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Sunday, October 19, 2008

Silly Rocky

Rocky is getting bigger and bigger every day, and despite his adolescent tendencies, is sweeter than ever. Yesterday we took him to the Palm Springs Dog Park, and then to La Quinta's Howl-o-ween Parade (he was dogzilla). Afterwards, he was so pooped that he slept all day long. Here are a few recent pics from this weekend...




Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Photos


Greg and I at Mt. Rainier
John being goofy on the Duck Tour

Lake Union - The house from Sleepless in Seattle!

Our awesome "Route 66" room at Rendezvous

Fresh Seafood at Pike Place Market

Overdue Update

Hi everyone,

I am so sorry I have been slacking off on my wall posts...so much has happened, and I've been so busy! First of all, I got the job as a Marketing Specialist at the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism, and accepted it! I started up three weeks ago, and have barely had a moment off since. So far, I really like it. I'm so busy, but I like being busy at work. I'm in charge of planning and implementing the Ad/Media calendar, so I get to choose what publications, radio stations, etc, we advertise in. I'm also filling in for the former admin, so I basically have two jobs in one. I enjoy it though - there's nothing worse than being bored at work! Another thing I like about this job is that it's smack in the middle of the small Palm Springs bubble. In just a few weeks, I've already met the Police Chief, the City Manager, and the owners/managers of many of the biggest businesses in Palm Springs. It's pretty cool, and fun to meet them all! My manager is also really great, as are the two other people in my office. So let's hope it continues to go well!

In other news, Greg has joined his permanent unit, and is busy getting everything in order for them to start training. We also found out yesterday that our good friend, Frank Furman, will be coming out and joining up with Greg's unit, too! It's so exciting to know that we'll finally have a close friend out here.

Last weekend, Greg and I went to Seattle to visit John and Kathleen Maurel, who are good friends of my parents. We had a blast! The weather was gorgeous (not a cloud in the sky!). The first night we ate dinner at the Maurel's, where Kathleen made a wonderful meal of crab, salad, and apple pie. On Saturday we when on a 6 mile hike on Mt. Rainier, which is absolutely gorgeous! We also went downtown to dinner at a wonderful restaurant. On Sunday we went on the Duck Tour, which was wonderfully tacky and so much fun. It was also a great way to see all of Seattle. We then went to an IMAX and walked around Pike Place Market, before eating lunch and going to the airport. What a packed, fun weekend!

After arriving in Palm Springs, we spent a night at the Rendezvous B&B, courtesy of Jake, the manager. What a cool place! It's a renovated inn where Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, and other celebs stayed back in the '50s. It's super cool - every room has a different theme (ours was Route 66), and opens up into a beautiful pool area. The entire place is 50's themed, and takes the boring and creepiness out of Bed & Breakfasts! The breakfast in the morning was awesome, and I definitely am going to recommend this place to ANYONE staying in Palm Springs.

Today is my birthday, and has been a quiet one. Greg is on duty, so we celebrated my birthday partly on Monday and Tuesday, and we will really celebrate it on Saturday. On Saturday we are taking Rocky to the Palm Springs Dog Park, and are then taking him to walk in La Quinta's "Howl-o-ween Parade." He will dress up at Dogzilla. We can't wait!

So that's my update. I will also post pictures for everyone to see. Thanks for the birthday wishes, and keep in touch!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

New Pics

The beautiful mountains at Sundance.

A giraffe at the Living Desert drinking water...check out his legs!

Rocky at on the mountain during our hike in Big Bear.


Greg and Rocky enjoying an Eagles' game

Huge Update

Hello everyone,

I apologize for taking forever to update my blog. As usual, I was waiting for something substantial to write about, and then all of a sudden a ton of things happened.

Since I've last written, I've been pretty busy. A few weeks ago, my friend Nick Roper from Groton came to visit us for a night on his roadtrip across America. It was fun to have a friend come stay, and to show him around. I took him to base, showed him Palm Springs, and went to the Living Desert, which is best described as a zoo without cages, in Palm Desert. It was a lot of fun, and great to catch up with him.

Last weekend I went up to Sundance, Utah, to help Ann out with her wedding planning. The resort is gorgeous - the mountains of Utah had fully transitioned to Fall, and all of the leaves were orange, red, and gold - something that's impossible to find here in the desert! It was so much fun to see Ann, Tyler, and my parents, and also to hang out with Paula and Jon, who are helping out with the third Collier wedding of '08. The food was great, as was the lodging (we stayed in an actual lodge on the property), and I can't wait to go back for Ann's wedding (although I'm not excited about the snow...one thing I don't miss about back East).

Also, the biggest news...I got a job!! And accepted it :). It's with the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism, as a Marketing Specialist. I start on Monday, and I'm really nervous! I hate first days, and awkward transition times. I feel like I'm just starting to get out of the worst and most awkward transition of my whole life (moving to 29 Palms), and now I'm starting another one! How exhausting! I really hope I'll be pleasantly surprised and like it. Wish me luck!

Other than that, Greg and I have been enjoying the cooler temperatures (90-100 degrees). We've been honing our golf game, which is our new favorite pasttime. We also took Rocky on a day trip to Big Bear, which is a beautiful ski resort only an hour away from here. We took him on a hike, which was a blast. In other news, Greg finally left his temporary job, and checked in with the unit he will be with through 2 deployments over the next 2.5 years. I hope I meet some spouses through this unit, but it's nice to feel like we're finally here for a reason.

So that's the update...again, wish me luck on my job, and I will try to update again soon.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Revelation

Today, upon looking over from my job seeking post to see what Rocky was doing, it dawned on me: I may not have a job, and I may be new to California, but there is absolutely no denying that I keep this boy entertained all day long.... (and for those of you who can't read sarcasm, work on it!) :) See pics below for up to the minute footage of what Rocky looks like right now:






Wednesday, September 10, 2008

By Request




I have had requests to post up pictures of Palm Springs, so here they are! I hope you enjoy...and I hope they persuade you to visit!