Here’s the long overdue recap of my second year going to Carmel with Match and his parents.

We had such a great time. We walked every day, and most importantly Match and I spent quality time together. We kicked back, we read, we explored, we vacationed.

Doesn’t this rock look like a heart?

We ended almost every night with chocolate, a little drink, and dominoes. We’re such 60 year olds!

One of the days we decided to explore Monterey a little bit. We hit up an outdoor mall to look for a dress for me for the reception dinner Future MIL is hosting for us to meet the out of town guests the night before the wedding.

Here’s the dress I found-isn’t it adorable? And with a gift card I’ve had forever and a huge sale the store was having, I bought my brand new dress for a whopping $13.45! Such a steal.

After my amazing shopping find we were famished. We stumbled across a sushi restaurant that advertised $5.99 lunches. We were skeptical but thought we’d give it a try.

Not only was the Teriyaki chicken lunch $5.99 but all of the sushi rolls were half price. It was some of the best sushi I’ve ever had, and that’s saying a lot. My mouth is watering just looking at the picture. I can’t wait to go back!

We also explored Cannery Row and did the little touristy thing.

Here I got proof of my talents on an old school kissing machine.

Match practicing for his sheriff job. You can’t see it but he’s totally making the same face as the statue.

I think my favorite night was our last night there. We built a bonfire and sipped Irish Coffees.

Match’s parents and their pup on one side, me, Match and Monkey on the other. It was so relaxing listening to the waves and watching the fire. It was the perfect end to a wonderful vacation. Just think-next year Match and I will be there as husband and wife.

Cop: Okay, so since umm, you’re not going to jail tonight I was wondering if you would like to go to dinner with me?
Phoebe: Me?!
Cop: Yeah. Ever since you flashed my badge at me, I kinda can’t stop thinking about you. You’re the prettiest, fake undercover whore I’ve ever seen.
-Friends

So I know I still haven’t recapped Carmel but the exciting news of Match’s new job trumps that post. So yesterday morning I waited nervously to hear about Match’s final interview. I didn’t hear my phone ring and I was devastated that I couldn’t talk to him when he called. But hearing the message, “Sweetie, I was HIRED!!” was almost as good. I saved it and played it over and over again until he got to my office so I could hug him and hear about it. I was jumping up and down and couldn’t stop smiling.

After work I met Match up at his parent’s house for dinner to celebrate in style. We toasted with some tasty champagne and got to hear all the details about his final job interview with the sheriff’s department.

Oh and  I stand corrected. Apparently we’re to call him Deputy once he’s out of the academy, not officer. So this was a big goof on my part:

Match appreciated the gesture anyways! He’s such a stickler for the rules. I guess that’s why he’ll make such a great deputy huh?

I kept getting teary eyed and emotional over dinner. I am just so proud of him and I feel like this is the start of something really big for us. We’ll be moving to a town about an hour from where we live now and it’s a brand new town for the both of us. We’re going to start our married life off with two good careers (even if mine is a snooze fest at times, it still pays well and they take care of me) and hopefully we’ll be able to buy a house soon! I feel like such a grown up.

I know we’ll have our share of bumps ahead and being the wife of a deputy is not going to be easy, but I’m ready. Because it’s Match, and it’s us.

I guess the only thing to do now is meet his parents. I’m sure they’re decent people. I mean they gotta be if they named their son Gaylord Focker. -Jack Byrnes, Meet the Fockers

I’ll get to the rest of the Carmel story I promise. I just haven’t posted a PINT in a long time and I’ve missed it. I need to catch you up on current events in the short and sassy way that only a PINT can.

Meredith: Such a good dog! Who’s Mommy’s good boy? [Turns and looks at Izzie and George] C’mon, what are you doing, we’re gonna be late.
George: Uh— We need to talk about the dog.
Izzie: That’s not a dog, it’s a hyena that escaped from the zoo, dressed in dog clothing.
George: Whatever. I don’t chew up his clothes. I don’t urinate on his bed. I don’t try to mount him from behind.
Meredith: People, he’s our dog. We love our dog. He loves us.
Izzie: Mount you from behind?
George: He tries to. -Grey’s Anatomy

For those of you who have dogs and have a chance to travel to Carmel, CA I highly recommend it. Did you know it’s incredibly dog friendly? They have dog friendly restaurants where your puppy can sleep at your feet while you eat. Or if it’s my dog, beg at your feet for treats. The beach doesn’t have a leash law, so the puppies get to run free. It’s basically a dog’s version of a bar or a fraternity mixer. They run around from dog to dog, sniffing butts, canoodling, and generally having a grand ol’ time.

Match’s parents brought their dog Poodle and we of course had our Monkey. It’s so nice that the two dogs get along so well. They were sort of the entertainment focus for the week. We would laze around with our bloody marys, gin and tonics, or wine, and watch the dogs rough house or play on the beach. Their poodle puppy has grown so much in a year. Check it out:

Match’s Parents and Poodle, August 2009

Match’s Parents and Poodle, August 2010

Pretty big difference huh? When Poodle stands on his hind legs, he’s almost my height. Now I know that’s not towering as I stand only 5 feet tall, but for a dog it’s pretty impressive. Luckily he’s a Poodle and therefore kind of hollow boned and easy enough to shove away when he gets all excited and jumps up.

He’s my new dancing partner. Doesn’t he look like he’s enjoying the dance?

Here’s Monkey lounging on the design furniture in the rental house. I can’t blame him for getting up on the window seat. It is rather cozy.

In this shot he still looks like a pretty young dog. I’m trying to ignore the fact that he’s going gray behind the ears and he gets tired a lot faster than he used to. I can’t believe he’s already 7 years old. I don’t like to think of him as being middle aged, sniff sniff. It took him three days to recover from our trip!

He ran that beach and peed on every seaweed patch he could find. He rolled in the sand and brought home half the beach to the rental house daily. He climbed rocks with “Daddy” Match and raced to the highest point he could find.

He bonded with Poodle and with Match. Match and I both agreed he was really well behaved on this trip and we were so proud of him. Last year the first thing he did on the beach was pee on the back of someone’s beach chair…while the poor woman was sitting in it! I was mortified. This year we kept an eye out when he’d eye a particularly tempting beach chair, towel, small child playing in the sand. You never know with this one!

At the end of each night we’d watch the dogs cuddle as we played games of dominoes. Look, they’re holding hands!

Probably the funniest thing that happened concerning the dogs was when we realized Poodle could smile, or sort of grimace, on command. We were playing with him, and Match said no. All of a sudden Poodle started curling his lips up in this funny expression and I was able to capture it on video. Match is the one saying no and I’m the one cackling my fool head off as I videotape.

I’ll blog more about the people experiences we had in Carmel, but I thought I’d dedicate this one to the dogs.