The Walnut Creek Parking Gods

I admit that I have a problem with paying for parking tickets. Since starting to work part-time at Ann Taylor Loft I have accumulated about three (now four) of these pesky pieces of paper. I don't forget to pay them, I simply just don't. I parked in two hour parking for six hours, so what? I'm not really sure how it is that I reason with myself. Instead of sucking it up and sending in my $25 bucks, I wait until it becomes $35 (maybe even $50, I'm really not sure). I decide that I'd rather have some new shoes (or something worth shelling out the money for). Yes, the thought of the parking tickets I need to pay still looms over my head. I know it will inevitably catch up with me. Some days I have the good intention to pay them, but somehow I can never quite manage.

Of course, my stupidity eventually caught up with me. I had worked at Ann Taylor Loft all weekend long (minus Alix's Baby Shower). My feet hurt and I was sick of dealing with rude customers. As I was leaving my Sunday shift, I called Knute in an especially good mood. I was looking forward to stopping at Jamba Juice on the way home. The weather was beautiful and I wanted to sit outside with my book and get some sun on my white legs. My good mood came crashing to a halt when I realized my car was nowhere to be found. What? I thought they didn't ticket and tow on Sundays! I hadn't even been running late that morning. I could have easily taken the extra two minutes to park in the correct parking garage. I called the Walnut Creek Towing Company and found out that, yes, they did have my car. I even had the nerve to ask why it had been towed. I reluctantly called Knute to come pick me up. Needless to say, he wasn't too happy with me. He asked me two very simple questions. One, why do I continue to park in two hour parking when the parking garage I should park in is only about 100 feet further? Two, why had I not paid my parking tickets? I honestly had no answer for him. I sat on a bench outside the Container Store feeling sorry for myself while waiting for him to pick me up. I thought about asking him if we could stop at Jamba Juice on the way to the Tow Shop and then quickly decided that would be a bad idea. After a good ten minutes of feeling sorry for myself, I came to the conclusion that this was all my own fault. What was I thinking? Parking Enforcement is not out to get me (although I still somewhat question this). If the roles were reversed, I know I would be irritated at how Knute could be so irresponsible. I'm going to be a mother. I have to set a good example. How would I react if my daughter thought she was above the law? Of course Knute couldn't understand how I came to this Aha! moment so quickly and repeatedly asked me the same two questions on the drive over to the Tow Shop.

$215 dollars later I was on my way home, no longer feeling like a Jamba Juice or sitting outside in the sun. This doesn't even include the cost of the four unpaid parking tickets I've now accumulated. It kills me to think of all the things I could have done with that money. At the end of the day, it was a very expensive lesson learned.

Long Weekend in Denver

Sometimes I really miss my hometown. It's always so great to get back to see my family and old friends. We had a small brunch at my parents' house on Sunday (which somehow turned into a Baby Shower). Our little Peanut got some pretty cute stuff. So far she has a nicer shoe collection than her mother. Why is it that everything dwarfed into miniature sizes is so stinkin' cute?

Here are some pix from the brunch. Somehow I never got one with my Dad. I'm convinced that my friends are getting smaller. They are all so toned with nice flat stomachs. Surely it's not that I'm getting bigger... Also, they all have gorgeous hair and flawless skin. Since being pregnant, my hair has become flat as a pancake and my skin has been splotchy and dry. I ran into a friend at the grocery store yesterday (who has an almost two-year-old) and she warned me not to watch Dancing with the Stars while pregnant. I can definitely understand why. The Bachelor isn't really good for the ego either. Anyways, shallow thoughts by Paris is concluded. On a positive note, I am thankful to have had such an easy pregnancy (so far) and the baby is very healthy.

Dog For Sale

Our dear Rudy is at it again. Knute was just saying last week how especially good he's been lately. Unfortunately, he spoke too soon.

The other day I came home to mountains of fluff lying around the backyard. Rudy had managed to get a hold of all six of the outdoor chair cushions and tear them to shreds. This was after the previous two weeks of eating the TV remote, our radio alarm clock remote, three pairs of shoes, two couch pillows, chewing up a leg on one of our chairs, and eating all of our tulip heads. No, I'm not exaggerating.

We are really good dog owners in my opinion. He gets plenty of exercise, food and water, treats, toys, love, and attention. I am at a loss. Our good friends Lex and Aimee have resorted to calling "Bark Busters" for their Bull Dog who likes to chew holes in the wall. We are debating on using this expensive alternative because we don't really know where else to seek help.

Weekend with Dane

My younger brother, Dane, came to visit for the weekend. He graduated from the University of Colorado last year with a degree in Film and moved to LA shortly after. Unfortunately, we don't get to see him as much as I would like, but I was so excited that he came out to spend the weekend with us. He keeps me laughing for hours on end and we love to goof around and reflect on funny childhood memories.

As a single, 24-year-old, living a fast paced life in LA, he finds trips out to Walnut Creek "relaxing." We took Rudy to the local dog park after he got in on Friday and for whatever reason he found this to be extremely amusing. He also found it funny that we knew all our neighbors' kids by name and that they all played outside in their front yards. Although this is a huge part of what I love about where we live, he considers this to be strange, yet refreshing.

Anyways, we enjoyed what I consider to be a pretty eventful weekend. Friday night involved dinner at Sushi Groove. Knute, Dane, and Eric later went over to a friend's house for Poker while I retired to my bed (it was nearly 10 o'clock...a late night for me these days). Saturday was spent grocery shopping, a trip to the dog park (again), and then we headed to downtown San Francisco for an afternoon of lunch, touring around the city, and shopping. That evening we came back to Walnut Creek and had a few friends over for a small BBQ (which required some preparation on my part). On Sunday we slept in and then I got up to make brunch. Dane wanted to see the movie 10,000 B.C. (which I highly DON'T recommend) and after the matinee we stopped by Claudia and Mark's house for a quick "hello" before we had to head off to the airport. On the way there he was talking to our mom on the phone and when she asked him how the weekend was, he responded, "relaxing." Hah...I found this too funny. After dropping him off I felt like a needed a nice, long nap.

Overall, it was a wonderful and fun-filled weekend, but by no means would I consider it to be "relaxing." I guess we'll need to make a trip out to LA in the near future to let Dane entertain us for a few days. I find this thought extremely exhausting. Wow...I must be getting old.

Our Sweet Baby Girl!

Here is a profile pic of the sweetest face I ever saw (really). Baby Buck is 19 weeks here. Today, I'm already 23 weeks pregnant. I started feeling her move around 20 weeks and she's been a busy bee ever since. She is constantly kicking me and moving around. I love it (so far)! I hear that it can get somewhat painful towards the end of pregnancy. We'll see...

Knute and I are anticipating her June 27th (hopefully) arrival. We signed up for our childbirth classes through John Muir today. We'll learn all kinds of useful info about Baby Basics, Breastfeeding, and Infant CPR. I've read so much on pregnancy already, but I really don't know what to do when we actually bring the baby home. I guess we'll learn soon enough.