Lunch Break

I have been chatting with Mother Nature lately. See, in moving out here, I expected to escape the awful Kansas winters. And so what happens my first winter away? Kansas doesn't have a winter! So I have been considering asking for a refund.

But Mother Nature, you saucey vixen you, you finally gave Kansas a taste of winter. So while my mom spent her lunch doing this:

I spent mine here:

Jacob & I are trying to bring our lunches to work with us while still being able to get out of the office for the hour. Today we spent our lunch hour here. And we saw dolphins! Thank you, Mother Nature.

Motivation to get on the StairMaster...

Ladies, do you ever feel like others are judging your ass? Never as much as these guys...

Bird's Eye View

The zoo has an aerial tram that you can ride to get from one side of the zoo to the other. It's amazing to see the zoo from above!

This picture is of one of the four aviaries.

In the zoo, you forget that the zoo is in the middle of downtown San Diego.

Even while the tram car shook a bit, we were all smiles!

Monkeying Around...

Haha..super punny, right?

The SD Zoo had SO many monkeys! Primates? Is that more politically correct? Either way...there were a lot!

The gorillas were our first stop. While we were checking out this troop, a zoo keeper came out to talk about all of the gorillas at the zoo. We heard about the three troops and learned a little about each member...the silverback, the surrogate mother, the babies. That made this exhibit extra special.

This guy was one of the younger sons of the male in the troop. Pretty playful guy.

Here is the troop's silverback. Definitely wouldn't want to get on this guy's bad side!

And here are a couple more pictures of the zoo's many many primates.

This little guy was quite the ham. As we walked up to his area he let out a little cry and came running towards the fence. He spent a bit of time watching us and then started showing off by jumping on the vines and screeching.

They were all super cute and Jacob and I tossed around the idea of bringing one home...but then we remembered that with the exception of the gorillas, they were all smaller than our cats...and our cats can attack!

Playing Hookie

Jacob & I had Friday off from work so we took the opportunity to cross something off my bucket list. Visiting the San Diego Zoo! We felt like we were playing hookie the whole day...it was great!

We took a lot of pictures, so I'll try to post some in the next few days.

Oh My Darlin' Clementine...

We are lucky enough to have a wonderful, year-round Farmer's Market nearby. Walking through the stands, tasting free samples, and buying fresh produce for the week is part of our typical Sunday routine...when are aren't too terribly lazy.

These clementines are our newest addiction. Jacob will come home from work and eat four of them in the first half hour of being home!

Happy 2012

A new year has begun! (which means I now have to get used to naming all of my work files '12...wish me luck)

The past year was full of some huge changes & opportunities & challenges for us. Seaton had surgery. I had sewing weekends with two of my best girls. We traveled to Florida for another best friend's wedding. Warren (my perfect 'nephew') was born. Jacob graduated. I left my job. We packed up our things & cats & said goodbye to Manhattan. We drove half way across the country to take a shot at a life in California. I met more of Jacob's wonderful family. He started a new job. My grandpa had a stroke. I started a new job...working four feet away from Jacob. We made some new friends. We saw the Dodgers & LA Kings play. We spent holidays at the beach. We missed the family & friends we left.

In all, 2011 was a great year. I hope that while 2012 continues to surprise, challenge, & reward us, we are able to smile at the end of the day & be thankful for everything we have. I hope that we continue to take advantage of all that this new life has to offer us...starting with going to the Rose Bowl! Look for us...45 yard line...4th row!

Happy New Year!