To whom it may concern:

I think someone over at Pottery Barn is trying to drive me crazy. I just got my new PB magazine for fall. Like usual, it's full of totally overpriced, but still worth coveting, merchandise. Each time I get a new magazine I immediately go through it to see what the geniuses have thought of next.

I'm generally ok with everything, except one design decision that needs desperate reconsideration.

Why would someone put all the books they own in a bookcase with the spines facing in? Isn't life complicated enough? Apparently the people at PB don't think it is. They think that aesthetically speaking, the books are better off being displayed this way--as decorators of our homes, we are better off displaying our books this way. Everything is just better when the bookcase matches the couch that matches the floors that coordinate with the lamps. It doesn't really matter if you have no idea where to find your favorite book. In fact, the PB people seem to be arguing here that if it is your favorite book, you will be able to recognize it by the color of its pages. Uh-huh.

This isn't the first time I've noticed this photo. But, the first time I saw it I was irritated by it and then when I saw it again, I had to say something. I'm going to write an email to the PB people.

They are putting home decorating before reading and that is bad for our children and, it doesn't send a very good message about books or literacy.

Shame on Pottery Barn. Shame on them.

ps. I think I'm going to paint my walls a color similar to the one found on page114.

Our funny cats...

Here are J.P. and Pip. They are crazy. Often times, we come home and they are sound asleep on the chair with all of their cat limbs intertwined. It's pretty cute. When I take pictures of them, Pip can't handle the flash--his little eyes can't take it. J.P. takes it like a champ--nothing phases him.

J.P.'s all, "Take my photo, I want everyone to see how this immature creature beats up on me and I just take it."

Pip says, "Oh, the bright light, it's hurting my eyes. Make it stop."

That's if cats could talk, which they can't. Sometimes though, when I haven't seen Ryan for a few days, I find myself talking to them. We talk about what's on t.v., why they make such a mess when they eat, and sometimes I have to explain to them that when they play, they can't be knocking over vases and pictures and such. They need to be more careful in the house. They can play rough outside.

The first day on my journey to becoming a teacher...

Today was my first "official" day of what is sure to be a fun-filled year and a half. I'm in CSUS's acclaimed Single Subject Credential Program. Apparently, after 3 semesters of instruction/student teaching, I will be more than prepared to enter the classroom of a California high school and teach the leaders of tomorrow something about literature, grammar, and maybe, if I'm lucky, art history.

I'm not convinced there is a "program" that can actually prepare anyone for what today's high schoolers can bring to the table. Times have changed y'all and things are NOT like they were when I was in high school. I mean, they just aren't.

However, I'm armed with plenty of useful resources and I'm totally prepared to bribe them. Plus, I'm going to be a whiz with powerpoint, and I plan on wowing them with my ability to teach across the curriculum by infusing, oh say, The O.C. and The Great Gatsby...or what if I put a soundtrack featuring Kelly Clarkson behind a killer powerpoint depicting life in The Grapes of Wrath...I mean, Kelly wants to "Breakaway" just like Tom Joad.

Grew up in a small town
And when the rain would fall down
I'd just stare out my window
Dreamin' of what could be
And if I'd end up happy
I would pray
Trying hard to reach out
But when I tried to speak out
Felt like no one could hear me
Wanting to belong here
But something felt so wrong here
So I prayed I could break away
[chorus]
I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky
And I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change
And break away
Out of the darkness and into the sun
But I won't forget all the ones that I love
I'll take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And break away
Wanna feel the warm breeze
Sleep under a palm tree
Feel the rush of the ocean
Get on board a fast train
Travel on a jetplane, far away
And break away
[chorus]
I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky
And I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change
And break away
Out of the darkness and into the sun
I won't forget all the ones that I love
I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And break away
Buildings with a hundred floors
Swinging round revolving doors
Maybe I don't know where they'll take me
But, gotta keep moving on, moving on
Fly away, break away
[chorus 2]
I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye, gotta
Take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And break away
Out of the darkness and into the sun
But I won't forget the place I come from
I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And break away
Break away
Break away


Actually, this song would work for so many, many examples in literature. Everyone's always dreaming of getting away. Pip, Nick, Oliver, Holden, Tom...I guess Scout and Jem didn't really want to go anywhere--they were content walking up and down the same street.

A really good song you should download...

We watch HBO religiously around here. One of our favorite shows, Six Feet Under, had its series finale this past week. If you haven't seen any of the shows, you've got to get on Netflix and rent them. It's a great show.

Anyway, the last few minutes featured a song that is so good, everyone needs to download it. It's available on itunes. It's called, Breathe Me by Sia. Search Sia or Six Feet Under on itunes.

I'm still watching The O.C. It's so good. I'm almost done with the first season. I cried when Anna left. So sad. Summer and Seth are still my favorite. Marissa bugs. I don't think she's a very good actress. She does have a really nice torso though. Long.

I start school again tomorrow. I finished both of my summer school classes with A's--in case you were wondering. Tomorrow I start the very first day of my Credential Program. We'll see how it goes.

If anyone is looking for a good book suggestion, I'm reading The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. It's a classic, but I've yet to read it. So, I'm starting now. Get it and we can read it together. Whoever you are.

Unions and PBS are what's happening around here...

I took this picture a few weeks ago--the first day I got my new camera. I've been neglecting my blog and I'm going to try to not do that anymore. It's been a pretty crazy week--the days just go by so fast. You know?

This is Ryan. In case you were wondering, he supports unions. Every now and then he'll show up in a t-shirt like this--one that is totally random. Last night he was wearing his Caltrans, DON'T TRASH CALIFORNIA t-shirt. He get them from work, I think.

Yesterday when I was at work, the guy from Reading Rainbow came in. His name is LaVar Burton. Remember him? He bought a peanut butter cookie from me.

It's been a while since I've...

Puzzled.

I'm here at my parents computer and I thought I'd browse through the photos. I found this one which was taken when we went to Hawaii 2 years ago for Christmas. It was one of the best times we had ever had together as a family. Good memories. And I was somewhat skinny, so I remember it fondly.

Anyway, I really like to do puzzles, and my sister Brianne, who is also in the picture, likes to do them too. We were in Hawaii for 2 weeks, so we decided to puzzle. We picked a scene with the Golden Gate Bridge and a bunch of flowers. It was pretty hard. We spent every night on the thing and by the end of the first week we had almost finished it.

Meanwhile, my brother, Christian, would put a puzzle piece in his pocket everytime he walked by the puzzle table. I knew he was doing this. He wanted to be sure that he would be the one to put the last piece in. Forget the fact that he hadn't invested any time in the puzzle--not enough to warrant placing the last piece.

I can't really remember, but I think he put the last piece in anyway. Cheater.

Puzzles are like therapy for me. When you are puzzling, you don't think about anything else. You can't. You're too busy looking for the piece that has just the right angles and coloring to connect a large section you've been working on to the main part of the puzzle.

They really are a good time. Try one, you'll see. They're addicting. Ask Dan and Ryan about Noah, his ark,and a certain puzzle...

Ryan thinks it's strange that I like puzzles. Even more so that I use it as a verb. To puzzle. Puzzled. Puzzling. Puzzles.

Oprah says...

"We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we are."

I'm visiting my parents for a few days and this is the quote that is taped to the desk where I'm sitting. I'm not sure it makes sense, the quote. The thing about quotes is that they are a little pretentious, like this blog, maybe. I mean, why would someone say something like that unless they know it will be run in a magazine under the picture of a little boy wearing a sheet for a cape, standing on a hillside, surrounded by nothing but blue sky.

I've read and re-read the quote several times now. I'm trying to use my English-major skills and apply a deconstruction of the quote, word by word. But, it's not working. We obviously "can't become what we need to be by remaining who we are." Duh.

I guess I see the motivational potential in it. I think what she is trying to say is, do something, stop talking about big plans and what you are going to do someday, just do it.

I've been re-reading Franny and Zooey lately and Oprah's quote is in direct contrast to a line I just read that says:

"I'm sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody" (pg. 30).

So, Salinger says it's perfectly ok to be ordinary. I totally get what he's saying. And I kinda like it. But, I guess there should be a pleasant medium. Oh look, I just used the word pleasant. Awesome.

I guess the question is this: Who has a better handle on what life's all about, Oprah or J.D. Salinger?

Anyway, I think "quotes," the ones that are manufactured to be quotes, are dumb. Like those motivational posters you see in offices all the time--the ones with pictures of random dudes kayaking and hang gliding--are even more dumb.

I'm just saying.

Where have all the good people gone?...

I swear this is a picture of Jack Johnson. We went to the concert last night. It was pretty good--Our only complaint was that there was no big screen. We heard Jack Johnson, but we couldn't actually tell if it was indeed him. At one point, during the opening acts, he came out and did a song as a "special treat" and we didn't even realize he had come out until everyone around us was saying it was him. But, Raley Field is still a cool place to see a concert and the weather, the mood, and the music were great. It was the perfect way to end the weekend.

Hiding from the paparazzi...

Here is proof that, once-in-a-while, we are in the same room. Notice though how I'm totally not hiding. In fact, I'm totally out there, inviting everyone in. I'm not sure who Ryan is hiding from--all of you, I guess. Or, he's embarrassed by the previous picture I posted, I don't know.

We are looking forward to a fun-filled weekend. Ryan is heading to the California State Fair with some friends, and Sunday we are going to a concert. Our friends, Lon and Jen, will be here too. The good times never end here at the 351.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I have a great family and I love them very much.

All I have to say is...

Hmmmm.....

I'm not really sure what to say here. This showed up in my inbox a few days ago. It cannot be ignored. Yes, that is my husband on the left, the one who has the ridiculously large smile on his face. I have no idea who the other dude is.

I'm wondering who looks like these women? I don't know anyone who looks like them. Do you? For this reason, I believe they are robots. It could be.

This past weekend I went home for my 10 year high school reunion. I wasn't sure I really wanted to go, but I'm glad I did. Up until the week before, I'd had the attitude that I'll just go as I am. No need for shopping or primping. BUT, as it got closer, I was like, oh hell no! I need a pedicure, a manicure, a haircut, new clothes, and liposuction. Well, I had to go without the lipo, obviously, but I pulled off the rest and went to what turned out to be, a pretty fun party. The think about high school friends is that no matter how much time goes by, those people know who you really are. I know, I sound ridiculous. All I'm saying is that there is nothing cooler than going to a party where everyone already knows you. There are no introductions, no obligatory conversations. I saw some really good friends and after the initial shock of it all, it was like we never left.

Good times.

So, back to the above photo. While I was home reliving the days of EHS, Ryan went to the 49ers/Raiders game. Lon and Jen, our very good friends, invited Ryan to go. I need to stop and give props to Lon and Jen here. First, Lon is the reason I started this blog. He sent Ryan the link to Dooce. Secondly, Jen is always getting us tickets to kick-ass things. They are good friends and good people. They also single handedly supplied the flowers at our wedding. Life, and weddings, would be dull without them.

That was last weekend. We also had tickets to The White Stripes who were in Berkeley, but we gave them to Ryan's cousins. I hope they had fun. I haven't heard.

My sister, Shannon, has been hanging out with me for the last few days. She's crazy. Crazy in love. Her boyfriend lives in New Mexico?? and she lives in Provo. Don't worry, I say. They are totally "IN" with Verizon and can talk for free. Seeing each other in person is overrated. I mean, look at me. I never see my husband and we are making it work!

I just heard the mail truck. I have to go out and see if the next episodes of The O.C. came....I've been going through withdrawals. I love Seth. Summer too!!

A picture from my new camera

Here is a picture I took with my new camera. I have others, but I've just spent half of the day trying to figure out how to transfer them onto my computer and then how to manage them in folders. I don't know why I'm struggling so much right now. I think I'm going to use flickr as a way for everyone to see my photos--you don't have to sign on or sign up for anything, you just click and they are there for your viewing pleasure.

The International Symbol of Marriage

Ryan sent this to me yesterday in an email. He thinks it is true and granted, right now it is. I have no money and well, he doesn't either. So, that little picture of the credit card is the most realistic part of this symbol--credit or die. I mean, how else are we supposed to spend 2 weeks in Mexico in December? WE DESERVE IT. we deserve it...

I hope you guys can read this. These are just few suggestions if you are traveling on the London Underground these days.

Manic Monday...

To those of you who are anxiously awaiting my next post, I apologize. It was a pretty crazy weekend and I need a few minutes to get my photos downloaded. I promise I'll work on it tonight.

I will say that I did attend my 10 year high school reunion and it was crazy! I had the best time and I'm very glad I went. I'll post the photos later.

Ryan told me last night that his life has turned into The Amazing Race. He's on foot, then he's on the bus, then lightrail, then someone gives him a ride, but then he takes a bike...so crazy.

Does anyone have photoshop I can "borrow?" I'm just wondering...

Also, for those of you who have read The Kite Runner, Terry Gross interviewed the author, Khaled Hosseini, on Fresh Air last Thursday. I'm listening to it now. You should too.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4795618

All the Nikon D70 owners in the house say HEYYYYYY...

HEYYYYYYY.

Yes. I. Am. I am a new owner of one kick-ass camera that I have no idea how to use. However, I will be finding out what every button, nob, and number on the thing means--even if it kills me. All I have to say is thank goodness for zero percent financing. I have exactly 12 months to pay this thing off, but I can do it in 4 if I put every paycheck I make from now until Christmas towards it. Super plan.

I wish I could post some photos I've taken with my new, beautiful camera, but I cannot. I haven't downloaded the software yet--I haven't had an extra second to do it. I will do it soon though, and then everyone will get a much more accurate account of what goes on here in our little apartment and our lives. Just wait.

So, now I have a Nikon N55 that I'm trying to get rid of. I'd like to sell it for $200. It's a 35mm SLR folks--that means it's not digital and you have to buy film and get it developed just like we did in the old days. But, if anyone out there is old school and into classic film photography, this camera is for you. It's less than 2 years old and I have all of the original packaging. It's only been used a handful of times and I would totally keep it if I weren't a serious blogger and in need of a dig camera to support my serious habit. Seriously. Let me know if you're interested. I'm putting it on craigslist if none of you bite.

Ryan had his first day of school today. My husband, the law student.

Holy cow...it's almost 12am. I have to get to bed. I'll be dreaming about my new camera.

Stay tuned....

Off to work I go...

The last few days have been a blur. For Ryan too. I wish I had something interesting to say, but I don't. I'm in the midst of finishing up two summer school classes and I'm working too. It's all or nothing for me. I either have absolutely nothing to do, or I have way too much on my plate. Never in between for me.

Ryan flew to SLC yesterday, and then drove all night in order to catch a flight out of Las Vegas early this morning. Right now he is in the middle of a Sacramento Bee interview with his Indian clients. He's going on no sleep. I probably won't see him until tomorrow night because hopefully, he'll be asleep when I get home.

I haven't turned the tv on since Sunday...I'm trying to finish The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields. It's ok. I don't love it. It won a Pulitzer, so I'd thought I'd like it more. Hmm..

I have to go to work now.

I'm going to my high school reunion on Saturday. 10 years. I should have plenty to write about after that fun-filled night.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Today is my brother's birthday. He is 27. Christian is a good brother, but because he lives in Las Vegas, we don't see much of him. I hope he has a good day and knows that we are thinking about him. Maybe if he didn't make more money than all of his parents, siblings, and brother-in-law combined, we'd get him a gift. No, I'm just kidding...we owe you Chris! I mailed y0u a little something today. sssss....sssssss...ssssssss.

I'm married to Ryan from The O.C. and I have a crush on Ryan from The O.C....

I've recently started watching The O.C. I don't know what made me put the first season on my Netflix queue, but I did. And I'm so glad I did. I'm only four episodes into it, but I'm already addicted. It's so good. I like Seth too. Actually, Seth reminds me a lot of Ryan--my husband.

August and everything after...

Ryan and I are back. We made it through our first anniversary without any hiccups...sort of. There were a few minor issues we had to work through and it wouldn't have been Ryan and Jen's anniversary without some drama.

First of all, I was a day late for our weekend. I had to stay and work on a project that was due Saturday. So, I went down Friday afternoon and made it just in time for my 5:30 massage. For those of you who have never had a massage...get one. I'm always anxious before I get a massage, but then about 3 minutes into it, I'm asking myself why I don't do this more often. Then I tell myself why...because they are very expensive and only for special occasions. The massage was awesome and so was the super soft robe I wore from my room to the spa. I wore it in the elevator--I didn't care. I had slippers too.

While I was getting a massage, Ryan was finishing up a work day in the San Francisco office. I felt so guilty. We had a great dinner at a fancy restaurant on the Embarcadero--we ordered whatever we wanted and didn't even look at the bill when it came. Our hotel room was awesome. It smelled like lavender and lemon. We had no business being there, it was too fancy. But, it was fun. Ryan LOVED the bathroom. The shower had no doors--you just walked in, and it was all done in limestone. Our view was of the ferry building, the bay, and the bridge--just like the picture on the website. In fact, that might be our room.

We got up very early on Saturday morning and drove back to Sacramento so that I could attend a summer school class. It sucked that we had to go back, but I had no choice. As soon as my class was over, we headed to the train station and headed back to the city.

I left Ryan's cell phone on the train. If anyone find's it, call me. Needless to say, it was a huge bummer and really dumb of me. The first thing you are supposed to do when you leave ANYWHERE, is check for personal belongings. I forgot the cardinal rule of travel: I failed to check for personal belongings

Sunday was spent mostly on public transportation. We had to go down to the Marina district to get a new phone--at one point we were on a bus in Chinatown and it was so full we couldn't move, or breathe. We met an 93 year-old man who kept telling us to watch him push his way out of the bus. He said he had to stick his elbows out and push, otherwise he would miss his stop.

I forgot to tell you that we had what may have been the best reakfast of our lives on Sunday morning. Ryan hadn't even finished his first bite before he was saying this. But, it was true. It was perfect.

We headed home, but not before we had to wait 3 hours at the Richmond train station for our train back to Sac. The train was obviously late. It was torture. We made it home last night and our cats were so happy to see us. It was a good weekend.

Now, we are back to reality.

It's strange that Peter Jennings died, right? I don't know why, but I'm sad about it. I think death is lame. We should just live forever.

I'm looking into gettting a camera soon. This blog is about to blow up when that happens.

The City is the place for me...

Ryan and I are leaving for a weekend in San Francisco. It is in honor of our first anniversary. We have been married for 362 days and it will be 365 on Sunday! I can't believe how fast it has gone by. It has been a great year. I'm so glad we are married.

Anyway, I'll try to post more later. I have a lot to talk about, but I'm trying to finish this monstrosity of an assignment I have due on Saturday. I can't leave for our weekend until it's done. And then I have to drive back up from our celebration weekend to attend a class all day on Saturday. So, it will be a back and forth celebration in the city. While Ryan is working tomorrow, I'm going to the spa! I can't wait. I have the best husband--he has surprised me with spa and/or massage treatments at least 3 times in the last six months! Awesome.

In honor of our anniversary weekend, I'm including a wedding photo.

LOL

Ryan and I spent most of our first month of dating via email. I have them all printed out to prove it. About a year after we tried to date, but decided to be "best friends" instead, Ryan presented me with a big, white binder full of our email convos and said:

"Here, this is for you. You said you liked to read them."

"Yeah, I do. But, we aren't dating and you've told me over and over that you don't really see us getting married, so why are you giving me all of our emails in a binder? "

"YOU SAID YOU LIKED TO READ THEM, GEEZ."

"Yeah, but we broke up..."

(I think he really knew all along we would end up together and that is why he made sure to print them out--before they were lost to stupid hotmail cemetery. He wanted them for posterity...but he tried to camouflage it.)

AND, while I was in London, Ryan wrote some of his best stuff to me. Let me include a paragraph here...

We dated a couple years ago because I was attracted to you and asked you out and we had a killer vibe and chemistry going for a few weeks until I got hung up on you acting weird about picking me up at the airport--and it ended badly. But somehow, maybe partly because of the bike path talk, we ended up back together in a bizarre romantic/friendship game and we've made it kind of work since then. The only times we fight are when you bark at me like a hen or get weird about what I'm supposed to say or think or do--and maybe if we were just flat out dating like normal people you wouldn't do that to me, and we'd be perfectly serene like birds...or salamanders who are f'ing oblivious to the fact that they live in a river. They just know there's a rushing going on around their rocks.

The rest is history. I hope he doesn't get mad at me for posting this. But, he sent me such great stuff and people should read it!

Anyway, I started this because I wanted to include this NYT article. It's awesome and so true.

R We D8ting?
"How had we managed to speed through all the stages of an actual relationship almost solely via text message? I'd gone from butterflies to doubt to anger at his name on the screen, before we even knew each other."

A Text Message Love Affair Gone Wrong

Oh Dear...

"Police in Germany are hunting pranksters who have been sticking miniature flag portraits of US President George W. Bush into piles of dog poo in public parks. Josef Oettl, parks administrator for Bayreuth, said: "This has been going on for about a year now, and there must be 2,000 to 3,000 piles of excrement that have been claimed during that time."

http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/03/1728717.php


I'm sure he takes all kinds of abuse, but this has gotta hurt....

Self-inflicted pain

It's 5:45am. I'm not sure why I didn't just stay up and finish my homework last night instead of having to wake up at the crack 'o dawn today. My eyes are burning so bad and I'm just so tired. I'm not sure I'll make it through the day.

How people get up this early and live to tell about it, I'll never know.

My boyfriend's back...

Ryan is home. I'm so glad. However, we only got to hang out for about an hour before we had to go to bed and start our crazy lives all over again. It's a pretty big bummer to think that this is what we have to do for so many more years. Work.

We have a crazy cat. Pip is out of control. This morning, after taking Ryan to work, I came home and noticed that our very large IKEA lamp was on the floor. The lamp must stand about 6 feet tall. I don't know what Pip did, but he probably jumped on it from the couch and then proceeded to slide down the shade. It's shaped like a cylinder and the shade is made of paper--you know the one I'm talking about. Anyway, there are now claw marks running down the side of the lamp shade. It's ruined. Pip may have AD/HD. But now he is so tired he is passed out cold on the desk next to me--he's using the printer tray as a comfy pillow.

He's pretty cute though.