Farewell to the Powell's

I was so excited when I woke up this morning and realized we had nothing planned for today!  Honestly, I get so excited about laundry, grading papers and grocery shopping as opposed to running all over town for an audition.  What has happened to me?

Our friends from Houston, Susan and Grace, are heading home tomorrow.  We sure are going to miss them.  In honor of their departure, we made fajitas and all the trimmings and piled in our room to eat since it was chilly outside. 

The kids hung out on one side of the room....

...and the mom's were on the other.

No matter what happens out here, we are so blessed to have made such great friends.

"The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever."

~Psalm 121:8

The "Ozcars"!

I have been trying to update my blog since Sunday night but our internet has been out.  Drives me absolutely insane.

Sunday evening, Coppelia organized our "Ozcar" party.  She definitely missed her calling in life which should have been "Event Coordinator" instead of a real estate agent.

Our event was "thrift store" attire.  Everyone donned their finest finds from the thrift store and walked the red carpet (red table cloth) to be interviewed by our handsome co-hosts Cole and Talton.

The buffet table was loaded.

An "Oscar" was given to the best dressed.  Try not to notice that "Oscar" was originally a track trophy but then Oscar's arms were sawed off to resemble the real Oscar!

Our esteemed judges, Carol and Jeff.

The beautiful actresses of Burbank...

Freya, Grace, Soren and Angelina.

The gorgeous dudes of Burbank...

Cole, Spencer, Slade and Talton.

We had so much fun sitting around the pool talking and eating.  All the girls piled in our room to watch the real Oscars while the kids stayed outside and talked.

We all agreed that had Michelle, Susan and I been in charge of the party, we would have showed up in our pjs with cheese dip.  It was a lot of fun to get dressed up for a change.

"Kind words are like honey - sweet to the soul and healthy for the body."

~Proverbs 16:24

Busy Saturday

On Saturday, it was so nice to sleep until 8:00 a.m. and not have to jump up to do school.  Ahh, just love the weekends.

Cole and I have a new friend, Yoko, who has been joining us on our morning run.  She is the mother of Angelina and they are in town from Louisiana for Angelina to try her hand at acting.  They are so sweet.  Yoko is very athletic and she and Cole usually leave me behind but that's ok.  I enjoy the company and it makes exercising so much more tolerable.

On Saturday morning, we met Daisy...

Daisy is a four year old Golden Retriever.  Her "parents" stop at the paper stand every morning to get her a paper to keep her happy while they walk.  Oh my goodness, she was a love bug.  I could have sat with her all morning.

Spencer and Darrin Shea went to the 10:30 a.m. movies.  I was laughing because they were probably the only two in the theater.  Who goes to the movie that early?!  But they had a great time and it was so nice for Spencer to be able to get out of the apartment with someone besides Cole and I.


Cole had an acting workshop Saturday afternoon from 2:00 to 5:00 so after I dropped him off, Michelle, Brooke, Brayden, Yoko, Coppelia, Freya, Susan, Grace and I all loaded up in two cars and hit the thrift stores on Sunset Blvd. and Melrose Avenue to look for our "Ozcar" dresses for Sunday night.  These ladies would win the Oscar for "Shop Till You Drop"!  Good golly, Miss Agnes, they wore me out.

 So much fun with good friends.


Funny story...


We were in American Vintage on Melrose Avenue trying on ballgowns.  Now granted, these are HUGE dresses with yards upon yards of tulle.  I am in the dressing room (alone) trying on one that is orange and sequined and voluminous.  After said dress is on, I ask Coppelia to come in and zip me up.  Then Freya comes in.  Then Grace and Brooke come in when Freya starts trying on her dresses.  After the opinion that I look like a large "pumpkin", I am trying to remove the garment when my hair gets stuck in the zipper.


"Hello?  Coppelia, my hair is stuck in the zipper."


No response.  What I DO hear is everyone telling Freya how great her dress looks and how wonderful her shoes will match.


Really?  Six girls in a dressing room, one of which is naked and hanging upside down with her hair entangled in a zipper and no one can hear her or notice that she is flailing around?


I was finally freed from the zipper, able to get dressed and run for my life out of the store.  Who knew shopping could be so dangerous.


Cole loved his workshop and I was so happy to get back to the apartment and put on my pj's.  Michelle made burgers on the grill and graciously shared with us.


I hit the bed early and had nightmares of a giant, orange zipper chasing me.


"If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that?  Even corrupt tax collectors do that much."
~Matthew 5:46

What day is it? What time zone am I in?

My word, what a week it has been.  I would like for you all to help me give a warm welcome to the weekend!  Woohoo!!!!!

Cole has been busy with auditions (yeah!).  The roles that are fit for him are really starting to become more readily available.  He and Olivia Shea both had an audition for a Pizza Hut commercial this afternoon so Kari and Olivia rode with us to Santa Monica.

Two peas in a pod.

It took us TWO HOURS to drive home.  We were 8 miles from our apartment.  I have nothing nice to say about LA traffic.

Coppelia came up with the bright idea of having an "Ozcar" party Sunday in honor of the Oscars.  The mom's are donning proper thrift store fancy dresses and everyone is bringing dainty little appetizers (finger food if yor from the South!) and we're having an Oscar watching party.  I couldn't work yesterday because we had no internet so the girls and I decided to hit up some thrift stores.  Michelle found a dress that fits her perfectly for $7.  The rest of us....nothing.  So, another shopping trip will ensue on Saturday while Cole is at an acting workshop for three hours.  Surely, we can all find something fancy for under $20!  Stay tuned for photos.

Spencer has had a busy week with school and working out.  Bless his heart, we have been so busy with auditions that he has had to entertain himself a lot.  Thankfully, there are plenty of kids at the apartment who he hangs out with.

I hope you have all had a great week and are as excited for the weekend as we are.  Do you have anything fun planned?

"Better is one handful with some rest than two hands full of toil and chasing the wind."

~Ecclesiastes 4:6

Random Thoughts

Warning....my brain is going in ten thousand different directions so there is no rhyme or reason to this post.

Spencer, Cole and I met Kari, Logan and Olivia Shea at the park on Saturday.  It was a gorgeous day.

Homeboy on Olivia's bike.

Olivia and Kramer on Logan's skateboard.

It has been kind of chilly here, for So Cal weather, which means it has been perfect for me.  This morning on my run I met Fox...

How could I not stop when this baby ran out to meet me and then crawled in my lap when I bent down to pet him.  Really, really, really wanted to run away with him but I really, really, really didn't want his owner (who was standing on the front porch) to call the cops.

I'm working hard on my new business venture and I'm getting ready to host a Weight Loss Challenge in our apartment complex.  We are going to meet once a week, for 12 weeks and the person who loses the most weight wins a cash prize.  I have lost seven pounds and two inches as of today.  Loving my new job.

The boys had yesterday and today off from school.  They have worked so hard (especially Cole, who stayed up late every night to get caught up) and they deserve a break.  I think we are going bowling today.  As long as the boys let me use the bumpers (to keep my ball from going in the gutter), I feel I will reign supreme!

We are going to have our first visitor to LA...my Aunt Martha is coming out to stay with us for three days in March!  I am so excited.  Hopefully, the weather will be perfect and we can show her all the crazies in this town but that will take longer than three days.

Cole has a callback for an audition he had last Sunday!  It is for theater (we haven't done that since we have been here) so we'll see what happens.  He is taking an improv class tomorrow and attending a workshop with a Casting Director for Disney on Saturday.  Keeping him busy.

Kari told me yesterday that she thinks Spencer's voice is getting stronger!  I can't tell but since she doesn't see him every day, I appreciate her observation.  He continues to work out with Anthony three times a week.

Ok, my brain is empty so I think I can stop.  Hope you all have a great day!

"I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart.  And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.  So don't be troubled or afraid."

~John 14:27

Wishing I was in Margaritaville.

I love me some Jimmy Buffett.  I cannot listen to one of his songs without going back to the time Brad and I rented a house in Key West for our anniversary and spent the entire week traversing the island and indulging in margaritas, and of course, frequenting Jimmy's restaurant.   When I am stressed, I put my ear buds in and let JB take me back to that wonderful week on the beach.

This week, I have listened to a lot of Jimmy.  You may think that being in California would not warrant any stress whatsoever and you would be right with regard to the fabulous weather and the friends we have made.  But, trying to be a mom, dad, wife, teacher, disciplinary, driver, coach, entrepreneur, friend....whew, it all caught up with me this week.  It would have been much, much easier to have stayed at home and never embarked on this adventure but then I remind myself that Brad and I want the boys to take risks and go for something they believe in.  I was never a risk taker and that is one thing I really admire in Brad...he doesn't let fear hold him back from doing something.  I love this quote by Leo F. Buscaglia..."The person who risk nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing.  He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live." 

With all that said, I am looking forward to a quiet and relaxing weekend and a better perspective next week.

Michelle and I decided that it was time to cover up our gray hair that seems to grow twice as fast when we are out here!  So, it was "salon day" in our kitchen (sorry Sarah, I know you will need to do some tweaking when I come to see you in April.)

Michelle, the master mixer!

Guinea pig #1.

Guinea Pig #2.

It covered up the gray and brought out my red highlights!

Last night, Michelle, Susan, Coppelia and I NEEDED Indian cuisine.  There is nothing better than curry, garlic and spice to perk you up (well, except maybe a new pair of shoes.)  We ordered enough food to feed an army and then ate our frustrations into oblivion in the buttered chicken curry, garlic naan and lamb rogan josh.  Needless to say, I finally had a great night's sleep.

It is another beautiful day in So Cal and I think we are going to meet the Shea's at the park and then watch the Razorback game this afternoon.

Have your frustrations been abundant this week?  I am abundantly grateful for a God that listens and cares about every complaint I have.

"God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts.  Use them well to serve one another.  Do you have the gift of speaking?  Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you.  Do you have the gift of helping others?  Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.  Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.  All glory and power to him forever and ever!  Amen."

~1 Peter 4:10-11

Rainy Days

I can count on one hand how many times it has rained since last August when we first arrived in Burbank....five.  Today, it is really raining, as in I had to use my windshield wipers when I took Spencer to work out.  And it's chilly.  A mere 54 degrees which will probably be our high today.  These poor Californians are just beside themselves due to the lack of sun and the strange water falling from the sky.  Makes me almost feel sorry for them.

We have so busy lately with school.  The boys just finished their 9 weeks exams...I am so tired of learning about chemistry, dangling participles and the proper names for all my digestive parts.  Do you remember when school used to be fun?  No, me either but I definitely do not remember it being this hard.

Guess I will get back to work.  I hope to post fun pictures soon.

"We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish."

~Hebrews 12:2