Hie Thee to Zion

Zion is apparently an international hotspot.

Is it the stunning views? The trails for hikers of all levels? Perhaps it's the absolute silence and the stunning cascade of heavenly bodies that surround you once the sun sets behind the cliffs. I haven't quite figured out how to take pictures of stars with my iPhone, but if it looked like this during the day...imagine what that looked like by the light of a waxing moon.

For four days there's actually quite a lot to do in Zion. That is, if you are surrounded by nieces and nephews, catching up with sisters-in-law, tending to injuries, cooking any and all meals and/or trying to find a free bathroom for a quick second. Just me?

We biked from the park entrance to the Lodge almost 5 miles away (uphill, both directions, in the snow...).

We hiked a mile along the Virgin River until we dead-ended at the river itself....then we took up walking sticks, double-bagged our valuables and trudged in. Much like the California surf, the water was cold but soon numbed your feet.

We also hiked to see the canyon view- through a tunnel and out the other side, there's a (perilous) staircase, some natural, some not, that deposits you at a cliff edge with a stunning vista of the park. Granted, it was no Angel's Landing (same idea, but a four hour trek and one of the highest points in the park- not suggested for kids. Me. People with a fear of heights.)

We swam for most of the day- hiking was strictly a morning sport as the heat of the day quickly baked everything in the canyon.

My favorite part of the trip? Catching a wide-eyed Mr. E as he spouted geological tidbits, trying to cram every rock and crevice into his memory bank like a kid at a museum. We vowed to hike more often- and actually get out and camp once in a while!

Let's go to the Museum

I've been to a museum or two in my day, so I was really excited to hear that LA's museums opened up their doors FOR FREE for a day. And even though we missed that day (there's always next year) it sparked an itch that only $10 could scratch.

Come to find out that the CA Science Center is free everyday, so a) science RULES and b) we made sure to go bright and early because I heard it was in the ghetto, which is actually Angeleno for next to USC. Mr. E and I reminisced about the skipped opportunity there as USC was originally his first choice for film school until Chapman knocked it out of the park.

The outside is absolutely lovely and I couldn't help think what pretty wedding pictures could be taken here. Now that I'm past all the wedding hassle, I love imagining industrial wedding venues (as opposed to the ethereal flowery type that is so often flaunted).

Inside, though? Not. As. Impressed.

 I mean, it was cool to look at all of the space things- the Endeavor (which is extra $$, so no thanks) and other space-related parts. The habitats of the world, their creatures and their patterns, the exhibit on LA and the trash we use, the functions of the body and how life evolves, changes and adapts to fit the world it lives in. But all of the exhibits felt old- the plastic was garish and the color scheme was reminiscent of a doctor's office.

In reality I was probably unfairly comparing it to the Children's Discovery Museum down the road from us in Orange. We passed that giant cube everyday and finally found ourselves on the inside one weekend. Granted, it may have been the Indiana Jones exhibit that tempted us, but we stayed for all of the gadgets and the activities. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves there, so to see the moldy too-dark rooms that LA offered was disappointing, in the least.

Like tap water when you really wanted Hi-C. At least there's always LACMA to look forward to.

March Forth

There's a sticker in my bathtub and a Thing toy underneath my living room chair, remnants of a rainbow-sprinkle-smile whirlwind that visited us this month.

A new grill has made it's home in the cupboard and our favorite pub down the street invited us in for a pint or two. We beat the pavement downtown, tasting Cuban pastries and the local candy store's finest.

We cheered on dogs and compared chai tea recipes, watched cheesy Korean gangster movies and listened to creepy stories read amidst macabre clowns and Guinness cupcakes.

We celebrated Mr. E on another year; older and possibly wiser, though wise was never his strong suit. Compassionate, eloquent, hard-working and brilliantly funny are more his style.

We debated and cajoled, unraveled and stitched ourselves back together, both sides searching for understanding in the midst of being understood.

The visits are few and far between, citing a myriad of justified excuses (work, money, kids, distance) but enjoyed thoroughly until the very last drop, until, exhausted, we part ways and fall asleep two hours too early on the couch.

Last Day of Summer

We spent the last day of summer at the LA County Fair. Mr. E and I have gone to the fair almost religiously every year- usually San Diego County, then last year at the Orange County and then we missed BOTH and had to settle for LA. We've determined Del Mar is the best- as OC was incredibly boozy and LA was too spread out.

We sorely missed all of the crazy booths and products. Where were the SHAM-WOWS? The dog brushes and the popsicle-makers? The stained glass and the personalized bracelets? We were impressed with the hanging terrariams (below) and the iron work, but they were small potatoes compared to the fried food.

We're crazy about that fried food. We've tried something crazy every time we go to the fair- because if not then, WHEN? Bacon-wrapped pickles. And deep-fried watermelon. Amazing.

We made it a double date with one of the friends who introduced us to each other (him) and his girlfriend. The best part of the fair this year was our $5/3 cupcake frosting class! Look at these adorable farm animals we created! That's Mr. E's pig down there- despite the fact that I'M the cake decorator in the house!

Goodbye, summer. We had a hard time enjoying you, what with the move and all. But now we're firmly ensconced here in Burbank and we plan to enjoy every pumpkin-flavored confection fall has to offer. Bring on the season of cream cheese.

Movies This Week:
The Crow

The World's End




Major League

Broken (pt. 2) #fiveminutefriday

Write. For five minutes straight. One-word prompt, five minutes, no editing. I'm linking up over at Lisa-Jo Baker (aka The Gypsy Mama) where we read, write and encourage.

I'm still packing here in Orange County. I'm sure I must sound like a broken record by now but the A-lister inside of me has been planning this move for weeks and now that it's finally (sort of) here I feel like I still don't have enough time.

I've gotten all of my tools out in preparation. My hammer- for all those pictures I hung with our without (and then again, with) my husband's help. My spackle- for all those damn holes in the wall, some from us and others a legacy we inherited. My paint and primer- because I was positive I'd go crazy with white walls but now that we have to repaint I'm fairly sure I would have done just fine. My boxes and my tape and my packing paper.

Mr. E and I are playing an exhausting game of Hide and Seek. I drag myself home each night in the summertime heat, weary and wilted, ready to sit down and veg out to some New Girl. Mr. E slouches in some five hours later, just as tired. We'd really love to hang out or watch a movie or run errands for pete's sake! but all we can do is revel in air conditioning and a soft bed and a puppy between us.

And that's okay. I'm tucking each piece of our lives away in boxes, carefully, carefully, so they won't break and he's breaking in our new car and generally sweating about messing up at his first job- but we're doing it for each other and that's what makes it worth it.

LOVED This Weekend

I didn't love this weekend. Not at all. Not even a tiny crumb-ful.

First, this happened.

 Behind that giant tree is our new apartment.

 Coming home from our new apartment (not home for much longer) we found the dog in the garage. NOT where she is supposed to be. She nearly gave us a heart attack when we opened the garage and found her tumbling into the daylight.

And then, this happened. 


And now I'm all out of happenings and excitement and all that's left in me is adulthood and boring-ness. Next is kids. Good grief.

Pack Pack Pack

This week was busy. Busy. Busy. Busy.The big news? Mr. E has his first job as a college grad! 

I want to do cartwheels and back flips but I'll just settle for raising my cup (of coffee) because I've been packing and cleaning the house in preparation for moving, so my energy is zilch. He's working as an Office Production Assistant on the new Zach Braff movie "Wish I Was Here". Such a good jump for his resume because it's very well-known and looked-forward-to in the industry. Here's the Kickstarter webpage; it has a very well-written concise explanation of exactly what making a movie means, what it costs and how you get all of those kittens herded into the bathtub while rolling it down a street in New Orleans made to look like LA. 

This means that Mr. E left the house before I did this morning- SO. WEIRD. We've been operating within our norm for quite some time now and this has kind of shaken things up. New sleeping schedules, I can't ask him to take food out to thaw for dinner, the dog's at home all day...Very strange.

Missing her morning snuggle buddy

I have two weeks left at my job and after that I'm floating free. Casting my net wide, here, applying to anything and everything I can get my hands on, hoping that the more resumes I send out, the sooner I'll get a bite. As great as it is that Mr. E's working, it's still project-based, meaning that he's working on this project which has a run time of approximately 9 weeks, and after that he's looking again. Which is how you do it apparently- constantly networking and keeping an eye on the date of "un-employment". Ugh. It creates a very stressful working situation, but we are so lucky to have two working adults: it makes things bearable! I can't imagine having to jump into the industry by yourself.

We're still looking for an apartment after a few hits (and misses). It's tough to find our price-range or our size, so we're jumping at every opportunity. Almost signed papers for a two bedroom in Burbank (PERFECT?) but stopped at the last minute because really the kitchen was so. small. And since I don't have a reliable job-lead yet it just seemed a little premature. But those days are ticking away!


Just to keep things interesting, Mr. E and I took a trip to see how the other side lived: visiting friends in their new loft apartment in the fabric district of Los Angeles. It's not just in the movies, people. They've converted a loft apartment into a four bedroom bachelor/bachelorette pad with a STUNNING view of the city. We fell into over-sized off-color couches and scoffed authentic LA Mexican food while watching the sun dip behind the twinkling skyline through giant industrial windows. Not only is it refreshing to catch up, but it's reaffirming to know that there are other people that are going through the exact issues that we are. We're not alone!

So while our energy is sparse and our attention spans are filled with budgets and job applications, we are still SO excited to be moving on. We need to stop fighting the change because come August this will all be over.

Our Last Disney Trip

Disneyland was the epitome of childhood for me. Other kids got to go to Disneyland, but we didn't have the money. Plus, travel with four children in an F-150 is not fun no matter how you swing it. The first time we went was magical- no shame riding the little kid rides with younger siblings, I learned that I hate roller coasters and drops, and the sheer intake of sugar could power a small planet.


My best friend in high school would regularly skip school (any school administrators here?) to make use of her year passes. Every once in a while I would go too.

It seems that everyone has their fool proof way of making the most out of a Disneyland trip. You would think, since Mr. E and I lived only 4 miles from the park that we would have made more of an effort to go. But we're cheap and fairly broke and we can't even afford a smartphone much less a year pass. But we know how to hit all the high points just the same. 

Now, most of the time we're tried and true Peter-Pan-first-ers. As soon as that park opens you better be in a line in Fantasyland because otherwise that wait will kill you at nine o'clock. Good grief. Teacups, Mr. Toad's, Smallworld, these rides are high priority. This time around, however? Mr. E and I booked it to Indiana Jones- and we weren't disappointed. First ride of the day and we waited less than ten minutes. Seriously. The line looked a little something like this...

It was about here we got a little fastpass happy- the park wasn't all that crowded so fastpass return times were pretty decent. Ideally, the more people buying fastpasses, the farther our your return time. If you have a fastpass swiped already you need to wait until it's return hour has started until you can swipe again. Which can really help or really hinder your experience. All other Disneyland trips that I have gone the cast members have been super accommodating if you're over your fastpass time- I've used fastpasses we got from the morning to use during fireworks. This time, not so. Apparently they are sticking to that time like glitter on a princess. Which was kind of disappointing.

Mr. E and I made sure to tackle all of our favorite rides (minus the Matterhorn because Mr. E thinks he will die): Space Mtn, Indy (thrice), Buzz Astro Blasters, the Haunted Mansion, and the new Cars ride. We also hit up quite a few shows- the new Beauty and the Beast show at Fantasy Faire, Mickey's Magical Map at the Fantasyland Stage, even learning to draw Jack Skellington at the Animation Academy. 

Since this was going to be our last trip for a while, we made sure to hit all the rides we've meant to go on but just never made it to: Nemo's Submarines and World of Color. The last would have been a lot cooler if you didn't have to peek through a forest of baby limbs on parents' shoulders just to see the lights. 

Possibly the best way we ever did Disneyland was with Mr. E's brother and family- they had a huge two-seater stroller that held food for 30 people (oh, only 7? Seemed like 30) and was convenient for the little kids to ride on. Since there were four adults we could switch off for every ride- one or two stay behind with kids who aren't tall enough, the others grab "family passes" from the cast members and fastpasses to ride again later. We spent MAYBE $50 on food for all of us because we packed lunches with chips and brownies, had plenty of candy snacks (dollar store, holla!) and most ice creams or goodies we shared between all of us.

I think a big perk for us is that we routinely go to Downtown Disney for free date night, too, so we weren't feeling the urge to go through any of the shops since we've seen it all before. We're really going to miss listening to those fireworks every night at 9:30pm on the dot! (not.)

LOVED This Week

We burned the dog on Thursday. On accident, of course. Just a little sparkler dust that caught a hair or two- she was so oblivious she didn't even yelp.

I'm constantly surprised by this dog. Most people talk about dogs and fireworks, warning that they're an unhealthy mix. But Ripley, sweet thing, has grown up with fireworks popping in the distance every night at 9:30pm sharp- thanks Disneyland. So when fireworks exploded overhead at Newport Beach, she didn't bat an eye. She may have shivered and shook from all the new people, the other dogs, the whining and the crying, the smells and sounds of a new place at night, but bright explosions over head? No problem.

We let our sentences dangle for her, waiting until she catches on to the unasked question: "Do you want to..." She uses our shins as a springboard, jumping between us, mouth wide in that doggy smile. She loves the car and often lounges over the window one arm down the side and her head resting between the frame and the mirror. We took it one step further on Thursday and bundled her up for a basket-less bike ride. Pedestrians couldn't get enough of her, face sprouting from our neck as she leveraged herself to see where we were going out of her backpack cocoon, without a care in the world.

I took her out before bed last night and marveled at her supreme calm as Angels Stadium lit up, a cacophony of bangs and booms, and she, undisturbed, chased June beetles.

I wish she could share some of that unruffability with me. Just a scoche.