2008 Was Great!

It was the best of times, and the worst of time. Dear 2008, you were great, and here are the highlights (compliments of Barby Fierce y Ms. Ebullient!....):

What was your best thrift store purchase?
My suitcase. Old skool w/no wheels and a belt buckle at top, but more for car travel than by air...how did people use to travel with no-wheel luggage.

When was your favorite moment?
Humm...of late it would be Dec. 17th when I got a new niece! Thanks Joleen!

What phrase did you overuse this year?
"Shawty you a 10"...j/k I dunno?

What is one thing you learned about yourself this year?
That I'm still as fickle as I've always been! Ooh, and that I love painting (acrylic) and felt! Felties are sooo fun (I'll post pics of my new friends later lol)

What did you not get to do this year that you wished you had.
I Skydiving. Pam and I had wanted to go and even set a month to do it by, but never did! Oh, and get my passport, I know! I still don't have one!

What was the song of the year for you?
Crazy - Pitbull (well, anything Pitbull probably)

Most frequently worn footwear.
Brown Rainbows...they're very much in need of retirement

Most awkward experience.
Opening a letter informing me of a possible misdemeanor due to failure to appear in court.

Most unexpected experience.
3 deaths in one year.

Coolest place (geographic) visited.
Joshua Tree...loved it. Some great exposed geology and tons and tons of awesome climbs (just be careful...that monzogranite like to eat flesh!)

Wow! Goodbye 08! You know you've been great! And 2009, you will BE MINE!!!!

ZZzzz......zzzzzzzzz......

KCRW subconsciously provided the music to my personal soundtrack this evening on my way home from work....ahh...thank you.

West Indian Girl Remix -Nynex
and

Geraldine - Glasvegas

Ahhh...nite, nite time :)

R.I.P. Hamilton

I started to make a batch of lovely, yummy, holiday sugar cookies this morning. As soon as I turned on my Hamilton Beach hand mixer, it *poofed* and then...nothing. I though the plug may have tripped, but alas, no such luck. My college hand mixer was dead. I had just started to cream the butter, lame, so had to clean out the beaters and pull out my trusty (no fail) wooden spoon. I finished the cookies (ended up using my washed and sanitized hands as kneaders and tossed the too-much-effort-to-mix wooden spoon). Now, I have a lot of appliances that I got in college, as the near by Wal Mart that are still in working condition. I haven't felt justified enough to toss them and buy the ones I really want yet because they are still in good shape, just not top of the line. Anyways, so I happy that it had timed it parting with Macy's one-day sale. Yeah (I'm always looking for excuses to spend money on something I want...ask me about my William Sonoma waffle iron that I bought for our chicken and waffle potluck). Anyways. I couldn't open my pockets and fork out the $300 (one-day sale priced) 5 qt. Kitchen Aid Artisan mixer (in a myriad of lovely colors), so I settled for a black, 5 speed Kitchen Aid hand mixer.

It was $20 off and not as cute as the 7-speed Martha Stewart Blue Collection one (priced at $70), but suits me just the same (the blue was soooo cute!). Anyways, so today was out with the old, and in with the new. Rest In Peace Hamilton! You served me and my college roommates well! Its been lovely! Oh, and I'll have to let you know how I feel about this new mixer. Its cute. And hopefully I really like it and that it'll last me a long time (since I could have busted it over the the nearest Wal Mart for another $20 mixer...). Ahhh......now, next I need to shop for a hair dryer! Mine FINALLY died. Yeah:)

(I swear I'm trying to eat the cookie, not scream in its earz....)

CHRISTMAS BLOG HIGHLIGHT -- THE SPIRIT OF GIVING

So I decided to highlight a friends blog, Lovebug Portraits. In the spirit of Christmas (giving, hope, joy, charity, love, etc.) she's holding a contest to:

"...someone who's experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. Someone who can't afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. Someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family's spirit, love and beauty. "

She's giving free photography (prints, photo session, whatever) up to $500 in value. The full details can been seen here. I think its a lovely idea and a great way to share your talents and bless the lives of others. I couldn't think of anyone, but perhaps you can. What a great way to brighten someone's Christmas who really needs it! Thanks Tanners!

SHE'S HERE!!!

She came last night. I'll let Jo do a more thorough update. Just wanted to post that she's finally here! She's looks so precious and like Jo (well they both are Sagittarius'). My parents finally made it there through the snow storm. Let just hope Jo makes a quick recovery. Congratulations Romo Family!!!! She's BEAUTIFUL!

Yosea 9.72 lbs. 12/17/2008

Welcome to the family!!! We love and are glad you're here! :)

My Sweet Heart!!!

I love Wall-E...and this song:

"Put On you Sunday Clothes: from Hello Dolly! :)

FELIZ NAVIDAD

So, I wanted to post some pics of apt. We decorated awhile back and I love it! I waiting forever last year after Christmas to buy a Christmas tree (I'd really, really wanted one but didn't want to fork out the money before last Christmas). Well, I was overjoyed to set it up this year (and the wait paid off. I got my $200 tree for $50. Do people seriously pay $200 for a tree?). Anyways, here are the results of our decorating fest:

And did you notice the wonderfulness? Ha ha, at first I thought the tree was assembled poorly and was swing around, until I read that it rotates! Seriously. Its funny. There's a switch on the bottom to turn in on or off. Hahhaaa, thanks Martha Stewart (is that why its $200??)! Merry Christmas!!!

Warehouse Sale Weekend: Recap

Well, as the previous post mentioned, I was out shopping for bargains this weekend. Here's a re-cap of my day...Welcome to the wonderful world of warehouse sells! They usually happen semi-annually (which is perfect before holidays). I stated out late for the Obey sale. They're smart. Thousands of people pass through the doors (I entered at 9:30am, doors opened at 8am and 700 people had passed through by then, and after waiting in line, its hard to hold yourself back from buying a lot, to make it worth the wait.

Some of the other crazy people in line for this sale. I should of come earlier. I waited in line for 1.5 hours...and to keep the line moving they only let you shop for 30 min. Yeah, 30 min. which wasn't that easy, considering the inside looked like this:

Boxes and boxes of clothes, separated into mens/womens, knits, pants, sizes, etc. This would probably drive most of you crazy, but for some reason I love it (well any kind of shopping in general, especially when I get good deals. Ask me about the cashmere cardigan I bought the day before from Anthropologie for $20...yeah, originally $228...anyways...back to WAREHOUSE sales).

Next was Paul Frank. I got distracted along the way with other sales by SALT Optics and Kingsley (hip baby rocker clothes - an Angelia Jolie pick for her kids). There were more, but waiting in lines and picking through clothes can be very exhausting.

Paul Frank Industries, outside the fence waiting for entrance...people seriously buy up this place. You'll see mom come out with HUGE bags. I would to if I had children. I LOVE Small Paul (and so will the new babes;)

Here's another line, but this one was for hot dogs! And do you see Skurvey and Julius in the back ground? So cute. Anyways....that's about it. I bought a lot of cute stuff, and it really does pay to shop the sales. I like the madness and the deals. You better believe come this summer I'll be out again. I'll keep you posted! Oh, and FYI: OBEY's extended their sale through this Fri.:

Warehouse Sale Weekend

Ha ha...so Uyenners and I tried to find the Hurley sale last night. It said they were going to 8 pm, not true. Instead we ended up scaling the perimeters (the Popo Office was nearby) looking for evidence of a sale: climbing dumpsters and trying to open closed doors. Well, we finally found the place, but yes, it was closed. So its now 7am and I need to get up and get ready. The Obey sale starts @ 8 and yesterday mornings line l...o...n...g....I'm then headed to Paul Frank (I love Small Paul!)/Modern Amusement and possibly RVCA afterwards. There's going to be more on the east side. We'll see. And this all made possible due to an understanding friend who isn't holding it against me for not going to "the game" with him (SC vs. UCLA). Which would have turned out to be an ALL DAY event (its @ the Rose Bowl and football traffic can be horrible). I estimated at least a 3 hour drive to and back-due to traffic. Last time I went to the Rose Bowl, it was night before I got home. Ha, ha...I also canceled on surfing this morning to! I'd soooo much rather rummage through boxes and boxes of hella good deals...hells yeah!
Oh and I still need to hit up a Barney's, James Perse, and Rock and Republic warehouse sells. Ahh...I love CA:)

How To Freak Your Sister Out

Say words like:

cervix
mucus plug
dilated
pain
uncomfortable
"open"

Yeah. So my sisters going to have a baby, actually they all are (Vee and Tawn are pregnant also). I'm not pregnant nor will be expecting anytime soon. And honestly, words like the above listed make being an Auntie sound so much more pleasant:) I think I'll keep my Auntie-hood for now and in the mean time, just keep waiting for the sisters to have the babies:) Yah for Aunthood!

MY SISTERS GONNA HAVE A BABY!!!

When? Lets take it to the polls! She's currently dilated to a 2 and the baby's getting ready! Yah for childbirth!!! I can't wait! :) Oh yeah, her acutal due date is Dec. 30th....

Ahe'hee Jo :)

I MADE MY GOAL!!!

I received this e-mail today:

"Congratulations for the wonderful job you did at raising funds in second annual Walk for Lupus Now in Los Angeles! Our records indicate that you raised more than $1,000"

Yah! I thought I was short, but according to Walk for Lupus Now LA, I wasn't. Yah!!! We'll see how much we can do next year. Our final total as a team was: $4832.00. We'll beat $5G next year...you better believe it! Oh, and a side note, I saw a worker at one of my labs that had a purple bracelet. I asked him if it was a Lupus band. Apparently his daughter has it (teenager) and has for about 6 years? I'm grateful for my own awareness about the disease and keep meeting more and more people who have it or know someone who has it. Hopefully with all our efforts we can help researchers find a cure :) Thanks again for all your support and donations!