a perfect southern california weekend

what can i say, i think this whole knee thing isn't so bad as it could be.  don't get me wrong, i'm a little nervous about the surgery...particularly as i have spoken to a couple of people in the last week who've had the same surgery and they were on crutches for 6-8 weeks post-surgery.  as i've since learned, if the meniscus can repaired, i shouldn't have that problem, but only 10% of it can be repaired. if it can't be repaired, it will have to be removed, and if it's removed, i can count on a lot of crutch time.

september is one of my busiest event months.  i'm scheduled to be in four different cities next month, so i'm not sure how that's all gone work, but one step at a time.

in the meantime, i'm feeling more like myself than i have in ages.  thanks to the knee, i've been home for the longest uninterrupted period of time since i started this job.  there's something about being home and having the ability to decide how i spend my time that makes me feel like ME again!

this weekend i exercised my freedom by taking advantage of two great southern california staples.  first up, the orange county fair!

spreading the xshot love. alison wanted to try hers out, but i think i got the better pic.

my friend alison and i have been planning our date for months, and as i don't get to see her very often, i was excited to relive our fair experience from years past.  i also invited my roommates along, and our friend greg joined us after the styx concert.

the only plan for the evening was food.

i starved myself for days in anticipation of this event.  okay..maybe only a couple of hours, but still, there was plenty of room for the old favorites. onion rings, corn, funnel cake, and ice cream.  we added some new twists, including bavarian cream on the funnel cake, and me convincing alison that mayonnaise on corn is YUMMY!  she was a skeptic but acquiesced to a bite or two, and she was hooked.

in between our food stops, of which, there were many, we enjoyed some of the arts and crafts - particularly the photography - and thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the ice museum.

the ice museum was inside a freezer, and the walls were made of ice bricks.  among the displays were an ice 'david', and a few other ice sculptures, including 'the thinker.'  we were all grateful for the blankets we were given, as it was a balmy 20 degrees inside the freezer.  and we enjoyed it so much that we made sure to take greg through after he had joined us.

we called it a night after we had stuffed and frozen ourselves silly.  not sure how i lasted so long, but i'm going to chalk it up to the vicodin.

the following morning, after running a few errands, heather and i headed down to the beach.

the ward beach party was being held that evening, but we wanted to spend some daylight enjoying the beautiful southern california weather.  for better or worse, the us open surfing championship, held every year in huntington beach, was also taking place.  it made for a festive environment, but the parking was horrendous.

heather dropped me off close to the ward party location, so i wouldn't have to walk too far, but she ended up having to walk a pretty significant distance after finding a spot for the car.   i found the few ward members saving our location and fire pits pretty easily, and enjoyed the bonding time with a couple of girls in the ward i don't know very well.

i got some reading and relaxing done , and slowly towards the late afternoon, other members of the ward began arriving.  i was sung to by a guy with great abs (photo below) watched and laughed at the semblance of a volleyball game, enjoyed a couple of ears from the saltwater corn roast, got to see a long and got to mingle with my peeps.

i also learned the power of a woman.

i was having a conversation with this guy and commented that a man in a suit is far more handsome than in almost anything else.  today, as i was singing in sacrament meeting, i saw him at the back of the chapel...in a suit.  this may not sound momentous, but i've never seen this guy in a suit before. shirt, tie, slacks, but never a jacket.  and to my point, he looks as good or better in the suit than he does in those abs. ;)