so many famous people passed in just a few days, but none elicited the type of response among my friends and family like the news about billy mays.

over the past few months, jeff and i had begun to look forward to wednesday nights to watch the adventures of billy and his friend and fellow infomercial star sully on pitchmen...

he may have been loud and abrasive and sometimes a diva, but his enthusiasm and work ethic that got brought him so much success became endearing. he may have driven a bentley and been stoked to get access to a private plane, but he was still a pretty regular guy.

it is so sad to have seen somebody who'd spent so many years grinding away, perfecting his art (and even if it was just yelling and waving his hands around, it DID sell), just beginning to bridge that gap from being the crazy infomercial guy to a legitimate mainstream celebrity, only for it to end so unexpectedly.

i don't think a day has gone by in the past few months that we didn't think about or talk about billy mays. maybe it's because he'd become such a regular figure in our lives. maybe it's because his son and sully are so obviously real people. we rarely feel too personally affected by celebrities passing...but this time we are genuinely sad.

sad for his family and friends.

life is so short.

we JUST saw him on the tonight show a few days earlier. at least he went out on top.

camilles (10:09pm, 6.30.09)

dog sitting.

homework assignment.

textbook reading and online lecture.

sd fair and beer fest.

friends over for hot-tubbing and top gear.

swap meet.

laundry.

paying bills.

grocery shopping.

motorcycle ride and the bike hits 6000 miles.

grilled steak, zucchini squash, and pineapple dinner.

camilles (10:16pm, 6.28.09)

when i got into work on monday, my boss asked if i'd have any interest in attending an industry movie premiere in hollywood on tuesday.

why not?

gathered up my husband, met up with my sister, walked the red carpet, drank free beer and ate free food, watched a movie, and left with a giant duffle bag full of junk.

oh yeah, and got up the courage to talk to jay leno. you can actually see him holding my business card in the photo.

so there you go...

camilles (10:32pm, 6.24.09)

summer vacations are never long enough, even when they are 10 days long and cover 1000s of miles.

it was a jam-packed trip, and with the exception of the briefest of car naps (5 mins?) as we descended into napa valley one day, i never nodded off. i was just too excited to see everything that i could see.

a ufo in a gas station. baby deer. the world's largest wooden yo-yo. 2 hours of alternatingly peaceful and terrifying tubing on butte creek. brand-new baby fainting goats. old faithful geyser of california. a castle winery. my brother-in-law. pinnacles national monument. big sur. another castle winery. countless breweries and fine eating establishments.

you can see all our summer road trip photos here.

and my sweetie and i enjoyed every moment of it. and in spite of 10-days of roaming california packed into a prius, we are still looking forward to the next time we see l and t.

in other news, i'm officially a college student again. my online interior design class at the local college started today, and i'm all set up with my book and some design magazines so i can complete my first assignment, and i'm both a little scared and very excited to get to learn something new.

in other, other news...i'll be attending the red carpet premier of an industry documentary at the egyptian theater in hollywood tomorrow. i want to wear a cute dress, but since i'll be representing my company, i suppose a work shirt is unfortunately more appropriate. *sigh*.

camilles (10:11pm, 6.22.09)

we spent the last few nights with our family friends in chico. explored the town. had a tubing adventure in the creek that is pictured in the photo below. i've got a knot right on the spot a tramp stamp would go that feels like it's the size of a golf ball from smacking a few giant boulders.

it's all good. and we are on vacation.

we arrived at my aunt's weekend home in bodega bay late this evening, and now that we've had a chance to grab a bite to eat, we are relaxing and contemplating the plans for tomorrow. looks like it'll be wineries and food destinations in napa.

it's nice to have a comfy place to rest before we move on to our next destinations. it'll be a couple of nights of camping before we move back inside.

so far, it's been a pretty fun time.

check out jeff's site for a few photos of our adventures so far.

camilles (10:19pm, 6.16.09)

i've got a fever, but the cure isn't more cowbell.

it's time to pile into a car for that great american vacation tradition...the roadtrip.

it'll be a 10-day adventure around northern and central california, including stops in chico (see destination in photo above), bodega bay, and big sur. we'll be camping, hotel hopping, and couch surfing. we'll be eating, drinking, and relaxing.

the past couple of weeks have been a mixture of stress and lows with acceptance and highs. being able to let things go is a serious mental exercise, but recognizing when holding on does no good can only lead to peace, right?

camilles (10:24pm, 6.9.09)

i can't imagine how exhausting it must be to be the type of person that defines themself by what other people think of them. the thought of constantly searching for acceptance or approval or reassurance seems like a real waste of energy that could be spent on just being happy being who they are, doing things that they enjoy.

not to say that i don't like the odd compliment for doing a good job on something or for looking particularly smashing on some random day, but it's not something that i crave or strive for.

i also have a really tough time hanging out with the type of people that can't make up their own mind out of fear that they will make the wrong decision, worried about ending up in some situation that they aren't comfortable in or prepared for.

fortunately, i am happy being who i am and trust myself enough to pretty much get through anything.

i'm also happy to be married to somebody equally as happy being who he is.

camilles (8:02pm, 6.8.09)

now that big head will be on to greener outdoor pastures in about a month, we went ahead with converting his indoor tank into a terrarium for plants. you can see a little closeup on jeff's site.

we think it ties the wall together.

my garden is flourishing. i've been harvesting and cooking with the basil and sage for quite some time, but i'm eagerly awaiting the chance to taste the cucumbers and tomatoes that are starting to form. i recently planted some cilantro, and i also have some eggplant seedlings that i'll need to transplant in the next few days.

having a garden was one of my dreams for once we were finally in a real house. while i've limited this first gardening goaround to just a few things, it gives me a little confidence that i might expand to a greater variety in the future.

we hosted quite the shindig over the weekend, warming our new house with lots of food, drink, and company. i was touched that so many of our friends and family would make the effort to come from both near and VERY far (several people made hours-long drives, and helen even flew in from san francisco!) to help us celebrate such a big milestone in our lives. it really meant a lot to us to be able to share fun times with our favorite people.

we were so busy entertaining and cooking, we didn't take any pictures...but you can take my word for it that it was a full house. :)

getting through another birthday and being settled enough into our new home to host a big party has made me reflect a lot on life in general. i'm just so happy and grateful for all of the wonderful things that have happened over the past 6 months.

things can change so quickly, that i continue to learn to appreciate the experience of not knowing what will come tomorrow. fortunes change. invaluable relationships are discovered. the things that mean the most become clearer.

camilles (9:45pm, 6.7.09)

i haven't called in "sick" to work in a long time. after a string of incidents where i'd play hooky and then ended up in the hospital within days with a real ailment, i started to get a little gun shy.

it would figure that now that i'm a responsible grownup and decide to prearrange some time off to go be irresponsible, some freak storm blows in.

i had just rolled my motorcycle out of the garage and was fiddling with my tire pressure gauge when there was a sudden flash of lightning followed by rumble after rumble after rumble of thunder. dangit. my co-conspirator was at his own house, checking his own tire pressure. we ended up scrapping our plans for a long afternoon ride.

figures. i was so looking forward to it, too. :(

but, the day was redeemed by the purchase and assembly of my birthday bbq grill.

this is the first bbq that jeff and i have owned, so we are hoping we'll get some good use out of it.

camilles (10:26pm, 6.3.09)

another year older!

birthday celebrations should continue into the next few days.

i'm updating from the awesome gift that jeff gave me when i got home from work...a new netbook! i can finally dump my crummy old laptop, once and for all!

as sweet as the netbook is, i think i was more touched by him hand delivering a lovely bouquet of flowers right to my office desk. he's a keeper, for sure.

camilles (10:25pm, 6.1.09)