Giving

"You can give without loving,
but you cannot love without giving."

Is there such a thing as being too giving?

Internal Monologue

My clock is always set for 4:30am but it never goes off....I wake up by 3:30 or 4 and turn off the alarm. Then I lay there and think...and think and think....
I freaking have to lose ten pounds. Why can't I lose weight anymore? I haven't been to Disneyland in a couple of years...I miss it....I miss Sunny...and Sarah...i don't even know Elijah...i wish I made the same amount of money every month...why don't I visit my grandmother more? Is my son ok? How was his day today? Did he think of me? How is my daughter feeling right now? Is she struggling in anyway? Where is the love of my life? Do I know him? Do i know ME? Addison or Meredith? What should we do for Christmas? I want to have an ornament exchange. Is that gay? When can I decorate? Yikes...the 1st is Saturday and my house payment is due again! I hate the damn tattoo. I have to figure out how to get it removed. I hate my new conditioner. The floor is slippery in the shower. The carpet needs to be cleaned. That light in the garage has bugged me since the day I moved in. What can I get my dad for Christmas? Why does dry cleaning cost so much? My contacts bother me and i am sure I see better without them. My eyes are going to be puffy today from one too many episodes of Greys. Seriously, Addison? My Levitz bill is due this week. I swear my tire pressure is too low. I don't know how to measure that! My garbage disposal is still broken. I need to download all my new pics to my external hard drive. I have to get my dad something for Christmas. I haven't addressed my Christmas Cards. Why am I so tired? Why don't they play baseball all year long? That salad was so good last night. The wine was too! It's cold in here. I love my bed.
Argh...I have to get up.
And then, I get up.
I get in the slippery shower and use the crappy (cheap) new conditioner. I think about having an ornament party and paying bills...and then I drink coffee and a slimfast and put on a suit and go to work.
And I don't think about this stuff again.
Til about 4am tomorrow. Damn! What should I get my dad for Christmas?

Anatomically addicted

My newly formed twice a day (at least!) addiction to Grey's Anatomy--which has now literally caused me to OPEN up Allison's Christmas gift of "Grey's Season Two" so that I could watch it--
can easily be explained without any words whatsoever: For the love of God. Talk about torture.
And I can't get enough...

I love this car

I have always had a thing for a beautiful Porsche. I am sure it is rooted in my Dad's love for the car and the fact that he let me drive his 1967 911 the whole time I was at OCC.
And then there was his 1987 911...I drove that quite a bit too. (Thanks Dad!)
Is it my turn now?
I know, I know...with all the talk of me barely making it by financially (the news of my demise has been greatly exaggerated) HOW can I possibly be thinking about this car?

Because it is just so damn beautiful...

The perfect (productive & enjoyable) day

Every eight weeks Montage has a blood drive...and I am always excited to be part of it.

Did you know my blood is B positive? (Of course it is.)

My (always beautiful-even while giving blood) friend, Jaime

and Javad (he couldn't wait to read about Gwen)

in "recovery" (I swear I only had an orange juice)

Saw this (interesting and clever) little sign at a coffee house today...

Had a GREAT dinner (and some incredible conversation) at a Hawaiian BBQ place in Lake Forest with Alanna and Annie!

oh...and a couple of (emotionally touching) episodes of Grey's for dessert!
....in other words...the (absolutely) perfect day...

A night of worship and friendship...

Allison sang (beautifully!) tonight with the student ministries' worship teams at Saddleback Chuch...
The music was fantastic and the experience just amazing to be a part of...
And, it was such a treat to re connect with SO many good friends!

LA Story

My friend Sharel and I spent the weekend at the beautiful home of our friends Paul and Rich...oh, and Gidget too. Paul's first words to me were, "I hope you like dogs..." Those of you who know me...well, you know. But you know what? Gidget liked ME!

...and Paul and Sharel too...

We had dinner at "Ammo" --incredible turkey meatloaf with horseradish mash potatoes
and a delicious Shiraz--
And we celebrated Paul's 45th birthday!

The cake was magnificent!

We stopped by the Four Seasons to visit Rich...

And took our "Winter Formal" shot...

Sharel and Paul and I have known each other for 30 years...

Sharel got up close and personal with one of the statues out front of the hotel...
Freaking unbelievable gas prices in LA!

But the absolute BEST part of the weekend was lunch with Zachary today!
Zac treated us to delicious burgers with sweet potato fries at a GREAT 50s Cafe in Santa Monica...Zac is busy working and finishing up 15 units at Loyola...
I am so proud of him and I SO enjoyed our time together today!

It definitely was a weekend to remember...good friends, good food, great fun.
It was like that big chunk of chocolate cake...and the time with Zac was like that incredibly delicious icing...

John Mayer Concert

This is the (sold out) concert that Allison and I have tickets to...

A(nother) visit with Nana

I went to visit my 94 year old grandmother today.
When she saw me walk in she said,
"Oh Julie--can you believe that the Angels traded Cabrera?!" She went on to congratulate me on getting Joe Torre to the Dodgers...
I swear she is the coolest 94 year old there is!
On another nursing home note, I was introduced to Gaby, one of the other ladies at the home. The sad part of this is that Gaby is actually a relative of ours--she has known me all my life, but I have to be introduced to her every time due to her advanced Alzheimer's.
On the UP side of this, every time I "meet" Gaby, she asks how old I am. This time I said, "How old do you think I am Gaby?"
She answered, "18?"
God bless Alzheimer's victims.

The Soup Nazi

The one on the left--the Soup Nazi
On the right--Carlos, one of the prep cooks at Montage

"NO SOUP FOR YOU!!"
I had to take at least 20 pictures of Carlos trying to look mean
...we could not stop laughing...

Oh so GRATEFUL!

It was a day to really be thankful! Family and friends gathered at my home and celebrated with quite a feast! We ended the evening watching some of the family videos (that I have been putting on DVD) and laughing until we were all crying! SO fun...

Of course, being with both Allison and Zachary is a very special treat for me and what really made my day!

Way too much food...as usual...but all so delicious and my home smelled amazing!
Besides turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and the usuals, we had ham and green bean salad and scalloped potatoes...and more!

And OH MAN--the desserts! Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie, Banana Split pie (from Coco's!), cookies, bliss bars, chocolate strawberries...and more...so yummy!

As promised...we began the celebration by popping open the Dom Perignon...
It was seriously delicious!

My gorgeous sister Gina...I think we are starting to look like twins.

My folks with two of their five daughters and four of their eight grand kids...
We packed up leftovers for everyone--and I made sure none of the pies stayed here!
Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful! Mine certainly was.
As soon as I get all the dishes washed and all the furniture back in place, I'll be setting up for Christmas! Yeah!

Happy Thanksgiving

5 things I am grateful for today

1. My spectacular children (whom I will see today!)
2. My wonderful parents, sisters, nieces and nephews (some of whom I will see today!)
3. My fantastic job and the terrific people I work with. I am so grateful to be healthy enough to have a job where I run around all day!
4. My marvelous and unbelievably beautiful home! I am SO thankful for a home that allows me to bring in extra tables and have a large group of friends and family here! (I'm thankful too that I did not fall down my stairs lugging tables last night!)
5. YOU! Yes, I am grateful for you! You are my long time friends, my new friends, my extended family and even "blog friends" whom I've never met in person! You are all part of the amazing JOY I have in life and I am thankful for you each day!

Trying to find gratefulness in your life? I think there are a couple of keys. First thing, you have to let go of the past. Whether "the past" is last week, last month, last year or 20 years ago. Let it go and look ahead. Then, live each day as if it is a brand new start and find things to celebrate every single day...
And, above all--be forgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving

Getting ready for tomorrow...

I have actually been preparing food and setting the table and getting ready for this for DAYS!
This is the first time I have been able to host Thanksgiving since 2004...
I am so grateful...and SO excited!

I love my new dishes

Twas the night before Thanksgiving...

It is a long-standing Hibbard tradition to watch "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" on the night before Thanksgiving. I am watching right now...and I seriously know every single line by heart.
"Here's an idea...when you tell a story, have a point! It makes it so much more interesting to the listener!"

"Those aren't pillows!"

This is my favorite scene of all.
Officer: "Do you feel this vehicle is safe for highway travel?"
John Candy: "Yes I do. Yes I really do. I believe that. I know it's not pretty to look at but it'll get you where you're going..."
This makes me CRY laughing every year...
SUCH a good movie...with lots of good memories...

The Mater Dei Alumni Magazine

After 26 years I finally got my 15 minutes in the "Scarlet & Grey"--Mater Dei's quarterly alumni magazine!

Our new house...circa 1967 or so

More old shots...our home in Lake Forest (AKA El Toro)
My parents bought the house in 1965 for $18,900. Their house payment was $119 a month...


I think that's the dog my dad ran over a few days later. I do know that was the last time I wore stretch pants...