Hi there (hello, Ma)! Well, it's Monday and it's February and I'm taking a minute to blog :) I am still recovering from the super bowl yesterday... mainly from the food at our super bowl "party" (if you can even call it that, haha). I didn't really watch the game, but I did eat tons. My super bowl stuff-your-face fest consisted of:
1. Homemade nachos. A lot of them. With a lot of guac, salsa and sour cream :x
2. One hot dog. I later saw the commercial for Hebrew National and was sad that I ate the cheap-o brand that most likely contained the "butt."
3. Two diet cherry pepsis (wow, that word looks weird). I was gonna have three, but decided that might be overdoing it a bit. Everyone else was drinking beer.
4. 3 chocolate chip cookies. They were so good and made by Elysia. I kept taking a half and then going back for the rest later. Come to think of it, I probably had 10 halves, which is 5 cookies - yikes!
Anyway, I woke up starving this morning - at 4 a.m., I might add - and I blame it all on the fact that I ate so much food all day. So, now, I'm deliriously at work (waking up at 4 a.m. for no apparent reason is not fun) and have already had one granola bar and an everything bagel... and I'm still STARVING. Ahhh, this really is going to be a long day.
Hey, at least I updated!
Food Diary
Christmas cheer.
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.
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 :)