Drum Roll Please!

So for the past 4 weeks, I've been eagerly awaiting the DNA test results for Bailey to determine what the heck he is! They finally arrived today (complete with certificate of authentication) and I must say, I was a bit surprised. Most of him (but less than 50%) is Border Collie. But he actually has three other minor influences of: Alaskan Malamute, Mastiff (wtf?!) and Lab. Bizarre.

The documentation states:

Primary – This category is intended to help owners recognize when their pet’s DNA contains a majority of a specific breed (i.e. 50% or greater). If your dog has a strong match to one of our validated breeds, then it is categorized as primary. Most mixed breed dogs will not usually have a breed in this category unless one or both of their parents are purebred.

Secondary – This category reports breeds that are easily recognizable within your dog. While these breeds may have a strong influence on your pet, each breed listed makes up less than the majority of your dog’s DNA.

In the Mix – This final category identifies breeds that have the least amount of influence on your pet’s composition, however, they still appear, at a low and measurable amount, in your pet’s DNA.

(And yes, I realize we are now officially D.I.N.Ks by doing this...)

Gotta Love the HOA...

The South Riding Proprietary is known for their bizarre regulations and their Nazi-ish implementation of said regs (reference: Peerenbooms vs. South Riding, 2002 – the infamous deck slicing). Well, John and I are having a sprinkler system installed next month. So before the back hoes show up ready to tear up our lawn, I thought I better read the “Design and Maintenance Standards” of good ol’ South Riding to make sure we’re in compliance. While perusing the 44 pages, I found some of the passages quite humorous and thought I would share with my [two] readers. It appears that the Proprietary drove around West Virginia for the day and then proceeded to list all the things we SHOULDN’T do:

• The display of any dead animals or animal carcasses on the exterior of the home is not permitted under any circumstance.

• Clotheslines or similar apparatus are not permitted outside a house.

• The use of doghouses is discouraged. However, Applications may be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Committee. Doghouses must be located in the rear of the property and be screened from view of the street and adjoining lots.

• Approval will be required for all exterior decorative objects including natural and man-made objects. Placement of decorative objects in the front yard is discouraged. Exterior decorative objects include, but are not limited to, such items as sculptures, fountains, pools, gnomes, stumps and driftwood. Any exterior decorative object greater than 12 inches in height or width or numbering more than three (3) will require approval of the Committee.

• Electronic insect traps will be regulated based on the same criteria as for exterior lighting. In addition, no device shall be installed or maintained in such a way as to become a noise or visual nuisance to adjacent owners, and may only be operated during those times when the immediate area protected by the trap is occupied by the owner or guests.

• Firewood shall be kept neatly stacked and shall be located to the rear of the property in such a manner as to avoid adverse visual impacts for adjoining properties or open space. The use of brightly colored tarps will not be permitted.

• An Application is required for rock gardens. All rocks shall be left in their natural color.

• Mailboxes primarily serve a functional necessity and are not necessarily a decorative asset to a Lot. Ornamentation (e.g., decorative covers, lighting, plants, etc.) are not permitted on mailboxes, posts, or the ground surrounding them.

• All vehicles must be parked only in areas (driveways, streets, garages, etc.) designated for such purpose and in full conformity with all applicable laws. At no time may residential lawns, yards, open space, general turf areas, etc. be used for parking, storage, or other recurring use to support vehicles of any type.

• No signs may be posted on any Lots, other than one real estate sign, not to exceed six (6) square feet, listing a property For Sale or Rent and a maximum of one security sign.

• Winter holiday decorations may not be installed prior to Thanksgiving Day and must be removed from the exterior of Lots by the last day of January.

Wine Fest 2008 - The Pictures are Worth 1,000 Words...

San Diego Diary - Full Boxed Set

April 17, 2008

John and I departed from Dulles around 5:00 and landed in San Diego around 8:00 pm West Coast time. This was the first time I had stepped foot in California, even though Jen and I were about 20 minutes away on our trip to Lake Tahoe. We rented a Prius (thank God -- the gas prices here are $4.00+ per gallon for regular) and made our way to the Park Manor Suites, right across from Balboa Park. Once checked in, we were starving so John went exploring to find some food. He came back with an awesome pizza from Bronx Pizza -- quite a tasty treat to have at about midnight East Coast time.

April 18, 2008

We decided to sleep in and relax a bit before adventuring out to sunny San Diego. The weather was beautiful and we couldn't resist having "breakfast" around 11:00 at In-N-Out Burger -- yum! After eating our cheeseburgers, fries and root beer floats, we decided to visit Coronado Island to dip our feet in the Pacific Ocean. The view was amazing, the beach smooth and glittering with gold (Warren -- why the heck is it like that???) and the weather was perfect.


After Coronado, we drove out to Seaport Village to do some tourist shopping, look at the water and see the sights. In one of the sections of the village, there was a guy there who rescues parrots. If you give a donation to his rescue, you could take a picture of them (and hold them if you wanted too). Below were two of them that were walking around -- so cool!


After the parrots, we were getting hungry and stopped at a restaurant on the water. I had a seafood salad and John had seafood linguine. Mmmmm. After that, a trip to Starbucks was needed so I could get a Cinnamon Latte and then we crashed back at the hotel.

April 19, 2008

Again, we decided to sleep in (what's the rush?). Our first meal of the day was at Hash House A Go Go, per recommendation from Mat P.



The wait was about 45 minutes, but DEFINITELY worth it. The portions were HUGE (below is a picture of my 14" pancake).


I had eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy and a blueberry coconut pancake that was the size of a frying pan. John had mashed potatoes topped with spinach topped with tomatoes topped with biscuits topped with two friend chicken breasts topped with bacon and scrambled eggs. It was quite the show of gluttony. The plates were not plates -- they were serving platters as wide as the table. It was good.

After Hash House, we walked around the Gas Lamp District and did some light shopping, making sure to stop in the Ghiradelli Chocolate Ice Cream Shop for mint chocolate chip ice cream and a Coke float. We then took the Prius out to Escondido to visit Orfila Vineyard to do a wine tasting. I am happy to report that San Diego wine is nothing special -- I still love my Virginia wines.



On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at La Jolla Cove (pronounced La Hoya) to watch the sunset -- although the sky was overcast and we were not able to see anything other than a crazy man swimming in the freezing ocean and a beautiful view of some rocks and birds. Below is a picture of John calling his Mom from La Jolla on her birthday.




Back at the hotel, we were starving, so John went out to get Mexican from Jimmy Carter's Mexican Restaurant (no affiliation with the President) it was tastilicious!

April 20, 2008

We started the morning by eating our leftovers from the Hash House (our hotel used to be an apartment building so we had a small kitchen with fridge and microwave to heat up leftovers). After eating we ended up going to church at Saint Joseph's cathedral. It was a nice service and the priest was good.

After St. Joe's it was time for the San Diego zoo! We had a blast looking at all of the animals and enjoying the nice weather. Below are some shots from our day there. If you notice the pic of the panda, you'll see she's nursing. Apparently its pretty rare for them to do that in public





After the zoo, we were starving so we went to La Jolla again (I kept wanting to pronounce it "La Holla") to grab some food and see if we could catch the sunset. We ended up going to Whisknladle which was a really really cool place. Everything there was organic and most of their food is made onsite to include their own cured meats, cheese, mustard, mayo, ice cream, pasta, butter and bread. We had a fantastic plate of meats and cheese followed by swiss chard and ricotta ravioli and John had some spicy shrimp. There were lightbulbs hanging above us with curled filaments in them that I though were too cool not to photograph.


After our meal, we went out to the water to watch the sunset. I took over 100 pictures of the sunset over 2 days, below is one of my more favorite shots.


April 21, 2008

Unfortunately, I had to work on this particular day (I guess I owed it to my company to put in at least one day of work, eh?). I spent the majority of the day auditing our San Diego office and preparing them for their next government security inspection. The day went pretty well and when I was finished, John and I had some time to kill before catching the red-eye back to the coast. We had dinner at another restaurant in La Jolla and I took MORE photos of the sunset. One thing we did not realize the previous two days, was that this beach is home to "pupping" sea lions. After walking a bit, we found the beach and were able to get within 20 feet of 100+ sea lions basking on the beach! What a cool cool thing!

After that, we headed to the airport and got home around 6:00 am on the 22nd. We had a blast - I'm so glad I went.

Prayers, Please

I don't normally post items here that are personal in nature about my family, but I think now is an appropriate time.

As many of you know, my father has been battling diabetes and congestive heart failure for 7 years now (he was diagnosed with CHF 1 week after John and I were married). We have just come to learn that he is now in Stage 3 Renal Failure. This has been a strain on my mother - taking him back and forth to heart and kidney specialists for the past two months and I know this is just the beginning of a long road ahead.

Please keep my parents and my family in your prayers. Caring for a loved one that is very ill is never easy on anyone and the Lambiasi family would appreciate any prayers you can send our way.

Thanks.

Latest Cakes

These were made for Genevieve's 4th "Princess Party". Doll and Castle are cakes -- the lollipops are white chocolate in the shape of crowns and castles. Last pic is the birthday girl!

Miche for Michelle

Jen and I were at Tyson's today when we discovered the best invention known to all women-kind that has hit a mall kiosk in the past 20 years. It's called the Miche. Invented by a woman named Michelle, this black and/or brown basic purse is equipped with magnets. In less than the time it takes to say "Miche", you can slap on a new "shell" (if I were her, I would have called them "chelles") on the outside of the purse to completely change the entire look. I bought one brown and one black purse today and got 6 shells -- which means I can have 14 different purses for less than $150. I am in love. And how could I pass up a purse named for and invented by a woman named Michelle?

For those ladies that want to check it out, go here: www.michebag.com.

Sad.

These past two weeks have probably been some of the hardest two weeks of my life. I have had difficulties with family and I have had some terrible experiences at work. I am constantly being tested and it seems everyday is a struggle between doing what I think is right and doing what others think is right. I now find myself questioning all my previous actions and wondering if I have EVER done anything correctly, and if I should continue in the line of work that I am in.

The last time I felt this way was in high school when my entire lunch table decided to turn against me and tell me they all hated me. In order to show this united display against me, they all brought oranges in for lunch (my most hated fruit enemy). I can remember locking myself in the bathroom stall at school and crying on the floor -- the history teacher had to coax me out.

Although a funny and petty story now, it was the end of my world then. I am just hoping I will look back on these two week 10 years from now and think the same thing.

An Email from John Last Friday...

There was a woman at lunch today eating a big plate of Kung Pow chicken and reading Catholicism for Dummies. I guess she hadn’t gotten to the chapter about Lent yet.

I had shrimp fried rice.

New Grow Game

Enjoy.

Bridal Shower

I had a bridal shower for my cousin, Emily, on Saturday. Em's getting married in May. We had a great time and my cousin Nicole was a saint being my Sous Chef -- helping me to prepare a million dishes. Emily's friend, Catherine, is a photographer in training and managed to get some fantastic shots. Two of my favs are below (yeah, I had to include the one of Bailey cause he's really adorable).

Angry

I am so mad. I left work early today because of the weather. Jennifer called me right before and asked me to come get her because she almost got into an accident on the bridge and didnt want to drive home. So I left work to go get her and proceeded to get into an accident on the bridge. The bridge was a sheet of ice and this lady in front of me slammed on her breaks. I, in turn, slammed on my brakes. The anti-locks went on, but the car still slid...right into her. It was like ice skating with a Highlander and a Rav4. Ugh.

So we pulled into the police station (that happened to be right there) and the guy at the station told us it would be 4-5 hours before a cop could get to us (as they were all out at accident scenes!). So he gave us a report and we wrote up our own report and exchanged info. She was really nice -- if I was going to hit anyone, I was glad it was her.

So my car has like $4,000 worth of damage and I'm just really shook up right now. Sigh.

Stupid ice.

Promoted.

I got promoted last week. Although my company has been preparing me for the past year to take over my current supervisor's position, I really didn't think it would actually happen. But it did. My new official title is Director, Corporate Security. I am really excited about the new role, but a little hesitant as well about all of the challenges that it will bring. It seems I will have pretty large shoes to fill, and for some reason I feel like I'm wearing a pair of those toddler Nikes with the velcro straps.

I also recently got elected as the Chapter Chair of my non-profit security organization as well. So this week I am flying up to New England for a Board of Directors meeting for my non-profit and am combining it with a security site visit for one of my offsites. I feel so... old.

Funny, funny stuff

We discovered this guy today on comedy central. I haven't laughed this hard watching stand up in quite a while. He reminds me of a combination of Steven Wright and Gill.

Who Needs Kids?

Who needs kids when you can have your entire neighborhood come to you! I just got this picture from my neighbor -- this was taken on Halloween as the entire street of kids gathered in front of our house for a photo op.

Great Stocking Stuffer

I got these for Dawn and Mike for Christmas this year and they were quite the hit. So if you need a stocking stuffer idea that is environmentally friendly, you should pick up some Envirosax! These sturdy reusable shopping bags are strong enough to hold 3 bags of groceries, yet fit easily in a pocket, glove compartment or purse. And they look kinda cool too.

Happy Birfday to Me!

I've had a good birthday so far, considering I am still pretty sick. Apparently, I have this evil cold that does not want to go away. Not sure if it's the same one that's killing people, but I sure felt like I wanted to die several times this week!

John got me Guitar Hero III for the Wii for my birthday, so we've been playing that. He's already beaten it on the easy level (had to battle the Devil while playing The Devil Went Down to Georgia to do it). I had a 90 minute massage at the spa in South Riding followed by a sauna and then got a Carmel Latte at Panera before coming back home. When I arrived home, I was greeted by some cards and calls from family and friends.

Coincidentally, I happened to get another really cool suprise today that just so happened to arrive on my birthday. I got an invitation from Bob LaRose's new company -- to attend the Christmas Party this year. Apparently people from both Bob's old companies and his new company, Agilex, are invited this year so John and I get to have one last Integic blast from the past next month. Pretty cool.

Neti Pot to the Rescue!

John brought me home a nasty cold on his way back from Dallas this weekend. I have been cooped up in the house catching up on episodes of Heroes and Dexter. In order to speed up my healing process, I have jerry-rigged a green tea pot as my new Neti pot. (Don't worry, if you come to my house later on, I will NOT serve you green tea from this pot -- or I'll at least wash it first). What's a Neti Pot? Here's a wonderful you tube demonstration:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQm7YpxgOnA

For the Cat Lovers...

Carnage in South Riding!

I was letting Bailey out to pee a few weeks ago and saw this on my deck railing. It was too amazing not to photograph.