Another Laura Sighting!

I hope you all don't think I'm vain for always posting where my pictures show up. I just think it's funny that pictures taken almost 2 years ago pop up all over the place. My brother-in-law was watching a demo movie for a software and he found this picture. Maybe I should have a prize for the next person who can find my picture.

Weird Yellow Signs

Around town I've been noticing weird yellow signs with black letters. The letters never make any sense. Sometimes they are numbers and letters, or sometimes a letter or two may be upside-down. With my crazy "the worst is happening" mentality, I thought they were for some cult guiding people where to go. (Another example of this: I was vacuuming the other night and I heard this weird noise and freaked out because I was sure someone was trying to break in. I later realized it was the vacuum cord hitting the carpet.) Well, this week one of these weird little signs showed up by our house! 

Thankfully Dorothy was able to calm my fears about the whole cult thing. She got an email from the Country Club that the "CYE" sign meant that the filming of the HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm is  being held a the Country Club. I'm so glad these weird yellow signs are guiding the extras for the shows and not a crazy cult. One problem solved. Now, what to do about that crazy scratching noise in our wall...

A New Car!!

Last night we went to test drive some cars we were interested in, and ended up driving away with one! It's a Suzuki XL-7 Luxury edition. It has all wheel drive, 6-CD changer, iPod hook-up, leather seats, front seat warmers, optional 3rd row back seat, and sun roof. It's a 2008 with 13,000 miles. Before us it was a rental car so it was very well taken care of. In fact, Ja's dad thought it was brand new. We never thought of owning a Suzuki, but with all the features you get you can't beat the price.

Going to CARMAX was a very enjoyable experience, I would definitely do it again. The salesman we had wasn't pushy at all and he was very open to showing us many cars. We learned later that they aren't paid commission from the price of the car, but a flat rate. We were grateful for this because he first showed us car that was out of our price range but had no problems showing us a cheaper car. AND CARMAX has a 5-day return policy. If you don't like the car for ANY reason you can return it no questions asked and get your full down payment back. The Manager said he's know some people drive it to Vegas and back to test it out. It doesn't matter how many miles you put on it and you don't have to return it with a full tank of gas. I would recommend CARMAX to everyone.

782 Million Miles Away

Last Tuesday we went on a date to the Griffith Park Observatory to look through the telescope they have there. Lucky for us the sky was nice and clear so we could see the planet Saturn! Saturn is 782 million miles away but we can still see it through a telescope. That amazes me. We looked through a huge telescope first, then through a smaller one, that was just as powerful if not more powerful, to see Saturn. We could see the rings around the planet too. We then looked through another telescope at the nebula in the sword of Orion. This nebula just "gave birth" to 4 baby stars that we could see too. The nebula looked like a cloud with 4 little stars next to it. 

The Hollywood sign is on the neighboring hill to the Observatory which was a neat discovery. It's the best photo opt you can get of to the sign without setting off an alarm system.

On Wednesday we used the second half of our Disneyland 2fer pass and went to California Adventure. We had a great time there, even though it was pretty hot. We took the day slow, went all on the rides we wanted, went to a show, and learned about the large renovation that California Adventure is undergoing. Of course, Toy Story Mania was our favorite ride, and learning to draw Minnie Mouse at the Animation Academy was another favorite. This is how we did.

Mine is on the top and Ja's is the bottom one. Drawing is easier when everything consists of circles and lines and someone is telling you what to do step by step. 

Well, that's what's going on in our lives. Oh, and doing our taxes. What a joy that was. 

Look What's Cooking Today

Chelsey, her sister Amber, and I have started our own recipe blog. The name of it is Look What's Cooking Today and you can access it here.

We have posted our favorite recipes and continue to post pictures and other recipes. We also have Making Healthy Choices Monday, and Tips from the Kitchen Tuesday to keep you coming back for more.

Feel free to use it as much as you like. Maybe you feel like you're in a rut or don't know what to do with that chicken tonight. We have the recipes labeled and you can access those labels with the links on the right-hand side of the page. 

If you have any cool ideas for us or would like to share your own recipes with all of us, please email us at lookwhatscookingtoday@gmail.com. We'll post your recipes, along with pictures if you have one, as soon as possible.

We hope you find the blog useful! Enjoy!

Contrary to Popular Belief...

Ja and I do not sit around all day basking in the warm California sun. We do have jobs that keep us busy during the day.

Ja is managing  his dad's medical practice to become a more lean, mean, ultrasounding machine (Ja's words if you couldn't tell). He is implementing change in the way they do the medical billing, the way they handle situations in the office, and the way they train new hires. He is running reports trying to better account for the expenses of the practice. He is also writing new reports that have been very helpful. He also helps pay bills and do payroll. He is doing a great job and the whole staff loves having him in the office. 

I am working with a couple as their personal assistant. He had a stroke a little over year ago which left him unable to see very well so he can't drive or take care of household chores very easily. I take him to appointments, the bank, and the occasional lunch. I also help with other paperwork issues for them, and anything else they need help with. Since I don't start that job until 10 a.m., I also work in Dr. DeVore's office on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I'm helping them "go paperless" by scanning in bills and papers that can then be shredded. 

Along with this, we have my in-laws over for dinner a few nights a week, Ja plays basketball on Tuesday nights, I have mutual on Wednesday nights, I go to the NUCCA doctor every Thursday night, and Ja teaches English to Koreans on Friday nights. In between there we also visit with my family, teach lessons on Sundays, home teaching, visiting teaching, and any other event that may come up. To say the least we are very busy. Hopefully we can catch a few rays in there somewhere...

Grandma Winder's Funeral

We went to Grandma Winder's funeral this weekend in Provo and Vernal, Utah. We had a great time even though it was a funeral. As her program said, it really was a Celebration of Life. We told stories about her heard great stories about her and continued to learn from her example. It was a wonderful time and I'm so glad I was able to go. I'm very glad they put the last picture on the program because this is how I remember her best, with a huge smile on her face.

David Archuleta - Crush

Please tell me you get chills when you listen to his voice :)

American Idol

This post is for those American Idol fans out there...

This week I realized I took David Cook for granted. Sure he's a good singer, and he successfully changed most of the songs he sang on the show, but I never really liked him. Then after watching the show this week I realized that I missed hearing him sing. Chelsey I bet you never thought you'd hear me say that. He was a very good contestant and I'm glad he won. This season I hope someone will be just as good as David Cook. Watch his "Light On" Video here.

Now Chelsey, I'm going to redeem myself by saying, I MISS DAVID ARCHULETA! So far in the competition there is no one who can take his place. He is such a sweet boy with a sweet voice. Just look at his face! He was so much fun to listen to and to watch. I really hope someone can take the place of David Archuleta. Then I'll really enjoy watching American Idol Season 8. In case you miss him as much as I do, watch David's "Crush" music video above.