New Blog Name

So you also might have noticed that I changed the name of my blog. I loved the name "Marriage and Margaritas" because at the time I picked that name, it fit us. Now, we're a Panda family of 3, and I'm using the blog to keep track of events that have happened for our little growing household.

Pandas hold a very special place in Jake and my hearts. It's a looooong story, and a sort of inside joke, but Pandas are very important beings to us. I'll tell the tale of how they came to be so important, but for now, the name is changed. Enjoy!

Notice Something Different?

Like the blog revamp?? A possible new name is to come (perhaps, haven't decided yet).

I'm making a commitment to blog more. Figured the old girl needed some blog botox.

I also have some news regarding things that just started happening with Jake and I, but that's a different post. For now, I leave you with the beautiful new look of my blog. Idn't it purdy??

A "Racy" Night in October

So I wanted to tell you all about the night in October that was surreal and weird, to say the least.

This is a true story.

It was the night of October 24th/early morning October 25th. Time? Approximately 2 am.

I had heard Scarlett crying in her room while Jake was changing her diaper. I got up to see if he needed help, and he asked me to make her a bottle so he could rock her back to sleep. I obliged, sleepily measuring powdered baby-crack in the little scooper, and then shaking the closed bottle in a hurried fashion because I could hear Scarlett fussing in the next room. I knew I had to get her bottle to her. So I gave it to Jake and decided I would stay up for a little while and play online as I was awake and needed to get sleepy again.

As I sat in our big, comfy recliner in our living room, I heard police sirens in the distance. No biggie, I thought. We live right near 580 and people get pulled over on the main drag which is a block away from our house, all the time. But the sirens didn't stop. The kept going, and going and going. Suddenly, there was another noise that joined the late night wailing of police cruisers. It was a police helicopter, or "ghetto bird" as it's known to Jake and I. Uh oh, someone was busted big time! But the sirens wouldn't stop, they kept wailing, and they were getting closer. The helicopter's blades were so close, the living room windows started to shake. What the HELL was going on? Being the ambulance-chaser that the genes my grandfather gave me would prove, I got up from the chair and started into the kitchen. The window above the sink had a clear view of the main drag where the sirens seemed to be coming from, and I needed to know what was going on.

As I started walking to the doorway that leads to the kitchen, I heard it. A loud "SCRAPE" that sounded like metal against concrete. I looked quickly, just in time to see a dark SUV race up our street with sparks flying from the back! Following VERY closely behind was a police cruiser, and another, and another, and another, and another...and it goes on. One parked in front of our house, and I yelled for Jake to come into the living room. We looked out the front window, and saw a Sheriff run up the street with a rifle drawn. I knew this was trouble. I called the non-emergency police line and asked the operator if we should be on the lookout for anyone on foot, or were we in some kind of danger??? She said it was a high speed freeway chase, to lock our doors and windows and stay inside. I did just that, and turned off all the lights in the house. What does Jake do? Put on his shoes and run outside onto the porch. Obviously, someone seems to be more of an ambulance chaser than I am. Go figure.

When I knew we were safe, I joined Jake on the porch in time to see two of the men in the SUV escorted to the Sheriff's cars waiting for them at the bottom of the street, in handcuffs. They didn't look our way, and I stayed silent. A part of me was worried that they would remember me watching them get arrested, get out and come back for us. Weird, I know. It made sense at the time.

It turns out, there was an armed robbery in Windsor, which is an hour North of us. Three men held up a family for $2500, 8 lbs (yes POUNDS) of marijuana, and a cell phone. The victims broke free of their binds and called the cops. Shortly afterwards, the men were pulled over since they matched the description of what the victims told police. Well, Duh - it was them! They took off, and went through Sonoma county. Then they entered Marin county and exited off the freeway, then got back on. They decided to then cross the Richmond/San Rafael bridge which had a spike-strip waiting for them. They ran it over, and kept going, eventually loosing the wheel entirely right before getting on our side of the bridge. They decided to get off the freeway (we are the first exit after the bridge ends), and of all the streets and exits to take, they drove up ours. They got to the end of our street riding on three flat tires and a roader (sp?), only to have the car catch on fire when they reached the end of our street. The fire was put out and all three men were arrested.

Things of note usually happen when I'm not around, so this was definitely something that made up for it. It was nothing if not an adrenaline rush and scary as hell at the same time.

Haven't been abducted...

Oh my goodness! The last time I posted was in September!? WTH!!??

My poor neglected little blog. My readers (or what's left of them) are probably thinking I got abducted by aliens, or a 7-month old child...the latter being true.

So here's an update:

Scarlett is now 7 months old...yes...SEVEN months old. She'll be 8 months old on the 21st. And she now has teeth. Two on the bottom in the middle. What a battle that was. For the last 2 days before the first one cut through, she was a terror. But now that we know how to handle it (lots of freezable teething rings and THANK GOD for Hyland's teething tablets), we're pretty prepared. I know I say that and then I'll be thrown a serious curve ball in the teething department. Here's a picture of her tooth! Can you see it? Sorry the picture is so blurry. Taking a picture with a wiggly 7 month old isn't the easiest thing in the world. That and she just ate before the picture was taken, so please excuse the food on her cheeks.

We had a pretty quiet Halloween. My parents came up the day before for our local moms' group Halloween party to see Scarlett in her costume. She made an adorable strawberry.

We also had a "racy" Saturday night a couple of weekends ago. When I say "racy" I mean there was a high speed chase that spanned 3 counties, the Richmond-San Rafael bridge and it all came to a grinding (literally, grinding) halt at the end of our street at 2am. But that's another post altogether. Have I got you in suspense now? :)

Jake and I have decided to go to Disneyland for our 5 year wedding anniversary in May. We originally wanted to go back to Jamaica, but the price tag is a little hefty for us right now and we aren't comfortable with leaving Scarlett for a minimum of a week. Granted she'll be 14 months old, but still. So we've decided to drive down to LA for a few days.

If I remember anything else, I'll post I promise! Man I need to get back into the swing of things!

Scarlett - 6 months portraits

Here are some pictures of our Scooter we had taken this weekend. Enjoy!

30 Before 30 - Horseback Riding

One of the big things on my 30 before 30 list was wanting to go horseback riding again. I've always had a fondness for horses and if I could, I would go back in time and become an equestrian. There's something so beautiful about horses that draws me. I've gone riding a few times in the past, but not for a long time.

As part of the 6th anniversary (Sept 18) of Jake and my engagement, he decided it would be a good idea to go back to Monterey to visit the spot where he proposed. On the way, he made reservations to go horseback riding on the beach by the dunes in Salinas. We arrived about 30 minutes early, and were riding with three people from England, so they were eager to try "Western Style" riding.

The guide's name was Butch and he brought all but one horse out from the trailer and they were all saddled and ready to go. Jake got matched with the tallest horse there, which was a chocolate brown male named Moose. I got a reddish/brown and white patched female named Angel. The three English people got Geronimo, Dakota and Buddy. The one horse that was left behind in the trailer was Dunny, who according to Butch was "the biggest troublemaker" and it was quite apparent that he was right considering the fit Dunny had when Butch closed the trailer door. I felt bad for poor Dunny, but it wasn't hot and there was a breeze, so I knew Dunny would be OK in the trailer.

Angel is the brown/white one on the far left. Moose is the brown one on the far right.

So we began down the trail and onto the beach. We were just walking at a decent pace, the waves of the Pacific Ocean reaching the horses' feet, and up to their ankles. It was really beautiful.

Then it happened...

I was 2nd in line after Butch on his horse, and I don't really remember what happened exactly. All I could remember was Angel moving really fast, holding onto the reins while watching the ground get closer and closer, and hearing Butch say "WHOA WHOA WHOA". Then I hit the sand. I guess a wave spooked Butch's horse, which spooked Angel. She turned and began to freak out, and threw me. I remember hitting the ground and thinking "Oh God, don't get stepped on" so I quickly got back up. I wasn't hurt since the sand gave me a soft landing, but my butt and back were wet from the wet sand and I was embarrased. Butch got Angel by the reins and brought her back to me. He asked if I was alright, I said yes. He said "Are you sure?" and I said "Yes. I would tell you if something was wrong". I was shaking from the adrenaline a little bit, but I was OK, and he said "OK, are you going to ride?" I said "Absolutely". So Butch knelt down so I could use his knee as a step stool and I got back onto Angel. I never felt threatened or like I was in danger. It was an accident and I understood that. Accidents happen. I was fine. Butch kept hinting at his fear that I would sue the stables for negligence, but I assured him that it was no one's fault, I knew that falling was a possibility, and I didn't blame anyone for what happened. I could tell he was still nervous, but I kept saying "It's no one's fault".

Notice the wet sand on my lower leg and jacket? But also notice I'm smiling???

We rode up the rest of the beach, onto a trail and back to the beach headed the other way. When we got back to the trailer, Dunny was still there, making noises as if to say "Well well well, look what the cat dragged in". It was pretty funny. Jake and I thanked Butch for the fun time and I again said "I'm not angry. It was an accident. It's no one's fault." I even wrote an email this morning thanking the owners for the nice time and assuring them that nothing bad was going to happen from my end and that I would recommend them to anyone.


So my first 30 before 30 activity is completed. And I'm still alive. :) But I would go riding again in a hot minute.

See? I made it! :)

10 years ago...

I was a senior in high school, and my Dad was driving me to school. I was about a week away from taking my driver test. My Dad was about to turn the corner to drop me off when I got a call on my cell phone from my mom who was already at work.

"I want to make sure you're alright" she said.

"I'm fine, why?" I replied.

"Did you watch the news this morning at all?" she asked.

"No, I didn't have a chance to, why?" I asked back.

"A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center in New York."

"Oh, no I haven't heard anything, but I'm OK" I said.

"OK, well if you need anything, I'm here so give me a call. I love you" she said.

"I love you too Mom, I'll talk to you later."

I got onto campus, and a different energy than usual permeated the air. Something was horribly wrong, and I could feel it. I walked to a familiar hang out and a classmate was on the phone with his Dad, talking about what happened. "They think San Francisco is next" he told me. WHAT? What was going on? I got into my class early; I was a teacher's aide for the Photography class. He had the news going and that was the moment I first saw them. Both towers were standing tall above the New York skyline, dark smoke billowing from the tops like huge chimneys. I didn't understand, who would do this? America, my country that I am so in love with, was being attacked.

The class milled in slowly as the TV still played. That day, there was no going onto campus to work on projects, no students in the dark room to process images. The teacher made no demands to do any work. We all just sat together and watched. Towards the middle of class, the first tower fell. Shortly after, the second tower fell. My mouth dropped to the floor as I saw the buildings disappear into a massive cloud of dust, ash and death below. It was gone.

The teacher muted the TV and said "Class, I need your attention for a moment." We all turned his way to hear what he had to say.

"I don't know if you realize this, but we now live in a world where the World Trade Center no longer exists." Then it hit me.

I'd always had this idealistic view of my country. We were the beloved ones who did no wrong. No one could hate us so much to hurt us in such a way as that day. The rose colored glasses were ripped off my face. People hated us, somw so much to hurt us. The only reason the people did this the way they did is to just kill. Kill as many people as possible at one time to make a statement. Well, the statement was made. Point taken.

I didn't know how to react. I was just numb. I hadn't seen the planes go into the buildings, just the buildings themselves on fire and imploding. Through the rest of the day, there was no classwork, no lectures, no notes taken. It was all of us glued to the TVs, in disbelief that what had happened, happened. Then the end of my classes had come and my Dad was waiting to pick me up. As I sat in his truck on the ride home, I just stared into space. We stopped at the grocery store, and as I got out to follow him in, the tears came. They didn't stop. All my Dad could do was hold me in the parking lot of a grocery store. He said "I know. I know. I'm angry too."

That night my parents and I watched the news together and I got to see the planes go into the buildings for the first time. There were different angles of the impacts taken by different people. The one that hit me the most was a view from below of the 2nd plane. You could see the windows on the airliner plane. It hit me again. There were people on those planes who could see their deaths in front of them. I could imagine them praying, screaming, crying, holding each other. I could see them calling their loved ones to tell them they loved them one last time. It hit me again, and I cried uncontrollably. Our country was attacked, and it's innocent citizens were mass casualties of war.

Also during that day, I have a cousin who lives in New Jersey, but was working in Manhattan at the time. Her parents as well as the rest of the family were trying desperately to get a hold of her to make sure she was OK. She called us to let us know she was fine and had to take a ferry from Manhattan to New Jersey, and walk home to Hoboken. The whole journey took her about 7 hours if I remember correctly, but she saw everything happen from the roof of her office.

10 years later, the images still haunt me. I sometimes YouTube the videos to remind myself that what happened was real. Now I'm 27, married, have a 5 month old daughter and 3 cats. I had always wanted to go pay my respects in New York and visit Ground Zero. I feel I need to, still. I feel I need to go there to tell those that died that even though I wasn't there physically that day, that I think about them.

9/11/2001 - I will never forget.