Good news!

Okay so with this picture it might not exactly be "good" news but Im going to give a little bad news first and then get to the good stuff. This picture although sad, is just so beautiful in a creepy way.  So as some of you might of guested my sweet hubby has been sent off to the fires going on in Humbolt county.  He is not a big picture guy but he knows how much I love them so he was sweet enough to send me this picture of the fire that he's out. 

So the bad news is that the hubs worked a 96 hour shift and then headed straight off to the fires which means that I haven't seen him in a week and who knows when he will come home, could be tomorrow could be next week.  The joys of having a husband in the fire industry.  But while he is working hard to support our little family we did get some good news so now we can talk about that.

So when Zac and I first moved into our very own house we knew that one day we would need to replace the garage.  It was a REALLY old and looked like if the wine blew hard enough it would topple over. Anyhoo, the beginning of this year Zac and I decided that it was time to tear that sucker down and build us a new one! So we started saving…and saving….and saving. March finally rolled around and we decided to take action with our new garage. We did a lot of research , finally found what we wanted and then hit up the city.

Heres where things SLLLOOOWW down. Because we decided to do things by the books and get permits for everything we turned our plans into the city and waited….and waited….and waited some more.  When we finally DID hear back from the city they wanted us to get a soil report. Yup. A soil report. Who cares that there is already a house built on the property, they need a soil report to see if we can re-build a garage.  Well that took a long time too. Soild people are pretty busy.  So we paid some more money and waited some more and then turned MORE information into the city. A lot of waiting was involved but let me tell you… Four months later Wah-la! We finally heard back from the city and we got our permit to build our new garage!!! Long story I know but thats the good news!! I was getting a little worried because with tearing down our old garage we just have a large dirt pit in our yard, a lovely 23' boat and Zacs project truck just sitting out there being REAL redneck.  However, with all that aside a larger concern for us would be the fact that everyone keeps talking about the huge storm that is coming this winter and we have a giant dirt pit!

Once my hubby gets back from his fire it is going to be time to get to work!  Can't wait for our new garage! Anyways, thats whats going on over here!

Concert time

I feel like its been awhile since I have been to a concert, I was due. My friend Rebeccas birthday is actually today but about a week ago I mentioned do something fun for her birthday like going to a concert.  It just so happened that Dierks Bentley was in town ( and when I say in town I mean Mountain View).  I mentioned it to the girls and they were all down to go! 

My friend Stephanie does't listen to country but she likes a good concert so we convinced her to come along with us.  The concert wasn't till 7:00 but with he drive and the traffic we decided we would leave a little early.  The girls came over to my house a little early so that we could all get ready together.  Before we knew it, it was already 3:30 and we thought it would be best to hit the road!  I think it took us about 2 hours to get down there which we expected but most of the traffic was actually getting into the arena instead of on the freeway.  We were thinking about sitting down and getting some dinner before we headed in but the mexican restaurant we wanted to try was packed! So instead we walked right across the street and got some Taco Bell. 

For some reason when we finally were parking I was thinking we would need to pay. I think that is only for the VIP parking so ours was free which was cool.  When we bought our tickets the week before we decided to go for cheap ones.  We were happy with sitting on the lawn section and I was able to find us tickets for $32 a person including taxes.  By the time we got through the "security", got some drinks and found a place to sit it was already close to 8:00.  I was fine with missing the first couple of acts but we were in time to see Kip Moore.

We found a perfect  place on the lawn where we could see the stage and if we wanted to sit there was no one standing in front of us, but its a country concert so we were standing and dancing around the whole time!

We all had a great time together! (Even Stephanie) It was a fun way to celebrate Rebeccas birthday….and it was her very first concert! 

Anyways, today is Saturday and I am taking it easy!  My body doesn't do to well with not a lot of sleep and with getting to bed around 2:00 Im not running on a lot of sleep.  

Zac has been at work for the last 4 days and I just got a text from him that he is going out on a strike team today so now who knows how long its going to be before I see him.  They can hold him up to two weeks.  We do have a camping trip planned with some friends in a couple of weeks but now Im thinking that he won't be home in time to go. You just never know with this stuff so we'll have to wait and see.  Im going to get back to my relaxing. Happy Weekend!

Sunday Funday

This is how I spent my afternoon, on the river. I think the high for today was 103. So it was a HOT one!  Last time Zac and I were at the river I saw a sign that advertised paddle boarding and since no one wants to fall into the Petaluma river I thought this would be a great place!  I have been paddle boarding before but it has been a few years and I was on a lake.

I decided to write an "invitation" on the white board at work so that everyone was invited.  There was only going to be 5 of us but my good friend Jen had to cancel last minute. Anyways so I had been in contact with the "paddle board guy" John for a few weeks to set everything up. Im a planner. 

This morning finally rolled around and it was time to get ready for the river.  I DID have a water proof case for my cell phone but I found out that it was in Zacs truck and Zac is at work today.  So I figured I would pick something up on my way over, which I did…..and it is pretty crappy.  Most of the pictures came out burry but luckily our boy John was able to take a few. Anyways, so our meet up time was 1:00. We got there a few minutes early but with having to walk to the river it took us a little extra time, we might of been 3 minutes late which is really not a big deal but I hate being late.  John had our 4 paddle boards waiting for us right on the river edge. He went over a few helpful instructions with us and then let us go!  Im glad we only rented them for an hour because I didn't feel like we needed any more additional time then that.  Plus he wanted us to stay in his sight probably for liability and so that we didn't take his boards!

The sun was so hot today that it felt so nice to take a dip in the river. The water was pretty cold though! It was hard to get in but once I was back up on the board it felt REAL nice. The hour went by pretty quickly but we had a good time paddling around.  It was really nice that Rebecca and Steph had never been before, trying new things are always fun!

That was my afternoon in a nutshell! So now I will just share some of the non-blurry pictures from today.

I can't believe its August

This year is going by way to fast! I can't believe that we are already into August. Don't get me wrong its been an amazing year so far but I just can't believe that we are almost in fall.

My mind has been non-stop thinking and planning about all the things for the future.  Sometimes it can be really exciting and sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming.  Anyways I thought it might be a good idea to get outside for a bite and clear my head.  Zac was working OT at his fire department (which is in Mill Valley) so I thought it might be fun to meet him when he got off work and do a hike up Mount Tamalpias, luckily he thought it would be a great idea.  So Friday morning (I happened to have the day off) I was in my jeep headed out to Mill Valley. I was thinking there might be a lot of traffic on a Friday morning but I headed out around 7:00 and I didn't hit any! Woo Hoo!  Our trailhead was right at the bottom of the mountain and luckily Zacs department is right at the bottom of the mountain so it was a very short drive there.  Zac goes mountain biking there so he knew right where to go.  Off we went on our hike!

It was so crazy to be hiking and look up thinking "how the hell are we going to get all the way up there?" It seemed lilt it was MILES and MILES away….which is actually was.  Once we got home we tried to map out the different trails we took and figured that it was about 5 miles each way, so a total of 10 miles.  And the first 5 miles were ALL up hills….obviously.  We were early enough in the morning where it wasn't to hot yet, plus being right by the coast really helped to keep things cool. However, once the sun was out it was HOT and hiking straight up hill doesn't help. I kept looking around and one side was completely socked in with fog while the other side of the mountain seemed to have all the fog burned off.  

As we hiked up higher and higher I kept imagining how this hike would feel with a 25lb pack.  I was so thankful that it was just me with no gear.  Although I feel like it is something I COULD do but I would want it to be a lot cooler.

Well we finally reached the top and I was happy to see that they had drinking fountains to fill up my water bottle.  Once we finally stopped going up hill we could finally cool down! The view was gorgeous.  Just like I had seen on the way up one side was clear and you could see everything while the other side was covered in fog.  Although looking above the fog was a much more pleasant site. We spent a little time walking around and getting some pictures before it was time to head back down the mountain.  I think it took us about 4 hours all together. Rocked it.

Once we got back from our hike we wanted to work on our bar.  So when we bought our house a few years ago there was a weird opening in the dining room wall where a fireplace used to be.  I originally wanted to put a fireplace back in but Zac was thinking it might be hard to get permits and with all the no burn days we have here it might not be worth it.  My next option was to put a REAL bar in the space.  We had a make shift bookshelf that we put our wine in but I was ready for an upgrade!  I gave Zac an idea of how I wanted it to look and before I knew it he had it all drawn out to scaled (he's good that way).  The other weekend we had bought all the wood we needed and stained it so now it was time to put it all together.  Im really surprised how easily and how quickly everything went into place but when you have such a handy hubby like mine, I guess thats just how it goes! It took us about two days to completely finish the built in bar and it looks amazing! I am SO happy with how it turned out. So now instead of me talking about it more Im just going to show you some before and after pictures, enjoy:

Being a lady

This is my friend Rebecca and I just being ladies.  A few months ago we were talking about all the fun things we want to do in life (which we do a lot) and we brought up the great idea of going to the horse races.  We had both never been before and though it would be a good time.  Of course if we were going to the races we would have to do things right and go on hat day! 

We originally wanted to go with the rest of the girls but they were both booked the day we wanted to go, so it was just the two of us.  We bought our tickets on line which after attending the races seemed to be a great deal.  

Rebecca got to my house about 10:30 and we started getting ready for our big day. We did hair and makeup and enjoyed some mimosas! We decided it might be a smart idea to head over to the fair an hour early.  Luckily since I live so close we were able to walk over (and not have to pay for parking).  One we were in we headed over to the field just so we could check out where we would be and if we needed to check in early.  There was a little confusion about where we were suppose to go but finally someone told us to head over to the "white tent that was serving wine"….well okay, that sounds perfect!  Anyways, we walked over to the tent that had all these tables set up with white table cloths and flowers for centerpieces, they also had a buffet set up with hors d'oeuvres! We were about 40 minutes early so they sent us away until they were letting people in but thats okay cause we needed to get some mini doughnuts and ride the ferris wheel!

After enjoying our 40 minutes of fair time we headed back to our white tent.  It was so much fun to people watch and check out all the other hats!  There were some crazy ones and some gorgeous ones.  When they let us in they gave us a ticket so that we could also go up the the grandstands to watch the race.  We got our glass of white wine, found a table to sit at and then headed right over to the buffet to get some food. They said that it would be hors d'oeuvres but with the spread they had you could really consider it a lunch, although they did have the smallest little plates possible to cram all that food on….so obvisouly I grabbed two. After finishing up with our small bites and seeing one race go whizzing by we thought it would be a good time to head up to the grandstands.  Included with out hat day ticket we had "assigned seats" but I feel like there were plenty of seats available.  We stopped by to get another glass of wine which we assumed we would need to pay for but when we walked up she filled out glasses up….and I mean WAY up.  

For being a horse race I really didn't see THAT much racing. I mean I think I remember the horses going by like three times. We did leave a little early but we wanted to get some more fair food! Funnel cake is a must when you are at the fair. Plus, we wanted to go to the photo booth and get some pictures taking while we were looking so lady like.  All in all it was a really great experience and we had a great time! I would recommend anyone giving it a try.  I think it would be fun to go next year with a group of girls.

 Enjoying the Ferris Wheel

Had to ask the grumpy man to take our picture, I don't think he was happy about it.

You make it work

As many of you might know the boat off to the right is the Blue Hoochie II.  I think we have had her a little over a year and she's been out on many a fishing trips. Zac and I had done some ocean fishing in our 14ft aluminum boat and decided that we needed something bigger to be out in the ocean.  Well, after a lot of research my dear husband found this boat….in Oklahoma. And one day him and a buddy from work drove all the way to OK to go pick it up. He is crazy. At first I was a little apprehensive but once he brought it home and I took a look at her I was pretty excited!  She is a 23ft 1968 Uniflite. I think I was most excited about the small cabin that has the cutest little table in it. Anyways, the beginning of July Zac and I took her out to do a little fishing. On our way out from Bodega we heard a strange noise. I of course was freaked out about it so I told him I don't feel comfortable going out any further with the boat sounded like this…and he agreed.  On the way back to the launch we didn't hear the noise again, but just to be safe we still put her back on the trailer.  Well my parents were up for 4th of July and Zac wanted to get back out on the boat and take my dad along with him. So out they went one morning while us girls were hanging out at home.  It wasn't long before I got a text from him saying that the motor was done and they were on their way home.  So sad that Zacs boat was dead, especially during salmon season!  So now with a dead boat Zac is in the process of trying to get her running again. He has a new motor that he has been working on during his free time. We are still trying to get out on the water though, just trying to make it work a different way. Like with Kayaks.

Our first kayak trip that we did was to Tomales Bay (which I had never been to before) We thought it would be fun to get out on the water and maybe do a little halibut fishing while we were out there. I must admit I never have any luck halibut fishing. I have been a few times and I have yet to catch one, so I wasn't getting my hopes up to high. We left in the morning and were out on the water for a few hours before the lack of no fish and the wine coming in was enough to send us back to shore.  We definitely got our arm work out for the day thats for sure!  After putting the kayaks away we found a cute little restaurant overlooking the bay and had some yummy lunch! It was a lot of fun. 

Even if we didn't catch any fish it is always fun to get outside! Its strange because although I consider myself a homebody there are times where I absolutely love just being home, I also am at home sometimes and think I need to get out of here and so something! There is a quote on Pinterest that I found that I think helps decide my feelings to the "t". 

"My heart swings back and forth between the need for routine and the urge to run"

But living this life to the fullest is what I plan on doing and so far 2015 has been quite the year for doing that. 

The next kayaking trip Zac and I did was just a few weekends ago.  We thought it might be fun to head over to Lake Sonoma and do a little bass fishing.  We have been to Sonoma many times but I must say that we haven't had the best luck with fishing there.  If we DO catch anything it would be bluegill or bass.  It was going to be the perfect day to head out to the lake so we loaded up the kayaks when Zac got off work and headed up there.  We stopped in Cloverdale to grab some lunch before we launched the kayaks.  We decide to go the the Yoardie Creek side of Somona, which I had never been to before. When we got there we loaded up the kayaks with all our fishing gear and paddled out.  We hadn't gotten to far before we were already pretty toasty from the hot sun.  We decided to find a place to beach the kayaks so we could cool off in the lake and also do a little bass fishing. 

I know this sounds weird but I usually don't actually go IN the lake because it is always SO cold but for some reason it was feeling perfect that day! So while I was casting out into the water I kept walking in deeper and deeper until all the sudden I felt that tug!  I knew it was a fish bite so I set the hook and started to reel! It was very frustrating cause the drag on my reel was set super loose and I was scared I was going to loose the fish so I was trying to keep the fish on the line and tighten my drag at the same time! Finally I got it tight and I was reeling away while I was yelling "Fish On!" "My drag is loose!" and probably other things. I think the whole lake heard me catch that fish. Well, I finally got to see him and he was a pretty good size! I was SO excited that I actually got to catch something. I have't caught a fish in a long time and what a rush it is. 

Anyways, so thats been Zac and I taking advantage of our kayaks while the Hoochie is on a break. Hopefully he can get that new motor in and running so he can get back out on the ocean, I know he really loves it! Hope everyone is having a good week! I have some exciting stuff coming up this weekend that should be fun to blog about!

Another weekend

Zacs dad and mine have the same birthday, July 24th.  While my dad was up in Washington for his birthday Zac and I were able to spend time with his dad.  Saturday we had plans to head over to the Fleckners house and work on the Shasta Trailer that they have been in the process of restoring.  The goal is to have it done by October, just in time for their Redding trailer meet.  So when holidays and birthdays come along ( Mothers day, fathers day etc.) we head over to help them out as our gift. 

Friday night Zacs dad mentioned that there was a car show that he wanted to take his COE to.  We hadn't been to a car show in quite some time so we thought it would be fun to tag along with the Barracuda.  Since we are currently without a garage we headed over to storage that morning to go pick her up.  The car show was in Penngrove which is pretty close.  It was the perfect day, sunny and warm.  Steve and Cindy had gotten there before us so when we got there we took advantage of the COE and pulled right up on her. We had the best parking spot in the place if you as me! Once we got there we decided to go grab some breakfast.  After breakfast it was time to go check out the cars.  We walked through all the different cars and checked things out. Its always interesting to hear people comment about the vehicles.  So many different opinions from different people. 

Once we were done walking around we stopped back and the Barracuda and the COE to just sit and relax.  The Mopar club was checking out my barracuda and they gave me their card so I could join them on Wednesday night.  

Once we finished up at the car show it was back to Steve and Cindys to do work on "Super Cute Shasta" like we promised. Zac worked on electrical while Cindy and I did some polishing of aluminum…while having a glass of wine of course.  Before we knew it, dinner time had arrived.  Cindy made us some delicious tacos for dinner. Yum! It was a really fun day.

Next.  So on Sunday me and my girls had planned a winery day at Kunde.  Zac and I became members about a month ago.  I kind of think being a member at a winery can be a waste of money, only because Zac and I tend to drink cheap wine, however, with that said I am trying to get the most out of ours! They have many different options for tastings at the winery. The girls and I decided to do the Mountain top tasting.  They give you a tour into the cave, through the vineyard and finally you end up about 1400ft above the winery to enjoy a tasting on their deck.  We arrived at the winery a little before 3:00.  We looked around and waiting for our friend Stephanie to arrive.  Once she was there we headed into one of the rooms in the winery to being our tasting.  It takes a total of about 2 hours.  The price for the mountain top tasting is $40 but now that Im a member we all got it for $20.  There are free tastings as well at the bar and the Kinneybrook room.  So with that I am just going to post some pictures. Enjoy:

With this group of gals we always need a jumping picture in there! Nailed it.  After our tour and tasting we were hungry so we headed over to Sea Thai Bistro for some food!  A quick stop at mini Costco ( aka Rite Aid) for some ice cream and then back to my house for some MORE girl time and girl TV. It was a really great day. Can't wait to have another great adventure with these ladies.

Monday.  Which brings us to today! It was…or IS a real hot one out.  Zac had a great idea to take Hudson to the river to let him play in the water.  But before we headed to the river we were invited over to Steve and Cindys for her to cook her famous omlettes, which we didn't want to miss out on! They were relish.  When our bellies were fool we headed back home to pick up Hudson and it was off to the water! 

I really haven't spent to much time at the river but Zac knew of a place to take us that wouldn't be to busy.  I love Hudson to death but he just doesn't play very well with others, more of a lone wolf.  So its better for us and him if we are more secluded from other dogs. The drive wasn't very far, we hit up a portion of the river that is in Windsor.  It was already getting pretty warm out so Huddy was ready! When we got to "the spot" there was a lady there with her dog and horse…she told us she wouldn't be much longer so we decided to do a little exploring.  Like I said, Hudson was getting hot but as long as he is moving and just not sitting around he does well.  I would say about 15 or 20 minutes later on our way back to the spot we saw her, her dog and her horse walk out of the trees! It was go time for us!  Hudson walked right into the river and laid down. He was so happy to cool off!

The water actually was pretty cold! I was in my swimsuit but I only ended up going into my shins.  It felt really good though. So that was pretty much my weekend in a nutshell. Then it was back to reality and Zac and I ran some errands and did some grocery shopping. No bad days here! Until next time.