Can't wait for the weekend!

I am so excited to see everyone this weekend! And I just got the SWEETEST voicemail from Elliott (and Carly)! Made me tear up right at my desk. :) I just loved hearing Elli's cute voice and I can't wait to give him hugs and kisses!

Its funny... I love being close to Troy's family and it is so fun for us to have Sunday dinners with them and hang out with them so often. However, it makes me miss my family so much more! Troy's niece Avery is so adorable and I love her dearly. She is growing up right before our eyes and its so fun to see the new things that she does each time I see her. However, it often makes me sad that I am not closer so that I can see those same transitions in Elliott, Madde, Trevor and Luke. I miss everyone and can't wait to see you all this weekend! (( I am sad that Brad, Meri and Madde won't be there though! I need to get out to Alb. to visit! ))

Back to school...

School starts next week! :)
I just registered for a Spanish Class given at one of the local middle schools, through the community education program. Classes start next week and go for 8 weeks. I am very excited! Troy is constantly speaking Spanish to me and hopefully soon I will be able to understand him! :) Haha!
Yes... I took Spanish in High School but sadly, I don't remember a lot of it. However... Bishop Hancock did teach our class a cool tongue Spanish tongue twister that I still remember! Well... mostly. Haha!

What did you do with your Saturday?

As for me... I spent the majority of my Saturday helping spread the word about a missing 16 year old girl, who thankfully made it home safe and sound on Saturday night, after being missing for a whole week!! I am very happy to report that this story had a happy ending... so many of them unfortunately do not. While I wish there was never a need for us to search for a missing child - I was happy that I was in the position to help this one be found!
If you hear of missing child... please participate in the searches, or in forwarding the emails, flyers, etc. Every little bit helps!

Happy Birthday to me.... in one month! :) Haha!

Ok... Mom asked for a birthday list and I was feeling lazy so I am just posting it here so that Mom and Troy can both see it. As for the rest of you.. just read it, shake your head at how silly I am and move on to the next item. :)

• Clothes or gift cards for clothes... :) (Now that I have to dress up every saturday for the symphony I need some dressier clothes! haha!) Ideas for stores - Banana Republic, Express, Nordstrom.
• 1 replacement bowl for the one I already chipped from my Christmas present. :(
• Blue Tooth Ear Piece for phone.
• Golf Lessons
• A new hardwood floor for my house.
• New faucets for my bathrooms.
• New computer.
• New car!
• OK.. this last one is for Troy simply because he will know what I am talking about..

- Those cute Versace sunglasses. ;)

I seriously can't believe that I am turning 35! I really think its time for me to start repeating birthdays! Perhaps I will turn 32 every year for the next 10 years or so!

Love, Marriage and Murder...

Last night was one of our Opera nights... the Opera was called Lucia di Lammermoor. Its a romantic tragedy of sorts... similar to Romeo and Juliet where two families are feuding. A girl (Lucia) falls in love with a guy (Edgardo) from the other family but then is forced to marry a suitor (Arturo) that her brother picks out. She kills Arturo on their wedding night, and then dies herself. Edgardo, upon hearing of her death, kills himself in hopes of being reunited with her in heaven. It was all very tragic and sad but the music was gorgeous and Lucia's voice was amazing! Aside from being just a tad-bit too long for both Troy and I, we both thought it was wonderful! Mostly we probably thought it was too long because we hadn't had time for dinner before and we were both hungry! Haha!

I am definitely paying for my late night today though... I am so tired! I guess that will teach me to stay out late on a school night! (Don't worry Shelly already scolded me when I talked to her last night... after all she is the boss of everyone... hehee!)

Despite the fact that we are having VERY WARM weather here (I think its about 70 degrees out today!)... I am still very excited for my visit to the OC in a couple weeks! Troy won't be coming along though... he will be in NYC for his best friend's birthday. I am sad he can't make it to Cali but he hasn't seen Tony for more than a year and a visit is long overdue!

Happy Birthday to Luke!

Yesterday was Luke's 1st Birthday! Can you believe he is already 1? Wow... has time flown! Mandy and Jason hosted a little dinner party for Troy & I and Susan & Jim.... what great fun! Luke just LOVED being sung to... He thought that was the best part I think. He was also fascinated with my braces when we were trying to take pictures... but despite that Troy managed to get a cute one with Mandy, Luke and I all looking in the same general direction. :) Haha!

Troy and I both loved being there to help Luke celebrate!

Madde Loves Me! :)

Brad sent me the sweetest email today and it just made my day!! :) It seems that Brad and Madde were looking at pictures from Hawaii and... as Brad said, "I asked her where Aunt Jen was, and she got this HUGE smile and pointed right at you. It was so cute. Just thought that might make your day better. Hope to see you soon."

And you know.... I was having a fine day... looking forward to seeing Luke for his birthday tonight... but that email from Brad (and Madde) just brightened my day a little extra! :)

Weekend of Indulgence...

What a fun weekend!

Troy and I attended a Surprise Birthday Party for one of our buddies on Friday night. It was held at the Fast Kart Indoor Track.... everyone had fun racing and running over each other. Troy and I were very entertained watching everyone and cheering on our buddy Bunker! Can I just add in here that I am so happy that Troy and Bunker get along so well! It has been so fun for me to have my ole' pal to hang out with! And those two are so entertaining to listen to!

The weekend was filled with tons of goofing off, being silly and just enjoying some down time! We had Symphony tickets Saturday night, which was wonderful as usual (except the cellist was irritating Troy.. haha! He was a little too animated for both our tastes)! And the rest of the time we were drooling over a Ferrari at the dealer, shopping, looking at cars, eating out, more shopping, more eating out and more shopping.... hahaha! We usually have these long "to-do lists" for Saturdays and it was so nice to just relax this weekend and have time to goof off! I felt so indulgent.. it was great!

Sunday we got to visit with Mandy and Luke for a little bit over at Natalie's and that was great fun! It was great to see Natalie and her whole clan.... but I was most anxious to see Luke of course! He's grown a ton since Christmas! I didn't get to see any of this walking that he is supposedly doing yet, but I'm hopeful I will get to see some on his birthday!

Why did we think tag was such a fun game? Haha!

Ok Carly... Here you go! :)

Available or not: NOT
Best friend: Troy (Just don't tell Steve or Paulette... they have shared that title for so many years, they would be crushed!)
Cake or pie: Pie... Apple or Pumpkin to be exact.
Drink of choice: Coke! Haha! As if anyone didn't know that!
Essential items used daily: Toothbrush (especially with the braces!), Maderma (trying to get rid of the scar!), hand lotion and chapstick.
Favorite color: Red
Gummy bears or worms: I'd have to say bears but I prefer Swedish fish to both of these.
Hometown: Newport Beach
Indulgence: Relaxing with a novel when I have a to-do list 2 miles long.
January or February: February... there is always a bit of a thaw in SL in February and the "warm" weather is welcome break :)
Kids and names: 3 wonderful puppies! Askie, Maika and Aluesha
Life is incomplete without: My family, my close friends and of course, Troy
Marriage date: Is this a trick question, designed to get me to reveal something??? Haha!
Number of siblings: 4
Oranges or apples: Apples... and boy do I miss them! Can't wait til August when I can eat them again!
Phobias or fears: Heights and Claustrophobia mostly... but I suppose some would argue that list should include needles and blood. :)
Quote (favorite): I just read this on a dixie cup this morning.... love sees no faults :)

Reason to Smile: Humm... Troy! :) And last night one of the puppies (Maika) walked over the top of Troy to come snuggle with me... that made me smile too. And of course I always smile when I think of Elliott, Madde, Trevor and Luke... or when I see new photos, or get notes in the mail, or get phone calls.

Season: I love both spring and fall but probably fall the most...I love watching the leaves change and little bit of chill in the air is fun when I get to wear a warm sweater and boots for the first time.
Tag 3 people: Oh my.... Mandy and I have no idea who else! Haha!
Unknown fact about me: I am not sure there is anything that is unknown about me! Haha!
Vegetables you don't like: Wow... that may be a long list. But to be fair, I thought I didn't like asparagus but recently I have formed quite a liking to it so, who knows what I don't like anymore.
X-rays: Way too many to list I'm sure.. most recently my right foot (and yes, I am VERY glad to be out of the 'boot')
Your favorite food: At the moment dried mangos. But I still get cravings for string cheese too! Haha!
Zodiac sign: Aries