San Diego Zoo Part 1

So on Saturday (3/27) Craig and I didn't want to sit at home bored all day. So we decided in... .3 seconds to go to the San Diego Zoo. We thought about going to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, but Craig wanted to go there all day. And it was already 10am... and we were waiting for our only friends to be okay with going there.


The drive over was LOOONG. I think the best time to go to San Francisco or that area is Saturday evening or on Sunday. Because every time I go for pageants, traffic is dreamy. But those are on Saturday night/Sunday afternoon. I think the worst part was the bridge/toll. They decided to change a toll to fasttrack.. so the people in that lane had to get in ours. That's okay, I understood that. But then you get the A-holes++++ that go all the way to the front of the line and then EXPECT to be let in on the line. Well, that was until they met Amber... the meanest, baddest, angriest, 115lb red head in a small car. And let me tell you, I could not be intimidated. Not even the #$#^!$* that was in a huge SUV and just started scooting in to my lane. I shook my head at them and moved around. Eff that! Like I told the person that tried before them. No.. I've been sitting 30 ft away from the toll booth for 20 minutes. I am not about to let someone who cant' read signs go in front of me... I mean, I did let 1 person in. But he was part of that sudden lane switch. So he got lucky...


So, here's the pictures so far that I've been able to edit of the zoo (that's why this is part 1). We decided to return when we get our new awesome camera. But it took a lot of editing to get to these pictures:





Leaping Lemur Ostrich + random birds Yes... a Seagull

Giraffe that sprays people with after :D
GORILLAS!!!

Is it just me, or could some pictures be brighter and fuller? Like the one of the baby gorilla... That grass was super green. But it looks so dull in the picture. The one's where the grass is bright, it's because I changed the... colors (can't remember the actual thing I used) to yellow. But why should I have to do that when a camera will brighten it for me?!?! That, and I can't believe it, half of the pictures we took were really blurry. ugh!

Eyes

Just my luck. I got this stupid virus in my left eye a couple weeks ago. I can't remember what the doctor said it was, but it wasn't Pink Eye... but close. Or maybe it was and I just don't have the wake-up-with-crusties part of Pink Eye.

Anyway... I got rid of it, tossed out both my contacts (just in case) and started fresh after it went away. Now it's in my right eye. I know it's highly contagious by contact, but how in the world did I get it after a couple weeks? I washed my hands like crazy, I only took out my new contacts once since then (scold me later), I haven't even used the same contact case I did for the infected ones. We washed our bedding, when my eye was infected, I was careful not to touch it, I'd use tissue if I had to touch it. I had to stay home today because I couldn't drive in to work without my eye watering all over everything (potentially contaminating everything) and others. I ended up getting a stomach ache (probably from the pain in my tooth... pain makes me nauseous), so I would have come home anyway. I'm a baby when it comes to stomach stuff. ick.

It just seems like I'm always getting sick. It makes me SUPER freaked about anything terminal. With my horrible immune system, anything serious would progress rapidly. I may be strong mentally, and know I want to live... but my body isn't giving me any signs that it would be in cahoots with my survival plans. It makes me believe that some disease will be the death of me, and then I'll get scared that I'll contract it in some random way and I'll be scared to ever get in the situation. For example: getting AIDS from the dentist. I remember a lady got it that way some time back (it ruined her marriage and what not before they found out about it).

So, in case you didn't realize how this post went... I went from an viral problem in my eye, to potentially dying from AIDS I got from my dentist...

And that is the thought process of a borderline Hypochondriac. I say borderline, because I still go to the dentists, despite the .0000000001% chance she happens to have HIV/AIDS and has a cut somewhere, AND she bleeds into an open cut in my mouth... awesome.

Wedding Woes: Jonathan's Attire

Jonathan was hurt that he wasn't able to be a part of my wedding party (I told him I could put him either right next to my BFF but he couldn't walk down with her... which would mean that he would be walking back down the aisle with a dude...)

So! we decided to be awesome and make up a scenario where he could stand out a bit with a mostly family event. Our answer??:

http://www.buycostumes.com/Bulldog-Spike-Mascot-Adult-Costume-Special-Order/20103/ProductDetail.aspx

That's right, a dog costume. This costume provides the studded collar, but we still need to have a name tag for him. For the "toughest dog" he wanted his name tag to be "Twinkles".

He claims he'll go through with it, but my thought on this is... who's paying for it? It costs: $749 retail, but $499 on sale [what a deal!]. I doubt he'll buy a dog costume to go sweat off the rest of his body weight in while in the midst of the Indian Summer they get at Tahoe... And if he does... I could care less. hahaha. Sure.. it'd be stupid, dumb, cheesy, trashy... but that's on Jonathan's shoulders. If he does go through with it, it'd be fun(ner??) if he did it on the Rehearsal :D.


Anywhozle... I'm still working on our pictures from the San Francisco Zoo yesterday. My computer kept freezing, so I was giving it a break.. then forgot. :D

Bracelet

So, just real quick here... I'm way exhausted and need some sleep. I can update tomorrow what we did to day (after I edit all the photos) but I found the bracelet my dad made for my brother. Well... for others, with my brother's name on it.

"Operation Enduring Freedom"

It's one of those "army remembrance" bracelets. Just a special reminder in our busy days that we have loved ones in constant danger. I think of it as my WWJD bracelet for real people. Just a reminder. Because they deserve to be thought about while in their situation, as much as possible.

The reason why I bring this up? Well, it's because my brother may or may not be going back overseas. So I put it on in preparation. I hope I can take it off now, but if that doesn't work, then I  hope I never have to wear it again once he gets home.

With my luck riding against me, he'll probably be able to stay for Justin's wedding (August) and he'll head overseas before my wedding. And if that's the case... I'm still wearing the bracelet. No way should I alter that just because I'll be having pictures taken, and it's black and gaudy and will stand out. It's like the "if I'm lost" bracelet with his name, address (to the farm... from 15+ years ago), phone number and birth date on the back. All the information is about my brother. I think I did have one for me once upon a time, but I prefer to wear his. I don't take it off. Besides at the airport. I've even stopped doing that because it's not real metal and it doesn't set it off.

Anyway... I just thought I'd share that. :D

Wedding Woes: Bridesmaid Dresses and Colors-163 days left

I hope this looks great on everyone, because After the BFF showed me this I thought this was the perfect thing to tie in the classy and vintage look the best. I love the high neck line, and I don't believe anyone has the kind of figure that would do the top wrong. It's also tight on the rib cage.. so it allows there to be some extra stomach action if there needs to be. And it's just short enough that they won't be smoking hot (regarding temperature--I want my bridesmaids to feel awesome on my wedding day... better pictures ;)>) in their Indian Summers at Tahoe. (Pack for both great and horrible weather just in case!) It also doesn't look like it will look bad with the white shirt underneath one of the dresses for the bridesmaid who needs it, nor will it be too short for her.

The colors--in order of Matron of Honor to last bridesmaid: Bordeaux (purple), Firecracker (red/pink goodness), Sunflower (yellow), and Latte (for the only one that can't drink it, haha). The Apple Slice (green) is just 1 more color..  no bridesmaid, I just needed a green to go off of and I liked that one. 

Next on the bridesmaid attire agenda.... Shoes!! What kind of shoes do you suggest? Here's a little info so you'll be able to help.

Ages: 13-29??

Height: 5'-5'8" ish

Location: on grass/dirt, heels may poke through and make it hard to walk.

Bouquet: clutches (no flowers)

Super-future thoughts: Bridesmaid's accessories. Necklace/Earrings/headbands/etc. I'm thinking anything they already have. My only requirement is that it's silver if it's jewelry. I don't have any hair style in mind for them, but I thought they could get creative on their own. Besides, I'll be having one of them and their mom doing my hair... so nothing fancy.

Thanks for the help!!

I almost peed myself

EEK EEEK ! it's because I'm so excited that she posted the "sneak peak" of our engagement photos..

http://www.lyndsayundsethblog.com/

you like?

Engagement Photos Pre-Registration

Hey Everyone!

They're not ready yet (trust me, I've tried a million times), but if you pre-register & sign the guest book, you'll get an automatic credit of $5.00 towards an order if you decide you can't live without a picture of us ;)>. I haven't seen them yet, but the photographer (www.lyndsayundseth.com) is awesome, so i'm not too worried :D.

Click the link below to register & sign:

http://www.pictage.com/809728

Thanks!

--Amber & Craig

Wedding Woes: Flowers

Flowers are beautiful. They can lighten up a room, brighten a day, express a million messages just by color, stem length, and type. But they attract my nemesis. Bees. So I hate them. And really, any type of bee freaks me out, I don't discriminate. So having flowers at the wedding may be the most tragic thing I can think of. And the ONLY reason I would run.

I know, I know, if I don't have fragrant flowers then all should be well... but I don't leave things of national security level to scientific fact.. or any other type of mumbo jumbo (aka logic) for that matter. Bees seem like habitual critters to me. I mean, they do the same damn job over and over every single day. Why should the one day I'm actually holding flowers be any different? Especially since it wouldn't just be me.

"Why are you buggin'?" you ask (yes, pun intended). Well, I had a daymare a couple of days ago when my mom had me thinking about floral arrangements. Here's how it went down:

C & I were standing in front of everyone at the ceremony. I'm in my funky dress, and he's wearing... something.. That wasn't important since we haven't picked them out yet. I mean, he's only asked the best man to be in the wedding (his youngest of younger brothers). So, I look down at my flowers... flowers that were infested with huge, hairy, stinger enacted bees. Talk about a show stopper, because right after I saw that, I pictured myself throwing them (who knows where) and running away. Another option I allowed the daymare was to toss the flowers than hide in C's jacket. hahaha. That would look hilarious, and probably be the one good benefit of having a videographer.

So, what's a girl to do without flowers? Well... What do you think of these?





I like the simplicity/elegant/vintage look of it. I think it would match the dresses awesomely. (obviously in the colors of the wedding -- Fall/Autumn) I really like the matching style for the Bride's clutch, but instead of colored, it's white. All I have to do after that is figure out what kind of shoes they should wear. This is hard work! I can barely dress myself, let alone 4 other girls.

Let me know what you think?

(The clutches are handmade by Mollusa on ETSY. Here's the link to their shop. They definitely deserve credit for it! http://www.etsy.com/shop/mollusa )

Miss San Francisco 3/21/2010

I admit, I was a little scared to go to San Francisco to begin with, but to add people's kids in to the mix where they're counting on me to keep them safe in an unsafe city (driving wise)... I was terrified. C & my first experience in the crazy city of San Francisco was horrid. It was busy, and fast, and new to C and I. We almost got hit a million times while driving. But when we went together, we were downtown where parking stunk, I got sick, and we left really late and I don't like driving at night. So the overall experience the first time, wasn't great at all. (btw.. the picture looks like Full House... was that shot in San Francisco?? or taken place there?)

This time, however, was much better. I took Miss Sacramento County's Outstanding Teen to the Miss San Francisco pageant. Though traffic getting there was a nightmare, it was really worth the 2 hour drive. We got to bypass all the downtown action, it was green!!! and those houses that looked like trash littering the mountains were quaint and sweet. We could see the sun reflect off the water and skyscraper windows. So, the city of San Francisco was a more welcoming place this time. Then, the Miss San Francisco pageant was absolutely phenomenal!! There was endless talent in both the Miss and the Outstanding Teen programs. I definitely didn't envy the judges, because performance after performance was amazing. Any of the contestants I think would have been a great pick for the role as Miss San Francisco. The neatest part was that when we were in the bathroom getting her changed (she did it herself, I just primped in the mirror), Miss California (1st runner up at Miss America) walked in. I thought it was her, but she was dressed casual, and I wasn't about to freak out when she needed to pee. So, it was really neat to see her there (on stage too--she graduated from the bathroom) and so was Miss Hawaii! That was an awesome experience for my Teen, because her talent was a hawaiian/tahitian dance, and she really loved Miss Hawaii. Then, of course, being the awesome chaperone that I am, I didn't even think to get pictures of me with Miss California or Miss Hawaii. I bet I would have even forgot to get a pictures with Miss America if she was there (which she wasn't). So, I'm picture-less of me+other title holders. I do have my Teen + them pics, but I'll let her post her pictures on public websites if she wants to ;)-.

It was really great to get to know Miss Sacramento County's Outstanding Teen on the way over and back. She's a super sweet girl (the Miss Sacramento County Program got two really sweet people to represent them) and I found out we both had a lot in common. Our family situation is similar--though her's is a bit more tramatic--we both are interested in photography (she'll probably be able to do it for realz, yo), and she's outspoken. But she knows where to end that outspoken-ness, and I usually go too far... or just far enough. ;)>.

On the way back though!! We got to go over the Golden Gate Bridge!!!!! EEEK! I'm thinking Craig and I will have to go back in the next couple of weeks. We'll also have to go to the Six Flags I found on the way to San Francisco!!!! I thought we'd have to go around Los Angeles or further to enjoy a theme park. It looked small so it may be a one trip thing for us until we have kids... and they're old enough to ride the rides... So... about 10 years from now. hahaha. maybe.

here's a picture taken of me, by Miss Sac County Outstanding Teen. I think we've got a future photographer on our hands..I wouldn't have thought of taking the picture from behind (she was in the passenger seat.. not the back.. I'm not a chauffeur--also, the camera is horrible, not her) :D.

Photos, Pocket folds & Taxes

Busy Busy Busy!

Today, we spent most of our day doing taxes. It didn't feel like it took as long as it did, but it did. haha. Maybe it's because we watched some shows before we became productive members of society. We'll be getting a pretty awesome amount back (and by we, I mean C--because I'm not even breaking $1,000... and he's tripled that). What I would love to do with the money is get a new Canon EOS Rebel XS 18-55IS... which is only about $500.00+ Taxes. But, Craig wants to do the responsible thing and pay off my credit cards. Soo, I think I'll oblige because it'll make him happy. But it sure would be nice to have a camera that takes great pictures.

Another thing we accomplished was finishing up the making of 50 (25 brown & 25 green) pocket fold invitations. Not the wording on the invitation, just the thing that will hold all the information (and go into an envelope for mailing). I'm getting kind of excited for it. I didn't think there was quite enough for what we had originally thought of, but I didn't know where to find paper large enough to make it possible to do the pocket folds without ordering them for one million dollars. That was until I found an article on ProjectWedding.com for how to make it on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

We had our Engagement photos taken so we could FINALLY send out save-the-dates. Okay, so we've only been engaged for just over 1 month, but we're having a fairly short engagement. Much shorter than I was expecting. About 6-1/2 months. And since our wedding is taking place where everyone but ourselves will have to commute... we're on a shorter schedule with notifications. So, I think the photo shoot went well. She didn't give us a lot of direction, which I guess means we did alright. I just hope we gave her awesome material to work with. I know she's excellent, so that was never a doubt in our mind, but, Craig and I have never done anything like that before. It was definitely a new experience to say the least. I can't wait to see the sneak preview on her blog!

Men > Women

Yes, his name is Dick Masterson. I haven't read this book, but I think I might.

I tend to agree with the more chauvinistic views of society. I think it's very important for kids to have both parents, but to have their mother be their primary emotional care provider while the dad does the hard work: getting money.

Back to Mr. Masterson. He does speak a lot of truth. But, unfortunately because he makes the leaps and bounds before the explanation of how he gets there, people find him crude. Sure, at first I was one of those, but it only lasted about 2 minutes before I made the connections he was making.

"All women are prostitutes" WHAAT!--that's the usual response. But if you think about it. The way that women have been throughout existence, is that they marry for either money or status. Sure, not everyone is happy with that being brought to light, but that's what we've been taught to believe. Our parents told us to find our Prince Charming... who by the way, has lots of money being that he's either a doctor, a lawyer, or a successful investor. So lets take a look at how the connection is made in his mind. Women go after money, therefore they can be bought. Those that can be bought are prostitutes. Therefore, all women are prostitutes. It makes sense. I'll be honest, I always think there are exceptions to the rule, but the vast majority of women do this. There's nothing absolutely horrible about it, it's the way we've been taught since birth. But as always, there are those that abuse these. That's where we have the annoying sex scandals with stars. Women prostitute themselves out there for the money and fame (aka status).

My point? Well, 1. I want to read it. Though I'm fully prepared to read a few swear words. And I encourage others to read it too. Always good to know what people think :D

and 2. I think what throws most women off to this guy is how direct he is and he lacks that explanation whenever he talks. But do you really expect him to go around explaining every crazy thing that comes out of his mouth? It'd be a 3 hour conversation for him to say "Hi, I'm Dick Masterson".

Alright!! Engagement photos are tomorrow :D. Yaaay! and darn.. i look good today.. sorta.. my hair looks amazing, so I'm expecting tomorrow to be horrid. OH.. BTW.. I can tighten my belt a little tighter now :D yay!

It's Been A While!!!

Heeaaay!!!

So it's been a while since I've done this. EEK! I've moved. I'm now engaged... I'm getting my teeth fixed. Okay, that last part was unnecessary. I just felt like I needed 3 things to make an impact.

So, C and I moved to Cali. He got a job with Intel and I was able to transfer my job to a sort of neighboring city :).

I've been sending in my book to agents. But so far I haven't received any good news.

Craig and I got engaged on February 14th (no.. not V-day... we don't celebrate that). And we're planning on getting hitched on Sept 5th!! eeek! So until then, most of my posts will probably be about wedding stuff. AKA: dumb stuff. haha. I call it that because no one really wants to hear about it. Or not all the time like it ends up being with stressed out "brides" or "bridezillas".

Oh! I started volunteering with the Miss Sacramento County scholarship program! It's been exciting so far. I've chaperoned her to Miss Napa Valley and Miss Alameda. We have another one this weekend with the Miss Sacramento County Outstanding Teen. Should be fun. Especially since it's not an evening show and I don't have to drive them back at 11 at night. I don't know what it is, but my body just doesn't want to cooperate with the late nights.

We have our engagement photos this weekend. It won't be through our wedding photographer unfortunately, but I think we made a great choice. Our wedding photographer (an old friend you just can't forget!) is based out of Washington, and since she's making a special trip to do our wedding, I wouldn't want to burden her too much. Her name is Holly Aprecio and you can visit her blog at: www.hollyapreciophotography.blogspot.com. She's one of those artists you can't help but envy and you still absolutely love her to death. She's that kind of person too. But our engagement photographer is Lyndsay Undseth at: http://www.lyndsayundseth.com/ and I'm so excited to work with her! And after that, we can FINALLY send out our save-the-dates! yay!

UMMM... I'm almost done making the pocket folds for my invitations. Just need to order my envelopes and start printing out my invite stuff. But I want to wait until I can talk to my coordinator a little more on the timing of things. Yes, I have a coordinator. She comes FREE of charge with the place we're getting married. And oh baby am I going to take advantage of her :D. I already have.. and we still have 5-1/2 months left. Sort of. A little less..

Anyway! I'll try to update what's going on in the world of Amber... for all those that REALLY REALLY REALLY care ;). hahahahahahaha