Surprise!

My friend Emily surprised her mom and flew back from Texas to Iowa for Thanksgiving. Here is a link to the post she wrote about it on her blog- I literally cried when I watched it. I want to see MY mom! Emily is awesome and her family rocks! Watch and try not to cry! Anybody who misses their family will appreciate this one.

http://francygirl.blogspot.com/2008/12/noise-of-year.html

More Iowa Comments

Today in the office we were talking about state capitals. One of my coworkers asked the other how he was with his state capitals and he said "proficient". I asked the state capital of Iowa (naturally) His response:

Cedar Falls.

WRONG.

My other co-worker guessed Iowa City. Well, if you lived in the 1800's, then yes- Iowa City would be the right answer.

They were stumped and one of them goes "We've named the two cities in Iowa- that's all there is, right?"

Granted, they said this jokingly but still- yikes!

Funny stuff.

A Very Happy Thanksgiving

So we went to Boulder for Thanksgiving break and got to spend 4 days with the Clark's. It was so awesome seeing our family and amazing spending time with our niece and nephew. They are such awesome babies and we LOVE them! Here are a few pictures that I managed to forward to myself from Graham and Marie's camera (since I forgot my camera- argh!)

They are both wonderful and very different. Ryan is constantly in motion- a little bundle of smiling and adorable energy, whereas Audrey is this sweet, calm, thoughtful looking little girl. It's so much fun being an aunt! I love them and their awesome parents who are really amazing to me- they are awesome mom's and dad's! I can't wait now for my third niece/nephew coming in July!! This time it will be a Brummer- hooray!

4 Days!!

Yay! I can't wait until Thursday! Actually, I can't wait until Wednesday night! Justin and I are driving down to Irvine on Wednesday night to stay at the Marriott near the Orange County Airport (thanks to my brother for the hookup!). Then, Thursday morning we are flying to Denver, CO to spend Thanksgiving with the Clark's! I can't wait to see everyone and to meet our niece for the first time!

We also booked our plane tickets this weekend for our Christmas trip- we are going to be in Iowa for 10 full days! Yippee! I can't believe it is only one month until we go home- time is flying by right now!

In completely unrelated news- I am a new fan of the show Alias. My friend Marissa loaned the first season to me when I was recovering from surgery and I am almost done with it. I'm going to be sad when it is over! It is REALLY good! Justin laughs at me because everytime the theme song plays I do a dance and make my "dance face" which he's not fond of (he can be heard saying "don't make the face!") apparently it's not flattering. What can I say- that's my face when I'm being moved by the music. :)

Survey Says:

1. Any nickname ? My parents and brother call me "Sis" or "Sissy" or "Sissywissy" (as in sister, b/c my brother used to call me that when he was little). Some of my friends from college call me "B" as in Brummer- my maiden name.

2. Mother's name? Cheri- pronounced "Sherry"

3. Favorite drink? Diet Dr. Pepper

4. Body Piercing? Just the ears- my dad pierced them for me!

5. How much do you love your job? I don't love it but I'm learning to like it! :)

6. Birthplace? Iowa City, IA

7. Favorite vacation spot? Hmmm- well anytime I have "vacation" I go back to Iowa City- my favorite place! But as far as a real vacation I would have to go with a cabin on a lake- maybe northern Wisconsin, Minnesota or Michigan in the summer?

8. Ever been to Africa? Nope

9. Ever eaten just cookies for dinner? Yes. And breakfast. More times for breakfast than dinner- because cookies are quick!

10. Ever been on TV? I don't think so...

11. Ever steal any traffic signs?? No

12. Ever been in a car accident? Yes, but nothing serious and nothing since I was 16. My husband on the other hand...

13. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? Always 4 door.

14. Favorite pie? Not a huge pie-lover. I mean, I'll EAT pie, I just don't really have a favorite. I really like Key Lime and French Silk though.

15. Favorite number? 5

16. Favorite movie? Hard to choose but the first one that comes to mind is The Fugitive. Oh, and A Chorus Line...and The Sound of Music..

17. Favorite holiday? Probably Halloween? I sometimes get depressed around Christmas (I think the songs sound sad and decorations make me depressed when I'm not home with my family) and I eat too much on Thanksgiving. And Valentine's day is totally commercial.

18. Favorite dessert? Well, I'm not at ALL picky- I do like Ben and Jerry's "Chubby Hubby"

19. Favorite food? Baked macaroni and cheese with Frank's Red Hot Sauce....or maybe brie and crackers w/ a glass of wine...or chicken caeser pitas from Chili's.. or breakfast burritos! Man, I like food. A combination of exercise and my husband is all that is keeping me from weighing 400 pounds!

20. Favorite day of the week? Friday for sure. Fitness Friday at work- two hour lunch to play sports- and then Friday night!

21. Favorite brand of body wash? Seriously?

22. Favorite toothpaste? Crest all the way. Justin likes Colgate- too bad for him.

23. Favorite smell? Fresh laundry (between the washer and the dryer)

24. How do you relax? A glass of wine works well!

25. How do you see yourself in 10 years? Hopefully raising kids somewhere in the midwest with my professor husband- Dr. Clark! :) **But hopefully sooner than 10 years**

26. Furthest place you will send this message? I'm not going to send it- I'm going to blog it!

27. Who will respond to this the fastest? Well I'm guessing Megan will be the first to comment... or maybe my mom?

28. Favorite time of day? Depends on the day, but whenever I'm finally able to stop and relax!

Weekend

Friday night we went and heard a reunion show of a band that some friend's of ours used to play in. The band is a Christian rock band called "She Said No" and they played at a club downtown called "Velvet Jones". Here are some pictures:

Here's Kim- rocking out:

Justin and I:


JoAnn, myself and Katherine:



Then on Saturday night we went to a party for Kim's 40th birthday. It was an 80's theme and I'm not ashamed to say that I won a prize for the best 80's costume!

Sweet scrunci, right? The funny thing is that I looked like an 80's pre-teen. But I think it's fitting since I was just born in 1980 after all!

You KNOW You're Getting Older When....

So if you know Justin at all you know he is a basketball player. He's been playing basketball forever- starting out against his older brother in the backyard games, through highschool, and then as a favorite pass-time in college. He hasn't slowed down a BIT in this area. When we lived in Michigan he played in tournaments with an AWESOME team of guys that he met there, but it's funny how each time we move he has to get the lay of the land and figure out where the good games are and sort of "prove" himself on the circuit.

So this year he's starting to get the pattern down- when people are playing, where the good games are etc. There are a few undergraduate kids that he's been playing with who didn't realize that he was a grad student and 28 years old. They were fairly shocked by the fact that he is 28, married, and....

wait for it....

...DOESN'T HAVE A CELL PHONE.

I think the cell phone thing is what makes them think of him as "older". Incidentally, this week when they were playing he was knocking down three-pointers and after he hit a 3rd one in a row one of them shouts "Old Man River does it again!" Nice.

SLOOOOWWWW DOWN

It's funny that my last post - 12 days ago- was about being so busy. That night I woke up in pain at 11:00 and was sick all through the night. When I still couldn't keep any food down or relax at ALL because of the pain the next morning, I decided to head to urgent care to get some advice. Their advice was to go to the emergency room! I ended up having surgery that evening (an appendectomy) and staying the night in the hospital! Nothing slows you down like having surgery!

I am so thankful for my wonderful family and friends! Justin was awesome- he was with me the whole time and missed a lot of school and work time (between Thursday and Friday) but he did a great job of taking care of me. Then my mom flew out on Saturday to help out- mainly to keep me company while I was resting and recovering. It was amazing to see her- I feel so blessed to have such an awesome mom that would fly across the country to be with her daughter after having her appendix out! Trust me- I know I'm BLESSED beyond my wildest dreams!

I also had amazing friends here in Santa Barbara that came and visited me in the hospital, brought us dinner, sent us flowers, books, and movies and blessed us with their prayers. Justin and I are so thankful that we have that kind of support so far from home.

Anyways, I finally got to go back to work on Thursday and I would say I am 85% at this point- still sore and I have to take it a bit slower than usual but I can tell that every day is better. I'm just thankful that they figured out what is was and took it out before it became more serious.

So, that's why I haven't blogged much lately- I've sort of been out of commission and then trying to catch back up with life- which incidentally does NOT stop just because you have surgery. We had a crazy busy weekend that I'll blog about soon...

Phew! Busy week! I have to say I was VERY glad to gain that extra hour on Sunday- it enabled me to grocery shop, do laundry, go to volleyball practice AND Sunday school and Church! The downside is that it's nearly dark at the end of my work day which makes me very sleepy!

It's been a bit of a whirlwind week so far- volleyball Monday and elections yesterday (we went to an election party to watch election coverage) and then we have homegroup tonight, a Young Life dinner tomorrow and a 5th/6th youth event at church on Friday (wow, I just realized that we have something EVERY night this week- yikes.) I like being busy to a point but this is crazy hectic! Looking forward to some downtime this weekend!

Lately I've been missing our time in Michigan more- oddly enough (sorry Michiganders!). I mean, before I was missing the people that we knew there, but now I'm sort of longing for the Michigan days when I was teaching and when we weren't so busy and got more time together (Justin and I that is). Don't get me wrong, I love all of the activities that we're involved with here, it just gets a little nutty sometimes!

Dorothy's!

Thanks for the pictures, Double! The first one is of Hannah and I- both Dorothy's. The second is of Rebecca and I. Rebecca was much more interested in having her picture taken that evening for some reason- she kept suggesting it to me which I found to be very cute! It's all about the Dorothy costume....

Pumpkin Mania

Ok, so anyone who has read my blog for over a year now might remember the elaborate pumpkin contest that takes place at my work. This year was NO exception. I present for you the winners of "Best Use of Pumpkin", "Scariest/Most Humorous", "Best Overall" and "Honorable Mention" (because it got the most total votes but they were spread out in each category).

First we have Diane's pumpkin-gumball machine. I think the coolest thing about this is that when you put in a penny and turned the crank it dispened pumpkin seeds! So cute!

This next one was Christine's. I'm not sure what was scary/humorous about it- I think there was just a consensus that it deserved a prize. This picture is really good considering this whole scene took place inside a big cardboard box- you had to look through a hole in the box to see the scene. Very cool.Next we have Ray's. Never one to disappoint Ray did another movie theme (if you remember, last year his pumpkin was the boulder in a scene from Indiana Jones- it had a MOTOR for pete's sake!) but this year was Jaws. Again, complete with soundtrack. Do you wonder why I didn't make an entry? Intimidating!

This next one was Melanie's. A very cool dragon- the pumpkin is the head. What you can't tell from the picture is that it was hooked up to a smoke machine and so smoke was coming out of the dragon's mouth! The funny part is that Melanie dropped the smoke machine on her way in and it wasn't working- so Troy (IT pro) was in the process of fixing it (seriously, they can fix ANYTHING!) and accidentally set off the smoke alarms! Good times. The good news is that he got it working and saved the day for Mel who had put so much work into it.

I think it's worth showing Nathan's as well- he didn't win any awards but his was interactive and I was hearing cheers from his office all day as people played his "pumpkin bowling" entry. Very impressive:

Like I said, I didn't submit an entry (I couldn't think of anything creative- I mean, these people are SERIOUS!) but I DID dress up in a costume all day, so that should count for something, right? And yes, Megan, I DID have ruby slippers. I'll post pics of the costume when I get them!

Flashback Friday

Flashback to Halloween 2005- my first Halloween as a Dorothy when I was teaching in Union City. You can see in the background a witch and a tinman!

This Halloween I went as Dorothy again (different costume since the first time I borrowed from my roommate at the time.) We went to the Sugano's (homegroup leaders) for dinner and their daughter Hannah was Dorothy too! I'll post pics of that later (I didn't have my camera so either David or Donna is going to email me the pics). I have to say I thoroughly enjoy being Dorothy every time- today I was Dorothy all day and there's just something about it! More Halloween pics from today to come as soon as I get them from friends....(hint hint!)

Check out this email exchange between one of Justin's students (in his Phil I class) and Justin:

Hello,
I was sick earlier this week with the unidentified virus from the DLG and as such I missed the discussion. I was wondering if we found out what we got on our midterms, what we went over, and if we did anything that I would possibly need to do outside of class.

Sincerely,
(Removed name to protect the innocent)

**Ok, first of all- unidentified virus? What on earth is the DLG?? That can't be good!**

Here's Justin's Reply:

(Student's Name),

Hope you're feeling better. I won't return the midterms until next week, I'm in the process of finishing them as I write. In discussion on Tuesday we discussed the Cosmological Argument, and some objections to the argument, etc.
Next week we will discuss the problem of evil, so make sure you've done the reading.

Other than that, the only homework I've assigned was for everyone to prove once and for all whether or not God exists. Have that ready by Tuesday. Good luck!

justin

I read that and thought- wow, I'm glad I'M not in that class! What an assignment!

So, I get home and we're eating dinner tonight and I brought up the email to joke about this "unidentified virus" and Justin's all "Yeah, did you see what I told him his assignment was?" HE WAS JOKING!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Just when you think that Philosopher's don't have a sense of humor. This poor kid is going to be spending his Halloween weekend trying to prove- "once and for all"- the existence of God.

I love it.

Monday's Fabulous Moment of the Day

Volleyball! Well, we lost but we played MUCH better this week than last week so it was a lot of fun comparitively. Major props to Marissa who got blasted in the face and didn't shed a tear- seriously hard core. I mean, it hit so hard that NO ONE was even laughing- everyone looked shocked- that's how hard it hit. The guy who served it felt SO bad! Good thing she's tough! I think just the shock of it would have made me cry!

Work was good too- all in all a good day. I went to a cardio-kickboxing class after work and I am going to be SORE tomorrow! I realized that I have zero abdominal strength which is probably why my back hurts all the time, so maybe kickboxing and pilates would be good for me. So much to do, so little time!

Halloween coming up this weekend- can't wait to be Dorothy! There's NO place like home!!

Another New Favorite

This is Glen Hansard singing "Say It to Me Now". We originally heard this song on the movie Once which he stars in- if you haven't seen it it's a really good music movie- I bought the soundtrack on ITunes as soon as it was over! I love this clip of him playing it live- he plays the socks off of that guitar!

Yay! I figured it out!

So I finally figured out how to post video on my blog. I figured being that I work at a software company and do tech support all day long, I should be able to figure this out! Here's a live performance that I actually referenced in a previous post of Jaymay- my favorite performer from the Hotel Cafe Tour that we saw at Soho a couple of weeks ago:

Flashback Friday

Shout out to my bro- I can't believe I'm posting this b/c it's totally un-flattering. But it's a fun picture of us back in our show-choir days. This would be my junior year in high school (age 17 for me) and Aaron's 7th grade year in Junior High (age 13 for him).
Yikes. I'm not sure this is what was intended by Flashback Fridays but I think it's character building so I'll go with it. =)

You know better alright...

A couple of weeks ago Justin and I went to a live show at Soho downtown with David and JoAnn. It was the Hotel Cafe tour- a tour of all female artists- some played acoustic, some electric, some piano, some with a house band. It was a really good show- I especially enjoyed the songs by Jaymay- you can check her out here singing "Blue or Gray" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx89Eng7rRo.

Then there was Meiko. David and JoAnn really liked Meiko but I wasn't a huge fan- she has this sort of strange way of contorting her voice to get a certain sound. BUT I was warming up to her during her second set. Then she shared this story with the audience about how she was BEST friends with this guy and then she met his girlfriend and his girlfriend was all jealous of her and she had NO IDEA why because they were JUST FRIENDS and she was all sad because it ruined her friendship with this guy.

Boo hoo Meiko. You're shady.

But that's not even the half of it. She then proceeds to sing the song that she wrote about the situation. Here are the lyrics:

When I first met you I knew you were the one

till you took me home and met her

she had your boxers on

she was listening to your song

and i thought right then that you had everything

But i knews he was jealous from the start

yeah i knew she was jealous from the start

Cos i know better not to be friends with boys with girlfriends

oh i know better than that i know better

you play the victim and i'll be the bad guy

i know better than that, i know better(oh oh oh oh oh oh X2)

We started hanging around after 9

i couldve sworn you i was yours

you looked at me and said

its a little too late for bed

we went to hopesal and talked about everything

But i knewshe was jealous from the start

yeah i knewshe was jealous from the start

Cos i know better not to be friends with boys with girlfriends

oh i know better than that i know better

you play the victim and i'll be the bad guy

i know better than that, i know better(oh)

What she did to us was tragic

oh oh ohand i have to do what's right

oh oh oh what we had was really magic oh oh oh

but i have to get what's mine oh

i don't get what's mine and you get yours

Cos i know better not to be friends with boys with girlfriends

oh i know better than that i know better

you play the victim and i'll be the bad guy

i know better than that, i know better(oh)

You should have seen JoAnn and I- jaws on the floor. Women all over the room pulled their boyfriends closer to them.

Yeah. You know better alright.

Oh yeah... the Blackhawks.

Conversation between Justin and one of his students:

Student: So, you probably just want to be a Philosophy professor, right?
Justin: Yeah, that's the plan. I have a few years left before I get my PhD and then I want to teach at a University.
Student: Oh, so where did you do your undergraduate?
Justin: I'm from Iowa- I did my undergraduate at the University of Iowa.
Student: Ah, yeah. The Blackhawks.

Riiiiiight.

Monday's Fabulous Moment of the Day.. or not

So, I was going to copy Emily again and do a "Monday's Fabulous Moment of the Day" post- the idea is to fnd something- anything- remotely resembling fabulous and post it for the sake of the Monday. But...I had a perfectly mundane Monday at work and then Monday night I was a big fat crabby brat (sorry to my volleyball team for that!) so there were no fabulous moments to blog about.

I guess I wasn't feeling like myself- does anyone else ever experience that? Times where they just don't feel like themselves? It's weird. It's like, you KNOW you're acting unlike yourself, it's almost like you're watching it happen, but you lack the energy or even the desire to stop. FYI to anyone who is feeling that way- prayer helps!

So, today I am feeling much more like myself. Instead of a "Monday's Fabulous Moment of the Day" post I will do a "Totally Terrific Tuesday" post.

So, a little over a month ago I got an email from the Performing Arts director at one of the Santa Barbara schools. The email said that she had obtained my resume (seriously, my resume is apparently making the rounds around this town!) and was looking for a vocal coach for her show choir. Being that I have a full time job, I replied saying that it sounded like a lot of fun to a midwest girl who grew up in show choir, but that I would have to decline. Her response was that she was very disappointed as she too, is a midwest girl (from Iowa City) and thinks we could have worked well together.

That's right, she's from Iowa City. Exactly 5 years ahead of me in school- she was in the exact same choirs that I was in in high school (4th Ave!!). Long story short, I took the position and I've worked it into my lunch break 2-3 times/week. It has totally proven rewarding- it's a choir of Junior High girls and it's great. It's funny- after a few months of not teaching how invigorating it is to get up in front of a choir and sing with them. I always thought I would hate teaching Jr. High but it's actually really cool- they're at that age where they're just starting to consider the possibility of being really talented singers and I get to be the one to build them up and show them how- so fun.

It's also an enormous ego boost- I won't lie. I won them over the first time I sang for them and it felt awesome. It's not exactly bragging- I have a degree in vocal performance, it would be embarassing if they weren't impressed.

So, my "Totally Terrific Tuesday" moment was during warm-ups today. I was talking to the girls about posture and and how important it is because of the fact that our instruments are in our bodies and we need energy to use them. I was demonstrating how when we shift our weight to one leg or another it requires more energy to stand, and therefore you have less energy to sing, which is why we need to be balanced. They asked all sorts of great questions ie. Why can't you sit? Why can't you hold your hands behind your back? etc. We tried out all of those positions and they came to the conclusion that the neutral posture that I was advocating really did take the least amount of energy- which left the rest of their energy to focus on singing. Yay! Teachable students!

So, one of the girls has her hands raised and says:
"Two things- first, I love those shoes. Second, why can't you have your hands on your hips?"

Seriously. These girls are awesome. Flattery will get you everywhere.

The Best Kept Secret

I am reminded on a fairly regular basis that people outside of Iowa frequently don't know much about it. Now, I can't get mad or upset about this because of course there are places in this country that I don't know much about. What is funny is how many comments I hear about Iowa or even the midwest in general from Californians especally. In Michigan, people had misconceptions, but in California it's like people think Iowa is on a different continent. I guess to them, it might as well be. What drives me bonkers is the superiority complex. I know everyone reading this is thinking- well, duh! It's CALIFORNIA. But that's what is so annoying!! Get over yourself California!! :)

So I thought I would start recording some of the funny and even the not-so-funny things people have said pertaining to Iowa and/or the midwest since I moved out here.

1. Pretty much any time farming or any other rural experience comes up people say "well, you're from Iowa" as if that makes me an authority on farming and rural life. OH! That's right! I forgot that being from Iowa means I must have grown up on a farm! In actuality, I've never milked a cow, I've never detassled corn, I can't even keep a house plant alive! City girl here!!

2. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE Iowa City. We were at the beach here in Santa Barbara one day and I chased down a couple who were wearing Hawkeye shirts just so we could chat about Iowa City. The friends we were with thought I was a LUNATIC but anyone from Iowa knows that the couple I chased down were MORE than excited to talk Iowa City with a fellow Hawkeye. My friend Marissa said "If I moved to a different state and I saw someone with a UCSB shirt on, I don't think I would go up and start talking to them." The more I think about that comment the more I realize that most people would think it was weird thing to do. The beauty is that anyone from Iowa City or anyone who calls themself a Hawkeye knows that it was the furthest thing from weird- it's like a family, and we LOVE a good reunion.

3. One of my favorite comments is from a co-worker- "I don't think I could live in Iowa because I wouldn't want to have to wear a cowboy hat all the time."

4. Another one from a co-worker was when someone was talking about Ohio and mentioned something about their trip being boring. A co-worker of mine commented "Yeah, but that's pretty much the midwest". Oh BROTHER.

5. Of course there are the requisit responses from people out here when you say you're from Iowa-

"Oh! Potatoes!".... nope, that's Idaho

"Oh- the Buckeyes"... nope that's Ohio

C'mon people. Iowa. The University of Iowa. Big 10? No? Wow.

My parents had me convinced when I was looking at colleges that a Big Ten school would carry some weight wherever I went- at least with name recognition- over a small private school in the midwest. And for the most part, that's been true- except in California.

6. Perhaps the funniest one was at a barbeque I went to this weekend. To protect the innocent I will leave names out of it:

Friend A: Do you want kids?

Me: Yeah I want kids.

Friend A: Are you trying?

Me: No, we're not trying.

Friend A: If you want kids, why aren't you trying?

Friend B: They want to wait until they can be closer to family.

Friend A: Where's family?

Me: Iowa

Friend A: Well what are you waiting for? Get yourselves back to polygamy town and start having babies!

Really? Polygamy town? Are you sure you aren't mixing Iowa up with another state that you consider inferior? Say, Utah? That was a first for me. And, incidentally I'd just like to point out that that comment came from a California NATIVE. It's stateism.

BUT I guess I have to consider myself a statist if I'm going to call these people out because really, Iowa is the best. And as my mom says-"That's just fine- they can go on thinking that because we don't need them. Iowa City is the best kept secret in the midwest." I agree mom!

Audrey!

Yay! Time for some Audrey pictures! Graham and Marie came through and took some great pictures of their new little bundle:

Notice in this next one the dog, Maya, looking at the camera like "You used to take pictures of me!" It cracks me up because the look on her face is so pathetic!! I just imagine her little dog mind thinking "Boo-hoo, poor me!" I am sure that Maya is VERY well cared for, I just think the look on her face is like that of an older sibling- like, who is THIS and when is she leaving??


Now this next one is my absolute FAVORITE. In fact, I am planning to get it printed and have it framed to hang in my home- that's how much I love it. The looks on Ryan and Audrey's faces are so priceless- they look like a crabby old married couple! This picture is on the background of my home and work computers and everytime I see it it makes me giggle.

I love being an aunt!

Flashback Friday!

My friend Emily started doing this and I thought it sounded like a good idea....so I'm a big fat copycat and have no original thought. But it will still be fun!

In honor of Emily, this flashback Friday takes us back 10 years!! 1998 City High School Concert Choir trip to Washington DC! In this first picture you'll see that my fashion choices (especially the sun glasses- seriously, Lennon much?) haven't always been so...ahem, inspired. ;)



Next we have Emily and I eavesdropping through the wall in our hotel room. I have no clue what we were listening to but I will tell you that this habit has not gone away for me...just ask my husband!

Next takes a little explaining. While in Washington D.C. someone decided to buy a Star Wars Storm Trooper mask/helmet. Below you will see Jesse wearing said helmet. But below that is what made me laugh out loud as I went through these pictures and was reminded of this- Our friend Chris, wearing the mask, and totally seriously looking over some random ladies shoulder as she looked at a map of the museum we were in. It's too funny and so Chris!

Thanks for the idea Em! We are praying for you daily- thanks for the inspiration you are, even through your blog!! Happy Friday!!

Time Flies!

Wow, over a month since I have last blogged. Seriously. I'm obviously not taking it very..well, seriously. What's funny is that I finally decided to blog again b/c there is this one blog that I stalk and this blogger has not posted for 10 days and I'm sitting there criticizing this person in my head, like "Come ON, are you serious? Still nothing new to post? Some of us are WAITING to be entertained by your blog here!"

Hi, my name is "Pot". My hobbies include: calling the kettle "black".

So fine. I'll blog. Not like anyone is holding a gun to my head or anything, but I'm tired of being a hypocrite, so here I go.

First of all - hugely exciting news: I am an aunt TWICE OVER now! Graham and Marie had their little lovely daughter, Audrey Ellen Clark. I have only seen one picture which Marie posted as her profile pic on facebook. So, don't think I am favoring Ryan or anything, because since I have NOT met my sweet baby niece yet, I have not had a chance to take pictures of her in person and therefore I am at the mercy of her parents when it comes to pictures! But, one is better than none, and I know the new mommy and daddy are very busy with their new little one and company in their new house so I don't hold it against them!

Presenting, my very first niece, Audrey Ellen Clark:

Isn't she beautiful? I think she looks like her mom! I can tell we're going to get along. She likes sleep- I like sleep. She likes hoodies- I like hoodies. We're practically two peas in a pod.

In other baby news- Abby, Kyle and Ryan came out for a visit last month! We had a VERY good time- I can't believe how much he grew in two months! It was so much fun having them visit. They are very easy and fun visitors. Unfortunately I couldn't take any time off of work. But, here are some photo highlights from the trip:

Ryan in the Clark Jacuzzi (aka our kitchen sink)

Hangin' on the beach:

Testing the waters with his pops- apparently he really liked the sand on his barefeet!

In the parking lot of Dodger's Stadium:

I'm not going to lie- I loved every second that I got to hold that sweet little boy and I loved carrying him in the baby-carrier- I can't wait to be a mommy someday! Abby and Kyle are amazing parents- so laid back and yet totally competent and in control. I'm glad I get to see my two lovely sister-in-laws be mom's first because I am sure I am going to learn a lot from them!

Need a good laugh?

My blog probably hasn't given you many these days, but this one certainly will. It's hysterical!
http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

WE LOVE IT HERE!!

Well we're into Family Housing at UCSB and we LOVE it! It's so big and open inside. It's by FAR the best apartment we've ever lived in. The best part is that it's going to be GREAT for all of the visitors that we are expecting.

Speaking of visitors, I haven't blogged yet about Aaron and Megan coming to visit. We had a really great time with them- they are TOTALLY easy and fun guests. We introduced them to our friends David and JoAnn and I'm pretty sure David and JoAnn like them better than us now! We took them all around Santa Barbara- East Beach Grill for breakfast, State Street, Farmer's Market, Stearn's Wharf, wine country (actually the did that on their own one day when I was at work!). Actually when they were in wine country they bought us a bottle of Pinot Noir and told us to save it for a special occasion, and to share it with David and JoAnn! So, Aaron and Megan, FYI we opened the Pinot Noir this weekend to celebrate our new place, and David and JoAnn both helped us drink it!

All in all I think they had a pretty good time and we were glad to see them. I hope they come again... especially now that we have a bigger place and can accomodate their visit better!

Next up: Abby, Kyle and baby Ryan coming in 3 weeks!

You Don't Live Here!!

Funny story- we were still at our old place until this past Saturday. So, Friday night we were in bed and all of the sudden we hear something smack into the screen in our bedroom window (about 2 feet from where I was laying in bed). Justin looks up and sees a cat clinging to the screen staring down at us! Let's just say it's a good thing that I am blind as a bat and couldn't see it because I probably would have screamed. Justin said later "I have to admit, his little cat face scared the heck out of me!"

So Justin gets out of bed and shoo's the cat off of the screen. It jumps to the ground and meow's at him and as Justin stares through the screen, the following conversation ensues:

Justin: You don't live here, punk.

Cat: Meow

Justin: You don't LIVE here, punk.

Cat: Meow

Me: (giggling in bed)

Justin: Yeah, you don't LIVE here, punk.

Cat: Meow

Justin: Yeah, I better stop talking to you... punk.

Cat: Meow

Me: (hysterically laughing now)....and again, even as I write this, hysterically laughing...

We Had a Break-In!!

We arrived home from Iowa (it was hard to leave) to discover our apartment had been broken into. The burglers left a note... well more like a banner... welcoming us home... ok, these weren't ordinary burglers, they were actually our friend's Stacey and Marissa and they made us feel VERY loved by creating and then hanging this awesome banner:

I had to include this close-up because they referenced my blogging habits! :)

This big banner reminded us what we were coming home to. I had been a little depressed about coming back from Iowa and this banner totally cheered me up and made me feel VERY loved. It's so awesome how God provides family for you, even when you are so far away from your "technical" family. But that's not even the funniest part. So I was thinking- "Oh, they probably got the spare key from our neighbors, and that's how they got in to our apartment" I went on thinking this for two days and then I found out that no, they didn't actually get the spare key, they BROKE IN BY REMOVING THE SCREEN AND CLIMBING THROUGH THE PARTIALLY OPEN WINDOW!! Seriously, burgler style. Wow, do I feel safe! :) I probably wouldn't include these details except that I know that we're moving this weekend to a second story apartment.... Stacey and Marissa better invest in a ladder for next time! :)

DAVENPORT

Wow, what a trip. My inlaws were in their beautiful new home- it was our first time seeing it and we were impressed! It's nice and big so it can accommodate all of the extended family and it has a big yard for lots of croquet action! There was even room for us to set up a frisbee-golf-esque game that I was TERRIBLE at! But of course the main event in Davenport was meeting our very first and brand new nephew, Ryan! Abby and Kyle's new baby is amazing and Justin and I are completely smitten. After a rough couple of first days in the world (he had a bad case of jaundice and had to go back into the hospital for a couple of days) he is the coolest, cutest, awesomest baby in the world (of course until Audrey is born, and then there will be two coolest cutest awesomest babies!)! We loved being a new aunt and uncle and seeing Abby and Kyle in their new roles as parents. They are awesome (just as we knew they would be!) Here are a few pictures of our beautiful nephew:

We got to go down to Bix-fest and we ran the Bix and we spent tons of quality time with the family. I also got to go to my sister-in-law Marie's baby shower- so much fun seeing all of the cute stuff she got for baby Audrey! I can't wait to be an aunt two times over!

All in all we had an awesome trip home and can't wait to go again! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family to go home and visit!

Back to IC

I know I'm not going to do my trip justice here on my blog. Our trip back to IC was awesome- exactly what the doctor ordered!! I am so blessed to have such amazing parents that at the age of 28 I can suffer from SEVERE homesickness. It was so awesome to see my family and spend quality time together. Eating, talking, playing games, going for walks- we made every minute count! We hit Brueggers 4 times!! Yay for bagels! Here's a little picture to give those of you who have never been to Brueggers a visual:

We did a little touring of the flooding damage which was CRAZY sad- the arts campus was completely destroyed. The music and art buildings aren't even going to open this fall-they're holding all of the art classes in the old Menards building- weird.

I also ate delicious Mexican food at Carlos- here are some pictures of our dinner at Carlos' with my fam:

We basically spent a lot of quality time with the family. My mom, Megan and I went for pedicures- they were quite a bit less eventfull than the pedicure in Santa Barbara the week before (thank goodness) but always good fun. I greatly enjoyed sleeping in an air conditioned house (thanks for that Mom and Dad!) We celebrated my birthday early with delicious homemade pizza (compliments of my Dad and brother) and red-velvet cake (compliments of my sister-in-law Megan) Being the food lover I am, I actually took pictures of this delicious birthday food:

The trip was everything I hoped it would be. I miss my family like crazy but I feel like we're in the place we should be- we just shouldn't wait so long in between visits next time!!

Let's go back...

It's sort of sad when you're the kind of person who blogs and you find yourself with pictures on your camera from over a MONTH ago and you think... where do I even begin? I think I've actually been putting off blogging, in part, because I am overwhelmed by the amount of pictures and stories that have been building for the past month. I don't consider myself a procrastinator, and I think that it's only fair to point out that I have been LIVING these stories and photos and therefore have been too busy to get them on my blog....but that wouldn't be entirely true. I think the volume has been daunting and so, even though I could have found moments here and there to post, I have been putting it off. No longer. Here we go...

Starting with my dear friend Katherine's bachelorette party. Sad fact of the matter is that now that I'm getting to blogging about it, she is already married!! I think that it's still blog-worthy though, especially since we took pictures! :)

We (Katherine, JoAnn and I) started it off right by going for pedicures at this cute nail salon called Aquabar. The salon is super cute and they have themed pedi's like "Peachy Pedi" and "Choco Pedi". Super cute. So we go in for our Peachy Pedi's and everything is going well when this lady sitting near the window decides that she can't stand to watch this dog outside who has gotten himself all tangled around the picnic tables outside Panda Express, and she heads out to let his owners know about their distressed dog (the owners are inside Panda Express, apparently ordering). You would think this would illicit a "thank you" or maybe an "Oh no!" but instead it illicited screaming and extremely inappropriate name calling. This lead to an all out girl-fight between the salon receptionist (who was sticking up for the lady who stuck her nose in, albeit not in a harmful way) and the 17ish dog owner girl. You can probably picture Katherine, JoAnn and myself, feet in tubs, eyes wide and jaws on the floor...not your typical pedicure setting, but not entirely without entertainment value....

After pedicures we went to JoAnn's to get ready (this is half the fun, especially when you are friends with JoAnn and Katherine b/c JoAnn is a hairdresser (and an amazing one!) and Katherine is an artist with the makeup.) Lots of girly fun ensued (even though Katherine will not like me referring to our fun as "girly").

Once we were ready we headed downtown to Pascucci for a delicious Italian meal. Here are some pictures of us at Pascucci:

After Pascucci we went over to Dargan's for a bit and then back to JoAnn's to watch wedding-themed movies! All in all it was a great bachelorette party!

Cousin Noah!

Last weekend Justin's cousin Noah was in town camping with his girlfriend and her family and friends. We met up with them at the campground about 10 minutes north of Santa Barbara. Noah was an usher in our wedding but we haven't seen him since we got married! It was good to see him and fun hanging at the campground. Here's a pic of the three of us: