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!

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

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.

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?

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

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!

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.

How do I love thee?

Oh let me count the ways...If only I could afford you...

Back to "normal"

I have another acupuncture appointment tomorrow. I can't deal with myself like this. I need to sleep, and I need this whole house buying/financing business to just be done. Why can't my life be like that movie "Click" for the next two weeks?

I'm doing my best to stay positive. Today I'm home from work as tears don't really help with accounting and data entry.

Fingers crossed for a better and happier blog entry tomorrow.

Ahhh, relief

So for those of you who have been following my FB status updates, it's safe to say that the last week I've been stressed out beyond belief, my anxiety reaching a peak level that has been keeping me up all night, my heart racing fervently and my brain unable to shut off for at least 6 hours. I was exercising, only drinking one or two cups of tea a day, no more soda, really watching what I ate (when I felt like eating). I have a few more gray hairs on the sides of my temples, the wrinkles under my eyes were more pronounced, and I was negative and going crazy. Chiropractic wasn't helping either, and I wasn't sure that a massage would do the trick.

So I made an acupuncture appointment.

I have only had acupuncture once, nearly 4 years ago when Mom was dying, and the acupuncturist lovingly came to my parent's house to treat Dad, Katie, and I. I was a little hesitant...I mean, how are needles placed on certain areas of my body supposed to help me relax? Well, a few in my toes, and a couple in my ears, and BAM. Out like a light for 20 minutes. It's still the best cat nap I've ever had.

I had put a call into the acupuncturist about a month ago to see if my insurance would cover it, and while I swear I never got the message, she said she called me back and said it did...ok, fine. So I called last week to set up an initial appointment, and she had an opening for an hour on Tuesday, could I make it? Yes, I said, and I was hopeful that relief was in my future. I wasn't sure how much longer I could be in this over-heightened state of anxiety (I'm not sure I can even describe to you, dear followers how bad this felt and how crazy I've been).

So yesterday I went in, only to find out that the woman I had set up an appointment with wasn't there and I was meeting with the new one. Wha? Huh? Oooohhhhkaaaayyy, sure. I had made an appointment with the other woman because she came so highly recommended, but sure, I'll play along. I'm here for relief, and she's going to help me. Let's do this. Oh, and we have a cancellation, and you're a new patient. Might I take some extra time, and poke/prod you for awhile longer today? Sure thing, Missy, it's my day off.

Two hours later, I was on my way home. Tired. Exhausted. Chi reset. Nervous system back in balance, and Chinese herbal pills on the way next week to help curb my anxiety/insomnia/stress. For the first time in WEEKS, I could think of the problems and not feel the anxious frenzy come about. My heart wasn't anxiously palpitating away, ready to burst out of my chest. I could finally think clearly, but first...a nap...I could hardly keep my eyes open after lunch and had the most wonderful long nap. Acupuncture is exactly what my body needed. I swear, it was better than therapy...no tears involved...just a little needle phobia.

Toady, I'm tired. I didn't get to sleep until after 3am, but it was because my nap was so rejuvenating. I wasn't stressing over things, I was just pleasantly rested. And I happen to know that without my lovely appointment today, I'd be a frenzy of stress and anxiety, in addition to loading myself up with caffeine and chocolate.

How else do I know I'm doing so well? When Alex, our front desk admin, asked me how I was doing this morning when I walked in, I said "great" without even thinking about a response. That's a very good sign, maybe even a great sign, that this issue (which still isn't solved, but will be by Friday/Saturday) isn't going to get the best of me anymore.

P.S. I have another appointment next Thursday. Why let insurance go to waste?

Escrow!

It's official!

We're in escrow for a house in Tacoma, WA.

More details to come after the inspection next Sunday, 4/25.

Late nights

You know what I can't stand? When I exhaust myself by working out, staying up throughout the day, getting stuff done, being fairly productive. It's night time, I'm tired, and I lay my head down to go to sleep, and BAM! I'm wide awake. My brain is suddenly not distracted by pretty things like Gmail and Facebook. Now we have time to WORRY and STRESS over things that are either in motion or more than likely, over things that have not happened yet. Yes, yours truly loves to fret over future events that may or may not occur. Lovely, eh? Bet you thought I was crazy before...man you don't even know. Bless my husband, for he is a saint.

Susan G Komen 3-day walk

I'm just putting this out there. I really want to go this year, finally feel like I'm ready to not be sad but be empowered instead. Does anyone have a team going or is anyone interested in putting one together? It's September 24-26, 2010 in Seattle.

Would really love to go. For Mom and for me.

As an added bonus, it will give me a fitness goal!

Anxiety

I am normally an anxious person. Especially when it comes to situation/places/things in general that I'm not familiar with. My heart races and my brain really can't focus on anything else. It's safe to say that I feel as though my heart is about to run right out of my chest and away from my crazy self. Deep breathing doesn't seem to help, and neither does caffeine.

On the other hand, I know I get anxious because I care. Because I want things to work out, not perfectly, but well enough so that I can move forward. Today, and perhaps the next few days, I'll feel this way. I see some serious exercising in my future. That seems to be about the only thing that can really calm me down when my anxiety is this bad.

Spring Greens

With Matt back in town, we go through our organic delivery box a little more quickly now, so a trip to the farmers market on the weekend is a great way to supplement fresh fruits and veggies that we have already gone through or didn't get.

Baby Bok Choy is now in season and abundant at the Sierra Madre market. When I saw it, I immediately thought of this recipe from Real Simple. I had tried it quite awhile ago, but thought I should give it another try. I'm sure glad I did! We served organic d'anjou pears on the side. A wonderful compliment.

Chicken and Bok Choy Stir-Fry

Serves 4

Hands-on Time: 15m

Total Time: 25m

Ingredients

• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 heads baby bok choy, quartered lengthwise
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup store-bought barbecue sauce
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Cook the rice according to the package directions.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, tossing occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

3. Add the bok choy and ¼ cup water to the skillet. Cover and cook until the bok choy is just tender, 3 to 4 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, barbecue sauce, and scallions. Add to the skillet and bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet and cook, tossing, just until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with the rice.

My hormones are yelling at me now...

The Hollywood Scene

Literally.

Went to a screening tonight. Didn't expect to get that close to Lauren Hutton, Demi Moore, and Ashton Kutcher. Didn't meet them, which is fine. That club was SO not my scene, and yet it was fascinating to watch everyone! I networked a little, and here's hoping that I didn't make a complete fool out of myself! :)

I had a great time. Some advil and water should help me sleep off that headache I might wake up with in the morning.

I think I'm going to regret blogging in this state. We'll see.

Matt is home

And right now, that's all that matters. :)

Just haven't felt like blogging

I come up with my best blog posts in the car, but unfortunately I don't get home in time to remember them. And when I am inspired, the blinking cursor and blank white screen are intimidating enough to make me want to run away screaming. You know me, my life is an open book and I don't want to give just little tidbits. But to go into detail about all the emotional draining shtuff, to put it into writing and have it permanently published on the Internets for all too see...isn't Facebook public enough?

March was just a weird month and I'm glad it's over.

Matt is coming home on Wednesday Morning! YEAH!! :) When he does come home, it will have been 7 weeks and 1 day since he left back in February.

I am working on a future blog post about all the things I will miss about L.A. when we finally move (and we have no idea when that will be, no house as of yet).

It's raining right now, thank goodness. We really need it!

Addicted to the show DEXTER. It's so creepy, and yet I can't bring myself to stop watching. That's good TV.

It was an interesting Easter this year, especially with the earthquake. It really messed with my equilibrium, I felt nauseated and dizzy. Still do when I read the news reports. But there's no damage here. We're fine, thank goodness. Hopefully that isn't an indication of what's to come. Hopefully that was it.

Did I mention I know over 10 women who are pregnant or gave birth already? And it's only April! Crazyness!

What I've done since Tuesday:

Went out for dinner every night;

Toured Santa Barbara for a day;

Finally got to see the Santa Barbara Mission;

Went to see a taping of The Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno;

Spent an afternoon and evening at Venice Beach;

Rode a bike (6 miles round-trip) at sunset along the boardwalk;

Got my haircut;

Went to bed every night after 11pm;

Had a free lunch at The Counter;

Got to eat dinner at my favorite restaurant in Venice Beach.


I'm tired today. I'm staying home.