So I would like you to meet the very scary bears of Yosemite:

okay no, it’s a squirrel

And TWO squirrels! (no we did not feed them. Some old guy did. Tsk tsk.)

So no, over the weekend of July 18th that we spent in Yosemite, we saw less wildlife than we see at our house. But that’s okay because we did get to go on some adventures, like renting bikes and rafting down the river…

Cale got a way short bike. It was kind of hilarious.

adventures around mirror lake

Seeing some cool waterfalls…

Cale, Brent, Cait, and my dad climbed up through the rocks to get to the falls. My mom and I hung back and were chatting it up with some locals. Because we’re cool like that.

Posing at viewpoints because that’s required when you’re a tourist…

Cait’s head is covering half dome. Psh overrated.

Okay there’s half dome for y’all

That’s an armshelf/legshelf combo you’re looking at right there.

And taking more pictures…

Cale’s got the shot, don’t worry.

I’m in there!

How about capturing some running water

It was a great weekend, and I loved not only hanging out with my family, but getting to see Yosemite. Cale treated us all to some great cooking, and we had fun getting use out of the cabin my mom rented for the weekend: its hot tub on the deck, .5 billion DVDs, and pool table.

Have you ever visited Yosemite? And most importantly, did you see any bears???

• Work. Yeah not fun but for whatever reason I can channel my inner college student to cram in work when I need to.
• TV. Well to be specific, Dead Like Me on Hulu. We now have the iMac set up with hulu desktop and have it linked to our Harmony remote. So that basically controls my life. I’ve determined that if a show is on Showtime, I will most likely love it. Weeds, Californication, Dead Like Me, Dexter, United States of Tara. Yep we’ve watched them all. And I forsee Nurse Jackie being added to that list very soon.
• Fixing computer issues. Not that I obsessively spent four hours into the night trying to fix some random hosting issue. No I would never do that. Except I did. And literally had to drag myself away and into bed when I still could not figure it out.
• Cutting Cale’s hair. At midnight. Because that is normal. The spending an extra thirty minutes assuring him that no it’s not too short, and no you don’t need to shave it all off now.
• Folding laundry.
• Surfing The Knot because I’m shooting a friend’s wedding next week, and I am so not prepared whatsoever. Thank goodness it’s pretty low stress being a backyard wedding. But still, new territory freaks me out.

Maybe it’s the lack of sleep but I really cannot believe it’s already Friday. This week has been pretty darn exciting though. I went to Shaver over the weekend. Came back with a nice tan. Monday found out I am being promoted at work. Which I would totally be over the moon about had everyone in my start class been as well. But it’s a total bummer that not everyone has something to celebrate. (Shakes her fist at the economy) So while I am definitely happy and glad to be recognized at work, it’s not as great as it could be.

Cale and I have also been day dreaming about this completely abandoned, rundown cabin for sale in our town. I know, such a random thing to drool over right? But it’s super cheap, and even though we weren’t planning on buying in the Bay Area for a long time, it’s a small possibility that we might look into, should we get the information we need from the county on what needs to be fixed and approved through them. But even though we’re not committed to it, we’ve been having fun picking out kitchen and bathroom stuff and talking about it like its ours. Maybe it’s our way of making up for the lack of the HGTV or TLC channels since we canceled our cable. We won’t be heartbroken should everything not work out (to be honest, I think it would save me one giant headache), but we’re casually looking into it.

I’m in a pretty good place right now. I love when I can look back on a week, overlook the occasional bad mood I encountered, and be very pleased with how it went. I struck a good balance (regardless of the sleep issues), and I know my life’s headed into the right direction.

The Rules:
Take a picture of yourself right now.
No primping or preparing.
Just snap a picture.
Load the picture onto your blog.
Tag some people to play along.

First I got Allison’s in my reader and took this:

photo tag #1

And while I was editing that.. (Come on give me a break. I MUST edit. Especially with the yellowness of my house’s CFLs.) I got another tag in my reader. So I took this:

photo tag #2

And if this post doesn’t have enough pictures of myself, here’s my actual daily me, where I had some fun with PW’s Seventies action (by far my favorite).

April 14, 2009

Why don’t you join in the fun?
Miss Cay Cay
Alyssa
Talia
Kristin
and
Lauryn

January 11, 2009

January 12, 2009

January 14, 2009

January 15, 2009

How has your week been? How is it already Thursday night? At least there is a new episode of The Office. Right now actually.. And OMG Michael! This is crazy! Must end this blog post now so that I may watch the rest of this trainwreck that is Andy Bernard.

On Monday I went to the mall early and did all our Christmas shopping. Yes that’s me. I waited until the week of Christmas to do our shopping. Not that we really had all that much to buy. Like most, we cut back this year, partially because I personally find spending a lot on Christmas to be a big fat waste of money, but also because I have been trying to keep the holiday in perspective. In all honesty I secretly wish that instead of buying “things” I could donate the money I spent Monday to go to a good cause. But I think doing that would be about as well received as it was for Chandler on Friends.

So even if you didn’t go the charity route for Christmas, you still can help make a difference. For each comment Jennifer receives, she is donating $1 to a charity of your choosing. So go!

Even though we didn’t go the charity route, I really liked the shopping we did this year. Each present is actually something I think that the receiver might like. No longer will I give out the packaged body washes and other things that you know are going straight into either the trash, the bag for goodwill, or the back of the closet to be lost forever. Just knowing that the gifts are fit for their receiver makes me excited for exchanging gifts, something that in prior years I was more anxious about than excited. Next year my goal is to at least start earlier or work on making some gifts because Ashley’s adorable presents have totally inspired me.

I purchased a book titled Green Christmas at the beginning of November with the intention of reading it all and sharing my favorite tips. Well I’m on page 34, and it’s Christmas Eve. So instead, I’m going to share what we did this year instead:

1. We did not go and buy new Christmas decorations. I know some might want to change up their decoration year after year, but that is very wasteful. Now given this is only our second Christmas as a married couple, I’m excited for the day when our decorations slowly grow over the years and we develop our favorites. Things that we see and feel Christmas.


Only ours probably won’t be like this creepy wall hanging my mom has had forever… It’s like she’s staring at me….

2. We did not put out lights. Granted we don’t exactly live on a street that does that sort of thing. But eventually once we have a bigger house, I want to copy what I’ve seen in some adorable little houses in downtown Pleasanton and just hang evergreen garland over their windows in the front. We do have lights on our tree, but those are plugged into the light socket that is controlled by a switch, so once our living room light goes out, the tree does too.
3. Wrapping paper. I didn’t buy any. Instead I used Trader Joes bags that I have accumulated the many times I’ve forgotten to bring my canvas bag inside. I also reused any gift bags we have received in the past.
4. We didn’t send out cards. Didn’t notice? Oh well.. yeah. We didn’t. Saving paper.
5. But all those cards that we received last year? I cut off the cute parts and used them as gift tags this year

Nothing majorly huge, but I think the best part of trying to be green is knowing that you are making an effort. I’ll never be perfect, but hey I tried. This is my favorite quote of the book (from what I’ve read so far):

Christmas is a magical time of the year. Close your eyes and think back on your best holiday memories. Chances are they don’t have to do with elaborately wrapped gifts but instead involve moments of laughter at an old family joke, a snowy night of caroling with friends, or the sudden appearance of an unexpected friend. Wonderful moments of love, fellowship, and community.

Maybe next year I’ll have read the entire book so that I’ll have more words of wisdom to share with you.

Until then, have a wonderful Christmas with friends and family. I hope you get a chance to relax in all the chaos and enjoy yourselves.

Two Favorite Ornaments. Our C and Cale’s Yoda.

My Exposaroonie shot and our little tree with presents underneath

The Submission

tree….

star….

book…..

pillow….

Go do it!

And this!

p.s. TOMORROW’S MY BIRTHDAY! (Just because I’m going to be turning 24 doesn’t mean I can’t be excited. Okay! Geeze! (insert Napoleon Dynamite voice there)

Lines of raindrops on the windshield

The endless fields on the I-5

Our drive to our house. Love the old trees.

Pine needles in the rain

Cows on I-5

I’m not sure which one I’m going to submit, I need to think about it a little longer. But any input would be appreciated.

Did you have a good Thanksgiving? My yummy vegetarian stuffing was as always the best part of my day. Switching the chicken broth for vegetable broth didn’t even change the taste! Score!

And you get my daily me. Because I actually took it with the nice camera today. Ooooohh.

And it’s Friday dangit. And my husband isn’t home yet, and I want freaking in-n-out after Sarah Marie P made me crave some YESTERDAY. Now I am only minutes away from my own grilled cheese and fries no boat (or do I want them animal style… decisions decisions)

This weekend: Work. (blehhh). Exposaroonie. Yay! Veggie Pizza. Yum!

And ohthankthelordcale’shereI’mstarving.