Love Life the Most

Holiday Weekend....gonna need a vacation after!

Fri, 24 May 2013 20:58:14 -0700

My holiday weekend has/will consist of: -Boss telling us to leave at 2pm! Score! -Friends birthday...

"It doesn’t make sense to call ourselves ugly, because we don’t really see ourselves. We don’t watch..."

Thu, 23 May 2013 23:06:25 -0700

““It doesn’t make sense to call ourselves ugly, because we don’t really see ourselves. We...

I have so many magazines to read! Starting with all January...

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:36:10 -0700

I have so many magazines to read! Starting with all January issues…wonder how long it will take me!

So happy to finally have some of our favorite wedding photos up...

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:10:58 -0700

So happy to finally have some of our favorite wedding photos up on display!

We got our glow on yesterday at the ASU Young Alumni Ne-On pub...

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:35:52 -0700

We got our glow on yesterday at the ASU Young Alumni Ne-On pub crawl! It was so much fun and love spending time with all my favs!

My sweet husband

Mon, 13 May 2013 22:36:21 -0700

This may sound very materialistic…but it’s not meant to be. Paul made me feel very...

"Marry your best friend. I do not say that lightly. Really, truly find the strongest, happiest..."

Sun, 12 May 2013 20:17:11 -0700

““Marry your best friend. I do not say that lightly. Really, truly find the strongest,...

Happy Mother’s Day Mommy!!! I feel safe saying I’m at the later...

Sun, 12 May 2013 10:50:47 -0700

Happy Mother’s Day Mommy!!!
I feel safe saying I’m at the later stage as I find my mother’s words coming out of my own mouth frequently. “Life Isn’t Fair” is a favorite….always helps put things in perspective for me.

Another quote that she always told us is “The two greatest gifts you can give your children… the first is roots and the other is wings.” Well today my brother posted the entire poem that quote is derived from. My mom didn’t even know it was a full poem! I loved it and thought I’d share here:

Roots and Wings If I had two wishes, I know what they would be I’d wish for Roots to cling to, and Wings to set me free; Roots of inner values, like rings within a tree, and Wings of independence to seek my destiny. Roots to hold forever to keep me safe and strong, To let me know you love me, when I’ve done something wrong; To show me by example, and helps me learn to choose, To take those actions every day to win instead of lose. Just be there when I need you, to tell me it’s all right, To face my fear of falling when I test my wings in flight; Don’t make my life too easy, it’s better if I try, And fail and get back up myself, so I can learn to fly. If I had two wishes, and two were all I had, And they could just be granted, by my Mom and Dad; I wouldn’t ask for money or any store-bought things. The greatest gifts I’d ask for are simply Roots and Wings. Thank you Mommy for my roots and wings! And for being the best Mom ever!!!! I love you the most! Ps No I do!

Wishing my sister the happiest of birthdays! I love and adore...

Sun, 12 May 2013 09:31:33 -0700

Wishing my sister the happiest of birthdays! I love and adore you! Which is exactly why I wish you the best today, on your birthday, and throughout the year.

I Love You the Most!

"Don’t save something for a special occasion. Every day of your life is a special occasion."

Fri, 10 May 2013 20:24:36 -0700

“Don’t save something for a special occasion. Every day of your life is a special...

In LOVE with my new frame!

Fri, 10 May 2013 09:29:50 -0700

In LOVE with my new frame!

Looking forward to date night tonight! Saw him 6months after we...

Wed, 08 May 2013 11:48:25 -0700

Looking forward to date night tonight! Saw him 6months after we started dating…now seeing him close to 6 months after wedding :)

"It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that..."

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:11:12 -0700

“It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now...

I’m official! Moved my maiden name to my middle name and...

Mon, 06 May 2013 19:01:55 -0700

I’m official! Moved my maiden name to my middle name and took Paul’s last name! Of course the photo isn’t great but I’m happy to have my married name!

Finished a jar of peanut butter and gave it to...

Sun, 05 May 2013 20:10:50 -0700

Finished a jar of peanut butter and gave it to Pepper…she’s really enjoying it!

SLAP THE BAG BACHELORETTE - DAY FOUR Seems crazy that I’m just...

Sat, 04 May 2013 14:19:44 -0700

SLAP THE BAG BACHELORETTE - DAY FOUR

Seems crazy that I’m just not completely my series on my bachelorette…but the last day was too fun/funny not to include! (even 8 months later haha)

We woke up the last morning and packed up the hotel. There were SO many of us in the two rooms that packing was insane! People left in waves but several people had the majority of the day to spend in San Fran so we checked out and asked them to hold our bags. My sister and I were pretty nervous checking out since we had way more people than we said and were very loud. But they didn’t give us any hassle and just smirked asking us if we had fun. They held our bags without issue either-Phew!

We decided to walk around and see some new sights. We hiked the hilly streets of San Fran by Lombard Street, Little Italy and China town. We stumbled across a church having a huge festival / parade and later across an outdoor wedding. As we got into some of the more touristy areas, we popped in and out of shops looking for souvenirs. My sister and I were both on the hunt for a good Christmas ornament. We walked around Fisherman’s Wharf again…this time the sky was clear and it wasn’t freezing! Throughout the day groups had to leave and go back to the hotel and then the airport. With just a few of us left, we decided to bask in the sun in a grassy park just off the water. It was so beautiful out! Then we headed to Ghirardelli’s for some ice cream-YUM! A street vendor had a perfect ornament with the bridges and customized it for me to say ‘Katie’s Bachelorette 2013’ plus I found a nice set of framed paintings that I picked up. The day was almost over so we hopped on a cable car to take us back to the hotel. We had to wait in line for awhile, but it was worth it because we had a TON of fun! And we were on the perfect side so that we could see out to the water. We checked out a few more shops and then the last of us headed back to the hotel for our luggage.

That’s where the fun really started! Four of us were staying that final night and leaving Monday morning (my birthday!). The hotel we had stayed in was never available Sunday night so we had to move. So the four of us lugged our luggage towards the BART. We had a lot of luggage with us so it wasn’t the easiest task. Right away, we had issues getting tickets. We had done it before, but this stop had different options and some of the machines didn’t work. As we were fumbling with the ticket dispenser, a drunk and very large homeless man got off the BART and started yelling at this other girl. I looked over to see him walk to a pillar and start unzipping his pants! OMG- thankfully I whipped my head around and instructed the girls to do the same so none of us saw anything. But the girl he had been yelling at did and she started screaming at him. We were so uncomfortable and just ready to get on the train! Jessica accidentally bought the wrong ticket. Once she had the correct one we went to go to the train. But as she put her ticket in to walk through the gate, Jessica struggled with her luggage and didn’t get through. After hesitating, we told her just to jump it and that’s what she did. But the wheel on her luggage broke! UGH! We got down and were waiting for the train…and saw another drunken homeless man that fell down the escalator and couldn’t get up. It was so scary because no one was helping him but we were too far to do anything. He finally got up and seemed fine. The train arrived and we were so happy to get on it! The hotel was near the airport so we just got off there. There was supposed to be a shuttle from the airport to the hotel but it just took way too long. Finally we took a taxi and arrived at the hotel. After all of that…we realized it probably would have been the same price, and much faster, had we just taken a taxi from the first hotel to the second! Oh well- we will just chalk it up to life experience!

The hotel was not that wonderful…but there was a restaurant basically in the parking lot that was amazing. The food was really great there and completely exceeded our expectations at that point. We were so exhausted that one beer put us all at ease and ready for a deep sleep. We went to bed at a decent hour and all slept well. Shelley got up early to go to the airport and the rest of us slept in some before we needed to leave. We stopped for one last beer in the airport and another great meal. Then we hopped on the plane and headed home.

The trip was so amazing and I felt so blessed that so many of my friends came to celebrate with me! I have been very lucky to make amazing girlfriends in my life. They are funny, loyal and wonderful ladies. I couldn’t ask for better friends!

Before we left, the girls surprised me with a diamond ring Christmas ornament they found in San Fran. It’s so beautiful and is the most appropriate symbol for our trip! Each year at Christmas, I enjoy hanging up ornaments one by one…remembering the vacation and travels that ornament represents. And I have no doubt that as I hang that diamond ring each year, I’ll have a smile on my face thinking back to each one of my girlfriends and that trip of a lifetime!

P.S. If you want to read the first installments (that were written in a much more timely manner) you can find them here, here and here.

"Eventually everything falls into place, until then hang on to hope, laugh at the confusion, live in..."

Wed, 01 May 2013 21:53:25 -0700

“Eventually everything falls into place, until then hang on to hope, laugh at the confusion,...

Pepper has discovered the area under our bed and she LOVES it!...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:43:09 -0700

Pepper has discovered the area under our bed and she LOVES it! Haha even her cone didn’t stop her from crawling under there. Lucky for her, she was cleared by the vet at her check up appointment. So she’s now cone free. What’s nice is she just lays under there quietly…even falling asleep many of the times. I’ll forget she’s under there until I hear her little puppy snores :)

In non puppy related news, things are going well at home and work. Lately I’ve been delusional about my to do list. It’s not as long as it has been so I’ve been feeling lax and then realize I actually have way more to do than I thought. The house never seems clean! But I’m chugging along and enjoying each day instead of stressing. I suppose my discovery of the game “Candy Crush Saga” really hasn’t helped with time management. It’s soooooo addicting that I can’t even recommend it to anyone without the caveat that you will get sucked in and lose all free time! Anyway gotta go try to beat this level!!!!

Photo

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:59:21 -0700

Photo

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 12:50:36 -0700