Category Archives: life

Have I Mentioned That it’s HOT?!?

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Yeah, and we’re not exactly thinking too straight either. Yesterday, when it was 103ish here, my friend and I drove deep into the San Fernando Valley where it was measuring 106 just to do a little shopping. Then today, gluttons for punishment that we are, we’re heading into the Palm Dessert where it’s currently 108ish to do some outlet shopping. The things I do to avoid crowds and search out the bargains. Yeesh!

Last night as we were driving home over the hill from Sunset Blvd to Ventura Blvd, as soon as we crested the hill and hit the valley, the temps went up about 10 degrees! Then later, when we finally turned off our AC unit (since it doesn’t cool the bedroom) at around 1:00AMish, there was only a one degree difference between inside the house at 82 and outside the house at 83.

Man, Valley living can really kind of suck. Especially in the late summer. If the smog doesn’t get you, the crazy summer heat will.

Okay, off to shop!

Can You Say Dumb Ass?

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See the amazing things you learn watching Attack of the Show…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBzayHyY4Uo]

At least he lubed up first! What a fine example of the effects of too much alcohol and a bet of $20.

Come on, I double dog dare you.

I’m Feeling Wings Though I’ve Never Flown

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This past Monday the hubby and I saw Joss Stone at the Greek. Once again, she put on an incredible show. It was a bit disappointing in that she now has three albums out, yet only performed for an hour and barely played anything from her first two albums. But still a damn fine show with some great energy. .

This is now the third or fourth time we’ve seen her and each time, you just can’t help be awed by her. She is not only an incredible singer, but she also really seems to enjoy what she does. The first two times we saw her it was at the House of Blues; the first time for her debut album, Soul Sessions, the second (and I think the third as well) for Mind, Body and Soul. It’s interesting to see how on one hand, she’s matured (she started out at a mere 16) quite a bit and can really hold her own on stage. On the other hand, it’s still so obvious how much she loves performing, she still performs barefooted and she still seems genuinely sincere when she thanks the audience after each song.

My favorite part of a Joss show has to be when she starts cracking herself up. She gets started giggling about something or another and then can’t seem to reign herself back in which results in still more laughing. This happened quite often during our show. In fact, during one of the encores, right as she was getting ready to belt out the final word in the song (man, I wish the hubby would send me the set list already – I’ve done far too much youtubing to recall the song now), the audience started going wild. This of course, set her off in a fit of giggles and she couldn’t even get the final notes out; she turned her back to us, she covered her face with her hands, she covered her face with the scarf tied to her mic, and then finally, she just decided to close her eyes to finally finish. It was a great way to end the show.

If you ever get the chance to see her live, be sure to check it out (she has an AOL session – complete with the yummy Common duet – if you want to see more than a couple songs that I’ve highlighted below).

Here she is on the Late, Late Show at 17 singing Dirty Man (one of my favorite songs). You can see how young she is, yet how into the music she gets.
Here she is on the Late, Late Show at 17 singing Dirty Man (one of my favorite songs). You can see how young she is, yet how into the music she gets.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI8lxGEkkJc]

Here she is on an Italian TV show this past year. See how she’s flirty, laughing and seeming genuinely sincere as she thanks the audience, that’s typical for her performances (and I’m assuming that’s her boyfriend that she sings to in the audience since I’ve seen her go out to him in nearly every TV performance I found while looking for the best live perfomance)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iY-MkV-MtM]

And let’s not forget the absolutely killer Janis Joplin tribute with Melissa Etheridge from the ’05 Grammys. Man, I still tear up and get emotional during this clip. It’s that damn soulful.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef-f-l2Pbn8]

It’s Been Two Years in the Making

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And I think it’s time for me to stop fighting it. Let’s face it, I’m a stay-at-home wife *sigh* Granted, there’s nothing wrong with it, and most of the time I love it. But well, it’s just not what I always dreamed I’d be when I grew up. Mind you, I do also work from home on our business and our site and I’m working on getting back to doing therapy work, but that’s a post for another day.

I take care of the house. I spend my day running errands. I make sure my husband never wants for anything (clean shirts and his favorite snacks included). I plan our menu (yet another post for another day). I play bunco monthly and belong to a book club. I’ve even done the Junior League thing. But today, today is what made it official and made me finally face the music.

Today after running some errands (my God how I love the Container Store) I decided to stop by the mall for a quickie visit. My mission, I’m embarrassed to admit, to check out a Coach purse. Richard bought me a Coach bag last Christmas and I just love everything about it (to be honest, I’m a bit of a purse whore and covet many – though I can usually control myself with some heavy bag petting). Now as I’m planning my best friend’s 40th birthday trip to Vegas, I decided that it was time to get a new purse for our trip (I seem to have a nasty habit of making unnecessary, silly, pre-vacation purchases — again, another post for another day).

I decided on an across the body, smallish bag that would be great for travel. It drives me nuts when I’m out traveling to worry about my purse, or to keep having it fall down my shoulder. So trust me, this baby will get much use. It’s got an outside pocket to hold the cell, a little zipper to hold the lip balms and lipsticks, and the larger pocket for everything else, including the camera. It’s got black trim, but is also brown and khaki so it should go with everything. I think I’m in love. With a purse. How sad. And never mind that we’ll be passing two Coach outlets on the way to Vegas because dammit, I needed this now!

So yeah, it may have been two years in the making, but there’s no denying it now. What’s next? A mini-van or an SUV? *yeesh*

The Final Resting Place of the Caifornian

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I don’t know what it is, but ever since I’ve moved here I’ve been attracted to this old sign. I love how it’s all rusted and twisted up and obviously from something grand. I figured it was about time to take a picture (next time I head out that way I’ll bring a step stool or something to make me just the slightest bit taller).

I’m assuming it’s from some long ago classic, Hollywood hotel that has since then been demolished (Google isn’t turning up anything worthwhile). Oddly, it just sits behind a fence, just off off Riverside Dr over by Griffith Park amongst storage pods covered in graffiti. How odd.

IMG_3558.JPG

Pay it Forward – Take II

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Have you seen the movie Pay it Forward? It came out back in 2000, based on a novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde. In the story, the teacher assigns his class to do a simple, good deed for someone without any expectations and in return, only ask that they pay the kindness forward, ideally for three other people.

What better way to share what we have, be it big or small with others. And by expressing our gratitude through sharing and random acts of kindness, we’re letting the Universe know that we are open to prosperity and good things for all involved.

If you’re looking to get more involved or to help others to help themselves, check out the Pay it Forward Movement – they’ve got a slew of projects going on around the world. You can also get involved in The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, SixDegrees or VolunteerMatch.

Or just practice your own small, random act of kindness and ask nothing more in return than for someone else to pay it forward. And for a fun little personal twist on this movement, why not take a moment and check out my Pay it Forward post. It’s all about the warm & fuzzies and a little fun, right?

Sometimes You Just Need to Show Up

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Nothing merely shows up in your experience. You attract it – all of it. No exceptions.*

With that, let me just say that I’m attracting two marvelous things…

A new home – THE new home, complete with separate office in the backyard. To help ease the manifestation process and visualization along, I took a photo – complete with my car parked in the drive, of course. It’s a step up from parking spaces and flowers. But I know it will be done.

A new career – Now that my site pretty much trucks along of it’s own accord, I’d like to get back to working. So I met with a friend for dinner and she gave me just the nudge and confirmation that I needed. Talk about gratitude and being open to what life throws your way. I can’t wait to see where this ride takes me!

*Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham by Esther & Jerry Hicks

A Thought About Thoughts

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I found this in a friend’s journal a while back and had been holding onto to it knowing that when the time was right, it would touch me.

“It isn’t the things that are happening to us that cause us to suffer, it’s what we say to ourselves about the things that are happening. That’s where the suffering comes from.”

Now I don’t, by any means consider myself to be suffering or even to woe is me, have suffered. Looking back, even through the stumbles, the challenges and the losses, I’d never say I’ve suffered. I don’t have any regrets. I figure that life is what you make of it. As far as I know, I might not be the person that I am if I hadn’t experienced all that I have; the ups and the downs, the highs and the lows. But strangely, this weekend at book club (The Usual Rules by Joyce Maynard) this message reached out to me on some level.

I lost my mom when I was young. I’m sure it was a very painful experience. In fact it must’ve been painful enough that I’ve blocked out 6 or so years of my childhood (3 years old through to 3rd grade). But I can also honestly say that I really didn’t miss my mother all that much. I mean, I’m sure that I did miss her, just in ways that I didn’t realize at the time. But really, it’s hard to miss something that you never had, you know? I really don’t believe in a heaven or a hell, I strongly believe that my mother has always been a part of my life and was and is always with me.

I honestly believe that I am the strong, nurturing, caring, confident person that I am because of my loss. I’m sure, that while I may not remember my early teachers, I can remember the impact that my teachers had on me during those years and they’re influence is one of the reasons that I went into teaching. I’m also fairly certain that I went into the mental health field because I wanted to be able to help people to help themselves. I don’t want anyone to ever think that they can’t overcome anything that life throws at them. There’s just no need to suffer when you can create whatever life you want.

So instead of focusing on the challenges and stumbling blocks that life throws your way, take a moment to see the opportunity. There is power, much power in both your thoughts and beliefs. So think it, believe it and be it. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather think myself in a happy, joy & love-filled place than think myself in a place of pain and suffering. Choose wisely and don’t be afraid to help yourself (or to ask for help) in creating the life that you want for yourself.

Wow, this went to a totally different place than I had originally planned to go. Guess I had something on my mind afterall. There just might be an edit waiting to happen in here so don’t be surprised.

I’ve Got a Crush on You

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Can I just say…

I’d do damn near anything to just listen to Kai Ryssdal. I’ll admit it, I’m not nearly as politically or economically informed as I should be. But let me just say, I love listening to Kai on Marketplace. He has the best speaking voice and he can tell a good story. Oh and when he laughs…

*sigh*

I also have a bit of a voice-crush on Leo Laporte from TWit. Yet another man with an incredible speaking voice and a way with words. Considering he talks all about techo-geek stuff, I can’t believe I enjoy listening to him so much. Then again, I usually learn quite a bit, just like with Kai. And well, I am just a geek at heart (read: geek poser).

What can I say, I not just about the sleazy blonds with big’ol fake boobies (I’m a huge Carmen Electra and Jenna Jameson fan – before Jenna got crazy skinny and had tad too much plastic surgery). I like my boy crushes to be as pleasing to my ears as I find my girl crushes to be to my eyes.

Really, I’m just a simple girl 😉

I assure you.