California Dreams

Going through some difficult stuff at work right now. This made me smile:

Random Randomness

Wow. Is it going to be March tomorrow? Really? February FLEW by for me as I knew it would with the Washington DC trip. Hubby went, and thank goodness for that. I had some students on it that seemingly knew how to press my every button. Now I get to look forward to a conference in Reno for associated student body directors.

So I have a question for you: are revas really worth it? I have my eye on this pair at Nordstrom:


I've stashed away a few gift cards, and I am saving up the balance. However, I keep wondering if the cost is worth it? Am I just buying into the hype with these because everyone else has them? Are they really that comfortable?

In other news, darn you Costco! Just goes to show that after I hurried to order the Christmas gift set of Stila lip glosses they would start carrying it. Oy!

Hope you are enjoying your Sunday night. I already have a case of the Mundays.

Where did my weekend go?

Oy! I'm gearing up to take 38 eighth grade students on a trip to DC on Saturday, and the snow in DC is seriously scaring me. I would feel a little bit better if I had had the weekend to relax, but I spent all Sunday making these:

And these:


for the hubby's super bowl party in San Diego. So after these were all done, we drove down to a friend's house in San Diego to watch the Saints win!

Now I am just dreading packing Thursday...and the 3:00 wake-up time on Saturday. I miss you weekend!

Bonjour!

The days have been swirling by me lately. I plan on showing you some updates to the house the hubby and I have made recently. For now, here's something that makes me happy each time I walk in the front door:

Feelin' Hot, Hot, Hot!

Note to self: make sure you read ALL of the print on a page when trying a recipe for Rachael Ray's Spicy Hot Pot with Noodles. If you do, you'll make sure to note the paragraph off to the side where it says they are "crazy-spicy." Grr...

The Greatest Little Spirit

Ringing in the New Year today is filled with sadness for me. One of the greatest little spirits I have had the privilege to have in my life, our cat Darla, passed away yesterday after putting up a great fight. After going up to see my family for Christmas and visiting for a few days, my sister and I slowly watched her cat's physical state decline. December 26th was filled with bursts of tears as my little sissy and I watched Darla walk a few steps and then lay down for a few minutes, repeating the process every ten minutes. It was so incredibly painful because that just wasn't our sassy little Darla. I left knowing that Darla would only have a few days left. My husband and I went to the Parker in Palm Springs with me on edge, just waiting for a phone call. After a wonderful breakfast at Norma's yesterday, I received that dreaded call. Our Darla was gone.


I haven't felt pain like this in such a long time. I am actually already dreading going up to my parent's house because it will be so painful to not have her greet me at the door. I loved that little spirit SO much. In honor of her, I am going to remember to be a bit sassy in 2010 and to always take the time to appreciate all of the things I love. Darla, I loved you so much. I know you're waiting for me now on the other side. I miss you, precious.

Darla
1993-2009

Winter Whirlwind

Wow! Where has the time gone? This month has just kinda escaped me. Between planning and running an assembly, work, decorating our house, projects, and the first two dinners we've had at our house, time has pretty much escaped me. In fact, I cannot believe that tomorrow will be Christmas. Every year, I try to savor the days leading up to Christmas, and this year I feel that I have done a much better job than last year. I am so excited to see my love ones open up their gifts.

For now, I'll play catch up with some cute birthday pictures. Here's how I spent my b-day on the first of December this year:


Can your birthday get any better than having it here? I had an absolute blast, and my husband surprised me by buying us season passes this year as our Christmas gifts. I couldn't think of a better present.

The next day, I went back to work to see that my kids had planned a surprise party for me complete with streamers and posters of Edward Cullen:




And to top it off, my hubby had a surprise party for me at our favorite wine store which hadn't even re-opened yet (they had been undergoing some revisions) that weekend! Overall, it was one of the best birthdays I'd had in years!