Memories

We are switching our storage space and this is a good time as any to go through boxes of stuff that people accumulate over the years. I'm slowly separating items to go to Goodwill, trash or saved.

The best part are the photos. I admit, I am awful/horrible/just plain bad at keeping photos organized. I did find some cute ones to scan and share with you.

I did take the kids to get their photos done when they were young but like I said earlier, they are scattered throughout the house. Here are the boys first Halloween that they shared as Pooh Bear and Tigger. No explanations needed just enjoy the cuteness. :)

Here is Tyler on Sepulveda Blvd on some piece of heavy equipment. Hector threw Tyler on it and got a cute picture of him.

They used to go to the park a lot and Tyler always seemed to attract the girls. Here is proof. Tyler with 6 girls. It must be his purdy eyes. :)

This one looks like Tyler at 3 years old just before Josh was born. How much his life would change after that!! Lots of fun to look back and see how much has changed! Hopefully more tomorrow!!

Strangelove

Last night, Kat and I headed to the OC Fair to check out the fair and see Strangelove, the Depeche Mode tribute band. For some reason unknown to us at the time, the fair and parking lot was PACKED! No handicap parking to be found for Kat's lameness so I ended up dropping her off and circling around for 20 minutes trying to find a spot. I didn't have Hector's parking karma with me and ended up parking on the end of the aisle like many other cars on the wrong side of the fire lane.



Back to the show...it was held in The Hangar which is a nice-sized venue approx. 500 seats (?) and we were in the center section row I so we had a great view. The band came on and proceeded to kill it with awesome songs/performances. The 2 guys portraying Dave and Martin were spot on with their voices and looks. Lots of fun that kept the crowd dancing. Unfortunately, the girls behind us talked (yelled) amongst each other during the songs which was extremely annoying when we wanted to enjoy the music and sing along.
:(





Strangelove played a variety of DM songs ranging from the early years to the most recent. It was a fantastic show since DM has sooo many songs to cover and the concert went on for about 90 minutes non-stop. :)



We didn't want it to end but it did and the band said they would meet with fans after the show. Aww, that's nice of them. What a night and my car was fine where it was. :)

Full set of Strangelove photos.

Another Skew

In June, my SKA group had self striping yarn challenge knit is a different way to break up the striping effect into ie. waves, diagonals and so many people were knitting Skew that I wanted to join in. I had already knit Skew twice before so I wasn't eligible for prizes but hey, I get a pair of socks from my efforts!

Slimming on the ankles.

The next issue was finding some self striping yarn in my stash. For a while I had way too many self striping but I've steered clear of them for some time but I dug deep into some bins and found some Regia self striping yarn with elastic. Perfect. From my past experience Skew can be rather tight across the heel/instep and it takes careful struggling to get them on but once they're on my feet, they are swesome socks.



The elastic seemed to help this issue although I am still careful when putting them on, mostly the construction of the sock is unusual and not stretchy like a typical sock.

Nifty.

For a time, these were languishing in a ziploc but I got motivated again to finish them off. They are really stunning with lovely beachy colors and I can't wait for the weather to get a bit colder to wear them! :)

The heels are the coolest feature!

Out with the old

Bye bye later today to Hector's 1956 Triumph. It is a very cool looking bike but boy, did it ride rough!! I rode behind Hector only ONCE and that was enough.



It seems that a British man will buy the bike and he is obsessed with them. He knows all about them and will restore and give it the proper attention.



We will now have some more room to accomodate the new 1978 Honda now. :)

Fan Cruise

The day finally came! On Friday, Kat and I had our 3 day LA Kings Fan Cruise to Ensenada!! Long story short (because I'm lazy) the popular headliner Drew Doughty was a no-show (no contract signed yet) and Trevor Lewis was the only current Kings player on the ship. Daryl Evans (radio guy/former Kings player) and Ian Turnbull (Kings alumnus) were also on board along with Bailey and 2 Ice Girls.

It was disappointing that Drew wasn't on the ship but we will be given tickets to a catered luxury suite at a Kings game with a post-game meet n greet.

We had a cocktail party, dinner every evening with a Kings player/Kings affliate which made dinner enjoyable even though we had a couple of aggressive women taking over every question and conversation.

We got a great beach bag filled with cool Kings stuff, a Q & A session with the guys with more great prizes and a fun scavenger hunt. Overall, we had a great time and met some nice ladies, Julie & Melanie that we hung out with at dinner and late night.

Here is the full set of photos on Flickr.

LA Kings Cruise photos.

Back in the 'hood.

Yep, I'm an OC gal, born and raised. Sheltered until college and Hector. Heh. Today I arranged to drive to Corona Del Mar to pick up a yarn purchase and along the way, I took the kids on a little journey (through time and space). Not really.

First stop was Newport Beach but the Back Bay side. I used to hang in Newport as a kid, then later in college when my friend M lived out there and we spent many a weekend going out and getting into all sorts of adventures.







The kids and I took our cameras to see what we could find...Then it was off to Corona Del Mar which is an adorable little town with flowers as street names, has a little beach tucked away amongst very expensive homes.








For some reason the rest of my post disappeared...anyway, we went to Fullerton to see the apartment I grew up in which is really run-down and neglected. It was sad.

I enjoyed our time at the beach and it was a nice break.

Flip Mino Cozy

My friend Kat's mom, Carol bought a new Flip for her upcoming vacation to New England next month. This prompts the request for a cozy...luckily it doesn't take much time amongst my sock knitting frenzy and side bunny trip.

Here it is:





Using my Diablo Flip as a template. It is nice little cozy that used up this leftover sock yarn perfectly. Knock out another little ball of leftover sock yarn out of my stash!! :)

Streaming

We have Netflix but I'm pretty inconsistent with the DVDs. They arrive and if I don't watch them right away, they will sit for long periods of time before I remember to watch them or send them back because the movie is on HBO. Enter streaming...instant queue is the latest and greatest (for me). I can add what is available to my library and watch it whenever I want. It's like have another DVR but offers totally different things. I can watch documentaries, series and anime. Oh, the anime. I've tried watching them and it's hard to keep up with them on TV. A measley 30 minute episode and then wait another week for the next week. On instant queue I can watch 4 episodes and get way more satisfaction from it.

We originally began streaming with the Wii but that wasn't all that great. Enter the new TV, a Sony Bravia that has Netflix built into the TV. Just hook it up to the internet and your library is there! It keeps track of what I've watched so I never forget.

It started with Full Metal Alchemist which we have on DVD and I really like it but couldn't keep up or forget what episode I was on. A new version or retooling of this series is called Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood that has me interested again. I've already seen the first 2 parts and now part 3 is available ! Now I've added full seasons of anime that look interesting and there are tons. Hector and I watched Last Exile which was pretty good.

Hector recently got us a Ooooo-ray player (or Blu-ray) that does the same thing but this is for the master bedroom. Yeah, I can watch my shows upstairs because some of them aren't suitable for kids. :) I just need Hector to tell me how to hook it up to the internet and we're good to go.

 Yes, I know Netflix is changing their fees but it can be worth it if I can have more to watch. Bye to HBO & Startz...

Now to watch True Grit....

Fall Fashion

Like department stores bringing out the fall/winter fashion in July, I am debuting Bunny Luv's winter look.

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For some reason, I call the cute new stuffie, Bunny Luv which I thought I pulled that clever name out of the air but I think I got it from a bunny rehab place that my cousin Hannah has taken a couple of rabbits to bond.

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Anywhooo, Bunny Luv seemed to need a ribbon, bow tie or something to give it that extra zing. To be honest again, I saw another Raveller's bunny pictured with a cute scarf so I did it too. :)

If you're interested in the pattern: Click here!

this is how we lived thru Carmegeddon...

For a weekend that didn't involve driving, it sure was packed with activities and one massive kid gathering. Hector kicked off the weekend by purchasing a Honda Trail 90 off of Craigslist that needs TLC but is small enough for Tyler and me to learn on. Even though it is a 1978, this bike is popular and will run forever.






I spent the afternoon preparing for 5 more kids descending upon our house ranging from 2 to 12 years old. It was loud, crowded and fun. Pizza, chicken and mojos were served along with strawberry pie, shave ice and jello.

We had a fireworks mini-show which is always a kid pleaser.





Plus a couple that nearly blinded us! I can't even begin to describe how bright this strobe-like one was. I was overcome and could only manage a couple of shots.

Hector's HUGE shadow in the background. This was just a warm-up.

It was like this bright the entire time but add strobe-like effects to it and you'll get the picture.

Sunday was for resting and recovery mode. The 405 opened early and life went on...
Hector and I finished Last Exile which I sort of lost attention in the ending episoded but I enjoyed it. Not too violent and interesting storyline. Vivid imaginations.

I knit all day and made a bunny (see previous post). Monday is still recovery day for me with dishes and laundry thrown in for good measure. I leave for my mini-cruise with Kat to mingle with NHL hockey players while Hector & the boys will find something to amuse themselves.

For Adoption

A few minutes ago, I went to the backyard and look what I saw....



An adorable, white bunny!!

I approached it and it wasn't afraid of me..



He seemed like such a sweet, little bunny that needed a nice home.

He let me take pictures of him.

I took him inside and gave him a carrot.



He likes it!!



I will ask if Hannah can adopt him and give him a home. I know she already has 2 silly bunnies but this one doesn't look like too much trouble!!

Adopt me!

Hannah, will you adopt me????

Have a Great Weekend!

Pics from the pool...

Reindeer hat: part deux

this hat makes me smile...Tyler was busy playing his video game and never asked me what I was placing on his head. He has been well-trained.

CARMAGEDDON *cue dramatic music*

It's finally here!! After a month of announcements, etc. the 10 mile stretch of the 405 fwy will be closed for 53 hours. We live about 4-5 miles from the 405 fwy about 18 miles away from the closed portion and the local news stations have pounced on this opportunity to blitz us with nonstop reports.

Normally, I would just hunker down and stay in our more-than-adequate city of Torrance but we decided to celebrate Carmageddon with a boys sleepover on Saturday night. We will have 3 more boys added to our 2 boys for a night of raucous fun. Thank goodness for Hector who helps me out during the rowdy, loud portions. He's a kid in disguise. I might be barricading myself upstairs later.

What is kind of funny is that the news recommends people to not fly (if possible) and stay local. Two of my cousins are coming in to LAX on Saturday because of their work schedules so I will be interested to hear their stories from the travellers viewpoint.

Hannah was supposed to arrive at LAX at 12:30pm and hang around until Myles arrives from Hong Kong at 3pm. On any other day, I would totally pick up H and grab lunch then head back for Myles. Ha, this Carmageddon has made me rethink it. Reports are saying to add an extra hour to travel and people flying out of LAX should tack on 2-3 more hours!! Crazy!!

Come Monday, hopefully people will stay put for the most part and enjoy the nice weekend at home and Carmageddon will be a distant memory, although I should make a T-shirt that says, "I SURVIVED CARMAGEDDON!" I'm slow, I'm sure that someone has made 1000's of shirts already and selling them at LAX. :)

SQUIRREL

I always think of Dug the dog from the movie UP when I see these socks. Naturally the name of the pattern is Squirrel socks and they are great for those leftover balls of sock yarn. I planned on giving them away although it is tempting to keep them but I'm kind of thinking I will keep the nicer sock yarn pairs of socks for myself while gifting the leftovers and inexpensive sock yarns. Am I being selfish?? No, I put a lot of time into a pair for socks so that should be enough to receive a pair of handknit socks although it seems I've become that person who gifts handknit items away. Hopefully the recipients like them....

SQUIRREL.

Big Head

I got a bit sidetracked with a knitting project. A hat that I saw on Ravelry and just had  to cast on.

It is a frisky reindeer hat and I knew that someone (>1) would love to have this hat. It is funny and raunchy so of course I can't keep it otherwise I'd have to explain it to the kids and I don't feel like doing that just yet. I have a nephew with a self proclaimed big head so I knit this with him in mind.

The hat is quite long but some people don't mind that so I'm keeping it for him at Christmas time.  I believe I will get more requests for it but if you want it, learn to knit it for yourself!  :0






I'm waiting for it to dry so it can have a proper photoshoot. I think I can use Tyler as a model and he probably won't even ask what these reindeer are doing...

Funday

Another weekend flies by and like usual, it is jammed packed. On Saturday, I took the kids over to my mom's place to use her pool since I feel like we've been taking advantage of our neighbors' pool. I think we need to give them a break from our noisy kids but they told me they like Judy's pool better because of the longer drop off into the pool at the deep end is more fun. Hector had to work so it was like another weekday for us.

On Sunday, my cousin Hannah, Tyler and I headed over to Marina Del Rey for a SUP lesson. I didn't take any pictures but we did have a nice time. We got a good deal on Living Social and it was fun. I was happy that we already knew the basics so the helped plus the boards used were super stable. I recognized them as the Wave Storm that were sold in Costco last year for about $450.  Now that I know they are decent for beginner use, I want to get one or something similar that Tyler and I can share.

After our 2 hour session, we headed up to Santa Monica to Bay Cities Italian Deli for some of the famous Godmother sandwiches. Yum. Then back we go to PDR to visit Rachel, Hannah's friend that is unloading various stuff/furniture. At least she had 2 cats that were pretty friendly and Tyler was happy with that. We finally get home. During this time Hector is with Josh & Clay (Hannah's friend from Brazil) that tagged along because he wanted to see the beach. Hector got to play tour guide so they went to the beach (btw, a lifeguard had our lost car key/remote from last week), the shooting range and a motorcycle ride. I think Caly had a good time! He didn't want to go back to his friends! :)

Crystal Lake

A while back, Hector and some of his friends/coworkers went out for a motorcycle ride to Crystal Lake then went shooting. I didn't go so I have none of the details but I came across his photos and it looked like they had a lot of fun. 

I'll post some of the photos and if you were there, please feel free to comment on the day. I will number the pictures so refer your comment to the specific photo and I can edit the info in later....

Riding higher into the mountains takes one above the clouds/fog.

motorcycle parking.

There are more photos so if you want to see more, let me know in the comments. I'm on the netbook right now so it's more time intensive to load photos from here.