Las Vegas has been fairly relaxing. Work has consisted of me hanging at the Four Seasons pool with the kids. Tonight we went to the World's Greatest Magic Show which was excellent. Despite being held in a crummy hotel, it is a surprisingly great show. Toniight I'm going out with the KAK house crew who are in town. I have to say I am so proud of Scotty for rallying and flying out on standby tonight.

Things I conveniently Forgot
my pool bag
my wallet
my dsl adapter

How many hours can you procrastinate packing for a trip by watching MTV? Well, I got home from dinner about 9pm and now it's 3am. And I'm still no place even remotely close to done. Not even in Vegas yet, and already the all-nighters are starting.

The Upside
I'm feeling much better today. Thanks for your concerns. On the upside, I lost 5 pounds overnight thanks to the illness. I'm sure it won't stay off, but it's nice for today.

Today I woke up sick as death. At first I thought perhaps it was food poisening. I did have Indian Food the night before. But when I called in sick to work I found out that the kids were home sick with the same symptoms. I even threw up and I haven't thrown up since I was 13. I slept until 1:30 and then I was still too achy and too weak to actually get out of bed. I had a fever and the chills. Today, I spent two hours without taking tylenol all because I was too weak to go get a glass of water. And this is all made worse by the fact that I don't have my sleeping bag. Some of you know of my obsession with my sleeping bag and that I sleep in my sleeping bag everynight. But my mom borrowed it to go camping and I was sitting sick in bed feeling very bitter by the fact that she had it when I clearly needed it. I think it will never be lent out ever again. Finally around 5 I started to feel a bit better. And as I hear the love birds chirping in my back yard, I am reminded of how much it sucks to be single. I'm not a very needy person, but it's times like these when it's hard to be alone. With no one to take care of me... except there were people. Starting with Tom and let me say how lucky Kelly is to have such a good husband. He immediately offered to see if I needed him to bring me soup or meds or anything. I declined because I didn't think I could hold anything down. And the only thing I really wanted was someone to get me a glass of water and a pair of socks out of my drawer and that's just too silly to ask. Secondly my sister gave me advice on post throw up techniques... what is okay and not okay to drink afterwards. And then when I finally had an appetite, but no food in the house... Jaime shared her dinner with me. I'm very grateful to have people who step up in my times of need. At the same time being this sick makes me think of the last time I was this sick. At the time I had Pete and he was just great at monitoring my tempature and getting cool towels to lower my tempeture. As one who is constantly caring for others, I remembered how nice it was to have some one caring for me for a change. And then it's sad to realize how isolated I am from the people I care about. It's a tough thing.

Where The Heck Have I Been?
I know!!! I'm sorry. Let's get you caught up to speed. 1st Stop- Emilie's B-day at BJ's on Wednesday where my gift certificate to neighborhoodies was a hit. It was followed by a movie date where I ruin the happy ending with insisting we return to platonic mode. Thursday could have been a great early start to a long productive weekend in Newport Beach, but I hesitate due to a lack of productivity all week long. Feeling an urge to catch up before I head out ends up with me not going at all. And catching up was a dream unfulfilled as distractions came in all sorts of forms, but my favorite was in the form of a walk around the block. Every single night I was at a bar this weekend and every morning left me a bit of a waste for the day. Saturday I took advantage of the hot sun and slipped into the skimpiest bikini I own for a little back yard tanning out on my inherited hammock. And I get on the train of thought as I lay in this hammock that belonged to my grandparents of other things characteristically that I may have inherited from them. And then the comparison of what my dear cousin Raylene inherited. Comprable to my hammock, would be Raylene's piano (which does at the moment live in my house seeing that NYC is so far away). And it's so fitting that such have inherited such as it befits her ultra creativeness and artistic self, something I no doubt feel she inherited from our art loving grandfather. And I with my hammock befitting that I inherited from the same grandfather a love and passion for relaxation and luxury. She's managed to turn her inheritance into a living and I struggle to do the same for mine. Mine often appears to be more of a drain. Well enough with the lounging and having created a whole new set of tan lines I head to Emilie's pampered chef party where I pamper myself with lots of cooking goodies... another inherited trait from my grandfather. And then back to the bars, but not before first getting distracted by a long awaited IM from the soldier I'm a sucker for. That keeps me glued to my chair until nearly closing time. I make it to the bar with just enough time to run into some dear friends and hop into my role as designated driver. With obnoxious drunk friends to keep me awake, I attempt to stay up for a second round with the one for whom I try not to wait. With just a mere 4 hours of sleep I slip into my Sunday Bests and partake in the Best Sunday yet. Starting with the most amazing sermon at church. It was kinda a highlight of the 10 Things We Are Called To REMEMBER throughout the New Testament. And all 10 were totally right on with what I needed to hear. And since I'm sure you are dying for me to list them.... Remember 1. Reconciliation 2. Not to Hesitate 3. The Role of Persecution 4. It's more blessed to give than to recieve 5. What it was like before you were a Christian 6. The resurrection and that He's alive 7. Endurance and not to give up 8. To Be Politically Involved in support of those who are persecuted 9. To be the type of leader others can imitate 10. Your 1st Love and from where you have fallen. My over all lesson.. Live My Life! As opposed to living other people's lives. Best Sunday sermon was followed up with an invite to the Skarbek Brothers' for a BBQ. It was a good time hanging out with friends and being beaten in card games. One day I will win, but for now those boys are just too good. Then I headed off to work which basically consisted of me hanging with the kids in the pool at their pool party. There was lots of socializing because they had brought together a crowd of people who only had my clients in common and me. Normally, I don't socially interact with this crowd, but when my clients were busy... people would come find me because I'm the one other person there they know. So I had fun with that. And the weather was great and the water was warm and the food was delicious and my tan was terrific. My favorite part about my job is when I get paid to party. And speaking of... this weekend work takes me on yet another paid to party/paid to vacation/paid to relax weekend as we head off to Las Vegas.

Hold the anchovies
Here's something that's kinda funny and kinda scary. Check out these pizza orders of the future. Just a little something the American Civil Liberties Union put together. They make it easy as pie to write your senator regarding the issue.

It's Raining Men
Men just be coming out of the woodwork. My goodness! It's ridiculous. You all know how when it rains, it pours. It's just kinda tripping me out. Is this some kind of test? First Nate. Who wasn't scheduled to come around for another month according to his M/O. Then Matt calls. It's like he must have sensed I was coming into town this weekend. Then Pete calls me. The Big X. Maybe Dan and Andy can call me next and then every guy I've ever had a weakness for can come stand on my frontstep while I shut the door on them. Under different circumstances, I would probably be psyched to have these options. But right now I'm just not feeling it. I'd rather long for what I cannot have.

Capitola Crepe Craving
It started with me just wanting to enjoy the good weather at the beach. But then I realized that I had business to handle on that side of the hill. So after church I headed over to Capitola . My first stop was my favorite little bath store, Panache. This is where they make my custom scents that I obsess about. So I had met the owner, Frank, a few times and I've always been fond of him because he gives me free products. Last time I saw him I mentioned the creperie and he was really excited for me. And later I realized that Capitola would be great for a weekend market, so I brought it up to him yesterday asking if he knew any information on the parking situation. Well, did I ever go to the right person. Frank owns all the parking venues by the beach. He filled me in on city council issues, street vending issues, the restaurants who will oppose, ways around it, options on locality, spaces for lease and sublet. And he drove me around showing me all my possible options. What a help and God-send. I couldn't find a better connection. How am I going to do this in Newport Beach where I know nobody? Before heading back I laid out for a few minutes, had my favorite Mexican Chocolate ice cream, and stopped at my competitor... The Crepe Place in Santa Cruz. It really is a completely different market.

The Trade Off
Kids are cute. Especially when they are cuddly. And especially when they are sleeping. So as we all settle down for naps at the Byrne house, how can I refuse Caitlin when she wants to nap with me. She wasn't successfully napping on her own anyhow. Now napping with a 3 year old is tricky and I alway seem to forget this lesson, although my little Ryan has taught it to me on more than one occasion. Napping with kids in this phase can often end up with being peed on. It's a situation that is really my fault because I forgot to put a pullup diaper on Caitlin. I woke up a bit wet thanks to the little bed wetter who was ever so cutely cuddled against my arm while peacefully and obliviously sucking her thumb. Caitlin's still asleep and I'll wait until both her and Christian wake up before we can head back to my house so I can change. I can pretend to have learned the lesson and to never forget the pullup diaper again, but I'm sure there will be instances in the future where I will again be peed on.

Better than Sex in the City
I've taken a break from my Sex in the City Marathon and replaced it with Rock Harbor. My church in Newport Beach has their Sunday morning messages for last year or so up on streaming audio. It started with me wanting to hear the rest of the series on Revelations that I heard when I was down there. But scrolling threw the archives I saw a series on Hearing God's Voice and then one on Sex, Love and God and thought Hey I want to hear those! And then I just got hooked on listening. I'm hooked. I just play sermon after sermon while cleaning the house, doing work, and it is so uplifting. And I think there's something called podcasting where you can upload it to your ipod. Wish I had an ipod so I could take this series with me while I clean out the garage.

And this small world just keeps getting smaller
My hometown where I was born, raised and am currently living:
San Jose, California. Current Population: 944,857, ranked the safest city in U.S. with a population over 500,000. So tell me how it is that with almost a million people living here how I always end up having these "it's a small world" incidents. I think this is an indicator that I've lived here just too long.

This morning I get an email from this random girl who is interested in renting one of my rooms. She seems like a good match so we continue emailing. She writes of how she is looking for someplace close to her work and how she spends alot of time with her fiance, Michael. And if it would be okay if sometimes her fiance crashed over because he's living in Pleasanton and it's a long drive at night. It would just be until he buys his place in July and then she'll spend alot of time at his house. And then they will get married in August of 2006 so that is when she'd move out. And I'm thinking to myself... Man, is she into her boyfriend or what! But there is something else I'm thinking. So I write her back... is your boyfriend Michael F____? Surprise! Surprise! She says yes and asks how I know him. And I tell her the truth... he's an old friend of mine, but what I dont' say is that for a while we were a bit more than friends. And that we actually have a pact that if we are both single when we're 35... you know. But seeing that my back-up guy's fiance just emailed me to move in, it looks like I need to find myself a new back-up. I know too many people here. Just another sign that it's time to move.

My theme song... Be My Escape by Relient K. Check out the lyrics or the video and you'll know exactly what I've been feeling.

Overheard:
Liz: I'd be leaving alot of friends to go to Newport Beach.
Marianne: It's a good thing you know Ryan and Seth now. You can hang out with them.
Liz: huh?
Marianne: You know. Ryan and Seth? Marisa and Summer? The Cowen Family?
Don't get it?

Bye Bye Weedville
Today I spent the day working on my yard. Now this actually started last week on Cinco de Mayo when Scotty called me up to go out. We headed to Mountain Charlie's where I ran into my friend Matt. The first words out of his mouth... "Hey Liz! You need to mow your lawn." Thanks, Matt. Moving on... Then right after I leave Matt I run into Vince. "Liz, What's up? You need to cut your grass." Are you kidding me? You know it's a problem when it starts infringing on your social life. Everybody knows where I live and they all drive by and take note of how I am single handedly bringing down the property value of my neighborhood. So Friday morning I felt very motivated to go break into Kelly and Tom's backyard, face their attack dog, and snatch their lawn mower. I got the front done that day, but I had to wait to do the backyard until today. And then today I pulled the hammock out from under the gazebo. And set up the fire pit. And then realized that all my yard chairs are still at Rich's house from last years' Rich-a-Liz-a-palooza. I also need to cut back my backyard tree so some sun can come through. But now the yard looks great and I'm kinda thinking it's time for a big party. Or at the least another bbq. Today I came up with the name of the next big party... Lizapalooza Kegs and Crepes.

Taking More Risks
Remember how I told you about that logo I made for Holy Crepe. Here it is... Laugh while you can, because it's not going to last. I'm changing the name back to Urban Crepe.

The logo wasn't all that anyhow. It didn't really look much like a crepe. And the consensus among everybody is that they liked my old name better. So I'm working on a new logo now to go with the new name. I think I'm going for one somewhat similar to dippin dots. And the big risk... reassuring that my investor was still on board. He was on board when I approached him last year, but He can also be fickle. So I was praying that he would not have changed his mind. And it did take some convincing so I ended up dropping a few grand off of my request to make it less of an issue. But in the end he agreed. Now I just am drawing up the loan papers and next week I'll set up a new bank account for the funds to be transfered into. I'll just sell everything I own to make up for the difference. Starting with a huge garage sale on Saturday.

Marital Bliss or Bust!
Yesterday was Ben and Shannan's wedding. The wedding was awesome. His dad is a pastor up in Oregon and performed the ceremony and wrote and sang a song about them that was actually really good. I was impressed. I love these two people so much. It was great to witness their union. And from listening to their vows, it's really the same as they've been doing for the last few years. Loving, cherishing, honoring... already all present in their relationships. It's like their hearts have been married for years already. Congrats fellas! And let me tell you that both the bride and the groom have the most gorgeous families ever. They are doing the world a service by breeding the new perfectly gorgeous superior race. Oh, and I love going to events where I know absolutely everybody... like 90% of the guests. And I got to see people I haven't seen in forever, like Talia, Guitano, Julie, and Shawheen. It was great to reunite.

HOT OR NOT
So yesterday I brought my friend Eric as my date to Shannan and Ben's wedding. And everybody kept telling me how Eric is such a great guy and how I should hold onto him. And I try to explain to them that I know he's a really awesome guy and yes he is cute BUT that he's my friend's exboyfriend and there is definately a girl's code about that. I'm not shady enough to break it. I actually use to tell Haylee all the time not to let Eric get away. Anyways Tom was especially fond of my date as they got along splendidly talking sports and getting a bit too wasted. So they got blitzed on cheap red wine. Kelly got Tom out of there early. Eric got cut off by the bartenders. And then on the windy road home that is Highway 17, he proceeded to puke that blueberry wedding cake up all over himself. Big Turn Off. He felt horribly about it all and apologized a million times. I know he was really embarassed and he stopped by with flowers today to apologize (and get his car). I'm not at all mad about it. I just don't think he's the keeper that the rest of my church thought he is.

The big lesson...
For a second I put my fears aside and took a risk I would never normally take. As if in slow motion... I turned away, squinched my eyes, and pushed Enter. And when all is said and done, it turned out kinda great. Kelly, beckoned me to pray about it. And the next day as I prayed I realized the big lesson. It's okay to take chances. It's okay for me to risk, because ultimately God wants to bless me and He will. It's like He stands at the door and knocks and He's on the other side with a big huge goodie basket filled with everything I could want, but I'm too scared to open the door. What if He doesn't give me that blessing I want. What if He comes and changes my comfortable life. What if He is standing there about to damn me because I've blown it again. So I just whisper through the door... "Hey there. I love you. Thanks for loving me too." But if I just get over it and open the door, the blessing will flow. So I was feeling all confident and ready to take on the world. Ready to open all the doors and windows too. That was a few days ago.

Then my world got flipped by the words of a 5 year old child. Now I don't know which way is up. I don't know whether I'm going North or South, whether I'm coming or going. I have no clue what direction God is trying to take me. And I spent yesterday nauseous with anxiety over it all. There are so many factors in my life that are pending. So many decisions to make and too many pending factors for me to make educated decisions. It just doesn't feel safe and I see the possibility for me to go down hard. But now that I write this, I think the answer is going to be to take the risky paths that I would normally avoid. Don't play it safe. Oh, but that really doesn't sound right. And it certainly doesn't feel right. Life sucks. Pray for me.

But shouldn't you really know better...
So there has been some controversy regarding my Liz Whiz Quiz. Apparently, question #1 is having everyone on the verge of rioting. What is my favorite restaurant? Correct answer: La Fondue. However, it was brought up to me by both Carrie and Tom that I state on three different occasions throughout my blog that Nola's is my favorite. I did however say on Dec 7, 2003 that La Fondue is my very very favorite. But I guess the only fair thing to do is to give credit due to the discrepency. So Carrie actually got 100% and Tom actually got 60%. Carrie would like me to mention that the discrepency proves that my blog is full of lies and one should not believe anything written here if you choose to read at all. Hope you both are happy.

Think you're a Liz Whiz? Think you know all about me? Well I might surprise you!
Take the Liz Whiz Quiz and see how you score!

***my apologies- this quiz is harder than I thought. Lots of trick questions where it's just not what you'd consider to be the obvious answer. Try to think present tense, not how I may have been in the past. Hope that helps.***

Newport Beach Continues...
Today we all went out for brunch at Cappy's. My old roommate, Haylee, came and met up with us. It was so great to hang out with her again. And I ran into my friends, Tim and Ryan, while at brunch. Then we headed over to Cabo Cantina. Then Scotty tells me that he's decided to stay in Newport until Tuesday and isn't driving home with me that night. Well, that changes everything if I'm driving by myself. I'm only good to drive until a few hours in the dark before my eyes start playing games with me and I start to fall asleep at the wheel. So this meant moving my departure time up from 8 to 4 and leaving the crew behind at the bar. I made it home safely stopping at Kelly's first to calm her down. She's throwing a huge fit over me thinking about moving back to Newport.
Me- "I think I might be being called to be back in Newport"
Kelly- "I already talked to God about it and He says you are NOT moving to Newport!!"
But we've had a long discussion about it and I think now she's supportive of whatever I choose to do (or at least she's pretending to be).

KAK BOYS- Ryan, Shawn, Lee, Scotty, Rich, Jeff, Matt

KAK GIRLS- Tara, Liz, Julie

My favorite thing about living in Newport Beach was my church. I had this amazing church called Rock Harbor that I loved going too. It was all young fun types and it had so many activities and outreaches and the worship was stellar. So whenever I am in town I do my best to make it to Sunday services. So this morning I get up and try to catch the 9:00, but low and behold... it's not there. Apparently they no longer operate out of the community center, but now have their own building. So I track that down and as I walk in I'm so proud of the church they have become. Their building is beautiful and they've actually outgrown that already and now have taken to having separate services in a local nightclub to accommodate the demand for seats in this rockin' church. And as I had remembered, the worship was wonderful and the message was powerful. And then during closing worship they announce that there's some smoke in the children's wing and that the kids have been taken to the front of the church, but not to panic. Oh and by the way... the fire department is here and ask that we evacuate as well so we are just going to keep playing worship and you can sing as you leave the building. Outside there are 9 firetrucks surrounding the entrance. That is one church that is definately on FIRE for Christ! It was good to be back.

Yesterday TiTi and I went shopping in the morning and then we met up with the group and all went to Sharkeez on the beach for Lunch and Liquor. I met this awesome Christian guy who was there celebrating his 21st birthday. We made sure he did it up right. And his friend was from San Jose and grew up right in my neighborhood. Such coincidence! But TiTi and I can only handle so much drinking so eventually we left the boys to their own devices and went back to shopping. Then we BBQ'd back at Matt's house. Suddenly everybody was exhausted. They all slept for a while but then I couldn't wake them when it was time for us to go out. I was getting fairly annoyed, so eventually I ditched them. I met up with Tim Lindsey of Shady Acres and we had a great time catching up, reminiscing, and talking faith. He's missing home and I was glad to bring a glimpse of it back to him. My glimpse of Newport Beach is so different from how I remember and it makes me feel like it may be time to give it a second chance. Something for me to pray about.