Day 1: My first full day back in SoCal and my body wakes up at a ridiculous hour. After forcing myself to go back to sleep, I wake up two hours later and decide to run errands with my Mom. Later that night, RM took me, my sister, RJ and SJ to dinner at The Loft at the Montage.
Ate a whole lot of food, but the best part was the chocolate birthday souffle with strawberry sauce. O.M.G. Sooooooo good. Thank you RM! I wish I would've remembered to take a picture of it, but I was so focused on eating it, I totally forgot. The funniest part of the meal was when SJ ordered Jell-O with whipped cream and sprinkles. Why is this funny? A) The Montage is a fancy resort hotel for the rich and famous and B) if you saw SJ you wouldn't expect him to order this kiddie dessert. After dinner we went back to RJ and SJ's apartment to watch the first half of Twilight. Everyone and their mama has been trying to get me to read the book or watch the movie. Although it wasn't the best teen movie I'd ever seen, I can see the appeal. But don't worry, I haven't jumped on the Twilight bandwagon. I think the thing I find fascinating about all this is the fan following...and the behind-the-scenes goings on.Day 2: Easter for my family was spent at church followed by the Angels game. Luckily for me, my team was able to pull off a win for me. We beat the Red Sox 5-4 to win the series.
Unfortunately, Red Sox Nation was alive and well, especially in our area. I think I heard "Let's go Red Sox!" more than "Let's go Angels!" We really need to work on that Angels fans. It's a little embarassing. Baseball games are much more exciting live and go by much faster. I admit that sometimes watching a game on TV is a little like watching paint dry.
Day 3: Since everyone was at work, I decided this was the perfect day to hang out with my favorite stay-at-home mom. After hitching a ride with my sister to work, AD picked me and we went to get the kids at school. I've known those munchkins since they came into the world nine and eight years ago, and I can't get over how much they've grown every time I see them. When K climbed into the minivan and handed me two tiny flowers and said she missed me, my heart swelled. It was such a small gesture, but so sweet. Funny how kids know just what to say to make you smile. We then went home so the kids could do homework and AD could get dinner started for the kids and her husband. I decided to sit and watch High School Musical 3. Now, before you start pointing and laughing at me for watching Twilight then HSM3, keep in mind that I needed to pick a movie that was kid-friendly. I couldn't watch The Haunting of Emily Whatsherface in front of the children. And yes, I did want to watch HSM3. You can laugh now.
When her husband got home we headed out to get our own dinner. We went to one of my favorite restaurants, Islands. I ordered a Rincon burger with cheddar fries. Yum. I love me some cheddar fries with a side of ranch. After dinner we went to Wal-Mart to pick up some things for the kiddie bags for K's bday party. Then we were off to Huntington Beach to walk two miles:
Apparently my dear friend has been going to the beach almost every day to walk and decided to drag my lazy ass with her. I have to say I'm very proud of her. She looks great. And if I did move back, I'd probably join her as often as I could. It's a nice walk and it was fun to have someone to talk to while getting some exercise. Plus, I love the beach at sunset. It's one of my all-time favorite views.
I finished off the day by getting some Yogurtland with my sister on our way home. Days like this are great.
Day 4: The Big Day. My first official birthday greeting came at 12:01 a.m. from JG. Although, if we're counting EST time, it was actually 12:01 a.m. EST from WH. SS sent me a cute bday picture message that I just had to share with you:
Alf wanted to say...
What's so special about Alf? Well, at my last job, CR and I were talking about Alf one day. Not sure how the topic came up, but a couple days later, this doll, along with a mini version, appeared at work. Apparently CR decided we needed Alf in the office and ordered him on eBay. He came with a Hawaiian shirt and for some reason I had Hawaiian gear at my desk so we dressed him up. That egg scepter came from a flower arrangement DS sent me for one of my birthdays and the skull was added later by one of the other office gals. After CR left she passed Alf on to me. When I left, SS took care of him. Alf has somehow become the mascot of our old office--just a reminder of how things used to be. I miss Alf.
Anyway, the texts and calls came rolling in and of course, I loved every minute of it. :)
Here's a special bday present I got in my email from LI:
Almost every year, if he's inspired, he'll send me one of these. The first drawing he sent for my bday was an illustration of this snowman character based on me. After that, he'd create cartoon strips of her doing random things that I'd probably do. This one is very representative of me: lounging in front of the TV, my favorite Super Bowl ad, my dream of a wall of TVs, strawberry pie and of course my angry face. I love it! My family totally laughed when they saw it.
OK, so the day started off with some confusion, but then at lunch my mom, sister and I met up with my aunt and cousin for my birthday lunch at Lucille's. Biscuits, fried green tomatoes, pulled pork and some sweet tea. So good. I love BBQ.
After lunch I made a trip to the local library's bookstore and picked up a few books--one of my favorite things to do. I picked up five hardback books for $5. Such a great deal! We then went to my aunt's house to pick up her dog, a golden retriever name Roxy. She is such a sweet dog with prettiest face you've ever seen:
See? So cute. I decided I wanted to take her to PetSmart and get her a toy. Unfortunately, the poor thing didn't like the store. The whole time we were in it her tail was between her legs and she kept shaking. She practically bolted out the door after we paid for her toy. Once she got in the car she was all smiles and happy pants. We then went to the dog park to let her run around and play with the other dogs. We again learned something new about our sweet dog--she's a little antisocial. She had no interest in playing with the other dogs. They kept coming up to her, but she always turned around and walked back to us, nudging our hands so we'd touch her. The one good thing about Roxy is she loves people and did go up to a few, including a cute a guy. So she does make a good wingdog.
Before taking Roxy on a doggie playdate with RJ & SJ's dog Gizmo, we stopped at the house to change since a superhyper dog named Kona kept jumping all over us and getting her dirty paws on our clothes.
While we were home, my sister's dogs, two chihuahuas named Mocha and Bruce, went a little crazy when they say Roxy. Along with the standard barking, Mocha decided she needed to attack Roxy by biting the hair near her hind legs and butt. This was funniest thing I'd ever seen. At one point Mocha latched on and held on as she hung there while Roxy just kept on walking like nothing was happening. Crazy dogs. I wish I had a camera handy. Just so you have a visual, this is what Mocha looks like:
Yes, she looks like she should be saying, "Yo quiero Taco Bell." If anyone from Taco Bell has stumbled upon this pic and needs a new spokesdog, contact us. Anyway, just picture her hanging from a golden retriever's ass. Very funny.
And here's a pic of Bruce just because he's adorable:
We had dinner with N, S & Gizmo at Jerry's Dogs. What started out as a beautiful, sunny day turned into something from The Day After Tomorrow. Clouds started to roll in, the wind was picking up and the temps were dropping fast. After quickly eating dinner (we were outside because we had the dogs) we hightailed back to the comfort of N&S's apartment. We caught up with RG on the phone, played with the dogs and finished the second half of Twilight.
It was a pretty low-key day, but that's pretty much what I'd envisioned for my birthday.
Day 5: This was my big L.A. day. My sister and I headed up the 405 to check out the comic book exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center. Here are a few pics:
I ended up purchasing a book about the exhibit and a Lois & Superman magnet for my fridge. The exhibit was pretty cool. I wish we could have taken pics of the stuff behind the glass, but that wasn't allowed. One of the museum guys pretended he was going to turn us in for accidentally taking a picture with the flash. I called him on his bluff. He thought he was being all sly, but I have a pretty good BS detector.
After the museum, we decided to go to The Grove to get something to eat and catch a movie. If you read gossip rags and sites you know that there are a lot of celebrity sightings at The Grove. So, my sister was determined to see at least one celebrity on this outing. We grabbed a late lunch/early dinner at the Farmer's Market food court area then went to watch Fast & Furious. I can hear the chuckles now. Yes, I loved the movie. Go ahead, mock me. I love me some Paul Walker, especially when he's behind the wheel of a fast car. There's just something about blonde-haired California surfer dudes that appeals to me. And yes, when they make the fifth installment of this series, I will be there with a huge grin on my face.
So, once we left the theatre, we passed by the Barnes & Noble where we saw a sign that said Bob Barker was there for a signing. My sister's celebrity sighting. She was so excited that I thought she was joking. When we went inside to get a glance at "the legend" as my sister so eloquently put it, I thought we'd snap a pic from afar and leave. Ummmm, that's not what she had in mind. After tons of begging and pleading on her part, we ended up in line with his book in her hand and she met Bob Barker:
Yes, my sister is crazy, but you gotta love her.
When we got home we ended up making eggrolls with my mom all night. Nothing like quality time with the family. Also, waiting for me at home was a box of tasty treats from WH:
Yummy! I was so excited, I totally tore into one of those frosted sugar cookies.
Day 6: My sister and I spent the morning with my aunt eating breakfast and doing a little shopping. Then I took my sister to work and headed over to TGIF at The Block to have dinner with my wonderful ENT girls, DS and NG. When I hang out with those girls we end up talking for hours about everything under sun. I think we spent an hour in the parking lot just talking about random stuff. I have such a great time with them every time I see them.
Day 7: I just hung out at the house with the dogs. After running around all over the place, this is exactly what I needed. Later that evening, PB & HB took me out for a birthday dinner at Islands. I told you I loved this place! Their daughter is one of the cutest kids on the planet, but for some reason my charm just doesn't work on her. The minute I got into the car and said hi to her, she started screaming her head off. I pray that one day she'll recognize me and not run off screaming. Normally that only happens with guys.
Day 8: NJ & SJ picked me up for brunch at Jerry's Deli (where SJ, Mr. Tough Fighter Guy, again ordered the Jell-O with whipped cream and sprinkles--you should have seen the expression on our waitress' face) and a trip to the Pet Expo where I ended up buying a few things for the dogs that included a cute crate pad, a "Jersey Girl" shirt for Mocha and a "Bitches Heart Me" shirt for Bruce. I should have taken a picture of them sporting their shirts. When we got back to my house, I was greeted by friends yelling, "Surprise." Yes, the entire time my sister was planning a surprise party for me. Honestly, I did suspect something like this in the works, but I decided to go with it and let it all unfold, which was pretty damn entertaining. Watching RJ slap SJ's hand down when he held up his iPhone (boldly displaying my sister's name) in the car was priceless. My mother cooked up a feast and I had my friends there--what more could I ask for? Seeing all the happy, friendly faces was the best way to end my vacation. Thanks to all the people who showed up. It really meant a lot to me.
Day 9: This vacation was as close to perfect as it could be, which made it difficult for me to board the plane. I sat in the airport looking out the window at a perfect California afternoon wondering when I'd make it back again.
Little did I know that the news waiting for me back at work would make it possible for me to return sooner rather than later. But like I said...more on that later. I really need to get to bed.
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