Birthdays at MC&S

A bunch of us celebrated Amanda’s and Regi’s birthdays at McCormick and Schmick’s. We had a real nice time hanging out and having a few drinks with friends.

Back from Fishing

Yay, Marco got back from his Washington fishing trip today!! I hope this means my bad luck streak is over…*crossing fingers* It's so nice to have him back!
Click here to see more pics from his trip.

Helpful Co-workers

It’s so nice to know that I work with people that are always ready and willing to help each other out. The other day Amanda’s shoe started to fall apart and Paul quickly got some super cement glue and ta-da…good as new.

4.5 Quake

What a rude awakening! I woke up at 1am to a 4.5 earthquake centered here in the valley. I should know better than to move to Northridge! Rose will be staying with me tonight because she is a bit shaken up. I don't blame her, it felt pretty strong. My poor Smuckers and Lily were really frightened by it to.

Latin Tees

It looks like the Northridge Fashion Center now has a cart that sells “latin” tees. They’re pretty funny too. Rose ended up buying the “Carpul” tee for my bro. My personal favorite was the “Got Pupusas?” tee. I may just go back and buy it one of these days.

Accident Post #2

I ended up creating this Google map showing the route (in red) I had to take while chasing the guy down who hit my car. LoL! It’s clear that he was trying to get rid of me…too bad his car died LoL!

No Freakin’ Way!!

OMFG! I had another car accident with Bridges!! Almost 2 years to the day!!
Ok so this is how it went down.
It’s 6:30 am and I’m going south on Hayvenhurst. I come to the intersection of Havenhurst and Parthenia when a truck going northbound makes a U-turn right into my car!! Then to top it all off, the guy keeps on going right after hitting me!! The only thing I could think was “Hell NO!” I quickly looked to see what direction he was headed and sped after him. I followed the guy while honking my horn like crazy. Then a couple turns and blocks later his car came to a dead stop. I rolled down my window and he looked at me all clueless…like he didn’t just ram right into my car! I screamed “WHY DID YOU TAKE OFF? YOU JUST HIT ME PRETTY HARD. WHY DID YOU TAKE OFF??” He just looked at me clueless but handed me his info when I stepped out and asked for it. Thank god I had my camera with me (lol, you guys know I always do) ‘cause I was able to take pictures of the vehicles. The guy didn’t really say a word to me, just sat in his car and waited for god knows what. The cops refused to come since there was no bloodshed and it took a while to get my car towed to a shop. It didn’t help that my cell phone battery died right after the accident.
Anyway, his car looked like it sustained minimal damage but refused to start up after he came to a stop (*whisper* it’s an American car). I’m still alive but my car is once again in surgery for the next 3-4 weeks (I’m guessing). I think after this Bridges may have to go bye bye.

See more pictures of accident here.

Turning 50 or 29

Today was pretty busy:
1. Went shopping
2. Attended Ed’s 50th Birthday party in Redondo Beach
3. Packed Marco up for his trip
4. Updated my new laptop with software I needed

*Happy Birthday to Stephanie who turns 29 today, woohoo*

New HP Laptop

Marco, Thomas, and I saw the new Bourne movie today. The movie turned out to be even better than I thought it would be! It gets 2 thumbs up.

Other things that happened today:
We had lunch at one of our favorite Indian places in Torrance, and
My new laptop finally arrived and it’s beautiful!!!

The Corner of Death

Our corner office has a pretty exciting view. We have a front row view of the “corner of death.” Accidents occur there all of the time, plus cops love hanging out near that corner so we also get to see drivers getting pulled over often.

Stephanie & Jeremiah

I found out a buddy of mine (Stephanie) got married earlier this month and from the pictures it looks like the wedding was phenomenal! Congratulations to Stephanie and her husband Jeremiah!

Pablo in a Coconut Tree, in Brazil

Here is the first picture of Pablo in Brazil. More to come soon.

Rose's 25th Birthday

We celebrated Rose's 25th Birthday in Santa Clarita. It was fun! We hung out, had cake, and watched her open her gifts.

Pablo @ Comic Con

My brother took Pablo to Comic Con this weekend where he got to meet the creator of the Sock Monkey comics (Tony Millionaire). While they were there, Pablo took a nice picture with his new friend and came back with a really cute Sock Monkey story book.

Back from Brazil

Pablo and Jim are back from Brazil and they brought back some goodies. Yay! I will be posting pictures from their trip as soon as I get them.

Chart House

This is why I love business dinners!
This time we took our clients to Chart House in Redondo Beach and holy cow was it good!
Ambiance: Perfect! The view makes it spectacular.
Food: Super delicious!
Overall Ana Rating: As my buddy Enoch would say…”It’s off the chain.” LoL.

Griffith Observatory

Thomas and I went on another photography outing. This time we visited the Griffith Observatory which just opened back up last year after being closed for almost 5 years. At first glance it looks like they didn’t do a thing to it, but once you’re inside you notice they’ve expanded it quite a bit. The new lower level was awesome. We took a moment to watch the new “History of the Observatory” video which turned out to be very informative and later enjoyed the Planetarium show. I had a great time there and would recommend everyone go check out the new and improved observatory.

Movies and Lunch

We finally got a chance to check out the new Harry Potter and Transformers movies. I was surprised at how dark the Harry Potter movie was and I’m curious to find out what happens in the next one. Transformers turned out to be a pretty cool movie; it brought back some good childhood memories.
For lunch Marco and I decided to get a bite to eat in Woodland Hills (near the theater). Our first choice in restaurant was closed so we ended up going to Coco’s. OMG it was so gross! From the brownish colored lettuce on my salad to the greasy shrimp that were supposed to be grilled. Ewww!

Gym/Friends/Work

After a great workout at the gym Marco and I spent a few hours at Janice’s before going to the party I was scheduled to work. I ended up working at Duke’s (restaurant right next to the beach) in Malibu. The night was pretty long but the people at the party were very easy to deal with.

Homeboy Jesus

Here’s something I didn’t know Target carried. LoL!

Baby Joshua

Today I found out that a cousin of mine, who I haven’t seen in ages, had his first child. I’m so happy for him and his wife.
Joshua A. Valle was born July 6 @ 7:28pm weighing in at 6 lbs 13 ounces
Welcome to the world Joshua!

Wear Crazy Hats to Work Day

Sometimes Manda likes to wear silly hats around the office.

The Perfect Chair

No more sitting on a fold out chair in front of my computer. It took me forever to get a computer chair but today it finally happened. I have been looking for the “perfect” computer chair for years and never found it in my price range. The chairs I found were always:
-Too cheap, the fabric sucked, the arm rests didn’t adjust (if it had any), the padding was horrible, the color was wrong, the back support sucked, etc….
Today Marco finally got sick of me complaining about it, so he went out and got me a chair himself. And guess what? It’s perfect.. Well, maybe not perfect, but it's pretty darn close. LoL! Human Factors has ruined me when it comes to shopping for stuff.

4th of July 2007

Happy 4th of July everyone! It was nice having a day off in the middle of the week, but it’s sad that tomorrow we have to go back to work. Waa…
On a positive note, it’s almost Friday, Yay!

Follow this link for more pics.

Dutch 101

Listen and Learn....


Hope you learned something new today.

Paella for the 1st of July

For the first of July I made one of Marco’s favorite dishes…Paella. Yum-Yum!

First you cook the sliced chicken breast with herbs
Then add some spices to the mix
Lastly you add the rice

After it's all mixed together, fill the pan with water and cover it while it simmers
When the water has evaporated, Ta-da, the Paella is complete

Off to Brazil they go

Pablo and Jim are on their way to Brazil for a month! They’ll be staying mostly in Salvador but I think they may find time to visit other places. How exciting! I guess this is the year Pablo visits several Latin countries because shortly after his return from Brazil he’ll be on his way to Panama.

Soul Food

We had another adventure food Friday today. This time we went to M & M Soul Food Restaurant in Carson. This was my first time trying soul food and MAN IT’S GOOD. I ordered the fried chicken with collard greens and corn. They also gave each of us a corn bread muffin that was simply out of this world. After lunch I was so full I took a 15 minute nap at my desk…LoL, I guess I’m not used to eating heavy meals anymore.

Random SHOUTS of “Encouragement”

I’ve noticed in most of my step classes there’s always that one person that loves to randomly shout during the workout and it’s just irritating. I’m not sure if they do it to encourage themselves or others but it’s really annoying. The first time it got to me I was at a step class and this lady that was working out right next to me just would not shut up. As soon as a song came on she would start “WOOOOW’ing” and “YEEEAAHH-ing” …. At one point she completely startled me. I was focused on my workout when suddenly…right next to me “YYYYYEAAAHHHHH!” Son of a $%^&*… I almost fell off my step! If this is you….please stop it! It’s neither cute nor encouraging!

Lunch Meeting

Susana and I had a real nice lunch meeting today at The Cheesecake Factory in Redondo Beach and got to admire the lovely harbor from our table. What a nice view!

Happy 17th Birthday Cynthia!

My niece (who lives in Holland) turns 17 today. Holy cow time flies!! It seems like just yesterday Marco and I were taking her and her little brother to play at the park. I can’t believe how quickly time goes by. When we left Holland, she was still in pigtails and braces and now she is getting ready to get her driver’s license!

Belated Father’s Day

All of us were busy on Father’s Day weekend so we postponed the celebration until today. I think my dad had a nice time hanging out with the kids and checking out his new CD/Radio/iPOD player. A little birdie (my mom) told us he was looking for one so it turned out to be the perfect gift.

Welcome to The Longest Day of the Year

So it’s officially summer now, YUCK! I’m not a big summer fan ‘cause that means higher electric bills or having to put up with hot and sweaty valley weather. Hopefully this summer won’t be as bad as they’re predicting.

Back from Spain & Portugal!

Hip-Hip-Hoooraaaa! Amanda and Pablo are back from their Spain/Portugal trip. It looks like they had an awesome time out there and they have the pics to prove it. Amanda took over 300 pictures of Pablo alone! Dang! I think that’s a new record. Even I didn’t take that many pics of Pablo while on my Euro trip….wait….uh, maybe I did, lol.

Hot Birdie

It’s been HOT lately and it’s not even summer yet! Even the birds are trying to stay cool. We found this little guy hanging out at one of my favorite restaurants during lunchtime. I don’t think he was there for the yummy rotisserie chicken.

New Desktop 4 Rose

I hung out at my bro’s for a little while today while Marco helped Rose install her new computer. She got a pretty good deal on a desktop at Best Buy so Marco and I came over to help out with it. Well, Marco helped; I just sat around and caught up on some reading for my December Euro trip.

Party @ the Westlake Inn

Ernesto and I ended up working a party out in Westlake Village together which turned out to ok pretty cool. The kids were nice, the parents didn’t hassle us too much, and we actually got to sneak a plate of food while working. The Westlake Village Inn turned out to be very impressive along with its golf course complete with swans and waterfalls! Crazy man, crazy!

Catalina Island Photos

The Catalina Island pictures are up. Just following this link to view all photos.

Santa Catalina Island

Today Thomas, Marco, and I took a day trip to Santa Catalina Island. This was my first time there and I absolutely loved it! Once we arrived we explored the island, took a tour of the city (Avalon), took a glass bottom boat tour, ate at some awesome places, and fished for a few hours. Thomas ended up catching his first fish ever, Marco got to fish at his favorite spot, and I acquired a new friend….Catalina the fish (seen above). More pictures to come.

Hola! -From Pablo.

It looks like Pablo is having a wonderful time in Spain with Amanda. Lucky!

Joel's 31st!

Another surprise birthday party at Miceli’s. We celebrated Joel’s 31st birthday at Miceli’s with pasta, pizza, drinks, and all kinds of other goodies. It turned out to be a very successful surprise party with 15 people there…including little Ethan of course.

Party @ Calamigos

Today was another day of partying; only this time I was working it instead of enjoying it. I had a Henna party at Calamigos Ranch and the kids turned out to be real sweet so the evening went by real quick. I love when that happens!

Graduation Season

It’s graduation season. I wasn’t able to attend Jim’s graduation party (sorry Jim!!), but I did make it to Allan’s. It was a real nice party, I’m just bummed that I forgot my purse at home and left my camera behind. We had a real nice dinner with Allan’s family and then watched a sweet video that covered every award, certificate, graduation and all other accomplishments throughout Allan’s life. I particularly liked the videos of Allan’s kindergarten graduation. So cute!
I hope Allan and Jim enjoyed liked their graduation gifts.
Congrats to all the grads!