even a beer garden!! there are actually a number of outdoor movies taking place around the area so if you get the chance, i highly recommend you take advantage of another one of the many fun things to do in this city.

happy 4th of july!

we had a blast on nolan's boat on lake union. the weather was only so-so, but we all somehow got burnt. there were a ton of boats on the water, the sun set was awesome but the fireworks were AMAZING!

this is funny...

INSTALLING A HUSBAND

Dear Tech support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5 and then installed undesirable programs such as NBA 5.0, NFL 3.0 and Golf 4.1.

Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?

Signed,

Desperate.

DEAR DESPERATE,

First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme.html and try to download Tears 6.2 and don't forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

But remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta.

Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother- In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.)

Also do not attempt to reinstall Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend Cooking 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck,

Tech Support

gosh...

so much to do, so little time. i know, the blog's way outta date and to be honest, don't care. BUT to make up for it, here's a cute picture of rocco's first boat ride. we went to mason lake with kiley and brooklyn (pictured). so much fun!

FORE!

katrina and i did our best on the little par 3 in chelan. it's not very well maintained so we had the WHOLE course to ourselves. neither of us are any good but we had a great time!

look out tiger woods...

i'm so excited about my new clubs! can't wait to head to the driving range to break them in...now if i'll just have to find those muscles necessary to actually hit the ball with any distance. but the best part about the new purchase is that a portion of the proceeds go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. i get to golf AND do a good deed at the same time. Cool, huh!?!

busy and FUN!!

things have been crazy busy lately, but i really can't complain. lots of fun stuff going on. since i've been back from the houseboat trip, here's what i've been up to:

birthday dinner with the fam at the lobster shop ~ YUM!

girl's night out bbq dinner

pedicure

mariners game

boating on lake washington with friends

birthday party at the house for me and my roommate (and scotty, too!)

diamond club at the m's game with the fam

massage

got new golf clubs ~ YAY!

finishing out the week with:

dinner with my mom, aunt lynn and rocco

birthday dinner for jenna (the roommate)

LAKE CHELAN for memorial day weekend with katrina and gina

i'm so blessed!

i'm off...

to lake mead for a house boat trip! should be a good time. i fly to san diego tonight to meet up with melissa and jesse and we leave tomorrow morning at 4am for the 4 hour drive to the lake. the house boat we got is supposed to be awesome ~ hot tub, a slide, tvs ~ and we have 2 seadoos. top it off with 75 degree weather and it sounds pretty fantastic!

gripe...

i'm not a fan of bikers. i mean cyclists. the other day i was driving along on my day to work and followed the lead of every other car who went around the messenger biker, who was riding in the road. now, silly assumption here but i'm thinking he's using 'car' rules while riding in the CAR lane. next thing i know, he cuts in front of me to go straight. mind you, this was a right turn lane! anyway, he cuts in front of me and then shakes his head ~ AT ME! i was livid!!! if i wasn't such a lady, i MAY have shook something back at him. needless to say, bikers frustrate me. they expect to use the roads as cars, but don't think they have to follow the rules like the rest of us. and then shake their heads when i can't read their minds to anticipate which set of rules they're going to follow. Sheesh!

igoogle...

so now you can personalize your google page and i think this is genius! you can make it pretty with a cool background and add all sorts of gadgets ~ calendars, newsfeeds, games, local weather and more. my favorites include 'photos of places you need to see before you die' and giglish. yes, it's a busy day at the office.

Happy...

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

we love you so much! thanks for all you do!

Lunchbox Laboratory

went to another new restaurant last night. it's called the Lunchbox Laboratory and it was AWESOME! well, at least the food was. it's a small shack in ballard, with only 2 tables inside. they blast the AC to get you on your way and the burgers are $15...BUT totally worth it. they call them '11 napkin burgers.' i'll definitely go back but not until this summer when i can sit in one of the many tables outside. YUM-ME!

just got back from...

where else ~ SAN DIEGO! just racking up the frequent flier miles. we had a lot of fun, even though it wasn't sun tanning weather. had a bbq, went to a bbq, went out to eat, shopped a little, watched a ufc fight, took the dogs to a dog beach, and just spent some quality time with melissa and jesse. planning another trip in 2 weeks for jesse and my birthdays. should be FUN!

so, i'm trying...

...a new skincare line. it's called arcona. i have a couple girlfriends who started using it about 3 weeks ago, and they're both raving about it. you get it at gene juarez, and it's a little on the spendy side but i'm liking it so far. actually, it's cheaper to get it at gj that it is from the company's own website. i'm not loving the scents, but if it makes my skin glow, it'll be worth it.

Rocco...

had 3 teeth pulled this week. i was so nervous when i left him at the vet because they put him under anesthesia and if you could have seen him shaking like i did, you would have almost started crying...like i did. but apart from a little post-surgery 'flushing' he's doing really well ~ my sweet little guy. who knew i could love a dog so much?

pictures...

...from vegas!
the Beatles Love show was amazing!
the sun was shining, and we got some pool time!

and we lived it up high-roller style!