Eventful yet Non-Eventful Weekend

Had a good weekend. Chris and I went to the presentation in Pasadena and got our 2 night paid for vacation in Napa Valley and also SIX free movie tickets. Woo woo! Considering each movie ticket is about $12 these days, I'm pretty excited about that.

I also purchased stuff to make my first tiered cake next weekend, and bought the PS2 game 'The Nightmare Before Christmas, Oogie's Revenge' which I have pretty much been playing nonstop today.

I hate it when you have really good friends that pretty much just decide to dump you. I'm pretty much fed up with that bull s--t.

Found a Pinkberry just 5 miles away from the apartment. Yay!

And I work tomorrow. Yipee.

Mizzy & Barf Visit

So, can I just start off by saying ...

I'M SO EXCITED!!! I just won the scholarship to attend the annual Association of Bridal Consultants conference in New Port Beach! I had to write an essay and submit a business plan. AND it was judged along with other entries from around the world! This will be saving me about $1,000 which ... for me is a lot. It will pay for the entire conference. YAYYYYYY!!!!

Erika and Barf left last night. Their time here was so much fun!!! Thursday when they got into town around 1:40pm Chris and I took them to In'N'Out (a trademark California burger joint,) and then Erika and I took a nice short (but intense) walk in this beautiful neighborhood while Chris and Barf relaxed in the park. That night we played the Karaoke Revolution games while drinking Mike's Limetinis and Mimosas. FUN!

Friday we spent all day at the water park Raging Waters, which was loads of fun, especially since I hadn't been to a water park in like 13 years. We ate dinner at the Elephant Bar, which was delicious! (Yes I still love the food even though I work there.)

Saturday we had breakfast at a little bakery near the apartment called, "Miss Donut-Bagel." It had damn good donuts. We then spent the day in Little Tokyo shopping, wondering around, trying out Pink Berry (MY NEW FAVORITE) and doing karaoke. We rented our own karaoke room for 2 hours (special hour was only $4 per person/hour) and it was SOOO fun! They had every song imaginable. I'm definitely going back. We watched 'The Last Man on Earth' later that night.

Sunday we started off by taking the special Hawaiian Gardens/Crystal Fitness tour, (HA) and eating at Taco San Pedro, then we headed to Huntington Beach for the day. The waves were some of the biggest I'd ever seen while at the beach, and we got knocked over about 50 times each. (At least.) We finished off the day by renting/watching 'Top Gun.' (It was actually Erika's idea!!!)

Finally, yesterday we went to the Grove/Farmer's Market in LA (where I used to live,) and enjoyed some shopping and eating. (At the French Crepe Co, YUM!!!) Afterwards we headed to Hollywood Blvd., walked around, and then to Sunset Blvd. to walk around some more. While there we ate at a super yummy new place called "The Aroma Cafe." To end the night we drove down Sunset Blvd. to locate some famous "hot spots," then drove through Beverly Hills and down Rodeo Drive. Next stop was the Grey Hound bus station. :( But it was a goooood time.

Yep. That's About It.

Umm ummm ummm let's see ...

Saturday Chris and I attended the Celebrity Food Show event in Anaheim to go see The Ace of Cakes live, which was tons of fun. There were also tons of stations set up for various restaurants, independent cooks, etc to try their food products. I apparently won the "sweet stacks" raffle for a $100 gift basket filled with pancake goodies, lol. Oh and Chris and I signed up for a promotional vacation, which means we'll get two nights paid for at a really nice resort in Napa Valley for attending a 90 minute presentation next week. Woot! I checked out the resort and it's beautiful! We'll still have to pay for food and gas, but considering that the "cheapest" room at the resort we'll be staying at is $399 per night, I think we'll manage. :P

Currently trying two different dessert recipes by Paula Dean tonight, I'll find out in about 30 minutes how they turn out.

Way excited for Erika and Barf's visit on Thursday, yaaaaaaaay!

And lastly, I'm trying to think of a cool idea for my first tiered cake ... hmmm ...

Number Three.

Hmmmm. FINALLY started back at the E-Bar today, fun times. I'd almost forgotten how horrible people tip now adays.

Yesterday I spent all day at Universal Studios with Chris and his family, which was uber fun. I loooooved the new Simpson's ride, SO much fun! And all of the other ones were a blast too, like Jurassic Park, the Mummy ride, and the studio tour. This will be the 3rd theme park I've visited this summer, not bad eh? And I'll be adding a fourth when I go to Raging Waters when Erika and Barf are in town! :D

I'm hungry. Must eat.

Wew.

So the picture above is of the super cute hand-made owl purse that I just won on E-Bay! I am QUITE excited about it's arrival. Speaking of arrivals, my new digital camera arrived while I was in MO and I picked it up on Friday. So far I love it! I can't wait to put it to good use. :P I got a lot done over the weekend, (everything on my "list," actually!) Hmmm let's see. I ...

- Unpacked
- Went to the post office to pick up all the mail
- Bought a camera case
- Took my car into the Mitsubishi dealer for an oil change, clean, new breaks, and a break flush. ($399- AHH!!!)
- Cleaned the apartment
- Went grocery shopping
- Went to Target for some groceries that the store didn't have (gotta have my supreme pizza lean pockets!!!)
- Went through all my mail (there was a TON.)
- Edited and posted a crap load of pictures from our trip.
- Bought/started reading 'Breaking Dawn.'

Wew! The only bad thing is that when I went to the E-Bar on Sunday to pick up my schedule, I was unpleasantly surprised by the fact that they "forgot" to put me back on the schedule this week! Which means NO shifts this week. Nothing. Nada. Which, after being on vacation for 2 and 1/2 weeks, spending lots of money, getting back and spending $400 on car repairs, REALLY sucks. I'm poor. :(

Highlights for Dummies.

No, you guys aren't dummies, I just liked the title. :P So the trip home was super fun. Aside from a few damp spots, the trip was filled with highlights. Here are a few of my favorite:

- Going to World's a Fun with Erika, Barf, and Chris. Our roller coaster pic competitions were the best!!!
- Getting loaded up with drinks and then watching 'Hancock' and 'Dark Knight' at Erika's theatre. Good times!
- Taking "Hero" pictures with Resther, Jesse, and Chris and then eating out at Sonic.
- Hanging out with Resther and Jesse at their casa watching movies and making cookies.
- My party, twas loads of fun. Especially afterwards when Erika, Barf, Resther, Jesse, Chris and I played 'Saving Private Ryan!'
- Carrying on a tradition with Erika and Barf by watching some of the '8 Films to Die for.' (As crappy as they may have been!')
- Chris and I's tradition of going to Panera on a daily basis for coffee and a bagel. (Or in Chris' case, a brownie.)
- Hanging out with Andrew and Esther eating delicious meals at their casa and playing tons of badminton! (FYI Esther's creme brulee is as good as The Elephant Bar's. And that's saying a lot.)
- Going to Skies with Erika, Barf, and Chris while drinking delicious 'Lady Godivas.'
- Going on a super long 4 and 1/2 hour power walk with Mizzy.
- Spending time with Andrew, Esther, and Sni-a-bar while drinking Mikes Hard Limeades.
- Taking villain pictures with Erika and Barf. (I have some up on myspace and facebook, check them out!!!)
- Enjoying all the many thunderstorms while in town.
- Going to the 'Bodies Revealed' exhibit with Erika and Chris. It was AMAZING!
- And of course, going on my progressive birthday dinner in 'The District.'

Thanks to Andrew and Esther for cooking us meals and letting us stay at their casa, and thanks to Becky (aka Jones) for giving us a ride to the airport!!! :)