Christmas is in full-swing around here. Have you stopped to look at the calendar lately? Because, it's in only 16 DAYS!! Ahhh! My mom and I went shopping for hours on Sunday night. I think I got home at 11ish or something crazy. We thought we were done, but then decided to head over to Target since they close super late these days. I got the baby a really cute puppy that barks and a bunch of other stuff I didn't need to buy like Christmas note pads. Daniel wants a real puppy for Christmas this year. In fact, the other day, Todd told the baby he had a surprise for him (some chocolate, I think), and the baby said, "is it a puppy?" Uh oh!
But, anyway, I'm almost done with my gift buying! I think I have only a couple more things to get. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone open their gifts! I'm also excited to get home tonight and wrap everything. I think I'm really bad at wrapping gifts, but I like doing it. It's kind of relaxing for me.
Todd and I went to the dollar store last night and there was so much cheesy, cheapo Christmas stuff. I wanted to buy EVERYTHING! I was there for wrapping paper and such, but I was also there to get ideas for my office cubicle decorating contest. I have this really, really great idea, but it requires a lot of time and supplies, as well as intense amounts of painting and maybe even buying props that light up. Hmmm, might have to stick with plan two, which is less time consuming. Once it's all done, I'll post some pictures for everyone to see! In the meantime, let me know if you have any good ideas. I have until the 19th to get everything set up. Apparently there is a prize involved, so I must win! :)
Off to decorate the office tree. For real this time.
Christmas cheer.
Puppies to the rescue :)
Awww, here's a great story that just made my day happier. Hopefully it will make yours better, too!
From the Daily News: Puppies save three-year-old boy lost in freezing Virginia woods
A toddler lost in the Virginia woods was back home safe Sunday thanks to two puppies who kept him warm through a harrowing night of freezing temperatures.
Jaylynn Thorpe, 3, wandered away from his baby-sitter at 4 p.m. Friday and was missing for 21 hours as hundreds of friends, family and law enforcement officials searched for him in the thick woods of Halifax County, fearing the worst.
"The only thing we wanted to do was just keep searching until we found him," Halifax County Sheriff Stanley Noblin told reporters.
Jaylynn's frantic family knew time was not on its side.
"We didn't forget the issue that 17 degrees was almost unbearable," said his father, James Thorpe.
"People all over the State of Virginia was down there looking for that child. For a while there, one time, I didn't know whether they would find him or not," said the child's grandmother and guardian, Katherine Elliot.
Officials said the lost little boy and the two family puppies wandered up to a mile in the dark, even across a highway, but it wasn't until Saturday afternoon that members of the search team found him sitting by a tree, the two puppies nestled against him.
The little boy didn't say anything, according to rescue team member Jerry Gentry, but instead "just opened his arms up like, 'I'm ready to go.'"
"When I first saw him, he was like, 'Momma, I got cold. I slept in the woods last night. The puppies kept me warm.' He told me that ... the dogs slept up against him. And I'm sure the body heat kept him warm," said his mother, Sarah Ingram.
Billie Jo Roach, another member of the search party that found the boy, said the puppies refused to leave his side.
As the child was placed in an ambulance to be taken to a local hospital for examination, "The puppies were watching where he went.
"Where he went, they went," Roach said.
As word went out that the child was alive and well, family members cheered and cried for joy.
"Praise the Lord! Welcome home, Jaylynn!" yelled his aunt, Amy Zimmerman.
Close to 300 people from North Carolina and Virginia joined in the search to find Jaylynn.
"I love you! God bless you," Ingram told the rescue teams.
"I think I just said, 'Thank you Lord' ... for us to have another chance!" said the child's father.
The boy spent Saturday night under observation at Halifax Regional Hospital and chowed down on a double cheeseburger, a hot dog, strawberry ice cream and French fries.
Meanwhile, the furry heroes, their tails wagging, were rewarded with food.
"I definitely call this a miracle," said Noblin.
Dec. 2
My eyes are burning from the intenseness of my computer screen. Ahh! Anyway, hi! I was talking to Ma this weekend and she was asking me about my blog, so here I am. I didn't take a lunch break today, so I figure the last part of my day can be dedicated to an update. I'm currently listening to Christmas music, which is making me feel less stressed out. This day... this past month has been HECTIC at work. There have definetely been fun parts, and I feel like I've learned a lot, but I'm not gonna lie, it's been crazy stressful! That said, I'm really looking forward to these next couple of weeks and all the Christmasy fun, and heading home again, of course. Like always, every single moment of the next few weeks is planned out (gotta love the holidays). This week I'll be going to the Horton Plaza Christmas Tree lighting, joining Elysia at her company holiday party, going to December Nights and heading to Greg's birthday party. Other than that, life has been usual. Thanksgiving was fun, especially the having 4 days off part. Todd, Elysia and I have basically been spending all of our time watching the best show ever - How I Met Your Mother. It's so funny! If you haven't watching it yet, you need to. It's all about a dad telling his kids how he met their mother... which means he has to tell a million stories that seem meaningless, but that somehow will lead him to meeting his wife. Great concept and even better writing. Sitcoms are pretty bad these days, so I'm happy to have found a show that actually makes me laugh.
OK, time to hit the road. Happy December, everyone!
BOO!
It's almost October 31, so I figured I would share this article with everyone who's looking to get in the Halloween mood.
Muhaha :)
Things I'm excited about.
Back by popular demand :) Here's my update! It's officially Fall... everywhere else but San Diego. It's been about 95 degrees here lately, which is really making me grumpy. It's been cloudy all day today though... a pleasant surprise! I'm hoping it will stay this way through the weekend because we're going APPLE PICKING! Woohoo! I haven't been apple picking in forever. I think the last time was when I still lived back home. I'm really excited! Plus, we'll be in Julian, so we'll get to eat some delicious apple pie and take a million pictures with pumpkins, scarecrows and other fall things. Uh oh... I just checked the weather and it's supposed to be a high of 65 with rain. WHAT THE HECK! Don't get me wrong, I love the rain, but why does it keep happening when I have outside-type things to do? Last weekend, Todd, Michelle, Leah and I went camping up in Carpinteria for the amazing, annual Avocado Festival. It was a lot of fun (I ate at least a pound of avocados), but it rained - drizzled. Whatever, it made the camping a little more wet than we would have liked. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens this weekend. The weather changes here about every two seconds lately. Some other things I'm excited for include:
1. Halloween costume shopping. Yep, it's that time of the year again! I was originally going to be colonial (haha), but our group of friends has all decided to dress the same... as NEWSIES! I'm pretty excited for this am and still trying to figure out how I'm going to get the soundtrack to play all night - maybe speakers attached to my costume? We shall see.
2. Steph's in town this weekend! I miss my old roomie, so I'm sure we will have some good times. Maybe we can have one of our old football parties - where the girls make all the food/football shaped cakes and then fall asleep. How cliché.
3. Vegas! That's right, next weekend, Elysia, Hannah, the boys and I are headed to Sin City! It's sure to be a crazy/tiring two and a half days. All I have to say is Vivaaaa Las Vegas!
4. Actual Halloween. I'm going trick-or-treating with the family again. Boy, am I going to be sad when those kids grow up - they give me a great excuse to do such fun, "kiddie" things!
5. The cruise to Mexico. Todd and I will be sailing away to good 'ol Mexico on Nov. 7. Hopefully this trip will make up for our last Mexico excursion. That's Why God Made Mexico is already stuck in my head. Bring on the late-night buffet!
Alright, I think that's it for now. I have so much more work to get to before the end of the day, so I better get on that. I can't wait to get home to watch Project Runway and Grey's! I sure do love Thursday nights!
Jersey, here we come!
Todd is a nerd. Right now, he's leaning over me with his GPS trying to figure out how fast the train is going :) So, here we are - our vacation is half way over and we're headed to good ol' New Jersey. We've been having the greatest time. The Camp was tons of fun! It was great to see everyone and just relax by the lake. Being in CT was great also. I got to see more of Todd's home town and spend time with his family and friends. Last night, we even celebrated Todd's mom's birthday with a delicious spaghetti dinner, wine and cake! I'm sad that part of the trip is over, but oh, so excited to see Ma and Pat, my dad and the rest of the fam (so many mixed emotions!). Tonight, we're booking it to the City to see The Little Mermaid on Broadway! The show was a birthday surprise and I can't wait see the it and get a backstage tour of the theater. We might even try and make it to The View - a rotating restaurant at the top of the Marriott in Times Square! I'm sure these last five days of the trip will just fly by, so I'm trying to truly enjoy each moment. See you all in Jersey!
(ps: thanks, Pat, for the delicious lunch. We already ate it all!!)
We're here!
We're in Boston! Quincy to be exact. After a long, dramatic trip, we're here... and I'm SO excited! Quick travel re-cap. Lesson number one = never fly US Airways. I'm pretty sure I said that last summer too, after our flight was delayed in Hartford and Todd and I got stuck in Atlanta for a night, but anyway I'm pretty sure it's the worst airline ever. First of all, Todd had to pull all kinds of strings to get us to sit together. Apparently if you don't book your seats way in advance (which we're pretty sure we did anyway) you have to pay $15 extra dollars to get "premium" seats. That basically means you get to sit in a cramped middle seat that might be next to someone you know. Ugh! Our flight to Phoenix was okay, besides the fact that I lost my license and boarding pass before even making it to the gate! Then, Todd got chosen for a "special" pre-boarding security check. All I have to say is damn terrorists ruining travel for us all! So, the first flight was quick - 45 minutes - but once we got to the airport we saw that our flight was delayed 2 hours for mechanical issues. Obviously my plane anxiety did not deal with this well, so Todd and I headed to the over-priced airport bar for some drinks. I kept overhearing the plane lady talking about the plane getting worked on and I was pretty sure it was going to get cancelled, but by some miracle it pulled up to the gate just before midnight. The flight was super bumpy and Todd and I sat in the emergency row, which meant no reclining chairs, but we somehow slept a bunch. Lin picked us up from the airport and and took us to Dunkin (which I just found out started in Quincy), and now we're at her apartment waiting to go on our historical tour of colonial Boston (okay, maybe that's just me). Quincy is really historical. John Adams and John Hancock lived here. In fact, John Adams' famous house, Peacefield, is here! Check it out: 
Yay. I've also been reading 1776, so I'm ready for all the history :)
OK, time to go, but tonight is our dinner cruise on the Spirit of Boston. More updates to come soon!
Back from the Weekend.
Happy Monday (blah). Haha! Well, it's the end of the day at least and I'm blogging - yippie! I can't believe the weekend is already over. This was a fast one for sure, but still fun! Friday was SeaWorld night, so Todd and I met up with my family after work to see a bunch of shows and go on kiddie rides. We even watched the fireworks, which I hear slash see on a regular basis, but have never actually watched from inside the park. Saturday was a lazy day, but nice. It was nice to relax! Jennie came down later in the night and us girls plus Todd and Eli headed to PB to meet up with Steph and friends. It was really great to see my old roomie! I miss her a lot, but her job and life in NYC sound amazing. It's so crazy how different of a city New York is from little, laid-back San Diego. And on to Sunday, one of the best days ever! I picked my mom up in the afternoon and we got our makeup down at Bobbi Brown, then headed to RA Sushi for dinner. Neither of us got real sushi (I got a veggie roll), but it was delicious. Especially because we got the pineapple wontons - yum! After dinner, we walked down to the Civic Centre to see THE PHANTOM! And, boy was it wonderful. I was really impressed by everything. They did a great job of making the set look exactly like the Majestic Theater. And, I think this cast one of the best I have ever seen. The Phantom in this version was a lot more dark and scary... less romantic and more, psychotic. Plus, this cast used a lot more comedy, too. I really loved it (if you can't tell). It was also really nice to have a girls day/night with my mom. We'll have to do that more often! I'll be seeing the show again in 10 days (my birthday!) and I'm already looking forward to it. Elysia (who also went last night) might want to go again, so maybe I'll go with her, too. Wow, I'm obsessed a bit :)
Alright, time to pack things up here. But, if you're looking for some new music, check out The Cab. My best friend, Alyx, introduced them to me and I'm hooked!
Hi!
It's a gloomy, un-summer-like day in SD. It's making me feel sleepy. Oh - I take that back, the sun is just starting to peek through the overcastness. I'm still sleepy though.
Anyway, last night was a lot of fun! I went to my mom's for the season premier of Project Runway! I have really become addicted to that show. It makes me wish I could be a designer. My little sister is crazy making beaded bracelets and necklaces lately and we were taking about taking knitting lessons at the store where she buys all of her beads. My creativity (minus all the writing I do) has been brushed aside and I really miss doing art and plays and other things like that. I've been really wanting to take a ceramics class for a while and while I really don't want to take tests, I've been looking into a class at one of the community colleges in the area. I was also trying to find a theatre group that Elysia and I could join, but no luck yet. Let me know if you know of anything good! I guess I just need to find a hobby. I miss the days of extra-curricular activities - dancing, etc. That's another thing I've been looking into! I found some studios around my house that offer classes for pretty cheap. Basically, I need to get motivated and start signing up for things!
Last weekend was a lot of fun and it's so worth writing about even if we're only a day away from another one... everyone went wine tasting in Temecula! It was the perfect day full of tasty wine, sunshine and friends. We even went line dancing at night, which is always a lot of fun. They actually just opened a new line dancing bar in downtown that I think we might check out on Saturday. I'll let you know how it is! Steph (my old roomie who moved to the NYC area) is coming home for the weekend, so we have a lot of catching up to do. It will be nice to have her back for a couple of days.
Okay, back to work. Or off to lunch. Not sure which one yet :)
Join, or Die
Todd and I have been watching HBO's John Adams like crazy. I love it (obviously) and it's making me count down the days even more until my trip to Boston. I can't wait! Todd already pressed play on the next episode, but check out the theme song. It's great! :)
Quick Update
I'm back! At least for a day :) My non-posting reasons have been the same - I'm super busy AND I don't have internet at my house. Long story, but apparently AT&T doesn't service my area even though we've had internet with them for the past year and they've been sending me pamphlets to re-activate my service. Anyway, Elysia and I are Facebook deprived. Thank goodness for my iPhone (or brain, as Eli and Derrick like to call it). So, yeah, it's somehow the last day of June and it still hasn't really felt like summer in San Diego. We had one heat spell, but other than that the June Gloom is still lingering here and there. I am completely prepared for when summer decides to show it's face though because Todd installed an air conditioner for me. Woohoo! I've been thoroughly enjoying sleeping in a cold room. Actually, everyone's been enjoying my room. Elysia took a nap in it the other day when I was gone and everyone piled in during that heat spell to hang out. It was pretty funny, considering I don't have that big of a room.
Here are my other updates:
1. I've been at my job for one year! I have no idea how a year went by, but it did. I had my review last week and despite a little bit of nervousness, everything went really well. I'm excited to see how this year will unfold. I've already learned so much here and know that I am 10 times a better writer and strategic thinker than I was when I first started.
2. It's wedding season. Yes! I finally got to say that! Anyway, this is the first year where a bunch a people I know are getting married. It's totally weird, but also exciting. I love weddings, so no complaints here. This past weekend, Todd and I headed up to the Santa Barbara area for the first one. Todd was actually invited to two more that we couldn't make it to, so we could have been going to five weddings this summer - ah!
3. The countdown to my birthday has begun! That's right, it's almost July and that means 31 days till my birthday. I'm turning 23, which is just crazy, but I'm trying to think of fun things to do. Lemme know if you have any ideas!
And that's it I think. I'm really looking forward to the 4th of July and I'm praying that I get to see fireworks this year. I'll keep ya posted on anything exciting that happens in the meantime.
Um?
Oh my sad, sad blog. :(
It's been so hard to update, as you can tell. I'm not even going to say I'll try harder, because I've said that a million times and yet the weeks still seem to fly by withough a single post. Anyway, here I am. It's May - almost June, and things are crazy busy at work (hence the no blogging). San Diego is really warming up and it's feeling more and more like summer. This past weekend it was nearly 90 degrees! I spent my time at Elysia's pool and at Disneyland with Todd, and it was an amazingly relaxing two days. I'm really looking forward to this three day weekend too, even though I don't have any trips planned or anything. I tried really hard to schedule something, but by the time I got the idea to get on a plane and go somewhere, the prices were already sky high! At least it's only a couple of months until my trips to San Fran and to Boston/back home. I'm really looking forward to them! Thaaank you cousins for getting married. I also have a bunch of other fun things on my calendar that I'm really excited about, including a Padres/Mets game, seeing the Phantom (twice) and my birthday (hey! i can start counting down... it's almost summer.) Other than that, I'm playing it low key - just spending time with my family and friends.
That's it for now. But to end this post, a bit of news: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080521/ap_on_en_mu/people_lou_pearlman
Oh man... what a Backstreet creeper!
My hands hurt from this one!
Ahhh! This has been a long day. I think my brain has just about stopped working. Anyway, Elysia is officially moved in and we've already seen more of the rest of the high school girls than usual. Hannah came down on Monday night and Jennie came over last night. It's been great to get together and still be the same exact friends we were in high school (5 years ago?!) The one bad thing has been the lack of sleep the visits have caused! Elysia and I are seriously sleep deprived. I even overslept the alarm this morning for the first time in forever. Needless to say, I jumped out of bed at about 8:05. I still made it to work by 8:30, but it was a stressful morning. I've made a promise to myself to go to bed by 10 tonight, but we'll see. It's actually way worse for Elysia though. She works from 7 am to 7 pm! We've calculated it, and she would need to go to bed at 9 every night to get 8 hours of sleep. Oh boy!
So, here's some stuff that's been going on with me...
1. I'm loving that you can finally tell it getting closer to summer. It's been so great to leave work and have the sun still shining. Plus, I've been exploring the city more on my lunch breaks. Not too long ago, I took a walk from the office to the Seaport. It was beautiful and relaxing to sit on the rocks by myself for a while. I also headed to Balboa Park yesterday. The museums are actually free on Tuesdays, but the one I wanted to go to was closed. So, I took the extra time to lie in the grass for 40 minutes and listen to music. I think I'll be doing that more often.
2. I got a bike. Most of you probably know about Todd's bike riding past. As for me, I think the last time I owned a bike was when I was like 12 or something. Anyway, Todd's been sad that his bike just sits in his garage collecting dust, so I figured I might as well get one and ride with him. So far, so good. We've gone on three rides so far and it's pretty fun. Plus, I bought this super cool helmet. I've decided I'm getting all the gear. I'm sure I'll be biking across the country in no time :)
3. I'm really excited about this new series on HBO. If you know me, you know I love colonial America so much that I wish I lived back then. The new series is called John Adams and is based off of David McCullough's book about Adams' life during the Revolution. I know I'm a nerd, but it looks like an amazing depiction of the times back then. Oh yeah, and a couple of days ago I walked over to Borders and started reading McCullough's other book, 1776. I definitely need to go back and buy it!
Oh, and since I'm posting, I might as well finally answer Todd's tag. Here goes:
10 Years Ago - Um, I was 12 (weird) and in 7th grade, probably obsessing over the Backstreet Boys (ha!) and spending most of my time with my family and the 4 A's.
5 Things on My To-Do-List - Clean out my car, buy plane tickets to Jason's wedding, plan a million trips, finish decorating my room and go food shopping.
Things I Would Do if I Were Suddenly a Billionaire - Visit every single European country... actually, visit every country in the world. Buy that cute, little pink house that I love so much in Boston. Give a bunch to my family. Save a lot. Buy an amazing new wardrobe. Open a bakery. Ahh, too many things.
3 of My Bad Habits - I worry too much, I get really grumpy when I'm tired or haven't eaten and I'm a bit of a procrastinator.
5 Places I've Lived - I think I've only lived in 4... New Jersey, Poway, San Diego and Los Angeles.
Jobs I've Had - Hmm, I worked at a gym in the Kids Club, front desk at my college dorm and for the SDSU conference center. I was a news assistant at a newspaper, worked at SeaWorld, an advertising agency and two PR firms.
Things Most People Don't Know About Me - I have a bit of OCD when it comes to things being left open. I cannot stand when people leave drawers, cabinets, etc. open. I always have to close them. Even if it's not my own house.
Okay, I'm done. And I'm going home. Yay, Wednesday!
How long has it been?
My blog has officially died... and come back to life! :) I haven't even checked yet to see when my last post was, but I'm sure it was eons ago. This have been moving along in my world it seems. I've been doing my usual thing, but some things are different in my life. Let's see, my roommate, Steph, moved out. She got an amazing job offer in New York City - one that just couldn't be passed up. She decided to take it, and after three very fast weeks, she was gone. My apartment is very strange and quiet these days. Granted, she's only been gone for like four days, but I'm already sad. We had a ton of fun, our little group, and a piece of it will be gone now. What I can say is I am excited to hear all of her amazing city stories and to have one more person to visit when I'm back home!
As for me and my little apartment, it will soon be the home of my high school friend Elysia! I'm very happy to be able to share my home with someone I already know and who I already hang out with just about every day anyway. It seriously cut down on a lot of unneeded stress in my life. I think that's about the biggest news in my life. Besides that, Todd and I recently took a trip to Mexico that turned into a disaster and led us to Las Vegas! We also bought plane tickets to go to his cousin's wedding up in San Fran in the summer and will probably be looking into buying tickets home for my cousin Jason's summer wedding sometime soon also.
Well, that felt good. A much needed post (even it if wasn't all that great). Don't give up on me guys! I'm going to try my very best to get to posting again.
XOXO
I just wanted to say a quick HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to everyone!! I hope you spent the day with the people you love :)
2 Second Break
This is gonna be really short cause I'm super busy at work, but I forgot to tell you all that I felt my first earthquake! I'm only excited because it was a little one (a 5.1 in Mexico) and no one got hurt... and I've been wanting to feel one since I moved here 9 years ago. Anyway, it lasted for about 3 to 5 seconds and made the building feel like it was swaying. So weird!
Okay, back to work for me, but, check out this article. Maybe fairytales are real, after all :)
I need a snow day.
Welcome to Southern California - the land of perfectly tanned beauties, buff surfers annnnnnd conceited weather reports?! I always knew that California was pretty full of itself, but this? Come on!
Send some snow my way!
Yes We Can.
Today was Super Tuesday... a day to vote. A day for change. A day to show what America is about. As I stood in line and signed my name and cast my vote, I felt proud. I felt happy. We are a lucky people. We are free. And, in a world like ours, that means a lot. I couldn't help but look around as I filled in my ballot bubbles and think about how lucky I am - how lucky we are. We can go to the polls and vote and not worry about a million things that people in other nations have to worry about. For this reason, and so many others, I love our country. I love America. So, now as I sit at home with my "I voted" sticker on my shirt and my t.v. tuned to the results, I'm anxiously waiting to find out the potential, future leaders of our country. We need something to happen, and we need it to happen soon. We need better education. We need better health care. We need change. The thing is, if I really think about it, voting is really important to me. Maybe more important than I've thought it to be in the past. As someone who is a woman and half black, I represent a collection of people who didn't get to vote for free. I represent a people who had to struggle for their rights, who had to fight for the ability to demonstrate their beliefs. This is why I feel so proud. Even if my one little vote didn't change anything. Even if it didn't sway the election, I know it's important that I made the effort to do what so many other people can't do. And, despite the fact that I'm a registered Republican, this video depicts what should be everyone's takeaway from the primaries and the upcoming presidential election - yes we can. We can make a change. We can make a difference.
Did you vote this Tuesday? I know I did.
I got a ham in a box! :)
So, Daniel's birthday was a hit! It was so much fun to watch him open all of his presents and play a bunch of puppy themed games with him. Eli and his cousin Vin even stopped in for the festivities! Is sure is funny what you can get a bunch of twenty somethings to do when a baby is involved :) We even celebrated Todd and Eli's birthdays, and everyone left with a gift! I must say that my mom is an excellent party planner! Besides all the baby fun, my favorite part of the night was when I received a gift from Ma (thats my grandma, for those of you who don't know). Back home in New Jersey, we have this amazing breakfast food called taylor ham. It's got to be awful for you, but it's basically a NJ staple and something that you can't get in any other state (as far as I know). Anyway, Ma sent me some because she knows how much I love it. The following is the sequence of me getting my gift. (this one's for you Ma).
He's 2!
Today is my little brother Daniel's birthday! He's two!! That's right, two. For all of you who have forgotten, I'm 22! When I really think about it, our age difference is CRAZY. But, despite the some 20 year difference, I feel like Daniel (better known as Baby) and I are very close. He's just about the cutest thing ever, and I feel like I'm always amazied at the new things he can do when I see him. So, since he's two today, my mom is throwing a birthday party that has Daniel written all over it - a puppy party! For some reason, Daniel is obesessed with puppies. I think my mom was thinking of getting him one for a present, but I'm pretty sure she doesn't need one more "kid" to take care of. Anyway, since we couldn't get him a real puppy, Todd and I decided to purchase a musical, singing stuffed animal. It's so cute, and even teaches things like the A,B,C's and colors. The funniest thing about the party though, is the guest list. I'm pretty sure almost everyone is over the age of 21! Guess that's what happens when you have a 22-year-old sister :) So, happy birthday, Baby (for when you're old enough to read this).
Blah
Ugh, I wanna update with something interesting so bad, but I've got nothing :( Nothing new or exciting since yesterday, except for the fact that my weird dizziness is still going strong and I had a random fever last night. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to hopefully figure it out. Other than that, it's pretty gloomy in SD. There are all these huge rain clouds rolling in, and it's really windy. My mom has to take Kaleigh on her Brownies camping trip this weekend in Julian, and she's pretty worried that it's going to snow and she's either going to get stuck there or have a really hard time driving on the windy roads. Everyone say a quick prayer that the trip is cancelled. Oh, and who else out there has been watching American Idol? Yes, it's another guilty pleasure of mine, but I can't help it - the bad people are SO bad. Tuesday night were auditions in SD, and I must say I was pretty disappointed that most of the people weren't even from here! Anyway, I did see one person I went to high school with, and it was cool to know that the auditions were held in my old town. I'm really looking forward to this season. Last season was pretty bad, so I'm hoping this one is like earlier Idol years. Well, now that I really sound like I have nothing going on in my life, I'm going to go stuff my face at my office party!
Surgery Recap.
More than a week later, I'm back from the sugery table and my mom's recliner, and back to work and emails and articles. I guess I was more scared than I needed to be (what everyone kept telling me), but I'm pretty sure I would be just as freaked out if I had to have surgery again. The morning of the 15th was stressful, to say the least. I think I almost cancelled about a million times, but somehow, I made it through the procedure and back home to rest for a week. My surgery went well, although it did last 4 hours when it was only supposed to be an hour and a half! You can imagine how much my mom was freaking out when the doctors told her "it would be a little longer than expected." All I really remember was talking to a bunch of really nice nurses, being injected with what everyone kept calling a "tequila shot" and waking up some 5 hours later really groggy and confused. The recovery time was rough at points, especially since my doctor ended up working on my septum and didn't prescribe me strong enough meds to cover the pain... but, once that was fixed, I was basically passed out for a week. As annoying as all the nasal rinses were, it was nice to be home and get taken care of. Plus, I had fun spending time with everyone, including Todd, who stayed with us the whole week (after work of course). On Monday, I got the splints that had been living in my nose taken out, which by the way were incredibly large! I couldn't even believe that they could fit in my nose! Once they were out, I felt 10, 000 times better, and I was able to stop taking all the pain meds pretty soon after. Since then, I've been able to breathe out of my nose! It's great slash so strange. I've been feeling better, minus this weird bout of dizziness I've been feeling for the past two days. It's the weirdest feeling - like I'm underwater and off balance. I've been told its "part of the healing process," but I had to leave work early yesterday, and considered staying home today (didn't do that). It's kind of hard to concentrate when my head feels like it's full of who knows what. I'm hoping it goes away soon so I can avoid any more run ins with the dreaded endoscope, ha!
Throughout my week, I felt very blessed and loved - I'm lucky to have so many people around me who are willing to take care of me and who genuinely care about how I'm doing. Thanks to all of you!
And, that's my news for now. Haven't really been doing anything more than that :) Hopefully, things will get exciting soon.
Oh gosh, it's tomorrow.
Well, tomorrow is my surgery. For all of you who are wondering "what the heck happened to Amanda?!"... I'm actually having sinus surgery to hopefully help fix my many breathing/sinus issues. Anyway, I'm more than just a little nervous - I'm full on freaked out! Everyone keeps telling me I'll be fine, but it doesn't help with the fact that I'm terrified of the process. Plus, I've been doing way too much research. You won't even believe all the scary things you can find online about this stuff! My doctor gave me this whole talk about how positive thinking can really change the way you feel. And, while that seemed all fine and dandy while he was going over everything with me, now that's it's tomorrow morning, I'm actually wondering how the heck I'm going to get myself there without having some sort of anxiety attack. Ah! Anyway, thanks to everyone who has been encouraging me and saying they'll be praying for me. I'll be thinking of you all, along with my happy thoughs as they inject me with whatever the heck they're using to make me fall asleep.
So, yeah. That's my post for the day. I'll let you all know how it goes once it's all over.
My Top 50
Take a look at what this twentysomething is blogging about the most...
2008 - Here I Come!!
As I've done for the past two years, I'm continuing my tradition of doing a yearly recap. Looking back on 2007, I think it was the fastest year of my life. The time just flew by! And, while I'm sad to see it go, so many amazing things happened that I can't help but wonder what the heck 2008 has in store for me. Starting from the beginning, here's what happened:
1. I rang in the New Year at a club in New York City with my old roommates. While being in New York was exciting, the night wasn't. I didn't even get to see the ball drop! I was convinced (once again) that NYE was the worst holiday in existance.
2. After recovering from the fateful first night of 2007, Michelle, Brooke and I headed up to Boston to learn some lessons in colonial history (okay, that may have been just me). We walked the Freedom Trail, ice skated in Boston Common, learned how to crack open a lobster, found out that Boston ROCKS and got to love our home away from home in Revere.
3. Once back in California, I began the post-college graduate job search. After plently of career fairs, interviews and a month of pure stress and confusion, I landed my first "real" job.
4. After about a week at the aforementioned job, I realized that maybe it wasn't as great as I had imagined. I spent my days missing college and wondering if PR wasn't really what I wanted to do. In between the endless pitching I made sure to constantly look for new opportunities. And take some vacations.
5. Thanks to Todd's amazing job, I found myself being whisked away to Miami to spend one glorious week relaxing on the beach and dancing the night away on South Beach. The weather, food and trip in general was a great way to escape for a while. I never did get a coconut though.
6. Todd and I brought a little bit of the Latin heat home with us and started taking Salsa lessons. We were pros in no time, and found ourselves spending many Thursday and Friday nights dancing among the best of them at places like Cafe Sevilla and Club Miami.
7. On a whim I decided to apply to USC, and much to my surprise, I got in! While Todd partied it up in Vegas with his bosses (haha), I wondered what to do. Grad school meant moving to LA and leaving everything I loved behind. After much avail and many tears, I decided that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to study public relations in the city of angels.
8. April was a month of birthdays and celebrations. Todd spent Easter at my house, where we were plesently surprised by way too much chocolate. I also got to meet Todd's parents for the first time on their trip to sunny San Diego!
9. As always, I took a three-day weekend to go meet my dad and the rest of the fam in Las Vegas. I was once again forced to stay at Circus Circus, but got to see the Tournament of Kings and visit one too many buffets. At least I didn't lose any money!
10. Once May rolled around, I was nervously counting down the days to grad school and getting ready to officially graduate. My dad and grandparents came to town to help celebrate my accomplishements at SDSU. And, on May 19, I finally had my official college diploma in hand. My friends and I celebrated the end of an era at an amazing beach-side party in Mission Beach.
11. In between the boredom at work, the fear of grad school and the excitement of graduation, I stumbled upon an amazing PR job posting online. I decided to take a chance and see what happened.
12. After two interviews and a writing test, I got a phone call that would change everything. I found out that I had landed the job - a once in a lifetime opportunity to work at one of San Diego's top PR firms. More thinking led me to decide that getting some experience here in San Diego was what I needed to do. Thus, I began my career in public relations.
13. June was a month of weekend getaways and new beginnings. I found out that I really did like PR and that you can still have a fun summer when you're working 40+ hours a week.
14. With tons of baseball games under our belts thanks to our Padre's 12-pack (including a Red Sox and Mets game), Todd and I hopped on a plane yet again to go back east. This time, we landed in Boston, rented a car and drove 6 hours to Ithaca. After meeting the college friends, discovering some gorges and dancing the night away in the Commons, I realized that maybe the hippie lifestlye was for me, afterall.
15. Once our time in Ithaca was up, Todd and I drove back to Boston where we met up with Lin and Todd's parents for dinner in Little Italy. Then, it was off to Hampton and the Camp, and my first look at where Todd grew up! I had tons of fun kyaking on the lake, meeting Todd's family and relaxing in the East coast sun. It was hard to leave and get back into the working mode.
16. The end of July marked my birthday and a great day of celebrating with family and friends. Not only did my dream come true of making a real pizza at a pizza palor (thanks, mom), but I also got to hang out with some of my best friends at Dave and Busters - one of the few places you can truly be a kid and an adult at the same time.
17. After moving out of Fermi, my old roommates and I went our seperate ways. It was weird to be moving out, but also oh, so wonderful to be moving into a new place with my own space. I even got a new roommate and friend, Steph!
18. August was full of work, work, work. I tried to make the most of my last couple weeks of summer hours and headed to the beach directly after work on some Fridays. Todd and I also took a quick trip to Texas, where we spent some ridiculously hot days hanging out with the other side of my family.
19. Before I knew it, it was fall. By the time Halloween rolled around, I was wondering how the past year had gone by so fast!
20. Todd and I celebrated Halloween as a bee and a beekeeper with the kiddies. We went trick-or-treating, ate tons of candy and celebrated the day we met. Two days later, we were on our way to San Francisco for a weekend full of sightseeing.
21. San Fran was amazing, and after touring Alcatraz, eating bread bowls at Pier 39 and riding bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge, we were ready to come back to America's Finest City and just do nothing for a bit.
22. The relaxation ended soon as we were thrust into the holiday season. Thanksgiving was here before we could say gobble, gobble, and my mom and I cooked up a storm to celebrate. Lin came out to join the festivites, as did Todd's roommates Eli and Derrick. It was a Thanksgiving to remember - and to be very thankful for.
23. The weeks continued to fly by and the Christmas parties, cookies and gift-giving needs started to stack up. I really got into the holidays and tried to buy everyone the perfect gifts. Then, all of a sudden, it was Dec. 20, and time for my trip home.
24. After flying all night and landing in snowy Boston at 6 am, Todd and I lugged our suitcases through the freezing cold air to Lin's apartment in East Boston. A few hours of sleep later, I had Todd hurrying through the city on a tour of all of the colonial sites we could fit into one day. I finally made it Bunker Hill and ended the night in Cambridge with a bunch of our favorite east coast people.
25. The next few days were amazing, and oh, so Christmasy. We spend an early Christmas Eve at Todd's aunt's house where I tried some Swedish pickled herring, met some more of the family and ate some of Todd's mom's delicious apple pie. When the celebration was over, we headed to Hampton. The next day, I was off to Jersey.
26. As always, being home was great. I saw all of my family and friends and tried to cram as many New Jersey things as possible into 10 days. It made me happy to be able to see everyone, and even happier to have Todd come and experience some more of where I grew up. Plus, we saw Phantom and ate about every type of east coast food possible. I'm surprised I can still fit into any of my clothes!
27. And, this year, for the first of my "adult" years, New Year's Eve was actually FUN! Todd and I met up with a bunch of friends and truly CELEBRATED! We started off at Puglias eating scrumptious Italian food and wondering when the waiters were going to stop bringing more wine. Once Jorge was finished singing "New York, New York," and our bill was paid, we cabbed it over to PRESSURE, for a night of dancing and picture taking. At about 3 am, the party ended, and we headed home, knowing we had ended the year the best way possible.
So, here we are... in 2008. What will the next 12 months bring? I guess we'll just have to wait and see :)
Some time would be nice
Ahhh!! No time to update again. I hate when my blog dies :( I promise to have a real post soon. I really have been working on my year update... it just takes FOREVER! As for me, I'm off to get a CAT scan in 15 minutes. Yikes! Wish me luck. I have a really hard time lying still for long periods of time - especially when it's inside a big, creepy tube thing.
Back in Action
That's right, I'm back. After an amazingly, wonderful Christmas vacation, I'm back in SoCal and back in the office. I'm exhausted today - running on about 7 hours of sleep in the past two days thanks to New Years and my flight back (which got me home at about 2:30 a.m.) But, I'm not complaining... no way! I had the time of my life. I'm pretty sure this was one of my best trips back. I got to do so many things and see so many people. It was great to hang out in Boston and FINALLY visit Bunker Hill :) Plus, Todd and I stayed with Lin and had a ton of fun avoiding stabbings (haha) at the resturant across the street from her cool apt. while eating empanadas, partying it up in Cambridge and just BEING in Boston. I also was lucky enough to be able to attend Todd's family's Christmas Eve celebration, which was great! I got to meet some more of Todd's family and to spend some time with his parents both there and at their house in Connecticut. Hampton was great - a true wintery wonderland. I had a lot of fun hanging out with the locals (aka Eli and Chan) and even saw a deer and some wild turkey crossing the street, haha! My train ride home was interesting to say the least. After having the train stopped for Todd who was stuck inside, tripping a random man and sitting next to a computer nerd who wanted to upload all of my music on to his computer, I was happy to arrive in NEW JERSEY! I had a great time with my Dad, Rose, the kids, Ma and Pat, and of course my very best friends who I miss oh, so much when I'm out here. By the time Christmas was over and Todd had arrived, we had so much planned that the days just flew by. Let's just say we had the best time ever hanging out in the City, seeing my family and getting together with old friends. Now that I'm back, I'm wondering how it all went by so fast. I'm already having east coast withdrawls and wondering when I can get back there again. Thanks to everyone who made my trip so memorable. It really was perfect!
PS: Stay tuned for my annual year re-cap. It's sure to be a good one!