Yep it's a 6 foot Rooster

One of the many reasons I enjoy shopping at Homegoods. Yep it's a 6 foot welded metal rooster for a mere $199.   Enough said!

Welcome to the garden

Oh hello there pretty little succulent garden pots, welcome home to my garden.  I hope we are going to get to be good friends.  I noticed you right away in the nursery waving your cute little flags that said "Drought Tolerant".  That's what really caught my eye, you know?  I could feel the other plants in the nursery pulling away from me as I walked by, not want to catch the eye of an occasional waterer, but not you!  You stood tall and flirty.  Drought tolerant...that means that you will like it when I go weeks at a time without waving a hose in your direction, right?  As long as you keep your end of the bargain, we should get along just fine.

Day of sunshine and dolphins

The view from my table

We have had more than our usual share of rainy and cold gray days lately but today was absolutely gorgeous.   I celebrated by having lunch at the Fisherman's Restaurant on San Clemente Pier.  While I was out there enjoying the sunshine and the sound and smell of the sea, a pod of dolphins swam slowly by and kept me entertained.  What a beautiful way to spend a day in January!  

View from the side of the pier

Pier view of Fisherman's Restaurant.  They have great choices of seafood as well as pasta and salad options.

Fun and Joy!

Today is 1/11/11 hooray!  Another shot at a new beginning and another reason to celebrate!  Today I am celebrating my mantra for this year;  Fun and Joy!  I am a making a point of bringing a lot of that into my life. There are many things I want to do for myself to be happy and healthy, as well as to succeed in the  creative endeavors that I have been envisioning.  Keeping the pursuit of Fun and Joy close to my heart  is a good way to get there I think.  Sometimes it is just a matter of being in the moment and realizing when I am experiencing it.  For example I have been riding my new bicycle quite a bit lately.  I am not particularly good at it yet and so I do not go very far, but I notice that when I am outside enjoying my pretty view of the mountains as I ride I feel like I am a kid out playing, and that it is pretty stinkin fun!  And while I am out having fun, I am doing something nice for my heart too, so win- win-woohoo!

Sunday fit nicely into the plan for the year when Becky and I had a lovely Mother Daughter day at a spa.  Massages, facials. and mani-pedis, ahhhhhhh relaxation, what more could 2 girls want?  Even the clueless man who stepped out of the male dressing room twice into the quiet room in  his tightie-whities yelling for help because he had locked himself out of his locker and then had them open the wrong one, could not deter the fun and joy of the day.  (OK I was thinking "hey buddy why not put your spa robe back on?"  but I cheerfully got someone to help him....twice.)  Then vegetarian sushi for her and seafood for me for dinner, yummmmy!  Girls just wanna have fun!

Hooray for Hollywood!

April and Lana's trip to California has been accompanied by the rainiest December in Southern California in a hundred years by some accounts.  And since they have been primarily staying at my parents house they have experienced the joys of a partially flooded house, freezing cold temperatures because the AC unit was wrecked in the rain, and mud everywhere.  Now with their time here coming to an end the family has been making a push for them to see some of the sights that they want to see while they are here.  Today Melody got Jason and the girls into Disneyland, I hope they are having a great time.   On Sunday Dale took them and Jason all over the coastline in Orange County.  They went to Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Balboa Island, all in the pouring rain!  Kind of an interesting take on the Southern California beaches.  Yesterday at their request I took them to Hollywood.  Fortunately the rained cleared up and the day was brisk but beautiful.  

People visiting from out of the state often want to see Hollywood, but it is in many ways a disappointment.  It is pretty run down and grungy even though it has been getting better over recent years.  Becky takes classes and performs at IO, an improv comedy club that is right on Hollywood Blvd and that would have been fun to take them to but it is 21 and over so that wasn't a possibility.  Of course seeing the Hollywood Walk of Fame is always cool  especially because my Dad's group, The Sons of The Pioneers, have a star in a very prominate place on Hollywood blvd, right outside the Kodak Theater where they host the Academy awards.  I remember attending the unveiling ceremony as a kid, although the Theater wasn't there and I think they moved the location of the star too.

We saw the stars in the sidewalk, Gromins Chinese Theater  and were simultaneously grossed out and amused by the street performers who dress up like celebrities and characters and interact with the crowd to pose for pictures for tips.  The costuming of the look alike's range from OK to really cheesy to "wow that hasn't been washed in about 5 years".  We hit the many souvenir shops along Hollywood Blvd so the girls could get their California souvenirs and luckily there was a Harley Davidson shop there since that was also on the to-do list for Lana.  We had a milkshake at the Disney Soda Fountain that is outside of the El Capitain theater and people watched from inside the building.  There are always plenty of interesting people to watch in Hollywood.  Just how inappropriate the Sponge Bob Square Pants was became very clear as we watched him awhile.  I guess the most notable was the guy who was maybe a year or two older then the girls picking his nose right outside the window, and I hate to even write this but apparently he was hungry too..cause you know what he did with it?  Well you can guess..... it was disgusting! 

 Personally the photo that best represents  Hollywood as I see it,  is this street sign we passed on our way out of town.  A black bra hanging over a no pedestrian crossing sign.  I don't know why but this just screams Hollywood to me, plus I guess you can't cross the street there if you are wearing a bra?

April and Lana in front of the dancing fountain

We left the lovely city of Hollywood to meet up with Becky for dinner and because we were so enchanted with the place yesterday we went back to the Americana beautiful center to show it off to the girls, and they loved it too.  We even rode the Trolley this time!

Ding! Ding! And Hooray for Hollywood!

Puddle Splashing With Becky

Sunday was a much needed mom daughter day for both  Becky and I.  I really love that I get to have these kind of days with my beautiful daughter and that she seeks them out.  Just a fun day of Long chatty lunches and cupcake eating sessions, shopping, and this time, puddle splashing.  Actually the puddle splashing was unintentional but it rained pretty hard the whole day.  Becky was sporting a pair of very attractive galoshes.  Of course I was the one who managed to do most of the puddle splashing and I was wearing my favorite open healed clogs that apparently have been worn to the point where they are now porous on the sole because they wicked up water like a sponge from the bottom up.  A soggy cold feet kind of wonderful day with Becky.

Lunch kicked off at a very cute little cafe near Becky's apartment, called the Marmalade Cafe.  A very cute little bistro whose decor mixes so adorably the mix of rustic and elegant and makes you feel all cozy and girlie.  That and the delicious food made it a perfect place to settle in for some girl talk, which we indulged in for a good long time, enjoying the coffee refills and in no hurry to get back in the rain.

Then some serious shopping and a little apartment fixing upping for Becky's place.  Becky took me over to the most adorable shopping center in Glendale called The Americana.  It was bedecked for Christmas in the most amazingly festive way, dripping with lights and a cool dancing water fountain.  It is an outside shopping center, it was pouring rain and about 36 degrees out but so darn cute we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

A Happy Mommy Happy Daughter kick off to a Happy New Year kind of day!

New Years Eve

My niece April and her friend Lana joined Dale and I for New Years Eve.  We took it easy and just played games, ate some snacks and watched the ball drop.  Tripoley was a lot of fun to play , but is a game that never ends!  After a while you just have to call it.  Next time I am going to remember to suggest calling it when I am up in the chips!  Or maybe I am just being a sore last place loser.

Then April and Lana rocked the Dance Central game on the X Box Kinnect.

Sorry April but these are too fun to pass up!

 We toasted with Champagne and Strawberries.  I knew it was past my bed time when I read the description of the Netflix movie they were about to watch called Pot Zombies;  "When radioactive marijuana fall int the hands of potheads, the stoners transform into zombies bent on gorging on human flesh!   Whoops that's my exit, bed time for mom!  I am pretty sure I liked my sweet dreams a whole lot better!

Happy New Year!