Friday, January 30, 2009

Auditioning

Today I went to an audition for a student film.  I had to memorize a monologue before hand so adapted one from my favorite childhood book and have been memorizing it for the last few days.  Here I am with my headshot about to go in.  


I did well on my monologue, but could have done a lot better on the improv they asked me to do... it's either one thing or it's another.

In other news, my brother Michael called me from the hospital this morning about to go in for an emergency appendectomy.  I wasn't as worried as I would've been because Jason went through that a few years ago.  But I was VERY glad to hear that the surgery was successful and he is now in the recovery room.  

Thursday, January 29, 2009

This is HUGE!

Today was that day that many people at work have been looking forward to.  Today, our first two students were granted OPT.  Basically, it means that they can stay here and work as nurses for one year.  It has been a long road to get our school and our program to this point but here we are!

We played a slightly mean trick on one of the approved students.  Called her into the president's office where all, and I mean ALL, the faculty and staff were gathered.  We all kept very serious faces and the president slowly began, "We have called you into my office because, well, I will let Mrs. Hamel tell you..."

That was my cue to say, "Well, we have some very serious information for you.  We just received word today that you have .............. been approved for OPT!!!!!!"  Then we all jumped out of our chairs and started cheering.  

To celebrate, we grabbed everyone still hanging around and went to Red Robin.


Here am I, the Program Chair; Julie, who did all the paperwork and processing for the OPTs; and Natty, the student we played the trick on.  


Ahhhh, feels so good to have something to tell the students that they won't glare at me for...

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Look Carefully!

It's not what you think it is.... unless you think it is lava cake from Trader Joe's.  Yum!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Sunday, January 25, 2009

The Gear Closet of Doom

Jason and I have a gear closet which always quickly turns into a nightmare closet.  Today is the day that Jason cleaned it out.  Not for the first time ever or anything.  Looks organized doesn't it?

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Mosey's 'Biscuit'


Mosey has a security blanket.  Except it is more like a security bed...  Every time Jason or I leave the house, Mosey curls up in it.  Jason calls it Mosey's biscuit.  

Thursday, January 22, 2009

New and Unexpected Class



Well, I wasn't planning on teaching Advanced writing this semester but some extenuating circumstances required it.  Sigh.  My first class is tomorrow and I have to prepare...

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Mean Parents


Today we tried to lure Mosey into a box trap with a treat.  He was naturally quite suspicious and it was hard work to trap him, even with the treat.  I felt bad after succeeding because Mosey was too worried to eat his treat when he got trapped..  Poor little buddy.  


Why did we do this you ask?  Well, because Mosey is so cute as you can see from the video below.  

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Inauguration Day


Well, today was the day that many people have been looking forward to.  Me?  Not so much.  I think today is the day that America is going to start changing for the worse.  I hope that I am not right, but I think I am.  Anyway, we had a little school get together to watch the $100+ million inauguration.  I told my students to be there and they were pretty much the only ones who showed up.  


All the students who actually contributed a vote to this travesty, I presume are at home, playing PSIII and thanking the hip new president for getting them a half day off school to veg out.  ;]


 

Monday, January 19, 2009

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

I have today off work.  School starts tomorrow so I decided to pull weeds in the lawn.  Look at the taproot on this one!!!



Mosey was very exciting when I finally jerked it out of the ground..

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Gaslight

Today Jason was studying so I went to Redlands Footlighter's Theater to watch a play.  This is the same theater I performed in almost exactly 2 years ago!  Gaslight was playing. It was a very well done Victorian thriller.  The movie is pretty good too if you care for older movies.

Here is the view during intermission.  

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Diving at Laguna Beach!

Today Jason, Mosey, Rudy and I went to Laguna Beach!  They went diving 


(I have decided to stick to warm water diving) and I hung out on the beach with Mosey.


It was a perfect day!  


Friday, January 16, 2009

A Belated Gift

My mom didn't want us to open her Christmas gift until she was around so we had to wait awhile before we could see what was in the gigantic box. It was a nice little station that we can hang on the wall! I have always wanted one and this one is quite nice. It looks very nice in our study.


Jason and Mosey were really tired after installing it....

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Ahhh.... Relaxation


I needed a little bit of rest and relaxation after a stressful day so I took a nice bath.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Drum Roll Please!......

We bought our tickets! This April we are going to........


SCOTLAND! I am so excited! Jason has never been before and I have been itching to go again ever since I went about 5 years ago. Jason's two brothers and their wives are going with us which is great because I find that traveling is always more fun when you can enjoy it with people you love. Anyway, I look forward to posting in April so you can see all our pictures!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Queen of Sales!

I went to my monthly lia sophia meeting tonight. I always having a good time but tonight was especially good because I got queen of sales! That means I sold the most in my team last month. I was surprised but really excited because I won these free movie tickets. Yay!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Christmas is over.....

We took down the Christmas tree today....


But I also helped out at baby blanket making charity thing! I loved the house we were working in.

Nature's Jewels

I have always loved how pomegranate seeds look like rubies.


It makes the fruit that much more fun to eat. Here are the enchiladas we made today.

I thought they looked pretty cool too. We didn't have any shredded cheese so we made do with this sliced pepperjack. Food is great....

Friday, January 09, 2009

Torture

Jason rigged up this torture machine for Mosey while I was grocery shopping.


He strung a Kong filled with treats from the ceiling using fishing line and then had Mosey try to get the treats while the Kong was swinging through the air.


Here is a video of the results:

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Infomercial

Tired of your shirts having hanger marks on them? Sick of all your clothes falling down into a pile on your closet floor? So am I! That is why I use huggable hangers! Plus, they double as excellent chew toys!*


*this claim has not been approved by the FDA or VAA (Veterinarian Association of America)

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Jewelry Displays!

So far when I give lia sophia parties, I have just been strategically arranging the jewelry on a table cloth. I ordered some jewelry display pieces so now I can show off the beautiful jewelry better! Pretty huh?

Monday, January 05, 2009

Yum, Brie!

Today Jesse, Louisa, Jason and I had a baked brie feast. I bought some herbed brie from Trader Joe's, baked it and we all dipped bread and chips into it! YUM!!! So good. I forgot to take a picture before we ate it but you can see how much enjoyed it since just the covering is left....

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Winding Down After the Holidays...

Forest Falls Again

My friend Typheni's boyfriend, Anthony, is visiting this weekend from Tennesee. We wanted to meet him so we all decided to hike up Forest Falls. We had never hiked all the way up to the falls before. Mosey pulled me up the whole way basically; he is a very good hiking dog.


Jason stayed at the bottom because his back was hurting him. Here are some pictures at the top!



Afterward, we decided to go back to Typehni's house and hit the hot tub. We made ourselves some berry smoothies and relaxed.



Great day!

Friday, January 02, 2009

It's a new year!

New Year's resolution: Spend more quality time with the family.

Happy Anniversary!

We wanted to do something special for our 3rd anniversary but kind of procrastinated. I decided to call "The Melting Pot", a really good fondue restaurant to see if they had any availability. They had a special menu, for $65. I figured $65 for an anniversary dinner for two was a pretty good deal so I made the reservation.

Everything was beautiful!


We had a very private little booth and a set menu so we didn't even have to fight over what we would order. The first course was cheese fondue with vegetables, bread, and chips to dip in it.


The second course was our main course in which we boiled some vegetables and ravioli.


We downed our complimentary sparkling apple cider and sat back to enjoy each other's company. Our final course was chocolate fondue with beautiful fruit to dip in to it.


Here we are smiling just to be close to each other!


What a stress-free meal we had! Then we got the bill. That is when we realized that the $65 was per person. When I had been to the restaurant before, the price had been per two people. That dampened our spirits to say the least. I told Jason it would make a good story. So we try to tell it to everyone to get our money's worth.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Happy New Year!

Jason and I were determined to stay up to welcome in 2009. We decided the best way to stay up would be to watch a movie. After many disagreements and false starts, I picked one for us to watch all the way through. Right before 12:00am, I turned off the movie and went over to the chaise lounge to celebrate with Jason. Except Jason wasn't there. Mosey was, and Jason was chivalrously sleeping on the ground so Mosey could have the chaise.


This was right before I woke him up to count down with him. I can tell that he was really into the movie.