sully!

he needs a name.

my garden gnome needs a name.

skypester.

i can't wait till irv gets off work and sees this... i love babysitting my little cousin.

thoughts.

"i think art, design, photography is about confidence. it's about selling an idea. that's it. whether it's good or not is subjective. you decide. to hell with everyone else..."

- chewchew

is it really over?

man oh man what a week it has been. months of planning, weeks of anticipation, all for a few days of jam packed good times.

eating, exploring, sailing, airports, driving, vegas, three hours at a buffet, disneyland, more eating, laughs and more laughs. who knows if i'll ever get around to blogging all the photos and stories. but for now i can leave you with what is probably my favorite photograph from the entire trip.

the small size just doesn't do it justice - which is why i want a life size print hung in my room. i miss you guys already :|

jibe-ho!

i hadn't been to the beach in forever. since the festival of whales was going on at dana point and since pat is visiting i figured today would be a perfect day to make a trip down to the beach.


the best part of the day was sailing. mello is secretly a sailor. she was screaming things like "jibe-ho!"




i wanna go out again. maybe i'll buy a sailboat.

jpgetty.

we ended up at the getty this afternoon.

then wahoo's for dinner. was never really a big fan, maybe because i can't stand fish. definitely enjoyed the atmosphere and the company more than the food.

SB '09 day one.

irv and i picked up pat from the airport this morning. to welcome him to CA we had to, of course, take him out to eat. we took him to grub - a place that is famous for it's "california comfort food."

i wrote about this restaurant the first time i went back in november. click here if you want to read about it.

i decided to try something new this time and ended up getting the Mama Mia! (Vegetarian Baby!) burger. "Our homemade garden burger made with Risotto, Cannellini Beans, Basil & Parmesan Cheese topped with Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce, melted Mozzarella Cheese, sliced Red Onions & Spring Mix and drizzled with Basil Aioli served up on our whole wheat bun~delicious wonderfulness."

it was interesting. definitely delicious, but nothing like a traditional burger. the risotto consistency made it fall apart easily so it was a little messy to eat. but just pick up a fork and you'll be good to go.

irv got the After School Special* - The Original. "Cheddar and Swiss Cheeses grilled to melting on our tangy sliced Sourdough adorned with delicate Dill Butter served with a cup of our Creamy Dreamy Tomato Soup. Let the dog eat your homework!"

pat got - my favorite - the famous mac & cheese.

and for dessert irv was dying to try the Famous Big Ass Ice Cream Sandwich. "Two gigantic Chocolate Chip Cookies sandwiched (hey, don’t go there) between yummy Neopolitan Ice Cream topped with Whipped Cream AND Chocolate Sauce AND Caramel Sauce…"

since there was only three of us we just got the Half Ass.

as we were finishing up our lunch breckin meyer walked in. it was interesting listening to him talk with his friend about an NCIS spinoff and mischa barton. random, i know.

bffs.

some of the family came over for lunch last sabbath. i figured since ella was here she would want to meet my little cousin. and oh boy was i right - they were instantly best friends.


my auntie always makes this wonderful trifle with crushed up meringue cookies from trader joe's. the two little ones decided that the best way to crush the meringue was to stomp on it.



after lunch the rest of the afternoon was spent with nonstop playing, running round and around and ear piercing screams.


by the end of the afternoon they were pooped - myself included.

disney magic.

do you remember what disneyland trips were like when you were little? i remember being so excited the night before that i couldn't sleep. the next morning, the car ride there would seem to take hours and hours. at the end of the day i would usually fall asleep while we were leaving the park. when we got home i would be so tired that my parents would carry me from the car up to my bedroom.

ella is at that age now and i hope our trip last week was all of that and more for her.

she was so excited about the ice cream that she ate hers and then grabbed mine and irv's and started eating the waffle bowl.



i hope ella remembers all of this when shes older.

up next: sabbath lunch.

native foods

irv's family has come and gone. it went by too quickly. we jammed packed so many things into the few days that they were here that i'm exhausted now.

after irv and i picked them up from the airport on wednesday we all ate lunch at native foods. i love everything about this restaurant. the location, the atmosphere, and of course the food.

i got the chicken run ranch burger - "If the chickens ran the ranch! Crispy battered "save the chicken," Ranch dressing, lettuce, carrots, onion." by far, the best veggie chicken i've ever had. i get this almost every time i come.


even though it looks like it in this photo, i promise, ella didn't only eat ketchup :]

afterwards we walked around and took photos there at the camp and then at the lab.



i love these two places and native foods. i'm so glad it stopped raining that afternoon just long enough for us to spend a little time outside.

i still have so many photos from their visit to go through. up next: disneyland.

confession.

today jp confessed to me that he doesn't read the writing on my blog. he just scans the photos. but i have a feeling that this time, he'll read the text associated with his photo. haha.

thanks for watching the laker game with me. latino night made it that much more exciting, didn't it? ha.

nunz.

cucas for lunch, frozen yogurt for dessert and photographs for the rest of the afternoon. today was just what i needed. nunz, are you sure you have to leave?

march madness.

i think that's the best way to explain all that is going to be happening in the coming weeks.

nunz is here right now. i love seeing her! please just move here. i've made some new friends and had more laughs in one day than i've had in a long while.

in a few days some of irv's family is coming. i definitely can't wait to see little ella. we're gonna go to disneyland.

later this week vanja and the boys of garage voice are coming. [i can't wait :]

and then the week after that, last year's spring break road trip buddies are coming out for round two of road trip remix. some members are missing [you will be greatly missed] and some new members are joining in on the fun. [i can't wait for this either :]

it's like one long month of nonstop playing - march madness.

beware. after this month i just may not ever want to go back to working.

what?

in a public restroom today i heard a mother tell her daughters, "make sure you sing happy birthday while you wash your hands."

what?

someone please tell me, is it an acronym for something?

*EDIT.

of course. it's a timer, thanks mike. how come my mom never taught me that?