California Christmas and Babies Galore

It had been a long time since I had been to Los Angeles, though I'm glad I at least got to see California in April.  But since I didn't get to spend Christmas with my family last year, I needed to see them this year.

Truth be told, this whole holiday season just crept up on me.  For the first time in a long time, I wasn't prepared with presents for all my friends and co-workers, and it was just really hard to get into the holiday spirit in general.

Regardless, it was awesome to be home.

Except that everyone is constantly asking me when I plan to move back.  It makes me sad to not have an answer, because I really want to have one that will satisfy them all.  But for now I'm on the East, and I'll still be bicoastal.

Christmas Deliciousness

My mom decorating the little tree with ginormous ornaments

We spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day up in the Bay Area with my sister, since she had to work that weekend.  My brother was in the Philippines with his girlfriend, so it still felt like an incomplete Christmas. 

But we did have our two doggies with us, since they're both a hassle to dog sit.  They're also a hassle to have in a car.

Charlie trying to be a lap dog.

Other than spending time with my family, one big draw for going home is to have some home-cooked Filipino food.  My mom cooked pancit, lumpia, and mechado over the weekend.  I was an extremely happy camper.

serious food coma for like 24 hours...

On Christmas Day, I visited a childhood friend and her 2 adorable babies.  It was great to see them, and to interact with her younger child who I had only seen as an infant.  It was amazing to see them both talking away and interacting with me like they've known me all this time.  Truth be told, these 2 kids would be a huge reason for me to move back.  I've always hated the idea that one of my best friend's kids wouldn't know me.  So it was comforting to know that they were so comfortable around me from the get-go.

Oh, she also fed me some delicious Columbian food.  I ate my way through Christmas.  It was fantastic.

Disneyland and California Adventure
How could I go to California and NOT visit a Disney park?  Seriously.

Occupy Disneyland

It was great to hang out with friends I haven't seen in too long a time as well as meet some new awesome people.

Unfortunately, it was CRAZY BUSY!!! I mean, it was packed.  I should have known better, I suppose, to have chosen a day between Christmas and New Years.  But, we still managed to hit up all the awesome rides, including Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, and the Hollywood Tower of Terror.

BEST RIDE EVER
so simple...yet the laughing and screaming are so fun!

And I got to feast on some delicious Mickey Mouse Pancake action.

I'm pretty sure it's more delicious because it's so happy.

It was definitely a highlight to finally ride the new Little Mermaid ride, though I'm personally of the belief that the ride could have been an awesome water ride.

*squee!*

 Then!!! I got to meet Ariel!!

She asked me about my outfit (which was clearly
all Little Mermaid-ed out). We chatted a bit about fashion,
as two mermaids would.

Gotta love that Princess pose...

How funny is it that the two celebrities I geek out about are redheads?  Those Gingers are awesome, what can I say?

It was such a great day, even if my poor legs were exhausted and tense for the next 2 days.  Good times all around.

Babies!
So, I had already talked about one of my best friend's babies and how awesome they are.  But I also got to meet two other friends' little ones for the first time.  One of them was about 2 months old, and the second one was about 14 months.

It was funny to me that this trip to California was like a baby tour.  But I'm so very proud of my friends who are raising mini-humans.  All their babies are beautiful, and I'm excited to see what their personalities will be like as they grow up and experience life.

*****

Leaving California is always hard.  Leaving the warmth and the love from my friends and family there is hard.  But I guess I'm just not ready to leave the adventure of the cold cold of New England.  Nor am I ready to say goodbye to my friends and adoptive family here.

Til next time, California.

Tori Amos at The Orpheum 12-6-11

As a Tori fan, I feel like I should know exactly how many of her concerts I've been to.  But my best guess is that I've seen her at least 5 or 6 times.  But now, I can say without a doubt that I've met her 3 times.

I was SO late to work...but it was worth standing outside for so long...

She had some tall boots on!
She's actually a bit shorter than me, as evidenced by my other Tori post.

I had brought her some pearl hair clips that I made for her and Tash, and she seemed to really like them.  I asked her about her shoes, which were some really cute wedge boots (a style I've been trying to look for!).  She then proceeded to tell me that she got them in L.A. (which I squealed about and told her it was my hometown) at the Nordstroms in The Grove.  She then lifted her foot and asked me to see if there was a logo on the bottom, but since there wasn't she took her shoe off (!!!) and told me they were from Steven.  I couldn't believe she took off her shoe just to tell me that!  

Then, I naturally had to ask her about what her thoughts were on the Occupy Movement and other movements around the world.  She talked about how the Native Americans have been talking about the similar issues for so long.  She also said that she thinks things will get worse before they get better, especially with the way things have been moving towards.  But, she said, I will be in charge of reminding her and others, as well as she has the responsibility to remind me and others about the need for change.

So cool.

This time around, I got to see the show with other folks who I adore and who also love Tori.  It had definitely been a while since I got to see Tori with a friend, much less multiple friends!

The show was, of course, amazing.  Here's the list of songs she played with some choice pictures I captured:

Shattering Sea
Landslide
Suede
Way Down
Leather
Snow Cherries From France

Mother
Ruby Through the Looking Glass
1000 Oceans

Siren
Nautical Twilight
Star Whisperer

Mrs. Jesus
Not the Red Baron
Someone Saved My Life Tonight

Your Ghost
Edge of the Moon
Fearlessness
Cruel

Tori was amazing.  Having the string quartet with her was amazing.  There was definitely a couple of tears shed at this concert.  It's amazing that she always chooses songs that are extremely significant for me in the moment. 

Thank goodness for Tori Amos and her music.

Bit O' Catch-Up - Break-Ups, Thanksgiving in NYC, and Moving

This time, I'm absolutely not pulling your leg when I say that it's been a really crazy busy month.  So, I'm going to attempt to succinctly tell you all about my Thanksgiving in New York as well as other significant life events.

Ready? Go!

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do...Except When It's Harder Not To...
In a way, I wasn't really expecting it since I thought my situation with the boyfriend was improving.  But, it was kind of a long time coming.  I honestly don't know (except that I do, and it's not anything I would post about here) why it took so long for me to follow through on this.  At the end of the day, I'm so much better for it.


Thanksgiving in NYC
Being that I couldn't spend Thanksgiving with the now-ex and because I was kind of anticipating some distance between us, I was happy to have already planned to see my best friend in New York for Thanksgiving.

We had a low key evening of cooking, but celebrated by going to see The Muppets movie.

Fall in New York is Better with Good Company

Had some Turkey at Whole Foods earlier that day,
but had a really healthy veggie dinner later...
of course with some pecan pie...

We could only be with each other for a short less-than-48 hours, so I had to leave the next morning.  But she introduced me to this delicious place called Doughnut Plant, which is one hell of a step up from Dunkin' Donuts.

They have flavors like...TRES LECHES!!!!
which...is f*&^ing amazing...
(picture from Leti)

I definitely took some to go with their home-made chai

Moving On and Moving Forward
It was tough and honestly really scary to know that I had to uproot my life once again.  It's like I keep getting myself into the same situation, hoping for a better end result.  It's the definition of crazy.

But when I had my lowest of lowest days at the end of November, December started to really show me that things can get better.

I had so much trouble finding a new place to live, and I was conflicted about staying in Brighton, which is where I had basically been since I've been in Boston.  Part of me knew that I needed a clean break and moving to a new part of town seemed like the best way to do it.

Eventually, I did find a place and couldn't believe my luck when I realized I had cool landladies and roommate.  I had never been so excited to pick up a key.

opening up to new beginnings

But never had I been so sad to leave behind all that I did.

some of the last of my things

Particularly, I am still feeling devastated to have left Mencken.  It was clear that we had to do what we did - Yoni is much more bonded to me and Mencken to him.  But Mencken was my baby boy.  I found him on Craigslist.  I know that cats adjust a lot quicker than humans do to new situations.  But can you really blame me for wishing to have them both with me or at least with each other?  I am so happy to have Yoni, though.

So, now I'm at my new place, and I have been since December 17th.  I'm lucky to know some amazing people who helped me transport my ridiculous amount of possessions to Jamaica Plain.  Anyone who helps you move is definitely owed some serious favors.  I literally owe those people my life and then some.