Short but Sweet

One of my best friends, Brooke drove to California with a few of her friends last week. I was so glad that I was able to see her even if it was for only two days. The last time I saw her was at my wedding over two years ago. She and I always have fun together and it is a tradition for her to do my make-up. She has always been really good at it and Kevin and I are trying to convince her to move out here and got to school to be a make-up artist. (Crossing my fingers) They were here over St. Patty's day and I took them to 2nd Street in long beach to eat at BJ's so they could try their awesome pizza and of course a Pizookie. If you don't know what a pizookie is come and visit us....we will make sure you try one ;)

Brooke, me and Kevin

We definitely have our own unique sense of humor :)

My St. Patty's day make over

Baby Joe

Our friends Rob and Emily welcomed their son, Joseph to this planet back in January. For the last 3 months of Emily's pregnancy she was on bed rest SO...she didn't get to have a shower. Her mother-in-law threw her one a couple weekends ago when baby Joe was old enough to join in on the fun. Here are a couple of pictures from that shower.

Here I am with the proud mama, Emily

Here is the man of the hour-Joseph True Gleason

Here Joe is modeling one of the present I brought....They are the cutest socks that look like high top sneakers! I'm glad they were such a hit :)

Lucky number 13

Last weekend was another busy week for the Shaw family, but the biggest event would have to be the Mark Hahn memorial Jet Ski race that Kevin and his associate editor, Justin participated in.

This race is a 300 mile endurance race around Lake Havasu in Arizona. The first person or team to successfully complete thirty ten miles laps around the course wins.

The start to the race is pretty fun to watch. All of the racers have their boats lined up in the water with their engines off. They have their partner or a friend hold the boat steady and in place. Then when the gun is fired the racers (who have been lined up across from their boats 20 ft in away on the beach) run and jump on their boats, start the engine, and take off.

Most of the boats can only make it around the course 5 or 6 times before the need to refuel. This is where is starts to feel like a Nascar event. When it is time to refuel you have your "pit crew" pull you out of the water using a side by side vehicle. They want to make sure that no gasoline gets in the the lake so the fueling of the boats is pretty regulated. This year Kevin and Justin had some guys that work for Side by Side Magazine come out and man their pit crew, along with Dave, PWI's sales associate and Justin's dad. It worked out great. The guys from Side by Side were excited to do a cross promotion with their magazine and everyone worked really well together to make the pit stops as quick as possible.

The weather was pretty windy in the morning and the water was pretty choppy which was not at all what they were expecting. I guess the way the race is.....it is either the first boat to make thirty laps or whoever is in the lead after 6 hours. This year was the first year it took the whole 6 hours.

Kevin and Justin haven't had the best record when it comes to races. Something either happens with the boat or their GPS breaks and they drive miles out of their way. This year everything went smoothly and I am happy to report that out of the 58 or 59 boats entered into the race Kevin and Justin came in 13th overall. They also came in 3rd out of their class. I'm so excited for them and I think they did a great job!

Here are some pictures I took at the race:

Here is Kevin talking with his pit crew before the race started

Kevin waiting for the racers to line up to start the race

Kevin waiting for the gun to go off to begin the race

And they are off

The first pit stop

Kevin gives Justin advice about the water conditions

Justin gets a nap in before his next time out

This is not the most flattering picture, but I had to include one of us together (I told you it was windy)

Changes/Snow Summit

Ok so I mentioned in my last post that my hours at the plastic surgeon's office were cut to 2 days a week. That was a pretty big bummer, but it was a blessing too. It got me off my butt to start looking for a new job. It has been no secret that I wasn't to fond of my employment situation for the past 2 years, but I never really did anything about it (except complain). Well Part of the crazy week last week was after we drove home from Lake Havasu I had a job interview on Thursday for a place called millennium Medical Spa. They specialize in weight loss management and hormone replacement therapy. They also have a huge skin care side to them and sell all kinds of products. Good news...I got the job!

My job duites will include answering phones, weighing patients, working with a clinicial study they are running, possibly drawing blood and administering B-12 shots, assisting with Botox and facial fillers (which I do now)...Along with several other tasks. I am really excited because I can already see a HUGE difference between this company and my former employer. Oh...and it doesn't hurt that I got a pay increase. I will let you know a little more about it after I have worked there a while. I told them that I wanted to give my old boss two weeks notice....Only working two days a week, they asked if I could work on the days I wasn't with him. Hence starting on Wednesday. Wish me luck!

The day after my interview we went snow skiing. We decided that would be our valentines day celebration. It is so crazy that you can live 5 minutes from the beach and drive 2 hours to the mountians and snow. It was only my second time skiing but I had a lot of fun. We pretty much stayed to the low intermediate part of the mountain for my sake. I have learned I am less afraid of me falling and more afraid of people hitting me. Once I learn to quit looking backwards and focus on me I think it will be much better. Here are a couple of pictures we took that day.

semi-pro

Ok so this past week was a busy one. My hours at the plastic surgeon's office were cut down to two days a week (yikes). So that gave me some free time. Kevin asked me to go with him to Lake Havasu and be his photographer for the day. He had a couple of boats that he needed to test out. It was a great opportunity to try out my new camera lens and play around with some different settings. I have to admit I was pretty nervous because I knew I had to supply him with pictures that were decent enough to go in the magazine. I took over 900 photos! It was a fun experience, but I definitely think I would like to take some photography classes. Here are some of the pictures I took that day. Not all of them are magazine quality. They are just some that I liked.

New house guest

Some of you may be wondering where Optimus Prime goes when he is not filming his movies. Well....he has moved in with us. Here he is cooking us lunch after church. The meal might not look like much, but it was definitely more than meets the eye ;)

Groundhog's Day

I just want to thank everyone who called, emailed or texted to wish me a happy birthday today. I really appreciate it. I'm sure like everyone else...I have those days where I feel disconnected. I start to feel like I never get to catch up with friends because our lives get in the way. My birthday is one of my favorite days because I am reminded just how many amazing people I know and love. The simpliest card or email makes my day.

I had a rather relaxing (read lazy) day. I woke up, went jogging, ate lunch, watched pretty in pink and ran a couple of errands before Kevin came home. Then we just ate some dinner at home and watched some TV.

This past Saturday our family got together for a little pre-birthday party at the bowling alley. It was a lot of fun and I am so thankful that everyone was able to come. After bowling we went back to our apartment for some cake and ice cream. Linda was so sweet and made me a chocolate chip pound cake (just like my mom

would make). A few couples from church came over to our apartment to join in on the fun and we all stayed up pretty late talking and getting to know each other. It was a really nice night and Kevin and I decided that we need to host more get togethers.

Thanks again for all of your thoughtful gifts and emails. I am so lucky to have such great people in my life. :)