Sweet and Sour

One of my favorite gifts to give is the gift of experiences. Experience gifts seem to be the most memorable. This years  Christmas gift to the family was a ski trip to Big Bear, CA.

It was quit the experience. Learned a lot and we are now better prepared for the next trip there.

Things we learned:

1. Have chains for your tires even if the website shows no restrictions. We were stopped at the bottom of the mountain by the ranger and told that we had to stop and purchase chains for or vehicle (it was really expensive, thinking a there was some gouging going on). I now  have chains and will not need to purchase next time.

2. Everyone needs a lesson.  I can not teach them what I learned because I am not good at it.

3. Bring lunch and snacks. The food at the restaurant was not good and was way to expensive. We parked close enough that we could have totally gone back to the truck for lunch and snacks.

4. If you layer properly you will not be cold even if it's 7 degrees. I think we did a good job at this the only thing that would have been a great addition would have been a ski mask for the face,

5. If you plan to ski/snowboard at least twice it is cheaper to purchase your gear. We rented but since everyone seem to really enjoy it we will be investing in gear for future use.

It was a great EXPERIENCE.

Oddly Familiar

Christmas at the Beverly Wilshire.  One of my mothers favorite movies is Pretty Woman. So I surprised her with dinner at the iconic restaurant. 

Her reaction to finding out where we were!

One the Red Carpet

I could not resist the taking a restroom selfie. 

Or two...

A great evening with my mother!I love when she comes to visit us!! Hope to see you again soon. 

Working Holiday

Putting my Christmas tree together this year was a blast. Maybe because Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. But then maybe it's because this time last year we were living in a hotel and had a very ratchet Christmas tree. Even more I look forward to next year as I build on this years tree. 


One of my favorite things on this years tree is that it has a bulb initialed for each of our children.

Picture frames from dollar tree filled with wrapping paper.

There is a beer bottle here that has been spray painted black. Once this was dry we used a spray adhesive all over then glittered the bottle.

The black and gold bulb is from Hobby Lobby and the initialed bulb is Target.

This is an empty wine bottle that has been spray painted black. We then spray an adhesive and glittered.

Lastly, a lantern that we got from Ikea and filled with 99 cent store black and gold bulbs and string Christmas lights.

Historical Present

Unlimited Limits

California is good for me. It embraces the idea of freedom. I have several masters degrees and fully qualified to do a wide variety of careers. Yet I am a private tutor who owns and online store. Most recently I started driving for Lyft and Uber. The freedom that these jobs offer is amazing. Some days I drive a couple hours go home make dinner give baths and go back to driving. These companies provide jobs for a lot of people. With a clean background check and an inspection of your vehicle you can go right to work. 

I like the idea from the driver perspective even more before I drove I was a rider. I love that there is no money changing hands it's all done through an app. It's a safe way to enjoy your evening without having to worry about driving. 

Have you used any of these services? Do you like anyone more then the other? 

Hopelessly Optimistic

It never rains in Southern California but when it does it only rains for about and hour and leaves behind this beauty. I was amazed to see the entire rainbow.



We all get wet when it rains but do we see the rainbow after the rain. I feel like that's the hardest part. Mostly because sometimes it rains so long that when its over we are so tired that we miss the beautiful remnants left from it all.


“There is beauty in the struggle” -J.Cole

Odd Evening

Look there is beer at the movie theater. Even better!!

I had great time at the midnight interactive showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Nuart Theatre . I think it is a wonderful experience so if you get a chance it runs every Saturday Midnight go check it out.