Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Days Like This ...

It's been over a week since my last entry and I have a perfectly good explanation for neglecting my blog ... I've been quite busy taking Les and Joce around and showing them the sights and sounds of LA. It's been a VERY FULL last few days. Here is a sample of what we've been up to:

After spending the weekend in San Diego:
Monday: Lunch at Pink's in Hollywood. Window-shopped along Rodeo Drive. Toured Beverly Hills. Had Sprinkles cupcakes. Dinner at Tofu House with Atsi and Mark.

Tuesday: Atsi, Mark and I spent the morning at the Philippine Consulate. Then Les, Joce and I lunched at Panda Express. Shopped at the Citadel Outlets. Had steamed crabs for dinner at Redondo Beach.

Wednesday: Walked around The Grove in LA. Lunched at The Cheesecake Factory. Visited Hollywood-Highland mall and other Hollywood sights (Kodak Theater, Mann's Chinese Theater, El Capitan and Kodak Theater, etc). Had Papa John's pizza for dinner.

Thursday: Drove to LA Chinatown and had dimsum at Empress Pavilion for lunch. Walked around the Santa Monica Pier. Shopped at the Third Street Promenade. Took out submarine sandwiches for dinner.

Friday: Drove to Las Vegas. Stopped at both the Barstow and Primm outlets on the way. Dinner at the Mad Greek Cafe and then later met up with a long-time-no-see friend (Ed Lim) for tea.

Saturday: Brunch at the Carnival Buffet at the Rio Hotel. Shopped at the Las Vegas Premium outlets. Dinner at Grand Luxe cafe. Watched Jersey Boys at the Palazzo. Tried our hand at the slots before turning in for the night.

Sunday: Lunch at my friends' Muriel and Carl's place. Stopped at Fry's and Town Center with Ed. Long drive back to LA.

Monday: Lunch at Jerry's Deli and an afternoon of shopping at the Del Amo malls. Late dinner at PF Changs.

Tuesday (today): dropped off Joce and Les at LAX (they are flying to NY for the next 5 days and will be back here this Sunday).

While I've enjoyed having my friends over, it has been pretty exhausting too. I'm glad to have today all to myself. What's even better is the weather today is ABSOLUTELY perfect. (Well, perfect for me since I don't think too many people enjoy rainy days). Since LA is sunny almost 99% of the year ... I truly cherish days like today. It's not only cloudy and cold but continously raining too! And I don't mean a slight drizzle ... but actual RAIN. I love it! After running a few errands this morning, did my time at the gym, I am now back home with a whole afternoon ahead, just for me, free to do anything I want!

After eating out almost every single day ... I am actually craving some home-cooked comfort food. For lunch I had pizza on toast made with whole grain toast topped with my very own homemade sauce (made with ground turkey) and topped with grated mozzarella. I also have a beef stoup (it's a cross between a soup and a stew) bubbling on the stove for dinner. Jojo and I deserve something homey and hearty tonight.

What is the perfect thing to do on a cold, dark and rainy day ... for me, it's reading a good book while lounging on the couch, snuggled under a fleece throw, a cup of hot cocoa and the tv remote by your side! I have two great books just begging to be read too (Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible and Ann Patchett's Bel Canto).

Lately I've been into some "crafts stuff" too. Cross-stitching and scrapbooking ... today I had time to work on my recipes scrapbook.

And I got to read my emails, update my blog and check out my favorite sites too. Aaah! We should all have days like this once in a while =)

6 comments:

leslie ty said...

hey jo =) we miss you already...but i'm happy you got a nice "break" from us =) hope you have a relaxing 5 days...we'll be back in no time... =)

Jin said...

I was wondering about you. It seemed that you didn't visit this blog for a while. But you had good time with friends! I know that guiding someone is not easy even though it has a lots of fun, too. Good job~! Have a your own time!

mom said...

It makes me happy to know that you are having a wonderful time with friends. I really believe that girl friends in particular are very important and you have to have time for them and really care for them. Friends really enrich your life. But I too like you welcome cold dark rainy days , when there is not much to do except lounge at home and enjoy the bliss and comfort of home and solitude.

Junarakasa said...

Hi Les, hope you and Joce are having a great time in NY. Regards to Pam and Mike too =)

Hi Jin. Yes, I'm back =) Playing tour guide is not easy but fun too ... when you come visit me I'll be happy to take you around too =)

Hi Mom, today is another day exactly like yesterday ... cool, rainy and perfect for staying in. Unfortunately (much as I'd like to) I can't spend the whole day just lounging around ... =)

Auntie Lillian said...

Just reading all the things you did and the places you went to exhausted me. When you have your B & B, you have to pace the places especially when you have older people like us to bring around ( haha ).

joyeee said...

hey dets, you really are a great host driving people and accompanying them to diff places... dont worry, when you come to manila, i'll show you around and drive you too! (oh no...parking..haha)anyway we'll be seeing you soon! no pressure on the activities we'll be doing... although im sure you've planned it out already! we'll just go with the flow dets:)THANKS FOR BEING A GREAT HOST!!!