It was a great Saturday!

The Dovers move and Jakeapalooza 2009

I had fun and busy Saturday. Unfortunately Aaron had to work all day and wasn't able to join in the fun (he was really missed). I started the day off by going over to the Dovers' to help them move. They are moving to a beautiful place in the Belmont shore area. We were able to get all of the big things and a lot of the small things moved. Amanda and Alana were a big help.
Next I picked up a few things and went over to help out with Jakeapalooza 2009. It was my friends son, Jake, 2nd birthday. They are the coolest family and so it wasn't surprising that he had the coolest 2nd birthday party I've been to. I was able to do the face painting and tattooing (temporary of course). Then played Rock Band with them until 1:30am. Great after party! I hope you enjoy the pictures :-)

Easter Sunday and April birthdays dinner

Better late than never?

I wasn't really on the ball with getting these pictures up. Sorry! We had a great time on Sunday at the Christensens' for Easter and to celebrate the April birthdays, mine was on the 1st, Aaron's and Linda's are on the 22nd. I decided to make salmon for Linda (since she doesn't like ham). It was my first time working with fish and according to those who tried it, it came out great. It was fairly simple to make; if anyone wants to know the recipe let me know. I hope you enjoy the pictures and the video of the famous birthday song sung by the Christensen family.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers makes a comeback!

Last night we had a great time with Aaron's sisters, Soni and Catherine, going to see "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" on the big screen at the Cinema Fusion in the Anaheim Garden Walk (over by Disneyland). To my astonishment the show was almost sold out! Yes, that's right! Over 200 people showed up to see this classic musical brought back to the big screen. It was definitely a live house with people clapping after every musical number, laughing at all of the comical one-liners, and whistling at all of the seven brothers! The show was topped off with complimentary cheesecake and coffee (a nice touch for the audience). Here are some pictures of our night...

Marly, Aaron, Catherine, and Soni in the theater

(We missed the rest of the Christensens that couldn't make it)

The Wedding scene

(Yes, I took a picture during the movie)

The four of us with the poster

The movie was great! I liked it even more on the big screen:-) After that Aaron and I went to the lounge area to sit and watch the fireworks from Disney. The lounge has a perfect view!

The Lounge

(Pretty nice for a movie theater)

The Fireworks

This theater does classic movies once a month (We are already planning our December trip to go see White Christmas). They also have dollar movies as well as the new releases. We really like going there and always have a good experience (especially now that they lowered their prices). Here is their website http://www.cinemafusionanaheim.com/. Check it out!

Tires and Teeth

Aaron here. I had an interesting week and got some sweet hook-ups, so I thought I'd use my inaugural post to tell you all about it. First of all, some of you may know that I am missing a molar on the upper right side of my mouth (#3) and I need to get either a bridge or a dental implant. I opted for the implant, but they're very expensive and are typically not covered or only partially covered by insurance. Enter my sister Catherine who just happens to work for an oral surgeon, Dr. Terrence McCarthy. He gave me a sweet hook-up on both the extraction of the old, root-canaled tooth (after I cracked it eating Doritos) as well as all of the procedures leading up to and including the placement of the post on which a crown will ultimately be placed. (The crown has to be done by a regular dentist.) Monday of last week I had the first procedure done, which is called a sinus lift. In order for an implant post to successfully be placed in the jawbone, there has to be enough bone to hold it in place. My jawbone was too thin to hold the post so it had to be "beefed up" for lack of a better term--kind of like a bone graft. The procedure went off without a hitch and except for some residual pain and swelling (which was to be expected) I am recovering nicely. Many thanks to Dr. McCarthy, not to mention to his lovely OMSA (Oral & Maxillofacial Surgical Assistant) Catherine Christensen who, because we're family, enabled me to qualify for such a sweet hook-up!

On Wednesday that same week, I headed off to Alhambra to give my final Medical Spanish class of the semester at the USC PA program. Class starts at 8:00, so I left our beautiful new apartment a little before 7:00 to brave the 20 miles or so up the I-5. As I pulled out of our complex onto Brookhurst I went over a Botts Bump (a road reflector) which reverberated throughout the car a little more than usual when I hit it. I immediately suspected a flat. I was right. The driver's side front tire had acquired a nail in the tread, probably from a few days earlier. I pulled into the nearest gas station and put some air in the tire, then drove home to switch cars. The next day I put on the spare and Friday I took the car in to get the tire patched. Many years ago my dad turned me on to this tire shop in Bellflower called G.T. Tire and Wheel where you can buy used tires still in good shape as well as new ones. I have never been disppointed with this place and this time was no exception. They started to patch the tire and went to put it back on the car when the worker pointed to a bulge in the interior sidewall of the tire and said it was ruined. The owner, Chris, came out and looked at it and asked if I could come back the next day because he had to order me a new tire. (I had bought all four tires from him about 6 months prior.) I said I could and asked him how something like that happens. He answered that it sometimes happens in the process of getting the tire on and off the rim and filling it again, and he added that there would be no charge for the replacement. Interestingly enough this has been a common occurrence with this guy. I have had multiple tires patched at G.T. Tire and he never charges me and even flat-out refuses to accept any monetary remuneration whatsoever! I have purchased 2 full sets of tires from him and his prices I have found to be extremely competitive. If you need tires or anything tire related, I highly recommend G.T. Tire & Wheel. It's on Alondra Blvd. just west of Lakewood Blvd. in the city of Bellflower.

Marly's birthday day. It was great!

A look back at being 25

I have to admit that I dreaded turning 25 last year. I'm not sure why it was a rough birthday but it really was. Now that I am turning 26 I took some time to look back on my last year and all of the experiences that I had and realized that it really was a good year overall. So, here are some of the things that happened:

• I went to Lake Arrowhead and Big bear Lake 2 times and realized how grateful I am to live somewhere where it is so easy to go to the mountains. I love the Mountains!
• I drove to Las Vegas and back in one day to visit my bff Rachel and realized how grateful I am for her and all of my friends.
• I started sewing and made a child's dress and realized I need more practice, but am grateful for my new sewing machine and my mother-in-law that helped me get it.
• I quit my job and started working in LA and realized how grateful I am for my carpool buddy, Kristina.
• I made a new best friend and realized that I am grateful for ALL of the time we spend together listening to "Learn Italian" and "Anthony Robbins" tapes.
• I got promoted twice increasing my income by 2x's and realized that money doesn't really matter that much when you don't have time or energy to spend time with the people you love.
• Gained 10 lbs:-( and then lost 19:-) and realized that I am grateful for my mom teaching me good nutrition and giving me the love of exercise and the gift of determination and dedication.
• Spent too much time away from my husband and realized that I love him with all of my heart and am so blessed to have him as my eternal companion.
• Learned that I love street fruit with chili, lemon, and salt and that a street dog wrapped in bacon is a delicacy.
• Got a new car and then got 2 flat tires, a seed stuck in the rotor which freaked out the car, had someone put acid on the side of the car which made all of the paint peel off, backed into a pillar in an underground parking structure and ripped the side mirror off and dented the entire passenger side door. I'm grateful for my car even thought it seems to be a disaster magnet.
• Moved! Not far but doubled my square footage and eliminated my rent. Realized I'm grateful for all of the nice things that we were able to accumulate during our marriage and even more grateful that we were able to hire movers to move it for us.
• Quit my job in LA and was offered way too much to stay. Still quit and realized how grateful I am for the experience of working in LA.
• Learned that I love sushi.
• Learned how to speak some Korean.
• Learned that I like wakeboarding. Got up my first time! Couldn't stay up:-)
• Went camping twice and learned that ending up in the middle of a w.t. family reunion can end up being a blast.
• Visited my mom in NC in December and had tons of fun and realized how grateful I am for them and the wonderful traditions that we have.
• Learned the best way to learn to like someone is to do service for them.
• Went to 2 clubs in Hollywood with a bunch of coworkers.
• Went to hole in the wall restaurants and LOVED every one! Thanks Roy!
• Learned that I'm not bad at being a manager.
• Planted a garden and realized how grateful I am to be working from home.

I really could go on but to summarize I am grateful for everything that happened while I was 25. I am really excited to see what this year brings!