What's this falling from the sky?

Our winter has been rather pathetic thus far. Yes it has been on the cool side, but we did not get much in the way of precipitation. Well this week it is finally here and we are supposed to get a substantial amount it. Accuweather says we will be getting almost 4 inches of rain and 3.5 inches of snow. Yikes! Well with the California drought this comes with welcoming arms, yet people are still complaining. Eh finicky Californians.

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu

So for the past 2 to 3 weeks, we've had Kim's folks here for the holidays. Cris arrived a little later on Christmas Eve and now they all leave tomorrow. We went on some mini trips to Ventura, Long Beach and into the Antelope Valley, but for the most part we've been enjoying the pellet stove and watching movies indoors. I've really enjoyed having them here, but it will be nice to have our house to ourselves again.

I need to get back to work and prepare for the coming semester...eek! I'll be teaching the linguistic aspects of American Sign Language again at Antelope Valley College and this time around I'll have a full house of 31. This is why I'm trying to get my act together, get a PowerPoint ready and not do anything last minute related to this class. I just can't afford to!

I also am ready to pick up interpreting gigs at the colleges and elsewhere. This Christmas depleted any reserves I had. But we had fun in the process. What I really need to do is get in shape and start focusing on my health. So I'm going to start running. I will take baby steps at first, but my goal is to be able to run 3 miles within a few months. I downloaded an app for my iPhone called Get Running to help me achieve this goal. This coupled with better eating habits and maybe some yoga classes I'm looking forward to feeling and looking better...I'm optimistic. Let's ring in the new year!

My heart will always belong to a Mac

With that being said, I broke down and bought a PC Netbook, a Toshiba nb205 in Black Onyx. I begrudgingly ventured into the PC world last week and have to admit it's not all bad. With the many workshops that I do, teaching and one of my present employers, all requiring some sort of PC software or hardware, I had to give in. It has made my life easier at the company I work with and I know it will assist with available projectors, cables and software whilst teaching and presenting.

Kim found the Toshiba nb205 on Amazon.com for a song. Splitting the difference, we bought it on Black Friday as part of my birthday gift and early Christmas present. Thank you honey bunny! It's a good little machine that will do the trick and appease those who require me to follow the rest of the minions. But secretly, behind closed doors, I will forever be singing Macs praises.

Mac Geekette forever! P.S. PCs are sooooo bad, they can tag along too.

I heart New York

Kim and I recently returned from visiting our friend Meg in New York City. I must say that I love this city. I don't think I could live there now, but it definitely warrants more frequent visits. Of course Meg was the ultimate hostess and took us where ever we wanted to roam. We enjoyed fine food, great shopping and superb company. This was Kim's first trip to the Big Apple and my return after a much too-long hiatus. Here are some pictures from the excursion...

View in Battery Park

Kim and I in Battery Park

South Street Seaport view

View of Ground Zero from St Paul's Chapel

The Sphere by Franz Koenig in Battery Park

Ice skating in Central Park

Meg, Withnail and I at the South Street Seaport

Meg, Kim and Withnail at the South Street Seaport

A view of Brooklyn at dusk

A view of the South Street Seaport at dusk

Kim and I in Time Square

A view of Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge

Thanks for everything Meg: for your company, hospitality and most of all your friendship.

A new ride

So last week I was driving home from a really long assignment and my car started to behaving a little strangely. A loud noise resonating from my engine became progressively worse and worse. I finally pulled over and tried to investigate. Mind you I was on the the freeway and in the middle of now where, literally. At this point my car ceased to function and I forced to throw in the towel. I called AAA and waited to be rescued, so to speak.

AAA promptly came within a half hour and towed me the 76 miles to my mechanics location. Luckily I had the company of a nice tow truck driver or that ride could have been miserable. I made it home safe and sound, but by now it was night time and I would have to wait a see what had happened to my car until the next morning.

Well long story short...I apparently, had let the oil run out in my old girl and killed my engine. To be honest I really didn't like I had neglected my car for that long, but after blowing out an engine I'll have to chalk that one up to experience. So I've spent the week researching possible solutions. Do I fix my current car and fork out 3000-5000 dollars on an old car? Do I change make and model altogether and go for something different? In the end and after a hellish week of playing car tag, I decided to stay tried and true and bought a newer model 07 Honda Civic. It drives like a sports car and has numerous bells and whistles that were lacking in the 99 Honda. I can finally play my iPhone in my car and I've even downloaded a new iPhone app to keep track of my maintenance, Gas Cubby. So far I love this car! Oh and by the way my honey, Kim, wants everybody to know that she found the car for me on Carmax.com.

Patty's visit and the giant pumpkin

Patti Gotrik came to town,not too long ago, and spent a long weekend with us. We went out to eat, a lot: Malhi's Indian Cuisine, Casa Gutiuerrez etc. I swear Patty's taste buds are on fire. I coaxed into eating everything possible spicy and when I waited for her to gasp or cough she simple replied, "eh that's not that hot." Then one nice cool afternoon we took Patty down to Ventura Beach.

We walked along historic Main Street, ate breakfast at the Cajun Kitchen Cafe and sat on the rocks at Emma Wood State Beach. Kim and I even had Patty take a picture where Kim proposed in 2007. It was great to get a candid shot to relive the moment. Thanks Patty!

Our final stop put us at a local farmer's market near the town of Santa Paula, CA. Anytime we are in the area, we always stop at Francisco's Fruit Stand for fruit, nuts or fresh local salsas. This time we were on the hunt for a great pumpkin and Kim had the final say. The sucker weighed in at 35-36 pounds and cost a whopping $30. It was well worth this face.

It took 2 hours of scooping through hefty pumpkin guts and carving tough skin out of this 35-36 pounder. This ghoulish, creepy tree sat on Rowdy and Dan's front lawn as we passed out candy to the kiddies. One of my all time favorite activities.

Here's hoping everyone had a great Halloween!

Honda versus Buck

So I was driving to an assignment in the middle of the afternoon last Sunday, when I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye. I saw a humongous blur and I knew that it was headed my way, but it hadn't registered in my brain. So I proceeded to drive and moments later I felt the impact. Stunned and in shock I stopped my car and looked out the rear view mirror. A full grown buck was laying in the road behind me. The buck, stunned like me, eventually got up, shook it off and ran on his merry way. Now for people who've grown up around deer, this must seem like no big deal. But for me, a California girl who grew up near the beach, this was a out of my realm. I know I'm really lucky and I'm glad I kept on going. Had I slammed on my breaks or had the buck been faster, this could have been so much worse...phew!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]