Happy Birthday My Sweet Pup

I am a couple days behind in posting this, but wouldn't feel right if I didn't have a tribute to Miss. Poppy! Poppy is 1 year old as of May 8th!

I know that many people can't relate to the love of an animal but truly Poppy is one of the most important creatures in my life. She is so loyal, affectionate and wonderful! She makes me laugh on a daily basis! She still thinks she is a superhero while she dashes around and I am convinced she thinks she can fly as she leaps and soars from the highest points possible. She is even a bonafide stuntdog...leaping from moving vehicles...(yes...I almost died from that heart attack and she survived without a scratch. I no longer drive with the windows down.)

She licks my face relentlessly when I am laughing and sleeps curled up next to me every night. She is such a good pup! She is my constant companion and my life wouldn't be the same without her. She is the most gentle creature I know and just the other day I was laughing when the neighbor cat walked through our backdoor. She just looked at me and then yawned it off. I see the two of them hanging out in the backyard on a regular basis now.

She is my good dog and the love of my life.

I love you Poppy. I hope you live forever.

Puccini without words

I have been dealing with some interesting life changes lately. So with those changes I thought that I would change up the blog. One of the great advantages to having life get a little crazy and a little out of control is that you can look for the rainbow lining. (Do I sound positive and convincing??) So in my case my rainbow lining is really gripping onto the things I can control, taking a hard look at them and doing what I can to make life amazing, regardless of anything or anyone else. So....that's my new perspective. That I am going to be a little bit more selfish in life, have a little bit more fun, and take some time to work on well...ME. I haven't really done that in awhile.

Welcome Miss Addison

Erica, my best friend since high school, had her baby girl Addison!! She was a week overdue and still managed to have a tiny little baby!! Only 6 lbs 13 oz.I just got back from the hospital and she is so beautiful and very sweet!! Erica had a great delivery and truly makes being pregnant and giving birth seem like a breeze!

Welcome little Addison!! We are so glad you are here!

Super awesome celebration of the day of my birth...

Birthdays have never really been a big deal. Don't get me wrong. I have had some wonderful birthdays and certainly as a kid remember all the fun parties that my mom threw me, that later morphed into high school get together gatherings, which then translated to meeting at the dance club, then the more adult like dinners gatherings. I think that with the natural progression of aging and less exciting, non-pin the tail on the donkey parties, the pure butterflies in the stomach experience just naturally fades away. We hit that point where...darn it..we are a year older and tend to reflect vs..look forward to that new drivers license etc..
This birthday however, seemed to bring back some of that old glee that I had forgotten about. I am embarrassed to admit that it was all the wonderful attention and thoughtfulness of everyone that brought that glee. I really didn't expect anything other than some warm birthday wishes but truly I felt like everyone just went so out of their way!

My day started with flowers from Mom and Dad. Then Matt had some beautiful flowers delivered to work for me. I was so tickled. How fun being surrounded by all this flora!! I also got a my first job interview request since I have started the tough hunt and that literally felt like the greatest birthday present EVER! It lifted my hopes so much that I might actually find a new job after getting laid off! Then I came home from work and waiting on my front door steps were more flowers and plants with balloons and cards from my best girlfriends. My house looked like a nursery! It was of course...very awesome! Then I got all dressed up and ready for Matt to come home to take me to dinner at Andina's! This is officially my new favorite restaurant! It was FANTASTIC! The food was divine! It was the perfect mix of comfort food and sophistication. Seriously. I know that sounds totally dorky...but that was truly the best way I can describe it, besides...so yummy that all dinner long Matt and I were making obnoxious ...mmmmmmmm....noises while we ate. After a long wonderful dinner my husband presented me with a beautiful necklace, which I love! My hubby did good...it is so perfectly me. I love it and haven't taken it off since! To disgust you even more...two days later...Erica treated me to a pedicure, lunch and gave me the best birthday present.

So perhaps I should title this...Super Awesome Celebration of the day of the most spoiled brat ever's birth. That sounds about right!

I am a lucky girl with the best friends and family ever. We should go celebrate that...at Andina's. Let's GO!



These are the flowers Matt sent me. I won't post the picture of the necklace or anything else because then you would really hate me. But if you click on the word..Andina..you can look at the menu and drool over the yummy food I ate...mmmmmmmm.

My Bloody Valentine 3-D

Well- I did promise a horror movie review after my super, cheery, happy previous post.

Yesterday, Matt and I decided to go on a long overdue date together to catch a flick. We haven't seen a movie together at the theater in a very long time and decided to have fun and see My Bloody Valentine 3-D. We loaded up on the popcorn, slurpees, and $10 licorice and grabbed our Elvis Costello 3-D glasses. It was exciting going to a 3-D movie for grown-ups. (Although...we were a little confused thinking we were in the the wrong theater when we saw two different...BIG families come in with their kids...ages ranging from 3ish-10ish. Maybe the parents were confused with the 3-D glasses, Valentines....maybe they missed the BLOODY in the title...or the R rating. I did find myself watching the family in anticipation for the reactions of the both the parents and the kids to not only the massive amounts of gore, but that massive amount of gore in 3-D. Maybe the kids were being punished.)

Back to the film....

Now I am not going to do a review in the normal sense...there are too many talented people who get paid to do that. In fact...at the end of this I will link you to one of my favorite bloggers who reviews horror movies and is a hoot. She reviewed this movie for AMC...(very PG) and also briefly on her blog.(If you wouldn't go to a rated R movie and have issues with foul language, nudity, gore, chainsaws, zombies, anti-christ pregnancies, etc..then I must warn you to avoid the brillant Stacie Ponder's blog. Although the temptation is now there...and I know you want to look...)

My Bloody Valentine 3-D is a remake of the story of a pickax happy miner named Harry Warden. I have never seen the first one, although Matt remembered having seen it. That's as much background that I will give you. (Remember...not a true review..if I attempted to do that I would probably get in trouble for revealing too much or break movie review rules or whatever).

Matt and I went into this movie with big smiles on our faces...(how can you not with 3-D glasses on) and left with big smiles. The 3-D effects were very fun. In the first opening scene they (as in the movie people...who ever that is) do a great job setting the bar. It was so horrific, bloody and gory that we laughed with glee. It was that over the top. There were many more moments that you would hear the two of us going..."ooooohhhh..." or me going "blech.." followed by both of us laughing at the creative dismantling that we just witnessed. Who knew that you could kill someone in so many different ways with a pickax?

Things I loved about the movie...

-Looking over at Matt and seeing him in his Elvis Costello 3-D glasses.
-Over the top gore!
-Classic characters and dialogue. (My favorite was the sheriff and deputy in the first scene... so classic)
-The sound effects were pretty fun...very squishy.
-They hit upon so many classic horror kill spots...motel, woods, grocery store, old run-down house, small town suburbia, car, caves, hospital(hee hee), and I am sure more that I am missing.
-The ending

Things that weren't so good.

-Super expensive movie night with the extra 3-D surcharge.
-Feeling like an idiot when we paid for our million dollar movie food. (WHY?! didn't I stop at the Target and get big bags of candy and stuff it in my giant purse?!!)

Overall...after a weekend of watching Revolutionary Road (GREAT!), and The Duchess (good). It was a fun to go see an old school slasher flick with some modern digital 3-D technology.

I wonder how those kids slept last night.

Here is Stacie Ponder's link to her AMC review of the movie. (A real review).

Here is the link to Stacie Ponder's super awesome blog Final Girl.

Whoo HOO for 2009!

So many great things to look forward to in 2009!





Oh my Obama!! I love this guy! I love his wife and his adorable children! I was so inspired and touched by his speech and feel more patriotic than I have in years! He has a HARD road ahead of him and I think he has the hardest job in the world right now. I pray that we can all support him and understand that he is where he is supposed to be right now.



My best friend Erica and her husband Brian are having their first baby, Miss.Addison in February! I am so excited to meet her and know she is going to for sure be beautiful and very talented just like her mama!! I imagine she will tap dance her way into the world.



Noahanator!

My little Noah is turning 1 in March and I can't believe it! It is truly so much fun watching him grow up and I am feel so lucky to live close by to witness all his funny little quirks and charming personality come out!





Weddings Bells for Emma and Isaac!
My darling cousin is getting married on May 9th! I have had the pleasure of hearing all her details and plans! It will be fantastic! I am really looking forward to meeting Isaac, seeing all the family and getting all spiffy for what will be a fabulous wedding for sure!!! (hmmmm...how can I get her out here for a pre-wedding bash at Darcell's! Nothing better then some drag queens before the big day! I wonder if they have drag queens in Utah? OH you KNOW they do!!! Side note of digression...my Grandma Russell loves drag queens...none personally that I know of ...but I have watched many a drag queen specials with her! It must be in my blood!)

Can't wait Em!! OH and another side note...two people that look like Emma and Isaac shouldn't be allowed to have babies...so unfair for the rest of the world's babies. Although...ahem...I guess it should be illegal for Matt and I too. (have you seen my husband...holy hottness!) But Emma and Isaac have a caliber that well...should be illegal.



My absolute favorite modern day artist, Cassandra Christensen Barney, (her beautiful painting, The Incumbent, above) is having an art show in May at Cannon Beach! I have been looking forward to this show for so long! I will finally get to meet her and have been saving my money for the show!!! I imagine I will be so star-struck that I will make a complete fool of myself! But I am really looking forward to it! It's perfect because the first time I discovered her artwork, happened to be on a weekend that Matt and I were at Cannon Beach! I literally stopped in my tracks when I saw her work and then later discovered that she was the daughter of James Christensen whose art I grew up with. I am very very excited!! She is such a rock star to me! Matt has already been counseling me on how to control myself when I meet her. But what he just doesn't understand is that I know we can be best friends. (I am just kidding...mostly.)





My cousin Laura is moving here with her cute husband Robbie and her ADORABLE baby Isabel!! Robbie is going to school out here and we were all so excited to get them close to Portland!!! They move here in August! We can't wait to meet Isabel!!!





Also in August is the Bacon Family Reunion!!!!!! I can't wait! Last time I only got to spend one measly afternoon with the family at the coast! This year I plan on spending at least a couple days with the family! I hope everyone comes out and can't wait to see everyone!!



August 29th of this year Matt and I will have made it to the 1 year wedding anniversary!! We are actually on year 6 together this year but I just love that we have a wedding anniversary to celebrate from now on!! I love this man so much and they say that the first year is the hardest...it will be great to get through this first year as madly in love as ever!!! (Love you babe!)

I know that there will be so many wonderful things that happen this year! I plan on living it to the fullest! Taking more classes, more flower school, more time with my wonderful friends, memories with family, and I am going to attempt to learn how to sew! I can't wait for all the gifts that this year has in store!!!!!

OH and a shout out to my favorite pup Poppy who makes EVERYDAY full of kisses, joy and laughter!

(WOW...how's that for a sugar coma inducing post...hmmm...I will have review a horror movie on the next one...sorry..)