3 weekends straight of being away from home :(

So Miah and I are going on our 3rd weekend "away from home". This weekend we will be sleeping in our own beds but we will be at a seminar from 9AM till 10PM Friday through Sunday night.  We are attending something called, "The Landmark Forum" aka (to me) group therapy, because Miah's new mentor suggested it and of course he said yes.  I am getting roped in so he doesn't have to go alone!

I wish we could just stay home and do boring stuff like, yard work, have a BBQ or something fun.  Maybe next weekend!

Here are a few shots from our past 2 out of town weekends...
1st we went to Las Vegas for the Scottish Highland Games with our good friend Jacy who competed in the Drum Major competition; this is a picture of Miah playing with the mase.

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

Here's a picture of Jeremiah de-linting Jacy's jacket before his inspection. All the drum majors had to line up and a judge comes by and inspects their attire. It's a pretty tough inspection, Jacy got a point off his score for having a piece of dirt between the leather of his shoe and the sole of his shoe and 1 point off for not having his hat tilted the right amount. Jeremiah and I acted as "drum major MOM" both Saturday and Sunday and got him ready for inspection.  We had to get all the lint off his jacket, straighten his socks, make sure his buttons were lined up, etc, etc, the list went on and on.

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

Here is a picture Jacy and 2 Irish drum majors lined up waiting for inspection.

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

The next weekend we were off to Temecula for Lisa birthday celebration. We hung out, did a little wine tasting, sat in the jacuzzi and ate till our bellys were bursting. Here's a few pics of us playing "Rock Band", I was the drummer and a mighty good one if I do say so myself.

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

Don't I look like a total pro?!?!?!

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

Well, it's off to relax before this 3 day seminar that I am NOT looking forward to. If I come back the member of a cult and try to brainwash you then you know who to blame...

New Camera!!!!

So yesterday I was driving home from an appointment when Jeremiah called and this was the conversation we had...
Miah-"you missed UPS"
Me-"what came?"
Miah-"you don't know what you ordered?"
Me-"I didn't order anything"
Miah-"it's the camera you ordered"
Me-"i didn't order a camera"
Miah-"Yes you did, it came today and it says you ordered it on 4/20/2010"
Me-"I swear I did not order a camera (very confused at this point), I have been researching cameras but I haven't bought one"
Miah-"are you crazy? or are you lying? cause there is a camera here with your name on it"
Me-"well I put a couple cameras in 'online carts' but I don't think I ever pushed purchase" (I am very confused now and thinking in my head that maybe somehow me or the computer accidentally hit purchase without me realizing.  Crazy but these were the thoughts going through my head)
Miah-"are you sure you're not crazy?"
Me-"Well maybe I accidentally bought a camera but I really don't think I did because I planned on going directly to the store today to buy one...and now one came, that's so weird! oh wait!  I'll call you back" (now I'm thinking in my head that maybe my sister bought it cause she owes me a camera)

Sure enough, I called my sister and she said that she had bought me a camera and had it shipped so that it would be a surprise :).  The funny thing is that I had seen her the night before and was giving her a hard time because she broke my camera back in September and I had given up on waiting for her to buy me a new one.  I told her I was looking at cameras online and was going to get one the very next day and she gave me a funny look but I didn't pay any attention to it.  She told me over the phone that she was hoping I wouldn't go get one since hers was already in the mail.  It was such a wonderful surprise and I am so excited!  I have been without a camera for so long and have missed capturing fun moments.  Thanks bestest twin sister!

Now that my excuse for not blogging because I have no pictures to post is gone I guess I will have to post more often, huh?  Here are a few shots I have taken so far of our semi-finished living room.

This one shows the really cool "headboard" bench I got in North Park at Pat's on 30th for like $75.  You go in there, pick out a headboard and they turn it into a bench and paint it all for 75 bucks!  I love it so much.  Someday I am going to make a cushion with that fabric that is laying on the bench.

Here is a shot of my Ikeas floating shelves with lots of Thrift Store finds and my favorite wedding photo/canvas I got free on WeddingWire for reviewing my wedding vendors. I need to find something for the bottom shelf, any suggestions?

Here is the couch area which hasn't changed much except for the pictures above the couch from our honeymoon in Italy.  There are supposed to be 4 pictures but one fell off when I was hammering on the outside wall and broke, I need to go get another frame from Ikea.

That's it for now, I am just so happy to have a camera again!

Uncle Robert

A lot has happened since my last post on March 24th...

One of the biggest is that my Uncle Robert died on March 25 while on a trip to visit family in Kentucky; it was very sudden and very sad.  He was the last of my dads immediate family and while he was such a loon, he will really be missed.  This was his obituary:

ROBERT DOUGLAS PRESTON

PRESTON, ROBERT DOUGLAS My beloved Preston passed away unexpectedly at our home in Kentucky on Thursday, March 25, 2010. He was 56, a graduate of Sweetwater High and a member of IUOE Local 12. He was a deeply loving and devoted husband, son, brother, father, uncle and friend. Preston is survived by his wife Maria, brother Bruce, his wife Sally, nieces Sally and Ruthie, nephews Loren, Jason and Mathew, daughter Natalia, son Bobby, granddaughter JoAnna and a loving circle of friends. I wish to thank family and friends for such loving support during this time. A very special thanks to Preston's cousin George of Kentucky to whom I will be eternally grateful. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, April 10th.

We had a Celebration of Life at my parents house and it was so wonderful, especially for my Dad and my Aunt Maria, to see all the love and support for Uncle Robert in one place.  I made these collages for the "Celebration".

We are really gonna miss him and I will always remember what a fun time he had in Calistoga at our wedding last May.  It makes me really sad to think that we had such a great time and his life ended with in a year of such good times.  I had planned on framing the picture we took with him and giving it to him because I knew he would be tickled pink to have it, but being the procrastinator that I am, I never got around to it and so now I'll never be able to show it to him.  

There is so much to tell about his life, it was filled with some sadness and sorrow and struggles but at the same time he was so full of life.  He was very sentimental and sensitive, always happy and in a good mood and always very giving.  It's funny how things happen, I feel that I didn't really get to spend a lot of time with him as an adult.  I am finding as an adult that my relationships with family are changing so much, as a child, aunts and uncles and even older cousins are adults and you don't really relate.  Then as you yourself grow up you have better conversations and build stronger bonds.  I am sad that I didn't get to spend that much time as an adult with Uncle Robert, life gets so busy and things get pushed aside.  I will always love him and it seems so weird that he is gone but of course, he will always be remembered!

Riverdale...

The sweet smell of alfalfa mixed with a little bit of cow and fresh dirt is the first thing that hit me as I stepped off the Amtrak train in Hanford, CA.  Most people would think "whats that smell" but to me I thought "I'm home and I've missed it."  The Fresno valley is not my home and I didn't grow up there but I did spend many summers in a little town just 30 miles south of Fresno, CA and while I probably complained about it then, I love it now.  It went from being a place that our parents sent us in the summers that was always 98 degrees and terribly uncomfortable, to a place of refuge and now to a place of comfort and content.  I love going to see my family in Riverdale and I love the smell that now has a sweetness while others would say it smells like cow poop.  I know it sounds weird but it's true!  (I'm not embarressed to admit it!)

I am back and already missing it.  We had a wonderful time seeing family, antiquing with my Aunt Lola and BBQ-ing with our cousins and all of their children.  The thing about Riverdale is that it really is all about family.  We "go into town" very rarely and really just sit out side playing cards, eating out back or just enjoying the sound of the 100+ roosters on the farm.  This time was especially fun because my sister went too, she hasn't been to Riverdale in 6+ years and it was fun for us all to be together.  We rode the train up on Friday night, got to see some Amish people (such a delight for me since I wanted to be Amish as a child, it's a twin identity crisis thing, don't ask) and arrived at 6 AM on Saturday morning ready to hit the farm.  I got some really cool antiques at some small town antique stores (how come this didn't happen in small town Texas Elizabeth?) but of course all of those will someday be revealed when I get my new camera, if that ever happens.  Long story short it was a wonderful trip and I will be back there in June for my cousins Issac's 8th grade graduation party.  Here are a few Blackberry photo shots of what Riverdale looks like...

(a little background on the property, my Uncle owns about 2/3rds of the street they live on and their house sits on 20 acres.  The rest of it is fields that they grow different things (alfalfa, corn, cow feed, grain, etc) on throughout the year.)

the front yard...that is a cherry orchard across the street

Looking down the street...

The backyard and a little of the chicken farm...

Must go see "Remember Me"

I can't tell you why exactly I loved this movie or what exactly made it so good but I L-O-V-E-D loved it!  It was emotional, romantic, dark and sexy and it is a total MUST SEE film.  I went thinking that it was going to suck because I wasn't sure if Robert Pattinson could be anything but Edward and he was simply amazing.  There really isn't to much else I can say for fear of spoiling the movie for you but definitely go see it and then come back to discuss with me.  I know you will be thoroughly surprised.

Tomorrow night I am going to Riverdale, CA (it is in the middle of the Fresno Valley surrounded by farm land which includes alfalfa fields, orchards and corn fields) to visit family with my mom and sister.  Riverdale is literally in the middle of no where with nothing to do so some might ask why we are going there but we have family there so we always have a good time.  We used to spend our summers there as children and in the 104 degree weather we would walk 2 miles to the high school pool just to stay cool!!! (that's my "we used to walk 10 miles to school in the snow" story)  It was either that or play in the irrigation ditch next to our Aunt and Uncles house.  We had to stay cool because the only form of A/C in their trailer home was a swamp cooler that made more noise than cool air.  Although, however hot it may have been I loved going there as a child and I still love going to visit my cousins and aunt and to hang out with family.  I don't get to go up there as often anymore and I have really been missing them all lately so I am excited. 

So, I was a "model" on Monday

Those of you who know me know that I am NOT comfortable in front of a camera.  I don't think that I am photogenic AT ALL!  Sometimes the camera will capture the perfect angle of my imperfect nose and sometimes my crooked smile is not so crooked and if its a really good day my right eye won't squint while smiling.  Yes I know everyone has their insecurities but those are mine when it comes to being photographed.  Well on Monday I was asked to make a bouquet for a photo shoot that some photographers put together in San Juan Capistrano and at the last minute they asked me to be the model as well.  I was excited to wear my bridal gown again but worried about the whole picture taking thing.  I left the shoot so insecure and thinking that I had completely wasted 3 photographers time in ruining all of their pictures!  Well I am still not confident in my "modeling" abilities but they did capture some awesome shots.  Bethany Murphy is the 1st to post some pics and she took some awesome shots, so I thought I would share some here with you all...

You can see the rest here.

please Jeremiah can I have it?!?!?!?

A Dual post from Exquisite Blooms blog

Some of you may know that the ultimate goal of Exquisite Blooms is to own a wedding venue and provide a perfectly picturesque spot to the Southern California brides.  Well, what do you think about this property?  I think it is perfect!!!

Would you want to get married here?  Just picture photos taken on the wrap around porch, an outdoor reception under a silk tent, maybe a ceremony under this gorgeous tree...

Please leave a comment if you think this would be a good venue.  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!

Ok, one last picture...