Hi everyone,
I'm not very good about keeping up with this blog... But, this is what I figure, with the revolution of social media and it's mobile accessibility these days, why do people want to read lengthy wordy blogs? Why not a simple status update with a trendy #hashtag @something doing something.. hey!
Perhaps I'm a little behind on this blog...haha.
I don't know what makes the idea of keeping a blog up to date easy, it's not!! From the very beginning my initial intention was to blog at least once a week - obviously that was ambitious. I think the fact that we've been busy working our tails off leaves us with little energy and desire to keep in touch with the world! Sad but somewhat true.
Lately, well we've been up to A LOT! But before I jump into all the details there's some re-capping that I need to start off with...
Last month we took our pups to Lake Skinner for the first time! We had such a great time. Alicia and I initially wanted to walk around the entire lake thinking it was doable... We made it about, well realistically, 1/8th of the way around and called it quits. Not because we were tired but because we had underestimated the size of the lake! That hike probably takes the entire day to walk around, we had no idea it had so many nooks and crannies... Another day lake trail, another day.
After we got back to our car we set up our Stater Bro's picnic and tied the dogs up among the shady trees. We had such a good time kicking back and just relaxing! It's amazing how much a little true R&R does wonders for the soul. The temperature started to warm up some so we decided to take the dogs to the water. To our amazement all three of our pups took right to the water! Well, no surprise about Ella because she has been known to sit on the first step of Mary and Scott's pool in the dead of winter - unphased! I didn't know that Rocco liked the water becuase he's always been squimish around it, even in their little kiddy pool in the backyard but he was romping around and making a splash. I think our biggest suprise was Bently! He walked in, more, more, more, and then was swimming around! A true dog paddler!! We had never seen Bently swim and I think a part of us thought that because of his accident a few years back he would never be able to swim because of his broken leg/pelvis but he played fetch again, and again, and again! Go Bently!
We took our pups to the groomers a few weeks back. There's this place in Temecula called The Laundered Mutt and it's a self service dog wash.
There are these above ground bathtubs at comfortable human height with attached hoses and shampoo's galore! We took all three down at the same time - too much? I think so! But we had a good time actaully. Alicia started on Ella and I started with Bently becuase we figured the dogs with the most hair would take the longest. We brushed, brushed, brushed, and brushed some more until all the dander and matted hair was removed, next came the water! Ella and Bently don't mind water in the least bit. Rocco on the other hand is like a cat when it comes to being wet. If he could hiss, I'm sure he would. What was really nice about this place too was that they had hand held blowers that we could use to dry the pups up after their bath. They smelt so fresh and clean by the time we were done!
... Again, that was written in March. Obviously a lot has happened since then such as the birth of our daughter Annaleise!! I really want to ease back into this though... Wish me luck!
Until next time readers... Until next time
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Alicia's Eye - Aaron's Handywork
So, if you read our Christmas blog you will find that we linked you to Pinterest. Alicia has several boards and one of them is a growing "honey-do" list of ideas for our home. Haha, now don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy working on things for our home. One of the ideas that she found is framing our thermostat, which I think added a nice touch.
The other was finding vintage/antique shutters and using them to display greeting cards/ announcements. I found the perfect set of shutters at Grandpa's Antique Depot. I think it turned out awesome. I got Alicia a paint stripping sponge and she roughed up the finish some which gave it the look we were going for.
More home furnishings to come! Remember that door from our wedding? well... That's going to be transformed soon! Stay tuned.
The other was finding vintage/antique shutters and using them to display greeting cards/ announcements. I found the perfect set of shutters at Grandpa's Antique Depot. I think it turned out awesome. I got Alicia a paint stripping sponge and she roughed up the finish some which gave it the look we were going for.
We love our dogs! (not being sarcastic either...)
Recently, a new dog park opened up in east Murrieta. While it's not as close to our house as we hoped it would be, it happens to be much closer than the only other dog park in the area which is down past the wineries. The puppies had a blast! They ran and ran and got to play with other dogs from the neighborhood. The park has two sections, one for the big dogs and one for the smaller dogs. The park has some "obstacles" that the dogs can play through. We tried to get our dogs to run through the hoops and loops but most of the time they would sit in front of it, and when called, they would run right around it... yeah...
We'll most likely be frequenting this dog park more often. It's a nice place for dog lovers to hang out and we don't have to worry about our dogs running into the street.
Also, we got a cool log cabin dog house for our puppies, especially Rocco. He doesn't have as much fur/hair compared to Ella and Bently and tends to get colder quicker than the other two. While I was setting it up he must have known what it was because he kept trying to poke his head in and as soon as it was finished he was the first one to go in without any prompting. Bently on the other hand wouldn't go in there at all! Even with rewarding and treats... oh well, can't please them all I guess.
Also, we got a cool log cabin dog house for our puppies, especially Rocco. He doesn't have as much fur/hair compared to Ella and Bently and tends to get colder quicker than the other two. While I was setting it up he must have known what it was because he kept trying to poke his head in and as soon as it was finished he was the first one to go in without any prompting. Bently on the other hand wouldn't go in there at all! Even with rewarding and treats... oh well, can't please them all I guess.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Happy Holidays!
Welcome! You've made it to our Blog! We wanted to be able to create something that would allow our friends and family to stay connected.
Our blog started back in June of this year with a "re-cap" post from our wedding in April. We tried to keep up on our postings but sometimes life just gets so busy and I only managed one post a month! Hum, do I perhaps see a New Years resolution is in order here? Haha.
I'm sure a lot of you want to know how married life has been.... IT'S BEEN WONDERFUL! Alicia and I have a had a great time enjoying each others company, furnishing our home, making plans for the future, and even just figuring out the daily housekeeping tasks.
For those of you who don't know, we live in the Temecula Valley which is about one hour north of San Diego. On our days off we love taking a quick drive to the local area wineries! If any of you every want to come and check those out- we would be happy to show you the best of what Temecula Wineries have to offer! Lake Skinner is also just a few short miles away from us. Besides taking the pups (Ella, Bentley, and Rocco) out to expend some of the never-ending supply of energy that they seem to have, we love just hanging out at home. Alicia has this new found addiction to Pinterest, and she always has some new home improvement or recipe for us to try!
After the wedding, Alicia said goodbye, a sad goodbye, to Loma Linda University Children's Hospital- PICU and began a new job at Loma Linda University Medical Center - Murrietta in the Emergency Department. It was definitely a change, but the staff there welcomed her with open arms and the good friends from PICU provided much support and encouragement. I started my second year at Kaiser Fontana in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. It's great to see how far we have come in just one short year. Both the PICU and the ED are growing every day. It has been such a great experience to be apart of a new and growing unit. We both are learning so much everyday.
As this year comes to a close and the Christmas season is upon us we reflect on all its' unforgettable moments - Our wedding, trips and vacations, quality time spent with family and friends, and learning to be a husband and a wife. Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year, it's cliche, but it would be cool if Christmas was everyday! well... minus the crowded stores and long lines of course. We hope this holiday season brings you, your family, and friends closer together and that new memories and traditions can be made.
We're looking forward to 2012 with much joy and anticipation as a every new year brings new adventures, new memories, and opportunities.
Continue to check back in and read our blog as I'm sure we'll be posting more in the weeks and months to come.
May God bless you and your loved ones this holiday season!
Our blog started back in June of this year with a "re-cap" post from our wedding in April. We tried to keep up on our postings but sometimes life just gets so busy and I only managed one post a month! Hum, do I perhaps see a New Years resolution is in order here? Haha.
I'm sure a lot of you want to know how married life has been.... IT'S BEEN WONDERFUL! Alicia and I have a had a great time enjoying each others company, furnishing our home, making plans for the future, and even just figuring out the daily housekeeping tasks.
For those of you who don't know, we live in the Temecula Valley which is about one hour north of San Diego. On our days off we love taking a quick drive to the local area wineries! If any of you every want to come and check those out- we would be happy to show you the best of what Temecula Wineries have to offer! Lake Skinner is also just a few short miles away from us. Besides taking the pups (Ella, Bentley, and Rocco) out to expend some of the never-ending supply of energy that they seem to have, we love just hanging out at home. Alicia has this new found addiction to Pinterest, and she always has some new home improvement or recipe for us to try!
After the wedding, Alicia said goodbye, a sad goodbye, to Loma Linda University Children's Hospital- PICU and began a new job at Loma Linda University Medical Center - Murrietta in the Emergency Department. It was definitely a change, but the staff there welcomed her with open arms and the good friends from PICU provided much support and encouragement. I started my second year at Kaiser Fontana in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. It's great to see how far we have come in just one short year. Both the PICU and the ED are growing every day. It has been such a great experience to be apart of a new and growing unit. We both are learning so much everyday.
As this year comes to a close and the Christmas season is upon us we reflect on all its' unforgettable moments - Our wedding, trips and vacations, quality time spent with family and friends, and learning to be a husband and a wife. Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year, it's cliche, but it would be cool if Christmas was everyday! well... minus the crowded stores and long lines of course. We hope this holiday season brings you, your family, and friends closer together and that new memories and traditions can be made.
We're looking forward to 2012 with much joy and anticipation as a every new year brings new adventures, new memories, and opportunities.
Continue to check back in and read our blog as I'm sure we'll be posting more in the weeks and months to come.
May God bless you and your loved ones this holiday season!
With Love,
Aaron and Alicia Akamine
Monday, December 5, 2011
Remember, Remember... something November
Happy November Everyone!
It seems that this month has come and gone all too quickly. I tried to think of a clever title for this posting, but I think it's suppose to go "Beware Beware..." I don't know, so I left it as is.
November 2011... What is there to say? First off, it was my brother Tony's 24th birthday! I can't believe that we're officially in our mid twenties... or, well that he's in the mid and I'm in the late. I bet our parents can't believe it either. November is also when our dog Rocco was born, I think he was born on November 2nd actually. He's officially two human years old.
This month we also got to participate in Alica's uncle, Sybren's annual cook off. This year the theme was salads. I'm just now realizing that we didn't take any photos that night! Bummer. Well to describe it as best as possible.... There were about 30 salad entries and everyone got to partake of each others entries making for an amazing and healthy dinner! There were two winning categories, Most Original and Best Overall. Alicia and I put together a gourmet salad - Salmon and Hearts of Palm with a lemon caper vinaigrette.
Unfortunately we did not win, nor place in the top three... But it was such a great time! It was fun seeing all the different types of salad and meeting new people. We're definitely looking forward to next years competition.
November is also the start to the holiday season! We spent our Thanksgiving day at my cousin's house in Westlake, CA. It's quite a drive but it's worth it. After picking up my mom at her house, we loaded the car and drove out. We had a delicious Thanksgiving lunch consisting of two types of turkey, smoked and oven baked, the traditional fixings, then of course the Asian fixings. I think that's one of the best things about our Thanksgiving meals, it's always your traditional eats and then some. Lisa and Craig recently renovated their house with a brand new kitchen and wood flooring, we appreciate them opening their hour year after year for family get togethers.
My uncle also decided to break out his mochi maker (It's a Wikipedia link, but at least you'll get the gist of it). He had everything prepared the night before and it was just a matter of steaming and then impelling the rice into a sticky white gum paste. We had little to no idea what we were doing... But after about four rounds we got the hand of it! We made some plain and we also made some that were stuffed with azuki bean! Delicious.
Hope that this month has treated you well and that you're prepared for the holiday season! Alicia and I are excited to be celebrating our first holiday season together as a married couple. We were just talking the other night that in just about four more months we will have been married for one year! Man, time really does fly when you're having fun with your best friend.
Happy Holidays!
It seems that this month has come and gone all too quickly. I tried to think of a clever title for this posting, but I think it's suppose to go "Beware Beware..." I don't know, so I left it as is.
November 2011... What is there to say? First off, it was my brother Tony's 24th birthday! I can't believe that we're officially in our mid twenties... or, well that he's in the mid and I'm in the late. I bet our parents can't believe it either. November is also when our dog Rocco was born, I think he was born on November 2nd actually. He's officially two human years old.
This month we also got to participate in Alica's uncle, Sybren's annual cook off. This year the theme was salads. I'm just now realizing that we didn't take any photos that night! Bummer. Well to describe it as best as possible.... There were about 30 salad entries and everyone got to partake of each others entries making for an amazing and healthy dinner! There were two winning categories, Most Original and Best Overall. Alicia and I put together a gourmet salad - Salmon and Hearts of Palm with a lemon caper vinaigrette.
Unfortunately we did not win, nor place in the top three... But it was such a great time! It was fun seeing all the different types of salad and meeting new people. We're definitely looking forward to next years competition.
November is also the start to the holiday season! We spent our Thanksgiving day at my cousin's house in Westlake, CA. It's quite a drive but it's worth it. After picking up my mom at her house, we loaded the car and drove out. We had a delicious Thanksgiving lunch consisting of two types of turkey, smoked and oven baked, the traditional fixings, then of course the Asian fixings. I think that's one of the best things about our Thanksgiving meals, it's always your traditional eats and then some. Lisa and Craig recently renovated their house with a brand new kitchen and wood flooring, we appreciate them opening their hour year after year for family get togethers.
My uncle also decided to break out his mochi maker (It's a Wikipedia link, but at least you'll get the gist of it). He had everything prepared the night before and it was just a matter of steaming and then impelling the rice into a sticky white gum paste. We had little to no idea what we were doing... But after about four rounds we got the hand of it! We made some plain and we also made some that were stuffed with azuki bean! Delicious.
Hope that this month has treated you well and that you're prepared for the holiday season! Alicia and I are excited to be celebrating our first holiday season together as a married couple. We were just talking the other night that in just about four more months we will have been married for one year! Man, time really does fly when you're having fun with your best friend.
Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
October Round-Up
October was quite a month! About a week after my last post early last month I meant to write a blog entry... obviously that never happened, hence, the "October Round-Up" post, more than halfway through November...
Lets see.... After we picked out our pumpkins last month nothing too exciting happened until the weekend of Leslie and Darin's wedding. The lovely couple tied the knot at, Longshadow Ranch - Vineyard & Winery , a winery located in Temecula Valley. They had a cute outdoor ceremony followed by an indoor reception. I wish I had taken some pictures to post on my blog but fear not, their photographer did a fantastic job of capturing their special day. Great job Kimberly Loya Photography!
This was our first wedding attending as a married couple. I felt so grown up! Haha. No more garter toss, no more bouquet catching for us. At least Alicia and I have the dance floor, we love dancing!
Last month also concluded a nine week teaching contract that I had with Mt. San Jacinto College for their (ADN) Associate Degree Nursing Program. My clinical site was Hemet Valley Medical Center for critical care nursing. As I reflect on those nine weeks, I had a good time becoming familiar the community hospital setting and instructing an amazing group of driven, motivated, nursing students. As of now I'm scheduled to start again in January 2012 to finish out the second semester teaching Fundamentals, who would have thought.
What else happened last month... OH! Not sure if you saw my semi-inactive/neglected Facebook page... But we sold our 2003 Honda Element. Alicia and I decided to find a buyer via Craigslist.com and within a week of being posted we had it sold! We filtered through about 30 emails of potential buyers... To be honest, it became a little overwhelming. I ended up filtering emails by those who could spell and those who could not, those who could speak English and those who could not, and those who were mentally stable and those who were not. We met our buyer at the Dos Lagos mall where he test drove it around the parking lot and it was a done deal! Sad to see the green box car go but "times a changing."
In October we also started taking our backyard seriously... For those of you who may not have seen it, there's not much to see except for dirt, weeds, dogs, and... Well I'm sure you know what comes along with dogs. We had a landscaper come by and draw some amazing plans for what will someday be our backyard, a beautiful outdoor entertaining and living space. Thanks to Gio, owner of Affordable Landscape Solutions for helping us take the first step by putting our vision on paper.
To finish out the month Alicia and I hosted a Wine and Dine party at our home. We had a great time! One of the things that we had people do was to bring a dressed up wine bottle, and the best dressed wine bottle would win! Take a look at the entries...
At the last minute we decided to make it a costume party so a few of us dressed up. Great time with family, friends, and of course, good wine! Our friends Tina and Melinda also stayed the weekend and the next day we got to show them the sights of Temecula Valley. We spent the day in Old Town Temecula and had lunch at one of our favorite wineries, Thornton Winery.
As November is already upon us, and quite frankly, is coming to an end; it's my goal to get a post in next week! Hope this fall season is treating you well. Happy Thanksgiving!
Lets see.... After we picked out our pumpkins last month nothing too exciting happened until the weekend of Leslie and Darin's wedding. The lovely couple tied the knot at, Longshadow Ranch - Vineyard & Winery , a winery located in Temecula Valley. They had a cute outdoor ceremony followed by an indoor reception. I wish I had taken some pictures to post on my blog but fear not, their photographer did a fantastic job of capturing their special day. Great job Kimberly Loya Photography!
This was our first wedding attending as a married couple. I felt so grown up! Haha. No more garter toss, no more bouquet catching for us. At least Alicia and I have the dance floor, we love dancing!
Last month also concluded a nine week teaching contract that I had with Mt. San Jacinto College for their (ADN) Associate Degree Nursing Program. My clinical site was Hemet Valley Medical Center for critical care nursing. As I reflect on those nine weeks, I had a good time becoming familiar the community hospital setting and instructing an amazing group of driven, motivated, nursing students. As of now I'm scheduled to start again in January 2012 to finish out the second semester teaching Fundamentals, who would have thought.
What else happened last month... OH! Not sure if you saw my semi-inactive/neglected Facebook page... But we sold our 2003 Honda Element. Alicia and I decided to find a buyer via Craigslist.com and within a week of being posted we had it sold! We filtered through about 30 emails of potential buyers... To be honest, it became a little overwhelming. I ended up filtering emails by those who could spell and those who could not, those who could speak English and those who could not, and those who were mentally stable and those who were not. We met our buyer at the Dos Lagos mall where he test drove it around the parking lot and it was a done deal! Sad to see the green box car go but "times a changing."
In October we also started taking our backyard seriously... For those of you who may not have seen it, there's not much to see except for dirt, weeds, dogs, and... Well I'm sure you know what comes along with dogs. We had a landscaper come by and draw some amazing plans for what will someday be our backyard, a beautiful outdoor entertaining and living space. Thanks to Gio, owner of Affordable Landscape Solutions for helping us take the first step by putting our vision on paper.
To finish out the month Alicia and I hosted a Wine and Dine party at our home. We had a great time! One of the things that we had people do was to bring a dressed up wine bottle, and the best dressed wine bottle would win! Take a look at the entries...
At the last minute we decided to make it a costume party so a few of us dressed up. Great time with family, friends, and of course, good wine! Our friends Tina and Melinda also stayed the weekend and the next day we got to show them the sights of Temecula Valley. We spent the day in Old Town Temecula and had lunch at one of our favorite wineries, Thornton Winery.
As November is already upon us, and quite frankly, is coming to an end; it's my goal to get a post in next week! Hope this fall season is treating you well. Happy Thanksgiving!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Rabbit Rabbit Fun Day
Happy October!
I can't believe how fast this year has gone by, summer days seemed to have come and go with lingering days of heat into fall. Yesterday, Alicia and I got to spend the day with some friends in Oak Glen. We met up in Hemet then all followed each other to Riley's Farm. Alicia and I went to Oak Glen last year but it was on a week day and crowds were slim to none. Yesterday, Saturday, it was incredible and not in a good way. I have a feeling that Oak Glen thrives and lives for this time of year, especially the weekends. Riley's farm was 100% full with parking only available alongside the highway (which by the way, Riley's farm is not responsible for.)
We kept on driving and headed towards another apple/pumpkin picking place called Los Rios. Yes, Los Rios was probably just as crowded but at least we were able to find parking and get some BBQ sandwiches into our stomachs! They had live music, people picnicking, kids playing, and a petting zoo! Unfortunately, I guess the majority of pumpkins and apples had already been picked so their selection wasn't so great...
With that in mind we crossed the street and hiked to a pumpkin patch only to find... a field of pumpkin greens. Where were all the pumpkins?! At least the scenery was beautiful to look at...
Leaving our disappointment behind us we took a short cut back to our cars and headed to the pumpkin patch at Live Oak Canyon. This is the place! ...I think maybe from now on we'll be going to Live Oak Canyon for our pumpkin picking adventures... Although, Alicia and I heard of a patch down in Temecula wine country... we haven't had a chance to check it out though.
We enjoy picking our own pumpkins, it's such an adventure! We found four beautiful pumpkins to liven up our home this fall.
Hope everything is going well with you readers. Enjoy the fall season!
I can't believe how fast this year has gone by, summer days seemed to have come and go with lingering days of heat into fall. Yesterday, Alicia and I got to spend the day with some friends in Oak Glen. We met up in Hemet then all followed each other to Riley's Farm. Alicia and I went to Oak Glen last year but it was on a week day and crowds were slim to none. Yesterday, Saturday, it was incredible and not in a good way. I have a feeling that Oak Glen thrives and lives for this time of year, especially the weekends. Riley's farm was 100% full with parking only available alongside the highway (which by the way, Riley's farm is not responsible for.)
We kept on driving and headed towards another apple/pumpkin picking place called Los Rios. Yes, Los Rios was probably just as crowded but at least we were able to find parking and get some BBQ sandwiches into our stomachs! They had live music, people picnicking, kids playing, and a petting zoo! Unfortunately, I guess the majority of pumpkins and apples had already been picked so their selection wasn't so great...
With that in mind we crossed the street and hiked to a pumpkin patch only to find... a field of pumpkin greens. Where were all the pumpkins?! At least the scenery was beautiful to look at...
Leaving our disappointment behind us we took a short cut back to our cars and headed to the pumpkin patch at Live Oak Canyon. This is the place! ...I think maybe from now on we'll be going to Live Oak Canyon for our pumpkin picking adventures... Although, Alicia and I heard of a patch down in Temecula wine country... we haven't had a chance to check it out though.
We enjoy picking our own pumpkins, it's such an adventure! We found four beautiful pumpkins to liven up our home this fall.
Hope everything is going well with you readers. Enjoy the fall season!
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