Happy Birthday Chris!!!

We spent Chris's birthday morning at the Irvine Invitational track meet. Chris usually runs the 800m, but there were some change-ups today. Jose got shin splints, so Alex ran the two mile in Jose's spot, and Chris had to run the one mile in Alex's spot. Chris decided to make the best out of it and said that he was going to try to PR in the mile, since "I'm never going to run it again." Chris's last PR was 5:12. He came in with a NEW PR: 4:59!!! Chris is now a sub-5 runner! YAHOO Chris!!!



Chris's online friend from Costa Rica sent him a Happy Birthday Cookie! Isn't so sweet of her? Here we are celebrating... in the garage. Even though the kitchen is done, we can't put the table and chairs back in until the grout dries for 2-3 days.

We got Chris a digital camera for him to take some pictures of his own when we go to Europe this summer. Cheryl got him a nice case for it. We'll have a big family birthday for him in a couple of weeks when my mom gets back from Kauai. Hopefully I can get everything back in the kitchen by then.

YUM! How sweet it is!!!
Happy 18th birthday Big Guy!

Here to Hawaii in 15 days!

My mom and my aunt should be Kauai by now, visiting my grandma for two weeks. I was going to do a simple little post about Kauai and how far away it way. To figure out how far it was, I went to maps.google.com and typed in: Los Angeles to Kauai... no luck. Then I tried Los Angeles to Honolulu, and this is what I got:

Driving directions to Honolulu, HI
15 days 1 hour
I-5 N 3,939 mi

This route may have road closures.
depart: Los Angeles, CA

1. Head northwest on W 1st St toward S Spring St
0.1 mi
2. Turn right at the 2nd cross street onto N Broadway
0.4 mi
3. Turn right to merge onto US-101 N toward I-110 N
10.4 mi
4. Slight left at CA-170 N/Hollywood Fwy (signs for Sacramento)
6.0 mi
5. Take exit 11B on the left to merge onto I-5 N toward Sacramento
1,117 mi

Passing through Oregon
Entering Washington

6. Take exit 164B for Edgar Martinez Drive South
0.7 mi
7. Turn right at Edgar Martinez Dr S
0.2 mi
8. Take the 1st right onto 1st Ave S
0.3 mi
9. Slight right onto the Washington 99 N ramp to Aurora Avenue N
This road is closed until Apr 1
0.2 mi
10. Merge onto WA-99
4.0 mi
11. Slight right at Bridge Way N
0.3 mi
12. Turn right at Stone Way N
0.4 mi
13. Slight left at N Northlake Way
0.2 mi
14. Kayak across the Pacific Ocean
2,756 mi

Entering Hawaii

15. Continue straight
0.1 mi

arrive: Honolulu, HI


Aren't these the craziest directions? Why should I go drive all the way to Washington to rent a Kayak? It would be so much faster if I rented the Kayak in San Pedro! Hahaha!!!

Kitchen Remodel - day 16

I have just a quick post today... LOOK! We have a backsplash, the faucet is on the sink, and the dishwasher and microwave are back in!!! I took more photos this morning too, but they came out blurry. So, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see close up shots.

I'm so happy that I decided on the lighter backsplash tile combination. The tiles look darker grouped together on the wall than they did in the sample kit. Maybe it will look lighter when they put the white grout on it.

Colin is grouting today. He just told us yesterday that the kitchen will be finished tomorrow! YAHOO!!!

Kitchen Remodel - day 15

Deja vu! Does this post look like yesterday's? Except for one thing... We have a countertop!

It turns out that the guys that broke the counter were the countertop guys, not our regular kitchen guys. Well, the countertop guys left right away yesterday, started cutting another counter, came back this afternoon.... and look! COUNTERTOP!

I just love all the light! These photos were taken without a flash... look at all the light in the kitchen!

And here is the sink all cut out and ready for the faucet and whatever else that other hole is for o_O

It's getting there! I can't wait to see them put up the backslash!

Kitchen Remodel - day 14

When I told people I was getting a ceramic tile floor, they kept telling me that when I drop a dish or glass now, it will shatter! Well, I guess that doesn't just apply to dishes and glassware. It also applies to quartz countertops! Can you guess where this is going?... YES! The kitchen guys dropped our countertop and broke it! Kitchen remodeling is extended another week while we wait for a new countertop.

Here's our kitchen right now! If you look carefully, you can see the two small bits of countertop over the left and right cabinets. It's the large piece that goes along the window edge that is broken.

But look! We have a sink!

Kitchen Remodel - end of week 2

I missed posting a couple of days because of work. This is not my longest work week EVER, but it was sure close!

Anyway, back to the kitchen. Here it is after day 10. All the cabinets are up (except that one that needs to be reordered)

Day 11, was yesterday... All the handles are in! Jim called me at work and I was trying to talk kitchen handle placement and BCD character encodings in the same sentence. But look at the handles!
Don't they look GREAT? I started this kitchen remodel with nothing in mind other than, "I must have those bar pulls!" {{sigh}} More remodel woes... Do you see that door on the left? Lewis put the handle on the top of the door instead of on the side. Now they owe us a new door... It will be here in 4 weeks...

They ran into another problem... Look at the first photo. Do you see that blank side of the cabinet that faces the family room? We ordered two extra doors to cover the blank sides and make them look fancy. Well, they won't FIT! I'm not sure if they are going to reimburse us for the cost of the two extra doors... I think not. Too bad one of the doors isn't the same size as the one with the wrong handle.

That's it for the end of week 2! I heard that the new quartz counter is coming on Monday!!!

Kitchen Remodel - day 9

After working for 15 hours, I came home to this! LOOK CABINETS!!!

Someone is coming to measure for the counter top today! It's really coming along!

Kitchen Remodel - day 8

Today the kitchen guys, Collin and Lewis, finished painting and cutting the tile to fit around the edge of the kitchen. When I got home after 12 hours of work, I found out that I have homework! I have to pick out grout colors for the floor and the backsplash.

I never thought there were so many colors of grout!!! I worked so late that Jim had to go to bed soon after I got home. I couldn't have picked out the colors without the kids' help. It was so hard to pick with just those itsy bitsy little sticks.

The color for the floor is called "Light Smoke." It kind of matches the darkest color in the floor tiles.

The color for the backsplash is called "Canvas." It's an off-white leaning toward the pinkish side. (As opposed to a grayish-off-white, or a yellowish-off-white, or a greenish-off-white).

I hope we did good! All these decisions are making me a nervous wreck! Even more of a wreck than I am with all the overtime I've been working the last 4 weeks.

I'm ready to curl up with a good book!
Good Night all!

Kitchen Remodel - day 7

I was wrong and Jim was right... the first thing they did was floor, not cabinets. Here is a picture of the old linoleum floor. Yuck, right?

And here is out new clean tile floor! HUGE 18" tiles. They look amazing! No grout yet... that comes tomorrow.

That's all for today... Good night to all!!!

Kitchen Remodel - end of week 1

So, on day 5, the mudders came back and sprayed knock-down on the walls and ceiling to match the family room. Do you like all the construction buzz words? I learned another one too... receptacle is another word or outlet.

Anyway after all that activity, two of the ceiling lights don't work anymore.... ah, the fun of construction!

No workers are coming this weekend, so that is the end of the work for the first week! I would expect there to be paint and maybe the cabinets going up next week!

Kitchen Remodel - day 4

The mudder came yesterday at 8am and was gone by noon. He filled in all the holes in the walls. Sorry, no photos this time... I didn't get home from work last night until after 8pm. {{yawn}} then it's a quick turn around and back to work again at 7am!

They asked Jim what color to paint the kitchen, and he told them to paint the kitchen white. Maybe they'll be painting today!

Kitchen Remodel - day 3

Cheryl came home and said... "Nothing changed!"

There was just more behind the scenes work... a new light over the sink.

He moved the telephone jack and the lower outlet to up behind the cabinet.

There was also plumbing work today... He replaced all the lines and knobs under the sink.

... and moved the water line for the refrigerator to be, {gasp} behind the refrigerator! Totally BRILLIANT!

AND LOOK! The lights work! They aren't as bright as our old light which I think is disappointing... but Jim said that once they put the reflectors in there that they will be brighter.

That's it for kitchen remodel day #3... the mudder is supposed to come tomorrow!

Kitchen Remodel - day 2

Day #2 of kitchen remodel day is electrical day...

BEFORE:
The soffit is back and the new lines have been run through the walls for the under cabinet lights. The under cabinet lights will be controlled by a dimmer switch next to the sink. The holes are all sealed up too... sort of....

AFTER:
The old florescent lights have been removed. We were going to replace them with 4 can lights.

BEFORE:
The can lights were supposed to be in the florescent recess, but Jim thought it looked funny, so he had them seal over the hole and mount the lights on the outside.

AFTER:
AND our cabinets and tile have arrived! That's a lot of boxes!!!

Hmmm... What's wrong with this picture?...

Other than the fact the arrows are pointing down, we didn't order anything made of glass.... What could be in those boxes?

Sweet Cupcake Cards

I have a couple of card shares today.

This card was for my SIL's birthday. The cupcake stamps I used are from EK Success (I got them at Michael's). I love that the set comes with cupcake-ready sayings. The cute little girl stamp is from Hero Arts.

I was really styling with cupcakes this week. My brother's card is made with cupcake stamps from Unity Stamp Company. The sentiment stamp from Angel Company is the perfect size for one of the squares. You can't tell from the pictures but the sentiment is set on foam squares, so that it pops out. I've learned that adding dimension makes a more interesting card.

We had a nice dinner at Buca di Beppo... family-style with all the family there! When the lady came around to take our picture. I should have asked her to take one with my camera too. As it turns out the only picture I ended up taking is Cheryl... she's styling the Buca di Beppo tablecloth, lol!

Kitchen Remodel - day 1

After months of planning and waiting, the kitchen remodel has started today. Here is a BEFORE picture of our kitchen.

After much pounding, crashing, and barking (Jena didn't like the kitchen destruction at all!) Here is what it looks like... Good-bye OLD kitchen!

Have you ever wondered what the side of your free standing stove/oven looks like? UH, YUCK!!! That was the first thing I cleaned today!

Do you want to see our NEW kitchen?


Hahaha... as you have already guessed, it's not our new kitchen, but our interim kitchen. Jim setup one gas burner and a microwave. Cheryl and I are making orange chicken, egg rolls, chicken lo mien, and rice... it's so nice having the day off...

Here is what our kitchen looks like at the end of the day...

It looks so much BIGGER and BRIGHTER without the cabinets.

Well, here it is only Day 1 and we have a problem... several actually...

Problem number 1: We were going to have the soffit removed from over the sink. You can see the problem in the picture below:

We can't remove the soffit because the ceiling would run into the eaves.

Problem number 2: If we have to leave the soffit in, the cabinet that we got to fit in the spot, is too tall to fit in there. We will have to buy a new cabinet, and it would not be done for 4 weeks!

Problem number 3: We were going to have the over sink light replaced with a fluorescent can light. They just called and they can't find a can shallow enough to fit over the sink. (I have no idea how they were going to get a can light up there if we take the soffit out.)

So that is our remodel day #1... Stay tuned for more adventures in kitchen remodeling...

Surf City Half Marathon

The results are in!

Here is Chris:
He did Amazing!
Overall: 208 out of 13297
Men: 182 out of 4913
M 01-17: 12 out of 127
3 Mi: 19:56 Pace: 6:39
8.2 Mi: 56:12 Pace: 6:52
Finish: 1:31:47 Pace: 7:01

And me... there are no running pictures of me, but I'm in this picture somewhere:
Overall: 2960 out of 13297
Women: 1124 out of 8384
F 50-54: 44 out of 672
3 Mi: 26:10 Pace: 8:44
8.2 Mi: 1:10:57 Pace: 8:40
Finish: 1:57:23 Pace: 8:58

My pace dropped way off when the calf cramps started at about mile 10. But, I'm still pleased with my time.

Our next race is May 1... Cinco de Mayo Half-Marathon in Irvine!

Joy Captured - Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! I love Jim every day, so why celebrate it on February 14th? The reason... two words... chocolate and flowers! I love the flowers that Jim got for me. They are perfect since the stupid squirrel ate all my tulip bulbs in the backyard. I just love tulips. Aren't they beautiful? ... And the chocolate is overflowing at our house today. Gotta LOVE chocolate.

I hope you all had a wonderful day of love!

Happy Birthday Jena!

No more puppy, today is Jena's birthday! We picked Jena out from the Orange County Animal Shelter on Sept. 13, 2010. They estimated that she was 7 months old at the time. So today, Feb. 13, 2011... OUR JENA-GIRL IS 1 YEAR OLD! She celebrated with a 5.5 mile run at the beach with Cheryl and me.

Do you love that birthday card she got from the vet? She LOVES it! LOL!

She is such a sweet girl. We love you Jena! Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!!!

It was a busy weekend. I spent Saturday at work, and Sunday was my niece's birthday... 9 years old already! Don't you just LOVE that smile? She had a fun party with Super Bowl viewing and a Bananagram championship. Put that together with great food, lots of family and Uncle Dom's super bowl pool, it was a great way to spend the afternoon.

We spent our Sunday morning at the Surf City half-marathon with a group of 16,000 fellow runners (4,000 more people ran the marathon). Jim drove us. I sure appreciate how much he supports us!!! He really knows his way around. Even with 20,000 runners and multiple road closures, Jim was able to navigate us to the downtown parking structure (right across PCH from the starting line)! It stayed foggy all the way through the race, so it was nice and cool; perfect for running. Chris and I both PR'd... I took 1 minute off my PR, finishing in 1:57. Chris took 2 minutes off his PR, finishing in 1:31. I'll post more stats when they become available...

UGH! Sunday's over already! It's back to work and school tomorrow... Have a GREAT week everyone!

Happy Birthday - PTI

This week is PTI's anniversary! In celebration, I'm posting my favorite PTI card from last year. When I voted on my favorite stamp set, I chose the Around and About Sentiments. But when I look back at my favorite cards, they all use the Cupcake Collection. I think I voted for the wrong set. Oh well, I LOVE them all!

Welcome to the Year of the Rabbit!

So, now I have to remember to write RABBIT on my checks instead of TIGER, lol! Okay, bad joke...

Jim was born in the year of the Rabbit. He thinks he's a Dragon because he was born in 1952, but he was born in January before the Chinese New Year changed. So, sorry honey, you're a Rabbit: Timid and attractive, the Rabbits of the Chinese Zodiac tend to act more like bunnies, whether they like it or not! Sorry, Rabbits aren't macho...

Cheryl on the other hand is a Snake! Snakes are diplomatic and popular, the Snake has the sensual art of seduction down. This Sign is an interesting mix of gregariousness paired with introversion, intuitive reasoning paired with savvy business skills. Does that sounds like Cheryl? Sensual art of seduction?!!!

Here's Chris. The Rooster is the strutting peacock of the Chinese Zodiac! These quick thinkers are practical and resourceful, preferring to stick to what is tried and true rather than taking messy, unnecessary risks. That sounds like Chris... he's rock solid!

And there's me... the stupid Pig... The Pig of Chinese Astrology may be the most generous and honorable Sign of the Zodiac. Pigs are nice to a fault and possess impeccable manners and taste. They have so much of the perfectionist in them that others may be inclined to perceive them as snobs. Hey, it doesn't sound too bad being a pig, when it's put that way, lol!

If you want to find out what sign you are, go HERE:

http://www.astrology.com/chinese-astrology

They into account of the fact that Chinese New Year doesn't fall on January 1st. Great if you are a January or early February baby.

Good-bye year of the Tiger... welcome Rabbit!

Joy Captured - Happy Birthday, Jim!

Why is Jim's birthday one of my joys? Well, birthdays mark the passing of time... much like anniversaries. Another year has gone by, with it's all it's joys. {plus, it's Jim getting another year older... not me, hehehe!} He's 59 years old with retirement in sight. I still have years of work left... years and years...

I LOVE you, Jim!

Feel Better Soon, Grandma!!!

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