Yesterday was very odd. It was so strange, in fact, that I think I am just going to pretend that yesterday didn't happen.

For Christmas, my sister gave me a membership to the Norton Simon Museum. It's one of my favorite places, and I'm really grateful for the gift. I was planning to go sometime during the week; I figured fewer people would be at the museum, and I could linger as much as I liked. However, one of my friends decided to go with me, and since she works in the afternoons and evenings when the museum is open, we made plans to go yesterday afternoon. I was working until 1pm, so we decided to meet for lunch in Pasadena and then head to the museum.

However, when I finished with my student, I hadn't heard from my friend. I called and texted her multiple times, but I got no response. Just when I was about to give up on her, she called. Turns out that her water heater leaked in her apartment, and she was busy getting that taken care of. She said it had been settled, and she would be along shortly. About 15 minutes later, she called me again and said she was feeling sick and was going to go back home. I was very disappointed, but I was having a conversation with someone, and I decided to stay put while I decided what to do next. While I was sitting there, my phone rang again. My friend had decided that she wasn't feeling sick and was coming back. I had wanted to go to Green Street Restaurant, but my friend wanted to go to Souplantation, so that's where we went. I figured that since she wasn't feeling well, I'd let her choose. Has the food at Souplantation always been that bad? It was also crowded, and we had to wait to be seated because of the crowd.

Anyway, we were finally off to the museum. Once there, we headed straight for the special exhibit: A Raphael painting of the Madonna and Child; the painting is on loan from the National Gallery.The painting is quite stunning in its beauty. Any pictures of the painting that you may have seen do not capture how truly beautiful the painting is. I really can't even explain why.

After we looked at the Raphael, my friend seemed very antsy to leave. "Did you want to see anything else?" she asked. I answered that I love to look at everything, and she seemed disappointed. I did a little shopping in the bookstore while she visited the restroom. However, when she found me, she said that she still wasn't feeling well and was going home. I shopped for a little while longer by myself and then decided to go home, too. It was less than an hour until the museum closed, and I had been out all day.

So, yeah. It was a strange day. But I have decided to go back to the museum on Wednesday. I have to work in Pasadena at 6:15, and the museum is open from 12 to 6, so that will be just perfect. If you promise not to be a catalyst for another strange day, you are welcome to join me. :)

Well, Saturday, we finally had our January field trip. We visited the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. It was a wonderful day.

It began with lunch at Daisy Mint. I met Evelyn, Lloyd, Victoria, Finster, Stephen, and Carla at the restaurant. We had a delicious meal with good company. (This is the second weekend in a row that I've eaten at Daisy Mint, and I've had a good experience both times.)

Then it was time for the main event. Everyone was a little late, but finally everyone showed up. And by everyone, I mean . . . LaViva, Jaela, Carla, Lloyd, Victoria, Evelyn, Finster, Stephen, Ashley, Nestor, Shana, Janelle, Virna, Danny, and Michelle. Most of the people attending had not been to the museum before, so it was nice to see it through their eyes. We started off heading in the same direction, but with such a large group it was hard to sightsee together. Nevertheless, we made sure to check in with each other throughout the day, so that it still felt like a group outing. I really love the Norton Simon Museum. The collection is eclectic and wonderful. My favorites are the Degas and Picasso, and the religious art is always interesting. And, of course, I love museum shops. :) Everyone seemed to have a good time and told me that they really liked the museum.

After the museum, some people (Ashley, Nestor, Shana, Janelle, Virna, Danny, and I) went to Starbucks and sat on the patio. After Danny and Virna left, the rest of us went to Acapulco restaurant. We were having such a good time that we didn't want the night to end, so after dinner we headed over to Nestor's house, where we watched "The Princess Bride" and quoted lines to our hearts' content.

Overall, our first field trip was a success. Next month's trip is to the Asia Pacific Museum in Pasadena and will most likely occur on Saturday, February 21st. Wanna join us?

I'm not posting all of my New Year's resolutions in one great list. How embarrassing if I can't keep them!

But I thought I'd post some goals every so often.

Here's my first one . . .

This year I will visit at least one local museum every month.

I am surrounded by a lot of amazing things here in L.A., and I rarely take advantage of my environment. I even have a book that lists all of the museums in Southern California. When I bought the book years ago, I went through and put tags on all of the pages that looked interesting. Unfortunately, nothing ever came of that . . . until now.

I'm going to start with something familiar and move on to places I haven't been. First stop, the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. Who's joining me?