Disneyland!

We were lucky to score some free tickets to Disneyland back in July, and we had so much fun spending part of our anniversary weekend there. Danny's mom, Sherree, was in town this weekend and told us that she hasn't been to Disneyland in 16 years! She has been wanting to visit the park, so we figured, why not?

We have never seen Disneyland all set-up for one of my favorite holiday's: Halloween.
The foggy fall weather made it feel authentic, and kept the crowds pretty small.

The Haunted Mansion was decked out in Nightmare Before Christmas.



FANTASTIC!

Fancher

California Adventures



We got a great deal on tickets off Craigslist, and were able to take Sherree to see the new California Adventures park for less than the price of just a Disneyland ticket! Score!



California Screamin'

One of Sherree's old favorites was Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Danny and I have never seen the show, so we enjoyed seeing something brand new!

In Innoventions, there is a camera where you take a picture and it shows you what you'll look like when you're old. It gives you the options to be obese, a heavy smoker, and sun damage. Scary!

On the way out, we caught part of the 'Celebrate' parade.... and the crowd.

 

 Overall, the day was a huge success! We made it back to San Diego in time to make a salad and cook some salmon. We watched the Giants game and drank an amazing 2003 Napa Valley Duckhorn Vineyards Cabernet.... yum!

Danny is golden!

I'm so proud of Danny's hard work in these past years at Estancia Resort and Spa. Danny worked up from being a part-time server to nearly managing the entire food and beverage department for a while. Not only does he give his work 150%, but he enjoys doing it! Danny's hard work was just honored as he was named manager of the quarter, and awarded some pretty cool perks as a result.

Outrageous things 2

I hope that foot strap doesn't snap and I have to witness this guy rolling onto the road. On the other hand.... it could be mildly funny (if he didn't get hurt... bad).

6 year olds who wear sports bras to the gym generally don't upset me... until they discover me doing crunches on the exercise ball, and then take the ball when I'm between sets or lunges. Hmm I think I'll report you to the leasing office

Danny conquers the fry clump

 I think I'll pass


Unusual events for the Padres: Late September, first place, rain

 A Dexter/Sunrise 6am alarm clock

At least they eat lunch outside... Notice the address is O.B.

If you're on your way to an interview, and the elevator has a stained oriental rug and no numbers on the buttons. RUN

I have no words.

Obviously this was during the Padres v. Giants series...

Danny's toof

Manly

I've never felt so dirty standing next to a 'CAR WASH' sign

 Do not cut this guy off on the freeway

This should be illegal. Actually, I think it is.

Outrageous things part 1

As I went through the pictures on my phone, I decided they needed to be shared... though Barbara has already received most of them as a picture message, the rest of you can enjoy them now.

Is this a math problem or an open sign?

U.S.S. Midway earrings. How do YOU celebrate Veterans Day?

Missing: Gingerbread Shop

Mother fail, or perhaps Jayme's shadow fail

Kev says, "If the shoe fits..... wear it as a floatation device whenever you fly"

Pretty much....

Ornaments year-round. Dannys nightmare, Moms heaven.

Someone drew this on the back of a paper that they turned in to me for work. Really.... really?

 Not sure how they even made it that far...



 

Dexter discovers his reflection

Photographed by Barbara Gausewitz.... too good not to share

I turned 24

and now I'm afraid of 25. I never imagined my mid-twenties.... should be fun!

I got to spend my big day with my wonderful family...


my second family....


Brett & Dayna's wedding....



and a hike with the in-laws and the parents.

Time with Family

I LOVED having my family in town these past few weeks. I am so lucky to have seen the beautiful faces of cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, parents, parents-in-law, and my siblings! My parents are looking for houses down this way to possibly move in the future. YAY!

We looked at houses with my parents, my dad and I both got stung by a bee-not the same bee, we went to Mexico- not to look at houses, my car got towed in Las Americas Outlets- don't ever shop there, we ate lots of fattening food, drank lots of fine wine, had bbqs and watched the season finale of 24- which turned out to be kind of lame. I was able to take my family to a game on a night I wasn't working, which turned into a 13 inning marathon. My mom, Kevin and I took the ferry from Coronado and basically did a walking tour of the entire downtown San Diego harbor. Kevin got to do some surfing with Derrick, and Dexter enjoyed watching until he got too excited and ran about a foot out into the water before freezing with fear.

There is something wonderful about family. One of the truly great things about family is that they will always be around throughout the years. Growing up I had a lot of close friends that moved for different reasons along the years, and it's a little sad that I won't likely reconnect with those people, but I can see family members after a year or more of not talking much and we can fall into a deep conversation or sit contently in each others' presence.

Then of course there are the friends who become like family. I look forward to seeing who in my life today will still keep in touch yearrrrrs from now. It's crazy to me that Danny has known some of his college friends for nearly 10 years! I love watching those friends of his have children and grow their families. I love being an Auntie and I can't wait to see what the future holds for the Oswald-Fancher-Miller crew and all the beautiful babies and their babies, and pets, and growing old with all of these people I love.




Ephesians 5:1-2
Be imitators of God as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Professional Ponderings

Have I mentioned how I hate the question: "What are your plans after graduation?"
As if any answer I give will be ample!

Here's something I plan: pay back my loans- which takes money- which means a job of some sort

The 5% of my graduating class who do have "careers" they're going into are forced into plastic hopeful smiles that they'll spend the next 10 years of life being appreciated by their boss and continuously presented with generous raises and bonuses, and in the comments line on the check it will say: Thanks for being wonderful. However, statistics show that we will likely change our profession 7 times before settling into a career where we'll be undervalued and overworked- I don't think that ever covers the fabulous impacts the recession has had on our workforce. So we're supposed to be amped about graduating, right? Additionally, I read in Bloomberg Businessweek that the U.S. has the highest share of low-paying jobs of developed nations! Ah, God Bless America... or at least just me since I'm a July 4th baby.

Today I got one of the best bits of encouragement from someone I just met, she said: "my advice is that you shouldn't shove your way into a career that you'll inevitably hate but won't quit because you tried so hard to be there and you can't imagine that there's a better opportunity out there." It was like a movie: time stood still, my heartbeat rose above any other noise, and in slow motion I said 'wow, thanks'.

I recently applied to a position and in the interview it was made known to me that I would willingly be selling my soul to the company for 9-13 months to gain advancement. After said advancement, the soul was no longer satisfying and they wanted my first born. But wait! I could get a job practically anywhere after a few years (and a few offspring). You know, I was ready to take that position too!?

I've been praying that I would have two things while 'picking my future': clarity and confidence. I pray that I will be led down a path that allows me to spend time with my husband, doesn't drain me of my joy, and encourages my talents. I pray that I will find a job I can use to help others and lift them up along the way.

So to finish the story of said application: I did not get the job. A sign... or a failure? Not sure, but I somehow feel it was both. What at first pissed me off now makes me positive it wasn't the right place after all. Here is the email- I did not change the way that it was addressed. Nor did I add the repetition of "good luck with your job search." The only thing I removed is the name of the company and the sender, because classy girls do things like that (right after devising snide responses that they'll never actually send!)

Dear ___FIRSTNAME__,
Thank you for taking the time to interview for the Management Trainee position with <>. Although we have decided to pursue other candidates for this opening, we sincerely appreciate your interest in our company and wish you the very best in your job search.
Thank you again for your interest in employment with <> and we wish you good luck in your job search.
Regards,



So no job, still have my soul. Unfortunately?

Stories of the Little House on Cape May Ave.

Now that we've gotten our full deposit back from Cape May.... I can post :-)

1- Ancient History

Because I was built before the dawn of time, I am able to provide a few 'perks' to my inhabitants:

With my old walls, spiders have no trouble getting into the lush carpet I provide. They especially like this corner (where you can now find 25 corpses) of the home which sits adjacent to the garden. Unfortunately The Fanchers (especially Jayme) dislike spiders and bombed the house monthly. RIP my friends.

Because it is likely that my walls to not have insulation, the house will self-adjust its temperature to the outdoor temp. In the summer I can reach record highs of 90, and in the winter... well... you should bring a coat.

If you like the cottage feel, I am it! With cabinets that almost shut and a leaky window, I am quaint as could be.

2- Small and mighty (is this a section title... or a caption for the following photo?)


Though my square footage is most likely less than your IQ, I have been the temporary home to many:
Barbaras fish, RIP
Two semi-poisonous frogs (just don't lick them!)
Dexter, the wonder dog
Barbara, the temp roomie
Kevin, the wedding helper
Momma Oswald, the great
Jack Bauer themed TV nights
Kittens aka "Jordan's Kids"
Cheesecake bake-offs (thanks Barbara for allowing my tiled floor to partake)
Gift storage for the wedding

3- Smokey said that even I can prevent forest beach fires

My smoke alarms are in keen working order! Every time you cook, or even think about cooking, I will sound my alarm to let you know that I am here to help! Quick!! Turn on the fan and open the door!

4- Come all yee weary

My neighbors are the best! They really know how to have a good time! If you're looking for a place to go and it's 2am and you've just paid your tab at one of the classy OB joints (Lucy's, Catalina Lounge, Macs) you can come enjoy one of our joints... literally.... on any neighbors front porch. If they're not smokin' that night, perhaps you'd like to play a game of late night darts, beer pong, or just stare at the stars. Beer bottles need not be picked up, the "OB recycling crew" will take care of it.



During the day, the neighbors will frequently throw lawn parties (or even block parties) where you can drink from 7am until you can no longer read your clock. Since no one in OB seems to work, this can occur on any day with nominal amounts of sunshine.


5- Today's Special!

Like some restaurants I offer daily parking specials. If you're lucky enough to find a spot within 6 blocks of your home, congrats. Upon parking, be sure to check out my daily parking special. On Wednesdays and Fridays of each week, I offer street sweeping parking fines starting at 7am! If it's the first week of the month, there are also specials offered on all streets based on the day of the week. Your $40 fine will go towards making my roads better, don't you feel good about that?


6- Port-a-potie

No one likes having to pick up after their pet, and that's the beauty of OB. Since I have a lawn, feel free to bring your dogs by for a bit of relief. Especially if you live right next door! In fact, bring them daily!

Note: none of those little piles belong to Dexter... his are on the other neighbors lawn.... jk.... sort of.... Well, at least his are practically microscopic so it doesn't reallllly count.

Wait! Those feeling especially welcome by my green pastures can also feel free to stop and take a sunbathing nap on me!


7- Walk it out!


I am centrally located near some of San Diegos most unique cousine. During the summer, and into the winter (before Jayme's bones started to get cold), Danny and Jayme enjoyed walking to such luxery dining options as Rite-Aid Ice Cream Parlor (guests were always welcome), The Blue Parrot Bar and Grill, Hodads, Newport Pizza and Ale House, and anywhere else that they found coupons for (with the occassional splurge/no coupon visit). For Jayme's birthday Kevin, Barbara, Jayme and Danny walked to the beach and enjoyed one of the most spectacular firework displays ever. On the fourth o' July they also witnessed a 'free hot dog' stand and their first OB marshmellow fight, which is seriously worth youtube'ing if you haven't seen one for yourself! Not to mention some interesting slip n' slide activity!

8- The love nest

As Jim Oswald called me. I was the first home of Danny and Jayme Fancher! I was also the place where family and friends gathered to celebrate the occassion of their marriage. I remember that at one point there were about 20 people and a dog squeezed into the living room. In fact, Jim and Jayme practiced their father-daughter dance for the wedding just behind my fence.

Goodbye Cape May, we'll miss you.... a little.....