Boring week....great weekend!!

Not too many adventures to report from last week. I put my nose to the grindstone in regards to the job search......and.......I accepted an offer today!! I'll give more details about the job in person, to those people interested. I don't want this blog and my work life to entertwine in any way, shape, or form. Anyway, it is a relief to have something lined up. It will make my last few weeks of freedom that much sweeter.

This past weekend John and I spent the entire weekend together. It was nice since he was out of town on business the previous two weekends. On Saturday morning we drove down to Santa Monica for John's rowing class, Indo-Row. The founder of Indo-Row is one of John's childhood friends from Manchester, MA. John takes the class every Thursday night and Saturday morning. When John is rowing, I usually hang out at a Pete's coffee, and see if I can spot any celebs. Unfortunately, no sightings this weekend:( After the class was over, we headed up north to Malibu for an afternoon at the beach. It was an AWESOME day at Zuma. John and I set up our stuff and managed to spend almost 4 hours just hanging out, relaxing, reading, and swimming in the ocean. The water was so cool and refreshing, I can't wait to go back. Funniest part about the whole afternoon? I was shat on by a seagull!! What are the odds? The reason why it was so funny to us was because we actually talked about it like an hour before it actually happened. I was talking to John and mid-sentence I felt some droplets on me, looked down and I had a present on my shoulder and thigh. Way cool seagulls, way cool.... Saturday night we had dinner at a restaurant close to our place called South Pointe, then hopped over to the movie theater to and saw Get Smart. Entertaining. On Sunday morning we headed over to La Crescenta to visit some friends who just had their third child, a little baby girl. She'll be a lucky girl with two big brothers to take care of her. Sunday afternoon John and I relaxed and got some stuff done around the house. A fun, mellow weekend!!

Sorry, no pictures to share this post! But I will definitely have some pictures to post after this coming weekend! Let's see...... I get to see a bunch of folks this weekend....... Gina, Demian, Atticus, Paula, Kim, Casey, Nic, Heather, possibly Emmy, Brian, and Naomi, and definitely Rik and Shelley. It should be a super fun weekend, and I can't wait!!

File under: thank you, stash

This past birthday was a good one for my scrap stash! When my sister came to visit, she surprised me with some scrap goodies she had found on Etsy. I didn't even know they had scrap stuff on Etsy. After talking with my sis and doing some investigating on my own, they have pretty much anything you could ask for on Etsy!! Chris got me some super cool paper and embellishments from Brambleberry Lane. They have so many cool stickers and metal trimmed tags. I am excited to make some scrap pages using these new supplies!!

Nic and Heather got me a gift certificate to Scrapbook.com. I managed to spend it with no problems!! I have been blog stalking scrapbooker Tim Holtz for some time now. He has a book published called "Distressables", where he shows awesome techniques for aging and distressing scrapbooks, cards, jewelry, and more. So I picked up at book, as well as a few other goodies by scrapbooker Heidi Swapp. I was first introduced to her stuff when she was a guest on QVC for one of their craft fairs. Last time I saw her, she presented a really cool calendar that you can decorate yourself. I also got some really cool ledger style journaling spots. Super cool!!

Gina got me a gift certificate to a scrapbooking store in Valencia called Remember When....Scrapbooking. I don't have a picture for the stuff I picked up because I want to use a lot of it in some pages I am going to make of Gina's baby, Atticus. So you will have to wait until I post some projects!!

Thank you Chris, Nic & Heather, and Gina for helping my growing stash of scrapbooking goodies!!

Happy Birthday, Lauer!!

Dang! There are quite a few birthdays in June! The last of which involves one of my oldest college friends from Western.
This shot was taken at the Foil's going away party back in May 2004. It is hard to believe that he has been making that same face 80% of the time I take pictures of him.
Ah, the cabin! July 3, 2004. I actually don't think I have been back to the cabin since that trip. Shame on me. Always a good time at the cabin! Sausage Fest 2004. With his wonderful bride, Heather. Hi Heather!! Again, the photo face makes an appearance. And I have no idea what Kyle is doing in the background.
Another shot from Sausage Fest 2004. Apparently 2004 was a good year for taking pictures of Lauer. Maybe I'll make it to Sausage Fest 2008? Who knows......
I'm pretty sure this picture was taken in July 2004. It was a great weekend at Emmy's aunt and uncle's house in Langley, Washington. The guys look like they are having a great time. I miss you guys!! Hope you are having an awesome birthday Lauer!!

Scraptastic!!

I managed to squeak out a few scrap pages last night. Yes, I was scrappin' on a Friday night! You'd think that I'd have an arsenal of pages finished since I moved here, being unemployed and friendless, but I have only finished three pages. Two of which are showcased in this post. I have made a commitment to myself to work on more pages, since the amount of supplies I have would indicate that I am a seasoned scrapper. Not so much.

The above picture is one of John that I took over his birthday weekend in December. We were at the Santa Monica Pier, just hangin' out. The weather was sunny and mild, he was looking off in the distance, and it is just a really great shot of him.
Frank is one of my favorite subjects to scrap (surprise, surprise!!). This photo was taken by my dad when they drove Frank down to California in April. The journaling style I scrap-lifted from one of my favorite scrapbook people, her blog can be found here. I stalk her blog on a daily basis, she has great style.

Happy Birthday, Kyle!!!

You have managed to crack me up for 10 years now!! Thanks for the laughs, and Happy 31st!!

Welcome to California, Chris!!

Chris came to visit John and I this past weekend. She arrived on Thursday morning, and stayed until Monday afternoon. We had a blast! And I can't wait for her next visit!! On Thursday I picked her up at the Burbank airport and we headed back to Valencia. I showed her around the area that we live in, and we went to the pool for an afternoon dip. That evening we went out to dinner, then went and saw Sex and the City. Great movie if you are a fan of the HBO series!!

On Friday we headed out for some fun at the beach. Although the temperature outside was mild, the sun decided to hide the entire time we were at the beach!! We went to Zuma Beach in Malibu.
The Hilton girls with their cameras, what are you gonna do?
We had the pleasure of watching a lifeguard rescue while we were at the beach. There were like 8 girls that managed to float out too far from shore and had to be helped back in by like 4 lifeguards with the help of the lifeguard boat. No one was hurt.
Here is a shot of the Baywatch boys on their way back to their post. Unfortunately, we didn't see any gratuitous running scenes on the beach. Then again, they didn't have Pam Anderson sized breasts either.
We enjoyed a super yummy lunch at Howdy's Taquira in Malibu. What is up with the public restroom situation in Malibu? It is like they shun you for having to evacuate your bodily waste. The only restroom we could find in the little complex was the one by Howdy's, but there was always a line like 5 people long. We went to Starbucks thinking they would have a restroom, but they didn't (and they made really crappy drinks! Side note: Starbucks, you are dead to me. I will blog about you another day when I have more energy).
Unfortunately, no celebrity sightings for us in Malibu. Maybe next time!

The Observatory at Griffith Park

On Saturday, Chris and I went to the Griffith Observatory at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Griffith Park is over 4,000 acres, and is apparently the largest municipal park in the United States. There are tons of hiking and biking trails, as well as picnic locations. We decided to check out the Griffith Observatory, then have a picnic lunch.
This is a shot of Chris with the Hollywood sign way back in the distance. It was the first time I have seen the sign since I moved here 2 months ago. It is quite a strenuous hike to get to the actual sign, so we declined since we were both wearing skirts and flip flops. It would definitely be fun to do at some point though!
The actual Observatory is pretty cool. Awesome architecture. Those two dome like structures on the right and left sides of the building have huge telescopes in them. As you can see, the one on the right was partially open.
This shot is looking south to Los Angeles.
There are these cool archways around the largest dome of the building.
Awesome mural right in the entrance of the Observatory. I think Griffith Park might be my new go-to place when visitors come to town! There is so much to do and see, I'm excited to bring John there. I'm sure he will be all over the bike trails.

Last visit to the Getty for awhile.....

Chris and I made a trip to the Getty Museum on Sunday. It was gorgeous up there, as usual! The sky looked amazing, lots of bright blue with contrasting white fluffy clouds.
Here is a shot of Chris near the cacti gardens.
My attempt at taking a picture from a perspective other than my own. I like the way the yellow looks against the blue and white of the sky.
More of the flower gardens.....
I'm hoping that this will be my last trip to the Getty for awhile:) Not that I don't love it there, but I have been there 4 times in less than two months. I've been there so much I have started to critique art that I have no right to critique. Example: I told my sister that Claude Monet "phoned in" his painting titled Sunrise. What can I say? It isn't one of my favorites:)

Happy Birthday to you......

The Hilton sisters........
in conjunction with the members of Pearl Jam......
Would like to wish Kim a very Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday, Kim!! I hope you have an awesome day!!

Introducing......Atticus Vaughn......

One of the main reasons for my trip up to Seattle was to meet this little guy, Atticus. Gina and Demian's adorable baby boy. He was born on May 14th. He is such an adorable tyke, and I'm in love with him!! I think I fell in love with him before I even met him! He's such a good baby, only cries when he is hungry (which is often), when he needs changing, or when he wants to be bounced around by his dad. He looks pretty much exactly like Demian did when he was an infant. I spent all day with him Thursday, he fell asleep on my chest twice; the first time for about an hour, the second time for about three hours. Gina was able to get in a shower and a much needed nap. Kim and I went over and took a bunch of photos of him on Saturday, I'm looking forward to seeing Kim's photos!!
This photo was taken at our first meeting. A smile in between feeding frenzies!! He is quite small in person.
Taking a snooze on mom's shoulder. Could his face be any more adorable? Quite possibly....see below....
Nap time during the photo shoot. He has some milk crusties around his mouth. And the award for most adorable child in the world goes to.......
Atticus!!! His eyes would sometimes cross a little bit, Gina explained that it is because he can only see like 6 inches in front of his face. As he develops he'll be able to see farther and farther away.
Aunt Jess and Atticus. Can't wait to get more pictures with him!! I'm hoping to see him again in July or August. He'll be so big by then! And hopefully Gina and Demian will be getting a little bit more rest:) Thank you guys for letting me be a part of Atticus's life, I am one lucky girl!!

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

This past weekend I flew up to Seattle for my first visit since moving to California. I have been pretty homesick for the last few weeks, so it was great to go back and spend some time with a few people......including these three cute faces!! I stayed at the Hayes residence, which meant I had the pleasure of hangin' with Pip, Lincoln, and Ms. Meows. I was finally able to get Lincoln to sit still for a bit, with some coaching from his parents.

Happy Birthday, Ashley!!!

Hope you had a blast on your birthday!! Happy 29th:)

So long life of leisure!!

It has been a relaxing 2.5 months off of work! But soon it will be time for me to enter the working world again. I started the application process with the California BOP back in October, and 8 months later I finally have my California license in my hands. Needless to say, this little piece of paper was the cause of much grief and frustration for me, and I am relieved to have the whole experience behind me. Now that I am licensed, I can get more serious about my job search. Gone will be the days of sleeping in, lounging in the sun by the pool, reading gossip magazines, and watching cinematic atrocities like Coyote Ugly (shame on you John Goodman!). Admittedly, I have even sat through portions of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, as well as Hannah Montana. Side note: I don't really understand the deal with all the hype on her, but then again, I am about 20 years older than her target audience. I am actually looking forward to making the change from unemployed girlfriend to contributing member of the household and society. I am sure John is *really* looking forward to me paying half the rent!! I think working will be good for my social life as well. Being unemployed, I have quite a bit of time to think about all my friends and family back in Seattle, and how much I miss everyone. It will be nice to meet some new people and hopefully make new friends in this area. I still have a couple weeks to enjoy this rare break in the rat race. With that said, I better get back downstairs, Weekend at Bernie's is on!!