love it!

I always hated not knowing what words meant when I was a kid. It was inevitable that you asked someone and they didn't know so you would have to look it up and then I would start to look up the word, but get fixated on another word and usually never end up looking up the word that I originally wanted to learn.


...or maybe it's just me. :)

Thanksgiving

I had an amazing Thanksgiving. So much fun! I went down to San Clemente on Tuesday and stayed through Sunday. It was a much needed break and time with my family. Here are a couple of fun pictures from my extra long weekend!



My brother all dolled up for his 80's night club. He goes everyweek. Him and a friend started dressing up and this past week they had a costume contest because of it. Of course my brother was in the bathroom when they did it, but his buddy got first place! :)



Going for a ride with my number one guy--my Dad! :) We went up to Laguna and back. So much fun!



The morning of the race--The Turkey Trot 10k. My brother took this picture when he was waiting for the race to start. He couldn't run because he injured his back, so he was our official photographer!



Starting strong and trying not to get run over by people or strollers. Lots of people ran with their kids in those fun active strollers. CRAZY!



Half way done and still having fun! :) How awesome is this picture? Way to go Miky.



All done! Now we are ready for some TURKEY! :)

Trip to Portland

Portland was a BLAST!!! I had such a great time hanging out with Cassi and Sean and all the other homies up there. Good times, good times. AND it's actually cold up there...albeit a little TOO cold for me, but better than 90 degrees. I think that Southern California missed the "winter" memo. Oh well.



This picture is for Scott and Susan, the lime people as they are affectionately called by the waitresses at our taco night location.



Jinx and Mr. Boo being friendly. Aren't they so cute? This trip they didn't spend as much time jumping near my head while I was trying to sleep. However, Jinx started playing with what I can only guess was a bouncy ball or something similar at 3 am Sunday morning. So much for sleep.








We spent a lot of time in the car. No need to go into an explanation why. We still had lots of fun--taking pictures and video. For those of you on myspace, you can check out the video. For those of you not on myspace...sorry!







Cassi asked me what I wanted to do while I was up there. The only thing I really wanted to do was go to Powell's. An AMAZING bookstore. I got three books for 15 dollars: A collection of Short Stories by Flannery O'Connor, A Passage to India by E.M. Forrester and Running in Heels by Anna Maxted. :) Good times!
Have to give a shout out Don Miller because he is the reason why I know about Powells from his book Blue Like Jazz. An incredible book.


We had to get a little girl time in, so we went and got pedi's. Unfortunately, we were both wearing boots and rather than sit there at the nail place forever waiting for the polish to dry, we walked out to her car BAREFOOT. CRAZY! And then we walked around in flip flops for the rest of the day. Oh the things we do for beauty. Silly girls (however, the nails do look fabulous, if I do say so myself).

Other than the above mentioned adventures, we played a lot of games, drank some coffee (gingerbread latte's--so yummy) and went to our favorite restaurant, OLIVE GARDEN, for dinner. Overall, it was just a fantastic time, even though it was a bit on the short side. :)

Fun Times

This past weekend, Susan was in town! Yea! We had fun at her brother's play and hit up BJ's after so that we could have ringing ears for the rest of the night. Seriously. Why is it so noisy in that restaurant? It makes me feel real old to say that, but I just gotta be honest, that's how I roll...

In JONAH news...I saw him this morning and we were just standing--well I was standing, holding him, in his room after Sue had finished feeding him. They have KSGN on 24/7 in his room, so I was singing along to whatever song was on and he was just smiling and smiling. Probably the best feeling in the world. He is officially the cutest kid ever.

I'm off tomorrow for a short visit to Portland. SO EXCITED and I JUST CAN'T HIDE IT! yea for friends. I seriously need a little break and I think the best way to achieve that is by going out of state. I probably can't make a habit of it though...that would be way to expensive! :)

Grace and Peace.

Funny....

I got this as an email from my Aunt and had to post it...It just makes me laugh.


GONNA BE A BEAR
In this life I'm a woman. In my next life, I'd like to come back as a bear. When you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could deal with that.
Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that too.
When you're a girl bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you're sleeping and wake to partially grown, cute, cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that.
If you're a mama hear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I could deal with that.
If you're a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.

You, gonna be a bear!



something to think about... he he he

Mercury and the Sun

A previous transit of Mercury in front of the disc of the Sun (image: NASA)


I forgot to post about this earlier today...
Yesterday at the plaza the Riverside Astrological Society was camped out in front of Borders with about 10 telescopes pointing up at the sun. I was kinda curious and I wondered what was going on. So after my fabulous lunch at Panera (it's becoming a home away form home) I made a pit stop there on the way to my car.
So, I casually walked up to the first guy and the first telescope and asked what was going on. :) He explained that Mercury was passing in front of the sun and they brought out all their telescopes so that everyone would be able to see it as it only happens a couple of times a century. So, I got to sit in this cool chair and check out the planet Mercury passing in front of the sun. PRETTY COOL.

Here's a short article about it from the Discovery Channel Website:

Watch Mercury pass in front of the Sun LIVE
Updated Thu. Nov. 2 2006 2:32 PM ET

Amy Bonin , DiscoveryChannel.ca

On Wednesday the world will be able to view Mercury as the planet passes in front of the Sun for the last time this decade.

The transit of a planet across the face of the Sun is relatively uncommon: we can only see Mercury and Venus' transits from Earth because we're further out in the solar system looking in.

Most people in Canada will be able to see the event more or less in its entirety. The transit begins at 2:12 pm ET. The Sun sets just before the whole event finishes in Eastern, Central, and most of Western Canada, though viewers in B.C. will be able to see the whole thing.

Watching in your backyard

Since Mercury appears to be only 1/194th the size of the Sun, astronomy enthusiasts will need a telescope with a magnification of 50x or 100x and a special filter made for solar viewing to watch this rare wonder.
There are only about 13 transits of Mercury each century - even fewer for transits of Venus, which occur in pairs about once a century.

The next time Mercury will pass in front of the Sun is 2016.

Hilarious

So, yesterday afternoon I was at Panera checking email and trying to get some work done (our internet is out at the house and we have yet to get a new office...woe to me).
As I was sitting there enjoying my salad and doing lots of important things, I noticed an elderly couple sitting two tables over that kept looking in my direction and talking. I didn't want to think the worst, so I just tried to ignore it.
Well, finally the lady said, "We're talking about you."
"Oh," was my quick reply.
"We were looking at your computer. We don't have one and we were thinking about getting a laptop."

Whew. I thought it was going to be totally something else... I told them what I knew about my computer, which is VERY little and then they asked how much it cost. I told them that I didn't know because I had gotten it from work.

A couple of minutes later, the man asked if I used it for personal and work stuff. I told them that the line separating the two were very blurry.

"She's either a spy or a hooker," said the woman.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! :) I was trying to hard not to laugh it was ridiculous. A spy or a hooker?

Had to pass that one on. It was just too funny to keep to myself.

Oh yeah....

HowManyOfMe.com

There is: 1 person with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

However, there are 26, 997 people in the US with the first name Marisa. It is statistically the 1108th most popular first name (probably right behind Mary, ha!).
There are 10, 589 people in the US with the last name Stock--who knew? Where are all these long lost relatives hiding I wonder. he he

Something to Think About

I choose love…no occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.
I choose joy…I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical...the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything les than an opportunity to see God.
I choose peace…I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.
I choose patience…I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is to long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.
I choose kindness…I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.
I choose goodness…I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.
I choose faithfulness…Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My family and friends will not question my love. I choose faithfulness.
I choose gentleness…Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it only be in praise. If I clench my fist may it only be in prayer. I f I make a demand, may it be only of myself.
I choose self-control…I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I chose self-control.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek his grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

by Max Lucado

Amore...

Calvin and Hobbes... now that's good stuff.

(P.S. if you click on the image, it will make it bigger so you can read it...:) )

simple things that make me happy...

...when I am having a bad week:

10. Monk-e-email. If you haven't heard of it, check it out. It is the best email ever. (www.careerbuilder.com)
9. Having lunch with a good friend who is generous with advice. :)
8. Knowing the weekend is coming!
7. Finding a new book to read.
6. Hanging out with Jonah (and Scott and Sue, of course)
5. Homemade soup for lunch. Yum.
4. Long walks with my IPOD.
3. Non-work emails.
2. Playing my guitar and singing.
1. Taking off Friday afternoon, driving down to San Clemente and having some quality time with my Mom and Brother (Daddy-O was out of town). The air smells so much better by the ocean--it's invigorating.

Halloween

I was the purple people eater... the kids that came to the door thought that my hair was cool and "shiny". :) It's all about the kids.