INTO THE WILD

Just finished the movie, Into the Wild.  I like movies that leave you thinking afterwards.  This was not a happy ending movie, yet I felt a life changing molecule struck a chord from before I watched. I am not going to pick up my life and go off to Alaska, but it has provoked my thought process.  I am happy living a simplish life with my blythe, gnomes, itunes, art supplies, macbook, dvd collection, french study books, and my little house in San Diego. I don't need any Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel or any of the thousand dollar name brands to give me happiness.  I can jet off to France at a moments notice if I really wanted to, I just feel responsibility to keep myself grounded in the moment of life. Life of being happy with my family, friends and my dog Stewie.  I love those thought provoking movies.

Le Weekend Prochain

Nothing going on, just chillin out at home.  Maybe get my office in order.  Thinking about redoing it to more of a den style.  Maybe read some, go to the park, watch a movie or two.  Went shopping at Ross last nt.  purchases for me.  I bought a cute sleep set, a journal/notebook, and an Andy Warhol totebag, A happy bug day.  Good for toting my books and things, not that I have a gazillion totebags already.  Purchases for R- a whole new wardrobe for his trip about $125 worth.  Summer is so random this yr., it is going by so fast.  Next week is my eighth wedding anniversary and the 4th of July.  Hmmm.. still no plans.  I am just staying home and chillin out.  I do want to get to Catalina Island sometime..I am thinking maybe nearer to my birthday or just a lovely offseason day, when the rooms are less expensive. Ryan is off to Portland and Seattle with grandma this week, he will return on July 5.  This is pretty much his first adventure /vacation alone without us.  Still taking my hour of french a week.  It is coming along.  I am discovering more and more online resources and just really need to just sit down and do them exercises. I am just so scattered lately. I do one thing for a few min. and then it is off to the next.  Still waiting on the pool stuff to come in.  It seems to be sitting on the back burner.  Hopefully, by the end of July, we can make a actual decision.  

Went to dinner.....

Last nt. we went to Flemings Steakhouse and I ate way too much.... I had the caesar salad, prime rib, Fleming potatoes and chocolate lava cake.  I brought my own bottle of bubbly for the table. We just had to pay the corkage fee.  Sadly, I didn't bring my camera.  My guests for the night, my lovely husband Ed who never leaves the house (but this once a yr.), Suzanne and Mike (her flame and PDA buddy) and my other friend Vanessa.  Usually, when I have bubbly, I wake up at an odd hr. today it is 430 am.  I do plan to get a few more zzzs.  Then wake up for the day.  Anyways, we played tourists, because Flemings is located in the Gaslamp in SD, where all the tourists reside and dine. Overall, it was fun I just love going out for fancy dinners.

my wonderful package

I got a cool package in the mail from my friend Gigi. We met through the swap-bot site.  I think that this is the best swap package I got so far.  I will go back and post a pic, but since it is so late, I am too tired to get out the camera. Anyways, it was a spatula set, a cool spa stamp, a cool cherry makeup case, a very chic journal book, a tin of japanese gum and little suckers, bath gel (appletini), and last but not least the coolest pic cushion set ever.  Pic from her etsy store..... you can order these goodies and more.  I wanna collect them all!   

Sunday, I went to dinner at Laurel, this is a fabulous restaurant in the Banker's Hill Area of San Diego- Since it is restaurant week we can eat a 3 course meal for $40.  This doesn't include tax, tip or any other drinks so by the time I got out of there it was more like $70.  But these bi-annual dinners are always fun.  Went with friends Suzanne and her B-F Mike, friend Vanessa, friend Regan, my cousin Heather also joined and Suzanne's protege Whitney and her cousin also joined in on the fun.  Of course I will post pics later as I slowly get them.  :)

3:30 blog

It is Friday, another week has gone by. My kids have survived another yr. at school. 1st and 5th Graders now. This really ages me now. Today will be another day at work and then afterwork, will probably relax at home. We have the movie National Treasure 2, so I will most likely watch this tonight with the family. Sat. I will probably clean around the house and try to get rid of things. Still need to print out my Europe pictures and scrapbook all the things I collected. May also hit the beach on Sat. or Sun. depending on my mood. I think all these simple pleasures are good for me right now. There is too much going on in the world to focus on other stuff. It really saddens me that all these natural disasters are happening all over and the American economy has gone to crap. To fill up my car has doubled in one yr., I notice food costs going up and since I am in the recruitment ad business I see the need to recruit jobs going down. I am always hopeful, but as the wrong decisions are made, we will be in this predicament for the rest of the yr. When Jan 2009 rolls around, that is when the change will begin. J

Thursday 3 am

Last night, I fell asleep to the french movie The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. I will watch it again to see what happens, this happened to me several times when I was watching the Darjeeing Limited. I am wondering if it is certain movies that do this to me, but since I went to bed so early I am up at 3 am. I probably will go back to sleep but it is weird to have such a weird sleep pattern. This week, I went to my first private french lesson. It was helpful, since my pronunciation in french isn't that great. I have american tendencies to pronounce the silent letters and it is good having a live person tell me what I am doing wrong. I was hesitant at first because I am spending money for a tutor when I can buy all the french cds, books etc.. but it really is another tool to accelerate my learning instead of becoming stagnant. In other parts of my world, our 2nd (oldest) big screen tv is doing some psychedelic things and so it is time for a new tv or a big empty in our wall. I wouldn't care either way but Ed insists that we get the latest and greatest technology to fill the void. I am so good with my macbook pro and my itunes account. But tv is america and we need the biggest there is. GO showtime! Love my new show Diaries of a call girl and weeds is back on! Love it, Love it. Now to subscribe... I totally got sucked in to these shows. List time...
Loves at the moment:

French
Paris
French Music and Movies
Happy Hippos (Candy made by Kinder)
Still the cute stuff
Crocs- LOVE LOVE them
my bed
sleep (should be sleeping now)

This week ahead....
Weekend, nothing really.. maybe clean up junk in garage and my office (craigslist a few things)
Sunday dinner with friends at Laurel (restaurant week, 3 courses $40 equiv to 25 Euro)

Tuesday another dinner at Flemings Steakhouse (another restaurant week goodie)
Other than that, working and taking my kids to summer camp. Fun.. Fun in the SUN.

Saturday

Typical Saturday

Lazy, yet I still managed to go shopping.  I had not been to IKEA in a awhile, my lights went out in my office.  They are dependent on IKEA's bulbs, I went to IKEA and spent a few dollars more.  I guess that is how it goes.  Target, IKEA, it doesn't matter, I will find something else I want and must have.  I went to also get a massage, got to get all those toxins out of my body.  Massages are relaxing, then I seem to feel like crap for a little while.  I think it is the toxins being released. Anyways, can't go to Europe, what is the next best thing?  IKEA.  I managed to buy a outdoor light set and some cookies and gummy candies.  Also, some designer ziplock bags (couldn't resist the design).  Here are a few pics I took today.

Just Life

I adore life, lately, I have been privilaged in taking a breather from my everyday life and seeing what else is out there in the world. People all around the globe are breathing, eating, and sleeping as we do here in America.   I am more inclined to retired part-time in another city, than pick up my things and leave San Diego all together, when I am 55 or so.  I feel it is important to have a home base.  I see the economics in just being a free bird and living in a city that makes more thrifty sense  but I know I will miss the weather and the things that make San Diego the city it is, for better and for worse.  It is important for me to work, have a sense of self and create more to improve upon myself. I so want to win the lottery and not have a care in the world, but that just wouldn't be who I am today (maybe in 10 yrs. :)).  In a little way, no matter how little it is, I am still contributing to the economy by giving my country my hard earned tax dollars.  The sweat from my brain that gives the government, those dollars better create a future for my kids.  Hopefully, the powers that control my tax dollars are wise enough to see that America is falling into the toilet. They better not mess up my retirement fund for my travels abroad when I get of age. 

Working to Retire

So someday I am going to retire.  This is a goal for many Americans like myself.  I just went back to work after 2 weeks of vacation, the most vacation I have had for one time since I was unemployed.  This was a grand treat.  No worrying about kids, dog or money for 2 weeks. Granted, I will be seeing my credit card bills in a few weeks, at that time there were no worries.  I went back to work and it was satisfying to an extent.  The buildup of work made things stressful, but I guess that is what time management is all about  This leads to my thought on my working to retire.  I work in order to live, buy necessities and perhaps save for a rainy day.  I also, plan to retire someday so a chunk of the check also goes to a black hole in a financial institution where my money fluctuates up and down, lately, mostly down, to someday rise to the occasion of my retirement when that day comes, knock on wood, the til will be huge enough for me to stop working.  I don't think I will ever stop activities, but working I really do hope someday.  These days, us Americans cannot afford to not stop working. We buy more that we earn and are incapable of making adaquete payments.  This starts from the top down.  This leads to the question, am I going to get to retire?  The answer is going to be yes. I will not buy a bigger house than I need, I will splurge a little like put in a swimming pool which will add to the yrs. I will need to vacation at home instead of going on a weekend excursion somewhere.  In return, when I am out of the country for a month or two at a time, I can sublet our home to vacation renters who want a quiet place to be and still have the city life closeby.  By that time hopefully, my house will have character and a homeliness for all to enjoy. 

Getting back into the groove

My clock is still a bit off.  I went to bed around 7:30 tonight, but just woke up and am up for a few more min. before I go back down for the night.   My last day of vacation was a stressful one.  Elise was supposed to do her magazine shoot but instead had a breakdown in the midst and I tried but to no avail.  It just isn't in the cards...she is too divaish at 6 yrs. old and that will not cut it. My fear is that I let my friend/photographer Suzanne down, she was too stressed to get her to work out, and i completely understand, but at the same time, I should of read the writing on the wall that Elise is too complicated to work with.  I am going back to work tomorrow morning.  Ready, set and hesitant.  So much going on at work, and i am sure I will not know where to start.  My mind really still is in Europe, all the pics I took are still fresh in my memory and it was just a glorious break of life to be going back to reality.  I read the news and am so depressed of what America has become.  America is too worried about the image that they are destroying the soul of what we have contributed to the world and to each other over the last 50 yrs. Granted, I am still proud and would like to contribute a spec of my soul to the cause... I am still brainstorming of what can be my realistic contribution to the world. \ Hopefully, our new president to be will psychologically bring this country out of it's funk and I can then get my food at a decent price when I travel to Europe.  I am just happy/grateful to be back with my family and my dog wherever I may be.  

I'm Back

12 days in Europe and I am back, countless metros, trains, planes and buses got both Ed and I where we needed to go.  I am back on my CA time, with getting up in the middle of the night, my homage to Europe I suppose.  Stewie is sleeping on our bed.  He is happy, he had a few adventures while we were gone.  We had a snowglobe casualty last nt. my mini Amsterdam globe burst in the luggage and the Paris city globe is nowhere to be found.  Survived is the London and Disneyland Paris snowglobes for Elise, with various other knicknacks, a t-shirt and candy for her.  Ryan made out with a Disneyland Paris Alarm Clock, windmill pencil sharpener, big pencil from disneyland Paris, T-shirt from fat tire bike tours and a money holder from London.  Paris will be missed, I love the fact you can get fresh bread everyday at a store that only serves bread.  Some of the parisian food I can do without, but overall the atmosphere, the culture and speed of their lives entices me to go back someday.  What I will not miss are the prices. I just got my AMEX bill with a chicken caesar salad and a bottle of water. This cost me $26.  Which is about 16 Euros.  I know that in some cases Ed and I spent $60 for a basic chinese dinner meal.  Something that would cost about $20 here.  Amsterdam is very calming.  I would stick to the parts of the city away from Central Station.  The canals are quiet for the most part and there are more bikes than people on the streets.  Yes, there were the coffee shops but it wasn't a big deal at all. The stuff isn't off the wall strong and  we avoided the obnoxious establishments.  The beauty of each home along the canal is just astonishing.  Every single building there has a history and the architecture in that city is a good mix of modern with the old. I am taking a few days to soak in what I saw and recuperate before I return to normal life.   It has been a amazing experience and grateful I have something to look back on with good memories.