I've Been Tagged!

What does this mean? Well, it means I'm IT...of course. My friend Kim Antisdel tagged myself and some others on her blog, which means we have to tell 5 (I made that number up) interesting things about yourself so your readers can know more about you. So...drum roll please.

1. Let's talk...the microwave. It bothers me when people take their food out of the microwave 1 second before the beep. Honestly, just wait for it to beep. If you wanted it in the microwave for 59 seconds, then you should have pressed that. On the same subject, I need those same people to push "clear" on the microwave so when I use it it reads the time/0 on the screen. I'm not a tidy, clean, or OCD personality type, but this irks me for some reason.

2. I think I was a trucker in my past life. I love to drive. Usually when we are driving distances, I force Brad to let me drive. It's a thing I have. I also drive a stick shift, so when there is no traffic I find myself "racing" when shifting gears. I also enjoy skipping a gear. It may not be good for the car, but I find it all sorts of fun. Example...downshifting from 6th to 4th is the best!

3. I can't stop staring at my cats. I could honestly look at them for hours at a time. Also, I find myself saying, "Brad, look at Gizzy...isn't she cute?" He doesn't think cats have facial expressions (gasp, I KNOW!), but I find myself entranced with their funny little minds and faces.

4. It's annoying to me when I don't get Brad's movie quotes. He can watch a movie once and start quoting it. I always say...what movie is that from. His reply: the one we JUST watched. (I kind of have a memory problem, too.) On the flip side, I don't like to watch movies more than once. My rationale is that I could spend that same time watching a new Oprah or another movie I haven't seen.

5. Finally...I am obsessed with chocolate. So much so that I hide it in the house. On first glance, I think there is no chocolate in the pantry, so I wait for the "craving" to wear off. Brad says it takes 15 minutes. If I still remember after that, I go to the hiding place. Behind the large bowl in the pantry. Mmm. Chocolate.

There you go! If anyone else who reads this and has a blog would like to participate with their own quirkiness, I call...Tag, You're It!

Overdue Update

Well, since our last post our computer decided to die. We ordered a part that took two weeks to get, so we were checking our email on my laptop from college. Not the quickest computer. Needless to say I didn't have enough patience to post anything during those two weeks. Now that we are back up and running, here is a little game of catch up.

I am lucky enough to share my birthday month with some of my co-workers. 4 of them actually. A couple of them decided to rent out a space in Edison Bar in LA. (http://www.edisondowntown.com/) The bar is a 1920's theme, so that is how we were supposed to dress. My accessory was my black band around my head...I'm sure the people of that era would be disappointed with my "costume."


Amanda and Myself


Everything else has been fairly normal. I have been working a lot of hours (like I said, it's normal), and the kitties still don't get along. Here is a little video of their love for one another.




So that is it for the OC Ballards. We are excited to come home for Christmas! I hope it doesn't snow too much.

Madonna in Concert

So I have this strange mindset that I cannot post anything on here without pictures. With that being said, I can really only use my camera on special occasions...meaning, I'm not going to just start taking pictures while we are out to eat or at a friends house for dinner. When I started the blog we had a lot of events coming up, so it was very easy for me to post once a week. Now, however, I feel like I don't have enough "good material" to blog about. UNTIL NOW. My co-worker, Marla, was able to get us tickets to the Madonna concert in LA--well it was her husband actually. It was with myself, Marla, Brynn, and Amanda, all from work. Three of us are Scorpios; we each celebrate our birthdays in the month of November. Back to the concert--Madonna looks amazing for 50. During the concert we made a pack to never eat again, then we realized maybe could eat soup, after that we realized she didn't start getting into shape until her 40's, so we have time. Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake performed with her, which was a surprise, so that was super exiting. We had great seats and saw a lot of celebrities. What a perfect birthday present! On a side note, if you didn't know, Scorpios celebrate their birthday MONTH, not day, so because it was still within that time frame, this does not have to be my only present (cough, cough, Brad). These are the official Scorpio rules; I didn't make them up.

In other Ballard news...Brad is playing on a soccer league on Sundays with some of his old soccer buddies form Waukee who live out here. He is also going to start coaching a flag football team with one of our friends starting in the winter. Gizzy and Smokey still hate each other. Shhh, don't tell Gizzy. She doesn't know. And...drum roll please...My birthday is November 19th. I will be 28.


Brynn, Myself, Amanda, Marla

Donald Sutherland...I said, "I love your son!" That's all I could come up with??

Dennis Quaid and Wife

Madonna

Britney and Madonna

Our Floor Seats

Slideshow Time

We're back! I apologize for not posting for so long, but I have been busy with work and then my sister and James came into town. They came last week and stayed through the weekend. Most of their time was spent in Disneyland, but they stayed with us Sunday-Tuesday. Since I normally post a couple of select photos (usually the ones where I look the best--how selfish!), I decided to download all of the photos on a slideshow. Also included amongst the family photos are ones of Gizzy, of course. As Julie will attest, I am a crazy, obsessive mother. As for the family vacation, we went to the Getty Museum and the Griffith Observatory. ...I added music to the slideshow, let me know if it works...Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

ISU vs. Baylor = Unfortunate

One of my co-workers, Brianna Rasmussen, went to Baylor. When I first met her (almost a year ago) and found out she went there, I immediately thought about how ISU would play her team in hopes to have some sort of tick mark in the win column that season. With that in mind, I told her about this ISU alumni bar in Long Beach were we could watch the game. I figured we would win, so it wouldn't be a big deal for me to bring 1 Baylor fan to an ISU alumni game watching location. Wrong. To back up for a moment, I had been receiving alumni emails for the past 4.5 years. Recently, I decided to actually read one. It was worth it. They explained how the local ISU fans gather at a bar in Long Beach (about 30 min. north) to watch the games. Brad and I loved the thought of meeting up with more Iowa folks so we decided to finally take advantage of the alumni emails. Here is the Iowa representation yesterday: Boone, Spencer, Fort Dodge, Lehigh, Perry (myself), and Grimes (B-rad). There were also people from Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin who went to Iastate, but were not from Iowa. Go Cyclones! Anyway, we thought it was pretty exciting to know people from rural Iowa ended up with a similar life as us. End of story goes something like this...we lost. Again.

Here are some other updates:
1. I got summoned for Jury Duty.
2. My sister and James come into town next Wednesday.
3. Gizzy and Smokey are still not friends.
4. I colored my hair darker.
5. We are coming to Iowa for Christmas!


Brad and I

Brianna (Baylor's only fan) and Myself

While Smokey is Asleep

The Wagner's Farewell

Tessa worked with me at Gettys for over a year, and tomorrow she and her husband, Stephen, are moving back to Oregon. Tear. Today they had a little BBQ to send them off. We, I mean everyone but me, played croquet, ate yummy grilled food, and caught up with some great people. Let's go back to the croquet portion of the evening. I started on team "ballard," but I quickly felt the pressure of the game with the first swing. I realized--I'm not good! What is that all about? I'm always good at sports. Then, once I realized it is not a sport, I gave the mallet to Brad. When this happened, we were in last place. Once I was out of the picture, team "ballard" won! Here are some pictures of the victory. Oh, and there was also a cat from the neighborhood that became our croquet onlooker. Brad thinks his name should be Tiger, I'm going with Morris. Enjoy!


My First and Final Attempt

We Won!

Morris (I post, so I win)

Jeffrey

Tessa (left)

Angels Game

My friend and IIDA counterpart, April, invited me to go to game 1 of the Angels playoffs game (vs. Red Sox) this past Wednesday. I didn't know if I wanted to go on a weeknight, but then Brad let me know how cool it was, so I accepted. She works for Allsteel, which is a furniture manufacturing company out of Muscatine, IA. We had 3rd row seats right next to 3rd base. After the game we went to a local bar where we met Craig Sager. He is a sports announcer for TNT. April has those pictures on her camera, so I will post them later. Here are some pictures of the evening from my camera.


From Our Seats

April and Myself

April and I Leaving

Race for the Cure

This past weekend I ran race for the cure with my co-worker, Amanda, and her step-daughter Alex. I run this race no matter where I live or the weather conditions. I find it extremely gratifying in many ways. I ran with Aunt Vicki and Aunt Linda in mind (Brad's side), and with their names on the front of my shirt. There were about 12,000 runners on Sunday! I do have to question--with this same event in almost every part of the country, why do we not have a cure? I am hoping it is not too far away.

So this is how the day went: The race started at 9:45, and I live about 10 minutes away from the event. Amanda and Alex where here at 9:08, we got in the car, quickly got to the turning lane to enter the parking garage (our standard spot), but then we waited in line to park. And we waited. And we waited. Finally, we got to the area, and it's blocked off; of course the garage is full. We ended up parking far away (looking back, I could have gone around the long line of waiting cars). So as we were walking toward the starting line, we saw everyone already running. Yikes! How am I supposed to know my official time? Like good Midwesterners, we walked all the way to the start line before starting. It just makes sense. By the time we started to run, we were already in the "walkers" pack. That means I am running on the grass, maneuvering around fathers with strollers, and ducking when women are telling a funny stories and have to use their arms. It took me so long to run out of the pack of walkers. The race is 3.1 miles, and I ran the whole time (I don't walk, I can't walk--it's an ego thing). Though the course is very hilly, I felt much more prepared this time around as I trained for about a month. After the race, we walked around to the vendor stations and got our free nutri-grain bars, waters and bananas and headed home. It was a successful day! After I got home, I decided to eat my whole grain rice with a "pinch" of garlic. To preface this story, I really really enjoy: garlic, driving distances, getting the mail, kitties, and responding quickly to emails. That is me. This particular day I thought why would I put 1 clove of garlic in a serving of rice when I could use 3? Using 1 means I don't taste the garlic, so I figured 2 would mean I would kinda taste the garlic. Solution: 3 cloves of garlic. OH, and a 1/2 of an onion. Let's just say I'm surprised you cannot smell my breath from here. I learned my lesson...2 max! I know that garlic is known as the "wonder drug," so I made sure to tell Brad that my choice on Sunday to eat 3 cloves of garlic meant I would outlive him. He seems so excited to hear that news :) After this little experiment, I somehow found the only mint in our house, which I'm sure was taken from one of those candy jars from a hostess stand. That didn't work. I drank a lot of water. That didn't work. I even ate the chocolate syrup in the refrigerator. Poor choice. Lastly, I took a shower (we all know this is not typical for me on a weekend--I find them meaningless). Needless to say, the solution for eating too much garlic is time. Finally today I cannot smell it on my breath or on my hands. Lesson learned.
So that's our exciting weekend. I hope you enjoy the picture of the race. Also, please note I am restricting kitty pictures this week. It's hard, but I'm doing it for the readers. All 2 of them. Perhaps there will be a new posting mid week with updates of the furballs. Stay tuned!


Alex, Amanda, Myself

The Soup Field Trip

So I was lucky enough to go to the taping of The Soup on E! network! My friend, Amanda, has a friend who knows Joel McHale, so she was able to get us in the door and meet him before and after the show. It was so much fun! Here are some pictures of the evening with the cast. It is very interesting to see how they cut scenes, entertain the audience, and produce the show in 1.5 hours. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!


Amanda and I with Joel McHale

Us with Mankini (A Frequent Character)

Green Screen

Model: Victoria Silvstedt

Joel Watching the Show

Dragon Fruit Attempt

So I work next to a shopping center that has many interesting stores. One of them is a supermarket. How is that interesting, you ask? It is called Mother's Market (we call it Mom's House), and it's a great source for exotic fruits, tofu turkey (in California we call it Tofurkey), multivitamins made from natural and organic weeds (more of an exaggeration...), Orange County housewives, etc. etc. This past week, I caved to the fruit display. Who wouldn't? It was perfectly placed right in the front door, and the fruit is PINK! C'mon, any girl with a long work day would have caved. So, I brought it back to work, showed it to the girls, and saved it for Brad and I that evening. Brad is a fruit lover, and I am more of a veggie girl, so I thought it would be a perfect "present" for him. As I was cutting it open, I browsed back at the receipt to realize I had paid $9.18. For one. It had better be good. What is this fruit, you ask? Well, it's called dragon fruit. Brad thought it was that expensive because it was actually made from dragons. Nice try--it is actually from a cactus plant. I took some pictures for my own pleasure, so here they are. The fruit tastes similar to kiwi, but less sweet. Was it worth the big bucks? Not really. Am I glad I made the attempt? Yes. Maybe it will come up in conversation some day and I will be able to join in. Wishful thinking.

I am also posting more pictures of the cats. I have an addiction...


Dragon Fruit: Interior and Exterior, Respectively

Sleepy Peanut...

Don't be Fooled...She Bites

A Smokey Close Up

Sunday Fun Day

Here are some pictures of the Gizzy and Smokey saga...which goes a little something like this: Gizzy wants to play with Smokey. Smokey wants to sleep, eat, or bathe. Gizzy still wants to play with Smokey. Repeat.


How Can the Big Guy Deny this Face??

This is Rare...So I Captured It

He's Annoyed, She's Curious

A Bath is His Priority

Viva Las Vegas

It was 2 full days, 8 hours in a car, and 1 awesome time this past weekend in Las Vegas. We went to Vegas with our friends from Iowa, Matt and Kim. What an amazing time! We stayed at the Bellagio and ate at amazing restaurants; we are so appreciative of our great friends! Take a peak at our pictures...we didn't take too many (always seems to be the case).

Enjoy!


On Our Way to Eat

Matt and Kim in the Limo

The Entry of the Suite

View of Pool from Room

Feline Update...Of Course

Ok, so I said earlier I would post pictures of Smokey when he started being nice to Gizzy. Well, I've decided that may not ever happen. She wants to play, but he is uninterested, at all times! She thinks by using his litter box, food, and water, he will clearly want to be her friend. How do you tell a kitten it's not the best way to make friends...by using his things...in FRONT of him. Gizzy has also come to the conclusion that 4 AM and 6 AM are play times. IF we are sleeping (which we always are), that means she clearly has permission to attack anything flesh colored. I swear she thinks our 10 fingers are 10 play toys. So every night Brad and I have on full covers to our necks (sweating, of course) and pillows over our eyes because she definitely can attack eyelids. Well, to date, she has attacked my nose...twice...in the same spot. Yep, one night I actually bled (not knowing) and left blood on her fur! I guess we are the ones who chose the "most active" one in the litter. Last week we also had a worm incident, which I will leave at that, so we took her to the vet and he said, "man, she has a temper!" We know. We know.

Well, I will post some funny pictures of Smokey trying to fit in an awkwardly small box. It was meant to be taken to the dumpster that day, but he has claimed it as his. So yes, we have an empty beer box in our house--some interior designer!

I realize I keep blogging about my kitties, but as my mom says, "it's my blog and I can do what I want!" :)

Enjoy!


Gizzy: 11 weeks, 1 day

This is NOT Photoshopped

This is My Best Angle...

I am Laughing at You

Solvang, CA : A Danish Village

So almost a month ago now, seems hard to believe, Brad's parents were out here visiting. We decided to take some time off of work and trek through Santa Barbara and into Solvang, which is a small Danish community within the Santa Ynez Valley. (It was established by Midwestern Danish families who wanted to escape the winters.) It was fabulous! We were actually in the car on the way there when the most recent earthquake happened. I was sort of bummed that we didn't feel it--I would have loved for Mike and Diane to have experienced that on their trip to California. Ha.

Anyway, enjoy some of these photos. Great wine. Great times.


Our Hotel: Krongborg Inn

Brad and I at the Firestone Winery (the same family as the tires...)

Grapes!

When Kenneth had these candies in Iowa, we called them Hairball

Part of the Village

More Village

Santa Barbara and it's beauty

Santa Barbara