Happy Birthday, Dad!

My dad's birthday is not until next Thursday, but we thought we'd celebrate this weekend since he and Cathy will be on vacation the following weekend. Cathy put together a really nice party: a bbq with family and friends. Oh, and a little bit of karaoke.

I made the birthday cake. My dad wanted yellow cake with chocolate frosting (my favorite!). I decided to try and make it from scratch. You know, in all my spare time. ;) It turned out pretty well . . .

Yellow cake batter.

The finished product: three-layer yellow cake with milk chocolate frosting.


We headed out to Camarillo after going to the travel clinic to get shots, health insurance, and a prescription for antibiotics for our trip to China. The antibiotics prescription may sound weird, but I have decided it's a good precaution after suffering through the nasty sickness that knocked us out halfway through the honeymoon. If you haven't heard that story, suffice to say it is both comedy and tragedy.

We arrived in Cam around 4:00 p.m. with birthday cake and birthday hats in tow.

The birthday boy!

Bug and our wire fox terrier, Woody. He's such a grumpy old man, but he'll still cuddle sometimes.


Bug and Ajax. This pic is a bit awkward, no? Haha.

Speaking of awkward . . . My husband is a spaz. :)

Self-photo! I am never in these party pics since I am always the one taking the pictures (go figure).

Bug and Dad.

Dad was trying to convince me to reverse the number candles so that it said he is 35. Nice try.

Yes, 53. There we go, dad...

Dad and his girlfriend Cathy. She's the best.

The birthday cake . . .

Ajax and Ella crashed on the couch . . .

It was a good birthday, I think. Josh and Bug spent most of the day in the pool. In fact, when we decided to call it a night around 11 p.m., Josh was still in the pool!

I crashed as soon as we got home, around midnight. I probably could have slept all through today, but Josh finally woke me up a little before 1 p.m. I haven't slept that late in awhile, and it felt amazing!

Not sure what the plans are for today. Josh mentioned seeing Indiana Jones, which I think sounds like a fabulous idea. The grey weather here (which I adore!) makes me was to just poke around town and be lazy today.

Marvelous Monday.

So . . . despite some scares that a looming trial date may alter our plans, I received official word from the partner on our case today that I do not need to move our trip! China here we come!!!!!!!! (Um, now we actually need to plan this trip since we leave in a month. Details, details.) Woo hoo!

If that weren't enough to make the day great, I actually had a pretty fun day at work. (Yes, I said "fun.") I helped prepare one of our witnesses for her deposition by doing a mock deposition while the senior attorney defended. I am always happy when I get to spend my day arguing, what can I say?

I came home to find . . . a clean kitchen! (It's all about the little things in my life, ok?) My dear little husband had scrubbed the entire kitchen down. He even had Comet out!

And, there's something fun to look forward to tomorrow. A few of my co-workers are big Pliates fans. A new studio just opened downtown, so we decided to sign up together and take evening courses a couple of times a week together. I love yoga, so I am hoping I will dig Pilates, too. Actually, my goals are not that lofty: I am just hoping I do not die or embarrass myself.

So yeah, life is good. :)

Hot, hot heat.

Where has this weekend gone? It's hard to believe tomorrow is already Monday. Again. Bluh. This was the first scorcher of a weekend we've had this spring/summer. I wish I had spent it in the pool or at the beach, but alas, there were other things in store for me. Namely, work.

There's not much to report over here. Let's see . . .

Friday, PJ came out our way and the three of us went to see Baby Mama. (I know I said I was going to go last week, but riiiight after I posted, I got a work email that required me to work all night.) The movie was very cute. I <3 Tina Fey. Although, I hate it when "they" put so many jokes in the trailers that the movie just feels like an extended trailer that ties together all the scenes you've already seen. Even so, there were still some new, funny bits.

Saturday, I woke up bright and early and headed to the DMV to (finally) get my California driver's license. I have been here almost two years to the day, so needless to say, it was time! I got home and worked until about 9 (although, the heat made it hard to concentrate). Josh and PJ brewed a new batch of beer and then went swimming. Jerks. In the evening, we went to dinner at Sagebrush Cantina, and then back to the casa.

Sunday, I worked most of the day, except for a quick break to have dinner with my grandparents, Josh, and sis. Grandpa grilled tri-tip, and it was ah-MA-zing! Josh went grocery shopping while I plugged away at a deposition outline. Good times.

Well, hmm, that's about it. A dull weekend filled with work and heat. Hope you all managed to keep cool!

Keep on truckin', mama.

Sadly, my mom is in Alaska, so we couldn't celebrate Mother's Day with her in-person. I miss her a bunch and was thinking about her a lot today!

To celebrate Mother's Day with my wonderful grandma, we went to brunch at Firefly Bistro in South Pasadena. In attendance were Josh, my sis, Ajax, my Uncle Frank and Aunt Chris, and their two daughters (my adorable cousins whom I want to kidnap).

Kesley in her stylin' frames.

Josh and Hailey; Bug and Ajax

Uncle Frank and Aunt Chris; Grandpa and Grandma

Firefly Bistro was fabulous, as always. I had the crab hash, which was absolutely delicious! I think Josh won for best breakfast: a tortilla dipped in french toast batter, filled with bananas and caramel. It tasted as amazing as it looked!

The ambiance was great. Firefly Bistro is a basically a big, outdoor tent, so it's bright and airy. For Mother's Day Brunch, there was a guy singing bluegrass and playing a steel guitar. When we were walking out, I smiled at him, and he looked at me, smiled, and said into the microphone: "Keep on truckin', mama." Hahahaha!

The fam

After brunch, we ran some errands and then came back to the house to get some stuff done before the week starts.

After some errands, we went out and grabbed dinner. I had the most glorious burrito. It was really more of a Last Supper because tomorrow begins a diet. I hate to blog about weight and diets, but I am at my absolute wit's end. I have gained an unbelievable amount of weight since the wedding and starting to work. I keep half-assing any sort of plan to "eat right and exercise." I have had enough, so tomorrow I am starting a strict regime I followed before the wedding. Wish me luck!

This evening, we are going to go see Baby Mama. I don't have high expectations, but I do adore Tina Fey. Hopefully, it will be entertaining!

Birthday recap.

We started out the evening at Dave and Busters. Initially, Josh had wanted to go mini golfing, but when he heard that you couldn't bring beer into Golf 'N' Stuff, it was immediately ruled out. I had never been to Dave and Busters, but a lot of people describe it as a Chuck E. Cheese's for adults. I think that's probably pretty accurate. For you Seattleites, Josh said it reminded him a lot of Gameworks.

We got there and ordered drinks and dinner. I had low expectations for the food, but my sliders weren't half bad! Bug got a hold of the camera and took pictures around the table:

Pj and Dad are on the left and Trevor and Sarah are on the right. Sarah went to high school with Josh, PJ, and me in Alaska. She and Trevor just recently moved to L.A. and have the cutest one-year-old! I'm so happy they were able to make it out with us!

Ajax, Jackie, and PJ on the left and my grandparents on the right (seriously, how cute are they).

And, of course, the birthday boy (pic courtesy of Bug)!

A close-up of the red velvet cake I made:

After we finished eating, it was time for . . . games!!!

Josh.

Jackie and PJ.

Dad landing a plane.

Grandma and Grandpa.

Bug.

After leaving Dave and Busters, we went to a dive bar by our house because Josh wanted to catch his friend's band, The Screaming Clams. They're basically a cover band that sings songs from the '60s and '70s. My dad was rocking out.

The night ended back at our place where we had some wine and did a little swimming! I think Josh had a great time, and I know I did! Thanks to the fam and crew for helping celebrate Josh's big 2-8!

Happy Birthday, Josh!

Last night, we kicked off celebrating Josh's birthday by going to see The Kids in the Hall at the Orpheum downtown. The Kids in the Hall are a Canadian comedy troupe (with, in my opinion, Monty Python-esque humor) that had a cult following in the early 90s. If you haven't heard of them, you may know one of their members, Dave Foley, who used to be in Newsradio. (Josh's favorite, classic KITH sketch, if you're interested, is "I Lost My Indian Drum." I didn't really laugh the first time I saw it, but hearing Josh reenact it is pretty funny.)

The Orpheum is so pretty! Kind of Art Deco mixed with a Phantom of the Opera vibe. Here is a pic I snagged from their website:

The show was funny. Josh said it best. It's funny at the time, but it gets funnier the more you think about it after-the-fact. The most noteworthy part of the show, however, was the audience. Everyone in the crowd was about our age, or maybe 3-5 years older. And man, we are all old. Most were sporting the same sort of hipster gear from high school: tattoos, funky glasses, blazers, spiked colored hair. But, it was weird seeing it on all these grown adults. I sat in my seat, looked around the theater, and couldn't help but feel that I was sitting in a high school assembly, only ten to fifteen years had passed. It was pretty surreal.

This morning, I woke up early(ish) and made the birthday boy breakfast. I was most proud of the lemon currant scones baked this morning by yours truly. They turned out really well! Crumbly and crunchy with a bit of lemon zest.

After breakfast was finished, Josh curled up on the couch to veg (or, more accurately sleep) in front of the TV while I made the birthday cake.

Josh had requested red velvet cake. I found a recipe and baked the cake part late last night. Please note that this is the first time, I think, that I have baked a cake entirely from scratch.

The batter turned out nice and, er, red (which I think is a good sign). :)

I didn't burn the three layers. Another good sign.


This morning, it was time for the cream cheese frosting. I was especially proud of it. It was so light and fluffy, but still tasted rich and delicious. I took a pic halfway through the frosting process . . .

Yum! I can't wait to slice into it!

We are headed out to start celebrating the birthday in a few hours. I am going to try and sneak a nap in before that . . . I'll be sure to bring the camera, and I am going to try and stay away from the Irish car bombs this time.

A week in review.

So much to say, so much to say. A lot has happened in the last week. Let's see . . .

Saturday, we went to Josh's rugby banquet at the Cornell Winery. Can I just say, I am in love with this place? It may have something to do with the big, gorgeous chandelier. Or, maybe that it's all the fabulous wine awakened my inner oenophile. It's not yet open to the public (only private events), but I'm pretty sure I'll be a regular once it is. In the meantime, I have dropped some massive hints that this would be a good place for a birthday party . . . Haha. Yes, I'm so subtle.

After the banquet, we met up with my sis, Ajax, my dad, and his girlfriend at this dive bar in Camarillo that Josh and my dad love. I think they love it because of the ridiculous karaoke that takes place there. Well, Bug decided it would be a good idea to have Irish car bombs. Before I knew it, we were belting out a very bad rendition of "Tiny Dancer." The night ended with me jumping into our pool. Enough said.

Sunday, I worked during the day, and then Josh and I met up with Jackie and PJ to see Iron Man at Arclight. I am a big Robert Downey, Jr. fan, so I was easily persuaded. It was a great movie. Exactly the sort of fun, summer movie I have been needing lately. I definitely recommend it if you like the other comic book movies.

The early part of the week was a little rocky, to say the least. However, my week was saved by a wonderful dinner with WeeMo and Trish at Sai Sai. I love these girls and feel so blessed to have so many wonderful friends.

Also, a random highlight: I ran into the Verizon guy on the corner of the street outside my building where they were, apparently, filming a Verizon commercial! It took all my self-control to not respond to his "hello" with "Can you hear me now? Good!" Haha. Wonder how many times he's heard that!

Today, my co-worker, Ryan, and I had lunch at Yorkshire Grill, my favorite greasy spoon downtown. I had the Yorkshire Special, my fave, a sandwich with turkey, pastrami, swiss and cole slaw in the sandwich. It is so good. Although, it's pretty heavy, which made me want to take a nap!

This weekend is Josh's bday! We have a lot of fun plans, many of which will be blogged about, I'm sure. Tonight, we are kicking off celebrating Josh's birthday by going to see Kids in the Hall at the Orpheum. Josh is a huge fan and is super excited. Should be fun!

**Side note: I am annoyed by the formatting of this post and cannot get it to work for me. Why is some text scrunched and some is not? Grrr, Blogger, grrr.

Pair o' Chairs

More progress on Project Furnish House. Since getting the sectional, we moved our little green couch in the formal living room.

But it looks so sad and lonely by itself. I have been on the hunt for two chairs to face the couch and a little coffee table. I am in love with this (only in a lighter color), but I wanted a better deal. So after quite a bit of searching, I found almost the same chair for a third of the price! Score!

So, in a week, two of these will arrive:

Yay! I am in love! I just hope they are as pretty in person. Fingers crossed! They should come in a week or so . . . can't wait! One step closer to having a furnished house. Soon, our house won't even echo! :)

TGIF

Thank God in Heaven it's finally Friday! After being at my office until past 11 p.m. for the past two nights, I arrived home around 8:30 this evening, which, given the week I've had, felt early.

And, what's at home waiting for me? Josh, my puppies, a Red Robin chicken burger Josh picked up, and a bunch of fabulous shows waiting on my DVR: The Office, 30 Rock, and Ugly Betty. Pure bliss!

Despite the long-ish nights, I was actually in a pretty good mood this week because I was working on some fun stuff (yes, I am a nerd). I spent most of the evenings this week writing an opposition to the most-ridiculous-motion-ever. Something about being there late made me especially angry and feisty. I woke up this morning to read through the final draft before it went off to the client and was pretty proud. Always a good feeling. Hopefully we will win!

This weekend, there is still some work to be done. However, I am planning on not setting an alarm tomorrow morning. I haven't done that in months. It's going to be faaaabulous. Night. :)