An Ode to Randomness

What's Going on in Chico: I'm trying to get wedding invitations out in a timely and efficient manner, settle myself into the school schedule and work on my Master's Analytic Review.

The Weather: Unseasonably warm for Northern California. This winter and last winter did not provide us with the much needed rainfall that we require to sustain our rich farming and aricultural communities. We're still holding out hope for rainy and inclement weather, although the balmy psuedo-summer days are quite nice. My apologies to those of you in the Midwest currently suffering bitterly cold days and nights!

Apollo: Our wonderful dog. He has finally stopped growing up, but is now growing out. He's filling out a lot and since we're coming up on his first birthday, we've begun to phase him out of puppy chow, even though we've resigned ourselves to the fact that he will most likely remain a puppy for another year or so. He's also starting to understand phrases like "Car ride" and "Get the Mail" at which point upon hearing such a phrase he runs to the front door and sits right in front of it, with his chest pressed to the door and his nose to the doorknob in his eagerness to get out and GO! Muddy paws have become the bane of my existence.

Random Updates About Me:

- I started a new workout this month, it's Jillian Michaels' (from the Biggest Loser) 30 Day Shred. There are 3, challenging 20 minute workouts, that have really kicked my butt into high gear to get into shape. I'm also trying to eat less calories, and Lucerne Fat Free Yogurt in Lemon Chiffon is my new favorite food.

- I've joined a book club with some other friends and we are in the process of readin East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I was slightly hesitant at first since my last foray into Steinbeck was the Grapes of Wrath which I did not enjoy at all. So far, I am intrigued by East of Eden and I am managing to fit it into my rotation of 3-4 books at a time. I am currently enamored with a trilogy about Josephine Bonaparte which I highly reccomend for anyone who is into history at all and especially if you're interested in the French Revolution.

- I've finished my first week of my last semester at school, and I don't think I'll have a problem with the course work, I'm just concerned about my Master's Project. I'm doing a comparative analysis of animal attachment and relational attachment and how each mediates the effects of aging and stress in elderly and late adulthood populations. Very ambitious I know, but I have confidence that I'll complete it and hopefully the results will be surprising!

- I am getting excited planning my wardrobe for the cruise. We are going on a Carnival Cruise for our Honeymoon and I'm looking forward to all the fun sun dresses and eveningwear I'll get to pack. Not to mention the shoes! I think I'm most excited to visit Belize! I think it will be completely amazing, as will the other islands and the ship itself. We're also spending 2 days at Disneyworld, and I think this will be very fun and exciting as well. Hopefully there won't be too many toursits (wishful thinking I know), but here's hoping! We're staying at Disney's Contemporary Resort and I think that experience will be just fabulous as well.


Random Updates About Us:

- We are going to a food tasting at our venue, The Bidwell House in a couple of weeks and we're excited about finally being able to taste some of the entrees that we picked out! Hopefully we won't have to make too many changes to the menu!

- We're having our first ever Superbowl Party in the new house, and Scott is definitely looking forward to watching the big game on his TV and celebrating the event with friends. Scott is especially excited to use the deep fryer (thanks Sandi!)!!

- We (I) still haven't found a home in the kitchen for all the new goodies we got for Christmas and the Shower.

- Despite our best efforts, our DVD collection still continues to grow. I have adopted the position that they just keep appearing. I have no idea where they keep coming from. :)

Random News About Chico:

-There was a riot downtown on Thursday. Go Wildcats!

-Apparently Chester hosts Dog Sled Races. This I did not know.

For more interesting info about Chico, you can check out the ChicoER Website. I can't make any guarantees about the quality of news, but it is at least interesting!

Hopefully everyone enjoyed my ode to randomness!

Je t'aime...

As January becomes more than half old, I am forced to think of everythin but school and wedding details that have occupied my mind for the last two weeks. Now that Christmas and New Year's are over and my life has returned to some semblance of order, I find myself drawn to blog about the things I love about life. Some may be artistic and poignant, and others may be complete nonsense. Either way, they keep me from going insane.

1-- Art. What is not to love about art? I think you have to have an appreciation for the rich history that art represents as well as the mutlitude of emotions that it can elicit.

Monet's "Water Lilies". Is there a more classic piece of art than Monet's collection of impressionist paintings from Giverny? The use of light and color make paintings like this come to life. You can almost see the lilies moving on the water.

"Christina's World" by Wyeth. Is she looking towards or away from something? How accurately has he captured the pure starkness of the midwest and farmland. But also the underlying richness of the earth and the soil and the heritage from that part of the US.

I love that you can look at a painting at different times in your life and have it mean completely different things.

2-- Poetry. How amazing a gift when people can use words to mold and shape the feelings of others. Many of you may not know this, but I have a passion for poetry. I've even been known to pen a few poems in my day. My favorites would definitely have to be Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson and John Donne. But for your reading pleasure, here's a unique "Stofa" creation. Bear in mind that this is the first time I've posted any of my poems for popular reading.

Communication with a kiss,
digression of the human soul.
Feelings torture the pure heart inside.
Pressure of lips touching mine
enticing mixture of saliva
ignites the heat within my breast.
Feel it rage against
the rising tide of my distress.

Reason wars with passion.
Reason armed with sharp edged words
and cunningly disguised manipulating thoughts,
those vines that twist and change the landscape of my heart.
Passion equipped with fire
burns the path that the brain knows to reason.
Two halves of the same whole;
just two lives. Linked at the mouth,
joined by lust.
Transacting bodies, hearts, and minds
bought and sold with love.
Ghostlike forgotten emotions inhabit the mind’s lost reason,
haunting of the heart.

The world traffics in human emotions,
Barters for the feelings of desire and respect;
murky lines between the two
leave me bereft.
The empty shell of my heart
remains.
I can hear you echo off the hollow walls.

Communication with a kiss
jaded thoughts define the human condition.
Cursed with the thought of love
caught in our transactions.

3-- Laughter. Laughter is such a magical thing. I love to laugh! At life, at myself, more often at myself, but always to find some laughter, I think adds light to the bleakness we often find in this world.

When you have beautiful people in your life, I think it makes the whole bit easier.

4-- Family. My family is growing! I love the thought that in less than 6 months I will be welcomed into another family, will be welcoming others into my family, but will also be starting my own family. Families are crazy, insane collections of individuals that you have no ability to chose from, but that you learn to love, laugh, and live with. I love that families grow and continue to renew themselves, that they are not static but dynamic, and that they are always changing.

2008 in Review

As the New Year dawns, we have many things to look forward to in our neck of the woods. However, I thought I would take the time to remember some of the more memorable things that have happened in 2008 since it was a pretty big year for us.

Starting at the beginning of 2008....


January- I started my 2nd semester of the graduate program and was already looking forward to the summer. Scott put an offer in on our first home.

Feburary- We bought a house! We received the keys to our new home on February 21st and Scott and his Dad, Ralph, moved us in lickety-split.

March- We were just beginning to settle ourselves into our new home. We celebrated March by having a housewarming party, and my best friend from so-cal, Jessica, came up to visit and spent the week with us!

April- What didn't happen in April? We got engaged and we got our Pup Apollo. Both events couldn't have been more exciting for either of us!!

May- I finished my first year in the graduate program!

June- We took a trip to Antelope Lake and to the Redwoods. It was Apollo's first venture into the wild outdoors, and both camping trips were full of fun and friends!

July- Scott's sister Sandi, came up to Chico and spent the 4th of July with us. We had a great time at Buck's Lake, CA playing on the water and relaxing in the sun. My sister Michele and my nephew Johnathan were also able to make it down for the holiday as well as my younger sister Marina! I know, my family is confusing!

August- Time to get ready for school start again! I entered my 2nd year of the graduate program, moving me closer and closer to graduation. Petra, my niece also arrived and I got to visit my sister Larissa and her family in Missouri!

September- I don't remember too much about Sepetember, but there were a lot of birthdays! Justin was born on the 15th, my brother in law Will turned the big 3-0, and my nephew Kace turned 3!

October- October brought midterms and Halloween. This year I dressed up as Elvis, and let me just say that it was the first and last time I'll ever wear a jumpsuit.

November- Sandi and her new beau Cristo came up to Chico and spent the Thanksgiving holiday with us. We had a blast cooking, and celebrating this time of year with them! Apollo loved the turkey too. He sniffed at the oven a lot.

December- The holiday season was in full swing, and both of our families converged on my parent's home in Southern California to celebrate this precious time of year. I also celebrated my 24th birthday at Disneyland.

All in all it was a great year, and we're both lookin forward to the fun and frivolities of 2009!

Happy New Year Everyone!