Obama In My Backyard

I was startled this morning at 6am to what I thought was plane about to fly into my apartment building. I jumped out of bed to go see what all the noise was literally right outside my window. I peered across the street to see dozens of police cars, marked, unmarked, motorcycle cops and secret service agents loitering all down Barrington Ave.
Keep in mind I noticed over the last few days the parking lot was blocked off and there were signs that said no parking from Tues-Thurs and then last night there was a cop sitting at the entrance making sure no one parked in the lot. I thought it was strange but I wasn't sure what was going on.
By now everyone in the building was awake and people began to congregate around the gate that had been disabled so that it was impossible to leave the building. Word staring flying around that Obama was going to be leaving from this undisclosed location sometime in the next hour and a half. By 7:15 the caravan of security began, and within a few seconds Obama and his 2 limos entered the park on Barrington across from my home at Sunset Barrington Gardens. Within a few minutes everyone moved from the vehicle into the helicopters that were on their way to LAX to take Obama and team back to Washington. I even saw the 2 guys dressed in all black with the famous briefcases holding the codes to any nuclear missiles that Obama might need.
The helicopters were warmed up and off they were off. There we 2 because as we all know they don't want you to know which one he is in and then right after the 2 air force one helicopters took off it was followed by 2 snipers (well that is what they looked like to me) took off immediately after. They flew right over the trees in front of my balcony and were off to LAX.
I felt like I was on a episode of 24 this morning it was a very cool experience.

BINGO

BINGO- a fun game of luck with lettered and numbered balls. My parents are frequent casino visitors. Las Vegas used to be the place of choice because that was the only choice, now since they live in San Diego the pool of blackjack and slot machines has grown to all corners of San Diego County. They can go to Barona, Sycuan, Harrahs just to name a few. Now the casinos have ventured into new territories they have BINGO everynight. Bingo is something we as a family used to play when we were little on all the cruises we used to take. I would have never imagined driving to a Casino to play BINGO, but I must say we had a great time.

We arrived to this large Casino in the middle of nowhere and people were filling in as if there was a free buffet that night but no it was a 'special' BINGO night. The buy in was $25.00 which is more than double what is usually is so of course my Dad's face lite up like a kid in a candy store. We sat down he went up to the counter, well only after we all had to get frequent buyer cards for Sycuan Casino (mind you I will never go again). He came back to our aisle seat right in front of the Bingo annoucer with literally 50 Bingo cards. We played BINGO from 6:15 till 10:45 at night.

At one point I ran to the bathroom because you don't have much time between games and as I was sitting there I said to myself please let my dad win tonight. I quickly washed my hands ran back to play another game of four corners, plus 3 bingo lines and a coverall, no win for anyone in our group. Then the next game a random arrow across your card. I was dotting away with my handy dandy dabber that they provide for an extra dollar of course and I looked over at my dads card and said, "dad you only need one more" and before I knew it the next number that was called was G47 I said yell BINGO. He just looked at me and I said yell BINGO then he finally said BINGO not very forcefully but the host came over looked at his card and confirmed BINGO. The majority of the games were paying out $200 dollars but this was as special game he won $1,000 dollars. It was so fun he couldn't stop talking about it and there were over 1,000 people at BINGO that night so it was a real victory. Needless to say we got home after midnight with an extra grand that we showed up with.

Congrats Dad!

A Girl with 2 First Names

So Ashley Lynn is my name which as we all know is 2 first names put together. I actually love my name I think its fantastic...its easy to spell, easy to write, people don't usually get it confused except lately I don't know what has happened. I often get AshleyLynn what is your last name? This doesn't bother me to much as I can appreciate and understand why someone would think that I do in fact think Ashleylynn is sort of cute. I also get Lin when I spell my last name and I can also understand how this happens.
Over the past 48 hours 4 different people of which I have worked with for over a year each at least have addressed me as Lynn. I am really bothered and upset by this for some reason. Three people addressed me as Lynn in an email when my name clearly is Ashley and my signature at the bottom of all my emails clearly states this. Then I received a phone call this morning and the girl who I have worked with forever said Hi Lynn it's blank.....wtf I mean seriously how can you mistake someones name you have known for such a long time. My voicemail says Hi you have reached Ashley Lynn please leave a message. Anyways I am not sure what is going on but I am keeping tabs on this situation. If it happens again I might say something.

Awkward Spinning Experience

I am an avid spinner and spin at least twice a week. I take a lot of the same teachers because of the times I am able to go. I have been wearing these fantastic sports bras (well I thought they were fantastic till last night) They are Champion from Target and they come in many fun colors and have thin straps so I don't feel totally suffocated as most sports bras make me feel.
I was nearly done with my class last night with a teacher who I take at least once a week if not more and apparently my boobs were bouncing more than usual which lead me to the moment. The instructor got off his bike in the middle of the class to come over to me and whisper in my ear "its called a sports bra!!" I was in shock who does that. I am not sure if I am putting off a weird vibe these days, but random things have been occurring lately and I am not sure how I feel about it.

Massage Gone Wrong

So we all have heard massage horror stories, the masseuse getting a little to close to your privates, getting a boob rub, bad breathe or weird noises made by the therapist but nothing prepared me for what I experienced last night. 

I am a frequent visitor to the Massage Place in Brentwood just a short walk from my house, I have been going for years. I just got back from a trip to Cabo and off a stressful week of work I thought a massage would be a great Tuesday night treat. I arrived fifteen minutes early for my 7 o'clock appointment to relax for a few minutes before I was called in. I was passing the time by checking my emails on my Blackberry when I realized it was ten after seven and my name had not been called. Just as I was about to say something my therapist came over and said I am so sorry but my last client has been in the room for over 15 minutes, I don't know what he is doing and I am so sorry. I immediately thought something was fishy, but just went on with my business on my blackberry. Another five minutes went by and the massage therapist asked the manager at the front desk to please go knock on the door and check on the man to make sure he was okay. When the therapist knocked the man said I am putting on my shoes be out soon. Hmmm I thought to myself why does it take nearly 20 minutes to put your clothes back on after a massage a little strange. 

Finally the man emerged looking very discombobulated, confused and disheveled, but nothing out of the ordinary after you get a massage. He looked like a normal guy maybe in his 30's nothing strange about his appearance. The therapist ran in quickly changed the sheets and asked me to come in that she was ready. The Massage Place is a no frills place you go in get your massage and leave. They usually have a few sets of clean sheets on a shelf in the room to make the transition from client to client seamless and quick.

It was time for me to get undressed and get onto the massage bed. I pulled back the sheet and got under the sheets only to find out the sheets were wet. I immediately jumped out of the sheets looked down and there was a circle of wetness on the top sheet that had soaked through to the bottom sheet. I threw my clothes back on and ran out of the room to tell the therapist. She felt so badly because she knew what it was and was as disgusted as I was about to be. The man had rubbed one out and decided to ejaculate his nastiness onto my clean sheets. I laid in a strangers sperm!!! The therapist began to tell me that the man had been upset with her because she stopped his massage early because he was playing with his little friend during the massage. 

I wasn't sure what to do I was in shock. I ended up getting my massage but the first half an hour was ruined by the thoughts of what I had just laid in!!

I got a free massage but it will be hard for me to go back. 

Sunday at the Counter

Sunday at The Counter...where do I begin.

A bit hungover a few of us decided to go The Counter for lunch to provide some grease in the hopes to make us feel a little better.

I have only been to The Counter once before, but I enjoyed my first experience and I thought it would be the perfect place to go on a Sunday afternoon to get some good food. 

For those of you who haven't experienced The Counter it is a place with 4 protein patty choices, 18 cheeses, 30 toppings, 3 bun choices....one restaurant. For those of you like me who like to hand pick all your meals this is the place for you. They give you a sheet sort of how you order sushi, but you pick all your fixins for your burger or burger bowl- it is fabulous.

The restaurant opened at 12:00 but I had to go pick up my car from the night before therefore we didn't arrive till 12:30. This was our first mistake we ended up waiting 45min for a burger because the restauarnt was full by the time we arrived at 12:30. This gave me a lot of time to watch the folks dining and the ones waiting to dine. 

The restaurant is in Santa Monica not the Inland Empire so some of the things I experienced were very strange for me, things you don't see everyday on the Westside. 

1. A five year old with assbergers (which I am sympathetic towards) however he was out of control- running around the restaurant making noises and almost yelling and of course the parents looked like they were inbreed and could have cared less.

2.  A women dressed in a head to toe ROCKY jumpsuit. The bottoms were black with ROCKY printed down the entire leg and the red matching track jacket....I thought I was in Iowa for a second and I had to control the urge to ask her some questions about her choice of clothing. 

3. A relatively attractive guy sitting having lunch with his is significant other. As they got up to leave he had sunglasses that had the American Flag printed on the lens-freaky.

4. I saved the best for last a 3 year old breastfeeding at the table next to us. This child was a boy, had a full mouth of teeth and as he finished breastfeeding...he asked his mom "where are the french fries I am hungry"

Keep in mind once we sat down we were finished in under one hour. It was a very strange day at The Counter and I am not sure where all these weirdos came from today!

Taxes Finished

I am done with my taxes and I could not be happier. Every year when this time rolls around I feel anxiety about getting my taxes done. I have never been late but for some reason I just cannot relax until I know they are done and now I can officially say they are finished!.

MJ

I am dying to find a way to see MJ in LONDON!
I have always been a fan and I would do anything to see him in concert!

LA RSF

So I know I have blogged a few times about random license plates I see on the road, but I am super observant and they always catch my eye for one reason or another.

Today I was on my usual weekly trip to Riverside to visit my client Tapout. Today was a good day I actually didn't have to drive I was driven which is rare. On the way back to Vernon about half way back on the 60 fwy to be exact we heard a loud boom, our back right tire had blown. We immediatly pulled over to a gas station to find that the tire had a huge hole in it and putting some air in was not going to cut it. There were a group of hispanic men that were getting gas and saw all these well dressed idiots staring at this popped tire and they came rushing over. It was like a NASCAR race they had our tire removed and replaced in less than 10 minutes. As we all were getting ready to pile back into the car I noticed the license plate of the car I was riding in.....

LA RSF......

My mind was spinning because I have seen this guy driving this car around town several times. Come to find out he lives in my neighborhood.  So what does this plate mean...well to me being that I grew up in Rancho Santa Fe (RSF) I always thought this arrogant man had a license plate that said LA RSF (Rancho Santa Fe). As we got back in the car I wasn't sure how to approach the subject without calling him out on being a total jerk. I asked he politely, "what does your plate mean?" He responded Real Special Friend...I said no way what does it mean. He said Ashley its my initials. Then I launched into what I thought it meant and what an a-hole I thought he was driving around town with such a rude arrogant license plate. The entire car was in hysterics...it was great.

Keep in mind the driver goes by Bobby therefore the R threw me off.

Memory Lane

I always thought I was good kid in high school and that I never did anything bad, deceiving or sketchy. My mom pulled this letter out of my box of memories while I was home over the weekend and I have never laughed so hard in my life. I was probably 15 or 16 years old and I seemed to think it was okay to have one my friends write a letter to my Dad telling him that we should be able to sleep at their house with our dates and that he should get hotel somewhere with my mom for the night. My parents were pretty cool but this didn't fly!

Random Facts about ALL

I know that Facebook is on a 25 random facts phase, however I don't need all 300 something of my friends and my not so friends knowing too much about thee. In no particular order here it goes.

1. I love getting into a hot car and not turning on the air conditioner.


2. You know I am comfortable with you when I want the food on your plate rather than what is on my plate.


3. I have a freckle on the end of my nose that is often mistaken for some sort of food usually chocolate.

4. I love spicy foods- jalapenos, pepperchinis, tapatio, Tabasco, fiery salsa..anything hot really

5. I read my horoscope everyday and it always seems to be right or at least I create a story in my mind to make it accurate.

6. Spinning is my exercise of choice.


7. I love my friends all of them they all serve a special purpose in my life.

8. I love American Idol, 24, Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl and my all time favorite is Wheel of Fortune and I am really good. One day I hope to get on the show.


8. I have had a breast reduction, gallbladder removed as well as my tonsils removed and I never had the chicken pocks.

9. I long for happiness in love and life

10. I am proud that I graduated from USC and gracious and lucky that my parents were able to send me and pay for all 4 years.


11. I love USC Football- Go Trojans. I also love Pete Carrol he is such a stud and is so handsome!


12. I would love to meet Julia Roberts

13. I used to fall asleep to love songs on 96.5 when I was in junior high. I also was a mini metal head in junor high I kept this under wraps.


14. I can sing the words to almost every song on the radio at any given time. If I hear a song once I can sing all the words the next time I hear it.


15. My love for dogs borderlines obsessive. I have had 5 dogs at once at one point in my life but now my beloved parents just have one dog Bubba who I love more than life. My most favorite animal was my pug Winston I miss him so very much. I hope one day soon I can have one of my own.

16. I have a natural knack with babies for some reason. I wish I had someone to be a baby machine with I am very excited to one day be a mom.

17. I make my bed everyday and if on the off chance I forget I make it when I get home even though I will be getting back into it shortly.

18. I actually enjoy what I do for a living.

19. I really don't love Los Angeles but I don't know where else I would live right now.

20. I got a really bad sunburn from limes which caused red lines all over my legs that could take a year or more to go away.

21. I love that I have a wonderful relationship with my 2 siblings.


22. I am very particular about my water. I have a very acute sense of taste and I can taste the different in waters and I love Fuji and Smart Water and I hate Dasani and Aquafina.

23. I do sometimes get jealous but I have gotten better over the years. It is a work in progress.


24. I love to travel and I am looking forward to my trip to Europe in June.

25. I could sell ice to eskimo thanks so my dad...the salesman mentality comes naturally to me.

26. I like my food well done and I like the crust of bread better than the filet of dough.

27. I wish I could do the splits I have never been able to and I am not sure if I ever will.

28. I floss everyday no matter what...even if I am wasted.

29. I tend to smell my food before I eat it.

La Sosta Enoteca- Hermosa Beach

La Sosta Enotecta-a small quaint, candle lite neighborhood Italian wonder. One of my passions is savory food and fantastic wines I love to try new restaurants. On Saturday night one of my dearest friends was in town and a group of us decided to treat ourselves to a culinary experience. We were having wine and sharing fun memories about 4 blocks away from this hidden treasure. We arrived to an adorable stucco walled restaurant, covered in candles with large wood panels windows covering one entire wall.

We ordered 2 amazing bottles of Italian wine and appetizer platter of fresh meats and cheeses. They had a carver in the back of the restaurant where they hand carved your salami and cheese to order.

We all enjoyed the platter very much it was a great way to start off the evening. The waiters were super attentive and helped us out with the ordering and rather than ordering individual plates we all shared everything which is my favorite way to eat. I love trying a little bit of everything..I am always the person who wants to take a bite of everyone's meal.

We shared 3 different kinds of pasta 2 gnocchi one with lobster in a cream sauce and one with Gorgonzola cheese they were both melt in your mouth amazing. The last pasta was my favorite it was a homemade thick flat pasta served with tomato sauce and lamb. Lamb would not be my first choice in meat but it was truly amazing and if all lamb tasted this good it would move up the Ashley ranks!

The waiters loved us so much they gave us a plate of profiteroles for dessert which were just as decent as the rest of the meal. All around a very fun culinary experience and I recommend this place to a group of girls or date night. Not to mention I was able to spend time with my Alli.

Another Obnoxious Personlized License Plate

I was in the OC this weekend having lunch with my girlfriend- At South Coast Plaza to be exact. South Coast is known to draw snobby shoppers and apparently obnoxious vehicles with inappropriate license plates. We were turning into the mall and I look up to see an man in his 50's not attractive driving a nice new black BMW 6 series convertible. As my eyes moved down to the license plate it said OC CEO! Who in their right mind thinks this is okay. I wanted to ask him if this was a gift and he felt bad not using it...or was it something he purchased for himself and what company he CEO of because I will never buy an of their products or services.

Bubbalicious

This is Bubba my handsome, adorable, smoosh face! I love this guy to death he is just the greatest. He has a mind of his own and I thought I would name a few of his like and dislikes.

Likes

1. Any kind of people food but a few of his favorites, toast, whip cream, peanut butter, cottage cheese, goldfish, and Dairy Queen vanilla soft serve.

2. He loves the car he will sit in it for hours without any problems.

3. Sleeping

4. Rubbing his big fat lip all over your face.

5. Green milk bones and yes the green ones are his favorite.

Dislikes

1. Any other animal besides Kitty Kitty and our late Punkiman

2. Babies- he doesn't like the noises they make

3. When anyone talks on the phone and doesn't pay attention to him.

Limes and the Sun deathly combination....

Okay, so two weeks ago for Martin Luther King weekend I decided to venture to Palm Desert for a little rest and relaxation. My pasty white body really needed some sun and being that we are so spoiled in California we were having a heat wave in the beginning of January with temperatures nearing the 90's. I fully took advance of this heat wave and was in a bathing suit for 2 days straight. Of course drinking goes along with rest in relaxation in the desert. We started our days off with bloody mary's garnished with celery and lime then moved onto Corona's accompanied by a fresh lime wedge. I am that girl who loves the garnish I am big condiment person I always have been, so this leads me to my story.

I returned home on Sunday night from the desert with a little bit of tan which I was thrilled about. I woke up the next morning and notice these weird red streaks on my legs. It was as if someone took a red magic marker and drew down my leg in 4 different places. I ignored it for a few days and then after a week went by and they didn't get any better I began to wonder what could these strange lines be. Of course as all of us do I quickly went onto Webmd only to find crazy diseases that I could possibly have, but nothing explained these lines completely. They didn't hurt, I didn't feel sick and they were not hot like many of the websites claimed.

Now it has been over a week and I decided I should probably go see my dermatologist. I made an appointment for yesterday at 9:30 to find out once and for all what these marks were covering my legs. I arrived and was sitting in the waiting room for only a few minutes before I was called into my private room to wait for the doctor. I undressed put on my robe only to hear some sirens going off throughout the building which I found to be strange. All of the sudden the nurse came in and said put your clothes back on we have to evacuate the fire alarm is going off.
I thought to myself what a nightmare I now have to get dressed, walk down 10 flights of stairs and wait for an hour while the fire department checked every room in the entire St. John's Medical Center (which is a huge facility). This was just a drill, but as luck would have it this happens about once a year and it happened to be the time I was at the doctor.
Finally after an hour I get back into the room undress once again and wait for the Dr. to come back in.
She walks into the room takes one look at my streaks and says I know exactly what this is, but before I tell you I am going to ask you a few questions.
Where were you when this happened- Palm Desert- Where you in the sun- yes- were you drinking- yes and did your drinks have limes in them- yes.
I began thinking to myself what does drinking being in the sun ,and limes have to do with anything I have done this hundreds of times in my life that is what I live for ....laying on beach or at the pool with a drink that has lime or citrus garnish.
Well, apparently this time was different. I decided to put sunscreen on my face, arms and belly, but I thought the sun could not be that strong I will forgo putting any protection on my legs. I was drinking bloody mary's all morning with several fresh juicy limes in each cocktail. My treat is to squeeze the lime juice into my mouth after I am done with my cocktail, but apparently I was sloppy with my lime juice and it ended up on my legs in four different places causing my skin to burn and stain into red streaks- also known as a citrus burn.
So, now I have cortisone cream that I have to put on 4 times a day for a month, but there is a good chance that it will not make the streaks go away and I will have to have my skin professionally bleached in the places where the burns occurred.
Note to self and everyone else who loves a citrus garnish in their cocktail don't get it on your skin it will give you a very ugly citrus burn that may never go away! Here are a few links to share with you that this is real!
All in all a very depressing day for me and for all of you Corona and lime drinkers.

http://www.ksby.com/global/story.asp?s=6750823&ClientType=Printable
http://childcare.about.com/od/caregonewrong/a/sun.htm

Disturbing Things I Have Heard of Late

1. Today I was gchatting with my BFF who lives in Switzerland and tonight she went to have her usual dinner in the dining hall only to find out that they were having HORSE...I have never heard of such a thing---who eats HORSE- disgusting.
2. A friend of a friend has been unemployed since the beginning on January and the line for unemployment has been busy for weeks since he was let go...upsetting.
3. I looked at an apartment this weekend that was 2400 dollars and all your got was a shoe box, no washer and dryer, no air conditioning and a ceilings that were so low I could bump my head if I jumped. The person who lives in this apartment currently has to move out because his company cut his pay in half at the end of the year. Fired or cut pay in off...wow what a choice.
4. California has no money therefore they are giving tax refunds as IOU's.
5. My Tivo decided to not record 24 and record Biggest Loser Couples instead....I was cursing the DVR last night.
6. McDonald's is going to start purchasing their meat from South America to save money...not that I eat McDonald's on a regular basis but I am not going lie I do enjoy a hamburger with extra pickles every once in a great while. This is just gross they don't have the same FDA regulations and standards as us Americans!