This morning we woke up early for wonder, merriment, and Wade.

We got to the Marina early, before Wade, before the sun.

So we stood on a dock and watched it come up.

Ashley told me she was waiting for the perfect sun to rise.  And I said she had to wait til Easter. HAHAHAHA!! Oh boy was I laughing.. hahaha!!

The first thing Wade said to us was, "you girls are crazy for wanting to do this when it's so cold!!"  It was only 50 degrees..

 The life vest I wore today was really thick.  I called it his "batman vest". I also kept telling Ashley to punch me in the stomach because the vest was like bullet proof









That's Wade in the background..

It was Ashley's first day paddle boarding.  The water was perfectly serene. 

We had a great time on the water, even though the air was crisp and our feet were numb. 

When we got to Woodland Hills Ashley dropped me off for a much overdue hair appointment.

Remember the sketch from Saturday Night Live, the fake perfume commercial? The lady who cut my hair reminded me exactly of her.. just watch.

http://youtu.be/O-mMRHTGskY

She was funny, but not funny ha-ha. She loved dancing and wishes it could've been her job.  She wasn't married because she liked being a "free spirit".  She lived in Vegas for 20 years.  "Most of my friends are guys".  Her last ex-boyfriend was a DJ. She just got out of rehab..

Be that as it may, she came highly recommended - that girl knows hair!

before and after 

I don't think I realized how bad my hair was until it took her pretty much all day to change.  Notice how the ends of my hair in the before picture look green? That's because I had dip-dyed it blue a while ago..but it washed out to this green, which took quite awhile to get out..

Before she even knew that I had dyed my hair red last year she said to me, "what do you think about going red??"

When the appointment was over Ashley picked me up and we headed for the coast.  All we knew was that we wanted dinner and to watch the sunset.  I hadn't eaten since 545 this morning.. my hair took a looonngg time...

Here's what it's like to ride along the PCH with us at sunset, complete with Ashley singing :) 

We stopped at Gladstone's restaurant, which has come highly recommended and has a big patio on the ocean. 

Ashley won't let me write anything deep and personal right now because we are going to get frozen yogurt..

Goodnight!! :)

Moderately Early to Bed, Early to Rise

Previously, I would not have described myself as an early bird. In the mornings, I'm groggy and slow.  Not cranky, but not exactly bright and alert. However, things are different for me now.  My sleep schedule has changed from roughly midnight to 7/8am to bed at 930p/10p to 530a/6a. Not a huge change, but one that allows me to catch this view sometimes:

This was taken Wednesday at sunrise, as I drove to Marina Del Rey for another session of paddle boarding with Wade. At first when he said, "let's meet at 7" I wanted to protest, but after spending the morning on the misty marina, I can't say I regret the early start.

It was about 53 degrees - we could see our breath, but after we got started the work out of paddle boarding kept me from feeling the chill.  There were actually a lot of people on the water that morning, including the seals again.  People were rowing, paddle boarding, kayaking, and there were a lot of people on the road along the water way out of the marina. Most everyone seems to know each other.  Even while we were on the water, people from the road would shout, "Hey Wade! Great morning, huh?" And then they'd discuss Tuesday's great surfing as we passed them.

Paddle boarding was over at about 9am, so I headed back home.  Because of rush hour on the 405, I took the PCH, Highway 1, up the coast.  I drove through places like Venice beach for the first time.

Then I drove through a commonly mentioned town, Topanga, and stopped at an antique shop I've been eyeing for a while.  It had great treasures in it.

When I got home, Ashley had cleaned the entire apartment.  It looks so cozy and nice now. We had more space to do crafts, listen to Christmas music, and decorate.

Ashley made us Peppermint Chai Tea lattes that were like a white Christmas in every drink. 

The sun had warmed it up outside, so I went to the pool to read..but ended up closing my eyes instead..

How could you not doze off when this view and a breezy 68 degrees are lulling you to sleep?












After browsing the website for the Getty one afternoon, I had seen that Wednesday night they were showing a documentary on Bill Cunningham, a street fashion photographer from New York. I was really looking forward to going, and Ashley had thought it sounded like fun too, so she got a ticket as well.  The tickets are free for the Villa, you just have to print them out and bring them in order to be allowed into the museum.  We got all dressed up and left with plenty of time to peruse the museum and maybe grab a drink.

We walked around, snapped pics, and tried not to get blown away by the Santa Ana winds, which everyone has been saying are uncommonly cold this season.


After we checked in at the theater, we went up to the outdoor patio and enjoyed a glass of wine as we were warmed by the deck heaters.



People started to gather toward the auditorium, so Ash and I decided to go in and find seats as well.  This is where things started to seem off. First of all, we were under the impression that the show started at 7p, but we kept hearing and seeing signs that said 730p. We looked at our emails to double check, and sure enough it was to start at 7p. The other thing, was the crowd didn't seem like people that would also be interested in B. Cunningham.  They looked like older, shaggy professors.. The other thing was that this theater didn't appear like it was suited to project a film.  It looked like it was set up for a lecture.  But I justified it by pointing out that we were promised a Q&A after the film, so we continued to wait for the movie.

Suddenly Ashley realized that the powerpoint title screen in front of us wasn't an advertisement for a lecture in the coming weeks, but a lecture that would be happening Wednesday night.. at 730pm. I stood up quickly and ran to the front desk.  I asked them what event was scheduled for the evening and they gave me a puzzled look and responded with, "Luxury Living in Late Roman Sicily: the Villa at Piazza Armerina".

Panicking, I asked them to find my ticket. They returned it to me, and sure enough it said, Bill Cunningham: New York, 7pm, at The Getty Center.  Did I mention before that we were sitting enjoying a glass of wine at The Getty Villa? ..i.e. wrong. Getty.

The people at the desk apologized for not noticing that our tickets were for the wrong event, and invited us to stay for the lecture anyway. Stubbornly determined to enjoy it, I forced Ashley to return to our seats with me and listen to the gentleman educator teach us all we need to know about the ancient villa in Italy, and enjoy his accent as he pronounced medicine like "medsin" and idea with an r at the end, "idear".

There was a woman in front of us who would violently snap her head around to glare at us if we accidentally nudged her chair or whispered to keep each other awake.  The audience, on the other hand, seemed to thoroughly enjoy the presentation and "oohed" and "awwhed" at each photo.  They also laughed heartily at his jokes directed toward archaeologists and their crazy lives.. we didn't get to many of the jokes..

After the lecture we retreated to the cafe for refreshments.

Then we took our "whoops we shouldn't have been here" selves home. 

PS an update--

Thanks for all of your concern post-needle stick!! I am fine, no infection or serious emotional damage done :)

Although I was informed I would be receiving a "packet" in the mail from the workman's comp claim section of my company...not really looking forward to that paperwork.

Secondly, Ashley and I have agreed on an official end date here in Woodland Hills! I will end February 18th, then enjoy a week skiing in Tahoe with my dad.  Ashley ends the last week in February,then we plan on rendezvousing for an assignment in San Francisco. No official job in San Fran yet, but enough of a promise that our recruiter is already working on getting everything together for us to move up North.  

SUPB

Today I cashed in on one of my Bloomspot purchases, which is similar to Groupon. This adventure was a sport called Stand Up Paddle Boarding or Surfing.  Imagine standing on a big surf board with one kayak paddle, and you've got stand up paddle boarding.

My instructors name is Wade.  He used to be a stock broker in NYC but stepped out of that scene to help develop E*Trade.  He had kind of worn himself out establishing the website, so he sold his share and moved to L.A.  He's held pretty much any job you can think of in the LA area, from driver/tour guide of a Starline's Tour bus, to actor, pro surfer, maintenance guy, economic consultant, and more.  He seems to live a modest life and just kind of float from job to job.  He also looks like Tony Horton from P90X, you know, this guy..

But much less creepy..  When I saw his muscles, I realized I was in for a beating..

We met in Marina Del Rey.  Initially he showed me the technique and had me practice in the sand.  Then we hit the water.  It is a total body work out.  Your legs are working the whole time to stabilize you on the board, so the paddling is all from your arms and back.  You kind of hold the paddle with stiff arms out in front of you, and hinge at the waist to place the oar in the water, then as you stand back up, the motion paddles you forward. 

This is a picture I took in Santa Barbara of a paddle boarder.  Doesn't it look effortless and relaxing?  

Weellll, it's a little harder than it looks. 

Because of the wind and me being a novice, we just went through the marina, around boats, under bridges, and past docks.  There were a lot of seals in the water.  They were barking and playing and splashing.  We would pass groups of about 5 huge seals just laying in the sun on a dock.  They all would lay in a heap and just look at us while we floated by.  I wish I got a picture of them, but it seemed too risky to take my phone with me.

  This is Wade's van for transporting the paddle boards.  There were six on top total.  And  these things are big. And heavy.  

It doesn't have seats in the back, just a huge stack of paddles and life jackets. 

The deal got me three lessons for the price of one, so I'll be going again.  I hope next time we actually go out on the ocean.  And that I don't fall in.  That water's only getting colder...

Then to make the evening sweet, I made a caramel apple with a kit my sister Andrea sent me, because she knows how much I love them. It was delicious, but not as good as the ones from Indiana County Fairs :)