And I thought I'd never have a blog

Happy 94th!

2009-11-10T14:02:00.000-08:00

This is a little late, but I figured I might as well post it anyway!

Last month on October 13th, my amazing grandfather turned 94 years old! It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating his 93rd.

We had a little bowling themed birthday party! He had a great day with a ton of phone calls from family and friends. I love that he has lived such a full life and has touched so many people. Unfortunately, his health is slowly declining and has had a recent diagnosis of a faulty heart valve - but his mind is still sharp as is his sense of humor! Out of the blue last night, he asked my mom and I "What's an illegal?" I think what? He knows what an illegal is (please, he lives in Maywood!) - it must be a joke.

"I think I have one in my backyard."

"You have an illegal in your backyard??"

"Yeah, it's a pretty sick bird."

3 hours later...

2009-11-10T13:38:00.001-08:00

My mom has been in town and whenever she's in town - we usually get serious about doing some sort of home improvement. A few weeks ago we decided it was time to get rid of the HIDEOUS carpet in the hallway (to reveal the hardwood floors!) and throw a fresh coat of paint on the walls.

BEFORE: DURING:

The amount of dirt underneath the carpet was unbelievable!

AFTER: It took us 3 hours to make walking through the hallway a joy!! I love it and that little bit of work has inspired us to take on an even bigger project - the living room carpet! We plan on tackling that tomorrow - here's hoping the hardwood is in good condition!!

I'll be sure to post pics of that transformation as soon as we are done!

New Orleans - day three.

2009-08-07T14:44:00.001-07:00

Every morning before the opening session of VBS, the kids would have some free time. Most would play games but every single morning a group would gather around the computer and watch Michael Jackson videos on YouTube. The kids LOVE him! They knew every word to every song and would dance along - MJ had died just a day or so before we arrived but it was so much fun to watch them enjoy his music and talent. The kids wanted to pray for him and his family and one of the boys even dedicated his craft to Micheal Jackson!During the group session, the drama and worship team did a great job at keeping them engaged, leading them in worship and teaching them about Jesus.
Andy and Alicia were in charge of sports and they did a great job! It was super hot outside but I never heard them complain once and the kids had a great time!
After VBS in the morning, the team split into two smaller teams and went off to two different worksites. Team one headed over to Leonce's house to scrap up tile (more on him in the day four post) and team two (me) went to a house in Violet to lay down ceramic tile. There was no one home at the time and we never met the owner, but the owner's brother, Edward (who lives next door) stopped by towards the end of our day to express his appreciation for helping his sister and shared a little about his experience during Katrina. He told us how he and 15 or so co-workers almost lost their lives in the flooding. They were working at the refinery and were trapped in room and barely made it to the roof before the water flooded in. He said that his home and all the homes in his neighborhood were completely underwater. Here are a few work shots of the work...

And here's the team two with Edward just before we left.
We managed to finish about 1/2 of that room in the few hours we had - the next day we sent a small team back to finish it. Kristi and I also did a short prayer walk through the neighborhood - just praying for the people who live there. It was really cool!

This house was across the street and has a red X on it - indicating that it's scheduled to be involuntary demolished by the city on grounds that it is abandoned. Homes all over the city have that posted on them. You couldn't really get too close to any of the homes in this area because they were all infested with wasps - but that seemed to be the norm at all the worksites. The team became pretty use to them after awhile.

This particular block had a lot of vacant land...

This is what appears to be a frog in the back window of a car.

This was just around the corner....and huge pile of trash and a boat.

After leaving Violet, both teams went back to Gentilly to clean up before heading to Uptown for a prayer walk and dinner. This area of New Orleans is beautiful. The homes are old and have so much character and charm. If I ever lived in New Orleans, this is where I'd want to be!

This is where we had dinner! We also came here last time I was in New Orleans - very cute place with lots of charm and amazing food! Their shrimp quesadilla is to die for!

Coming up...day four!

New Orleans - day two.

2009-07-31T13:57:00.001-07:00

Day two was an exciting day because it was really more like day one - our first full day! On tap was VBS at Excite Summer Camp in New Orleans East. We did that everyday (except one from 8am to 11:30am) followed by a tour of the city. Here's the gang getting ready to head out. What you can't see in the picture is how hot it was at 7:30 in the morning and the disgusting smell that emanated from the trash cans just to the right of the door. It was BAD and later when we moved them to the street for trash day - we discovered at least a million maggots - pretty gross. Here's Kristi, Robin and Becky - ready to go!The first time I went to New Orleans, our team worked on renovating the space where the summer camp is held - so it was awesome to see it being used! Here are Aaron, Aaron and Tanya doing some drywalling...
And the finished project...

And here's the multi-purpose room that our team painted and installed insulation and ceiling tiles in 2007...
And the finished project where the kids play and do crafts every day...

Within minutes of arriving, a few of the girls fell in love with Kristi's hair...

After the kids arrived in the morning, we went into a morning session with a little worship and skit time...The kids were broken into crews and split off into different areas - here they are doing crafts (which I was in charge of...)So much happened with these kids - it's hard to wrap it up. Needless to say, they all have a story about Katrina and how it has affected their families. Some kids had to move away because their schools have yet to reopen, or they went to live with another parent, others are dealing with abuse, gangs, drugs, and the fact their entire support system was gone instantly. We were told that a lot of the kids were accustomed to having their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. all within the same block or two - a really solid support system. But then after the storm, that changed and a lot of them were left with just immediate family in an unfamiliar area. These kids have experienced death and destruction in a way that most of us will never experience and it didn't take long for these kids to make a huge impact on our team!

After our first day of VBS came to a close, we had a quick lunch and then headed out to tour the city. We made a stop at a gas station along the way and I discovered this gem - a pickle in a bag.

Have I mentioned it was hot in New Orleans?? Because it was hot!! Suffocating and oppressive are two appropriate adjectives.

Here we are at Lake Pontchartrain - this thing is huge and played a large role in the flooding during Katrina. The storm surge came through the canals and ended up here which had no where to go except back onshore flooding the Lakeside neighborhood.

We continued the tour and I saw this school - which you can't see the other side of the building but it's pretty damaged. The sign reads "Registration 8/17/2005" - the storm made landfall on 8/29/2005 - it was a sad reminder that a lot of progress is still to be made.

Next stop was the Lower Ninth Ward which was completely wiped out.

This is a memorial that shows the different water levels throughout the city...

Most of the homes in this area have not been rebuilt. We saw a lot of empty foundations, driveways, and overgrown lots. The wall in the background of this picture is the levee that broke when a barge came smashing through...

Here's an aerial view of that - you can see the barge on the right hand side just above the levee.
This is another view...crossing over a bridge which shows the levee today.There is some progress in the Lower Ninth thanks to Brad Pitt and his organization "Make it Right". They have been building quite a few homes...

They are all elevated, colorful, and unique...

This was a house near where we were staying. It seemed like they raised it themselves...

I have more pictures from the tour but it started raining pretty hard so they aren't that good. The rain was welcomed through because it was hot - I don't know if I've mentioned that yet.

Before heading out to the French Quarter that night - Leanne, Grace and I ran to the grocery store and I saw this. I thought it was disgusting at the time but I now have a new found love for shrimp. Even WHOLE shrimp that requires breaking off the head and peeling it. Who would have thought I would ever say that...they'll be more on that transformation later.
And of course, a trip to New Orleans is not complete without a stop at Cafe du Monde! They have amazing beignets which are covered with powered sugar and are just delicious!
I think Jessie was raising the roof. I'm not sure.

And finally, wrapping day two - here is the St. Louis Cathedral. It is absolutely beautiful, especially at night! Later in the trip, I was able to go inside - those pictures are to come.

Another morning of VBS and work on 2 different homes awaited us on day three.

New Orleans - day one.

2009-07-24T16:13:00.000-07:00

It's been about 3 weeks since I've returned from New Orleans and I've yet to blog anything about it. I can't stop talking about it with anyone who expresses even a remote interest in what we did there and I've uploaded 200 pictures to Facebook but I find it hard to put the experiences into words - perhaps I think I wouldn't do them justice. So my approach will be a slow one...taking one day at a time.

The trip started at an ungodly hour - 2am on Sunday morning to be exact. In order to get an affordable flight, we needed to leave out of San Diego super, super early and on two separate flights. So that meant that we all met at 2am to caravan down to SD so team one could catch their flight around 6am. Team 2 (which I was on) left a little later - around 8am.

Waving goodbye to team one...

Catching some zzz's at the San Diego airport in some comfy rocking chairs...

After a brief layover in Houston we arrived in New Orleans! Here we are waiting for Christopher, Andy and Charlie to pick us up...we stepped outside and were nearly killed by the heat and humidity so we waited in between the sliding glass doors...

This is where we stayed - good 'ole Gentilly Baptist!

After we dropped off our luggage and got settled, the whole team headed out to dinner with Janet (who's amazing...more on her later!) We went to The Italian Pie which had calzones pretty much the size of Italy! And it was run by a Vietnamese family which was awesome!

While having dinner we noticed a little something going on outside....

It was our "Welcome to New Orleans Thunderstorm" and it was AWESOME!!

People in the restaurant thought we were crazy but we couldn't pass up playing in the rain!! And what rain is was - we were completely soaked after just a few seconds! After dinner we headed back to Gentilly Baptist and talked about what was in store the next day - our first day of VBS and a tour of the city.

We could learn a lot from Oregon.

2009-06-08T15:12:00.000-07:00

As a welcome back to blogging post, I thought I'd post a few pictures from my recent trip to Portland. Last month, I spent 6 days visiting family and enjoyed some gorgeous weather while I was at it!

Although I looked, I didn't spot any members of the Roloff clan. Driving through Hillsboro near the farm - so pretty!My favorite street in Hillsboro - It's beautiful in the summer, but AMAZING in the fall! If you've never been to Oregon, you really should make a trip up there! Besides being incredibly green, there's also no sales tax! A total plus.

Gorgeous Man, indeed.

2009-05-14T13:41:00.001-07:00

Thanks for the link Laurie!

I guess we'll never know.

2009-04-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

I love spontaneity! And last weekend was exactly that! I got a call from Jessica on Friday asking if I wanted to drive up just past Santa Barbara to go wine tasting. I would never pass up an offer like that and I happened to be free so before we knew it was Saturday morning and we were heading up the 101!

We decided to make a stop at the Camarillo Outlets to check out one store in particular. I've been wanting to buy a new purse for awhile and decided to splurge on a special one and I absolutely love it! The store itself was a madhouse...I've never seen that many people crammed into such a small space. You literally couldn't turn around without bumping into someone!

After braving the lines and making my first official Coach purchase we grabbed some lunch and kept driving north until we reached gorgeous Santa Ynez and the Gainey Vineyard.

We enjoyed a good wine, great conversation and absolutely beautiful weather!! After we were done at the vineyard, we drove just a few miles down the road to Solvang! I've have been wanting to go to Solvang for awhile now and didn't even realize how close it was. What a cute place!

Having been to Denmark, it was fun to see all the windmills and just how similar Solvang is to the real thing! We ended up grabbing dinner at a little Italian place and then made the drive back to L.A.. Overall, I had a wonderful day hanging out with Jessica, enjoying nature and the reminder that California really is a beautiful place! And no one but Jessica will get the title of this blog...but that's okay. Just know that little phrase somehow managed to produced lots of laughter throughout the day!

I totally recognize that guy.

2009-04-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Mrs. Dr. Jack (who by the way provides amazing Lost reviews) recently told me about a website that is now one of my favorites. So naturally, I wanted to share it with all of you. It's Criggo.com and it's a compilation of odd or funny headlines or newspaper stories, such as...

Enjoy!

I don't think this counts.

2009-04-06T10:01:00.001-07:00

I saw this truck over the weekend and immediately pulled out my phone and snapped this picture. Notice anything off? Anything missing? Anything that might be on the unofficial side? Let me zoom in for you....

Yep...a handmade license plate. How awesome is that!?!?

You have got to be kidding me.

2009-03-31T08:51:00.001-07:00

What better way to start a Tuesday morning than with something that left me completely disgusted and shocked. Ladies and gentleman...what's worse than a bald baby girl?? Well according to these crazies...nothing. Which is why they created Baby Bangs. Please make sure to glance through the FAQ's and how to wear section - because as you'll see it's perfectly acceptable to use hairspray on a baby.

Bummer.

2009-03-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

It’s been quite some time since I’ve truly been disappointed – but that’s where I am right now. I just heard from CSULB and I wasn’t admitted into the Counseling/Student Development Program. I had been thinking about this particular program for almost a year and really had my heart set on going back to school in the fall. I feel like the Lord just slammed this door shut – which ironically is what my friend prayed at our small group last week. Hmm…thanks Jessica :-)

Anyway…I’m totally bummed and I can’t hide that but I have faith that there is another opportunity somewhere out there. It’s only a matter of time before I find that open door.

On a more positive note, I had a very clear answer to prayer yesterday. Christopher had sent out an email letting me (and others) know that if we wanted to go back to New Orleans this summer, we'd have to let him know this week. I had been praying about it on and off and Wednesday after I got the email I was praying again and then on Thursday the coolest thing happened…God answered!

At work, I walked into a conversation some co-workers were having about what? New Orleans.

When I got home, I decided to watch a tivo’d episode of Little People, Big World and where were they? New Orleans.

And after I watched that, I started reading a book for small group tonight which was set where? New Orleans.

So I think I have my answer - New Orleans here I come!

Len-da Isa-ba.

2009-03-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

My best friend has many talents. One of which is her ability to write extremely insightful reviews to Dancing with the Stars. She has been writing these reviews for a few seasons now but only emailing them to a select group of fans. However, I am pleased to announce that she has started a new blog and will be posting her reviews and other DWTS related news for all to read!

You can find the hilarity here.

We were like right here.

2009-03-16T14:12:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are already 3 1/2 months into 2009. Where does the time go? It's been about a month or so since I last blogged so here are some updates...

I have applied to the higher ed counseling program at Cal State Long Beach and am anxiously awaiting to hear whether or not I'll get accepted. Just being on a university campus to submit my application packet was fun - I've forgotten how much I love education so I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one!

Last week I spent 3 fabulous days up in Lake Arrowhead on a Classified Staff Retreat and it was just gorgeous up there! We stayed at the beautiful UCLA Conference Center and had our own private little (actually not so little) cabins. It was fun getting to know co-workers on a different level and of course, it was great making some new friends. We did a lot of team building activities and had plenty of time after hours to socialize. What I loved the most is I now have enough stories to last a lifetime - like we were like right here...you know like right here. In Arrowhead?? No...like Colorado. Oh, right.

That is an inside joke that only a few people will get but it has to do with Ana and Vero. Of course, I'm happy to tell the story to anyone who will listen :-) Here are a few pics from the trip...

When I was at the retreat I received a phone from my dad saying he was out of the hospital. That is truly a miracle...I can't believe how well he has recovered from the heart attack. Thank you again to all who prayed for his receovery. I feel like the Lord has given me another opportunity to get to know him. It was really difficult visiting him in the hospital the first few days because I couldn't stop thinking about how might not make it through - it's hard to accurately explain how I was feeling so I won't try instead I'll just say that I'm glad that he's better. In fact, he invited me to a get together in the next month or two to meet some of my cousins. That's a weird thing too - I grew up with just 2 cousins who were much older than me - so this should be fun. One of them is having or about to have twins - which is what is prompting the get together. It'll be nice to finally meet them after all these years.

And last but not least, the Mud Run is just 89 days away!! Woo hoo!

Update.

2009-02-25T10:43:00.000-08:00

Here’s a quick little update on my dad’s condition – I know I didn’t update like I said I would after my visit last Friday, but there really wasn’t much change. He was still completed sedated and although they had been trying to get him off the ventilator, it wasn’t quite working. But yesterday, they were finally successful and he is now off the ventilator! He’s still having some trouble breathing but has taken a dramatic leap forward in his progress. The doctors think he'll likely remain in the hospital for at least another 2 to 3 weeks but I feel so relieved – although I know he will die one day, it no longer seems imminent and that’s a huge relief. Thanks again for keeping him in your prayers!!

I heart Facebook.

2009-02-18T11:39:00.001-08:00

Debbie downer.

2009-02-17T16:45:00.000-08:00

A lot of you might know what’s been going on this weekend through Facebook, but figured I’d give an update here. On Thursday evening I received a voicemail from my new found aunt saying that my dad had suffered a heart attack that morning and was in the hospital. For those of you that don’t know the background with us, you can read all about it here. But long story short, I met him for the first time in November of last year so this phone call definitely caught me off guard.

I called her back and ended up speaking with my uncle who had just got home from the hospital and he gave me some more details. He told me that it was a pretty massive heart attack and that he was in extremely critical condition down in Escondido. I was told that he was heavily sedated, on a ventilator, and had a machine pumping his heart. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I decided to drive down there on Friday. When I arrived, he was unresponsive and was told that they put him in a medically induced paralysis to give his organs and heart a chance to recover from the attack. It was his third and definitely the most damaging. I had a chance to speak with the cardiologist who was very kind. He knew the circumstances of our relationship and was really concerned for me and how I was doing. At this point, I’d say I was surprisingly okay. He was being completely honest with me and said that 80% of patients in his condition don’t make it out of the hospital but based on what he’s seen so far, he thought he had a decent chance of being in that 20% that do.

I ended up staying at the hospital all day and met several of his good friends which were a great source of information. I had a nice conversation with someone who’s known him about 15 years and he was saying that he was tickled pink when he first received my letter. Another friend told me that he had wanted to find me about 6 years ago but didn’t have any of the information he needed like date of birth or my last name. I also learned that he was in the Army and served in Vietnam and that his experiences there affect him to this day. Getting that little piece of information helps me understand what happened – he was traumatized and turned to alcohol as a way to cope. It may not be the only reason, but now it makes a little more sense.

My birthday was Saturday and I didn’t want to spend the day in the hospital so I didn’t visit but decided to make a quick drive down on Sunday between church and my birthday dinner. At church on Sunday morning, the reality of everything finally hit me. I couldn’t stop thinking about how he could die and that I may never have a chance to speak or see him again. I started thinking about the regrets I had - why had I waited to so long to meet him? Why didn’t I call him between Thanksgiving and now? Why I was giving him such a hard time? I could go on but I decided that I can’t focus on the regrets or anything negative – that I could only change what I do in the future.

It only took me about an hour and 15 minutes to get there thanks to absolutely no traffic. A few of the friends I had met on Friday were there again and I ended up seeing my uncle and aunt again too. We had to discuss the fact that I was technically the next of kin, but that I didn’t want to be – it was weird. Anyway, when I walked into his room and started talking to him, he raised his eyebrows a little and it looked like he was trying to open his eyes but he couldn’t. I don’t know if he understood whether it was me or just heard something, but he didn’t do it again the remainder of the time I was there.

I just called the hospital to see how he was doing and the nurse said that he still critical but his vitals are stable and he’s not responding as well as they would have hoped. She said that sometimes it just takes longer to come out of the sedation. He’s no longer on the machine that was pumping his heart but is still on a ventilator. I’m thinking I’ll take Friday off and go visit and I’m hoping and praying that he’s awake and off the ventilator by then – but there is no way of knowing.

Anyway, I want to thank everyone for their prayers and concern – it means so much to me to know that there are so many people that care! Thank you all! I'll be sure to post another update after I visit.

This one?

2009-01-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

A few months ago my office moved to another building on campus. The new digs are a vast improvement over what we had - newer building, better location, new furniture, etc. We are near the front of the campus so we get a lot more walk-ins and they're looking for all sorts of things! It's actually quite comical and it's a good thing that I find humor in silly things otherwise I'm sure I would go crazy. I'm asked daily for campus police, change for the meters, and my favorite - "um...is this the bookstore?" No buddy...it's not. You're not even close.

With all the good things, there is bound to be something bad, right? Well, the one downside to this new building is to open the sliding glass doors you have to push a button. It's a big, yellow button. Did I mention it's big? Because it is. And it says EXIT. And it's yellow. Those three things are important.

The reason the button is there is because anytime anyone walked past the front desk, the sensor would get triggered and the doors would open. This bothered people so they came up with a way to bypass the sensor and use a button instead. I guess they tried to adjust the sensor's span but they couldn't. Personally, I think they should try again because the button nonsense is starting to irk me. But I digress...

The button is located to the left of the door on the wall and unfortunately for the poor folks who are looking for it - it's on a pretty busy wall.

Exhibit A:

We have the grey exit sign - which is completely pointless.
We have the grey reception area sign - also pointless.
We have a fire extinguisher.
We have a red fire alarm.
We have the paper that tells people to push the yellow button to exit.
And finally, we have the yellow exit button.

Whenever someone walks up the door and it doesn't open, people get crazy. They have waved their arms, jumped up and down, and have even pried the door open manually.

All of those things make me laugh but because I'm a nice person, I often help them avoid that embarrassment by telling them "Just push the yellow exit button to your left." They have mutliple responses to this as well. Most often they will either freeze or they will go to the right. Obviously...both wrong.

When they finally see the correct wall, they will run their hand over everything that's on it. People have actually pushed both the grey reception area sign and the grey exit sign - need I even ask if either of those are yellow? Of course they're not...yet they still push them. They've even pushed the paper yellow button and have touched the fire extinguisher - which is baffling.

But my all time favorite is when they put their little fingers on the fire alarm which is neither yellow or a button. They always look over at me and ask, "This one?" Now I'm not sure why they feel the need to confirm what they already know. They know that's not what they push to open the door and yet they still ask.

After a "No...not that!" they eventually figure it out, they push the right button, and are free to go about their day. I, however, am left laughing with my co-workers at how out of control people are. Let me just say the day that someone actually pulls the fire alarm will be a good one! And don't worry, I will update my Facebook status immediately! I've been told it's happened several times but I look forward to witnessing the blessed event personally.

The Office quote of the day.

2009-01-06T15:40:00.000-08:00

Like I mentioned a few posts back, Janice (and Linda) bought me an Office quote calendar and today's quote is one of my favorites so I figured I'd share it with all of you...

"I think it's great that the company is making a commercial. Because not very
many people have heard of us. I mean, when I tell people that I work at Dunder
Mifflin, they think that we sell mufflers, or muffins, or mittens, and
frankly, all of those sound better than paper so, I let it slide." - Jim

Dubai is at it again.

2009-01-06T15:21:00.001-08:00

First it was the crazy man made islands and now it's the world's highest tennis court! I think I should add Dubai to the places I'd like to visit before I die.

See that little green spot - that's the tennis court!

Thanks for the tip, Jennifer!

My own list.

2009-01-05T16:12:00.001-08:00

It seems like several people are posting things they hope to accomplish this year and I have a few of my own that I wanted to share! In no particular order, here are my top five...

1. Apply and get accepted to graduate school.

2. Participate in the Mud Run for the third time - but surpass my previous times.

3. Pay off at least 40-50% of my debt and accumulate no more!

4. Visit Solvang for the first time.

5. Increase my support to causes close to my heart like Blood:Water Mission.

I know I'm a few days late, but I wish everyone a very happy new year!!

Christmas with the Orloff's.

2008-12-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

A few months ago as I was cleaning out an extra bedroom in my grandfather's house I discovered a box of old greeting cards that my grandmother had saved throughout the years. There were all sorts of cool vintage cards but since Christmas is right around the corner, I figured I'd highlight a few of the Christmas photo cards my grandfather made back in the day. He has always loved photography - and was ahead of his time with the whole Christmas card photo thing! They didn't have Costco back then so he made each and everyone with his own equipment and darkroom.

The first card is from 1947 and featured my aunt Susan and my mom when she was just two months old. My grandfather still has that end table and lamp (minus the lampshade) in his living room today.

This one is from 1957 and features my Aunt Susan (13), Uncle Mike (4) and my mom (10) - this was the first Christmas they spent in California after moving back from Oregon. Isn't my uncle just the cutest thing ever??

And this last one isn't a Christmas picture but it's just adorable and I had to share it! It's my mom when she was about 4 months old in February 1948. Her little dress and booties are too cute! I also like the doilie.

For Christmas, I am giving these pictures to my mom all wrapped up in a cute vintage photo box. I'm also giving her old birthday cards from her parents and grandparents. I even found her birthday card from her 1st birthday. I can't wait to see her reaction - she's going to love it!

So who's the real boss, the dog or the fish?

2008-12-19T09:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday marked the second annual Foundation Christmas lunch! The three of us headed over to McKenna's on the Bay in Long Beach and enjoyed a beautiful day and a delicious lunch! We also did our gift exchange and I received several wonderful things including my new favorite desk accessory - "The Office Daily Quote Calendar!" I'm certain it will bring me lots of joy in 2009.

Thanks Janice!

I would love to see this happen here.

2008-12-18T15:09:00.000-08:00

These are pictures from an article I read this afternoon. Apparently, this is how they do politics in South Korea! One side barracaded themselves in a room and wouldn't let the other side in. "Opponents later used a sledgehammer and other construction tools to tear open the room's wooden doors, only to find barricades of furniture set up inside as a second line of defense." Can't you just imagine Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi using a fire extinguisher to gain entrance into a meeting? If I had any photoshop skills, I totally would have doctored this purely for my own amusement!

Countdown.

2008-12-17T10:39:00.000-08:00

In just 5 short days, I will be boarding a Jet Blue flight out of Long Beach up to Portland! I'm excited to see my family, the beauty of Oregon and experience true winter weather. Plus a two week vacation is always a nice thing!! It's been snowing the past few days there and I had hopes of a white Christmas, but at this point it looks like it'll just be a wet Christmas. But that's okay - it's Portland - what do I expect?

Quick update on the recall: it didn't pass. There was a really low voter turnout - surprise, surprise. But an ethics measure did pass which calls for increased qualifications for police chief and discourages nepotism in city hiring practices. We'll see if they can find someone who's not a criminal to run the police department.

And finally, I hope everyone is enjoying the rain and cold as much as I am. The fact that I actually need a warm jacket, scarf and gloves makes me happy!