Our Journey!

Christmas/Winter Wreath Project

2011-11-30T13:23:00.001-08:00

I saw the idea of a "bubble wreath" on Pinterest (obsessed) and decided to make one of my own! I had an old fleece blanket that I never used so I decided to use that instead of spending money to buy some new fabric. I also had a wire wreath form that I was going to use for a fall/Thanksgiving wreath but I never came up with one. Here are the steps!

Wrap the wreath form with duct tape - all I had was black - color doesn't matter because it will be covered. This helped to have something to glue to.

Cut 64, 5in X 5in squares of fabric - you can vary the size from 4-6 inches, and the number can be approximate. I just liked that I could evenly space them.

I used a glue gun to fold the squares in half diagonally, glue, then fold in the remaining corners and glue.

Glue the squares at the "4 corners" of the wreath, then evenly between the 4. I liked this because then I had 7 squares to glue in each section (I am a little obsessive)

Once I was done with all the gluing - probably 2 hours total - I thought the white was a little plain so I decided to add some red beads and gold/white/black fancy buttons

Here it is!

Im debating hanging it on the front door outside because it probably would get pretty dirty, but I think it will look better against our brown door instead of the plain white one inside...opinions?

Full of Thanks

2011-11-20T15:35:00.001-08:00

With Thanksgiving coming up in 4 days, I am feeling especially thankful for my life.

-I am married to the MOST AMAZING man you could imagine. Seriously. I am constantly baffled by Ryan. He is a natural at this whole husband thing. You might think Im just spouting the good stuff for the public eyes, but he truly is worthy of your jealousy :) He is so smart and such a hard worker. His bosses can not stop complimenting him and telling me how great he is. (and my dad isn't the one who's his boss anymore so it counts!) He is always willing to cook dinner if Im not in the mood, run to the store if I forgot something, rub my back if Ive got a knot, and he never hesitates to take a quick break at work to talk to me when I call with a problem. He gives the BEST advice. He just knows what is the right thing to say. He never has to "insert foot in mouth". You will never hear Ryan judging someone or talking down to them. He is strong and protective, yet gentle and sensitive. We discuss every decision in our lives and almost always agree. I am so glad we believe in the same things and want to raise our kids with the same discipline ideas and values. I do not doubt that I will be incredibly, blissfully happy with this man until the end of time.

-I have a great family!! I was born in to the Barlows - the craziest, funniest, most loving family! People are drawn to my parents and siblings. I always have someone to talk to, laugh with, and confide in. I married in to the best family too! Those Wallaces are so open and caring, Ryan is just a small piece of that amazing family pie.

-I have a place to live and sleep! It may be tiny, but its perfect for us right now and there's not much to clean!

-I have a car to take me places!

-I don't have to work. I know this sounds terrible but I am so glad that I don't have to get up and go some place every day. I am thankful Ryan can support us and I can focus on the home and hopefully growing babies one day!

-I am thankful for modern medicine. I don't know what kind of shape I'd be in without the help and hope modern medicine provides us. Many of my family and friends have been saved and I am so thankful for that.

- I have fantastic friends! You all love me for me and support me in times of need. I am so grateful to always have someone to call on when I have a fun story or need a laugh. My friends rock!

I could go on and list every tiny thing I am thankful for but Ive written enough.

Lastly, I am so glad for THANKSGIVING!! I love that it brings my family together to eat and be merry! Can't wait for this week!

Crazy Dreams!

2011-10-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

I have VERY weird dreams. I have always been one who remembers my very vivid dreams.

Last night I had a particularly crazy one that I feel I should share :)

I was golfing with my dad (I don't golf) and we met up with Justin Bieber and his dad. My dad and his dad were really good friends, so *naturally* Justin and I became best buds. Golfing was a blast.

Then I was at the Oakland A's Coliseum at a game and I was looking for Justin! All my friends didn't believe me that I was friends with JUSTIN BIEBER so I was trying to find him to prove that we were really supposed to be at the game together! He wasn't there...his dad said he was in surgery for his stomach and couldn't make it. So I began panicking and wanting to see him!

After searching, I was with Justin and he was on crutches (for his stomach...) and had a big cut and stitches on his lower abdomen. I was then asking him what happened and how he was feeling - and of course I was expressing my sadness that he wasn't at the game with me. He promised he would hang out with my friends and me very soon.

Halloween Door "Wreath"

2011-10-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

I had seen the idea around to make a Halloween wreath with candy corn. So I made one and it was ADORABLE! Then it put it on the front door and the next morning there were candy corn drippings all over the door step...it was melting! So I asked around and found out I needed to spray protective coating on it. Done. Rehung it. Next morning? MORE DRIPPINGS!! And some of the candy corns had disintegrated so much they were falling off...time to scrap that idea.

While at my favorite store, Target, I was browsing through the bargain bins at the entrance and found a foam "BOO" sign for $1...I had an idea! So I brought it home, hot glued some ribbon to it, and made a new door hanging! Overall it probably cost me $2 :)

Sidenote: I decided to redesign our blog the other day because I was bored. I chose the font for each blog title because it is EXACTLY how Ryan writes.

Sunday Baking

2011-10-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

I just made a DELICIOUS Texas Sheet Cake. Yum. Here's the recipe I found online.

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
1 box (1 pound) confectioners' sugar, sifted (4 1/4 cups sifted)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

Cake: Combine butter, water, and cocoa in saucepan over medium heat; heat until butter melts. Add sugar, flour, salt, eggs, soda, sour cream, and vanilla; mix well. Pour into a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan (I grabbed a 15X13 disposable foil cookie sheet at Safeway, it was deep enough). Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes.

For frosting: Once the cake is almost done...combine butter, cocoa, and milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients and mix well with electric mixer. Spread over the hot sheet cake.

Let cool and enjoy!

*Photo googled and stolen from yourhomebasedmom.com because I didn't feel like getting my camera out to take a good one!

My FAVORITE Place to Eat

2011-10-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

I am a "mood eater". Meaning, I eat what I'm in the mood for. There isn't one place that I would eat any time no matter what. So I have a couple places I love!

Hunan Chef Wong in Pleasanton...they have the BEST Chinese food! Out of all the places, this is my fave and its never crowded at the restaurant because they do mostly delivery.

Cafe Rio. YUM. Unfortunately we don't have one here, so any time I go to Vegas or Utah it's a must stop. Sweet pork burrito or salad is the best!

Ruth's Chris or Cattleman's. I may have lied when I said there isn't one place that I would eat ANY time. I'd eat steak every day if it wouldn't kill me. I'm a definite carnivore. I'm drooling just thinking about steak...

I also love Espetus Brazilian Steak House in San Francisco. It's expensive but the best meal I've ever eaten. In. My. Life. Go there for your next birthday or anniversary, if you like all kinds of meats you wont be sorry.

Catch Up

2011-09-30T17:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I missed quite a few days of my blogging! We went to Las Vegas last weekend for Ryan's niece, Malaya's 5th birthday. It was a short trip but it was GREAT to see them! Here I am with little Makylie (3) who I became bffs with over the weekend.

My blog challenge for the day is "My Dream House". Ryan and I dream of the "simple" life. A big house with a huge yard for tons of kids, wrap around porch, and that country charm...basically like these:

We probably won't ever get it, seeing as we live in the Bay Area and land is NOT CHEAP. So our dream house will be where ever our family is. We would like to buy a fixer-upper for a steal and make it our own. That will be our dream come true.

TV Shows!

2011-09-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

It is probably no secret that we are TV people. Mainly because I LOVE TV! Ryan just sits and watches with me :) I watch entirely too much, really, it's probably not good to tell you all the shows I watch, but here goes.

I'll start with what I watched over the summer and am still watching:
Royal Pains
Burn Notice
So You Think You Can Dance
Guiliana and Bill
Tia and Tamera
Jerseylicious
Real Housewives of NYC and New Jersey, Beverly Hills just started too!
The Bachelor/ette
Bachelor Pad
Pretty Little Liars
HGTV Design Star
House Hunters
Auction Kings
Keeping up with the Kardashians (and all the other shows they have)

Now for the one's I'm excited to start again:
GREYS ANATOMY!!!
Desperate Housewives
Gossip Girl
The Ellen Show

Im gonna stop now...I'm sure there are more but I've embarrassed myself entirely too much already...I won't even get started in to the Netflix series I watch!

Fears

2011-09-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

EEEK! I HATE anything crawly. Spiders, ladybugs, worms, roaches, snakes, ants, etc. If it flies around, I hate it too. Flies, mosquitoes, bees, butterflies...ya. I'm getting itchy just writing them down! It is not funny to tease me about these things, I WILL hit you and yell at you. Ryan and I have already discussed that if our future children decide to tease me and bring these things to me, they will get spanked! This is no joking matter.

Speaking of future children, I fear ours won't be as cute as our nieces and nephews. Both Ryan's and my siblings have really good looking children and I HOPE hope HOPE that is a sign ours will be as cute. (yes, I know that I will be biased and love my kids bc they are mine and think they are the cutest thing in the world, but still...)

A Picture of My Best Friend(s)

2011-09-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

I've got a few friends that are the BEST, but I've got 2 "best friends". Ryan is my #1, he will be with me forever and I share every little thing with him. Shannon has been my go-to gal since 1st grade. We will be friends til the end, no matter how far we live from each other. Love my friends!

A Place I've Traveled

2011-09-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

My FAVORITE place to travel is Lake Tahoe. My family went there every Thanksgiving since I was born and I love it! We stopped going as a family my sophomore or junior year of high school but I have gone a few times since. It's so beautiful there, I hope one day to have a vacation home there.

My Favorite Movies

2011-09-10T10:30:00.000-07:00

You've Got Mail

I could watch this movie over and over again and never get sick of it. Whenever it's on tv I watch it. I own the dvd also. Just love it.

Fever Pitch

Its hilarious!

A League of Their Own

Such a classic, feel good movie.

Sex and the City (both)

Yes I know they're raunchy, but I love the girly, spendy, friendship parts. I hope when I am in my 40s I am rich and have a group of girlfriends I can shop with and go on extravagant trips with.

Yum yum yummy yum yum!!

2011-09-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cookies
-courtesy of www.twopeasandtheirpod.com- I changed a few things

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I added about 1/2 c more to make less sticky)
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter (I used 4 tbsp)
7 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup plain yogurt (I used 2 eggs bc I didnt have yogurt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Soft caramel pieces, rolled into little balls
Sea salt (I used regular salt)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Lightly coat baking sheets with non stick spray (original says to use Silpats)

Mix together flour, soda, and salt; set aside

Melt butter (original says to do it in a sauce pan, I did it on low in the microwave), add sugars and cocoa. Mix.

Add yogurt (or eggs) and vanilla

Add flour mixture until completely mixed

Spoon dough into hand, add a piece of caramel and wrap the dough around it. Do this for each cookie. Make sure the caramel is completely covered with dough or it will leak out in the oven!

Sprinkle sea salt on top, lightly press it so it will stick

Bake for 10 minutes

ENJOY!!

Song For My Mood

2011-09-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

My Parents

2011-09-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

I have some great parents. Steve and Jane. I affectionately call them Pops and Motha (British accent applied).

My mom is super hip and up on the current entertainment circuit. Some times she lets me know who's broken up before I see it! I think this keeps her young :) and she looks young too! People are always commenting to me about how young she looks, they can't believe she has kids as "old" as she does! I hope I get those genes. And she's pretty funny too...when she gets in her giddy moods, we love her. My dad is pretty funny also. He can tell a joke better than anyone I know. He's caring and generous. I could go on forever about my parents because they're awesome.

I also have another set of AMAZING parents. Chris and Debi! They never have anything mean to say about anyone and are the true example of unconditional love. They love me because their son loves me. I love to spend time with them and wish we all lived closer!

My First Love

2011-09-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

As far back as I can remember, I have LOVED softball. I started tee ball at 4 or 5. I played soccer and basketball also, but I always looked forward to softball season the most. I loved to play catch with my older siblings, practice pitching against the brick wall in front of my parents' house, watching A's baseball games, and going to my older siblings' games. I couldn't wait for the day when I was old enough to have my dad coach MY team! He coached my siblings so I was the last to get to be on his team.

Being a lefty, I was born to play first base. I was SO glad that I got to have to most action directed towards me, and I was able to direct my team mates in warm-ups and throughout the innings. I was also WAY better at catching than I was at throwing :) so it was a plus I didn't have to field the ball and make a direct throw across the field...that would have been bad!

Through the years, I dropped soccer and then basketball and kept to softball. I played through my senior year. I never tried out for the high school teams because I HATED to have to be serious during ALL the games! It would have ruined the fun for me to be ultra competitive, I just don't like that.

I am lucky to have married someone who loves the sport as much as I do. Ryan played baseball growing up and was a pitcher on his high school team! To this day, Ryan and I love to go play catch randomly. We reminisce about how much fun we had with our friends.

Yay for softball!!

Im Workin On It!!

2011-09-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

For a week or so I have been telling myself I need to get better at blogging...but I just suck at it. I was catching up on some friends' blogs and I got the idea from my friend Carly to do a "blog challenge". So Im doing it! Hopefully I can remember to do it...and make it a habit!

Im combining the first couple of days because I think they go together.

Meaning behind the blog name: Our Journey! I think it's pretty self explanatory, but basically I wanted our blog to document our journey as a married couple. Not necessarily posts about us doing things together, but who we are.

Recent picture of me (i ran in to the bathroom and took one!):

15 random facts:
1. I took an Oceanography class and all I learned was "Why the sky and ocean are blue"
2. I can make a car alarm sound, with my throat
3. Baking relaxes me and helps me think clearly
4. Diamonds are my best friend :) I make no apologies
5. I think HOPE is the most important thing to have, and I need to be reminded CONSTANTLY
6. I have a tattoo
7. I know how to knit and crochet. Self-taught because of Grey's Anatomy
8. Ryan says I'm a "world renowned singer" HA.
9. I HATE to shave my legs
10. Math is very easy for me
11. Sometimes I can't sleep bc I feel like my legs are too long and get in the way
12. I give really good advice :)
13. I support equality
14. Ryan says his life is all about Jen
15. My left ring finger has a bump on it and the nail is wavy from writing

Happy Birthday to my #1!!!

2011-07-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

Ryan's birthday is tomorrow, the 29th! Its his "golden" birthday since he turns 29 on the 29th! We are headed out of town tonight for the weekend so I figured I better get this posted while I can!
Ry is the BEST husband I could have ever dreamed of. Here is a list of the reasons why I love this man sooooo much (in no particular order):

1. He is so laid back and mellow, he will "go with the flow" and is happy just sitting next to me and hanging out.

2. He is a genuine peacemaker. He will never ever stir up drama, he will NEVER blow up at me or anyone else - no matter how much he is provoked. Whenever I get riled up and want to scream, he talks me down and handles the situation in a calm and responsible manner.

(us at Claim Jumper for his birthday dinner last night)

3. He is INCREDIBLY strong! There really isn't anything around the house he cant pick up and move, even me! :)

4. With the strong, comes the fighter...he has "street smarts" and I know I could walk down the street in the ghetto and be protected. He packs a mean punch! ...even though I haven't personally felt it...THANK GOODNESS!
5. He is infinitely talented. He has so many hidden talents I keep finding out about! He does magic, juggles (while eating at the same time!), skateboards, photography, rubik's cubes...who knows what I'll learn in the next year??
6. He is a HARD worker - workaholic status. From the moment I met him at Specialty, I saw that he never leaves a task undone. He is the first to arrive and the last to leave EVERY day. At his current job, he has impressed the owners of the franchise and the corporate bosses with his skills and work ethic. His boss said to my dad "You know how you said he's outstanding? He's WAYYY better than that!" That's my man!!

7. He has incredible instincts. He is a natural at this whole relationship/marriage thing. He spouts out words of wisdom like he's got a doctorate in Marriage and Family Relationships. He is going to be the BEST dad to our future children. He just knows how to parent - I see it in his interactions with his nieces and nephews. Whenever we talk about how we will raise our kids, he baffles me with his knowledge.

8. He's resourceful. If there is ANYTHING he doesn't already know, he researches it and learns.
9. He's SMOKIN' hot!! Proof is in the pudding...
10. As mentioned above, I love to see him interact with his nieces and nephews. And any child for that matter. They all LOVE him and you can see the love he has for them written all over his face.
11. He's silly. I have never laughed so hard with anyone else in my entire life. Really though...who buys a panther lamp?!?!
12. He makes sure to let me know he appreciates anything I do for him. He is grateful to anyone who does even the smallest thing for him.

13. He is SO supportive of me. He not only financially supports me, he emotionally supports me. Anyone who knows me knows I am a headcase! He does every thing he can to make sure I'm as happy as can be! He compliments me on every craft I do and *acts* like he is interested in them all. He will tell anyone that I bake the best cakes and cookies.

14. He's reallllly tall. I love that I can wear 6 inch heels and still be shorter than him :)

15. He's got salt and pepper hair. He started graying in his teens and he pulls it off so well...much like George Clooney ;) And he pulls off a mean scruff!

16. He loves documentaries and The Discovery Channel. I don't like these things at all but I love that he does. He's so interested in learning new things.

17. He is best buddies with my dad. They get along so well! They golf together and work together. From my dad's dealership to dabbling in car restoration to selling cars on the side to now working for Solar Universe. Its quite ridiculous.

18. He also gets along VERY well with the rest of my family. He listens to all my mom's history lessons :) when no one else does and is genuinely interested in what she has to say. I will walk in and he will be chatting away with Anne like old friends. He and Mike share random internet videos and stories and tell jokes.

19. His best friend in the whole world (besides me) is his sister Heather. They have the best sibling relationship I have ever seen. There is mutual respect and I admire them. This was a BIG reason I knew I wanted this man when we were first dating.

20. His FAMILY! They are the best in-laws ever! They have never criticized me and welcomed me in to the family with open arms. Can't wait to see them all this weekend in SoCal!

Shannon's Bridal Shower!

2011-06-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

My best friend Shannon was in town with her baby Jack for 2 weeks from Florida so we had to throw her a bridal shower! It would have been too difficult for her to pack a bunch of presents back on the plane with her so we decided to make it a Gift Card Shower. It turned out really fun! She got a ton of gift cards to different places: Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Victoria's Secret, etc. I wanted to post some pics of the shower because I threw it and made decorations and kind of want to brag :) Thanks to Ashley for having her camera on hand and snapping the shots for me! ...cant believe I forgot my camera...

Jack had a blast spending the afternoon with a bunch of ladies!

Shannon's great-aunt Stella gettin' her groove on in her TP wedding dress! She was pretty stoked that her team won!

The 3 models for the TP wedding dresses

Shannon's badge of honor :) Her fiance's last name is Byrd

The banner I made "Here Comes The Bride!" It turned out HUGE

Caley made these adorable water bottle labels!

Michelle made these DELICIOUS red velvet cake balls....to die for...dreaming of themmmm

Thanks to my friend Tara, I got the idea to dip marshmallows in chocolate! Shannon LOVES mallows :)

I made some flower hair pins and safety pins for the ladies to wear during the shower and take home with them as favors

There was an address book for everyone to put their information in for Shannon to have

And here's the invitation I sent out :)

Love you Shannon! Can't wait for the wedding in December!! WOOHOO!

My Birthday

2011-05-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

Ya ya ya, its almost a month later...Since Ryan had to work on my actual birthday, he took me for a little getaway the 2 days beforehand. We went to stay at the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa on Cannery Row in Monterey. It was GORGEOUS! Ryan found a really good deal on the room so it was a nice treat! He surprised me by only telling me to "pack our bag for 2 nights because we are headed out of town." We drove down Wednesday night, toured around all day Thursday, and drove home Friday. I had so much fun and got to unwind - I didn't want to come home!
Saturday the 9th was my actual birthday. I slept in, watched some TV, spent 2 hours at the library, bought some CUTE new shoes for 50% off, then we went to Skipolini's in Walnut Creek for dinner. It was my parents, Ryan and me, Anne, Mike, Chel, Sammie and Spencer. Afterwards we came home and had cream cheese pastries for dessert. YUMM-O. Overall, it was a low-key and fun day.

Headboard Project!

2011-04-21T17:19:00.001-07:00

I found this beaut' on Craigslist like a month ago and saw HUGE potential so I had to snag it!
I then bought some cute gray/suit-like fabric, upholstery tacks, and white spray paint. Off I went!
1. Remove cardboard backing and staples from headboard.
2. Pop out piece covered with fabric.
3. Remove the staples that are holding the fabric. In this case there were THREE layers of different fabrics! The previous owners had ideas like me :)
4. Use old, ugly fabric to trace and cut out new fabric and padding. I used quilt batting.
5. Pull padding TIGHTLY around the edges of the wood and staple.
6. Do the same with the fabric.
7. Use a hammer to "hammer" the upholstery tacks in wherever you want them to be to create the "tufts"
8. Sand down the wood frame realllllly well. I didnt do it good enough the first time and the paint bubbled so we had to sand it down all over again and put a new coat on!
9. Pop the fabric insert back into the wood frame and secure with staples or screws or whatever works best. We had too much padding so we had to use brackets.
10. VOILA! You get this cute, chic headboard for about $75!

I took pictures of each step for a "How-to" post but my internet is REALLY slow and wouldn't upload all the pictures. So you get the wordy version, sorry!

What do ya'll think??

Our Sweet Sammie

2011-03-13T21:29:00.001-07:00

We love our little niece Sammie SO much. She is the sweetest little 2 year old. When she comes over to grandma and grandpa's house (she likes to call it Annies house sometimes) she never hesitates to run into our room and find RyRy. If Ryan isnt home from work yet she puts on her sad face and says "RyRys at work? When is he coming HOOOME?" and then continues to ask every 5-10 minutes if he's back yet.

One of her favorite things to do is SCREAM at Ryan. It is best explained by this video:

If Sammie is around and Ry and I are in our room, she comes in and climbs into bed with us. She always wants to be a part of what we are doing and we dont mind one bit!

Ryan loves to wind down from his work day by solving Rubiks cubes and Sammie likes to help him:The other night, Sammie was upstairs in Annie's room watching "The Pig Movie" aka Charlotte's Web. She has watched that movie a million times but had never seen the end until the other night. She saw when all the animals came back to the barn and Charlotte the spider was not there. Sammie asked Annie "wheres Charlotte?". Anne wasn't prepared to explain death to Sammie so she told her that Charlotte had to go home. Sammie saw the tears in the eyes of the other animals and knew this was a sad thing. When Sammie came downstairs to be with the rest of us we asked what she had been doing upstairs, she stopped and got very serious...she proceeded to say "I was watching the piggy movie, the spider had to go home!" She had tears in her eyes and kept repeating "Charlotte went home! The spider went home! Piggy was sad!" until she was full on crying. Our hearts just ripped apart and Mike picked her up and comforted her. Our tender-hearted two year old understood that it was a sad ending to the movie. I think its safe to say that Annie wont be showing Sammie the ending to that movie anymore.

Along with Sammie comes her baby brother Spencer. That kid is SO adorable and cuddly and chill. He rarely cries and is totally content to just hang out and watch Sammie run around. He's gonna be a little terror when he gets older though...we just know it! He loves his RyRy also:Just like Sammie, Spencer loves to listen to music and the other night was his first time DANCING!

S&S are the light of our lives around here. We can't wait to give them cousins to run around with.

I cant do a post about our loves without including Malaya and Makylie. We miss them SOOOO much and wish we could be with them as much as S&S! How could we resist these beautiful little girls??And really, if you mix Malaya and Sammie together Im sure you'll see what our little girls will look like one day.

2011 Resolutions

2011-01-22T15:36:00.000-08:00

Things I want to accomplish in 2011:

-My bff-turned-sister, Shannon, is getting married Dec 4th! I get to be the maid of honor! (I refuse to let anyone call me the MATRON of honor just bc Im married) I need to look good. Seriously, she's going to have these pictures forever, I need to not be a frump. My goal is to lose 100 lbs by then. It sounds daunting but really if I stick to 10 lbs a month I can easily do it. Thats like 2.5 lbs a week.

-Lets include learning to love the gym. And to hate desserts.

-Also, they need to be able to do something with my hair for the wedding...so Im growing my hair out. I always say this but lets see if I can stick to it!

-Build some sort of credit. I have none. Zero. And no credit is bad credit. So I think I'll finance a car to start.

-Move out of my parents' house. Pretty sure this is going to happen REALLY soon but it's a easy goal so Im making it one :)

-Have a baby. If by some miracle I get pregnant this year, I will be a little more lenient on the 100 lbs weight loss goal.

-Do laundry more often. Poor Ryan is always telling me he is out of clothes...I need to be more aware of his clean clothes situation since he has WAY less clothes than I do!

Its 2011! (warning: long post)

2011-01-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

Here's to a New Year! We had a crazy 2010 and are looking forward to making 2011 a GREAT one!

First, here are a few pics from Christmas that I havent updated you on yet.

As I look to the new year and think about what my hopes are for it, I can only hope this year is a little more positive. I feel as though I spent 2010 scrambling around trying to make my life "better" and didnt ever stop to appreciate what I have. So before I reveal my aspirations for 2011, Im going to tell you all what I was thankful for in 2010.

1. My husband. Ryan is seriously the best thing that has EVER happened to me. He is my rock and keeps me sane. He always knows the right things to say. He never has anything bad to say about ANYONE. He's so nice and helpful. I can only hope to be more like him. I could go on forever but it would get too mooshy :) I LOVE HIM!

2. From January-April (2010) we went through fertility treatments and were unsuccessful, but what I'm thankful for is that the difficult process brought Ryan and I closer together. It is a stressful thing and I can see how it could rip couples apart; that's why I am so thankful it had the opposite affect and made us stronger.

3. We had the opportunity to move to Las Vegas in June and took it! Once again my scrambling led us to believe the grass is greener everywhere else. Although the move didnt work out and we moved back in September, I am thankful for it. I was able to spend quality time with Ryan's sister Heather and her 2 girls and husband. We became the best of friends. I am so thankful for her and all the support she gives Ryan and me. I couldnt ask for a better sister-in-law. I know I can always call her and get the love I need.

4. I am also thankful that our move to Vegas gave us to opportunity to get to know my dad's brother Bruce and his whole family. We never got to spend much time together growing up and it was nice to build a relationship. We get to go back in February for my cousin Brandon's wedding!

5. While in Vegas, we spent ALL our money trying to make it work there, but it just wasnt and we had to move back. THANKFULLY I have amazing parents who opened their home to us and are willing to let us stay here until we get back on our feet. I am so grateful to my Mom and Dad for their generosity and support. We have no clue where we'd be if they weren't around.

6. I am thankful for the time spent here at my parents house because we have been able to grow close to my sister Anne. She didnt really know Ryan when we got married and it has been nice to show her WHY I married him :) Im glad Anne and I have been able to spend time building our friendship.

7. We also are very close to Mike and Chelsea and Sammie and Spencer! We are so thankful for that. Mike and Chelsea are great friends and we are happy we get to spend time with them at least once a week. Im thankful for the friend Mike is to Ryan, and the friend Chelsea is to me. Im thankful that Sammie and Spencer know who we are. Its so great to see what wonderful parents M&C are.

8. Laura came to visit over Christmas and we got to spend some quality time together. It was SO nice to get back to the old L&J.

9. My best friend since 1st grade, Shannon, fell in love and had a baby! Although she lives across the country, she has shared her life and experiences with me. Im so lucky to have such a great friend who includes me in her wonderful life.

10. ALL my friends! Even though most of my friends live far away, I am thankful for their friendship and the endless support they gave me in 2010.

This post has been very therapeutic for me. Sometimes I need to focus on the things I have. I am grateful for 2010 and excited to see what 2011 has in store for us!

We love these people

2010-12-13T22:12:00.000-08:00

I got to take some family pics for my brother Mike and his fam. I love them!

My Photography

2010-11-26T22:13:00.000-08:00

I added a link to the right so you can all go look at my photos!

I am trying to start a little business. I love to take pictures and love to hang out with people so doing both is a BLAST for me! Ryan has shown me all the settings on the camera and how to use Photoshop so that I can give my friends/clients the best memories possible!

Check out my site and contact me for prices! I will be LESS EXPENSIVE and LOADS OF FUN :)

Holiday Cards!

2010-11-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

This holiday season will be our SECOND as a married couple. We decided it would be fun to send a little postcard out to friends and family to say HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Since I've been loving photography lately, we are going to snap some fun shots of ourselves :) You'll only be able to see the photo on our holiday card...

I have heard wonderful things about Shutterfly from friends and am going to order my cards through them! Browsing through their site, I have found TONS of great stuff I want to buy throughout the year. Not only holiday cards, but you can also personalize birthday cards/invitations and get your favorite photo turned into a canvas! We blew up one of our wedding photos onto canvas and it is our FAVORITE decoration.

I am just SO excited to choose a holiday card and a photo! The best part is that you get 50 free if you blog about it! Check it out!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T14:17:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this holiday. Dressing up is so fun! Last year we didnt have anything to do so we didnt get to dress up. I was very sad. But this year we had a party to attend! After much deliberation, we decided to be an old fashioned western bank robber and his bag of loot! I must admit I did not come up with this myself. I found the idea online! So after a few hours of sewing we had our costumes! Here we are:
We UNFORTUNATELY are off sugar/desserts so I havent been able to indulge in the candy-fest. But I will confess to eating 2 candy corn and 6 dots. A girl's gotta make exceptions right??

Sunday Dinner

2010-09-26T13:02:00.000-07:00

This morning Ryan and I prepared dinner to be baked tonight. MAN does it look good! It's a sort of Chicken Cordon Bleu but not breaded and Havarti cheese instead of Swiss. And a few other differences.

Here's what we did:

-Pounded 8 chicken breasts until they were about 1/4 inch thick
-Put 1 or 2 slices of ham and a slice of Havarti cheese in chicken, wrap chicken around it and secure with toothpicks
-Place chicken into glass baking dish
-Mix about a 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil with approx 1 TBSP minced garlic and approx 1 TBSP Oregano
-Brush EVOO mixture onto each chicken breast
-Either bake immediately or refrigerate a few hours

IT SMELLS SOOOO YUMMY! And we haven't even baked it yet! (Pardon my quick cell phone pic)

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked.

My family is going to enjoy this thoroughly. We are serving it with steamed green beans, wild and long grain rice, and possibly side salads. My mouth is watering...

Photography

2010-09-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

Since Ive been taking all these pictures I am really enjoying myself! I learn new things every time. I have started a photography blog where you can go to see all my pictures Ive been taking!

www.seejenshoot.blogspot.com

Ryan has been teaching me a lot in Photoshop and how to make little tweaks to bring out the beauty in a photo. It's also frustrating because he's SO talented and when I let him do ONE picture it makes the rest of mine look like scum. I'm thinking of banning him from taking any pictures during my shoots...one day when I'm PRO I'll let him.

Healthy Trifle - YUM

2010-09-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

I love making Trifle. Its soooo delicious and you can do it any way you want! This is a healthy alternative recipe.

Strawberry Shortcake Edition

-1 package yellow cake mix
-2 packages fat free, sugar free vanilla pudding
-1 can diet soda (I used Safeway brand Refresh Black Cherry Sparkling Water with no calories, no sodium, etc)
-Package Strawberries, sliced thinly
-Fat Free Cool Whip
-Sugar Free Strawberry Preserves

1. Mix yellow cake mix with diet soda until its the same consistency of cake batter (don't use the oil, eggs, etc as the box directs). Cook as specified on the box.
2. Mix the pudding mix with Skim milk to keep it fat free!
3. Mix sliced strawberries with Strawberry Preserves

4. Layer in deep pan or deep bowl. Cake - pudding - strawberries - cool whip - cake - pudding - strawberries - cool whip - until you're all out. You can make it pretty by putting a few strawberries on top of the cool whip :)

ENJOY! You wont be sorry...

CRAZY WHIRLWIND

2010-08-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

So...we're moving back to the Bay! Here's the details: Ryan's job has been fun but his pay is solely commission and there just hasnt been any business so he hasnt gotten much of a paycheck in July and August. I have been trying to find a job to supplement our income but all Ive been able to get is a nanny job once a week. So basically we're out of money :( But really it was only a matter of time. We arent able to even really see Ryan's sister and her family. Health insurance here is TERRIBLE. Its sooo dry that I can't stay hydrated so Ive felt crappy ever since we moved here (fatigue, headaches, stomach aches, etc). And last week we went to Pleasanton to see our new nephew Spencer and his big sister Sammie...How could we NOT miss these faces??

So our little journey to Vegas is coming to an end. To all the people living in the Bay Area: the grass is NOT greener on the other side!

Edits almost done!

2010-08-22T22:29:00.000-07:00

I have really enjoyed the whole process of photographing Johnny and Nicole's wedding! The edits are ALMOST done.

You think Im good enough to start a little business? I'll take some pictures this week while Im AT HOME of my new nephew and Sammie...and maybe some of my parents. Then I can have a little portfolio! Im thinking I could be a less expensive photographer option than spending thousands on the REAL professionals :)

Wedding Weekend!

2010-08-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, our friend Johnny came to Vegas with his fiance Nicole to GET MARRIED! They brought along Ernie and Alicia to share in the fun. Here are a few pics to commemorate the fun:

The night before, on our way to eat some BUFFET!!

Getting ready for the day, these two guys get WAY too excited around each other!

Alicia and Nicole

My handsome husband, waiting for the elevator :)

Dancing in the limo on the way to the chapel

Finishing touches before she walks down the aisle
Ryan and Ernie. Ya, they just met Friday. Instant love birds.

Coming out after the ceremony!! YAY!
Yes, you recognize the church...its where Ry and I got married!!
The famous sign

Overall, it was a great weekend! I was the designated "photographer", since Ryan has a nice camera, so I took 300+ pics. Ry and I will be editing them and probably posting more as we go. I kind of like taking wedding photos!

Congrats again to Johnny and Nicole!!

MMMMM Cookiessssss

2010-08-04T23:23:00.000-07:00

Ryan's birthday was last week and instead of cake he wanted cookies. I made some chocolate chip cookies and they were yummy. He had also requested some peanut butter but I completely forgot, so I had to make it up to him and make another batch this week! Believe you me - they are SCRUMPTIOUS!!!! All you do is follow the recipe for chocolate chip cookies on the back of the package, then add a spoonful of peanut butter and a spoonful of - get this - Nutella. YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM!!!! You wont regret these cookies, unless you're on a diet and then you'll hate me for the temptation! :)

Oh, for Ryan's birthday we went to a restaurant called Casa di Amore. Its so cute and romantic and has the essence of "Old Las Vegas". There was a singer/piano/guitar player that sang old Sinatra (etc) songs. It was so much fun! There was even a group eating dinner that we are pretty sure were mobsters...Mom and Dad, you'd love it. We'll take you there!

Another Yummy Recipe

2010-07-24T20:23:00.001-07:00

Thursday night we had Heather, Vince, and the girls over for dinner. This was a hit, even with the kiddos. I found a recipe online to go off of but changed it enough that I can call it my own :)

Crock-Pot Turkey Chili

-Can of corn
-Can of black beans
-Can of kidney beans
-2 cans turkey
-Can stewed tomatoes
-1 small can tomato paste
-1 tsp cumin
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp chili powder
-1 tsp basil
-1 tsp Old Bay seasoning (mmm my most favorite stuff, goes on ANYTHING)
-3/4 cup chicken broth
-Half of a white onion, chopped SO small that you dont know its there
-Celery, also chopped small enough so I could forget its there...I have a texture issue

Throw everything in a crock pot, stir a few times and turn on high for 2-3 hours.
Top with cheese and sour cream if desired.
It will serve 4 adults and 2 children, or any variation of :)
ANNNNND its SUPER healthy!

Enjoy!

Our nieces and the baby I watch!

2010-07-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

Gangsta Malaya...unfortunately a Dodgers fan...

4th of July outfits I got them. EEEEEE!!!! They're so adorable!

ANDDDDDDD Introducing....LILA!!!!!!

She is the happiest 15 month old. Never cries or fights, always laughing!

Our house! AFTER Decorations!!!

2010-07-18T16:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry this took so long but I finally have it decorated! There are still things that need to be done here and there...and some furniture needs to be bought for the front room, but it feels like home now :)

The view when you first walk-in, ignore the lack of sofas in the room

The wall on the left side of the room :)

The wall on the right, all my books and dvds

The family room/tv room

Close up of the wall decor

Close up of the fireplace (we may be hanging the "Mr and Mrs" sign above the picture)

The dining area...pretty much the same as our old apartment, Im gonna have to do something about that nasty light fixture! Oh, and the 4th chair is holding a humidifier in our bedroom, its so dry here!

Left wall of room #1: Craft room, office

Right wall of room #1

Left wall of room #2: Malaya and Makylie's play room/extra room

Right wall of room #2Hallway to our room

Left wall of the master bedroom, just as you walk in the door

Our bed set-up, to the right/across from the tv

So there you have it! Thats our house! We are missing the bathrooms but those are not photo-worthy.

Wife's Recipes

2010-07-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

More often then not, I DONT use a recipe for dinner. I have random ideas for enchiladas, casseroles, anything really. I am going to start posting them here.

Tonight I made "Mexican Casserole", name made up by me:

Cooked rice
Black beans
Corn
Olives
Green enchilada sauce
Salsa
Shredded chicken
Cheese

Mix all ingredients into a casserole dish, sprinkle with cheese, put in oven at 350 until the cheese is melted. MMMMM!

Try this at home :) No measurements necessary. Just as much as you want of each thing.

Random thoughts for a Sunday afternoon

2010-07-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

As I lay here being lazy in bed, waiting for Ryan to watch a movie, I cant help but have tons of thoughts racing through my head:

-I miss Sammie. A LOT. Like I cry about this quite often.-I love our new place! Its so nice to have so much space. There is a place for EVERY little thing!
-I love my husband so much. I cant believe I got so lucky to find a man who is so great and loves ME in return! Crazy...-I cant wait until we have our other car here. And Im excited for Anne and Dad to drive it here! AND for them to be here to visit! More excited for the visit actually...the second car will be a small bonus.
-I want a child. Now. But apparently I have to wait. And Im sick of only telling Ryan that. EVERY day. Poor husband.
-How do those UBER rich people deal with all that money? I dont know what I would do with a million dollars...plus more money continuously coming in. I could deal with a million once, but multiple times? I'd have to do A LOT of donating and charity work. Did you hear about Warren Buffet? He's donating 99% of all his money and he will STILL have enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life AND for his kids to live comfortably for the rest of THEIR lives! Thats so much. Too much. Money doesnt buy happiness.
-I love crafting. And sewing.
-Vegas isnt as ugly as I anticipated. There are actually some pretty things! Like the palm trees. Desert landscaping isnt quite "lush" but there are some great trees and plants you can have to spruce things up.-I wish I was one of those people that can't function without their daily workout. Or one of those people that's addicted to running. You think its rough, I think its lucky. Maybe I should quit blogging and jump on the bike? The other night I was going through pics on my laptop. Here is me back in the summer of 2005, if I could have seen myself in 5 yrs future I wouldnt have thought I was fat then...-Sometimes people say things that make me want to say "Welcome to my world!" Sometimes good, sometimes bad.
-I love to sing.
-I need to go make dinner now.

Thanks for reading. Dont judge :)

Our House! BEFORE Decorations

2010-06-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

I have been getting requests for pictures of our new place. I havent gotten everything unpacked but here are pictures of it BEFORE:

This is what you see when you first walk in the front door:

Here is the view from the fireplace looking towards the front of the house. Down that little hallway is the laundry area, door to the garage, and half bath:

This is the kitchen and dining area, next to the area with the fireplace:

You go upstairs and these two bedrooms are on the left, in the front of the house. They are pretty nice sized with closets:This is the hall bathroom, next to the bedrooms. Its a light/bright green color which the owner said I could paint if I want but I got some cute towels and a bath mat that actually make it look cute and fun!:Down the hallway towards the back of the house is the master bedroom. Its BIG and we love love love the ceiling fan:

This is MY closet :) Ryan has one that is SLIGHTLY smaller and just the right size for his clothes. I have a couple more things and need this walk-in, hehehe:

This is looking into my closet door mirror, reflecting into the mirror over the sink...so you can see the whole bathroom area. We have a separate bathtub and shower stall also:

There you have it! Our house and current home. There is SO much storage, Im in love! If we owned it I would stain all the cabinets darker because they are a nasty, outdated color but I can handle it! The carpets are brand new which makes me feel more sanitary :) The owners are really laid back and said we can paint anything we want, do anything with the landscaping we want, anything to make it feel like our own. Im sure they would like any free upgrades haha. My wheels are turning!

Moving,

2010-06-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

This was my view from the Tahoe the whole nine hours...A car was BLAZING. I wonder what happens when a car starts fire. Does it just start smoking so you pull over and then it gets worse? How does it consume the whole car??!!

This bus said "Ryan's Express" so I was amused. Can you tell I was alone?

Everyone fleeing from their Vegas weekend on Sunday evening. It was backed up for like 50 miles! Party animals...

The drive was LONG and boring and I never want to do it again! At least not anytime soon. We had a condo lined up to live in for a while but once we got there and unloaded all our stuff into it we realized it was WAY too small! It was smaller than our apartment in Pleasanton and I was NOT going to downsize. So, we found a house! Its 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, two-story, in a gated community...AND less money than we paid for rent on our one bedroom apartment!

Ryan is loving his new job! He has a lot of freedom to work the way he wants and his boss is really cool! AND his boss' wife is giving me a crafting table and a bunch of crafting stuff that she doesnt use so I think I'm gonna like her :)

Its so hot, and SO dry here. I am adjusting to drinking more fluids! And I have trouble remembering to lather on the lotion...I'll get used to it one day!

AHHHHH!!!!

2010-06-07T19:23:00.001-07:00

I cant believe it! We are moving to LAS VEGAS!!!

Here's the story:
We'd been thinking about how much we miss Ry's sister, Heather, and her ADORABLE daughters...and thinking about how much it costs to buy a house in the Bay Area (WAY TOO MUCH) so we decided to see if it would be right for us to move to Vegas. Last week we went to visit. We had a list of several places Ryan would go into and give his resume but we weren't too sure anything would come out of it. The first place Ryan walked into he was there for TWO HOURS talking with the owner. Turns out his employee had just quit THE DAY BEFORE. He was hesitant to hire the first guy that went in there (who didnt even know they needed someone!), but once you get to talk with Ryan you know he's a GREAT guy. So he called the next day and offered Ry the job! He starts JUNE 14TH!! Ya, that's in a week...

Then, the new boss tells us his neighbor owns a bunch of properties and rents them out and has one available - for HALF what we pay here. And we can do month-to-month, no contract, no questions asked. So after a few months we can buy a house!

How many more things need to go great for us to know this is right?!?!

So here we are, moving this weekend! Its sudden and shocking and crazy but we are SO SO SO excited for our new adventure. We will DEFINITELY miss everyone here (especially our Sammie) but we can visit often and EVERYONE is welcome to come stay with us whenever they want!

Now, I know you want to know what it is Ryan will be doing. He is going to be working at a high end exotic car dealership. Right now its just the owner and he goes to his other dealership in San Diego every other week. So Ry will basically be running the place! The new boss has total faith in Ryan and is giving him the ability to consign whatever cars he feels will be good for them. It's an AWESOME opportunity and Ryan is really excited!

Here are a few pictures from our trip - you can see why we would want to be closer to these girls!

Summer has ARRIVED

2010-05-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

I think Summer has finally decided to make an appearance! After the past month of raining every few days, its HOT HOT HOT! Yesterday it was sunny and 81 degrees outside (according to my car, who knows if that was accurate). I decided to text Chelsea and beg her to let me take Sammie to the park! She had some things to get done so she willingly obliged.

After I pulled up to Mike and Chel's I saw a sweet little piggy-tailed girl at the window yelling "JEN JEN!!! JEN JEN!!!" and when I got inside she ran up to me and hugged me and offered me her cheek to kiss her, then proceeded to run around haphazardly squealing and throwing balls at (to) me. I love her so much!

The park was so much fun! We only were able to stand it for an hour because it felt like 90 degrees and NO SHADE...but we ran around the grass, went down the slides, banged on the "rock"/rubber step, swung on the "pok!"/swings, and bounced up and down on the teeter-totter! I was exhausted after chasing Sammie around and having half heart attacks every time she ran to the edge and wanted to jump or go on the part that was WAY too complicated for a 23 month old.

Overall, we had a BLAST and I just love me my Sammie time. While at the park and taking a water break I pulled out my camera phone and said "Smile for Uncle Ry Ry!", this is what I got:

CRAFTS

2010-05-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

I got a sewing machine a while ago and have been doing various projects. I attempted to make myself a dress...it didnt work out so well. I didnt use a pattern and just tried to make it up. I finally finished it but it doesnt fit right. SO I used the leftover fabric to make a dress for my niece Sammie!Cute, right? (ignore the mismatching polka dotted shirt underneath)
I also did a painting. I watch Project Runway and there is this one room where they wait while the judges are deliberating who to kick off next. This past season they had some CUTE wall hangings in that room so I decided to copy and make my own version! You like?And, for kicks and giggles, here is a video of Sammie:

Birthday weekend fun

2010-04-13T23:37:00.000-07:00

My birthday was wonderful! I cant believe I'm 24 now...I swear I just turned 18! Well, I woke up to a BEAUTIFUL new Coach purse - and some yummy, smelly lotion and spray from The Body Shop - - from Ryan of course! IM SO SPOILED!! We went to a delicious lunch at Eddie Papa's here in Ptown, its "America's Hangout". They serve random food but its delish! Then I got to take my daily nap :) That night we went to my parents' house because Laura was in town along with my Uncle Bruce and Aunt Dodie!

Saturday was an amazing day also...Ryan got baptized!! Along with the aforementioned family, my brother Jeff, his wife Kim and their kids Sam, Mary and Abbey drove down from Seattle! Having so much family in town for the weekend was a blast! It made for the BEST birthday weekend ever!

Upcoming events include: me finishing the "maxi dress" Im sewing for myself, recreating a sign I saw online a while back, allergies probably going to kill me, going through some boxes from college and reminiscing...expect something interesting in the next post!

HERE IT COMES...

2010-04-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

My birthday is on Friday! What shall I do???If only we stayed so small and innocent :)

Picture

2010-02-26T23:20:00.001-08:00

I think I'll blow this up and frame it...and hang it up in my home.

ONE YEAR!

2010-02-18T20:27:00.000-08:00

As of this past Tuesday, the 16th...we've been married a YEAR!!! We're so excited! We have loved the past year and never could have imagined the happiness we've experienced with each other.Thanks to a gift certificate my parents had (thanks mom and dad!) we were able to spend the night at a GORGEOUS inn right on the beach in Half Moon Bay. We got to spend some time on the beach, eat a yummy dinner at the restaurant next door, got served a DELICIOUS and complimentary breakfast, drive up the scenic highway to SF and spend Wednesday in our favorite city! I took Ryan to the "Wave Organ" in San Francisco, someplace he'd NEVER been! It was fun to go out to a little known point and watch the waves...AND listen to them through the pipes! It was such beautiful weather.

Overall we had a wonderful time and are so thankful we met!

MMMM yummy dip!

2010-02-06T21:10:00.000-08:00

I made some dip for the Super Bowl tomorrow. It's SOOO delicious. I have to share my recipe. I am allergic to avocados so I had to make some changes to your "traditional 7-layer".

One layer (one can) refried beans
One layer (one tub, one jar) cream cheese and marinated artichoke hearts
One layer seasoned ground beef
One layer shredded "mexican mix" cheese
One layer Southwest salsa (with black beans and corn)
One layer (one tub) sour cream
One layer sliced olives

Turns out it IS 7 layers! BUT WAY YUMMIER!!!

I want to eat it now. Must. Wait.

Seal Beach

2010-02-03T22:01:00.001-08:00

Last week we were able to go visit with all of Ryan's family down in Seal Beach (L.A.). It was SOOO fun!

Follow this link to see pics
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043023&id=122801621&l=42cd21ef37

Im a little craft obsessed!

2010-01-23T16:52:00.000-08:00

I am pretty much decorating another room...which we dont have! Once we do, I'll have it decorated though!

I got these letters at Michaels and painted them, hot glued some embellishments, stuck some ribbon on two letters and they're ready to go! (close up of the cute sparklies) I cant wait to have the shelf painted, along with a place to HANG the shelf and put them on top! Still need something else to put on top of the shelf but Ive got time :)As previously posted, I have a ton of fabric samples to use up! I covered some old picture frames with some of it and I have some wall hangings. I am going to attach some ribbon to a few of them and hang from two of the hooks on my *shelf*. MAN this room is gonna be cute!
I am making another wall hanging with pockets and such. I will be posting pics once I get it done. I have to keep borrowing the sewing machine from Chantalle (THANKS!) so its taking a little longer than expected.

On another note, I am using my food dehydrator for the first time to dry some apples! I hope they turn out yummy.

Mini-quilts

2010-01-18T18:36:00.000-08:00

My current projects that I am working on are some mini-quilts. I inherited some old fabric samples from (shout-out) Leslie Barkdull MANY years ago. I finally have to skills and motivation to use them! So I'm making some mini-quilts. I have cut them into perfect squares, tomorrow I will be pinning them and soon I will sew them together! They are a bit heavier fabric than normal quilts so I havent decided what to back them with...any suggestions?

I'll be posting some pics of my progress.

Crafting is F-U-N!

2010-01-13T18:58:00.000-08:00

I made this sign for my friend Ashley, who just bought a new house in Utah. Made out of a canvas, paper, mod podge, wood letters, ribbon, hot glue gun, paint, and LOVE!

I am making a blanket out of these fabrics:

MORE. TO. COME.

Christmas Time!

2009-12-06T12:45:00.001-08:00

You know what that means....TEMPLE LIGHTS!! My parents, Anne, Ryan and I went to Oakland to see the Christmas lights last Monday night - then, of course, went to the Ice Creamery. It was a beautiful night!

If only I had a better camera...maybe Ryan will be getting one for Christmas!And really, how often do you get to stand in the fountains??

This Is It!

2009-10-28T22:55:00.000-07:00

We just saw the Michael Jackson movie "This Is It". It was wonderful. I am inspired - dont ask me what - but the movie made me want to sing and dance and be happy. We recommend it!

We finally got our picture and hung it up so our wall is complete. Here it is!

My Husband is SO. COOL.

2009-10-25T23:01:00.001-07:00

Its a small phone book...BUT ITS A PHONE BOOK!

And here is Sammie because she is super cute :)

Girly Vacay!

2009-10-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

I took a little "girls' weekend" this past weekend to Utah. I didn't take a ton of pics but here are some fun ones. No words.I'll be posting pics when I get my decorations put up in the living room!

SHE'S SO CUTE!

2009-10-13T22:21:00.000-07:00

On Sunday nights we get to have dinner at my parents' house with Mike and Chel and Sammie. Its so much fun to get together with everyone and relax! Sammie is almost 16 months now and she learns new things every week, she's got SO much personality!!! Here's a little video:

Double Date!

2009-09-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

Friday night we got invited on a double date with MOM AND DAD! We went to the A's game/Pyrospectacular! It was a blast, they won! Here you go:

Ryan and Me, and my new hair :)

Mom and Dad!

The game:The TERRIBLE perm in front of me...yuck-o:

My Crafts!

2009-09-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, Ryan and I were talking about how plain our kitchen looks and how our coffee table is SO BIG that we need decorations! So yesterday I had the day off and felt like being crafty! I took a trip to Bed Bath and Beyond to find a centerpiece for our coffee table because we STILL had store credit there from our wedding. I stood in front of the candle table decorations for 20 minutes while talking to my mom on the phone (talking about tablecloths and sewing and gossiping etc...) and trying to decide which one would look best AND Ryan would like.

I finally decided on this one:I am going to get some fabric and sew a little table runner/mat for underneath this to complete the look.
Then I headed over to Michael's "Where Creativity Begins" for some inspirations and supplies for my kitchen table bouquet and a kitchen wall hanging. An hour and a half later I headed home with flowers (I absolutely LOVE flower arranging - I did my own bridal bouquet), sand, a canvas, paint and stencils.

Last night I made THIS:And today I arranged THIS:What do you think?

Coming up: I am going to buy fabric and sew my own tablecloth but I am waiting for my mom's sewing machine to be back in commission.

Thats What You Get For Waking Up in VEGAS!

2009-08-16T21:41:00.000-07:00

Ok ok I love that Katy Perry song about Las Vegas...'cause we woke up married in Vegas!

Watch the video here.

Anyways, last weekend we got the chance to return to our wedding spot. We flew in Saturday night and drove home Tuesday. It was a wonderful mini-vacation! We got to see the "Vegas Barlows" and introduce Ryan to the majority of the cousins. It was really nice to visit with them and get to know Uncle Bruce and Aunt Dodie better...seeing as I only know them really from being a kid. We also spent lots of time with Ryan's sister, Heather, and her little family. She has two daughters - Malaya who will be 3 in September and Makylie who just turned 1! They are SOOOO cute and we wish they lived closer so we could see them more often! We are so lucky to have some cute nieces coming from both sides of the family!While we were there we got to do a little gambling (which I HATE because I always lose...Ryan loves it because he always wins!) and eat and eat and eat because we got 2 for 1 buffet for $7! If you go to Vegas, definitely join the Players Club at your hotel because you get tons of good deals on restaurants and they send you fun things in the mail afterwards! Ryan's sister works at the Eastside Cannery so we got a Deluxe Suite for $29 a night! It is like 10 miles east of the strip but we had a car so it was fine.We were picking up a car for my dad so we drove back on Tuesday. We stopped in Lancaster, Ca to see Ryan's mom because it's on the way home. That was fun to see her for about an hour! Whilst driving, we passed ZZYZX Road...who names a road that? How do you pronounce it? "zicks" is what we settled on. Definitely a fun memory from our roadtrip.We stopped in Barstow to eat at Tommys Burgers because Ryan insisted it was worth it. I hate to admit it BUT it was! They have these chili cheese burgers that were delicious!

It was an awesome little trip and we hope to do it again SOON! It ended on a high note, literally, with a Journey tribute sung by Ryan and me for the last hour on the road :)

This picture is from Ryan's birthday, just so you can see how cute our other niece is...we sure hope our kids are as cute as all our nieces and nephew (ya Sam, you're pretty cute too)!

WE'RE MOVING!!!!!

2009-07-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we make the move to Pleasanton! We are sooo excited to be closer to my mom and dad and Ryan's work. And maybe a little bit excited about having our own place ALL to ourselves :)

Since we're moving, we got a new dresser, new nightstands, and a new bed frame! Ryan has really wanted a nice bed frame, instead of the metal one that came with the mattress, for a LONG time so we got it for his birthday! (which is July 29th) We still need some couches but our bedroom was the more important thing for us. We cant wait to set everything up and settle into our new little home! My sister, Anne, is coming to town this week and is going to help me put the finishing touches on the place since she is so good at that! Thanks Anne!

I'll post pictures once everything is together, but for now...here are some random recent pics for your viewing pleasure:

Sammie and Uncle Ry Ry Ry Ry playing in the car

I said "Smile Sammie!!" and this is the face I got...so cute!

This one's for Laura :) Her favorite couch...which has been soldAnd Sammie is just so cute I needed to show you a video :)

Happy Birthday Mikey!

2009-07-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

Today is my (Jennie) brother Mike's 30th birthday!! WOOHOO!!!! He is one of the most WONDERFUL brothers a girl could ask for. He is always making us laugh,
making us feel better, ready to play, and definitely ready to protect me!
And he's TOTALLY always down to get donuts :)

We love you Mike!! Happy Birthday!

We Figured It Out!

2009-06-23T00:00:00.001-07:00

Thanks to GOOGLE we know the meaning of our previous post. The lightning neon light is a sculpture that is part of the Public Art of Walnut Creek Walking Tour. That explains it!

Anne is the winner of the contest for the most creative answer, receiving 97 points!!

Anne of Green Barlows said...: I am pretty sure that it is to direct the lightening straight to their building. Then, when it gets struck with the lightening, the sheer electricity gets pooled underneath the building so that they can harness it for energy. They call it "Going Green". I'm pretty sure:)

Secret Club?

2009-06-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

Our apartment building is in the midst of a bunch of office buildings. Its quite nice and quiet at night. There is this ONE thing that comes every once in a while, on random nights, and it makes us wonder...

Anyone have any guesses as to WHY this random neon light would be on an office building? It makes no sense....97 points for the person with the most creative idea!

(We've had to wait a few weeks for it to show up again...we drove past and slammed on the brakes to capture it!)

Finally... Ryan makes a blog post

2009-06-08T23:20:00.000-07:00

Well I suppose it's my turn to blog. It turns out to be harder to blog than I thought. But since Jennie just got a new ring lets talk about that for a minute.

Ok, ok, now I know what you are thinking "What in the world would warrant Jennie to get a NEW ring already? Didn't they just get married in March... err February... anyway whatever. Does he love her THAT much to buy her another ring? That's quite possible... but not yet (can't spoil her too much this early in the game :)

Actually, it turns out her first ring had small diamonds all around the edges and apparently they weren't in a very secure setting, view Exhibit A:

We had the lifetime protection plan, sent the ring back, got new a new diamond and not long after that another diamond falls out in a different spot. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for a 3rd time and figured it was time trade it in for something else. We had talked about trading that one in but we weren't sure of the logistics on doing that in regards to value, price difference etc. So I get the call at work on Saturday "Hi babe, I got a new ring... I hope you like it!" My first reaction was "uh oh". I wasn't quite expecting her to come home with a ring picked out so quickly and to have everything worked out in one trip to the jeweler and I had no idea what to expect. But when I took one look at the ring I knew why, Exhibit B:

It really is beautiful isn't it? I shouldn't have been surprised when she took one look and said that is "the one" after all that is how she saw me! This one also has small diamonds along the edge but they are in a "channel" setting and promises to be more secure. We shall see!

Space Holder

2009-05-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

So I told Ryan the next post was on him but he keeps forgetting to put his mind in "blogging mode" so I have a little video to keep you all entertained! This is the mode my husband's mind is currently in :) (you can go right ahead and ignore the weird person talking into the camera...)

He really CAN do anything!! I love you Ry!

Name That...

2009-04-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

I had a fun day...so time for a fun game! I post a picture and you name the answer.

A. Name that stadium:

B. Name that cousin:

C. Name that pitcher:

D. Name the game winner:

Answers: A - Giants AT&T Park in San Francisco, B - Shelley! Duh..., C - Tim Lincecum, 13 strikeouts!, D - The Arizona Diamondbacks won 2-0 in the 9th inning even though Lincecum pitched an amazing game.

Did you get them right??

Poor Ryan had to go to work and missed out on the GORGEOUS day in San Francisco and the fun Shelley and I had watching baseball. And dont you worry, Im still an avid OAKLAND A'S FAN!!!

San Francisco

2009-04-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today we ventured to San Francisco for a little fun. We had lunch at:and we ate:we saw tourists doing this:and locals doing this:We LOVE this:And got these:What a wonderful city!

Happy Friday!

2009-04-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

Update: My birthday (birth week) was wonderful! Ryan's days off are tuesdays and wednesdays so we did whatever I wanted to do:

Tuesday we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and Target to get EVERYTHING left on our registries!!! It was so much fun! Two carts full of goodies and not one pennie of our money spent...all gift cards! THANKS EVERYONE!

Wednesday we stayed home, watched movies, and ate donuts and Safeway sandwiches. Unfortunately the movies were less than wonderful (Marley and Me, Vicki Cristina Barcelona). We were pretty much bored and couldnt wait for them to end. They just seemed to drag on! Although Marley and Me did make me shed a few tears. LUCKILY, Ryan made up for it by giving me a massage and his own version of a pedicure :) My feet are soft now!

Yesterday I didnt have to do ANYTHING I didnt want to do (laundry and dishes...aka cleaning so now I have loads to do today) and then Mom and Dad took us all out to dinner. We enjoyed PASTAS in Downtown Pleasanton with Mom, Dad, Mike, Chelsea, Sammie and Johnny. Delicious food, you MUST go there if you can! Then we went to Mom and Dads for CAKE!!! And believe you me, the rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" that I was serenaded with was BEA-UTIFUL!

Overall it was a wonderful Birthweek and IM 23!!!! Here's a few photos to show how I've grown :)

Happy Birthday Dad!!

2009-04-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

Today is my (Jennie) dad's birthday! Thought I might share a few photos of him and show you how great he is.

Him and baby Me at a Mercedes Convention:

He loves my mom SOOO much!

Me and him a "few" years ago:Dad and his girls at A's Spring Training:He works hard to take care of all of us! Even on vacations :)Mike, Dad, and Jeff being evil:

We love you, Dad! We hope your birthday is as wonderful as you are!

Early Birthday Present

2009-04-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I found that one of my favorite singers, Gavin DeGraw, was coming to San Francisco for a concert. SOOO I begged (all though Ry really likes him) to go for my birthday. Last night was the concert and it was AMAZING! It was at The Great American Music Hall in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco. Small, intimate, way cool.We stood in the very front, 4 short girls in front of us. It was so great to be so close!Angel Taylor opened for Gavin and she was awesome! She had the sound of like Corinne Bailey Rae/India Arie/Adele. And she was SUPER new to fans so she was funny. She even did the Beyonce "Single Ladies" dance!AND Gavin was unbelievable! He has such a unique voice and style. He changed his songs, did a Bob Marley rendition of his song "Next To Me" from his self titled album...it was great.By the end of it our feet were KILLING us, we went upstairs to sit in some chairs and take in the sound of his voice. I was thoroughly pleased and would recommend a Gavin concert to ANYONE who enjoys good music. And we got some great stamps on our wrists..."FRAGILE" (must be Italian!)

One Month!

2009-03-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

We've been married a month and 3 DAYS to be exact :) but who's counting?? We love being married! It's so great to have someone to wake up to and keep you warm at night. All my secrets are spilled and I dont have to keep my thoughts to myself anymore!

We had a BLAST at our open house and are so greatful to everyone who was able to make it and share the delicious food with us! It was so fun seeing all our friends in one place and I FINALLY got to show off my Ryan! The day turned out to be cold and the tables moved inside but it was comfortable and no one was freezing, that was a plus. AND I got to have my sisters come home and play!

Now that we're settled and relaxed we spend Ryan's days off together. We LOVE watching movies (proud Netflix members), sleeping in, making meals together, and laughing at our goofs. I've never had so much laundry in my life! I could do a full load every day, I dont know where all the clothes come from. Ryan is so great at being a husband :) Im waiting for the day when he'll do something I want to KICK him for! Is it possible I've found the PERFECT MAN??? I feel I have!

Well, thats about all we've got going on - I'll blog soon about a fun event coming up (cough cough Gavin DeGraw concert in SF!).

We're Married!

2009-02-24T13:06:00.000-08:00

We're back from Las Vegas and SO excited to be married! The honeymoon was super fun!
Things we did:
-GOT MARRIED!
-Pictures at the Las Vegas sign and Venetian hotel
-Rollercoaster at New York New York hotel
-Gallagher's Steakhouse at NY NY hotel
-M&Ms World!
-Bellagio fountain show
-Planet Hollywood restaurant
-Visited Ryan's sister and her family in Henderson
-MGM Grand Lion Exhibit
-...and walked ALL OVER the strip!
It was so much fun and we hope to go back again and see SHOWS!

Life as a married couple is blissful. We are living in Walnut Creek now - until August and then we're not quite sure what we'll do, probably move closer to Ryan's work at Specialty Sales in Pleasanton.

We're excited to see everyone at our Open House March 14th from 7-9pm at the Barlows' home! Lots of good fun and good company should make for a great time!

And We're Off!

2009-02-15T09:19:00.000-08:00

Well, we're off to Las Vegas to get married! We will be getting married at "A Special Memory Wedding Chapel" on the Las Vegas strip tomorrow (Monday February 16th) and then we're staying to honeymoon for the rest of the week. We're VERY excited to start this new journey in our lives and can't wait to be Mr. and Mrs. Wallace! Stay tuned and we'll be posting about the trip once we get back.