Never a Dull Moment...

Yesterday Mr. and I drove out to Arizona for what feels like the hundredth time since arriving back in the States.  This time, it was to have our week late Christmas celebration with his family.  It’s pretty exciting really…started off the holiday season with a party with my girls (all FOUR of us!), then had a pretty awesome Christmas with my family where Mr. got to experience the always fun Christmas Eve party, and now we get to end the season with yet another fabulous get together!  

The six hour drive to get from Escondido to Queen Creek seems to be getting longer however.  I’m pretty sure they’ve been adding road since our last trek, but the clock continues to tell me it really was only a six hour drive.  Liar.

As always, it was an eventful drive at least!  Here are the highlights from our journey:

-          Saw about 20 low-flying helicopters (and no, for once I am NOT exaggerating) that appeared to be putting up new, giant power lines through the mountains.  I would have gotten pictures, but I was driving and apparently this didn’t seem picture-worthy to Mr.  I DID manage to stay on the road while playing the part of dramatic looky-loo.  Impressive, yes?

-          Watched a dog in the back of a truck trying to eat what we guessed was flying hay.  Had about ten heart attacks thinking said dog was going to jump out of the truck bed…glared at truck driver as I drove past that had an extended cab with NOTHING in it where the dog could have been riding safe and sound.

-          Saw a parked truck in the middle of nowhere.  By itself, this isn’t that amusing.  However, this truck was parked in the EXACT same spot as it was last month when we drove to and from Arizona twice…not to mention it was parked in the same spot when we came out to Arizona in September too.  Seriously, NOTHING around for A LOT of miles. 

-          Passed a semi with about 500 bales of hay on it, uncovered…assured we were right about what the dog was trying to catch.

Okay, so maybe not as many fun things on this trip as there was last time, but I think the helicopter excitement totally makes up for it.  Too bad we didn’t get pictures…  And, to give you all a little cliffhanger, I plan on calling someone (CHP maybe?) if the truck is still parked there when we drive back to California next week…because someone should totally check that out.  To be continued…?

Christmas Funk

So for the past few days I’ve been working on completing #25 on my list (finishing…although nowhere near purchasing…the photo-books of our last trips in Europe).  I’ve completed our last Italy trip to Venice, our Amsterdam book, and am not working on the 100 page Ireland book and can I just say…this is depressing!

I know, don’t complain right?  I mean, we DID get to actually take these trips.  But now, being back in the States and travel-less (unless you count Arizona) for the past 3 months, I’m getting the itch to go somewhere.  And…we can’t.

It’s temporary, but living in a motor home and being jobless really can put a damper in ones Christmas spirit. 

I miss having a house, having our things, and having money to celebrate the holidays in style.  Although it’s not all about money, I’m pretty sure it CAN buy happiness if used properly.  Going to dinners with good friends would make me happy…but we can’t because we have no money.  And forget having them over to our humble-abode-on-wheels to save money and make dinner for the night.  It would also be nice to reciprocate some of the wonderful gifts we’ve been given.  I know our friends and family don’t expect anything from us right now, but I hate being the one to give a lousy card in response to a $50 dinner/movie date night gift certificate. 

I do appreciate all we’ve been able to do, and that we have been able to do it all AND put a good deal in savings so we’re not drowning in credit cards right now.  I also, more than words can say, appreciate being “home” and able to spend the holidays with our family and friends.  Finally getting to mesh our family traditions together WITH family is priceless. 

Let’s just say I’m hoping that next year we’ll be giving out amazing presents to all those we adore to show them how much we truly do value them being understanding and non-judgmental of our current situation. 

I may be in a woe-is-me mood at the moment, but I’m so thankful for all that we have and the people that make our still amazing life possible.  Here’s to owning our own home filled with friends and family next year…fingers crossed!

Thai food...check!

This last week, Mr. and I were taken out to dinner by our friends M&M West.  (Not the candy.) 

Thai food, at Koon Thai Kitchen in San Diego.  Delicious, for the record.

Since I ordered my favorite dish, chicken pad thai, and Mr. tasted said dish, #8 on my 30/30 list is officially complete!

More exciting than completing TWO things on my list this week, and even more exciting than the excellent Thai food we got to eat, is that M&M West know about all kinds of good restaurants in San Diego!  Indian, more Thai, and I’m sure tons of other yummy places…which means there will be lots of good eating in our future!

And, bonus, they seem to share our love (or should I say Mr.’s love) for ice cream…which means the DQ lounge was our last stop of the night for some completely un-Thai dessert!

Thanks M&M!

#16...check!

Yesterday I accomplished one of the most meaningful things on my 30/30 list.  It is something I wish hadn’t taken over 5 years to achieve, but at least it’s done!  (And, for the record, I don’t plan on future updates taking another 5 years!!!)

#16:  Get an updated and equally fabulous pictureof my girls Laura, Carolyn, and Katie!

Amazingly enough, we all made it to the same place, at the same time, WITH a camera! 

The last time the four of us were together was at my wedding, which apparently was not the right time for a picture of all of us since I didn’t get a single shot of us girls the entire night.  (My biggest regret from my wedding.  FYI to all you future brides…make a list of the people you need pictures with before your wedding and give it to your photographer.  You’ll be crazy busy all day, and it’s the photographer’s job is to make sure you get the pictures you want…not yours!)

We’ve planned girls’ trips in the meantime while I was in Spain so we could all see each other.  The stupid blizzard weather stopped Katie from making it to NYC in 2010, and later that same year I missed the Borrego Springs trip (although my face on a stick showed up in MANY pictures!). 

But this year we all made it to the Cross’ for our first girls Christmas in 4 years!  Given it was only a 30 minute drive for Carolyn and I…but Katie came all the way from NY to be here.  And, bonus, brought her awesome boyfriend Micah along too so I could finally meet him in person! 

Enough with the rant…here’s #16 in all its glory. 

This is the original...Thanksgiving 2006, over 5 years ago!

Here we are, 2011, trying to make the same picture.  Close enough!

We took about a zillion pictures of the four of us...because we were all there, we wanted to, and, well, that's just who we are.  I won't make you look through them all...(although if you want to they will be up on my Facebook shortly of course!).  I think this one sums us up pretty well though!

Hands down THE best girls in the world...love them always.

Ripper and Vicious

It happened.  It was inevitable, although I suppose I naively thought it could work…or at least hoped.

Our boys, Jack and Sid, are officially being evicted. 

For two months (long months most likely…for Ashley, not the boys) my cousin-in-law Ashley and her kiddos have been taking care of our cats. 

They made it through October, and even through the Thanksgiving holiday...but then it happened.  They were able to be good, resist temptation, but not THIS.  Not their biggest weakness.

The Christmas tree.

Up it went, and four days later, down it went.  Despite this being their first clawless Christmas, Jack the Ripper and Sid Vicious found a way to demolish the tree.

I must say, I’m actually surprised it took them this long.

So now, out into the cold they go…uphill, both ways, in the snow, shoeless…

Okay, so not really.  But they are being picked up by Mr.’s amazing brother Mark who has agreed to take care of them for the duration. 

Good luck Mark…and thank you for taking in our precious little demons!

#4 and #30 all wrapped up into one!

I realize that it has only been two days (1 ½ really) since I’ve met my niece Nora, but I’ve come to a conclusion.

I’m not the “favorite” type. 

This probably sounds ridiculous, but I’m embracing this revelation and running with it. 

I do not know what to do with kids.  More specifically, I do not know what to do with babies and toddlers…basically the non-talkers.  I don’t know what they like, I don’t know what they want, and I’m not silly enough to make my not-knowing okay.

Mr. is.  He is GREAT with kids.  It is one of the things I love most about him, and one of the reasons why us having kids isn’t such a scary proposition.  He’ll be an amazing dad, and I’ll learn the mom thing as I go along.

So, I’m taking another stab at #30 on my list and I’m going to let it go. 

I was talking with Colleen last night and she had mentioned something that stuck out to me.  “Kids sense  tension”.  And it’s true…and I’m tense around kids because I have no clue what I’m doing.  So…by letting it go, I’m hoping that #4 will just naturally happen someday without my even trying.

PLUS, I got the first high-five and there has been loads of clapping going on, so I think I’ll just count #4 complete.  I may not be THE favorite, but at least she likes me!

If nothing else I’ve still got #10…and when I go to Florida hopefully Nora will be talking and then I’m SURE we’ll hit it off.  Because I’m pretty positive that “cool Aunt Shana” is like a fine wine…I get better with age (both mine AND yours).

Driving and Surprises!

Today Mr. and I drove out to Arizona to celebrate our first Thanksgiving together Stateside with his family.  It was a pretty eventful drive, and although we had a HUGE surprise when we arrived (Mr.’s brother Josh, sister-in-law Colleen, and our niece Eleanor were here from Florida…our first time meeting Nora!) I don’t want to overlook the amazing things we saw on our 6-hour road trip. 

So before I go to bed and forget, and instead of ranting about how I’m going to spend the next 4 days working on #4 on my list, here is a quick recap of our drive.

-          Saw Beyonce! (The chicken, not the singer.)

-          Saw a two-story, metal brachiosaurus guarding a sketchy looking gas station

-          Decided to skip eating at a restaurant in the shape of a U.F.O.

-          Drove past a cactus wearing a red baseball cap (totally normal, no?)

-          Saw two beached motorboats along the back-roads we took, both of which were miles from any kind of home, car, or person.  (My guess is that these boats are Arizona’s way of being prepared for flash floods…?  If so, brilliant idea Arizonians!)

-          Debated whether or not the clouds looked more like a lamb or a chupacabra.  (I vote chupacabra.) 

So all and all, a great day!  More to come about my progress on #4…wish me luck!

#21 Date Night!

Friday night Mr. and I had a date night!  We rarely have a just-the-two-of-us night, so I decided to work on #21 on my list and wear my pretty dress for the month! 

It was freezing so I spent most of the evening in a coat and scarf.

We went to a matinee movie (Breaking Dawn, don’t judge)…not quite as fancy as the late night actual date time movies, but a lot cheaper.  I probably looked ridiculous in my dress, heels, and pea coat showing up to a 4 o’clock movie, but oh well!  Sometimes you just need to channel your inner Audrey Hepburn.

And to complete the date night, Acapulco for dinner!  Again, not a very fancy restaurant, but there is significance in the place for us so it was pretty special to be back there again.  Plus, GIANT margaritas…you can’t go wrong!

You can't go wrong with a margarita the size of your head!

Gary has arrived!

Gary = our car…a.k.a. Mr.’s old, beat-up ’99 Ford Explorer.

I was excited to see him at first, because he was our one and only car for the entire 3 ½ years we were in Spain, not to mention our entire relationship in California pre-Spain.  He has taken us from Arizona to Las Vegas, all up and down Southern Spain to Northern Portugal…he’s like a part of the family.

That being said, I NEVER want to drive Gary again.  I have been officially spoiled by our new Toyota Prius (still name-less…any suggestions???)

 Here is a short list of the things I have NOT missed about Gary being our main mode of transportation.

-          You cannot exit the vehicle from the back passenger door…at least not until someone from the outside opens it because it no longer opens from the inside.

-          You cannot open the back glass window, because it may very well fall off and shatter if you do.

-          The center console leather is peeling so badly that I’ve scrapped my arm numerous times just reaching for something in the passenger seat.

-          The radio does not work…must be something to do with the missing antennae…

-          The paint is fading…it actually has gone from black to gray, old-man-Gary!

-          It cost $70 to fill up ¾ of the tank, and most of that gas was used up by the time we drove from San Diego back to Escondido.  For less than HALF that you can fill up the Prius entirely, and then drive 550+ miles before filling up again.

On the positive side, we realized we shipped our California license plates in our household goods shipment instead of with the car.  We won’t get this shipment until 1) we find a job and 2) we find a house which could be months from now.  So Spanish-license-plate-Gary can just chill in the front driveway until then! 

Maybe I “accidentally” shipped the plates that way on purpose…I’ll never tell!

Thanksgiving 1-1

This last Sunday I was lucky enough to be able to host Thanksgiving for my girls!  Generally this isn’t my holiday to host, but since Mr. and I are currently living with my parents (did I not mention that before?) and said parents are on a cruise for a couple of weeks, I figured I’d take advantage of being a temporary homeowner. 

I’d like to take this moment to say I realize that it is now Wednesday, and this post is a bit late.  However, I came to the conclusion that

1.        I’m no longer 21 and

2.       It takes me a good couple of days to recover from being 1 of 3 girls to finish 7+ bottles of wine

That being said, Thanksgiving was FANTASTIC!  I can’t even begin to explain how great it felt to be back, but alas I will try. 

After three holidays being away from my girls, being able to be back and HOST (given I didn’t have MY decorations, MY home, and therefore MY way in exactly how the house looked) was THE thing I was most thankful for!  My girls didn’t judge about the little messes here and there, didn’t say a word about the tiny-tiny oven my Mom has that I’m almost positive was put in when the house was built in the 60’s, and not a single complaint about having to figure out how and use the small gas oven in the motor-home in order to complete our meal.  We made it work, and it came together perfectly.

I suppose this should also be the time to explain who “my girls” are, since I tend to mention them A LOT.  These are my girls:

Thanksgiving holdout!  My hair never looks as cute when I am the hold-out-er. 
Something for me to remember...

Laura, Carolyn, and Katie (who is normally not silver, or a phone) who I just happened to meet and fall in love with years ago when I started working at a furniture store.  I am lucky enough to have many friends that I cherish, a lot of whom I’ve known for 20+ years, but these girls are “my girls” and I couldn’t live without them.  I can’t explain why, but they are somehow my long-lost-sisters and I’m incredibly grateful that after being gone for so long, they still take me in as if it was yesterday we were hosting random luau birthday parties and 80’s themed roller skating bashes!

Enough with the sap.  I’ll leave you with the best explanation as to why these are my girls, and why I am so thankful that this was Mr. and my Thanksgiving 1-1 of 3.

Because sometimes, in the midst of cooking and cleaning, you need to do some impromptu yoga.
And who best to do that with than your girls?

Who knew Chi's were such multi-taskers?

I’ve done it.  I’ve finally done it! 

Last night Mr. and I went to dinner at my cousin’s house.  (I brought cheesecake, so I’m counting #17 on my list partially complete.)

I’d been thinking earlier that day about how I hadn’t written anything lately, and how I haven’t completed much on my list other than the pretty dresses.  And then it hit me…I had 4 hours until we had to leave.  Mr. was helping Dad B. with some toilet-sealing-issue that I had no interest in, so I was off the hook and completely free to do as I please. 

If you haven’t read, I’m really in to Pinterest.  I’ve been looking at all the amazing hair pins and it has been motivating me to tackle #24 (learn to do something with myhair other than straighten it every day).  This was it, my chance! 

…and I was feeling miraculously patient and willing to do it!

3 hours, about a zillion hair-tutorial-blogs read, and a few “ARGH” emails to one of my girls later and I’d done it!  I’d curled my own hair!

I’m pretty sure I should get some kind of medal, or trophy, or a cookie.  None of which I got. 

Here it is!!!

CURLS!  And I did it all by myself!

So yeah, not perfect…and not exactly what I was going for since I wanted more of a beachy-wave type curl, but it’s NOT straight so I was thrilled!  (Plus, this morning when I woke up it was TOTALLY the beachy-wave type curl I was going for…bonus!)

Special thanks to this girl whose hair tutorial video finally made sense to me, and thanks to Laura for sending me the link!  Oh, and extra special thanks to my hot-pink Chi! 

Now to tackle more do’s since I’m such a pro!

A dress...that's it.

I have been up to a lot lately, but nothing noteworthy for my blog.  So instead of going on and on about nothing, I’ll keep this short.

I wore ONE more dress…totaling TWO for October.  I know, I said I needed to wear three to catch up, but I’m counting myself caught up anyhow and I’m starting November on a clean slate.

Learning to be easier on myself one day at a time.  #30 on my list is pretty much complete.

The only picture I have in said dress #2.  There's a better one out there somewhere, but I'm still waiting for it to be emailed to me and I didn't want to postpone this amazing post.  I don't know why I am posing next to a small old man, and I don't know what Mike is doing.  Stay classy San Diego.

Pinterest!

So I was perusing some of my favorite blogs last night and came across an amazing website.  This is probably old news to a lot of you, and I’m not sure how I’ve never heard of it before, but it is fantastic and I’m officially obsessed!

Pinterest.  Or if you care to look at mine specifically, Pinterest!

For those who are like me and had never heard of this site before, it’s basically like creating your own bulletin boards on the internet full of beautiful pictures!  You can pin pictures you find all over the internet back to your boards and it links back to the original source…so not only are you showing off gorgeous pictures, but you’re educating  your “lookers”…recipes, craft ideas, travel places, fashion…you name it!  Your boards are shared with the community so they can re-pin your pictures if they so please (and of course they do because my pins are fantastic!).  It’s like Facebook for super creative people.  (I’m not super creative, but I’m definitely more motivated to be after spending hours on this site!)

So far here is a list of things I MUST do:

-          Make giant ice cubes with lemon slices in them using a cupcake pan…for punch of course which I drink daily.

-          Get all those maps I saved from our travels and sew the routes we took with pretty thread, frame it, and voila!  Art that will make me happy and reminiscent every time I look at it!

-          Tie pretty ribbons down a string of lights to make pretty garland.

-          Buy more clothes!  (Which I already knew I needed to do, but now I’ve got inspiration!)

Anywho, I’m apparently an ad for the site now.  Check it out, because I’m recommending it and if nothing else it’s a fun way to waste some time.

Cleaning is SO easy!

I went “camping” this last weekend for ONE night (my limit on camping)…and by camping I mean staying at the Pechanga Resort in an RV that is bigger than my first apartment with running water, electricity, and my hair straightener. 

During this trip, Mr. and I gambled a bit at the casino.  We also got to spend time with some of my parent’s friends and old co-workers which was a lot more entertaining than it sounds.  Great people, good wine, and yummy food.

None of this, however, is the reason for my blog tonight.  I wasn’t going to blog about the trip at all because, although it was fun, it wasn’t particularly eventful. 

That is…until I came across these pictures on my camera that I had forgotten I’d taken.

Kind of missed the plate while making a salad...

Not to worry, we'll clean it up in no time!

Clearly a good solution, no?

For any of you who judge me for sweeping dust under rugs or piling junk into a closet and shutting the door so I can pretend it doesn’t exist, now you can see where I get it from.  I love my Mom. 

Panic.

So a few days ago Mr. and I were invited to a Foster the People show down at Soma in San Diego.  The band was surprisingly amazing live and the Cults opened and were pretty great as well.  (Reptar also opened, but I was confused by this band.  Mostly because the lead singer had this weird stick-his-tongue-out-while-he-sings thing going on which made him sound like he had just gotten it pierced and it was still swollen…maybe he had?)

Anywho, we’re enjoying the show and having a great time when it dawns on me that I left my purse in the car.  Leaving my purse in the car wasn’t the epiphany itself (I did this on purpose so I wouldn’t have to carry it around all night), but more the fact that my keys were in my purse.  Generally this wouldn’t matter…but we have a Prius. 

For those who have never owned/driven/ridden in/read about the Prius, let me explain.  You don’t need an actual key to start it…you push a power button.  As well, you don’t need a key to open the door, you just put your hand on the door handle and as long as your fancy-keyless-pager-thingy (the technical term) is close enough, voila!  Open door. 

I’ll give you a moment while you put the two and two together…

Get it?  I “locked” my keys in the car…except that the keys being in the car would allow anyone to just open the door, push the power button, and take off.  I pretty much decided to play my own special version of russian roulette with the most expensive thing Mr. and I have ever purchased.

Panic.  That pretty much sums up my state of being the moment I realized this.  We’d already been inside for 2+ hours at this point, and our car was parked in the middle of the Sports Arena parking lot.  As the show was ending, Mr. and I made a break for it…fingers crossed.

Obvilously our car was still there (because if it hadn’t been, I probably wouldn’t be alive to tell this story).  Lucky for me, I had put my purse in the back trunk and it was just far enough away from the front of the car that it wasn’t registering.  No opening the door by the door handle, hence no one could have stolen our car (without force anyway)!  Mr. used his keys to get in and I was officially saved from making the worst mistake of my life.

Definite learning experience for me, and I won’t make that mistake again!  And bonus, learning experience for all of you reading!  Check the door handles to Prius’ when you walk by, because you could just snag yourself a spify new ride!  I can’t be the only idiot who forgets  and leaves my keys in the car, right? 

Bates Nut Farm Day!

Yesterday Mr. and I headed out to Bates Nut Farm, a pumpkin patch I’ve been going to since I was a kid.  I thought I had planned well for this outing, seeing as that it is only a 20 minute drive from my parent’s house where we are staying, but apparently in 20 minutes it can get VERY warm.  Or maybe it’s because Bates is up in the hills so we we're closer to the sun…?

After 30 sweaty minutes of walking around the “Big Macs” patch, (and after I had Mr. pick up a giant pumpkin to see how much it weighed) we decided against spending $50 on a giant pumpkin and went back to the kiddo $6 pumpkin patch.  I think pumpkins were bigger when I was a kid, but then again I was smaller so maybe they just seemed bigger.  We picked out these beautiful pumpkins.

Our soon-to-be-Jack-o-Lanterns...

It took Mr. five minutes to find his, and then he patiently waited on a hay bale in the shade while I continued to bring pumpkin after pumpkin to him to figure out which one was best.  After 20 minutes of this I decided on my small pumpkin.  It will make a fantastic jack-o-lantern, you just wait!

To top it all off we got some toffee and peanut brittle at the store on our way out…because we wanted some snacks, but mostly because it is air conditioned in the store and we were ridiculously hot.  I love Bates.

Clearly October is a busy month...

The past two weeks have been crazy-busy, hence my boycotting my blog.  I apologize to all you avid readers, I’ll try not to let this much time pass between posts again. 

To make it up to you, here is a quick recap of the last two weeks in the life of Shana:

-          Howell family get together where I met cousins, aunts, uncles, and TONS of kids I’d never met before.  Absolutely love Mr.’s side of the family, lucky me!

-          Went to my very first hockey game…in Arizona.  (I find this hilarious since it’s HOCKEY…on ICE…in the middle of the DESERT…)  Apparently it was preseason, so the Shark’s (our team) were  playing their 3^rd string people which meant we totally lost…and there weren’t any good fights which is what I was expecting from this adventure…but still a great time.  Waiting to see my second hockey game in Anaheim hopefully sometime soon!

This is what we look like in a hockey arena...

 

-          Drove home from Arizona, kid-less.  Rory stayed with Grandma and Grandpa H., Jack and Sid have been temporarily adopted by cousin Ashley, and we had a VERY quiet ride home without all the meowing.

-          Shopped for and purchased our very first new car!  And no, not new to us, but actually NEW!  It is a 2011 Toyota Prius, we love it, and for all of those who asked no…they don’t just pass them out when you arrive in California.  (Although I totally think they should!) 

So pretty and new!  We're still coming up with a name for her...

-          Found Beyonce!!!  (For those of you totally confused by this, click here.)  Apparently the blog-icon was vacationing in none other than Escondido, California. 

I only wish she was for sale...

-          Had my first sans-boys GN since arriving back in California.  This hasn’t happened since the NYC trip of 2010, so I was VERY excited.  We took no pictures, but we ate great food, drank pink panties, and watched Bridesmaids…the only thing missing was Katie.

-          Bought these amazing shoes. 

You know you love them.

-          Dealt with some B-side family stuff which I don’t want to get in to at the moment, but which will be a completely new blog once I get around to writing it.  Stay tuned.

-          Had some fabulous dinners with some of my favorite people.

-          And last, but definitely not least…I finally wore a pretty dress!!!  It’s my first of three that I owe myself for skipping out the past two months on my 30/30 list goal.  Now to come up with two more places in the next two crazy-busy weeks to wear pretty dresses!

Proof of pretty dress 1 of 3.  And yes, I always stand like this next to a piano.

Only a partial fail...

For those of you who don’t look at calendars, tomorrow is October 1^st.  Last month I posted that I would be “wearing a pretty dress” twice in September due to my lack of wearing a pretty dress in August.  (#21 on my list in case you aren’t keeping track.) 

I have failed again.

I would offer up excuses like I’ve been moving, been busy driving between California and Arizona to see friends and family (none of which we did anything with that required a pretty dress), and I’m sure I could come up with more…but this is my Blog, my List, and therefore I’m giving myself another pass.

You may think that I’m slacking on my List, and you’d be correct.  But seeing as that I’ve had a crazy few months I’m letting myself not feel bad for that.  (I think this is actually taking care of #30 on my list…learning to be easier on myself…so really I’m getting things accomplished and should be given some kind of award, trophy, or maybe some miraculously delicious fat free/calorie free/won’t be seen on my hips tomorrow morning cookie.)

I HAVE, however, bought a pretty dress; I tried it on and everything so I DID wear it for all of 5 minutes in a dressing room if that partially counts for ONE of my two make-ups.  AND, Mr. and I have planned a nice date night next week so we can have some “us” time (something we haven’t had much of since landing Stateside) in which I will be wearing said dress. 

Now I only need to find 2 more excuses during October to wear a pretty dress and I can start November on a clean slate!  Wish me luck!    

Having without HAVING...

So I have decided I want to have kids.  Those of you who know me will not be all that excited by this revelation because you know I’m very fickle and could change my mind at any moment, but lately the decision of yes/no on kids is toppling towards yes.

I was lucky enough to be surrounded by a few awesome people in Spain who had absolutely amazing kids.  I know I will most likely be the one with the screaming, tantrum-throwing, takes-5-years-to-potty-train children (some call this karma)…but it was nice to see these kids and think, hey, I could do this!  In Spain, however, I didn’t want that.  Mr. and I were being selfish and wanted to take our time to be just us before starting a family of more than just our furry kids.

But now, being back surrounded by our family and friends and their awesome kids who I just adore (and who seem to shockingly adore me too!) I can’t help but think we may be closer to ready than I had thought.

Don’t get me wrong, I still am passionate about traveling and want nothing more than to hop a flight to anywhere new just to see it…but I’m thinking we can start to figure out a way to factor kids in to that dream too.

And again, for those of you who know me and know what our current situation is, you’re probably thinking “great timing Shana”.  In just three weeks you’ll be officially jobless and homeless (well, not homeless…but living in my parents’ house doesn’t exactly qualify us as “living on our own”…).

So I guess I’ll wait…which is good because I’m still trying to figure out the best way to have a kid without actually HAVING a kid.  Wish me luck.

Great news, I'm a genius!

Am I the only one that gets sick of online articles pointing out obvious facts like the people writing them are geniuses for coming up with it?  Today while I was enjoying some down time at the Howell’s I started doing what I love, perusing the MSN website for “news”.  (Quotes around news because MSN is probably far from what most would consider newsworthy, but it’s usually pretty interesting to me so I qualify it as news.)  However, today I read a couple articles and felt like throwing my computer across the room.  When I see an article entitled “How to Eat for $7 or Less a Day” or “Rules for staying trim all your life” I expect to find something that will actually educate me and help me to better understand what I should be doing to make my life better.  (Or at least make my figure better, which is one in the same.)

How to Eat for $7 or Less a Day

"Buy in bulk", "compare prices", and "shop discount" were some of the gems I picked out of this informative piece of work.  Well of course I’ve been spending too much on my groceries…I buy single items, only go to one store to buy everything I need regardless of the prices, and only buy things that are full priced…

Rules for staying trim all your life

My favorite snippet…”lean people move around”.  Um, really?  So you can’t lead a completely sedentary life and be lean?  Shocking!

There are many more articles just like these that point out the obvious like it’s a newfound brilliant idea.  I’ve come to only one conclusion about this dilemma. 

I’m a genius.  Clearly it’s the only explanation for me already knowing these facts.  Don’t worry, I won’t forget the little people when I win my Nobel Prize.

All grown up...

After finishing up our week in California, we made our way out to Arizona to see the Mr.’s side of the family yesterday.  We made it and it only took 6 hours of driving, an additional 30 degrees in temperature (77 in San Diego to 107 in Queen Creek…yuck!), and a quick stop at our FIRST fast food since arriving back in the States; In n Out!

Sitting at the drive thru...

I finished my fries and about 1/4 of my grilled cheese...so worth the extra running I'll have to do!

It was so great to get to Arizona, and even better to see our little girl Rory!!! 

So excited to see "daddy"!!!

The whole family back together again!

Me and my little girl!

We shipped her out to LAX and then on to Arizona exactly a month ago and we’ve both missed her so much!  I’m so sad about missing a month of her life (I know, ridiculous, she’s a dog…but she’s my kid) and it’s so strange to have these “mommy” feelings about her.  She has all these new routines with her “grandparents” and it’s weird to not know any of them yet.  I feel so left out of her little life.  We had specific routines at our house in Spain and now I’m watching her run around with her cousins Jax and Sam and doing her own thing…she’s all grown up!

She did sleep with us and her brothers last night though, so slowly back to “normal”.  I can’t wait to get our own place and have all our kids in one place again so we can start new routines and I can lovingly smother her and have her all to myself again.  I’m already such a selfish “mom” with her…I’m afraid of what will happen when we have little human kids!  For now I’ll focus on my fuzzy babies and enjoy my couple of weeks here with her! 

Yay Vino!

Yesterday Mr. and I got Iphones.  It’s VERY exciting.  Especially since it’s been 3+ years since I’ve had my own phone, and when I did there was no such thing as “apps” and “smart phones”.  (Okay, there WERE smart phones, but I couldn’t afford one so it didn’t count.) 

After spending about 3 hours programming numbers into the phone, downloading the Facebook app, and syncing my email account I started perusing the apps. 

Voila!

I found EXACTLY what I needed!  #7 on my list is now complete! 

7.  Learn a lot more about wine.  CHECK!

Two apps (both FREE, bonus!), which are now in a cute little folder on my phone titled “vino” have helped me to accomplish another task on my 30/30 list.  And just in the nick of time since it’s been A WHILE since I’ve been able to check anything off the list!

App #1: Corkbin.  A-MAZ-ING!  I can instantly learn what wines pair well with what foods, or what foods pair well with what wines (which I’ll probably use more because generally I order wine before food).  PLUS, there is an entire dictionary of wine terms which I can use to learn what people mean when they say a wine is “angular” or “unctuous”.  I’m already sounding smarter!

App #2: Wine Notes.  Gone are the days of buying a bottle of wine and realizing it’s the same bottle I bought two weeks ago and hated.  I can take pictures of the label, enter all the information about it from the producer to the country it’s made in, and then I can add my own notes so I can remember if I liked it, loved it, or hated it. 

I have a feeling apps are going to be my new obsession, but if I keep finding ones like this I’m a happy camper!  If only I’d had this app 3 years ago!  Yay vino!