The Olivia Chronicles

Olivia's Adventures

2010-12-08T23:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it's been a while since the last post...but hey, we've been busy (and parenting is just a little time-consuming)! So, what's Olivia been up to, you ask? She's been up to plenty! Grandma Eileen and Awesome Aunt Pat came out for a visit in October and we all went to 4 n 20 for breakfast, Corbin Bowl for bowling and hung out at our apartment. Soon after their visit, Olivia, Tony and I crashed my Paychex team meeting and had lunch with my HR colleagues. Then we headed to Ventura, CA for a little 2-day getaway. We toured downtown Ventura and visited the Buenaventura Mission.

Olivia's next adventure was Halloween. We went to the pumpkin patch with Aunt Colleen and our friends, Lisa, Matt, Jess and Jude. Tony made a yummy spaghetti dinner for everyone and Colleen and Lisa brought lots of baked goodies. Tony and Colleen carved pumpkins and it was an all around fun day. The next big day was Thanksgiving. Aunt Colleen built Olivia's highchair so she could sit at the table with us. Tony cooked a full turkey dinner and we, Colleen and Lisa all enjoyed it very much. We finished off the evening with some pumpkin pie (thanks, Coll) and some Scene It on the old xbox.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The day after Thanksgiving, we and Colleen went to Riverside for a day with the Masters and Hawthornes. Another fun day, and Olivia got her very first Christmas ornament from Aunt Vicky and Uncle Kevin.

With Grandma Joan on the the day after Thanksgiving.

In between holiday fun, we mostly hang out at the house. We regularly go shopping at Ralphs and Target and take walks to the mall and bank. Currently, we're getting ready for a big trip to Chicago for the Christmas holiday, which is sure to be a blast. After that, I have to go back to work. Bummer.

How YOU doin?

Probably watching another episode of Law & Order: SVU

Cool shirt!

See you in 2011!

Olivia is here!

2010-09-14T22:50:00.000-07:00

In my last blog, I told you that I was scheduled to have an "augmented" labor Monday, August 16th. Our doc said we'd have a baby by the evening. Apparently, our little one got the memo and decided to start the party a little early. Around 3am that day, I was already having contractions 5 minutes apart and growing more and more intense. By the time we checked in to the hospital at 6:45am, things were progressing pretty quickly. My water broke at 7:20am and we started pushing around 11:30am. In between contractions, Tony was looking up places to get lunch once she arrived. At about that time, Olivia's heart rate started rising and dropping dramatically and our doctor ordered an emergency C-section. Tony and I were both disappointed, but didn't have much time to grieve over the change in plans. Within about 10 minutes, we had our little girl. Olivia Joleen arrived at 12:30pm weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. She has lots of dark hair, just as we suspected she would. She had a little trouble breathing and spent the next 3 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. We finally got to have her in our room on Thursday and we all went home on Friday. She's been around for a month now and it's been amazing. Parenting is not without its challenges, but overall, it is spectacular to know that we created this little person and get to watch her grow and change everyday.

Olivia's had many many visitors. She's met all of her grandparents, the Masters, the Hawthornes, aunt Colleen, great aunt Betty (all the way from Missouri) and lots of our friends. Aunt Colleen moved to California the weekend before Olivia was born and has been visiting and helping us out regularly. She is great! My mom and dad just spent 8 days here helping us out and hanging out with Olivia. We did lots of fun things with them. We had a BabyQ (backyard bbq with family and friends), took the train downtown to have lunch with Tony, went bowling, drove to Malibu and just chilled.

Olivia pretty much sleeps 6 hours at night now and that means I too sleep about 6 hours at night. We go for walks to the bank, the grocery store, around the neighborhood, etc. Olivia likes to ride in her stroller and also likes to be in the car. She loves her bouncy seat and listening to music and our voices. She doesn't love bath time yet, but we're hoping that will change. To us, she is the greatest thing in the world and we're so happy to have her here with us, finally.

Olivia - August 17th - 1 day old

With Aunt Colleen

"What are you talking about, Dad?"

Grandpa Ed makes a comfy bed

So does Grandma Eileen

Olivia's first official photo shoot. Looks like Daddy has his work cut out for him!

She just doesn't see what all the fuss is about...but we do!

I will continue to post here whenever I can so stay tuned for more fun facts about Olivia!

Last Day on the Inside

2010-08-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

Well, this is it...the countdown is coming to an end. You may be asking how I can be so certain. Unless the baby decides to arrive tonight, which doesn't seem likely, we have an appointment to be admitted first thing tomorrow morning. Contractions will be "enhanced" and we will have a baby by evening, according to our doctor. Why not wait to see what happens? My doctor does not want the baby to get any bigger and Tuesday would be a complete 40 weeks. (And don't forget, at 34 weeks, the baby's head was measuring at 38 weeks!) Tony and I jumped on the idea of knowing we'd have our little one by Monday night.

Believe it or not, we did accomplish about 99% of our pre-baby to-do list, so we feel pretty ready. Colleen has arrived in LA and settled into her apartment in time for the action. I am getting tired and bored with laying around, and have now started waking up at least 2 to 3 times a night, so I think it's time. I know it's time. We will finally know who has been wriggling around inside my belly! WE ARE VERY EXCITED!

Here are the final pregnancy photos of me, taken this morning.

And here's a photo of Tigger and Pooh anxiously awaiting the arrival of their new roommate.

Thanks for reading...stay tuned for updates on Baby Masters' first days.

Final Week

2010-08-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I still don't have a final belly photo to post...we've been really busy and just haven't taken one yet, but I'm pretty sure we still have at least a day or two.

The baby's room is done...crib is painted, assembled and dressed, curtains are up, baskets are full of stuff.

Our apartment is almost back to normal. Portable office is now assembled. Taking some things to Colleen's new place tonight. Now we just have to find places for a bunch of little miscellaneous items.

All in all, I think we've made good progress...speaking of progress, physically, we are also making progress, but not enough to send us to the hospital. Next doctor appointment is tomorrow and we're hoping for a baby by the end of the weekend. We'll see!

Week 38...

2010-08-02T07:04:00.000-07:00

Well, we have accomplished a lot this week, although the current state of our apartment would suggest otherwise. Here's a rundown of the baby checklist:

1. everyone knows we completed our childbirth prep classes - check
2. we toured the hospital - check
3. one of two hospital bags is packed - check
4. we found a pediatrician - check (this was done this week)
5. I stopped working - check (Wednesday was my last day)
6. The office was cleared out - check (done this week)
7. Tony's brother and his family came over and painted the baby's room - check (done this weekend)
8. We had all of the carpets cleaned - check (also done this weekend)

Still left to do...but we hope to finish by this weekend so we can perhaps relax...

1. strip and paint the crib
2. put the crib together
3. organize the baby's room
4. organize our new mobile office
5. pack the other hospital bag
6. get some good sleep
7. sit around and watch some tv

By the way, there's nothing much to report from the doctor last Thursday. We'll see if anything changes this week. So far, the baby is cooperating with our "stay put until we have things ready" policy. But we can't wait to finally meet this little person!

Sorry no pictures again...Tony's computer is out of commission as we transition and he keeps all the photos there. There will be one more belly photo to come and I will likely post more often now that I am home.

Ta Ta for Now

No Sleep Til.....

2010-07-25T04:33:00.000-07:00

Well, it's 4:22am and guess what? I can't sleep! I figured I may as well make productive use of my time, as I prepare for being up at all hours of the day and night.

This post won't include any pictures, because Tony is sleeping and he usually preps the photos for me.

We had another great (and final) shower yesterday with fantastic friends. We received many great books for the baby to last throughout their childhood years, as well as more cute clothes and some great wall art.

Is anyone tired of me saying that we're so lucky to have such great friends and family...well, I'm not tired of saying it! It is truly amazing and overwhelming just how much love is out there for this little person we are so anxious to meet (oh yeah and we're pretty sure some of the love is for us too, which is also cool).

We will be working furiously over the next week or so to finish emptying the office and get it painted. We're hoping to have a couple of weekends without projects before our lives are forever changed. Tuesday will mark 37 weeks...my leave of absence and weekly doctor appointments start Thursday. We are really in the home stretch now!

Guess I'll try to get a few more winks in while I can. Thanks for visiting.

Nearly 36 Weeks Along...

2010-07-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, Okay, I know I'm late in posting, but we've been pretty busy and I just haven't gotten around to writing this week.

Anyway, we had a 34 week appointment and found out that the baby is about 4.5 pounds (maybe 5 pounds by now). We also found out that the baby's head is measuring at 38 weeks! We knew there was a pretty good chance of having a big-headed baby, since Tony's head is quite large, but I think we were both a little shocked that it's 4 weeks ahead! Not really though, because the legs are measuring at 36 weeks. Anyway, everything looks good. Doc says the baby won't be too big (I'm hoping for well under 8 pounds), it'll just have a big head. Too bad the head has to come out first!

We had a lovely shower this past weekend in our backyard. Pics below. Yummy summer fare, delicious cake and great company made it a wonderful summer afternoon. We got a lot of diapers (about 550 altogether) which Tony thinks will last forever. Boy, is he in for a surprise!

This weekend, the focus is on clearing out some of the office furniture. We're hoping to have the baby's room at least cleared and painted by the end of the month. We're getting there. It's been extremely hot here (100+ degrees) so the outdoor project of sanding and painting the crib is on hold. It's supposed to cool down a little next week.

I am also counting down the days to my leave of absence from work. I have 8 work days left and plenty to do. I will be so thankful for a little time off to organize the baby's things and just chill. I plan to catch up on a few tv series I've missed. Suggestions are welcomed.

That's all for now!

6 Weeks To Go...

2010-07-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are at 34 weeks and 1 day. I must say, this past week has really brought on some aches and pains of pregnancy. Swelling, sciatic and hip pain. I could go on but no one wants to hear about this. I really can't complain, though, because overall, this whole things has been fairly easy.

This weekend we tackled many projects once again, but also relaxed with the Masters & Hawthornes on the holiday. It was a nice long weekend! We finished our Childbirth Prep class this week too. We're looking forward to another baby shower this weekend with Tony's family and our local friends. It's sure to be a delight!

Here are some fun photos we did this weekend...for your viewing pleasure.

7 Weeks to Go....We Think!

2010-06-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

Today marks 33 weeks. This week in babyland we...

1. purchased Peter and the Wolf narrated by David Bowie to play to the baby
2. attended our second childbirth prep class and practiced our focused deep abdominal breathing
3. cleaned out a closet so we can fill it with different stuff, mostly related to the baby
4. attended our second shower with my awesome team at Paychex
5. ate lots of grapes because they are cool, refreshing and good for me and baby
6. got less sleep than usual because apparently that's what happens when you're pregnant
7. made a list of more baby prep chores for next weekend

Slowly but surely, we are "making room for baby" as they say. We are telling baby to stay put for now until we have some more things ready, but really, we're very anxious to meet the little guy or gal!

Here's a picture of me on 6/27.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July. See you back here next week!

32 Weeks Gone, 8 More To Go?

2010-06-22T20:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our Countdown to Baby Masters! Today marks the 32 week point in our pregnancy, which leaves only about 8 weeks to finish our preparations. I intend to post an update each week until the arrival, and then, well...I'll try to post in between feedings, diaper changes, my own naps, etc.

Here's a brief recap of our journey so far: the baby is due August 17th. Everything is going according to plan. Baby is growing according to schedule, all ultrasounds & blood tests have come back normal. We have chosen not to find out the sex of the baby, so we'll let you know about that when he or she gets here. Our next appointment is on July 8th and we are supposed to find out the approximate size of the baby at that time.

I recently flew to Chicago for our first baby shower. While I didn't receive any special treatment from either flight staff, I did have a wonderful time with family and friends. Tony and I are very thankful to have such wonderful people in our lives. We received so many lovely gifts and I find myself overwhelmed with the love everyone already has for this baby we don't even know yet. It is truly awesome! Here is a photo from the shower of me, my mom and grandma.

Tony says he's going to take a picture of me every week from now until the baby gets here, so I'll post some of those as well.

I will be working for another 5 weeks, which sounds like an eternity! It's getting pretty hot here and I'm not used to carrying all this extra weight around (so far, I've gained 27 pounds). I find that I constantly have to remind myself to slow down! Luckily, I have a great husband who allows me to rest a lot when I get home from work.

We started Childbirth Preparation classes last week. Tony wonders if I'll use the breathing techniques they are teaching us. Right now they seem kind of silly and I say "no" I probably won't use them, but we'll see how things go. I'd rather take the classes and have an idea of what to expect, than be completely surprised!

That's it for now...tune in again next week as the the Countdown continues!

Thank You

2008-05-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your support of our inaugural
2008 MARCH FOR BABIES Team. With your
help we were able to raise close to $1500.00.
Nearly three times the amount we set for our
goal (We were trying to be realistic). Jessica &
I hope to never need the services that the
March of Dimes provides but for those who do we
are happy to help them with the research and
resources they provide. For those of you that
couldn’t join us this year we hope to see you or
have your support again next year.

Sincerely Tony and Jessica Masters

Cristián de la Fuente finishes the walk.

20 Weeks in 20 lines.

2007-10-03T15:23:00.001-07:00

First there was the honeymoon up the Central Coast.
We rose after breakfast which meant no eggs or toast.

Halfway through the drive we were as hungry as can be.
We stopped for some soup at Andersen’s, famous for split pea.
A short time later to where we arrive.
A cabin in Cambria is far from a dive.

2 fireplaces, 2 TV’s and not much to do.
We grabbed some dinner and wine and I’ll leave the rest up to you.

A faux castle we visited built by a wannabe king.
It was only fun because I had my queen.

A free massage and a free dinner sums up the rest.
Out of all of our ideas for a honeymoon, this was the best.

Once we were home there was much to do.
So many “thank yous” to everyone we knew.

As life “kicked in” things settled for a while.
Not to the point to take away our smile.

There were some birthdays

Jess got a new job!

We hung out with friends and it was all very grand.

And to top it all off, Jess finally saw Disneyland.

Thank You

2007-05-21T22:53:00.000-07:00

Just a quick stop at home before we head up the coast for our honeymoon. We just want to say thank you to everybody that made it out to the wedding. Somehow all of the elements came together to create a day that we will never forget. Great weather, loving friends and family, tasty food and drinks and a wonderfull party. We'll post more photos after we get back.

Naturaly I had to get a photo of my own of my beautiful bride.

The end is near!

2007-04-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

Here we are down to our last three weeks before the wedding and still have a lot to take care of. We have no real excuse for not updating our blog but we have had much happen.

Unfortunately I must start things off with a somber tone. Within the last few months we have lost two people that were very dear to us. Aunt DeDe was very excited to see us get married and my best friend Brian was to be my best man and also was happy for us both. The loss of them seemed to take the wind out of our sails for quite some time and the idea of planning a celebration seemed trivial. There was no big decision to start planning again; we just slowly started to get back to work on it. We both wish these two people could be around for not just our wedding but to share everything before and afterwards with us and everything else in our lives. They will be in our hearts and minds and will not go unrecognized on our wedding day.

February and March gave us two different wedding showers. To our great surprise we received just about everything we asked for. Unfortunately we didn’t ask for more cabinet space to put everything into. Thank you to everyone that attended and gave us such great gifts. I have to say that Jess is receiving finer cooked meals with all of the kitchen stuff we received.

We also had a couple of visitors this year. Colleen and Chris visited us in January as well as Margaret and Steve in February.

I recently returned from a trip to Munich, Germany. It was the first time that we spent more than a week apart since we became engaged. I know someday we may cherish the idea of time apart but for now we missed each other a great deal. As we head into the final weeks of planning we tend to stress about the small stuff we may have overlooked. Certain details could be fine tuned a little better but I will repeat myself once more. As long as Jessica and I end up a married couple I really am not worried about too much.

Thank you to all of our loyal readers. We will continue to post on this site as life happens to us, if not before the wedding then definitely after to let you see our honeymoon destination and snapshots of the wedding.We hope to see you May 19th

Love,
Tony and Jessica

A Short Blog

2007-02-01T01:01:00.000-08:00

Well as always Jess and I apologize for not updating sooner. We always seem to wait until something big happens. Well, nothing really big has happened. Jessica’s dress is hanging in the bedroom closet and I have no urge to look. I really want to have my first viewing of the dress with her in it. Saturday I will be assisting my groomsmen with their tuxedo fittings. We are still trying to find an officiant. If anyone in Chicago has a reference please let us know ASAP.

Colleen (Jessica’s Sister) and her friend Chris made a recent trip to L.A. I pre-determined that Dodger Stadium was a “must see sight”.

To those of you who have yet to book a room at the Renaissance Hotel please inform them that you are with the Rascon/Masters Wedding Hotel info can be found by clicking on “Our Wedding Website” link to the right of this page.

BTW- As of January 30th (my birthday) it’s been 1 year since I proposed to Jessica. I still thinks she wants to marry me.

-Tony

2006-12-07T20:43:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened in the month of November...so much so that we haven't had time to blog!

The first item of interest is my wedding dress. I went shopping for a dress early in November with Tony's mom, sister, sister-in-law and niece. We had a great day looking at dresses and having lunch together. The consultant at the dress shop thought they were my family and was genuinely surprised to find out that they aren't...yet! I think that's a pretty good sign that I fit in with the Masters clan as if they were my own. Here we are outside the dress shop. From left: Joan, Vicky, me, Barbara and Kayla.

We narrowed the dress down that day and kept notes on them for future reference.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we headed to the mountains for the Masters/Hawthorne family retreat (and to celebrate Joan's and Vicky's birthdays). I'd never been to the mountains and was a bit disappointed when the weather was warm and sunny! I was looking forward to some chilly, cool furry boots-wearing kind of weather. The warm temps didn't stop us from lighting a fire and doing mountain house activities like puzzles and playing games and drinking beer. Here's me and Barbara working on a DaVinci Code puzzle. Many hands had a part in finishing that puzzle in roughly six hours, after which, Tony and I demonstrated the Stow and Go puzzle mat that miraculously keeps your puzzle together all rolled up!

My mom and dad came to town for Thanksgiving and to meet Tony's family. We think the meeting went rather well. Neither family has tried to get us to cancel the wedding yet, so I think we're in the clear. All kidding aside though, I think our families are pretty darn similar in their warmth and greatness. I can't wait to see everyone together at the wedding. My dad celebrated his birthday on Thanksgiving Day with a pumpkin pie that he shared with the rest of us.

The next day however, he ate an entire pie all by himself. I took my mom and dad to the dress shop to look at some more dresses and found the dress for me. I would post a picture, but Tony doesn't want to see it, so you'll all just have to wait with baited breath until the wedding. Or you can ask my mom to see the picture.

Tony picked out the tuxes later that same day and we even worked on the wording for the invitations. All in all, my parents' trip was very productive...for Tony and I at least.

Thanks for reading-
Jessica

Here come the Holidays:

2006-11-02T22:15:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody! I would like to start this off by getting some non-wedding items out of the way. First off, congratulations to all off my Missouri relatives that are Cardinals fans. The way Detroit played even the Dodgers would have had a chance to beat them (maybe). For those of you in Chicago I sincerely am sorry that the Sox took a nosedive and as far as the Cubs go I think Lou Piniella may be a light at the end of a dark tunnel. We'll see next year. I get spring fever in January.
Here's Jess & I at a Dodger game earlier in the season

Last week we had my nephew (My brother Jeff's youngest child) Seth over for a night of snacks, games and pumpkin carving. Jessica carved a grim reaper while I proceeded to carve a spider onto Seth's pumpkin. Seth decided that my XBOX was more fun than pumpkin carving so I took over for the very large and expensive pumpkin he picked out. He did however have a great time putting up spider webs all over our windows, picture frames and furniture.

We have run into a snag as far as finding an Officiant. We just haven't connected with anyone yet. Most of them seem to have a sort of Televangelist feel to them. I want someone with a little more wisdom rather than entertainment value. Time is starting to run out.

We officially booked our hotel for our honeymoon. We decided on a place we know well and can drive to from our place here in California. All of the traveling for the wedding made us want to go somewhere familiar. We chose a sleepy little coastal town in central California. Cambria is a beautiful four hour drive from our place, twenty minutes from Hearst Castle and about an hour from a lot of wineries. The town itself has no corporate businesses. All of the shops and restaurants are privately owned. Wal-Mart and McDonalds exist hours away. We're staying in the honeymoon suite of The Cambria Pines Lodge. It has two fireplaces and a Jacuzzi tub. The plan is to go to Hearst Castle one afternoon a number of wineries another day and lots of walking on the beach and most evenings in the room with take-out food and our wine purchases. We took a trip up there a year and a half ago to scope out a location for a wedding I was shooting. It was a great rainy day. They tell us that the gardeners will be cleaning up the honeymoon suite before we arrive.

While we try to figure out the rest of the wedding details we are quite aware that the holidays are rapidly approaching. By the time that they are through we will have less than four months to finalize things. It may sound like an ample amount of time but not living in Chicago presents its own set of difficulties.

We are quite happy that Jessica's parents will be joining us for Thanksgiving this year. Not only will we be celebrating Ed's (Jessica's dad) birthday but my sister Vicky and my mom Joan's birthday all fall within three days of each other. This post has become so sappy you can officially pour it on your pancakes.

Goodnight are devoted few,

-Tony

Chicago Wedding Planning (September 06 Trip continued):

2006-09-24T17:46:00.000-07:00

Our website has been updated with official information regarding location of Hotel and the ceremony site. The photo is the link but it also remains on this page just to the right of your screen "Our Wedding Website"

On with the trip:
Once our pictures were taken we were free to pig out the rest of the trip. Sunday was the big birthday party but first we had a tasting with our caterer. We had pastries, skewers, two types of chicken, lasagna and two deserts. We were stuffed. Here is bridesmaid Margaret helping Jess pick out a cake design.

Later that night was the big bash for Grandma Callaghan. The music and food never stopped coming.

Everyone was extremely kind to me and made me feel welcomed into the family. Even Ariana seemed to catch the shutterbug fever.

The next day was Labor Day. We mostly laid around and recovered from the party.

Tuesday found us meeting with the DJ company. A two and a half hour presentation was given in a building that looked like it housed a law firm. They really seemed to be at the top of their game and so we chose them. Thanks to Eileen Duncan for giving us their name and web address. We immediately went to an appointment with a prospective officiant. Neither Jess or I felt she was right for the job. That search will have to continue. Wednesday was our day to leave. We had one more meal at Bobby Q's (Chicken sandwich with cheese, bacon and grilled onions)and headed for the airport.

Nothing really exciting to report since we got back but we will keep you updated as things happen.

-Tony

Chicago Wedding Planning (September 06 Trip):

2006-09-20T00:37:00.000-07:00

I have never taken a bad photo of anyone! Ever!!! With that said I stand behind my picture of Pat & Liz. Its raw emotion captured forever in the moment. Besides the great birthday party for Grandma Callaghan and Pat & Liz's audition to be our live entertainment for the reception Jess & I also made time for a few other things while we were in town (none of which involved going to a baseball game unfortunately). We arrived at 6:30 A.M. on Friday, had a great breakfast with Eileen and proceeded to our first stop, The Renaissance Hotel which was recommended by Eileen and Ed as a potential place for our out of town guests to stay. We recognized a theme right away.

We met with the event coordinator and were quite happy with the accommodations. The rooms, lobby and service were all well worth the price and the hotel is within five miles of our wedding location.

WEDDING PLANNING ALERT AHEAD
We have secured a group rate of $109 for a standard room. Just call 1-800 468-3571 and reserve your room with the Rascon/Masters group. You will need to provide a credit card number or deposit equal to 1 night's stay to reserve a room from our block.

You can also check out rates on the internet (which are lower, but must be prepaid and are non-refundable). If you want to take advantage of the lower rates, call the number above; let them know you're with us and that you want to pre-pay for the lower rate.
It's that simple. If you have any questions, let us know.

Later that day we met with a florist. At this point we had been awake for over 24 hours and just nodded our head in agreement with what they said. It's good to note that no contracts were signed in our state of sleep deprivation. We finished the evening having dinner at Bobby Q's. (For my side of the family this is the Restaurant that Jessica's mom, aunt & uncle own). Bbq roast beef and fresh onion rings were a welcomed treat for dinner. A quick stop at a grocery store on the way home allowed Ed to be a good samaritan and return the handicap cart to its rightful space.

The next day we had engagement photos taken with our wedding photographer Thomas Slack. He was friendly, talented and professional. We were extremely happy with the photos we got. Here's a preview.

We'll save the rest of the trip for next time.

Chicago Trip 2:

2006-09-07T00:19:00.000-07:00

5 things we learned on our latest trip to Chicago:

1) Renting a Chevy HHR will not make you want to buy one.

2) There at least two more readers of this Blog than we thought which brings our total to five (two of which are angry with the lapse of time between updates).

3) Grandma Callaghan knows more people than Jess and I combined.

4) Wedding DJ’s no longer load CD’s and hit play. They now have a virtual radio station in a digital box with a flat screen monitor, a portable light show and a pager hooked to their belt that alerts them by one push of a button by me. Well not all of them have all these things but ours does.

5) Aunt Pat and Aunt Liz know how to sing the titles of just about every song you can think of.

Next week (I promise) we will have updated Wedding info including group rate Hotel information within five miles of our Wedding site, a link to the photos of Grandma Callaghan's 80th Birthday Party and other miscellaneous information and possibly a sneak peek of our photo shoot with our Wedding Photographer.

P.S. To all of those who asked the question "are ya sure ya wanna be involved with this family"? My answer is "yes" as long as Jess and I remain in California and have no guest rooms. Other than that I'm glad to be aboard.

Till next week,
-Tony

Crunchy vs. Creamy

2006-08-01T02:41:00.000-07:00

Most of you may have heard that Jessica & I have moved in together, well truthfully Jessica moved in with me. Two apartments of stuff crammed into one. Well truthfully Jessica got rid of her stuff (mostly) and brought her clothes. This all happened for the following reasons; to begin with she's always over here (mental note: marry the person that frequents your house the most). Secondly: I have a nice apartment and Jessica's smells like gas. Last but not least, MONEY. I have none and she has some. Together "we" have "some". It's a win, win situation (for me). This may make me sound selfish (because I am) but I have let Jess redesign areas to make her feel more at home. This unselfish act included a repainting and redesigning of the bedroom (that used to be my office). The office (that used to be my bedroom) now includes a workstation of her own. I even let her put my tape dispenser on her desk.

Sadly, there are still boxes of stuff that we have yet to locate a place for. We have thrown out, given away and organized stuff for a garage sale later this month but still find ourselves without space. Between six boxes of my Hello Kitty collection and Jess' massive sculpture of Screech from "Saved by the Bell" we have run out of room in my small two bedroom apartment. Despite all of the spatial inadequacies Jess and I are happy to be in the same place together. Her crunchy Peanut Butter resides comfortably next to my creamy Peanut Butter due to the fact that they both go well with Strawberry Jam.

Happy I am.

Getting Into Shape

2006-07-18T02:25:00.000-07:00

"Working Out" was much talked about between Jess and I but we always found a reason not to. Those reasons were supported by new episodes of 24, Gilmore Girls, The Sopranos, House and most of the design shows on HGTV. Sitting around on our computers during the day and watching T.V. at night made us feel like slobs. Unfortunately for me it also made me look like a slob. With the Wedding rapidly approaching we decided to look our best. Jessica (1 sandwich away from looking her best) signed us up for a membership at 24 Hour Fitness. Our membership came with 5 personal trainer sessions each. We were weighed, analyzed, poked and prodded. I am on a plan to lose twenty five pounds. Even though Jess isn't overweight she is excited about toning her arms and waist for her wedding dress. We both have the same trainer. He has individual agendas for the both of us. Mine is a "lose weight and tone program". Jessica's is a "leave Tony and be with your trainer program". I'm kidding; he's a really great guy with a great physique... Okay, I know it doesn't sound good but I trust Jessica 110% (besides, I had "On Star" installed on her engagement ring).

Back to real life: (by Tony)

2006-06-23T01:19:00.000-07:00

Jessica and I would like to say thank you to all of you that tuned into all four installments of our "Trip to France" segment. Expectations have been raised since Jessica wrote the last blog. Her literary skills have raised the bar and have made my picture-taking abilities that much more important. Unfortunately for our readers (I believe we have up to four now) I have more time to keep you informed of our monotonous life while Jessica actually works for a living. Shortly after our trip to France I took "Family Photos" of us here in California. For those of you in Chicago I would like to introduce you to your future relatives. For those of you in Missouri, here's what we look like since our last visit in front of my camera.

My Sister's Family (The Hawthorne's):
Vicky. Married to Kevin.
Sons: Nicholas (left) & Alex (right)

My Brother's Family: Jeff. Married to Barbara
Daughter Kayla, Son Seth

My Mother & Father:
Joan & Carl.

Since then Jess had her 28th birthday on June 14th. The company she works for took her out to lunch and later that night her and I revisited the restaurant that I had proposed to her at. That weekend we had a great "father's day picnic" at a local park with my family. We played baseball, rode two person bikes, took a ride on a train, ate fried chicken, turkey sandwiches, potato salad, Doritos, watermelon, oatmeal cookies, cherries, grapes, raisins, threw a Frisbee, drank orange soda, wine, Gatorade, water and Coke. We then drove home in a sugar induced, bruised and bone weary coma. We refer to it as "good times".

As far as wedding plans go Eileen & Ed plan on taking time out of their busy schedule to do a tasting for us with our potential caterers. Out here on the west coast black & white portraits were taken of the groomsmen (much to their dismay). Our bridesmaids will be next when we arrive in Chicago in September. All portraits will remain veiled until the wedding.

Until next week (or month) thanks for stopping by.

France: The Final Days (by Jessica)

2006-06-05T23:36:00.000-07:00

Day 7:

By day 7, we had seen the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the JLG Booth…pretty much everything there is to see in Paris. Well, almost everything. Day 7 was the long-awaited day of the Louvre. And having read The DaVinci Code just weeks before, I was primed to give Tony the unofficial DaVinci Code tour. We rented some headphones to help us along on our journey through the museum. The audio aide was interesting, but sadly didn’t include everything. Only certain masterpieces were marked for audio commentary. Nevertheless, we found our way to the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, Napoleon’s quarters and of course the café where we enjoyed drinks and brownies. Inspired by the surrounding works of art, I gazed wistfully at the remnants of our brownie for my favorite artist, Antony de Mastiere.

We finished up our tour of the Louvre and headed back to our quaint little hotel with the extra cozy (3 feet by 3 feet) elevator, for a nap. Here’s me and Tony in the elevator. Actually there are 7 of us in this picture…can you find us all?

We found that the best way to see Paris is to get up early and take a bunch of trains to a bunch of different places and walk around and take a bunch of pictures. Then go back to the hotel to take a nap and transfer daytime photos onto the laptop. Then have a late dinner (the sun didn’t go down until 9:00pm!) and see the city at night.

Day 8:

Following our usual pattern, we started day 8 off by taking the train to MontMartre. We saw the famous Moulin Rouge, which, actually means Red Windmill…very sexy red windmill.

While the sex district was very interesting, we were really there to see the church. Atop the hill, we visited Sacre Couer (Sacred Heart Cathedral) and the artists’ quarter. We ate sandwiches jambon et fromage (ham and cheese) and drank cokes on the steps.

On our way back to the train station, we noticed a very peculiar gas station…a store front with pumps right at the curb!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I don’t have to say anything about these next shots. We spent Friday night charming the symbol of Paris…with a little coaxing from Tony, she’s very photogenic!

Day 9:

Day 9 was chilly! We needed real French crepes to warm up our morning. We headed back over to the area surrounding Notre Dame and found a great little café (that’s really not too hard to do in Paris). We both had crepes and hot drinks. I had the most chocolate hot chocolate ever! I think you can see that I’m pretty happy with it.

We headed to the Paris Opera House (supposedly this was the model for the opera house in Phantom of the Opera).

We didn’t see the Phantom or Andrew Lloyd Webber nosing around, but we did see some very lovely grand staircases, one with a very handsome man standing on it!

We headed back to MontMartre for the afternoon to visit the very old and very spooky cemetery. Many of the graves were cracked and filthy and there were about 100 stray cats running around. We felt like we were in a horror film until we stumbled upon a couple of graves that made us chuckle and our tummies rumble a little too!

Day 10 was reserved for traveling…from the hotel to the train station, to the airport to LAX to home. It was a very long day. Enough said.

It may seem like we really packed a lot into out short trip, and it’s true, we did. Some days were exhausting, but they were all exhilarating. And we even had time to stop and smell the flowers…well at least I did.

France: Days 3, 4, 5 & 6

2006-05-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

Day 3: I went to work and Jess was settling in, i.e.: sleeping. That night we had dinner at a Chinese food restaurant with my boss, his wife and a few other company officials. It was actually the best meal we had the whole trip.

Day 4: I went to work and Jess went on a walking tour of "the Latin district:" in Paris where she learned that France's abolishment of beheading occurred in 1982 mostly because of an unjust sentence. Two guillotines still exist. Later that night we found a local pizza parlor for sustenance.

Day 5: Jess went to work with me. They gave her a VIP pass. I felt like it was "bring your girlfriend to work day" day. We pretty much sat around taking pictures of Sean Fister (World Long Driving Champion) for souvenir photos. From day one I knew I had to take a "up above" picture of the booth (see JLG picture from May 1st post). This involved going up in their highest lift. The Luxlift is a 5 by 12 foot platform that extends vertically approximately 10 stories tall. I have to admit that I was scared. Jess wanted to go up with me. Here she is standing by a really big tire, filming me on the Luxlift and winning a T-shirt at another booth.

Day 6: My work was done early in the morning and we made our way into downtown Paris. Our new room was small but nice. We were across the street from a Metro Station and had access to most of the city. We immediately headed for the Eiffel Tower and spent most of the day there. We went to the top and had ice cream at the bottom. We were then overcome by exhaustion before the sun went down. Our sleeping pattern was caught somewhere between California and Paris time. Please enjoy the following photos. I appear twice. Like Waldo, find me. Hint: It's not very hard.

La France, partie deux

2006-05-10T00:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know that it's been over a week since my last post but I had to edit down my photos and get them off to the people that paid my bills this month. Between work and fun I shot somewhere around 2000 photos. I was also booked with photo shoots most of the week through Sunday following our return. Still, Jessica is afraid to kiss me for fear of bumping her head into my lens. I am happy to report that yesterday was the first day in three weeks that I did not take a single picture of anything. Jess has been busy with work and planning a candle party. We have the Revlon Run/Walk this Saturday and will be going to Riverside for Mothers Day. Please make notes in your calendars for there will be a quiz later. We also did some portraits of my family over the weekend and I will post them after the vacation photos. I know my family in Missouri would like to see them and I would also like to introduce them to those of you in Chicago.

On with vacation fun: (Saturday April 22nd)
As we last left Jessica and I we had just arrived into Roissy France. I was given a day to rest before work so we decided to head into Paris and wear ourselves out by walking up the spiral staircase of lé Arc dé Triumph which, at it's peak led to a beautiful souvenier shop that was requested to be built by Napoleon himself. "Laisser il y a souveniers pour tout"! Translation: "let there be souveniers for all"!
That's us in the shoplifting mirror on the right. The staircase we hiked up on is on the left.

We also stumbled upon this ancient building (it's name unknown to me right now and am too lazy to find out for you) that housed a Museum in the front and a park and playground in back. We decided to partake in the park and playground because of it's giant springed animal things.

I know it's weird to post but when nature calls on the streets of Paris one can always find a public "toilette". These handy street devices are all over. When someone is finished the automatic door closes and proceeds to sanitize it's self before the next anxious guest. In this case it happened to be Jess. I followed shortly after.

There were a number of churches that we had visited on this trip but thinking back I have to say Notré Dame was the most breathtaking. It definitely lives up to it's reputation.

Before heading back to our hotel in Roissy we decided to find the hotel that we would be checking into on Wednesday. It's a good thing we did that without the luggage. We wandered around forever thinking it was "just around the corner". We eventually found it and came up with a better route on how to get back there. On our travels we discovered a very talented group of musicians that happened to be wearing random bunny apparel.

It was a great day of climbing, shopping, peeing and sight seeing. The next three days would be work for me and Jess to fend for herself.

Bon Jour Masseurs, Madams (Translation: Hey Guys)

2006-05-01T00:22:00.000-07:00

We've arrived home safely from France. My work went well and our short but jam packed visit into Paris was great. Now that we have secured some major elements for our Wedding I would like to make the next few posts about our trip. HINT: This would be your cue to check back on this site sometime in early 2007 for important information. Until then it's going to be all rambling and photos by me. Oh wait, that's all it's been so far. So let's begin.

Day 1: For the most part things went pretty smooth. Our driver showed up on time and took us to LAX. We allotted time for traffic but didn't hit any. We spent $60.00 to be driven in a Lincoln Town Car to ride in traffic in style and it was the shortest ride to the airport we've ever had. That's right; I'm complaining that there was no traffic. We had leathers seats, leg room, air conditioning and magazines for a thirty minute drive. Our flight was ten and a half hours. The last half hour Jessica got sick. I felt bad but then the paparazzi part of my brain decided to take pictures. I had no control.

We arrived at Charles De Gaul airport (where Jessica was sad not to receive a Paris stamp in her passport, reason unknown) and took a shuttle to our Hotel in Roissy. Roissy is a small town in France near the Exposition Center where I was working. Side note: The reason why we went to France was so that I could take pictures for a marketing company "Joyce & Assoc.". This job was for JLG, a client of theirs at the second largest trade show of its kind. I do promotional photos for documentation, press, brochures and website.

Dazed and confused from the 11 hour plane ride we wandered about town and found a pub frequented by locals. One beer each was all it took and we were out.

Upcoming posts of our trip include visits to the Arc dé Triumph, the Eiffel Tower, Notré Dame, the Louvre, Sacré-Cœur (one of the oldest churches in France atop the highest hill), the Paris Opera House, a Cemetery and miscellaneous cafés and restaurants plus a photo shoot of my beautiful bride to be Jessica. Here's a preview.

Au Revoir

Legal Party Document

2006-04-19T22:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the delay in the posting department I apologize to the both of you that read this. We were waiting on the contract for The Winnetka House before making it official to the world but as you can see it's official. May 19, 2007. Don't book your flight yet because we can only invite 25 people (I'm not being serious). So that's it. It doesn't say we have to get married but we are legally bound to throw a cool party there so either way come on down to Winnetka and join us for a wedding or karaoke or both.

We spent the rest of the evening packing for France. We leave Thursday afternoon and still have socks located in three different suitcases as filler. My socks protect camera equipment and a small printer. Jessica's socks provide nice little lens cap covers. Also, the toiletries bag seems to be growing and yet no space has been reserved for it because certain things are needed in the morning. The toiletries bag is like the guy that makes sure everybody gets on a lifeboat but no one saves him a seat.

Okay, I'm tired. I'm talking about and posting pictures of the toiletries bag. I was up at 6:00 A.M. and went down to shoot a fundraiser for a health clinic in south central L.A. I looked so terrible they tried to put me into a rehab program. As you can see I don't get any funnier the later it gets. Jess was also pretty tired. She gets up at 6:00 five days a week. Still, I think that means it's harder for me because I only do it twice a year. She thought she looked horrible in this picture and asked me not to post it but I think it's nice and she's asleep and she doesn't know how to take it down (at least not while we're in France).

So, goodnight everybody. We will have much more useless information for you soon. Hopefully we can put up a picture or two while we're gone.
Adieu

Location, location, location

2006-04-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm going to be candid. Our location to have the wedding may be a little inconvenient to our guests. It's in a small town just north of Chicago. Of all the places we looked at it is the only place we wanted for our ceremony while providing a wonderful space for the reception all packaged in one. Well, almost "one". We have to bring in the catering and other miscellaneous items that would normally be included with a hotel. We were originally hoping to have it at a hotel where everyone could stay and not have to worry about transporation. But when we started visiting the locations, we realized that our ceremony just wouldn't feel like a ceremony if we had it in a hotel.
We are constantly told by family and friends to "do it the way you want". That is much easier said than done but not in a bad way. Jessica is the first daughter (and child) to be married in her family. I am the youngest child of three and the last to be married in my family and no matter what happens I just want to end up with Jessica as my wife at the end of the day. The Rascons want to make this a great day for us and I am sincerely and extremely gratefully for that. My devotion lies with my future bride (after all, I have to deal with her for the next 13 months and eternity afterwards). This is a lesson that took a mere 30 some odd years for me to learn (I'm slow, I know). I personally would be happy with our parents and a couple of friends in a remote location but truth be told I am so, so happy that we have the benefit of all of you to attend. With that said, we have a location. The beautiful Winnetka House will be the place, with an outdoor ceremony (weather permitting) and an adjacent banquet room.

We are checking our nearby hotels that will hopefully provide easy access to transportation into the city as well as to the Winnetka House. We will secure discounted room rates for our out-of-town guests as well as those local folks looking for a nearby place to crash after the wedding. While this won't be as convenient as we had hoped, we will do our best to make it as convenient as possible for all those who attend.

In other news we have secured the photography of Thomas Slack, a Chicago based photographer whose work is outstanding and has given us an extremely wonderful rate for his services. Jessica and I both met with him. His work, energy and attitude are excellent. We will be getting engagement photos done with him later this year.

A week of reviewing caterers.

2006-04-02T00:31:00.000-08:00

So we've been reviewing all of the catering info and still no final decision. We're really hoping we can find someone reasonably priced so we can have the Wedding at The Winnetka House.

It was my niece Kayla's birthday over the weekend and so I made the trip to Riverside to visit my family. I thought I would introduce the youngest generation of my family to all of you in Chicago. The two oldest boys are brothers. Nicholas (top left) and Alex (center). That is Kayla on the right and her brother who is also our ring bearer Seth. Nicholas and Alex belong to my sister and Kayla and Seth are my brother's kids.

Here's a picture of Alex (not so serious in this shot) with Seth.

We should have a date, location and caterer figured out by the end of the week. Thanks for stopping by.

Back from Chicago (Trip 1)

2006-03-27T15:55:00.000-08:00

We've arrived back in California without a wedding location or a definite day. "But why" do you ask. Even though you didn't ask we'll tell you. The original plan to find one place for both the ceremony and reception did not seem to satisfy our taste except for one place. The Winnetka House had a very nice outdoor patio (pictured below) and an adjacent banquet hall. This was the only place that required us to hire the caterer separately. This is a much more challenging and expensive task than one of the hotels where everything is included in one price. The only problem with a hotel is just that. We couldn't see a nice ceremony happening in a hotel. We pictured us being handed clean towels and a key to the pool area after we said "I do". They were perfect for the reception however.

Plan B is to now search for reasonably priced catering. If that pans out then it's the Winnetka House. If not, then the search will begin for a nice little church within a reasonable distance of one of the nearby hotels we liked.

Ed & Eileen (Jessica's parents) were very gracious and understanding about us wanting the right place. It was nice to spend some of our time with them and they provided us with all the sandwich fixins and snacks we could eat the whole weekend.

Jessica's cousins came by to visit us before we left for the airport. Mary will be our flower girl (that's her doing the splits and her sister Madeline next to her). They are both terrific kids.

Finally, here is a metaphorical picture of Jessica's feelings after not securing a location, at the bottom of a dark stairway looking up toward the light.

The Game Book

2006-03-22T23:16:00.000-08:00

Small suitcase, camera and "the game book" which contains nine different possible wedding locations, three wedding photographers packages, directions and appointment times. The plan: Arrive in Chicago at 8:00 P.M. on Thursday. Visit the photographers and four locations on Friday by myself. Meet Jessica at O'Hare at midnight. See five more places on Saturday. Re-visit our final selections on Sunday and be back in California by 9:00 P.M. with place, date and photographer locked down. I forgot to plan for mistakes. Maybe I just won't pack those.

Chicago here we come. (Trip 1)

2006-03-05T14:13:00.000-08:00

Tony writes:

After searching for wedding locations on-line and having Eileen (Jessica's mom) do some leg work for us we are now ready to fly back to Chicago and make our final selection. Truthfully we have no idea where it will be but we have two days to figure it out. We'll be back there March 25th & 26th. I'll be there a day early to hopefully meet with potential photographers (poor suckers). A location near O'Hare is likely. There are some nice hotels and easy acces to downtown via the train. If we can find an affordable place downtown I really like the idea of the city as a backdrop for the event (and our pictures). It will be in the spring (for our baseball fans and the weather) so plan your vacation time wisely. That's all for now but do come back for all of the exciting updates (or to just hear us whine about how hard it is to plan a wedding 2000 miles away).

-Tony