Couple Quick Trips...

This last week was so busy! We got our new stacking washer/dryer set up, some new cabinets installed, and finished up the painting in the hallway. It looks so great and I just love my washer and dryer! Although I keep thinking how sad it is - I'm so old that a washer/dryer has been my most exciting purchase of the year. Haha. But seriously, its awesome.

A couple weekends ago we went to the Pasadena Old Town Haunt and that was flippin' scary! Not only was it the normal creepy location with scary characters, but we even had to crawl through a tunnel!!! I thought I was going to pee myself. I kept grabbing my husband's feet in front of me, just to make sure he was still there. Yikes!!

We ain't scurrred...

Then this last weekend, we had a big group of people make the trek to Santa Barbara for our good friend's 10th anniversary of her 21st birthday. Yes, she turned 31, but we all felt young again going out and partying like college kids. And can I say, I still love being the sober one and watching everyone's antics. Pure comedy.

On Monday, I took a little trip by myself to visit my family in very chilly Hurricane, UT. It was my nephew's 2nd birthday and I just can't believe how quickly time has gone!! He is still adorable as ever and loves having little conversations about Toy Story, Disneyland and drums. Honestly, he is awesome and I'm so proud of my sister and what a great mom she has been. Kids like that don't develop accidentally. He is loved and is taught new things every day. I had sissy leave him home from the baby-sitters for a couple days so that I could spend as much time with him as possible - and I loved every second of squeezing and snuggling and laughing and all that. He is the yummiest. Can't wait until Christmas to spend some more time with him. (Sis, really. Consider moving to CA.)

I also got a chance to hang with one of my bestest gal pals and we ate some 5 Guys, watched a silly-scary movie and stayed up late talking into the night. As always, it was good to reconnect and spend some girly time together.

Today is Halloween and I have been a total party pooper this year. So I'm not even dressing up. Not going to any parties. Didn't even bother decorating. Sad, huh? At least I went to Disneyland for their Halloween Time. Hopefully I'm not like this at Christmas! But Hubs and I decided we'll just go out tonight and check out some local haunted houses. Should be spooktacular. (?) Hope everyone has a safe night.

*UPDATE 1:08am* OK Halloween was pretty fun after all. The haunted houses were great and we topped it off with some Bob's Big Boy. Totally better & fattier than I expected.

New Blog!

Well, after a lot of time, web tutorials, indecisiveness and backaches from sitting at the computer for hours on end - I did it. I am finally launching my new photography blog today! Yay! I wanted the makeover to be clean and simple, and I was surprised how much work that was! But I'm glad it's done and now it looks the way I want. Please bookmark the new page and check in often for updates. Let me know what you think and thanks for the support everyone!

http://www.photographybyjaana.com/blog

XOXO.

Fresh Coat

The last couple weeks I have been keeping busy with projects around the house - mostly painting. When we first moved into the condo in '05 and painted the living room, we chose a color that we THOUGHT would look great. We didn't buy any test samples, just 4 gallons of Lavender Moon.

Yeah, that didn't quite work out.

When all was said and done, we pretty much ended up with pink walls. For years we've been talking about hiring someone to re-paint. Just because we remembered how much work it was the first time and we didn't want to go through that again. But a couple weeks ago, upon finding out that hiring a painter would cost a minimum of $3,000, I decided to go ahead and give it a shot on my own. I have done things differently this time. I bought about 8 sample cans and tested all of them before settling on a color. I climbed a tall ladder all on my own to reach the high ceilings. I didn't tape off a lot of the edges and have carefully painted by hand. All in all, it's working out pretty well. I'm actually enjoying it. I put on my paint clothes, blast some music and just take my time. Hubby helped with some of the hard to reach areas, but I'm proud of myself for getting most of it done on my own. The living room, hallway and dining room are almost complete! The new paint has made a big difference. Things feel much more warm and cozy. The office and bedroom are a little intimating because of all the big furniture I have to move, but I know I can do it.

The only downside with new paint is that it brings to the forefront all the other things we still want to change. New fireplace stone, crown molding, new shelves in the laundry area, new kitchen, new carpet... oy vey. The wish-list goes on and on. So we set a budget for ourselves and are doing what we can in baby steps. But it sure will be nice when its done. And then after all that work, hopefully we'll sell it! Haha...

Pictures coming soon!

Back to My Roots.

OK, deep breath.

So I know to most people, this entry is going to sound retarded. But today was a very, very big deal for me. I have been a blonde most of my life. As I got older, the natural blonde wore off, so for the last 8-10 years, this blonde has been artificial. It started with bottle blonde, just cheap over-the-counter concoctions. Then I started going to a salon because a friend was getting me a super deal. After I moved back to CA, I found a new stylist that I just love, and she made me the best blonde I've ever been. It wasn't cheap, but it was so great that the trend continued. Being blonde has been part of my identity for as long as I can remember. It's just who I am.

And today all that changed. (At least for a little while.) In order to scale back on spending, I decided that I will have to live without the salon for a bit. So I went back to my natural color. *GASP* Honestly, it sounds so stupid. I know it's just hair!! But I was really emotional today. I cried before I left home, knowing what I was about to do. I cried at the salon (and almost made my fellow blonde stylist cry). And I cried on the way home in the car. It's not so much that my hair is brown. Most of my favorite people in the whole world are brunettes. And they are all beautiful, wonderful people. So my stylist said "This will be good therapy for you. You will see that you can pretty as a blonde OR a brunette." And that's the hardest part for me. I guess with blonde hair it added a sense of confidence. It may have been fake confidence, but it was confidence nonetheless. I stood out and I liked that. Now I have to learn to look at myself in a different way.

I still get a little jolt when I look in the mirror but I know the shock will wear off in a couple days. My stylist did a great job matching up the color. And there is something to be said for having darker hair. It's a little more rocker and a little bit sultry too. So I can deal with that. And the beauty of hair color is that nothing is permanent. But those extra $$ dolla dolla billz $$ in my pocket every 6 weeks will sure come in handy.

The Invention of Lying

I L.O.V.E. Ricky Gervais. Loved him in The Office. Loved him in Extras. Loved his stand-up. He is one of the most clever writers out there. There were a lot of good cameos in this movie, but he is definitely the right choice for the leading man. (Especially since he wrote, directed, produced, etc, etc, etc.) Jennifer Garner was great too. I mean how adorable is she?

Throughout this movie, I kept imagining what life would be like if really, truly nobody could lie. Pretty bizarre. And the film could have be an accurate depiction, it's hard to say. Everyone is blunt, everyone is categorized, everyone is gullible - they have no reason not to be. Why they divulge every little thought they had was beyond me, but you have to get the laughs from somewhere, eh? Overall I thought it was a great little comedy with heart. Gervais is good at these touching story-lines too. Unexpectedly good. So it was an all around enjoyable movie.

Be forewarned, if you are religious, he pokes fun at the idea of God and revelation. He is an atheist, so you should just know that going in. I personally am not religious, but still believe in all those things that make up the foundations of religion. I can just see where he's coming from. I feel sad for him, but he's still hilarious.

Workout Crew

Working out is a commitment. Working out is hard. Most people know my feelings on working out (hate it!) I don't mind being active - walking, playing sports, etc, I just hate working out or being stuck in a gym. However, one of our friends had a great idea! Working out with each other will make us stick to the commitment and may actually be fun. She was right. For the last three Saturdays, we've dragged our butts out of bed at a reasonable hour to meet up with our friends and get some exercise. The first weekend, we all met at the bike path in Burbank. Some people walked, some ran and some rode bikes. On week two, we were in Mammoth and went on a 4 mile hike. Week three we met at the high school and played tennis for an hour. All three activities got us sweating, laughing and sore! But the variety has been fun and of course makes us feel good about doing something healthy. Yay!

Now, I know I won't get in amazing shape playing various sports once a week, but I figure its better than nothing. And I'm having fun. We just need to stick with it. When the alarm goes off on Saturday morning, its not easy. But when you know everyone is there waiting for you - well it is motivating. Wish us luck.