Winning is Fun

Today was the second game of our Spring season and... we won! Again! We were playing one down the second half (not for lack of people showing up but because one of my girls had a really bad allergic reaction to something (?) at half time and had to go home :/) and while it was more of a challenge (our opponents weren't a bad team and they had some pretty ogre-ly tall guys playing as forwards) we were still able to keep the score 3-1. Woo!

Since it was an afternoon game and I had no plans afterwards, I also brought Fred along. Eeee I love bringing Fred to my soccer games. At any lull during the game I can glance over to Fred (and my Dad who graciously watches Fred while I play) and be delighted to see him staring at - not the movement of the ball or the people surrounding the ball, but - ME! :D He just kind of watches me with a super cute/happy expression hahahah. Except today he did more than just watch me; he somehow got unclipped from his leash and ran onto the field. Luckily his goal was to run straight TO me and not AWAY from me (as he sometimes does in an attempt to start a riveting game of chase...) so I was able to scoop him up really easily. And then I got reprimanded for holding the other team on side as I returned Fred to my Dad/tried to figure out how he got loose in the first place hahaha. Good times.

In other news, I'm accumulating too many "To Review" places on Yelp so I've been trying to set aside a little time to write. Here are some of my most recent reviews: Orange Sushi, Roman Cucina, and Max Blooms Cafe Noir. More to come soon, hopefully!

Finally, highlights include: Joe visiting, Roman Cucina, the dollar theatre, brunch at IHOP, Peet's, shopping at the Spectrum, Kim's birthday, catching up with old friends, Orange Sushi (chef Neo sent over a free dish [baked snapper of deliciousness] because he appreciated my Yelp review so much!), Postcrossing, Wordfeud, home-cooked meals, It's a Grind, and Jamba Juice. Pretty standard stuff. Oh also they started the bathroom remodel project and I finally wrapped up the last bits of a property deal! So it's been a nice mix of productiveness, fun, and relaxation. :) Still haven't had time to really work on my own life goals list, but I'll get there...

Busy Life

In general, Wednesdays are my busiest days. This past Wednesday was particularly stressful, in part because I had the sudden realization that I, without realizing it, managed to accumulate a LOT on my plate.

The big things are: handling my mom's real estate properties and transactions (showings, middle man-ings, move in prepartion-ings, etc), overseeing the remodel of our two bathrooms, trying to prep our soccer team for our third back to back season (aka trying to finalize our roster and our new jersey prior to our first game this Sunday), and dealing with Fred's ear infections (both the cost of repeated check ups/treatments and the actual administering of the medication - it's hard to do! He's wiggly!!). I'm also a little stressed about my own potential hairline fracture on my right leg, a battle scar from our last game. I'm hoping it's just a really bad (really swollen) bruise. In fact, I'm going to assume it's a really bad bruise because a) I don't want to stress about it and b) with car insurance due in a few weeks, I don't want to pay doctor's bills and what not if I don't have to. Because the big things are all in addition to the usual things (teaching, errands, etc), these past few weeks I was pretty much left with no time to check off all the things/goals that directly benefit/further my own life. Next week, I suppose.

Miraculously, I've still managed to squeeze in a bit of fun/productive fun. For example...

Last Monday I headed up to Hollywood to take some head shots before spending a lovely afternoon/evening/night in LA at Bricks and Scones and (later) Versailles.

I'm still doing Wednesday night dinners with my Dad, which is fun/relaxing. This past Wednesday featured WAFFLES!

On Saturday morning I had an audition before overseeing a supplies delivery for the bathroom remodel.

Tuesday was a delicious lunch with Kim at Bamboo Bistro in CDM before heading down to Gelato Paradiso in Laguna for some delicious gelato (Sweet Cream and Cherry) and sorbet (Mango). Afterwards we walked over to LF where I somehow left with a whole new outfit. :X After getting a bit of work done, I had a yummy dinner at Orange Sushi. Good conversation and a bit of Smash filled up the rest of the night.

And yesterday (after a wax appointment, a day at Balboa, and soccer practice), I ended up at the Dubliner for St. Patty's Day where I managed to get quite tipsy, quite fast. I blame the early/small dinner hahah. Good times.

Needless to say, I'm pretty tired. Today was another long day to cap off a long few weeks and I think I'm going to skip the festivities and stay in, snuggle with Fred, and watch Bones. See below for a few pictures from my most recent LA excursion. I might post other March pictures later. We shall see!

Three Things I Love About Where I Live

1. The fact that I'm within 5 minutes of everything I need/want. Literally. Target, B&N, the freeway, a dance studio, downtown, Steamers, a good groomer/vet, the widest variety of food possible... if you can think of it, it's probably less than 5 minutes away from me. There are three things that I'm 15 minutes away from: Zankou Chicken, delicious/authentic Dim Sum, and Disneyland. But honestly I'm just grateful there's a Zankou Chicken within my vicinity, I prefer being 15 (not 5) minutes away from Disneyland, and the Dim Sum I'm referring to is reallyyy good and is located in Rowland Heights. There's actually perfectly good second tier (aka still better than anything in South OC/LA) Dim Sum located, you guessed it, 5 minutes away from me haha.

2. People are friendlier/the service is better. Not to say that people are always unfriendly/the service always sucks elsewhere... but it's kind of true. Here it isn't. For example, I needed to get new running shoes. A few weeks ago I stopped by the local Big 5 (conveniently located 5 minutes away from me) to get some. That day I had the best sporting goods store experience I've had in... probably my whole life. It was just great. People were attentive but not annoying/pushy. Nobody judged me for trying on four pairs of shoes (later three, then two) for over an hour. And everyone was cheery! And friendly! And because it's a Big 5 (and they carry last years models/styles at like 70% off the original price), I got fantastic ASICS (I love ASICS) for $40. It was pretty great.

3. It's pretty. So is Irvine and many parts of South Orange County... and the beach cities... as well as other parts of the world (not LA), but I don't know. This was something that was pleasantly surprising to me because Fullerton is more inland and I've always associated it with being hotter, older, dirtier, and a bit less pleasant. During the summer it will be hotter, and it's definitely older... but it's actually extremely clean and somehow quite pleasant! Maybe because the people here seem a bit less plastic/pretentious/self conscious. Maybe not. In any case, I love that the area in which I live is nice to look at, featuring grassy fields, big trees, chirping birds, and beautiful blue skies. Yay for the little things in life. :)