Nothin' but love for RCJones.

Ladies and gents, presenting.....RCJONES PHOTOGRAPHY (and our engagement pictures).

Ryan is a cute mexican guy. He also IS RCJones Photography. He also WAS Shane's roommate throughout our entire relationship. Stated more simply, he is the only one that really knows our relationship: the good, the bad, and the jangly.
Once you click on the link [and you are done being mesmerized by our stunning beauty (and his photoshop skills)], you can read exactly what I would have written about him. From the moment I met him, I knew he was nerdy and that we would be friends. After all, he and Shane did argue over who would sing "San Francisco" by the Weepies for me. They wanted to re-live their high school rock star days so bad. How were they to know that I was just as nerdy and needed no impressing?

Please enjoy:
http://www.rcjonesphotographyblog.com/?p=259

26.

Happy Birthday na na na na
It's your birthday na na na na
Happy Birthday na na na na
It's your birthday na na na na.

A birthday song for the birthday boy.
He is 26 today, and gets even cuter with every minute.

Beck and the woman who stole the show

Nikki knows the way to my heart. She scored us a couple of tickets to see Beck for my birthday. Sunday was the grand opening of Club Nokia and it was a sold out show so it was bound to be a good time.

The suprise opener was Jenny Lewis! Nikki and I are big fans so it def made the night! Saying she put Beck to shame is an understatement. If you have an opportunity to see Jenny Lewis live, I highly recommend it! And on that note, go out and buy Acid Tongue. She is arguably one of the best song writers of my generation.






All in all a FANTASTIC birthday present!!!

Hippie Music for Election Day

All We Have - Brett Dennen
For What Its Worth - Buffalo Springfield
Ohio - Crosby Stills Nash and Young
Revolution - The Beatles
I've Seen Enough - Cold War Kids
A Change is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke
Wild World - Cat Stevens
Someday Never Comes - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Everyday People - Sly and the Family Stone
Imagine - John Lennon
Yo George - Tori Amos
Rockin' in the Free World - Neil Young
Freedom - Jimi Hendrix
Times They Are a Changin' - Bob Dylan
Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Dont Stop - Fleetwood Mac
You Aint Seen Nothin Yet - Bachman Turner Overdrive
Freedom/Motherless Child - Richie Havens
Ain't No Reason - Brett Dennen
Indifference - Pearl Jam
How It Ends - Devotchka



PS: We found a home for Takota! Woooohoooo!

TAKOTA SLASH ANNE FRANK

Nicole and I are secretly hiding Takota at our new apartment... no pets allowed... we need your help before zeh germans get her. If you know a loving family or an old lady who is looking for the best damn cat in the world, let us know ASAP!! We are being forced to find her a new home before they take her to the Siberian Gulag. SAVE THIS KITTY.



IMPORTANT TAKOTA FACTS:
She is spayed
She is healthy
She loves to cuddle
She likes to tell you about her day sometimes
She does not have any outdoor skills to speak of besides 'Laser Pointer Chasing'
She knows what a litter box is for
She is 3 years old
She is voting for Barack Obama Nov 4th



Please please please if you know anybody who wants or needs a great cat, please let us know ASAP! We have exhaused our LA options, but we need to find her a good home!

THANKS!!!

Sausage Fingers, and the Moment You Have All Been Waiting For...

THE RING!!
This is it, the token of our love and affection.

It is special because...
1. Shane designed it.
2. It has a yellow sapphire instead of a diamond (aka not a blood diamond).
3. It matches my great, great grandmother's wedding ring that is exactly 100 years old this year (aka my wedding band).
4. I was named after my great, great grandmother. (This is actually a reason why I am special).
5. It's my engagement ring.

Thanks for waiting so long. Rings are IMPOSSIBLE to photograph.

10.14.08 The proposal.

You read correctly, he did it, he really did it!

I know, I know, I need to post pictures of the ring for all my lady friends.
Sorry, patience is a virtue and we're all gettin' better at it. (My camera is dead).

First off, if you can believe it, he surprised me! I knew he had the ring, he told me he talk to my dad, I was almost positive he would spill the stinky beans about the actual proposal, but he didn't! Yesterday evening after work we got the keys to our beautiful new apartment (4 days early) so we were so excited to plan our paint colors and where each piece of furniture should be placed. I was in the empty bedroom checking out the gigantic closets, and he snuck up on me with a big hug (not at all unusual).
Then, with the cutest shaky hands and nervous face he looked into my eyeballs, got down on his knee and said, (tremor in his voice) "Nikki, will you marry me baby?"

Of course, I obliged. Then, we rolled around on the carpet in our empty bedroom (and made out! WE'RE ENGAGED!)
Then he took me into the kitchen where we enjoyed a bottle of champagne that was waiting near two very special glasses he picked out for us. After we made about 2 hours of important phone calls, we ate our steak dinner and went home!

Sigh, I love my fiance!

PS. The big day will be in April!

VAMANOS DOYERS!!!!!

We're down by two... headed into the ninth...

New Car, New Apartment.

Just keepin' the fam up-to-date on what's new.

You can't tell from this picture but the new apartment is 50 paces to the beach, it's amazing. Also, the car has that lovely new car smell. We're living the dream. Great depression, schmreat schmaschmession.

For my loving sister Julie.

Because you are smarter than your party line...

You see, at first I was offended when John McCain nominated Sarah Palin to be his running mate... well, I was offended but I laughed really hard... I mean come on, it was pretty funny. Even after the whole George Bush thing, I could have ended up voting Republican this year... Truthfully! I'm not completely Donkey Blue... If he nominated someone of worth - someone like a Mitt Romney... anyone that could help develop a policy and agenda that made some sense - but instead he chose a completely inexperienced woman from Alaska whose naive un-presidential commentary and mannerisms are boggling (It makes for fantastic SNL however). It made me wonder, 'If this is his pick for VP, who would he pick for the Supreme Court?!' It put things into perspective for me and I got online and sent my economically stressed cash to Obama.

For the past two months I have watched politics play out. I have watched one man, bring ideas about the economy, energy, healthcare, education, foreign affairs and relate to who I am, who we are, the problems of today, and what we can do secure a better future. I saw another man put out dishonest ads, Rovian tactics, Bush policies revisited, high jacked campaign mantras about CHANGE without any substance of CHANGE and talked down to me as though I cant read through his bullshit.

McCain... at the most basic level is a bad person. Too low to shake Obama's hand after the last debate. Snarkey, negative, dishonest, angry, out of touch... and lets not forget about the Keating 5 (I dont know why it took the Obama campaign so long to remind the country about that gem)... and those of you 'Anti Bill Clinton moral fiber folks', I think you should look back at how John and Cindy's romance blossomed. Do your homework and call a spade a spade.

Im a little fired up tonight and maybe I have watched too many dishonest negative ads put out by McCain... maybe I just feel like you and I are smarter than the Republican McCain campaign thinks we are. We need more than 'Hockey Mom', 'Joe 6 pack', 'POW', 'Ayers', 'Maverick', 'Shake up Washington'(whatever that means), 'Drill Baby Drill' and winks into the camera. Grow up and show me some respect.



...Nicole is going to kill me for publishing this one...

On This Day.

Today my best friend got married, Jordan Lowry became Jordan Kraft. On this day she also inherited a beautiful family during a ceremony somewhere in the privacy of St. Thomas, I can't wait for the pictures. I'm actually slowly dying to see them.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Paul Kraft and family!

OBAMA 08

In the interest of quelling heated debates with family members Nicole and I (mostly I) will try to keep political blogs to a minimum over the next 30 days...

For all you Bush/Cheney + McCain/Palin advocates... 'Quell' means to suppress or subdue, bless your hearts... you'll learn.

Was that offsides? :)

In any event, we're voting Obama.

Exhausted.

Utah, Good Friends, and a Celebration of Love.

Shane and I took a vacation to Utah to spend more time with cousin Brad and beautiful Karlee, and to see a good friend of mine get married.

Shannon and Jarrod got married at a stunningly picturesque location in Sandy called La Caille. This place came straight out of a fantasy-land dream with bright multi-colored flowers blooming everywhere, streams running under quaint bridges, and peacocks walking freely. Shannon fit right in, she was the stunning Snow White of her fairy tale wedding.





Love.



Tess and I have been friends since high school. She has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I have ever met and I am so happy to call her a friend. Nothings beats that Livermore love:)



He's mine all mine.


Shannie and I were friends even before high school, we were the captains of the high school cheerleading squad (and sooooo cool). We have so many memories together, including the time I broke her nose :/ It was absolutely delightful to reminisce on old times, and to be there for her special day. She has such a beautiful family and a great new husband.




More Love.

Miss Aboussleman

Ok, I'll go by Miss A. Otherwise it would be torture for those poor students.

I got my first teaching job. At a charter school in LA. I couldn't be more excited, the staff and school principles (not principal, he is part of the staff) are all extraordinary. What a great opportunity this is. I can't wait to feel like I made a difference at the end of the day and I can't wait to buy teacher clothes. School starts September 18th, but I get to meet all my students at the school tour on September 15th. I CAN'T EVEN WAIT!

Goodbye 3am, Hello C.L.A.S!

Cousin Brad in The City of Angels

Brad came for a weekend trip to hang with Shane. Luckily, I was invited too.

Our weekend festivities included, eating, kayaking, shopping, eating, swimming, visiting the Arclight Sherman Oaks, then eating some more.


































Brad demonstrating what we did best.

































Still eating at Neptune's Net in Malibu. You can tell they are related huh? Both= wanna be male models.

















You can't tell, but we are blog stalking here. That's right, we did dat.

Millerton Lake

Last weekend Nikki and I took a trip to visit the fam in Ol Fresberg. It was a lot of fun visiting the family as it usually is. The highlights included Mamma's biscuits and gravy and PCH Subs. Sadly, no Me N Eds on this trip.

We had a blast at Millerton Lake with Dad, Jess, Dylan and his lady Ashley. A little wakeboarding and wakesurfing was just what we needed. Plus it was good to get some tan.

Lastly it was good to spend some time with old friends. Always good to see Joey, Sparky, JJ, David, Con, Ryan, Jenna and Troy.

Don't mind the shine on my receding hairline...

Family

This post is very much a belated one. Cassie, Shane's cousin, graduated from Loyola Marymount University in May. I just found the pictures, and had to share them with the rest of the fam! Congrats Cassie!

The Call Boys.















Call fam + 1 Aboussleman.

Love on the Inside.

Good NEW country music.

I'm in love. Their last album (Enjoy the Ride) was great. Every single track. Their new one is getting there.

Jennifer Nettles' voice is such a refreshing sound in new country music, and her songwriting is the perfect blend of traditional and new country. Plus, she is so incredibly adorable.

For the country fans: GET IT. The "Deluxe Fan Version" has 17 tracks - worth every bit of the $12.99 I spent at Target. And yes, you need the physical copy.

So far my faves are #6, 10, 13 &15, but that is only after my 2nd listen. It still needs time. Lots of it.

Julie, get this for Aimee, she needs it!

Yosemite

The weekend was filled with hiking, climing, eating, mallow roasting, ice swimming, and tent camping with our good ol' Burbank friends. Those guys are the best of the best.

As soon as we arrived, the boys (minus Shane) wanted to go for a swim. The girls (and Shane), were perfectly content with our feet in the water and wading up to our knees. The water was bitterly freezing. It made every joint in your body scream in agony.

After some time passed, Kim and I toughed it out, staying fully clothed with no intention to allow the water to creep past our knees. We discovered a strategy: team work. Holding hands and moving one at a time, across the jagged rocks on the floor of the river bed. Our feet hurt, we were cold, but we kept on. We had to make it to the giant rock in the middle of the river. If the boys could, we could too. And we did, but we got wet. Soaking wet.