Little hands

Got to spend my lunch hour with a bunch of 4 & 5 year olds getting our hands dirty and learning about Guerrilla Gardening.

It's been a kid filled week and it's been awesome.

The lean.

At a friend's house tonight, my favorite 2 1/2 year old slowly inched closer and closer to me while we watched The Bee Movie. I was in mid-sentence in a conversation with his dad when I noticed the little guy had started leaning on my leg. First, just the tip of his elbow. Then slowly, his entire arm and within moments he was completely nuzzled under my arm. All of this, while never taking his eyes off the movie.

I love how kids barely have a boundary when it comes to touching. They lean on you, jump in your lamp without asking and just want to be close in general.

Since my average day is more normally filled with awkward hugs and sitting the appropriate distance from adults...tonight was a much appreciated change.

Please leave your name, number and a brief message.

I have a vendor that I've been talking to almost every day lately and I love when I get his answering machine.

It says the usual -- this is Clay, leave me a message, etc. But at the end he says, "And, hey, tell me a reason why you love your life." He sort of giggles and hangs up.

Today, after I left my reason for loving my life, our technical manager leaned over from his desk and said, "Did you just call Clay?...I'm totally calling so I can leave him a message. I had a great weekend and I'd love to share."

Getting close

One of my favorite moments in friendship is when you hear someone's real laugh. I feel like you can know someone for months and months and have experienced many a funny time, but there is a moment when someone starts laughing and you could swear there's a new person in the room.

It's sort of a vulnerable opening up and, to me, it's more special than any secret a friend could tell me.

We don't need no stinking sand.

I love that my 35 year old friend (and idol) is still planning Saturdays where we can show up like this.


Sandcastle Wars 09

Actions speak louder anyway.

In my family, sometimes there's just an understanding of how much we care about each other. There aren't always words exchanged or sappy notes...but you just know.

Even though there's an unexplainable comfort in just knowing, it's still nice to have a little proof sometimes.

I was being sort of overly pursued by a guy at a bar and ended up separated from my brother and a friend. After the evening was over and my friend and I were chatting over Thai food at 4am, she explained how heated my brother was about this guy and how concerned he was for my safety.

Yes, I'm a big girl. But I'll never turn down a protective brother looking out for me.

Helping create sunshine.

Today I had the opportunity to make someone's day and, I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty rewarding.

Bon Iver will be playing a sunrise show at Hollywood Forever cemetery and tickets are being sold for 10x their face value! Ridiculous.

I had an extra ticket so I posted an ad online and said I wanted it to go to a true fan for face value. I've scoured Craigslist at the last minute before in hopes to find a kind soul who wasn't looking to make a profit and I know how frustrating it can be.

You wouldn't believe how quickly my inbox starting filling up with people begging me for the ticket.

When I met the lucky winner for the transfer, she was gushing. She must have thanked me 50 times. I loved having that little power to make someone so happy.

(UPDATE: She sent me a thank you email after the show and wanted me to know that I had made her month. So cool.)

Customer Service, again.

There are places you expect some serious customer-is-always-right service. And in my mind, teeny-bopper clothing stores don't always make the cut.

But today, my friends, a lovely H&M associate sort of made my day. The details don't entirely matter, but she went above and beyond your average Tshirt-folding employee.

And she had a sweet Irish accent. Bonus.

Arachnid

My favorite holiday is, by far, Halloween. It could be because it's in conjunction with my birthday, it could be the candy...I'm not sure.

But today I got to partake in a Halloween decor shopping spree. We have an event coming up for work and I was the chosen decor shopper. Which is sort of a little piece of heaven.

And I now have enough plastic spiders to do some serious damage.

What shall I name him?

I have a little project that invloves using furry material to make costumes for this weekend.

There's a piece of the fabric sitting on my couch and every time I walk past it, my heart stops for a second because I think we've acquired a pet that I can smother to death with kisses.

Here's the deal...

You think your planned evening is sort of ruined because you find out you're sort of an idiot and what you thought was DVR is indeed just another basic cable box.

So you haven't recorded the Emmy's for your spontaneous Emmy party. Of which you only wanted to watch because if he wasn't gay, you'd have Neil Patrick Harris's children.

Regardless, people come over. Guacamole is devoured. And you watch what is left of the Emmys.

The kicker...it doesn't matter. The people who show up, i.e. Cameron Cash, make it all worth while and you end up laughing your ass off.

Brilliant.

I love strangers sometimes.

For some reason, I thought I could walk two bikes home all by myself. 20 blocks didn't seem like a big deal and I figured it would be a little mini-workout.

About 1 block in, I realized I was being pretty silly. Walking two bikes...well, it sucks.

There were two boys visiting from Phoenix who happened to be walking up the same hill I was and offered to push one of the bikes for me. They were only going about 6 of the 20 blocks, but offered to help until then.

When we got to their truck they offered to throw the bikes in and give me a ride. However, 2 bikes and 3 people weren't going to fit. So they threw one in their truck and then followed me on my bike home. I felt a little like a cyclist training with my coach in the car egging me on.

So incredibly nice. Truly made my day.

America's Best Dance Crew

I had a great time at Park[ing] Day LA today, but my favorite part was watching Ms. Graciela dance her butt off.

Graciela is 4-years old and might have better moves than all my friends combined.

She was the team leader on the parking lot dance floor and was telling all of us which moves to make and when.

I can only aspire to one day have moves like her. Seriously.

Roots

Mmmm...Dad's Rootbeer.

Man I used to drink the crap out of that rootbeer when I was little. I always thought I was so cool getting to drink out of what seemed to be a beer bottle.

Yay to The Oinkster for having it!

A recommendation.

I was in my alley today on my way for a run and caught myself dancing in the streets. I hesitated for a minute because I wasn't sure if anyone was watching. But then something took over and next thing I know I'm trying to do the leprechaun leap -- sort of jumping up and to the side, touching your feet together.

I've always wanted to be able to that.

I'm pretty sure I looked more like a rookie football player trying to figure out my victory dance, but it was fun regardless.

I highly recommend headphones, dark alleys and dancing alone. (Ya know, in those safe parts of town.)

Chaos.

Someone sent me a blog entry today and there was a line that read: "Behind the chaos there is peace."

The overall entry was good and hit home in a lot of ways, but I went to a meeting tonight and I saw that sentence in action.

Our meeting was meant to start at 6:30pm and be the final meeting before our big fundraiser next week. The elements in the room: A puppy, a beautiful 2 1/2 year old boy, a couple bottles of wine, adults gathered after a day of work, an absolutely gorgeous 8mo year-old girl, a bunny and 18 different ideas.

Chaos.

As 8:30 rolled around, I realized we hadn't achieved much, but it didn't matter. Sitting back for a moment watching the slight insanity, I noticed the peace behind it all. True friends. True family. A brilliant cause. And that damn cute puppy that I just wanted to eat....all of it, peace.

People can blow your mind. Or they can suck.

Had a little fundraiser tonight for Guerrilla Gardening. And I'm pretty sure my favorite part of the evening was having a random stranger show up with two large pizzas.

He'd seen our gardens before and actually works at a pizza place very close to one of them.

From what he explained, he doesn't have a car, so he made the two pizzas and convinced the delivery guy to deliver the pizzas and himself to our fundraiser. Pretty rad.

A successful evening for sure. But I also feel inclined to mention that my brother's bike (i.e. his only mode of transportation) was stripped to the bone while parked outside the bar tonight. I convinced him to come to support his sister and a project she'd put so much energy into. And, alas, bike demolished.



If you have a dollar to spare or you know someone who has bike parts to offer...I would be forever grateful. Seriously, $1 helps.

You can donate through LA Guerrilla Gardening (PayPal) and click on "Add special instructions to the seller." -- Just add the word: MARK. More than likely, I'll recognize your name anyway...

No pressure here. AT ALL. I just couldn't help but ask.

2nd and 10

There's something about the sounds of football that make me smile. I don't have a favorite team and I've never been a die hard fan (although my plan is to marry someone who is so we can be obnoxious and wear face paint and drink beer even when we're 80) but I love being in a room with football background noise.

I think it sounds like Fall and 7-layer dip and family.

You might be...

Spent my afternoon in someone's driveway drinking beer, playing cards and getting rowdy. Passers-by made little comments or smiled with jealousy.

At some point someone in our group said, "I love that we're partying redneck style. In the driveway and all."

It hadn't occurred to me that our actions were categorized as such.

I'd like to pretend that I'm so open-minded and accepting that I would never label anyone. But who am I kidding?! I'm just a redneck at heart. And the kicker is...we were eating tri-tip and fancy corn salad. A far cry from hot dogs and Little Debbies.

Martha?

I forgot how much my heart leaps when I pull out the craft box.

Yay, crafty fun things.

Butter Cream or Whipped?

I was in search of a cake today and was sort of getting the runaround. I don't have the budget to hit up some amazing bakery in LA, so I was working the Grocery Store angle.

Apparently, Vons can only make you the custom cakes they have in their little booklet. Which are quite impressive, I might add. But god forbid I want to take Shrek off the garden-looking cake.

"Nope, I'm not allowed. I just got yelled at for that yesterday."

Really?! Grocery store bakeries...red tape. Who knew?

I walked up to the Ralph's bakery counter and that woman couldn't say anything but YES.

Can you scan an image? Yes.
Can I get green....? Yes.
Will it be ready by....? Yes.

I made sure to tell her that Ralph's would clearly win a thumb wrestling match with Vons, any day.

Come Together

I spoke to a friend tonight about her weekend and left the conversation very inspired by people's generosity - and forgive the cliche - even at a time like this.

You may or may not know the story of the two firefighters who died last week in Southern California, but my friend most definitely does. She spent her weekend helping out at a friend's tattoo shop in Rosamond, CA that hosted a very spontaneous fundraiser for one of the firefighters who passed away, Specialist Arnie Quinones.

American Made Tattoo and Psycho City Tattoo both offered to tattoo ALL DAY Saturday and Sunday with ALL (every dime, people) proceeds benefiting Arnie's widow and their unborn child.

All said and done...they raised $25,000 over the weekend. TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS. And those numbers only reflect the money raised at American Made Tattoo.

The turnout was so huge, they were able to raise money for BOTH fallen firefighters (Arnie and Capt. Ted Hall) and both tattoo shops gave people rain checks to come back this week to get their tribute tattoos with all proceeds still benefiting the cause.

Breathtaking. Truly.

Hello friend.

She was a late bloomer, but look how pretty she is.
May 1, 2009, International Sunflower Day....success on Pico and 20th!!
It truly, truly made my day.

Its a secret.

Early, early this morning I made a decision that I was super proud of. A hard one, and a year ago, I would have chosen differently and been disappointed the rest of the day.

But I wasn't. And it feels good.

Belgian Beer was calling...

My friend and I left our Labor Day party because we were feeling tired (i.e. old) and ready for a movie at home. But once our bikes passed 23rd Street, the magnetic force of The Daily Pint pulled us in.

It's so hard to pass up! And, as always, made for a great evening inching into the wee small hours.

I guess The Pint makes you feel young.

Speaking of waiting 29 years....

Today was pretty fabulous in general. But the shining moment was getting a personal sizing for a new bra.

You may not be able to fully appreciate this unless you're:
A. Female
B. Rather large breasted

But it was an amazing experience and there's nothing like having your very own bra expert bring you sizes, hang up ones you don't want and flatter you with compliments.

My new bra, while not cheap, might have changed my life.

Long Weekend

My drive home tonight was so much more pleasant than I expected.

Thought I'd be pulling my hair out because everyone would be trying to skip town. But it was better than it's EVER been on a Friday.

It's the small things.

Don't even knock.

Locked myself in my room tonight to watch the entire 4th season of How I Met Your Mother.

I secretly want to be in that show. If only my life could be a sitcom.

Sometimes.

The Pacific

Spent most of my day in the ocean. Heaven.

My two friends complained about sticky skin and a dry throat from the salt. But I love getting home exhausted from fighting waves and feeling kissed by the ocean.

You make me happy when skies are grey.

Went swimming at The Roosevelt tonight surrounded by a bunch of Hollywood peeps who wished they were as cool as us. It was similar to an 8th grade dance. Everyone sitting close to the edge, and dying to get out there, but not wanting to chance looking uncool.

There were fun floaties and innertubes in the water and at some point my friend said, "Hey, watch this. I can make a sunshine come out of my butt."

He slowly leaned back and slightly off his innertube and the yellow, sunshine shaped toy flew out of the water straight at me.

Clearly, that's my sunshine.