trade winds

“on the coast of somewhere beautiful
trade winds blowing through her hair
sunlight dancing on the water
man, i wish i was there
don’t know how i’m goin’ to find her
all i know so far
she’s on the coast of somewhere beautiful
running with my heart” — kenny chesney “on the coast of somewhere beautiful”

aloha! :)  i made it to maui safely and met up with mom at the aiport.  actually, let me go back a little bit.   my morning started at 5am with my alarm.  i made it out of the apartment before 6 and was to lax before 7, which is really incredible time.  anyway, i had zero problems checking my luggage and getting through security.  and i pretty much i spent all the time in the airport and my whole 5+ hour flight reading.  oh!  and there was a way cute guy sitting next to me and got off the plane with these like special cases that had skydiving stickers on them.  he was nice (to look at). ;)  kidding!

anyway, i met up with mom at the airport here in maui, rented a car, and headed out.  about 5 minutes into our journey towards kaanapali we stopped at costco for a quick lunch.  :)  so cheap!  anyway, then we headed up to kaanapali to the resortquest papakea resort, where we’re renting a really nice condo from someone mom knows.  it has one bedroom plus an upstairs loft that’s basically a second bedroom and bathroom.  it’s right on the water and pretty much perfect for us, which is exciting!

after settling in and unpacking, we changed into bathing suits and headed out to the oceanside lawn and lounged in the afternoon sun for a little bit.  perfect! :)  and then we did dinner in the sand at the hula grill at the whalers’ village.  there’s not a lot better than dining with your feet in the sand, i swear.

we made a grocery run this evening, and now we’re just relaxing in front of the tv.  we’re both totally exhausted between the travel and the 3-hour time difference.  so hawaii.  i love it!

also, yay chiefs!!!

from maui, g’night. ;)

no cigarettes? no alcohol?

“knew i could never hold that girl
she was born to see the world
all i got is a picture she mailed me
barefoot in the snow white sand
a bag of sea shells in her hand
she finally found a paradise it seems” — kenny chesney “on the coast of somewhere beautiful”

i leave for hawaii in the morning.  :)  that’s the biggest news.  and i spent a fair amount of time today just preparing for that.  but i believe i’m finally ready now, and i’m excited to finally just arrive in maui tomorrow and take in a bit of that hawaiian air.  you know, i am already looking relaxed and refreshed and this vacation hasn’t even really gotten started.  if i’m allowed to say so, it’s much-needed and much-deserved.

there were other things today, though.  i got up entirely too early just because my body was ready to wake up at 8am.  way too early.  but i got up anyway.  i hung around here and packed very, very slowly, avoiding making decisions on what i should and shouldn’t bring.  but anyway, i spent the morning lazing around.

in the afternoon, i finally(!) met up with bobby for a few minutes.  he had shirts with the latest designs to show me but not to give to me.  i swear one of these days he really will fill the order i gave him.  anyway, we talked lusk for a while, which was good, and that really got me motivated to wrap up the two designs we’ve had in the works for a few weeks now.  so off and on all day long today we were working on touching up two shirts we call “lucky strike” and “love is a battlefield.”  and by this evening, we were so pleased with them that he had me send them to the printer!  that’ll be 5 total designs!  and the other three are already in some stores and bobby’s taking orders online through myspace.  things are just going so well!  it’s very exciting!

and after getting totally packed and everything, i sat down to give myself a manicure and pedicure while watching “miss potter,” which i surprisingly quite enjoyed.  :)  and my nails look good.  i guess i just had to move my sunday night to saturday night this week. ;)  need cute toes for the beach!

and after returning the dvd to blockbuster, i stopped at the grocery to pick up a couple snacks for tomorrow’s flight.  there’s no meal on it.  the airlines are super cheap these days.  anyway, i handed the cashier my three items and he was like, “that’s it?!?  no cigarettes?  no alcohol?”  and i told him that was it.  he was shocked.  “at 11:14 on saturday night?”  so i explained to him my need for snacks and we chatted and whatever.  it was just funny to me how much i had shocked him for only buying a few snacks.

and now i am thinking i need to get to bed quickly.  i have to get up 5 to make my 9am flight out of lax tomorrow.  so this is my last post before being in hawaii, but i am bringing my computer with me, so stay tuned for updates and photos!

aloha!  g’night. ;)

happy friday to you, too!

“if i could only fly, if i could only fly
i’d bid this place goodbye to come and be with you
but i can hardly stand and i got nowhere to run
another sinking sun and one more lonely night” — joe nichols “if i could only fly”

i’m currently having a moment.  quite unexpectedly.  and i’m sure it’s a combination of me being overprotective and me just plain having a moment, but it’s still happening.  i’ve been talking to meg, though, and that totally calms me down.  it’s what we do for each other. :)  oh… so you probably want to know what’s up.  it’s adam and him being at ucla.  i am his big sister, so you know.  i worry.  anyway, it’ll be fine and i’ll keep you updated as things progress.

speaking of adam and ucla, i finally put up a few photos of us from last weekend when he moved in.  they’re on my flickr.  enjoy! :)

as for the rest of my day, well it’s been pretty good.  i got so much done at work today, partially out of necessity (projects do have deadlines, after all) and partially because i wanted to wrap up as many loose ends as possible before i take next week off.  and actually, i managed to tie everything up!  amazing!  and i even cleaned my desk, so it’s all neat!  my inbox is at zero, the projects are all taken care of, and it should be a quiet week around the office next week with our big conference going on, which means most people will be out.  great timing for my vacation!   also, we had a big company lunch at sonny’s to celebrate a couple birthdays, a couple going aways, and an upcoming wedding.  it was pretty good.

after work, it was straight to the gym to try to work out the knot i discovered in my back this morning.  that worked pretty well, so i headed home.  and after getting cleaned up, i picked up a movie at blockbuster and a pizza (i had a free coupon) and headed home for a quiet evening.  and actually, i haven’t gotten to the movie yet, but that’s okay.  i’m just hanging out.

tomorrow will be pretty quiet, as well.  i just need to make sure i’m ready to go to hawaii sunday morning.  i’m so thoroughly looking forward to the trip!

and for now, g’night. ;)

a better day

“almost felt you touching me just now
i wish i knew which way to turn and go
i feel so good and then i feel so bad
i wonder what i ought to do” — joe nichols “if i could only fly”

thursday didn’t go exactly as planned, but i think it turned out just fine. :)

got up, got cleaned up and dressed, headed out on time.

work was pretty uneventful.  i spent the morning on a project that i kind of thought would take longer, actually.  that’s awesome. :)  and loved spending the afternoon hanging out with the boys, marke and brian, while nearly everyone else was out of the office.  we did lunch at pick up stix and the boys were intensely discussing computery things, but still i enjoy their company.  and it was a relaxed afternoon.  by 4:30, i looked around and everyone was gone, so i snuck out, too.

i headed for the salon to see if i could catch bobby.  he was in the middle of doing someone’s hair so i saw him for like 30 seconds and he promised to call an hour later and come by with some shirts.  so i headed home (instead of to the gym) and started on my laundry, which needed to happen before i can pack for hawaii.  anyway, all of a sudden it was a few hours later and i still haven’t heard from him.  but i’ve really made the most of my evening.  i did all my laundry and even put it all away.  i did dishes and took out the trash.  the apartment is actually pretty clean, which will be great for when i leave in a few days.

and now i’m enjoying lots of new tv tonight!  “ugly betty” was really fun, even though the last 15 minutes or so made me cry.  and i am in the middle of “the office” right now (it’s paused), and it’s wonderful!  i love the jam pb&j reference.  and i’m planning on “grey’s anatomy” and “big shots” later.  so fun!  haha!  this is bad.  i’m a junkie.  i’ll get better as the season goes on, but this week is a tv week. :)

so that’s it from here for today.  g’night. ;)

bottoms

“and i’m tired of being all alone
and this solitary moment makes me want to come back home” — secondhand serenade “your call”

so it was a pretty good wednesday, i would say. :)  i was wearing a cute dress that mom got for me at j.crew last weekend, so that made things even better, i swear.  i love those easy dresses that feel like t-shirts but look great!

so work went fine today, nothing too out of the ordinary.  worked.  lunch at pedro’s.  you know, just the usual.

after work, i headed for the mall to macy’s to look for bathing suits.  they had sooo many there!  and all very deeply discounted.  :)  it isn’t exactly bathing suit season, after all.  so anyway, i spent some time sorting through all their racks and trying things on.  i ended up with a bunch of cute bottoms to match the black top i already have a like.  it was fun! :)  and then i headed for costco for a couple essentials and a new suitcase (mine’s on its last legs).  the new one is larger and purple.  it’ll work until i can afford a nice travelpro set someday.

my apartment complex is doing some remodeling (is that the right word for outdoors?) of the space around all the buildings.  that’s fine.  the paths are all crazy as they are right now and i’m not a huge eucalyptus tree fan.  but they’ve chopped down all the trees near my building.  all of them!  it’s like a scene from “the lorax” with just stumps here and there.  it’s really weird.  who cuts down trees?!?  i’m assuming they’ll plant new ones eventually, but still i find it very strange.

and i’m still overdosing on tv!  tonight’s a big one with “kid nation,” “private practice,” “gossip girl,” and “dirty sexy money.”  i’m having fun taking it all in! :)

enough from me tonight.  g’night. ;)

still feels good

“i was born to tell you i love you
and i am torn to do what i have to
to make you mine” — secondhand serenade “your call”

okay, so it’s been a long time and i kind of feel like there’s plenty to write about tonight, so i’ll write in list format.  but anyway, just briefly, things are going pretty well and i’m looking forward to sunday very much.   here goes…

1) adam now lives in westwood in the dorms at ucla.  even after seeing it, it’s still weird to me.  my baby brother!  grown up (sort of) and living away from home.  he’s already adjusting to ucla, it seems, though he hasn’t actually started classes yet.  anyway, that’s where he is.  crazy!  and of course, i’m so excited to have him so much closer so i can visit a little. :)

2) because adam was moving into the dorms over the weekend, mom and dad were also in la.  so i picked out a really nice hotel (the hyatt century plaza in century city) and stayed with mom and dad for the weekend.  a weekend in la was a nice treat.  except for the rain.  la is not designed for rain.  at all.  where do you go that is cool in la in the rain?  nowhere.  everything revolves around being outdoors.  but we made due.  we had dinner friday night at the fancy food court at the century city mall and then had dessert at a very uncrowded diddy riese, my favorite dessert place!  :)  and saturday we spent some time with adam and some time at the grove (not too rainy) shopping.  mom bought me a couple of really fabulous items! :)  and we had an amazing dinner at tanino in westwood saturday night.  frommers guidebooks are the best for choosing places to eat!   so it was nice to hang out with the family for a weekend, and i’m glad we’ll get to do that again in about a month during family weekend at ucla.  oh!  and i got a ucla hat and t-shirt while i was there, which is big for me considering i’ve never been much of a bruin fan.  but i’ll root for them on occasion, i suppose. ;)

3) i had lunch and hung out with wednesday on sunday.  it’s much easier to pop on over to her place when i’m already up in la.  so wednesday, carmen, and i had lunch at their local thai place (you know this is a stretch for me, but it was pretty good) and then wednesday and i hung out for hours reminiscing about london.  we even watched her home movies, which was so amazing.  i really, really miss that house and living in crazy close quarters with 39 other people.  that was a great year.  also, i was sad to learn that one of my fellow londoners, travis, passed away recently, though wednesday didn’t know why.  very tragic.

4) work is pretty good this week, as it’s quiet for me.  marke, brian, and i spent about half of today going down to la jolla to check out one of our rtecc shows, which was a good experience for us, even if we spent more time getting there and back than actually at the show.  and of course, it’s always fun to hang out with those boys. :)

5) fall tv is ramping up, so i’m spending a lot of this week checking out the new shows and celebrating the return of other favorites.  last night i went to marke’s to watch “how i met your mother” (loved it!), “the big bang theory” (didn’t love it), “chuck” (saw it already and still think it’s just okay), and “heroes” (thoroughly enjoyed it).  and the week will continue with me overindulging in tv, so just be prepared for more of my opinions. ;)

6) today’s rascal flatts day!  woot!  of course, i went to target before work to pick up their new album, “still feels good.”  i must say, i’m quite impressed.  it’s better than i thought it would be and i love it way more than their last album, which is my least favorite of their catalog.  so anyway, i’m still listening and choosing favorites, but it’s good stuff and i certainly recommend it. :)

7) i leave for hawaii in 5 days!  i am beyond excited at this point.  and besides all the chores (laundry/packing/cleaning) leaving requires, i also want to look for an additional bathing suit and maybe even a new suitcase because i’ve pretty much destroyed the one i currently own.  oh, and i’m thinking i’ll get lots of reading in while i’m there because i’m not planning on doing a whole heck of a lot, so i need to get my books together.  i’m thinking some novels and some non-fiction-so-i-can-learn-stuff books. :)

okay, so that’s enough out of me for tonight, don’t you think?  more next time.  g’night. ;)

putting it off

i know.  i need to update.  i even have plenty to write about.  but tonight, i need to go to bed.  i’m trying to be rested.  so tomorrow i’ll give a proper update for you.  doesn’t mean i wasn’t thinking about you tonight, though.

g’night. ;)

a perfect basic

“waiting for your call, i’m sick, call, i’m angry
call, i’m desperate for your voice
listening to the song we used to sing
in the car, do you remember
butterfly, early summer
it’s playing on repeat, just like when we would meet” — secondhand serenade “your call”

so it was a pretty normal thursday, really.  but there was a huge highlight, as well. :)

okay, so i was off to work at a normal time on a this kind of chilly morning.  work.  it was pretty normal most of the day, though also really quiet because chris is off the rest of the week and brian was working from home.  anyway, i got some stuff done, but i also worked on something different with marke.  we set up google calendars for the department so we can all see what tasks we’re each working on and try to make sure the time and projects are being managed efficiently and effectively.  anyway, i think it’s going to work great with the new system, so i’m excited about it. :)  oh, and we did lunch at marke’s place, which was perfect for just relaxing a little.  we watched “the simpsons” and “tmz.” :)

and after work, after running around town a little bit and catching up with kath on the phone (i miss that girl!), i headed to loehmann’s to look for bathing suits.  kind of random, i know, but i had time and it’s so close to home.  well, it turns out they had zero bathing suits, but i did end up browsing the shoe section.  and finding the most perfect pair of shoes!  in my size!  that fit awesome, and they actually fill a hole in my shoe wardrobe.  amazing!  except the pricetag.  yes, they were half off the original price, but even at half off they’re the most expensive pair of shoes i’ve ever bought.  though it did help that i got 10% off for signing up for the loehmann’s club card.  i’d been meaning to do that anyway.  so yeah, now i have gorgeous new shoes!!!  i’m beyond excited for their first wear, which won’t be until next week.

and i’ve just been hanging out tonight.  i talked to the family and packed a weekend bag.  i’ll be meeting up with them in la tomorrow after work.  adam’s moving into his dorm tomorrow so he can start as a freshman at ucla!  so crazy to me, but also exciting. :)  and i love that he’ll be so much closer to me!  i’m anticipating lots of trips between here and westwood now.

so anyway, i’m off for the evening.  i don’t think i’ll be brining my computer with me this weekend, so i’m not sure when my next update will be coming.  so stay tuned!  g’night. ;)

immaculate conception

“i still dream about that look on a woman’s face
that says i love you through the good, the bad, the sunshine, or the rain
sometimes i wish i had someone to share my life with
maybe i’ll have a wife and kids
maybe someday” — kenny chesney “wife and kids”

it’s been a good couple of days, if not particularly exciting or amazing.  i’m content with them. :)

work’s been a little busy.  just because of how the work flow is going, i ended up with way too much to do yesterday and working until almost 8.  but at least i got a ton of stuff done and everything’s back under control again.  worked until the regular hour of 5:00 today!  awesome.  oh, and the boys are keeping me entertained when i’m not working so hard, which i love.

been watching entirely too much tv, as well. :)  way.  too.  much.  currently, it’s “gossip girl.”  as i also told marke, sometimes i really am a 13-year-old girl. ;)  haha!  and i caught “kid nation” earlier.

so that’s really all for now.  should get more exciting in the coming days, though.  adam’s moving to ucla on friday.  i can hardly believe it.

i’m off.  g’night. ;)

all i ever really wanted was you

“i’ve got more than i deserve, more than i ever dreamed
but there’s always a price you pay
it’s been an amazing road
i’ve been blessed, i know
but at the end of the day i go home alone
i still hope someday i’ll have a wife and kids
smiling faces running to the door when i walk in” — kenny chesney “wife and kids”

alright, i’ll try to organize my thoughts and work through them quickly.  not too much rambling from me tonight–despite having plenty to update on after a few days away–because i’m tired and wanting to get some extra sleep tonight.  here we go, kid. ;)

1) i headed up to sacramento (woodland, actually) to visit sarah on friday night.  getting there was very uneventful, and she brought me to her house from the airport.  i hadn’t been there since she had just barely gotten the keys and i was helping to strip wallpaper.  i must say, it has been quite a transformation!  the house is lovely now. :)  sarah’s great at things like that.   oh, and she has that cat (she got it down here a few months ago, you might remember), and it turns out i’m pretty allergic to it.  i could tell right away, after about 15 minutes in the house.  luckly, i anticipated that happening and brought plenty of benadryl with me, so i was fine.

2) saturday we went to the huge outlet mall in vacaville for some shopping.  j.crew, my absolute favorite, was awesome.  lots of great stuff there.  and then banana republic was good, too. :)  i found a w.o.n.d.e.r.f.u.l. purple dress there!

3) then we got dressed up (me in my new dress) and headed to sacramento.  we did dinner at a cool little place and then went to see “jersey boys,” which i loved!  it was so much fun, and now i really just want to listen to four seasons music. :)  definitely they were a part of my childhood.  i can see why my parents also loved the show, too.  so fun! :)

4) sunday we were up bright and early for sarah’s weekly 8am sunday breakfast with her girlfriends.  too early for me, but i did it anyway, and her friends were really nice.   then we got cleaned up, took in a street fair in folsom, and did some lunch and more shopping in roseville.  then it was time for me to head home.

5) today i was so tired i didn’t get as much done as i needed at work, but i survived.  i might have taken off about 10 minutes early, but that’s okay. :)

6) i’m now catching up on a little tv.  i really just want to write about one show, though.  “nashville.”  it’s like someone tried to create the perfect tv show for me, i swear.  it’s a reality show just like “laguna beach” (same creators) but about a handful of beautiful people in nashville trying to make it as recording artists.  oh.  wow.  i love it!  the boys are both crazy hott and wonderful singers!  so i’m fully addicted just one episode in.  awesome!!! :)

i need to crash.  hope you also had a wonderful weekend.  g’night. ;)