Sh...be vewy vewy quiet. I'm hunting burds...

The day after we got back from Palm Springs, the weather was still remarkably warm. Time to head out to the island...as apparently everyone else decided...

Once on the island, we caught some rays and then decided to take the kids for a boat ride. Tess still wanted in that water more than anything in the world. But it was such a beautiful day...Lounging and relaxing.

Snaggletooth over there was determind to catch a seagull or pelican. She almost hopped out of the boat a few times. She's such a good example of her breed.

Tuckman was way more mellow and just took small naps the whole ride.

I'm so sad to see this lovely weather go. I am not one of those people who enjoys cold weather and I am seriously considering moving to Barbados where the average temperature is 80º year round. But I am thankful for these few surprising warm days...as is Tess.

It's my party....

Having a birthday January isn't bad in itself. It's only bad when the only thing you've ever wanted since 2nd grade was a pool party and having a birthday in January. That's all I have ever wanted. All of my friends growing up had birthdays in the summer months, I went to pool party after pool party and longed for my own. But living in the high desert in January, it usually snowed on my birthday. When this freak warm weather appeared last week, it figured that right when I was too old to have a pool party, the weather would have been perfect. To bad I'm too old for one right?....
Mr. Bumblebee and I had made plans to head out to the dessert with his family. It just happened to work out that the weather was going to be great so we were pretty excited. And it was gorgeous when we got there.

As we turn the corner where the community pool is for the family's desert house is, Mr. Bumblebee stops and rolls down the car window. "Hey, what's all that??". I look (damn eyesight) and see everyone there at the pool. "Hurry, lets get to the house and change so we can go swimming too!" Mr. Bumblebee so calmly says "Look closer..." I see balloons, presents and a huge banner that says "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MRS. BUMBLEBEE!" EEK! My husband planned a surprise pool birthday party for me! It was just his side of the family but it meant so much to me that they all came and participated for me! The whole thing was so sweet, and it even included my favorite Bumblebee Balloon!

I hate to admit, but I'm not easy to surprise. I love to figure them out and I actively seek out information when I know someone is planning something for me. This time, I HAD NO IDEA! I was totally surprised. Mr. Bumblebee was quite pleased with himself. I started to open presents before we went to the house to change, Bumblebee In laws were overly generous and got me a sewing machine...AH! I've been dying for my own since I've been borrowing my mother's on and off. So excited!
I got yummy brownies for a cake and even had candles to blow out! It was so sweet and so thoughtful!

I got to lounge at the pool with Bumblebee MIL all day practically. It was so enjoyable. The weather was perfect, the pool was sparkling, and I was with my family! Mr. Bumblebee played a round of golf and when he got back we had a great dinner with my favorite potato dish. Yum! Then we played Scene It! Where I kicked some major butt if I do say so myself. It's kinda of embarrassing to be that big of a movie buff. We toasted Bumblebee SIL and FBumblebeeBIL's engagement and had a great time.

After we left, Mr. Bumblebee and I stopped in a Casino just to get out some gambling desires we had. We came out with 2 dollars more than we had after 1 hour of gambling. NOT BAD!

It was such a good weekend and I love love love love Mr. Bumblebee even more for remembering my desire for a pool party and surprising me with one. Apparently you are not too old for a pool party at 24.

Ah...back on the island

The weather last week was such a treat. I hate cold weather. There are those people who, around Nov. start wishing for cold weather. They claim they like to bundle up and listen to the rain. I am not one of those people. I want 78º weather everyday. I was thrilled when it was just that in Newport Beach for a week. I couldn't have been happier. So when it got warm, the first thing we thought was...the island. Balboa Island that is.

Poof it was warm.

The tide was unusually high. Beautiful sunset.

No island trip is complete without a Balboa Bar. There is much controversy over the original balboa bar. Sugar and Spice I think is the original one, however we still prefer Dad's because of the variety of toppings and friendlier service.

My usual is butter brickle and sprinkles. SO FREAKING GOOD!

After our balboa bars, it was time to head home. But one more shot of the gorgeous sunset.

Ah...Back on the island.

24 years ago...

24 Years ago...I was born a Bruin

22 years I realized I had a friendship that knew no boundaries

21 years ago I found my touchstone
9 years ago I met this guy...

Almost 2 years ago I married the guy

And today...
I turn 24!

Obamamania!

I made these in honor of our new president last night. What a magical day. History in the making. Loved it all!

A New Hope...

So excited.

Let's work together to turn this country into everything it can be.

Dancin' Queen!

MY BABY SISTER IS 21!!

I can't believe it! My little sister is 21 years old. It's scary! I am so glad we can celebrate this day with her because it might have been completely different if things had panned out differently. I love her so much and I can't wait to celebrate with her. I love you Bebe!

News Flash: Mountain Man Update

It's been a running joke about Mountain Man cousin and his "mountainmanliness" and such. We all joke about how he needs to shave it all off. At one point his hair was at his shoulders. It was better conditioned than my hair. It's all in fun and games but recently, he surprised us all and....

Shaved!!

However, we are already hearing plans about regrowth. Eh, it was good while it lasted...

Love ya Mountain Man!

Dog Day Afternoon

Well, this blog is entitled Puppy Lovin' Reflections. Since the new year started, I haven't mentioned our beloved Tess and Tucker a whole lot. Rest easy, they are doing well. Thanksgiving morning we woke up to another Cherry Eye for Tucker. Ugh. He went into surgery the next day and is 100% better now. They were spoiled rotten during Christmas and loved having me home for about 2 weeks while I was off of work.
This past weekend there was a Cocker Spaniel Meet at our local Irvine Dog park. We hauled our kids over there to join the fun. There was probably 30+ Cocker Spaniels there. It was a blast.

Between Tess and Tucker, Tess is the only one who cares about fetching...even then she holds the ball so lightly in her mouth because she hates the dirt on it. After she drops it, she "spits" all the dirt out and shakes her head. Mommy's girl.
Get Ready....

Go!

I have a special place in my heart for weenies. Ask my cousin Amber about it. I saw this old timer with her little vest, her name was Spoli. She was soooo cute! She went up to everyone, barely able to walk, greeting and wagging her tail. She had horrible cataracts and couldn't hear for the life of her but she was a sweetheart! I love her little vest too.

Some of my favorite parts...she was filthy after this day.

Tess isn't much of a social pup. She's the dog that if she were human, she'd be off in a corner with her Lisa Frank folders talking about Ligers. But that is just one more reason I love her to pieces.

My kids. One of the few photos we got of Tuck...he was sooo busy hanging out with the other puppies that he never held still long enough.

We had such a good time talking to the other humans and watching all the puppies together. There is something about Cocker Spaniels and their wiggles that makes me melt. The pups came home that day and knocked out for the rest of the day and the whole day after. That, my friends, is the reason we do these playdates.

Did someone say Chorizo?

Last Sunday morning we called my little sister to see if she wanted to meet up in Seal Beach. While attending CSULB, we had found a little gem. Now, I'm not gonna rave about this place because it's nothing too much to rave about. But it definitely met college student standards, it's reliable, and it's yummy. Nick's has been on Main Street in Seal Beach for forever it seems. They have newspaper clippings that they are mentioned in on the counters and walls. I have only ordered something other than their famed "Breakfast Burrito" a few times, but their sandwiches and salads are very good too. All the items are fresh and made to order. If you make it out to Nick's on a Saturday or Sunday morning, be prepared to wait a while. Full of surfers and half sober college students, it's a hopping place between 8-11am. They close at 4pm I believe so don't wait too long to get there.

The inside is nothing fancy but they do have 2-3 t.v.'s showing the latest sport games on. They have a small eating area inside, a few chairs in front of the store, and a newly acquired patio to the right. It's still very hard to find seating so you'll find a lot of people eating on benches around the area or on the curb. The beach is only a block away so it's great to get it to-go and have a picnic.

This is their famous breakfast burrito. Comes in a huge homemade tortilla, huevos, chorizo, bacon, cheese, y papas. Mmmm...muy sabroso! I don't care how bad chorizo is for you...I love the stuff!! Everything is evenly distributed in the burrito. It's one of my pet-peeves to bite into a burrito and get a solid taste of one of the ingredients and so on...I want bites with everything in them.

We decided to walk afterwards, the pups were with us and needed to get some wiggles out.
For those who are curious, my sister is doing well. So well that I'm surprised "it" even happened. For the most part, you couldn't tell. There are a few times when it's evident. She still has some issues to work out, but my goodness...she's a rock.

Before we left, we attempted to walk the dogs along the beach. However, Ms. Tess' mission to ride the OC of all bird life kicked in and we had to get her out of there pronto before she killed me or a bird.
I used to HATE the idea of living anywhere but LA. Now that I'm in the OC, it's starting to grow on me. We just gotta make a lot of trip to LA.

7 Days and Counting...

My sweet thoughtful husband bought us tickets to see the Phantom of the Opera on my birthday. Cheeseball? Yes. I saw it once when I was a little girl and it has been one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. The music is beautiful and the story is hopelessly romantic. Now...anyone wanna throw out some restaurant recs my way for before hand?

P.S. If you like the soundtrack and are a violin player like myself, you'll appreciate this. The whole score with a violin and cello. I melted into my sofa when I heard this.

Delurking is Delightful!

Apprently, Delurking Day was Monday. I'm late on this but I wanna know who is reading my blog. I know some of you are and aren't commenting...let me know who you are and I'll give you a shoutout! Comeon'....do it for the puppies:

Vroom Vroom!

I wanted to start the New Year off on a good foot. I wanted to make this year about my husband and I. We've gone through a lot this past year and it made us stronger than I ever thought we could be. He's my best friend. So I wanted to give him a day. I know he's wanted to go to the Petersen Museum in Hollywood for sometime. When I heard they were doing an America's Most Beautiful Roadsters collection gallery, I knew we had to make a trip there. He was so stoked.

P.S. Sadly, after I uploaded this photos, I realized that I am wearing EXACTLY what I wore on New Year's Eve. This Bumblebee has more than 1 outfit and I do laundry all the time. This is what I wore strictly because it accentuated my new Cupcake Shoes perfectly. Just so you know...

Bugatti EB110 - Hey you can't live with this kind of car lover and not be able to know what these cars are...

My dad works for the United States Postal Service...this photo just pisses him off I'm sure...haha.
When I heard they had a cafe, I sighed a sigh of relief...until I found out it really was an Automatic Cafe (get it...) oye vey.

I settled for Sunchips and a Dr. Pepper

This is Tucker's namesake. Yes we named our dogs after cars. It was a compromise. Mr. Bumblebee originally wanted Mini for Tessa but there is a new hot car called the Tesla roadster and I loved the named Tess so we compromised. With Tucker I thought it was adorable and Mr. Bumblebee imagined this:

Fred Astairs 1927 Towncar blinged out in some old school Louie...

Crazy bike...freaked me out because where the eye sockets were...the headlights were...eek!

Probably my fave car of the day...I love roadsters.

I have a about 300 more photos, but we won't bore you...go pay the 5 bucks and see it yourself.

After we spent several hours gazing at the pretty cars, we headed over to The Grove. It was such a relaxing fun day. I loved watching my sweet husband's face light up whenever he saw a car he loved. I got a lot of "Oh babe, this car is awesome...it has a front end of 'this' and a back end of 'that'", he was in his glory.

I was surprised at how well the museum was at captivating the interest of people who might not be as car crazed as Mr. Bumblebee. It was really interesting and fun to be honest.

Later when Mr. Bumblebee was on the phone with Bumblebee MIL, she mentioned to him that she was pretty sure his grandfather's company helped build the museum. With the date of his grandfather's death coming up soon, it was a sweet idea and heartwarming thought to see how he still effects us day in and day out.