My humble abode

For anyone who is interested, these are pics fo where Mayer and I call home. 

Kitchen

Kitchen/Dresser (TV is stuck to the dresser)

Mayer's Bed (he shares it with me)

View out my window at the stairs and gargage.

 

View out my doorway. 

 

                               

 

This is my joice station.  Becuase there is NO counter space

in the kitchen.

 

 

As small as it is, it has all we need. I think I might get an electric skillet so that I can cook three things at once. With only two eyes on the stove, something gets cold while the meal is being prepared.

 

 

I guess from looking at this teenie tiny space, it is evident why we are out and about all the time!

 



 

 

 

 

It has been a busy week!

This past week has been a very, very busy week.  I started work last Monday, and in true Judy fashion, spent some long days getting as much accomplished as possible.  All in all, it was really good.  The team that I have at All In One is very bright and they all have the IT factor.  I am looking forward to mentoring them. 

Other than work, all I did was rest and sleep, until yesterday.  Yesterday, Mayer and I had a WONDERFUL day.  We drove to Laguna Beach and had brunch with Courtney and Nick.  They are here for a wedding up in Pacific Pallisades.  It was a beautiful day and Laguna Beach is a really nice area.  We had lunch at The Cliff and then walked around Laguna a little bit.  After they left, Mayer and I continued to explore the area.  Some of our pictures are below:

My beautiful niece, Courtney with me at Laguna Beach!

Bird Rock, Laguna Beach California

This is one of three artists that I say painting while walking along the public park in Laguna Beach

I little detail about Bird Rock for those interested,

View looking North from Laguna Beach. Just gorgeous!

Mayer's first experience with a Doggy Water Fountain.

He did not know what to think about clean water

randomly placed outdoors! 

 

This was taken on our way home. This is Carlsbad, CA mainstreet.

Cool town!

 

 

Leaving Laguna Beach, we headed north along Highway 101 which took us along the shoreline through all the small towns. We went through Oceanside, Carlsbad Encinitas.  Then we jumped on "the five" to get to Dog Beach.

 

Dog Beach was a trip!  It's a huge beach that allows off leash playtime for dogs.  There were a lot of dogs and a lot of people.  Mayer truly did not know what to think.  Even though I took his leash off, he was right by my side.  He was a little nervous and only attempted to play one time.  I tried to take pictures of him with the other dogs but I was not successful. 



I did take some photos and videos:

 

 

Winos R Us

Yesterday was good after a frustrating Friday night.

Friday at around six, I set out to go north toward Linda's house. We had plans to get mani/pedi's.  Well no sooner than I got on the interstate, I found myself in ten lanes of traffic.  To make a miserable story short, I gave up after an hour and two miles.  I turned around and came 'home' to Mayer.  I cannot believe I am calling this tiny hotel room home.  So weird.

It turns out the traffic was from an overturned gravel truck. Thank goodness it wasnt' normal Friday night traffic!

Anyway, we made plans to get up early and try again.  I left here around 8:15 headed north again.  My neighbor flagged me down. Mayer was barking and bothering him so I came back and got the pain in the butt and took him with.

After nails, I drove around looking at housing.  Nothing good going on there.

I met Linda and David at a wine tasting to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Solana Beach.  It is only about 2 minutes from here.  Everything is about 20 minutes from here. I love it! 

The event was fun.  Very casual and very relaxed.  We didnt win but we found some good wines that we like!

Today Mayer and I are headed up to the Los Angeles area.  Gabrielle's summer team is practicing and I want to show support and meet some of the parents.  It is crazy how busy I am staying but it is good too! 

We are taking the 805 to the 5 and on in to LA.  Do I sound like a Californian?  Certainly not.  I cannot remember how many people have asked me where my accent is from.  But, I did figure out why people here refer to the interstates as THE 5 or THE 15.  Because there are so dang many interstates and highways here.  Its just easier to say "Take the 805 to the five and then get on the 52" than to say "Take eye 805 to eye 5 and then get on county road 52" OR maybe it's because the people here don't know if the 52 is a county road, state road or dirt road.  I think I just figured it out.  They dont care what kind of road it is.  It is simply THE 52.

Until next time!

Recap of the Week - Gabrielle and the Alabama Softball Team

This week is almost over.  On Wednesday, Brian took Gabrielle to Tuscaloosa so she could tell Murphy and the other coaches that she wants to play at Alabama.  Laura took off work, Kristin took off school and Memaw and Pepaw went with them.  Memaw took these pictures and I am so grateful!

Aly, Stephanie, Gabrielle, Coach Murphy

Gabrielle and Coach Murphy

This afternoon I went up to All in One® for a meeting with Sherwin and wound up meeting with the whole sales team. The topic of discussion was the new outbound calling campaign and the systems to support that.  Left there around 4pm. 

To my delight, Mayer was still in his room. No surprises on the bed. He got lots of hugs and kisses and treats. 

Not sure what I am going to do on this Friday night in San Diego.

Cathedral Catholic HIgh

The schools out here are ridiculous.  These are pictures of Cathedral Catholic. I couldnt get a pic of the softball field but it is VERY nice too.

 

 

I took these while walking from the main parking lot to the Softball field.  Cathedral Catholic played vs La Jolla.  I am pretty sure CCHS won by the mercy rule.

 

 

Tennis Courts

Swimming Pool

Football/LaCross/Track

Baseball Field

Thursday - four days until I start work

Today we hung out in our room for most of the morning. I met Karen at All in One® all afternoon learning as much as possible about the products.  That was fun.  Then I went to meet Linda for dinner. She took me for the 'WORLDS BEST PIZZA".  Of course, I gave her a hard time about that since that is such a bold claim.  Turns out it was true.  So, if you come to San Diego, expect some really great Pizza.  Here is the link.  You can say you have been there, virtually :)
http://www.realcheesepizza.com/web/home/index.html

As for Mayer, no Pizza for him.  When I got home, he was really mad at me.  He had busted out of his room and pooped on the bed.  That is the ultimate dog saying "kiss my grits".  Of course, he had barked his fool head off and I had a message from the hotel operator asking me to 'get him under control'.  Ugh!!  Before all of this and before he got in real trouble, I took a picture of him because he is looking so good right now.  His food is rationed and his coat is looking real shiny.  Here he is:

Mayer after two weeks on a diet.  He is really shaping up!

I have tons of pictures from Cathedral Catholic High. I will put them under a different post!

Wednesday - After one week alone

Ok. So Tuesday night I spoke on the phone with Marcy Steele. Marcy's daughter plays for ASU and her youngest daughter is on one of the Team Mizuno teams with Mike. 

On Wednesday, Marcy met me at the Poway vs Mt Carmel softball game. I met the Poway coach (Jim Bennett) and we watched some of the game.  From there, Marcy drove me all over Poway showing me the variance in neighborhoods.  Poway is actually incorporated so this is a little different than Rancho Panesaquitos and Ranch Benardo and the other communities in Poway school district.   Anyway, it was very nice.  The snap shot below is from "Old Poway". Old Poway is the center of town and is the original town of Poway. It has been restored to it's original architecture and is just precious.  Their old ball park is made to look like an old timey ballpark. I went by there but did not take any pictures.

Old Poway Shops

Mission Beach

Today the carpet cleaners came so Mayer and I went to Mission Beach. In spite of the city ordinance, me and Mayer walked for over an hour along the board walk and then took a ride to Mission Point.  This whole area is so fantastic. 

Mayer with the sun roof open.  Loves to ride.

Mission Bay

Mission Bay

Boardwalk on the Pacific side

Boardwalk on the Pacific side

This house is completely contained within a taro that is

held together with clips. I thought they were painting it

but was told that they are fumigating it.

This was taken at Mission Point. The picture really doesnt

do it justice!

You can't tell it by this picture but the surf was very

turbulant today. The yellow checkered flags were out.

I just happened to look out my sun roof while

parked at Mission Point and this is what I saw.  So very wonderful!

Saw these in the grocery store.  Does anyone know what a Chayote Squash is?

 

 

After Mission Beach, we rode over to Balboa Park. There are several museums there. It took me right past San Diego High School.  SDHS is a very large inner city type school.  It is right in the middle of downtown SD. 

 

 

Besides some site seeing, I finished Brian's resume and sent it to him. I took care of Kristin's Dallas tournament. My mom and Rick have offered to host her and get her to her games. I am so grateful for that. It is a real load off my mind to know that they will be looking after her in my absence. 

 

 

Late this afternoon, I went up to Cathedral Catholic High School.  It is a very large Catholic school.  This is the school who is advertising for a math teacher.  I went there to watch them play softball in order to get some feel for the culture.  The team is very good. They played La Jolla who was not very good. It was not much of a match up at all.  I was able to see that the team is good and very well coached.  Gabrielle would enjoy playing with them.

 

I called Marcy (a contact that Mike Stith gave me) but she was busy. I am waiting for her to call me back so I can get her input on schools etc. 

 

 

My friend Linda and I are going to a wine tasting party Saturday night. It should be fun.  I'll definitely blog about that!

 

Coronado on Divine Mercy Sunday afternoon

Ok so no laundry got done but look at why!

Mayer and i went to Coronado. It's just over the bridge and I guess it is a penisula.  Here's a map of it:

We just parked and wandered around and found some live music with people dancing. There were families, couples, young and old.  There were a lot of dogs.  We didnt see any cats.  We just sat out on the lawn and watched people go by. We met a lady from Sacramento who has friends in Pensacola.  She was just visiting SD for the weather.  Below are some snapshots I grabbed:

San Diego Skyline - view from Coronado

This is looking east toward the bridge from SD.

I just thought this was so pretty.

This is looking back toward downtown from

the middle of an outdoor retail center.

 

 

It was so much fun to kick around. The people here are so nice.  Everyone is so kind and friendly. 



We are "home" now and trying to decide what to do tomorrow!   

 

 

 

Sunday - Divine Mercy Sunday

After waking around 8am and trying to call Kristin, I settled in to drink coffee and catch up with the family. I skyped with Gabrielle and Laura and that was so fun!  The lousy slow internet here made it difficult but it was still good to see them and talk to them.

I had a long talk with Donna Dickman today. We are getting our Team Mizuno plans together. We will likely book airline tickets this week for New Jersey and Colorado.  Donna's mother lives on the shore in New Jersey and she invited Gabs to stay with them there. What a blessing.

Since skyping with Gabrielle and Laura, I have spent the entire morning building this blog and getting things all written down. I don't want to forget anything about my first days here.

I have another week before I have to start work.  I hope to make the best of it by continuing my research and discovery of this fabulous area. 

Krisitn has been in touch with me today. She is playing volleyball in Gulf Shores.  Brian is there with her and spending some time with his mom and dad in the process.  I'll be interested to see how that goes.

Mayer has been a slug all day. I think he loves me being here so he can relax and rest.  He's really doing real well now that we have been in one place for more than a night or two. The trip across the country was stressful for him.   Hopefully he will relax more and more.

I need to finish unpacking. I need to get outside with Mayer. I need to work on Brian's resume and I need to do laundry.  We will see what wins out!

One full day behind us - Tour of the Coast

Yesterday was so great.  Meeting so many new people and feeling like I have the beginning of a network going.

Linda called and wants to hang out again. I am all for that!

Today got together around noon and drove up the coast. We went to Del Mar and it is so beautiful.  We stopped at a famers market and I got my juice veggie fix.  From there, we went to Solana Beach, Cardiff by the Sea and Encinitas.  The ride was so beautiful. We ended up on top of Soledad Mountain which provided breathtaking views of all of San Diego.  Some of the pictures are below:

Del Mar - view from where we parked to go to the Farmers Market



Soledad looking East

 


Soledad looking North at the beautiful Pacific

Soledad looking South toward Mission Bay





This is some sort of pine tree that grows out with multiple branches.

 

Linda was gracious enough to take my by my hotel to check on Mayer. He was so glad to see us!  We hugged and kissed and played. He then went back into is sanctuary and Linda and I headed to Penasquitos (her neighborhood) for mass and dinner.

 

Kyle and I went to 5pm mass followed by dinner at Dao's house.  Dao is one of Linda's neighborhood friends.  She is from China and quite a hoot.  Her husband is Dave and their home is lovely.  Also joining us was Irene and her husband (who's name I don't remember but it might be Hal).  Dao's kids go to Westview and Irene's son goes to Del Norte.  Dave is researching colleges for his son and was gracious enough to share that research with me. It was a wonderful night and I could have stayed there all night and talked with them. They are so nice.  Unfortunately, I had to get back to the room to make sure Mayer wasn't bothering anyone.

 

Dao and Dave have a pomegranate tree and a loquat tree in their yard.  Loquat is a chinese fruit that taste like a cross of peach and mango.  It is very good.  This is what it looks like:

 

 

When I got back to the hotel, Mayer was fine but there were four police cars near the office.  I don't know why they were here because they were all just chit chatting so whatever it was was obviously over. 

 

What a great day!  Tomorrow I MUST do laundry.  Thanks Linda for another OUTSTANDING day!!!

Getting Settled in - Friday 4/5 - Pics of Westview

Today Mayer and I had a lazy morning drinking coffee and researching schools.  Linda is so high on Westview that we focused on that.  I found that they had a home softball game scheduled for today at 4pm so we made plans to go and check out the crowd.

Mayer got a bath and I got a shower and we set out to do our errands. We went to Petco and got his nails done and went to Walmart to stock up on groceries etc.  Mayer got a rug and a baby gate.  The bathroom will be his sanctuary when I am away. 

We came home, put all our Walmart things away. I made lunch for myself and headed out to the ballgame.

The crowd at Westview was really mature, softball wise.  I could tell that the parents know the game and are very supportive of the coach.  The team looks disciplined defensively. Not sure about their at bats as I don't know that much about hitting. The pitcher (#28) struggled some and West Hill (I think) beat them 8-1.  It is all on gamechanger so we can look back at their season for more information.

Below are some pics I snapped at Westview:




Pool at Westview - a diving meet was in process

 

When I got back from the game, Mayer was settled in his sanctuary, seemingly content.  He was glad to see me and we cuddled and watched tv the rest of the night.

Brian and Gabrielle go home

Today I put my family on a plane.  It was difficult and emotional.  I am not a loaner. I like to be with people.  I will miss them greatly. 

After a mini melt down in the airport parking lot, I made my way to Linda's house.  At first, I thought that making plans with her was a mistake. I really didn't think I would be much company. I wanted to go somewhere and cry for a while but I knew she was waiting for me.  So, Mayer and I made our way north.

I got to Linda's house which is also her place of work.  She has converted her garage to her work place and I must say that it is the most efficient use of space I have ever seen.

We got lunch at a little mexican place. I am really getting tired of Mexican food.  After that, we drove all around north San Diego county looking at neighborhoods in the Poway school district.  Mayer was still with me and still very anxious.  We went to Petco to get his nails trimmed and a bath but we couldn't since I didn't have his rabies records with me.  I bought a muzzle to help with the barking.

Linda took me to meet Maria (a local real estate agent).  I enjoyed speaking with her very much but the info she shared made it clear that it IS a buyers market here and we won't be buying a house until well after we sell ours. So, we will be looking for a rental for the time being.

Hanging out at Linda's waiting for time to go to dinner, I saw a hot air balloon fly over her house.  Very cool!

Linda invited me to go to dinner with her and Kyle (her son).  It was a pot luck dinner to celebrate the end of a small group of Catholics called Faith Sharing.  Faith Sharing, as it was explained to me by Kathy (who hosted the dinner) is not a bible study but they do have scripture readings for homework that they discuss and uses as a basis for sharing how they deal with every day struggles.  Mike and Kathy own Jersey Mike's and are quite successful. Their house was FABULOUS!  It was a terrific evening and I met several people from St. Therese of Carmel Catholic Church.

Mayer and I got home around 10 pm, but not until after her completely shredded the muzzle - so much for that.