Mr. Mustard's Birthday!

Today is Mr. Mustard's Birthday- his "Golden Birthday" because today he is 31 years old on 12/31. I wish I could say that we've been having a fabulous day, but mostly it's been us just driving around in the car looking for a new place to live (renting). Today was basically a repeat of yesterday, when we drove around for 7 hours house hunting. Ugh. We've seen everything from Beverly Hills to the Valley and most parts in between, and it all is just okay at best.

After all this searching, we are considering moving back into our place in Pasadena. I don't know, we both need to think about it a bit before we make any rash decisions. Of course, yesterday, when we were at the apex of optimism about our housing search, we gave 30 days notice at our current apartment. So, now we have a 30 day ticking clock and nowhere yet to go. If we move back to Pasadena, we have to give our tenants 60 days notice...so, basically, we have a little timing problem!

We were supposed to go up to Santa Barbara today to celebrate Mr. Mustard's birthday, but that's not happening. Mr. Mustard goes back to work next week and we're not going to have much of a chance to house hunt after that, so the pressure is on for us to figure out something this week. Hmmmm.

I still haven't updated about all of our wonderful times in Indiana- I will do that soon. For now, I'm going to go figure out something special to make for Mr. Mustard's birthday dinner. Paprika was a trooper- 7 hours in the car today and 7 hours yesterday of aimless driving. She is wonderful and I can't believe how great she is sometimes!

Oh, and Happy New Year!

Back Home Again

We made it back to California in one piece! Our trip to Indiana was outstanding- a wonderful trip it was, especially since it was Paprika's very first Christmas! We did so much in a short period of time. We saw family, friends, and even made a trip to see Santa Claus! I will update more later on what we did on a day by day basis. It was a truly unforgettable trip- I miss everyone so much already. For now, I'm off to pick up Hauser from the Dogsitter's house, then unpack, and then get some much needed R&R!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Last night Mr. Mustard and I went to a Holiday Party. It was at Geisha House, which is a sorta swanky restaurant/bar in Hollywood. They had an open bar and free sushi, so I had to go, of course! I didn't find out about it until last minute, but luckily Jessica and Matt agreed to babysit even on such short notice. Mr. Mustard and I ended up having such a great time at the party- and I actually knew a few people there from my days working on The Bachelor, plus all of Mr. Mustard's current co-workers were there that I've met before. Anyway, it was a good time.



We didn't stay too long, though, because I knew that Jessica and Matt had to get up to go to work in the morning, and plus, I figured Paprika might be giving them some trouble. We got back to Jessica and Matt's and Paprika was about to fall asleep. It was almost 11 pm and she was exhausted. Jessica and Matt did such a great job watching her- their place is so calm and serene. They had decorated it so beautifully with a big Christmas tree and then several small trees and other decorations. They had Beatles music playing quietly in the background while Matt kept Paprika at ease by swaying with her in the Baby Bjorn. They said that Paprika cried for about 20 minutes while we were gone, which of course, broke my heart. But, truth be told, it could have been a lot worse! I'm so glad that they were able to watch her- I really trust them- they are just a great couple, plus Jessica used to be a nanny, so I felt comfortable. It was the first time we've left her with anyone other than my mom or Mr. Mustard's mom, so I guess it was a bit of a milestone!




It was nice for me to have a little time to get out of the house. I realized that last night was the first night since my birthday (Sept. 7th) that I had been in Los Angeles without Paprika by my side. That was when my mom was in town visiting, so she watched her. I've made a few short trips out in Santa Barbara while Mr. Mustard's mom has watched her, but none in Los Angeles, so it felt kind of weird. When we got her home I snuggled her so tight- I realized that I really really missed her while we went out!

Santa Barbara Christmas

We went up to Santa Barbara this past weekend to celebrate Christmas with Mr. Mustard's side of the family. The weather was perfect, and Mr. Mustard's mom made lots of yummy food! It was a lot of fun just relaxing and taking it easy. Mr. Mustard and I went for some long walks around the neighborhood and took advantage of the warm 70 degree weather.

On Saturday, we went to a party at Mr. Mustard's mom's neighbor's house and Paprika got to meet the neighbors and smell a beautiful pine Christmas tree. Paprika wore her Santa Suit, which was a present from Laura, Kevin, Caroline, and Stephie. She looked SO adorable in it!

On Saturday Paprika turned 4 months old- sigh. She is growing and changing so much, it's unbelievable! She wants to go, go, go all the time now and she is trying so hard to crawl! I know one of these days not too long from now she's going to do it. For right now, though, she's stuck "swimming" on her tummy.

4 Months!