Aroha: Light Speed Ahead!

Big changes are now beginning at Aroha. During the week, our final permit was checked off, giving us the go ahead to continue and finish all of the construction! As of next week, we will be ordering our equipment.

Before the rest of the walls go up, we stopped by the restaurant with my parents and wrote our names on the inside of the wall, along with an "In loving memory..." for my grandpa and Gwith's mom. It's nice to know this will always be there, inside our restaurant. We are so grateful for all that Pa and Janet did for us and we know they would be proud. On another note, check out our beautiful artwork! Stick figure smiley faces and heart faces have been a long standing tradition in my family since as long as I can remember. It seemed only natural to draw them on the wall as well...and of course, we couldn't help but draw Willow too!

It's amazing how fast time has flown by. In just a few months, the place has gone from an empty space, to full framework, to plasterboards and soon enough, it will all be complete. It's crazy how in just a few days, the rest of the walls and the ceiling will be covered! Once it's finished, I will be posting photos of each of the steps!

This past week, Gwith and I finalized each of the menus and we are excited about our unique twists on a few Kiwi classics! We want to keep you guessing and in suspense until the restaurant opens, so we can't give anymore details beyond that. All I can say is though, the menu sounds delicious. We've also worked on plating styles (YES! I said we!). I'm still very excited that some of my styles will be at the restaurant. Honestly, since I'm not a chef, I didn't expect that. However, I sat down next to Gwith and started drawing some styles and he really liked them!

Other exciting news happened to us this week but we can't talk about it for another few weeks. It's incredible though and we are beyond flabbergasted about this opportunity!

Next week, Westlake Magazine hits local stores, offices, and hotels with our cover story! We can't wait to see what it looks like! If you live in an area that receives Westlake Magazine, be sure to check it out. If not, I think they also have an online version to view.

Time is moving fast now and in just a blink of an eye, we'll be opening. We are still expecting the first week of September but we'll officially announce a date as we get closer.

Switching topics from the restaurant, I'll give a short update too on one of our leisurely activities of the week! At the end of last week, my sister's fiancee, Miles, hosted an incredibly fun interactive murder mystery party! We searched the house for clues, trying to regain our memories, and figure out which one of us was the killer. The best part, however, had to be when Gwith, our friend Ben, and I were running around the backyard trying to escape being chased by a crazy person (aka my sister). When we heard a noise, Gwith ducked to the side of the house, hiding in the shadows, while Ben and I hid under a tree. Suddenly, we saw my dad walking by. Oddly, he looked straight at Ben and I, didn't see us, and continued to almost walk past Gwith too. Gwith, being the silly guy he is though, decided to jump out and scare my dad. Little did he know my dad was actually the killer of the evening! My dad taps Gwith, walks off, and Gwith sits on the ground. Ben and I came over to grab him, when he looks at us and says "I'm dead." Whoops. The rest of the evening, every time my dad tried to lure us away, we'd eye him and shake our heads. He had no idea we saw the whole thing go down! It was hilarious and way too much fun! Miles plans to eventually sell some of his murder mystery games. I will keep everyone updated on their availability in the future. They are great for parties and we may even host one at the restaurant someday!

Anyways, that's it for this week's update! Next week, the news and updates will be flowing as Aroha really begins to take shape! Tomorrow, I will be releasing Part 3 of my European Adventure blog, so please check it out when you get the chance!

Facebook | Twitter | Website

30990 Russell Ranch Rd Unit C, Westlake Village, CA 91362
© 2014 Aroha Restaurant.

Aroha Restaurant: We're Going to Be in Westlake Magazine!! (Plus: Some Major Changes and Ben's Birthday Surprise)

This is the first morning all week that we haven't had multiple meetings and appointments before noon! I'm so happy to be able to sit down and share with everyone the latest updates on the restaurant.

First of all, and this is probably the greatest news EVER, we're going to be on the back cover of Westlake Magazine for their July/August Food & Wine Edition, and have a two page spread about us and Aroha. We had our interview a couple of weeks ago and on Monday, we did our photo shoot at our restaurant and the Westlake Yacht Club.

I have to say this now: I felt like a supermodel by the time our amazing hair and makeup artist, Nicola Gerboc, was done! And major props to her for getting my hair to stay like it did! My hair normally hates me when I try to style it, so the fact that she got it to not only stay, but stay for hours and through the wind, is a major attest to her talent.

For the shoot, Gwith and I brought two outfits to switch between. I, of course, brought my new dress that I bought in Milan, as well as a beautiful yellow one from Cache. Our first stop for the shoot was at the Westlake Yacht Club. In my life, I've done three photo shoots prior to this: our engagement photos, my CD cover, and our wedding photos. This, though, was the very first time I experienced a shoot like this. Our photographer, Jane Gibson, would come over to me and pose with me to instruct Gwith and I on how to pose. We were constantly being directed in how to angle our shoulders and our heads for each shot. I felt like a model for the day and truly loved it. Poor Gwith though was having trouble dealing with the sun and the reflector. He has a terrible habit of sneezing from the sun. So, I'm sure half of the photos are of him with squinty eyes! Part of me is waiting to see the cover and see his eyes closed. I'm assuming that won't happen but you never know, right?

We haven't received the photos yet from the shoot, but Nicola did take some amazing shots from her phone!

There's a possibility we'll be doing a follow up article with the magazine once the restaurant in opened. We had so much fun doing this one and are excited to build a friendship with the magazine. For more information on Westlake Magazine, visit their website. The magazine reaches approximately 40,000 readers each month throughout the Conejo Valley and surrounding cities including Westlake Village, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, West Hills, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Lake Sherwood, Hidden Valley and North Ranch Estates, Malibu, and other neighboring communities. Besides being available at multiple hotels and businesses throughout the areas, it can also be found at Gelson's, Barnes & Noble Bookstore, and various Ralph's and CVS stores within the area.

Aside from the fun photo shoot, we've been dealing with plenty of things for the restaurant as well. We met with the permit office on Tuesday and hopefully, by the end of this week, we will have our final permit done. Once that is finalized, the construction can really start moving forward and we can place an order for all of our equipment! Getting this permit will be a huge stress relief but it's also going to be a huge push towards our opening. Once we have it, there is literally nothing in our way between now and our currently planned, September opening.

Yesterday, we met with our landlord to discuss a few things, including the landscaping he will be doing outside the restaurant. Next week, we will be meeting with him and his landscaper to discuss the look of the entire outside. We are beyond honored to be included this decision. Tony is an awesome landlord and we are so lucky to have him. Currently, this is what the outside looks like:

Take a look, soak it in, because in a few months, it won't be remotely recognizable. I'm not going to spoil anything, but believe me when I say, it's going to be beautiful.

Outside of the restaurant, we somehow made time to see some friends, including our friend Ben, who we kidnapped for his 19th birthday yesterday. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!) Gwith seriously called him up and told him he had five minutes to get ready, before we picked him up, and took him to his favorite restaurant for lunch. Because he keeps thinking I'm going to post a photo of him on my blog, I thought it was time I finally did...and I've decided to post two just to make up for lost time.

Ben meeting Willow for the first time 

Lunch at Mandarin Lotus, the best Chinese Fusion restaurant on planet Earth

In the next few days, I'll be writing Part Two of Our European Adventure, covering our time in the beautiful area of Tuscany! Here's "Our European Adventure, Part 1 - Chicago & Rome", for those of you who haven't had the chance to read it yet.

I look forward to sharing more updates about the restaurant in the upcoming weeks and be sure to pick up a copy of Westlake Magazine next month to learn more about us and Aroha!

Facebook | Twitter | Website

30990 Russell Ranch Rd Unit C, Westlake Village, CA 91362
© 2014 Aroha Restaurant.

Dear HIMYM, I Almost Broke My TV Last Night

Before I go on a long, long, LONG, rampage about last nights "How I Met Your Mother" series finale, there will be plenty of SPOILERS so stop reading now (and probably get off the internet while you're at it) if you don't want to hear all about it.

As a fan, I've been an interesting one. I started watching the show in 2005 at 14 years old. In the first two seasons, I loved Robin and Ted and wished that Robin would be the mother. I remember bouncing around the upstairs hallway jabbering on and on about if the show played their cards right, they could be the next "Friends". Fast forward to season 5 - oh wait. Actually. I have a much better way to write this whole thing. I'll write it like that awful, awful, finale, jumping from year to year, going through the highs and mostly the lows, and then the earth shattering finish.


September 2005 (Future self narrating to my pet rabbit...I'm 14 years old in the flashback)

Narrator says: "Willow, I'm going to tell you the story of how I started watching How I Met Your Mother. My father had turned the TV on to this new show and I came downstairs and decided to watch it with him. It was a charming story about a young man on the journey to meet his wife and this girl he met along the way, later known as Aunt Robin."

May 2006 (15 years old)
15 year old self bouncing around the upstairs hallway says: "Robin and Ted ended up together!!! Awwwww!!! I wish that she's the mother!! But oh my god this show is soooo good. I think it could become the next Friends if they do a good enough job!"

May 2007 (16 years old)
16 year old self: "Aww man! They broke up Robin and Ted. I loved them together. Maybe they'll get back together? Or maybe we'll finally meet the mother soon?"

Narrator says: "Ha! Yeah right. Willow, this story is sure to start making you thump soon. You know how Robin and Ted broke up because she wanted her own adventures in life and that wouldn't work for him? Yeah. Just wait until you hear how the show ends!"

September 2008 (17 years old)

Narrator says: "It's now been a whole season since Robin and Ted were a couple. As a fan, I had been starting to move on...especially because Barney is now hopelessly in love with Robin."

Willow lies on the rug, happily grinding her teeth.

May 2009 (18 years old)
18 year old self: "YAY! Barney and Robin finally kissed! Cutest couple ever!! I'm so over Robin and Ted."

November 2009 (18 years old)
Narrator says: "In the fall of 2009, the show started to lose its luster. The writing became sloppy and the writers decided to break up Barney and Robin in a horrible, out of the blue, way. It was clear they just wanted Barney to go back to the way he was."

Willow starts to get up from the rug, cleaning herself, incredibly bored with my story. After all, I haven't mentioned James Van Der Beek once (Dawson's Creek is her favorite show).

18 year old self talks to my sister: "That was a horrible episode. They broke up our favorite couple. I'm never watching this show again."

May 2013 (22 years old)
Narrator says: "After the Barney and Robin break up, I had stopped watching the show. I wasn't enjoying the episodes leading up to that moment at all. However, as the final season approached, I decided to watch the final episode of Season 8. The one where the mother was introduced."

22 year old self: "::tears:: They finally are showing the mother! ::squeal:: I can't wait to see them fall in love. I'll have to watch next season."

September 2013 (22 years old)
Narrator says: "September arrived and I decided to watch the final season. After all, I'd been curious since I was 14 years old about who the mother is. I knew she had to be amazing and perfect for Ted. After all, every fan had been waiting years to see this happen."

Willow begins to sprawl out again in a blissful state.

October 2013 (22 years old)
Narrator: "In October, I was sick. Very sick. I had gotten ill from a food poisoning incident that left me unable to eat most food for over the next three months. After watching a few episodes of the current season, I decided to turn on Netflix and watch the seasons I had missed over the years. At 23 years old, I ended up really enjoying it. And, it was clear to me that the writers finally realized that the characters had to grow up and move on. Barney had fallen in love with other women, making him grow into a man that could marry the love of his life, Robin. Ted had been slowly learning about letting go..."

March 24, 2014 (23 years old)
Narrator: "It was March 24th of 2014 and Barney and Robin had gotten married. All was right in the world. Ted finally realized it was time to move on from Robin and that he was in fact, no longer in love with her. As a fan, I was ecstatic. Ted and Robin hadn't been an item since the 2nd season and all of these years, he's been learning to move on from her. The mother had been introduced throughout the season and all I had hoped for was true. She was perfect for Ted."

Willow happily jumps up, and does a binky in the air.

March 31, 2014 (Last night)
Actual me is shown (who's voice is strangely the same as growing up me, but not narrator me): "Willow, you know how I told you this was the story of how I started watching How I Met Your Mother? Well, it's not. It's actually the story of How I Almost Threw My TV Out the Window Last Night. There were so many things wrong with that finale, I can't even describe my anger. First of all, within five minutes, after spending an ENTIRE year focusing on Barney and Robin's wedding, Barney and Robin were divorced. Not only were they divorced, they were divorced because she was too busy working to make time for their relationship."

Willow begins to thump.

"Then, if things couldn't get any worse, Barney starts reverting to his old ways. He's no longer the man he had become because apparently, people can't change."

Willow thumps louder.

"They did try to solve that part by having Barney have a baby; it was a baby, of course, with a mother that we never saw. Still, it was a touching scene."

Willow sits still for a moment, unsure of if there's danger ahead still or not.

"Then, comes the travesty of all travesties. Ted rushes through the part of the story where he meets the mother. Then, she's very ill and we can assume she died."

Willow thumps three times in an angry rage.

"Oh, that's not the worst of it Willow. They then, flash forward to the kids. The kids announce that Ted has been telling this whole story because he wants to get back together with busy as a beaver Aunt Robin who has had no time to see her friends in the past 10 years...The kids are of course ecstatic. They love Aunt Robin! Even though she distanced herself from the group for nearly a decade, they know exactly who she is and call her Aunt Robin. Because yeah, that's realistic."

Willow's thumping gets louder and louder. I begin to wonder if there's a cat outside because she's getting so angry.

"Then, the show ends exactly how I always dreamed it would end... NOT. Ted runs after Aunt Robin with the blue french horn, ready to make another go at their failed relationship. I was so f&?!ing angry I thought I was going to rip the TV off the wall and throw it through the window."

Willow runs under the couch thumping up a storm until I make the story stop.

Present Day
I woke up this morning knowing one thing, this finale was possibly worse than the Dexter finale. Possibly. I said possibly. Not definitely.

For so many reasons, this finale was done wrong. First of all, Ted and Robin hadn't been a couple in so many years that honestly, most fans didn't care about them anymore. The Ross and Rachel saga of the show ended up being Barney and Robin. They had to grow up separately to find their way back to each other, all while knowing they still loved each other.

In the end, the entire last season was about Ted moving on. It was about him realizing that Robin wasn't the girl for him and that he was going to find love with someone else. After all, how could he ever meet the mother if he was still hung up on Robin?

But wait! He's still hung up on Robin. His wife conveniently died and now he wants his kids permission to date the real love of his life, whose last marriage failed for the same reason their relationship failed all of those years ago. She's too busy for a relationship. Yeah. This will end well.

I don't understand why writers and creators feel the need to make their series finales suck? Wrap things up, make the fans happy. We watched the show for years and we deserve a proper and satisfying ending. Lumberjacks, dying mothers, and the show actually all took place in the afterlife are NOT proper endings. Characters moving on, finding their true loves, and making the fans happy, thats how a show should end.

Before I wrap up, because honestly, I could ramble all day about how much I hated this episode...here's my list of My Top 5 Best Series Finales and Worst Series Finales:

BEST SERIES FINALES

#1 Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The Buffy finale was brilliant. The writers took some risks by killing off Anya and definitely risks my killing off Spike. However, they wrote it in a way where everything made sense. Anya died fighting as a human, the people that in the end, she respected because they'll die fighting. Spike died a hero. For so many years, he had struggled between being a vampire and still feeling the ability to love. Now, he had a soul and with his soul, he was able to make the hard choice. He died to save everyone. Buffy, got her perfect ending. The hell mouth was closed. There were hundred of slayers across the world. She was no longer alone.

#2 Friends

This is how every sitcom should end. Ross and Rachel realized they still loved each other, Monica and Chandler had two adorable twin babies and were moving to the suburbs, Phoebe was happily married, and Joey...well, putting his horrible spin off aside, we could all just assume he was living in Monica and Chandler's future guest room. The characters moved on with their lives but we knew they were all happy in the end.

#3 Dawson's Creek

Joey and Pacey found their way back to each other, Dawson met Spielberg, and the writers decided that they did need some drama after all and killed off Jen, whose baby was now being raised by Jack and Doug. In some ways, the finale is always sad to watch. Jen's goodbye video to her daughter is heartbreaking, as well as the moment Grams realizes her granddaughter has died. However, it was done right. The pacing was perfect and Jen's last wish for Joey to finally choose, was honestly the only way Joey would ever choose. And she chose Pacey. So life is good. Of course, if I'm being totally honest, they probably could've killed the entire cast if it meant Joey and Pacey would be together forever.

#4 Psych

Shawn's goodbye to Gus ended up being in true Psych fashion and was hilarious. Gus's reaction, even more so. However, Lassie deciding not to listen to Shawn's confession because he'd rather believe the lie, Gus running off to San Francisco to be with his bestie, and Shawn proposing to Jules and the ring getting stolen - classic Psych. The show ended in the warm and fuzzy way a comedy should.

#5 Chuck

I know, this one is going to cause some controversy. When I first saw the Chuck finale, I was sad. Sarah had lost all of her memories and there wasn't a giant flare going off at the end saying she got it back. However, after re-watching the entire show, I've come to the conclusion that the ending was beautiful. For five years, the show revolved around Sarah helping Chuck find himself. Chuck and Sarah fell in love because she gave him the strength to discover who he was. In the end, he had the same chance to do the same for her. It was his turn to help her rediscover who she was. It was his turn to lead her on the same journey she led him on.

SERIES FINALES THAT FALL IN BETWEEN

#6 Angel

I liked the Angel finale. I thought it ended well actually. We never knew how the fight ended but Angel went out doing exactly what he had always been doing, fighting for the greater good. Whether he won the battle or lost the battle, it didn't ultimately matter. That being said, we at least deserved to know who the prophecy was about! Was he going to become human finally? Or was Spike going to become human? Wesley's death was sad, but perfect...and Gunn, well, I hope he survived the battle but I guess we'll never know...unless you read the comics of course!

#7 Veronica Mars

Thank god for fan made movies, right? After the original finale, I was depressed for a very long time. It was fine as a season finale. More than adequate. However, as a series finale, it was quite a let down. Veronica and Logan weren't together, her father wasn't going to become sheriff...all around, it was pretty depressing. However, thankfully, the fans got a movie made this year and I think I speak for a large majority when I say, we got the ending we deserved. LoVe is together and Veronica is back to being a PI.

WORST SERIES FINALES

#8 Dexter

The whole show was building up to Dexter finally getting rid of his dark passenger. Sure, he went through is moments where he got worse, but in the end, he was realizing he could love and maybe not be a serial killer. There are multiple endings I would've found satisfying. Him and Hannah running off together with Harrison while Deb lives on with Quinn would've been the happiest ending they could've had. If they didn't want to do happy, Dexter could've been finally caught and this whole story could've been told from death row. Or, Dexter could've just died. Honestly, I don't care. Anything other than him becoming a lumberjack seems better at this point. That should NEVER have happened, and I like to pretend it didn't.

#9 How I Met Your Mother

What the #&?! I'd rant about what made this bad but obviously, you've read this whole post already. Excuse me while I go throw my TV out the window.

How to Raise a Perfect Pet Rabbit

Anyone who knows me or reads my blog enough knows that my husband and I have our own pet rabbit, Willow. Here are some things you should know about Willow: she is loved very much, is happy 95% of the time, and is more than a little spoiled...but if you can't spoil your pets who can you spoil?

If you are thinking of owning a pet rabbit, here are ten things you probably didn't know.

1. Rabbits Can be Easily House Trained
We've had Willow for over two years now and in those two years, she's only had three accidents outside of her cage (and one was ironically in our bathroom!). Rabbits are creatures of habit, which is why once they've settled on a spot to use the bathroom, they never go anywhere else.

2. Rabbits can have full run of the house (just protect a few things!)
We started Willow off with her cage and a very small corner of the kitchen we gated off. During that time, she learned to use her cage for the bathroom. She also learned to hop to new heights and we would find her lounging on the top of her cage. We put a floor mat on top so her feet wouldn't be injured from the wires. After a few weeks, we opened up the entire kitchen and hallway to her. A month or so after that, we opened up a segment of the lounge. Before we knew it, we were the ones gated in! So, we covered all of the wires and plug outlets in the lounge, maneuvered objects so she couldn't get behind the entertainment center, and voila. She had 50% of the house. We slowly let her into our guests rooms. Our bedroom is the only room she is rarely allowed in, which is probably why she scratches underneath the door and sneaks around the hall to get in before we can close the door! The office is gated so she can come in a little but can't reach the computer area.

3. They Can Run Around When You're Not Home
When researching rabbits, I've read a lot of people say that even if they let their rabbit roam the house, they cage them when they leave. In our experience, this is pretty much unnecessary. Rabbits are most active in the early morning and in the evening. By 11 am, Willow will have found her "spot" for the day and sleep there until about 4 or 5. The rest of the hours, as long as you keep your house rabbit safe, aren't a problem. The only time we cage Willow up is when we go to sleep. This is mainly because she'd scratch on our bedroom door all night if we didn't...and it's always good to have some boundaries and restrictions with your bunny!

4. Watch TV with Them (They May Love It)
When we sit and watch TV, she lays down and watches with us...well, as long as it's a show she likes! She never missed an episode of our Dawson's Creek marathon (she loves James van der Beek and nearly boycotted the show when Dawson and Joey broke up; okay, no one's perfect). She puts her ears down every time there's a commercial and then brings them back up for the actual show. The weirdest thing may be that she knows what's a real sound and what's a TV sound. For example, if there's a shootout on Castle, she yawns and stretches out further. However, if I cough during the episode, she jumps up and holds still for a moment to make sure there's no immediate danger!

5. They Are Fiercely Independent
At least our rabbit is! Don't get me wrong, she loves being snuggled up to on the rug and stroked for an hour but she's also just as happy prancing around the house and sleeping in her cardboard maze. Her sleeping habits and independence makes it easier for us to have our own life as well. For example, when we traveled to New Zealand, I Skyped the house on a regular basis just to watch her hoping around! I missed her like crazy but she was as happy as could be.

6. No One Can Give the Cold Shoulder Better, But Darn They're Cute When They Do It!
If you're thinking of getting a pet rabbit, know one thing: if they're annoyed at you, they'll make it clear. Our rabbit doesn't bite or scratch when she's angry. No. She flops on her side and flops on her back, continuously. Normally, she does these things when she's really happy. However, when she's annoyed, she does it every time we walk within view. I mean, she flops, gets up, and flops again...and repeats, as if to say, "See. I'm happy without you!" The other day, she flopped in every room of the house just to give us a hard time while trying to lead her to her cage for the night. She also refused her treats when we tried to hand them to her but they were all gone the second we left the room.

7. Your Grocery Shopping Is Also Their Dinner
Rabbits eat many things from the vegetable section at the grocery store. For dinner, Willow always has a couple leaves of green leaf lettuce (never give a rabbit iceberg lettuce, it's deadly). We then throw in some of her favorite herbs and rotate them, some fennel, and give her a small treat for the night (ex. one blueberry or a tiny baby carrot). Look up various official websites for rabbits to find out exactly what a rabbit can and can't eat, as well as rotating their diet. For breakfast, Willow eats about 10 individual Oxbow Adult pellets. Rabbits don't need pellets to survive and can gain a lot of weight from them so be careful. We give her just enough to make her happy without gaining weight. Of course, she's never completely satisfied and lets us know by nudging her bowl out of the way EVERY morning when she's done. The best part of her diet is hay. Rabbits need a lifetime supply of hay at their side all day, every day. This comes in handy for us on days we sleep in or arrive home from work late. She's always grazing and she'll never go hungry.

8. They Define the Word "Cute"
Until you see a rabbit clean their ears, stretch & yawn, binky, beg, or perform the bunny 500 up and down the hall, you've never seen "cute". Willow keeps us laughing all the time because of all of the silly, adorable things she does.

9. Treat Them Well and They'll Treat You Well
The one thing our rabbit absolutely hates is being picked up, so we don't do it. Rabbits like to feel in control and when their feet aren't firmly on the ground, they freak out. We let her come to us and we lead her to her cage at night. My favorite thing about having a pet rabbit is her kisses. Yes, rabbits lick. After quite a few months of bonding, Willow started grooming me while I stroked her. She would lick me up and down my arms and legs. She doesn't do it all the time but when she does, it melts my heart. The more you regularly show affection to your rabbit, the more likely they will show affection right back to you.

10. They Are the Most Awesome Pet You Could Ever Own (and They're Trainable)
Not enough people are aware of just how amazing and fulfilling owning a pet rabbit can be. She greets my husband every time he comes home from work, she snuggles on the couch with me, she's extremely sweet, and incredibly intelligent. Rabbits are very trainable and they will associate sounds with actions...such as upon walking into the kitchen, Willow will run from anywhere in the house expecting food. She'll come when called but only if she expects to get something out of it. We like to say that she's always listening, she just decides when to ignore us. However, when she does come over, she'll climb our laps and put her little paws all over us.


If you're thinking about getting a pet rabbit, I strongly encourage you to go to the pound and adopt! When treated correctly, rabbits can live up to 10 or even 12 years. Don't miss out on one of the greatest pet experiences of your life!

Fans, Music Videos, Santa Barbara, and Dexter!

I must start by first of all saying, I am super super excited! I've been running some Facebook ads the past few days for my music page and I'm incredibly pleased with the turnout! I've got like *actual* fans. (Enter squeal here). Besides seeing fans actually commenting, I am really enjoying using all of these different promotional tools. I've always enjoyed marketing so this doesn't come as too much of a surprise. It's interesting to see what's popular and what isn't.

If you're not a Facebook fan yet, here's my chance to advertise. And if you are, help spread the word and keep the numbers jumping! You guys are awesome! Also, follow me on twitter. Fair warning though, there will be a lot of adorable bunny photos mixed in with my music posts and TV talk. That's just the way I roll!

https://www.facebook.com/JustineThomasMusic
https://twitter.com/themeanjustine

One of the things I'm finding most interesting is the "post promotion". I tried two different posts: my blog and my photo album. My blog got a bit of a turn out through the promotion but what's really doing well is the photo! And it's not even my favorite of the bunch, so go figure. This makes me wonder: If a photo is doing so well, how well would a video do?

Naturally, I want to make a music video at some point. Besides my love for singing and entertaining, I also have my love for film and video editing, so this seems like a no brainer. I have no idea which song though to make the video of! Given my huge (and overactive) imagination, I dream elaborate things. I'm not kidding. When I was 8 I dreamt of having a Titanic themed birthday party. I actually thought my mom could fill the basement with water and have a sunken ship inside. Understandably, this party did not happen. But my mom did hang blue ribbons all over the ceiling and place a "treasure chest" in the basement for an under the sea theme. I enjoyed it just as much!

Ok, back on to the topic of music videos before I get sidetracked with my old birthday parties! My vision for a "Stepping Stone" music video is to have it set in the 1940s with my long lost love coming back from WWII. Now, if I could just find 1940s clothes, a WWII plane, and a 1940s themed town, I'd be all set. My "Worst Date Ever" music video vision is to have it set in the 1950s. Clearly I need a time machine!

I've got to figure something out! I feel like a video is key to the promotion at this point.

Switching gears, my hubby and I went to Santa Barbara the other day. It was so nice to get away from the city! We enjoyed a nice lunch by the beach and then strolled the zoo. It's a smaller zoo but that's what I liked about it! There were no crowds: Just me, Gwith, and the penguins. The penguins were adorable, by the way! There was also a bird that reminded me of Willow. That probably sounds crazy. How can a bird remind someone of their pet rabbit? But I swear it did!!

DEXTER TALK AHEAD. AVERT YOUR EYES NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN SUNDAY'S EPISODE.

Dexter was AMAZING this week. As usual. Does anyone else not trust Dr. Vogel? I personally think she is the serial killer. My mom thinks she's trying to trap Dexter. I want to know what everyone else's theories are. We've been through 7 previous seasons of this show and I think we all know by now that someone who's been introduced this season is bound to turn up evil. It would be an interesting twist if it's Deb's boss! Oooo. Maybe it's Deb. Okay. Now even I think that's farfetched. I highly doubt Deb is coercing people to chop off heads.

END DEXTER TALK.

Should I do a music video? Which song? What is your favorite zoo animal? Do you trust Dr. Vogel? Is Deb's boss bad?

Here's my photo of the day:

Willow is feeling incredibly possessive over her carrot toy!

4th of July!

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! It is getting so hot out in California! I got my hair chopped off to fight this heat wave. Of course, yesterday, my husband decided it was the perfect time to take a walk to my parents house, instead of drive. For some reason I decided to wear the one top I got recently that covers the back of my neck which totally defeated the purpose of having short hair. Yup. I'm just brilliant.

The walk was nice though. Especially the first half before it got too hot. Then we stopped for Menchie's midway and when we left, the sun was beaming. We had a great day though! Once we got to my parents, we had a barbecue and spent most of the day in the pool. Gwith and I were attempting tandem noodling. It mostly ended in chaos, but it was tons of fun! Then, we drove up to Topanga Canyon to try and find a great view of the fireworks. Note to self for next year: Do not drive up the canyon to watch. It sounds great in theory but first of all, it's super crowded (and a truck decided there was enough space to pull in right where we were standing with my sister and her boyfriend, and it nearly hit us) and secondly, you can barely see the fireworks! They're so tiny from that high up. After Gwith and I arrived back home though, we were pulling into the garage and started hearing fireworks. Thus began our yearly tradition of firework chasing. We got lucky and found them in a park not too far away!

Last year, our firework chase led us in the direction of these people in my parents neighborhood who were setting them off. We stopped at their location to watch and the second we arrived, they'd jump in the car all freaked out, and drive off. We kept finding them in different spots to try and watch...and they kept leaving. It was pretty funny. They must've thought we were going to call the police or something.

You should know that I was worried about Willow freaking out from the sound of fireworks so I turned on the Castle marathon for her. Ironically, she decided she wanted to wait to watch the fireworks and hopped over to the window and eagerly looked out.

Today, I'm planning to FINALLY watch this week's episode of The Bachelorette. Yay! I feel so behind and I'm sad that I haven't read the EW recap of it yet. I love those.

This week, a friend and I are going to see Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing. I'm very excited to check it out and see Fred and Wes reunited!!

It appears I've run out of things to say today. Must be the heat! I think it's melting my brain.

Anyways, how was everyones 4th of July? Did you see fireworks? Have you seen Much Ado About Nothing?

Willow waiting for the sun to go down!

Meeting People in LA and Ray Donovan

How do you make friends in LA? My husband and I have been out here for a year and a half and it seems like it's impossible to meet young 20somethings or 30somethings. Yesterday, we went to our first dance class in hopes that we'd meet some nice people. Unfortunately, when we arrived, almost all of the other class members were over 70. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with elderly people, but we do really want to make friends closer to our age. My husband and I aren't really bar/club people either, which makes it even more challenging.

So, does anyone have any suggestions on how to meet people in LA? Everyone we talk to seems to say it took them a year or two to start meeting people and making friends. I'm grateful for the couple of friends we have managed to make but with my husband's work schedule, it's been nearly impossible for us to even try meeting more people this past year and half. I'm all opened to suggestions! Concerts? Sporting events? Other types of classes?

If there was some magical way to move all of my friends out to California, I would do that too.

Ugg.

Okay. Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I feel better. Let's move on to the regular scheduled programming.

I watched Ray Donovan. It was really good! Dark. But really good. After this season of Dexter, I'm going to need a dark show to take its place! The character of Ray confuses me. He seems kind of like he's supposed to be a good guy but he's also kind of scummy. I guess I'll be able to have a more conclusive theory after some more episodes. Boy, does he come from a troubled past though. The show seems Dexter-like, just with a different theme. Ray isn't a serial killer or anything but the sentiment behind the show reminds me of Dexter. Maybe it's the childhood trauma portion. The acting was great! I found the characters a lot more exciting than I find the characters on Graceland. I could tell instantly that I'm going to get very into this show! I'm excited to see next weeks!

Today, I'm looking forward to playing some more guitar! I've been on the search to find a teacher, which also seems surprisingly difficult in a city full of musicians. I swear, there is something weird about LA. It is so frustrating. But, at least I feel like I'm teaching myself fairly well! I even wrote my first song with the guitar the other day! I'm very excited.

What is there to do in LA? Did you enjoy Ray Donovan? Does it remind you of Dexter?

Tomorrow, I've got a special blog coming for the 4th of July weekend, so be sure to check it out!

My little Willow can always bring a smile to my face no matter what!

Did the writer of White House Down watch 24 right before writing the movie?

I saw White House Down today! I really enjoyed it. It was like watching all 8 seasons of 24 in one very condensed sitting! I was also very proud of the knowledge I gained from 24. I knew exactly what they were talking about in the movie when they mentioned The Vault and The Football. For those of you who don't want to be spoiled about the movie (or 24 for that matter) DO NOT READ THE NEXT PARAGRAPH.

Here's my list of White House Down/24 moments:

1) His daughter is taken hostage.

2) Air Force One was blown up with a fairly new president on board.

3) The bad guys wanted the nuclear football.

4) The White House was under attack.

5) People on the inside were the reason the White House was under attack.

6) The limo strike.

7) They try to take the president to the vault for safety.

8) He fought the Jack Bauer way. Everyone else died but Kale managed to survive and save the day.

While I admit the reviewers are right that the movie is unrealistic, why is that a big deal? Aren't we supposed to see movies to try to escape from reality? At least this movie had a plot and descent acting unlike Die Hard 5...the worst action movie ever, in my opinion.

SPOILERS OVER.

But on the topic of 24, who else is looking forward to it coming back next year?!? I just watched the show for the first time a few months ago and fell in love with (most of) it. I loved the first 5 seasons, thought season 6 was enjoyable, season 7 was great, and then completely zoned out in season 8. That season got just a little too ridiculous for me. I'm still trying to figure out how Jack found full body armor and found the bad guys within 10 minutes. I think they forgot that each episode was an hour of the day by that season. Regardless, I still can't wait for the new mini season. I'm hopeful that if they're bringing it back, it's because they have ideas. Although, I do have on question. Since I own the "complete series" set (and it says that), shouldn't that mean I get the new season for free? Otherwise it's like false advertising, right?

I am so excited to watch Dexter and try out Ray Donovan. But, since my husband is working tonight, I'm going to wait for tomorrow to watch with him.

What were your thoughts on White House Down? Good, bad? Do you need realism to enjoy a movie? Anything else remind you of 24? Are you looking forward to the new season?

I know Willow looks forward to anything that gives her a reason to lie on the rug and get snuggles!

Talking the Sims 3, the Bachelorette, a Vending Machine that sells $1,500 of caviar, and the most scarring music video ever!

The good news: I got pictures of my resort that I worked so hard on. The bad news: I can no longer load that game. It keeps crashing during the loading screen. Luckily, I did manage to get in and save the resort to the bin.

By far, my new favorite feature from The Sims 3 Island Paradise is the waterfall! I know, out of everything, that's kind of silly, but I've always wanted that! I don't have much to say about the game today. After my game wouldn't load yesterday, I got fed up and decided not to play for the day. I needed a glitches reprieve.

I caught up on The Bachelorette yesterday. My family has a voting chart where we guess each episode who is going home. I'm happy to say I was wrong about Ben vs. Michael. I thought for sure Michael was going to bury himself as most previous contestants have. But I was wrong. Apparently they need prosecutors every season to convince the judge that their is a fraud among the bunch. Bring out the guards, Chris Harrison! Take Ben away! I was finally right about Mikey T. going home!! I've been giving his little box an X since night one. The funny thing is, I almost changed it tonight because of their moment building a little snow family on the mountain. If I had changed it, that would've sucked. The night he finally gets eliminated would be the one time I didn't eliminate him on my chart! Good thing I stuck with my original decision! Now I can start guessing someone else to be eliminated in future episodes and not just Mikey. It's a shame about Bryden. I wouldn't care so much if it wasn't for the fact he was in my original Final 4 prediction. But then again, so was Ben. Yuck. As it stands now, my final four prediction was actually sitting around last episode all talking to each other. Brooks, Chris, Drew, and Kasey. Unless Drew and Kasey tell Desiree about James and both get sent home! That would really mess things up for me. But, she seems smart, so I don't think that's going to happen. For those who don't read spoilers (I do not want to know! Not this season anyways), who do you think is going to win? Brooks or Chris? I know. I'm jumping the gun a little on the finale two but I really do think it's going to come down to those two.

On another note, I saw the weirdest thing at the mall yesterday. Apparently, you can now go to a vending machine and buy caviar for $1,500! I know. That is madness. I don't know why anyone would even spend that much on food in the first place but even worse, from a vending machine? If you're going to spend $1,500, at least do it in a beautiful restaurant with outstanding service and the most amazing food you've ever tasted. I forgot to mention, you can also get escargot and a nice teacup set from this machine. I. Don't. Get. It.

For my final thoughts, have you seen that horrible Miley Cyrus music video "We Can't Stop"? I literally can't wipe that shocking image from my mind. I'm not a fan of hers in the first place but why would anyone make a video like that? It didn't make any sense and it just seemed like her way of saying "I'm grown up but I'm going to prove it by acting really immature". I really wish I could unsee it. Unfortunately, I don't have that power.

How long until your Sims game crashed? Do you think Chris or Brooks will win The Bachelorette, or someone else entirely? Would you spend $1,500 on caviar from a machine? And have you seen that horrible music video? If you have, here's a cute picture to try to erase it from your memory:

Willow sleeping in her cage during The Bachelorette!

My CD, The Sims 3, and Tons of TV Talk!

I am super excited to announce that my five song CD "Stepping Stone" will be released on iTunes July 15th! Currently, you can listen to the songs on Soundcloud.com.

My single, which shares the same name as the full CD, "Stepping Stone" is already on iTunes for purchase as the full version and in a ringtone version. A ringtone for "What Went Wrong" will also be available on July 15th!

In anticipation of the release, I will be blogging every Monday between now and the 15th about a different song on the CD. I am very excited and I hope for the day when I hear one of my songs blasting on someone's car radio! Please help support my dream and play my music for your friends!

Now, onto the usual.

I caught up on Mad Men last night and oh boy does it look like we're in for an interesting finale. I have never seen Don Draper looked so unprepared! Every time he's had an affair in the past, he walks around like it doesn't mean anything. He transitions into each role he has during the day, flawlessly. Until now. Sally catching him has really turned the tables and I hope to see this all come out and his world fall apart in tomorrow's finale! Is that mean? By the way, did anyone else love when Pete said to Ken, "any of us would gladly trade places with you." Yeah, right. I'm sure even Pete wouldn't be singing that same song and dance if he was shot in the face. It's crazy how self righteous these characters are. I feel bad for Ken. I'd want out too! I tell you though, Sally has become my favorite character on the show. I've always enjoyed watching her character grow up and develop on the show and I'm wondering if next season is going to have an even stronger focus on her? She's an interesting character, after all, she is the product of a very screwed up father and a very evil mother. I liked how she turned down that guy. Although, I think it was mostly because she wanted to see Glenn and him fight over her. She did seem pretty happy about it! It's weird though. Why did Glenn say she was like a sister to him? They had their first date recently and kissed! It's creepy how these Brandon Walsh type statements just pop up in other shows sometimes.

Hmm, what else? I watched The Bachelorette and thought that talent show was pretty funny. I could have done without the whole Hurricane Sandy date though. That was absolutely depressing and I don't understand why anyone would bring a date on something like that! It sucks that Bryden isn't really feeling it with Des. It sucks even more though that she didn't call him last and that he didn't reject the rose. Can you imagine if he did? That would have been, in ABC preview fashion, "The biggest twist ever!" on "The most exciting season yet!". Especially since then, Zac K would've stayed and then been all sad thinking he was supposed to go home!

For my gaming portion of this blog, I played The Sims 3 some more today and my sims bought a second home. Note to fellow simmers: When you build a home on the water, it will let you place the lot wherever, so be careful that you do actually have it on a nice portion of the sand...otherwise apparently your sims will not be able to get on the lot! I had to learn the hard way and move my sims new beach house to a different lot. Although, it worked out nicely. When I did that, it automatically sold the house, gave my sims back the $69,000, and then a weird glitch caused the new lot with the house to only cost $1,900. So actually simmers, don't take my advice. Learn the hard way like me! It may benefit your sims bank account! I think this new feature however is still not working exactly right because after I bought the house, my game gave me the usual "Error Code 12". I wish I could figure out a way to stop this error from happening! I've tried everything but nothing seems to work. If only EA was designing their games better for us Mac users. Grr.

So that's it for today. I have to go feed Willow dinner and watch more episodes of Party of Five with her. I grew up on the show and now that the seasons are finally being released on DVD quickly, I'm re-watching it! I don't remember much but I do know that Bailey should be getting into a bad drunk driving accident soon with Sarah in the car and that even though Julia currently doesn't want to go to Stamford, I'm pretty sure I remember her going and having a very abusive boyfriend, Ned, who threw a TV at her! Of course, what I'm most excited about is the fact that Tim DeKay, Christopher Gorham, and Maggie Lawson all appear in the upcoming seasons! Yay USA actors! Did anyone else find it weird by the way that Claudia dated a character played by Ryder Strong and then the next season, Ben Savage came on the show as a guy with a crush on her? It was like the invasion of Boy Meets World! Shawn and Cory must've had quite a fight over her. Poor Topanga!

What did you think of Mad Men? Is Don going to finally get what's coming to him? Was that Hurricane Sandy date the most depressing date you've ever seen? Should Bryden have called it a day and took off? What is the worst Sims 3 glitch or error you've ever had? And did you watch Party of Five?

Keep your eyes (and ears) opened for my CD release on July 15th!! Thanks everyone!

Willow cleaning her ears!