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!!

Poor little dude.....

Frank had a bit of a traumatic day today! As did I. Last night I noticed that he was limping, he didn't want to put much weight on one of his back legs. All I could think about was my previous fuzzy feline, Charlie, and how one minute he was fine, and the next minute he was gone. Needless to say, I was more than a little worried about Frank! I decided against taking him to the emergency animal hospital because he seemed to be pretty much like his usual self as far as appetite and litter box habits were concerned. He didn't seem to be in too much pain as he was still walking around, jumping up on the bed, and walking up and down the stairs, although he was definitely favoring his good hind leg. He slept right next to me all night, he probably knew I was worried about him, I hardly slept at all. I found a veterinarian clinic that was open on Sundays and made an appointment for earlier this afternoon. The above picture is of him in his cat carrier, do you see the white paw? He wasn't too happy about getting in the carrier, but he couldn't quite put up a valiant fight due to his gimpy leg:( Poor little dude!
The veterinarian clinic was only a few miles away from where we live, and it is awesome they are open on the weekends. Frank was weighed (10lbs), had his temperature taken rectally (sorry Frank!!), his heart rate checked (normal), and his teeth examined (they didn't say much about that, but I know he needs his teeth cleaned because his breath is stanky sometimes!). Then the veterinarian came in and that is when the discomfort really happened for Frank (and me). It was so hard watching the vet examine Frank because obviously his hind leg was tender and painful. He was hissing and took a good swipe at the vet's hand. The doc was having none of Frank's shite, and strapped Frank's little face in a muzzle. I don't blame him, but it was really hard for me to watch, in fact, I had to turn away, I couldn't watch. The vet couldn't find anything wrong during the examination, so they took x-rays of his hips and knees. It turns out Frank has some degeneration going on in the bones of his lower back. The vet thinks it is age related, and may have been caused by an injury to the area when he was younger (probably while he was an alley cat). I was relieved to hear it was arthritis and not something super serious like a fracture or a tumor. The vet prescribed a medication that is used quite commonly in humans, called meloxicam, it is an antiinflammatory agent. So I will be giving Frank medication for the first time in the 5 years that I have had him. I guess I should feel pretty lucky because I know plenty of pet owners who have had to give their pets many courses of medication.
The medication comes in a liquid formulation. I had to give Frank 10 drops today, 5 drops tomorrow, and then 3 drops daily on a regular basis. The drops are a honey flavor, Frank seemed to love it. I was pleasantly surprised! I put a couple drops on top of a cat treat, and he had no problems eating them. Hopefully the medication will help Frank over the course of the next few days. He is still angry at me, I think. He has been hiding under the edge of the bed for the last 3 hours. I hope he comes out soon, I miss him.