An Evening at the Magic Kingdom...

One of the great things about having a pass to Disneyland, besides being able to go on any day, is that you can go for just a few hours. My friend, Bobby, and I did this last night.

We arrived at 7pm, and, besides having a mediocre dinner at the Zocal Mexican Restaurant, had a really fun time. It was my first time there with my new camera, so I did a lot of picture-taking. Bobby was a really good sport, especially because I was taking pictures of things we had seen hundreds of times.

We were there until about 11:45pm, went on 5 rides and enjoyed some treats at the Blue Ribbon Bakery, and came home tired, but happy. Here are a few photographs...

The one photo we took of us, while waiting for the firework crowds to pass by...

P.S. Yep, time for another blog face-lift!

Off-Color Joke of the Day

This joke is so NOT what I usually post. Forgive me. But it is so funny...

I was in the pub yesterday when I suddenly realized I desperately needed to fart. The music was really, really loud, so I timed them with the beat.

After a couple of songs, I started to feel better. I finished my pint and noticed that everybody was staring at me..

Then I suddenly remembered that I was listening to my iPod.

Ah...the joy of giving...

Yesterday I decided to give my mom a present. As a quirk of fate, I've ended up with a lot of new stuff lately, and part of that has been from her generosity, so I thought it was her turn to receive something.

She had been eying my new camera lately, so I decided to get her one just like it. Giving is fun, especially when the recipient isn't expecting it. I ordered my mom's camera online, where they were having a sale at Best Buy, and then picked it up from the store while she was out last night. We went walking with the dogs around 8pm, and then I was able to give it to her. She was surprised and really, really liked it.

Mission accomplished. That's the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC W290. It takes great pictures!

My brother and his family...

My brother, Jonathan, and his family recently took a new set of pictures. They turned out great! I scanned them all and want to post a few...

What a good-looking little family!

My nephew is getting so big! Almost 18 months old...


I just love this picture. It says so much about the kind of dad Jonathan is.

I have succeeded at something totally pointless...

Yes, I'm speaking of none other that the fun and ridiculous game of Farm Town on Facebook. Two and a half months of "plowing," "planting," "harvesting," and organizing "coins" and "experience points," and I'm now at Level 34--GREEN WIZARD. The tippy toppest you can get. I bought my mansion--for $1,000,000 (finally a house that cost more than mine) on the night before I left on my UT trip.

For someone who is as anti-video-game as I am when it comes to the kids, this may seem somewhat hypocritical, but it has been a fun way to wind down after work. Of course, now I'm on summer vacation, and any time I spend on it is just superfluous. Still, I'm proud of how my farm turned out!

It was fun while it lasted! (If you're dying to see a bigger version, click on the image.) :-)

Slookfest Pictures are all ready!

Yay! I'm done uploading all the pictures from my BYU roommate reunion this past week. There are 193 total, so not an easy task!

I'm still amazed that the stars aligned the way they did to make it possible for us all to be together after all this time, especially because we live--literally--across the country. L-R in this picture is Sally (NM), Karen (NC), Kristie (CA), Trish (VA), Andrea (MN), Debbie (WV), and Melanie (ID). Isn't that incredible?!

I know that these girls will visit the album I put together on Photobucket, but anyone else is welcome to see it too. We had such a great, great time. 2 days of nonstop laughter, fun, stories, emotion, and love. Everyone should be so lucky as to be part of a group like this one.

View the album HERE and enjoy.

Here are some highlights:

2 Reunions in One Week...

So last night was my 20-year high school reunion. Yep, 2 reunions in 1 week. Talk about being bound and gagged and forced down Memory Lane...

I didn't decide to go to my high school reunion until about 4 hours before it started. For me, high school was not that memorable. Does that sound awful? I went to my high school on a permit to take advantage of their music program and because the high school in my city was pretty big and overcrowded. I went knowing only 2 people: a girl from my church youth group, and the son of one of my mom's best friends who also went there on a permit. Most everyone else had known each other since elementary school.

For me, college was where I really blossomed. It is where I felt myself grow into the person I am today. It is where I met friends that, despite the years and distance, I really identified with and kept in touch with. It is where I roomed with my Slooky Slook girls that I just drove 1500 miles round trip to see--and would do it again in an instant. In high school I was the quiet kid, I sang in the choir, was in the AP English classes, and didn't do the "party" thing (not that I ever have...)

Still, for better or worse, I decided to go and just see how everyone looked and to know that I went. The reunion was at the Doubletree Hotel in Claremont, about a 30 mile drive. Not too bad. I did feel like $113 was pretty expensive--that was the "at the door" price. (Still, the original price was $93.) The reunion committee used one of those "reunion companies" to do a lot of the organizing, maybe that is why it cost that much.

Two of my classmates had been encouraging me on Facebook to attend, so I sought them out and sat with them. That was cool. They are very nice and I was comfortable with them. The dinner was decent, I said hi to a few other people. There was a slide show, which kind of reminded people like me that I was not one of the popular ones! But it was fun to see the big 80's hair, the campus, and some of my other friends in the pictures. It was obviously not put together by anyone I hung with.

By 10pm I was kind of ready to go. I know! That sounds so pathetic. It's funny, because being at 2 different reunions this week really impressed upon me where I'm the most comfortable. I was so comfortable with my college roommates. The years just melted away, our 2 days together just flew by, and we laughed and laughed like old times. At my high school reunion I felt like the shy, quiet bookworm again. Isn't that weird? And anyone that knows me knows that I'm not shy or quiet now.

Anyway, I'm still glad I went. Here are some pictures from last night. The huge group of pictures from the roommate reunion will be posted very soon.

We pause for this important update...

I found my bracelet!! Woo hoo!! OK, I feel like an idiot because it was stuck between 2 bags from the BYU bookstore, but, who cares? I found it! Yay!!

Halfway Home...

I'm beginning to feel more and more like the weary traveler!

Right now I'm in St. George, UT, after staying in Provo last night and visiting BYU campus one last time this morning. All these years later, and BYU is still one of the best-looking university campuses I've ever seen. The bracelet I lost still hadn't turned up, but at least I know I tried.

I visited the BYU bookstore again and walked around, bought some t-shirts and fun little things like pens, pencils, and notebooks to have around the house. Even though I'm not much of a church-goer these days, I'm still very proud of the fact that I attended and graduated from BYU. I'll always treasure the memories of my college years and how they shaped me into the person I am today.

Walking around campus, I felt like a student again. The sights and smells were all so familiar. Of course, the main differences were that I didn't have any classes to get to, and I kept getting "ma'am"-ed everywhere I went. Time has marched on, no matter how much any of us try to deny it!

The drive to St. George was OK, but I am tired today. There have been some light summer storms, with huge lightning bolts off in the distance--especially around this area. But the scariest thing I saw today was when I was about 80 miles south of Provo. I saw some very black smoke rising in the distance and had no idea what it was. As I got closer, it was a huge freight truck on the other side of the highway, completely engulfed in flames. It was the kind of thing you see in the movies, except that this was real. It looked like it had been on fire for a while but no police or firemen were nearby yet. I hope the driver was OK. I didn't see anyone from my vantage point. I did, however, see a police car speeding in that direction a few minutes later.

The car has functioned well, the gas is about 50 cents cheaper in UT, compared to CA, and I'm almost done with the entire Book 6 of the Harry Potter series on CD. I except to be finished after another hour or so of driving. I've never listened to an entire book on CD before! It definitely takes a different kind of concentration than listening to music in the car, but I've really enjoyed it.

Well, I guess I'll go find a place for dinner and enjoy a relaxing evening. I'm looking forward to getting home tomorrow.

An Unofficial Slook Post...

I'm in Provo.

After 2 fantastic days with my 6 wonderful girls from BYU we have said goodbye. We had a great time and the years just melted away.

We took tons of pictures, spent yesterday at BYU roaming around campus and today in Salt Lake. We said our goodbyes after dinner, I drove Melanie to her sister's house and then decided to just quit traveling because it was getting dark. I went another 25 miles and got a hotel room.

Best Western is putting me up for the night.

Tomorrow I want to swing by the campus one last time. Ironically, I lost my bracelet that matched the one I got for everyone else. I'm going to try the Lost & Found once more, and, if that is fruitless, I'll just have the lady who made them make me another. I guess if anyone had to lose their bracelet it is best that it was me. Getting another will be simple.

Then I'll hit the open road again and will see how far I go.

As always with a great trip, it is bittersweet. I'm glad I came, I'll cherish the memories, but I'm ready to be home. I hope I recognize it! The painters have been hard at work in my absence.

G'night for now...

On the Road...

Greetings from Cedar City, UT!

Yesterday I got kind of a late start and didn't get on the road until 11:30am. One of my window locks had come loose and broken from all the activity from the painters and, since I don't have any screens right now, I wanted to replace it and have the peace of mind that my house was totally secure. So I had to run to the hardware store, install it, and finish packing. I also wanted to take my car to the car wash. All of the dust and a nearby fire on Thursday (with huge ashes) had gotten it pretty dirty.

At 11:30 I was officially on the road. I did something I have never done on a road trip, which was, instead of listen to music, I listened to a "book on tape," or CD, in this case. My companion this time was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I read the book years ago, and loved it, but didn't remember much. And since I just saw the movie I wanted to compare the two. I really liked the movie, and I know that things from the book have to be trimmed, but I didn't realize how much was trimmed!

Now that I'm up to about Chapter 17 on the CDs, I'm questioning some of the things that were taken out. When Dumbledore takes Harry through the pensieve to visit Voldemort's past--wow, the movie really cut out a lot. And the movie also never explains why Dumbledore's hand is all black and shriveled. It also never tells you who that scary-looking guy is who chases Harry and Ginny through the grasses around the Burrow.

One thing that the movies sometimes do that I'm not too fond of--and don't get me wrong, I love the movies--is that they will change which character does something. I remember that from the 5th movie. Whoever finds the Room of Requirement in the film is different than in the book. In the 6th film they show Luna Lovegood rescuing Harry from the floor of the train and it was Tonks that did it in the book. They also cut Remus Lupin's scenes down a lot in the movie compared to the book. I guess as long as you can follow the story...

Anyway...

So I made it to the CA/NV border and stopped at Whiskey Pete's casino, which I always do. I know where the bathrooms are, they have their own gas station, and I got a quick chicken sandwich at McDonald's. Then I was on the road again.

I made it to St. George, UT, which is kind of the halfway point between Los Angeles and Provo/Salt Lake. My BYU friend, Gail, lives there with her husband and kids and she just had baby #6 (!) on Friday. My trusty GPS got me to her house incredibly easily, and thanks to Facebook, I recognized all her kids. Didn't get to hold the baby yet--he's still being passed around the big sisters.

Gail and I talked and caught up for almost 2 hours. The original plan was for me to find a hotel in St. George, but I decided to press on for 50 more miles to Cedar City, which I did. St. George was HOT! Parts of CA, like Barstow and Baker, where HOT! Nevada was HOT!

It was hot.

The car thermometer was reading the outside temp anywhere from 99 to...you ready? 116 degrees! Whenever I passed a sign that said "Avoid overheating, turn off A/C for the next 15 miles," I obeyed it. I saw lots of cars overheated on the side of the road. Mind you, most of them were either old, American, or both (never saw a Toyota or Honda on the side of the road...) but I still didn't want to take a chance.

There were summer storms along the way, which I didn't expect. It was raining when I stopped at Whiskey Pete's for gas. It was sprinking intermittedly in St. George, and it was really raining in last night as I pulled into the Best Western in Cedar City. I didn't bring an umbrella. I have 3 perfectly good umbrellas all snug at my house, which doesn't do me a lot of good. If needs be, I'll get a small one to keep in the car. Only if needs be.

The hotel is very comfortable. One of the marks of a good hotel is the shower. This one passed. Check out is at 11am and I may hang around until then. Only 200 miles left to Provo and there is no rush. I'll be meeting up with Slook Sally (Slook is a nickname among this group of girls, along with a myriad of other private jokes...) and then driving to Saratoga Springs and spending the night with Slook Karen at her dad's house. Tomorrow we'll drive to Draper together to meet the other 5 girls.

I'm so excited to see everyone! Seeing Gail was a good start on this little pilgrimage of past roommates. I can't believe it has been 15 years since I graduated college. Where did the time go?

Saturday afternoon update...

3pm and it feels like a sauna outside right now! It is ghastly hot.

This morning I laid out the clothes I'm taking on my trip. Ironed the ones that needed to be ironed, laundered the ones that needed to be laundered. Ah, thankless, tedious tasks...

So my clothes are all packed and ready. Now I need the things that I can't pack until the last minute, like toiletries. Things that I need to use again before I pack them. Also, all my my dumb electronics that I cannot live without: laptop, Blackberry, Zune, camera, and all their chargers.

I could never be on Survivor.

It is so hot right now that I don't feel like doing anything! I feel bad for the painters outside right now.

They did do a first coat of paint on my front door, finally giving me an idea of the dark, dark green I chose as the accent color for all the doors and shutters. I like it.
Too bad they won't be done before I leave tomorrow morning. I guess I'll have to be surprised when I come back. It's OK. I've seen their work and they do a great job. How weird it will be in a week when I drive into a driveway of a house that looks completely different!

I laughed when I saw these...

OK, I don't even know who these kids are, but these are pictures from Facebook posted by a guy I went to elementary school with. I just thought they were hilarious and thought I'd share them.

See? I'm already procrastinating. I need to go and pack for tomorrow's trip! OK, OK, I'm going...

Update...

9:45pm

Day is done. Valves are replaced. Water is shut off until tomorrow morning. Dogs are walked. Neighbor stopped by to get information on painters and brick guy. I told her, painters, thumbs up. Brick guy, thumbs down.

Bed is calling.

ZZZzzzz.....

A Little Venting...

Today has been one of those days where I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. Taking care of 2 houses while my mom is away, planning for my own trip that is 2 days away, another day with the painters, the cleaning lady is here, and one of my sprinkler valves is leaking in the front yard.

That's a lot of commotion and responsibility for one person. I feel like a circus ringmaster today, with rings of activity all around me. Plus I am taking care of my mom's dog and cat, along with my dog and 3 cats.

And the sprinkler thing is turning into a big ol' mess and I feel I'm partly to blame.

The valves for the automatic sprinklers are in the front of the house and have been leaking for about three weeks. At first I thought it was because they got jarred when the brick workers were here, because it happened about the same time, but I think they are just really old.

Aye...the brick workers.

You know, one thing about having so much work done on the house by different people is that it really gives you a chance to compare people's work ethics. My painters are AWESOME. They get here every day at 7:20, work their fannies off with just a one hour break for lunch, and keep going until 4:30pm. They are non-stop, no nonsense, and trustworthy.

My cleaning lady, who comes every other Friday, she's here today too. She gets here at 9:30, works for 4 hours, is incredibly trustworthy, and then she's done.

Then, there is Andrew, the brick guy. Maybe it is because he's from Tonga and they do things differently there; a slower pace, time doesn't have the same meaning there as it does here--I don't know. But he is so unreliable. And he doesn't do the work himself, he buys the materials, negotiates the money, and then just hangs around (or sometimes leaves) while his workers do the actual labor. Lucky for him he has excellent workers.

The other day one of the sprinkler heads next to my brick walkway was not coming up properly. It was just shooting water straight into the air. I called him and told him about it and he said he would be here yesterday--Thursday-- "around lunchtime." Well, what the heck does that mean?

On Wednesday night I was able to loosen the sprinkler head myself and get it to work. I left a message on his voicemail to tell him that it was working OK.

I SHOULD HAVE STOPPED THERE.

Last night I was walking my mom's dog and passed by another house on our street where Andrew's guys are working. (I don't say him, because he doesn't.) I asked him if he got the message I left and he said no, he hadn't checked his messages. That means that he was still, technically, committed to showing up at my house. He said he came around 1:30. I had left on an errand because I had called him. But still, if he thought he was still supposed to come and I wasn't there, wouldn't it be the right thing to call? Of course. Did he? No.

Then we got talking about the leaky valves, which really are leaking quite a bit these last few days. There is, literally, a puddle under them, and who knows how much water is getting wasted. Still, why, oh, why, did I do it? I took him up on his offer to replace the valves.

Shouldn't have done it. He keeps apologizing for not being there when he said he would, promises to get it done quickly and easily....yeah, I should've known better.

Nothing is every quick or easy with him.

He said he'd be here today at 11am.

Painters got here when they said they would, cleaning lady came at her normal time, I was up at 6:45 to feed the pets at my house and my mom's house and water her plants....

Then at 10:15 my phone rings and it is Andrew. He wasn't going to be there until 12:30. Grr...

At 11:30 I was hungry and needed an escape from everything going on here and ran to get some lunch, thinking that I'd be home by 12:30. A one hour break, I thought. How nice.

At 11:45 I get a phone call from Andrew saying he's at my house, where am I? When am I going to get home?

Unbelievable.

I had already ordered my lunch, so when it was ready I got it to go and I came home. Andrew's truck was parked in front, filled with kids. He explained that he would be back later tonight once the painters and the cleaning lady were done because he would have to shut off the water and it would have to remain off all night so that the pressure didn't build up around the valves and spring leaks around the glue.

That would've been nice to know last night when I hired him to do this.

I was livid and told him so, about the way he never comes at the time he says, how things are always more complicated than they appear to be at the beginning. So now he's coming back at 7:30pm tonight to put in the valves, as his workers finish up around the corner at the house where they are laying some brick.

I guess I'm partly mad at myself too, because I had promised that I would not hire him again, and then I did. Why, why, why?? Never again. Never, never again. And as I point these very valid points out to him, he says, "Why you being so mean to me?"

Nothing should be this hard. And I'd better have water turned back on tomorrow morning or things are going to get ugly.

Enjoy your last job at my house, Andrew. This is it.

And thus endeth my venting.

The moral of this story? I don't like being jerked around. Who does?

For Pisces Like Me...

OK, I don't put any stock in this stuff, but I really like what my horoscope said today:

Like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, you've taken some pretty tough circumstances and used them to grow. Now you're developing into something lovely and fantastic beyond your wildest imaginings. During times like these, it's good to remember how grateful you are -- not only for the easy things in your life, but for the tough circumstances as well. They've shaped you into someone amazing. Take a moment to honor yourself.

Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Today was "Harry Potter Day," and if you are a fan of the series like me, you know that the film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, based on the 6th book, opened today.

It feels like forever since I read this book, and I only remembered scattered details, but I do remember that it was one of my favorites. The film did not disappoint. Operating upon the premise that to know your enemies helps you to conquer them, Dumbledore takes Harry on a tour of Voldemort's childhood. I felt like this part was trimmed considerably to make way for other things in the story, but it does get the point across that Voldemort (originally Tom Riddle) was a boy unloved and forgotten by his parents. That certainly created the hatred and cynicism that led to his desire for domination and notoriety.

A new teacher is introduced, Horace Slughorn, played by Jim Broadbent, who is rehired by Dumbledore because of his past connections to Tom Riddle and the benefit a certain memory of his could play in the ultimate showdown between Harry and Voldemort. Slughorn teaches Potions (Snape now teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts) and in Slughorn's class Harry discovers an old Potions textbook with detailed notes in the margins. These notes help Harry excel in the class, much to the dismay of Hermione, who is used to getting top marks in everything. The book, according to an inscription inside the binding, was once the "Property of the Half-Blood Prince." Who that person is remains to be seen and, when revealed, is surprising.

Amidst all the doom and gloom of Dumbledore's lessons, there is a surprising amount of humor peppered throughout the film. The balance is appreciated and clever. Most significantly, you see the sparks between Harry and Ginny Weasley begin to flourish, as well as between Ron and Hermione. Rupert Grint, as Ron, really had some great scenes in this film.

Certainly, this film moves the story forward and has significant events that shape and affect all the characters (don't want to give anything away.) And all of our old favorites supporting characters are back, including one of my favorites, Remus Lupin, in a small scene. We also see Narcissa Malfoy--Draco's mother and sister of Bellatrix LeStrange--for the first time. She is concerned, with good reason, about Draco's future.

The film was 2 1/2 hours, but never boring, in my opinion. I am always glad to have read the books first, but if you have not, but have seen the other films, you should have no problem following the story. The young students are definitely more grown up in some ways (which leads to teenage angst in others,) and it is obvious by the end of the film that the story is soon going to take us on a journey away from Hogwarts in the next 2 films, which is the way the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will be divided up.

All in all, a very satisfying addition to the Harry Potter movie collection and a faithful telling of the book. Whether reading the books or seeing the movies, J.K. Rowling's storytelling never fails to amaze me.

A short, somewhat vague, trailer:

Xander Visits Grandma...

Yesterday I had my nephew, Alexander, for the day. Amazingly, I think it is actually easier to have him for the whole day than just a couple of hours, like I usually do when school is in session.

I decided to take him out to San Dimas to visit my grandma. She hasn't seen him since Christmas and I know she has been wanting to.

My sister-in-law brought Xander at around 8:50am, I gave him breakfast, bathed him and we piled into the car for the 20 mile drive. My grandma was thrilled, of course, to be able to see her great-grandchild. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Xander, who did not want to go to her!
His personality and habits have changed a little bit lately--all part of the growing process. So my grandma and I just talked and watched him play with some of the toys at the house that my dad's wife has for her grandchild.


Despite Xander not wanting to go to my grandma, we had a nice time. She fixed us sandwiches and iced tea and we enjoyed being out of the heat of the day. I'm glad that she got to see him, which was the main goal of the visit. It is important for him to know her and to create those memories for when he is older. I know that I have very fond memories of my great-grandma in Mexico, who I visited many times and was the only great-grandparent I had. These things are very meaningful.

Weekend in San Diego & San Juan Capistrano...

It was a little odd this year not being at the family reunion in Guerrero, Mexico, but I was still able to see one of my cousins on the same weekend as the reunion. My cousin, Susana, whose grandfather was brother to my great-grandmother, invited me to spend the night with her family at their house in Chula Vista, which is right outside San Diego.

After a few setbacks in the morning (waking up not feeling well, paying the painters, feeding my mom's dog while she's still in Mexico, and a few others,) I was able to get on the road to San Diego at about 7:45am.

At Susana's house I met her husband, Gaston, and her sons, Santiago (4) and Elias (2.) Two cute and active boys! We packed up a picnic lunch, got into their Honda Odyssey, and toured around San Diego for about 5-6 hours, stopping at a beach in Del Mar to eat, and driving through La Jolla and Point Loma. It was a comfortable drive and eventually the boys fell asleep. We stopped in Point Loma and had some yummy shrimp cocktails and bought some ahi tuna for dinner. The dinner they made was wonderful!

The next morning (yesterday) I woke up around 7:30am after sleeping like a log, showered and packed, ate breakfast with the family, said my goodbyes and headed home.

It was my plan to come straight home, but after about 80 miles I was getting closer to San Juan Capistrano and thinking that I wanted to stop by the Old Barn Antique store, right across from the San Juan Capistrano Mission. That store is fascinating, and I'm lucky if I get to go once a year. So I decided to stop.

The place is enormous, about 1/2 block long, so you really have to scan everything carefully for things to stand out. The first thing I saw was a pretty glass pitcher on one of the front counters. As I rounded a corner, I found an interesting Lenox piece that I thought would go great on my dining room table. The store is sectioned in different areas supervised by different vendors. I went to an area in the back that always has pretty linens, and found a cute white tablecloth with blue embroidery that I thought would go well on my kitchen table. And, nearby there was a vintage red basket with a lining that I thought I could use for extra water bottles next to my fridge. Much cuter than the box I've been keeping them in. Grand total for these for things was $110. Not bad. The two breakables were 20% off and I had saved money on hotel and food by staying with my cousin the night before.

After the Old Barn I went across the street and visited the old mission. After being demolished by an earthquake it stands in ruins now, but it is still pretty and the grounds are full of flowers. I love taking pictures of flowers and it is always fun to visit historical places like this. Good practice since I'll be teaching 4th grade next year--CA history for Social Studies, and mission projects.

I really love my new camera, which I did buy on kind of a whim last Friday even though I have thought about getting a new camera for quite a while. It is an updated version of the one I already had, a Sony CyberShot, so it is very easy to use. My old one had a smaller screen, was a little bulkier, and only 5.1 mega pixels. The new one is very thin and sleek, and a screen about 2x3 inches, and is 12.1 mega pixels. The lithium battery charges up pretty fast too, and it takes great pictures! I love the way the colors turn out!

Here are the flower pictures I took around the mission yesterday:

Everything turns out so clear and bright! I can't wait to take the new camera to the Arboretum, and I'm thrilled to have it on my UT trip. I can't believe I leave in 6 days! The trip to San Diego was good practice driving a long way with the new CR-V. I love it. Very comfortable and smooth.

All in all a good weekend. I'm very glad I decided to stop in San Juan Capistrano too. I arrived home around 4pm yesterday, and set to work getting my house back in order and taking care of my mom's plants. It isn't easy taking care of 2 houses!

Today has been very sluggish. The painters had to go to another job today, which actually worked out really well, because it gives me a chance to be home and not having the stress of the workers around at the windows. I can't wait for this project to be done, although it probably won't be finished until I've already left for my UT trip.

So, that's what this weekend looked like for me. And it is really nice to have a quiet, relaxing day at home today.

Wow, this has been QUITE a week...

Anyone who said that "vacation" and "relax" are basically synonymous has not followed me around the last few days.

It's been a week of highs and lows and some unexpected adjustments.

I had to do something that I have, never, ever, in my life, done before, which was sever a friendship. I won't go into details, and that person may even stop by here, but it has been very hard. And trust me, this was not an easy decision. It has required a lot of strength and brought a lot of thought and tears, and yet I know it was the right thing to do. Still, that knowledge feels harsh, which lapses into guilt, but I still know it was right. What does Dumbledore say in Harry Potter? "The time will come when you must choose between what is right and what is easy." That is the choice I was faced with, and it definitely wasn't the easy one.

So, that has been a cloud that hung over me the last few days.

And with that, there has been so much else going on. I got my 1999 Honda CR-V back from the body shop today and now it is ready to be sold, although I won't get really assertive with that until I return from my trip to Utah in 3 weeks. $6000 if anyone is interested. There, that's my sales pitch for the day.

Yesterday I babysat my nephew from 9am until 7:45pm. I love that little guy, even though he is getting to the age where the refusal of things is the new fad. Didn't want to bathe (I got him to,) didn't want to get dressed or have his diaper changed (he did,) didn't want to eat (eh...he ate a little,) and didn't want to nap (I TRIED, and the best I could get was maybe 1/2 hour in the car.) Yep, he's a willful little boy, but still sweet and a lot of fun. His new thing (besides not wanting to do those basic things) is to JUMP. Everywhere he goes, he wants to either run there or jump there. It's pretty cute. I don't know where he finds the energy!!

There is also the constant hubbub of having painters in and out of the house from 7:20am until almost 5pm every day. And now I'm house-sitting for my mom, which means another dog and cat to look after, flowers to water, and mail to collect.

Today I went to my mom's house and ended up falling asleep in her room. I had gone to water, which I did, and keep her dog company a little, which I did, and I think knowing that I could completely relax there--with no painters--my body just gave in and I ended up sleeping for 2 solid hours.

Tomorrow will be another full day of painters, house-sitting, going to the car wash, and then driving out to Burbank to the Walt Disney Studios. I had some concert tickets for this Saturday which I cannot use, as I will be visiting a cousin in San Diego, and after days of trying, I finally found someone to take them at a reduced price (who works for Disney and I offered to drop them off.) Well, at least I'll only be losing $40 (ouch, that still feels like a lot) instead of $120--which IS a lot.

I'm glad that there are things to keep me busy, but not too busy. And little by little the cloud from the other day will lift and life will fall into a new pattern of normalcy. Live and learn, I guess.

Happy 4th of July, Everyone!

It's here, that day when we think about our country and try to focus on the many great things that it means to be American. Yes, America is not perfect, and may not even be the shining example that it once was to the rest of the world, but I still think we're pretty darn lucky to live here.

No matter how you slice it, we have a lot, and enjoy freedoms that many people in other countries will never know. Happy July 4th everyone, and a special shout-out to the people in my family who serve in the military: Monica, Robby, and Luis. Thank you!

Painting Progress...

The painters have been working diligently at my house for about a week now. One of the reasons why they do such a good job (they painted my mom's house 3 years ago) if because of the amount of prep work that they do. And that is all they have been doing this week: sanding, sanding, and more sanding.

Outside the little bay window in my bedroom you can see the layers and layers of paint that have been put on this house over the years, including a turquoise color several generations ago. After all, this house was built in the 1940's.

The hard part about having people working at your house is that it is difficult to be completely at ease. I'm not used to that, because my house is such a sanctuary to me. Still, it needs to be done and they do a great job of cleaning up at the end of each day. And each day begins at about 7:20am.

Today I took my 1999 Honda into the body shop so it will be fixed up for sale. $750 out of my own pocket--ugh. Two insurance claims running simultaneously--ugh. Although, I have to say, my insurance company has been really great. I'm just anxious to get the car sold. Not so anxious that I won't hold out for a fair price, mind you, but still anxious!

Other than that, it has been a quiet day. Quiet days are good. We like those.

AND, I ALMOST FORGOT: Today is the 4th anniversary of when I moved into my house in 2005. Wow. And I love it as much, if not, more, than the day I moved in. Hurray for being a homeowner! And hurray for having my job stay secure so that I could continue to be one...