Miss Mallika's World

Team in Training

2009-07-10T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hi guys!
I know I haven't blogged in a while. I did the wedding thing! It was great! then the honeymoon. what was GREAT! and then getting back to real life, which was both great and hard.
And sometimes it's hard to just start blogging again. Like, I feel the need to catch up, and write about everything that happened. But I don't have the energy, or time, and so then.....i just don't blog.
But, now I have something very specific that I'd like to share. I have seen a few of my other friends doing this, and when the opportunity popped up, I had to jump on board. I have joined Team In Training and am raising money to fight leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma! My loved ones have been fighting cancer for the last few years. My husband's father passed away in December after a long battle with Thyroid cancer. And my favorite aunt Lisa has been undergoing treatment for best cancer since Jan. of this year. Cancer is a very scary thing, and most people these days know someone who has been through treatment or lost a loved one. I am proud to be raising money for such a great organization. They fund grants for researching new medications and treatements. They also have survivors on the team with us, running race! It's so inspirational!
I have set the bar high - I am going to raise $3,000 by the end of October. I know I can do it! If you can, please make a donation to support me on this cause. You can make one to my fundraising page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/sbhalf09/mbush3
Our first team run is August 1st. And I'm going to blog on here about how the training is going :)

Also, if any of you are interested in joining Team In Training - they have branches all over the country and they train people who have NEVER run a race before.

So long for now! And thanks for your support, even just reading this blog or checking out my fundraising page. Thanks!!!

Reeeeeeeeeealy quick

2009-04-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

I have so much to update - and lots of pictures, but as usual, I am lagging. So for now, a quick update, and pictures and more juicy info to come.

1. Shower #1 was great! Steve's mom threw a tea party shower in Pasadena. It's was classy and dainty and yummy! We played shower games and opened presents. Julianne was a tornado of perfection! I got a little more attention than I thought I'd be comfortable with, and it was so fun to have my mom and sister there. They stayed for a few days after, and we got to do mother/daughter and sister activities!

2. The purple shoes totally work, but I'm going to wear them at the reception. I found some cute wedge (so they don't sink into the grass) Ivory colored shoes. I decided that I didn't want colored shoes peeping out and being a distraction during the ceremony. My jewelry and other accessories all work almost perfectly - fixing one of them. And I guess this P90X working is bulking me up (or maybe I'm just eating my stress in the form of sugar) - so my mid section of the dress was fitting a little to tightly for my comfort, and for aesthetic purposes as well. So I'm trying to run every day. It's hard.

3. I had a makeup and hair trial and was really pleased with both! It was exactly what I wanted, and at dinner with Jenn after, she said it looked good! So I'm done looking for that, and that makes me relax a little bit. funny thing - the hair stylist is the sister of a friend of mine at Playhouse West! SMALL world!

4. Met with Holly (florist) yesterday. Was 30 minutes late! YIKES! that is so not like me. But she was so nice about it, and had everything set up. It's going to be just perfect! I'm so happy we chose to have a florist, and she is brilliant. Everything she touches turns to gold! And she's going to work in our tables numbers beautifully too!

5. Steve got his ring back from being engraved and sized. It's perfect and sometimes he'll slip it on and then start posing for me. It's adorable. Mine still is not done! I'm not worried about it getting done on time, I'm just anxious to see it and have it.

6. Speaking of not having things. I ordered Steve's wedding gift on line a couple weeks ago. And FedEx says they delivered it on the 8th. We never got it. They said they would come by yesterday to check it out. They didn't. I'm really starting to loose faith in the mail system, and our neighborhood! Could it really be that someone is taking things off our doorstep? We are tucked away in the very back corner - So it's not like someone walking down the street will see a nice juice package sitting there and take it. I don't understand!

Steve and I are doing a Catholic Engagement Encounter this weekend. Though neither of us are Catholic, we do want to find more spirituality in our lives. And we've heard good things about this program in terms of being a great forum for really digging in and talk about the pillars of marriage and how to keep them strong. I'm really excited to see what happens! I think it's going to be deep!

"I'm with the band"

2009-03-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

I am limited on words today. i'm tired.

Kali's show was awesome! and it was better than I imagined to see her. She's is a really talented, cool and beautiful person and I'm sad that she's not in my life more. I'm gonna hang out with her on Wednesday, before she goes back home/east.

I started scanning and editing photos to go in the Ball jars at the wedding - possibly to be placed on the book shelves in that barn or other, as-yet-not-determined cool place.

Also featured in this blog are some pictures of my simple, yet elegant wedding band that we found at Wanna Buy A Watch? on Melrose and La Cienega, only a mile or so from the first apartment I lived in in LA. :)

I don't think I've changed much:

Steve and his Lolo (grandpa in Tagolog)

Searching for Shoes

2009-03-23T22:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, Hi! I'm alive!

I think I forgot for a week that I had a blog. Cause I was doing so many things in real life (good thing).

So, last weekend ( the 14th) Steve and I drove up to SC to throw a surprise party for my dad's 60th. He was SHOCKED! He jumped 3 ft in the air! When I have some time I'm going to bounce the video down to YouTube for the whole world to see :D

I seem to post when I need advise or opinions on things, especially wedding related. Or when I want to share a new project, or thing that I found. And this is the case tonight. . . . . I had my first dress fitting on Saturday (Jenn was there.... she cried :) and the shoes I had found, were as I feared not going to work (rhinestones are not elegant) So I went for a mini search the next day at the mall, and just wasn't really coming up with any great purple options. I started to doubt my choice to go with the splash of color. Maybe my dress is just too classic, to antique to work with a purple shoe. Maybe I should find something a little off white/champagne. But all i was finding in that department made me want to throw in the towel and go with Reefs. I did manage to find one cute pair of purple suede ballet flats (photos below), and decided that I should give the bridal salons a shot the next time I want to look for shoes.

Now, this is where you come in. Have a look at my dress again and then tell me if you think these shoes will work.

Wedding Crafty Weekend

2009-03-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

I worked on a few projects this weekend - wedding projects. They are by no means close to being finished, well, maybe the hair flower. But here's a little glimpse -

1. The hair flower - So I made this one last week - the big one :

(the center is a clip on earring i bought at a flea market last weekend)

And then I was at Michael's again and I saw some other flowers that I really liked. They're made out of pine cone chips! And they were a little more the right size. So today I made this one:

and I like it quite a lot!

2. Table Numbers - Steve and I have talked a lot about what we want to do here. Something cute? Like areas in LA that mean something to us? names of roleercosters? But nothing felt right, like we weren't doing it to show off or be unique. Then, when I was at Michael's, I saw a wood-burner (small pen like tool used to "draw" pictures into wood) and though that could look simple, classic, rustic and be something fun to make!

Since taking these pictures, I went back to Michael's and bought some stain for the wood, so they will be a little darker wood color. Looks very nice! And I think it will match the wood of the barn better.

3. Place Cards - I've had this idea for a while (and seen it on some blogs recently, of course) but finally tried it out this weekend. The idea is writing everyone's name and table # on a rock (originally i was going to try to collect them in Santa Cruz or some place meaningful - but I think it's just easier to buy them) And I started with people that I know for sure will be coming:

They look really beautiful all lined up on the table how they will at the wedding! I love them!

Preview

2009-03-02T14:24:00.000-08:00

Steve is dominating the iMac, editing Mike and Shevy's wedding video. So, sadly this is the only photo of the flower that I can give you for now. But, you can see from this picture how BIG the flower is, right? i think it might be too big.

No Boys Allowed

2009-03-02T10:05:00.000-08:00

So, I informed Steve last night, after finishing a photo shoot of myself wearing my handmade hair flower, and knowing that I was going to blog about it in the next few days, that he is no longer allowed to read my blog till after the wedding. I'm not a huge stickler for keeping it a total secret (he was with me when I bought the supplies for the flower. . . . and knows about the purple shoes) But I do want at least a little element of surprise. I had a fun hike with Suthi on Saturday, and we were discussing which photos we would do, and talked a little bit about the "first look". Since we will be shooting pictures before the ceremony, we're going to set up a cute little moment where Steve sees me for the first time, and I see him too! I'm really excited about that part of it too. He's going to look so handsome! and I'm going to get him a little "something blue" too. . . . . but that will be a secret till the wedding!

(i will finish this post later today, when I'm home and have the pictures of the flower)

I'm debading weather or not to hire Make-up and/or hair stylist. I've never really heard anyone who had them say "Well, that was a waste of money!" But I also feel like it is one area that I could do myself and not have to spend the money. But then again, it's the most photographed day of my life, and I'll probably want to feel the most beautiful and confident that I can. and if I'm worried that my hair is getting frizzy or falling out or my make up is sweating off (it will be HOT in May in SoCal). . . . I don't know. Thoughts?

Really? . . . . . REALLY?!?!?

2009-02-27T20:43:00.001-08:00

i want to inflict pain on myself right now. allow me to elaborate why:

remember how I said I ordered our invitations? Well, I paid rush shipping on them so we could get them by Friday (today) and work on addressing them this weekend and get our first batch out next week. So I get home from work today, decide to go on a run, and find a package from 123print.com on our front door step. I don't open it right away, despite my almost uncontainable excitement. When I get back from my run and get all showered (i really was building up the suspense for myself here) I decided it was time. I open them up. Yes! they are beautiful! printed envelopes, printed RSVP cards, the whole works! It looks amazing. Then . . . I notice it. On the address of the replay envelope it says "Unity #D" yes ..... unitY. "not that big of a deal, " i think to myself. " The post office will know what that means. or we could order new ones. It'd only be like 20 bucks" So Steve calls and I tell him about the invitations. And when he gets home, I proudly show him the beautiful invitations that I ordered. He starts to read out loud. "Mr and Mrs. bla bla bla request bla bla bla wedding of their daughter Mallika to Steve, on the THRITY (that's thRity. NOT thirty) first of May" my heart stops! shit! he keeps reading. He questions weather the correct wording is "half passed" or "half past" like I had. So, so far I have misspelled something on one set of envelopes and the invitation. Steve's checks the main invitation envelope. YEP, I misspelled our OWN address! good LORD! i feel about as stupid as a bump on a lump right now.

We have to REORDER everything except the RSVP cards! Which have a date of May 9th, so we have to get the invitations out soon! Why? why does this keep happening to my wedding? Does someone up there not want us to get married.

boo :(

Something Blue

2009-02-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

I think I'm in love!

I wanted to find a nice bracelet to wear on the day, since I feel like the dress really doesn't need a necklace. And when I saw this I almost feel out of my chair. I hadn't even been looking for a bracelet to fill my "something blue" but it really works perfectly. Our wedding colors are blue and purple.
Now, the bracelet is a little pricey, like more that $150 . . . so I wanted to ask you guys. do you think it's worth it? I want to have something that IS a little more expensive; something well made that I can pass on to my kids or something cheesy like that! What do you think?

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

2009-02-26T14:57:00.000-08:00

I love reading wedding blogs. I have gotten some really great ideas from other brides posting about their weddings, or the planning process of their weddings. And even though I know the details aren't important, and hope to not care too much how the whole day "looks", I have had a ton of fun planning and dreaming up a lot of little details (most of which I'm not going to reveal... there has to be some things that are a surprise) But the more I read these wonderful wedding blogs, the more I see little aspects of my wedding popping up everywhere. I guess it means that I have good taste? or maybe just that I'm a copycat. Like, pictures on a clothesline. I saw it on one blog, and loved it. I said to myself "how cute! it's like a slide show, but in a different way. I want to do that!" and now I see it everywhere!

I still love it and will probably do it (though, if we do a book of pictures of us as the Guest Book and we also do this, is that too many pictures of us all over the place?).
In general I've learned a lot from these women. About what to expect from vendors, what the "book" says is the best way to do things, and some fun ways to break the "rules" I have only found a couple vendors through the web though. I believe in recommendations from friends, and only went with online vendors when we met in person and I got a great sense of their talent and their personality.
We are going up to Thousand Oaks to meet Michelle tonight and taste her cupcakes: Chocolate, pumpkin and carrot! YUMMMERS! I can't wait. I'm glad I didn't give up sugar for lent (I took the other half of Molly's dilemma - I'm doing cheese!)

3 months and 3 days to go!

2009-02-24T11:49:00.001-08:00

I did it! I ordered our invitations!
After much hemming and hawing (spelling of that????) Steve and I decided that it's best to save not only time, but also a little $ on the invitations, and order them from a printing place online. Invitations are not the most important thing to us.
So we went over the 123Print.com and found some pretty charming designs. We chose Cheery Blossom Romance, to give our guest the hint that it will be outside, and cause it's purple :)

So we should get those by next week. And hopefully Julie will be ready to do MORE wedding stuff when she gets back from her honeymoon.

This week we are:
-tasting cupcakes with Michelle Mitchel
-signing contracts with our DJ, hotel reservations, and a new one with Suthi, our photographer
-setting up the rehearsal time and the rehearsal ~~dinner~~ lunch at The Taj Cafe (Indian food!!!)
-setting up a tasting with our caterer
-booking our HONEYMOON !!!

we have changed our mind again about the honeymoon. We have decided that Bali and Fiji are just to far (i looked at tickets online, and we'd be traveling for 24 hrs and changing planes at least twice. no thank you) So..... Tahiti it is! We've looked at some really cool hotels to stay at, with "over the water" bungalows! how romantic! So we just have to do some number crunching, and we are ready to book it.

it's pretty easy when I just make a list for this week. I don't feel like it's too much to do in 3 months.

Also, the PCC Flea Market is this Sunday and I will be there, early, to try to get those pretty old tea tins, a mirror to make a vanity with, little sake cups (as many as possible), and maybe even some cool old weathered wood to make little signs for the wedding :)

2009-02-13T05:22:00.000-08:00

woke up this morning with out an alarm.
peace and quiet
and started getting ready for my day.
suddenly realized that it might not be 6am, like I thought.
it's 4:50. great.
go back to sleep? or tough it out and be a little more tired later today.
tough it out.

And that brings me here. 5:30 AM. dressed and ready for my day. seems like it's either one extreme or the other for me these days. Either my alarm goes off at 6:30 and I snooze for an hour, or turn it off and sleep later than desired. OR I wake up before my alarm, tossing and turning, unable to sleep anymore. I've never had anxiety like this in my life. Then again, I've never been through as much as i have in the past 6 months. or dealt with death so close to me. or drugs so close to me. I've started therapy again, for the first time since I was living in Buffalo and depressed and in a sad relationship. My relationship is the one thing that is now my rock. My thing I know I can count on and my lovely future husban that will support and accept me through everything.

RE: my last post, our wedding site offered us a few dates in May, that if we were able to move our date (up by 4 months!) we could keep our gorgeous site, and all our vendors. And after much thought, and agony, and tears, and worry, and excitement, and frustration, we have chosen to move the wedding date, despite the scheduling conflicts that could potentially come up. There were pros and cons either way we went with it. And we fell in love with this site, and it's the wedding we want to have (with the vendors that will make it great!). So, while it's bound to be a little more stressful with rushing a lot of the planning. It's also really motivating us to get some of these things done. Things that I've spent hours on the blog circuit for inspiration and ideas. It's time to choose what we want. And that's always a great feeling.

Valentines Day is this weekend, and our 5 year anniversary. Just in case Steve reads this blog ever, I'll post about what I got for him after the gift exchange. But I'm really excited about what I got him. :) And we are heading up to Santa Cruz for the weekend. Mostly to see the family, and get away from LA for a second before full blown wedding planning happen to our lives. But we do have three wedding related things to do.

1) Meet with Nancy (hopefully our officiant) and discuss the beginning stages of designing our ceremony
2) Meet with "someone's" mom (remaining secret here, since I know my MOH reads this) about some gifts for my best friends/bridesmaids
3) Meet with JD, the dude who marry's everyone at Mt Madonna, and get some ideas of how to work a little bit of the Hindu traditions into our ceremony.

should be a productive and love packed weekend. We are going out to dinner with my dad and his gf on V-Day. And my sister has her 13th birthday party on Sunday. ( I think it's been honestly like 9 years since I was home for her birthday. . . . sorry sissy! i love you!)

Oh F*******!!!!!

2009-01-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

WEDDING ALERT:

we have lost.....i repeat.... LOST our wedding site. I found out yesterday that the owners of our wedding site will no longer be hosting weddings. Nevermind that they have contracts with clients through September! Well, the owner of the company who puts on the weddings is searching for a new site for us (and other brides I'm sure). We will be looking at a few with him on Tuesday. So, hopefully we love one of those and can get back on track where we left off with the planning. if not..... i dont know. I don't want to go back into the venue search. It took us 5 months the first time. I have some info on places from that search, but obviously none of them were perfect, or we would have booked there.

In any event, when it comes time to get married, it wont REALLY matter where we are. I am so excited to be married to Steve and celebrate that with our friends and family, I know in my heart that our wedding day will be fun, romantic, easy and full of LOVE. Thus I am beginning to move forward with the venue search.

is it 5:30 yet?

2009-01-26T15:48:00.000-08:00

As it gets later in the day at work, I loose my will power over my newly affirmed pact to not use the internet at work (at least not for more than email).
And so, I decided it was high time to post some pictures of my new hair color. The first few I took with my iphone turned out almost completely black, cause the sun is shining in from the window behind me. So then my next genius idea was to get in the sun.

RESULT:

I realized THIS? was not working. Finally figured out that I should face the sun, though not be directly in it. And viola!

(yes, that is Danny's elbow on my computer screen)
( proof of my total loss of will power)

after all this, i found this picture on my phone (taken by Steve a few days ago):

good example of hair
bad example of how i treat my kitty

also, just for fun, a couple shots of the frames Julie and I made to be used as her table names at her wedding next month.

.

To gush or not to gush

2009-01-21T13:23:00.001-08:00

I would vote, one of the hardest parts about having a wedding is setting up your guest list. Being on a budget doesn't exactly allow for us to throw the bash of the century, nor is that really what Steve and I want. We want FAMILY and close friends, and people who support us in being the kind of people we want to be; people who lead by example; and people who we have FUN with! Most of our guest list are people we love, people we are happy to invite. But, as always, there are the few obligatory invites, or the ones that you want to include, even though you might not be BFFs. So when it comes to coworkers..... I'm swinging to the "not close enough to invite" side. Part of me wants to pretend like the wedding's not happening when I'm at work, like not talk about the oh so exciting details with them. But I can't help it. It's so lusciously fun to gush over that stuff. BUT, it kind of opens the door for assumptions. For comments like, "You took your engagement pictures already? I didn't see them!" Or " you should have James, from the cafeteria, cook your wedding cake. We can bring it up to Ventura for you" hmmmmm. no thanks? So, the questions is: do I tell them I'm not inviting them? or just let it go like this till it gets closer to the day, and they start to ask where their invitation is? I'm afraid it might be horribly rude, and possibly unnecissary, to tell them "sorry, but we're keeping it small" Maybe I'm reading WAY to much into these comments. Maybe they are just being friendly coworkers, getting exciting with me. I'm gonna lay low for now, maybe cut down on the gushing about it bit, and hope for the best :)

And the pictures to boot!

2009-01-19T14:12:00.001-08:00

Ok here we go.... pictures of the things I spoke about in the last post:

From jenn:

Julianne's Bridal Shower

a little bit of invitation:

colorwise -

I'm wanting to have the blue of the first two pictures

with the purple of the last one

Weekend Update with Mallika

2009-01-19T09:26:00.000-08:00

(imagine the voice of the guy who says that on SNL) (side note, why isn't Seth Myers in movies?)

Anyway, this weekend turned out to be one of the busier weekends of the past month. But it was all good and fun!
Jenn came over on Friday night, to talk about wedding stuff and to see the condo for the first time. She gave us a gorgeous purple decanter! so nice! (2nd side note, i really should blog from home, cause I'd love to include pictures of all of this) We both are worried about the how are weddings will turn out in terms of a cohesive look. I'm struggling between the rustic country style that would be perfect with the barn; and the vibrant colors of a more Indian inspired wedding, with statues and hanging saris. Love them both. But they don't work together. and I'm truly torn. On the one hand, I look at pictures of weddings and I love the clean simple looks; white table cloths, clear or light blue glass jars with wild flowers, candles, lots of greenery, wooden signs with white paint, hanging Ball jars with candles in them, river rocks lining the aisle, etc. One the other side, I love purple and blues, with colorful flowers and mini glass containers in different shades of blue, purple and orange votive holders, and small statues of the Hindu gods that I grew up with, purple sari's as table runners, sea glass and other rocks about the tables, hanging Moroccan lanterns. I'm thinking that there must be a way to do some of both? But i don't know how...... any suggestions?

On Saturday was Julianne's bridal shower. it was sweet and fun and silly. It was great to meet the other bridesmaids (her sister and other friend) And I was awfully proud of my version of the Newlyweds Game: I videoed Denny (her fiance) answering some questions, edited them into individual clips and at the party, she gave her answer and then we watched Denny's. If they matched, she got it correct! She did pretty good, 7 out of 10. The questions were pretty hard. And I'm not being braggadocios when I say that I think it was the funnest part of the party.... besides opening presents :)

Then Sunday Steve and I went over our wedding budget again (after getting GREAT prices from the DJ we want) and figured that we will probably be able to afford the florist we are in love with. Holly is an artist at heart, and, no joke here, she was BORN to work with flowers! She's A-mazing! I'm hoping that she will be able to help with my indecisiveness on the wedding "theme"
I also spend about 5 hours of yesterday both online looking for pictures to beef up my wedding binder and designing our invitations! they are looking pretty nice!( again, would love to include a picture!) I'm starting to feel like the wedding is coming together. We've got the place, the dress, the photographer, the food, the music and hopefully the flowers! The next thing on our list is to figure out the menue!

Here, let me bore you

2009-01-14T10:56:00.003-08:00

Steve and I have decided that our kitty is getting fat. Since we moved to the new condo, we have not let her outside. Mostly, we love it because she actually spends time with us and cuddles on our laps when we are watching TV. BUT she doesn't get any exercise anymore. And this is causing us to need to "limit" her caloric intake. We've decided that keeping her bowl full isn't such a good idea. So now we fill it only in the morning.

are you bored yet?

ok. I dyed my hair last night, to get rid of all my highlights, and just be a brunette. Only to realize this morning, that it's really splotchy, and the hair underneath the top layer is almost the same color it was before the dye. Plus, I got it all over the carpet and it didn't come out! So I'm going to let a professional finish the job! But I like the top layer :) sorry, no pictures yet....

ALSO, I think I found the wedding invitations we are going to use. They are pretty much DIY. I'm buying a kit that I have to print on and put together. I wasn't really wanting or needing to do this for money reasons. I'd be just as happy ordering it from a site where they print it and such. BUT I couldn't find anything I really loved. And yes, they are just invitations. But there's a small part of me that at least wants them to have the wedding colors and something Indian-ish about them. So I found them and we will be printing at home!
In other wedding news, I am STILL waiting to hear back from my location about being able to bring my mom to see it. Not a word. I've email about three times and called once. I'm starting to worry. We are 7.5 months away from W day, and that doesn't feel like very long!

Also, tomorrow will be the 5 year anniversary of the day Steve and I met!

Interviewed by the best.

2009-01-08T11:38:00.000-08:00

Something fun from Jenny!

1. What everyday thing do you wish you could eliminate from your life forever?
hmmmmm, i would say working solely to have money. I don't like that. I don't mind doing work. and I'm a pretty hard worker and really fast learner. So I enjoy tasks and the feeling of accomplishment. But I don't like having a job that is mindless, but that I wont leave cause we are in the biggest recession since 1939 and I still need green to pay my bills.
also, traffic.

2. What would be the worst thing that could happen at your wedding (barring left-at-the-altar cliches)?
well, I guess something that makes the day not about me. How selfish is that! But, it's true. Like, for example, someone making a scene about how they feel left out or being overly opinionated to my face about what I should have done or how the food tastes, or something like that. I'm hoping, first of all that the food and everything is amazing!, but also that certain loud, opinionated Future Somethings don't voice their opinions to me.

3. If you could go back to high school and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?
One! that is so hard. I needed a lot of advice! "Be nice, don't try to change who you are and don't worry about what others think of you.
still relevent today I think :(

4. If you could change a single behavior of Steve (not a personality trait, just a behavior/habit), what would it be?
his tapping...... insesent tapping..... his feet, legs, hands, fingers. Yes. no more tapping would be nice

5. Pick a single materialistic and unnecessary object that you wish you owned at THIS second.
oh gosh. Ummm. first thing that comes to mind is a new bed. the one i have is from Ikea, and about 5 years old (oh so is the mattress!). It's been at 4 different houses with me, and thus assembled and reassembled many times. Plus, it's pretty small in our gargantuane master suite ;)

Hello Kitty

2009-01-04T16:05:00.000-08:00

Looking Back on 2008

2008-12-31T11:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess it's my turn to look back on my year. Reflect on the highs and the lows, and put some of my life lessons into words.
I'll start with a popular survey that's going around :)

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
was Maid of Honor, went to 5 weddings, and got engaged! (wedding themed year?), went to three funerals in one year

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I haven't made any for a while...i never remember them....but I think I'll write them here for 2009

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
not really close. but I've seen pictures

4. Did anyone close to you die?
yes, my grandfather. and Steve's father. The third was Steve's uncle, but I never met him.

5. What countries did you visit?
Mexico

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
longer vacations, a sofa table, amazing photos of my wedding, a marriage!

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
April 5th, Molly's wedding! April 8th, the day we got engaged! December 5th, the day Steve's father passed

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
tie between being a good friend, despite the outcome
and getting engaged

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not making any headway in my acting career (though i have learned a lot and started writing my own script!)

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
thankfully no, no broken legs, i didn't even get the flu!

11. What was the best thing you bought?
our condo!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Steve, always surprising me with his compassion and listening

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
a friend who seems, for now, to be lost :(

14. Where did most of your money go?
unnecessary stuff I think. and food. movies. travel. stuff.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
getting engaged, Molly's wedding, friends getting engaged, the condo

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Lost by Michael Buble
Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Callait

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? about 5 lbs heavier, but a lot flabbier!
c) richer or poorer? richer i guess, not sure

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
travel and meditate and see my family

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
trying to be in control

20. How did you spend Christmas?
up in Santa Cruz with my family, singing Christmas carols at Mt Madonna, shopping with my dad, opening gifts in the morning at my mom's

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
yes, more love in many areas, but especially with Steve

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Top Chef, Weeds, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Dexter, Jon and Kate Plus 8, and Paris Hilton's My new BFF (sadly yes, i watched this show)

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
no. I don't think I hate anyone, though I have had moments of anger towards a few people. I'm mostly sad about those relationships.

24. What was the best book you read?
The Writers Journey

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
many from the CD exchange!

26. What did you want and get?
a condo and a new camera, and pretty ring :) oh and lets not forget my iPhone!

27. What did you want and not get?
can't think of anything

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
just to name a few: The Dark Night, Wall-E, Iron Man, Eagle vs Shark (came out in 2007, but i didn't see it till this year)

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
27. I went sailing to Catalina with some of Steve's friends

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
See my family more (they are only 5 hours away...what the hell?) and made more time for yoga, meditation and relaxing

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Less interested in LA fashion, finding a comfortable cross between hippie santa cruz style and put-together-woman-in-a-big-city style. though i think i was pretty lazy in this area.

32. What kept you sane?
Steve, Molly, Julie, Jenn.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
i don't know

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
the passing of prop 8! appalling

35. Who did you miss?
My family, Molly, Jess

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Kiara

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Life is short. Live it!

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"I don't see what anyone can see, in anyone else but you."

Resolutions:
1. To be a better person, i.e. listen more, stop trying to be right, and live in love
2. realize that I can't control the way people feel or what they do, and therefore, not it personally.

ok, these are kind of sucking

3. get married (that's a good one)
4. enjoy the wedding planning
5. write a first draft of The Ramayana screenplay
6. take some improve classes

i think that's enough for now.

Happy New Year!

Snow

2008-12-23T11:12:00.000-08:00

On the mountains leaving LA on my way to SC

Hiatus Ended

2008-12-16T11:29:00.001-08:00

I've been contemplating how to return to the blog. The past two weeks have been.... heavy. And part of me wants to blog like nothing's happened. But another part of me thinks that's the worst idea, and that it would be good to at least acknowledge in some way what I've been feeling. Since it's not really my place to, I wont go into details. But I will instead talk about how I've felt and what I've realized in the past two weeks.

- As much as you may want them to change or act differently, your family is the only one you've got, so accept them and love them just the way they are.

- Enjoy you life! Do what makes you happy!

- The Golden Rule is the only rule that has NO exceptions

- It's better to say nothing at all than to say something bad

- Rain could not be more fitting

- I want to have kids sooner than I thought

-Take care of your body; you'll feel happier and so will your grandkids

- I miss romance, date nights, and grocery shopping

- I love Steve more than ever, and see how amazing he is

- I miss my family

ok, was that depressing enough? jeeze! I tried to throw is some of the stuff I've learned and some of the positive stuff.

Anyway, Christmas is right around the corner. And I feel so not ready for it. I need another month. I have done NO shopping at all. ZERO. So this weekend will be full of bargain shopping. At least we now have a tree and some decorations at home. So it kind of feels like December now.

Thanks, yo!

2008-11-26T10:58:00.000-08:00

So, Steve's favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I know, a little odd, right? doesn't everyone love Christmas cause they get a lot of cool presents from everyone they know? Well, Steve says he loves it cause he remembers being little and looking forward to his cousins coming to town for the weekend. and they would be silly and make funny home movies and play games all weekend. But I also think it speaks volumes to the kind of person that Steve is. He is so grateful in his life, so understanding and patient.
So, since my favorite holiday is Christmas, and I have far less patience and compassion, I am going to take Steve's example and be very thankful this year. So I want to share with you guys the things I am thankful for. And I'm doing it today, since tomorrow I will want to celebrate them, and not blog about them.
So here goes:
- my husband to be, who is kind and sweet, loving, adorable, and my rock. I love you!
- my family, dad, mom, mark and isa
- my health and ability to be inspired by life
- my friends; the people who help to inspire me
- my kitty
- having relatively good use of all five senses, especially taste and feel!
- growing up the way I did, with plenty of love and lbs of opportunity, and the whole yoga thing
- Steve's family, who love and support him, and made him who he is today
- candles and Christmas lights
- email and the ability t0o keep in touch with people who are far, far away
- hugs
- warm fireplaces
- the ocean and the beaches
- the snow, especially falling snow!
(ok, i think i should stop here, it's getting a little too "greeting card")
oh also,
- the sun and the rain and the apple seed ;)

Thank you for all these things, and more!

One Picture

2008-11-25T15:24:00.001-08:00

Sadly I can't email more than one picture at a time from my iPhone to
this blog.
So here is.....1.... Photo of me from moving weekend, eating pizza at
our new condo

New Ways To Publish

2008-11-25T14:02:00.001-08:00

I'm learning how to mobile blog with google blogs. I've been told I
can write this and send it to a certain address and it will appear on
my blog.
This will be fantastic if it works, cause I don't like sitting in
front of the computer for longer than I have to.

Sent from my iPhone

** UPDATE **

haHA! it worked!!! excelent!

Are We There Yet

2008-11-21T07:52:00.000-08:00

So today is the day that Steve and I are supposed to get our keys to our new condo! And I feel like that annoying kid in the back seat, or in Mochi's case 3 kids, asking every 2 minutes "Are we there yet?" I am so excited, I've decided that I'm going to carry around my video camera so that when we do get the keys, I can video tape us going in for the first time! I realized that video tapping events like this might be nice when we are older, to look back at how young we once were, or when we've lost our minds, to remind us of who we are.

Ok, really though, I was watching the "Two Week Wedding Event" on Jon and Kate Plus 8. And they were renewing their vows in Hawaii, and they showed some footage from their first marriage. and it was so cute to see them all young and excited to get married. And it made me want to have at least a crappy video of our wedding. So we might ask someone to man the camera, at least put it on a tripod for the ceremony, to have that.

Which, by the way, I finally sent an email to JD who we want to marry us. He's still in India, but hopefully he's as excited about it as we are! I think it would be so awesome to have him, the same guy who married my parents, and tons of my friends, and someone who knows the Hindu ceremony like the back of his hand and can help us write our own unique blend of traditional/Hindu ceremony!

Are we there yet? ugh, still not keys...... le sigh

Of Course I Changed My Mind, That's What I Do Best

2008-11-19T09:40:00.000-08:00

Soooooo, only 9 months out from our wedding, we have decided that it's a great idea to switch wedding venues. And, actually, it is. Cause this NEW place is actually an OLD place. Our first choice in fact. It's called Eucalyptus Lane and it has a barn! I am so excited about the barn and all the barn photos we will have! We had to move the wedding date up a week, which actually works better for a number of very important people in our lives. When I found my dress, I immediately started picturing the wedding at EL, and in that barn! So, it was meant to be. and I am very, very excited and happy that it has worked out this way.

In less exciting news, I still can't sleep. Last night I was up worrying about where we are going to put the trashcan in our new kitchen! and then my cat, like clockwork every morning, stared the incessant, alarm-clock-like cries to be let out at 5:30 AM. I don't know what to do with her. She will NOT let up. She just really wants to be outside like all the time. Probably because I want her to be inside. So I'm thinking that when we move, we wont let her out anymore. AND we will probably get a new kitten and hopefully that will be exciting for her too, and she'll want to play and stay inside.

Anyway, Steve and I are signing our loan documents for the mortgage on the condo today! finally! and we should have the keys by the weekend. I am very excited to have a new home and to decorate and organize everything! But right now I am most excited about being done with all this back and forth communication between the 7 people involved in making this deal go through. I am just excited to not have to talk to these people anymore (aside from Steve and my dad, who I am excited to continue knowing and talking to) If any of you have ever been through the process of buying a home, I'm sure you understand my frustration and stress levels. I just hope it's easier the second time around.

I Might Cook Something....

2008-11-13T22:27:00.000-08:00

So, the new season of Top Chef, season 5, started last night. I am new to the Bravo reality shows, and fell in love with the last season of Top Chef. We'll see if this season contestants are as cool as last season's. Part of the reason i like this show, if makes me feel like it's possible to be creative with food at home and have it still look and taste good. it also makes me want to pick up a hobby like cooking, photography, something else cool, and take some classes and get really good at it!

Tomorrow i am seeing Tracy for the first time since her wedding in Mexico. and I am bring along the AWESOME gift we got for her and Mark. Let me give you a little back story on Tracy, so you'll appreciate how perfect this gift is just as much as I do. Tracy collects barbie dolls. Like expensive, limited edition, keep-them-in-the-box kind of barbies. And they have different "specialties, like different races, or professions, etc. So, I've mentioned that T's wedding was in Mexico, and during the Dio De Los Muertes weekend.

So here's what I am so excited to give her tomorrow (I can't take pictures of it cause it's all wrapped up): Two paper mache dolls, bride and groom, in the popular skeleton style of Dio De Los Muertes! How perfect is that! I am so excited to give them to her! I LOVE finding gifts for people like this, where they match the person and the ocation so perfectly. It's kind of rare!

New to You

2008-11-12T08:34:00.000-08:00

and to me. i think this dresser is super cute. The girl who sold it to me was too. she was this little, spunky brunette with tattoos and big, nerdy-chic glasses.

She lived on the 4th floor of this old building that felt like those big houses turned in to dorms that are at east cost colleges. And we carried this thing down three flights of stairs. got a good work out.

so, it's living at Julie's new house in Burbank till we get our keys, in 8 days! I'm really looking forward to moving, for a few reasons:

1. I LOVE organizing stuff and deciding which drawers in the kitchen are for which things. LOVE it.

2. I really like this new place we found. It feels like home already.

3. I have completely fallen off the wagon in terms of running and eating healthy. Steve and I have gotten fast food a number of time in the past week. And I rarely eat fast food.

4. once we move, it will be December, and that means Christmas and holiday vibe in the air! one of my favorite things about life.

so, in an attempt to pretend to still be ON the Running Wagon, I am going to go meet Julie right now for a morning jog.

WOW

2008-11-04T08:55:00.000-08:00

I seriously have SO much to write about.

First, please take a gander at some of our engagement shots that the lovely and talented Ms( soon to be Mrs.) Suthi Picotte took a few weeks ago.

Also, Steve and I went to a wedding in Mexico last week! AMAZING! complete with fireworks for cake cutting, a mariachi band and delicious tequila! We were lucky enough to stay at my aunt and uncle apartment, which was amazingly beautiful, and we got to explore the town and enjoy some Dia de los Muertes!

BUT the biggest thing of all ..... and I'v been waiting to blog about this till I knew for sure that we were going to go ahead with it.... is that Steve and I bought a condo in Burbank! It's beautiful, and grown up and amazing and kind of scary. We are moving the first week or so of December. and there will be loads of blogging to happen after that. So stay tuned for pictures. For now, here are some pictures from our Mexico trip!

can't quit my iPhone, even in Mexico

we went zip-lining at the Predator set!

AMAZING wedding site!

This Makes Me Want to Have Children

2008-10-25T08:35:00.001-07:00

Good lord that kid is CUTE!

Sadly, i don't get to play dress-up for awhile. I do NOT want to be preggers on my wedding day. Steve and I are thinking we'll wait a year to two after getting married before we open this can of CUTE worms :)

Sweet Dreams Are (not) Made of This

2008-10-23T00:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight is one of those nights where my mind just wont quit. I was in bed trying to sleep for about 2 hours. didn't help that my lovely husband to be was sleeping like a baby right next to me. I even tried to talk to him the couple of times that he stirred, thinking if he knew i couldn't sleep, he wouldn't be able to sleep either. ha! right.

And it's not even like I have a big day tomorrow. Or I have one specific thing that I'm anxious about or need to solve. My mind just WANTS to worry tonight. It wants to think of all possible things I forgot to do today. Or what will happen if we move in a month. Or what my friends are doing right now. Or how this weekends shows will go. Or wishing I didn't have any more shows. Or wondering if I should even keep pursuing acting; maybe i'd be happier doing something else. So how will that conversation go with my teacher/friend Tracy when I tell her that I need to take more time off class to find out if I really want this or not! (breath)

ugh! I just want to sleep. I didn't get home till 1 am last night after Val's show at the Whisky Agogo. Maybe that's why I can't sleep now. Whatever it is? I just want it to stop. I feel like I have been anxious about life for well over a month now. I wake up anxious. I didn't use to be like that. I need to get back to feeling like myself again. Maybe I need to meditate or do yoga every day. Take time to clear my head, to consciously relax, since i can't seem to relax even when I'm asleep these days.

Wedding ToDo Checklist for the Week

2008-10-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

So, i signed up for a 5K run, only to have my friend call minutes later and let me know that she couldn't run it with me! So now I have to motivate myself to get up and run this thing alone. And it's tomorrow morning at 8 AM. and I haven't ran in a week. cause I've been sick. Maybe I should have asked my doctor to write a note to them saying that I can't run it and should get my money back. Ugh. I'm annoyed. Most at myself for my lack of motivation. I'll probably do it. and feel pretty awesome and accomplished after. but right now, it's about the last thing I want to do.

I've gotten back on the wedding planning wagon this past week. Which has felt really great and exciting! Here are the things I want to get done this week:

1. Meet with two wedding coordinators

Michelle and Camilla

2. Get a clearer idea of what we want the flowers to look like at the ceremony and the reception

3. Take engagement photos with Suthi

4. Order "Save The Dates" (if pictures come back by the end of the week)

5. Call first choice of officiant and ask if he will fly down to marry us

6. Listen to songs with my dad for the father/daughter dance

I Love Autumn, BUT...

2008-10-14T10:32:00.001-07:00

I love autumn (east cost style to be honest): when the heat has settled into that crisp, wet chill, and you get to bring out your favorite sweaters, caps and scarfs; and the trees are starting to die, i mean turn orange. the mornings are foggy (santa cruz) or overcast (Ithaca, NY) or sunny?(LA). And some mornings it smells like waking up when you're camping, though that probably has something to do with the 15,000 acres that have burned in LA in the past two days.

OK! so autumn this year kinda sucks. I was going to go on and on about how much i love/miss autumn, but hate being sick. but really, i don't like autumn very much at all this year. AND i'm sick, to boot! and the ash floating around in the air? not helping my chances of not developing some serious breathing problems. Remind me why i live in LA?

wedding colors!

2008-10-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

I've Been a Worry Wart

2008-10-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

well! I have been totally absent from this blog, but for good reason. My life suddenly felt unmanageable and overwhelming. A friend was/is going through some intense stuff, and needed some major support. I'd rather not go into details. But I will say that I feel like my life is starting to feel a little more balanced again.
One of the reason for this, is that I have started to go to Alanon meetings. what is that, you ask? well, it's a "sister" meeting to AA; but it's for friends and family members of alcoholics (or addicts). At first I started going looking for answers of what to do to help my friend. After a couple meetings, I realized that these meetings were not about getting advice on how to help addicts, but they are a place for the loved ones to work on their own behavior, to be able to find peace and live a happy life, no matter what others are doing around them. I am still struggling to get a lot out of the meetings, as I have felt that I am still in a bit of a crisis stage. BUT I am realizing that it is me that is creating this crisis feeling in my body. That I have a choice about how I react to my friends behavior.
So i'm starting to feel more like myself again. and less like a worry wart. Though, turning off that chatter in my head is easier said than done.

Active Buzzer

2008-09-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

I'm active in the Bee world.

check out my posting to the board on Weddingbee

So, I'm thinking....

2008-09-17T10:24:00.001-07:00

So, I'm thinking his will be the inspiration for my bridesmaid dresses:

haha, just kidding. I did find an amazing blog on Weddingbee that had about 30 purple dresses that could be bridesmaid dresses. But NOW i can't find that post. and am sad. cause there were a lot of really cute, totally re-wearable dresses on there.

also, thanks to my lovely and beautiful best friend/Maid of Honor, i found this blog that I love: Offbeat Bride it's a great example of how weddings can really be a reflection of the bride and groom. And they can be ANYTHING your heart desires!

for half a second, when i saw this picture, i thought that Steve had already walked down the aisle with someone else.

love her dress, by the way.

i so guess i should be looking into bridesmaid dresses. Though, i know that right now one of them is in no place to go shopping and buy a dress. So, perhaps i shouldn't look, cause what if i find the perfect one, only for her not to be able to get it. hmmmmm I'll just look a little bit ;)

Wouldn't It Be Nice

2008-09-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

Remember that Beach Boys song "Wouldn't it be nice if we were older, then we wouldn't have to wait so long. " That is one of my favorite Beach Boys songs. I think i'd like to hear it at my wedding. I feel two things about it: 1) it's about how exciting it is to look forward to sharing your life with someone, growing old with them, and being content. 2) I remember listening to this song in college and thinking "yes, i would be nice if i was older and had someone to say goodnight to for the rest of my life" and i'm there! it's not longer "wouldn't it be nice" it IS nice :) awwww

ok, enough cheese.

Today is the 7th anniversary of the attack on the Towers. And many peoples hearts are low today. People are remembering where they were; I was studying abroad in London, which is about 5 hours ahead of NYC, so it about 2 pm when we heard. I'm not sure where i heard it, but I agree that this day holds a similar place in our minds and hearts that our parents generation had with the JFK assassination. We all remember where we were when we heard the news (that's a lot of Ws). We remember that whole day, what we did, how glued to the TV we were, who we called or emailed, how we tried to forget about what was happening. Everyone talks about the humanity and courage that we saw on that day. and it seems to me that we have forgotten about that. I mean, it's only on this day every year that we think back and say "wow we were really kind to each other that day..... we should be more like that every day" and then we go back to our rat-race lives. I'm not saying we should wake up each day thinking about 9-11, but that we should remember how it felt to stick together, to be to united for a day. AFTER ALL, we are the UNITED states, and it feels , especially now during the election year, that we forget that we're all in this together, we're all fighting for the same things; underneath everything, we all want to same thing: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Breaks in The Fast Lane

2008-09-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen a dog that didn't want to move, just didn't want to go wherever his owner was trying to take him? and he roots his paws to the earth and pushes away with all his might?
That's how i feel about my life. But I'm the owner AND the dog. I feel like I have one foot on the gas and one on the brake. I love that I am busy, that i have friends who want to hang out, wedding stuff to plan, plays to rehearse and perform, etc. BUT there is also a part of me that wants to sleep till 11am, read some books, go chill at the beach, go on a nice long hike, get a dog and spend some more time outside.
i digress
~I got my ring resized and cleaned and it's all pretty and sparkly like the day i got it! I am regretting my decision in 4th grade to start cracking my knuckles. As a result of that choice, I can not get my ring to fit right. It's still loose and spins a little on my finger, but were it any tighter, i wouldn't be able to get it on past my fat knuckle. *sigh* I think I wan to get in engraved with the date that Steve proposed.
~ Allthough I am an avid Weddingbee reader, I would not consider myself a DIY bride. Though I love that feeling, and I do have time.... We're thinking of doing something really cool for the table "numbers" (it's a secret for now) and that would be a DIY project. Alternatively, I could delegate some stuff to my wonderfully talented friends.
~ I don't think Steve and I will be having an engagement party. Though I should talk to my mom about that. She had mentioned something..... It just feels like another way to squeeze gifts out of people. and knowing my mom, she'll stress hard core and we'll get in fights about stuff. ugh!
~ Steve and I have pretty much finalized our guest list. Which was kind of hard, but not the nightmare that I had heard it would be. Part of me just wants to invite everyone. And another part of me wants to have only 50 people. It's hard to sick to rules. But my friend Julie gave me a good one. "If they're not living together, they can't bring a date" Which I like. For example, my friend Jess. She is hands down the best friend I made in college, and she's been with her BF for like 3 or 4 years. They are living together and I want her to come to my wedding. I know that she really wont know anyone aside from me, steve, i think Molly and my parents. So I want her to have someone there who she'll feel comfortable with. My other friend from college(doesn't know jess and who will remain unnamed) is also living with her BF of 3 or so years. However, she is kind of an obligation invite, and I don't really want to pay for her BF to come too. Thoughts?

MEME-my own rules

2008-09-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

OFFICIAL RULES OF THIS "game"
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

However, I know only two bloggers who have NOT been tagged in this little train. so I'm tagging two, not 6 :D

1. i drink sleepy time tea every night before bed. When i was little, I used to have warm milk with honey. I've grown up, a little bit. It's so warm and comforting and gets me in the cozy mood.

2. these days, i read Weddingbee constantly. Even though I'm not going to be doing so much of my wedding stuff DIY, i like to read about other brides that are. and just get general ideas for my wedding.

3. I have been taking a writing class through my acting school. and have two ideas for awesome films that I want to make. Now i just have to actually sit down and write them.

4. I have this irrational fear that I have some horrible disease, like a brain tumor, or stomach cancer, and I don't know it, and the doctors are not checking for it, and it goes undiagnosed for so long that when I finally find out, it's too late. Fun huh?

5. i really miss playing volleyball. I miss the sport and being active. BUT i also really miss being on a team with a bunch of girls(stop it!). I think it was my version of a sorority in high school and college.

6. sometimes i am really shy and antisocial. and people think i dont like them or i am stuck up. But it really stems from being insecure or worried about being judged.

and the two i tag are Jenn and Ivy

oh and PS, i got new headshots taken yesterday. so i put one up here and did a little revamp of the blog. you like?

Wedding White Out

2008-09-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

Time for another update!

Steve and I are this close to booking The Adamson House for our wedding. We have a date, August 29th, and we just have to send in the check. Here are some "better" more interesting photos of the site.
one
two
Anyway, we're pretty stoked on that place. It's got a huge tree to get married under. and a fountain! and you can see the beach! and it's just awesome! And the house is so pretty! it's got all this Malibu/Spanish ceramic tile. I want to possibly tie that in some how, maybe on the save the dates or the invitations, or the menus. Though that might change our wedding colors. Do you have any ideas of when to throw that style in?

Communicate With Clarity

2008-08-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. If all humans would communicate with impeccability of the word, all of our relationships would change. There would be no wars, no violence, no misunderstandings.

This was the card that I drew today (from my Four Agreements cards). I'm not sure where in my life I need to work on my communication. But what I get out of this card is the importance to speak what's true for me, weather it's to Steve in telling him what I'm thinking instead of playing the "if he really knows/loves me he'll know what I want" game. Or with myself, about what I really want to be spending my time doing and weather I really want to be THIS booked up with scenes for acting class, or if I'd honestly rather take the time to be at home and read or work on my screenplay, or go to the beach. I need to look at how I am communicating with the world; how I am telling the world to view me. As a tired, overworked actor who's really cool if you get to know her but doesn't have time to let you in? Or do i want to be seen as an open, creative person who speaks her mind and works on inspiring projects. THAT sounds pretty good to me. and, yes, i can't control how others see me. BUT i can control how i speak about myself, about what i'm working on, about others. And sometimes speaking things is the first step to making them happen.

I here by declare....

2008-08-27T10:46:00.001-07:00

that i am one of the worst bloggers. I shouldn't even call myself a blogger. I am an internet-updater. I don't have time to blog. I only seem to have time every two weeks to give my 2 readers an update that they probably don't need cause they're my friends and have already heard all of this anyways.
Ok: UPDATE:
The search for the perfect wedding site (i know, it doesn't exist) is still on. I went to 4, 1...2....3....4, wedding sites on Sunday. I loved the first one, and then wasted the rest of my day. Though, had some fun in the process. The first one was The Adamson House, a beautiful outdoor venue on the beach in Malibu, with a star shaped fountain and a 100 year old Sycamore tree to get married under. The other 3 were: Malibu Nature Preserve (dump!!!), Belle Lereve (cool, but way to far into the mountains of Ojai) and The Ojai Valley Inn and Sap (really pretty, and nice....too nice....$400 a night to stay, and i felt like the people at the front desk would have licked my shoe clean if I'd asked.....uncomfortable is a good word for how we felt).
So there it is. the AH is our top choice right now. We're meeting with the site coordinator tomorrow morning to go over available dates and see if we can book it!
Aside from slight wedding mayhem, life is pretty sweet. My play hasn't opened yet (September 20 something) but we are in "preview" and working out the kinks:) it's fun to be on stage again.

i guess that is all the update I'm going to give you for now. tune in next fortnight for another tiny morsel of info about my life ;)

Plastic Magic

2008-08-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

It's done! I own a it! I called Marrylinn's in Santa Barbara and ordered my dress! Now I just have to find a venue, caterer, DJ, florist, cake, bridesmaid dresses, and a few other things :)
I was all set to book at Eucalyptus Lane, but heard back that they have NO Saturdays open for ALL of next year! Not one! That is just crazy to me! so I am having my friend Julianne call and pretend to ask about available dates! If that doesn't work, Steve and I will sit down and brainstorm on other places, ones we've seen or not seen. In the end, it really doesn't matter where we get married. This day is about fun, love, commitment and celebration, none of which hinge on where we are physically. So I'm starting to calm down a bit.
Anyone know of any amazing, ranch-like, rustic feeling wedding sites? even up in Santa Cruz. I'd be ok doing that. I've got my Molly looking out and I'm gonna call my mom and ask her to start looking too. I just wanted to be done with this part of it.

Oceano

2008-08-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

Well.....I am hearing wedding bells! and they are mine! I remember only a month or two ago, I was feeling lost and totally overwhelmed with the idea of where to start on my wedding. We have visited a few sites, but nothing was clicking.....well.....it's clicking now!

My bestest best friend, and maid of honor, came for a short visit this weekend, all the way from Philadelphia! We have girlie fun her first night, and then took a drive up the cost the next day to try on some wedding dresses. I thought we'd be able to see one of the two sites i like on the way up, but the gates were closed and we didn't feel like trespassing was the right way to start off a relationship with the place i might get married. so that fell through. BUT I had made a dress appointment in Santa Barbara since we were going to be up that way anyways. I had emailed the lovely Jenn, even though I knew she had family visiting for the weekend. And I understood when she said she probably wouldn't be able to come. But I have Molly and Cypress with me, so I figured that's still awesome! But the silly little bug showed up right at noon! and I just started crying when i saw her walking in! It mean so much to me that she took that time away from being with her family to come share this experience with me. (it was kind of that moment that I knew I'd be asking Jenn and Cypress to be bridesmaids that day....which I did, and they said yes! and we cried....again)
So I picked out 5 dresses, with some variety, and let my girls give me some of their input as to which ones to try. The first dress was so pretty. Elegant, simple and made my butt look amazing! BUT even before I had the second dress all the way on, i KNEW this was the dress. I said "Oh my God, i like this one already!" and sure enough, the girls did too! it's the prettiest thing I've ever tried on, and I feel like a million bucks in it! I haven't purshesed it yet, I'm going to do a little price shopping (for mom's sake). BUT i know it's what I want to get married in!

May I present: Oceano by Pronovias.

Then, as I was prancing around enjoying myself, I totally got a vision of me in that dress getting married an Eucalyptus Lane. So I have inquired about Date available in Aug on '09. It's just amazing to me that finidng one thing that I KNOW is right can set off fireworks for me and I suddenly am making decisions left and right!

The rest of Molly's visit was great. We went to a Dodger game (pictures to come!) last night and marveled at how all the LA fans now ONLY cheer for Manny Ramirez. and Molly came with me to my audition for Wizards of Waverly Place. But I had to drop her off at LAX this morning.

i miss her already!

The Kernel

2008-07-31T10:57:00.000-07:00

So, i'm having trouble scheduling my life! Here's the problem. Life in LA is fast, especially when I'm taking two acting classes, rehearsing a play, and trying to audition, work and also have a life. AND about to start planning a wedding! So I've been planning this trip to Ohio for a family reunion for at least 2 months, maybe 4, and yet it has still managed to sneak up on me and create all these scheduling hazards. Like, I need new headshots for the program of the play. BUT don't have time to shoot them till two days before we open! Not to mention the fact that I have not been able to sufficiently shop for the family portraits that will be taken next week! My family is so republican!
I just have to take it one day at a time. and remember that these things that I"m doing with my life are all AWESOME. Like, how lucky am I that I get to take a week off work to go play with my family? and that I'm in a PLAY! And that I can afford to get new headshots! All really awesome stuff. It's just so easy for me to get caught up in my expectations of how they'll go, whether I expect them to be frustrating, boring, exciting, stressful, relaxing, etc. I need to stay present to the kernel behind what I'm doing. And stay present in THIS moment and ENJOY IT!

ps have you seen these videos of the cell phones popping the kernel or corn! I really want to try it! Have any of you tried it? did it work?

iPhone Photos

2008-07-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

surfers at The Hook in Santa Cruz
Kate and Matt's wedding

These are pictures i took of our (probable) wedding site

Back on The Bike

2008-07-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

So I'm back at the gym. And back into my "bible" The Four Agreements. The bit I read yesterday was about the agreement to "Always Do Your Best" and this seems like common sense. BUT for me, the real challenge is to not get mad at myself when i can't do something I think i should be able to do, or that I could do yesterday or last year. Or that I haven't done something yet, and feeling like i haven't been doing my best. The challenge is to know what my best is. AND that it's always changing. My best will depend on whether I am refreshed in the morning or tired at night. It will be different when I am happy as opposed to upset; or healthy as opposed to sick. My best changes all the time, because I am changing all the time. The other half of this is knowing what my best is. Not being lazy or letting excuses take over, or getting down on myself thinking things like "I just suck at this" or "I'll never get it" or "why am i even trying to do this, I'm not smart/driven/pretty/Hollywood skinny/determined/patient enough". And at the same time, not pushing myself too far, judging my progress or accomplishments as not good enough. I want to find that balance of knowing that I pushed myself just a little, i took full advantage of the moment, and really, truly and wholly did my BEST! Some things that are easy for me now would have been impossible a year ago. Sometimes I have more drive than others. And maybe I need to capitalize on those times, recognize them and use them to their fullest.
Under any circumstances, simple do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

back on the busy track

2008-07-23T10:09:00.000-07:00

ok so obviously i got sucked into the iPhone world. And then i realized that my life had suddenly gotten insanely busy. On top of having about three weeks till my play opens, I also went to Kate's wedding, am going to Ohio for a week in a week, am trying to finish up the music video with Steve, working on editing my NEW demo reel, rehearsing a scene from Macbeth, and a few other things.
I have not picked up my Four Agreements book in quite some time. I was reading it at the gym, but these days i find it hard to focus on anything at the gymbesies how tired i feel and how much i'd rather be sitting at home, watching TV, or walking on the beach. I really want to move closer to the beach. Molly and I went to watch the surfers on Sunday mornig, and then last night I met up with my cousin Lily in Santa Monica. And I really miss living close enough that you don't have to plan a beach trip a week or two in advance, and clear out a whole Saturday for it. I'd LOVE to be able to go on a 5 min walk on the beach every day. But, i guess everyone would. and that's why it's so expensive to live out there.
Anyway, I'm trying to upload some iPhone pictures, but it's not working. So i'm giving up on that. maybe i'll find some time to post them tonight. Though I wont be home till 11pm. sigh.

The day after the day

2008-07-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday was the iPhone 3G launch. And it was pretty much exactly like I expected it to be. Steve and I got up around 6am, and drove 1/2 mile to the closest AT&T store. there was already a line of maybe 30 people, and, having stood in line together for Star Wars (wow....i think i'm just realizing that I'm either a total nerd or in love with one ;) we thought this line wasn't so bad. turned out, they only had maybe 40 phone to sell that day. The managers kept coming out and saying different numbers; 30, 35, 40. We were all going crazy in the line. And some people were getting pissed. One guy showed up at like 9am, a whole out after the store opened, heard that they only had a few phones to sell, and started insulting us, saying "it's just a phone, what's the big deal?" well, why don't YOU tell us, since you're the one throwing a temper tantrum cause you can't get one today.

We met some other cool people in line though. Leore was 24 and from Israel, and after talking to her, Steve and I are seriously considering starting our honeymoon there. There was a "background actress" also known as an extra who hadn't slept last night cause she was on set, and yet still had the most energy out of all of us. She was talking away, going up and down the line, asking people which phone they were going to get. And there were a few fans of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and steve and I had some good laughs with them, talking about our favorite episodes.

As it happened.....i got THE LAST IPHONE and it was exactly what I wanted! a black 16 gig! amazing! Steve and I felt so accomplished! And so GLAD that we'd gotten in line literally just in time! It was amazing to see the angry people outside the door(which were locked by the way) when they were told that all the phones had been sold hahaha they were so pissed. and they just stood there, like someone was going to feel sorry for them and decide to sell more. Steve and I had been preparing to not get one, preparing for the worst, hoping for the best. That way when we did get one, and the LAST one, it was that much sweeter!

This is the very first picture I took :P

while I iPhoned, Steve finished reading Harry Potter

We went out to dinner at this amazon, Brazillian restaurant, which was pretty good.

the decor was a little tacky, but we pretended we were at Disney World

After a long day, everyone was tired

tomorrow, tomorrow, it's only a day a way

2008-07-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

yes friends, it's true. the iPhone comes out TOMORROW! And there are people in line already, not here in Sherman Oaks, but in New York and other places around the world. New Zealand already has the iPhone 3G. It was released at 12:01 AM on July 11th (Those lucky little kiwis are a day ahead of us). there's even a guy who's been blogging his attempt and success in being the first person to BUY the iPhone 3G. So, since it is already out, Apple had to release the software update and the new app store in iTunes. So, many exciting things happing in the world of iPhone right now. And i know I'll be blogging my pics with my new baby sometime this weekend.

back to real life. I'm reading a book called The Four Agreements well, i'm mostly reading it while on the stair-master or bike at the gym. BUT, it's got some good things to say. Like how gossip has overtaken us. celeb magazines and blog sites like perez hilton and the ugly, obvious side of this; but there are ways that I gossip that i didn't even realize were gossiping. so much of our communication, the way be bond with other people, is gossip. about the girls at work, about your parents, about the teacher, about your significant other. I have probably gossiped about every person in my life at some point. And I thought back to the times when I've done that, especially about people that I really love, and saw that it was doing some really bad things; for them, obviously, if it was negative stuff I was saying; but for me too, in that I was listening to and agreeing with myself and my own created opinions as if they were the truth. And the whole point of it was to get other people on my side, agreeing that I'm right. And if i'm right, then they must be wrong, bad, stupid, or whatever. and why would i love and trust someone who's any of those things. hence the sabotage.
The other big lesson that I've gotten from the book so far, is "don't take anything personally" NOTHING, even the good stuff. Cause whatever people say has to do with that's going on with them. If i know who i am, i know i'm awesome, beautiful, talented, smart, etc. anything that someone else says is seen for what it is: their opinion. they are seeing me through their life, through their filters and that's not really me. If they just got fired, they're not going to walk up to me and say "you look so radiant today." likewise, if my friend just got cast in a feature film, he/she isn't going to walk up to me and tell me to "move my F#$^ing ass out of the way" and flip me off. and, really, taking thing personally is the ultimate sign of selfishness.....thinking that everything that's going on with someone else is because of you. That YOU are the center of the world. Ok, that's extreme. But you know what
I'm sure this is all stuff you've heard before, as I have (I've actually read this book before haha) but it amazes me how I get something different out of it every time. Cause my life is going to be different the next time i read it, and I'll be struggling with different things. I like to feel like I'm always working on myself. BUT it doesn't feel like work. It's fun. It's gratifying to understand myself better and see ways that I can adjust my mind, my actions and my communication, in order to be more at peace, or just to get what I want. ;)

I want to suck your blood

2008-07-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

I don't usually get very much done at work. I'm a pretty lazy employee. and to be honest, I'd probably have fired myself months ago. I'm getting better, reading less celeb gossip columns (though now i'm addicted to my friends blogs), and watching fewer episodes of Weeds online. But today was an exception to the "don't distract yourself" rule. I did something that I really feel is a good cause. I saw the sign for it a few days ago, and put in in my trusty calender (which will soon be chucked in the trash when i get my iPhone!)
I donated 500 CCs (that's two whole cups) of pure, delicious, life saving, type O blood. I am a Universal Donor, meaning that they can give my blood to anyone, and their body wont reject. It's ER blood. It's the stuff they use so they don't have to search through the blood fridge for the right type while Mr. Doe is bleeding out on the table. The poor girl in the bed next to me was struggling. Her blood was gushing out, filling the bag like we were racing and she started to look really pale towards the end. She was so out of it, she could hardly speak when they asked her if she was ok. So the gave her a cookie and put some ice packs on her neck and head. Only to have the one on her head open up like her veins and start leaking on her face. Poor thing. My experience was much less dramatic.
I feel like a better person when i do stuff like this. and today, i can honestly say, I did some important stuff at work today.

2 things in 12 days

2008-07-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

I'm getting really excited for two things:

first - the iPhone is coming out in three days!!!! I'm so anxious. I have a day-mares that I'm there and they wont give me one. See, I foolishly went to AT&T about a month ago and singed up for a new contract. No one knew at the point, but you have to be "eligible" to get the super amazing price on the new iPhone 3G. this means, either a new customer to AT&T, already a iPhone user, or eligible for a phone upgrade on your preexisting AT&T plan. So, I am NONE of those now that i am more than 30 days into my new contract. BUT I called the AT&T store where I singed up. I said "YOU told me I could do this and it would be better. NOW i'm not going to be eligible for the new iPhone. What are you going to do about that?" and they said "we'll just let you have it at the price anyway." I was totally stoke. I even saved the voicemail i had from the manager saying this. Come to yesterday, i realize that AT&T only lets you keep voicemail for 14 days. in a panic I went to my phone, listened though ALL my voicemails, only to find that, yes indeed, his voicemail had been automatically deleted! anyway, now I'm afraid that I'll get in there and in the craziness that will be happening Friday morning, he wont remember that he said that :( so i'm gonig to call them again, and make sure they remember me.

second on my excited list - wedding dress shopping! I'm going on the 20th, the day after my friend Kate's wedding. So I'll be ALL excited and in wedding mode. Kate's wedding is going to be so beautiful too. She has always had this creative, magical vibe about her. and I am sure her wedding will reflect that. not only that, but 2 of my best friends, Molly and Cypress, will also be there! something has totally shifted in the way i'm relating to my wedding. I'm suddenly all giggles, squeals and other annoying things. I'm actually really excited to pick a place and start planning. AND I'm really excited to feel what it's like to be in a wedding dress. I wonder if I'll like it, or want to go with something less traditional. I will certainly have a lot to blog about.

oh, Steve, since I know you read this sometimes, you'll have to not read it the week following that....cause I most likely will share information that you shouldn't know, including pictures of me in pretty white dresses :) ok baby? i love you.

Happy 4th, 5th and 6th

2008-07-06T16:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a long weekend...

I was planning on taking pictures of Steve and I filming...but that didn't work, cause turns out I can't clone myself and be in two places at once. So I did most of the camera work, and Steve did most of the on-camera/prop handling. We're doing a triple split screen for the music video. and one shot is going to be a bunch of stuff rolling (cause the song is about not having breaks on your car, or bike or heart) So we filmed from around 10 am till about 2pm on the 4th. At which time we were tired and sweaty.
In the evening, Drew came over with some beers, we got In-N-Out for dinner (go America!)

I felt sad that we weren't seeing any fireworks, so we busted out the latter and climbed onto the roof. NOPE. nothing but trees. The worst part was that we could HEAR them. And every once in a while we'd see little colorful dots flying just above the trees.

we ended the night with some good, old fashioned Will Ferrell.

Not a very exciting 4th of July, but I wouldn't have done anything differently. It was just what I wanted.

Yesterday evening we had a unplanned double with Jules and Cole. We ran into them while walking to The Archlight to see Wall-E.

Jules and Cole were going to see the same showing! So we paired up. The movie was so good. I might go see it again tonight, with Cypress. It was just so well written. There was minimal dialog, especially between the main characters. And yet, it was almost always clear what was happening and how they were feeling. I know from trying to write non-dialog shorts that it's harder than you'd think to tell a story with out the handy cheats of dialog, like having the characters explain the story for the audience. So, it was well written in that way, but also in the "moral of the story" way. It said a lot of things about the way that we are living our lives, what we're doing to the planet, etc. OK, so this topic is over played, but it's good to see it from different mediums. Anyway, I'd give Wall-E an A.
Which brings us to today. I feel like I've been at Great America on The Vortex all day long. (used to be my favorite ride there... remember when we used to be able to go on roller coasters all day and feel fine. now i'm on one, and have to sit down for 30 minutes)

Up and down, upside down and puking....ok not puking, but crying. I just hit a wall today. I think I was tired. BUT I also just got really overwhelmed with my inability to make choices for myself and know what I want. It's like the biggest obstible in my life. I see it in my career, with not just making it happen, not going out and doing the things I KNOW i need to do. I see it in wedding planning, where I'm scared to pick a place, scared to pick a date, cause what if in 6 months I find a better place, or what if I hate it on the day, or what if other people think it's too small, or dirty or hot, etc. and I see that I do it with my friends sometimes too. Like I feel like I have to hang out with them or they'll be mad, I have to choose them or they'll feel dissapointed (which reads loud and CLEAR as little Mallika going through her parents divorce and being asked to choose which parent to live with..... DAMAGED ) But I had a great talk with Cypress, and realized all this. And then I felt really free to do whatever it was that I wanted to do, which was work more on the music video with Steve. So we "story-boarded" the stuff we still needed to film and even shot a rough draft. It looks SO AWESOME! I can't wait to finish it!

so....that is my long weekend!
ps 4 more days without iPhone

Where's the Bikini shop?

2008-07-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

I remember as a hippie child growing up on a mountain 45 minutes from the ocean that it was my highlight of the summer when it was time to go bikini shopping in Capitola Village. There were a few shops there dedicated solely to selling bikinis. and boy, they had a selection. It was so much fun to try on different patterns and hear the lady say, "we have the pattern in every style" and then try on every style to see which i liked best. Buying a new swimsuit was like the official sign that summer had begun. That, and getting a GIANT jaw breaker that would last me till August and make my tung bleed on more than one occasion. Now, getting ready for this holiday weekend, I though to myself "it is high time to get a new suit, as i have had this very same suite since the Wet 'N Wild party at The Bucket some 27 months ago!" But, alas, I will not be going to a bikini shop, laden with bikini gold.... now that i'm a city girl, i must do the city thing, and shop at Target.

Final Cut

2008-07-03T09:03:00.001-07:00

SOooooo, Steve and I have decided to film a music video for one of the cover songs we're doing. AWWW i know, sickeningly cute right? it's going to be cute as hell. simple. fun. awesome! So simple, in fact, that we can film it just ourselves with no extra help and no special effects. Though, we have decided that iMovie, as nice as it is for the basic stuff, isn't going to be enough for what we want to do in the editing room. So we're going to buy Final Cut Express. It's basically a mini me of what the pros use (Final Cut PRO, who woulda thought). and that's super exciting, cause I'll be able to edit together a more professional looking reel for my website (which, by the way, needs some serious work. I got all excited about it like 5 or 6 months ago, designed everything myself and put it up..... and haven't done anything to it since. I'm pretty bad at the business side of my career....or lack of career....maybe that's why it's so non-existent.....oh great, now I'm getting depressed. i want to head shots.)
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the long weekend: filming, rehearsing for the play, BBQ at the Bush's and maybe squeeze in some aerial if I have time. Plus, the iPhone 3G comes out in a WEEK! yippy!

Writers Block

2008-07-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, so Steve and I have decided that it's more important to film some funny short movies this weekend than to look at more wedding sites. maybe we can do both. here are the few sites (that's wedding locations, not websites for those of you riding jenny's Bus ;) that I still want to see:
Las Vergenes
Mentryville
Sage Ranch Park
Towsley Canyon
Malibu Family Wines
Calamigos Equestrian Center

those are at the top of the to be viewed soon list. right now, our two top choices that we've already seen are
Calamigos Ranch
Eucalyptus Lane

So, tonight, Steve and I are going to write out a few "scripts" of things we want to shoot this weekend. As of now, the ideas we've talked about are:
a pancake movie
a telleportation skit/commercial

and that's IT. haha. maybe we can do an iPhone one. Like where I'm so depressed cause I can't have the new iPhone yet. oh wait. we don't have to write that cause it's my life.
any suggestions?

Hands Free

2008-07-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

July 1st it is! and in California, it's no more holding the phone to your ears people! somehow, i don't think people will stop talking on the phone while driving....here's an idea....how bout you just drive. that's a pretty important activity to do while you're driving? don't eat. don't put on makeup. don't talk on the phone (will they make other laws, like a no makeup in the car law?) some huge statistic out there says that it's not the holding the phone to the head that's the distraction, it's the conversation. What types of conversations do you have in the car??
-I'm late/stuck in traffic. be there in 10 min. (25 if you're in LA like me)
-scheduling childcare/pickup after school
-chit chatting with friends
-calling work cause you left the printer on
-calling home cause you left the iron on (ok, probably not this one)

but there are all sorts of conversations that happen in the car. And most of them really don't need to happen at that exact moment. and if they do, they probably warrant either pulling over, or just concentrating on driving so that you make it there a) faster b) safer.

i digress

so the iPhone is going on sale at 8am on July 11th. Why can't i stop obsessing about it? and when i try not to think about it, i end up on Perez Hilton reading about the very preggers Angelina. I really am excited to see those pretty babies though.

I want to get this case for my new phone

the last couple times i've talk to my friend Jenn, she's asked me a question about something, like how was your birthday or how was your trip to Catalina. to which i responded "read my blog." not in like a mean way. BUT still, how rude is that? Like, now that I'm blogging again about my life I don't have time to talk about it too? really? that's lame. Sorry Jenn.

back to real life

Anchors Away

2008-06-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

We sailed to Catalina on Saturday, with Steve's friend Eric, and a few others. We were told that the meals were covered (including vegetarian) and for some reason Steve and I didn't listen to our gut instinct to bring some of our own food anyway. We sailed forever! to get there on Saturday. Finally got to our mooring spot, and got the chance to swim and snorkel. That night Steve and I introduced this group (who I really didn't know very well) to Apples to Apples . It was a huge success. We ate dinner on the boat, made some margaritas, mojitos and topped it off with a champagne toast Eric made to Steve and I. AWWW. We all slept on the boat and woke the next morning to a beautiful sunny day. We had eggs for breakfast, and took the "dingy" in to shore. The dingy is the little rubber boat that came with our big one so we could taxi in to shore. FUN. So we all went ashore, did some shopping, had some ice cream. Our trip back to Long Beach Harbor was a bit bumpier. But we made it safely. All in all, this weekend made up for the birthday blues that I had a few days ago.

sorry for the boring post. I'm too tired to be funny.

Highlights:

- cheezits

- sun

- being on the open water

- getting kisses from Steve

- chips and salsa

- snorkeling in the kelp forest

- buying a replacement shirt for Isa

- playing Cribbage (reminded me of Greece)

- sun

- Apples to Apples

- Mojitos

- the "motion" of the "ocean"

- Champagne toast to me and Steve :)

Lowlights

- veggie patties for lunch, dinner, and lunch again

- lack of skills at "mixing" liquors; hence, cotton mouth at 2 am and killer headache the next morning

- 11 people sleeping on an 8 person boat

- cold, wind, and giant waves resulting in borderline seasickness for 3 hours

- diving in the ocean wearing my *ring* and almost having a heart attack as i hit the water, imagining the ring sinking to the bottom (it didn't, it's fine and sparkly)

- only getting one card at Apples to Apples

- still pealing from sunburn last weekend

- being attached by a yellow jacket AND seagull at the same time

Steve happened to be sitting in the perfect spot; he was the only one who got wet

photo editing done on Picnik

Last Night's Pictures

2008-06-26T16:34:00.000-07:00

Birthday Blues

2008-06-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

So my birthday went off with out a hitch, mostly. It was only me that got in the way. Sometimes I'm such a lame-o. So Steve took me out to dinner, at a new sushi place by our house. It was fun. But he kept saying that he wanted to tell me about this weekend. (he'd been keeping it a surprise for about a month, and I was very good and only speculated in my head about what it might be) He was clearly getting really anxious...and when Steve gets anxious, he can't really hold down a conversation about anything else. SO, he told me. We're sailing, with his friend from UCLA and some of his friends, to Catalina for the night. Pretty cool. BUT I think Steve was hoping for a big happy, kissing, overjoyed-at-a-great-surprise kind of reaction, but instead I said "oh, cool. BUT it's with people who I'm not even friends with and you only see like once a year" I think the real disappointment was that Steve didn't plan it....all along I thought "Steve has thought of something cool for us to do to celebrate my birthday, and he's planned it all out. he's made reservations and everything! how FUN!" but this is really just like, his friend Eric called and said "we're sailing on June 28th, wanna come" and Steve was like "perfect!" BUT not really. god, i'm such a grouch. It's going to be fun. I know that. It's going to be cool to be on the boat and explore Catalina a little bit. I think, as much as i love surprises, they're not good for me and Steve cause I build up expectations, and he knows it and feels pressure. not good.
so, after dinner I went to class. Which was actually nice. and fun. I did some good work in class. Then I came home to find a mini surprise party (mostly Steve's friends, except for Cyp, Shevy and Julie ....the rest were his boys.....ugh!) for a late game night. I have pics, but can't post them while I'm at work....later :) I think my favorite game of the night was part of Cranium....where one person is the puppet and the other is the puppeteer. It's just so funny to watch someone try to act it out on someone else, while that person is trying to figure out what's going on.
So, that was my birthday. I got some great gifts from my family, and from my friends (a locket necklace from Julie and a Mac gifts card from the Cypress crew) How did I feel at the end of the night? loved. tired. and sad that my core girlfriends are far away from me, or the ones that are in LA seem to have drifted away. SAD.
Also.....my future mother-in-law called and told Steve that he's going to have to take care of her after her Lipo next month. REALLY! i wanted to scream at her. I wanted to say YOU'RE HUSBAND IS REALLY SICK AND YOU'RE GOING TO GET PLASTIC SURGERY??!?!?! sometimes i just don't understand her.

My Movie Beat

2008-06-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

I am a movie lover. I love getting there early, getting some treats at the snack bar, and sitting in the theater waiting....I love the previews, and how everyone always gives there little approval/disapproval sound after, like "hmmmmmm that looks good" or "eh...i dont think so" you know you do it! I love how big the screne is, how loud the sound is, and how i get lost in that world (if it's a good movie) for a couple hours. I look forward to movies. And therefore and pretty pissed when they disappoint.

Movies out right now that at least a part of me wants to see:

Get Smart (53% on Rotten Tomatoes)
Get Smart rides Steve Carell's considerable charm for a few laughs, but in the end is a rather ordinary Summer comedy.

The Incredible Hulk(67% on RT)
The Incredible Hulk provides the action and excitement to please comic book fans and re-ignite this fledgling franchise.

Wanted (only for the Angelina factor.... and MacAvoy) (85% on RT!! of course it hasn't opened yet)

Movies that need to come out sooner:

The Dark Night (2008)
Step Brothers (July 25th 2008)
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Price (Nov 21st 2008)
Burn After Reading (Sept 12 2008)
He's Just Not That Into You (Oct 24th 2008)

Oh......also

2008-06-25T13:33:00.001-07:00

it's my birthday :) yay

AND

the iPhone comes out in 16 days :) double yay

What You See Is What You Get

2008-06-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

Well.....I've realized that my life, my virtual blog life that is, has consisted of ONLY iPhone news of late.
And there are some very exciting non-iPhone things happening in the world....shocking, i KNOW.
One of those is the LONG over due arrival of a writer to this wondrous and liberating blogging world. She is my best friend, and has a way with word that truely should be shared with all of the world. So....here it IS
Falling Molly

Also....i'm going to be in a play!!!

more to come soon :)

Alseep in the Wake

2008-06-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

Well, in the wake of the tanker that was the iPhone 3G announcement, i have been in a bad mood. You'd think that I would be excited that my long desired tech gadget has been reveled, that it'd lead to anticipation and building excitement. BUT it seems that it's just not happening soon enough. Every time I check the apple website, I experience anger that nothing has changed, no more information has been revealed; I feel like apple really didn't upgrade the phone as much as they are pretending they did. Really, it's just a bit faster, with the option for more applications (70% of these new apps will be FREE, which is one thing that is satisfying). BUT really, i feel that there is much more advanced technology out there in the world, that I'm SURE apple has heard of and has at least begun to develop. But we see none of this in the iPhone 3G

ok. I am bitter. and I can't escape this feeling. I'm scared it wont go away until I have the iPhone in my hand and start actually having fun with it and liking the phone. I wish i could just sleep the rest of the month and wake up the day they are on sale.

It's finally Here

2008-06-09T22:35:00.000-07:00

Introducing: iPhone 3G

isn't in sexy! among other things, this phone (which lunches on July 11th) will help me blog more regularly, as I will be able to blog from wherever I am.

For now, I'll continue to imagine the fun things that I'll do, and enjoy my last month on my regular phone.

Anticipation

2008-06-09T07:47:00.001-07:00

I don't think I've ever wanted a new technological device as much as I want this new iPhone that is rumored to be announced any minute now... not even as a young girl who, having hippy parents, wasn't allowed to have ANY of the latest gaming consoles. I had to be content with my black and white (or green and green) original GameBoy.

Times have changed and I now have a job, the means to save money for something that I want. I have been, someone to my embarrassment, following the online rumor river leading to the iPhone, and all rumors point to (at least) the announcement this morning by Mr. Jobs himself. (Some say the phone will be in stores later this afternoon, but I personally think it wont be "launched", until June 16th)

The first clue that I've found is that Apples online store is "off line". It is busy being updated! could this be with the NEW 3G iPone????

I'm sure I'll blog again soon..... cause I don't have anyone else to talk to about this :)

UPDATE: The Apple Online Store is now up and running again...with something "entirely new"

Quickie

2008-06-08T12:10:00.000-07:00

The well rumored 3G iPhone is supposed to be announced tomorrow at Apple's WWDC in San Francisco. I will post about it after the keynote address at 10am

Steve and I are going to try a new restaurant today....it's called The Lamplighter.

She Blogs Too

2008-06-04T12:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes i forget why i have a blog, and i think "no one cares. no one reads this thing anyway" But then i read other blogs, and it's not that they have amazing things to talk about, or have "fans", that's not why they blog. and THEY seem to have no problem writing about what might, in the literary world, be considered nothing. so why shouldn't i allow myself to do the same? probably the same reason I don't do my writing assignments for class until hour before class starts.....i hate words. I've never been much of a reader and never really became friends with the English language, or any other language for that matter. something about writing scars me, probably because i still think i'm a horrible speller (which now, thanks to auto spell checking on every computer, isn't mush of an issue for me). But, I also think what i have to write about will be boring or stupid or too opinionated....or worse....not opinionated enough. How could i possibly write about something if i don't have opinion about it. On the other hand, opinion is a product of judgment. Judging something as "good" "bad" "smart" "stupid" "pretentious" etc. is a conversation of the mind, and leads to nothing but more judgment, possibly self judgment, and who needs THAT (see above where i wrote about being a horrible speller, having no opinions, being boring and stupid). so maybe it's best to acknowledge that i have opinions about some things, but that it's not necessarily a character flaw to not have an opinion about something.

well, i think I've pushed through the fear that you'd kill yourself from boredom after reading my post, or worse yet, you wouldn't care enough to read at all.

Steve and I bought Dodger tickets for the day game this Sat and we bough two extra thinking we'd take our friend Julie and Denny and a nice surprise for them. BUT they can't come, so now we're try to invite people.... Kathy might be able to come (work permitting), which will be fun, and a chance to get to know her even better. But then there's the fourth seat.....who could the lucky merman be? (i've been listing to the Little Mermaid soundtrack for 2 days) Also in the not to distant future, hopefully 4 days!, is the launch of the new 3rd generation iPhone. I know, some of you out there are really against it. but i'm NOT. I've read up on it a lot, and it will cut down on my purse size considerable. Actually, lets be honest here, I'm probably going to just have more room in my giant purse rather than switch to a new compact size.
Also, I have wedding all over my brain...from looking at wedding sites for my own wedding, reading Weddingbee.com 100 times a day, and Kate's wedding is coming up in just over a month. I mailed my RSVP card on Mon "Miss Mallika Pettengill gladly accepts" no Mr. Bush this time around. He's got a class thingy for work. Which will work out good actually cause I'll be able to do my first round of DRESS SHOPPING. (can you tell i'm excited) my mom, sister and MOH will be with me, and they'll all see me stark naked. lovely.

ok, really long post ending..... thanks for reading!

Fear of Death

2008-05-29T07:53:00.001-07:00

so in the past month or so, since Grandpa died, I've been thinking a lot about death. and it's really scaring me. I've never really been one to sit and ponder what it's like to die, or how it will happen. I think the thing that scars me the most is that moment right before you die. some people are lucky and die in their sleep, or die suddenly and don't really have this moment that i'm referring to. It's that moment where you know you're about to go, you can feel it, and you're scared and you don't know what's going to happen, and you don't want to go. Clinging, grasping for some bit of life to hold on to, but it's slipping away and you can't do ANYTHING but die. THAT is what scares me about death. I don't want to experience that. honestly, i'd rather die in a plane crash, a braid anerism...but i don't want to get sick, and slowly loose control of my body, and spend time thinking and wondering what's going to happen.
a young student at Northwood High died yesterday. so sad.

Google Reader

2008-05-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

ever heard of it? I hadn't till Tuesday. But it's helped me know a little more about the world, like:
-gay marriage on it's way to legal in Cali
-my old acting teacher, Erick Edwards, having a "most viewed" video on you tube

-the new iPhone will be coming out in a few weeks (still a rumor, but i'm salivating)
-Sue Simmons dropped an F bomb on live tv
-Bill O'Riley is an A**HOLE
-Polar Bears have been added to the Endangered Species list , yay!
AND
-these are a little creepy, but also a little bit cool, unique and cute

Free

2008-05-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

Free is in interesting word. It evokes such an inspiring feeling in me. It stands for so many good things : Free Tibet, wild animals that are set free after rehabilitation, Free People (expensive but lovely clothes), Free food for homeless people (Kirk and Shev gave out PB&J sandwiches a while back). And the idea that when someone who's in pain dies, they are set FREE. My grandfather passed away on Friday. He was in pain. He had been sick for the past 4 or 5 years. And I'm glad he's not in pain anymore, and his soul is hopefully reunited with my grandmother in some way. He was an amazing, persevering pioneer. He lived a full and happy life, always joking and smiling though his blue eyes. He will be missed.
Memorial services are this Saturday.

Cover Story

2008-05-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

Ms. Abdul is wearing a thick layer of "cover story", trying to undo the hurricane of damage she has done not only to her own image, but to the credibility of America's favorite show, "Idol". The incident occurred during the live American Idol broadcast this past Tuesday night. After giving feedback on Jason Castro’s “first song,” “Forever in Blue Jeans," she added: “The second song, I felt like your usual charm, it was missing for me. It kind of left me a little empty. And the two songs, it made me feel like you’re not fighting hard enough to get into the Top 4.”
She was on Ryan Seacrest's morning radio show yesterday, stating that her mix-up on Tuesday was because she had seen part of the dress rehearsal. Part? really?
To read a full article on the NYT website, click here

Hulk

2008-05-01T12:05:00.001-07:00

I kind of want to see this

Hood Rat Stuff

2008-04-29T17:52:00.001-07:00

3G

2008-04-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

bloggers have been speculating for over a year about the release date for Apple's third generation iPhone, which will have the capability to run on the much faster EDGE network. For the past couple months I've been frequenting these blogs and electronic gadget geek sites, yes I'm obsessed, I'm aware of that, for any substantial news on WHEN this new iPhone will come out. Finally it looks like something is coming in to focus.

"In a report released by Bank of America analyst Scott Craig, Apple will have an major increase in iPhone product sometime in June. . . This coincides with a previous announcement made by AT&T last year, indicating that its networks will be ready for a 3G iPhone release in 2008. . . . iPhone sales have been extremely successful for Apple, having sold more than 4 million units to date, with an expectation to hit 10 million by year’s end. The phone has been so successful in fact, that Microsoft’s mobile development team is starting to poke around in the iPhone SDK. The software giant mentioned that the team is looking into ways where it can take advantage of Apple’s intuitive phone and growing user base."

"Apple planned to build more than 3 million high-speed iPhones in May followed by more than 8 million in the third quarter of the year. . . . . analyst Avi Greengart said it would make sense for Apple to bring out its high-speed iPhone in June around the time it launches an upgrade to iPhone software. "

Ok so it doesn't exactly say for SURE that it's going to come out... but it makes sense to me. or maybe I'm just wanting it so badly that I'll believe what the "analysts" predict based on past sales of iPhones. But, i mean, come on....they've made us wait long enough right?

in other news, Amy Poehler is gonna be a Baby Mama for real. I hope her pregnancy is better than the review of her latest movie.
Also, Cold Play has a new song out today that you can DL from their website. Madonna isn't so generous. Her album, hitting stores today, is only available if you adopt a child from somewhere in Africa.
And lastly, I think Scarlett Johansson decided to "re-do" the video for her song with David Bowie. It originally had scenes from Lost In Translation.....It seems to me like she just made a lower production value rendition of the same idea....watch for yourself on Perez' site

back to what's important, Shevy, Cypress and I are doing Runyon Canyon hikes a few mornings a week. It's great to get up above the smog before the temps skyrocket. Plus, i love spending time with Shevy's dog, Viviene. She's just like one of the girls. I want a big pup to play with and hug and run with. He'd be the BEST workout partner. ALWAYS up for it, never giving excuses. *sigh* someday. I think right now the most I can handle is plants, a cat and the iPhone. :)

A New Blog

2008-04-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

well....thought I'd just go ahead and start a whole new blog, start over with a new URL address, kind of like how I used to move to a new city every year or so. So here is it. (old blog, if you wanna check it out is missmallika.blogspot.com it's also called Miss Mallika's World, just to be really confusing)

Anywho, life update:
Molly (best friend) got married on April 5th!!! it was beautiful, fun and memorable.
Steve asked me to marry him in Central Park! So i said yes. and we're engaged.

Can you see the ring in that picture? It's sooooo pretty. He did an amazing job picking it out!
.........
those are the big ones I guess. i could also write about Shakespeare class, or Aerial class, or my no sugar diet i am (barely) doing. Do you realize how much sugar you eat? It's in everything. there have been some interesting experiments with food in the past couple weeks, my two favorite of which were 1) lentil soup and 2) avocado, garlic and lemon salad dressing! oh, so delicious! Also, I think I'm slightly lactose intolerant. My tummy doesn't feel good when I have a lot of dairy.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANYWAY. This is the start of a new blog. There will probably be a lot of pre-wedding planning type of stuff on here. So you can keep up to date with that stuff if you're interested. We might also set up a wedsite...so I'll link to that later

ok, byeeee