there comes a time...

...in every girl's life that she gets so hair pulling bored that the last 30 minutes before her husband comes home are pain-stakingly awful.
So here's my situation, I work part-time still in my office job, this usually consists of a schedule of something like 10am-2pm. Wonderful, I know. And when I first graduated it was grand, I'd get off at 2pm, do some errands, then get home in time for my early bird husband to get off of his 7am-4pm shift at work in Irvine and come home and we had the entire evening together.
And now he got put on a new project where he commutes to LA everyday (via the Metro and Metrolink trains--also why he has to work in LA, that's where their offices are). Which is totally a blessing in disguise because he's getting more experience and doing really well and his company is thriving.
But here his wife sits. I get home at 2pm (sometimes more like 4pm if I have errands to run) and clean up around the house, watch an episode or two of Jon and Kate plus 8 and by this time it's about 5:30 or 6pm. And this is when I haven't heard from my husband yet to tell me he's on his way home. And this is also about the time that I haven't had interaction with another human being for approx. 4 hours. Which is usually fine, except that this happens everyday--who knew I was such a people person?
I finally hear from him that he's on the 5:40 train...this means he'll be home at 7, this gives me time tables on making dinner and doing anything else I wanted to get done before he comes home and this is probably the best part of my day.
He comes home, we have the rest of the evening together, and those painful hours of him not being home and me being desperate for another person to talk to (I have zero cell service in our apartment) have all vanished...as if it never happened.
Now, I'll be honest, this doesn't happen everyday. Somedays I pick him up at the Anaheim station and we go to Disney all night (well until about 9pm) and somedays I get a surprise and he gets on the 3:30pm train, and somedays we go to the Temple and so he has no choice but to be home by 6pm. And so really...these loathsome days of running errands and sitting at home by myself and having just enough to do that I don't call anyone to bug but then end up with way too much time on my hands...they only happen 2-3 times a week.
And now I know what you're thinking "...get a full-time job!" Well you see, I fell through yet another loop hole with CSULB and have not officially graduated. But after much confusion with transcripts and a trip to Moorpark College I should have that fancy degree by the middle of next month. Until then--as in when I can apply for a full-time or part-time job (substitute teaching anyone?), I am in this routine...and am learning to loathe it, I mean love it.
I do have things to keep me busy but none are as fun as having Robert home with me, and that is just the truth.
I'm sticking to it.

mr. and mrs. mallard.

who really goes to Disneyland for the rides anymore anyways?

offspring. This really made my day, in the Spring this is what I live for. Little webbed families pawning off of Disneyland goers for leftover french fries.

on marriage. of someone else.

My brother Trevor is getting married tomorrow with the festivities starting today and it all has me thinking. Where has the time gone? But I know where it went, he went on a mission, I started college, then he started college, etc. etc.

But on the years when we grew up, you know when it really counts, when I was a very insecure 12 year old at a new middle school and he was a insecure 16 year old at a new high school. and even before that, we were always best buds.

I remember my mom letting us--after much begging--to share a room together when i was about 5 years old i think. I would always play GI Joe's with my two brothers, they were so cool.

Then we moved to the valley and summers started with traditions such as me bouncing on him every morning around 9am to watch I Love Lucy because he had a TV in his room. And there was my obsession with Bagel Bites, but any time i'd walk away from them he'd eat all 10 or so up in one bite just to be funny. Most of the time he wasn't even hungry!

And countless afternoons in the pool hunting for toys at the bottom and playing with our fun-noodles.

And time went on and we grew up, I got a little more "hip" and so did he, but things were still the same.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not sad he's getting married, oh never Daniaelle is SO great and fits into our family absolutely perfectly, I'm just having fun looking back at our lives together and realizing this is yet another beginning of something great!

Ok so I'm probably going to ball my eyes out at the wedding. oh well.

what i did over my summer vacation...

I really want to finish that sentence this fall with a story about an amazing vacation. I keep bugging Robert to take me on a cruise to the Caribbean.
There are SO many options but I'm really liking the 6 or 7-night Western Caribbean cruises that leave from Florida (Ft. Lauderdale or Tampa) and hit these beautiful places:

Stop #1: Labadee -- Royal Caribbean's private island Stop #2: Ochos Rios, Jamaica

Stop #3: George Town, Grand Cayman Stop #4: Cozumel, Mexico

And yes, I am fully prepared to gain 10 lbs of cruise food and use my snorklies again--this time without hyperventilating.

Help me convince Robert, I'm dieing for some fun in the sun before babies, houses, etc. etc. come along.

cough. shrug. cry.

don't worry, my immune system has failed me once again.

today's goals: thank you cards, avoiding the cold windy weather, laundry, and getting better!!!

if you find me later with tissue stuck up nose and on episode 3,432 of tivo'd Jon and Kate...send in reinforcements.

loves and not-so-loves.

I have returned from my long weekend in Utah and though a post well-equipped with pictures is soon to be upon us all, I thought I'd quickly list my loves and not-so-loves from my weekend:

loves:

• Meeting Ms. Kirsi, one of the sweetest, well-behaved babies I've met.
• Finally eating Tucano's and tasting Brazilian cuisine.
• The french bakery on State St.
• Burger Supreme with gems like Jeris, Suzanna and Chris Carney.
• Easter morning drive up Provo canyon.
• Playing "Bang" until the wee-hours of the night, also one of my new favorite games.
• Attending the baby's blessing. (and getting her handed off to me for about 15 minutes :))
• Enjoying way too many Brassfield chocolate chip cookies.
• Playing farkle, even though i lost. both times.
• The moment Robert and I realized we were home and rolled down the windows to a moist sea-scented breeze. aaahh.

not-so-loves:

• The massive stomach ache I had after Tucano's
• The not so comfy air mattress.
• The one hour it took us to drive the one mile separating us and IN-N-OUT in Vegas due to some serious road construction (it still gives me shivers).
• Not having time to see everyone I love up there :(

And just for the record, the weather forecast for this weekend...

PROVO:

NEWPORT:

polish savvy.

When I was a teenager I remember mixing nail polish colors together trying so hard to get the right color that I couldn't find at any store and then...I discovered OPI and Essie and have never been dissapointed.

Last summer it was my obsession with finding a mustard yellow nail polish color...and thus appeared like something out of the heavens as I was wandering my way through Ulta (spending way to much money already) this little beauty.

It was the color on my nails that following weekend when Robert proposed to me...
And today, once again Essie did not let me down as I once again was at Ulta buying my much need face lotion, etc and as I stepped towards the cash register I found this little devil...
Oh it's so turqouisey and wonderful I can barely wait to get home and paint my nails and toes. seriously. Oh and there was a bluer one just waiting for me...next time.

oh etsy.

On etsy looking at things like this:

and feeling the urge to create, create, create!!!

It has been far too long since I've painted something beautiful. There was one semester when I painted my heart out and realized I had a gift, not for unique scenes or making my "mark" on the art scene, but for color and lines and creating crisp edges. I got an A in that class and let my teacher keep all my work so she could use it as examples for future students. I didn't want it selfishly for my portfolio, the reasons she wanted it were more satisfying than any dust gathering portfolio I could have owned.

I will admit...Nienie's post helped me by sharing this little gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhLlnq5yY7k