Author: Anna Blankenheim

Someone Has A Boo Boo

Anna Blankenheim Critters , ,

Every year we host a big New Years party. And every year, Shadow has the pleasure of spending the night at Gold Country Pet Resort (Sidenote: if you live in Amador County or anywhere near it, this is the ONLY place to board your pet. I’m pretty sure Shadow doesn’t want to come home because he has such a great time there!). I do this for a variety of reasons – there are people in and out of the house all night and I worry someone will let him out, he’ll get fed WAY too much food he shouldn’t eat, etc. Probably more peace of mind for me than anything.

This stay was no exception – he had a fantastic time and I picked him up at 5pm on New Years Day. It was dark by the time we got home, and I only pulled about halfway down the driveway because I still had some things in the garage to clean up before I was going to put my car in. I opened the back door of my car and unlocked Shadow’s crate. He jumped out like he normally does, but either tripped or was expecting to be on flat ground (instead of the slant of the driveway). He landed smack on his face. Like really hard. It actually scared me a little bit. He jumped up and shook it off, but I know how those sneaky labs can be, so I took him in to check him out. Teeth are all intact, nothing seemed to hurt to touch, but I did find a gigantic raspberry that was bleeding on his chin. Poor little fella!

I gave him a bath (he really did have a fun time at the kennel) and cleaned it up a bit. Here’s what it looks like today…

Shadow's Boo Boo
Shadow’s Boo Boo

I feel so bad! At least it’s healing and nothing else was hurt! Poor Shadow!

Random Act #21: Avielle Richman

Anna Blankenheim Random Acts of Kindness , ,

Today I completed random act number 21. This one was done with the help of a friend who wishes to remain anonymous. She had some clothing that wasn’t quite her style, and asked if I could donate it to one of our local retirement homes for those who might really like it. This is in honor of Avielle Richman, a six-year-old who loved swimming, going to the library, and riding her pony.

Random Act #21: Avielle Richman
Random Act #21: Avielle Richman

Looper

Anna Blankenheim Movies , , , , ,

Our latest movie from On Demand was Looper. I’ll admit, Mike wanted to see it more than me, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

Looper (from IMDb)
Looper (from IMDb)

Director: Rian Johnson

Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, and Emily Blunt

Runtime: 1 hour, 59 minutes

Plot Summary (from IMDb): In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to ‘close the loop’ by transporting back Joe’s future self.

Rating: On Demand.

This was seriously a good movie. It was one of those thought-provoking types that leaves you at the end with the question “What do you think happened next?”. The whole idea is that when a looper kills his older self from thirty years in the future (“closing the loop”) he gets a big chunk of gold and to live the next thirty years of his life in peace. Joe’s older self (Bruce Willis) realizes that his life is amazing and that he wants more than just thirty years. When he gets sent back to be killed by the younger Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), he has to convince him that life is worth living longer than thirty years. The ending really does leave you thinking and contemplating. This is definitely a must see movie!

Ratings Explanation:

  • Theater: This means the movie is awesome. Go see this movie in the theater – well worth the $100 you’ll spend for a night out to see it on the big screen!
  • On Demand: Since no one actually rents movies anymore, this category has changed to On Demand. This means it’s a great movie, but it is as good at home as it is in the theater and worth seeing a little sooner.
  • TV: This means the movie is ok. Wait for it to show up on HBO and see it for free.
  • Skip It: Movie sucks, don’t waste your time.

New Life

Anna Blankenheim Gardening , ,

Today was such a beautiful day that I decided to visit my local nursery to get some plants for a project I had been thinking about for a while. Back in our patio building days, our old wheelbarrow broke. Like the tire completely exploded. It sounded like a gunshot. Mike mentioned at the time that it might make a cool planter. Fast forward to today. I finally got around to moving it to where I wanted (this perfect bare spot of concrete in our front yard) and decided on the plants I wanted to grow in it. I headed down to the Ridge Road Garden Center – if you’re in the general area and need plants, this is the place to go. Salye (the manager) is absolutely amazing – she knows the customers by name, is incredibly knowledgeable about plants, and is always willing to give advice. Plus, she has a great golden retriever named Gunner who runs around the nursery.

I decided that I wanted a succulent garden – something that tolerated the sun/heat well and that the deer would leave alone (fingers crossed – I’ve learned the hard way that absolutely nothing is “deer proof”).

Wheelbarrow
Wheelbarrow
Wheelbarrow Planter
Wheelbarrow Planter

Of course, I can never make it out of the garden center without buying more than I went in for. I was inspired by Mike’s aunt and uncle in Oregon – they have a beautiful sun room that is full of amazing live plants. I have a couple of houseplants that I’ve been growing for a while, but nothing substantial. The first one I got was the corn plant (Dracaena Fragrans), so named because it’s leaves resemble the leaves on corn stalks.

Corn Plant
Corn Plant

The second is the money tree (Pachira aquatica), complete with braided trunk. I just love having something green and alive in our house! This one is in our bedroom – I’m not sure I love where I put it, so I might move it around.

Money Tree
Money Tree

I absolutely love gardening. I was talking with Salye today and we were both wishing it was spring and could plant more! I had to restrain myself and remember that if I planted too much outside it would all die! There’s something so rewarding about turning the soil, planting something, and watching it grow! I suppose I’ll have to stick with houseplants until spring comes!

Random Act #20: Jessica Rekos

Anna Blankenheim Random Acts of Kindness , ,

For random act number 20, I bought McDonalds for the person behind me last night. I was needing a little snack to get me through the long drive home and thought I’d share the love. This is in honor of Jessica Rekos, a six-year-old little girl who absolutely loved horses (near and dear to my heart!). She had just learned how to tie her own shoes.

Random Act #20: Jessica Rekos
Random Act #20: Jessica Rekos

2013 Music Calendar

Anna Blankenheim Music , ,

Those of you that know me well know that I love music. I love live music the best – there’s something about a band or artist being able to seeing well without the aid of studio magic that really makes me happy. Every year I do my best to go see all sorts of musicians play live, whether it’s country music, opera, or pop, I love a good show. Here’s what I have lined up so far for 2013:

January 27: Rock of Ages

January 31: George Strait

June 2: Les Misérables

I’ll admit, it’s a little bit light. So far, there’s not a whole lot coming to the greater Northern California area, at least not right now. There are a few bands (Mumford & Sons and the Zac Brown Band come to mind) that I would love to see and am keeping an eye out. A major bet went down on New Years Eve as to whether or not Led Zeppelin will be making a 2013 appearance… if they do, we’ll definitely be seeing them!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Anna Blankenheim Holidays ,

I have the best husband ever. Period. Yes, better than yours. I woke up today (my birthday) to two envelopes on my counter – one said to Anna from Mike and the other said to Mommy from Shadow. I was told to open Mike’s first. In it was this:

Birthday Horse!
Birthday Horse!

Yup, he got me my horse. He said I could pick the color and everything. And it gets to stay in the house. On the refrigerator. Isn’t he great? Shadow, on the other hand, got me tickets to see Rock of Ages in January and Les Misérables in June. He’s the best dog! I can’t wait!

Happy New Year!

Anna Blankenheim Holidays

A happy New Year it was indeed! We had a fantastic time celebrating with our friends and family! As is our customary tradition, we roasted a pig.

New Year's Pig
New Year’s Pig

The number of people that we have seems to vary by year. We had somewhere between fifty and sixty this time around. This year we celebrated a New York new years and a California new years. I thought for sure that we would be the only ones left at midnight, but surprisingly, there were still a decent amount of people!

Midnight!
Midnight!

Little miss Chloe made her first party appearance – and did really well with all the people and noise!

Chloe on New Years
Chloe on New Years

It really was a great time! Maybe too much of a good time… both Mike and I have been feeling the effects today! Thank goodness we both had the day off! Head on over to my Facebook page if you want to check out more pictures from the party!

2012 Year In Review

Anna Blankenheim Year In Review

Every year I like to take a little time before the New Year’s craziness to reflect back on all that’s happened over the last 365 days. It’s always kinda fun for me to put this post together – even though it takes a long time, it reminds me of all of the great (and sometimes not so great) things that have happened. Without further ado, I bring you 2012!

January

January 2: My 31st birthday. I spent a nice day at home and went to dinner with my family. Nothing like The Union’s fried chicken and macaroni & cheese to ring in another year!

Director's AwardJanuary 4: Mike gets the CalFire Directors Award. It was an honor to attend this ceremony not only to see Mike get his award (so proud!) but to see all of the wonderful work that others did to go above and beyond their daily jobs!

January 28: Pioneer Fire Department Crab Feed. Yes, I went to a crab feed. No, I did not eat crab. But it was actually a lot of fun. It was hosted by Perry Creek Winery and we had a great time. We entered the raffle and actually won a night’s stay at Fitzpatrick Winery and Lodge!

January 29: Professional Bull Riding. I got tickets to this through work and thought “why not?”. We had an absolute blast watching the cowboys try to stay on some pretty angry bulls! We got to sit in the suite and had a really good time!

February

February 11: Whitney Houston Dies. At the way too young age of 48, Whitney Houston passed away. This is one of those celebrity deaths that took my breath away… she had such an amazing voice and it’s a shame that she’s gone.Brigitte's Baby Shower

February 25: Brigitte’s Baby Shower. Our theme was mini-everything, so we had mini-desserts, mini-appies, and individual veggie cups. It was a really fun time and Brigitte looked super cute!

March

March 8: Fitzpatrick Winery Stay. We had the whole week off and decided to do a staycation. It was really nice to have some time home, but we also used the opportunity to use our free stay at Fitzpatrick Winery. It was absolutely beautiful and a really neat place to spend the night! We went home with a case of their anniversary Zin!

Shamrock'n HalfMarch 11: Shamrock’n Half Marathon. After three months of training, Kati and I finally made it to race day for her first and my second half marathon. I am beyond proud of my sister – we ran a 2:13 and had the best time together! I think training with her really brought us closer together!

March 17: St. Patrick’s Day Bunco. Kati and Nate hosted this one and it was so much fun! We got all dressed up in our green (even Mike got on board with his “Irish you were beer” shirt) and had a really fun time!

March 29: Lady Antebellum Concert. Kati and I did a sisters night out (little did we know, this was baby Chloe’s first concert!). It was a really good show that had Thompson Square and Darius Rucker opening for Lady A who were awesome!

April

April 1: Shadow Turns Seven. And promptly destroys his gift.Aspen Nicole

April 8: Kati & Nate Announce Their Pregnancy. And thus, little Chloe came to be… 🙂

April 8: Aspen is Born. Brigitte had Aspen a little earlier than expected (she’s an Easter bunny!), but she was healthy and absolutely beautiful! She weighed in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 19 inches long.

May

Mother's DayMay 5: Ashley & Jim’s Wedding. Our year(s) of weddings continued with Ashley and Jim’s. Theirs was held at the Italian Picnic Grounds in Jackson and was a beautiful outdoor ceremony. We had a great time!

May 13: Mother’s Day. We spent Mother’s day with my mom at the Amador Flower Farm. It was a beautiful day and we packed a really great picnic lunch before wandering around the grounds.

JuneMarathon

June 4: San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. Yup, I ran my first marathon. That’s 26.2 miles for those of you counting. My worst nightmare came true and I got really sick (hello blue porta potties), but I still finished. I’m so proud of myself – I consider this one of my biggest accomplishments so far!

June 16: Wicked. We were given tickets to see Wicked as a wedding gift from our friend Chris. This quickly moved up my list of favorite musicals to #2, right behind Phantom of the Opera. We made a night out of it and had dinner downtown – it was great!

Jake's WeddingJune 17: Father’s Day. We spent the morning boating and barbecuing with my family and the afternoon barbecuing with Mike’s. It was a fantastic day!

June 23: Jake & Gina’s Wedding. Another member of the J.A.K.E. club bites the dust. Jacob made his grand entrance in his suped up rock crawler and it was a beautiful evening. Welcome to the family Gina!

July

July 5: First Day of Sabbatical. I am incredibly lucky to work at an amazing company, Intel. Every seven years that you work there, you get eight weeks off (in addition to your regular vacation). The idea is that you get away from work, recharge, and come back refreshed. It’s an amazing program. It took a couple weeks to mellow out, but once I did, I had a fantastic time!Paris

July 14 – 25: Switzerland & France Trip. We decided that we wanted our big trip to be over to Europe to watch the Tour de France. We spent 16 days roadtripping through Switzerland and France. It was one of the best vacations I’ve been on – we had an absolute blast together! We hiked, rode our bikes up the Alp d’Huez, and watched the big finish in Paris.

July 31: Barenaked Ladies Concert. I joined Adam and Eva at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga. I absolutely loved the venue – it’s a intimate outdoor venue, perfect for a summer evening concert. The show was amazing… I love BNL!

August

HouseboatAugust 4: Aerosmith Concert. They were absolutely fantastic. I can’t believe the vocal chops Steven Tyler still has… he sang “Dream On” while playing the piano and it sounded just like when he was younger!

August 14: CeeLo and Lucia join the Blankenheim family. Shadow’s life will never be the same.

August 10 – 12: Girls Houseboating Trip. I spent the weekend with my besties out on Lake Oroville. As always, we had a blast jet skiing, swimming, dancing, and drinking.

September

September 18: Mike Gets Promoted. I am beyond proud of my husband. After a ton of hard work, he was promoted to Batallion Chief.

September 22: Al & Kim’s Wedding. This was a beautiful wedding up in Chico. We had an awesome time and danced the night away!

September 30: Tim & Lynn’s Wedding Reception. These two lovebirds decided to surprise everyone and elope! They had a reception a month or so later so that we could all celebrate with them. In true Blankenheim style, Uncle Tim was surrounded by his family and hooked up to the ball and chain. It was great!

October

Kati's Baby ShowerOctober 13: Kati’s Baby Shower. We stuck with a lavender and butterflies theme, which is how the nursery is decorated. The weather was beautiful and it was so great to see all of Kati’s friends come out to celebrate with her!

October 21 – 24: First Anniversary Road Trip. Mike and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary by taking a road trip up the North Coast. It was absolutely beautiful! We started in finished the trip with a visit to Mike’s aunt and uncle up in Eugene, Oregon. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful trip or a better time!

NovemberRun To Feed The Hungry

November 22: Run To Feed The Hungry. This was the first race/event that my mom has done and I was honored to run with her. We had an absolutely great time! We’re thinking about making this a Thanksgiving Day tradition – it was nice to get some exercise in before we ate!

December

ChloeDecember14: Sandy Hook Elementary Shootings. A man walked into several classrooms and opened fire, killing twenty children and six teachers. He also killed his mother before turning the gun on himself. Inspired by Ann Curry, I start the 26 Random Acts of Kindness.

December 15: Chloe Noelle is born. After 28 loooong hours, Chloe was finally here. In a weekend that was a blur of exhaustion, snuggles, and poop, I got to meet my new niece. I still can’t believe how much I love her! This is one of my favorite pictures of her because she looks so goofy in it! I already took a zillion… they’re all adorable!

December 24: Christmas with the Blankenheims. We spent our traditional Christmas Eve with Mike’s family – first church, followed by an appetizer feast at Grandmas, and then presents at Ray and Nancy’s. It was great!

December 25: Christmas with the Smithsons/Barcklays. This year instead of going to my parents house, as is the tradition, we went to Kati & Nate’s since the baby is still so new. We had a blast cooking, watching movies, and of course, opening presents!