Memorial Day Camping!

No cellphone signals, no Internet, no television... no electricity, no showers, no flush toilets... no walls or ceilings, no smog, no agenda!

Jon and I had an exciting-yet-relaxing time in the woods for Memorial Day weekend. Scrambling to get a campsite reservation two weeks proved to be worth the money!

We left as soon as I got home from work on Friday evening and drove 3 1/2 hours north of L.A. into the Giant Sequoia National Monument. (We didn't know how high and winding the roads are to get there, but I guess our first clue should've been that we were camping 4500 feet higher than the Pasadena elevation.) When we arrived around 9:30pm, there was another group already in our campsite! Our reservations were clearly posted, however, so we had to break the news to them and wait for them to move elsewhere. (We felt bad because they already had set up a tent and started a fire, and yet, they were apparently there without paying, so we weren't very apologetic.) We had been forewarned about bears in the area, so we took every precaution - no scents in our tent, our cooler hidden in our trunk, our dry foods sealed in odor-proof bags... The biggest mammal we saw the whole weekend, though, was a golden retriever.

On Saturday, Jon and I explored the surrounding camp areas (Camp Nelson, Belknap, etc.) and cabins. It's crazy that people would pay half a million dollars to live in a tiny cabin with no grocery store within an 1 1/2-hour drive! I like the view, but I also like convenience, I suppose. :) We also noticed a small chapel in the Camp Nelson area that held its services at 11am on Sunday morning, so we decided to check it out the next day. In the afternoon we hiked to the Stagg Tree (the 6th most "voluminous" tree in the world), played several card games**, picnicked in a grassy vista along the mountain road, built a fire to cook our soup and s'mores, and went to bed early. It was lovely. :)

Sunday began with some commentary on how gross we were beginning to smell...

We went to the fireman's pancake breakfast near the chapel. While I thought it was free, Jon had guessed correctly... when the fireman greeted us with the cost, we wheeled back around to our car.

The chapel service was very small and very patriotic. We sang every song in the hymnal that mentions America, and listened to Pastor Freda talk about heroes and sacrifice. Throughout the short service, she repeatedly mentioned the "free refreshments" following, so of course we took her up on it. As we ate, we chatted with an older couple who live in a cabin there during the summers. The food was quite a spread - it saved us from eating our own sandwich ingredients that day.

When we got back to our campsite, Jonathan and Kierstin Schupack (some Fuller friends) had arrived! We all set up their new tent and went off to hike a 6 mile trail (with a 1600-foot elevation gain) through groves of Giant Sequoias. It was such a pretty hike - complete with crossing a river on a log and snapping pictures under several large tree trunks. We returned to the camp sore-legged and hungry. We had hot dogs and some more s'mores (get it?) that evening, though the fire didn't really catch hold on the large logs until we were ready to go to bed, so we huddled around until the glowing embers subsided.

On Monday we "struck camp" and then explored a nearby tract of land for sale. Anyone want to buy two plots with a cascading stream and high overlook? We thought it was beautiful!

On the way home, we stopped in Springville (population 1109 - yes they're that precise!) after passing through Pierpoint Springs (population 50), to explore a little and grab some lunch. Since it was Memorial Day, most of the shops were closed, but we were able to peer into the window of a wellness gallery where the proprietor sells Thomas Kinkade paintings and performs hypnotherapy. We then grabbed lunch with the Schupacks at the town's hoppin' burger joint and headed back to Pasadena!

The weather was perfect for the whole weekend - warm during the days and chilly when the sun set - and it was so refreshing to feel like we could breathe without inhaling car exhaust and smoggy dust in the air.

I didn't realize how much I value not being stinky, but after going three days without showering, the running water in our apartment's pink (i.e. retro/really old) tub was heaven!

**Anyone know of any 2-player card games besides Casino, Speed, Go Fish, and Egyptian Rat "Dance"? I need some more options, so Jon doesn't win as frequently. :)

Lazy Saturday

What beautiful weather California boasts! Yesterday Jon and I joined some Fuller friends on a trip to a beach in Malibu. The wind was quite nippy, which was unfortunately deceiving for my sunblock application - I got REALLY burnt on my face and the backs of my lower legs. (You'd think I'd learn...) We spent hours lounging in the sand, snacking, playing games, and chatting with the Aussie lifeguard who kept stolling by. He showed us how to identify rips from the shore, and told us all about the selective L.A. County lifeguard application process. (They get paid very well here, but I could easily see why after barely dipping my toes into the extremely frigid ocean.) We also saw a seal, several passing dolphins, and hundreds (literally!) of seagulls and pelicans.

After cleaning up at home (and assessing my sunburn damage), Krissy and Dave invited us along to a poker party. Though initially convinced he wasn't great at the game, Jon ended up as the night's big winner! (I keep hinting that we should take our skills to Vegas... it's only a 4 1/2-hour drive away!)

Gilmore Girls Gone?! :(

The CW announced today that Gilmore Girls will air its final episode on May 15th.

Here is the first-reaction rant I left in the comments section of the show's message board:

NOOO! I'm so so so sad... I've been following this show since it began, and I always thought there would be more twists with Rory's dating life beyond where she is now... That Logan wouldn't ultimately be the one she was supposed to be with because he can't deep-down rid himself of the jerkiness in his genetics. But now they're going to obviously make them end up together because there's no time to do otherwise (and end it happy). Also, what will become of Luke and Lorelai? How can they "resolve" and "right" their relationship back to where it's supposed to be (MARRIED) in so few episodes? And when is Suki going to have her baby? And how will we get to see Lane's kiddos grow older? And what journalism job will Rory end up doing??? There's too much!! Too much to resolve in so short of a time! I'm so sad...

Lunch Hour

I love it when my husband meets me for lunch on a work day.

Today, after meeting me at my office, Jon and I fueled up the car and drove over to the mall. Why? Because my favorite savings site, wantnot.net, informed me to find the nearest Ben & Jerry's today! Our free ice cream** was delicious (and calorie-free in my mind, since we didn't pay for it).

Our next stop was the large Arcadia County Park down the street from my office. I actually saw a child there for the first time today... Usually the park hosts an assortment of wanderers, cell phone talkers, homeless gatherings, nap-takers, and the occasional lunch couples (i.e. Jon and me). While the child held no interest for us other than the note of his presence, a new duo made an appearance. A woman stood alone by one of the cement picnic tables bellowing bursts of staccato notes. A long distance away from her, we passed a man staring at the street while holding his ear.
"Oh, we've got some odd ones today," I noted.
The woman proceeded to sing more fully (apparently having finished her "warm up") in loud operatic noises. The man continued to stare at the street.

Jon and I continued with our lunch hour, eating and then playing a few rounds of the card game Speed (I won - times three!). As we rose to leave, we noticed the man walking towards the woman and making silent head nods and gestures. He was a vocal coach!

Ah, the park made a little more "sense" again...


**(For those of you who missed the free cone day at Ben & Jerry's, I apologize for not letting you know sooner! I informed my co-workers, though, so it's not like I was totally selfish with my ice cream knowledge...)

Street Music

Jon sent me this article about an extraordinary “street performer” recently playing for rush hour foot traffic in Washington, D.C. To the misfortune of those who failed to pause and recognize his brilliant playing, they will now only get to see him back in the concert halls for a $100 ticket (at least). They walked right by Joshua Bell**.


Here is an excerpt from the article that particularly moved me:

There was no ethnic or demographic pattern to distinguish the people who stayed to watch Bell, or the ones who gave money, from that vast majority who hurried on past, unheeding. Whites, blacks and Asians, young and old, men and women, were represented in all three groups. But the behavior of one demographic remained absolutely consistent. Every single time a child walked past, he or she tried to stop and watch. And every single time, a parent scooted the kid away.

You should definitely check out the videos within the article as well!

**In the mid-nineties, when my cousin Sarah and I were pre-teens, we had a crush on Joshua Bell after seeing his picture in the program for OK Mozart. I remember being irritated that my parents actually saw him perform that year in Bartlesville, but didn’t take me!

Dress Code

So, at my workplace the Administrative Team has this dress code: “Business casual” throughout the week, then “casual” on Fridays. Well, in the Arcadia office, I’m the only admin. person here to display this… So I look decent everyday, then on Friday I wear jeans – but I’m the only one who does. It ends up looking like I just dress frumpier on Fridays! Hence, I told my husband that I am dubbing them “Frumpy Fridays.” :)

(Jon then ever-so-sarcastically told me that he’ll now comment on my outfits “oh… that one really belongs on Frumpy Friday”. Isn’t he sweet? Ha ha)

Chocolate and Gambling

Last night I attended a work event in Long Beach - dinner and casino night. Not only did they have a chocolate fountain (which, anyone who attended our wedding knows I love), but I also won $80 cash for having the second highest number of poker chips at the end of the night!

I got all of them playing Texas Hold'em. I was tempted at one point to go to the Craps table, since people kept cheering there, but that was right before I won a huge pot! (And I don't know how to play Craps anyway - ha.)

'Yay' for work parties! :)

Hikin' with my Hubby

Jon and I recently had a beautiful California weekend when we could get a bit of fresh air. So we hiked to Switzer Falls! Here are some pics we took along the way...

Spring Break Visitors

I miss having school vacation times.

Two weeks ago, Jon had no classes because it was his Spring Break. Fortunately, his mom and brother came to entertain him while I continued working… I was able to take off on Friday, though, so we all had plenty of time to hang out!

We ate very heartily while they were here, but we burned it off on our long hiking at Griffith Park and romping around the seaside and art galleries in Laguna Beach. (See all those pictures here.) We also spent time in Old Town Pasadena, at our apartment playing Outburst and with the PhotoBooth program (see those goofy pics here), and even ended up perusing Trader Joe’s and Ikea twice in a few days!

As we started back in our “normal” routine this last Monday, Jon – though back in classes – felt bored without planned outings, meals, and company. Perhaps he should be pursuing a career in the cruise industry instead...? :)

March Update

Well, I admit my blogging is rather inconsistent. However, there are a few notable activities (with pictures) I can share…

A few weeks ago, Jon and I went to our first bonfire on a beach! It was chilly (and the sand was especially cold), but the fire and company diverted our attentions and kept us warm. We went to celebrate Elizabeth’s (our next door neighbor) birthday, so we had s’mores AND cake – mmm…

That same weekend, I went hiking with my yoga buddy/neighbor Allegra. Alright, so we didn’t do as much hiking as taking pretty pictures and playing with snow, but we walked around anyway… It’s hard to believe those views and SNOW are only a short drive north of L.A.! It was such a refreshing morning, and despite the elevation differences, I felt like I could breathe much more clearly in the mountains than back in the city.
On the winding drive back down, one of the many fallen rocks in the road flattened one of Allegra’s car tires, so we pulled over and hopped out to start changing it to her spare. In a funny twist, we blew out right in front of the search-and-rescue patrol. After joking that they’d never seen two young women spring into tire-changing action that quickly before, they then came over to “help.” (This of course meant they changed the tire themselves, which we were perfectly happy to relinquish to them.).

Two weekends ago, we purchased something that we’ve been discussing since last fall… a MacBook for me! We had remaining savings after filing our taxes (we’d saved a large percentage of Jon’s income last year, since he was working for a non-profit and not having taxes taken out), so after some research and discussion, we went to the mall and bought one! It has made things fun for me and easier for Jon – I’m entertained by my new programs**, and Jon has the desk space to himself again for studying (since I can move out of the way with my computer).

**My favorite new programs are the PhotoBooth (you can view our goofy pics here) and one I downloaded called Delicious Library (which allows you to create a virtual library of every book and movie you own by “scanning” their barcodes into the program with the MacBook’s iSight video camera – check it out here).

A tad dull, perhaps?

I was reading an online article about Tony Blair addressing Parliament in regards to large British troop withdrawals from Iraq. Then I noticed the guy behind Blair... so I circled him for your viewing amusement. :)

And, judging from this picture, the "in" tie color for older men seems to be shades of pink.

Bioterrorism Safety Signs

Right when Jon was trying to read for class, I found this website and couldn't help but laugh out loud...

If door is closed, karate chop it open.

Alone...

Here's why it's so important to know your neighbors and keep in regular contact with family and friends: Mummy

Ew! Look at how long he'd been that way...

Parental Visit!

A little more than one week ago, my parents came to visit us! We had a great time at a taping of "Til Death" on Thursday evening (Brad Garrett is 6'8" - I asked him), and we then walked a LOT on Friday and Saturday: around Huntington Gardens (so beautiful!), through Fuller's campus and down to Old Town Pasadena, all over the L.A. Zoo, around Ikea, at the petstore (see our new fish here [coming soon]!)... You can relive their visit here. :) We finished Saturday with some heated games of Cranium and cards. (My dad was untouchable in our last card game - we were all SO far below him in points.)









On Sunday after church (and a quick Souplantation lunch), we dropped them back off at LAX. I was doing fine until my mom was like, "Well, I guess we won't see you again until August..." I wish California living was cheaper - I want all our family nearby in this exciting place with amazing weather!

Our SAG Experience!

Jon and I rushed home after church, quickly changed our clothes into "SAG worthy" attire, shoved in a sandwich, and drove over to the Shrine Auditorium for the Screen Actors' Guild Awards. We arrived at the USC parking garage at 1:45pm, checked in, then waited with the gathering seatfiller crowd. They herded us onto shuttles after a 45-minute wait, then had us stand in a line outside the Auditorium for 30 more minutes. Then, slowly, we proceeded through the metal detectors and up a back staircase to a seat-less holding area above the main auditorium. We could peer through the curtains to look down at the fancy tables and lights being set up for the high profile guests. We waited (standing) for almost an hour and a half longer.

At 4:30, we were again queued up and led down to the main floor, where we lined the walls on the two sides of the auditorium. On our way, we passed Jenna Fischer, Marg Helgenberger, Sandra Oh, and Vanessa Williams. (So exciting!)
From our walls, we could see everything: The television and movie actors bustling in and out of their tables, greeting each other, walking by us to go to the bar, and the video crew making finishing setups on stage.

Jon and I whispered back and forth: "There's Steve Carell! There's Kevin Dillon. There's Joshua Jackson. There's Heather Graham. There's Leonardo Dicaprio!" It was crazy to be there, attending the show (from the sides) with the actors and actresses who paid $1000 per ticket to be there.

Slowly, our fellow seatfillers began to filter in and out of the seats on the main floor. When someone with a headset directed you to a table, you booked it over there, plopped into a seat, mentally noted who you were sitting at a table with, then hopped out as soon as the seat owner tapped you on the shoulder (or looked confused). The process then began again from the sides(unless a nearby seat was also empty, which you could then rush over to).

It was so exciting! You won't believe everyone we saw and sat with there: See my SAG Spottings.

We love L.A.!!!

Happy Anniversary to us!

To celebrate two years of marriage, Jon and I spent 24 hours in Long Beach. We used credit card rewards points to stay in a cushy hotel, The Westin. On Friday night, we took the free downtown metro over to the P.F. Changs, where we used our gift card (thanks, Ethan!) for a three-course dinner. (Note the cake picture…) On Saturday morning, we used the Westin exercise room and heated pool to get energized for our day. Then we grabbed some apples from the bowls in the hallways for our breakfast (who needs to pay $20/person for continental Westin food?).

It was great weather for walking down to the pier area, where we saw Gordon Ramsey and crew setting up for a “Hell’s Kitchen” segment. (Jon was quick to spot him – isn’t L.A. great?)

We then went to the Long Beach Aquarium, which was nice, if a little crowded. It was the most random schedule of events there that day: Jesse Billauer giving a lecture (he was a great surfer, then had a spinal injury that put him in a wheelchair, and he’s now an activist for the disabled), a VERY loud live band playing in the middle of the building, and two girls performing a dance in wheelchairs to “Holla Back Girl”…

Jon also took some great sealife pictures you can view here.

To end our (too) quick trip, we savored some Cold Stone Creamery treats, again using a gift card (thanks Aunt Leslie!).



Our weekend didn't end there, however... (see next post)

SAG Awards

Everyone should tune in to the Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) Awards Show this upcoming Sunday evening (January 28, 2007). You might just catch a glimpse of Jon or Grete in the audience with the actors!

No, we’re not nominated for anything. We’re seatfillers! So you may see us scurrying from empty seat to empty seat around the tables… Should be exciting!

Scooby-Doo

In honor of the passing of Iwao Takamoto, the animator who created memorable characters like Scooby-Doo and The Jetsons' Astro, Jon and I made Scooby-Doo macaroni and cheese for dinner.

(Well, we also didn't want to put forth much more effort for dinner than that mixed with tuna, but I wanted to make the situation more noble than unhealthy.)

Welcome back to L.A.

...After our 4 hours of sleep, we went with the Eloes to the airport for our 7:30am flights. We said goodbye to our burnt orange SUV rental (and our good friends, of course), and boarded the flight back to L.A.
I don't remember any of it because I immediately passed out in my seat.


While waiting for our luggage at the other end in LAX, we were reminded of the entertainment-centered city in which we reside: Snoop Dogg and his entourage were also exiting from their Chicago flight. I don't have a picture of Snoop Dogg encircled by his 7-10 member entourage, but here is my phone pic of the backs of two bodyguards waiting for his luggage. (Snoop was waiting outside in one of many black Escalades.)

Happy New Year!

In an unexpected twist to our New Year's Eve festivities, our friends Ryan and Kim had a cancelled flight, so they joined us all (Anthony, Allison, Jon and me) that evening. We rang in the New Year at midnight, then promptly went to bed for 4 hours...

Ryan looks a little pensive...

*Clink*

Our host and hostess

Wedding Bells

They rang at 7:00pm to announce the beginning of Billy and Regan's wedding on Saturday evening. Can you tell that our friends like to dance? *See more pics here*

(No official "TCU" picture was taken, so Jon and I decided to do it ourselves...)

*Thanks MJ and Allison for letting me borrow some pictures you took!*

Christmas Vacation

Here are some pictures of our Christmas:

Jon was excited to receive handsoap!

I learned how to knit from my mom.

The Brown/Erickson clan

To view more pictures, go here.

L.A. Traffic

I've never been so blasé about being in traffic before we moved to this area. Because I anticipate a travel time of at least an hour to go anywhere during a weekday, I know that I have allowed plenty of time to be in stop-and-go traffic without the fear tardiness.

I've gotten very familiar with the morning radio talk shows (sadly, none compares to Kidd Kraddick back in DFW), and I know all of the top 40 songs (because they get played relentlessly on several stations).

I've gotten great at cutting across four lanes of traffic to get to my exit without raising a barrage of honking and hand gestures. (I told Jon that whenever we drive elsewhere, I'm probably going to be one of those "crazy, aggressive" drivers, since you have to possess a degree of those qualities to drive in L.A.)

And, now that I have a new handsfree earbud for my cell phone, I enjoy the time to "catch up" on my calls (or touch base with Jon, since we seem to have totally differing schedules recently). One of Jon's favorite games when he knows I have the earbud attached to my lobe (and consequently can't pull the receiver away) is to make loud "beep"-ing noises. Ah, married life. :)

Rain!

Jon and I were wrapping up our cookie making tonight, when I heard a familiar, if long ago heard, noise. I threw open our door, ran to the edge of the balcony, and thrust my arm out to expose it to the falling water. Rain! We haven't seen real rain since we moved to California in July. Granted, there is no associated thunder and lightening like I love, but it was refreshing nonetheless.
I ran back in and decided to document this event on the blog... :)

Free Hugs

Cards

As an ammendment to my previous post about winning in cards, I do have to admit that when Jon met me for lunch recently, he won every single hand of Speed that we played. But I'm just a sore loser and didn't want to mention that earlier. :)

Sing it, Jamie!

While watching the American Music Awards recently, there were two parts that really struck me. The first is what Kirk Franklin said during his acceptance speech (my husband mentions it here), and the second is Jamie Foxx’s performance of his song “Wish U Were Here”.

Perhaps it was because I had no expectations for Jamie Foxx’s music (since he’s primarily known as an actor)… But when he started singing, I realized the song was specifically about his deceased grandmother. I remembered hearing about how she raised him and made him learn how to play the piano. I could really see the emotion behind his lyrics. When he took off his sunglasses near the end of the song and faced the audience, I got a little choked up…

Crazy, huh? It was just a really well done performance by Jamie Foxx – he deserved his win of Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist.


For a little more about his relationship with his grandmother, here is an excerpt from his 2005 Academy Awards acceptance speech for Best Actor in a Leading Role (for his performance in the movie Ray):

… This is probably going to be the toughest part of this speech. My daughter shares my grandmother's name, "Marie." My grandmother's name is Estelle Marie Talley. She's not here tonight. And this is going to be the toughest part. But she was my first acting teacher. She told me to stand up straight. Put your shoulders back. Act like you got some sense. We would go places. And I would wild out. And she would say, "Act like you've been somewhere." And then when I would act the fool, she would beat me. She would whup me. And she could get an Oscar for the way she whupped me because she was great at it. And after she whupped me, she would talk to me and tell me why she whupped me. She said I want you to be a southern gentleman. She still talks to me now. Only now, she talks to me, in my dreams. And I can't wait to go to sleep tonight because we got a lot to talk about. I love you."

Cards and Cocoa

Jonathan had the great idea for us to walk to Starbucks tonight (thank you gift card givers!) to get some fresh air. [Let me just say that it's nice to finally feel a new "season" in California. It's been chillier here lately!]

I highly recommend the Starbucks' Peppermint Hot Chocolate and, while sipping it there, a game of Casino or Speed. I enjoyed them all - especially WINNING! :)

Ring, Ring... Hello?

"We are not contributing to the mass materialism day otherwise known as 'Black Friday'," my husband said on Tuesday of Thanksgiving weekend [though he might have worded it differently].

When Friday arrived, we had plans to avoid the stores. I volunteered from 8-5 with the L.A. Zoo orangutans while Jon did homework. That evening, however, I reread an earlier email from Verizon Wireless for "2 free RAZRs" with a 2-year renewal... Additionally, if you renewed no later than that Friday evening, you could receive free bluetooth headsets with both cell phones. Hmm... Jon's phone broke in half back in June, and mine had been chugging along for almost 2 1/2 years...

We gave in to the Black Friday deal, and we're now proud owners of brand new Motorola RAZR cell phones. They've been a source of entertainment for the past 24 hours, as we play ringtones and take pictures and videos of each other and Earl. Merry *Early* Christmas to us!

Ummm...