Slackers!

Hello All,

We have been major slackers lately, sorry for not keeping you updated! San Diego is cloudy today, but it's likely the clouds will burn off, that's how it has been for the past few days. It is my last day of freedom before I start my new job! Yes, I finally landed a job! I will be working as a marketing consultant for a publications company down the street from our apartment. I am excited! Since the job is at one of the companies at which I had a temporary assignment I am not super nervous to start. I will let you all know how the first week goes!

Last weekend we celebrated our first anniversary. Murry was able to start the weekend a little early and only worked a half day on Friday. We filled the afternoon with time at the DMV; what a pain! We still don't have a license for the Santa Fe or a driver license for me. We'll get it all worked out soon though, just have to wait for some paperwork to come through. We had a nice relaxing day on Saturday starting with brunch at the Original Pancake House (way better than IHOP), followed by a trip to REI and Fashion Valley mall. When we came home I took a little nap before getting ready and heading to dinner on the harbor. We went to a restaurant called Top of the Market where we were able to see the harbor from our table and naturally we had some good seafood for dinner. We decided on milkshakes from Carl's Jr. for dessert! It was a good day, but it is still hard to believe that we've been married for a year!

Laurel visited recently, too. We had a great time together; the last hurrah before she left for NZ. We were able to spend time at the beach, driving along the coast, and we went to a few malls. We also painted one of the walls of the apartment, it's an accent wall. The color we chose is called November Skyes, it's a pretty blue-ish color. We had fun painting and I still find blue paint in my finger nails every once in awhile, oh well. I took Laurel to the airport last Wednesday. Her flight was out of LAX and we kind of got lost on the way to the airport, I think we may have been in Compton at one point, but she was able to check into her flight on time and we even had dinner together. It would have been a tearful goodbye, but we decided to walk away before we both lost it. I think she likes NZ so far, but the baby hasn't arrived yet, so the real job hasn't begun.

Murry and I are trying to get motivated to workout regularly again. If you have any tips, let us know. Yesterday day I did a 5.5 mile run, the first run I have done in over a month, it felt pretty good but I am sore today! Not sure yet what I will do today as far as a workout goes, but if the weather gets nice I am heading to the beach!

Anyhow, I think that's about it for me, hope everyone is doing well. We sure do miss all of you.

Love,
Aspen

Hoppy Easter!

Hi all,
I hope everyone is having a great Easter weekend! Ours has been great. Yesterday was my birthday! Woohoooooo! The big 3 - 0! It doesn't really feel any different than the big 2 - 9, but whatever. It is weird thinking I'm in my 30s now. I remember when some of y'all hit 30. I thought you were so old. It doesn't seem so old anymore. Of course, maybe it's because YOU are SOOOOO much older than that! Who knows?

My birthday was great. Aspen and I went for a hike in the morning in this area called Cuyamaca where we sought out the Stonewall Gold Mine. The area has some incredible views despite the obvious devastation of a 2003 wildfire. While it was fun getting out into the wilderness and hearing Aspen talk to wild animals (Did any of you know she is fluent in squirrel? Such an amazing girl!), it was a little disappointing that we weren't able to climb around a spooky gold mine. I guess I knew that that wasn't very likely anyway, but there's always a chance!

For lunch we went to the historic town of Julian. Julian boomed in the late 1800's as a result of the gold rush, but is best known today for it apple orchards. Numerous signs in town offer Julian's "famous apple pie and cider" to tourists. And by tourists, I mean bikers. I think there were probably three motorcycles for every car parked along the town's few streets. We enjoyed perusing the town's eclectic shops like Pistols and Petticoats and The Candy Basket. The Candy Basket sucked me right back into my childhood with 18 inch tall pixie sticks, fun dip, and gummy everything. I wanted to get an exotic candy from the orient (Virginia, I think) called M & Ms, but Aspen told me that I couldn't go to a real candy store and leave with M & Ms. So instead, in the true spirit of Easter, we bought homemade fudge, haystacks, chocolate-dipped pretzels and salt water taffy.

Afterwards, we had "tea" at this little place called Julien Tea and Cottage Arts. It was this little house full of tea and tea-related accessories. I felt like if I turned around too quickly I would break countless little cups and saucers. We had a delicious lunch of finger sandwinches, fruit, cheese, scones and homemade bread pudding. And, very much to my surprise, the staff came out at one point with a little cake singing happy birthday! At first I started looking around to see who's birthday it was, until I saw them headed straight for me and realized, "Oh, it's my birthday!" It was a nice surprise and a fun experience. Though, I'll say this about having tea, I don't think we could have dirtied more dishes if we had had a 5 course meal.

We finished the day with another treat from my childhood - Taco Bell! It was, after all, MY birthday. Anyway, happy Easter and I hope everyone is doing well!

Murry

Workin' Girl

Hey All,

I just realized how long it has been since we gave you a new post to eat up! So sorry! Honestly though, I blame Murry. It is his turn to write…Anyway, since he hasn’t had the time, I will go ahead and fill everyone in.

We are still doing really well; in fact I am a lot better than last time I wrote! I haven’t gotten the car towed and I started a three week long temporary work assignment with a company just a few minutes away from the apartment. The people are friendly and the environment is good; there might even be potential for permanent employment. It has been quite exhausting however, getting re-adjusted to working full time. I don’t know the last time I’ve slept better! Every time my head hits the pillow I fall right asleep! But being out and around people has made me a lot happier. I’m a people person and crave social interaction. And the timing of the assignment coincides with Laurel’s visit, I will be done working, then she will be here for a week, and then I get to continue the job search! Woohoo!

I still haven’t figured out what I want to do with my life, does anyone ever really figure that out? But Murr has been so great and supportive; he’s said to go for whatever I would want to do in a perfect world, no worries, just do it. So I’m still trying to visualize this world and how I fit into it, I’ll keep you posted.

We bought a gym membership and have been on a bit of a health kick lately. We drag ourselves out of bed at 5:15, get a work out in, and we are trying to only have dessert every other day, instead of every day…It’s going okay, and since we are paying for the gym we feel more obligated to go. The gym is called Frogs Fitness, weird I know. Only in California!

I think that’s about it for now, I will have Murry write soon! We love you all bunches!

xoxox
Aspen

Downtown

Hello All!

I'm sorry we haven't posted in over a week, but I am still recovering from the peril that took place last Tuesday, don't worry, I'll tell you all about it. Anyhow, until I get to the story let me just say that we are doing well. Murry and I had a really nice weekend together. We had friends over for dinner on Saturday and had a laid back Sunday. I am still looking for work, but found a temporary assignment that coinsides perfectly with Laurel's visit. I will work for three weeks, she will be here for a week, then I can re-focus on the search. I think it's a better option than finding something now and then trying to get time off while my sis is here...Murry is still enjoying work though this past week his schedule was less than ordinary with one day beginning at 3am and another beginning at 12noon and ending at 10pm. We are getting used to it.

Okay, so the story...Last Tuesday I had an interview downtown. The interview itself went really well, nice people, good prospects, etc. But when I finished the interview and headed to my car it wasn't there! I wasn't sure what was going on, I had paid the meter, in fact it still had time on it, but the Corolla was no where to be found. I looked around, got my barrings and reached for my phone to call Murry. The phone was in the car. Crap! Oh, what is this...a small (minuscule, actually) sign reading that parking is not allowed on the street between the hours of 4 and 6pm. Well it was 4:45. I start to cry, just a little, then I see the parking cop across the street. I tell him that I think my car was towed, I am new to the area, and ask what to do. Then I tell him I don't have a phone or anything, and get really teary eyed. He is super nice, lets me use his phone, (I tried to call Murry but he didn't hear the phone ring), finds out exactly where they took my car, and suggests I get a cab to the impound address which he has provided. I don't know any phone numbers for cab companies in San Diego, besides I don't have a phone to call them, and I have no cash on me...I am not sure what to do. So I go up to the office where I had the interview and that's when I loose it and just start crying. The receptionist prints out directions to the impound lot (I have every intention of walking there) and then she tells me that she gets off soon and will take me there herself. It was one of the nicest things a stranger has ever done for me. Anyhow, when we get to the impound lot, which is in one of the worst parts of town we have to wait half an hour before anyone will help us. The receptionist stayed with me the whole time. Finally I get to go in. They ask for my registration and license. We hit another snag. My car loan is for Aspen Foreman, this is something that cannot be changed easily since the title is held by the financial company, and therefore the car is registered to Aspen Foreman as well. They workers are telling me that I can't get the car, the documents don't match, my savior receptionist has headed home, and I start to get really worried. Then it hits me, my old license and social security card are in the car. Having them there was a life saver and $268 later I got the car back and drove home. It was by far the most traumatic event I've experienced in San Diego, but on the bright side, I was able to witness the kindness of two perfect strangers, the cop and the receptionist, which left me feeling hopeful. And I learned a lesson about parking downtown...if the spot seems too good to be true then it probably is, check the signs!

So that's it.

Murry is on his way home and I am going to close for now. I miss everyone terribly. Little Monique, you are coming to visit? When? And are you going to bring your parents? Mishon, we are so happy to hear about your fertilization success! Mom, the puffed pancake puffed higher than I have ever seen before! Thanks for the recipe. Dad, thanks for writing to us and for everyone on your blog. Monique, give the boys a hug from me. And Jen, the author that wrote the Dirty Girls Social Club had a new book out in paperback, I just got it but will pass it along when I am finished reading! Everyone else, and those mentioned, we love you and hope you are well always.

Aspen

Old Town

Good morning everybody! I'm sure y'all are checking our blog as soon as you get up in the morning, so I felt that was appropriate introduction. Anyway, things are going well here in San Diego. Work is great and weekends are better. We're enjoying exploring the area. We always set out with some goal, and often don't make it because we run into other things on the way.

For the past two weekends we have set out to see Cabrillo National Monument, but haven't made it either time. It's out on a point across from Coronado Island and it's rumored to have an amazing view. Yesterday, on our way to Cabrillo, we stopped for a late lunch in a part of town called "Old Town." We ended up staying there for much of the afternoon. Old Town was supposedly the first settlement in the San Diego area. It has an old school, courthouse, bank, church, etc., complete with mannequins of some of the founding fathers. Aspen commented that the sherriff had the "most life-like hands" she had ever seen on a dummy. I made some apparently inappropriate comment, then she advised me that the nearby iron jail cell might become my new home. We visited the old Catholic church next, which was interesting. While the church was pretty typical of any small Catholic church you'd see in Latin America (or near Latin America), it still displayed true American entrepreneurial spirit with coin-fed electric candles by the Virgin Mary.

While the "old stuff" in Old Town was fairly interesting, the reason we visited was for the food. Every other storefront in Old Town is a Mexican restaurant. We ate at one called Coyote Cafe, which boasted the best Mexican food in San Diego (Although Fred's Mexican Cafe directly across the street had a similar sign). The food was good, but the best thing was the women wearing Mexican huipiles at the front of the restaurant making fresh, hot tortillas. It's not unusual to get hand-made corn tortillas in a lot restaurants nowadays, but these were hand made flour tortillas about a foot in diameter. I haven't seen those since my two weeks in the Yucatan in 2002.

After dinner we visited an art gallery featuring paintings of scenes from famous movies. I wanted to the get the Golem painting for our living room, but Aspen didn't feel it would go with our decor. We visited a pirate shop containing swords and corn nuts where Aspen asked my opinion on a certain teacup. I advised her that boys have no opinion on teacups, and we moved on. We walked past the most haunted house in some geographic area (the world maybe? I don't remember.), and finally to Korky's Ice Cream and Coffee where we ended our visit to Old Town. Well, I could write more on our adventures, but I've probably lost most of you by now. I hope all o' y'all are doing well, and hope to hear from you soon.

Murry

PS - A prominent sign at The General Store proclaims that they only allow 3 students at a time. Just in case you need to plan accordingly.

Rain

Hello All,

It's rainy today for the third day in a row. I am tried of it! The rain makes me not want to do anything. However, there is sun on the horizon, it is supposed to be in the low 70's this weekend! Woohoo! I think we are going to check out Coronado Island. Apparently it's what you think of when you think of San Diego. I'm excited!

The job search still rages on --rages might not be the best choice for an adjective, but what can you do-- I never heard back from the company I was almost certain I had a job with...it was a little disappointing, but in the grand scheme of things probably for the best. I wasn't sure I would have loved working there anyway. I have had a few more interviews this week, we'll see what pans out. I am thinking about working at the zoo! I would get to be outside, with people, and not sitting at a desk! I'll keep you posted.

We went to the beach this past weekend for the first time. It was pretty. We didn't get in the water; didn't want to look like tourists too much! There were lots of people surfing though, I was surprised, surfing in February who would have thought. The boardwalk that runs up and down the coast is exactly how movies portray it. There are people every where! They are walking, running, riding bikes and rollerblading. It was a fun scene.

I need to get moving for the day, I think I am going to go running in the rain. We miss you all so much.

Love,
Aspen

P.S.
Dad - Thank you so much for your comments and interesting reading material, we appreciate it.

Monique Streetman - We are sorry you aren't feeling good, it's no fun being sick! Eat lots of yogurt to get those intestinal micro biota back on track (ask your parents if you don't know what I am talking about :) ).

Laurel - We are still diggin' on the chocolate, thanks again!

Everyone Else - Please post, we want to know what is going on in Colorado with all of you. We love you!

Job Search

Hello All,

How are things in Colorado, we hear that you may receive some snow this weekend?! It's funny to think about snow, seems like forever since we saw it but it really wasn't that long ago. Since we have been in San Diego we haven't once used the heat or A/C, it's pretty crazy. Last night it rained and rained making for great sleeping weather.

Murry is done with his first two weeks of work, he seems to be enjoying it. The hours are long and we find ourselves missing each other throughout much of the day. It's pretty neat how excited we get to see each other at the end of the day.

My job search is going well. The job market seems really healthy here. Today I had my third interview at an Internet company and it went really well. I would be the office manager and also in charge of H/R if I get the position. We will see on Monday! I am a little ambivalent about the line of work, I feel like maybe I should have applied for more biology related positions instead of what is comfortable. I guess it's good to be saving money while looking for the perfect job!

We probably haven't told you much about our new place! I hope to post pictures in the next few days, but until then I will tell y'all that we LOVE where we are living. We have a two bedroom apartment in an area of San Diego called Rancho Bernardo. Rancho Bernardo is a lot like Highlands Ranch, there is even a street near us call Highland Ranch Drive! Our complex has three pools and a newly remodeled fitness center. Our apartment itself is two bedrooms and has never been lived in since it was renovated. The kitchen is equipped with stainless steel appliances and looks really classy. We are using the second bedroom for an office/library. Murry has so many books that we had to purchase a huge bookcase to hold all of them! The bookcase almost takes up an entire wall! We are as unpacked as we will be for awhile, with only a few lingering boxes hiding in the second bedroom's closet. It is nice to be settled, it sure has been a long time coming.

Anyhow, we (and Marty) thought that having this blog might help us stay in better touch. So please, please, please post anything you would like, even 2 year old Monique can type something! We miss you all lots hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Lots of Love,
Aspen