Jesus Préfère Sprouts a Trader Joe's

Well, hi!

Back in LA County. What a fun week I spent in Salt Lake! Saw tons of people and had good times. I'm going to bed soon, so I'll go into details another time. 

It's so nice and sunny here... and SLC is cursed with rain, I hear. Who wants to come here on vacation? LoL. Well, it's not that warm... maybe 68 degrees by the time I get off work. But so, very, very nice. I'll tell you though, Tuesday after work I took a walk on the beach... and just realized that much more how much I like it here. I REALLY like it here. I love my apartment, my location, my job, my co-workers... I better stop before I jinx myself :p but seriously, I'm grateful for that.

At work, my co-workers like my new highlights in my hair. That's good, because I love them too and keeping them :). However, I looked really sick and pale this morning (maybe because I only ate 800 calories the day before), and I think the blond washed me out. Hmm. Gotta get that tan going again. And maybe eat a few more calories too.

What are you grateful for today? I'm also grateful that I get to show my mom this cool license plate I saw on my way to work this morning: 

Have a great night!

And Then There Was Snow...

It's Monday, and I am home from work... why is that you ask? Me, yes, moi, decided to take a spontaneous weekend getaway in Salt Lake. I left Thursday after work, drove to the Long Beach airport and got there around 10:30 PM, then spent a wonderful weekend with friends and family - although I missed a few people. Mad Scientist - I apologize, I said I would stop by work but I was so congested and tired.... rrrr it would have been fun to see you and other co-workers!

So I spent time with my mom, Roxy (our dog) - who was super happy to see me Thursday night by the way, my brother, step brother & step sister in law, stepdad before he went to Colorado for his ski trip, had brunch with my girlfriends, and spent time with my man and his family. My man had the flu - and I unfortunately, probably caught it. I'm congested right now and have a massive headache, so I came back home this morning vs. tonight so that I could rest all day and be prepared for tomorrow's craziness at work.

It was a fun weekend! Babe, his brother and I went to see "Knowing" with Nicholas Cage. It was pretty good. The end makes you question a ton of stuff... and it was creative... and there was definitely a twist in there... anyway, I won't give up the ending or anything else. You should see it if you're into disaster movies, like me.

We were also going to see "Watchmen" and "Slumdog Millionaire." Watchmen I heard was a little disapointing... but I've seen mixed reviews. Slumdog I hear was awesome but I'm ok waiting a little longer to see it or waiting for it on DVD. Any opinions/ comments/ disagreements with my statement?

So today I got home around 11 AM, checked work emails because I'm a work-aholic, called Lady Boss M to tell her I was sick but got home safe and that I should be in tomorrow, and she offered to go to the grocery store and pick me up any groceries I need... which I thought was really sweet and I said that I'd go there later. If I stay inside all day I'd feel miserable so I had to get out.

I then took about a 3 hour nap and woke up once, then decided to walk over to the beach to get some ocean breeze for my nose, went to Trader Joe's for some groceries, Albertson's for some Zicam and Redbox for a free DVD. I got "Rachel Getting Married," since I heard it was good. So tonight consists of a delicious broiled salmon with an olive oil glaze and a appetizing salad of organic mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado and sweet basil, a DVD and a warm bath. I'm working on my food verbiage so that I can open up a restaurant in my alternate life. How am I doing?

Today I'm grateful to have spent a weekend with the ones I love, and even the snow didn't bother me. Ok, that's a lie, I dislike snow, but I had to see it at least once this year, right? I was glad to be home or a bit though. It felt weird. I felt like I was in my mid-thirties coming back to a home with memories and old school stuff stuffed in boxes in my room. I've only been gone for 4 months!

Well, I wish everyone a pleasant week, and hope that I get better before $teve comes to visit this weekend so that we can go to Disneyland or Knott's Berry farm or something. Yay for company again!

TGIF

Well, it's here, the day we've all been waiting for... Friday!  Although I'm spending the evening on the laptop and in front of the TV, I'm ecstatic & grateful at the idea that I get to sleep in tomorrow (sleep in = 8 am for me).  Didn't get much sleep last night - around midnight, the neighbors started either yelling at each other or spoke one of those languages that sound like they're yelling at each other.. past midnight, and really loud. Yeah. Then I woke up around 4 am and felt really sick, almost like I was going to throw up... so I'm excited for the weekend. I survived work despite feeling like crap all morning, my boss worked from home so I did most things on my own or on the phone with her. 

So I was going to see 2 couches tomorrow - but both have been sold :( and tomorrow I've decided to go to Ikea and another furniture store, just to check it out and see what I find. I'm also waiting for people to email me back on their ads. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow. I'll probably go to the apartment in the late afternoon and start unloading some basics, and start cleaning. I'm also going to buy all the basic stuff I need to clean the apartment, sponges, paper towels, etc... man, I haven't cleaned an apartment since... I don't know, 5 years ago?!?! Again, welcome to real life. I'm actually quite excited. It's my own place, so it's different. There's consequences if I leave it dirty or cluttered. Why not make cleaning fun? :)

Ok, so now I'm just being wierd. Well, what made me chuckle today? The fact that the garbage can in the kitchen is just full of chinese take out boxes (5 to be exact). I feel like a bachelorette from the Carl's Jr commercials. "Without us, some guys (girls) would starve." Yeah. Can't wait till I can cook something yummy this weekend. Plus, Mom & Stepdaddy are coming, hurray! A little company sounds just awesome. Happy Friday night!!

First day at work!

Hi everyone,

Well, I survived my first day at work... not only survived it, but reinforced the thought that this is the prefect, ideal job for me. There's so many commands that I know already, although I had to learn a lot of new ones... but I'm understanding a lot of things. My boss even said "See, you don't even need me to train you" "Yes you do (chuckle)." Really, I've got a lot to learn, and I can't remember every single thing unfortunately... but I totally see myself doing this within a month like it's second nature, and even being obsessed about it. I mean, a lot of this stuff is crazy boring to most, but it's analytical and strategic and I love that. This is such a happy moment for me. What am I grateful for today? I finally found a good paying job that is perfect for me, and in a state full of sunshine and beaches. Conclusion, it's been a good day today. :) If only the boyfriend were here to share it with me... (I'm still debating on his code name for this blog).

I'm still a little congested,  and a little tired, but not too bad. I drove my mom at LAX this morning, left at 4:30 and got there at 4:43, and was back in my hotel room by 5. There was really dense fog though, like in the movie "The Mist." Since I initially wanted to wake up at 6, I thought I'd try to get a little shut-eye for an hour... but I think I was way too excited about this new job and couldn't sleep. I ate breakfast in the concierge lounge (eggs and bacon, yum! Going to have a heart attack by the end of the week, LoL) then hopped off to work... and got there about 20 minutes early because traffic was better than expected. Yay! That's my unusual thing for the day: almost rush hour traffic, but only a 10 minute drive on Sepulveda and the fog lightened up. I can deal with that!

So, thanks to my cousin Mesia, I figured out the way to add pics. Here are the pics for you of those two apartments I talked about yesterday. 

Milano: 

SB - Second floor 

Bright living room

Outside entrance

Well, tell me what you think, but I think I'm going to go with Milano. It's cheaper, nicer, the amenities can't be beat... and still about 10 minutes from the beach and a very decent area. I decided that I can do a 6 month lease and leave then if I really can't stand the busy street. As long as it's not as noisy as Blvd. Sakakini (noisiest place in Marseille where my grandma lives), then I can survive.

Have a great day everyone!

Second apartment Search day

Hi everyone,

So Mom and I visited 9 apartments yesterday, and about 6 more today. It's really between two of them. I even made a list of pros and cons for each. If you guys would like to help or have any suggestions, please feel free!

1. SB (9 miles from work)

Pros:

-3 blocks to the beach (really big plus for me, I love the beach, I live for it, and I decided that I would try to get in shape and start running on it).

-Nice area. As in, I can actually walk around, even at dusk, and feel safe. Albertson's is just a block away, as well as many other shops. 

-Gated building, and secured underground parking. Laundry room. Nice landlady, small community feel, looks out for you.

-Apartment is really cute. There's actually two of them, my fav. one is on the second floor, has a small ocean view, a nice view overall, and the bedroom shares no common wall. It's a corner unit so fairly spacious (700 sq. ft maybe). It's SO bright, something I absolutely love. It's really clean too, another big one for me. Nice kitchen, nice bedroom, bathroom, just everything is great.

-Fridge and dishwasher included (do you know how hard it is to find an apartment with its own fridge? Holy cow!)

-Nice ocean breeze, quiet street, and overall... a nice area. This would be my ideal Californian retreat :)

Cons: 

-There's no balcony. Now, with that said, there's a still a deck shared with all the other apartments, with BBQ's and all... so that's not bad.

-The apartment door is an outside entrance (motel style). It's a nice area though, and gated, so I still feel safe.

-It's about $75 more than I want... but most utilities are included, so it's still in my budget.

Price: $1425/month first floor, $1475 2nd floor (the one I prefer, of course). Utilities are included though, except electricity (about $20 a month)

2. M Apts (10 miles from work)

Pros:

-The property is very nice and luxurious. It's got a 24 hour large fitness center, huge laundry room (important for me), clubhouse, 2 pools, sundecks, 2 tennis courts, stainless steel barbeque pits... you name it, it almost looks like a tropical paradise with nice landscaping too. 

-Apartment entrances are indoors. As in, you have to go through an indoor hallway (nice on the security side)

-The kitchen has what look like stainless steel appliances. Very nice. 1 bedroom apartment, very nice and clean. Has a balcony.

-The property is also gated, which is nice because it's not as nice an area as Redondo Beach, but still very decent. 

-There's malls nearby, and it's about a 10 minute drive to the beach. Beats the 10 hour drive from Utah. 

Cons:

-It's on the noisy street side. Although when the windows are closed, it's fine, suddenly the balcony's purpose of me enjoying a nice ocean breeze and quiet outside time has gone out the window. 

-It's on the second floor of a 3 story building. Meaning, people above AND below you. Better not have noisy neighbors or little kids running around.

-The area is decent, but I can't really walk anywhere. There's not much... and I wouldn't try to walk too much either, especially when it starts getting dark.

Price: well, here's what makes it possible. Originally, this is $1570/month. BUT, 4 weeks ago when I visited, they had $200/month specials. Meaning $1370/month, so do-able, especially with all the amenities they have (no utilities included, just water and trash). Well, the specials don't exist anymore. BUT, by miracle, someone JUST cancelled their lease that was on that special, and because the leasing consultant remembered me and knew I was counting on the $200 off, she said she could honor it. 

So, I want to post pictures, but I'm a little slow. Everytime I upload them, it shows up on top. I thought I could drag and drop them to the bottom, but it's not happening for me. So if you see this post, I still haven't figured it out. I'm waiting for $teve to give me call and tell me how :)

Before I let you go, something I'm grateful for today: my mom is so sweet. She just altered two work pants of mine. I'm pretty short, so all my pants are too long for me. Thanks, mom! What the h* am I gonna do when you're gone?!?! LoL. Something funny, unique exciting, or unusual that happened today? I ate shrimp cocktail and salmon chowder for lunch, while overlooking the beach and pier. I know, these aren't very exciting... I'll try to make more stuff happen to me and think harder about those little things that get you through the day...

Tomorrow's my first day at my new job in my new state! I'm driving my mom to the airport at 4:30 am though, and will work from 7:30 - 4:30. Plus, I'm still congested from that cold. But I know I'll be fine. Wish me luck & you all have a fantastic week!

It's about time...

Hi everyone,

Well, I thought it would be about time I have a blog. For those of you who don't know, I've had the pleasure of accepting a killer job by LAX with the company I've been with for six years... I start on Monday, December 1st, and couldn't be more excited.

My mom and I drove all day Friday (10 hour drive), visited 9 apartments today (pictures will show up eventually) and plan to see a few more tomorrow. I'm glad that she's here with me because I've never really rented before, so she's there to show me what's cool and not :) We saw some laughable places, mediocre ones, decent ones, and awesome ones... even with a small ocean view. I'd be splurging on that one, but I really like it... and can probably do it. We'll see what tomorrow brings... and I've got a few days, even weeks to make a decision.

So, there's a few reasons for this blog:

a) I hope that you will go to it if you ever wonder what is happening to Good ol' Lilie.

b) I want to try and post two things each time, and encourage you to do the same with your own life and/or blog: 1. What are you grateful for today, and 2. What's something interesting and unusual and/or fun that happened to you today. 

So here goes. I'm grateful that even though I've had a cold all day, I was still able to make to 9 apartments, take 170 pictures, and my mom was there to make me feel better and make me laugh all day. Something unusual? I walked on a beautiful beach and pier in a short sleeve t-shirt, in November. As in, almost December, so almost winter. That's right, be jealous.

Anyway, this was pretty simple and painless, right? I encourage all of you to think of good things that happened to you. As Dr. Love would say, "No need to thank me, just pay it forward." :)