Santa Cruz baby!

On Sunday we made our way to the lovely coastal town of Santa Cruz. Granted, we hyped it up A LOT, but I think Dominic did enjoy this hippie-filled town... he fit right in with his long locks!

We walked around Pacific Ave, Zoccoli's on Seabright beach for lunch, fogged-in but perfect temp beach afternoon...

...Redwood Camp reunion (see below - Zipper, JBird, Rodeo, Kargo, Boss, Schnuke, Cricket, and CherB) See - Dominic was TOTALLY there in 2003... Zipper... remember him...?


...and then 99 Bottles for a little concert with the one and only Stow.

Santa Cruz done right... check!

Sharks Score!

On Friday night we went to the San Jose Sharks pre-season game against their rivals - the Anaheim Ducks (quack, Quack, QUACK! - love The Mighty Ducks! But I wasn't allowed to quack... for numerous reasons...). We won an impressive 6 to 0 which was so fun - here were our favorite parts...


I think Dominic's favorite part was the national anthem... Americana at its best! The digital flag images displayed on EVERY board in the arena, holding his hand to his heart, land of the free, home of the brave... Yeah. He loved it...


Josh's? The overpriced mini pizza he got. Yeah. He loved that.


Mine? The Sharks players skate out of a huge shark mouth!! Love it!

Overall, a great time. Sharks Win!

boys will be boys...

Here it is. The moment you've all been waiting for... they climbed. They jumped. They lived.

And don't be alarmed... I think it's just the angle/wetness of the day, but does Josh's chest look like a cat shed all over it?? Oh that hairy hubby of mine...

putting the brit to work!

Dominic is here! Our friend from across the pond has finally made it over and we're so excited to have him. First night - Greek food and fro yo. A staple at chez Dunlop. If you come to visit us, your first night will probably look just the same...

Day 2 we put him (and ourselves) to work! Pie Ranch is a sustainable farming project that grows everything you could put in a pie... and more! Case and point: we shelled beans. I'll back up. On the 3rd Saturday of every month, Pie Ranch holds a work day where you come, do some work, learn about their facilities and farming in general, and then they have a potluck and a barn dance to thank you for helping out. We arrived a tad bit late but jumped right in...


We shelled beans. Never had bean pie (and apparently they're still perfecting their recipe for it), but tedious work none the less. We then moved to uprooting potatoes and finally moving an irrigation system from the "lower slice" to the "crust" - precious. Here are some shots of the boys at work:

We grabbed dinner with the whole crew (there were about 12 of us in all) - skipped the no-alcohol potluck so the boys could enjoy a cold brewsky for all their hard work. Came back for the barn dance and were completely confused and baffled at the craziness that could occur in one overcrowded barn! There were dogs running in between do-si-doers, there were kids weaving in and out of couples two steppin, there were toes that were crushed and many-an-exchanging of hands (Purel was a MUST!). The caller was a crazy pirate that did mostly complicated couple dancing as opposed to the good ol' boot scootin boogy line dancing which I know and love... (check out the mullet love in the video!) however, Dominic did get a feel for the good' ol country side of the USA.

Today the boys are cliff jumping... more on our British invasion in the days to come...

playing catch up...

Soo... we've been back from Canada since Sunday and I feel like I'm STILL catching up. It's Thursday! I must be getting old. Hopefully going to have an easy day here at work and then possibly end the day with September Issue with the gals. Anna Wintour... you scare me.

josh's adventure...

Josh and Luke were men. Here's the proof...

lounging it...

So. Arrived in Calgary for my transfer to SFO and found out that my flight was delayed 2 hours on my already 2 1/2 hour connection. Solution? Lounge it. Calgary just put in a lounge where you either have to be a member or pay a day rate (of $20?? Yes please. If this were in the states they either wouldn't allow walk ins or you would HAVE to sign up for a membership. Thank you Canada). With this teensy day rate, you have access to the plush lounge chairs, quiet atmosphere, full kitchen and coffee bar, internet, TV, magazines... it's wonderful.

Granted, I'd rather be on my way to SFO right now, but since that's out of my hands I decided to take my comfort level into my own hands. So if you happen to be in Calgary at the airport and past customs in the next 4 hours... you know where to find me...

made it...

Didn't want to leave you hanging with the "I'm alone in my house..." post because, well, if you were my mother, you would have assumed I was murdered... oh mom - always assuming the worst. :) But I am safe and fine and in Canada! Currently in a Starbucks using their internet because no one up here seems to have internet in their house! It's just so different from the good ol' USA. I don't know what I'd do without internet! Anyway - lot's of "eh?" at the end of statements, lots of family, and lots of food. So far, so good. If I don't make it back to Starbucks before we leave, I'll post when I get home... until then - Happy Labor Day! or... since I'm in Canada... Happy Labour Day!

kevin!

I'm home alone. Josh is gone. Every night I come home and check every closet (especially behind the long dresses and garment bags... oh - and don't forget the linen or hot water heater closets...), look under the bed, double bolt the doors, and turn on the TV for noise. All the while with my cell phone in hand. I live in a safe neighborhood!! Why am I so paranoid??!! People live alone all the time! Is this normal or am I going off the deep end...? Someone want to diagnose me?

trash galore!

Since Josh is gone (and let's be honest... even when he's not), it's my way or the highway when it comes to TV. This means I get to watch all the trash I want guilt free. No Josh there rolling his eyes at me for watching Khloe and Kourtney in Miami, no "seriously?!" for Rachel Zoe and her BA-nanas lingo (I die.), no "this is ridiculous" when I watch E's Daily 10 to catch up on my celebrity gossip... it's fabulous. It's a reality TV trash train wreck going on at my house when Josh is gone and I'm loving every minute of it.

... but all that said, I do miss that hubby of mine and get to see him in 48 hours! Woo woo!