Wine

Coffee.....

These days coffee is my best friend. As I adjust to my new work schedule, graveyards, I find myself pounding countless cups. One when I get up, one before I go to work and another while I am working. Although that cup usually gets cold before I can finish it. Even on my days off, I find that my cup of coffee helps relax me. Can all this caffeine be good for me? Maybe I should start mixing half decaf, half caf beans. I will have to try that and see how it works. I don't think that it is really the caffeine that keeps me going. It's just the pure enjoyment of sipping away on a warm beverage on a cold day.

It's Christmas time.....

Hello All!

It's Christmas time and my favorite Christmas music from Mannheim Steamroller is playing.

Here is a picture of Mom's upside-down Christmas tree that she leaves up all year long. It's beautiful.

Hope everyone is getting into the Christmas spirit.

Rafting photos from June....

Just got the cd with the rafting photos from June...

That was a great trip, in many ways!

USC, Victory......

Victory, once again was claimed by the USC Trojans!

Fight On for ol' SC

Our men Fight On to victory.
Our Alma Mater dear,

looks up to you

Fight On and win

For ol' SC

Fight On to victory

Fight On!

The weather was warm, the drinks were cold and USC took us to Victory once more. I hadn't been to SF in awhile, the people were still strange but there was a flood of USC fans running through the streets wearing their cardinal and gold. Thanks to the whole crew for making it a special weekend! Can't wait for the next game that we get to cheer on USC!

Off I go....

Full report of the weekend to follow....

What is your treasure?

It is the treasure of life that we are all searching for. It is different for everyone and for each of us to decide for ourselves. Some might say that their treasure is the sound of a fast car, the enormous house filled with furniture, the "bling" of a diamond ring, or the large bank account. For me, the treasure is a happy face, a pointless laughter, a enduring hug and a loving kiss. My map is filled with many roads, some already traveled and many more to be discovered. It is the journey that keeps me going and one that will never end. It is the travels that I will face that will lead me to the ultimate find. Myself.

Wish I could add music....

Too bad that I can't add a little background music...

Check out a few of my favorite songs.

Green Day- Time of Your Life
Maroon 5- Secret
Howie Day- Collide
John Mayer- Back to You
Jeffrey Gaines- Your Eyes (acoustic) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7WtavVdBCk
Jason Marz- I'm Yours
Jordan Sparks- One Step at a Time
George Strait- I Just Want to Dance with You
Cold Play- Viva La Vida
Louis Armstrong- What a Wonderful World
Kelly Clarkson- Addicted
Brad Paisley- Find Yourself
Candlebox- Far Behind
Brooks & Dunn- You're Gunna Miss Me When I'm Gone
Goo Goo Dolls- Give a little Bit
Etta James- At Last

ok, wait the list can go on and on....

Let's not forget about little AJ.....

My little AJ. So different from his big brother Drew. He also brings a big smile to my face. He too, has grown so much in the past year. He is such a good talker, he loves to hug and kiss.....He frequently tells you that he loves you and always wants to be held. I couldn't put him down as he napped on my shoulder when we went to the grocery store. As we played he always came to hug me when he did a lap around the living room. We said our prayers at bedtime andhe whispered shoftly "I love you" as he "rested his eyes". In the morning he came into say hi and laid down and slept with "Aunt Judy" for a few hours. My "boys" are a blessing. They bring so much joy to my life. You are my little "Mr. Silly". Full of laughter.....always finding something to laugh at, blowing on Aunt Julie's tummy, falling in the bounce house, and making music. Love you little boy!

Drew's 4th Birthday

Little Drew is growing up so fast. I remember the day that my sister called me at work at 12:30 in the afternoon and told me that she was in labor. It was a beautiful Friday afternoon and I shut down my computer went to my boss and left early for the day. I went home gathered some clothes and took off for Walnut Creek. The traffic was bad being a Friday and I was anxious to be with my sister. I finally arrived at the hospital but my sister was already in active labor and she only wanted her husband in the room with her. I waited in the lobby with my Mom and Greg's Mom. My brother was calling frequently to check in but I had no news to share. About an hour after I arrived, Greg came out in the lobby and called us all in to Jennifer's room. He wouldn't share any news with us. Drew was a complete surprise since there was no peaking of the sex. Once we all walked in the room Jennifer welcomed us to Andrew Lloyd! Tears came to my eyes! I was an Aunt to a beautiful, healthy boy. We all hugged and took turns holding little Drew.

I stayed the night with my sister that first night in the hospital with her. It is a night that we will never forget. Drew had his first "poop" and me being the good Aunt changed him. What a chore that was! (Here is where it gets graphic.) It was messy and I ended up putting gloves on so it wouldn't get all over the place. My sister and I laughed, easier for me to do than her. We still laugh about that to this day. I was a proud Sister and Aunt.

Jennifer and Greg you have done a great job thus far raising little Drew. He is a joy to be around and I just can't get enough of him. I hope one of these days I can have a little boy just like him. He won't be small forever so I will cherish everyday that I have with him as he grows.

For my little Drew who crawls in bed with me in the morning. You never forget to say "good morning and I love you " when I stay with you. It always brings such a smile to my face while I am lying there with you or when I tell all my friends. I know that you love hot chocolate milk in the morning and that you must have your baby. Your innocence is refreshing, your kisses are honest and your habits are unforgettable. Never forget all the valuable lessons that I have taught you about brushing your teeth, chewing gum, washing your hands, "seat belts for safety", holding hands, telling everyone around you that you love them and picking up the food that you don't want off the floor. I only do all that because I love you and always will. Drew you will always hold a very special place in my heart! Remember when I taught you where your heart is and what it sounds like? Your heart is with me and instead of it saying "dadump, dadump" it really says "I love you, I love you". Always, Aunt Julie

Love this one!

Natural Highs

1. Falling in Love

2. Laughing so hard your face hurts

3. A hot shower

4. No lines at the supermarket

5. A special glance

6. Getting a postcard or card in the mail

7. Taking a drive on a pretty road

8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio

9. Lying in bed and listening to the rain outside

10. Hot towels from the dryer

11. Milkshakes

12. A bubble bath

13. Giggling

14. A good conversation

15. The beach

16. Finding a $20. bill in your coat from last winter

17. Laughing at yourself

18. Looking into their eyes and knowing they love you

19. Midnight phone calls that last hours
20. Running through sprinklers

21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all

22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful

23. Laughing at an inside joke

24. Friends

25. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you

26. Waking up and realizing that you still have a few hours left to sleep

27. Your first kiss with a new person that you really like

28. Making new friends or spending time with old ones

29. Playing with a new puppy

30. Having someone play with your hair

31. Sweet dreams

32. Hot chocolate

33. Road trips with friends

34. Swinging on swings

35. Making eye contact with a cute stranger

36. Making chocolate chip cookies

37. Having the hands of the one that you love on the small of your back leading you into a room

38. Feeling sexy in your favorite pair of jeans

39. Opening a bottle of wine with the one that you love

40. Opening the windows of your car on a warm evening and singing your favorite song at the top of your lungs

41. Celebrating holidays and birthdays with loved ones

42. Getting a compliment on the dinner that you just slaved over

43. Cupcakes with pretty frosting

What Type of Kisser Are You?

Kissing by the Signs Wondering how to satisfy your lover's ardent feelings? Keep reading for insight into the passionate nature of the Signs and then take the Kissing Style Quiz to discover what your liplocks reveal about you and your romantic destiny!

Aries Your kisses are quick and passionate fits of lustful pleasure that are there and then gone.

Taurus Your kisses linger; they are deliberate, heartfelt and they can go on and on and on…

Gemini Your kisses are interrupted by spasms of giggles, smiles and funny observations.

Cancer Your kisses are warm and tender, and you never want to let them go.

Leo Your kisses are wild and uninhibited, biting and clawing; you expect applause for your performance.

Virgo Your kisses are so subtle and tidy, your lover only notices them once you've finished.

Libra You're too busy worrying about your breath to really get into your kisses.

Scorpio You skip the kiss and get to straight to ... whatever comes next for you.

Sagittarius Your kisses are surprising, spontaneous affairs that leave the kissed wanting more.

Capricorn Your kisses are intense moments of sublime relief from the stress of your day.

Aquarius Your kisses are wet and messy, and you tend to keep your eyes open.

Pisces Your kisses are starry-eyed, amorous and long-lasting.

Happy Halloween!

Here’s the top 5 reasons trick or treating is better than sex!

1.Guaranteed to get at least a little something in the sack.
2.If you get tired, wait ten minutes and go at it again.
3.The uglier you look, the easier it is to get some.
4.If you don’t get what you want, you can go next door.
5.You can “do” the whole neighborhood

Sharks Attack the Red Wings.....

Game #6 of the season and the Sharks are off to a good start. Beating the reining 2007 Stanley Cup champs, the Detroit Red Wings at home in front of a sold out crowd. The fans were sporting there team sweaters, including myself, showing their pride for the team. We cheered victory as we filed out of the tank at the end of the 3rd period. The Red Wings fans heads were hanging low, wondering how they could lose? I'll tell you how, they were playing against the #1 team in the Pacific standings. The Sharks have won 9 out of the 11 games played this season. Lets go Sharks!

The guys from The President's Cup were at the Shark Tank and Joe and I got to have our picture taken with it. The tourney is being held at Harding Park in SF next October. I am hoping that I will be able to make it out to watch. The guy organizing the tourney invited Joe and I out to play with him and hopefully we can make it out there one of these days. It's a beautiful course and I just hope that when I do play I don't hack it up too much.

Thanks Joe, Ryan and Dove for getting tickets! I had a great time!

Found this in my stash of pictures.....

Wouldn't it be nice to just have a lazy day like this guy?

October is here.....

I can't believe that it is October already. It's that time of the year where the sun starts setting earlier and I start longing for another hour of sunlight. The temperature will start to drop soon and my jackets will come out of storage. My shorts will be exchanged for the long sleeve shirts and it will be too cold for my favorite flojos.

So much has happened this year. Finishing my final semester of school, graduation, river rafting, passing the NCLEX, getting a job at Watsonville Community Hospital, a few A's games and lots of hanging out time with good friends. It has been an amazing year so far and there is still so much more to come. I have made many new friends this year and built stronger relationships with the ones that I already had. I consider myself very lucky to have all the wonderful friends and family in my life.

Having fun.....

Drew and AJ are certainly a handful.....

We had a lot of fun playing in the bounce house and getting wet on the slip and slide!

I just can't believe how fast they are growing. Time really flies by............

Maroon 5....

The concert was a blast! Thanks Peter for taking care of us gals!

A's Game........

I was off to see the A's play again today. It was only the 3rd A's game for me this season, twice in the past month. Of course, not as many games I would have liked to see this year. Me being the seat snob, I managed to find some great seats.....section 120, row 10. Only 5 rows up from the A's dugout! You really can't get better than that. It was a great game, tied 4-4 against the Rangers until the 8th when the unknown, Cunningham, hit his first major league homer to post 3 runs to take us to victory. It was a beautiful day, the sun shining, the crowd cheering "Let's Go Oakland". I can't wait for next season....

One thing about going to the games that I have never understood is, why leave in the 8th inning? Winning or losing, support your team. Stay to the end! I can't tell you how many times that I have been at games, we are down, people leave in the 8th and with 2 outs in the 9th we come back to win. You can't be a true fan if you walk out before the final out.

Hi....

Hello,

It's Sunday and just wanted to say hi to everyone!
Hope everyone had a good weekend.
I've been busy working and haven't had a lot of time to chat lately.
Things are good here....
Talk to you all soon!
Hugs,
Julie

My Nephew's are getting big......

My boys are getting big.....Can't believe that they are now 2 and almost 4 years old.

It's always a good weekend with my boys. We kicked the ball in the backyard, rode the big wheel around the block and blew some bubbles. My favorite part is waking up in the morning with my monster Drew in my bed with me!

AJ's second B-day!

Little AJ 2 years old!

Jennifer and I spent the day with the boys at Fairy Tale Land in Sacramento. AJ and Drew had a lot of fun running around and petting the animals. Ok, I had a little fun myself!

AJ is such a lover, always wanting to give you hugs and kisses, saying please and thank you and always wants to be the helper. I'm a pretty lucky Aunt.

Whitewater rafting.....

Dave and I hosted our 4th annual river rafting trip on the The Merced River in Yosemite Valley this year. We had a good turn out this year of 21 people. It was a hot and smokey weekend but we didn't let that ruin our rafting adventure. This year we rafted the upper Merced and we had a blast! The water level was at a great level, the water temp was perfect for jumping in and there was just enough breeze to keep us cool. The water fights were fun and our river guide Cameron had fun pushing a few of us in. A total of 15 rafted, we missed you Julianne, Marchus, Trey, Brad, Roberta and Serena. It was a good trip and only one person fell out of the raft in the class IV rapids. Thank goodness it wasn't me! She was a little shaken up but thanks to the river guide Darren, she was quickly pulled back in. (She did loose those fancy sandals on the way in but we found them down stream.) The worst part of the whole day was pulling the rafts out of the river and carrying them up that long, steep hill. I don't remember signing up for that, now that was a work out.

We were all exhausted when we got back to camp but got our second wind after a long shower. Dave, sweet and sneaky friend that he is, had a surprize for me later on that evening. He made homemade ice cream and brought a cake to celebrate my graduation. (I was wondering where you disappeared to.) The ice cream was yummy! Thanks Dave, I couldn't ask for a better friend. We all had a great time that night, lots of alcohol, stories, music that was way too loud for our cramped camping spots and playing that crazy movie trivia game. (I still think that you all were cheating.) Even our river guides joined in the fun and hung out with us all night long. I still don't remember us finishing that bottle of crown that night. Probably explains the hangover I had on Sunday. It was well worth it!

I must go back to Yosemite soon. I was a little bummed that I didn't get around to do any hiking. Unfortunatly, I fell asleep on the way to the park on Sunday and Dave and Joe didn't want to wake me up.

We are already planning our 5th annual trip for next year. We are hoping for the 2 day Kaweah trip with the same guides that we had this trip. Hope that everyone can join us!

Last Day....

It's been a great two years, I'm going to miss everyone!

Our last hooray was one to never forget.......

Thanks everyone for your friendship.

Keep in touch!