dog gone days of summer

Apparently my biggest (and only) fan missed me over the Thanksgiving break. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the hiatus but don't worry, I haven't given up on this blogging thing just yet! Thanks for hanging in there and checking back for a new and exciting post!
By the way, the long weekend trip back home was great. We really spent some quality time with the family (although I did forget to take photos of the amazing spread my sisters and I put together) and My Heart and I got to enjoy a little piece of Colorado all to ourselves. One of the best trips yet.
We've got 2 more lined up before the year is over; a special getaway for 2 to San Fran and then a 9 day Chicago extravaganza. I can't wait.
So to all you fan (trust me, there is only 1) - don't get too sad when this girL is away for a while next month. She's a blogoholic and she'll be back!

something pretty

Tonight is ladies night. Only the girls. Having a good time. With no boys we know. Doing something random, maybe drawn from a hat.
We started ladies night a few months ago with the intentions of getting together once a month to reconnect with eachother. So far so good (minus a few small things).
Tonight is shopping with a twist - that means alcohol (seems as though one requirement of ladies night is alcohol - which might be one of the small things previously mentioned).
I'm also introducing a new lady to the group tonight. She's one of my favorite but she's always working. Should be fun.
Oh, we're going to the VIP Shopping Party for opening night of Divine Design. It benefits the non-profit I used to work for, Project Angel Food. Check it out...
www.divinedesign.org

lady of the lake

So I apologize for being upset with my writer/striker friends yesterday.
Apparently, they all banded together and had this amazing rally in Hollywood. Needless to say, they were not starting their holiday early but in fact, they were kind of working even harder than your average striker. I'm so proud of them! I only wish I knew it was happening so that I could have shown my support. I could have walked Hollywood Boulevard yelling out, "HONK, HONK!" Then they would be able to put a face with my honk and know how much I actually do care. Maybe I could even have had a t-shirt that said "HONK, HONK" on it. Man, I really love those guys.
Although... again today they weren't at their usual corners in front of the studios I pass on my way to work. Let's just hope there's another rally somewhere.

Photo taken from the office of My Heart with his new iPhone!

isn't heck a great word? so under appreciated

Every morning on my way to work I pass 2 studios. As we are in the second week of the writer's striker here in Los Angeles, there are always writers outside these studios. They have signs, many of them asking passers by to honk in suppport. Every morning on my way to work I pass 2 studios with writers picketing outside holding signs and I honk in support. This is one of my greatest joys.
Yesterday I was a little bit hurt because my honk while passing the first studio was not recognized by the writers - don't they know I'm supporting them!? Jerks. Don't they know that my honking in support is one my greatest joys? Luckily for me the day was not ruined, the next set of writers were as excited and appreciative as ever for my honk of support. What a good day.
Doesn't look like today is going to quite match up. THERE WERE NO WRITERS OUT TODAY!!! Do they think they can just start their holiday early!? What about the rest of us? We rely on them! What a sad, sad day. I miss my writers. HONK! HONK!

you're from the future

sometimes i like to read my own blog.
is that weird?

and so I am not

I'm not going to lie. I. am. super. sensitive. I've been told I feel too much. I think it's a good thing. Others may not agree.
I have always been a little too motherly with my sisters. Whether we are getting along or not I just want to protect them.
I think I carry that feeling out into the world with me most days. I want to take care of people. I want them not to hurt. I know we are oftentimes unkind to one another. I want to be something kind for others to hold on to. When I can't be - I hurt.
Because of this I have an inner struggle going on right now. I am happy. Someone I know and love is not. And what's worse, there is no way for me to fix it or to really even help it.
Why do I have what I have when others are living with the pain of losing their everything?

the other left foot

A couple of years ago, My Heart and I adopted a family for Christmas. It was the most rewarding gift we could have gotten each other. We also got our co-workers involved - the family needed bunk beds for the children so we got everyone to pitch in for new beds. The best part was showing up at their house to deliver this much needed gift. The children were sweet and innocent as they should be and the mother was just... trying. I think everyone should try. Get involved in the community - you'll see there's all sorts of help needed in different ways. If you can't get into it any other time, do it at least during the holidays.
http://www.beyondshelter.org/

kids for kids

For some reason I love goats. But I kind of hate horses.
I like most animals; bears, elephants, cats, dogs, rats... you get my point.
And if you call them shmorses I like them a little more but really I don't care for horses. It's probably because girls are supposed to be totally horse crazy. I tend not to be your average girl. Sorry horses.

as made famous by

After 3 incarnations and I don't know how many years, I have finally given in and started playing Guitar Hero.
This week My Heart and I beat the game in co-op mode... on easy.
Now I'm addicted.
Last night I started playing on medium.
I totally think I'm a rock star.
I know I'm a dork.

sunny and clear

Yesterday, just as I was telling My Heart how thankful I am for how good life has become, his car went kaput. We don't yet know the diagnosis but it could be bad. Yet, I'm happy and he's happy and life is happy. That's enough to make old me want to die and I'm still happy.
We also went shopping yesterday. Sometimes that makes me happy and sometimes it makes me cry. I didn't try anything on. I came home and it all fit - mostly. I'm happy!
Today I've started to teach myself how to knit. It's hard but I'm trying after almost a year of not trying. I've got the casting thing down but I just can't figure out the next step. But it doesn't matter because I'm happy.
Now I'm going to start on the laundry and hopefully get it all done. Maybe I'll even clean out my closet to make room for the new stuff. It's amazing how good happy can be.

lapping up the milk

Thanksgiving is coming up in case you haven't noticed.
I'm going home to visit the fam for the long weekend.
One of my sister's and I will cook the meal this year. It's the first time we've ever done it that way.
Mom will cook the old gobbler at her house and bring it over since Sister and her Heart are vegetarian. We didn't want to compromise those beliefs by throwing a decapitated bird in their oven to roast until edible. But we'll still eat the hell out of it in front of them.
Now I've got to come up with some suggestions for the rest of the meal.
When do you go with family tradition and when do you start your own traditions?

on the road

Ever since we all went to see the movie Into The Wild I've had the feeling that I need to read more (it's an amazing movie by the way). I used to read all the time and now I feel like all I do is watch TV - gotta love that Kid Nation. I was thinking that the last thing I read was Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking (quick read and quite the tear jerker) but then remembered that the last Harry Potter book (also a quick read and even more of a tear jerker) came out after I read that. I don't really count Harry Potter though. And I don't know why - maybe because even non-readers read Harry Potter.
I started reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers about two years ago and have still not gotten through it. I think that has been a big part of my reading block. I feel like I have to finish that book before I can move on to the many others calling my name from that dusty, cat hair filled staircase. I have stacks of books just waiting for me. It's not like Staggering Genius is so bad either. Maybe I should set another goal...
GOAL #2 – Finish reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and one other book by the end of the year.
(By the way, Goal #1 is still in progress. That night I did an outstanding job in cleaning up & cleaning out the bathroom if I do say so myself. I have also tackled the fridge and the cupboards.)

mother hen

I love kitties. I got my first cat at some point early on in elementary school after begging my parents for days. I loved him so much I put him in dresses.
Now I have 2 kitties. Mustard's mom was a stray who had a litter of kittens by a friend's apartment in college. He was one of the last kittens left so he came home in my pocket one day and we've been together ever since. He's gone lots of places with me and is now a mama's boy because of it. Krunchy was My Heart's decision - he wanted a mini cat. The only thing I did insist on when going to the pound to look for a mini cat was that she be black and we name her Joe. Luckily when the little paw reached out from it's cage to pull My Heart in, it was black. Apparently that was good enough; we've been hooked ever since.
While Mustard is the sweet (sometimes too sweet) and snuggly love kitten who can never be close enough to his mom & dad, Krunchy is the cute, can get away with murder and still be loved to death kitten.
Mustard doesn't really do much with his time (he used to answer the phone). Krunchy however, plays fetch, plays chase the bug, plays in the blinds, plays stay away from mom & dad, plays let me cry until someone gets the feather toy down, plays no one can sleep when I'm not sleeping, plays time to eat anything inedible, plays I love botatoes, plays cave in the blankets, plays tackle Mustard... I think you get the point.


Funny how much I love these cats.

let the festivities commence

I'm making home-made granola. It's currently baking in the oven. It fills the house with an inviting aroma of fall. It makes it feel like home even if we are in Southern California.

fall back

When I was 18 or 19 I got a piercing. It came about randomly. I had joined some friends on a jaunt to the local tattoo & piercing parlor one evening in college. They were getting their belly buttons done in celebration of turning another year older - I guess it was the thing to do at the time. I opted for something a little less conventional. It's not that I had always wanted to get pierced it was just something to do.
Jump to 10 or 11 years later and I still have it. It's a part of me I guess. I used to take it out when I wanted people to take me seriously but I've long given up on that. I did however take it out during this recent illness. Now it's been nearly a week and I haven't put the old girl back in. I'm trying to figure out if I should. My Heart says it's sexy. My dad says it's the most disgusting thing he's ever seen. Most people who know me don't even notice it anymore. Do I miss her? Have I outgrown her? When is enough... enough? When is it just who we are?