These are a Few of My Favorite Things

Another baby has entered my life. And she has probably the longest full name of anyone I know. She's the child of two of my dear friends and I am just giddy over her. Little V is going to be a very special child... This I know.

I got a new cup today. I tend to use one cup so that I don't have to keep washing new ones all the time. I just use the same one, then rinse it out or wash it off as it needs it. At least I know no one else uses it, which is all I really care about. I picked out a Princess cup, which is rather ironic. It's currently holding my drink of choice lately - Orange Juice, hold the pulp. Can't get enough of the stuff.


I've been eating way too much chocolate lately. We leave for Mexico 5 weeks from today. FIVE WEEKS!! crap. I'm in trouble.

I rented The Village and Troy yesterday.

The Village almost redeemed itself at the end, but mostly it just made me mad. I was highly disappointed after Signs, and I couldn't believe M. Night Shyamalan was doing the same thing. Both left me angry. He's got some 'splainin to do. I watched Troy today, but after The Aviator yesterday, I was bored of long movies. I like epics and all, but I just wasn't in the mood today. Brad doesn't do a whole lot for me, so I'm indifferent about that one.

I turned those in and was hoping to get Friday Night Lights, but that was still out so I got Hero instead. Great movie. Amazing. Lots to look at, incredible colors, and great action. And best of all, it was short. Good stuff.

I need sleep. Yummy sleep.

I Won't Grow Up

It might be the announcement of Oscar nominees that was given this week, but I've been in a movie kinda mood lately. I realized how many movies I haven't seen, and now I feel completely left out. I'm usually up on all the movies that are being touted as "genius", "this year's must-see", and "a shoe-in for Oscar". But this year I just feel clueless.

Each year I have a goal to see at least all the nominees for Best Picture. I've only accomplished this only once - in 1997. I managed to see all the nominees before Oscar Day: As Good as it Gets, Good Will Hunting, The Full Monty, and Titanic. And on that Sunday, my mom and I found the closest theatre still playing L.A. Confidential - 25 miles away. But we accomplished it. I haven't done it since... but this is my year, I can feel it.

As of yesterday I had only seen one nominated movie: Finding Neverland. Twice. I never go see the same movie twice in the theatre, but I loved this one so much, I am glad it was recognized.


Yesterday I saw The Aviator. Finally.


Ray comes out on video Tuesday, so I plan to pick that one up next week. That leaves Sideways and Million Dollar Baby. I've got 4 weeks still - piece of cake. I will hold my opinions on the films until I've seen them all, but I have to say I might be pulling for the waaaaay underdog in this one: Finding Neverland. It hits close to home and I can't resist Jonny Depp. "Clap your hands if you believe!!!" Gets me every time...

Viva Las Vegas

Last weekend was yet another 3 days in Sin City. Good times were had by all. Celebrated my dear, beautiful sister-in-law's 30th birthday, and she wanted to do it up right. 8 of us shared two adjoining suites at the Venetian. The place was absolutely beautiful - and we had only two complaints. One of the pool areas was being remodeled so only one was open - the shaded one in the center courtyard. I'm sure it's a great idea in the summer. But being it was mid-January, it didn't work out so well for us. We managed to get good and relaxed in the hot tubs anyway. Second complaint: the hotel is absolutely GINORMOUS, which was the cause of some interesting times getting BACK to the room after a few late nights. (B - we were in room "1"-408, not "I"-408).

As usual, can't report back on too many details. I've even cropped each and every one of the following photos for fear of sharing too much info - and too much of other things. Yes, the girls were out and having a great time. But that's only for Vegas eyes to see.

One detail I can share is that I want you to make your reservation at "N9NE Steakhouse" (Nine, for you unclassy folk) at the Palms ASAP. It's a bit trendy, and I can say with all honesty that I was NOT looking forward to it. But I am so glad I went, and I look forward to when I can go back. It's a big pricey, but well worth the quality of food and service. Really incredible. Dark lighting, great decor, loud music, and truly invisible staff. The only creepy thing we saw there was an older, gentleman being "escorted" by two fine young ladies. Ew.

After Nine, it was off to dance the night away at Rain. Something you kinda have to experience, but I can easily say I will not be going back anytime soon. People go there just to be seen - and just to say they've been. Not my style, but hey... at least I can say I've been! The fire was pretty cool. And how 'bout that lapdance???


I found these matches in the bathroom stall at Nine. For some reason, I was very excited about having them.


A small idea of what our group consisted of on Saturday night, ie: the Skirt Parade.


Me enjoying my french onion soup at Nine. (That's cheese, people)


An idea of how cool Nine is, they brought the Birthday Girl s'mores to cook at our table. And they didn't even sing!! They left that to us.



Another cropped pic taken at Rain. But my hidden dimple managed to make it into this shot. I must've been having a good time.

What a man what a man what a mighty good man

Something I realized today is that I want a man who can swim.

Random? Yes. Odd? I say no.

I realized this while I was at the gym tonight. The majority of the cardio machines overlook the pool (one reason why I no longer go in the pool - I realized how much I stare at the people down below, and it gave me a weird creepy feeling that others are doing the same amount of staring while I'm in there...), so I have seen many different levels of swimmers. First of all, let me say that I never see the people who are in the pool OUT of the pool getting any other type of exercise. This bothers me for some reason.

The waders/walkers are usually the people with a friend who prefer to socialize while they wade through the pool. These people are standing still more often than not, which makes me wonder how much they actually get accomplished.

There are the noodlers/water aerobic people. These people do manage to usually work up a sweat as they push their way through the water, aerobicizing as much as possible, or by using their noodle (long, skinny floatation device) to help them stay afloat. This type has obviously experienced a water aerobics class or two, and tends to be very respectful by staying on their assigned side of the pool.

There are the dog paddlers. This type tries their very best attempt at what they might consider "swimming", but to anyone else, it looks like they're merely trying their best to avoid drowning. They tend to try various strokes of swimming, but end up staying too long underwater on, say, the breastroke, that I am usually about 2 seconds away from jumping off my machine to run down and save them when they come up for air. Because they think they can swim, they might venture over into the lap pool side, getting in the way of others.

There are the don't-I-look-good swimmers. These people appear to the un-informed person to be a great swimmer. But they themselves are un-informed and things just aren't quite right. It's usually their timing of the butterfly stroke that is the tell-tale sign, when they pump their arms and their feet at the same time, making it an awkward breath to catch. They usually tire quickly, but manage to get in a pretty good workout while doing a very strange impression of the breast stroke.

Then there are the SWIMMERS. These are few and far between, so it's a treat when they come around. These guys and gals can swim what seems like forever without stopping. Great form, and consistent strokes. They make me proud.

Now, you may ask what makes me such an expert. Swimming is something I love to do and something I've been doing since before I could walk. I grew up on the swim team, and 7 months of my family's life every year was spent at the pool - whether it be for practice or meets. My brother and sister both were excellent swimmers, and I always wanted to be as good as they were. Some of my best and most vivid memories of my childhood are of competing at meets. I loved to go to practice, even in the summer when it was early in the morning. Although my brother and sister would be the first to point out that times for practice went from oldest to youngest, making theirs much earlier than mine. I'd be leaving on my bike heading out to the club just as they'd be getting home. I was forced to give up swimming when we moved to a very small town in the mountains that had only ONE POOL and no competitive team.

All this to say that tonight someone in the pool tonight caught my eye when he started on the butterfly with perfect form. His next lap was the backstroke - also perfect. Next lap was breastroke... could it be this guy was doing the IM - my FAVORITE event? I knew it was true when he finished with freestyle, and I fell in love for a quick second. I had never realized how important this trait might be for my future husband, but tonight I realized it could definitely be a deal breaker.

Gotta love a guy who can wear a speedo and knows how to use it.

Boot Scootin' Boogie

I was beginning to think I would have nothing to write about today. Yes, H & H were going out dancing. Yes, something random ALWAYS happens, and occasionally that's all the night ever is - random.

But it was already about 12:30, on a Friday night and nothing unusual really stood out. I was starting to think maybe we were losing our touch, or maybe it was just meant to be that kind of night for us.

But then again, we really aren't capable of that, are we?

Visited the Crazy Horse in Irvine, which is always an interesting place. An odd mix of middle-aged singles looking to find that special someone to two step with, and the player regulars who are looking for that special anyone to grind with. But when it's 70's disco night, it also brings out people like us, who are just there to have a good time and laugh at everyone else.

So at about 1:30, I'm hanging outside, making sure one of our friends was okay who was talking with a group of guys. I'm in the smoking section, which has given me the hugest headache as I've been standing there talking with all the people who feel it necessary to blow every puff of smoke in my face. My feet are killing me because it had been raining all day and I had worn my boots - and besides, it was the freakin' Crazy Horse, right? *THE* wannabe country western bar in the heart of wannabe Orange County. The band was done for the night, so the disco music, and the DJ's hip hop music had given way to standard house/rave music in hopes that the crowd would thin out - which left only the die hards dancing the night away on the dance floor. If I had been high on X and had a glow stick, I might have joined in.

So I'm standing there, minding my own business making small talk with one of the guys, when a guy named Nick approached me. He was obviously intoxicated, but wasn't being rude or obnoxious, so I turned my attention toward him and tried to have whatever conversation was possible. It was pleasant, but mostly consisted of me telling him all the reasons why I DIDN'T want to dance (refer above: my feet hurt, crappy music, etc...), and he persistently asking me. Now, I'm not too clueless to understand he was most definitely feeling the pressure of last call and not having anyone to go home with - but I humored him. A friend of his happened to walk by, so I brought him over, and included Heather as well. It was announced to be the second to last song, and Nick's buddy really wanted to dance, so he persuaded Heather to go - but only if I would go. With only two songs left in the night, I gave in and we made our way to the floor.

Our uneventful night just got eventful.

About 30 seconds after getting to the floor, Nick tried to kiss me. I politely turned my head and kept as much distance as possible, while he did his best attempts at spinning me around, then pulling me in closer. After a few attempts of trying to kiss me, he apparently realized that wasn't the way to start out .... so he proceeded to LICK me. Yes, I said LICK. He licked my neck first, then licked my chin, my cheek, my chest. I thought he had to be joking, but he was dead serious and must have thought he was completely seducing me. I was completely grossed out, but they announced last song and it was back to hip hop, so I thought "how bad could it get?" and I stayed. Now I realize that was my downfall. Somehow amidst all my head turning, and doing anything I could to stay away from his tongue, my head turned the wrong way, and he kissed me. Well, to put it more accurately, he attempted to feel the back of my throat with his tongue.

I now understand the feeling of having your face molested. I didn't completely freak out, realizing he was drunk and relatively harmless. But it was baffling to me after I pushed him off that he continued to lick every part of my face he could. Apparently Heather didn't catch any of my "SAVE ME!" expressions, and thought it would be okay for her friend to continue to be licked clean by this total stranger. Can't blame her, but I left that place feeling dirtier than I EVER have and I couldn't get home fast enough to wash myself off.

I was totally baffled that someone could actually think that was okay to do to someone, and wondered if it had ever actually WORKED on anyone. Some girl out there gets to dance with Nick next time, and maybe she'll be the one who says "oh my gosh, I have always WANTED to be slobbered all over by someone I barely know, and have his tongue jammed down my throat ALLLL NIGHT!" I hope so. That way, there's one less Nick out there for the rest of us to have to deal with.

Just the recollection of the night has brought about that dirty feeling again. Excuse me while I go scrub my skin off.

Goodbye 2004!!

Well, I feel as though I must briefly pay tribute to the day that was New Year's Eve 2004. It is a day that will live in my memory forever, and that is an unfortunate thing for the most part.

We (H&H - for those not paying attention) decided just to play it low-key and cause as much trouble as possible from her second story apartment. With the two of us, the possibilities are literally limitless, and we even manage to surprise ourselves still.

The finer highlights: We were joined at the last minute by some dear friends who helped make the evening more memorable. Heather got to know her super friendly neighbors she had never met before, and one of our friends even got a full tour of one of their homes - COMPLETELY random. I apparently chipped the tooth of the same friend, although there was little to no evidence of this the next morning, despite his claims. Heather and I took a tumble to the ground shortly before midnight, although our recollections of how this happened seem to differ: I remember walking together or even just standing hugging, and we lost our balance and fell, while Heather and the rest of the crowd remember that it was only ME who fell, and I grabbed on to Heather and brought her down with me. Details - whatever.

And finally, I learned the consequences of consuming a bit of champagne after consuming a bit of beer as I spent the early hours of 2005 hugging Heather's toilet. Not a pretty sight, nor an event I'd like to relive at any point in my life... EVER.

Good times. Good friends.

I am looking forward to 2005. There's not really anything you can do about time passing, right? Might as well look forward to what lies ahead.

Holiday cheer and other mushy stuff

Survived another Christmas. As expected, this year was very different than years past, especially not waking up with my parents on Christmas morning. But we made the most of it and had a great time. Woke up on Christmas morning in my old home town, which was comforting and nice - although it didn't snow (thank goodness - I didn't want to have to drive in the freakin' crap), it was verrrry cold in the morning, which made it seem more like Christmas. Hung out all day with the new little tyke and the rest of the fam.


Me and the kid

Drove home exhausted and rented a few movies since I had no plans for the rest of the day, and was midway through the first one when my sister called asking if she could tag along with me when I drove to visit the parents.



Turned out to be the best thing we could have ever imagined doing.
Completely surprised the whole family when we showed up, especially my mom, who was thrilled to be able to finally hold her first grandchild - she was there when he was born, but was much too sick to go anywhere near he or my sister. It was absolutely fantastic to see everyone, including getting reintroduced to my step-sister's kids who I hadn't seen in about 7 years and who my sister had never met. Very cool kids - too bad they live in Alaska. And absolutely always my favorite to see my step brother and his fabulous wife and two kids. They moved to Arizona in September and I've missed them so much it makes me sick. Really really great.


"Mimi" and her first shot at holding the kid

Something I've learned to appreciate so much about my stepdad is the family he's brought to us. I have no extended family to speak of. My real father was an only child, who I think only ever had one aunt. My mom had a brother who never had any kids of his own, and who died in 95. At one point, he married a woman who had 4 kids which I thought was the greatest thing when I was little because I had COUSINS!! But they got divorced, so my excitement didn't last much longer. I've got no other aunts, uncles or grandparents still alive. It's basically me, my sister, brother and mom.

And then there's my step dad. He had 3 kids by the time he was 20, and added another one to the bunch a few years later. Although he himself is an only child, he recently discovered a whole bunch of cousins a few years who had never searched for him because they thought he was dead. Nice, huh? He also raised three other step kids, then us. All-in-all he's got 10 kids and now 11 grandkids. His family is quite unique, but they have brought so much fulfillment to my life, and have given us that extended family we never had. I've now known his family more than half my life, and feel so thankful.

There has been some limited contact with my real dad's wife these past few weeks. The most there's been in 6 years which is the last time I saw either one of them. It's been a strange time, but a time where I've really come to appreciate the family that I do keep in contact with and who have shown me so much love.

Families are not the easiest people in the world to always get along with. But in the end, they're the ones who know you the best. And usually the ones who HAVE to love you, no matter what. They're the ones who will bail you out of whatever stupid predicament you've gotten yourself into, and the first ones who will rush to share in the excitement of something really great happening in your life, and be genuinely thrilled for you. My family has grown to become the people who I can share all the stupid things I do with, and they will laugh right along with me - agreeing with me that I'm stupid, but never being the first to say it.

I'm glad to know my family circle has gotten bigger with many brothers and sisters, and now expanding ever more with in-laws and nieces and nephews. All the more to love to grow.


The Alaska and Arizona families


Me and Jax


Me and Jade