Cosa Times

2011 Holiday Wrap Up.

2012-01-13T20:36:00.000-08:00

Oh, get off my case, I know. It's nice to know that I have a life though, right? A life that keeps me so busy I have absolutely no time to blog?

You're right. I was watching the Criminal Minds marathon again. And again. And again. I can't help it! Morgan is so hot!

Anyhoo, here's what you've all been waiting for: The Holiday of 2011! Woot woot!

Have I even talked about Thanksgiving?! Hold on, let me check... Eek! Not a real blog post since Texas?! My word, let's get on this!

Halloween 2011:

The highlights from this Halloween were definitely being with my 2 nieces, Jaiden (2 years old) and Nixie (11 months old). It was Nixie's first Halloween and it was so exciting to have Tiffer and her family back home.

(Tiffer made a spooky breakfast with a blood red hand-shaped ice cube punch.)

Jaiden dressed as a Bumble Bee.

Nixie dressed as a Ladybug.

And Tiffer dressed as a flower.

How cute is that?!

Let me go back pre-Halloween here real quick. In our family we have a tradition of carving pumpkins together while watching The Nightmare Before Christmas. Well, last year and perhaps the years before we carved pumpkins WAY too early and so by the time Halloween came around? Let's just say we didn't make them look so raunchy on purpose, but hey, it's Halloween so they totally fit the part! Jaiden picked my pattern and it ended up being the scariest of the bunch! And yes, I do carve my pumpkins freehand, in case you were wondering!

Ok, fast forward to the night before Halloween: We took the girls to the church for their Annual Trunk or Treat. I love going to these with my parents because I get a better opportunity to see the little kids in their costumes. Sooo cute!

(My pumpkin was so scary, no other pumpkins dared to sit next to it.)

On the night of, I went with Tiffer to take the girls around the parents' neighborhood Trick or Treating. Jaiden became a professional by the second house. Remember, this is her second Halloween. She walked with me, holding my to every house. then as she braved the front steps of each house, she told me, "You stay here. I will right back." So much entertainment!

Thanksgiving 2011:

This last Thanksgiving was pretty small. It may have been one of the top 5 smallest Turkey Days I've ever been too. It consisted of only the parents, Gina, Tiffer and the girls, and myself. But you know what? That didn't mean a thing in the amount of food we prepared and engorged on! It was also my best turkey yet, according to the family! I got to teach Gina how I prep it, so that was pretty exciting. I like to teach people the way I do things. Especially when it's successful!

(One of the mandatory appetizers: cream cheese with sweet chili sauce and crackers.)

(The traditional pies.)

(The reminders.)

(Pickle.)

(My beautiful turkey trditionally being carved by The Godfather.)

Christmas 2011:

(Every Christmas season it is mandatory we get Sees. Here's Mrs. Sees herself helping out!)

(We went to Candy Cane Lane down in Balboa to check out the lights. Oh and this was my silly Christmas app that was fun to play with.)

(Sweet Baby Kate all bundled up.)

(The winner of it all! I'd be so bummed if I were their neighbor...)

(Jady is always more than happy to pose for the camera.)

(This was my favorite of the season.)

Ah, Christmas. (Oh, hold on, I have to take my meatloaf out of the oven.) Where was I? Oh yes, Christmas. This year was another sort of different Christmas. We were talking about doing another form of charity work but it's hard to do that when Christmas falls on a Sunday. And so we decided no presents (except for the nieces and nephew) and then we would do each others' stockings. It turned out perfect and was so much fun!

(Too many stockings for the chimney. That's a fabulous Christmas!)

(Christmas Eve with Jady.)

This was the first Christmas for Ashley and Adam as a married couple, Nixie and Kate's very first Christmas, and it was such a happy time being all together! We were sure to Skype VJ and his family later Christmas night so that everyone could show us what they got.

It was the perfect Christmas and I am so thankful for such an amazing family!

(One of the toys that was in my stocking! Pickle yelled at me not to shine it in my eye.)

New Years Eve 2011:

(Ready for the big night out!)

NYE was... well... different. Haha! I decided to go with Gina and a couple of our friends to a Singles' event at Dave & Busters. We were supposed to go to something that was more our age oriented, but it got cancelled (lots of drama we won't discuss) and we were told to go to this activity.

Nothing says Happy New Years than being at the same event as your exboyfriends' baby siblings! One of them I've known since she was two. The other since he was about seven.

Sweet.

We stood in line for what seemed like hours. When we finally got inside, it was so packed you couldn't breathe, let alone walk anywhere without touching someone. We got to one of the dance floors and decided to make the best of it! And so we danced. Until the heels made it unbearable to stand anymore.

(Green, Deanna and I dancing our hearts out.)

("This party blows" pose. Haha!)

We made the rounds and found ourselves sitting in the mechanical bull room. We grabbed some stools and sat in a corner. That was when the night got fun! Who needed to walk around when everyone else was? Everyone we knew, including some we hadn't seen in a long time, were making their own rounds and finding us! It was hilarious. Have you ever seen the How I Met Your Mother with the "woo girls?" That was us. Every time someone we knew rounded the corner and saw us, we wooed!

(Scary fog on NYE? Not a good mix at 2:00AM.)

All in all, it was a fantastic New Years! I even got home safely in the fog before all the drunks headed home! YAY!

(Another New Years Kiss against Fiyero's will.)

And so you have it. The holidays of 2011 in a nutshell! Now I'm almost caught up! Woo hoo! Until next time!

This Is the New Year

2012-01-01T14:04:00.000-08:00

Let's do this 2012!

Because Everyone Wants To Know.

2011-12-30T22:05:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. I'm still not caught up. But life keeps happening and then I discover fun little diddies like this gem!

This is me (ok, it's not me, but everyone calls me Zooey these days) singing with Joseph Gordon Levitt. It's absolutely adorable and I'm pretty sure she's wearing the Calvin Klein dress I planned on wearing tomorrow for New Year's Eve, haha! Maybe I'll just add a tiara. Why not?

How Can I NOT Love This?!

2011-12-28T20:27:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know I have TONS to catch up on but when I got word form Ingrid's Facebook last week that she did a cover of my obsessive song, I HAD to share it with all of you!

Yes, even though it's been almost 2 months since I shared the original (see previous post), the song "Somebody That I Used To Know" is still in my head! And btw, it's a really good song to workout to!

So without further ado, here is my favorite female artist singing my current obsessive song!

Enjoy!

Song of the Day #327

2011-11-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

My dear friend from Australia shared this song with me on facebook. I love it! Sometimes you just find a song and listen to it on repeat all day long. Ok, well I do!

Anyway, I never heard f this band until Pippy posted it. I absolutely love it and I love her for sharing it! The video is also so fantastic and so artsy. It's fun to watch! Enjoy!

It's a Reunion, Y'all!

2011-10-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

It has been a year since I saw my dear friend Amanda, which was during the craziness of her wedding, so there wasn't really any hanging out time. As you may recall, she and Jason moved to Texas and got married there. They even bought a house in Houston! (I'm very proud of them.) But since I wasn't able to do much touristy fun, I decided it was high time I did. This time, I invited my friend Stephanie, who recently relocated to Ohio, to fly down and play too!

Me: "Amanda! How will we ever recognize each other? It's been sooo long!"

Amanda: "Well, I'll be the girl wearing glasses waiting in Baggage Claim for you."

Me: "Maybe we should wear flowers in our hair so as not to miss one another."

(Reunited and it feels so good! Steph, me, Amanda.)

(Steph and I. Let's do this!!)

The reunion started immediately in the airport. I found Amanda and Jason and popped both of their heads off with a giant hug. We waited for Steph and as we did, Amanda and I had to turn away as a military dad was reunited with his wife a young son. And then another returned military man meeting his own family. Brings tears to my eyes every time. As soon as Steph came down the elevator, we were off to our first stop!

That's right, Jason wanted to take us somewhere he'd been dying to go: Menchies frozen yogurt. YUM! We then drove back to the Chan house and were very impressed by the new home owners' new abode. I must admit, seeing amanda and Jason in their own home, able to design and decorate however they will only made me long to buy a house even more. This has been in my mind for over a year now, but this only made me want it more.

(A pretty successful shopping trip!)

The few days we were there we did 3 main things: Eat, Talk and Shop. What else do you need in a vacation, really? :) We hit the outlets and let's just say we all did really well there. We hit pretty much every restaurant Amanda and Jason wanted to hit up. And by the way, yes, the food in Texas is SO yummy!! Mmmm, now I'm craving meat... Good thing we're celebrating Adam's birthday tonight and he wanted BBQ! Funny how that works!

(Breakfast at Whataburger!)

(Our wonderful hosts, Amanda and Jason.)

Another fun event was The Star Wars Exhibit. I love Star Wars so I was super excited when Amanda asked if this was something I'd be interested in. Steph ended up getting sick during breakfast so we dropped the poor girl off at the house and were on our way. It was super cool! They had models of all of the ships, costumes and all sorts of fun stuff! They even had the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon as a ride simulator! Pretty rad, I must admit. I love this kind of stuff. :D

(In the cockpit of The Millennium Falcon! So cool!)

(That is one tall dude, that Darth Vader!)

(Sweet little Piggy... erm, Yoda. Sorry, wrong Frank Oz character!)

One of the only things (aside from all of the above) that I REALLY wanted to do was drive to The Gulf and touch the water. I have never been in that part of the ocean and I NEEDED to experience it. Everyone told me it wouldn't be worth it, but you know what? It absolutely was worth it. I love being in new places I've never been to. Even if it hadn't been as gorgeous as it had been, I would have loved it! We drove to Galveston and wow, I don't know if you know about the history of the hurricane of 1900. It caused the most deaths out of any natural disaster -- 6,000 deaths to be exact. You can see some of this history as you drive through the town. It's just incredible. And yes, that Stone House you hear about is still standing!

(A beautiful day at the Gulf!)

We had such a great time. Even if part of it was watching youtube videos hours on end, we still had such a blast just being with each other again, laughing and laughing and laughing! Man, I love my girls. I am so happy to say that even thought we're all miles and miles apart (and were when I was in Hawaii), we're still super tight and talk to each other very often.

It sucks to grow up and move, but that doesn't mean we can't remain friends and stay in touch. It's amazing how technology has made it even easier! So if there's someone you are close with, but it's been a while, why not take a quick minute to email/text/call/facebook/tweet them? Because really? There's no excuse not to. :)

A-Squared.

2011-09-23T22:40:00.000-07:00

(The girls! Roo, Traci and Kate, Gi, Ash, Me, Jady, Zoe, Steph, Tiffer and Nix.)

My baby sister, Ashley got married on August 27th to her husband Adam. It's always fun gaining a brother in my life. After all, I grew up with only one of them and so it's fun to add more to our fold. Adam fits right in too, as well as his family!

(Baby Kate meeting Roo for the first time.)

(Cousins: Annie Pie, Roo and Jady.)

(Owen and Roo playing Brick Breaker on my phone.)

(Baby Kate!)

(My favorite face of Annie Pie's EVER! Haha, makes me laugh every time.)

We all flew up to Portland and stayed with VJ and his family. This was definitely no vacation, but hard work prepping for the wedding. But being together as a whole family once again mad it so much fun! Especially since all of the babies were together for the first time with Nixie and Kate! Nothing like a wedding to bring everyone together again! :D

(Tiffer and I practicing in our heels while baking cupcakes.)

(The rehearsal dinner was at Mother's. Such a fabulous place, I highly recommend it!)

The wedding took place at Adam's parents' gorgeous ranch. They got married underneath a big tree with the horses and goats roaming in the background. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was fun with lots of good people, goat cheese and dancing.

(Blue shoes: Traci, Gina, Me, Tiffer.)

(The beautiful bride and her big sister.)

(Best cousins, Jady and Annie Pie.)

(Mom watching the first dance. Dad in his pimp fedora.)

(Me and Jady with the girl of the hour -- or 3 weeks in her case, lol!)

(Tiffer giving her speech full of silly Ashley stories.)

(Owen showing his mom, Tru, his dance moves.)

(Seanie, Nix and me. Nails.)

(Note to self, don't do sparklers as the happy couple are leaving. Things caught on fire and everyone was coughing because of all the smoke!)

On September 10, we had an open house at my parents' house. It was so much fun seeing everyone there! There were some ladies I hadn't seen in years, such as old teachers from church and my cousins and aunties. And of course, more babies.

Ashley and Adam headed out to Reno where they are now living and I already miss my little sister so much. It's always so much when we're around each other because she's so similar to me. Maybe I'm just immature. It's possible that that's why we get along so well, haha!

Congrats to A-Squared! I cannot wait to see what adventures are in store for you! Xoxo!

Summer Fun!

2011-08-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. It's been WAY too long since I actual wrote something about myself and what's going on in my life. I apologize. Life has been VERY busy with lots of changes!

Let's catch up on Hollie's Summer Fun, 2011. I'll just add some highlights aside from the beach, the pool, Disneyland, my tan, etc.

July 4th:
There is no place I'd rather be on July 4th than in my hometown of Huntington Beach. I have been lots of places for this holiday but NONE compare to HB!

This year, Ashley and her fiance, Adam flew down from Oregon to celebrate with us. Most of the day was full of lounging, eating and pool fun. Maybe throw a nap in there as well. ;) Just before 7:00 pm, we loaded our bikes into Chris's truck and were off towards the beach. We parked the card and prepped our bikes and blankets (yes, it's still a little chilly in the month of July to me -- no surprise, really) and were off to the the beach! There's something amazing about riding a bike along the beach as the sun is going down over the horizon.

(Auntie Ash meets Baby Kate!)

(Let's do this!)

(Adam jumps in to help unload. What a gentleman!)

(Team Jones!)

(Gi, Green and Traci with a romantic sunset background.)

(The rents and I are ready for some fireworks!)

(All the single ladies! Me, Gi and Green (Chris in the background))

We ended up on Dog Beach and walked our bikes towards the water and found a spot for the big show. This year, we were joined by Traci and Chris's little girl, Kate. It was her first 4th of July and she had a blast! I know it's hard to tell in the pictures, but she did. I promise. In fact she's in for more fun and get together as she grows older with us. :) The fireworks began and everyone was in awe at the spectacular show. It's just under the Disneyland fireworks shows to me. Just spectacular!

Runs N Goses' Final Show:
I have a bunch of friends that I've known since high school. They've always played shows and had their various bands, playing various types of music. They're all very talented and oh, so much fun!

(Runs N Goses)

One of the "projects" that decided to do was a Guns N Roses cover band. They played a lot of shows, always with a full house. It was always SO much fun! They did a great job and poor Rob was always hoarse for 3 days after busting out his version of Axl Rose vocals. But he put on a great front after studying live performances of the band. He even got the hips/body swing thingy (I don't know what to call it) down. AND they all dressed up like the band members, including Gash (Slash).

(Jr. High School BFF and Rachel. First reunion since elementary school!)

(Krista and Paul came out to see what the fuss was about.)

(I like to force Cassie to take pictures.)

(The groupies!)

They played their last show late July. Now when I say their "last show" I mean their last show until they decide to do a reunion show a few years down the road. Haha! I'm pretty sure this is their 3rd last show but we'll see.

(I'm with the band. Ryan and Doug here. Oh and my 5 inch heels.)

Steph's visit:
I was so lucky to be able to join up with my dear friend Stephanie when she came down for a few days to visit. She moved to Ohio a couple of months ago and we all miss her dearly. I've known this wonderful girl since I started working at ACC. She is one of the smartest, loveliest women I have ever met and I am so blessed to have her as a friend! I miss her dearly but get to meet up with her when I go to Texas this next coming weekend. ;)

(My ACC girls! Me, Danielle, Jaime, Steph and Karen.)

Brudencosas in the house:
The most recent excitement this summer is the return of Tiffer and her family to Huntington Beach! (Well, that and Ashley and Adam's wedding, but that gets a separate post.) Anyhoo, Seanie has been accepted into officer training and so the girls have moved into my parents' house for a few months until they make a big move to Wyoming, their next adventure! Personally, I am very excited to visit Wyoming again as it has so much beauty and places I haven't been to yet! Yay!

(Jaiden loves to cheese for the camera!)

And so I get to be with Jaiden and Nixe and play with them and watch them as they grow older. I cannot wait to see their new experiences and learn new things. I cannot wait to take them to Disneyland and buy them toys and all the things an auntie does! It'll be so much fun to have them here with baby Kate and watch them interact and have so much fun as cousins! YAY!

(Jaiden and Nixie. So excited to have them here!)

Big Move:
Oh yes. Last but not least, I moved! I was having such a difficult time with the new roommate that I had to get out. I relocated to Long Beach in Belmont. I now live in an apartment by myself and absolutely LOVE it! I have missed the ocean air and the beach city life. I can now walk to the beach from my apartment, walk to local shops and restaurants, and even walk to Junior High School Friend's (Jamie) apartment! I am moving on up and I LOVE it!!! :D :D :D

(Cousins! Nix, Jady and baby Kate visiting my new apartment.)

And so, that is the latest. Those have been the highlights of the summer since Costa Rica. Very memorable times. All in all, it's been a great summer and I cannot wait to see what else lies ahead!

I'll be honest though... After seeing all of the Halloween stuff and the blazing heat everywhere I go, I'm ready for fall!

Twins?

2011-08-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

These days, more and more often, I'm getting compared to Zooey Deschanel. I don't mind. I think she's adorable. Maybe it's the big blue eyes, although mine seem to be more green now. Maybe it's the bangs.

Ummm...

2011-08-09T20:17:00.000-07:00

In the words of Ingrid Michaelson, "This whole thing just confuses me..."

Junior High School BFF

2011-08-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

When I was in elementary school, I met a girl named Jamie. We were both invited to a classmate, Amy's, birthday party. We decided to walk home afterward and quickly became good friends. She asked for my phone number and we went to the beach the very next day. (She actually had to tell me this the other day because I had no clue when or how we first met but she remembered like it was yesterday!)

(Amy, me, Carrie, Jamie. Before 6th Grade Camp, they made us take out temperature.)

We remained besties throughout junior high and quickly became fans of Glam Heavy Metal. We rocked out to KNAC, Pirate Radio, and fell in love with any guy wearing their hair long. We had such a blast hanging out at the beach or the mall. We even met local bands and quickly became fans of theirs, ordering their cassette tapes and glossies. We went to the KNAC baseball game and sat next to Tom Ayera of Slayer. That's when I asked how long baseball games last for. You know, who kept the timer of how long the game is going for? Hey, I was soccer player. I was used to half time!

(6th Grade Beach Party. Felicia (still trying to find her on facebook), me, Jamie, Carrie.)

While we were in 8th grade, I was invited with Jamie and her family to Boston and New York. It was an amazing time! Jamie's sister was dating/engaged to a very well known heavy metal band member and they were all there in NY when we got there. It was my first time being on the East Coast and we had such a blast! I remember being in Boston walking around and visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame. (Jamie reminded me of this last night, actually.) We also did The Salem Witch Museum where I bought an arrowhead necklace. New York was amazing. It was the first time I'd seen the city and I was just awestruck! IT was a tim eI will NEVER forget! (We have many inside jokes from this trip that we still laugh at.)

By the time high school came, we were forced to go our separate ways. I attended Ocean View like my older siblings and Jamie went where all the cool kids went, Huntington High. It was hard going through a separation like that, but that's what happens in life. Sometimes friends have to part for reasons of nothing other than life.

I saw Jamie once in college. I went into the career center and she was in a study group of sorts. I was sure to say hi but it was a little awkward. We hadn't seen each other for years and she seemed so different. I know I was different. We each had our own group of friends. Our own lives. Our own college careers.

A few more years went by and a new media website called MySpace came out. One day, out of nowhere, we became friends on MySpace. (This is all according to her, btw. I only remember the next part. Not this MySpace stuff at all.) I remember being on the bike, hanging out with Gym, when she came and sat next to me. (She swears we met each other there but I sweat we ran into each other there.) We got to talking and slowly, but surely, we were back in each other's lives.

Last Christmas, I watched her parents' dogs and house while they were in Hawaii on holiday. It was so good to see her parents again and be in that house that i'd gone to so many times as a kid! All the memories came back. We took modeling pictures in the living room. We called radio stations in the living room while watching MTV. I ate Frosted Flakes with Mountain Dew because they were out of milk. It all came back and I couldn't help but smile.

(This was a couple weekends ago. Hanging out listening to my friend's GnR cover band, Runs 'N' Goses.)

(Some things never change, haha!)

We've since hung out quite often! In fact, I see her probably once a week these days! She's on a gluten free diet too, so she cooks up experimental meals to help me get out of Ana-crime. We have such a blast with our random memories and our favorite topic: boys. It's like time hasn't really passed at all. Our friendship is there and we're still as silly/crazy as we ever were! Just more adult, I guess.

Until we were in her kitchen cleaning up last night and we busted out this little beauty:

I am so so happy for our little reunion! She's such a wonderful girl and I am super happy to have her bak in my life! In fact, I'm moving bout 4 blocks away from her in Belmont! (Yes, that's another story. I miss my ocean so I'm moving closer to it.)

Here's to friendships that remain true, no matter how long it's been!

On A Lighter Note: Bounce!

2011-07-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

I borrowed the following post from my new favorite website: hellogiggles. I've been trying to figure out how to help out on recycling and reusing and this is the perfect way! Growing up, my mom ALWAYS used Bounce dryer sheets. It has now become a staple in my life so, of course, I have these sheets for every load of laundry I do. That's a lot of sheets considering I change multiple times in any given day! Hey, I'm a girl, all right??

Anyhoo, here are some great uses for Bounce dryer sheets. I have yet to try any of them but i'll tell you what. The sheets overnight in my stinky flats will definitely be the first I try! Oh, and dusting, of course, when I run out of my Swiffer sheets...

#1. Mouse Repellent:

Trust me, I don’t want to think about this either or ever. However, in college, when I lived off campus with my roommates in a house in Brighton, Massachusetts we had a mouse spotting. It was a dark period in my college years, but I got through it. Why? Because I Googled “What can you use to keep mice away before your landlord can set mousetraps?” And of course, I found some really great internet advice: peppermint extract and dryer sheets. In a pinch, I subbed extract for peppermint tea bags and put those, as well as dryer sheets, all over our house and surrounding my entire bed. Guys, let’s just say it worked. I mean, I really don’t know if it did but I felt protected and that’s what’s important.

#2. Dusting:

This one is really true. If you’re ever feeling like dryer sheets are wasteful and you want to be more green, you can reuse your used dryer sheets to dust around your apartment or house, so make sure you save them. I know you’re probably all, “No way, that doesn’t work!” But it does – especially on TVs.

#3. Odor Eaters for Flats:

I think we’ve all lost a pair of flats because they start to smell. What do you expect when you wear these things with bare feet? I mean, I know you can wear those little ped socks, but they’re kind of freaky. So what do you do when odor starts to creep into your favorite dancing flats? You stuff dryer sheets in them any time you’re not wearing them. It works. Never again will you toss a pair of flats before their time.

#4. Static Guard:

Yes! My godmother taught me this one. If you ever find your hair standing up a little bit from static or your clothes getting a little clingy, dryer sheets will work in the place of static guard. You’ll be best friends. Just take one sheet and rub it on your hair and clothes and it will help to reduce static cling. You’re welcome.

#5. Keep Bees Away

Summer is full of outdoor BBQs and picnics. While these are fun times with friends, it often comes with a lot of pests like bees. Who wants to get stung by a bee? No one. Not me. Not ever. So the next time you see bees buzzing around when you’re outside, rub your clothes with a dryer sheet and place some out by your BBQ/picnic food to deter bees from hanging around.

Discrimination.

2011-07-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

(My apologies, but please note that this post is heavier than most.)

Cancer does not discriminate. Cancer does not care who you are. It does not care how much money you make. It does not care about the color of your skin. Cancer doesn't even care if you are male or female. Cancer does not care how healthy you are either.

Cancer does not discriminate.

I did not know my grandfather, Joseph Phineas Dunham, who died of lung cancer, but he was the first person I'd ever heard of to die of this horrible disease. We believe this is what helped my grandmother quit smoking.

I have known a handful of other people who have been diagnosed with different types of cancers. Some have passed away and some have survived. Some of them very, very close to me. I remember talking to my sister in law a couple years ago. Her very best friend, whom my niece was named after, died from cancer. When talking to her, I discovered it was such a sudden thing that she still can't believe it. My brother and I talked after that. Her friend was a health nut, constantly running and keeping in shape. Cancer found her anyway.

Cancer does not discriminate.

This morning I got a text message from my boss:

"So sorry to tell you this, Sue passed away this morning."

Sue began feeling symptoms only a week and a half ago. Her boss finally talked her into going to the doctor's Friday afternoon. She was admitted immediately. She was only having symptoms of difficulty breathing. We all figured it was pneumonia since that summer cold is going around. It's amazing how quickly it happened.

Cancer does not discriminate.

Inspiration.

2011-06-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

I met a new friend when I went to Costa Rica. she is my new inspiration. Tonight, she left me this on my Facebook:

"Character contributes to beauty. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades. A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude, and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful.” ~ here's to you....follow your dreams :)

Fear FOR Them.

2011-06-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

The Long and Winding Road... With Detours.

2011-06-04T23:48:00.000-07:00

The day had come. The day we needed to head back to San Jose so we could prepare to go home the following morning. We were all very sad to say goodbye to Playas del Coco. We tried to sleep in but I don't think any of us wanted to waste the time of sleep while we could be up enjoying more hours in Costa Rica. Either that or we just couldn't sleep at all.

We packed the car and said goodbye to Leo at Toro Blanco. We pet the dogs goodbye and we were off to pay our bill with Rich Coast. Kat was going to stay a couple more weeks (lucky girl!) so she was getting more suggestions from Brenda. Seriously, if you ever go to Playas del Coco for diving, be sure to do it with Rich Coast Diving. They definitely know their stuff! We definitely trust Brenda and her suggestions of places to go and eat! She knows her stuff! I was so jealous that Kat was going to be traveling longer in the beautiful country! Anyway we hung out for an hour or so trying to figure out what happened to my booties. I decided to tell Brenda and Juan not to worry about it. If they show up, great. Perhaps somebody else could use a new pair? We said our goodbyes and were off to our next adventure.

The next adventure included a few U-turns and a very bumpy dirt road. We were off to Congo Trail! This was a recommendation from Brenda so we knew it would be worth it. we finally pulled up and decided that 2 of us should stay with the car and luggage due to past history of thiefs in the area. Kat and Jen went first while Risa and I chilled in and around the car. When the girls came back they warned us to take everything out of our pockets and hair because the monkeys will try to steal anything they can get their hands on!

(The snuggle bug.)

(It's like he's telling her a shocking secret!)

Marisa and I paid our entrance fee and was greeted by a young Tico. He was shy and very sweet as he let us into the cage. We were immediately greeted by 3 White Faced Monkeys and 2 Spider Monkeys. These monkeys were once pets and when they tried to release them into the wild, they would just keep coming back to be taken care of. The male Spider Monkey came right up to me putting his arms up to be picked up and cuddled. He was the sweetest thing ever! We were handed sunflower seeds to feed the monkeys and the White Faced monkeys were all over us, playing, inspecting, grooming and eating. It was hilarious! After this experience, we decided it would be best to never ever want a pet monkey. They're worse than children! We were finally done after the monkeys looked under Marisa's dress and down my shirt. We checked out the rest of the animals, which included various snakes, a Barn Owl, a Pheasant, butterflies and more. The Congo Trail was definitely worth the $10 entrance and tip we gave the young Tico! Next we checked out the souvenir shop, purchased our goods (including cold Cokes) and we were on our way to San Jose.

(They went down my shirt, up Marisa's dress... They wanted to see it all!)

Time was running short as we drove the one highway that lead us back to the city. We wanted to make it to the hostel by nightfall since Juan (aka, the Spanish Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords) had told us not to drive in San Jose at night. We were all falling very tired and decided it best to just stay at the Holiday Inn Express that was next door to the car rental place. We ate dinner at Denny's since it was within walking distance and then it was shower and bedtime.

We woke up early and were so sad to leave such an amazing country. We left Kat behind as she decided to stay an extra 2 weeks. We are all very jealous of her and the adventures she'll be experiencing without us as we return to reality. Thankfully, she's still emailing us when she can and will be photographing her pictures and sharing with us later!

So now I need to try to convince my boss to let me work from home so I can move to Costa Rica! Hmmm....

I call Bull.

2011-06-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

We woke up early feeling more exhausted than we had the whole trip. Seems all of our adventures were catching up with us finally! Not to worry, it did not slow us down! We made like sloths and got ready for one of the best dives we've ever done. Today, we were doing Bats Part 2. We needed a do over since we didn't see any Bull Sharks the first time. This was Marisa's brilliant idea and one we will never forget!

We made way to the beach to meet up with Rich Coast and made our way to the Stray Dog (our dive boat). The sun was shining down on us with blue skies, which made for a very warm day. We were ready. We went out for our hour and a half boat ride, talking story getting to know the dive staff more. Let me stop right here. I cannot tell you how cool most divers are! They all have such amazing stories to tell and are all such amazing people. The kind of people you keep in your life for good.

The nerves began to hit as we geared up and got ready for our back roll into the water. Our guide, J.P., was sure to make us aware that he will only be pointing out sharks and not making noise so they didn't swim off. We descended to the bottom and after only a few minutes, the Bulls appeared. It was incredible, to say the least. These sharks are very big. Much bigger than the White Tips we're so used to. The biggest female was about 14 feet long. That's a couple feet longer than we even knew Bull Sharks got! we knew they were big but we thought it was just girth and not length, but WOW! After hanging out with 8-10 Bull Sharks, we can now dive anything! What an amazing dive!

(One of the only pictures that turned out on my camera.)

We surfaced and debriefed a bit, just in awe at these gorgeous sharks. The nerves had turned into excitement and we now have an even greater appreciation for our most feared shark. We enjoyed another boat ride out to Ranger's House, which is this beautiful bay-like area. Kat and some of the crew swam to the island and hiked up the hill, checking out the view. Jen, Marisa and I jumped in the water and lazily swam around, doing a little bit of sight seeing under water. Just a nice lazy time in the warmest water I've ever been in.

(Risa, Jen and Kate with Tom "hiding" during our surface interval.)

(Me in a rental wetsuit. Poor Xcel wetsuit, may it rest in peace.)

Next stop was Black Rock. This dive was definitely more chill and just beautiful. We could not believe how many schools of fish we swam with! There were several different kinds just schooling and enjoying the water like ourselves. In the midst of them, a couple of Spotted Eagle Rays hung out and we were able to take more photos and videos. We also came across a couple of Nurse Sharks along the way! This was our first time spotting these sharks as well! Not bad at all! This was a very relaxing dive and a nice way to end our week of diving.

(Risa caught some gorgeous shots of the schools of fish surrounding us.)

(Me, completely stoked after a very successful day of diving. Look at how gorgeous Costa Rica is!)

We sunbathed on the way back and then took our daily dip in the Toro Blanco hotel Pool. Martin, the other owner of Rich Coast Diving, stopped by and enjoyed a quick dip as well and invited us to lunch. We obliged and went along, picking up Brenda on the way. We had delicious food (Seafood Rice, Chicken Rice, Shrimp Rice, french fries and salad) and lovely conversation. Martin had taken some footage with his camera during the dives and even got close enough to get smacked by a Bull Shark! They invited us to their home so we could view the footage and continue the pool session. It was a fantastic evening just chilling in the pool and getting to know each other. We enjoyed a lightning storm from afar and as the lights went out, the fireflies came out. A perfect way to end out time in Playas del Coco! Kat and Risa are now talking about doing the Dive Master Program here in Costa Rica with Rich Coast! Who knows? Maybe I'll join them... ;)

(One of the amazing shots Martin from Rich Coast Diving got of a pregnant female Bull Shark. She was about 14 feet long and all scarred up from mating.)

Terrestrial Time.

2011-05-31T20:51:00.000-07:00

Our dive package included only 5 days of diving so we decided to take a break. Now when I say take a break, I don't mean take a break from being as active as we'd been. After all, this is Costa Rica and we needed to be sure to explore whatever we could!

(The first step? Climb up the ladder to the zip line.)

(Jen braved the zip line going first.)

(Marisa with excellent positioning followed.)

(Kat went next while I brought up the rear.)

Adventure Tours it was! This was recommended by our new friend Brenda, one of the owners of Rich Coast Diving. Seriously, the best way we could experience one full day of land adventure. For the price of $80, and an hour and a half car ride, we got 2 1/2 hours of zip lining, 45 minutes of tubing down some rapids, and then a horse back ride down to a waterfall. Oh! AND it included a buffet lunch as well!

(After the zip lining, the repelling. Jen, Kat and I all chose to do this upside down.)

We would like to announce that Marisa took on her fear of heights and conquered all 7 zip lines, 2 Tarzan swings, repelling, suspended bridge, and some rock climbing! Not bad for a girl on the verge of a panic attack. Poor thing. But she did it and we have the pictures to prove it!

(Risa amazingly conquered the repelling.)

(Kat shows off.)

(Risa waiting to climb, Kat Tarzan swinging, Jen climbing.)

(Not sure what's going on here but I believe it was the lazy part of the river.)

(Jen and Risa chilling before some rapids.)

(Our bums were a little sore after this horseback riding stuff...)

By the time the whole adventure was done, we were exhausted. We climbed in the car and did our best to stay awake. We got to the hotel and enjoyed another lovely cool down in the pool. Jen and I walked to our favorite pizza place once again and got a 4 cheese with garlic to go. We brought it back to our room and we all debriefed about the fabulous day out of water!

Channel of Sharks.

2011-05-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

The next adventure was another big dive we were looking forward to: Catalinas! These are a bunch of small islands out about 45 minutes from shore in the opposite direction as Bats. These dives are known for all of the rays that frequent the area!

This dive trip was also the very last one for my poor Xcel wetsuit. It is no more for I have destroyed it. Luckily, it was free ;)

We dove at the first site which was on the calmer side of the rock island. We were down for about maybe 10 minutes when finally Spanish Jemaine (remember him from a previous post?) decided to cancel this site. We surfaced and he said, "I refuse to dive in such a place as this. I refuse to do only 3 meters." That's right, the dive was maybe 15 feet deep with pretty much nothing to see.

We hopped back on the boat and went on the other side which faced the open ocean. We dove to about 70 something feet and were greeted by beautiful schools of fish. As we cruised around, we found a giant Red Snapper and many Eagle Rays, which we never tire of. We saw another turtle but it was difficult to determine which type it was because the visibility was less than it had been.

We did a total of 4 dives, if you count the little "pre-dive" and they were VERY intense! The 3rd dive was amazing! This site was called Sharks and we found out why. It was full of channels and a crazy surge. In the main channel we came across a mama White Tip Reef Shark with 7 babies! We sat and watched them forever as the surge moved us back and forth. It was just incredible to see them all swimming in this surge and all so close to us! Kat did super well for her first time in such a surge. We were all very impressed!

(FYI, I did not chase this shark. This was actually the surge helping me get this video!)

As the diving continued we saw more Octos, Eels, a couple of gorgeous Round Rays, and more! This area was definitely worth the trip out! And of course, we more sun while eating the delicious pineapple between dives.

(Poor wetsuit. That was just the beginning!)

By the time we got back we were all so super tired -- the usual. You just don't realize how much work you're really doing when you dive! It's all so relaxing and just peaceful that it's easy not to notice! As per usual, we took a dip in the pool to wind down and had our Monkey Time. Then we decided to start getting ready for dinner, which was at La Caveja again like the night before with the owners of the dive shop. Hey man, the food is good and who knows when we're coming back! As we were about to leave the rain came pouring down! It poured and poured and that's when the thunder started. Let's just say I'm not so good at pretending I'm not terrified. :( We were eating in the restaurant and the girls were trying so hard to soothe my nerves. Let' just say I may have made myself sick after such a freakout. The lightning was literally right over us. It was insane.

(Proof as to how close the monkeys really are here! That's Kat standing outside her and Risa's room!)

(Just after checking out his reflection by mine and Jen's room.)

(Sweet mama and baby.)

We made it back to the hotel, thanks to Jen's skill of driving in the snow, and got ready for bed. Of course, the thunder storm continued and I did my best to try to get use to it. So, I decided to join Risa in trying to capture photos of the lightning! We didn't do so hot, but at least it helped get my mind off of it. Finally, we all got too tired to stay awake and I'm pretty sure we went to bed at about 8:00pm! We're such grammas on this trip because we are so active during the day! The sun goes down, we go down! It's been so amazing though, I wouldn't change a thing!

And Suddenly, The Boat Was Empty.

2011-05-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

Our next big day was one we were ALL looking forward to! It was time for the epic Bats Dive! This island is about a 2 hour boat ride so we had to be at the dive shop at 6:30am. The thing that is so intense about this dive is that it's known for Bull Sharks. Now those of you who know us, we love our sharkies! But when it comes to Bull Sharks? We tend to get a little nervous. None of us had encountered one before so it was going to be a little anxious the whole dive.

(Let's do this! Jen and Risa.)

After a nice cruise out to the dive site, Big Scare, we did an immediate descent and the dive began. The visibility was pretty fantastic so it was nice to be able to look in every direction to be sure were weren't being stalked. We saw plenty of fish but none of us were really paying any attention to the critters before us because we were all keeping an eye out for the big guys!

Sadly, the dive was a bust. We still have yet to encounter a Bull Shark. But even during our 3 minute safety stop we were leery of our surroundings and Kat was teasing us underwater saying she was keeping an eye on the abyss below.

(Such a tuckered out Octopus!)

The next dive was at Black Rock. This site is not known for Bull Sharks so we were able to breathe a little lighter. Here we encountered for huge schools of fish that reminded us of the movie Finding Nemo where the Sardines are schooling together and change suddenly into an arrow to show them which way to go. It was pretty cool. We saw a couple of Spotted Eagle Rays and some more fun stuff, then it was surface time.

(Risa and Jen enjoying the site.)

(Kat still aware of her surroundings.)

We were a little saddened at not seeing any Bull Sharks, but hey, you know what? We're in Costa Rica AND we were diving in a place none of us have been to! How bad can it be? Besides, we decided we're going again on Monday. ;)

Gramma Time.

2011-05-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Dive Day 2. We met up at the dive shop at 8:00am again and then were on our way to the beach. We were escorted by a couple of different people this time, who then helped us on the little dingy to our boat. This boat was a little smaller than the one the day before, so thank heavens there were only 7 of us instead of 10! We all know what happens when a boat is rocking and it's small with a big crowd...

We were broken up into 2 groups again and our group was matched with Juan. Now when you imagine Juan, think of Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords, but with blonde hair and a Spanish accent. No joke! It was awesome! I'll try to take a pix of him the next time we dive with him.

(School is in!)

(I know this is horrible to say, but we got hungry when we saw him.)

Anyway, we headed out to L'Argentina for our first dive. Seriously, we love Costa Rica for diving! We saw more Eagle Rays, tons of lobster (which made us want to eat sushi for dinner -- well except Jen, who's allergic to fish), Octos, more Whit Tip Reef Sharks, and more!

Oh! I forgot to mention one little, tiny incident. Marisa decided she was way overweighted on the dives from the day before so she asked for 2 pounds less. Well she ended up having to hold on to rocks because she was way too light! The poor girl had a miserable time trying to stay down with the rest of us and none of us even realized it! Finally during our 3 minute safety stop, the Spanish Jemaine realized she was underweighted and gave her a couple more pounds to help. It wasn't until we surfaced and were back on the boat that we found out another guy with the same colored weight belt had grabbed her weight belt so she had his. Total sad face.

The next dive was at Play Pen. This time we were sure Risa had enough weight on her belt and we were all happy to see her the same depth as us. We saw more of the same things we saw on the first dive along with more schools of fish and less sharks. We also saw a couple of Hawksbill turtles! The first one was tiny and we hung out in the surge with him going back and forth like being rocked in the ocean. It was so relaxing!

(Sweet baby Hawksbill.)

Let me tell you this as well. The Costa Ricans do it right in between dives and after. They have the freshest pineapple you can get already sliced. It is probably the best snack ever for diving! That and their ice cold water and delicious crackers/cookies! Seriously, amazing!

After lounging in the pool a bit when we got back, we showered and headed out for dinner. This was supposedly the best restaurant in town. We realized that of course, it was the employees of the place saying that because it was definitely NOT the best. Kat and Risa only ate a few bites of their fish because the lemon whatever sauce basically tasted like butter. Think Thanksgiving rolls but 9 ounces of them. Blech! I had the red snapper with macadamia nuts and it was pretty dry. Jen got her anti-seafood plate of pork and she said it was pretty good but not the best. Hey, at least we tried it! We're still into our little pizza place around the corner. Man that pizza is good!

(Our new friend at Papagayo. We love how they let the dogs and cats chill wherever! And yes, she is almost in my lap.)

Anyway, we had to get an early start the next morning so we headed to bed at about 8:00pm and pretty much fell asleep as our heads hit the pillows! What a fabulous day!!

Let the Diving Begin!

2011-05-26T19:46:00.000-07:00

(Heading to the dive boat from shore.)

What an amazing time we're having here in Playas del Coco! Yesterday we went out for our first dive trip and we were told it was the best visibility in months. Sweeet!

We met up at the dive shop (a 5 minute walk from our hotel) at 8:00am. After all our gear was packed in truck, we walked the other direction to the beach where we were picked up on a little boat to be taxied to the dive boat. That alone was pretty fun and luckily, none of us fell out!

After getting out boat briefing we decided to start putting on our wetsuits. Let's be honest, the last time we wore these suckers we were about 15 pounds lighter and were putting them on multiple times a day! THIS was going to take a while, lol!

We made it to our first dive site called La Tortuga, which is basically 2 islands that look like a turtle. What a fabulous first dive we had! Kat saw her very first sharks (White Tip Reef Sharks), and we saw heaps of octopus, Jen and I saw an Eagle Ray, tons of eels and even a gorgeous, bright yellow Sea Horse. It was SUCH an amazing feeling being back in the water.

(Clown Nosed Shrimp)

(Kat, Risa and Jen having the time of their lives between dives.)

(Puffers were everywhere!)

(One of the tons of octos we found.)

Our second dive was called Casitas and was a shallow dive with smaller critters lurking about. We found teeny tiny Nudibranchs, crabs, more eels and more octos. It was such a blast!!

(Tiniest Frogfish I've ever seen!)

(Kat's new boyfriend. This sucker was huge too!)

After diving we decided to hit up a place called Woody's, which is different than the Woody's we know and loved in HB. This was a nice place to just chill and eat. I think the part we liked the most was that they built around the trees instead of cutting them down for construction. It's such a nice thing to see all around this town. That and also the dogs and cats running the town, lol!

We headed back to the hotel after eating and decided to relax in the warm pool. We debriefed our first dive trip and did some lazy swimming while Marisa and I dodged the birds that are out plotting our demise. We're still here so they have yet to succeed! Jen and Kat just laugh and roll their eyes at us.

As we were showering and getting ready for dinner, I walked out on our balcony and Leo, our Italian host, was pointing and laughing, telling us to come down and look. Jen and I quickly grabbed our cameras, as did Marisa across the way, and boy was THIS a treat! Howler Monkeys were climbing everywhere around our hotel! It was SO much fun to just see the swinging away and grabbing themselves a bite to eat! Leo told us that everyday at this time they come out. (Then and also 6:30am! Which Marisa found out when she was awoken by one that morning.)

(Look at how happy these girls are now that we saw our monkeys!)

(Risa took this pix to prove how close they really are. That is our roof of the hotel!)

(Apparently he's used to modeling.)

After a bajillion photos of the monkeys, we went for a sunset walk along the beach and then we were off to dinner. We went to the same place as the night before because, seriously, their pizza is SO tasty! You can never go wrong with cheese and garlic though. We were almost falling asleep in our food when we decided it's time to go to bed and prep for the the next morning. What a fabulous first full day in Costa Rica!!!

A New Adventure!

2011-05-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! We made it to Costa Rica! It was a VERY long flight here and I'm not talking about the 7 hours we were on the plane. It may have been the worst flight ever. Between Risa's seat not being able to recline and a 2 year old kicking the back of my chair the whole flight, not my favorite... BUT we are here now and it was worth the flight!

We flew out of LAX to Panama and then into San Jose and were greeted by some very helpful people. We took a shuttle to pick up our rental car and that's when we discovered we must be sure to think "Hawaiian time." It took us probably about hour to finally get our car even though we were 2nd in line. Meh, who cares? We're in Costa Rica!

(A glimpse of all of the white bulls we drove by. Gorgeous farmlands!)

The adventure began there because from here on out, we were on our own! Jen and Kat drove us all the way to Playa del Coco, which is just minutes from Liberia (a 3-4 hour drive for those of you wanting to know). THAT was an adventure! The most challenging part was the very beginning when we directed poor Jen the wrong way on the highway after making her go through this insane 13 way traffic intersection! Ok, it wasn't that big but close enough! After all that, without even a scratch from the crazy Central American drivers, we were able to turn around and go the correct way.

The whole drive was just amazing! It actually felt like we were back on Hawaii with the different terrains. At first it was like driving by jungles. Then it turned into farmland and then into more desert-ish places. Just gorgeous! So far the main wildlife we've encountered is dogs, cats, birds and heaps of cows and bulls!

(Time to email the parents to let them know we are alive!)

We found our hotel after pre-check in at the dive shop for the morning, and were very happy with our choice. It's not crowed at all, we can walk to the dive shop from here, and it's nice and small with an Italian owner. We went for pizza at a recommended place and it was just delicious! You can never go wrong with 3 Cheese and Garlic! Lol!

We made it back by 8pm and pretty much went to bed after that! After all, traveling takes A LOT out of you! And so begins the dive trip of 2011! Stay tuned!

(First night we had to check out the beach! Kat, Jen, Risa and I)

Hungry for the Cure.

2011-05-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

(Mickey Mouse during the opening ceremony!)

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to do a 5K with some of my friends. It was a walk to benefit a cure for AIDS. The best part, aside from the obvious good cause, was that it was held in the Disneyland parks. You know me and my Disneyland obsession... I couldn't pass it up!

(Cassie, Jaime and Steph setting the pace.)

(Team Hungry for the Cure: Me, Ryan, Steph, Cassie, Jaime and Rachel)

We met at my house at 6:15 am and met up at the parking structure. I've never been to the park so early! We walked from the parking structure, taking the tram route, to Main Street in Disneyland. As we walked along the tram route, we read interesting facts about AIDS that mostly pertained to Southern California.

(Let the walk begin!)

The opening ceremony was set up at the end of Main Street and we had a few speakers, including Mickey Mouse, open the walk for us. Sadly, the sound system wasn't that great so we barely heard a word that was said. After about 20 minutes or so, the walk began. We walked towards Frontierland where we were greeted by The Princess and the Frog characters. Too cute that a lot of characters were out to cheer us on! we made our way past Thunder Mountain Railroad with Chip and Dale and on to Fantasyland. Next we went through the castle doors to turn around and see Flora, Fauna and Merryweather from Sleeping Beauty up on the balcony waving to us. My favorite part was when we passed Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Prince Phillip and I asked for a picture. The girl that was with them replied with, "I'm sorry but no, they're just her to encourage you." Bwahahahaha!!! I laughed so hard at that! AND they were the only ones that wouldn't take pictures with the walkers! Even Darth Vader and his Storm Troopers took pictures in Tomorrowland!

(Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, the fairies from Sleeping Beauty, my favorite Disney movie of all time.)

Next we walk back down Main Street and over to California Adventure where we got to go backstage in a few areas. There were a few more characters "encouraging" us on, and it just made me giggle with joy! I love that they were there to encourage us on this 5K, which translates to about 3.2 miles, lol! As we we about 3/4 done we were greeted by a gay mens chorus singing Abba's "Super Trooper" and they were fantastic! I couldn't help but dance as I walked! It was so much fun!

(Minnie, Daisy, Donald and Pluto encouraging us as we exit Disneyland and move on to California Adventure.)

Not only was this walk for a wonderful cause in one of my favorite places in the world, but it was with some great friends! We had such a great time we're planning our next walk for Alzheimer awareness. What a great way to spend the morning with your friends! I look forward to doing more!

To Know Happiness...

2011-04-27T21:41:00.000-07:00

You must also know sadness.

This morning at work, after being there maybe 30 minutes or so, one of the other supervisors came over to each of our desks for a quick meeting. After we were all gathered there, the director of our department mustered us closer together. That's when she told us the news...

One of our coworkers, a wonderful, wonderful woman, Barbara, had passed away last night. No one knew many details and it wasn't something we were at all expecting. As far as we knew, Barbara was healthy as could be. It was a horrible way to start the day.

Barbara was the kind of woman who always had a smile on her face, ready to greet you as soon as she saw you. She would bring candy during the holidays and pass it out to everyone, brightening our day. She was very thoughtful. A friend to all. Not a selfish bone in her body.

A couple of coworkers had spoken to her last night. She had some slurred speech and had told them she wasn't feeling well. They encouraged her to go to the doctor's but she decided it best to go lay down. A little while later, her roommate came home to find her on the floor of her bedroom. Unbelievable. I could not even imagine... We're still wondering if it was perhaps a stroke? Maybe an aneurism?

It was a very emotional day today. The whole entire office was just so melancholy at the shock bestowed upon us that morning. I still can't believe it. They even brought in a Grief Counselor to help those who were having a difficult time. It was a great idea and I feel he helped a lot of people through the day. He's coming back tomorrow too. (And for those of you who know me, you know I just pushed the sadness away and continued to work. It's how I deal with this kind of thing. I will grieve on my own time, but hate crying in public.)

So now we wait for more information as to what happened to our coworker, our friend. Our director came up with an idea for our department to have our own memorial for Barbara. What a sweet gesture. I so appreciate how this whole situation was handled. It's great to know that our higher ups care that much!

So dear Barbara, rest in peace. And God be with you till we meet again.

Disappointment.

2011-04-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

On April 21, I woke up to a text message form my sister, Tiffer. I was in shock. I didn't know what to say. I definitely couldn't go back to sleep after I read the message. And I sure as heck could't think about anything else the rest of the day. I still can't believe it. Such a HUGE disappointment just washed over me.

"Ummm.. Gay Shepard from Mesa View (our junior high school) and her husband were charged with sex crimes with a minor. Yikes," she texted.

Mrs. Shepard was one of my favorite teachers in junior high. She was my teacher for two years in a row and I just thought she was so cool. She always dressed so stylish. She always spoke to us like we were adults. I even went back to visit her when I moved on to high school. I looked up to such a hip teacher, who seemed to understand us.

So much respect for such a fantastic teacher. Gone. I am just appalled. I had to be sure to post it on my Facebook so that all of my classmates were informed. After all, who knows if any of them had an "incident" as well? Perhaps since one kid came forward, it would encourage others to do the same. Most of my old classmates reposted my post along with the article I put up. I'm sure everyone knows by now.

So far, seven other kids have come forward. It just breaks my heart. I still can't believe it. I just don't understand how someone's brain can actually be ok with doing something like this. It just disgusts me. You think about how you see this kind of stuff on the news or in the media. Someone else's teacher. This time, it was mine. You just never know. :(

Teacher placed on leave after arrest

Ocean View School District superintendent says middle school teacher accused of illegal sex acts will not be in class Monday.

"A Mesa View Middle School teacher charged with having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old boy has been placed on administrative leave, the district's superintendent said Friday.

William V. Loose of the Ocean View School District said in a prepared statement that Gay Davidson-Shepard, who was arrested Wednesday in Huntington Beach, will not return to class when school resumes Monday after spring break.

"The district has cooperated fully with the police agency involved in the criminal investigation and will continue to do so," the statement read. "In light of the criminal proceeding, however, we are not at liberty to comment further other than to advise that Ms. Davidson-Shepard has been placed on administrative leave effective immediately pending the outcome of this matter.

"You may be assured that the Ocean View School District has the safety and well-being of all of its students and staff as its first priority."

Davidson-Shepard and her husband, Daniel Alma Shepard, are both charged with multiple felony counts, including oral copulation of a minor, sodomy of a person under 18 and contributing to the delinquency of the minor, according to a release from the Orange County district attorney and Westminster Police Department.

Shepard was also charged with possession and control of child pornography. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in state prison, Davidson-Shepard a maximum of eight years and four months.

Shepard, reached at home Thursday, declined comment.

The couple each posted $150,000 bail Thursday and are out of custody, according to the Orange County district attorney. Their arraignment, originally scheduled for Friday, has been postponed to 9 a.m. May 19 at the West Justice Center in Westminster.

Shepard taught at Westminster High School at the time of the crime, according to the release. Cpl. Van Woodson of the Westminster Police Department said Shepard retired in 2009.

According to Los Angeles Times archives, Shepard once served as president of the District Educators Assn. for the Huntington Beach Union High School District, while Davidson-Shepard served as teachers association president for the Ocean View School District.

The defendants, Woodson said, were arrested without incident at their home about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday."

Being Auntie Hollie.

2011-04-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

One of my dear cousins, Nat, whom I pretty much grew up with, got married on March 25th. It was a huge event and I bid his wife Savannah the luckiest girl in the world. I always said I wanted to find a man like my cousin, Nat (obviously not related, lol). It was a huge event and all of my sibling came out with their families and it was SUCH a blast! Family pictures were mandatory....

And so was 2 weeks of playing with my nephew and nieces.

We tried on Auntie Hollie's heels. (Owen and Jackie)

We snuggled. (Anne)

We cheesed for LOTS of pix. (Jaiden)

Trudie helped JK with Catch Phrase. She's a smart little 7 year old!

We modeled in the sun before pool time.

We swam and enjoyed the 'cuzzi.

Nixie went "swimming" for the very first time.

Jady went down the slide with her dad.

We goofed off.

We hung out with cousins.

We tried comforting our cousins when they were sad.

We played fort with Gramma Pickle (aka, Honey) and Grampa (aka, Pa-gah)'s pillows.

It was such a fun time having all of the babies here, together! I'll post our family pictures later. That was a fun time in the park!

Kate: An Adoption Story.

2011-04-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

Kate Nickol Jones was born on April 5th, 2011. She weighed in at a mere 6 lbs. 15oz. and was 18 1/2 inches long. She had some hair, light brown and was just as cute as can be.

(A very happy daddy!)

(The new mom. A natural!)

(I'm thinking... Shoes?)

Kate came to our family, namely, my oldest sister, Traci and her husband Chris, by way of an open adoption. We were eating dinner one night when my mom had announced that some guests were coming over to visit. A million thoughts crossed all of our minds. As soon as the doorbell rang and I saw who entered, I knew exactly what was up. I turned to my brother in law, Chris, and knew he knew too as we gave each other a nod.

A friend of my mom's and her daughter entered the house. I almost burst into tears and I understood the reason they were visiting. We all sat together in the family room, and the discussion began...

"After a lot of thinking... I've decided on the best thing for my baby. I want you and Chris to have my baby and raise it as your own."

We all burst into tears as the actual words were spoken. After all, this is such a HUGE decision for a young pregnant mother to make. My sister was shocked and handled everything perfectly. She made sure to remind her that this was a huge decision and wanted to be 100% sure it's the choice she wanted to make.

Fast forward to April 5th at 2am. Traci and Chris get a call to come to the hospital. I received a text a little after that saying "(Her) water broke and she's in labor. Going to the hospital now!" I was so excited and was texting Tiffer all morning! It made it easier to use the Benincosa network since I knew Traci would be preoccupied with the whole birthing process. In the end, Traci got to cut the umbilical cord and receive the "handoff" of her new baby daughter.

(Chris multitasking)

(Gramma Pickle and Grampa B.)

(Gramma and Grampa Jones)

Soon it was time for the birth certificate information. The birth mother said she wanted to make it easier for Traci and Chris so they wouldn't have to keep changing the name on it and go through the whole long process. she had wanted to name the baby Nickol in the beginning. Traci gave her the name as a gift of thanks, placing Nickol as Kate's middle name, the way the birth mother wanted to spell it.

(A very happy Auntie)

(Feeding time!)

Baby Kate is at home with my sister and brother in law now. She is so completely loved and cared for with 100% of the focus and attention. She couldn't have asked for a more wonderful set of parents as they cherish her everyday. I was able to meet Kate 2 days later, on the 7th. She is a beautiful little girl and the perfect baby. It is so amazing how many friends, and friends of friends, came through to assist my sister and her husband with many, many baby items, including clothes and other accessories! She is going to be one of the most cherished little girls in the world! I am just in awe at this little blessing that was bestowed upon my sister and her husband! I thank God everyday for such an amazing gift.

A Good Laugh.

2011-04-17T01:52:00.000-07:00

I was at work doing some testing for our new system with several other people. All of a sudden I get an email pop up from my work bestie, who's sitting behind me. What the...? So, of course, I had to open it. This is what I found:

Now you can see why she's my bestie. If you don't understand this, you're either too young or you grew up in a cave.

This song used to be very popular. After posting it on my Facebook, an old friend of mine asked me if I'd seen the music video for this song recently. She said it's pretty much about stalking. Take a look and see what you think, lol!:

TMI: More Medical Fun.

2011-04-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry about being MIA! it's been quite the busy life I've been leading and I am utterly grateful for such a full life! All right, let's get straight to it.

Thursday after work, and after many phone calls, I picked up my prescription for Colyte (aka, GoLytely). For those of you unawares, you lucky people have yet to experience such fun, this is the solution you make to prep your intestines for a colonoscopy. Yup, my digestive problems had led me to go through this horrible procedure. Thankfully, I had several people I could discuss this experience with. And I thank them for their comforting words: "It's going to suck, but at least you're mostly asleep."

I began the Colyte at 6:30pm the evening before (my appointment was at 7:40am the next morning). Oh yes, let's not forget I'd been fasting since that morning at 6:00am-ish. Yup, not only do you have to drink this Colyte delight, but you have to fast a full 24 hours before your procedure. Luckily, I was already having "incidents" and wasn't hungry one bit anyway. So, I began the Colyte. A nurse that had called me a couple days prior advised me to add a couple of lemon-lime Crystal Lite packets. Thank you Maria, for they made the taste much more tolerable! For the first 2-4 hours, after adding water to the Colyte powder making 4 liters worth of solution, I drank one 8oz. glass every 15-20 minutes. For those of you doing the math, that's 3 liters of fluid in 2-4 hours! And after not eating all day, it affected me very quickly.

The next dose of Colyte was to be taken 4 hours before my appointment. This meant I had to wake up at 3:40am to continue the cleansing. For the final liter, I had to repeat the 8oz glasses every 15-20 minutes to complete the cleansing in one hour. Let's just say that by the time I got to my appointment (including while they made me pee in a cup to be sure I wasn't pregnant) I was squeaky clean. To put it bluntly, ear-muffs if you are grossed out easily, I was passing only a clear fluid. Nothing solid and nothing colored. I couldn't wait for this to be over.

I was prepped with an IV and fluids, my vitals were taken and I was on my way. Unfortunately for me, the doctor I saw was hot! Really?!? THIS is the guy who will be performing this procedure on me?? Wow. To make things even better, when they perform a colonoscopy on you, not only do they enter via the rectum, but they have to inflate your intestines to see properly.

"Now, Hollie, after this scope is done you are going to feel bloated and may have a lot of discomfort. You. Must. Fart. DO NOT hold it in because then you will be very uncomfortable, in pain, and we're going to have to send you to ER. Don't be embarrassed, it's part of the procedure. DO NOT HOLD IT IN." So many thoughts running through my head....

The anesthesia began. I woke up a couple of times because I'm the lightest sleeper in the world (oh and because it was twilight sedation). I recall looking up at the screen and asking what the white things were.

"Those are polyps." And I was out again. The next time I awoke, I felt pressure and mild pain as they were removing the scope. Excellent. This is the exact part I woke up when they performed the endoscopy on the opposite end and I woke myself up belching. At least I was sure to say an infinite "Excuse me" before they began.

I finally woke up after about an hour because it always takes me a while to come out of anesthesia. Maybe it's due to my low blood pressure? Anyway, I had extreme pain in my abdomen as the air was still trapped inside of me. Come to find out, he had scoped my small intestine as well. No wonder the air was trapped. I envied the patient next to me who had no problem releasing his bubble. Nurses cheered me on when I was finally able to pass the air. I left in pain anyway as the air would still not come all the way out. I'm fine now by the way. ;)

Results, I know you're all on the edge of your seats here. Turns out I had a few polyps, which they removed. I also had some inflammation in one area as well as a red, blotchy rash in another area. They took multiple biopsies and I should get those results in 10-14 days. So, it's the waiting game. For now they have me on a high fiber diet. Insane, I have to consume 25-35 grams of fiber a day! It's not easy when you're not hungry.

So we'll see how it goes.

Why I Love The Japanese.

2011-03-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

My friend, Stephanie posted this to her facebook and it really brought a tear to my eye. After the death toll reaching close to 4,000 people and over 7,500 missing, this is how the Japanese are responding:

"The Japanese people are demonstrating a true allegiance to social order and calm as they search for loved ones or wait in lines for basic necessities.

There is not a hint of looting or violence, even as residents must wait in line for 12 hours to buy food. Everyone remains calm and polite, earning the admiration of the world.

"Supermarkets are cutting prices and vending machine owners giving out free drinks as people work together to survive," remarked a writer in the Telegraph, as he wondered why we saw looting in disasters past, but not in Japan.

There were also reports of citizens voluntarily turning their lights and appliances off, so as to save energy for the rest of the population."

This is one of the reasons I love the Japanese.

Fear Of Earthquakes Raised by 8.9

2011-03-11T20:30:00.000-08:00

This morning a little after 5am I received a text from my little sister Tiffany asking how I was and if we'd had any tsunamis. Um... What the...? I rubbed my eyes and hopped online. Immediately I saw the news that an 8.9 earthquake had struck the coast of Japan causing tsunamis in the Pacific. The damage was just devastating.

I immediately reached out to my friends in Hawaii since they were some of the first to receive the Tsunami Watch. I can still hear the tsunami sirens in my head. They go would go off in the beginning of every month while I was at work. I got used to them and having to calm the tourists down. I couldn't imagine waking up to that sound in the middle of the night, grabbing essentials and heading to higher grounds.

After hearing all was well and that Kauai got the worst of it (about 4 feet), I discovered that they had closed Huntington Beach, my hometown, and their neighboring city Newport Beach. There was no evacuation but because of the unpredictable currents of the ocean, they kept everyone out.

All of my loved ones and ohana in Hawaii are safe, thank heavens. Words cannot express my heart for those in Japan and those with families that have been affected. MY prayers and heart are with them during this tragic event.

My friend had this to say on his Facebook post: "I'll just say this about Japan, I am grateful an earthquake that size hit there and not some third world country. I mean, it is amazing the size of that quake and Tsunami yet only 500 people or so confirmed dead with less than 1000 missing. Only Japan could have been that prepared and for all the religious nuts, God did bless Japan by giving them the knowledge to know how to prepare their island for such a disaster." Amen, Donavon.

Philly Fun.

2011-03-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

While in Maryland, I did a quick road trip to Philadelphia specifically for a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich with my two brother in laws and my baby sister Ashley. We woke up at 4:30am and were on our way before the sun even rose. With a breakfast of raw carrots and broccoli, we crossed through 3 states until we got to Independence Hall.... before everything was open.

(The most amazing rest stop EVER.)

(I'm no football fan but I love that all of the sports arenas are all next door to each other. It would suck if there were a hockey game, a baseball game AND a football game all on the same night! Thanks heavens all 3 don't overlap!)

We knew we'd get there before we could get food so we thought we'd enjoy some American History. We ended up getting back into the car and driving to Valley Forge while we waited. We did the driving tour after checking out the museum and gift shop, per my request. Simply amazing what these men lived in/through.

(The Unknown Soldier and The Eternal Flame. Speechless.)

Upon return to our original history lesson, we visited The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, The Unknown Soldier's Tomb and The Eternal Flame, and more. Simply amazing to be in the same halls as the men of independence. I love the feeling of history coming alive, which is why I'm part History major. It's just amazing to imagine these important events happening right where I'm standing!

(Independence Hall and George Washington.)

After our tours we got back into the car and headed for Geno's (suggested by my dad's good friend, Bobby Bear) and partook in a delicious cheesesteak (mine with onions). Talking with Chris, we decided it was a good thing we went to Geno's since they claim to be "the best" in Philly. That is until he looked across the street at Pat's, which is apparently "the king" of cheesesteaks. Dang it! Well, I had to do it. After all, how often do I go to Philadelphia? Exactly. So, I gave my cup of soda to Seanie to hold while I ordered another cheesesteak from Pat's (this time sans onions since we were taking it to go along with the rest of the girls').

In the end, I vote that Geno's is correct in that they are the best between the two locations. Mmmm!

All of these photos were taken from my phone because I forgot my camera battery charger. :( For more photos, see Ashley's facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=289869&id=507759098

East Coast Babies.

2011-03-03T19:04:00.000-08:00

January 26, 2011 my 4th niece, Nixie Rose, was born. She is the second daughter of my younger sister Tiffer and her husband Seanie. Yes, these are the sibling I lived with in Hawaii and they are the same that have inspired me to move to the East Coast.

(Introducing, sweet baby Nixie!)

(Auntie Hollie with both the babies, Jaiden and Nixie.)

(Tiffer's talent at work!)

Just kidding. Well, maybe someday, but they'll probably be gone by then.

I took a red eye flight with Traci, her husband Chris and Gina, and of course, didn't sleep a wink even with the Ambien sleeping pill I took. The morning we landed was Jady's 2nd birthday. Our plan was to meet Nixie, the newborn, and help celebrate Jady's birthday. Oh and there was a quick trip planned with me and the boys and Ashley in there to drive to Philadelphia to get a real cheesesteak. (I have been to Philly once but was too afraid to even get out of the car except to go to the hockey arena, lol!)

(We had a lot of fun wrestling on the air mattress.)

(The younger half.)

(The Benincosa Babes.)

(Jady tries taking pictures with her new Disney Princess camera.)

(No surprise to see this little girl singing!)

(For the kids, Seanie and Chris made a maze of boxes. Ash was one of the kids.)

(Ash and I stayed up all night waiting for the snow. when it finally started to come down, we ran out, coats bundled over our jammies!)

(Seanie built a ramp and totally landed it, lol! It a was a fun, little one, too!)

Success! We conquered all of the above! We even had a snow day our last day there and were able to play in the backyard, sledding on trashcan lids, throwing snowballs and making snow angels! Thanks to Seanie, we all made use of his multiple pairs of snow pants! It was such a blast being with every one of my sisters again! That doesn't happen too often anymore these days, unfortunately.

I'll post the Philly road trip pictures later after I steal them from Ashley's camera. If you're impatient, they're on my Facebook page, lol!

Oscars 2011

2011-02-28T18:58:00.000-08:00

This was my all time favorite part of the Oscars this year. I was laughing so hard when I watched this, having seen all of these movies. I admit, the Twilight part made me laugh the hardest... HAHA! "She's so glad he doesn't have a shirt...."

I am so proud of Colin Firth for winning Best Actor. I absolutely find him so talented and yes, I do believe him to be the best Mr. Darcy ever. Period. I agree with The King's Speech winning best movie of the year as well and am so glad it beat out Black Swan. I guess I shouldn't judge Black Swan since I never saw it, but just being part History major (and loving Colin Firth) I am just delighted they won. If you haven't seen this year's winner, I highly recommend it!

The Fullness of a Bladder.

2011-02-25T20:17:00.000-08:00

(Sometimes I wish I really could make an appointment with the handsome Dr. House because I know this fictional character would solve my medical mystery.)

Hello dear friends and family! I hope you are all well as you're reading my blog.

Just a quick update on the my fun medical adventures... I went in for my Peek-A-Boo doctor's appointment (which was fine, by the way, just the usual awkward/eww-ness like normal. And yes I DID treat myself to Cold Stone (and suffer later), but it was well worth it to reward myself for the annual violation.) Anyhoo, I told the Nurse Practitioner about some of the pain I've been having and she referred me to get a pelvic ultrasound performed. Great. Excellent. This way I can rule out if the problem is reproductive instead vs. digestive.

They made me drink 32 ounces of water an hour before my appointment and I was not allowed to pee until after it was done. Excuse me? Do they not realize that I rarely drink water? My body is not used to such a task! When I do drink water at work, which I've been trying to do more of lately, I have to pee within an hour. To not be able to is NOT going to be fun. I spoke with my sister and a couple of friends about it and they told me their horror stories, which even included one of them (I won't point fingers) looking for something in their car to pee in on the way to their appointment in case it came to that!

I was nervous to say the least.

As soon as I got there, I was dancing. It took all of my effort to sit down in the waiting room, trying not to pace the floors. I was texting people, reading, doing almost anything to distract the thought of my bladder. Heaven forbid I heard the sound of rushing water! Finally, what seemed like hours, my name was called. I could barely make it on the table, my bladder was so full!

After the procedure was done, the ultrasound technician told me to go ahead and empty my bladder and come back and we'll do the inside next.

Um... Excuse me?? No one told me I was going to be violated yet again in this procedure. I know she was laughing at me in the inside for being so naive, after all, it was a pelvic exam checking out my lady bits, but she was professional.

Anyway, I'll spare you the details but I went in for my recheck yesterday and there are no problems with my womanhood (thank heavens, since I would love to bear children someday). So yay! That means it's all in my guts. I go in for my next gastroenterologist appointment next month, so send good vibes my way that they'll figure out the next step in finding out what my sitch is!

Single Awareness Day!

2011-02-15T22:34:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I decided to have a Single Awareness Day party with my single (and a couple of not so single) girl friends. I have decided to embrace my single-hood and what better way to do it than to celebrate my happiness with my closest girl friends?

My friend Jenn helped me host the shindig at my house. After getting a couple new pieces of furniture and some flowers and decor, my house was suitable to have such an event. We were very excited and of course bought way too much food! I take after my mother in that way, learning from the best hostess I've ever known. We had apples with caramel, a veggie platter, cherry cordial chocolates, Diva conversation hearts (they were sparkly too!), cupcakes and ordered pizza. Oh and Sprite as our bubbly. ;)

(Jenn and I, the hostesses with the mostesses.)

We talked and talked while playing Friends in the background, which is one of my all time favorite TV shows. when everyone had arrived we put on the very appropriate film My Bloody Valentine. It was hilarious watching the flick and just making fun of everything. After all, it was the original 1981 movie! It was such a great time!

(Laughing my heart out with Jaime and Steph.)

It's evenings like this where I am so happy to be single; where I can just decide to do something like this without asking permission or worry about leaving someone out! Where all of my girls can come together and share laughs about laugh and help me remember why I love the friends I have!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Single Awareness Day (S.A.D., lol) or, if you celebrated with a loved one, a happy Valentine's Day!

(I didn't get pix with everyone, but I think you get the idea. Oh yes and it was pajama attire! Got to be comfy on Single Awareness Day! HAHA!)

Song of the Day.

2011-02-15T21:28:00.000-08:00

I heard this song about a year ago from my friend Marisa. My sister Traci then played it for me on our road trip to Grampa's funeral. And tonight I heard it on the radio on the way home from Disneyland. I love it!

Sometimes, Traditions End.

2011-02-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

Every year we drove up to my grandparents' house in Stockton, California. On the way up we'd stop at Andersen's Pea Soup for lunch. I always got The Traveler's Special which included a bowl of endless pea soup. I never got past one bowl. After out bellies were full, we'd hit the road again.

As the years went on and I started driving this trip in my own car, or with a sibling or two, we'd continue the tradition. After eating we'd hit the road again. In order to remember the exit for Gramma's and Grampa's, we had to include the ending: Hammer (Lane) don't hurt 'em. We never forgot that exit. After exiting, we'd pick up some See's Candies for the visit.

Last week I woke up at 3am for some random reason. I decided to check my phone and i had a text from my sister Traci: "Did you know that Gpa died?" I was in a little bit of shock. I checked my email and discovered one from my brother with the same words, but as a statement. He forwarded the obituary link after finding out from our cousin, Nat. My Aunt's friend came upon the obituary and called her. Harsh.

A few years ago, we discovered my grandparents weren't actually married. To me, it didn't matter. Blood or not, married or not, Grampa GG will always be my grampa. He was there for me at every important event in my life. He came to all of my Grandparents' Days in elementary school. He came to my graduations. He came for Christmases and Thanksgivings. He was always there.

After a bit of research, we found out the funeral service was the upcoming Saturday. Traci and I were not going to miss it. We were going to support our Grampa like he supported us. Gramma would have wanted us to be there too, so how could we not drive the 6 1/2 hour drive one last time? We took half of Friday off, packed up the car with Gina and Traci's husband, Chris, and made the familiar trek.

It was mandatory to stop at Andersen's... It will also be the last time. I got so so sick from The Traveler's Special that I almost missed the funeral. (Still trying to figure out my whole guts problem. Btw, I have another ultrasound next week.) Anyway, somehow I made it through the night (sorry siblings that I shared a hotel room with) and we went to the funeral. It was nothing but a sea of blue hair, haha! Obviously, Grampa was well loved.

The service was very nice. Lots of people stood up to tell everyone a few things about Grampa GG. Lots of stories about cards and coming to things super early. He wasn't on time, he was ALWAYS early. It was just his way. His son, Jeff and his daughter, Lynn spoke too. One of the best stories I'd like to share is that of his military service. He served in the Navy in WWII. He actually supposed to be stationed on the USS Arizona but fell ill and another man took his place. Unbelievable right? I get chills every time I hear that story. He could be at the bottom of Pearl Harbor right now...

Traci and I cried the whole entire time. We couldn't help it. It was just this past Christmas we'd called him and sang "We Wish You A Merry Christmas."

After the service, we approached Lynn. With tears in our eyes we re-introduced ourselves since it had been 10+ years since we'd seen her. We let her know we so glad to have made it. She apologized profusely about not getting in contact sooner to let us know. She wanted us to know he was only on hospice for 30 hours before he went peacefully. It was definitely time, she said. We hugged her goodbye and that was probably the last we'll see of Stockton, California. Home of my grandparents.

(Gramma and Grampa at my cousin Mimi's wedding.)

(The last picture we have of Gpa GG. Tiffer and her family were able to introduce him to their little girl, Jaiden.)

Civic Duty.

2011-02-01T20:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday ended my last day of my 3 day trial as a juror. It was such an amazing experience and I am proud to have performed my civic duty.

Jury Duty began last Wednesday. I've done Jury Duty a number of times, but it's been years. After the orientation, they began with the first selection. My name was the fourth one read aloud. I thought it interesting that they called us by name instead of number. Apparently, if you haven't been called for several years, they make sure they get you by calling out your full name.

I made my way down a level and mustered in the assigned courtroom. Sitting in the audience, I listened to everyone answer all the questions that were asked, deciding my own answers. I was soon called into the seat of Juror #6. Apparently, they were fine with my answers, knowing people in the police force and also knowing people in jail.

The trial began that same day. An older man, I'd say in about his 60's, was the defendant. He was found sleeping in the back seat of his daughter's car. The car was parked in front of the Embassy Suites in Irvine, blocking part of the driveway. It was almost 1:00am. When a young officer knocked on his window and woke him up, he was distorted. After he agreed to her searching his car, she came upon a black bag which he immediately denied was his. The contents it held included two used pipes, used and new syringes, a lighter, a little bag of 4 Hydrocodone (Vicodin), 4 little bags of a crystal-like substance, a scale with a granular substance, and a spoon with a cotton-like residue.

Obviously, a pretty experienced druggie.

The case was to find out mainly if he had the intent to sell the drugs or was just using. We listened to 3 witnesses, all within the police force. We came back the next day to continue and finally deliberate. We had Friday off and then returned Monday to try to come to an agreement. Finally, with my excellent reasoning (yes, I'm taking the credit here) we all agreed he was guilty with the intent to sell. Intent to sell is a far worse charge than just possession. Not to mention possessing Vicodin without a prescription is a felony.

Let's just our streets have one less druggie on them for a looooong time.

I have to be honest though, as I was walking with a few of my fellow jurors, I felt so sorry for the man. We even got teary-eyed because his case was so sad. We know we made the right choice because the evidence was all there. We had to remind ourselves that we didn't put him in jail, or make his life turn out this way. He was the one who went down that path. His choices led him there.

New Shoes!

2011-01-22T21:42:00.000-08:00

January 4th has now become "Buy Yourself A New Pair of Shoes Day."

When my Gramma Tooney passed away, we declared her birthday, January 4th, "Buy Yourself New Shoes Day." My gramma loved shoes so much. Shoes and jewelry. I remember when we'd go visit her we'd go through her jewelry and shoes and try them all on. When we'd show her how much we liked certain ones, she freely gave them to us. Every time. She loved to share the beauty of fashion.

And that is why every January 4th, we get together with my mom and buy ourselves a brand new pair of shoes. We're trying to make it a national holiday. Some of our friends have adopted it as their own, which we really appreciate. :)

(Mom, Traci, Me, Gina. Ready to take on the shoes!)

(Our support group: Chris and Dallas.)

(Success! Two pairs of heels!)

(Gi had success too and got an extra discount for being cute!)

(Don't worry, she's joking with that pair of shoes.)

(Mission accomplished. And I love them.)

(I didn't have bronze heels... And yes, that's me in the reflection.)

(They will be mine. Oh yes, they will be mine.)

Scandalous.

2011-01-17T19:58:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I had the opportunity to visit Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

You know the movie Valentine's Day (basically, it's a newer Love Actually, but I love them both)? Well in that movie they go to a cemetery that's showing an old black and white film. That was in this cemetery. They still have movies that they show during the summers. For those of you who live in Hawaii, it's basically like Sunset on the Beach, except it's in a cemetery where a plethora of Hollywood stars are buried.

(Looking out from the cemetery, you can see the Hollywood sign in the distance.)

(Jewish tradition calls for you proving your visit by setting stones on the grave. Rita stated, "You guys get flowers and I get rocks." Lol!)

(You should look up her story. It really is tragic.)

("Missed it by that much!")

(Our tour guide in front of Douglas Fairbanks' tomb. She dresses like the Lady in Black once a year to pay tribute to the tradition of the strange visitor to Valentino in the mausoleum.)

(The gorgeous halls of the mausoleum.)

(Valentino.)

It was such a blast going on this two hour tour. My six friends and I learned so much in words of history and scandal behind not only the actors, but the cemetery itself. It's amazing how not only infidelity was such a big part of Hollywood even back then, but also drugs, sex and violence.

("Alfalfa's" Father. That invention of his was supposed to enhance women's breasts. What a way to go putting it on his gravestone, right?)

("Alfalfa" died after getting shot trying to get his reward money back at knifepoint from the man who found his lost dog.)

I think one of my favorite stories was that of Hattie McDaniel, the first black woman to win an Academy Award. She was criticized by her own community, her own race because her roles were often the part of the maid, or servant. Of course, Hattie proved to be perfect for the parts as she put her own attitude into the roles in which she played; often rolling her eyes or making faces. What a way to go, being the first of her race to win such an award. In last year's Oscars, Mo'Nique (Precious) made a point to thank Hattie for "enduring all that she had to do so that (she) would not have to." This was when Cassie and I got teary-eyed...

We also saw the graves of Florence Lawrence (aka, The First Movie Star), Darrin McGavin (The Christmas Story), Vampira, Cecil B. DeMille (The Ten Commandments), Janet Gaynor Gregory (the first actress to win an Academy Award), Virginia Rappe (quite the scandal!), Don Adams (I couldn't stop humming the Get Smart theme song), Rudolph Valentino (aka, Valentino), Peter Finch, Peter Lorre (Casablanca), Douglas Fairbanks (aka, The King of Hollywood), Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer (Little Rascals), Mel Blanc, (think Bugs Bunny), and last, but definitely not least, Estelle Getty.

The other part where we got emotional was at Mel Blanc's grave. I grew up watching Looney Tunes and have undoubtedly seen every single cartoon from it. He did the voices for pretty much every single character in it from Bugs Bunny to Foghorn Leghorn. Our tour guide showed us this picture and I got emotional, yet again:

The whole experience was just amazing. My mom told me later that day, after I'd already left, that we actually have family buried there! This means I must go back to pay my respects. Oh and also attend one of the screenings in the summertime.

(We ate a late lunch here per Randi's request. It would have been more enjoyable if there wasn't a football game on... It was tasty though!)

(Cassie, Rachel and Ryan enjoying their S'Mores)

(Rita and I)

(Randi and John)

My New Favorite.

2011-01-14T17:24:00.000-08:00

AND she's done music with Ingrid Michaelson. Bonus!

Isn't it so fun and peppy? Repeat, please!

New Found Fun!

2011-01-09T16:31:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve day I had the best first date I've ever experienced with a guy. After meeting at Jon's Coffee Shop, we went Geocaching.

It's my new favorite hobby and it's FREE! It's also outdoors so you get fresh air, gets your mind thinking, and gives you great exercise too! The first one we went to was called "Mickey's Coffee Shop" and was near enough to the coffee shop for us to walk to. After entering the coordinates into his GPS device, we walked to the designated spot and the searching began. It wasn't even a minute before he spotted where he thought the cache (pronounced 'cash') would be. He lifted up a part of a light post and this is what we found:

(Mickey's Coffee House)

How fun is that?! After this cache, I was so excited we did 2 more. It was such a blast!! It has become my new hobby and I am sharing the experience with anyone who wants to learn. In fact, Friday, my friend Jenn came over to my parents' and after eating some Chinese food, we walked over to the park nearby and did out own geocaching. Unfortunately, I didn't quite know how to use the application I downloaded onto my Blackberry so we failed the first one. Luckily, I knew the area where the second one entitled "Diamond in the Rough" was located. That one was a success and now she is hooked too!

Today I took my sister Gina out for some geocaching, while getting some exercise at the same time. We went to "Rabbit's Lair" and after some hunting, found the cache and all the fun stuff inside!

Our second hunt was for the cache called "Shark Slaughter Seriously South of Slater." This was by far my favorite cache of all time! I think it's going to be tough to beat because this one was actually hidden inside a toy shark! Gina found this tough to find one. Who knew it would be in that weird drain-like thing?! Gross, but WAY fun!

I am so excited to continue this hobby! I am going to Maryland in February to meet my newest niece Nixie Rose (due January 28th) as well as celebrate my niece Jaiden's 2nd birthday. I have already listed new waypoints for some geocaching fun near Tiffer and Seanie's house! It'll be interesting doing this in the snow... I can't wait for these new fun mini adventures!

A Cosa Christmas.

2011-01-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

(While shopping for stocking stuffers, we came across this gem)

(Gi and I, Christmas Tree decoration success!)

This year, Christmas was pretty small. It's always a good time, no matter who is there, but we were definitely missing some of our loved ones.

Traci and Chris only made it for Christmas Eve, which was a very heart-wrenching time for Traci since she has never missed out on a Christmas. VJ and his family stayed in Portland with his in laws. Plus, with 3 kids it just gets more difficult to travel. Tiffer and Seanie stayed in Maryland since Tiffer is ready to pop with her baby, Nixie. They celebrated their own Christmas but were sure to Skype with the parents early in the morning so they can witness Jaiden running with excitement to greet her new gigantic Nemo stuffed animal.

(JK sporting her Christmas fun as well as her obvious request for front teeth)

And so Christmas Eve followed our tradition of reading The Christmas Story out of the old Bible and then going around the room taking turns opening one special gift. Since Traci and Chris were going to miss out on the big day, we allowed them to open everything, including stockings. This year was a little different in that we each contributed to the whole stocking event. Well, there wasn't enough room for my contribution so I did what anyone else would do in this situation; I dropped my piles of stocking stuffers amongst the both of them.

(The Godfather reading The Christmas Story as per tradition)

(Ready with our one present to open Christmas Eve!)

(Ash was spooning that doll all night long.)

(No surprise here.)

(The BEST present of all from Traci and Chris. This is my parents' song.)

The next morning was a little different than I'm used to. I woke up first, of course. After all, having a job where I wake up before sunrise kind of trains me to continue the tradition. I settles for 9am to go in and wake up the parents.... And then they sent me back to bed... So around 11, I think it finally was, we all started out Christmas Day.

I think the best part of the whole morning was watching my parents open my gifts to them: cans and cans of food storage, wrapped individually. Hey, it just makes for more gifts to open! They were both very excited to receive what they asked for from Santa!

(A few of the 20 cans I wrapped for the parents)

(Total happiness with the new presents!)

We had our typical Christmas dinner which included me making stuffed mushrooms and artichoke dips as appetizers, and honey baked ham, Ash's Cheesecake Factory mashed potatoes, salad, rolls, and the works! My parents invited a family over to help feast and we ended the night playing a ridiculous game called Quelf.

(Nothing is better than Peanut Butter for Gi.)

(My new coif from my stylist, Ash)

Great fun was had by all! I missed some of my siblings but that's what happens when we grow up. It sucks, but I know they're having a great time with their own families. I hope everyone else had a fabulous Christmas like I did!

How To Start Off The Christmas Season Right:

2010-12-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

Go to Disneyland and enjoy the Christmas fireworks show! I get so excited for it every year! It always brings a tear to my eye and brings me so much joy. And in the end, it "snows" on Main St.! It's so much fun seeing everyone's faces as these snow-like bubbles fall from above! Love it!

Don't mind the waving orange stick. The Dland employee was working to the beat of the songs. :)

My Favorites This Season:

2010-12-18T18:33:00.000-08:00

This one gets me teary eyed for sure. Just incredible!:

This has been one of my faves since my brother showed it to me. These guys are so talented!:

If you've seen the original news story for this, you'll laugh your patootie off! Wait till the Carol of the Bells part!:

Gobble, Gobble.

2010-12-16T21:18:00.000-08:00

Man, I am really behind! Well just a quick catch up here from Thanksgiving.

I spent the evening before Thanksgiving at my parents' ouse prepping the 22 pound turkey I was cooking. It put up quite a fight in the beginning while I was removing the giblets, but then I realizes the legs had been tied, creating a very narrow opening to the cavity... Hey, man, I'd been up before the sun and worked all day to come home to prep a 22 pound turkey. Go figure! After I prepped the turkey, I had to set it in a cooler because there was no room for him in the fridge.

Another successful turkey! Joy!

How adorable is my mom for making gluten free stuffing for me?? Love that woman!

The next morning I drove back down to Huntington to finish prepping the now marinated turkey. I always love the recipe I used when I made my very first turkey in New York with my sister in law, Trudie. It's the Coke and maple syrup recipe that never fails! It makes such a delicious, moist turkey, why change the recipe?

I even curled my hair for the occasion!

After throwing together some artichoke dip and other various appetizers with my mom, the feasting began. The turkey was perfect and was even labeled as the best one yet! What a huge compliment coming from my wonderful family who would never lie to me to make me feel good, haha! They tell it like it is and I am so grateful for them in life!

Trials.

2010-12-02T21:03:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, all we can do is pray, hope and try our best to be optimistic.

About 2 weeks ago, a friend of mine that I've known since Junior High suddenly collapsed going into cardiac arrest. They still don't understand why this happened. She has been healthy all her life and shows no signs of heart disease/problems. She is my age and is a married mother with 4 children, her youngest only a couple months old. She is still in the hospital in a drug induced coma, although she got a tracheotomy this afternoon and is resolving her seizures on her own (with the help of an anti-seizure medication). She's a fighter. She always has been so tough.

Last night I found out a family friend lost her battle to cancer. She passed away at home with her husband by her side. She was always an inspiration to me. I knew her from church and can remember having to give a talk, or listening to other talks in church on Mother's Day in front of the whole congregation. She never had any children and I always thought about her on Mother's Day. She was such an amazing woman and I always looked up to her.

I send my love, prayers and positive vibes to each of these women's families.

Sing it Sara...

2010-11-28T21:09:00.000-08:00

I am loving Sara Bareilles' version of Beyonce's "Single Ladies!" Isn't it amazing how songs like this are heard at the right times in our lives? It's beautiful. Sometimes, you just need to hear the thoughts of other women. Thanks for the link Kat!

Apple Butter Festival Or Bust.

2010-11-28T15:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I finally made it to the Annual Apple Butter Festival in Yucaipa. A few of my closest friends have gone for the past few years and I was so excited to go this year! We met up at my house in the morning and, of course, got our road trip breakfast at McDonald's, and were on our way for the hour drive. (Yes, anything an hour or more deserves road trip food.)

When we first got there, all bundled up in our beanies, gloves and big coats, we went into the store for some shopping. After $20 I came out with some Apple Butter (naturally), Apple Salsa, a stuffed mushroom mix, and a giant pickle for a snack. They had some very delicious items! I actually just ate some toast with apple butter on it for breakfast.

(Danielle, Stephanie and Jaime going down the trail.)

After shopping we went to the petting zoo and played with goats, a sheep, a sneaky food stealing llama, a donkey (pet at your own risk, but he loved me), and a horse. My friend's 4 year old son had a blast with the animals but was so nervous walking around because he didn't want to step in animal droppings...

(I have always loved canopied trails!)

When we finished taking some fun pictures in the petting zoo area, we decided to walk one of the trails and go on a nature hike. It is so gorgeous in there and just so peaceful. I haven't done a walk like that in quite a while it seems! We didn't see too much wildlife but we had fun... Until we got lost. We ended up on a road but luckily we all have a pretty good sense of direction so we ended up hiking uphill on a main road. We finally made it up the giant hill and I spotted the petting zoo! We had somehow come out the complete opposite side of where the trail began! Of course, we documented by taking a hitchhiking photo, haha!

(A few Redwood trees on the trail.)

We continued on to the next area and ate some lunch, shopped some more, fed some deer (including an albino deer), and finally ended the day with hot apple cider and mini cinnamon doughnuts. What a blast it was! We piled back into the car to see it was 34 degrees and blasted the heat on our way home. It was such a great day with great friends and I am so happy I didn't miss out this year! Sometimes, you just need a girls day out to lift your spirits!

Something Good.

2010-11-20T22:01:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank whoever the boy was that broke Ingrid Michaelson's heart because it lead to songs like this:

More Doctors.

2010-11-17T22:12:00.000-08:00

Health Update:

I have been on a gluten free diet since the beginning of June this year. It has helped tremendously and really isn't that difficult. I've lost some weight, which is nice, but that wasn't my goal. Since I've been on the gf diet, I've felt about 75-80% better. I have more energy, my moods are much more positive than negative, and I can focus more.

That is until about a month or so ago.

My newest symptom includes extreme exhaustion within 10 minutes after I eat anything. It used to be I'd feel this way after eating glutenous foods, but now it's whenever I eat. Period.

And so the next step is going to my family doctor and finally getting referred to a GI Specialist. Yippee... This means, more procedures, including ultrasounds and lower endoscopy (which I am really NOT excited about). Hopefully it means less medications though. So far I'm on Prilosec twice a day, Carafate four times daily, and Vicodin as needed for pain. These meds are just for my GI issues. They do not include the 2 other prescriptions I take for allergies, or other meds I take for my back.

And so my hope and goal is to find out what exactly is wrong with me; why I am having so many GI issues, and at last, to not be on so many medications! Oh, and most importantly: I REFUSE to settle for IBS, which is nothing but a non-diagnosis!

Happiness.

2010-11-14T10:21:00.000-08:00

Every year for our birthdays, my Gramma and Grampa used to call on and sing the Happy Birthday Song. Since my Gramma got dementia and passed away last year, we now call each other up and sing the song. It's very fun because we all sing the song in different ways, as I've mentioned before. This year, for HollieFest 2010, I got quite the variety...

I had Traci and Chris singing very slowly "so it will last longer." I got my parents singing in a peppy version, kind of how my Gramma and Grampa used to sing it. I got Ashley singing in a mumbling manner (while on the toilet, btw). My brother called and sang the his own version of the song to the tune of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance," His wife, Trudie, called me later with the kids (Jackie and Owen) with their cute little voices, which I ALWAYS look forward to. My Aunt Sally and cousin Mimi also called and sang ending with "You better know who this is!"

But my favorite this year goes to my little sister TIffany, her husband Seanie and daughter, Jady. They actually sent me a video song! What a great idea! So without further ado, here is my birthday video (Sorry the video is sideways, I don't know how to fix it):

OctoberFest.

2010-11-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

October has always been my favorite month of the whole year. October means the beginning of fall, my favorite season. It also means Halloween, scarf weather, the beginning of all of the best holidays, Black Friday and, of course, HollieFest (which, in case you forgot, is November 13th).

This October was extremely busy! I barely had any nights to myself, but it was all worth it. Now, if only I can recover!

I went with my mom to get her Disneyland pass we bought her for her birthday. (Got to love all of the Halloween decor at The Happiest Place On Earth!)

I celebrated my oldest sister, Traci's birthday.

I survived a whole day wearing my new 5" heels.

I gained a new hatred towards napkins, along with my cousin D'Arcy and our friend Michelle.

I reunited with my cousins (Nate, Michelle, Me, D'Arcy, April and Devin) in Utah.

I saw one of my bestie cousin's (April) get married.

I went to Texas for the first time and had a Texan BBQ as a rehearsal dinner for my bestie, Amanda.

(Joe, Steph, Jaime, Amanda, Jason, Me, Danielle, Lorretta.)

I helped coordinate our bestie, Amanda's wedding with my bestie Danielle.

I saw my bestie, Amanda get married to Jason.

I went to a reception with a 12 course Chinese meal.

(Here Danielle and I are trying Sea Cucumber. It wiggled like Jello when the waiter put it down.)

I discovered Sea Cucumber is not my favorite. (Think of eating fat from meat but without the gristle.)

I met up with a friend I haven't seen in forever at The Chocolate Bar.

(Thanks again for driving down, Kellie! AND for lunch!)

I went to Knott's Scary Farm -- Twice! (Danielle with her monster bf.)

I met up with a new friend, Holly, at another TAPS event. (This time in Beverly Hills at The Saban Theatre.)

I learned that 3 of the guys from the SyFy show, 'Fact or Faked' are Mormon and actually go to my friend's ward in HB. (Btw, one guy served me rice at a luau I went to with my rents.)

I took another pix with my girl crush, Amy Bruni from Syfy's Ghost Hunters (and apparently was possessed in the process).

I schooled my sister Tiffany on Buzz at Disneyland. (Yes, my score is above her head for some reason.)

I was part of my niece Jaiden's entourage during her first time Trick or Treating! (She was Minnie Mouse.)

So much stuff happened in October but unfortunately, I don't have pix of everything! I know, right?! ME?!? Without pix to prove the other fun things? I figured the 47 I just posted will suffice. I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween! I know I did! And now, on to November!

A Taste of My Halloween.

2010-10-31T10:46:00.000-07:00

Part of my Halloween fun includes watching scary TV shows or Horror movies! Here's an example (and yes, these are 2 of my girl crushes, lol):

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Bookmark.

2010-10-23T23:44:00.000-07:00

I have quite a few bookmarks that I've collected throughout my years of reading. I even have one with a unicorn on it that I got in elementary school that has a pink tassel on it. I like to switch between them when I open a new book. The one I recently brought out to use is very fitting as to how I am feeling these past few weeks...

"Count your night by stars,
Not shadows.
Count your years with smiles,
Not tears.
Count your blessings,
Not your troubles.
Count your age by friends,
Not years."

I don't remember who gave this bookmark to me, but thank you.

Happiness.

2010-10-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do is be with my nieces and nephew at Disneyland with my family. This week has proven no different. I had the opportunity to meet up with my sister Tiffany and her husband Seanie and their little girl Jaiden at Disneyland twice (so far) this week. And yes, we plan on going again and again!

Jady is getting so big! She's talking now and the other day she pointed to my purse, which has a Mickey Mouse on it (after all, it's my DLand purse) and said, "Mimmy!" That is her version of Mickey. She also calls Minnie "Mimmy" as well. I was able to get a video of her doing it today while the Pixar Parade started at California Adventure.

Translation:
Mimmy = Mickey or Minnie Mouse
Duck Duck = Donald Duck
Woof Woof/Puppy = Pluto
Goofy = Goofy

Jady also loves to watch the parades and shows and tries to join them every time! She is an excellent dancer and even claps to the beat (most of the time)!

Catalina Boat Dives.

2010-10-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to dive Catalina, boat style! I have always wanted to dive off of Catalina. As you recall, I did the kelp forest at Casino Park with my friend Marisa. Well this was another great adventure!

We took a boat out and dove 3 separate dives with the company Scuba Luv. I don't remember if you remember the previous posting about this company but I had a little "run in" with the mayor of Avalon. Well, he was our captain on this boat and I kept praying he wouldn't remember me! Haha! Lucky for me, he didn't.

We had such a blast! The water was in the lower to mid-60's but the sights we encountered made the cold worthwhile. On the first dive, we saw a giant Sea Bass, but unfortunately, not one, but both of my calves cramped up so tight I had to dig into the sand and try to stretch them out. Thankfully I was able to continue on. It's such an amazing feeling coasting through those kelp forests. It's unlike anything else I've experienced. It sort of remind me of driving through a thick fog until it finally comes to a clearing because the kelp can get so thick!

The second dive was my favorite of the three. It was a pinnacle so all we had to do was swim in an upward spiral. We saw lots of fun critters including Lobsters, Eels and an Octopus! We were cruising along and I was looking around. I looked down and noticed slow motion movement that I thought was an eel at first, until I saw the tentacles! We played with him for a bit until he squeezed himself through the tiniest crack! what amazing little creatures!

The third dive was pretty easy breezy. As we were cruising along, we looked down and saw something that looked like a giant Nudibranch. We went deeper, appeasing our curiosities and laid down on the sand. The thing was huge! As we sat there watching, he slowly moved along, inching across the ocean floor. Come to find out, it was a Sea Hair. I've never even heard of these before but it was pretty cool to find!

All in all, the dives were definitely worth my money. I don't know how often I can do kelp forests because when you've done one you've pretty much done them all. It still a lot of fun though!

Ew!

2010-10-06T23:17:00.000-07:00

Ummmmmm..... WHAT?!?

Today.

2010-09-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

My Orange County Bubble...

2010-09-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, so apparently I live in a bubble. Well, sort of.

A couple weekends ago, I went on a date to the L.A. Fair. Now, growing up in southern California, you'd think I'd have been to this fair. After all, it's not even an hour away. Nope! I've never been. I've stayed in my Orange County bubble most of my life and haven't ventured out to the 909/951 often enough! (Oh yeah. Did I mention the L.A. Fair is located in the Inland Empire, which, by the way, isn't even part of Los Angeles?? I know, right?)

Anyway, we met at my house then drove to the fairgrounds. We parked and walked to the front gate (after taking a picture or two) and the fun began! It was a blast! I had no idea how big this place actually was! It puts the Orange County Fair to shame! It's probably at least 4 times the size!

(If you look closely, you can see a couple stuffed animals hitching a ride!)

We started off with the animals (of course) and we felt so bad for them. It was so hot and there were so many people there it was kind of ridiculous. Some of the animals were even swaying, almost panting in the heat. It made us sad, even though it was really neat to see them. We saw cows, horses of all sizes, sheep, goats, piggies and more!

After the animals we ventured over to the little arena where they had some cowboy and cowgirl rangers. They had a Ranger competition where they rode their horses and shot balloons that sat on poles. It was pretty cool! That's when I realized how much I wanted a horse, although I have no idea how to care for a horse... There were even little girls who used their hands as guns and pretended to shoot the balloons. Too cute!

(This gal had on my favorite outfit!)

After the Ranger fun, we went to The Body Exhibit. I actually went to this same exhibit in Hawaii, but Kevin hadn't. He was super excited, being a science teacher and all. The whole entire exhibit is made up of real cadavers and is just incredible. As soon as you enter, you can feel the astonishment from everyone in attendance. The human body truly is amazing! They broke everything down into sections, from bones, to muscles, to cardiovascular, to reproduction, etc. My favorite part of the whole exhibit was the Arterial exhibit where they had only the arteries of the entire body displayed. Simply amazing! I highly recommend this exhibit to anyone who hasn't seen it!

Next Kevin bought me dinner. You know, it's kind of hard to be gluten free at a fair, but somehow we managed to find a place for me to eat! TriTip. Done! Well, I ate Kevin's fries too, but what can you do? We had some good conversations about the exhibit we'd just seen and how none of the pieces had skin. This was pretty deep because if you think about it, we are al the same on the inside. We all have the same pieces as any other race and we thought that was pretty neat the way they omitted the largest organ on the body.

After dinner, we hit up some "shows," I say "shows" because they weren't the best. We went to Monkey Mania which included one monkey who ate french fries. IT was more of a short lecture, but the monkey was super cute anyway! After that, we walked around to see some animals including more monkeys, birds (yikes), porcupines, and even saw a baby kangaroo which a handler was showing off. Super cute! We also checked out the reptiles and saw a little Anaconda, Tortoises, Geckos, Frogs and more. We were going to go to another show with stunt dogs but we figured it would just be dogs doing Agility races. We also went to see some Pirates in the Sky show which was like an amateur acrobatics show. We decided to skip the next acrobatics show for fear it would be similar to this one... I guess after seeing KA in Vegas, as well as Cirque Del Mar at Sea World, we're a tough crowd!

So we went on rides and played games! Kevin had never been on The Zipper so we went on that. It's one of my favorite rides at fairs but no one will ever go on with me because they're too scared. I was more than thrilled when Kevin said he would go on it! We screamed and laughed the whole entire time! I love it! We played a few games and Kevin tried his best to win me a prize, but we both came home empty handed.

(Trying his luck at Skee Ball)

By the end of the night, we were both exhausted. It had been a very long day but it was so much fun! I plan on going again next year! Especially since I just found out a friend that I work with will be competing in some of the rodeo activities! How fun would that be to actually see someone I know riding out there! Yay for someone to cheer on, lol! So if you have a chance to go to the LA Fair, I would definitely do it! I'd take the LA Fair over the OC Fair any day!

One Word: Muse.

2010-09-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

(Anticipation!)

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a Muse concert with one of my besties, Danielle. She texted me back in April asking if I wanted to attend. There was nothing I could say but, absolutely. The last time I saw Muse performed was back in 207, the night before I moved to Hawaii. They were awesome three years ago so I had high hopes this time around.

And they succeeded.

When their performance first began, there were these three pillars set up on stage. Danielle and I were a little confused because behind the stage (they performed at The honda Center, which is where The Ducks play hockey) there were rows of people sitting, awaiting the concert as well. How are they going to see when there is no way they can get a glimpse behind the pillars? Well Danielle being the smartie that she is pointed out that the pillars probably drop somehow.

Well she was mostly right. The music began and the pillars were lit up with random images until those images became white silhouettes of men walking up several flights of stairs. Then suddenly, slowly, those med began to fall off the stairs. That's when the the middle of the pillars dropped and the three band members appeared on what seemed to be platforms.

It was a brilliant show! They played almost all of my favorite songs, including "Black Holes and Revelations" and "Undisclosed Desires." The reason why I love this band live is because they don't just play the new songs off the most recent album, but they bring back some of their older stuff. They even busted out Michael Buble's "Feeling Good." Loved it!

And they succeeded.

When their performance first began, there were these three pillars set up on stage. Danielle and I were a little confused because behind the stage (they performed at The honda Center, which is where The Ducks play hockey) there were rows of people sitting, awaiting the concert as well. How are they going to see when there is no way they can get a glimpse behind the pillars? Well Danielle being the smartie that she is pointed out that the pillars probably drop somehow.

Well she was mostly right. The music began and the pillars were lit up with random images until those images became white silhouettes of men walking up several flights of stairs. Then suddenly, slowly, those med began to fall off the stairs. That's when the the middle of the pillars dropped and the three band members appeared on what seemed to be platforms.

Yee Haw!!

2010-09-14T16:47:00.000-07:00

(Me, silly faced Kieran, and Danielle ready for the rodeo!)

I went to my first rodeo a few weekends ago. I wasn't sure how I'd do, but I am easily entertained. I met up with Danielle and her son, Kieran and we were off.

The rodeo took place in a town called Norco, which, who knew, is also known as Horse Town USA. Now, I don't travel much to what we call "The I.E." or "The 909" because... well... there really isn't anything there for me except a drive in theater! I know, I admit, I am a total Orange County snob. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of friends that have lived or currently live there! Nothing against them! Well... most of them. HAHA! Anyway, I digress. We pull off the freeway and are blown away as to how cute this town really is! It's very old country western and is super cute! As we drove the main street, I was reminded of the small towns of Utah. It seems like a really cute place to live. Especially since they had hitching posts in front of almost all of the little stores and restaurants. Super cute!

Now i've never been to a rodeo so I had no idea what to expect. Luckily, I'd recently seen the movie Did You Hear About the Morgans? so I had an idea of what it would be like. Well, it was a lot smaller than I thought! I guess it's a good thing it was my first one so I didn't experience the best rodeo first! (I sort of did that with Scuba diving but I do not regret that at all!)

(Roping. Man, these guys are quick!)

After getting food (and defiantly using the nasty port-a-potties), we took our seats in some stands in a corner. there were tons of cowboy hats and we immediately set that as a mandatory purchase! We quickly became friends with the lady who wreaked of stale cigarettes and had a blast! We saw Barrel Racing, Bull Riding, Roping and more! It was such a blast!

I can't say that I would go every weekend to one of these types of events since I prefer a little variety in my life, but it was definitely a fun time! Fun people, fun events and good eye candy too! Very important, haha!

(Bull riding! Sorry about the sound...)

Comic Relief at Work.

2010-09-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

I received this email at work today and am still laughing at it! Being part History major, it just makes me giggle endlessly! Not to mention I am an avid Facebook user so it makes it even more comical!

To all you Face Book fans...

Non-Stop.

2010-09-13T21:35:00.000-07:00

This is the song that I've been listening to on repeat all day long today. Does it ever bother you to hear someone singing the same song over and over and over again? Not me. In fact, it makes me happy. Unless I don't know the song, then it's just plain annoying.

Barenaked Ladies - Call and Answer

Tonight.

2010-09-03T23:20:00.000-07:00

Ingrid always has the right words.

And so does her honey.

Relevant?

2010-08-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things at work, is when I find beauties like this faxed in with a claim:

I'm still not quite sure which facts are RELEVANT, but it made me laugh!

Students vs. Teachers.

2010-08-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. I've been on a youtube.com kick lately. A new friend of mine shared these with me and I just thought they were so fun, I had to share with all of you! Personally, I like the students video better. It could be because of the teacher with the green, tied shirt with the belly hanging out. Wow. Enjoy!

Teachers:

Students:

Girls Night Out!

2010-08-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

This past Friday night, one of my bff's, Danielle, had the whole night to herself! No husband and no 3 year old son! It was a rare event and so we had a girls' night out. A very much needed girls' night, might I add. We started off shopping for my new abode and then decided we'd better get some dinner.

That's when I went on facebook. I'm "friends" with Britt Griffith on Syfy's Ghost Hunters. I noticed that he was going to be in the exact area we were to watch his band play. He posted the name and invited everyone to come hang out.

So we did.

The place was an Irish Pub in Costa Mesa called Durty Nellie's. We sat down and ordered Irish Tacos, Fried Macaroni, and UH-MAZE-ING Irish Stew! I'm pretty sure it's the best stew I've ever had in my entire life! All of their food was super good and I've been craving it ever since!

Towards the end of the meal, Danielle told me I need to go up to Britt and ask him to take a picture with her because she's super shy when it comes to stuff like that. No worries! So I interrupted him and his friends and asked for a picture. He then sat down with us and started chatting about the meanings of his tattoos. A few minutes later, his wife, Holly, came over and sat down.

(Britt, Danielle, Diego (bandmate), me. Group hug!)

And there we sat from 9:00pm to 1:30am! Just chatting about random things, like books, movies, paranormal events, and of course, poking fun at the people singing karaoke. There was one guy there who was having a Bachelor Party. Apparently, they had phases for him. He was wearing a Japanese robe with no shirt underneath. We were told this was Phase 2. Who knows? Anyway, we got the scoop on some of the secrets of the who (which I promised not to reveal, so sorry)! I'm super excited for the big events they may occur!

Anyway, when the lights started coming on, we decided it must be time to go home. So we hugged it out with our new friends and have been facebooking ever since! Very fun time!

Freakin' Amazing!

2010-08-01T21:24:00.000-07:00

This video is just amazing. I absolutely LOVE everything about it! This is the world champion freediver, Guillaume Nery, base jumping underwater. Super radical.

Spitting Goat.

2010-07-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

I went over to Steph and J's house last week and they showed this to me. We watched it again and again and it still makes me laugh out loud! It was on The Soup and I think it's totally blog worthy!

Dinkey Creek.

2010-07-25T12:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, you read that right. Dinkey Creek. That's its real name. No joke.

Dinkey Creek is located just on the other side of Yosemite, in the Fresno Mountains. My mom has been going up there since she was about 5 years old. Her parents, my grandparents, had a cabin up there until my Aunt and Uncle took it over. They spend every summer up there as their home near Palm Springs get way to hot to endure in those months. Anyway, this cabin has a lot of family history in it and it's remained in the same state for so long it now a protected historical building up there.

I don't remember when I first went up to Dinkey Creek but I always had such a blast. The creek can get full enough to create great rockslides that we would enjoy for hours on end. There's also cliff jumping and just plain lounging on rocks in the sun. It's gorgeous up there! I used to have fun with my cousin Mimi and my sisters. I even brought a couple of boyfriends up there with the family to experience the beauty of it all.

(One of the traditional Dinkey pictures.)

After not having been up there for, I don't know how many years, I had an opportunity a couple of weekends ago. My mom was housesitting/petsitting for about 3 weeks and so I jumped at the opportunity to go up there, accompanied by my dad and Traci. We only stayed the weekend but it was worth it as the memories came flooding back. I had forgotten how much I love being surrounded by mature. The smell of the pine trees. The sounds of the rushing creek. And the relaxation of it all.

We didn't do too much since the water level was super high, it caused a lot of rushing, unsafe areas, but it was a blast to say the least. When I did get in the water, I took my Aunt's labrador, Paddle, in with me. He was pretty much the only one who wanted to step foot in the water anyway! He was my buddy throughout the weekend.

(Pop, Mom, Traci and Paddle enjoying the night fire.)

At night, we'd all hang out by the campfire, enjoying each others' company. I absolutely love Dinkey at night. The stars are so much brighter and the sound of the crackling firewood is just so peaceful. I was sad that I didn't bring anything up for s'mores, but at least we had each other for a good time.

(Mom and the deer heads that always freaked me out.)

I only wish to go up more often but I don't know how long the cabin will be in the family. It makes me sad to think that some other family will be enjoying our cabin. So many memories there! The one that stands out the most is going to have to be (Sorry Tiff and Ash but it's too funny) Tiffer was blocking Ashley from going up the narrow stairs, teasing her. Ashley couldn't take it anymore so she just took a BIG bit of Tiffer's butt in her mouth and chomped down hard! Tiffer must have had a bruise on her butt for months, hahahaha!! Ah, the memories!