The TWILIGHT Series

So, everyone knows about these books right? So far, I've enlightened James (who I think was just reading them so that he knew what I was talking about all the time) and my mom.

But just in case you live under a rock somewhere on Mars and have not heard of these books- you MUST read them. I'm not going to say anything about them, except for the fact that you will not be able to put them down! (Well, I was able to put the second one down because it wasn't my favorite one, but the first and third ones are incredible!)

And I can't wait for Breaking Dawn to come out on August 2nd! If I could remember how to put a calendar countdown on this blog for that date, I would!
For now, I'll just have to rely on the website: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/
For those already fans, check out the website and you can see sneak peaks at the new book and the movie they are making!

I just love summer reading! Last year Harry Potter; this year Twilight Series. Can't wait for the next obsession!

I'm having a love affair...

With San Francisco. We spent Friday watching the Dodgers beat the Giants, then wandered around the city, watching street performers until the fireworks went off over the water at the Embarcadero. It was a great day and one I didn't think could easily be matched. But Saturday gave it some competition. We had breakfast at the beach- yes it does exist! I saw the pacific ocean for the first time in a long time. Then we traveled up to Napa Valley, had a very delicious, and high calorie lunch- thanks to the battered, garlic fries! And then went wine tasting at Sawyer and St. Supery. Delicious! Here are a few pics from our adventures!

Our Weekend Recap

I haven't been able to take pictures other than with my camera phone lately, because my camera is out of batteries!
We were able to do so many things this weekend- that I thought it all deserved a post with pictures. So I have a few that I will post when I get them off my phone tomorrow, but until then....

Two Fridays ago, I quit my job. I gave notice and have been doing the 2 weeks until I start at the Secretary of States office. Now you may think, that working at a job you no longer have would mean that you don't get any work done. Well, that is so contrary to the situation here. I have been working like crazy to get my cases up to date, so that the clients won't suffer due to my untimely departure. No attorney has been hired to replace me yet, so my 45+ cases will be distributed between the two remaining associates, each of whom have trials fastly approaching.

So, when I walked out the door at 5pm (yes, I did leave at 5pm, so maybe I am slacking off a little since I only have 3 days left) I was exhausted. But when I got home, James wanted to go out! I put my body in gear and we took off for downtown. There is this terribly old movie theatre right next to the Capitol, called the Crest. It was built in the 1920's and is absolutely gorgeous, but incredibly uncomfortable. We caught the last showing of Mongol after having dinner at Pyramid and strolling around the capitol mall. For history buffs- I would not recommend Mongol. But for everyone else, just make sure you go to a comfortable theatre, because it's a longer movie than usual.

Saturday we slept in and then made delicious aspargus and mushroom omlets. Sammie needed a bath and my toilets needed cleaning- so those two things were checked off my list first thing.
James has been bugging me about signing up for a gym for the past month. There is this new fitness franchise called Anytime Fitness and they are just around the corner from us and very cheap ($190 for each of us for 2 years!) We couldn't pass up that deal, so we went and signed up and had a great work out before lunch!

Then we hussled home to grab a shower and a salad before our realtor came to pick us up. We viewed a few properties, but none that we loved. Currently we have 4 offers out and 2 of those offers have been accepted. So our minds are exploding at this decision we have to make between the two houses. There is the small house and then there is the big house. The pros to the small house are the lot size, the pool and built in BBQ and the upgrades galore in the house, as well as the fact that it's on a corner lot on a cul de sac in a great neighborhood. But the pros to the big house are the size of it, it has a pool and is in a good neighborhood, not a great one, but a good one. Both are the same price and we really don't know which way to lean. We've been asking everyone for advice, including strangers!

For dinner I made these stuffed green peppers which were fabulous and we watched this great movie, which gave me a lot of interior design ideas.

We did not slow down on Sunday: we woke right up and took off to wander around each of the two neighborhoods to get a feel for it. I'm leaning towards the big house, James is leaning towards the small house. He's there measuring it right now to see how we would arrange the furniture. (No one ever accused us of being rash decision makers, we need to know EVERYTHING before making the decision).

We also got another great work out in. We checked out a new mexican restaurante in mid-town (which is quickly becoming our favorite spot in Sacramento).
And then we went home, finished the laundry and at the pork fajitas I made for dinner.

I don't think we could have fit anything else in that weekend. And we probably should have walked the dog somewhere in there, but that always seems to get low priority on our lists! Poor Sammie!

Think Cold Thoughts, Think Cold Thoughts...

It's been around 100 degrees here lately. Now, those of you reading this in Phoenix and Utah, may not think very much of that. But I left 75 degree weather to come here and it's 100 degrees and I'm not use to it!
I will say this though- at least we have air conditioning. My parents house is 90 degrees and they have no air conditioning because they live right on the coast. Wow- at least I can escape the heat.
Now that we are house hunting (again), we are limiting our search to only homes with pools! We have to have some way to beat the heat. We also just bought season passes to Raging Waters and went there over Father's Day weekend- it was a blast. We plan on spending the entire summer there.
I'm posting this pictures to remember a time when I was really cold. We were freezing at the ASU v. SDSU game in San Diego in December. And I mean- FREEZING.
So, here's to the good ol' days....

Being a working woman in this day and age.

This week we had to make some big decisions in the Snyder family.
One of them was my job- I'm working as a plaintiff's attorney for a woman who is very well known in the Sacramento community. And I'm doing class actions, wage and hour, elder abuse and medical malpractice cases. It's a lot of work. I probably work about 60 hours a week. But I get paid very well.

But...I'm hardly ever at home. And when I am, I'm exhausted. James has been great, doing all the cooking and the cleaning and the dog walking, everything. I always have breakfast in the morning when I come downstairs, and my lunch is already made for me to take to work and I have dinner waiting for me when I get home.

It's just NOT the lifestyle I wanted when I went to lawschool. As a woman, I thought long and hard about what degree to get after I graduated from college. I talked to a lot of different women and got a lot of different advice. Law was a great career choice for me because of the flexibility. There are so many different things you can do with a law degree, you don't have to be the 60 hour a week, work addict.

My goals are to have a successful career, without jeopardizing my family life. I would love to be able to have our own firm, that I can work out of the house on. To get there though, takes a lot of time and effort- neither of which I have if I stay where I am.

So... I've taken a job with the Secretary of State's office. This is only a 40 hour a week job! And I can't wait to walk out the door at 5pm everyday- heaven! I may even have time to hit the gym after work now!

Along with taking this lower hours job, comes a lower paycheck. But my sanity and time are worth something right? I think it will allow me to balance my time more appropriately also- I can actually be home at night, to hang out with my husband and Harrison and my dog.

It's so difficult me to make this decision though. I almost feel like I'm a whimp or I'm giving up. But I just remember what my priorities are, and in my gut, I feel like this is the right move. Not only for me, but for my family and long-term goals.

So- wish me luck in the next little adventure of mine! And any advice on how to work full time without feeling guilty as a wife and mom would be GREATLY appreciated! And I know, I'm not a full-time mom yet, but Harrison is rarely here for more than a few days, and we'll have him fulltime for 5 weeks. I don't want him to have to spend those 5 weeks in summer camp all the time!

The balance is so hard to achieve.

Holy Crap- how cute is this...

This is a baby rhino bred at a zoo and research center in Ireland. I saw the picture and almost started crying- it was so dang cute. Okay, so maybe I'm just a little over-emotional right now. But really, isn't she the cutest thing you've seen today? (with maybe the exception of your own babies?!) I mean, look how huge her feet are! And those ears! Geez...

Another new favorite: Mint Julep Mask

I was wasting time in Walgreens the other day and came across this mask for only $3.99! I tried it last night and it is wonderful. It's light, quick drying and leaves the skin feeling very fresh and moisturized. At $3.99 it's a great bargain and works really well! Definitely recommended for a quick and cheap mask treatment. It smells great too- very fresh. Try it and tell me what you think!