By Popular Demand

I wasn't initially going to put this on the web site, as it was taken on the fly and Eliza had trashed my house. So, don't judge me or I'm takin' it down! You can judge this awesome dancing though.


Eliza's a Maniac! from Amanda Ridge on Vimeo.

Girls Night Out

First of all, let me preface this by saying, no I am not 14, and yes, I realize the cheese. The girls and I had a great night out. We went to dinner at Nordstroms Cafe. If you've never been there, the salads are awesome. Then we went to a benefit for Angels Foster Care. That, at least, is the mature way to describe our outing. In truth, we went to a 7:30 p.m. premiere of Twilight. Yes, we got to see the movie even before the midnight showings in NY. We had a great time, and the movie was definitely better than I expected. That being said. If you are a man or not already an avid reader of Ms. Meyer, then this is not the movie for you. Go see Bolt. But if you are a fan, it is better than you think it is going to be, so have fun!

Why I love it here!

I know I've posted my love of California on my blog before, but I can't help it. Lately I have been hearing seals at night. Claron called me crazy until he finally heard them as well. We live right on the coast and it is really amazing all of the flora and fauna that surrounds us. Yesterday, Eliza and I made it to Coal Oil Point to play in the tide pools and watch the sun set. We saw so many animals: brown pelicans, a million egrets, turns, sand pipers, snowy plovers, sea otters, hermit crabs, anemones, surfers and yes, seals! Our neighbor has this awesome blog with photos: http://www.calliebowdish.com/ but here are my favorites.

What a busy week!

We've had such a busy but great week.

On Tuesday was election day. We are very happy with the results. I am really hoping that this election will usher in a new era of American politics. Claron and I of course both voted. Eliza went with us.

On Wednesday, we went to an awesome birthday party for our friend, Jen. Chris, her husband, concocted an amazing surprise for EVERYONE! Chris arranged a huge Hummer limo. The ladies got a manicure and pedicure and the gents went to play billiards. We later went to Milk & Honey for dinner and it was superb. Thanks to Chris (and Jen) for an awesome night out! Thanks to Liz for the pictures.

On Thursday, Eliza and I shopped almost all day. We finally found pillows for the couch that I like. I've only been looking for a year.

On Friday, Eliza and I went to the Ty Warner Sea Center with our friends. It was a beautiful day. It was sunny and in the high 70s. The Wharf was especially sunny. Eliza liked the petting pools and she enjoyed running around the pier with her friends Taylor and Warren. She loves older kids.

If Eliza could vote...

Eliza's Vote from Amanda Ridge on Vimeo.

Happy Halloween!

Wow! What a day (and night!). Eliza was Wall-E for Halloween. Claron and I both worked on her costume. I made the onesie portion. I was afraid she wouldn't wear her box, so I sewed all of the Wall-E parts onto the onesie as well. I made the gloves also. Claron worked tirelessly on the box portion. I also made Claron a cockroach costume, but we didn't get any pictures of it.

We had such a busy day. We started by going to the Chemistry department and giving out candy. We call it "reverse trick or treating." Afterwards, we went to the Family Student Housing Halloween Parade. Eliza walked the entire Storke complex. After the parade, they gave out four individual awards: Scariest Costume, Cutest Costume, Funniest Costume and Most Creative Costume. There were about 75 people in costume and ELIZA WON!!! She won most creative! Go Eliza! After the parade, we needed to stop home to pick some things up. It took us a half an hour to go around the block due to the mass influx into IV. We picked Scott up and took him to dinner at Flavor of India. It was awesome! If that wasn't enough, we went to Trunk or Treat at the church after that. THEN, we came home and went out trick or treating. Eliza had a blast. She really got into trick or treating. She was very happy to see so many of our friends (and rake in a boat load of candy.)

Happy Halloween!!

Here are the pictures:

What You've All Been Waiting For

I'm so over it

Yeahhhh... So its been a frustrating day.

Our neighbors "don't smoke." But it is amazing that right now as I blog to you, I have a massive headache due to the cigarette smoke billowing through our heater. I went over and asked them if they knew anything about it and of course, they are stumped. It is also a phenomenon that their house reeked of smoke when she opened the door.

Eliza today has decided that instead of Tuesday, it is Shriekday. All day every time something doesn't quite go her way... yup, you got it. I think that also might be contributing to the head problems.

Finally, I was massively disappointed by one of my formerly favorite blogs. I'm just going to put it out there. All my conservative friends can say what they like, but the last thing that I want to hear is Sarah Palin's expert opinion on the economy. She has no education to merit such. My friend, Frieda can be quoted on the economy. She is a stock broker and has a degree from Penn in business. My friend Ben can be quoted on the economy. He is getting a PhD in Economics at UCSB. Even I could be better quoted on the economy. I have an MBA and worked in banking and audit for quite some time. Sarah though... I don't think a degree in journalism qualifies you to tell the American people that we are going back to the Great Depression. Sorry.

I'm making chili and cornbread for dinner... maybe this day will get better.

Fun, fun and facials

So, it has been taking all of my restraint to prevent myself from putting up political messages on my blog. I just finished watching the debates.... ugh! Anyway, in other news... I got a facial today! Thank you, Jamie Olsen! You are awesome. Really, ladies, you should go see her. Thanks to Rileigh for watching La. I also did laundry. I know... my life is really exciting.

So, here's what Eliza's been up to. She talks.... a lot. She even says sentences. She doesn't have many verbs, but mainly she uses "go" and "did." Her favorite TV show lately is Wheel of Fortune. She loves to yell the letters at the TV. She's convinced that all of the puzzles have the letters "B," "G," and "A." She still loves her car and the swings. Her favorite place is the pool. It is actually warm enough to swim in the ocean here. It is odd that the ocean is warmest in September.

So, here are some pictures:

Whoa! BofA is taking over the world

As many of you know, I previously worked for MBNA who was the largest independent credit card company. Well, literally days after I left MBNA for Deloitte, it was bought by Bank of America. Making BofA a MAJOR player in the credit card market.

This year BofA also bought Countrywide, the largest mortage broker in the US. Today, they announced that they bought Merrill Lynch. All I can say is WOW! I can't wait to see their quarterlies. I wonder how much of the "assets" that they have bought are uncollectable. I'm also curious to see how their stocks open on Monday.

I wonder whether they'll buy AIG and Lehman too. I'm also surprised that the SEC is commenting further. There are no Sherman anti-trust concerns? They are a huge part of the financial services sector now.

P.S. Yes, I know that I am dork.