Wicked and A Half Marathon and the Swine Flu

Last week we went to see Wicked so I finally fit in with all of the other bloggers out there who have blogged about Wicked. I am part of the club now. It was extremely good and I am trying to figure out how to go again asap. I used to get to see musicals more and in the last years haven't made the time. I need to make the time. It is so fun.

We went with my parents and sister Kaley and brother Landon. I want to take my kids. They know the story and have listened to the music a lot with me so I think they'd be into it. Are they too young still? Should I wait a few years? P.S. Galinda/Glinda was hilarious.

In a moment of insanity last week, I signed Dave and I up to run a 1/2 marathon in August.

This is a problem because I can only run 2.5 miles and haven't run more than that since, well, probably high school.

Also, I feel the same way my sister does (she blogged about it here), it is not natural for humans to run for 2 hours. It is going to hurt me and I don't feel confident about it. Also, what if I just want to quit training and give up? The $35 entry fee is not motivation enough to not quit. Maybe blogging about it will keep me going.

I'm excited though too. My dad, brother, 2 sisters-in-law, my sis and Dave are all running it with me. And I know Heavenly Father will be in the ring (race) with me (nacho libre quote).

One more thing: what if I laugh the whole time because I'm with my sister and we tend to laugh a lot once we're laughing about something. I think you need to be really serious during a 13 mile run and laughing might disrupt my pace and make me fall or quit. I'm hoping Dave can keep me on track and help me make it to the end. He's good at helping me when I am almost dying. One time we were in the ocean and I was tired of swimming and was almost drowning and he helped me back to shore. Now I'm rambling. Anyway, please motivate me and encourage me.

The last thing I want to talk about it the stupid swine flu. I don't believe in it and think it is ridiculous. And then tonight an elementary school in my school district declared it is closed for a week! WHAT?!? Is this thing real? And in my town? Now I feel a little weird and nervous. If my kids school closes I might die. It's just all too weird. I'm starting to actually feel a little freaked out. Tomorrow I am working in the nursery at church. There are lots of germs in the nursery. I might need to wear gloves and a mask. And make my kids wear them too.

Goodnight.

A Night in the City with Friends and The Brown Twins!

Last night Dave and I went into SF to meet up with my old college friend Summer and her husband Bryan who were visiting the city for the weekend. It was a blast. I hadn't seen Summer in at least 7 years and it was just like old times! First, we walked around the city for awhile looking for a place to eat. We ended up at the Sir Frances Drake hotel restaurant "Scala's" where we ate delicious Italian food and.....






MET THE FAMOUS SAN FRANCISCO TWINS- THE BROWN SISTERS! If you've never heard of them, don't worry, neither had I. But how can you resist talking to them in their matching hats, clothes and bright red lipstick? They were at the table right next to us. Vivian and Mariann are extremely old and claim to have been making commercials together and enjoying fame and fortune in the city for 30 years! They even have their own table at Scala's restaurant where they dine every Saturday night at 7PM. They were hilarious. They made us promise to send them a copy of this picture!!



After Italian, we headed over to Lori's diner for some delicious ice cream sundaes. Then we had to say goodbye... it was short and sweet. Thanks Summer and Bryan for a fun night out!

Stuff

First item of business: I know you're dying to know my anniversary gift. I was dying too and tried to get it out of him early. When we were first married, I always could. Now he knows my tricks and he stood strong and withstood them.

To celebrate we went to dinner at CPK, the temple, and then dessert at Fenton's. Apparently going to the temple is all about the food for me. I must have delicious food before and after or it just doesn't feel like a complete temple trip.

My present was a new lens for my camera!! I hadn't asked for it, so he surprised me which rarely happens and I'm excited about it. It is a wide angle lens which means you can get more background while still being close-up on the subject, or you can shoot landscapes, and big groups. I am taking a BIG family photo at our family reunion this summer so it will be perfect.

It was perfect for getting us and the whole temple in the shot below. I realize the settings are messed up on this photo and it is too light. Woops.

The next item of business is this: Dave and I have started the process of becoming licensed to do foster care for infants. I can't wait. Unfortunately, you have to wait. It takes about 4 months for the licensing to be complete. So, in September sometime I will get my first foster baby to take care of.
Why are we doing this, you might wonder? Well, Macey is 3.5 and going off to preschool in August. I still don't have a baby. I want a baby. We've thought about adoption and don't quite know if it's the right road for our family, yet. So this will be something to do in the mean time, at the same time, helping babies who need help.

I went to the informational meeting and was totally sold on it. Our county has 18oo kids in foster care and they need good homes where these kids can feel love, feel safe, gain trust in adults, and thrive. My home is perfect for that, so why not offer it? Plus I will get to take care of newborns. Maybe even someday we'll do grade-school children. One more thing, if there is a baby that we are fostering and that baby goes up for adoption, we would have first chance to adopt. When you adopt through the county, it is free. Doesn't it all just sound so great? I can't wait.

Third item of business: I'm working on a project with Dave. Remember in October when I picked up that orange chair off the side of road? We're recovering it now- we tore the whole thing apart on Monday and now we're fixing it all up. I'll post pictures when finished.

How to Have a Fantastic!! Friday Night Out

First, start off by buying yourself something new to wear.

That always makes the night a little more exciting.

Next, pick some people to go out with. Good company is essential!!

Thirdly, make sure your date picks you up in a super hot sports car like the one seen below. Oh and make sure your date is super hot too, like the one seen below.

Choose somewhere to eat. We chose Chilean food because my brother just got home from a mission in Chile. This is the ONLY Chilean food in the whole bay area! A little Cafe in Berkeley.

Of course it is always fun to try something new. And sometimes when you try something new, the food turns out to be GREAT! Then the night is extra fun. This food was delicious and very authentic. We tried lots of new things. My favorite was the Empanadas con Queso.

Fourth, decide on something fun to do after you eat. We headed over the the famous.....

We walked around campus, and up and down telegraph laughing at weird people, and trying to look like we fit in with the pot-smoking dreadlocked hippies. It didn't really work.

On the way home, we decided to cruise around downtown Walnut Creek listening to Chilean music and pretending like we were in high school again.

We turned the music up, danced wildly in our seats, and yelled to people walking on the streets.

I LOVE the above picture of Devin air-guitaring.

I'm sure the yuppies of Downtown Walnut Creek LOVED our music and our moves.

And we also made some music videos.






By the way, I can't speak Spanish.








Did I really just put those music videos on the world wide web?

And last but NOT LEAST, make sure you end the night with delicious dessert.


This is what I wish I had had.
But, alas, we were too stuffed full to get dessert. I know you're thinking.... "What?!? Too full for dessert?" Well, you're right, we weren't too full. We just couldn't find anything we wanted and ended up going home after our Chilean cruising and dance party.

The End.

P.S. Aren't Friday nights out on the town the best?
It is really what gets me through the week.

Date Night

It's the best. It's so important too. All this last week I was cranky and bugging Dave about everything. I felt bad once and wrote him a sorry note. Then I got mad again the next day. So I wrote him a sorry e-mail. Then I got mad again. Basically, I was mad and cranky all week. Then I realized we hadn't been on a date in a couple of weeks. So I got a babysitter and planned one for friday night. We almost never go to movies but we had heard, "The Illusionist" was a good one. So we went to a movie and then did an errand together. It was fun and made me stop being mad. I think sometimes life just gets busy and you forget to spend a lot of time together. For me, it's nice to be able to really talk about whatever is on our minds without being interuppted by our talkative children or worrying that our 5.5 year old is listening to everything we say. It was a fun night and the movie was good too. Oh yeah, and a lot of times I wait for Dave to plan something but sometimes that just doesn't happen... so give your husband a break and plan it for a change. We try to go once a week but it's usually 2-3 times a month. We usually just go out to dinner. Now, I want to hear about what you guys do so we can get some new ideas.