Tuesday, November 23, 2010




Butterfly Tress






Hey All! Hope everyone is well and prepared for Thanksgiving! Joe and I are staying in Cali for the holiday. But no worry, we are cooking a delish meal and having our neighbors over for a pleasant dinner.
Been a couple of busy weeks here in the Bay. We got rid of cable and internet, so we've been kind of bored but happy! We are in limbo of moving. The studio downstairs is not ready, so we are unsure of our status on 16th st.
Schools been going well, we are preparing the kids for resume's. I too have been getting my resume and essay together for graduate school. It really is a drag to write an essay.
Any who..life is good. Uploaded a few pictures, hung out in Carmel By The Sea. Very cute town..Also, the monarch butterflies have started to migrate into our area, so tree's are filled with flying orange and black. Last weekend was the tree lighting at Del Monte Mall...it was a great community outing.
Enjoy the week!
XO

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Big Sur Camping and Esalen Hot Springs


Hot Springs

Hot Springs

Hot Springs
Campground Redwood Tress




Good ol fire at night..perfect
We camped right next to a river





We went camping this weekend in Big Sur. Joe drove the RV and I followed him in the Honda. I don't know if you know this, but one of my biggest irrational fears is driving south on Highway 1 because of it's twists and turns. So driving to Big Sur was a big moment in my small little life. And I was perfectly fine, surprisingly. It was a beautiful ride.
Once we got to our campground and set up shop, we drove down a little further down the 1 to check out where the Esalen Hot Springs were located. The Hot Springs are open to the public by Reservation Only from 1:00am to 3:00pm. Clothing optional! Once we got back to our campground site, we had a fire, drank some vino and beers, ate some burritos and took a little cat nap. We then woke up and drove to the hot springs. It was a once in a lifetime experience. These hot springs are located right off the Pacific Ocean with a silent and quiet room. Both rooms have individual clawfoot baths and stone whirlpool tubs that overlook the ocean. The silent room in enclosed with the back door exposed to hear the ocean. The quiet room has no walls, so you can bath outside and see the beautiful stars. You can stretch on one of the massage tables, or take a nap listening to the waves crash. The water is very hot. There is also a room with showers that has no back wall, so you can literally shower while looking at the ocean. It's ridiculous and anyone who visits us I promise we will take you there. Really, can you think of a experience where you can bath in hot mineral water, look at the stars, and hear the ocean crash? Hands down one of the best things we've ever done.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Counseling/Change of Last Name/Anthropologie/Santa Cruz/Capitola






Busy week,
So Monday and Wednesday I counseled at a high school and middle school. The counseling is going well. I am starting to get the hang of it and feel comfortable with the kids.
Had to get the paper work together for my last name to change since I'm an old married lady now (love it!) Have to go to the DMV on Monday to get a Cali license and our RV registered.
Have been looking for Thanksgiving recipes...Joe and I will be out here so I want to make a great meal, but not a huggge meal..any suggestions? Maybe Turkey Breast?
Yesterday I went to Anthropologie, had a gift card to use (thanks Mom!), and above is the outfit I bought...
Today my friend Vicky and I went to Santa Cruz and walked around Pacific Ave with all the cute shops. We grabbed some lunch then drove into Capitola, kind of like a mellow/surf town beach town, similar to Carmel by the Sea but less ritzy. Joe used to live there a few years back. Cute town.
So gonna finish the week by completing my application to Graduate School tomorrow after making lesson plans at the YWCA and then camping in Big Sur and bathing at the Eslean Inst. Hot Springs on Sat....oh la la. Will update you on that next week.
Have a great weekend! Maybe Joe will win the NFL pool again, or if luck has it I will(HA!)

Monday, November 8, 2010

sunset bike ride along the pacific



Our attempted trip to Yosemite




So we were all geared up to head off to Yosemite this weekend with the Woogie *aka* our RV. We packed up the RV, bought awesome camping equipment, filled up the cooler and headed on to the wilderness on Friday. However, the weekend didn't go as planned. We left Friday (actually left PG around 2pm) and headed north east. Unfortunately, we got stuck in traffic for a long time. Thankfully we found a alternative route and decided to take it. So as we are crossing a southbound two way highway to merge into the northbound two way highway, our RV stalls, in the middle of traffic. To put it nicely, I tasted my dinner from the night before. After the RV starts up again, we decide to stop in a parking lot and try to fix it..when I say we, you know I mean Joe:) Anyways after numerous trips to Auto Zone, it's about 8:00 pm with no solution. We are still 4 hours away to Yosemite. So we decide that we are going to be troopers and stay in an RV park near by and head up in the morning. Morning comes, we head on out, and same problem. We stop about 2-3 times to try to figure it out. On our last attempt (before we started climbing the mountain) Joe thinks he's got it figured out. However, as we climb the curvy, narrow mountain, I start to freak (DV8, if your reading this, it's kind of like highway 1, you know Big Sur Style, but imagine riding in a RV that you don't know if it's going to work or not) Here's the thing, I don't mind those kind of roads *so much* anymore because I know I'm in a safe vehicle. However, we've had to stop so many times cause the damn thing keeps acting up, I wasn't about to embark on a mountainous road if I didn't think it was safe. As I explained to Joe, who's afraid of roller coasters, imagine if you were strapped into a roller coaster and they had to keep stopping it because it wasn't "working", and they were trying to fix it, would you stay on, or get the hell off? My point exactly. Plus as it turns out is that Yosemite was getting a SEVERE SNOW STORM! Haha, can you imagine? So not only are we driving the RV that isn't stable, but we are driving it on a curvy, cliff hanging, snow encrusted roads. Ok, I know the drama in this story is a little on the high level, but you get my point. So long story short, we came back home, which we both thought was the best idea, and are going to either a) bring the thing to a mechanic or b) try to diagnose it ourselves with the help of our Dads.
one cool part of the trip tho, is that we past some cotton fields and neither of us has ever seen cotton fields. We do want to go to Yosemite again tho, and soon. However, it's November and the storms are rolling in there.

Anyways, back to work, err I mean volunteering at the schools. and applying to grad school and getting stuff together for our move, yes we are moving out of our apt and into a studio. Same building tho.

How was everyone's weekend?

Wednesday, November 3, 2010


God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.