Suzernathy

Chutney

2011-06-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

I got my new puppy Chutney last Thursday. She is keeping me busy! She's already learned how to climb the stairs by herself...

Of course she's mastered the art of napping...

and she could be Rhone's twin.

Rhone

Chutney

Design

2011-05-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

I don't purchase magazines very often. It can get to be a very expensive habit, so I only buy one once in awhile. I picked up this month's People magazine for the interview with Steven Tyler. I'm a lukewarm Aerosmith fan. I think their music is very good, and I have their greatest hits on cd, but I have not put forth the effort to get to know the rest of their music. The article was interesting, and I would like to read his book someday (when I can get it used for cheap). All that aside...

I...LOVE...THIS...ROOM!!!

If you know me well, you know one of my passions (besides music) is interior design. And I think this room is amazing! The couches, the flowers, the piano... wow! The photography is nice, and of course I'm sure the house is some bazillion dollar structure in a place that I will never see. But this room just makes me happy.

Gung Hay Fat Choy

2011-02-14T17:39:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year (well, any new year) is a symbol for new beginnings, cleaning out the rubbish and making a fresh start. I took this to heart and cleaned my house, decorated with festive lanterns and dragons, and gave myself a clean slate in my mind. Don't worry about the past, don't fret about things I have or haven't done. Get started on the things that need to be done. Try new things. Make new friends. Give myself a break!
I also had some friends over for a nice dinner and conversation. Thank you Dharshana, Doug, Brendan, Jim, and Gen. That was a really fun evening!

I think I'll leave my decorations up for a few more days. They make me smile.

So Happy (Chinese) New Year. May your year be filled with peace, joy, and love.

And prosperity. Prosperity never hurts.

Christmas

2010-12-25T14:14:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are again, another year has passed and we had another lovely Christmas morning at Liz and Alan's house. Dharshana got to spend some time with Eli...

This is kind of how the morning was for me - a blur. It seemed like we had been there 15 minutes and I looked at my watch and it had been two hours! That's a good sign, that means I was having fun.

It was nice to see everyone, thanks to Liz and Alan for having us over!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Christmas Spirit

2010-12-05T20:31:00.000-08:00

I don't post pictures here much anymore because most of the people I know who read this blog (you know who you are, Fisher family!) are on Facebook. But I got tired of looking at my Glass Castle book review so here is my pre-Christmas post... Getting the stuff together

I don't do Christmas trees, not at this point in my life. I plan to someday, when it makes more sense, but until then I am hanging ornaments from the ceiling.

Here is my nativity set with two really cute tealight candles I picked up from Cost Plus. I love Moroccan lanterns

And last but not least, a random snowflake. I hope everyone has a lovely, not too crazy-with-the-holidays December and I'll see you on Christmas!

Book Review

2010-10-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

I recently read "The Glass Castle," a memoir of the Walls family. It is written from the perspective of one of the children, Jeannette. Her parents live in la-la land and fail to provide even the most basic needs for their children, so she and her siblings have to be very self sufficient and creative to get by. The book follows Jeanette and her siblings from birth to adulthood, where they finally break free of their parents and build their own lives.

After she wrote "The Glass Castle," apparently Jeannette wanted to find out more about her mother's life, to understand her better. She was going to write a book about it, but her mother convinced her to write about her grandmother instead. So she wrote "Half Broke Horses" about her grandmother Lily. I liked this book even more than the first because Lily has lots of adventures, but they are not because she is being mistreated (like the kids in the first book), it is more her just dealing with what life throws at her. She's smart and strong and pretty much breaks all the rules for women in her time period, which is the early 20th century. I highly recommend this book for everyone. I only recommend the first book for people with strong stomachs.

Updates

2010-09-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

Since I last blogged, a few things have happened. I got my prints in the mail and put them up in my dining room. You can see them behind Dharshana in this picture. Dharshana is wearing a salwar (Indian outfit) that I picked up at Thrift Town for $4. Nice find. And it fit her perfectly!

Saturday, 9/11/10, I went to a service organized by the Interfaith Service Bureau, where they released peace doves and placed roses on the Quran as a symbol of love and support for the Muslim community. It was a beautiful service and I was honored to be a part of it.

In other news, I got my Rhoney-girl back! Three weeks was about two weeks too long. The first week I was a free woman. I went shopping, cleaned my house, and enjoyed not having all the responsibilities of a dog. Then I was over it. Unfortunately, I had two more weeks to go, so I started borrowing other people's dogs (Thanks Carolyn). After I got Rhone back, there was a Friday that they were resurfacing the floor in the hallway outside my front door, so we either had to stay in or stay out. So Rhone and I hung out in Old Sacramento for awhile, then visited some friends. I took these pictures that day.

This is the same spot that Dharshana and I had our pictures taken, by the way.

Spy Games

2010-08-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

Books

2010-08-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

I read the "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" awhile back and I really liked it. My favorite parts were the stories of the Ya-Yas when they were children. There was a darker storyline about Vivi and her alcoholism, but that was only part of the book.
So, I went back on amazon.com and learned that the author had written three spin-off books about these characters. I read the other two, but I didn't really like them. Then I read the third one, "The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder." First of all, what a great name for a book! Secondly, it had all the wonderful things I loved about the first book without the dysfunctional storylines of Vivi and Siddalee. All in all, a really fun read!

News

2010-08-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

I haven't written anything in awhile because frankly, there wasn't really anything to write about. I work, I take care of Rhone, nothing too exciting. Lately, however, there have been some newsworthy changes in my life. First, a few weeks ago I took up belly dancing! There is a studio on J Street right by my house. I have seen it for years and always thought it looked interesting. So I finally went and tried a class, and it's really fun! The teacher, Jodette, has been belly dancing since the dawn of time and she is precious. She is so sweet and friendly and it's fun to watch her dance! She feeds the homeless every morning, teaches dance in the evening, and makes every woman who comes into her studio feel valued and beautiful. And that is a gift. I am looking forward to getting to know her better and having fun dancing.

In other news, Rhone went into heat on Friday, so per CCI (Canine Companions) policy, I took her down to headquarters in Santa Rosa where she'll stay for the duration of her heat cycle, about three weeks. So I am dog-free for a little while. The first thing I did was CLEAN my house! I have been pulling literally fistfuls of fur out of the vacuum, dryer lint trap, etc. So it'll be all ready for Miss Rhone to come back and "fur" it all up again.

This is a picture my coworker Nancy took of us at work. We were cracking up! Rhone was trying to escape the Little Red Riding Hood impromptu costume, I was holding her down and Nancy was taking pictures. Turned out really cute, though!
After dropping Rhone off at CCI, I stopped by Sebastopol for a fun afternoon of hippie shopping. My goal was to buy a djembe drum, so I can go to drum circles and actually have something to play. So I went to the music store and played drums with the salesman for awhile, and picked out my new drum. While shopping, I rediscovered Papaya!, the company that produces this art that I absolutely LOVE. So when I got home, I went online and purchased these two prints.

So I'm excited about my new prints. I added a couple of artsy blogs to my blog list, and I'm trying to find new things to inspire me. We'll see what I come up with next...

Nothing much...

2010-06-09T08:45:00.000-07:00

...going on. Just thought I'd post some pictures.

Relaxin'... ur doin it rite!

2010-04-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

Love

2010-03-18T09:14:00.001-07:00

“You know sometimes how I walk into your room with a flashlight or a candle?” I nodded. “Well, love is like that. Light doesn’t have to announce its way into a room or ask the darkness to leave. It just is. It walks ahead of you, and the darkness rolls back like a tide.” She waved her hand across the room. “It has to, ‘cause the darkness can’t be where the light is.”

-Excerpt from “Wrapped in Rain” by Charles Martin

Wow!!

2010-03-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

Just finished this book literally two minutes ago and was blown away. The subject matter is difficult, abusive families, alcoholism, etc, but the story is amazing. It's about how these broken children grow up and learn to heal and find love again. I cried many times. Just... wow...

Heart in the Right Place

2010-02-25T12:56:00.001-08:00

The book review reads:

True story of a spoiled, high-powered Senate lawyer who gives up a glamorous life and comes back home to the Smoky Mountains to work as an unpaid and inept receptionist in her father's rural medical office.

I found this book randomly on Amazon.com after purchasing Marley & Me and I really liked it. She makes a lot of interesting observations about people's perceptions of success and value, having come from such a different world. And the anecdotes from the doctor's office are hilarious!

Random stuff

2010-02-03T08:45:00.000-08:00

I've been reading, and all of the books I've read have been ok, but nothing I felt was postworthy. Still, if you are interested, I read "The Art of Racing in the Rain" and "The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square," both of which were quite good.
I also read "The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs," which was also good, but probably only interesting if you're into dog training.

So here are some random pictures of my baby. She's growing fast and learning every day!

And if you haven't checked out my blog list, go look at Unhappy Hipsters. It's hysterical!

You can come out when you can properly explain the differences between Modernist architecture and postmodern ornamentation.

Marley and Me

2010-01-21T08:53:00.001-08:00

Since I have gotten Rhone, a number of people have remarked that she looks like Marley. So I decided to get the book and read it, and I'm glad I did. It is hysterical! I laughed so hard I cried. So if you want an easy read and a good laugh, I highly recommend this book.

Dear John

2010-01-19T13:05:00.001-08:00

Book Review #2:
I saw the trailer for this movie at New Moon and decided I wanted to read the book. Romances aren't my usual genre, but it looked interesting. It's a nice story about good people who really do love each other despite their shortcomings. And it has an unexpected but satisfying ending. I can't stand books with bad endings.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

2009-12-31T08:27:00.000-08:00

Usually I just use this blog to post pictures, but I thought maybe I should do a book review from time to time. So here's my first one. My first grade teacher recommended this book and I really liked it! It's about an author who gets a letter from someone in Guernsey asking for a book recommendation. She begins corresponding with him and soon becomes fascinated by the community and the story of how they made it through WWII. It's a sweet book with great, eccentric, lovable characters. If you read it, tell me what you think!

Christmas

2009-12-28T08:02:00.001-08:00

Rhone

2009-12-11T16:18:00.001-08:00

Ok, here are the pictures! I've been so busy with this little one that I haven't had time to post anything yet.

Getting ready...

2009-12-09T09:12:00.000-08:00

Just found out yesterday that I'm picking up my Canine Companions puppy on Friday. Eek! I will post pictures as soon as I can...

Addison's 1st Birthday

2009-12-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving

2009-12-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

Once again this year, Dharshana and I were very fortunate to be able to go to Liz's house for Thanksgiving.

Jace was conked out the whole time...

Mia was busy making Thanksgiving cards...

And Luna was working for her dinner, signing "more" between bites.

It apparently worked, though! Thanks again Liz, for a great Thanksgiving dinner!

Apple Hill

2009-10-18T07:52:00.000-07:00

Renaissance Faire

2009-10-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

I went to the annual Folsom Renaissance Faire today and had a lot of fun!
This guy was amazing! He did a perfect imitation of Captain Jack Sparrow.

I got my hair braided too, which I have never done before. It turned out really pretty and since it was a pretty warm day it was nice to have it up.

All in all, a very fun day!

The Great California Shake Out

2009-10-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, this week was the Great California Shake Out, earthquake drills being held all over California. http://www.shakeout.org/. CalPERS participated, and one of my coworkers took pictures. They were hilarious!!

Thanksgiving Cards

2009-10-12T08:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday I went over to Leila's house and had a blast making Thanksgiving cards...

Fun with Candles

2009-10-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

Chevy's

2009-10-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile since we went to Chevy's but my home computer didn't want to access my blog and it's been really busy here at work. So anyway, here are the pictures...

Thanks for inviting us, we had a really nice time!

Merle Haggard

2009-10-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

Merle Haggard came to town this week and played at the Mondavi Center. Now, I like country music but I'm not that familiar with his work. So I figured he's a legend in the country world, I ought to go see him play. It was a very nice show. He's in his seventies, but he's still got it!

This is what he looked like at the show...

I just thought this was a cool picture.

It was a great show. It made me a little nostalgic, made me think of my dad, since he's from Alabama and always wore cowboy boots and listened to country music.

Pictures

2009-09-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

After much anticipation, I finally got our prints in the mail. These are my favorites...

Zap Mama

2009-08-15T04:08:00.000-07:00

Friday I had the opportunity to see one of my favorite groups of all time perform!
Zap Mama performed in the quad at Davis

Getting ready for the show

Zap Mama

There were lots of people dancing, but this lady was by far the most entertaining!

And the perfect ending to the evening, I got to meet Zap Mama and her daughter and get their autographs!

An afternoon with the family

2009-08-10T08:11:00.001-07:00

Amy had us all over to her house on Sunday to go through some of Jim's old stuff. It was interesting looking through all the old pictures and newspaper clippings and hearing my brothers and sisters tell stories from their earlier days.

Since we were all together (a rare occasion) I HAD to take a group picture. I think it turned out pretty good!

L-R - Craig, Liz, me, Amy, Clay

Addison was fascinated with my camera...

Addison

2009-08-03T10:19:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures I stole from Shawna and her sister Kim's Facebook pages...

This is Addison "playing" with the dog through the window

Awww...

Baby attitude!

Addison and Mommy

Survey

2009-07-29T11:52:00.001-07:00

1. Name three types of people who should qualify for forced labor camps.
-Child abusers
-Anyone who hurts other people on purpose.
-I think that about covers it
2. What was the last thing you ate? Oatmeal
3. What’s a goal you have? Someday to have a job that I like
4. What do you think of entertainment awards shows? Don’t pay attention to them
5. How do you want to die? -Aneurysm
6. What is your favorite vacation/get-away spot? Actually I enjoy just relaxing at home.
7. How do you pronounce “gyro?” yee-roh
8. What have you found entertaining lately? Interior design books
9. Do you follow any blogs of nondescript people who you don't know? Why do you follow those blogs? –I follow many blogs of people I don’t know. There are so many interesting people out there with great stories.
10. What would you use a time machine for? -I would go back to the 70’s and go shopping then I would go forward to a time when all our medical problems have been solved.
11. What is your favorite restaurant? -Taki and Kasbah
12. What actors should be barred from acting?
-Julia Roberts
-Jennifer Lopez
13. What’s the last book you read? – Interior Desecrations by James Lileks, the funniest book I’ve read in a long time!
14. What’s the last movie you enjoyed? –Star Trek
15. Reveal something that really bothers you. -crazy co-workers
16. What will it say on your gravestone? –Name, date of birth, date of death
17. Put your iPod on shuffle and list the first three songs that come up, then explain yourself:-Alas, I do not own an iPod.
18. What is the biggest mistake you have ever made? –I don’t know, I’ve made lots of mistakes, but none that really stand out.
19. What kind of toppings do you generally request for your pizza? –Pepperoni or sausage and mushroom
20. Who/what would you love to have complete control over? -My body/my health
21. What does your ideal Saturday consist of? -Sleeping in; spending time with family and friends
22. What is one skill you lack completely but wish you could master with the snap of your fingers? -cooking
23. What's something you live in constant fear of? –health problems
24. What was the first album you listened to non-stop, over and over again? –Paula Abdul and Janet Jackson
25. Have you ever seen a live, wild rat? How about a dead one? -I have seen both
26. What thing have you most aggressively promoted? –Twilight books
27. Is there a band or musical trend you would love to see erased completely? –I like most music, but perhaps I wouldn’t mind seeing death metal go away
28. If you had to describe yourself using 3 words, what would they be?creative, unique, passionate
29. Where is the last place that you'd see yourself living? – I wouldn’t want to live anywhere that women don’t have rights. (and there are a lot of places that rules out, unfortunately)
30. What was the last video you enjoyed on the internet? –Some “America’s Got Talent” video my coworker sent me
31. What is your favorite smoothie combination? –strawberry and banana
32. What is the worst thing that has ever happened to your car? –my baby, my Jeep was a lemon so I had to trade it in. I miss that car
33. What album have you been listening to most? –Mary J Blige
34. What clues you into a person's idiocy? -Certain political bumper stickers
35. What is your favorite store to wander through? – I love shopping, so the list is pretty long

Picnic

2009-07-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

Potato Salad... bringing people together

2009-07-20T22:33:00.001-07:00

My neighbor had a party yesterday and he made enough potato salad to feed an army. So I invited Dharshana, Brian, Shawna, and Addison over for some good company and potato salad.

A nice time was had by all...

Projects

2009-07-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

I was looking at blogs today and realized I haven't written in almost a month! There hasn't really been much going on. I did finally put up some lanterns I bought at least a year ago. I haven't decided if I like them where they are yet, but I'm going to leave them there awhile and see how I feel...

I also considered putting them in the corner, but I am not sure...

So that's about it. I have a 4 1/2 day weekend this week, and I'm enjoying every minute of it!

Ok, I'll blog it

2009-06-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

As everyone knows, Michael Jackson passed away Thursday.
I am a huge Michael Jackson fan

It will be interesting to see what kind of memorial(s) they have over the next few weeksSo, I'm curious...

Where were you when you heard? I was getting my car washed.
What is your favorite Michael Jackson song? Video? My favorite video is Remember the Time.

Thoughts?

Cute Pictures

2009-06-09T15:46:00.001-07:00

As you all know (probably), one of my very favorite activities is stealing pictures from people's blogs and facebook accounts. Brian and Shawna had these pictures taken recently and they are so cute!! I just couldn't resist.

Lion King

2009-06-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

Dharshana and I went to see the Lion King last night and it was AMAZING!!!

The puppets and overall scenery were so creative and fun!

Rafiki was my favorite character. I need her to come tell me what MY destiny is...

The dancing, singing, staging, etc were all incredible.

If you ever get a chance to see this show, GO SEE IT!

This weekend

2009-05-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

I hope all the Fishers and Garcias (and anyone else) are having a fun and safe time in Yosemite. While you were gone, Avi and I have been having some fun...
and relaxin'...

Today we went to the SPCA Doggy Dash. We didn't run, but we went and walked around awhile. There were lots of dogs there, all different sizes

and spectators

We saw a frisbee demonstration

and a K-9 Police Unit demonstration

went and said Hi to the K-9 dogs and the officers

all in all, a fun day!

Have a fun weekend and see you all when you get back!

A fun new game

2009-05-21T00:29:00.000-07:00

Go to Wikipedia, and you use your birthdate as a search. List five (or more) interesting facts, two births and one death.

May 5th...

Interesting Facts
1821 – Emperor Napoleon I dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.

1862 – Cinco de Mayo in Mexico: troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla.

1865 – In North Bend, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio), the first train robbery in the United States takes place.

1891 – The Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.

1921 – Coco Chanel introduces Chanel No. 5

1955 – West Germany gains full sovereignty.

Births
867 – Uda, Emperor of Japan (d. 931)

1944 – John Rhys-Davies, Welsh actor

Death
1971 – Violet Jessop, Titanic survivor (b. 1887)

Dharshana and Addison

2009-05-19T22:13:00.001-07:00

I had a nice dinner with Shawna and Dharshana at Taki tonight and Dharshana got to see Addison which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Monday

2009-05-18T21:32:00.000-07:00

Had a nice time with Carolyn and Luna tonight. Dharshana stopped by for pizza, then we made bracelets for awhile. I took pictures with my cell phone, but they turned out kinda dark. This is the best I could do.
Went downstairs and found this lovely note on the community bulletin board. I was not involved, thankfully. Aren't my neighbors just the picture of love and understanding? (Ha!)

If you haven't seen the new Star Trek movie yet, let me tell you, it is awesome! It doesn't hurt that I have the biggest crush on this guy, but the movie is great all around. In my opinion.

Pacific Rim Festival

2009-05-18T10:12:00.001-07:00

Saturday I went to the Pacific Rim Festival in Old Sacramento with my friend Trang.
We saw a lion dance...

My camera died so I took these pictures with my cell phone.

We walked around for a little bit but it was so hot we finally gave up and went home. We had fun though!

Fun with surveys

2009-05-17T23:00:00.000-07:00

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8am
2. Diamonds or pearls? Freshwater pearls
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Star Trek, my new favorite movie!
4. What is your favorite TV show? Don’t watch tv anymore, but last time I checked, it was Burn Notice
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? In the summer I make a smoothie in the morning.
6. What is your middle name? Morris
7. What food do you dislike? Tomatoes, onions, bell peppers
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? I don’t have any new ones I am listening to. Zap Mama is always a good one.
9. What kind of car do you drive? Jeep Liberty
10. Favorite sandwich? Turkey melt
11. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Saturday is usually my favorite day
12. Favorite item of clothing? Anything flowy and comfortable
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? The list is long.
14. Favorite brand of clothing? I like Lucky brand but have yet to find something there I can actually fit into and that is worth buying. I keep trying though. Other than that, my shopping is a bit eclectic.
15. Where would you retire to? An island
16. What was your most memorable birthday? My 29th was fun, we did a henna party.
17. Favorite sport to watch? Martial arts
18. What did you want to be when you were little? President of the United States, which is hilarious because now that I’m grown, one of the last fields I would ever want to go into would be politics.
19. How are you today? Good. It’s kind of hot though. Summer is not my favorite season. Plus the circus monkey upstairs is banging on my ceiling again. That makes for long summer nights…
20. What is your favorite candy? Skittles
21. What characteristic do you despise? Selfishness
22. What are you listening to right now? Myself type
23. What was the last thing you ate? Popcorn
24. Favorite soft drink? Thai iced tea
25. Favorite restaurant? Depends on what I want to eat. Taki and Kasbah top the list though.
26. Real hair color? Brown, I have never dyed my hair.
27. What was your favorite toy as a child? Tigger and Ol’ Ted (my stuffed bears)
28. Coffee or tea? I have a coffee addiction and it is baaaddd….
29. When was the last time you cried? It’s actually been awhile, yay!
30. What is under your bed? Ironically, I just cleaned under there the other day, so nothing at the moment. However I did find a bunch of socks and some towel racks I have yet to find a good place for.
31. What did you do last night? Watched movies
32. What are you afraid of? Pain and sickness
33. How many years at your current job? Not quite one yet. Almost
34. How many towns have you lived in? Sacramento and Carmichael
35. Do you make friends easily? I’d like to think so.

Whole Earth Festival

2009-05-09T17:41:00.001-07:00

Today I went to the Whole Earth Festival in Davis (AKA hippie festival) with my coworker Michele and her son Andrew.

Me and Michele posing with a fun little monster statue somewhere in Davis.

We saw belly dancers with a neat sword balancing act.

And bharathanathyam dancing, which is an Indian form of dancing that Dharshana used to do. So that was a nice treat.

I found my friend Renu, and got a henna tattoo!

All in all, we had a very fun day at the festival!

Luna

2009-05-09T10:28:00.001-07:00

Rest In Peace, Sasha

2009-05-06T13:27:00.000-07:00

After many fun years and diva attitude, I finally made the agonizing decision to put Sasha down today. She had been sick all weekend, and she wasn't getting better. Yesterday her legs went out and today she stopped eating. She gave me the saddest look and I knew it was time. So I bundled her up in a big soft blanket and took her to the vet. My vet is such a sweet lady who has helped me care for Sasha for almost 16 years. She agreed that it was the kindest thing to do. So I told my baby goodbye. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I'll miss that little trouble maker, but she is at peace now.

Yay!

2009-04-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

Here is our "sneak peek." This photographer gives her clients a sample of the photos while she is working on the rest of them. Eagerly awaiting the others....

Pictures

2009-04-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

Dharshana and I took pictures on Saturday and the photographer said she might post some of them in her blog by Monday night. I can't wait to see how they turned out! Until then, I leave you with this. Taken with my cell phone. Isn't technology amazing?

Happy (Belated) Easter!

2009-04-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

I was just looking at some photos and I came across these.

I hope everyone had a nice Easter!

I know it's been awhile...

2009-04-06T13:53:00.001-07:00

...here's the latest pic I have of Addison

I'm Back!!!

2009-03-02T13:52:00.000-08:00

I just spent a week in the sunny Caribbean! It was nice to get away (since I haven't taken a vacation since 2002, I figured it was time) We started on the sandy beaches of Half Moon Cay
I walked along the beach barefoot and collected seashells. Very nice...

Grand Turk, hanging out in Margaritaville. Turns out there is a Margaritaville on every island. It was fun though!

Grand Cayman, took a tour and visited a turtle farm! I got to hold a turtle and try turtle soup. It was actually pretty good!

Cozumel, Mexico. Did a lot of shopping and saw a folkloric song and dance show which was nice. The highlight of that day was these birds though. They were sweet and very well trained.

I am so thankful that I got to take a trip, see a new part of the world, and get away from life for a few days. Of course I have a MILLION more pictures, but these are the highlights.

Furlough Fridays

2009-02-20T19:38:00.001-08:00

Today was the second Furlough Friday and we went to Kaveri on Fulton Ave.
After lunch, we went shopping at Secondhand Rose. We thought thrift shopping was appropriate given the current economic climate...

Brit and Dharshana got some books and I got a shirt for $4. Score!

I wonder where we'll go next time?

Furlough Fridays

2009-02-06T18:20:00.000-08:00

A few state workers decided to take advantage of furlough Fridays and try out new restaurants downtown.
Today we tried Tandoorie Wok.

The restaurant was pretty and the food was really good! Afterwards I took a stroll down J Street, since I had time to stop and smell the flowers...

It was a fun outing, I hope we do this again soon!

Chinese New Year

2009-01-31T19:28:00.000-08:00

Laura, Dharshana and I have a tradition. Every your around Chinese New Year we go out for dim sum. The best dim sum place we know of is New Canton.
You have to get there right when they open or 1. you will have to wait forever and 2. the food is the freshest then and with dim sum you really want fresh food.

The food was amazing, as usual.

Thoroughly enjoying ourselves...

I caught them talking with their mouths full!

We had a great time! Gong Hay Fat Choy!

Welcome to the World!

2009-01-31T07:39:00.000-08:00

Here are my pictures from when we visited Luna on Saturday. What a sweetie!

Rest In Peace Grany

2009-01-25T05:29:00.000-08:00

Grany went home to be with the Lord Friday night. She will be missed.
Fern Sausser (far right) with her brothers and sister.

With husband Warren (Buck) Sausser and granddaughter Suzanne

at Buca Di Beppo with Dharshana

Julie's Reception

2009-01-11T18:14:00.001-08:00

Here are my pictures from Julie's reception.
Julie's beautiful flowers

Decorating the car

I loved it!

The cake was a big hit with the kids

Fun Sunday Afternoon

2009-01-05T15:52:00.000-08:00

I went over to the Fishers' house on Sunday and spent some time with Liz & Lucy...

Carolyn...

and Avatar!

The intent was to scrapbook but we never really got around to it. We looked at a bunch of pictures, so at least that was a step in the right direction. I had a nice time. Next week we'll get lots of scrapbooking done!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Brent!

2008-12-21T20:58:00.000-08:00

Runs in the family?

2008-12-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

One of my coworkers pointed out that I am standing kind of like Mia when she does her supermodel pose.

Hmmm...

Dharshana got to meet Addison today...

2008-12-06T21:29:00.001-08:00

... and she was excited! Can you tell?

Addison Maya Burgess

2008-12-04T22:04:00.000-08:00

Little Addison Maya Burgess was born today, 12/4/08, at 9:26am at Kaiser Hospital in Sacramento on Morse Ave. She is 6lb 14oz and is in excellent health. (I stole that from Amy's email) She is precious, of course! Congratulations, Brian and Shawna!

Sonoma Trip

2008-11-29T18:59:00.000-08:00

Thursday Dharshana and I drove to Sebastopol in Sonoma County. There was a ton of traffic, but we finally arrived at the Casa Carolina right before dinner.

It is an absolutely gorgeous place! The pictures don't do it justice at all. We had dinner at a place called the French Garden restaurant. Then we went back to the Casa and spent the evening chatting with Wayne, one of the innkeepers, and two other guests.

The next morning Dharshana went for a walk and I met the two sheep and the donkey. It worked out because I couldn't walk with Dharshana and she wouldn't go near the livestock. I got to give the donkey some apple peels. It was fun.

There are also three dogs that have the run of the house. The one pictured here is the owner Carolyn's dog. His name is Tony.

Tony is a sweetheart.

Friday we went out shopping. Sepastopol is a very hippie town, as it turns out. So there were lots of earthy, organic, east-west stores that I loved! This is in a vintage store where I found a great hippie dress.

After shopping we came back to the Casa and relaxed for the evening.

We chatted with a couple that had come in Friday afternoon. Their names are Hugo and Anna. Hugo is from Portugal and Anna is from Spain. They kept teasing each other about their countries, which was hilarious!

Tony kept me company while I was reading Saturday morning before breakfast.

We came back Saturday afternoon. All in all, it was a very nice trip!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T11:17:00.000-08:00

I took Sasha to see Grany this morning for Thanksgiving. Dharshana and I are off to Sebastopol now, pictures to follow later, probably Sunday. Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!

Concert

2008-11-19T08:16:00.000-08:00

I went to a Gaither Homecoming Concert last night, for those of you who don't know who the Gaithers are, they are a gospel group from the South that has been around since the dawn of time. They are a huge influence on Gospel music, so I wanted to see them live. It was a great show! This is another group called Signature Sound. They were great!

Signature Sound

The Gaither Vocal Band. The one on the right is Bill Gaither.

These two were the comic relief. They did a fabulous job, the show was very funny! They basically tease Bill Gaither the whole time.

Two members of the Gaither Vocal Band.

For those of you who ARE familiar with GVB, Guy Penrod was not there (SIGH) All the ladies in the crowd were sad, but it was still a great show!

http://gaither.com/artists/index.php?a=50

Carolyn's Shower

2008-11-02T07:33:00.000-08:00

Princess Mia

2008-10-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

I can't help it, this picture is hysterical! She has that supermodel pose down pat!

Can't wait!!!

2008-10-06T19:28:00.000-07:00

Get this widget!

Brian & Shawna's Baby Shower

2008-10-06T19:13:00.000-07:00

My new nightstands

2008-10-03T08:37:00.001-07:00

I bought these nightstands on clearance from Pier 1. I think they are so cute!

Unity Choir

2008-09-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

These are pictures from a concert we did at UCDMC last month.

Work Picnic

2008-09-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

We had a work picnic today and it was a lot of fun! I am so thankful for this job.

This little guy scored a roll!

I want your pie...

2008-09-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to re-posting these pictures. Sorry for teasing you, putting them up and taking them down. Anyway, this is Dharshana's new apartment. She's quite a good decorator, don't you think?

This was in my neighbor's house on Labor Day. Dharshana was eating pie and Lucy, the cat wanted some! Too cute!!!

Tagged

2008-08-30T22:39:00.001-07:00

I've been tagged! Six Random Things About Me
I have been tagged by Ashley!
Sorry Ashley, I'm not going to follow the rules exactly but here's my best effort.
Let's see, six random things about me.....

1. For those of you who are not aware, Ashley and I have known each other since elementary school. So I was so excited to find out she knows Nicole!
2. On the subject of elementary school, I have run into quite a few people from our elementary school over the years. I guess when you stay in the town you grew up in, that happens. I didn't go to my high school reunion, but I would be interested in seeing some elementary school folks again. Maybe someday we'll get a reunion together.
3. I think Ashley tagged me like a month ago! I'm not very good at these. I do better at answering specific questions.
4. I have become completely obessed with Etsy.com. I spend hours perusing and have found some really cute jewelry. I also love all the "upcycled" stuff. It gives me ideas for projects I can do, too.
5. I sing in my church choir and every month or so we do themed musicals. The first one was 70's and the second one was camouflage. They were so much fun! We're going to do the 60's and the 80's next. Speaking of which, I LOVE 60's and 70's fashion and despise 80's fashion, which is currently popular. Ick!
6. Whew! One more to go. Right now I am in my office typing this and my dog is having a meltdown in the next room. It's ok, she has a meltdown about every five minutes. She's a total spazz and older than dirt. I got her in 1993-you do the math! But she's my baby and I love her.

Ok Ashley, sorry this took so long but thank you for tagging me!

Luau

2008-08-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

Today they had a luau at the Chateau...

This picture cracks me up...
They even had a hot Hawaiian dancer there. Too bad he was cardboard...

They had a lady singing and hula dancing. It was a very nice event!

Cullen Fan Club

2008-08-07T00:08:00.000-07:00

Well, the book finally got released, I read like a madwoman, and I finished it. I have to say, I LOVED it! The author always has unexpected plot twists and then even more unexpected ways of resolving them. It's been a long journey with Bella and Edward, but it's been fun. Thanks, Nicole, for getting us all hooked on these great books... Now we wait for the movie!

2008-07-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I'm back from my trip! Here are the photos...

This is our room in the Hotel Des Arts.

They contract rooms out to local artists who

then paint murals on the walls. We loved it!

This was painted on the door of

one of the other rooms.

Playing around...

We had deep-fried quail for an appetizer. That was a

first for me. Apparently Dharshana has had it before...

We took a walk around Chinatown...

... and Dharshana bought the CUTEST purple jacket.

This is Eddie Izzard, the comedian

we saw. He was really funny, and

and we enjoyed the show. The next morning,

we had breakfast at a French coffee shop,

walked around Chinatown a little more, and came home.

We haven't done anything like this in years,

plus it was the official celebration of my 30th

birthday (a little late) so we splurged and

had a really great time!

Bad Blogger

2008-07-09T15:54:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything in a month! I guess the reason is I usually post pictures and I haven't had any pictures to post lately. Umm, lets see, the job is great, my brain is frying because we are in the middle of an intensive 8 week training class. But I'll live. The big news is I'm moving grany to an assisted living facility next month. It's sad to see her decline, but I think this will be a good move. I think she will be a lot happier and a lot less stressed. In a couple of weeks I will have pictures because Dharshana and I are going to see Eddie Izzard in San Francisco for my late birthday present. We are SO excited! I booked a room in the Hotel Des Arts-google it, it's amazing!!!! That's about it - I'm going to the fitness center today after work, it's my first real time there because I forgot I needed to bring a padlock for the lockers and I only found mine this morning. Sheesh! It's the lock I used in highschool. I will never get rid of it because it has an awesome combination that is easy to remember. It's the little things that make me happy :) Well, that's it for now. Keep an eye out for Eddie Izzard pix circa 7/21 or so!

2008-06-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

So, not to add to the Twilight obsession (well, maybe) has anyone checked out www.edwardandbella.net? I thought this was hilarious. They have a whole store with t-shirts and bags and different designs. Enjoy...

Perfect Water

2008-05-25T22:47:00.001-07:00

Nicole tried this oxygenated water and was able to stretch further and seemed to gain strength. So is it really the water or a trick? You decide...

Choir Concert

2008-05-24T23:27:00.000-07:00

We did a concert tonight for the 8 Hours of Blessings conference and had a lot of fun! This is myself and Rhodasia, a soprano from the choir, before the concert.

Lisa's Birthday

2008-05-24T23:07:00.000-07:00

Here are my photos from Lisa's 30th birthday. As usual, they are mostly of the kids :) But I did get a cute one of Lisa. And I loved the scrapbook that Carolyn did. Too cute! Happy Birthday Lisa!

Grany & Sasha

2008-05-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

I spent the day with Grany today and snapped this pic of her and Sasha. Too cute...

70's Retro Service 5.18.08

2008-05-19T00:19:00.000-07:00

We had our 70's retro service tonight and it was so much fun!! The music was amazing, the outfits were groovy, and we had a really great time! We're doing the 80's next month if anyone is interested...

Tasha, Candace, & Kara "Charlie's Angels"

Our minister of music Freda and Kara

My 30th Birthday

2008-05-12T07:56:00.001-07:00

Nicole and Cameron had us over and we had PF Changs and egg cream buns from Capitol Tea Garden and strawberry shortcake for dessert. We looked at old photos and chatted and had a really nice time! Thank you guys so much for doing something special for my birthday, I really appreciate it!

Nicole, Carolyn, Me, Liz, & Mia

Carolyn & Mia

Mia & Jace

Mia doing her supermodel pose!

Girls' Night Out! 3.21.08

2008-05-12T07:46:00.000-07:00

We went to Taki and had a lot of fun and great food!

My New Blog

2008-05-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Nicole and Carolyn finally convinced me to do a blog even though I already have a myspace page. Because I'm not on the computer enough! But their blogs are so cute and it looks like fun, I really can't resist. It's 10:30pm and I have to go to work tomorrow and I really came in my office to work on my resume, not make a blog, so I will probably have to finish spiffing it up later. So that's it for now folks!