One Fine Day

My Little Nephew

2006-08-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to announce that I am the aunt of Samuel Jacob Mote (my second nephew)! He was born on Sunday August 20th at 9:31 pm. He weighed in at 7 lbs 14oz and was 22 inches long.

His parents made it to the hospital with little time to spare, more than they could say for the doctor who arrived 30 minutes after Samuel made his grand entry.

It is bittersweet though, because we are nearly 3000 miles away and more than anything I just want to be there and help welcome him into this big new world. He looks like his big brother, Noah. My sister-in-law looks fabulous too, especially for just having an all-nautral birth. Way to go Melissa!

Congratulations Melissa, Brian and Noah! I can't wait to meet my new nephew in person.

Stranded

2006-08-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

We are on our way to San Francisco for the weekend to hang out with our friend Cory who is there. We are just barely out of the city and in the mountainous wilderness, with no gas station anywhere to be found. We ran out of gas a mile from the exit with the only gas station for 20 miles. It really is my fault because I should have filled up on my way home from work. I truly didn't think that we would run out because there wasn't a station outside the most populous city on the west coast! Thank goodness for AAA, they brought us a gallon of gas but it took about an hour. So much for getting there on time. Hopefully we'll make it...

Five Things

2006-07-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged once more by Anne, so I must list 5 things from the below categories:

Five Things in My Closet:
I must first tell you that I do not have my own closet. My apartment has only 2 tiny closets and Luke and I share them both. The closet in the second bedroom is used mostly for misc things, so I'm only counting the closet in our bedroom

Lots of clothes hanging so tightly together that it is hard to get anything out
A pile of folded sweaters
A nice Ikea hanging shoe rack with at least 2 pairs of shoes per space
A plastic drawer tower that holds jewelry, bathing suits, and cards worth saving
My Benjamin Moore paint deck (huge green suitcase like contraption)

Five Things in My Fridge:
Ezekiel bread (2 kinds - cinnamon raisin & regular)
Organic vanilla yogurt
Cheddar cheese
Corona Extra (with limes!)
A big bag of California oranges

Five Things in My Car:
Lots of big sunglasses because the sun is always shining
United States road atlas
CD visor full of music
Wireless transmitter to play my ipod through the car stereo
Longboard (yes, it needs to be taken out!)

Five Things in My Purse:
These are the things that always move when I change purses and never get left behind

Burt's Bees lip balm
Ipod & earphones
Pink leather wrist clutch that serves as my wallet
Wellness calendar
Migraine medicine

This one was a fun one! :)

Four Day Weekend

2006-07-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

I am halfway through my four-day holiday weekend. It started out great yesterday. We slept in, had a leisurely breakfast of french toast and coffee and took our time getting ready and getting a few things done. At 2:00 we left for Manhattan Beach. An hour later we were sitting on the beach under the cloudless blue sky soaking up the sun.

It was the perfect afternoon for the beach. And at over 20 degrees cooler than Pasadena, we had found the relief we needed. Luke hit the waves and I started a new book, worked on my tan and didn't even break a sweat - it was that nice. I couldn't have enjoyed the afternoon more.

It began to cool off around 7 so we headed back to the car to stash the surfboard and cooler. I love Manhattan Beach. It it's a great coastal town that isn't really a tourist destination or overly crowded, but is unique and quaint in its own way. We decided that if we were going to live along the coast we would definitely live in Manhattan. It is exactly our style.

There are a lot of little boutiques and unique restaurants along the downtown strip. It is very laid back and is a great place to walk around. We stopped in to Starbucks and got coffee and walked down the pier. There is a really tiny but very cool aquarium at the end and is free to go into. After checking it out we sat on a bench on the pier and watched the surfers below as we sipped our coffee and the sun began to dip over the water. It was a beautiful sunset. When it had disappeared completely we headed to the car and cranked up MXPX the whole way home.

Luke grilled us some delicious burgers and I fixed up the trimmings and we had a very romantic candlelight dinner outside under the stars. We finished off the evening by watching the new Pride and Predjudice movie. Amazingly Luke lasted through the whole thing, but that was probably because for an hour and a half of that time I was giving him a back massage. It was a very good movie, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ah, what a wonderful Saturday! If only they could all be so perfect! Today was rather ordinary, went to church, had a picnic lunch in Griffith Park in the mountains and picked our friends up from the airport. Nothing too exciting, but Luke is out picking up pizza (mmm...) and we have a whole pile of new movies to watch, so it is sure to be a nice relaxing evening. And the best part of it will be knowing that I am NOT going to work tomorrow, but I am getting paid all the same! One of the few advantages of being a corporate slave I suppose.

Happy Independence Day and enjoy your weekend, whether long or short! Love from CA

The Perfect Day

2006-06-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the perfect day, or at least about as close as it gets for a weekday. I had a dentist appointment at 8:15 am and the dentist office is only a 5 minute drive from my apartment, which meant that I had to leave my house at approximately 8:10. I normally leave the house at about 6:45, so this was a wonderful treat.

I slept in for an extra half hour and was wonderfully awakened by my husband who suggested that we go out for breakfast to Mexico Joe's, the little place around the corner that has our favorite breakfast special. It is hard to beat 2 eggs, 2 pancakes, bacon and sausage for $2.99. It is so much food I can never eat it all and it's very good. Oh and did I mention that they have the good kind of flavored creamer too? It was an excellent way to begin the day. Even better than a Saturday because I didn't feel like I had to do any cleaning or laundry.

I took my time getting ready and headed out to the dentist. Thanks to my Sonicare toothbrush (thank you Leslie!) my teeth and gums have never looked better. I left feeling great, though I had the long drive to work ahead of me. At that point it was nearly 9:00 and I've never driven to work that late before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I made it to the office by 9:30, practically flying the whole way there. No stops! That's a rareity on my drive to work.

I only worked a 6 1/2 hour day (which was very nice and short) and amazingly the drive back home was almost as quick. I got home just in time to relax for a bit and preview the latest West Elm catalog and then walked a mile to the gym to my yoga class, and then walked home. I always feel great after an hour of yoga.

Our friends are on vacation right now and we are taking care of their dog while they are gone and are also using their Netflix account which is so nice because we never rent movies. We watched Casanova last night and it was so good! It even starred my "boyfriend" (as Luke calls him), Heath Ledger. It was kind of a chick flick, but Luke watched the it too and probably enjoyed it as much as I did. It was hilarious! I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet.

It was 11:30 by the time we got to bed, but I didn't want the day to end - it was the best day I've had in a long time. Sorry this was such a long-winded post, but I though I'd share my excellent day.

I hope you are having a wonderful day!

What to do?

2006-06-21T16:42:00.000-07:00

I really hate my job, and have been hating it for the last several months. Today I got to spend the day on campus at UCLA for a few projects I am working on, and it was so refreshing to be out of the office. I think it hit me today how unhealthy of an environment it is and just how incompetent the management can be.

The design supervisor was recently promoted from senior designer and now has a management position without ever having any managerial experience or training. And this woman has no interpersonal or communication skills. She frequently gossips about the designers behind our backs and now rules the design department with an iron fist. She really has it out for me for some reason. I think she feels threatened by me and so does everything in her power to make my life as difficult and complicated as possible. I'm really tired of it.

I actually got home early today. That almost never happens. So I have spent the last 2 hours posting my resume online and searching for job listings. I really wanted to give my job at least a year, which I still may, but what's the hurt in looking? I just don't know what to do right now.

My supervisor hates me for no good reason and that isn't going to change. Do I keep myself in that kind of situation and see where it goes over the next 6 months or do I go somewhere else and go through the stress of starting a new job all over again? I guess I'll casually start looking and see what's out there. Wish me luck!

Catching Up

2006-06-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

So you may be wondering where I've been for the past few months. They have been very eventful to say the least! I am finally feeling refreshed and caught up on everything in genenral, so I'll do my best to fill you in.

Life has been crazy the last several weeks. First of all we had our friends out to visit at the beginning of May and had an exciting adventure in Joshua Tree National Park. We discovered our new favorite Mexican restaurant with the best margaritas ever on Cinco de Mayo. It was a great weekend. I'll tell the whole Joshua Tree story in greater detail later.

About two weeks later my in-laws came to visit for a week and a half. Their trip was over Memorial weekend and we went up to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park. We did lots of hiking and drove through the parks to see the beautiful sights, including giant Sequoia trees, a rainbow stretching from one side of a canyon to the other, and even a black bear! It was great to spend time with the family and get out of the city for a few days.

Wil packed up his life here and moved out a few days after his family left. He is a camp counselor for the summer at Spring Hill in Indiana. It is great to have an extra bedroom and closet, but it still seems strange not to have him here. After all, he moved into this apartment with us and lived here for 6 months. We miss having him around.

Only 3 days after Wil left I flew home to Michigan. It was probably the worst time I could have gone home, but I was in a friend's wedding on June 10th, so I decided to take a whole week off and go back the weekend before to see my family and friends. Unfortunately that week fell on exam week for Luke so it was a solo trip for me.

I arrived on Saturday night and my family took me out to my favorite pizza place in the world (Fricano's in Grand Haven) and Sunday I got to go to my favorite church (Ada Bible)and see my friends, then ate a huge dinner with my family and grandparents. The next few days were blissfully spent with my family, my sister and my closest friends, catching up on the last 6 months since I had seen them face to face.

On Thursday afternoon I left for Mt Pleasant to begin the wedding festivities for my best friend from high school and early college. It would have been nice if the wedding was in Grand Rapids - more time for family and friends, but I thought it would be fun to spend the last few days with my friend before her wedding. I figured we would spend a lot of time talking and catching up and preparing for the wedding. How wrong I was!

The bachelorette party on Thursday night, rehearsal dinner Friday night and especially the wedding on Saturday could not have been more of a disaster! I hadn't met her fiance and when I finally did I had a very bad feeling. The sort of feeling that keeps you from being happy for your friend because you are so concerned. I had hoped that my fears we unwarranted, but even in my naievety I knew there was reason for concern.

I'll spare you the details. To sum up a very long story, I returned home on Sunday night exhausted and emotionally drained, but at least I thought the drama was over. I went back to work the next morning feeling very much like I needed a very long vacation after my vacation. Later that same day I received an angry call from my friend and through the grapevine found out that she and her groom are both cocaine addicts and her parents found them out. It all makes sense now, all of the unexplainably strange behavior. However she blames me for her parents finding out, even though I didn't know it myself! I really should have figured it out though, after staying with them for 3 days.

Her parents went to take her out of her situation and get help for her. She is going through rehab and I hope she will come out of this completely and learn to make better choices with her life. The ironic thing is that she isn't legally married, even though she went through the whole wedding ceremony. They didn't apply for the marriage license until 2 days before the wedding, so it was going to arrive in the mail on Tuesday after their wedding.

She was back at her parents' house on Monday night. I hope she sees how lucky she is that she's not married to a dishonest drug dealer and decide not to go through with actually signing the marriage license. I'm really not going to hold my breath that she's going to choose a better life than that, but I will be praying for her. Beyond that, I am not even going to think about it. Never mind that I was her only friend who was there for her and spent a week of vacation without Luke at hardly the ideal time to come home, only to receive a verbal slap in the face accusing me of telling on her to her mom and dad! I really don't need friends like that, though the whole situation breaks my heart. Maybe someday she'll call, but who knows? I'm not making any more effort. I just can't deal with any more.

Anyway, I've been home for just over a week and finally tonight feel caught up on life. The kitchen and bathroom are clean, the laundry is done (almost) and my lunch is made for tomorrow. I am home relaxing with my wonderful husband. Finally there is rest for my weary body and soul. I am going to sleep good tonight...

Love from California

I'm Just Glad I Survived the Day

2006-05-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

I have had a bad migraine since Monday. Not fun, especially when your work days cause you to be away from home for 11 hours a day. And somehow if I have a migraine it will never actually go away while I'm still at work. That should speak to how bad being chained to a desk sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours a day really is.

Usually my headaches get better when I get home, but not tonight. I have done everything I can, but most of the time there's just nothing you can do to make it better. I just have to endure the pain and try to continue my life as if everything were just fine. I am quite good at it, I've had my whole life to practice. But today everyone could see right through me - it was that bad.

I really shouldn't complain... I made it through the day and I'm happy to have a job that pays the bills...

Movie Critic

2006-04-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday night Luke and I scored tickets to a movie prescreening to a yet untitled movie starring Richard Gere, Claire Danes and Avril Levine. I skipped my small group to see it and I must say, it was well worth it.

We waited in line for only about 20 minutes and got right in. We did have to claim our seats in the theater and wait another 40 minutes, but we were entertained by two old men literally stuffing their faces with popcorn and hot dogs in the row in front of us.

It happened to be the first showing ever of this movie and in some ways it showed. The picture quality was terrible. Luke commented that if we were watching that same thing at home we would think our TV was broken. But nontheless, it was a great movie. It could be categorized as a "suspense thriller" and fit into the same genre as Seven, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal and Red Dragon. Definitely not for the weak of stomach, though I'm sure there will be a lot more editing before it is released for public viewing.

I think they are considering the title "The Flock". It is definitely worth seeing, though I have no idea when it will be out. I know they're going to change the ending - it was the only part of the movie that could be improved, in my opinion at least. We stayed after and met with the directors/producers and were asked for our feedback. It was pretty interesting. There is so much that goes into movie-making behind the scenes that I never imagined.

It was the second prescreening we had been to. The first one I saw was "The Invisible" and was much further along than this one. I'll be excited to see it again to see what they changed. I highly recommend seeing it whenever it comes out. I'm beginning to feel like a real movie critic. I just so happen to live in the land of opportunity when it comes to movies, and I plan to take full advantage of it.

I've Been Tagged

2006-04-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

My dear sweet Anne has tagged me. I didn't realize it until today, though she tagged me last week. Sorry this is so long in coming, but better late than never, right?

Rules**Go write weird facts/things/etc. about yourself in my comment box and on your blog, then tag more people!**Then leave a comment that says ‘You are tagged’ in their comments telling them to read your blog.

1.) I tend to get hooked on a particular CD for a matter of weeks to months and listen to almost nothing else during that time and love it more and more each time I hear it. Basically, I'm obsessed. My current music obsession is Billy Corgan's newest album The Future Embrace

2.) I let my house get trashed and then I obsessively clean it and make it look so perfect that pictures could be taken for a magazine

3.) I love to read, though I have a hard time finishing all of the books I start unless they're really good and I can't put them down. My favorite books ever are The Chronicles of Narnia. I tend to like books of this genre. I am just finishing the last book in a series called the Archives of Anthropos by John White, which I recommend if you like children's books and The Chronicles of Narnia in particular. My next read is going to be the DaVinci Code - I'm determined to finish it before the movie comes out next month.

4.) I am a "to do list" person. I don't know what I would do without my to do lists - they keep me on track and organized and help me to feel accomplished whenever I cross off an item on the list. I make a new list every day for work and at least one a week for the rest of my life. I actually have a pocket in my purse for the safekeeping of the important and ongoing lists.

5.) I do very little in the kitchen. It's not that I don't want to (well, that's not entirely true) but I happen to be married to a gourmet chef who loves preparing meals. He also does the bulk of the grocery shopping and dishes. And that's huge, because we don't have a dishwasher except for ourselves. I am truly a lucky girl as I am generally only in the kitchen when I want to be.

6.) I grew up having guinea pigs for pets. I had 7 (not all at once!) all together.

I am tagging:
Mell
Luke

Easter

2006-04-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

It was our first Easter away from home. It was a very good one nontheless. Our wonderful friends upstairs invited us and another couple from our apartment to come over for Easter dinner. They made a ham and the most wonderful sweet potato dish ever. We brought appetizers and fruit, and the other couple brought salad and dessert. It was a feast.

We thoroughly enjoyed the food and wine and afterwards played a game of Cranium - girls against guys of course. We don't need to talk about who won though... (not the girls). After that we went home and relaxed for a bit. It was such a great day.

We are definitely beginning some new holiday traditions being so far away from family. I am finally to the point where I can say it is kind of fun. As long as we get to go home for Christmas that is!

Virtual Tour 1 - Beverly Hills

2006-04-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

Since you can't all come visit and experience southern California's greatest, I'll do my best to give you a taste of what it's like. I had my first experience in Beverly Hills when my family was here visiting this past week.

It is very upscale and ritzy. Many of the stores along Rodeo Drive have locked doors and require an appointment to even walk in the door. We only entered one of the shops (Ralph Lauren) and I felt very unworthy to have my feet touch the floor. I couldn't afford to buy even a sleeve off a shirt.

It is definitely a place to walk and window shop. Just don't expect to go home with any bargains. It is fun to see all of the great design in the architecture, storefront windows and the products they display. It is only the very best of everything.

It makes me appreciate the simple life I live. I don't have to maintain an image that costs more than money, and I can be content with what I have. I can definitely appreciate the finer things in life, but I don't need them. Though I wouldn't be complaining if I could go shopping there...

Wisteria Lane

2006-04-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

I just love Desparate Houswives. I will be watching it in exactly one and a half hours and I can't wait. These are a few shots from the actual Wisteria Lane, taken on a tour through Universal Studios. Do you know whose house is whose? Which house would you live in if you could choose?

The Past Week

2006-04-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

Ah, it was a wonderful week having my family out to visit. I dropped them off at the airport this morning (really early I might add) and now life has returned to normal. It is kind of sad, because this will probably be the only trip they take to LA while we're living here, but tonight I will do laundry and all of the other tasks that were neglected this past week and I am actually looking forward to it. You can only have fun for so long before life's responsibilities call you back to reality.

Unfortunately they brought rainy weather with them from Michigan. Sunday was the only day that didn't rain a single drop. We had a great time anyway. We spent a day at Universal Studios, went to Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Downtown LA, Chinatown and of course, Pasadena. The week was filled with sightseeing, shopping, eating out, watching movies (including a prescreening) and constant laughter. My brother is hilarious and kept everyone laughing the entire time.

I am sad now that they are gone, but I get to go visit in June for a week, so it will only be about 2 months before I see them again. It was strange to have family out here because it really made me realize that life is going on without us back home. Not that I thought it had stopped, but guess I pictured it being the same as when we left, and it seemed the same when we went home for Christmas. Now I really see how much my brother and sister are growing up and how much things have changed. My brother will be off to college by the time Luke is done with school here.

Life is passing so quickly. I want to enjoy every second of it and make the most of all of my time here. We are so blessed to have such wonderful families who love us so much. For those of you that live close to your families, don't take it for granted.

I Actually Won!

2006-03-30T13:54:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I never win anything. I'm not one of those lucky people. I never find money in the street or win the raffle.

I filled out an online survey in which 10 lucky people would receive a $15 Starbucks gift card. Coffee just sounded so good that I decided to fill it out even though I was pretty sure I wouldn't be one of the lucky ten.

So you can imagine, much to my surprise, a week later I received an email declaring me one of the winners and requesting my address to send out the gift card! I know the value isn't all that much, but the fact is that I was just as excited to win as I was for the tangible prize.

Who knows... maybe only ten people even filled out the survey. But either way, I'm going to enjoy my coffee!

Visitors

2006-03-29T13:59:00.000-08:00

I am so excited! My family is flying in on Friday to visit for nearly a week. It has only been since Christmas since I've seen them, but I have missed them so much. It will be great for them to get a glimpse into our life out here.

We just found out that some of our very good friends from back home are planning to come out the beginning of May, and my in-laws are coming out for a week at the end of May. They rented a cabin in Yosemite National Park, so we'll be up there for part of the time.

I love having visitors! It is so much fun to have people we love from home come here to see us. We've already had some of our best friends out to visit us in January and February.

I can't believe how fast the time is going by! We've alredy been here for over 6 months. Hopefully we'll have many more visitors in the next year and a half. So book your tickets now, and just let us know when you're coming!

He Did it Again

2006-03-29T13:54:00.000-08:00

My dumb dog thinks he can poop in the bathtub. Granted if he really has to go it's probably the best place in the house, so I haven't punished him for doing it to this point, but it rarely ever happened before.

I have been about to step into the shower the last 2 mornings only to find that he had pooped in the tub. He never wants to go out at night and now he thinks he's found his solution. Little does he know that a punishment awaits him next time it happens! Cleaning up after him is the last thing I want to do before 6:00 am. He'd better watch out tonight...

V for Vendetta

2006-03-27T21:39:00.000-08:00

Tonight I went to see a prescreening for a yet untitled movie. At least that's what I was expecting to do.

It all began on Sunday when Luke and I were sitting outside at Starbucks enjoying the lovely afternoon. A nice man came up to us and asked if we'd like to attend a prescreening for a movie that is yet to be named. Of course we accepted the tickets and proceeded to RSVP to reserve our places. And the anticipation built, until we arrived tonight and saw a line about half a mile long outside the theater.

Obviously not everyone was going to get in, but our hopes remained high as we filled out demographic surveys, answered a few questions and were placed back in line. Unfortunately we were about 4 people too far back in the line to get tickets, but they appeased us by providing movie vouchers for any movie our of choice, tonight only.

V for Vendetta was the only movie that I even remotely wanted to see, thanks to my friend Anne's wonderful review. I was very disappointed that I was not one of the select and privileged few that was given the opportunity to see a movie that will probably not be released for at least another 6 months or so. However, I was not disappointed in the movie I saw. It was an action-packed thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat holding my breath. It was emotionally powerful too. I highly recommend seeing it, but I'm no movie critic, so I'll stop there.

I have not enjoyed seeing a movie in the theater so much since The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe back in early November. You'll have to let me know what you think if you see it. Even though this night was not what I had expected, I can't complain about a free movie ticket worth $9.75!

I'm Back...

2006-03-27T14:03:00.000-08:00

Under a different site. I really didn't do very well keeping up with my last blog, but this one will be different. I really enjoy reading up on all of you back home, so I hope this helps you keep up with what's going on here with me.

There will be more to come...

Love from CA