Teacup Full of Cherries

…one product at a time!

So what three things have made my life easier as of late?

1. An espresso machine. I can’t even think back to when we didn’t have this (less than 1 month ago). Before it, I was waking up at 5:45am & leaving the house at 6:55am to drive 5 miles out of the way (equalling 10 extra miles daily and usually adding about 45 extra minutes to my 10 minute commute to work) because of the death grip Dutch Bros. coffee had on me. It cost me $4.75 +gas every day. Now I wake up about an hour later than I did, leave about 40 minutes later than I did, and some days I still wake up early….but then Bobby & I go to the gym, thus freeing up that time after work usually slated for gym times. It’s been a dream come true!

2. Restaurant style cheese grater. So many more dishes now have grated cheese on them. And my equation goes a little something like this: Tena’s happiness is directly proportional to the amount of cheese she eats.

3. Body pillow! Now Bobby hears much less of me whining about how he should come to bed with me and rub my back until I fall asleep. It’s a pillow….for your entire body! It’s like sleeping on a cloud. And another equation of mine goes like this: Tena’s happiness is directly proportionally to falling asleep with body pillow &/or Bobby.

Bobby has it bad. In the span of 7 days he has my birthday, Christmas, and our anniversary. Oh, but he handled it so well.

We made cookies!Lil was impressed with our decorating skills ala’ Martha Stewart.

We bought a real tree & decorated it!

Twinkle lights! …and needles everywhere.

Mah birthday starts off all the festivities. December 21st. I turned the big 2-6. Bobby surprised me a few hours before midnight on Dec. 20th by hiding my present under the tree while my back was turned:

Awesomeness. So we played that well into midnight to celebrate. The next day (my ACTUAL BIRTHDAY) Bobby took me to a fancy dinner @ Christopher’s. It was delicious and we had cheese, salmon, and my favvvvv: truffle fries!!!

Here I am at 26 years old, excited for truffle fries.

On to the main event: CHRISTMAS! So, of course, we couldn’t wait to open our presents until Christmas morn, so we did so on Christmas Eve afternoon.

I got a beeeeutiful locket & Beatles Rock Band. Hells yah! Bobby, his sister, and I ended up playing the entire game Christmas night. It took 4 hours, and yes, we even played the very, very last song since we were patient enough to sit though the credits. I sang, of course.

Bobby got his 4th calculator watch to replace the last one I bought him, an old money clip advertising the delightfully punny bar in Alaska: the Polar Bar. Oh yeah, I got him tickets to see Jeff Tweedy on December 27th!

So, December 27th rolls around, and we go see Jeff Tweedy at the Orpheum. We had a light snack at Hanny’s with some friends who were also going beforehand. It’s a cute little venue and Jeff Tweedy played an excellent acoustic set.

The next day was our 2 year anniversary, (and also my first day back to work since the 18th)! Wow-wow-wuzzy! So there I was, not excited to be back at work when I had a delivery! FLOWERS! AT WORK! AWESOME!

Freshening up my office. Some are still alive to this day!

When we got home, we decided to recreate our first date. First we headed to the oh-so-cheesy ZooLights.

Delightful! Then we took or growling stomachs to where we had our first dinner: Postino! In true Bobby style, he surprised me again with some lovely pink sapphire earrings! We decided to head home after that. We fell asleep around 11pm while watching the Simpsons. How romantic.

Phew, what a week.

Less than 3 months away, yeah. We met with the cake vendor in November and I nixed the cupcake idea and now we are going for the more traditional 3 tiered cake. The decision was based on the fact I’m sure everyone will want more than one cupcake of this delicious concoction, and with a three tiered cake….everyone will need to eat at least 3 pieces so we wont have leftovers. Off the top of my head, I can’t remember all the flavors, but I know it involves chocolate mousse and amaretto filling. It will look similar to this (minus the giant bow and the 4th tier):

We also purchased the wedding rings.

That is the larger version of mine, currently sent out to be handmade to fit my tiny little finger (size 49, which converts to a little smaller than size 5 here in the states). Bobby will have a band that matches the metal of my ring. The sales lady tried so hard to get him to add a diamond to his, but fortunately for me, Bobby is not the flashy.

I don’t think we will have a Honeymoon right away, but we are thinking New York. I certainly don’t want to go to any tropical place, because I bore easily if I’m not doing something every day on a vacation. Plus, we are the types who like more museums, more sights, more food, and just generally busy places.

Still have flowers, Bobby’s tux, invites, cake topper/decorations, and my dress alteration to go. Oh and invitations. Yeah, we’re slow.

Things I did in 2009:

1. Rang in the year with over 60.000 people at Disneyland…was delirious.

2. Rode the Simpsons ride….several times.

3. Became an aunt.

4. Chicago! Hel-LO!

5. Became engaged in Chicago.

6. 1 year anniversary @ my work. Perfect attendance!

7. New bikes!

8. Engagement pictures! (see Here!)

9. Turned 26.

10. Saw Jeff Tweedy live.

11. Celebrated 2nd anniversary with Bobby @ ZooLights & Postino ala our first date.

12. Lost 23 pounds.

13. Got sick only once!

14. Fell asleep on the couch on New Years Eve.

Humm…that’s all I can think of right now! But a good year, none-the-less! Although I have pretty high hopes for this year, it is even-numbered after all!

I should be cleaning. I’ve had the last 3 days off, plus tomorrow is Thanksgiving and Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. That equals up to a whole week off. Which equals waking up at 9:30-ish, working out, taking a shower, getting coffee, and cleaning. FUNFUNFUN! I should back up, though.

WE GOT NEW BIKES! They are safely stowed away in our spare bedroom (take that dirty bike thieves), and they are awesome. My new one is WAAAAAY better than my old Target bike and it was a present from Bobby, thus making it the best ever. It is blue & white and has little birdies painted all over it. Also came with a matching bell. (see: example) In return, we went hunting for a vintage fixer-upper for Bobby, since that is what he wanted. We finally found an old 10-speed that had fully inflated tires so we could ride that night.

We even took them on the light rail and rode around Tempe. We grabbed coffee at Cartel, had some lunch and Pumpkin Porter at Four Peaks, and also found some FROYOYO!

It has become something we LOVE.

I also dumped T-Mobile. It was not a quiet or happy break-up, but Bobby intervened and we came to a compromise. I actually called them to confirm that my contract was over and asked how much I would owe if I cancelled that day. They said it would be prorated and I would owe about half my regular bill since I was half-way though the billing cycle. Cue me & Bobby at the Apple store 10 minutes later picking out my new iPhone.

Ah, it is so nice, fast, doesn’t close applications randomly, and I can actually update it regularly without Bobby needing to jailbreak it! After the purchase, I called T-mobile to cancel my service where they decided to tell me that my bill would NOT be prorated and I would owe the entire bill amount despite me canceling in the middle of the cycle and the lady I had talked to 30 minutes earlier telling me otherwise. So Bobby had to take the phone from me before I started to curse and cry at the guy at the other end & got it fixed for me. Yeah Bobby! For all his hard work, I got him a iTouch! (Well, I gave him my old iPhone, hehe.)

In some sad news, I lost one of my oldest best friends a few weeks back.

Bustykins. Granted she was about a month away from turning 16, was blind & deaf, and barked non-stop, but I thought she would be there for one more holiday season. Alas, she could no longer walk.

Also, I’m currently sitting next to a bald-butted Lil. She had surgery on a lump on her butt Monday morning, we are still awaiting the biopsy results, but she has been in such good spirits lately and still exhibits her lovey-dovey-puppy-like behavior she is known for, so we have faith it will be nothing serious. She had a great vet who is known for doing all the butt surgeries, hehe. Here we are recovering from a long Monday.

In wedding news….well, not much. We are getting “engagement” pictures taken in a few weeks (our photographer: Kym Ventola) and we are going to the bakery this Saturday for cake tasting (or rather, cupcake testing). We still need to get our rings, and I have some simple ideas for flowers. I’m still awaiting the invitation design (courtesy of my in-house designer, Bobby), and also Bobby needs a tux! Geez, what a slacker! I also have the entire Christmas week off, so maybe i will head to Michael’s and start making some decorations. Maybe, maybe not…

It’s getting colder! Make sure not to leave home without your scarf!

(this is her usual look, she is not being tortured!)

…or fall asleep head first in your scarf.

I just remembered that Bobby & I took Lil to the dog park on Saturday. It was nighttime, and, as Bobby put it, a total sausage fest. I was literally one of two females there. And I was the only female there that LOOKED female. (teeheehee.) Anyway, we were walking around the park, watching Lil stop every 30 seconds to phantom poop and watching all the cute doggies. Oh there was a cute Australian Shepard and a dog that kept putting his tennis ball in front of his owner, then he would run a little ways away and crouch on the ground waiting for his owner to make a move towards the ball. Once the owner got close to the ball, the dog would get up and run and take the ball, move it, run a little ways, then crouch on the ground and wait for the owner to make a move towards it AGAIN. And AGAIN. That’s all this dog did. Hilarious!

But I digress. The reason this was no ordinary trip to the dogpark is because this dog was there:

Well, not that dog EXACTLY, but the same breed. A CORGI!!! A rare sight. Oh man, my heart just melted. They are SO CUTE. I just wanted to vomit with the cuteness. And watching him run was a hoot! They are so low to the ground, too, just like wiener dogs. I guess that is why I like them. Oh garsh. And this is what they look like as puppies:

BARF! SO cute! Now I’m just torturing myself.

All right, all right…..Lil is super cute as well, I’ll give her that street cred! She’s our little sea otter.

And Bobby is the cutest of them all

Soooo, I think I figured out the one easy diet rule: HAVE YOUR BABY.

Soooo, I got sick. It was horrible. And didn’t work out for almost 2 weeks.

Soooo, I haven’t really worked out in the past 2 weeks. I’m going to attempt to start again tomorrow.

Soooo, I bought a wedding dress. It’s simple & it was affordable. And now is stored at my parents’ house.

Soooo, I went roller skating on Friday. I did pretty well until a blister began on my foot. I guess my roller skates need some extra padding.

Soooo, me & Bobby had breakfast at Morning Glory Cafe at the Farm on Saturday. Only 2 more Farm restaurants to visit before the wedding.

Soooo, this weekend we washed my car by hand. Even at 2 in the afternoon on a Sunday, this car wash place is uber creepy.

Soooo, we then proceeded to clean our place from top to bottom. OK, well more top to middle. We still have a little more to go.

Soooo, that’s it!

It’s Friday night & the mood is right. Well, actually, I’m at home waiting for Bobby to get off work. He is burning the midnight (or 7′o’clock?) oil. I’m not gonna lie: I’m pretty hungry. All I had today was yogurt, a bowl o’ Cheerios, coffee, and a handful of Raisinets. And on top of that, I worked out! It was a successful workout, for once this week. I slacked the entire week, but I suppose I deserved it. My body just shut down. However, I dodged the sick bullet that Bobby caught. My immune system be BUMPIN!

Wednesday night was super neato. We RSVP’ed to a tasting at the Farm so we could try some food from the caterer they use at the Farm weddings (Santa Barbara Catering). Not only was it delicious beyond belief, we got like a 4 course meal with a glass of wine for FREE. This made the food even better! Then we made it to the Rose & Crown with seconds to spare for trivia night. Yeah, we won 1st place. VICTORY AT LAST.

We also picked out our photographer. We met with her a couple weeks ago, thinking we wouldn’t go with her because when she first called me she stated her packages start at $3000. ERRR, hells no. But we still met with her anyway not expecting anything. We ended up creating our own little package & also getting a Sunday wedding discount. It is a most excellent deal. I will show her off once we give her the down payment. (Hey, I don’t want anyone stealing her from us on the same day!!)

We ALSO picked out our wedding rings. Also, AWESOME. You can check out some of their stuff here, but I can’t find any examples similar to ours. And, yet again, a discount!

Phew, that’s a lot of wedding talk.

We also decided it would be smart to stay where we are rather than quickly dive into buying a house. We are missing that $8,000 credit, but I think this will turn out better in the long run. Now that we have seen we are, in fact, capable of saving, we may be able to continue to after the wedding. This means paying off our debts quicker than we have been (aka not much :P) & saving more on an actual down payment. Which means we can probably get better rates & a better house. I’m totally excited for the prospect of less debt for the both of us.

Oh, and Beyonce’s lyrics are totally AWFUL! But I still listen to her crap.

OK, I’m starving! I’m not gonna lie again: this post was simply to pass the time so I can get closer to eating food.

Currently I’m sitting on the couch eating some raisinets. Bobby said they help keep all that nasty lactic acid at bay, and I’m planning on working out here soon. This past week I have been prone to cramping up pretty quickly, which means I didn’t work out that much last week. It was pathetic. Luckily, I’m still hanging in there with my 15 pound weight loss. But it’s been at a stand still since then. So I’m trying to amp myself up to start FOR REALSIES again this week.

We also have a venue and date for our wedding….YEA! It’s the Farm @ South Mountain! It’s completely perfect. It will be March 28th, 2010, which, according to theknot.com, is only 203 days away. It will be in the evening, and there will be little Christmas lights up! We have a budget and a savings account ready, so I think we should be able to pay everyone by the wedding date :). That’s only if we stick to the budget. Our ceremony & reception will be at the same place, which is nice & convenient. I’m pretty excited because we get paid this Friday, and we will be able to pay the down payment, really cementing this idea. A honeymoon, however, may need to wait.

Speaking of work, I must bust out this little paragraphically interlude. Tuesday will be my one year anniversary. It’s cool, I know. I also never called in sick once, which may not seem like a big deal to most, but considering at my last job I (or Bobby ;)) called in almost weekly because it sucked the life right out of me every day, it’s a big step up.

Moving right along. For the past week I have been playing phone tag with a home mortgage consultant. It’s killing me! Not only the talking on the phone part, but how it takes forever for them to call back and then I’m not at my phone when they DO call back so then I miss that call, then I call them back and leave a message because they are not at their phone, and then I wait several days again. PHEW. So I’m still waiting to actually meet someone in person. I know I wont be able to afford much, but it would be really nice if I could use the tax credit as down payment. However, it expires at the end of November. Aye yi yi. I’m just excited for us to get our own place and really start decorating & painting the way we want. I would love to live downtown, actually it would be ideal, but a lot of homes in the south side are cheap-o’s, huge, and come with a pool. And if I learned anything from the Simpsons it’s that if a girls wants to be popular, she needs a pool. But I’m trying not to get my hopes up, I’m coming to terms with the fact that we may need to continue to live the apartment life.

I have a cat paw on the keyboard, so I think that is the universal cat symbol for “stop typing and pet me.” But if you see me and Bobby on March 29th and we are in our own house and married and I did not explode or end up at the loony bin, that will be amazing.

Oh, Sunday night. Beirut is sleeping next to me on the couch. Lil is sleeping on the floor next to the couch. Socrates is unaccounted for. And Bobby, well, he is asleep on the floor in front of the TV. It is officially 9PM on a Sunday!

To catch this blog up, it’s been a month since our vacation to Chicago.

There we are on top of the Sears Tower (or Willis Tower for all you heathens). It was a beautiful, awesome, life-changing trip. The weather can only be described as PERFECT EVERY DAY. Never humid, and the one time it did rain, we were indoors and once we ventured out, it stopped just for us. We did all the touristy things and ate a lot of pizza. Caught a Cubs game for free. Spent a lot of money solely on cab fare. Lived the good life in a sweet hotel across the street from a Trader Joe’s. Of course found a pub that hosted Trivia Night. Ate at the most expensive (I’m assuming) restaurant along Michigan Avenue that came with our own drink waiter, food waiter, bread waiter, and napkin folder. Oh, yeah, we also got engaged.So I wear a ring now, and it’s got a heart in it so it’s perfect. The proposal happened at the top of the Hancock Observatory. Long story short, we paid full price to get in (our Go Chicago cards did not work after 5PM) and saw no actual fireworks (despite what all the people working there thought we would see). Yeah, it was the one Saturday night in the summer they did NOT have fireworks. I was upset, ready to go, and he popped the question. Haha, it was perfect too!

So now we are getting married. We have this general pencil outline of every detail, but the worst part is we don’t have a date set, and that pretty much puts a halt on going forward. So hopefully within the next week or two we will have a set date! Depends on the site, because I found the perfect place and I will work around their availability. Once that is done, everything will fall into place. It’s gonna be PERFECT!