The City of Angels

I love and hate Los Angeles for so many reasons. Love the weather, hate the traffic. Love my family and friends, hate the traffic. Love the diversity, hate the smog. Love being able to buy wine at the grocery store, hate the cost of living. The list could go on and on.

LA has so many memories for me as it was where I spent my formidable years. The college years were spent at USC. The career and married years were spent in West Los Angeles and UCLA. Then I decided to make a change and uprooted my life to move to Pittsburgh. It is funny when I talk to people here and tell them that I moved here from LA. I get two instant questions from them...WHY? and Did you meet/know any famous people?

Both questions annoy me and fascinate me at the same time. Yes, famous people were everywhere you looked. I mean sitting in sociology class if I had known that Keyshawn Johnson would get so famous I may have not been so annoyed by his attitude...ok, so, probably not but it gave me pause!

Why would I choose to move from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh? First, it was time. Second, I felt a calling in my soul that I needed to be near my family. I needed to shake up my life for me and see where I would land and how I could re-create things for me. I moved to a city where I knew no one yet again. As a 30-something adult woman it was a little rougher than as an 18 year old girl heading to college. But somehow I have managed to land on my feet, make friends, have a good job and be close enough to jump in my car and visit mom or my sisters in a short period of time. These are good things and I made them happen in my life.

But back to Los Angeles...yes, I met lots of famous people. I went to college with some. I guess for me though there was little mystic left surrounding them once I saw the inner workings on the Hollywood life. Having friends who date stars also shed some light on that life as well. They are just people and they are just as happy or unhappy as the rest of us. They just happen to do it in front of the camera. Now don't get me wrong I would still to this day knock his wife out if Jason Sehorn came knocking at my door. I can still picture him washing his car next door when we lived at USC.

What is the point of all this rambling about Los Angeles? I am going back for a visit next week. I had to cancel an earlier scheduled trip due to life here. Somehow I think the timing was just not right and I was not ready. Now, I feel ready to visit. I have let go of some past demons. I have moved on from some past mistakes. I am stronger, healthier and happier. I am ready to hit the ground, hug Heidi, grab my bags and hit up In 'N' Out on the way to my home for the week. No, there will be no reunion with the ex. There will be fun times with my family and friends. There will be pedicures at the Paint Shop and lunch at the french cafe with my french boyfriend. There will be meals shared at new homes with old friends. There will be cruising in convertibles and lots of flip flop wearing in February!!!! There will be relaxing in the football room with the kid who won't nap trying to get him to say FIGHT ON! ;-) My LA experience is mine and I am going to be there next week to savor it and soak it up!

Stay tuned for updates and pictures!

Happiness

As I got ready for work this morning I was struck with a warmth from within that lead to a smile upon my face. Happiness! I glanced at my slightly pink finger nails...no they are not painted but rather stained from colored sugar used to decorate cookies last night.

I love my students. So I made them cookies and had to decorate them last night. With the help of Miss Shadow they were a success. I hope they are good but then they are cookies and the students love cookies!

Happy Valentine's Day! I am not one to be big on this commercial holiday but it occurred to me today that it would be nice to be open to people who are and in general be open to love. I wore red today...which is not a big deal since I wear it alot. But I made sure that I looked good before I walked out the door and now I am sitting at work smiling and know that I am happy! I am crazy busy but wanted to take a moment to tell those I love how much they mean to me! You know who you are and in case you did not know I LOVE YOU!!!

I also want to say that I am open to possibilities and it has been proven that flirting makes you healthier! I am really healthy these days. ;-) Now if the only my UPS guy would stop by today...then my day would be spectacular! Let's hope I have some updates for some when I land in LA in less than 2 weeks! Wooo hooo!!!!

HAPPINESS!!!!!!

Winter Transformation (revisited)

Life is a series of transformations. Take for example me and winter. Well, it started getting cooler here when I arrived. So I wore a very nice knee length wool coat that my mother bought me when I got the job at CMU. The first couple days I wore it opn and slowly started to use the buttons. Then one day I realized that I was still cold even with the damn thing buttoned up to my neck.


So I got a scarf. A nice thick one and work it just loosely around my neck, until one day I realized that wrapping around my neck and keeping it on the inside of my coat kept me much warmer. Bulkier but warmer.


Then it got cold. Well, I thought that was cold but we will get to *cold* later!
My skin started to crack on my hands. I have chapstick in every jacket and purse and bag I could possibly use! I will not have chapped, cracked lips dammit! So i started wearing real socks. not that i did not wear socks but i had those little footie type socks that come to your ankle. Well that does me no good when air flies up the pants leg and freezes the calf portion while you wait for the bus! So i got long thick socks. and I wear them!


I wear them over my first layer of clothes. they are not really long underwear but that is what i think of them as. but i have heard people call them all kinds of things. I think their official term from their brander is "cozies" but fuck there ain't not much cozy about the damn things. They do keep you warmer. But who really wants to wear two pairs of pants. I would have said not me...but now I do not leave the house without two pairs of pants. At this point even if i lost 20 lbs no one would know but me when i take off all the clothes to take a fast shower!


The coldest weekend in many years according to the news but I am smart and I know what I am doing. I have on sweat pants and ankle socks and mule tennis shoes along with a tshirt and sweatshirt jacket. I am just going to Wal-Mart. It is not like i am going to be standing outside waiting for a bus...just going to the store. I have to admit i was sadly mistaken on just how cold it really was out there. I mean the short walk from the parking lot to the front door of the store just about froze me to my core. Ah, well atleast I made it inside and got warmed up. Little did I know that when I would be going back outside later it would be even colder and windier. This lead to the purchase of wool socks and hats.


Yes, I broke down and bought a couple hats. So let me set the scene for you. I got up this morning and watched the news to learn how not to get hypothermia while taking a shower or after you take a shower. Which is not a real problem for me since I started taking showers at night during the cold times so my hair would not freeze! Then I got ready for work. I started with the normal layer of underwear and bra. From there we go into uncharted lands for those of you in warmth and sun. (I am envious!) I put on my cozy pants, my wool socks, a turtle neck, a shirt, a pair of thick (for winter) pants and acute jacket. Then i fix my hair to only then put a hat on it! Yyes it is really that cold! I wore a damn hat today! Then i wrapped a scrarf around me, put on my eskimo coat, buttoned it all up, including the one that wants to strangle me, put on my gloves and head out the door. Funny thing is that I was warm. My face was a little cold but other than that I was cozy.


While sitting on the bus feeling stupid in a hat I realized that no one was looking at me or making fun of me in my new hat. In fact most of them had hats, or hoods and they all seemed quite content with being warm. I get to work concerned about hat hair only to realize that no one else gives a rats ass about hat hair when it is negative whatever out! So i got a clip and pulled my bangs out of my face and am just content with the fact that I was warm coming into work and I am warm in my many layers of clothes! And some day soon this place will heat up and then I will have something else to bitch about...hot weather and humidity!


Oh, but, I did wear my mule tennis shoes today. I am a rebel who just can not seem to let go of some things from Sunny So. Cal! As of today I declare I am an official Pennsylvanian! I packed my lunch and breakfast today because the last thing I want to do is to have to run outside to get food! it is bad enough that I have a meeting at 3:15 this afternoon but I think I will go home from there.


So...how hard are you laughing at me right now? This was slightly edited from the original version (an email to Heidi) from last February 2007. Last year was the first winter for me in a very long time. IT was hard. It was nasty and cold but I got through it. This year it has been mild until yesterday and today. It was the coldest it had been in a year yesterday, and I woke up to snow covered streets and hundreds of school closings today. I did check the weather by looking out the window and knew that it was going to be slow going. I got all layered up and headed into work. It is snowing harder now and is supposed to get worse as the day progresses. For now I sit getting my feet warmed up and drinking my latte and basking in the knowledge that soon I will be in LA for a vacation! I do plan to wear flip flops the entire time I am there. Just sayin!

Welcome to the world Cameron James Anderson!!

On Tuesday, February 5, 2008
At 8:04 PM (EST)
my sister Amber gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.

Cameron James Anderson weighed
in at 9 pounds 7.7 ounces and 21.5 inches long.

Amber had him by C-section and is recovering nicely.
Amber and Kenny are very excited to get this little boy home on Friday.

Here is my new nephew just after his bath and feeding this morning:

I have already told mom and dad that I will help to get him recruited
to a proper (USC!) school to play football! I am going to meet with
Coach Petey when I am in LA at the end of the month! :-)

More pictures to come soon!