Update (in photos)

Hanging with Adam & Linz!

Looks who's in the shopping cart now!

Our adorable niece and me.

Such a cute pic!

At an NLDS game

In Vegas for Mark's birthday

Lucky guy!

With a random relic at the House of Blues Foundation Room.

Having a good 'ole time!

Mark & the Strip

We wandered through the closed restaurant and found a collection of empty wine buckets, a perfect place for Mark to relieve himself!

Self-Portrait!

Welcome to the world Joshua Leo!

Karen and Scott's first baby was born on Monday! After 41 hours of labor and an eventual c-section, Mom and Baby are doing well. Congratulations Diegels! We are so thrilled for you!

Like a vacation

Mark had Monday and Tuesday off this week and, boy, does that make today feel like a Monday! I go back to school (at the university) next week so I'm very thankful to have felt like we were on vacation.

We woke up somewhat early on Monday with a list of errands to run. We dropped Mark's car off at the dealership to get his a/c fixed (it hasn't been working for a few weeks) and Mark got a haircut. We then went to Home Depot and ordered a door with a doggie door already installed in it rather than having Mark's dad saw the hole himself, which was the original plan. We also got a new toilet seat as I had broken the last one by standing on it and cleaning the walls. Apparently, I twisted one way and the seat went the other, causing the screw that holds the lid to the seat to break.

After lunch, we embarked on our major endeavor of the day: purchasing a new suit for Mark. We went to an outlet mall not far from us to get an idea of prices then headed to Hollywood, a suit outlet mecca. I must say that, even though we are SoCal residents, walking the star-lined streets of Hollywood is still pretty cool. We went to an additional four stores and Mark had decided on a classic black suit until he tried on a super-sharp grey, pin-striped Hugo Boss. It was the suit that fit him the best all day long and he really looked handsome in it. He was a bit afraid that grey, pin-stripes don't go with enough colors of shirts and ties but I reassured him that, according to Stacey and Clinton, it would be considered a neutral and that he could wear any shirt and tie with it. We left the store for a minute to discuss and then he called his friend Andy to gets the man's perspective. He decided to get it and I think it guarantees that heads will turn when he walks into a room (as if they don't already!).

Being that we were in Hollywood and it was already close to 5, we decided to get some food and drinks and wait for traffic to lighten up. We went to this really neat German bar where the bartender and the regulars are all from Germany. The food was great - even better than Frankenmuth! After braving the freeway, we took a short nap then met up with Mark's GM, Will, at BJ's then closed down The Powwow Saloon, where they have karaoke every night! We finally crashed close to 3:30.

Tuesday morning we forced ourselves out of bed early and went for a quick greasy breakfast since I was feeling a bit queasy from over-indulging the night before and he was moving pretty slowly. We then hit the road to meet up with our friends Dave and Robin and their adorable daughter, Riley, in Del Mar (about an hour and a half south of us, close to San Diego). Robin's brother is the deputy chief of the life guards on his stretch of the beach so we had a prime spot close to the tower. The water was beautiful! So clean. And the waves were totally within my comfort zone, which is really great! After a quick, hangover-curing dip, I got comfortable with Robin, her sister-in-law, and the baby (who was safe under an umbrella) and caught some major rays. Mark, on the other hand, went boogie-boarding for a bit then went out with Robin's lifeguard brother, his 7-year-old son, and Dave for his first surfing lesson. He had a wonderful time and came back to shore exhausted but super excited to try it again sometime very soon. We all then went for a fabulous dinner and margaritas and drove home, where we fell into a deep sleep no later than 10:30! It is almost inconceivable that Mark be asleep by 10:30. I guess the surfing really did take a lot out of him!
This morning, as Mark was getting ready for work, we were talking about how nice the last two days were and how much like a vacation they felt like. We felt rested and he felt ready to deal with the restaurant for the next few days.

Break open the bubbly!

Adam proposed to Lindsay this weekend and she said yes!!!

We are so thrilled for them. They are, absolutely, hands-down, our best friends here in L.A. and the couple that we spend holidays and special times with. We are so excited to be a part of this amazingly special time for them. Congrats you two!

Happy, happy day!

I love birthdays. I think birthdays should be a super special day for the birthday boy/girl and an excellent day to celebrate being you. My birthday always starts several days prior to the actual date of my birth. In fact, I enjoy celebrating my entire birth month.

I always hear people saying things like, "once you get to a certain age, it just isn't fun to celebrate getting older anymore." To which I reply, "Bull#&it!" The purpose of celebrating a birthday, to me, isn't to celebrate living another year or, as some pessimists out there feel, getting a year closer to death. No sir, celebrating someone's birthday is to take one day out the year to make a point to tell the people that you love that you are happy they're alive.

I found myself brought to tears on my birthday this year by the sheer volume of people who extended their well wishes and happy thoughts. Everyone from my students and co-workers to my family to Mark's co-workers and family called or sent cards or emailed or sent me a text message letting me know that they are thinking of me on my special day. I felt truly, truly humbled and blessed to have such special people in my life and I thank each and every one of you for your thoughts.

I had a terrific birthday this year, as I always do. Knowing how important birthdays are to me, Mark always goes above and beyond in making my day special for me. We were recounting all of the birthdays that I've celebrated with him and each one has been remarkable. This year was no exception.

While my co-workers and students had been celebrating with me since the 15th, Mark and I started our official celebration at midnight on the 17th when I opened the package that my mom sent along with one of his gifts for me. We stayed up late watching our TiVoed shows from the past week and enjoying being together.

Mark had the day off so I followed suit and called in sick. We woke up and got moving at our own pace, no need for alarm clocks and morning routines. In fact, I was happily awoken by phone calls from both of my parents and a text message from my brother. While I laid in bed, slowly welcoming in the day, Mark snuck off to finish wrapping my gifts. While it's clear to see why I am the resident wrapper in our home, I absolutely love the effort he puts forth just to make me feel special.

I was shocked and thrilled to open a Nintendo Wii, a Wii Fit, and the Personal Trainer! I'd been wanting a Wii since I first played it at Mike and Kristi's right after Colin was born. He also got me a new bottle of DKNY Be Delicious perfume, my signature scent that I've been out of for a few months, and a new Dodgers bracelet, I get one every season and hadn't bought a new one yet this year.
After opening my presents, we went to breakfast and the headed to the beach. We originally intended on going back to Salt Creek but because we had taken our time getting up and about, we opted just to go to the dog beach at Huntington. We had a great time with King and he even went swimming in the ocean for the first time. He learned to negotiate the waves the hard way (by taking a couple in the face) and it was hilarious to watch as he learned to lift his head and turn away from the water as the waves came toward him. As we were leaving the beach, King was even talent spotted and a lady wanted us to come to the studio for an interview. We opted against it as we didn't quite trust her but, still, Hollywood wants our Kingy.

When we got home, Mark's parents had a vase of flowers, a card, and a cake waiting for me. The card had a really great sentiment about how much they love me. Mark's mom asked me to read it out loud but there was no way I could because just the fact that they had gotten me a card brought tears to my eyes. Mark read it though and both his mom and I got choked up. It was a really nice moment.


Mark had told me earlier in the week that he made dinner reservations but wouldn't tell me where. After taking the strangest route possible and keeping me guessing the entire time, we arrived at one of our favorite restaurants called Dal Rae. We enjoyed a really nice bottle of Strasburg champagne, tableside Caesar salad, a really nice bottle of wine, Chateaubriand (also prepared tableside), and a delicious ice cream dessert along with great conversation and romantic time together.

After such a fantastic day and evening, mixed with a belly full of delicious food and wine, I went to sleep on Friday night thankful for the life that I get to live.

Twiddling my Thumbs (Better settle in, it's a long one!)

After being publicly called out on Angela's blog and then noticing that I'm at the very bottom of Kristi's blog list, as in I'm the most delinquent blog out there, I figured I should do some catching up. I haven't blogged since May 17th and since then, trust me, twiddling my thumbs is something I just haven't had time for. In fact, since May 17th...

My Spring semester classes ended and I earned a 4.0 in both of them. Both classes really should be undergrad courses and seemed to be designed for people who have never taught in an actual classroom. I was so much more challenged, intellectually, in the fall and was a bit disappointed with the courses this semester. I discovered that earning my Master's is more about dedication, determination, and perseverance and that it really isn't about intelligence at all.

We went to Cambria/Paso Robles for the weekend with Katey and her boyfriend, Kenji. Kenji lives in San Francisco and Katey in Tampa. They fly cross-country regularly and, though Kenji is in the same state, I haven't seen Katey since our wedding. We made a plan to meet up halfway between Kenji's place and ours and, aren't we lucky, the halfway point also happens to be a great place to taste wine! Paso Robles is known for their Zinfandel, which is my favorite. Plus, the city of Cambria, where we rented a house for the weekend, and the city of Paso Robles, and most of the wineries within it, are very dog friendly. So, for this weekend excursion, we didn't have to leave the dog behind. He was even allowed inside one of the tasting rooms. The five of us had a great time driving through wine country, singing about "mini sirloin burgers," playing Cranium, and catching up. Well, to tell the truth, Katey and I never have to catch up, we simply continue on as if we'd seen each other yesterday. That's part of what makes our friendship, one that's been in existence since 1987, the best kind of friendship there is. We went to Adam and Lindsay's for a Memorial Day BBQ. They have a great place in Sherman Oaks, about 26 miles from us in Downey. Their apartment complex has a pool, a couple of hot tubs, tennis courts, basketball courts, and a great place near it all to have a cookout. We were able to meet one of Adam's best friends from home who also lives in SoCal. They always have great parties and, as always, we had a great time. Luckily, it wasn't a repeat of last year's 4th of July party. The one I missed. Because I was passed out. The whole day.
On May 28th, our school had our annual Premios de Oro awards ceremony. Translated, it means "Prize of Gold" for all of you gringas reading this. :) I was shocked and humbled to find out that I had been nominated by a colleague and chosen by the PTSA to win the PTSA honorary service award for my dedication to the school this past year. I got a plaque and everything! I tried my darnedst to find out who nominated me but either nobody knew or they were swore to secrecy. It really made me feel very special and appreciated.

We spent an afternoon/evening watching the Red Wings win one of the Stanley Cup playoff games with our friends Dave and Robin and their new daughter, Riley. Even she's a Red Wings fan! June brought with it a ton of exciting events for me and my class at school, all of which were planned by yours truly. We had two retirement parties for one of my paraeducators, an end of the year BBQ for the entire class, I had to plan a presentation for a colleague who also retired, our annual trip to Knott's Berry Farm and, of course, graduation. My co-teacher and I also get gifts for all of our paraeducators, our general education T.A.'s who work in our classroom, the general education teachers who work with our kids throughout the year, and the support staff at the school. The first two weeks of the month were spent running around like a chicken with my head cut off getting all of the loose ends tied up.
I also started my summer session class at CSULB the first week in June. It's a course on Program Evaluation and I'm taking it as an elective. Since I didn't get my credential in California, my undergrad program in Arizona didn't quite match up and I'm short 6 credits for my Master's degree. I had to take electives in the field of education or psychology and, with the limited number of classes offered in the summer, this one just happened to meet the criteria. It meets twice a week and is supposed to run from 5-8:45; however, our instructor has let us go at 7:45 every class session and not one of us has said a word. The first couple of times that she has said "we only have about five minutes left in class" at 7:40, everyone just kinda looked around thinking "nobody better say a word" and nobody has. A few of us were just joking around that maybe our instructor is thinking the same thing. Who knows. It's only a 6-week course and our last class is on Thursday. In fact, I should be working on my final paper and presentation right now...

I went to the doctor the first week of June for a physical and all looks good. Well, almost all. My doctor and I had a very frank discussion about my weight and, although I'm totally aware of my weight problem, I found myself near tears telling him how hard it is to have to have struggled with it all my life and blah, blah, blah. He told me that I could stand to lose, get this, 60 pounds!!! 60. I've known where my healthy weight range is and I was totally aware that it was 60 lbs away but to hear the doctor say it made me feel, quite honestly, pretty shitty. However, I know that it is all for the good of my health and the health of our future babies-to-be. My doctor also recommended an appetite suppressant, called phentermine, which I've been taking now for just over a month. He said it can be a good tool to support my changing habits. I have to go in monthly to weigh in and talk with him before getting another batch of pills. I haven't felt weird when taking it, except for when I take a pill and have a couple of drinks. I started with 1/2 a pill a day and am now taking a whole pill but 1/2 at a time. It's crazy what it does to my appetite. I'm just not hungry. And, when I first got them, I thought it wasn't necessarily going to work because my problem with weight loss hasn't been hunger. In fact, it's just the opposite, I eat even when I'm not hungry or past the point of feeling full. But, food just doesn't have the same appeal to me anymore and my relationship with food is starting to change at the very basic of levels. I'm starting to eat to live rather than live to eat. When I went in for my monthly check up and for my next bottle, I had lost 11 lbs. Works for me! My plan is to use this tool through the summer and be done come September.

After school let out, summer school started right away and, of course, I'm teaching it again this summer. Hopefully, if all goes according to plan, this will be my last summer teaching for several years, if not forever. My first week of summer school was a bit rocky as I was TOTALLY PMSing and, therefore, unnecessarily stressed out. There is another teacher working with me even though we only have a total of 26 students attending. With all of the budget cuts, I was certain that I'd have all of the students for summer school. I'm very grateful that I don't because, when we split the kids into two groups, I have a very manageable 13 students - a class size I haven't seen since I was working at the elementary school. It's a very nice reprieve from the usual 30+ in the classroom at the same time. This week my hormones were more under control and it was a lot of fun. Two weeks down, three more to go...

Mark's been busy lately too. He is on the opening management team for the newest BJ's Restaurant, which is located 1.3 miles from our house! He actually rode his bike to work last week. The restaurant is not even finished being built yet, although watching the progress is amazing. Mark and the other three managers have set up shop in an empty store next to the restaurant and have been interviewing prospective employees for eleven hours a day for the past two and half weeks! Before he started, I kept asking him what exactly four managers are going to do all day before the restaurant even opens. I had NO IDEA how crazy the hiring process was going to be. They have appointments for 100 interviews everyday plus they take walk-in applicants. People are waiting two or three hours just to get an interview. He said it's so hard to turn those people away but he has had to it quite frequently. When it all started, they needed to hire 260 employees and expected to get a few thousand applicants. It's such an insane process, he comes home exhausted every night. One positive thing is, though, that he works from 8 am until about 7:30 every day so we have our evenings off together and he's been off on Sundays and that will continue for a few more weeks. We were joking around that we're like Ozzy and Harriet now with the same schedule eveyday. That's something we have never had.

Mark also quit smoking! (Insert maniacal cheers and applause here) He's been cigarette free for three weeks now and doing a really, really amazing job. He's using nicotine patches to help him out but quitting is not easy and I commend him for giving it a go. I've been reading research to him about how much his body has healed already and all of the positive things that will come from his knocking out his addiction. I really am proud of him.

So, here I am, on 4th of July, sitting at my computer. Mark's working this morning/afternoon so we don't have any major plans. Plus, our baby is terrified of fireworks and has been freaking out every night for the past week and a half since people have been lighting them off. We've given him 1/2 a Dramamine the past couple of nights, something that a friend of mine's vet recommended for her Rottweiler, and that has seemed to help. For those of you who know King, he is probably the most relaxed and mellow dog out there. But, man does he HATE fireworks. Lucky for him, it'll all be over soon. We may go to our friend Dave's place, if he doesn't mind if we bring the dog, or we may go hang out with Mark's friend Mark who is staying at an awesome place for the weekend in Newport Beach. Or, we may just stay in and relax with the dog. Our little family of three.

Another GREAT weekend

We spent this past weekend in Michigan and had such a great time. I was very, very hard to leave and I'm still emotional about being back home already.

Our pictures are on our shutterfly site (www.lajcisinlove.shutterfly.com )
Password: missymark0811. Enjoy!

Reminder

I've spent the last two hours glued to our home videos from the week of our wedding. I don't know if I've ever actually sat down and watched the whole thing without fast forwarding. I know it is the happiest day of any married girl's life but I was reminded, while watching, just how lucky I am. Of course, I am lucky to have married Mark for he is the love of my life, my best friend, my other half. But, I was reminded by this video, just how lucky I am to be a part of the family that I am. It was so special for me, and for Mark, that EVERYONE came all the way out to California for our big day. It meant so much to us then and still means so much to us now. I don't know if we expressed our delight and appreciation enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Another thing that I was reminded of while watching this video, was just how much we owe our bridal party - especially the American members. I loved our entrance into our reception but I'm sure it wasn't the most comfortable of situations for our bridal party. For those of you who don't know, about three minutes before we arrived at the reception, we told everyone that we were going to walk in and the party would make a tunnel for us to walk under. Mark and I would then stand behind our chairs at the head table and watch as our party danced "Albanian style" for the remainder of the song. Now, don't forget that four of the girls and six of the guys had never even heard Albanian music before, let alone knew how to dance to it. But, did anyone complain? Of course not. And for that, we owe you guys!

Adventures with Facebook

Some of you may have gotten a friend request from a Miss Melissa Marie tonight. It so happens that I forgot the password for our existing facebook account so I started to create a new one. But, I couldn't figure out (in a whole 3 minutes) how to hide my email address and then I got frantic about being exposed to the world and the ability for just anyone to contact me and then I deactivated our account. We had a second facebook account tonight for a whopping 7 minutes. I came, I saw, I ran away.

Congratulations!

Our very good friend Dave and his wife Robin welcomed their daughter, Riley Michele, into the world earlier this week and we couldn't be happier for them. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 2 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. Mom and baby are doing well, they should be coming home today.

Hilarious

Mark's buddy sent him this jibjab card and I just have to share. I know most of you don't know his friends but the dancers in this video are Mark. Andy, Craig, Dave, and Dennis - all of his beloved "homies" that live in Michigan.

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/uaUnIAe9MDVCrhqr

New Pictures

I've added our pictures from our most recent trip to Michigan to our shutterfly site. Check it out at www.lajcisinlove.shutterfly.com. Our password is: missymark0811

A Magical Evening

Lindsay turned 29th on the 13th and, to celebrate, we all went out to Magic Castle in Hollywood (check it out at: http://www.magiccastle.com/). It's this ultra-exclusive dinner club in a historic castle that was built when Hollywood was nothing but a vast lot of land filled with nothing. It has an incredible aura and is kinda creepy at times. We were told that the place was built to throw people off. Everything in it, apparently, is crooked. The floor slopes, the doorways are slanted, and none of the pictures are hung straight. You wouldn't know it but it's meant to make you confused. There were three levels and about 5 or 6 bars. We basically wandered through the place, taking in shows as we could. Dinner was amazing, Mark had steak Milton with crab and bearnaise and I had short ribs (my new steakhosue favorite). In all, it was a great night with great friends and, I think, Lindsay had a fantastic birthday!