California

Mom and I flew to LAX in Wednesday afternoon. Dad stayed home to do taxes and to babysit Shadow. Dad took us to the airport and said goodbye to us at security. We ate lunch at the Boar's Head Deli inside the airport and our flight took off at 2:20 pm. When we landed we took the shuttle, to where we rented a car through Advantage in Inglewood. Then we took the 405 down to Costa Mesa, where we didn't get to the room until 6 pm. We stayed at the Super 8 in Costa Mesa during the week we were there. We drove to Ryan's girlfriend, Sara's house in Sunset Beach. She made us Chicken Cordon Blue, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli, and Molten Lava Cakes for dinner. We brought her an album of photos of Ryan when he was young, so she could see what their boys are going to look like. She gave us a tour of her house, which is right on the beach and has amazing view of the coast. After we left her house at 11 pm, we went to Ralph's to get groceries for our hotel room.

On Thursday, we ate breakfast at our hotel, since it was complimentary. It was only bagels and cereal, so we didn't go back. We went to Grower's Direct and got some fruit. Then we dropped it off at the hotel and drove to the South Coast Plaza. We went into two of the buildings and ate lunch at the Boudin SF Cafe, where we got Clam Chowder in Bread Bowls and a cookie. We then drove over to the Metro Pointe to go to Old Navy. After our nap, we watched TV. Ryan and Sara came to pick us up. We went and ate dinner at the Crab Cooker in Newport Beach. They took us past Sherman Library and Gardens to show us a possible venue for their wedding dinner. We drove down to Laguna and ate gelato at Dolce Gelato for dessert. I had one that was half Pistachio and half Birthday Cake. By the gelato shop, there was a huge mosaic of a sea scape that was gorgeous.

On Friday, we ate fruit for breakfast at the hotel. Dad texted us, saying he had slept upstairs and Shadow had walked over his back in the early morning. We went to the Bella Terra Shopping Center, going into Kohl's and Barnes and Noble. We went and ate at El Torito in Westminster for lunch. We went to the Goodwill in Costa Mesa and I bought a leather messenger bag for 6 bucks. After our nap, we went to Target and Sprout's Farmers Market. Mom bought some Australian Licorice, cherry flavored, while we were there. Ryan and Sara came to pick us up. We walked around the Anaheim Garden Walk while we waited to get into the Cheesecake Factory. One man was nice enough to give us his beeper, so we could get in early. While we were there, we all split a slice of the Red Velvet Cheesecake. Afterwards we went over and walked through Downtown Disney. This man held out his glow in the dark laser gun and ordered mom to give him all of her kettle corn. Weird!

On Saturday, Ryan and Sara had to go to one of their best friend's wedding during the day. We went to the Westfield Main Place mall in Santa Ana. Then we drove up to Buena Park to go eat lunch at Mrs. Knotts Chicken Restaurant at Knott's Berry Farm. We then walked around the shops next to the restaurant. Ryan got the flu that afternoon and was unable to hang out with us that night. We went to Vons to get me some cold medicine, because I was starting to get a sore throat. I watched a couple of episodes of the British Version of the Office on my ipad and I finished reading, Reading Lolita in Tehran, a memoir about a female English professor in Iran.

On Sunday, we ate donuts for breakfast at the hotel. We went and found the Balboa Pavilion and drove past the pier. We walked around the dock by the Balboa Fun Zone. We drove to Tustin and ate at the Crab Cooker. It started raining on the way home. We went to use our keys to get into the room and they wouldn't work, so we had to drive back to the front desk. After our nap, we went and used the computer in the lobby to print off our boarding passes. I watched some more episodes of the British version of the Office. Ryan came over, feeling better. He drove us to a condo he wants to look at in Laurelwood. It was kind of dark when we got there, so we couldn't really tell what it looked like, but the highway noise just sounds like rain behind it. We drove past the District at Tustin Legacy and then back to the hotel, where we said goodbye to Ryan.

On Monday, we ate breakfast at Randy's Donuts in Inglewood and we drove back up to Advantage car rental, dropping the car off and taking their shuttle to the LAX. We flew home in the afternoon. Dad picked us up at the airport, and met us at baggage claim. We came home and unpacked both of the suitcases.

St. Patrick's Day

On Monday, Mom started getting hives all the way down her arms and legs. She had a tremor for about an hour, which makes her shake and lose her body temperature. Mom called her neurologist to get his advice. I watched the 1944 movie version of Jane Eyre, starring Orson Welles, Joan Fontaine, and Elizabeth Taylor. It was the first time I had seen a movie version of one of my favorite books of all time, and I really liked it, except they cut out Jane's long lost cousin who was looking for her, completely.

On Tuesday, Dad came home from work and took Mom to the Instacare, but the doctor told her there was nothing they could do for her hives, to just wait it, out and her next step will probably be an allergy test in a couple of weeks. I waited for Mom's new cell phone to be delivered so I could sign for it and it didn't come until 4 pm. I set it up for her and added all her contacts. She got this cell phone, because our Magic Jack kept dropping calls on the home number. I watched the movie, Adventures of Tin Tin and didn't really get into it.

Mom and I went to Wal-Mart to get some things to plant on Wednesday before my headache. We got 3 Raspberry bushes, 4 sweet peas, and flower, fruit, and vegetable seeds. I put them in a box in our backyard and watered them. It was rainy and snowy most of the weekend, so the plants are sitting in a box with a box covering them under a deck chair. I read The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks. That night, I started getting a headache and feeling light headed.

On Thursday, I was still lightheaded.

On Friday, I started feeling dizzy, but not nauseous, after a walk in the backyard. I felt like the ceiling was moving up and down, sort of like the elevator in the Haunted Mansion. I tried to walk and felt like I was floating. The last time I was dizzy was four years ago, when I passed out in the shower and cut my face on the side of the tub and got a black eye. Mom was craving cheese fries, so we drove to Kaysville, but Jake's Overt The Top had closed. We then drove to Burger Stop, and they had them. We drove past Layton High to see what the reconstruction looked like in the front. That afternoon, I got worse as I was doing the dishes. Mom gave me a Valium, thinking it was a migraine. The Valium helped, making me stop feeling dizzy. Mom and I watched In Time, on Friday night and it was good.

Saturday was St. Patrick's Day. I woke up on Saturday morning, with a headache at 5:40 in the morning, but not dizzy. I threw up right as I was going to go see the doctor at the Syracuse Instacare. The doctor put me on bed rest, and gave me some pills for dizziness and nausea. The doctor thinks it could be from a virus, a sinus infection, or possibly M.S., like my mom. I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. In the afternoon, we were supposed to go to my cousin Lindsey's bridal shower in Roy, but since I was on bed rest, Dad took her the present because dad was invited to her fiancée, Kyle's tool shower at the Chuck-A-Rama. Lindsey's party was an Around the Clock themed party, so we had to bring her something for her future kitchen and a 10 o'clock theme. We got her a smoothie maker, similar to the Magic Bullet.

On Sunday, I felt really dizzy and had to lay down most of the day.

On Monday, I was still light headed but able to walk and do stuff. I read The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer.

On Tuesday, Mom and I went to Target and Michael's. She bought some charms to match her pirate necklace. This was the first trip outside the house since I went to the doctor on Saturday. I was dizzy in Michael's, but not in Target. My dizziness comes in waves. I read The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks.

Daylights Saving

On Monday, I baked peanut butter blossom cookies while Mom was at her appointment. I took Shadow outside in the front and backyard, then he meowed for the rest of the time Mom was gone. I finished reading the book, Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange, a horror novel based on Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, where Elizabeth discovers Darcy is a vampire. We watched The Voice and I am rooting for Tony Lucca, Jordis Unga, and Mathia.

On Tuesday, we went to Hobby Lobby to look at their Easter decorations. Mom got some more strings for Shadow to play with. Most of the day was very windy and then turned into a blizzard. We watched the results of Super Tuesday on CNN.

On Wednesday, It was still a blizzard in the morning, but then the sun came out and melted most of the snow. I painted a tree on a Masonite panel and divided the Masonite into four squares, representing the four seasons. We watched American Idol and I am rooting for Jessica Sanchez, Hollie Cavanaugh, and Phillip Phillips. I finished reading Confessions of Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler, about a modern day woman who wakes up in the time of Austen.

On Thursday, I finished reading Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt early in the morning, because I couldn't sleep. I went to the library to return my books and went to Old Navy and Barnes & Noble. I found jeans for 10 dollars in their clearance bin. I browsed the bargain section at Barnes & Noble but didn't find anything worth buying. Most of their store caters to their Nook products now, with fewer books. We are members of Disney Movie Rewards online, and for every Disney movie you buy you get 100 points. I ordered the Pirates of The Caribbean Pewter pendant for mom and it came today. She really likes it.

On Friday, we went to the grocery store. I made a Mexican lasagna with hamburger, black beans, rice, tomatoes, cilantro, green chili sauce with sour cream, with layers of tortillas. We watched the movie, Footloose, the remake starring Julianne Hough and Kenny Wormald. I was disappointed in the rare occurrence of dancing in the film.

On Saturday, Ryan called to say he was in St. George meeting his girlfriend, Sara's paternal grandparents. I was in the shower and I caught my cat Shadow chewing on my toothbrush in the holder. I threw it away and after I brushed my teeth, I placed the new one back in its plastic container so he could get to the new one. Mom and I went to Shopko cause she wanted a bear and moose bedspread from their catalog. She also bought a stuffed Leprechaun. We went to Texas Roadhouse in Ogden for dinner so Dad could return a tax return to an elderly client, then we went to Sam's Club. Mom called my uncle Don to get his kids' addresses, and he told us my cousin, Teresa got engaged and is getting married in August. I finished reading, An Affair to Remember by Christopher Anderson, a biography about the love of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.

Today, we had to set our clocks one hour ahead. I wish they would just keep the time the same. I took Shadow out in the morning cause the weather was so nice and walked around the yard while he examined the deck. There sure were a lot of spiders and one of our lids for our fence posts was sitting in the garden, so I picked it up and put it back on. I read some sample chapters on my ipad and I watched the movie, Beetle Juice.

Leap Day

On Monday, Mom and I went to Smith's to get some Cadbury eggs, since we couldn't find any, anyplace else. I finished reading the book, A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. We watched Anderson Cooper's talk show and there was a woman in her 50's, who has felt since she was a little child, she should be paralyzed. She uses leg braces and a wheelchair, even though her legs work fine. She goes hiking and skiing in hopes she will have a horrible accident and has even tried to get a surgery to sever her spine. Mom and I were just shaking our heads.

On Tuesday, it snowed. We watched the primary results of Michigan and Arizona on CNN. I took down the Valentine's decorations and I put up the St. Patrick's Day decorations. It was also the birthday of My Grandma Norma. She would have been 87, but she died in 2005.

Wednesday was Leap Day. I was on the Internet right as the news broke that Davy Jones, from the Monkees had died of a heart attack at the age of 66. That was pretty sad to hear. He was my favorite from that band. We took my dad's suits to be dry-cleaned in Layton right before the blizzard began. It was sure cold with the snow and the high winds. I finished reading the book, Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella. I gave myself a hair cut, cutting off about 5 inches from my ponytail.

On Thursday, It was a blizzard again. Ryan went back to see the doctor for his broken shoulder. He now has to start physical therapy. I read the book, Monster by Walter Dean Myers while I was waiting for mom to see the doctor at the Syracuse IHC. She has been getting hives the past couple of weeks and can't stop itching. She has to quit taking her Vitamin D Supplement and he gave her about 4 prescriptions, including a lotion. She has to go have an allergy test if the hives don't go away within the next three weeks. There are some M.S. patients that have chronic Hives, so hopefully it's not permanent. After she saw the doctor, we went to Wal-green's to fill her prescriptions.

On Friday, Mom was feeling loopy on her new medication. I watched the movie, Hugo.

On Saturday, I finished reading the book, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. We went to Tony's in Ogden for dinner and then went to get groceries.

Today, Mom has been having problems with her vertigo. She feels like she has another crystal loose and can only lay down on her right side, without spinning.