Erincita

Socal 2006
Sunday, January 22, 2006

Final day, a day of rest after a whirlwind vacation that's been most enjoyable. Thankfully, the nasty cold I'd been fighting had mostly cleared up by the time I arrived on Sunday night. We all went to bed pretty early, and on Monday it was down to Dana Point to see Steve, Barb, Connor, and Alex, who had come home from UC Riverside to enjoy the long weekend. We had the traditional chat around the kitchen table, complete with Steve's homemade margaritas, chips and salsa, and Barb made a fabulous roast with popovers homemade mashed potatoes. Mom and I contributed a salad, and I had the responsibility/privilege of being creative with it. I took a little risk trying a spicy chipotle cheddar dressing with crushed tortilla chips, sliced avocado, cheese, tomatoes, corn and black beans. It went over extremely well and I was pleased.

(Back in Seattle now) The first day back was super-tough. I'm still adjusting to a new manager and new expectations as far as the job goes. Yesterday I was on the phone over 1/2 hour (keep in mind that average time shouldn't exceed 3 minutes) opening a new account for a customer. Threw my whole handle time off and had me on edge for the rest of the day. At least I sold something, and the woman was so sweet with me--gotta love little old ladies.

Anyway, let's finish up with a play-by-play of the vacation:

1/17 Scott comes, takes me to the Crab Cooker in Newport Beach. We shared a shrimp cocktail, raw oysters on the half shell, and crab cakes with romano potatoes and cole slaw. It was delicious because it was all so fresh. We walked around the beach near Balboa, shopped a little, and returned home in time to prepare filet mignon (leftover from Christmas) and sour cream mashed potatoes. A visit from Scott is practically synonymous with good eating.

1/18 Scott spent the night and we were planning to see Brian and Shannon's brand new baby. Edward James unfortunately had to return to the hospital because of jaundice and I have yet to meet my second cousin. A little disappointed the four of us headed out to Sherman Oaks to see Grand Dad Purcell and Kent in his posh retirement village. I confirmed that Purcell means "little pig" and got a few lessons in the mortgage business from Kent. We all enjoyed a meal in the restaurant downstairs. I sat next to Grand Dad and leaned in every couple of minutes as the subject of conversation changed. It's always interesting to see all the Purcell men together. Mom and Dad dropped me off at cousin Nicole's after dinner and the Geiger family sat around the fire with me and chatted until late. Hannah gave up her bed for me and slept on the floor.

1/19 Woke up early with the family, always surprised with the fact that the table is actually set for breakfast and they eat together. I had some tea and joined Nicole to drop off the boys at their magnet schools. Phillip, Nicole and I then went for bagels and coffee. Phillip is irresisitably adorable and friendly. Nicole put him down for a nap when we got home and we prepared lunch for my Mom and Dad, who came by around noon to pick me up. When we got home I napped for a couple hours. We had BLTs fwith cheetos for dinner and watched a TV special about the presidents. For all practical purposes the vacation was over.

1/20 Stayed home with the 'rents and relaxed until the workmen came by to work on the ceiling in the kitchen. Mom and I went to Carl's Jr for lunch and drove around South Coast Plaza and the surrounding area. I'm sorely missing the sun right now. They took me to Long Beach Airport around four. The plane boarded on time but took off about 40 minutes late. Dana met me in Seattle and I went to bed early.

This whole vacation was a "you had to be there" experience. I loved every second of it. Family's all about catching up and I kept wondering what was so different about it this time around. I think it was just me, that I was different. That's probably a different post.

10:05 AM |