does life get better?

last night was a cookout at lance and kris's house... we ate the chicken that we forgot to take camping with us. one of the best parts of the night was all the guys except jeremy were wearing blue shirts and blueish grey shorts. so they left him out and made him stand in the corner. all night long. actually only for as long as it took to take these pictures. but still. good story huh???

yesterday morning some girls came over and we worked on crafty projects and hung out. i finished my baby projects. ha ha. not for my baby. for kayla and ricky's baby and eric and christina's baby. thanks though.

today after church we went to the beach with lance and kris. i fell asleep for like an hour or something. i think kris has a picture of my drooling all over the sheet on her facebook page. but that was the best nap ever. and due to my skillful application of sunscreen - no burn. yay for me! after i woke up i was stretched out on the blanket reading and i sat up to take a drink of water. when i laid back down i felt somethig wet... a bird had pooped alllll over the sheet. well all over half of it. but it is a queen size sheet - thats a lot of doody. that pretty much killed the mood and we left shortly after. but it was good while it lasted.

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seriously?!?!?

last night jeremy took the busted air con to home depot and traded it for a new one. they didnt hassle him or anything so we were thinking great. this is working out well.

he gets home, and i help him install it (yeah i really did. although installation of a window unit in an apartment in la is a matter of lifting the thing in to the premade hole in the wall. but still. its shake and bake and i helped.) he turned it on and ahhh blessed cool air. we were watching the chiefs play the dolphins on monday night football on thursday nights (in what universe does that make sense i ask you) and the breaker blew. so we unplugged the tv from the same breaker as the air con, turned everything back on and watched the game.

the breaker blows again. we figure out the some of our small kitchen electrics are on the same breaker, even though they arent being used, so we unplug those and reset the thing. watch a couple more minutes of the game and...

it blows again.

this happened four or five mroe times and the guy downstairs (the apartment nmanager) comes upstairs to check on the new air con.

he wants to put a new plug type in the outlet that is specific to just the air con and so he does. we tried to explain to him that that is what blew up the other one because too much power is runnig through that circuit but he didnt listen. we get everything set up and test it on one of our little fans. it burns up the motor in the fan, but he still had us try the air con in the plug.

it ran for about five minutes before blowing up.

that was our third air con in four weeks.

it took forever to fall asleep last night as i was wallowing in a pool of my own sweat.

an electrician is supposedly going to come over tonight and fix it. we will see. im not holding my breath.

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meaghan's no good, terrible, very bad day

it all started last night when the brand new air con stopped working. so we slowly roasted meanwhile...

last night: three of these and one of these

this morning: one of these

and then come home and sweat to death.

yuck.

but i got the day off work... :)

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more movie and book reviews...

we watched a movie called aspen extreme sunday night... kevin said it was great... well, it was a very 80s movie - the clothes the hair etc. the storyline was interesting i guess, but it kept going on and on at the end after you thought it would be over. not going to be on either of our top ten lists, but not on the bottom ten either. the most interesting thing in it wasnt that interesting until yesterday's street drama jeremy witnessed... but there is a drug deal gone terribly wrong in the movie and it reminded me of the story jeremy told. i wonder if the guy on the bus yesterday was looking for steve. also this omvie features an extremely young teri polo. if i hadnt seen her name it would have taken me a loooong time to figure out who it was. we have been watching west wing season 6 and she is congressman matt santos's (a democratic presidential candidate) wife. not as much young looking in that one though.

i read a book yesterday called the kommandant's girl. it is set in poland during wwii. the main character is a jew who poses as a protestant polish girl and winds up working for the nazis. it was really really good. you should all read it. well all the women reading this blog anywyas. wasnt a very guy sort of book. the plot was arresting, the writing was well done - two thumbs up. one of the most serious books ive read in a long time thats for sure.

we watched football this weekend. only 18 more days until k-state plays. and i think we will be able to watch that game here because they are playing auburn and it is on espn. but my tv guide channel doesnt go ahead that far for me to check. but i am keeping my fingers crossed!!!!! also i am waiting for the bucs to repeat their super bowl victory. can i get an amen? :)

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she don't like cocaine

so yesterday jeremy was walking down the street in downtown burbank. for those of you who do not know, downtown burbank is a pretty nice area. there are some homeless people, but the streets are clean etc. so anyways, he sees this guy get off of a bus, cross the street to the other corner, drop a bag, and get on another bus which leaves. some epoepl had been walking behind him and saw him leave the bag and tried to get his attention before he got on the bus but couldnt. so the man opens the bag and pulls out snack sized baggies full of cocaine. you cant make this stuff up. another guy comes up behind the couple and was swearing at him like " you crazy mutha.... that could be a bomb! you coulda just blown my ... up!!!" and the crazy guy runs off.

so i ask you.

#1 who leaves cocaine just laying around??? was this a drop off gone wrong?

#2 who starts going through a bag left by someone like that? have you never been to an airport with all the security announcements etc saying if you see an unattended bag report it to security immediately!?!?

#3 can you believe jeremy actually saw this with his own two eyeballs? crazy huh?

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earthquake!

we have had two earthquakes in the past couple weeks. one was a pretty good sized one not too far from us. we felt the first one, which was smaller, because we were awake when it happened. we are far enough away that it was just a gentle rumble. everyone keeps talkng about the big one and how we are due for it and im thinking that im terrified. earthquakes arent like hurricanes or tornadoes, both of which ive been through and am not too scared by. mostly because you have notice. with a hurricane it is usually days and tornadoes hours but still. earthquakes are just here and then gone, leaving death and destruction in their wake. ok so no one dies or was even hurt by the two we have had recently but still. the most ironic thing about this earthquake is we had an earthquake drill already scheduled for the school on friday. so at least if it happens during 8-5 i know what to do. find a doorway!!!!!!

in other happier news, jeremy and rojelio, the apartment manager, are at home depot right now buying us a new air con. so when the temperature goes into the 110s this week, we wont die. and neither will cosmo and roxie. also, we saw our first hummingbird since we bought our new feeder. over a year ago, when my lavender was still alive, they used to come and suck on those flowers. a while ago we bought a feeder that is hanging on the deck and this morning we saw our first one. hopefully he went and told all his friends so we get more.

yesterday we spent the day cleaning out the hall closet. kim is organizing a garage sale co-op so we have been getting piles of stuff to sell together. even though we dont have that much stuff, we definitely ave some crap that we are ready to unload. we watched clean sweep on tlc at the same time to inspire us. we also went through our dvds and vhs (yes we still own vhs...) and xbox games. i am excited to get rid of all this stuff. after helping two of our friends move, we are ready to really pare down before we move next. no need to cart this stuff across the country right? peter walsh would be proud.

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two things i really really love

i love shopping online. not to the exclusion of shopping in the stores, because i like to touch stuff before i buy it. but i like shopping online because i get that thrill from making the purchase, and then the thrill again a week later when the stuff comes in the mail and i have new clothes (or books or cds or whatever).

i also really love shopping at gap online because they sell things that actually fit. most of their clothes are now offered in a tall size online only (like shirts! shirts with sleeves that go all the way past my wristbone! and that cover my stomach so my belly ring isnt hanging out everywhere! all things that are important in presenting a professional image at work!) also they offer one piece swimming suits in long torso sizes. so now i can have a swimming suit, which, for all you men out there ( i know i dont have to explain this to the ladies) is very different from a bathing suit.

our gym just opened a new branch in universal city with an outdoor pool. so now i can go swim laps and not worry about leaving pieces of my swimming attire floating in the pool behind me. which makes the whole swimming thing a lot less complicated.

we watched the prestige last night. that was a great movie. it started kinda slow and i almost turned it off, but i am glad i didnt! there were all kinds of plot twists and the ending is not at all what you would expect from the beginning of the movie. plus with hugh jackman and christian bale, who could go wrong??? highly recommended. if my opinion counts for anything. :)

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Daily Lit

so the new cool website I found is called daily lit. There are hundreds? several? many? books - mostly classics to choose from. you pick a book, enter your email address and the frequency with which you want to receive deliveries, and bam. youve got daily parts of the book.

i am reading the emerald city of oz first. it is divided into 67 parts so i will be reading it for the next three months (i chose monday through friday delivery). that will offically make it the book that took me the longest to read.

what books are you guys reading?

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welp i'm not blonde headed...

and i'm not red headed and i'm not brown headed. which leaves only one color option (in the range of naturally occuring color options that is... i'm certainly not purple headed or blue headed).


i'm black headed.

last night we went to the gym and afterwards i got bored. so we went to walgreens and i got some hair dye. i like it. it isnt all the way black - there are still some brown streaks (and even some leftover blonde) so it isnt so goth looking. everyone at work either loves it or hates it. but thats the way most people usually feel about me - not a lot of indifference where i am concerned. just the way i like it.

your black headed friend,

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movie and book reviews

we watched the most interesting movie last night. it was called everything is illuminated and it is the story of a young man who travels to the ukraine to meet the woman who helped his grandpa escape from the nazis. it was done in the style of the wes anderson movies, which jeremy loves and me not so much (bottle rocket, the life aquatic with steve zissou, royal tennnebaums, rushmore, etc). this movie though i liked. the family he stays with is made up of a grouchy old man who reminds me of the grandpa in little miss sunshine and a young man about his age who reminds of a not as much perverted borat type character (his speech patterns and things... sounds like he is using a thesaurus as he talks because the words mean the right thing but dont. if that makes any sense. like joey on friends when he wrote the letter for chandler and monica to adopt the baby and used the thesaurus on every word.). anyways, the plot was intersting and we loved it. check it out.

we also watched the queen on monday. another film we both enjoyed. it wasnt at all what i expected but i loved it. helen mirren is like my new hero. this movie mostly centered on what the queen and the prime minister did and felt and said just before, during and after princess diana's death. interesting backstage look into the royal life.

i finished the newest harry potter book (and the deathly hallows). i started in sunday at the beach and couldnt stop. i finished it last night. i love these books. some people may find them childish and some may find them satanic (both things i do not agree with). i cant really go into detail because i dont want to ruin it for anyone. but it was great. the ending was perfect - just exactly how i expected it to end. you should read this book (but read the rest first!)

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talk about relaxing...

jeremy and i just got back from a lazy sunday afternoon at the beach. we went with the slovaceks and got there later in the day than when we usually do. we ate our lunch then stretched out on the sheet. both of us had our pods, so we turned on music really softly (so you can hear the crash of the ocean on the shore above it) and drifted away in the ocean breeze. doesnt compare to any other suday afternoon nap i have ever taken bar none.

there were several alcohol busts, as well as a dog bust (thats a new one!). someone had to get airlifted out i assume because of an injury but the helicopter was too far away for us to get any details. we saw the dolphins again. i wonder if the are the same ones always, or different pods each time... hmmm...

last night we went with al and lottie and ste some yummy mexican (el torito grill) and saw the bourne ultimatum. actually they saw it and i mostly slept. we saw the 10:15 show, which got pushed back to 10:25 and by the time all the previews were over it was at least 11. im such an old lady! i would doze off for a minute and then wake up and watch part of it. or gunshots would wake me up. definitely not the most restful nap i have ever had. the parts i saw of the movie were awesome - i am going to have to watch it again definitely. i think identity is still my favorite of the three though. anyone else have a strong opinion on which of the three is the best? at least it wasnt one of those lame trlogies were the first one is amazing then the other two are kinda lame (matrix anyone?).

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coley's carribbean cuisine

we went to coleys last night for ryans birthday. ryan and kim ordered appetizers for everyone. we figured well how often do we eat jamaican food??? so i tried the jerk chicken drummettes. good flavor, reallllllly spicy. i was crying. also it looks like i have no teeth. there was about 20 people there, and the jamaican punch was flowing... a good time was had by all. ron and lynn got down on the dance floor - i had no idea they danced so well together!


we were feeling adventerous still when is came to ordering. i got the chicken kinston or something,, anyways it was a pounded chicken breat with a banana inside. it was REALLY

good. the plantanos were delicious, the beans and rice were delicious, the steamed veggies were nice and buttery... dont even get me started on the festival bread. it is like a party in ones mouth. this place rocks!

jeremy ordered the goat. kris and i tried some... it was very fatty but tasted a lot like roast beef. it was good though. kris on the other hand, pictured here making her goat face, did not care for it as much.

a day to rejoice

it is very easy to make me happy. most of you know this. little things get me excited. like when jeremy shows up to pick me up 5 minutes before 5 instead of 5 minutes after. or when my bodd writes me a thank you note. or when kimmy gives me magazines. or when lottie and i chat all day on gmail chat.

so it should come as no big surprise that the los angeles public library redesigning their website would throw me into spasms of joy. now i can browse best seller lists and onto my holds list... oh no i cant get into the library to pay my fines (which i rarely have if ever, just so you know) thats okay i can pay online. oh the wonderment.

today at school the seventh and eighth graders put on a play that they wrote, rehearsed for and made the sets for (with minor adult supervision and guidance). guns drugs gangs and thugs... the play was about choices people make and how their lives can turn out different by making good choices instead of bad (cassie, erica can i get an amen?). it had a christmas carol-like ghost (the ghostly eagle or something) that visited these kids in jail and let them rewrite history. it was very poorly performed (they read and mumbled most of the lines) but they were so joyful on stage and the audience was respectful and everyone was great. if you know the type of kids at my school, you will know this is a big deal. and i almost cried at the end. it was just so great. then they had kfc and i snuck a biscuit with honey. talk about the little things making a person happy. rapture!

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the worst shopping trip ever...

so jeremy and i went to the mall and to ikea last night. jeremy bought some new shorts and out of all the stores we went to i found a big fat nothing that i liked. i dont think i have ever gone shopping and found just nothing.

part of the problem was at old navy. dont get me wrong - i like old navy just as much as the next girl. but have you looked at the womens clothes there right now? if someone had never been shopping and saw what they have there, they would think that #1 all pregnant women refuse to buy maternity clothes so designers have to make ALL clothes suitable to fit preggo bellies into and #2 non pregnent women are ok with this and embrace this trend and want to look pregnant even though they arent. the entire middle section of the store was full of "trapeze" shirts and dresses. shapeless bags (in beautiful fabrics and patterns) that are basically a big circle with arm and neck holes. so not flattering.

then we went to ikea and i didnt see anything i really wanted. i dont think that has ever happened before. i bought a tea steeper thing for emily because they were out when she went this weekend. but thats it. $2.99 for the whole trip. i dont think jeremy was too disappointed but still.

finally it is friday. tonight we celebrate ryans birthday at cooley's caribbean food place. yum. (he is turning 35 again!)

the past two nights we have been helping friends unpack stuff and clean their new house... kris and i decided we should be professional movers/organizers. we make a darn good team.

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gimme some aussie lovin...

jeremy and i got to hang out with our "son" russ last night. he is one of the two guys who lived with us last summer... well he came over last night to celebrate our one year anniversary. he brought us some austrailian chocolate treat called tim tam or seomthing. anyways i am excited to try it. we ate a chicken and some american biscuits and salad and bumbleberry purses and played settlers of catan. it was great. it is strange to live with someone for six weeks and see him all the time then he moves on to bigger and better things and we only see him at church on sundays. so last night was a great time to just relax and catch up and tlak about the little things that dont get mentioned when you see someone for 1-2 minutes on a busy sunday morning.

in other news, area, the club lottie and i went to on saturday, is in the news . so i feel validated. even though we didnt see paris and lilo on saturday, we danced on the same floor they have. so thats something at least. also we missed barack by just a few days. sadness!

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