DATE NIGHT

Bad news... Matt's overtime today was supposed to be canceled. Well, apparently there are protests going on in San Francisco against cops, something having to do with some guy that was shot by a cop on BART. (Bay Area public Transit something or other) So he got called in and has to go police the protest- which is against police officers! Not such a great place to be in my opinion.

So no date. :( He talked to his boss, and the guys said "tough potatos kid." Except he didn't say potatos... lol

And already (invented AND) made a bath of key lime cupcakes for him. :(

Big News! (I have a boyfriend!)

I know I have been so naughty lately! Not a post in two months! That's bad.

The honest truth has been, I haven't had much going on the last couple of months to talk about. Now there were some great things, I came out to visit Kristin in Utah, and I went through the Draper Temple, which was so beautiful and I totally loved the experience, I had a birthday, and Kristin came to visit me. So maybe I am wrong, maybe I have been busy!! lol

The biggest reason I am blogging today is because I have big, big NEWS! If you have been checking out my facebook, then you would see that I have a boyfriend now! Yay! We have been "going steady" for 2 weeks tomorrow. LOL It is such a ridiculously short amount of time, but ya, know. Whatever! We started dating 3-4 weeks ago.

Matt is a CHP officer in the Bay Area. He is 29, has been single for 4 years and is ready to settle down. He owns his own home, he has a couple of puppies, his career is settled and great and he loves it. He is just missing the family he wanted! So enter Emily!!! The perfect woman!! (That's what he calls me! :) )

For our first date we just met for coffee at Starbucks. (10% coffee, 45% sugar and 45% heavy cream lol) We talked for two hours and it was great. The only thing that killed me was he was wearing REALLY dark pants ( I thought they were black but he has since told me they were just jeans, but...) and BRIGHT, BLINDING white sneakers! Yuck! I felt like I needed to put some sunglasses on to shield me from the shine off his shoes!! lol But clothing can be changed and I have learned that first impressions are RARELY accurate (physically I mean) and never matter in the end so I just put it out of my head and ignored it and just had a good time.

Then, the torture part! I heard from him and talked to him right away but it took him like 6 days to ask me out again and then he had to cancel! I was DYING! lol I was thinking it wasn't going to go anywhere at all, and I actually made a date with an IT guy to meet for coffee. I was trying not to get attached.

The night I was supposed to go out with the IT guy, I was carrying my computer from my room to the living room to do some work, and the moniter fell off of it on one side! I was really freaking out and very upset. The IT guy canceled our date at that moment over text message (for another reason- he was tired and cranky) and then I was mad about that- especially since he wasn't very sympathetic to the drama that was going on at my house. So who could I talk to? MATT! So I sent him a text message about my computer and he was SO nice and sympathetic and attentive. He was really, really great and made me feel much better. So we started talking again! I don't remember if he was calling me at this point or not. But he was definetly texting me.

After texting all night I encouraged him enough and he got brave and asked me to come have lunch with him while he was working. (He was nervous to ask me out again because he liked me so much. How about that for a crazy reason to not ask for a date! But he was just afraid of messing it up, because he really liked me.)

I was WAY more nervous going to lunch than I had been when we met for coffee, and was really intimidated because he was in his uniform. (Uniforms are scary! But cute... but SCARY!) But we had a good conversation and a nice time and we gave each other a hug for the first time when he said goodbye. (He got a call and had to go.) After that he told me he wanted to take me out on an official, "real" date and go to dinner. So he asked me out for Friday. (We went to lunch Wednesday)

The next day he texted me alot and then asked if he got off early if he could come visit me! So he did! He came over after work and we hung out! He is allergic to cats, but he had thought ahead and took an allergy pill so he felt ok while he was here. We talked and hung out for a long time and then we went and got a pizza. Since I have been dieting for so long I haven't had a pizza in AGES!!! And it turns out, we both love the exact same kind of pizza- Pizza Hut, with a pan crust. Ooooh it was so good! Deep fried bread- YEAH! So we had dinner, and the whole time he had been here he was on one couch and I was on the other. So after dinner I asked him to come sit by me, and it just sort of happened naturally we were sort of snuggling up and I was holding the cat (lol) and we just looked at each other and kissed! Whewhoo! I remember I said, "I did not think you would be kissing me for the first time when I had a baby in my arms!" (I was holding my kitty Amelia. LOL)

So anyway, the next day he had off from work I think, and we basically hung out the whole day. I don't even remember what we did. I think maybe we went to Ernesto's for dinner. (Where Kristin and I went!) It is a really great mexican place, and it has live marriachi. The funny thing is we basically couldn't talk through the whole dinner because the music was SO LOUD. THey came and played right by our table and basically we could only communicate by rolling our eyes at each other about the marriachi band! lol

We had a good dinner, and we talked about alot of things in the car to and from the restaurant. He told me about loosing a colleague at work, and I told him about the problems I have had with depression and being home alot, etc. He was really empathetic, and didn't mind, and didn't think it was a big deal. He even said he was really happy that I felt comfortable enough to tell him. I thought that was great. I was really nervous about it, but I just started telling him randomly in the car, and there you go!

Anyway, we got home and we were going to watch a movie and what do you know we started talking and I said "Do you want to be my boyfriend?" And he said Yeah! LOL So that is how I got a boyfriend.

I am really, really, happy. He is really sweet, and loving and I know he has BOTH of our best interests at heart. He told me he only believes in dating for marriage and not for just for the sake of dating. He has told me over the last couple of weeks that he has really high hopes for us- that we will get married and have babies "down the road". That is his favorite phrase in realtion to this subject! He is very enthusiastic about the idea that I am the right person for him, but when he says "down the road" all the time I keep thinking he is not going to marry me until I am 40 or something. Which I know makes no sense but I just keep thinking that! He is 29 and he has said before though that he wants to be DONE having kids before he is 40. And he has already agreed to having 5 kids with me. LOL So 5 kids, 2 years between them, that's 10 years! So he has 1 year to marry me I guess! lol

In all honesty there is no timeline or anything, it will happen when it happens, IF it happens. BUT, I do really feel (knock on wood) that this is the right person for me. If I made a list of all of the qualities I want in a husband, a partner, someone to spend my life with, he has every single trait I could wish for. He is so considerate, and attentive and he really listens to what I say. Last week he came to my house and made me dinner. He brought me flowers- they were beautiful!- becauseI had said I had only ever gotten flowers once before in my life. He made me dinner, and I made a 4 layer raspberry cream torte chocolate cake with ganache frosting, which I basically invented as I went along. The dinner was really good and he made me a HUGE bowl of guac! (Because that's my favorite food!) I was telling him not to let me see the raw chicken because I really hate raw meat and I never cook meat. I was telling him how I was always asking my brother in law to grill me some chicken breasts someday. He asked me a couple questions about how I liked my chicken, and he said, I can do that for you! And guess what! The next time I saw him, there he was with a bag of grilled chicken, just for me! :)

I am really happy. He makes me very happy. I feel like the luckiest girl to have found someone so nice and kind and loving. He has already told everybody he knows (literally!) about me, including his parents, and has been showing off my picture because he thinks I am beautiful. It has been really great. I hope we get to spend alot of time together and get to know each other really well. I hope that this is it for me. I really cannot imagine someone more perfect, but you never know, so let's just hope! Hope, hope, HOPE! I know he would take good care of not just me, but my heart too. :)

I just got word from Matt that his overtime for Sunday was canceled, so I can see him then! So hopefully I will get some cute pictures of us then! :)

COMING UP WITH A PLAN

So I have really been struggling lately with what I want to do, my goals, my motivtion and my energy levels.

I am just tired all the time, I hve no energy to do anything. So I am taking care of it with the doctor/therapist and everything, and I am better than I was 6 months ago, but it is still really rough for me. Nothing excites me or motivates me anymore. I can't even keep my house anything less than a disaster area. In the past I don't think I have ever let it get this crazy and it really bothers me now, but I just haven't been able to deal with it.

I did have one little thing that happened this week that I was really excited about.

I am considering preparing to buy a house.

(Pause for reaction)...


Yes, although I am a photographer, I do consider myself to be essentially unemployed. But I also have savings, half of which I put away myself and the other half of which was savings bonds from my Grandparents given to me as a baby, specifically for a house.

I had always had this little fantasy and always thought I would buy my first house with my husband. But you know, when I looked into it, the monthly payments on a condo would actually be LESS than my rent now, and it's going towards OWNING something. Not to mention the fact that house prices have crashed and are continuing to crash, meaning it's the perfect time for someone like me to buy.

The very first listing I looked at was a 1100 square foot condo, 2 bedroom 2.5 bath for $70,000 and monthly payments of $331.00 a month. I about choked on that one. It was much older, and in a crummy surrounding neighborhood (although a desirable location, very close to downtown and shopping and running trails and the river) so I was definetly NOT interested, but WOW. Isn't that neat? It's what spurred the "this would be such a neat idea" thing and I really started looking.

I live on the edge of a new area called Natomas, which is just north of downtown. It's all brand new, very trendy, and has 4 In-N-Outs within like 5 miles. My kind of place. LOL

So I looked at some condos (just online) and saw a couple I REALLY liked. They were between $99,000 and $149,000, all were 2 bedrooms, mostly at least 2 baths, mostly 2 car garages.

It is really exciting. It is the first thing that has excited me at all in almost year. (Besides Maurice's, 5 pound bags of chopped Reese's and homemade yeast donuts)

I talked to my dad about it and he was actually really supportive. He told me to get a job, quick as I can, clear off my credit card, and sock away the rest of what I need for a downpayment. (Or to "steroid up" my photography business- I guess I could do a little of both.)

So maybe in the next 6 months to a year I will be buying a house!!

Here are some pretty pictures to admire.



This first one (above) is $139,000, 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath, built in 2006, is 1,197 square feet and a 2 car garage. It is also DETATCHED! It's like real house, even though it's a condo!!!
These next two pictures go together, the first is the interior, and the next is the exterior. This one is $149,900 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,519 square feet, built in 2004 nd has two garage spaces.



This is the last one, and this is the one I really fell in love with first. I actually went and did a drive by, I couldn't find the unit but I drove through the development and really loved it. I was both in REAL walking distance from my gym (seriously!), walking distance from my friend's house, Arco Arena (seriously!) and Starbucks. SCORE!!!
It is $149,000, 2 bedroom, 2 bath built in 2006, has 1,067 square feet, two garage spaces and A HOT TUB/JACCUZZI, built it! AHHHHH! That means it has a small backyard too, although it isn't mentioned! How awesome is that?! I really would like to go look at this one.

So, what do you think?

SHOPPING! SHOPPING! SHOPPING!

What have I been up to the last month? SHOPPING! I have become obsessed with shopping for the best deals and poor (LOL I'm kidding) Kristin has become my victim.

Since I don't have a boyfriend, or human children of my own ( my cats have more toys than they can play with anyway at this point) but I love to buy presents, and spend money I don't have, or sort of have... I have been obsessively discount shopping.

Now I won't tell you how much I spent, but I will tell you how much I saved!

I bought clothes at Mervyn's right when they were closing their store and everything was just a couple of bucks apiece! I bought clothes for all of the kids, some sheets for myself and a USC blanket for my Dad for Christmas, and my recipet said I SAVED almost $300.00!!! It was crazy! And I spent like nothing!

My friend Natalie was telling me about how to get nice clothes, like from Janie and Jack new with tags on eBay, so I bid on some things and got them for 65% off!

Then I was on Old Navy's website, and THEY were having a clearance too! Everything was 75% off, and THEN they discounted it 50% off that... so you were only paying 12.5% the original price!!! I saved around.. I would guess... $500? at least. I have been trying to figure out the math over here and I can't do it. LOL

THEN Kristin suggested I start looking at the Children's Place, so I went on their website and they were having a clearance sale too! First everything was 30% off, and THEN, I got a coupon on a website for an additional 15% off, so everything I got was 45% off! YAY!!!

I think I did really good. I tried hard to get good deals and it was so much fun to do all of the shopping and I hoped it was fun for the Peterson's to get some good stuff in the mail. I know I love getting surprises, and it was just as fun to send them off as it is to receive them.

Another place I shopped at was WalMart. They were clearancing all of their Christmas stuff, and they had all of these stickings full of cat toys for $2 each- and it was for like 10-12 toys! What a good deal! So I bought 4 stockings full of toys and then I went to the baby department and got 4 fleece blankets on sale for $3 each! So I took all of these things, wrapped them up and sent them to the Animal Lovers Assistance League in North Carolina where I adopted my cat Amelia from. I found my cat on Petfinder.com and the shelter said they would send her on the plane for me! So they got all of her health certificates and everything and a volunteer took her to the airport, checked her in and called me to let me know she was on her way! They went to alot of trouble to get her to me, and I always wanted to give back so i was glad to write this letter thanking them and saying how much I love my kitty cat and so I donated the toys and blankets to the shelter to the other kitties still "looking for mommies and daddies" lol. I thought it was cute. And it was fun. I put a snoopy sticker on the address label too.

So that is what I have been up to on the shopping front. I think I am all done with shopping. I keep looking at stuff, but I think I hit all of the great sales there were, and I think I got a little something for just about everyone I know. LOL

So now my goals are to 1.) stop shopping, 2.) start going to the gym again and lose those last 24 pounds until I hit my goal (I gained 12 over Christmas, so now I have twice as far to go!!!) 3.) stay strong in continuing to look for a job. 4.) start studying for the baby bar again, which I have decided I am going to take. (by they way I did not pass in october, I found out around christmas)

I think that is about it. So wish me some encouragement and dedication and hard working vibes and stuff!

HUCKLEBERRY HOUND!

First off, my mom is doing ok, and is staying at a hotel for now. The insurance agent came by today and said they they are going to replace the fireplace, walls (it's burned in between the walls), carpet, all of the hardwood floors, and some other things. Also the house has to be treated for smoke damage. The fire investigator hasn't been out yet, so they can't close up the hole yet.

Here are some pictures of the damage she sent me:














OK, next up, I made Parisian Macaroons for the first time! Everybody says how difficult they are to make but I did not think they were that bad and they were by far the most tasty, delicious, delightful, wonderful cookie I have ever had in my life. They are so light and fluffy... oooh!

I just followed the recipe on Martha Stewart's website, and then I added purple dye to the batter, and then I put huckleberry preserves in between each sandwich instead of her filling. But I plan to make a variety for christmas in different colors. I am not sure how well the cookies will hold up with the preserves in them, so I am putting them on a few tonight, and will see if they survive until morning.

MY MOM

Just got a call about 15 minutes ago (It's 130am) that my mom's house is on fire. She got the cat and dog and Tony and herself out, but she forgot even her wallet and financial records- i just sent her 3 huge packages of christmas presents that arrived today, they all got left in the house. At least they are all safe.

When she called she said the fire department was cutting a hole in the roof/wall to get to the fire, I guess it is burning between the walls.

She said she kept smelling smoke but couldn't find anything, and then before she went to sleep, she looked one more time and saw smoke in the family room and the fireplace was on but the switch was off (not totally sure what that means, I can guess, I am just quoting) and so she woke up TOny, they called 911, got the animals and got out. I think a neighbor was out there with her watching the firetrucks, there are FOUR there right now.

Prayers, please. This was her retirement house, her first new house ever to live in for the rest of her life, until she died, all of her hopes and dreams were in that house, I hope they are ok.