artykins

News is much better when given directly from one person to another without editing involved.  For example:

Matt and I were given some news today directly from an immigration agent:

Secret Agent Man: "Well, everything looks good."

Us: *silence*

Secret Agent Man: "I'm going to approve your application.  You should have your green card within thirty days."

Matt: "Thank you."

Me: "Thank you so much"

Secret Agent Man: "That's it.  You're free to go.  Let me show you the way out."

Us: *gathering papers and other important documents before standing*

Me: *having a strange mix of emotions ranging from ecstasy to joyous weeping and not able to control myself for the better part of two minutes*

Secret Agent Man: *leading us to the corridor with all the elevators*  "Here you are.  Have a good day."

Us: "Thank you!"

So as you can see, no newspaper comes close to touching this news as told from my own lips!  And remember, you heard it here first!

- A

Well, it certainly it certainly is beginning to look a lot like Halloween around here.

Yes, hello!  I'm back.  We had a great time at Disneyland, thanks.  But I'll let you know more about that later.

Currently I'm at work.  I know.  Shame on me for using work time to blog.  You have to understand that I take a couple breaks during the day and this is one of them, which I'm choosing to use for blogging purposes.

The office is slowly getting decked out in Halloween goodies.  Yesterday afternoon I spent some time decorating Linda's desk with orange and black crepe paper streamers and some fake cobwebs.  Today, Debby was in during her break and she put up a ceiling thing.  I say 'thing' because I don't know what else to call it.  It's a strip of orange plastic with dancing skeletons on it and from that strip of plastic, many cut-out bats are hanging and swinging merrily in the wind by the door.

I've named one of them Archie.  Archie the bat.

I also put up some cobwebs around the door going back into the copy room and I put up a couple signs that look like road signs.  One says 'Low Flying Bats' (appropriate, no?) and the other says 'Haunting Ahead' and that one is near the boiler room.  Because the boiler room is a creepy place.  Even I don't like wandering back there when the lightbulb is burned out or I'm the only one here.

Still, I'm excited about Halloween.  I'm thinking about dressing up in a costume since I do work at a school.  Hopefully my mother still has her witch hat in the attic at the house.

Southern California was a blast.  An awesome, exhausting blast.  There wasn't a night when I was in bed before 1am, so needless to say I'm dragging a little this week.

It started out Wednesday evening, after I wrote the last blog.  I got a call from Uncle Benny telling me that there had been a death in Craig and Julia's family.  After asking about Craig and Julia, we then set to work deciding whether or not we wanted to still go.  Craig and Julia were our accommodations at Chez Ta-Tas, but with a death in the family, we didn't want to go through with plans if their family was going to be around.  Family trumps all else and we understood that.

So we set to work looking for a place to stay.  After a night of searching and a morning of phone calls, Uncle Benny informed me that Alfredo (who is now currently hob nobbing it up in Spain) was able to get us a room at a hotel for a couple nights on the house.  Alf travels so much that he collects hotel points and because of that and his extreme kindness, we were able to find a place for a couple nights.

So Wednesday night, we got the rental car, a candy apple red Toyota mini van with room to boot.  The only real complaint I have is that it doesn't have arm rests in the middle part of the car.  But that's beside the point.  It was a nice mini van.

Thursday was a day at work followed by the much anticipated departure.  Matt and I drove over to the house, shuffled our bags from one car to another, said our goodbyes and were on our way with the uncle and brothers in tow.

Uncle Benny drove the first leg through the Altamont Pass because it was rush hour and I didn't really love the idea of doing that part myself.  He drove into the Central Valley and we stopped for dinner, after which I took control of the beast (a.k.a. the mini van).  I drove to the bottom of the Grapevine and then Uncle Benny took over again.  We had agreed from the beginning that he would do the driving once we got into Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.

We got to the hotel late and were settled by about 1:30am.

Friday, we were up at 7:30 and slowly moving around.  One shower for five people takes some patience.  After we were all cleaned and dolled up (I'm speaking of my brothers when I say that last bit), we piled into the van and made our way to Knott's Berry Farm where we enjoyed breakfast at the Farmhouse (the restaurant on site, but one that I just call the Farmhouse because I never remember the actual name).  I had the world's best oatmeal...or so I thought until Sunday morning...and was also delighted to find that they brought out biscuits and chicken gravy on the house!

You really have no idea how excited I was for that.  It's kind of sad, but if you've had Knott's biscuits and chicken gravy, you join in my sadness at knowing how exciting it is to have those things in front of you on the table.

After we got seated, I cried at the table and Jeff and Jeremy both made a scene of how 'embarassed' they were, hiding behind their menus and making noise.  I cried because we used to go there all the time with my grandfather and I have very strong memories of him and that place.  But I got over it and I enjoyed my breakfast thoroughly...as did everyone else, although no one mustered enough courage to try the fried chicken breakfast.  I bet it's muy delicioso.

After breakfast, we all wandered around the gift shop, or in this case the series of gift shops, and I cried again.  This time it was in front of the moccasin display and yes, I agree that I lost all dignity then.  It was kind of great.  You should have been there.

With my crying done and some merchandise in hand (we got a couple boysenberry pies and a couple keychains to commemorate our visit), we piled into the car again and made our way to Disneyland.

Disneyland was a blast.  We rode many rides and the boys and I all had Dole whip related things.  It was uber yummy.  I wish Dole whips were avaiable at my behest...behest being a word I've never used before, but am pleased to use now.  I'm telling you, pineapple soft serve is the best thing on the planet and if I rule the world, my first supreme order will be to have pineapple soft serve flow like running water.

Of course, then I'd probably have a population suffering from Type II diabetes and possibly obesity...

So my second supreme command would be that everyone exercises rigorously and drink lots of water.  Problem solved.

Friday night we got freaking AWESOME seats for fireworks thanks to the awesomeness of one Justin from Fullerton.  He was a cast member that gave us seats front and center facing the castle.  Jeff and I scored those seats while everyone else was off riding Space Mountain.  And we scored big.

As if the seats weren't enough of a treat for us, Justin from Fullerton also gave us a pass afterwards with the number '6' written on it (there were six of us by that time because Chrissy had joined us before dinner) and told us it was good for fast pass status on any ride we wanted.  Even the rides that don't have fast pass options.  So the six of us, after thanking Justin from Fullerton profusely and singing his praises, all looked at one another and said, collectively, 'Indy!'

We then ran over to Adventureland and hopped on Indiana Jones, which we all loved.  It's such a great ride!

Needless to say, it was a long day and we got in after 1am that night as well.

Saturday morning, Alfredo met up with us for a late-ish breakfast, so we got to spend some time with him, which was really nice.  After that, we went to pick Chrissy up (who was staying with our cousin, Sara...and both girls were bridesmaids in my wedding) and went back to Disneyland.  We actually spent most of Saturday at DCA riding rides and wandering around, going through things like the 'tortilla' ride, which is a working Mission tortilla factory on site.

After a late lunch with Sara (she joined us about 2ish), we did a couple other things at DCA before going back to Disneyland for the night.  That night was fabulous.  Sara and I decided that we wanted ice cream for dinner, so we went to the Gibson Girl on Main Street and got some.  Of course, because of our late lunch, we had our ice cream about 9 o'clock that night after riding the Matterhorn, Thunder Mountain and watching Matt and Jeremy go crazy on the Teacups.

We ended the night with fireworks and some shopping along Main Street before saying goodbye to Sara and taking Chrissy back to Azusa (where she goes to school).  We crashed at Craig and Julia's place Saturday night because we wanted to see each other and their family things were done by then.  We got to their place about 1am and were amused by all the black lights that Craig had put throughout the house.

Shortly thereafter, Matt and I said our goodnights and passed out in bed until 10am the following morning.  It was great.  After hearing that Julia needed Craig somewhere for something, we threw our packing into high gear and said goodbye to Craig.  Breakfast was on the road at Corner Bakery, despite Jeff's protestations that he wanted to go to Islands for breakfast.

It was at Corner Bakery that I had the world's yummiest oatmeal.  I was having some serious food lust, but I was happy with my eggs and potatoes and something else that I can't remember right now.  Sunday is kind of a blur to me.

I spent the rest of the trip in and out of consciousness until we arrived at the house, where I showered, did some laundry fromt he vacation and partook heartily of my grandmother's and mother's green enchiladas.  Oh man, they were amazing.

And now you find me here...back at work, wishing it was Friday already for more than one reason.  Still, Friday should be partly fun.  It's a staff training day and we're getting a couple different seminars.  There are no kids that day, so we'll be good to go.  The only questionable figure there, I'm sure, will be Annie, the CPR doll.  I'm especially looking forward to seeing Linda take that one on.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go grab something to eat so that I can, in turn, have my mid-afternoon slump in energy and then pep up again about ten minutes before I actually leave for the day.

- A

Hello!  I thought I'd take a break to blog a little since there happens to be an alarm of some sort going off at frequent intervals and generally making me crazy.  It sounds like a car alarm, but it could be a house alarm.  A really annoying house alarm.

Anyway, I've realized that it's that time of year once more.  It's October.  My favorite month of the whole year.  It's the time of year when things start changing.  I've already noticed that several homes around the area have put up various Halloween things.  One house on Grand has a giant purple inflatable spider attached to the side of the house between two windows.  Trader Joe's has been putting up fake cobwebs and hanging friendly looking ghosts from the ceiling.

My own house already has a pumpkin in it.  The top has been cut off and it's been filled with flowers, so that's nice looking.  There's also a grapevine wreath on the door that I've put up with some more flowers and leaves.  And there's a bow that my mom made for me with really pretty ribbon.

This month has a lot of potential for fun.  You'd think that with the circumstances of last year, I'd hate this month.  A year ago today I was jobless despite a degree from a great school.  I was facing the prospect of not being able to marry the man of my dreams as we had planned.  I was so furious with God that I could scream and all in all, things just looked really dire.  I was really angry and really depressed about everything.  And it wasn't like me to be those things.

Well, angry is like me, but angry for me is nothing a cookie can't fix.

But despite all of that, I can't seem to stop loving the month of October.  And I'll tell you why:

1) Tomorrow night Uncle Benny is coming over to our place for dinner and then the three of us will be heading over to the airport to pick up a rental car (or in our case, a mini van).  Thursday evening the three of us will then be joined by my two brothers and the five of us will then drive down to southern California for a long weekend of fun.  Friday is Disneyland.  Need I say more?  Saturday we'll be met by Sara (our awesome cousin), Chrissy (Jeff's awesome girlfriend), Alf (who puts the 'so' in awesome), and Craig and Julia (who put the 'awesome' in awesome).  Sunday will consist of driving back home.

A quick trip, yes, but it should be fun.

2) Lathrop.  This is a place of desolation and people who choose to live in desolation.  I say this because Lathrop is a place that's WAY the heck out there in the middle of nowhere.  But, it has a pumpkin farm.  And a pumpkin farm means pumpkins, which in turn means a giant corn maze and pumpkin blasters.

Come on.  What's not to be exciting and fun about getting to launch little pumpkins out of an old military grade air cannon?  This year I'm aiming for the hardest target around...a cow bell.

3) Mornings.  Yes, the mornings are darker and more sleep inducing than they are during the spring and summer months, but those who get up early enough are lucky enough to see the change that October brings to mornings around here.

There's a misty quality to them.  And they're gray and chilly.  All the things I love.

4) Nights.  You get to curl up under blankets and quilts.  Or in my case, next to a husband with warm legs that make a perfect resting place for cold feet.  Also, I have an abundance of cool quilts hanging around my house that I can start using.

5) October comes before November.  And November is when I get Thanksgiving.  But more importantly, November is when I get Thanksgiving leftovers, which almost always find themselves put together in the form of a turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce sandwich.

6) It gets darker earlier.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of it being lighter longer during the summers, but when it gets to be this time of year, lights start coming on earlier and things start looking cozier when you pass by.  It makes for great long evenings in with good food and good company.

I'm very much looking forward to entertaining this season.

7) Leaves.  They fall of the trees and make a crunching sound.  It makes a great backdrop for taking pictures of people in sweaters and brown skirts or courdoroy trousers.

Well, in other news, Matt's white blood cells are now fighting a battle.  He caught my cold and was up (although I don't know if he was awake or not) most of the night sniffling and making dark cave noises.  Guess who didn't sleep very well last night.

Anyway, I drugged him this morning with some Dayquil and hopefully that's taking care of some of the symptoms.  I'm really hoping he'll be better by Thursday.  There's nothing worse than having to travel when you're sick.

Currently I'm considering lunch options.  I'm hungry already and I had breakfast this morning.  I find that when I eat breakfast I get hungrier sooner in the day whereas when I don't eat something I'm fine until later.  Weird, I know.  But still, I had breakfast this morning and I'm hungry already.

Whether or not I'm going to pounce on one of my LUNA bars now like a jackal on a wounded possum is still to be determined.

- A

So tonight Matt and I went to the shops for some essentials like milk and butter. And two new big boxes of anti-viral facial tissue.

Yes, the illness in me is still ravaging my body and today was on higher ground, beating my poorly white blood cells into embarrassing submission. Still, I live in hope of one day being able to breathe freely again without one nostril being blocked. And what's that whole thing about?! I mean, one side is blocked and then the next day it's the opposite side. What's up with that?

Anyway, I've been trying to stay away from drugs simply because any cold medicine I have tends to make me drowsy and work and drowsiness don't tend to go together. Tonight I caved in, though. I took some of my favorite cold medicine: Nyquil. The green kind. So with any luck in an hour and half or so I'll be blissfully unconscious in bed for the night.

Dinner didn't sound good to me. I just wasn't hungry, so as I write I'm also suckling a small Jamba with an immunity boost addition. Hopefully the zinc and vitamin C in that boost will help my white blood cells win the war. And with the winning of the war will come free passageways to breathe and the blissful ability to hear once more.

But what am I doing? I should be explaining my week to you so you know how and why I came to be in my present state.

Sunday - Church. Naturally. Afterwards, the family at the house. And laundry. Also a two and half hour nap from whence I awake groggy and fuzzy. Sore throat all day.

Monday - Matt works from home. Matt wakes me up at half past seven to email my people at work that I wouldn't be in. Matt knew I wasn't feeling well. I mean, to be honest it's normally hard to wake me up anyway when I'm well, but it took him a REALLY long time to get me up Monday morning.

I email my people at work that I won't be in. I go back to bed. I sleep until noon. All said and told between Sunday's nap and Sunday night to Monday noon, I sleep about seventeen hours.

Tuesday - The last day of the month. That means it's billing day at work. I force myself to go in because it's the first time since July that we've been able to generate any kind of revenue. I work a full day and am non-stop from start to finish.

Wednesday - The glorious first day of the best month of the year. I love October. Again, I force myself to get up and get dressed. I stumble into work looking like death warmed over and served up on a nice whole grain Triscuit. Boss is in, takes half a migraine pill because of a bad headache. Boss goes home at 11am, leaving me to cover the rest of the day.

In honesty, I'm alright with that, really. I tend to like it when the boss is out.

More billing for different things.

Thursday - Get up late. Feel as though I could do another seventeen hour 'nap' but drag my disease-ridden arse to work anyway. Do accounting work for a school-based program. Spend the entire morning crunching numbers. Shortly after noon, Kathleen stops by with some billing sheets for me. Kathleen is a new behavioral therapist. Kathleen is a doll and I enjoy working with her already.

One o'clock rolls around and I ask the boss if there's anything else pressing that absolutely needs to get done today. I'm informed that there's not. I in turn inform that I'm leaving for the day. I'm again informed that it's my 'job' to be at work tomorrow and Monday because the boss is off on vacation. I absolutely have to be in.

That's been my week so far. Granted, I understand the boss wanting me to be in the office when she's gone. It makes some degree of sense, but what gets me is that I feel as though my current state of being is just being brushed aside. I should have stayed home Tuesday as well, but my stupid dedication didn't win out in the weighing of good judgment and a sense of duty. Anyway, I'm just the slightest bit peeved by the way I was told I HAD to be in work.

Still, my week has been full of some good perks. Daphne's opened and I've luncheon-ed there a couple times already. Chipotle did a soft opening, but officially opens tomorrow. And to give you an idea of what Chipotle's consumer/fan base is like, the line for it tonight as of 8pm was wrapped around the building to PetCo. Yeah. Kind of intimidating.

Another perk is this Jamba I'm having. It's muy delicioso. I'm approving of it big time. Matt made himself a daiquiri from scratch and is enjoying that. He learned how to make simple syrup for it. I'm currently wondering how good Nyquil green will do me in comparison to a few shots of tequila. I suppose with tequila I'd be really warm afterwards and I'm not necessarily up for that. Besides, I'm strongly opposed to mixing drinks and medicine. And I thought of taking the medicine first. I should think more carefully next time.

I started blogging last night, but lost interest. I was thinking about facts that remain true. One of them being that my husband is undoubtedly the sexiest man alive. But then I got to thinking of how good Matt is to me. Especially since I've been so sick this week. He really is a wonderful man. And I love him dearly.

Oh. And this one last thing before I sign off and think about perhaps showering. The fact remains that Arrested Development gets funnier each time I see it.

- A

I'm so happy!

Daphne's opened earlier this week and Chipotle did a soft opening today!

There's gonna be a party at my house later this week to celebrate.  I can tell you that!

- A