Something about Thanksgiving screams turtlenecks and sweaters, not tees and flip flops.

It will work for my dad, who is the official Turkey BBQ’er (yes, we put our turkey in the barbeque, and man, it is delicious!) for he will not be shivering in the cold. 

But for everyone else? Bah humbug!

To hear the reason, just follow the jump…See, my mom is having a minor medical procedure today and wants me to be there.  This puts me having to be in Burbank by 12 and probably coming home at peak rush hour times.  I thought, what better way to avoid traffic than the trains right?  Well, since Metrolink has such a small window of trains to LA, I would have to leave here before 9am, putting me in Burbank 2 hours ahead of schedule!  While normally this might not be a huge problem, I have errands this morning.  I realize it’s not the end of the world, but still.  Why are there NO trains to LA between the hours of 9am and 4:30pm?!? WTF??

The other plan I thought I had all figured out was Thanksgiving.  Being that my family lives in Burbank and the wiffey’s family live in Dana Point, Holidays require a bit of driving.  But then I thought, of course!  The Metrolink!  They’ve been so awesome in the past!  So after my failed trip for today, I looked for Thursday.  Turns out there are only 2 lines running that day.  Antelope Valley and San Bernadino.  Well what about the rest of us??  I can understand if they were running a super condensed schedule, but give us something!

So after these last 2 failures, my score with Metrolink lies at 2-2.  I’ll be posting later about the Metrolink “Holiday Toy Express.”  Maybe that will be good enough to give another good point, but I’m not so sure.

Have you ever been let down by Metrolink’s lame train schedule??  Share!

PS- Sorry for my absence lately.  Finishing up my 3rd semester of nursing school and it’s been quite the battle.  I’ll be back in full force before Christmas!!

Well, not yet, the first week of December.

If you’re a frequent reader of this site, I’m sure you know the husband and I were looking to purchase a house. I say “were,” because we are no longer looking to buy for several reasons. Here are some of them:

• Didn’t want to deal with a Short Sale and the time period it takes to close escrow. Unfortunately, Short Sales are currently the norm;
• Not interested in buying a REO/Lender Owned property, they’re typically in need of thousands of dollars in improvements;
• We’re not the type of people to make a giant investment decision based on a 15 minute walk-through, which is basically what you need to do, if you like a house and want to get it … etc., etc.

So after months of looking and one more, which turned out to be final, disappointment we put looking on the back burner for a couple of months. We just needed a break. For us, wanting to purchase a house in the current market was very stressful, time consuming, and ultimately unsatisfying. Sure we could’ve settled, but we know we would not have been happy with our decision. Settling and compromising are two different things. The way I see it, settling is buying a house just to buy it (it’s a great price or it’s in a great neighborhood), whereas compromising is buying the house that might not have all of your must-have features (hardwood floors or a foyer). The bottom line, buying a home is a very personal thing and you should only do it if it feels right.

After our self-imposed house hunting timeout, we decided to continue to rent, but move out of our current place. We wanted something bigger and closer to the beach. Once we made our decision, I couldn’t believe how easy it was to find a house. We looked at several places, all found via craigslist, and signed a lease within a week. However, I’m not so sure that it would’ve been so easy had we not seen 200+ houses over the past several months.

The best thing, it’s exactly what  and where we were looking to buy. So, for us it’s a win-win. We got the house we wanted and get to keep our down payment in the bank. For all of you who are still looking to move to your ideal home in the ideal neighborhood my advice to you is to look at alternatives, it just might pay-off.

What made you leave?  I want you back.

I don’t know what I did wrong, but just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it.

You see, it was such a wonderful time we had together.  I was able to break out some pants and long sleeved shirts!  I wore something on my feet called socks!  It was truly magical.

But now you’re gone, and I’m back to the same old clothes I seem to wear 80% of the time.  I need change, fall weather, and only you can give it to me.

So please think about it.  We’re great together, and you know it.

Sincerely,

A Lifelong SoCal Resident

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by suprdave89.

I saw this in the sky over Orange a few hours ago. I didn’t know people still did skywriting! I have n’t seen it in years!

I can’t figure out if they’re saying “S ‘heart’ S” or if it’s “SOS” but a heart for the O? Whatever. I’m sure it was very special to the person it was meant for.

Now, my views on this whole thing are pretty well known on this blog, and I don’t necessarily take pleasure in the fact that it’s now pretty official that nudity is no longer allowed at San Onofre.

But my point all along has never been a condemnation on nudists or nudity, but rather the fact they were doing it on public land, which is not the same as private property, and thus one cannot always do what one wants to do.

So, we will see if they go the route of civil disobedience or if they will simply choose to find a legal and more appropriate place in which to practice their preference.

Look how happy that t-shirt is!

I’ll be honest.  I’ve been debating posting about this for over a year now.  As much as I wanted to tell everyone about this super cool laundromat, I also wanted to keep it to myself.  Most of the time, when I’m there it’s just me or me and 1 or 2 other people.  I enjoy not having to wait for that one machine to open that I need, or waiting with damp clothes for a dryer to open up.   But posting this on here doesn’t just help you find a better laundromat.  It also helps the owners get more business, which is most important.  If they can’t pay their bills and have to shut down, where will I go??

My favorite part of the laundromat is not the cleanliness, emptiness or closeness, but the friendliness.  I won’t lie, the people who come here aren’t too different from your average laundromat (good or bad…you decide) but the best part is the lady who works there.  Next to the detergent dispenser is a little room behind a caged door.  Here sits this nice lady waiting to either help you if you’re not sure how the machines work or to provide you with change because you forgot to break the $20 bill before you came.  She greets everyone with a big smile and a “HELLO!  Welcome!  Good to see you again!”  I love her!

Here she is with her husband. He brings her lunch everyday.

So if you’re unlucky enough to not have your own washer/dryer or you live in an apartment that is either too busy or, in my case, has terrible equipment, and you find yourself needing to visit a laundromat, go to Laundry Club!  Maybe we’ll see each other there and can sit awkwardly near each other smiling but not talking.  Because we all know you NEVER talk with people at the laundromat.  Or at least, that’s how it seems.

These are my dryers! Don't touch!

You can use these instead.

She even put up pretty flowers.

Minus the sleeping bags, this is a typical load for me. This is why our 1 washer and 1 doesn't-dry-so-well dryer aren't very useful to me.

The door is open, waiting for you!

The address: 2020 N Tustin St Orange, CA 92865 (located between BevMo! and Zito’s Pizza)

I just so happen to LOVE the fire pits.

I don’t know that I’ve used the ones in Newport as often as the ones around Huntington Beach, but my memories of them stretch back to high school, where we would all gather around and, uh, innocently have a good time.

Really, we weren’t all that bad.

But the rings have always been magnets for partygoers, as there is something sort of hypnotizing about a huge flaming pile of wood blazing at sunset and beyond.

Now we use the fire pits as a family.  My son loves nothing more than to hang out, play in the sand, have a picnic, and help his dad build the fire.

I hope that Newport doesn’t ban the use of the rings, but instead beefs up enforcement. 

And let’s hope that Huntington Beach doesn’t get any bright ideas from Newport, either.

The City of Irvine is taking a proactive approach in enlisting the help of residents in the prevention and transmission of influenza (flu) this season.

Click this link for information regarding the transmission, signs, symptoms, and tips on how you and your family can stay healthy, which will in turn contribute to a healthy community.

In addition to this letter, more information is available on the City’s web site www.cityofirvine.org and the Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) web site http://ochealthinfo.com

Thank you for making your health and the community’s well being a priority.

Community Services Department
City of Irvine – One Civic Center Plaza
Irvine, CA 92606
949-724-6600
cs@cityofirvine.org

My new version of autumn/fall. The sun setting over Dana Point Harbor

Obviously living in Orange County many of these things don’t occur. We may only have two seasons, as a lot of people like to say … summer and not summer. However, it doesn’t take away from the best part of experiencing all four seasons as they do in other parts of the country. In my opinion, the best part of the seasons changing is the anticipation of the change regardless if it is traditional or not. And in my case, wearing a whole different wardrobe. I’m a sucker for any kind of black turtleneck sweater.

I’m totally digging the cooler weather we’re experiencing this week. While we don’t have trees bursting with vibrant colors and it’s not quite turtleneck sweater weather yet it is light sweater weather and  the air is crisp and cool. I can live with that.

So, OC Metbloggers, what is your favorite season? Do you share my affinity for black turtleneck sweaters?