the difficult thing about having a life is blogging about having a life! as a result, you are going to have to make do with summaries instead of novellas.

1. the visit (sounds like a weird horror movie title, doesn’t it?)
it’s safe to say that the visit did not go exactly as planned. i plan for perfection after all, and perfection isn’t reality. between lack of sleep, actual physical illness (his), timing issues (mine), and too serious conversations, the weekend was slightly challenging. that being said, it was also really great. we visited the wild animal park in san diego

had dinner with my old bishop and his wife,

gave the cousins a chance to grill him at sunday dinner, rode awesome rides at magic mountain,

and enjoyed the beach.

on a sidenote: emily, trish, amy, and the few others i’m sure i’m forgetting at this very moment – rich and billye send their love. i gave them all the updates i could!)

i feel lucky to have met such a great guy, and am excited to see what the future holds! it was hard to say goodbye, but i should be in portland again at the end of the month, so somehow, i’ll make due.

2. the shower
last night was my boss’ baby shower, so after work i headed to holly and charity’s for the shindig. they live out on balboa island, which though close to me, is unexplored territory. it was absolutely darling, and i will definitely have to go back one of these weekends to pop into all of the cute little shops. there is so much adventuring i have yet to do and hopefully some exciting news (see #3) may motivate me a little (or a lot) more.

being completely honest here, i kind of hate showers of any sort, but there were great people and great food. it was a pleasant surprise to have such a good time! i genuinely enjoy my co-workers and it was fun to interact with them in a different environment.

on top of that, i saw something at the house that i must have. it’s a sign similar to the one below:

so so true.

3. import friends
a couple of months ago deb was seriously talking about moving to california. i had to keep that on the dl as she worked through things, and ultimately, for the moment, she has decided to stay put in ny :( but, while she was processing and planning, she tried to talk one of her new york friends, into moving out here.

i’ve known mehaela for many years through deb, and through some other common acquaintances , and she is absolutely fantastic. well, unbeknownst to me, she is originally from the area (well originally from romania, but whatever), and though she never anticipated or planned on leaving new york, deb was so persuasive (she’s regretting it now!), that mehaela is moving here in july. and not just ‘here’, but huntington. we’ll be in the same ward, and i will finally have someone to go explore with! i actually feel really badly for deb. this means her two closest friends will not just be living on the other side of the country, but in the same city as one another. life is both strange and wonderful sometimes!

4. ticket to ride
i finally bought tickets for ‘pageant of the masters’ and i couldn’t be more excited. if you are already wondering (i’m sure you are) what i would be doing for my birthday, on august 27, now you know. i will be watching people pretend to be art through binoculars in laguna beach. how seriously cool is that?

i also bought tickets for joshua radin, and i will be celebrating my pre-birthday weekend (august 23rd) with him. though i’ve been obsessed for a long long time, i managed to miss him every time he played baltimore (which for some reason, was a lot). unfortunately, he doesn't play here as frequently (this is the first time that i know of), so i have been vigilant in watching and waiting. i will finally see him live, and i have a couple months to figure out how to kidnap him, and put him in a box where every time i open the lid, he sings lovely tonight, or sky, or fear you won’t fall. he doesn't even have to spin in place while he sings. aren't i generous?


5. anniebean...
...will be here in just over a week. ‘nuff said!