My Grandpa's 80th Birthday

I just got back from surprizing my parents and grandparents in El Paso. My mom and aunts planned a big 80th birthday party for my grandpa, and I convinced everyone that I wasn't able to make it. The shocked looks and double-takes were priceless. I learned that you are much more appreciated when you are not expected! ;)

So, this is the man of the hour (isn't he handsome?):



My grandfather was a teacher, coach and high school principal during his long career as an educator in El Paso. Here are a few of his co-workers and life-long friends:



My grandfather taught all of his grandkids to value education and instilled a life-long love of learning in me. Here is pic of my grandparents w/ almost all of the grandkids.



Another amazing thing about my grandpa is the love he has for his wife, Mary. They married when my mother was a teenager, so I am lucky enough to have a third grandmother. The love they have for eachother is truly amazing to see. They epitomize unconditional love and have shared that love with everyone around them. They are truly role models for a happy marriage. Here they are dancing to a song my grandfather decicated to her:

frozen lettuce and eggs...

am i being a drama queen? i went to a campus eatery with my lovely friend, Arthur, for lunch. i choose a mediterannean salad - yummy, hummus!. alas, my salad had frozen lettuce and frozen dolmas in it. i've had problems at this cafe in the past...so was not surprised when this happened. it turns out my replacement salad (nicoise if you were wondering) had the same batch of frozen lettuce but this time had a bonus frozen hard-boiled egg. wow.

my goal this year is to complain less and look at the bright side of life. but is there a bright side to a frozen hardboiled egg? one nice thing : the people made me a totally fresh salad and kept me laughing while they made it.

In other news...

My friend, Jamie shared her cute blog with me and inspired me to start my own. Thanks Jamie for the inspiration!

My little blog is kind of jumpy, but maybe someday I'll figure out a concept. Maybe I'll ask Goil from Top Design to help me. And while he's at it, he can build me a new bookcase. I sold one of mine at a garage sale last weekend. And now I need it back. Alas, the $5 I got for the old one bought me a fine frozen salad.

something i miss from my childhood:
the sparkly, the crazy, the wonderful: SOLID GOLD DANCERS!!

Check them out in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEOxxnuWQX4

Elephant Seals at Ano Nuevo...

Visited the beach at Ano Nuevo hoping to find some surf for Matt and turned the corner and here was this pretty big elephant seal sitting on my favorite beach spot. I named him Bully since he only had interest in napping and scratching and not in moving off of my spot. Oh well...the tide was too high anyway.