Winner, winner!!!

My beautiful sister-in-law Emily gave me a ride to pick up my truck last week. As I got in her car, this is what I found...

She wins the prize for the dirtiest car I have ever seen. Emily, what do you have to say for yourself??

Christmas Cookies...yum!!

The girls got together to cook up some holiday cheer!! Emily baked some tantalizing sugar cookie delights, Jen whipped up some peanut butter and chocolate bars and I created some peanut butter blossoms. Corina had the very important job of supervisor and ball roller. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it!!!

2008...boy was it great!!!

So now that 2008 is coming to a close, we thought we should get this blog started the right way and fill y'all in on what we did this year. JANUARY: First off, we rang in the 2008 New Year, in style, up in Mammoth Lakes with our good friends Lauren, Ryan and Leslie (some other cool cats were there too).

FEBRUARY: We were lucky enough to make a return trip to Mammoth for Super Bowl weekend with another group of friends. Yes!! We definitely got our Mammoth fix.


MARCH: When spring break arrived we took a week long trip to NYC! We stayed with Edward's Auntie Lina and Abdou. They were wonderful hosts and gave us recommendations for all the things we should do around the city. Edward had been there already a few years prior, but I had not been there since I was a kid. So, it was certainly a new experience for me. We hit up all of the museums, MOMA being our favorite. Thanks to a new movie biz friend, we also got to see a fantastic new Broadway show called In the Heights...for free!!

APRIL: Edward and I played Best Man and Matron of Honor in our best friends', Jen and Dan's wedding.



MAY: We celebrated our 2 year anniversary by going to see Wicked at the Pantages in Hollywood. It was a great show and a fun date.

JUNE: For our summer vacation we went to the amazing country of Costa Rica!! It was so beautiful and one of the best trips we've ever had. We spent time in the town of La Fortuna to see the majestic Volcano Arenal. Then we took a very bumpy and rocky drive over to the serene town of Monteverde. Monteverde is home to the beautiful cloud forests and rain forests. We ended our trip down at the beach. We explored the beaches of Tamarindo, Playa Avellana, and Playa Negra. It was such an wonderful experience that we can't wait to go back.








JULY: We just hung out and enjoyed the summer...weekly beach trips and occasional Dodger Games. We went down to San Diego for Fourth of July and visited our friend Jessica.

AUGUST: We took a camping trip with the Garcia family and company to McGrath State Beach. My cousin Jennie and her boyfriend Brett visited from Japan.

SEPTEMBER: In the fall I started Graduate School at UCLA. I am in the dual certification Nurse Practitioner/Clinical Nurse Specialist Program. Its going to be quite a bit of work and quite a bit of driving, but hopefully it will all be worth it in the end ;) Edward is finishing up his Masters in Education at National University. He's almost done, only 3 more classes to go!!

OCTOBER: Apparently this was a boring month.

NOVEMBER: I had an awesome birthday month!! My friend Jen and I thought it would be fun to go to the Ellen Degeneres show for my birthday. Well, long story short, I ended up being singled out to play a game on her show...and I WON!!! $2000 in electronics to be exact!! Check out this link to see all the fun http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2008/11/one_of_these_bobble_heads_is_g.php
To make things even more exciting, that week turned out to be game week. So all the winners from each days show got to come back on Friday for the grand prize. So on Friday, myself and three other contestants competed for the grand prize of an 8 day African Safari. In the first game, all four of us competed to put together giant puzzles of safari animals and the first two to finish would advance to the final game. Luckily, I was the second to finish, so I got to advance. To see the final game and see what happened click this link http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2008/11/game_week_concludes_with_safar.php
To finish off this wild and crazy week, my dear friend Leslie and I went to see Madonna at Dodger Stadium. It was a great concert complete with special guest appearances from Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.

DECEMBER: Christmas time again!! This year, we have been so blessed and thank God for all the amazing gifts we have received. Unfortunately, we did experience a loss this year. On the 11th, our beloved Georgie passed away. She was the most gentle and loving dog and she will be missed so so so much. She was one of our best friends and will be in our hearts forever.




Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year,
Love Edward, Michelle and our Angel Georgie

'The Scientist' in Us All

Well, M said I wouldn't post, so purely out of spite, here I am.

Coldplay has always been met with acclaim by critics, but much ambivalence by the listening public. Maybe because Chris Martin's lyrics and delivery are filled with such soul-baring emotion and honesty that they're seen as soft and sappy. Or it may just be that people are over his well-publicized private life. Or it could just be that people like to knock down anything that's overly successful and write them off as U2 wannabes. Regardless, Martin has acknowledged the haters and is prone to telling crowds at the end of concerts, "Thanks for all your support and for putting up with all the crap of being Coldplay fans."

With that said, I am an unabashed Coldplay apologist. Songs like 'The Scientist' is one of the reasons why. Usually, the visuals of a music video are such that they inherently detract from the subtleties of a song's music and lyrics. Rarely do songs and videos share such a symbiotic relationship. In the case of 'The Scientist' the video enhances the viewer's understanding and appreciation of the song.

To me, the song sums up all of our own feelings of a longing for the past and the ability to change some of the decisions we may have made. Often we will think about and analyze (The Scientist in us all) our past and wonder how the present would be different had we acted differently then. In the end, the song is an emphasis for us all to take advantage of the everyday moments in our lives. It is these seemingly trivial moments of the present will soon become unchangeable decisions of the past, which rather than look back and lament, we will hopefully be able to recollect not necessarily with happiness, but rather with earnest acceptance. The reverse narrative of the video proves to be more than just aesthetically pleasing, skillful direction and artistic hubris by the video's director (Jamie Thraves) but emphasizes the song's central themes that while we should be able to look back on who we are and what we've become by examining our past, what is important is for us all to not forget to be living in the present.

Post #1!

The beginning of the new blog of the semi-interesting days in the life of M and I. Get excited.