Friday, May 28, 2010

Vegas Baby!

We're not going to the strip, not if I can help it. We're off to visit an old friend and meet his wife and new daughter. I'm excited to see Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, maybe I'll actually set foot in Arizona before we leave the Southwest permanently.

It will be good for Matt and I to leave town for a few days. It's been tense around here, a small place with the two of us and three cats, limited more by the chaos of boxes and packing. We are all looking forward to the time (2 weeks from today) where we won't be living on top of each other.

But for now, Vegas, and more sunshine!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Celebrity List

This is so I can answer the question "What celebrities have you seen while in L.A.?"

Katy Segal
Casey Affleck (This one is a good story)
Joaquin Phoenix
Bobby Lee
Minnie Driver
Owen Wilson
Rose McGowan
Famke Jensen
Sandra Oh
Demi Moore
Ashton Kutcher
Rumer Willis
Joe Pantoliano
Lauren Hutton
Donald Glover
David Duchovny
Eva Longoria

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Where to begin?

There's quite a bit going on in this here household. First off, we've officially set our moving date for June 11th, which is 18 days from today. Oy! Lots to pack, lots of closets, nooks, and crannies to clean out. I try not to think about it too much, just take it day by day. And thank gawd hubby was a professional mover. He knows exactly what kind of boxes we need, how many, and that packing paper will save our dishes (it's true). I've booked the movers (which relieves much stress), booked the truck to empty out our storage locker in Puyallup for the 19th, and I guess the next step is to cancel our utilities here in L.A. Oh and I did submit our change of address too. That one is kind of a biggie.

My last day at Roadside is on June 2nd. I'm really going to miss working there. The people are wonderful, and I so appreciate them taking the time to train me in something (accounts payable) that I had no previous experience in. Plus one of my co-workers and I have a very serious Facebook scrabble battle going on.

This weekend, you know, because we have so much time on our hands, we are going to visit our friends in Northern Las Vegas. We will not be visiting the strip as I've been there enough times. Instead we'll be going to Lake Mead and Hoover Dam, visiting places that we've never seen before. I'm really excited to get out of L.A. for a little while and see what else Vegas has to offer. (A shout-out to Rian - Thanks for taking care of the meows while we're gone!)

I'm still dumbfounded by the fact that we have bought a house. That we can do anything we want, and are responsible for ALL the utilities. We need to buy blinds and screen doors. Shower rods and curtains. We'll be staying with my aunt and uncle the first few nights so we can get a few necessities done (in addition to painting) and the kitties can adjust to their new surroundings. I am hoping they will be slightly less neurotic since we won't be living on top of each other. And to get Quinn to lose a little weight, we'll be putting the litter boxes downstairs and the food upstairs so she'll have to use the stairs to get to these places.

This is how my brain works these days. Full of tangents and random thoughts that are related and yet aren't. It's crazy busy up there, with no time to exercise (it's really just laziness) and just a massive desire to sleep.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Only in L.A.

I am sure that this list will keep building and building as we get ready to leave permanently next month...

1. Only in L.A. would I be sitting in for the front desk admin at work and a named celeb comes out of the conference room asking me to get something out of his car.

2. Only in L.A. would we say "Oh, it's so cold, it's only 65 degrees!"

3. Only in L.A. would it be ok to experience a traffic jam at 2am. It's really not ok, but seems permissible.

4. Only in L.A. would I see the red-carpet event being set up downstairs in the lobby and think "Oh great, now Matt's not going to have anywhere to park when he comes to pick me up."

5. Only in L.A. would I blame premieres on Hollywood Boulevard for increasing my commute time.

Suggestions? Additions?

Sunday, May 09, 2010

Reflections

In times of reflection, where I think about where I've been and how much I've changed, I tend to get pretty wistful. Especially on days like today, where we celebreate mothers world-wide and while I am continually amazed and grateful that I had such a wonderful mother, and that I am surrounded by amazing mothers, friends and family alike, I can't help but feel, sometimes, that I got cheated, that our family was robbed. I don't stay there very long, but every once in awhile, it just hurts. Instead of pushing it away like I used to do, I deal with it for 5 minutes and move on, figuring that one meltdown is better than five (mother's day last year, anyone?). I also take this opportunity to celebrate my mom, who was an incredible woman and I was very lucky (and still am) to have her as my parent, as my guiding force in life.

I'm reflecting too, on the big changes ahead. We are gearing up to move back to Washington State, where we'll be first time home-owners, and with that comes more (albeit new and kind of scary) responsibilities. Something goes wrong? Breaks? We must fix it! Yardwork? We've it cut out for us. But I'm SO EXCITED to explore a new city, to strengthen new relationships, to start a new chapter in my life. To start auditioning again, to explore my home-state as a grown up, to live my life in a new way. I feel like I've taken California for granted, in a way, and become stagnant. I don't intend for that to happen as often up in Tacoma, except on bad days. And they'll happen, hopefully just not as frequently. Because I'll have a new house to slowly decorate and keep me busy (cleaning it will take longer, I imagine). And a commute. To Redmond. Blech. Anyone for carpooling?

I'd like to imagine, too, that moving to Washington will get me off my lazy bum and inspire me to exercise with friends by going for beautiful walks and exploring Dash Point State Park which is fairly close to my new home. I'll have a living room and a rec room, both with their own TV's (and fireplaces) to stretch out in should I want to do yoga at home. There's a few bikram studios nearby, and a lovely suburban neighborhood to explore. And if all else fails, there's the gym. But I'm hoping I will be able to avoid a monthly fee and figure out a routine that's adventurous and satisfying.

And let me just tell you that I'm THRILLED with our new kitchen! I plan on many more culinary adventures, and hope to have a grill fairly quickly after moving in so that we will have another avenue for cooking. And I'm thinking that in August we'll have a house-warming party tied in with my birthday. An end-of-summer bash. With a bbq. And maybe I'll have that firepit going in the backyard? You know me. I like hosting. So come on over for dinner, just let me know when you're on your way so I can set an extra place for you!

I'd like to end this with one of my favorite pictures of me and mom from when I was a kid:

Love you mom. I miss you every day. Thanks for everything, and continuing to help guide me from afar. xoxo

Friday, May 07, 2010

Pictures of our house!

The west side of the house.

One of TWO fireplaces!

Our gigantic backyard. I have ideas, but right now it's just WAY overwhelming.

My kitchen! Look, it's not a shoebox! AND there's a dishwasher!!

The lovely entryway. I LOVE this house!

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

A quick overview

Finalized the loan for the house;

Settled on a property insurance provider;

Finding more gray hairs on my head;

Pricing out movers;

Realizing that I'm making decisions that will affect the rest of our lives. Literally.

It's a lot of stress, and for about 6 weeks there, I really don't know how anyone put up with me, but thank you a million times over. :) I'm much better now. Insomnia is now only due to the heat of L.A. rather than stress.

Oh, and pictures of the house are uploaded onto Facebook. I'll post some here when Blogger decides to not be such a pill.