We celebrated by taking a trip to Dogma and picking out doggie cupcakes and donuts for our favorite little guy.

Where did the time go?!? *sniff* He’s grown up way too fast.

So what have I been doing? Mmm… watching WAY too much Olympics coverage. I’m an Olympics junkie. I’ll watch anything that NBC “packages” up in primetime — speed skating, alpine skiing, luge, etc. And of course, I’m following figure skating! I follow individual men’s and women’s skating more closely than I do the other disciplines but I’m really happy that Shen/Zhao won pairs despite the almost-spill on their lift in the free skate. They’re the total package — they have the tricks and the artistry. Which brings me to the men. I can’t believe Plushenko is the leader going into the free skate. He is ALL jumps and no artistry. There’s no real choreography or footwork between jumps — he’s just skating around doing as little as possible until the next jump. I much prefer Evan Lysacek (despite the questionable arm-flailing he does in his programs), Daisuke Takahashi, Stephane Lambiel (his spins!), and Jeffrey Abbott (too bad he imploded in the short program). I hope they all have amazing free skates on Thursday and overtake Plushenko. A girl can dream.

This past weekend was Valentine’s Day and Rob and I celebrated by…

1. Going to Starbucks. LOVE their Valentine’s Day cups.

2. Taking Diesel to the park. He’s in desperate need of a haircut, LOL.

3. Watching the NBA All-Star festivities (the slam dunk contest, which I normally enjoy, was laaaame) and the Olympics (again, figure skating!).

4. Renewing our Disneyland annual passes. We decided that this would be our annual Valentine’s Day present to each other. YAY!

5. Looking at model homes and going back and forth (and back and forth) about the pros and cons of buying a townhouse versus single family, new versus resale, now versus later, etc. It’s kinda stressing me out. Seriously, the home buying process is not fun.

Off to watch more Olympics. Speed skating tonight!

Rob and I already have an awesome Canon camcorder that we bought for our trip to Australia but when I received a white Flip Mino camcorder for Christmas from a work vendor, I was so excited! It’s user-friendly, small enough to fit in my purse, and I can use it to capture random things I come across in my daily life. To test it out, Rob took this video of Diesel rolling over and playing dead (it’s a little shaky and the sound is low but Diesel’s still cute)…

So fun!

Yup, I’ve been neglecting the blog again. Sooo lazy. I went to Santa Barbara over the weekend to visit my cousin and I brought back a cold and sore throat (no, it is not the swine flu). We had a good weekend eating tons of food (yummy gumbo at Cajun Kitchen and amazing Crab Cakes Benedict at Sambo’s), walking up and down State Street, and running around the Santa Barbara Fair (no rides for me but I had funnel cake!!!). I took Amtrak, which was so easy! It’s been over 10 years since I’ve taken the train anywhere and I was seriously surprised at how CROWDED they are. On the way back to Orange County, there were no more seats so people were standing. Crazy! The trip was roughly 4 hours each way and the time passed really quickly. I brought my trusty MacBook and a few books and the ride was over before I knew it. I’ll definitely make the trip again.

Tonight is the Chuck season finale (haven’t watched it yet because I’m waiting for the Lakers to win the game against the Jazz). I am really, really hoping it’s not the series finale. So much so that Rob went to Subway today to buy a footlong sandwich in support of the Finale and Footlong campaign to SAVE Chuck. NBC, you better not cancel this show!!!

I finally downloaded some pics from the past few weeks — hopefully you don’t mind if I share? Click for bigger…

Let’s start with some pics of Diesel…

We bought Diesel this cute little “house” and put it in our “office” so that he could sleep in there during the day. What a cutie.

Rob was bored and thought it would be funny to put my Mickey ears on Diesel’s head. Diesel was obviously not pleased.

Back on Easter, we went to a barbecue at my cousin’s house and were in charge of making dessert. We decided on cupcakes! We used regular Betty Crocker cupcake mix (both chocolate and yellow cake) and then made this strawberry frosting (mostly because it gave us an opportunity to use the awesome Kitchenaid mixer we received as a wedding gift). The frosting was A-MA-ZING. I changed the frosting ingredients to only include 1 stick of butter (2 sticks seemed waaayyy too much) and I used 4.5 tbsps of strawberry puree. The recipe says it’s enough for a dozen cupcakes but I used it for 2. Yummy.

And of course, a few weekends ago we went to Disneyland. Again.

We got to the park just shortly after the 8am opening and headed straight to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters!

I beat Rob!

Rob went to Fantasia Gardens (the smoking area) and I wandered around the castle to find Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Awww.

Then we headed over to the Plaza Inn to have (all you can eat) breakfast with Minnie and her friends. I had a traditional breakfast of eggs, bacon/sausage, and potatoes along with some Mickey waffles and a variety of fruit. Also available were biscuits and gravy, tons of pastries, a huge assortment of cereal, and other items I’m sure I’m forgetting. SO GOOD. Plus, we got to meet…

Captain Hook just walked right up to our table, grabbed our camera and started taking random pictures… like this self-portrait of himself. What a character.

Minnie dropped by…

… and Tigger too! We also met/saw Eeyore, Max, White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, Alice and Rafiki. Definitely lots of fun.

When we finished up with breakfast, it was HOT HOT HOT. The weather had been pretty chilly the days prior and then the day we go to DL, it got up to 96 degrees. CRAZY. Anyway, CA Adventure opened at 10am so we made a beeline over there to ride Toy Story Mania. We arrived shortly after opening and the line was already at a 30 min wait. We figured this was the best it would get so we wait in line… only for the ride to BREAK DOWN about 10 mins before we got to the front. We decided to wait it out but after awhile, we were all instructed to get out of line. ARGH. It wasn’t meant to be on this trip again.

We decided to get out of the heat and hang out at the Animation Academy. This ended up being an AWESOME decision because…

… I met Sorceror Mickey! I’m upset the picture quality is crap, though. I will meet him again! And take a better picture.

It was almost time for the Laker game so we went over to the ESPN Zone at Downtown Disney to watch the first game of the series and also to wait for my best friend Robyn to join us. YAYAYAY.

The Lakers were up by 20 points at half time so when Robyn arrived, we headed over to Animation Academy again since she’s never been there before (!!!). We drew Minnie and mine was terrible as usual (Rob’s holding mine on top).

We headed over to Toy Story Mania to see if it was open again and found that the wait was 60+ mins. INSANE. Instead, we went back over to the Hollywood Pictures Backlot to ride Tower of Terror. The three of us are at the bottom right of the picture. I’m in the middle scared out of my mind (the constant drops feel never-ending), Robyn has her hands at her face to hold on to her glasses, and Rob’s egging on my screaming.

Back at Disneyland, we go on Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters twice in a row. The second time I think we found a Hidden Mickey on one of the maps visible in line.

Robyn beat Rob! And Rob was not pleased. Hehehe.

And finally, for our last ride of the day, we hit It’s a Small World. I haven’t been on this ride in YEARS. They recently made some changes and sprinkled Disney characters throughout the ride. I saw Alice, Aladdin, Jasmine, Pinocchio, Nemo, Ariel, Flounder, Woody, Jesse, Lilo, and Stitch. SO CUTE.

That’s it! We’ll have to schedule another trip before the summer heat sets in for good… YAY.

1. I’m still unpacking. Yes, STILL! The kitchen and office are pretty well organized but there are still boxes and piles all over the floor in the living room and the bedroom. It’s taken so long because we’ve been waiting on a few large pieces of furniture (TV stand, bookcase, bed frame/mattress) and didn’t have anywhere else to store our stuff. We have everything now except for our bed frame (it’s coming next Tuesday) so YAY.

2. I’m too busy living at Target. HEH. I’ve been to Target 4 TIMES in the past week. And I’ve purchased many, many items during each trip. Moving is not cheap.

3. I haven’t watched TV regularly in over a month so have nothing to blog about. I know, right? What is wrong with me?!? One of our Tivos broke during the holidays and OF COURSE, it was the one that I used to record my shows (aka the shows that Rob refuses to watch like Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Private Practice, Grey’s Anatomy, etc). Shows were on hiatus around that time so it wasn’t a big deal but then in January, I got caught up with packing and planning for the move that I let weeks and weeks go by… now I am so behind. The good thing is that we now have a DVR to replace the broken Tivo. SCORE.

4. I’m lazy. HEE! This really sums it up. Case in point, take a look at the navigation on the left. It badly needs some TLC. For one, I am now 29 not 28. For another, all the site links no longer work (I took the pages down awhile back). I really need to a huge site overhaul. But again. I’m lazy.

In other Kelly news, I have a 3-day weekend coming up (thank you US Presidents) and Rob has agreed to go to Disneyland on Valentine’s Day. I have THE BEST hubby in the world. We actually bought each other annual passes for Christmas so we’re going to activate them on Saturday. I hope it doesn’t rain. I’m so excited to wear my Mickey gear again.

Random picture of Rob today during office hours. Isn’t he such a hard-working employee?

Finally, WTF Chris Brown. WTF. You are dead to me.

I then convinced Rob that Diesel *needed* to get his picture taken with Santa!

He’s normally really excited to meet new people but for some reason, he was totally afraid of Santa! He wanted to jump out of Santa’s lap the entire time but it’s still a cute picture.

Just 2 more days of work for the year!

Check out Diesel’s new trick here.

OMGHEISSOCUTE. I love the way he just FLOPS on the ground. I’m so proud.

So it doesn’t seem like it but I’m around. Just lazy. As per usual.

My “vote by mail” ballot for today’s election arrived yesterday. WHICH MEANS IT IS TOO LATE FOR ME TO DO ANYTHING WITH IT. Considering I live in Northern CA and am unable to fly down and turn it in to an LA County polling place today. You’d think they’d send the ballots out early enough to give the voter enough time to you know, MAIL IT BACK.

I know, I know. I’m disappointed in myself for not registering for my ballot earlier.

I just finished watching McCain’s concession and Obama’s acceptance speeches. WOW. I teared up a few times. It’s an amazing day and even though I did not participate, I’m glad I am here to witness it.

So I’ve been meaning to share pictures of some recent events so here goes…

October 18
Rob and I attended our friends’ Eric and Amy’s wedding at the Trump National Golf Club in Southern CA. It was a wonderful event! I definitely appreciate all the little details now that I’ve planned a wedding myself. Some of the gorgeousness…

The pretty, pretty placecards. Amy embossed the cards with a lovely brocade motif. The colors of the wedding were various shades of purple. So lovely.

Trump’s outdoor ceremony site boasts an amazing view of the Pacific Ocean. WOW. And look at all the purple yumminess! The rose petals along the aisle, the hydrangea balls hanging on the shepherd’s hooks, and the pashminas laid out on the chairs.

The gorgeous bride coming down the aisle…

They had my favorite Sprinkles cupcakes instead of a traditional cake. Terrible photo but YUMMY cupcakes.

A picture of the husband and me during cocktail hour. (It is still SO WEIRD to say “husband”). And yes, I wore that blue dress to yet another event this year.

October 26
Rob, Diesel and I were invited by our friends Shirley and Grantland to attend Farm Day with them at the Terra Firma Farm in Winters. It was a gorgeous day — perfect for the farm! Shirley prepared a picnic lunch for us (turkey sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs, chips) and the farm provided freshly squeezed juices to drink (the apple was particularly yummy).

Sitting on the picnic blanket waiting for treats.

Rob and Diesel enjoying the day in the sun.

Rob picking strawberries. They were SO GOOD.

As we were leaving, we walked past a large dog that kinda looked like a pitbull. He was tied to a tree with his owners nowhere around. When Rob and Diesel walked by him (I think it was a him), he jumped for Diesel and started biting his poor little face. Rob got in the middle and Grantland pulled the crazy dog away by his leash (luckily he was there because I didn’t know what to do and totally froze). After a few tense minutes, they got the dogs separated. Diesel was shaken and had a cut by his nose but he was his old self in no time. He’s a tough little guy.

October 31
Halloween!
But also Girls Weekend in LA with my best friends. We didn’t dress up but I wore purple cat ears. No picture, though, sorry. We spent the weekend eating, relaxing at Le Spa, shopping, watching Center Stage… it was great. AND I got to have Pinkberry! YAY.

Now I’m gearing up for a tough few weeks at work and looking forward to the holidays. I love this time of year.

Too bad I’m sick. I have a cold. And a runny nose. Not the greatest way to spend my birthday. Oh well.

At least I have lots of CUPCAKES to make me feel better.

One of my managers made chocolate cupcakes with strawberry frosting for me. They were so yummy. We enjoyed these at work yesterday after an unexpected birthday lunch at One Market Restaurant.

Then I got home to find that Rob went to SPRINKLES! in Palo Alto to get my favorite red velvet cupcake along with some other flavors to try. SO YUM YUM YUMMY. Their Red Velvet is the BEST light chocolate cake with the most amazing cream cheese frosting. Black and White (dark chocolate cake with vanilla frosting) is a solid classic, Chocolate Marshmallow is a unique treat (dark chocolate cake with marshmallow cream topped with chocolate ganache), and the Strawberry (strawberry cake with strawberry frosting) just might be a new favorite. MMMM. (Don’t worry — Rob and I split these cupcakes. I admit I’m a piggy but I do exercise restraint sometimes).

Rob even picked up a couple of doggie cupcakes for Diesel — carob and yogurt flavored. He totally went crazy over these.

Rob *also* surprised me with the metallic rose Nintendo DS. (Please excuse my crazy face and the laundry behind me — how embarassing). The only game I have right now is Mario Kart and it’s THE BEST.

Didn’t do anything at all today since I wasn’t feeling up to it but I managed to get myself together to have a low key birthday dinner at Santa Ramen, my favorite Japanese ramen house across the bay. Soup was a good choice for this little sicky.

Then we headed to San Carlos and the newest Bay Area Red Mango location. I know it’s a trend but I seriously LOVE LOVE LOVE tart frozen yogurt. And Red Mango’s yogurt is pretty awesome. It’s nice and creamy with a really subtle tart flavor. I do wish it was slightly more tart than it was (like Pinkberry) but overall, it was excellent. Rob and I got our usual Original flavor yogurt with strawberries, captain crunch, and mochi toppings.

It was a good day. Despire being sick and all.

Random. I cannot send or receive text messages on my cell phone. UGH. I think it stopped working about 4 weeks ago when I went into the AT&T store and had my SIM card replaced. GREAT. I cannot wait to get on the phone and deal with AT&T on this. They are SO HELPFUL. Umm, NOT.