at dinner tonight with both sets of our parents, mike and i looked at each other and laughed. in that moment we were thinking the exact same thing – that we didn’t even need to be there.
they were chatting up a storm as usual, catching up on everything under the sun. once in a blue moon they’d actually shoot a question our way but i think it was out of courtesy more than anything.
is that a kid’s dream or what? in laws that actually get a long!
yes, we are blessed!
my sister and i took my mom to see the color purple in hollywood today and we had a great time. the show was fantastic and i didn’t know anything about the single named american idol, fantasia, beforehand but left convinced she’s a star.
we laughed and even cried a little but the highlight of the day for me was during one of the final scenes when celie was singing about her bond with her sister. despite years of separation, she was her rock and the one person she knew would always support her, fight for her and never give up on her.
i couldn’t help but reach over and put my hand my big sis’ leg. she put hers on top of mine and i knew in that moment that she was thinking the same thing. as different as we are and despite the fact that nine times out of ten we’ll make opposite choices in life, we are soul mates.
thank god for sisters.
for as long as i can remember, red has been my favorite color. as a child, every time i had a choice – in a bike, bedspread, binder for school or dress – i went with the red one. hands down.
as an adult, there are definitely colors that rival my favorite – all shades of blue, orange and green specifically – but still, whenever i see a splash of red, i’m instantly happy. what is that about favorite colors anyway?
i spoke to a group of families whose loved ones are suffering from alzheimer’s or dementia today. i have to say, these moments are by far, the highlight of my job. seeing the relief wash over their faces when i rattle of the vast array of programs and services the alzheimer’s association provides free of charge is the greatest high i can imagine. there is nothing better than watching as someone realizes that they aren’t alone, that support exists. i may not be the social worker picking up helpline calls but i still get the gratification of delivering this message. it’s so good.
while i gripe about my commute to and from oc on a regular basis, i must say, one of the best parts is that i get to have lunch with my parents from time to time. today, my dad and i had plans to go pick up a sandwich and but instead, he surprised me and brought lunch to my office. we had a really nice chat in one of our small family meeting rooms and i got to splurge with a huge platter of panda express and a blackberry soda.
delish.
i’ve been needing to pick up a few knick knacks for the house since we moved in but we’ve been a little distracted with bigger and more time sensitive projects. i know, pretty unbelievable that i haven’t found the time to shop, huh?
with greg and ellen arriving this weekend, i decided to finally hit up michaels, bed bath and beyond and a slew of other stores this week. turns out, sometimes all we need is a deadline to get us moving!
i’ve always had this strange belief that books, like people, come into our lives at just the right moment. when you come across that book by an unknown author at borders that just strikes your fancy, you should pick it up. when you’re rummaging around a used book store and find a tattered copy of some classic with notes in the margins, buy it. and, when a friend gives you a book and says, “i want you to have this.” most definitely, read it.
that happened to me today. i received one of those, “for no good reason” gifts from a colleague and can’t wait to dive into it.
mike and i have been on a never-ending hunt for mexican food that rivals the taco stands we frequent in tijuana and akumal. unfortunately, in the south bay, it’s virtually impossible to find tacos that aren’t made with flour tortillas and guacomole that doesn’t include tomatoes in the recipe.
we discovered the closest thing we could find to an authentic taco stand today and the long line of hispanic families waiting for their food, encouraged us to stop. sure enough, we were not disappointed.
the best part is, the three sets of patio furniture were full so we ended up sitting on the curb alongside pch eating lunch. it was a perfect dining experience although i don’t know how many of our friends would agree.
i met with our golf committee at lunch today and like any non-profit, it’s comprised of all volunteers. and one particular volunteer, holds a special place in my heart. he recently lost his wife to alzheimer’s disease and doesn’t even golf. he just joined the committee to keep himself distracted so he doesn’t miss her too much.
at the start of the meeting, i invited him to attend the champagne brunch we’re hosting this sunday as my guest and suggested he feel free to bring someone. he jokingly replied, “i’m not dating yet.” and then got tears in his eyes.
i did my best to lift his spirits by asking that he come as my date since mike can’t make it. he smiled and told me “he’d like that very much.”
little does he know how much i’m looking forward to his company.
i frequently refer to my niece as a mini me and in many ways, she is. we both have a keen fashion sense, obsession with shoes, competitive attitude and a lot of ambition.
so, imagine how proud i was when we talked tonight and she told me that she was online researching colleges and that she wants to go to “that number one school…i think it’s named harvard.”
clearly, i tried to push her to berkeley but she simply replied with “titi, it’s not number one.” of course i immediately directed her to the list of top “public” schools where she was pleasantly surprised to learn that indeed, her titi went to the “best” public school out there.
like i said, mini me.
oh, did i mention she’s 11?
today was my covina grandma’s funeral today. she was an incredible woman who lived to 90 years old and was often referred to as an “angel” on earth.
while at the graveside service i couldn’t help but get distracted by a little man sitting across the way. in fact, there was something about him that caught the attention of my whole family.
he’d been there since before the service started. he had a lawn chair, bag of peanuts and a brush to dust off the gravestone. the one thing he didn’t have was an umbrella.
my sister suggested that we offer him the umbrella from the back of my car so that the next time he visited he’d have something to shield him from the blazing sun. the funny thing is, when we offered it to him he opened his trunk to show us the stock of umbrellas already there. clearly, the sun bothered us a lot more than it did him.
today was a rough day. it started out with a two hour commute and didn’t stop from there. in fact, it was really challenging to conjure up today’s blog entry but low and behold, when i crawled into bed it was there.
i know it’s pretty lame but i really love my bed. it’s huge and warm and soft and the one place i can go where i can completely disengage from the events of the day.
ah...
have i mentioned how much i love three day weekends? i really really do. the extra day can make all the difference in the world!
i woke up this morning and the first thing i said to mike was, “happy vd!” he simply replied with, “wow…thanks.”
personally, i thought my joke was quite amusing.
in any case, the real point of today’s entry is to note how crazy in sync my valentine and i are this year.
the card i picked out for mike had two cute cartoon character dogs on it with big bulging eyes. inside it read, “we may not be perfect but we’re perfect for each other.”thinking this was an adorably perfect card, i didn’t really understand why mike started laughing when he opened it.
that is until, i opened mine.
sure enough, there were two goofy monkeys on the front and inside it read, yep you guessed it… “we may not be perfect, but we’re perfect for each other."
case in point.
i apologize for all of the lola blog entries this week but really, she’s been the focus of attention for a few days now. well, she went from “resting peacefully” last night to running around like a crack addict today.
the vet said she’d be 40% back to normal today but i think he underestimated the power of the bully. aside from the annoying cone around her head, you’d never know she had multiple surgeries less than 24 hours ago.
we were all prepared to spend the weekend cuddling, cooing and nursing her back to health. looks like instead we’ll be doing our best to keep her stationary for just a little while longer.
what a strong and bull-headed little frenchie we have!
lola was a trooper and now she’s home resting peacefully.
all is good in our little world.
even before we crawled into bed, i knew it was going to be a long night. lola is going in for five “procedures” tomorrow and my nurturing instincts are in full gear.
she’s getting spayed and while she’s under, the doctor’s going to pull a tooth, remove a portion of her elongated soft palate and enhance the size of her nostrils to increase her breathing capacity. all routine procedures with nothing to worry about or so i’m told.
needless to say, i’m a nervous wreck. anesthesia is dangerous for any living thing but especially so for “smashed face dogs” since they don’t breathe well to begin with. plus, i just feel so guilty sending her under the knife with no warning or preparation.
at the same time, it feels really good to love something this much. i know. i know. a dog is not the same as a child but for now, she’s the closest that mike and i have to a baby and we absolutely adore her so naturally, we’re worried.
all the while, she’s snoring away next to me without a clue what tomorrow brings. ah…to be so carefree!
we’ve had an ongoing list of home-improvement projects since we moved in eight months ago and i must say, we’ve been steadily working our way down the list. this week, we tackled the downstairs – upgrading our interior doors and changing out our molding and baseboards for thicker, nicer looking versions. for this project, we had to enlist the help of a handyman who frequently works with my dad on his properties.
since he lives in big bear, he stayed at our house for the week and tonight, we worked together to finish up the paint in our bedroom. while we worked, we chatted and i realized, you can learn an awful lot about a person by just asking a few opening questions. it’s funny how eager people are to talk about themselves when they actually have a captive audience.
