My, how they've grown!

I thought I'd brighten your day with some love from Louis and Lola. The smiles are completely gratuitous!

Bow to the Queen!

I just wanted to give a shout out to my amazing friend, Vanessa, otherwise affectionately known as Queen V, Yard Bird, Diabla and many others. I want to thank her for making what could have been an awful weekend, as far as weekends go, in to something fun and memorable. Even through our "interesting" night at Coco De Ville in L.A, running out of gas at 3:30 am on the 405, my Sunday afternoon drama, dealing with the dogs, turning two cars in to the LAX airport shuttle, and all the other random crap that will go unnamed, she managed to make me smile. Together, we survived our weekend without our guys (they were in Scottsdale for David's bachelor party). Thank you QUEEN V! I love you girl! I'm so excited for you upcoming wedding!

And to all my other best girlfriends out there....I miss you! You're amazing ladies, and I want to see more of you! Melly Mel, EVA, Neane and Janelle: Lets do a girls night ASAP!

NKOTB: Step by Step

Last week I had the PLEASURE of going to the New Kids on the Block concert at Staples center with my crazy fun friends Vanessa, George and Jenneane. I had been waiting a mere 20 years to see them on a live stage (as close as I ever got was the VHS concert videos and TV specials).I have to say, the concert was f-ing amazing, and so as a nod to my favorite NKOTB song, I have broken down my recap of the night into 5 steps.

Step 1: The outfits!

First off, Vanessa is the ultimate bag lady. She has tons of random stuff, and is always buying more useless "crap". For our luck, that hobby of hanging on to stuff really paid off because V had an entire stock of original NKOTB memorabilia. I'm talking shirts, buttons, books, VHS tapes, posters and magazines. This allowed us to get all decked out in original NKOTB gear-not the new line of overpriced stuff they are selling for the concert. I personally wore a lovely 'vintage' shirt, complete with a puffy paint logo, and several Jordan Knight buttons. The highlight had to be George, who donned a NKOTB shirt and sweater, and Vanessa's Hanging Tough tour jacket. 

Step 2: So much fun!

We began by tailgating in the parking lot. We even hung Vanessa's NKOTB comforter over the back of the car (just like people hang their team blankets at sporting events. We blasted the finest NKOTB beats, and made lots of friends with other super fans, like ourselves.

Step 3: 15 years has done them good!

The boys, or should I say men, of NKOTB are certainly looking hot these days. And, they sing just as great, although Joey's voice can't hit those high notes like it used to. Jordan still managed to by my favorite. I felt like an 8 year old girl all over again, as I screamed and cheered for him! I still love him after all these years!

Step 4: The randomness

The night was full of random mishaps and laughable moments. For instance,  Geo was the hit of the crowd . He was approached several times by gaggles of women who wanted to take pics with him and all his studly NKOTB pride. Many of them even asked if he came with a boyfriend!

Secondly, the line for the women's restroom was out of control (a given considering the huge amount of women at the show), so Jenneane and I decided to sneak inside the men's room, which had zero occupants. While we were in the stalls, we were laughing at how bad ass we were for 'breaking the rules'. Jerome's near-arrest in SB had nothing on us. Suddenly, Neane noticed we weren't alone, and prompted my loud mouth to shut up. The stall was covered by security. We waited until the security guy walked away, and then ran out of the bathroom. The security guy was getting 'back up' when we came out, so Jenneane and I continued running to our seats. Luckily, we didn't get kicked out. The final, and most random was the Lance Bass sighting. Of course the gays love NKOTB, so it was fitting that Lance be there. While on a bathroom trip, V spotted Lance outside in the hall, and mobbed him. She walked right through the crowd surrounding him, grabbed him, hugged him, and simply said, " I love your show", to which he replied, " I love yours." She walked away. If only we had a camera!

Step 5: The show did not disappoint!

From the opening song, "Single", to the final song, "Hanging Tough", the men of NKOTB sang every song as if they had been touring for the last 15 years. I cannot even describe how good they were, and how much fun this night was. They sang all of the old hits, and some of the new. I am so glad I got to see them! My childhood dreams finally came true!

The Weekend in a Yurt

Well, we survived. I know many of you spent your weekend wondering what exactly would become of Jerome and I as we spent two nights sleeping in our unsuspecting Yurt in Big Sur. What is a Yurt, you ask? In case you have never heard of such a thing (I hadn't before this weekend), a Yurt is actually a canvas covered, collapsible "tent". Basically, it's a round tent, but it has a wooden lattice frame as opposed to poles.We began our yurt adventure on Friday afternoon. Jerome picked me up at school (he finally got to meet my adorable students), and we headed on our way. Getting out of L.A was a nightmare, and it took us nearly 2 hours to get from Garden Grove to the 101 in Century City. Once we got on the 101, traffic was smooth, and we started making great time. Somewhere near Santa Barbara, there was what appeared to be a drunk driver in front of us (I guess he really wanted to celebrate the TGIF, considering it was only 6:30 pm, and he was obviously hammered). Being the concerned citizen, I called 911 to report the driver. Sadly, 911 didn't seem interested in my report. The operator was totally rude. She didn't even want the license plate number, and didn't believe me when I said the driver actually turned his car around in the center divider. I guess drunk driving isn't really a big deal these days?  Blame it on Lindsay Lohan...

Anyhow, we decided to stop in Buellton to have some split pea soup at Andersen's. It is a childhood favorite of mine, and it didn't disappoint! We got back on the road, and continued the next 2 hours to the Treebones Resort. The drive along Highway 1 was something of a nightmare. It was pitch black, so we could barely see. Worse than that, the road twists and turns around the ocean cliffs. Note to self: make sure we make the drive in the daylight next time.

We made it to the Treebones Resort around 9:45 pm, and got our Yurt keys, which were taped to the lodge front door. Why couldn't we go inside the lodge, you ask? Well, Treebones has a 

9 pm quite curfew. Basically, there is no action allowed after 9. The lodge closes, and campers are expected to go to their Yurts and tents in silence. We made our way down the path to our lovely Yurt, #5. We were pleasantly surprised at how cute it was inside. It was like a little round cabin (it had wood floors, wood front doors and real furniture) that was morphed into a tent (the walls were canvas and the windows were plastic with zippers. We got unpacked, and decided to toast a few beers to commemorate our trip. Mind you, we had to do that in silence because there is no noise after 9 pm. 

The bed and futon in our Yurt (there was also a small table with chairs and a sink)

After about a half hour, the boredom started to set in. Jerome and I were still pretty wired from our drive. Magazine and book reading wasn't really cutting it at this hour, and  unfortunately there was no TV to watch, no cell phone service to call out on (they didn't even have phones for guests), or available stations on the radio. Thankfully, we brought our I-pod doc, but we could only turn it up a little bit because we didn't want to get in trouble for making noise. 

Eventually we fell asleep, but were soon woken by the sounds of pouring rain, howling wind, crashing waves and flying pine needles. At first, Jerome and I were both so startled by the noise, we thought it was someone trying to break in to our tent. We soon realized it was the torrential rain storm they had been expecting all day. The storm was loud, and lasted most of the night. I resorted to sleeping with headphones on, as a way to deter the noise, but it barely helped.

In the morning, Jerome and I headed to the lodge around 7:30am for the complimentary breakfast, which was all the supplies to make your own (fresh batter, waffle iron and all) Belgian waffles, coffee and OJ. It was actually quite good, too! After breakfast, the rain was light, so Jerome and I decided to explore the property, and hiked around, taking pictures. We spotted the "Human Nest", which is a piece of art created by a local artist. The nest is composed on twisted wood, and made into a little cocoon. Inside the nest was an air mattress with pillows. The resort says that one man even slept in the nest for two days. Now that is roughing it!

The view from the resort (that little road is Highway 1)

The  Human Nest

Around 9 am it started to rain again, so Jerome and I ended our hike, and headed back to the Yurt, where we sat. And sat. And sat. We spent time updating address books on our non-working phones (Jerome finally got his new I-phone), reading books, magazines and grading papers. At first the quiet and the lack of things to do was great. But as time went on, the thrill of laying around was losing it's luster. Now this may not be so bad under normal circumstances, but this time I was really starting to get "Yurt fever" (the derivative of cabin fever). It's great to relax, but I hate having no other options. Given the rain and remote location, there was nothing we could do except hang out in the Yurt. Even napping was getting boring. I guess this is what happens when you are  so used to running amuck with a to-do list a mile long. We just didn't know how to really do "nothing". It was the longest day of my life!

In the midst of all of this "action", I have forgotten to report the major downfall of Treebones resort. It is the bathroom situation. The resort has all public restrooms, which isn't that big of a deal. But, the few that they had were not the cleanest, and were sometimes very crowded with people waiting to take showers and such. For our sake, we were  very close to the restroom, which was nice, but it was still an inconvenient two minute walk in the pouring rain, and it was usually very messy and out of the necessary supplies (i.e. toilet paper). At one point, Jerome and I said we would love to buy this place, like Tori and Dean, and revamp it with classier restrooms, a small cafe, and maybe add a TV in the lodge to show movies or place working radios in the Yurts. The place definitely has potential!

A beautiful sunset

In the evening, Jerome and I cracked open a bottle of wine we brought (Au Bon Climat Chardonnay) as well as some cheese and crackers. For dinner we  headed back to the lodge where they served a BBQ dinner of salmon for myself, and tri-tip for Jerome. It was actually really good, and reasonably priced, considering it was our only option (other restaurants were a 45 minute drive on that winding road). After dinner, we hung out on the lodge's comfy leather couch and sat by the fire. I forgot to mention that we played with the resort owner's dog, an older Beagle named Biscuit. We fell in love and literally thought about smuggling him home to join our brood.

 Around 9, quiet time, we headed back to our Yurt and went to sleep. The night was less noisy this time, but Jerome and I still couldn't seem to sleep the whole night through.

In the morning, we woke up early. We dined on the waffle breakfast, then took a final hike around the camp. It was finally sunny, and the views were amazing. Around 9 am, we got in the car and headed on our way back home. The coastal drive was so much better in the daylight. And, I must say, this part of our state is out of this world! I have never in my life seen coastal views like those along Highway 1. The cliffs and beautiful blue waters were amazing! Just before San Simeon, we stopped to check out all of the elephant seals, who make that part of California their home. They were so cool, and I cannot wait to share them with my students!

The mountains and cliffs along Highway 1

The beautiful coastline

The Elephant Seals near San Simeon 

One final highlight of the weekend, was our stop at the  Camarillo outlets. I'm not big on outlet shopping, but this place is my new favorite. They have a Betsey Johnson outlet, where I

managed to score a fabulous dress (and left many others on the rack for a later purchase), and other outlets including my beloved Juicy Couture, Barneys, Saks, BCBG, Theory, and so many

others. I will definitely be making the trip again!

As a final verdict, Jerome and I could neither say we hated the weekend at Treebones, nor did we love it. It was just "okay". We would love to go back to the area, and actually venture further north to Big Sur proper, Carmel and Monterrey. Next time we will definitely stay somewhere that had a better bathroom situation as well as more amenities. If we go back to Treebones, we will definitely bring friends. Needless to say, it was an experience, and we are glad we didn't back out after all. 

Only 6 days...

Till my childhood dreams come true and I see NKOTB at Staples with Vanessa, George, and Jenneane! I can't wait to hear them sing Step by Step! Oooohhhh Baby!

Ooops!

Last night I posted that Jerome and I will be staying at the Big Sur Lodge this weekend. Upon further discussion with Jerome, he informed me that he wanted to book the lodge, but they were full, and we are actually staying at the Treebones Resort. Why is this funny, you ask? Well, besides the fact that I think Jerome was asleep when he made the rezzy...the Treebones is actually "luxury" camping, not a hotel. We are staying in a Yurt, which is a permanent tent. There are communal bathrooms, no TV or phones, a noise curfew, and all dining is a good 45 minute drive (the website actually suggests you bring a cooler of food). This is totally not what we had planned! Yes, we love to camp, and the views are supposed to be spectacular. But, I have this thing about public restrooms...and did I mention public showers? Even more shocking, this place is actually 35 minutes from Big Sur, so we are not even staying in the area we thought we were! Our plan is to bring plenty of wine, books and the Ipod doc. We actually thought of canceling and heading to Santa Barbara instead, but you have to pay ahead and they have a "no cancellation" policy. We leave Friday night after I get off work, so I will post about our experience next week. I have done some research on Yelp, and the place has gotten great reviews, although it may be boring, so I am somewhat excited for the new adventure. Knowing Jerome and I, we will have plenty of laughs and antics to share! Until then, wish us luck!