Saturday night in the OC

I went to Joe's Crab Shack on Saturday night for Brittany's birthday. Brittany is the blond on the left of me. I know all of these girls from Fuel, except for Katie Birk on the far right, who I know through Missie. There were about 20 of us there and the bill was a mess, but we had a great time. And Brittany had to sing some song; I think it was I'm a Little Tea Pot. They all went out dancing afterward, but I told them I was too old and too crabby to go to a club. They all laughed and thought I was joking... how ironic!

Katie W, Brittany, me, Chrissy, and Katie Birk

California Republican Party Convention

On Friday and Saturday, I was at the CRP Convention in San Jose. I had to go up for a CWLA statewide board meeting (which I serve on as the Communications Director) and for ClubCWLA. We put on a ClubCWLA event the Friday night of each convention as a way to get more statewide notice of the organization and really show the stuffy conservatives in the party that Republicans can loosen up and have some fun! : ) We always have a really fun band and rock out! At the Board Meeting, we were fortunate to have the Governor stop by for about 20 minutes. He went around our table and shook everyone's hand and then talked to us about his vision. It was pretty cool! Then, later that night, he came by ClubCWLA and thanked all the Republican volunteers who helped to elect him the last night and who are planning to get him reelected! Here are some pics!

Clare and I at the CRP dinner on Friday night.

Julie (our President) introducing the Gov! The Gov speaking to ClubCWLA.
We've got a whole "club-like" set up, with special lighting and everything. Yes, we're cool.
The ClubCWLA gang (minus Clare). We all seem to end up at each of these and put them on. It's a lot of work, but we get a lot of really great publicity for it.

Happy Valentine's Day

My parents are so awesome. When I got to work today, I heard that Cupid had made a delivery for me. These amazing tulips (which smell divine) were waiting for me with a sweet note from my mom and dad that absolutely made my day. This was really needed today, too, because in a few minutes I have to leave for a meeting in Sacramento and I won't be getting home until 9pm. : ( So, thanks Mom and Dad for always being loving and supportive and making me feel treasured. I love you both more than I could ever say!

Mammoth!

This weekend, I traveled up to Mammoth with the singles group from my church. We had about 80 people come and it was an absolutely awesome weekend! I got some good runs in on Saturday morning with my cousin Elizabeth. We are all beginners, but I had a little bit of a head start because the weekend before my friend Rebekah and I went to a two-day all women's snowboarding clinic in Big Bear. It was awesome and we really learned the techniques needed to board. On Saturday afternoon, Rebekah and I jumped on some intermediate runs and were holding our own. And on Sunday, a huge group of us met up with the intention of going together until people's skill levels started to phase off, but I stayed with the stronger boarders and even did 2 BLACK DIAMONDS! It was unbelievable and amazing. I think the trick is just committing to doing turns and going downhill and letting your body react rather than letting your mind freak you out! We had a big Super Bowl party and I made queso (or as I like to call it, the only thing I learned in college) and other assorted treats, which is funny, because I watched like 10 minutes of the game before hitting the lodge with Rebekah and grabbing a beer! : ) Later, we all hit the hot tub and then cleaned and packed up before hitting the road early on Monday morning.

This is is my cousin Elizabeth, me, and another friend.

This is Katie Birkenstein and me on the black diamond. It doesn't look too steep here, but we were literally sliding down the hill at this point and had to take the picture really fast. Ha! (Katie is one of Missie's childhood friends that has been coming to Fuel since the summer.)
Some of my crazy friends doing "snow angels" in their swim suits after some spa time.

CA Fires

On Monday, a fire broke out in Orange County right off my toll road. It's been closed ever since. It's pretty gnarly and some homes have been evacuated. It looks like the fire authority has it moved away from the homes now and that the road should be opened later today, but it's only 17% contained at this point. Pretty crazy!

From the 241 Toll Road

I live right off the 261, so it's pretty ashy around where I live. And the fire authority HQs are close by, so I woke up to sirens all night long.

Missie Turned 21!!!

On January 15, my baby sister turned 21 years old! It's so hard to believe, but she is a beautiful young woman with a lot of sass, too!

My mom and I took Missie out to the Pala Casino and Resort (gotta love those injuns) on the afternoon of the 14th and we got massages at their fabulous spa! Then we went down to dinner, then back to the room for a nap and dessert and a movie. At midnight, we popped open a bottle of champagne, then hit the casino running! I won 60 bucks right away and then stopped playing because I'm totally lame. : )

On Sunday, we woke up, and went to the Temecula wine country for some tasting and treats. We had a blast. Here is the proof!

It's midnight and she's LEGAL!

On our way down to the casino! On Sunday morning, I gave her her long-awaited gift. A green Longchamp bag that she'd been wanting.
Missie the lush at the Thornton vineyard. It was actually pretty yummy. I think I bought three bottles there. : )
Dinner at Maggiano's with 30 of her closest friends and family!

My Weekend

I had a super fun weekend and wanted to share some pics! My friend Rebekah and I (and her boyfriend Matt) went up to Snow Summit yesterday to get a little snowboarding practice in before our Mammoth trip with the singles group at church. We're both beginners, although she's had some good practice! I haven't been since college, but I'll be going a few times this year and have really wanted to get into it for a while, so I decided to buy a board with some Christmas money and make the commitment to go for it. I really surprised myself and made it down the mountain with no injuries and only a couple of wipe outs! By the end of the day, I was feeling pretty confident and I've decided to take a couple of lessons later this month!

Snow Babes!

My friend Chrissy had a birthday on Saturday night at Buca di Bepo. She had about 25/30 people there and we had a great time eating AMAZING food and just hanging out.

Our friend Hunter didn't realize that he had his hand on the butt of a naked lady statue! Ha!

Lisa, Jereme, and I at Buca

Our small group minus Rebekah. : (

New Year's Eve!!!

I spent a really fun, but laid back New Year's Eve at Matt and Clare's new house. Almost everyone was gone by midnight because they're all married with kids. Not kidding... Ha! Anyway, the big hit of the night was Clare's new "Magic Mic" a karaoke MUST HAVE!!! We started singing at about 9pm and didn't stop until 2am-ish. : ) It was a fun night and the three of us went to a whole in the wall Mexican restaurant on Sunday for lunch. Fun fun!

Clare and JJ rockin' the magic mic!!!

Me and my friend Lori Flinn. Lori and my friend Chris are dating and I set them up at my birthday last year... hello cupid!!! Clare's solo -- clearly a power ballad! Ha! And click here to see it!
Matt and his nephew in matching footsy pajamas.
It's the end of the night, everyone else has gone home and we're singing while Matt does the dishes. How perfect is that?!

Hanging out with the family!

I got Monday and Tuesday off of work and was able to hang with Danny and Shannon. Every year when they come home I only get to see them at night, so this year I decided to be a little selfish and take time to be with them!

We all played golf on Tuesday. Mom and Missie even drove the golf carts!

The girls got pedis on Monday, which was VERY relaxing! Tonight we're all going to Burke Williams for massages! Niiiiiiiiice!

Christmastime in the OC!

This was a very special Christmas, because the whole family was together again. On Christmas Eve, the Johnsons went down to Vista to be with all the aunts and uncles and cousins. We ate great food and then had a visit from Santa which surprised all the little ones! We did a "yankee swap" gift exchange (reference to the TV show The Office) and I ended up with a girly hot pink poker set! Can't wait to play! On Christmas morning, we woke up and opened a couple of gifts, then went to church. It's the first time that Christmas had fallen on a Sunday since 1994, so Mom really wanted to go. By the time we got home, Danny and Shannon arrived. Danny had to work on Christmas Eve, then got home at 2am, and slept for 2 hours. They left so early and were exhausted, but we were just so happy to have them home to celebrate. That night Grandma Julie came over and we had a yummy dinner all together!

Bryson's first Christmas!

Oops, Santa forgot to remove the security tag on Danny's sweater. Missie showing off her new Christmas presents!
This is a Brighton purse that Dad and I got Mom for Christmas. She started crying when she opened it. : )
Dad got Mom and Precious matching outfits from Nordstrom!

Fuel Christmas Party

On Friday night we had the Fuel Christmas party at Brenton and Joel's house. We had a DJ and dancing and it was dressy, so that was fun! Here are some pics:

Me and Chrissy

Chrissy, Rebekah and I
At dinner before the party with Jon, Dan, Lisa, Chrissy, and Holli

My VERY quick trip to DC

I had to be in DC on Wednesday for a lunch meeting, so a colleague and I flew out on Tuesday and back on Wednesday. On Tuesday night, I met up with Barbie and Keirsten (and her daughters Layne and Mia) for dinner at Tortilla Coast. It was an old favorite place of mine that is right by the Capitol and around the corner from where I used to live.

Layne (3) and Mia (1) Kelly

Keirsten, me, and Barbie at Tortilla Coast
Bill Hanka and I in front of the Capitol Christmas tree. Bill is my lobbyist and a good friend. I happened to be there on the coldest day of the year (17 degrees), which is why I was sporting the babushka scarf around my head! : )

Holiday Party at Chrissy's

Last weekend, my friend Chrissy hosted the first of this season's many holiday parties. We had a bunch of people from church there and spent some time eating and visiting. It was a ton of fun!

Me and Chrissy

My Bible Study group, minus Rebecca and our leader Kirsten. We were trying to all get in the pic and instead look like a bunch of morons! Amy, Chrissy, Mary, Rebekah, me, and Katie. Me and Rebekah. We're hot and we really don't care that we were the oldest gals in the group. : ) Ha!

My weekend in Texas!

Just got back from an AWESOME four days in Texas. I flew in on Friday and met up with Robin at one of our old favorite restaurants, La Madeleine. Mmmmm, quiche lorraine has never been so yummy!!! We did a little Christmas shopping and then grabbed some dinner and movies and went home to hang out with Jon and their beautiful daughter Mackenzie (I'm her fairy godmother!!!). Mack is such a cutie pie and is helpful and respectful and just about the smartest 2-year old I've ever met! On Saturday, we got up and made breakfast, then met up with Jon at his golf course, where just last week Tiger Woods shot a commercial. I made him take us all around and show me what he does. It was pretty cool!

Jon and Mack at the golf course. She was being shy.

The Ayers Family
Robin and Jenny -- roommies and friends forever!

Ashley's wedding

On Saturday night, I got to go to Ashley Vaught's wedding in Dallas. It was held at the Melrose Hotel which was lavishly decorated. There were about 250 people there and it was black tie. Ash looked gorgeous and teeny tiny (as usual). She had some AMAZING bridal portraits in the hall and she was really happy. Here are some pics.

TCU girls. Don't know what happened to Leslie Walton's face... oops.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Dixon

Singing an Alpha Chi song to the bride. (Totally her idea!)
First dance.
Ash and JJ