Time for another blog entry....

Ok, well I thought that I should write another update before the weekend. I just took some yummy smelling chocolate cupcakes out of the oven and i'm waiting for them to cool. I may as well do something productive while I wait. Speaking of productivity, I feel like I've gotten quite a few things accomplished today! I spent most of the morning finishing up my answers to some test questions for a job. The job would be an editor @ SQA, a local company that works for big name clients such as NASA and John Hopkins. If they like what I wrote, then i think they'll call me in for another test and an interview. So it sounds a bit nerve wracking!

Cupcakes baking in the oven...

Just waiting for them to cool so I can frost them!

Other things that I've accomplished today:  Lots of cleaning! I cleaned the bathroom, changed the bedsheets, vacuumed the entire apartment, fixed the sweeper, scrubbed the kitchen and bathroom floors, cleaned the kitchen and washed all the dishes, worked on budget and paid bills, made dinner, worked out, and baked some cupcakes! I still need to fold a bunch of towels (uck! i hate folding!) And I really need to do some laundry, but that will have to wait!

Things seem to be looking up a bit in my job search. At least I've been getting some calls!!! I have an interview scheduled for Monday afternoon about a job as a part time ESL teacher @ AOI College of Education in Torrance. I'm thinking they might be a bit desperate to fill this position. Schools usually want a teacher with previous ESL experience, which I don't have, so I'm surprised they're even considering me. The lady that I talked to said that the class would start on Wednesday the 5th! Yikes!!!!!  I think the class would be M-F from 9:00 am to 12:45. I don't know if I should start planning a syllabus in case they WOULD offer me the job or if I should even take the job if they DO offer it to me. I mean, i would love to take it! It sounds like a great experience! But what if SQA would offer me a full time job w/benefits? What if they would offer me the job AFTER I've already accepted the teaching job? But then, maybe neither place will offer me a job. Who knows....

I had an interview on Wednesday @ Sylvan Learning about a part time tutoring position. M-Thursday from 3:15 to around 7:30ish. They said they had a few more interviews and they would let me know. But I think they were interested in me. They told me to go ahead and get my TB test right away. So yeah, I have NO CLUE what the next couple weeks may hold! I hate things being up in the balance like this. I would like to know what's happening! I am thankful that things seem to be looking up job wise though. :)

Anyways, enough about the job hunt. Here are a couple pictures from earlier in the week. On Monday, I decided to go for a hike @ near the water. I hiked out to the rocks and sat there enjoying the scenery. That's when I noticed the guy out on a surfboard! He kind of blended in with the seaweed that was floating in the water and I didn't even see him until he rode one of the waves. It was kind of cool to watch. That's the first surfer I've really seen out here. I was a little worried because he kept going towards this big rock that was sticking slightly out of the water. I kept thinking, "what if he hits his head on the rock? What would I do?!" haha But thankfully, everything was ok.

See all that seaweed floating in the water?

See the little speck out in the midst of the water? That's the surfer!

After my hike, I decided to stop by the grocery store since it's on the way home. This is what $80 buys...haha.

 Of course, I was out of a bunch of basics like flour, sugar, etc. so that really adds up! I finally bought some of that yummy Mexican cheese that I love! So I've been eating a lot of bean/cheese tostadas the past week! hehe. And I got a great deal on the breaded chicken patties! They're originally $7.99 and I got them for only $4 and something! yay!

D's big boss was scheduled to come and check out the complex on Wednsday so Diego was super busy on Monday and Tuesday. I went and helped him organize/clean his shop because it was a MESS! Honestly, it was a huge job and there are still a ton of things that need to be done. It was really overwhelming just walking in and looking at all the junk! I swear they don't throw anything away! They keep everything in case they can reuse it. But I finally got a mental picture of how it could look and we got it cleaned up and arranged. We did the majority of the work on Monday night and finished it up on Tuesday evening.

D's supervisor is storing a bunch of things in the shop and had it all in a big pile. We stacked all of her things against the back wall and threw a drop cloth over it. Then we arranged the extra stoves and refrigerator in a line to kind of divide the room.

We put that big table in the center of the room next to the fridge to act as a workbench of sorts. That left a little corner in the back (behind the table) where we neatly stacked all the carts/tools. So all that junk was kind of hidden behind the desk. Kind of like a little storage area back there.

D's supervisor bought this to hang up on the 5th floor. I don't really think it goes with the decor though. i think it would look way better in Jennica's apartment! hehe

So yeah, D's big boss came on Wednesday and I guess things went really well! The boss said that the place had never looked this good! He gave a lot of compliments and had good things to say. He raved over the orginization of the shop and said that maybe he would have D go arrange some of his other shops. ( He owns multiple properties) I think D was a little nervous about that since I'm basically the one that arranged it! haha He had told Margo ( his supervisor) that I'd helped him, but she was really talking him up to the big boss. So hopefully they won't ever send him anywhere to actually organize, because he would be in big trouble! ;) hehe

Homemade pizza that I made on Tuesday....I've REALLLY been  hungry for a hamburger pizza. yum!

Yummy bean tostadas w/ avocado that I've been eating...ive been using canned beans though. They would taste a lot better with home cooked beans....

I've also tried a couple new recipes this week: mango cake and pumpkin spice latte, but I'll save those for a different entry. Happy Friday everyone! Thanks for reading! :)

It's Wednesday! ;)

Well, today hasn't been a very productive day.  I didn't accomplish much, or so it seems. I didn't get to the gym, so i'll have to make sure that i go in the morning.

What I Accomplished Today:

*Researched craft/diy projects
*baked swirled cream cheese pumpkin bars for d's coworkers
*Skyped with Jennica
*Talked to M&D on the phone
*Filled out job applications
*Made dinner

And that's about all the major accomplishments of the day. :P

I am feeling very, very restless. I've really been thinking about trying to start my own little business selling items that i make. There's the obvious: cakes, cupcakes, cookies, etc. I really think with a little practice, that I could definitely sell those things to bring in some extra money, but it would also be nice to make some non-perishable items that I could sell online, etc. I've run across a lot of ideas, but I"ll have to start practicing them to see if I can really make a quality product. I really, really need to learn how to sew! I could make soooo many things! maybe I'll put a sewing machine on my christmas list, hehe.

Here is a diy project, that I think I might start working on:

DIY Paint Swatch Chandelier

It looks really cute! I can't wait to make one! I'll letcha know how it turns out ;)

Anyways, so on Monday we were supposed to show Larry and Alicia the sea lion rescue center that we had gone to on Sunday. I decided to make some spaghetti so that we could have dinner before we went over there.

So on Monday I also tried a new recipe:  Swirled Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars.  I found this recipe on this great blog called The Baker Chick! These bars are soooo tasty! A perfect Fall treat which I highly recommend.

On Tuesday, Diego wasn't feeling so good.  He couldn't sleep the night before, so we both tossed and turned. Then he woke up @ 5ish with stomach pains. He texted his boss to say he would be coming in a couple hours late, but his stomach pain persisted so we decided he should go get it checked out.

So we spent most the morning trying to get little bit of sleep, looking up symptoms online, trying to find a preferred provider that had an open appointment and finally someone recommended an urgent care that is just down the street. Diego hates going to the doctor, but was willing to go because I think he was a little freaked out. I still had to kind of drag him. So yeah, I had a job interview scheduled for 3 pm, but called to reschedule it because I knew by the time we got out of the dr, it would be way past 3. ( I still haven't heard back from them. :( Nothing I can do about it now though....)  So yeah, we were @ the clinic for a few hours. 

They gave D some meds and then also fixed his toe ( he had an ingrown nail that had been bothering him the past month or so.) The pain seemed to be in the middle of his stomach and was sore to the touch, but the doctor said that it's not near any major organ, so I guess that's good. He gave him the meds and said if D isn't feeling better by Thursday or Friday to go back in. 

Waiting for the doctor

Checking out all the cool doctor gagets

A little nervous about the needle that's about to be stuck in his toe...

It's all over with!

When we got back to the apartment building i had two packages waiting for me! :D

yay! my blanket!

and My baking stuff!!! I was so happy to get this! Thanks Mom & Dad!!!!

Wonderful hand towels that I received from my very thoughtful aunt ;) Aren't they gorgeous?

So I have been wanting to go see The Lion King in theaters! I convinced D to go see it last night because the theater has a deal where movies are only $5 on Tuesdays! He agreed to go because he thought it might help him get his mind off of his stomach and toe pain and he knew I really wanted to see it. So we went to this theater in Rolling Hills Estates, which is a kind of ritzy-ish area close to Palos Verdes. The theater --Regal Promenade 13--is in this really nice mall with a lot of fancy-ish stores. Think downtown Chicago, Magnificent mile or Carmel, IN stores. It's definitely a nice place.

The fog/mist rolling in....

In line for our tickets...

Okay, well that's about it for now. I think I'm gonna head to bed. Night everyone!

I have an obsession...

.....with yogurtland. haha 4 days straight of eating yogurtland. uh oh. i'm thinking this is an addiction. :P haha

 So on Friday night we ended up hanging out with Larry and Alicia. Wanna guess where we went first? Yes, Yogurtland! ;)  The pic above is from Friday. After our yogurt, we went to Goodwill and then came back to the apartment and watched a movie "Max Payne" which was actually pretty good. Larry and alicia were our first real guests to the apartment since I've been here. Oh, wait, I take that back. Earnest was the first guest. And if you want to get technical Jennica was the first guest, but she's the one who helped me arrange everything, etc. so I didn't think that would count. :P hehe

On Saturday, Diego went over to his fam's house to hang out and watch some big boxing match on TV. I have zero interest in boxing and figured he could use some guy time, so I just stayed home. He was gone a reeeally long time like from noon to 11:30 pm. I watched some tv, laid out by the pool for about half hour (until the gardeners woke me up with their loud noises) went to yogurtland ;)  , went to the gym, and baked some cookies. I originally made them for Silvia (Joe's gf) because it was her birthday, but we ended just eating them because we never did make it over there to give them to her today.

My view of the pool from the lounge chair...

The cute little garden that's near the pool...

Diego's co-worker, martha, gave us some tamales that her aunt made...yum!

Anyways, I made the cookies and they were slightly burnt but still tasted yummy! I will definitely be using this recipe again: Sweet, sugary lime drops. They're pretty easy to make and taste delish! I just sprinkled sugar on top, but you could also frost them if you like a little more sweetness. I would imagine a yummy lime cream cheese frosting would be pretty tasty.

Baking has been quite a task for me since my measuring cups/spoons are all in the missing box that they have yet to find. I've been doing a lot of rough estimates. hehe. And I didn't have a grater for the lime zest, but thankfully i had a potato peeler from D's mom, which we hadn't returned yet, so that definitely saved the day. hehe. I'm learning to be extremely inventive.

So today, Sunday, got off to a slow start. I didn't wake up until like 10:30 or so. D woke up earlier, but he didn't get me up. So we ended up not going to church today. Which honestly, was fine with me, because i still hadn't even figured out WHERE we were going to go. I'm getting kind of frustrated with our search for a church. We've tried 3 or 4 different churches now. We went to one two weeks in a row. the first week the pastor was on vacation,so we went back the second week and liked everything about the place except the pastor. So that was really disappointing. Now we need to do a little more research. there are tons and tons of churches around LA, so many that's it's almost overwhelming! lol I'll try to make a list of potential places to visit so that we have one to try next week!

So yeah, we just kind of hung around the apartment. Then D got a call and was workign for an hour or two. Rachel and her bf Edgar had mentioned stopping by on their way back from Lobster Fest in Long Beach, but I don't think they ended up going. So then Leonard drove over and we hung out for a bit. We decided to go to the Korean Bell ( the view there is absolutely stunning) and then we decided that we should get a kite because it's always really windy up there. We ran to Target, but they couldnt' find any kites there. So we went to the Korean Bell and also to this little Marine Rescue place that Leonard knew about where they have rescued seals. I loved it!

A church near the airforce base and korean bell

The seals @ the marine rescue place...

This gigantic seal ( or walrus maybe?) in one of the pens....

awwww....

this crazy looking bird that was hangin out on the nearby rooftops..

haha crazy leonard

diego taking the poor little seal on a wild ride... :P ( they actually did have wheels haha)

headed back to the car

So after looking @ the seals, we hung out @ the Korean Bell. It had amazing views as always...

So then we went to this little park with a trail that took us down to the water.

Eating our Pollo Locco @ home on the couch

My tostada salad! yuuum!

Sorry I got kinda lazy and didn't add captions to these last few pics, but it's almost midnight here and I'd best get to bed.

I think that about sums up my weekend. Oh, I do have a job interview scheduled for this Tuesday about some position as a behavior specialist ( working with children who have autistm) So we shall see how that goes! Keep your fingers crossed! ;)

Night everyone! Sleep tight!