my new couch already has my butt imprint.

it's no surprise that once we have a temporary roommate who's addicted to her computer (as am i), it gives me a reason to hang out on it all night.  a plus for you that check my blog regularly -- if there's anybody that does -- but i'm quite certain that's unhealthy.  somehow.  oh well!

andrew's work computer was having difficulties, so he spent the day working from home.  ashley had her first day at the clinic and turns out she loved it, which was quite a relief!  pulling from her blog, she has fallen in love with certain aspects of california and says that she would be comfortable coming out here if something falls through with her placement in pheonix.  can't argue that!  i spent the day at the pool.  nothing new there.  i also completed some more paperwork for my upcoming job at the jr. museum & zoo, and stopped by there to say hello.

on the relocating front, i'm no closer to finding us a new apartment, but i've shortened one commuting problem that i was facing: tutoring.  i've been tutoring at least once a week up in walnut creek (45 minutes north of pleasanton), but one days where i go from the ymca in palo alto there, it can take over 2 hours to get there.  the student is annoyed that i'm late, i'm fuming from being stuck in traffic, and my wallet is "in the red" after being on the road so long.  so, i've taken my name off the roster and asked that my boss finds replacements for my current students.  it took a lot of pro & con lists, discussions with mom, and reasoning with andrew (who was completely supportive) for me to finally temporararily quit.  i will probably offer to come back after the move, but i'm not making any promises yet.  perhaps if they beg.  :)

that's really all for now.  oh, but i did make an interesting homemade salsa tonight!  it needs some work...i'll put my suggestions at the end, but i dare you to try it.  it makes about 3-4 cups worth and was delicious on already seasoned tacos.  here it is:

8 oz. cream cheese
1.5 cups chunky salsa
1/4 tbs red pepper sauce
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
& i added an assortment of 1/2 cup to 1 cup worth of the following chopped vegetables:
   green pepper
   tomato
   green onion
   garlic
   celery
   jalapenos

my advice:
 1. mix the cream cheese, salsa, & hot sauce before you add the veggies. 
 2. add more salsa.
 3. if you have the tools, blend the whole mix for awhile.  we're going to try and put it through the "bullet" and see what happens.  there were so many chunks that we were tasting all the veggies individually instead of as  a whole mix.

good luck!

happy halloween!

we have a sister living with us!  ashley (mikey's wife) has arrived and is moved in for the month of november.  this is exciting for me for two reasons: i will officially have one friend around and 2. i will be forced out of my clothing rut into some normal and semi-fashionable duds.  working at the Y and living in a swim suit has made me accustomed to pulling on layers of cotton, non-fitted, stretchy-wasted wonders -- which doesn't help make me aware whether or not my waist has grown. 

other than that, i'm getting sick of commuting.  with andrew forced to be on the road going from clinic to clinic, and me going across the bay or north almost everyday, shell gasoline has been making bank on us.  i think the only thing keeping me sane is audio books, which i'm also becoming immune to for zoning out to.  for those that have never been in the car with me, i'm a road-raging fool.  andrew has the "fake break" on the passenger side and my dad grabbed the dashboard only twice while my parents were here.  something needs to change, and i imagine that i do not have the power to alter california traffic, so i am considering ways to shorten my commute. 

the apartment complex that we live in is one of many throughout northern california in the bay area, and we are allowed to move to another location within the terms of our lease.  so for the next 4 weeks i have put "looking at the other locations" on my to-do list.  my guess is that we will be living around palo alto again in the next 6 months.  my only requirement is that andrew has to be available this time for helping transport goods.  i did everything this last time, besides two trips, and ended up asking a friend to co-pilot with me in a u-haul to move the big stuff.  we ended up moving in matress, dressers, sofa, etc., in 107 degree weather, which is exactly when i vowed to never put myself in that situation again.  of course, through college and moving out to california i was used to packing and transporting everything independently; but isn't that what a husband is for?  ha!

updates on my apt option finds later -- have a safe and happy halloween! 

3 days of excitement have begun!

today:

• our new beauty of a couch has arrived!  i'm having some technical difficulties with hooking up my camera, so there will be a delay in sharing the joy -- sorry.
• i'm officially busy again!  my sanity and routines are back in line and all is well in the world.  my first day at the Y was today, which means  that i had to "make time" to do laundry -- yay!  i'm basically doing anything pool related (guarding, lessons, private lessons, coaching, etc.), so andrew is gearing up for some chlorine perfume and smelly sandals to invade our lives again :)
• i also started in on my paperwork to be officially employed by the palo alto jr. museum & zoo.  i feel like it's news worthy for those that don't know i got a job there as well.  i'll be doing two classes a week starting in november (& will get more the longer i stay).  it's working with elementary students & there are "themes" to each session - sound familiar?  yes, it's much like what i did at camp galileo -- except this time i have live animals in the backyard!

tomorrow:

• mom & dad sautner come into town!  we've had visitors, including family, come into town before...but it's just not the same as your own parents!  i'm excited to show them around, show them the apt, & SEE THEM!  ...and also have stu-pot help me finish putting together the grill.  i've got almost everything together, but i'm just not confident that it's stable enough not to blow the roof off the deck.  it's the first time that i've put something together that has dealt with hazardous materials, so i feel that's a reason to be a little weary about my talents.
• dinner at coconuts!  it's our favorite (or maybe just my fave) in palo alto & serves strickly carribean heaven-sent food.  note that anyone who comes to visit with no clear, definite plans will be dragged here! (sidenote: i opted to take kate, alex, & bill to our local soft serve frozen yogurt shop instead...sorry guys.  just be aware that this can be a replacement option.)

  day after tomorrow:

• it's my birthday!  i think the excitement speaks for itself.  ha!

bored & awake

if three words can describe what's been going on around here, they would be: no sleep & cleaning.  i understand that new mothers and those that are overly exhausted will be peeved that i would even think that i was having a hard time sleeping - but i am.  it's not that i'm "sleep deprived."  sad to say, but i can sleep in and take naps all day - at least for this week.  it's the falling asleep that's got me.  let's just say that it's not until well after 3 am that i can drift off to dreamland, which is so not what my usual sleep schedule is like!  usually my pillow is calling my name around 9 pm, even on weekends! 


so i've decided to not do the frustrated tossing & turning, but instead use my "extra time" wisely.  this means listing a few items on ebay, catching up on relative/friend's blogs, doing some extra editing on photos, reading, updating you guys, etc. 


now, is andrew phased by all this action (you may be wondering)?  absolutely not.  he just woke himself up with a snarling snore 2 seconds ago.  sure, the first couple nights this new "phase" started, i was a little annoyed by the fact that he could just flop down & not even touch the pillow before the deep breathing started. (death stares at a sleeping person do nothing.)  however, now i see it as my own special "finding myself" time.  (it also doesn't hurt that all the fall shows have started...thanks hulu!)


all sounds great, huh?  be jealous.  that's right.

alcatraz & fleet week = BIG goosebumps

As I said on my last post, Blake Amon (graduated with him) and his girlfriend Kara made a trip out from ND for a visit.  It was a relaxing 5-day weekend, where they only watched us have two minor newlywed snags - Andrew used my towel twice and I wouldn't let him drive Janice after giving me attitude :)  Like I said: minor.

     *On a side note: One of the recent articles that I've read mentioned some steps to take to maintain my     

      independence and upkeep a "level playing field" in our new marriage.  One step was not allowing 

     him to drive everywhere we go, which in their mind-set meant that I was letting him decide when I

     come and go.  I disagree with this, but at the same time it has some advantages with my struggles with

     motion sickness.  Thus, I drive Janice (the CRV) and he drives Beyonce (the car).

Anyways, here are some photos from the major trip that we took: Alcatraz.  The first construction on the island took place right before the Civil War and was designed as a Fort, complete with canons, that monitored the entrance to the Bay.  Next came the most widely known use for "The Rock" as a prison.  With famous prisoners, such as Al Capone, "Creepy" Karpis, and Robert Stroud, it was a maximum-security facility that had some interesting and deadly escape attempts in its history.  After the prison closed due to cost issues, it was selected for activists to make national awareness of Native American issues.  After this was all resolved, the government began bulldozing a number of the buildings (starting with the former correctional officers' residential apartments), until Congress created the Golden Gate National Recreation Area - making it a National Park.  

Hope you enjoyed a brief outline by yours truly - bring on the pictures!  Mostly it was a chance for me to try be artsy fartsy with the camera, and overuse the black/white effect - it was a prison after all!  Enjoy.

The tour boats flag, which also includes a live seagull that pooped on this poor women...Blake almost fell victim when it struck again...

Pulling into "Sally Port" (no joke!) and getting our first up-close glimpses of The Rock:

I was intrigued with some of these little doors.  What could possibly be behind them?

Blake, Kara, and Andrew making it up the hill to the main building:

One of the watch towers:

A random building.  I fell in love with the detail of the architecture on some.  I mean it was a Fort and a high-security prison!  Some of the families of the correctional officers lived on the island, so perhaps some were houses?

This was noted as one of the correctional officers apartments half-torn down:

The showers used by the prisoners:

Out in the activities yard for the prisoners:

 Kara enjoying the soothing voice of one of the correctional officers on the audio tour:

One of the basic cells:

The "gun rack key," which hung up by the hallways on the second and third levels.  None of the officers walked with guns on the main level down by the cell blocks, but instead were only carried on the second and third levels.  This was key during the deadliest escape attempts in the prisons history - google it to find out more :)

Back out to the activities yard:

I can't imagine being imprisoned in this yard and having to look across and see the Golden Gate every day...

Andrew being intrigued with another description of a deadly escape attempt:

Known as a "black hole cell" - the really naughty and unstable prisoners had to go here for hours or days until they were transported back to a regular cell.  One of the prisoners that is still alive described the feeling on audio, and said that he used to tear a button off his overalls and throw it up in the air, spin himself around, and then try and find it.  He would continue this for hours/days -- of course, they always lost track of time in the darkness.

Another view of the old correctional officer apartment buildings with the GG Bridge in the distance:

Me going to check out the view:

San Francisco off in the distance:

It was Fleet Week 2010 in the Bay, so there were hundreds of boats on the water!  There were 8 million spectators last year, and it said that it was bigger this year.  Traffic was RIDICULOUS going into the city when we left - suckers.

Blake and Kara - I included two pictures to show of the professional I'm becoming.  HA!

The main building entrance.  You can't see it, but the red/white stripes under the eagle were changed to the word "FREE" when the Native Indian protesters inhabited the island.

Andrew checking out the kitchen set up:

The eating hall:

Completely unrelated photo.  I just liked it...

On the boat ride back, I LOVED this pirate-like boat surrounded by speed/sail boats!

We took Blake and Kara over the GG, and we couldn't stop talking about the amount of boats on the water!  It was fascinating!

As you can see they all started to migrate around Alcatraz, which explains why the tour boat schedule was all jacked up...

Sacramento Trip #2

I have a little extra time, so I thought I would give you a Sunday morning treat.  Of course, I had a lovely visit to visit the Onur clan and experienced a blink of what it would be like if I was able to come once a week every week: Jess and I went to go pick up the angels from Shalom school once I rolled into town, and we saw one of the teachers twirling and swinging some tots, including Ella, by the arms (AHHH! We warned the instructor of the dangers that can come from this, no worries.)  Ella caught a glimpse of her Aunty Sally and RAN INTO MY ARMS!!  For a girl that is often scared to even make eye contact with me for a full 4-6 hours after being reintroduced to me, it was amazing to have her feel so comfortable with me right off the bat!

Anyways, here's what will hopefully keep a bright smile on your face for the rest of your weekend:

Being Dr. Evans and checking Molly and Bear's ears:

At a few moments of distress when bubble-juice was being flicked in my direction, I did threaten to take away the prized bottles, but it was interesting to judge whether anything was being produced in their efforts...

Chicken wraps. Delicious!

Zucchini muffins (with the treasured chocolate chips on top!):

As you can see, Sophia is still wearing around the glow-gem ring I brought last weekend, so spoiling does pay off :)  Let the games begin...