Week 4 – Adventures in Dining Out…

We love eating out and, like most people, we visit a lot of chain restaurants like Red Robin, Red Lobster (some study must have shown that using the word “red” in a name is a good thing), Lucille’s, Buca di Beppo, Lone Star, CPK, Panera and, my favorites, PF Chang (& Pei Wei). And that’s not even going into the fast food chains we frequent, Taco Bell, El Pollo Loco, Wendy’s and McDonalds (for ice cream cones). One thing I can think of about these places is they’re good but not really great or outstanding. But you know what to expect—the food and service is predictable.

But, our family likes to be adventure eaters – and for us, that means many things like buying pretty much anything from street vendors and food trucks -- Mexican fruit ice bars, tacos, barbeque as well as having food and drink challenges at family get togethers (the more disgusting, the better). Part of our adventures in dining means trying as many locally owned places/joints as we can. With that, we’ve come upon a few great one of a kind restaurants and a lot more of just “ehh, OK” places, and, well, some pretty bad stuff too. With locally owned restaurants, you know how it goes -- sometimes ya win, sometimes ya lose.

So, when April and Wes invited John and me to meet them at the Avocado House on Central Avenue in Chino, of course we said, “sure, why not?” And, oooh baby, am I’m ever glad we did! I can't say enough about how great the breakfast at this place is!

The Breakfast Taco

The Cinnamon Swirl French Toast

They were both perfect (we ordered both and split them). Really, the cinnamon swirl French toast is a cinnamon roll cut in half and made into French toast....
They serve it with absolutely "out of this world" homemade caramel sauce (and maple syrup).

It was the first time in years that I had to just stop thinking about anything and just concentrate on and savor the absolutely awesome taste phenomenon happening in my mouth. This was definitely a meal I'll remember the rest of my life. (The first time is always the best!)

Relaxing on the porch It was another gorgeous January morning -- what we love about So Cal
Baby Peyton and Me

We took a little walk around the back yard after breakfast.
We looked at the strawberry field behind the house and rabbits in a hutch.

John and I even enjoyed a nice time in the tree swing while we waited for April and Wes.

I totally recommend this place for a delicious breakfast.
I can’t wait to go back and try their lunch offerings!

http://theavocadohouse.blogspot.com/2009/02/now-open.html

So, later that same Saturday night, we headed out to Redlands with Heidi and Ned to try the new Café Rio that just opened up out there. You'll see I'm still wearing the same blouse (just donned a sweater over it)

Café Rio is a chain now, but I fell in love with the original restaurant in St. George back when it was a one of a kind local joint. So, its expanded to maybe 15+ locations but the food still tastes as good as it did 12+ years ago when we got to eat it only in St. George.

OK, so the food there is phenomenal – I love the chicken tacos and anything that has the pork barbacoa in it – tacos, salads, whatever. But the most fun thing about eating at Café Rio is people watching and specifically -- Mormon watching. So, yeah, we’re Mormons and that’s why we’re so good at spotting others of the species. We play a spotting game at Disneyland where we accumulate a point for every group of Mormons we spot – it’s pretty easy to pick ‘em too -- a big family is the first tip off. Here are a few tips on Mormon spotting.

You look for cute young Moms & Dads with 2, 3 or more kids (like Heidi and Ned); Mormon women dress “modestly” and often layer their tops – so you’ll see tee shirts with camisoles or other tee shirts underneath. We generally hang out in groups -- lots of extended families --sisters, aunts, grandmas, & friends. You’ll generally won't see a lot of tank tops, short shorts, skirts or tattoos; and the women almost always wear make-up and look like they get "ready" to go out. And, if they're like me and from Utah, they're drinking "pop" not soda.

And, yep, we're a pretty cheerful bunch as a rule. President Howard W. Hunter said, "Knowing what we know, and living as we are supposed to live, we really have no place, no excuse for pessimism and despair." So, yeah, I guess my family and I are pretty typcal Mormons.

There’s an LDS temple in Redlands, so when you see women in dresses or skirts and men in white shirts and ties, that’s a dead giveaway. Last Saturday night, we ran into 3 couples we know from Ontario headed to the temple and President and Sister Reeves of the Riverside Mission. Cafe Rio is just off the Alabama exit in the Target Shopping Center north of the 10 freeway.

http://www.caferio.com/

Now, my eating adventures for the week aren’t done -- this week, Danny and Sarah took John and me to see “The Sound of Music” at the Landis Auditorium in Riverside. Before the 2:00 matinee, we met at Tio’s Tacos on Mission Boulevard for lunch. Now, the food there is just fine -- pretty typical So Cal Baja-style Mexican fare.

Check out the fresh juice bar.

But the thing you’ve got to come to Tio’s Tacos for is the CRAZY ART! It’s hard to describe the large yard there– somebody said it was like Fred Sanford meets Disneyland. This huge double or triple lot is filled with crazy stuff which is hard to describe – I guess I’d call it Mexican American Recycled Folk Art.

There are several buildings made out of bottles

There's a mini Catholic chapel (complete with ceiling frescoes, pews, and an alter with candles)

There's a fun creepy factor here --
this overall-wearing dead guy doll in a glass coffin was near the alter.

And this "anaconda-wrapped figure hangin' in the tree

A creature made of hundreds of naked Barbie dolls,
lots of human and robot forms shaped from paper mache

Luche Libre-style wrestlers & chicken wire filled with toys, bottles, shoes, sea shells, and pretty much anything you can imagine.

The patios are covered with a crazy mosaics – I liked the walk of fame tribute to the human rights heroes…

Abraham Lincoln’s name was right by Poncho Villa’s - interesting combination.
Anyway, when you’ve got a little time to wander and enjoy the prolific fruit of one very creative man’s imagination and talent, come on over to Mission Boulevard (just east of Market Street) and enjoy a nice little meal to go along with your very alternative art experience.

Happy Eating!

Week 3, California Citrus State Historical Park in Riverside

Saturday, January 15^th was a gorgeous day here in Southern California. It was one of those days, when, even if you wanted to stay in, you’d feel guilty about it. Sometimes, if you’re in the mood to just stay in the house and clean or watch sports, bad weather is a gift because it gives you a perfect excuse to just hermit up. But, when a warm sunny day comes along in January, whether you want to or not, you’re obligated to get outside and enjoy it!

So, luckily, I have this commitment to do something new each week – thanks to this blog. And, that means getting out to visit just some of those spots that I always say, “you know, someday, I’d like to go there.”

One of those spots is the California Citrus State Historical Park in Riverside. Yep, we live in Riverside and we’ve lived in Southern California for 25 years and its just one of those places I’ve driven by for years and have never taken the time to visit.
My son, Danny and his three kids, Carter, Claire and William came along with Heidi’s daughter Ella, Hayley's boy, Ryan, and me. We each picked and ate an orange off the trees. (I’m not sure we were allowed to do so, but, hey, there were tons of ripe oranges on those trees, so, really, why not?)

This is one of the aprons the pickers wear for easy picking and quick dumping into crates.

We visited a little museum and spent time walking and playing on the hills. And then I bought a 25 pound bag of oranges just outside the gates (for $6) to take home as a tasty souvenir.The park didn’t cost a thing and I recommend it to anyone living in the area or who just likes fresh fruit and sunshine – and, really, isn’t that all of us?

Week 2 -- Meeting New Family Members and Skyping

If your family is like ours, the lines of relationship aren't always perfectly drawn. But all of that doesn't really matter -- we welcome all into our large clan and our motto is "the more the merrier". And, I'm grateful for others that welcome us through crooked and dotted lines as well.

Last Sunday, January 9th, John and I, along with Danny and his kids, drove down to Oceanside so that Danny and John could help our nephew, Ben Lake, bless (christen) his little baby boy Lennox.

I was happy to meet several new members of the family. One of my new friends and family members, is Ben's girlfriend, Ingrid Rutan. Ben and Ingrid, who live and work in Bangor, Maine, were in Southern California visiting Ben's Dad, Frank Lake. Frank was married to John's late sister Debbie for many years before they divorced back in the mid-90's. Frank has been remarried about 11 years and I finally got to meet his wife Cheryl. Even though we're the family of her husband's former wife, she treated us like old friends and part of her own family; she was so kind and friendly to us. I made a sincerely good and new friend in both her and her great and friendly parents from Thousand Oaks.

I like to consider myself fairly up to date with technology; after all, I AM writing a blog. But, I've never had the chance to see anyone Skype, much less do it myself. (Like a lot of folks, I'm really not one who loves talking on the phone so the chance to feel self conscious in front of a camera while on the phone hasn't made me an early adopter on this bit of tech.) But, I love my neice Christine Mosby and her family who live way out in Atlanta. With Skype, it was really fun to sit and have a talk with her and her four sweet kids (OK, so the baby is just 6 months old, but it was fun to watch her crawl and wiggle around,)

This is what I looked like on the Mosby's computer screen....

So, now I feel like I've bonded with some of my grand-nieces and nephews too -- thanks to my first Skyping experience.

Somehow it made me think of the old movie "2001 A Space Odyssey (by Stanley Kubrick). So, really I hated that movie and remember trying to force myself to fall asleep during it at a drive in theater back when it was new. But, one scene I do remember was people talking to each other on video phones.

So Skyping is a bit deja vu from that horrendous movie. (As an aside, one of my other all-time most hated movies was also by Stanley Kubrick, A-I! Oh kill me now rather than make me sit through either of these movies again. (I think Hollywood has a case of the "Emporers New Clothes" with all the artsy hot shots gushing over Kubrick's skill and artistry as a director -- get real -- his films are just long, boring and weird.)

OK, so back to family, new friends and Skyping. I really look forward to getting to know Lennox, Ingrid and Cheryl better. Thanks to the bad weather on the East Coast, Ben and Ingrid haven't been able to fly back home to Maine, so, with the blessing of both their families, they had an extra day or two to drive up to Vegas on Thursday night and get married. So now I can officially welcome Ingrid to the family!

Week # 1 of 52 New Things for 2011 -- A New Job!

On Monday, January 3rd of 2011, I began my new position as Marketing Director with North American Medical Management (NAMM/PrimeCare) in Ontario.

This is a great way to start this "year of something new" off with a huge bang!

This week in my new and very bare office in Ontario -- looking south at the 10 Freeway just west of Mathis Brothers Furniture Store.

I've been working since I graduated from college in 1991. (And, yes, if you're doing the math, I was a slightly older than usual college graduate.) I followed an "old school" path and got married very young -- in my case, age 18. I had four children by the time I was 28; and, to keep my sanity when the kids were young, I attended college part time in the evenings for over 10 years to earn my bachelor of science in health care administration from Cal State San Bernardino. I started college in 1981 as the mother of two children and finished in 1991 with four kids.

At that time, my youngest, Hayley, was five years old. So, when I was recruited by Partners Health Plan when I graduated, I took the bait and have been working full time since then. My husband, John, was a teacher in our local schools, so after school, the kids just spent the afternoons in his classroom. I never had to worry about day care or after school care.

My first job was meeting with primary care physicians all through the Inland Empire, writing short bios about them and taking their photos to create a more friendly, interactive directory of our doctors to help our members feel comfortable choosing a doctor. After that, I stayed with the company through their purchase by Aetna Health Plans and worked in provider relations, provider contracting, provider communications, member communications, marketing and then in sales.


This photo was at a sponsored walk for charity when I was working in Marketing for (as you can tell by the shirts) Aetna. (That's me flipping my hair in the baggie blue shorts.)

I quit my job at Aetna in late 1997 (after an upleasent merger) and enjoyed a few months at home -- kind of as a sabbatical. When the money I'd saved ran out, I began working as a Marketing Manager with PacifiCare in 1998 and stayed there through that company's merger with UnitedHealth Group. Working various marketing, sales and account management jobs, I stayed there until December 23rd 2010. The entire 12+ years I worked there, I commuted from the Inland Empire to Orange County. I drove 33 miles to Cypress for years and then 44 miles (one way) to Irvine along the very slow and frustrating 91 freeway.

I did have a great office on the 2nd floor of the PacifiCare building in Cypress for most of the time I was there. Because my desk looked out of a second story window with trees, the movement of birds and butterflies (in the Spring) would catch my eye and be a nice reminder about the "real world" outside the walls of the workplace. One day, an owl stayed perched in the tree right outside my window the entire day (and it wasn't sleeping).

This photo is me in my office in Cypress around 2002 or 2003.


I now have a 13 mile commute and I really enjoy working in Marketing at NAMM/PrimeCare. I have my work cut out for me but its going to be a challenge I'm looking forward to.

Working -- why do we do it? As one of my favorite authors, Studs Terkel said, "work is a search, sometimes successful, sometimes not, for daily meaning as well as daily bread"

I enjoy having a reason to get up, get dressed, and get going early each day. I like seeing and talking to people. I like the actual challenge of working -- especially marketing. I have to think, write and be creative and try to get a feel for what will make people think and take the actions our company wants them to. I like earning money not only for paying the bills and spending it now but I also like the idea of socking some away for a nicer retirement in a few years. I want to have the financial reserves to serve a mission with my husband in about ten years.

When I have all day to spend at home, I'm a total bum! I find myself getting lazy, spending too much time in my pajamas, not getting out of the house to do much of anything until late in the morning. I waste too much time on facebook and just surfing the net. I'm just one of those people who manage their time better when they're busy. I actually seem to get more done -- even personally, when I'm working and, as a busy wife, mother, grandmother, Relief Society President, sister, daughter, and employee, that really is a good thing since I've got a LOT to do!

More next week.....