I'm a runner!

Or I will be very soon...I've signed up to train for the Los Angeles Marathon in March and need all the help I can get raising the funds ($2500!) So click on the link I'm providing (or copy & paste it up top) and donate all the money you have :)

Help me help others! THANK YOU!

http://www.active.com/donate/tntgla/chelsbels

I'm Fancy Pancy

I'm a cool, hip, L.A. chic now. I went to my first movie screening. Ooh la la. Yeah, have you ever read an article and they were like "oh we changed the ending because audience screenings didn't go well" or they changed something else. Well yeah that's what I did last night.

What this actually means is that when I went to a movie the other night, afterwards people were standing outside handing out fliers for a movie screening. So I thought, what the heck, I will go. The movie was called "Michael Clayton" and it stars George Clooney. It was good. Anyway, afterwards you just fill out this form about what you liked or didn't, what you would change, if it was too fast or too slow, etc. And it's free.

Upon leaving I was handed a ticket to another screening for a different movie. It's not titled yet but it has Ryan Reynolds, Emily Mortimer, & Stuart Townsend, and is supposed to be funny. So I guess we'll be heading to Burbank tomorrow night for that. It's a nice hobby, seeing movies for free months before they come out. There's one nice thing about L.A.

New Apartment Pics

Here's a link to the pictures of our new place:

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9IZMWbVw5YvY

Coming to America...

Yeah that's how I feel everyday as I drive home from work, that I am coming back to America! I have 32 kids on my caseload, by looking at last names alone, at least 16 of them are Asian, 13 are Hispanic and that leaves 3 kids whose last names I can't tell what they are... Today I was in a classroom and there was 1 white kid, no black kids-- everyone else was Hispanic or Asian. It's just an odd thing to get used to. I mean don't get me wrong, last year I had a lot of Hispanic kids, I'm in Southern California, it's normal, but this is crazy. I hear & see more foreign languages on signs than in English, and the English I do hear has a really heavy accent and sometimes I can't even tell they are actually speaking English because the accent is so heavy. But that's just where I work...head back towards where I live--which is actually less than 10 miles-- and the signs are in English! (Maybe some Spanish ones but that's normal) And there's actually a variety of people, not just 2 major groups. It's so strange. The other day I was walking around this school and guess what flashed into my head... you know those infomercials about feeding some hungry kids for like 25 cents a day...I felt like I was in one of those countries!! Sounds kinda horrible but it's just so weird.

Going, Going, Back, Back to Cali Cali

Ok, we're actually already back, but now I have internet service! Watch out world! (And those are words to a song up top, it's not an accident that it's all twice!)

Kidding. So the trip home was good and long...maybe too long because I got used to being home and now I'm bitter about all the things I don't like about California. I'll get over it soon I'm sure. I don't really have any choice. Those things being that everything takes longer-- driving, lunch, waiting in lines...that sort of thing. And the sky in fact is not blue. It's brownish. And the grass is not in fact green. It's brownish. Everything is brownish. I knew this when I left but you know, after being around an actual blue sky and green grass it kinda pisses you off.

The good things...we got the apartment we wanted & we're all settled. It's bigger than I had imagined (just so I wouldn't be disappointed). We live on top of a mall. Our balcony overlooks a fountain and Mimi Maternity and Coach, and Footlocker is just across the way. The overpriced grocery store is just down the elevator, the post office is across the street and the library is 2 blocks away. Target is only 4 blocks--- so that is all very cool. We get to walk places :)

Work...today was the first day and I was completely overwhelmed. But I think that's standard for any first day. I won't get into the details other than it's much different than where I was for good & bad. Give me a couple weeks and I'll get to my kids and all will be well with the world again. As for right now I have a pounding headache. And want to fast forward. It's a much smaller area=good, I'm the only therapist=challenging, they don't have any materials=bad, I get to pick what we order=good. Just stress, good & bad.

I'm going to try & get some pictures up of that place later today, keep in mind it's not complete :)

Miss you all

I'm home!

As you know, I'm home! I will be home until sometime the week of Labor Day. It looks like everything is working out for the job in Pasadena but I haven't signed yet so technically it could all still go south. Although I think it's all fine.

Being home is good. One of the first things I noticed when I got home were the stars in the sky & how clear it was...that's when I realized I don't get to see stars in Cali b/c we're so close to L.A. that we have a lot of smog to deal with and the city lights are so bright, it's just never dark enough to see them. I'm also loving that there is no traffic...sometimes I'll admit it's a bit frustrating that nobody's in a hurry to get anywhere here though b/c really it makes it harder to pass people & stuff, but it's also nice to just go somewhere without having to be such a defensive driver you know?

I've got to visit with quite a few people so far and tonight I'm heading to Jacksonville (where Ivan went to college) to see a friend who lives there and pick Ivan up, then he's coming back up here for a couple of weeks.

Lucy is doing really well, I've been baby-sitting for a friend of mine during the day and they have a golden retriever and they just play all day long and Lucy loves it. She's so tired at the end of the day we hardly get to spend any time together :( I was thinking about getting another puppy b/c she has so much fun playing with other dogs and she hardly gets into any trouble but on the other hand I'd miss our little one on one time that we have :) hahaha

I guess not much else to say. If you're here reading this if I haven't seen you yet I probably will see you pretty soon!

I'm Coming Home!

Hey hey hey, so I'm coming home on Tuesday and will be home for awhile. I'm waiting to hear on a job in Pasadena and hopefully that works out. No matter what we'll be coming back to Cali at some point. I guess not much else to say, other than see you soon!

Notta

Hey there! Not much to say, I'll be home in like 9 days, so that's cool. Ivan will be coming home the following week. Yesterday we went to a Dodger-Cardinal game in L.A. Cards won 6-1. It was freakin' hot. It's been well over 105 here lately and today it was humid too...I dunno what that was about but it didn't make me happy.

I gave Lucy a bath today...my camera's batteries were out and that sucks because you should have seen her...looked like a drowned rat. Funny. She didn't like the hair dryer afterwards but she survived and it was for her own good :)

Not much goin' on

Hey everyone! So let's see, this week was pretty uneventful except that Ivan's sister, Leah, came to visit. We went to Santa Monica to the beach on Friday and that was cool. Me & Ivan played in the waves for like 2 hours. Love that stuff. And the traffic was great, we were smooth all the way home, which doesn't happen at 6 o'clock on a Friday. Crazy. Today we went & looked at apartments in Pasadena where I have a possible job interview. I like the city but the apartment hunt was a bust. Oh well. Then me, Ivan, Leah & Breigh went bowling, to kareoke, and then to Twins-- the only nightclub within like 30 miles. It was a good time, we closed the place down. I requested some Daddy Yankee and they finally played that, followed by Shakira so I was a pretty happy camper. I could dance to "Gasolina" (by Daddy Yankee, download it, I know they're not playing it in Central Illinois yet) all night, that could be the only song played and I'd be fine.

Anyway, that's about it. We actually just got home from the club and Ivan's talking to a friend outside and Leah & Breigh went to IHOP so I thought I'd write.

I'll be home on August 1st! YAY! I don't know how long, if I work in Pasadena they don't go back to school until September 11th so I will be home for like 6 weeks!!! Crazy! But looking forward to it.

Later!

Lisa Lampanelli Rocks

We went to the Improv the other night to see the comedian, Lisa Lampanelli. I'd seen her special on comedy central before and was dying to see her so luckily she came to Ontario. It was awesome, Breigh & Joe went with us & agreed that she was the best they've seen at the Improv. So basically all she does is tell racist joke after racist joke after racist joke-- nobody is off limits and it's the kinda of stuff you never would say. My God, it's just hilarious. So you need to rent her DVD or buy it or something, you will laugh your ass off. Promise. It's just relieving to hear someone say it & you know you have every race in the same room laughing at the same stuff, you can't get mad about it, and stuff. She's great!

Other than that not much been going on. I have only 2 sessions left with my trainer! I've been with her for 5 months...so that's kinda scary. But boot camp starts again tomorrow to keep me in line. Throughout the summer I have basically been maintaining because I've been lazy and not working out much on my own and haven't been as strict with my food. But I can handle maintaining, and last week I started working out more on my own to get myself prepared to not have my trainer. Luckily, if I stay here I will still have boot camp & there is one in Irvine, so either way I will have that if I want/need it.

Ivan just called to let me know he might be a little late coming home from work-- because the bears have come down from the mountains and are near his car, so they're waiting for the police to come and shoot them with something! Isn't that crazy?

Today I laid out a bit and then cleaned-- I really needed to, but also because Ivan's sister is coming to visit. I'm sure she wouldn't care but I know that I don't like tiptoeing around other people's dirty houses! That sounds horrible... but it has to be pretty dirty for me to care you know, but I do appreciate it when there's not like hairs all over the bathroom or I get to use a clean pillow or something. So you know, I try to do that for people who come to see me. I gotta say though, now that my hair is black I can see it all over the place & it's driving me nutty.

P.S.-- Lucy's good...still working on that housetraining :)

Hey Hey Hey

Hey! Not much to say. I dyed my hair black out of boredeom while Ivan was in Atlanta at a family reunion. I walked up to him at the airport and he just looked at me funny until I smiled, later he said he just thought it was somebody who looked a lot like me! I like the black but not for long term, it's good for now.

Lucy's good. Still working on the housetraining-- she has her moments of genius and then there's the moments where I'm like what have we been working on for the past 2 weeks?! This weekend we left her out of her crate but gated in the bathroom with her litterbox for about 5 hours while we apartment hunting and she went in her box every time! Woo hoo!

So I still don't know where I'll be working in the fall. I have 3 weeks left at my current job after this week and so hopefully I will be in a new contract within the next couple of weeks. At this time it looks like I will either be staying where I am or working in Irvine which is in Orange County and about 10 minutes to the beach!! Wish me luck either way, at this point I'm not super worreied where I end up, I just want to know where it will be. And once we know that, Ivan can look for a new job. So anyway, I will be home again on August 1st or 2nd for 2-4 weeks...depends where I'm working! See you then!

Hello

Hello everyone! Not a whole lot going on out here. I had the rest of last week off, so we've just been laying around and housetraining...which is going ok. Lucy doesn't go to the box on her own (we're using a litter box) but does go in it when we take her to it, and wait forever. Which I've read up on it & that's what you're supposed to do. We're trying! Other than that she does pretty well with other stuff, usually responds to NO when chewing and is doing ok on a leash, she has her stubborn moments. She doesn't cry too much either so that's nice. She loves being held & sleeping on you. Oh and she loves to lick anything she can get to-- whether that be furniture, the floor, or your face/arms/legs/neck/ears...you can see us tryingt oget away in the pics below.

Other than that, not much going on. I have been taking a bit of time off from working out because I blacked out the other day while I was working out with my trainer...just woke up on the floor. I think it was a combination of having not worked out while I was at home, it being hot out, and getting up & down a lot while I was working out. I'm sure it was nothing!!

It's been pretty hot here so we've been very lazy. It's been over 100 and seems a little humid out too. Needs to rain!

Well not much more to say I guess. Chat later. Some pics below!
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9IZMWbVw5YpA

The Lake House

We went & saw The Lake House yesterday (with Sandra Bullock & Keanu Reeves), loved it! Ivan & I both highly recommend it.

Pics

Here's some pics from at home that Jyll had taken and just sent me.

No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No! NO!

So most of my day has been saying NO! And trying not to beat the poor puppy... Just want to be make sure she understands what is not acceptable from the get go. I think overall she's been pretty good, most times she stops what she's doing as soon as I say No, it's just that there's so many things I have to say No to! So I tell her no and then find her a toy so she has something to chew on. And usually if I tell her no, she'll sit and just look at me like, what? I was just sitting here.

Potty training is going as well as can be expected for only being home like 18 hours. She went on the pee pad once as I was chasing her down with it! Seems like if I place her on it she will just walk off of it & pee, but when I moved the pad to her we had better success. We're getting there. For #2 I've just had to move it to the pad, which I've heard that it's harder to train for that anyway. Oh, as I was typing this she just went #2-- ran into the bathroom and went on the linoleum...better than the carpet, I'll give her credit for that. Patience! (I lack patience)

Flying back went well. The first flight from Peoria to Chicago, she whimpered a couple times and barked once, the flight attendant let me hold her so I did. While in OHare she fell asleep and slept the whole way to LA! So it was pretty awesome. Last night we put her in the crate and whimpered, well it was like 1:00 a.m. when we got back from the airport & stuff so I was a bit worried about the neighbors, but we turned the TV on and she slept until like 6...at which time she came into the bed and slept for a few more hours.

Off & on throughout the day I've been crating her for short periods of time and she's been whining/barking, so I wait for her to stop and then get her out. She did let me take like an hour & a half nap today and she went in her crate the whole time without a peep. That was nice.

Enough about her, my trip home was good. I love coming home. Didn't have a lot of time but it was still nice, and mom's surprise party was good. I think it was a pretty good surprise :) I'll be back in August, the first week of August. I don't know yet for how long. It depends on where I work in the fall & when I start that job, some schools start later than others you know.

I'm so happy to be off the rest of the week though because I'm still exhausted from the time changes, driving all day Monday, flying yesterday, and then Lucy being up late & early and stuff. I'm a grouchy new mom. And I find myself making Ivan feel guilty because he hasn't been here all day! The best thing I did today was put her in her crate and run to the store! I was going to take her with me, but I took her to the bank with me and she doesn't like her little bag yet so I thought, for both of our sanity I would just leave her home while I went to the store. Ivan's going to talk to the upstairs neighbors tomorrow because he knows them and just let them know if she's ever too loud to just come down and let us know. At home it was ok to just let her bark until she calmed down but it's a little harder here because we're in apartments you know?

Anyway, that's all for now. She's doing well! Oh, and I tried to get pictures but she turned her head every time, so this is the best one I could get!

Not much

So not much going on. It's the end of the school year so things at work are just a tad busy...which is weird and kinda nice too. Crazy that we've been out here 10 months already! Still no idea where I will be working in the fall...or living, or anything like that. It's a bit stressful but I'm trying to be patient. I really want to live in Encinitas. I loved it there...we'll see!

Still working out a lot. Last week my personal trainer was on vacation and boot camp was on an off week so I was like feeling crappy because I'm used to working out pretty hard like 6 times a week at least, and I just can't push myself as hard as they do! I had headaches and was bitchy and tired :) Much better already this week!

Alrighty, chat later

Ed

So yesterday I'm just sitting here on the computer and Ivan walks in and says, "Hey come to the door I want you to meet somebody." And there stands Ed, the English carpenter, from Extreme Makeover Home Edition! I was a bit embarrassed because Ivan had had him ome over just to meet me...so Ed's like "Oh don't be embarrassed." And we shook hands and he told me about the show a bit and how he always see Ivan out washing his car, and said thanks for watching the show, nice to mee you. And that was that. It was pretty damn exciting though. He seemed a lot taller in person, I don't know what I expected, but he was around Ivan's height (I think, Ivan says no, but he seemed that way to me).

Birthday Present

So my gift from Ivan was going to be going to Disney Land but we hadn't really felt like going so he got me something else...which you can see in the picture. Love it!

Lucy!

Here's the most updated picture of Lucy (yes her name is for sure Lucy)...at 6 weeks old. Isn't she sweet? She's all fluffy and everything. For my birthday, everyone from work got me puppy toys and a gift card to PetSmart! Fun fun.

So let's see, my birthday was good. We went to Olive Garden & totally stuffed our faces with cheese ravioli, bread sticks with alfredo sauce, and chocolate lasgna! Yum. Yesterday I finished my birthday celebration with a manicure, pedicure, and a massage. Loves it.

This weekend was awesome. We went to Encinitas, which is about 20-30 miles north of San Diego. There's also a possible job there, so we went to see if we even liked the place...I fell in love. It's this cute beach town with little shops, cottages, and great views. We went to the beach and for the first time since we've been out here that the water has been tolerable, not too cold. It was great, we just played in the waves for like ever. So we'll see how the job opportunity goes. Ivan needs more time to get used to the idea, he tends to need more time to adjust to change :)

Hola!

Hey everyone. Things are good out here. It's been nice out, around 85-90 and sunny. So we've just been laying out and hanging at the pool. I love it!

We got some more stuff for the puppy-- a crate, a couple of toys, food/water bowls, and a toothbrush and toothpaste. Still no leash because we can't agree on one-- one that will be cute for her but Ivan won't mind carrying :) He doesn't want a pink one!

Saturday morning we (me, Breigh & Eliza) went on a 5 mile hike. It was lead by my boot camp trainers and a bunch of people went. Good times. It was tough going up, because you're going up for about 2.5 miles and then most of the 2.5 is downhill. It's called the "Claremont Loop" (because it's in Claremont, which is like 10 miles from here, and it loops around a mountain). I'd like to do it again some time.

Today I got the cleaning bug and cleaned out my closets and stuff-- who knew I had 4 garbage bags of clothes, shoes & purses to get rid of! So I'll be taking that to the Salvation Army tomorrow. Oh, and a grocery bag full of books. I love getting rid of stuff.

Anyway, tomorrow is my big bad 24th birthday, woo hoo! So Ivan took off of work so we could hang out tomorrow night...probably eat at Olive Garden (YES!) and maybe a movie...