Happy Holidays!

Master in the Hoag House

Well, it's official. I'm finally a Master of Arts. And I hate to boast, but I'm going to do it anyway to try and redeem myself a little. It might have taken me 3.5 years to complete my thesis, but I rocked at being a grad student in classes (*cough*notice my gpa*cough*). So while my self discipline is lacking, I can jump through assigned hoops really well.

And it's worth pointing out that I made this process much harder than it needed to be, but it's still tough. And it reminds me that Matt's determination to finish his PhD (in 4 years no less!) is quite admirable. 

Frenemy Staredown

When we are home, Bounce spends the majority of his days parked in the window keeping "guard" of the house. He's always on the lookout for the squirrels and mail men that might attack us and barks ferociously each and every time he spots one. 

And then there's his frenemy. We call her (him?) Snowbell. She belongs to one of our neighbors and loves to just saunter across the street, lawn, etc. to taunt Bounce. I'm pretty sure they have a mutual interest in each other. But I don't want to know what they would do if given the opportunity.

Reason 72 to love Sacramento

Every time we visit family and friends in Washington, I come back to Sacramento a bit homesick. And then Sacramento reminds me why we love it here. Case in point, we come home after Thanksgiving and I'm majorly missing family and my favorite city, Portland.

Then I took Bounce on a walk on this Sunday morning and my homesickness subsided. Sixty degrees, blue skies, the sound of soccer fans cheering and piles and piles of dry, crisp fall leaves blanketing the ground. And let's not forget, this is in DECEMBER. Yep, Sacramento, you reminded me that I do love it here. 

Case in point: