Bits 'n Bobs

So here are a couple of the things I've been up to recently...

Calvin and Tiffany's wedding with Andrew and Amy



Me with the state bird



Andrew amusing himself



Dim Sum with John



Angels of Anaheim with John



The three of us went to the Hollywood Bowl to watch a Henry Mancini memorial concert

Snowing in Mammoth!

We had a really lovely weekend out of LA and in the snow. Just 2 hours from the sunny city of LA it snows. We traveled about 5 hours north of LA to Mammoth which is pretty close to Yosemite National Park. There was a fresh fall of 5 feet of snow the day before we arrived and it was like a whole world away from LA.




I snowboarded for the very first time. I tried going down the slope on my own the first time and I met a guy on the way down who was an instructor and he gave me a free lesson :) He told me that I had lots of 'athletic energy' and that it was kind of surprising that I hadn't snowboarded before cos I was already doing S's. I kept thinking he was talking to someone else :P Anyway I loved the snowboarding and I even think I may prefer it to skiing :)



















On our way back from skiing we got to enjoy the amazing scenery of this part of California. We stopped in one town called 'Lone Pine Tree'. It was like a scene out of a wild west movie. It was so nice. I could have spent a lot more time there. As we drove through the countryside I kept thinking what it must have been like for the first Californian settlers as they traveled through this wilderness in their covered wagons to set up homes and and start communities. When you live in the West of America the 'Wild West' takes on a whole new significance.




















It seems like California has everything one could want in the recreational realm-from beaches to ski slopes! Life is tough! :)

Click here for the full album

Back in LA

I got back safe and sound. Been back in work a week now. I've enjoyed it-I really love my job and get great pleasure out of my time there.
My apartment is newly carpeted and our internet is in place. I've unpacked my bags and done two laundry loads but my furniture still needs to be put back in place and my room is still up in a heap. I'm just happy to have dry floors and an absence of fans blowing!
Today Andrew and I went to Border's bookstore in Santa Monica which is closing down and had a 40% sale on everything. I got lots of bargains :) We had a seafood buffet lunch and I bought a new charger for my iPod cos I lost my old one.
We have ALMS again tomorrow so it'll be another long Sunday.
Goodnight!

Cold in LA and other ramblings...

Today it is cold in LA/Santa Monica...I had to turn the heating on in my classroom. I have the AC on now though, cos it got too warm. It's a quiet week this week because it a three day week and on Wednesday we're having a big Thanksgiving feast in the school, which I'm really looking forward to. Then it's off to Calgary on Thursday morning, which apparantly is the right time to go because traffic on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving is always the busiest in the year...I dread trying to just get home from work...
I don't know if I have enough warm clothes for Calgary. We may go ice skating or skiing!! I have a big bruise on my knee from ice skating on Saturday which I'm rather proud of, but I should probably try to not bang my knees on the ice too much... I may need to borrow some warm clothes from my Canadian friend. We Irish people aren't too into our warm clothes despite the weather we usually have :)

Weekend

I'm off for the weekend to San Francisco. Andrew's sister Michelle and her husband and little boy will be there. Andrew's other sister Amy lives in San Fran as well so it will be a little sibling get together that I'll be tagging along with :) Andrew's very excited to be seeing his nephew again. I'm looking forward to sizing up Naomi's future husband-they've been matched since birth :P

Ice Skating

Naomi may be learning to walk at last, but I feel like I'm learning all over again - on ice. Andrew gave me my first lesson today:

Andrew's Birthday

For Andrew's birthday we went whale watching on Newport Beach. Newport Beach is like the Kinsale of the Los Angeles area, really beautiful. We got to see a fin whale, which is one size smaller than a blue whale. It was amazing to see the whale turning in the water and spotting the spurt of water through its blow hole from afar. Seeing such a magnificent creature makes you marvel again at God's wonderful creation. We want to go whale watching again in March when there is an influx of grey whales to Newport Beach area. To see all of the photos we took that day click here.

Chinese Food! Good Fo You!

Andrew decided to buy some live crayfish today and cook it for us...

IKEA

I had great fun today in IKEA. I got a new chest of drawers and a bookcase. I also bought some plants for my balcony and few other things. It was amazingly cheap though and everything is very good quality. It's so European there-they even make you pay for a plastic bag! :)
Anyway - its a great place to get furniture should you ever chose to visit the Dublin store :)

Birthday

For my birthday Andrew brought me on a death walk in Topanga National Park. It was a really nice walk for the most part.


It just got a bit uncomfortable when we were expecting to do a loop up and down a mountain but after about 2 hours the path was just going up and not down and the sun was getting hotter and the shade getting less frequent. Eventually we turned around and headed back the way we came. I was just very pleased to get back to my boiling hot, bright yellow car :D


After the death walk we made it back just in time to go to BJs for a birthday meal (we didn't even get to change! :) ) Mum and Dad were huge hits at the party -all the girls loved them and were trying to get them to do some strange poses for the camera.... Mum and Dad also discovered that all of my friends over here are asian...