ah.. greetings! :)
had a GREAT weekend.. with the exception of one hour!!! ha! i worked my first day shifts at the hospital wed, thurs, and fri. the first two days were really tough as i had a hard time falling asleep every night. how ironic is that? i got plenty of sleep when working night shifts and now my body doesn't know what to do with days! ah.. anyway.. friday was a great day, super busy, but i got a lot done and felt good about it.. until the last part of the shift when i was giving report and some nurse was a tool to me,.... ok.. we're gonna edit that part out.. little too negative! :)
i took some deep breaths on the way home from work and reminded myself that I had a great day, did a good job and was going to have a great night!
when ingrid arrived to my apt i ran down stairs to get my garage door opener so as to let her in and have her park in my extra spot. meanwhile she's driving around the neighborhood so security won't give her grief for parking in a no-parking zone. i got the opener and made it to the front door when all of the sudden, my phone stops working. yes, literally.. i try to call ingrid, with whom i'd spoken only moments earlier, and my phone says, "You've reached the roaming network, we're sorry, but your number is not registered in this area, you can press 1 to pay $.25/min." what? i do not heart sprint.. nor do i have a credit card on me with which to pay! what is that? i've made calls from the same area where i was standing.. i pay for nation-wide roaming, etc. this is crazy and has never happened to me before.
i asked security if i could possibly borrow his phone and he, in is uncomfortable, unfriendliness asked why.. ugh. ingrid still driving around waiting for me. phone still not working. instead of explaining the whole thing i just walk away with hopes of spotting ingrid's car. nope. instead i spot pretty people about to go on a date. i reluctantly ask them if i may borrow their phone and in my rushed awkwardness try to explain why. the young man hands me his mini-computer phone while is poofy-haired date rolls her eyes.. i apologize profusely, of course. while i'm trying to look up ingrid's number on my phone and dial it into the computer-phone, i drop my garage door opener (this detail important later). i think i'm actually shaking at this point! ha.. the gentleman picks it up and poofy rolls her eyes again. turns out i'm not good with computer phones so he kindly dials the number for me.
as a side note.. this young man was quite kind and generous. he reassured me that it was definitely ok and even offered to stick around for a bit in case i needed his phone again. poofy-hair.. well, of her, i'm not a big fan. i hope she's a nicer person than the impression that i got or else its a waste of a good-looking, nice guy.
luckily ingrid answered the call from the strange number and we find each other! i jump in her car and we drive back to the parking garage door to get in.. only the door isn't opening. yes, remember that little detail of the dropped opener? one little 4-foot drop and the dang thing stops working! ugh.. so we drive to another door and follow someone else in. it takes a while but we finally find my parking spot (very confusing little garage, it is). i back my car out so ingrid can park, leaving my car available on the outside to be driven.. because we had plans to meet new friends in hermosa beach (the people i met at the 56 show).
i get out of my car to help ing with her stuff and it hits me. my keys are not in my hand.. but my stupid non-working-wimpy garage door opener is. yeah.. seriously! can this night get any better? yes it can... because not only are my keys in the locked car, along with my only set of apartment keys.. my car is still running!!!!!!!
i cannot believe this is happening. i start to think something is very wrong... karma? spirits? what's going on? turns out it was probably just a lack of sleep since i'd only slept about 12 hours over the course of 3 days! oh and.. i left candles burning in my apartment! :-/ thankfully ingrid lived out her middle name by comforting me with her Grace! she stayed positive and encouraging and helped me get through my troubled evening.
the car thing turned out ok when we made friends with the non-friendly security man and a couple of guys who were also having car trouble (and who happen to be from Moline, IL, one of the quad-cities!!!!). we spent an hour or so using an old coat-hanger, a flat-head screwdriver, and flashlight to reach in and opoen the door handle. for a while we thought we might have to break the window. oy.. i dearly love this little borrowed car and would not have been able to watch that!
by this time its after 11 and our plans with hermosa friends are out the window. :( on the bright side, ingrid and i made the best of it and ended up having a wonderful time together! we grabbed some vino rojo at the grocery store (you can do that here!!!!) and ordered good ol' delivery pizza for ourselves and the hero security guys. we hung out in my apt and enjoyed the feast along with a great few hours of talking, laughter, and just plain good ol' sister time!
saturday we made it to cafe buna for some brunch then off to the beach! beautiful day! i seriously dig the waves! i could play in them all day!! lol...
that's all for now folks! gotta hit the bike path! ;)
love
laura
hello friends!!
i've had a bunch of days off after working a bunch in a row.. I planned this so that I could go see my favorite band, 56 Hope Road, play while they were in town. And I've had a great time! little background if you don't know.. the members of 56 went to college with brian, big brother, in illinois. he used to tell me about them all of the time.. i just kinda shrugged my shoulders, like, "ok, cool." then he sent me their cd and i was hooked! i loved 'em. their sound is something funky, acoustic, unique. anyway, i went to one of their shows in minneapolis, almost 3 years ago and met a guy there, mike, who was from decatur, as well, and knew brian and kim. i ended up tagging along with him on a road trip from MN to WI to IL following the band. so fun! I've continued to meet great people through the 56 family.. what a blast its been. 
so, they were here last wednesday in santa monica. my friends jamie and sarah went with me. i was so excited to share the band with my friends. i was also really pumped to be seeing them out here.. i was literally squealing at times!! ha! turned out that the venue had amazing acoustics.. i was blown away and wishing brother brian could have been there to hear it, too!!! fun times. 
thursday night they played in hermosa beach. i had just friiied myself at the beach that day and felt like crap, but that was not going to stop me from getting my 56 fix! unfortunately, i'd fallen asleep when i got home and woke up at 9ppm so i only made it for their last set! it was fun, though.. had a chance to hang out with them a bit and continued on the tradition of meeting cool people! 
when i first got there the band was in between sets on a break so i got to say hi and hang out a bit. met an adorable couple who was on their first date.. seriously cute and a lot of fun! met a few guys from the area, one whose family is from iowa.. dad from davenport! crazy! super nice people with whom i'll likely hang out with again!
last night, neighbor karin had some people over for a celebratory dinner since she started her new job today. amazing food.. and wine, of course! it was great meeting more people.. for a while there were 5 of us.. me- iowa/minnesotan, karin-hawaiian, anya- german, ronnie- englisih, and jo- from new zealand. how fun and eclectic is that?
today i rode my bike down to venice and met them at a bar on the beach... crazy. crazy scenery, crazy people, crazy beautiful ocean. people from everywhere.. a man with his piano, rockin' it on the ped street. a guy with no legs.. lying on a skateboard, on his torso, pushing the board with his arms. yes, welcome to venice, where such things are normal. such an interesting place that i greatly enjoy!
and.... isn't a funny thing how you can totally be caught up in your present life.. where you're at, what you're doing, etc.. when all of the sudden you hear a certain song, or melody, and it snaps you right back into a moment of your past.. like suddenly you're right there, living in that moment again. that happened to me tonight. twice.
music is amazing, really.
that's all folks. this weekend ingrid's going to come up to my neck of the woods for a night out (with new friend from 56 show), sleepover, and a day at the beach on saturday! can't wait!!! we need to log some serious sister time!!!!
peace and love
laura
well, some of you have been waiting! sorry to take so long to post again.. my internet is less than stellar so i sometimes get annoyed and give up when trying to blog! :) i was writing this blog the day mom left (the 4th) but couldn't get the photos to upload... so let's try again!!! click on pictures for bigger view.. a lot bigger view! :)
Mom and I had a great time while she was out here! It was a vacation for both of us! Sunday we laid pretty low as I had (silly me) injured my foot after walking miles and miles in flipflops on Saturday.. what was i thinking?
We had breakfast on the balcony then mom went with me to my lovely little church just blocks down the road. We tried to make our way to the beach but we joined by just about everyone else in town. Our plan had been to rent bikes and ride up and down the shore but by the time we got there, there were no bikes left to be rented. So we came back and relaxed in an attempt to heal my foot. That night I discovered that if I wore super high heels that my foot didn't hurt when i walked- go figure! I think they somehow took pressure off of the arch of my foot where it was so sore! So I threw those on and we went out for dinner with neighbor/friend Patrick at James' Beach.. a fun, funky, eclectic-crowd-drawing little restaurant near Venice Beach. Had a great time and good food.
Monday morning we had breakfast with the fam at Schooner or Later in Long Beach. Mom really enjoyed it and can't wait to take Dad there! Its a little restaurant on the marina.. outdoors. Its a family favorite. On the way out, we found my dream car!!
And since we were in the area, we tried to look up my cousin! :) I have a younger cousin who's a pro skate-boarder that recently moved to the area as well. We got his address and found his apt. Unfortunately, he wasn't around so we left him a note. Here are some pics for the family.. the little complex he lives at is adorable!
yeah... it was sort of like we were stalking him.. we tried every mode of finding his number. got a nice text from him the next day.. hopefully he and i will be able to meet up.. haven't seen him in a while and i'd love to see him skate!
After that adventure we drove next to the amazing Pacific and made our way back home. Then we packed up for a day at the beach with hopes of bike rides. We went to Venice Beach, got some old beach cruisers and rode up and down the coast with a nice little stop at the Santa Monica Pier and some tasty strawberry lemonade at Bubba Gumps.
Here we are at the Santa Monica enjoying the view from the ferris wheel.. incredible!
Tuesday morning we drove up the Pacific Coast Highway up to Malibu. One beautiful drive, I tell you. We found a free parking place and a spot on the beach and sprawled out! Here are some pics of the incredible waves! mom also got some pics of me playing in them for the first time. i felt like a little kid!!!
that night we went to a big shopping center/movie theater to get a little bit of both done! we weren't in the store even 10 minutes when the power went out and an alarm sounded with a voice telling us to exit out the nearest door. apparently the whole center, including the attached restaurants and theater all lost power. we heard bits and pieces and found a great amount of entertainment watching people overreact and the good-looking fireman come to the rescue.. of what they were rescuing, we were unsure. :)
we ended up going to a shopping area closer to my apartment and finished the night at a sea food restaurant. mom even tried sushi and sake (japanese rice wine). she wasn't a huge fan of either, but i was proud of her for trying!
like mother...
like daughter...
only mother didn't like! ;-)
Wednesday I had to send her off. :( as most of you know, my mom is huge blessing in my life so it was a joy to spend almost a whole week with her. she thanked me for being a good hostess but in reality, I couldn't ask for an easier guest! And really, i couldn't ask for a better friend.. or a more loving, even-keeled, reasonable, gracious, positive, encouraging mother. seriously, one amazing woman for whom i'm incredibly thankful. her visiting was the greatest gift! :)
thanks to all for the birthday wishes and e-mails. happy birthday aunt tracey and anniversary aunt margo and uncle keith. hopefully personal e-mails from your truly will soon arrive. :)
lots of love to you all!!
laura