more pics

right past the Arizona / Nevada border. why yes. a casino!




entering Vegas ~ the Stratosphere!




the Rio. i stayed here once on a business trip. there is a club on the top with a patio that has just a railing. i kept thinking the drunk people were going to fall off.




a really, really, really BIG hill entering into california. i didn't think my 4 cyl car would make it.




omg!! i made it!!




on a highway that i don't remember on the way to john's house. it's really pretty!

picture time

here are some pics of the trip out here:




sienna in the back seat. we are on our way!




the rocky mountains from the west side




devil's something in utah. i can't remember.
i do know it belonged to the devil; however, because it was hot hot hot!!




sienna on the bed trying to recover from being in 110 degree heat.
poor sienna! :(




leaving st. george, utah.

dogs are as smart as toddlers

i love this article.

dogs really are brilliant creatures and i love them.

i love my sienna so much. and i'd love to have a doberman someday. and i will.

"He found the top dogs, in order of their doggy IQ are:

1. Border collies
2. Poodles
3. German shepherds
4. Golden retrievers
5. Dobermans
6. Shetland sheepdogs
7. Labrador retrievers

At the bottom of the intelligence barrel, Coren would include many of the hounds, such as the bassett hound and the Afghan hound, along with the bulldog, beagle and basenji (a hunting dog)."

sight seeing list

the ocean (check)
the hollywood sign
the viper room (check)
Kat Von D's tattoo shop
Walk of Stars
Grumman's Chinese Theatre
Kodak Theatre
Robertson Drive
someone famous
Britney Spear's house (or i should say driveway cuz you can't see their houses from the street)

added 08.09.09
Jennifer Anniston's house (driveway)
the ivy
rodeo drive
catalina island
steel panther @ the key club
phil collen's house

at last

it's amazing how the internet and cable has improved my mood. i guess they are luxury things but when you are in a home without any access to news, friends, family, the world ~ it sucks.

john is gone 5 1/2 days a week coupled with the fact that i don't know my way around anywhere leaves me stranded at home. i'm thankful for my job which gets me out of the house. i have made a few new friends ~ girls who have worked at this company 16 and 25 years respectively. they are best friends. but i long to get OUT and see things. i am going to start a list of sites that i want to see and i will add to it. then i will check off what i have seen and work my way through.

now that i have internet access again i can mapquest some things and venture out. but i without the mountains i have no sense of direction. yes, there are mountains here. however, living in the valley they are on more than one horizon ~ so i don't know where west is!! when someone gives me directions and they say go north on santa fe street, i don't know which way is north! tell me turn right or left!

california drivers are very rude and psycho. people weren't kidding when they said that you take your life in your hands every day when driving on the highways. even side streets. people are aggressive, rude and dangerous. i like driving but trying to navigate on 6 lane highways leaves much to be desired.

there have also been three earthquakes since i've been here but none near enough that i've felt anything. i hope this doesn't mean "the big one" is coming. i did predict that; however. such would be my luck. :)

i have a few things to do this weekend - clean, laundry and catch up on True Blood, The Closer, Raising the Bar and Whale Wars episodes. hope you have a good one too!

really?

this is a bit off the topic, but Paula Abdul, really? rejecting a 30% raise which would easily make 8 figures? it's not enough? seriously?

ok, ok. you got bills to pay girl. i ain't mad at ya. but wow.

and for the record, if you have people like Katy Perry and Posh Spice as guest judges, i'm done. it's over. my 2 year love affair with American Idol is done. i'm not willing to sacrifice 3 hours a week for that nonsense. and that is exactly what it will be. nonsense.

happy monday, right?

geez is it really august already? yikes. where has this year gone?

crazy to think that i had been unemployed since the middle of february until two weeks ago. and the holidays are right around the corner.

glad the weekend is over. i get bored out of my mind sitting in my room at the house watching movies. at least this week i will have the computer and cable. that, at least, gives me more options of things to do until i get on my feet financially.

it's been very hot here. i'm not used to the humidity. i am trying to stay cool as best as i can. i know it affects sienna, too.

i took a bunch of pics of the house and my room this weekend and as soon as i get the internet (wednesday) i will be able to put them up. kind of gives an idea of where i live.

the fallout from the drama on thursday/friday continues. haven't spoken to john since last week. he worked all weekend (driving) and was home last night but i was already asleep. i know he leaves again tomorrow morning. i dread going home after work and if it wasn't for feeding sienna, i would stay somewhere late so i could avoid the harshness and being ignored. unfortunately, that is not an option. such is the end of hopes and dreams. good that i learned it soon, rather than later.

adam continues to call and beg me for money on his books. i'm just not doing it anymore. i am so tired of this endless circle. i got a strange phone call from someone last night who said that adam had a message for me that he went to the infirmary and needed me to put $80 on this books. yea, right. not going to happen. he has his parole hearing this week and i would imagine in a week or two (or when a bed is available) he'll be going to a halfway house. how did i not give my son the tools to grow up and be responsible? did i not set an example? i guess he chose his father's example instead.