Pictures this time...LOL!

Troy, Hautumn, and me...Halloweentime 2008 at California Adventure! ^ Troy and Hautumn on the Steamboat at Disneyland

< Hautumn and me DisneyLand October 2008

Rodney and me, at The Getty Museum >
Keith and Rodney at The Getty Museum

Yeah, I don't know WHAT I was thinking, LOL!!!


< A Captain Jack Sparrow wannabe in Hollywood!

October 19th, Sunday morning

So for the next installment of the great and wonderful adventures of Eileen…ha-ha!!! They indeed ARE wonderful…as in the Wonderful World of Disney! Hautumn, Troy, and I went up to Anaheim yesterday, and spent all day at Disneyland and California Adventure. Disneyland had all the original types of rides, and shows, where California Adventure has the newer rides and shows…like Tower of Terror, and the rollercoaster…not to worry for you Disney World fans, it’s NOTHING like MGM studios and EPCOT—in fact, there’s no comparison! However a fun time was had by all! And it was great to spend some [MORE] time with my daughter!

Two weeks in a row now, I’ve been asked to pick up and extra shift, and have done so…extra money never hurts (especially around here) and I know they need he extra help, so why not? So instead of working only the three twelve hour shifts, I’ve also added 8 hours…so THAT’S always good. On Friday, I went out shopping…not just random browsing believe it or not, but shopping with a purpose!

Before I came out here, Hautumn asked me if I’d go to the Marine Corps Ball as her guest, so—DUH!!! A no-brainer—of course I said yes…but then: now what to do for an appropriate dress!? A minor dilemma. Then again…maybe NOT so minor! Where should I go? What should I look for-color? Length? Price? HA!!! Not so easy now….I mean for goodness sake! I’m in the land of shopping! Beverly Hills is right around the corner! Saks 5th Avenue, Gucci, Bloomingdales, you name it is at my disposal!!! I could have shopped at ANY of those stores!!! BUT---that would have meant venturing out of the realm of “this is where I know and feel safe driving (and NOT getting lost)”…yeah, for those of you who know me, know that if I CAN get lost, I WILL get lost!!! So I did NOT go to Beverly Hills, or Hollywood….but rather I went to what is called Fashion Valley…where there are still several stores like Saks, and Bloomingdales, but there is also a Macy’s, and a JC Penney’s…so I poked my nose into Saks, and Bloomingdales, and decided that I still needed to look at Macy’s and Penney’s…and wouldn’t you know it…I found the perfect dress at Penney’s! True…off the rack. It’s a tea length black taffeta dress that shimmers sort of charcoal in color, with a beaded hem, and a velvet bolero jacket. Best of all—I walked in on a doorbuster sale that took 50% off the original price plus an additional 10% off that….the dress cost all of $50.00 plus tax. Yes, I’m bragging on a deal at JCPenney’s…pathetic, aren’t I? When I go up to BH, I’ll find something to buy, just to say I did, but then it probably WON’T be a sale-or much of one! (I'll post some pics of the dress later or sooner, maybe? If I can figure it out once again!)

At any rate…the weather here is still nice, though I have to admit, I DO miss the change of the trees, and the apple dumplings from Wallingford’s…and the bulky sweaters, and the wool socks—wait, no, not really the last two…but I thought I’d let you think I did! It’s a bit breezy here today, something about the Santa Ana’s---which are the winds that also bring along the fires that burned up a good part of California last year…so, hopefully they won’t be severe this year like last…

FYI: the pictures of Rodney, Keith and me at Getty Museum were taken about two weeks ago. Keith is a good friend of Rodney's and he's a really cool person. I ended up riding from LA down to just north of San Diego with him, and though I thought it might be awkward (having just met him and all) it really wasn't. I think that somewhere along the line, I'll probably catch up again with him and his wife-she couldn't come with us to the Museum...hopefully Rodney will be able to pop down this way again soon!

Well I told you I’d keep you posted…and with pictures!!! Woohoo!!!

La Jolla Shores

hey all...spent 7 hours at the beach today, ...most of the time in a sweatshirt and managed to get a bit of sun on my face...and then I went shopping--didn't spend any money, but had a good time just the same. Hautumn has invited me to her Marine Corps Ball...so I've got some finding to do for the right dress...I SHOULD be able to find SOMETHING out here in "fashion valley" as I heard this area referred to earlier today...I'll keep you posted...

for now, though, I'm gonna scoot...love to all...Eileen =)

well hello again...

well hello again friends...yes, I know, it's been a while, but at least I'm here trying to keep this going! I can't TOTALLY be to blame...something was up ( or should I say down) with the other blog site...sorry...okay, I'm still to blame,

there has been MUCH going on since the last time...from going to New Hampshire, to home, to CALIFORNIA...yup, that's right, sunny California...the weather has been sunny and warm, though tonight it threateans to rain...oh well, considering the fact that the northeast has been under siege from one of the many hurricanes on the east coast...

Aside from ALL the hassles that I endured getting here---no major details other than suffice it to say that I will NEVER again work for the travel company that got me here---I'm so glad that I'm here. It's great being here in San Diego with my daughter. There's nothing like seeing someone after so long, and now being so close that you CAN reach out and touch them almost whenever you want. So she'd probably appreciate me NOT doing that, being she's a Marine and all...LOL, maybe she'd get over it...maybe not...LOL.

The place that I'm staying is a very nice apartment complex in La Jolla (pronounced "Lahoya") ...with a heated outdoor pool, two outdoor jacuzzis, a mini theater with surround sound and theater seats and all--okay, this is indoors---but it IS at my disposal to use whenever I want...free of charge...THAT is a long story...but due to the extreme incompetence of my travel company suffice it to say that I'm being allowed to use the theater free...all of the comforts of home...oh wait, who has a mini theater in their home??? Do you? Yeah, I didn't think so...

So, when I first arrived here in San Diego, I was met at the airport by H, and it was a sweet reunion...yes, we BOTH cried, sorry H for sharing...and THEN we went to retrieve my luggage----------and Dawber, my cat! I know, you're all thinking, "What? She brought her CAT???" Yes, I brought my cat...on the plane, as checked baggage...and let me tell you: he was NOT a happy critter when I broke him free of his mini jail---aka, his kennel--- in fact, I thought for a moment or two that he'd gotten lost in Chicago...at least that's what the woman behind the counter was worried about....it's not easy to lose a cat that weighs almost 20 lbs...18.9 to be exact...he was a sight for sorry eyes...or maybe I was a sight for HIS sorry eyes...LOL...it took him about two days to recover and even want to come to see me...and even longer than that for him to get on the right side of the clock, so to speak...he'd wake up almost like clockwork around 3:30 am....and expect to be fed, and watered...I'm not sure if he's really figured out yet that he needs to sleep longer into the morning! Joke's on me...no, it's not funny...LOL...anyhow, on to the hospital where I'm working....Scripp's Green Hospital!

It was built in 1924, by an amazing suffragate....Eleanor Scripps, who with her brother actually founded the Detroit Newpaper a long time ago...and she was....blah, blah, blah.....not that it wasn't interesting, but I spent a whole week learning about how and when the hospital was formed and who did what, and all that stuff...all in the name of hospital orientation...and then there was a week of OR orientation...so for two weeks, I got paid not to work much, but sit around and learn more...and more...oh well...it was an easy two weeks. I'm now on my own shift which is 9a-9p...Mon-Wed...it's great! I even got to pick up an extra day! It's gonna be all good! On Sunday Oct. 5, I ended up catching up with a friend (from Maine) who is also on the west coast....and we spend all day in Los Angeles...it was good to see a familiar face besides that of my daughters! I'll be able to post some pictures soon, and you'll see some of what I saw! Woohoo, like I said, it was a great day!

So, now that I've probably bored you all to tears....it's a start to say the least...and I've [tried] to include some previous pics...of NH, and VT...with more to follow, trust me...LOL...I know, you've heard it all before!

Love to all, feel free to comment, or not...and if you have any questions, I'll try to answer them...
Eileen, the Wandering Gypsy... = )