Turning 2!

My dear sweet nephew, Lucas, turns 2 today and I'm once again overwhelmed with love and adoration for this little man. Never before in my life has someone touched my heart so deeply and stayed just that way.

He really is the light of my life and I cannot imagine my world without him in it. Everything I feel for him today and everyday I wrote on a guest post for my sister over at her blog, so feel free to visit her blog and check it out, Letters for Lucas. My nephew truly did bring me back to life.

Happy 2nd birthday Lucas! For a really adorable slide show of pictures of Lucas, also check out this post on my sister's blog. : )

These are two pictures from his birthday party that his mom and dad threw for him on Saturday at their home in Orange County.

I Am. . .

I spent the better part of yesterday singing the alphabet and asking my almost 2 year old nephew, Lucas, to name letters so in honor of him, below is a neat poster that I found awhile ago in a magazine. I hope it reminds each and every one of you what you really are. : )

I Am. . .

Ageless, Adventurous, Active, Beautiful, Balanced, Blessed, Charismatic, Creative, Capable, Dynamic, Determined, Divine, Enthusiastic, Eloquent, Extraordinary, Feisty, Faithful, Free, Graceful, Genuine, Gutsy, Hardworking, Honest, Happy, Imaginative, Insightful, Individual, Influential, Joyful, Jovial, Kind, Kindred Spirit, Knowledgeable, Logical, Loving, Luminescent, Luscious, Magical, Motivated, Magnificent, Natural, Never Late, Noticeable, Optimistic, Observant, Original, Perceptive, Poised, Persistent, Quick-on-My-Feet, Quirky, Resilient, Reliable, Radiant, Sensational, Self-Assured, Spiritual, Trustworthy, Thoughtful, Unique, Unabashed, Understanding, Vibrant, Valuable, Versatile, Witty, Whimsical, Wise, eXuberant, fleXible, eXcited, Youthful, Zany, Zealous and Zingy.

One Sweet Weekend

This past weekend had it all. I literally did a little bit of everything. Who knew you could cram in so many different activities in three days-I'm including Friday night as well.

My roommate, two friends and I saw a movie and then grabbed some delicious burgers around the corner from the theater at Stout. Nothing better than a yummy veggie burger(I'm eating vegetarian for the month) and a great beer.








On Saturday I met a new friend about 45 minutes east of Los Angeles in Arcadia. We spent several hours at the Arboretum and stayed till long after closing. For those of you that don't know what the heck is arboretum is, it's like a wild animal park but only for plants, a variety of birds and smaller animals. Normally I wouldn't really have been able to enjoy something like this for that long but I suppose it's all about the company. : ) There were peacocks walking around everywhere which was pretty neat too.


On Sunday, I went on a run around my neighborhood which was awesome but incredibly hot. Not sure how I'm going to run outside this summer... After the run, my sister came into town with her husband and they dropped off their son for me to babysit for the afternoon. They went off to lunch and Lucas and I went off to a nearby park. We had a really fun day together but of course, it's always too short. Luckily I'll be seeing them all later this week. Later at night, my roommate and I headed to a book reading in Hollywood. So all in all, a very busy weekend!


Did you do anything fun last weekend?

Time with Lucas

Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending a lot of one on one time with my nephew, Lucas. We had so much fun and I was delighted to be able to spend so much time together. We went to a nearby park, ran around the backyard, played with his trains, sang songs, read plenty of books and a whole lot more.

Here are a few fun pictures that I snapped with my phone:

Visitors from Family

My sister Tonya brought my nephew Lucas to visit me yesterday and we had such a wonderful day walking around the infamous Santa Monica Pier and then onto the 3rd St. Promenade right by it. It was an absolutely beautiful LA day with amazing sunshine and a slight cool breeze. Meanwhile the rest of the US is suffering through yet another Snowpocalypse. Did I spell that right? Haha Whatever it is, I find myself more than thankful to be living here on the West Coast now.

Another thing that I'm constantly grateful for is that I do live so close to my family. They are my world and have the incredible ability to cheer me up and brighten my day. I know so many people that live far away from their adorable nephews and nieces and I honestly cannot imagine that. Living in Arizona for just under a year after my nephew was born was hard enough on me. I hope that we will always live close to each other. Ok, Tonya? No moving to the east coast anytime soon!!

Anyway, back to our fun day- Lucas seemed to really enjoy himself and we even got him to ride the renown Ferris Wheel at the end of the pier. We had a very yummy Mexican lunch complete with margaritas and me feeding Lucas rice off my own plate! Haha! It was too funny, he wouldn't accept food from Mom's plate, just from mine. So cute! : )

Sure, the Pier is a super touristy and kind of a cheesy thing to do here in LA but it's still fun and I always enjoy my time there. Next up, I really want to try the trapeze flying that is there! Have you ever done it? My sister did it last year and she loved it. I think I would too!

Hey, remember the cute YouTube video that Gina and I made about the Pier- Sarah Palin... Let's Go Fishing At the Santa Monica Pier!

Here are three great pictures from our day:

31 Day Photo Challenge-Day 14

31 Day Photo Challenge-Day 14: Post a picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

I could never imagine my life without a lot of people! Yikes, how am I supposed to pick just one person?!

Well, I definitely know that I wouldn't be who I am today without my wonderful sister. She is my rock and I know that I can always count on her. We've been through our ups and down this year but I know that in the end, she is going to be there for me. We are sisters through and through and I love her dearly. This is a picture taken of her and my other favorite person, her son and my beloved nephew Lucas at Disneyland last week.

Merry Christmas from LA 'n' LA

Merry Christmas to you my wonderful followers and your family and friends. I hope you spend today with your loved ones and enjoy all that Christmas as to offer you. I'm excited to be with this little guy! Below is a picture of him taken last year! Isn't it the cutest ever? Can't wait to take more like this this Christmas.

31 Day Photo Challenge-Day 4

Day 4 of 31 Day Blogging Challenge: Post a picture of your night

Well, actually these 2 pictures were taken last night at Disneyland with my adorable nephew. For some wonderfully sweet reason, he was in a big kissing mood so we were smooching for most of the little train ride around the park that we were on. : ) I taught him how to nose kiss. So cute! Doesn't black and white just make everything look better?

I've Got a Crush!

That's right, I've got a big ole crush on my nephew, Lucas! : )

This Thanksgiving holiday, I got to spend a lot of one on one time with my adorable 17 month old nephew. I absolutely adore him! I've never really felt this way about anyone before, not my sister, not any friends and not even my parents. Honestly, I don't think I've ever loved anyone like I do him. I would do anything for this little guy. If only he knew how much I cared about him. Being with him makes me incredibly happy and I am thankful everyday for him.

Here's a few pics of him that I got this weekend:



And this one is my favorite! He just walked right up to me and proceeded to sit right on my stomach and then layed down and made himself comfortable. Guess he loves me too. : )

The Guest List

While I am absolutely no where near getting married, in fact, I think I am several years away from the big day, it's still fun to think about from time to time with my girl friends.

So, my very dear friend Tracy, over at BrooklynNight was visiting me about a month ago and she suggested that we make our inevitable guest lists right now and see who makes the cut. Pretty interesting, right? I thought so anyway.

Here's the thing, try to keep the guest list as short as possible and keep in mind that people have girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands, wives and partners. Are they also invited? Is everyone allowed a plus 1? Also, you have to decide whether or not you are inviting children to the wedding. You aren't allowed to check your phone for names that you might have missed either. These have to be people that on your mind right now. I thought that this would be easy enough. I was wrong.

Once I got started listing off people, I think I sort of got carried away. Especially since, I'm not even sure I want a typical large wedding. In fact, most of the time, I only want 10 or so people there MAX! Well, that was not what this particular guest list showed. According to it, I want about 60 people at my wedding! YIKES! The spouses are what really brings that number up-honest! Tracy's list had about 40 people on it which I think is much much more sensible. Good for her.

This exercise really got me thinking about my friends and who I really want at my wedding. What people do I truly want to share one of the most important days of my life. If they aren't on my mind right now, then I think that tells me something. I don't know..perhaps not but it certainly seems logical to me right now. It also got me thinking about whether I want people there because they were my parents friends. I care about these people but where do I draw the line?

What about your guest list? If you haven't gotten married yet, try writing down a list right now. How many are you going to invite? Was this an easy or difficult thing for you to do? If you are married, how did you decide the guest list?!

FYI, the first person on my guest list was my 17month old nephew Lucas. : )

I'm Grateful For...-Day 13

Here are my blessings for Day 13:

1. I'm grateful to usually get 6-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night! All my life (so far) I've never been one of those people that tosses and turns and wakes up a million times throughout the night. Thank goodness, cause I LOVE sleep!
2. Breakfast in bed! There's something about eating your first meal of the day under warm covers. I enjoy eating a bowl of cereal in bed especially.
3. I'm able to pay all my bills.
4. I'm grateful that I can completely and utterly surrender to what is and then waiting expectantly for the good that is to come.
5. My magazines and the time to flip through each and every page.
6. Delighting in other people's children.
7. Delighting in my amazing nephew, Lucas. He is definitely my favorite person in the world!
8. The desire for knowledge. I love constantly learning new things. Teach away!
9. I'm grateful for bookstores. I feel closer to my family every time I'm in one.
10. The amazing sunrises and sunsets I've seen in my life.
    

Weekend Picture Recap

I had a wonderful weekend here in LA with my close friend from college, Tracy. It went by way too fast and I was incredibly sad to see her leave this afternoon. I cannot wait for the day till we live at least on the same coast! I think that this weekend was a wonderful combination of planned outings and events mixed in with down time and relaxing in my living room. Right, Tracy?! Haha!

Here are a few of the highlights:

We spent a few hours hanging out on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica before taking her to the airport. We also walked over to the Santa Monica Pier. She had never been over there before plus it's a perfect spot for pictures. We decided that I must go there on a date in the near future! : )


My roommate Swati had a speak-easy themed fund-raiser cocktail party for her work, Zocalo Public Square on Saturday night so we attended that fully dressed the part. It was fun to get all dressed up with Tracy (I made her wear a long blond wig, which she loved) and be at a classy event. The picture in the middle is courtesy of Zocalo Public Square.


Since New York isn't exactly known for it's sunny skies, we spent Saturday laying out at the beach. Sadly, Tracy didn't get to wear her swimsuit at all this summer in NY so she was super excited to wear one here. I cannot tell you how amazing it was just to lay out with her and simply talk. It was great beach weather for us and I am happy to report that I DID NOT GET BURNT! I was all about my 100 SPF sunscreen!!


During the day on Friday, I did my best to give Tracy a tour of Hollywood. I got us a hotel room at the W so we were able to park there and just walk up and down Hollywood Blvd. Of course we had to get a cheesy pic in front of the "Hollywood" sign. This was one of the best views we found. We also took several pictures in front of a few stars with our fave celebs names on them.


Then on Friday night, we met up with a few new and old friends for dinner at Velvet Margarita just a couple blocks from our hotel. It was a lovely night full of great conversation and delicious Mexican food.


On Sunday, my sister drove to LA with Lucas so Tracy could finally him. We spent time at Griffith Park lounging in the grass and enjoying the train museum at Travel Town. Lucas absolutely adores trains so he was in heaven there. It was such a sweet day and I loved getting to spend it with three of my favorite people in the world!

Wordless Wednesdays

My nephew totally knows me and I seriously love that! There really are no words to explain how much I love this little guy. Isn't this video that my sister took adorable?!

I hate when I have so much on my mind but I can't seem to get the words out. There's also a fine line that I'm not sure how to cross with how much of my life do I actually want on this blog. How personal should I be getting? Who really cares? Ugh....

Well, on a much cheerier note, I spent today with my sister and my nephew. They drove in from San Diego which was the perfect idea for today! We had fun playing at my house, having lunch and then walking around the shopping center, The Grove. Lucas gets more and more fun to hang out with every time I see him. Seriously, he enjoys holding hands, giving kisses, naming faces in pictures, dancing along to music and occasionally sitting and reading a book. I really wish that I could kidnap him from my sister and have him live with me! : )

Celebrating Love

Today my sister and her husband have been married 3 years! Woo hoo! They have been through so much in three short years but have overcome it all and are doing pretty darn awesome today. I know I do this all the time but whatever, her blog is just too sweet not to share with you..check out her blog for today's darling post about her husband and their relationship thus far, Letters for Lucas. Well, happy third anniversary you two! I love you both very much and I look forward to sharing many more wonderful memories together.

It got me thinking about love and how you know you are with the person that you are going to be with forever? Forever is a really really long time. I have trouble keeping the furniture in my room in the same position for too long... Yikes! I know they all say that when you meet the right person, you'll just know, but what if you don't? What if you never get that feeling? Or what if you just never that person? Then what? I suppose the entire dating process to get to that point is fun and by fun I mean frustrating, complicated, and certainly at times absolutely wonderful. Go ahead and call me a hopeless romantic.

So last month, I wrote the following letter to my nephew to put on my sister's blog so I thought that this would be a perfect time to share it on my blog seeing as this is what I'm talking about today. Enjoy!

Dear Lucas,

So, what exactly does it mean to be the "perfect guy"? It’s kind of funny for me to think about you and dating right now but you are not going to be a little guy forever and will eventually be interested in the ladies. Having said that, there’s no rush at all. You have your whole life to stress about girls and learn what makes women tick. Take your time and enjoy the process of meeting your Ms. Right.

Okay, so there’s no beating around the bush, dating can be tough. In fact, maintaining a solid relationship is tough too. It’s all tough. While dating can be complicated and frustrating and at times exhausting, it can be incredible too. When you find someone whom you want to spend your time with and whom you have more than just ‘friend’ feelings towards, it can be one of the best feelings in the world. When you are really involved, everything just feels better. Food tastes yummier, colors are brighter and even music sounds more amazing. I can’t explain it but this all really does happen. I can’t wait until you experience all this for the first time. There is nothing like your first love. So, please call your aunt and fill her in!

Of course you have to consider yourself lucky when that person you care for, cares for you right back. Trust me, so far in my dating life, I’ve had numerous crushes but maybe only a couple guys have actually reciprocated those feelings back at me. It can be very sad and certainly a self-esteem killer, but like the saying goes, there are a lot of fish in the sea.

Now I’m sure your mom and dad have already told you all this or you have picked it up somewhere else no doubt, but a month or so ago I created the ultimate “Perfect Guy” list, so I thought that I would share a few things I learned from my research. While compiling this list may have been fun, it’s really not that practical. There are really no set characteristics girls need to have in their perfect guy. It's all feelings and connections. Having a list will ruin all that. We just need to make sure that we are open to love, every kind of love. It's really not supposed to make sense or fit a mold or a list. Another thing to keep in mind is that most girls just want a guy who can have hot dogs and beers at a baseball game during the day...then wine and dine them at the Met later at night. Personally, I love a guy who can make me laugh. An awesome sense of humor is very important to me. You are already cracking me up at just a year old so I’m sure you’ll be good on that.

LA Dodgers!

I went to my first Los Angeles Dodgers game last Friday night and I had a really good time. I would much rather see a live basketball game any day but I figured that I needed to check out the Dodgers. Ok, so I didn't actually see too much of the actual game. There was just too much else going on around me! The people sitting around us were completely obnoxious and having the strangest (drunken?) conversations. Plus, "the wave" was in full effect and I love a good audience participated wave. Then, of course my roommate Swati and I had to go to the bathroom, get a Dodger Dog and beers and that process took about three innings!! The lines for everything were ridiculously long but that's to be expected at a sporting event.

After the game, my friends and I walked over to the gift store and of course I had to buy my nephew, Lucas, something. After a few texts back and forth with his mom and dad, I decided on a cute little Dodger baseball cap. I've been here in San Diego with them for a few days this week so I was able to give him the hat. Isn't he such a cutie? Go Dodgers!

You Know You Hang Out With Kids A Lot When

My sister has a frequent post, entitled, "You Know You're A Mom When s-Daze" so I thought it would be funny if I had a similar one on my blog..

So introducing, "You Know You Hang Out With Kids A Lot When..."

• You find yourself singing children's songs when you are nowhere near a child.. For example, coming out of the shower this morning, I was singing the Elmo song.. "La la la la, Elmo's world.."
• At times you are able to think of life very simply-You are either hungry, tired, sad, angry or just fun and playful.
• You want to know exactly how all these crazy loud and at times obnoxious toys are helping these children. Are they meant to entertain, educate or both?
• You love reading even more now..especially if it's with a one year old sitting on your lap and helping you turn the pages.
• Just about all the pictures on your camera and phone are of the children in your life. 90% of mine are of my adorable nephew!
• You think it would be awesome if we all had a daily designated nap time from 10 to 12.
• It would be sweet if everyone blew kisses and waved constantly when anyone left a room.
• You can't remember ever stressing about how to put on a diaper.
• One of the first things friends always ask you when you are catching up is how is your nephew doing.
• You swear every time you see them again, they've gotten bigger. Even if you just saw them a week earlier!
• You may not have any children of your own yet but you still feel the need to walk into every toy store and kids clothing stores in hopes of picking something up for your young friends.
• Your facebook statuses tend to be more about these children then your own life.
• You don't care that they are the only ones that actually laugh at your goofy faces and noises.
• Whenever you are feeling sad, seeing your favorite little person is sure to cheer u up!

Feels Like Home

Other than my sister and of course, her one year old son, Lucas, there aren't many people in my life who make me feel like "home". What does that even mean? I don't really know...I think it's simply a feeling of absolute love and sheer warmness you get whenever you are around certain people. I guess you could say you are surrounded by those warm and fuzzies. I usually feel this way if I'm totally comfortable with those silent moments when no one is saying a single thing. How do you know when you are totally comfortable with someone?

Honestly, before my parents died, I didn't look for those "homey" feelings from anyone else but them and my sister. I didn't need it from anyone else. I already had those intimate unconditional homey feelings all taken care of. And that horrible day they died, I lost all of that. I suppose recently I've come to the understanding that I'm not completely shut off from letting others in and allowing myself to feel that way with other people. The Moyers are a perfect example of this. Sure, I'll never be able to be around anyone who makes me feel just like my parents did and that is extremely painful. However, it's hopeful knowing that my heart is still open.

I'd like to thank Emily and her parents for making me truly realize all of this. There have of course been several other friends these past 2 years that have shown me that and for which I'll be forever grateful to. I think that they all know who there are. It's strange... I know I'll always have this aching hole in my heart but families like the Moyers are definitely lessening it every day.

Well, thank you for reading this and for allowing me to open my heart with all of you once again.

Lucas is 1!

My adorable nephew, Lucas, turned 1 today! Never before has a year gone by so fast in my life. I feel so privileged to have been a part of his 1st year of life. I am excited for many many more memories with him.

Yesterday we had a little party for him at my sister's place in San Diego. The guest list was very small, just her husband's sister, his parents and I were invited. It was short and sweet-perfect for a 1 year old. Lucas enjoyed playing with his first ever cupcake, riding around on his new car and having us chase him around the house.

Below are two of my favorite pictures from the party, check out my sister's blog for more cuteness, Letters for Lucas.

While She Is Sleeping

Pretty soon after I moved here to LA, I started babysitting Miss. Hannah. She is by far the easiest child that I've ever sat for. By the time I get over to her house, she is sound asleep already and remains asleep the entire time I am at her house. For all she knows, her mom and dad are at home too. We've only actually met once a couple months ago when I happened to come over a little earlier than usual and she was getting ready for bed.

I don't even go to her room when I'm over, I simply periodically check her out on the baby monitor to make sure she is still happily sleeping. Above is a picture of her from the monitor. Isn't she super cute sleeping with her arms crossed behind her head?! While I babysit her, I watch TV and movies, read a lot, chat with friends online and of course my favorite, blogging! Sometimes, I even do a combination of all these things.

I've always really enjoyed babysitting, more so when I actually get to play with the kids. What can I say, I love kids! Perhaps this is because I'm just a big kid at heart and I get along well with them so well. Being with my nephew Lucas makes me realize just how much I enjoy the company of children. While I know that I am nowhere near ready to have my own family, I am definitely excited about my (distant) future as a mom.

For now I will continue to babysit Miss. Hannah and possibly others and hope for an afternoon job so i can actually hang out with her. : )