Just Barely

Today was one of those days.

You know the kind.

My boss and I are at odds regarding the best use of some video footage we shot two weeks ago.  I just barely got a hold of myself and redirected our focus on the common goal we share before the debate devolved into some kind of fight.  Just barely.

I barely contained a bout of road rage while Sam was driving us to the gym.  I wasn't even driving.  I wanted to scream, but I held it in.  Just barely.

During spin class I almost cussed out the teacher and left early.  I just barely contained myself and redirected my frustration into the workout.  Just barely.  It's a good thing I stuck it out because I am now exhausted and completely devoid of frustration.

I also really liked the class- great music, good vibe coming from the instructor and overall a great workout.  Not too hard, but a steady, consistent hardcore workout the entire hour.  I went up to the instructor after the class to compliment her and see which other nights she teaches.  Unfortunately she said this is her only LA Fitness class, the rest of the week she teaches down at a studio in San Clemente.  She told me she does get to sub a lot and told me if I gave her my email she'd let me know when she's subbing.  I gave her my email and cell phone number so she can text me too.  She said she knows how it feels to be disappointed with group exercise instructors and that's what motivated her to become a spin teacher herself- I told her I'd had that thought myself.  Sam might get ahold of that idea and run with it.  Although I am not sure I have the time and energy to devote to teaching class- I almost feel like I need to focus all my attention on my own fitness and workouts so I can succeed in my weight loss goals.

And boy did I get a good work out tonight!  Holy Jesus I was having a tough time walking up the stairs tonight after class.  I literally turned to Sam and told him he was on Hunter's potty duty tonight because I don't think I can go up and down the stairs again.

Side Note: A sign of a great spin workout is definitely having trouble and feeling leg fatigue while going up stairs after a workout and the following day.

Now I'm trying to stay awake so I can fold yet another load of Sam's laundry and start on the guest room's sheets and towels.  I'm awake, but just barely.  I guess I'll have to hold off on the guest room for another night.  As for now, I think I'm going to roll out my legs on my foam roller and head to bed.

I think I can make it.

Just barely.

Memorial Day Weekend 2013

This was one of the best weekends in a long time.  Sam had the entire holiday weekend off!  We spent all three days together as a family- Sam, Hunter and I.  And lots of friends.  It was perfect.  I am very thankful for all that I have and all those who have given their lives so that I am able to lead the life I live.

At The Olde Ship

Friday I went into work early so that I could get out and to the lab for my last blood draw.  Of course I got a nasty bruise which makes me think that I'm not doing very well following the "reduce bruising techniques" that Kaiser has provided me.  Oh well- the point is that I am back down into the normal range of WBC!

Armed with that news, we spent a quiet night at home on the couch just the three of us.  Both Sam and I were pretty exhausted from long weeks and he hadn't taken a day off in 3 full weeks. 

Saturday morning I woke up with Sam snuggled on my left side and Hunter snuggled on my right side. It was fantastic.  We had a lazy morning and met up with Nate who came down from Santa Monica to spend hang out.  We went up to The Olde Ship to watch some European Soccer and then took Hunter down to Newport Harbor to go paddle boarding for the first time.  It was a blast!  He did pretty damn well and I think we'll do it again.  The sweetest thing was when Hunter leapt off the front of Nate's board and swam to mine.  So cute.  He also jumped from Sam's to mine.  It made me feel so loved.  Eventually the boys got up but I slept until 9:30 and felt more refreshed than I had in days.  

Saturday night we hosted a BBQ for our friends.  Jenners, Aaron, Nick, Amy, Nate, Jen and Ryan came over.  We made salmon, ahi and halibut along with a bunch of grilled veggies and Amy brought appetizers and salad.  It was great.  We went to the hot tub after dinner and relaxed and vegged out.  It was so fun and laid back and one of the greatest evenings I've had in a long time.  No stress, just great people and great food and not a care in the world. 

At The Vortex in Manhattan Beach

Sunday morning we went over to Brugglers Bagels and picked up a dozen bagels for breakfast.  We ate, packed up our stuff and headed up to Santa Monica to check out Nate and Jazzy's place.  After we got settled in, we drove down to Manhattan Beach to meet up with some of Nate's buddies from dental school and participate in a big Memorial Day Block Party BBQ on 35th Street on the block called The Vortex.  

It was quite an experience.  There were tons of dogs around so Hunter was in good company.  He made lots of friends- what a freakin' adorable puppy we have!  So we had a great time eating, playing some games and hanging out.  Eventually, Carrie came and picked Sam and I up and saved our asses by taking us back to Santa Monica where we changed clothes and then picked up some food.  Just about the time we got back to Manhattan Beach, Nate was ready to go back to his place so Sam got us a ride using Uber (which is so freaking awesome).  

Sleeping in a strange place with Hunter is always tough the first night.  So needless to say, we didn't sleep so well last night.  We got up, had some more bagels for breakfast, and took a long walk through the beautiful Santa Monica neighborhoods.  

Then we dropped Nate off at his car in Manhattan Beach and headed home to shower and clean up.  Oh my God, the shower felt so freaking amazing.  We started some laundry and got things situated around the house before we headed over to Nick's place for a little more fun.  Ryan and Jen and Arya were there along with Nick's roommate and his girlfriend.  

5th Street in Santa Monica

Sam and I wanted to go down to Laguna for dinner and Nick and Amy were going to join us, but they backed out at the last minute.  Then, Sam decided he would like to hit up Bandera in Corona del Mar instead of going all the way down to Laguna Beach.  It was really nice.  We had mojitos (which I had been craving) and salad and salmon and their amazing jalapeño corn bread.  

After we got home we continued to do more laundry and decided to watch a Memorial Day movie... Black Hawk Down.  It's amazing how much respect I have for the men and women who fight wars for us.  I am so thankful for the land of the free and the home of the brave.  I am thankful for the people who have given their lives willingly so that I can live in a democratic country and support my family.  I am so lucky.  Part of that may be due to my family and where I was born but it's also due to the fact that we have people are willing protect those "rights".

Seth says "Lead Up"

Here's a passage from Seth Godin's blog post Lead Up:

"A successful middle manager gets promoted when she takes the right amount of initiative, defers the right amount of credit and orchestrates success. That success might happen despite (not because) of who her bosses are, and that's just fine, because she's leading up."

Easier said than done, Seth. Still good advice.  Too often I hear people blaming external circumstances for their failure and inability to succeed.  The truth is we have more control of our situations than we like to think.  

I can eat doughnuts or I can work out- those choices are going to affect my weight loss.  I can blame the office's stockpile of sweets or I can blame my own poor self control.  Obviously it's less fun to take accountability for the things that aren't perfect in life, but that's part of being an adult. 

Already Gone

I want this song so badly and they don't have it on iTunes yet!


"Already Gone"
Composed by Kyle Jacobs, Ben Glover & Joy Williams
Sung By: Connie Britton as Rayna James

Understand that it's a long, long road to Independence

But I'm leaving you for Tennessee

I've got demons riding shotgun, telling me not to go

But they don't know I'm already gone

I'm already gone

Integrity is All You Have

This morning I read It's Thomas Midgeley day, a blog post by Seth Godin that had my head spinning.  He wrote in honor of what would have been Thomas Midgeley's 124th birthday, and what the consequences can be, "when short-term profit-taking meets marketing."  Read Seth's full post here.

Midgeley worked in the gasoline industry and he helped his company delude the public and government into believing that leaded gasoline was not a threat to health and well being despite knowing otherwise.  It is a horrific and inhumane thing to put other people's lives at risk without giving them full disclosure about the possible side effects, consequences, or outcome.  I was appalled.

I have always said that I will not perform a job or participate as a part of an organization that compromises either my personal or professional integrity.  I firmly believe integrity is the only thing that we have that cannot be taken away.  People can't steal your integrity.  You choose to sell it, give it up, compromise it, etc.

That said, it's very interesting that I've chosen to make a career in marketing.  Although I don't enjoy admitting it, marketing doesn't have a great record with integrity.  Here's a quick list of offending industries off the top of my head:

• Cigarette Industry (Joe the Camel; The Marlboro Man)
• Oil Industry
• Fast Food Industry
• Politics 

The wikipedia definition of Marketing Ethics provides compelling reasoning behind the shifty choices made by marketing professionals and their superiors.  Reading it almost seems like the backstory of a TV show or dramatic movie instead of a description of the real world of business marketing.

Still, I hope that the information age makes hiding the unwanted side effects of products or the truth about recipes or the motives behind military strikes will become less and less possible.  Today, we have very little ability to mask information.  We leave a digital trail almost every time we access the internet, travel, make a purchase and so forth.

I hope that my generation of marketing professionals will leave the unethical marketing behind and maintain our integrity.  At the end of our lives, I believe it's the only thing we take with us.

Mystery Illness

So I have been on my ass the last couple of days with horrible body aches, chills, low grade fever, and general malaise.  I started feeling crummy on Tuesday afternoon and went home from work a little early.  I woke up in the middle of the night on Wednesday and took another dose of Tylenol and Ibuprofen.  Wednesday I made it up to Pasadena for Ryan's graduation, but I was a mess during the majority of his ceremony and left at 2:30 to head back to OC.

I got in touch with my MD and she wanted me to come in and be seen so I made an appointment for Thursday (yesterday) morning and got blood work done.  My white blood count was elevated double the normal numbers and I felt totally crappy.  Last night, I got a call from the doctor at 9:30 that she was concerned about the WBC and wanted to make sure that if I felt worse in any way I went to the ED over night.

This morning she emailed me and wanted me to get to the main lab at the hospital for another round of more serious blood and urinalysis.  Turns out I have a UTI or bladder infection as well as the YI which was probably why my WBC was so high.  It could be that I had those vaccines earlier this week and they distracted my immune system so that my YI progressed into a UTI.  Or maybe I had both but I couldn't really tell because I didn't have a frequent urge to pee.

As Carina said when I texted her, "WTF you're a mess!"  So now I have a prescription in at the pharmacy that should be ready to be picked up in about 45 minutes.  Hopefully that will start to get everything back to normal.  My WBC had dropped from 18.9 yesterday to 16 today so that's a good sign!

Hopefully things are going to be turning around for me here soon because on dear Lord I cannot manage this crappiness for much longer.  I am also really happy my parents will be here tonight and they'll be able to take care of me this weekend while Sammy's on call.

I should note that Hunter has been quite the little nurse during my illness and he hasn't really left my side.  Yes, there has been more barking than I'd like, but overall he has been a little gentleman sitting with me on the couch.  

Respect for Military Families

Mom and Dad arrive tomorrow for the next wedding (Wedding Season 2013 may be our busiest yet) of the year.  Their Goddaughter is getting married in San Juan Capistrano kind of at the last minute because her fiancee has been deployed to the coast of North Korea (I think) and he will be shipping out prior to their original wedding date.

This is actually the second couple I have personally known who've had to change their wedding plans based on a change in deployment plans.  It's just really tough to think that you'd plan so much for this day and spend all this money and then something so huge comes up that is completely out of your control and you just have to go with it.  No questions asked.  No temper tantrums.  You give everything up and just make it work.

Military families, especially wives and husbands, are so fascinating to me.  I mean seriously, we talk about how strong and resilient the men and women in the armed forces are but the real strength is the people who are left here.  The people who keep the homes and families running all on their own.  Man, I am so impressed.  

I complain about medical school and residency but I am so thankful Sam won't ever have to ship out at the last minute and be away for months at a time.  Yes, our long distance relationship in college was hard, but by the time we were 21 we agreed we didn't want to do anything like that again.  And Sam may go off for a month and do away rotations abroad at some point, but it will be planned and very premeditated- and I can always go visit him!

Ryan, DDS

Sophomore year in Isla Vista 

Tomorrow I get to take the day off of work and attend a very special graduation ceremony for Sam's college roommate, Ryan, as he becomes the first DDS (and I think doctor of any kind) in his family.  

Ryan and I became really close during undergrad because he and Sam shared a room Junior and Senior year, and because Ryan and I have very similar families.  From the get-go we meshed really well and I always loved making dinner as a house, hearing how his parents and sisters were doing, and spending free time down at the beach.  As you can see from these photos of us, there was also quite a bit of drinking... but I will say this, I only had to take him to urgent care once (that I remember) for injuries sustained while drunk.  

Junior year in Isla Vista

Ryan is one of those guys who is actually a wonderful person.  It's hard to come by guys like that these days, although I am certainly blessed to know quite a few upstanding dudes.  Ryan was always a great moral compass without judging too much.  He had good advice for me and sought out advice about his life from me.  I would say Ryan is someone I absolutely consider to be a brother from another mother!

Anyway, poor Sam is stuck at work tomorrow, oh the joys of residency and especially 2nd year of residency.  So I will be attending Ryan's graduation solo (and meeting up with lots of the old UCSB crew.  We bought him a gift to commemorate the occasion, something he will be able to have a long time and enjoy.  Or so we hope.

Ryan is definitely one of those friends that I know Sam and I will be close to for the rest of our lives.  Just like some of my parents' friends who they've been tight with since high school and college.  Despite the distance we'll face as Ryan moves back to Northern California to start his career in dentistry, I am sure we'll still keep in touch and visit each other as often as we can.  That's just the kind of guy Ryan is.  Thoughtful, kind, someone who makes the effort to spend your birthday with you- even if it means driving out of his way and changing his plans.

Senior year at the Del Playa house in Isla Vista

TDap & Pneumo Vaccine

Boy, this is going to be a short post because my arm is sore like a mother f*cker.

I knew something wasn't quite right after Jackie's wedding and after a few professional opinions it became pretty clear to me that I needed to invest in some Y.I. treatment.  Unfortunately, the OTC stuff didn't work all that well (brands shall remain nameless) and I was not feeling as relieved as I hoped I would.

I called my MD this morning and made a same-day appointment to come in and have her prescribe me the Diflucan Sam and Amy had recommeneded.

I really enjoy my MD.  She is a real funny gal.  She went over the plan of action for the oral medication and had a couple ideas for what might make my migraine meds more effective.  Then the nurse came back in because yours truly was due for her TDaP and Pneumo Vax.

It's ironic because this happens to me with some regularity- I go to the doctor for something and find out it's a convenient time for me to have a booster shot.  Of course I opt to get it then and there rather than going back to the office and paying another copay.  Honestly, I haven't been to the doctor since August so when I'm there it's good to get everything done!

OMG I thought I was in luck because my nurse was a badass.  She usually works in peds and she was the best stick I can remember.  Man, she poked me with the Pneumo Vax and as she was applying the pressure to it she was T-ing up the TDaP and it was all over in 10 seconds tops!  I was a good patient and diligently rubbed my arm while I waited downstairs for my prescription and on my drive home.

So much for my hard work.

As of now, my arm is sore from my elbow to the side of my chest on my torso.  It aches like I have the flu and I feel very lethargic.  Hunter and I are already laying in bed as a matter of fact- he is keeping me very good company since Sam's on call tonight.  Boy do I wish he were here to give me a good massage and some free medical advice.  Oh well.  Instead, I am going to end this post, locate some Aleve, and call it a night.

Hopefully I'll be feeling better in the morning!

Thanks, Mom!

I am blessed to have one of the greatest mothers I have met- and I know some pretty amazing moms.  My mom has always been a great role model for me. She taught me to be kind, patient, and understanding.  She taught me the importance of empathy and being mindful of how others feel.  I learned the real meaning of compassion as I watched her take impeccable care of her aging parents as they succumbed to cancer and dementia.  She taught me the importance of thinking before speaking, making good first impressions and standing up for my beliefs.  She instilled in me good values and morals and she taught me to cherish family and appreciate home-cooked meals.

Above all things, Mom taught me to love unconditionally.  Yes, Dad gets credit too.

My mom has done a wonderful job of letting me grow up over the years.  She has watched me make mistakes and helped me learn from them.  She has accepted my tattoos, piercings and major life decisions with unwavering support.

Meeting Dwight Clark in Feb '13

I have not always made great decisions (boy does it concern me to put that in writing!)  but my mom has always been there to help me out when the house of cards came crashing down or to congratulate me when everything worked out the way I hoped it would.

She has encouraged me to think for myself, prioritize my goals and chase my dreams.

I have a wonderful mother.

I also have a great cast of supporting mothers who have helped her out along the way- some she's know and some she hasn't.

To my Aunts (Lori, Annie & Kathy): Thank you for being part of my whacky family.  I know we're not perfect, but let's face it, we embrace our dysfunction and roll with it.  I am lucky to have you in my life and I appreciate the motherly advice you've given me when I have come to you instead of Mom.

To Denise VanKuiken: Big Props to you NeeCee!  You are one of the strongest moms I know and I am incredibly lucky to consider you my surrogate mother.  I think of you often and wish we lived closer so that I could spend more time with you.

To Sue Celniker: Thank you for Sam.  You raised a wonderful, handsome young man and I am forever grateful for all of your hard work and energy.  You have also shown me what it is to successfully juggle motherhood and an thriving career.  Thank you for supporting me and encouraging me as I have stumbled along my career path.

To Janie Rutman, Debbie Grant & Monica Nageotte: Thank you so much for making me feel as though I have a mom here in Southern California.  It has been a pleasure spending holidays and afternoons with you ladies these past several years and I appreciate being made to feel as though I'm part of your family.

To my mom-friends: Thank you for paving the way for me!  I enjoy seeing you with your little rascals and seeing your struggles.  You are showing me the real world of parenting and have helped me understand my own mother better.

Thank you all for helping me be the young woman I am today- I love you all! xo

In the SuperDome in New Orleans for our first Super Bowl (Feb '13)

Mental Health Days

Everyone needs a mental health day sometimes.  Today is mine.

I haven't had a day to myself since April 14.  Since then I've either been traveling and participating in wedding festivities, working, or entertaining out of town guests.  Please don't misunderstand me, those are all very exciting things that make me very happy, but they do wear me down too.

Sam went back to work today after his week of vacation so that left Hunter and I at the house.  How very relaxing!  The only bummer was that Hunter seemed to think it was time to get up when Sam left for work at 5:30 this morning.  C'est la vie.  It got me up, out of bed and started my productive day.

What have I done with my day?  I started off my cleaning out my briefcase and purse of all the miscellaneous stuff I'd been collecting during the last couple of weeks.  I was able to file my bills and paychecks away in our guest bedroom, clean out our stationary drawer and make room for the new thank you cards and greeting cards I ordered from Papyrus earlier this week, and stripped the guest bed and bathroom linens to be cleaned before my parents arrive next weekend.

Funny anecdote, twice I tried to start the washing machine with the guest bed sheets and twice I accidentally turned on the drier instead.  Boy, did I need a mental health day or what?!

I also have been catching up on my blogging (both reading and writing) and downloaded some new material on my nook.  Which I swear I am going to go and read once I'm finished with this post because I am racking up a ton of unread stuff on that little device and I'm itching to read it all.

I also met with a colleague of mine and spent a couple of hours with her hearing about her job hunt, catching up on what's going on in her love life and just enjoying not having a time-schedule that I had to follow.  When we were done I ran into Target to buy more dishwashing detergent (the kitchen is getting cleaned as soon as I get though the piles of dishes in our sink), razors (summer weather is here and I definitely can't wear shorts with the fuzzy legs I am sporting), and birthday and mother's day cards (which will all be slightly belated).  All in all, it was a good trip.  I just need to run to Petsmart and get Hunter some new chewy sticks to entertain him when we're having company over or take him somewhere for dinner.

It's odd because I would think all these errands would be stressing me out more, but having accomplished so many of my To Do items has really relaxed me and made me feel in control of my life again.  I even took some time to write cards to a few friends and family members because I believe snail mail brightens everyone's days.  It actually seems that many people like to accomplish things on their days off: How and When to Take a Mental Health Day gives you ideas of how to schedule time off as well as what you should do to help yourself recover from the stress in your life.

Airoso Wedding Weekend

Wedding Weekend Recaps are so challenging- there is so much time to condense into one post!  And on top of that, I have so many photos to share!  So without further adieu, here we go!  

Couldn't miss an opporunity to snap a photo of my alma mater as I passed through Davis on my way to the hotel in Old Sacramento.  So many wonderful memories on that campus... so many wonderful friendships forged... so many wonderful people I was able to collaborate with.  I wish everyone well!

 Here we are in Sam and my hotel room, but Sam didn't come into town until Friday night.  So on Thursday, Marlena and I split the room.  We got ready for the rehearsal dinner, relaxed a little after our long travel days, and caught up on how life has been going for each of us lately.  It made me really wish that we live closer... Orange County to Chicago is just such a long way and long time to travel.  After the rehearsal, we went down to the hotel bar and had a drink while we watched the end of the Golden State Warriors victory- go Bay Area!  It was really fun spending some time with Lena.

Sam missed his flight to Sacramento and flew into San Francisco at 11:15pm instead.  Papa offered to pick him up for me and meet me in Vacaville... what a life savor!  So we didn't get back to the hotel until about 1:40 AM the morning of Jackie and Joe's wedding.  I think I was running mostly on adrenaline that day because I know I didn't get as much sleep as I needed!

Joe's sister, Emily

Luckily the wedding was great- we were running a little behind with hair and makeup, but I think the wedding was only about 15 minutes later than it should have been.  Jackie looked absolutely gorgeous (as always) and it was really fun to hang out with her mom and her sister and all of the ladies who are most important to her and Joe.  After the ceremony we took what felt like a million photos and it was a little chaotic because we all wanted to get to the wedding PARTY as fast as we could... but I think that we got some great shots, especially with such amazingly photogenic bridesmaids and groomsmen!  

I was totally blown away by the centerpieces on the tables at dinner.  They were really pretty and so simple and kind of perfect for a backyard wedding reception.  Joe's parents did an amazing job on their yard and it was really impressive to see the transformation from Thursday's rehearsal to the real deal on Saturday night.  It was a lot of work, but everything paid off and everyone survived!

I really loved getting to know Joe's sister, Emily, and his brother's fiancee, Shannon.  (Emily is in purple in the photo below)  They are both pretty loud but in a great way and they treated all of us like we were family all weekend long.  Shannon was especially helpful on the day of the wedding when we were sequestered in Joe's grandma's trailer and it was swelteringly hot outside.  She ran and got us drinks, food, etc. Pretty much anything we needed!  I am really happy that Jackie is marrying into such a wonderful family that will have her back and Joe's throughout their lives. 

 Our table was bridesmaids and dates, and the hair and makeup team.  We had a great time!  It was especially nice to see Katy and Emily Nester who I haven't seen in ages.  I guess that's the most fun part of a wedding weekend; catching up with all the people you are connected with throughout the bride and groom's lives.  It is really something magical and the wedding itself was not enough time to see all of those wonderful people I am connected to through Jackie.  I hope that soon we'll be able to catch up without the wedding madness, but I doubt that.  We have spread so far across the country.

 And here is the beautiful bride, Jackie.  One of my dearest friends.  One of my college roommates.  One of the girls I know will always be there for me no matter what I need.  I am blessed to have friends who are as supportive as Jackie and it was an extreme honor to stand up with she and Joe on their day.

And then there is my date... my wonderful, handsome boyfriend who took a late night fight to be able to be there with everyone on Saturday night.  Who caught a ride to the wedding with Megan whom he'd never met because he know I was committed to bridal party stuff the day of the wedding.  

Spending time with Sam was great.  We don't have as much time to spend together as we would like now that he's deep into his second year of residency.  Luckily we have 3rd year on the horizon and hopefully that will be significantly better in terms of hours spent at the hospital, time spent sleeping and ability to enjoy his free time.  I know I am personally hopeful for a little more responsibility shouldered at home but that's a topic for another blog post... so let me refocus on the wedding weekend.

Boy, don't I look great with that cigar?

It was also really nice for Lena and Sam to get to spend some quality time together - I don't think they have really gotten to know each other over the years because Sam was out of town when Jackie and Marlena came down to visit Southern California and he hasn't been able to go up to NorCal with me when I've traveled to visit the girls at Jackie's house.  Obviously, he wasn't invited on our girls trip to Chicago two summers ago when Jackie and I flew out to visit Marlena and see her skit at Second City.

And seeing Heidi and Jared is always a good time.  I can't wait for Heidi to start her wedding planning and hear about all their details.  I mean let's face it, I love this stuff!  Putting on big events is stressful but it requires organization, logistical strategy and lots of planning which are three of my strengths.  

One of our next couples tying the knot!  Dan and Tina came and met us for breakfast before we headed back to the airport on Sunday morning.  We had a great time catching up and we hope to get together again soon... though we will probably see them next on their big day in July.  

So Much for Rest

Of course, my wonderful & amazing boyfriend has this week off and it's going to be absolutely hell for me...

Why does it have to work out that way???  I had wanted to take a day or two off and spend some quality time with him but that's not going to happen!

My boss's brother arrives today from NYC and he'll be videoing some client testimonials and videos for around our office over the next four days.  

OMG shoot me.  I still haven't even recovered from Jackie's wedding!  I would have loved to relax with Sam and Hunter, spend some quality time as a family and catch up on my reading that has completely gotten out of control.  Sam only gets 4 weeks off as a second year resident and I am going to be irritated for a while that one of his  rare weeks off was spent home with no plans and it fell on a week that was hellacious at work.

Spring Time in SoCal

Spring has officially sprung here in Southern California... that's evident in our blooming patio.  I am really pleased that the hydrangea came back after going dormant during the winter months.  It has been a real joy watching the leaves grow out from bare stems and the little buds open up into small pedals.  There is even the slightest hue of pink coming through in the flowers.  I clearly need to treat the soil again soon to increase the acidity and turn the flowers blue- my favorite color for hydrangeas.  I also should probably treat the whole patio with Miracle Grow, I think I'm a little behind on the weekly nutrient boost.  Oops!  We'll see how they turn out, I am really hoping for a deep blue-purple color.  Worst case scenario I'll just head back to Lowes and consult with their Garden department to see what can be done.

These beautiful pink flowers are absolutely gorgeous.  It's funny, Mom brought this Rubber Plant down to me last year at Thanksgiving and they've done remarkably well ever since.  A few months ago I repotted this bad boy in a pot with a drain hole and that has made a world of difference.  When I pulled the plant out of the last pot, I was shocked to see that the roots hadn't been able to spread out into the bottom of the pot because there was no way for the water to get down to the bottom of the pot.  Since the repotting it has been nothing but growth for the Rubber Plant.  It has grown at least an inch in all directions and the blooms have been more vibrant than ever before... that could also be due to the Miracle Grow.

Wedding Season 2013

Wedding Season 2013 kicks off this weekend with the Kishmirian-Airoso nuptials.  I am flying up to Oakland tomorrow morning and will get to see Nonna and Papa on the way home from the airport to pick up the MDX to take up to Sacramento for the weekend.

Thursday night will be the rehearsal dinner and I'm so excited to see all my college girlfriends and the ladies from the bachelorette party again.  I think after dinner we're going to head into downtown Sac to do a little celebrating.  Lena, Heidi and I are sharing a hotel room that night so it will be quite the college sleepover!

Friday we'll be spending the day decorating Joe's parents' house and making our bouquets.  I think Jackie has appointments set up for us to have our nails done that evening as well.  She wants to do a bit of a girl's night out (GNO) at the hotel on her last night as Ms. Kishmirian so I think we'll all head back to relax after the mani-pedi experience.  Who knows, we might all need to get to bed earlier than expected after all our setting up!

Thanks to 2nd Year of Residency, Sam flies in late Friday night (he arrives in Sacramento at 11:40 PM) and my guess is I may need to skip some of the festivities that evening so I can take a nap before picking him up.  Hopefully he'll nap on the plane so he is a little bit rested before the big day arrives.

Saturday morning will be interesting.  I think we're going to head over to Joe's parents house around 9:30 or 10 so we can finish setting the tables and putting out the center pieces.  I'm a little nervous about getting all of that done the day of the wedding but that's why Jackie's the bride and not me!  She's so cool, calm and collected about the whole thing!

Anyway, the wedding will be Saturday evening after our hair and makeup team concludes the beautification process.  I was able to see Jackie's dress when I was in town for the bachelorette party and it's absolutely stunning.  She is going to be freaking gorgeous- although that would have been true regardless of the dress she had chosen!

In any case, here is the beginning of the 2013 Wedding Season!