Christmas Baking

This is the second year of our "new traditon" to get together with family to bake holiday treats.  This year we tried a new recipe - Hugarian windowpane cookies.  They came out so pretty...we felt like pros!

Goodbye Long Beach

I never knew what Long Beach had to offer until we strolled through Belmont Shore in 2004 while on our way to buy my VW Passat. The charm of the urban streets lined with trendy stores was not what I pictured when I thought of Long Beach….this part of town was really nice and had so much character! When Jerry & I decided to move in together, Long Beach happened to be half way between our jobs, so we decided to look for a place. We found a lovely condo located just 2 blocks from the beach and walking distance to almost any type of business.

We have lived in Long Beach for almost 5 years now, but it’s time for us to move on. Jerry & I have shared some of our best memories while living here, exploring the city together, adopting our dog and starting our new life as a married couple. I am going to miss what Long Beach has to offer, but I am also eager to get started on a new chapter of our lives being “homeowners”. As lovely as our little condo is, it's just too small for us...and not ours!

Living so close to the harbor and to downtown, there was always something to do or a major event going on. Looking back, there wasn't one weekend that Long Beach wasn't buzzing with people for a convention or main event. We have really enjoyed: The Long Beach Grand Prix, Belmont Shore Stoll N' Savor, Gay Pride Parade, AVP volleyball tournament, the dispensaries, dog beach, Christmas Boat Parade, Dog Halloween contest, our same-sex neighbors, Sweet Water Salon...and so much more!

Long Beach, you have provided us with great memories, friends, tolerance and a way of life that I couldn’t have experience anywhere else. Your legacy will be cherised! I leave you with a few photos of good times in the LBC…

Our date at the Aquarium of the Pacific (2008)

AVP Volleyball Tournament

Luke loving the drive thru Long Beach

Gay Pride Parade

Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

Grosh-Ramos Wedding

I love weddings! We had such a fun time at my brother & Vivian’s wedding events this weekend. Friday night was their rehearsal dinner at CPK, which was just walking distance from our condo in Long Beach. It was nice to meet Vivian’s family that flew in from Hawaii, and have the two families together for a nice dinner. My younger brother and his girlfriend flew down from Arcata, CA and stayed with us over the weekend. On Saturday morning we woke up early, walked to Two Umbrellas Café for breakfast; we enjoyed their “recession buster” meal of eggs, bacon & potatoes for $2.95! With our full bellies, we headed over to the Crown Plaza hotel in San Pedro to get ready for the wedding. My mom rented a suite for all of us to get ready. This turned out to be a blessing as many people needed a home base to get primped in. The wedding was at the Korean Bell just a couple miles away. The weather and the views cleared up to make a lovely day, although the wind and bright sun were mighty powerful! It must have been a resemblance of the love in the air. The couple wrote their own vows, which was very special to hear…and somewhat funny! My brother started his off with a “joke” that he told to Vivian that captured her heart. After taking family photos, we headed back to the hotel for a beautiful reception that incorporated Vivian’s culture from Hawaii. We danced the night away and had great fun with the family!

It was a beautiful weekend with a beautiful couple. Cheers...and nothing but best wishes for the new couple!!!

Escrow Closed!

After so many bumps along the way, we have finally closed escrow on our very first home!!!  We initially put our offer on the house in May 2010 with hopes of closing by September 29th so that we would receive a $8K Federal home buying stimulus.  It was frustrating to not close escrow prior to Sept 29th and miss out on $8k.  Nonetheless, we were told escrow would be closing very soon after...but had the house pulled out from under us on multiple occasions due to the ever changing FHA requirements.  Just as we were ready to have our team stop pursuing the property, things turned to our favor, and we were back on track to making this place our home.  Escrow closed on November 5th...we are ecstatic!  Only downfall is that escrow closed on a very important & busy weekend ~ the day before my older brother's wedding.  Such an exciting weekend!

We got the keys!  Jer checking out needed repairs

Hollywood Bowl - Dave Matthews Band

I have wanted to visit the Hollywood Bowl for a summer concert, especially since I have never been!  Just after mentioning this to Jerry, we were invited to attend the Dave Matthews Concert with Jerry's cousin, Donald and his wife Kari.  Score!  We had a lot of fun tailgating in the parking lot before the concert, but the real fun started when we got to the music.  DMB is music that everyone has heard and can appreciate, but until you see them in person and really listen to their lyrics, you haven't experienced all the glory of the Dave Matthews Band.  This concert turned me from a casual listener to a fan....especially after hearing "Some Devil". Such a powerful song!  Don & Kari danced their first wedding dance to a DMB song. It was so cute to see them a year later swaying to the music again.   We are looking forward to going back to the Hollywood Bowl with them in October to see the man that sang our first dance song.....Jack Johnson!!!!

The boys cheers DMB

The Stage

 Our 1st Hollywood Bowl Concert

 Kari & Don swaying to DMB

Blog Time!

What better way to share family news & fun adventures, then through my very own blog!  My mother-in-law would start off most conversations with..."what's new & exciting?"....so here's today's update:

New:
Short Sale has been approved by the bank for the home we are looking to buy.

Exciting: 
Going to Home Depot today to look at remodeling options.  Pretty exciting since as a renter, we hardly ever go to the home improvement store.

Our potential new home...

Our 1st Europe trip together...