Just me, my guy, our cats, & the other 18 million people in the LA area...

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Ice Cream for Dinner

To set up this conversation, I have jaw issues. They started around Easter of this year & I was in so much pain I ended up eating only applesauce & mashed potatoes for about a week. My doctor prescribed me a heavy duty anti-inflammatory & a pain killer to get me through it. What happens is that my jaw pops out of socket when I open my mouth too wide or when I move my jaw side to side. The problem recently flared up again & I can open my mouth just enough to eat. Ugh.

Jacob: What sounds good for dinner?
Me: Nothing.
Jacob: Nothing as in you're not hungry or hungry as in nothing sounds good?
Me: Nothing sounds good...except ice cream!
Jacob: You can't just eat ice cream for dinner. You need real food.
Me: But my jaw hurts too much for anything else.
Jacob: Can I get you to eat some applesauce before your ice cream?
Me: I guess.

5 minutes later he offers me some of the Nutty Bar he's snacking on...I take a bite.

Jacob: Your jaw hurts so bad that you can only eat ice cream, huh?
Me: Damn.


Monday, August 22, 2011

A taste of home...

Jacob sent me this text message today:

"If you need a taste of home, take Outer Circle & turn up Lakewood Blvd."

I spent all day wondering what it could be. Maybe he found great donut shop on his way to work & he mentioned it because we both miss Ike's. Or maybe he found a big sunflower garden. A restaurant with the name Kansas in it. A sign with a PowerCat on it. I got excited thinking of all the possible reminders of home.

But I'm lazy...I didn't go check it out. In my defense, I thought I might enjoy it more if we went together. Jacob said that was a great idea, that it would be even better on the bike.

After he got home from work I asked Jacob if he wanted to go check out the surprise. (By then I had worked this little Kansas reminder into something great...not quite defined in my head...but I knew it was going to be GREAT!)

Jacob warned me that the surprise wasn't all that huge...just a little something. (Again, I thought he was just downplaying this GREAT thing so I would be even more surprised.)

Then he spilled the beans...it was a skunk. A dead skunk. On the way to work & on the way home he smelled (& apparently tasted) a nasty dead skunk. He assumed skunks wouldn't live this close so it would be a nice "taste" of home for me to experience.

Um...no thanks...that's one part of home I don't really care to be reminded of.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

This weekend we...

This weekend we...

...went to 2nd Street. It was a lot like Mass Street in Lawrence: lots of restaurants, bars, and shops. One major bonus was the lack of those jerky bird fans. I have to remember to take Sam & Karie there the next time they visit.

...ate cupcakes! (Jacob: something chocolatey - nutella-y. Katie: orange cream cheese.)

...made ourselves a little more at home. Jacob hung several things on the wall to make my mom happy - she said we needed a few things on the walls before she came to visit again. Well, things are on the wall, Mom, come visit!

My dad gave me this printer's drawer & it perfectly houses all my thread - both new & vintage. The print was a housewarming gift from my mom. We have ordered the matting for the print but it hasn't come in yet. I was just too excited to wait & nicely asked Jacob to hang it for me NOW!


...enjoyed Avey's help. This is actually a good angle for her! She doesn't look nearly as pudgey as she really is.

...went to the Farmer's Market. I have been craving blackberries so I was excited to find several great berry stands where we picked up several containers of blackberries, strawberries, & raspberries. We also brought home a bag of little petite potatoes (the "gourmet" variety - yellow, red, & purple potatoes) & jalapenos. We're going to eat WELL this week!

...and started a new project...Sunday evening...that did NOT get finished.

Jacob was less than thrilled...




Saturday, August 13, 2011

Paddle On!

Last summer Jacob discovered Groupon (angels singing in the background..."Aaahhhhh"). One of his first purchases was a kayak tour with a local company. He knew how much I love kayaking & surprised me with it when I visited. The tour took us through the aquatic backyards of some amazing neighborhoods & part of the Anaheim Bay National Wildlilfe Refuge.

I knew we had to take my mom & sister when they visited because they love driving around & looking at houses (as do I). You can even hear them talking about which houses & boats they would like to have (pretty much any of them!).


I love how Bear starts to show off her kayaking skills...with her paddles backwards! She said she was a pro because she & Zac kayaked on their honeymoon...apparently not.


Jacob thought he was too good to kayak with us...he preferred to try his hand at paddle-boarding. He did a great job & kept his balance the entire time...despite our constant attempts to try to knock him off into the cold water. (Mom was chasing him in the previous video so she could surprise him & make him fall off his board.)


Please do not think more into Mom's comment about her "babysitting house." To clarify, she's talking about when Bear & Zac start giving me nieces & nephews.

The video was taken with our new waterproof camera. Maybe not the best quality but hey, it's waterproof!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Where I didn't respond like my mother would have...

Walking into the Ralph's near our apartment, Jacob & I are constantly asked to sign this petition against online sales tax, sign that petition to help save the oceans, save the tigers, etc. I'm all about political activism & saving the environment...but please leave me be when I'm grocery shopping....I'm already in a bad mood. We've tried being nice & tried ignoring the pair of people (always in pairs) guarding the entrance but I'm still not exactly comfortable with how I want to respond. They are just THERE in your FACE when you leave the grocery store DEMANDING your attention.

Tonight we had to return a Redbox movie & as we left Ralph's we were again asked to sign the sales tax petition. I politely declined & expected to be able to just walk away without any other response as is what normally happens. Nope...not this time...

"I HOPE YOU GET TAXED OUT THE ASS!"

Ugh...I hope you have a nice evening, too, sir. Bless your heart.

Mom & Bear visit

My mom & sister were here for the weekend! We had so much fun at the beach, kayaking, & visiting. It was hard Monday when they both left...especially because Mom was supposed to stay through this week so she could "really see where we live." Two full days was not enough time with them but family calls & we jump into action.

Sunday night, after a whole day on the water, we went out to dinner at the Pike (downtown area). While we waited for a table at the restaurant, Mom, Bear, & I wandered around the boats & all the little shops. We found a hat shop, funnel cake stand, & a pirate store. Mom took lots of pictures (like she did all weekend: "ooh, look, surfers!" "ooh, I need a picture of that bird of paradise, canna, palm tree, etc.") of the people & boats. She also got some pictures of the Queen Mary (to be explored next time).

Dinner was great. We sat outside & because we were all little lobsters it was a bit chilly. Those two had such a hard time believing that the outdoors wasn't air conditioned!

After dinner we HAD to go back to the hat shop. I'm not really a hat person but I found a great beach hat at that store. No, I didn't get the Dr. Quinn hat...

I told you...all day on the water. I'm actually glad my brother-in-law wasn't there to make fun of my raccoon eyes!

Friday, August 5, 2011

And now you don't feel so bad for "Poor Jacob"

Jacob had to wear a suit to work today. Before you start feeling bad for him for trading in a cushy student job* (where he could wear whatever he wanted so long as it wasn't red & blue) for a stuffy big boy job...check out the suit he wore.

Yep, it's Surf Day today! Gotta love working in California...guess those commercials are true..."board" meetings & all. He says the waves are great & I hope to post pictures of him in action as soon as we get them.

*Come on Greg, I wouldn't exactly use "hard ass" to describe your management style. :)

Thursday, August 4, 2011

And I hear a collective "Poor Jacob" from the crowd

Every year Long Beach plays host to an amazing quilt show: the Long Beach International Quilt Festival. For some reason I thought the show was in the spring & was bummed that by moving here in June I just missed it. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it's actually the last weekend of July!

So last Saturday Jacob & I went downtown to the Convention Center & stepped into the craziness that is a quilt show! Jacob was one of four men we saw under the age of 35...& he thought he would be the only one. Ha! Women were EVERYWHERE. I was elbowed & bumped into & stepped on. I'm telling you, fabric hunting is a viscous sport to some people!

After visiting all the vendors (some more than once) we walked through the quilts on display. Here are some pictures of ones I was drawn to:

for their colors (this quilter was inspired by Yellowstone for this quilt),

for their messages (this one addressed society's tendency to fix all problems with pills even though there are possible side affects - the quilting is taken from warning messages on pill bottles),

and because they remind me of home (the 'seeds' are actually little beads & we guess the middle of the quilt must weight several pounds). I thought it was interesting how many of the quilts I was drawn to were so different from what I would think to make myself.

We didn't look at all the quilts because I was exhausted & wanted nothing other than to take a nap! But overall, the quilt show was a success. I got some new patterns that I'm SUPER excited about, some great fabric (for some planned & some unplanned projects), & a magazine I had been hunting for. The highlight of the day was getting to use a long arm quilter for the first time. I was in a bit of a daze after that. It was just simply amazing...I won't continue because only a few of you out there will understand. :)

But just so you know, Jacob did survive. He didn't get lost in the crowds or trampled. In fact, he was praised for being such a wonderful boyfriend & tagging along. I'm pretty lucky!