britt + sf

as i mentioned, britt johnston (a friend from high school) came in for a visit to sf.  she had to combine a california vacation get-away with catching up with old friends with worrying about her parents house in minot flooding (they live on the edge of a river/bridge) with trying to see all the sights!  so, we had BIG shoes to fill!

with a couple trips to sf, hours of shopping, and clint & conni's house acting as our hub, i think she left happy! 



chinatown -- i took her about two blocks in & we bailed.  too many people on those tiny sidewalks!




on all 4 corners around union square are hearts with various artsy decor.




this was my favorite one.  so much detail on such a big heart!




we made a stop by alamo park -- from the full  house opening scene -- i realize i've shot this sight a million times before, but look at those clouds!



jack took the opportunity to rip up some lovely, city park grass.  i caught a couple less-than-impressed glances from other patrons, but i showed no shame.  little man is set in his ways.



his mouth is in the ground.  that takes some motivation!



again, one of those shots that you've taken a million times, but can't resist!  both times that we went to sf we had beautiful skies.  that happens about 10% of the time & usually isn't forecasted, so lucky us!

while admiring the view, we found a friend! 
we also got a show -- him eating a fish & a pelican trying to snipe his feast.  did you know that they have to throw around the fish in order to get the pieces off?  we thought he was just messing around, but it came quite clear as he was barking at the pelican that he had no choice!



a view of the city skyline.



alcatraz in the distance. one of my favorite bay details = old ship port docks. 

alcatraz again.

up next: mama sautner visits!  t-minus 4 hours until her arrival!

argh!

i've got a wrinkle

i've got a wrinkle

i've got a wrinkle

hey hey hey hey!

that's right, folks.  i've found my first official wrinkle.  not a laugh line or crows feet -- those i can deal with & more than likely already exist.  this one is right between the eyes.  she's a deep one, too!  i'm not contemplating life or my mortality after finding the little gem, just purely vanity concerns. oh, how i love you freckles!  just promise you won't stare...

on a better note, our stress levels are going to go down in the next couple weeks.  (at least a couple knotches!)  britt, a high school friend from nd, is going to be here starting monday for a few days & the next week, mama sautner is coming!  andrew will still be semi-working (a lighter load) & i will just have some swim-related obligations, but the touch of home will be perfect!

more on this in the future.

mobile uploads

what do you do with these pictures?  they are terrible in quality, but they're what you rely on when you're without the "real deal."  so, i have decided to share these with you to 1. be able to delete them from my phone with no regrets, 2. share with you a few moments i captured, and 3. fulfill my blogging duties, because i really have nothing else to share!  i will try & explain each in the captions -- enjoy!

as i said, terrible quality. 
however, this portrays what happens when jack doesn't like us.  he sulks & gives us his best guilt trip.

my boss (left) alex at the zoo & the exibit (right) designer lee -- she makes all of the wonderful dispays for the animals, such as habitats, decorations, & such.  they are semi-inappropriate, which i love.
examples:  "i love smelling ferrets.  it's orgasmic!"  -lee (ferrets give off a pheromone that smells like musk)
"i would watch any animal mate!  does that sound pervish?"  -alex  (after we got off-subject in an education department meeting)

one of my student's automata projects.  if anyone is familiar with "angry birds," take note that he free-handed everything!  amazing, right?  (his mother is aware that i have this picture. not as creepy this way!) 

this was taken at an ARF event a couple weekends ago.  you were able to adopt (at a price) one of the greyhounds that have retired from racing in the area.  they were so sweet & cuddled up with some dog-sized snuggies at the end of the day!

this past friday night, we headed off to the NCAA tennis championships at stanford.  fascinating to watch!  they were up against UVA -- that's right jess!  stanford lost, but it came down to the 6th match to determine a winner!  intense.

students were sporting some interesting full-body costumes.  these fellas were enthusiastic & i got to know the players names, as well as other information, as the matches went on.

we are house sitting for clint & conni while they are in europe for the next 20 days, which means jack has an unbelievable amount of space to spread out in.  most of yesterday was spent by the flamingo tracking & spotting shadows. ridiculous.

woops!



i will admit there's really no excuse.  i've been terrible about returning calls, emails, & updating.  i could say "there's not enough time in the day," but clearly i'm not that busy!  so, i will try take this one day at a time & update you on the happenings of the past 3 weeks. 

first, & perhaps the most exciting, is our trip to az.  the main event was the warrior dash -- a 5k with "extreme" obstacles -- that i ran with ashley & a couple of her friends.  it was a blast!  ashley & i stayed up in the wee hours of the night (with updates on the royal wedding -- yeah it was that long ago) crafting the capes, wrist bands, masks, & belts that were to be the spectacular costumes of our team of 4.

enjoy the pictorial documentation (stolen from ashley) of the weekend adventure:

our quad: earth, wind (tornado), water (droplet), & fire (that's me!).



gearing-up for the start!  this was the formation we tried to hold throughout each obstacle -- you can imagine how that held up! 

one of the obstacles.  i was hugging the top like it was everest. 
they also had staff members along the sides of these things, but really, what can they do?  catch you?

entering the final challenge was a chilly treat -- one member of our quad couldn't contain her relief!



the mud pit finale was deliciously cool, but housed sticks, hay, etc. from past waves of warriors.
we survived with minor mud caked teeth -- notice the man kicking his feet in ashley's face?  (gray hair)

jack was a hit!

jack was a challenge for h's grasp -- moving target.  luckily he has tons of extra skin & an amazing temperament, so no animals were harmed in the process.

whipping baby h around the pool & andrew playing with the 1 ring they scavenged from the deck.

h was compliant with every position, which is a clear sign that he will not be a headache in his first swim lesson experience.

 finally, i'm going to meet jess in millbrae this morning to have a quick lunch!  she's coming through for work, but fortunately can budget me into her crazy ridiculous schedule!

grad festivities & nest cakes

first off, let me say that this time around (the intermediate class) didn't fair as well as the beginner.  i blame it all on "doc" & his owners who actually practiced & mastered all the skills.  they were the snoody pair that were able to say "stay" & walk completely around the neighboring aisle without the dog moving (twice).  how can we top that?  they were completely modest & nice, but jack & i both knew that their was no chance in the teacher recognizing him as completing the skills.  (although she does start each class explaining to everyone else that jack used to be a mess, which i appreciate.)   we only got kicked out once!  of course, i have learned to recognize when the instructer was on her last nerve, excusing us myself more than a few times -- those don't count.

yes, even andrew got suckered into showing up for a few classes!

he made immediate friends with the other two in the class.  they just happened to be 6 x's his size.  oh well.

can you find him?

he has no shame in putting himself in the wrestling mix.

dog. pile.

 beyond our brown-nosing classmates, i think the other reason why we didn't practice was that i found the skills to be dumb.  "heel" & "on your bed" were really the only two that i would actually like to put in practice.  things like "stand" (he just has to be on all fours, not moving) -- are you kidding me?  that's when i know he's going to pounce.  you want to add another meaning to this stance & actually reward him for this?  fat chance.

proof that he actually might know this one.  kind of.  oh & with his easter treat!

 nice transition, huh?  easter was fantastic!  we went to ben's (a sweet california friend) parent's (who we went to christmas eve mass with) house for dinner.  it was relaxing, seeing how being the only non-family members in attendance might have shifted that feeling for some.  here's what i brought to the occasion -- thanks to research conducted by lil' sis kate.  (she of course made the same & was 10 x's as impressive!)

couldn't find the little robins eggs, so settled for the morbidly obese, 1-per-nest option.



much love & hope you had a lovely easter as well! 

welcome to our low-key weekend.

this is my way of showing you that nothing too exciting happened on our low-key weekend:



j-money figured out how he can effectively get away with stealing our sock balls by hiding under the bed immediately after being discovered.

we took a sun-bathed nap.  well he slept.  i read "womens health" & dreamed about actually being motivated to workout.

 


andrew finally came back from his last skiing weekend of the season!  i ran out of things to do on my to-do list, so it was perfect timing to get out of doing chores.  (where did the classy hat come from you ask?  pond skimming competition.  they celebrate the end of the season by trying to make it across the pond on their skis. make it: you get a hat.  don't: you get a towel.)



the last retreival of the camera brought about documenting my make-shift kong.  who knows where the original is.  this ones a little more creepy. (thanks to gus - his nd bff)  no hesitation, so don't worry.

i think that's really all we've got!  i've been addicted to a book trilogy called "the hunger games" -- but luckily that tween guilty pleasure was finished up yesterday.  now, it's on to tina feys new book & i must say it is hilarious!!  thanks to ashley [sister] for recommending it!  it's a must-read to anyone who needs a giggle -- especially on audiobook, so you can catch the tones of each chapter from tina herself!



bromance.

enough said.  here is a picture explanation of what is caught on my phone on almost a nightly basis.  notice how i said "phone" -- obvious poor quality, but i couldn't run the risk of losing the chance to capture the lovely moments these two share.

you thought it was a one-time deal, right?  not even close.

  i finally got andrew to admit that he more than "likes" jack now.  he won't declare it, but it's written all over his face.  (& sorry for the unflattering, awkward position that you have to view jack at in these 3.  clearly it was worth it.)

sidenote: jack smelled terrible in this picture.  like rotten wafflecrisp.  (or whatever that mid-90's maple syrup cereal was called.)

not placed here -- promise.

 the reason for all the bromance?  i don't know.  perhaps because i'm the one that gives the baths (done shortly after we couldn't stand the tainted maple syrup), disipline giver, spray bottle supplier -- oh yeah, & the one that will proclaim that i love him!  what's up with that?  love triangle.  classic love triangle.