BSU vs U of I Basketball

We all know how the BSU vs U of I thing ends... right?! Actually, it was a REALLY close game. It started off crazy with tons of people trying to get last minute tickets. Emily and I couldn't get over how the will call woman was just yelling out last names and people were walking up and getting their tickets- she wasn't checking ID or anything! I'm fairly certain some people walked away with tickets that were not theirs.
Then the game started and all I remember is that in the end BSU only won by one point. I was actually nervous for just a bit in the last half. Apparently a famous baseball player was spotted at the game, "A-rod?". I don't know. It was nice of Mom to get the tickets for Dad, Chuck, Emily and me to enjoy the game together.

Ice Skating and Shopping

After Christmas you'd think there'd be time to relax and lounge around- not with Emily here! haha :) Just kidding, we had time to relax, but we also kept very busy and did a lot of fun things in Boise.

We went to Idaho Ice world and went ice skating. Chuck needed some extra pushing.

Then somehow Emily and I snuck away for a bit and got some shopping in at the outlet mall. The hats were a steal- but I think Emily won out hands down for the more stylish hat!

Christmas Day

It was a very nice Christmas. Spending time with my family is probably the most important thing to me. And spending time with them over the Christmas Holiday is always exceptionally wonderful.

This was one of my favorite pictures this Christmas.


What really topped of this Christmas was that Emily was here to enjoy it with us. Very special and wonderful. I'm looking forward to many more Christmas holidays with her around!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is always a big celebration and extended family get together at the Dunne's home. Everyone brings something to eat and tradition has it that Chuck and me are responsible for the corona. One of the most looked forward to traditions is having Santa come and hand out gifts to the children...er... apparently the adults too!


My Mom and Dad took a picture with Santa this year and it was just too cute not to share. After the food and Santa craziness subsides, there's more to come! Time for the annual pinata! This tradition is currently kept alive by my cousin Cameron. This year he made a Mario from the Mario Bros. The picture below is of Sophie (My cousin Matt's second daughter) after giving him a good whack!

Holiday Traveling to Boise

Yeah, Yeah- I go to Boise all the time. But this Christmas, WOW was the airport BUSY! I've never seen so many people in the luggage claim area. There were flights from Sacramento, Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis and Oakland. They all arrived sometime after 11pm on the 23rd of December. It was crazy, but there was a sense of happiness in the air. So many people looking forward to spending time with their family and loved ones over the Christmas holiday.

California Christmas

Before I flew home to Boise for the Holidays, I'd gotten quite a few Christmas gifts from friends. Only thing is- there was a definite theme! HAHA! From left to right I got a Korbel from the Sonoma State School of Business & Economics, an Almond Champagne from Amanda McGowan, a Stephen & Walker special blend from Trisha Torgrimson and a host of delicious wines hand picked from Evan Ferguson! They were all very delicious! Emma got me a pair of personalized boxers with the lead character from "Legend of the Seeker" wielding his sword and a candy cane full of flavored vodka samplers. Excellent! Merry Christmas!

Holiday Door Competition

This year CMS (Common Management Systems, my department), Human Resources and Payroll all teamed up to decorate our office doors with the 12 days of Christmas theme. It was perfect as there were exactly 12 doors in our suite. My door was the 11 Pipers Pipping. We wrapped every door in Christmas paper and then decorated them to meet each part of the song. Jaime's son Cooper went to extensive lengths to color each one of the pipers individually and then with some help from Erica I got them all cutout and posted. It was a fun event and all the doors looked great!

Emma's Cooking Skills

One of the best side benefits of living with Evan and Emma is Emma's amazing cooking skills! She made a salmon dinner tonight completed with rice, kale and salad. I think I added in the white wine... I'm sure I did! Delicious, Thanks Emma!

Holiday Lights

Emily had a great idea this week, to go see the houses all decorated for Christmas! She had a map that she found of the hot spots in Rohnert Park. I wasn't so sure about it at first, but OH MY GOSH do they go all out around here! This was my favorite picture, the entire cul de sac was Disney themed. The main house was Aladdin's castle complete with the Genie up top! There was a lot of people with the same idea, very crowded, but fun! Next year, I think Emma's homemade hot cocoa is in order! It was a fun night out with Emma and Emily.

Ugly Sweaters & Gia's Birthday!

It's that time of year again, time for Gia's annual Ugly Sweater and Birthday Party! It's one of my favorite parties each year. Thankfully Gia and her sister keep some extra ugly sweaters around just for the occasion. I picked out tweety bird saying "Kiss This" across the top.


It's tradition to get a picture with the Christmas tree in whatever fun pose strikes at the moment. I thought this was a pretty good picture! Gia always has such a phenomenal setup with drinks, food and snacks galore, ping pong, dancing and music and a fire pit where the most important thing happens- S'MORES! MmmMmm! Best s'mores all year long are had at this party- hands down! Love 'em!

Thanks for the great evening, Gia- Happy Birthday!!! ^_^

Hark the Herald Angels 12K

Today was the "Hark the Herald Angels 12K" race held on Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay. This was my first time running this race. I drove down to Tiburon and met up with Jeff, Trisha and Irene for the ferry ride over to the Island. I'd dressed up for the event with a halo and angel wings for the event.
I'm so glad I dressed up! When I boarded the ferry everyone on board clapped and cheered. The lady in front of me asked if she could get a picture. Before the race people came up to me and asked questions about my costume or gave me the thumbs up, etc. The entire race people loved the costume, cheering and clapping or shouting out to the "Dark Angel". I've never been called "Angel" so many times! The fun of the costume aside, this was still one of my favorite races! The view was absolutely amazing-well, once you jogged the nearly two miles up hill to see across and around the entire bay! The views were of the Golden Gate bridge, North Bay, Alcatraz and San Francisco. It was breathtaking. Thanks to my Runkeeper you can view the pictures and race route here.

Tainted Love

Tonight Emma, Emily, Jaime and me went to the Tainted Love concert at the Last Day Saloon in Santa Rosa. Tainted Love is our favorite 80's cover band that comes to Santa Rosa every couple of months. We hadn't been in what seems like forever! We had some delicious drinks at the bar, we danced at the front of the stage and had a great time! We had a good laugh at some girl that had obviously been drinking a bit much and was having a good time grinding up on our group. Jaime kept positioning me in between her and everyone else. We held our spot right up front through the whole first play list. During the break I started to crash- I had an exhausting week. We ended up heading out as the group started their second set, just before 1am. It was a great time- as always and I'm looking forward to the next one!