It is a good Saturday

As I sit here, lounging on my couch with my husband surrounded by a clean home, clean laundry and watching the Giants vs the Dodgers I have to sigh in contentment. A perfect Saturday, truly.

Yes, I got up and spent two hours cleaning the house and doing laundry, but that is ok. The effect is worth it! Now I have the rest of the weekend before me with no "chores" and a list full of relaxation. Derek had a particularly grueling week so he really needed to unwind.

I was slated to work all day yesterday and all day tomorrow which would have made for a super lame weekend, but alas, I am here, home spending time with my husband instead and loving every minute. We went out to breakfast with his mom and grandma at the Waffle House before I came home to tackle the house, which is a nice way to start the day.

He went out to run a few errands and bought a new tailgating/camping BBQ and came home to put that together. I started a new book post house cleaning...we are currently consuming ungodly amounts of Jelly Belly Flops that we picked up last weekend...

Tonight we are going to hang out with my parents while they watch a classic car parade up J Street and then head to dinner. It is always nice to see the 'rents...

A good Saturday? Maybe a perfect Saturday...He even brought me flowers home for no particular reason ;)

Busy, Tired, Grumpy but happily married

So I don't think it would have taken a rocket scientist to know that between Derek job and my job, we both work a few late nights, some early mornings and have a little grumpiness in our lives...

Shockingly enough, I think in the 4 months we have been married, I have come home more late nights than him and I am SO freakin grumpy when I work long days...I am not sure I am cut out for 14 hour work days...anyway, I digress.

We are busy, really really busy. Between totally being overloaded at work, playing softball (twice a week for him now) house hunting, trying to hit the gym, working late nights and having at LEAST 1-2 other night events come up per week, we are out and about nearly every evening. When we are at the grocery store on the weekends we try and figure out how many nights worth of dinners we are actually going to cook in the upcoming week...last weekend we determined 2 (out of 7...ridiculous)

All of that is to say that we are tired. Maybe I am over stepping my boundaries in speaking for Derek, but I think I can safely say he is pretty tired. I know I am grumpy as all get out most mornings, some evenings and I have thrown several elbows in the middle of the night :)

I can proudly say though, that I am still happily married. I know I have had my share of snippy comments and frustrated eye rolls when I am super tired and grumpy, but I am so thankful to be married to Derek. He is my constant source of joy, strength, laughter, encouragement, wisdom and guidance. He is my life partner and no matter what phase of life we are in, we are in it together and we'll get through it. Soon enough we'll have bought a house and softball will be over and work (hopefully) will settle down and we'll be bored to tears...maybe not, if we have a house then we'll have a DOG!!! If you thought I was going to say a baby, please refer to previous post.

What is so wrong with waiting?

So I got married...we are looking to buy a house. Why is the next question out of your mouth, "So when are you going to start having kids?"

Why do we have to start popping out kids?? Can I be married for a few years? For a YEAR? Maybe even for 6 months before I have to deal with pregnancy, morning sickness, mood swings and all the other BS that comes along with that?

Oh yeah and the joys of parenthood...blah blah blah. Save it...I am sure it is wonderful, but lets be honest...It will be wonderful in a year too...I am not missing out on ANY wonderful-ness because we are choosing to wait. If anything, I am enriching the experience that we are going to have because Derek and I will only be more in love, strong together and better equipped to be parents.

Why is there so much pressure to have kids right out of the shoot? Is THAT what marriage is for? The starting line to have children...sure it is a step in the right direction, but I would like to enjoy my husband for a few minutes before we are separated by endless noise, baths, TV cartoons, diapers, late night, soccer practice and referring the arguing between kids.

I love to come home from work, make a quite dinner and enjoy an evening on the couch with my husband, JUST THE TWO OF US. We have the freedom to go out, to hang with friends, to go to dinner, or out of town...no restrictions...we will never get this time back. I am going to enjoy it wile I can because once it is gone, it is GONE.

Have you heard that Trace Atkins song, "You're Gonna Miss This"
"You're gonna miss this, you're gonna want this back, you're gonna wish these days, hadn't gone by so FAST. These are the good times, so take a good look around, you may not know this now...but you're gonna miss this"

Don't get me wrong, I am really looking forward to parenthood and raising children with Derek. I think we are going to be super awesome parents. I think we will be at our best when we have kids. However, make no mistake about it, I CAN wait to have kids...for now a little puppy will do. Now that, I cannot WAIT to have :)

Summer According to Janna

Once a month I submit a piece for my company newsletter. This month I wrote about summer foods and activities....I thought I would re-share here: ENJOY...

In honor of summer and the weather finally blowing past 100 I decided to come up with a list of the best summer foods/meals. As many of you may have noticed, I love to eat…I can often be caught walking the halls with food in my hands, a cup of oatmeal, a candy bar, a Tupperware full of fruit or whatever else is lying around…What can I say? Food is meant to be eaten! Also, I have included a list of the best summer activities for you to DO while enjoying these amazing foods for your reading entertainment.

Top 5 BEST summer foods:

1. Crisp Watermelon
2. Fresh White Corn
3. Nectarines
4. Frozen Yogurt (I like marshmallows and sprinkles on mine)
5. Cold Pasta Salad (Filled pasta is the best, then any kind of noodle pasta with an oil based dressing)

Best Summer Meal:

BBQ chicken
BBQ Corn & Asparagus
Watermelon
Baked or Mashed potatoes
Fresh salad
Frozen yogurt or blizzards for dessert

Top 5 FunnEST Summer Activities

1. Camping (“Camping” mean no showers, no bathrooms and no running water, anything else is just staying in a hotel with no walls)
2. Baseball games (Giants, A’s and Rivercats are all super fun)
3. Hiking (there are tons of places to hike around Northern CA)
4. BBQing & Swimming, a great “daycation” everyone knows SOMEONE with a pool…make friends. Or go to the lake
5. Day trip to Tahoe, Napa, Santa Cruz or the coast

It happens every year...

Do you smell that? That is the smell of funnel cake, pizza, nachos and deep fried EVERYTHING. The California State Fair...it happens every year...unfortunately. That may seem a BIT cynical, but for me, at least the last 6 years, the fair has meant long, sweltering hot work days full of annoying fair goers (maybe it was YOU), sticky children, endless lines of prize whores (yes whores) and more sweat than I can produce in a week.

There is the other, happy side of the fair when I get to go as a spectator, enjoy a glass of wine, a funnel cake and look at the animals...but that is over shadowed by the impending DOOM of working the fair 2-3 days every season....These last two years have been particularly rough because I have no staff to help cover my hours. I have to beg and plead my none promotional sales staff to spend a few hours in the heat. They don't do that. They don't know how. I field tons of phone calls when their lines get too long or they lose a pen. Maybe the camera doesn't work or the stereo turned off (it was unplugged). It is during those calls I think, "I should have just worked all 10 hours myself."

So for many of you the Fair may conger up fun, childhood memories and you MAY even look forward to it. Good-for-you...

I say, DIE FAIR DIE!!!

Dear God, Help me not to be FREAKING religious today

I love listening to my dad teach. I think he is funny, witty but most importantly, typically has something useful to say, something people need to hear, but isn't afraid to say things that people may not want to hear. Today at church he used that line, "Oh God, please help me not to be freaking religious today." As he emphasized RELIGIOUS he went up onto his toes like he does when he is making a point...I am not even sure if he realizes that he does it, but he has my whole life.

One of the things that I love about my family, the "pastor's family" that we are, is that we aren't religious, we just love Jesus. If you don't know, there CAN BE a difference. Not everyone who is religious loves Jesus and not everyone who loves Jesus is religious. When I say the word "religious" I suppose it means different things to different people, especially based on how YOU were raised, but I see your standard A-type of religion as a very negative thing. Legalistic, head-strong, hurtful, hypocritical...the list goes on. I bet you have a few words to add to it. Have you been hurt by a religious organization? I couldn't name to you all of the people I know who have.

It hurts me every time I read a story about another pastor, priest or other leader who has been caught cheating on his wife, molesting children, embezzling money or doing whatever else it is that the news is full of these days. I am not sure if they realize the effect their actions have on those who attend their congregations. Obviously they are selfish, otherwise they wouldn't be doing what they are doing, so maybe they don't even care. My point is this, because we put so much faith in man, the man who stands in front on Sunday (or whatever day you attend) who leads us in prayer, who sings the songs, who teaches the words, because we have chosen to put our trust in him, instead of God, when man fails us....We walk away and never look back.

All of the sudden you don't trust GOD because MAN let you down...why? Why is it GOD's fault? Yes, God calls men to lead, to gather His people together to worship, to fellowship and to pray together, but He never said that we should trust that man above Himself. God will never let you down. You may think He has, but His way are not our ways, His answer is not always YES, sometimes it is NO or not yet.

Have you ever heard that Garth Brook's song; Unanswered Prayers? "Sometimes I thank God, for Unanswered Prayers, remember when you're talking to the Man upstairs, that just because He may not answer doesn't mean He don't care. Sometimes God's greatest gifts are Unanswered Prayers."

I strayed a bit from why I started this post, but it matters little. My original point was this; being religious will get you NOWHERE...if you are going to draw those in your circle of influence to God, you have to love them. That is it. Love them unconditionally. That love may look a little bit different from person to person, but remember this; what if you are the ONLY person that they ever encounter who could lead them to Jesus? Will you do it? Or will you hurt them with your words, with your actions, with your judgmental attitude as has every other "Christian" that they have crossed paths with? If you love them, Jesus will lead them...

Being a Professional...today seemed like a waste

I hate letting people down. It doesn't matter if you are my friend, my family or someone I hardly know. If I committed to doing something with you or for you, I follow through...I don't like flakes and I don't want to BE a flake.

Today I let a client down and I feel terrible. It was slightly out of my control as I ended up being double booked for meetings with out having my schedule consulted, but still, I feel terrible. They were upset, I was upset and it was a lame situation. Somehow I feel like I SHOULD have been able to move heaven and earth to make it right...pull an extra employee out of nowhere to cover me when I couldn't be two places at one time.


Today was one of those days that peaked my frustration of having very little resources at my disposal...I had no one to send in my place to either meeting/event. To the party that was left in the lurch, "I don't have staff to cover me, so I have to cancel on you" sounds like a pithy excuse, but it is true. There was NO ONE else and the other meetings took priority (money rules the world right?)

What could I have done differently? How could I have avoided this situation? I know I need to let it go, but I am fairly sure I have not heard the end of it quite yet. There may be some lingering effects from the shortfalls today...some lost money (although more money gained from the other meetings, hence the decision) hurt feelings...

Life as a professional? I guess that is just life...

Celebrating 28 for DAYS (not 28 days)!

Well, I am another year older, wiser, wrinklier and grouchier...actually, that last one isn't true. I am happy. I am content. I am loved.

As with most years I have managed to string out my birthday celebrations for at least a week...as I think everyone should try to do. It is a must, really...

I began with a fun little dinner at Logan's Roadhouse with some of my girl friends. We made the decision SUPER last minute, literally the night before, to go to dinner so not all were able to make it, but we had a lot of fun! I am a big fan of Logan's take on the Long Island Ice Tea...I tried the Blue Bayou this time...Tara brought a mousse cake and they gave me their best "YEEEEEEE HAW!"

They messed up almost every one's food, but we rolled with the punches. Things got a little interesting towards the end because the much anticipated call came from the Banea's announcing that baby Baneas was about to head into the world and Big JoD needed to head on over to take care of the youngin's.

Saturday morning, my actual birthday, I had the traditional Zapara family birthday breakfast. We make this amazing breakfast pastry called "Bubble Wreath" that consists on Bisquick biscuit mix rolled into little balls, dipped in butter, rolled in cinnamon sugar and layered than baked in a bunt cake pan...My mom typically makes them, but because I insisted on leftovers, I made one as well so that we would have two (plus I got a pan for our wedding that I wanted to break in ;)

My mom's signature birthday table is decorated with various printed plates, napkins, party hats and blowers....she loves to decorate the tables, she is so cute! We had my brother's family there with us, so our party of 10 gathered in my parents backyard for brunch and it was wonderful.

We set up a little buffet table with the Bubble Wreath, my dad's famous breakfast potatoes, Kendra's egg dish and fresh fruit...I think I am still full!! After we ate and visited the forced me to open my presents...Derek had already presented me with the most wonderful and thoughtful gift of the day; a basketful full, and I do mean FULL of books that he hand selected. There must have been 20 books. He knows I love to read and that I have been remiss not to have any books at our house. He scoured a few new and used book stores and pulled together a fabulous collection that should keep me busy for at least a month or two!! ( I am currently half way through The Boston Strangler...don't judge me)

My mom gave me exactly what I asked for: My body spray from Victoria's Secret, lotion and she included a gift card...NICE. She also gave me books, which is a love that her and I share. We typically pass books back and forth. In fact, I picked out a few of the books from the pile Derek gave me that i thought she might enjoy and brought them over for her to borrow. Then I open a bag with shot gun shells in it...

At first thought it seemed reasonable because Derek has a gun and we always need shells...then...

Turns out my dad decided to give me his old .12 gauge pump action shotgun...wow...SWEET! The Jr. Zapara family blessed me with a gift card to Sports Authority which will work perfectly for a gun case! My mother wanted this picture taken because she thinks I have two sides to my personality, or perhaps I am just incredibly WELL ROUNDED!

After breakfast Derek took me golfing, which I haven't had the opportunity to do in forever! My dad and brother came along and we went to Land Park. It was a hot day, but beautiful and we had a really nice time. Next, Derek and I cleaned up and he took me downtown to a place neither one of us had ever been to, Aioli. Wow, the Sangria and Tapas were AMAZING!!

After dinner we headed over to Hamburger Patty's to visit our friend Rene and have dessert. We made quick work of a brownie sundae. When were were at dinner, we noticed that there were a lot of people walking around dressed like Zombies....that is pretty weird, even for downtown! It was 2nd Saturday, so Downtown Sacramento was packed, but ZOMBIES? So as we are hanging out at Patty's all of the sudden a mass processional of Zombies marches up J street...there must have been 200 of them...what...the...hell? No offense to people who like drama (I took it in 7th grade) but seriously, these were all the drama kids that were outcasts in high-school...really really weird...

Needless to say, I had a fabulous birthday pre-day and DAY and I have so many wonderful friends and family members. I was treated to lunch today at California Pizza Kitchen by my mother in law and I am going out to drinks with some MORE friends Thursday(who couldn't make it last Friday) Thank you everyone for making me feel like a QUEEN! A special thank you and I love you to my wonderful husband Derek who always puts thought into everything and goes the extra mile to make me feel loved and special. Today he presented me with ANOTHER birthday present that just came in he mail, the creamer that goes with our dish set; the final peice to the entire set! ( I know, I am a housewares NERD)

The King has been out-classed

Well this will be my first sports related blog, but I DO follow the sporting world...

The actions of LeBron James yesterday were selfish, classless and immature. Not that I was a hard-core fan anyway, but he completely lost my respect in light of his behavior. To string along your fans and your franchise for days on end, only to hold a one hour, world-wide press conference which you arrogantly pass off as an attempt to raise funds for charity, in order to draw MORE attention to yourself is beyond comprehension....

First of all, everyone was closely watching your actions ANYWAY. You're LeBron James, and a free agent. People are slightly interested. Having a one hour "DECISION SPECIAL", as they called it, was redundant. It further angered me that he tried to play it off like he was doing a GOOD deed and raising money for charity. Let's be honest, there are SO many other ways to do that, not the least of which is digging into your "not-so-shallow" pockets and doling out some funds yourself.

He then drags out the announcement until he leaves Cleveland with NO options in the Free Agency market...they are S-O-L now. Thanks LeBron, for giving us no heads up so that we could snag one of these other guys...and people wonder why Cavs majority owner, Dan Gilbert, wrote this cute little letter to the fans of Cleveland...its a good read, I suggest it. How honestly refreshing. Yes, he will likely totally regret it today and issue an apology...but the message was sent. Yes LeBron, shake the dust from your feet when you leave Cleveland, because you are NO LONGER welcome here...he sure knows how to burn bridges...

Don't mistake my meaning...He had every right to leave Cleveland. He gave it 7 good years there. He tried his hardest to win that city a ring. It didn't happen. He has the right to move on...by ALL means...my point is, this wasn't the way to handle it...

On the flip side, consider Kevin Durant. Durant was drafted #2 overall by the Seattle Super Sonics, turned Oklahoma City Thunder, in 2007. He came straight out of high-school just like "KING" James, was an all-American athlete, won the NBA Rookie of the Year award in his debut season and was predicted to be a game changer. He has turned out to be be all of that and more. However, one thing Durant is NOT, is an attention seeker...

Durant was eligible to extend his contract with the Thunder beginning Thursday. Durant has always been open about his love for the Thunder, his teammates and their fan base. As soon as he could, he sat down with management and signed a five-year extension to stay with the Thunder, even WAIVING his 5Th year opt out option! Then he quietly Tweeted his decision to his fan base on Twitter. No long-drawn out discussions, no guessing, no one-hour special. In a nutshell, Kevin Durant handled himself like a mature professional; and the kid is only 21. He will be holding a press conference today to speak publicly about his decision, but I think that is the next natural move.

Kevin is not a better man because he stayed with his team. He is a better man because he handled his business with his team first, with the public second and without making it about himself over and above everything and damn everyone and everything else to hell...

LeBron, you were out-classed by a younger, less experienced player...Durant gets my vote and you only receive my pity....

What a Difference!!

After a major disappointing experience with our chosen first Realtor, we met today with a new Realtor, recommended to us (and USED by) some close friends of ours. We knew that they had been pleased with her, so we are hoping for the same experience. So we had our first meeting with her today where we went through EVERYTHING....I mean everything.

I suppose in Derek's world it might have been called the "Discovery" phase....She wanted to know everything about our house hunting experience, what we are looking for, our current situation, our expectations, and on and on and on...She then told us about what she'll be doing, what we can expect from her, from different kinds of sales, time frames etc....WOW

This is where I mention that we didn't do ANY of this with our prior Realtor...we never sat down and discussed any personal anything. We had one sit down meeting about houses in the area and what their status was (active, short sale, pending etc)

The differences were glaring...seriously. I left there feeling so good about where we go from here. Now I feel like we are in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, someone who cares what WE want, who wants to stay in contact with us and who will do everything in her power to get us into the house we want. Quite a concept isn't it??

We parted ways with her promising to have like 10 different things done for us before midnight...haha I think Derek scared her with his description of how annoyed he was with the other guy...just kidding. Maybe she is just doing her job. I guess I just don't know what that looks like!! Stayed tuned for more adventures in house hunting!

Round #2

We were warned when we began our house hunting that we may use and/or "go through" multiple Realtors...seems a bit silly but, come to find out, TRUE. Tomorrow night we are going to meet with Realtor number 2...and hopefully the last one we'll need! I'll admit, as you may have caught on in my last post, I was pretty pissed with our last experience...

Not that I have any prior house purchasing experience to draw from, but I have some expectations about my Realtor and what they are getting paid for...top of the list? Do everything in your power to show me the houses I ask to see...Coming in at a close second is answering your email in a timely manner...this is the age of computers...not to mention, I know you make enough money to sport a Blackberry...those emails are going straight to your cell phone...WRITE BACK!

Anyway, hopefully we'll get set-up with this new chick and get this process going again...there are several more houses we would like to see inside of, and that one house (Trinity) I liked is still on our minds...you never know. The bottom line is, we need to know what our options are and we need the best possible person to help us find them out...hopefully we are on the right track now!

If not, I might have to kill someone :)

Just show me the HOUSE!

Why do people hire Realtors? What is a Realtors job?If I want to see inside a particular house (if it is possible) than show me inside the damn house as soon as you can arrange it! Don't try and talk me out of this or that because it MIGHT make more work for YOU.
I am PAYING you to work...DO YOUR JOB....

Wow...ok...that rant, as "out of left field" as it may have seemed, was SO needed.

Short Sales...a pain in the neck...yes

Sitting available all over the Greater Sacramento area (particularly in West Sacramento where we are looking) you better believe it.

So when I ask to go see inside of a Short Sale home, don't tell me that I should stay away from short sales...just make the call and show me the house. I'll decide what I should or should not stay away from. First up on my list will likely be you and then you'll be wondering what kind of advice you SHOULD have given....

I guess today I will be researching a new Realtor instead of the next house I want to look inside...not that I am angry or anything...

A Firework-less 4th

I know that Independence Day is about America, Freedom and all that stuff...but let's be honest, it is also about FIREWORKS! I love fireworks...I think they are the best...Part of that might have to do with my pyromaniac tendencies, but I think they are fun, beautiful and mysterious.

On the 4th, it is fun to do fireworks at home, but I also love to watch sky displays as well...Yes they are romantic, but that is hardly the reason I love them!!

This year was the first year that I can EVER remember not seeing fireworks of some sort on the Independence Day weekend...seriously, in my whole life...

Yes we had the opportunity, shoot, I probably could have stepped out my door and stood in the parking lot of my complex and glimpsed the fireworks being shot off at Cal Expo, but I didn't. We could have joined in on some neighborhood parties with friends and family, but we didn't. I even could have gone to my work and took advantage of a primo balcony seat to watch the Cal Expo display from across the street...but we didn't.

My point is, it is my own fault. Derek gave me ample opportunity to make up my mind about what I wanted to do, but I didn't say any of those things...so instead we had dinner and rented a movie and I missed out on the fireworks...it made me a little bit sad. The bright side is, I learned my lesson...I want fireworks on the 4th, either at home on the street or in the public sky...give me freedom or give me death, but I want to see those fireworks!!

Loving your family out loud

As anyone who knows me KNOWS, I lived with my parents (yes really) until I was 27 years old and walked straight into my husbands arms...amazing right? I didn't have any failed college dorms/apartment experimentation's that forced me back home. I never moved out, ran out of money and came running home to the comfort of a full refrigerator and 2 sets of laundry machines...(which now, looking back is priceless, seriously)

I thought about moving out on several occasions, but alas, it never materialized. In hindsight, it was a blessing and the best possible choice. Yes, at times it was slightly juvenile to admit to co-workers, post-college, that I STILL lived with my parents, even thought I had a degree, a full-time job and no car payment...haha (which I inevitable followed up with "suckers" under my breath). It was funny, but more often than not, the response was, "wow, how do you do it? I could NEVER live with my parents still. We would KILL each other."

Truth is, I get along amazingly well with my parents. They are such great people we just don't really fight. There is no reason to. If we disagree, we figure it out without the yelling/shouting and door slamming that was so prevalent among my friends and their parents growing up. They made it easy for me to live there as an adult and have freedom and not feel restricted, but let me know that they still loved me, cared about me and were there for me when I needed them.

It is funny to think that after living with them for 27 years, that I would miss them after only being out of the house for 2 months. Honestly, the last several months I lived there, I hardly saw them at ALL. Our schedules were so different and I wasn't home during the day much...but those times when we could catch up were priceless. It is in that mind-set that I try and set a time every few days to give them a call (either by catching them at home together or calling each of their cell phones) and just checking in. It doesn't have to be a LONG conversation, but enough to give them an update and to get an update.

I care what is going on in my family and I know they are interested in what Derek and I are doing. In that same vein, we also try and schedule time to spend with them, dinners, games, whatever it may be so that we don't let too much time go by without seeing each other. I love my family and I want to be near them, be with them and love them out loud. I don't ever want to look back and wonder how I let them go, how we lost touch. I am confident that this will ever be the case in my family...we see the value in our time together, in being involved in each others lives...

Don't lose your family...find a way to love them out loud...