Everybody was kung-fu fighting...

Or dancing... Or a mix of both...

These are my nephews Brayden and Bradley.

Brayden is the tall one, and Bradley is the one who wants to hang out in his underwear whenever possible.



This is the same night of Steve's birthday party.

These two make my heart very happy.

Baran Birthday

The husband's birthday is February 11th. Last year we had a big shin-dig for his 40th. This year was more mellow with just inviting some friends over for dinner for the big b-day.

However, this is what happens in regards to pictures when I am to busy cooking food in the kitchen so the husband is the one who grabs the camera....

The husband, in all of his glory.

The wife, aka, me...
Mike.


Thomas (bro-in-law)

Kevin.

Rob, Robert, Roberto, Cap'n Bobby...

The beautiful and pregnant sister, Amber. Mine, not Steve's.

Wendy.

Caleb, my brother.

Mr. Wendy, aka Flan, or Shawnn.

This also means there were no pics of the mass quantities of food I made or the TWO beautiful desserts (lemon tart and the uncle's pear pie)... Just so you know what kind of a night it was, all of these people had to crash at my house after the party sans the pregnant sister and her husband...

On a side note, that is of a similar tone... I don't think I have ever been so hung over in my life. I won't share all of those gorey details with you though. Count yourself blessed.

Pirates.

I am re-committed to finding joy in the little things. I always try to, but every now and then need to be reminded of this.

This is my nephew Brayden just before his pirate birthday got going, with the most awesome pinata of all time. Only slightly more awesome than this was when he was fighting the pirate just before this. The pictures did not do it justice though.

Something New

So, a few months ago I started swimming, just for something new to do. I figured it is always good to stretch our boundaries and try new things.

Swimming was VERY outside of my comfort zone. Slowly, but surely I started getting more comfortable in the water though.

Yesterday, I swam a mile for the first time. 1650 yards. 66 laps. I did it in 36:16. Not to bad for my first time, I think.

I considered for a moment putting a picture of myself in my swimsuit up, but shortly after realized, there is no way that I want that on the internet...

Oh, it's you again. Hello there.

IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS...

I have remained unemployed.
I have driven thousands of miles.
Three members of my family died.
Another remains in serious condition after a car accident.
Was in Reno for Thanksgiving.
Had my in-laws at my house for a week at Christmas.
Had my family at my house for Christmas-Eve.
Had one moment on peace on a beach in La Jolla (more to come about this in the future).
Was fired.
Dealt with my brother's marriage falling apart.
Started using protection.
Started and stopped going to one church (one to many catholic comments made form the pulpit when my husband was in tow).
Checked out some books on Martin Luther and his 95 Thesis, because I decided I should now about how the catholic/protestant division started.
Contacted the pastor at my home church and have attempted to start attending there again.
Gave blood for the first time in my life (I'm O Pos).
Nearly passed out after giving blood for the first time.
Freaked my husband out by talking to his boss' boss, and I now tell the husband that we are BFF's.
Still have not finished reading East of Eden in the Baran Book Club. Good news is that I am about 100 pages farther along than the husband.
Started planning my sister's baby shower.
Chopped off half of my hair.
A very close friend had heart surgery in the bay area.
Enjoyed the husband being gone for a week (we needed a break).
Set off fire-works for the first time on New Years.
Have decided that I am officially losing my mind, or just not on my A game at all.

TWIST Tea

I am part of a non-profit group called TWIST (The Women's Improvement Society of Tuolumne). The main fundraiser for the year is a tea where everyone decorates a table. I did a little league table. There were a lot of really fancy tables, but I actually wanted my table to represent something in the community...

My favorite part is the sunflower seeds that are scattered around the astro-turf running down the center of the table... I also really like the jerseys on the back of the chairs (thank you salvation army and various other thrift stores in town...).

This is from the preview the night before. For the actual day we had no power, which also meant to heat... As the universe works, the power came back on as we were cleaning up, about 1/2 hour after the event ended. Se la vi.

Snow Day

After having now power since Saturday (minus a few hours here and there) and it is supposed to get down to 20 degrees or so tonight... We are staying at a hotel in our town (below the snow line). It makes me a little sad though, my dad is probably less than 150 yards away, yet staying at a hotel was better than the option than staying with him... Another story for another time...