Earthquake.....

At 11:42am we had a 5.4 earthquake here in California it was centered in Chino Hills, CA which is like 38.3 miles from where I live in Long Beach, CA. I felt it pretty strong. I was using the restroom when it happened and I jumped off the toilet in a panic. I immediately grabbed my oldest cat KIKI and my baby kitten JU-JU and went under my doorway in my room. I called and called for my middle cat ROXY but she didn't come. I think she ran under the table. So I held on tight to my two kitty cats and prayed ROXY would be okay. My baby kitten JU-JU was pretty shaken up, as this was her first earthquake ever. It lasted a good 20 seconds. I felt an initial jolt and then like a rolling motion. It felt like I was on a boat. I stayed pretty calm, which surprised me because I am deathly afraid of earthquakes and I was all alone. My mom was at church and my daughter was at her dad's house. This was my daughter Natalie's first earthquake as well and I still haven't been able to get a hold of her, which is very troubling to me. Everything in my house is fine. Nothing fell off the shelves or broke in any way. The only thing that happened was the shaking of the earthquake opened up two of the cupboards in the kitchen. All in all it was a pretty exciting morning. After all this is California, it should be the norm for us but I still can't get use to earthquakes, lol.

If life were PERFECT.....

This would be my neighborhood, my flat would be on this street and I would own a red mini cooper. If only life were perfect.

I have an obsession...that obsession is LONDON and all things BRITISH!!!!

=)

I miss him...........

I miss my husband so much. It's the little things that remind me so much of him. This weekend I installed a new door handle for my mom's door and my husband was the one to do all of the handy work around the house so when I was installing the door handle I started to cry really hard. I hadn't cried that hard in a long time. I miss him so much. I miss snuggling with him and Natalie in our bed watching movies. WOW, I really miss him. To everyone reading this cherish your spouse, tell him/her you love them everyday, be kind to one another and always have patience and have compassion for one another...because you never know what will happen and never ever go to bed angry. God bless =)

Rockabilly, horror tonk at it's FINEST....

My daughter Natalie with the band right after they played. She is their biggest fan, lol!!!!


So I just got back from Upland, Ca about two hours ago and all I have to say is that my brother's band the Drop Dead Beats did one of their best shows I have been to this year. Tonight's musical theme for this particular bar, where the show was held, was of course Rockabilly night, which is defined by Wikipedia as:

A portmanteau of rock, from rock and roll, and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music (often called hillbilly music in the 1940s and 1950s) that contributed strongly to the style's development. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing, blues music, boogie woogie, and jump blues. Although there are notable exceptions, its origins lie primarily in the southern United States.
The influence and popularity of the style waned in the 1960s, but during the late 1970s and early 1980s, rockabilly enjoyed a major revival of popularity that has endured to the present, often within a rockabilly subculture

And I have to say that out all the bands that played tonight my brother's band was by far the best and I am not just saying that because my brother is the drummer. They absolutely did a fabulous set. Even despite the fact that they were suppose to go on third of the night at 10:00pm and didn't get to go on until last at 12:00am. I guess it is true about the saying, "they saved the best for last", because let me tell you they brought down the house. This was my brother's first show back in about a month since he has been in and out of the hospital and he played his little heart out tonight. They all played their hearts out. Some of the bands tonight where pretty crappy and my mom, my daughter and my sis-in-law had to go outside during one bands set because they were just that, really bad, and way to loud. OMG, they were awful. All in all it was a very good night, even if I got beer spilled on me like 4 times by the same guy who couldn't seem to hold his cup in his hand. Oh well, he did apologize in a very drunken manner. =)

Brideshead Revisited......Yes Please!!!!!

I totally want to go see this movie!!!!!

My new Monday night Secret.....

I have fallen head over heels in love with a new show on Showtime called "The Secret Diary of a Call Girl". It is a British television show starring Billie Piper as Belle, a high-class London-based call girl. The eponymous call girl is based on the blogs of Belle de Jour. I have become a huge fan of this show. Billie Piper is so lovely. I love the fact that it takes place in London and stars an all British cast. It is absolutely divine. It airs every Monday night at 10:30 pm right after Weeds on Showtime. Check it out, it's the best kept secret on Monday nights, lol =)

Do signs that are right in front of you mean anything.....

So I was driving home the other day on the south 605 freeway and all of a sudden this truck got over right in front of me and on the back of his truck it read "ENGLAND" in red letters. I immediately took out my phone and captured, what I think is a sign from GOD that says, "you need to pack up and move to", "ENGLAND". I am obsessed with England and all things British. I have always wanted to pack up all my things and move to a small English village or London. This obsession began when I was only 8 years old and had a best friend named Angela Bulpin who was from Manchester, England. I marveled at her accent and how her family did things so differently than us Americans. Her father's company transfered him to their American branch so they moved to America right down the street from me and we stayed friends till I was almost 13 when they moved back to England. I remember during summer break from school I would go to her house to play and everyday at around noon her mother would call us in for tea time. We would have tea in these cute little tea cups and had an array of beautiful little pastries. I am assuming some were crumpets. I was so fascinated with this English tradition. I would ask to hear all about their time in England when they lived there and wanted to know the history. My friend Angela had two siblings an older sister named Helen and a younger brother named Julian. I miss them dearly and have always wanted to reconnect with them. I wonder if signs that are right in front of you, really mean anything???? Or was it just a truck from a company called "England Trucking Company", hahahahaha, lol.

Weekend of GREAT movies....

This weekend was filled with lot's of great movies, I was basically in bed all weekend due to my fibromyalgia acting up, one movie in particular that I saw again was "The Great Gatsby" starring Robert Redford and the fabulous Mia Farrow. I absolutely love this movie and think they should do a remake of it. I have always thought that they should shoot this movie again and I have always thought of the actors and actresses who could play each character. The 2008 cast of "The Great Gatsby" could be:

The main Characters:

Jay Gatsby- Brad Pitt

Daisy Buchanan- Michelle Williams or Rachel McAdams

Tom Buchanan- Jake Gyllenhaal

Nick Carraway- James Marsden

George Wilson- Ryan Gosling

Myrtle Wilson- Emily Deschanel

Jordan Baker- Natalie Portman

I wish I could email Martin Scorsese or Frances Ford Coppola or even Sophia Coppola to give them the idea of re-making this timeless classic. I just love this movie so much. I first fell in love with he book in High school. It was required reading in my 10th grade English class. Would you see this movie if they re-made it with he above actors and actresses????

Control.....

Yes, I finally saw the movie "Control", the story of Ian Curtis the enigmatic lead singer of the influential British band Joy Division. It was an amazing movie. I didn't get to see the movie in the theater and read that it came out on DVD in June so I was looking to watch a good movie on ON Demand yesterday, cause I have been in bed all weekend, and as I was searching through all the movies I saw that Control was on the list. This absolutely made my day. I really loved this movie and I loved that it was shot in black and white. I love Samantha Morton, who played Ian Curtis' wife Deborah. New comer Sam Riley did an amazing job as Ian Curtis. Not only does he resemble Ian in the movie but his mannerisms where very close to Ian's. What a sad story it was. I cried at the end. My husband suffered from epilepsy so I know first hand how poor Ian felt most of the time. My husband went through alot of hard and trying days with bouts of depression as well. My husband's seizures did alot of damage to his memory and speech at times. But anyways getting back to the movie, I thought Ian Curtis was a lovely man. He was an amazing song writer, singer and performer. He had an odd stage presence but it was also very magical. Though I was way to young to enjoy Joy Division when they first started out I do enjoy their music now and I loved New Order when I was in High School. I highly recommend that if you have On Demand that you order this movie and watch it. I know most of my friends have already seen it cause they are all huge Ian Curtis and Joy Division fans but those of you reading this who don't know me go watch this movie. You will be glad that you did. R.I.P Ian Curtis. Forever in our Hearts!!!!

DCA and the Tower of Terror.....

Yesterday my family and I went to Disney's California Adventure and I went on The Tower of Terror for the first and probably last time ever. The ride is just plain scary. For those of you who have never been on this ride, it is a ride that drops you like 13 stories straight down as you sit in a theater like setting. It's actually meant to be like an elevator. I do have to admit that it wasn't as scary as Supreme Scream at Knott's Berry Farm. I was freaking forced to go on that ride and I was scared out of my mind. But on this particular ride I was pretty much scared from the moment I stepped foot in line. They take your picture as they are dropping you and above is the result of our lovely elevator car of people. As you can see my 9 year old daughter, seated to my right, reader your left, treated the situation as if it was a modeling shoot. I on the other hand am holding on for dear life and closing my eyes so tight my face actually hurt when I got off the ride, lol. My brother seated three seats down from me on my right, reader your left is clowning around his head really doesn't hurt and my sis-in-law Alyssa seated right next to my brother looks so cute. All the other people looked pretty funny and cute at the same time. All in all it is an experience I do not want to repeat anytime soon. I am so afraid of heights. But I conquered this fear and went on it anyways. I did have a good time at DCA. My daughter had a blast too. We all had a great time. If you are planning on going to DCA anytime soon, I highly recommend that you eat at Boudins Bakery and Cafe in the San Francisco themed part of the park. They have the best soups, vegetarian chili and salads in the world and they put them in a fresh baked Boudins Sourdough bread bowl and OMG, they are so delicious. They also have an array of sandwiches from roast beef to turkey and not to mention some very tasty desserts like the chocolate covered cream puff I got, yummy =)

Velvet Goldmine.......

I have been wanting to see this movie for so long now and it is finally going to be on cable this morning at 1:10am. I have looked and looked for this movie at almost every music/video store possible and they never have it. I know I could of bought it from Amazon but I don't have a credit card and I knew one day it would come on cable and that day is today. I am so freaking excited. It stars two of my favorite actors: Ewan Mcgregor and of course the love of my life Jonathan Rhys Meyers. He is so beautiful in this movie. After I offically watch this movie I can finally add it to my favorite movies list on my myspace page. Off to make some popcorn and get an ice cold Coke Zero.....=)

Cereal Bars love it or not....

Jade Puget from Afi/Blaqk Audio blogged about this new place on his blog spot: http://shyboyswin.blogspot.com/ that opened up in Westwood, CA and I am seriously thinking about going there one day with my daughter, who loves cereal and trying it out. Here is their menu:

I want to try golden grahams cereal, with marshmallows, graham cracker pieces and chocolate chips with non-fat milk, I think that would taste super yummy or maybe captain crunch cereal, peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, malt balls and non-fat milk. That sounds really good right now!!!! Has anyone been there yet? Let me know of your experience. Here is the official web site to see the menu more clearly: http://www.jujucerealbar.com/.

Mr. Warren Beatty

WOW!!!! Warren Beatty was a handsome young man when he started in the acting business. What a HOTTY!!!! I am watching AFI's (that's American Film Institute) Achievement Awards show honoring Warren Beatty on the USA channel right now and they are showing all the movies he has ever made and wow he was really good looking. I got way to excited when I was browsing the channel guide about an hour ago and saw those three little letters AFI, hahahahaha, lol. I thought OMFG, AFI is going to be on TV, but no it was the other AFI honoring Mr. Warren "hot stuff" Beatty, lol. Have any of you AFI (the band) fans ever had that experience of seeing a show coming on that said AFI but then realizing it was the American Film Institute or am I the only dork on the face of the earth, lol.

My brother is home, sweet home...

He came home yesterday at around 3:00pm after being in the hospital for 8 days. He is doing so much better than the first day he went in. I love my brother so much. To those of you who sent comments and messages of support and well wishes, I thank you so much. It meant a lot to me and I appreciate it. Even though we are 9 years apart I feel a strong connection with him. My little brother was 16 years old when my daughter, his favorite niece, Natalie was born and he was right there in the deliver room with me and my husband David at the time, filming the joyous event. I had a C-Section so he was able to experience this at a young age. This has been a very emotional and stressful week. I really do not know what I would of done if I lost my little brother =( I am just so glad he is home and feeling a little better. He is already looking to the future in a positive and hopeful way. I am really proud of him!!!!

I took a little video of him yesterday evening when my mom and I went over to cook him his favorite meal. Just ignore my sis-in-law yelling out Gay-F-I, hahahahaha, lol. She knows she loves them. She truly enjoyed their "I heard a Voice" concert at the Long Beach arena when we went on September 15, 2006. She couldn't stop saying how good they were after the show. I love you Alyssa but if you call them Gay-F-I one more time I'm gonna.......only joking sis, I love you =)

My 4th Of July

The picture above was taken by me the morning of the 4Th. Every year a real estate company gives out these little flags to everyone in my neighborhood and this is what our street looked like. I thought it looked awesome so I took a picture or it =)

As the Holiday weekend comes to a close I thought I would blog about how my 4Th of July was. I actually had a pretty nice time. The day started with my mom and I cleaning up the back yard a bit as there were a few things that needed hauling out, like two old BBQ's from like the early 80's and some old toys my brothers use to play with as kids. Why we save this kind of junk is a big mystery to me, lol. I then set up and cleaned out my daughters big pool. My mom bought it for her a couple of years ago. It's one of those big round 12 X 30in pools with a filter pump and is approximately 3 feet deep. It's a pretty good size. I bought one of those inflatable floating lounge chairs and I can lay on it and float around all over. It's quite nice. So I cleaned it out with bleach and set it up in the back yard for my friend Lorraine's girls to swim in, they were coming over later for the BBQ. I filled it up and then went to Walmart to get the chemicals it needs to keep it nice and clean. My friend came over with her 4 girls and my mom and I barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs. My mom made her famous potato salad, and man was it delicious. We also had baked beans and corn on the cob. For dessert we had strawberry shortcake. The girls went swimming and had a blast. It was so nice to visit with my friend Lorraine. My sweetheart Natalie was at her dad's, so she wasn't there to enjoy the BBQ or go swimming =( she is over there for the remainder of the summer. So after we finished our dessert and the girls went swimming at around 5:00pm my mom and I went to visit my brother in the hospital. He is still at UC Irvine in Orange, CA. We all had a great visit. He is doing much better and is getting to come home tomorrow afternoon. Thank God. After our visit ended at 8:00PM, my mom and I went over to my brother and sis-in-laws house to wait for the Disneyland fireworks show to begin. My brother lives near Disneyland and from his roof top of the parking structure of his condo you can actually see the top of the Matterhorn Mountain. My brother lives down the street from the Block at Orange on Chapman. At around 8:45pm my mom and I trekked it up to the roof top and actually caught the fireworks show from Anaheim Stadium. The stadium is like right near my brother's condo too. It was pretty cool and at about 9:20pm the Disneyland fireworks show started. There were a lot of people on the roof top with us so it was a very festive mood. I really enjoyed myself. I love fireworks. There is just something about the big, spectacular, explosions of color and sparks that makes me HAPPY. At one point I looked straight up into the sky and said to my husband "Hope you are enjoying the fireworks from your view in Heaven honey". I got emotional but all in all it was a very beautiful fireworks show. I know my hubby was watching it right along with my mom and I. After the fireworks we went home and that is how I spent my 4Th of July 2008. I am so glad I decided not to stay in bed for the 4TH. Hope you all had an awesome day.

"HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY" I AM SO HAPPY TO HAVE MY FREEDOM =)

Just wanted to wish everyone in blogger land a very safe and Happy 4th Of July!!!! I am very proud to be an American. I am very thankful to have my freedom. I am excited to see fireworks. I am also very sad at the same time because 4th of July was my husband's and my favorite holiday to spend together. He loved the 4th of July. This will be my second year without my hubby. Last year I spent the 4th in my room in bed, sad as hell. I watched fireworks on one of those fourth of July special shows on TV live from New York I think. This year I am actually going to have a BBQ with family and friends, go visit my lil brother in the hospital, and then watch some fireworks at the neighbor across the streets house. He puts on a fabulous fireworks show every year. One year back when I was in my early 20's he actually taped an M80, highly illegal firecracker, or something like that to a full spray paint can and blew that sucker up. There was a loud explosion that could of permanently made us all death and a fire ball that shot from here to eternity. It was quite a spectacular site to see. I wonder what he has in store for this year. I am glad to be getting out but I am also sad that I am not going to be spending it with my husband =( I miss him like crazy.

God bless you all and again Happy 4th Of July. Have a safe and fun day!!!!!!!!!

Living with CHRONIC PAIN & INSOMNIA, what a JOY

Living with Chronic Pain & Insomnia is not so fun. For the past month I have had maybe 2-3 hours of sleep per night if I am lucky. You Tube, Google, Myspace and Blogspot have become my new best friends. I visit them every morning at around 2-4am, lol. I just can't seem to sleep anymore. Before I was sleeping all the time, like 12-14 hours per night and for some reason it has drastically changed. Living with Fibromyalgia and Nueropathy pain has taken it's toll on me. I went to Disneyland on Sunday and just walking from the parking structure to the tram, from the tram to the entrance to California Adventure, from the entrance to Boudins Sourdough bakery cafe (to get the best broccoli cheese soup in a fresh sourdough bowl in the world) was a nightmare. I hurt all over, but I was not going to complain. I toughed it out but when I woke up on Monday morning, "OMFG, was I stiff and sore and in a whole lotta pain"!!!!

Here are my current meds I take to treat my chronic pain:

Neurontin 300mg 1 tab 3 times a day

Baclofen 10mg 1 tab 3 times a day

Morphine Sulfate 15mg 1-2 tabs three times a day

Percocet 10mg 2 tabs as needed for breakthrough pain

Paxil 40mg 1 tab every morning

This combination of medications pretty much treats my pain but not 100%. I can only imagine what I would feel like if I didn't take any medication at all. Welcome to my life, "Living with Chronic Pain" Hey, that would make an excellent title for a book I could write. Maybe one day.

Well I am off to try and rest and take a much needed and deserved nap. I need and crave SLEEP!!!!

"OH BROTHER WHERE, ART THOU"!!

My little brother is in the hospital right now. Please pray for him and our family as we go through this difficult and sad time right now. I love my brother with all of my heart and soul. We are very close and yet I feel so distant from him right now. I love you Anthony Munster, lol =)