Earthquake!!

I'm temping today and this happens. Holy cow, my equilibrium is totally shot. I still feel like the building is moving, and I'm expecting an aftershock at any minute. Please, not while I'm driving!

Here's the news I have so far: It was felt in Las Vegas & in San Diego. Magnitude of 5.8, aftershocks in San Bernadino already (though very small). Lasted probably about 30 seconds. I'm ok, just wonky and dizzy.

Matt is pitching his show at a network today. A very memorable pitch indeed!

A sign of things to come.

This last weekend was very hectic but very fun and we enjoyed every minute of it!

Friday we got up at the god awful hour of 5am and headed down to San Diego with Matt DeMille, Cindy, Don, Jeremy and Rian for Comic Con. The Gamers: Dorkness Rising at long last, screened! It was amazing, and I must say that my performance as "Barmaid" was enhanced by the big screen (if you see it you'll know what I'm talking about). It will be released next month at GenCon, but if you can't wait that long, see if you can get it from Netflix. You'll also be able to order it on Amazon (and according to Amazon, David Duchovny is in the movie). Holy s***, isn't that cool!? I'm so proud of Matt and the Dead Gentlemen. They've worked so hard and waited so long for this. Check out Matt's blog for details on our visit to Comic Con and more good news.

Saturday night I went out with Paige and Paige, and had a horrible hangover the next day.

Sunday night we went to a screening for The Empire Hotel, on which Matt has a writing credit. It was a fun premiere and I really enjoyed the little details in the pilot.

Saturday night we are finally going to see a concert at the Hollywood Bowl! Eric Idle, of Monty Python fame, is performing and we're going with a group of friends. We have nosebleed seats, but who cares. I can't wait!

80 acres and loving it!

Approach to the house! I can't wait!

I got quite a few snapshots of Sarah over the week. She loves the camera. This was my favorite of the bunch.

Jessica and her team won the division championship game!

l-r: Dad, Sarah, Sharon, and Terry. I miss them terribly.

Katy, this picture is for you. This is Sharon's garden, and it's HUGE. All kinds of fruit and veggies. Sharon picked strawberries every other day, and Cherries early in the week. I think I'll start with something smaller when Matt and I get a house though! :)

Sharon with her dahlias. They are just about ready to bloom!

This is the view across the street.

Their sweet dog, Casey. I miss her.

Front yard kitty, M.J. Back yard kitty, Jack, was unavailable as he was mousing.

Sunset on Four-Mound prairie.

Casey running to Sharon during our walk on my last night.

Ready to go home...well, in a way. I loved being with my family.

Cascade mountains, and HELLO Western Washington!

Mt. Rainier from the air.

Goodbye, Golden Girl

Estelle Getty

July 25, 1923 - July 22, 2008

As many of you know, one of my favorite shows is The Golden Girls, and Estelle played the wise-cracking Sophia with wit, charm, and understanding. She will be greatly missed.

Hazy eyes

I can't sleep here. I don't know what my problem is. Well, last night I know. We went to a birthday party over in Silverlake, which was really fun, and then went out to the 101 cafe afterwards for late night dining. I made a bad choice and got a chai tea latte. Guess who was up until 4 in the morning and slept only 4 hours, POORLY? Perhaps this is preparing me for motherhood, who knows. All I know is that I'm getting crankier by the minute and want to go back to sleep. But each time I try to lay my head against that pillow and close my eyes, they just pop right open again.

So with this situation, I've spent the morning putting new recipes in Master Cook thanks to Cindy's trick (Thank you, Cindy!) and trying to muster up some calm, peaceful energy so I can go to the Hollywood Farmer's Market. It's a nice cool morning, and I don't want to waste it being grouchy.

And pictures to come from my trip to Washington. I had a great time, and am homesick. It was nice to be taken care of in that motherly way.

Peace & Quiet

I am finally relaxed and can sleep at night. I don't sleep much, but I sleep hard and then take a nap in the afternoon. I am so lucky to have an Aunt and Uncle who let me laze around their home. I think my favorite part of this trip is that I'm being mothered. Sharon makes breakfast, lunch and dinner, asks me my preferences, wants to take me shopping, and I just love it. It's been awhile since some one has taken care of me in that way.

I can't imagine being any where else right now, amongst 80 acres of nothing, hearing the birds in the morning, watching the sunsets from the prarie, and watching deer graze in nearby fields. The air is so crisp and clear late at night, you can see the stars without hardly any light pollution. It's just magical. I wish I could stay longer, but I'm just going to have to make more of an effort to come back more often.

Off to Spokane!

This afternoon I'm taking off for Spokane, WA. It's a much needed vacation from life in the big city. Peace, quiet, and family. My Dad is even coming over to my Aunt's house so we can see eachother. I have gifts for my younger cousins, and I just can't wait to see everyone! My Aunt Sharon is like my second mom, and my Uncle Terry, well, he's just a hoot and we have great breakfast conversations. He still teases me about sleeping in. When I was a kid, I'd sleep until 11 or noon. Now I sleep till 8 or 9, but for him that's still over sleeping since he gets up at 5 or 6!

Sharon and Terry have a great big yard, and about a third of it is Sharon's garden. They have a dog, cats, and used to have chickens, cows, and horses (so I hear). They own 80 acres just outside the city. I'll be in the middle of nowhere, and I can't wait! :)

I will blog if/when I can, but will bring home lots of pictures. Unfortunately I won't be beating the heat. Sharon says it's supposed be in the 80's all weekend and in the 90's by next week!

4th of July weekend

Cindy and I at a great cantina in Santa Monica. The mojito's were fantastic!

The Santa Monica Pier. Weather was hot and the water was very refreshing.

Katy and I in our new floppy hats!

Pedicured feet in the sand.

View from my beach blanket.

Even at the beach, we couldn't get away from advertising.

The biggest sunflower I've ever seen!

It was a great weekend!

The neighborhood

I went for a much needed walk this morning, and even better it's before the heat of the day. Once I get off the major street (that I just happen to live on) the neighborhood quiets down and I feel like I'm back in time, somehow. If I ignore all the fancy cars and focus on the lovely bungalow homes, I can hear the birds chirp and say hello to my fellow walkers. I found a really nice path today that leads to Bronson, which in turns leads to the western entrance to Griffith Park and the Hollywood Sign. So many different colors, and the blue sky as a backdrop to all the palm trees is quite beautiful. I know people don't like coming over to visit, mostly because the parking situation is dire. But if you ever feel the need, come over early in the morning and I'll show you around.

A trendy evening with friends

What the eff??

By the time I took this picture, I'd had a few too many...

"Ok, you're driving...." "Nuh-uh...you are..."

Self portrait with the trendy hairstyle (I'm growing it out and saught help from my hairdresser on how to make it look cute for the evening).

The soon to be newlyweds, Kari and Paul. Congratulations!

The best sweet potato fries. EVER.

My drink...it had peach brandy in it...it was awesome.

Almost done...

My last day is tomorrow. I can't believe it. This job has caused sleepless nights, many tears, fits, and temper tantrums. On the upside, it has brought me to a place that I would not have found otherwise. A place within myself. I am stronger, more independent, not afriad to say what I think, and by leaving this place behind, I can take these qualities and make them part of the person that I did leave behind about 6 months ago - happy, thoughtful, excited, and positive.

This holiday weekend is a definite cause for celebration! I hope you all have a safe and fun holiday!

A clean slate

So I changed the blog address. Sorry to do so, but I had to make a change to signify how things have changed since this blog began over 3 years ago. Hubby and I are entering a new phase of life, actually craving stability, and we hope for a wee one in the near future. I can't tell you how nervous and excited I am to start this new chapter of life!

May the 30's be everything that I hoped the 20's would be, and more.

New beginnings

I keep trying to figure out what to say on this blog. Seems that I always think of really good, introspective, and interesting posts in the car, at work, before I go to sleep, on a hike, anywhere that I'm not able to blog. Of course, by the time I sit down, all of this goes out of my head. So, I'm thinking about starting a new one. Not yet, but it just seems about time. This blog was started to keep family & friends up to date, to relish in the new city, to experience being a grad-student-wife, to explore the city, amongst other adventures.

But see, we're cheap. And homebodies. So to really give purpose to this blog, I need to take more pictures. Reading previous posts, this should be called "Camille's Adventures". It was our blog, kind of, and now that Matt's made his own and now he's done with school...I don't know. I know that if we do move to the Central Coast (not anytime soon, it's a dream of ours), I have a great a idea for a blog: "The SLO Life" (SLO = San Luis Obispo). And I've thought about starting it up anyway because we go up there so often. But that's all I need. Another website to update. I can't even keep up with this one! :)

I feel as though I am in a place of transition. I think part of it has to do with turning 30 this summer, and I'm really excited. But it also has to do with the fact that I finally quit my job!! Yes, I gave notice on Monday and it felt really good. I walked out of my boss's office and couldn't help but smile a big toothy grin. It's time to move on. Personnel issues aside, I've been an Admin for 10 years now, and I need to find some other way to make a living. Don't worry, my fiscal friends. I've got a plan and it's going into place.

Big news this summer: The latest film from Dead Gentlemen, Dorkness Rising (aka Gamers 2) has finally gotten distribution! You can pre-order the DVD here, and we'll be releasing it at GenCon this summer. Read Matt's announcement. I'm so proud of him, and the rest of DG. It's about frickin time! Matt also has talks with some cable companies (big-time networks) about a couple of shows he's written. I can't say anything more except to say THIS COULD BE HUGE. But this is L.A. We won't hold our breath.

Tomorrow we are going out to a trendy bar downtown with friends Kari and Paul who are getting hitched this fall. If I remember, I will bring my camera and attempt to have more adventures that speak to this amazingly wonderful but odd and crazy city that we live in.

Heat Wave

We found out our a/c and heating is powered by solar panels on the roof! So we leave our a/c on all the time now because it's 100 degrees outside. Literally. Our poor friend Amanda is suffering in Woodland Hills with 110+ temperatures. Ew.

We are surviving this heat wave though. Lots of water, lots of cold salad, and no cooking. I hate to say it but ordering in has been a way of life these last few days. It's just too hot too cook.

Feel our pain.

106 today. I'm getting nauseated from coming in from the hot hot air to the freezing air conditioned buildings.

Seems that all sorts of places are having major weather issues these days. Earthquakes, floods, tornadoes...

Global warming, anyone?

A better attitude, and a promise of more pictures.

I've been trying to think up a really good blog post lately. The problem is that I don't right it down and then when I need to come up with something, I've forgotten all the good stories and insights that have passed through (and left) my brain over the last few days. I apologize for the short posts and bullet lists, but I honestly haven't had much to say.

I've been working on my attitude and part of that is not talking about my job. I'm so unhappy here, but by talking about it I'm constantly re-living what I hate about it and it just zaps my enthusiasm and happy disposition. In an effort to be more positive, over the Solavang weekend, I decided to not talk about work for the next few days (I could tell that hubby and friends were quite relieved). I decided to continue that effort into my vacation. I've now gone 2 weeks without complaning about my job (aside from the really stupid stuff, such as things that should occur in 7th grade but not in a professional office), and I can tell that my attitude has significantly improved. My energy level is about the same, but I'm feeling better about my life in general. It was a good decision, and I'm going to continue with it.

Unfortunately I forgot my camera when we left for Napa, but no worries! I bought a disposable digital camera. I just have to finish the roll (which I will do over this weekend - we're going to her birthday party tomorrow night) and pictures will be posted. I promise! I know I made an effort there for a little while to post more pictures, but the past few months have obviously gotten away from me. I pledge to try harder! :)

Guess who's blogging now?

Welcome to the world of blogging, honey! :)

http://invancible.blogspot.com/

His latest post describes our trips to Solvang and Fairfield/Napa in great detail. I'm feeling lazy, so that's all you're going to get for now.

Vacation!!

Hubby and I are off to Napa and possibly another day trip to San Francisco. Leah is getting married - who knew? When we visited her and her family (Matt's side) at Thanksgiving, there was talk of Colin proposing. And now, here we are.

I really should be getting to bed but I know I'll sleep in the car. There's a few loose ends to tie up, and a BIG HUGE MONGO thank you!! to Paige for watching, feeding, and attemping to medicine our kitties. (And sorry for the early wake-up call.)

Pictures will be taken. Unfortunately I don't have any from Solvang, but hopefully we'll be back at the end of the summer and can snap some shots then. It was great fun, and for more details see this blog and this one too.

Running late...

For work, but I don't care.

I've really missed Matt these last few days. And I'm so excited to have some time with him on our upcoming trip to Napa/San Francisco for his cousin's wedding. We'll be sharing a hotel room with Uncle Terry and Aunt Lisa, whom we almost never get to see, so this trip will be extra special. Add to this that I'm taking 2 days off work and I'm extra excited!

There's been a lot going on this last week, with last weekend's trip to Solvang and some insights that I've had. But I seem to be at a loss for words (I know, this almost never happens). I'm not sure what to say or even if I do, how to say it.

Hanging in there

Sorry for the bullet list, but I just can't think right now.

• 3 cats on 3 different kinds of food. PJ on wet food because he has bad teeth, needs to gain weight, never mind he's also on inflammatory meds for his chronic pain in is vertabrae that fused together; Quinn needs a high fiber diet and has to lose weight; Bean is still young and healthy...how are we supposed to manage this, especially when we're out of town for the next 2 weekends?? Kind of panicking here.
• Work is very hectic and busy, but at least the days go by fast. I barely have time or energy to blog these days.
• We're going to Solvang this weekend which will be a welcome escape from the busy city. Next weekend I'm taking a few days off work and we're heading up to Napa for Matt's cousin's wedding. We're sharing a hotel room with his aunt and uncle from Washington which I'm looking forward to as we hardly ever get to spend time with them.
• Katie went to her senior prom a few weeks ago, still waiting for pictures...
• Must get back to work, loads to do, but at least now we're moved in.
• Oh, and I'm back under 160 pounds! Just 15 to my goal...
• One more thing - Did anyone else watch the season finale of LOST last night? WOW.