One Year| Month Six: Top of the World

This weekend was pretty mellow. Tim and I took Timon, the wayward intern at TopSpin out for sushi on Friday night. Timon is still in college and yet is far smarter than Tim and I combined. He is a math major if that gives you any hint.

Then Saturday Tim headed out to see Dark Knight. I could tell from the previews it was going to creep me out. I will wait for it on DVD when I can pause it etc.

And Sunday we reserved to spend together. But today when it came we had no idea what we wanted to do. And Tim had the bright idea to head to Temescal Gateway Park up the street from us and do a little hiking. We had done this once before and liked it. There was an elusive waterfall trail that the prior time we had somehow missed.

Tim decided to test out his new GPS device for his camera. It allows feed information into each photo letting you know EXACTLY where in the world it was taken.

We were meandering up the trial and talked to a guy on the trail who said that getting to the top was ideal for photographs. As he said "A tripe Nikon" moment. We were already a little winded and doubted we would make it to the "top."

But as you can see from the picture we did. It was gorgeous. It was a bit hazy so we could not see all the way to downtown but being able to see the ocean and Century City all in one view was still amazing and well worth the hike up. Thankfully, what comes up must come down and going down a mountain is far easier than walking up.

Our muscles were a little jiggly afterward but I think we will be okay. We'll see how things are tomorrow morning. We would like to start hiking more. First, I need to get some better hiking shoes. I wore my chuck taylor converse. Not exactly serious hiking shoes, what with no cushioning or traction. I think a trip to REI is in my future.

Check out all of Tim's pictures from the hike here. Also check out the map of the pictures. It gives you a rough idea of our route.

One Year | Month Six: The Who

A few months ago Tim was passed some secret information about this concert that would involve Foo Fighters, Flaming Lips, Pearl Jam and The Who.

Well, it was exactly secret...and he wasn't so much "passed" the information as emailed about it through the Pearl Jam fan club. So he told me about the concert and asked if I would like to go? And as I like all four of the above mentioned bands I said sure. The best part is it wasn't someplace far away or difficult to access from our home near the ocean. It was the VH1 Rock Honors.

Saturday, July 12 came. In preparation for the event we visited the dentist in the morning because everyone knows The Who were big proponents of good dental hygiene back in the day. Okay, not really, it was just a fluke. But it didn't hurt, you never know who you might meet.

That night we rolled out to UCLA. Traffic to park was not bad at all. It turns out UCLA knows how to deal with big crowds of people.

We got to the Pauley Pavillion around 7p. An hour before the show was to start. It was a good thing because that was around the same time the other million people there to see the concert showed up. And all of us had to filter through four or five metal detectors. While we waited we did some people watching. There was every group represented in the crowd, young and old there to see The Who et al. There was also a WIDE range of dress. We saw women in practically ball gowns to men in cargo shorts and flip flops. It was crazy. Tim and I were in our usual casual attire of jeans and tee shirts. Keep it simple for a concert after all.

We bustled into our seats and were excited to find though we were high up from the floor we had an excellent view of the stage. I was thankful I finally broke down and got contacts so that I could see far. We sat back and waited for the show to start.

First, David Duchovny introduced the Foo Fighters. Not sure how he and The Who go together but whatever. Foo Fighters came out and were rocking from first note. They did Bargain and Young Man Blues.

A set up was rolled out including a pinball machine that clearly indicated some Tommy was going to be played was rolled out. As well as a large plastic bubble with a person in it. (But who was inside?!) Rainn Wilson took Elton John's part in introducing The Flaming Lips. The lead singer was in the giant plastic ball and used it to surf the crowd. It was very cool. The Flaming Lips did a Tommy Medley. I was a little disappointed that Eyesight to Blind was not part of it. But the theater dork in my was pleased with any part of Tommy being performed.

Then Incubus played. Neither Tim or I are Incubus fans and they didn't do a great job at their cover of The Who. They did "I can See for Miles" and "I can't explain." Both were okay but weren't as good as the prior to bands. Tim and I had a lengthy discussion after the concert of other bands that would have been a good replacement for Incubus.

Tenacious D did Squeeze Box which was perfect for them. And they did it well.

Then Pearl Jam was up. Pearl Jam covers tons of The Who songs in their own concerts so Tim and I had been speculating about which songs they would cover. The first was "Love Reign O'er Me" which was so powerful and I got teary. Then they did "The Real Me." Which was also great.

And then, last but not least, The Who. They did 9 songs so I can't comment on each one but those guys can still rock it! Due to high corporate aspect of the concert (being thrown by VH1) there was NO encore. So unlike most concerts where people come out at least once for one more song, the show seemed to be over very abruptly. It was good nonetheless.

And then Tim and I headed home, our ears still ringing a little but pleased to check another awesome band off our "To See Live" list.

If you feel left out that you didn't get to go to the concert you can catch it on VH1 this Thursday July 17, 2008 and probably many months to come.

One Year | Tuesday: 英語が解りますか?

Not much happening around our apartment lately -- Being pictured (in the upper left hand part of a brief article on Wired, Topspin coming out of stealth mode, an article (and cover) of Billboard Magazine -- very routine lately.

So we decided to keep the week low-key and tonight booked our travel to Japan. We will be staying in Shinjuku (a ward of Tokyo) and flying in on Singapore Airlines. At this point, we don't have much planned -- we may meet up with my friend Jack Suzuki who I used to work with at THQ before he moved to Japan; we're considering a trip to Kyoto while we're there, and checking out a shrine or more -- possibly the Meiji Shrine. Of course, there's all kinds of other stuff to check out... exploring Shinjuku, going to Akihabara, Tsukiji fish market for an omakase sushi meal, and so much more.

Though we're very excited, it also makes us a bit nervous: this isn't exactly a trip to, say, Seattle... and there's that whole language thing. But, we've got Pimsleur CDs and some books to get us up on the important things. You know, "My husband ate some bad tuna, I think he needs an ambulance." "Help, I cannot get my wife to quit playing pachinko." And, of course: 英語が解りますか. (Do you understand English?)

As the trip draws nearer, we'll certainly have more to say... but for now, just getting the tickets booked and airfare set, that's just another dull day here in the Palisades. Hopefully a week in Japan in October will be just a bit different.

One Year | Month Five: Topspin's 1st Birthday

I realize a lot of people aren't completely sure what Tim does for a living. This is evidenced in my mom's explanation of "he works with computers."

The last year and handful of months Tim has been working for a start up called Topspin. And even I can't always really explain what the company is but if you check the site, the CEO does an excellent job of explaining (which is likely why he is the CEO and not me.)

The culmination of the last year is that Topspin is featured on the cover of Billboard magazine (that is the CEO on the skateboard). And in honor of all these amazing accomplishments and reaching the one year mark, there was a party.

Last night, Tim and I dolled ourselves up and rolled out to Venice to Air Conditioned Lounge for the big night. When we arrived the bouncers outside informed us "there was a private event" to which we said "we know, we are here for it." Grudgingly, we were permitted enterance.

The inside was really cool with huge booths for sitting and cool bars. I got to meet the various Topspin team members who I had heard so much about. Meet one of the founders (and the creator of Pro Tools) Peter Gotcher and his wife.

It was nice to celebrate the accomplishments of the company as Tim has put so much time and effort, sweat and tears into the company. And I think this is only just the beginning.

The best part of the night for me, was each time I met one of Tim's co-workers, they would tell me how awesome Tim was and how he made their lives better and kept them sane. And all I could say is "he does that for me too." I am so proud and gratful I am his wife and get to be by his side for all these amazing milestones.

Happy Birthday, Topspin!

One Year | Month Four: Trip to Seattle

Tim and I left on Friday for a long weekend in Seattle.
The big question we got before our trip was “Why Seattle?”

Admittedly, Seattle is not a tropical vacation spot. Its pretty much known for being gray and rainy. But Tim and I wanted to go because I really liked the city and haven’t been there in over 8 years. And Tim had always been interested in visiting the city in light of its connections with music among other things.

And so in honor of our 29 birthdays which are both shortly coming up, we decided to take a vacation.

Friday we left on Virgin America. We stayed at the luxurious, W Hotel. Which was so much reasonable since Seattle is NOT tropical.

Friday

I dragged Tim over to Pike Place Market for lunch. After looking around about we ate at the Athenian Inn and then got coffee at the Original Starbucks. Probably much to Tim’s annoyance I decided to say “Oh look at Starbucks!” all weekend which exist every block in Seattle.

We went to Dinner at Purple and had awesome Tapas and drinks. It was soooo neat looking inside!

Saturday

After searching for some breakfast. We jumped on the monorail to Seattle Center. Where we took the amazing (and slightly scary) elevator up to the top of the Space Needle.

We then went to the Experience Music Project which was awesome! I learned how to play Louie! Louie! And we got to see Dave Grohl’s Drum Set.

After resting up at the hotel (as Angelenos we are not used to so much walking!) we headed to Pioneer Square. So many neat stores there.

We had yummy steak at a place called Union Square Grill where they willingly gave us the complete recipe for the BEST mashed potatoes Tim and I have ever had.

Sunday

We got up and were told about this place that had “all you can eat” waffles. With the turtle like speed meant that getting more than one waffle was a majority of the morning. We decided the place was more “all you care to eat.”

We walked around Pike Place Market and through an area called Belltown.

We finally experienced the Seattle rain which is more like someone rudely spitting on you.

We considered going to the Seattle Art Museum, but the cost was rather expensive, we browsed the museum store instead. Which is free.

Later when the weather improved, we walked along the water front enjoying how in Seattle, it stays light far later that in LA.

Today we headed back to LA. Luckily there were two seats in first class and Virgin’s upgrade is VERY affordable. And SO worth it. Reclining chairs and food that was some of the best of our whole weekend.

Now we are home, recharged and ready to head into a short work week.

One Year | Month Three: Birthday Season Begins

For some reason Tim and I have an unusually high concentration of friends with birthdays in the April to June months. Due to this, we tend to spend a good deal of these months out at dinners and other birthday related events.

To kick off the birthday season this year, we went out to dinner with our friends Steve and Sophia to a lovely tapas/wine bar called Tasca in honor of Steve's birthday.

Every dish we had was tasty. We ate everything from beef carpaccio to Moules frites. My personal favorite was the zucchini blossoms stuffed with crab. I was the designated driver and also was the only one who is not into wine. But everyone else enjoyed many allegedly good wines and ports with dessert.

We then rolled over to Urth for lattes (espresso for Tim and and I; chai for Steve and Sophia). We discussed pressing issues like why U2 and the Beastie Boys are overplayed and the contents of my purse.

The last stop of the evening was Steve and Sophia's apartment to view funny youtube videos.

We had to take our leave due to Tim's impending trip to San Fran. It is earlier than usual this week for a full company meeting to meet the new CEO.

Next weekend is another celebration because our friends Greg and Angela got married!

One Year | Month Two: Preparations for a BIG trip

Tim and I are planning a big trip. We have been thinking about this trip since before we got married actually.

It is a trip to Japan. Why Japan? Why not, Japan? Tim and I both think it seems interesting and culturally, it seems far more different from the U.S. than places in Europe. So we have been researching when the best time to go would be and what we should see.

Currently, we are shooting to go for a week in October 2008. And as summer approaches we are swinging into full planning mode.

Today however a very important step had to be taken care of...I had to apply for a new passport. I had one once upon a time, when I was an exchange student in France, when I was about 12. So obviously, my passport has expired. And also, I haven't a clue where it is now. So I had to say it was "lost." Which is pretty much the truth. I went to the Tarzana post office, as it was one of the few you could do passport stuff on a Saturday. And after some flubs (you cannot have an application in which you have scratched something out and put something else in apparently)I was done with the application and in the near future I should be getting my new passport.

Next step is to decide what week in October will be best for the trip, start looking for flights.

One Year| Month Two: A new couch

Though in the movies life in Los Angeles is constantly exciting, Tim and I do not live the movie star life (thank goodness). Our excitment this weekend...looking for a new couch.

As of late we have been looking at our well worn futon, which serves as our couch and thinking it was time for a change.

The futon mattress was part of the futon I bought after I had been in LA for six months. For those of you not keeping track, I have lived in LA almost 7 years. When I bought it the store told me it would last about a year with everyday use (it was the cheapest one they had). So I have gotten my money's worth on the mattress. The original frame, ceased to function about three years ago and we have since been limping along with a metal frame from IKEA which cost almost nothing...and it shows.

The metal frame has gotten bent due to poor engineering. And calling the mattress lumpy is probably being charitable. So now that Tim and I no longer live in a single room and have big kid jobs, it seemed like it might be time to buy an actual couch.

But we'd kind of been lazy about actually going to look at couches because, furniture shopping is not the most exciting and thrilling thing to do. And though nice furniture is great, spending your money on a couch...is so grown up.

Today, the weather was nice and Tim was in the mood for some good Middle Eastern food. So we headed to The Farmer's Market where we knew he could get a nice shawarma. It also happens to be in close proximity to a Crate & Barrel, so we decided to at least look at couches.

And we found a great one. The things we were looking for in a couch were:

1. Has style - check
2. Won't look dated in only a year - check
3. Comfortable for sitting - check
4. Seems like a good place to take a nap - check

So once all of those were checked off we walked around a bit and discussed and decided it was time to pull the trigger. Dan, our helpful C&B employee helped us and even aided us in picking out the color for the legs (we got to choose everything - special!)
He even told us that the name of the sofa, Rochelle was after New Rochelle where the Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore show took place because it is kind of retro like that.



We selected the color aubergine because it is both dark therefore being a little more forgiving in the stain department but also not a bland color like brown. We have a bad tendency to gravitate toward browns and tans because "oh hey, it will match anything." And we thought breaking out of that would be a good idea.

Since it is not one of the two stock colors (which were light blue and dark blue) it will be an impossibly long 9 to 11 weeks before our new couch arrives. But we have lived with the old futon for this long another few weeks won't kill us.

Now I need to start looking for some fun throw pillows....

The First Anniversary: Fun, Food, and More Fun (plus a heck of an airport experience)

As you probably know, today is the first anniversary of our wedding. It's hard to believe it's been a year already -- in some ways it seems like the wedding was yesterday; in other ways, it seems like it's been much longer.

This time last year, we were at Malibou Lake Mountain club with a lot of friends and family, enjoying the time and with Hawaii on the mind. Now, a year later, we're back in LA after taking a weekend trip to Las Vegas.

And what a trip it was.

Our flight was scheduled for 8:30 PM on Friday. We left Palisades at 5:30, thinking we'd have plenty of time. Traffic was heavy... really heavy... REALLY HEAVY. We nervously watched an hour go by... we were still five miles from the airport. After two hours, at 7:30, we were just getting into Lot C. We grabbed a bus and got into our terminal around 8PM and ran over to our check-in counter. The lady at the desks said that we'd missed our chance to get on the flight, but we must have had an extra-pathetic look of defeat, because she checked us in and let us check our bags.

Then we got in the security line. It was about ten after 8 at this point.

Security dragged and it took forever -- in perceived time. After about 15 minutes we got through security, but it was amateur hour and there seemed to be a lot of people who didn't understand the drill... ("Oh, you mean I have to check my shotgun and can't take my knives and bombs through the metal detector?")... painful.

I got through security first, and with no attempt at retaining any dignity (we were going to Vegas at all, it'd be out of place), sprinted full tilt through the terminal in my socks, clutching my shoes, phone, boarding pass and jacket. Our gate was of course at the other end of the terminal and it was past 8:25. Yelling "excuse me"'s and hearing the laughs of the amused travelers in LAX, I made a beeline for the gate. When I got there, it looked like the plane was gone. Then a guy ran from behind me towards the actual gate door itself and said, "MY WIFE IS COMING, LET US ON!!"

I then realized the plane hadn't pulled away. I ran over too, saying the same thing, and the guy at the gate said, "No one else can board". The sight of two guys screaming about their soon-to-be-arriving wives must have been too pathetic and he waved us in -- although I think the fact that we both pointed out our wives and my notable addition of, "You've got to let us on, we're trying to make this trip for our first anniversary!!", he finally caved.

"No assigned seats, take the first open seat you see" he said. You didn't need to ask twice.

We were off for Vegas. After an uneventful flight, we arrived, took a shuttle to the MGM Grand, and checked in. Then we got some dinner at the Studio Cafe (turkey sandwich for me, chicken strips for Cecilie) and hit the floor. We then made our way to New York New York, passed through, walked through Excalibur so Cecilie could see how bad it was (worse than I remembered), and took a train to Mandalay Bay. I quickly burned through my money and I don't think I won anything at any point Friday -- not even a 5 cent win on a $1 bet at slots. At this point it was getting late and our legs were sore, so we wandered back to the hotel.

The next morning, we went to the Venetian for breakfast, and stopped at a cafe where we got some great quiche. We explored the shops for a few minutes and also stopped at illy for an INCREDIBLE couple coffees. Seriously, these may have been laced with something. Cecilie was not feeling well and within seconds of the first sip was healed. I actually levitated off the floor and did not touch the ground for about three hours. It was ridiculous. Some of the best coffee I've ever had...

We went up the strip to the one casino I'd wanted to visit the most: The Wynn. It's incredible. It fits the mold of the floors I like (MGM, Venetian, Bellagio) -- darker, lower ceilings, relatively open floor layout with good visibility. I sat down to play some roulette and Cecilie joined me for a minute. She lost her money and wandered off to play slots. I stayed for at least an hour or more and walked away winning over a thousand dollars (holy cow!).

I was ready to get out so we walked to the Mirage, and within about ten seconds, walked out. We then walked to Caesar's and hit the forum shops. I got some chocolate from Vosges and got Cecilie a present out of my winnings. We strolled through the Forum and Caesar's (seeing Pete Rose again) and then took a cab back to the MGM. We were pretty tired and ready to relax.

Saturday night was the big dinner plan: Joël Robuchon, our second five-diamond restaurant. We got there early and hit the slots for a few minutes on the floor, where I got a surprise win. We then went in, but were told our table wouldn't be ready for 20 minutes, but were invited to sit in the lounge while we waited. We did, and got a couple drinks.

After a while the table was ready. We elected to do the 6-course tasting menu which was unbelievable. Each course had a predominant taste, each very distinct. We started with an amuse-bouche of an avocado puree with granny smith apples in it, some sort of tomato, and a whipped light cheese. The second course was eel and avocado wrapped in a truffle paper with a gelee on the side having some sort of celery preparation and truffles. Next up was a seared scallop with pasta. Then sea bass with leeks and asparagus; lamb shoulder, and a long string of desserts.

We left, completely stuffed to capacity. It was incredibly delicious, very different from anything I'd ever had, and fairly rich. We went back to the room and I crashed out, having had too much wine with dinner (a Barolo that was incredible).

We checked out in the morning and played a bit, but there wasn't much luck to be had. We made our way to McCarran airport where we played some more slots and waited for a plane delayed for hours due to SFO's ridiculous flow control that seems to be able to wreck the schedules of anything that gets within 2000 miles. We came home and are now unwinding after a tiring but fun Vegas getaway.

We can only hope the next year is as good as the first has been. It's been a great year with ups and downs but having each other has made it so much better.

PS: Don't take US Airways. Seriously, just don't. Avoid it at all costs.

Month Eleven: When It Rains, It Pours - Part III

At this rate, we're going to develop a water phobia.

No, our ceiling is still in place, and our apartment is completely dry. Fortunately, this time, the rain is outside. Unfortunately, this time, we had to spend a lot of time out in it.

January usually signals the end of fire season and the beginning of the rainy season. This is actually can be a big problem, because when all of that rain comes down in burn areas, there is a tendency for mudslides. Given that Malibu was the site of a couple fires this year, and the predictions have said this storm is bringing the heaviest rainfall in several years (when we saw water shooting up through the 110 freeway), there was some concern.

Not for us, though, we're from the Midwest where we can drive through snow blindfolded with no brakes, right? Not quite.

I got a call from Cecilie around 8:00 and she said she'd hit a rock in Malibu Canyon and her tire was flat. She wanted me to come and be with her because AAA was going to take a while to get there, and it was dark, windy and rainy. Having a vague idea of what it would be like, I left work and started driving. Before I reached our apartment, roughly a third of the way between my work and Malibu Canyon, I'd already passed two parts of PCH that were flooded. There was virtually no one out, which was good. It was also good that I've driven PCH between Sunset and the canyon a zillion times, because the road was not easy to see.

When I got into the canyon, my lights were good for maybe 20 feet and the fog was pretty dense. Cecilie warned me of the rocks and said snowplows were going through the canyon clearing rocks. I didn't see much on the way in but there wasn't much in the way of visibility to begin with. I finally made my way to Cecilie's car, pulled behind it, put my hazard lights on and waited for Cecilie to get in. She got in, told me we weren't expecting a tow for another hour, potentially, and so we prepared for a long wait.

At night the sense of space in the canyon drops considerably and you don't really have a feel for the area. Really, you could mistake it for a country road and wouldn't necessarily think there was a steep drop a few feet off the road. But tonight that closed-in feel was twice as bad, and it was like being in a very small room. With lights flashing in our faces. We waited, watched a movie (Hotel Chevalier on my phone), and then finally the truck came and loaded Cecilie's car.

We began the slow drive out of the canyon and almost immediately had to swerve to avoid rocks in the road -- rocks the size of a basketball on the small end of the scale. There were three or four major slides on the road, with progressively bigger rocks in the road as we moved down. As far as I could tell, all those slides happened in the thirty minutes or so that I'd been in the canyon waiting with Cecilie.

After the absolute most tense drive home I've ever had (sorry, Ragged Point; sorry, Christmas Eve 2002), we arrived at a gas station off of PCH and headed home. The tow truck driver told us that there was a larger slide that completely has blocked the tunnel midway through Malibu Canyon -- and he had several more cars to pull out.

So once again, we hope everyone in canyon country is safe (while wondering why you'd want to live there), especially the road crews and tow truck operators. We are back in the Palisades, warm and dry and just fine, but with another errand to run this weekend.

And to cap it all off, our power has just shut down for the second time; doubtless to go down more tonight. At least it's not a work day tomorrow.

Month Eleven of Marriage: New Year!

Happy New Year's!

It is a beautiful (though red flag)day!

To celebrate New Year's Eve, Tim and I cooked steak and spent the evening at home. Admittedly we didn't stay up very late (I fell asleep 15 minutes before midnight and woke up a little afterward to tell Tim, happy new year)

This morning we got up and went to Urth for some breakfast and are now relaxing at home and listening to the wind outside.

Peaceful and relaxed, the best way to start a new year. We hope yours was just as good.

Month Ten of Marriage: Christmas Vacation

Tim and I are relaxing in the comfort of his parents' house.
We are taking a much needed vacation and visiting for the Christmas holidays.

The flight out wasn't too awful, just the usual craziness of traveling at the holidays. But we made it safe and actually earlier than expected with all our luggage.

St Louis metro area is enjoying a warmer than usual winter so we are only dealing with rain instead of snow.

We are spending time visiting, eating chex mix and Christmas cookies and watching movies. Its a hard life but someone has to do it.

We hope everyone has a lovely holiday and it is as relaxing as ours is.

And just an update. Our ceiling in our apartment is back up and better than before. We are still waiting for a portion of our floors to be replaced but we are pleased with how quickly everything was fixed and back to normal.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Month Ten of Marriage: When It Rains It Pours - Part II

Due to recent events Tim and I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Santa Monica all weekend. We decided to come home finally because we miss being at home despite that home is must mustier then it once was and we have a new large noisy roommate called a dehumidifier.

Currently we are still in limbo with a lot of things like when our ceiling will be replaced etc. But at least we are living out limbo on our own terms. Hotels are fun for vacation but not as fun in times of crisis when all you want is your own stuff.

Thanks for every one's sympathy regarding the situation.

Month Ten of Marriage: When It Rains It Pours

This week has been a trying week for both Tim and I. We have both been going full tilt, working late every night.

So last night we went to bed exhausted and glad that there were only two days left of the work week. Little did we know...

Around 2am Tim woke me up to say he heard noises coming from our main room. I went out into the main room to discover water pouring out of our over head light fixture.

Long story short, someone on the 3rd floor had a dish washer melt down and the water leaked all the way down to us (on the first floor).

Water stopped but not before water damage to our ceiling occurred. The initial solution by management is to remove our ceiling to allow things to dry out.

See our ceiling on our floor in a pile.





go to Tim's flickr to see more images of the damage

Not to fret though Tim and I are doing fine now. We have called our renter's insurance and are staying at the fine Santa Monica Holiday Inn to escape the musty smell currently residing in our apartment.

In good news, Tim has had one of his photographs from our honeymoon selected to be in an online guide about Hawaii. And I had did my first mediation and did well.

Life has its ups and downs, we continue moving forward.

Month Nine of Marriage: Thanksgiving

Thursday Tim and I drove to LAX and took the short flight up to SFO (San Fran airport for those not in the know). Then we took the quick BART ride to my sister's place in Pleasanton.

It was a great time. We gorged on Thanksgiving eats (my sister is a great cook!),lodged about like sloths, played games and played with our nephew. Then on Saturday before dawn (literally) we boarded the BART back to SFO to return to LA. It was a brief but lovely visit.

We were greeted with another wild fire in Malibu, this time further North though it was still smokey here in the Palisades.

Over all it has been a good Thanksgiving weekend. And for that I am thankful.

Today Tim and I are relaxing on the final day of our long weekend.
I have been looking for Christmas gifts on amazon.com which has this nifty gift organizer. The only perplexing thing is some of the categories.



I am not really sure how "Dude" describes a person's personality. Are there any "Dudes" on your Christmas shopping list? If so go to amazon, they have some suggestions.

Month Nine of Marriage: Derby and Turkey

This weekend has been rather busy.

First, I spent all of Saturday making a 17 pound turkey for Sunday's 3rd Annual Friend's Thanksgiving as the deep fryer usually used is busted. It was not so bad though. More time consuming than difficult but we did get to use several things we recieved as wedding gifts including a lovely All-Clad Roaster.

Then in the evening, Tim and I headed to the new home of the Derby Dolls for a bout between the Tough Cookies and The Sirens (The sirens killed! It wasn't even close).

Then today we headed down to OC for the 3rd Annual Friend's Thanksgiving. Which is much like regular Thanksgiving except instead of watching your family over eat and talk about silly memories of when you were younger, we watch our friends over eat and talk about silly memories from last year. It was fun and filling time per usual. Everyone seems to like the turkey though like real Thanksgiving we have leftovers (turkey sandwiches!). It was good to see a lot of people we hadn't seen in a few months since the last big gathering.

Now we head into a short work week. Then on Thursday, Tim and I are flying up to the Bay Area to spend Thanksgiving with my sister, Jade, and the adorable Brendan. This is our first experiment in flying up to the Bay Area. Here is to hoping it is less hassle then we think it will be!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We have a lot to be thankful for this year. :)

Month Eight of Marriage: Wild Fires

Thank you to everyone who has called or contacted us to check on how we are doing.
We are fine and never in any real danger from the fire in Malibu.

If you look at this map you can see where the fire was. And our apartment South of Topanga Canyon about a mile.

My usual commute has been effected since I usually take Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu Canyon and both were closed on Monday and Tuesday. This morning PCH was open but Malibu Canyon was not so I had to take another route. I did see some of the burn areas in Malibu on my way to work this morning.

Tim and I are also both suffering from sinus problems due to the smoke and other junk in the air due to the many fires.

Everyone we know in LA is also fine and no worse for the wear aside from similar sinus and other respiratory issues.

The city of Malibu states that the fire is in 75% contained which is really good and likely it is higher at this point.

Thank you to everyone for your love and concern about Tim and I.

Month Eight of Marriage: The very unpumpkin Pumpkin Festival and uWink

Tim and I both love pumpkin flavored items. Two weeks ago I even made pumpkin bread (It was good!)

So each day on my drive to work the past few weeks I have seen a banner for The Calabasas Pumpkin Festival. And I thought, "I like pumpkins." So Tim and I decided to go after I did some work in the morning at my office.

Tim and I invited along our friends Sophia and Steve to check it out with us today. The first minor problem for Tim and I was it was not exactly pumpkin weather to us former mid-westerns



And there was a definite LACK of pumpkin items. It was more just a plan old festival. We did have fun seeing Sophia and Steve. And I did get pumpkin poppers which were basically deep fried pumpkin doughnuts. Still tasty.

Last weekend we went to uWink uWink with some friends which is the modern version of an automat. It was fun if not a little expensive. It was fun to attempt at win lose or draw but my drawing skills were not quite up to par. It was amusing though.

Month Seven of Marriage: Festivals

So this weekend is apparently the Festival Weekend here in LA.

T and I got invited to an Oktoberfest in Orange County too but it was Friday night and we were feeling rather sluggish after work.

T and I got up this morning and didn't have much going on so I suggested we go check out Abbot Kinney which is this area in Venice with cute little shops and eateries, which T had never been to before.

When we got there we realized we had stumbled onto another festival. Which was okay with us.

We wondered around looking at the vendors and the shops. We really liked a lot of the furniture places and are thinking that Abbot Kinney may be the perfect place to finish off our apartment decorating.

We finished our jaunt at Jin Patisserie with some high tea. Which was the perfect amount of food and took us back to the high tea service at the hotel we stayed at for our honeymoon.

Life seems to be mellowing out a bit as we head into the Fall months.
Which is how we like it.

Also tomorrow marks the one year mark in our apartment in Pacific Palisades. It has been a good year but I still think of our place as "the new place." I guess at the year mark, it stops being "new."

September Already?

Well, August wooshed by us.

We haven't been up to much besides work unfortunetely .

Last weekend we traveled out to the City of Industry to watch Derby Dolls Roller Derby.

Our friend Trish aka Sniperella made it into the big league team the Sirens. And they kicked butt last weekend. :) We convinced some of our other friends to come as well. And hooked others on the roller derby.

Tim put up pictures from our honeymoon in Hawaii up online. Check them out!

As for Labor Day weekend. We have be playing it low key.
The rest of the weekend will likely be more of the save.