Family Leaving & Arriving

LEAVING: This morning I had to take my son Jullien, to the airport at 5:00 a.m. He was supposed to be back in New York last week to go on several castings for New York Fashion Week, but wanted to take care of some things before he left.

So his awesome agent, George Brown at Red Model Management~Click Here & also see Models.Com~Click Here is cramming in tons of castings in the short amount of time leading up to the shows. He had to go to two of them right from the airport...lugging his bags and all.

I've really enjoyed getting to have him home for so long. It made it hard to say goodbye again...but he is so fortunate to be able to travel & see the world at the age of 18.

ARRIVING: My parents arrived yesterday from Utah. I'm so thankful for everyone's prayers for my dad. He is doing incredibly well since his 4th stage, inoperable lung cancer diagnosis a year ago. Check out his "Father of the Year Video on You Tube" CLICK HERE. He continues to work full time at the police dept. as a captain & also works a side job.

I really feel that the prayers and his incredibly positive attitude have stabilized the cancer. It has stopped growing & is completely at a stand still. What a blessing!

My dad and hubby played golf today, while I worked until 1:00 p.m.

I'm fortunate to be an independent contractor and have a flexible schedule.

After I got off, I headed out to Glendora, the small little town I grew up in, where my sister still lives, to hang out with my mom & sister.

We headed back down to Newport Beach to meet up with everyone & eat at my dad's favorite restaurant...The Crab Cooker. We piled nine of us into my Lincoln Navigator, (nothing quite like family togetherness), and had so much fun.

Gotta love all the old family memories!

There's absolutely nothing better than spending time with the people you love the most!

Off to LA Today

K, the pics have nothing to do with the story...they're from Christmas Eve, but I finally was able to download them & was anxious to put them up!

Jullien, Elijah & Me (2 of my Boys...missing Josh)

Today I had to drop Jullien off in LA at Alvera St. for a photo shoot. I heard that there was going to be an awesome photography show in Santa Monica so I thought, "PERFECT...I'll go to that and wait till he's done so I don't have to go all the way home & then try to get back in traffic."

I loved the show (PHOTO LA 2010- CLICK HERE)...it gave me so many ideas, not just regarding my photos but also matting & framing. One of my favorite exhibits was the first one I saw when I walked in titled "Created Equal" by Mark Laita. It was a portrayal of people at the opposite ends of the spectrum or similar (i.e. An African American Christian woman & a white supremicist tattooed male prisoner; a fur trapper & a lady wearing fur, vegetarian & a butcher, a dancer & a boxer). It really made you think. We are all created equal...the difference is life choices. It was VERY COOL...I loved the whole concept behind it.

Then I went down to Santa Monica pier & snapped some cool random pics and hung out till Jullien was done. I grabbed something to eat, sat on a bench overlooking the ocean & some fisherman who were directly below me fishing off the bottom area of the pier. A man sat near by playing the guitar and singing a mixture of jazz & 60's music. I leaned back and thought, "This is exactly what I need. I'm always running & racing around with sports, practices, meetings, and work, it felt so good to have no one needing me for a while."

I looked down to see the large crab that the fisherman had caught scrambling around in the metal wash basin. Kids ran over to peak excitedly inside, as the man told them, "Don't touch him...he'll pinch you." Once the kids left, I had to laugh because every time he turned around to fish, a group of pigeons would swarm the basin, trying to get some easy lunch. He was twisting and turning every few minutes to flail his arms at them...it looked pretty funny.

I need to take the family there, they've never been...I wish our pier was like that!

Anyways, Jullien was happy to work with the photographer, Mark Humphrey, (Humphrey Creative), he said he's a really cool guy and easy to work with. He actually did a viral video for the same photographer back in New York...it'll be coming out soon. The designer & photographer really liked him & so they came back to LA to shoot him. Check out the Photographer's work...(He's done a lot of the Budweiser commercials) CLICK HERE.

After he was done, I picked him up and we went down and walked around Melrose & did some shopping. He was getting mad at me because I was taking too long...typical boy. He was supposed to go to a party with his girlfriend and was trying to rush me.

I actually hate to shop too, but I love this Vintage store on Melrose called, "CROSSROADS TRADING CO - Click Here." I bought some cute tops for $8.00 & a black Armani jacket for $12.00! I'm the bargain shopping queen, I love finding cute, funky clothes for cheap. Besides, I can't feel guilty about shopping for myself at those prices.

We left Melrose so late that I thought we'd miss all the traffic, but even at 7:00 p.m. we still sat in it! I could never work somewhere that I had to commute, what a nightmare!

I have to say that it was a really fun day...I always love doing different things. Not to mention getting to spend some time with my son while he's here (heading back to New York the end of this month). I'm definitely not one of those mom's who wants her kids to move out once they graduate. I wish they could live with me forever...I miss not having them all at home. It gets too quiet!

Today's Tip: All mom's should take a couple of days a month to do something for themselves!

Father's Day, Nurse Maid and Things, Oh My!

I want to wish both my dad's a very HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! With both of them living in two separate states we never get to spend it together, however this year with the graduation so close to Father's Day we were able to have a big family dinner last week at The Crab Cooker in Newport Beach.

I wish we were all closer...I'm sometimes envious of other people's family's as I see all the other grandparents attending their grand kids sporting events. But it was definitely nice to all be together again for a little while!

I'm so grateful for my husband and want him to know how much I love and appreciate him! He has raised my boys as his own, coaching, teaching, loving and supporting them. Never missing an important event...even the dreaded track meets that he hates!LOL!


















He has been the only father in their lives and a WONDERFUL example! I love you honey!!

Last night Elijah was up all night with a really high fever. You know what that means...I was up all night taking care of him. I didn't feel comfortable leaving him alone today because he's been pretty out of it, not to mention two spinal taps in two weeks which is giving him severe headaches from the lack of fluid that they took out. So Anthony had to go to his dad's house with just his kids.

Hopefully Lijey gets better quick...his first high school football practice starts tomorrow and he's been looking forward to it. It's always a battle to earn a starting spot on our high schools top ranked football team. His health is #1 though.

I hope everyone had a GREAT day!!