Breaking Up is Hard to Do (Written 10/24/09)

We broke up.







With California.


It happened on Sept. 17.


We packed up and moved.


It wasn't you Cali, it was us.


It was us, tired of the 3-4 hour commute everyday.


It was us, hating all the traffic, even on Sundays.


It was us, ready to see our extended family more than twice a year.


It was us, wanting our little family to be all together more often than just the weekends.


It was us, not wanting to pay more for gas, groceries, houses, utilities, pretty much EVERYTHING!


BUT.......... It's ok, you'll find someone new to entice with your sunny days, your palm trees, your In-N-Out Burger, your beautiful ocean and lush green hills.


We just weren't meant to be.


I will miss a few wonderful reasons to live in California...


Carol- I will miss the example. Carol is one of the most organized, educated and spiritual moms I've ever met. She is always looking for better, smarter ways to teach her children.

Celia- I will miss the laughter. Celia taught me to not take life so seriously. Life is going to happen, so you might as well smile about it. Her sense of humor is unique, hard to find in a good LDS lady. Thanks for listening, for your advice on parenting, teaching me about blogging and for sharing in laughter regarding things that sometimes we shouldn't have laughed about. Those were good times. I wish we would have had more time together.

Denae-Funny, witty, strong, diligent, faithful, and has a fabulous sweet tooth! That is Denae to me. Always making me laugh, and understanding my complaints and worries. Denae throws a great party and is a wonderful and creative photographer. She is talented in so many areas, it borders on not being fair. She has a huge heart, and I will miss her kind friendship.

Hollie- My first friend in Brentwood. My neighbor, my confidant, my friend. Hollie taught me a lot about being a good woman. She gave me advice on being a wife and a mother. We had a special connection that happened quickly. She asked me questions regarding the gospel, and allowed me to open up and share information about something I love. She is a kind, caring woman whom I will miss! Thanks for all the impromptu visits and wonderful chats! Thanks for making me a better person.

Stephanie- "Be a duck, let the water roll off your back". I will never forget that phrase. I've said it to myself and others often since Steph first said it to me. Let things roll off your back, don't take things too personally or seriously. What great advice for me! Steph, I often felt you could read my thoughts. So many times a call or visit came from you when I really needed it. You gave your service to me many times and were a true friend. Thank you for loving me.


This post was written many months ago, but my thoughts haven't changed. I miss those women. I haven't found even 1 to replace them yet. Hopefully I will be lucky enough to have friends like them again. Love you!

My Peeps!

I told you I would write about my weekend with my girlfriends when they sent me some photos. Well...I'm still waiting for those, so I'll show you what I have.

Heidi and Stacey came late May 15 to stay with me for the weekend. I had been counting down the days!

Just a little background: I had worked with them for over 10 years at my old job. When I moved, I was so excited about it. I had gotten married, went on our honeymoon, and moved to another state within 10 days. It was an adventure! I really did not think very much about leaving "my people" in Utah. I mean, here I had waited all this time to find Todd, and I was so happy! It took a few months, but I soon realized that even though I was madly in love with Todd, I needed friends.

Gladly, my friends have dealt with our "long distance relationship" beautifully. We still talk all the time, so when I picked them up at the airport it felt like no time had past. We quickly began talking and laughing, and laughing. That is one of my favorite things about them is they make me laugh!

We spent Friday hanging out, playing with the baby, and laughing. What more could you want?

Saturday we went to the outlets in Vacaville. We had a great time shopping and just being together. We did walk by this woman just sitting on the sidewalk in the baking sun, with her shoes off. Mmmmm... kind of strange but we saw all types! We threw some change at her and kept walking.

My friends bought me a fabulous dress just because they love me. I know you're jealous of my friends. Well back off.... you can't have em!

After our shopping excursion we went to see:

Here we are sitting on the floor waiting for the cleaning crew to finish our theater. I think we almost had as much fun outside the theater as inside.

As we waited for our flick to begin, we learned entirely too much information about Johnny and Diva:

I'm not sure that I have ever been introduced to such an ego, (not personally, but by means of giant pictures and captions cascading on the movie screen he owns).

The movie was funny. Although since pregnancy, I no longer have a memory, so I can't quote any of the funny lines!

I had a wonderful time with my friends. How lucky I am to have them take time away from their families to come see me! I believe the measure of a true friend is do they make you a better person? I'm lucky...... mine do!

Friends

I want to talk about my fabulous weekend with my two best friends from Utah, Stacey and Heidi. They came to visit me for the weekend on May 15th. Because of technical difficulties with my camera, they have all the pictures. So when they send them to me, I will write about it. Love you both, p.s.