Rain, rain go away

Well it has been an interesting weekend. It started off with sad news, loosing Mopar and finding out that Zac did not get the full time job. Zac went back to work on Saturday so I planned a girls night with my friend Erica. Im not sure if I have mentioned this but Erica got engaged on New Years! Im so happy for her and SO excited. I think I should go into the wedding planning business because it sure is fun and I miss it! Anyways, I planned a sleep over where we could make drinks and look at bridal magazines.

I picked up Erica at around 4:30 in Santa Rosa and we headed over to Barnes and Nobles to get ourselves some magazines to look at. We also picked up a wedding planning book. We headed over the hill to Calistoga to go get some dinner. We decided we would eat at Hydros. The food was delcious, we had a mixture of butternut squash soup, atrichokes with lemon pepper aioli and some good ol fashioned mac and cheese! Once we were done eating we headed back to my house for the real fun! We made some delicious drinks, looked through bridal magazines and got some great ideas for her wedding. We also played one of our favorite movies Step Brothers. Sometimes its just nice to have a girls night in. I don't remember the last time I have done that. Its a little harder living up here because I had to make a whole new set of friends. Sometimes it is hard to put yourself out there and to really make the effort. Im trying to get better at that.


We tried to stay up as late as we could but we only made it to about 12:30! Can't stay up as late as a used to. I just appreciate my sleep to much. When we woke up the next morning it was gloomy and rainy. But we made the best of it and headed into town for some nice warm breakfast at Cafe Sarafornia. After breakfast it was time to take Erica back home. I stopped at my house really quick to pick up my boy huds so he wouldn't be trapped in the house. And let me just say that I am loving my truck so much! I put hudson in the back with the seats down and he was a perfect little angel. He usually rides in the truck bed but I didn't want him getting soaking wet today.I rolled down the windows in the back and he was having so much fun putting his head out! He looked so cute!

Now Me and Huds are just enjoying out rainy day together. He is fast asleep and I am watching some TV. A little later I am going to watch one of my Audrey Hepburn movies I got for christmas! I think that will be a perfect way for me to end my weekend. I hope that ya'll had a nice weekend.

A sad day

Anyone who knows my in laws Im sure knows of Mopar. Mopar was one of many German Shepherds the Fleckners have owned. What and amazing dog he was, very smart. I always loved coming over and watching the way Mopar would interact with all the boys. You always knew that Steve was the alpha dog, Mopar would do anything to protect him! They would always take him on trips whether it was up to Canada for snowboarding or backpacking in the Trinity Alps. He had a wonderful like with the Fleckners.

On our last backpack trip is when we really noticed that Mopar was going blind. From then on it was down hill. He began to run in to everything, got very thin and more recently started to snap at people when they touched him. He was also having trouble going to the bathroom. I think the poor guy was starting to be in pain. So yesterday at around 10:00am Steve and Nick took Mopar in. I can only imagine how hard it was for them because they truly loved that dog like part of the family. Even thinking about it now makes me want to cry. Its always amazes me that we put ourselves through this. We all know that our pets eventually will die but somehow the joy of having them with us whether its for a few years or 13 years is worth the pain. All the wonderful memories that we have from our pets is worth it. Mopar, you will be remembered forever! We all love you and will miss you.

Good News!

Well I want to start off my weekend post by letting all my readers know that my hubby Zac got asked to come back for a chiefs interview! So exciting! Fire is so different then most jobs. I turn in my resume and I hope that I get and interview and if I go through that then a working interview and Im hired! In the world of fire Zac turns in his application/resume, gets called into a written if he passes his written he is asked to come back for an oral board, if he passes his oral board her gets to move on to the chiefs interview, if he passes his interview he has the job.....once he gets through his academy and his probation period. So thats why we get excited when there is a chiefs interview is involved! His interview is this Tuesday at 10:30 so please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.


My weekend started out with a Friday afternoon party at work. We brought food and enjoyed some dancing with the x-box connect. Very fun! Took me awhile to warm up and really get moving but I am proud to say that I won all 3 dances!  It was really fun! After out little new years party my friend Erica and I headed over to Johnny Garlics to get a drink. Zac, Manny, Yoli and one of her friends ended up meeting us there. Zac and I left around 7:00 because we were due for veggie burgers at the Fleckners house! Delish!

On Saturday Zac and I worked in the yard. We rent a house but with having a 100lb malamute doing hot laps in the backyard we were due for some new bark. So Friday morning we went into St.Helena to pick up a trailer full of bark. We were able to go about half of our back yard with the bark and it looks MUCH better! And the rain is on the way so hopefully we will be able to keep down on the mud! As for today I was able to relax and do nothing at all and I love it! Its back to work for me tomorrow! Hope ya'll had a great weekend!

Just another day in paradise

Hello again! Ya'll know how my Friday went so now its time to tell you about my glorious Saturday and Sunday. Zac and I woke up late on Saturday morning and headed into town to Hydros for some breakfast. When we got home it was time to clean up the house. It amazes me how quickly our house can get dirty. I blame it on our malamute! Anyways, Zac got a call from one of his fire buddies from Mill Valley. Him and his girlfriend were in the Valley and thought they would stop by and say hello. We were able to sit outside and enjoy the scenery, no rain for us yet! By the time they left it was already time to start getting ready for our night out. I had planned a dinner/bowling night with some friends from work. At 6:30 we picked up our friends Manny and Yoli and headed over to El Torito for some dinner. There was a total of 9 of us. Once we were finished it was over to the bowling ally. I don't remember the last time I have been bowling but I know it has been years! When we began to play I realized why I don't go bowling very often, I suck! It was still  a lot of fun and Im happy to say that I met my goal of getting above 100...107 to be exact! I don't know how that happened. I think it must have been the rock and bowl and the wine on my side!

Moving on to Sunday. We didn't get home till about midnight so Zac and I were happy to be able to sleep in once again. It was a nice lazy Sunday. We had our breakfast, lounged around the house and then decided to get ready and head over to Santa Rosa for some lunch. Lunch was delish, after lunch it was Barnes and Nobles to check out some magazines and of course we had time to check out an open house. It was $799,000 a little out of our price range but still fun to look at. When we got back home we tried to take a nap, I don't think I ever fell asleep but it still felt nice to lay there. Once we were up it was time to take the Ninja out! I told Zac I wanted to get back on the bike and see if I still know how to ride it, it has been at least 3 or 4 years! We took her out to Bennett Lane and Zac hopped off and said okay, go. Uh....really? Just hope on and go? No pointers or anything? Nah, you'll be fine he said! Okay then, hope this really IS like riding a bike and everything comes back to you. It did. A little slow a first remember to clutch and shift and all that jazz but I am happy to say I still got it! Im excited to get some more practice.

Now its about 5:30 and at 6:00 we are headed over to Jason and Chelsies house for dinner, I can't wait! We are going to bring Hudson over with us which we haven't done in a long time because Huds has been acting a little aggressive towards other dogs if there is ever a toy involved. Zac assured me that he is going to keep an eye on him all night so hopefully nothing goes wrong. I just hate having to worry! Anyways, I hope that all of you had just as wonderful of a weekend as I did!

So Happy.

If this is a glimpse into what 2012 will be for me then I am loving it already! I started off my weekend with dinner with one of my good friends on Thursday night. Chelsie and I had not seen each other since Christmas so we were due to catch up! I headed over to her house after work for some delicious La Prima pizza and wine. We spent about 4 hours catching up and talking wedding! At about 10:30 I headed home. Up so late on a Thursday night you ask? Well it makes it so much easier when I have Fridays off! I must say that having Fridays off is a little piece of heaven on earth for me.

So I'm already one happy girl and its only Friday. Well things keep getting better for me, Zac only had to work one day and he came home this morning. We ate some breakfast together, cleaned up the house, got ready for our day and drove over to St.Helena to eat at Guignis. I think we have eaten there every weekend for the last 3 weekends! I could eat there every day and I used to when I worked in St.Helena. After filling our bellies with guignis we headed home to play with Hudson a little bit. It was nice to be out in the gorgeous weather, a little cold, but beautiful. After being out in the yard for an hour we headed back inside to just hanf out and watch TV. Before we knew it, it was already time for dinner! We decided to head over to Barolos to eat. Now we are home and watching Prison Break! What I good show. Im so excited to be watching it again.


Tomorrow is only Saturday and I have the whole day with my hubby and then I planned a fun night of bowling with friends. I am so excited! Stay tuned!

Happy Freakin New Year!

Hello friends! First I want to start by saying that I have reached 100 blog posts! WOO HOO! Now Im not someone to blog all the time or every day but I try my best to give you a update about once a week. There are just so many other things I have going on, its the best I can do! But you can be excited with me about hitting the big 100!

Back to New Years Eve! Zac was working (no big suprise) so I decided I would hang out with some friends! After thinking about possibly going to the city, we decided to veto that due to the crazy traffic, crazy people and not being prepared. I thought it would be a neat idea to have dinner and then head over to someones house to party and play some games! We started out at Johnny Garlics for dinner and drinks then headed over to my friends Yoli and Mannys house to play some games. At around 10:30 I left their house to go visit some more friends! That is where I ended my night, finally at around 1:45 I thought it would be a good idea to head home.

Now for PICTURES!

2011 in a Nutshell

When I was younger I felt like everything took FOREVER! Had to wait for Birthdays, Christmas, New Years! Well now that I'm older I can't believe how fast things fly by. I blink and all the sudden its December 31st. I must say though that I had a wonderful year. So many good memories and new friends in my life. I am excited for the new year and what it can bring for me. I plan to enjoy it to the fullest and take on new challenges and adventures. 2012 watch out, here I come!

Here is a my life through pictures for 2011, enjoy!

JANUARY: Time for a new year! I was able to spend a wonderful New Years with my hubby and my best friend Dana. We were invited to a 13 million dollar house which was amazing. In fact I turned on the TV yesterday and HGTV was doing a whole story on it. The first day of the new year was spent in the snow up on St. Helena mountain. So much fun!

FEBURARY: Well February included a trip down to southern california so attepmt my gift for me moms birthday, which was a photo shoot of us girls in our wedding dresses. The rain got in the way of that plan but I still had a wonderful time with my family. Zac and I were able to borrow his brothers Ducati for a weekend. It was such a gorgeous day, we are so lucky to live in such a beautiful area!

MARCH: By the time March rolled around I was itching to get the pictures done. We worked it out so that I could fly home and give it another try. The forcast did so some rain (just my luck) however, it held off so that we could get some awesome pictures! It did get pretty chilly towards the end of our shoot though.

APRIL: What a fun month! First we will start with Easter which always reminds me of when we drove up to Washington to go pick up our little boy Hudson, who is NOT so little anymore. On to the good stuff,my birthday! So this year I had a nice family dinner with the in-laws at Solbar here in Calistoga. We rode our bikes over and were able to sit out and enjoy the scenery. For my actual birthday I flew down to Esco to attend my friends wedding/bachlorette party, take engagement pictures for my dear friends Janelle and Dylan and enjoy a birthday dinner with close friends and family! So much fun.

MAY: Starting to feel some warm weather in theValley! For mothers day I was up here in northern california. Zac and I were able to spend time with his mom. We also went to a car show that is hosted here in Calistoga. Cindy and I were finally able to have our girls day which included a shopping day at Corte Madera mall and driving around in her pink challenger!



JUNE: Another very busy month. Lets see, there was a Tim Mcgraw concert that the whole Fleckner family attended, so much fun! The day after the concert I flew down south for Tiffantys Cirque Du Bebe baby shower that was put on by my mom and sister, so cute! Zac and I were also able to get away for a weekend and go camping up at Pillsbury. Lastly our close friends up here in Calistoga, Jason and Chelsie got engaged!

JULY: And just like that half the year is already over with! Oh how time flys when you're having fun. Alright so July we will start out with bringing back the old days. Zac and Nick started getting into racing their BMX bikes at Rusty Bowl. This was my first time experiences a "BMX race". It was so fun to watch them. Fourth of July came Zac and Jason had to work of course but that didn't stop Chelsie and I from having a little fun. I think the most exciting thing about this July was the fact that little Brodie was born! Its funny how you can love someone so much that you haven't even met! Im so excited to be and auntie to him, love you Brodie! And a shout out to two more birthdays to wonderful men in my life,my dad and my father in law!

AUGUST: What a fun month! And to start it off? My mom and dad came to visit me! Well technically they came up the last weekend in July, BUT I didn't blog about it till August so Im going to go ahead and scoot it into the august section. Always love having my momma and dad around! Next on the list? The backpack trip from hell.Yeah, this trip was not the best for me but it was still and adventure to say the least! This new year I plan to be a little more in shape so I can handle the 8 mile hill climb with a 26lb pack a little better! Once that trip was finished Cindy and I had something fun to look forward to, the Sonoma Country BBQ! So much fun hanging out with my mother in law having Luke Bryan sing to us. To finish up August, a new truck from my crazy hubby!!

SEPTEMBER: Well we sure started it off pretty crappy! Zac and I had our big two year anniversary. We decided to take a cruise, but if ya'll remember that didn't pan out how we had planned. Oh well, better luck next time right? My office had an office party at the river,which included BBQ, games and canoes! And one day I decided Zac and I would wake up really early hike up to Table Rock and watch the sun rise, only problem with that plan was that it was freaking foggy and cold!

OCTOBER: Well Ocotber will always be close to my heart because that is when Zac proposed to me! One of my new friends Courtney invited me to go on a hike with her up to gunsight rock! What a view of Sonoma County. With enough practice hikes Ill have my carido up in no time. Another new friend for the year, Erica, joined me in Las Vegas for the annual ADA convention. We had so much fun together, nothing like a mixture of teeth and Vegas. Next, Halloween! Zac was working of course. But I was able to celebrate Halloween at work with all my crazy co-workers. Last onmy list for October is another new friend from work, Melinda. We all went out to celebrate her 21st birthday (makes me feel a little old). Love being able to spend time with girlfriends!

NOVEMBER: November, well I finally got sick this month which, I don't remember the last time I was sick. Finally caught up with me I guess. My sister and Bobby were able to come up north and visit for her birthday. It was so much fun hangning out with them. I sure miss my family! I love when I am able to spend time with them. I was also able to go down south for Thanksgiving. My momma really out does herself. I hope one day I can make my home look as beautiful as hers does. I also got to see my best friends, Janelle, Dana and Tiff! Oh yeah and my cute lil nephew Brodie!

DECEMBER: The last month of the year. Christmas is in full swing, Christmas presents, Christmas lights and a Christmas tree! I always love Christmas time. It is one of my favorite times to drive around at night. Seeing all the lights just makes me feel so cheery!  Another holiday went by that Zac was working but again I was lucky enough to go home and spend it with my family and friends. This month Zac did yet another impluse purchase which was a 2009 Ninja 250. He is going to use it to commute to work. We also had a nice little day of shooting with some friends from my work. Perfect way to end the year.