Ramblings of a Crazy Woman

  Duh-ism #5231....So I’m hiking and I hit a section of the trail I’m sure I could easily get lost on if I wasn’t paying attention, so I take a picture of an item partly hidden in the bushes to mark where I’ve been, you know in case I don’t remember on the way back. Flash forward 45 minutes, we get back to the questionable area and the kids ask if they can go up? I look around for the item I took a picture of and it’s not there. Where did the blue bike go, I ask? About 30 seconds after I asked...it dawned on me that my marker was resting and not a woodsy decoration and it’s owner um, rode away on it. “That’s why dad won’t go on Amazing Race with you.” P says.

Spoke to a dear friend today that I haven't heard from in a long while. Right before Covid hit in March they had left LA to go care for a family member for what was supposed to be 2 weeks and wildly, those 2 weeks turned into a year!   After getting their family vaccinated and also, themself they finally felt it was safe enough to travel home. I asked if they felt safe on the plane and they said they wore double masks, a face shield and bought out the row on the plane because the seats were cheap! I could tell from the description of the past year there was a real relief in getting that vaccine.  My friend returned to a house that hadn't been lived in almost a year, grateful no one had broken in, there were cars in the driveway with dead batteries that had to be jumped by AAA and the yard massively overgrown like a JUMANJI jungle had taken over. It was a time capsule of sorts. However, they slept liked they never slept before last night (I was jealous).   Today with so ...

We so miss eating out in good ole LA...with numbers down...we decided to book a table at our favorite restaurant, at good ole Tam O'Shanter. Eating inside restaurants is not permitted however, eating outside is. So we booked a table on the patio to celebrate this most special day of love and like any good movie there was an element of surprise...WIND!!!   Our first trip back to a restaurant was like visiting the Wizard of Oz with men dressed in PPE gear aka facemarks and plastic gloves. We had to following the brick road to our table. The restaurant had set up tents. This has always bugged me. If you are not supposed to eat inside, why is eating inside a tent okay? Anyhow, we got the one table not covered by the tent which was fine by me (safety) but boy was it ever a windy dining experience!  I am pretty sure no droplets could have penetrated our masks in this unique situation. Despite the weird wind, the meal was absolutely delicious! Prime rib, creamed spinach, mash...

In 2019, my lovely and super dear grandmother passed away, kiddo and I flew to Michigan to go to her funeral, which oddly didn’t happen in the way we expected (long story) and we made friends with her next-door neighbor, who had been such a good neighbor and friend to grams for many years.   As we sorted through grams belongings we found a huge stack of letters that he wrote to grams full of notes and poetry he wrote. He is a teacher, a guy who cares about his community and a fellow fun seeker (he took us for a spin in his red convertible). Anyhoo, he is a good soul.  So after that trip we took to writing letters to each other. My grandmother was a good letter writer and in writing to him it is like I am writing to her as I did for so many years after moving to California. We send stuff back and forth across the country and it’s just fun and in a way it’s double fun because we made a new friend and it’s like hearing from grams when we get a letter from him.  Plus, my pare...

When I was growing up in Michigan we had these things called snow days...so we silenced the screen, double-masked it and drove 50-minutes to the mountain to a place called Mount Baldy.  Our neighbors came with us so it was a girls day and a much needed break for Marie, a teacher who hasn't had a day off since March 2020! Thankfully, the trip to the mountain wasn't as wind-y as it normal is. Usually there is an element of car sickness when you head up a mountain but we either found a straight path or we got lucky. Probably both. With only one other car behind us it was a perfectly socially distance day on the mountain. We parked and immediately spotted a baby Bob Cat lurking very near our car on a hill. That's not something you see every day! We had to wait to get on the ski lift so the girls placed in the snow and picked up shards of ice. You can tell these girls didn't have much exposure to snow as they played gloveless only to find out that their fingers burned a ...

The great “keep yourself entertained during a global pandemic” outdoor exploration continued with a 2-hour birdwatching hike in Temescal Canyon.  Our guide, who outfitted us with binoculars and bird field guides took us around pointing out everything from different woodpecker species to California Thrashers and various hawks. He brought a spotting scope so we could see these birds up close and personal and they had some real gorgeous coats.  One of the highlights of the hike was stopping in an empty valley where he challenged us to be absolutely quiet and listen to the bird symphony around us. It reminded me of being in a movie theater or a mixing stage with sounds coming at you in multiple directions. This pandemic has put a hold on a lot but it’s also has a funny way of showing me what I’ve been missing.  

The pandemic has shut my industry down.  Movie theaters continue to be close and I continue to be unemployed because with no movies there is no marketing and no me.  All those years of contributing to the state's unemployment till are now being called upon by me.   I am grateful for it and grateful for my hubby who is working.   When you are out of work you are constantly bombarded with the message "Do what you love."  You are also bombarded with the words "get a job." In fact, the governments asks you every two weeks if you have looked and while the answer is always yes for me, for one year it hasn't resulted in an offer which kind of hurts one's feelings if it must be known.  Finding a job and finding one that you love is the dream but not necessarily one everyone can afford.  There are a lot of jobs out there and if you can get past the robots, find the right recruiters and eating ice cream while hanging upside down, you might be called for an inter...

NYE Checklist: Champagne Pizza Party Favors Pajamas you've been in all day Ready to go!

Christmas 2020 was very different, yet very nice! It was nice looking back at our memories throughout the years and also nice to be creating new ones at home because it’s not a place where we usually are a lot on the big holiday.   What was unique is that we saved up all of our presents until Christmas morning and opened them! There were sooo many and it was fun watching kiddo rip into them! We had some breakfast made by hubs, took a nice long walk, watched a few fun movies and ended with kiddo reading to us and coloring dog pictures with her.  Cozy at home and 3 pairs of Christmas jammies!!! Tons of good eats!

Who knows what day or time it is...but my spice cabinet and pantry are now organized and having a hubs that can mix on site is a real plus.  Happy Holidays folks! 🎄🍹 #gingerbeerbliss