I'm sure I have written this before; birthdays in my family are kind of a month long celebration. This is largely due to the fact that my mom likes to use birthdays as an excuse for various fun activities. If it's within your birth month, or within a week or two after your birthday, it gets counted as "for your birthday!". I had my family party on Father's Day, celebrated with Raelene at Red Robin on Tuesday, had birthday cupcakes at homegroup on Wednesday, and then a crazy weekend!
Tad's cousin Julianna came down from Modesto for the weekend. About a month ago she acquired tickets to Legoland, and Tad suggested that we go for my birthday. She arrived Thursday evening while I was at Bible study. Upon arriving home, they announced that we were going shopping to get Julianna a bathing suit so we could hit the waterpark at Legoland.. Somehow this took until about 11:00 pm
Friday we got a pretty early start for not all being morning people and dropped Valencia off for her "puppy play date" as we called it. Legoland does not allow service dogs on any rides, so I asked my co-worker Andrea if she could watch V for the day. Andrea happily agreed. Valencia had a wonderful day palying with Andrea's mini poodle and corgie.
We had a fantastic day at the park. The crowd was decent for a summer day, and the weather was perfect. We did several walk through attractions (including "Adventurer's Club", which I remembered from when we were pass holders) and hit several of the rides. We were able to secure an exit pass, which made things much easier. We went on all 3 roller coasters, the Buzz Lightyear-type ride, and Fairy Tale Brook. We also traversed all of miniland and I think just about every gift shop.
My favorite part of the day was the waterpark. We hit two slides. On one slide we had an extra passenger on our ride, a little boy whose mom asked if he could ride with us. He was adorable. We spent the rest of the time in the lazy river, made more interesting by Julianna and Tad trying to pelt each other with the giant lego bricks. The day flew by, helped by the fact that the park closes at 6:00. We picked Valencia up, dropped our wet clothes off at the house, and had dinner at Outback. It was a delightfully enjoyable birthday.
We all slept in on Saturday and spent a leisurely day tidying up the house and preparing for game night. Several people canceled, making a small, but fun evening. Since there were only 9 of us, we were all able to play one game. We played a lengthy Logos game, and then half a game of Zero. Steve spent the night and went to church with us Sunday, after dropping Julianna off at the train station and grabbing a waffle taco for breakfast.
It was a long weekend, but a fun one. I feel very loved and celebrated :)
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Father's Day and Family Birthday Celebrations
My birthday and Father's Day usually get lumped together in my family. I was born the day before Father's Day, and my birthday has been on Father's Day at least twice in my life. This past weekend we celebrated Father's Day on Saturday and my birthday on Sunday.
Saturday evening my parents, brothers, aunt and uncle, and Tad and I met at my grandpa's retirement home to have dinner in the dining room and attend a barbershop quartet concert. Dinner was nice. They had done the place settings to look like a suit and tie in honor of Father's Day. They had a salad bar, tomota soup and rolls, and an option of prime rib or fried shrimp. The fried shrimp was delicious! They ran out of cheesecake before we got to dessert, but the brownies and petite fours were very good. It was a bit of a strange meal thanks to the uninvited guest, a flie that my uncle eventually killed.
The concert was pretty good. One of the members is a resident. There were several songs I recognized, and overall I enjoyed it. Following the concert, my dad and grandpa opened their gifts, and then everybody poofed.
Sunday Tad and I experienced our first Father's Day at Las Flores (we were already attending last year, but were out of town Father's Day weekend.) They call it "Dadfest". It is a day complete with classic cars, trucks, and motorcycles, raffle prizes in church, trophies for the vehicles (given out in church), and a barbeque. A very festive day.
Following the bbq, Tad and I came home for a little bit before setting off for my parents' house. Since my parents will be out of town this coming weekend (and thus missing my birthday on Friday) they asked if we could count Sunday as my family party. I said sure. :) The weather was perfect to have the inaugural swim in my parents' pool. My dad grilled up kabobs with fantastic steak, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, and onions. Tad made an angel food cake (with strawberries and cool whip) for dessert. We also opened both my dad's and grandpa's Father's Day gifts: trivial pursuit and a bottle of chocolate wine, respectively. The game was fun, and the wine was tasty.
It was a great weekend! My birthday festivities continued today with my Red Robin birthday burger and sundae. Tad and I met Raelene at NCF for lunch and did some shopping afterwards. Ah, the fun days of summer!
Saturday evening my parents, brothers, aunt and uncle, and Tad and I met at my grandpa's retirement home to have dinner in the dining room and attend a barbershop quartet concert. Dinner was nice. They had done the place settings to look like a suit and tie in honor of Father's Day. They had a salad bar, tomota soup and rolls, and an option of prime rib or fried shrimp. The fried shrimp was delicious! They ran out of cheesecake before we got to dessert, but the brownies and petite fours were very good. It was a bit of a strange meal thanks to the uninvited guest, a flie that my uncle eventually killed.
The concert was pretty good. One of the members is a resident. There were several songs I recognized, and overall I enjoyed it. Following the concert, my dad and grandpa opened their gifts, and then everybody poofed.
Sunday Tad and I experienced our first Father's Day at Las Flores (we were already attending last year, but were out of town Father's Day weekend.) They call it "Dadfest". It is a day complete with classic cars, trucks, and motorcycles, raffle prizes in church, trophies for the vehicles (given out in church), and a barbeque. A very festive day.
Following the bbq, Tad and I came home for a little bit before setting off for my parents' house. Since my parents will be out of town this coming weekend (and thus missing my birthday on Friday) they asked if we could count Sunday as my family party. I said sure. :) The weather was perfect to have the inaugural swim in my parents' pool. My dad grilled up kabobs with fantastic steak, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, and onions. Tad made an angel food cake (with strawberries and cool whip) for dessert. We also opened both my dad's and grandpa's Father's Day gifts: trivial pursuit and a bottle of chocolate wine, respectively. The game was fun, and the wine was tasty.
It was a great weekend! My birthday festivities continued today with my Red Robin birthday burger and sundae. Tad and I met Raelene at NCF for lunch and did some shopping afterwards. Ah, the fun days of summer!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Birthday in Hollywood
Last week I celebrated y last birthday before becoming a married woman with Tad and some of my favorite girls in the Hollywood area. Becky and I always have a birthday outing (her day si two days after mine). This year's outing was scheduled around Tad's surprise for me: tickets to see the taping of Conan!
Tad and I picked Krista up in Orange County and met Becky at the Hollywood and Highland Center (a huge mall on Hollywood Blvd). The plan was to have lunch and see some of the walk of fame. We only had time for lunch, but it was still fun. The mall is pretty cool. It's really big and has all sorts of little decorations around about being famous. There's a large courtyard with one of those in-the-ground fountains for kids to play in. We ate at CPK and enjoyed quesadilla appetizers and a bbq chicken pizza with bacon. Becky and I got Tad to tell the waiter it was our birthdays so we could get free icecream sundaes, hehe
Tad and I had to be to the Conan lot by 1:30 to claim our tickets, so we bid farewell to the girls and headed up to Burbank. The waiting was quite boring. We picked up our tickets , went through security, and then had about an hour to kill. There was a small souvenir stand, but it was overpriced. It might've been more exciting if we had been waiting somewhere other than a parking garage. Since we had V with us, we got called early to ride on a golf cart over to the sound stage (a nice treat since it was a bit of a walk and rather warm out). Once there we waited for another 45 minutes of so before getting to go into the studio.
It was really cool being there. Everything from the show is just, right there. The studio is a bit smaller than it looks on tv. Once things got started, it went by quickly. The warm up comedian came out and interacted with the audience while explaining safety rules. Andy came out, and then the band started playing. The show tapes pretty much in real time. The band starts a song as you go into commercial, they keep playing during the commercial, and then finish as the show comes back.
It was a great show to be at. Conan's monologue was a pretty good one, and all 3 guests (Neil Patrick Harris, Emily Mortimer, and a great comedian) were all really entertaining. After the show, Tad and I agreed that it was a neat experience, but not something we needed to do regularly. :)
By the time we were finished and out of the lot, it was 5:30 time for dinner. And what is Lindsey's current favorite birthday restaurant? RED ROBIN! We met Becky and Krista and en at a Red Robin in the Glendale Galleria mall. It was nice to get to hang out and chat some more (and to see Jen). Tad and I shared a "Groovy Smoothie" which was fantastic! The table consensus was that it tasted like jelly beans. I also tried a new burger: the pub burger. FANTASTIC!!! It has like monterey cheese, garlic mayo, onion straws, and mushrooms. I think there are a few other things, but yeah, new favorite tied with the BBQ burger.
This meal around we got Krista to inform the waiter of the birthdays and enjoyed a second icecream sundae. Boy do we live on the wild side! Once we'd finished our icecream it was about 8:00, which meant it was time for Tad and me (and Krista, who we were driving home) to hit the road. While dropping Krista off, I got to see their little puppies, so adorable!
It was a great day. I felt a little strange not having my parents around (they were on vacation in China), but we'll just celebrate a little late. My family is into having birthdays last the entire month of your birth. Tad took me out to lunch just the two of us the day before my birthday (Father's Day) at Red Lobster. I had cocnut shrimp, and we got a key lime pie and a brownie a la mode. Raelene and I went out Friday for happy hour at applebees and had margaritas and appetizers. I have so much to look forward to for 24: getting married, a new job, and a new life with my husband. Definitely looking forward to my first birthday as a maried lady :)
Tad and I picked Krista up in Orange County and met Becky at the Hollywood and Highland Center (a huge mall on Hollywood Blvd). The plan was to have lunch and see some of the walk of fame. We only had time for lunch, but it was still fun. The mall is pretty cool. It's really big and has all sorts of little decorations around about being famous. There's a large courtyard with one of those in-the-ground fountains for kids to play in. We ate at CPK and enjoyed quesadilla appetizers and a bbq chicken pizza with bacon. Becky and I got Tad to tell the waiter it was our birthdays so we could get free icecream sundaes, hehe
Tad and I had to be to the Conan lot by 1:30 to claim our tickets, so we bid farewell to the girls and headed up to Burbank. The waiting was quite boring. We picked up our tickets , went through security, and then had about an hour to kill. There was a small souvenir stand, but it was overpriced. It might've been more exciting if we had been waiting somewhere other than a parking garage. Since we had V with us, we got called early to ride on a golf cart over to the sound stage (a nice treat since it was a bit of a walk and rather warm out). Once there we waited for another 45 minutes of so before getting to go into the studio.
It was really cool being there. Everything from the show is just, right there. The studio is a bit smaller than it looks on tv. Once things got started, it went by quickly. The warm up comedian came out and interacted with the audience while explaining safety rules. Andy came out, and then the band started playing. The show tapes pretty much in real time. The band starts a song as you go into commercial, they keep playing during the commercial, and then finish as the show comes back.
It was a great show to be at. Conan's monologue was a pretty good one, and all 3 guests (Neil Patrick Harris, Emily Mortimer, and a great comedian) were all really entertaining. After the show, Tad and I agreed that it was a neat experience, but not something we needed to do regularly. :)
By the time we were finished and out of the lot, it was 5:30 time for dinner. And what is Lindsey's current favorite birthday restaurant? RED ROBIN! We met Becky and Krista and en at a Red Robin in the Glendale Galleria mall. It was nice to get to hang out and chat some more (and to see Jen). Tad and I shared a "Groovy Smoothie" which was fantastic! The table consensus was that it tasted like jelly beans. I also tried a new burger: the pub burger. FANTASTIC!!! It has like monterey cheese, garlic mayo, onion straws, and mushrooms. I think there are a few other things, but yeah, new favorite tied with the BBQ burger.
This meal around we got Krista to inform the waiter of the birthdays and enjoyed a second icecream sundae. Boy do we live on the wild side! Once we'd finished our icecream it was about 8:00, which meant it was time for Tad and me (and Krista, who we were driving home) to hit the road. While dropping Krista off, I got to see their little puppies, so adorable!
It was a great day. I felt a little strange not having my parents around (they were on vacation in China), but we'll just celebrate a little late. My family is into having birthdays last the entire month of your birth. Tad took me out to lunch just the two of us the day before my birthday (Father's Day) at Red Lobster. I had cocnut shrimp, and we got a key lime pie and a brownie a la mode. Raelene and I went out Friday for happy hour at applebees and had margaritas and appetizers. I have so much to look forward to for 24: getting married, a new job, and a new life with my husband. Definitely looking forward to my first birthday as a maried lady :)
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Biola Trip Fall 2010
Biola Visit Fall 2010
I was last at Biola in June when I celebrated mine and Becky's birthdays and went to the BYT Cats performance. It was high time to see my friends again!
Thanksto my schedule this semester, I was able to leave right away Friday morning. Tad dropped me off on his way to work at the Old Town trolley station. I caught the blue line to Santa Fe Depot where I purchased my ticket, and hopped on the train. The ride was uneventful. I sat across from an older couple who were on their way home from a cruise. I arrived in Santa Ana (the only station between SD and LA at which I had not been) and met Becky. We grabbed Krista at her place and got lunch at KFC. Quote of the day: Me "Becky, I thought you wore size 8 shoes." Kirsta "I wish I had 8 feet."
After lunch we went to a special shoe store for people with small feet to see if Krista could find some new dress sheos. Unfortunatley she didn't find any that worked. From there Krista went back to prepare for her birthday party, and Becky and I headed up to the Biola area. We had been planning on helping Krista get ready, but Becky's car needed to get taken in to the shop. She dropped me off at Biola and went to the auto repair place.
I arrived about 45 minutes before the Winds rehearsal ended, so first I got tickets for the Winds concert. I got cash from the ATM in teh SUB and decided to see if any of my Comm Dis profs were around. In McNally I ran into our secretary Marty, who was watching an ultimate frisbee game in which Dr. Corey was playing, and she informed me that Matt would have been around had he not had a family emergency that day.
I wrote a quick note tot he profs (which I left in the assignment drop box) and headed back across campus to the music building. I got back in time to hear a bit of the rehearsal and then surprise everybody. I hung out and chatted with people for a while and then Amanda suggested we get boba. She and I got to do some catching up about life and boyfriends, and Becky joined us once her car repairs were done.
Around 4:00 we bid farewell to Amanda, went back to Becky's place so she could change, picked up Jennifer from Hart, and picked up Justine from her house in Cypress. The 4 of us, though running late, managed to make it to Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney just in time to be seated. We were shortly by Raeleen, Emily, and Melissa. It was a fun dinner. Neither Krista nor I had ever been to Rainforest Cafe. Jennifer and I shared cocnut shrimp for dinner, and we all shared a bit of Krista's icecream sundae.
Becky, Melissa, and Raeleen had to leave to do other things from there, but the rest of us went back to Krista's house for games and goodies. Tia and Diana met us there. We played a game called "The Gam eof Things" which was really fun. There's a category like "Thing syou shouldn't do at the circus." Everyone write ssomething, and then you try to guess who said what. While playing we enjoyed mini caramel apples, frozen yogurt and nilla wafers sandwiches, jelly beans, and choclate. Yum!
We finished the game, and then it was time for cake! Funny story about the cake, the bakery had mispelled Krista's name, and gotten her age wrong. By the time we got back to her house it had been fixed though. It was delicious, Tollhouse chocolate chip with lots of purple frosting. Tia, Emily, and Diana said their goodbyes after cake, at which point the remaining 4 of us watched The Proposal. Overall a good movie, though some annoying assumptions about relationships.
Becky arrived close to the end of the movie to take Justine, Jen and me home. Becky and I got back to her place around 2:20 and crashed.
We were up bright and early Saturday (around 9:00) to go to the Vandoren Clarinet Festival at UCLA. Becky was performing in the afternoon with the LA Clarinet Choir. Another of the choir members had offered to drive both of us. At the festival we went to a couple seminars (one on the history of Buffet and Vandoren and one on being a studio clarinet player), did some shopping (I brought cigarette paper, which is for unsticking pads, and a piece by Ralph Vaughn Williams, a favorite composer of mine), and sat in on some performances. I really enjoyed getting to be nerdy and spend the day doing clarinety things with Becky.
Becky and I got back to her place with an hour before we needed to be at Biola for the Winds concert. We lounged around, eating rice krispee treats and discussing the menu for her graduate recital reception.
The Winds concert was great, as usual. The theme for the semester was "Traditional meets Contemporary". Each piece was matched with another, one old and one new, but with similar themes of motifs. Really cool idea. As per usual, we promptly drove over to the Fellers' for the after party. The food was the traditional Thanksgiving wraps and apple and pumpkin pie.
After two very full days and not enough sleep Friday night, Becky and I crashed at her place. The time change helped us get a little extra sleep, in addition to going to the 11:00 service at church. The funny thing, was we ended up 45 minutes late. Becky lost track of time while getting ready, so we headed out a little late anyway. Then I discovered I had forgotten my glasses (I had thought they were in my purse). We turned around for my glasses and went to get gas, since Becky's tank was on empty and we were late anyway. At the gas station Becky discovered she didn't have her wallet. Back to her place we went again. As we were returning for the wallet I realized I didn't have my phone. Upon acquiring both of these items, we went back to the gas station, and then to church.
Even funnier, after the service Krista found us, and told us she had only been there for 30 minutes. When she arrived at church, she thought she was on time, but was somehow an hour late. Still puzzling, we went to a pizza place called Gondola's for lunch and shared a BBQ chicken pizza and a canolie. The girls dorpped me off at the train station with just enough time to catch my train home.
I was last at Biola in June when I celebrated mine and Becky's birthdays and went to the BYT Cats performance. It was high time to see my friends again!
Thanksto my schedule this semester, I was able to leave right away Friday morning. Tad dropped me off on his way to work at the Old Town trolley station. I caught the blue line to Santa Fe Depot where I purchased my ticket, and hopped on the train. The ride was uneventful. I sat across from an older couple who were on their way home from a cruise. I arrived in Santa Ana (the only station between SD and LA at which I had not been) and met Becky. We grabbed Krista at her place and got lunch at KFC. Quote of the day: Me "Becky, I thought you wore size 8 shoes." Kirsta "I wish I had 8 feet."
After lunch we went to a special shoe store for people with small feet to see if Krista could find some new dress sheos. Unfortunatley she didn't find any that worked. From there Krista went back to prepare for her birthday party, and Becky and I headed up to the Biola area. We had been planning on helping Krista get ready, but Becky's car needed to get taken in to the shop. She dropped me off at Biola and went to the auto repair place.
I arrived about 45 minutes before the Winds rehearsal ended, so first I got tickets for the Winds concert. I got cash from the ATM in teh SUB and decided to see if any of my Comm Dis profs were around. In McNally I ran into our secretary Marty, who was watching an ultimate frisbee game in which Dr. Corey was playing, and she informed me that Matt would have been around had he not had a family emergency that day.
I wrote a quick note tot he profs (which I left in the assignment drop box) and headed back across campus to the music building. I got back in time to hear a bit of the rehearsal and then surprise everybody. I hung out and chatted with people for a while and then Amanda suggested we get boba. She and I got to do some catching up about life and boyfriends, and Becky joined us once her car repairs were done.
Around 4:00 we bid farewell to Amanda, went back to Becky's place so she could change, picked up Jennifer from Hart, and picked up Justine from her house in Cypress. The 4 of us, though running late, managed to make it to Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney just in time to be seated. We were shortly by Raeleen, Emily, and Melissa. It was a fun dinner. Neither Krista nor I had ever been to Rainforest Cafe. Jennifer and I shared cocnut shrimp for dinner, and we all shared a bit of Krista's icecream sundae.
Becky, Melissa, and Raeleen had to leave to do other things from there, but the rest of us went back to Krista's house for games and goodies. Tia and Diana met us there. We played a game called "The Gam eof Things" which was really fun. There's a category like "Thing syou shouldn't do at the circus." Everyone write ssomething, and then you try to guess who said what. While playing we enjoyed mini caramel apples, frozen yogurt and nilla wafers sandwiches, jelly beans, and choclate. Yum!
We finished the game, and then it was time for cake! Funny story about the cake, the bakery had mispelled Krista's name, and gotten her age wrong. By the time we got back to her house it had been fixed though. It was delicious, Tollhouse chocolate chip with lots of purple frosting. Tia, Emily, and Diana said their goodbyes after cake, at which point the remaining 4 of us watched The Proposal. Overall a good movie, though some annoying assumptions about relationships.
Becky arrived close to the end of the movie to take Justine, Jen and me home. Becky and I got back to her place around 2:20 and crashed.
We were up bright and early Saturday (around 9:00) to go to the Vandoren Clarinet Festival at UCLA. Becky was performing in the afternoon with the LA Clarinet Choir. Another of the choir members had offered to drive both of us. At the festival we went to a couple seminars (one on the history of Buffet and Vandoren and one on being a studio clarinet player), did some shopping (I brought cigarette paper, which is for unsticking pads, and a piece by Ralph Vaughn Williams, a favorite composer of mine), and sat in on some performances. I really enjoyed getting to be nerdy and spend the day doing clarinety things with Becky.
Becky and I got back to her place with an hour before we needed to be at Biola for the Winds concert. We lounged around, eating rice krispee treats and discussing the menu for her graduate recital reception.
The Winds concert was great, as usual. The theme for the semester was "Traditional meets Contemporary". Each piece was matched with another, one old and one new, but with similar themes of motifs. Really cool idea. As per usual, we promptly drove over to the Fellers' for the after party. The food was the traditional Thanksgiving wraps and apple and pumpkin pie.
After two very full days and not enough sleep Friday night, Becky and I crashed at her place. The time change helped us get a little extra sleep, in addition to going to the 11:00 service at church. The funny thing, was we ended up 45 minutes late. Becky lost track of time while getting ready, so we headed out a little late anyway. Then I discovered I had forgotten my glasses (I had thought they were in my purse). We turned around for my glasses and went to get gas, since Becky's tank was on empty and we were late anyway. At the gas station Becky discovered she didn't have her wallet. Back to her place we went again. As we were returning for the wallet I realized I didn't have my phone. Upon acquiring both of these items, we went back to the gas station, and then to church.
Even funnier, after the service Krista found us, and told us she had only been there for 30 minutes. When she arrived at church, she thought she was on time, but was somehow an hour late. Still puzzling, we went to a pizza place called Gondola's for lunch and shared a BBQ chicken pizza and a canolie. The girls dorpped me off at the train station with just enough time to catch my train home.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Tad's Birthday
Yet another special occasion this year that Tad and I got to spend together, was his birthday. The only other time we've been together on his birthday was when I visited him for the first time. It was our two month anniversary and we hadn't seen each other in nearly 4 months. That day was fun. We went to church, and then on our first official date. We did mini golfing with another couple. Ironically, that first birthday of his we were together, was the day Valencia was born. :)
Her 4th birthday started with her heartguard meat chewy (which she loves) and a frozen peanut butter kong (which she also loves). We got ready and went over to Tad's place where he surprised her with a new squeaky toy. It's a raccoon with six squeakers in it. While she was enjoying getting to know her new toy, I surprised Tad with 3 of the Glee soundtracks. We hung out for a while listening to the music and then set out for his birthday lunch.
Tad picked Fudrucker's for his birthday lunch. We each got a burger (I got bacon, bleu cheese, and mushrooms, yum!) and shared fries and a drink. It was funny, there was another service dog there when we got there. After lunch we ran a number of errands, including picking up a birthday package from the post office. We were both too stuffed from lunch to think about dinner for quite some time. We hung out and played Guitar Hero until hungry enough to eat something.
For dinner we just heated up some cheddar bratwurst and mashed potatoes, but the drinks were fun. The night before we had gone grocery shopping, and Tad picked up a bottle of grenadine and we made Shirley Temples.
Saturday, Tad bought his birthday present to himself: a recurve bow, arrows, and other archery gear. The store we got it from has a shooting range, and we got to do a bit of shooting. We're doing a badge with the Caravans kids on archery, and realized it'd be a fun hobby to have. Upon making our purchase, we promptly headed down to Sushi Diner to meet Raelene for the double (technically triple) birthday celebration.
Sunday, my mom had planned to bring a pie down when they brought Steve back to the dorm, and then decided that a full family dinner would be better. She made a roast, green beans, and potatoes, and we had pumpkin and peach pie for dessert. I think Tad really enjoyed having a family celebration for his day.
And I know I enjoyed getting to celebrate both our birthdays together within the same year, a first for us :)
Her 4th birthday started with her heartguard meat chewy (which she loves) and a frozen peanut butter kong (which she also loves). We got ready and went over to Tad's place where he surprised her with a new squeaky toy. It's a raccoon with six squeakers in it. While she was enjoying getting to know her new toy, I surprised Tad with 3 of the Glee soundtracks. We hung out for a while listening to the music and then set out for his birthday lunch.
Tad picked Fudrucker's for his birthday lunch. We each got a burger (I got bacon, bleu cheese, and mushrooms, yum!) and shared fries and a drink. It was funny, there was another service dog there when we got there. After lunch we ran a number of errands, including picking up a birthday package from the post office. We were both too stuffed from lunch to think about dinner for quite some time. We hung out and played Guitar Hero until hungry enough to eat something.
For dinner we just heated up some cheddar bratwurst and mashed potatoes, but the drinks were fun. The night before we had gone grocery shopping, and Tad picked up a bottle of grenadine and we made Shirley Temples.
Saturday, Tad bought his birthday present to himself: a recurve bow, arrows, and other archery gear. The store we got it from has a shooting range, and we got to do a bit of shooting. We're doing a badge with the Caravans kids on archery, and realized it'd be a fun hobby to have. Upon making our purchase, we promptly headed down to Sushi Diner to meet Raelene for the double (technically triple) birthday celebration.
Sunday, my mom had planned to bring a pie down when they brought Steve back to the dorm, and then decided that a full family dinner would be better. She made a roast, green beans, and potatoes, and we had pumpkin and peach pie for dessert. I think Tad really enjoyed having a family celebration for his day.
And I know I enjoyed getting to celebrate both our birthdays together within the same year, a first for us :)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
From the Ocean, to the City, to the Mountains
Compared to last year, thus far this semester has been super chill. I'm busy during the week, but with only having two classes, my weekends have been pretty free. This past weekend was chock full of activity, and really fun.
Friday started out with sailing with the young adults group at Braille Institute. I hadn't done anything with Braille since the summer after my senior year of high school, so it was kind of an interesting flashback experience. It was me, Lindsay, Daniel, Krishna, and Kelvin (who I also kinda know from church at Mission, lol). We went with a group off of Shelter Island. They paired us each up with an instructor and had us do the steering. It was a lot of fun. We had a beautiful day to be on the water - not too hot, not too windy.
After sailing, I had enough time at home to change and feed Valencia before heading with Raelene downtown for the Padres/Giatns game at Petco Park. We had seats in the row in front of Nate and his brother-in-law Ben. HOLY COW were these good seats, we were RIGHT behind the Giants' dug out. Yeah, about that, Raelene and the boys were rooting for the Giatns, boooooo. haha it wasn't so bad, considering there was no score until inning 7 when the Giants got a run. Raelene and I had fun chatting and chowing down on some awesome nachos.
Saturday evening I got to go to a place I'd never been before: Mt Laguna. Steve's department was holding an event out there for students, families, and faculties. We picked Tad up on our way out there and enjoyed seeing parts of San Diego that were very unfamiliar to all of us, lol. It's beautiful up on the mountain, pine trees and mountain air and a gorgeous sunset. They had a potluck dinner, and then gave a tour of the observatories that State owns up there. I was very excited to get to be up in the dome of one of them! Once the stars came out, we had a telescope set up to look at the moon and Venus.
Saturday also happened to be my dad's birthday. He was at a work "retreat" (aka conference) all day, so we celebrated on Sunday. We went out for dinner at Pei Wei's and had German Chocolate birthday cake. It was an awesome weekend spending time with family and getting to do some things in San Diego that I don't get to do every day :)
Friday started out with sailing with the young adults group at Braille Institute. I hadn't done anything with Braille since the summer after my senior year of high school, so it was kind of an interesting flashback experience. It was me, Lindsay, Daniel, Krishna, and Kelvin (who I also kinda know from church at Mission, lol). We went with a group off of Shelter Island. They paired us each up with an instructor and had us do the steering. It was a lot of fun. We had a beautiful day to be on the water - not too hot, not too windy.
After sailing, I had enough time at home to change and feed Valencia before heading with Raelene downtown for the Padres/Giatns game at Petco Park. We had seats in the row in front of Nate and his brother-in-law Ben. HOLY COW were these good seats, we were RIGHT behind the Giants' dug out. Yeah, about that, Raelene and the boys were rooting for the Giatns, boooooo. haha it wasn't so bad, considering there was no score until inning 7 when the Giants got a run. Raelene and I had fun chatting and chowing down on some awesome nachos.
Saturday evening I got to go to a place I'd never been before: Mt Laguna. Steve's department was holding an event out there for students, families, and faculties. We picked Tad up on our way out there and enjoyed seeing parts of San Diego that were very unfamiliar to all of us, lol. It's beautiful up on the mountain, pine trees and mountain air and a gorgeous sunset. They had a potluck dinner, and then gave a tour of the observatories that State owns up there. I was very excited to get to be up in the dome of one of them! Once the stars came out, we had a telescope set up to look at the moon and Venus.
Saturday also happened to be my dad's birthday. He was at a work "retreat" (aka conference) all day, so we celebrated on Sunday. We went out for dinner at Pei Wei's and had German Chocolate birthday cake. It was an awesome weekend spending time with family and getting to do some things in San Diego that I don't get to do every day :)
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Birthday Celebrations Part 2
In my family, birthday celebrations get spread out over about a month. For exmple, the week I was home after finals and went shopping at Kohl's with my mom, that was the official start to my birthday month. Likely some event or outing that happens in mid July, will also be counted for my birthday. It's kinda fun that way.
Anyway, since Tad works starting in the afternoons Thurs-Mon, he agreed to take me home Thurs afternoon. Before coming up to PQ though we cashed in some of my birthday coupons. We shared lunch at Joe's Crab Shack (they gave me a zebra print cowboy hat to wear, it was interesting) and shared an icecream from Baskin Robbin's.
Tad dropped me off and visited a little with my mom before heading off for work. About an hour later, my cousin Michelle and her sister Kim's little girls Jordan and Madison arrived. I helped the girls make melty bead designs, and then it was swim time. Swimming pools are so much more exciting with little kids in them. I watched Jordan do about half a dozen summersaults and then tossed diving rings for her. Kim and the girls' dad Doug arrived just in time for dinner.
I got up bright and early on Friday to go to the train station. My mom dropped me off a little earlier than I neede to be there, so I had plenty of time to sit and people watch. My ride was uneventful (as some train rides can be very eventful). I sat next to two older ladies who were both going to visit family in the San Bernadino area.
I arrived in Fullerton pretty much on schedule and Valencia spotted Becky immediately after deboarding the train. Lunch was a special treat, we went to The Olde Ship, a very cute English pub not far from the train station in Fullerton. I had heard of this place on multiple occasions while a student at Biola, but had never been. Becky had been one time, and thus thought it would be fun to go again. The large group of people at the bar watching the World Cup definitely added to the atmosphere, as did our sweetheart of an English lady waitress.
We took a bit of time deciding what to have, but eventually Becky settled on the Dungeness crab cakes and I decided on the chicken curry. The food was excellent, and we spent quite a bit of time chatting and catching up. Quote of the day "Is there a capital of the Yukon? Are there even cities in the Yukon?" "Maybe, if you count trading posts and railway crossraods as cities. The rest is well..." "Nothing and snow." "Exactly! I've seen Balto, I know what it's like up there!"
After lunch we went to Becky's (kind of) townhouse. Becky is going to be living there in the fall for her second year of grad school, but is saving money by living with family in Rancho Cucmonga for the summer. For these couple weekends while she was playing in the pit orchestra at Biola, her roommates agreed to let her stay over. (Rancho Cucamonga is a good hour from Biola). I dropped my stuff off in the townhouse living room, and then Becky suggested we go for a walk outside. It was certainly a gorgeous day for a walk. We walked around the landscaped areas of the townhouse complex (which I hadn't seen before), walked around the La Mirada Veteran's Park, and then walked around the block.
We spent about another hour upstairs in Becky's room talking and cooling off, and then watched a couple episodes of friends before dinner. For a second year in a row, we picked Red Robin for our birthday dinner. Krista, Dorothy, and Melissa (another roommate of Becky's and Dorothy's) joined us to celebrate. I had a coupon for a free burger, and since Becky and I had had a large, late lunch, we split a bbq burger as well as a mint brownie shake. yum! Red Robin is definitely one of my favorite restaurants. After having our free icecream Sundaes, Becky and Dorothy took off to get ready for call time.
I rode with Krista to campus and we sat and talked by the fountain until it was time for the show, Cats, put on by Biola Youth Theater. Cats is an interesting show, there is only a very loose plot line; most of the show is individual songs about different cats. I did not know this going in, and spent the first act waiting for the plot to start. The cast gave a great performance though, the singing was good, and the dancing was amazing. I do believe the dancing was my favorite part :)
Krista came back to Becky's to hang out for a bit after the show. Becky opened her birthday gift from me, and we did some more chatting =) Saturday morning both of us slept in. When we did get up, Becky made us oatmeal. I packed my stuff up after breakfast and went to lunch (i get hungry very shortly after breakfast, lol) at Wendy's with Dorothy and Krista. Krista drove me back to Fullerton where I just caught my train. Unfortunately, there was track work being done this weekend, so I had to get off the train in Irvine and take a bus back to San Diego. Quote of the day: Conductor "If you are going to San Diego, you need to get off the train in Irvine and board a motorcoach...motorcoach being amtrak's word for 'bus'" lol
The bus ride went fine, long because of traffic, but decent enough. My dad and Steve picked me up from the station, and the rest of my weekend was spent relaxing at home.
Anyway, since Tad works starting in the afternoons Thurs-Mon, he agreed to take me home Thurs afternoon. Before coming up to PQ though we cashed in some of my birthday coupons. We shared lunch at Joe's Crab Shack (they gave me a zebra print cowboy hat to wear, it was interesting) and shared an icecream from Baskin Robbin's.
Tad dropped me off and visited a little with my mom before heading off for work. About an hour later, my cousin Michelle and her sister Kim's little girls Jordan and Madison arrived. I helped the girls make melty bead designs, and then it was swim time. Swimming pools are so much more exciting with little kids in them. I watched Jordan do about half a dozen summersaults and then tossed diving rings for her. Kim and the girls' dad Doug arrived just in time for dinner.
I got up bright and early on Friday to go to the train station. My mom dropped me off a little earlier than I neede to be there, so I had plenty of time to sit and people watch. My ride was uneventful (as some train rides can be very eventful). I sat next to two older ladies who were both going to visit family in the San Bernadino area.
I arrived in Fullerton pretty much on schedule and Valencia spotted Becky immediately after deboarding the train. Lunch was a special treat, we went to The Olde Ship, a very cute English pub not far from the train station in Fullerton. I had heard of this place on multiple occasions while a student at Biola, but had never been. Becky had been one time, and thus thought it would be fun to go again. The large group of people at the bar watching the World Cup definitely added to the atmosphere, as did our sweetheart of an English lady waitress.
We took a bit of time deciding what to have, but eventually Becky settled on the Dungeness crab cakes and I decided on the chicken curry. The food was excellent, and we spent quite a bit of time chatting and catching up. Quote of the day "Is there a capital of the Yukon? Are there even cities in the Yukon?" "Maybe, if you count trading posts and railway crossraods as cities. The rest is well..." "Nothing and snow." "Exactly! I've seen Balto, I know what it's like up there!"
After lunch we went to Becky's (kind of) townhouse. Becky is going to be living there in the fall for her second year of grad school, but is saving money by living with family in Rancho Cucmonga for the summer. For these couple weekends while she was playing in the pit orchestra at Biola, her roommates agreed to let her stay over. (Rancho Cucamonga is a good hour from Biola). I dropped my stuff off in the townhouse living room, and then Becky suggested we go for a walk outside. It was certainly a gorgeous day for a walk. We walked around the landscaped areas of the townhouse complex (which I hadn't seen before), walked around the La Mirada Veteran's Park, and then walked around the block.
We spent about another hour upstairs in Becky's room talking and cooling off, and then watched a couple episodes of friends before dinner. For a second year in a row, we picked Red Robin for our birthday dinner. Krista, Dorothy, and Melissa (another roommate of Becky's and Dorothy's) joined us to celebrate. I had a coupon for a free burger, and since Becky and I had had a large, late lunch, we split a bbq burger as well as a mint brownie shake. yum! Red Robin is definitely one of my favorite restaurants. After having our free icecream Sundaes, Becky and Dorothy took off to get ready for call time.
I rode with Krista to campus and we sat and talked by the fountain until it was time for the show, Cats, put on by Biola Youth Theater. Cats is an interesting show, there is only a very loose plot line; most of the show is individual songs about different cats. I did not know this going in, and spent the first act waiting for the plot to start. The cast gave a great performance though, the singing was good, and the dancing was amazing. I do believe the dancing was my favorite part :)
Krista came back to Becky's to hang out for a bit after the show. Becky opened her birthday gift from me, and we did some more chatting =) Saturday morning both of us slept in. When we did get up, Becky made us oatmeal. I packed my stuff up after breakfast and went to lunch (i get hungry very shortly after breakfast, lol) at Wendy's with Dorothy and Krista. Krista drove me back to Fullerton where I just caught my train. Unfortunately, there was track work being done this weekend, so I had to get off the train in Irvine and take a bus back to San Diego. Quote of the day: Conductor "If you are going to San Diego, you need to get off the train in Irvine and board a motorcoach...motorcoach being amtrak's word for 'bus'" lol
The bus ride went fine, long because of traffic, but decent enough. My dad and Steve picked me up from the station, and the rest of my weekend was spent relaxing at home.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Birthday Weekend
Today is my 23rd birthday, and I've had a fun weekend celebrating it.
Thursday I went with the girls to Cheesecake Factory at Fashion Valley. We had to wait quite a while to be seated, but the service was fine after that. My roommates Ana and Anja came, as well as my co-clinician this semester Liz, whose birthday was on the 12th. Also attending were Angel, Erin, Carolyn, Dorothy, and Nicole. Most of the girsl got dinner, I however went straight for dessert. Anjaand I split a slice of Godiva chocolate cheesecake, and a slice of raspberry chocolate truffle cheesecake. Both are extremely delicious.
Friday morning, Raelene picked me up from the condo. We got bagels from Golden Bagel and went to enjoy our brunch at the beach. We didn't stay too long, but it was wonderful to see the ocean! I can't imagine living somewhere not on the coast. After Raelene dropped me off, I had to go to a dentist appointment, and then had a few hours free to do some homework. I got my haircut in the evening, and on our way home, my mom and I picked up burritos from Cotijas for dinner.
After dinner, my parents and I went up to my grandparents for a short visit. My great Aunt Dorothy is in town and staying with them, so we got a chance to catch up with her, and eat zucchini bread.
Saturday morning, Mom and I ran some errands, and picked up things to make my birthday gift for Becky. We worked on that at home after lunchtime. Tad somewhat surprised me with a visit (I knew he was coming, but he didn't tell me when). We played with Valencia int he backyard until he had to go to work. Fairly shortly after he left, we left to go meet the families from my mom's ladie's Bible study for dinner. They had selected Hodad's in Ocean Beach.
This was an interesting cultural experience. OB was the center of drug culture in the 70's, and is still a very hippie place. There were guys up and down the street with petitions to save the whales and such. Hodad's had an interesting surf shop atmosphere. It's decorated with license plates all over the walls. It was a bit dirty, and once the music changed from Van Halen and Journey to screaming heavy gutiar music, it wasn't so enjoyable. But the food wasn't bad. I took a nap when we got home, and then did a bit more homework.
Today we had church in the morning. I relaxed for a couple hours at home until Tad picked me up to go to lunch. My mom was sweet and gave me the lei that my dad had given her for their anniversary to wear. We went to Claim Jumper because I had a coupon for a free entree. We shared chicken fried steak, yum! For dessert, they brought me out a red velvet cupcake with buttercream frosting and sprinkles, and a candle, it was cute :D
Sadly, Tad had to work today, so he came in to say hi to my fam when he dropped me off, and then had o leave. My grandparents and Aunt Dorothy came as did my second cousins Jennifer and Matthew and their little boy Jason. My dad bbqed chicken and we had a lot of fresh yummy summer fruit. The birthday/father's day cake my mom made was my great grandmother's applesauce cake, which is a favorite of mine. We opened cards and presents, and then it was time to go back to the condo.
A very different birthday from last year, but enjoyable. I look forward to year 23 of my life :)
Thursday I went with the girls to Cheesecake Factory at Fashion Valley. We had to wait quite a while to be seated, but the service was fine after that. My roommates Ana and Anja came, as well as my co-clinician this semester Liz, whose birthday was on the 12th. Also attending were Angel, Erin, Carolyn, Dorothy, and Nicole. Most of the girsl got dinner, I however went straight for dessert. Anjaand I split a slice of Godiva chocolate cheesecake, and a slice of raspberry chocolate truffle cheesecake. Both are extremely delicious.
Friday morning, Raelene picked me up from the condo. We got bagels from Golden Bagel and went to enjoy our brunch at the beach. We didn't stay too long, but it was wonderful to see the ocean! I can't imagine living somewhere not on the coast. After Raelene dropped me off, I had to go to a dentist appointment, and then had a few hours free to do some homework. I got my haircut in the evening, and on our way home, my mom and I picked up burritos from Cotijas for dinner.
After dinner, my parents and I went up to my grandparents for a short visit. My great Aunt Dorothy is in town and staying with them, so we got a chance to catch up with her, and eat zucchini bread.
Saturday morning, Mom and I ran some errands, and picked up things to make my birthday gift for Becky. We worked on that at home after lunchtime. Tad somewhat surprised me with a visit (I knew he was coming, but he didn't tell me when). We played with Valencia int he backyard until he had to go to work. Fairly shortly after he left, we left to go meet the families from my mom's ladie's Bible study for dinner. They had selected Hodad's in Ocean Beach.
This was an interesting cultural experience. OB was the center of drug culture in the 70's, and is still a very hippie place. There were guys up and down the street with petitions to save the whales and such. Hodad's had an interesting surf shop atmosphere. It's decorated with license plates all over the walls. It was a bit dirty, and once the music changed from Van Halen and Journey to screaming heavy gutiar music, it wasn't so enjoyable. But the food wasn't bad. I took a nap when we got home, and then did a bit more homework.
Today we had church in the morning. I relaxed for a couple hours at home until Tad picked me up to go to lunch. My mom was sweet and gave me the lei that my dad had given her for their anniversary to wear. We went to Claim Jumper because I had a coupon for a free entree. We shared chicken fried steak, yum! For dessert, they brought me out a red velvet cupcake with buttercream frosting and sprinkles, and a candle, it was cute :D
Sadly, Tad had to work today, so he came in to say hi to my fam when he dropped me off, and then had o leave. My grandparents and Aunt Dorothy came as did my second cousins Jennifer and Matthew and their little boy Jason. My dad bbqed chicken and we had a lot of fresh yummy summer fruit. The birthday/father's day cake my mom made was my great grandmother's applesauce cake, which is a favorite of mine. We opened cards and presents, and then it was time to go back to the condo.
A very different birthday from last year, but enjoyable. I look forward to year 23 of my life :)
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Valencia's Birthday
My baby dog turned 3 on Thursday, and I'd say she had a pretty good day.
She got her birthday present early on Wednesday from my mom, a stuffed bunny that has no stuffing. They're called "skinnies" or something like that. She loved it, I think mostly the fact that it has squeakers at both ends, haha
Thursday is one of the days I spend on campus from 8 am to 8 pm, but I think it was the most fun for her that I could have made it. She got lots of "happy birthday"s from the other girls, and I brought her bone with me to campus. I may start doing this regularly on long days. I feel bad because Tues/Thurs I'm inside basically all day except for when I take her out to go potty. Valencia doesn't need to be in harness that whole time. I've started letting her have a couple hours off while I'm frantically working on things in the student work rooms.
...Anyway...
Session Thursday was designed to be a birhtday party for her. On the first day of clinic I had my client read a story about planning a surprise party and mentioned that Vaelncia's birthday was coming soon. In the following sessions he asked if we were going to have a party, so we did.
Emily, my coclinician got some extra balloons from one of the other girls that we decorated our room with. We acquired even more decorations when my client and his mom arrived. They brought a whole bag of dog birthday supplies, including a happy birthday banner, pictures of dogs, dog books, and a ziplock of doggy treats.
Everything we did in session revolved around a story I had written about Valencia having a birthday party. At the end I had candy for us, and let my client give Valencia one of the dog treats. It was a really fun session.
Valencia's day was rounded off with receiving a milkbone from the resource room attendant Kim and playing with Brady at home.
I think the only thing that could have made it better for either of us would have been for Valencia and Tad to get to spend their birthday together.
She got her birthday present early on Wednesday from my mom, a stuffed bunny that has no stuffing. They're called "skinnies" or something like that. She loved it, I think mostly the fact that it has squeakers at both ends, haha
Thursday is one of the days I spend on campus from 8 am to 8 pm, but I think it was the most fun for her that I could have made it. She got lots of "happy birthday"s from the other girls, and I brought her bone with me to campus. I may start doing this regularly on long days. I feel bad because Tues/Thurs I'm inside basically all day except for when I take her out to go potty. Valencia doesn't need to be in harness that whole time. I've started letting her have a couple hours off while I'm frantically working on things in the student work rooms.
...Anyway...
Session Thursday was designed to be a birhtday party for her. On the first day of clinic I had my client read a story about planning a surprise party and mentioned that Vaelncia's birthday was coming soon. In the following sessions he asked if we were going to have a party, so we did.
Emily, my coclinician got some extra balloons from one of the other girls that we decorated our room with. We acquired even more decorations when my client and his mom arrived. They brought a whole bag of dog birthday supplies, including a happy birthday banner, pictures of dogs, dog books, and a ziplock of doggy treats.
Everything we did in session revolved around a story I had written about Valencia having a birthday party. At the end I had candy for us, and let my client give Valencia one of the dog treats. It was a really fun session.
Valencia's day was rounded off with receiving a milkbone from the resource room attendant Kim and playing with Brady at home.
I think the only thing that could have made it better for either of us would have been for Valencia and Tad to get to spend their birthday together.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Pause for an Update on Life Now
It has been my experience that I take forever to finish my trip updates. This fact is frustrating, but the journals are important enough to me to keep doing them anyway. However, I'd also like to keep up with my life journal now, considering I've been home from Romania nealry a month. So here goes.
It took me a good week to adjust back to life in the states. No amount of debriefing could have made me understand reverse culture shock like actually experiencing it. I don't think I'll ever feel quite the same about my country and culture. I still love America, and will undoubtedly be overly patriotic for the rest of my life, but I better understand now some of the things that frustrate people from elsewhere about here. I mean, I'm a total "J" personality on teh Myers-Briggs, and I was about ready to chuck my planner out the window, things are much too fast paced here.
It definitely did not help my adjustment that straight away we dove into apartment hunting for next year. That was a nightmare and a half, let me tell you. Everything by SDSU falls into one or more of the following categories: too expensive, too unsafe, too dirty, too far away from campus and/or public transportation, does not accomodate pet dogs. Fortunately Valencia is exempt from pet laws, but one of my future roommates Ana has an 8 pound Bischon.
Eventually, after much searching and about 8 trips down there in 10 days, we found the perfect condo. The complex is in Mission Valley in between two trolley stops, which are about a 10 minute ride from campus. It's absolutely gorgeous: 2 bedroom 2 bath, great sized living room and kitchen, patio balcony. The complex is secure and has a pool/jacuzzi and fitness center. I'm uber excited. I'll be moving in the beginning of August, but our landlord is giving us the keys in a couple weeks so we can start moving furniture.
I'll be sharing the master bedroom and bath with Anja (she was in comm disorders with me at Biola and is starting the audiology program at state). Ana and her little doggy Brady will have their own room and bathroom on the other side of our condo.
Besides that craziness, I've been hanging out with Raelene quite a bit. We went to a college group at her church the first weekend I was home, and were the oldest ones there, hahaha. We hit up the Del Mar Fair. First time for both of us going without our families. I think we did quite well though, saw pretty flowers and farm animals and shared a deep fried smore and some deep fried cheese curds. yum!
I had a party to celebrate graduation and my birthday. My and I made fruit kabobs, my dad bbqed chicken skewers, and we had a variety of salads and desserts, plus mock margaritas, mmm. Krista, Becky, and Amanda came down from LA, which was amazing to get to see them again. Elizabeth brought Matthew, and Raelene and a number of neighbors and church friends stopped by.
For my birthday on Saturday I spent the day at Disneyland with Raelene and Becky. That was pretty awesome. They give you a button that says "Happy Birthday!" and your name, and everybody in the park wishes you happy birthday all day long. I counted about 19, plus I got sung to outside the ice cream shop on main street. Amanda met us for lunch in downtown Disney, and we met Krista at Red Robin for dinner. I had my family party Sunday evening, joint with our Father's Day celebration.
This morning I finished up an online scrapbook from shutterfly.com of my Romania trip. I may be able to post some of it on here. I'm pretty excited about it, mom had a special offer so we got it for free.
Other than that, I guess next on the list is 4th of July, summer sure goes by so fast!
It took me a good week to adjust back to life in the states. No amount of debriefing could have made me understand reverse culture shock like actually experiencing it. I don't think I'll ever feel quite the same about my country and culture. I still love America, and will undoubtedly be overly patriotic for the rest of my life, but I better understand now some of the things that frustrate people from elsewhere about here. I mean, I'm a total "J" personality on teh Myers-Briggs, and I was about ready to chuck my planner out the window, things are much too fast paced here.
It definitely did not help my adjustment that straight away we dove into apartment hunting for next year. That was a nightmare and a half, let me tell you. Everything by SDSU falls into one or more of the following categories: too expensive, too unsafe, too dirty, too far away from campus and/or public transportation, does not accomodate pet dogs. Fortunately Valencia is exempt from pet laws, but one of my future roommates Ana has an 8 pound Bischon.
Eventually, after much searching and about 8 trips down there in 10 days, we found the perfect condo. The complex is in Mission Valley in between two trolley stops, which are about a 10 minute ride from campus. It's absolutely gorgeous: 2 bedroom 2 bath, great sized living room and kitchen, patio balcony. The complex is secure and has a pool/jacuzzi and fitness center. I'm uber excited. I'll be moving in the beginning of August, but our landlord is giving us the keys in a couple weeks so we can start moving furniture.
I'll be sharing the master bedroom and bath with Anja (she was in comm disorders with me at Biola and is starting the audiology program at state). Ana and her little doggy Brady will have their own room and bathroom on the other side of our condo.
Besides that craziness, I've been hanging out with Raelene quite a bit. We went to a college group at her church the first weekend I was home, and were the oldest ones there, hahaha. We hit up the Del Mar Fair. First time for both of us going without our families. I think we did quite well though, saw pretty flowers and farm animals and shared a deep fried smore and some deep fried cheese curds. yum!
I had a party to celebrate graduation and my birthday. My and I made fruit kabobs, my dad bbqed chicken skewers, and we had a variety of salads and desserts, plus mock margaritas, mmm. Krista, Becky, and Amanda came down from LA, which was amazing to get to see them again. Elizabeth brought Matthew, and Raelene and a number of neighbors and church friends stopped by.
For my birthday on Saturday I spent the day at Disneyland with Raelene and Becky. That was pretty awesome. They give you a button that says "Happy Birthday!" and your name, and everybody in the park wishes you happy birthday all day long. I counted about 19, plus I got sung to outside the ice cream shop on main street. Amanda met us for lunch in downtown Disney, and we met Krista at Red Robin for dinner. I had my family party Sunday evening, joint with our Father's Day celebration.
This morning I finished up an online scrapbook from shutterfly.com of my Romania trip. I may be able to post some of it on here. I'm pretty excited about it, mom had a special offer so we got it for free.
Other than that, I guess next on the list is 4th of July, summer sure goes by so fast!
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