Busy holiday busy

So, I should have posted sooner, but I have been working, working out, and trying to stay ahead of the holidays. Took another spin class last night and thought I was about to go into the white light during the class, but luckily slowed down and got through it.

I have not done decorating at home just yet and I am still trying to pin down all of my holiday shopping, but I am keeping up with cleaning on the place. I feel like I have to clean a lot more now that we have Sir Woody, so we vaccuum often and I am now addicted to the cleaning supplies from Mrs. Meyers. I especially love the Lemon Verbena and I believe I am mopping the kitchen floor more often because of it. http://www.mrsmeyers.com/
Thanksgiving was fun as we ended up spending it with some friends and cooking a full thanksgiving meal with plenty of potatoes, turkey and stuffing. I had a full four days off from the office which was magical except that I always feel like I have missed quite a bit when I return. The plants in our office were looking pretty sad, but that was about it. During those four days I pretty much did nothing. I was a human slug. The best kind. I slept, ate, watched TV, and mopped the floor.
Monday was my friend Tiffany's birthday so we went out for dinner. We ate outside and it turned out to be so nice with just a jacket and sweater. That same evening I had my training session with the trainer and he worked my muscles out so much that when I got home to get ready to go out for dinner I thought I was not going to make it...and I certainly felt like I was not going to eat anything, but of course as soon as we got to the restaurant, I was ready for some food and felt fine.
So, today in the office is pretty calm and not too much is getting done in my department....I suppose I should do something while I am here.

Hotel Hoppin'

So, this last weekend Jon hopped over to the Fairmont Hotel for work and I decided to drive up and join him there on Saturday night since I had an event on Sunday at said hotel that I was attending.
The Fairmont was much more luxurious than the other place downtown and everything was monogrammed with little Fs. Jon thought this was fantastic and thought that the hotel should give him these items for free since his last name obviously starts with an F...therefore these items MUST be meant for him. I dined on a CPK salad for dinner and went shopping along the 3rd St. Promenade and then retired early. The next morning the line started up for the Sassy City Girl Sample Sale which is what I had registered to attend a while ago. The line was out the gates of the hotel and down the street...I had no idea how popular this was. The sale was held in several rooms in the lower section of the hotel (basement) and so it was mighty crowded down there trying to see what each of the designers brought. I did some holiday shopping...hence I will not say what was purchased at said event, and then my friend Sue and I left at a reasonable time before our heads exploded from the crush of mad shopping ladies.
After the sale we went to Barney's Beanery for some chow and then did some necessity shopping at the Target in the evening. I found out that night that if I spend a full day shopping, my brain as well as all of my muscles turn into a type of jiggly pudding. Monday at the office was hard to get used to, but I got through the day and today has been a little better and I do wonder if it is not due to the fact that this is a short week due to the holiday of massive mashed potatoes.
On Monday night I went and met with my fitness trainer who worked out my arms until I could not move them anymore...somehow I was able to drive home that evening, but this morning I could not grab the cereal box off the top of the refrigerator and needed assistance. Tomorrow night I plan to punish myself somemore and go to the spinning class again. It is my punishment for eating two pieces of chocolate out of the Sees Candy Box that someone brought into the bloody office. I hope everyone has a fabulous massive mashed potatoes day! Cheers, e

Weird bikes and my Midweek Moroccan Getaway

Ok, so this last weekend & week went by too fast and I am once again at work on a Friday. Everyone knows that a lot of work does not get done on a Friday so I decided I had better update everyone on the events here in LA.

Over the weekend it was balmy and gorgeous outside so we went and visited Charles and saw his new fun vehicle purchase. He purchased this new bike from Honda...that is most bizarre and must get him a ton of stares on the road. It looks kind of like a snowmobile and somewhat like a motorcycle and somewhat like something I have never seen before. My first impression was that I would nickname it the bee...the bumble bee. Here I am trying out the cushiness of the seat and seeing just how one sits on this oddity:

This week was then started on a good note with not a whole lot to do at the office this week, but prepare for the upcoming events that will happen in the spring and to print my new 2008 event calendar brochure that goes out to all of our donors and friends. Jon was attending the LA Auto Show in downtown Los Angeles, so I decided to get out of the South Bay and stay with him downtown at the funky hotel that they were put up at. They were staying at the Figueroa Hotel which was once a YWCA. The hotel has since been redesigned into a funky getaway. They did not have the money to update the bathrooms or the actual ammenities, but the hotel itself has so much character that it redeems itself. The floors are concrete that has been painted in warm colors and added to with colorful tiles and artwork.

The room was small and cozy and it was pretty hot downtown that evening so I opened up the windows in the room and read the book I had brought with me. Then when I got a little hungry I went to the famous Pantry diner to eat at the counter.

I had a delicious grilled cheese (ohhhh bad on my diet) and listened to the students who kept coming in to get to go items. I guess their spaghetti and meatballs dinner was the popular choice, but their breakfast all day also enticed me.

On the way back to my room, I noticed a fire escape door open and took this shot of the pool and the downtown skyline before heading off to bed.

oooh my bum

So, last night my friend Michelle and I took a spinning class....it was pure torture. My legs really do not hurt that much today, but my bum is aching and my shoulders would like to detach themselves from my body.
Michelle exclaimed "Never never never again" after class and I just remember cursing the instructor as she kept yelling "peddle faster...raise that resistance." I did cheat a little bit and I do not think the resistance on my bike was up to what it was really supposed to be.
On the other hand I did get introduced to the Hermosa Beach 24 hour fitness which is much much nicer than the Torrance one...although it is a bit more of a meat market than the Torrance one is. On Saturday I will be trying out the kickboxing class which is Michelle's favorite. I am excited about that one. I have decided to also use the spinning class as my reminder that I should not have that piece of cake.....such as, if I have that piece of chocolate cake I will have to take another spinning class. I believe I will totally eat a piece of celery instead and skip the spinning.
Woody returned to our house after one night out! He apologized and finally let us know that he is pretty much a wuss in the outside world, where they do not have treats, or laser pointers or a good wire brushing which are some of his favorite things. He now does not spend all of his time in the pots and pans cabinet, but has taken to sleeping on the stairs or under the dining table.
This last weekend was nice and easy going. On Saturday we found ourselves at a baby shower for some friends who are expecting a little boy, and then I went shopping on Sunday which of course is so dangerous these days as I have found myself to be quite a little shopping maniac....I would never believe that I could become one of those, but it has happened.
From now on, I promise only to purchase xmas gifts. Ohhhh I am so behind on that.

Message from Captain Woodruff III

I dare say my good friend, I do not weigh 30 pounds, but am a rather light 15 pound kitty. I finally let that human Erin lift me onto the scale to show her that I am not as chuncky as they all think. My time here has been good and not all that horrifying. I was given a nice welcome gift of a katnip mouse that I have licked to death and they seem to feed me the same as my old friend Larry the Harley guy. I do miss Larry and hope that he did not let me go due to my asking him everyday for a Harley of my own. He insists that they do not make a helmet in my size...yeah right...I have heard that one before.
Last night was Halloween and I decided I would make my escape. The humans had visitors and were chatting downstairs while I was planning my getaway. I hid under the guest bed and listened while they visited with the little human named Elise. The couple that came over was Sean and Suzie Hansen. I caught them taking this photo of Erin with the small human dressed as a pumpkin.
I planned my escape around the pumpkin that they carved for the trick or treaters. It was very small and so I thought that my plan would not work, but those humans are not always as smart as they think. All week I have been letting them know my plans, but due to the different dialect that I speak they had no idea what I was talking about. The Erin Human had gone to bed and so I knew that she would not be a problem. The Jon one is a bit easier to trick and so I waited until he went to go and make sure that the pumpkin's candle was out for the evening and I made the mad dash between his legs and out into the wild. He tried to coax me back into his domicile, but I was not falling for that one. I may come back if I cannot find a place that suits me or maybe I will never come back...who knows. They had already given me the nickname The Fridge and I was highly offended that I would be called that...as I do not like anything they have in their fridge, but I may miss them and show up one day once again. Stay tuned for further details.