A girl and her grandpa.

18-ish years.





Neat, huh?

Love you GP!

The Bark Park.

Yesterday was Dexter’s very first trip to the Bark Park. Being the unsocialized beast that he is, the moment we stepped out of the car he started barking. At the people...at the dogs…at whatever. Yet as soon as we got into the park, all barking stopped. Embarrassment averted! Woo! We took him off the leash to let him run free, but he preferred to stay near us. As dogs would come up and sniff him, he’d jog away. He’s apparently a little shy. I’m hoping if we are consistent in going he’ll relax a bit and have fun with the other dogs. Anyhow, I’d consider it a success considering he didn’t totally freak out and bark the entire time! Andrew also informed me that his next dog will be a wiener dog. Umm..no. He says he’ll just show up at home with it. Good luck, sweets.

Please notice Dex running away:







Plus a photo from our yard:



This weekend has been full of sunshine! After the bark park yesterday, Andrew and I headed to the beach. Soaked up some sun for a couple hours, then came home and had a wonderful BBQ. Today while Andrew golfed (with a coworkers boyfriend…I totally set him up on a man date! Hahaha), I went to my grandparents to float around in the pool and play dominoes. Which I totally dominated, by the way! I know I keep saying it, but life doesn’t get much better than that.

Other updates include:

• I’ve completed four weeks of full time work so far. Some days I like my job (like the day I got a massage) and other days..not so much (like the day I had to copy a HUGE medical chart with half front/back pages and half just front).
• My BIRTHDAY is on Wednesday! Festivities include (working..boo), going to the Yacht Club for dinner with the fam, painting some pottery at Color Me Mine on Friday, and maybe something else with another friend.
• Friday off work! Um, I think I’m more thrilled about that than I am about my birthday! Haha!
• We are currently dog sitting in our own house because my aunt/uncle/cousin are in Virginia. The house is a tad quiet without them!
• The old Maxima needed new tires, so she got some new shoes yesterday. It’s been quite the money pit this summer. Ouch. Hoping that slows down soon because we can’t afford this!
• LOVING endless amounts of fresh produce! Have to say, that’s one of the best parts of summer.

Work is totally cramping my LIFEstyle, yo.

I’d love to write more, but with higher priorities such as laundry, grocery shopping, oh and peeing…I don’t really have the time.

At first, I thought working 9-5 and getting to sleep in was amazing. Now…notsomuch. You see, I work the same hours as EVERY.SINGLE.BUSINESS. So if I have anything personal that needs to be done, well I’m screwed. Such has been the case all week long. Not to mention I don’t even have a PHONE at my desk. So you see, this creates a problem.

Such is the life of an adult. Growing up kind of SUCKS.

But on to bigger, better, and HAPPIER things……

I love California. We’ve gone to the beach every weekend since we’ve started work. I’ve got a pretty good tan goin’ on.

I went to a bar for the first time ever in my life. Yes, I’m nearly 23. I had no desire. Still don’t. But it was a nice time. Photographic evidence:



(Please note the sarcastic nature of my smile. I still don’t think it should be a big deal that I don’t drink.)

A friend from MI was in town for about a week and I got to play tour guide! Super fun!

I can go to Trader Joe’s WHENEVER I want. AMAZING. Our latest fave is their Mandarin Orange Chicken. If you haven’t tried it, you must!

I got to see my mama! That’s always special.

We eat dinner with my aunt, uncle, and cousin almost nightly. It’s fun and I’m so glad we all get along so well. It makes living here extremely enjoyable.

My new car finally has CALIFORNIA license plates! Wooo!

Went to an outlet mall yesterday and got five shirts and two pairs of black slacks at Banana Republic. I FINALLY found a store with clothing I like. I’ve been shopping for work clothes every weekend for the last month and am so happy to finally have purchased something! Andy says no more shopping now. At least not with him. I need a girlfriend who’s a good shopping partner.

Planning to take Dex to dog beach soon. I can’t wait!

I just need to keep focusing on the positive. Because honestly, life is pretty darn good. The only downer is work…and well, I’ve got to just get over that because I’ll be working for a long time.

Am I almost 30 yet? I need to go make some babies, so I can stay home! Ahahahaha.

Truffle Time!

I know I've mentioned them before, but if you haven't made them yet..you need to!

Easy Oreo Truffles



They were a huge success this afternoon! Super easy and easy to impress!

Life.

I don’t even know WHERE to start.

The last week of my life has been crazy busy! Working full time = no bueno. Seriously.

So about my job. I work at a law firm that specializes in the defense of long term care facilities. My BFF works there, so she totally hooked me up. My title is “Office Services.” Basically I spend a LOT of time at the copy machine scanning and copying. It’s not that bad because there’s variety, but overall..not something I plan to do forever. I’m hoping to move my way up if I enjoy working there.

But the benefits. Oh, the benefits! The real reason I accepted the job was for these amazing benefits. 100% paid medical and dental, $500 a year chiropractic, a 15 minute massage in office once a month, a fully paid trip to HAWAII once a year for 5 days, paid lunch from the café downstairs every Friday, access to a business/life coach once a week, and various nutritional/exercise programs paid by the company.

So yeah. I was stoked on the whole 100% paid medical, but throw in HAWAII…how could I say no? I’ll be going in October :)

Oh and by the way, casual dress every day! I don’t even have to dress up!

Anyhow, working full time is kicking my BUTT! No joke. I have no time for anything! And all I want to do on the weekend is relax. How the heck do people who work full time get things done?! I’m hoping I adjust, because this is crazy!

On Thursday my company held our very first conference at a Disneyland hotel. No one told me I was to valet park, so guess what I did? Self parked. Across the street. A mile away. In heels. Um, yeah. Oh and did I mention I had flats in my purse because I’m smart? Well, I thought I could handle it and didn’t wear them on my trek. Not so smart. So I got to the hotel and immediately had to book it to front desk to get some band-aids to aid my poor pinky toes where half my skin had rubbed off. I didn’t wear ANY shoes the rest of the day. During the convention I ran the registration desk and luckily no one was able to see my shoes, or lack thereof. And since all the attorneys were at the conference, no one was in the office when I got back to see my lack of shoe wearing. But let me tell you…do NOT try walking a mile in heels. My poor feet!

Other than that, things are pretty fabulous. I spent the day at the beach and was 110% content and sun soaked. It was a beautiful day and I couldn’t ask for better Saturday weather. Tomorrow we’re headed to Balboa Island for the annual parade. We’ve never been before, so I’m excited to see what it’s all about! The family will be there and it’ll be nice to catch up.

Next week is already booked up, so there’s a good chance I won’t have time to write for another week. My mom will be in town(!!!) on Tuesday, so we’re meeting her for dinner. On Wednesday, a friend from Michigan arrives and will be here through the weekend, so I’ll be playing tour guide. Oh and I have to do that whole work full time thing, too.

Oh and Dexter, he’s a happy dog. He loves having a yard to run around and a couple pups to play with.