*Let it snow*

Hot or cold? Hot.

Summer or winter? Summer.

Beach or mountains? Beach.

Sun or snow? I dunno.

I am a big fan of warm weather and sunshine (who isn't)? The one thing that I love ...that only comes with the cold...is snow...and I miss it. Everyone is getting snow except me! While I think I could last another year or two without actually seeing snow...it does make me a lot jealous when I wake up to pictures like these in my inbox on my cell phone. I want snow!

My mom's front yard...right before the ice part of the storm, Cincinnati, OH.

Erin's backyard this morning, Mason, OH.

My friend Andi's car in Tacoma, WA

Seattle bound!

I am going to Seattle for a mini vacation the first weekend in February (no, I can't really afford it). I have never been to Seattle and I have always wanted to go, so I am very excited about this trip! I already have a lot of plans made...from the obvious: Space Needle, Original Starbucks, lunch with my Aunt...to the not so obvious: Mike Herrera's Tumbledown show, dinner at Fritz and a ferry ride. I am staying with my friend Andi, and Allie is coming up from Orgeon, so it will be a great time. I have had many people the past few years tell me that I should move Seattle...some who barely know me, and others who know me very well. It's funny that I always hear that (everyone told me I would hate LA...which I don't, but I don't love it either) so I am hoping I don't like it too much and want to move again! I honestly don't think I could handle the weather...I love the 85 degrees and sunny days a little too much! I could handle the endless supply of coffee though...

Did you know the ground gets wet when it rains?

Ok. So, when it rains in LA, it's a big deal. It doesn't happen often, so when it does, the roads are extra slippery from all the oil and stuff piling up. I get that it makes driving harder, there is more traffic, etc. That's fine. But, is it really necessary to put wet floor signs OUTSIDE? Every time it rains, there are wet floor signs outside of where I work. It's ridiculous. Are people that stupid that they don't know the ground is wet when it rains? Seriously.

CraigsList Guilt Trip

If you don't use CraigsList that often you may not know what I am feeling...so this may seem silly...but try to understand. First of all, I absolutely love this site, I have found apartments, jobs, and roommates on it, and I have nothing but good things to say about it. As long as you aren't a moron and make unsafe choices, CraigsList can be used to find many great things!

So, my roommate Nikki and I have been looking on CraigsList for furniture to furnish our apartment since our roommate Marie moved out with all her furniture in Decemeber. CraigsList is a great way to find some amazingly good deals...and some not so great deals. Here comes the guilt part. Nikki and I found an amazing couch...or should I say an amazing picture of a couch a few weeks ago. They were offering free delivery which is huge because Nikki, Josh (new roomie) and I all have small cars. So, we have the couch delivered, it's gonna cost us 75 bucks. What a deal! The couch looked great, we couldn't wait.

Couch arrives.

Piece of Sh*t.

Not only were the legs cut off, so it sat right on the floor, it was the most uncomfortable thing I have ever sat on. I quickly renamed it the midget couch and decided right away we needed something else. Why didn't I send the couch away when it got there? Because these nice people drove a half an hour to bring it to us! Yeah, I felt guilty sending it back. (I would have asked to pay less, however, Josh had already forked over the cash).

Guilt trip number two. Last night on my way home from work, I stopped by a CraigsList "yard sale" where this guy was basically selling everything he owns garage sale style. I called him when I was on my way, and he said "give me 10 minutes to get home". So, I stopped to get some cash, and drove over to his garage sale.

His stuff was hideous.

I found out he just ran a mile home to meet me. (he's sweaty and gross).

He goes on and on to explain to me why he is moving across the country, shows me his amazing 1989 bottle of Marilyn Merlot Wine that is now worth $3,000, and makes me realize his life is really sad.

He's super lonely, I can tell. ugh.

I fake interest in his life story.

Spend 30 minutes looking through all his crap until I find a poster and a lamp I can't live without.

Buy a blue bowl because I felt bad.

Wish him luck and leave.

I felt so bad for the guy. He was trying to convice me that if I spent $50, I could pick out any item I wanted for free. Not only did he honestly think he had good items, he really thought he was making me a deal.

Guilt Trip number 3.

I put the midget couch back on CraigsList today asking $75. I took a great picture on my cell phone (see above) making it look 100 times better than it is (and it still looks like shit, that should tell you something). I get one response, and I feel bad even selling it to her for $75. I think I will tell her she can take it for $30 if she comes to get it. Trust me...I don't know if anyone would even pick this couch up for free.

Oh CraigsList...I really do love you! I think from now I should stick to looking for jobs and apartments...people trying to sell their hideous belongings just makes me feel sad and guilty.

Crazy Mutt

Well, the weather has been absolutely gorgeous since I got back to LA. Sunny and sooo warm. It's been in the 80's! I took Bella to both the dog park and dog beach this weekend. I couldn't resist the warm weather and neither could she! I took a few pictures at the beach I will upload when I get some more AA batteries for my camera. The beach where I take Bella has an unspoken rule that dogs can be off leash...even though county/city laws require a 6 foot leash. So, as always I let Bella run free and roam the beach/water at her leisure. The crazy little mutt got in trouble this time though. She decided to climb the hill of rocks about 40 feet to the sidewalk up above the beach and start running around like a crazy woman. I had to climb, barefoot, camera in hand up the rocks to then chase after her while a man in a wheel chair attempted to help me. (thanks guy, but when Bella knows the race is on, an Olympic athlete couldn't even catch her). She finally gave in and let me get her. I then I had to walk on the rocks, barefoot, camera in hand, nearly a quarter of a mile until I found a place safe enough to climb back down to the beach, while holding my 32lbs. dog. My arm still hurts. At least she didn't run off into the parking lot...or worse, the Pacific Coast Highway! What a little brat she can be. I guess that's what I get for spoiling her two days in a row! I am going to have to rethink letting her off leash at the beach from now on! Oh Bella...

Marley and Me

If you haven't seen this movie yet, you have to go see it! Of course, it's not as great as the book (no movie ever is) but it sure was good!

Rant.

Ok...so adding pictures to this blog is a major bitch.  I am so cranky right now!  It is NOT user friendly...and I really can't believe that something that so many people use can still have so many problems!  What happened to Web 2.0????   Ugh.  Ok.  Rant over.  Jake really is in that giant picture of me and my dad, you just can't see him right now....I will fix all this stuff later.

A Cincinnati Christmas

Erin and me at her house on Christmas

Julie and me at McDonald's

Jefferson Hall with Anne, Emily, Allison, and Allie.

Izzie!

Mom, Aunt Meg, and Beth

Well, my first week back in LA went by rather quickly. It was nice having New Years Day off, because it's always hard for me to adjust back to work after time off. Who am I kidding? It's always hard for me to adjust to work! I miss having/making my own schedule. While I didn't always love juggling 3 jobs, and the pay was never steady; I did enjoy the times when I would work 3 hours one day and 13 the next.

The weather was pretty nice and warm and sunny all week. Of course, it's now cooler and cloudy, just in time for the weekend! I am determined to stay in today, reading, watching movies, and drinking coffee. Sounds like the perfect Saturday. Tomorrow will be productive, I'll go grocery shopping and do laundry, ok?

I had a great time visiting all my friends and family in Cincinnati. Surprisingly, the weather wasn't too bad there! One day it was actually warmer in Cincy than LA. Imagine that. haha. I enjoyed a nice lunch at Frisch's with Anne and Allie as soon as I got in town. Followed by dinner at LaRosa's with Mom and Jake. I spent a nice Christmas Eve with my dad and Jake. We went to Brio's down at the Levee and you know me and Newport...can't get enough. Then we went back to Dad's to open presents. To my surprise he had gotten me a digital photo f

rame (which I have always wanted but would never ever buy myself) and he had loaded all the pictures from our road trip to LA on it! I love it. It made me very

nostalgic for the road though...I love to travel too much. I need to marry a musician who tours all the time so I can tag along with Bella on the road :). Anyway...I spent Christmas morning at my mom's and she surprised me with many great gifts, along with one to take back to Bella. Christmas afternoon I spent at my Aunt Meg's house with all my mom's family (expect my sister)! I always love Christmas with my mom's family...I always end up laughing pretty hard for one reason or another -- we like to have a good time! Christmas night I went over to Erin's and it was so great to see her. I really miss getting to see all these people on a regular basis! I stayed a little too late at Erin's, but we love to talk! The next day I drove to meet Julie at McDonald's for lunch. I know, it doesn't sound nice, but we used to go to McDonald's all the time together at Miami! Anyway, it was sooo nice to see her, I am glad we were able to squeeze in an afternoon together. Later that night I went out to Bar Louie and JHall with all my Cincy friends...how I miss those crazy Newport nights we used to have! Everyone is all over the country now, so I will take my annual Christmas outing. Saturday I got my Skyline fix (well, not really, I crave it pretty much every day) with Dad and Jake! It was yummy. Dammit, I want it right now. Ugh. Then Saturday night I went and saw Marley and Me! I have been waiting to see that movie for months and it definitely didn't disappoint! Later that night I met up with Kate for a drink at Fridays, it was great to see her as well! I wish I could have seen more of everyone, but I definitely enjoyed the time I got! Well, that about sums up my Cincy vaca. It was great, I enjoyed every second of it, and didn't want to come back to LA!

Dad, Jake and me on Christmas Eve

Bar Louie with Emily, Anne, Allie, Julie P, and Allison