St Nicholas Day

Well, I'm running a bit behind with my holiday postings. First Thanksgiving and now St Nicholas Day... Yes, it's a real holiday. December 6. Here is a link with some good information: www.wf-f.org/st.nicholas.html

Nick and I wanted to have a St Nicholas Day party last year, but since we'd only been in our house for not even four days, we just weren't able to. This year we held our "First Annual St Nicholas Day Feast" on Saturday Dec. 6. We asked everyone to bring a dish to pass and a toy that would be given to a local foster child. Our friends were very generous - no trips to the 99 cent store for them! They brought fire trucks that light up, a glass chess set, baby dolls, teddy bears...

And, of course, what get-together is complete without a shot of Nick's jalapeno infused tequila (he made it last year as a gift for a couple friends - I refuse to try it!)?!


It was a great night. Lots of fun!!

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving!

I finally got around to posting my pictures from Thanksgiving!... Nick and I drove up to his Aunt Jean's house in Idyllwild (two hours from San Diego) on Wednesday night and then drove home Thursday afternoon/evening.

Holiday Fun

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/ozMfcZfI45EbRCLOjikW

You can pick from four different dances this year! Last year there was just the classic holiday dance... Too cute!

Once Upon a Wish

I can't watch this without getting a little lump in my throat...

You can watch the whole clip or forward to the piano section (at around 3:38.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp1mAI47QOI

Lord, it's hard to be humble

I'm home on my lunch break and just saw this article about Kanye West. This guy really needs to get over himself! What ever happened to humility??

Kanye West is to music what Michael Jordan was to basketball — at least that's what West thinks, in his humble estimation.
"I realize that my place and position in history is that I will go down as the voice of this generation, of this decade, I will be the loudest voice," he said in an interview on Wednesday. "It's me settling into that position of just really accepting that it's one thing to say you want to do it and it's another thing to really end up being like Michael Jordan."
The Grammy-winning rapper-producer said Justin Timberlake had a chance to be music's MVP, but hasn't put out enough material. (Timberlake's last album was in 2006, while West released a CD last year and is releasing his latest — "808s and Heartbreak" — on Nov. 24.)
"There were people who had the potential to do it but they went on vacation, so when Justin went on vacation I made albums," he said. "And it just came out to be that."

I'm on a roll...

Yes, it's true. This is my fourth post of the day! What can I say? It's been an action packed week!...
This morning Sage came over to hang out with Nick and I for a couple hours. Here are some of the highlights of our morning...

Nick and Sage moved some rocks and then played with sidewalk chalk. Sage wore my gardening gloves to protect her hands. =)

Sage gave us a wonderful performance on the keyboard!

(notice the State game on in the background =)


Sage discovered the sounds effects button...

I just love her face...


She's too funny

Then it was time to relax and watch some NOGGIN

Halloween

Last night I went over to my future mother-in-law's house to help her pass out candy and homemade gingerbread men (a Johns family tradition). She was dressed up as Midnight (something she has done for 30+ years, if I'm not mistaken!). I was Peyton Manning (It was last minute and the only thing I could come up with for free! I already had the jersey and just threw on some tight white capri pants, tennis shoes, and called it good). It was a fun night! Towards the end of trick-or-treating, Kay-Marie and Gerardo brought Sage over to visit. She, of course, was adorable, as usual!
I hope everyone else had a great (and safe!) Halloween! Feel free to pass along your pictures too! =)
Here are the ones I took...

I'm voting Republican

OK. I said my blog wouldn't be political (have I mentioned how much I really hate politics?!), but I just couldn't help it. Here's my political post of the year. (Man! I can not WAIT for this election to be over with!)

Fall was here!... For a couple hours

Last Sunday, Nick and I got up early and drove to Julian. It's a small, historic gold mining town located about an hour from San Diego in the Cuyamaca mountains. Julian is famous for it's apples and especially it's apple pie!
We got there before the stores opened so we could beat the crowds. As soon as the shops opened, we grabbed two gallons of apple cider (the main goal of our trip =) and some apple butter, pumpkin butter, and cinnamon honey. We then headed across the street to get ourselves an apple pumpkin pie.
Our next stop was Dudley's bakery for some jalapeno cheddar bread before we visited Green Valley Falls. We didn't have a lot of time there because we had to be back in San Diego in time to get cleaned up for Nick's niece Janice's baptism at 2pm. It was beautiful though, and we're planning on going back soon to spend a whole day at the falls.
After the baptism, we went back to Nick's sis Jill's house for family dinner and then the whole gang headed over to Foster's Freeze for some dessert.
Great day! Here are some of the pictures I took...

Oh dear God...

OK. Now this is something that you'd be more likely to see on my brother's blog, but I just couldn't resist...

I was just watching Inside Edition where they had a segment about America's Sexiest Politician. And where else would she be from but Michigan?! Her name is Carey Torrice and she is the Macomb County Commissioner. I checked out her website (http://www.careytorrice.com/) and I must say, I'm kinda embarrassed that we're from the same state! There are pictures on her site from when she was a "hottie" at Hottiefest (there really is such a thing?!?), of her in a sexy police uniform that's unzipped pretty low and several other sexy photos. Oh! And there are also links to her other websites. Apparently she's also an Actress and Private Eye! A triple threat!!!!

In the segment we see her posing in a teeny yellow bikini while holding her campaign sign. She then goes on to say that bikinis are her favorite thing to wear (of course they are!) before we see her going door to door (she's running for re-election) in, what else, but green velour warm-ups! What could be more professional or say, "Take me seriously!" like a nice pair of J-Lo's?!? Maybe that's why it took me so long to find a job here. I was wearing the wrong thing! I should've thrown on the velour and tennies instead of a suit with nice heels! Well, I guess hindsight is 20-20, isn't it?!

Bust a move!

I watched a movie tonight and absolutely cracked up over this dance scene... I think I'm going to have to learn this for the wedding reception!! =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNajqmLotJw

April Fools?!?

I just took an IQ test and it said my IQ is 138?!

This is the standard chart:


Personally, I think whoever created this IQ test must possess IQs listed down in the bottom of the chart, because those results can't be right, can they?!? Or maybe this was an April Fool's Day joke they forgot to delete??

I, supposedly, fall into the category of "Visionary Philosopher." This is what is says:

Visionary Philosopher
Your IQ Score is: 138
Your mind's strengths allow you to think ahead of the game — to imagine or anticipate what should come next in just about any situation. Because you're equally skilled in the numerical and verbal universes of the brain, you can draw from multiple sources of information to come up with great ideas. The timelessness of your vision and the balance between your various skills are what make you a Visionary Philosopher. In addition to your strengths in math and linguistics, you have a knack for matching and anticipating patterns. These skills and your uncanny ability to detect the underlying blueprint of most of life's situations add to your Visionary Philosopher mind. Two philosophers who share the same combination of skills you possess are Plato and Benedict Spinoza. Spinoza had insight into how things worked in the world. He could envision a future based on the patterns he saw in life, and used mathematical logic as a structure within which to present his philosophical arguments. With that base he was able to use logic to formulate his theories. Borrowing from his linguistic strengths he wrote eloquent texts and, therefore, was able to bring his philosophical ideas and structure to the rest of the world. His story exemplifies the talents that are present in the Visionary Philosopher intellectual type. Whatever you decide to do in life, you've got a powerful mix of skills and insight that can be applied in a wide variety of ways. You can expand your mind to understand a situation. Your strong balance of math and verbal skills will help you explain things to others. For example, if you were on an archaeological dig and discovered an object, you could probably use your deductive powers to figure out not only what the object was but also how it was used. Given your ability to put things together, you are more than capable of inventing a life plan that is in synch with your perspective on how things were, how they are, and how they might be one day.


Here's the link, in case anyone else wants to take the test:
http://web.tickle.com/quizzes/show/3001

Mark your calendars!!!

Well, it looks like we've finally set a date for our Big Day!!.... Nick and I will be "gettin' hitched" on Friday September 18, 2009!!

Calling all travelers!!!

Recently, Nick and I have been tossing around ideas about where to go on our honeymoon. Our top places are Ireland and Greece, but we've decided they're going to have to wait a few years. (We're actually talking about maybe doing Ireland in 2010 after he runs the London marathon!) So we've shifted our thinking to places that are a little closer to home (translated: North America and, hopefully, more affordable). Right now, we're leaning towards an Alaskan cruise. What I'm wondering is... Have any of you been on a cruise through Alaska? (I know Jeff & Sarah have been there, but can't remember if it was on a cruise or not??) Can anyone who's been there give us any suggestions? Thoughts? Insight? Which ports of call should we make sure the cruise includes? Which could we pass on? What cruise lines are better than others? Should we do a 7 day cruise? Longer? Any advice/help would be appreciated! Thanks guys!!

And the winner is...

After a whirlwind weekend in Michigan last week [Mom and I traveled from Three Oaks (down by New Buffalo and the Indiana state line) all the way up to Frankfort (half an hour from Traverse City)], Nick and I have finally decided on a location for our wedding! Frankfort, Michigan!! The Harbor Lights Resort has a private beach that we can use for the ceremony for free!! (That is RIGHT in our price range! =) And just across the bay in the small village of Elberta there is an old life saving station that we can rent for the reception. Actually, we may rent a tent and have the reception on the lawn outside the actual building. We peered through the windows and it doesn't look like we could seat more than 60 people inside and still have a dance floor. We really don't want a huge wedding, but there will definitely be more than 60 people there (I hope!! We'll be inviting more than that, so hopefully people will come! =)

We don't have a date set in stone yet, but we're looking at Friday Sept. 18, 2009. Since we have friends and family traveling from as far away as California, Australia and England, we thought it'd be nice to have the wedding Friday night and then still have all day Saturday to spend with everyone before they head for home on Sunday. I'll let everyone know for sure as soon as we decide. We may also send out Save the Date cards.

You can check out the resort (they even have a live webcam!) at www.harborlightsresort.net

On Saturday, the day I flew in to Michigan, my best friend (and matron of honor!) Dana met up with us for the day.



While in Michigan, we also got to meet up with my friend Traci (Bloom) Howard. Our grandmothers were maids-of-honor in each others weddings! We hadn't seen each other in close to 11 years!


And what weekend in Michigan would be complete without blue moon ice cream?!?! Mom and I stopped at the place her family used to go when they vacationed in Ludington... (Of course, I DID go to Uncle Ray's back in Fenton and got Superman too!)

Jacksonville & Savannah

After leaving Daytona Beach, Nick and I spent a few days in the Jacksonville area (Middleburg/Orange Park to be exact) with Nick's friends John & Kristine. Our first night there they took us to a very "eccentric" place for dinner - www.clarksfishcamp.com (click the different tabs and look at the pictures of this place!) We got to see his friends Baire and Jen who live in the area as well. On that Monday (7/28), John, Kristine, Nick and I took a road trip up to Savannah, GA.

Here are the pics I took during our visit...

Grab your popcorn!

As promised, here are some of the videos from our vacation in Florida!! Believe it or not, these are NOT ALL of the videos I took! Grab your popcorn, sit back and enjoy. There are a lot of videos here for your viewing pleasure....

By the way... You may want to scroll down to my previous post and turn off the slide show's music. =)

Allison, Kaylee and Grace had fun dancing along with the music from Zach's jumparoo! I love Allison's cool move at the end!!


It's a choo-choo train! Allison's driving =)


I think I should send this to National Geographic... a little dolphin love... It's kinda funny how the background music is "on the dark side..." This video IS rated R by the way!!


Allison had fun dancing at Seaworld.


Nick, Scott and Dad doing some body surfing... Funny...


More bodysurfing


That Wednesday night we had a huge birthday party for all the June, July,and August birthday boys and girls.




Grandma and Grandpa opening up the present from Dad, Barb, Nick and I


Who knew that the thing that would entertain the kids the most would be a birthday card for Nick from Dad and Barb?!?




I can't tell who enjoyed this more...


Kaylee is showing me how I should dance.


Ring around the rosie...


Teaching Kaylee how to hold her breath! I love her face!


Now it's Allison's turn!! So cute...


On our last night in Daytona, Kaylee and Allison put on a show for us. There were glow sticks and everything! I believe this was Allison's first show ever. This is their big introduction and their first song. I love how Kaylee stops singing to make sure Allison is ok.


After every song Allison would yell "Yay!" or "Ta da!!" It was great!!


And who doesn't like a good PBJ?!


THE END

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

July 19-26, Nick and I along with my Dad, Barb, Scott, Elizabeth, their 4 kids, my three step-siblings, their spouses and one child for each of them - 19 of us in total, went to Daytona Beach, Florida.

Here are some of the pictures I took. I also took lots of video which I will add as soon as I can.

Father's Day

After Kay-Marie and Sage got out of church this morning, they picked us up, we got some corndogs and a couple jalapeno dogs (no jalapenos for me though!) and headed to the park.

Here are a couple videos and pictures of Sage.

Thanks for the inspiration little brother

My brother Scott recently put a post on his blog entitled "Flashback." It has some pictures from a year ago that he found on his memory card. Well, last night I too looked back at the pictures that I still have on my camera's memory card and came across some videos from when I was in Georgia over Halloween. They are too cute not to share.

PS) And now I take back the comment I made in my first post - I AM posting pictures of the most beautiful children ever (at least, for now they are... just wait... someday mine just might give them a run for their money ;)

Kaylee playing with one of the party blowers that Nick's Gran sent for them



Allison in her butterfly costume.

Too bad Kaylee's camera shy, huh? ;)

Ladies & Gentlemen - Your next American Idol! (sorry it's sideways)

Still learning

I tried to put this in the same post as the video, but couldn't get it to work. I'm still learning this whole blog thing...

Splash splash splash

This past weekend it was just plain hot here in San Diego! So Nick, being the wonderful godfather that he is, decided that Sage needed her own kiddy pool. (And what kid shouldn't have one?!) So yesterday he went out, looked all over, and finally found one with a slide (HAD to have a slide!). Here's a video of him and Sage playing (sorry, it's not the best quality. I just took it with my cell phone). I'm really not sure who had more fun!!

(The other voice in the video is Kay-Marie, Nick's sister)

I ain't settlin'

I'm a big believer that words manifest thought. If you hear something enough you eventually believe it, whether it's good or bad. That's why I try to surround myself with positive people, and I like music that empowers (without being preachy) instead of just rambles about sex, smoking joints and that kind of thing.

On St. Thomas, I had a Jeep that we affectionately referred to as "the Barbie Jeep." For as much as I loved the Jeep, it didn't have a functioning radio. I, therefore, had to entertain myself (and, unfortunately for them, everyone I happened to drive past) during my 20 minute drive to/from work.

The following song quickly became a popular addition to my "repertoire." It was my anthem for quite a while. I figured that if I heard/sang it enough, then maybe the message would sink in. I like to think it did.

Settlin' by Sugarland

Fifteen minutes left to throw me together
For Mr. Right Now, not Mr. Forever
Don't know why I even try when I know how it ends
Lookin' like another, "Maybe we can be friends."
I've been leaving it up to fate
It's my life so it's mine to make

Chorus:
I ain't settlin'
For just getting by
I've had enough so-so
For the rest of my life
Tired of shooting too low
So raise the bar high
"Just enough," ain't enough this time
I ain't settlin' for anything less than everything

With some good red wine
And my brand new shoes
Gonna dance a blue streak around my living room
Take a chance on love, and try how it feels
With my heart wide open
Yeah, you know I will
Find what it means to be the girl
Who changed her mind
And changed the world

Repeat chorus:
I ain't settlin'
For just getting by
I've had enough so-so
For the rest of my life
Tired of shooting too low
So raise the bar high
"Just enough," ain't enough this time

I ain't settlin'
For just getting by
I've had enough so-so
For the rest of my life
Tired of shooting too low
So raise the bar high

I ain't settlin'
No, no, no, no, no, no
So raise the bar high, high

OK... Here we go...

Following in the footsteps of my brother, sister-in-law, and my step-brother Brian, I have decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon. Undoubtedly, mine will not be nearly as intellectual or political as Scott's or Brian's and probably not as witty as Elizabeth's, and it won't yet display pictures of the most beautiful children on the planet like my brother's family blog (although, maybe there will be after our family vacation in July...), but it will be me and my life.

There may be blurbs about my day, some venting, some random quotes... There will undoubtedly be a lot of music given that it is something I've always had a great love of. And I'm pretty sure there may be a photo or two of the cutest darn dog in the history of the world too!!

So, stay tuned......

PS) I'm not saying I don't have my intellectual and witty moments, we all know I'm a genius and a hoot! (And yes, I had to look up the word genius to make sure I spelled it correctly... I always want to put an O in there!).