The End.

I still have some pictures to post from before Christmas and during our holiday, but I wanted to get a post out before we left. Yep. Today is our last full day in San Diego. ::tears::

On Monday we checked out of our condo in Downtown and moved into a hotel suite on Coronado. I don't think I ever posted pictures of our wonderful condo, so I thought I would share them here! These were taken on Monday as I was getting ready to take the last load down to our car and turn in the keys.

The view of our Front Door and the long, narrow hallway. 

The laundry closet is on the left and there's a full bathroom on the right. 

The main living area.

Our dining room and kitchen.

 The master bedroom. (It was a $#%&@ to put up blackout curtains in those windows!)

 The master bathroom. The walk-in closet is to the left of this photo. 

We also put up a curtain in the doorway, so Tim or I could get ready without disturbing the other person. 

Looking out from the master bedroom/hallway. I had a love/hate relationship with those windows! 

It was great to feel like the condo was open to the world, but they faced SW, so it got HOT when the sun was out...which is like 90% of the time. Plus, we were so close to street level that everyone could see everything that we did when they were open...there were no naked laundry runs to the living room!

 This was our building. Our condo was directly above the bagel shop. 

I develop strong attachments to the places I live, so it was difficult for me to leave on Monday. I've been on the verge of tears about leaving San Diego, but I knew that the end of our time here would come eventually...I just wish it didn't come so quickly! I feel so blessed to have been able to spend so much time here and to have made so many wonderful memories along the way.

To celebrate their last 'real' day of work, Tim's boss took everyone to lunch at Searsucker...it just so happens that his wife and I had a lunch date there too!

We let them crash it. All 20 of them!

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Master Class

I'm posting things a little out of order right now. I still have photos to share from our Christmas Vacation, but last night I participated in a master class held by my vocal teacher. Last year I decided I didn't want to be scared of singing anymore and found Snapper Voice Studios through a google search. I've been taking lessons for about 5 months now and I'm absolutely loving it! (I'm already really sad that I won't be able to continue lessons with Juliana when we leave San Diego.)

Last night the master class was supposed to be held in a professional performance setting, but at the last minute they cancelled our group because they double-booked the space. Ugh. My teacher could have either cancelled the whole thing or moved it to a different local, so she decided to hold it in her tiny studio space. We lost our initial rehearsal time with the pianist and the performances had to be split up by "needs accompanist" and "acoustic."

My warnings...
1) I had about three minutes to practice with the piano player prior to my performance. It may or may not be obvious, but it threw me off my game.
2) This is hard music for any piano player.
3) I'm not 100% satisfied with my performance, but I still wanted to post it for family and friends. Plus, I know that I need to overcome my fears about singing in public again. (I spent so many years in the back row of choir!)
4) The video is pretty dark, due to a lot of backlighting. Sorry!

Heed those warnings and ENJOY!

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A Weekend Visitor.

At the beginning of December I had a visitor from Bremerton! My friend, K, who has been in a few plays with me, which is how some of you might recognize her.

She flew in super early and was an amazing sport, because I ended up dragging her to a Baby Shower. She, being incredibly creative, decorated one of the cutest onesies for the new Momma.

After Tim had woken up (he was still on graveyard), we went to the San Diego Zoo. The panda exhibit was practically empty and so we got some one-on-one time with this panda. He was definitely showing off for us! 

The next day, K and I went up to LegoLand. She is a HUGE Lego fan, so while I took a few pictures, I'm pretty sure she left with a picture of every single thing.

Tim took Tuesday off work and the three of us drove to Hollywood! The real reason for K's trip was to see a live taping of The Big Bang Theory.  I had managed to procure tickets to the taping on Tim's birthday (which is a long story that involves me having a nervous breakdown at the business center in Disneyland Hotel). We left our place around noon and Tim slept in the back seat while I drove to LA. We got there a little early, so K and I left Tim in the car (in the parking garage) while I took K to see The Hollywood Walk of Fame and Dolby Theater. We got to the Warner Brothers Studio in time to eat a quick dinner and check-in for the taping. The audience wranglers did a great job of getting everyone into the studio quickly, where we waited about an hour before they showed us an unaired episode of the show before our show taping. The taping itself lasted about 3 hours, but it went by very quickly. Our episode, The Egg Salad Equivalency, aired on January 3rd. No cameras or cell phones were allowed in the studio, so that's why I don't have any photographs. Although, we did have a quick exchange with Regina King as we were walking to our car!

Wednesday was K's last day with us, but she wasn't leaving until later that evening, so we decided to check out Point Loma. My friend C also came with us! The day started a bit overcast, so the view wasn't great, but we did have a fun time going down to the tide pools.

 K is a picky eater, but loves bacon, so C recommended a place called "Slater's 50/50." The 50/50 stands for 50% ground beef and 50% bacon, which is how they make their hamburger patties. Tim and C also got maple-bacon milkshakes for lunch. It was quite an experience, but pretty tasty and K loved it. :-)

(There were chucks of bacon throughout the milkshake.)

K and I ended the day with a drive down to the Mexico-US border and along the Silver Strand. We stopped at The Hotel Del Coronado to look around and go to the beach. It just so happened that while we were in the lobby of the Hotel Del, K noticed a stream of water coming from the ceiling. We let the concierge know and he kind of looked at me like "um, what are you talking about?" until he actually looked and then people started running around trying to keep the woodwork dry and capturing the water. Basically, K and I saved the Hotel Del. 

It's hard to see in the picture, but they had a staff member standing under the stream with garbage cans. '

It was a whirlwind couple of days, but we all had so much fun! 

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Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

"The Torrey Pine, Pinus torreyana, is the rarest pine species in the United States, an endangered species growing only in San Diego County and on one of the Channel Islands, endemic to the coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion in the U.S. state of California."
-Wikipedia

Tim woke up a little early one Saturday (after getting home around 6AM from graveyard) and we drove to Del Mar and the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve and Beach. The trail we took was amazing. It took us right along the cliffs overlooking the Pacific and through some of the best-kept and most accessible parts of the reserve. 

 Tim loved taking pictures of these Yucca plants.

 And we both loved the views from this lookout point - this is currently our desktop picture!

 After we came down from the reserve, we went to the beach to watch the sun set over the water.

It was a great way to spend our afternoon/evening together! And that evening I'm pretty sure we ended up at the same movie theater as Mitt Romney and his wife. We weren't able to get tickets to any movies - they were sold out - but we did have dinner at the shopping complex. It reminded me of our honeymoon when we, unknowingly, went to the Pearl Harbor Memorial the same day as President Obama and ended up leaving before he arrived. 

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We went home...

But just for a visit or two!

I traveled to Spokane to meet my parents over Veteran's Day Weekend. On Saturday my Dad and I drove down to Pullman for the Cougar Football game against UCLA. I couldn't miss the opportunity to see my cousins!

I ::FROZE:: in the stands. Oi. California has made me a wuss when it comes to cold weather. But I persevered and we stayed through three-point-five quarters before my Dad finally relented. The Cougs didn't win, but they did manage to make a small comeback (we listened to the radio broadcast from the car.)

The other reason we met in Spokane was for a family friend's wedding on Sunday. It was a beautiful winter wonderland theme and we all had a great time! 

My parents and I also managed to dress exactly alike without any planning. I have no idea how this happened, but I guess good taste runs in the family. 

The next morning I flew back to Sunny San Diego and my parents drove home in the snow. Ha!

November seemed to fly by, because about two weeks later Tim and I both flew home for Thanksgiving. Only this time we flew to Bellingham - there are two direct flight from San Diego to Bellingham and we took them that week! Tim loved driving his car again, especially after having to drive rentals while we've been here.

Thanksgiving day was celebrated at my parents' house.

 We completed our traditional puzzle in what felt like record time.

 And that evening Tim and I did some Black Friday shopping from about midnight to 2AM. Tim was still on graveyard and would have to go back to work Sunday night, so we made a point to stay up later than usual during this trip.

On Friday the Cougars were playing the Huskies for the Apple Cup, so we donned our gear and watched the game at my Aunt and Uncle's house.

While everyone else watched with eager anticipation...

Tim slept.

 Thankfully he woke up in time to see them play the last quarter and overtime, where we WON!

 GO COUGS!

After the game, Tim and I drove to his parents' house for some post-Thanksgiving celebrations. On Saturday night we went bowling with the family and after one 'normal' round, we gave 'crazy bowling' a try. 

 Every frame is a different stance or style of bowling.

On Sunday we went out to Breakfast and then Tim, his parents, and I went to look at cars before they took us to the airport. I may have test-driven a Mercedes...

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Celebrating Tim's Birthday!

As most of you know, Tim's birthday is in November, so I'm posting a bit behind schedule. I did want to share some pictures though, because we had a great time and his entire family was able to come down and celebrate with us.

We picked Tim's parents up from the airport on Friday morning in Anaheim and headed straight to the Happiest Place on Earth. Our first stop was Space Mountain (Tim's birthday - Tim's choice!). This was the weekend that Wreck-It Ralph was opening, so the big guy was holding court in Tomorrow Land.

We had a lot of rides to go on and thankfully the park was relatively empty this weekend. Big Thunder is a family favorite and since it has closed (as of this past weekend) for nine months of repairs, we thought it best to go on it as many times as possible. :-)

 In California Adventure, the line for the new Radiator Springs Racer ride was only 60ish minutes, but after waits of under 20 minutes...well, that 60 minutes felt like an eternity!

Saturday was the "official day of birthday celebration," so everyone wore the shirts I had made for the occasion. We met Tim's parents and headed straight to California Adventure to wait for Tim's sister and fiancé. By 'wait', you know that I mean 'go on more rides', right?

 Finally we were all together and the party could begin!

 (Don't you love those shirts?! We got tons of compliments from other park goers and the Disney cast members. Oh, you want to see the back...ok, if you insist!)

The weekend was pretty special for Disneyland - they were filming the Christmas Day Parade. We ended up missing most of it, but got over to Main Street to see them filming the end. Unfortunately, when we went to watch the parade on Christmas Day, they never included this section! I know that I would have been pretty upset if I were these kids - they were working really hard to get their lines and moves perfect for the cameras.

No Disney trip is complete without a castle picture!

For Tim's birthday dinner, he chose the Blue Bayou, which is in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It was a delicious and FILLING meal for everyone. 

Tim's family all had to leave on Sunday, so after we took his parents to the airport, we got ready to use one of Tim's presents. I had purchased tickets to Book of Mormon in LA! We had an excellent dinner beforehand and really enjoyed the show. Plus, the theater (The Pantages) was beautiful.

Finally it was Tim's actual birthday (Monday) and since we didn't have to checkout until noon, we went to Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast. It just happened to be at the Disneyland Hotel, where we had stayed for the weekend. I will say, that after staying at a Disney Resort Hotel...well, it's going to be hard to stay anywhere else again. It was such a wonderful experience and Tim (whether he'll ever admit it or not) had a great time getting a little extra spoiled by the staff.

Unfortunately it was back to San Diego for us. Tim actually had to work graveyard that night, so as soon as we got back to our condo he went to bed for a few hours before his shift started at 10pm.

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