Tahoe Trip

We just got back from Tahoe and it was a Winter Wonderland. I rented a house in Tahoma, which is a cute little town close to Tahoe City and the lake. The snow has been dumping up there for over a week and we arrived just in time to take advantage of all the fresh snow with the added bonus of good weather. Jason, his parents and my Dad went skiing both days at Sqauw, while my mom and I relaxed, got lunch, and walked around Truckee and Squaw.

We went out to dinner at Pisanos (great quaint pizza place), Sunnyside (couldn't resist the Hula pie) and then cooked in the last night.


After dinner, we got everyone excited for a game of Mexican Train Dominos. (Please ignore our wild beast attacking Jason's nose)


This was Marley's 1st trip to the snow and she liked it. She was a little skeptical of the snow since it was so fresh she sunk about 4 feet.


Can't wait to go back again next year!

Christmas 2008

With everything that happened early Christmas morning, we still managed to have an amazing and fun Christmas celebration this year.


We love giving Marley her gifts since she gets so excited. This year she got some peanut butter stuffin for her Kong, a furry rabbit and lots and lots of bones and treats.


Jason was excited to get his scarves and new clothes. This man is more into fashion than most women I know.


I was excited to get a new robe and 3 pairs of shoes. Now I just need a bigger closet. Do you like Jason's wrapping job? Quite impressive.


We then headed to my parents house for dinner and more present opening. Nothing beats an "almost" 3 year old celebrating Christmas. Scott was hilarious and kept us entertained all night. The excitement in his eyes and voice were magical and it is so fun to have young kids to spend the holidays with. All the magic of Christmas comes back.


Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!


AND...Happy Birthday Dad! You are such an amazing father and pop and always put everyone else first. We thank you for all that you do all year round.

An Angel is Born

This Christmas Eve, Heidi was induced after finding out that her baby boy had passed away. I headed over to the hospital and got to spend the day with Heidi and Danny as we waited for her labor to begin. Despite the circumstances, we had a special evening together talking and it is a day that I will always remember.

Heidi and Danny showed courage and grace throughout the entire experience. As they have had so many challenges through the past few years, they have never turned their back on their faith but rather embraced it even more. I can't explain how proud I am to have them in my family. I was talking to one of the nurses at the hospital and she said to me, "You can tell what an amazing family you have. You are all so lucky to have each other. It is so clear how much love you have." It touched me since I knew how right she was. It is times like this that you realize that the most important people in your life is your family.

Carl Lavar McMillan was born early Christmas morning. He was named in honor of my Dad (Walter Carl) and Danny's Dad (Glen Lavar). Christmas now holds an even more special place in our hearts as we remember Carl, celebrate my Dad's birthday and the birth of our savior. An angel was born on Christmas Day and he has now returned home to heaven.

Marley and Me

I just finished reading Marley and Me and LOVED IT! If you have ever owned a less than perfect dog or are even an animal lover, this is the book for you. I laughed (almost every page), I cried (for over an hour) and can't wait to see the movie coming out this month.



A lot of people ask if we named Marley after the book, but we actually hadn't heard of the book when we got her. It is simply a coincidence, but we can't help but think this book was written about her. My little Marley is not quite as out of control as the one in the book, but she definitely is no angel.

Without giving away too much, the book starts out with a couple that is newly married that decides to get a lab. It chronicles there life together as a family and shares stories about how their beloved pet Marley always seems to be getting into mischevious mishaps. The book made me realize how my Marley will be such a big part in my own kid's lives. I grew up with dogs that were my best friends and I can't wait to see how my kids will grow up to love Marley as much as I do now.

Cooking Club Holiday Edition

Our Cooking Club hosted our annual Holiday Party this past week. Thanks to Tracy and Jolynn for hosting. Luckily they spoiled us and had all the food cooked ahead of time, so we simply got to just enjoy. We had a great time eating, drinking, talking and laughing. I love this group of girlfriends and look forward to our monthly events. It has become such a comfortable group of friends and such an amazing network of support. Cheers to another fun year ahead.





We had a gift exchange (Cooking Related) and I got Holiday Cookie Cutters. I can't wait to try them out this Christmas.

Amazing Faith

It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that I write that Heidi and Danny received some sad news yesterday. Heidi is about 20 weeks pregnant with her 3rd baby and when she went in for the ultrasound they found out that their babies brain had not completely developed.

My heart aches for their family as they have already been through so much, but my strength truly comes from them. Heidi and Danny are an amazing example of faith, courage, selflessness, grace and gratitude. They are led by God's plan, their church and their strong testimonies. I am so grateful for them and feel honored to have them in my family as a shining example of how I long to grow with my own faith.

Please keep their family in your thoughts and prayers through this difficult time. The support and love from their friends, family, church and community mean so much to them. As there are lots of questions to be answered, they are comforted to know that their baby will not suffer and he will return home to our Savior.

Ephesians 3:17-19
Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Loving the Month of December

YEAH...it is December.

My Favorite things about Christmas and the holiday season...

Christmas Lights

The brighter, the better. If you are looking for a good neighborhood to tour, check out San Ramon right near Bishop Ranch. Here is a link to the neighborhood. It is amazing, the entire community goes all out and it is worth the drive. Thanks to Betty and Bob for introducing us to this great tradition.
LINK TO MAP
Info on neighborhood


Holiday Candy


Since I come from a family that suffers from severe cases of sweet tooths, I love holiday candy. Preferably anything dipped in chocolate, caramel or nuts. I also love homemade fudge, so if you are planning on making some please leave some on my doorstep.


Holiday Music

December is the time to blast the holiday tunes. I've added a few of my favorites and Jay's fav to my playlist.


Movie

If you haven't seen Love Actually, you've got to rent it this season. It will warm your heart, make you laugh, cry and smile. Everything you could hope for in a holiday movie.


Holiday Cards

I love going to the mail box and seeing what cards have come. It is like a surprise everyday. AND yes...of course I love cards that include animals.

Giving Thanks for The Little Things

Before going to work yesterday morning, I decided to check my pile of mail that is usually mainly medical bills and thought I would open them on the way to work in the car. Yes, I know not very safe and not very uplifting.

As I was sorting thru the mail I came across 2 envelopes that were surpisingly not bills. One looked like a card and the other a small package. I was so excited to open them. The 1st was a Thanksgiving card from Barbara, my bible study leader. She listed all the reasons for me to be thankful, the reasons she is thankful and included some beautiful verses. What a wonderful way to start the day.

Then on to the mysterious package from my cousin Victoria in New Jersey. It was an adorable book titled, Spa Mama. What a thoughtful surprise. I haven't seen her in a few years and she holds such a special place in my heart since she is my Grandma Ruth's niece. It instantly put a smile on my face and allowed me to reflect on those little things that people have done this past year that mean so much to me.

I feel so lucky to have been blessed with such wonderful family and friends and I thought it would be fun to list a few of those special moments where people went out of their way to make me feel special within the last year.

Thank you...

To Jason for always putting a smile on my face.

To my Dad for picking up my Craigslist find this week in Novato. Without hesitation, he offered to drive out there and pick it up. This is just one of a million things he does for me.

To my Mom for always offering to bring over dinner, taking me to lunch or letting Marley out.

To Betty and Bob for the cute socks, onesies, black lab stuffed animal, apples and pie. Their gifts are always so thoughtful.

To Heidi for her weekly phone calls just to say hi and to check-in and see how I'm doing after each doctor's appointment.

To Grandma for her cards that she sends for every occasion and having me on her prayer list.

To Jen for stopping by with bagels and magazines when I was on bed rest.

To Paris and Heather for their gifts of pregnancy books.

To Tracy for my care package of goodies.

To Lauren for the daily morning phone calls on my way to work.

To Alix for the constant lunch invites.

To Danielle for my fun gifts from Ireland.

To Heather O for being my pregnancy partner in crime. Exchanging stories, symptoms and excitement has been so fun to experience with another friend.

To Laura-Lee for the beautiful flowers.

To Maya for the doll she left me at my desk to remind me of her and my gift from Hawaii.

To Amy for the cute pregnancy card.

To Cassie for loaning me maternity clothes.

To Angie for always inviting Jason and I over for the most amazing meals.

To Lisa for the CD she burned for me.

To Marty for sending me her daily funny emails.

To My Cooking Club for always being such an amazing support and fun group. I look forward every month to spending a night with all of you.

To My Bible Study Group for helping me grow in my faith and share in an amazing group of women. All your prayers, insight and words of encouragement always help me each week.

I'm so grateful for so many things in life, especially this year. Just wanted everyone to know that those little things don't go unnoticed. I'm going to try and do more this coming year in return.

Weekend At The Beach

Jason and I headed to one of our favorite places this weekend, Carmel. We decided to bring along Marley since it just wouldn't be the same without her and Carmel is one of the most dog friendly cities in California. You really can bring your dog anywhere. They say pictures are worth a thousand words, so here are some of our favorite pics from the weekend. AND Yes, I do admit that we are obsessed with our dog.


We stayed at a hotel that I would recommend to everyone. The Carmel Country Inn is in downtown Carmel and was walking distance to all shops and restaurants. It was the perfect find, so if you are looking for somewhere to stay don't look any further. It is pet friendly, serves a delicious healthy breakfast buffet, the rooms are adorable and the staff is amazing.



This was my favorite feature in the room. The front door opened, so Marley could peer out and keep track of all the happenings at our hotel. She did go a little crazy when Charlie (the great dane) walked by.


Saturday we ate lunch in Monterey and then headed to the 17-mile drive. Every time we come to Carmel we do the drive and it never gets old. It is one of the most beautiful and relaxing ways to spend an afternoon. We love stopping at the different turn-offs and just sitting and watching the waves. It is one of the most peaceful places to visit.

Marley loved running in the ocean (typical lab). Jason was one of those typical tourists that gets too close to the water with pants on and then is drenched when the water somehow gets mysteriously too close.


That night, we headed to Forge In The Forest (another one of our favorites in Carmel). This restaurant is so pet-friendly that we even got to sit in a special VIP pet patio titled, "The Dog Pound". There were about 5 dogs there with their owners and all dogs were behaving (including Marley). They even have a special pet menu and Marley picked the Chicken Strips. If you ever go here, don't miss the desert menu. AMAZING SELECTIONS!


Sunday we headed back to the beach and strolled around the city. It really was the perfect weekend. Just what Jason and I needed before the holiday season begins. Last night we counted and realized this had been our 4th vacation to Monterey/Carmel. Some people may want to try something new, but we just love it there. We can't wait to visit again next year and bring our little guy.

A Sad Week At Work

It was an incredibly sad week for me at work as my company had another round of layoffs and 3 of my closest and dearest friends were let go. Words cannot describe how much I will miss these girls. Through my last 2+ years at work, they kept me smiling, laughing and having fun. I don't think it has truly sunk in that I won't see them daily, be going out for lunch dates or just sitting at their cubes catching up, but I know this is just the start of a new friendship with each of them. I always felt so lucky to have formed such special friendships at work.

Sadly the industries I've worked in (advertising, marketing and publishing) always have their fair share of layoffs whether it be from the economy, losing an account or a client cutting their budget. I've experienced them on both sides and they are never easy. Luckily I have total faith that each of my friends is going to find something that is better and allows them to shine even brighter. Love you girls! Please know how much I value your friendships and promise we will never lose touch.

Festive Weekend

Our weekend started out on Friday night by seeing the new James Bond flick, Quantum of Solace with the family. Mixed reviews by everyone, but I liked it and found it very entertaining. The new Bond girl is gorgeous, the action is endless and the scenery is exotic. I would recommend it.


Tis the season for the 30th birthdays to begin. Saturday we spent the day in Livermore going wine tasting (of course, I was not a active participant but still had fun) for Jared's 30th birthday. The land yacht left the dock and we headed to 3 wineries. The Livermore valley is a great alternative to Napa since majority of the wineries give free tastings and one of them even offered 21 different wines to sample. YES, 21! I've never heard of such a thing, but they really did. Even though we are all turning 30 this year, everyone can all still keep up with the party.


Saturday night our cooking club hosted a Thanksgiving feast at Amy's and we even voted to invite the men to join us to our usually female exclusive event. Everyone brought a dish and it was DELISH. Amy did an amazing job as the host and thankfully took on the task of cooking the turkey. It was fun to get together with everyone and I loved getting an opportunity to have a big Thanksgiving feast prior to the actual day.


All 3 of us are pregnant and will have new little babies within early next year. Heather O is due in January, Emily in February and me in March. Very fun to be able to talk to other friends going through the same.

On Sunday, we had goals of going crib shopping, but opted to put that on hold. Instead we took Marley on nice, long walk and then headed downtown for lunch and shopping. It was a successful day since both Jay and I got jeans. So no crib for now, but we enjoyed our stress-free shopping.


Once I got home, Mar snuggled up to me for a few minutes before I headed to my parents for our weekly Sunday night dinner. I brought over a Marie Calendar's Strawberry Rhubarb pie and Betty and Bob had been reading my blog and brought the same. So we had 2 (who would have ever thought of having 2 on 1 night). Ha ha!


Now it is 10 and I decided to re-organize my closet with the help of Marley. AND instead of putting everything away I am sitting here blogging wishing to go to bed. So better go and put the clothes away, so Jason actually has a place to sleep.

Halfway Point

Today marks my 21st week, so I'm excited to celebrate passing the halfway mark. There are days when all of this still doesn't seem like a reality, but my growing stomach and clothes getting tighter keeps reminding me that this little guy is getting bigger and bigger each week. I really can't complain a thing about being pregnant. I absolutely love it. I feel so blessed that I hardly had any sickness in the beginning and now in my 2nd trimester I feel great. Within the last 2 weeks, I've started to feel little kicks and punches especially at night. I actually look forward to lying down each night since I know the kickboxing session will begin.

I had an ultrasound today (hopefully my last). I was so excited to see the little guy and my mom was able to come with me. We saw him yawn, kick, hide his face with his hands and most importantly had lots of pics done on the heart. Everything looked great, so we are so grateful that this little guy looks healthy.
Here are some my favorite pics:

They definitely confirmed it was a boy. When I called Jason after my appointment, I told him that it was still a boy. His 1st question, Did it grow any? I'm not sure what he was referencing, but I guess I need to get ready for boy humor.


Look at that little foot.


And best of all, his face. He wouldn't move his hand from his face, but we got a good glimpse of him.



As far as cravings...
Nothing too weird yet, but I've got a way to go. Here is what I crave as of right now.


Soup: I could eat soup for lunch and dinner daily. Thank goodness it is getting cold outside since ordering chili for lunch in August seemed a little strange.



Pie: Nothing beats a strawberry rhubarb pie from Marie Calendars. I usually steer more towards chocolate deserts, but with this pregnancy it is all about fruit.



Fruit: Apples and oranges are my new best friends. I also love Jamba Juice (and was never a fan before). Love the Pineapple or Pomegranite. The best part is Jason got a gift card for his birthday from his Grandma, so I have yet to pay for one.



Burger King Breakfast: A few weeks into my pregnancy, I was craving Burger King breakfast. Egg & Cheese Croissanwich and hashbrowns (just like high school with Jennifer Stofiel). I haven't had this in 10 years. This morning I was driving to work and for a minute I thought about hitting up the drive-thru until I realized that I couldn't dare bring it into the office and didn't really feel like scarfing it down alone in my car.

Hoping for 19 more weeks of feeling good and I really can't wait for him to be here.

Life without a Cell Phone

So I woke up on election day to find out that my cell phone had completly died. For some reason the screen was frozen and all I could do was answer the phone when it rang, but nothing else worked.

At first it drove me crazy to not have a cell phone (especially since we don't have a home phone) but as the week progressed I realized it was kind of liberating. Although I miss those daily calls with friends, family and Jason (especially when driving) it allowed me to completely focus on myself and what I wanted to do. I am a totally indecisive person, but I found myself having to make decisions that sometimes I would call and ask for a 2nd opinion.

However, this morning after church I decided to go to Jamba Juice then shopping at Target. Any woman knows that a trip to Target can take over an hour. After shopping I pulled up to the house and found Jason sitting on the porch with Marley. He had taken her for a walk and accidentely locked himself out. Poor guy had been sitting there for over an hour thinking that I had to be coming home from church sometime soon. He was a victim of me not having a cell phone. So I did realize, life is so much easier with one since we are so dependent on them.

AND might I add sorry to anyone that I haven't returned a call to. I truly can't even tell who has called me. My new phone is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday.

Election 2008

Can you believe election day is finally here? A lot of you are probably ready for it to be over, but for our political junkie household it sure has been an exciting year to be following politics. Oh the many nights of dinner we shared with Chris Matthews, Keith Oberman and Chuck Todd. It truly amazes me that both candidates have been campaigning day and night for the last 2 years all in preparation for this finale. It is sure to be an exciting night, can't wait for the results to roll in.



Update...
OBAMA HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED THE WINNER!!! Listening to Obama's speech tonight brought tears to my eyes. What an amazing moment in history. His speech was eloquent, brilliant, inspiring and moving. To think what a historic celebration this is for America and especially African Americans in this country...a true testament that all are created equal. Truly a night to remember forever.

Halloween Lesson Learned

I was so excited when I went to Target last week and saw Mini Play-doh's to pass out for Halloween. I thought, what a great alternative to candy. Jason immediatly said, "No Kids want play-doh, they just want candy." So I decided to see what Scott thought when he stopped by for trick-or-treating. When I told Scott he could have 2 pieces of candy and one jar of play-doh, he looked at me and said, "No thanks. More candy." I guess there is only one thing kids want on Halloween...candy. I guess I'll save my leftover play-doh's as stocking stuffers for Christmas.

Thank Goodness Jason was stocked with enough candy for 2 years. He actually contemplated getting more. Now I'm stuck with snacking on candy for the next month.


I'm so excited for next year. I can't believe we will have a little guy that we can dress up. After handing out candy and hanging out with Heidi, Danny, Scott and Tyler we headed over to the O'Briens. It was fun since there were 3 of us that are all expecting our first babies this next year. We had a good time exchanging stories and just getting excited for next year.