Office Party 08

Johns office party was at Bucas {again} this year. Bruce always asked me where we should go and I always said Bucas, so that's where we go. And it is so much fun! This year we were given different foam houses at each table, and who evers looked most like the picture {which we didn't have} won tickets for a drawing at the end of the night. Bruce gave away all sorts of $50 gift cards, and the grand finale was a TomTom! Wish I had won that!

We played Bingo where we had to go around the room and get funny things signed off like- likes anchovies, has 2 piercings, wearing heels { I signed a few of those squares}. It was fun to mingle with people I only see 1/2 a dozen times a year.

My husband won the BEST prize of all- Employee Of The Year!!!!! I am so proud of him! The boss read his nominations before announcing who it was, and I was clueless! I was more shocked than he was! I am so proud of him! I keep telling his family " I'm married to the Employee of the Year!"

He turned a nice bright shade of red when they said his name.

It was such a nice night out! I got to get all dressed up, have the kids {for the most part} spending the night somewhere else, and have one last evening of freedom before this little baby of ours gets here.

Each table got a metal brain puzzle to do. That wasn't as much fun for me as the foam houses, which thanks to my job, I've done many times, and we won.

Then came the food. Back when it was Bruce, John, Beth and Ed starting the company, Bruce had each woman order a dish. But now that they have 20 employees he ordered the same 4 main dishes for each of the 6 tables. It was so good, calamari, two kinds of salad, cheesy bread, lasagna, fettuccine Alfredo, chicken Parmesan, pesto salmon! Oh, and Bucas boxed up leftovers for each person to take home. I brought home a box of raspberry cheesecake and chocolate cake, which I ate for breakfast the next day!

I hope all of my friends get to go to office parties with their husbands and enjoy a night out, to enjoy each others company, the spirit of the holiday, and a good ol' time!

Here's a few pictures from ours!

Oh and my Favorite part was Bruce thanking all of us spouses for being so supportive. I turned to John and said I felt kinda bad for chewing him out for going to work on the up coming Sunday...Ooops!

Oh Bother!

As you can see I took the private block off.
Cats out of the bag.
Plus I didn't know that I had so many other people reading it who never let me know till I closed my i.d. {like most of johns aunts and cousins in California}
So oh well, I like it better this way any whoo. :)
But if needed I will have no hesitation to going back to being a private blog.

The rest of my birthday

So I left off with Marcie doing my dishes.

Then came my oldest home from school, with a big "happy birthday!!!!"

Emily with a really cute spa basket she put together for me, with a new book, some really cozy socks, yummy smelling bath stuff, some chocolates and one of the really funny cards I got that day.

Kelly showed up next with a big bag of mint m&m's that I have now eaten almost all of! A couple of Sundays ago she gave me Jon and Kate's new book 'multiple blessings' and I love it! {she knew I would buy it for myself or ask for it, so she gave it to me early. smart gal} It's a really great read for while I'm pregnant! Thanks for listening to me and knowing that I love that show!

Audrey showed up just as Kelly was leaving. She stopped by to give me good wishes and a big hug and as always, her big happy smile! I am so lucky that we grew up together and now get to swap parenting stories, laugh about our good times from childhood and live right around the corner from each other. She blesses my life each week by having Shilo over to play Wednesday afternoons so I can be by myself. Thank you!

Johns sisters both called me to let me know how much they love me and to let me know I was thought of.

John took the two youngest and I to The Ram for dinner. It was a nice time even though I couldn't eat very much due to the lack of room in my actual stomach.... :)



Next my in-laws came over to see me. I wish everyone had in-laws like mine. They are the kindest, sweetest people I know. They will drop everything to help me out when I need, they are my own personal support system living right across the street! My parents bought me a new hand mixer! Mine was lost to a home improvement project involving grout!


John gave me the Best Buy exclusive- Sting and the Police 4 disc set! Just what I was going to give him for Christmas {so I could have it} that's why he gave it to me for my Birthday, he knew I would buy it for him! And 27 dresses DVD. What a great guy to know that I'm going to have some home bound time on my hands, and will love watching these!

After that we headed off to my all time favorite foodie place! Cold Stone Creamery! I ordered the most suiting mix for the day- Birthday Cake Remix. YUMMM!!


By the end of the day I was spent.

I felt so wonderful from all the people who took the time to remember me. I loved having people stop by to see me and just let me know they cared. It made it one of the best Birthdays I think I've ever had as an adult.

It also made me realize that I need to be better about showing people I care about them, and showing them they are loved and appreciated by me.

*{bad picture, what can I say, the ice cream guy took it} *

Thanks for listening to my two day ramble, I just wanted to remember this special time in my life.

Last of the 20's

So today I turn 29, and as I reflect back I have come to realize that I have all I ever needed or wanted. I can't think of a single thing to do tonight other than stay at home, order take-out and play a game with my kids. That's my birhtday wish.

My birthday really started last night when my friend Crystal met me at her salon for an evening of girl talk, hair color and thai food. What a treat! Even more so was the realization that she and I have been friends for 11 years! Back in our collage days when we were both just trying to survive chemistry, before John, before our boys came along. I am really grateful for her friendship, honesty and love.
John left me a message first thing this morning on my cell phone about how much he loves me and misses me. He wished me a great birthday, and was excited to see me when he gets home. You know he made me tear up. {he says that's not hard to do these days} 11 years of birthdays with John and he never fails to amaze me with his love. A girl just never gets tired of being swooned by the one she loves.
Jordan greeted me with a "good morning mommy" before she ever got her eyes opened.
Chastin couldn't wait for me to open the beautiful all white pot holder he made me. Poor kids thought of it all on his own weeks ago, wrapped it and then had to wait......for my birthday to get here. He was so excited!
Shilo told me that I couldn't leave the house on my birthday. We needed to stay home. Unless- we were going to Fantasia! Cute how 5 years olds think.
My dear friend Paige helped me out with Shilo and a little boy I watch. She was a BIG help and I always feel like I owe her big time for always being there for me to call when I need help. She is always happy to help me and I am truly thankful to have her in my life.
Early this morning my good friend and neighbor came bearing a Macy's gift card with a beautiful card signed by their 4 year old. It was very special to me that they thought of me on my special day.
Next was a long time friend, Marcie. {who spells her name with an 'ie' too, so we were instant friends:) }One of those friends that you are blessed enough to have, that you can go months with out talking to, yet never feel like there is any space between you. She used her gift of service to come over and help me out in more ways than one. But the biggest way she helped me was that while I wasn't home she came in and did my dishes! She unloaded the dishwasher, reloaded it, then hand washed all the rest! To top it all off she gave me a book I had never seen before about flea market finds! I ' m looking forward to laying in bed with my little side light on and going over all the cool projects just waiting for me to do. Maybe I'll implement some of them in my baby's shabby chic room!

I'll edit later to add how the rest of my day went, I just have such bad pregnancy brain that I didn't want to forget.

John- "I don't now if you knew this, but when we bought this house it had a tag that said

'some assembly required'.

Me- start laughing

Chastin- "Where did you find it?"

Me- laughing even harder!!!

Free Snapfish Book

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Edit Edit Edit Edit!!!!!!!!!!!
Due to the amazing popularity of our free book offer, we've extended the time you have to create your free book to 11:59pm PST on Saturday, November 22nd.

How cool is that!!!!!!! I just got this in my inbox! Now you have NO excuses!!!!

To help you get organized, Snapfish.com is offering The Oprah Winfrey Show viewers a free 8" x 11" custom-cover photo book!
This offer is only good for one standard 20-page 8" x 11" custom-cover photo book per household. Coupon dispersal ends at 11:59 p.m. PST Friday, November 14, 2008. Free photo book must be redeemed by 11:59 p.m. PST Sunday, November 16, 2008.
Here's the link: Photobook
Hurry!! This deal ends fast!

I hear a Christmas present being ordered!!! Who couldn't stand to save a little money on presents this year? This book is worth $30!
{glad my doctors sent me to bed yesterday so i could lay down and watch Oprah!}

Privacy Notice

So it has come to my attention that someone in my household is sharing my blog with someone i don't want it shared with. My bad for being so trusting. I will now have to go to being a private blog. I know this will drastically reduce my readers, but if you care to still read, e-mail me or leave your e-mail in the comment section and I'll put you on as a reader. For those of you who don't comment, yet read the blog, just let me know you still want to, and I'll take care of it. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but it needs to be. I will change it by 8:00am tomorrow.
Take care and hope to still see you in the blog world...