Mattresses on the Freeway

Today was quite the day. We finally decided to bite the bullet and buy a new mattress. I have never been a great sleeper, but add my back pain to the mix plus a 7 year old mattress & I average only a few hours of interrupted sleep at night. We have been looking around a bit and found one today that we liked for a great deal so we went for it.

But getting it home was not as easy as our decision to purchase the thing. Let me tell you a little story first. When Brent was moving to LA in 2005 to start his physical therapy program, he had a brand new mattress tied to the top of his car. Cruising up the 405 not thinking twice about it, the next thing he knew the mattress set flew off the top of the car & onto the road, the box spring breaking. Luckily they were able to get it off the freeway before any car hit it...but ever since, one corner of the mattress has black highway 405 asphalt stains and scrapes.

So today we were going to make sure this would not happen, we brought ropes...that's enough right? Wrong. Brent did a good job of tying it on but I think we just needed twice as many ropes because we lasted about 1/2 mile on the freeway before we freaked out and pulled off. So we took the coast highway as I had my eyes glued to the side mirror, both of us panicking when the wind was whipping it around on top, the plastic slipping & sliding.

An hour and a half later driving as slow as possible being that annoying slow car, we got home with no broken mattress & slightly higher blood pressure. I better sleep like a baby tonight!

Friday Night Wedding

Not just a typical Friday evening. As the 4:00 sun beat down hot and bright, hundreds of family and friends sat and watched Bryan and Risha's traditional Indian wedding ceremony. Taking place in the beautiful gardens outside the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, we were surrounded by gorgeous saris of all colors, jewels, henna tattoos, and rose petals. Conducted primarily in Sanskrit, the hour-long ceremony was formed of traditional Indian wedding rituals all symbolizing something different. Risha's beauty was breathtaking, and the experience of the wedding was unlike anything else.

The ceremony was followed by a cocktail hour with drinks & appetizers, and the reception took place in a ballroom inside the library. Risha changed from her sari into a white wedding dress, and the bridesmaids from their turquoise saris to seafoam green dresses. Speeches, a slideshow of the couple, first dances, and entertainment from the bridal party as seen below, filled the reception. The dinner was a wide variety of different Indian food, and by far the best I have ever eaten. A celebration it was indeed, with hours of dancing and wonderful time spent with friends!

So the videos...the entire wedding party had to learn that dance from Slumdog Millionaire to the Jai Ho song. They were responsible for learning it on their own and only practiced once together. I think they did a fantastic job!! Brent is second guy from right toward the back.

And on to video #2. Brent was pretty stressed about learning the choreography and claims to have no dance skills. However, as soon as he is given free reign to dance how he pleases and throw a drink or two into the mix, and he becomes the life of the party. He pretty much had the spotlight all night, with everyone circled around him to watch him do his thing... the dance I like to call "the spaz out." I was very proud! (You can tell how early or late it was in the night...he starts off with his jacket, then no jacket, then tie loosened...)

Tip From Abroad: Please Do Not Pull The Bird's Feathers

I love funny or strange or interesting signs. Someone sent these Strange Signs From Abroad and some of them are hilarious! Here are some that I have come across...

{New York City, NY}

These signs were in front of trees everywhere!

Looks like a sign aimed for toddlers, not dogs.

{San Clemente, CA}

This sign has been up for more than 6 months. Maybe

if they fixed the spelling it would actually come true!

{San Francisco, CA}

I bet I was smiling in the Inner Richmond that day!

If that sign won't get you into their store, what will?

{San Francisco, CA}

This guy was on Market St. every single weekend chanting

"no sex before marriage. Sex is a sacred union between

and husband and a wife..." And plenty of other things.

{San Francisco, CA}

Poor lady. Maybe she needs the wheelchair?

{Cabo San Lucas, Mexico}

They were soo close.

Let's laugh

Waking up in the recovery room after my knee surgeries, everything foggy, barely able to move, barely able to formulate thoughts due to the drugs and the anesthesia wearing off, barely able to formulate words after the breathing tube down my throat, nursing staff bustling around, medical equipment making annoying noises, trying to open my eyes long enough to see which family member is there to comfort me. One of the first requests I can remember making besides more pain medication, is asking the nurses to tell me a joke. I always crave a distraction, something to make me laugh and smile even if only for a brief moment. Some nurses would be completely unoblidging, but I actually had one who called her boyfriend on the phone just to ask him for a few jokes, and then wrote them down for me to keep in my hospital room.

As a kid, anytime I would get upset and cry in front of my mom, she always knew how to make me smile, no matter how upset I was. She would hug me and say "you are getting your eye water on me." Without fail, this would always make me laugh.

The last few days have been miserable due to this new back pain. Nothing makes it better, I have not been getting only a few hours of sleep per night, and I am worried about leaving for San Francisco this weekend while I am still in so much pain. I was watching Two and a Half Men tonight and Jake told this joke:

"If girls with big boobs work at hooters, where do girls with only one leg work?
-Ihop!!!"

So, in the spirit of making light of dark situations, the next time you are having a bad day, or you need to be cheered up, or you are in pain, ask someone to tell you a joke. No matter how cheesy it is, I promise it will make you smile.

P.S. does anyone know any jokes? Post some on my comments :)

Comfort Food and Bob Saget

My mom is a wonderful cook. I think the reason I am such a good eater is because she cooked such a wide variety of food when we were growing up and if we did not like it-well, too bad. I am very appreciative of this because I am not picky and there are very few foods I dislike. There are specific recipes that strike up feelings of comfort, reminding me of my mom and the positive associations I have with her food. One of these is her banana bread. When the bananas were not eaten and the spotty brownish-black began to overwhelm the yellow, I knew it was time. My job would be to mash the bananas with a fork, and help mix the ingredients. I loved to lick the batter from the bowl after it was poured into the loaf pan, a sweet, sticky banana flavored treat. The whole house would smell of the sweet bread, and when it came out of the oven we would enjoy it while it was still hot.

BANANA BREAD

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour

2/3 C granulated sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 C shortening (oil and butter both work)

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

2 eggs

(optional: chopped nuts)

Mix together dry and wet ingredients separately, then combine. Bake in loaf pan at 350 degrees for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean. Enjoy!!

I'm not feeling great today...really sick to my stomach and my back and knees are killing me. So I am seeking comfort in cheesy old school TV-Full house, and eating a bowl of soup. This picture looks like Bob Saget is scratching his butt and little Olson is watching. Funny. Both of these pictures were taken with my phone, not perfect quality but pretty darn good considering, and it is so much easier to upload them than from my camera. Have a good day!