Trick-or-Treat

I'm so happy that people in the office decided to dress up today! I LOVE Halloween, the costumes, creativity, kids all excited to get candy....its such a fun day!

The Office Crew...
(from left to right)
Iowan Cowgirl (me) - Jack Sparrow (jeff) - Samuri (billy) -
Architects (deanna & connie) - Palin & McCain (liz & tom) lunch at Andy's Burgers...me & liz
Palin-McCain-Cowgirl-Samuri
After work, I met up with my friend Carissa. We had a super yummy dinner at Tony's Mexican Restaurant (my favorite mexican food)! We hung out there for awhile...we ate, chatted, let our food digest for awhile...then we left! After dinner with Carissa, I went over to my cousin's house and hung out there for a bit. Paige still had on her costume when I arrived, she looked real cute! I got to see all the kid's candy laid out that they were excited about, and I got to catch up with Cathy and Don. It was good to see them again, it had been about a month since I last saw them (kinda crazy seeing as they live down the street!).
It was a good day!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

I'm a sucker....

Ok, so I got suckered in my own home....into buying a KIRBY vacuum! Oh my goodness, I never thought I would be one of those people who would be convinced that I couldn't live without this amazing vacuum. Well, I am officially one of those suckers! Two salesmen came to my house last night and wanted to show me their product...the KIRBY. They were there for THREE HOURS trying to sell me on this thing. And stupid me, I was sold on it! At least I have a 'buyer's remorse' period and can cancel the deal within 7 days.

So, I took my mom and Ray-Ray's advice....I called them this morning to cancel it, and have them come pick it up. Unfortunately it has been major drama! I have had a live voice twice, once they told me to call back when the guy would be in the office, and the second time I got put on hold and eventually got hung up on. Then I've been calling over and over and it just rings off the hook. I then called my credit card company to put a block on the purchase and they can't do that. I have to wait till the charge goes through and then dispute the charge. Drama! Oh, and don't even think about asking how much it costs...you don't want to know!

(one hour later)....
I got ahold of them and they are cancelling my transaction. I should have confirmation by this evening, or tomorrow. Pray it all goes through ok!

Yes, I'm a stupid girl, and wishing I would've never answered my door last night when they wanted to come in and give my couch a free cleaning! The only good news here is that my couch, 2 rugs, a chair, my hardwood floor, and my bed are all clean from dust mites! :) I felt good sleeping in my bed last night knowing that vacuum captured all those gross micro-creatures! Sick! Anyway, we took a picture with my [hopefully temporary] new KIRBY...The door-to-door sales guys were super nice and we actually had a good time chatting...or at least I did. Supposedly we're going to be Facebook friends too. One of them asked for my number, but does it make me a mean person for not giving it to him? I just wasn't interested in that way. Oh well. He made his sale, right?! haha :) Now its time for me to get my money back!

nightmares & dreams

I'm wishing someone would've wished me 'sweet dreams' last night...

So I had a really terrible nightmare last night. I don't really want to discuss the awful details, so lets just say that someone close to me was accidentally decapitated! My dream was so intense last night, and VERY graphic! My hysterical crying woke me up in the middle of the night and I couldn't sleep after that, nor did I want to...I was afraid I would continue the dream and I definitely did not want it to keep going (obviously I'm super tired today!). So I'm curious your thoughts on the subject of nightmares and dreams (now's when I wish I took some psychology classes in college!). I honestly don't think I was wishing for this to happen in my unconsious! I would NEVER wish for this on anyone!!! I've heard that certain foods and eating too late at night can cause crazy dreams...what else can cause them? How can we stop from having such terrible thoughts through the night? How can we make ourselves have pleasant dreams...is there a way? Anyway, just wondering if any of my readers have thoughts on the matter...what causes nightmares/dreams, why they seem so real and can totally affect you physically and emotionally...causing drainage of the mind and body? Thanks for the help! I hope you had better dreams than I did!

ps...I'm treating myself to Chick-fil-A and Starbucks today!
(my comfort foods!!!)

WHAT I'VE FOUND SO FAR...

Sigmund Freud once called dreams the “royal road to . . . the unconscious”

All dreams essentially tell us one important thing: “Wake up!” That is, just as you must wake up from a dream to remember it, the dream itself is telling you to “wake up” to the truth that you try to hide from others—and from yourself.

Repetitive dreams indicate that you are continuing to miss the point about the meaning of the dream. If you don’t “wake up” to the unconscious meaning of the dream but instead persist in seeing it through your own wish-fulfillment needs, you will remain stuck in your own self-deception.

Our modern word nightmare derives from the Middle English nihtmare (from niht, night, and mare, demon), an evil spirit believed to haunt and suffocate sleeping people. And so, in today’s world, when we speak of a nightmare we mean a frightening dream accompanied by a sensation of oppression and helplessness. Nightmares are graphic depictions of raw, primitive emotions such as aggression and rage that have not been incorporated into the conscious psyche. Thus we tend to encounter these “ugly” aspects of our unconscious lives as terrifying dream images in whose presence we feel completely helpless.

college girls reunion

So FUN!!! Tonight I reunited with a few of my girlfriends from college! We have been planning this for a couple months now and it finally happened! We had such a great time! We thought it would be a good chance to all reunite since Joy was going to be in town from Stockton. Since she was staying at the Disneyland Resort with her family, we all met up at the Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney for dinner. Boy, I have really missed these girls, they are so awesome! Dinner was nice...we had a chance to catch up, reminice, share stories of the past eight years, share our favorite memories from BIOLA, take some pictures, eat good food, laugh together, and just enjoy each other's company. What a great night!! I really hope that we can all get together again real soon! We all live relatively close to each other (no longer than about 45 min. away - excluding Joy - sorry Joy!), so it would be nice to stay in touch. Anyway, here are a few photos from our fun reunion...

the reunionme and kelleyme and katherinebeth's birthday volcano!all the girls
joy-kirstee-beth-kelley-jody-katherinebeth-joy-jody

another goodbye

Well, Jeremy and Krista are off again for Russia. Today was my last day with them till June 2009...so sad! I will miss them LOTS! Here's a couple pictures from our last lunch at Vince's together (yes, I had Vinces for dinner on Saturday and lunch on Sunday...its just the happening place! haha!)...
bad hair day for jody...helmet head!I miss you guys already!!! Love you!

cousins

My cousins Troy and Allison, and their baby Mia, came down from Fresno for a visit this weekend. It was so great to see them again...its been way too long! Saturday night the Vasquez family got together to spend time with them, and we all met up at Vince's Spaghetti (where else, right? haha!). It was a very nice evening catching up with them, watching Mia make cute little sad faces, taking pictures, and sharing stories. Its always nice getting together with family, isn't it?! Anyway, our time together was too short, and now they're back home. I'm glad that Allison keeps a blog though, so I can stay up-to-date on all their happenings. Well, it was a fun night and here are some of the pictures we took...

the family with our yummy plates of spaghettiAllison & Me...don't you just love the bibs! haha :)Mia's cute little sad faceTroy & MiaMe & Uncle DuaneMe & Auntie Lincousins!dawna-duana-allison-mia-jody-dianacome and visit again soon!!!
(even though you hate the traffic!) cute little mia

my new addiction

Ever since Starbucks opened up down the street from my office about a month ago I've had a new addiction. I can't help it...they are soooooooooo good! And its not like I just get a regular coffee (which isn't all that bad for you), I like the really bad for you kind of drinks! My favorite is a
Grande Mocha Frappuccino with whip,
with a pump of Pumpkin Spice
I'm terrible! Its become a daily run to Bucks...I'm gonna be broke and fat before you know it! Am I bad?

Oh by the way, if you haven't heard already, Costco is selling five $20 gift cards to Starbucks for only $80! That's a $20 savings! It's too good to pass up! :) So go snatch them up while you can...
they make perfect Christmas gifts *hint*hint*hint*

My kiddos like them too:

Happy Boss' Day!

Today we celebrate our Bosses...Our office celebrated our boss, Tom, today with lunch and pie! Yum! We ordered in Panda Express, Tom's favorite, and sat around the table in the lunchroom together chatting and enjoying the fellowship with each other. Then we enjoyed some yummy pie! Thanks Tom, for being a great boss AND friend! I Love You! :)

After our food celebration, we decided to try out this experiment we've seen coming through emails...where you place four cell phones around some popcorn, call them all at the same time, and then its supposed to pop the popcorn! Well, see our video below for the results of our experiment (sorry, its sideways)....

Oh well, we gave it our best shot...this was actually our second attempt at this experiment, of course neither worked. Bummer! Then we read snopes.com about this thing...I guess we should've read that first before trying it out. Oh well, it was fun!
click here for snopes.com article

Please VOTE in my Poll

Its about that time again, where I'm antzy to make changes with my hair...yea, I can't have it one way for too long. So I'm taking a Poll...
if you have trouble with the poll box below,
please leave me a comment with your opinions

Just thought I'd see what everyone things about it.
Thanks for sharing! (be nice!)

Dinner and a Movie

Tonight I had Dinner and Movie with some real good friends! First was dinner at Olive Garden with Judi, Jeremy and Krista. We had a very nice time talking about things happening in the area and what's important to us. Jeremy had a couple good questions...

1. If you could save one thing in a fire, what would it be?
2. What is most precious to you?
I have to admit, we kept thinking about something we would save in a fire...but he re-asked the question in a way that we could get what he was trying to ask...
2. (re-asked)If you could take one item to "show and tell" that was the most precious thing to you, what would it be?

If you really thought about it, they were hard questions! Most things are replaceable...so in a fire, I would probably save my dog and cat and then save myself! If I had time, I would try to save all my pictures/photo albums, etc. Everything else I could go to the store and purchase again. Then there was the "show and tell" question...I really didn't know what I had that was that precious to me besides my family and "kiddos". So...I'm asking you -

1. What would you save in a fire? and...
2. What is the most precious thing in your life, that you would take to "Show and Tell"?
(please leave me the answers in my comments section)

After dinner, Jeremy, Krista and I went to the movies and saw "Eagle Eye". Very intense movie...and very action packed! I thought it was very entertaining!

My Fall Foliage Photos....Online!!

*FUN*FUN*FUN*
I have had TWO more photos posted online at Budget Travel Magazine!

"On behalf of Budget Travel, I would like to thank you for sharing your recent fall foliage photo. Your beautiful photo has been chosen as one of the photos in our “Reader’s Colorful Shots” slide show."

"The colors of autumn make this season the perfect time for a road trip. Get inspired by our readers' fabulous shots of foliage from around the globe."

Click here to view the slideshow

Slide 8

Slide 14

Girl's Night Out

Fun, I love girl's night! Tonight, Judi, Lori, Kristy, Krista and I met at BJ's in Rancho Cucamonga for PAZOOKIES!! Once we got there, we realized that we were kinda hungry so we shared a pizza, potato skins, and chips & salsa. Then it was PAZOOKIE time!! Mmmm Mmmm good! We ordered three and shared between the five of us. It was great!!BEFOREAFTER

Then, as we were done and all paid up, our server told us that Adam Sandler was in the house. He pointed him out and we were all curious! There were managers around him and he was at a big table with some people, so we decided to just leave without trying to meet him. But when Krista and I got in the car we were really hesistant to leave...we wanted to meet him, or at least try! So we went back in! Krista was very outgoing and talked to the bodyguard (or at least we thought he was) and asked if she could talk to him. She told him how living in Russia they don't have tv so they YouTube him all the time and love his music. He thought that was nice, and thanked her. She asked if we could take a picture with him and he said of course! The only thing we said to each other was:
Adam: "Nice to meet you"
Jody: "You too"
Lame, I should've said more, but oh well! He talked to us both AND we got a picture with him! :) FUN!!Adam-Krista-Me-Adam's Wife

Bobble Head

I FINALLY gave Krista and Jeremy their wedding present! I'm not one to give traditional gifts...and this one definitely was out of the ordinary! I'm glad they liked it! :) The bride and groom bobble-head!!

Worship Night

Friday night I went to the EV Free Worship Concert Night. It was nice spending a couple hours singing and praising God. I think there was double the turnout compared to last time too, so that's good. My co-worker, Ryan, was rockin out on stage playing the electric guitar. When I got there I saw my friend Mark, so I sat with him. He ended up leaving half-way through, so I sat by myself through the remainder of the concert. It was good though...sometimes I like sitting by myself because I feel more comfortable singing and can focus more on the worship. Anyway, it was a very nice evening.

Bob's Big Boy

Ok, so today has been a really good Friday! Olya, my co-worker, and I had to run some work errands today out in Riverside. We had to get a business license, pick up a new tire for the 'boss-man' and then take some photos at one of our completed project sites. After all that, we made our way towards the restaurant for our late (and fast) lunch. I was so excited for this...we found a Bob's Big Boy!! How fun! I ate the super yummy-delicioso chili spaghetti that I LOVED as a kid! Good memories, and Good food! What a great way to finish off the work-week!

new food for my annie-girl

Well, I started Annie on another new food. I have been doing some research on dog seizures and it looks like she probably has a food allergy. Dogs cannot digest three things: wheat, corn, and soy (all containing a mineral called phytate). Almost ALL dog foods have either one or all three of those ingredients. If they can't digest the food, it immediately passes through and they don't get all the vitamins they need. If dogs are deficient in Vitamin B1 and B6, it can cause seizures. So this new food is free of those items and is full of vitamins and antioxidants, real meat (not meat by-products which are in most dog foods), and vegetables. It helps to clean teeth which is good because I can't afford to get her teeth cleaned for $200. Anyway, so far she LOVES it! She scarfs it down in no time, which is a huge change from her last food. It would sit there for a few days. So I'm hoping this food is the cure to her sad seizures. Please keep praying! :)

If any of you know anymore about dog seizures and would like to educate me, please feel free to comment or email me. Thank you!

"Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul"
Ingredients
Chicken, turkey, chicken meal, ocean fish meal, cracked pearled barley, whole grain brown rice, oatmeal, millet, white rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potatoes, egg product, tomato pomace, duck, salmon, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, choline chloride, dried chicory root, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus faecieum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevesiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.