InstaMarchPhotoADay366

Happy Saturday!
Let's put March in the books!

It has been one AWESOME month.

A few highlights...

There was a little Needtobreathe.
A quick trip to visit my favorite Real Housewife of Orange County.
Doggy Surgery.

Lots going on.
Lots of real lifing too.
Which is where this post comes in....

Here is what my March looked like from the #MarchPhoto366 perspective:

And I was crazy again and did two photo challenges.
Regretted not getting extra creative and combining them...but I kinda forgot.
Oh well.

For April, I'm just doing AprilPhoto366....
I think.
Also, what am I going to do at the end of the month without picnik. In terms of collage.
Come on PicMonkey, let's see your collages!

Okay, where were we....Oh yes MarchPhotoaDay with FatMumSlim:

So that makes March a wrap! 

We are a quarter of the way through the year (whoa!)

And that means I'm a quarter of the way through my Bible in a Year Reading plan.

I can't believe I'm still on track.

(Praise Jesus!)

And the plan rereads Psalms/Proverbs and the Gospels twice.

So I've actually read over a 1/4 of the Bible so far!

Genesis, Exodus, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians.

CRAZY.

Checking in...any of you still doing Bible in a Year?

Do it. 

It's awesome. 

Even if you're behind. 

Happy 2nd Quarter. :) 

Linking up with Jeannett:

So, My Dog Got Lipo

I write this blog post at the risk of sounding like a crazy lady.
A crazy dog lady.
A crazy dog lady who gets her dog surgery.

And, all of that is pretty much true.
Self admitted crazy dog lady here.
But I try and keep it MOSTLY under wraps around these parts.

What?
You are probably thinking, uh, KIM, or CuppaKim (as you may refer to me) - your crazy dog ownership is NOT under wraps.
Ohhh, but dear reader, I have only shown a glimpse of the crazy.

So right, back to reality.
Crazy dog surgery reality.

I take it back, there is no risk of sounding crazy in this post, it's gonna happen.

A year ago I discovered a little lump on Mylie.
We took her to the vet, just to see what they thought it was, and discovered that she had not one, but two lumps.
Both came back as just non-cancerous fatty tumors called Lipomas.
Nothing to worry about.
(Even if they were cancerous, we weren't going to do any removals or treatment).

Except, they started growing at a rate that was a little too fast for a 6 year old pup.
She is only 19lbs.
So a golf ball sized lump on her arm joint, developed in less than a year probably isn't good.
Neither is location of the other lump.

I think Fergie had a song about that...

The vet recommended that we take them out now, while she was young, so that they wouldn't become a bigger problem while she was still young.

Anyway, yesterday, Miss Mylie went under the knife, and came home lump free.
(I feel like I need to say this, it was way less expensive than I thought it would be, and it included teeth cleaning too, hallelujah)
She has to wear the cone of shame for 2 full weeks.
And no running, jumping, playing, or general fun having for two weeks as well.

She isn't exactly loving it.
Last night, was a sad night.
A lot of doggy crying.

But she got a lot of extra attention, from my dad...

And my sister too...

I spent the night, right there next to her.
She did great.

And today, she is feeling much better.
She started off the day like this, waiting for my dad to come upstairs and visit her...

She stayed like that for 20 minutes.

And this afternoon did everything in her power to have an excuse to get up from her bed.

She keeps trying to jump up on the furniture, which wouldn't be so terrible, except that she might rip out her stitches jumping back off.

As the hours go by, it's getting harder and harder to keep her on that pile of blankets.
You try telling a playful pup she has to stay laying down for fourteen days.

So, I feel terrible, and right now, she is getting a special treat, getting to sit next to me on the sofa.
Where I can grab her cone before she takes any crazy leaps.

Meanwhile, her partner in crime, Chloe, isn't really sure what to do with herself.
She is keeping watch over things while Mylie is off duty...

And finally ended her two day hunger strike (in support of Mylie's trauma)....

So, excuse my crazy Instagramming.

Blog posting.

Tweeting.

All dog related right now.

I promise I will do my best to restrain myself and limit the crazy again soon.

Post April 11. 

Suture removal day.

Needtobreathe - The Fillmore - San Francisco - March 19, 2012

Have you heard of Needtobreathe?
I really want to tell you about them.
But they are getting big.
And getting big fast.
Too fast.

I want to put them in a little bottle (you know, I Dream of Jeanie style) and keep them to myself.

A year ago, a group of us saw them at the Fillmore.
It was THE best concert I have ever gone to. EVER.
(BY FAR).
But they only sold about 300-400 tickets.

A little over a year later, after a tour with Taylor Swift (don't let this bias you), and with a new album out, they sold out the Fillmore.

Cindy graciously coordinated, ordered, and picked up our tickets.

A quick dinner at Panera.
A drive through rush hour traffic.

And we arrived.

And, this part of the story makes me SO insanely JEALOUS - Laura, Angela, and Ashley were behind on our walk from the car, and I was freezing, and had to pee, so Ellen, Cindy and I were hustling....and next thing we knew, they were no longer behind us....

Because they saw Bo walking down the street and chased him down for a photo.
Yes.

I may have had a quiet temper tantrum in my head while we waited to get inside.
Because I was still cold. Still had to pee. And didn't get to meet Bo.
But the good news is, I had my big girl pants on, and got over it.
I was really just so excited for them.

Opening act, Ben Rector.
AMAZING.
Next time he comes to town I want to see him in concert.
Loved EVERY. SINGLE. SONG.

Sorry Robert Francis, but this guy smoked your opening act dust.

The set was incredible.
A giant typewriter, with keys that lit up the name of their newest album, The Reckoning.
It was even more awesome than it sounds.

This was our fourth Needtobreathe show, and by far, the loudest, and most rocking show to date.
The Fillmore was bouncing harder than a bounce house at a 5 year old birthday.
You had no choice except to bounce with it.
Otherwise, you'd fall over.
It was kind of freaky.
And totally awesome.

And, after all, it's the Fillmore. Lined with giant crystal chandeliers.

(Hit play for a few quick snippets from my perspective of the show! It's a playlist, let it play through!)


Each of their shows has ended with the most insane unplugged encore. It really is where these guys shine.

After a few hours of incredible talent, vocals, lyrics, you name it - these guys put on a SHOW, we grabbed our traditional Fillmore treat, a red apple, and our first Fillmore treasure - a poster (only given out when shows sell out) - we headed home, with the biggest smiles in all of San Francisco.

Not So Hungry Hunger Games Weekend

I knew the weekend would start out awesome, when Jessica and I boarded our flight to the LBC, and as we were about to take off, my seat neighbor had a sneeze fit. I could tell Mr Sniffle needed a tissue. But was hesitant to offer.

A few more sneezes, and the seatbelt sign still lit,  I could tell, he was desperate.

So, I reluctantly offered him a tissue.

The only thing is, it wasn't just any tissue.
It was one from a pack of Snoop Dogg tissues.
Yes, you read that right.
In fact, it had the words "Fo Sniffle" printed on it.
(A gift from Betsy.)

I do not lie.

The amazingly amazing Erin Burns picked Jessica and I up in Snoop's hometown, the LBC and took us back to Casa de Burns where our Hunger Games began.

And by Hunger Games, I mean, NOT GOING HUNGRY AT ALL.

SusieCakes and little Sofias awaited.

In the morning, we did a little Real Housewives of Orange County stalking (unsuccessfully), and then headed off to breakfast at the Beachcomber in Crystal Cove.
A little gem off the beaten path, with a whole lot of history, and beach front property full of old timey bungalows and a fantastic retro feel.

What Erin failed to mention was getting there was going to be an adventure.
I had NOT packed my Northface.
Or hiking boots.
And we may have gotten lost at one point.
I offered to pull up google maps on the iPhone.
That's the kinda ish bloggers say.

Walking through this tunnel was cute, and you know, the kind of thing that makes you want to run out and buy pepper spray, and also, slippery.

Water was streaming through, and at the very end, a 6 foot wide, 6 inch deep puddle that required conquering, via one very unstable rock.

We celebrated survival.

Erin showed us some more Orange County sights, and we grabbed a quick lunch with Julie and her ridiculously dreamy eyed little boy.

A quick regrouping in the afternoon, outfit changes, and freshening up, and it was time to let the games begin!

OC Parking Lot Sky Party

Erin had coordinated a cute gift exchange - each of us assigned a district (Hello from District 2: Mining) - and we were to bring a gift to dinner.

My gift to the games, I kinda wanted to steal and keep for myself...and got from here!

I ended up with goodies from District 4 - Fishing - I know right? But Amy was super creative - I got an amazing coconut candle (to cover up stinky fish), and a few other fishy treats!

After dinner, while in line, Alissa and I chowed on some Sprinkles cupcakes.
Black and White is my standard go-to.
All others are impostors.

Photo Cred: Alissa

Then, we did what we came there to do.
You know, watch a movie.

Photo Cred: Erin
L to R: Erin's Mama Susan, Me, Julie D, Drew, Julie C, Amy
Alissa, Erin, Jessica

SO. GOOD.
Fastest two hours and twenty two minutes, EVER.
I wish there was so much more.
But I can't complain.

My favorite part? When the tributes enter the capitol on the chariots, and Katniss and Peeta are on fire.
I had been DYING to see that realized on the big screen.
And it was as spectacular as I had imagined it.
My favorite scene for sure.
Kinda reminded me of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies.
Not a coincidence that it was my fav.

Also, Hunger Games Weekend is NOT good for my geriatric habits, and a nearly 2am bedtime was the norm.
The next morning, we woke up, and guess what, ate some more.
First, cookies in bed.

Then, bagels.

After burning those off by cruising the PCH (in a car) and walking onto the beach, watching a surf competition, and then walking back to the car (see that, super athletic), we dropped off the kids and headed to lunch at the Cannery.

And by had lunch, I mean, had lunch AND dessert.
I mean, bruleed bananas?
We had to.

Erin got us back to the LBC in the nick of time.
Not my comfortable 2 hour before the flight window, but after an amazing weekend I was blissfully unaware of how close we were cutting it, until we pulled into LGB and we had 30 minutes til our flight left, and still needed to check bags.
But we made it.
LGB was chaotic, but tiny.

Also, JetBlue's New York Jets plane was in town.
I thought we were taking it, but sadly it was Sacramento bound.

A hop skip and a jump later, we landed safely in rainy San Francisco, with full bellies and full hearts.

Home, sweet home.

A big huge, giant, thank you to Burnsie, for allowing two crazies from NorCal to show up at your home and tag along for a weekend of eating our way through the OC.

I think that this is one of the best perks of blogging - when blog friends, become IRL friends, and crazy adventures are had.