Jackpot

Remember over the summer when I auditioned to be on a slot machine? Well, they hired me. The shoot was back in August, and on Thursday I got some of the proofs, just in time for Nevada Day - I mean, if your face on a slot machine doesn't say "Nevada" then I don't know what does ...

(Pictures of me are courtesy IGT. Bad Photoshopping in an attempt to get a slot machine effect done by me.)

Puppy Trial

You may recall that back in June, my mom's dog died. My mom decided to volunteer at the shelter, and ended up bringing home a dog who she named Mia. Mia, it turned out, was pregnant. Long story short, my mom ended up with not just one dog, but five. The puppies turned eight weeks old on Sunday, and Monday I went to Quincy to visit for the day. They were just so cute. Mom said we could take one for a week and then decide if we wanted to keep her. And, really, who could resist?
I sent Chris a picture and it turned out we both liked this one the best. She is really just so cute We are adjusting to having her here and she is adjusting to not having her sisters to play with. Poor thing, she's so small that she gets cold easily and it is snowing outside! But she is doing good and starting to get used to it here. And because I know someone will ask - no progress on a name yet ...

2011

So, it's fall y'all. And this Pumpkins sign hanging on our front door just 10 days before Halloween is the only decoration you'll find at our apartment. I had such visions.

• Glittered pumpkins.
• Painted pumpkins.
• Sugar skulls.
• Skeleton Shadow Boxes.

But there's no time. No time, and no room on the dining room table for a lovely fall centerpiece(it's where the homework happens.) So, fall will have to wait. Until 2011. But I'd love to know what kind of fun fall decorating projects you've been up to - so I can live vicariously.

At least nature is helping us a little with the fall scenery!

school days

I had two papers due today, so I've been pretty busy with school. (You might think that since I've been spending so much time on homework, Chris would keep the blog rolling for a few days ... but then if you thought that, you haven't been paying close attention around here. I'm not even sure he remembers his password anymore!) Anyway, even though I've been spending quite a bit of time at the library, we have managed to have a little fun since the last post.

Last weekend we went to a party at Erin's brother's house. This is the part of college Chris doesn't mind doing again. (Okay, he also proofread my papers. He is a good husband!)

Thursday night, Erin and Sandor had us over for a yummy fondue dinner.

And, on Saturday, my friend Katrina came up from Sacramento for her baby shower. I haven't seen her since she moved last winter and it was so great to see her - she looks so happy!

That about sums it up. Now, back to the books ...

Chris vs. Chris

Earlier this week, I was assigned to shoot video for the RGJ at Wolf Pack Media Madness, where the Nevada basketball coaches invite local media to go through a basketball practice. I was happy to go since Chris was going to participate. (You can go here to see that video on RGJ.com.) Below you can see the action from the one-on-one game Chris played against his friend and co-worker Chris Murray after practice. (I use the word "action" loosely, they were moving a little slow after practice.) Apparently, Murray won last year, but this week Gabel tied up the series.

Sale!

I decided to do the American thing and hold a Columbus Day sale in my Etsy shop. At first I thought I could just give a 20 or 25 percent discount, but in the spirit of the day, I instead went with free shipping! (Columbus? Shipping? Get it! I am hilarious.) And, it works out better for the buyer, too, since most items (bracelet pictured above not included) are $10 and shipping usually costs $3 - that's even better than 25 percent off! Anywho, feel free take a peek, tell your friends, and have a great weekend!

The thing about football is ...

I don't really understand it. I can never really enjoy watching it because, unless some dude is running into the endzone with a ball in his hands, I have no idea what's going on. I mean, I really have no idea. If only I knew someone who knew something about sports, someone who wrote about football for a living maybe, who could just explain it to me ...
So, we went to the UNR-UNLV game on Saturday, and the Wolf Pack went nuts in the fourth quarter, this much I understand. We won by a lot. But first, we tailgated. And, silly me, I forgot to take pictures after the first tailgate. (We made appearances at four.)

Sandor and Ray are really taking this tailgate business quite literally.

Inside the game, it was a little chilly. Chilly because of wind. My ears hurt.

But Nevada won, and kept the cannon, so that made for good times. Want to see more pictures? Click here.

After a while, crocodile

In the last couple of weeks, we've said goodbye to our friends Kyle and Vickie, who are off to do great things. Kyle plays basketball with Chris and they both were on my softball team and roommates of Erin and Sandor, so we've spent a lot of time with them. Kyle just got his PhD in something really smart and Vicki is just about to finish school to be a Physician's Assistant. Kyle left Saturday for his post-doc in New Zealand where he will be for two years. Vickie left earlier in the week to do her last rotation in Las Vegas before she graduates. After visiting Kyle in New Zealand for a few weeks, she will begin a residency in Baltimore. We will sure miss them both, but probably not as much as they will miss each other! Here are some pictures from going-away festivities:

Girls night, going-away dinner for Vickie

(Na, Tammy, Erin, Vickie, Jen)

Marcus, Dan and Kyle at Kyle's going-away party
(Marcus and Dan also play basketball with Chris)

Tammy, Erin, Keri and Na at Kyle's party

Old friends and a tailgate

One of the nice things about moving to Reno has been reconnecting with some old friends from high school. As fate would have it, our move happened not long after my high school reunion, so I had just gotten back in touch with some people I hadn't seen in years. We've spent a little time with Kristy, who now lives in Portola (this side of Quincy) and her husband Matt officiated our wedding. I started spending some time with Ashlie, who lived in Quincy when we moved up here and now lives in Reno. Although Julia and I hadn't been out of touch, we have been able to see each other more often, and that has been great. Also, when we first moved here, my friend Chad (who I've known since first grade) lived in Reno. We asked him to show us around town, and so he met us out for dinner one night and told us about some of his favorite spots ... and then he moved to Vegas a week or two later. But Chad and his girlfriend Theresa and, well, most of his family, come up here quite a bit for various reasons, so tomorrow we will see them tailgating before the UNR-UNLV game (we also saw them at the rib cook off last month and at an Aces game in July). Which got me thinking ... I have never been tailgating before. I did not exactly have the typical college experience, but can that be right? I'm afraid so - even after I moved to San Jose I only went to two football games because I was usually working Saturday nights at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Except there was this one time, in high school, where we all decided to "tailgate" for lunch. I realize it doesn't exactly qualify, but here we were ...I, apparently, was the one taking the photo. You may recognize a couple of the girls on the right, and that's Chad on the left. Although I'm sure this was fun, I'm looking forward to tomorrow and my first official tailgate (and hoping I can also get a ticket to the game - nothing like waiting until the last minute!)