April’s blog

Stephanie, Barbara, & Mom arrived on Thursday for a fun filled girls weekend. We started things off as soon as they arrived with manicures and pedicures followed by shopping and dinner at Santana Row. The next day, we hopped in the car and headed upstate to visit Napa Valley. I was so glad to see them and it was the perfect way to spend a Friday with the girls touring the vineyards. We arrived around noon and had lunch at a great restaurant right off Napa Valley Highway called Mustard's. Right next door was a winery, so we walked over and tried our first tasting of the day (and the first testing ever for Barbara & Stephanie) of some great Napa Valley wine. I was so pleased that all of them tried several tastes of famous Napa Valley red wines (the valley is known for their Cabernet Sauvignon) since none of the 3 are red wine drinkers. They all loved the Cosentino Cigar Zin and Barbara & Mom scooped up a bottle each to take home and share with Dad & Sammy. After a brief detour where we were able to drive right through a vineyard (Stephanie snapped some great photos of the grapes from up close), we headed to Groth. We were hoping to do a tour of the vineyard there but they were by reservation only and the last one had headed out so instead we went for another tasting. The girls were not disappointed as they all loved the Sauvignon Blanc. Mom & Stephanie scooped up a bottle and the ladies at the vineyard were kind enough to give us a VIP pass to another winery that we were heading to in order for Barbara to try a Rose (a chilled red wine we hoped she would like). So, we left Groth and headed to Miner and there we met the sweetest hostest who gave us all a free tasting on the VIP pass and added a few select wines to the mix just to see if she could find a favorite for everyone. Barbara loved the Rosetta and scooped up a bottle to take home. We decided to head back after that since we wanted to go to the Napa Valley outlets and do some shopping, but we ended up making one more stop at Silverado Winery. It had a beautiful long winding rode that led up the side of a mountain to the top where the tasting gallery was located. Before shopping and heading home, we did our final tasting there and sat out on the veranda where a sweet couple snapped this picture of the four of us.

A little over a year ago when Jeff & I moved in to our new home, we went on the hunt for a new bedroom set.We found this set we loved at the furniture store literally across the street. I was trying to wheel & deal with them because I thought we should get free shipping since our house is literally less than a 1/2 mile from their front door. They agreed and I went home to discuss with Jeff and then called them to order it. Well, in the 15 minutes it took me to call them they had changed their mind and upped the price. I was ticked! So, I vowed to never go in the store again and we obviously didn't get the furniture.
Fast forward a year later...
We have been "house-sitting" Tricia's dresser since she moved to Denver. Those who know Tricia know that she's been back from Denver for awhile, but she didn't want her dresser because it wouldn't fit in any of the apartments she's had since she came back to Cali. The other day she called and kindly asked for her dresser back. It was funny because she knew how attached Jeff & I had come to it...it really his quite a nice dresser. We gladly returned it to her and began a hunt for a new one. Well, when we saw all of our options for dressers the shopping quickly returned back to our idea of getting a real bedroom set. Jeff & I ventured back over to the place across the street (begrudgingly so) and what do you know - they still had the set we loved and it was on sale for only $50 shipping and the salesperson waived the $50 setup fee so it was basically free shipping! Ha Ha! We ordered it right away and it was delivered Tuesday night. We love it. I feel all grown up having a headboard and footboard...the first time ever (unless you count those tiny twin beds from the dorm rooms at Millsaps). The movers quickly installed it and set it up and Jeff helped me set up the room and get everything all perfect before our guests arrive tomorrow! Hooray! Check out the photos here.

It has been forever since we had some quality time with the Agnich family so Kelli, Michael & Landry headed over for a cookout the other night over the holiday weekend. We had a great time watching Landry play with Major. She was fascinated by how tiny he was (especially compared to her puppy, Loofah) and she loved it whenever he barked. He was fascinated by how tiny she was and he loved it when she spilled her food (or opened her mouth big enough to just eat it right out of there...we only let that happen once and then caught on to the trick...Landry & Major were both disappointed :).

It was great seeing both of them and we wish we lived closer and could see them more often! Come back and visit soon!

Jeff & I had a great 4th of July this year. We started the weekend off with a cookout with our SCU friends. The food was great as was the fellowship. The gals sat around and yacked while the boys played "corn hole." It's a game where you toss bean bags filled with corn onto a platform with a small hole in it and you get points based on how many bags land on the platform or go all the way through the hole. The boys had a double-elimination bracket all ready when we got there which consumed about 4 and half hours to get to the finals where my lovely and apparently talented husband made it to the finals (good job Jeff - next time you'll finish on top!). Then, they were kind enough to let us ladies play so we partnered up with our hubbies and started tossing. I'll be honest and say that I was doing pretty well with several straight-through-the-hole shots. However, my partner (whom I love dearly) was just about thrown out from making it into the finals so we were eliminated about half way through. We had so much fun laughing and joking with one another and then it was time for desserts. Britney, a fellow southerner who just moved to California from South Carolina last year, & I baked homemade pies. I was so proud of myself that I took photos to document the occasion. I baked a banana-pudding pie with crust from scratch and homemade meringue. It looked lovely and didn't taste to bad either!

We ended up all hanging out till almost 10pm (which is awhile considering we got there at 2pm). We made it home for Jeff to take Major on a quick walk while all the fireworks were going off. He (Major) didn't really enjoy it so they came back quickly and we watched the fireworks on tv instead. It was another great holiday in San Jose!

In advance of our many upcoming visits from family & friends (yeah! we can't wait!)...Jeff & I have been cleaning. Nothing overboard, but definitely necessary. If we never had visitors the carpet would never get vacuumed and the floors would never get mopped, which may explain a lot to those who just drop by ;)
This weekend, my lovely husband spent all morning get our backyard ready to be shown off. Deep down, I think he enjoyed it even though it was a lot of work. We're so proud of how well our flowers are growing this year and how green the grass has gotten lately (who knew that watering would help ;). Here are a few shots of the flowers and more to come in our upcoming visit videos! Check out the rest on flickr.

We dropped Major off for the "works" tonight at PetSmart. He got shampood, conditioned, cut, nails trimmed, his teeth were brushed and they even threw in some really nice stuff that made his breath fresh and his coat smell delicious. Last time he was cut they gave him the poodle look with fluffy head and tail - Jeff was not amused. So I asked them to "man him up" this time and when we picked him up he was donning a spiffy PetSmart bandana (and was very ready to come home). We posed with him among the flowers which Jeff had spruced up earlier in the day so here are his glamour shots...such a handsome young man (both of them).

 

Saturday was a long day as I veered back to my Mississippi roots and held a garage sale in Menlo Park at my friend Tricia's apartment complex. They are tearing the place down so her neighbors joined in for the all day event.
The whole process began almost three years ago when Tricia and I held two other garage sales when we were both moving at different time. I kept saving all the stuff that would not sell and keeping it for the next one. Well, I haven't had one since Jeff & I got married, and when we moved almost a year ago we had so much stuff to get rid of which has just kept building and building. Our garage had essentially become a clothes closet full of junky stuff we don't need anymore.It was beginning to get on both of our nerves so Jeff just said to box it all up and take it all to good will. Well, this was just too hard for me to do because I knew I could make some money off of it. So, we made a deal. I told him as soon as I found a place (thanks Tricia!) to hold a sale, I would take care of everything and sell it all and whatever I didn't get rid of I would promise not to bring home and to take straight to good will. But, all the money I made would go to my "purse and shoe" fund. He agreed to the terms and the packing began.

On Friday night we went through our closets again (mind you, Jeff had more to get rid of then I did...who knew one boy could own so many white button down shirts?) and loaded up the car for the early morning event. I got to Tricia's at 6:15am (she had already had 1 customer even though the sale didn't officially start till 8am), and we began to set up. I unloaded 3 boxes of clothes, kitchen items, bath items, old jewelry, purses, shoes (so many pairs), DVDs, VHS tapes, an old stereo, wireless router and numerous duffle bags on the front lawn and we hit. We had steady traffic for almost 3 hours as she lives in an ideal location. By noon I was tired, sunburned, and ready to call it a day. So, we stuck around and ate lunch on the lawn and made a few last minute deals. In the end, I left with 1 box of clothes, 3 kitchen items, and a plastic bin of miscelleanous shoes/purses/and a vcr player. I was $184 dollars to the richer. Not a bad day :) On Sunday, I made a trip to the store and had enough to buy a purse, a wallet, and really cute pair of shoes.

Last Tuesday I was in San Diego for a presentation for work. It was a fun and quick day trip to a beautiful location, the majestic Torrey Pines Golf Course. Turns out, the next week it was to be the site of the US Open. Well, I have only been to one golf tournament in my life (Kelli dragged me to the Byron Nelson in Dallas, TX...I still wish I had those 6 hours of my life back) and it wasn't the most fun I've ever had by any stretch. But, it was really cool getting cleared through security and making a presentation at the clubhouse right above the 9th green. The place is gorgeous and the white tents that were hosts to the big even stretched for what seemed like miles along the beautiful coastline. I snapped a quick video which I will share below. So, while Jeff went to play golf this weekend, I actually decided to watch the tournament on tv. This is a big deal as I NEVER watch golf...and an even bigger deal was I watched the entire thing. It was awesome, Tiger made so many good shots...I just stared at the tv for like 4 hours in amazement. So, yesterday we watched over at Fred & Shauna's house and once again, Tiger didn't disappoint (neither did Fred & Shauna - they cooked us an awesome dinner and we hung out till almost 9:30pm - thank you Smith Family!). I thoroughly enjoyed getting caught up in the excitement and staying tuned in all the way through the 18th hole!

 

We have a fire near us (we're totally safe, don't worry) in the Santa Cruz mountains. It should be completely under control by tomorrow (Tuesday), but it has definitely caused some strange weather here. On Wednesday evening, we noticed that the sunset was strange...so all 3 of trooped out to the back yard to see the sun cast in totally dark orange and the sky to our south cast in browns and reds while everything to the north was the normal bright blue. I pulled out the camera to try to capture it. You can see the sky colors pretty well but the sun here appears white...it was almost fire engine red. I filmed for about two minutes then noticed all the dust and soot that had settled on my car so we headed back in to not breathe in any of the dust. By the next day it had all cleared out.

Jeff & I ate at Wendy's on Sunday afternoon (I was craving their side salad which is yummy). He commented on how strange that he didn't get any tomato on his chicken sandwich. I didn't think much about it till I went down the cafeteria today. I ordered a BLT from the grill and when it was served up, I noticed that it had no tomato, it was just a BL. Strange I thought...
Turns out their is a salmonella scare going on in the US related to uncooked tomato. See the article here: CNN Money. If we fried them all up like we do down South this wouldn't be such a big issue :)