Bahamas' Here We Come!

So last week my boss gave me a FREE trip to the Bahamas! Can you believe it? We're going from March 30-April 2. It's for a four night stay at Sandals Resort in Naussa! Flight, Hotel, Activities, everything paid for--even a "swim with the dolphins" excursion! We will have to go to two meet-and-greet activities for the company who gave him the trip as an award, but besides that.... it'll be Russ and I and the beautiful Bahamas! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought I would share the exciting news with you all! I'm starting to feel the travel bug now, so hopefully we'll start to plan some other trips for this year! I'll keep you guys posted!

Posting Lots of Pictures Today!

Check out below! I've posted lots of pictures from the last week. Check out stories and photos of Russ and I at Knott's Berry Farm, the Taylors at Disneyland, and the Clippers vs. Jazz game. I hope you enjoy them! We love your comments, please let us know what you think of our crazy and fun photos/stories! You can always post a comment as anonymous and then just leave your name at the bottom of the comment if you don't have a blogger account! :) We can't wait to hear from you!

CLIPPERS vs. JAZZ GAME

Last night Brian, Cathy, Scott, Jim, Carole, Russ and I all headed to the Clippers vs. Jazz game. Unexpectedly the Clippers won.... even though we cheered for the Jazz. Cathy even blew out some of the surrounding peoples ears with her "whistling." The mom's danced to the music, and we all had a fantastic time. Go JAZZ and CLIPPERS!

Fun Disneyland Photos III

Fun Disneyland Photos II

Funny Disneyland Photos

Here are some of our favorite candid shots of the night... 

Club 33 at Disneyland

Brian, Cathy, and Scott came to visit us this week.  Scott was able to get us tickets to Club 33 at Disneyland. It was my first time and it was so much fun!  Five years ago, I had flown down for Valentines Day to meet up with Russ and we were "supposed" to go to Club 33 for my first time... but he tricked me and took me to Aliso Creek Beach to propose.  So it was fun to finally be able to see what Club 33 is all about.  I had the Salmon and Cathy, Scott, and Russ had the Filet Mingnon.  Everything was so so so so so good.  We met up with Brian later in the day and we had a blast on all of the rides.  

Russ Doesn't Fit on the Swing Ride Anymore!

So I decided that I wanted to get a really cool photo on the swing ride... so I talked Russ into going in front of me and shooting back.... the only problem... he was too big for the ride!  The sign posted said the weight limit was 230.... but that didn't stop Russ!  He squeezed in that swing... and got me the pictures I wanted! :) We ended up riding the swings twice and he got yelled at the second time for twisting his swing up... they wouldn't start the ride until he had untwisted it!  That punk!  Here are the shots of him trying to fit, and the shots I had him get of me! :)

Knott's Berry Farm Favorite Shots

Last Friday, Russ and I went to Knott's Berry Farm to re-live our childhood memories! The park was totally open--the longest we had to wait was 20 minutes for the new sliders ride.  We had so much fun!  We were sad that some of our old time favorites like the Dinosaur Ride, Haunted Shack ,and Box Car rides were gone, but the new one's were lots of fun!  We hope you enjoy the pictures.... :) :) :)

Taylor Roller Coaster Adventure

So here is the coolest roller coaster video ever made in Taylor history (it was actually our first, but still the best). Hope you enjoy. We'll post more pictures of Knott's Berry Farm this next week.  

Since when do Seagulls float?

Okay so Russ and I had a really fun day today! I woke up at 5:30 am and couldn't sleep! So I woke him up and we decided to go to garage sales.  After one purchase of a knife (russ found a really cool one--hopefully he doesn't poke his eye out with it), and figuring out that garage sales suck in February, we decided to drive to Doheny Beach and walk around the harbor.  The weather was amazing!  It was 85 degrees today!!!!!    

So we were walking along and Russ had a total "debbie-ism."  We were looking at the water and this seagull lands in it.  And he goes-- "since when can seagulls float?" It took him all about .5 seconds when he realized his mistake and the stupidity of the question, but it was already too late. I was already on the ground laughing! So I grabbed his iPhone and took a picture of the momentous moment! :)  Look at the picture--Check out the water and see the actual seagull he had his question about.  Finally, Russ with a Debbie-ism! (not that he doesn't get enough of them from me already!) 

Anyway, we hit up Costco (we missed Tyler and Desiree... but I'm sure you guys went today too! :) You were in our COSTCO thoughts!).

We went home and gave Baxter a bath.... and since Jared says how much HE LOVES how Russ and I put Baxter on our blog (like we are obsessed with Baxter or something--you'd think he's our child-substitute or something like that---hum...) I thought I would add a couple cute photos of his LONG hair! 

Then Rob and Megan invited us to go to a bull dog beauty contest in Long Beach.  So we met them up there and watched 400 bull dogs compete for beauty prizes.  It was so much fun! Check out these pictures of people who went crazy dressing up their dogs! :)  (And Russ and I thought we were bad!)  Then we walked around 2nd Street and checked out a whole bunch of boutiques and cute stores.  Then we headed to their house to hang out, and we just got back so I can finish the layout on the February issue! :) It was the perfect day!  

Are you excited for the OSCARS?

So I had to find some fun facts for the magazine on the Oscars coming up. It got me really excited! Since the red carpet for the Academy Awards was off (dang writers--seriously, they need to get over themselves), I'm really looking forward to the Oscars! :) Here is a list of some of the fun facts I found:

Oscar Stats
Tune in February 24th on ABC for the Oscars!

At 8.5 pounds and 13.5 inches tall, “the Oscar” depicts a knight holding a crusader’s sword. He stands on a reel of film with five spokes, signifying the original branches of the Academy: actors, writers, directors, producers, and technicians.

Walt Disney has won more Oscars than anyone else. He was nominated for 64 and won 26!

“Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” is the only film ever to have won every single Oscar for which it was nominated.

5 seconds is the delay between taping and the telecast of the Academy Awards (a lag which was introduced in 2004).

1996. The year Joan Rivers debuted as the host of E! Entertainment Television’s “Fashion Police,” striking fear into the hearts of red-carpet professionals everywhere.

11. The most Oscars ever won by a single film. It’s happened three times with “Ben Hur,” “Titanic,” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”

3. Number of actors who have won an Academy Award without uttering a single word on camera (Jane Wyman in “Johnny Belinda,” Sir John Mills in “Ryan’s Daughter,” and Holly Hunter in “The Piano”).

45 seconds. The suggested length of an acceptance speech.

SIU-- Shieldzone Investigation Unit

The names in this story have been changed to protect the innocent. However, if you can figure it out, GREAT. So, it all happened on Thursday when the cart manager recognized that one of the employees—who should hereafter be referred to as JA (jack ass), had returned an item from a customer that was never purchased. So we looked into all of the returns from JA and found that over the last four months, JA had been systematically reversing transactions of customers (out of my bank account) from the cart and putting the refund credit onto his creditcard/giftcard. Initially we ran the report against the credit and found only $1400 in transaction fraud. But after contacting our merchant processing services we found over $2600 in fraudulent transactions. I spent the entire morning on Friday doing my best to reverse every single transaction. But because he’s such a cheap ass, all of the transactions were declined because there was no money available on the cards. This means I am out $2600 until a judge makes him pay. I contacted Officer ROBERT R (one my best friends who’s a cop), and he told me the best recourse of action. My original plan was to charge back all $2600 and when JA showed up to work that day (at this point he had no idea of the Shieldzone Investigation Unit was on to him), and hand him a receipt for $2600—and tell him “thank you for your business” and then have the police waiting to cuff his ass and send him to jail. Unfortunately, I was unable to reverse any of the transactions, so I just contacted the police and they were waiting for him at the cart when he showed up for work. I had printed out every single transaction and had crossed the “t’s” and dotted the “i’s” for the investigation. So we had all of the transaction printed on paper. And when he showed up, the officer started to ask him questions regarding the transactions. He being such a “smart individual” instantly recognized that all of the transactions happened to have the same last four numbers for the credit card. Myself and the officers were amazed at this astonishing finding (wink, wink), and we asked him if he had seen who this might be using this same credit card over and over again. He quickly brought to life his imaginary friend (or maybe it was his fantasy lover), a short middle-aged balding fat man in an oversized business suit (really—he said this), I thought to myself, wow— is that the best you can do? So the officer assumed that he obviously wasn’t going to admit to the fraud right away, so he took him away from the cart and asked JA if he could search him. He frisked JA, finding on his person, five debit gift cards—three of which were the same numbers of all of the transaction that had taken place. This was an obvious giveaway and he soon after followed suit and admitted guilt. I was hoping he would resist arrest and be thrown to the ground, but unfortunately, they cuffed him, and he started to cry—and I stared at him right in the eyes and he wouldn’t look at me. They took him away. An hour later his mommy called me and asked me the dumbest question I’ve ever heard in my entire life….Do you have proof of these charges? (I mean come on—as if I’m going to go through the trouble to fabricate all of this—I guess like mother like son—literally since she just got out of jail too---dumb asses). So now I have to wait until he’s prosecuted and I am legally able to get my money back. But until then, his cute tattoos should serve him well in prison.

Merry Christmas to Baxter From Baxter

Dear bloggers. This is my first blog. Debbie and Russ do not know that I have infiltrated the Google machine and I over heard them mention their password into their blog. I wanted to give you the REAL CHOCOLATE STORY. First of all… I was just minding my own business. Once I heard that Russ was leaving and he was nice enough to leave a huge BLUE box of chocolates at my disposal, I decided to call up all my DWAGS in the neighborhood (they all barked in approval) and had a chocolate party for one. The chocolate was most delectable. It was sweet, smooth, and well worth the “trip” to the vet. Even though Russ and Debbie were mad about what this little sugary surprise set our family back, it was the BEST PRESENT I’VE EVER GOTTEN.

I may be back with other secret news about Russ and Debbie.  Look for me in future posts--code name Big B.

Baxter’s $500 Vet Trip

We finally took a picture of Baxter's paw as proof of this insane chocolate addiction. It all began on a cold December afternoon. Russ was packing for a trip to Seattle and he took a box of Chocolate Macadamia Nuts from our trip to Hawaii and put them on them coffee table along with some other gifts. He hurried out the door to meet Debbie for lunch and totally forgot about the presents sitting on the coffee table. When he returned, he came in for a big surprise. There was Baxter—covered head to toe in chocolate macadamia nuts, and the whole box of chocolates was GONE. Baxter didn’t look so good. Russ grabbed him and ran him to the veterinarians. Once there, the vets said that they needed to induce vomiting to get all of the chocolates out. They would also have to put an IV in him and give him fluids. He would have to stay overnight to be monitored and made sure he would survive. Luckily everything went well and he was fine the next morning. After $500 later, and a bath, he took his first plane trip to Seattle. This is a picture of his paw—as you can see he looks like a poodle with a shaved leg and floofly paw. He’s still pimpin the poodle look for now.

Things to smile about in FEBRUARY

Russ and I have had a really downer week. Everything seems to have piled on and been released all at once and it's been a tough one... Here are a few things we can smile about coming up! :)  


Debbie's Five Things To Be Happy About For February
1. Super Bowl Sunday—A good excuse to have a party, cheer on a good team, and eat! We're going to miss Amelia and GJ on this annual day!-- This is would have been the fourth year of watching it together!
2. Hot Chocolate—it always seems to warm up my day and mood with a cup! Don’t forget the marshmallows. And if you don't have a COCOMOTION machine, you HAVE to get one--they are amazing!
3. Leap Year—we get an extra day to ourselves this year!
4. Candy Hearts—LOVE, BE MINE, YOURS 4EVER, REAL LOVE, KISS ME, need I say more? These little hearts make me smile as I think back to the Doctor appointments my mom used to take Jeni and I too when we were little, and our treat was to pick out a necco candy afterwards! 
5. Cherry ChapStick—Perfect for winter and Valentine lips!