all the good ideas are taken....

     

...a blanket with sleeves?? i should have thought of this idea years ago.

snuggies

happy bday hudsy

{photo taken by julie burton}
my soon-to-be family celebrated Hudson's 2nd birthday yesterday, and cort and I were down in the dumps all day for not being there. hudson may be the cutest, most handsome little boy that ever existed and I think about him every hour of every day. his sweet voice, snuggly hugs, and boyish charm are what keeps me going, and make me want to move back to utah more and more everyday. cort and I also celebrated our "date-iversary" yesterday, since Hudson's first birthday was also our first date. we owe our relationship, impeding wedding and bigger hearts to this sweet little muscleman. happy happy birthday HUDSON! we love you....xo.

real housewife of los angeles

After reading Ashley's post yesterday, and after taking in my life over the past week, I figured I'm pretty close to living the life of a "real housewife" in California. No, I'm not a wife yet. No, I don't have any kids. My skin is translucent - not quite the tight bronzed color of the housewives on the show. And I haven't had any botox. Yet. But I'm spending a large amount of time just doing things for myself, which if you've watched the show, is exactly what it is about. And life during the few weeks I have off between semesters at school, so far, hasn't disappointed. 

I have always wondered if I was going to like being a "housewife," since I have never handled down-time very well - or not feeling like I'm contributing to society, but it's been a lot different than I expected. Not only do I like it - turns out, I'm awesome at it. Granted, the holidays approaching is giving me more excuses to go shopping and spend money, but it's living life with undisturbed time throughout the day which has put a permanent grin on my face. Lunching, facials, movies, shopping, manicures - I've done it all. The only thing missing is some housewiving-friends to do things with. Instead, I've resorted to talking on the phone with Carlee the whole time so it feels like she is there. I've always thought I would go crazy with not enough to do - being a stay-at-home mom, or housewife...whatever you want to call it. I've found it the complete opposite. There is not enough time during the day.

I've also never been one for "housewiving activities". I've never really liked or appreciated shopping. Not like it should be appreciated anyway. Walking around stores, taking a 30 minute hot cocoa break at the local cafe, "bargaining" with store employees - now that I know life like this exists (somewhere), how can I turn away? (Although the two broken bottles of Anthropologie I knocked over during a shopping spree might disagree). Being a "housewife" also has me considering things I have gagged at the thought of before. Like knitting. Being crafty. Ideas and activities foreign to my simple mind. So yes, Ashley - I can't wait to be a housewife (and a wife/mother :)) - and I'm taking you with me. 

Is this kind of selfish? Yes. But let me enjoy my moments of the rock star lifestyle while I can. School starts again first of January. I'm soaking it all in. 

**On another note, Oprah has become a staple in my day, and today she had Will Smith on her show. He seems like a pretty cool guy - he had a lot of wise things to say...

"If you are not helping someone else, in everything you do, you are wasting your time." ~Will Smith

christmas in my stomach

For some reason, when the holidays come around, my "health conscious" side is thrown out the window. This is a typical diet from Nov. 23-Jan. 12th:

7am - Good morning fudge - couple bits to wake me up

8am - That fudge made me sick on an empty stomach - eat a yogurt

9 am - Are those M&M's? Red and Green? How festive - eat a couple handfuls

9:15-11:30am - half a Christmas cookie, more M&M's, york peppermint pattie - then the rest of the cookie

Noon - Time for lunch. Better eat something substantial Mmm...."funeral potatoes" from last night. Delish. 

Noon-thirty-5pm - few more handfuls of M&M's, 3-42 hershey kisses, 3 christmas cookies, and a piece of fudge

6pm - too sick for dinner

8pm - hot chocolate

Do I have to fit in a wedding dress in April? I have a couple months....

hunters, watch yourselves...

Watch yourselves....

READ: "Deer gets revenge after hunter shoots him"

Los Angeles - not like what you see in the movies.

Los Angeles is dirty. 

I rarely make it out of my little bubble, also known as Marina Del Rey, but sometimes duty calls. 

I've had to head into downtown over the past couple of weeks for an assignment for school at the APLA (Aids Project Los Angeles) and am still wondering how this city has yet to eat me alive.

Yesterday, driving starts out like any normal day. Bumper to bumper, nonsensical honking and defensive driving - nothing new. I obviously woke up without my thinking cap on, because I headed into downtown about 9:30 am, and any common idiot knows that Los Angeles morning rush hour begins at 6 am and ends about 2 pm, approximately 15 minutes before afternoon rush hour starts. As I white knuckle it down the freeway, careful to stay in the slow lane - which is usually between a bus and a diesel - I took in the environment around me. Just coming from a short trip home in Utah, my bar may be set a little high, but I couldn't help but dry heave as I took in the gloriousness that is downtown L.A. Graffiti gangs and plant/tree destroyers seem to have taken control of the freeway. Bless their hearts, the city of Los Angeles would be seeming to clean up their freeways with the sporadic cones and construction signs strewn about the roads - no sign of workers though. 

As soon as my eyes adjusted from staring at the grime, stuck at a dead stop, for what seemed like hours, a small break in the traffic happens - (instant heart elevation). Cars are immediately speeding and swerving through each other, which I'm guess the loving term, "rat race" comes from. Don't worry about blinkers. They are absolutely unnecessary in these situations. Also seemingly unnecessary, are cops. I guess they have bigger fish to fry. Like parking on the side streets, waiting to give parking tickets - they know better than to be out driving on the streets. Having a talent for keeping your foot on the brake and accelerator at the same time is something people should know before being allowed on the roads. Traffic seems to come to a stop almost as quickly as it cleared. False hope, and an immediate crushing of my spirits. Still, my heart manages to stay elevated to the point of concern until I park my car - about 82 minutes later.

Who said Christmas in California only existed at Disneyland? I had at least 2 people holding signs saying Jesus was coming, 1 bum singing Christmas songs, and another wearing a Santa hat in the block I had to walk to the APLA. I love the holidays. Also in that block walk, I managed to step in an unidentified substance (I don't want to talk about it) which is the reason I will be needing new tennis shoes this Christmas. Smart decision to put away the flip flops this morning. 

I showered for a full hour once I got home.