I have no plans to eat anyone!

Today my new monitor came in. At work I was using my laptop for the longest time. About a week ago I told my boss I needed a bigger monitor as I was struggling with the laptop size screen. He ordered me a 21" monitor. I was expecting something mid-range, but - being a tech guy, my boss ordered me a top of the line model! Nice! So I'm very happy at work right now! I'm super excited about this monitor.

The weekend was fun. I drove my Mum up to LA on Sunday morning. We hit the Long Beach Markets. I found a cute vintage dress for $15 and a pair of art-deco earrings for $5. Not bad! After that we went to In'N'Out for lunch - my Mum really enjoyed it (whats not to enjoy?). After that we visited Griffith Park Observatory. There was no parking, it was packed. An older couple walked to their car. I stalked them, put my indicator on and waited. They took their merry time. No problem. Another car pulls up about 5 minutes later and puts on its indicator. I had my Mum tell them I was waiting first. They still didn't move. The old couple eventually left their spot, and the other car slid into the parking spot! Please note: I had been driving up and all around LA that day. It was a hot and humid day. I had a headache. So, keeping all that in mind... I got out of my car and knocked on the window of the rude car. The man rolled down his window. I politely told him I'd been waiting about 15 minutes and was there first. The man says "I've been waiting a long time!" "not as long as me sir, you need to move your car". It was pretty funny. I was nice about it, but at the same time in no mood to be walked over. My Mum laughed in disbelief at her headstrong daughter. Anyway, Mum got her view of the Hollywood sign and I felt good that I hadn't caved.

After our visit to Griffith Park Observatory we went to Aroma Cafe in Studio City for a refreshment and escape from the hot weather. I soon realised Aroma Cafe is where the beautiful people and the wannabe actors/writers go. Did I feel out of place? No, I drank it all in - along with my decaf iced coffee.

We then drove around Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive. I decided I couldn't miss the Renoir exhibition. Mum walked around the gardens at the La Brea Tar Pit while I indulged in 1.5 hours of beautiful artwork. I spent the extra money to have the audio tour. So interesting. I loved it. Renoir's pieces shown were from his later years when he was moving away from impressionism. Most impressionists are known for their landscapes, whereas Renoir focused on people. I was particularly moved by how "real" some of the paintings are. He captured people's expressions perfectly. Its as if you are sitting in the room with some of his subject matters. My favourite painting there was "Young Mother". Its not one of his most famous paintings, but it was in my top 5. I love the expression on the Mother's face. She looks besotted with her child and as though nothing else would be able to capture her attention. I had a couple of other favourites, one being "Two Young Girls at the Piano". The audio explanation of that painting was very interesting. There were about 60 of his paintings at the exhibition!

After the exhibition I found my Mum and took her to Lala's for dinner. Nighttime: we slept well in our hotel room. Then yesterday we slept in and went to Santa Monica for breakfast. In the afternoon we drove out to Pasadena and went to the Hungington Library/Gardens. It blew me away. I can't believe I've never been there before now! I loved every part of it. There are a set of gardens which are "Australian". As you walk in, you feel like you're in the Australian bush. I took a pepi leaf and a gum tree leaf. I was surrounded by these trees and bottle brushes. Each garden is quite big and I couldn't see any other gardens once in the Australian garden. A wave of emotion swept over me as I stood in the middle of the aussie garden. I felt like I was home while there. I started to cry and quickly slid my Ray Bans over my eyes and securely onto my nose. Mum didn't see, which I was grateful for. I wish I could take Anna there, or that we'd been there sooner.

Last night we got home and Daniel and I watched "Where the Wild Things Are" for the first time. I didn't think I'd like it. I was wrong. Its fabulous! Watch it, I know you'll love it.

And today I'm at work. I'm quite happy to be at work, catching up on things. Friday we leave for Yosemite. After that I'll be saving my vacation time back up for a trip to NYC in September!