05.24.02

Happy Friday! Today was a busy day and it went by really fast. I spent the morning cleaning up around the house and vacuuming. Aric needed to take his mom to some appointments this morning and spent the remainder of the day working from home. What a treat! Although it was great having Aric home, I barely saw him. I spent the afternoon upstairs doing laundry and cleaning out my entire closet. It was something that I've been meaning to do for a while, but kept putting off....and since I'm heading up North again, I thought I'd lug all of my old clothes home to donate to one of my mom's charities. One time I had donated a bag of stuff to Goodwill and my mom was disappointed and scolded, "you know I volunteer for Lucile Packard Children's Hospital....you know we need old clothes and good to sell at the Thrift Box (San Jose Auxiliary). Can you just donate your stuff to them?" *guilt trip* So being the obedient daughter I am, I'm going to pack it all up and bring it up with me. I just hope I don't get slapped with another "overweight" luggage fee. =/
Ashlyn was such a good girl. She kept me company the whole time, quietly playing with her toys in her crib while I tossed clothes out of my closet into a huge pile, folded all of them, packed them away, and rearranged my closet and dressers. That kept me pretty busy for most of the day. Before I knew it, I only had half an hour to shower and get ready for dinner. =O

Since Aric, Ashlyn, and I are leaving tomorrow, we decided to have an early birthday celebration for Patrick. Aric, Ashlyn, Patrick, and I met up with my in-laws and Aric's grandmother in Rowland Heights. Of all places to eat, my mother-in-law suggested Red Lobster, so we ate there. I haven't been there in ages....and I can honestly say that I wasn't missing much. Similar to restaurants like Sizzler or The Olive Garden, Red Lobster used to be a cool place to eat...yeah, maybe 10 or 12 years ago. Now it just sucks. The service was crappy, the quality of the food was bad, and I sat among people who looked like they drove in from the trailer park for some good eats. I know, I'm a complete food snob. But considering the price we paid, I can think of at least ten other restaurants that would've been worth it. Aside from that, I had a great time. It's been a really long time since I last seen Aric's grandmother. She was amazed at how big Ashlyn has grown and had a great time playing with her.
Pictures from tonight:

Ashlyn and her great grandmother

Patrick and Aric

me and Ashlyn

the whole family

Ashlyn and her grandfather and great grandmother

Patrick and his complimentary cake and Red Lobster beads. hehehe

Aric, Ashlyn, and I got home late...close to 11pm. Ashlyn was WAY tired from playing with her uncle, grandparents, and great grandmother. Aric and I gave her half a bottle then tucked her into bed. Watching the baby fall asleep made me extra tired tonight. I wanted to crawl into bed too, but I still have a million and one things to do. =T Plus I still have to pack. *poo!*
So I'm going to keep this short today. Hope you all have a fun and safe long weekend!

getting better at balancing

Ashlyn's pics of the day