Lumberjack Feths

Having a fireplace at our apartment in Tiburon has been a toasty delight. 

However, with a fireplace comes the need for firewood and it's not like back in the Midwest where one can chop down a tree on the back acre; here it must be purchased and it's expensive!!!

We purchased our first quarter cord of wood in February and to our dismay it didn't last as long as we had hoped. So instead of purchasing another bundle, like the resourceful Feth's we are, we went scavenging. 

On a recent visit to the Castro to meet friends for brunch, lo and behold, what does Brian spy with his little eye?! 

Oh yeah - a pile of logs on the side of the road! Who would have thought?!

We quickly assessed the situation and swiftly loaded those logs into our VW. 

Another opportunity arose last week when one of the torrential rain storms knocked down a tree branch outside of Brian's office. Again, like clockwork we scavenged up all that would fit in the car. 

So that brings us to last Saturday. 

The joys of finding logs for free are quickly met with the realization that they do not split themselves. 

We mentally changed out of our resourceful hats and into our imaginary flannels and showed that wood who's boss:

Next weekend we shall plant trees :)

Look What the Rain Brought In

It's been a rainy one here in Northern California lately and with the rain comes all sorts of creepy crawly slimy little creatures from who knows where. 

I prefer to leave such beasties outside in their natural habitat but Brian usually has other things in mind. 

Hence, the following. 

Brian calls to me after returning from taking out our recyclables, 

"Jalyn come here, hold out your hand and close your eyes." 

I figured there would be no harm in this effort given Brian can be quite the romantic at times, so I decided to follow along. 

With hands open and cupped ready to receive some fun little gem of thoughtfulness, I instead receive these guys:

Yes, snails!

So I didn't freak out or anything but instead took them to a better lit area for further viewing

Brian got in on the action as well

You can see the fascination in his eyes

Pretty much for a half hour straight our kindergarten brains allowed us to ooh and ahhh over these slimy shelled mollusks. I have to admit, it was fun.

Note: one must wash very thoroughly to remove all snail slime from hands!

Nature is soo cool.  

Erin Go Braugh - My Dear Grandmother

Today the heritage of my family's people will be celebrated by green-wearing, whiskey-drinking, look-at-me-I'm-Irish toting Americans and the like all over this land. 

Well whether you're an authentic Gaelic speaker or just a once-a-year-Irish loving fool, I wish you a happy St. Patrick's Day!

This time of year brings back fond memories of my dear grandmother Catherine A. Leitch Tunnell; a feisty, quick-witted Irish lass from Belfast who emigrated to the states in the early 1950's.

In 1955 she married my grandfather, a Midwestern native and together they had my Uncle Kerry, Aunt Eileen, mother Colleen and Aunt Catherine; all carrying forth the Irish legacy in their names. 

When I was little my siblings, cousins and I would spend loads of time at my grandparent's house, raking up fall leaves in the front yard, jumping into their bright colors at day's end; helping to clean and tidy things up in the house and simply listening to my grandmother's funny accent. 

My Grandma Tunnell was a force to be reckoned with, when she wanted things done a particular way they were done as so. When tidying up in the house, it was often my task to dust off the bookshelf near the front window and after I thought I was done, she would question me with her strong Irish dialect, 'Now did you get the tops of the books like I asked?' I couldn't lie to this woman, she would have seen right through me, so every time I would have to go back and dust the books again, just like so. 

A visit to grandma's house always meant a delightful trip into her shiny glass candy dish full of sweet and minty treats. Often times she would also make us buttered toast sprinkled with just the right amount of sugar - it was a simple delicacy that only she knew how to make. 

Being the little kids that we were, my siblings, cousins and I would be playing around the house and someone would pass gas - it happens... Well this always got a rise out of my grandmother. Once she got wind of the perpetrator's scent she'd yell, 'Who blasted!?' 'Who bloody blasted!?' 

Oh we thought this to be the funniest thing ever! First off we knew that bloody was a bad word in her book and secondly she would just start raging as the Irish often do when they get in a tizzy. 

The list of fond memories goes on and on with my dear grandmother and I consider myself ever so fortunate to own such wonderful thoughtful gems. My grandmother passed away when I was in 6th grade to a series of illnesses. She was far too young to depart from us and her memory lives on with me and the rest of my family today and always. 

So please enjoy your corned beef and cabbage this day and Erin Go Braugh to you and my dear grandmother.

An Old Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Take Heed

The recent events in Japan are more than heart-wrenching, words can barely describe the horrible tragedy taking place there. Our prayers and thoughts of hope and healing go out to all those suffering. 

With forewarning of the approaching tsunami wave headed for the West Coast, Brian and I were surprised by a certain sight on our way into work on Friday morning and the revealing behaviors of humans. 

As we scooted along Tiburon's main road headed for the 101 freeway, we noticed a large gathering of gawking, touristy-like folks fixing their attention on the Richardson Bay. With ease we slowed our vehicle, mostly in response to those in front of us, who too, were also trying to figure out what these people could possibly be looking at. 

We quickly realized that with cameras in hand, they were waiting, watching for that tsunami wave to impose upon our shores. 

Ummmm.....

I'm no expert in all things MacGyver, but common sense tells me that if there is a tsunami warning or any other natural disaster alert you do not go to the very place in which such an event might occur. I repeat, you DO NOT go towards the danger. 

Perhaps it's the world we live in today, the up-to-the-minute YouTube clips, Tweets and FB posts; everyone wants to be credited with being the 'first' to report a scene. However, when presented with a potentially life-threatening scenario I'll always choose flight over fight. 

Case in point

Whilst enjoying an everyday, normal taxi ride one evening in the city of Accra, Ghana, Brian and I were no more than 1 mile from our apartment when danger sprung out of nowhere. 

I, sitting in the back, Brian in the front passenger seat, promptly noticed the dashboard lights go dark. With no warning, smoke began to emit from all vents; so naturally, I reacted. 

Despite the vehicle still moving at a good clip I jumped from the taxi. I didn't even flinch,without a thought, my body responded as if I'd be training for such an event to take place while living abroad in Africa.

I ran down the road a ways, making sure I created a good distance between myself and the car. As I glanced back, assuming Brian had immediately followed suit, I realized that he was still in the vehicle! 

Oh my goodness! What kind of a wife was I!? 

I quickly ran back to the car to save him from the threatening doom, realizing his passenger door wouldn't unlock. 

By this point the car had come to a full stop and I swiftly flung open his door to release him from the danger. Without hesitation he yelled, "What the heck are you doing? You just jumped from a moving vehicle?!"

I was confused by his confusion. 

However, quickly taking in the fact that the dashboard smoke didn't amount to the treacherous explosion I had envisioned in my mind, I could kind of see where he was coming from. 

Fortunately, we were not that far from our apartment, so we paid the taxi driver for his services as he phoned for assistance and we walked home.

End case in point.

A few things can be gathered from this scenario:

1. I choose flight, literally

2. Brian assesses the situation, builds a strategic analysis in his brain on the pros and cons of each potential outcome and then chooses the most rational route 

(all of which he later revealed to me and as long as the door isn't locked)

3. At the end of the day we generally come to the same conclusion, we just have our different methods of getting there 

All in all, if you are ever presented with a potential dangerous situation, heed any warnings available to you and don't go towards the danger. 

Sadly however, life doesn't always play out like this and even with forewarning, devastation still occurs. Let's take action for those who were impacted by the Japanese earthquake and pour out our hearts for their suffering. 

Here are some ways to contribute to the relief efforts: 

 Text: REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10

 Give: Red Cross

Give: Salvation Army World Services

Information: Google Crisis Response

The Transition Years

We Feth's are living in what I'd like to formally call The Transition Years. 

It's kind of like The Wonder Years but without all the braces and awkward first kisses....

This chapter of our life follows The Dating Years which began with our marriage and will end roughly around summer of this year (give or take a month).

You see when the Feth and I became one, I had a good idea (after 9 years of courtship) of what I was getting into: fun / adventure / deep intellectual conversations / stuff like that

Well what I didn't know was that we Feth's would become quite the world travelers and consumers of all things change. We have truly lived by the mantra: the only constant is change. 

These Years of Transition have included a wedding in Napa / apartment in San Francisco / a year in Africa / return to San Francisco / move to Tiburon 

And soon we will be closing out this treatise with our next big change-agent =

 business school 

B-school Brian has been a busy pre-bee-schooler these past 6 months, what with all the GMAT studying & essay writing & interviewing. 

I've happily been on the support staff - acting as editor in chief and all things 

GSD (that's Get Sh_ _ Done - we're all adults here so you can fill in the blanks) 

Yesterday was the grand finale of interviews, culminating with HBS; a climactic conclusion to an intensive, soul-searching process and rightfully so. 

Whatever the outcome may be (and we'll know around the end of the month) it has been arduous, tedious, strenuous, and any other -ous ending words you can think of! 

But fantastically worth every brain teasing moment. 

For both of us this chapter will end on a positive note, highlighting the fact that there is so much to do and so many things we can be in this grand old world of ours. But our time is limited, so we must maximize what has been given to us so we can give to others and truly make a difference.

They (and I'm not clear on exactly who 'they' are but just roll with it) say that successful people are the ones that don't give up after failing, because let's face it we all fail but it's what we do after we fail that makes us great. 

So here's to a future of failure and success and to nearing the end of 

The Transition Years

It's been a sweet ride 

What will be the premise for our next chapter?

Here are a few thoughts: 

- The Puppy Years

- The Beardless Years

- The Baby Years (that one's for you mom!)

- The We're as Broke as Grad Students Years

- The I Wish We Could Afford a New iPhone Years

- The Remember The Transition Years...

A Snuggly Scarf

It seems only a handful of selected outfits have been making it 

out of our closet and onto my body these days. 

I didn't really notice that I had reduced my wardrobe to an elite class of snuggly scarves, cardigan, jeggings and boots until the husbster commented on my pants this morning on the way into the city. 

B-hub: 'You're wearing those pants again! Haven't you been wearing those for the past 3 days now?' 

Me (in my defense): 'No I have not been wearing them for the past 3 days now, just on Saturday and now it's Monday, I gave them a break yesterday....'

What's the BIG Deal anyway?

If you recall, when we lived in Africa I was confined to a portable wardrobe a la suitcase. I had only packed so many clothes, leaving necessary space for souvenirs and knowing we would only be away for 6 months - which later turned into a full year abroad. 

After a while, I maxed out all possible combinations for said articles of clothing and ultimately created my own line of Jalyn uniforms!

It appears that despite having access to an entire closet full of cotton, polyester, lycra and rayon, I have unknowingly moved in this same direction. 

Hmmm....

I'm going to chalk it up to strategy. Yes, strategy. 

You see, I know what I like and what looks good on me so I have subconsciously-strategically-vetted my clothes cupboard into the most efficient outfits available in line with the times. 

There. That's it. 

OR 

- I guess life's just a little simpler with some clothing consistency -

Hey I didn't say anything about lacking cuteness!

What's your self-imposed uniform?

By the way, The Husband's been sportin' the same messenger 

hat for ages now - and it's supercute!