Why I love living in San Diego (in no particular order)

(1) The weather here is always awesome (it rarely rains and it's rarely cloudy)
(2) I can wear open-toed shoes and flip-flops all year round
(3) Our beautiful house and the wonderful landscaping my hubby designed
(4) I never, never ever never ever, have to shovel snow, or scrape frost off my car
(5) Alberto's - and any other Mexican restaurant that end's with "erto's"
(6) Carne Asada Burritos are available 24/7 (see #5)
(7) You can find lumpia in the frozen section of almost any grocery store
(8) It's only a 5 hour flight to Hawaii
(9) Vegas is less than an hour's flight away
(10) There aren't ridiculously long waiting lists to eat at the restaurants here
(11) The plethora of Filipino markets and restaurants (and the huge Filipino community)
(12) Not that we go often, but there are tons of beaches to choose from
(13) The many more hiking trails we have yet to explore
(14) Seaport Village - I love taking our out-of-town guests there
(15) Aloha shirts are the norm here, so the hubby fits right in
(16) We can sleep with our bedroom window open at least 50 weeks a year
(17) In-N-Out burgers & fresh cut fries
(18) Fish tacos (oooh - Wahoo's and Rubio's) and fresh fish in general (ahhh - Vera Cruz Fish House and the Chart House)
(19) The laid-back attitude and atmosphere
(20) Of course, all the wonderful friends and family that we have out here
(21) Not having to switch out the clothes in my closet for the different seasons
(22) Seeing the ocean along the 5
(23) Not having to deal with crazy humidity or the "wind chill factor"
(24) The occassional celebrity spotting
(25) It's been our home for the last 9 years and we can't imagine living any where else

Black Friday 2008

Wow - for the first time in many, many years - hubby and I did not wake up before 5am to hit the Black Friday sales today. For as long as I can remember - we would research the best deals that would be available the day after Thanksgiving (aka: Black Friday). We would wake up at 4am then go to Best Buy, Fry's and Staples where we would team up and have a strategy to rush and tackle the crowds for the great deals - like a Sony camcorder for $199; Compaq desktop, monitor and printer for $399; Samsung laser printer for $49; DVDs for $1.99, $3.99 and $5.99; my awesome Tom Tom for $99; MP3 players for $9.99; digital picture frames for $20; memory cards for $9.99; software, screen savers and games for FREE (after rebate); pay-as-you-go phones for $6.99; bluetooth headset for $19.99; and more that I just can't remember.

What's crazy is that even though the doors opened at 5am, and we would get there at about 4:45am, there were at least a hundred or so people there before us, if not more. The really dedicated Black Friday shoppers would get there before midnight and camp out at the front door - those folks got a special bracelet that gave them dibs on all the super super cheap doorbusters (like the big flat screen tv for only $499 - where there would only be 10 available). We were never that dedicated - but were always excited about the good deals we could get for ourselves and for Christmas gifts. The plan was always to split up, grab specific items, then one of us would get in the ridiculously long line, while the other person would continue to shop. We'd take turns shopping/standing in line...it was awesome.

This year we looked through all the ads... ALL of them... and nothing was exciting. Not a single thing. Nothing that was worth waking up before sunrise. We did, however, hit a couple of stores before 9am and picked up a couple of things. For the first time ever - we walked into Best Buy on Black Friday and walked out with nothing, absolutely nothing. I don't think Rob has ever walked out of Best Buy empty handed - it felt strange. Whoa...

Family Photo

Mom's going on a cruise next year for a reunion with her fellow nursing students from UST and needed to submit a recent family photo. Here we are at the Arrowood park - just 1 block over from our house. Ahhh - lovely San Diego - it's the end of November and were able to enjoy a sunny afternoon in the mid-70's. Gotta love SoCal :)

My Thirty-Something Birthday :)

Birthday Brunch @ The Chart House in Cardiff

(Those of us who braved the wind for this photo!)

Today I celebrated a thirty-something birthday :) Well, I actually celebrated my birthday on Sunday - I had a small birthday brunch with 20 of my closest friends and family members. Today was still a special day as I was reminded of all the love that surrounds me. Thank you thank you thank you to those of you who greeted me a happy birthday - I appreciate you!

Rob :-*

Rizza

Jeffery
Dana
Cathy
Eileen (I loved the "Happy Birthday" song!)

Bobby :)
Emelyn
Denise

Jane
Cheryl
Milette
Vic
Shana
JoAnn
Mike
Rachel
Marnie

JoAnn
Mel
Marlo & Elaine
Rodel
Fred & Jocelyn
Keith

Mom-in-law
JimBob
Sharon
Jynelle
Jim
Stephie
Erika

Ninang Chit

Ninong Cesar

Val

Allan

Ashley

Nini

Donnie

Tricia

Ralph

Magi

Tita Edna

And of course.... Mom and Dad