dolanpalooza

Raiah's Birth Story

2011-12-12T20:59:00.000-08:00

I have to write down her birth story before I forget the details. It was so fast and nothing really crazy happened (besides, ending up with a baby!!) and I was pleasantly surprised at what a weirdly great experience it was.

I had a pretty smooth pregnancy. second and third trimester were especially nice. I kept thinking that I'd miss being pregnant because I felt really healthy, didn't gain too much weight so I was still pretty active and the belly wasn't really getting in the way, and I loved how nice friends and perfect strangers were while I was pregnant! I'd go for walks around the office during breaks and almost everyone would congratulate me or ask if it was a girl or a boy. I felt pretty special :) I kept thinking that if pregnancy is so smooth, labor and delivery will make up for it in pain and complications (i know, not very positive). I just kept hoping that she'd wait till after my mom and dad got back from Iran but I really didn't want to go past my due date either because I wanted delivery to be over and to spend my time off with the baby. My time off started on monday the 14th which was the day my parents came back and I had planned on trying to induce labor that tuesday or wednesday. that wednesday morning, at 3am I woke up with some cramps. I didn't think anything of it because the braxton hicks contractions I had been getting since 34 weeks felt really different. The cramps kept coming and going irregularly all morning. At 11am, I called labor and delivery and described the pain and told them that I really didn't think I was experiencing contractions but I was worried why I was having cramps. they said to wait and see if they went away. Scott had the day off and we had planned on a date day full of outings so we were both bummed that I couldn't really leave the house. We kept thinking damn, the one day we wanted to have a cutesy day out, I had to go and get sick! haha! Anyways, the cramps kept getting more and more intense to the point where I couldn't talk through them any more. They were about 3-4 minutes apart at 9:45pm when we called labor and delivery and they told us to come in. Even then we weren't convinced that I was in labor. we took our bags and I told my mom and sister to meet us at the hospital but kept saying "they'll probably send us home but come anyways". in the car we kept saying how nice it was to be so close to the hospital cuz this could be the first of many times we'd go in and be sent home :)

when we got there, I was already at 4.5 centimeters! It was the real deal! we were both so surprised. They asked me if I wanted an epidural and at first I thought, maybe not, but then decided that the reward after labor is the baby whether or not you get an epidural so I opted to get it and so glad that I did!! I was close to 7 centimeters by the time I got it. my water broke when they were checking me. After I got the epidural, I was able to relax and actually enjoy the experience! It was fantastic! I pushed for about 15 minutes and could feel everything except for pain, and she was out! I can't say it was easy and painless because it wasn't, but it was smooth and uncomplicated. they put her on my chest and it took her a minute to let out a cry but she was perfect! and just like that our lives did a 180. she was born at 5:51 am on 11/17/11 at 7.69 lbs and 18.5 inches tall. we're in love.

kitchen

2011-10-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

wow, 3 posts in one night! I'm on a role :)

kitchen mini remodel:

when we were shopping for a home, we looked at the condo we eventually bought in the very beginning of our months-long search. we didn't like it. it had a grody kitchen with yucky/chipped laminate counters and a gross/chipped porcelain sink.... we had high expectations.... after looking and looking, we came back to it and realized, we didn't hate it after all. i think we actually started seeing the potential it had. it was the most space we could get for our budget at the time, and we were ready to move in and make some MAJOR changes. we moved in, made it livable and then started to look into renovating the kitchen. by this time, home prices had dropped so much that anything we spent on renovation, would really not bring our price back up that much. so we decided to hold off.

we held off for years as our value kept dropping until we got this really cute foam baby bath tub as a present and got so excited about giving our little girl baths in the kitchen sink. only problem was that the foam tub wouldn't fit in our sink :( what's a new parent-to-be to do??!!! put in a new sink of course! and you can't just put in a new sink without changing your counter tops to durable and shiny granite, right? so that's what we did. and i think it looks awesome :) now all we have left is getting stainless steel appliances and possibly resurfacing the cabinets.

BEFORE:

in process with plywood countertops and a big hole where the sink is gonna go:

AFTER:

my favorite room in the house :)

2011-10-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

it's the brightest and happiest room ever :)

this is what it looked like after the baby shower. thanks to our awesome friends and family, we're SO ready! My parents bought us all the baby furniture (you can't even see the dresser in this picture), bedding, car seats, stroller, etc. so thankfully all of that was already assembled before the room got filled with gifts.

we decided to make our old guest room into the nursery instead of the bigger room that scott has turned into his man cave. we ended up turning the man cave into a man cave/guest room/office cuz it's pretty big and it could accommodate a queen size bed for guests as well as all of scott's music and recording stuff. so now scott's man cave has pretty yellow curtains :) no pictures of that yet but it's dark gray and yellow.... we had already painted the old guest room a light shade of green thinking that we'd eventually turn it into a nursery and wanted to keep it gender neutral. it's a pretty bright room.

it went from this:

to this!!!

my sister and I made this mobil. it took us almost a week! i LOVE it!

baby shower

2011-10-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

I'm just gonna put mess of pictures here because I need to catch up on a few posts. I don't want to forget anything...

My awesome family threw me the sweetest baby shower on September 24th. It was perfect! I'm so grateful that our baby is SO loved and so thankful for my family who have never hesitated to go out of their way to make life easier and better for us. Honestly, I don't know what I would do without them!

present from my nephews to Daddy-to-be :)

oh baby! :)

2011-07-22T13:07:00.001-07:00

my last post was WAAAAAAAAAAY back in january! ha! i have a great excuse tho. i've been baking a bun in my oven :) it's been a very exciting, interesting and tiring few months to say the lease. we suspected that we were expecting while visiting scott's family in Gridley. i wasn't really feeling like myself and got sick after eating the BEST homemade pizza i've ever had. we took a pregnancy test when we got back and it was really faint so i thought maybe i'm just a little pregnant (haha, i didn't really think that!). waited another few days and got a digital one and it was POSITIVE!!

the next few weeks (up to week 14) i was a mess. my body felt like it had ran a marathon every day, nothing was appetizing and i just felt yucky and uncomfortable, couldn't sleep and couldn't throw up for the most part. after week 14, it's been much easier! we found out that we're having a baby girl and now we're busy making the perfect baby girl nursery :) my parents got us all the furniture a couple of weeks ago and i can't wait to finish decorating so i can put up some pictures. they're super excited cuz she's the first granddaughter on my side of the family. as much as all my nephews wanted a boy, i'm glad she'll be the first and only girl!!! lots of boys in the family to protect her and scare off the future boyfriends. scott's been hitting the gym really hard lately and i think he's secretly trying to get buff and strong to fight off the boys (or maybe he's feeling outnumbered with all the estrogen in the house, i don't know). she'll be the second granddaughter on scott's side of the family which is wonderful cuz they know EXACTLY what to do with a girl and we're gonna learn so much from them :)

there's been lots of other happenings and travels and cool stuff this year too but i've got baby brain and can't talk about anything else. oh well.

2011 so far...

2011-01-28T12:59:00.000-08:00

ok, so christmas wasn't in 2011 but i'm so far behind that i'm gonna clump it all in one post.

This year we went to Santa Barbara for christmas. we spent christmas eve at my sister-in-law's aunt's house for Posada. We sang worship songs in spanish, ate tamales and rocked baby jesus to sleep. yes we did :)

we spent the rest of the weekend at my brother's house opening presents and doing christmassy things like making hundreds of tamales and watching movies (mainly The Christmas Story a few times). scott's parents stopped by on their way up from Los Angeles too which was really cool!

NYE :)

my birthday came and went without any visible damage. i did get my first gray hair so i guess that's visible but i died it right away :) i'm officially in the last year of my 20's. i'm kinda looking forward to 30 actually. i feel like i can justify doing all the things i've always wanted to do when i turn 30. most of the big things are out of the way now and i can start enjoying everything. i have big plans for the next decade :) you know all the things you say "oh, i'll do that in my 30's" ?? such a good destination age.

this year for my birthday we wanted to take a trip. we decided NYC cuz neither one of us has been to New York. we booked our trip and were all packed to go when i got an email from Priceline that our flights had been canceled due to some stupid blizzard in NY. so with hours left till our vacation time, we took whatever refund they'd give us and booked another trip to Vegas! i think we salvaged the situation pretty nicely after such a frustrating turn of events. i was SO BUMMED!!! i mean, we've been to vegas a million times! scott even lived there for a while so it has no novelty for us but we hadn't been there together yet and we hadn't gone on a vacation with just the two of us in so long that it didn't really matter where we ended up going. we had a great time in Vegas. the weather was in the 70's and we did everything from shows to gambling to clubbing to shopping to etc. we couldn't have done any of these things in NY cuz it was below freezing there that whole week! ha! suckers!

I couldn't help it.

2010-12-28T16:10:00.000-08:00

sometimes, against all my efforts not to, i compare myself/my life/etc. to others. mostly, i think, it's because i like the reassurance that i'm up to par. but sometimes, i get really down on myself when i assume, from the looks of things, that someone else has gotten a better hand dealt to them. "better" meaning easier, more stable, more relaxed, more successful, more healthy, more fun, more meaningful, more productive, more social, more private, more fruitful, just overall luckier than me. the past few months have been especially packed with these comparisons and i've even moved on from only comparing myself to others to comparing others with each other and getting really sad for the one that doesn't seem to have the better situation. that's a lot of feeling sorry..... it's making me eat a lot of chocolate which is just as good as it is bad :)

today i realized something about someone who i'd always assumed had the "better" situation than most and the reality is that she doesn't. far from it actually and i got so angry with myself for 1. not realizing this sooner so that i could maybe help 2. holding this assumption against her for years.

the truth is that what i may consider "better" is subjective and i really shouldn't be so hard on myself! so i'm making a new year's resolution now (along with exercising more, losing weight, yada yada yada) that i will curb the comparisons and make lemonade with the lemons instead of feeling sorry that they're not pomegranates. lemonade has its own benefits and pomegranates have their own season and i'll eat many a pomegranate along the way as they come my way and i've enjoyed plenty already to be thankful for!

i'm not sure if this post will make sense next time i read it but oh well...

Giving Thanks

2010-12-03T11:40:00.000-08:00

i couldn't find the cord to my camera for the longest time and my poor photos were held hostage. i found it today!!!

we went to Gridley for thanksgiving with the Dolans. it was fantastic. we had such a great time! the dinner was delish, and the whole time was a much needed relaxing time with the family. here are some pictures of our time there....

Mom and Dad's Golden Anniversary

2010-11-23T20:21:00.000-08:00

My Mom and Dad celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last saturday. We went to a persian restaurant that had live music and belly dancers. the boys had a fantastic time :)

50 years!!! they've been the the king and queen of their castle for most of their lives, making their own rules and setting their own standards for how to raise their 4 kids and live their lives. they're each other's favorite person. they have inside jokes and the same sense of humor. they've always put their children's wellbeing before their own and have had each other's backs against anything that the world has thrown at them. not a single one of us kids (and plenty of other friends and family) would be where we are today if it weren't for my parents's sacrifices and support. they've collected 50 years of stories and memories that we get to enjoy, some more often than others. here's to another 50 years full of adventure :)

Marriage Q & A

2010-11-18T13:17:00.001-08:00

i saw this on someone else's blog and thought it'd be cute to write all this down.... it's extremely corny but whatever.

1. when is your "marriage" anniversary? "engagement" anniversary?

we were engaged on 3/11/2006 and got married on 7/15/2007

2. where/how did you meet your spouse for the first time?

we met at Starbux where i was a barista and he came in with his friend to get a frappuccino :) i asked for his name to put on the cup as i did with all customers and when he came in for a second round (an hour later so he could talk to me) i remembered his name and he was flattered :) then he started coming in every day, sometimes not even buying a drink and then i was flattered...... :)

3. how long have you known your spouse:
this is our 7th christmas together.

4. how long did you date/court before you were engaged?
a year and half. way too fast but you gotta do what you gotta do.

5. do you have any children:
nope.

6. do you have any house pets:
we have a fish. that's as far as i'll ever go. pets belong outside, not on our couches. and we both hate the smell of dogs/cats indoors. when we were house hunting, he wouldn't step foot in a place where the previous owners had pets.

7. what are some of your favorite activities together:
going to starbucks count? we do this anytime we can't think of what to do... and watching late late night shows together....

8. do you have a favorite vacation spot:
we've been on some awesome vacays together but the one that we always want to do again is Hawaii. it was just so perfect. we hiked the diamond head, snorkeled in Hanauma Bay. spent a day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. went to fancy dinners. we both want a re-do.

9. where was your first date?
First official date was dinner at Firestones in SLO and a movie (dodgeball).

10. when did you first kiss?
at a gazebo over the ocean in Pismo Beach. later that was the place he proposed :)

11. who said i love you first?
HE DID!!! by accident of course. i asked one of those loaded questions like "what would you do if i lost all my teeth" and he said "i'd love you anyway.. i mean, um, you'd still be cute."

12. did you get married in a church?
nope. we had a traditional persian ceremony, in english....

13. do you get flowers often?
i used to get them ALL THE TIME! just randomly. i still get them once in a while. he's a romantic...... sometimes.

14. where did you go on your honeymoon:
HAWAII!!!

15. how long did you know each other before you started dating?
2 weeks. dated 3 years before getting married tho.

16. what do you call each other most of the time?
babe.

17.when did you each meet the other's family?
i met his family when he took me to Gridley to attend a friend's wedding about 3 month after we had started dating. he met my family around the same time. he met my brothers and sister first then my parents a while after.

18. which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
we NEVER have a day off together. EVER! i have wendesday/sat/sun off and he has thurs/fri's off. and we work opposite shifts too so we see each other every night from midnight till 8:30 am.

19. did you go to the same school?
nope.

20. are you from the same home town?
nope.

21. who is smarter?
we're equally genius :)

22. who is more sensitive?
me probably.

23.where do you eat out most as a couple?
either sushi at this place by our house or pizza my heart :)

24. what attracted you about him/her first?
he's REALLY polite and a gentleman. still opens the door for me and walks on the street side of the sidewalk.

25. who is more social?
me. i can make friends anywhere. he's pretty social too but mostly with people he knows well.

26. who is more clean???
i'm more clean, he's more tidy. there's a huge difference.

28. who hogs the bed?
he does.

29. who wakes up earlier?
he does. even on his days off.

30. what are his favorite things and her favorite things?
Scott: music. jimmy fallon. burgers/pizza/fettuccine alfredo/sushi. his guitars/amps/recording stuff. ANDY!!!
Tabi: tabloids. boots. persian food. award shows. old home videos. art history. awesome fonts.

Giants and the elections....

2010-11-03T12:14:00.000-07:00

i'm watching the parade in SF right now and it's so amazing!!! i'm jumping on the fan wagon and am so excited! i learned a little about baseball this year and even got a little teary eyed when Wilson got that last strike. he's so the man :) i kinda wish i was in SF right now..... cuz, man, we beat the WHOLE WORLD, right!!! ??

so the elections.... um, please don't be offended by this, it's just my opinion. no one has to agree.

yesterday was election day. California did good. the rest of the country, not so much. but here's hoping this will restore the balance in Washington and allow the president to get some work done. maybe the Republicans having the House will mean that they'll be more cooperative and not out to just disagree for the sake of disagreeing. and maybe more decisions will be made instead of bickering. maybe if they know that they're part of the solution, everyone will stop and listen to the other side and make decisions per issue, not per party affiliation. i think the politicians are forgetting why and for whom they're in office.

i'm just happy that in the last year and half, we've been able to re-finance our home that's lost so much value. i'm happy that 2 out of 3 good friends that i know in the military are now home with their families. i'm happy that we will qualify for health insurance regardless of our pre-existing conditions. these were some of the promises that got obama into office, right? he's done good for me so far.

i think it's so great that the country has become so politically aware. so many people care now. we don't all agree but we're free to express our concerns directly to the people that represent us. that's what happened yesterday. i just hope that we all find a way to put aside our party affiliation inclinations and look at each issue independent of who's proposing it. Let's not be so suspicious of the other side's "agenda" just because it's coming from the "other side". let's have a little faith in our constitution. it's really well written! let's be positive and find some common ground :)

go GIANTS!!!

pumpkin...

2010-10-31T14:24:00.000-07:00

we carved a pumpkin for the first time ever since we met in 2004. like i said, i'm not too into halloween but this year we thought, we'll carve a pumpkin, what's the big deal?

it turned out nice. we left it outside overnight and the next day it was completely demolished. i didn't know squirrels liked pumpkin so much....

no pictures of the disaster. it was just too sad...

Rainy night at home :)

2010-10-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

finally!!!! it's been raining all day and tonight i've had a completed to-do list, which never ever happens and i'm chilling in my pj's under a blanket watching my favorite disney movies back to back! in true tabi nature, i feel like i'm wasting time and that i should be DOING something but i'm forcing myself to relax and not worry about how i could have spent my free evening more productively. i just finished watching Cinderella and i'm about to start Pocahontas.

my all time favorites (Aladdin and the Little Mermaid) weren't available but i'm still happy. i've been wanting to do this since our disneyland trip :)

also, taji comes back tomorrow!!! i hear she's got 6 dvd's full of her adventures in the motherland :) can't wait!

summer ended?

2010-10-05T18:24:00.000-07:00

oh man, where the heck did it go? i'm not ready for fall yet. everyone's so excited about the fall and halloween and i still wanna hang out by the pool. halloween is definitely not one of my favorite holidays. i don't know, maybe because i don't get or give presents. or maybe because i can't commit to a costume idea in time to actually pull it off. or probably because all i want to do in this weather is to sit at home in my pj's and fluffy slippers.... for some reason, however, i'm so in the mood to start my christmas shopping!!!

summer of '10 was fabulously packed! my parents went back to iran for a few months and then my sister took off for iran for a few weeks. scott and i work opposite shifts (me 9 - 7:30, him 3-11) so we barely see each other, so i've been a little lonely without my family around cuz when my parents and my sister are here, i see them almost every day. but that's ok cuz taji's having a blast in iran and will be back in 10 days. i've talked to her a few times and every time she gets into a juicy story and stops herself and says "omg, there are so many details i don't wanna miss... i'll tell you the whole story when i come back!" she's faithfully documenting every step she takes. she's filmed every stroll down the street, every yummy dinner/dance party and every family gathering that lasts till the sun comes up. i'm missing out on a ton :( i got the first batch of pictures from her today and it's so weird seeing her in them with family and relatives we haven't seen in 15 years!

our summer included lots of family time like our awesome Disneyland vacation with scott's family. we had SUCH a good time. we spent about 14 hours at California Adventure and a good 16 hours at Disneyland the next day! we for sure got our money's worth :) we stayed at the Fairfield Inn Disneyland Resort and even squeezed in some pool time in between our long park days. Sandy had us over for dinner the first night we were there and we surprised scott's mom with a birthday cake. overall it was one fantastic vacation.

also spent lots of time at the pool and with friends. lots of little get togethers and dinner parties. scott's friend, smith and his family came to visit us and we had a blast with them and their baby! she's one social butterfly! she sang to us all the way to SF and back :) so now the possibility of one day having children isn't that scary thanks to the smith family! please come visit again or just send us your baby :)

here are just some random pix of our summer....

pictures!

2010-06-28T23:17:00.001-07:00

ok so we've been SO BUSY!!! here are some pictures....

I went to Santa Barbara for mother's day with my family. scott had to work :(

we went to Salvang.

had lots of heart-to-hearts over yummy pastry.

then we took a lil trip to see Ellyn graduate.

then we checked out the Buddhist temple.

then we celebrated scott's and josh's birthdays along with father's day. scott's parents and my brother's family were all in town.

sprinkle in a bunch more birthdays, weekend trips and work and you've got a super full few weeks. still waiting to have that one day of doing nothing!

we love weddings!

2010-05-05T23:44:00.000-07:00

so last weekend we went to Bishop, CA for the wedding of one of scott's friends. it was a beautiful wedding and Brent and Angie looked amazing and the band was awesome.

how we got there was not so glamorous...

we booked the room and reserved a car and asked for time off months ahead of time. the week of the wedding, the news kept showing this crazy snow storm that was keeping roads closed and was making a mess. i freak out, like i normally do, and start looking up road closures, chain requirement, road assistance resources, emailing the soon-to-be-bride, etc. i figure out that chains are required. i frantically look for friends that might have chains cuz i don't wanna buy them for a rental car and the rental company doesn't rent out chains. one of my co-workers graciously offers me his chains. they're for 14" tires. i try to get the rental company to tell me if they'll fit our car and they won't say! so frustrating. i start looking up all the possible cars they could give us and the only ones that might have 14" tires are the tiny economy cars. Bishop is up by Mammoth. i'm worried that we'll have a hard time climbing up in the mountains in a tiny economy car but at this point it's our only choice. so i figure we should sign up for AAA roadside assistance. $90 later, the AAA doesn't go into effect until the day we're driving back. CRAP. i call scott to complain about this as he's driving to work and he's telling me that he'll take care of everything and that i should relax, then he gets pulled over and is given a ticket.... double crap.... the day is getting worse and worse!

happy ending to the story? we end up getting the tiny car which came out cheaper, we take a southern route through Bakersfield and don't see a flake of snow, we're surprised by a great upgrade in our room, the weather is so great that i had to go buy some flip flops (cuz i'd only packed uggs and snow shoes), and we get to spend a fabulous weekend with some fabulous people!!! we had so much fun! congrats to brent and angie :)

New Happenings

2010-04-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Blog,

i've been thinking about posting something new but haven't had the chance. i've been working A LOT lately.... some days up to 17 hours a day! crazy! but i'm very grateful to be able to work this much. i live for it! on april first scott texted me that my laptop wasn't turning on. i thought it was an april fools joke. i was wrong. i cried and mourned my faithful laptop that was my graduation present about 6 years ago. it had a full and happy life. there was no question that i needed a new computer, right? that day we went and bought me a SWEET desktop. this one!!! (my camera's broken, no real pictures in this post :( )

i love it! but we had to spend what we had been saving up to go on a vacation with. i have the best husband cuz he didn't even bring that up and he's been dreaming about this vacation for months! so the vacation isn't canceled. just postponed till we save up enough, again. we're making little trips here and there until that happens. a couple of weeks ago we went to gridley for scott's grandma's 75 surprise birthday party! we had such a good time hanging out with family. some of them we hadn't seen since our wedding 3 years ago! grandma had a blast! thanks to scott's mom for bringing everyone together :) In may we're going to a wedding up in Bishop. In june we'll make a trip to so cal to visit my brother and scott's grandparents and attend scott's cousin's graduation. and then hopefully in july we'll do something for our anniversary.

this year, i totally forgot to get rid of my wheatgrass that i'd been growing for persian new year. they say that on the 13th day of the new year, you have to throw it in running water so it can float away with all the negative energy it's been absorbing for 13 days. if you don't do this, bad things happen (i don't really believe in this stuff, but still)...... so on the 14th day of new year, i'm talking to my mom and complaining about how my computer just died/scott lost his ipod/i broke my favorite pitcher/got a new scratch on my car/my awesome neighbors moved away/etc. and my mom asks "did you throw away your wheatgrass?" so i took it to the creek and let it float away right away. scott found his ipod today. yeay :)

It's spring time already!

2010-03-19T23:04:00.000-07:00

tomorrow morning is Persian New Year. the year turns at exactly 10:31 am. this is my new year's spread this year. it's still missing a couple of things but let's face it, i'm not gonna get around to go shopping for them.

for the last tuesday night of the year we went to a persian market to celebrate Chaharshanbeh Suri which is the fire festival. it was pretty mellow. we even made it back home in time to catch american idle :)

then yesterday, we finally had a day off together that wasn't jam packed with appointments and errands so we had a date day in SF. We went to de young museum and hung out at golden gate park, etc. it was so nice! then we went to visit marlene in Noe Valley and see her new place. she has the cutest city apartment. it was a much needed relaxing day :)

no pictures...

2010-03-03T15:40:00.000-08:00

we felt another earthquake today while we were at the movies. i think we were the only ones that felt it tho. we looked around and no one else was reacting. we checked later and it was a 3 point something. scary how frequent they're coming now.....

i've had a whole lot on my mind lately. no point in writing it all down, even for journalling purposes..... just a lot of worries. but c'est la vie. you count on certain things in life to be certain, but they're not always and you just have to role with it and change perspective and expectations. we're blessed enough to be on the same page with issues so that makes everything easier.

sicky

2010-02-11T21:55:00.000-08:00

man have i been sick lately.... i went on a lil trip with some girlfriends down to hollywood and the second i got home i fell sick with my tonsils the size of cherry tomatoes, a severe headache, a fever and just lots and lots of pain. i went into urgent care and sure enough, seeing a doctor made me sicker than i originally was. the antibiotics made me sicker and sicker to a point when i actually had to call in sick to work!!! i never call in sick! you don't understand, i'd rather be at work and distract myself than lay around the house but i had to this time. i couldn't even get out of bed till after 9p.m. when i finally woke up i found out that my amazing neighbor had cooked us dinner that night cuz she knew i was sick. best neighbors ever!

the week before i got sick, i got to stay at scott's hotel with him. i really liked the room! it's very modern and sleek. loved it! here are a some pix of the room we stayed in :)

Another Year, Another Birthday....

2010-01-17T23:36:00.000-08:00

It seems like I'm not too great at keeping this blog updated. It feels odd to stop life to grab my camera so not all great happenings will be captured... sorry.

We've had a couple of busy busy weeks since Christmas. We had a low-key new years eve. Actually our first one apart in 6 years :( Scott started at a new hotel recently so he had to work NYE and I spent the evening with my family and watched the ball drop on tv and exchanged kissy texts with Scott at midnight....

Then, the faithful birthday rolled around.... On January 5th I turned another year older. I'm again the same age as scott. I sure like the six months when I'm younger than him and I sure don't enjoy the whole getting older business. It's probably not ok to have a problem with aging but I have a big problem with it... I'm still in my 20's and I feel this way. I can't imagine how stupid I'll feel when I'm older and look back at this. I know everyone gets older and blah blah blah.... I don't wanna be a day over 25. When I was a kid, I used to think it would be great to find a vampire to bite me on my 25th birthday cuz it's pretty much the best age (this is before vampires were trendy). I keep thinking that my next birthday is my last in my 20's and then I'm a real grown up!!! crap! Ok, so the day of my birthday was a weekday and my hard working husband was working till midnight so a friend of mine took me out to dinner and a movie and i came home to this:

yup, he's very thoughtful. That week we celebrated with my family and then went out with some friends. It was a great time! I think I may have another birthday next year!!! There are lots of things that we wanna get done in 2010 and I really really hope we get the chance to cross them off of our life lists.... here's hoping by my next birthday, I actually feel like a grown up :)

Christmas in Gridley

2009-12-26T21:36:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas in Gridley with the Dolans this year. We had such a great time spending time with family and eating LOTS of yummy home-cooking (thanks Mama Dolan!).

here are some pix of our time there...

scott chilaxing and baby kate being pretty.

christmas dinner... so good, i had to take a picture of it :)

Andrew and Julianne's beautiful tree.

brothers!

Dinner Party

2009-12-14T11:12:00.001-08:00

So ever since Scott has started at his new job, he's been working weekends in the evenings. This last saturday, he finally worked in the morning so we got to have a dinner get together with some of our friends. Everyone brought a yummy dish!!!

we played some music

and had an impromptu dance party

start of the holidays

2009-12-10T21:49:00.000-08:00

we love this time of the year! we're almost done christmas shopping and enjoying all the holiday parties and things happening. we went to christmas-in-the-park in downtown san jose last week. it was COLD! we put up our little tree and kind of decorated the house. we don't really do much decorating cuz every year we spend the holidays with family and thank goodness, they go all out so we don't have to :) here's scott's holiday look... there are little penguins with santa hats and candy canes on his pj's :) we can't wait to spend christmas in gridley this year!!!

my sister and i went to a friend's birthday party last saturday. we had such a good time. scott was working so he couldn't make it but i'm sure he would have loved to show off his dance skills. i gotta get a video of it. this is me and my sister at the party.

last week scott's dreams came true and we went to the andy concert he's been wanting to go to. andy is this ridiculous persian singer and everyone always thinks scott's joking when he says he LOVES his music but i think he was genuinely happy to see him in concert! andy didn't disappoint either. he sang for a good 2.5 hours with just a 5 minute break. this is andy.... don't you LOVE his hair?!! :)

and this is us at our friend's house before we went to the concert...

so colorful....

2009-11-27T14:15:00.000-08:00

this is why we fell in love with our place! can you imagine what all of this looks like in the spring?! it's absolutely beautiful outside and there isn't much of this in San Jose so the fact that we have this to look at outside of our windows is so cool. it seems like most of our trees are green until the week before christmas and then they undress. they go from green to no leaves with nothing in between.

oh, and we made thanksgiving dinner this year.