I left an hour early for the TV Land Awards due to being located near the beach and having to drive inland to Universal Studios.  I made it there in 20 minutes...go figure.  Didn't hit one lick of traffic on a Sunday morning.  After speaking to several uninformed employees that didn't seem to know that there was a gift lounge as well as actually calling the gift lounge coordinator who didn't seem to know how to get where they were, I arrived and unloaded my car.  Out of all the days to hold the award show, today was by far the hottest.  We were located in a tent on black asphalt that did not allow for any ventilation and probably reached temperatures of 100 degrees.  Anyway, it was somewhat of a disappointment because the major stars we were looking forward to gifting (NPH, Tom Selleck, Charlie Sheen) didn't come in at all.  However, I did score this sweet picture with Al Bundy!

Yesterday I drove from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.  I hit traffic for 2 hours which bummed me out because I was making such good time.  Apparently there was a truck that had rolled over and was on fire.  However, there was a ton of slowing and I NEVER saw a truck and then the traffic magically started flowing again.  Welcome to California.  I stopped by my Dad's house and had a good chat with him.  Then I went to my mom's house where I proceeded to make some carrot cake cupcakes and white cake cupcakes for my friend Nicole and her fiance Dan for their wedding.  After chatting with my mom for awhile, I went to bed and had the most solid sleep I've had in a long time.  For some reason, sleeping in the bed I grew up in is always so comforting.  This morning I got up and went and grabbed coffee with my mom at a new cafe/pizza joint in our quiet neighborhood.  They bake the majority of their pastries in house and I selected a strawberry delight that unfortunately was not as good as it looked.  Sigh.  Just more proof that I need to get my but back to Westchester and open up my own bakery.  Side note:  El Segundo bakery (the only other local potential competition for my future bakery) has closed and is for sale.  Where is my monopoly money tree when I need it?!  My mom and I went to the Apple store where she so graciously purchased a MacBook for me.  I haven't blogged in awhile due to my Dell PC deciding to die and take the AC adaptor along with it (good think I had backed up the majority of important stuff to an external hard drive already!)  I then went with my friend Jen to a Thai/Swedish massage that she had scheduled for us (a belated Christmas present because Spa Week was this week where locations across the U.S. were offering spa deals for $50...what a steal!)  That was the quickest hour and half but it was so relaxing.  I had never had a Thai massage before but I recommend it if you need a chiropractic adjustment as well as the soothing effects of a massage!  I then met my mom and dad for a manicure and pedicure (yes, I've got my Dad hooked on pampering himself now!  He deserves it!)  I then went back home and made the frosting for the cupcakes and Nicole and Dan came over to taste test them...they were exactly what they wanted!  Then I went with my mom to pick up dinner from a local Italian restaurant, Alejos, and had dinner over at my Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Then it was off to Tower of Pizza to hang out with my brother for a little bit.  Of course I had to connect my new laptop to the internet at home and blog before I could go to bed!  Tomorrow's adventure:  TV Land Awards at the Gibson Ampitheater at Universal Studios.  Big Feet Pjs is going to be featured in the gift lounge.  I can't wait to blog about all the celebrities that I will have met and hopefully have some pictures to post :)

Yesterday I made a pilgrimage to Retro Bakery off of 95 and Durango. I forget how I originally came across this bakery...probably while I was looking for ideas for my own bakery on the internet. It had been on my list of places to go check out for awhile and now I'm kicking myself for waiting for so long! I was disappointed at first that I had gotten there so late in the day and the display case was almost empty. However, the very nice man behind the counter informed me to tell him whatever flavors I wanted and they would frost one in the back for me really quick. The cupcakes were $2.50 a piece or $27 for a dozen. I went for the dozen because there were too many interesting flavors that I wanted to try. I headed out of there and back home (shockingly without hitting any traffic!) and sat down at the table to begin the taste test. I took a bite of each cupcake making sure to cleanse my pallet in between each taste.
Here are the notable flavor combos that I would highly suggest if you make a visit:
1. Glazed Donut: Vanilla Cake drenched in donut glaze
2. Cookies and Cream: Chocolate cake topped with crushed Oreo cookies in vanilla buttercream
3. Peanut Butter Cup: Chocolate cake topped with peanut butter buttercream and dark chocolate shavings
4. Milk & Cookies: Chocolate chop cake topped with vanilla buttercream and a scratch-made chocolate chip cookie

There were many other flavors that I wanted to try but my dilema was that I had hit the dozen cupcake mark. I guess I will have to make another pilgrimage soon. If you want to check out their website it's www. RetroBakeryLV.com

I'm on day 2 of my 2 week detox that I picked up from the Vitamin Shoppe. I have to admit...I'm feeling pretty good. I don't know if it is all mental but I actually think that my little belly is starting to flatten...a little bit. The best part is that I don't wake up totally exhausted in the morning and I'm actually sleeping better through the night. If this is how I feel on day 2, I can't wait until the 2nd week! Also, I've been going to yoga again (well today would be the second day in a row!) and I don't feel as stressed and I'm happy to finally be doing something for ME. On another random side note, the YMCA finally called my references but have yet to call me to offer me the job. They sure do like to keep you in suspense. I guess that's why they say that patience is a virtue. Maybe this is giving me time to get myself right before delving back into the world of working two jobs again. More importantly, the Dodgers won on opening day! I'm ready for them to go to the World Series this year...we got so close last year :)

Lately I've been thinking about doing a detox. I've been feeling tired all the time (no, I'm not pregnant!) and just not motivated to do much. Partially I think because I've been a little depressed with not having a second job for the first time in the 2 1/2 years that I've been out here pretty much. I interviewed at the YMCA on Monday and it seemed to go really well. They said that they would notify us by the end of the week either way so that they don't waste anybody's time. Well Friday at 4:15 rolled around and I called and left a polite voicemail asking if they needed any additional information and if they might have made any decisions. I shockingly received a call back and they said that they would be calling my references. They must be waiting until Monday to call because they certainly have not called any of them. This is very frustrating. I just need to not stress about it and just know that everything happens for a reason and to be patient. This is perhaps one of the reasons that I went to church this morning (besides it being Palm Sunday and typically being only a holiday Catholic!). I felt that I needed some sort of calming and guiding force to be with me today and give it all up to Him and have my burdens lifted. I know this is sort of a rambling rant of a blog right now but I guess that's what happens when you don't blog daily and you let it all bottle up. P.S. if I was still in my college psychology class I would totally write a paper on how blogging is the new therapist. On a random side note, I would ask for prayers and thoughts for my best friend's nephew that has Horner's Syndrom which is a lesion in the eye and can be caused by a tumor or genetics or can be spontaneous. His older brother had the same syndrome and it was a tumor and has caused him to have one of his eyes removed and over 30 surgeries and he is only 15 years old. Thomas is not even 2 and we hope and pray that the doctors can fix it before it gets worse. Thank you all and God bless.