Welcome to Hollywood!

Last week I got to get away. Shhhhh...it happens rarely, okay so maybe once. I remember that I spent 1 night at Mom and Dad's after I got a concussion when Brandon was 1. Make no mistake, Mike and I get away, yes. We have fun, go to many fun places and it's great! But, I had yet to go anywhere on a girls trip. So we headed to LA and saw Dr Phil, The Doctors, Jimmy Kimmel Live, had great laughs at The Comedy Store and shopped and dined to exhaustion.

This trip was not without its pitfalls. The hotel room was cancelled due to my friends recent stolen wallet mishap. We found great rooms at Hollywood Heights, wonderful service too. We dined at Musso and Franks, delicious ravioli and red wine. We walked the streets and played tourist visiting of course, Fredricks! My daughter wears more fabric in one outfit than they sell in the whole place.

Dr. Phil was fun. He was very imformative about the off camera happenings. He took extra time with a family in crisis and on the brink of divorce. I was happy to see that he did not kick them out after the taping was done. The 2nd taping featured "The Fat Debate". I still think they knew I was coming. They even did a hidden video taping in the holding room prior to the show. I am looking forward to what they discovered about people and food. I can tell you right now that I love food and pairing a table of fruits and veggies versus doughnuts and cookies together will never intimidate me. Moderation. (Had I been alone this would be another story--screw moderation!) Anyhow, I got a 1 yr 24 hr fitness pass and I think I better get some use out of it, or Dr. Phil might put me in one of his "therapy houses".

We checked out Jimmy Kimmel on a whim. My girlfriend waited for 1 1/2 hours for us to get in. The rest of us went shopping and got coffee...what bitches. We brought her hot cocoa for her effort though. That was a fun experience, but the most interesting part for me is the building they are located in. It's an old Mason's hall and I find it fascinating that there was a large entry way flanked by two wooden bars. It was gorgeous inside, marble pillars, a grand fireplace, mirrors on the walls. I see how the other half (men) lived and probably still do. Swanky!

Jimmy's warm up guy sent us to The Comedy Store. "Tell 'em Don sent ya!" So we did. They replied "2 drink minimum". Have you ever been more sober after drinking than you were before you started? Well that describes how strong my 2, yes 2, Long Islands were. Maybe the mixologist forgot the Long Island part. Pauly Shore, I don't need to call you for 'Jury Duty' to render my judgement that your liquor is cheap.

'The Doctors' filmed the following day. Yes, Dr. Stork is hot. Yes, Gene Simmons hair looks like that in real life. Dr. Phil's son, Jay is the exec producer for this show. His wife is a triplet; bleach blond, buxom and painted on jeans. She and her 2 sisters recently got pregnant. Uncanny, right? How did they get that coordinated? That was some Sunday pot roast dinner back at Mom and Dad's 9 months ago. As if you could not guess, Mrs. Jay McGraw, and her sisters were previously in b-rate porn. I looked it up to confirm my suspicion. And, while I am not a man, I do know that twins are popular (ahem) shall we say, in that line of work; so triplets would be 3x the fun.
As Dr. Phil says, "That was the bubble over my head".

The trip rounded out with a delayed flight, but a wonderful meal at a Greek restaurant in Beverly Hills. So much fun!! Can't wait to see the shows when they air.

Nature

My kids don't like many animals. Okay, really Brandon does not like them. So it's not surprising to me that when we visit my parents' he freaks out. The dogs, cats, lizards, squirrels, turkeys, cows, horses and various other living creatures, put him on edge. Today we visited Mom's garden while on alert for rattlesnakes. (Despite running all over my grandparents' and parents' acres my whole life and various jaunts to camping spots hither and yon, I have yet to encounter a rattlesnake in the wild or mild) We were fortunate to avoid any snakes today. Upon returning home, we planted some flowers in our containers in the front yard. We enjoyed ourselves and the kids were really loving that they got to plant the stuff they chose from the nursery. Until...

Attack of the Ants!!!!!!

About 20 ants crawled up my boy's leg and as usual, we had a crisis. Emily took this all in stride, stomped a few, eventually picked up an ant and made it her pet. Those two are so opposite at times and it's very entertaining...well until I stepped on an ant hill and got bit on the you-know-what for laughing.

La cabane de la radio. (Radio Shack)

I took the kids with me to pick up an I-pod connector for the car. I thought it was a routine errand until Emily said she needed the potty. Suddenly the memory of the hundred or so times my mom took me and my brother to Radio Shack just waved over me. It was a great moment, despite that I found myself in the employee restroom with the kids.
Mom's always been technologically inclined as is Eric. I never think of myself that way. (read: nerdy--ha ha) But like it or not, I have an uncanny ability with tech stuff. (I read the 'HELP' on the upper title bar of any window----"hello!?!") Anyhow, I got the kids some candy, we loaded into the van and I hooked up the tunes. We rolled out with our Backyardigans over the speakers. Great day!

Forgetful Jones

Forgetful Jones was one of my favorite characters on Sesame Street. When I was a kid, I thought anybody with the same last name must be related, even cartoons and ultimately my Uncle Indy. (Indiana Jones, of course)
Now back to the point of this post:
As an adult, ole 'Forgetful Jones" labels me more recently due to my new found scatterbrain. This week alone, I locked myself and the kids out of the house. Had I thought a bit harder, I would have remembered placing the house keys in the center console of the old SUV. Today adds more chaos, as I put the keys to the new van in my vest pocket. I changed coats and subsequently left the keys in the van, locked the door and trotted off the playground. 1 hour later I discovered the mishap. My new friend, Courtney, offered me the use of her car, mind you we've known each other a month and stayed at the park while I drove to procure my spare keys. It dawned on me as I turned into my 'hood that I locked my house keys in the van too. A quick call to the in laws got no answer, panic set in. I detoured to check their house, and much to my relief Dad was in the garage. Cheers to Courtney and Dad!!

I do so miss the driver door keypad from the Explorer.

A funny thing happened on the way to the...

dealership. The Ford did not always have issues. Though sometime around 2002 it gave me a sign of what was to come. The rear washer fluid was leaking into the interior. I decided to ignore it. A few years later the rear wiper no longer worked and soon began to loosen. The tires were recalled of course, due to the roll over scare. The transmission blew in 2006 and then the 4x4 sensors were replaced just a couple months ago. So Friday night as we drove to the Toyota dealer I was relieved and excited. We decided to take the Ford through the car wash. Just as we resurfaced from the wash bay I turned to see water gushing through the rear window and another surprise on the opposite side, where it was now leaking as well. The Explorer had it's last laugh.

The wheels go round.

12 years ago Mike and I bought new cars as unmarried individuals. We agreed to take a trip to Monterey to celebrate. It was a fun weekend but we had not returned until recently. Friday we bought our first car together and we took it on it's maiden voyage to Monterey. This time we had our kids and a got to see the aquarium with a new perspective.

When it rains, it pours.

Turning 34 was sort of blah and that was a bummer, I'm not sure why I don't vacation on Hawaii every March. So fate stepped in to ramp up the action in my life. March 25th, I left the house without my mobile phone and when I went to pick up Brandon at preschool, I found him wiht a broken arm. Again. This is the second time in 6 months that he broke his arm and the second time that I forgot my phone. It was an interesting trip to the ER. I had both kids on my own and had to hold down Brandon while they adminstered his pain meds. Which left Emily to scream in fright while Brandon screamed in fright. Meanwhile, I was laughing as usual at the absurdity of the situation. What the hell else can you do? Monday he got his new cast and the Dr attempted to push the bones together again without any pain medication. This episode made me sick to my stomach and yet, Brandon was a champ, he calmly said that it hurt a lot.

Yesterday, Grandma got sick and now has to have a gall bladder removal. So last night I headed to the hospital to see her and wait. While in the room of 3 patients (whoopee, neighbors!) my aunt almost tripped a nurse carrying a large bucket of urine. I warned her, even grabbed her and thankfully nothing happened. To top off the night, the surgery was pushed to today and so my mom and I went to say goodnight to Grandma. The hallway was blocked by a gurney, mind you it was 11 pm, and I decided not to squeeze by, so I remained in the foyer. Wise decision, as the gurney was carrying a deceased patient. The nurse commented to the security escort that she did not like going to the freezer. Yeah, you think?! So that was my exciting week, 3 visits to Kaiser, another today and many more to come in the following weeks.