lulu

  • I Married My First Cousin!

    OK, let me rephrase that.  I officiated a wedding ceremony for my first cousin yesterday. 

    The event went off without a hitch, save for me forgetting the exchange of the rings before I pronounced them husband and wife.  Minor detail.  Since I was busy performing the ceremony, there’s no viral video of the event.  (I’m usually the one video recording and snapping photos at family events.  I did threaten to attach a “preacher cam” around my neck prior to the ceremony, but in the end opted for decorum.  LOL.) 

    The wedding was at Heisler Park in Laguna Beach and the whole thing took about 5 minutes.  I was warned to keep it short, as I have a tendency to be loquacious.  Even so, I did manage to work in a slight jab at Sarah Palin, by explaining to the assembled guests that because of the groom’s upper Midwest vernacular, if he said “You betcha” instead of “I do“, it was NOT a nod to Caribou Barbie.  I also managed to give Apple some free advertising by pulling out my iPod Touch for the official part of the ceremony, joking “There’s an app for that” and hoping apple would give me a free iPad once they got wind of iVows. 

    I also threatened to sing “A Whole New World” from Aladdin…in Italian and quoted from “Rent” and La Boheme.  The reception was on Lake Mission Viejo and afterward the newlyweds checked into The Hotel Careyfornia for a 2 hour nap before their 5 AM flight to Cancun.  Today everyone is resting after a whirlwind few days.  I’m readying for the next wave of guests next weekend and then I’m off to Chicago for a week.  Congratulations to Darlene & Gary!  Thanks for asking me to marry you!

    Apologies to Clement C. Moore:

    The “favorite cousin” joke started with this trip to the same beach a few years ago.

    Some photos from the weekend:


    Friday night family party


    Tommy showing off his dance moves


    Me, filling out the marriage certificate


    Leaving for the beach


    The bride exalting in my Sarah Palin joke!

     
    Tommy, Cole, Darlene & Athena


    By the power vested in me…


    With Rebecca


    The kids loved the  limo


    With the blushing bride at the reception


    The fun table


    Cousins, aunts and Grandma


    Oreo, Shadow and Roxy were pooped


    The Honeymoon Suite of the world famous Hotel Careyfornia


    More Pre-Wedding Photos


    More Wedding Photos

     

  • Cheesy Food Porn and a Daring Rescue

      
    A week of rare stormy weather was capped off by a beautiful sunny weekend full of friends, flowers and food (porn).  Picasa tells me I took 224 photos this week.  Here are a few of them:


    More storm photos here and here


    Before & After


    It ain’t Jesus, (Cheesus?) but Ebay anyone??  Make me an offer I can’t refuse and I’ll sell you my Cheenis


    A surprise mid week lunch visit from the family!


    This sunset was like a painting!


    Nothing like Grandma’s spaghetti on a rainy day!


    This was the cloud that spawned hail and downpours downtown as you can see


    January showers bring…January flowers


    The rain cleared away the smog and left snow capped mountains over Hollywood


    Owen with downtown Los Angeles as a backdrop


    Shopping at The Grove with Owen


    Hooray for Hollywood!


    Sunset tonight from my roof


    To prove the clouds weren’t Photoshopped, here’s a short video of the last storm

    I’ve been dog-sitting for Buster & Roxy all week.  I have them until Thursday, when I leave for the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.  The poor dogs had cabin fever this week with all the rain, but they got cured of that really quickly after seeing this riveting rescue of a dog trapped in the swollen Los Angeles River this week:

     
    The dog’s owners still haven’t been found.  Maybe I should adopt him and get Chazz a playmate?’
    This was really quite an amazing thing to watch.  The poor dog was so scared and the firefighter was so brave.

  • Christmas Eve in the Emergency Room (Twice!)


    T’was the night before Christmas, and down in the kitchen.
    Little Andy was running, soon his head would need stitchin’.
    The stockings were hung by the chimney with nails,
    In hopes that dog Sadie would not them inhale.
    Cole & Tressa were bundled all snug in their beds,
    While Lulu was hurling and needing some meds.
    So off to the hospital again we did race,
    And we whistled and shouted and picked up the pace.
    Dear Tommy and Andy and Tressa and Cole,
    We hope you like Christmas…it sure takes a toll!

    With apologies to Clement C. Moore

    Well, boys will be boys, and this afternoon while 5 year old Andy was running around playing with all of his cousins, he slipped and hit his forehead on the edge of a chair.  It was a pretty deep cut, but luckily very straight.  He took his 10 stitches like a trooper, and was back home in time for a traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner with pasta, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and lots of other delicious food.  After the gift exchange, we headed back to Dar’s to await the kids in the morning for even more presents.  As soon as we got home, Grandma got very sick to her stomach and was throwing up for an hour.  (No, she didn’t get run over by a reindeer!)  So, back to the emergency room!  I wonder if they have a 2 for 1 special?  She’s currently on an IV now to help with her nausea and replenish her fluids.  Still waiting for a doctor.  It’s going to be a long night!  Merry Christmas everyone!

    UPDATE:  Grandma was released from the hospital late on Christmas Day.  I drove her to Dar’s house so she could open her presents and see the kids, and then drove her back home for some much needed rest in her own bed.  She’s still weak, but on the mend.  Thanks to everyone for their concern!  She must be feeling a little better, because when she heard my poem she rolled her eyes and gave me the raised eyebrow!

    UPDATE II:  I have come down with the stomach flu, as have 8 of my cousins.  We’ve all been puking our guts out the past two days.  It truly was the gift that kept on giving this Christmas.  I hope to be all better by Wednesday when I head up to Pacifica for our annual GLY NYE. 


    What a brave little guy he was!


    I always marvel at the Hollywood sign on a clear day.  Even though it took me 2 1/2 hours to drive the 60 miles to my cousin’s house, I listened to Christmas Carols and was in a good mood.


    I took this from my sunroof going 70 mph down the 5 freeway.  This is just past Disneyland.


    As I pulled onto Jennifer’s street, this is what I saw


    Kenny, Tressa and Tommy


    No Italian Christmas is complete without pasta and meatballs!


    Before Grandma got sick :(


    The kid’s table!


    Apparently he didn’t get his two front teeth for Christmas…but he does look like Harry Potter now!


    T’was the night before Christmas…


    Buster, the one eyed horndog and Roxy…waiting for Santa


    Best of the rest…

  • The Yin and Yang of Christmas

    Even though I don’t believe in God, I’m inclined to agree with the postulate that everyone likes presents, Santa, peace on earth and all the things that come with Christmas and the holiday season.  I mean, what’s not to like?  My office Christmas party was today and we had a Secret Santa gift exchange.  The person whose name I drew, is an staunch Orange County Republican who thinks Sarah Palin is “hot”. 

    As a gag gift, I gave him the book “Going Rouge – An American Nightmare” which is the bitingly real expose of the most dangerous woman on the planet, Sarah Palin.  (I also gave him a real gift, and the gift receipt to exchange the book for something he really wanted!)  The person who drew my name in the gift exchange had a similar idea, and gave me the book, “Going Rogue”, the fictional work of a delusional demagogue by Pontius Palin – The Bobbleheaded Beauty Queen herself.  Delicious irony, right?  In a way, the gifts canceled each other out.  Ah, the magic of Christmas!


    Good vs. Evil

    Magic aside, Christmas in California is a lot different than Christmas in Chicago where I grew up.  I don’t have a whole lot of very fond childhood memories, aside from those spent with my aunt, but Christmas was usually pretty nice:


    Me, my Dad & Mom in happier times and my brother, circa 1970


    My brother (L) and me, circa 1969.  I was 4, and stylin!

    Fast forward 40 years to the warm weather of California and Christmastime with my family here:

     

     

    And of course, Christmas in Hollywood at The Hotel Careyfornia and surroundings:


    Ryan, in lights


    Never fails!


    At least the homophobic Mormons put on a good light show!


    Christmas lights at the bottom of my street, Santa Monica Blvd.


    A homeless Santa on Sunset Blvd.  This picture cost me $5, so I hope you like it!


    Best of the rest…

    One of my favorite Christmas songs

  • Pink Christmas Trees and Sunroof Sunsets

    It was a busy weekend at The Hotel Careyfornia.  Since Ryan and Chazz are out of town, Claudio and I decided to spend some “quality time” together.  It rained all day Saturday though, and the traffic was a nightmare.  No one knows what to do in L.A. when it rains, as witnessed by this truck that got stuck in my driveway yesterday morning.  So we just ordered Chinese food and watched movies all night.  It was nice.  Today was beautiful, and after an alleged Lady Gaga sighting, we walked to Tender Greens for lunch and then I drove down to my aunt’s for our pre-Christmas spaghetti dinner.  ‘Tis the season!


    Andy entertained us with some Christmas Carols…which you can hear better after Grandma stops talking about her pills!  LOL


    Lunch on Santa Monica Blvd.


    I sent this to Wendy Williams, as she likes pink Christmas trees.  Maybe she’ll show it on TV tomorrow?


    Bah Humbug!  The patented Claudio sneer


    Ho Ho Ho


    Get your kicks, on Route 66


    Sunset from my sunroof…I took this going down the 101 highway at 65 mph (104 kmh)


    Another shot from my sunroof while driving

     
    Favorite cousins!

     
    Great Grandma made her famous spaghetti


    Look familiar?


    Our first Christmas without Grandpa


    Tressa also wants her front teeth from Santa this year


    Bad Andy – Don’t imitate Sarah Palin!


    Cody & Andy

     
    Merry Christmas from our family to yours!


    Best of the rest…

  • A Stoked Anniversary

    3 years ago today I started my humble little blog.  In that time, I’ve written 641 entries and have devoted this space mainly to my photos and random musings.  Blogs are like clothes.  Sometimes you look back at them and wonder “What was I thinking!!??”


    Future Xangan

    Some people have suggested that I rename my blog:

    “Kids, Dogs, Sunsets & Sarah Palin“ 
    and the occasional rant against corporate America

    When I look at my most common “tags“, this rings somewhat true: 

    Tommy and Andy seem to be most popular.  Followed by Chazz and other family members!  American Idol is pretty highly ranked too, as tend to run into Idols all over Hollywood!

    Speaking of Chazz & sunsets, I just took this photo in the front yard:


    Chazz looks good in red!


    I took this picture an hour before the last one.  I like how it looks like he’s shooting a laser beam from his eye!


    Who’s a good dog?

    I went to 2 Christmas parties this week, and I have 2 more next week.  ‘Tis the season!


    Aunty LuLu put up her tree before Thanksgiving!


    At a work Christmas party on Thursday

    I’ll leave you with a final thought on this Xangaversary.  Are we doing enough to warn our kids about the dangers of getting stoked?

  • Snow in Hollywood?! – How the Grinch Stole Garbo & Ruby

    The Hollywood Christmas Parade isn’t quite the caliber of Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, but it’s been a tradition here since 1928.  It features extremely D-List celebrities like Susan Lucci, Lorenzo Lamas, Lee Majors and the minor castmembers of Glee, The Office and a slew of soap operas.  Add some assorted marching bands, balloons, floats and Santa Claus with fake snow on a red carpet and well, you get the idea. 

    The temperature in L.A. yesterday afternoon was a balmy 80° F (27° C).  By the time the parade started at 6 PM, it had dropped to a bone chilling, wintry 65° F (18° C).  I’m dog sitting for Garbo & Ruby this week, so we headed to the parade route to meet my aunt and cousins who were dressed like they were at the North Pole!  We enjoyed ourselves, but the real fun came after the parade as I was walking home.  I sneaked on to the red carpet and let the dogs play in the “snow” in front of the Kodak Theater.  They had a blast:


    When I posted this picture on Twitter, Jin said it was Sarah Palin without her makeup!


    Making “snowballs”


    Garbo & Ruby in the middle of Hollywood Blvd.


    This is my favorite


    Kids act the same way in fake snow as they do in real snow


    A Tinseltown Blizzard


    Oh the weather outside is frightful


    Southern California’s version of a snow angel


    Ruby & Garbo’s Christmas Card


    Emily with The Cat in the Hat


    Crazy reindeer games


    Waiting for the parade to kick off


    I’m usually the cold one in the family!


    The crazy Scientologists sure put on a good Christmas display


    The site of the Oscars


    Grauman’s famous Chinese Theater, before the parade


    Best of the rest…

  • The Easiest Halloween Costume Ever!

     
    Halloween is a week away and I’ve been far too busy these past few weeks to come up with a costume.  I keep thinking it will be hard to top last year when I dressed as a moose in a bulletproof vest, trying to avoid all of the Sarah Palins with guns!  I got shot twelve times that night:

    West Hollywood always has a huge Halloween carnival where they close off Santa Monica Blvd. and host hundreds of thousands of costumed revelers.  It’s just at the bottom of my street and I’ve never gone without a costume.  Then laying in bed last night, I had an epiphany.  I thought of the easiest, cheapest, most low maintenance costume possible.  All I need to do is: 

    • Wear a cream colored shirt   
    • Carry a clear Tupperware container
    • Get a silver foil balloon
    • Maybe pop some Jiffy Pop popcorn
    • Walk up to every cute Asian “boy” (mind you, they will all be of age) on Santa Monica Blvd and ask him to take a picture with me while fake puking into my Tupperware container and holding the balloon.  After all, I’ve never had a problem taking pictures with cute Asian boys:


    I wonder how many “Balloon Boys” I’ll see on Santa Monica Blvd. this year?  I bet there will be a lot of Susan Boyle drag queens too.  LOL

    So there you have it.  The easiest costume in history.  I’ll be the Balloon Boy’s father, Richard Heene.  I guess I’ll have to shave the goatee.  Oh well, I’m tired of people telling me it’s gray, a fact I’m quite aware of.  Even if people think my costume is lame, it will be a great way to meet new friends and add to the collage below!  LOL.

      
    Click to enlarge and click again to enlarge even more…
    There’s quite a few Xangans on here…recognize any?

    Maybe I’ll even put these 3 videos on an iPod and have that playing.  I call this the Balloon Boy Trifecta.  Watch all three!  Warning, the songs are quite catchy!

    Speaking of cute kids, I went to see “Where the Wild Things Are” tonight, on Jech’s recommendation and I loved it!  The book was always a favorite of mine as a kid, and I feared they might ruin it, but it was just delightful.  Here are a few photos from the theater and one of me and Aunty LuLu last night for Thursday Spaghetti. 


    The famous Cinerama Dome on Sunset Blvd., where we watched “Wild Things”


    Looking west on Sunset Blvd.


    Downtown Los Angeles in the distance


    I snapped this while driving…not as bad as this dumb broad, but I hope she burns her calves!

  • The Baffled Narcissist – Everything’s An Event

    Recently, my cousin told me about some people who read my blog regularly but don’t really know me that well.  They remarked to her that, “Everything with Carey is an event!“.  I chuckled when I heard that but laughed even harder this week when I watched the TV show “How I Met Your Mother“.  If you haven’t seen it, it’s a great show that stars Neil Patrick Harris and an ensemble cast.  It’s basically a 21st Century “Friends“.  In this week’s episode, Marshall is derided by his wife Lily for creating another photo montage that drove his friends away.  It seems that Marshall was addicted to creating photo slideshows with music, documenting the most mundane events in his life; like pet-sitting or ordering Chinese food.  LOL, remind you of anyone??    Take a look at this clip, it’s hilarious: 

    Heck, I admit I’m a narcissist, but isn’t every blogger to an extent?  (By the way, it’s not narcissism if you truly are better than everyone else!)  It’s baffling to think why total strangers should be interested in looking at my pictures and videos, but yet I post them and expect feedback like any good narcissist.  So I guess Marshall and I have a lot in common.  (I could be in worse company.)  Though, if I start adding my own signing to too many of my videos, feel free to tell me to stop.  I’ll try to spare my readers that indignity!  So without further ado, here are the photos from Lisa & Shelby’s birthday celebration tonight (hardly a mundane event!), set to the tune of Lisa’s favorite singer (and a narcissistic song!).  (YouTube wouldn’t let me post the slideshow with the music, so you’ll have to look at the pictures and listen to the music the old school way!)  Happy Birthday Lisa!! xoxo

     
    Click the photo for the best of the rest…


    “I’m in love with myself and nobody else, I’m in love with myself…”

  • Saturday Night Lights

    The day started with my aunt and I heading to LAX to meet Claudio and his brother, sister and sister in law, and their two kids, and Chazz of course. Then we picked up my Dad at the airport and headed downtown to Philippes for lunch. Dinner for 17 was at Buca di Beppo and was followed by Joel’s college (American) football game. My brother and his girlfriend and her two kids checked into The Hotel Careyfornia after that, and today they headed down to Disneyland.  I had other plans, and am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed for the first time in nearly a month.  It has been a very long past 3 weeks, and I’m exhausted!  My Dad is going to stay with my aunt for a few days, and he’ll come back up to The HC on Thursday after we celebrate Lisa’s birthday.  I’m looking forward to a little rest and relaxation until then.  Have a good week!


    Uncle Ryan with the munchkins


    Aunty LuLu and I met the whole gang close to the airport before my Dad flew in


    Dad, me, Chazz, Claudio & Ryan


    Most of the family.  Jennifer couldn’t make it.


    I miss Andy!


    Favorite cousins!


    Orange County kids!


    Me, with Nicole, Tiffany & Rebecca


    Cheese!


    I liked this shot…I wanted to pull down her shirt though!


    Enjoying the game…LOL


    His Dad’s the coach!


    Home run! :)


    Tight ends?


    This is a game I know absolutely nothing about!


    Rebecca made her typical Filipino breakfast.  Yum!  If you want to see more photos from the weekend, click here.