We're getting new carpet!

Today begins the process of getting new carpet installed in our condo - yay! It will be a 2-day process because we don't have enough room to move out ALL of our furniture from the living room and 2 bedrooms. Today the master bedroom gets done, and tomorrow the living room and future nursery will be overhauled.

I'm so excited for new, pretty, squishy carpet! It will make our home feel much more clean and cozy, and it's the first step toward preparing our condo for our new arrival. After the carpets go in, we can start to rearrange our bedrooms and begin thinking about baby furniture. Now normally change makes me a bit nervous and anxious, but this change is exciting! : )

My 30th Birthday!

I had such a wonderful 30th Birthday yesterday! We spent the day out in Manteca having a BBQ with my family and my 2 best friends, Michael & Desi. What a lovely, relaxing, fun-filled day! Dad grilled up some shrimp and oysters for appetizers, and then some delicious burgers for lunch...yum! And we laughed, played Apples to Apples, and enjoyed the sunshine out on the deck. To top off the day, we enjoyed a tasty homemade cake that my sis Leah made from scratch - delicious! I'm now officially livin my 3rd decade of life....and so far I love it! : )

Catnip Tea

At the ICRA Silent Auction on Saturday night, we got cute little goodie bags with fun cat-related treats, including a cat food can cover, a pretty cat lapel pin, and a homemade catnip toy. When we got home, we happily gave one of the toys to the kitties to play with, and they LOVED it! But we made the mistake of leaving the toy out overnight when we went to bed, and this is what we woke up to on Sunday morning.....cat nip tea! Yummm. Our little Aimee LOVES to put stuff into her water dish, including tissues, receipts, money, and apparently her toys as well. I thought it was so funny that the water actually turned the color of tea...I wonder what would have happened to the cats if we let them drink that water?!! I don't want to know.... : )

Birthday Eve...

This morning David and I went out to brunch at Cockadoodle Cafe in Old Oakland, and it was so tasty! I literally had the BEST french toast I've ever had in my entire life....it was mouth-watering, amazingly good!

Then tonight we're headed to a silent auction for Island Cat Resources & Adoption (ICRA), the local organization I volunteer for. I'll be making some appetizers today for the event, and helping out with the check-in table tonight...and maybe even bidding on some items myself! We're having a jazz musician, yummy food and drinks, and lots of amazing auction items to bid on...and all the proceeds go towards helping the kitties. If you're looking for something fun to do this evening, consider coming out to Alameda for this fun event.

Crazy Misty in the Sink!

Our crazy kitty Misty LOVES to sit and play in the sinks....it's too funny and so cute! Especially when I'm getting ready for work or brushing my teeth, she loves to jump up on the counter and roll around in the sink, hoping to get pet and rubbed. She also makes these cute little shrilling purr sounds as she flops around...and this morning she was even chasing her tail while in the sink! Silly kitty!

Scary Bunny Rabbit!

When David and I were out running errands on Sunday, we passed by this SCARY looking statue on Mandela Parkway in Oakland/Emeryville. It really freaked me out...yikes! It reminds me of a cross between a rabid Easter Bunny, Bunnicula (great children's book about a vampire rabbit), and the freaky rabbit from Donnie Darko...scary!

Not sure why this rabbit was on display, nor what it is supposed to represent, but it was quite intriguing and disturbing. Just wanted to share....do you agree??

5 minutes of fame....

....well maybe the word "fame" is an overstatement, but my picture is featured on the Career Center homepage this week. : ) As you can imagine, we are VERY busy these days helping stressed-out students with their career exploration and job search stuff in this tough job market. At least I know my job is in demand!

Sunday Hike in Redwood Regional Park

Sometimes I forget that even though we live in a major metropolitan, there are still so many amazing natural resources and park lands within the Bay Area. Redwood Regional Park in the Oakland hills is no exception!

According to the EB Regional Parks Website, "On Redwood Road, just a few miles over the ridge from downtown Oakland, is a hidden redwood forest whose peaceful groves give little evidence of its bustling past. In the mid-1800s, what is now Redwood Regional Park was the scene of extensive logging to supply building materials for the San Francisco Bay Area. The logging era has long since passed, and a stately forest of 150-foot coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) has replaced those cut down."
With miles and miles of trails lined with beautiful vegetation and bubbling creeks, being in this park literally makes you feel like you're far away in the Santa Cruz mountains, not just a few miles up the hill from Downtown Oakland!


David and I took advantage of this LOVELY warm Spring day to get out for a hike to explore the park! We did an awesome 3.7 mile loop suggested from the Bay Area Hiker website, and loved every minute of it! We stopped along the trail to rest and have a picnic lunch, while listening to birds and watching other hikers, dog walkers and bikers pass by. And of course I took lots of photos to capture our lovely day.

Zoo staff save drowning baby lemur with CPR!

I saw this story on the Today Show this morning and it warmed my heart! Poor little Hudini, a 5-week old baby lemur was frolicking on the rocks with his parents when he lost his footing and slipped into a moat’s cold water. Ring tailed lemurs cannot swim and don't even like water, so this poor little guy was in bad shape! He slipped under the water and dissapeared, while his parents frantically scanned the water with panic-stricken mannerisms. Shortly after, a zoo staff person rushed over and pulled the little guy out of the water, and luckily brought him back to life via CPR!! Amazing and so heartwarming! Read the full story from the Today Show website.

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BIG NEWS!!!!

I am so happy to officially share my exciting news with the world.....David and I are going to be parents! I am about 11.5 weeks pregnant and my due date is November 1st, 2009! We are so very excited about this new adventure we are beginning in our lives together, and we are so ready for a new chapter. We found out on March 11th, just after David's 30th Birthday...what a great surprise! I was so happy and shocked, but couldn't believe that the first test was positive....so I actually took 3 more over the course of the next two days, and of course they were all positive too! : )

I'll definitely keep everyone posted as we go along...including ultrasound pics and regular updates. I had my 4th ultrasound yesterday and I got to see our little baby move! It was flailing around like a little fish....soo cute! Thank you to everyone for all of the congrats and well-wishes I've received so far...it means so much to me to have an abundance of love and support during this exciting time. : )

I love my cats....

Yes, sometimes having 4 cats is kinda crazy, but so much fun at the same time! I love you my fur babies!

Oliver, sitting in David's chair....such a daddy's boy


My little Aimee-kins


Molly Magoo, our purr machine lover girl


Crazy Mama Misty, our latest addition that we rescued from Manteca

Easter 2009 - Family, food, sun & FUN times!

Our Easter celebration actually began yesterday at my cousin Tony's house in Dublin with my Dad's side of the family. We had a great time hanging out, catching up with everyone, watching the kids hunt Easter eggs, and meeting our newest member of the family, Jeremiah. My cousins Darren & Jennifer just recently adopted an adorable 10 month old baby boy and he's precious! And my niece Hayden was too cute hunting eggs for the first time. : )




Then today after waking up to ALL FOUR of our CATS on our bed this morning (funny!), we headed out to Manteca for Easter gathering #2 at my parent's house with my Mom's side of the family.






Another delicious meal was had, and another round of Easter egg hunting was enjoyed by my little cousins and Hayden.

I love my family so much! What a lovely, sunny weekend...and I even have a slight pink sun-kissed glow to prove it! : )

AWWWW!!!!

Poor wittle kitty!! My dear friend Torrey passed this along from Cute Overload.....I feel so sorry for this injured little baby. Cute and sad at the same time!

RIP Old Toyota....

Unfortunately David was in a car accident this past Saturday, and his old Toyota is most likely totaled....bummer. While we were already starting to research getting David a new car to replace this old 1989 Corolla, it's still so frustrating that this had to happen now. And so scary too! But luckily David is OK for the most part, except for some mild neck strain and minor bruising on his chest & ribs from the seat belt. The accident was completely the fault of the other driver (a 16 year old girl who ran a red light by the way...) but luckily her family has solid insurance coverage. So today David is picking up a rental car, and waiting patiently for the insurance companies to complete their investigation. Poor David....poor old Toyota. : (

Proof that Spring IS Here! : )

Even though the weather is supposed to cool down this weekend, and it might even RAIN again next week, it's quite evident that Spring is finally here! And that means that Summer is just around the corner! And here's the proof that I have to offer - check out these pics of the tree directly outside of our living room window and balcony. The first picture was taken on March 6th (just 1 month ago), and the 2nd picture was taken TODAY on April 3rd. Within one month, this tree went from being bare, brown and winter-like, to lush, green and full of Spring energy! I've also noticed so many birds, butterflies, and baby squirrels running around our neighborhood, more evidence that Spring has Sprung. Happy Friday everyone!

Did You Know??

Worth watching....enjoy!