Mom's visit

Mom came to visit me!  She came in on Thursday night.  I had to work on Friday so she stayed home and made me runzas.  Homemade runzas are my favorite!  After work, we went to dinner.  We went to dinner in Silver Lake at an oyster restaurant.  I had mussels.  They were yummy.  After dinner, I told Mom I wasn't telling her where I was taking her and I took her to the Griffith Observatory.  It's so pretty up there.  I had only been there one other time at dusk but we left before it was really dark.  Friday was a full moon and it was gorgeous!  We waited in line to look through the giant telescope and got an amazingly clear picture of Jupiter.  So cool!

Saturday, we started the day in Santa Monica.  The farmer's market was going on and we bought honey stix, blackberries, and raspberries.  I wish the honey stix were labeled because I don't remember what I picked anymore.  The berries were delicious.  We walked on the beach and saw a whale crazy close to the shore.  That was amazing!  We went to the Pier for a bit, rode the super lame roller coaster, and then the Ferris Wheel.  We ate some Mexican food at the restaurant at the end of the pier.  The tacos were ok.  Not super fantastic but still good tacos.

The plan was then to go to a museum but I was exhausted so we went home and took a nap before going to Hollywood.  Such a good choice.  After sleeping for a bit, we went to Hollywood.  We ate at a sushi restaurant.  I apparently wasn't in the mood for sushi and it didn't taste good to me.  Sad.  After dinner, it was time for the show at the Pantages Theater.  The theatre is gorgeous and the show was incredible.  I've seen it once before and am addicted to the music.  The coolest part this time was seeing Cody Strand, a USD grad, play Elder Cunningham.  Mom wrote him a note and we met him after the show.  Very cool.  He was very good, as was the whole show.

We went to Newport Beach on Sunday.  It's gorgeous, definitely a beach community.  There wasn't a whale watching trip early in the day available, so we went on a harbor cruise first, had lunch, and sat on the beach first.  The harbor cruise was cool.  They pointed out a bunch of rich people houses, like Wrigley, Mott's Applesauce founder, and Shirley Temple.  We saw some sea lions too.  On the whale watching trip, we saw a whale pretty early in the trip and spent the rest of the time following it.  I could see the spray and every once in awhile a tiny bit of it's back.  If I didn't know it was a whale, I would have had no clue.  In San Diego, we got to see a tail a few times, but not this time.

"There's always money in the banana stand."  I love Arrested Development.

Whale spray

It was a really good visit.  Short, but good.  I'm so glad she came.

Keeping Busy

This week has been the hardest one since I've been here for sure.  I tried to keep busy.  Yesterday it didn't work, but today it did.

Yesterday, I started the day off in Griffith Park.  I was looking for the Bat Cave.  I didn't find it, but I think I went past the trail for it.  I figured this out pretty quickly, but instead of turning back, decided I would keep going for awhile and try really hard not to get lost.  (Success!)  I caught a glimpse of the Hollywood sign and decided to try to get to the back of it.  You can't go to the front, but you can go behind it.  On my way down, I tracked it with my phone to see how far it was.  3.1 miles back, so that meant it was 3.1 miles going up....pretty much all uphill...my hips are crazy sore today but the view was great.

There were, however, tons of people when I got closer to the top.  I didn't like that as much.  At least having people around me, even though I didn't know them, sort of kept me together for the time being.

As I was driving home, I saw this fountain.

We went here on the night bike ride we did.  I had no idea where we were.  He had told me we were close to the zoo, but I didn't really know exactly where that was.  I still don't totally, but I have a better idea.  The fountain is prettier at night when it's lit up with colored lights.

After the hike, I decided I would actually go see Frozen.  I've been thinking about it for forever, but haven't gotten my act together to actually go.  I found a theater in Burbank that had a show soon.  Ugh, $11 for a show at 12:15.  Gross, but it was worth it.  I am the WORST movie watcher.  I can't stay awake anymore.  This movie is an hour and a half and I couldn't stay awake for all of it.  I'm pretty sure I only missed a few minutes of it, towards the end, so I saw MOST of it.  What I did see, I loved!!!!  It's definitely one I will buy.

The rest of the day was spent at my apartment, not eating.  I ate sushi I had delivered on Friday night and then didn't eat anything yesterday.  Nothing at all and I drank less than a glass of water.  So yeah, we'll just skip over the rest of yesterday.

Today, I got up and went to a gym that a girl from work told me about.  I wanted to find out more about it.  It's really nice, about ten minutes drive from me.  They have a lot of classes, but it's a little more than I really want to pay.  I'm going to go back tomorrow to talk to someone about prices.  The person I needed to talk to wasn't there today, since it was Sunday.  At this point, I might be ok with paying a little more because it will make me be slightly more social than I am right now (which is not at all).

After the gym, I drove to Century City (I think) to the Annenberg Space for Photography.  It's near the building that houses CAA (Creative Artists Agency, which is a huge talent agency) so it's like crazy nice.  I had to have my trunk checked going into the parking garage.  The actual place was much smaller than I thought it would be.  Right now, it's exhibit is the anniversary for National Geographic.  125 years I think?  I'll say yes.  There were photographs on the wall, but most of them were displayed on video screens, by theme.  It was really cool.  I don't remember the fancy names for the themes, but they were basically war, people, exploration, and America.  Each one was about 10-15 minutes long, but there was no place to sit.  My hips are still sore from yesterday so standing wasn't my favorite today.  I watched at least 5 minutes of each one and the majority of America.  They had a lot of Pine Ridge pictures.

When I was at the photography place, I texted Eric to see about seeing him sometime soon.  I totally expected him to blow me off, but he didn't.  He said he had a show today, so I decided to go.  I had a few hours to kill.  I didn't want to come all the way home, just to leave again.  I went back to Griffith Park and found the 75 year old carousel that inspired Walt Disney to build Disneyland.  I don't think it's been updated in it's 75 year history.

I went to Hollywood early, found cheap parking, and then walked up and down Hollywood Boulevard....a lot.  I found some food.  $8 pizza that I only ate the cheese off of.  It was so gross.  I don't know why I chose it.  I talked to Kendra for a bit and then went to Second City.  I didn't see Rachel until after the show started, but I talked to her for awhile after, along with her boyfriend, Eric's girlfriend, Eric, and their friend Jonnie (who I've never met somehow).  I'm really glad I went.  The improv show was pretty good.  They're up to doing sketches now instead of improv games.  The sketches are way better than the games.

Tomorrow, I don't have tons of plans.  I don't have school, so I'm going bridesmaid dress shopping and I have to go to the grocery store so Mom can make me RUNZAS on Friday!!!!!  I need to do some cleaning and some school work.  The next few weeks are going to be busy at work, but it will be good.

Six months

Tomorrow marks six months since I moved here.  I highly doubt that right now is going to be a time I look back on fondly, but I don't regret moving here.

Runyon Canyon

I went to Runyon Canyon today.  So glad I went early.  Parking was not the best.  I parked on Mulholland Drive, probably a half mile away from the entrace.  I'm not good at judging distances.  I arrived about 9am and when I left just over an hour later, there was no parking with at least a mile of where I was.  The canyon is gorgeous.  There are amazing views of the Hollywood sign, the Observatory, and of downtown.  The whole trail is, I think, three miles.  I didn't do that.  I probably didn't even do half of it.  I ended up being afraid of being lost, which really wouldn't have been a problem because there were so many people, and I started to get hungry.  It was really pretty, but a lot of people.  It definitely would have been more fun with someone, which made me sad, but that's kind of how my week has been.

I'm fighting off a cold and I'm tired of it.  I feel ok, but not ok at the same time.  It's annoying.  I guess it gives me reason to stay home, listen to the Yotes/Jacks game, and watch the Super Bowl tomorrow.  I plan on going to a yoga class tomorrow morning.  That's the plan.  It's been the plan for about a week.  I'm also going to teach myself how to make a tea latte at home and work on my ridiculously long to do list that I made for myself yesterday.  I finished rereading the first Hunger Games book, so I'm onto the second today, just as soon as I make my tea latte!