Camping at Big Basin

Nick and I went camping last weekend with some friends. We went to Big Basin and stayed at an RV site (with no RV). It was really fun. We got there Friday afternoon around 3. After setting up the tents and exploring around a bit, we had some dinner. We had excellent BBQ. After eating, we sat around and talked while playing some instruments. Not quite sure how the time passed, but it was so nice sitting around having nothing to do! The weather was beautiful and warm. We chose an excellent weekend to go camping because it was 100 degrees in the city. After having a night of interrupted sleep (due to the hard ground), we all got up and made some breakfast. Shannon made some eggs and sausage while Kelly made a vegetarian egg dish (with tofurky)!! The above video is Nick trying to open a can of black beans with pliers!!! After we were all full from breakfast, we went walking in the river.
It was a perfect way to stay cool during the hot day. We all splashed around and had fun trying not to fall. After a few hours, we all had bruises on our tailbones from falling in the water. I went through a few pairs of pants. Here is the result of one fall...
For the rest of the day, we sat around and ate a fantastic dinner and had s'mores. YUMMY! When we left on Sunday, we were all dirty but happy to have had such a great weekend with great friends!

San Diego

Greetings from San Diego. On April 17-19, Nick and I ventured down to San Diego, CA. It was great to get away from every day routine. On Thursday, we flew via Southwest Airlines to Sunny San Diego. It was gorgeous weather when we got there. We got a rental car that was a dinky little car. It was a Chevy Aveo. It literally went 0-60 in 45 seconds. It was a great commuter car, though. Being the penny pincher that I am, I got us reservations at the cheapest budget motel. We stayed at the Travelodge in La Mesa, CA. It was kind of ghetto! Ha ha. It was a good place to sleep, though. We took a trip out to Coronado. The hotel and beach were gorgeous. We took lots of pictures.

On Friday, we went to the San Diego Zoo. It was a gorgeous 80 something degrees. We both got a little sunburnt, but it was awesome to see all the different animals. I took pictures of both the sign and the animals. We saw hippos, camels, elephants, jaguars, etc. A lot of zoo's are only somewhat interesting, but this zoo had everything we could ever want in a zoo! The new/main exhibit was the panda exhibit. There was actually a line to go into the exhibit. There were signs everywhere telling everyone to be quiet. It was interesting to watch it eat bamboo, though.
When we got back on Saturday, we were ready to be home. As fun as San Deigo was, it is always good to be home.

Spring has Sprung

This weekend, it has been in the 80's. Down the hill, the heat has almost been unbearable. At our house, we have the heat, but the shade of the trees. The flowers have been BLOOMING! The lilacs have fully bloomed. Their smell is intoxicating. Betsy has done an amazing job with planting all over the property! We were joking today about charging people $5 to take a tour of the property. They all laughed, but if you looked at the property, you would start taking out your wallet immediately. We had two BBQ's today because the weather was amazing. I am so lucky to live up here.

Another day at the office

Monday through Friday from 7:15 AM until 5 PM, I am in my cubicle at Gilead Sciences. When my boss went on vacation a few weeks ago for a week, he left me in charge. His job is so complicated. It isn't the exact duties, but rather the manager's demands. They act like if something isn't approved automatically, it is life and death. Long story short, I made it through the week!! My manager took me to an appreciation lunch at a nice Italian restaurant. I thought that was a good way to show that he appreciated me. The real surprise came today. My manager's manager, the Director of Business Operations, forwarded me an email that my manager (Kevin) had written him. In it, Kevin said "Emily is the one who impacted me last week. Emily continues to impress me with her motivation to learn. The thing that impressed me most about her work while I was out was that she knew when to take control of the situation and make a decision but she also knew when to ask for help. She went to the right people and kept things moving right along. Good help is hard to find and I am so happy to have her by my side." I cried when I read it. I am so thankful for a manager like him. He is so great to work with/for. He is one of the main reason's I love my job. Well, he is out of town again for the next 3 days. I started the day with my "dirty Chai" so that I would have energy for the busy tasks ahead....

My New hair cut

This morning at 9 AM, I drove to Santa Clara to get my hair cut by a woman named Lindsey Harman. She has cut my hair once before, back in October. I loved it so much, that it is worth the hour drive to get my hair done. She does it in the privacy of her own home. I am so glad my sister-in-law, Wendy, referred me to her. The haircut she did is an "A" line cut. The back, bottom layer is a deep chocolate brown. The highlights are an auburn color. She left in the blonde highlights that I had from my past hair cut. It took about 3 hours, but with the end results, it was well worth it. I will definitely recommend her to everyone. I feel sassy yet older with my haircut! Let me know what you think.

Bailey

Whoever said that dog was man's best friend, must have met Bailey. She is the sweetest dog. Everytime I come home, she will not let me walk 2 feet unless I pet her. Even after giving her a quick rub down, she starts making a noise letting you know that she wants you to keep petting her. When you are trying to have a conversation with someone, she will lean against you with all her body weight and make a noise that is hard to ignore. Even with all her faults (like leaving us "presents" on the path way between the car port and our house) she always shows how much she loves you. During the day, no one is around, so she lies on the steep driveway. I think this has contributed to her arthritis on one side. She is always excited to go on a walk, but she walks not very quickly and sideways. Whenever I start getting angry with her for going slowly, she looks up at me with those loving eyes. It is hard to resist loving her. She is also a very good watch dog. There has been nights where I hear her barking and chasing away the raccoons that invade our property. If only she didn't smell so much like a dog.............

Monterey

Nick and I went to Monterey a few weekends ago. My fantastic manager gave Nick and I a magnificent present of a gift certificate to the Monterey Plaza Hotel. We started out by stopping in Santa Cruz to grab some pizza. From there, we drove to Carmel. The streets of Carmel are magnificent. Unfortunately, we can only window shop because everything is so expensive there. After a few hours, we went to check in at the Monterey Plaza hotel. I felt really out of place. They were so cordial. The hotel was magnificent, though. It had a beautiful view of the ocean. At night time, we walked up and down cannery row. We finally ended up at a fancy restaurant. All the table's were set around the outside of the restaurant (whose walls were basically windows). We both ordered some delicious steak. We were good and denied dessert! The next day, it was picture time. Out of all the pictures, this is the cutest, by far. It is one to definitely print out and put in a frame. I look forward to our next weekend trip.