Happiness!!!

Katie and Matt, originally uploaded by julieverive.

I found out yesterday that my brother, Matt, and his wonderful girlfriend, Katie, have gotten engaged!

I really could not be happier about this! Katie is awesome and is basically part of the family already, so when we found out, we were ecstatic!

Best of luck to them, and lots of love!

Please Pray For My Parents

April officially sucks.

On Tuesday my parents had a fire at there house. From what I understand to be a common problem with wood-burning stoves (which is how my parents have heated their home for the past 23 years) is that oils and residue build up on the chimney which can catch fire and drip down onto the roof. This actually happened to my grandparents about 10 years ago, with what turned out to be minimal damage to their roof.

My parents, however, were not so lucky. Fortunately they were home during the day when it came to their attention that there were flames on the roof. They began quickly running hoses on the roof to try to put the fire out while they waited for the fire department to arrive. At that point, the fire fighters set about their business.... of watching the fire burn for a good 15 minutes before doing anything to prevent it.

From what I hear from my parents (who are living in a motel at the moment in search of an apartment while the mess gets sorted out) the flames reached nearly 15 feet tall off the roof, and collapsed the ceiling into their home. The house is a total loss. Luckily everyone is safe and okay.



They've been shoveling through the rubble of their former life, and everyone is pretty much in a daze. We'll be going up for a few days once things settle down a bit.

So please just think of my parents and pray for them (if you're the praying kind). I know it would mean a lot to them.

My brother has posted a bunch of pictures on his Flickr.

Survived Once Again!

Tax season is finally over, and I (barely) made it through. After a ten hour day yesterday and running around like a fool, we finished up right about 5:30pm...

I got home in a daze last night and John took me out for ice cream to celebrate my victory, and then I was out... I still don't believe it is done.

So I am working a half day today, as Van Halen hits the road to continue their tour and I'm sure some crisis will pop up...

I'm still feeling pretty out of it, so I'll write a more coherent post at some point soon...

New camera!

New fancy camera!, originally uploaded by julieverive.

My old Casio was mysteriously broken at the party on Saturday while we were off on a beer run, so it was time for me to pick a new camera.

There were many different cameras in the running, ranging from modestly priced models like this one (the Nikon Coolpix S51 - 8.1 megapixels) up through the Canon G9 (as John calls it, the rockstar of point and shoot cameras - also $465) and since I seem to be a little rough on my cameras, I decided to start off with this one. Plus, it was the only pink camera in the running. :)

This picture is also the last one I was able to get my old Casio to take, as I had to force the lens cover open.

TWO YEARS!

Today marks two years that I have been at my current job. Yup, that's right, I started working here on Valentine's Day 2006. In that time I went from terrified receptionist, to a bookkeeper for a "major entertainer." I've learned so much and all in all, I really do enjoy my job. It's amazing the things that can fall in your lap when you're not even really looking.....

Who would have thought just over two years go, when I was stuck in a dead-end retail job that someday I'd actually have a career - making a livable wage rather than the crap retail pays!

So tonight, when we raise our champagne glasses, we won't be celebrating a Hallmark Holiday, but rather two years of gainful employment. :)

Help me decide my next haircolor!

I'm having trouble deciding on what color to dye my hair this time. Do I stick with the blond? Back to red or brown?

What does everyone think?

RED?


BROWN?


OR STICK WITH BLOND?

2007 Was a Good Year...

1) We moved into our new apartment in January, so we've now lived here a year. All in all it has been a good experience! Not as much of a party house as Mansfield was, which was less of a party place than any of our places in Santa Cruz... So it may just be a symptom of us getting older....

2) My job received an influx of insanity as Van Halen hit the road for their highly anticipated tour! It has been a great experience working on the tour and I have learned so much. I finally feel prepared to deal with the second leg of the tour (starting January 22 and going through April for sure, possibly through July!) and all the craziness it will bring.

3) I really cracked down on eating better and working out and managed to lose about 20 pounds since April! It was actually easier than I expected and the results have done nothing but encourage me to work just a little harder in 08.

4) John and I celebrated 5 years of marriage in October. That was a biggie!

So it was a pretty good year. I can only hope that 2008 is at least as good!