And We Have Lift Off

i know it's kind of strange, but i love taking people to the airport.

i have a distinct memory from childhood of my sister and i dropping my parents off for some trip. we stood in the terminal and watched out the window as their plane took off in the air. i was so sad and scared to see them go but really excited at the same time.

and those same sensations flow through my body even now whenever i make an airport run.

Reading Between the Lines

i had a date with a girlfriend tonight. we do this periodically and it usually involves dinner, drinks or a movie. tonight we decided to spice things up a bit and went for mani/pedis and palm readings.

now, typically this is not my scene. while i believe in spirituality and the supernatural, i also believe in respecting the powers that be and that some things are just better left to the unknown. still, i figured a palm reader in a nail salon should not be taken too seriously and since my girlfriend was going for it, i thought, "why the hell not?"

what did i learn? that i love my husband, we'll be married forever and eventually have two kids (if i don't wait too long - wtf?). they'll either be a boy and a girl or very short (i don't really understand that part).

sometimes it costs $50 to see what's right in front of your nose, i suppose.

Coconut Water

my own personal, all natural form of crack. i love it. i crave it. and, i only allow myself to indulge in this pricey habit before a bikram class. i swear, it's half the reason i go and 100% of the reason i survive!

Overindulgence

mike ate himself silly today. he overindulged and actually ended the night with a tummy ache. as much as i hate to see him suffer i do love to see the kid in him let lose. it's a glimpse at what i imagine our future son will be like. all i have to say is i will have my hands full with a mini-mike running around and eating us out of house and home!

Uptown Girl

we had a great night out with friends tonight. we went to a concert at the sjc mission and saw a billy joel and elton john coverband. we were for sure the youngest group in attendance but we didn't care. we danced our tushes off, picnicked under the stars and laughed a lot.

we even followed up the concert (which ended at 9:30) with a few hours at the local hennessey's. now i don't know the last time i hung out in a dive bar but it was nice to be back.

Nonfat Latte for Happy Hour?

i rarely indulge in fancy pants coffee but i do love the starbucks coffee date. where did people hold their out of office meetings before coffee shops ruled the world?

oh, yeah. the nearest bar. that's back when happy hour was a completely respectable place to do business. damn...how i would've loved to be a career woman back then.

Cystic Fibrosis

i don't know much about cystic fibrosis but tonight i met a young man who's been living with it for most of his life. i also had the pleasure of meeting the couple who saved his life. four years ago, their son died in a tragic skateboarding accident. he donated his lungs to this young man and three other organs to others around the country.

in losing him, this family saved four lives.

this world really is a beautiful place.

Yoga Legs

isn't it amazing when you can actually feel your body getting stronger? that's why i've had a love affair with bikram for so many years. after just a few classes, i have that oh so familiar feeling in my body.

i like to call it yoga legs.

they feel a little like jello but they're growing stronger everyday.

go bruins?

it's been a while since i've been on a large, established college campus yet every time i step foot onto one, i remember how dazzled i was when i first visited berkeley. i instantly fell in-love with the historic architecture, trickling water through strawberry creek, squirrels ambling from tree to tree and sprawling green lawns and that infatuation only grew with time.

paying a visit to ucla reminded me that all of the uc campuses really are amazing. they each have their own special qualities that make them unique and acknowledging them simply for that makes me proud to be a uc alum!

Arm Dance

i was driving down 190th in redondo beach today and could see the ocean clearly in the distance from the top of the hill. but more distracting than the shining blue water and fluffy white clouds in the sky was the arm dance going on in the car in front of me. you know how it goes. you stick your arm out the window and wave it around to the beat of your music? how can seeing this maneuver not put you into an instantly good mood? you have to imagine the "dancer" is livin' the dream if just for that instant and for no other reason than that, i smiled.

Happy Day to the Dad

i have the best father in the world. we don't always see eye to eye but i love and respect him more than anyone in the world. through thick or thin, the "big arm of the dad" has been there to protect me.

most recently, he saved the day by walking me through the instructions to properly turn off the gas and drain our water heater. i came home to a huge puddle in our garage and realized that the water heater was clearly broken. with mike unavailable by phone, i made a call to our own personal "contractor" and sure enough, he helped me through our mini emergency. i'm always amazed by how much he just "knows." i think that's a prerequisite for being a dad...knowing something about everything or faking it really well so your kids think you do!

happy day, daddy!

Peaceful Easy Feeling

we took dad to see this really great eagles cover band for father's day tonight. as always, we had a great time double dating with my parents but my favorite part was waiting patiently to hear "peaceful easy feeling."

after scouring every album ever produced by the eagles for the "just right" song to incorporate into our wedding ceremony, this was the one we selected. it will always have a special place in my heart no matter if it's sung by glenn frey, some guy that sounds like glenn frey or my sis (my favorite version).

2 Days in a Row

not only is she back, she's back and she means it! two bikram classes in less than 24 hours. clearly, i only know how to do things one way and that's full throttle!

And She’s Back

after a two year hiatus, ridiculous shoulder pain and a bout of insomnia, i’m practicing bikram again.

and i’m a happy girl.

wham bam, thank you bikram.

ZZ Top

on my way to work today, i pulled up next to a pickup truck and i swear i was looking directly in the face of the lead singer from zz top. he even smiled back at me with that “i know you recognize me but let’s keep this secret between the two of us." look.

i realize that the odds of billy gibbons driving a beat up pick up truck down the 405 at 7:00 am are a little slim. still, the whole interaction brought a much needed early morning smile to my face.

D is for Disaster

i took my first first aid and cpr certification class today and learned all sorts of new stuff that i hope i’ll never have to use. best of all, i left with a renewed promise to myself that i would get our “disaster kit” underway immediately. i’ve been promising myself that i would take care of this task for a year now and low and behold, aside from a case of water in our garage, there is no disaster kit in our house.

now, let’s just see if this recent string of earthquakes is enough motivation for me to follow through on my pledge.

Tag Team

i joined a co-worker on a meeting today and it was great fun. she offered a whole new approach to our “pitch” and i love any opportunity to learn from my peers. i found myself refining my go to statements to match her energy and insure we were on the same page. and at the end of the day, i must say…our tag team approach was well received.

A Book A Day…

i can’t even begin to describe how much i love my new kindle. after a resistant approach to the relationship i must say, i’m having a full on love affair now. in fact, i spent an entire lazy sunday reading.

me, my new electronic buddy, a cup of tea and lola. and guess what? we finished the book.

all in a day’s work!

Early Bird Special

we had dinner with our good friends and their five month old baby tonight. i’m always amazed at how great some babies are in public. he sat in his car seat and sucked on his pacifier for the duration of dinner barely making a peep despite all the noise going on around him.

while it was great to catch up with them and even better to see how big my godson is getting, the best part of dinner was that it took place at 5:30 pm on a saturday. because his bedtime is at 7:00, we moved dinner up a bit and found ourselves laughing at how quickly life changes. not too long ago, we were barely getting into the shower at 5:30 to begin prepping for a saturday night out and here we were home and playing a game of chess after a “wild” night out with friends.

all by 8:00 pm.

A Pact

pacts are great…when both people can hold up their end of the agreement. i entered into one today. only time shall tell if we both remember to do our part. i have faith though.

Back to Back

i hosted our quarterly sponsorship open house today which is really less of an open house and more of a day filled with back to back meetings for me. these are some of my favorite work days because i love talking about the alzheimer’s association and the great work we’re doing. i also love asking for money especially when the person across the table says “yes.”

good times.

Breakfast of Champions

i love breakfast meetings that end with thousands of dollars worth of commitments to my charity of choice. barely 9:00 am and the day is already off to a great start.

no complaints here!

F*ck Cancer

i paid a visit to my beautiful friend who has taken to identifying herself as “captain cancer.” a little over a month since her surgery for colon cancer and you would never know that not too long ago she was suffering from a life threatening disease.

notice i said, “was” – that’s because after a few post-surgery diagnostic tests she was cleared with a clean bill of health! it’s a miracle, baby.

she was absolutely radiant in her sundress and wet hair straight from the shower. sure she moved a little slower than normal but slowing down a bit is good for us all. and the only sign of relaxation in the woman’s body was the slow shuffle of her legs.

meanwhile, her mind was going at a million miles per minute. already trying to figure out how she’ll use this cancer thing to her advantage – maybe by writing a raunchy and inappropriate one woman show on her experience or by producing equally inappropriate but motivating t-shirts that simply say “f*ck cancer” across the chest.

that’s my gena girl. what can i say?

Huff and Puff and Blow Your House Down

our little lola is sick. she’s blowing snot rockets like it’s nobody’s business and the “reverse sneezing” as they call, has been keeping me up all night. after watching patiently for a few days i decided to take her to the vet tonight.

how pleased was i to discover that the source of her congestion is simply respiratory allergies?  i was so excited to learn that she’s just a normal dog reacting to normal airborne irritants that i didn’t even have time to consider the fact that i’m a completely over-protective and neurotic pet owner.

and while i know it’s slightly evil to take advantage of her in this state, i couldn’t help but turn around and snap this photo on the way home. doesn’t she look so pathetic?

Russell Brand

in addition to considering him completely and totally hilarious, i’m finding myself oddly attracted to russell brand lately. i know most of my friends would consider this crush as gross as my once upon a time crush on tom petty or the one on nick cage from years ago but i just consider it one of the fabulous parts of being me. aside from my husband, i have a strange tendency to crush on really strange men.

so what?

 

Beach Daze

mike was bound and determined to hit the beach today. he’d been looking forward to it all week and nothing was going to stop him. not the dreary weather forecast or the gray skies looming overhead as we made our way down the hill.

while it did not end up being the most beautiful beach day ever (far from it) i truly admire his optimism and perseverance. as far as he’s concerned it’s summertime in la and if we’re going to live a mile from the ocean we’re going to take full advantage of it.

bless his heart.

Forever 21

i had a lunch meeting in a pretty popular shopping center in orange county today. since i got there a little early i figured i’d swing into forever 21 for a quick browse. no sooner did i walk through the door when i heard a familiar voice from five feet in front of me.

turns out i wasn’t the only one with the bright idea to kill sometime shopping around the teeny bopper store. i looked around to see my lunch date standing in front of me with a pair of denim shorts in her hand.

great minds think alike.

Ring a Ling

while i was paying for my groceries at trader joes tonight the bell from another check stand kept ringing. at the same time the cashier and i looked over to see a little boy sitting in his mother’s shopping cart and ringing the bell incessantly with a mischievous smile on his face.

rather than get annoyed, the cashier simply yelled out “more cashiers needed.” everyone started laughing because the lines were a bit long and the sign above clearly explained that one bell tells the crew to open another register. the whole store got a kick out the fact that this little boy was unknowingly taking care of business.

just one more reason to love tj’s.

Veggie Chips

my new favorite treat.

View Full Album

Back to the Grind

i had to drag myself back to work after an extra long, especially fun and nostalgic holiday weekend. the good news? traffic was light, the office was empty, the week is short and it's june 1st!

summer has offically arrived - or so it feels - and i'm looking forward to a month filled with beach days, a couple of concerts and long bike rides with my honey. it's easy to keep your chin up when you see nothing but sunny days in the future!