Californication

Wowww..it's been a bit since I've blogged! Given, I've been getting into the swing of things since I've officially been back in California for about four days. So, lemme try to retrace my steps for ya...

*WEDNESDAY* 

My journey home was LONG. I ended up staying in Brussels the night before since my flight was at 7am. The hotel was pretty decent, especially since it was only six minutes from the airport it only cost sixty euro compared to the Sheratons two hundred and sixty euro per night fee. Eeek! Eric waited till I got all checked in and my baggage was taken care of, walked me over to the passport check point and we said our good byes. I REALLY miss him! He was actually telling me the night before while we were at dinner that he's very sad that I'll be gone for two months rather than my usual one. I think he's rather attached to me ;) So, I went from Brussels to Heathrow, then onto Los Angeles then puddle hopped to Monterey. In total, I spent twenty three hours between flying and layovers to get here. I was TIRED! My Dad picked up from the airport and showed me my "room" that I'll be staying in while I'm here. Honestly, it feels like I'm in a hotel room..it's awesome! He's been working on this part of the house for a while (about four years) and completely gutted and remodeled everything. It's absolutely gorgeous and I'm inlove! lol. Here's pics of it:

This is totally up my Dads alley! It's a hidden ironing board as well as a hide away cabinet for towels and a hanging hamper:

The backyard was redone and landscaped, looks awesome!

 
Once I got settled in, I crashed out since I didn't sleep during my entire journey.

*THURSDAY*

Dad wanted to head over to Sand City since he was wanting to pick some things up over at Bed, Bath & Beyond to put some finishing touches in my bathroom. So while we were over there, I was able to stop into Old Navy and return some stuff I didn't like that was shipped to Belgium in addition to invading Michaels craft store. This is probably going to sound really silly, but I was overwhelmed with all the options that were available! I mean, come on...we really don't have cool craft stores in Belgium and whatever stores they do have, they're VERY expensive! So, I was able to score some cool fall themed muffin pans as well as cookie cutters :) From there, we rolled over to Starbucks and I got myself an AMAZING Pumpkin Spice Cream Frappachino (heaven!!). 

 

Ok, I have the SPCA of Monterey County on my Facebook..ya know, when you "like" something you can see when they post updates..blah blah blah. So from time to time, they post pictures of dogs they currently have available to adopt. Well, there was one particular dog that Eric and I saw and really took an interest in, so, I called my Dad ..did my whole song and dance in which he ended up going into the SPCA on Monday to check it out on our behalf. The next day, he tells me about the dog and he doesn't really sound sold on it, but then he started talking about "Sammi", who was a 5 month old terrier mix. After hearing him talk about her (and you can tell he really liked her), he ended up putting her on hold to "think it over"..but ultimately, didn't get her. The next day, the SPCA posts a picture of her (there wasn't one of her before) and when I saw it, I called him back and gave him all kinds of hell because she was ridiculously cute..it would have been impossible for me to leave her in the kennel. After talking about it, we decided we'd leave it to "fate" if she was still there after I got into town. Well, sure enough, she was still there. She weighs about 3lbs and is VERY petite and acts like a cat more than a dog. After seeing her in person and playing with her, I was definitely sold on her, but couldn't bring her home till she had an "introduction" session with Ozzy (one of my Dads dogs) to make sure they would get along. Tell you what, that was the WORST feeling in the world by locking her back up in her kennel. Headed back home and groomed Ozzy for the upcoming day. 

Here's the picture I saw of "Sammi" through the SPCA's facebook page:

 

See? Adorable!

*FRIDAY*

Dad and I headed over to the SPCA with Ozzy to do the introduction session with Sammi since that was our last step in order for us to adopt her. Honestly, Ozzy is SUCH a mellow dog, we had no doubt when it came to picking him to come with us. Man, we were wrong. He DID NOT like her one bit! We were getting a little nervous since the handler didn't look satisfied with how they were interacting, especially since Ozzy had nipped at Sammi. So, the gal brought in a second opinion and asked Dad and I to leave the room so they could see how they interacted without us being present. That must've done the trick because they ended up giving the "thumbs up" in order for us to get Sammi. AWESOME! After filling out all the required paperwork, Sammi got a round of shots, micro chipped as well as some extra puppy food and she was free to go. She is SO incredibly sweet and already listens to what she's told! Dad and I were flip flopping around with her name since we didn't wanna keep her name as Sammi since he had already owned a cat named Sammy for several years. You know the rule: never reuse a pet name.  I was REALLY stuck on what to name her! To get some outside options, I posted her pic on my Facebook to see what people would come up with. Not only did someone come up with Piper, my Dad even tossed that name out..after a while, the pup started to really respond to it..now that's officially her new name :)

Piper has definitely made herself at home already! Plus, her and my Dads dogs are getting along wonderfully, so that's one less thing I gotta worry about. We ended up heading over to PetSmart and picked up several toys for her since she's in the chewing stage in addition to some grooming supplies, a cat collar so the bell will help us find her easier (she doesn't make a sound when she's running through the house...ninja puppy!) and I'm looking into a puppy class for her that'll end before I leave for Belgium. 

*SATURDAY*

Saturday was the day that I was going to surprise my Grandma! She's the main reason why I planned this whole thing out since January! So, we had it set up like she was going to have her normal Kinect chat session with myself and Eric, although she was under the impression that I was in the kitchen putting dishes away and that I'd join them in a few minutes. In the mean time, she was talking to Eric and asking him about various things to kill time, all the while, I'm hiding down the hallway waiting for my "cue". While waiting, her dog, Zeppy, strolled into the hallway and got all kinds of excited when he saw me! Luckily, he didn't blow my cover by barking or anything, but just wiggled around and wanted to be petted and rubbed since he recognized me. Once he got his fill, he ran back out to where my Grandma was and hopped onto her lap to watch the TV screen. After several minutes of her talking to Eric, my Dad started dropping hints like anvils along the lines of "Hey Eric, tell Erika to hurry up!"...which is like "hint hint hint". After the fourth hint and Eric wasn't catching on, I finally started making my way out for the surprise. In the picture below, you can see Eric on the screen as well as my Grandma and you can see me walking up behind her:

Keep in mind, my Grandma has heart problems, so I was VERY worried about her seriously having a heart attack. When she saw me, she froze and kept gasping for air like she couldn't catch her breath. I ended up saying ,"I'm really sorry I kept you waiting!" and gave her a massive hug. She started crying!! AH! Then she said she thought she was having some sort of stroke and hallucinating when she saw me! Several hugs later and lots of happy tears, she was finally able to grasp that, YES, I was actually here! :)

We caught up on how my flight was, how long I had been in town for (she wanted to kill me when she heard that I've been here since Wednesday) and I introduced her to Piper. Luckily, Piper won her over with her fantastic little personality..besides, who do you think I inherited my love of animals from? Thaaat's right...Grandma!

I ended up taking her out to lunch over at the Fishermans Wharf since she was wanting to spend more time together! So, of course we headed over to "The Fishermans Grotto" since I've been REALLY craving their fabulous clam chowder in a sour dough bowl for several weeks. Ohhhh my gosh, it's heaven! Pure heaven!

All in all, had a fantastic time with my Grandma! She's absolutely thrilled that I'm going to be around for the next two months, so we'll be spending lots of time together before I fly back to Belgium. On that note, it's time for me to finish this up since Piper is wanting some attention and keeps trying to bite my fingers while typing this out. Peace!