Happy Valentine's Day

It was a beautiful, warm, and sunny day, so we headed outdoors for some great scenery. We drove out to Stillwater Winery, which is about 10 minutes from our house, to enjoy the weather. Tim (still drinking left over cokes from the super bowl party)

Debra (loving that she gets to wear a tanktop in February, but desperately needing a tan)

This is the tasting room. There were olive trees over 100 years old all over the property that made some very tasty olive oil, lots of daffodils, you can tell spring is right around the corner, and a coy pond that was really peaceful to sit next to with all the water running into it.

These were the chairs we were sitting in pictured above. A great view of vineyards and the green rolling hills. Tim nailed it when I told him I wanted to visit a winery with good scenery
and a view.

This year for Valentine's Day I had the option of flowers or fruit trees. I thought I would go with the trees as they are a little more long term, and we need to start focusing our efforts on landscaping. It is bare root fruit tree season and now is the best time to plant. We bought a peach, plum, and apricot. We can't wait until summer time to enjoy all the fruit.

We have a pretty steep slope on the side of our house in the back, so we figured this would be a good spot for the trees. (Once again another blog post where Tim is hard at work)

It's Finished!

After many hours of hardwork, my Christmas gift has been completed. I definitely got the better end out of this deal. I just purchased the saw while Tim slaved away in the cold garage for hours on end. We moved the tv stand in last night. I am very excited about the way it turned out and so greatful for my genius husband! (Yes, now we inevitably need a bigger tv to make things look proportional)

Happy New Year

Tim and I spent a quiet New Year's Eve in Paso this year with just the two of us. It had been a while since we had gone on an actual date, so we decided that New Year's Eve would be as good a night as any. We went out to dinner at Villa Creek downtown where we had some very tasty food. We have a whole new set of restaurants downtown that we have yet to try. I had a delicious winter squash soup and porkchops while Tim had butternut squash enchiladas. It definitely made me want to cook more with winter squashes. After dinner we came back to the house, made chocolate chip cookies, and watched a movie. It always seems like there is a big expectation to do something grand on New Year's Eve. I will probably still conjure up big ideas for next year like that posh cabin in the snow with all your friends around, or that rooftop villa to ring in the New Year, but I must say that I rather enjoyed spending time with Tim this year.
As for resolutions, I'm usually not the type to make them or if I do they last about a month. So my goal is that I have decided that I would like to be less lazy this year. This probably encompasses many resolutions in one. Of course that means excercising more. (actually using my gym membership) Reading my bible more consistently. And not relying on Tim to do so many things for me because it is convenient. (For example, "Tim I think the dog wants to go outside, maybe you should let her in the backyard" Meanwhile I sit two feet from him asking him to do this simple thing for me)
Tim is usually the one to have many resolutions. However, this year the roles are reversed. He did say that he intends to finish my Christmas present sometime this year. He is making me an entertainment center for tht tv. For Christmas I bought him a saw that he wanted and he had the idea of making me the tv stand. Can't wait for the finished product.

Christmas

This year we celebrated Christmas with the Richards family in Watsonville. It was the first time that all of the siblings and husbands/fiances were able to get together. If you were wondering if we were having some sort of costume party, that answer is a no. Tim was quite festive this year sporting his Dad's Jesus vest on Christmas eve and Rudy (Debra's sister's husband)was in and out as he was one duty and getting calls left and right. There was never a dull moment between all the family and the three dogs. The Richards family dog Kirby is 14 and super old, Cali the Romano dog was constantly in the kitchen begging for food, and Nikko (Deanna's and Rudy's 9 month old German Shepard) was generally just out of control.

Strange Happenings in the New Neighborhood

I'm sitting on the couch like any other week night grading stacks upon stacks of papers for school when I start to hear tons of police sirens in our neighborhood. I start to think this is a little odd because our neighborhood is one of those sleepy neighborhoods past 7pm where you don't see a lot of cars, people, or cops for that matter. Keep in mind I am home alone as Tim is out at a bachelor party all night. I am trying not to start the typical worst case scenario thoughts that I always think, when I feel the need to investigate the situation. I go to the back of the house and can see the reflection of lights from all of these cop cars on the houses. Weird... some of the neighbors are starting to gather outside. Weird... So I thought this might be a good time to meet neighbors since we never see any around. I grab my coat while trying not to alarm the dog in a frenzy and head outside. I am feeling very brave for actually walking outside. Normally I run around locking all doors. The sirens havn't stopped and it is progressively getting louder. I walk across the street and ask what is going on. The neighbors then inform me that Santa is coming on his sleigh! (Escorted by 5 screaming cop cars of course) What on Earth! So sure enough about 10 min. later the parade makes it to our house where all the neighborhood kids have gathered, including howling dogs, to greet Santa on his sleigh who is giving out candy canes. A neighborhood doesn't get much better than this! (Next year I will remember this and try not to freak out)

I tried to get some pictures but didn't have the best camera for the job.

Happy 31st Birthday Tim!

This year for Tim's birthday we went to Disneyland. They are doing the "get in free for your birthday" promotion and we couldn't pass it up. They gave Tim special treatment from the moment we arrived. He recieved a Happy Birthday button with his name on it at the gate, so everywhere we went everyone was constantly telling him Happy Birthday. Even during the Christmas parade, Santa Claus looked down and yelled out Happy Birthday. We had a great day riding just about every ride twice (We managed to hit up the Matterhorn 4 times) The lines were very short, we waited at the most for 20 min. on just a few rides. To top it off, Tim even got free chocolate mousse with dinner including mickey sprinkles. It was so much fun to see Disneyland all decorated for Christmas. It even snowed during the firework show. (well, fake snow of course)

Home Sweet Home

Sorry for the delay, but we have finally gotten back on track with life it seems. After about a month we finally have internet access again and are reconnected with the world. Here are some pics of the house. We still have some painting to do, but other than that we are pretty much settled. Debra's favorite about the house is central heating. Having an automatic thermostat is amazing. A luxury we are loving until we get the first heating bill. Tim's favorite includes the garage. It is so great not to chip ice off the car windows in the morning before work. We have space we just don't know what to do with yet. Sorry we forgot to take a picture of the front of the house. It's raining outside, so we will definitely post the front next time. In the meantime, come visit us.