A Little Love for the Motherland...Canada

When we got back to Canada the first thing we did was hit up Tim Horton's. I know you've seen the video already, but what hit us wasn't the Ice Cap, but the accents and the unique culture of CNDs. We hadn't heard a CDN accent in months and especially one from the west. They are so much thicker...like aboot :) We also really missed the people. Everyone is so damn nice! I love it! And everyone is very chill and relaxed, it's nice to be away from the fast pace of the US.

Once we got to Greg's we sat and watched TV and the first thing we watched was a replay of the Juno Awards...Canada's Music awards show. Talk about forgetting how awesome CDN music is and how awesome we are as a country. It's easy to get caught up in the hype of the US, but in all my time travelling down there I don't remember ever having the feeling of awe and inspiration and over all warm fuzzies I had when watching our country celebrate it's artists and musicians. Sam Roberts, Divine Brown, City and Colour, Simple Plan, The Tragically Hip and of course Bryan Adams, just to name a few. And, wow, I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but I actually missed Canadian television! lol. A commercial for The Hour came on and I was so excited! And I love that Candians don't really care what they say on TV. It's so non-chalent. Even the award show was just like a joke. A good one though! lol. It's all about the music and none of that other bullsh*t.

And then sure as sh$* the hockey game came on shortly after! Hockey Night in Canada is a bloody religion. My apoligies to Ron McLean and Don Cherry for not keeping up with hockey and not watching coaches corner...I will do my best to make sure I see all of your snazzy outfits Don. Now that we are stable in Van for awhile we can catch up on what we've missed!

More things that I missed about Canada...
-the fact that I can use my debit card here and not have to take out money all the time
-knowing that your craving for Timmy's will be filled in a few short minutes no matter where you are or at what time
-the luxery of using my airmiles
-the trees
-hockey
-and did I mention Tim Horton's? lol

Katie's Birthday! :)

Today is Katie's birthday! She's turning 23...I know, she's getting old.

She has NO idea I'm writing this because she's still sleeping!

Drop by, send her a message and wish her a great day.

Happy Birthday Keets! Love ya long time!

Gregory turns 23!

So our first couple days in Calgary weren't too exciting. Probably due to the fact that Greg went home for the weekend as soon as we got there. Not that we're complaining. We enjoyed time alone and of course the freedom of doing nothing or something at any time. But I must say as soon as Greg returned there was much more happening and definitely a lot more excitement in our slow-moving lives of the previous couple of days. He will be quite happy that I'm writing this and I know that he's reading this and thinking that exact thing. Hi Greg!

The days leading up to Greg's birthday were not as crazy as THE day, but fun none the less. We bantered at each other, hung out, had some drinks, and wings @ Watchman's...oh wing sauce, and of course played lots of MAD GAB, which is the easiest and hardest game to play all at the same time!

Now, I would like to think I am pretty good at MAD GAB and fairly quick to get the answer. But for some reason Greg and I could not solve this phrase: Are Eight Ease Pails Rat. Now if you've never played here is what you do. The series of words given sounds like a phrase, person, item, or anything that is actually real. For example, Egg Ranch Howled, doesn't really make sense. But the answer is A Grandchild. Say it loud, sometimes really fast, or even in the voice of Borat and you will become a pro! lol. Greg will tell you that he gets better with a few drinks, but Blazing Saddles (me) wooped Rhino Thunder's (Greg) butt in our first round. My trick...the Borat voice...sometimes you just need an accent to hear something that makes sense. Soon you figure out how to split up certain words and emphasize certain syllables. Anywaaayyys, the Are Eight Ease Pails Rat phrase took Greg and I about 8 minutes to figure out. Well actually I figured it out. Greg clearly needs to work on his skills. lol. He's not just a pretty face but sometimes it doesn't hurt to have one. JOKING!! lol. We will give you the answer at the end of this post, so if you want time to figure it out we won't ruin it by putting it up right now. :)

Greg's birthday started off fairly normal. We baked him a cake, which he saw when he came home for lunch. (Surprise ruined!!) Greg then made us dinner, even though it was his birthday. He insisted and I wasn't gonna say no! lol. And it was delicious! Jarod joined us for some dins and then we started another round of MAD GAB with Maggie who had come early for the celebrations.

The noise level and fun level escalated quickly as MAD GAB and Jenga became intertwined with a few drinks. The cake went down quickly, drinks were enjoyed and then out came the DOWNTOWN MAGNETAWAN t-shirts! Ok. I talked about odds...

1) 6 out of 9 of us went to Brock University

2) 3 out of 9 of us were all from Leamington...I just had to say that

3) This is pretty big....5 out of 9 of us have been or go regularly to Magnetawan!

So only fitting that we throw on our DTM t's and take a picture.

Katie and I have a cottage, Maggie used to go to girls camp there every summer, Greg and Julie have a friend with a cottage up there...somehow, the Mag always connects us with someone! As per usual...people feel left out when we all throw on our DTM shirts...Mark (in the blue shirt) has never been. You can't blame a guy for wanting to put that shirt on and be tres cool! Oh but I did! lol. It was all good that he had it on though, because it's literally the coolest place ever. But I strongly stated that he was a fraud and a fake and had no sincere respect and appreciation for Magnetawan therefore no right to wear it. haha Yes, I went a little overboard but tradition is tradition. As any 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th generation Staudt, Herhaldt, Fisher, Mullen and Horvath will tell you...If you've never been to the Mag you can't wear the shirt! But no worries Mark, I'll let it slide this time!

We then took the party to the bar, the Roadhouse, where dancing, singing and drinking continued. There was even some of our own versions of karaoke and we got to witness Nicole's party tricks -> see pics! It was an evening that ranks fairly high on my partying experiences thus far on the trip. Thanks Greg, for turning 23! And thanks again to Greg for letting us crash at his place when we barely had an actual conversation before that week. lol. We'll be back soon! :D

Answer to Are Eight Ease Pails Rat is R-A-T spells Rat. Like how did it take you guys 8 mins to figure that out! Duh! :)

Of course, the day we leave is the day you get engaged?!

Friday started off fairly tame with a visit to our cousin Shannon at her work. She works for a company called Haworth which specializes in 'adaptable workspace solutions'. In simpler terms, they create work spaces for offices that are economically and environmetally friendly, and the best part, moveable! So all the walls can be moved throughout the office at anytime, and you could create a whole new environment for working. I am not making it sound as exciting as it is..but believe me, it's really cool! It is really cool. You can customize your workspace aesthetic to exactly what you want to represent. Like they've got custom made glass pannels, everything is adjustable and rearrangable (is that a word?). I think this would be awesome for houses too! Just put up a basic foundation and outer shell and recreate the inside as often as you want! Especially for lofts...geez...I wonder if they do 'home spaces'? I'd be in...when I get a home that isn't our car. Not having to tear down drywall and put it back up to give the office a new look? Ya, think of how much less $, labour, waste... Just check out the website and see for yourself.

So, earlier this week we found out Shannie was engaged. Just hours after we saw her I'm assuming. Such strange timing! Congrats Shan!

We've Kept You Waiting...It's Time!

Having some fun on the road. I'm sure there will many more photoshoots in the future!

Wealthy Warrior

Sometimes instead of taking courses it's nice to be on the other end organizing and helping to run the course. Wealthy Warrior is an evening course so it's not the typical 'intensive' environment, but having Harv as a lead trainer is intensive enough....especially when you're helping run the event!

Regardless of that Katie and I had a blast helping out. I think our favourite part was the saddle seats at the top of the theatre. I mean, why doesn't every bar have saddle seats?! Honestly, I think I gasped so loud when I saw them that others around thought I was having a heart attack!THE best thing ever! BUT I could only imagine the trouble you'd get into while intoxicated. We weren't even drinking and still having a blast!

We each had lots of different tasks to do throughout the night. Some went well, some not so well, but we live and learn! It was my first time volunteering and well, I think I did pretty good! I was at the second table for check-in and it was quite hectic. I must say at one point I was very overwhelmed. But I got myself together and kept pushing. I am now ready for MMI and WARRIOR! My volunteering skills are much better than I thought!

I've gotta say though, one task I had was like a VIP task. lol. Speaking in an earlier post about the odds being in your favour....well what the hell are the odds that, with the exception of 4 of us on the team, everyone else was from Calgary, but Katie and I were the only ones who drove ourselves and knew our way around the city?! Again...apparently REALLY good! The girls who don't live here somehow....somehow, know their way around the city well enough to become a chauffeur for Mr. T Harv Eker...

I know, it's big! The Silver Century's first multimillionaire passenger. lol. But in all honesty, he's a rock star. We had some casual conversation in the Silver Century on the way to his hotel, but I was really focused....I was on a mission; get Harv to his hotel in one piece so he could sleep! He really is a super nice guy, very down to earth and very focused. I'll be honest, having him sitting next to me in our car was a bit of a wake up call for me to get my ass in gear...and he didn't even have to say a thing.

As far as Wealthy Warrior...it's a wicked program. It's short, it's sweet, it's to the point and if you're a Warrior...well you get to have a little fun too. I may not get this word for word, but last night the man who gave Peaks this quote was at the event and he shared... "A mountain is strong and tall by itself, but not until there are other mountains around it does it become a range and get put on maps."

oooo goosebumps! A-HO!

The 'Gary'

Easter weekend was, well, Easter weekend! We went out with Greg's friend Amy and her friend Lauren for some drinks. Of course being the Goddesses we are, we attracted a handful of guys. Good looking guys who had a limo. That sounded appealing until the one guy (the only guy who seemed to have any kind of head on his shoulders) told us that one of his buddies actually bought the limo. Yeah, I wasn't very impressed. I think he was shocked when I said that. But really, I don't want someone that has a limo. Now if someone has a driver, then we can talk. lol. So me being curious, I asked if they were starting a business and he said, "No, they just bought a limo for going out and stuff." Who buys a friggin limo just to go out in?! Needless to say, Katie and I passed on the limo and the Barbe-friggin-Q and headed home. We found out later, there was no BBQ.... Inutition-1, Silly Boys and their Egos-0. My first clue there was no BBQ..."What are you guys serving at the BBQ?" "Uuhhh hjdiksahlf uuhhh njfih duh!" Yeah, thanks but no thanks.

Sunday and Monday were super lazy days. The original plan was for me, Katie and our cousin Kenny to have Easter dinner together, but that didn't work out and we ended up meeting up with him for a few hours on Monday instead.

Kenny's involved with a company called World Financial Group which is actually really cool. We checked out an overview during the week. The jist of it...you need financial help, are looking to save money, would like to know more about creating tax advantages, are interested in starting up a business...this is a group to check out!

The overview was cool, but let me ask you this? What are the odds that you're going to get 4 people in the same room from the same hometown on the other side of the country in Calgary on a random Wednesday evening? Apparently REALLY good! Wait...the crazy part...3 of us went to elementary school together. I'm beginning to think that the odds are more in your favour than not...the Universe has been amazingly abundant. We hung out with Jared Bailey, a Mount Carmel alum, for a couple drinks and caught up on life since. We made up for 10 years in about 2 hours! lol. But it was nice to see a familiar face.

KENNY....PASS THE TEST!!! There's going to be people looking for you soon!

O Canada, Our Home and Native Land...

Well, things are very random these days. We were in Seattle one day and in Canada the next. The decision to leave Seattle on Thursday was so last minute and spur of the moment, but absolutely perfect!

I mean, heading to Calgary for Easter was our initial thought which then turned into staying at a friend of Katie's while he's back in Ontario for the weekend and making a week out of it before we get a little more settled in Vancouver!

The drive up to Calgary was a long one. The border in Bellingham is WAY different than the border at Detroit! The lady in the booth played '21 Questions' with us, but she was cool and we were having fun with her. She thought we were hilarious and sent us immediately to stock up at the nearest Tim Horton's! She must be psychic!!!!

For those of you who don't know what Tim Horton's is, you must come to Canada just to check it out. Well, realistically, there's much more to see in Canada, but you'll find it difficult to go anywhere in Canada without seeing a Tim's or several in one town. Tim Horton's is a coffee shop, but it's sooo much more than that. You can get anything from bagels, donuts, sandwiches, coffees, Ice Caps!, cakes....and it's so damn good to boot!!! 'Always Fresh, Always Tim Horton's'! OOO and every spring they have a 'Roll Up the Rim To Win' contest where you can win crazy stuff like cars, cash, TVs BBQs...or free coffees, which is what I usually end up with! It's perfect!



We crossed from BC into Alberta probably around 8ish am on Friday morning. It's an absolutely amazing drive through the Rockies. We missed a lot of it driving through the night before, but we're headed back the same way so we'll have ample opportunity to bask in the mountain beauty again. Banff and Lake Louise are also on our things to stop and see on the way out. We had one thing on our mind that morning. Getting to where we were staying so we could get out of the car!

We surprised our cousin Shannon first. She came out for lunch with us and we got to catch up. Ya know, 'girl talk'! She's been out in Calgary for almost 3 years and loves it. It's very cool to see what she gets up to out here! Then we grabbed Katie's friend Greg from work and he showed us around his apartment, and parts of the downtown that we may be interested in...like a brewery.

So here we are in Calgary. Apartment sitting and making the most of the lack of fast internet and of our time to readjust to Canadian pace of living. I didn't realize how 'Americanized' I had become...especially as a driver!!!! It's nice to bring it down a notch.

This is a bit of a turning point in our journey. Our family got to see our friends, all those crazy people we always rave about and now our friends get to see our family, all the other crazy people we always rave about! What a way to keep connected!

The Art of Housesitting...

Housesitting with Jessica has been awesome. Not only do Katie and I have our own beds (thank God!) (Thank god!) and bathroom, but we've pretty much had the place to ourselves. It's quiet, it's green, it was sunny, it wasn't a city...to be honest, it reminds me of Magnetawan! A little taste of the cottage on the west coast!

Katie and I have been pretty low key the last few days, actually reading books and being all scholarly and stuff. "He's Just Not That Into You" is a great read btw! And athletic too! I think we could go pro at lawn darts. We've been practicing that, our trampoline skills, croquet, lawn darts and monkey bars; hell, we even had a catwalk to walk down... We got skills I tell ya. We weren't put here just to look pretty. Although we do that pretty well too. ;) We're Mullen girls...we can do anything. "We dig our own worms, we bait our own hooks...."



I've got to be completely honest though. Laying low after being on the frickin' road for 2 months was exactly what we needed. We get to take in our surroundings. The bobcat that stalks the back fence by the garage/loft we're staying in, the 2 cats and a dog that we've become BFFs with, the grass, the sun....mmmm.

And if the Universe couldn't get any better we've even made money while we've been here!! Ka-ching! I mean, we worked for it...pretty damn hard too, but it was a win-win. They got cleaner houses, we got money for gas and food. That's all we really need. I mean, we can figure out ways to get all the other 'luxury' stuff like plates, forks, napkins...they keep those things out at the grocery stores for the buffet stuff...why buy the package in the aisle when it's sitting there screaming to be used. :) LOL. Some of you are thinking, "OMG, my girls are stealing plastic dinner ware from grocery stores." HAHA sure are! It's not like we're not buying food there or anything...I mean, we've got a Safeway card now! We get discounts all the time now. We saved like $9 the other day.

We haven't seen the city yet, and we may not. I guess you'll find out in our next post whether we checked it out or not cuz we're headed to Calgary baby! Again, the Universe wants us elsewhere. Who are we to argue? And besides, there's a medium Ice Cap with my name on it. Who's buyin'?

Canada here we come!! Can't wait for Tim Horton's!!! Oh I can't wait!

Where the *F* is my Kazoo and How do you spell B-I-Z-N-A-T-C-H?!?

After Kel and I were done fantacizing about Edward Cullen,..carrying us in the woods on his marble, rock hard body, looking into his topaz eyes, and listening to his smooth voice and smelling his sweet sweet scent... umm, ya I know he's not real. But a girl can dream! Oh he's real...we just haven't found him yet... :) Vancouver?

Anyways, after Forks it was time to hit up Seattle! We caught the Ferry just in time to make the trip over whatever-body-of-water-that-was to the city! We didn't spend much time there. Just to meet up with our hostess for the next couple days, Miss Jessica! And she's fabulous! And hilarious! We followed her all the way home which is actually about a 20 minute drive from the city. And the best part is she lives in the boonies! We have not yet stayed outside of a city or subdivision, besides camping, so it was awesome to see a great backyard, smell the fresh air, listen to silence, and see the amazing night sky! Oh and having a bed to sleep in instead of the car was good too. lol.

But before we hit the hay we partied at the local brewery, Redhook. Again, in Mullen fashion, we sampled every beer offered, and to our surprise they were all delicious!! Really did you expect anything else? Jessica's intuition and random actions have been absolutely perfect thus far!There was also an awesome band playing, Kris Orlowski, so there was clearly no other option but to stay. Great beer + great music + great company = a great night out!

Kris Orlowski is actually the name of the lead singer in the band and he's pretty cool. He came up to our table and gave us kazoo's! Anyone that just has kazoo's to give away is awesome in my books! I think pretty cool is a bit of an understatement. I've never been somewhere where the band actually talks to everyone in the bar! Talk about marketing....Throughout the night we played our kazoo's like it was the best sound in the world and enjoyed the music of Kris and his band. After the show Jessica offered our services to help the band clear out their equipment, so we did. Now we can actually tell people that at one point 'we were with the band'. While doing so we got to meet the rest of the band, Jason and Tim, his Mom, Nancy, and his Dad, Paul, who is Canadian btw, even though he thought for some reason he wasn't really. He was slightly intoxicated so that may have been why. None the less they were all very nice and fun people!



After we closed up the brewery we hung out with everyone at Daddy's. Katie and Jessica played pool and I chummed around with Pappa Dukes Orlowski. Very cool guy and Kris' mom Nancy, she's a doll. Proud parents! Kris gave us a list of cool things to check out...it's signed on our CD cover...When he makes it big you'll all be jealous! lol.

Dad gave us a little inside scoop on the song Jessi. It was written about Kris' ex-girlfriend. He told us where she was from and we jokingly...well maybe not...asked for her address and gave him a napkin to write it down... from the mouth of Paul, "Um, how do you spell Biznatch?"LOL

Seattle has been fabulous so far! Can't wait to see what else it brings! We're house sitting with Jessica so I can only imagine the trouble we can get into!!! hehehe...

For more vids from this night click here.

MMMMMMMMMarch!

Drive to Carlsbad from Arizona - 5 hours
Time spent watching AI with the Musselman's - 2 hours
Listening to Isabel talk,..and talk and talk.. - indefinite
Watching Mickey flail his arms and legs in the air while in a lay-z-boy - PRICELESS

Time Kelly spent on her ass in a seminar writing notes - 50 hours
Time Katie spent sleeping in - 11hours
Amount of time gathering everyone for the bar - 5 minutes
Hanging out with Peak friends and family, having a few drinks after a long day - PRICELESS

Wine tours in Sonoma - Free
Eating good food at a new restaurant - Free
Ice Cream from Safeway - Free
Listening to Mari's reasons why her words in Scategories are right and watching Keith just shake his head, and then Mari giving herself the point anyways - PRICELESS

Amount of orange juice brought to pre-drink at Dan's place - half a jug
Amount of Vodka to mix with O.J. - way too much
Amount of texts it took to get Dan to the Lexington - 5
Doing the 'Dan Martell' anywhere, everywhere, and all the time - PRICELESS

Percentage of time Chantelle, Hoan, Katie and Kelly were tech nerds - 75%
Percentage of time Hoan talked about the SlapChop - 50%
Percentage of time Chantelle got distracted from her work - 30%
Watching the Sneezing Panda over and over again - PRICELESS

Thanks to all our friends and family we've seen this past month. You've made California memorable! And interesting!

MUCH LOVE,
Katie and Kelly

About three things I was absolutely positive...

...first, there was no way we were going to Washington and NOT visiting Forks, second, there was a part of me - and I'm not quite sure I know how strong that part is - that wished Edward Cullen actually existed and would be there, third, I was extremely excited and anxiously awaiting our arrival!

AH! Forks! For anyone who has read Twilight you will know exactly what this post is for as soon as you read the title. :D If you haven't read Twilight you may be lost, and you should read it!!!

We woke up on Friday after sleeping in our car for the second night in a row. It was cold and wet, but the day started off well. We thought we would get dressed, go to the bathroom and leave. But to our surprise there were people outside serving hot chocolate, tea, and chocolate brownies! At the rest stop!! lol. It was the best breakfast surprise ever! And the hot chocolate was delicious! Kel chatted with them and found out there's a waiting list for people to set up shop at the rest stop to serve drivers in the morning. It's all FREE too! Just donations if you wish. It was honestly the nicest surprise and from the nicest people!

With a whole day ahead of us and a great start to the morning it was only appropriate that we make our way to Forks, and keep up the good energy. So we did! The drive there was beautiful. Everything was green! The sun would shine off and on throughout the day, but there was a slight overcast, and it would start spitting randomly. The coast of Washington really is gloomy most of the time. lol. There are also a lot of little towns and simple living, much like Leamington and surrounding areas. But it was an awesome drive through the forest and it looked exactly like Stephenie Meyer described in the book!

Forks is basically the smallest town and there is nothing really to do there. Hiking is probably the only thing, and the forest, again, is beautiful! Our first stop was the visitor's centre where we saw Bella's truck. It wasn't the one from the movie but it's close enough. I usually compare things to the books anyway, they're way better! Kel and I were greeted by a woman who was very enthusiastic about Twilight and Forks! She gave us a map that was specifically made for Twilight fans. So we knew exactly where everything was! Perfect! She also talked as if the the Cullen's and Bella were real people living in Forks. I liked her! haha.

It was easy to find everything. We usually just followed the teenage girls with their cameras! lol. Lots of people,..well mostly females, of all ages, were in Forks to get the Twilight tour. It was quite funny actually. It's definitely blown up this small town!!

Of the many things we saw there, I have a few favourites...the sign at the hospital that was reserved for Dr. Cullen, it seemed real! I liked the sign on the motorcycle parked in the spot that read, "Give blood, date a Cullen!"And of course the Forks sign, obviously! And most definitely the Cullen house! It was really old and really cool!The Cullen house is actually a B&B and Esme writes a note every morning saying where they are. When we visited they were visiting Renee, Bella's mom, in Florida. haha. Thy're really into it! I think what I liked most though was seeing the actual place that Stephenie Meyer based her story on. The way she described things in her book is exactly the way it is. It's awesome! And then you start thinking about the story and how her vision came to life. It's quite inspiring actually to put yourself in her place as you go through Forks and wonder how she came up with such an amazing story from such a quaint town.

One thing is undeniable though, the forest is MAGIC and has lots of character! I could picture Edward running through the woods and Jacob with his tribe! For real, it's crazy!! I really think the forest is what attracts people to the area, it's hard to deny it. I think for me, because I saw the movie before I read the book, I do a lot of comparison to the movie and they were absolutely bang on with everything! I mean, the houses and buildings aren't the same as the movie, but are definitely in sync with the book, but the character and the tone that is set in the movie is absolutely perfect.

After Forks we made our way to the Quileute Reserve. Sooo gorgeous! La Push Beach was so amazing, the view was awesome! I'm so excited for the New Moon movie! It's gonna be sick!! AH!! Going to La Push was just the thing I needed to get me into the Jacob spirit! lol. And I can't wait for the cliff dives!

Goodbye California

After spending nearly an entire month in sunny California, it was time to say goodbye. We left San Francisco a day after we planned (it was a sign...don't leave, don't leave!) and crossed the Golden Gate bridge into what seemed like a completely other world! Leaving California was sad and somewhat appealing all at the same time. There was a part of me that was thriving to see new things and another that was saying "There is no sun in Oregon, you're heading North, why the hell are you leaving me?". Extremely tempting, yes, but it was time move forward. And Oregon is beautiful in it's own way, sun or no sun.

We stopped to get an oil change and grabbed a bite to eat. I tried out my negotiating skills on the guy at Jiffy Lube....the cute girl discount didn't fly. I did catch him off guard though...lol. Never hurts to ask. At the grocery store I got a Safeway discount card. Apparently it doesn't matter if I'm Canadian. I like when people want me to save money! I'm a money magnet! Canadians deserve Safeway cards as much as anyone else. And we are currently their #1 customer. We shop there all the time. Now we have discounts!

So anyhow, we headed up Highway 1 along the beautiful coastline again for Mendicino.


Unfortunately that plan got kiaboshed by a forest fire so we decided to bypass that area and just head right up to Redwood National Park. I think we've got something for giant trees. Sequoia last September before Warrior was absolutely 100% magic and the Redwoods didn't disappoint either. They are sooooooo tall! They're not just trees, they are spirits.

After weaving in and out on the old stagecoach road through Jedediah Smith State Park we crossed the state line into Oregon! I can say this in reference to my travels down under. California is like Australia and Oregon is like New Zealand. Brut forces along that coastline, but still magnificent.

Driving through Portland I had this gut feeling that we should just stay the night, but of course, in typical Kelly fashion I ignored it and we crashed at a rest stop for the night. (Best rest stop ever btw.) Checked my email to find out we have family in Oregon!? If I had trusted my gut, we would have stopped, checked our email and been hanging out with another Mullen in no time! But the universe is perfect. Lesson learned... At least we're still on the same coast so we can go back!

Hello Foto!

Katie and I always joke about our 'continuous' setting on our camera about photo shoots...we actually got to be in one this time! I did more tasks actually. I held the toilet paper for Chantelle, got her different shirts, and took video. The people behind the scenes are just as important! :)

Chantelle and Hoan were doing a photo shoot for their music website. Anthony Kearns was the photographer. It was pretty sweet watching the whole process go down. I mean, photographers are really good at what they do, but somewhere I feel we're all photographers at some degree.

Anthony got some really cool shots even after his camera decided to bail out on him :( Didn't matter though, he got the job done and it was awesome!

Here's some pics from my perspective...

And it wouldn't be a photo shoot with out some goofy video...Hoan is always good for that!


To celebrate we hit up St.Francis for some sammies and malts! And a Rick Roll isn't always bad either! Sickest prank calls I've ever seen! Check 'em out @ http://iprankd.com/

Stay tuned for our photoshoot soon! ''It's sexytime!''

An Afternoon in Wine Country

The phone rang at 9:55. "Are you guys up yet? You're still going to be here at 11 right?" Thank god for Keith! lol

WHAT!?! haha.....

I honestly don't think Katie and I have ever gotten ready that fast! Maybe it was the prospect of wine...after a night of drinking....or maybe the thought of being out of the city for a day? Either way we were excited to go to Sonoma with Keith and Mari!

We went to a few wineries before we even tasted anything. At Bartholemew Winery we stopped to have a picnic and a nap! What a glorious day it was too! Wine country is absolutely gorgeous; the weather the vinyards, the peace of more nature than concrete! It was exactly what I needed to cure my hangover. Some FRESH AIR!!!

And then we went to Buena Vista Winery. Quinn, our conesour, was awesome! He worked us pretty good with all his knowledge of wine and what they go best with. And if there weren't already enough to taste on the list already I think he poured us 3 more on top of that. Keith and I were getting pretty giggly! I love a glass of wine! As you can see...

Moi, on the other hand could not even smell the wine without feeling a little naseous. I think Keith thought I was gonna puke the whole morning. lol

We toured the Sonoma Square and had lost of free samples of cheese, fudge, deserts and even saw where Keith and Mari got married! Awe... Off to Chateaux St.Jean for a wine tasting far less interesting, far less elaborate and far less entertaining! Quinn, you need to be duplicatable!

We headed back into Oakland for free dinner at a new place in town. No really I said FREE! They put out all sorts of appetizers for a few hours and all you have to do is buy a drink or many in return. Good food too!

Now of all the random things that happen I would have never expected to run into someone I knew in Australia on a random sidewalk in CA. Garett was at University of Sunshine Coast when I was and he lived with some of my friends. Although I was chasing after him calling him John he recognized me from somewhere! So I mixed up the names! At least John was his roomates name.

Him and his two friends Mike and Matt were visiting for a few days. They really liked it out here, but what's not to like when your commute into NYC everyday is 2 hours both ways. I think that should be a crime! Very cool guys. I don't know why I ran into them, but I don't care...it's always good to run into friends in the least expected places!