Buying stock in U-Haul.

I moved to Los Angeles in June of 2003. I lived for about a year and a half in a run down but cozy apartment in a cute part of town before deciding I needed to try living solo. I ended up in a fume filled studio apartment infested with tiny little cockroaches located in a bad part of town where my car was broken into. I spent 6 months there, broke my lease and moved into a brand new (although cramped) townhouse in Toluca Lake. After a year in that apartment my roommate decided to move back to Chicago (a decision i think we can all agree is a bad one :) ) and I decided to move in with Chris into his spacious hollywood high rise apartment. After nine months there we moved into our current house in Reseda where we've been for a year. Our lease is up in April. June 2003-April 2008. 4 years and 10 months. Our landlord (who if you remember from previous posts is a lying bitch with no soul) has decided to do some kind of construction on the house and has politely (via letter and of course no personal contact of any kind) asked us to move out at the end of our lease. This will be the sixth time I've moved in less than 5 years. I'm fairly certain all my friends with strong backs are running for hills as we speak.


Chris and I have been entertaining the idea of taking advantage of the current slump in the los angeles real estate market and have been looking into the possibility of buying a house in the near future. (Yes yes...unmarried scum! how dare you enter into such a sacred investment opportunity without a ring on your finger! next thing you know you'll be giving birth to babies with horns and tails!)

Our plan had always been to stick around this house and be able to shop around without any pressure. This obviously puts a slight (ok, major) crimp in those plans. I've become sort of zen about the whole thing. I'm too stressed to worry anymore. We've looked around a bit at houses and are going to see one we really like this weekend. Hey, if we love it maybe we'll just buy it on the spot. Here's a check for half a mill. No worries. Take it. I've got plenty of extra cash lying around. Most likely we'll end up renting again...and then moving again soon.

This past couple of weeks have been incredibly exhausting filled with job stress, house stress, travel and that stupid flu thing that's been going around, but we were able to break up all the ickyness with a trip to New York for Chris' nephew's baptism.

Meet Brian William LaMons.

WARNING: SUPER CUTE BABY PICTS TO FOLLOW




Passed out on Aunt Jess' lap.


I'm fairly certain this is the cutest thing ever.


That water's cold!!!


Proud parents, god parents and that mean guy with the cold water.


Exhausted. You and me both, kid.


Can you tell they're related? Sidenote: It was f'ing COLD in NYC!



Right before we left it warmed up to almost 60 degrees! So we took a walk through Central Park. The sun was trying desperately to peek out from behind the clouds....and then it started POURING. It was time to leave the windy apple.



A big shout out goes to Dustin P. Montez for taking super duper good care of Indy during our multiple airplane delays and 12 hour trip home.

Happy Birthday Danny!

"I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea." ~Dylan Thomas

Celebrate Good Times.....

What a terrific few days....

We had been forced to postpone Indy's birthday bbq until this past weekend because of the onslaught of rain we'd been having for the past couple weeks and finally we got to celebrate our baby boy's first birthday. I made doggy cupcakes (with cream cheese frosting! yum!) and the humans ate and drank while Indy played with his friends. We couldn't have asked for a better low key party.



Indy's girlfriend Bunny.



Super Bowl Sunday...

Sam and Dustin came over and we had, quite frankly, the world's best super bowl party. Sam made amazing hot wings and we gorged ourselves on an enormous spread of delicious food as we rooted the Giants on to victory!

Waiting for the wings...







And then the best news of all.....

Chris came home tonight with a bottle of champagne so we could celebrate...his promotion!! He's been made an editor over at the Ant Farm and I couldn't be happier. He's been working so hard, putting in extra time on the weekends and staying late to prove himself and he's wowed the powers that be and finally all that hard work has paid off. Yay!!


That's my baby!



Even Indy wanted in on the celebration...

Now listen to me complain...

"The only way not to think about money is to have a great deal of it."
Edith Wharton (1862 - 1937)


I feel like amongst all the blogs I read there are themes that the author, whether intentional or not, seems to consistently return to and write about. For Midge it's family and how important they are and how much she misses them, for Dan it seems to be religion and politics, for my uncle Dave it's life's big questions and the constant quest to be a truly happy and good person. For me it seems that I can't get away from reflecting occassionally about how much it sucks to grow up.

There are definite advantages to not living at home and even being out of school. No one is telling you what time to be home or to do your chores and there's no homework waiting for you after working hard and going to class for an entire day.
The problem is that when you're on your own, even though no one is telling you to do your chores, you still have to f'ing DO them!! And while it's nice to not have to write a paper when I get home or read 100 pages of a conviluted text book, I have worked some 22 hour days for not enough money that really make me miss being in school. I feel like life has suddenly become a race just to keep up. As soon as I get organized I feel myself slipping under a pile of bills and paperwork for health insurance (the cost of which just went from $50/month to $160!!!. how can they DO THAT!?). It's a struggle to keep working as I see the money just DRAIN from my bank account and it seems that no matter how often I sweep and do laundry and the dishes I come home to a filthy house every night. I'm not even sure how people have kids. I can barely handle having a dog and sometimes the responsibilities that come with taking care of him makes me feel overwhelmed! Trying to tame a high energy puppy who hasn't been properly exercised because of the constant downpour is exhausting and it's all chris and I can do to stay awake through a movie on TV!



Now I know people say money won't buy you happiness, but I'm pretty sure that all my problems and stress would go away if I won the lotto. The people that say money is the root of all evil are people who are easily corrupted and lack a strong family and upbringing and are devoid of love and people who care about them (and probably have too much power to begin with). I have a wonderful family, an amazing boyfriend, loyal friends and a sweet puppy. All that's missing are some additional ZEROS to my bank balance. I know it's an ebb and flow and that right now things are tight but soon I'll be back in the green...er....red? ...no....i think it's black...whatever color means less stress and more dolla bills y'all, but I can't help worrying that it's always going to be like this.



I apologize for basically just using this blog as a soap box to vent my frustrations over my own personal situation. I know things could always be worse and that at I should be grateful for having the things I do, but hey, it's my blog. I'll do with it what I will. I should really leave some milk out for that stray cat...maybe that'll help my karma.

Jury Duty is Relaxing...

This past week or so seems to have flown by in a whirlwind of activity. I was summoned in to jury duty last week and decided that jury duty, as a whole, isn’t half bad. Most of the first day I spent hanging out with my new friend Lorna. We chatted, had lunch at a Middle Eastern restaurant, took a walk and bonded over our fondness for swing dancing and and dogs. Lorna is most likely in her late 60's if not into her 70's. We had an incredible amount in common- including the fact that to pass the time I whipped out...wait for it.... my needlepoint. She was, quite possibly, the kind of old lady I would like to be. She was spunky and her eyes sparkled when we talked about traveling, her husband, dancing and trying to train stubborn dogs. If it hadn't been for the dates she talked about (moving to Los Angeles in 1959...etc.) and the subtle shakes she would occasionally get, I would never have guessed her age. By the mid afternoon I was pulled into a courtroom where I was also ordered to report the next day for further jury selection.

The case was a three-count charge: driving under the influence, driving with a BAC of .08 or higher and child endangerment (allegedly there was a child in the car). I thought I was off the hook until I was called into the jury box and asked a wide range of questions regarding my own personal use, views and history with alcohol. I listed my experiences and knew I was off the hook when I went on a mini rant about how irresponsible I think it is to drive under the influence when there is a child in the car. Yes, it's ALWAYS irresponsible to get in a car and drive, but people make mistakes (doesn't mean they shouldn’t be punished for them) and I can see how easy it would be to go to a dinner or a party and think you're fine to drive and you get pulled over for a broken tail light (or something unrelated) and oops you're over the legal limit.... people make mistakes, but there was a baby involved! Not a teenager or just another passenger...a baby! While other potential jurors commented on how seeing the defendant playing with his daughter in the hallway during recess made them sympathetic to him, it made me mad. Even though I know I'm not supposed to assume anything here, based on the charge of driving with a BAC of .08 or higher, I had to assume that the breathalizer read .08 or higher which means the asshat had more than one drink and was like, "hey! i'll put my baby in the car and go for a drive!". His daughter couldn't have been more than a year old and I know I'm supposed to presume this man innocent until he is proven guilty, but please, you took one look at this guy and could tell he did NOT have his shit together. I think my outward display of judgment made me a less than desirable candidate for this trial.

Now I have to say that based on testimonials from friends and coworkers, jury duty is one of the most wretched activities you can be forced to participate in. Sitting in a room filled with a random conglomeration of some of the foulest members of society doesn't sound pleasant to me, but I did actually have quite a nice experience. The jurors at the Hollywood Courhouse with seemed, for the most part, to be fairly normal and pleasant smelling (except for whoever was wearing too much perfume and whoever was burping up bologna). The courthouse was clean and the juror assembly room manager was pleasant, accommodating and, at times, borderline funny. The judge was respectable, articulate and occasionally amusing. If my company would pay for me to serve my country's judicial system I really wouldn't have any qualms with actually being on a jury. I think it might actually be fairly interesting. That said, they don't pay and for me to not have to take any vacation days I had to go into work after serving the full day. Now THAT is unjust.

Welcome to the New Year...

Alright...so I've become a delinquent blogger...but quite frankly...the holidays were too busy to be bothered with sitting in front of a computer and uploading pictures...I'm just not that commited...I'll admit it. I'm ok with it. :)

Anyhoo...we'll skip right over posting pictures of the finished christmas tree or the totally awesome wreath I made (I'm so crafty!) and move right on to the good stuff. Our Christmas party was a raging success despite my lack of pictures from the party.

Christmas was spent with my parents and dan and kelly up in norcal. Indy came with me and Chris joined us on the 26th. Good times were had by all. Lots of delicious food was eaten, an obnoxious amount of board games were played, a ginger bread house constructed (complete with crime scene and a dog with a digestive disorder), and lots of good presents exchanged.






There's a lesson to be learned here about rooftop safey.




We came back to Los Angeles for New Years and spent the night playing Rock Band (video game...come on people...get with the times), a strange game dustin made up that involved some charades and just generally had a good time.



Here's Chris acting out myspace...and Dustin guessing everything from "My Area" to "My Bubble" but NOT "myspace".





The New Years crew: Bill (not smiling per usual), Ginger, Chris, Me, Dustin and Sam. Go team!





Good times were had by all. More to come when I'm feeling inspired. It's rainy and overcast here in Los Angeles and I should probably go ahead and start my Saturday. I hope everyone had a terrific Christmas, spoiled their loved ones and rang in the New Year with good company and good champagne.

It's beginning to sort of look a little like Christmas...

In the interest of not being a delinquent blogger I feel the need to give a brief update as to the current goings on at the Lee (ok... Lee/LaMons) household. In preparation for our holiday party next weekend (consider this your formal invitation) Chris and I started the task of decorating for the holidays. I only slightly documented the event since we sort of stopped mid way to take care of some much needed doggy excercising and grocery shopping...not to mention I whipped up a healthy (and surprisingly deeleecious) chicken enchilada casserole for dinner (a recipe I am totally willing to dole out to interested parties- "Ask me about my casserole!")

Behold:


Doesn't he look cute when he's perched precariously on a pseduo makeshift ladder??









Our first set of outdoor Christmas lights....all the neighbors started putting their lights up too...we're convinced we started the trend and that it's not just that this is when everyone does it.








I swear I got further in decorating the tree, but forgot to take a picture. So...this is our naked tree. We picked a good one!








Indy was trying to read up on the cancer fighting benefits of kibble in my latest issue of Health magazine. You can't blame him for destroying the magazine...a lack of opposable thumbs makes it hard to manipulate the thin pages.