Fam Picts & other stuff...

Geez Nick, can Marcel be in the picture too? :o)

Aah, my doggie digs me...

The one we finally chose! yea...

Since I've been busy switching jobs and learning a new position over the last 5 weeks or so, I didn't have time to schedule a session with the official family photographer, so we set up the tripod and took some shots in the backyard for the greetings this year. It probably worked out for the best anyway, we wanted Marcel in the photo and he's sometimes not the greatest with new environments. So, above you can see the outtakes and then finally the one we chose. Marcel looks very.. professional.

Last Day

Yesterday was my last day on the job and when I arrived, this is what I found in my office. Wall of packing peanuts! It was so great, and I was totally surprised - we only prank those we like and I guess they like me!! :o) It took a little while to clean up but it was well worth it. It was a fitting end to 2 weeks of awkwardness and such. A group of us went to lunch and I got a lovely parting gift from my boss. It was a good day, although I think I might be the only person to stay until 530 on my last day. My boss had to come get me and tell me to get outta there! So, the Hemisphere Chapter is closed for now and a new chapter opens on Monday at the new firm. Although leaving HEM was a bit bittersweet because of the great working relationships I had formed, Im anxious to hit the ground running.

Today starts 3days off and I have a lot planned. Its already 10:16 though and I havent started anything, so well see how far I get. Its interesting to see what happens here at the house each day while I am at work, and as I sit here eating my caviar, (parting gift from my boss!) I have noticed the following:

• Marcel loves to bark at anything and everything. That one I kinda already knew. He sleeps in the entryway (something he never does when everyone is home) and barks at anything stirring outside. A leaf blew across the front door and he barked.

• Craig and I suspect that Marcel is also slowly moving Craig out of our room one item at a time and into the spare room. If I go to bed early, Marcel comes with me and sleeps on Craigs side. If Craig comes to sit next to me on the couch, Marcel jumps up and sits down next to me first. So, it is confirmed and I will have to take out a restraining order on Marcel, as its a bit unhealthy.

• I havent been on the family computer in awhile, and now I noticed that the screen is fading a bit and the apostrophe key doesnt work. Thats why I havent used any (apostrophes) in this post. Maybe well have to get a new one for Christmas.

• I have found our neighbors. Since Craig and I moved in over the summer, we havent seen any of our neighbors. No one came over to meet us and no one answered their doors when we knocked. Friends told us that it was because of summer, people were in the back yards enjoying the pool and whatever, well its winter now and still no one is out on weekends or nights. But, they are here and out and about during the week days. This either means that we live in an older retirement age community or we moved into a neighborhood where everyone got rich on a .com and now they dont have to work? I dont know what to think. What do these people do for a living I wonder if they are home during the days? Its everyone, moms, dads, dogs....everyone is out. Its like Who-Ville here during the day and weve been missing out.

• Has anyone noticed that the Target Christmas commercial is a little tense? Its a couple opening presents that seem a bit extravegant and they argue about the recession under their breath while smiling. Weird and tense.
  

I suppose its time for me to get started on my tasks. My cell phone has rung twice with people calling me from the office, maybe they need help? hmmm...

Halloween & Weekend Fun

This weekend was busy for all of us as usual. The family comes and goes from the house while I work on the many projects I still want to get done. (Right now I'm refinishing a night stand and an armoire for Mallory's room ~ Cute!)

Saturday morning, Craig took Nick to a PGA tour event at Scottsdale, Grayhawk Golf Course. The Fry's (Electronics) Open is a more subdued PGA event geared a bit more for families as opposed to the Phoenix Open that normally entails a lot of cocktailing for most, not hating, it's just that I wouldn't take Nick to that particular event. He had a great time, came home beat tired and was happy to see some players up close. He mentioned Fred Couples and Rickie Fowler, who Nick thinks looks a lot like Zac Efron.

Then Sat. night, we left an exhausted Nick with a sitter, and Mallory with a friend and her family at the AZ State Fair, and headed out to a Halloween party. Some friends of ours invited us to his bosses' all-out Halloween event. They had some serious decorations, a caterer, bartender and a DJ! Not to mention the psychic who told me I was going to have twins this year, and told Craig he would have one more child? Huh? Anyway, it was a great time ~ Thanks Shel and Mike for inviting us!

We originally went in search of "Bunnies" costumes for Halloween this year, and even though we all ended up ordering something from stores on-line, only Shelsea was brave enough to be an actual 'Bunny' and looked great. We settled on the Kitten, the Bunny and the Lion, but I couldn't find a photo of us all together? At least you can see Semi-Pro, Jackie Moon in action as well. (when Craig wears the wig, Marcel goes nuts!!)

Alex

Popping on to post an updated photo of our nephew Alex with his Mom, my sister Stephanie. We haven't seen him since Feb of this year and he'll be a year old in Nov. We're hoping to see them around Thanksgiving... He's got teeth now and I hear that he's cruising around fairly well.

I love his little cheeks!

Love these jeans!!

Any woman knows, (or maybe just me and I'm a freak), that you can spend countless hours searching for the right pair of jeans. Each brand has a different way of sizing, so the size that may fit you in one name may not fit you so well in another. ugh. So, it's a process - on and off until you find the right ones. Like I said, it could be just me that goes through this process?

Anyway, I determined last weekend that I needed to find another pair of good fitting, perfect jeans as I'm down to about 2 pairs now. (Craig will tell you that I have a closet full of jeans and I do, it's just that for one reason or another and over time, they are not quite right.) So anyway, I hit Anthroplogie yesterday because I heard about a huge sale on everything and I find odds and end accent pillow cases and cute things for Mal's room there most of the time, but I didn't realize they also have a big selection of jeans?! They have JBrand, Joe's Jeans (which I normally love) and several others to choose from. So I head into the dressing room with no less that 26 pairs - all different, skinny, dark, faded, riped, frayed, boot cut, straight leg - a very random assortment. And wouldn't you know it, the very last pair of jeans I try on are 'the ones'. I settled on a pair of worn looking Adriano Goldshmeid, boyfriend cut, Tomboy jeans. They are a bit of an investment I'll admit, but I love them and I know they will be my go-to jeans for the season as they are classic.

And since this post is already kind of random, I'd like to add that I have Shakira's She Wolf song in my head again today and I like it.

Oops

Yep, I admit it. I goofed up the colors on the blog and now i don't know how to fix them because I used a service for a custom template. Oops! I'll figure it out, or you could just see something totally different the next time you check in here.

Not a lot to report, busy busy with work and.. um... work. Oh, and the house. We (really me) are not happy with the red kitchen, so we are bringing it back to a lighter color. I am planning to have all of the work done when Craig is gone to Seattle in a couple of weekends. It's for the best this way - hee hee.. There could be a new backsplash installation during that time as well - if we can find one we both like. :o)

Marcel continues to be a source of joy for the family. He's such a good heart to have around, and he is sllowwly getting used to our family and the house he lives in now. It comes with a whole new set of noises that he must get used to. He loves to bark at the pool guy - I found that out this morning.

Here's just a fun summer photo I took of the kids playing in the pool. Happy times!

One more thing...

Marcel is not allowed on the bed. Heehee...

Our Newest Addition...

Marcel is the newest furry addition to our family! He's a great cocker spaniel (mix) with the cute little white spot on his nose. He's a rescue dog, so he's a bit skittish, but we can already tell that he has a big heart - he will do just about anything to please! He's such a good doggie!

He loves to swim too, he actually has a rather smooth doggie stroke under the water. If you throw the ball to the edge-ish of the pool he won't jump in for it, instead he'll make little waves with his paw until the ball reaches him and he can bend down and pull it out. If you throw it in the middle of the pool, he'll jump! See progressive photos above! Wish my good camera had a video feature? You'd think it would.

Prayers for Maximus

A quick note this morning to ask for prayers for my friend Claire, her husband Jordan and their sweet baby Maximus, who is in the fight of his life. Max was born about 3 weeks ago with a condition called CDH, a defect in the diaphragm that allows the abdominal organs (stomach, intestine, liver, bowel, and spleen) to migrate into the chest cavity in utero. Since surgery, his recovery has been steady and progressive until last night when he crashed a bit and is now stable on the heart and lung machine. Hopefully, this machine will do a little work for Max and give him the rest he needs to continue fighting in the coming days, weeks, months...

This family needs all the prayers they can get! You can check out their story at www.clairegriffinsblog.blogspot.

Australia Update

Just a brief update as Vic's still in Australia, but from the pic she seems to be doing well making friends across the pond... She leaves today (Sunday in Aussie land) on the 22 hour or so trip back. Say hi to Vic's new friend Khole. Animals love Vic; I guess Khole was hugging her like crazy!