Sacramento's Boston Tea Party

Sunday, December 16, 2007 marks the Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party so the Ron Paul Revolution has along with Tex-Wasabi’s have decided to throw a celebration for the leading advocate of freedom - Presidential Candidate Ron Paul.
Dr. Paul works for limited government, individual freedom and liberty, free market economics, balanced budgets, and sound monetary policies.

He has never voted to raise taxes and consistently voted against the PATRIOT ACT, Free Trade Agreements (NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO), regulating the Internet, the National ID Card, and any legislation that infringes on our individual rights and liberties.

A strong supporter of the Second Amendment, Ron Paul voted against the Iraq War but for going after Bin Laden. He believes in a strong national defense with no nation building. He is also opposed to corporate welfare and amnesty for illegal aliens.

Please join us as we celebrate the beginning of the American Revolution while showing our support for the “Champion of the Constitution,” Ron Paul.

I finally put up my Ron Paul for President sign the other day. I have had more than a handful of people walk by my house an tell me that they were planning on voting for him in the primary.



I am attending a canvasing meeting on Monday to learn how to spread the word about Dr. Paul. I have not been this energized by a Presidential candidate ever! My apathy has been turned upside down by Dr. Paul and I hope to inform others about this worthy candidate.

Drum Roll Please... I'm Supporting Ron Paul For President

Click here to check out
The Sacramento Ron Paul 2008!

Will the Real Slim Snoopy Please Stand Up!

Here is a photo of the gathering of the Christmas Snoopys. The group could have been twice as big due to the fact that my Mom always buys two of the same Christmas stuffed animals, one for each of her children. She was and still is out of control!



This is our new Peanuts themed Christmas Tree skirt. It is really awesome.

Keeping up With the Bloggers

While I was putting up Christmas decorations I decided to take a few snapshots...

Eyes All On Me

Thanks to all of my friends and family who came out and supported me in my endeavour. You truly don't know how much it meant to see you out there. To those who had me in their thoughts and prayers a big thank you to y'all. A huge thank you to Steve for taking this great picture of me at the finish line.


Thanks to Steve for taking this photo of me at the finish line.

Holy Shit, the Day Has Finally Come

Wish me luck!

Oh, and I finally got over myself... so please ignore the previous post.

Funkin' not Groovin'

I have been in such a rut as of late. I just really don't know what the fuck is wrong with me. I should be happy, my race is coming up soon, I have raised over $2,800 dollars for the cause. I have a job interview coming up with a pharmaceuticall distributor. Things from the outside seem to be going very well for me. Why the hell do I feel so bummed out?!? Is it the lack of a partner in my life? Could be. Is it a lack of friendship in my life. Could be. I just don't know. I just feel as if I have been abandoned by a majority of my friends. Could it be that all my friends are in stable long term relationships. I think that I need to find friends who are single who are able to go out on a whim. I rarely receive phone calls from the friends that I have. I know this sounds whiney but this is how I feel. I seriously need to go see a therapist for this shit. I swear this all started in August and have not been able to get out of the funk since.

Suggestions anyone?

There's Gotta be Something More

So at the last minute I decided to drive to Reno and see Sugarland in concert. LA, I am sure that they are not on your iPod, but I think you should give them a chance. I'm taking my friend Jessica with me who happens to like them as much as I do. The drive is about 2 hours and I have to run the next morning. I'm on crack if I believe that I am going to get up Saturday morning and run 15 miles after driving home from Reno and getting about 4-5 hours of sleep. Oh well, sounds good in theory.



My favorite Sugarland song, hands down, has to be "One Blue Sky." It is a great commentary on the Bush Administration and their reaction (or should I say, non-reaction) to Hurricane Katrina and her aftermath. It is refreshing to see country artists taking a stand against the Administration without negative reactions from crazy conservative fans.

Since I can't find the song to share with all of you, here are the lyrics to the song.

"Little Annie Vickers is boarding up windows
And her old dog is stranded on the Silos
Hey there Annie, don't even think it
So much water and you can't even drink it
Well, maybe by Christmas they'll dig up roads
Take whatever you can girl
Leave the rest for the crows
Leave the rest for the crows

Been livin' in Crawford for fifteen years
Nothin' much ever happens 'round here
And no one believed the water would come
'Til the sky grew dark and it swallowed the sun
And it rained for forty-two nights and forty-two days
And everthing that we loved is floatin' away

Chorus:
How long 'til our dreams run dry
Don't know but we're stayin'
On our knees we raise our eyes
Holdin' on and prayin' to find
One blue sky

Ms. Wilson sits with an insurance adjustor
Big city boys, she never did trust 'em
Have you been gettin' the letters I'm sendin'
'Cuz the preacher swears that the world is ending
Well, if there's a way out, wish someone would show us
We keep looking around here for some modern day Moses

repeat chorus

Now we're diggin' our heels hard as we can
But the backyard looks like Rio Grande
And I wonder will it wash us clean or wash us away

repeat chorus twice

One blue sky"

OH, I lied. Here is a snippet of the song. Thanks google.


My second favorite song is "Want To." I have a youtube video for y'all. I just love the youtube.

My Left Knee is Killing Me

During my cool down from running this evening, this gem of a song came on. I swear I forget what I have on my iPod. I have decided that it is my song of the day. Sorry "Edit," I promise this won't be a daily occurrence. Here is the video for "Silver Lining" by Rilo Kiley.

I Hate Myself...

For liking the new J. Lo single, "Do it Well." What the hell is wrong with me? It is now on my running playlist on my iPod shuffle. Here is the video for the song. Super gay, but oh effing well.



I am also in love with the new music video of "Because of You" performed by Reba and Kelly Clarkson. Not a huge fan of the song, but the dude who plays Kelly's abusive boyfriend is super hot. Let me tell you, I would let him rough me up, no joke. I am sick.

Evidence..

Stories from the experience to come. Too lazy and tired to write about my first 1/2 marathon right now. I will however post the photographic evidence though. No photoshopping here because I wouldn't know how do it.

Better - Regina Spektor

Here is a fresh new video for the newly "remixed" song called "Better" by Regina Spektor. I love this woman! And lucky for me I get to see over a dozen of Regina clones. If you haven't picked up her latest CD you should be ashamed of yourself and run to your iTunes Store or local Record Store and buy it.

New Favorite

So by happenstance I stumbled across this ecard site called someecard.com. They have some of the greatest cards for those special and not-so special people in your life. I have been sending these ecards to people all week. People must think that I am obsessed and that is fine by me, cause their cards are freakin' awesome. Here are a few sample cards. The humor is a bit twisted, just the way i like it!


Congratulations Card -



Birthday Card Sample -



Encouragement Card -



Thank You Card -



I hope you enjoy this site as much as I do! You might even receive a random card from me in your inbox, so keep an eye out.

Random Things...

... that have put me in a great mood today.

1) A fantastic email from my co-worker Janet at 9:00am to inform me of all of the craziness I miss while I am not working at the vet hospital. Basically the email went like this -

"A client just told Desiree to have Dr. M not do the guinea pig castration if he wasn't 100%. Do you think the client was talking about the guinea pig or Dr. Malek? Dr. M of course. She also doesn't want him to do the surgery if he has taken any cold medicine."

OMG, where do these people come from? I swear some of the stories and people that we have heard and met over the years most people would never believe them. I think that Janet, Dr. M and I need to write a book or produce a sitcom based on the staff, clients, and bullshit we have had to deal with at the hospital.


2) There was a brand new Law & Order:SVU on this evening. The Fall season makes me so happy due to the fact that new episodes of my favorite shows are airing. I can't tell you how much I love Mariska Hargitay, who plays detective Olivia Benson. She is such a great actress and a natural beauty. Oh, and the hotness that is Christopher Meloni. I swear he hasn't aged a day since he starred on HBO's drama OZ.

3) I ran a short distance today, with my iPod. I has it on shuffle and I swear I didn't have to skip any songs while on the run. It was a perfect playlist.

4) I found out that George Strait will be stopping in Sacramento on January 31, 2008. Tickets have yet to go on sale, but when they do, I will be the first online to buy the maximum amount of tickets allowed. My family and I are effing crazy for George Strait. This will be our billionth time seeing him in concert.

5) I just bought the new Reba CD, Reba Duets. It is really great! I just read that Reba McEntire achieved a career milestone with her 31st studio album Reba Duets. It debuted last week with unprecedented sales of more than 300,000 albums sold, landing her in the top spot on The Billboard 200 chart. This marks the first time McEntire has ever reached the #1 spot on The Billboard 200 and is her biggest first week album sales ever.

6) My best friend Jen called me this afternoon and told me a story about some dumb, annoying client. Jen is an engineer, a total smarty. Anyways, the client came into her company's office today for a meeting, The way she explained his sexuality made me almost pee myself because it so didn't make sense, yet at the same time it did. Jen said "he was so gay that he had to use the elevator." Now her company's office is on the second floor of a two-story building. I don't know why I found that quote so funny, but it still makes me laugh.

Old Dog, New Kicks

On Sunday, I went out to Fleet Feet in Sacramento to buy myself a brand new pair of running shoes. I swear, even the simplest and mundane tasks turn into major events for little old me. I walk into the store, and this dude, about 20 year old, 5' 11" and about 140lbs comes up to me and asks, "How can I help you?" While he is greeting me and asking what I needed I was giving him the once over. He was a 6 out of a 10; average. Anyways, back to the story... "How can I help you?" asks the runner boy. I say, "I need a brand new pair of running shoes. I have been using some lame Nike cross trainers for some time now, and I need to move up and get into something more comfortable and durable because I have a marathon coming up in December." Dude seriously looked at me with the look of confusion and responded to my statement with this rude question/statement, "You're Running a Marathon?" I was like what the eff?!? Who does this douche bag think he is? Questioning my ability to run! Did I look like I weighed 400 pounds that day and was out of breath walking from my car into the store? I mean hello, RUDE. I mean, maybe that is something that I would think to myself if I was that dude, but to express it out loud in front of 12 people, that was a tad embarrassing.

So needless to say I was pissed!!! What a DICKHOLE! So I glared at him and said, "I wouldn't be in here buying running shoes if I weren't going to run a marathon, idiot!" I then proceeded to ask for the manager and had another customer service representative assist me in choosing the correct shoe. I soon realized that you don't buy the type of running shoes based on their coolness and hip factor. It goes much deeper than just the superficial. I did end up with some pretty sweet kicks though. Here they are in all of their glory.



They are a pair of white, blue, and gold ASICS. After the shopping experience I went over to Jen and Vince's to see the cutest baby on the face of this planet, Isaiah. Our friend Sarah was also at Jen's abode, so I killed two birds with one stone. I also had a Grande Orange Cream Frappuccino from Starbucks right after my Fleet Feet escapade due to the fact that that douche made me feel fat. Thanks asshole, I didn't really need those delicious empty calories. Though it did taste as good coming up as it did going down. It was like having two desserts in one day! Kidding...

Oh, and I signed up for next weekend's . We will see if I can make it through. I am sure I can soldier through it. I wish I had a SWEET friend to run it with me, but alas, it will not be. Here is the course map.



I also received this awesome shirt, which I will only wear around the house or to the gym, when I donated a couple hours of my time yesterday to put together "goody" bags for the Cowtown. The Sacramento Cowtown Marathon is actually put on by the Greater Sacramento Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, so that is how I got roped into volunteering. I make it sound like it was grueling work, which it wasn't. I had a blast hanging out and meeting new people. Which, if you know me really well, I try to avoid.




EDIT: Monday, October 1st, 2007 @ 10:45pm - I just passed the $1000 donation mark, $1001, to be exact! I only have to raise $699 to reach my goal. I hope to reach and exceed my goal within the next few weeks. Thanks again for all of the contributions! It really means the world to me!

America's Next Top Hair Model

So I got a haircut the other day and I wanted it extremely short, like my boy JT. What you think? It is so easy to manage. I don't have to worry about a thing. I have heard nothing but positive reactions to the new do, so if you have anything negative to say, please feel free to let me have it! Three (3) people have mentioned that the new haircut makes me look skinnier, so I am happy to report that I will not have to purge myself after my next few meals. Thank God! That takes mucho energy. This picture was taken this morning at 2:00am (cause I was having a hard time sleeping) so please forgive the tired wonky eye look I have all over my ugly mug. I am off to El Dorado Hills for marathon training in an hour or so. I am already too tired for this shit.

Walk Like A Man... But Don't Sing With Him

So while I was waiting patiently for "Jersey Boys" to begin, I was flipping through the pamphlet and determined what songs I was going to know. Well let me tell you, I knew quite a few. After I decided I knew the music, I thought to myself, "OMG if one of these old bitches starts singing along with the actors on stage I am going to freakin' lose it!" So the lights go down, the musical starts... and low and behold, the oldie but goodie behind me decides to sing along with the actors on such hits as "Sheri," "Big Girls Don't Cry," and "Walk Like a Man." I keep turning my head around with a major stare, but alas it didn't faze the bitch. I was getting more and more pissed as Act One continued. Okay, it is now intermission, and the old woman goes to get her obligatory glass of wine so that she can have a little more liquid courage to sing along in Act Two. WRONG. So right before the house lights went down I turned around to my karaoke friend and said, "Excuse me, but your singing is A LITTLE MUCH. I paid 80 clams for this ticket and I would like to hear the actor portraying Frankie Valli singing instead of you. Thank You!" Well let me tell you I got the laser death eyes from my new BFF! But guess what, I didn't hear a peep from the bitch the entire second act. Now I wouldn’t normally tell somebody to shut the fuck up but I was so fucking annoyed I couldn’t even enjoy myself. I believe that you are only entitled to sing along at arena concerts where everyone is drunk and high. But then I thought, "well fuck this is Sacramento... figures."



Here is what you missed minus Jay Leno.

Jacob's 1st Birthday Party

Well as all of you can tell I have been the lamest blogger on the face of the planet. I just got back from my cousin Jacob's 1st Birthday Party. God Damn we got smashed on the various sippy cups filled with Vodka. Here are the a few pictures I took from the biggest bash I have been to in the past two days. Here is the happy family, Josh, Jessica, and Jacob. So cute! I must have taken my anti-depressants today.

Out and About

Things I have seen this week:

Sunday: Sweeney Todd @ the American Conservation Theater in San Francisco. It was fantastic!



Monday: Jersey Boys @ the Community Center in Sacramento. It was okay. I don't get what all the hype was about.

Barbara Barber - Oct. 22, 1923 - Sept. 3, 2007

BARBARA BARBER

A Memorial Service for Barbara Barber will be held Monday, September 10, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. at the First Congregational Church, 1715 Bird Street, Oroville, followed by a reception in the social hall. Burial services will follow at 2:00 p.m. at Memorial Park, 5646 Lincoln Boulevard, Oroville, California.

Barbara passed away September 3, 2007, at Hospice House in Paradise, California. Barbara was born to Charles and Ruby Breese on October 22, 1923 in Red Bluff, California. She grew up in the Willows, Oroville, and Los Molinos areas, graduating from Los Molinos High School in 1941. She and her husband Bill graduated together from high school and were married March 31, 1946. Barbara worked for a title company in Sacramento, California until October 1948 when she, Bill and their newborn daughter Diane moved to Honcut. In 1951, their daughter Nancy was born. Barbara taught at Honcut Elementary School for 25 years before retiring in 1984. In 1997 she and Bill moved to Orovilie and spent many happy years traveling together in their RV and spending time at their cabin in Mineral, California.

Barbara was an active member of the First Congregational Church of Oroville, Delta Kappa Gamma Sorority, and the California Retired Teacher's Association. She spent many hours volunteering for the Butte County Library in Oroville.

Barbara was preceded in death by her husband William Merle "Bill" Barber as well as her ten siblings. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Diane and Richard Schmidt of Citrus Heights; daughter Nancy Pine of Fair Oaks; and grandsons Ryan and Dustin Schmidt of Citrus Heights; She is also survived by numerous brothers-in-law; sisters-in-law; nieces; nephews; and cousins.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First Congregational Church, 1715 Bird Street, Oroville, California, 95965; Paradise Hospice House, P.O. Box 2287, Paradise, California 95967; the American Cancer Association, or to a favorite charity. Services are under the direction of Scheer Memorial Chapel.

I Need Some Monetary Support, Please!

I will be training for the next several months with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training. On December 2, 2007, I will be running the California International Marathon. The 26.2 mile marathon starts in Folsom and ends in Downtown Sacramento. I'm completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

Did you know:

•Every 5 minutes an American is diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma

•Every 10 minutes someone dies from blood cancer

•An estimated 785,829 Americans have blood cancer

•Approximately 118,310 Americans will be diagnosed with blood cancers next year

•Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children under the age of 20

I hope you will visit my Team In Training Donation Site. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!

Murder HE Wrote

Here are a couple of sweet pictures of me in front of Hill House of Cabot Cove Mendocino. Yes, I have a huge soft spot in my heart for Murder She Wrote. I was hoping to walk inside the lobby and stumble upon a dead body, but I wasn't that lucky. It was kind of a relief because I really didn't have enough time to assist with a murder investigation.





Here is a picture of me and J.B. Fletcher. Jealous... I thought as much.


My friend Jessica is really involved in Mrs. Fletcher's first novel, The Corpse Danced at Midnight. Why do I remember such useless information?

Funny How Things Just Seemed So Easy When We Were Young

Last Friday, July 20th, I had the extremely pleasure to attend the Dolores O’Riordan concert in San Francisco. She has been on a small North American tour to support her solo independent release, “Are You Listening?” Though it was a small crowd, the energy was intense. I dragged my friend Tara to the concert with me. It is always so refreshing to go with someone who thinks they are as perfect as myself. It makes it that much easier to criticize others. Let me tell you, there were some crazies in the audience. I particularly enjoyed the 50 year-old men and women in front of us who were, to put it loosely, trying to dance. They were so entertaining! They made me happy due to their extreme enthusiasm for Dolores. The concert was a 50/50 mix of old Cranberries standards and cuts from her new LP. She played all of my favorite Cranberries songs except for “Promises,” and sang all of my favorite songs from her solo album, including my favorite b-side, “Willow Pattern.” All in all I had a fantastic evening. The downside was that I had to drive home from San Francisco after the show because I had marathon training in the morning. I got home about 2:00am went to sleep an hour later and was up at 6:00am. I was flat ass tired needless to say!

This week I also got the extremely sad and upsetting news that my Grandma’s cancer had returned. She had been in remission from breast cancer for about a year and a half. She had been complaining of stomach and back pain for a couple of weeks, but the doctor had thought that it might be a result from a car accident she was in a few months ago. After a few tests, it was revealed that her cancer had come back. It is now located in her liver, abdominal region, and one side of her lung. It is devastating news and almost too much to comprehend. She has always been the most active person and healthiest person I have known. Though all nine of her siblings have succumbed to this vicious disease, it is still difficult to accept. My Mom and Dad just returned from visiting my Grandma, and they said that there is a noticeable difference in her appearance and attitude in a mere two weeks since we last saw her. I pray that when she does pass, it was we painless and swift. Cancer is such a fucked up disease. It can just sneak up on it’s unsuspecting victim, and once diagnosed, it can be too late to successfully take any type of measures to eradicate.

It is extremely hard to put into words how much my Grandma means to me. I think that this song, no matter how cheesy it is, sums up my relationship with her. There really is nothing better than her on the phone. She is so compassionate and non-judgmental; pretty much the only person in my family that I can speak openly and frankly with.

Lamest Excuse Ever...

It comes from the Lohan camp -

"The cocaine found in pocket of her jeans is not La Lohan's. She was wearing someone elses jeans."

Well This explains it all! The cocaine must be Paula Abdul's because they wear each others clothes.

Both Lindsey and Paula need to star in their own Intervention episodes on A&E.

Meltdown #1

I resisted the laughter until 'YOU GUYS, PLEASE, IM TRY'N TO TELL A GOD DAMN STORY!'



Questions I have for Paula:

1) What studio hires someone to be the Executive Producer, Choreographer, Costume Designer and Doll designer? Don't you think that there are too many feathers in your cap?
2) Why am I laughing uncontrollably when you yell at your staff?
3) Are there pain pills and booze in your purse? It sure seems that way due to the fact that you had to grab your purse when you went into your bedroom.

Not Sure That I Can...

Off Her Damn Rocker

There really are no words.

Announcement, Announcement, Listen Up Y’all

That is right, I, Ryan A. Schmidt will be training for a marathon beginning next Saturday June 21, 2007. I have teamed up with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training. They are the world's largest endurance sports training program. The program provides training to run or walk marathons and half marathons or participate in triathlons and century (100-mile) bike rides. Have any of you ran a marathon in the past? I am sure that I have a whole lot of work ahead of me. I am glad that I have lost 70lbs within the past 18 months. Now I don’t have to carry that load of crap with me while training. Damn I was a fuckin’ fat ass at 260lbs. Well I think I am going to start another blog to highlight my training.
I will be running the California International Marathon on December 2, 2007.
Here is the course map! Enjoy.

Things I Wish I Could Take Back This Week...

1) I wish I could take back the time that I spent my hard earned $10.00 to see Transformers.

2) I wish I could take back the time that I spent my hard earned $10.00 to see 1408.

3) The week is not even half over so I know that there will be additions to this list.

EDIT - 10:01pm Wednesday July 11, 2007

4) I wish I could take back the 10 minutes that I wasted when watching the last ten minutes of America's Got Talent. I then turned it to PBS and began to watch a miniseries about the Mormons. At least it is historical and educational. Those Mormons are so damn crazy. Why the hell would you settle in the Great Salt Lake Basin? God must have hated them. It was the land nobody else wanted. Okay, maybe I should take those last few sentences back...

This miniseries reminded me of a great book I read a few years ago called Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows . Extremely Fucked up. Killing and hacking up unarmed innocent women and children. I don't think that Joseph Smith would have approved of these actions. Oh, that reminds, me I haven't watched the newest episode of Big Love this week.

Paramore - Misery Business

Here is a super lame video for a really great song, Misery Business, from the band Paramore. I was just introduced to them thanks my brother. They hail from Franklin, TN and the lead singer is only 19 years old. I really like her voice and she is cute to boot. Is this Pop-Punk or Emo music. I can't keep up with the terminology these days. I am getting old.

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!

I have decided to throw myself a little shindig for my 27th birthday. Since my birthday falls in the middle of the week this year, I probably won't be celebrating too hard until the weekend. So... welcome to my blog party! I hope you all enjoy yourselves! Let me know if you need anything. I think I have all of the details covered. Please let me know if I missed anything.

The Venue... The party will be held at Ryan's Randomness


Excuse me, but I have already started drinking. Please sit down and pour yourself a cold one.

Food and Drinks will be provided by Ryan's favorite lunchtime eatery in Sacramento, Jack's Urban Eats.



Birthday Cake provided by Freeport Bakery.



Balloons will be provided by the wonderfully white trashy party store Wishing Well.


Musical Entertainment... Garbage, Dixie Chicks, and Justin Timberlake will be performing at my party. Much thanks to all of them for finding time in their busy schedules to perform at my party.

Garbage - "Push It"


Dixie Chicks - "Sin Wagon"


Justin Timberlake - "LoveStoned"


The only present I truly want for my B'Day would be the presence of this nice young gentleman. Is this request too much to ask for? I think not!

If you can think of anything else please feel free to let me know. I hope you enjoy the party!

Oh What a Glorious Weekend

Lay's and Lemonade & Vodka - The Breakfast of Champions!