Category: vacation

Didn’t You Hear The Angels Sing Too??

Visited Target.

Finally went to a Christian bookstore—Berean Christian Store! It was enchanting, the moment I walked in. It was spacious and had excellent selection (compared to what’s on hand here at home). I l-o-v-e-d the accompaniment track section. Must visit again—not enough time yet!

Afternoon was spent cooking and relaxing. Dad & Jono went to LAX to pick up Amanda’s friend travelling from Bermuda.

Had an oxtail dinner and a most delightful beef pattie. Ohhhh….must return there too.

Graduation vesper service in the evening on the LLU campus, in the Wong Kerlee building. It’s actually one man’s name. I thought it was a joint effort type of place. I’ve gotta check out this dude now.

Hollywood

Chillaxed most of the day. Went down to Hollywood & Highland in the evening. Patrick wanted to get some real touristy Cali experiences.

They were doing “The Love Guru” movie premiere. I actually saw Megan Good & Justin Timberlake. Ehhh…big deal. I can’t believe people were actually lined up to see these fellow humans, especially from afar. It’s not like they were actually paying attention to the screaming mobs across the street. They were too involved in their press talks.

Strolled the area. Kodak Theatre & Hollywood & Highland mall. Finally saw the “Hollywood” sign.

Jamayia ate at a McD’s in Hollywood. Enjoyed a Cold Stone Creamery smoothie. Yummm.

Reunited And It Feels So Good…

Happy Birthday, Dad! Happy Birthday, Uncle Vaudré! (they’re 2 yrs apart, but have the same birth date—cool!).

Uncle Vaudré also was discharged from the hospital—yay!

Basically chillaxed today. Spent the afternoon watching a lot of old tv classics (the Cosby Show, Good Times, Amen).

Lakers vs Celtics game tonite.

Went to Inland Empire mall. I just needed to get out the house.

Patrick arrived. He had a worse travel day than we did yesterday. Don’t rent a car from Rent 4 Less. LOL—yes, the name speaks volumes. Ever gotten a rental with different hubcaps?? That’s just one hint of his bad experience with them.

So good to all be together. We missed Danielle though!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s Off to Cali We Go…

Up at like 5 am for the airport.

No fun travelling when your nose is running like MAD!!

Pouring rain when we were leaving. That’s alright—I knew I was heading into sunshine & heat.

We had the rudest United Airlines ticket agent. First off, the flight to Denver was pretty full. We’d originally booked our tickets through Air Canada, but because it was linked with UAL, we had to go to the United ticket counter. Didn’t realize that their baggage rules overrode our itinerary, which said 2 pieces. The rude lady wanted to charge us for 1 bag (UAL rules are 1 free bag, 2nd piece = $25). We were at the airport on time, and near the back of the line. But they only had 2 people working. At the last minute, they got a third agent. By the time we got to the front, they were already boarding the plane, and we still had to go through customs. So the agent was stressed because her people were rushing her (ha ha!). She weighed our bags, (Sherwin was with us too), and proceeded to tell us that she’s gonna charge us for 3. We weren’t impressed, but didn’t take too much time to argue or anything. She was straight-up rude with her attitude though. As she’s trying to print out luggage tags & boarding passes & charge the credit card, her computer freezes. LOL. Plus, the customs people kept radioing her, as well as the person at the gate, wondering what the hold up was. She was so rude, and stressed, that while her co-worker was dealing with a customer, she proceeded to waltz up and try to use her computer terminal. Then caught herself “oh, were you using this?”. Umm…DUH! That nice agent was only serving a customer. In the end, she had to get her friend to help her tag and print things. She also only charged us for 2 bags. Oh, she’s also gotten mad at Sherwin & I because we were discussing the fact that UAL had poor customer service. Nothing directed to her, no yelling, no cussing, not even bitterness or worry that we’d miss our flight. Just disappointment that they’re gonna charge us for something when our itinerary clearly says another.

We were the last people to board. Flew through customs without any questions at all though, which was cool.

Stuck in Denver for 4 hrs. Good thing the airport terminal was pretty big.

Welcome to sunny California. Yay—heat!! Jono picked up the rental. Toyota Sienna. Great way to test drive a minivan.

Went to our accommodations for week 1. A condo on the Loma Linda University campus. Sounds like it’s a place where they let recovering surgery patients stay. Cute place. No central air though, just A/C wall units. One was just off the dining room. The other was in our bedroom. My parents suffered a bit. Mind you, they at least had a patio, complete with sliding door.

Baking In The Sun

Ahhh! Gotta love the hot, Cali sun. I’m definitely not missing the weather back home. Just another chill day here. We went out for a bit this morning. Then home, for Jamayia to get a nap. Amanda & her friends went out to a Mary Kay party during the nap. She was trying to drag me along, but no thanks. These events don’t work well with my curious and mobile child. The oddest thing happened while she was out though…

The doorbell rang. I checked the peephole, but all I saw was a huge fingerprint. I wasn’t expecting anyone nor did I recognize the car outside. I knew it wasn’t my sister, because she’d just use her key. So, the doorbell rang about 4-5 times, still with the big fingerprint in the way. The last time, the finger finally moved, and I saw this tall, dark guy there. It was Andrew, a former collegemate of my sister’s. Andums!! It was cool that he took a few minutes out to come and say hi and see Jamayia. He was in the middle of exams, studying hard to be a dentist.

Oh, and Amanda’s face wasn’t all that. The Mary Kay rep didn’t have proper foundation for her, and had to make up some fake colour. I’d love to post the pic, but I’ll spare her for the moment. Should she misbehave, I will post it though…

What?? Your First Time??

Hi. Uh, my name is Sabrina, and I’ve never been to a prayer meeting.

Ha ha ha! Almost sounds like some sorta group therapy admission. But don’t worry, that’s not how my first prayer meeting experience went. Au contraire ma soeur, I sat in a pew, joined in the singing of a couple songs. Had an internal argument over whether to help out their pianist (who was making this one song sound just painful!). Took part, fed my little Moaner while still in my seat. And it was over in 1 hr.

That’s how prayer meeting should be–short, simple and Spirit-filled. I’ve never been to prayer meeting before because we don’t have one at my church. **gasp**–that admission was wayyy more embarassing than my opening line. We used to have one, years ago, when I was just too young to care. Now that I’m older and wiser and have an appreciation and love for God, I’m interested in programs like prayer meeting. It’s just a chance to come together, share a devotional thought and pray with others, if you want to pray outloud, that is. It doesn’t have to be a long, drawn out labourious affair. It’s not painful, it’s not ugly. I enjoyed it and wish to do it again.

Did I ever tell you how Jamayia often moans while eating? And tonite was no exception. Good thing that sanctuary is huge–hopefully she didn’t disturb too many people with her moans. But, I was quite self-concious about it, and slipped outside when I had the chance. Wouldn’t you know that she got quiet once we were outside?? Figures.

We’re Off to See the Wizard of the Wonderful Outlet Mall

**ahem**–stepping into my sultry Marilyn Monroe voice…
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday Sherwy & Mandaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Happy birthday to you!
stepping out of Marilyn Monroe character…

Yes, the twins are getting older. The big 2-5 for them this year. It still sounds kinda weird to say that my younger siblings are 25. I’ve gotta work on my sister though—she’s got this negative side of her that complains about getting old. She ain’t old! And if she’s old—then what am I????

So, Amanda didn’t know what she wanted to do or eat. But today was definitely Ontario Mills Mall day!!!! If you ask Amanda, she’ll tell you that I “shopped down the place”. But really, I only picked up a few things. And she shopped too.

For real, who can pass up great bargains at The Children’s Place Outlet? Hello—they had $0.99 racks there. Yes, ninety-nine cents per item. They also had a few $7.99 & $4.99 racks at 50% off each. They had a Sean John Outlet store. I bought myself a shirt simply because it was affordable and said “Sean John”. Fear not, this isn’t a habit. Unless we strike oil in the next 30 yrs, that’s probably the only Sean John item I’m ever buying for myself. I visited the Nike Outlet to get something for Hubby. Oh, and a Carter’s Outlet. I like their onesies for Jamayia!! We made the round of the entire mall. I found an appropriate shopping cart cover too. I have a Licker–must cover entire cart. I can now grocery shop during the day, with Bébé!
Jamayia had a great time too. Poor thing just about passed out as soon as we got in the car.

Oh, I must share this shoe story though. My sister took me to a great discount shoe outlet, Off Broadway Shoes. At the front of the store, they have rows galore of fancy shoes at fancy prices. And at the back, they had clearance racks, with a different discount amount per colour-coded sticker. Well, I tried on many a cute pair. I was debating on whether or not to actually purchase any. I have extremely narrow feet, so these shoes were not going to be a sure fit. But, for a fantastic price, I’d at least have a pretty shoe with an okay fit. The shoebox said $70.00, but they were in the wrong box. The discount sticker was 40% off, plus an extra 10%. I hemmed and hawed. They’d be like about $35 after discount. Amanda convinced me to take them to the till to check the price, and I could decide there. At the till, they were $28 and some change after discount. And the shoes Amanda picked up were just over $12. I can’t wait to go back.

We headed out early. When in Southern Cali, you must do whatever’s necessary to avoid traffic. Had I more time, I would’ve definitely tried on actual clothing for myself. I sadly didn’t have time for that. We did stop off for some food though. Yummm….West Indian cuisine.

After chillin’ that evening, Nicole came by with a present for Amanda. Then we headed out to Target. I picked up few DVDs. A couple Tyler Perry plays, and Dreamgirls, as it was only $10. Yes—I said $10!! Then we went to Coldstone Creamery for ice cream. Turns out that they sing you this cute little song on your birthday. The look on Amanda’s face was pretty funny.

Oh, dear People At Visa, is it possible for you to not send me my next couple of bills? I take consolation by the fact that I didn’t overspend, nor spend frivolously. I could’ve done much more…much, much more damage today, had I the proper time.

**evil grin**

Chillaxin’

The cool thing about this trip is the chance to move at a relaxed pace. If we don’t feel like going out, we just chill at home. Didn’t have to run here and there to meet everyone’s needs. So, today, we went to the Loma Linda University Bookstore, to run an errand, then we were off to a nearby mall. We just chilled, really. I didn’t buy anything on this trip. I was holding off for our trip to Ontario Mills Mall. I did get a gelati smoothie and shared some with Jamayia, as there was no sugar or no dairy involved. She seemed to enjoy herself.

Oh, and did I mention that it’s hot here…like h-o-t kind of hot. Over 100 degrees Farenheit, with little or no wind… Better to enjoy it while I have the chance. I hear it’s kinda nippy back home.

Off to Target!

Today was just a chillin’ day. We just sat at home and relaxed in the heat. Amanda rented a movie for me, which I started last nite and finished off today. Daddy’s Little Girls, by Tyler Perry. I enjoyed it—it was a nice movie. I highly recommend it. The actresses who play the 3 daughters in the movie are actually real life sisters. They did such a great job together. I also appreciated how the movie was pretty clean. The language and sexual content weren’t really there. Yippee! Thanks, Tyler, for showing that you can still have a fantastic movie & story line without marring it with foul language and shameful sexual content.

When you see it, let me know what you think.

Oh, and Nicole, my sister’s classmate, came over too. Jamayia took to her right away. Just started smiling and chatting away with her as though they’re old friends. Turns out that Nicole & I seem to have a few things in common, according to my sister. We went to Target that evening. To me, that was an exciting outing because I don’t get to Target too often, only when I’m in the US. And stores in a foreign country are often more exciting than stores in your own home town. LOL. I’d been asking Amanda to go to target, preferably a SuperTarget while I was down there, and/or a SuperCentre Walmart. They both said that Target is better, so Target it was. Good thing too, because I was able to get quite a few small things there. Nicole also has a sweet tooth and loves desserts. I still owe her one. Next time I’m down there, I’ll whip up something tasty.