Life & Ramblings of an LA Blogger Gal

Go for it now.  The future is promised to no one.

~ Wayne Dyer

Wow. I guess I didn’t realize just how long I’ve been gone from here. My last post was Thanksgiving Day – over 2 months ago.

Not cool.

I think I’ve been avoiding coming over here because well, like the title says…life happens and things change.  I felt more of a draw to my business blog and newsletter than to chat about life here in LA.  And of course, it doesn’t help that we haven’t really been up to much locally.  Funny how when the resources dry up, the going out also seems to dry up.

Which makes me think that I might go out and change up the focus here on the blog a bit.  While it will still be more of a personal, out and about sort of thing, I’m thinking that I’d like to try my hand at sharing some of my favorite things.  This might include…places to see, books to read, recipes to try, words and thoughts to motivate.  Who knows.

And while I won’t allow another 2 months to go by between posts, I won’t be writing daily.  But I will be here and I will continue to share tidbits and ramblings from the life and times of this LA Blogger Gal.

“May your stuffing be tasty. May your turkey be plump. May your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump. May your yams be delicious and your pies take the prize, and may your Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs!”

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DAY ELEVEN – Family of Friends: It’s often been said that we may not be able to pick our family, but we can most definitely pick our friends.  I’ve always been blessed with an amazing “family” of friends…everywhere I’ve lived.  This trip back to New Mexico, I was able to sit down, like a family over a good, home-cooked meal, with my dear friends.  Richard and I are in the middle there, my best friend (and former roommate), Julia and her man Ed are on the left, and my mother-figure (for lack of a better term…this is the woman that made me cry when she came into the ready room at my wedding), Effie, and her main man, Doug (who often feels like my big brother).  It took a while – and a LOT of laughter – to finally get this picture, but I love everything about it.

So for today…I am so grateful knowing that I have an amazing family of friends that I can always count on for love, laughter, advice and a great dinner!

DAY EIGHT – Modern Medicine: I’ve written about it far too many times to even bother recounting, but yes, I seem to be sick…again.  I actually just finished my first week of antibiotics. But well…I fly again this week and I still feel all congested. So I opted to try for a second week as well.  My goal here is to just not make things worse than they are.  And while I’ve been on antibiotics far more than I’m comfortable with, let’s face it…modern medicine works.  Then again, up until this last flight, I was doing just fine going the herbal and homeopathic route too (which I’ll return to hardcore once I get back home).

So for today…I am grateful that I have the best doctor in the world – she doesn’t even require me to see her for my sinus infections and she’s always there when I need to heal – and for the wonders of modern medicine.

DAY FOUR – Vampire Diaries: Okay, time to be completely honest, I started watching Vampire Diaries a little over a year ago (my husband was taking a phone call and there was nothing else on that I could watch without him – meaning the rest of the stuff on the DVR was “together” shows). I got hooked. Immediately. I must say, it’s not nearly as cheesy as it could be. I think they’ve done a great job with the storyline and when each episode ends it leaves me excited for the next (and no, I’ve never seen nor read any of the Twilight series). And of course, there’s Ian Somerhalder. I loved him on Lost and I love his strung out lover, bad boy character on Vampire Diaries. If you haven’t yet seen the show, check it out. Or just check out this video clip from last year – hot, hot, hot!

So for today…I am grateful that when Boone died on Lost, he didn’t really die forever – I can see an even sexier version on Vampire Diaries.

I’ve been participating in NaBloPoMo for the past few years.

Some years I finish.  Some years I give up.

I wasn’t going to participate this year since I’ve kinda abandoned this blog (seems I spend most of my time on Facebook these days).  But I thought that maybe this might be just the motivation I need to get things going again.

Thing is, counting this personal blog, I also have two other business blogs and a newsletter.  And if I stick to writing on all three, daily….well, that’s a lot of writing!

So I might just switch things up a bit and instead of posting at one blog or on each daily, I’ll commit to writing (and posting) daily across all three blogs.  And I’ll still be writing for my weekly business newsletter.

And to give me something to focus on…I’m thinking I’ll go forward with a 30 Days of Gratitude theme.

DAY ONE – Just Breathe: I just had a meltdown carrying the groceries and wet laundry from the car to my door.  You see, I once again seem to be sick (waiting for the doc to call in my prescription to the pharmacy) and just the short walk from the car to the door left me stopping twice.  By the time I made it inside, I just lost it and started crying like a baby.  Which then led to a little bit of a panic attack…seems when you’re having trouble breathing, your nose is clogged and you start crying…you have even MORE trouble breathing.  When then leads to the holy shit panic attack when you realize that it’s even harder to catch a breath.  Luckily I was able to talk myself into slowing down and leaving the crying behind for the breathing.  So for today…I am grateful that I can breathe easily and effortlessly.

I’ve gotten to the point these days that I don’t even want to start watching any new shows on the regular channels.  I figure half the time, the shows are canceled after only a couple episodes (like Lone Star) or you get sucked into what you think is a great show only to have the cancel it out from under you.

As it stands now, at least (this data from spointertv.com might not be completely recent at the time you read this) 16 shows are in the process of possibly getting canceled.  And yes, I watch  (or more accurately…watchED…in the case of Lone Star) six out of those 16.

What about your shows…are your favorites getting or at risk for getting canceled?

October means many things to many people. For some it’s the start of the official fall season. For others it’s the fun of Halloween. For others, fall harvest and colorful leaves.

For me, I love how October brings forth the following:

Pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins! Pumpkin spice coffees. Pumpkin muffins and breads. Pumpkin facials. You name it, pumpkin is everywhere.

Cranberries!! After pumpkin flavored everything, I love the how cranberries are everywhere…in mojitos, in salads, in muffins and white chocolate chip cookies! Love it!

Fuzzy blankets! In our home, the favorite blanket is the microfiber, faux shearling throw. When that blanket comes out, the cat and the dog are all over it. In fact, I typically have to fight them for it.

Fuzzy Footwear!! As much as I love me some flip flops, I also love me some Uggs (or in my my case, faux-uggs). There’s just something about warm fuzzy boots…they’re like slippers, only they’re shoes. I also picked up a pair of Ugg (non-faux) clogs last winter and I can’t wait to dig those babies out.

Tea!! I love tea. I love whole pots of tea! I love starting the day with a cuppa milky, sweet, black tea. And once the cooler temps hit, I’m able to drink copious cups of tea! Yay!

Scarves!! This time of year, especially here in LA, our days can still be warm, but our evenings are chilly. So now I get to pull out my collection of scarves and have fun!

Rainy Season!!! I think this has to be my favorite time of year here in LA. We don’t exactly get seasonal changes so there’s not much to look forward to. But every October, the rains come. Granted, it’s nothing like monsoon season in the SouthWest, but it’s still nice to know that there’s a bit of a rainy season.

Now if I could only get it to rain hard enough to actually clean my car instead of turning it to a muddy, misty mess.

While I’m not an addict by any means, I do enjoy a good cup of coffee.  Even better when I’m able to toast to a fun national holiday like National Coffee Day.

In the spirit of this fantastic national holiday, many local and national coffee shops are giving away free and selling discounted coffee. Participating Dunkin Donuts are offering a free cup of coffee and they’re donating a portion of their sales to Special Olympics.

While I hear great things about Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, sadly, we don’t have any here in the greater LA area, so I opted to celebrate by enjoying an iced coffee at my local McDonald’s (no, it wasn’t free, but it was yummy!)

For more coffee antics, check out the Facebook event dedicated to the day.  And if you can’t make it out in this heat for a cup of joe, try brewing your own cold-brewed iced coffee – it takes a good 24 hours for great brew, but so very worth it!

What’s your favorite thing about coffee?

Last Wednesday was one of the coolest parties in LA, the 2nd annual Blogger Prom. This a big deal and a great way to mingle with other local bloggers. And of course, since it was basically started by a slew of foodie bloggers, you better believe it’s a killer party.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to attend this year (yes, sick again). I can’t figure out what I was more bummed about…missing the awesome fashion, the amazing food and drinks (I can’t believe I missed the The Cheese Impresario!), the giveaways (oh sweet Jesus, the giveaways!) or the swag bag (I heard the swag bag was beyond killer!).

Last year, they had an 80’s prom theme (which I totally failed when it came to my outfit) and this year it was a Hollywood Confidential theme. Imagine all those gorgeous dresses, fantastic hairstyles and the dramatic make up.

For photos and recaps of the event (you know, from people who were actually there), check out the official Blogger Prom blog, the photographer’s official photos, their Facbook Page and their Flickr page.  Now you can be bummed that you missed out on a great party too.

Can’t wait for next year’s prom!!