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What a holiday-filled week it’s been! Rick and I went shopping for our Thanksgiving dinner supplies on Monday. He allowed me to take this picture of him in a Santa hat:

(I also have a picture of him in a leprechaun hat from St. Patrick’s day a few years ago. Am thinking of collecting pictures of Rick in strange hats.)

For Thanksgiving dinner, I planned to cook the turkey, stuffing and gravy from scratch and go with pre-prepared for rolls, mashed potatoes (the frozen ones from TJ’s are pretty good), sweet potatoes (microwave-in-bag), creamed corn, cranberry sauce (again, thank you TJ’s), pumpkin pie and whipped cream. The stuffing started out promising. Fresh marjoram, thyme and sage with minced and sauteed onions and celery. Sandwhich bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes and toasted in the oven. I put it in a casserole dish to bak during the last hour of turkey-cooking time. But the turkey took an extra hour to cook and I had beer and a headache and … it ended up burned. D’oh!

The gravy, which was to be made from drippings that cooked in the bottom of the pan with coarsely-chopping onions, celery and carrots, turned out fine. Even though I burned the veggies by not adding enough chicken broth in the first hour. While I napped on the couch, overwhelmed by all the burning, Rick supervised the last hour of turkey-cooking and turned out a juicy, well-roasted bird. Thank goodness. And then I burned the rolls in the toaster oven. Double d’oh!

Not too bad for a first on-our-own Thanksgiving, though. I had back-up stuffing in a box in the cupboard. And there were still rolls left over that I have managed to not-burn everytime we have leftovers.

I used the rest of the weekend to start on Christmas. Rick helped me put up LED Christmas lights from Costco:

View the rest of my Holidays 2008 pictures here.

And, I also got the jump on addressing and signing all my Christmas cards. Only have to get a few more Christmas presents and I can relax and enjoy the season. Woohoo!

Finally, something to hide the yucky stains left on the carpet by the previous tenant. I was so lucky that it fit in to my color scheme!

My new apartment is shaping up quite nicely! Rick helped me put up my giant gold-framed mirror over the couch this weekend, along with some other pictures. I also got a comfy chair and footstool from IKEA so that there’s more place to sit than just the futon. I moved a bookcase out of my dining area into the living room and then turned the dining table and chairs at a 45 degree angle. It looks a lot more like home in here.

Now I really need to get my bedroom into order. I’ve been working on my dining table this whole time but would really like to convert a small nook upstairs into my work area. There’s also about 4 boxes worth of “stuff” upstairs that I need to deal with. I want to get a new bed (of course that means new linens), nightstands and possibly a new desk upstairs. It’ll be a total re-do! Am very excited about it, just need to clean it all up to start with. Once that room gets in order it’ll be much more conducive to working up there… and keeping lounging and working areas more clearly defined!

My friend, Jon, from Pasadena was traveling to visit his sister in Santa Cruz and stopped at my place last Thursday in time for dinner with me and Rick.

Trader Joe’s to the rescue! We had veggie samosas as an appetizer while I cooked up some chicken (for us omnivores) and cauliflower (for Jon, the vegetarian) with Marsala simmer sauce for a tasty Indian treat. Brown rice bowls, steamed broccoli and toasty Naan rounded out the menu for the night. And for dessert there was Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. (Tip: TJ’s sells Ben and Jerry’s by the QUART.)

We watched Survivor and then some Jon Stewart on the TiVo and then I made up the futon for Jon. (He said the innerspring mattress was quite comfy in case anyone else is interested in visiting…) Coffee in the morning and he was on his way up the coast.

Pixel did not like this visitor at all at first but by morning they were buddies. All in all, a fun little visit. I look forward to getting more LA peeps up here

Wish I was singing that song right now.

Looked at the calendar today and figured out that while I’d only moved into my apartment eight weeks ago, I had taken 6 or 7 trips to Los Angeles in that time. I can only attribute my surprise to the zombie-like stupor due to all the crazy traveling.

On Wednesday I will be driving back to my lovely apartment in Los Osos and STAYING there, dammit.
(I’ve put 2,000 miles on my brand-new Honda Fit already. *cry*)

(At least I’m getting 36 mpg.)

(But I miss seeing my boyfriend.)

• Along with a slight disc problem between Pixel’s thoracic and lumbar spine, x-rays have found a calcium deposit on his cervical spine (sound familiar?) that is causing the majority of his pain. Rest (no running, jumping or stairs), NSAIDs and a halter instead of collar were prescribed.
• The massive flea infestation in my bedroom left behind by the previous tenant (and her three cats) is successfully being treated by my landlord’s hired exterminator. (Thank you, Landlord!)
• Have purchased an excellent vacuum (Sears Kenmore Progressive Bagless Upright with Intelli-Clean system) to help combat the fleas. Seems to be working so far.
• DirecTV is scheduled for Sunday. Hopefully will have the NFL Sunday Ticket fully functional for next weekend’s games.
• Also am on the lookout for a nice used TV on SLO’s craigslist. Football will be no fun viewed on my 12″ screen from 1986.
• Will be in LA this week to finish emptying Mom’s house (escrow closes soon, yay!).
• Picked up a used washer and dryer from craigslist for $350. $100 for delivery and another $30 for hoses and things. (I installed it myself!) After drying 3 loads the dryer’s not heating up anymore. Service appointment scheduled for Friday. Am hoping it’s not more than $200 to fix or else I’ll feel like an idiot for not buying new.
• Car broke down AGAIN a week ago. Got it fixed (thank god I bought that extended warranty) but then the engine light came on again the next day. Am ready to take a sledgehammer to the damn thing. Will probably trade it in for Honda Fit instead. Once I get the engine light off.

1. No more helicopters
2. No more sirens
3. No more yelling from the street
4. No more bikers/ricers revving their engines at the stoplight
5. No more of that guy that sits in the parking lot next door leaning on his horn so that someone will come move whatever car is blocking him
6. No more cockroaches
7. No more rats
8. No more o’possums
9. No more trash to clean up from the driveway
10. No more fliers to collect from the fence
11. No more fence, period.
12. The windows all seal shut so the warm/cool air stays in
13. The doors don’t have holes drilled into them from crazy drug addicts trying to break into the house
14. The ceiling isn’t falling down on my head
15. There’s no need for an air conditioner when you live less than a mile from the bay
16. The shower tile isn’t collapsing in on you
17. The bathtub is not in the floor
18. The toilet is not on a platform
19. There is a medicine cabinet
20. There are heat lamps in the bathroom to keep you warm
21. There is a goodly amount of water coming out of the shower head
22. You don’t have to look at yourself in a mirror while you’re peeing
23. The light switches all work
24. The light switches are where they should be
25. There is a light fixture in every room (sometimes two!)
26. The kitchen cabinets are clean and pretty to look at
27. So is the sink
28. So is the floor
29. The fridge was made in the past 20 years
30. There is a dishwasher
31. And a built-in wine rack
32. And a serving counter that keep the place feeling spacious
33. The trash can goes on a little platform that slides out from behind a little cabinet door
34. The view out the window above the kitchen sink doesn’t have any brick walls, chain link fence, or “NO PARKING” signs

More to come as time goes by, I’m sure…

The past few days have been a blur. On Monday I went to Los Osos to sign the lease on my new apartment. There, I learned that the previous tenant had already moved out. The place was mine.

Rick offered to take the week off work to help me move and I accepted happily. On Tuesday we drove back to Los Angeles to start boxing things up. We finished boxing Wednesday. We picked up the U-Haul truck Thursday morning and hired a couple guys to help us load it. We dropped the truck off at my apartment and went to Rick’s place in Paso Robles to recuperate.

This morning we drove back to Los Osos to unload the truck. Rick’s friend, Matt, came by for a little to help Rick with the furniture. I concentrated on getting boxes in the house with the dolly. Later in the day Rick’s friend, Tad, came by to help with getting the rest of the items left in the truck into storage. We were able to get all the extra furniture and boxes into the unit without too many problems.

Look me up on Facebook or email me if you need my new address.

I certainly didn’t think I would be moving this fast but now I’m happy to have the worst of it over with. I will be back in Los Angeles on Sunday morning and will be heading back to Los Osos Monday afternoon to start unpacking. I can’t wait to put all my possessions in their new proper places!