When you can't sleep on the Red-Eye...

Making shapes out of clouds is a great pastime.  But I've discovered a modified version for all you travelers.

When flying into a small city at night (or butt-crack-of-dawn), you can make amazing shapes out of neighborhood and street lights.  This morning I saw an astronaut, an umbrella and a person sticking their tongue out.

Pretty sure this doesn't work flying into the sprawl that is LA, but cities with a little more green space, it most definitely works.

Outside the lines.

First of all, when was the last time you colored with crayons?
I highly recommend it.
Perhaps at your next meeting...take notes with Brick Red?

I pulled out my 64 count crayon box today and totally forgot they have the new "Kids Choice" colors.  So, so great.  I think my favorite is Awesome.

Yay, technology.

Bright Side of the Road, Van Morrison

Never, ever fails as a an iTunes Genius selection.

Everybody's doin' it...

Staying in a cabin this week and the writing on the wall makes it feel like camp.  Lovin' it.  From what I can tell, people have been carving their names in the wood walls since 1974.  And now I've officially left my mark too.  Yay!

Nature rhymes with savior.

And that is not a coincidence.

I guess purple really does equal royalty.

I realize I've mentioned my sweet polarized sun glasses before. And I also realize the 90's might be a more appropriate time to be excited about them.

But this is cool.

I drive. A lot.

And I've learned that polarized glasses are sort of a decoder.

For rich people.

From behind my glasses, all BMWs, Lexuses, Audis and who-knows-what-other fancy cars...have purple-tinted windshields.

It's true. Get a sweet pair of shades for yourself.

You'll see.

Oh! It's you...

I love the way a person's voice changes when they're on the phone with a crush.  It's ever so slightly higher than normal and you can truly hear the smile bursting out of their voice.

Moonlight Hikes

You should hike at night, you just should.

Don't be afraid of coyotes.
Don't be afraid of too much wine.
But DO be prepared for amazing photo shoots and moonlight madness.

P-p-please, Eddie!

There was a pretty red envelope in my mailbox today.

I purposefully make my Netflix list long and then not check in for ages.  This way, it's always a surprise.

And today was the best one in awhile:

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Oh, I can't wait.

The Wrath of Bonnie

A friend's post on Twitter today made me smile:

Preparing to be inundated with Tropical Storm Bonnie jokes. God forbid I turn into a hurricane. Watch out trailer parks!

I grew up in Orlando and hurricanes were like snow storms for the North or perhaps earthquakes for the West.  I was lucky enough to have never been affected by a devastating storm, so it just seemed normal.  They happened all the time.  And in the same way a Californian wakes up in the middle of a small earthquake, realizes what's happening and then rolls over; Floridians hear of a hurricane approaching, make sure they have extra candles and a deck of cards and then invite friends over.  And, of course, hope for school to be closed the next day.

Now unlike earthquakes or snow storms, hurricanes get named.  And in alphabetical order, mind you.  Which, you should know, is how in my house we're naming our fish(es).  We've been good pet owners lately...we're still only on Deuce.  He's a survivor.

Right...so back to hurricanes.  I remember every storm season as we got close to L, M, N, O...I was secretly hoping we'd make it to R.  We did actually...maybe every couple years.  And, man I wanted it to be Rebecca.  So much.  But in my lifetime, there has yet to be a storm with those seven letters.

I realize scary storms aren't something to joke about.  And it's ironic that my sunshine is about thunderstorms.  But I do love them.  And I'm fully jealous that my friend Bonnie has not one, not two...but according to a quick search on Google, THREE storms with her namesake.

That's What She Said.

"There was a lot of Wang going on in my inbox today."

Yup, she DID say that.

But get your mind out of the gutter.

Wang is a game (with many different names), not a body part.

And her inbox was not a euphemism, it is the place where she stores emails.

Roommates are funny.

Peeps

Had a conversation with a stranger today about good people.  Ya know, when you say, "That Frank, he's good people."

I feel like sometimes my quick judgment of character is a little off.  I tend to let a charming quality or a silly sense of humor over power any gut feeling I have.  But, in a first meeting with someone, when that phrase comes to mind in the first moment of eye-contact, it has yet to let me down.

And guys, there are some damn good people in LA, even if I doubt it sometimes.

Cure for the Mondays

I cut this out of a magazine ages ago and it has been at my desk ever since.

Hard to see here, but all the adults are on their cell phones.

I adore this drawing.

(ahem, well, this United Airlines ad)

Things happen when the lights go out.

I feel like no matter how sad or confused I am, live music is a cure of sorts. And tonight, at the Hollywood Bowl, as the sun faded and the crowd silenced, I transitioned to the place where nothing seems to matter.

It never ceases to amaze me, that power.

And the same as Swell Season finished their show...

Goodnight, and joy be with you all.

Another one down.

Paid off another credit card today.
Man, that feels awesome.

One to go.
One. To. Go.

Phew.

Yeah, whatever.

So maybe I'll show my ignorance for fashion and fancy accessories...but walking past this sign all I could see was Free Willy...

I need more Sundays in the park.

Spent the day waiting for vendors to load out and passed the time with a friend playing Farkle (a dice game) and napping on the playground.

I had a little notebook to keep score and at some point the pages blew open to the back of the book. My best friend had left me secret notes throughout the book from last time I saw her. So fun.

The page had opened to her handwriting that said, "Rebecca is beautiful."

The wind was pretty consistent and every time it caught the pages of the book, it opened to that note. At some point, after noticing it a few times, my friend said, "Wouldn't it be great if our brains worked like that? Just flipped through pages to the good stuff to remind you everything will be okay."

Yes. That would be great.

Prizes

I ran around crazy this weekend trying to manage an event and am pretty sure I was more exhausted and overwhelmed than I've ever been at an event. However, right before the gates opened as I was passing by vendor booths for one last check, I stopped at a vintage fire steamer with a sweet dalmatian sitting in the driver's seat.

I asked if I could pet her and the firefighter said, "Sure, her name is Blaze. Here, give her this treat and ask her for a high five."

After Blaze and I made friends, the firefighter made me turn my back to the dog and put out his fist in front of me. "You get three guesses to tell me what color our dog is. And if you get it right, you get this prize in my hand."

Tents and chairs and walkie talkies all disappeared from my head. I felt like I was 10 years old and about to win a prize. I also thought it was a trick question. It took me longer than it should have to answer, but I got it right. And I got a sweet pin for my shirt.

A much needed breather before the chaos.

It took 7 years.

There seems to always be a car accident somewhere in LA at any given moment. I suppose it's a numbers game...with that many cars, more opportunities for accidents.

Today I was one of them.
On the 405 Freeway, in the fast lane.

I was the last car hit in a 4 car pile-up. And quickly learned that sometimes, being fourth is a good thing.

There are many details about the accident, including the driver at fault who fled from his vehicle.
On foot.
Across FOUR lanes of traffic.

But the moment that made me smile?
Once I realized what had happened, I reached for my phone. It was an automatic reaction and I wasn't sure what number I was dialing. 911? Nope.

My mom.

I was suddenly 12 again and knew I needed to let her know I was OK. And possibly I wanted to hear her say that I was OK.

The 30-year-old me helped lead my fingers toward 9-1-1, but she was most definitely the next person I called.

Seat 2A

I sat next to a gentleman on my flight from Vegas to LA and he didn't say a word to me the whole time. However, after a late decision on a bloody mary, he was suddenly chatty.

He told me about his life and his travels and crazy stories about being a traveling construction/engineer. Through our entire conversation, I just assumed he was single and probably had been his entire life. At some point he mentioned his dog and I asked, "Who takes care of him when you're gone for such long periods?"

Without pause, he said, "My wife."
I nodded and it was suddenly quiet.
His eyes sort of smiled and he looked straight ahead at the seat in front of him and said, "She's a real special lady."

He seemed to be going over images in his head and just grinned.
So sweet.

Kisses

Spent the weekend in Telluride, CO and got a chance to watch an amazing hometown 4th of July parade.

So many great things, but my favorite by far, was an old 50's truck called, Romeo and Juliet.

They stopped in front of the judges and a young man of about 89 years hopped out, shuffled quickly to the passengers side and escorted his lovely lady around the vehicle for a big kiss in front of the judges. As he opened her door again and she gracefully stepped in, he gave her a little pat on the butt and smiled ear to ear.

So great.

Pinwheels.

That's it.
I love them.

I don't even like your coffee.

I am an event planner.
Like, for a living.
And I'm good at it.

However, planning my own life seems impossible. Especially when it comes to travel. I'm not sure I can remember a seamless, sleepful, non-hectic trip...well, ever. And this weekend was a true piece of work.

4th of July weekend started here:

And ended here:


Which is a little weird, because I'm usually slightly anti-Starbucks. But the morning of my flight, I knew I needed caffeine to get tons of work accomplished on the plane. So it was with good intention that I opted to stand in a line longer than airport security for a silly coffee.

People, I missed my flight. Sat at the gate and WATCHED while they fastened the door.

This is very hard to admit, but it's true. What 30-year-old does that?
This one.

I spent the rest of my day with my iPhone in one hand and my computer in the other (yay in-flight WiFi!) standing in line, researching flights, changing car reservations, enlisting my poor mother as a travel agent and kicking myself in the ass.

But special thanks to Cathy L. at the Delta service desk, my mom, THE INTERNET and a little persistence...it all worked out. And I even got some time in First Class!

I think I get a sick satisfaction out of the challenge sometimes. But my heart and the bags under my eyes are sick of it.

There are a few great things in between the first Starbucks and the last one. Pretty ridiculous I came full circle. Stories to follow.

Cooooouukies.

(stolen from here)