Right place at the right time

Weezer:

So we went to the park down the street like any normal day but today we got to see an impromptu mini concert. We were playing on the see-saw and suddenly Weezer showed up with an amp, guitars and a camera crew and just started playing right there in the middle of the playground. Yes, it was one of those surreal moments when I say "I'm sorry, but did that just happen?" I love Weezer so it was our pleasure to stick around and be part of the festivities. Apparently they were shooting all kinds of footage from the neighborhood. We got asked by a few crew members to be up at the front of the small crowd (because we are so cute) and Elise cooperated for a short time but failed to see the magnitude of the situation and ran off. Damn three year olds. Anyway, if you ever see a Weezer video or some sort of montage taking place at a playground I am wearing an army green cargo jacket from Jcrew with a white blouse and Elise is wearing a hot pink dress.

My heart was filled with joy....and as a bonus-they are super nice as we had a chance to chat a bit.

Cornucopia of Thanks

We wrote down things we were thankful for. My list was pretty long and included things like, health, laughing, cashmere, champagne, raw oysters, campfires, lakes, books and music. Mike's list included family, job and hi-def TV. Elise said Momma, my big daddy and playgrounds.

It's that time of year again when my name is plastered all over God's creation and it can be rather irksome. Sirius Holly really does me in..Hollygram anyone? This time of year also means I get to watch one of my favorite movies Love, Actually. It's such a perfect movie, happy, sad, funny all wrapped up in one big package. As a bonus it has probably my all time favorite song, Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell. There isn't a song in the world that moves me more than that one. I can be sappy though...

Happy Thanksgiving and to all a good night:-)

Why, how very Un-Thanksgiving of you!

Elise's first dinner at a fancy restaurant and her first Shirley Temple which she enjoyed immensely...

While most of our country will be cooking turkey at home whilst celebrating killing the Indians and stealing their land, we here in LA will be dining out. I know, it seems so anti-thanksgiving but we figured it would probably be a long time until we could guiltlessly not make Thanksgiving dinner at home. (and it was Mike's idea) I have only eaten out on T-day one other time and it was several years ago in Savannah, GA and it was quite lovely. Don't get me wrong I luuurrrve to cook but I'm OK with breaking tradition for this year. I'll make it up at Christmas..

In addition, we frolicked at the beach today..nothing says November holiday quite like that!

Elise's new do

we chopped it to her shoulders..it had to be done. but she looks so studious now!

Haiku #2

starbucks iced half caf

clock ticking in quiet house

i hate carrot top

Haiku

cold nose on my face

chilly california air

warm and toasty heart

Good things come to those who wait

Finally!

Weekend in the ATL!

We headed to Atlanta for a short but fun weekend to attend a baptism for the newest member of Mike's family, Peter "PJ" James. (Jess and Marc's new son). We are lucky to have him as our new Godson which brings the total up to 14 for the two of us:-0 Although I had a horrible head cold for the duration of the trip, still managed to have a good time. PJ is a blessed angel and it was so nice to finally meet him! Elise really enjoyed playing with her cousins Joelle and Neva. We don't have many good pictures to share but here are a few and they capture the "gist" of the weekend.

Dinner picnic in the living room:

Elise enjoyed dancing outside of the church in her new attire:
Ok, this isn't a great picture (we're not all looking and I have sick eyes/face) but that is the little angel:
PJ taking his swim with JC:

Aircraft Advisory: boarding edition

I will take this opportunity to discuss my feelings about aircraft boarding. This list is in no way exhaustive-just a few items that came to mind over the weekend:

1)I'm sorry to interrupt your novel on Kindle, it's really awesome that you brought your whole clan on the plane including four young children and a baby! If it's not too much trouble, maybe we could get them into their seats rather than letting them run up and down the aisle while people are trying to board.

2)I'm really sorry you couldn't stow your carry on luggage and huge souvenir bag in the overhead bin directly above your seat, make peace with it and move along to the next one so we can board.

3)I noticed you are assigned to seat 11A. It's interesting that you are trying to locate it at seat 23F..It's fairly obvious how one might get those two confused.

4)Listen guy in Airtran business class: I can see you are gloating about your seat assignment. I know that last night you upgraded yourself online by paying $99 extra because you are travelling alone and they had a seat available. Anyone can do it. It doesn't make you special or elite. So wipe the smug look off your face while I wait here for 11A to find her seat.

5)Those are great socks you bought at Brookstone a minute ago..if it's OK with you, would you mind actually putting them on your feet as opposed to going barefoot so they can "breathe" first.

sorry, it was a hectic weekend;-)

perhaps my favorite comedy...

If I was able to rate "This is Spinal Tap" 10 stars on Netflix I would. I have seen this movie probably 50 or more times and it still remains one of my all time favorites. I, of course, am a huge fan of Christopher Guest movies in general but this early one really takes the cake.

Living in LA affords many an opportunity for celebrity sightings but I personally don't care that much unless it's someone I really admire and that usually includes comedic or indie or both actors who may or may not be recognizable to everyone. On Halloween I had the great fortune of seeing one of my favorites, Catherine O'hara while we were out and about. I love her. love her. love her. Ever since Beetlejuice. But it seemed fitting to mention it since she stars in many of the C. Guest movies.

That's all I got. My home is filled with germs and cooties. Both husband and child have been incapacitated the last few days and I'm mentally and physically exhausted. Thankfully, I only have some congestion and slight cough. This has caused temporary vocal loss and I'm currently sporting a sweet deep and husky voice .

Burrito

Ah hahahahahaha...

sigh

I'm just going to go ahead and pretend that I didn't see a picture of Suri Cruise drinking her milk from a baby bottle. She's Elise's age.

Guess the celebrity

Its like one of the children's "I spy" games. Can you spot the celebrity?

More visitors!

Last week our good friends Erik, Melissa and their twins Sara and Julian made the trip out to LA to visit us. We had an awesome time with them and we think they really enjoyed our little piece of California. Elise was happy to have two toddlers to boss around and play with. We kept most things simple-playground, beach, pumpkin patch and adults dinner out one night. They had a record number of celebrity sightings for visitors and managed to capture some memorable footage of Holly singing Debbie Gibson on the beach.

The kids were champion trick-or-treaters..we made it around our whole neighborhood with no tiring whatsoever. I wish we had better pictures of the costumes-Julian was Max from Where The Wild Things Are and it was too cute but we didn't get a good shot.

Sara & Elise:

Julian:
Mike working hard:
Holly working equally as hard:
Mel & Elise & Sara:

possibly the dorkiest picture of Mike ever:

who says you can't carve pumpkins with power tools?

scary and somewhat constipated looking Medusa:

Happy non-threatening Medusa:

Ladybug:

Fairy Princess:

I pray I get lots of candy:

The kids enjoying all the their loot: