Happy Birthday Justin!

Today is Justin's golden birthday. He turns 27 on November 27th, 2009,

We haven't done much but Justin got to pick out where we ate for lunch: Panda Express (blech!). Tonight we are going to dinner at Rutherford Grill tonight with Anthony who is visiting from Hawaii.

Since Justin is the hardest person to shop for, he has decided he wanted pick out a new golf club, which we will order tonight.

Happy birthday, Babe!

Thanksgiving 2009

Usually Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Since this year was a rough one I want to make sure to say how thankful I am for the good things in my life.

1. Justin. Without him I surely would have gone to the nut house.
2. Lola. Without her I wouldn't have had warm feet all those cold nights.
3. My job. Without it we would have been in a shelter by now.
4. The girls on TTCAL. They let me be as emotional, as irrational and as illogical as I want without judgment or persecution.

Thank you for all the good things.

Hooky!

Today I played hooky from work. Since Justin's been working on the weekends I figured I'd take an extra day and we would spend it together.

We'd been talking about going to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, so we figured it would be a perfect day! We slept in until 8:00 (yes! 8:00!!!) and took our time getting ready. We left around 9:45 and missed all the traffic. We got there around 11:00 and to my surprise there were no lines. We walked right up and bought our tickets.

We were stopped just before we went in and asked if we wanted our picture taken. We obliged and said we'd check it out before we left just to see what it looked like. So we proceeded in and the first thing you see is a huge domed rainforest. It was amazing.

There were birds and butterflies just flying around everywhere! There were all kinds of reptiles and amphibians in enclosed display cases and even a huge water element with just as huge fish. I swear they were the biggest fish I've ever seen! One was about 7 feet long. No exaggeration!

Once in the rainforest exhibit you walk up a round walkway all the way to the top of the dome and then take an elevator down... all the way down below the water element. You could look directly up into the water and see all the fish and turtles. It was amazing. They had individual looking holes into different areas of the water where there were different types of sealife. We saw anacondas from the amazon and even an octopus, although he was hiding and a bit hard to find. A little further into the aquarium there was even an area where you could pet star fish. They really felt just like a rock.

Next we passed by the planetarium and got our passes for the 12:30 showing of "Journey to the Stars". We had about 30 minutes to kill until we needed to get in line, so we went to the African Room. That is where we found my favorite part: the penguins! They are so funny and interesting. There was this little girl who couldn't have been more than 4 and all she kept say was, "so silly!" It's true. They are just silly animals.

When it was time we got in line for the showing in the planetarium and before we knew it we were already in our seats. It was amazing. The seats are slightly tilted back so you don't have to strain to see what's being shown on the ceiling (which is also tilted). It was definitely interesting learning about the formation and life of stars and how they affect us in our every day life.

Once the showing was over we went to the museum cafe and had lunch. It was surprisingly better than I remember it being when I was in school.

On our way out we checked out the picture we had taken hours earlier and ended up buying it even though it was a ridiculous $19.95!

Fall has finally arrived!

Last week Justin's mom gave us a huge flat full of apples from his grandparent's orchard. (It's really just a bunch of apple trees on their land, but this year they produced so much fruit they might as well have sold it!)

I couldn't imagine what I was going to do with so many apples, so I researched some ideas and decided on apple pie and apple sauce.

I think my pie turned out pretty well! It doesn't look like Bobby Flay's, but I'm pretty happy with it!

Counting

Today,

I am grateful for friends who truly understand that actions speak louder than words.

I am grateful for good friends who know that sometimes cookies speak louder than words.

I am grateful for great friends who know that 5 dozen cookies can say more than words ever could.

Looking for the Silver Lining...

Today is possibly the worst day I have ever had. The worst part? I saw it coming.

After a week suspicion, and a weekend of worry and nerves I went to the doctor this morning to get the results of a series of blood tests. Unfortunately the news was not good. Apparently my body did not like the way the my little embryo was forming. My body decided that it was better to discard of it now than to let it proceed.

I'm not going to lie. This is devastating. We are so emotionally connected to this little life already that I cannot believe it's over before it even began. My doctor reassured me that this miscarriage is not an indicator of pregnancies to come, but that is very little consolation. All I can seem to do is cry. When I do find something to distract myself, it's usually only short lived thanks to a pregnant woman on a show I'm watching or an advertisement for diapers in a magazine.

I am trying to look forward to the fact that we can try again, but I am having a hard time getting around the question of why did this happen to us? Is it karma? Or genetics? Luck? I'm sure I'll never really know.

I've read that the grief, the crushing heartbreak, the devastating betrayal of my body I feel will dissipate, fade or even go away, but at this point I don't see that happening any time soon. But I suppose the only thing to do is to keep looking ahead. I hope by showing my appreciation for what I have, it will bring some peace to my heart. So I will remember to count my blessings. Starting today.

1. A wonderful husband
2. A snuggly dog
3. My health
4. A reliable job
5. A comfortable home
6. Supportive friends

Yes, I am grateful for these things in spite of what has happened.

It's just not fair.

And a baby makes three...

Yep! It's confirmed. There will be an even NEWER Nunley.

3 days and counting...

It's all that I can think about right now.

Cinnamon Tortillas

Last weekend Steve, Holli, Justin & I had breakfast at Compadres Rio Grille. For breakfast they served cinnamon coated flour tortilla chips instead of chips and salsa.

I took one look at those and thought to myself, "I can do that!"

After a couple of tries, I finally succeeded.

Delicious!

Those who play together, stay together...

For a few months now Justin & I have been talking about getting bikes. Since we tend to "impulse buy" things we decided to wait a while and see if we were still interested in it.

We finally decided we still wanted them and broke down and bought them. So Saturday afternoon we bought the bikes, brought them home, and fixed them just like we wanted with the bike lock and emergency pump.

Once everything was all said and done, it was late and we were exhausted, so we didn't even ride them. I thought to myself that this might be a bad omen and we had done it again. I didn't dare say this aloud for fear of the "I told you so," from Justin.

Contrary to my own speculation we finally made a plan to take a ride with Holli, Steve & little Steven on Sunday. They arrived Sunday morning at about 10:15. After getting Steven's buggy attached and the tires pumped full of air, we were on our way.

We started down Soscol to where the River Trail begins at Trancas. We rode the trail from Trancas to Lincoln all the way to Compadres Rio Grille where we had decided to have breakfast. It was still cool and overcast which was perfect for our ride and cool-off. First thing once we sat down the waiter brought us fried tortillas covered in cinnamon which were devoured in approximately 4.1 seconds. We ordered, ate and had a grand 'ol time as we sat outside on the patio overlooking the Napa River.

Once we were done and the bill was paid, we got back on the bikes and did the reverse route. We rode the River Trail back to Trancas, then Soscol back home. All in all we rode about 5 miles that first ride. I was glad I could squelch my skepticism that we wouldn't use the bikes as much as we thought, and can't wait for lots more rides with my husband, our friends or just with my own thoughts and an iPod.

Happy 1st Anniversary!

August 1st was our 1 year anniversary.

Justin had coordinated with a coworker of mine, Kendra, to plan a great day. He'd booked us a room at Harvey's, planned a trip parasailing, a champagne cruise at sunset and then dinner at the Hard Rock.

I ordered our anniversary cake from Sweetie Pies Bakery and we picked it up Saturday morning before we left. We left around 8:30 and got to the hotel around 11:30 and checked in. Our room wasn't quite ready, but that was ok. After we dropped our luggage (and the cake) off with the bell hop, we went to gamble a little.

Justin found a poker tournament that was starting at 1 at Montbleu, and signed up. We played a little video blackjack until it started. We were both up about $10 before the tournament, so I took my ticket and played some slots. Now, I'm not exactly sure how they work with all the lines, so I usually just place Max Bet on all the lines and hope for the best.

This time I lucked out. After about 30 minutes playing the penny slots I realized I was up about $210! I was feeling pretty lucky so I decided to stick it out a few more minutes because I knew Justin wouldn't be done yet. Unfortunately the second 3o minutes wasnt as lucky and I walked away up about $100. Even so I felt pretty good about it. I knew we should be getting ready for our parasailing trip so I went and retrieved Justin, who was just finishing up his tournament. We walked back to the hotel to see if our room was ready.

Once we got our room keys we went up to get ready. As we were just getting ready to walk down to go to the boat dock, we looked out the window and discovered that between the time it took us to get into our room, it had begun to rain. Needless to say the parasailing trip AND sunset cruise were both cancelled.

Since we had a great room we decided to just hang out there. It was an incredibly comfy bed with plush linens and lots and lots of pillows. Before we knew it, 4 hours had gone by and it was dinnertime. We walked downstairs to the Hard Rock, bringing along the cake of course. We each had a delicious cocktail and ordered yummy dinner. After we finished dinner, the waitress brought out the cake and a plate. Yes, I said one plate. I say that because unfortunately, yet luckily for me, Justing does not eat cake. I was able to have as much of the personal-size cake as I wanted. It was delicious.

After dinner we walked around the casinos for a while, stopping only every once in a while to play a slot that might be "hot" even though none actually were. There was so much we could have done, but we decided to to go to bed early. It was so nice to just climb into bed, snuggle up, and watch a movie. We didn't have to argue what to watch, because with only 10 channels, you don't have many options.

Sunday morning we woke up at around 8 and got dressed. We walked down to the outdoor mall down the street and browsed the shops, got lunch, and a bowl of ice cream. Checkout was at 11, so we loaded up and headed home.

Even though we didn't get to do the things that Justin had planned, it was a wonderful weekend.

Happy Anniversary, Husband. :-)

Raise

My new favorite month is July, a.k.a RAISE month.

I love July.

Trisha & Jared Dunn

For more than four years, & 7,500 miles my cousin Patricia and her boyfriend Jared have lived apart While Trisha has always been understanding and grateful for Jared's service in the Marines, it was never easy for her being apart.

Now Jared has been home almost a year and yesterday they committed their lives to each other in front of about a hundred of their friends and family.

The first surprise were the clever vows. (Hopefully I got them just right!)

Jared:
I will love you on the sea
I will love you in a tree
I will love you here and there
I will love you anywhere.

Patricia:
I will love you every day
I will love you come what may
I will love you more than pie
I will love ‘til I die.

Jared:
On the sea, in a tree

Patricia:
Every day, come what may.

Both:
I will love you here and there.
I will love you anywhere.

It was the perfect beginning to an amazing night!

Congratulations!

Cleaning House

Since we've been so busy lately our house has gotten a bit out of sorts. Now that things are settling down and Justin's home most of the days since school's out, I asked Justin if he would clean the bathroom. Since I am normally the one to do it, he asked if I would explain everything it entailed.

Last night I wrote a list of what to use, where to use it and how to make sure he gets everything without skipping over anything. As you can see below, I outlined everything and labeled all the products he will need.

When I came home today the bathroom was spotless.

Camping with the Johnsons!

We received a whole bunch of camping gear for our wedding and have yet to break it in, so when the Johnsons asked us to go camping we jumped at the chance!

I got off work early on Thursday since I already had Friday off and we packed up our gear and set out for Dillon Beach. Beach. We got there around 7pm, set up while we still had some daylight, built a fire and got dinner going.

We only stayed Thursday and Friday night because Saturday we had plans to go to Holli's dad's shop to watch the fireworks. It was the perfect way to start a long weekend.

We even made Jiffy Pop. After a few tries, we finally succeeded.

Everyone had a blast; particularly baby Steven who, even after a tiny sunburn, still behaved marvelously.

Ladies Night!

Bachelorette Party, Hen Party, or Kitchen Tea. However you put it you know it's going to be a good time.

In just two weeks my cousin Patricia will be a married woman. This past weekend we took a trip to Lake Tahoe to celebrate!

We stayed in a great hotel room

Danced the night away and had tons of fun.

I am so happy my cousin has found a great guy to spend the rest of her life with. I can't wait to welcome Jared to the family!

Go Team Go!

After saying we will for the last few years Justin and I have finally pulled together a softball team of our friends. We started practicing tonight, and I can already feel the adrenaline. Bring it on baby!

Lola the Magnificent!

I have never been so proud of my baby girl.

Mt. St. Helena

It was a beautiful Sunday morning today and Justin and I made plans to hike Mount Saint Helena. Since I've been doing Adventure Bootcamp I felt I was in good enough shape to keep up with Justin. Armed with only the information I got from the Robert Louis Stevenson State Park website and the determination to make it to the top, we loaded up our backpacks with waters and a sweatshirt each. As always, my backpack included the essential sunscreen and first aid kit because inevitably on of us would need one of them, but more about that later.

Waking up a 8:00, we dressed in layers, grabbed our backpacks and off we went. We stopped at Ranch Market in Napa and got some sandwiches (with condiments on the side to prevent soggy bread, of course) then we were on our way.

We got about a mile into the hike and realized we'd bitten off more than we could chew. We decided that even if we did make it the 5 miles to the top, neither of us were in good enough shape to make it back down. So we continued on for a while more until we came to an outcropping of rocks over a cliff that had some benches. We sat down and broke out the sandwiches. Neither of us a big fans of mayonnaise so I grabbed some packets of mustard from the deli along with a bio-degradable knife. As we ate I explained to Justin the novelty of biodegradable plastics. I'm not sure he was entirely convinced that a plastic knife has the ability to be composted but we will find out the results to that in another post.

Once we finished our sandwiches we turned around and started back down the mountain. I'd have to say that the hike down was much more enjoyable than the hike up. It took us about 2 hours to make it half way up and about 50 minutes to make it back down. Perhaps the accelerated speed down contributed to the slalom ski Justin did on his butt about 30 feet down until ultimately coming to a rest amongst some young saplings. As a good wife I called down to make sure he was alight before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

Ultimately we made it back in one piece. Even though we didn't make it to the summit I am very proud of our accomplishment. We will add making it to the summit to our list of 101 things to do in 1001 days.

Boo Boo

Yesterday I was in Vallejo going to the crafts store. I was stopped at a stop sign in the parking lot, and a car on my left had the right of way. I waved her on and she proceeded to turn right... RIGHT INTO MY CAR!

To make matters worse she had no driver's license, no insurance, and DID NOT SPEAK ENGLISH. I was so frustrated trying to communicate with what little Spanish I remember from high school until a very nice couple came over and assisted me in translation. I didn't get their names, but I hope they know how grateful I am for their help.

I called the Vallejo Police Department and the dispatcher informed me that if the damaged occurred in a parking lot they would not send officers to the scene because it's private property. She informed me that I could get the information and file a police report MYSELF online. (Now I thought that's what police and community resource officers did. Right?)

After I informed her that the driver of the other vehicle was unlicensed and uninsured she sent an officer. Officer Stanley Eng of the VPD was extremely helpful. I appreciate his patience and thorough examination of the incident.

After all is said and done, the woman driving the car was cited for driving without a license and driving without insurance. I will have to go to the trial in about 6 weeks to find out what penalties she will have to pay and to ask for retribution of the deductible of my insurance. (Although I highly doubt I will receive any money as she told the officer that she has no job.)

What a wonderful way to start a long weekend.

Boot Camp!

Patricia is getting married in less than 2 months! This means standing in front of scores of people in a form fitting dress all the while knowing that somewhere in that sea of people, someone is taking a photo that will haunt me forever.

So I decided to take fate into my own hands. Patricia, my friend Jess, and I enrolled in Adventure Boot Camp. This idea was introduced to me by Teresa whose been doing in since August of last year. I figure since Teresa looks so FANTASTIC why not give it a shot?

Last week we started our "trial" week where you go as many times as you want to see if you like it before committing to a full camp (which is 4 weeks). We all loved it! So today we officially start out 3 month commitment to fitness.

My personal goal is to lose 6lbs before Patricia's wedding on July 10th, and another 6lbs by the end of the 3 months.

Wish us luck!

May Day!

It's only been a little over a week, but Maddie has grown so much! Here are some new pictures!

Welcome to the World!

Justin and I received a new little niece on Monday.

Madison Jaymes Nunley
5lbs 6oz
19 1/2"

Careful!

This weekend started off with a bang... and a crack. My brothers, Jake & Thomas came over on Friday to play the Wii. We had only been playing the bowling game a few minutes and it was my turn. I stepped back and as I stepped forward to swing my arm... lets just say I didn't realize how close I was to the couch. This was the result.

A Little Birdy Called: Twitter

Follow me into the future of communication. I finally caved. I signed up for Twitter I'm not exactly sure how to use it yet, or what the real benefit of having one is, but it's fun to see what other people are doing especially public figures I'm interested in.Check out my page and check out whats going on. If you like it, follow along as Justin and I navigate the journey of young marriage.

You never know what might happen next. ;-)

Brenda

Happy Valentine's Day!

Since this was our first Valentine's Day as a married couple, but our 5th overall Justin and I went back and forth over what we should do to celebrate.

After much discussion and failed attempts at dinner reservations, we finally settled on what we enjoy most. We rented a movie (Justin let me pick: "Nights in Rodanthe") He's not really a romance-movie type of guy, but since it was a day of love, he let me have it. :-) So we snuggled up, popped some popcorn and started watching the movie. I thought for sure he'd fall asleep half way through. To my surprise, he not only stayed away for the entire movie but was just as interested in it as I was.

Needless to say I think we found our new tradition. Thanks for such a great evening honey! I love you!

Justin Makes His Semi-Pro Debut!

On Saturday, January 24th, 2009 Justin will play in a charity football game for Justin-Siena sports. Here's part of the article written in the Napa Valley Register today!!

Click here to read the article in it's entirety.

Friday, January 23, 2009

By ANDY WILCOX
Register Sports Writer

Nunley hopes to spark offense at QB

The big question mark for the Wild Dogs will be their offense, which committed five turnovers in last year’s game.

But the team has big hopes for new quarterback Justin Nunley, a 2001 Vintage grad who was his alma mater’s varsity offensive coordinator two years ago before moving to Boise with his wife, Brenda.

He said they went there for a chance of scenery after living in Napa all their lives, but didn’t like the economy there.

They moved back, his wife got her job back at a winery, and he’s pursuing a teaching credential at Sonoma State.

“I played quarterback for 14 years, so hopefully it’s like riding a bike,” Nunley said.

“Ben’s letting me call my own plays, stuff we ran at Vintage, which is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’d like to throw the ball a little and try to keep Conrad from getting hurt. I want to be prepared and not embarrass myself. Hopefully we get a big turnout and raise a lot of money for Justin-Siena.”

Alvarez was the focus of last year’s offense, carrying nine times for 58 yards in the first quarter before an ankle injury forced him to sit out the rest of the game.

It appeared he might score the game’s first points, but his fumble was returned 90 yards for a Wolfpack score instead.

“We’ll probably run some play-action,” Nunley said. “Hopefully we can score more than six points this time.”

That will be more likely with the Wild Dogs’ new receiving corps.

Along with the talented Scott Cassinerio will be Graeber — “he’s more of a natural receiver and really good at it,” Nunley said — and 2007 Vintage grad Vince Pappas, a former three-sport standout who stands 6-foot-3.

Also in the mix is 2005 Napa High grad Kevin Robledo, who quarterbacked the 2004 Indians before playing for Eastern Arizona College, Santa Rosa JC and, this past fall, NCAA Div. II Chowan University in Murfreesboro, N.C.

“These are probably the best receivers I’ve ever played with in one group,” Nunley said.

“They each bring something different to the field. Vince is a specimen and I coached him and Robledo, and I played with Graeber at Solano and we made it to a bowl game.”

Nunley also complimented the offensive linemen, whose average age is about 50.

“It’s really awesome to see guys like Rick Daniels playing,” said Nunley, who coached with Daniels.

“The offensive linemen are really into it. It’s nice to see when older guys stay in shape, and not just playing old-man softball.”

Nunley expects the 58-year-old Cassinerio to be more of a factor this year after he spent much of the second half as a cheerleader last year.

“Ben’s been going up the gut a lot in practice this year,” Nunley said. “He’s in really good shape.”

Rick Daniels said the Wolfpack will be much younger overall again, though, and have practiced daily since early December for their upcoming season.

“They beat us in the second half last year and lot of it was our own mistakes, and maybe the shape we were in,” he said.

“But (middle linebacker and former Justin-Siena varsity defensive line coach) Brenden Shanks is running the defense and he knows his stuff and we have an actual quarterback this year, so we think we have a little better chance than last year.”

Ben Cassinerio said last year’s game raised about $3,000.

The Wild Dogs’ 35-man roster also includes 1998 Justin-Siena grad and current Braves varsity offensive line coach Brandon LaRocco; 2007 Justin grads Matt Meyer and Matt Galles; 2006 Vintage grads Jim Callahan, James Caston, Will Magro, Tim Scheidecker, Mike Tillitson, Yariv Vigo and Thomas Woods; and ’07 Vintage grad Greg Meza.

Semi-pro football game Saturday at Justin

The NorCal Wild Dogs, a tackle football team made up of players ages 18 to 58, will battle the Woodland Wolfpack in an exhibition game at Justin-Siena High School on Saturday.

Kickoff is set at 1 p.m. for the second annual showcase. Woodland won last year, 17-9.

The Wild Dogs roster includes current football coaches and former players from Justin-Siena, Napa and Vintage high schools, as well as players from other Bay Area semi-pro squads such as the NorCal Lawmen and Gladiators.

The game will be played by college rules, with 15-minute quarters.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for kids ages 12 and under, and are available at the gate only.

All proceeds will be donated to Justin-Siena sports programs.

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Better Late Than Never!

Back in November we visited Yellowstone National Park. We made the drive from Idaho to Montana, stopping in Dillon, Montana to see where Justin almost went to school. (Good thing he didn't or we would have never met...)

Once we got there we stayed in a little motel call the Livingston Inn in the small town of Livingston, MT which is about 45 minutes from the West entrance of Yellowstone. In case you were wondering, there are 4 entrances: North, South, East & West. The West entrance is in an even littler town conveniently called West Yellowstone. We got to walk around this old western town and visit all the shops that were open. Since we were visiting out of season, some places were closed until Spring due to lack of business.


When we were done in West Yellowstone, we got back in the car and drove down the street to the actual entrance to the national park. It is literally within walking distance from the town. We happily paid the $25 entrance fee to keep the park running and proceeded on our way with the map of the park and of possible animals we could see which we got from the nice lady at the front gate.














As we were driving we saw lots of animals like Bison, Elk, Mule Deer, Big Horn Sheep, & lots of little critters.














Long Horn Sheep Bison Bison















Mule Deer Buck Mule Deer Doe & Fawn

Not only did we see these animals we saw Old Faithful and had lunch in the restaurant nearby. As we continued on our journey to the North Entrance, we saw a beautiful waterfall, gorgeous mountains, and a view of the park I will never forget.

I am so glad that we were able to visit this beautiful place at least in our lifetime. Its a definite must see for everyone!!