Finally!

I haven't said anything, but our dishwasher has been broken since Thanksgiving. Yeah, you know that day with the meal that uses every dish in your house? Since then. So, we have been washing dishes by hand. I'm pretty sure I didn't buy a brand new house a year ago to be stuck washing dishes by hand a year later. I mean, it was nice saving money when we lived at grandma's house, but we're not saving any money in this house (shit, we can barely keep up), so I expect to have full use of my brand new, GD dishwasher!

So anyway...

We had someone out the following week to look at the dishwasher and hopefully fix it. Luckily it was still under warranty at that time since they go by the purchase date of the house. The guy told me it needed a new motor and control board. Of course he doesn't have these things, they need to be ordered. He didn't tell me how long it would take, just that he would call when the parts came in to schedule a follow up appointment.

The next week, JB called them to find out the status. They said the parts manager would call him back...

Two weeks later JB called again. They said the parts manager would call him back...

Two days later, JB called yet again, and the receptionist finally got off her lazy ass and got the information on the part. She said it would be in on Monday, aka yesterday.

Today they finally called and scheduled an appointment for Thursday with a 4 hour window from 8am - 12pm. Last time he showed up right in the middle.

JB noted from the first call that their customer service was lacking and it has definitely not improved during this process. Word of advice, if you can at all avoid it, DO NOT USE FOLSOM LAKE APPLIANCE for anything!!!

6 More Months!!!

The countdown continues! Six months from yesterday I will be Mrs. JB! I don't think I have ever typed that before and I kinda liked it. LOL! I read stuff like this on other people's blogs all the time, but I have never really thought of it like that for myself. Yikes!

• We have the cake taken care of for the most part.
• We have our venue and should be getting the menu info in the next week or so to pick out food.
• Linens/chair covers have been ordered
• I have ordered my dress which should be here in March.
• The bridesmaid dresses were ordered last week and should be here in March as well.
• We booked the photographer - Engagement session in a couple of weeks, weather pending
• We booked the videographer
• The invitations have been designed, but we are waiting for the meal info to include on the response cards.
• Place cards are being done by the invitation designer
• Ordered the guestbook
• Seating chart is done - pending revisions for RSVPs
• Flowers have been selected, but still waiting on another bid before we sign a contract
• Centerpieces selected
• Cake Topper should be here in a week or so
• Day of hair/makeup artist selected aka MOH
• We have ideas for the rehearsal dinner, but nothing solidified

There are a lot of little things left to do like shoes and accessories, gifts, etc. For the major players, we still need to get a DJ and some menswear. JB and I both have our bach parties planned for the most part and I also booked a tentative shower date with the ladies. Also, we need to book the travel and accomodations for the honeymoon which is really stressing me out. I don't think we will wait much longer than Jan/Feb to book that stuff. We are hoping that the flight prices go down a little bit after the new year. Fingers crossed!

If I can remember when I get home, I will scan a copy of our save the date card for your viewing pleasure.

With only six months to go, this also means it's time to get back on the fitness train (that's a play on words, get it?). I started yesterday morning with a great workout that was kind of out of the norm for me. The warmup was actually more challenging that the workout itself. I am feeling it today, that's for sure. I can barely lift my arms and my calves are really tight. I love it.

I have a lot of different ways planned to bring the fitness back into my life and I am really excited about it. The hardest part is really getting my clean eating back on point. In the long run, that is what is going to help me the most. I need to be honest with myself about what is going on my plate. Gotta keep it real.

Some of the new things I will be doing, I am going to post here, so stay tuned!

Birthday Week and Christmas Parts II and III

Last Saturday's Christmas with my mom's fam kicked off the start of my birthday week! On Monday, my coworker (aka Nugget's mom) took me to Red Robin for a birthday lunch. We passed on the singing and free dessert there and headed to Icing on the Cupcake for yummy treats! I got the pumpkin with cream cheese frosting shown below and she got the classic carrot cake cupcake:



I had a different birthday lunch every day. Tuesday I went with Lou to Chili's and then we walked over and got her measured for her bridesmaid dress (yay!). Wendesday I had lunch with GF at Cafe Roma since I was working downtown. Thursday I had "Christmas Curry" with a coworker. We went to the amazing Thai place near our work. Since we didn't have work on Friday, Thursday was casual day. I wore this hot little number with my jeans:




It has bells on it! So basically I wanted to tell everyone I would be there with bells on, because I really was. LOL! I also had to stop myself from asking people if they liked my ornaments. I am the HR Manager and all.

Since Heather (Nugget's mom) was gone on Thursday, I came into my office and there was a note on my desk cupboard door that said "open me" and inside was this:



She's too sweet!

I decided on Tuesday that I wanted to do an impromptu birthday celebration, but obviously no one was available on Thursday by Tuesday night, so JB and I went to dinner by ourselves. Afterwards we went out to the casino for some drinks and penny slots. First things first, we had to get our Players Club cards. LOL! Some of JB's friends were in town for the holidays so they met up with us, along with some other local friends. I was glad they could at least come and have a drink with me and witness the horrendous karaoke that was happening inside the bar area. Even Mr. and Mrs. Awesome came by on their way home from the Kings game to buy me a birthday drink!

Friday we lounged around all morning and then got ready to head to the bay area to see my aunts/uncles/cousins from my dad's side of the family. It was great to see everyone and talk about holidays past and our childhood. I sat next to my SIL and apparently the little cupcake likes hummus because she was doing all sorts of stuff in there. I got to feel her move a lot and was so excited!! I can't wait until she gets here! Two more months!

After dinner and story time with everyone, we headed to my Dad's house in Vacaville. My stepmom hosts Christmas Eve and this was the 30 year anniversary of the tradition! She put together an amazing scrapbook of pictures from when she first started doing this through last year along with quotes that people submitted to her. It was really special. We ate, drank, and were merry with all of the friends and family that were present. My dad had this ridiculous reindeer hat that had moving, lit-up antlers and sang "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer". Why did I not get a pic of that?

Every year I usually stick around until midnight so we can celebrate my birthday. Right after the clock struck 12:00am, everyone sang happy birthday to me and then my parents gave me my gifts. After I was done opening, my stepmom suggested shots, to which we all obliged. Except poor JB who was stuck being DD. Hey, it's MY birthday. I did feel kind of bad that we didn't get home until 2am, but we were having so much fun!

Saturday morning I awoke to JB smooching my face off. This is annoying, but cute and sweet at the same time. He brought me coffee in bed and said "Merry Christmas!" to which I responded, "It's my birthday." We chatted for a few minutes and then he said he had to go get his coffee so it didn't get cold. When he came back he had a little pink bag with this inside (sorry it's upside down):



It's a $10 gift certificate to Amazon.com so I can buy a new book for my Kindle. There were a lot of things I wanted this year, but we are financially handicapped right now. I really wasn't expecting anything, so I thought it was sweet that he still wanted to give me something for my birthday even though he couldn't get me what he really wanted to. The best part was the bag he used was one of the ones I have stored in the hall closet! I save gift bags and tissue paper for re-use. Smart, no? I laughed really hard at the whole thing and thought it was pretty awesome.

We headed off to spend the afternoon with my step-dad's family and then had dinner with JB's bro and parents that night. I gave JB and Rich their gifts together since they were related. Pic of JB's gift below:

And I got one for me :)

If you remember this post about The Pigeons, this might make sense to you. If not, you should go read it now. The same day I posted that blog, I had a friend send me the link to a bunch of pigeon related shirts on CafePress.com. I immediately emailed all of the wives and suggested the gift idea. Everyone loved the thought of getting shirts for the guys and some of us decided to get shirts for ourselves and for their children as well. A few of the guys have the same shirt, but there are several others thrown in the mix too. Here are some of the sayings on the shirts:

"I Speak Pigeon"
"I'm the crazy pigeon man your momma warned you about"
"Don't mess with the pigeons"
"Evil" with a pic of a pigeon
A pigeon with a fedora hat
A pigeon DJ
"When I grow up I want to be a pigeon" kids
"Pigeon Hugger" kids/wives

Those are the only ones I can remember right now. From what I have heard, the guys loved them. Maybe they will even wear them for next year's Christmas card. Who knows? Here is a pic of one of the other guys and his kids with their shirts (don't worry, I asked permission first):

It was a wonderful Christmas season. I really tried to stay in the moment and appreciate the time I got to spend with my family and friends. I am so grateful for everything and everyone we have in our lives.

I hope you all had an amazing holiday season!!!

Family Christmas Part I

We had Christmas with my mom's side of the family on Saturday. The following is a picture story of what went down:

(Brother is bored. Wants to open presents)

(JB got tickets to a Giants game from my parents!)

(Gma got a book from her sister)

(I was uber excited about my kindle!)

(Unc Jim's shirt didn't come in on time so I gave him a pic of it)

(Cuz likes her sweatshirt)

(My bro couldn't figure out why Gma got him creepy talking M&M ornaments)

(We skyped my aunt and cousin who couldn't make it)

(Showing them my set of 4 Patriots Shotglasses)

(Gma got me my first wedding related gift - a picture frame)

(She also got us a holiday decoration "la la la")

(JB got my SIL some cupcake hooks for the little cupcake's room)

(Guys' Table)

(Girls' Table)

(Trying to feel cupcake moving around after dinner)

(Cutting my birthday cake that SIL made me)

Wonderful time with family. My step-dad had to work so he wasn't able to join us, and my cousin got really sick so she and my aunt stayed home. It would have been much better if everyone could have been there, but what can you do? So grateful to have them there and for the wonderful gifts we got.

Family Christmas Parts II and III coming up this weekend.

Holiday Happy

Last year I blogged a bit about my usual holiday madness. I am pleased to say that this year it doesn't seem so crazy and overwhelming. Part of it might be that we put out the disclaimer that we cannot buy gifts this year. Between the wedding and the honeymoon and everything else going on next eyar, we don't have a penny to spare. Not having to figure out gifts and find time to shop takes a lot of stress out of the season.

I am hosting my mom's family Christmas this Saturday. Since we moved in two days before Christmas last year, we didn't have anything at our house. This year is my first time hosting this particular event. Not too bad since we order the ham and everyone brings a side dish. All I have to do is clean before and after and coordinate with everyone. Also, we do a name drawing gift exchange so I only have to buy for one person. Makes life so much easier. I got my uncle's name and thanks to an idea from my SIL, I am really excited about his gift. With a $25 max limit, it makes it hard to get something meaningful and non-gift card-ish, but this one is pretty cool.

Another thing making this year's holiday season easier for me is having Christmas Eve off. I don't have to use any PTO or figure out how I am going to make it to two places in one day. I might plan a little better and only stay at my Aunt's house until a certain time and then head over to my dad's so we don't get home so late this year.

Christmas Day aka my birthday is never really too tough. Brunch and then dinner. JB mentioned having his family over again like we did for Turkey Day, but if that's the case, he is going to take care of everything because I am not doing a bunch of work on my birthday. LOL!

I have managed to make it to most of the holiday parties I have been invited to this year except the Fellas Family and my brother's, but it's not the end of the world. Instead of stressing to fugure it all out, I have just kind of surrendered to the idea that there is only one of me and I can only do so much. It is what it is.

Happy Holidays!

Shocking

I came across the statistic today that 60%+ of Americans are overweight and at least half that number are obese. Yes, that is extremely shocking to me.

What I find even more shocking is that it seems like the other 40% all live in the Roseville/Rocklin area.

Oh, Christmas Tree!

The tradition used to be the family heading up to Apple Hill, cutting down a tree, and then decorating it that evening after a dinner of chili and cornbread. Don't forget the apple pie for dessert!

JB and I got our own fake tree since I don't like dealing with crowds, cold weather, waking up early, or spiders and sap from the tree. 1161 tips on that tree and I perfected each one of them the day we put it up:


(OCD dream/nightmare)
We had to wait a whole week to have the family over to decorate and have chili and cornbread with apple pie for dessert. My grandma gives us an ornament each year and writes the year on them and my mom had all of the ones from over the years at her house. JB and I got our own silver and blue ones to match the house and then sprinkled the rest of the tree with the other keepsake ornaments:

(putting the first ornaments on)

(Time for the star!)

(We didn't have a skirt so I used the quilt my mom made that matches our house)

(Christmas Corner - my mom made the stockings too)
Ta-daaaaa! Merry Christmas and happy birthday to me!

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No Words

This is a conversation that transpired on the way to JB's work holiday party on Saturday when an old song came on the radio:

Me: Why aren't you singing along? I thought you liked the Backstreet Boys?

JB: This is O-Town.

Dammit I love that man.

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Final Thanks

I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to host my first thanksgiving with JB's fam. We watched football, shared stories, took pics and naps, and everything turned out great!



(the turkey before)



(after)



(the whole spread)









We timed everything just right. MIL provided the stuffing and sweet potatoes and we (I) did the rest. Maybe my family can join us next year!

I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday and hugged their loved ones!

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Giving Thanks #17

This little note from my boss' wife:

"P.S. You know, Tim thought very highly of you. He was very impressed with your work and maturity for being so young. :-)"

I really respected my boss and I never got to hear those words from him. It means more to me than she knows to hear that. I got her email this morning and started crying in the kitchen.

Giving Thanks #16

Life. Plain and simple. As you may have seen on facebook, my boss passed away this weekend. They believe it was a brain aneurysm. He was 51 years old. He left behind his wife and two kids, one in college and one a senior in high school. So sad. Not to mention all of the people here in our company and in the industry that repected him and looked to him as their mentor.

Apparently the big guy upstairs thinks I need a reminder every so often of how precious life is and how quickly it can be taken away. I can't say there are many people in my life that have passed away simply from old age or are in a better place because they had a terminal illness that kept them suffering for a long period of time. Everyone has just been yanked out from under me.

So today, I am thankful for life. Mine and those that surround me every day. My friends, family, coworkers, etc. I mentioned previously that you never know when someone will be gone so don't take for granted the time you spend with them or assume that they know how you feel.

R.I.P. Boss Man

Weekend Thanks

Sharks! Not the kind that eat other fishies and sometimes humans, but these kind:They have really made our lives better with their awesomeness. With almost half of our 2400 square foot house being tile, these puppies (er, sharks) really come in handy. The vacuum is JB's toy, but it's so much quieter than our old vacuum and the bare floor attachment and setting make my job much easier. The steam mop is mine and it is heaven. Trust this.

Giving Thanks #14

The Pigeons...
Remember when I posted about being thankful for my Honey Bunny? Towards the end of that post I mentioned how

"He surrounds himself with wonderful people much like him and I am glad to now have these people in my life."

Well folks, the guys you see above are the people I am talking about. Sorry girls, they are all taken...well, except the one down there in the middle that looks like JB. Message me if you're interested. :)

They used to simply go by "The Fellas" but somewhere along the way decided that wasn't good enough and figured they were more like a lodge of some sort (i.e. eagles, elks, etc) and figured the pigeon was a respectable bird (???). So, they now refer to their group as The Pigeons. The first Friday of every month is "Pigeon Night" and apparently one of these nights months ago was used to head to Picture People and take these AMAZING photos for Christmas cards.

LOVE

These guys and their wives are some of the most genuine people I have ever met. The women are all amazing to put up with these guys and with at least two kids each, are some awesome parents to boot. In addition to Pigeon Night, the ladies have the last Friday of the month to get together for "Ladies' Night" (original, no?) and every other month we all get together, including the kids, for Family Night. I feel lucky to be a part of this family and to have access to some great resources when the day comes down the road that we decide to start our own family.

Thanks for brightening my life and especially for kicking the holiday season off right! They should definitely get a prize for being the first holiday card in our mailbox.

Giving Thanks #13

My best coworkers. I think we can all relate to this one. At work you have those one or two peeps that you talk to multiple times a day, share lunches with, and share your "stuff" with. We see these people every single day, more often than our bestest of non-work friends and sometimes we share even more with them. I have gotten some fine words of wisdom and many hours of entertainment from these ladies and they help keep me sane when things get a little crazy within or outside of the office.

Giving Thanks #12

My home. Not just the house we have, which is more amazing than anything I ever thought I would be able to own myself, but the home we are building in that house. I love that we started building our home while our house was being built and that we will be there long enough to make so many memories there and maybe one day have a child that can make their own memories there as well. I am learning more and more that we should be really living in these moments we have right now since we have no one to focus on but ourselves.

I look forward to someday having the money to actually make memories putting in our backyard and filling the walls with pictures of our wedding day and our loving family that has helped us grow into the people we are today.

Giving Thanks #11

My Honey-Bunny-Lover-Face.

This man keeps me sane (while simultaneously driving me nuts)! His laid back approach to life is so different from my uptight, over-scheduled, OCD mess and that is exactly what I need. He really helps me to see that a sudden and unexpected change of plans is not the end of the world. It takes a while to apply that all by myself, but I am working on it. He helps me make time for me and although it goes completely against my nature, he makes me relax and assures me that whatever needs to get done will be there later for me to do.

Every morning he wakes me up by showering me with affection. Some days I find this highly annoying as I am not the easiest person to get out of bed, but I find it endearing none the less. He puts my ring on my finger every morning (that is, if I am up and ready before he leaves for work). He is affectionate and loving and has come leaps and bounds from his natural way of living after being a bachelor for 30 years. I know what this takes and I am very grateful.

Because of him I am better. I love that he is willing to put forth the work that a relationship requires and am so excited to be marrying someone like him. Someday he will be a wonderful father as he is a great teacher and a natural nuturer. He loves his mother and holds his work high on his priority list. He is ambitious and creative and honest. He surrounds himself with wonderful people much like him and I am glad to now have these people in my life.

JB, I am so thankful for you (and now you have this post to refer to when you need to remind me ;)). I love you!

Giving Thanks #10

Jeggings! I posted this on Facebook yesterday, but didn't get a chance to blog it. Because honestly, I can't blog anything on time. Oh well.

"What are jeggings?" you ask. Let's be honest, anyone who is reading my blog probably knows what jeggings (jean leggings) are. They are god's gift to women. Finally someone realized that jeans with an elastic waistband are too wonderful to only be enjoyed by pregnant women around the world. Stretchy denim with an elasitc waistband = comfort + style. Not to mention they hug your ass and fit inside boots quite nicely. I got two pair at Old Navy yesterday and I can't wait for casual Friday so I can wear them to work. They will be my best friend for the holiday dinners I have to attend this year because they will expand with me instead of digging into my waist and causing discomfort.

Jeggings = LOVE

Weekend Thanks

My super central location. It's amazing to live in Sacramento and know that just a couple of hours east is the beautiful Lake Tahoe. People come from all over the country/world to ski there and I can drive there for the weekend. Also, a couple of hours west is San Francisco and Napa. One of the bloggers I follow is from Dallas, TX and she just spent her honeymoon in Napa and SF. I get to go there for the weekend (and sometimes for work). People come from all over the state to go to the state fair (not sure why) and I am just a 20 minute drive away. I live about the same distance from the airport, which makes traveling very convenient. I'm only an hour and forty-five minute flight to Las Vegas and San Diego and Seattle. And just an hour and a half drive from the beautiful little town of Chico where we just spent a lovely weekend.

I really love it here.

Catching Up On Thanks

Whoever would have thought I would fall behind on a daily blog posting? Shocker! So, from Monday to today, here we go:

California weather - where else can you get mid-high 70's all week and then low 60's and rain on a lazy Sunday? Not to mention a winter where I rarely have to wear an actual coat.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes - This is only a recent favorite of mine and I have to get only 2 pumps instead of 4 because it's too sweet for me otherwise (I normally drink Skinny Hazelnut Lattes). It's like drinking a warm cup of fall. :)

Planning and organization skills - This is helping me to keep a level head while planning my own wedding, our winter event for work, my SIL's baby shower, and being a MOH to my good friend, Tiff who is also getting married next year. I love doing this kind of stuff.

Facebook - I know this sounds lame and I know some of my friends have said the same thing while giving thanks, but it really does make it possible for me to keep up with people from all different times in my life. I have reconnected with elementary/middle/high school peeps, as well as being able to keep up with members of my family who are in a different part of the state or country, along with friends in other countries. It really is great.

Okay, I think I am all caught up for the week. I will post a special one tomorrow. It deserves its own post. :)

So Professionale

Got me a sexy new computer bag for work:




On wheels:




Oh yeah, oh yeah!

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