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Vegas Vacation!

Well, I'm finally in LA and all moved-in, almost. There is still crap all over my room but I'm working pretty hard to get everything put away and organized. The past week-ish I spent in Las Vegas at Robert and Steve's house.Mitch even met us in Vegas too! He lives in Atlanta and flew in so that he'd be able to join in on all the fun! Vegas was a lot of fun. I didn't party too much and didn't even go to the strip but it was great to spend so much time with Steve, Mitch, Michael, Robert and Mindy. Steve's friends are really awesome too and I loved hanging out with them and getting to know them better. We did a lot of swimming, laying out, going out to eat, and more swimming. On Thursday, July 22nd, I arrived in Vegas at about 9pm. Steve picked me up from the airport and we went over to Brandyn's house where we met up with him and Lance, Jackie, Rashaun, Chi, and CJ. We just chilled out and watched tv and sat outside. Friday night Steve had to work and Mitch and I spent the day at Mike's pool and then we went out to dinner at a mediterranean restaurant.

Jackie, Steve, Mitch, Me

After dinner Chi, Steve, and I met up with a ton of people at this grand opening of a club in Town Square. It wasn't really my kind of scene but it was nice to be with so many people and it was fun just talking and getting to know more of Steve's friends. Saturday afternoon, Steve and I went to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with Mindy and Marcia. We had so much food it was disgusting, we didn't eat for the rest of the day. On Saturday night Chi and I hung out at Outback for a bit while Steve was working and then went to Mike's place and went swimming.

Steve, Me, Nate, Mindy, Liza, Mitch and Hazel the dog.

Sunday morning was awesome because Mindy and Nate got bagels and lox and cream cheese and had a little brunch for us. Sunday night was all you can eat sushi with Lance, Jackie, Calabro, Bill, and Cameron. We stuffed our faces. After sushi Steve and I sat at Mike's and watched tv and ate a ton of Ben and Jerry's. We decided we want to try every single flavor and we are going to check them off on a list as we taste them all. We're fatties. On Monday I got my hair highlighted and cut by Mindy and we had some good quality girl time together. Then I went to Trader Joe's and bought some groceries and cooked dinner for Steve. The next morning I woke-up and Steve had gone to the store and bought all the ingredients to make my favorite breakfast (mushroom and cheese omelet). We cooked the biggest omelet in the world, it had 8 eggs, three kinds of cheese (cheddar, swiss, mozzarella), mushrooms, and onions.

After the omelet, we went to the gym to work it off. Tuesday night, Nate and Mindy took Steve and me out for dinner at Claim Jumpers. We took home some leftovers and that brought up the conversation of how Robert ALWAYS eats everyone's leftovers in the fridge. He ate an entire salad that was mine at the beginning of my trip and he had also eaten an entire piece of salmon that was Steve's. He and his girlfriend also ate almost the entire 3 pints of Ben & Jerry's we had. Steve and I decided to play a trick on Rob to get back at him for eating our leftovers. We took home an extra to-go box and put these buckeyes (chocolate and peanut butter balls) in the box and in the fridge. We "injected" the buckeyes with siracha (really, really hot Japanese sauce). We hoped that Rob would eat one and go crazy, that would teach him not to eat other people's leftovers without asking!

Steve injected the siracha into the buckeyes

Steve and I snuck into the kitchen when it got late and Rob had gone to bed and found that one of the buckeyes was missing! In the morning another one was missing. Rob completely denied eating them! Steve and I think that he might have liked them with the hot sauce and that he is basically a garbage disposal that will eat absolutely anything. That, or he's playing a trick on us and just throwing them away and making us wonder where they are going and if the trick worked. Finally, on Wednesday, I took off for LA. The drive took me about 4 and a half hours and went by pretty fast. I just kept driving, and singing, and taking pictures, and only stopped once to get gas and a snack. I got in at about 7pm and unloaded the entire car. There is crap all over my room still and I feel like I haven't stopped unpacking! I think every time I put something away 10 more things appear. Today I drove to Laguna Beach to hang out with Brian Rubin and his friends. We chilled and went to the beach, it was pretty relaxing. Tomorrow the plan is to go grocery shopping, FINISH unpacking, and hopefully go to lunch with Josh Amir who is a friend I went to high school with who is in town for a film festival. Going to pass out now, good night!

Birthday Celebration

Wednesday, July 14 was my 22nd birthday and it was amazing, I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. My whole family and all of my friends made it so special for me (thank you to everyone!). Wednesday afternoon I got my free car wash and then I went home and packed some more. For dinner, my mom, dad, grandma, aunt Suzi, and I went to dinner at PF Changs. Then we had a bunch of friends over for Just Baked cupcakes. The Richards came over and my Uncle David too. I had a bunch of friends come and that was so great, Ayesha even drove all the way from Lansing to come! After cupcakes, we all went to O'toole's in Royal Oak to celebrate. Matt and Brett met us there and Scott even came too, that was so great to see him. It was so awesome to have so many of my friends together helping me celebrate. Denaa David was a great friend in elementary school and we haven't hung out really since but she came out and that was so fun to catch up with her. In this picture is Ayesha, me, Denaa, and Ashley.

Ayesha and I had breakfast at Toast in the morning before she went back to Lansing.

So I can't believe the move is coming up so quickly! Yesterday my car shipped out and Thursday I go to Vegas. Vegas is going to be a ton of fun. Mitch (Steve's twin) is coming in town on Wednesday too so we can all be together and have a great time. I can't wait to spend time with everyone. I'll probably stay in Vegas from Thursday until Tuesday and then drive to LA. I start my job on August 2. I'll post again when I'm in Vegas!

Going home

The fourth of July was super fun, Michele, Dave, and I went to their friend's house for a party. Mich and I made 7-layer bean dip and a fruit salad to bring with us. The party was really fun, there was tons of food being bbqed and fire works and sparklers to play with. Here is a picture of Dave and me at the party.

The next day, Monday, I had breakfast at a really good place in Venice and then went shopping at the 3rd Street Promenade and bought a great pair of pants that were on sale. I've wanted these Hard Tail pants for so long and they're like 90 dollars and they were on sale for 23. I was so excited to get such a great deal! I also went to Main Street to walk around and shop a little bit. Yesterday I took Michele to work in the morning and she let me use her car to go to Stefani's to visit with her and Tamar and the baby. I stayed there for like, 4 hours. We just talked and Tamar made a great lunch. We had greek salad and the beets were unlike anything I've ever had. If you think you've had a great beet, you're mistaken, these were the most delicious things ever. I can't wait to get them when I am here, I could eat them like candy. For dinner, I made Mich and Dave and myself some yummy grilled cheese sandwiches. They're actually breadless and the tomatoes are like the bread and then the cheese is in between. They get coated in nuts and fried in olive oil. It's really delicious and unique. (Thanks Rachel Ray! LOL)

Today I go home :( Stef and Tamar are taking me to the airport which is really great of them and it helps Uncle Jack out a lot so he doesn't have to drive so far to take me. I'm sad to leave but I'll be back soon!

Next stop: Detroit.

Vegas: 2 weeks!

Meet the Blecher's

Yesterday was great, Michele and I woke up and made an awesome breakfast. We cooked over easy eggs and faux sausage patties and put them on a toasted english muffin with melted havarti cheese. It was the ultimate breakfast sandwich. Then we made a fruit salad with watermelon, banana, and blueberries, and to top it off, we had delicious french press coffee with foamed milk and cinnamon. After breakfast, Michele and I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and I bought a few things that I need for my room at Jack and Barb's. I got some rolling plastic drawers, some hooks, and this shelving thing that hangs in the closet to give me some room for t-shirts and other things I don't want to hang up. After that, Mich had to go to the graduation at the school she worked at so I went back to her house and showered and then rode her bike to main street. I got a manicure and pedicure at this great place, it's only $20 for both! It was fun to ride the beach cruiser around, I really felt like a local. When I got back, Michele and I went to Stefani's around 7:30 for Shabbat dinner. Tamar made a beautiful Shabbos meal which was lentil soup, chicken with potatoes and brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, apple compote, brownies, and of course challah and wine. It was nice to have dinner together, I felt like I was back in Israel eating at her house on Friday nights. We toasted to Orli's 1-month birthday (which was yesterday)! Orli is so amazing, I love her more and more by the second. We didn't end up getting home until after midnight and we were exhausted.

This morning I woke up early and got ready to go meet the family I'll be nannying for. When I got to their home I was greeted by the family with hugs and excitement. We played with Luke, who is 2 yrs. old, and we talked about what a typical day will be like working for them. I'll get to their house in the morning at about 8:30 and take Luke to pre-school (he goes to a Jewish pre-school at the temple near their house), then I come back to their house and I have about three hours before I need to go back and pick him up. During that time I can really do whatever I want. I will straighten up after him a little bit and do some of his laundry but nothing heavy duty when it comes to housekeeping stuff. Then I can just watch t.v. or nap, or whatever. I'm definitely going to take my stuff to study for the GRE and also take my grad. school applications to work on during that time. I'm even considering taking an online class at the community college that's close, we'll see though. So after picking Luke up from pre-school I'll bring him home and give him his nap and then we'll spend the rest of the day playing. They have a park near their house and Luke loves to play with water and he has a bunch of sprinkler toys in his backyard. I think it's going to be a really good fit, they're very sweet people and we got along great. Now, I'm just kind of hanging out at Mich and Dave's, I think sushi is in store for dinner tonight. Can't wait.

Baby Orli!

Today was amazing because I finally met my new baby cousin Orli Mia Ruben. She is absolutely gorgeous. I am in love! This afternoon Uncle Jack took me to Stefani's and I spent over four hours there! I held the baby for a long time, she slept in my arms for a little while, it was so precious. It was so great to see Tamar, she is in town from Israel to help out with the baby for a couple weeks. Tamar made an awesome lunch and we just sat around and played with the baby and freaked out over every little sound and burp and smile. It was a great afternoon, just us girls: Orli, Stef, Mich, Tamar, and myself. After leaving Stefani's apartment, Michele and I went to Trader Joe's and got lots of stuff to make dinner. Michele and I made my fave. Rachel Ray tomato-watermelon salad and we made cous cous and Dave grilled hot dogs. I really screwed up the cous cous and it got all burnt and crunchy so we had to make a different box :(. I felt really bad because I had such a ditz moment and thought that "lite" on the stove meant that the flame was lower. Oops. I'm used to electric stoves! Thank goodness Mich had another box in the pantry but we had our hearts set on the Israeli style cous cous and we had to settle for the pre-seasoned "Near East" box. Oh well. After dinner we watched "So You Think You Can Dance" and Entourage. Tomorrow Michele and I are going to Bed Bath and Beyond so I can get some stuff I need, but mainly so I can buy myself and my mother these fancy onion-cutting glasses. Check them out if you've never seen them, they're awesome! They are like these special goggles that you wear when you cut onion so that your eyes don't water and burn, they actually work. Tomorrow evening Michele and I are going over to Stefani's for Shabbat dinner. Shalom is still out of town so it'll just be the girls again. I love Tamar's cooking, can't wait for an Israeli style Shabbos dinner!

Fourth of July vacation! Day 1

Hey everyone. Thanks for checking out my blog. I thought it'd be a great way to keep my family and friends up to date on everything that's happening with my move to LA. You can also keep in touch with me through my blog and find out what's going on once I move! I hope this will help everyone better understand my decision to move to LA and start a new chapter of my life.

So I arrived in LA last night at about 10:15 pm Cali time. My flight was delayed about an hour, by the time we got on the plane, the power went out so then they had to fix that problem and thank goodness they did because I was freaking out about getting in town so late. As a lot of you already know, I was hit by a van the other day. I'm okay, but I'm really sore and sitting on the plane for over four hours was really hard. I had the flight attendant give me bags of ice and that helped a little. The plane ride wasn't bad, there was hardly any turbulence. We were on a huge plane, I think it was a 747, it was like the planes I take to Israel, maybe a little smaller. Anyways, there was a television at my seat with satellite television for free. I watched HGTV and Nickelodean, and Khloe and Kourtney Take Miami for like 3 and a half hours straight.

That definitely made the flight easier. So, Uncle Jack picked me up at the airport and took me home to his condo. It was great to get in bed, I passed out right away!

Uncle Jack and Aunt Bobbie have been very hospitable and have allowed me to move in with them for a couple months while I save money and look for a place of my own. They have an extra bedroom with a futon and computer table and big closet. Today or tomorrow my uncle is going to take me to Target so I can get some rolling drawers and some other things to make the room a little more homey. Today I called the intern

et company to figure out their wireless and had great success, finally. Tomorrow, I'm headed to Santa Monica to stay with Michele and Dave. I can't wait to meet my cousin Stefani's new baby! She's so gorgeous in all of the pictures and I just know she'll be even more beautiful in person.

So today the plan is to finish unpacking, rearrange my new room and go grocery shopping with Uncle Jack. I also have the goal of making Sammy the dog warm up to me a little bit, last night he growled at me like crazy and he hides every time I come in the room. I don't know why he hates me so much but I'm sure he'll start to like me soon, after all, we are cousins. Ha ha. Sammy is a not so little chihuahua and is cute...kind of.

I just got in from laying by the pool and I'm about to make an Israeli salad to go with dinner tonight. After dinner we're going out for frozen yogurt!