GIVE ME A MOMENT TO COMPLAIN.....

Take a look at this picture of the brain - see the little colored area, that's the pituitary gland. If you read a previous post, you know I have a lesion on it which has caused havoc on my body.



Here's where I'm complaining - Can you believe something so little can cause so much trouble!!! I'm sick of it and I'm wondering if I could just make a small incision in my head and laser the lesion/growth off!! I've been taking Parlodel for four months now and I've had some side affects - not sleeping as much, a crazy appetite, I can't get full. I'm hungry all the time. If I don't eat, I get headaches and shakes - it's like I haven't eaten in a week which is why I've gained like 100 pounds in three months! Everything seems to be in overdrive....and I do mean EVERYTHING!! (My husband hasn't complained yet!!) haha!!! Too much info??

Anyway...I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago and he put me on another med to try to counter some of these side affects. I took them together last night and today I've been soooooo dizzy, major headache, throwing up, sweating like crazy - even though today is our first wonderfully cool day in a while, and I'm so stinkin' sleepy. I called my doctor and the pharmacist. I'm not supposed to take them together - in fact the pharmacist said, "Oh my gosh - you should NEVER do that," in this frantic tone. I'm supposed to take them at least four hours apart if not more.

So I'm just a little grumpy because I'm tired - I'm tired of dealing with it, I'm tired of taking one med to try and shrink the mass, bring prolactin levels down, and make certain organs/systems work appropriately. Then I take another pill to try to keep side affects from happening so extreme from the first pill.

I will probably be on Parlodel the rest of my life. The lesion/mass could eventually become dormant in my head, but that can take three to ten years. If that ever happens then I can go off the meds. But for now, it looks like I'm in for the long haul of med taking. YUCK!!!!! If I take the Parlodel too late at night and get up early, I'm dizzy and weird feeling all day. I hate this medication - it's running and ruining my life!! Yes, I'm a little dramatic right now - I know, but that's what I'm feeling now. Plus, it makes the blog entry much more interesting, don't you think?!

I know I shouldn't complain. There are people out there who suffer a lot more than I do from things much more serious and life threatening - I'm just having a pity party tonight and thought I'd invite you all in with me!!!

Thanks for coming!!

HOT HOT HOT NIGHT AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL

We went to the Hollywood Bowl Sunday night to Movie Night. Every year they host a movie night with a different theme. This year it was the history of Paramount Pictures. The orchestra played theme songs and original music from several of Paramount's biggest movies. While that was going on we were seeing clips of the movies on huge screens. Leonard Nimoy was the host for the evening and since my husband is a geek boy who likes Star Trek, he was very excited about this!!

It was a really fun night, but sooooooooooo hot. At intermission we all stood up to stretch and relax and it was actually pretty gross - we all stunk!!! :-) Thank goodness some people behind us left and we spread out - that actually helped a lot. But it was still an enjoyable evening. I love going to the Bowl - and I love sitting right in the middle and seeing the Hollywood sign right above it on the mountain side!


If you squint, you can see the Hollywood sign at a distance!!


This is us doing the picnic thing before the concert. Lots of people had the same idea, so we found a spot behind one of the buildings on the grounds. We all brought something and contributed to the meal - we had a hodge podge of food - the only way to have a meal!!! :-)

The best (and only way to me) to get to the Bowl is via the shuttles they offer. We made it home in less than an hour - that includes the trip back to the parking long, and the drive home! No traffic, no waiting for the parking lot to empty, etc. We were saying next year we are going to invite as many people as we can and fill a shuttle!! How fun would that be??!!

TAKE THIS QUIZ - HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW ME!!

I'm not sure what the rule is for copying other blogs - but I'm doing just that. This quiz is floating around and I've taken it a few times on some of my friends. Now let's see how you score!!


http://www.quizyourfriends.com/quizpage.php?quizname=070830171610-810360&

My Sleeping Simon

How cute is my cat?! He has never been one to jump on the furniture, but in the last couple of weeks he's decided he likes our sofa table. He sits on the bottom and watches TV with us or as you see here, naps!

August is also Simon's birthday - but I knew if I did a special Birthday Blog for Simon like I did my parents I'd probably get razzed (DonnaG) because some of my friends don't like cats (DonnaG)!!!

When we moved to California in 2000 we had a cat, Lucy and a dog, Gracie, but had to leave them behind since we were moving from a house in MO with a big back yard to an apartment in CA. Wasn't sure where we'd end up. So Gracie went with my sister and Lucy is with Grandma and Grandpa Williams (aka Darren's parents). We hadn't taken away Lucy's woman power yet and she gave birth to a couple litters. When we were home in October of 2001 Darren surprised me by letting me bring Simon home. Simon had to have papers to fly and enter California, so Darren took care of all that. How sweet was that!! Simon was such a little fluff ball and traveled really well - except for the small bout of diarrhea on the plane coming home that Daddy took care because I was too busy laughing hysterically and gagging!! Why didn't we bring Lucy you ask?? She liked being outdoors and had adjusted to the MO weather and was very happy where she was. She's still with Grandma and Grandpa and I get to see her everytime we go home.

Simon is a cat - through and through!! Stubborn, demanding, stuck up one minute, loves me the next!! Yes, I respond to his every meow!!

This afternoon I had Simon's friend Gwenivier (sp??) over - the cat next door - and they shared an expensive can of fancy cat food in celebration of Simon's birthday!

LIFE CENTER CHURCH FAMILY CAMPOUT

We headed up to Big Bear this past weekend for our annual church campout. We were really blessed with great weather - nice cool days and even cooler nights!! It was high alert for fires, but they did let us have them, so everybody got to sit around the campfire and have their smores in the evening! We did have a little rain yesterday and it was soooo cool! It was getting darker and darker, a little windier, thunder rolling. It rained a short time and then it was over, the sun came back out and it was wonderful!

I love the campouts because people come together - it's more than us passing each other in the foyer of church for a quick 'hi' on Sunday morning. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to camp at the site because they didn't have electricity (can't sleep without my CPAP!) - so we rented a house on the other side of the lake from the camp grounds. But we did spend time at the campground during the day and evening and watched people help set up camps for the others - people sharing food - people making themselves at home at others sites - kids playing with each other - parents taking a break and going for a walk/bike ride leaving their kids with other adults and not having to worry about them. While we were all having our picnic lunches around noon on Saturday Dan and Terri got a call from Dan's mom that his dad had passed out and was on the way to the ER, his blood pressure was 60-something over nothing - the bottom number of his BP bottomed out. It was pretty serious. He asked that we pray and we all stopped what we were doing and gathered around to do just that. Then the 'family' kicked in. Pam and I told them we'd take the girls while they drove to Riverside to see his dad (who was helping family move in the Riverside area), Darren handed over our GPS, and Ron, Darren, and several others went to work on their camper, zipping it up, etc., preparing for the rain and Dan and Terri headed down the mountain. It was so awesome to see the family pull together like that. We took the girls into town and spoiled them as best we could, arcade, shopping, and junk food!! We got a call that his Dad was conscious and alert - praise the Lord. Then we get another call - he may need to stay a day or two for observation, but he's fine. Praise the Lord again. And then came another call - He's going home!! A HUGE Praise the Lord!!!!! We were so thrilled to get that call. We were in K-Mart and we stopped right there and we thanked the Lord for healing Brittany and Brooke's grandpa.

So that's why I love the campouts - our family comes together in so many ways!! Below are some fun pictures!!


This is all of us being spiritual - some of us are raising our hands in praise and some of us have our heads bowed in prayer!! Are you convinced?? :-)


Group picture of the campers!!


Here we are this morning - Sunday morning - at 'church.' Pastor George did a quick devotion - it was short and sweet, but really good! He had people share about what they were thankful for, for the weekend - it was great to hear the blessings - "laughter," "more bonding," "renewed friendships" "prayer in time of need" "helping first time RV campers set up." Very cool!


We rented a pontoon boat and spent part of the day on the lake - here's one of our sailors at the end of the day!


Captain Brooke guiding us through the waters!!


Have you ever seen a floating outhouse?? We were joking as we were coming up on it that that's what it was, then we pulled up next to it and oh my gosh - a floating outhouse!!! How fun is that??!!


Here's a group just hanging out!!

A great time had by all!!!

Happy Birthday to my Mother!!

A couple weeks ago I blogged about my dad since it was his birthday, Friday, the 24th is my mom's, so now it's her turn to be loved via the internet!!

While my dad contributed to my humor, silly side, I've definitely got my mom's emotions. I also inherited from her side my bra size!! You should see some of my aunts - holy cow!! :-) Too much information?? Maybe, but it's true!!

My mom was the 'song leader' at our church for years and years. We didn't grow up with music ministers or music pastors - but I guess if we did, my mom would have been one. Even at 69 her voice is still strong when she sings. People always requested her to sing. Her song of choice - as well as that of the congregation's - was a song about meeting her Master. Every time she sang that song she herself was moved. My mom has always been very passionate about her Lord Jesus. Of course I do remember a time when I was pretty young that she walked off the platform and started a "Jerico March," and over half the church joined her, singing and praying around the church. I remember sitting in my pew thinking she was a crazy woman - what the heck is she doing!!! haha!!

Mom always loved me, my brother and sister and hardly a day went by when she didn't tell us. She always let us know when she was proud of us. Now she's that way with her seven grandkids. My 22-year-old nephew always pops over for grandma to iron his shirts before he goes out. My younger nieces and and another nephew like to go spend the night and play dominos with her all night! She makes sure there's something to drink in the fridge and popsicles in the freezer and usually a candy dish full of something!

I love going home because even at 41 she still treats me like the little kid I once was - and yes, I totally take advantage of it!! I LOVE it!!! :-)

So have a great day mom! I hope when you read this you have received your gift I sent!! I Love you MUCH!!

MY SUPER FUN NIGHT WITH SOME OF MY GIRLFRIENDS!!


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Tonight I went and saw Mama Mia at the Orange County Performing Arts Center with six of my friends - Pam, Carol, Renee, Missy, Teresa, and Robin - I'm sure most of you know who they are without last names and know they are a fun bunch of gals!

We started out the night complimenting each other about our great hair, great blouse, great shoes, you know, those things our husbands don't always do!! We had a GREAT time being girls. Before the show we giggled, laughed way too loud, talked inappropriately at times (that only you can do with friends!), and ate too much at dinner WITHOUT talking about how many calories or fat grams we just consumed! And Missy was taking pictures throughout the night capturing all the craziness!

On the way home Pam's Sequoia was blaring with more laughter and more inappropriate conversations!! Good thing tomorrow is Sunday - we can get our religion back!! I felt like a goofy teen again. It was great just being with girlfriends for a night of fun, food, and theater! We don't drink, so we didn't have any alcoholic beverages, but we were joking that if we did can you imagine how much more loud and obnoxious we would have been!!

Some highlights - that the girls didn't believe I would post!!
*As I was fluffing my hair in the restraunt bathroom, a girl said to me she really liked my curls and hair and then winked at me. I think she was flirting! I grabbed Robin's shoulders and followed her out and said, "I'm with her." I probably should have flashed my wedding ring - but no, I said I was with another girl!! What was I thinking??
*Robin sat next to a guy who "copped a feel" on a body part located in the upper region as she sat down. But from the looks of the guy, we think she's safe!!! :-)
*We were taking pictures of us on the elevator - not wanting other people to get on -in the mirrors. We then pushed the "open door" button so long that it started buzzing and security was heading our way - so we ran away laughing hysterically!!
*There were mirrors all over the bathroom, so we took pictures in the bathroom - weird, huh??
*The big finale was awesome and we were on our feet dancing and swaying to the music!!! In fact, for about three songs, the seven of us (and the three questionable gentlemen next to Robin!) were the only ones in the upper levels standing.
*But the best part of the evening - we all went home and . . . ("dot, dot, dot")
(if you saw the show, you'd get the dots and probably smiling about now!!)

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE????

Yesterday I went to my local grocery store and I bought about $67 worth of groceries. After all my items have passed the scanner I hand the check out girl my $10 off a $30 purchase that I got in a mailer. Great. Then I hand her an $11 off coupon that I earned there...one of those that's attached to your receipt. She says very sternly, "You can't use two coupons like this." I showed her that neither one of them stated "cannot be combined..." She kept standing there arguing with me about it. Again, I take the coupons and show her there's nothing that says I can't. Then she hits the big button for my total. I then said, wait I have one more. It was a 5% off coupon. She literally threw her hands up, looked at the screen and said, "You saved over $26 with the club savings, had $21 in coupons and now this. You are going to get over $65 worth of groceries for about $20." I go, yeah, I love when that happens. I actually got $67 worth for a mere $18!! Very exciting. When her drawer opened she slammed it shut, ripped of the receipt in such a way that it was pretty obvious she was mad. I even looked at her and said - as they do at Seattle Grace - "SERIOUSLY?" You would have thought I was taking the money directly from her pocket. Maybe I am, I don't know - maybe the more coupons used the less employees make. I'll have to check with my friend Greg who is in the grocery business. This same lady does not like me anyway. I crossed the picket lines a few years back when the grocers were on strike and she called me names and even stood in front of my basket so I couldn't get to my car. Then when they went back to work she told people who were standing in her line about me - and how that long time customer (me) forced them to get back to work. I try to stay out of her line, but unfortunately that was the only one open at that hour.

Then today I'm going for another MRI scan. I have new insurance because of Darren's job change. I don't have my new card so I hand them a piece of paper with all the pertinent info that Darren got from HR. Again, the attitude. I explained the situation and when I handed her the paper she goes, "now I'll have to re-enter all your information." Then kept looking at me. I guess she was waiting for me to say, "Oh, sorry, nevermind, I'll just write you a check for $2000, I won't bother you with my insurance." Isn't that her job?? She collects the info and enters it? I mean "SERIOUSLY."

Maybe it's the new computer age we live in, we just don't have as much people contact as we used to and it's affecting how we are with human beings. I'm just asking for a little common courtesy!! Is that too much to ask for??

REMEMBER WHEN THINGS WERE SIMPLER??!!

As many of you know I'm married to a computer freak/geek!! He's constantly upgrading us to the latest and greatest things - always reading about things, and for fun he likes to take a computer apart and put it back together again!! I guess that is his adult version of Legos!

Well, I wanted to listen to my Hairspray CD the other day - I just got it, was so excited to start singing "Good Morning Baltimore" and I had to put the CD in a box, d/load it, burn, export it...something like that. I couldn't figure it out and of course I was getting mad. You see those little black boxes in the above picture - that's where it's supposed to be stored...I don't want to store it I WANT TO LISTEN TO IT RIGHT NOW!!! You are supposed to put the CD in the little white box - which I did - tap around on the keyboard and then it somewho gets to the little black boxes! Darren comes home and I told him I wanted a CD player. Needless to say this techno crazed husband of mine was flabbergasted. Why on earth would I want a CD player when we are surrounded by computers with music capabilities, etc. Whatever, I just want to hit the play button and be done. Like I said, it was a 10 step process that I have yet to understand on the computer.


This is what I want - place the CD on top, hit the play button and begin my song and dance around the house!! :-)


This is the hub of our house. It's where everything comes together. He was installing a new phone the other night so I had to take a picture while the front was off. Good thing I couldn't get to all those wires the other day - I'm thinking I might have cut a few of them!!! Do you see why I want my battery operated CD player!!!

IT'S MY DADDY'S BIRTHDAY!!

Wednesday, August 8th is my Dad's 74th birthday! It's days like this that I wish I lived back in the midwest. I miss being home to do the birthday cake thing, hug and kiss him and tell him I love him. I always try to beat my two siblings and call both my parents on their birthdays first - you know, so I'll be the favorite for that day!! But it's not the same as being there.

I have a lot of my dad in me - I have his sense of humor for sure! He's quite the troublemaker and I do love causing trouble!! When he was working, he would walk into the office full of women secretaries and say a very simple statement, "Did you hear about Bob?" Then he'd walk out. By the end of the day some rumor had developed about Bob and it would come back to dad. He would say, "I didn't say anything, all I asked was did you hear about Bob?" That drove the office girls crazy. My dad worked at that place for like 30 years and he was so believable that even after all that time, he could still stir the pot! I like fibbing like that too! Dad and I both feel the same way about doing that to people - if you are that gullible, time after time after time, then you deserve to be taunted and messed with!! :-) Dad and I would walk down the mall with him holding on to my arm as if he was blind - then if someone walked up close to him and looked at him he'd 'boo' them. Then we'd crack up. Yes, we are terrible, aren't we??!! But so much fun!!!! He's a bit twisted, but that's why I love him so much!

The thing I remember most about my dad growing up was every morning before he went to work he sat on the edge of the bed and read the Bible. I can still remember what the bed spread looked like when I was a teenager and walking past the room seeing him reading. Dad, and of course my mom, made sure we were in church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night and a lot of times in between!! Both of my parents were raised in Christian homes and they made sure they raised their kids the same way - I'm very thankful for my Christian heritage. I'm thankful for my Dad's mom, my Grandma who I miss very much, but I am very thankful I spent so many summers with her, going to church and watching her read her Bible too!!

I love watching my dad interact with his seven grandkids - he loves being a grandpa. My heart aches that I have been unable to give him an eighth grand child - as I would so love to see my dad cradle my baby and draw on his tummy with a marker!! (He did that to my sister's four kids and it drove her nuts!)

My Dad is a cool dad. He's a White Castle hamburger lover, bread and cheese sandwich eater, amazing grandma, great father, and twisted old man!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy - I love you very much!!

P.S. To all of you out there who live close to your parents - go visit them often. Don't take the short distance for granted, you are so lucky!

Not much going on at the Williams....so here are some pretties!!

This is one of my favorite 'bushes.' It's so bright and purple. It's been blooming nicely all summer!

My father-in-law made this beautiful bird feeder for my birthday and sent it to me! It's quite fancy and looks great in my backyard. To the right of the picture is my kitchen window so I can see the birds eat in the morning and evenings. Plus, the roof matches in the kitchen cabinets - so it flows nicely!!! Darren's dad is quite the creator/builder - show him a picture and he can build it!

Here's a picture of one of my favorite flowers in the back yard - so pretty and bright. These blog sites just don't do the colors justice.

Wider view of my pretty pink flowers!

Again - the blog doesn't show how truly beautiful this small tree is. Really pretty purple/pink flowers blooming. I can't wait until it's in full bloom!! Holly and Mark Deojay got this for me last year for my 40th birthday and guess what - it's still alive!!! :-) Unfortunately I can't say that about all the other plants I got. :-(

So when I said nothing much going on - I meant nothing is going on! Here is Simon lounging in the back. He just couldn't muster the strength to open his eyes!!

While Simon is relaxing outside, Darren is relaxing on the inside!! Can you tell by the look on his face he's wondering what the heck I'm doing taking his picture right now?!

It's been a few days so I thought I'd better throw something up on my blog, so now you see what's going on at 6:15pm on a Monday evening at our house. What am I doing you ask? Not relaxing - just threw some laundry in the washer, flipped the mattress, cooking supper, going through the mail, separating bills, etc.; getting my hair cut/colored later this evening - maybe tomorrow Darren can take a picture of me relaxing on the couch!!!

Sometimes Life Throws You for a Loop - Thank Goodness the Lord's Holding on to the Rope!!

I have written this blog entry about a dozen times, only to take it off. I'm not good at articulating - without this being a HUGE entry that will take hours to read!! I'll try again and maybe this one I'll actually leave up! Darren and I have a testimony that I want to share!

In the middle of May Darren was flown by his company back to St. Louis (headquarters to Maritz, the company he worked for) for a meeting. A meeting he was told was a budget meeting. He was told that Thursday morning that the company was eliminating his position. So I guess in a way it was a budget meeting - they were taking him out of the budget! He had been with Maritz almost 12 years. He immediately called me and both of us felt like we had gotten punched in the stomach. We were expecting it to happen eventually, just not so quickly and not without some kind of warning. His client - Nissan/Infiniti - moved their headquarters to Tennessee, so Maritz set up shop there too. So Maritz began reworking positions, etc. Darren's position is being redistributed to a few people, some in St. Louis and some in Tennessee. Darren stayed on until June 15th. We only told four people - sorry if you are just finding this out. Darren's pretty private and didn't want a lot of questions.

Instead of a rambling entry, I'll give you the highlights and let you see how God was in control and as always, kept us in his perfect timing.

What I did: 1) Cried; 2) Upset tummy; 3) Had a brief moment of panic; 4) Worried because we would lose our insurance at the end of June. Bad timing because of my pituitary gland lesion. I'm currently still undergoing blood draws, doctor appointments, MRI scans, etc. Cobra was going to cost us almost $1000 a month. Holy Cow! 5) Worried because we still had one large remodel bill to be paid - afraid we'd totally drain our savings; 6) Worried because we still had some small items to purchase for the house; 7) Worried because what if Darren didn't get a job before his severence ran out; 8) Cut coupons (which I do anyway), said we can't do or go anywhere, no more Sunday lunches with the gang, no more movies...no more this and that; 9) Cried a little more; 10) Ate my worries away.

What Darren did: 1) Prayed about it, and left it in God's hands; 2) Told me that we will live exactly as we always have, nothing to change, we'll trust God; 3) Told me that we have been faithful our entire marriage in giving of our tithes, offerings, and missionary support, God will provide.

What God did: 1) Provided us with 3-1/2 months severence; 2) Darren had 4 weeks vacation and only used one at the time, so he got a check for 3 weeks unused vacation; 3) We received a check for about $1100 for overpayment on our escrow/tax account; 4) Our last big bill of our remodel was less than we thought it would be; 5) Darren was contacted by a headhunter BEFORE he knew about him losing his job with Maritz about a different position - it wasn't a good fit, but they had another position for him, he interviewed, he got the job; 6) There is no 60 or 90 day waiting period for medical coverage - that is pretty common - it begins August 1st! Perfect timing as I have more doc appointments/blood work a week from today!; 7) We will be receiving paychecks from Polk as well as still receiving Maritz severence for a month and a half - which allowed us to take a nice week off and enjoy ourselves (aka - shopping!!).

Yesterday was Darren's first day at Polk as a Senior Customer Development Executive. Polk is about 3 miles from our house. No more long hauls to Marina Del Ray for client meetings, commuting to Torrance. I keep telling him he's gained the gift of time as well! Darren was able to be off a couple of months with pay and not once did he look for a job. He was contacted by the headhunter, went through a series of interviews and that was that! How many people do you know that have been able to have a couple months off with pay to do with it what you want - as an adult?? I don't know many. He got to work on the house, relax, have meetings at church during the day for the Sanctuary Renovation team, etc.

I hope you see my heart and not "see how much money we have..." - I just wanted to show that God totally took care of us - even though I continued to worry and didn't completely trust him like I should. Even when we got that surprise check from the bank for over payment of escrow - you would have thought that would have been a big faith boost, huh?!

Darren has always worked in the corporate world and he was always honest and stood up for what he believes. Many times he was standing alone, but he did it! I believe God honored that. He allowed Darren to be off a couple months, regroup, gave him a job without him having to go out and hunt for one, and Darren got a nice boost in salary! Again, I'm not trying to sound like I'm bragging - just trying to show how God honored Darren's faithfulness! I'm really proud of him!!

All these things happened in God's timing!! A quick side bar on timing - My friend Pam Cherryholmes was in the area within minutes of me getting Darren's call - she wasn't supposed to be. Her son had asked her to go somewhere with him, which he usually doesn't do. She went and made her way over to the office, took me to lunch and gave me great words of wisdom and scriptures. A very calming voice for me - I was so appreciative of that! God knew what he was doing that morning 'lining everything up.'

So it seems I have rambled after all and left a LONG entry - sorry for that! But hope you were blessed by what God has done in our lives!

TWO OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE!!

This is Brittany and Brooke Erichsen - two of my favorite people in the world!! They read my blog and I included their dad's name in an earlier entry and they wanted to be on it too - so here you go girlies!! Let me tell you a little something about my friends. Brittany is hysterical, always laughing and has quite the sharp tongue! Brooke is quieter, but has her funny moments! She's got the cutest little giggle. They were at my house last weekend for a graduation party, so we took a few pics. Check out Brittany's huge green earrings - those are mine that I gave to her, without asking mom - oops!! She wore them for the party and Sunday at church - we both have such great tastes!! I love these girls - two of my favorite people!

MORE SAN FRANCISCO PICS!

This is Monterey - Darren took this picture and likes it - and so do I - as it shows so many different blues. The blog pic doesn't do justice.

More of Monterey and seals! I wanted to jump out in the water and swim with them! I even stood on the side of the dock making seal noises trying to get them to come to me. That's probably about the time Darren walked away!! :-)

Okay, so posting pictures is making me crazy and I'm going to stop messing with it - sorry! So don't look at my display of pics, just look at the pics themselves!!

This is one of my favorite places (see the three photos above this) in San Francisco. You need to rent the movie, "The Bachelor" with Chris O'Donnell and Renee Zellweger. It's a few years old, but it was filmed/located in SF and there's a scene in the movie where Chris and a priest are in a boat floating around in this pond and he realizes then he loves Renee - the priest says something like, "Welcome to the other side." So I made Darren kiss me in front of the pond!! It was so romantic, me telling Darren to tell me he loves me and then kiss me!! :-) We walked all the way around and it was so beautiful!

We had a really nice time, got to see Carmel, Monterey, San Francisco and a few things in between. We had about a 30 mile drive to catch the 5 on the way home and it was so pretty - so much farm land. I felt like I was driving through Illinois. Corn and cows!! Boy, I do sound like a midwesterner, huh?! Darren and I felt really blessed to be able to take a few days off and rest, explore and just be together! It's beautiful up there and I can't wait to go back!

OUR SAN FRANCISCO TREAT!!!

We had a great time! I LOVE San Francisco - I love Northern California! I'm so glad we drove instead of fly, which was our original plan. We got to see and do a lot more at our leisure, which is always nice.


We stayed at The Drake, which was just remodeled this year! It was perfectly located in downtown SF. We were able to leave our car and pretty much walk everywhere. We were right in the middle of the action and I loved it! Of course we did the trolly car and buses. While on the trolly we met some people from Illinois, which always excites me. They were from Chicago, but knew the small town where I grew up in. It was fun talking with that couple for a while.

We did a ferry cruise out on the bay and here's Darren with the Golden Gate Bridge behind him. I was actually glad it was kind of cloudy/overcast with the top of the bridge covered - that's what I think SF is, so it felt like we were truly there in their true state! Notice the tourist sweatshirt!! I got one in a different color that matches!! We are such dorks!

We went to Ghirardelli Square and had the 'famous' Ghirardelli hot fudge sundae. It was a really cute area and certainly didn't lack for chocolate - obviously. I love little 'soda pop shops' like this one. I really wanted to sit at a round table and even though I lingered and stared down people who were finished, they didn't leave so we had to sit at a square table. I know that sounds silly, but I wanted to sit in the middle of the ice cream shop at a round table - I was wanting the full experience!! Again - dorky tourist!!

Here is Darren on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. We had dinner at the restaurant that sits high and overlooks it. The sun was starting to go down, so we got to see the sunset there, very cool. Darren loves golf, so this was a high for him. Plus we had to make the obligatory tourist purchase, a Pebble Beach shirt and some golf supplies!!

This is along the 17 mile drive - a beautiful drive for sure. I went even further out on the rocks - I really wanted to go out almost into the water to see if I could cross over to the large rocks actually out in the water, but I couldn't find a good way to get there. I could have sat there all day and just watched the water. It really does calm me to just sit and look and listen. I want to buy a house along this 17 mile stretch. It's perfect - beach on one side and a wooded area on the other - can't get any better than that!! I'm thinking if we could sell our house for about 12 million, then we could do it!! Know anybody who wants to a buy a house on Hackett for 12 million?! :-)

We went to the Monterey Aquarium. That was very nice. We actually enjoyed learning about the history of the building more than the fishies! We now know everything there is to know about sardines!! We can catch them, prepare them, and can them for you! This is an otter - they are currently having a focus on otters and I love otters. My first high school play was the fall of my freshmon year, I played Portly Otter in The Wind and the Willows - so otters have a special little place in my heart! Plus they are so darn cute and playful!

Here are are along the 1/101. We took the coast route up on Sunday and it was amazing. We got to see the sunset as we were making our way up! So beautiful - how can people not believe in a glorious God who can create such beauty??

I love this picture as it shows the water with the clouds hovering and the sun above the clouds - minutes before it went down. It's worth the drive up just to see a sunset.

TAKING A BREAK!!!

We are currently in Carmel exploring northern California this week!! In need of a much needed break and with Darren starting his new job next week, we decided to take this week and explore! We had dinner last night on the 18th hole of Pebble Beach. Darren was very excited!! It was amazing - absolutely beautiful. I did find some properties within the famous 17 mile drive that I want, we will be going to the bank upon return to see if we can get that 25 million dollar loan!!! Today we are heading up to San Francisco for a couple days. I'll tell you more when we get back and post some of our great pictures! They aren't Dave Peeters quality, but they are beautiful!!! :-)

MORE PICTURES OF OUR HOUSE!!


This is Darren's bathroom - he tiled the bathroom himself - even the shower. This was his first time and I was very impressed! He did a great job!

Darren picked out the colors and tile. When he first mentioned brown I wasn't sure, but I love this bathroom! It's a small bathroom, but now we have two and that's a good thing!

We have been trying to find pictures, or something to put on the wall, but my metrosexual husband is being picky!!

I tried the frame without pictures or glass thing. What do you think? You can't tell by the pictures, but they are different colors of gold, different textures, etc. I need to play with it a little more. I'd like to find some round frames.

This is what we did with our chest - put it in our closet! It's a great piece, but it's just too big with all the pieces in our bedroom, so we reworked the closet. It's not that bad. Maybe someday we'll have a master bedroom where we can have all our furniture out!!

A different view of our bed - in the corner you can see a picture that needs to be hung - it's a really pretty picture - can't wait to see it on my wall, it's going to go great!

A different view of our bedroom -The frame thing, too many, not enough, where should I add more??

A little darker view - sorry - I'm not too good at picture taking.

The baseboards are down now, just one more room to go - the guest bedroom. Then we'll begin the job of putting up the crown moulding. Darren is finishing up retrimming all the doors in the house. We are hosting a graduation party this Saturday so it's been our kick in the butt to get the house done as much as we can!! I've been playing in the backyard - I'll take pictures there when I'm done. Again, trying to do a Home and Gardens kind of backyard on a Wal-Mart budget, but it's not looking too bad!

TOO MUCH PIZZA HUT!!!

We were busy working on the house tonight, so instead of stopping to cook (which I had a meal planned out already) I just decided to order pizza! It was easy, didn't have to stop and cook and clean up and I had a coupon. The Pizza Hut delivery girl shows up and she was talking about the progress we have made on our house and how from the outside it looks beautiful. She said, "I have been here many times over the past few months and you guys are doing a wonderful job."

OH MY GOSH!! Apparently we have ordered a little bit of Pizza Hut pizza over the past few months. So much so she has slowly seen the progress of the remodel. She remembers "when you didn't have any walls and your house was empty."

So once we are finished I'm thinking of having the Pizza Hut delivery girl over for a home cooked meal so she knows that I can cook!!!

THIS MAY BE MY LAST BLOG....

...because when Darren comes home tonight he's going to kill me!! He went to see a boy movie tonight, so I decided to clean my stove. On one side of my stove top is a grill - which I love because I can cook meet the healthy way, make paninis, etc. I disconnected the burner part of the stovetop and it slipped from my damp hands. There are two pointy, prongs that fit into the gas line that gouged my knee....my bad knee. OUCH!! I couldn't grab hold of the burner and it fell to the floor. On my new hardwood floors - not redone, not resanded, not restained - new ones, courtesy of Dan Erichsen (so don't tell him!). I bend over to pick up my piece of stove top and what do I see...a chunk...a small chunk of my floor. The pointy prongs not only gouged my knee, but my floor too. I'm thinking I'll run to Target before they close and get me a kitchen rug for in front of the stove!!! What do you think??

Actually Darren doesn't get mad. He may get frustrated, but not mad. He's been putting down baseboards today...maybe I'll blame HIM!!!

UPDATE: Darren comes home, I start out with "I have to show you something, but it was an accident." I showed him and he goes, "it's going to happen, the floors' going to get wear and tear marks." Then he proceeds to show me three places where there were scratches. I don't know why I thought he would get angry - Darren doesn't do that! All is well!! Although I may still go buy another kitchen rug!!!

APPARENTLY I'M OLD!!!

Last night was my first night working with Pastor Matt and the junior highers. I recently stepped down from Kids Church and since I can't not work in church, I decided to assist Matt when he asked me to come on board with the Junior Highers.

I was standing there listening to the girls talk as we were hanging out before service and they are listening to music. I asked who they are listening to, "You won't know them, it's a group for people our age." Then another says, "Yeah, for our generation." I made the mistake of asking, "Do you think I'm old?" Five girls all looked at each other with a smirk, "well, yeah, kind of." So I thought I was still young and hip, but apparently not. They named half a dozen groups and I didn't know any of them!

I did learn....
*It's cool to walk around with your friend listening to your IPOD - sharing earphones. You can't hardly walk and keep bumping into each other, but it's so cool.
*The words "my bad" are so last year.
*Swweeettt is on it's way out as well.
*Christian punk music is the best music EVER.
*Boys with long hair swept to the side - like Zac from High School Music - are so hot.
*Starbucks coffee is so 'whatever' - but "Frappicinos rock."

I also learned...
Some things never change! Girls still giggle together; boys still act like they don't care yet can't take their eyes off the girls!!

I had so much fun last night - we are having a big sleepover at my house in September to kick off the new year, I'm sure I'll learn a lot more then!!