"Meet me at the cemetary gates...."

Making this a quick one, cause we are waiting for our flight to ITALY!!!

So I grew up 2 blocks from this place:

This is the oldest cemetary in Los Angeles, and it has so many interesting characters buried here. There was a Genealogical Conference this past week in Burbank, and it offered a tour of this cemetary. Of course I was interested, so I went. I was interested to learn that these guys are buried here:

Lankershim and Van Nuys (anyone familar with these guys?)

This used to be "the" place to be buried if you were rich in Los Angeles. Who knew that years later it would be located in East Los Angeles, a not so rich place. This guy is also buried here:

The founder of "Ralphs" supermarket

Another interesting thing I learned is that back in the day, circus workers and "carnies" (carnival workers), used to pay into a type of union organization. With their dues, they would come with a funeral plot. So a bunch of these guys are buried here:

Pacific Coast Showman's Unit

Overall, this whole experience made me think of my own death. I was suprised to learn that it gave me some comfort to realize that getting to know my final resting place made me feel at peace. I guess that's the point of "Resting in Peace"! Anyways, I have decided that I want my tombstone to look like this:

Doesn't this look comfy to sit on? So who is gonna come visit me!

Gratitude.....

This is it. My very new Ford Flex.

 


Yesterday was a very special day. It was our 3 year anniversary. For the past 2 anniversaries, I had planned our day. Our first year, we went to the New Orleans Jazz Festival, and last year, we stayed at the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara and went horseback riding.

Very romantic events!

This year since I was swamped with school, I suggested that Rich should make the "romantic" plans this year. I had even supplied him with WAY EASY suggestions. I bought him cards that had 52 romantic (aka CHEAP) ideas to do.

How hard would it be to just pick a card, right?

Well, the week was drawing to a close, and Rich hadn't asked me what my schedule was like for the "big" day, or told me to be home by a certain time, etc., so I was getting nervous. We then got into a discussion where I told him that maybe I was asking for too much for him to be romantic, and that I should just learn to accept someone for who they are.

I swear that wasn't a guilt trip, honest to God!

Well, of course you can see THAT DIDN'T GO WELL, and well, let's just say, I was..........pensive, yeah, let's say that.

Well, I left in the morning to take my Math Final (ugh!), and then mentally drained, preceded to come home. As I pulled up to our house, I noticed Rich's car was parked on the street. He usually parks it at the end of our driveway, so I wondered why he parked it on the street (which is a good hike from a house, if you have been there!) blah, blah, blah.

So as I pull in just a bit, I finally see something parked at the bottom of the driveway.......A FORD FLEX!

Now those who have been hearing me go on, and on, and on....for the past several months about my next car, well, this was going to be it. I have had my car for 10 years now, and if you have seen it, I was desperately in need of a new one. But really, I didn't think a new car was going to happen for at least 1 and a half more years.

Well, needless to say, the car had a beautiful note on it that said "IS THIS ROMANTIC ENOUGH?". Yes Rich, this is waaaaaayyyyy romantic! You have certainly outdone yourself! Of course I cried for 20 minutes straight, and of course, he has milked it for all it is worth!

But on a serious note, this is the part that comes to the topic for my blog. I mean, I am sure that this story seems like it says it all. What isn't there to be grateful for, right? Because yes, having a car is great. I can't argue with that one. But for those who know me, my life, and where I have come from, this means so much more. Because you see, this wasn't the first time someone has given me a car. Let me explain.....

I have worked since I was 15. My parents are divorced, and of course growing up in East LA, I never saw myself getting a car when I turned 16. But even when I started working, I still assumed that I was WAY off from getting my first new car. So I went to my job 8 miles away, taking 2 buses to get there, and usually bumming rides whenever I could. And when I graduated high school at 18, not only did I start working there full time (even some weekends), but like a crazy person, I decided to go full time to school, while writing for the college newspaper (I was going to be a journalist!). Oh, and I lived on my own, paying rent of about $200 a month. Point being, I did this with no help from my parents (and that is another blog post!)

And while I was kinda mad that my life was hard (ok, who am I kidding, I hated it!), I just assumed that this is what had to be done to get somewhere. Not just technically, but figuratively.

"I" was all I had to rely on. And that was how I lived my life. If someone said it couldn't be done, I always wanted to find a way it could be done. I always believed anything was possible, because I knew "I" could make it possible.

So I will never forget the night when I finished my job at 5pm, took the bus to my college (East LA College to be exact! See, I really was from East LA!) started my class at 6pm and then at went to the bus stop at 9:30pm to wait for my bus ride home.

And there, when I thought I couldn't be more exhausted..............it started to rain...............And I had no coat............And no umbrella.

But at least I had a bus shelter stand (thank God for miracles, right?).

And as I saw people driving by in their cars, I remember saying to myself "One day, I will remember this when I have my car, so stop crying, and just wait. Not just for the bus, but for everything. For a car, a better job, an education, and most importantly, someone to rely on."

And I got home.

I can't remember when, but a few months later, my cousin mentioned that he had a salvaged, non-working car sitting at his mom's house in..................STUDIO CITY! (Crazy, right?)

My aunt (his mom), has lived mostly in a house in Alhambra. But for a few years, she lived with her (now deceased) husband in his place in Studio City. And the only time I went to visit her at her place in Studio City was the day I went to take a look at it with a friend who was a mechanic.

And miracles of miracles, he said that he could get this '82 Honda Accord Hatchback (yes, Accords came in Hatchbacks!) to run that day. It was rusted out, the seats were completely torn, there was no radio, no air conditioner, and well..........nothing!

But it was FREE, and it was going to be all mine.

No more standing in the rain for buses. No more leery men on the buses. No more buses, period.

I was happy. Happy like when my sister and I were little girls staying at my dad's house, excited to go to Disneyland, waiting for our dad to wake us up so we could eat Chorizo Sandwiches and Chocolate milk. And trust me, that was WAY HAPPY!

So here I am, pretty much 15 years later, and again, I am given a car.......in Studio City. And I only take the bus WHEN I WANT TO, and for a few years, I had some pretty awesome jobs (anyone remember Southwest?). And now I have my education, with the opportunity to give it to others.

But most importantly, I have someone to rely on.

My best friend, my confidant, and well, the love of my life. He drives me crazy sometimes (get it, "drives"?), but I love him more than Chorizo Sandwiches and Chocolate Milk. And never have I been so happy.

I hope this means that dreams come true. Because it sure feels like it has for me.

So remember this when you see me cutting you off on the road  (because I drive crazy like that sometimes!) driving by.

You can say to yourself with confidence "Dreams really do come true!!!!!" (Ok, maybe you won't say THOSE exact words, but something like it, right?)

"Rocking Robin" or Tales from the Bird Sactuary

Back in the day, I lived with a roomate who was a birdwatcher. I was just as suprised as everyone else when I discovered that birdwatchers were not just fat, balding old men, but could also be cool, hip young flight attendants! Well, recently I have been thinking about birdwatching again because of all the bird activity that is going on around my house.

And to my dismay, I have started to hear MANY birds chirping at night lately. I thought birds were only active during the day, but have found that is not the only case. They do this to mark their territory from other predators, or they may be babies who are chirping for their mommies. I am trying to learn how to ignore them, but some nights, it is like a bird symphony!

It seems like every day, there is some new type of bird hanging outside my window. I have seen this:

A wood pecker (not entirely sure, but it sure looked like one!)

and this:

A red-breasted robin

and I constantly hear this (even during the day!!!!)

An owl (I'm not sure what it looks like, so I picked the creepiest looking one! Did you know that in Mexican culture, the owl is considered a symbol of death? It is bad luck to come into contact with one)

That reminds me, I have two owl stories:

When I was a kid, my mom told me this story about my grandma and an owl. In our old house, the dining room window was a up high because it was a 2 story house. One early evening, my grandmother said that she was sitting in the dining room, when all of a sudden, an owl flew right to the window and stayed there for a few minutes. The whole time, it had it's wings outstretched, and to her, she said it seemed as if it was trying to fly into the room. Naturally this FREAKED my grandma out, and she went and grabbed a broom (and I am sure a rosary!) and yelled and prayed for it to go away. It did, but the experience always made her shiver when she thought of it.

My second owl story occured about a year or so ago. Rich and I were driving home at night, and while we were driving up one of the streets to our house, our headlights shone on an owl that was just sitting in the road! As we drove closer, it would not move and just sat there, looking at us. Of course we were intrigued, so Rich got out of his car and slowly started walking towards the owl. Just then, the owl spread it's wings, and for a split second I thought of my grandma. Oh no?! Would it try to fly at our windshield? What actually happened was that as it started to fly away, we realized that it had a LIVE MOUSE IN IT'S CLAWS! We must have come upon it when it had just captured it's prey. Crazy!

All this bird activity has made me interested in learning more about bird watching. Who knew? I am not sure if our yard is somehow becoming a bird sanctuary, but if it is, I might as well be prepared! And I hope I don't see anymore owls. Those birds just creep me out! Any birds creep you out, or do you have a cool bird story to share?

"These are a few of my favorite things....."

Caber and Peanut sleeping in our bed (only when we let them!)

Patch of flowers at CSUN

My grandsons

These are a few of my favorite things right now. I am trying to find things in my life that I am grateful for, and trying to take pictures of those things or remember moments is helping me to have gratitude. I am also very thankful for all my friends and family, and like I have said a million times, I can't wait to celebrate with everyone that I love at my graduation party!

Shopping Guilt

Here they are. The two places that I love, and hate the most. Why do grocery stores make me feel this way? It's like a relationship, but with none of the benefits. Okay, I guess food is a benefit, and they never ask me to move over in bed.....but I digress.

I started thinking about shopping because, low and behold!, I went shopping yesterday. But if you are like me, you have 2 stores you have to shop at. For me, it is Ralph's and Trader Joes. This is one of the "hates". Why can't everything be at one store? Oh well.

Yesterday, it was my shopping at Trader Joe's day. I realized that besides picking only 2 stores to shop from, I am also a creature of habit with the things I buy. Here are items that typically get put in my cart:

Strawberries & blueberries (hate frozen!, love them on everything!)
Red onions (I make a yummy salad with them)
Hard boiled eggs  (although today I had to buy uncooked egss since they were out of the pre-made ones. The nerve!)
Cucumbers
Baby broccoli  ( I guess I am partial to babies!)
Spring Salad mix
Cherry tomatoes
Waffles

I hate that I can't be more adventurous. Well, today I was. Don't tell anyone, but I also bought "Romaine hearts" to use for salad greens. Crazy, I know! But I guess the real reason I am not that adventurous is because, who am I kidding, most of the time, I am not in the mood to try something new, and then it's "Crap, this stuff has mold on it already? Should have had it for breakfast/lunch/dinner".

May I add that when I can, I try to buy all these items organic. Why? Because one of my "hates" is shopping guilt. For one of my "wonderful" CSUN classes, I had to watch a documentary about the grocery industry. And boy, let me tell you, serious guilt trip! Inhumane treatment of chickens, genetically modified produce, overcharging for conveience, yada, yada, yada.

So, now my life is relegated to 2 stores. Ralphs for all the non-food items (garbarge bags, Ziplock bags, Crystal Light) and Trader Joe's for all my food. And while I do get excited sometimes about trying new things that I see ("Oooh, grilled chicken strips! That might be a quick and easy lunch!"), I still feel some guilt.

Because even though I can get pretty much most of the food organic at Trader Joe's, I know I really should be shopping at a Farmer's Market. Then I am really cutting out the middle man, getting food directly from the source, and not getting bananas from Chile. But I really like bananas in my smoothie, and they don't have them at a farmers market! Aaaaah! See my guilt?

To top it off, why do other people make me feel even more guilty when I see that they remembered to bring their paper Trader Joe's bag to get a raffle ticket for a $25 TJ gift card? Or even worse, they bring in their OWN reusable bags! Yuppies! (Wait, does that describe me?)

Anyways, let me know how your shopping experience goes and what you put in your cart. Then maybe I won't feel so much guilt, and maybe, just maybe, I'll get to try something before it gets moldy. Well, off to try my "Marinated Lentil Salad" with pre-cooked lentils I bought from Trader Joe's (wait, are they organic?...........)

Inspiration

This is it. This is the reason why I wanted to start a blog. A beautiful painting that I have seen for many months. But let me give you some background first........

As many of you may know, I attend Cal State Northridge and am in the process of completing my last and final semester of school for my Bachelor's degree (yes!). Since I have been going to CSUN since 2008, I have passed this painting at the library. But the painting was not just in the main lobby, it happened to be located in the........BASEMENT!

Every time I walked downstairs to visit the "Teachers Curriculum Center" (a place I have become VERY familiar with), I would see this HUGE painting right outside the entrance. It has always intrigued and haunted me. Who did this painting? Why is it in the basement of the library? Is it worth anything? The painters name is listed at the bottom, and of course, I forgot to include this in my blog. But since this is my first post, I'm sure I'll learn from my mistakes next time.

Overall, this painting reminds me that art can be very powerful. It can make a person stop in their tracks, stare and think. With our world so busy today, I like the fact that there are some things in life that I am allowed to take my time with.

Let me know some of your favorite paintings and where you saw them. It just may inspire you to go out and buy an expensive phone just so you can blog about it, like I did! :)