August 21

I've been trying to plan a trip to my friend, Mario's, wedding in Key West. It is sandwiched right in between payroll processing at work and Matt's 40th birthday party at home. I'm trying my best to make it work because I've always wanted to visit Key West and I REALLY want to stop in Orlando and visit the new Harry Potter Land at Universal theme park.

Anyway, planning a trip to Key West reminded me of the cruise Matt and I took when we were first dating. This was from 2004 and it was a fun trip. It was so beautiful and every island was a little different. This was St. Martin but I think St. Lucia was my favorite.

August 20

Cool tree in bloom

August 19

I took a photo of this picture near our main ballroom at the hotel.

It reminds me of a Wes Anderson movie.

August 18

This is the view outside our "classrooms" for the conference. It's called Summer Camp and they have little classes and a general session that included a motivational speaker. She was actually really good.

Steve was the only person here from my office but we met up with 2 women from an affiliated office and I had several classes with one of them, Ruth. We both said that we thought this would be a waste of time but, as it turned out, we learned a lot of useful information and we're excited to get back to work and try new things.

August 17

Flew to Scottsdale for a work conference tomorrow and Friday.

I didn't get into the hotel until 10pm and I have to be up at 6am. I hate waking up early.

This is my room at the Westin Kierland.

August 16

3 years ago today

Happy Anniversary, Matt!

August 15

On our walk this morning, Dignan and I stumbled upon this injured opossum. He was breathing heavily and had some blood near his ear. It looked like his eye was swelled shut and his nose was mangled. I couldn't just leave him there so I called Animal Control. The officer called me later to let me know he had picked up the animal but now I'm racked with guilt. What if they just put him to sleep? I'm okay with it if he was so injured that he cannot be healed and if he was in pain but I hope they don't just automatically kill him. Poor baby.

August 14

Celebrating our anniversary a few days early

August 13

Del Mar Racetrack

Matt and I didn't win a thing but Matt's

business partner, Ron, won about $1,000!

August 12

We pass by this house on our morning walks and, some days,

it is cracked open so Garage Dog can watch the passersby.

August 11

Matt is going to kill me!

Bud Greaves gave him this old diving suit that he used to wear so Matt tried it on just to see if it would fit. The first piece was this jacket which kind of had a cool, James Bond look to it...until we realized there was this little diaper piece that you had to run between your legs and attach to buttons in the front. Ha ha! We were dying. He didn't even try on the second piece which looked like a pair of overalls and was supposed to be worn over this jacket thing.

August 10

Matt and I are taking tennis lessons and our instructor teaches out of the Del Mar Country Club. I love it! The landscaping totally reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. Alot of the bushes and trees are trimmed into cute little shapes. Here is one of the trees lining the street next to the entrance to the tennis courts. I wish I could be a member but I don't have $125,000 lying around.

August 9

Phoebe! My second niece.

I had to use my brother's photo from La Jolla because I was so

enamored of her that I forgot to tear myself away and snap some pics.

August 8

Roasted Ratatouille Cornmeal Tart

Yummy!

August 7

We took Dignan for a walk today. It was really hot so we took him down to the edge of the lake so he could put his paws in the cool mud and get a little coating on them. Of course, he just laid down right in the water. Later on, Matt decided to see if he could swim and, literally, threw him in. He knew he'd have to jump in if Dig couldn't swim but it wasn't very deep right there so Dignan could hop along the bottom with his back legs. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of him! He looked terrified at first but then I think he liked it when he realized he could touch the bottom. Not sure he can swim though so he'll be wearing his little life vest next time.

August 6

Tropical Apricot Smoothie

I have so many frozen apricots this year that I decided I'd try mixing some with a tropical fruit mixture I bought a Costco that I didn't love on it's own. The two flavors together are fantastic. It's one of my new favorites.

Same basic recipe as my other smoothies...

1/2 cup frozen apricots

1/2 cup frozen tropical fruit (mango, pineapple, papaya)

1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt

1/2 cup non-fat milk

Sweetener (honey, vanilla protein powder or instant breakfast)

August 5

Whenever I make Dignan get off the bed for some reason, he pouts and "hides" under the bed.

August 4

Alice dress.

I loooooved Chloe in this dress. So cute!

August 3

Lobsterhead

There were tons of lobster shells on the beach.

I've never seen so many before.

What is going under the water?

August 2

Wood Rock

August 1

I have a few more shots from my time in La Jolla this summer. This shot was on the way to the tide pools, looking towards the Glider Port. You can see a few of them in the air but only one is really noticeable. The others just look like little white wisps.

July 31

Last day in La Jolla

Dig's going to miss his spot

July 30

Celebrating my Great Aunt Betty's 101st birthday. She was my Grandma Artha's sister. Unfortunately, she is a little washed out in this photo but I have to say that she is fantastic. She has a few physical ailments but she doesn't take any medication and her mind is sharp. I wish I had more time to spend with her and hear her stories from the days when she sang backup in Hollywood.

We went to Piatti's, one of my favorite La Jolla restaurants. In addition to me, Matt, my parents and Betty, we were joined by Rick (Betty's son) and his wife, Juanette. It was a fun and delicious meal. We sang Happy Birthday, of course, and Betty got a lot of applause (I think her age had been whispered around the restaurant). It was quite touching when two young boys made a point of congratulating her on reaching such a milestone; they treated her with so much respect. She is pretty amazing.

July 29

La Jolla backyard

July 28

Whatever works!

July 27

I have a few more pics from Casa Guadalajara to squeeze in.

Raquel, Chloe, Donnie and Matt.

July 26

Cousins...my Uncle Bob and his WHOLE family.

We did a bunch of family photos at my dad's party.

I hope to get the real copies sometime so I can post them.

July 25

Another pic from the baby shower.

This was a game for the men (and Bernadette)...drinking beer from a bottle.

July 24

My cousin, Leo, and his wife, Amber, are expecting a baby so Mom and I went to the couples baby shower today. Dad and Matt didn't want to go but there were a lot of other men there.

Here's a picture of Mom with Uncle Ken and Bernadette.

July 23

We threw a retirement party for my dad while we were in La Jolla. Lots of family and friends. Here he is opening some gifts with his assistant, Chloe.

July 22

Mom at Casa Guadalajara last night

July 21

Waiting for a table at Casa Guadalajara

July 20

Water Fight!

July 19

Chloe and the Crab.

My brother and his family got to La Jolla yesterday. My mom bought this crab blow-up pool for Chloe to play in. My dad would push the head down with Chloe inside, like the crab was eating her. It was cute and she loved it.

And she was so adorable in her little ballerina bathing suit!

July 18

At the Tide Pools

July 17

Grunion Run. I wish I had a clear picture of the grunion because we actually saw a few of them. I've tried to see them before and failed so I was happy that I finally saw some.

Matt, Neva and I went down to the beach around 10:30pm for a few hours. Every time we'd see one and I'd try to take a picture, however, some person would come and snatch them up. I don't know if they eat them or what but there were a lot of people hunting them and they were really making me mad because they were so rude about it. Imagine watching a show about a lioness and her cubs and someone just shoots the lioness in the middle of the show. That's kind of how I felt. Jerks.

July 16

First official day of vacation!

Matt's family came down to La Jolla for the weekend and we walked down to the tide pools today. Eli picked up a sea hare (gross) which looked like a giant snail without it's shell.

This was on the walk down the beach to the tide pools...Matt and his brother, Blake.

July 15

Bougainvillea Pop