nplove Land

I've always heard about this movie, since I've seen many of John Cusack's movies, but I've missed "Say Anything..." somehow. Rented it from Netflix this weekend. Great flick!

Lloyd Dobler. What a great character! So full of life, so optimistic, so much like an adorable puppy dog you may not have wanted at first but who grows on you with each kiss and snuggle and just plain being there for you. Even when he's down, he only wallows for a little bit and doesn't give up in his passion.

I was surprised to see Peter Gabriel's name at the song credits. Could have sworn that it was Sting singing "In Your Eyes," the famous boom box song.

Got a new phone!

After 5 years with Cingular, I decided to change companies. I had told Kayla that I would get her her own phone when school started (to help grandma track her down after school with all her activities). Nana and I got new phones too. Mine has all these pretty little lights that flash when I get a call....so call me!! Coincidently, as I was looking through the themes on the phone....I found the "Phantom of the Opera" song, and it is now my ring tone. The only other tune I'd like is a Prince one...

My old Nokia, affectinately called "Gerry," is being retired and will soon be placed into a shadow box, along with pictures of it's namesake. ;)

My old friend, Ryan, had a birthday party last Tuesday, that his mother, Hildi, was nice enough to invite us to. I had a great time (Kayla was still in SD) at Yum Yum's restaurant...good food thought I might have just been really, really hungry. I dragged Sylvia with me, and she had fun, though I left her sitting alone next to Victor Carrillo and his wife plus some others I didn't know. Ryan and I caught up a bit, in between lots of people coming over to give their birthday greetings.

Afterwards, Ryan and I hung out some more (along with me drinking a few green apple flavored Smirnoffs that left this really bad rubbing alcohol taste in my mouth) to talk about old times, old friends, and what's going on in our lives now. Of course, I talked a lot about Kayla and Gerry. ;)

We joined Elexa's work friends for a bonfire at the beach on Coronado
Island, neat Hotel del Coronado. I thought it was going to be a cold
night, but it was very comfortable near the fire. The kids went down to
the water to walk in the waves...okay, okay, I asked them to walk down
there with me. One rogue wave came up and drenched little Tony and wet
our shoes.

I tried to get a good photo of the moonlight, but couldn't quite keep
the camera still. I think I need to ask Santa for a better camera.

There's one really good picture of mom. Scary, but funny. :)

So, the kid's been taking classes with Barbizon for a few months. She just finished the first set of workshops this past weekend. Think of it as...finishing school? Learning manners? :) More like, makeup, walking, posture, hair, and some other modeling skills (all things that good ol' mom wasn't going to teach her). At first, she wasn't sure she liked the classes, and I wasn't sure if they were worth the money I was paying. But, she stuck it out and has learned lots about taking care of her appearance, walking, public speaking, walking, and other social skills. Did I mention walking? Next up: she starts TV classes soon: readings, interviews, audition skills, etc. in a few weeks.

I had to take my car to the dealer for some work on my brakes and rear windows this morning. Wow! You should have seen the sky...oh, wait. Here's a picture. :)

My niece, Jennifer, had a birthday party for her daughter, Peyton, on Saturday. Kayla and I drove home from SD that afternoon to attend. On the way home, we saw some pretty nice clouds (before a mountain storm), so I had the kid take some pictures. They came out pretty nice, and it gave Kayla some practice in composing pictures.

So, anyway, the party...it was a swimming party (Kayla dived in after some carne asada tacos). Sylvia, Lupita, Kenneth, and Keith joined me and Kayla for some good food: first the "taco man" served up tacos right off the grill, followed by the "raspado guy" to help everyone cool off from the 100 degree sun, then last came the "hot dog man" with grilled dogs with chilli beans, bacon, and grilled onions. Hungry yet? ;)

It was good seeing Jennifer, Kayleigh, John, and little Peyton again.

My niece got tickets for her family to the "Greatest Show on Earth" at the
Sports Arena in SD. Kayla and I went with them, but couldn't get seats
down on the lower level. But that was okay with me...I didn't
want to be too close to the clowns. ;)

I'd never been to a big 3-ring circus before. Kayla has been bugging me
for years to take her to them when they appear here at the K-mart
parking lot. :) We went once. Years ago. Got suckered in by the "Kids
get in for $2" but adults got charged around $15. What can you do then,
when your little child is looking up at you with those big eyes, waiting
for her cotton candy and close up view of elephants you'd been promising
her all day???? Dang lions and tigers were so thin you could see their
ribs...but I digress.

We had fun. Music, acrobats, animals, danger, and caramel apples. Yum!

It's Friday, it's almost 5 pm, and I'm SOOO ready to go home.

I found some interesting sites today. One was at www.roadsideamerica.com - which shows all the interesting places you can stop at while traveling this summer. There were some good pictures of valley sites, like the Desert View Tower, Salvation Mt., and Felicity, the "center of the world." I also came across a blog called "freakinweird" stuff.

Plans for the weekend? We were going to have some kind of family birthday celebration tomorrow for my grandmother, but it got canceled for some unknown reason. However, thankfully, we took Nana Hope out to eat on Monday evening, her 88th birthday. Here she is blowing out the candles on her mini-cake. :)

The kid and I plan on going to watch "The Dukes of Hazard" sometime the next few days. I'm not really keen on the idea (I loved the guys from the old tv show), but the kid loves Jessica Simpson.

I'll be on vacation all next week, so let's see if I find some time...and an Internet connection....to be able to post. We'll be visiting family, especially the chance of seeing the newest member of the family. Isn't she adorable? :)

We've had some storms this week in the desert valley.

Monday night, while awaiting to order some food at Carrow's, the lights went out. I looked outside and saw that the sky had quickly gotten dark. I rushed outside with my camera and took some pictures. :)

All the dust in my eyes, ears, and mouth was worth it. LOL

Tuesday night, a lot of rain fell down in the Valley, but especially in Calexico. Thunder, lightning, and more wind that knocked over trees (big ones too!) and power poles. I took some pictures from the side of the road, but was shocked...okay, amused...when I got home. Our street was flooded!

Robert, Kayla and I went outside to view the beautiful sunset. Robert remenist about how I used to take him "swimming" down on the corner after a storm. LOL Yup, I remember that.

I had a nice full weekend...as usual. Never a dull moment, eh? :)

Friday night, we went out to watch "Must Love Dogs" which was pretty good, no surprise. Has John Cusack made many bad movies?...

Saturday, the kid and I drove up to SD for a little Gerry-get together with some other fans. It was a lot of fun to watch the UK version of the "Phantom of the Opera" with other ladies who would hoot and holler at the appropriate spots, laugh at the bloopers, and all stay silent and breathless when the Phantom sang. I also finally got to see some of the older movies I hadn't seen. "Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star" was SO very funny. Wow, Gerry, you've got some good comedic timing. And, like I've always said of Prince, you give good face. :)

Speaking of Prince.....Saturday was also the day of a Prince fan BBQ in LA, which I chose not to go to. My devotion now lies elsewhere.... ;)

Sunday, the kid was in church to acolyte. Afterwards, she had a championship basketball game. However, her team, the "Sparks" did not all show up, so they had to forfeit and lost the championship. :( Very sad! They still played an exhibition game and destroyed the "champions" 34-10. C'est la vie!

After the game, we did a little shopping, then headed to Chili's for dinner. Ahhhh, good food and good margaritas. I was a happy girl....until I got home and realized I still had the church newsletter to finish up. LOL