Sunday, July 22, 2012

The Bachelorette-Who Did Emily Choose?

So after weeks of watching Emily Maynard, the beautiful Bachelorette...it came down to two lucky guys, Arie, (the race car driver)


and Jef (the Entrepreneur)






















In the beginning, Arie was a stand out favorite. They seemed to hit it off and move quickly. Her relationship with Jef on the other hand was a lot slower. But for some reason, after they started making a "connection" as they say on the show, it seemed to be one that a normal, everyday couple would have. They clicked.

So who does Emily pick? After last weeks previews I was worried that she wouldn't pick either of them. Which for this girl, a girl who loves romance and fairy tales (even if it is a made for t.v. fairy tale) it would not be okay! I watch to see the "Princess" fall in love with her "Prince Charming."

Who has more of the "Prince Charming" qualities between the two? Looks...I would say Arie. Personality...I would say Jef. So the perfect guy for Emily would be....hmmmm...Arie/Jef all rolled into one. Don't get me wrong, Jef is a good looking guy and I love his cool, I am who I am vibe, but Arie has the tall, dark and handsome thing going on. Along with that though, I think he has a little bit of "player" in him. Jef on the other hand seems to be down to earth and sincere.


Who did she choose?..................................................................................................................


The winner of Emily Maynard's heart is?..................................................................................











JEF HOLM

Congratulations to them and I hope that this one will be just like the "Ryan & Trista" love story that's still going strong 10 years later!


We Picked Up Two Hitchhikers Last Night

When I was a little girl, years ago on family vacations...we'd see tons of people hitchhiking. It was usually scraggly, disheveled, sketchy looking people and I remember thinking as a young girl, "Who would ever pick them up? They just look like killers!" I was always glad my parents never even thought about it. That was then...when things weren't as crazy as they are now-a-days (now that statement makes me sound really old, as if I should've added, "sonny" in a shaky, elderly lady voice at the end of it:D)

I would NEVER think about picking up hitchhikers now-a-days. As matter of fact, I can't even remember the last time I saw one. I think even the scraggly, disheveled, sketchy looking people are afraid of getting picked up by someone who looks normal but has some crazy mental issues going on. Now you can imagine my surprise last night when I found myself purposefully picking up not just one but two hitch-hikers together. Ready, willing and able to put them in my car with my husband and I.

Flashback 24 hours ago: My hubby and I were out on a date night. Elijah is in Arizona attending the ASU football camp (he did GREAT by the way-making it to 1st Team Linebacker in the final 7 on 7 game.) Oh wait sorry, that's for another blog post...back to my story~lol! So we went to eat at our favorite sushi place, Full Moon Sushi. Of course we ran into several people we know, which pretty much happens every time we go there. Then it was off to Baskin Robbins for a Banana Royale with vanilla ice cream, caramel topping, whip cream, nuts & cherry (aka-"the usual" to the people who work there!;D)

We were about half way through when my hubby said, "There's two young girls hitchhiking out there!" Me: "No? Really? Where?" As I twisted and turned to see outside towards the street. Hubby: "See right there," pointing in the direction of two young high school girls wearing similar outfits: short-shorts, tennis shoes, tank shirts with another baggy t-shirt over it with deep cut arm holes...both of them holding their thumbs up, straight out towards the busy street. Me: "Oh no way! What are they thinking? We should go give them a ride!" Hubby: "What if they're two little psycho's who'll stab us in the throat the minute we start driving?" Me: laughing..."Ya right!" then silently thinking back to all the horror movies I'd watched over the years and second guessing myself. Hubby: "Well, do you want to?" Me: Now unsure, the whole knife wielding scenario running through my mind, but I said, "How would we feel if we heard on the news later, TWO MISSING LOCAL GIRLS FOUND DEAD?" Well that was all he needed to hear...obviously thinking of his own daughter. He quickly got up saying, "Let's go!" Me: "We're going to do it? Let's just say a prayer for protection then," as I stood up still shoveling my ice cream in my mouth. He was already half way out the door saying, "C'mon."

They hadn't gotten very far when we pulled up next to them. They kind of backed away from the car as they leaned down to look in. I was wearing a hat and dark sunglasses and you all know my hubby is sleeved (fully-tattooed) on both arms, so I don't know how safe we looked initially. But I said, "Do you guys need a ride?" They stood still looking at us, looked at each other and then finally said, "Ya thanks." As they got in they said, "Where are you guys headed?" I said, "We live close by, where do you guys want to go...the beach?" Most of the kids around here go to bonfire party's at the beach and so I figured that's where they were headed. "Yes...thanks."

As we started driving I said, "We saw you guys while we were eating ice cream and I was scared for you. You shouldn't be hitchhiking...there are so many crazy people out there!" They just said, "Yeah, we know."  I said, "I only took a ride from someone one time in my whole life back in the 80's. My car had broken down in an isolated area of the 10 fwy-Via Verde. We didn't have cell phones back then so I was stuck and it was getting dark. An older latino man stopped and offered me a ride to the nearest phone. I didn't have many options so I said yes. In the 80's all girls carried Aqua Net hairspray to keep their big hair big." They both laughed...I'm sure picturing all the 80's spoof's they'd seen on t.v. I said laughing..."Now you guys know how old I am!" Then continued,"So I had mine in my purse. As we drove the 10 miles or so to the nearest exit, I talked calmly with the guy but my hand was on my hairspray, ready to spray him in the eyes if he didn't pull off at the first exit. I also looked to see if the door was locked in case I needed to jump out of the speeding car onto the freeway. As we got closer to the exit, I was sweating, my heart was beating so fast, it was ringing in my ears and I was sure he could hear it too. The anticipation of my fate making me almost sick. When all of a sudden he pulled off exactly where I'd asked him to. The relief that swept over me was like nothing I'd ever felt. I felt so lucky." They quietly listened and I said, "Girls, please don't ever do this again! You never know what can happen. My story could've ended very differently." We talked a little more, it turns out one of the girls went to Fountain Valley High School and will be transferring this year as a junior to Newport Harbor High. The other girl lives in Orange and was just visiting her friend. I can't imagine how their parents would feel knowing what they were doing. Kids often think they're invincible. I just hope they get it...I pray they will! We pulled up to drop them off at the bonfire and I asked, "Will there be someone there to give you guys a ride home? If not, I'll give you my phone number and you can call me...I'll pick you up just to know that you guys are safe!" They assured me that they could get a ride home. My parting words to my two hitch-hikers: "Okay, PLEASE don't EVER do that again!"

And my two little hitch-hikers probably never will after getting picked up by a protective, story telling, lecturing mother!LOL!


Friday, July 20, 2012

HELLO iPhone!


Guess what people>>>I finally have an iPhone! Woot Woot! I love it except I miss the normal keypad on my old blackberry. My new posts make me look like a 5 year old trying to spell. It makes me wonder how guys with big ol' fat fingers type. I'm told it's just a learning curve thing and I'll get used to it. I hope so!

My absolute FAVORITE thing about this phone is the camera! Knowing that I have a decent camera with me at all times is the best (still obviously not as good as my normal SLR) But it's a definite improvement from my Blackberry! I often have tons of things to write about but I like to always add pictures with my stories which = lots of extra time when I use my regular camera, sorting, editing and downloading. With the iPhone I have it all there ready to upload. So here's some samples of pictures I've recently taken via my new besty (aka~iPhone)
Add caption
The cloud & church pics were all taken on the same night while walking my dog
Notice the bright light above the cloud and the dimmer rays shining below!
Taken while driving down Beach Blvd...took my breath away!
This was taken at Corona Del Mar Beach on my lunch break
Loved the clouds reflected in the church window



Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Photo Shoot at The Getty Center

If you've never been to the Getty Center, be sure to add it to your list of things to do this summer...IT'S FREE! The only thing you need to pay for is the parking. Here's a few more pictures from our day.
We took pictures with the flowers that matched our outfits

My nephew & niece (Brayden & Zoey)
Getty Center Gardens
3-D Shot
My little sister April (orange flowered background to match her shorts:D)
My Beautiful mommy
My sister and nieces (Stacy, Janae & Whitley)
My nephew Tyce said, "Take my picture" and struck this pose!! LOL!
Check out the face he's making! hahaha
This door reminded me of "The Secret Garden"

 Fun day of art, flowers, food, family and pictures!

Weird Coincidence

Today I was at my newest clients office and while doing some work in Quick books I noticed that one of the brother's birthday is tomorrow. As I was leaving work I told him, "Happy Birthday tomorrow! You have the same birthday as my husband. And your brother's birthday is just a few days after mine which is on December 8th."  He said, "No way, my wife's birthday is on December 8th too!" So we all have the exact same birthdays...how weird is that? 

I guess July and December birthdays are a good combo!:D





Friday, July 6, 2012

Herb Ritts, Getty Center, Melrose...

Cindy Crawford by Herb Ritts
I have most of my family here visiting from Utah. We have been busy, busy, busy. Yesterday we took a trip down to LA and I had tons of places planned to go but we ended up spending most of the day at The Getty Center. The gardens there are amazing and it was my lucky day...they have a Herb Ritts photography gallery showing right now!

It encouraged me SO much to keep taking pictures even though I may not have the best camera or lens. I feel I have a good eye, steady hand and I'm able to get some pretty good shots.

They had Herb Ritts' very first camera on display. Once he made it big and was able to afford the best of the best he said he still liked to use his original camera. He never wanted to spend too much time with equipment but focus on the view in front of him. Love that!! That's exactly how I feel. I'm not one to edit my photo's very much either. I like to remember the shots as they truly are. I want to see the truth of the moment.
 We ended our day at Melrose of course and I had to stop by my fav Vintage store-Crossroads Trading Co. I found another pair of True Religion jeans for $25.00 and a cute Brio! purse. I never fail to find the best deals there.

So as summer is in full swing...I'm enjoying my family and finding fun and exciting things to do and see. Hope your all enjoying you're summer too!