Poem #1

So, I was going through some writing I did for a creative writing class. This was an assignment that was given as an "experiment." I don't consider myself a poet, but I kinda like how this turned out.

I want to rip it from her face,

Throw it to the ground, and

Watch it shatter into hundreds of pieces.

This addiction was once a convenience

But is now a drug.

I glare at her, hand glued to ear,

Pressed against her diamond earring,

Digging in the bottom of her

Louis Vuitton bag for that last bit of change.

The customers behind

Roll their eyes.

One man glances at his Timex and

Shifts his body weight with a sigh.

Maybe she wants to show off the new camera feature;

Or maybe she thinks the people around her care about

Who she slept with last night…

But the dirty looks around the room tell me that they don’t.

It's been a stressful week for me. This is something that has helped, especially tonight.

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God.

Father and son

This is one of my favorite pictures.

Fiesta Island...again

I can't tell you enough how cool Fiesta Island is for dogs! I'm so glad we learned about this place. There's a fenced-in dog area with acres and acres of green surrounded by the bay! How great is it that we can go for a nice walk along the dirt path by the bay while Oslo runs around without a leash holding him back. It's a doggie paradise! Maybe it's just me cuz my dog is my life and if he's happy, I'm happy. But you've gotta check it out if you have a dog. And if you do check it out, give me a call and Oslo, Chris, and I will go with you!

Breakfast for dinner...yeah!

I love having breakfast for dinner. It's easy, it's fun, and it's just plain good. Eggs are so full of protein and so good (scrambled with cheese and ketchup). And I make the best darn fluffy pancakes you've ever had. Plus they're gluten-free...you'd never believe it if you didn't know!

How Cute Is She?

How cute is this doggie? Chris and I want her...if only we had a bigger house with a yard! (She's on Craig's List for adoption, so if anyone knows of a good home for her then I can send you the link.) Someday Oslo will have a little friend to keep him company during the day. We would name her Lilly. For Lillihammer...catch our theme? :)

Snow in San Diego!

Everyone living in San Diego (including myself) gets excited when we have any type of weather. I get stoked if we just get a few sprinkles. It's real weather.

Well, last week we got a lot of rain. And in the local mountains we got a couple inches of snow. It was such a huge deal around here. We decided to take Oslo to the snow. Ash came with Amber, too. The dogs had so much fun! Most of the snow had melted, but there was enough for some fun.

Foodie

I'm such a foodie. I'm pretty much watching FoodNetwork if the TV is on (unless Chris has the remote or if Paula Deen is on). I get so inspired by the cooks. I actually try a lot of their techniques and recipes.

The most recent recipe I tried was from Ellie Krieger...she's known for her healthy meals. I don't typically like shrimp, but I made Popcorn Shrimp with Chili-Lime dipping sauce. I don't mind shrimp so much if I can't actually see it. I know, I'm weird. This was battered in a mixture chili powder, gluten-free all-purpose flour, and a few other spices; dipped in egg whites; and coated with cornmeal. Interesting, eh? For the recipe, go to foodnetwork.com and search for popcorn shrimp. It's one of the first to come up.

Fiesta Island

Ashley and Justin showed up at our house today. They were taking Amber to Fiesta Island and needed to borrow some towels for when she got all wet and muddy from the water. "You can come with us," she said to Chris and me. We were just watching TV, why not?

We've taken Oslo to Fiesta Island before. We just found an open area where we could throw a ball for him. He was happy as a clam chasing his ball around the bay. But this time we were with seasoned Fiesta Island veterans. There's a fenced-in dog area! Holy moly were we missing out! The bay was to our right, a grassy area to our left, and tons and tons of room for the dogs to run around. Oslo played fetch for a while, but he didn't even need his ball to be happy (surprisingly). He and Amber ran around free as can be and had the best time. Ash, Justin, Chris and I had fun, too. We got to talk and walk and not pay attention to the dogs every two seconds. The walk was about an hour so we got some good exercise. I can't believe I've lived so close to Fiesta Island for years now, and didn't know about this area. We'll be back soon!

I have taken Oslo to the Spanish Landing at the harbor many times, though. We went there this morning. It was a most beautiful day!

Donovan's

It's official. Donovan's is the best steakhouse...no...the best restaurant EVER! Chris and I went for dinner tonight and each ordered the filet mignon.It melted in my mouth. I mean, literally, when I put it in my mouth, it just melted right on my tongue. Now, I'm no amateur steak connoisseur. I've had plenty of filet in my time. I'm a seasoned filet orderer. This was hands-down, the best steak I've had in my lifetime. You must go there. Period.

My Dog is Better than Your Dog!

I have the happiest, best doggie in the world!

Oslo came to work with me today. Every so often I bring him with me on a Friday. Usually it's just when Chris can't get home for lunch to let him out.

Everyone in the office loves him (how could they not?). He loves running around the warehouse playing fetch with the warehouse guys. He always has a big happy smile on his face. When I'm at my desk he is such a good boy...he usually lies down with his ball or rawhide. And every time I get up he gets excited and follows me wherever I go. Sometimes he takes his tennis ball or rawhide, but he really loves running around with his EvangeBall. (He is learning the salvation message through the colors on the soccer ball.) He's a soccer player just like his daddy.

As much as he loves his time with Mommy at work, he mostly looks forward to his lunchtime walk with Billy. Billy works in the warehouse and whenever Oslo visits, they go on a nice walk down to the canyon behind the office park. He loves all the sights and smells and special attention from passers-by.

Today was especially fun because Daddy came to visit! Chris came to help set up for an "Estate Sale" at our office tomorrow (to hopefully sell some of Grandma's things since she's in a small assisted living home). Oslo didn't know where to stay. He kept wandering between Mommy's desk and everywhere else in the office. Such an exciting day!

Chocolate, anyone?

To those of you lovebirds who celebrate this holiday:

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cheater, Cheater Pumpkin Eater

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people cut in front of you on the road. The worst is when you're in the slow lane on the freeway and there's a merging lane that ends. But many people seem to ignore the fact that it's ended. They continue to pass 3 or 4 more cars before merging over. As if they're so much farther ahead now. Argh!

Tonight I had enough. I wanted to ram into the back of the guy who cut me off. I was headed south just before the 5/805 merge in the bypass lanes. The two left lanes go to the 5 and the two right lanes go to the 805. I was going to the 5, and in the right lane of the two left lanes. Traffic was bumper to bumper. The 2 lanes going to the 805 were moving much faster than those going to the 5. And the lane I was in was moving slower than the one to the left of me....because people kept cutting over from the fast 805-bound lane at the last minute into the 5-bound lane! The cheaters were cutting in front of all the people who had waited their turn patiently.

As I got closer to the end of the bypass I stayed extra close to the car in front of me so no one would cut in front of me. Well, even with this extra precaution, I got cut off! This jerk in a suburban thought he owned the road because he had the biggest car on it. He nudged his front end into my lane. There was only a foot or two between me and the car in front of me, but he insisted he'd fit in. So he nudged, and I moved forward, he nudged some more, and I moved forward. It was VERY clear that I did not want him cutting in. Then he had the nerve to honk at me! Like that's going to get me to let him in...it only annoyed me more. But he pushed and pushed until I had no choice. I had to give in.

I was outraged. I'm an easy-going person, and normally I'll just let it go when I get cut off. But this guy drove me nuts! I'm not a road rager, but I wanted to get back at him! But what can I do...there's nowhere to go in the traffic anyway. Luckily when I write it helps me vent and eases my mind.

Valentine's Day

I'm right there with the next girl as a hopeless romantic who would love nothing more than a day filled with flowers and a box of chocolates from my hubby, watching Romantic Comedies. I would love for my hubby to write me a sappy love poem and sweep me off my feet. But I hate people telling me what to do.

I don't like it that Hallmark and Proflowers and Pajama Gram and Shane Company are telling every man in America that they don't love their wife/girlfriend/significant other if they don't buy gifts for her. I don't like having a designated day for celebrating my love for my husband. I want my husband to send me flowers "just because," not because he's supposed to. I want him to surprise me with See's Candies when I least expect it, because he was thinking of me. When someone tells you you're expected to do something, it takes all the spontaneity and romance out of it! I want to be "special," not just part of a commercialized holiday.

I'm not a complete grinch. Chris and I will enjoy a nice dinner at Donnovan's on Friday night (only because we've been meaning to go there anyway, and we have a gift card to use). But we will not exchange "gifts."

Narrow Minded?

I remember when I first got the Internet at home; I was in 8th grade. It was a slow connection...dial-up, of course. But it didn't matter because it wasn't a part of everyday life like it is today. It was just cool that I was one of the first kids in my class to have email. And when I wrote my 9th grade term paper there wasn't even a standard MLA format for siting information found online.

I just had a flash to 50 years from now. I'm sitting in a rocking chair telling my grandkids about how I had to wait 10 minutes just to connect to the internet and another minute every time I switched to a different URL. And while I was waiting I hiked uphill in the snow. Both ways.

I digress. Rewind to today. At work, everything I do is on my computer. Almost everything I do involves being on the internet. But my computer feels like it's from 1989 (in reality it's probably from 1997, it has Word 97 on it...which is still really old!) and a T1 line that is split for phone/internet. It's not very good at multi-tasking! How am I supposed to be the efficient, hard-working employee that my boss thinks I am? ;) We're in the 21st century with broadband connections, not the "narrow"band connections of yesteryear. I should be able to download 5,000,000 terabytes per nanosecond. That's the speed my mind works...shouldn't my online connection be as intelligent?

Snow...I mean SNOW in Mammoth

I went to Mammoth last weekend with Erika, Meli, and Lauren. I never thought Erika would be able to come with us, seeing as we work together. We would be taking Friday off, and the company would be in utter chaos if one of us wasn't there (we man the phones). But we got the gracious OK from the boss-man (aka my father-in-law). I don't think he knew what he was getting himself into.

Left work a little early, picked up the other girls, and headed to In-n-Out. My favorite non-fast food fast food (they sure know how to do bun-free burgers).


We were half an hour from Mammoth when we got pulled over by a CHP officer (a hot CHP officer; who, noted by Lauren, was wearing a nice red CHP turtleneck). White out conditions were ahead, we could wait on the side of the road for the road to open or turn around. No way were we turning around. We made it this far! The closest town offered nothing but lodging, and we were in a Tahoe. We had room. Well, we soon found out that a Tahoe does not comfortably shelter 4 girls with their luggage. At least the snowboards were on the roof. Little sleep and 6.5 hrs later, the road was open. After hitting the sack at 7:30am, this was officially the longest trip to Mammoth in Malme history.



Since I was supposed to teach 3 girls to snowboard, I wasn't quite up for it on 2 hrs of sleep. And the girls weren't up for learning. So we did what girls do best...shop! This is when I found my new hobby...4-wheel driving in the snow! There were piles of snow all over the place since it had snowed the night before...so I put Chris's new 4x4 to work. Great investment on our part.

Saturday was an awesome day of snowboarding. I've gotta say I'm a good teacher. At least they told me I was, and they did great! Actions speak louder than words :) Lauren even went on an intermediate run with me a couple times! I'm so proud. First half of the day was sunny and warm. After lunch, we came out of the lodge and it was snowing. (Didn't put a damper on our time though.)





It snowed the rest of the day, on the way home, the rest of the night, and on into the next morning. We woke up Sunday morning to a blizzard outside. Over 20" of new snow...a snowboarder's paradise, right? Too bad we weren't on the slopes. And we couldn't go home because the road was closed again!

The boss-man was worried. After missing Erika and I both from work on Friday, he couldn't bear to have us gone on Monday...an even busier day at the office. (He realized on Friday what he had gotten himself into.) He kept watch on the weather and road conditions, and was the first to let us know when the road was open again. I had woken up with a migraine that morning, so I hadn't even thought about packing. But we had to make a run for it while the weather permitted. So the girls packed up and helped clean (they were so great!) Melissa and Lauren even shoveled snow that the storm had left in front of the garage. And we were off.

Baby Fever

I know a lot of people who either have a baby or are expecting a baby. Before I go on, let me say that I'm not ready for a baby of my own yet. But for years now, I've ooh'd at my friends' adorable babies with their cute little outfits and accessories. And I've gone into stores and ahh'd at all the baby stuff. Well, my sister Ashley is now halfway through her pregnancy and we just found out it's a girl!

After all these years of pent up baby clothes-buying energy, I went baby shopping. (That's what Chris gets when he goes to Mammoth with the boys and I have the whole weekend to myself.) After going into the first store and wanting to buy an armful of clothes, I had to set some ground rules. Everything is cute. So I'm only going to buy the really super-cute things I can't bear not to see little Madison Grace wearing!

Nothing in the first store. A few things in the second. On to the third...I knew Old Navy was my favorite store for me...and now it's my favorite store for baby. I was passing by when I thought, "Oh I'll just stop in and look at baby clothes." I looked alright. They not only had the cutest baby stuff I'd ever seen, but the entire baby department was 40% off! (All you who have babies...head to Old Navy this week.) Anyway, much dinero later (well worth it), I have the cutest outfits for one well-dressed baby girl!

I think I fulfilled my baby itch. Chris is lucky...it was only buying for a baby that I needed...not the baby itself :)

A New Blogger is Born

I've been meaning to create a blog for quite some time now. I'm embarrassed as a writer to say that I don't write on a regular basis. But now I will...

Where should I begin? I feel like I should write something witty, creative, maybe even thought-provoking or wise. But I'm not really in that kind of mood. My muse must be sleeping.

I was just in Mammoth with girlfriends last weekend and had a fabulous time. Got snowed out of Mammoth when we were almost there. Finally arrived at 7am (We left at 5:30pm for our 6-7 hour trip). And then we got snowed in at Mammoth when we wanted to go home! (We left at 3:30 when we would have liked to leave by 2.) Lots of great snow on the slopes though...and now 3 of my friends are one step closer to professional snowboarders...thanks to moi, snowboard teacher extraordinaire. (Since when have I been modest? I'm an awesome teacher!)

What kind of mom would I be if I didn't mention my doggie in my first-ever blog? Oslo makes me laugh every day. I just bought him a new pack of orange and blue tennis balls. Chris didn't want me to spend money on the "pretty" ones when we have plenty of regular tennis balls. But he seriously can tell a difference! I got them. He carried his new blue and orange ball around with him the ENTIRE night. Chew. Bounce. Chew. Bounce. Pounce. Chew. He's hilarious. I love that dang dog.


I don't mean to put a damper on your day, but this is what's been on the forefront of my mind the last couple days. Jamie (now living in Utah) just emailed me about her doggie, Neve (pronounced "Nevie," it means "snow" in Portuguese). (See photo above of Jamie and Neve.) Neve is a lot like Oslo...she's a wolf/husky mix. When I visited her in Colorado I fell in love with her, and that's when I began liking dogs (in the sense that I could someday own one). When Chris and I were looking for a dog, I wanted it to be just like Neve. When you say "I love you" to her, she howls back, "WI Wuv Woo." It's the cutest thing ever.

Well, Neve was diagnosed with mouth cancer last week. Jamie and Tim thought it was just an abscessed tooth when they brought her to the vet. She was given a week to a week and a half to live. She's been going downhill, and Jamie said she may need to be put to sleep tomorrow (Friday), and she's not eating or drinking very well anymore. They had a couple options to prolong her life maybe a couple weeks, which they were going to pray about and hopefully decide if they would do anything more. It's amazing how a pet can become such a part of your family. I couldn't stop crying the other day when she told me the situation. Especially now that I have a dog that I love so much, I can't imagine what Jamie and Tim are feeling right now. Neve is their baby!

Ok, this is Jayma signing out of my first blog.