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. :)

Words Not Pictures

Where to start. There's so much that's been going on. Off the top of my head, highlights include:

Guitar shopping with Jimmy, group dinner at BJs, epic house party in Culver City, catching up with old friends, brunch at Rutt's Hawaiian Cafe, making a delicious ethnic dinner, game night, various lunches with various friends, DISNEYLAND, EMILIE, late night mini-golf, B&N, Fullerton exploration(s), Foosball, Wurstkuche, Scoops, games/etc at Jack in the Box, post-practice hang seshes, unexpected breakfasts, paddle boating, a day at the Irvine Lake, Curry House escapades, Fish Grill, Jolly Roger, Dana Point, Laguna, sunrises, flowers, drawing, dancing, Focus, Out of Bounds, Pineapple Hill Saloon and Grill, birthday celebrations, karaoke, late night Del Taco seshes, Wednesday night dinners, Mario Kart Wii, Borderlands, Lollicup/Cha nights, soccer, Peet's, hours (days?) of good conversation, Sour Patch Kids, Mickey's Fun Pops, all nighters for no smart reason, Roman Cucina, rainy weather, sunny afternoons, and Fred.

New things in my life include hours of practicing the guitar (love my Seagull!), lesson swaps, and a nonexistent sleep schedule. Weekdays have been busy and weekends have been busier. My Wednesdays are still my killer days... but I enjoy them. I've been trying to spend more time with friends and family, and it's exhausting but worth it.

In general, life has been pretty stellar. But today I'm tired. I might also be getting sick. I'm also thoughtful, confused, and tinged with the slightest regret. But dwelling is for the unproductive and weak, so I'll be taking advantage of my free day by being productive and strong. :)

In other news, birth control pills suck. Royally. The mental implosions that result from said poisons are the worst.

Coming Home

It's been a long time since I've written... apologies! I've just seriously been too busy to update. Hard to believe (and surprisingly depressing), but tonight was the first time in a month that I actually got to stay in. OMG. Anyway. Updates to come. For now, here are some pictures I took of a sunset in Dana Point in early February.

Recapitulation

It's been a busy week!

Saturday was move day. My mom and I were going to make a second trip to retrieve miscellaneous small things from the old place... but we were exhausted (and it was already pretty late) so we decided instead to eat downtown. Had some delicious spaghetti and homemade meatballs with a side of ricotta cheese, Italian wedding soup, and tasty tasty bread from Roman Cucina, a lovely little restaurant on Harbor Blvd - YUM. It was also on Saturday that we realized we can watch the Disneyland fireworks every night from our living room!

Sunday I had a soccer game, and then spent the remainder of the day packing and CLEANING. Had a tasty group dinner at Thai Cafe before again heading back to Fullerton for some quality play time with Fred. :)

Monday I relaxed with company as I waited for an electrician, cable internet installers, and appliance people to go about their business. For dinner I had very tasty sushi (and fried oreo and green tea ice cream for dessert!) at a cute little place I found less than 5 minutes away. The owner/chef was so friendly! He made us a little edible bunny out of an orange, and came by our table to chat for a bit as we were getting ready to leave. Really nice guy, and a darn good sushi chef too!

Tuesday Jimmy came up to check out the new house/wander downtown with me. We came across a lot of neat looking restaurants/bars/fun places to check out later, and yet somehow ended up at Roman Cucina again for dinner haha. This time I got the Rosa (creamy red sauce) which, while tasty, wasn't as good as my spaghetti and meatballs... but it really didn't matter because by the time my pasta was put in front of me I was already super full with soup, bread, and an endless supply of Shirley Temples!

Wednesday was an Irvine day. After preparing for my lessons, I headed down to teach until 6pm. Ran into an old friend from high school at Jamba Juice, which was awesome. Had dinner at my dad's, where he whipped up a tasty filet mignon dinner (using the grill I got him for Christmas!). After a round of Mario Kart I headed out to the Gypsy Den where I met up with friends for a long night of hilarity and deep conversation - always a fantastic combination. :)

And that's the gist of it. Now it's Thursday and I've spent most of the morning catching up with e-mails and messages and what not. I need to do some errands before I head down to Irvine for soccer practice and MILKSHAKES! Should be fun. About time I exercise away all this food I've been eating... only to be completely negated by what will undoubtedly be a delicious (and definitely worthwhile) milkshake haha.

PS
Goldfish Crackers COLORS are now colored with natural ingredients. Which is great, in theory, except the purple goldfish now taste like beets. :(