It's OVER!!!

As of Thursday, December 18th at 1:00pm I was officially done with my second to last semester of work in the Graduate Program. I wrapped up finals, with fingers crossed hoping for the best of the best in grades, and I am finally free.

I say "free" loosely because there is this HUGE Master's Project I need to keep working on, but for this moment I'm enjyoing the sense of bliss and enjoyment that feeling free brings.

So HOORAY for me, in finishing the semester and coming even closer to the completion of my Master's Degree.

A Thankful Heart

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. While I sit at our dining room table, and think about what will need to be done tomorrow to prepare for this annual day devoted to giving thanks, I thought about the multitude of things that I have to be thankful for.

For most anyone, this is not a new concept, and generally Thanksgiving brings on thoughts of sentimental awareness of all the things in our lives we take for granted the other 364 days of the year. I started thinking about what it may take to have a thankful heart and a thankful spirit every day of the year. Often, I think it is easier to reach for anger, blame, frustration, annoyance, irritation, or ego-boosting, rather than be humble and have humility for the many things we have in our lives. I confess, that I am often the person that reaches for anger, or frustration, rather than taking the time to calm myself and feel something more genuine or Spirit-like in those moments. This year, with all the things that are going on in the world, and in my little corner of the universe I was one again struck by my fallible nature, and how I would rather give myself grace than someone else. How terrible is it, that as humans our first instinct is to provide for ourselves first and tout our own hardships and the things we have been able to overcome, but criticize and judge someone else's struggle and wonder why they aren't doing it faster or better?

I think my goal for this year, and the years to come, will be to start offering grace more freely, and giving thanks every day for all the things that I have, and that I may have. I realize what a challenge lies ahead of me, but how rich will my reward be, when I can say I've tried, and succeeded in showing others love, grace, compassion, caring, gentleness, and that I've been able to humble myself and offer thanks for the blessings I have received.

This year, I am thankful for many things. My family, for one. We have been richly blessed this year, with two special new faces and spirits, but also for the family I am building now, in this moment. The foundation blocks that we are laying together will be the support that our family will rest the burdens of it's furture generations on. I am thankful for my family's enduring spirit of kindness and support, and their sense of humor.

I am thankful for my dog, Apollo, even as he lays on the carpet and grunts in his sleep, I am thankful for his devoted spirit and his love of life and the simple way he inspires me to care more deeply for something other than myself.

I am thankful for the homes that I have. The shelter that they provide for my spirit and my heart, and the encouragement and welcome I feel whenever I walk through the door. I am thankful for the memories I have of my homes, in Chico, and in Rancho Cucamonga, because it is the memories that we cherish and nurture. It's also where many funny things have happened that have provided many fun stories to share! :)

I am thankful for Scott. He is so many things, things he's not even aware that he does, but he is everything for me. I am thankful that I have someone, at least on this earth, who is willing to be my everything.

And lastly, I am thankful for TURKEY! How can you have a thankful heart, without sharing it over some delicious turkey this year!! I will miss my sister Larissa fighting her son Kace for the turkey leg, but I think it will be wonderful holiday and I'm thankful for the blessings of the food that we will have this year, and how it always feels like the holidays when turkey is cooking.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!

Another reason why I love Chico

(Chico State Campus, View of Kendall Hall & Time Capsule Square)

There were several reasons why I decided to attend Chico State way back when I was deciding what to do with my life as an 18 year old high school graduate. I had scouted schools in Texas and Northern California, ultimately I was accepted to two Northern California schools, St. Mary's in Moraga, and Chico State. Here I faced a tough decision, because I was in LOVE with St. Mary's campus and school programs and proximity to San Francisco, but the 30K a year really put a damper on my plans for the future. Thus, I found myself attending Chico State in the Fall after graduation, with grand plans to complete my Bachelor's in Psychology in 4 years.

(Bidwell Park)

Growing up in Southern California for the better part of my life, I had somewhat forgotten what the change of seasons can be like and how spectacular the experience can be. In Alaska, all four seasons are wonderful, with so many colors and life just exploring in the Spring and Summer, but the winter provides some of the most spectacular views of nature and wildlife. When we moved to Southern California, I was treated to a different change of seasons. As we like to say, "Southern California has 4 seasons, 2 summers and 2 winters." Meaning that sometimes summer stretches into October, but sometimes around Christmas it can be as warm as 80 degrees. The leaves decide one day to fall off the trees and the Santa Ana's usually signal the change of seasons in the fall and in the spring. Suffice to say, I was looking forward to my first Northern California autumn, and boy was I in for a treat.

(Bidwell Park)

Chico is a beautiful city. It is full of history, art and culture and is surrounded by some of the most beautiful wilderness and nature areas that I have ever seen. Bidwell park is absolutely gorgeous and full of interesting plants and trees. Chico State campus is absolutely gorgeous in the fall and the spring, when the leaves literally rain down from the trees creating the most unique of autumnal showers. The winters are rainy and cold, but once again in the spring we are treated to such an explosion of life that it renews the spirit and the heart seeing so many things blossom and grow.

I pulled all these photos off of the internet and it illustrates perfectly how absolutely gorgeous Chico is this time of year. It's one of the rare times of the year I don't miss the beach or Disneyland quite as much as I do when it's 115 degrees outside with 80% humidity. Although Scott and Larissa would say, "You think this is humid? Try living in the Midwest!"

Enjoy the photos and my own slice of autumnal heaven!

The Mystery Has Been Solved

The German Shorthair... Apollo...

You be the judge...

Apollo. Our dearly loved little pup, has been a mystery to us ever since we picked him up from the shelter.

He's about 9 months old now, and he's changed a lot since he's been growing up. We first believed that he was a Black Lab, with a possible mix. The vet then told us that he looked more Great Dane than Black Lab, which was no less reassuring.

Speculation then grew as a number of people began to identify Apollo as an English Pointer. This was slightly more relieving as we were not necessarily looking forward to having a big Great Dane mix lumbering around the house. Thus, we arrived at the conclusion that Apollo must be a Black Lab-English Pointer mix.

However, the plot thickened. While I was at the mall with some girlfriends, we passed the yearly holiday Christmas display and were soon "ooh-ing" and "ahh-ing" over all the cute puppy pictures of Pugs, Bull Dogs, Dachunds and other adorbale little guys. My eye then caught a calendar with a dog that looked surprisingly like Apollo. The breed? German Shorthaired Pointers!

I feel confident, after doing some online research, that we've stumbled across the breed that Apollo belongs to and we no longer have to worry about him exceeding some ginormous size dimesions! He's still adorable and lovable and keeps us entertained.

Living with Neighbors

As many of you know, Scott bought a house earlier this spring. We were very excited to be starting this next phase of our lives together, and it was a pretty momentous decision for us, but mostly for Scott. He was the one forking over all the cash and all that after all. We simply fell in love with the house and were very excited when we adopted our puppy Apollo in April on the heels of our engagement.

The neighborhood was one of the main reasons we fell in love with the house. Our home is in a quiet suburb of Chico, close to shopping, schools and my work. The streets are quiet and there are a lot of young families in the neighborhood and we were excited to be "moving up" in the world. It didn't take long for us to realize that some of the parents weren't as aware of their children, since they play in the street while cars drive by, but hey they aren't my kids. We also began to realize that our next door neighbor wasn't particularly fond of having neighbors herself. As young puppy parents, we were pretty diligent about when we would leave Apollo alone, especially at night. However, one evening, both Scott and I were out, we came home to find a lovely note from our neighbor, succinctly warning us that we'd better learn to take better care of our dog, since she doesn't want to have to go into our yard again to quiet him down. That was a bit of a rude awakening for both Scott and I, but we determined to take the high road, and be the better people, by apologizing to our friendly neighbor, but also installing some locks on our side gate. Needless to say, Scott and I smoothed over relations with this neighbor and so far things have been quite cordial from then on.

Recently, we had another neighbor move into the house next door that they've been trying to lease for sometime. We were pleased that the house was finally filled up, but recently we've had a lot of aggravation. They also have a small dog, we think he's relatively young, possibly the same age as Apollo, but he gets left outside all day long from 6 am to 6 pm in the rain, in the heat, and he cries and barks all day long. Apollo has been pretty upset about all of this and has increasingly been tearing up parts of the yard, because I think sometimes he feels bad for this poor puppy, but also because he doesn't like being barked at all day long. Needless to say, we're all a little taxed by having to deal with yet another set of mischeivious neighbors, but I don't like that they are semi-abusing their dog!!

We're still going to try and be friendly. Even though we wonder about the presence of adults and people that are actually responsible. We have vowed not to vandalize their home, no matter how tempting it may be and even though copious amounts of teepee are readily available.

Butterflies

Well, as some of you may be aware, the wedding date is slowly creeping towards us.

There are only 230 days left until the BIG day and as I look ahead on my calendar at all the things I've yet to do and get done, I find myself starting to get a little more than nervous. Some of you might think that's crazy, since it is 230 days away, and how could I possibly be nervous with the date so far away.

What I would say to those people is, "I have every right to be nervous! I'm getting married!" That's only like one of the biggest commitments you will ever share with another human being! In 230 days I will join my life with someone else's and no longer be just one, but always a part of two. Even though I look forward to that day with all the anticipation and excitement, I think it's normal to be nervous because that commitment is a serious one, and definitely is not something to be taken lightly.

We'll be starting pre-marital counseling soon, and I think having everything start falling into place is making me more and more nervous about the moment I will walk down the aisle as a bride and say "I do" to the most important man in my life.

Because I haven't blogged in awhile....

....and because I don't really want to study for the midterm I have tomorrow, I thought I'd write a blog.

Recently you guys have been able to see the many feats of our dog Apollo. We're always intrigued by what he's willing to do for a treat, and we're glad to share them with everyone.

I've been pretty busy myself these days between work, school, wedding planning, more school, trying to sleep and eat on a regular basis and still nurture myself and my relationship it's been a hectic few months.

While Scott and I were lucky to get most of the wedding details squared away before I went back to school, I find that the deadlines I had so carefully set back in July and August are slowly creeping up on me. Right now I'm in the middle of midterms, papers and projects and up to my eyeballs in the group process, I'm finding it a little hard to keep up with and find time for all those little details. Oh, and there's this gigantic Master's Project I'm supposed to be working on too. Yeah, totally need to get on the ball for that one.

I am however, blessed to have the amazing support of my family, especially my mom, and my best friend Jessica who are oh-so-wonderfully planning my bridal shower in Southern California. I am also amazed at the constant patience and support that Scott shows me in so many different ways as he also "suffers" through the trails of graduate school with me. Just this evening as I was working on my 3rd and hopefully final genogram, he looked over at me and said "You're doing another one? You've done like 3 since we've been together! I'm glad I'm not in school anymore." Yet he still puts up with me and all my conjecturing about Family Systems Theory, Families of Origin, and all those other theoretical, therapeutic and psychological things I'm learning and immersing myself in.

It's interesting to be involved in a program that encourages self-exploration, family history and research and patterns of behavior among many many many more things. But it is interesting to be given the opportunity to really take 2 years out of your life and study yourself. I think of the multitude of things I've learned and have yet to learn, the people I've had the opportunity to influence and who have also influenced me, and I can only think that I am truly blessed to be on the path that I'm on.

Just today in one of my classes we were talking about Tao Fa or Chinese watercourse way. It's a Cross-Cultural Counseling Class (what an alliteration!), and it talks about rivers being on a journey to the ocean, and that they change everything they touch. That in the course of the river flowing, everything it touches is changed and altered. As I pondered this concept, metaphor really, I thought of myself as the Earth and all the people in my life that are rivers. There is my mother, who is the strongest, deepest and widest river crossing my landscape. A silent, everpresent force that's been guiding me and shaping me. There's Joe, my dad, who's a little less deep, but just as constant, but with a few more rapids and turns. And then there's Scott, who enters about halfway down the landscape, and has carved the deepest pools, has travelled the most curves and is full of the waterfalls that fill my heart. Before I go on and on about different people in my life, I just don't have the room to list them all, I just want to add that water is such a significant metaphor for anyone really. Sometimes we have rain in our lives, storms that seem like they never will pass. Sometimes we have lazy turning rivers and streams that allows us to meander at our own pace, but we also have the water that fills us with Life, that causes our cup to runneth over and fill our hearts with joy.

I just thought that those were some beautiful thoughts and images that I had on this fine Monday evening, and wished to impart them all to you! Maybe I'll start a regular Monday blog with my thoughts from my cultural musings from class.

Apollo's new trick

Dogs are so much fun. :)

Exhaustion

As I sit at work trying to stay awake, I thought I'd give a quick recap of the weekend events that made me so tired.

Friday - After a full day of work, some last minute scrambling and preparation we (Jenn, Jeremy, Kim and I) took off for Sleep Train Amphitheater in Marysville to see Cheap Trick, Heart and Journey. We arrived at around 7:30 and heard the last few songs of Cheap Trick's set as we were driving in and walking towards the venue. After cruising through what can only be described as the most pathetic bag check ever we made our way to the general admission lawn seats. Kim and I have both been to concerts here before, but we both agreed that this was the largest crowd we had ever seen. Normally you can bring a blanket and spread out a bit. Not this time, it was standing room only and we were packed in tight.

As for the show, Heart put on a great set with most of their classics and a killer rendition of The Who's Reign O'er Me. Ann Wilson can still belt out the vocals. Then it was time for Journey. They played a good mix of new and old stuff, although they definitely got a better response from the crowd with their older songs. Their new Korean lead singer impressed us all. I have some video of "Don't Stop Believin" that I may try and post later.

We had a great time despite the large crowd and the inevitable annoying people who end up right next to you.

Saturday - So after getting home from the concert at around 12:30 - 1:00 in the morning it was straight to bed so that I could get up at 7:30 to prepare for my triathlon. More of a mini triathlon, but you can still be impressed. Every year Becky (a college friend of mine who lives in nearby Los Molinos) hosts a "triathlon" on her birthday. Its a family and friends event, nothing too official but fun nonetheless. Every year for the past 5 years I have been invited, and every year I have managed to find an excuse to not go. This year however I felt up to the challenge.

Becky's family has some orchards near the Sacramento River. So our mini triathlon consisted of approximately 1/2 mile run from her parents house to the river, followed by a short 100 yard or so swim, another 1/2 mile run from the river back to the house where we left our bikes, and finally a 12 mile bike ride. Of the 4 legs the hardest part was most definitely the 1/2 mile run after the swim. I'm not in the best shape of my life, but I'm in good enough condition to handle a few mile jog, swimming however really took it out of me. I realized I am NOT in swimming shape. Once I made it to the bikes though I was able to enjoy the bike ride through the orchards. It was a beautiful day thankfully. As for the results I finished in 6th place out of about 15 people with a time of 1 hour, 25 minutes and 44 seconds. I'm confident that with smaller rests between stations and a better bike I could shave at least 10 minutes off that time. That will be the goal for next year. Anyway once everyone finished it was BBQ time. All in all it was a great time.

However, needless to say by Saturday afternoon I was physically exhausted and quite sore (again I think I need a new bike). I spent the rest of the day cleaning up around the house and relaxing. After picking Jenn and her friends up from their girls night out at around 1:00 in the morning it was time for some much needed sleep.

Sunday - Ah yes the always exhausting football day. Ok, yesterday was neither tiring nor demanding. It was just what I needed. A full day of couch time watching football games at Nick's apartment. I'd like to use this chance to say GO BUFFALO BILLS! 4-0! Its been a long time (over a decade) since Buffalo has been a team of relevance. With a soft schedule and the Tom Brady-less Patriots, this could be the year that Buffalo takes their division.

Anyway, back to work today and softball game tonight. No rest for the weary!

Why My Girls are "de bomb!"

It has recently occurred to me that I am very lucky to have the girlfriends that I do.

Let me start with a little backstory.

My choice to attend Chico State happened at a pretty tumultuous time in my life. I really needed a change of pace, a change of friends and a change of scenery. While I still maintained close friendships with a few of my pals from Southern California. I began to forge some new friendships while at Chico. I went through the "normal" ups and downs of roommate drama, friend drama and other drama, and ended up making more friends at work than I did while at school.

But all was not lost for little ol' Jenn. When I entered the Master's Program at Chico State I was not expecting to make the types of frienships and bonds with 4 girls that I happened to meet at Chico State.

So this is a shout out to my gal-pals Katie, Meghan, Andrie and Shalea, who are the best and most special girlfriends I could ask for!

From Left to Right. Andrie, Katie, Meghan and Me!

**Shalea not pictured.

Why Can't They All be Like Richard Gere?

Well, it's been almost 2 weeks since we last blogged, and I've been busy with school and such, but I've recently been thinking about some interesting things, that all tie into one another. At least in my head. This might bring you to wonder at the curious title I put for this blog, but eventually (I hope) it will all make sense.

As many of you read on our blog recently, my sister and her family just welcomed a new baby girl. We were all very excited, especially their family, to welcome this new little person. My sister Larissa, just posted some thoughts on children herself, from the perspective of a mother, and I've found myself drawn by similar thoughts as I begin to contemplate starting a family of my own.

The blessings to be found in children, I think are unique and special. They are full of so many challenges, surprises and so full of growth and daily expansion, sometimes it's hard to feel like you're keeping up. I know when I went to visit my sister, I was overwhelemed with joy by these little people. Consumed with love, sometimes full of frustration, and of course accompained by a generous dose of tiredness. But would you change it for anything? No. I think the miracle of children is one of the most precious blessings that can be bestowed upon us, and I think it takes patience of the heart and spirit to always be there for your children, even when they've grown.

Now I'm sure you're thinking, "What does all this have to do with Richard Gere?" Well, let me try and explain. While watching the end of Pretty Woman on television the other night, I couldn't help but think of what a dream-boat Richard Gere is in this film. Now before you jump all over me for crushing, slightly, on Mr. Gere, I'll explain. While watching the closing scenes in one of my favorite films, I got to thinking about how much our sense of the "right kind of man" or the most "special kind of man" is influence by the men we see on film or read about in books. Men, that cannot possibly approach a sense of reality at times, yet we still find ourselves yearning for the type of undying devotion, surrendering of will, and utter romanticism. Not that I would consider these films bad influences, or even many of the books I read as unfair representations of what a relationship is between a man and a woman, but I also thought of how fine the line is between fantasy and reality, especially when it's such a part of our culture.

What girl doesn't sigh when Richard Gere gets that dreamy-eyed brooding look, when he begs Julia Roberts to stay with him? What girl doesn't want a man to chase after until the end of the earth, just to proclaim his undying love and devotion for her? What does it say about us women that we grow to expect some of these behaviors, and then struggle with disappointment when "it doesn't happen like it does in the movies?" I would never say that my life is like a fairy tale, but I guess watching Pretty Woman the other night just made me think of this enigma surrounding relationships.

It's also interesting to me that those films and books about real relationships aren't always the biggest money makers, the best selling novels, or even the films and books that people enjoy. They're usually followed by comments like "It was really sad, it made me cry." Or other comments like that. It's no surprise that when this is what we have to compare, "real relationships" pale in comparison to their fantasy counterparts. Who doesn't crave participation is a good fantasy?

Personally, I think real relationships, with all their hardships, difficulties and struggles are so much more meaningfull than something generated out of pure fantasy. I think it's about making your own fantasies, and setting time aside to fulfill each others dreams, even if its something small and insignificant.

Now back to how this relates to children. Thinking about Richard Gere, made me think about how I would want my children to see relationships. I would want their expectations to be real and concrete, but also meaningful to them. I would not want them yearning for some impossible ideal. I would want their happiness above all else, but I wouldn't want them to be unsatisfied in their relationship simply because it falls outside of what they think the "parameters" are.

But I think I've been on my soap box long enough. Suffice to say, I'm happy and contented in my relationship, even though he's not Richard Gere. :)

Wunderhund

Some videos of the amazing feats of Apollo.

He can Dance!

He can Catch!

He can even Walk!

Yeah thats about all.

I Survived!!

4 Venti Lattes from Starbucks: $15.00
4 Text books from the Student Bookstore: $300.00
Surviving the first 4 days of the semester: Priceless

Well I made it through the first week of school without any major mishaps. I've decided to take a full course load this semester so I can graduate on time in the spring. This means, I'm taking a Cross-Culutral class, a Law and Ethics class, a Research and Evaluation Methods Class, my Group Practicum class (which means leading 3 groups of students, plus class, plus individul supervision) and a sex and drugs class. As if that wasn't enough, I've also decided to be a TA for one of the other graduate classes, just to get more experience and learn more behind the scenes from one of the best professors in the program. Crazy you say? I just prefer to think that I'm working eagerly towards my future. I guess it should also be said, that I did cut down my work load to only 2 days a week at Sycamore Glen so I have a lot of time during the week for homework, projects and everything else. I also managed to get Sundays off, which is now the most sacred day of the week to me.

Even though this semester looks like it's going to be tough, it's great to be able to see my friends again, and more regularly and to be learning things that are going to take me so far in my career (hopefully at least). It also provided me with more opportunities to brag about my adorable new neice and show her off to all my colleagues. Everyone thinks she's adorable.

Here's the new school year, and the eventual end of graduate work!

Did I mention I started working on my Master's Project too? Oye!

More of my wonderful new neice!

So I "stole" these pictures from my sister Larissa's blog, but I just had to share them with everyone! I am so proud of my sister and her husband for the way they made it through the last few months. I knew it was a struggle for both of them, especially for my sister, but everyone is now overjoyed at the new arrival, who is stunning everyone with her size despite being 4 weeks early! Though, she looks tiny next to her giant of a daddy. Enjoy the photos!

Petra Anastasia Has Arrived!

Congratulations to my wonderful sister Larissa and her husband Will, who finally welcomed their baby girl into the world on 8/21/08 around 12am. Petra weighed in at 7lbs 2oz and was 20 and 1/2 inches long.

I am so happy and excited to be welcoming another precious little girl into our family! Her brothers are in for a handful and I know my sister and her husband are overjoyed to finally have "a princess in manland" and I quote.

Chico is changing yet again....

As the fall semester gradually approaches, or rather, as the fall semester gets ready to pounce on me and eagerly drain my brain cells, I cannot help but think of all the changes that Chico undergoes as the new school semester approaches, especially in the Fall. Chico is affectionately known as a "college town" even though it's partying-reputation has decreased significantly since the 1990s, and has worked diligently to restore it's somewhat checkered reputation. As a result, I am beginning to see all the college students return to Chico as they gradually infiltrate the streets, stores and shops, sometimes to the greater frustration of most people here in town. However, it also got me thinking about the students that I will meet this semester, the new incoming graduate students as well as some of the other students that may be new undergraduates.

This semester I will be leading a group seminar/therapy group mainly full of lower classmen. It's always interesting for me to encounter these young students, especially as I try to recall what it was like when I was a freshman at Chico State (like it was all that long ago), but yet it still seems like it was such a long time ago. It's always interesting to see these students, their differences in personality, how you can see them trying to fit in, the intimidation, homesickness, and it always surprises me that they seem so young even though there's only 4-5 years separating us. It feels like a lifetime stands between us.

I am also interested in meeting the new group of MFT graduate students, because I remember how stressed, awe-inspiring, intimidating and exciting that first semester was for me, and it's always interesting to watch the newbie's reactions to the new higher octane environment of graduate school.

Well, summer is almost over and the freedom that I have enjoyed for the last few months is finally slipping away. I'm getting one step closer to the completion of my degree, my wedding! and the future. If there's any time to feel like you're standing on the edge of a great beginning, it would be now.

Cleaning up while cleaning up

Well we finally got around to the yard sale that has been several months in the making. After moving into the new house back in February our garage has steadily been collecting "extra" stuff that we either don't need or don't want. This came to a head last month when Jenn cancelled her storage unit and the remainder of stuff we had been hiding (out of site out of mind) found a home in the garage.

Turns out that having to park both of our cars in the driveway for the past month was sufficient motivation to finally hold the yard sale. So after a long night sorting, organizing, pricing and setting up we managed to roll out of bed at 6:30 to let people rummage through our belongings searching for treasure.

It is an interesting thing to watch people poke through your things and haggle over the price of anything and everything. Is it really so much to expect people to pay a full dollar for a purse that started the day being marked at $5 and probably cost upwards of $30 when it was new? Apparently so, at one point Jenn was offered 50 cents for a purse and when she didn't budge on the dollar price it was put back. It amazes me how cheap people can be sometimes. Not that we were against cutting deals (something we did with great frequency all day long), after all the goal was to get rid of stuff, but sometimes you just have to shake your head at it all.

Another interesting yard sale phenomenon are the swoopers. Late in the day when pickings are getting slim, the good stuff is gone, the crowds are slowing down, sure enough someone will come in and cut a great deal on a bunch of crap that was destined for the dumpsters. As we helped this lady load her large truck with the rest of our clothing, some low end furniture and about 50 VHS tapes we noticed this clearly was not her first yard sale today as the truck was stock full of goodies. This led us to ponder what will happen with our stuff. Will it really end up with this lady or is she just a yard sale middleman? Buying our stuff for 20 bucks and peddling it to someone who thinks they can sell it for more? Tough to say.

What is safe to say is we are glad it is over. We were able to get rid of most of our unwanted furniture and many many boxes of clutter that have been residing in our garage these past 7 or 8 months and we made a nice chunk of change along the way that went straight to the wedding fund.

Despite the work and the early morning having a yard sale is a fun and profitable way clean house. Plus we got to meet some more of our neighbors. Now all that is left is getting rid of the stuff even a swooper wouldn't want.

** It was brought to my attention that I failed to mention the wonderful support we received from our good friend Kim who, on her day off no less, woke up early to bring us coffee and hot chocolate. We rewarded her with some great deals on a couple of DVD's, a purse and a pair of stinky shoes. Danke Moto!

"Don't Psychoanalyze Me"

I thought it may be a good time to start a blog about what my career hopes and aspirations are (some philosophizing too), especially since I just blogged about Marriage, and I'm currently in a graduate program that focuses on Marital Therapy, as well as other facets of counseling.

I also thought it would be a good opportunity for everyone, including my family, to have a better idea of why I was drawn to such an interesting and sometimes controversial field. If I have to blame it on someone, I guess I could nail it to my senior Psychology teacher Mr. Pickering. While taking his class as a senior in high school, he really opened up the world of psychology to me, its many different facets and points of interest; from the conditioning of Pavlov to Erikson and Maslow and their growth and hierarchy models. Needless to say I was intrigued, especially by his own experience as a counselor and then as a teacher. Thus, when I was accepted to Chico State, it was easy for me to declare my major as psychology, a far cry from my prior aspirations as a pediatric cadiologist. Little did I know at the time that Chico State has one of the best psychology programs in the Cal-State system and one of the best graduate programs in psychology in the state. As I progressed in my school career, I began to think more and more about enterting the helping profession as a counselor. Drawing from my own family's previous experience with a counselor, and my own issues as a troubled teen, I began to see how important it is for people to be able to talk to someone who can be honest and forthright with them about their feelings, and also provide them with a place where they don't have to fear judgment or retribution from another human being. This desire led me to the graduate program, which I am now fairly close to completing.

I think it takes a rare talent to be empathetic to someone and to genuinely listen to what they're saying, but to also be able to hear what they're meta-message, or underlying feeling is. For instance, what is really behind that anger? Is it hurt? Is it fear? I think being able to help someone identify those issues, so that they can be right in their own hearts takes talent, practice and a genuine desire to help people who are lost and are ready to help themselves. I think therein lies the key as well. The person on the otherside, needs to be willing for you to challenge their heart, their emotions and even sometimes their beliefs. This is harder than it seems, when a lot of times their issues resonate so closely with your own heart, you hesitate because you're afraid of what lies within your own heart, a very interesting thing that sometimes catches me be surprise. I also think it takes courage to create an enviornment where someone is going to be so vulnerable with themselves, something that is harder than watching others be vulnerable. I think it takes a rare person to be an active listener and be willing to engage people in the way that usually involves intense emotions. Yet, I am still drawn to it.

I think it's also interesting to see how learning these different techniques can also impact your relationships. I hear "don't psychoanalyze me" a lot sometimes, or I get questions like "are you psychoanalyzing me?" and sometimes it bugs me, mostly because the connotation of the word "psychoanalyze" generally refers to Freud and his questionable, and I mean, questionable, psychological theories and techniques. And, also I'm not always thinking like a psychologist. However, as I'm sure my sister Larissa can sympathize with, sometimes it's difficult for those of us who live with someone with a psychological mind, because we can generally sense where an argument is coming from or when someone's upset, or like I said, the "meta-message". Scott has told me before that he's waited to discuss something with me because he knows I'll be able to peg it and sometimes he's not ready for my answer. But I guess that's where you have to understand and be compassionate towards everyone's limits of communication and listening skills. I also know that by no means am I an expert or immune to not listening or being angry and stubborn when I'm trying to "communicate." However, I think it just adds to your listening skills and other faculties if you are able to genuinely listen to someone and help them process through something that may be painful or hard to discuss.

Anyway, I think I've blabbed long enough on this topic. I hope it was somewhat enlightening, but I'll probably have to go back and do some editing and re-post it eventually, but I think it works for now.

More about the wedding....well marriage really.

Since I probably won't have as much time to talk about the wedding in the next few months, (I'm sure there are a few of you reading and starting to chuckle already if you know me) I thought I would spend some more time talking about our wedding and I guess marriage in general.

As the start of school comes closer and closer, I cannot help but think about how quickly the next few months are going to fly by. I have to confess, it is starting to make me a little nervous. Not that the planning process hasn't been fun and exciting, but when I sit back and think, wow, I'm going to me married this time next year. Married. It sort of blows me away. While I have great examples around me, Scott's parents, my mom and step-dad, my sister Larissa and her husband, its just a little awe-inspiring to think of yourself at the cusp of a major life change and wonder how you're going to handle it. Especially marriage. No one wants to fail, struggle at, be stressed out all the time, during the most important, intimate and special relationship between two people. I am thankful that Scott and I are both easy going, laid back people, who don't anger easily and are generally pretty good at communicating with one another. But even now, we both can see how difficult it is to constantly be putting one another first in each of our lives, and remembering that we aren't number one anymore. I think being that selfless is a struggle for any human being, given the nature of the human condition, but I think it becomes especially hard when you are considering someone else's wants, needs, hopes, dreams, and struggles first and foremost above your own.

My sister, Larissa, wrote a great blog on this the other day, specifically about humility, that really touched my heart and convicted me in my thoughts about who I am putting first in my life. When I think about the future, my heart is so excited for the things I will share with Scott and the things I will know, yet it is a little overwhelming when you start adding all the ingredients into the recipe, (i.e. kids, houses, pets, careers, etc.)

All in all, even considering nerves, stress, worries about fitting in my dress, are all overshadowed by the thought that in June I will get to stand up next to the man I love and declare my love for him and become his wife. I think that's definitely a future worth looking forward to.

I would of course welcome any and all advice or suggestions regarding marriage, I will only be a novice after all.

School is about to start...again.

As the school year is again appraoching me, as much as I may want to resist it, I can't help but think of everything that's happened this summer, and everything we have on the calendar for this fall. I also can't help thinking about how busy I will be with school this coming semester. For those of you who read this blog and don't know, I have been attending Chico State University since the Fall of 2003. I graduated with B.A. in Psychology in 2007 and was accepted into the Master's Program for Marriage and Family Therapy. I have already completed one year in that program, and I am looking forward to graduating in May 2009 so I can continue to work towards my ultimate goal of being a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.

As I am trying to ignore the beginning of the impending school year, I got to thinking about all the fun things Scott and I have done this summer. We've been camping several times, as you can read about in his blog, and I've also been able to take a few trips to visit my sister and having the weekend for some girl time with my girlfriends. We've also been able to see a lot of new summer movies, like The Dark Knight and Pineapple Express, both we very good films and it's always fun to spend an evening in the air conditioned comfort of the movie theater.

I've also spent much of the summer preparing wedding plans and gearing up for the big day next June. I know the time will go by so fast, so we're trying to be on top of things. We've already picked the venue, which you can read about below, we just chose I photographer, who is really familiar with the Lake Almanor Area so we can get some spectacular wedding photos. We also completed our registry's at Macy's and Bed, Bath and Beyond. I have to confess, that the registering part was probably one of my favorite moments.

Now with August almost half-old, we're getting ready to have a yard sale and do a last summer cleaning as we get ready to settle in for the next few months. Apollo, of course is growing by leaps and bounds and it's funny to see how "smart" and entertaining he can be.

So here's to summer, the brightest and most liesurely season.

Back from my Midwestern Adventure

I finally got home last night around 11pm, from my visit to Kansas City, MO. I was there visiting my sister Larissa, her husband Will, and her boys Silas, Kace and Gresham. While I had a great time visiting with everyone, I was mainly there to be the extra hands, feet and body for my sister who is busy growin' her baby girl Petra. She's been feeling a little down-hearted because in her mind she's "slacking" because she doesn't have any energy and doesn't feel very well much of the time. However, even when I am being very productive, helpful and am full of energy, she's still much busier than I am because she's carrying a precious life inside of her and I'm sure that even on my best days, her work, although unseen, greatly outweighs mine. Never the less, I felt very blessed to have the opportunity to visit my sister and be a help to her and her family, especially since it entailed getting to know each of her boys, who already has their own distinct personalities.

Contrary to what many people may think, taking care of 3 kids, or should I say "helping take care of 3 kids" did not automatically dampen any desire that I had to have my own children. In fact, it made me feel even more positive about wanting my own children. That's still several years away, but there is something so special about raising up your own children and watching them grow and develop their own personalities, feelings and minds. It is also such an encouragement to see my sister and her husband interact with one another, as I approach my own wedding and marital relationship, and even watching them interact with their children was an encouragement to how I would like to raise my own children.

The time I spent with her and her family was definitely the highlight, the plane ride was uneventful, but with it's usual share of colorful characters. I am glad to be home and back with Scott and Apollo, but I will definitely miss seeing three sweet little faces, as well as my sister and her husband. I'm ready to relax and enjoy my time at home without little ones for the time being, but it definitely makes you look forward to the future.

When its 100 degrees in the Valley... Run to the Hills!

No I'm not talking about the Iron Maiden song. I'm talking about camping. What better way to escape the heat than a weekend in the mountains at the lake or at the coast. With houses and dogs and weddings eating up all of our disposable income these days, camping provided us with a few cheap and fun getaways this summer.

Antelope Lake

First was a visit to Antelope Lake a spot my family spent many years going to. Jenn and I took off on a Friday after work and arrived shortly after dark. I had previously made a reservation for a lakeside spot and low and behold when we got there sure enough someone was all set up in our spot despite the Reserved Klopcic sign they either didn't see or ignored. After the camp host sorted everything out, we made camp in the dark and the rest of the trip was quite enjoyable.

Apollo had a blast exploring and slightly less of a blast learning how to swim.

Redwoods

Next up for our summer adventures was a drive to the Northern coast of California and the beautiful majestic redwood national forest. We met up with Sean and Julie and spent a great couple of days at Prairie Creek Campground. Among the highlights were spending the day at Gold Bluffs Beach and Fern Canyon. Watching Apollo run and run and run and run and run some more on the beach was a blast. He shied away from the water though.

We took a short hike through fern canyon and were awed by the natural beauty.

Oh and we ran into some elk, one of which thought our campground looked like a good place for breakfast.

Bucks Lake

For the 4th of July, Jenn's sister and nephew were visiting from Alaska and my sister was visiting from Santa Barbara. Jenn's dad owns a cabin and a boat up at Buck's lake a short 2 hour drive away. With family in tow we drove up to the lake for some fun on the lake. After a day spent tubing, swimming and a night sleeping on some rocky ground we were all little sore, but no worse for the wear. Definitely a fun little getaway.

Lookout Trip

My most recent and probably last camping trip of the year started with Apollo and I bidding farewell to Jenn and heading up to Oregon to visit Sean and Julie. After a nice weekend we all drove back into California to stay at a lookout near Mount Shasta and Castle Crags. This was my first time staying in a lookout and I have to say it was incredible. The views were amazing and thankfully the smoke from all the fires cleared enough to give us some spectacular vistas. The next day we hiked out to Cliff Lake which was also quite spectacular in its own right. Plus it gave Apollo a chance to once again show that he dislikes swimming.

The waterfall in Oregon we stopped at briefly.

Some sunset pictures at the lookout.

Mount Shasta from above the trees near dusk.

Apollo pouting at his swimming lesson.

Well that is a summer worth of camping trips in blog form. We had a blast and despite the swimming we are pretty sure Apollo enjoys it just as much as we do.

Kansas City Here I Come!

As many of you may or may not know. I hail from a rather large family. Allow me to elaborate on that for a brief moment. I am the youngest of 5 girls. Yes, 5 girls. I have two older step-sisters, who are married and live in Southern California with their families. Between the two of them I will soon have 2 nephews, Dakota and Justin, and one niece, the second oldest the nieces and nephews brood, Samantha. My other two sisters who are related to me are quite spread out. My oldest sister, Michele lives in Alaska, where I grew up, with her her husband and Johnathan, the oldest of the bunch. My second oldest sister Larissa, lives in Kansas City with her husband and family, Silas, Kace, Gresham and the soon to be arriving, Petra.

This summer I was able to come out to Kansas City and visit my sister and her family, which is a special experience for me, since I haven't seen the boys since they were all babies and they are getting so--oo big, as children are wont to do. It has also been special to get to see my sister carrying her precious daughter, Petra, who I know will be treasured. But as Scott said to me when we found out that they were finally having a girl, "I wouldn't want to be the boy that tries to date her."

In any case, I am having a great time getting to know each one of these precious little people and learning about their personalities. It's also a blessing to have the chance to spend time with my sister, who has always been an encouraging example to me, even when she didn't think she was being exemplary. It is always interesting being around children and getting a look inside their world. It's an incredible feeling to have someone want your attention and cuddle in your lap, or just to be able to make them giggle and laugh, with that belly laugh that I think we all lose too soon when we grow up.

Needless to say, its been a fun trip so far, even though I miss the dry heat of Chico. It's rather humid out here this time of year, but that's normal for this part of the country I'm told. Hopefully, I'll be able to get pictures up soon and everyone can see how blessed I am to have the family that I do.

How the madness all started...

Well since I can't be 4 for 4 today, I figured it would be just as good to tell the story of how Scott and I met.

It was a dark and stormy night...

Ok, not really stormy, but it was dark and rather late on a winter's evening when Scott and I were finally introduced to one another. A co-worker and good friend of mine, Kim, suggested that we go to Scott's apartment after our resident and employee Christmas party to watch Survivor. I agreed to go along since I was sort of a reality t.v. junkie and who really wants to resist watching people wander around some deserted part of the earth and eat bugs? I had also previously been told by Kim that she thought Scott and I would make a cute couple and that it was time we met each other. Kim and Scott are old high school pals and Scott had recently moved back to Chico from the San Luis Obispo area where he went to college and worked for a year after graduating. So back to the story...

The three of us watched Survivor that night, and apparently something began to simmer under the surface between Scott and myself. Later that week at work, I was trying to convince Kim to come out and have a drink with me at a bar downtown, (classy right?), she refused and refused, but told me that Scott was also going out this weekend and he had been asking her to go out with him. With a stroke of pure genuis Kim decreed that we should meet up together downtown, and thus she wouldn't have to go at all! Going ahead with her ingenuis plan, Kim gave Scott my phone number, and after we played a little phone tag and I snagged a wing-man, we met up downtown at a fun little bar.

After having some fun and drinking some beer ( I only had 2 glasses Mom, I swear! ;]) we decided to cap the night off with some late night snacks at a local downtown diner. Now, Scott HATES it when I tell this part of the story, but I have to confess that it's my favorite. While at the diner, I made the sensible decision to order chicken strips and fries, while Scott made the not so smart decision of ordering biscuits and gravy. When our food finally arrived, Scott's meal was a mound of gravy over some little tiny biscuits, with the weirdest and most awkwardly shaped piece of "sausage" laying delicately on top of the mountain of gravy. Even in my slightly inebriated state I could see the folly in his decision. I think he only took a few bites and I graciously offered him a chicken strip, but it made for a very interesting end to our evening.

Don't worry, this is definitely not considered our first date. Scott took me out about a week later to a wonderful dinner and we had a lovely romantic evening. I just think this story is much more funny!

The Wedding

Just so I can be 3 for 3 today, I'll share a little bit about the site that Scott and I chose for our impending nuputials. As many of you may know, we officially set the date for June 5, 2009. This date comes fairly soon after my intended graduation from Graduate School next Spring. Needless to say the beginning of 2009 will be a rather busy time of year for both Scott and myself.

Originally, Scott and I were considering getting married at the Wawona Resort in Yosemite because we had so many good memories of that area and had shared some special milestones there early in our relationship. However, after much discussion with family members and with each other, we decided that a location closer to home, but with all the destination and natural charm we were looking for would be the better option. That's how we stumbled upon The Bidwell House in Chester, CA http://www.bidwellhouse.com/.

This beautiful Bed & Breakfast/Inn was originally the historical summer home of John and Annie Bidwell, the founders of Chico. While the home was moved from its original location to its present spot at the end of Main Street in Chester, it still has all that wonderful rustic and classic charm found in historic homes. The Bed & Breakfast has 14 fabulous rooms, a wonderful patio area and a charming and romantic gazebo where the ceremony will be taking place. The outdoors are so beautiful in the springtime and summer that we knew instantly that this was the place for our most special day. It reflects our mutual love of nature and being in the outdoors and its also about 10-15 degrees cooler than Chico at that time of year, so it fits for our comfort level as well.

Scott and I are reserving rooms at the Best Western Rose Quartz Inn in Chester as well as at the Oxford Suites in Chico. There are several other hotel/motel locations, including the B&B, so we know that our family and friends won't have trouble finding overnight accomodations. Chester is only about an hour and 30 minute drive from Chico, so total driving time from the Sacramento International Airport to Chester would be about three hours.

We also chose a Friday so we could be a little unconventional, but also so we could leave for our fabulous honeymoon on Saturday. We're flying to Tampa, FL to take a 7 day cruise through the Western Carribean. We're still working out the details for a brunch or luncheon with family and friends that may have stayed overnight, on Saturday the 6th, so we'll be sure to keep everyone posted, but most likely we'll do something in Chester/Chico before we leave for the airport and it will be very informal and just a good way for us to send everyone off as we go off to celebrate our newly wedded bliss.

The House and The Mutt

So far I'm 2 for 2 in posting of my blogs and I thought I would fill this one in with all the details about our wonderful new house and our wonderful pup, Apollo.

This spring, pre-engagement, Scott was lucky enough to have the opportunity to buy a house in Chico. The market was ideal and we really lucked into a fabulous 3 bed 2 bath home, pretty close to my work and in the best little family neighborhood. It has a great backyard, which can be hard to find in California, and other than an obnoxious next door neighbor, we are completely in love with our house.

Our backyard inspired us to get a dog, and while we had originally planned on waiting until the summer time to adopt a puppy from some friends of ours, my good friend Katie sent me a message about a litter of black lab pups that had been rescued by our local shelter. Naturally, I immediately contacted Scott so we could plan our next move. Before we knew it, two weeks had flown by and I was bringing home an adorable little black lab puppy whom we named Apollo. Little did we know what was to come....

At our last visit to the vet, for Apollo's last series of shots, the vet assistant looked at me and asked what breed Apollo was again. I told her how we had adopted him from the Humane Society and how he was a black lab, but they couldn't be sure he was a pure-bred and so on and so forth. She looked and me, and looked at him and said, he looks more like a Great Dane to me. At this point, my eyes almost fell out of my head and my mouth surely dropped open, as she began to describe his Dane-like characteristics. Scott and I are eagerly anticipating how he is going to turn out. Needless to say, you'll probably hear about it if he does turn into a Great Dane.

The last few months have been rather exciting for us and we are both looking forward to Christmastime and Weddingtime so we can celebrate everything that's been happening in our lives recently. If anyone wants to know more about something we have going, drop Scott or me a line and maybe it'll turn into a blog!

I am no longer a blogging virgin...

Well well well...

I knew this day would eventually arrive, so it's no surprise that it's here already. In a brief discussion with Scott and and off-hand comment to Kim, I (we) decided to start a blog, mostly to keep family and friends updated on our happenings, since we weren't very pleased with either of the wedding websites we tried, we figured this would be the best option. I guess I'd better start with a little backstory...

Scott and I met in December of 2006 through our friend Kim also known as the best match-maker ever! While we bonded over beers and Survivor, casual dating eventually turned into going steady.

During the Summer of 2007 we took our first big vacation together when we travelled to Yosemite National Park. It was the first time for both Scott and I at the breath-takingly beautiful National Park. We had a blast camping and spending time together, especially when we got the chance to go over to the coast and see Scott's sister in Santa Barbara.

The first year flew by fast and before I knew it Scott proposed to me in April. Before he knew it wedding plans were underway. We chose the amazingly beautiful bed and breakfast and historical home in Chester, CA, The Bidwell House. The venue has a gorgeous gazebo and beautiful grounds that we knew would be a perfect fit for our mutual love of nature.

Things have calmed down a little this summer, school is out and even though I'm looking forward to finishing up next year, YAY!, its nice to have the time to relax and take things easy. Scott has been busy at work, but we managed to take a few weekend vacations, one to Antelope Lake in early June, one to the beautiful Redwood Coast near Arcata and he took the pup on a mini vacation with Sean and Julie to a fire lookout. I am getting the chance to go visit my big sister in Missouri and spend some time with my 3 adorable nephews!

Apollo continues to keep us on our toes and he's growing like a weed. We're still waiting to see whether or not he keeps leaning towards his Great Dane traits or if he starts leaning towards the black lab traits he was "supposed" to have.

Well, the weather is warm and the sky has finally cleared of smoke. Keep checking back for wedding and various updates!