Holy Cow

There was just an earthquake centered in Chino Hills. A 5.4 at around noonish. I quickly ducked and covered (elementary style) as my office building in Santa Ana shook for a good amount of time and hard! It was coming and we all knew it but just didn't know where and when exactly. Hopefully this will be it for awhile in the Los Angeles area. We can only hope though. :/

Awesome-O Weekend

This past weekend was definitely a good one. It started off with your typical Friday night. A dinner and a movie. My dad just got a new job where he will be making more money and have more freedoms than he has ever had. To celebrate we went to Pepperoni's for dinner and gorged on pizza and salad. I love that place... my favorite Hawaiian pizza in the whole world. Well... actually when we were in Chicago that was the best pizza. So, I guess you could say the best in Orange County. Anywho, Mike and I met up with the "boys" (usually Lucas, Matt and Russell) but without Lucas and we went and saw Step Brothers. I was a little hesitant in seeing this movie because I saw Semi-Pro which totally sucked. I was surprised though. Whenever you are expecting the worst you always seem to be pleased when it isn't. I actually laughed out loud a few times which is great. Although nothing compares to lovely Anchorman, but I did see Will Ferrell testicles in Step Brothers. Gross... go see for yourself!! After the movie let out we all went back to Matt's house and were sitting around the garage and playing darts as these "clonk" noises kept passing by. Constantly walking down the street were teenagers in high heels and skimpy little dresses making their way to a house party down the street. All was well and fine until the owner of the house had enough and all the drunk girls were on the street. I witnessed a girl fight in the middle of the street with guys holding them back at one in the morning. It was pretty hilarious because it took me back to high school days. At Anaheim High you never had a male fight during school hours. It was always the females hitting each other, pulling hair, and threatening family members. So childish. The whole scenario that night was a flashback and made me think how lucky I am to be out of high school. That was the end of that night pretty much. Mike and I went home and crashed at 2:30am. I like hanging with the boys because there is no need to be in constant conversation. You all can just sit there and still have a good time. It is very chill. Definitely want to hang with them again.

This brings us to Saturday. I did almost nothing productive even though it was a tiring day. I got up early to go get a haircut. If you have curly hair you know that when you get a hair cut absolutely no one notices. You spend all that money and it's as if nothing happened. I like it nonetheless. My spirals are healthy again and springy. The rest of the day was doing some errands with my mom and then a much needed two hour nap in the middle of the day and then nothing that night. Sometimes you just need a night off. I was supposed to go to game night with Adrienne and Justin but decided not to. I needed to not do anything. I didn't want to push myself even though I took a nap. Saturday was good.

Then Sunday. The big day for Mike. We had made reservations for Lawry's a couple weeks ago and the day finally came. I had already been to the home of the best prime rib but Mike, man of meat, had not. This was his first time. (Be gentle!... had to be said.) So, my mom, Mike, and I all headed out to West Hollywood to my uncle's house off Melrose and hung out for a bit until we went to dinner. Mike loved every second he was in that restaurant. The meatballs in the waiting room, the spinning salad, the pound prime rib he ordered, and lastly the amazing desert platter we got. He was in heaven. It was so cute to see his face light up when the carver came to our table and Mike saw all that meat in front of him. Classic moment. Overall, a great night with family and friends. This past weekend made me realize how many people you can see in such little time and how much you can get done in two single days. I hope this next weekend I can do the same.

By the way...this is what Julia, Kendra, Josh, Mike, and I do in our spare time.

Random!

Babyville

Typical trips to Jessica's house involve a good gossip conversation and some great down time in the living room. It also gives me a chance to see my godchildren. It is amazing how fast they grow and the new things they can learn in a matter of a day. I usually see Jess about once a week and if it is over that then Colin has literally grown at least a centimeter. Jennie, on the other hand, is just getting wider. Not in the bad sense but she is a milkaholic. Let's just put it that way. :) All Jennie does is eat or sleep so it's no wonder why she is getting so big. She is the most precious thing though. Very relaxed baby who is calm when awake and only fusses a little when she's hungry but other than that she is perfect. I am so thankful to be in Jess' life because I feel like I have a little "family." I want children eventually but until then I can live with the two rascals Jessica popped out. It is great to have that sense of family with small children because they can put a smile on your face quicker than most adults can. It truly is magical.

Colin in his pink bib. Why socialize Colin into thinking pink is only for girls? True men wear pink!

Jennie feeding as always. She loves her bottle. Colin is now starting to be sippy cup trained only and he gets jealous of Jennie and her bottle. Poor guy! This is also the same day she spit up on me twice and it dribbled down my boobs!!! Note to self: Never wear a V-neck shirt and burp a baby after she just had a huge dose of formula.

For the very first time on July 22, Colin ate a kids meal! Chicken fingers and the whole bit!! True excitement I know!

My little goddaughter dozing off. Adorable.

I can't wait until I make my way over to Babyville again!

Sprinkles Discovery

I arrived at work today like any other day. Watched phones in the morning, stuffed mail envelopes, inputted computer info, and did a trial exhibit but surprisingly I get a cupcake. Cindy, our youngest attorney in the office, turns the corner at high speeds and has this brown box in her hands. Hmmmmmm.... it was a Sprinkles box! I have always heard of this so-called "Sprinkles" place and I thought it was too high class for me but Cindy was nice enough to give me one her leftover birthday cupcakes (only special people got one). I picked out the only red velvet one (pictured) in the batch and thanked her and then she was gone in a flash to give the other "special" people their lovely gift. I wanted to wait and eat mine considering it was only about 9am but then I thought ehh I can have a sugar rush instead of a caffeine rush. What's the difference right? Let me tell you... that was the best use of calories and sugar in a baked good. The cupcake was amazing! By the looks of this red velvet mini cake you would think it would be pasty or something because in a way the cake looks fake as if it were too good to be true but the aroma of the sweet cream cheese frosting and the soft, moist chocolate cake with the hint of red was hard to resist. Once you get about half way through the cake your stomach tells you to stop. Literally, stop! Sprinkles makes rich cupcakes, so I just saved the other half for later. =]

So... all this got me thinking about how amazing cupcakes really are. Some of you may be thinking, what is so special about a cupcake? Cupcakes are magnificent little pieces of art. I look at cupcakes like snowflakes, there is not a single one that looks the same. They may have the same design but there are differences. All this cupcake talk/thinking made me think about the upcoming special occasions in my life and I have decided that I want some form of cupcake wedding cake for my wedding! They are beautiful and it makes it easier to serve them and have multiple flavors of cake. It would be wonderful. Here are a few examples:

Your traditional type of wedding cupcake tier which is beautiful.

A whole bunch of individual looking cakes.


My favorite!!! This would be something at my wedding but with more pastel colors.

Considering the fact that my wedding is at least five years away I'm sure my mind will change and new trends will come in and out but this is what is adorable and the winner of 2008.

Happy Birthday Cindy and thanks for the Sprinkles!

Five years, three months.

Okay super cheesy.... but today is my five year and three month anniversary with Mike. Ha! Remember back to junior high or high school and couples would count the months (or even weeks for that matter) they had been together. Mike and I stopped counting months a long time ago but I still look at the calendar on the 21st of every month and think about it. It is a routine for me. I have trained my brain to think that way on the 21st. Weird, I know. Somehow I feel a little sensation when we have "reached" a new month and furthered our relationship. It feels good to hit little milestones.

At work this morning I told one of my co-workers, Karen, that today was the big "5 and 3" jokingly and she brought up the fact that if I am 34 years old and still with Mike we can say that we have been together for twenty years. That sounds so strange but it's true. Awkwardly enough I think that's pretty cool. I have always wanted to grow old with some one and reach my fiftieth wedding anniversary or something like that. Like in The Wedding Singer... I want to be that old lady paying some kid with meatballs and singing to my husband when I am like eighty. That would be awesome...

old lady with grooves. That will be me ;)

The Dark Knight Night

So... as many of you know The Dark Knight came to the theaters today. A lot of my friends saw the midnight showing this morning but I had to work at 7am so I made the responsible choice and waited to see it sometime this weekend. I didn't think I would see it tonight but I did. Adrienne, Mike and I loaded up in my car and was on our way to downtown Brea, one of the cutest little strip malls I have seen, and were planning on seeing Wall-E or something else because we didn't know that there would be tickets left or how long it would take to see the movie. You hear about these people spending the night in line or camping out and all that so I did not know what to expect. We get up to the ticket booth at 5pm and ask the guy if there were any tickets left for the 5:10pm showing. He said "76 seats, so you will have to sit in the front." Thinking that the show about to start was going to be in ten minutes we opted for the 6:30pm showing instead. The line was already in formation with a few people waiting but we figured we could walk around and come back to the line. So the three of us went to Old Navy across the street and walked a few blocks then decided to get back in line because it was getting longer. We got in line at about 5:30pm and waiting until 6:10pm to get seated. Forty minutes in the hot sun with weird people next to us writing on the cement with crayons. Don't believe me? Look at the picture! Kathy and Kaley were so excited that they needed to brand their names into the cement with colored wax. I thought that was a little weird. They probably thought I was the weird one taking a picture of it. :/ The point is, I felt like I was at Disneyland waiting in line for a hot new ride. The ending of this story was far better than a Disneyland ride though. Those forty minutes in the heat and twenty minutes of previews were well worth the wait. This movie was AMAZING. Not the amazing everyone was hoping for and thinking it was going to be but amazing in the sense of wow.... wow.... wow.... There was never a dull moment in this movie. Heath Ledger exceeded his expectations as did Christian Bale. The whole movie was greatly casted and written. I would recommended it to anyone who even thought about "maybe" seeing it. I knew it was going to be good but it was great! Don't wait for it to come out on video, go see it today! I should be getting paid for this endorsement. Overall, a good night with a couple of friends and unforgettable entertainment.

Mike probably shouldn't look into the sun and smile... eyes are doubly squinted and Adrienne and I just look Asian.

Good times.

Different state, same crime.

Wow. Where do I even begin? Violation is a good start. My grandma woke up this past Sunday morning to find herself puzzled as she looked at her living room curtains. She always closes them before she goes to bed and did so Saturday night as well. As soon as she saw them open it was an instant shot to the nerves. Saturday night or early Sunday morning a burglar, or burglars, broke into my grandmother’s home and stole all the money in her wallet (about eighty dollars), her flat-paneled TV, and her 2001 gold Ford Taurus out of the garage. Shock; I know. I felt it. I couldn’t even imagine how my grandma felt. I talked to her Sunday morning and she seemed as if nothing happened. My grandma always has this calm demeanor about her, as if her day is going as planned. That Sunday was not going as planned and yet this poised woman speaking to me on the other line over two thousand miles away was holding herself together quite well.

When I got my car stolen a little over a year ago, I felt like the world had ended. Given the fact that I was only eighteen (yes teenagers do tend to focus on themselves) my car was my world. That feeling was just a piece of what happened in Illinois. Breaking and entering seems so figurative until it actually happens to you or someone you know. My grandma hasn’t had a good nights rest since the incident and has her son’s dog staying with her for a couple of weeks to take care of her. She told me if she wakes up in the middle of the night she feels for Jill, my uncle’s beautiful black Labrador, and makes sure she is still snoring next to her then tries to fall into sleep. It still amazes me every time I think about some one entering my grandma’s house. How can any person do that to another? I am so thankful my grandma did not wake up for we don’t know what could or would have happened if the criminal was confronted. I am so glad my grandma is safe and untouched. Cars and TVs are just possessions and can be replaced and will be. The only thing you can do is hope it doesn’t happen again. I give my grandmother props for all she has been through and staying strong through it.

Jill, the watch dog.

My beautiful, fun spirited grandma.

I love you gram.

It's not proper for a grandma to jingle...

I have come to realize that there are too many individuals I care for who I don't get to see as often as I should. The hour long telephone conversation with my grandmother is something to look forward to every week but is it really enough? My grandmother and I went from working together five days a week, and spending at least one of the weekend days together either catching a movie, doing laundry, or brunching at Mimi's cafe. My grandma was and is my best friend. Then all of sudden she moves to Illinois in a blink of an eye, buys a house, and has a great job. I am so proud of the accomplishments this caring and passionate woman has attained and yet I still feel vacant at times because she is not a five minute drive away. Those sixty minutes of sharing stories of the last week is not the same but has to be enough and I know we both hurt and miss one another deeply and hopefully this blog will make it easier for her (and the rest of my family spread all over the country) to keep updated with my life and the people in my life.

The rest of you can read too if you'd like. ;)

So here is to a new blog!