tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28061328793706378242024-03-05T08:48:28.702-08:00Behind The White Picket FenceNatashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.comBlogger409125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-80506551104938336732013-03-24T21:25:00.000-07:002014-03-19T21:26:17.401-07:00Hardwood Headache<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If I could go back in time and have a little talk with 2006 Natasha I would tell her to NOT put hardwood floors in her new house. I would tell her to go ahead and do the colored concrete she really wanted and not be talked into the hardwood decision. Unfortunately I have no time machine, so I have hardwood floors. Don't get me wrong, the floor is gorgeous. It's incredibly beautiful, it's also incredibly fragile. (it wasn't supposed to be, but that is another story) It gets dented, dinged, and scratched at the slightest touch. Living with this beautiful floor means living very, very carefully. It also means not sweating the small stuff, life happens and a hardwood floor is going to look lived on. I have come to terms with all that, and me and the floor have made a separate peace. I could not, however, be okay with the damage done to it by my cleaning ladies. They are very aware of the fragility of the floor and are usually really careful. One day one of them used a Magic Eraser on the floor to scrub some spots. The Magic Eraser took off a layer of floor finish leaving scrub marks all over. I will make a very long, frustrating story short - the entire downstairs had to be refinished. Sanded and taken down to the wood, refinished. It's kind of a nightmare. It took them a week to do the work, we had to send the dogs away, had no kitchen access, etc… The inconvenience level was pretty high. In the end it all worked out, we got through the week of work (Steve proved his adaptability and ingenuity by putting a ladder to the upstairs window and going in and out of the house that way) and the floor looks like new. It is most likely still as fragile so I'm not giving up on my time machine wish. </span><br />
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<i>re-finished</i></div>
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</span>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-67980315143367154792013-03-24T20:34:00.000-07:002014-03-19T20:36:27.656-07:0013.1<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From hospital bed to half-marathon in 6 months. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That's the goal Steve set for himself and that's what he accomplished this weekend at the Oakland Running Festival. He ran as part of TNT and raised money for cancer research (read about that <a href="http://btwpf.blogspot.com/2013/01/steve-in-training.html">here</a>) and got to reap the benefits of being part of a training team and the support of coaches. TNT is an amazing organization. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There is no way for me to truly understand what this journey has been for Steve, I am on the outside looking in and all I can do is marvel at what he's done. I was there at the end of the race when he crossed the finish line and I cheered, and I cried. It was the proudest I have ever been in my entire life. It is no exaggeration that Steve almost died last September. He came so close, and today he was so very far away from that. He did all this, he made today happen. I have a picture in my head of a very sick Steve in a dark room in the ICU, and now I have a picture of him running in the sunshine full of life and hope. I like this new picture so much more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>before and after</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>race day</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUzMLBp1aTXFk50r3p3ht7lpocfhZ8kg2HpYjj8CJx96C54ucquEBnXE3rfvtodOerhvnqLlm16UYJsRWiDeKMbPOABBwITxBnyph9CZS4TBMuZsk322L0hlUq7nInqggLQOYqHPCMY-QG/s1600/race+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUzMLBp1aTXFk50r3p3ht7lpocfhZ8kg2HpYjj8CJx96C54ucquEBnXE3rfvtodOerhvnqLlm16UYJsRWiDeKMbPOABBwITxBnyph9CZS4TBMuZsk322L0hlUq7nInqggLQOYqHPCMY-QG/s1600/race+2.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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</span>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-83001959161933414472013-03-16T16:56:00.000-07:002014-03-18T17:01:41.370-07:00Dance Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>What's more fun than a dance party? </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We proved with our<a href="http://btwpf.blogspot.com/2011/09/when-i-asked-dagny-if-she-would-be.html"> first dance party</a> that teenagers love; dancing, food, and a place to just hang out together. We also proved that we could throw a really great party, so Dagny, and I, decided to do it again. Since it was just before Saint Patricks Day I went with a green theme for the food and decorations, (you know how I love a theme) and I thought it all looked, and tasted, great. So did all the kids, they loved everything and had an amazingly fun night. Nobody more so than Dagny, which makes all the work so very worth it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>the food</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">the decor</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>the fun</i></span></div>
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Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-88302169525978767082013-02-14T13:00:00.000-08:002014-02-02T17:08:07.027-08:00Happy Valentine's Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-74875714906539471282013-02-11T22:30:00.000-08:002014-02-02T17:04:17.496-08:00Garfunkel and Oates <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you have never heard of <a href="http://www.garfunkelandoates.com/category/videos/">Garfunkel and Oates</a> you should go look them up right now. Watch all their videos, (most of which are NSFW) laugh out loud, then come back so we can talk about how funny they are. Steve and I got a chance to see them live at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco, funniest night ever. </span></div>
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Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-82099466938841147652013-02-09T16:08:00.000-08:002014-02-02T17:05:11.457-08:00Giants FanFest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What do you do after your team wins the World Series but it's been way too long since baseball season? You go to FanFest, the most fun you can have at the park without a game going on. You can explore every corner of AT&T Park, listen to the players reminisce about last season and speculate on the next one, hang out with all the other Super Fans, and start counting down until opening day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>a very excited Giants fan</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Buster Posey in the interview booth</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> t</i></span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">he view from the press box</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>checking out all the cool memorabilia</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>seeing what the view is like from every different angle</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>hanging out in center field</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGKeA3N_KggOgRydF698gHdHgcIADmC-rcPTVV93nycOAqrg_eDucAj5oV0qayPLPZLtUdoShtP_094wHUwuaCYWRPKgMQQjndmuOIaXJ_lTRIYHdtgIzZFzqvEzvFUKo4xn9RURdq6mK/s1600/IMG_6807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGKeA3N_KggOgRydF698gHdHgcIADmC-rcPTVV93nycOAqrg_eDucAj5oV0qayPLPZLtUdoShtP_094wHUwuaCYWRPKgMQQjndmuOIaXJ_lTRIYHdtgIzZFzqvEzvFUKo4xn9RURdq6mK/s1600/IMG_6807.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Authentic Fans</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lVBemy7IlzYdv8vcoMRgaxGFA2A3xrUzamCE1ogDqGKN1gKXbVDFY24GXPCzbFIfsTD18nQQb-gem2atb8JfInIHGIMj2ZGP0zy_kDnQQAX_Vi9Wn_CYMzWD81MEshA_xszT-vaaWYHk/s1600/IMG_6827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lVBemy7IlzYdv8vcoMRgaxGFA2A3xrUzamCE1ogDqGKN1gKXbVDFY24GXPCzbFIfsTD18nQQb-gem2atb8JfInIHGIMj2ZGP0zy_kDnQQAX_Vi9Wn_CYMzWD81MEshA_xszT-vaaWYHk/s1600/IMG_6827.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-26247334996941131832013-02-01T11:31:00.000-08:002013-02-28T11:32:02.246-08:00Four<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnhpDkAezaShmDY6zIIaS8akiRNs-utGF7SlN-N56qO5Oj9fvzbpPJahb9Ne73CH2_yLg9KbRxbCbW9vAuS0TLupOWa_ZGJK40fZW-THymNTh0DW_bEfe6qEX3QXHwwnJwwCn8FTimb5NZ/s1600/cupcake-with-four-candles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnhpDkAezaShmDY6zIIaS8akiRNs-utGF7SlN-N56qO5Oj9fvzbpPJahb9Ne73CH2_yLg9KbRxbCbW9vAuS0TLupOWa_ZGJK40fZW-THymNTh0DW_bEfe6qEX3QXHwwnJwwCn8FTimb5NZ/s400/cupcake-with-four-candles.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Happy Blogiversary to me! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I like having 4 years worth of blog post to look back on. The whole 'blogging as a chronicle of your life' has definitely worked for me. I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with the blog in the future and I have some exciting ideas. Stay tuned. </span></div>
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Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-74984918347096200112013-01-30T23:30:00.000-08:002013-02-20T11:05:53.092-08:00Rugby Time<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Are you ready for some rugby? Dane sure is. He spent the off-season working with a personal trainer and he is coming into his second rugby season bigger, stronger, faster, and more experienced. I have watched my fair share of rugby at this point (not just youth games, we even watch professional matches on TV) and I think it is a beautiful game. It is extremely physical yet it doesn't glorify the violence. Crazy, I know, but that's rugby and Dane loves it. Even though I live in fear of him getting seriously injured, I think I love it too. </span></div>
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Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-72295317984851100402013-01-28T09:32:00.000-08:002013-02-20T09:33:20.524-08:00Patent Pending<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlh9G4999JiPsiIf9TbSxNOrBWY0MS2leVngjDx9-aQ8Du033aSi7Xs1-Uuw57XaRihXAB7YLqqCOnH1z6Nsknh8kx-YI7Z5sWv_IPhamPjihBqrJEB4Wfg7trfyJ5vQNqitObrSCRweM/s1600/IMG_0860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlh9G4999JiPsiIf9TbSxNOrBWY0MS2leVngjDx9-aQ8Du033aSi7Xs1-Uuw57XaRihXAB7YLqqCOnH1z6Nsknh8kx-YI7Z5sWv_IPhamPjihBqrJEB4Wfg7trfyJ5vQNqitObrSCRweM/s400/IMG_0860.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That is a comb on a rope. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Why would someone put a comb on a rope? Steve did it because he was tired of his children "borrowing" his comb and never putting it back. If you are tired of people stealing your comb I highly suggest the comb on a rope solution. Drill a hole in a comb, thread the rope though, attach to drawer. Instant comb protection. This ingenious idea brought to you by a frustrated father and inspired by his comb-stealing children. Patent Pending. </span></div>
Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-79413503876564236352013-01-21T11:38:00.000-08:002013-02-16T11:41:32.889-08:00Be Prepared<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We take our earthquake preparedness very seriously here in the Bay Area. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Eventually this is going to happen to us. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBK7tqpeADclXuSd_rXg_YGFl-HaslVjq4RVFrvxmUqVtVngFA8CsC2KhTLZgYqaAOH_JztCzhp4P8DiwjdsGVR83u-IhcJwn83rKAsOrcF4XHuf744PuGrAn8YHU69AI5ktF-Zu0GUPgP/s1600/Scanned+Image+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBK7tqpeADclXuSd_rXg_YGFl-HaslVjq4RVFrvxmUqVtVngFA8CsC2KhTLZgYqaAOH_JztCzhp4P8DiwjdsGVR83u-IhcJwn83rKAsOrcF4XHuf744PuGrAn8YHU69AI5ktF-Zu0GUPgP/s400/Scanned+Image+1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We live right next to our very own fault line. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steve has been working hard updating all of our earthquake supplies. He stocked up on everything from water to extra clothes. He refilled first-aid kits and packed emergency backpacks. When we went to the<a href="https://www.calacademy.org/academy/exhibits/earthquake/"> California Academy of Sciences </a>and saw the earthquake exhibit we felt at least a little bit ready for a disaster. There are websites with lists of what you should have in your disaster kit and lots of places that will sell you one pre-made. If you don't have any disaster supplies, go get some. It feels good to be prepared and it definitely helps you sleep at night. </span></span></div>
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Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-66877794548188915422013-01-14T09:13:00.000-08:002013-01-29T09:22:51.427-08:00Steve In Training<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a general rule Steve is a pretty private guy. He doesn't talk about himself a lot and he is not one to put his private stuff out there. I am the one who does the sharing and I feel that I am usually judicious in what I say. Even though this is a personal blog I don't put out super personal things about Steve or my kids. Some stories are not mine to tell. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steve has a personal story he would like to share and he is going out of his comfort zone to tell it in hopes of raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. You can read his story in his own words <b><a href="http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/Oakland13/SteveEckert#My-Fundraising-Page">Here</a> </b>on his Team in Training page. Unrelated to his cancer, in September Steve spent a week in the ICU after a large blood clot in his leg broke apart and he ended up with multiple<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulmonary_embolism"> pulmonary embolisms</a>. This was not his first (or second, or third) experience with PE's but it was definitely the most severe and with the most lasting repercussions. One of those being that he will be on blood thinners for the rest of his life and that means he can no longer play soccer. Soccer was his social and physical activity, without it he was sad, and I think, a little lost. He was searching for something that could fill that void and that is where Team In Training entered the picture. TnT helps people train for races and in return the participants raise money for cancer research. It's really that simple; you train, people donate money, and together you fight cancer. Steve has been in remission since 2009, his life was saved because of cancer research, Team in Training has given him a way to pay it forward. When he first signed up he wasn't sure he could be a distance runner, a half-marathon was quite a challenge. He started running in November and he has gone from barely being able to do 2 miles to running 9. That 13.1 miles is now a reachable goal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am his cheerleader and his biggest fan but I also am in charge of his fundraising. If you would like to support Steve and cancer research you can do so on his TnT <a href="http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/Oakland13/SteveEckert#My-Fundraising-Page">page</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I don't usually take pictures while Steve is in the hospital</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>but I'm glad I did because it shows how far he has come. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Running rain or shine. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>There are no wimps in Team in Training.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>East Bay Run Team</i></span></div>
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<br />Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-29537183970816627472013-01-07T12:29:00.000-08:002013-01-29T09:18:44.618-08:00Winter Break<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The very end of the year and the beginning of the next one are some of the best weeks for our family. In addition to the fun (and stress) of the holiday's, and accounting for the need for a few days of sleeping in and doing nothing, we have time to do all kinds of fun things. This year was a stay-cation so it is very lucky that we live in such an awesome place. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We started out with our annual trip to the Dickens Fair. I realized that in all the years the kids and I have been going Steve has never been able to join us. His first time there made everything new and interesting for me and I experienced the whole thing in a completely different way. Steve had a good time and I think it was fun for him to see all the things we have been talking about for so long.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For Christmas Steve game me a museum membership so I can go to all my favorite museums free all year long. (one of the best presents ever) We took advantage of my new member status by spending a day at the Legion of Honor. We saw the Treasures from the Louvre exhibit, which was amazing, and then wandered through the galleries for hours. That is my idea of the perfect day. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We try and go to the Academy of Science a couple times a year and the holidays are definitely our favorite time to be there. They have special seasonal exhibits (snow and reindeer) and an hour in the humid rainforest makes the cold outside not seem no bad. It's always good to visit Claude, the albino alligator, (I swear I have never seen him move) and Dagny could (and does) happily spend hours down in the aquarium. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For a week we had a little Frenchie guest. Chuck came to be puppy-sat, and since he is not housebroken (yikes!) we spent lots of time outside with him. We found out that when you walk one or two dogs people stop and chat, but when you have four dogs people think you're crazy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There was also lots of movie watching, both at home and in the theater. We saw <i>Les Miserables</i> and<i> The Hobbit, </i>(again) and AT&T decided to give us free HBO so watching that took up a lot of our time and made everyone happy. One of Dagny's Christmas gifts was a shopping spree, so she and I hit up the mall and all the cool stores in downtown Walnut Creek and Dagny ended up with a new wardrobe. (those after Christmas sales were just too hard to resist) We rang in the New Year at home with tons of food and watched the ball drop. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now vacation is over and Steve is back at work and Dagny and Dane are at school and we can all start looking forward to spring break. </span>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-85623236108635116932013-01-01T17:00:00.000-08:002013-01-14T09:38:56.334-08:00New Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSfUHVVX2mizcbT8FOpE9R6kMVbIG2gPJTlm7FWHBtxrruw0Y0c2A3B-EWqRXvW4_YNBsjRlsnytnR-HSHB1BVSSSCSXGH7n1qtvsPMhn2EWBUXCWXE5rAzMpmK7Jd2ulyPf6AWtmkYs0/s1600/377887_10151253407328145_143131167_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSfUHVVX2mizcbT8FOpE9R6kMVbIG2gPJTlm7FWHBtxrruw0Y0c2A3B-EWqRXvW4_YNBsjRlsnytnR-HSHB1BVSSSCSXGH7n1qtvsPMhn2EWBUXCWXE5rAzMpmK7Jd2ulyPf6AWtmkYs0/s400/377887_10151253407328145_143131167_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is going to be a big year around here. I'm not going to lie, I'm a little nervous. There are lots of changes on the way. So, here is to a new year and everything it has in store! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Happy New Year!</span></div>
Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-37437856195018154452012-12-27T23:30:00.000-08:002013-01-10T13:59:42.390-08:0021<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Happy Anniversary to us!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">“It had flaws, but what does that matter when it comes to matters of the heart? We love what we love. Reason does not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love is the truest love. Anyone can love a thing </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">because</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">. That's as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">despite</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect.” </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> <i> -Patrick Rothfuss</i></span></span></span></div>
Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-15995548882991112352012-12-25T23:30:00.000-08:002013-01-07T09:56:23.623-08:00It's Christmas! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">We talked a lot about going away for Christmas this year like we did last year. A short trip and then a small celebration at home, the perfect holiday with teenagers. Sometime during these discussions I realized that this would be Dagny's last Christmas as a child. (!) Last childhood Christmas not spent at home? I don't think so. We went full steam ahead with all our traditions and had a good old-fashioned family Christmas. (just like the Griswold's) We celebrated Christmas Eve with Grandpa and Sue, Chinese food, presents, and lots of picture taking. We got up late the next morning and made crepes before opening the rest of the presents. Then we spent the day in our pajamas and played games and watched old family movies. I'm thinking that as far as last childhood Christmases go, this was a pretty good one. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Merry Christmas! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Christmas Day</i></span></div>
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Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-8581296777620721492012-12-20T22:50:00.000-08:002013-01-07T09:56:57.822-08:00Christmas Decorating<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All my holiday decorating this year revolved around "brown paper packages tied up with string". I fell in love with the idea of simply wrapped gifts so I bought brown paper at Home Depot (The kind painters use to cover the floor while they work. Do you have any idea how inexpensive that stuff is? Compared to wrapping paper it's practically free. And it's recyclable. Double win.) and some twine and wrapped everything up. That's when my idea didn't seem so great anymore. The presents looked sad. Really sad. I realized that I couldn't transition from sparkly gifts to plain gifts in just one year, the shock to my glitter-loving heart was too great. I had to pretty them up. I bought all kinds of red ribbon and had fun tying beautiful bows on my brown gifts. They no longer looked sad, I thought they were gorgeous. Now that the presents were tied up in red, I decided to do everything in red. I wrapped the tree in Magic Mesh (which I have never worked with before but I liked) and dug out ornaments from years past and ended up with a red and white tree. Instead of something large and fancy on the top I did a spray of wire loops and curls and I think I liked it better than any other tree-topper I've ever made. It all felt simpler than what I usually do and I loved that. Less is more, even at Christmas. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I also downloaded a picture collage app that I am having way too much fun using.</span></div>
Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-36505687540528530152012-12-14T22:30:00.000-08:002013-01-05T10:34:57.026-08:00A Long Expected Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't think anybody would be surprised to hear that we've been looking forward to seeing The Hobbit. I wrote about it <i><a href="http://btwpf.blogspot.com/2012/01/unexpected-journey.html">here</a></i>, and frankly, our Lord of the Rings geekiness is common knowledge. Since we've been waiting so long to go back to Middle Earth we decided not to wait any longer than we had to and see the movie the moment it was released. Midnight movie premieres are a good time. While you're waiting you get to hang out in line with people who are as excited to see the movie as you are and they are usually interesting and friendly, and sometimes they are even in costume. The waiting is fun and so is the anticipation, it's a big party and a good time. Steve and I have been to several midnight shows but we've never taken Dagny and Dane. (we're good parents like that) The Hobbit premiere seemed like the perfect time to indoctrinate them into the midnight madness. (the fact that it was a school night and they wouldn't get to bed until 4:00 AM wasn't really a big deal, they're young, they can handle it) Every time we have gone to a midnight show there has been a long line of waiting people, we planned for that and got to the theater around 8:00. Much to our surprise, we were the only one's there. Just us, no line. Every other theater had a line a mile long, but the small, out-of-the-way theater I had chosen had no line. We were the line. The theater isn't far from home, we could have turned around and come back later, but we decided to just stay. Why not get the full midnight movie experience even if it was just us? We camped out in the hall and Dagny and Dane did some homework, we played cards, (thoughtfully brought by Austin) Steve read a book, I played on my phone, and we all pretended that the theater workers weren't laughing at us. Not a bad way to spend a couple of hours. At 10:00 they let us into the theater and that's when things got fun. Being the only people in the entire theater it seemed like the thing to do was run around and chase each other. Mature? Maybe not, but sometimes maturity is overrated. If you are ever in a completely empty theater late at night I hope you do the same thing, it was that fun. I ran with the kids until my sides ached, then they played tag and did other crazy stuff that only ended when Dane rugby tackled Dagny. By then other people had shown up and it was time to settle down and watch the movie. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We are the line!</span></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFocm_YmW0wEOdP1F_Tq4R9G-LKy7lXbovN4KC_yxLhfpeIFyc9U_Uha00c00BLbPhfUWQLpU65d3TPiHbc4wz6sXC1Zf8IecbrynD8n4zJNEk00pBWj9biuO81awqE6fx2n3z6q55K3L_/s1600/IMG_0672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFocm_YmW0wEOdP1F_Tq4R9G-LKy7lXbovN4KC_yxLhfpeIFyc9U_Uha00c00BLbPhfUWQLpU65d3TPiHbc4wz6sXC1Zf8IecbrynD8n4zJNEk00pBWj9biuO81awqE6fx2n3z6q55K3L_/s400/IMG_0672.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Somehow Dane got ahold of an extra pair of 3D glasses,<br />he popped the lenses out and made himself a hipster </i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>pick a seat, any seat</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Austin, carrying Dagny to her seat after the tackle</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My review of the movie is short and sweet; it was great, go and see it. I very much like how Peter Jackson is tying in The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings, it's very clever and it makes me excited about the next two installments. </span>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-77829145371134279182012-12-10T10:37:00.000-08:002012-12-28T11:20:21.132-08:00Marshmallow World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyQtTBpTfZ4moATv1kAZxs5JDK6Hr5X4FD7cO2EFccIgKUrhiSRma_XkNIkDC9MQrgpNVtLGPaiILjWJVm4cmzuIw8JG5ttgUAaNJ_D-b3tTPo7EwH3NZpxmgKHo2CEAbphvWXZCpQHllE/s1600/51W2HmFTBKL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyQtTBpTfZ4moATv1kAZxs5JDK6Hr5X4FD7cO2EFccIgKUrhiSRma_XkNIkDC9MQrgpNVtLGPaiILjWJVm4cmzuIw8JG5ttgUAaNJ_D-b3tTPo7EwH3NZpxmgKHo2CEAbphvWXZCpQHllE/s320/51W2HmFTBKL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Back in November I got a new iPhone as an early Christmas present. I love it, of course, but I have yet to put any music on it. Which is weird, considering my need for a soundtrack to my daily life, but I still have an empty iTunes library. Pandora to the rescue. Pandora is just about the greatest thing ever and it is fulfilling my life soundtrack needs and filling my days with all the best Christmas music. I am very picky about my holiday music, I think that Christmas should sound like a 50's holiday cocktail party. I need Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Nancy Wilson, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald... That is Christmas to me. I do like some of the modern Christmas offerings, (Elton John, Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder... and since I grew up in the 80's I am obligated to love </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Last Christmas</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> by Wham!. I know, not a good song, but I just can't help it) but mostly I think they are horrible and they do not put me in a Christmassy mood. (to be fair, there is also old stuff that I dislike, no matter who is singing it. My all-time least favorite holiday song? The </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Little Drummer Boy</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> followed closely by</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Silver Bells</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">) Pandora made me a 'Swingin' Christmas' station and that fulfilled every holiday cocktail party fantasy I have ever had. My favorite thing Pandora gave me was <i>Christmas with the Rat Pack. </i>All the best songs in the same place. Merry Christmas to me. </span>Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-100893657401777762012-12-04T09:56:00.000-08:002012-12-27T09:57:26.162-08:0043<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Happy Birthday Steve! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIEF9tdtZEgVjM8TQpKlQ0AaSOWkKV6FmXYCyxrIGSZLin9Ixr3vttIHH6W_XdQUg1ARRq789HsIHdcjbgFn7s5Hsife0O3jPM4j28vuMacOmhS3E2Z_5rDzCSp-oHFzF_9WLR7kBdfmom/s1600/IMG_0578.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIEF9tdtZEgVjM8TQpKlQ0AaSOWkKV6FmXYCyxrIGSZLin9Ixr3vttIHH6W_XdQUg1ARRq789HsIHdcjbgFn7s5Hsife0O3jPM4j28vuMacOmhS3E2Z_5rDzCSp-oHFzF_9WLR7kBdfmom/s400/IMG_0578.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Steve with puppy Steve</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>A coffee,</i></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> a morning walk,</i></div>
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and a little baby Frenchie.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>It's good to be Steve. </i></span></div>
Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-24565767721200655842012-12-01T10:54:00.000-08:002012-12-13T10:58:33.284-08:00'Tis The Season<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFjacktA5xK8Lj-KiGtnAu9rKTiXWpC2KsC6XIM3WVJIj4s2Xb1CN-YloFa8_10d5xZJildalBgXowt2d7zipMAW8wm5QLR5Bb4sHDUqBTWiK7P1AqM2iYpvqGEYEEXnHPnYPDessHm1r/s1600/hello+december+via+firework+tumblr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFjacktA5xK8Lj-KiGtnAu9rKTiXWpC2KsC6XIM3WVJIj4s2Xb1CN-YloFa8_10d5xZJildalBgXowt2d7zipMAW8wm5QLR5Bb4sHDUqBTWiK7P1AqM2iYpvqGEYEEXnHPnYPDessHm1r/s400/hello+december+via+firework+tumblr.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This year I am completely in love with December. Even more than I normally am. (and that is a lot) This holiday season is going to be spectacular. The Christmas music is already playing, the tree is up waiting for me to smother it in ornaments, (it's been standing there naked for a week while I figure out what I want to do with it. I feel like it's mocking me, it really needs to get decorated) and my clicking finger is itching to do all the on-line present shopping. December is much more than just Christmas around here, it's also Steve's birthday, our 21st anniversary, the kids and Steve having weeks of vacation, and us having lots of time to do all kinds of things together. Oh, the plans I've made. Stay tuned, it's going to be good.</span></div>
Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-49797592920404622432012-11-22T23:30:00.000-08:002012-12-05T13:57:32.541-08:00Thankful <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">A couple of peculiar things happened on Thanksgiving this year - I cooked the entire meal all by myself, and I didn't take a single picture of anything all day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Since there is no photographic evidence of the holiday, let's just pretend that it looked like this</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoxBq2U5NCAonToEBU-ZkLgPuH3zN3pc3T2y-aKSzJ8QDtlWcFMmfb5eEhEwgQFZCDmfYOuO173vrdf9VaTl-je1JfcSlXHi2v6n6qCzTLxG55DxVcdVuSz5p4TIQMjDj4ZrA0SvLt1ahQ/s1600/Beautiful-thanksgiving-table-decorations-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoxBq2U5NCAonToEBU-ZkLgPuH3zN3pc3T2y-aKSzJ8QDtlWcFMmfb5eEhEwgQFZCDmfYOuO173vrdf9VaTl-je1JfcSlXHi2v6n6qCzTLxG55DxVcdVuSz5p4TIQMjDj4ZrA0SvLt1ahQ/s400/Beautiful-thanksgiving-table-decorations-15.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Preparing the meal wasn't too difficult, I used some of my sister Sabrina's recipes, kept the menu simple, and since I was only cooking for 6 people it wasn't stressful at all. I cooked a turkey breast in the slow-cooker and that was amazing, everything ended up on the table warm and at the same time so I felt pretty great about the whole thing. We had Steve's dad and his wife join us and it was an intimate, lovely meal. Every year we have much to be thankful for, but this year I think we all felt an extra bit of thankfulness for each other and that we have had yet another year together. </div>
Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-64722148937272165842012-11-12T14:07:00.000-08:002012-12-05T14:07:37.465-08:00Jersey Girl<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dagny has wanted a Giants jersey for forever. Last year I promised that if they won the World Series I would buy her one. They didn't win last year, but they did this year, so I had to pony up. It was a promise I enjoyed keeping. We took Dagny to the Dugout Store in Walnut Creek and let her pick her jersey and have it customized. She had them put CHAMPS 12 on the back. Pretty clever, don't you think? </span><br />
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<br />Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-6868114211907680942012-11-05T10:07:00.000-08:002012-11-18T10:20:24.465-08:00Doctor Who Costumes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The price Dagny pays for me putting together her costumes is letting me take lots of pictures of said costumes. A small price for such amazing costumes and one I am pretty sure she enjoys paying. This year she talked her friends into dressing up with her and then she talked them into a photo shoot. That's my girl. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Amy Pond</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Amy and Rory</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Pond's</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>River Song, Amy, The 11th Doctor, Rory</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Amy's Boys</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Doctor Who at High School</i></span></div>
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Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-64499771575177258742012-11-04T14:50:00.000-08:002012-11-16T14:56:07.080-08:00Count Rugen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.7em;">“As you know, the concept of the suction pump is centuries old. Really that’s all this is except that instead of sucking water, we’re sucking time. We’ve just sucked one hour of your life away. We might one day go as high as five, but we really don’t know what that would do to you. So, let’s just start with what we have. What did this do to you? Tell me. And remember, this is for posterity so be honest. How do you feel?”</span></div>
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Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2806132879370637824.post-68963384203410257382012-11-01T09:59:00.000-07:002012-11-14T10:02:59.258-08:00Deja Vu<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Second World Series championship in three years, that means San Francisco gets another parade. I think this one was even louder and more crowded than<a href="http://btwpf.blogspot.com/2010/11/in-presence-of-giants.html"> 2010</a>, it was such a party. Steve and I were on our own this time, neither one of the kids could get out of school. (there are no words to describe Dagny's devastation) We got there early and got an excellent viewing spot and then had fun people watching before the parade. (Giants parade on Halloween in SF, you can bet there was a lot of interesting things to see) I loved watching the players go by, they were having as much fun as the fans. The atmosphere all day was pure joy, it was love and madness all dressed up in orange and black. An entire city gathered in celebration, completely amazing. Oh, and Tony Bennett was there. What city could possibly be more awesome than San Francisco?<br />
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Natashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06533424376744322250noreply@blogger.com4