2007

Can you believe 2007 has come and gone?  I can't- where did it go?! Oh, that's right, into a masters program (for me) and an adminstration credential (for Travis).  We went for a long walk this morning with the dogs and I kept thinking about all that has happened over the last year...I finished writing and defended my thesis, Travis went back to school for his administration credential, we trained for and completed a half-marathon, we took a long weekend down south for an overdue visit with friends, a long weekend in Squaw Valley with Travis's parents, numerous summer trips to Mi Wuk Village with both sets of parents, played toursests in San Francisco, celebrated Laura's first birthday, heard that she's going to be a big sister in March of 2008, and adopted Elvis!  Wow, when I write it all down, I realize we really did do a lot this year!  The best part is how much of our year we were able to spend with friends and loved ones.  That in and of itself is a blessing.  I am starting the new year with a heart full of love and a renewed feeling of patience.  I hope you are all looking forward to 2008 as much as I am!  Happy New Year :)

Tanner's "clothes"

Yes, in the previous picture, the dogs are wearing clothes.  As some of you know, Tanner is a slight dog.  He's a mere 43 pounds, while Belle weighs in at 58 pounds.  When we take him to the mountains, he shivers- a lot. Because of this, I bought him a nice leather jacket last year for Christmas.  He LOVES the jacket... whenever we pull it out he runs over and sits down so we can put it on him.  We joke about how he's a little bit feminine (Belle's the strong alpha in our family) and he loves to get dressed up.  No matter, we love Tanner for being Tanner.  This Christmas, Sara, Travis's sister told us she bought a jacket for the dogs to share, so they'd each have a winter coat.  Imagine our surprise when we open the jacket and it's pink...with a fur-lined collar.  We laughed and put it on Belle.  Being that she's over 10 pounds heavier than Tanner... it didn't fit!  We couldn't even keep it buttoned!!!  We all had a good laugh at that and we put it on Tanner.  We're a open family- who cares if Tanner wears pink, right?  It's just a color.  The picture in the previous post shows Tanner in "his" new jacket and Belle in the hand-me-down leather one.  As long as they're warm, they are city dogs, after all ;)

Here are pictures of each dog in the same coat...  look how small it is on Belle!!!  We have to keep the hood off most of the time because Belle tries to bite the fur.  Thanks for the jacket Sara!

 

Christmas

Christmas came and went so quickly for us this year.  We spent Christmas Eve at my sister Hayley's house with her husband's family, Christmas morning with my dad's side of the family in Hilmar, and Christmas afternoon with Travis's family in Mi Wuk Village.  It was great seeing everyone, although I would have liked to visit a little more with each branch of our family.  I took a handful of pictures and which will be posted as I edit them.  Here are a few of the early ones: Linda, Ed, Travis, and Sara; me, Travis, Tanner and Belle; and Hayley, Mac, and Laura on Christmas Eve (she's the subject of the majority of my pictures!)  It was great to spend time with loved ones.

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas!  Travis and I are both officially on "Winter Break."  We are going up to the mountains as soon as we pack and will be back sometime next week.  We are still deciding where we're going for New Year's Eve.  There is a good chance we'll be in Santa Cruz, there's a good chance we'll stay in the mountains, and there's a good chance that we'll come home and enjoy our house. If I haven't talked to you yet, I hope you have a wonderful holiday, spent in the company of loved ones, doing what is enjoyable to you.  I plan on taking many pictures over the next week so stay tuned!  Please travel safe, and in memory of my much missed grandpa, "Watch out for hijackers." 

Celebrations

I have finally uploaded my recent pictures to the computer so here are a couple from the last month or so. We had Thanksgiving at the cabin with both families. We also went to Santa Cruz to celebrate my defense and attended The Lynn's Christmas party. I was also able to visit with Brooke-something we have been talking about for a couple of months. I've been so busy with my thesis and she's been busy with the holiday season...she owns The Sock Drawer in SLO- stop by if you're in town!

Whoo-hoo!!!!

I have successfully defended! I was so nervous about the presentation, but my parents, Hayley, and Travis came to support me which helped calm me. I was asked three or four questions by the committee (they do this to everybody) and I was able to answer all of them immediately. One of my biggest fears was not having an answer ready, but I was able to answer all of them :)
One thing I didn't count on was how tired I would be this afternoon. I am physically and mentally exhausted. I have to stumble through work tomorrow and then I plan on sleeping most of the weekend away. Two and a half years, presented in one day...I am so happy, I don't have words for it. Thank you for you calls and well-wishes Sara, Brooke, Jen, Sarah, Brighid, and everyone else! I think it helped!!!

Thursday it is!

I am defending on Thursday! I'm so excited! I spent all day yesterday creating my PowerPoint and I got a little case of the butterflies when it was done :) It was hard to go to sleep and I woke up nervous! It's good nervous energy, but it's still nervous energy. I think this is going to be the longest week of the year- I want tomorrow to be Thursday so I can be DONE with this thesis. Anyway, I think Travis and I will be in Santa Cruz this weekend, celebrating. Give us a call if you want to join us!

Updates: Thesis and Thanksgiving

Have I told you yet that I'm ready to defend my thesis? Yep, finished the last draft a couple of weeks ago and have since been trying to get the professors on my committee to agree on two hours that will work for everyone. Nothing yet. I'm starting to get that anxious feeling. I've never been all that comfortable with the unknown, and not having a date to look forward to and prepare for is really getting to me!!! I'd defend tomorrow if I could, but I really doubt that will happen :(Anyway, Thanksgiving was wonderful this year! My in-laws, my parents, and my sister's family all gathered around a HUGE feast. It was great having everyone together; I think every time we gather this way, we all get more and more comfortable. Everything went smoothly- well, almost everything...except for the spill I took while walking Tanner.It all started a few weekends ago at the half marathon Travis and I ran. The day after the marathon, my left foot hurt every time I stepped down on it. After a week of moaning and complaining, I went to the doc who said it was only tendinitis. His advice was do some stretches, take some ibuprofen, and wear stiff shoes. So for the last week I've been wearing my old, beat-up Danskos because they are the stiffest shoes I own that still allow me to crouch down and work with children. Fast forward to Thanksgiving...Between dinner and dessert, a bunch of us took the dogs out for walk(me in my Danskos instead of running shoes, of course). It was probably only 6:00pm or so, but it was pitch black. Everything was going fine until we rounded a corner and Tanner pulled to my right. I took a step to follow him and apparently stepped off the "curb" (these mountain roads don't have real curbs, they are just layers of asphalt over silt and gravel, with dirt ditches on the sides for drainage). Needless to say, my middle name being Grace and all, I totally rolled my ankle and fell down. Don't worry! It wasn't the ankle on my tendinitis foot, it was the ankle on the other foot; the same ankle I sprained last year while crossing the street in Santa Cruz...yes, crossing the street. How? Stepped in a hole while wearing my *surprise* Danskos!!! Yes, so back to Thanksgiving, I was sitting in the dirt, saying "Damn!" when my mom came over and asked if I was okay. I got up and shook my ankle out; we laughed about how I now have to alternate my limps between both feet, and then I touched my knee...Yep, a nice big rip in my BRAND NEW black pants that I bought for work and threw in my bag at the last minute. That totally put me over the edge and I wanted to cry. I was so mad that I ripped my pants. Such a Margo-thing to do. So we finished our walk and when we got inside the cabin, I examined the hole- only to discover that I have blood running down my leg. I totally scraped my knee up. Are you kidding me?! I haven't had a bloody knee since high school. LAME. So here I am, almost a week later, with a big scab and bruise on my knee. So lady-like, isn't it? *sigh* Some things never change, right Mom? :)I hope everyone else had a nice holiday.P.S. Congratulations Sarah and Mike! I can't wait to meet Reese!

Thanksgiving

We spent the past weekend in the mountains with our parents and I was reminded once again how lucky we are that our parents enjoy spending time together. We were able to join them this weekend, but most weekends both sets of parents go up the mountain, my parents and Travis's parents eat dinner together without us! They both have cabins in Mi Wuk Village about a quarter of a mile apart on the same road. How lucky for us! If one cabin is full, we walk down to the other! We're planning on having Thanksgiving up there at my parents cabin, with Hayley, Mac, Laura, Ed, and Linda. I don't know that many people that can say they spend the holidays with both sets of parents. I know a few people that have to have two meals just to make both families happy, or split up the holidays because of distance or lack of time, and it always reminds me of how lucky I am that my in-laws and my parents are friends as well as family. So I just wanted to take a minute and give thanks for the family that I have and the opportunities we're giving to enjoy spending time with one another.

Big Sur Half Marathon

WE DID IT! Travis and I ran a half marathon on Sunday in Monterey. They give you a chip to track your individual time (since it took us over two minutes to even cross the start line). Our "unofficial (chip) times" were: Travis 2:16:11 and Margo 2:19:38. My goal was to finish in under 2:30 and to run the entire thing without stopping and I did both! I am more sore than I have ever been in my entire life. I ran miles 1-10 comfortably, but miles 11-13.1 were incredibly difficult! My parents made a weekend of it and came over to support us. It was so awesome to see them near the end of mile 12 when I most needed the cheers to keep running to complete my goal. Travis was 12 seconds from his goal of 2:15...12 seconds! Amazing. He wasn't able to train as much as I was because of his time commitments to his administration credential, but only 12 seconds! I'm so proud of us for completing our first (and only) half marathon. You can see more pictures at http://www.myspace.com/mntwalsh. Thanks again, Mom and Dad, it means a lot to us that you were there to cheer and take pictures!

Still sick

I can't believe I'm still sick. I've dodged the last couple of colds, but I get this one right before the longest race I've ever run. I still have three days to heal, and I'm doing what I can- but I'm afraid it doesn't look good. I'll keep you updated. Anybody have any healing tips (besides vitamin c and tea?)

Sickies

November came to our house coated in illness. Travis picked up a sore throat in SF last weekend and because we share everything, gave it to me on Halloween. Needless to say, I was in bed by 7:00pm while Travis was at class. Sorry Trick-or-Treaters, I'll make up for it next year! I was lucky enough to take Friday off and sleep most of the day. As you can see, even Tanner was a little under the weather. Hopefully we'll both be back to regular by next Sunday for our 1/2 marathon!

We went to my first ever hockey game Friday night and watched the San Jose Sharks lose to the LA something or others. It was still exciting and I can't wait to go to another one. Travis's father gets tickets every once in a while and it was so nice of him to ask us to come along! Thanks Ed and Linda, we had a blast :)

Today, Travis is catching up on his grading as well as his own school work for the adminstration credential and I just finished my latest draft of the thesis~ 52 pages! Crazy. I'm hoping to defend in two weeks or so...I really want to be done by Thanksgiving, so please keep your fingers crossed!!!

San Francisco

Travis and I spent the weekend in San Francisco with Travis's parents. We had such a good time; we are both blessed with parents that we enjoy spending time with.

The weather was beautiful! Apparently, we lucked out- today the fog rolled back in. No matter how many times I go to SF, I never get use to it... I love the detail on the old buildings and the height on the new ones. Isn't it wonderful?

While we were there we went to the daVinci exhibit and the Farmers' Market at the Ferry Building. Cameras weren't allowed at the daVinci showing, so here are some pictures of the fresh produce and the largest pumpkin at the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival that was on display at the Market...do you think it's on tour? Maybe it will come to your city next :)

TanMan

This is a picture of Tanner's first day with us. We brought him home from the pound after being informed that he had been abused and neglected by his previous family. He was so skittish and tentative. How could anyone beat this creature? Look at him! Even when he was in the pound, he was so quiet and attentive to our movements, I don't understand how someone could be mean to him.

My mom and I went for a walk yesterday and she commented on how much Tanner has changed. She said Tanner is much more confident than when we first got him. I think so too, but we're still working on him. He still has trouble eating. He buries his food sometimes. Other times he stands and looks at the full food dish for ten minutes before he takes a single morsel of food. Poor guy. Anyway, Tanner's been with us for over 2 years and we're happy to see him relax into our home and our family. He still gets a little over excited when visitors come over, but I'd rather him be over excited and lick too much than hide and pee like he did for the first month he was with us. He's our survivor and we're so proud of him!

Kids

I never thought I'd be one of those people that talks about her dogs like they are real people, but *sigh* I am. Here's a picture of Tanner and Belle. They are both about 3 1/2 years old. Tanner is some sort of German Shephard/Boxer/Bulldog mix, and Belle is a European Lab. If Tanner really likes you, he'll talk to you. He makes this gutteral sound that's not a whine and not a bark, it's so funny. If you ask him a question he'll answer you. Belle will show you she likes you by sitting on your foot. Travis had to talk me into getting a dog in the first place, and now I don't know how I ever lived without them.

Fall

We have this beautiful old house, built in 1944, with a large Sycamore tree in the front yard. The tree keeps the house fairly cool during the summer months and fairly cool in the fall months; cool enough for our first fire of the year! We do have a furnace, but it's old...I believe it was put in when the house was built, but I couldn't swear to that. Anyway, we find that fires actually heat the house better than the furnace does, so fires it is :)

I've posted a picture of our first fire of the season...isn't it great? I love fall.

Welcome, friends!

Friday, October 19, 2007.
A blog, huh? I didn't think my life was interesting enough for a blog. Probably isn't, but I'm going to have one anyway.

To start, I'll fill you in on my family. Travis is a high school math teacher. He has a degree in math, a masters in education and is currently working on his administration credential. I'm an associate clinical supervisor for a local company specializing in autism; I oversee programming and staff for four children diagnosed with autism (I'm only part-time), and hope to be involved in my company's new branch, the Infant and Toddler Program (children that are high risk for autism, or have already exhibited significant delays but do not yet have a diagnosis). I have a degree in developmental psychology, and am finishing up a masters in behavior analysis psychology. We have been married three years and have no children, two dogs, Belle and Tanner, and one cat, Elvis.
There it is...my first blog. Pretty boring, isn't it? Don't worry, it will liven up soon enough- I'm sure of it.
Thanks for reading, enjoy your afternoon, I'm off to bake some autumn goodies...pumpkin bread to start and maybe some pumpkin cookies.
The Mrs.