New Years Eve 361/4

The last night of this lousy year. Bout damn time. I am ready for a new year.

I didnt take any pictures tonight. Instead I lounged around in my pajamas with Travis, Kevin and Liz. We ate dinner at the house, drank, played board games, drank, play xBox games, drank, watch the ball drop, drank.

It was fun and a great way to end a not so great year.
Come on 2011!!! I'm rooting for you to be great!!!

Don't let him fool you 360/5

Sometimes when I wake up and see this face, I forget that he is a crazy neurotic, stuffing chewing maniac and instead think he is a warm snuggly kissy little puppy. I know I will be happy when he outgrows the puppy stage, but I think i'll miss those little puppy grunts and kisses.

Camera Shy 359/6

Momo loves having his picture taken. He know he is gorgeous and wants the entire world to benefit from his beauty.

Crazy Dog Lady 358/7

This dog situation has gotten ridiculous. Where the hell am I supposed to sleep? I fear that I have become the "Crazy dog lady" I'm waiting for the neighborhood kids to start riding their bikes by my house and pointing and laughing.

Ollie vs. Indestructible dog bed 357/8

Ollie likes to chew. He LOVES to chew stuffing out of things. He especially loves to chew stuffing out of dog beds. I have seen him actually chew the stuffing out of a bed while Jack was sleeping on it. Poor Jack went to bed on a fluffy dog bed and woke up on the ground wondering what the hell happened!

I figured some genius out there had to have come up with a dog bed that was chew proof. I did a little bit of research and lo and behold there is such a genius. According to their website, dogs rarely find themselves able or willing to chew through one of these hi denair fabrics. Even if they do chew through the outer cover, they rarely keep chewing the inner piece that holds the stuffing. Should your neurotic dog be able to accomplish such a feat they will either refund your money or send you a new cover or bed. They offer this holy grail of dog chewing beds for $135!!! Considering I was on number 4 of the $20 variety from costco, I figured it would be a long term investment and hauled my self up to Roseville to pick one up.

This is what is left of it after about 10 days. Ollie did manage to chew through the outer layer...but miraculously, he stopped chewing and didn't drag the stuffing around the yard (although it did make it look like it snowed and we had a white Christmas from the last time). I called up the maker and they said no problem, and offered me a new cover or my money back. I figure this bed has been the strongest we have tried so far and chose to go with a new cover. Lets just hope he has lost interest in seeing the inside of this bed.

Red Red Wiiiiiiinnnnee 356/9

You make me feel so fiiiiinnnnneeeee.

Movies and Red wine. I am pretty sure that would be an appropriate few words to describe my sunday.

Christmas 355/10

I have to upload these pics from my camera. Pics and journal coming soon!

Christmas Eve 354/11

The best Christmas gift I could ever hope for. Having this man to torture for the rest of our lives.

Merry Christmas Eve my little chicken!!!

Snowmen/Seal Pups/ Zombies 353/12

I have already posted my thoughts about these little beauties on facebook so there really isn't much more to say. I will let their beauty shine through for itself.

Lids 352/13

Check out one of the new lids I got for Titan. I figure that since its been so cold and rainy we would get some beanies in addition to the baseball hats we normally give out. So far they have been a huge hit.

Mud 351/14

My life revolves around mud these days. I am always slopping through it, falling in it or trying to avoid it. Oh how I wish the concrete path fairy would stop by my house tonight.

Alien Horse 350/15

Travis calls Churro the illegal alien because of his mexican name. I call him an alien horse because of this pic!
Actually, Churro is super sweet and I like having him around. I figured it was time to introduce him.

You work on commission right?? 349/16

Today I headed up to the Galleria with the rest of Northern California the weekend before Christmas. I wasn't really planning on doing Christmas shopping. All I really wanted was to pick up an indestructible dog bed. I've decided to invest the money into a life time garuntee rather than keep spending money on dog beds that Ollie eats.
Anyways, after I picked up the dog bed and loaded it into the truck I decided to wander around a little bit and see if I could pick up one final Christmas gift.
I knew that I wasn't decked out in my finest evening gown, but I felt like I was decent enough in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. OK, my boots were a bit on the muddy side, but it wasnt like I was wearing my pajamas or my hooker outfit.
I walked into the first store and the sales lady puckered up her face like she was sucking on lemons when she saw me. Then she asked if there was anything she could help me with in a very not so subtle way that indicated I was too poor and trashy to afford her clothes. I told her that I was just browsing. Ok, I guess I should admit that I was getting a kick out of her obvious rudeness so I had to play the role. I started smacking my gum, talking like a country bumpkin and pretended to have sticker shock when I saw the price of the scarf. She was on my ass like white on rice. It was quite entertaining.
Eventually I got bored and went to the shop next door where I bought a beautiful scarf (not the one pictured above).
I wanted to stop back by the first store swinging my bag and tell her off the same way Julia Roberts did in Pretty Woman.

Rainy Saturday 348/17

I think someone has the right idea. This is about the only thing a rainy saturday is good for.

December Musings 347/18

I'm a holiday girl. I will admit it. I love planning, it feeds my severe OCD. I like to make lists and get a giddy little feeling seeing things crossed off. I like having something to look forward to.

Unfortunately, this year, I am not a holiday girl. I am a barely functioning girl. I tried to get in the holiday spirit. I ate turkey on Thanksgiving, went to a local Christmas parade and have shopped for and wrapped presents. Thats about all I can gather the gumption for.

I am that annoying person that pops all of my Christmas cards in the mail on December first, yet this year, I didn't even send cards out. Nor have I decorated the house...not even a tree. The only thing I put out were the Christmas cards that we received from everyone else.

I have basically been in a fog for the entire year. Lots of major life altering changes going on. I won't bore you with the details.

I think the biggest reason I cant get into the holidays this year is because I took a short break from reality (I said reality people not sanity. Lets not start calling Betty Ford just yet). This plus the fact that all of the major events that mark the passage of time leading into the holiday season didnt happen this year. I am still patiently awaiting the halloween party to take place, so there is just no way it can be Christmas.

So here is a little toast to you 2010. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

2011, I'm expecting great (ok, at this point I would settle for mediocre) things from you!

No Explanation 346/19

There is truly no sane explanation for this.

We had this brilliant idea to do a photoshoot to make Ne jealous that he was working while the rest of his friends were "working" on a bottle of booze.

I'm not sure what scared me more, seeing this take place, laughing so hard I almost threw up on Sadie, or the text message Ne responded back with.

My Illegitmate Child 345/20

I have an illegitimate bastard child...Mouse.

I guess I should start at the beginning.

*Greg loves chocolate
*Kelly loves chocolate
*Greg and Kelly dedicated one entire drawer in Gregs tool box for chocolate
*After halloween, Greg spent nearly $100 stocking said drawer FULL of chocolate and candy
*Work got slow, Greg was sitting home for a few weeks
*Kelly tried to stop gorging on chocolate
*Greg came by the shop to pickup some tools
*Kelly was sitting on tool box chatting with Greg while he picked up his stuff
*Greg opens the large bottom drawer of his tool box
*Big fatty mouse with a pot belly and chocolate mustache looks up at Greg and Kelly
*Mouse JUMPED out of the tool box
*Greg and Kelly scream like little school girls

Fast forward a few days

*Kelly notices mouse poo in her office
*Kelly calls Greg to inform him that his bastard son needs to be cared for
*Greg tells Kelly that thier bastard son is in her custody mon-fri
*Kelly hangs up on Greg

Fast forward a few more days

*Kelly walks out to the shop to grab something
*Kelly sees that her bastard son has moved back into his fathers tool box
*Bastard son must have been cold because he has started shredding papers and crap into the lock slot on the top drawer of his daddy's tool box
*Kelly texts a picture of thier childs new home to Greg

Kelly goes Nerdy 344/21

I like to change it up and keep Travis guessing as to who will be waiting at home for him.

Where is Sammy? 343/22

I got up this morning and did my quick survey of the sleeping dogs in my room. Tazzy always snuggles his mommy and was cuddled up under my pillow like normal. Ollie insists on sneaking into the bed with us no matter how many times I have informed him that he belongs on the floor and Tazzy bites him. Then I looked over at Sams mini couch that he sleeps on and he was missing! I thought that was pretty weird because he NEVER gets out of bed before me and is always in the same spot.
Then I glanced back at the bed and saw a little white leg sticking out from under the blankets. Sneaky little mutt!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!!! 342/23

After our lightning fast ride home from L.A. (we left at 10 and were home by 3:15, including two stops and a quick trip by the post office when we got back to stockton) we decided to meet up with the fam for dinner. I am never one to miss a chance to have people celebrating me,so we met at the Rosewood. I only hoped they didnt recognize me from mine and Cody's most recent trip that involved Four Loco.
After dinner we met back at Mom's house for presents and birthday cake. And what a birthday cake it was!!! Jen is a pretty amazing baker and whipped up this cake from scratch (as opposed to me, I think making it from a box is from scratch. Its not like I bought it already made.) She also knows that I absolutely love the ooey gooey funfetti frosting. So in an effort to make the ultimate birthday cake for me, she combined my two favorite things, a scrumptous white cake made from scratch and covered that bad boy in super sweet gooey funfetti frosting.
You may notice that fabulous candle. Since mom just moved she didnt have any birthday candles, but a little oakie ingenuity and waaalaaa! Instant birthday candle / tealight.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Disneyland 341/24

This was the first time Travis has been to Disneyland in nearly 15 years! It was also the first time that we have ever been to Disneyland together. We had so much fun. I have never seen Disneyland decorated for Christmas before and neither of us could get over how ginormous the tree on Main Street was. I'm talking enormous! Of course that meant that the two crane nerds were trying to figure out the logistics of how it was assembled and whether they used a crane or a lift. Yeah, we are that cool.
I was surprised that the lines were pretty reasonable. I think that its partially due to winter break not starting until next week. Whatever the reason, it was pretty darn nice. Plus I had a super cool app on my iPhone that navigated the lines.
We hung out in the park and rode Indiana Jones, which I informed Travis was pretty similar to riding with him in the jeep on the rubicon. We also went on the Haunted Mansion, which was an entirely new ride for Christmas and of course there is no way I am leaving that park without riding Pirates and Buzz Lightyear. Travis loved Buzz Lightyear, no big surprise there and I totally kicked his ass on that ride!
Later in the afternoon we headed to downtown Disney for some drinks and appetizers. It was so nice to just relax and stroll around, not really caring if we had anywhere to be or anything to do. We went back to the hotel to sleep off our drinks and finally woke up around 8. There was a Bucca Di Beppos right across from our hotel so we walked over and had a great Italian dinner celebrating my last night as a 27 year old.

Santa Monica 340/25

Travis and I headed to L.A. for my birthday weekend today!!! We ended up getting in town earlier than we thought and had some time to kill while waiting for the Tour Guide aka Cody to get off work, so we headed over to Santa Monica to wander around. We had a really great time checking out the pier and the street performers. Then we bellied up to the bar at Bubba Gumps for some beer and shrimp!
Later we met up with Cody and Lauren for Pink Taco and Sangria. Everyone knows how I feel about my Sangria and I think Pink Taco is probably the best I have ever tasted. It is divine.

My heart in a suitcase 339/26

What is there to say about this?
I was packing for our trip to L.A. and I think someone was making it clear that they didn't want to be left behind. It will be the first time I have left him in a long time. We normally just go camping and take him with us.
I am pretty sure I have become one of "those" moms that whines constantly about missing her baby when she goes out of town.

A whole different kind of ring 338/27

This picture is pretty much a ridiculous inside joke between me and a couple friends. We all wore a simple black ring *cough* O-ring *cough* to represent our "gang" Seriously folks, its such an absurd joke I dont even know how to explain it without sounding completely insane. It was supposed to be temporary but we kept getting questioned about it and our story kept getting more and more far fetched so we kept wearing them.
Except for me, I got tired of the rough and tumble gang life and took it off. I was then informed that the only way out of the gang is to get jumped out. Definitely something I should think about.
This pic is proof that my co-founder sent me to declare that I am in fact the only traitor not wearing my ring.

Blingitty Bling! 337/28

Every once in awhile I will glance down and see my beautiful wedding set and think to myself how lucky I am that my hubby has such great taste. Well, in all honesty, he did pick me so it's not like he could have anything other than great taste.
Lets just say that I love my rings. I think they are stunning and I am so grateful that he picked the ones he did.

No Picture 336/29

I didnt have the time or energy to take a picture today. I am still having a hard time believing that I blogged every single day for almost a year. With a picture!!!

Energizer Goat 335/30

This is what happens when Cody has been drinking for approximately 12 hours. Unlike most people he does not get less energy when he drinks, he gets more.

Happy Birthday Rhonda 334/31

Happy Birthday to the woman that taught me about dancing on tables, tagging on buildings and big bangs.

Happy Birthday!!!!

Proof 333/32

Travis snapped this picture with my phone this morning as proof that no matter how much these two try to kill each other during the day, they actually snuggle at night.

Edit: I have no idea why this picture keeps uploading sideways. I have changed it and so I guess its just the dogs having the last laugh with me as usual.

Christmas in Lodi 332/33

Travis, Allyne and I went to the 15th Annual Lodi Christmas Parade tonight. It was cold, but really really fun! It was the first time Travis had ever been to a parade (not including the light parade at Disneyland when he was 3).

Squeeze Inn 331/34

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Ain't that the damn truth!
I came home from work tonight and planned on making a nice healthy dinner of chicken fajitas. I decided to take a break after working on some billing for my other job and Travis came inside to declare that he absolutely must have a cheeseburger from the Squeeze Inn.
Now, up until tonight I had never actually been to the Squeeze Inn, but I have read the reviews online. I knew that this was not going to be a healthy endeavor. I tried (for about 2.3 seconds) to convince him that we should just stay home and eat healthy. Then I said screw it, lead me to the cheese!
I ordered the smallest cheeseburger they had and we shared a basket of fries, but when we left I almost had to roll myself out to the car. They call that fancy little heart attack waiting to happen the "cheese skirt" I took a picture of mine on the mini burger. The cheese skirt on Travis' jumbo burger was unbelievable, which might explain why he went into a food coma as soon as we got home.

Tranquility??? 330/35

I had an appointment, for the first time today, at the Salon at Wine and Roses to get my hair done. When I got there, I was informed that Abby was running a little behind and would I mind waiting in the "Tranquility Room" I'm sure I had a dumb look on my face because the little cheerleader at the front desk went on to explain the Tranquility Room to me. I think she lost me at tranquility. This is concept I am clearly not familiar with. At all.
Tranquility
–noun
quality or state of being tranquil; calmness; peacefulness; quiet; serenity
Hahahahahaahaha!!! If she had told me they were going to inject me into a pin ball machine full of chaos, stress and noise I would have known exactly what to do. This quiet calm thing was foreign to me. But I like to think of myself as an adventurer so I followed her to a cozy room with big plush chairs and a crackling fireplace. She then pointed out the tea, water and homemade granola to snack on. (Really??? Homemade granola?? Who has this kind of time??)
Luckily for me I am an antisocial little creature so I always bring a book to my hair appointment so I can read the time away. Next thing I know I was curled up next to the fire in a divine chair with a cup of chai tea.
When Abby showed up to bring me to the salon I actually considered skipping my hair appointment and giving this "Tranquility" thing a little more of my time. Then I caught a glimpse of my mop in the window reflection and knew if I wanted to look presentable I better go.

Case of the Monday's 329/36

Today I absolutely had a case of the mondays. I had about zero motivation to do anything. I would have been perfectly happy wasting the day away doing nothing. Unfortunately, I had to work.

Sunday Sweets 328/37

Awwwww, I have some of the sweetest, cutest boys in the world...at least while they are asleep.

2 Loco and Four Loko 327/38

Heavy drinking and watching movies is kind of Mine and Cody's "thing" We are big fans of hitting up the liquor store on the corner and then smuggling some delicious little treat into the movie. There are perks to being tipsy during the movie. Scary movies will scare the crap out of you, funny movies make you laugh til you pee your pants and action movies get you pumped full of adreniline til you want to puke (well basically it enhances your bodily functions it seems). Imagine our delight when we found that the liquor store on the corner has yet to pull the Four Loko's from thier shelves. I have been hearing all kinds of delightful things about this drink. It is caffeine and 12% alcohol per serving. *giggle* Lets just say that Tangled is a funny movie. Tangled while pumped full of Four Loko is ridiculous. I lost count of the number of times I heard Cody snorting while laughing.

Kid (goat) Rock 326/39

I only wish I would have posted the video. It was that impressive.

Today, Cody, mom and I went up to Sacramento to check out where Jen and Alex have run off to. They have a cute little apartment in downtown Sac. Cody of course found the guitar within seconds of arriving and proceeded to put on a little concert. I don't understand why more people don't appreciate the fine talents of the Thompson clan.

Happy Thanksgiving!!! 325/40

Strangely enough, I did not take any pictures for the Holiday. Instead, I focused on relaxing with my hubby and doing a whole bunch of nothing. It was divine. We got up and went to Mi Ranchito and enjoyed a yummy mexican food breakfast. Then we headed back to Lodi to go see Love and Other Drugs. (Jake Gyllenhall *drool*) We ended our evening with dinner at Travis' parents house.
Later that night Cody came over and we watched movies at the house.
It was the first time we have ever stayed home and relaxed the day away on Thanksgiving. I have to say I loved it.

You know you are in dowtntown Stockton 324/41

How do you *know* you are in downtown stockton? When people actually pee in the elevator in the parking garage. I think its a bit difficult to see in the picture, but I was rushing to get in the only working elevator when I noticed that it smelled like urine. I looked around and saw a puddle in the corner and a trail running down the wall. I can not imagine how Stockton made the top of the most miserable places to live list.

No Picture 323/42

Today was a busy busy day at work. I never even had a chance to think about a picture. Have I mentioned I am really looking forward to having a 4 day weekend?

Training for Turkey 322/43

Momo is training for this thursday. He wants to make sure he can get in enough sleep to be ready to eat a big meal and go back to sleep. It's not easy to get in shape for Thanksgiving.

Curtains??? 321/44

Curtains! Yep, I am actually this boring. I am posting about curtains. I never thought I'd see the day.
So here we have it, the great exciting post about curtains! Well, I had been contemplating what to do with the wall behind our bed for quite some time now. It has a window in the center of it, the only window in our room. I believe that the room was designed to have our bed on the opposite wall, but I have never been one to do things like it was intended. So I was trying to come up with something to finish off the wall, but not cover up the window. It seemed like the curtains were a given, yet I resisted (procrastinated) for months. I kept thinking there had to be a better solution. Finally, I decided to just buy some curtains and hang them up. If I ended up hating them, I could always take them down and start over. So here we have it. I realize that without being able to see the complete picture it's a little hard to imagine, but they actually turned out pretty well. When I put all the pillows back on our bed it looks somewhat like the window and curtains frame our bed.
p.s. Yes I realize that I hung the curtains over the top of the window, I did that on purpose. If you hate it, say so.

Dress Shopping Round II 320/45

I took pictures today, but unfortunately, I can not post them. It is top secret!
I went dress shopping for the other wedding I am going to be in next spring, Kevin and Liz!!!
Liz, her sisters, mom and friend Katie and I all went to modesto to try on more bridesmaid dresses. I have to be honest, I was quite pleased with how much easier this time went. When I was last at Davids Bridal while shopping for dresses for Jens wedding it was not great. I think it helped that Liz is having a much less formal wedding and there is a bigger variety in shorter length dresses that are more casual.
Miraculously enough, we found a dress that we all loved and looked good on all body types. As for the two remaining bridesmaids that werent there, guess you are getting whatever we want!

No Picture today 319/46

I was slacking off and didn't do a whole lot after work today and thus had nothing to take a picture of.

These shoes rule 318/47

These shoes suck!
These shoes cost $300 fucking dollars. Lets Get em!!!

If you don't know about the Kelly Shoes Video, you must youtube it right now. In fact, here is the link. Watch it, understand why I am the way I am.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCF3ywukQYA

These are actually shoes from the Bridal Shop where I am getting my dress for Jen's wedding. I believe these are the shoes we will be wearing, or similar. Hooray for me finally getting fitted for my dress!!!!

Debo 317/48

If you have never seen the movie "Friday" you will have no clue what this post is about. For those of you that have not been living under a rock, you should get the reference.

Greg and I played a little joke on Ne today. We got him pretty damn good and as a result had to kiss his arse to try to get him to not hate us. So we fixed Debo for him. He had somehow broken the pedal doomaflatchie and it needed to be welded so we could squeeze in a few more rides before winter. When I say "we" fixed the bike, I really mean that I stood around texting Ne and watching Greg. Then I rode Debo, barefoot, around the neighborhood, cause I'm super classy like that.

Self Portrait 316/49

I never planned on using a nude self portrait as my photo of the day, but it turns out it was the only picture I took. I was laying in bed playing with my iPhone and this is what I came up with, besides when do I turn down a chance to post a semi nude picture of myself???

Dinner 315/50

I let the crab marinate all day in some yummy sweet italian dressing. It turned out so so so good!!! I decided to do a mini crab feed for Travis and I so I made a salad and a little dish of pasta and cut up some french bread to go with our crab. Clearly the fact that I busted out such a great meal means that I have done my wifely duties for the month and we can go back to just making reservations for dinner.

I have Crabs 314/51

I got them from my dad. Awkward, yes I know, but it's true. I have crabs and they are tucked away in the fridge marinating for my dinner tomorrow night.
Thanks for going crabbing papa and thanks for bringing them over. I can't wait to get cracking!

A look into the past 313/52

Last night while celebrating Grandmas birthday at Aunt Debbies we had an impromptu walk down memory lane. After just about everyone had left, Aunt Debbie, Tonya, Catrina, Chloe, JD and I sat down in the floor and started going thru Grandma Monks cedar chest. It was incredible, emotional, funny and I loved every single second of it. I snapped a few pictures of some of the pictures that she kept in there. I think my favorite picture is the one of her and grandpa. Arent they gorgeous? I also happen to think those 2 little girls in the other picture are quite stunning. Clearly this is a family full of hotties.
The best part of the entire chest....reading Grandmas writings. She was such a gifted and talented writer, not to mention FUNNY!!! Again, just another trait that runs in our family.
Hopefully, we will be able to get all of this stuff scanned and create a keepsake book for everyone in the family. I know how much it would mean to me and I'm sure everyone else feels the same.

Happy Birthday Grandma 312/53

Happy Birthday to my beautiful Grandma!!!

Tonight the family got together for a yummy dinner at Aunt Debbies house to celebrate Grandma. A night with my crazy family is always fun.

Heres to many many more Grandma!!!

Not Fair 311/54

This is my friend Greg, doing what he does best. This man can eat more than anyone I have ever known in my life. It is actually kind of legendary among our friends. In fact one day at work after eating a feast he said "I'm full" I actually wrote it on the calendar. It's that rare. I would just like to point out that I think it is completely and utterly unfair that he can eat as much as he wants, whenever he wants and has never counted a calorie in his entire life and yet he NEVER gains a freaking pound. I on the other hand, have actually gained weight from just watching him eat!!!

P.S. I still love you even if I hate you a little bit, Hulk.

Snuggler 310/55

This was the face I woke up to this morning. I think this dog is a professional snuggler. He is only happy if he is pressed up against you, under the blankets and cuddling.

Fall 309/56

Fall is here. Love Love Love!!!