2 Weeks of Randomness

* Summer has arrived in SoCal. Days have been 80 and sunny and the Cali poppies have sprung up all over the sides of the roads and are making me want to call in sick each day to work and hang out at the beach. Unfortunately no matter how many times I start out the week thinking that this week will be slower, it turns out to be just as hectic as the past 4 months.

* Dave is at the gym and I am sitting on the couch watching Sex and the City. I love me some SATC. I want to be Carrie Bradshaw minus all the drama.

* It seems like each weekend I make a list of things I want to do (go hiking, read Sunday paper, pilates, catch up on DVR'd shows, clean the house, etc). By the time the weekend is done I've done a 1/4th of the things on my list. The weekends really need to be longer.

* Vday weekend was wonderful. We ate at Gaslamp Strip Club which was wonderful. Seriously if you're ever in SD then I highly recommend the strip club. Excellent steaks and a really fun atmosphere. We also ate at Nobu (the same fancy sushi place that all the celebs frequent). Good sushi and a hefty bill ($2,000 for 10 people). I do not kid.

* During Vday weekend we stayed at the Omni Hotel which was nice but nothing spectacular. Just a nice hotel room with a nice view. They did have an awesome gym which rocked. Each cardio machine had its own flat screen tv. I could have spent hours on the treadmill walking while watching Romey and Michelle's High School Reunion.

* A week ago we met Dave's family at Disneyland for an afternoon of fun. It was cheaper for us to buy a SoCal resident year round pass then it was to buy a single day ticket ($91!!!). I grew up in SoCal and have been to Disney a bazillion jillion times but I must admit that place is just as fun your hundreth time as it is your first.

* In one week we leave for Las Vegas (including 2 nights at the Venetian). I am so freaking excited especially since this week will be crazy at work.

Frustration

I worked late tonight and didn't have enough time to go to the gym. I was away at a meeting last week and missed my last French class. I tried doing the weekend's French homework tonight. It was too hard so I gave up. Instead I read blogs and ate ice cream with caramel sauce. I am fat and frustrated. Foux da fa fa.

California

You know you're from California if:

1. Your coworker has 8 body piercings and none are visible.

2. You make over $300,000 and still can't afford a house.

3. You take a bus and are shocked at two people carrying on a conversation in English.

4. Your child's 3rd-grade teacher has purple hair, a nose ring, and is named Flower.

5. You can't remember . . is pot illegal?

6. You've been to a baby shower that has two mothers and a sperm donor.

7. You have a very strong opinion about where your coffee beans are grown, and you can taste the difference between Sumatran and Ethiopian.

8. You can't remember . . is pot illegal?

9. A really great parking space can totally move you to tears.

10. Gas costs $1.00 per gallon more than anywhere else in the U.S.

11. Unlike back home, the guy sitting in Starbucks at 8:30 a.m. wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses who looks like George Clooney really IS George Clooney

12. Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment.

13. You can't remember . .. is pot illegal?

14. It's barely sprinkling rain and there's a report on every news station: 'STORM WATCH.'

15. You pass an elementary school playground and the children are all busy with their cellphones or Ipods.

16. It's barely sprinkling rain outside, so you leave for work an hour early to avoid all the weather-related accidents.

17. HEY!!!! Is pot illegal????

18. Both you AND your dog have therapists, psychics, personal trainers and cosmetic surgeons.

19. The Terminator is your governor.

20. If you drive illegally, they take your driver's license. If you're here illegally, they want to give you one.

My V-Day Thus Far

Gag Inducing

Cupcakes that I baked for my staff.

Dave and I usually do a pretty low key Valentine's Day. Usually we (meaning me) will cook a nice dinner or we'll venture out to a nearby reasonably priced restaurant. Dave isn't much of a romantic and I'm not the type to say we will do this, then that and you'll bring me flowers and chocolates. Needless to say I am a girl and a romantic. I've always wished for a boyfriend that would surprise me with a v-day getaway or some other fantabolous gift.


This year Dave who might be trying for Hubby of the Year award did just that. Tomorrow we take off for a stay at the Omni Hotel. For dinner we'll be eating at the Gaslamp Strip Club (Dave originally planned for sushi but I figured that I owed him steak). The next day after relaxing by the pool we will hit up the Melting Pot on our way to meet friends for drinks.

Making this even more exciting is that Monday is a federal holiday and I will have a 5 day weekend! 5 days, no work! EEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeee!!! (This is the point where my head explodes because I am so damn excited).

Flowers and chocolates that Dave had delivered to my office yesterday. Hubby of the Year.

Look Ma! I Can Translate

I love them California Cows. Even more so when I can actually understand what they are saying in the commercial.



Bob the Bull: Ladies, My Name is Bob
Diane the Cow: Hello my friend! Have you lived in Paris?

PS - Today's high? 80. What happened to winter???

J'aime un Petit Oiseau

A little birdie out in the internet land sent me her copy of PS I Love You to read. As soon as I received it in the mail I immediately began reading even though I am still working long arse days. What a sweet little story that has almost made me cry each night (and I never cry). I really recommend it to anyone who has a long term significant other because not only is it a quick read but it also makes me reach across the bed each night and tell my wonderful husband how incredibly thankful I am to have him in my life (stinky morning breath and all). Now I'm just trying to not read the book too quickly. Dave and I have a little Valentine's Day getaway planned and I would like to finish this little love story while sitting by the pool. This will be easier said then done as the book is so cute and heart warming and I want to read it all NOW.

PS - (Because what would a post about a book called PS I Love You be without a PS of its own) Dear Person Who Let Me Borrow Their Book - You are one of the evil non-spine book breakers. I am one of the lay diagonally across the bed with the book splayed as far apart while I voraciously read book readers. I am trying as hard as I can to respect your spine non-breaking ways but be forewarned that it is causing restraint on my part which I don't have much of. Merci beaucoup.

Great Interview Experiment

As part of The Great Interview Experiment Little Miss Mel asked me a few questions. I had a lot of fun answering these and highly enourage everyone to go over to Citizen of the Month and sign up.

1) As you mentioned, the "comments" field on your blog is not enabled. Is this intentional? If so, why?
When I began blogging I didn't do it to keep in touch with family or friends. I did it to exercise my creative writing skills because I spend most of my working day being dry and technical. Except for one friend from college no I one I know, away from the internet, really knows my blog address. I've enabled comments a few times and each time felt I censored myself and became hypersensitive to who was reading. Ignorance is bliss!

2) Being a resident of San Diego during the recent fires, can you give us an idea of what it was like from the front lines? Have these recent events changed you in any way? If so, why?
To read my account of the fires you can go here. I'm not a drama queen and I can honestly say it was SCARY! The only way it's changed me is by adding a few pounds on my frame. Too many ding dongs and root beer lunches as a result of long work days.

3) Congratulations on your recent nuptials! When and how did you meet your husband?
You can see my original post here. Two little details that I didn't mention in the original post: I vividly remember reading my email when I got back from the gym. I was wearing navy track pants and a stripped razor back tank and was laying on my belly in my roomate Steve's bedroom which smelled like boy funk and gym socks. At the time I didn't have a computer and would have to sneak on his to check my email. He didn't have a desk in his room and the computer was laying on the ground which meant that when I used it I was nose level with the most potent funky smells. Second thing I remember vividly was the moment I drove up to the softball fields. It was like slow motion as I turned into the parking lot from the street and made eye contact with the hottie standing at the gate.

4) Before moving to San Diego, you lived in the Bay Area. Why were you there and what were you doing prior to your move?
I moved to the SF Bay Area from Fresno for a boy who works for a space satellite company. The relationship didn't work out but I still consider it to be one of the best moves I've ever made.

5) Looks like you have a great love for music. Can you give us a sample of your most recent favorite bands/songs?
Recent? That would have to be Modest Mouse, Snow Patrol, Pinback, Death Cab for Cutie and almost anything that plays on the Sirius station Left of Center.

6) Seeing that you may add another member to your family in the next few years, will you stay in San Diego to raise your family or will you find somewhere else to settle down?
Errr! (That's the sound of braking). IF babies came onto our life it wouldn't be for another 3 years (pending no accidents). I can't imagine rasing a baby without family to help out but Dave is reluctant to move back to the Bay Area near his family cuz of recent family drama. I must admit that I'm not eager to have my MIL around all the time either. We'll see. A lot can happen in 3 years and as they say plans are just tiny prayers to Father Time.

7) From what I can tell, you work for the government. If that is the case, what do you do? Your job sounds extremely rewarding.
My job is rewarding. I don't like to blog about work for fear of being dooce'd. Hmmm ... what can I say? I work for an agency that addresses natural resource concerns on private lands. Our agency is divided into districts and I am the "manager" for one of those districts. I work in a great part of the US and have a wonderful staff that makes me laugh almost everyday. I'm pretty lucky.

8) You have traveled quite a bit to Europe, but haven't made your way to Canada or Mexico. If you could head out of town come Friday, where you would hit first and why?
Oops. It's the other way around. I've traveled to Canada (Vancouver in 2002) and several times to Mexico but I've never been to Europe. If I could leave tomorrow and travel someplace hmmmm ...... I would probably go to a small cabin in the woods where I would drink hot chocolate each morning, snow shoe during the day, and drink good wine while reading a book by the fireplace.

9) You have a lovely assortment of photography on your blog and linked off your blog. Is taking pictures a serious hobby of yours or just an enjoyable past time?Haha! I'm not sure I can even call photopgrapy a past time. I have a little Canon Powershot SD1000 that I just point and click. Beyond that I really don't give photography a passing thought. I'm really not a creative person.

10) And last but not least, I noticed you were a sorority girl in college! Going to school in CA, was being Greek something most gals did, or was it more of a personal decision? Going to school in the South, going Greek was just something we all did to meet people at such a large school.
Going Greek was something that I always wanted to do but never really had the social confidence to go through with. My junior year a girl who I didn't like much asked several of my friends to join a sorority and I kinda tagged along. That girl went on to become one of my closest friends and even did my wedding flowers. In Cali going Greek wasn't quite the same traditional activity that I've heard it is for those in the South. Some do and some don't.