Monday, December 31, 2007

Christmas Continues...

Above: Zach and I look at some new Star Wars guys that Santa bought.

...in San Francisco! Zachary Enjoyed getting presents in Boston from Santa but he also had presents waiting for him in San Francisco as well! Zachary came back today from spending a few days in Disneyland with Carrie, Iggy and Ciara! How fun it must have been for him to go to Disneyland around the holidays!

Above: Zach overjoyed at his new Millennium Falcon!

Now that Zach is back he was all excited to talk about his visit at Disneyland BUT he noticed Santa had left him more presents! he was very excited to see more presents and whis[ered in my ear, "Can I open those presents!"


Above: Zach marvels over his new Ewok!


**NOTE: Check out how clear and crisp these pictures are, they are with my new camera:-)

Sunday, December 30, 2007

History

Above: Tom Brady - Simply the best.

Congrats to the New England Patriots for making history with being the only team in NFL history going 16-0 in the regular season. Tom Brady also becomes the all time best Quaterback with the most TD passes thrown in an entire season, beating the obnoxious Payton Manning’s short-lived record. This past year has been the year of Boston sports with the Red Sox winning the World Series and the Celtics having an amazing year as well. It’s funny how Paul and I both move out of Boston and the Boston sports team all heat up!

Above: Bruschi and Vrabel share some lovin'.

How amazing would it be if the Pats won another Superbowl – they would go down as the most successful football team ever with four Superbowl wins in a six-year time frame.


Above: Randy Moss goes down in history as having the most touchdown receptions in a season.

Crush Groovin’

Above: The birthday girl Maggy (left) and the amazing Pauline!

My friend and co-worker, Maggy, celebrated her 30th birthday a few weeks ago. She had a really fun party that had an 80’s rap theme and she played the classic “Crush Groovin” on the TV and classic rap on the turntable! It was great! She also cooked up some of her delicious treats, she IS a great cook and is always cooking yummy treats – Maggy and her husband Dan also ordered everyone some fried chicken and biscuits from Popeye’s! So much fun!!

Maggy enjoy your 30s – life finally begins!!



Above: Everyone is crush groovin' at Mags party!

Above: I love Deb Mumma! Deb and I getting into our groove!

Above: Yummmmm Popeye's!

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Thank you Santa!

Above: Zach giving Santa a hug!

Christmas in Boston was great - it started out with all of us (Paul, Carrie, Iggy, Zach and I) flying to Boston on Thursday night (Dec 20th). Our flight was going to New York first and then we had a small layover there - then flying out to Boston. Zach could not have been better on the flight, Zach has probably flown more than I have - he's a world traveler already at the ripe old age of 4 years old! Zach slept most of the plane ride to New York and was in great spirits. We hit a bit of a snag in New York and thought we might have to sleep at the airport until the next morning but we were lucky to get on the last flight heading out of NY to Boston. There was another flight headed to Boston that didn't make it out that night - so we were lucky! Once we arrived in Boston it was ass freezing, I knew it would be but I guess I didn't prepare for it. Paul and I waited for a cab for a good 1/2-hour ad I kept saying I wanted to go back to San Francisco. I was only in Boston for less than an hour and I already wanted to go "home." LOL

Above: Zach on the plane.

So once we arrived at Paul's mother's house at 4am we were beat. We crashed immediately. We eventually woke up on Friday and were amazed at all the snow in Boston. It was truly a winter wonderland and the first thing we did was go outside and jump around in the snow. I love the snow - one thing I do miss about Boston is the snow. We drove around a bit and noticed little changes to the city - Boston is still Boston but it was nice to be back, it felt like forever since the last time I was there. We did some last minute Christmas shopping and walked around the ole stomping grounds, great memories.

Above: Me crazy in the snow.

Above: Winter wonderland in Boston.

Later that night we met up with our good friends Kevin, Charlie and John and headed to a Celtics game. I am not a basketball fan but I had never been to a Celtics game AND they are doing amazing this year so I thought I would go. It was a blast! After the game we all went out to good old Club Cafe - one of the few gay bars in Boston. I cannot believe how many people we actually saw out that knew, it was like everyone we had known in Boston was out and about and it was great to catch up with everyone. It was one of the highlights of the trips.


Above: Our nosebleed seats at the Celtics game!

Above: John, Jamie and me at Club Çafe havin' fin!

Above: Andy and Charlie at Club Cafe.

I really was anxious for Christmas to come. I wanted to see Zach open some of his gifts (he still has more in San Fan to open). It was great to see the smile on his face at all the great gifts he got and it was hilarious when he opened a box with clothes in it and said, "I wanted toys!" I laughed so hard - we all felt that when we were kids. Zach was so excited as you can see in many of the photos below. Paul and I exchanged a few gifts in Boston. I got Paul a nice leather bag for his new job!! Yes, Paul got a new job - very excited for him and his next phase in his career!! I will be posting more on Paul's new job in the near future. Paul got me an amazing new camera - it's the Nikon D-40 and it's a "real" camera. Stay tuned for some amazing pictures.

Above: Zach opening his Star Wars guys in his Astronaut costume.

Above: Zach and his Star Wars guys.

Christmas Day was filled with family and fun. Paul had a large family and every year they do a Yankee Swap. This year there were nine people that participated in it so it was a decent size. I picked number 7 so I was not expecting to get the best gift. Paul's brother Eric had number one so he had his pick of the final gift. One of the gifts was pretty creative as in it was a cardboard box and the instructions in the box were not to open the contents until after the swap is complete. So Paul was left with the mystery box at the end, I was left with a really cool power drill that I much needed. So Paul opened the box and there were three white envelopes in the box. The instructions were to pass one envelope to the left and one to the right and keep the last one. So I was sitting next to Paul so I got one envelope and Paul's brother Scott got another. We all opened them up and it each of us had a scratch ticket. We all started to scratch off the tickets and it appeared Paul had won $1,600!!! But he read the ticket wrong and only won $10.00. Scott also won $10.00 on his ticket. I on the other hand won $500.00 on my ticket!!! I couldn't believe it - it was by far the best Yankee Swap gift I have ever received. Thanks Mike!! I sent Mike (Paul's brother in-law who bought the scratch tickets) the same exact scratch ticket hoping that the winning will continue.

Above: The actual winning $500.00 ticket.

Above: The Johnson family. Back Row (left to right): Ashley, Jake, Andrew, Julia, Matthew, Ruth, Mike and David.
Front Row (left to right): Karen, Paul with Zach, Me, Tori, Marlene and Scott with Hailey.


Above: Zach and Paul reading a Boston Christmas book.

Our last full day in Boston Jon and Josh were kind enough to offer having an old time game night like the good ole days. It was a blast to see the majority of the game night crew! We played Taboo and the favorite True Colors. So great to see everyone and catch up with old friends.


Above: Josh and Tony at game night.

Above: Tom and Jack focus on the game at hand.

Above: Andy in mid-sentence playing Taboo!

I do have to say I was ready to go back "home" to San Francisco. It's funny that I can call it home now because I feel like it’s "home" for me. I really have no ties to anywhere in the country and I really feel at home here in California. I love everything about it. The best thing I did was take a chance and move to a different city. I know we will be moving back to Boston someday, but San Francisco is an amazing place!!!

Above: The Dark side and the Jedi spar!

Above: Out like a light!

Introducing the Musical Talents of Hailey Johnson!


Sunday, December 23, 2007

Christmas Caroling



Could this kid get any cuter? We are all in Boston - feels like Christmas - and Zachary was at Gram's house in full Christmas spirit. See a stellar performance of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." Zach sure can belt it out!

Enjoy everyone!

Merry Christmas!!!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Thanks Santa!


An amazing outdoor Christmas display, a few streets over from where we live, featured Santa himself!!! I'll let the video below speak for how precious it is to see the innocence of a young child around the holidays. I love seeing Zach believe in Santa all wide-eyed and happy. If only we could all stay that young and that innocent forever. Enjoy the cute video below.
Merry Christmas everyone! :-)




Wednesday, December 19, 2007

AD-Vent Calendar


Check out the very col AD-Vent calendar my agency designed. Doesn't get more creative than this!! Click the link below to see the AD-Vent Calendar, each day reveals a new adventure!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Ham for Christmas?

Above: Zach learns how to write his name. So serious huh?

Zach's school has a great private blog that posts a bunch of picures of Zachary at school having fun with his freinds. Here are some more great photos of Zach hamming it up at school. Enjoy!

Above: Zach looks like the noble husband with his studious wife! Love it!

Above: A nifty fort!

Above: Oh what a ham! Check out those sequence sleeves!
Now THAT'S a fashion statement!


Above: Zeebs leads the pack in the dress-up train!

Above: Zach checking himself out in the mirror. Hilarious.

Above: Acting silly for the camera.

Above: Showing off a silly talking dog at show and tell.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Triple Sou Cow

Above: Carrie, Zach and me on the ice.

Paul and I met Carrie, Ciara and Zach at the San Francisco Zoo to go ice-skating this past Friday. Zach was a bit reluctant to get on the ice and was a bit cranky BUT Carrie and I managed to get Zach on the ice and he did an okay job, it’s really hard trying to get a four-year-old to stand on a pair of skates. Carrie helped Ciara on the ice and Ciara did an awesome job of saying on her skates.

Above: Everyone's trying to get Zach's skates on.

Above: Carrie and Zach on the ice.

I have not been on the ice in over 10 years. When I was six years old I expressed an interest in ice-skating to my parents and they signed my up for hockey, I was thinking more of figure skating but my parents had visions of their son being a hockey player, not a figure skater☺ I excelled at hockey, was pretty good at it – was even better at skating. I could do jumps and skate front wards, backwards, sideways with skill. After almost two seasons of playing hockey, I had a minor head injury on the ice and my mom took me out of hockey saying it was “too rough” for me..sigh..what coulda been!! So after I was pulled from hockey I still wanted to skate so every winter my mom would have an ice-skating rink “made” in our backyard. It was great and a ton of fun. I would skate as much as I could and I would try and help my brothers to skate as well.

Above: Me (red hat) and my brother Nathan in our backyard in 1981.
I am helping my brother learn how to skate.

So being on the ice again was a ton of fun for me and I just skated around for a while. Carrie was saying it’s like riding a bike, you never forget how to do it – I think I’ll look into a local hockey team☺

Above: Zach exits the ice looking rather grumpy!


Below is a video of me on the ice being a goof! Enjoy:-)


Friday, December 14, 2007

Employee of the Year...

..well almost! I work for a really great agency, the people are amazing, the Partners are in tune with their employees, and it’s the best place I have ever worked. Every month they honor a person with an "Employee of the Month" award. This started in January and it has been great to see many of my co-workers win the award. The agency decided to give someone the title of Employee of the year for 2007! All of the employees would vote, which is roughly 140 people, on who they thing should be employee of the year. I voted for the person I work with on a day-to-0day basis, someone that I admire and respect and that's my work partner, Ryan. Not only is he an amazing worker but also we work amazingly well together.



So today the award was being announced for Employee of the Year. Before the award was given they announced 22 people who received more than TWO votes from their peers. I was not on that list but many of my friends were and I was happy for them. Then they announced that there were three people that received many votes under the winner. They announced that these three people were runner-ups to the "Employee of the Year" and that they would be given a prize for being "runner-ups." I was honored to be one of those runner-ups. It's always so embarrassing when your in a room with all of your co-workers (140 people) and they call your name - there's always a rush that comes to my face and I can feel by face burning and get flush. It was a great feeling to get recognized by your co-workers, it truly was an honor to be runner-up t the winner. The winner was my partner in crime, Ryan. He deserved it but it was great that we were both awarded for a great year! :-)

This was my first full year at my agency and I am flattered and proud that I was runner-up - next year Ryan, the award is mine!! :-P

Above: My partner in crime at work, Ryan.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Star Wars

Above: One of Zach's Christmas presents coming from Santa!

The Star Wars films are some of Paul's and my favorite movies. We have been sharing them with Zach over the past few months and he is hooked! It's been great watching the Star Wars films with Zach because we all can enjoy them!! So, Zach asked Santa for some Star Wars guys - both Paul and I owned several Star Wars guys when we were young but of course we no longer have them. I found a large lot or original Star Wars guys ( the same guys Paul and I used to play with) on eBay. I think I am more excited to get them than Zach is - Zach doesn't know that "Santa" has these but he keeps saying he wants Star Wars guys from Santa. I cannot wait for him to get this great set of vintage Star Wars guys. We all will be playing with then:-)

Paul and I went Christmas shopping last night and I went over the top but what the hell, Christmas is all about kids, right? So, we bought a Star Wars Ewok village and several other Star Wars figures and a bunch of other stuff. I cannot wait until Christmas!! :-)

Above: Can you name which guys these are from the Star Wars films?

I finally learned how to use the video feature on my camera (we'll sorta, as you can see the video is sideways) - so you all will be seeing a lot of video clips posted to the blog. Check out the first semi-successful video I took of Zach playing with his Star Wars Pez guys last week. Isn't he the cutest thing ever!? Sorry the video is sideways, I still have a lot to learn with video recording!






In this video, Zach is playing with Star Wars Pez but he is singing the Superman theme which is very similar to the Star Wars theme. The cutest part of the video is when I ask him which Star Wars character is his favorite. Cutest kid ever!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Fun with Friends

Above: Kyser taking a SUPER close-up picture of us.
We both use Oil of Olay - can't ya tell!?


I am coming up on my one-year anniversary living in San Francisco - Paul has now been living here for over a year now and we have made a really great group of friends. Kyser who is really a great guy is becoming a very good friend of ours always takes his camera out to the clubs and restaurants when we go out. Below is a display of all of us having too much fun a couple weeks ago! Enjoy


Above: (left to right) Chris, Will, Me, Cody, Jay, Paul, Mark and Joe.

Above: Oye! We were all messy in thsi picture.
You can see Paul and I shivering in the background.
Kyser and Jase are inventing a new dance.


Above: Scott and Kyaer strike a pose.

Above: The gang's all here! I think that's a stripper with no shirt on!!

Above: Cody and me pointing to his Rainbow Brite socks!

Above: Three of the "Pups" - Will, Me and Cody.

Above: Who da pimp and who da ho!?

Above: Great picture of the male..cough.. eh um gay.. version of Destiny's Child.