18 Days In

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So it’s the 18th day of the new year, my best friend Anne’s birthday, a Wednesday, and I’m doing a Mika “check up”. This year I decided that after 40 plus years, it was time to create – and hopefully stick to – a weekly schedule (is it fair to say I’m a late bloomer? :) ).

I copied one week out of my new calendar to use as my stencil, filled it in with my weekly goals, and stuck it on the bulletin board in my office.

So here’s my progress report; out of the 25 weekly email and phone contacts I’m supposed to make, I’ve made about 5 each week, out of 5 weekly mailers I’m supposed to send out, I’ve sent out none, out of the weekly blog, facebook and twitter posts I’m supposed to make, I’ve done none (thus this post right now!). My housework grade is about a “C”, my PTA work is about a “B”, and my getting kids to stay on top of their homework grade is about a B+. But to tell you the truth, I’m actually not too ashamed of this report.

Not to make excuses, but what has really thrown me off thus far are all the meetings and doctor appointments I have to attend for the PTA and for my kids. Almost every day, I’m side-tracked with one, and when I consider that my free-time window is only about 5 hours per day, I don’t think I’m doing so bad.

In about a week, the Chinese New Year happens and we move from the year of the rabbit to the year of the dragon – my year. I feel like that’s exactly what it’s going to be….My Year. It’s just taking me a little while to get things off the ground, but after the crazy stuff I went through last fall, something good is brewing in my life, I can just feel it.

I’m visualizing reaching my goal of getting a couple of listings in the tract I farm. That would feel like a big accomplishment for me. That would be an A+ in my book. Anyone need to sell their home in HB? I’ve got a cutting-edge marketing plan!

Happy Anniversary, Happy New Year!

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The Big Christmas Tree, taken by my 7 year old. South Coast Plaza

Hard to believe that it’s been yet another year, but yes folks, today is the 2 year anniversary of my blog. So on this day, I not only say ‘Happy New Year’, but I also say ‘Happy Anniversary’.

What’s been happening in the Mitchell household this year? Let’s see, we began the new year with lots of baseball from all three boys and we still had our exchange student, Sam. In the spring, I was busy training to become PTA President, the boys were finishing up 10th, 6th and 1st grades, respectively, Greg started a new job, and Sam flunked out of his program (not kidding) and moved out in May.

In the summer our 12 year old attended his first year of Junior Guards, our 7 year old went on lots of field trips with the YMCA, and our 16 year old began a part time job at a moving company.  We took a trip to Big Bear and a few smaller trips around the state and lots of trips to the beach.

The fall brought school, a plethora of PTA duties , and a temporary new addition to our household, my 2 year old niece Vylette. That’s when things got crazy. Our now 17 year old was having challenges in school and with his friends, and that, coupled with PTA; adjusting to a 2 year old; keeping up with work; and running the household (almost) sent me over the edge.

Lucky for some amazing friends/collegues at the school who jumped in for me, plus my awesome network of family and friends, I managed to get through what I feeling was a bleak and dreary season.

On December 1st, Vylette got to move back in with her parents, and we set our teenager on a better path, turning the end of my year ‘shiny and bright’.

Regardless of the challenges I faced this year, there are so many things to be thankful for on this final day of 2011. We have our health, our family, great friends, a roof over our head, food to eat, cars to drive, jobs to attend, wonderful schools for our kids, and the most important thing of all; a sense of humor :)

Happy New Year everyone, and Happy Anniversary to “My SoCal Backyard”!

A Waste of “Time”

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So I’m sitting here relaxing at my desk. My mom’s downstairs helping with the kids and it’s Friday night. I had a relatively productive week, although last night Greg and I went to a timeshare presentation that lasted 2 hours. 2 hours of our lives wasted sitting in a room with a sales person who coined himself “Chucky from Kentucky”. I guess my week wasn’t so productive afterall.

I’m such a sucker. The way I got wrangled into this one was via a phone call 3 days ago from a man who told me I won a contest I had entered on the 4th of July. He informed me that I had a chance to spin a wheel to win a brand new Mercedes Benz, and that only 49 other people were chosen. I did some quick math and thought “Damn, my odds are pretty good, I think I might be able to win that car.” So come hell or high water, I did everything I could to ensure that we attended that stupid presentation – despite it being at 8:00pm on a weeknight. (I guess about 20 other couples were as big a suckers as we were, because when we arrived the room was packed).

Funny, when you are sitting there listening to those very eager sales people talk about their ‘nothing-else-like-them’ timeshares, it all sounds so good. They instill this sense of urgency in you by saying that if you walk out the door, you’ll lose your only chance to purchase the ‘lifetime ownership’ option. God forbid you ask for time to think about it. Do this and they walk over and grab the Big Daddy sales guy (yes, this happened last night). When we said ‘no’ to Bluto a second time, we felt like chopped liver when he and “Chucky from Kentucky” turned their noses up and let us find our own way out.

I never understood timeshares anyway. You put like a $2000 deposit down on a place that’s supposed to be ‘yours’. Then you pay $250 a quarter for HOA dues, and another $225 a month for a 10 year “mortgage payment”, all to get a 1 week vacation that you have to book far in advance, or trade in the points to redeem at a different resort or something.

So essentially you’re paying around $3000 a year to get a hotel that really only costs about $1000….what’s attractive about that?!

Points and trades and HOA dues and All-Day Use Passes, it’s all way too confusing for me. My husband may call me a sales person’s dream, but lucky for him, I am wise enough to take his lead in (most) situations like these (although I still wish he would have let me purchase that Nespresso coffee maker).

btw, we did walk out with 2 amusement park tickets and 1 night’s hotel stay at Disneyland and 2 nights at a hotel in Catalina, so not all was lost. And, I have to give Chucky credit, he was more genuine than most sales people.

JUST LISTED!

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8182 CAPE HOPE CIRCLE #203, 1 bedroom, 1 bath, penthouse unit in the lovely Seabridge condominium complex at Beach & Adams. Asking $243,739.
Enter into the bright, airy penthouse unit throught the living room, complete with light wood laminate floors, brick fireplace, vaulted ceilings, slider overlooking balcony and waterfall, and cut out into the kitchen. Take 2 steps up into a lovely dining area just off the kitchen. Just behind this area is the washer & dryer closet and entrance into the spacious master bedroom complete with built in desk area. The master bathroom has dual sinks, an extra-large sunken tub/shower and walk in closet with built-in drawers. The entire unit has laminate floors – great for pets, and a one car garage. The complex includes 2 gates with real guards, a community dog park, club house, pools, spas, saunas, gyms, waterfalls & lots of greenbelts and beautiful landscaping. Live in desireable Huntington Beach, only 1.5 miles from the ocean for under $300,000! Call Mika to preview at 714-343-3402.










Thrown Out of England

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I was living in Holland, Amsterdam, to be exact. The year was 1987 and I was studying Dutch abroad during my junior year at Cal.

After spending the semester trying to behave with some nerdy religious roommates in my Dordt College transfer program, I was ready to break loose once summer arrived.

My best friend met me in June that summer, and we embarked on a 6 week adventure with 2 train passes, 2 backpacks, a tiny bit of cash and my BFF’s credit card. We worked our way south from Amsterdam, through France and into Italy, hitting every dance club and bar until we got to the bottom of the ‘boot’, then we took a ferry over the Adriatic Sea to Greece, and into a tiny town called Corfu.

On the brink of travel bankruptcy, we discovered free lodging sleeping under the tables of a restaurant that was right on the beach (we are still thankful for the little Greek family that allowed us to use their amenities free of charge). We showered in the ocean and shaved in the restaurant bathroom, we were true bohemians.

At night we would hike over a mile up a steep, winding hill into town. We’d visit a handful of nightclubs and dance and drink the night away, making friends from all over the world. Then we’d stumble back down the hill and party late into the night on the tropical beach under the summer stars. On lazier nights, our little restaurant “home” doubled as a dance club on the beach, converting the patio into a dance floor while the DJ spun international tunes from the likes of Bob Marley and The Eagles. To this day, whenever I hear ‘Hotel California’, I am taken right back to that magical beach. We found paradise that summer and did not want to leave.

It was so difficult dragging ourselves out of there in fact, that we threw caution to the wind and let our train passes expire just to stay one last week in our island getaway.

When our flights back to the U.S. were just days off, we mortgaged my best friend’s future by using her credit card to purchase plane tickets off the island. She bought a direct flight to Amsterdam, but I, being on a very tight budget, opted to purchase a cheaper semi-illegal ticket to Manchester, England from a student who, like us, also wanted to stay on the island longer.

I figured once I arrived in England, I could hitchhike to the British ferry terminal, and then use the last of my money to buy a ferry ticket back to Amsterdam. I had plans to make one last stop at my host family’s house to pick up my plane ticket & belongings, then get my butt to the airport and fly home.

I’ll never forget the last words that came out of the seedy Brits mouth as I gave him money for my illegal ticket to Britain: “Whatever you do, don’t get caught.” Funny how life throws you curve balls. What happened next could only happen in fictional story.

As I disembarked the plane in England, I could see a flight attendant checking people’s passports. Remember, this was 1987. No crazy 9/11 type stuff happening here yet. But my heart started to race as the words reverberated in my head, “Whatever you do, don’t get caught.” How was I going to explain being the only American on an all-British flight returning from a tour of Greece?!

Just as I suspected, my American passport triggered concerns, and the flight attendant pulled me aside to ask me some questions. After a few inquiries, she was not buying my story, so she ran to fetch her supervisor. “Whatever you do, don’t get caught. Whatever you do, don’t get caught.” In a panic, as this was ringing in my ears, I quickly found the nearest trash bin and threw my ticket inside. Then I began to realize just how suspicious I must have looked; mangie looking American girl with torn up jeans, spiky bleach blonde hair, strolling off an all British plane with a handful of Greek drachma and a passport with an Amsterdam stamp stating she’s been living in the marijuana-capital-of-the-world for the past 5 months.

Yikes, this couldn’t be good. When she asked to see my ticket, I told her I threw it away on the plane. This did not make her very happy, but it was the only lie I told. After answering the rest of her questions honestly, she didn’t believe a word I said, and I had no way to substantiate any of it.

“Where were you planning to go once you landed?” she asked. “I was going to hitchhike to the ferry terminal and buy a ferry ticket back to Holland with my last bit of money.” “What were you going to do once you got there?” “I was going to pick up my things from my host family’s house, collect my airline ticket, then fly back to the states.”

“Okay then, if your story is true, I only need to call your host family to verify your story with them then, correct?” she asked suspiciously. “Well, actually, they just left on their vacation and won’t be home for 2 weeks,” I replied. (Remember, there were no cell phones in those days to call my host family on their vacation).

“Alright then. How were you going to get into their house?” she asked. “They were going to leave the key in a plastic bag under the rabbit cage.” I responded with reluctance. “Oh” she said, in obvious disbelief. At this point, I was sounding like a big liar, and she went back to speak to her supervisor. When she returned, she informed me that they wanted to strip-search me and go through my belongings for drugs.

Wow! All this because I fell in love with a Greek island. I’ll never forget being dragged past the British vacationers in line, and the scowls I received. It was a horrible feeling and sadly made me feel like a real piece of trash.

In a private room, they made me remove all of my clothes and bend over for a “cavity search”. If that wasn’t bad enough, they then felt through my hair for drugs, and once they were through with that, had me get dressed and went through my entire backpack, opening and pouring out every toiletry and feeling through every item of my clothing.

When they were finally finished, they placed me in a waiting room while they attempted to find me a flight directly back to the United States that afternoon. Just my luck, there was nothing available, and the flight they did choose was not departing from Heathrow until the next day. (remember, we were in Manchester?!) So what did they do? They brought in 2 armed guards who escorted me out of the airport and drove me an hour north to Heathrow. Then they proceeded to check me in to an overnight detention center a ways away from the airport. Packed with Turkish and Pakistani men, they surrounded the young American girl and began asking me over and over “What you do, why you here?” I was even approached by an African man who asked if I wanted him to score me some marijuana. As if!

Thank goodness they gave me my own room that night. It was one of the loneliest nights I can ever remember, but being young, I had a great attitude and I remember looking in the mirror at myself and saying “one day you are going to laugh about this”.

The next day a guard picked me up and took me back to the airport and escorted me onto the flight, instructing the attendants not to return my passport until the plane landed in Los Angeles. It was a rough journey, and needless to say, I never got the rest of my things back from Amsterdam, but heck, I got a free ride home, and when I look back on the entire experience, I find that I do exactly what I told myself I would; I laugh about the whole thing.

Moffett PTA Rocks!

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On September 15th, Moffett Elementary School held it’s Back to School Night. We asked the committee chairs to put together tables in the lunch area to show the parent community all of the programs the PTA sponsors for the school.

Wow, what a fantastic job they did. I am so proud of these volunteers. They all showed up after school and decorated tables with whimsical displays, then left their families at home and came back early to meet and greet the parents.

These girls make my (new) job as president easy – well, easier! Thank you all for your enthusiasm and dedication. It’s folks like you who make our school such a great place. Here are some more pics:












Last Saturday Night In Chinatown

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So I went to the OC Fair last week with some girlfriends and stumbled in to one of the photography exhibits and was TOTALLY INSPIRED!
The images people captured in those photos; from grainy black and white portraits, to colorful landscapes, got me so excited that I wanted to run out and buy a new Nikon. But instead of spending money I don’t have, I decided to utilize the tools that I do. We were on our way to an art exhibit in Chinatown (LA) Saturday night, so along with my Iphone, I grabbed my new Olloclip lens (www.olloclip.com) and we headed up the 405.
You won’t find these on the cover of National Geographic, but I sure did have fun with the fish eye option and the low light settings. Take a look and let me know what you think.

DOWNTOWN LA SUNSET

NEON SIGNS AT SUNDOWN

HIGH HEELS

RED LANTERNS

“WHAT’S IN YOUR WALLET?”

LINE ART

GIRL BROWSING

STREET SCENE WITH PUPPET

REFLECTIONS

LANDSCAPE THROUGH THE FISH EYE

THE BIRDS

HEATHER, ME AND MIRROR LADY

POP “EYE”

HALLUCINOGENIC SCULPTURE

LILI’S WORLD

AT THE BAR

ON OUR WAY HOME