I almost forget to mention...

...we officially launched our baby line! Our book is currently on display at Posh Paper! Yeah!!!





Wish us luck!

I'm addicted to...

BALDUR'S GATE: DARK ALLIANCE II
I know I'm a nerd. But every now and then I like to waste time and play video games. My game of choice right now: Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II! I am seriously addicted to this game. Paul and I play together and it's a way to escape the reality of life (i.e. laundry, chores, work, etc.) without going out and spending money!
I'm so addicted, that I'm up right now 1:20am in the morning because I want to keep playing, but since it's 2 players, I can't play without Paul and he fell asleep on me! Boooooo!!!! LOL!

We also watched the free UFC fight...

...love that Rampage won against Dan Henderson! He's such a down to earth guy. I met him a few times back in the day when Paul used to train. It's crazy how the UFC blew up! I remember being able to buy tickets like a week before the fight in Vegas for $35.00! It was like UFC 34...or something in the 30's...we used to go all the time. Now tickets are like $400...trippin...it cost more to watch it on cable now! LOL...it's blowin up! Now I can't wait for Ultimate Fighter when Sera and Hughes go down as coaches! (Ok...I know I'm really a nerd)

...hmmm...what was the point of this blog entry? I feel like Jamie and Auts are the only ones that actually read it, since they're the only ones that leave me comments!...Except for the occasionally drop ins from Kati and Mihan...Hopefully some day I can look back and remember all this crap, and say to myself,"Self...that was some dumb sh*t you blogged, why did you waste valuable time 1-2 o'clock in the morning talking about video games and the UFC"

And that's my que.

To talk about more important things like the real reasons why I started this blog in the first place!
OHHHH...BTW...Alexa takes 4 steps on her own without persuading from either parents! Yeah!!!
I know that this pic is blurry but I love it anyway!


And Sam started school!She's in her last year of elementary!
She made it on the list! She's in the 4th/5th grade advanced class, with the rest of the popular crowd! She tells me all the time that it's cool to be smart "now-a-days". And I know what she means by that (she's indirectly calling me OLD!), but I choose to ignore that. It's a good thing I wasn't "cool" at her age! ha! Her and her girlfriends at school are so funny. But I love that ALL her friends at school are really smart. It matters who your friends are growing up. They 're a big influence and Sam is surrounding herself with a good crowd.
It's good thing, because I know I'm in for it in another 3 years when she goes to high school! (ouch!)
Let me go back to playing video games so I don't have to think about that! :)

Arizona vs. California

For labor day weekend, our family went to Arizona to visit my sis-n-law, Jeanne.
She just had surgery and we wanted to surprise her with a visit. We've been horrible and haven't visited her since she moved to Arizona around 3 years ago! So Friday night we head to the desert with Paul's parents and my other sis-n-law, Joyce! I was really hoping that Anthony and Alina were with us, but they stayed behind. Another road trip! This one wasn't that bad. The 5 hour drive down the 10 fwy was a straight shot and went pretty quick.

Jeanne has been telling us to move to Arizona for awhile now. But it wasn't even a thought in my mind to move out there! I would always answer her with a, "hell no" or "heck no...it's haaaauuuut (hot) out there!" Here we are 2am and it's 100 degrees outside! So of course the following day, they take us to some model homes! What a change in tune I had. The houses out there are beautiful! I started doing the math. I can get a house out here that's 3 times bigger than my house for how much? Less than what I pay for my house her in Long Beach! It just surprised me that I would even consider. I mean, I know that I am blessed that Paul and I are in the position that we can really relocate where ever we please. The business gives us that flexibility. But the desert? I've lived in California all my life! I barely survived northern California!
I just started thinking...who's really here. My parents are going to retire in less than 3 years and moving to Vegas. My brother has another 2 years at LaJ olla then he will probably move to another state because he doesn't think that he can afford the cost of living...ahhh...especially in La Jolla (my #1 place to retire). And let's say he stays there...he just has to hop on the 85 to AZ and it's only 4.5 hours away. More like 4 hours the way he drives.

I'm getting older, so my cousins and I don't really hang out anymore. Tone is busy doing his thing in Hollywood. Jess is going through her 20's and partying like a rockstar (too cool to hang out with my old fart!), Carl and Cal are getting older and Cal should be off to college next year. I barely see Dan, Celisse and the twins. We're only with each other on holidays, which I figure will happen if I move anyway.
(Am I trying to convince myself?) I guess with age, I'm starting to think that I'd rather be financially free. Eleanor and I always talk about how we miss our apartment in Cypress because it was less than $1000 a month and if something broke we made a phone call to fix it! No problems with home improvements, or the yard, or silly homeowner stuff. Then there's the whole mortgage payment that creeps up every month, not to mention the HOA and the HO Insurance, OOOOHHH and don't forget the property taxes that get paid twice a year...It really sucks to have all these responsibilities. Now, AZ is sounding really good. I get to be 5 minutes away from my sis-n-law. Sam will have cousins in the same school. But there's also cons. Sam just got into dance, she'd have to start again. And of course, she's leaving her friends since she was 5 years old in Long Beach. And of course, I don't even know what kind of a hard time Sam's dad is gonna give me. WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING? I think that I've got a lot of thinking to do. I guess that's what adults do...think. A lot. I remember when living spontaneously was the norm. Now, things have to be planned and before I start the day I have a schedule to follow. (Do you see why my best friend's names are Kettle and RedBull?)
If we move to Arizona...IF...All I know is that I will miss home a lot. This house especially has so many memories for me. Paul proposed to me here. This is our first house. Paul has done so much to this house. There were a lot of blood, sweat and tears put into this house. I never thought that I would be so attached to this shack at the Beach (what I like to call it). Is this what happens when you get older? The people that you were the closest to, siblings, cousins, good friends...they all start they're own lives and grow apart?...NOOOOOO! I refuse to think that way. I know that where ever we end up, the relationships that we developed stick. Now all I have to do is get everyone out there to one of those model homes that look like the homes in MTV's Cribs and tell them that they're mortgage payment will be less than their car payment! I know I can sell like at least 4 of them to join me! (fingers crossed)