the LAST week.

thursday was my last day at golinharris...so basically, that meant that all i did this week was party harty.

the day i left, i was exactly three months short of reaching my three-year anniversary of working there -- GH was my first real job out of college, so between that and the fact that i've stayed so long [three years is an eternity in a PR agency], i was very attached and very sad to leave.

tuesday i went to lunch with some of my yamaha clients. they were SO nice and so appreciative of everything i've done over the past few years...it was so great to hear, because when i started working with them i was just a nervous little newbie -- and i feel like i've actually become their partner.

wednesday i introduced the office to the lovely concept of a potluck -- we had a TON of food. a ton.





i also got to hang out with this adorable little guy -- i love when cooper [my boss' baby] comes to visit :)



thursday was THE day. here's me at my messy cube for the last time:



we had a girls-only lunch at cpk [rebecca, jolee, me & anne]:



[we were sitting at lunch when we found out about michael jackson's heart attack...as soon as we got back to the office we heard the tmz rumor that he had died. talk about a memorable, CRAZY thing to happen on my last day! also, one of my favorite things about hanging out with all the PR girls is that we're all obsessed with celeb gossip and pop culture...i'm going to miss our daily updates.]

then we came back to the office and celebrated AGAIN...with sprinkles cupcakes [an auto team fave] of course! i got to pick the flavors -- black&white and red velvet (with a coconut for tracy):



and then it was time to be done. [of course, i didnt leave till 7 p.m. because i had to finish up a bunch of random loose ends. pretty good way to leave a job, when no one else is there to say goodbye to you. no tears.]

i'm going to miss my auto team peeps the MOST! here's me and jolee:



me and the famous rebecca of style with benefits [i swear, i taught her everything she knows about blogging :) ]:



and me with my boss, tracy [and little coop]. she is the one who hired me back in 2006, and we've worked together on every project ever since. she taught me how to do events, i taught her about crafts and alternative swear words. we both love chocolate, budgeting, reading and [sort of] jon+kate. i'm going to miss her a lot :(



when i left, i sent an email out to the whole office to say goodbye. jolee gave me the lovely idea of making a top 10 list of my favorite memories of working at GH...things i'd never have done if i hadn't come to work there. here it is:



if i hadn't come to GH, i never would've been able to...
1. fly in a private jet
2. meet male supermodel tyson beckford [who kissed my cheek!] and world-famous motorcycle racer Ben Bostrom
3. help build houses with habitat for humanity
4. ride on a motorcycle through the backwoods of georgia
5. feel an earthquake in an LA high rise
6. hang out in the VIP booths at Laguna Seca raceway
7. camp out for the first time [in an RV of course :) ]
8. sleep in the hotel where deliverance was filmed
9. participate in two wii tournaments AND three incredibly frustrating Easter egg hunts
10. meet a ton of amazing co-workers and friends!

as you can see, i had a lot of baggage. the whole last week and especially last day all just felt so normal...but i kept reminding myself this was the last time i'd ever be there. so surreal to walk out of our building onto the busy LA streets and down to my subway station for the last time. i made it all the way home before i cried...just a little.

onto the next adventure! i just wish it involved a little more california and golinharris.

moving update

days till the move: 5
boxes packed: 6ish
days of work left: 1
jobs for lyndsey: 0
number of job interviews set up for next week: 1
number of times i've cried this week: 3

moving sucks.

item #35 i-will-miss-about-LA: diddy riese

truly. there is nothing better than eating a delicious ice cream sandwich, in the car, watching homeless people, listening to journey and being with the one you love.

the countdown is on

days till the move: 8
boxes packed: 2
days of work left: 4
jobs for lyndsey: 0

we are making progress!

we found an apartment in orem, utah [it is less than one mile from a super target, so i know i will love it].
it is a TWO-bedroom and it has THREE large closets and a dishwasher -- and our rent will be less than half of what we pay now.
in one week i will be the proud owner of my very own washer and dryer.

so far, so good. i'm still feeling sad about leaving california, but at least i have some fun things to look forward to. and, life goes on -- today i went to my neighborhood ralph's and they had rearranged the WHOLE store. boo. the cake mixes were in the cereal aisle and toothpaste was where the candy used to be. i literally stopped in my tracks and had to re-gain my bearings. but, because i hate change, i can see this as a blessing -- because now i won't have to learn where everything is in the new layout. i'll just get a whole new grocery store 1,000 miles away to memorize instead. hmph.

service all around

yesterday was a biiiig day o' service. i went to work in the morning and had to rush to finish all my crap so i could leave at 1 p.m. for the first service project of the day.

the founder of golinharris, al golin, turned 80 yesterday, and to celebrate all of our offices around the world helped out in their respective community. cool idea, no? the l.a. office went to the los angeles regional food bank for the afternoon.

first we got to take a tour of the facility -- they move about 3,000 pounds of food a month to needy people in the county. thus the warehouse looked like a costco:



me & jeanette, thoroughly enjoying our outing:



this was our tour guide, mike:



then we got to work. we sorted food to be handed out -- getting rid of expired food, anything with peanuts, certain brands, etc. etc. and saving the rest to be donated. it was surprisingly strenuous work but we had fun -- sure beats sitting behind a desk!

anne, candace & kelly sorting food. i'm going to miss my work friends:



b had the arduous job of moving boxes so the rest of us could sort. if you haven't noticed, the PR industry is made up of tons of girls -- so he comes in handy when we lack male support. plus i think he is cute:



highlight of the day: we sorted through about 25 cases of matzah [apparently even kosher stores donate food] and in one of them we found this amazing prize -- a matzah-man!



awesome! we had fun and it was nice to help out -- such a good cause.

then i went home, ate an otter pop, and went straight to our church. we hosted an auction fundraiser to get money so our teenagers can go to church camp this summer -- everyone donated stuff and then others could bid.

the wells family donated a yamaha/ogio backpack, a bunch of video games and some handmade cards. in return, i made off with a jar of homemade salsa, "about a boy" and -- the BEST -- a customized set of 50 letterpressed cards. it's almost embarassing how little i paid for all of this, in comparison to retail value...but my money [and these services] all went toward yet another good cause. i got home at 10 p.m. and was wiped out -- but at least it was a good, helpful kind of wiped out :)

today

BEST part of my day:

in the mormon church you get random jobs, or "callings," that you take on for a short period of time (sunday school teacher, music director, etc.) and then you get switched over to something new. this usually develops multiple skills and sides of yourself you didn't even know you had. also helpful because no one gets paid for doing any work in the church, so you don't start feeling like anyone owes you something because by the time you get used to one job it's time for another.

anyway, right now i serve with the teenage girls. i go to youth group activities on wednesday nights and teach an age-appropriate lesson every sunday. it is fun. when we lived on the west side we met with a different congregation and i worked with the teenage girls there TOO. [apparently something about me says i need to hang out with high school kids.] i haven't done the best job of keeping in touch with my girls from l.a. besides the occasional facebook message, and i've missed them.

tonight i was riding the train home alone and saw a familiar face get on at chinatown station -- it was one of my girls from l.a.! michelle was taking the train from her home up to south pasadena to study for her finals. we got to chat most of the train ride home and it was SO fun to see her and catch up. when i left l.a. she was a little 13-year-old...now she's a very grown up 14-year-old with all sorts of news to tell me. totally made my day -- my week, even!



mediocre part of my day:

today was the lakers parade in downtown. i was over it by 9 a.m. because of all the obnoxious lakers fans crowding me on the morning train...but jolee talked me into checking out the festivities with her. we walked down to the staples center, gawked at the helicopters and cameramen and billions of lakers fans, and then went back to work before the parade even began. no kobe for me -- and no lakers pride, either. those fans are crazy.



depressing part of my day:

hung out with a friend tonight who had her pandora station tuned to keane or some such similar musical influence. a familiar song came on and i said "is this snow patrol?" to which she answered affirmatively. i shook my head in disgrace -- I AM ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE.

i've SEEN snow patrol in concert and now i can't even identify them on the radio! i used to live and die by music -- loved to find obscure bands, go to shows every weekend, pride myself on my musical knowledge. and now i've become one of those absent-minded people who can't even spare enough interest or time to keep up on the top line bands. that is sad. i guess stationery has officially replaced music in my hobbies lineup.

the end.

now we're cookin

two weeks out from the move.

on saturday i took inventory of all the perishable goods in our kitchen. then i planned a two-week menu around those items so we can use them up before we leave [and, conveniently, went through my coupon stash to get myself some sweet discounts on the complimentary products needed for the meals. yay coupons!].

this week i've been sticking to my meal plan, and unlike the past 10 months or so where we've lived strictly off of frozen trader joes items and digiorno pizzas, i'm actually cooking things from scratch! what a novel idea. it is a bit more time consuming, but i'd almost forgotten how much i like being in the kitchen.

tonight's meal:
prosciutto & mozzarella pinwheels
salad with lots of veggies on top (balsamic vinaigrette dressing for him, homemade salsa vinaigrette for me)
choc chip cookies (pre-made tollhouse dough)



these pinwheels are one of our all-time favorite meals -- the recipe is courtesy of my friend megan, to whome we will be forever indebted for this very dish. thought i'd share the recipe for anyone else who wants to try it:

prosciutto mozzarella pinwheels

Flour, for dusting
1 lb purchased pizza dough (i buy the whole wheat pizza dough from TJs...another item i dont think i can live without)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
7 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
1 cup coarsely chopped baby spinach (sometimes i leave this out because b isn't a big spinach fan...i've also added chopped tomato before. just depends on what you like)
1 tblsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 425 & position rack in lower third of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If not, grease one.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pizza dough into a 12 to 14-inch circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle 1/2 of the mozzarella over the dough. Arrange the prosciutto over the cheese in a single layer. Sprinkle with the chopped spinach, then top with the remaining cheese.

Roll the dough into a thin cylinder, gently tucking in the ends. Brush the entire roll with the olive oil & season with the salt & pepper. Place the dough, seam-side down, on the baking sheet & bake for 25 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Cool the roll for 10 minutes, then use a serrated knife to cut it into 3/4-inch slices.

mmmm! enjoy :)
i have social activities planned the next few nights so we'll see if i stick with this new domestic life -- but it was fun while it lasted. my fridge is already getting empty!

just so we're clear

i made a quiz on facebook a few weeks ago about "lyndsey trivia" -- and a surprising amount of people missed the question about my favorite snack.

for the record: i LOVE trader joe's pineapple salsa.
love it. especially with veggie-flavored flax seed tortilla chips.



i request a case of this shipped to me once a month while living in utah, because i don't think i can live without it.

that is all.

friiiiiiday!

"donuts are a hand grenade to your health." -- unknown

i love love love when co workers bring in donuts to celebrate fridays. even if they are bad for you.

sorry for the blogger overload lately. guess i've been a little behind :) happy weekend!!

things i learned from the movie UP

1. i am definitely scared of heights. computer-generated or otherwise.

2. garden hoses are quite resilient.

3. my lifelong love of old men, dogs and small children definitely continues. this movie has all three! i smiled 98% of the time.

4. change is okay. whether you're finding a new adventure, rerouting your old adventure or moving away to another state so your husband can go to grad school -- you'll be okay. and when i say you, i mean me. [though i do hope my new adventure involves the same amount of colorful balloons.]

school's out for summer

last night we went to my little brother's high school graduation. and just like that, we have ZERO family members still in high school. sad -- it makes me feel old.

it was freaking freezing cold. here's a shot from the grandstands -- i went early with my mom to wait in line and we ended up with front row seats. sweeeet. here's our view before the big show started -- i swear, there are actually mountains under those grumpy clouds:



b & i spent most of the pre-show looking like this, freezing our butts off -- him was cranky, i was not:



i was super excited to be there because i haven't attended a high school graduation since my own. i missed my sister's because i was living in new york. plus i was just so excited that my little sparky was so grown up -- i wouldn't have missed this for anything.

graduation is always a fun time to reflect. i couldn't believe it's been seven years since i graduated, or that SO MANY of my brother's classmates drive brand new cars, or that they whipped through 800+ graduates in less than 30 min. nice work, los osos high school!

i've said it once and i'll say it again -- grant is way cooler than i was or ever will be. he's in the senior class presidency so he got to sit on the stand and announce one of the speakers:



once it was over we tracked him down on the field for family photos [what did we do without cell phones??].



don't mind the fact that i look like the stay puff marshmallow man in all these pictures because i was quite happily bundled up in my winter coat. i think i'm going to need a few new jackets before utah.

the grad & his soon-to-be empty-nester parents:



grammie & grandad came all the way out from arizona:



here is a picture of me & sparky about seven years ago:



and here we are at graduation:



i guess i can find solace in the fact that no matter how big granty gets, we will always take silly pictures together.

grant is going to byu-idaho in the fall, which is where my sister & bro in law currently go to school. it's also four hours north of provo so i'll be able to visit them a lot. yay! growing up isn't so bad.

item #27 i-will-miss-about-LA: driving

it may seem odd that i will miss the freeways and commutes around here seeing as how i fully own a ridiculous case of road rage, but driving isn't quite the pain it used to be now that i take the train to work everyday. now it's a novelty for me to get in the car and navigate the wild freeways systems around l.a., and now that i'm close to leaving it i'm starting to love it more and more.

once in a while i still drive into work so i can go to client meetings in various nearby cities. yesterday i was driving home from torrance and just loving the view. i took a few pics with the phone:







side note: don't mind the boring, ominous gray sky -- we've been enduring horrible "june gloom" weather since before june 1 and it's yucky. i liked it the first two days but now i'm OVER IT. we californians are so spoiled with our daily addiction to sunshine -- but whatever, we're entitled. isn't that why we pay so much to live here?

purple is in

there are these crazy purple trees blossoming all over pasadena:



[sorry about the blurry & crooked photo...i was in motion while taking it and i guess my camera phone couldn't keep up with me.]

they shed electric purple flowers all over the place, and when i was driving home last week late late at night it looked like the gutters on lake ave. were florescent and glowing. so cool. i love the color purple.

in other news, b survived e3. yay! it's taken me two days to readjust to having him around all the time [without becoming annoyed by him] but we are good now. also our bedroom wall is all patched up! we did take to sleeping on the air mattress in the living room while that hole was here, so it's nice to be back in our own bed -- and to live with the sound knowledge that i could NOT survive in a studio apartment.

also, i've stopped trying to organize / grocery shop / clean / you name it because i blame the upcoming move for everything. why fold my clothes when they'll just get thrown into boxes? why clean the counters when i'll have to deep clean in a few weeks anyway? okay, i'm really not that bad, but i am definitely starting to mentally check out of my current life.

worth it!

as you know, b's been busy with a little something called e3 lately. a lot of prep went into getting his client all ready for the event, which kicked off today. i was a little worried about him making it through all of the stress on little sleep etc. but so far he's been takin it like a champ.

so if you don't know, e3 is like the biggest gamer convention ever. i went down there for a bit today and saw geeks everywherrrrre. all the video game nerds are out in force and it is so awesome. however, it also turns out to be a giant media opp with really cool stuff going on.

microsoft had their big press conference yesterday and the beatles were there. [as i reminded b, you shouldn't call them "the beatles" as 50% of the group is dead, but family representation was in attendance for the deceased so i guess it counts.] yeah. so cool.

all sorts of fun publicity things are going on in connection with the event...most of which b has totally loved. i got excited texts and photo messages all day from him as he toured the show floor. for example, these guys:



and this car [allegedly THE ORIGINAL from the movies -- ghostbusters is b's favorite movie of all time]:



but, the best part of b's day occurred in the afternoon. b LOVES the show chuck...he even helped petition nbc to keep the show on the air for season three [which was successful, btw]. i didn't like it much at first but now thanks to his encouragement i'm even a fan...it's a pretty good show. anyway, yeah. he loves chuck like i love american idol. so you can imagine his delight when he ran into these guys:



that's the main guy on chuck, zachary levi, and his costar. they were both at the show today and b got to have a nice little chat with them. he was so so so excited. and since he doesn't blog on here, i decided to share in his place.

fun times. almost makes it worth it that he had to be at the office at 3 a.m. :)