Cars...

I asked Josh, "If I were to die tomorrow, would you remarry some day?" Josh answered, "Oh no, Sweetie. I wouldn't remarry. I would just get a house with an eight-car garage and fill it up with cars."

What can I say? The man loves cars....

Josh talks about cars, texts about cars, studies cars, fixes cars, researches cars, reads about cars, races cars, and he even stops cars (while working) that he likes.

Josh was talking about the BMW M3 and M5 ever since I met him. And according to him and his friends even way before he met me. So...we bought one...

I actually feel kind of guilty for having this kind of a luxury item. But hey, we work hard for our money, and it makes my husband happy. And that makes me happy.

Josh loves the car. He says we are his two loves. But good to know that he loves me more (That's what he says anyway):

(Josh's two loves: Me and M3)

Panel

I've been asked to be part of the panel to speak with the new hires of the LADA's office. The following are the questions that will be asked of me:

1. What was your first day like?
2. What does a bad day look like?
3. How did you deal with your anxiety?
4. What advice would you give?
5. What was your interaction with court staff like?
6. With defense attorneys?
7. What, if anything would you do differently?

These are my answers:

1. What was your first day like? 

Answer: Terrifying. Nerve wrecking. Crazy. Exciting. 

Terrifying because I didn't know what I was doing. 

Nerve wrecking because everybody was watching me, and judging me: The judge, defense attorneys, defendants, colleagues, civilian witnesses, victims, law enforcement witnesses, court staff, and supervisors. Even though I had no idea what I was doing,  I had to "fake it until I make it." 

I woke up, said a little "God, get me through this day" prayer, wore a black suit, and took a deep breath. I went into court with a stack of cases (approximately 60) for that day. I was as prepared as I could be (I read all the reports) and I had my handy dandy offer sheet (A list crimes with our standard offers for those crimes). I sat down at the counsel table. And was swarmed by defense attorneys wanting offers, wanting to "wheel and deal;" with witnesses who were subpoenaed and wanted to talk about restitution, wanting to drop charges, saying that they had to leave because they were missing work, asking why it was taking so long; and the judge calling the cases on calendar. It was a mental juggling act...Doing 50 things at once...Multi-tasking at it's best. 

Exciting because in the midst of all the chaos...This was exactly what I always wanted to do...Do justice as best as I could. 

2. What does a bad day look like? 

Answer: Days when you're so busy that you don't have time to eat or drink...Days where you barely have time to go to the bathroom, and you only go because you have to go. Then you go home and have prepare for the next day barely getting sleep. You sleep only because you have to sleep. Then the next day, you start all over again. 

3. How did you deal with your anxiety? 

The best way to combat anxiety is to be as prepared as you can possibly be. This is how to combat the "unexpected" as much as possible. The more prepared you are and the more you know, the better equipped you will be to handle issues that may come up. The more prepared you are, the more confident you feel, which in turn lessens anxiety. 

4. What advice would you give? 

Answer 1: Pray. 

Answer 2: When you feel self-doubt: Surround yourself with good friends and good people that you can trust in the office. We deal with really serious and scary stuff. We are surrounded by people who are/appear to be so poised in the middle of utter chaos. But at the end of the day we are all human. No one is perfect. 

You're going to have good days and bad days, and there is nothing better than to have friends to laugh with and commiserate with. For example: A colleague was really busy (juggling of course) and she ran to court in a rush in the morning. At the end of the day she went back to her office and realized that she was wearing a different shoe on each foot but was too busy to notice. We all laughed together. Another colleague bent down to pick something up and her skirt ripped in the back exposing her underwear in front of the entire court. We commiserated together. 

A good support system is worth more than gold or silver. 

Answer 3: Don't lose sight of the ultimate goal: Justice. 

Answer 4: In everything you do, shoot for doing an extraordinary job instead of just an ordinary job. The difference between "extraordinary" and ordinary is just a little "extra." 

5. What was your interaction with the court staff? 

Answer: Great. Treat them with respect and kindness. They work hard. You need them and they know it. 

6. What was your interaction with defense attorneys? 

Answer: Depends. Depends on the case and how they are. But no matter what, keep it professional. 

7. What, if anything would you do differently? 

Answer: I can't think of anything right now. Ask me again in five-ten years. I may have a different perspective. 

Toot!

I am not one to "toot her own horn." But...Can I toot? Just this once? Just for a second? Please?

I scored a 100...
I worked my butt off to score this...
So...Toot!

Beautiful...

My sister-in-law, Jessica, is getting married to the love of her life in June in Maui Hawaii. And a beautiful bride-to-be needs a beautiful dress to get married on a beautiful island. Something white. Something light. Something beautiful...

Congratulations, Carol and Jermaine!

My sister, Carol, and Jermaine got married on September 9, 2012 at the London Hotel in West Hollywood, California. I am so happy for them. I love Jermaine like a brother, and now he is the older brother that I never had. I ask him for advice on all my cases (He gives me the common sense perspective-And is always right). He treats my sister like a princess. In fact, a long time ago (15 years ago) an old fortune teller lady once said, "Carol will marry a man who will make her shine. She is the diamond and the man that she marries will be the light that makes her sparkle." And indeed he does.

And Carol always says that he is the best man that she has ever known, a man that she respects, and a man she looks up to.

And the man who puts the "H" "O" "T" in HOT!

Congratulations, you guys. I love you both very very very much! May you live happily ever after!

"Honey, I'm Home!"

We sold our old house, and bought a new house: My dream home/Josh's nightmare home.

It's my dream home because it looks so quaint to me. I love the white picket fences and the shutters. I can imagine 2.2 kids running around on the grass and Josh coming through the front door and singing, "Oh Honey, I'm home!"

It's also my dream home because I love the neighborhood.

There is a lake right across the street from the house.

And streams. 

And A lighthouse looking thing. 

And ducks.

And cranes.

And turtles.

And walking paths.

And paddle boating in the summer, and bike trails, and bridges and fountains, and...The list goes on and on.

Everything looks so calm and peaceful. But this move has been anything but calm and peaceful. Hence, I also refer to this house as Josh's nightmare.

First, in order to get this house we had to sell the house that we were living in at the time. Selling a house is no joke: We had to make sure that everything was in tip top shape, which meant Josh's handyman hands were worked to the bones. We had to make sure the house was clean ALL the time since we had no idea when someone wanted to come look at it. We had complete strangers walking through our home. And the stress of offers and counter offers, and escrows, and fallen escrows, and agents and open houses took a toll on us not only physically but mentally and emotionally.

Second, purchasing this "dream" home took a looooong time since it was a short sale. We waited 10 months from the time we made our initial offer to finally getting into the house. All I'm saying is there is nothing "short" about a short sale.

Third, since we had sold our first home and was still waiting for the short sale to go through, Josh and I were "homeless." We didn't know where to go...Then our friends, Myle and Frank, came to our rescue and allowed us to stay with them for months! So here we were: Myle, Frank, Josh and me, four grown adults being roomies.

Fourth, when we finally did get into the house, we decided to do a complete renovation of the house. For those of you who don't know my husband, I will tell you....Josh is not the "Let's do it later" kind of a guy. Nope. Josh is a "We are doing it all the way" kind of a guy. So, when Josh says "remodel/renovation" he MEANS it.

And since Josh is a handy guy (I love it), he did most of it himself. Here are a few pictures of our renovation:

Family room:

Before

During 

After 

Powder room:

Before/During

After

Living room:

Before:

During:

After:

These are just a few pics. We still have a loooong way to go. In fact, these rooms are still not done. But slowly but surely we are getting there. "Rengo rengo pero vengo." That's a Spanish idiom. It means, "I'm limping limping, but I'm getting there."

All in all, this house is not a nightmare. It truly is a blessing and a dream come true, and I honestly feel like it is a gift from God and all that came/comes with it are gifts:

1. Josh and I really had to work as a team to get through this whole process. And it brought us closer together.   

And we are having fun making this house our home. And we are making it just how we like it. 

2. We found a deeper appreciation for our friends, Myle and Frank. We call ourselves "Four Peas In a Pod."

3. I again got to see how awesome my husband is. Josh is such a hard worker. He works all night (graveyard shift) as a CHP officer, and then works all day on fixing the house. He barely gets any sleep. He works on his birthday, on his days off, on holidays.

My husband is such a bad ass! :p He's a freaking machine!

And you want to know something else that's crazy? We moved in on Christmas Eve of 2012. Another reason I know that this house was a gift from God. A Christmas gift from God. :)

 And Myle and Frank wanted us to have a very merry Christmas in our new home so they brought over a little Christmas tree and gifts.

(Pardon my ensemble. It's my "renovation/all my clothes are in storage/I've been moving all day/Ajuma (older korean lady) look).

  Thank you God for this gift. Bless this home-sweet-home.