I finally broke down and did it. After weeks, and probably months, of squeezing into my jeans, I finally donated all the too-small ones and went clothes shopping. I found a cute little boutique close to our place and bought some very fashionable jeans. The one I am wearing now looks kind of tie-dye, with purple and pink. I also got a pair of bright blue ones, a white and black striped pair, and a sailor-style pair with wide flared legs and buttons on two sides instead of a zipper. Finally now I can wear all of the jeans in my wardrobe without trying on a few pairs until I get one that I don't have to squeeze and jump and pull to get in to ;) *sigh*
Also this week we finally completed our kitchen table chairs collection. We have all four now - with each being a different style. Two of the chairs had very worn seat cushions, so we re-upholstered them. They look very fancy. I carefully folded the corners, and Alex enjoyed using the staple gun.
On Saturday, it was free-day at several local museums, so I spent a couple of hours at the LACMA (http://www.lacma.org/) while Alex went for a run. My favorite exhibit was about wrap dresses. You entered the exhibit hall through a wide hallway. The walls were pink and the floors were white and black, and the walls were covered with current and old photos of ladies in wrap dresses, a style that apparently began with a lady called Diane in the 70s. The hall opened up into a large room whose walls were made entirely of mirrors, and the center of the room contained four different collections of mannequins, each one dressed in a different pattern of wrap dress. I was in awe, and of course there were several vintage dresses there that were to die for!
On Sunday, Alex went for a mountain-biking adventure with some of the guys from work, and I went to the farmer's market and made banana bread. My old recipe is back in Illinois still, or maybe I recycled it accidentally, so I made it with a new one that I found online. It was still good though :)
I have been having nice daily chats with our land-lady. She has a bad back and takes writing breaks to walk around outside in the sunshine, which is usually when I get back from either shopping or taking a walk around the block.
Today, I made a fatal error in the grocery store. I have been eying a perfume, that they now seem to not carry anymore. So, I tried on some of the other ones to see if I liked any of them. As it turns out, I don't, but I did manage to come out of the store smelling like a 5-year-old let loose in the perfume store. Oh me!
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
The Busy Week
These past few weeks have flown by. Alex began playing for a local soccer team, so we attend his games every Wednesday night. So far, they haven't won any games yet, but they have come very close! This past weekend, we dog-sat for a couple that Alex works with. Their dog is a herder, and was very attentive. She was skeptical of me at first, but soon learned that I am a very likeable gal. We also went ice-skating on Sunday at a rink that is scheduled to close soon. I had forgotten how horrible of balance I have, so I had to leave the rink early. I was getting run over by little 5-year-olds! So, I ended up walking to the beach. We happened to be a couple of blocks from the ocean, so I walked down there and hung out while everyone else finished skating. It was a gorgeous day!
My white orchid is blooming, and it looks so pretty! We also have a black Calla Lily and a succulent inside, and a rose bush and poppy flower outside. Our landlords got us a solar-powered butterfly that I put in the rose bush. It flies around every afternoon when the sun hits it :)
I have also been cooking lately, mostly soups. As a matter of fact, I have lentil soup in the crockpot right now! My little crockpot is a 70s green color, but it runs like a charm and makes for excellent cooking!
Yesterday, I took my CBEST exam, and I passed it, preliminarily! So, now I am eligible to substitute teach or tutor while I am out here. It is always nice to have options :)
Today, I was lucky enough to get two letters from back home: one from Mom and the other from my Granny Annie. Both are lovely. It is so great to hear from everyone!
My white orchid is blooming, and it looks so pretty! We also have a black Calla Lily and a succulent inside, and a rose bush and poppy flower outside. Our landlords got us a solar-powered butterfly that I put in the rose bush. It flies around every afternoon when the sun hits it :)
I have also been cooking lately, mostly soups. As a matter of fact, I have lentil soup in the crockpot right now! My little crockpot is a 70s green color, but it runs like a charm and makes for excellent cooking!
Yesterday, I took my CBEST exam, and I passed it, preliminarily! So, now I am eligible to substitute teach or tutor while I am out here. It is always nice to have options :)
Today, I was lucky enough to get two letters from back home: one from Mom and the other from my Granny Annie. Both are lovely. It is so great to hear from everyone!
Monday, January 13, 2014
The Worm's Week
This past week has been full of condensing and reorganizing and sorting. Things are finally beginning to take shape around here!
Also online practice exams, tons of online practice exams. I did not know that my memory could have lapsed so far, particularly as it relates to elementary mathematics, until I started preparing to take the California Basic Educational Skills Exam (http://www.ctcexams.nesinc.com/). Fractions - hate them. Volumes/areas/circumferences - who needs them? Word problems - the worst. Hopefully, I pass the exam, otherwise, I have spent many tumultuous mornings and afternoons ridiculing my lack of skills, and all for naught.
This week, Alex and I started a compost bin to help recycle our daily food waste. We purchased worms and soil from a hippie at the farmer's market and proceeded to feed our new little pets with the scraps from our first crockpot chili. I will keep you posted on our, as of now, only pets.
This past weekend was the KPFF (http://www.kpff.com/contacts-7/36) winter party (where Alex works). Unfortunately, I came down with a stomach something or other and was forced to stay home. Luckily, this gave me the opportunity to chillax with popcorn and Harry Potter, followed closely by Pride and Prejudice the Kiera Knightly version.
The next day, we made our weekly trip to the Farmers market and I introduced Al to this swag Japanese grocery market, where we got all kinds of goodies! We also tried out a new totally plant-based/vegan restaurant. It was good food, but a fairly upper-class market. There were dogs there, folks. That's how upper-class it was. Dogs are only present in one of three situations in restaurants: 1) helper dogs (totally legit), 2) rural areas where they just happen to wander in and hope for scraps, 3) upper-class joints where they are well-groomed and kept on tight leashes, or in purses. Although Alex informs me that dogs here are generally anywhere. So maybe it's a West Coast thing?
Also online practice exams, tons of online practice exams. I did not know that my memory could have lapsed so far, particularly as it relates to elementary mathematics, until I started preparing to take the California Basic Educational Skills Exam (http://www.ctcexams.nesinc.com/). Fractions - hate them. Volumes/areas/circumferences - who needs them? Word problems - the worst. Hopefully, I pass the exam, otherwise, I have spent many tumultuous mornings and afternoons ridiculing my lack of skills, and all for naught.
This week, Alex and I started a compost bin to help recycle our daily food waste. We purchased worms and soil from a hippie at the farmer's market and proceeded to feed our new little pets with the scraps from our first crockpot chili. I will keep you posted on our, as of now, only pets.
This past weekend was the KPFF (http://www.kpff.com/contacts-7/36) winter party (where Alex works). Unfortunately, I came down with a stomach something or other and was forced to stay home. Luckily, this gave me the opportunity to chillax with popcorn and Harry Potter, followed closely by Pride and Prejudice the Kiera Knightly version.
The next day, we made our weekly trip to the Farmers market and I introduced Al to this swag Japanese grocery market, where we got all kinds of goodies! We also tried out a new totally plant-based/vegan restaurant. It was good food, but a fairly upper-class market. There were dogs there, folks. That's how upper-class it was. Dogs are only present in one of three situations in restaurants: 1) helper dogs (totally legit), 2) rural areas where they just happen to wander in and hope for scraps, 3) upper-class joints where they are well-groomed and kept on tight leashes, or in purses. Although Alex informs me that dogs here are generally anywhere. So maybe it's a West Coast thing?
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Week 1
This post is for my grandmother, Granny, who wants to keep track of me as I change locations. Two weeks ago, I moved from snowy, wintry Illinois to sunny California. So far, the drastic weather change has NOT resulted in me contracting a cold, much to my advantage!
The drive out here was pleasant enough, and Al and I took turns driving the three days that it took to get from Manteno, Ill. to Los Angeles, Cali. We only encountered snow in the drive through the Rockies in Colorado, and even that was just a round of flurries. We stopped briefly at the Arches National Park in Utah, and were able to look around a bit before we traveled on. There were two casualties to the trip, as with all trips. I lost one of the decorative rims on my car the first day. So, somewhere in Iowa is a plastic Toyota rim. My car doesn't look too bad without it, luckily. I also lost my set of keys to my car somewhere in California. Again, luckily I could make a new set. Unluckily, I lost a key-chain that I had purchased in Belize, another that I had, had since forever, and a key topper of a purple monster. Those three items will be missed :(
I moved to a studio apartment above the garage of a nice couple, the wife of whom is a well-renowned author (http://www.syriejames.com/). The apartment situation is thus: we have street parking in front of the house, and our own mailbox. You enter a locked gate to the right of the main house, pass by the pool and outdoor flowers and bushes, and arrive at the garage. We have a patio in front of the garage, with two chairs (one upright and the other a lounge), a juniper tree that the owners gave to us and a rose bush that we purchased in November that is still surviving outdoors and doing well. As you stand in the patio, you face two doors, one a glass sliding door and the other a white one. The glass sliding door leads to the landlord's workout room and our laundry room. The white door opens to a staircase, at the top of which is our studio. The staircase railing divides the apartment nicely into a living-room/kitchen area and a bedroom area. We have a walk-in clothes closet and a shelved closet for misc. items; there is a small bath and a kitchen with a large counter area and lots of cabinets. There is also a heater, but no air conditioning. The apartment seems to sit on the eaves of the garage, so there is a central seam to our ceiling, with a gentle slope to the kitchen, and a more drastic slope toward the main part of the room. Near the central seam we have a ceiling fan. The drastic slope is cut, on the right side of the apartment, to a window that looks out toward our landlords house and the street beyond. The sun comes in that window most of the day, so if you are a sun-lover (like me) you tend to perch yourself next to that window nearly all day. We have a small card table and three chairs next to the window. My orchid sits on the windowsill in the morning, and I light a tea-light in a lantern-like candle holder there at night.
So far, I am just chilling here, and hanging with my friends. I will let you know if anything exciting happens, and I will post photos of the place soon. I wouldn't want to take them now, since it is already dark here. So, instead, I will drink a cup of tea and watch some television :)
<3
C
The drive out here was pleasant enough, and Al and I took turns driving the three days that it took to get from Manteno, Ill. to Los Angeles, Cali. We only encountered snow in the drive through the Rockies in Colorado, and even that was just a round of flurries. We stopped briefly at the Arches National Park in Utah, and were able to look around a bit before we traveled on. There were two casualties to the trip, as with all trips. I lost one of the decorative rims on my car the first day. So, somewhere in Iowa is a plastic Toyota rim. My car doesn't look too bad without it, luckily. I also lost my set of keys to my car somewhere in California. Again, luckily I could make a new set. Unluckily, I lost a key-chain that I had purchased in Belize, another that I had, had since forever, and a key topper of a purple monster. Those three items will be missed :(
I moved to a studio apartment above the garage of a nice couple, the wife of whom is a well-renowned author (http://www.syriejames.com/). The apartment situation is thus: we have street parking in front of the house, and our own mailbox. You enter a locked gate to the right of the main house, pass by the pool and outdoor flowers and bushes, and arrive at the garage. We have a patio in front of the garage, with two chairs (one upright and the other a lounge), a juniper tree that the owners gave to us and a rose bush that we purchased in November that is still surviving outdoors and doing well. As you stand in the patio, you face two doors, one a glass sliding door and the other a white one. The glass sliding door leads to the landlord's workout room and our laundry room. The white door opens to a staircase, at the top of which is our studio. The staircase railing divides the apartment nicely into a living-room/kitchen area and a bedroom area. We have a walk-in clothes closet and a shelved closet for misc. items; there is a small bath and a kitchen with a large counter area and lots of cabinets. There is also a heater, but no air conditioning. The apartment seems to sit on the eaves of the garage, so there is a central seam to our ceiling, with a gentle slope to the kitchen, and a more drastic slope toward the main part of the room. Near the central seam we have a ceiling fan. The drastic slope is cut, on the right side of the apartment, to a window that looks out toward our landlords house and the street beyond. The sun comes in that window most of the day, so if you are a sun-lover (like me) you tend to perch yourself next to that window nearly all day. We have a small card table and three chairs next to the window. My orchid sits on the windowsill in the morning, and I light a tea-light in a lantern-like candle holder there at night.
So far, I am just chilling here, and hanging with my friends. I will let you know if anything exciting happens, and I will post photos of the place soon. I wouldn't want to take them now, since it is already dark here. So, instead, I will drink a cup of tea and watch some television :)
<3
C
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