O.A.R. in LA

I had a crazy & busy weekend, which a ton of fun of course! Friday night Tami, Carl & I went into Anaheim to Downtown Disney for an OAR concert, I remind you this IS my favorite band. They are always a good show and never disappoint until when the concert is over. Here are some pictures from the night.

Tami, Carl & me right before the start of the show - I think we had just drank a jager bomb

Tami & me during the show - loving every minute of it!

OAR

Marc singing straight into my heart :)

Mom & Dad are so proud...

After the show with my newest dance partner AND the t-shirt from stage that I got! No I will never wash it...

O.A.R. videos

This is one of my favorite songs from O.A.R. - I Feel Home.



This is a new song, This Town



This is their newest single off the album out mid July, Shattered. Yes, I have already pre-ordered it on iTunes and it is my new ringtone.

Wonderful weekend

I know, I know, where are the pictures of OAR & Celine (not Dion but my niece), they are coming. I got home tonight about 10:30 and am exhausted. I will do a few posts Monday, time willing. I had an amazing weekend, can't wait to share it will everyone.

Flashback Friday @ The "B"

I can hardly believe it but Megan, Joe & Master Luke are moving out of Memphis and onto Heber Springs, AR. It will be so strange going back to Memphis and visiting Jules & Derrick on Walton but not walking across the street to see the Baureis family.

One random summer party

I know I have done a flashback on Joe & Meg before but this is more of a tribute to our friendship and the memories in their home, Luke's first home and always my second home in Memphis. I can't believe this, I am crying as I write this, thinking about it all and how life changes so fast even though it seems like we move in slow motion at times.

I would not change anything that has happened in the past 5 years b/c if any of my life events were different I may have missed an opprotunity for my friendship with Megan, which I could not even imagine at this point. She is an amazing person to say the least. Always there to listen to me about school or just life, even when I am being unreasonable & having a girl moment, always there to shop and always there to go to the theater just to get popcorn and come back to their house and watch a movie.

We have had so many good times in their home and at "The 'B'", which is the bar area inside there house. So many great birthdays, amazing random wine nights, awesome bands, movie days & nights, girly sleep overs, bar-b-ques and just all around fabulous parties.

Black & White Party (my 26th birthday)

Rocktober --> Pink & White Party (my 27th birthday)

I love you girl! And I miss you everyday but I know soon we will be closer and will get to see each other more often, much more often. Please give that sweet little Luke a hug & kiss from his Aunt Christie & the same to Joe and of course back to you. Best of luck moving and transitioning to your new home in Heber. I know it seems difficult right now but give it time and have fun decorating a new house and making it a home. Call my anytime to talk, remember I am 2 hours behind you and still probably up and don't forget to leave the light on, I will be by soon :)

Celebrating SCO class of 2007

Sweet Master Luke

Little pink boxes

Everyone at work knows that when I bring in a little pink box, it means treats! Wednesday they were filled with extra special treats - Birthday cupcakes for Ara. Ara is an amazing baker & cook but he certainly could not be responsible for making his own birthday treats so I made them for him. I asked him last week what his favorite type of cake was and his response was carrot cake and that is what he had.

Carrot cake is funny, is it healthy? Seems like they could be, but the amount of sugar & oil cancels out any of the goodness the carrot may bring to the recipe. One thing is for certain they are delish and that cream cheese frosting... Oh my!

Little Pink Boxes

Yummy carrot cake cupcakes for Ara!

I looked around for carrot cake recipes and finally decided on one from the bible of all baking books, Baking Illustrated, a must for any baker or just anyone who likes to bake.

"The test cooks and editors have exhaustively examined every technique, ingredient and piece of equipment that is critical to baking success to come up with 350 recipes that take the guesswork out of baking."

Dr. V's birthday is Monday so I will be trying my skills at something else I am sure over the weekend. If anyone has a good idea please let me know, I love to try new recipes!

Need a laugh?

So this weekend was a hot one here in California. Most of you would laugh because the high was about 95 degrees and for those in Kansas and Memphis that is nothing but the kicker is that most houses, especially those near the beach, do not have a/c. Yeap you heard me right. So in order to get out of the heat we went to the movies... What could be better, a/c, popcorn & a good laugh. The movie of choice was Get Smart. I do not think I have laughed so hard for so long in a while. There were so many great one liners. Below is one of the trailers from the movie and my favorite part of the movie happens around 0:46, in the movie there are a few more colorful words but you get the drift. There is a great cast of characters who will keep you wanting more. Check it out if you get a chance.

Happy Anniversary!

Today, June 24th, is Tami & Carl's 8th wedding Anniversary. They are undoubtedly one of the most amazing couples I know, hence them letting me live with them this summer. I wish them all the love in the world and all the best in the many years to come. Congrats! I love you!

Tuesdays with Boomer

So I don't think I have shown a picture of my 4th summer roommate, Boomer. Yes, K-Staters that is in Boomer Sooner. Thank goodness she is adorable b/c her name does nothing for her in my book :)

Boomer is Tami & Carl's baby, she just turned 3 years old in May. Being the good parents that they are, they served Boomer her first beer, Bud heavy. She was very confused about the bubbles for sure and only had a few sips.

Boomer is a wonderful companion and friend. She is always happy to see you, greeting everyone at the door with a toy. She is very well-behaved and will obey a command fairly easily and obviously listens to Tami & Carl far better than me. She has begun to stay with my at the foot of my bed if Tami & Carl are out late. It is so very sweet except when she sores or farts... But sometimes you just can't help that I guess. Being around Boomer really makes me wish I had a puppy of my own but I know just how much work they are, so for now I am enjoying being Boomers Aunt.

Cali digs

So a few of you have requested pictures of Tami & Carl's house. I plan on doing a few rooms here and there. First I thought I would share with you my room. It is such a great room in the back of the house. And I just cleaned it today so it is nice and clean :) Not that it was really dirty before, b/c you know I am a bit of a neat freak but there was a ton of clean laundry that needed to be put away. This is my bed. Very nice a comfy but sometimes I kick in my sleep and hit the side of the bed up against the wall, ouch!

My very full dresser, TV & comfy recliner that serves as a catch all for my crap-ola during the week.

And the infamous wine fridge. Still a bit scared to ever pick anything out of it and accidentally open the $200+ bottle. I always ask which one to get first :)

Ultimate water slide!

I was so excited to get home from work yesterday simply because it is Saturday and I was ready to be home. Well much to my surprise there was another great reason to be home, Tami & Carl had set up their own water slide. It was amazing and so much fun to see everyone enjoying it, even some of the big kids. Here are so pictures of Tyler going down it. He loved it!

Cyber Stalking

Okay, you know you have done it. You know it is your dirty little secret and you love it... Cyber stalking. You know, googling someones name, looking them up on facebook or myspace... It totally feels wrong in a way but so devious and sleuth-like at the same time. I know myself I love to check out everyone's blogs to see if there are any new posts but every time I do that I add one more viewer to the ticker, I am sure there have been days when I have viewed someone's blog 10 times! Well, my friend Amber told me about a great application that iGoogle has, Google Reader. You sign in with the same blog account name and add different "subscriptions" or blog addresses. As new material is added or if something changes on the page, it alerts you. You are able to read it on the reader page if you wish or you can click and be sent to the actual blog. I do not think you can add comments on the reader, but I could be wrong, you still have to go to the blog to do that. But it lists all the blogs you want to stay current on and it is so super easy to see who has new stuff to read. Thanks for the great tip Amber! Now I don't feel quite so stalker-ish...

Hermosa puesta del sol (Beautiful sunset)

This is a bit of a wordless Wednesday I guess. Last night I was on the Hermosa Beach pier and got to watch the sunset. Thought I would share it with all of you. It went down right behind Malibu. Very pretty that is for sure. I know Julianne will love all the pictures, she does love her sunsets :) Enjoy!

Adventures in babysitting

So Monday was a very busy day. Not of my normal goofing off stuff but I was working, kind of... I got to baby-sit for a new family. The have 2 kids, Cole & Kate. Today I only got to play with Cole and boy did we have a fun day! I got over to their house about 8:15. We wanted to go to the local aquarium close to home but since it was closed we had to come up with an alternative. We drove down to Long Beach to the Aquarium of the Pacific. I was a little hesitant about getting on the freeway going to a part of California I had never been but thankfully I had Ruby, my garmin, to show me the way. She really came in handy since the exit that I needed had a bad accident earlier that day and was closed completely, Ruby was able to give me an alternative route.

It was such a fun day! We got to see so many different types of fish, from all types of water. We spent a good part of the day enjoying the outside attractions, sea lions, sharks, birds and of course the water guns. All in all it took us just about 4 hours to see everything, including eating lunch in the cafe. It was an exhausting day and as I suspected Cole passed out on the way home (see picture). He is a great new friend and I can't wait for my next adventure in babysitting, but don't tell Cole that, he is not a baby!

new hair!

So for those who I have spoke to lately probably have heard I have found a wonderful new stylist, the office manager Christine. She is a hoot and gets so excited when it comes to cutting or coloring hair, which is such a treat for me b/c I really never know what looks good on me and I hate making the decisions on what to do. Christine is the one who gave me my adorable cut and she has been wanting to get her hands on my color. When she talks about it she folds her hands, grins really big and has a bit of a devious laugh. So needless to say I was a bit hesitant but I seriously don't know why b/c like I said she is awesome and I am in good hands. So last week I let her highlight my hair and of course I LOVE it! However she is not done yet. She still wants to put more colors in, so stay tuned for that. Right now it is very subtle and may be hard to tell a difference but in person you can definitely see it. Here is a close up of it from Friday night at Saint Rocke, www.musicisfood.com, the bar 2 blocks down from the house. That night we saw the cover band called Led Zepplica.

And here is another picture from Saturday night on our way out the door to Saint Rocke again to see the Young Dubliners, who were amazing!

Happy Father's Day!

Just wanted to wish my Dad and very happy father's day. I just blogged about his birthday, yes they are so close together which makes gift giving even more stressful. I tried calling him just a bit ago and no answer, which makes me think he is working in the yard trying to get the sprinkler system done. He is one of the hardest working people I know and one of the most loving. He would do anything for his family and I know he wishes we could all be closer to him. Have a great Father's Day Dad! I love you!

Happy Birthday Papa!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Today is my dad's birthday, yes it is Friday the 13th! I wish I could be there to help celebrate his birthday and part-take in a margarita or even a martini, but I will certainly be there in spirit! When looking for a picture of my dad I stumbled upon this one of when I was back at home, must have been summer b/c of all the shorts. It is very funny and very true to those that are in it. My dad is the one in his recliner. For those of you in town if you see him out and about please tell him happy birthday and give him a hug from me. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Long time no blog

So it has been a few days since I have blogged, which is unusual I know, but I have been busy... Busy being sneaky. This past weekend I went home for my 10 year class reunion and was able to surprise Audra, Laura & Megan, with excellent help from Amber I may add. I have had the trip planned for over 6 weeks, even though they thought that I could not get the time off or afford it. I can't even imagine missing it now, I had so much fun! I will share a few pictures from the semi-formal night but I am too exhausted to write about it all just yet. I will post pictures of the big surprise later when I get them from Amber.

Pre-Party at my 'rents house - Roi, Me & Amber

My dad sure does make a mean Margarita!

Mike, Amber, Roi (with eyes closed), Scott, Me & Dustin

Who knows what is so funny but I love this picture!

Me with my girls. I am so lucky to have each of them in my life. Thanks for making this weekend so memorable. I love you girls!

Flashback Friday

This week I purchased tickets to see OAR at the House of Blues at the end of the month. Getting to see OAR perform is amazing, one of my favorite things to do ever! I have been very fortunate to get to see quite a few concerts with Megan & Joe, some of my favorite people ever!


Megan & Joe at my apartment before a concert in 2006, I think it was a day before a big test of mine but OAR is more important :)

Marc at Memphis in May doing his thing, singing straight into my heart...

Me & Meg at Memphis in May. Such a wonderful time. Good weather, good beer and good music with cherished friends!

New find!

Anyone that knows me knows that I have a love (some may say sickness) when it comes to clothes, shoes, make-up and jewelry. I guess there is no denying I am a girl :) I was trying to get the 411 on some make-up product I was interested in and happened to stumble upon this gem of a website --> Make-up Moxie! It is great, they try the product and give their opinions which are based on similar products out there. So if you ever have a question about a new item, check it out here!

http://www.blog.makeupmoxie.com/

Eye over Hermosa Beach

Ever wonder what is going on at the beach? Here is a link to the Hermosa Beach strand cam. There are a couple on the strand but this one is a birds-eye view. Today you can see that they are putting up the bleachers for the Hermosa Beach Open. This is a 2-man Pro Beach Volleyball Tournament with both Men’s and Women’s divisions. The event is televised nationally on Fox Sports Network.

http://www.hermosawave.net/webcam/

Hello, Cupcake!

For all the creative ones out there, or even those who just like cupcakes, Tami found an amazing cupcake book this past week.

http://www.hellocupcakebook.com/

http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com/

Tami is so creative and much more patient than I can be in the kitchen. She and Carl hosted a BBQ for some friends whose little baby girl is getting baptized today. What a fun and creative idea for cupcakes! Those are just jelly beans for the kernels, colored sugar for the salt & pepper & yellow starbursts for the butter :)

I promise I will stop writing about cupcakes. I am not obsessed at all, promise. Check back more later for CA updates. I have a lot of beach time in the near future.