have you seen this movie?? it's a good one with julia roberts. julia's husband in the film is OCD and requires that everything in the house be perfectly straight.
so what if i line my foods up in my refrigerator...it looks nicer and cleaner.
my sister doesn't think so, so she had to remind me.
sushi with friends for my 26th was so nice. i think i ended up eating out for all my three meals that day. OHOP for breakfast, Thai for lunch, and Sushi for dinner.
How long has it been since we've seen each other??? I couldn't even answer that. I actually can't even remember the last time I saw Alyssa and her husband.
It was great catching up for hours at Alyssa's home, meeting her kids for the first time, and catching up some more over CPK.
Let's not have it be years before we do some more catching up, okay???
Eating dinner at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour in downtown Brea is always a time to remember. Their ice cream is sooo good! The ambience is just so fun...you have to go there! It's always fun hanging out with grandma too!
What a nice relaxing vacation! I was just thinking about how I hadn't been on vacation is years so it was nice to be able to spend a few days and lay by the pool at the Mandalay Bay and the Mirage.
The whole family went (except for Nick). We went to the Titanic and Bodies Exhibits at the Luxor Hotel. We also went to see Mystere at T.I. . . . AMAZING! I'm still in awe at how strong they were!
This picture was taken at the Mystere performance. Before the show begins, there is a cast member who does funny things to the audience members. I ended up getting the brunt of some of his tricks. . . I got an entire bowl of popcorn spilled all down my head and shirt! I loved the show and we had such great seats (thanks dad!).
Max Brenner is an Israeli chocolate shop chain which happens to have a location at Caesar's Palace. I've heard and read about this place and really wanted to try it out while i was in vegas.
For dessert one night, the family and I decided to try it out.
We ordered a plethora of items to see what the place was like.
Here's item #1: Tiramisu
Look at the adorable presentation! I think I was more obsessed with the look of the dessert. The tiramisu was good, but the lady fingers were still hard and cookie-like...not how tiramisu should be
Item #2: Molten Chocolate Cake
Sadly there was nothing molten about this cake. I wasn't that impressed with the taste. That small cup on the right hand side of the picture is the ice cream
Item #3: Hug Mug of Hot Milk Chocolate
DIVINE. It sent me back to my days in Italy. This is how real hot chocolate should be . . . thick, creamy, and hot.
Overall I wasn't that impressed with the desserts. I guess I probably should have ordered the fondue, or their famous chocolate pizza. We also ordered a hazelnut chocolate milkshake which was so decadent. This place was pretty pricey also. . . our bill ended up being $100.
Would I go back . . . yes, but to try different items.
Guess who came into town?! Jigga! Amanda Glenn (aka Amanda Johnson). What a treat it was to have her spend the night. We chatted for hours and I wish she could have stayed even longer!
On the way back to her hotel, we stopped to grab a bite to eat at 'Stacked' in beautiful San Diego. Boy was it beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky that day!
Here I am ordering from an ipad. Yes, an ipad. Whatever happened to pen and paper? Where are the waitresses? You can get whatever you want at the touch of a button now and I must admit. . . it was so cool!
We shared the mac and cheese (divine) and a cheeseburger (also divine). I'll be going back!
what did she want for her homecoming lunch?? cheesecake factory (she just had to have the $5 lemonade)
some of the family at lunch
she just got home and she's still doing missionary work!
making healthy choices of course
i could use some of the avocado rolls right about now
June 6th was the day Sister Ricchio arrived to San Diego from Sao Paolo, Brazil. She served an honorable 18 months working with the people in Brazil. They were lucky to have her then, and we're lucky to have her back. What a joyous occasion to celebrate.
I finally purchased a tv and dvd player for my apartment. I've been paying for cable every month, but failed to purchase a tv until now. whoops. so i went to best buy and purchased the tv, hd cable, and dvd player. WHO KNEW that you also had to purchase audio cables in order for you to hear the sound coming from the tv? well obviously danny from best buy didn't know that either. his final request before we left best buy was to fill out a customer service survey . . . i'll do just that danny :)
it was quite the reunion of friends at the smithy's home for patty. she got caught up on the latest in everyone's lives and even on the food. so much fun.
these are my lesson plans. i think i have a new found appreciation for teachers. . . and i only teach 4 hour blocks of classes!
here is a view of one of my classrooms (what will be the patient's room once the hospital opens). pretty amazing huh? each patient gets a 42" t.v.
I'm working on my hospital's transition team for the brand new facility that's opening up this summer. i went from working 3 days a week to now working 5-6. quite the change, but i must say it's refreshing to do something different. teaching other hospital employees is so much fun. i normally teach 2-3 four hour long classes so by the end of the day I am spent. I must say though, it's nice living so close to work and not having to get up so early in the morning anymore!
The dingle was a time of laughter and good memories, we will forever remember every moment spent in that piece of crap. RIP dingleberry, some parts of you will be missed, not including the broken door handle and the whistle in the air conditioner, flashing seat belt sign, the torn roof top, the life threatening passenger seat belt, the go-cart sound you made just sitting in park, or the haunted house sqeeking door noise when you turned the steering wheel, but to top it off, i will never forget your sensual mildew scent that made all of us gag in enjoyment.
what a beautiful day at balboa park and coronado. my word. i'm so lucky to be living in paradise. there was not a cloud in the sky and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. this was my first time to both balboa park and coronado and i'm pretty sure i fell in love with coronado!
mootime ice cream is pretty famous for being sooo good, and SO EXPENSIVE. $10 for 2 scoops???? really????
sheerwater cafe at hotel del. omg. best dinner ever. the view couldn't have been any better either.
there happen to be quite a few february birthdays in our family. this sister (and the one in brazil) are included. so where did we go??? farrell's ice cream parlour. have you ever been there??? 2 words . . .
heart. attack.
because of the food? maybe. but i'd say it's the constant noise, beating of drums, yelling, shouting, running through the restaurant. let's just say it's a birthday to remember and something you have to experience for yourself! LOL.
this past week not only did i work six 12 hour shifts in a row, but i was performing in a 2 day concert in Orange County for archangel records.
victoria and gary produced an album featuring multiple artists. it's even on itunes.
how cool is that??
so, the first day of the concert was Friday, December 16th
we sold about 250 tickets. not a bad turn out.
Saturday, December 17th was day number 2.
around 500 tickets sold. a very nice turn out.
even got to see my very favorite high school choir teacher, mr. elg (i'm kicking myself for not getting a picture with him. what a joy it was to reunite)
overall the concert was a hit. not only did i get to sing, but i got to see tons of people who've supported me over the years. love them all.
a huge thank you to those that came to the concert. my sister, blupid blore, for doing my hair and make-up for both days. she even stuck with me through my rehearsals. david, for taking us all out to dinner afterward, and aldy for driving all the way from temecula and bringing me flowers.
outfit #1
outfit #2 (a bit more casual)
duet with tandy shields . . . "put you under my tree"
haven't seen ms. alison in over 6 years. she's the exact same. . .cute as ever!
david, me, and blupid blore. they're the best.
aldy drove all the way from temecula to come support me. best branch member ever!
beautiful lillies.
so so tired after the concert. this was at like 11 pm. probably shouldn't have had a full meal at bj's that night.
our dessert
thirty seconds after the dessert came to the table
and ps. . .
here's a little video for those who couldn't make it to the concert. it's almost like you were there :)
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The dingle was a time of laughter and good memories, we will forever remember every moment spent in that piece of crap. RIP dingleberry, some parts of you will be missed, not including the broken door handle and the whistle in the air conditioner, flashing seat belt sign, the torn roof top, the life threatening passenger seat belt, the go-cart sound you made just sitting in park, or the haunted house sqeeking door noise when you turned the steering wheel, but to top it off, i will never forget your sensual mildew scent that made all of us gag in enjoyment. 
