La Tomatina

Sunday was the La Tomatina tomato fight downtown to raise money for cancer research, so again I went to shoot video of it.

This time, I started shooting from up in the adjacent parking lot to get an overhead view before moving closer to the action.
These people are totally nuts.
I certainly didn't come home spotless, but I wasn't nearly covered like most of the people who participated. I did get hit in the back of the head with a whole tomato, and I can tell you it does not feel good. Then I became a target when people noticed I was both fairly clean and holding a camera.

I think next year I'll wear a helmet. And goggles.

Chris' big 3-0

Chris' birthday was on Saturday, so we had a little party with a little poker, a little Baggo and more than a little dessert.

After Erin and Sandor's wedding, Chris had requested a dessert bar for his party, so I obliged. (For those wondering, I made sugar cookies, brownies, carrot cake, stout cupcakes [made with Guinness], banana chocolate chip cookies and raspberry cheesecake cupcakes. Na brought pumpkin pie and Erin brought more cookies. We have plenty leftover, so feel free to drop by!)

Chris' birthday present was a new poker table. A friend also brought one so that we could have a tournament.

The Birthday Boy

Julie, Na, Erin and Me

As you can see, Scoop and Chris were both very excited about the party hats I made them ;-)
The cards didn't fall Chris' way in poker, but he had better luck at Baggo. We had a really good time and are so thankful for everyone who came and helped make Chris' party a fun one!

Happy Birthday, Chris!

Happy 30th Birthday to my best friend, and the most wonderful husband I could have ever hoped for. Here's to the next 30 years!

This and That

This week, I am back in school. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. I am looking forward to my classes, they all seem like they will be fun as well as educational. But it's my last semester, which also means focusing on my project and preparing to defend it. And at the end of the tunnel ... well, I just don't know what's there and it's freaking me out a little bit. Come January I'll need a job, and I'm hoping to find one that let's me apply what I've learned in grad school. It's made me very introspective lately, trying to figure out what exactly it is I want to do.

A couple other things that have made me introspective: I was having a conversation the other day with someone born in 1990 and came to the realization that I've been legally driving for 15 years. 15! Which of course means I've been legally able to drink for a decade. Good grief, where does the time go? We spent our Sunday shopping for trees for the backyard, so I feel oddly ... grown up? When did all this happen? Sometime in the last 15 years, I suppose ...

I realize this morning I missed a couple of blog milestones: My last post was the 300th, and last month I missed our second Blogaversary. Seems like I could have commemorated the occasions with some sort of special post, but instead you get me today babbling on about the nonsense rattling around inside my brain. Lucky you. Well, don't worry. I will make up for it this weekend with tales from Chris' birthday festivities!

Dog Days

On Monday, the Aces had a Dog Days of Summer promotion where you could, you guessed it, bring your dog to the ballgame. Of course, that was a deal that Scoop and I couldn't pass up, so we tagged along with our friends John and Julie and their dog Abby. The dogs got special Aces leashes and got to "parade" around the field before the game. Scoop was well behaved despite her excitement at all the other dogs and we had a fun time. Here are some pictures:

A Beautiful Wedding

Last weekend was Erin & Sandor's wedding at Lake Tahoe. The celebrating began with a barbecue at the lake on Friday night, and the wedding on Saturday. Everything was beautiful and the reception was so much fun!

The Bride & Groom

They had a dessert bar instead of a cake, which was a hit!

Yours truly made the cupcakes :-)

It began to rain just after the ceremony, which was kind of cool because the lighting made for good photos and there was a double rainbow! It has to be a good sign to have a double rainbow on your wedding, don't you think?

Team Gabel & Duran-Duran

The Bride and Me

Other fun touches at the wedding included a photo booth for the guest book (one copy for you, one for the guest book) and sparklers! It was truly a memorable day and we are so happy for Erin and Sandor!

Layover

Here's how well my family knows me: On the long plane ride from Tokyo to L.A., I told Andrea that maybe I should have specified that I'd want a burger when we grabbed a bite to eat during my long layover before my flight to Reno. Not only did they choose a burger place without my having to request it, but they picked a place that lets you build your own.

Gruyere Cheese, roasted red peppers, grilled onions and garlic aioli? Yes, please!
As a bonus, some people outside the restaurant were working on an Elvis sand sculpture.
Dre and her friend Kim joined me, Dad, Deb and Mena (who happened to be visiting from D.C.!) for lunch, and then headed home to Oxnard.
And the four of us headed over to Jen's, where we joined Juliette for a tea party. Uncle George and Jim came by, too.
Even though I was tired from traveling, it was so nice to see everyone, even just for a short time!