tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1500670536227709552024-03-05T17:04:22.760-08:00The Road Less TraveledNow that the "I do's" have been said, it is time to write about the working woman and married life. I hope you enjoy going with me on this journey.CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-33337135479160572812011-02-18T11:10:00.000-08:002011-02-18T11:10:59.140-08:00My Blog has Moved!<span style="font-size: large;">I will no longer be posting on this blog page. If you are interested in following my adventures as a working mother please visit my new blog at: </span><a href="http://www.cultivatingthewonder.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">cultivatingthewonder.blogspot.com </span></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you!</span>CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-24342656820383203392010-12-12T08:32:00.001-08:002010-12-12T08:32:54.723-08:00xmas2010<div class="sflyProductPreviewWidget" style="width:425px; height:494px;"><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetTop" style="height:6px; background-image:url(http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/top.gif);"></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetCenter" style="height:482px; padding: 0 6px 0 6px; background-image:url(http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/bg.gif); background-repeat:repeat-y;"><div class="sflyProductPreviewLogo" style="width: 105px; height: 34px; padding: 14px 0 0 14px;"><img src="http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/logo.gif"></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewContainer" style="height:350px; text-align:center; padding: 0;"><a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery"><img src="http://images-community.shutterfly.com/prs/v1/0AYs2zJi3ZtGMA/0AYs2zJi3ZtGMPWg/p/67b0de21b3127d902548/JPEG/1292170425000/0/"></a></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewMessageContainer" style="height:55px; background-color:#f4f4e9; text-align:center; padding: 15px 0 15px 0; line-height: 19px;"><div class="sflyProductPreviewTitle" style="font-family: arial, sans-seris; font-size: 15px; color: #333333; font-weight: bold;"><span>With Love Chartreuse Christmas Card</span></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewSEOText" style="font-family: arial, sans-seris; font-size: 13px; color: #333333;"><span>Personalize your <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards" style="color: #6666cc;">Christmas cards at Shutterfly</a>.</span></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewViewCollection" style="font-family: arial, sans-seris; font-size: 13px; color: #333333;"><span>View the entire <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery" style="color: #6666cc;">collection</a> of cards.</span></div><img width="1" height="1" border="0" src="https://os.shutterfly.com/b/ss/sflyshareprod/1/H.15/111?pageName=sharekey&c1=msc&c2=blogger" /></div></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetBottom" style="height:6px; background-image:url(http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/bottom.gif);"></div></div>CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-88178817903244564582009-04-28T12:57:00.000-07:002009-04-28T13:11:59.209-07:00We've Moved!This post is rather late because I've been crazy busy with the move, work, and school. Our escrow closed on March 19th and we have moved into our new house! We LOVE it. Right now it only feels like our home at night when we go to bed, the rest of the time it feels like we are staying at a resort. <div></div><br /><div>I don't think I will be posting much, if at all, between now and the end of the school year. I've really got to focus on finishing my master's classes and doing research for my paper. Also, on June 16th I'm scheduled to have <a href="http://www.aaoms.org/jaw_surgery.php">jaw surgery </a>(yikes!), so I think that I will get back to posting while I am in recovery and can't talk! </div><div> </div><div>This week is State Testing (STAR and CAT6) at our school. Many people think kids don't care about these tests and/or they don't understand the implications of such "high stakes" standardized tests. Below is a note that my Assistant Principal found on the ground during lunch yesterday. It turns out that Amanda is one of my students... we have our 2nd period classes for 5 hours on each day of testing so they get a little sick of the same teacher... She has no idea I've seen her note... but this is a perfect example of how we often underestimate our students!</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329835990797980690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 263px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SfdhmE6bFBI/AAAAAAAAAX0/LNpaA_SGxbs/s400/notestar.bmp" border="0" /><br /><div>I will be back in June!</div>CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-31516640756956694582009-03-08T09:51:00.000-07:002009-03-08T10:18:50.177-07:00From Bad, to Worse, to Great!Okay, so I wouldn’t normally write such a long post about my bad morning, but I thought some of you might find it funny and there are some lessons to be learned. It begins with Thursday night... on my way to my edu leadership class my passenger side window fell down, I didn’t think of it as such a big deal because I knew it was broken and all that had to be done was to open the door panel, push the window back up, and reset the 2x4 holding it up (this is another long story). So, I figured I’d just go to a service station and get help doing this. Ah, but no one would help me without paying them $100 first. So, I just went to class with it broken and had my husband fix it when I got home. When he fixed it the door lock wouldn’t go back in place, so now my passenger side door will not open from the outside. Ugh.<br /><br />Friday morning…I decided to get to work early so I could use the time to get some of my grades done. While on the 57 freeway I hear a “thunk” sound and about 30 seconds later it came back “thunk, thunk, thunk” – one of my rear tires had blown out. So, I slowly move from the fast lane into the slow lane so I can get off of the fwy, but as I start doing so my car starts shaking violently. So, I ended up pulling over on the side of the fwy at the Lambert exit.<br /><br />The next series of events: I call my husband and learn that he never got around to adding me to his AAA after telling me to cancel my own. I learn that I do not have my wallet with me. I start to cry.<br /><br />A CHP officer pulls up behind me and walks over to my passenger side window and asks me to roll it down which, of course, I can’t. So he yells at me to unlock the door, which I try to do but, of course, he can’t open it. So I lean over to open it from the inside, and it still won’t open. At this point I am very frustrated and still crying.<br /><br />Eventually I get out of the car on the driver side (the officer controlled traffic so I could do so). He is obviously very mad at me and tells me that I should have driven to a service station; I try to explain to him about the violent shaking and he just says to me, “haven’t you watched all the car chases on TV – You can drive on blown tire.” At this point he is laughing at me.<br /><br />He has me follow him off of the fwy on to Lambert road – I think he is taking me to a service station, but no – he takes me to the parking lot of Kaiser Permanente. Once there, I turn off my car and get out and he says to me, “I suggest you call your husband or someone to get this fixed.” And then he LEAVES!!!! No offer of help, nothing!<br /><br />I can’t call a towing company because I have no wallet to pay them; I have an idea of how to put the spare tire on, but I didn’t think I was capable of doing it myself.<br /><br />Long story short – My friend Claudia ended up calling her fiancé for me (he works in the OC), and he was able to come by where I was parked on his way to work and put my spare tire on for me. I actually made it to work before my first class. However, I am still shocked at the lack of help that was offered by strangers – including the CHP officer. I am so thankful for friends like Claudia and Gill. Gill even showed me how to change the tire myself incase it happens again.<br /><br />The day ended up better than I could have imagined. We had our "Staffulty" awards dinner Friday night and I ended up getting an award from my students that made me cry -- it was wonderful! -- I would have missed this if I had given up on the day and gone home like I wanted to; I'm so glad I went to work and stuck it out!CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-41836968800225624832009-02-14T13:54:00.000-08:002009-02-14T14:15:15.067-08:00House Hunting: Step TwoWe started house hunting almost three weeks ago, even though we really don't need to buy until the summer. We figured that we'd get a head start to see what is out there, check out the market, and get a feel for what kind of house we wanted to buy. Well, all of our questions were answered quickly, and we fell in love with a house last week (see earlier post).<br /><br />So, Tuesday night at 8:30pm we ended up making an offer. We waited all day Wednesday and Thursday and heard nothing. I was a stress case. Our offer expired at 8:30pm on Friday. So, Friday at work, just after lunch I checked my email, and there it was -- the counter offer!<br /><br />We were expecting a counter offer, in fact we had previously decided that we would be willing to pay up to $10k over their asking price if it got into a counter offer situation. So we were *pleasantly* shocked when this happened:<br /><br /><ul><li>Asking price was $399,000</li><li>We offered $389,000</li><li>They countered with -- accepting our offer with them taking the fountain on the front porch with them when they move.</li></ul><p>Sure, take the fountain; you can have it! So, we accepted their offer on Friday night, and now we have the long weekend to soak it all in. Tuesday we should get the phone call to sign the papers to get escrow started. </p><p>Crazy! It has all happened so fast. We are still keeping our fingers crossed - who knows what can happen between now and Tuesday. I'll post more pics once everything is solid. </p><p>~Calioc</p>CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-23333141280629398702009-02-09T14:42:00.000-08:002009-02-11T22:29:15.219-08:00We Made an Offer!So, we spent some time looking at more houses this weekend, and once again we faced great disappointment. Finding a house we <strong>both </strong>love, an area we <strong>both</strong> love, with a price we <strong>both</strong> love is going to be a challenge!<br /><br /><div>We thought we found it today... and maybe we have, but there is a big questionmark hanging over it. First, let me introduce you to Earl...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SZCySmGNxbI/AAAAAAAAAXk/1H1HNmhzsYQ/s1600-h/Earl.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300932793949078962" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SZCySmGNxbI/AAAAAAAAAXk/1H1HNmhzsYQ/s320/Earl.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTV1S9hnzGJ1XrVV9p1uk2PbMRf5g0ioLLiGlAjRqlMxmN7BWCR9yo7x1qsaTQaSD5FscXURD4kaGywCWbRYo9OBkxU0lea3Sd56ePLtQyVWSUi-zFfZFA8pATMgGwr3Yc7PYJCCKkmeDr/s1600-h/earlkitchn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300932796898042914" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTV1S9hnzGJ1XrVV9p1uk2PbMRf5g0ioLLiGlAjRqlMxmN7BWCR9yo7x1qsaTQaSD5FscXURD4kaGywCWbRYo9OBkxU0lea3Sd56ePLtQyVWSUi-zFfZFA8pATMgGwr3Yc7PYJCCKkmeDr/s320/earlkitchn.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Earl is a lovely 2,800 sq ft home that has an amazing kitchen, a full bedroom and bathroom downstairs, 3 bedrooms upstairs, and a bonus room. She has a beautifully landscaped backyard with a spa and palm trees. She is priced reasonably and is ready for us to make an offer; but...<br /></div><div>We think she is a smoker! Yes, when we walked into the garage (attached to the house through a laundry room) we smelled smoke. We didn't smell it upstairs or in the kitchen, but the house has been recently painted... so we need to do more research. We need to see it again and put our noses to the floor and sniff. We will bring our parents to see her next time, we will fully inspect her, and then we will either make an offer or say good-bye and move on to the next one.</div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#cc0000;">UPDATE 2/11</span> -- We visited her again on Monday, but this time my mom & dad, and my husbands mom & grandpa came with us. We didn't tell them about the smoke, and they didn't notice! After we told them and we talked to the owner about it we learned that the owner does smoke on the back patio and in the garage. She showed us her ashtrays. Then we went out to dinner with our parents to discuss everything. </div><div>We came to the conclusion that the smoking isn't as big of a deal as we thought it was since it was all done outside of the house. So...</div><div><em>We made an offer! That was at 8:30 pm last night (Tuesday), and we have not heard anything yet. Ugh. Very stressfull; I've had a migraine all day! Updates will follow...</em></div><div></div><div>~ Calioc</div>CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-74535012697836211852009-01-31T17:34:00.000-08:002009-01-31T18:02:24.077-08:00The Home Shopping ExperienceSo, today was our first time out looking at houses. I have learned that house shopping is a very emotional thing. I have also learned that I am very picky and a bit of a snob. <br /><br />What we learned from our experience today:<br /><ul><li>We don't like the houses we can afford in Orange County</li><li>We really like one specific area of Corona called "Sierra del Oro"</li><li>Bank owned homes are in major need of being fixed-up; when people lose their homes they become wild animals and do horrible things to the property. Smashed windows, torn up carpet, holes in walls, etc...</li><li>If you love the house, the backyard is too small, or it is in a bad area</li><li>If you love the location and the yard, the house looks like it came straight out of 1983</li><li>It looks like we may have to buy a "fixer-upper"; we just need to decide how much fixing up we are willing to do.</li></ul><p>We found one home we loved, but the entire backyard was taken up by a pool -- a long narrow pool that if you weren't careful you would walk right into. Not a good place for a family.</p><p>We found another one we loved (actually it is just about my perfect house), but it is in a community where the houses are almost touching, there is no parking on the street, and trying to get out of the gated community in the morning would be a nightmare (we might go look at it again).</p><p>So... now our agent knows what we like and we will spend every moment we get looking for the perfect house. We are not in a hurry, the market is on our side, and we are pre-approved so we will be patient until we find "the one".</p><p>~Calioc</p>CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-27131385925994968522009-01-27T21:20:00.000-08:002009-01-27T21:38:22.423-08:00Weddingbee Addiction... is there a cure?<div><div>Hello, my name is Calioc, and I am addicted to <a href="http://www.weddingbee.com/">Weddingbee</a>. My wedding was over 5 months ago, but my last Weddingbee post was just 15 minutes ago. I've searched high and low for a cure or a 12-step program -- all to no avail. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296213439203676018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 120px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 90px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SX_uD_pij3I/AAAAAAAAAXU/UcqLRd8zi1w/s320/120x90-bee.jpg" border="0" /></div><div></div><div>So finally, I gave in to my craving and turned in an application to be a Weddingbee Hive Hostess. So, now I no longer need to feel gulity posting on Weddingbee because I have a real reason to be there! Yes, I know I really don't have time for an unpaid job, but if it is something I would be doing anyways... I mean I am so busy that I need a break, something I enjoy and yet still makes me feel useful.</div><div>So I am now officially a Weddingbee Hive Hostess under the name Caliocteach! <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SX_uQhmTKBI/AAAAAAAAAXc/nbFl3rMYl24/s1600-h/beehive.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296213654475319314" style="WIDTH: 85px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 64px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SX_uQhmTKBI/AAAAAAAAAXc/nbFl3rMYl24/s400/beehive.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center">So, what does a Hive Hostess do?</div><br /><div>These are the main things you'd do as a Hive Hostess:<br />- Welcome new members to the hive<br />- Comment on threads that have no or few comments<br />- Bump up threads that have no/few comments<br />- Start threads on days when it's quiet</div><div></div><br /><div>Thank you to everyone who made this dream come true...and to those who understand that my addiction is perfectly normal and healthy!<br /></div><div>~Calioc</div></div>CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-14516417045035872472009-01-25T14:51:00.000-08:002009-01-25T16:12:25.713-08:00Short 'n SassyWhen I was a kid I let my hair grow long but I always pulled it up into a ponytail; afterall, I was a tomboy. <span style="color:#000099;">Pictured Left: Me in kindergarten. Right: 4th grade soccer picture.<br /></span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXz08VFsZuI/AAAAAAAAAWU/NhSG9Lmc4P4/s1600-h/kindergarten_glenview.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295376579171215074" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXz08VFsZuI/AAAAAAAAAWU/NhSG9Lmc4P4/s200/kindergarten_glenview.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDz3EYmxv9avZgpbGnBtYyBWfVI_GKsj83XIl3ht9jff7VQFNRR4W0neeYGnu196ua3Bii-aqy1OLjLtvYR2OOuCex2DeXTSHDFWL00ifHrGH0Of19IALV8roB4HfgxuGytoEJ5Q9Pi_X9/s1600-h/evolution_love+036.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295373669562519650" style="WIDTH: 144px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDz3EYmxv9avZgpbGnBtYyBWfVI_GKsj83XIl3ht9jff7VQFNRR4W0neeYGnu196ua3Bii-aqy1OLjLtvYR2OOuCex2DeXTSHDFWL00ifHrGH0Of19IALV8roB4HfgxuGytoEJ5Q9Pi_X9/s200/evolution_love+036.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />By the time I got to 6th grade I was sick of people only complementing me when my hair was up. I never really did anything with my hair when it was down, so I decided (with youthful wisdom) to cut my hair short - very short. I don't have a scanned photo, but I pretty much looked like a 12 year boy from 6th grade until I graduated from high school!<br />I kept my hair like this all through middle school, high school, and most of college. Every once-in-awhile I would grow my hair out, but I always ended up going short again.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXz1vtxNTAI/AAAAAAAAAWc/0OV5rpVCbfs/s1600-h/me_bigsmile.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295377461969505282" style="WIDTH: 160px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXz1vtxNTAI/AAAAAAAAAWc/0OV5rpVCbfs/s200/me_bigsmile.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000099;">The picture above is of me (February 2006) just a few months before meeting my husband.</span><br />When I met my husband in 2006 my hair was short, but as soon as a wedding was in our future I decided to grow my hair out again. I always pictured myself getting married with long curly hair. So, I grew my hair out longer than it has ever been. The funny thing is I ended up wearing it up for the wedding anyway!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1dd_wY21A3yhCixmTtPNqgkSMzgTIR57iqgqVWprTaK9I8CeaY1rJ_0YFzAwA-Dhhr7DrmdFgaO9JdmxL5Knw45qelDyc-u6LjvhuU-qkWsJlRnwAVy_28RjVeAwgW36WpyH2K-zMVyEl/s1600-h/RDhaircloseup.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295381025496150978" style="WIDTH: 147px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1dd_wY21A3yhCixmTtPNqgkSMzgTIR57iqgqVWprTaK9I8CeaY1rJ_0YFzAwA-Dhhr7DrmdFgaO9JdmxL5Knw45qelDyc-u6LjvhuU-qkWsJlRnwAVy_28RjVeAwgW36WpyH2K-zMVyEl/s200/RDhaircloseup.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdAZ-y2OXahoj3yNVHLehlkfNWBVXD_r-xMOQSZ8f5NKNAPj5ELjdOmOuPgjLTBMqcn4pMkuVO357oUZR9FkQCMczHhPm1uy9DA6ejtOnEu4AfcZ9MnaBGmY4p0-xF0sxo1S4y9PyfF0c/s1600-h/IMG_3778_2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295381863504459362" style="WIDTH: 167px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdAZ-y2OXahoj3yNVHLehlkfNWBVXD_r-xMOQSZ8f5NKNAPj5ELjdOmOuPgjLTBMqcn4pMkuVO357oUZR9FkQCMczHhPm1uy9DA6ejtOnEu4AfcZ9MnaBGmY4p0-xF0sxo1S4y9PyfF0c/s200/IMG_3778_2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Pictured Left: Me with my curls at the rehearsal</span><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Pictured Right: My wedding day up-do<br /></span><br />So, now we have have been married for just over 5 months (and I haven't had my hair cut since before the wedding); the other night my husband tells me that he likes my hair better short. Wow! <span style="color:#ff0000;">I've been told all my life that men prefer long hair.</span> My mom, my friends, and even my mother-in-law have all told me that men like long hair. So, I asked around and it seems to me that <span style="color:#663366;"><span style="color:#009900;">a man wants his wife to keep her hair the way it was when he first met her; they want it the way it was when they fell in love!</span> </span>So, short, long, straight, wavy, red, brown, whatever - your man does have a preference that is specific to you!<br /><span style="color:#000099;">Before the chop (1/24/09):<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRav0tBJG0eWYafOzn-KPhcCzHx3yhyphenhyphencZPbUjBIB4pyj8lfu3bIHv6zsb-7aTFao_smrMUD8jmNl4XTdbph3PtNz1krNqMGn8vUhR_4YPjXQrOmaAHVE6ZZ_WPatqAQC5sIHpWP6DWwr0/s1600-h/goingshort09_20090124_01.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295382566487437506" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRav0tBJG0eWYafOzn-KPhcCzHx3yhyphenhyphencZPbUjBIB4pyj8lfu3bIHv6zsb-7aTFao_smrMUD8jmNl4XTdbph3PtNz1krNqMGn8vUhR_4YPjXQrOmaAHVE6ZZ_WPatqAQC5sIHpWP6DWwr0/s200/goingshort09_20090124_01.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXz611Xhh6I/AAAAAAAAAW8/hMnDTQQzJYA/s1600-h/goingshort09_20090124_02.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295383064646616994" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXz611Xhh6I/AAAAAAAAAW8/hMnDTQQzJYA/s200/goingshort09_20090124_02.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000099;">After the chop (1/24/09):<br /></span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXz7fwWuiMI/AAAAAAAAAXE/q1D_gEhg5F0/s1600-h/goingshort09_20090124_06.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295383784855603394" style="WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXz7fwWuiMI/AAAAAAAAAXE/q1D_gEhg5F0/s320/goingshort09_20090124_06.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZT_MRvTxU2wP4OiHQCxUpuv7gCrMnTO9fxI_XHHa3N3Snk9CPxgq5VW5RV4p3L0gbB0NP_qDSD9M7QZZffzgXqI449Jr9i58ER3I0j-MIECxfxXsDFpPrimHsp0TchuWwFMMPnLdY4aa/s1600-h/goingshort09_20090124_07.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295384263161020690" style="WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZT_MRvTxU2wP4OiHQCxUpuv7gCrMnTO9fxI_XHHa3N3Snk9CPxgq5VW5RV4p3L0gbB0NP_qDSD9M7QZZffzgXqI449Jr9i58ER3I0j-MIECxfxXsDFpPrimHsp0TchuWwFMMPnLdY4aa/s320/goingshort09_20090124_07.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />So, I did it - "the post wedding chop". My husband loves it and I love it! It is short, fun, sassy, and a little funky. I can wear it simple and sleek for work, or wild and sassy for a night out. Now I just have to decide if I want to color it or add highlights!<br /><br />~CaliocCaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-90156884893062003752009-01-20T18:05:00.000-08:002009-01-20T18:54:52.272-08:00Chocolate Cake Challenge<div><div><div>Jenna aka <a href="http://thatwife.wordpress.com/">That Wife</a>, posted a January food challege for <a href="http://thatwife.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/january-food-challenge-chocolate-cake/">chocolate cake</a> and I just had to do it. Some of you may be thinking that making chocolate cake isn't that big of a deal, but the challenge wasn't to make your best Duncan Hines, it was for good old fashioned home made chocolate cake. My life now is much different than how I was raised, and when I saw Jenna's post it brought me back to my childhood. Actually, I think that just about every time I read her blog I am brought back in time. I was raised in a very close knit LDS family; a family that sat down to a home cooked meal for dinner every night, where mom didn't work and packed our lunches each morning before school, and one where the sweets were always home baked and never store bought. And though I am no longer LDS, I do still hold on strongly to those family values. Now that I am married and we are talking about starting a family, the need to bring back those family values is even stronger. My first step towards this -- making my favorite chocolate cake from when I was a kid. Just so you know, I have never made a cake from scratch before and I have never made frosting either, so this was truly a challenge. I never knew the name of it, I just knew it was always wonderfully moist. So, I called my mom and asked her if she still had the recipe, which she didn't but she said she would find it for me. Then, a few hours later there it was, a link in my mailbox for <a href="http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/chocolate_mayo_cake.asp">Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake</a>! Yes, you read it right --Mayonnaise Cake! I called my mom to make sure it was the right recipe, or if maybe I was reading it wrong, but it was right. She simply asked me, "how do you make mayonnaise?", my answer, "ummm, I think it has eggs and oil in it", and then my mom said, "aren't there eggs and oil in cake?" So that was it, yes the best chocolate cake I've ever had is made with Mayonnaise. Since I've linked the recipe I won't go into details, so here are a few pictures to enjoy.<br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdQJDcaEXTBffqpJDGPfVnmISmvdDxX0x6w-uWKEbjDCYRuMRQmmxJFPlpliAy7Ggrb8jTMuaUeFxMincU2WuC02ibvh_QaVqlJSX2at2_Jqdr9rd3V5p9WgSZRBZ8kEkmLU_3Ri77u1a/s1600-h/firstHMcake_20090118_03.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293568108044732546" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdQJDcaEXTBffqpJDGPfVnmISmvdDxX0x6w-uWKEbjDCYRuMRQmmxJFPlpliAy7Ggrb8jTMuaUeFxMincU2WuC02ibvh_QaVqlJSX2at2_Jqdr9rd3V5p9WgSZRBZ8kEkmLU_3Ri77u1a/s200/firstHMcake_20090118_03.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXaIZGbl6HI/AAAAAAAAAVY/5hTyyFQHh14/s1600-h/firstHMcake_20090118_04.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293568376825047154" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXaIZGbl6HI/AAAAAAAAAVY/5hTyyFQHh14/s200/firstHMcake_20090118_04.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXaM3EKyq4I/AAAAAAAAAV4/mN6cKxeqmCM/s1600-h/firstHMcake_20090118_05.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293573289660296066" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXaM3EKyq4I/AAAAAAAAAV4/mN6cKxeqmCM/s200/firstHMcake_20090118_05.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>The two layers of the cake put together with frosting before the icing (I used an 8" pan instead of a 9", which gave it a little more height).</div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXaIt81k9OI/AAAAAAAAAVg/eSQZevozkJ4/s1600-h/firstHMcake_20090118_11.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293568735026935010" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXaIt81k9OI/AAAAAAAAAVg/eSQZevozkJ4/s200/firstHMcake_20090118_11.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXaMNi8TtuI/AAAAAAAAAVw/NpC14SVkYe4/s1600-h/G_84_bday_20090118_06.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293572576366540514" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXaMNi8TtuI/AAAAAAAAAVw/NpC14SVkYe4/s200/G_84_bday_20090118_06.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>I grated a Hershey's bar over the top to finish it off and, since I don't have a cake plate, I covered cardboard with tinfoil.</div><div><br />No matter how much my husband and I love chocolate cake, I wasn't about to have an entire cake sitting in my house tempting us all weekend. So, I brought it to grandpa's 84th birthday party at BJ's. I love grandpa, he is actually my husband's grandpa, but since I never had one (my mom's dad died when she was 18, and my dad's dad died when my dad was 14) I have adopted him as my own!</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293570560238717506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SXaKYMR-ikI/AAAAAAAAAVo/kTneMZ9-IBA/s200/G_84_bday_20090118_02.JPG" border="0" /> Everyone loved the cake, but to be honest, I didn't tell them it was made with mayonnaise until after they ate it. My husband's family are all very picky eaters and had I told them before they ate it that it had mayonnaise in it the only one that would have taken a bite was Grandpa. So, after they all raved about it, I dropped the mayonnaise bomb - which led to a 20 minute discusion on what is in mayonnaise and why does it taste sour when the cake doesn't taste sour... anyway, they loved it and that's all that matters.</div><div> </div><div>~ Calioc</div></div></div></div>CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-25537549058674487962009-01-12T22:32:00.000-08:002009-01-13T22:17:32.476-08:00Learning how to communicate all over again!I hate fighting with Mr. Calioc, but sometimes it is just unavoidable. We've said things to eachother that I would never repeat to anyone, yet somehow we manage to forgive eachother and move on. I think this is one of the differences that marriage has made for us; we recover from fights much quicker and with more understanding. There are certian topics that seem to trigger arguments, but the interesting thing is that each time the fights get shorter, quieter, and smaller. Topics that we argue about:<br /><br /><ul><br /><li>Housework</li><br /><li>My Masters Program</li><br /><li>Moving (when, where)</li><br /><li>Babysitting (and no, we don't have kids yet)</li><br /><li>Sex</li></ul><br /><p>I've learned that we oftentimes push eachothers buttons when we fight instead of doing what we know will end the fight. I believe this is common for married couples; you hurt the ones you love. There are a few things I know I need to work on to avoid making arguments bigger than they need to be: stay calm and not yell, don't walk out of the room or house, give him his space when he needs it, and hug him when I feel like crying. </p><p>Our most recent fight was about moving. At the moment I commute about 45 minutes to work and Mr. Calioc drives about 5 minutes to work. I found a house that is closer to my work by about 15 minutes, but it would add about 15 or 20 minutes to my husbands drive. This would put me at about 30 min and him at about 20 min. So, the argument was (this is the abridged version) that he felt that because he knows he will be staying at his job forever we should buy a house that allows him not to commute and that since I will most likely be making more money than him down the road I should be the one to commute.<br />To give you a little insight into this argument (which has now been resolved) here are the emails between me and his mom:</p><p>MIL: <span style="color:#3333ff;">Yes, I know how Mr. Calioc feels about commuting. When he got the job in Irvine, he went out and bought a place in Irvine. I did mapquest it and it was 40 minutes from us. Not too bad, but a little far for daycare if that is in the future for us. For us the closer the better, but where ever it turns out that you two live it is most important that you are happy. I really wish a super buy would come up in Irvine, it is such a wonderful place. Even before Mr. Calioc bought there when we would drive through it I admired it, so open and clean.<br />Have you looked at anything close to Edinger and Jamboree? When we took the dogs over there, there seemed to be a lot of building going on and it looked nice.</span></p><p>Me: <span style="color:#993399;"> Mr. Calioc wants to look further down the 5 fwy by the Irvine Spectrum in Laguna Nigel and Portola. So instead of commuting 45 minutes to an hour to work, I would be commuting 1hr 20 minutes to 1hr 40 minutes to work, but he wouldnʼt really have a commute. I really donʼt see how that is fair. But, oh well.</span> </p><p>MIL: <span style="color:#3333ff;">Hopefully, when the job market is better for teachers you can transfer into Irvine, providing you want to. That way you both will be close. After you have kids you probably won't want to commute at all. You will want spend as much time as possible with a little one.<br />Too, I think commuting is a stressful thing for Mr. Calioc, that is why he bought so close to his job. He could have spent way less and had a little commute, so it must be have been that important to him. This is probably the only way you can understand his viewpoint.</span></p><p><span style="color:#3333ff;"><span style="color:#000000;">Me: </span><span style="color:#993399;">As for the house, we talked about it more and it looks like his issue is with value vs. commute. Meaning, that if we get a great deal on a house, then he is willing to drive a little further to work. Anaheim Hills is actually a little more expensive than Lake Forest, Portola, etc… So areas that in his mind are “out of our range” would be Irvine, Tustin Ranch, Anaheim Hills, Orange Hills, Yorba Linda – even though they are all good places to live we won’t have much luck finding houses in “our range”. So, the areas he is willing to look at are ones that would give us the most value for our dollar – in South County that would be Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, and Portola, outside of South County that would be south/west Corona. I told him that I don’t mind South County as long as we are close to the 5 fwy, and I don’t mind Corona as long as it is in a nicer gated community with close access to the 241 toll road and the 91. <br />We still aren’t ready to do this until May, but he is super excited because the rates just dropped again.</span> </span></p><p><span style="color:#3333ff;"> </span><br />Okay, so if you actually read all of that then you noticed that babysitting was brought up and that his mom (and Mr. Calioc) thinks I should change jobs to keep his commute shorter! So, tonight when I came home from work Mr. Calioc was on the phone with his mom talking about houses, and sure enough she felt that we were moving too far away from the family. She wants to be our babysitter. My husband knows that is not what I want; I mean, I don't mind family babysitting sometimes, but not regularly during the week. I want grandparents to be grandparents. His family lives in Huntington Beach and mine lives in Temecula, so really Corona would be right between them. </p><p>Okay, I'm afraid I'm starting to ramble. I am sure this is going to come up again (and again). Oh yeah, the particular house we were fighting about is in Anaheim Hills, and as of yesterday is now off the market. </p><p>~Calioc<br /></p>CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-91935431702281564192009-01-04T18:08:00.000-08:002009-01-11T08:43:45.694-08:00I know it's not Martha Stewart but...We are going to be published! Okay, so it is only the <a href="http://dailybruin.ucla.edu/">Daily Bruin</a>, but it's something isn't it? We were married at the <a href="http://facultycenter.ucla.edu/weddings.htm">UCLA Faculty Center</a> and the Daily Bruin is doing a news article on weddings held there, so they contacted us for an interview and photos. So, for anyone planning on getting married in LA, here is a review for you! We did the interview via email (boy have times changed), so here is the copy:<br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="color:#000000;">When did your wedding take place?</span> </span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="color:#330099;">Our wedding was on 08.09.08 in the evening around 5 pm<br /><span style="color:#000000;">Why did you choose the Faculty Center for your wedding?</span> We wanted an outdoor venue that was affordable and that reflected our love of teaching. My husband is a UCLA alumnus, so it ended up being the perfect venue. We also wanted great pictures, and the campus is beautiful. I had eaten in the faculty center for the Los Angeles Times book awards and was very impressed with the food and the location, so I figured it would be worth checking out</span>.<br /><span style="color:#000000;">What did you like about the venue?</span> </span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="color:#330099;">It is all inclusive, the ceremony and reception in one place. The food and service were wonderful, our guests are still raving about the cocktail hour and the service. The Viennese sweet table was to die for! Ali (the manager) made it a very easy experience and he understood my vision.<br /></span><span style="color:#000000;">How many people attended the ceremony?</span> </span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="color:#330099;">122 guests were there for the ceremony and reception.<br /></span><span style="color:#000000;">What do you think you will remember most about the ceremony and your experience with the faculty center?</span> </span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="color:#330099;">Honestly, right after the ceremony Ali (the manager at the faculty center) whisked Daryl and I away into a private room with our own hors d’oeuvres and a bottle of champagne. We were only there for about 15 minutes, but it was the best 15 minutes of the night – we got to spend time with each other as a married couple for the first time before running off to take pictures at Royce Hall. Also, the hors d’oeuvres were amazing!<br />Overall we will remember the intimate setting with all of the wonderful landmarks of UCLA – our pictures turned out amazing because of the beauty of the campus.<br /></span><span style="color:#000000;">And finally, how are you connected to UCLA?</span> </span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="color:#330099;">My husband graduated from UCLA in 1997 with a degree in political science and I have attended the book festival there almost every year.<br /></span><span style="color:#000000;"><br />Any other information you would like to include about your wedding would be welcome</span>. </span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="color:#330099;">We had our rehearsal dinner the night before at the UCLA Faculty Center, 08.08.08, which was also a surprise party for my Grandma who turned 90 on that day.<br /></span><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">I love reliving my wedding day! I'm sure everyone else is sick of it, but I will love it forever.</span><br /><br /><br /><br />~CaliocCaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-21662947337590068382009-01-04T16:30:00.000-08:002009-01-07T20:08:14.286-08:00Real InspirationThis post was inspired by a blog that I read regularly <a href="http://www.4thelackofmoney.blogspot.com/">"For the Lack of Money"</a> - Lady T has been a blogging inspiration to me; she always comes up with cute and functional ideas that seem to fit what I've been looking for.<br /><br />If you read, or have read, my blog from the beginning then you know that I've posted many photos that were my inspiration. I've never found that one perfect inspiration board, so I just pieced together pictures to create inspiration. I posted in March about my <a href="http://calioc.blogspot.com/2008/03/flower-inspiration-centerpeices.html">inspiration for centerpieces and flowers</a>, I have a folder on my computer full of nothing but inspiration photos, and I have a collage I made from magazine cut outs.<br />So, now, following in the footsteps of many brides before me, here are the inspiration boards I made of my own wedding. If I hade found these before my wedding it would have made my planning much easier! I used a program from <a href="http://www.bighugelabs.com/">http://www.bighugelabs.com/</a> (which I found on Lady T's website). Click on any image to enlarge.<br /><br />Inspiration board #1: Daisy Love<br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287603782233853474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SWFXoAEPjiI/AAAAAAAAAVA/0bOafXGUM-g/s320/3x3mosaic.jpg" border="0" />Inspiration board #2: Wedding Bliss</p><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287604605982957010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SWFYX8xVXdI/AAAAAAAAAVI/1D9GnlhTQsM/s320/weddingmosaic.jpg" border="0" />The 2nd picture on the bottom row of this board reminds me that I never posted about making my veil. I'll try to do that soon. </p><p>It is amazing how something that is pictured in your mind turns out perfectly in the end. Each bride has her own vison, and it doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, when a bride sets her mind to it she can make that vision a reality.</p><br /><p>~ Calioc</p>CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-85204691602028903192009-01-03T15:13:00.000-08:002009-01-03T15:18:53.135-08:00Ceremony and VowsA very special friend of mine, known as The Rev, offered to do our ceremony for us. This was one of the best wedding decisions I made. He is a fellow teacher. I believed strongly that I wanted a ceremony that focused on the history of love and one that contained elements of teaching. More of a "lesson on love" than a sermon on love. Mr. Calioc and I decided to put our trust and faith in The Rev and gave him only a few simple guidelines when it came to what we wanted in the ceremony. We let him write it without showing it to us. We heard it for the first time during our ceremony, and it was more than I could have ever hoped for.<br /><br /><a href="http://caliocweddingvows.blogspot.com/">If you are interested in reading the ceremony please click on on this link.</a><br /><br />~ CaliocCaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-34896193009977282522008-12-31T11:42:00.000-08:002009-01-04T22:14:32.468-08:00The Knot, The Nest, The Egg...I'm sure there are many couples out there that get married and don't have to listen to their families bug them about kids constantly. We are NOT one of those couples. I'm 35 and Mr. Calioc is 33, so according to our families we need to start now. I want to enjoy at least one year of marriage without pregnancy; seriously, we were only together for 2 1/2 years before getting married. At first it was a fairly constant struggle trying to explain my pov; my husband didn't care either way -- we could start now or wait a year. But, both of our families kept bugging us to start now, until...<br /><br />We live in a nice, but very small, condo in Irvine with a downstairs neighbor that smokes. Every time I walk up the steps I smell his smoke, every time he does laundry I smell his smoke, and whenever we run the AC I smell his smoke. Mr. Calioc smells it too, and so does our cat.<br /><br />So, Mr. Calioc did some research on pregnancy and 2nd hand smoke; he also did research on ways to prevent the smoke from getting into our condo. Here is what he learned:<br /><ul><li>Legally, there is nothing we can do because we live in condos and not apartments.</li><li>We can replace our filter, but that will only make it smell better, it doesn't actually remove any of the harmful smoke.</li><li>We can buy an "air purification" system, but it is generally believed by "experts" that these purifications systems only make the air smell better and only get rid of larger particles that cause allergies, but not small smoke particles.</li><br /><li>I am technically a "high risk" pregnancy because of my age, and therefore I need to be more careful (though I am very healthy, so age is not so much an issue).</li><br /><li>Second hand smoke can directly effect the fetus and has been linked to birth defects and low birth weight.</li></ul><p>So, what do we do? We move! Yes, we have pushed up our timeline to buy a house. The plan is to start looking this May so we can buy before the end of summer. I can go off the pill as soon as we go into escrow, or maybe even sooner. I (knock on wood) don't expect to get prego right away (I was a runner for many years with lots of low weight related female issues), so we need some time to try. Our "ideal" time to get prego is August because I am a teacher and it would be great to take my leave during the end of the school year and have all summer to get used to being a mommy. </p><p> Okay, sorry so long. This is a topic that will come up again!</p><br /><br /><p>~ Calioc</p>CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-18054939419111080362008-12-31T11:28:00.000-08:002008-12-31T11:38:09.514-08:00New Year's ResolutionsThis is a personal thing I am doing, but I'd love to see what other newlyweds are planning for their resolution(s). I know that "experts" say it is better to have one resolution to focus on, but I'm not going to listen to their advice. I've been successful at resolutions in the past; my secret? Writing them down on post-it notes and sticking the notes on my bathroom mirror so I have to stare at it every morning. If you do it for 21 days it can become a habit. Good luck to all that are making resolutions this year; now here are mine.<br /><br />1. I am going to start running/jogging again. My initial goal is twice a week, and hopefully I can increase that over time.<br />2. I'm giving up all food and drinks in which I do not understand the ingredients -- if I can't make it, I won't eat/drink it.<br /><br />The rest of these are more goals than they are resolutions, and some of them I set well before the new year came upon us, but I thought it might do me some good to write them down as well.<br /><br />3. We are going to buy house by the end of summer.<br />4. We are going to start (trying for) a family as soon as that house is in escrow.<br />5. I am going to finish my master's program and project (even if it kills me!)<br />6. I am going to update my blog on a regular basis.<br /><br />Okay, that's it for now. I'm sure I will think of more later and add them. So, what's your new years resolution(s)?<br /><br />~ CaliocCaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-10830975264939398172008-12-06T17:11:00.001-08:002008-12-06T17:16:40.340-08:00Happy happy, joy joy!I am done with this semester of my master's program. I turned in the first 3 chapters of my master's project, and I am still alive! Thank you to everyone that encouraged me when I was depressed and convinced I would never finish. I only have 2 semesters left and the hardest part is done!!!!! <br />I should have more time to blog now, unless the holidays take over. I will say that I'm very happy that Christmas shopping will be easy this year -- wedding pics for everyone! I'm in love with mpix.com -- way better than shutterfly, photoworks, or mypublisher! I made the mistake of ordering albums for our parents using mypublisher and we are very disappointed in the quality. We used them instead of mpix to save money, but I really don't think it was worth it. <br />Professional quality prints at mpix start at 19cents each and 5x7's are 99cents each. Well worth it!<br /><br />bye for now!CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-30067240408850530152008-11-15T17:30:00.000-08:002008-11-15T17:40:41.589-08:00Makes me sad...My husband sent this video to me. We are both teaching compassion in our classes this week. I used the news video to help get my students on the emotional level needed to write about compassion. Thought I'd share it with you.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/11/13/waugh.ga.cat.used.as.football.wjxt">Click here to view the CNN News Video of Polly the Kitten</a>.<br /><br />It makes you wonder about some people. Why? Many of my students related it to the symbolisim of the mockingbird in <em>To Kill a Mockingbird</em>.CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-10665083927609419862008-11-12T21:19:00.000-08:002008-11-12T21:36:02.459-08:00Is this depression?I'm not exactly sure how to go about writing this, so I'm just going to write. I think I'm depressed. Well, maybe depressed is too strong of a word. I have nothing to be depressed about. I am happily married, I have a great job that (so far) has not been affected by the economy, and I now have two families that love me.<br /><br />Yet, my usually energetic, take on the world, I can do anything attitude is failing me. I'm tired all the time, I've cancelled on two parties this month, and I spent my 4 day weekend doing nothing. This is not like me. Ugh. I know that some of it may stem from the dislike of my master's program that seems to be growing; but that can't be all of it.<br /><br />Have you ever felt like this? I feel like I am always the most responsible person -- the one that gets things done, the one everyone trusts; but I don't want to be that person right now. I want it to be okay for me to flake, for me to crawl into bed and let everything fall apart without feeling guilty. But I can't.<br /><br />I talked to my mom about it a little, but my issues always seem so trivial after talking to her. She always mentions my brother... now that could be its very own blog. My brother.<br /><br />My brother was diagnosed with <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/schizoaffective-disorder/DS00866">schizoaffective disorder</a> when he was 22 years old; he is now 33. He is currently living in a <a href="http://www.nmha.org/index.cfm?objectid=C7DF9405-1372-4D20-C89D7BD2CD1CA1B9">dual diagnosis</a> group home and is attending outpaitent care 5 days a week. He's trying to get a job at Starbuck's and interviews this week. They agreed to interview him knowing that he has a felony on his record and lives in a group home -- kudos to them.<br /><br />I really don't know where this post is going. I think I just needed to write without a set purpose. I cancelled my personal training appointment tonight and I've already decided not to go to my master's classes tomorrow night. On Sunday I'm going to my parent's house. I'm hoping that makes me feel better. Ugh. Bleh. Thanks for reading, sorry for not being my usually happy self.<br /><br />CaliocCaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-79749578049435387102008-11-10T22:22:00.001-08:002008-11-11T10:54:08.154-08:00I can't believe I'm done!Yes... I actually finished writing all of my thank you's! It only took me 3 months :-)<br /><br />It felt so good writing that last note; like a huge weight is off of my shoulders. Now, I need to start working on Christmas cards. Yup, we are going to use a wedding picture for the Christmas card. I also need to start working on creating our wedding album. I think we are going to use mpix.com to create the album. I have a friend who is a pro photographer that is going to help me design it. We purchased a digital only package from our wedding photographer, so I have to purchase any albums or pics separatly. Which, by the way, is great because it turns out that I don't like our photographer! I did some VERY TASTEFUL <a href="http://www.carolinetran.net/">boudoir photos</a> for my husband's wedding present, and I really wish I had used her as my wedding photographer, but I had already signed a contract with the guy that did our engagement photos. C'est la vie.<br /><br />I am going to try to update more regularly -- all of the mundane and crazy details of married life. If anyone ever has any ideas about what you want to know or hear about - just post a comment! Now that I've joined the married club I am sure I will have a different audience, or maybe those of us that have been following eachothers wedding blogs will continue to follow our married blogs.<br /><br />The dress dilemma is still on... I'll keep ya updated.<br /><br />Bye for now, CaliocCaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-19771925154652807272008-11-10T08:52:00.000-08:002008-11-11T21:46:50.095-08:00What to do with the dress?First off, my dress has no garment bag -- it is just hanging in my closet like any other dress. The no garmet bag thing is a <a href="http://calioc.blogspot.com/2008/08/weve-been-married-for-21-days-now-weve.html">fairly long story </a>that I wrote about earlier. I have two major stains on my dress: 1) the train and bottom of the dress is pretty much grey and black from dragging on the floor 2) I did spray tanning before the wedding, so some of it rubbed off on the dress -- mostly on the inside of the dress, but a little at the armpits.<br /><br />So, the issue is -- what to do with the dress? The dress with alterations and tax ran me about $750.00. It will cost me about $200 to get it properly cleaned. According to Weddingbee, one of the best places for dress cleaning is <a href="http://www.wedclean.com/index.php">Wed Clean</a>. I've called around, and their prices are within range of everyone else.<br /><br />If I keep the dress, I need to get it cleaned. If I <a href="http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com/">sell the dress</a>, I need to get it cleaned. Places like the Goodwill won't take the donation unless the dress is cleaned. Most places that sell dresses online charge a posting fee (about $25.00).<br /><br />I could keep it and not clean it -- but why? I could just throw it away -- but OUCH! I mean, I've never paid this kind of money for a dress before and it just seems wrong to throw it out.<br /><br />What should I do? I'm very conflicted by this. If I had an overwhealming feeling to keep the dress for sentiment or possibly my daughter, then this wouldn't really be an issue. But I don't feel that way, but I also don't feel like I should just get rid of it either.<br /><br />Advice?CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-22192273775102744762008-10-19T09:41:00.000-07:002008-10-19T09:54:30.965-07:00happily ever afterHello everyone in blog land! I've been MIA with work and worrying about life, so I haven't had much of a chance to even read the blogs let alone update my own. It has been over two months now and people keep asking me if I feel different now that I'm married. The answer is no. I feel exactly the same. Maybe it is because we lived together for over a year before saying "I do", but there isn't this big "OMG we're married" -- it just feels normal; right; the way it is supposed to be. There were a few big moments:<br /><ul><li>Opening our joint checking account and putting eachothers names on things</li><li>Getting my new SS card and Driver's License</li><li>Preparing to buy a house together</li></ul><p>And... now everyone is talking about kids. I'm 35 and I'm not getting any younger (so they tell me). We've talked about starting right away, but have decided to wait at least a year before trying. Our parents, actually it is mostly his parents and grandpa, are pushing for us to start sooner. His parents even offered for us to move in with them so we could buy a house sooner and get started sooner! Ugh. Never!! </p><p>I am also in the middle of working on my master's degree, which isn't really going very well. Because of all the wedding stress over the summer I ended up getting an incomplete in one of my classes, and I have until December to complete the last paper and get it turned in. I'm also having a hell of a time with my master's project. I just can't get into it. Whatever had me motivated to start my master's in the beginning is no longer there. </p><p>I've sent out one wave of thank you cards (For gifts we recieved prior to the wedding itself), but the rest are sitting in my living room staring me down. I thought I would be all excited about writing them, but honestly now it feels more like a chore. I'd rather do the dishes than write thank you's. Isn't that horrible???</p><p>Okay, so if anyone is reading this, what should I post about next? I'm pretty sure I never finished my wedding day story, or should I post about the honeymoon? What do you want to read??? </p>CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-85767750131054357302008-09-12T21:10:00.000-07:002008-09-12T22:10:03.463-07:00The Wedding Day<div><div><div><div>I'll be honest with you, my wedding day memory isn't as crystal clear as my wedding pictures. Everything happened so fast; like the entire day was on fast forward. In the morning I had my cup of tea as we waited for Dionna (the make-up and hair artist) to arrive. It was not as stressful as I had expected in the morning because we planned our time out really well; Dionna was scheduled to arrive at 7am and we needed to be at the UCLA Faculty Center at 2:00 pm (the W is only 1 block away from the UCLA Faculty Center). We all got are hair and make-up done on time; include my mom and mother-in-law. I also finished making me veil (I will save the details on this for another post)!</div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFVz1Ywr2IZOjXexknCVLVnwIgIUFQ7GHECi3xxVXlGFtvgg0sKbKeD_3UcA4xsinzMrrM-GrUCh7chSQJnUpGpGHZIPwPERf0Jq2KotUhEu0m5AO-IP2RLk0aG-6R-Fhx_OYh4UnUsRG/s1600-h/IMG_8862.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245365465563385698" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFVz1Ywr2IZOjXexknCVLVnwIgIUFQ7GHECi3xxVXlGFtvgg0sKbKeD_3UcA4xsinzMrrM-GrUCh7chSQJnUpGpGHZIPwPERf0Jq2KotUhEu0m5AO-IP2RLk0aG-6R-Fhx_OYh4UnUsRG/s200/IMG_8862.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div><br /> </div><div>**</div><div>The only issue that I know of (remember, my wedding day coordinator Elaine dealt with all of the real issues that day) was that my photographer seemed to just not listen to me the whole day. First, he didn't set up the pre-wedding pictures in the location we had discussed. Elaine had to argue with him until he finally moved to the original location, but once he was there he didn't use it the way we had discussed. I'm still a little upset about this. Overall the pre-wedding pics turned out nice, but we should not have had to argue with him about it. The other issue with the photographer was at the end of the night. I only paid for him to be there until 9:15pm, but instead of just leaving at that time he decided to try to talk me into paying him more to stay later. Even after I told him to leave, he kept bugging me -- mind you at this point I'm not in the mood to make decisions. Elaine talked to him, and he decided to stay without the extra pay. Weird. The reason why I didn't really care is because one of my friends, Carolyn Love, is an amature photographer and she had her cameras there. Carolyn took all of the "getting ready" pics. Either way, it all ended up working out. I will admit that I do love most of my posed photos, but I am not super happy with my candids. </div><div>**</div><div> </div><div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SMtIn_BnSHI/AAAAAAAAARg/_CAhqSImnRM/s1600-h/IMG_8992.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245366042773375090" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SMtIn_BnSHI/AAAAAAAAARg/_CAhqSImnRM/s320/IMG_8992.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SMtJkUBCYaI/AAAAAAAAARo/9v-tet-dAR4/s1600-h/IMG_8921.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245367079200252322" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SMtJkUBCYaI/AAAAAAAAARo/9v-tet-dAR4/s320/IMG_8921.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div>Once we got to the faculty center, the girls all got dressed. It was actually a lot of fun! My friend Carolyn Love took pictures of us getting ready. Once we were all ready we took our wedding party pictures and some family pictures. We also did a staged photo of Daryl and I seeing eachother for the first time. That was actually kind of fun. I hid behind a tree while the photographer posed Daryl, and then I snuck up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. </div><div><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SMtKFV83TvI/AAAAAAAAARw/5yrZDUOYEF0/s1600-h/188.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245367646655303410" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SMtKFV83TvI/AAAAAAAAARw/5yrZDUOYEF0/s320/188.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SMtKXM_8OsI/AAAAAAAAAR4/5iQDj9J_-Zo/s1600-h/190.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245367953489935042" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SMtKXM_8OsI/AAAAAAAAAR4/5iQDj9J_-Zo/s320/190.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div>Then there was the ceremony, which I must say was amazing. I will write about that later. Goodnight!</div></div></div></div>CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-88484596946771623362008-09-10T22:27:00.000-07:002008-09-10T22:43:45.731-07:00Pro Wedding Pics are Here!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SMiwBKxrgAI/AAAAAAAAARA/o6XBkPMXNrs/s1600-h/058.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244635300192026626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SMiwBKxrgAI/AAAAAAAAARA/o6XBkPMXNrs/s320/058.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I know it has been awhile since my last post. I've been crazy busy with work and school. I got my professional wedding pics over the weekend! There are almost 400 of them, so I picked some of my favorites and posted them on a wedding pictures site. If you are interested in seeing our wedding and honeymoon pics go to <a href="http://singhiphotos.shutterfly.com/">http://singhiphotos.shutterfly.com/</a> The tabs to go between the different sets of pictures is at the top. To view an entire album, simply double click on any picture in the album.<br /><br />Enjoy!</div>CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150067053622770955.post-15504011334786120612008-08-30T10:46:00.000-07:002008-09-01T11:16:14.680-07:00Excitement the Day BeforeWe've been married for 21 days now; we've been back from our honeymoon for two weeks, and today is the first chance I've had to write a post! I'm going to write several posts on the wedding and honeymoon so I can break it up a bit. I'm going to write about the good and the bad -- so for those of you who want to keep your rose colored wedding glasses on, I will warn you before I post the bad side by putting that section in between ** symbols.<br /><br />Overall: the wedding and reception were absoloutly amazing -- beyond anything I had imagined while planning. The honeymoon was perfect -- I am so glad we decided to do an all inclusive. I highly recommend the <a href="http://facultycenter.ucla.edu/eventhosting.htm">UCLA Faculty center</a> for weddings and receptions and I also highly recommend going to <a href="http://www.sandals.com/main/ochorios/or-amenities.cfm">Sandals Ocho Rios</a> for your honeymoon!<br /><br /><span style="color:#ffcc00;">Day 1: Settling in and the Rehearsal</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">UCLA is just far enough away from the OC that we had to get a hotel room the night before the wedding. My bridesmaids and I decided to get a 2 bedroom suite at the W rather than getting separate rooms. The plan was to check into the W in Westwood at 2:00pm (the check in time we were given when I made the reservation), go up to the room, unpack, relax a bit, and then go get our nails done at 3:30. The rehearsal was scheduled for 6:00pm, so this would give us plenty of time to get ready for the rehearsal. </span><br /><br />**<br />So, we arrived at the hotel around 2:30 pm and first there was a problem with my credit card. When I travel I don't carry all of my credit cards with me, so since we were going to Jamaica for the honeymoon I didn't think it was necessary to bring everything in my wallet, so I cleaned it out. I only brought one credit card with me, one with $1000 available on it - just enough to cover our $650 hotel room. So I gave the guy my card when we checked in and he said it was declined. I was shocked, so I asked him how much he was running it for. He told me that they run it for double the expected cost at the end --so he ran it for $1400! I explained to him that when I travel I don't bring my big cards with me, so I only brought one that would cover the cost of the room and a few incidentals. He told me (three of my bm's were with me: Lisa, Meghann, and Nicolle) that I would need to put the $1400 down or I could not have the room. Then he proceeded to tell me that "the large suites are generally reserved for their high end clientel". Seriously, was the insult really necessary? After a bit of arguing with him, and me asking twice to speak to his manager (which he never let me do), I finally gave him my visa check card, so they could take the $1400 out of my checking account while we stayed, and then I could pay the balance on my cc. He threw out a few other insults while he was at it; one about how he has never rented out a suite for only one night, another telling us that we would have to sign a form promising not to "trash" the place or have more than 4 people at a time in the room, and another reminding us that there could be no noise after 10 pm. Seriously, how old did he think we were? I am pretty sure he decided that we were not the "proper clientel" for the W and decided to treat us like trash. After all of that he proceeded to tell us that the room was not ready and that we would have to come back at 4:00! So, we left our stuff with the bell hop and went off to get our nails done.<br />**<br /><br />I love getting mani-pedi's! It was a lot of fun to sit there with my bm's and be pampered and to relax after the bs at the W. We were looking forward to getting to our room and getting ready for the rehearsal. So, we get back to the hotel and get our room keys. The bellhop said he would deliver our bags to the room, so we only carried up what we needed to get ready. We went up to our room, and it was big and beautiful but...<br /><br />**<br />It wasn't the room I had requested. It was a smaller room than the one I had put a deposit on. I specificaly requested the two bedroom suite with a separate sitting room so the make-up artist would have a place to work on the day of the wedding. I was told that would not be a problem since I made my reservation 6 months in advance. At this point I was frustrated and just wanted to get ready for the rehearsal - so Nicolle and I started getting ready. Lisa and Meghann (I had 4 bm's but Kara met us at the hotel later) decided that they would try to take care of the room situation. In the meantime, our bags were delivered -- but 4 of them were missing! This part is really long, so I'm not going to get into the details, but the short of it is that while I'm getting ready my bm's told me that we would be changing room right then and there. So, I threw on a robe and they took me to the new correct room and they took care of making sure all of our luggage got to the new room.<br />So, we continued getting ready in the new room. Then I get a call from Elaine (my day of coordinator) saying that the rehearsal would have to start a little late because the ceremony area was being used. This was good news because we were running late due to the room changes. As we were almost ready to leave, the bellhop brings up 3 of the 4 "lost" bags and then tells us that they can't give us the 4th bag because there are wine bottles in it and they don't allow guests to bring their own alcohol. What? Who are they to look inside our bags? I wasn't the one to deal with this - Lisa got on the phone to deal with it (she is a travel agent and she used her status to get things done!). Eventually they delivered the 4th bag to our room and they told Lisa that they were going to give me a $100 room credit.<br />**<br /><br />Okay.. I need to take a break now. I will finish this post later (8/30/08).<br /><br />Time to continue...(8/31/08)<br />We arrived at the rehearsal around 6:30 and everyone else was already there. Apparently Daryl thought for a just a moment that I had gotten cold feet! Elaine made sure the rehearsal went well and it was actually a lot of fun. My dad was very nervous and had a hard time walking at a slow pace, but eventually he got it.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SLrmhHjc8JI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/TUgzEKK1qZw/s1600-h/IMG_3487.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240754573036810386" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SLrmhHjc8JI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/TUgzEKK1qZw/s320/IMG_3487.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SLrm5t3917I/AAAAAAAAAQY/-1swnAy6-NM/s1600-h/IMG_3521.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240754995640260530" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SLrm5t3917I/AAAAAAAAAQY/-1swnAy6-NM/s320/IMG_3521.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SLrnRIaWzqI/AAAAAAAAAQg/LfQcoM_6034/s1600-h/IMG_3558.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240755397900816034" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SLrnRIaWzqI/AAAAAAAAAQg/LfQcoM_6034/s320/IMG_3558.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SLrniwZMv0I/AAAAAAAAAQo/t2XqIHhT8e4/s1600-h/IMG_3550.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240755700691156802" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SLrniwZMv0I/AAAAAAAAAQo/t2XqIHhT8e4/s320/IMG_3550.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After the rehearsal we did the dinner. It was in the same location as the wedding, but in a different banquet room. They had it decorated beautifully and the food was amazing!<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibCHgxorY1OW73ae3UZomyol37EHjAfEDbVSVD7mmRRiUf_bDsfzTiYZBr3Q6OkxZgZ_aUE5dNupVwkILV5sD56sJaF2quuPZFErYVLrh0JuSWlXYTznxBnsCsCsA1Y1Z2gAk1ncgcSHJr/s1600-h/IMG_3458.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240753955367168274" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibCHgxorY1OW73ae3UZomyol37EHjAfEDbVSVD7mmRRiUf_bDsfzTiYZBr3Q6OkxZgZ_aUE5dNupVwkILV5sD56sJaF2quuPZFErYVLrh0JuSWlXYTznxBnsCsCsA1Y1Z2gAk1ncgcSHJr/s320/IMG_3458.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />I could ramble on about it forever, so I'm just going to give you the highlights. The best thing about it was having all of our family there, because we knew that on the wedding day we would not be able to spend time with them. Daryl's parents had a bottle of Dom that they had been saving for a special occasion, so we broke that out at the rehearsal - it tasted like honey!<br />His mom also made blue and gold cookies shaped like flowers that were used to decorate the center of the tables -- they tasted great.</div><div>The food was excellent, so it was a good precursor to what would happen the next day. For me the biggest highlight of the night was surprising my grandma with a birthday cake and gifts -- it was her 90th birthday on 08.08.08; the night of the rehearsal. She was so happy and shocked! </div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SLrn5S4AcBI/AAAAAAAAAQw/zhuSlc9S9pM/s1600-h/IMG_8852.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240756087904301074" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QYingAV23oA/SLrn5S4AcBI/AAAAAAAAAQw/zhuSlc9S9pM/s320/IMG_8852.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_bZmZaAegFp_edSgC3hPZJEmxu2TRdJg5_x7D__0NXXS_uOYN_T4jC4tAge1lM-yNfKHgvvNLks_uB-6hkjAJ7FM7pBeIFTUrgq1a4SAVQfPj9aRaU1UDxoI6rhbcXB90M16c0LX1h-9/s1600-h/IMG_8847.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240756356729087778" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_bZmZaAegFp_edSgC3hPZJEmxu2TRdJg5_x7D__0NXXS_uOYN_T4jC4tAge1lM-yNfKHgvvNLks_uB-6hkjAJ7FM7pBeIFTUrgq1a4SAVQfPj9aRaU1UDxoI6rhbcXB90M16c0LX1h-9/s320/IMG_8847.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>When the night was over I had a <a href="http://www.carolinetran.net/blog/?p=38">special gift </a>for Daryl that I gave him and told him not to open until he was alone. We had already exchanged our gifts to eachother the day before - I got him a Citizen Eco Watch and he got me diamond earrings. The rehearsal coudn't have been any more perfect than it was.</div><div></div><div>Okay, I will post separately about the wedding and honeymoon. Bye for now!</div><div> </div><div>Update 09.01.08</div><div>**</div><div>So, the girls all go back to the hotel room to have our slumber party. Which would have been perfect except that I noticed that my dress was hanging outside of its garment bag and I decided that I wanted to get everything ready for the next day. At this point we realized that the garment bag was missing! Somehow as everything was being transferred from the other room, the garment bag got lost. Apparently, no one thought to put the dress in the bag before transporting it. I made the mistake of assuming that the hotel had made this mistake and I yelled "how stupid are they carrying a wedding dress 4 floors in an elevator without putting it in the garment bag!" When all of a sudden my moh starts crying -- how was I supposed to know that she was the one that did it? Anyway, this caused some drama, which eventually worked itself out with a long bubble bath, a long talk, and some champagne. In the meantime, the W hotel is still looking for the garment bag which was left in the room (btw -- this was not one of those plastic cheapy garment bags, it was a nice fabric one with a special pocket for the veil). The following morning my wedding coordinator, Elaine, brought me her garment bag to borrow for the day -- we had to transport the dress from the hotel to the wedding site where I would be getting dressed.</div><div>**</div><div> </div><div>Okay -- I will finish this in a new post!</div><div> </div><div> </div></div></div></div></div></div>CaliOChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12325379260523319216noreply@blogger.com5