It's been awhile.

So here's the latest and greatest in the Riggs' lives:

- Brandon's 2 epidurals were a SUCCESS! For the last several weeks he has had very minimal to no pain in his back and leg! He can sit in his office chair for 8 hours a day pain free as well as comfortably drive in the car. WOOHOO! What a blessing. Let's just hope and pray that this continues for the rest of his life! He's currently back to physical therapy to keep building his core strength.

- I'm still lovin my job! I'm working on 3 projects right now and am having so much fun! I'm working on River Rock Casino in northern California, Marriott's Canyon Villas time share units in Phoenix, AZ and Hollywood Heights Hotel in Hollywood, CA. Carl Ross Design continues to be a fantastic place of employment. I feel somewhat spoiled. :)

Here are a few of the perks I will brag about: Free massages in the middle of the work day once a month. Free catered lunches every Tuesday and Thursday. Lots and lots of free food constantly being dropped off by vendors. Company field trips for further education. (So far we've been to a lighting factory and the Pacific Design Center. Upcoming field trips: Venetian Plaster factory, AutoCAD camp, maybe SketchUp camp for me, and we're all going to Las Vegas for the HD Design Expo.) And let's not forget half day Fridays! Not to mention, all those things aren't even taking into consideration that I really enjoy the work, love the people, love my boss, etc. Yay, go CRD!

Other fun things we've been up to...

- Awhile back Nate and Laura Ridderman came out for an LA visit! We got to take em around town and enjoy their company for the weekend! Good times.



- We ate Ethopian food for dinner with our small group for a friend's birthday. It was a great experience and pretty good food.



- We went to a Jay-Z and Mary J Blige concert at the Hollywood Bowl. We had a blast.







- We're currently enrolled in a wine tasting class. We are refining our palettes and learning how to judge different wines according to their bottle shape, appearance, color, smell, taste, etc.

- Brandon went to a free Flight of the Conchords concert.

- We went to an event with our church called Yelo where we learned our top 5 strengths and more insight into our personalities through taking the Myers-Briggs and Strengths Finders tests.

And I think that's about it... The last 40 days of our lives in a nutshell.

The weather's really nice these days... 75-85 ish. I think we're going on a hike on Saturday and an LA green building tour on Sunday!

Hope you're doing well and thanks for reading.

the tap

Put these two photos together... and that's what's happening on Monday.

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Prayers please!

Brandon is going to be put under for a spinal tap on Monday 3/17 as well as Monday 3/31. It's a 2 step process. My poor husband! :( Pray that it is successful and will permanently take his back/leg pain away!

Thanks.

Love,
The Riggs

Sense of smell...

Yesterday it was 75 degrees out and marked the first day of true Spring weather here in Redondo Beach. It was a beautiful, lazy day. Brandon and I decided to make a trip to the park. We grabbed our blankets and magazines and made the 5 minute trek to the nearby destination. It was so relaxing and refreshing. I greatly appreciated the simplicity our afternoon activity. It was so nice to read a magazine and have good conversation on a blanket out in the warm sun with my husband. Several hours later as we were heading back home, we walked by one of the houses in the neighborhood when I was suddenly hit by a very potent smell. I was instantly taken back to Indiana and was filled with nostalgia. It was the smell of charcoal and lighter fluid. My whole life growing up we grilled our meat on a charcoal grill out on our back porch. That unique aroma overwhelmed me with many fond memories and created a longing to grill hamburgers ("Jevne burgers" as we called them) and to be with family back home. I was amazed at how my sense of smell could stir up such strong emotions and memories.

What unusual scent means a lot to you?

Mammoth Trip 2.08

New pictures posted on our Picasa Web Album page! Here's a sneak preview:







For more pictures of our ski/snowboarding trip, visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/Lee10383

By the way...

I am working woman these days!!! I've been working for 3 weeks now and have landed the most amazing job. I am a junior designer at Carl Ross Design and seriously couldn't be happier!!! I love love love my firm, my boss, my co-workers, the projects I am working on, etc.

Check it out at: www.carlrossdesign.com

I should be posted under the "our team" tab shortly. I just sent in my photo today, so hopefully I'll be up on the website soon.

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day everyone. I love you all!