Expressions of gratitude

While in Centerville the Plewe gang threw Andrew a belated birthday party. Andrew received a bike gizmo that measures a million things.

Andrew expresses his gratitude for the new bike addition almost every with these 'bike updates'.....

" Ride to work was good, I went up Los Robles all the way to Altadena (7.1 miles uphill, avg. uphill speed of 9.8 mph) and then took that all the way down to work, total distance was 11.8 miles. I did it in 1 hr. 30 seconds (according to my bike odometer), about 10 minutes longer than the slightly shorter route I've been taking. Lake Ave still calls out to me, though -- when you get to the intersection of Lake and Altadena there's still a good mile or so to go before you hit the top of Lake (Google Maps tells me it's exactly a mile). From the map it looks like I would do well to go up Marengo, since it goes all the way to the top of Lake but would have less traffic Fair Oaks ends at Woodbury, then I have to cut over to Santa Rosa which doesn't go all the way to the top (it deadends into Athens about 1/2 mile from the end of Lake)".

Magic Chiropractor

So normally I wouldn't post about the chiropractor but I found a new
one that is beyond AMAZING. I've seen quite a few different
chiropractors since the age of 7 or 8 years old (regular chiropractor visits reduces the frequency of my migraines). Dr.Philamon Tam has provided the best overall experience. Here's what both of my appointments have included:
1.I'm not sure what it is called but they put electrodes on painful spots
and it pulsates to eventually force the muscle to relax/loosen up.
Time: 15 min.
2. The massage therapist comes in for deep tissue work. Time: 30-45 min.
3. Dr. Philamon Tam stretches the neck, legs, and back, massages and finds trouble spots, then adjusts appropriately. Time: 20 min.

For those of you who have never been to a chiropractor, they usually come
in, ask what hurts and then spend 10 minutes adjusting you. Satisfying
until now...

Not to mention, this morning when I went in I also got a fresh blueberry muffin baked by Dr. Philamon Tam's wife.

We's gonna eat good for Thanksgiving. Everyone's invited!

Stupid earthquake

My super cool African statue from Susan and MJ for our wedding. GGRRRRR. Although- the statue had taken quite a tumble before the quake during a wrestling match between Andrew and I.

A super cool vase thing-y from Ikea. Cost only a couple bucks, but I really liked it! GGGRRRR.


I was out side when the quake hit, getting ready with my friends for a most excellent beach trip. As we were walking toward the gate (to get out of our town home), #B received a violent jolt. It looked like the town home was coming toward us in an "S" shape. It was very scarry. At this point we all started to run away from anything taller then us.

Charles and Andrew

Photographic evidence that these two are friends.

Andrew vs. the computer

Jeffries-Always willing to help, or not

Everyone keeps asking me what have I been doing this summer since I'm not in school and don't have a job. Let's see...

Eating with friends.This is Heather, a great friend since 7th grade. She lives just up the 5 freeway a bit.

Reading! For the past year or so I really haven't found any author/book that has been all that captivating. I've been disappointed one too many times which led me to raid the local library for all things John Grisham. For the past 8-10 years I have religously read every new book he's published. Now I'm reading all the ones I missed before this period.

(If anyone has suggestions about authors or titles, let me know! I only really like fiction books having to due with lawyers, judges, clandestine operatives etc)


Playing with my nephew, Spencer before he went off to Ohio with Joy


Going to the beach (almost) every Tuesday to decrease the number of stares I get from people looking at my legs.

Inceasing my craftiness. I have started photo journaling which I like but seems to take over my whole day. I also finally got my sewing machine fixed and have started taking lessons to learn how to use my serger.

I made different sizes of rags to use around the house and for random things. The pink/green ones are like baby wipes-one side is terry cloth and the other is cotton flannel.


Another question that most people keep asking me is when I will be done with school.

I will technically be done Fall 2009 but will probably continue to do lab work until the following spring quarter. After that I am not 100% sure what I will do. I would like to do more graduate work in biochemisty/molecular biology. The only downside to a biology-related profession is that if I ever have kids, it would be hard to gain entry into the field after mulitple years of being gone. It is a very fast paced and changing field.

So I was thinking of a profession that I could be passionate about(enough to propel me into completing more education). Most likely due to my love and never-ending loyalty to books by John Grisham, I have started to research law school and environmental law.

Andrew is also interested in law school but with a different emphasis, of course.

The new Bachez family

Roz and James got married June 21st. Roz' dress was so wicked sweet! From head to her toe, she was all 50's style (the picture doesn't do it justice). I thought it was great.

The newest member of Pale Force...Katie

For the reception, the Bachez clan raided Ikea for anything blue or orange

Charles!

"I..I was just helping you sort through the mail, promise..."

Another great reason to visit Utah..is SUSAN! I thought I'd surprise her at her home in Orem by just "stopping by". I scared her and she screamed which scared me...which left me shaking for an hour afterward. If I wasn't so excited to see her, the experience probably would have given me a migraine.

Sunday Dinner

Funny face contest

There are some fierce competitors out there...

Surprise Centerville 4th of July!

Andrew thought that a sporatic Centerville trip might be fun since we had no plans for the 4th of July. It was a blast, we're both glad we decided to go.




The works

Lacy Park

Andrew skipped work and we decided a nice lunch in the park was needed. We grabbed a couple panini from Bristol Farms and headed for some shade.






Random information-Lacy park is one of the parks used for population research for the native California gray squirrel and the (introduced and more aggresive) fox squirrel. You can help collect data (in your own area) for the research group here

Toodeloo!

I love throwing stuff away-especially stuff that once consumed a ton of my time! This year I made so many flashcards it was ridiculous. I think there is a little less then 800 cards here.

To Susan,

Thanks so much for the cool pan for my birthday! I included photographic evidence that I have already used it (I'm not sure you'd believe me) for the perfect bite-sized lemon muffins.

Love, Heather

Birthday dinner

We invited Alicia and Zack to dinner at Parkway grill. We had great food and even better conversation!


I had a great day!!!