Today would be my Granddad’s 87th birthday. 87 years old! That’s unbelievable. It has been over 3 years since he passed away. You know, everyone says that it gets better with time. That’s just simply not true. As far as day to day goes….yeah it does get a little easier. In the long run though, it gets harder every day. I do take comfort in the fact that if he were still alive today, I know that his mind would not be with us. He was suffering from Alzheimer’s and although he never forgot any of the people he loved, his mind was definitely slipping.

When my Granddad was alive, he loved going on our family vacation to the beach every year. Even though in the later years he would mostly stay in the beach house, he always loved to watch the sunrises and sunsets. So, in honor of his birthday I decided to go to Santa Monica and watch a Sunset for Granddad last night. I didn’t let myself get too sad while I was there because this is in fact, the day that we celebrate his birth and celebrate his life! Before the sunset, I was a little down and a bit emotional. Afterwards, I feel so much joy for having the time that I had with my Granddad. My cousins, siblings, and I could write a book with all of the stories we have of him.

I’m going to leave you with something that I wrote right after he passed away. We had the idea that each of his Grandkids write a memory or story or poem about him so that people who came to the his viewings could really reflect on who he was. I have copies of all of my sibling’s writings. I bring them out from time to time and read them over. I wouldn’t feel comfortable posting their work since I did not ask them ahead of time, so I will just post what I wrote. It paints a picture of my favorite memory of my Granddad. So, friends and family, if you get a chance today to take a swig of Jameson or a scoop of ice cream, think of him….however you knew him: Ed, Edward, Uncle Ed, Dad, or Granddad. I now I’ll be raising a spoon for my favorite Islay boy!



I miss you Granddad!


I consider myself to be an extremely lucky person. There are a lot of people in this world that take their grandparents for granted. They’ll see them on some holidays and maybe talk to them over the phone on birthdays or other special occasions, but I feel like I really got to spend quality time with my Granddad. More than that, I learned how grateful I was to have someone like him in my life and was able to share that with him.

I never grew up with two whole sets of grandparents. My mom’s dad passed away long before I was born, and her mom passed just after my third birthday. I guess I would kind of get jealous, when I was little, about how other kids had four grandparents, but it was more for materialistic reasons than anything else. They would get two birthday parties or they would get double the Christmas presents. I didn’t realize how little that mattered until later. I never felt like I was shortchanged in love or support in any way. If anything, I felt a deeper connection with my Granddad than any of my friends felt with any of their grandparents. I’m not sure if my Granddad did it on purpose or if this is just the way he’s always been, but it was almost as if he was overcompensating for my missing out of getting to know my other grandparents.

One memory has especially been running through my head over the past month or so. One Easter when I was five or six, my family headed over to my grandparents house to spend the day and have dinner. It wasn’t until we were there that my ear began to ache. I was one of those kids that got frequent ear infections and this had been one of them. I was miserable all afternoon. They didn’t have any Children’s Tylenol in their house, and because it was Easter nothing was open that would sell it. I was lying on the couch crying and my Granddad came over and put his hand over my ear. Immediately, I felt relief and stopped crying. This was a pretty social event, and we all know that my Granddad can never sit still at these. He’s always asking if anyone needs a drink or something to eat. But, for that day, he ignored all of his guests, except for one. He sat next to me all afternoon with his hand on my ear until my mom finally found a store that was open.

This was probably my first lesson in what love and devotion is, and if there has ever been anyone in this world with those qualities, it was my Granddad. That is what he instilled in every one of his children and then consequently in every one of his grandchildren. This is the reason why we can come together and be best friends like we are. We grew up with a very strong figure in our lives to teach us about priorities in life and that family always comes first. I’m lucky that I had my Granddad around long enough to teach me that lesson. It is probably the most important lesson I will ever learn.

'If you want to sing out, sing out....'

So I had some fun times in the last couple of days. On Saturday, a big group of us from work planned on going to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery to see Bettlejuice. I know what you're thinking. A cemetery? To watch a movie? YES! They do it in the summers on Saturdays and some Sundays and it's sort of like a drive in, but in a picnic form. Well, Beetlejuice is super popular....and honestly, who wouldn't want to watch that movie in a cemetery so we got there an hour before doors opened (2 1/2 hours before the movie actually started) and the line was GINORMOUS!!! So we waited and waited and waited and we actually got close to the entrance of the cemetery, when they said that it was full! Boo! So, we all ended up back at my place for some drinks and games! It ended up being a lot of fun!

Last night, Drea and I did something really cool. The Arclight has been doing this series of films dedicated to Paramount Classics and the one that was there last night was none other than Harold and Maude. I love this movie. I think it is a life changing movie. You watch it and you just want to be Maude!!!! If you have never seen it before, watch it! You won't regret it one bit! A friggin brilliant movie! And I guess Doris Roberts from Everybody Loves Raymond was there. When we first walked in, Drea said 'did you see who we just walked passed?' I hadn't and she told me and then I saw her from behind. Fun stuff! :) We were thinking about going to see Airplane tonight, but that didn't pan out.

But for now...I'm just staying busy, working a lot! OH....I should mention that I got my first head shots taken on Saturday!!! It was a lot of fun and I'm really excited to get them back to see what we came up with! :) I'll keep everyone posted on it!

Hollywood....I love this town!

So I had an exciting couple of days. Laura, my friend since 7th grade who now lives in San Diego, called me last week asking if I wanted to go to a filming of Lopez Tonight. She is a huge Hanson fan and that was both of our first concerts and they were going to be there so she got us tickets. So, Monday night, I picked her up from the train station and she stayed at my place that night. We got up super early and went to the filming the next morning. Man, if you want to ultimate people watching experience, go anywhere with Hanson fans! There are some strange people there....te he he. It was so much fun. They had a comedian/juggler warming up the crowd and he was so funny. There was a guy from Modern Family there. All of the guests came out right by us. George Lopez introduced the band right by us (in the youtube clip I'm putting up, I'm right next to the girl in the black shirt and white sweater int he row behind where George Lopez is....you can also see Laura and I dancing at the beginning of the song, but you might have to know where we are to actually see us). Laura told George that she watches his sitcom every night before she goes to be and he told her that she was old school. It was just so much fun! :) And we all got a free copy of their CD too. It was funny to me because I hadn't seen them since 1998 I believe....so they've changed a lot....te he he.

THEN.....on my way back from taking Laura back to the train station, I drive by the Arclight and saw that they were setting up the red carpet premiere for True Blood!!!!! I freak out because that's about 3 blocks from my apt. Andrea, Jesse, and I end up going to the hardware store a little late and drive passed again and we're there just as all of the stars are on the red carpet!!! I was driving so I could only peak, but I did see Sam Merlotte!!! Drea saw I think Jessica and Jason Stackhouse. These are the things that make me LOVE living where I live!!! :)

Anywho....here is that clip I was talking about earlier. You can try to pick us out as they pan across the crowd dancing from side to side. We are a few rows up. Laura is in a darker dress and I'm in a pink shirt. Don't feel bad if you can't see us though....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs9fNgZe6qM

I can't find a clip of when they first come on stage for the interview....that's when you can really see us! I'll keep a look out!

~Bon

I know...I suck....

So....apparently I suck at maintaining a blog....te he he. But honestly, life has been pretty boring for me lately. I'm just working a lot. I've been in mourning since the Pens got eliminated from the playoffs....and then in even more mourning when Philly made it in. Go Hawks is all I have to say about that!

But yeah....been to a couple of concerts, been to a late night dance party. Yesterday for Memorial Day I went to a BBQ near the beach. My whole family is at the Outer Banks right now so I told my mom and we were about as far apart as we could be on this continent.

But yeah....weather has been nice and when I'm not working, I try to go out and have some fun! :) I just tried to post some pictures on here so that the post wasn't a total wash, but it won't work for some reason. Sorry....I'll try again later...

Life is kind of boring right now....

So I haven't been writing because it's been crazy at work. I've been working a lot of hours because it was Mother's Day weekend and then Mexican Mother's Day! Yes, there's a Mexican Mother's Day! And since most of our clientele is Mexican, that was a crazy day! FUNNY STORY though. It was yesterday by the way....but it was 9:45pm and we still had an hour long wait. That sucked since I was there at 3:00. Anyway, I was oblivious to what was going on because I got triple sat right because all of this happened, BUT!!! A couple of cops came in to our restaurant to get a drink at the bar.....APPARENTLY when they pulled in, the side of their car said Immigration and all of the people waiting to be sat that were waiting outside all fled to their cars when the cops were inside. Our wait went from one hour to ten minutes instantly!!!!! That's freaking hillarious!!!

That's about it.....other than the fact that we got a kitten!!!!! We have a friend that found her and her cat hated the kitten. Her name is Fleury! Desi is hissing and growling at her, but she'll deal!

PS - I don't know when I'm going to post pictures. When in doubt, friend me on facebook! That's where I post all of my pictures!!!! Mom, I'm talking to you. All of your kids are on there...most of your co-workers....and lots of relatives. I think it's time....

Home Sweet Home Was Sweet But Cali Called My Name

I had a great trip home. It was wonderful to see my family after a few months and to finally meet Miles. I emailed Julie a few days before the wedding and said that I definitely volunteer to take care of him that day so she and Kev and Maddie (who were all in Brady and Jenna's wedding) could get ready without worrying about a baby. He's adorable. Maddie was a dancing machine the whole night. And she totally remembers my name, which made me super excited! Love it!

My last night home, we had dinner and invited Grandma and Aunt Niece over! It was so much fun. It's strange how at every family gathering, we end up playing youtube videos. We had my Grandma singing the song to that Trolololo video.....it was wonderful! That song was stuck in all our heads.

The day that I flew out, I had Pat come down to Pittsburgh with me. Kelly was going to meet us, but she ended up getting the flu....boo. We were going to go to Deluca's....my absolute favorite breakfast spot in town, but it was closed by the time we got there.....what was the consolation eating establishment you ask? Primanti Brothers right downt he street. We needed to go there anyway because I was going to bring back a sandwich for Drea! Then we went up to Mount Washington for some pics and then to the airport in a downpour. I didn't want to leave town on a rainy note, but you know mother-freaking-nature hates western PA, so that's what happened!

When I got back, I had to work lunch the next morning and I had a horrible case of jet lag. At first is was just that I was sleepy....then my stomach started to hurt...then I got a sharp pain in my side. Eventually, I asked to go home because I was miserable and I know that the guests were not getting good service from me. I was originally going to wait for my tables to leave, then my manager caught me doubled over in pain and asked if I wanted to transfer my last table....I immediately started crying like a big girl.....te he he. But I did transfer and went home. I had a lazy night and then slept really well that night and felt soooo much better the next day.

A couple days after that, I was a little ansy and needed to get out. I went to see this bad with my friend Andy and it was a lot of fun. It was a band we could dance to and we totally took advantage of the open dance floor....te he he. I also ate from a food truck for the first time that night! Funsies!

The rest of the week was basically filled with work, but....Holy Crap! I almost killed a woman at work on Friday. Literally....she passed out from the wine that I served her and we had to call the paramedics. So yeah....almost killed her. BUT....hello this woman had recently had brain surgery and was on some pretty heavy meds so it totally wasn't my fault.

Saturday, I had to work a breaker shift so I got out early and got to go to Agoura Hill for our friend's, Jesse and Patrick's, house warming. They actually bought a place so it was more of an officially housewarming party than ours was. It was fun! We played a game of celebrity and one of the crabby neighbors called the cops on us. Here's the thing....I get it....I cherish my sleep as well and if one of my neighbors were too loud for me to sleep, it would bug me. But you know what I would do first? Just a little knock on the door to say that it's a little too loud. That's all that would have been needed for us...but no....some people have to be so dramatic and head straight to the cops. WTF?

Yesterday was a lot of fun. We went to the Farmer's Market in the morning and came back just in time to see the Penguin game. It was the first game int he post season that I got to watch live! Unfortunately we lost! After the game, we went to Venice Beach which I had never been to. That is the ultimate people watching place. How did that place turn into the place where the craziest of the crazies went? I love it, but I'm just curious how that happened....te he he. After that, we came home and ate and then got ready for my first Rock Band experience. A friend of ours hosts Rock Bank nights at bars. It's kind of like Karaoke nights, but with the game Rock Band instead. I first went over to Andy's to practice on Guitar Hero so I wouldn't embarrass myself...te he he. It was so much fun though. The bar that it was at sucked....they took the alcohol away from you like 5 minutes after last call...AND they kicked everyone out at 1:45. We didn't like them at all. But, Rock Band was fun. I drank a bit much so we went back to Andy's and watch Dr. Horrible and I think various youtube videos. Well, Drea and Andy watched those....I was in and out of sleep...te he he. But still singing along with Dr. Horrible as much as I could....te he he.

Today, I would have liked to get up early and run, but it's already 11 and I'm still in bed and don't feel like working out. I do however want to hang out outside though because it's sunny and currently 73 degrees! We're also going to see Kick Ass tonight so I'm pretty excited about that! :)

Sorry for such a long post. Yet another reason why I need to post more frequently!

~Bon

Look out Pittsburgh! Bonnie's Back! (for a couple days)

Why do I take forever between posts? And yes, I promise to post a ton of pictures as soon as I can. Posting pictures on this web site is not the easiest thing to do.

And again....I'm going to make this one short and sweet because it's currently 1:00am on the dot and I have to wake up at 4:30am to get ready to catch a plane back to Pittsburgh for Brady's wedding! I couldn't bare to miss a Bajuszik wedding!!!

So....there are only a few highlights to talk about. I saw Erika Christensen last week at the Farmer's Market. I was picking out some mushrooms and she got right next to me and asked the lady if they were Organic and I was so tempting to shout "I love Parenthood!" But, I held back. For the record, she's my height! Go Short People!

We had a party in our new apt. It was so much fun! One of Drea's friends had some deck furniture for us and when we went over there, she offered us a couch (which will be coming soon), a handle of rum, and chocolate chips.....that spells party to me! :) For a while, we were worried if we disturbed anyone by having a party....until last night when our neighbors had a loud party on a Wednesday night. We feel alright about it now. Te he he!

Something that I was really excited about this week is that I got to see Mark Ballas play some music at a bar. Mark Ballas is my favorite pro dancer on Dancing with the Stars! A friend of a friend has a band that opened for him and I went to check out both sets. Both were great! I was going to stay to meet him, but there was a long line of people doing what I was planning to do....basically getting a picture with him so they can change their profile pictures to that. Te he he. Again. I will post pictures. But, I loaded a video on youtube (yes that's easier than posting pics on here....sorry). Here's the web address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPy6MBprcGQ

Also....this week I posted an audition video for Glee this week. View it and if you have Myspace, you can give me a Gold Star if you like! http://www.myspace.com/gleeauditions?link=531148911 Don't judge the freeze frame they used for me....te he he!

Anyway, I'll be in Pittsburgh Friday night through Monday evening. I'm more than likely going to be spending most of my time with family (I get to meet my nephew), but if you're by my house, call me and maybe you can stop by! YAY! Pittsburgh here I come!

~Bon

PS - Saw She's Out of my League.....so much Pgh in it! It was so much fun to figure out where they were! Represented our city well! :)