Vite fait

So real quick, I wanted to say hello and that I'm super excited to go home for Christmas in only 2 days... I wish you all warm, fuzzy holidays, merry Christmas, Happy new Year & Happy Hannukah.

Last night I went to my friend Lillian's for a birthday party, which was great fun (as always), Leo made his signature key lime martini which was delish (virgin for me of course), otherwise I really didn't do much this weekend! Cleaned, did laundry, packed... oh, and I bought 2 pairs of boots on Thursday - something I've never done before... (mixture of I'm a litlle fashion challenged and my football calves won't fit in them). What do you think?? What on earth am I going to wear them with??

Suggestions welcome.

Today I'm grateful for great friends and holiday hugs. Have a great evening!

J moins 6

So, only 6 days to go until I'm home for Christmas... and I'm absolutely psyched! Here's what's been happening in the last week:

Thursday: Long Beach in the morning for a conference - saw the people I work for for the first time this year (is that bad?) and worked from home the rest of the day. Went to see the doctor about my knee - and her advice was basically "take it easy" - which is nice for "don't exercise at all for the next few weeks, yeah you'll get fat with all the holiday foods but you should sacrifice that for your knee."  So, I haven't worked out in 8 days now... and yes, I feel like crap. That night I went to Hollywood for a screening and completely forgot what I went to see. 

Friday night - went to Pasadena for my friend Ben's birthday, to a really yummy Chinese restaurant called the "Oak Tree Inn." The orange beef was to die for! There were 13 of us so we got to share lots of yummy stuff... then we drove around Old Town Pasadena (this was my first time up there by the way), I saw a Leonidas store, bought $8.95 worth of chocolates, and ate most of them that night. And the weight gain begins... lol.

Friday night, my friend Leo says to me: "there's still one more seat to go to the Chipmunks Squeakquel tomorrow at The Grove!" and I really didn't want to hear chipmunk for 90 minutes... but I thought what the hey, it's good company, friends are driving so I'm not paying for gas, and it's the Grove. 

Saturday: friends drive me to The Grove for the 10:00 AM movie. Lots of 7 to 10 year old kids in the theater starting to scream and squirm, and the first 5 minutes of the movie, the chipmunks started squealing and I asked myself how I would survive the rest of the morning. Luckily, I got used to the Chipmunks squeaks (Theodore is sooooooo cute) and the movie was overbearingly cute. We then went to an Italian place that was good and cheap, and at 2PM I got home and probably watched TV for the rest of the night.

Sunday: get all Christmas gifts together... and that's about it! Walked to Albertson's 5 minutes away. That's the only fresh air I got that day. What a lazy weekend.

Now, this week!

Yesterday, went to the Grove for another screening: Sherlock Holmes. It was pretty good. I like mysteries that there's no way on earth I would able able to solve them. The theater was packed. Long waiting lines, etc... oh, the things I'll do for Robert Downey Jr. We went to the Cheesecake factory after and I got home around midnight - so I'm exhausted today.

Tomorrow: work lunch at Houston's at 1PM, we're free to go after that, then another Hollywood movie: Did you hear about the Morgans. Should be stupidly funny. I got invited to see a screening of Avatar at 3pm as well, but don't think I'd make it in time... plus, Babe wants to see it with me.

That's about it! Saturday night will be a birthday party and probably when I say my goodbyes and wish Happy Holidays to my LA friends. Can't wait to come home for Christmas!!!

Today I'm grateful for the holidays and the warmth it brings - not by the weather, but from people's hearts. Have a fantastic Wednesday night!

Sapin Coloré

So, I didn't want to buy a Christmas tree... A fake one would mean I'd have to store it, and a real one would shed, and I wouldn't be able to get it in my car and in my home anyway. Since I'm not spending the holidays here, I knew it wouldn't matter.

Still, I felt a little sadness in knowing that my apartment has no Christmas spirit... and when Boss Lady M told me I could get a 12 in fiber optic tree at Rite Aid for $2.99, I added some AAA batteries and voila, I've got a little holiday cheer at home:

And it's kind of cool! Tonight, I watched "The Proposal" because that's all Redbox had. No problem. It was on my list anyway. See, every first Monday of the month, 3 conditions happen: 1. I'm usually alone, and I survived a Monday at work. 2. Redbox sends me a free night rental by text. 3. Taking 1 and 2 into consideration, I have to rent a chick flick.

And so I did. Story was so-so. I prefer Ryan Reynolds in movies like "Just friends" and "Van Wilder." ah, I'd just be spending all night on Facebook anyway :)

Tonight, I get home, after standing in line at Redbox in that dreadful wind we have today (what I'll put up with to save $1.09...), and as I'm sitting on the toilet I hear what sounds like a cow in my closet. Or someone whose mouth has been duct taped and they are tied down somewhere in my apartment. Now, if I were Quagmire, I'd say: "Dear Diary... JACKPOT!" but, I was more intrigued. So I went to my bedroom... and turns out there must be a small hole in my window because the wind was making it sing. I really hope I get some sleep tonight, it was getting loud.

But with that said, it's cold and windy tonight and I'm grateful that I've got a nice warm bed to fall asleep on, and a working heater. I'm also grateful that I was finally able to get an appointment for my knee on Thursday. Thursday will be a busy day for me; I'm in Long Beach in the morning for a conference, working from home the rest of the afternoon, getting my knee checked at 4:20, and movie night at 7:30 in Hoh - Lee - Wooooood.

Have a great night! What are YOU grateful for this fine Monday evening?

C'est bientot Noel...

Wow! What a fun week and this weekend sure has gone by fast. Let's see, a quick recap:

Work - the same, although I found out that if we were to lose our jobs, they would've called us by now. So I'm pretty set (Phew). I'm only 90% sure, because we may acquire another property and all... anyway, I'll keep you posted. But I've decided that I'll stay here for another 6 to 12 months if it all works out. Hopefully we can find out before I go on my awesome 2 week vacation to Salt Lake for Christmas!

So - Thanksgiving was a lot of fun, there were about 22 people, lots of different foods, my frozen pumpkin mousse pie tasted good but the consistency wasn't great. I also made oven roasted winter squash with garlic and parsley, and a delicious green mix salad with juicy grape tomatoes, and another salad of field greens, robust feta and sweet cranberries. Are you drooling yet? Good.

The day after Thanksgiving, I went to Bloom Cafe for lunch with some friends, and for dinner Saturday night, "Osteria Latini", in the Brentwood area of West L.A. So good! It was for a friend's birthday dinner. Total came to $75 per person (ouch!) but so worth it. After that, per the birthday girl's request, she wanted to go to a gay bar and club, for fun... so I went too. That's right, birthday girl, her husband, myself and a gay guy friend went to West Hollywood. Nice thing is, I don't get hit on or bothered at all (except for this one chick for a brief second), and, um... different atmosphere than I'm used to. I hadn't been to a club since I was what, 17, 18? So here's to me going out and having some fun and enjoying LA. I'm not going to do this forever or on a regular basis... but it was fun, different experience.

Wednesday this week, I went on a girl's night out to a special screening of "Up in the Air" with George Clooney. It was ok. Kind of a weak story, although a good point at the very end. Oh, and there's a fictional Hollywood character that is more obsessed about frequent flyer miles than I am. After that we went to "Kabuki" in Hollywood. Very good I must say! Oh, and I love miso soup. and I've yet to try tempura but it looks so good, I'll try it next time... what's great is my friends know what they're doing when they order, so I just sit back, watch, and enjoy the food that is presented to me that we share.

This weekend was filled... with a whole lot of nothing. I believe I watched about 5 hours of TV total on Saturday, did some Christmas shopping, and that's seriously about it. Today, I went to get some blood work done this morning (and holy crap, I'm healthier than I thought) then to the beach to try and play volleyball, but after 5 minutes my knee was killing me, so I stopped and watch my buddies play some 2 on 2 games. It was so cold - 56 degrees or so. Brrr. Yeah, I know, all you Salt Lake people think I'm weak. I've grown accustomed to this warm weather, dang it! :) Then, Lillian, her man and I went to In n' out Burger (in honor of Salt Lake just opening one), and went to Costco where I bought - a baked brie (mmmmmm.....) babybel (nothing like gouda in red wax), diced tomatoes, 5 lbs of carrots (for juicing), 18 eggs (can I finish them all by the 21st?), and I was so tempted to buy this saucisson I saw... that, the real French/Italian kind... but they have some in Salt Lake and I'll save the holidays for the indulging part. Oh, and some blueberries. All pretty much healthy stuff. 

This week: it's the first week of the period, so yay! Easy stuff at work. Tuesday night I'm going to see a screening of "the Lovely Bones" and Thursday night I'll see a screening of "Invictus." Both in Hollywood. Some fun nights out again. I think I'll skip on the eating out Tuesday night, because I've got some miracle soup waiting for me at home. Plus, It is a weekday... and I do work at 7:30am every morning...

Today I'm grateful that I have my health. My knee may be screwed up still, and I'm waiting for the doctor to contact me so that I can come in and be evaluated, but otherwise I'm in really good health, I feel like on my own I'm taking decent care of myself my keeping active, working out, and despite the occasional chocolate I'm eating pretty well too (I know, I went to in-n-out, but for your info, I had only been there once, it was 4 years ago, and I literally haven't had a cheeseburger in... probably 8 months.)

Good night everybody! Have a fantastic week. 

Joyeux MerciDonner

I'd like to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving! I've grown to really like this holiday.

Now, I must inform you of my background: Coming to the US at 12 years old, I didn't actually celebrate Thanksgiving until then. Considering we usually have Turkey on Christmas, I was wondering why we had to have two immense meals in 30 days. To me, it didn't mean much. Just a family dinner... and Christmas has always been THE most important holiday for me. At 17 or 18 years old, I remember having mussels and fries like at "Leon de Bruxelles" or something for Thanksgiving (remember, mom?) - and it was so good. Very untraditional, but delicious. 

And tomorrow, I'm off to have a feast with "a new kind of family". No, not ABC Family, but rather my California buddies, who I have to say are just awesome. So far there are 22 people confirmed for dinner tomorrow. Yikes! It'll be awesome fun. On the menu will be traditional turkey, gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce, and some untraditional dishes such as a Korean dish and I was thinking of making squash au gratin or something, but I have to work on my roux and bechamel skills for that. 

I like Thanksgiving - and this time of year - because it's the anticipation of the holidays. People are nicer, people are starting to think about what they're grateful for, which technically, is something we should do everyday. In fact, that's what the rule of my blog is, and I apologize if I may not have lived up to it on every post... but today, I'm grateful for a lot of things.

I'm grateful that I have found a great group of friends here and will not be spending Thanksgiving alone. I'm grateful that friends I have known for just 7-8 months are able to seek advice for me and confide in me. I'm grateful for friends that want to help me discover L.A. and are taking me out to a bunch of new places. I'm grateful for my family and friends. My family, just like other families, has its own drama... but we all love each other, and I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful that people change and stop judging others before they get to know them or get their side of the story. I'm grateful to have a loving fiancé whom I love and adore and want to spend the rest of my life with, and I know that he truly feels the same about me. And if you don't see that when we're together and start forming your own opinions about how we're too young and stupid to be in love, then you're judging too quickly, so just stop it already. Please. 

So I've been doing some thinking... and I haven't fully decided yet, but a lot of things seem uncertain concerning my job. But basically right now with my job, I may have an opportunity to come back to Salt Lake for good as early as January 4th. Allow me to explain.

My field is creating 19 new positions where one can work remotely from virtually anywhere. With that said, some jobs in our clusters will be lost. Our cluster doesn't seem to be one of them. In fact, we may be able to hire another person, but that's still not certain. So, basically, I'd say there's a 84.37% chance that my job is safe. I'm grateful for that. When will I know though? No clue. Hopefully soon. But if I lose it, I'd like to know soon because the last day for me to apply for the remote position is December 4th, the hiring will be done by December 17th, and the first day to start work is January 4th. You know what's funny about this? That this seems like the perfect plan according to this post back in February. Allow me to post the important paragraph of that post:

From February 28th, 2009:

"So, what's the plan for my next 5 years you ask?

Well, the ideal, perfect plan: I stick with my job for a year and gain some great experience. I find a comparable job back in Utah to start on Monday January 4th, 2010, and my last day at my current job will be on Friday, December 18th, 2009 (I like details, can you tell?). That way I will only have to file one state tax return (quite a pain to do my taxes this year, which Mom and I finished yesterday by the way, hurray!! ). I have a beautiful two weeks to relax for Christmas before I start my new job. I will live at my parents's for a few months to save money, then Babe and I will buy a house ready to go when we get married in August 2010 (I assume August during summer break with school, and so that the Frenchies can come when kids are out of school). We have a wild crazy wedding night. And the rest is... well, we'd like to have kids before we're 30, and I want to know the joys of being a mom before the world ends in 2012 according to the Mayan Calendar. Lol. Just kidding. Sorta..."

Well, would you look at that! To the T. Except that my last day here would probably be December 21st instead of the 18th... sounds like a brilliant plan, right? I could probably live back home for at least a few months, save money as I'll have a comparable salary and no $1400+ rent, and have my life's plan back in place.

Sounds perfect. Except for one thing...

As much as I want to go back to Salt Lake, I'm not sure I'm ready for it yet. I like my little life here in Cali. I like the woman I've blossomed into. I like being independent. I like going out and meeting new people and discovering new cultures. I like all that. Granted, I don't want to raise a family here. But my "fun years" in Cali is plural, so I was wanting to spend perhaps one more year here, maybe 6 months. I do miss everyone in Salt Lake enormously... but I think being away almost makes that bond stronger because you realize it more. 

So... the question is, do I apply for the job. If I lose the one I have now, absolutely. It would be meant to be. "Maktoub - It is written." I will apply, hope that I'll get it, and be back in Salt Lake and be happy. But if I get to keep the one I have now... do I want to right now? 

Last night, as I was taking a shower, I was fixing the curtain rods. I slipped, tripped, and fell flat on my back. I hurt my elbow. Thank goodness I did not get knocked unconscious. What if I did? I'm all alone here, would anyone notice? What if something happened to me? How long until someone would call me, realize I'm not answering, and start to worry? If this happened on a Friday after work, no one would really realize until Monday when I don't show up for work. That scares me slightly sometimes. Ok, actually I've never really thought of it that much because I don't dwell on it, but things like the tub accident last night makes me think of these things and why living alone can really suck.

So this would be another reason why I'd want to go back to Salt Lake. However, I'm still undecided. This is brand new info by the way, we found out about this on a 13 minute brief and weird conference call on Friday.

Anyhoo, enough about this... I obviously have a lot on my mind and need to go to bed. I've shared a lot more than usual today. But basically, I wanted everyone to know that I'm grateful for everyone in my life and my situation. I'm grateful that, heaven forbid, if I were to lose my current job AND not get the remote one, I could come back to Salt Lake and Mon & Brent could take care of me until I get back on my feet. I am really lucky to have such a loving family.

So... now happy stuff! Thanksgiving starts at 4PM tomorrow, I will be making frozen pumpkin mousse pie and who knows what side dish. Ooh, and a salad too. Because my friends like my home-made balsamic vinaigrette :). And the rest of the weekend is just - relaxing and catching up on bills!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, please don't eat too much but enjoy yourself. I know I will :)

Joyeux Anniversaire Megan

First of all, a very happy birthday to Megan, one of my best friends from Salt Lake. She's a great gal with many artistic talents that I admire and love! Hope you had a fun day today :)

So this weekend was absolutely gorgeous. I mean, gorgeous. I have never, EVER spent a November in the kind of weather where I can wear shorts (and I NEVER wear shorts unless it's uber hot and/or I'm by a beach). Saturday was spent relaxing, and I bought a vacuum, a crepe pan, and groceries. The rest was filled with nada. But Sunday.... was THE most beautiful November day. Blue skies, not a cloud in the skies, air clear enough that I could see the tip of Malibu... and about 73 degree weather. I played a few fantastic games of beach volleyball, and we all met up at my place after for crepes. But really, it wasn't a crepe party... it was a few crepes made from scratch by moi (and everyone claimed that they loved them, yay!) and they all brought some food of their own, so it was more of a potluck. I somehow was able to fit about 18 people in my 300 Sq ft living room. My friends brought over some folding chairs, I had my couch, my dining room chairs, a yoga ball, a storage ottoman... and we were just fine. We even played charades at the end of the night... not sure what inspired us but I don't think we've ever laughed so hard. I heart my California buddies.

Another exciting thing, is that for Thanksgiving, we're all gonna hang out again. we're calling it the "California Orphans Thanksgiving" - as most of us don't really have family here. Can't wait! I also can't wait till Christmas when I come home!!! I feel very very happy.

Today I'm grateful that I didn't go into my usual melancholy stage when Babe left back home, and that I'm able to find my own happiness even though I'm far from the ones I love. I guess this is what independence is all about (t'was about time!). Still, it's hard being lonely. It build character I guess. Thanks everyone for supporting me - as I've now been in California for almost a year. A year, can you believe it? I still can't. I still imagine - if 10 months ago I could travel to now, and see that I've got a salaried job, live in Southern California, get to play beach vball and live 3 blocks from the beach... I would die of shock. I have to say, I'm kinda proud of myself. And it feels good. It's tough, darn it, I'm sacrificing a lot... but it feels good.

Have a great night, until next time...

Je Retourne a La Solitude

Hi everyone!

Wow. What a great past few weeks. Babe came to see me, was able to spend my 25th birthday with me, and he got to meet all my Cali friends as they threw me one of the best birthday parties ever. About two dozen people met up at L&D's house, and we had ourselves a feast on their outdoor patio at night around a campfire, with dishes from probably 10 different nationalities, and I even had a made-from-scratch birthday cake with Eiffel Towers and Arc de Triomphe's on them. 

The past few weeks have been interesting. Even after 8 years of being together, Babe and I keep discovering new things about each other. I love spending time with him. I love coming home to him and saying "honey, I'm home!" and he greets me with a sincere hug and warm embrace. We talk, we laugh, we cry (well, I cry rather, lol), we enjoy each other's company... what more could I ask for?

Enough with the lovey-dovey stuff. I am now back to me living by myself - which usually means 3-4 days of mild depression, then cheering up again. This time though, I have to say, I'm doing pretty well. After dropping off babe at the Airport Thursday morning and a long day at work, I came home, it was dark, and no one to greet me... it was more wierd than anything. Got used to having someone there. But I'm getting through it - because there are some positives of him being gone - he's not taking over the computer so I can be back on! Yipee! Hahaha.

So, what's new with me, let's see...

*Had a fabulous birthday, thank you everyone for the birthday wishes, always appreciated :)

*Got some cool presents too this year... fondue pots, cash, flowers, Windows 7, edible arrangements, gift cards, thinner eyebrows, 40 year old family picture, and more...

*Had 70 degree weather for my November birthday, which has never happened in my life...

*Coworkers took me to our usual birthday lunch, where they take the birthday person somewhere (my choice, a delicious French restaurant in Culver City, Fraiche) and split the cost between them (had a merguez sandwich - so good!!! The chocolate panna cotta and pineapple upside down cake with coconut ice cream were to die for)

*This weekend, I get to relax, organize my apartment a bit, throw away all the unhealthy foods in my fridge to stop eating all the crap I've been eating lately

*Usual volleyball on Sunday I hope, then possible get-together at my place after from French Crepes - because I feel like it (I don't have to eat them though! All for my guests)

*Thanksgiving: no idea what I'm doing yet, but I'm staying in Cali. Have Thursday and Friday off from work, might see what the Irvine Cousins or San Diego Aunt and Uncle are doing, see if I can invite myself... otherwise, Boss Lady M invited me to her house and her crazy family (her words). Boss Lady M's family is Italian, so you know there's bound to be some delicious food...

*Christmas: I'm so excited, I just booked my plane ticket! I'm coming to Salt Lake and I'll land late on Dec. 22nd and come back early Jan. 5th, ready to go straight back to work.

Nothing else new... except that I might switch to Verizon and get the new Motorola Droid, and I may be getting a cat too... but I have to fall in love first. I went to a few pet shelter places and they really don't warm up to me at all. Maybe I'm a bitter old woman. We'll see. Plus, if I'm going to Salt Lake for 2 weeks, I don't want to deal with it right now... 

Today I'm grateful for the weekend, getting some rest, not being awakened at 5 in the morning by the smell of bacon... tomorrow I'm going to sleep in till 7:45am... and it's going to feel so good!!!!!

Have a great weekend you guys.