San Fransisco Trip Part I

Okay I know it has taken me forever to get around to this but I have been working every day since I returned and then there has been a problem with my photos of the trip.  Some of these are still not what I wanted them to be but I am working on trying to get the rest of the pictures.  There was a mishap with the pictures.  My camera is fine but some of my pictures got left in San Fransisco.  Kind of like a heart I guerss.  So here is the best that I can do for now.

My trip was great and I had a blast!  The trip started with the surprise visit from some old friends from LA!  They came up when they heard I would be there.  So Friday night was PARTY time!  We drank and laughed and played Wii.  Here are some pictures from that night.

My brother showing off the hat Joules made for him and his golf swing I guess.

Let the games begin!  We amused ourselves with the Wii for awhile.

Nikki never puts down her beer...or spills it.

Fun Times.

The next day we woke up hungover but managed to get cleaned up and headed out for downtown San Fransisco.

Piled in the car on our way to the BART station.  The BART is a metro rail that goes all over the bay area.

This pack of bike riders was cool.

My brother has to finish his smoke before we go down into the station.

Arrived at the BART now off to the train.

And so it begins.

Cool ceiling in the BART station.

I wonder why they didn't include defecating, urinating, bathing etc...

All of us waiting for the BART train.

The train finally got there.

Speeding past my brother and I.

Joules and John on the train ride into downtown.

Downtown San Fransisco.  Union Square.

These guys were tap dancing in the square.

The architecture was AMAZING!

The architecture in SF was amazing.  Most of the buildings are really old and the city seemed to have this layered look and feel to it.  I felt like I could have walked around all day taking pictures of all the amazing buildings I saw (much to the dismay of my travel buddies).

Out the window of the greasy spoon place where we had breakfast.

After a few stops for drinks and food (we were a little lit at this point) we arrived in china town.

The gateway in.

Joules found a froggy golf buddy.

This place was packed and the store goods spilled out into the sidewalk.

This guy was playing traditional Chinese music on what looked like a tin can violin thing.

This cristian like church was in the middle of China Town ....I wonder why?

One of the best photos from the trip, China town light post, check, cool China Town building in the background, check, the name California, check, genuine Cali graffiti, check.

The Trans America building taken from the streets of China Town

We are boarding a bus to head off to fisherman's wharf.  And this is where I leave you this time.  I have tons more photos and will share them with you another time..hopefully in better shape than these are.  I had an awesome time and San Fransisco comes highly recommended.  Make sure you bring a back pack and good walking shoes!

Web Logging

I thought I would kill some time before going to work on cleaning up the rest of the house and do a web logging.  Today it is cold here in Texas and it is supposed to get even worse the next couple of days.  The weather channel is calling it the Arctic Blast 2010!!!...you all know how dramatic they are!  I wish It could have waited until after I left for California but whatever...it is fine, my feet and hands have been pretty much numb for a month now...so a couple more degrees won't make too much of a difference.
My vacation started for me at 12:15 am on Monday morning and I have been really enjoying it.  I was awakned by the plumber on Monday morning at 8 am so only got to sleep for 4 hours but had plenty of time for a nap.  The plumber says that the problem was the aerator on my faucet... apparently I have a really lame faucet and when the aerator gets clogged up or otherwise unhappy in any way it leaks down the faucet where I can't see it under the sink... I am sure some genius designed it.  At least it is clean now.  I am not really sure what to do about the water that has accumulated under the house because of it but whatever i need to do it will have to wait until I get back.
I have already surfed out where the In-n-Out burger is between my brother's place and the airport..I can't wait and I can taste it already.  I can't wait to have my double double animal style with fries and a strawberry shake.  In fact there will be multiple trips to In-n-Out, the burger place that, one who lives in Texas can only dream of when they are not here.  A co-worker from San Pedro was feverishly trying to devise a plan for me to get one back to Texas, he was completely willing to eat it cold (they are OK that way)....we are still working in it.

I am also looking forward to getting some photos of San Francisco and me and my brother.  If I don't post some photos of my mug soon my mom is going to bust a gasket! Love you mom!  It is always nice to get pictures of yourself when you are looking your best and relaxed.  I will miss my fur kids but I'm not worried about them...they will be in great hands while I am gone.

Well enough babbling on the blogosphere...I have to finish cleaning and packing for my awesome vacation.  I want to say thanks to my brother John and my sister-in-law Joules for making this a possibility.

Thomas, the Human Kid in my Life

So I was made to feel guilty yesterday by one of my co-workers because I have a million photos of my dogs but not any of my super adorable nephew Thomas. So I thought I would post some of his pictures. You see, it is not that I don't take pictures of him I do...I guess I just don't think to post them.

This is an old photo...taken in February 2007, Thomas is 5 years old here...this was a sad time for us as my father had just passed away. My dad passed away on February 9th, two days before Thomas' birthday. We all spent a considerable amount of energy smiling and trying to not to scare him while on the inside our hearts were broken with grief at the loss of my Father. I know Thomas helped me through that...he made undoubtedly realize that time marches on and so does life.

Thomas hard at work on some homework for school I am sure....he is a really smart kid.

Thomas May 09' Showing off his mad skateboarding skills.






Bike riding in March of 09' My brother in law Jade was playing with my new camera and got these shots, I am glad he did, these are great!

Probably wishing he could go back outside and ride his bike again.

I love these Photos of Thomas and his mom. Those blue eyes are really that blue...no touch ups with Photoshop! He is so cute and smart and I love him to death...I will try to be more diligent about posting pics of Thomas as I get them! Until then ENJOY!

2009 The Year in Review

Well we made it through 2009...most of us anyway. The new year has always been a time for reflection and renewal for me. I have been walking around at work all day mulling over in my head what this year has been, where I have been, and where I am going. I thought I might share some of this with you my faithful blog readers.

This year has been a good one overall for me. My biggest accomplishment has been getting through my first year of school and starting my second one..with flying colors I might add. I have mostly A's (a few B's thrown in for good measure) and have managed to maintain a 3.8 GPA. It has been an awesome experience, going back to school. My sister Debra laughs to hear me say that because when we were growing up I hated school so much. She is amazed to hear me say that, not only do I love it, but that I want to continue on to get a masters and a PhD. I guess I figure "what the heck? I am not doing anything anyway". This year has been extremely busy for me and I have now come to enjoy my busyness...it makes the times when I can relax that much more enjoyable. I also know that someday it will be over and I will be a better person for having gone through it.

I had one rough spot with the pets and that was the loss of Violet in October. It was very sad and my house is very quiet now. I did however gain a new one in April and that was Stan Lee. He continues to be a joy and I am so glad I decided to keep him. He makes me laugh on a daily basis with his silly antics. Lily turned 11 in December and I gave a silent thank you for her making it to her 11th birthday. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2008 and wasn't supposed to make it 6 months let alone another year. She remains cancer free and is still running the pack and keeping up with the pups! Suki will turn 10 in February and she continues to be the healthiest dog I own. Her allergies get to her sometimes but generally she does well.

Enough about me and the animal kingdom...lets talk about some exciting things that happened in the world. The biggest news I can think of was the election of the first black man as president of the United States. My heart swelled with pride as I watched Barack Obama give his acceptance speech on Jan 20th and I had tears rolling down my face on and off as I watched him walk to the capital building for his inauguration. I can't help but be optimistic that things will change in this nation and that the new generation of people will be more tolerant than the last and that future generations will be even better. I hope I will be here to see a more peaceful nation and indeed a more tolerant world someday.

Things I learned this year include; not everyone is who they seem to be, most humans are pretty disappointing, keep your friends close and your enemies even closer, no one is perfect but perhaps there is someone perfect for you, ex boyfriends never completely disappear, and you don't need anything as badly as you think you do.

Things that continue to delight me (maybe some new ones too); the smell of clean dog feet, the air after a summer rain, a cold glass of Guiness, the laughter of children, my dogs faces when they are happy, trying a new bottle of wine, hot showers (even better when the window can be open), clean towels, flannel sheets, warm socks, a comfy couch, a great novel, my cats fur on my bare feet, a pile of clean laundry, sunny hot days, dog laughter, making new friends, learning new things, getting A's, writing something great in my blog, taking great photos, the way old things smell, snuggly blankets, hot coffee, iced coffee, diversity, great music and my all time favorite these days is a good nights sleep.

The new year is also a time to make some resolutions. I often start out with many and am pretty happy if I manage to still keep some of them at the end of the year. You see, if you make a whole bunch, then you are not destined to fail completely. Some of mine this year include; making my bed every day, not letting being busy serve as an excuse for a dirty house, actually trying to keep the house cleaner, flossing my teeth everyday instead of every other day and the old standby, trying to eat healthier and take better care of myself. We will see how well I do on these and I will get back to you later on how it goes.

I hope all of you have a great year!