My favorite city.

i think i'll go to boston...
i think i'll start a new life,
i think i'll start it over, where no one knows my name.
i'll get out of california, i'm tired of the weather,
i think i'll get a lover and fly em out to spain...
i think i'll go to boston.
i think that i'm just tired
i think i need a new town, to leave this all behind...
i think i need a sunrise, i'm tired of the sunset,
i hear it's nice in the summer, some snow would be nice...
boston...

Really... REALLY?!

Ahhhhh!! Where have the days gone?! It is seriously possible that I have 3 more days of work until Xmas break?? Is Christmas really next week? Is New Years actually two weeks from today ? Oh my gosh - I need warm clothes! I need boots! I need to breathe... How did this year fly by? PLEASE, let me know if you figure it out!

A long one.

Today has been an emotional day for me. I've been thinking about things a lot. It all started with an e-mail I got from my my this morning. Here it is:

Last night Kaleigh's brownie troop met at Mission San Diego in downtown SD to deliver toys to children and mom's who are homeless or who were in abusive relationships and left. Her troop collected 20 toys and wrapped them to give and a local supermarket donated cookies, candy canes and juice to make it a real party. We were supposed to collect 35 toys so each child would get 2 gifts....but, we only collected 20. Sooooo....Kaleigh went around our neighborhood and on her own she collected an additional 50 TOYS, 5 BAGS OF USED CLOTHING AND 3 BOXES OF DIAPERS!!!!! It really made an impact because each child was able to get 5 gifts and each of the moms were able to get some really nice clothing for themselves and their children!! All the donations that Kaleigh collected except one was from a military family!!! Wow! There is another little girl named Kaleigh (same spelling!!) in the troop who, also, emptied her piggy bank ($60) and went and bought toys to help too!! Also, when we first walked into the shelter there were some families sitting in a closed in parking lot. We found out that those people were homeless, living on the streets and were not in the program at the mission. They are allowed to stay in this gated area overnight, but have to leave during the day. UGH....there was one little boy that cried when he saw all the toys and us going into the building...we were all heartbroken....soo...we saved some of the toys, books, clothing and cookies and gave them to the people outside....ugh.... What an experience. Kaleigh and I found the little boy that was crying and made sure he had a candy cane, a cookie and gave him a motorcycle.....and he took a picture with her. His name is Malik. Please pray for all these people. It was an experience our girls will remember for a long time....they just couldn't believe that these little kids had no homes...we all were counting our blessings as we said goodbye and went back to our warm homes filled with all the luxuries of life and our families...really made us appreciate all that we have!

Things like this are not fair, and as I've gotten older, I've continued to have a hard time understanding why people - children even - don't have safe homes to live and grow up in. I feel like I've always been especially affected by stories like these. I can remember being a kid and going to New York City with my family and just not being able to accept that people slept in cardboard boxes and had to beg on the street. One instance sticks out in my mind... in fact, I don't think I'll ever forget it. There was a blind man and his dog in the middle of a crowded New York Street (I think 5th Ave) and people were just passing him by, not even acknowledging him as they window shopped and took pictures with their families. I know we've all fallen victim to that - to just brushing people aside. It gets annoying and tiring to have people begging for money, and many of us wonder why "people like that" just don't get jobs. While there are plenty of people that might be able to actually go out and work, there are probably thousands who can't, or just don't have the help to get off the street. This is not only sad, but it's unacceptable. Take San Diego alone - according to the United Way, 10,000 people in San Diego County are homeless, with about 15 percent recognized as chronically homeless. I never really noticed it until I worked in downtown, but there are a lot of people who are homeless here. Everyday on my lunch break, I probably pass about 10 to 20 people suffering from this epidemic. Across the street from where I work, there is a homeless shelter, where you can find mass amounts of people lined up every day hoping to have a warm place to stay for the night. Plus, every month at work, we head over to a senior center in downtown to help serve lunch to low-income seniors. And, even though they may have places to go home to, no one should have to save a piece of bread from lunch because they have none at home (something that one of the seniors said to me last week). The icing on the cake today happened during my lunch break. I headed over to the supermarket to pick up some stuff for dinner, and there was a man bundled up, (yes, it's actually cold in San Diego these days) sitting in a wheel chair with no legs. He wasn't actually asking for money, but he had a cup in his hand and was kind of staring down at the ground. During my shopping, I picked up a hot sandwich for him. He seemed really surprised and appreciative that I had brought him something, and I couldn't help but think how nice it would be to be able to help not just one person, but every person. As everyone celebrates the holidays, and stresses over spending money on loved ones, try to think of those with nothing. I know that today has made me count my blessings, and to remember how truly lucky I am to have the life that I do.

Back from the Weekend

Well, another weekend has come and gone, and I'm back at work and continuing my Christmas countdown. Last weekend was pretty rainy, but also still a lot of fun. We somehow squeezed in all of the holiday activities - even though we did end up leaving Poway pretty drenched! Last night, we decorated the tree at my mom's, which was cute because the kids really loved it. Oh, and Todd found this crazy toy that he ended up buying for the kids. It's called Elf on the Shelf, and it's this cute, little elf doll that you hide around your house for the kids to find. The elf is supposed to report whether or not the kids are being good to Santa, and from what my mom tells me, Brendan has been acting especially good today. It's a cute gift for anyone with kids who still believe in Santa, and I'm thinking it's going to become a new family tradition.

In work news, this day has pretty much flown by - which is good. I have a new client, so I've been doing a lot of reading and research today. This account should be interesting, especially since we're focusing all of our efforts in good 'ol New Jersey. Anyway, I've gotta run... I'm off to the dentist, which is always fun (NOT!). Ugh, I really hate going to the dentist, but at least my teeth will be sparkly, white tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed for no cavities!!

The Christmas Countdown Continues...

It's been a pretty gloomy day today. I woke up to some pretty heavy rain, but things died down after a while. Now, it's just cloudy. As much as I love rain, this is really good news because tonight is December Nights (which should still be called Christmas on the Prado, but I won't get into that). December Nights is a tradition for my family and I. It's basically a huge Christmas celebration, with tons of food and music. Plus, all of the museums are FREE!! I have a lot of great memories at December Nights, and I'm really looking forward to going again. The highlight of my night will definitely be eating some real palacsintas, and maybe even getting some glogg (hopefully I won't spill it all over myself this time, haha)! Alright, I'm off to help decorate our work tree! Have a nice weekend, everyone :)

A post.

Hmmm, nothing much to say today. It's been a long, slow day - I think because the holidays are right around the corner and things are winding down here. Anyway, Enchanted was great! I give it two, cheesy thumbs up! The kids really enjoyed it, and I thought the whole storyline and idea was great. If you have an excuse to go, or actually just want to see a cute Disney movie, I would highly recommend it! In holiday news, last night I got some Christmas shopping done, which has made me feel less stressed out. I also went to the mall on my lunch break and grabbed a few more things. Despite this, there are still a bunch of people on my list who are yet to have a gift purchased for them. I guess that's pretty good considering I have nine people down, but seriously, I can see why people get so crazed about about all the gift giving. I'm hoping to get everything done this weekend so I can start wrapping things. I have some good gift wrap ideas this year!

So, that's it. I told you I had nothing to say :) Tonight = Grey's and tomorrow = another rainy Friday. Hallelujah.

Movie Night

Tonight, I'm going to the movies. I've actually been watching a lot of movies lately, mainly because Todd is doing this trial movie program where he gets a bunch of movies for free (kind of like NetFlix, I think). Anyway, last night I was semi-forced to watched Death Proof, which was pretty good, but also kind of boring. Let's just say it wasn't really my kind of movie (sorry, Todd). I also recently watched Y Tu Mamá También, which was well, interesting - to say the least. I asked Todd to put Love Actually and RENT on the list, so I'm patiently awaiting their arrival, as they are currently sitting in the movie queue. But, back to tonight. Tonight, I'm seeing Enchanted! I know, I know, it's a PG movie and I'm a twentysomething... but, I have an excuse! Besides the fact that I want to see the movie, I'm taking Kaleigh and Brendan to check it out. Once again, the added bonuses of having little siblings. I think it's going to be good because 1. it's a Disney movie, 2. it's bound to be a love story, and 3. McDreamy is in it - clearly a huge plus. So, I'll let you all know how it is. I know you're all dying to know!

Trees!

Okay, two exciting things -
1. My Christmas tree has been officially set up at my apartment. In our theraflued-up states last night, Steph and I managed the difficult task of setting up our tree. Okay, it wasn't hard at all, but it is a pink, glowing masterpiece.
2. My job also has a Christmas tree. It was brought into the office today and it's sitting in the front, just waiting to be decorated. Besides the fact that it's awesome that we have a live tree in the office, we're also supporting one of our clients that just happens to work very closely with x-mas trees :)

Anyway, as I was scanning the news this morning, I came across an interesting article. Don't be surprised if you want to cry at the end... looks like Santa might need to use some magic powers to get around this Christmas.

Oh, and here's a pic from Deck the Palms!

Achoooo

It's Monday and I have a cold. I've been sitting here sneezing all day and wishing that I was at home in my bed instead of looking at my computer screen with semi-blurred vision. I guess being sick this time of the year is okay since it's "winter." Also, I haven't been sick in a year (last Christmas, I think), so I can't really complain. Anyway, on an exciting Christmas note, being that this past weekend was the first of December, it was the first of the holiday celebrations that my family and I attend. Sunday was the Deck the Palms event at Seaport Village, and boy was it festive. I would like to point out that this event, and most Christmas outtings, are probably amazing if you are under the age of 10. At the seaport, there were tons of areas set up for kids to create all kinds of things - holiday candles, chalk drawings and sand dollar ornaments. There was even a fruitcake toss and a holiday puppet show. And, as expected, Santa made an appearance... on a surf board! It really was a lot of fun! Holidays are always a little strange here in San Diego because it's usually sunny and warm. Deck the Palms was a nice way to begin the Christmas season the SoCal way. Coming up next are the PB Holiday Parade, Christmas in Old Poway Park and a visit to Candy Cane Lane. I can't wait!

Now, back to work and my box of tissues.