Pet Sailor

As I may have mentioned we like dressing up our kitty in fun pet outfits. We got him a tie for christmas that he actually seemed to enjoy, or at least didn't seem to mind. This weekend while we were doing our usual Target shopping I saw this cute sailors outfit. See doesn't he look happy? He's been wearing it all day. He's all ready to set sail.

Textured Baseboards - WTF

Another day another problem. Yesterday when I came home and took a look at the baseboards they were super eager to paint (even though our floors are still probably a couple weeks out) I noticed something right off. They were textured. I thought maybe I just hadn't been terribly observant and all my baseboards were, so I quickly checked... no I hadn't been imagining things all the rest of the base in the house completely smooth. These textured. I sent Kyle to check with our neighbor to see if they did theirs this way... no theirs were smooth, although I found out through the course of our conversation they didn't paint the bottom third because they assumed the rug would cover it (nice!!). We've had it. I've been doing pretty well up until this point. This was my final straw. Overpriced installation for the fooring- fine we'll find someone else, bad job pulling out old floor - fine we can fix it, subfloor needs to be leveled - fine pay to fix it, first batch of floors defective - return it order more, TEXTURED BASE BOARDS... What could they have been thinking? That's it... ENOUGH!!

"Pergo"-tory continues

Our Downstairs... In our garage.... Still.

yup it's true pergotory continues. We are quickly approaching the 3month mark since the disaster that damaged our floors. I think Kyle and I switch off loosing it. The latest: pergo agreed the floors were damaged and agreed to replace them (after several phone calls from home depot), we have returned our old floors to the store, and are now waiting for the new floors to arrive. We have a pile of baseboard in our living room waiting to be painted and installed, pending the arrival of the flooring. *fingers crossed* by 4th of July?!

BTW: Thank you Peter's daughter for the awesome pun!! You rock and brought a small chuckle to an otherwise glum day!!

Poets & Pirates

This weekend we went the Kenny Chesney Poets & Pirates tour at AT&T park. The concert started at 4 with a new band, followed by Luke Bryan, Gary Allan,. Leann Rimes, Brooks and Dunn, and finally Kenny Chesney. It was quite an experience. Kinda like a huge frat party with music. The people watching was fabulous (if you are into that kind of thing). The people watching was so amazing that the music was almost secondary. Today I am exhasted. I'm not cut out for late nights of loud music and drunk masses.

Seeing Red

Anyone else getting tired / frustrated /bored reading about our floors? Well too bad :P until they are fixed it is consuming our lives!!! And as if it hasn't gone on long enough, things have been delayed now indefinitely. Well perhaps that's a bit overly dramatic, but let me back up. Today the installers showed up to install the floors. YAY!! at last floors. The day we've been waiting for, for quickly approaching 3 months. The floor has been leveled. We have the materials. They prepped the floor, they started work and then..... the head guy calls me down to take a look at something he had "concerns" about. What was this concern? The joints didn't close properly. Did I want to continue? Everything in me was screaming just put the flooring in the way they are, wrong and all they look so beautiful!!! But the rational perfectionist devil sitting on my other shoulder calmly asked if this was just the way this brand/ particular floor went together. His response no, it's wrong, with all the floors he's laid he can assuredly tell me it shouldn't be like this. CRAP, CRAP, CRAP. OK... So Monday the tech comes out to take a look and assess the situation... we should know more then.... wait haven't I said that before.

One step forward, Two back

So it turns out your floors need to be relatively level before laying new flooring. ;) And well.... ours weren't even close... D'oh. So this means all that $$ we saved (nearly $1500 by changing contractors to be exact, just in case anyone was wondering about such things) has now been spent to fix the drastic imperfections in our concrete sub floor. (I can only imagine what a predicament we'd be in if we'd stayed with the original contractor). So here we are with a couple concrete flows across our downstairs leveling it out. Actual honest to goodness floors are supposed to be laid soon.... real soon.

Uncle Kyle

My sister-in-law had her first baby and she is precious. I was a little apprehensive about spending time with the baby, since we still haven't really decided if we ever want to take that plunge (and have pretty seriously entertained the idea of not). I fully expected to be surrounded by little ones via friends and family but this was the first baby I've spent time with as an adult. I have to admit it was a bit intoxicating, she just melts your heart and makes me "almost" want one of our own. I wish they lived closer so we could see her grow and develop.

New Floors...... So Close Yet So Far

The flooring saga continues... We "fired" our original flooring contractor (who was a sub through the general contractor) And have opted to have home depot come out and do the installation. This means we have to wait even longer for our floors. They didn't order the pad that goes under the flooring AND the threshold pieces "allegedly" didn't get processed and have been reordered. We also aren't sure if we are going to have to do something about the ridiculous amount of remaining glue remaining on the concrete from the previous floors. Oh and as if dealing with the floors downstairs isn't enough, the thin piece of real hardwood laminated on the flooring upstairs is spontaneously popping off in a couple of places. Nice. We were thinking of doing the upstairs at some point, in the future, later, down the road. *sigh* I'm tired of my furniture living in the garage. Hopefully we will have a better idea of the new time line tomorrow.

Ummm .... Portable Potty??

A quick snapshot over the fence.

Only this one is supposed to be a fairly permanent fixture..... INSIDE. If you've been reading about our fun filled flooring adventure this is the offending piece of plumbing. And now it's sitting right smack dab in the middle of our neighbors patio... our neighborhood porcelain patio decoration.... sort of like a garden gnome. Sitting there mocking us.

More than 4wks and Counting

Our floors have been removed due to the "flood". It now smells like glue. And not the kind of glue that makes you feel all funny and good inside. More like the kinda of glue that just smells and is more than likely toxic and killing brain cells I most certainly need. We have cement slab floors underneath it all but you could barely tell under all that GLUE. All of the base boards my parents helped tirelessly put in have been ripped out and it all makes me feel a bit sad. I'm really hoping this is just a case of it needs to get worse before it can get better. We've picked out Victorian Mapple Pergo flooring to replace the damaged floors. And I'm really at that point where I just want it all back together and fixed!!!

Weekend in Yountville

It was a friend's surprise birthday this last weekend up in wine country this last weekend and we decided to make a weekend of it. We had a great time. It was amazing. We stayed at the Vintage Inn in Yountville. We are already planning our next visit for our anniversary in July.

Another Puppy Post

The weeks have been passing and we've been watching the girls grow and get bigger and develope little doggy personalities. A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!! Finally the decision of which pup was going to which perspective owner has been made. My parents are getting Bessie and have decided to keep the name as well. So Bessie will be my new "sister" :? of sorts. She was the biggest of the litter and is still the largest. She's very self assured, the alpha dog in the group and loves to have her tummy rubbed. A couple more weeks and she'll be coming home.

5yrs later... we bowled

For our friend's birthday we went bowling. We were actually both really looking forward to this night because we've been talking about going bowling ever since we started dating nearly 5 years ago. The years have come and gone, we've gotten married and are quickly approaching our 2yr wedding anniversary, and we still hadn't made it to the bowling alley. Saturday night we went bowling!!! We were pretty aweful, but it was a lot of fun. Thanks Alison for finally getting us out of the house and to the bowling alley.

Love Thy Neighbor

Umm NOT so much right now. I woke up to a plumber at the door asking if there was water flooding our bathroom/laundry area. I double checked and nothing.... yet.

It turned out our neighbor (who we heard loudly leaving very early this morning for, presumably a business trip, updated: trip to Hawaii..... as she does quite frequently) had an overflowing toilet that was flooding our other neighbors. They stopped the water for the entire building until the could figure out how to ascertain entry into her place.

Kyle stopped by during his break at work and noticed it looked like it might be starting to seep through the wall. By the time he got home it was more clearly seeping through and he called the community home owners association and got on the list of units for the restoration management company to visit.

So the baseboards are off, there are holes in the walls and dehumidifiers running. It looks like the flooring downstairs will have to be replaced. It's been one crazy day.

Even in Roatan, Honduras

 

Yup it's an obsession. This one my husband found hillarious.... I'm not sure I was entirely in on the joke, but hey another plastic palace to add to my growing collection and I'm game. It turns out there are port 'o potties all over the world... well at least in Honduras in addition to the USA.

Too Cute

A few years ago our family dog, a sheltie named buddy, passed away. She had been such the perfect pet that my parents just couldn't bring themselves to replace her. A few years have since passed and the time finally seemed right. They wanted a dog that didn't need quite as much activity as the Shetland Sheepdog did. They've settled in on the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Here's the litter that contains the new addition to the family.

New Shoes

Alright alright, new shoes are not exactly *news* but anytime I get Payless Shoes I'm in love with some how it feels even better! They won't just due, they aren't flip flops, they are cute adorable weekend shoes!!! IMHO. I love them. They are American Eagle Flutter Mary Jane Skimmers. I saw them in an e-mail ad and thought I'd go check them out in person while I was out running errands. I loved them just as much in person AND they had a pair in my size. They are a little big, but the next size down was too tight so they will work!! I can't tell you how many shoes I've tried in similar styles, but I think I found a winner.

Notice Anything?

So this last weekend we headed off to see family in Oregon. Notice the blue palace beneath the sign? I was so intent on getting a picture of the sign this trip up I didn't even notice the port-o-potty in the frame. It was a good trip, but entirely too cold (notice the snow by the sign?). I'm a CA girl, not used to such "extreme" temperatures. ya ya poor me.

Night @ the Improv

So last night we went and saw Dana Carvey at the San Jose Improv and he was great! However, the rest of the night..... not so much.

• Despite asking at will call to double check if they were serving dinner (for our full menu dinner tickets) they were not. (Turns out Tuesday nights they do not do dinner ONLY Wed. - Sunday early shows. There are no Monday night shows BTW)
• Upon arrival we were informed we would be seated with another couple (YA! ;) )
  
• Late night appetizer menu only, of which they were out of Chocolate Cake & Calamari.
• Ordered the nachos without sour cream and jalapeños. It arrived cold, soggy, and with the peppers. Kyle had to wait an addition 15-20 minutes for his food.
  
• The place was freezing cold, even with my jacket and Kyle's, downing a hot coffee.
• My heels stuck were swallowed by the carpet, stuck if I placed them near the seat.
  
• The host for the night was awful.
  

Then finally.... the opener... relief.. He was funny! Then Dana Carvey came out he was awesome. Just about worth all the pain. I much prefer going to the Flint Center when possible or just about anywhere that's not a club... something about having to buy 2 of something while trying to enjoy a show.....

Merry Christmas

Christmas at our house usually means more toys for our already spoiled cat. I mean just how many toys does one house cat really need? And for our part we buy him a new "outfit" which is really more for our enjoyment than his. This year however though I think we both win. Check out Pixel's new tie!!! Unlike his usual hats and gear that he immediately starts wriggling with a funky walk hoping it will fall off this year he's all happy and proud as he walks ("lies") around the house. Merry Christmas!!

Enter... Exit... ????

I'm sure this combination of signs seemed perfectly logical to someone..... We however did get a little giggle out of it.

Things that make me laugh

Originally uploaded by jalderete

My friend Jen took this picture at a Bart station. I'm easily amused. What can I say? I still think it's funny. LOL.

December ...Now?

Well I guess so. The holidays have completely caught me off guard this year. Usually I'm just about done with holiday shopping and just putting the finishing touches on last minute gifts. This year.... I'm not sure I've really even started. I've got a couple craft projects in the works and a few items ordered, but I think it's gonna be a low key Christmas. We are trying though. Last weekend we headed off and cut down a tree. The pictures from our little outing are on flickr .

Happy Holidays!!!

Weekend in Sonoma

In need of a little get away we headed off to wine country for a little R&R and wine tasting. We stayed at the El Dorado Hotel in downtown Sonoma Friday and Saturday nights. Saturday we visited 4 of the local wineries, headed back for a quick look around town before dinner at the El Dorado Kitchen. I had the free range chicken breast for an entree, and we had coffee pot de crème for dessert. It was an excellent meal. We didn't take too many pictures this trip and this was the best picture we had of the two of us from the weekend.

I'm friends with a (tech) rock star!

The tech world is all a buz after Scott Petersen's presentation at Adobe MAX 2007 in Chicago this year.
He's even giving interviews now:
Ryan Stewart - Rich Internet Application Mountaineer » Interview with Scott Petersen on the C/C++ in Flash Player Sneak

A Room With a View

I'm not sure how my current obsession with the grand port-o-potty began, but they seem to be springing up everywhere!! As you can see this has been the view from our window for the last several months. I suppose it could come in handy: if perhaps you really just can't make it into the house hey there's a plastic receptical just waiting in the parking lot. And maybe even it could count towards the number of bathrooms in our place?? 2 bedrooms, 1 and 1/2 bath + a very special communal partial bath conviently located nearby? To be fair they've been doing construction in the complex, and it is a natural brown color that "almost" blends right it.

GambucciGirl.etsy.com Launch!!

I finally got around to launching an etsy site. Many of my most recent cards are for sale here. Please have a look.

365 Days of Marriage

Our first wedding anniversary was this last weekend. To celebrate we headed off to San Francisco. We started off our weekend at Burke Williams Spa. We then had a wonderful dinner at the CityScape Restaurant on top of the hilton. The view was amazing. And they gave us a strawberry cheesecake in honor of our special occasion, and back at the room we were supposed to get chocolate covered strawberries, but since they were out they brought us an amazing chocolate mouse dessert. Yummy!!! The next day we headed off to Alcatraz Island and a quick walk through Ghirardelli Square.