This one IS mine

moar funny pictures

I found this in my neighborhood.

oh how I wish it was mine

I'm just not this creative, but I wish I were:

FaceBook Gripe Update

It turns out that I'm not hated but more importantly, I have been schooled in how to turn that "shiz" off!

I'm so very excited that I don't have to read about Greg's Farkle Adventures anymore!

I can spend my time on things of value like "Good Grammar Is Hot!"

The Good Grammar site is funny because I so often get it wrong, but love the snarky comments from the English teachers that have gathered together there. Lord help you if you create a national advertisement and use the wrong form of the word "too", "to" or "two" or don't quite have the "their", "they're" or "there" mastered. In the interest of full disclosure I should mention that I am aware that I have an issue using apostrophes and commas incorrectly. I am trying to work it out.

I would never have the guts to do this but here's an example of Grammar Nazi's going a tiny bit too far. The poster of this picture used her own window chalk to correct the spelling of "You're" and then graded the message, giving it a C-. It is mean and yet funny.

FaceBook Gripe

FaceBook is a fun way to keep up on the goings of friends far and wide. I certainly like it more than Twitter, but I find myself checking it multiple times a day...(obsessive much?) and each morning when I check in I can tell who my friends are who play games late into the night.

Facebook has a fun set of games but when you play them they display your "accomplishments" on the pages of all your friends - it is VERY irritating.

Today I posted a possibly passive aggressive note asking if people knew they could go into their settings and turn off the updates on each game. I'm sure I'll be VERY unpopular today and that no one will actually do it, but it would be nice to not have to wade through people's stupid Farmville crap to get to the important things like who is stuck in line at the bank!

**End of Rant**

Passive Aggressive

In the past I have been known to be slightly passive aggressive, slightly being a nice way of softening my memory of "Bitter TP". Had I been a slave in early America I would have been the princess of the work slow down and maybe hemming the master's pants a tad bit shorter on one side than the other. Small, evil things to bring me joy in a joyless situation. Now, nothing in my life actually compares to the Slave scenario - I'm quite aware of that thank you very much.

This passive aggressive nature of mine is one that I've worked hard to put behind me. Letting it go was part of the TP transformation that has taken place in the last few years. Deciding to be a genuinely happy person was step one. Step two, taking control and so on.

TP 2.0 isn't without her faults, she still has evil, diabolical thoughts and is still quite capable of whining about the most unimportant things. In spite of my continued humanness I am making an effort to be a good and kind person.

A couple weeks ago I posted an entry about a "Lost Friend" and the impact was far wider than I expected. The friend, who I was sure wasn't hitting this site anymore, read the post and reached out. We had a meaningful discussion and found common ground and for that I am very grateful. I am embarrassed that instead of having the guts to just email or call and say "what gives" that I shared my thoughts with "the world" (here) and that it didn't really occur to me that it might be hurtful. My friend didn't say I caused injury, but if the roles were reversed, I'm pretty sure I'd take issue with a public airing vs. direct confrontation. Confrontation being a much stronger word than is necessary, but in the end it was my friend who showed greater character and reached out to me to say "what gives?" (Again, thank you for being the better friend in this situation!)

The other impact was that I've started to get emails from OTHER dear friends asking, "Oh my God, is it me!?" After reassurance I am getting asked very directly (and rightly so) "If I do offend you, please let me know directly and not on your blog."

I hereby promise to take greater care and to not conduct personal emotional business online.

My post wasn't intended to do anything but to work out what I was feeling but I see how it looked and felt differently. For that I'm sorry.

Back to regular business.

For the record, I do have a customer service bitch-fest brewing in my brain, but in light of the Haiti and friend situation it seems wrong and ill timed. I do have enough perspective not to bitch about a couch for our game room that is 6 weeks overdue when almost a million people are living in tents because their (sorry to say it but, already shitty) homes were destroyed.

Monday

Another nice weekend has come and gone.

Let's get the love stuff out of the way so we can move on. I returned home from San Jose Friday and was greeted with roses, steak and wine. Nice husband! Contrary to popular belief (on facebook) there was no cheating announced nor was there a purchase of a motorcycle or a new computer. This was just my guy being my guy.

Saturday we puttered around the house and managed to open 6 more boxes that have been tucked away into closets. This leaves us with just a few, and many of them are paperwork from years gone by. We are told there will be a "shred" day and we'll bring our aged tax returns and receipts to that super fun event.

Saturday evening we met Doug & Chelsey to view their beautiful new kitchen (remodeled in less than 1 month from demo to completion) and then out to celebrate Jas' birthday. With the handy Costco gift cards in hand (for $79.99 you get two $50 cards) we enjoyed a fun dinner at el Gaucho. Thankfully there was no throwing up on my part this time. I did shy away from the 12 ounce steak but loved my scrumptious prawn and scallop dish. Doug, however, is a MACHINE. He was strongly urged not to get the table side New York strip for two, weighing in at 24 ounces, and instead gobbled the Porterhouse Chop, which weighed in at 24 ounces. WHAT!? Seriously, it was incredible - he ate the whole thing and I'm sure could have gone back for more. He is the guy that steakhouses with the 72 ounce steak challenge hate. You know, eat it in an hour and it's free... he has the certificate from a place in New Zealand to prove it was no match for him. The thing about Doug though, that will piss you off is that he's not huge guy. I mean, he's not a Daddy Warbucks huge dude - he's a healthy looking dude who can EAT MEAT. Impressive.

Anyway... yesterday we put the light blocking shades to work and slept in, skipping church. Then we ventured out to a movie (Sherlock Holmes) which I'm sure I'll get shot for saying was so so. Then we finished our LOST season five marathon and had a home cooked dinner.

We are putting the final touches on the event Saturday and I have a date with Becky Wednesday for lunch and a stop at the party store. I've been cruising the Internet for 70's images (hello Catherine Bach!) and other tasty babes for a 70's vibe at our ShangriLa!

I'm sure the music and costumes will help with the party feel, but I'm sorry I gave up the orange and green afghan.

Friends!

I do miss the traditional work environment. I miss having people to go to lunch with, a reason to put on nice clothes (not that Jason doesn't love that I'm a member of the FaceBook group "Jammies 24/7") and the gossip and drama that occurs when people who are only matched in skills are thrown together.

This week in San Jose I've had two other former MegaBank people around to entertain me. There are others here, but these two were here on business. The ones who live here are nice to have around, but they don't want to go out to dinner. They (understandably) want to go home to their own families at the end of the day.

Last night consultant 1 and consultant 2 and I went downtown for a yummy dinner. With three of us we ate like kings, mostly because it was a family style place so we were able to sample quite a number of things rather than my stupid appetizer and consultant 1's steak that he seldom wants to share.

Tonight, we lost consultant 2 to a dinner with a former boss of hers. I'm sure our dinner will be better and WAY more fun, but I guess you need to keep those relationships alive when you can.

So, we will miss her tonight I'm happy I won't be drinking a shitty glass of wine by myself at the pizza place across the street.

Speaking of work, I think I'm going to be happier in my new role, but it comes at a strange trade off. I'm trading a boss I dig for work I like. I can deal with challenges of a supervisor that wants very specific perfection that they can't exactly describe. (for now) I'm thankful for the opportunity and am super grateful that it doesn't mean I have to move.

It should come as no shock that I am looking forward to heading home tomorrow. I hear that my fella has "date night" worked out. That's a fun thing. It might be as simple as him cooking and a good bottle of wine, but as long as I didn't have to plan it, I'm happy.

The birthday party plans are going well and I've even asked Becky to contribute her loved Chex mix to the food table. She and Mr. Becky can't come (their loss!) but her food donation will be there, so Jas and his Work Wife will be happy. Becky's Chex Mix is like crack... it is quite good and hard to resist.

So, I gave up on the hand sewn outfit for the birthday boy and am thankful the backup shirt I ordered came and looks AMAZING(ly bad). Together we will be a sparkly, hyper flammable duo. Thankfully no one will be smoking around us because we would ignite like a Christmas tree in March. It would be painful, but at least it would be quick.



I'm kind of in stream of consciences mode right now. The goal is to stay awake tonight until a reasonable hour. I was so tired last night that I drifted off at 8pm and then was awake from 11 until after 1. I couldn't get the temperature in the room regulated so it was HOT and I usually have fitful dreams and nightmares when I'm hot. Last night was no exception.

I've got the window cracked right now and will see if that helps. I'm on the second floor with no chance of creeps crawling in my window so don't worry about that mom!

ok, I guess that's it. We're almost getting into a discussion about the color of my socks and that's just boring.

Have a great evening.

It's wet out there folks!

An actual email thread here in rainy California

-----Original Message-----
From: Lee
To: All (in California)
Subject: SPAM: Wipers On! Headlights On!

I apologize for the spam, but I noticed MANY cars on the road driving in the rain with their headlights off. California Law requires that you have your headlights ON when it is raining and wipers are on. The new law went into effect in 2009 and can be found in section 24400 of the CVC. Drive safe.



-----Second Message-----
From: Megan
To: All
Subject: RE: SPAM: Wipers On! Headlights On!

And they will ticket for this offense.

-----Final Message-----
From: Chris
To: ALL
Subject: RE: SPAM: Wipers On! Headlights On!

/UNSUBSCRIBE


Comments:
1) Who needs a law to tell you that your lights on while it’s raining is a good idea?
2) Now nice that Megan is sharing that she (obviously) got a ticket for this.
3) Hey Chris, your “/UNSUBCRIBE” code is cute, but since you sent it to everyone, you’re an ASS.

Open letter to the people of California

It is NOT ok to "let it mellow" in a public restroom.

tpgal

Later!

I'm off to San Jose until Friday.

Accuweather is predicting 2.16 inches of rain today and winds up to 40+ miles per hour. Should be an exciting landing.

I have my super wind umbrella and REI rain jacket.
California here I come.

TP

Oh yes, I am THAT evil!

I read in one of the helpful wedding magazines that if you send your wedding invitation to the President of the US that you will get back a lovely signed card.

I, an Obama fan with an extra invitation in hand and a dollar laying around for postage, fired one off before the wedding.

The Obama's didn't send a gift (selfish jerks) but did send a pretty little card with the White House stationary insignia on it congratulating us and wishing us years of happiness.

It is a pre-printed card that was addressed to us by some (I'm guessing) intern with swirly handwriting who put a comma between the street and the NE portion of our address:

123 Squirrel St, NE
Bloggerville, CO 12345

Anywho... I think I shall frame it and put it on the bedside table in the room where my lovely, but Republican father-in-law sleeps when he visits. This should bring me years and years of joy.

Ode to dust catchers

Dear Strange Donkey Figurine,

I'm sorry I never loved you.

I'm sorry you were forgotten on a window ledge in our kitchen.

I'm also sorry you were dropped (not by me) and that your front left leg was severed from your odd soapstone body.

This lack of love you have endured is no excuse. I command you to tell us where your leg went. It is not on the floor, it is not under the stove, it is not in the garbage disposal. Where is it!?

Your failure to identify the location of your severed leg has caused my life partner to spend the last half an hour on the floor with a flashlight.

We are exploring an alternate universe (ala LOST) scenario, or that it vaporized on contact. I think you are hiding it.

Tell us where it is or I will snap off your tiny soapstone head!

TP

Mulling

The wedding reception last night was nice. The bride was very pretty and the groom beaming. It's an amazing thing to be in a room filled with people who are delighted to brave a dark night (and no parking) to celebrate your happiness. Congratulations! I hope they will be as happy as I find myself.

On a completely different note, I've been thinking a lot about a person that I use to be very close to, and with whom conversation hasn't been easy of late. I realize that friendships change and the flow of our lives cause interests and priorities to shift but this one makes me sad. My attempts to reach out have been sort of fruitful but there has been a lack of genuine interaction. I guess that's ok and I wish my friend nothing but happiness and contentment.

During church this morning Pastor K spoke about wine and weddings (and that whole turning water into wine story) but opened it with his interaction with a young couple who aren't members of "our" church but had heard of K and his amazing spirit. He agreed to officiate at their wedding if they would come and do the pre-marital events. (We did it and thought it was great.) Well, time was running short and he couldn't make contact with the bride and after some failed attempts sent a terse email saying "let me know if the wedding is off or you don't need my services." He admits he was irritated and then horrified when the bride replied that the wedding was off because her groom was killed while serving overseas. WHOA.

I'm filled with sadness for this person whom I've never met and hope she's surrounded by people who can provide the right kind of comfort. I don't know what that might look like, but hope she has it.

Pastor K spoke about what a jerk he felt like and what he did to follow up with the gal. The message for us (or what I took away) is that you really don't know what is going on in someone else's world, and we can't always assume that our view of things is reality. I don't think its unfair to assume that you might think these kids were flaky and unconcerned for the busy schedule of this clergyman that they didn't know. The idea that one of the bridal party had died just wouldn't come to mind.

Obviously, we can't walk around all the time thinking, wow I should be nice to that cranky person because maybe their favorite cat died today... but I know I can be better about cutting people SOME slack. I can try to land on a compassionate note before I jump off assuming the worst.

As for my friend, I'm sure I own some of the distance between us. I mean I did change my life and am not 100% accessible like I was when I was single and alone. However, I don't believe I did anything "wrong" nor do I feel like I need to apologize for the happy direction my life went. Maybe Bitter TP was more fun for this person? (Nah... I've got it on good authority that Bitter TP was damned hard to love.) Maybe there's stuff going on in my friend's world that is easier not to share. I guess all I can do is keep reaching out from time to time and hope we reconnect on a real level again.

To end on a funny note, Joan, the wedding coordinator at the church pulled me aside this morning and said that she found our check that we had written for the pastoral services (4 months later) and wanted to see if it was ok to cash it. Eek.. of course, but my first question was "Are we really married?" Jas' was, "Has Pastor K been thinking all this time that we stiffed him?"

So, yes, we are actually married and Pastor K was only mildly thinking we hadn't paid... NICE.

Weekend Project

We jumped out of bed today ready to tackle a major (for us) home improvement project. We decided to lay paving stones under the dirt pile where our garbage cans live.

We headed to the big orange box for stones, then raked, poured and tamped rock, laid our stones, sand, swept and presto - we are happy!

It started to rain about 3 minutes before we were done! Perfect timing!

Arts & Crafts

My dream of making a swinging 70's disco outfit for my fella has died. I have cut the fancy white fabric (with a hint of sparkle) into the pattern pieces and after a few hours of pinning, sewing, cussing, cutting the seam out, repinning, and then resewing - I have cobbled together a flowing white monstrosity.

In an effort to not make it too small it is ENORMOUS and shapeless. We've decided to "finish" it, but only to a point and then try to make it something else at Halloween. I'm thinking... clean room janitor for Elton John.

I think it was a gallant effort and I did manage to put a nice neat hem on our new dining table cloth.

The floor is strewn with tiny pieces of threat shrapnel and I've dipped into boxes I haven't seen since before I started shacking up with the dude last September. (Look at me admit I went over for a weekend and never left.)

So, I tried. I don't think it was a total failure, but I'm thankful we ordered a backup plan from super costumes.com or some such place.

No matter. It's the weekend!

Have a good one.

AviTerri?

and here I am mocking some dude in a "sexy" t-shirt

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti —

The largest earthquake ever recorded in the area shook Haiti on Tuesday, collapsing a hospital where people screamed for help. Other buildings also were damaged and scientists said they expected "substantial damage and casualties."

The world crumbling under my feet and not in a metaphoric way would scare the poop right out of me.

Did ya now?

Thank you www.peopleofwalmart.com for minutes of enjoyment from time to time, and a tiny bit of yuppy guilt.

Rainy Monday

I had a brief moment of worry that once the wedding was over and we were moved into the house that Jason and I would sit around the house and stare at each other with a terrible case of the "now what?"s. That has not been the case. We are happily busy nesting and spending time with friends celebrating THEIR lives.

This weekend we ventured into Ballard for a house warming party. The party was fun, we met some very interesting people (including a close talker) and had fun sharing how we knew the hostess. "Um, well, I worked at the same place as a friend of hers about ten years ago..." I guess the "mutual friends" thing didn't occur to me. That would have been a LOT simpler.

It was fun motoring through my old neighborhood and seeing the amazing changes. When I lived in Ballard we joked that it was the "Phinney Flats" because the Ballard association was not a good one. Ballard was teeming with old folks driving their Dodge Darts around with the seat belt hanging out of the driver door and sparking on the roadway as they "eased" down 24th.

The neighborhood has a wonderful urban feel with interesting shops and lots of midsized condos. Heck, even the ancient QFC has been torn down and replaced with a very fancy store with condos on top. Thankfully, the little independent burger place next door still stands. A nice mix of big business and the little guy please me.

This next weekend we're out to celebrate the impending marriage of a mildly nice guy to a girl who must have terrible selection skills. I lie... I'm excited to actually meet this gal and will say that my friend who is usually dark and sardonic has been quite chipper as of late.

In preparation for Jas' birthday (40!) we're prepping for a 70's themed bash at our house. You've seen the wig and I've got the loft in a horrific state of mess. The ironing board is out, the red menace is out of the closet and I've got the "good" scissors out of hiding. Yes folks, I AM SEWING. I am overcome every now and again with a desire to do something totally crazy and when our trip to the thrift store to find an outfit for Jason resulted in an all out "heebie jeebies" attack I realized that no second hand clothes would ever cover his body, so off to the fabric store we went.

If the project turns out well he should be the star of the party. I cut the front of the WHITE JUMPSUIT and was overcome with giggles. When I get the back cut and pieced together he'll try it on and if there's hope I'll do the finish work, but if he looks like the stay-puft marshmallow man I'll let him opt out of my nutty idea. He will have to find some sort of suitable disco wear tho.... it is his birthday, so a costume is in order.

He did make me promise not to use the birthday pictures as our Christmas card next year, but gosh that is so far away and I might not remember my passive nod of agreement.

Stay dry out there...

30 to 5

After hours of putting together the 30 short slides to describe a (almost) years worth of work we presented it to the big boss ("big" indicates location in the organization not size or girth) and well...

it's now 5 pages.

OUCH

No pictures

DOUBLE OUCH

No graphs...

TRIPLE OUCH

The wonderful news is that I don't have to fly to Salt Lake City next week (for a day) to present it. I'm transitioning to a new "task" and it doesn't make sense for me to meet with the executive - continuity is KEY .

Oh well, my very short and sweet presentation will be in the room while I'm in Seattle. Woo Woo

If it is a chart it must be good!

I’ve happily spent my morning refining a PowerPoint presentation for an executive at my client’s company. I am attempting to boil down nine months worth of work into 10 slides that show we’ve added value and reduced risk, oh and it has to contain pretty pictures. This is easy where we have data. I can make pie charts all day long that show wonderful things. But it got me thinking, if we’re consolidating nine months worth of work into ten slides for one mildly successful company, what to the leaders of the world’s largest countries get at the year end, or what kind of reports do they get after major incidents?

Is there some analyst somewhere turning Somali refugees into a scatter chart? Or is there someone in Darfur making bubble charts showing the movement of the various ethnic groups affected by the war? If it’s a bubble chart and pretty it can’t really mean people are dying can it?

Once I moved down this track of thinking I was wondering if there’s any convenient positioning of data going on as well as marginalizing human suffering into pretty pictures for our worlds executives. Looking at the statistics for Hurricane Katrina if you simply present that 1836 people died and 705 are still missing then it looks bad… but if you present it as the successful evacuation of 99.44% of the population is that a way to show that it wasn’t a complete cock-up? (Honestly, if you go by the numbers on Wikipedia of the population in June of 2006 of Orleans Parish and subtract the missing or dead, the percentage is the same as the purity of Ivory Soap… creepy.)

I’d like to see the bullet points on that slide

· Successful evacuation of 99.44% of Orleans Parish population
· National Guard response within agreed upon SLA (service level agreement)
· Slight logistical difficulties within downtown core for 72 hours following primary event
· Potential negative media coverage mitigated by Presidential flyover and FEMA response (actual impact continues to be assessed.)
· Recovery and Response activities underway

prolific gal

I was on haitus during the holidays. Having multiple sets of house guests makes it challenging to zip upstairs to blog.

Also, I didn't have a LOT to share. Maybe the girlfriends are right and I'm in a love bubble that is just too disgusting to share? Nope... there are always things that will get under my skin and be worthy of (me) talking about (for mostly my own enjoyment.)

Here's a few things going on in ye olde noggin'.

Planning the husband's 40th birthday party. should be fun. His parents are returning for the event which will be nice to have built in help. But it also means negotiating the menu, and you all KNOW how I like to be in charge on my own.

I'm regretting a bit throwing the net wide for the blog. There are some things I'd like to blog about, but i have to consider who has access now. Bummer. Should I ever change jobs, I'll keep the peer net on the DL. (that's down low, to those of you who aren't quite as "street" as me.)

I'm up at 4 am again tomorrow to head back to San Jose. Sigh. At least this time I'll have a friend in town so we can have dinner and gossip like little girls.

I'll also take clean workout clothes and hit the gym while I'm there and pay homage to my post from this morning.

Back in the saddle

It is such a cliche' to vow to head to the gym after New Years, however, I think the excitement of 2009 is winding down and it is something I need and want to do for myself again.

I feel myself expanding out of my jeans and that is not ok. So, back to it. Less bread, more protein, more activity. I also think it is probably a better idea to think of the gym as a place to unwind vs. a weight loss activity. I don't want to get back to stepping on the scale every day, but instead to focus on how my clothes feel and how not-squishy my legs and arms are.

I've essentially been on a 9 month gym hiatus, and am pleased that my weight gain has only been about 10 pounds. (maybe more, haven't checked since before christmas) So, working out again, more water, and less wine is my new state of mind.

I hope that my friend gets out of his walking cast very soon because I'd like him to join me at the gym. I will go alone if I have to. He understands. We've been married for almost four months now, I think it is ok to do a few things on our own. Not too many mind you...

2009 Year in Review

What happened this year? Not much. HA HA 2009 might best be categorized as the year of change. Not to steal a phrase from the Obama Presidential Campaign… but I’m doing it anyway.

Probably the easiest way is to break it down by month:

January: My team at MegaBank officially dismembered at the end of the month. I tried make their departure as easy as possible, the decision wasn’t mine and I think I fought for them, but the result was the same. I watched the Obama inauguration with happy amazement. Jas and I enjoyed a night away at the Salish Lodge (romantic and wonderful). We also used our MLK day to go to the zoo and watch a gorilla eat her own poop.

February: with my favorite co-workers gone, work is a real bummer. The actual “work” part of is a joke. I’m dragging myself into the office Tuesdays & Thursday’s and hating every minute of being there. I wrote a request to the new boss to say I had time on my hands and he replied by calling me the wrong name. Forget it, I’ll bide my time and plan the wedding thank you very much. Jas and I spend our first Valentine’s day in Denver with family and friends celebrating his dad’s 70^th birthday and our engagement. Jas and I have our first dark discussion about the guest list for the wedding. We can’t invite everyone and the stress of it makes me crazy. I officially move out of my condo in Renton and start taking to an agent about putting it up for sale.

March – Life at the bank officially ended on the 27th. Formed my own company and started contracting. Learning to do taxes, B&O oh my. The wedding plans are in full swing. We have a caterer, and are interviewing photographers. We bought a wonderful new camera and are having fun with it. I almost cut my finger off on St. Patrick’s Day. My condo is officially for sale as of the 28^th. Started new working gig on Monday the 30^th.

April – Received a more than full price offer for the condo on April fool’s day. We took a long weekend in Napa and Sonoma which was fun in spite of the fact that we got the oldest grandpa car at the rental car agency. We spent Easter in Denver and I attended my first ever Catholic mass. (Very pleased that the holy water didn't burn my skin.)

May - the condo closed and I officially live with Jason. We head to Indiana for a week with Jason’s aunt the Nun in a convent. It was surprisingly fun. We explored Parke County (a place I’ve wanted to see for a while.) We found a house we loved and made an offer. We finagled and got our hopes up but no deal. SAD SAD SAD

June - life is busy this month. Lots of wedding things – finishing the registries, the invitations are assembled and addressed, we keep running into friends at the mall (perhaps we’re at the mall too much) We headed to Granger to celebrate Dad’s 70^th birthday. (How odd that both of our dads are the same age.) We tried again to get the house in Snoqualmie that we “love” and spend the month waiting for someone to come fall in love with our condo. Yaz throws us a wonderful couple’s shower on a lovely summer night.

July – the Snoqualmie house is officially off the table. It will never be ours and we move on. We spend a busy 4^th of July weekend in Long Beach. Head back to Denver twice, once for a funeral and the second time for a wedding shower. The weather went crazy and it was HOT HOT HOT in Seattle. Michael Jackson died… which was the media end of the world.

August – wow, with the wedding a month away it is wedding central in our lives. Details and more details. But also… parties. The official bridal shower, the bachelorette party (bus with drag queens) happens and we work in a weekend away with friends. Jason’s condo gets a real offer!!! We’re moving, but within weeks of the wedding. Who has time to pack? All the wonderful wedding gifts go straight to storage. In San Jose three times this month - traveling is getting old.

September – Jason goes to Vegas with the guys (his two cousins, dad, friend and 2 second cousins) for a fun weekend, I enjoy time alone before the madness starts. We go to visit Mom & Dad the week before the wedding to help put siding on their house. We throw a wedding and it is a blast, then head to Canada for a honeymoon. We put an offer on a house that we LOVE but don’t get it. (heartbreak) We search and search and finally find a new home (never been lived in) that we like and make an offer that is accepted! So, now we have something to do after the wedding.

October – We sleep for a week after the honeymoon and then pack and move. The new house is wonderful and we are happy. It's crazy to sum the whole of October up in two lines. The packing was nutty, I'm back and forth to San Jose twice each month... Jason hurts his foot during the move, the doc says it's "sprained."

November – Thanksgiving with my family in eastern Washington. We are still unpacking boxes and getting organized at home, but the world is coming to us in December so we have to get it together. I got a speeding ticket. Jas' foot still hurts, new doctor is in order, turns out... foot has a stress fracture.

December – PARTY CENTRAL. We throw 2 birthday parties, three dinner parties and host Christmas for our parents in our new home. We are planning into 2010 – there will be weekends away and likely an Orlando vacation. We found a new gym and have signed up. Looking forward to it.