My 3 Day Weekend

I had a great weekend! Here's why:

Saturday:
- slept in til 9:30 then Natalie came over at 12 (side note: I am so thankful for Natalie. Her friendship is one of the most important things in my life.)
- We laid out for a couple of hours. While laying out, we chatted - and with Natalie, "chat" means that not only did we "catch up," we talked about the deeper parts of our hearts in regards to current events in our lives, pains in our lives, joys in our lives... the good, important stuff. We sipped on delicious pomegranate juice blends from Starbucks and snacked on Pirates Booty and honey wheat pretzel sticks. We read magazines. I got ink on my stomach from the magazines so I got frustrated and threw my magazine down as if I was punishing it. We listened in on the conversation between 2 men that were nearby. They talked about sports, retirement plans and housing costs. It's funny to notice the difference between our conversations!
- We went to our respective places and got ready. I then went to Natalie and Adam's house, our friend Gene joined us for a quick bite at ESPN Zone at Downtown Disney and then we saw Breach. It was an okay movie... slow at times, but I'm glad I saw it.

Sunday:
- My dear friend, Alan, came over around 2.
- We had a delicious (late) lunch while watching Steel Magnolias. I cried my eyes out. He teared up a little too.
- I made cookies and he ate 7/8 of them
- Alan is an incredible writer, so I read some of the stuff he's been working on most recently. I cried at one of them, laughed at another. We also made fun of this guy's short story that's in a Creative Writing workshop Alan is taking - it was one of the worst, most incredibly inappropriate thing I've ever read. And the grammar was horrible which is a HUGE pet peeve! All this to say, we had great fun at this guy's expense - we're so much better than this guy! :)
- Alan and I then went to Starbucks where he made changes on a short story he wrote and I read Blue Like Jazz. This is one of the best books I've read! I highly recommend it if you haven't already read it! I'm almost finished and I love it - I'm learning so much from it and it's fun to read! Anyway, this book was causing me to think about the complexities of my life... and life in general... which I began to voice to Alan (of course). This started a one hour conversation about the difference between "doing" and "being" and about the walls we (humans) put up to protect ourselves because we don't feel worth loving. Sadly this leaves us missing out on love, because we don't let others love us - including God. Great conversation...

Monday
- Went to Natalie's house
- We spent the day at Disneyland - haven't been in awhile. We had a lot of fun! We were both in mellow moods, so it was actually quite relaxing.
- Had dinner at Islands
- Went back to her place where we researched stuff on the computer and watched a little tv.
- I went home and was in bed in time to get a full 8 hours of sleep!

What did you do?

My Team... as I see it (and now you)

I just wanted to introduce everyone to my team... I love my team! In case you didn't know - I am the Events Coordinator for all of the Ladera Ranch special events - and I LOVE it! We are all so different but the team chemistry is great... we laugh alot - which is important to me.

(front to back): Sue (my boss); Joi; Cheryl; Tanya; Andrea

ps - Sorry about the image # on the bottom - our photographer puts that on for obvious reasons and I was too impatient to wait for the "real" ones.

Valentines Day... as I see it

Happy Valentines Day to all! This is an awkward holiday to me... here's why:

If you're single, it doesn't affect you much except when people ask you:
them: "so what are you doing for Valentines Day?"
you: "Uh... nothing, really."
awkward silence.
them: "oh. well don't worry, sweetie. Mr/Ms Wonderful will come along someday."
you (inwardly): "a) not worried; b) don't act like you think I should have what you have"
you (outwardly): awkward laugh

If you're newly/kinda dating/hanging out with someone...
girls: should you expect something on this day of "love?" I mean, do you set the day aside just in case he wants a Valentine. When he does, do you get him something? Is he going to get you something? What if he doesn't and you do and he reads too much into it and breaks it off with you? Are you ready for that? If he does get you something and you don't, then you feel bad and can't enjoy it all because you think he might think you are no longer interested in him.
guys: do you do something? This is a lot of pressure for you. It's your first Valentine's Day with her... but what if it's the last? Okay... so you want to do something that tells her you really dig her. But what if it's too much - what if you do a super nice, romantic dinner and flowers and the whole shebang? Is she gonna read into it too much - I mean, you're not giving her your heart, but what if she thinks you are. Or what if she just freaks out in fear and runs out of dinner with you. So, you decide to tame it a little... but this is a lot of money. What if it ends up not working out with her in a couple of weeks. You don't want to spend this much money if it's just gonna go down the drain in a couple of weeks. So you just say "hey, wanna hang out tonight or something?" Let's face it - she's gonna leave you anyway.

If you're married:
Whatever has happened in Valentines past, must have worked because you're still together. But let's face it... it's not easy coming up with something annually that's new and expresses your absolute adoration and unconditional love for your spouse. And who plans it? Usually he does, but remember when she did? That was nice. But he can't ask because that's not spontaneous and now she knows you don't want to plan it. So maybe she'll offer, but what if she doesn't? And what are you going to get her? You can't afford more jewelry but you don't want her to think you love her less this year. Aha! You've had your eye on that plasma screen tv for awhile (who cares the cost!)... hey, she watches tv too - she'll love it! So you're set. Now, missy, what are you going to get your husband? Last year he gave you that beautiful diamond necklace and you got him boxers with hearts on it and that book about how to love you. Even after all your apologies you still feel bad so you have to go big this year. Maybe that stupid plasma screen he's been talking about will do... wait - it's too expensive...

Thus, I've decided to look at Valentines Day like any other day. And if something happens that's special, then I'll be able to appreciate it without all the anxiety and "what if's". (But secretly I'll just hope).

My Voice... as I see it

So... this is my first post on my first blog ever! I'm excited... and somewhat nervous because there's still so much to learn about the blogging world.
I feel the need to talk about the purpose of my blog. My blog exists to let you into my world... as I see it (hence the name). That sounds like a mission statement - it wasn't intended to be, but maybe I'll keep it as such because it sounds so professional. Over the last couple of years I've learned that not only do I have a voice - I have a voice that matters... at least to me, and that's all that matters. That is why I'm excited to share bits of me with you. I hope to make you laugh, make you cry and make you think. Because that's what I do in my world. So, here's to my voice, my world and my blog. Enjoy!