Living in a Wiener Wonderland

I'm leaving my job!

2008-01-30T21:38:00.000-08:00

Friday is my last day working for the Hyatt in the Catering department. I will no longer be planning $50,000.00 weddings and working with impossible brides and m.o.b's! I'm definitely going to miss the excitement of hospitality industry, and the employee discount when traveling. But, I am super excited to be starting a new career path also.

My new job will be as a student-teaching in Long Beach, CA in a 3rd grade classroom. I will be here for 18 weeks as an apprentice to fulfill my teaching credential requirements. I spoke with my master teacher today and she told me that the students have already made a space in the classroom for my desk. They all know my name and are excited to meet me. Truthfully, I'm probably 100 times more excited than they are. I just can't wait to begin a new fulfilling stage in my life. Wish me luck!

Another bad movie review!!

2008-01-29T23:31:00.000-08:00

Has anyone seen the new movie called "Year of the Dog"? It just recently has been released on DVD and it seemed interesting enough on the shelf at Blockbuster. The back of the DVD writes that it is a quirky comedy about a happy-go-lucky secretary that lives with her dog, Pencil.

However....this move is not a comedy at all! It's more of a drama with a hidden plot line. I'm not going to ruin the movie for anybody who may want to watch it, but I must tell you that it is really depressing. I love all dogs, and hate watching any movie that is not a "happy" dog movie.

Jeff, Gene, Gerry...have any of you seen this movie? I'm interested to know your thoughts.

And sorry I haven't posted anything in the past 10 days. It's been a busy week.

My birthday party!

2008-01-16T11:50:00.000-08:00

I just had my 27th birthday last Friday on Jan. 11th. It was a blast! We all went to a bar & grill in Fullerton called Hero's. It's a huge restaurant that has a fun sports-bar in the middle of it. The restaurant has over 100 beers on tap, and you throw your peanut shells on the floor when you're done eating them.

The only downer was that it took over 2 hours to get three tables close to eachother for the whole group. We went last Saturday so it was during the Patriots football game. Needless to say the restaurant was packed. But my friends didn't seem to mind the wait. We all had drinks, peanuts and good conversation to keep us going. I don't think anybody even noticed!

The photo on top is of my coworkers from the Hyatt. They are some of the nicest people I've ever worked with. We are constantly having inappropriate conversations at work. And they sure do help the day go by faster.

The photo on the right is with 2 of my best friends, Jenn & Julie. These girls are fantastic and Jenn (in the white top) is having a baby in June. I can't wait to be an auntie!!

I coach volleyball

2008-01-13T23:24:00.000-08:00

I play, coach and love volleyball!

My team played this weekend in our first tournament of the season. We had a 3-team pool and we came out undefeated! I am so proud of the girls. Attached is a team photo during the tournament. They are doing their pre-game cheer.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T23:32:00.000-08:00

I wish everyone a successful and adventurous 2008!

Does anyone have any new & innovative resolutions?

Mine in no particular order are :
1. To make it to they gym at least 3 times per week. (currently I make it about once only...which is very bad)
2. To finish my masters' thesis and get that off my chest
3. To walk my dog every day
4. To visit my Grandmother once per month. She's turning 80 in 3 days also. Happy Birthday Grandma!
5. To cook more meals at home...and hopefully healthier meals too.

Have a good one!

Christine

My canine family in photos

2007-12-20T23:01:00.001-08:00

These are few photos from my home. I want to share them so my Oregon family can get an idea of my life and the canines involved in it!

The handsome dog on the right is mine. His name is Oscar Mayer Wiener officially. But we all call him Wiener. The Maltese is Ziggy, and the doxy on the left is Gustafson Aloyiscious.

This is our little house in Huntington Beach. We live on a quiet street just 5 miles from the ocean.

This photo was taken last year during one of our slumber parties in the living room. You can see the head of my Wiener dog, and the legs of Gussie. It looks like a super long dachshund who is slightly twisted! We were all hanging out one night watching a movie on the floor. I wish I were doing that right now actually. Good times.

I am Legend

2007-12-18T23:17:00.000-08:00

Normally I don't walk out of a movie theater. Tonight was the exception.

My boyfriend got to choose the movie tonight and he was excited to see "I am Legend" starring Will Smith. I knew nothing about the movie but after a quick synopsis from Yahoo Movies I had a bad feeling about it before we even got to the theater. Needless to say, my gut instinct was right and I had to leave the theater about 45 minutes into it. I waited out the remainder of the movie at Barnes & Noble, and Danny finished it alone.

What's wrong with it, you say? Why do all the movie reviews give it high ratings and yet Christinker couldn't stand it? Quite honestly, there is nothing wrong with the movie. It was actually well made and Will Smith did a good job acting. The problem was with me. I just can't watch scary movies with zombie-like creatures and suspense around every corner. I'm a chick-flick girl and I should have known better.

In short, husbands/boyfriends, please watch this one on your own...or be kind and suggest something like National Treasure that we can all enjoy.

Only 10 days until Christmas!

2007-12-15T22:52:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited for Christmas. I love all of the family gatherings, holiday food and giving gifts. I did all of my shopping online this year and every gift has been delivered already. I'm so proud of myself because I've never been this early. I just have to wrap everything now and I'm definitely taking my time getting to that.

Sorry I've been absent from the blog world for the past 10 days. I've been working some overtime shifts at the hotel to make extra money for the holidays. I just finished a 6 hour shift as a banquet server for a 950 person holiday party. This party was amazing. There was a live Caribbean band, flamenco dancers and and festive decorations of red, orange and green. Our hotel usually doesn't have events that big with so many people so the banquet staff was bustling and chaotic. I had a great time and the 6 hours went by so fast. But now my feet ache. It's 11pm and I hate to say it, but I'm going to bed now. What a boring Saturday night, but who am I kidding. I'm not a spring chicken anymore! Haha, I'll be 27 in less than one month. Eek!

I'm sick

2007-12-04T23:50:00.000-08:00

Happy Tuesday night to everyone. I've officially been stuck at home sick for the whole day. I had a sore throat which started before Thanksgiving and I haven't been able to kick it. Finally I went to the doctor today for some antibiotics, but not before I completely lost my voice! I guess that's what it finally took to convince me that this head-cold wasn't going away. Apparently I have a sinus infection that is dripping on my vocal chords and thus my voice has disappeared. If you find it, let me know. I'm dying to talk on the phone again!!

My quote of the day for Wednesday is:
"A goal with no deadline is merely a dream".

Ponder that!

Gotta love Sundays!

2007-12-02T23:51:00.000-08:00

I think Sunday is my favorite day of the week. I love sleeping in late and having breakfast at 12noon with a fire and a football game. I hope everyone has a fantastic Monday!

Oregon Trip Photos - November 2007

2007-11-25T21:06:00.000-08:00

Please enjoy the photos from our Oregon trip!

This photo was taken on our first day in Oregon City. Mrs. Bach treated us to an authentic Mexican lunch at a delicious hole-in-the-wall restaurant. From left to right are Anthony, Mrs. B, the restaurant owner (aka. my mom's twin) and my mom.

This is the "Green Grocer" in Oregon City. Where else are you going to find a green grocery store with a red door in a converted house? It's fantastic, and I especially love the HUGE tree in the parking lot!

I tried to teach Anthony how to have an award winning poker face. He still needs to work on it a little!

Doing what my mom does best...relaxing in her pj's!

It's Matthew!
Matthew is one of the best crayon artists I know. He created about 56 drawings of various helicopters, cop cars, boats and other recreational vehicles. I commissioned him for a purple helicopter picture and he didn't disappoint. Just ask him and he'll make you one for you or your loved one.

Thank you Jeff for bringing us an extra ration of celery. We couldn't have made the cheese-stuffed-celery-pieces-of-heaven without you.

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

2007-11-24T12:07:00.000-08:00

Well, my Thanksgiving vacation is winding to a close, and I can't help but be excited for Christmas to arrive. I know I should be sad that Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I will soon be leaving Oregon, but I'm just not sad at all. I have had a fantastic November. And I'm confident that December will be equally as adventurous.

My November began with a vacation to Carmel & Monterey with my boyfriend, Danny. We stayed at a beautiful hotel overlooking the Central Coast. We sampled Thai food in Carmel by the Sea, mosied down main street looking at the various shops & bakeries, and spent way too much money on t-shirts, hats and other authentic Carmel paraphernalia. My favorite adventure in Carmel was the 17-mile drive. If you've never been on it, it's a must-see for your Central Coast vacation. It's 17 miles of some of the beautiful coastline in the world (in my humble opinion). There were about 20 seals playing in one of the coves as if they were putting a show on just for us. There was hiking on the beach with tide pools, sea kelp, and clams. Although I do caution you that November is slightly chilly and the summer months might be more accommodating weather-wise. Most of the houses on the drive are multi-million dollar mansions that one can only wish they lived in. All in all, our trip was relaxing and pleasant. This is my 2nd time visiting this year so it's definitely a favorite vacation spot.

Currently, for Thanksgiving vacation, I am visiting family in Oregon City, Oregon. My mother and I flew into Portland on a Tuesday and we are staying at Mrs. Bach's house until Saturday. Today we are flying home and I have to say it will be nice to be in warmer weather. Last night at dinner it was 30 degrees!!! My goodness, I was cold!! Our mini holiday vacation has been so nice and relaxing. Our Thanksgiving feast was the best I've ever experienced. And I'm not just saying that because I know Mrs. Bach will be reading this. Oh no. I'm saying this because the feast was truly delicious.

Yesterday, I went into Portland for "black-Friday" on a photo safari with Alana, Erin and Echo. Alana's class had a photo project to find various photo topics, ex. interesting graffiti, interesting word-art, architecture, etc. We finished her project with ease and were able to walk around Portland and enjoy the shops, local mis-fits, and interesting parades. Since it was black Friday it was the busiest shopping day of the year and people were out in full force. We even saw a protest parade on animal rights. It was fantastic! I've never seen such eccentric people parading around with torn up clothes and smiles all marching for a good cause! I loved it. That to me is the epitome of Oregon and the natural spirit of it's residents.

I am truly thankful for the hospitality Oregon has shown to my mother and me. We always love visiting our family in Oregon City. The food is full of love, the house is bustling with generations of family, and the stories are flowing out of everyone's mouths about the good times we've all experienced. I'm confident this Thanksgiving will be a story to tell in future years. I can't wait for my own children to one day visit the Bach family and experience the love that's shared inside Mrs. Bach's home. Thanks for the memories!

My life

2007-11-24T12:01:00.001-08:00