Wow, these days are flyin' by!

Wow, I can't believe it's August already! Craziness! I haven't updated in a good five days or so, but things have been kind of busy! Have been busy exploring the area.

Friday: I can't really remember what we did. Worked on the apartment maybe?

Saturday: We drove south to Orange County. Went to Laguna Beach, which is gorgeous! We didn't really get out anywhere because the entire town was PACKED because it was the weekend! We did stop and eat @ a 50's diner. It was super cute, but the food wasn't that impressive. By the time we got home, Jennica and I were both not feeling so good. I had been sitting in the back seat and I think it made me really car sick. So we all took a nap haha. Later that evening (about 9pmish) we headed to Santa Monica to see the pier. I think the most entertaining spot was @ the end of the pier where all the fishing action was taking place. haha. Jennica wants to go back during the day. She still needs to put her feet in the water! Our trip to the pier brought back a lot of memories for me! That's one of the first places that Diego took me when I visited Cali for the first time! :)

Orange County!

Santa Monica Pier @ night

Jennica and me @ the end of Route 66 (Santa Monica Pier)

Jennica, Me, and Diego

Lunch @ Ruby's Diner in Laguana Beach

Sunday: We ended up driving around the San Pedro area. Went to the Wayfarer's Chapel and then the Korean Bell of Friendship. I loved both places, but especially the chapel! It's so peaceful and beautiful there! I will definitely be back! Diego's needing some new work boots, so we went to some shoe discount store that's the equivalent of Shoe Carnival, but they didn't have any in his size. They had absolutely no size 11.5's, go figure! We were starving, so we ate at a really nice IHOP in Carson, which is only a few miles away from San Pedro.

Wayfarer's Chapel...love this place! Designed by Lloyd Wright.

Fountain @ Chapel

Walk of Honor @ Wayfarer's chapel

Korean Friendship Bell in San Pedro

Basketball court @ the park where Korean Friendship Bell is located....

The park is up on a cliff and it's super windy up there!

We've been eating out waaay too much lately. Especially fast food. So it was nice to eat @ an actual restaurant like IHOP. I got pancakes and scrambled eggs! Yuuum! I've cooked supper @ home a couple nights now. Nothing fancy, just chicken patties and microwaveable rice and veggies. I really can't cook much, because we're missing the box with all our pots/pans/cooking utensils/silverware. So that is definitely a PAIN! I called the moving company today, but they haven't called me back yet. I guess I'll have to try again tomorrow. I will also be complaining about the quality of their service---very poor! All our furniture was scratched up! There is a big chip in my kitchen table. One of the chairs is splintered. My keyboard is broken. All my dressers and bookcases are scratched up. A few different bowls, cups, etc are broken. :( You get what you pay for I guess. We should have gone the more expensive route. This was expensive enough, but still a discounted rate. I'll know for next time.

@ IHOP waiting for our food. I had been feeling extremely car sick from all the driving around...

Yesterday: Stayed in and worked in the kitchen. Unpacked a ton of boxes. Found out that one of my boxes was missing. Oh, and D and I ran to Home Depot and bought a portable AC! So now we have some cool air! Yay! It's been soooo hot here! In the mid to high 80's and it's felt super muggy, not quite as bad as Indiana, but definitely no cool breeze that's for sure! haha

Our nifty new AC! We put it by the window in the living room.

Finally getting everything unpacked. Yes, that is bubble wrap in the back of the cupboards. The cabinets are dirty and gross me out so I thought I would be resourceful and use all the bubble wrap that I had lying around! :)

Resting on the handy dandy air mattress that Diego bought!

I've been on a roller coaster of emotions.  I've had a couple really bad days and then some better days. I hate change! It's so difficult...but I guess I'll adjust, right? Saturday/Sunday wasn't the greatest time. I was feeling really trapped. The city was kind of overtaking me. There's just no escape from it, you know? I love the openness of the Indiana countryside and that's always been my escape. The place where I could go to think and pray. Well, I don't have any open cornfields to drive through around here. There are just people and buildings EVERYWHERE! Sometimes it's as if I'm going to suffocate! Like the city walls are closing in on me....but hopefully with time I will find some places of solitude and escape around LA. Nothing will ever compare to the Indiana cornfields, but there are some pretty spots here as well.

 I've definitely had a lot of support from all my family and all my facebook friends! Thank you everyone for your encouragement and kind words! It means a lot! It's definitely different here. A lot different than the midwest. I'm slowly adjusting though. I'm already feeling a little more comfortable and the apartment is beginning to feel more homey. Jennica bought us this cute little lamp for a house-warming gift! I LOVE it and put it in a prime spot on the kitchen table! :) I'll have to take a pic of it and post it eventually....

Today: We had planned on going to Hollywood today, but got up kind of late so we changed our plans. We went to the La Brea Tar Pits and then to Griffith Observatory. It was my first time really driving around the city, especially on the freeways and I was kind of nervous, but it went ok. It's going to take some getting used to, but hopefully I will adjust to driving around here. So yeah, Griffith observatory was really, really fun! There is an AMAZING view of the city and also of the Hollywood sign! We found a prime parking spot ( on the third time around haha) and we spent approx 3 hours exploring the observatory! We watched a really interesting video in the planetarium and it was just a lot of fun! :)

Jennica posing by statue @ La Brea Tar Pit

Me @ La Brea Tar Pits

Griffith Observatory! So cool!

Standing in line for presentation in planetarium!

View of the city...

 Oh, one more photo. This one's for you Aunt Key:

I've been using this change purse ALL the time! It's where I keep my quarters for laundry! I take it down with me every time I work on laundry. It's quite handy! Thanks Aunt Key and Uncle Gary! :)



Well, that's about it for now. I suppose I should probably get some shut eye! Night all! Thanks for reading! :)