Have you ever sat down and wrote all your thoughts and feelings, then rethought...and deleted them all? Well, I just did. I can't sleep and was thinking about how we have all grown up in one way or another. Speaking of grown up, here is a picture of me, Denise and Tanya twenty years ago:


We plan to meet in San Diego next month for a reunion of sorts. Should be fun and I'll update the picture...twenty years later ;)

One of the benefits of living in LA is that I have felt somewhat forced to be healthy. I guess it comes with the territory. Last night Dylan and I went for a hike at a place called Willacre Park in the Hollywood Hills about a mile from our apartment. Here are a couple pictures of our hike:


So, that's going to be it for this blog. Funny thing is...I'm starting to get tired of being star struck. Just kidding! Just haven't run across anyone this week, or shall I say...I'm not looking as much as I first did. It's weird cause I work right next door to the Universal Studios and my eyes are starting to hurt from looking for stars so much. Don't they say, when you stop looking...they find you? So I've stopped looking...for now ;)

Oh and one subject I haven't mentioned and cannot believe I have not brought up...I miss alot of people back in San Jose, but most of all I miss my niece! I love her so much and can't wait to see her again (tears flowing now). Here is a beautiful picture of my beautiful niece:


She started kindegarten this year and my brother is coaching her soccer team, "The Ladybugs". Is that the name they picked, Brian?

Let me start by notifying everyone that Dave has changed his name to his middle name. He now goes by the name Dylan Thomas. Dylan and I had a wonderful fun-filled weekend. On Saturday, we stopped by Jerry's Deli for lunch, but we only saw one celebrity.

Shemar Moore, who played Malcom on the Young and the Restless and now plays Derek on the TV show called Criminal Minds. He was the perfect example of an actor with a very big head, as he put on an act like he owned the place. But he did ask me where the bar was located and I walked him over to it and he kind of thanked me under his breath ;) So, I'm talking to them now :) Here's a couple pictures of him:

On Saturday night, we went to an 80's concert at the Hollywood Bowl. The Human League, The Psychadelic Furs and ABC were all playing. It was soo much fun and the couple that sat at our table were great to hang out with and get to know. We danced until the wee hours of the night. Here is a picture of the Hollywood Bowl, which reminds me of the Theater on the Flinstones:


Yesterday, we didn't do too much...just went to the movies to see a documentary called the US vs. John Lennon. It was very informative and I highly recommend it, especially if you grew up in that era. Turns out that Richard Nixon is very similar to George Bush ;)

Oh ya, one thing I haven't mentioned is that we've also been going to the Driving Range about a mile from our place. I'm considering taking lessons cause I think I know how to hit the ball now ;) We have seen a few celebrities there, but I could not recall where I knew them from. If I do, I will definitely post them here :)

I haven't posted in a couple weeks, because I've been laying low and trying to lose some weight by eating at home and working out. Gotta be skinny to live in LA :) Plus all the season tv premiere's have kicked in.

Speaking of season premiere's I just saw Jim Belushi in the lobby at my work.

Dave and I went hiking last week at a new place we found in the Hollywood Hills off of Laurel Canyon Dr. and we saw Mark McGrath hiking too. We plan to go hiking tomorrow, so I'll take some pictures and post them.

I have big plans this weekend, so I'll definitely update the site on Monday!

A couple quick bullet points for today:

1. Today was my first rainy day in LA. Actually, it was more of a sprinkle ;) Nonetheless, I thought I should note it.
2. I'm strongly considering going forward with my documentary idea..."Do the formative years (ages 2-5) have an effect on who you are as an adult?". If any of you have any insight into this topic and/or the essential funding it would take to write and produce the film, please let me know.

3. Also, I found this article, which was exquisitely written and I'm "somewhat" of a political activist and a bit on the liberal side. Here it is, just in case anyone else may want to read it:
Titled: Why is bin Laden breathing?
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51876

Just a quick post...before I forget. I saw these two people at Ralph's Grocery store on my way home from work:
Steve Landesberg from "Barney Miller"

Raven Symone from "The Cosby Show" in her bright green pajamas

A new week and new things to do in and around LA!

Last Thursday evening on my way home from work, I picked up a Vanity Fair Magazine to see the pictures of Suri Cruise at the Magazine stand on the corner of Laurel Canyon & Ventura Blvd. and Jamie Presley from the TV show, "My Name is Earl" was picking up a few magazines too. Her Escalade was parked next to my car and I noticed that when she got back to her car, she was skimming through the pages of the magazines...probably looking for articles about her. So, just one star this week :(

Dave's mom came to visit us last weekend and we had so much fun :) Thursday night we drove through Hollywood/Beverly Hills and saw the sights and ate Sushi on Sunset at Miyagi's. Friday night we had a wonderful dinner at Vitello's (the restaurant that Bonnie Blake was murdered in front of) and played a game of Scrabble back at home, so we could have a somewhat early night to get ready for an exciting day on Saturday.

Saturday was a wonderful day...we drove to the Santa Barbara area to go wine tasting! I really like the movie, "Sideways" and always wanted to take the Sideways tour...so we did. You have to see the movie to understand ;) Anyway, the pictures tell the story...here is a picture of Miles (Paul Giamatti) from "Sideways" and Dave, me and mom at Kalyra Winery in the lovely town of Solvang, pictures from the Firestone Winery (Firestone Tires and Andrew Firestone from the Bachelor) of Ronald Reagan having a glass and some of the grapes in the Vineyard, and me and Dave at the Hitching Post Restaurant:





As you can tell we had a blast and I loved hanging with mom!

On Sunday, I went to Victoria's Baby Shower (the one in the middle) with Melissa (the one on the right)...and hung with my LA buds. There will probably be a ton more pictures of these girls in the future, but here is the first:



More pictures and fun to come... Hope all of you are doing great :)

September started out with a bang!

After many different job opportunities popped up for Dave, he will start working for WebCity Press next week (www.webcitypress.com) as an Account Executive. Dave is settling in and now we both love it down here!

I haven't seen any celebrities this week, but not from lack of trying. Oh ya, I forgot to mention in the first blog that I saw Robert Blake at the bank, when I first drove into Studio City. Vitello's (the restaurant where Bonnie Blake was murdered) is about a block from where we live and the Brady Bunch house is about a 1/2 mile away.

For Labor Day weekend, we traveled all over Southern California to see the beautiful sights...and boy did we! We started out Saturday morning with a drive to Palm Springs, where I also called Darla to wish her a Happy Birthday!

I know some of my family might not agree with my gambling habit, but our first stop was the local Indian casino, where I won another $1000 on my favorite Wheel of Fortune slot machine. Then before I could throw all my winnings away, Dave whisked me off for a nice outdoor lunch in downtown Palm Springs. After lunch, we drove about an hour away to Joshua Tree National Park (http://www.nps.gov/jotr). Joshua Tree was beautiful and there was a torrential downpour too. Here are some pictures from Joshua Tree:

A Joshua Tree
Dave rock climbing

Cheri in the desert

We drove home that night to get ready for more fun in Malibu. Sunday morning we woke up and drove to Malibu and the weather was so beautiful that we decided to keep traveling down the coast. After about 7 hours of driving on Pacific Coast Hwy., we stopped for dinner in Newport Beach and then drove back up Hwy. 405 to get back home. Here are a couple of pictures from our day on the beach:
Malibu Beach
Cheri in Palos Verdes
Dave in Redondo Beach

Last but not least...on Monday, we drove about a mile from our apartment for a lovely day at Universal Studios. It was very crowded and hot, but worth the trip. We started on the Back to the Future Ride, then on to the Studio Tour. Here is a picture of Gabrielle Solis' (Eva Longoria) house on Desperate Housewives (the TV show) from the tour:


And here is one more picture from our day in Universal Studios on Access Hollywood:


I think the pictures speak for themselves! I'll update this site again next week :) I hope everyone is doing great and please keep in touch!
All my best, Cheri