Tea Time

We had "high tea" for my mother in law's birthday this week. It was AMAZING. I'm not really a big fan of tea, but I discovered that sugar cubes + cream + really fun flavors of tea (snickerdoodle, french vanilla...) = super deliciousness! Plus it was accompanied by lots of delightful tiny foods like finger sandwiches, filo dough cups filled with goodness, scones and petit fours.

Here we are being fancy. Pinkies up!

As per usual, Luke was a hit with all the women in the restaurant. The boy already has game. He usually starts off slow...first he charms them a head cock to the side, then breaks out the shy smile, and lastly  he nails

'em with the dimples. It's nearly 100% foolproof and is sure to elicit any manner of ooo'ing and ahh'ing from any female within a 10 to 15-foot radius.

(We're trying to figure out how to leverage this act to our advantage monetarily, but our standards keep getting in the way.)

 Our waitresses were all about posing for a picture with the Lukester.

Kisses from Grandma Lynn and Auntie Wendy

Sommer wanted to be "photographer" and this brick wall was the perfect backdrop!

Happy birthday mother-in-law. And, as my brother-in-law so eloquently put it, "thank you for being born and creating Sommer." (Or in my case, Justin.)

Thoughts on a Rainy Friday

I have never eaten so many Christmas cookies in my life. There has been an endless parade of goodies through the office this week, which has resulted in a perpetual stomachache due to my lack of willpower. Last night I felt a bit like Buddy the Elf as dinner consisted solely of Christmas cookies and copious amounts of hot chocolate consumed at a special bookstore event we held for alumni. I wish I could say that today had been better...but alas, I wasn't feeling the lean cuisine in the breakroom fridge, so lunch was string cheese and cookies. So gross!

Speaking of Buddy the Elf... I won the Christmas movie trivia contest at a Christmas party the other night. Don't cross me when it comes to popular movie trivia people! There's a frightening amount of useless knowledge in this brain of mine. On the other side of the spectrum, I also "won" a size 44DD bra in the white elephant gift exchange at said party. As they say, "you win some, you lose some."

Santa! I know him!

Luke's first visit with Santa

While I was working...

...Justin made a quick trip to Hollywood to see his little brother perform at the House of Blues. Jeff's music school held their holiday showcase there on Sunday night and he was one of a few acts picked to perform. It's only his first semester at MI, so this was a great opportunity for him.

Jeff lives right around the corner from Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Kodak Theater and the shops at Hollywood and Highland, so he can pretty much have a front row seat to the stuff going down there like movie premieres, Walk of Fame star unveilings, etc. This weekend was no exception and he and Justin got to watch the stars arrive for the Tron premiere. Justin was pretty stoked that they got to see Will Ferrell. He also told me how much they wished I was there...so I could tell them who some of the actors were.

 Gee thanks.

Seriously though, I am so proud of my brother-in-law! I can't wait to see the great things God has in store for him!

Polar Express

Yesterday, while Justin was in Hollywood seeing movie stars, going to clubs and stalking movie premieres (more on that later), I was stuck in NorCal...working. Actually, what I was doing can hardly be construed as work. In an official Pacific Alumni capacity, I got to go on a magical journey to the North Pole.

Every year the train museum in Sacramenoto hosts a Polar Express train ride. It's huge! It runs for three or four weeks, multiple trains, and they sell out every single year within a day or two. For three years our alumni association has been fortunate enough to rent out a car and sell the tickets to our alumni and their families. It is hugely popular and, as the staff member in charge of the event, I get to go too! This year I brought Luke and my mom along.

Luke loved seeing the dancing elves at the North Pole and really enjoyed his special gift from Santa...a beautiful silver bell. And of course, for those of you fans of the Chris Van Allsburg story, we can all hear it. :)

We had a wonderful time on our magical journey!

Cleaning House

Confession #1:  I haven't been on facebook in 10 days.

Confession #2:  I had to have Justin change my password because I have no willpower.

The truth is...except for the un-flattering picture tag that I wasn't able to remove, the photo comment and wall post I can't respond to, and that fact that I can't post this adorable/kind of silly photo of Luke as my new profile pic...I actually feel freer. I still have a ton of stuff in my head all the time (who doesn't?), but it's pleasant to know that it's mostly my stuff in there and not the random knowledge that the girl who lived across from me in college is in Switzerland for the holidays or that some random work colleague got hit on by a homeless person during her walk to work.

Sure, I am a little concerned that I'll miss out on some big news like a proposal, pregnancy or new job announcement, but I figure the hiatus will just force me to work a little harder to find out what the 10 or so people I actually care about are doing and not so much the other 340 on my friends list. And, in a season where I really need to devote 8 hours a day to work, a few hours a day to my child and all the leftover time to creating personal Christmas gifts, holiday decorating and other frivolity, I've found my productivity level has increased dramatically.

So... though I'm sure I haven't been missed much in only 10 days, I'm thinking I may make an appearance on facebook again in a couple of weeks. Then again, maybe not. I'm waiting until the habit is broken and I can be sure that I can control myself. In the meantime, I will be hanging out in a place WAY less narcissistic...my blog. :) Ha ha.

Thanksgiving!

(Luke celebrates his actual birthday on Thanksgiving eve at Cheesecake Factory. He also had a candle in his pancakes at Mimi's that morning.)

I love Thanksgiving! It's one of my favorite holidays. I think it's the food and the fact that it involves pumpkin-y things. The last two years have been a bit out of the norm for our Thanksgiving routine. Last year we brought Luke home from the hospital on Thanksgiving and didn't get to do our usual festivities (although Marie Callendar's at home was just fine Mom.) :)  Usually we are up and at 'em early making a grand tour of the bay area. We wake up in the east bay at my in-laws, drive across the bay to San Mateo for Justin's high school alumni water polo game, then back across the bay to Hayward to the Grandparent-in-laws for an amazing Thanksgiving meal before going to back to my in-laws in Lafayette. This year, Serra High School's swimming pool is under construction, which meant no water polo game. The family was mildly interested in participating in a 5K fun run (something Sommer and I did in 2007 - our pic is even on the TurkeyTrailTrot.com website!), but when the rubber met the road (pun intended) we never signed up and our plans to go sign up on race day never materialized. We contemplated getting up and running a mile loop around the neighborhood in our PJ's, but instead opted to sit around and watch my MIL make swedish pancakes. We did take a leisurely walk to Starbucks, so at least moderate exercise was involved before the big meal.

Once at the grandparents, we attempted some family Christmas card photos.

On Friday, Sommer and I got up at the crack of dawn (ok, 5am) and went to Michael's for some deals and then to the mall. (Prior to that we stopped at Starbucks for some venti chai teas - we needed serious caffeination.)

 GAP was having a 50% discount, which made the prices just about in the normal range for me. We started out with one item each. By the time we had waited TWO hours in line, our piles looked like this:

We also scored these super cute shoes that neither of us could justify for ourselves, so we decided to give them to each other as Christmas presents. You have no idea how hard it is to have super cute sparkly shoes in the house in MY exact size and NOT be able to wear them. Christmas can't come soon enough!

This was my attempt at the Tree of Thanks that Pottery Barn was selling (for $65, ridic!) We added a leaf each day and said something new we were thankful for as we counted down both to Luke's birthday and Thanksgiving. For those of you counting, we missed a few days there toward the end. Next year I think I'll make a fun Thanksgiving banner or something to make the tree look a little less random.

Hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving as well!

Luke is One!

It's amazing how much a little person changes in their first year! The past few weeks have transformed my baby into a toddler. It's a frustrating, but wonderful process. Frustrating because it goes so fast that I feel I can barely keep up. I find myself wishing there was a way to throw a lasso around time and slow it down. There isn't, so I find myself hanging on for dear life, trying to soak in every fleeting moment and enjoying the ride!

Things about Luke as a 1-year-old:

He walks more and more, further and further every day.
He loves cars, climbing up things, waving, the mirror, crawling under things
He is fascinated by lights and loves to try and turn the light switches off and on

He points at everything and says, "da?" quite quizzically.

He loves the swings at the park.

He eats almost anything we give him, but seems to really enjoy pancakes

He almost has 6 teeth

He doesn't have a favorite toy, but does love to rub the satin on blankets or soft tags

He likes to read and will drag books over to us to read to him

He gets frustrated easily when he finds he can't do something

He is very sweet tempered and low maintenance

He has a big smile for almost everybody

And, I just love him!

The day before...

One year ago today...

I spent the day running errands with my mom. I had lunch at Round Table. I wore my "Due in December" tank top and the cashier at Target said, "are you really?" I put together a bookshelf. My mom told me my tummy "looked different." I had a friend over for what turned out to be a very abbreviated dinner.

Little did I know when I woke up on the morning of November 23rd that later that evening I would be at the hospital getting ready for my new life to begin!

The Birthday Party

I'll be posting an inordinate amount of pictures on facebook in the next few days, but here are a few pics to show you Luke's First Birthday Party. I didn't really want any particular theme other than the primary colors, but I threw in a few Sesame Street-inspired things because I love it! I even found a Sesame Street shirt when I was cleaning out boxes of my old clothes last weekend, so I decided it needed to make an apperance at the party too!

Sister-in-law Sommer takes credit for the awesome tissue paper poofs and the "Happy Birthday Luke" Banner

 

Happy first birthday sweet baby boy! 




(next year we're going to Chuck E Cheese) :)

Minutiae About Me

The pic on my mouse pad (see Q. 38)

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? I have the same middle name as my Aunt (Diane)
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I got a little teary during a Christmas song the other day
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? No, it's awful. I blame the public school system.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey (cut by the deli counter, not processed in a package.)
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes, he'll be ONE next week!
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Is there an answer to this that doesn't sound super arrogant or really lame?
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM? Never! ;)
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Definitely not
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Life, frosted mini-wheats, and low sugar maple/brown sugar oatmeal
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No and then I'm frustrated when I have to untie them to put them back on
12. WHAT IS IN YOUR CD PLAYER? Sesame Street Platinum Favorites and a mix cd I made for Luke
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? not a huge ice cream fan unless it's soft serve with something mixed into it.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? outfit maybe (is that superficial?)
15. RED OR PINK? Pink
16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My irrational competitiveness
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Luke when I'm at work
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? jeans and black flats
20. PIERCINGS, TATTOOS? only my ears
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Glee station on Pandora. LOVE!
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? hot pink or yellow
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? vanilla, pumpkin, cookies
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? someone work-related
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? college basketball
27. HAIR COLOR? brownish
28. EYE COLOR? one eye brownish green, the other bluish green
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes
30. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? prime rib, tortilla chips, cookies (not necessarily together)
31. SCARY MOVIE OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? RED I think
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? black Pacific Alumni Association polo
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
36. FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? history, drama and public speaking
38. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? my sibs and I on the set of The Office :)
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? nothing new on hulu, so cleaning and decorating instead
42. MY FAVORITE SOUND IS? Luke laughing
42a.MY UN-FAVORITE SOUND? finger nails scraping on anything that makes a screechy sound
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles
44. WHAT'S THE FARTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Costa Rica
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I can juggle
46 WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Yuba City, CA
48. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT? is it 5 o'clock yet?

Getting My Craft On

I have been feeling especially crafty lately. I'm certainly not the most "Martha" person I know, but occasionally I do like to give it a whirl. I busted these projects out the other night after Luke's bedtime. (Did I mention how thankful I am for a little guy who goes to bed by 6:30 or 7pm every night? Granted, we're up around 6ish in the morning, but it gives us time to have quite lovely mornings together before I go to work, so I don't mind.)

I did this for a friend who had a sweet baby boy in early October. His room is decked out in monkey theme. Shout out to Diana! (I told her not to look too closely at my imperfect polka dots. Fortunately they photograph well.)

Letter J, acrylic paint, and pre-painted monkey cutout:  Michael's

Green and white ribbon:  from my ribbon stash (I LOVE ribbon, especially polka-dot ribbon!)

I wanted to do a chalkboard for the wall in my kitchen area, but I absolutely HATE touching chalk, so I opted for a whiteboard instead. I got this cute black whiteboard at a fairly good price at Office Depot.

I busted out the hot glue gun and added some ribbon and twigs (only burned my fingers twice), as well as an obligatory "P" for Perry that I painted a mossy green color. I covered the little clear magnets that came with the board with cute paper that came from a thank you card sent by my dear friend Ancelle. I finished off the wall with my pear candles (get it, "pear" for Perry) and used an empty photo frame that I filled with scrapbooking stickers. The quote says, "It's the little things in life that mean the most." I still need to hang a fun little pouch or something to hold the markers and eraser.

 

White board:  Office Depot

Twigs, ribbon, paint, scrapbooking stickers & "P":  Joann's

Pear Candles:  beachy home store in Laguna Beach

Picture frame:  found in my basement

Yay for some decorations in the kitchen! More seasonal and birthday crafty-ness to show you later!

Makeovers Are Awesome

(This post was held over for a few days as I waited to post pics)

I had to work on Saturday. It was a 14-hour day, which is kind of a bummer. Normally when we have a board meeting we work straight through the day, overseeing our various committees in the morning and then lingering in the background during the actual afternoon board discussion. This time was different. We got released in the middle of the afternoon for a 2-hour break. Since one of my co-workers lives out of town and my house was filled (presumably) with two sets of grandparents (a changing of the guard occurred mid-day since Justin and I were both working on Saturday), she and I decided we'd have to kill time with some retail therapy. Having already spent more than my share at Target and Home Goods  last week (our usual favorites), we decided to check out the new Ulta store. I'm not really much of a makeup or product kind of girl, but this store might just be the death of me. Bare Mineral eye shadow and the holiday lip gloss kit are two of the things I will be adding to my Christmas list!

After perusing the store for several minutes, we decided to inquire about the makeover process. The purchase of two or three products or an appointment (with a $30-$40 pricetag) was the answer. Not willing to do either, Claire and I continued to salivate over the various products. It was then that we were informed that the store was offering free oxygen peels and that they would touch up our make up afterward. Score! These two moms enjoyed our free pampering and were then glammed up for FREE for our alumni awards dinner that night.

Here we are with our fancy makeovers (AKA - how most normal people look everyday)

And here I am with Al Irwin, our alumni award winner for volunteer service that I mentioned in last week's post. Isn't he adorable?!? (And I don't mean that to be patronizing - he really was!)

Cake Pops

Cake pops are the new cupcake. Did you know this? So...I ordered these for Luke's birthday party next weekend! I was going to make them myself, but really? For $40, someone else can be a rock star.
Pretty excited!

Friday Feel Good

The following things are making me incredibly happy today!

It may not be as impressive as the colors my friends back east get to see, but fall has definitely come to Stockton!

The red cups are back at Starbucks

My amazing sister-in-law Sommer lent me this super cute dress to wear to our alumni awards banquet tomorrow. (It has sparkles on the bottom and I'll do anything for sparkles.)

I found this totally appropriate orange and black polka dot ornament at Michaels last weekend. It is now on my desk.

They started construction on the alumni house, which means I will have a swanky new office work space by next summer!

Getting to meet some of our amazing distinguished alumni award winners this weekend, including Al Irwin.

(pictured below)

 A graduate from the class of 1942, Al has served Southern California as a water safety trainer and lifeguard since he was 14. I got to interview Al, as well as some of our other awardees, so I could write up his award introduction and presentation. He was humble and gracious and touched my heart. Just one of the many reasons he is receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award for Volunteer Service:  In 2003 he performed an unassisted rescue of a drowning man in Hawaii...when he was 86-years-old! Today he is 92 and is a truly a remarkable individual that we are proud to call a fellow Tiger.

Oh yeah, and this guy. :)