A WICKED good night!

Last Friday Morris and I went to see Wicked at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood with friends from dental school. The show was amazing! This was the first time for Morris and a third for me, I will never tire of seeing this show. We all met for dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory and then headed down the street to the theatre. We had great seats for the price ($32). Fiero (love interest of withces) was played by the understudy the night we went so that was a bit disappointing. Still a wonderful production. It was a great night, hopefully we will get to see it again before it leaves LA.

Tiffany?

Last week I was doing some shopping in Tiffany & Co. for my boss (I will probably never do shopping there for myself). As I was signing my receipt the gentleman who was helping commented on my wedding ring, and then asked "is it ours?" My wedding ring of course is not from Tiffany but I love it just the same no matter what color the blue box was that is came in.

Finally--A 4th Year

This may be a bit premature but I am going to celebrate anyway. Last week Morris completed his finals for his 3rd year of dental school. We spent the night celebrating in Westwood. We had pizza for dinner, did a bit of shopping (for me, sorry Morris) and strolled through the Hammer Museum. It was the perfect night to be out celebrating before Morris hit the books once again to prepare to take the GRE next week. 3 years down 1 to go (and then a few more for residency)! Congratulations Morris on completing 3 years!

Getty Center

Last weekend Morris's parents came to town for a quick visit and a bit of business. We had a great time for the few minutes they were here. The meetings for the men went a bit longer than expected on Friday so I took Dixie to the Getty Center to see The Masters and the beautiful gardens. The gardens were gorgeous and in full bloom and of course Monet and Van Gogh never disappoint. After the Getty we headed to Century City for some shopping at The Container Store and then met up with our boys for dinner at Houstons. Thanks for coming Morris and Dixie, it was great to have you here-even if it was brief.

Welcome Avery Holland

Last week my sister Brooke delivered a beautiful baby girl. I spent last weekend with my sisters and the new baby. Avery makes number 16 on the Allen side. I love being an aunt!

June Gloom

This is the term used by the meteorologist to describe the weather patterns in Los Angeles during the month of June.

I think the term is more appropriate for the feelings I have that are associated with June. June is graduation season and that means many of our good friends graduate and move on. It also means that we loose some of our favorite sunbeams in our primary class. Over Memorial Day weekend we were invited to a Graduation party for Jared Corbridge and Chad Rowan. It was a great party but was very bitter sweet knowing we were loosing some great friends.

Good Luck in your residency Jared and Chad.

Bye Sydney, Devon and Carter we will miss you in class.

My Spot

Morris and I often have the "Where do you think you will end up" conversation with many of his classmates. Morris and I have made the decision we will be moving to Logan, Utah after graduation to work with Mo's dad at his practice. I am hoping by the time we finish his residency program, Logan will have a Nordstrom and Target. The move will be much easier on both of us if so. Many of our friends have not decided where they would like to begin there practice or have not yet come to an agreement with there spouse on where to set up shop. My brother and his wife showed us a website called Find Your Spot that may help some of you out in this decision. You can find your spot here .

My Top 5 Spots Are:

1. Norfolk, VA

2. Knoxville, TN

3. Charleston, SC

4. Cincinnati, OH

5. Jacksonville, FL

Other places to consider in my top 10:

7. Seattle, WA

9. Long Island, NY

*Morris will not admit to this but Boise, ID appeared in his top 5.

Cake Diaries

Here are some photos of my latest cake creations.

Mothers Day Cake--Basket of Flowers

Tea Pot Cake--Supposed to be fondant but I chickened out and used fondant only for polka dots.

Debi Birthday Cake--I made this cake for my good friend Debi for her golden birthday on the 28th. Happy Birthday Deb!

Stay tuned for the Father's Day Cake next week.

Seattle's Best

Last weekend Seattle hosted the Annual AAO Conference (American Association of Orthodontists). I like to tag along to the conferences when they are held in neat cities and because Morris's father is an orthodontist we usually get to spend some time with his parents as well. We traveled down with our good friends the Lee's and spent some time exploring together. We had such a great time in Seattle and we managed to avoid rain until our last day in town when it dumped on us. Morris and I spent our first night in town at Safeco Field where we saw the M's defeated by the Padres (8-1), at least we had a very entertaining ride to the ballpark provided by the Seattle finest on city bus #9. We decided a cab would be the a better form of transportation given the time of night. Earlier that day Morris and I took a city tour of Seattle where we explored the Space Needle, the beautiful University of Washington campus, the Chittenden Locks, and wonderful views of Peugeot Sound. Other highlights of the trip included a visit to the Seattle Central Library, the Seattle Art Museum, and Pike Place Market. We also managed to squeeze in a quick visit with our friends from UCLA the Olsen's who are now attending UW. It was so fun to see them and there cute little boys. We really enjoyed our time in Seattle, I loved how alive the art community is in Seattle. I wish we had more time to enjoy more museums and more galleries in this wonderful city.

One Zero Zero

An entire Benjamin. This is my 100th post for Poole Party. Thanks for reading and your comments.

"No Business Like Show Business"

On Saturday night Morris and I went to "Annie Get Your Gun" at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. Morris has a patient who works at the RBPAC and offered to get us tickets to the show. I was really looking forward to a night out with my husband--our time together has been very infrequent lately. We had fantastic seats and had such a great time seeing this show. Morris said "it is nice to have patients with benefits." Hopefully he his patient is still working there next year when "Miss Saigon" is there and he will hook us up with tickets again.

More PINKBERRY Please

On Saturday I decide to take Morris to the place all of the money in our bank account has been disappearing to. I have not yet figured out what is so fantastic about this frozen yogurt but whatever it is I love it! I am not the only one--everyone in this whole city is as obsessed as I am. Lucky for me there is a Pinkberry very close to my work in Beverly Hills that seems to always be on my way while I am out running errands. I recently discovered there is one right by our house as well, Lucky me. Morris is now a big fan as well.

"Student of the Year"

This afternoon Morris and I went to a luncheon in Anaheim for the Pierre Fauchard Academy. The PFA is a worldwide dental organization that recognizes outstanding leaders in the dental profession. The PFA awards a scholarship to one student from each dental school in the nation. Last week Morris was told he had been chosen as the "Student of the Year" for 2007 from UCLA. This weekend the California Dental Association (CDA) was held in Anaheim and they had a luncheon to honor the recipients of the scholarship from Southern California. We sat next to some interesting people and they were giving Morris some helpful info. for his upcoming residency interviews. It was a great afternoon--good food, great tips, and a little bit of green in our pocket. Congratulations Morris! You earned it.

Am I Really Qualified?

I had never thought of myself as a really organized person until I began work as a personal assistant and I had to quickly learn how to keep a million things in order. For the last couple weeks I have been working a second job as an organizer. I have been helping an Interior Designer to put her business and life in order. Before we could set up her office and business we had to sort through hundreds of boxes and piles of junk. I have never seen so much stuff in my life! This second job has been much more work than I originally anticipated. After several weeks we are starting to see the end of a messy space now that we have set up a filing system and taken several trips to Goodwill. It has been a lot of fun to look at fabrics and floor plans and put boards together again. It has been nice to feel like a designer again and to reconnect with my creative side. I am looking forward to only having one job again and just being able to go home after an already long day of work.

The above picture is the result of my latest closet purge, this happens about once a month. The other picture is of my closet--now professional organizer on a normal day--I'm not sure I would hire me.

May Day Cake

This is a picture of the cake I made at my class last night--not exactly like the one the teacher made but I decided I am just not supposed to make roses. The roses I was supposed to make to go on my cake just didn't turn out and I could not put them on my cake so I decided to go for the easier sweet peas and even easier drop flowers. Maybe next weeks cake will turn out better.

P.S. This is the last time I will post a picture of both my cake as well as Marissa's as it is only becoming more obvious how much better she is at this whole cake decorating thing.

Huntington Beach with the Camps

Saturday afternoon Morris and I headed to Orange County to spend the day at the beach with my sisters family--The Camps. All week the weather man had promised sunny skies for the weekend, the weather didn't turn out exactly like we had hoped but that did not keep us out of the water. Bill and Morris kept Bethany and Christopher busy looking for sand crabs and sea shells while I entertained Tate on the edge of the water. We had a hard time finding sand crabs with the high tide but there were plenty of sea shells to be found. The clouds really started to roll in the late afternoon so we decided to pack up and head home. We had such a great time at the beach and we are so happy the Camps could meet us in Huntington Beach for a fun afternoon. We missed you Brooke. Hurry up and have the baby so you can come play with us again.

Night with the Dodgers

Last night Morris and I went to the Dodger game with some students from his dental class. The weather was perfect for a night at the ballpark, but then again we live in Southern California so nice weather is to be expected. We had seats in the All You Can Eat section, Morris wanted to get to the ballpark early to make sure he got his moneys worth. I think we managed to eat 4 and a half feet of dodger dogs, I contributed the half dog. I was more focused on the nachos and popcorn--the more healthy items. I kept myself busy during the game holding all of the cute babies of Morris's classmates which could be why Morris and I missed the home run ball hit by Barry Bonds that landed nearly at our feet. Our friends Bryan and Jackie ended up with home run ball #741. Morris and I made our first appearance on ESPN last night, we made it home to Tivo Sports Center and it showed the ball hit into the stands and you can see both of us if you look close. Go Dodgers!

Biggest Little City

Morris and I traveled to Reno this weekend to see my Brother Ben and his wife Heidi. My little brother and his fiance Kim came for the weekend as well. We had a jam packed weekend in Reno-I know who knew there was so much to do in Reno. Morris and I hoped we would be able to swing down to Lake Tahoe and reminisce about the good times spent at the Fantasy Inn on our honeymoon, however, the weather was not great so we decided we should just stick around Reno. The highlight of the weekend was going to see Brian Regan--the comedian who was doing a show in town. Other highlights of the weekend included going to Fleischmann Planetarium, visiting the cadaver lab at Ben's Med School(a very brief visit for me due to my weak stomach) and delicious fondue dessert at the Chocolate Bar. Heidi and I also made a stop at the Nevada Museum of Art to see an exhibit of Andy Warhol's work. We had such a great time in Reno. I am so happy Todd and Kim were able to come for the weekend so we could get to know Kim better before the wedding in June and of course the constant laughter provided by my brothers when they get together. Thanks Ben and Heidi for letting us come for a visit and for being such great hosts.

On My Way

Last night I went to my first cake class. The class actually started last week but I had to miss the first lesson because I was out of town. I am taking the class with my friend Marissa. We were busy chatting and redoing our cakes(Marissa started over 2 times) this week and were the last to leave class. Marissa and I can talk and talk for hours. Every time I say I am going to run over to her house Morris gives me this look like oh right, I will see you in a couple hours. It is nice that we can at least guarantee two hours of chatting each week. I think our cakes turned out pretty good for beginners. Next week in class we are going to make all kinds of spring flowers to put on a Mothers Day cake for the following week. Wish me luck. Anyone want some cake?

Running against the Wind (and Rain)

Today my sister Holly and my brother Jeff fought the wind and rain to run the Boston Marathon. This was the second run for Jeff and the first for Holly. They both did very well, Jeff came in at 3:06 and Holly at 4:05. I have stood on the sidelines of many marathons watching family and friends come across the finish line. I am always so impressed by the determination of each person who finishes the race. My sister Holly has run four marathons trying to qualify for the Boston. Yesterday when she was handed her bib number she was brought to tears thinking how long the road had been to get there. She has run marathons being pregnant and pushing multiple kids in strollers trying to get that bib for the Boston Marathon. I am so happy this day has come for my sister. I am glad that Jeff and Holly were able to run together today and they were able to meet their goal of running the Boston.

Latest Reads

I had a few books I was very anxious to read. I have been anxiously waiting for the release of Shopaholic and Baby since the end of last year. I purchased the book the end of last month and decided I should save it for my trip to Hawaii since it would be a perfect beach book. It was very difficult for me to not pick it up every night before I went to bed. I cracked the book as soon as I boarded the plane and didn't put it down until I finished it the next day. I loved it. The book was so good, it really made me want to have a baby to buy all kinds of fun new things for. OK small confession, I spend free time at work searching for the baby gear I will buy one day, this book did not do anything for the ever growing list of cool baby items I have been compiling over the last couple months. I also picked up a copy of Forever in Blue-The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood. I thought since I would be spending a lot of time with a teenager on this trip the last book would be appropriate. I was really sad to know this would be the last summer of the sisterhood. I have become really fond of the young girls in these novels. They grew up a lot this summer. It was fun to go through life changing events with them this summer. My only complaint about this book is that I wanted to have a bit more closure with some of the story lines that developed with each of the girls. Both great easy reads.

More on Hawaii

I got back from Hawaii on Friday. It was hard to leave but very nice to finally be home and get to spend some time with my husband. I decided I don't think I will ever go to Hawaii during Spring Break again. The resort we stayed at was so busy it was hard to have a good time. I managed to make the best of the free vacation. We spent most of the week lounging by the pool, eating Dip and Dots, enjoying spa treatments and racing down the water slide. Lucky for me, my travel companion had a few friends staying at the same resort as us so I got a break from the slides and waves to put my face in good book. I was exhausted by the time it was ready to go home, I just can't keep up with a 14 year old like I used to.

Aloha

I have been in Hawaii since Friday and have been meaning to blog since I arrived but it has been so beautiful I have not been able to justify staying indoors to blog. I decided to finally sit down and write a few quick posts. It is so beautiful here, the only thing that would make it better is if I was here with my husband. I will write more about the trip when I get home but here is a shot from our lanai that I took last night of the sunset.

Visit from the Pond's

The nice thing about living in Southern California is you get lots of visitors. They actually don't come to see us but that guy down in Anaheim with some big castle. Morris and I don't mind Mickey's sloppy seconds when it means we get to see our family. This last week Morris's sister Melanie came with her family to Disneyland and Lego Land. We spent one night with them at Disneyland before I had to leave. Morris was able to go down and spend another day with them at Lego Land. Morris was quite the Lego man when he was young and still has many Lego contraptions assembled in his closet. So that was fun for him to go and fulfill a childhood dream of going to Lego Land. Morris and I do not get to go home nearly as often as we would like so we love it when family comes to visit us. It is always so much fun to go to Disneyland with our nieces and nephews. Thanks Ponds for coming to visit Mickey and Friends.

Japan Recap

Ok so Morris has been home for a week now but I am just getting around to blogging. I asked him to post so it would be first hand but apparently he has not gotten around to it either. This is the jist of the trip, he will not be eating any noodles for a while-especially the cold variety, the bullet train is really fast, the cars are really small, they have lots of temples, economy class all the way from Japan is not a good time and sumo wrestlers are actually very flexible.

Weekend in Portland

While Morris was in Japan I decided I was going to head up to Portland to spend the weekend with my sister Holly and her cute family. I thought it would be a good idea to visit Portland not only to see my adorable nieces and nephews but because I keep telling Morris I would like to apply to OHSU for his orthodontic residency but I had never been to Portland. I loved Portland, I could totally see us living there for a few years. It was rainy much of the weekend but it didn't really bother me. We visited the Portland Art Museum, took a drive around the gorgeous OHSU campus, celebrated Addie's second birthday, toured some lovely rose gardens, and a quick hike up Multnomah Falls. I loved the city. I loved the Pearl District near downtown. I would love spending Saturday mornings there walking in the galleries and browsing through book shops. I picked up a flyer of a house for sale in the district--let's just say we will be riding our bikes or driving in to the district to do the gallery walks and book browsing. It was such a fun weekend, I loved spending time with my nephew and nieces.

American Girl

Yesterday for work I went to American Girl Place at The Grove shopping center. I had no idea what kind of treat I was in for. When I was little I would always get the American Girl catalogs and look at the different dolls but I never remember really wanting one or ever being into dolls period. But had know what kind of a jewel an American Girl store could be it would have been at the top of every Christmas and Birthday wish list. I wanted to spend all day in this store just look at all of the wonderful clothing, accessories, and every doll trinket you can imagine. It was so fun to watch the faces on these little girls carrying around there Kirsten, Felicity and Molly dolls. The mothers and grandmothers in the store were having just as much fun. There is a salon for your doll, a doll theatre, a cafe, bookstore and every other thing that is magical when you are a little girl. I can not wait until I have a daughter and we will be able to visit an American Girl Place (hopefully in NY or Chicago). My daughter will defiantly be an American Girl.

He's Alive

I got my first phone call from Morris yesterday morning. We were finally able to get his phone card to work. We didn't get to talk long but he did tell me that he didn't feel the earthquake and the possible tsunamis should not be a problem. I didn't realize how much I was missing him until I had to hang up the phone, I am so ready for him to come home.

All week I have been finding these little post it notes all around the house, in my bath robe, in our lesson manual for Church, in the box of cereal. All of these notes have cute little sayings on them from me-yes that is right from me. Morris totally is reusing these very same post it notes I left for him in his luggage when he went on a cruise two years ago. This boy saves everything. Even though they are love reminders from me to me it is still cute and I still get excited when I find one of these little lavender notes pop up in an unexpected place.

Happy Birthday Brother

Today is my brother Ben's Birthday. Today is his golden birthday-he is turning 27 on the 27th. I have always had a very special relationship with my brother Ben. He has always been my protector, he kept me from dating looser guys in high school (mostly because they were too scared to get near me because of my big buff brother) and kept me out of trouble because he threatened to hurt me as well if I ever did anything stupid. As we have grown older Ben our friendship has grown stronger and we have become good friends. Ben and I love each other spouses and look forward to the times we all get to spend with one another. I am so proud of Ben and his accomplishments and his dedication to his schooling. Happy Birthday Ben, I hope you have a wonderful birthday today.

Failure to Communicate

This is the email I got from Morris today.

Hey Honey,

Hello from tomorrowI need to tell you to the forcast is for rainy skys and bet on the Bruins to win tonight. i(jstI cannont type at all b/c this keyboard is weird.@@I am@joking- it is Sunday morning about 8F‚O‚OD@We are in Osaka Japan, the 2nd largest city, i Osaka Japan, the 2nd largest city, it is down in the south. We‚Ž‚” wen‚”@‚Q@‚ ‚`@‚“‚•‚‚@‚‚‚”‚ƒ‚ˆ@‚Œ‚‚“‚”@‚Ž‚‰‚‡‚ˆ‚”@‚‚Ž‚„@‚‰‚”@‚—‚‚“@‚’‚…‚‚Œ‚Œ‚™@‚ƒ‚‚‚ŒC@‚‰@‚„‚‚ŽF‚”@‚ˆ‚‚–‚…@‚‚™@computer@‚“‚@‚—‚…@‚ƒ‚‚Ž‚”@‚‰‚@‚’‚‰‚‡‚ˆ‚”@‚Ž‚‚—D@@
Love you
Morris
p.sBRespond if your on right now

We have not been able to talk on the phone yet. The phone card we bought him in the states is not working. Good thing we spent $30 dollars on it. I received one email from him before this that I was able to read. Not sure what the boxes mean but I think they mean he is having a good time. His first day there he ate raw horse and octopus. A bit different from the food I am preparing in our home. I told him I am glad I am not there because I would be starving.

I miss you Morris. Come home, and no more cute animals for dinner. I love you!

Move Over Betty Crocker

With Morris's departure for Japan I have been obsessed with finding things to occupy my time while he is away. I have been to the library and Barnes and Noble everyday for the last week stocking up on best sellers and audio books. I have also added all chick flicks to the top of the queue with Netflix. Last week I started browsing the classes offered at the local community college. I took a fresh floral arrangements class a few months ago and I had a great time learning a new skill. I have decided I am now going to take a cake decorating class. Morris and I love to watch Ace of Cakes on the Food Network and Duff has inspired to see what I can create with a little fondant and gum paste. There is a cake and candy supply store just down the street from our house that offers an 8 week course. Although I had a good experience at the community college I decided the longer course at the cake shop may be a bit more of what I am looking for.

St. Patties Day

On Saturday morning Morris and I went for a bike ride. It had been a while since the bikes had been taken out and the sun was shining and the perfect day for a ride. We rode to Santa Monica in hopes we would find a Farmers Market at the end of our rainbow today. We had heard from a friend the Farmers Market at the Santa Monica Airport moved the Ocean Park. When we got to the park there was no Farmers Market but there was a t-ball game going on as well as a group of people doing yoga. I decided I want to ride my bike there every Saturday and do yoga in the park. As we were getting ready to leave we noticed the park was named Clover Park. How perfect for this day of green. Hope you all had a Happy St. Patricks Day.

Upcoming Events

I can't stand to look at that ugly toe anymore. I had to post, I have nothing to post about so I will post about things that will be happening in the future for us. The first couple months of this year have flown by. On my way to work I started thinking about all of the trips Morris and I have planned over the next couple months. I knew once March hit we were going to be very busy until June. Here's the rundown.

March 22nd--Morris heads to Japan for two weeks. I have the neighborhood to myself.

March 29--I go to Portland with my sister Brooke (hopefully) to see my other sister Holly and her cute family.

April 6--I go to Hawaii for work. Well I guess it is not considered work when you are relaxing poolside at the Four Seasons but we will just say I am going for work to make it easier.

April 20--Morris and I go to Reno to see my Bro and Sis in Law (Ben and Heidi) and see Brian Regan Live.

May 17-20--The two of us head to Seattle for the AAO conference. We will be going with some school friends the Lee's and also seeing Morris's parents at the conference as well. We also hope to see our friends the Olsen's and there new baby.

June--Dedicate some serious time to Morris's Orthodontic residency applications.

June 24--Hopefully my hubby has planned a cool surprise getaway for our second anniversary. hint hint.

June 30--YEAH! I get to go to Boise for my little bro's wedding. Show my sister-in-law Heidi all of the goods Boise has to offer so she can't wait to move there.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLL

Morris played soccer yesterday with the elders quorum. Morris scored goals while I was the designated babysitter on the side lines. After the game was over I noticed he was limping a bit. When we got home he took of his shoe to discover he had broken his pinkie toe. This morning he woke up and found that the discoloration of the toe is moving down onto his foot. We hope he has not broken a bone in his foot and it is only his pinkie toe. When I asked Morris if he thinks we should go to the doctor he said, "who needs a pinkie toe?"

Any ?'s

In case you had any question where I get my crazy genes. This is my dad.

Big Red

This is my new ipod. It is cute. I bought it with birthday money, my old ipod was on the fritz. It is named Big Red.

Blast from the Past

I love bagels. I have for as long as I can remember. I once got 3 days of suspension in high school when I left campus with some friends during break to get a bagel. My junior and senior year of high school our "lunch bunch" (my friends I went to lunch with each day) would go to Bruegger's Bagels each Wednesday for bagel sandwiches. Shortly after I graduated from high school my beloved Bruegger's Bagels became Rocky Mountain Bagel and went way down hill. Then I moved to Utah and discovered Einsteins Bros. Bagels and I was able to enjoy delicious bagels once again. After 4 years I had to leave Utah and Einstens Bros. Bagels. I moved to California and discovered they do not have bagel shops here. All bagel shops have been replaced by donut shops--there are donut shops on every corner here. Morris and I have now found that we do enjoy Noah's Bagels but they are hard to come by around here. Now let me get to the point, yesterday, I was in Laguna Beach and on my way home I decided to stop at TJ Maxx for my sister and I am so glad I did. To my surprise next door was my Bruegger's Bagels. Yes just like it was in high school all of those years earlier. I never thought I would again be reunited with the sweetness of Bruegger's Bagels. What a special day.

Gym Rats

For the last couple months I have been going to the gym with my good friend Debi Lee. We have been attempting to go 3 times a week (we have been lucky the last couple weeks to get in 2 visits). Lucky for Debi and I her husband has a degree in exercise science and has been our off site personal trainer. Each week he has a new list of work outs for us. This Saturday we went to the gym hoping to try out the Pilates class because our "trainer" was out of town. The instructor for the class never showed up so we were left to the treadmills. It is so nice to have someone to go to the gym with and to have someone to enter the weight training area with. After our work out on Saturday we went to Robeks for a smoothie. I had brought my camera along so I could post about our gym time. This picture took us several attempts with the self timer as well and I am sure many laughs from the employees of Robeks.

All For Jake

On Friday night we went to dinner at Red Robin to celebrate Jake's 29th Birthday. Jake is one of Morris's good friends from dental school. This is a picture of the Jake Cragun family minus Chase in his car seat. Jake would rather have me post of picture of his new flat screen TV he got for his birthday but I liked the family photo better. There was about 20 of us in our party and many under the age of 4 so it was wonderful chaos. It was fun to get together and spend some time celebrating with this old man.