I've been showered.

 I was telling Jared the other night how much I will miss Santa Monica when we leave. Sure I will miss the beach community itself, but more so the people. This last weekend I was the recipient of much love and generosity. 5 lovely ladies put on what I would say was the most spectacular baby shower in all history. Everything from the food to the company was divine. Not to mention that our little girl's wardrobe is now very well stocked! I am so appreciative to all those who took part in such a special occasion. We're ready for you baby girl! [Also, I'm ready for this chubby face to go and the extreme body temperature fluctuations.]

Culturated

I love culture. I love feeling cultured. Especially when I get culturated for FREE! If you haven't figured it out already, I am 1) awesome, 2) an aesthetician [not to be confused with beautician] and 3) a tight-wad. So you will understand my excitement when I found out that I could see Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" in Griffith Park, on a blanket with a picnic, for FREE! Yes, yes, we threw that shindig down last Saturday with our lovely friends, the Webbs. We brought blankets and picnic [ahem... panda express], laid under a tree and laughed our jolly selves away at the play. I had heard of "Much Ado About Nothing" but from the title I inferred that it had much to do about nothing, so it never intrigued me. However, it was one of the most entertaining plays I had been to besides "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," which seriously had me roaring. It was the perfect summer evening, with perfect company and the 3 hours of acting were superb. Our only regret is that we didn't go in July when they performed "Othello."





I don't think I ever reported that Jared and I took the GRE 2 weeks ago. We did. I came out of that test knowing 250 words that I previously did not. You would think my vocabulary would have expanded as a result and my dialect would be more astounding, but quite frankly I get intimidated by big words and using them incorrectly. So until I have mastered their context and part of speech, my jargon shall stay the same.

Food Dreams

Next weekend Jared and I will be traveling back to Clovis for a home visit. We haven't been back since February. And I'm fine with that. But strangely enough, I am rather excited to go back. To see family of course, but mostly for the food. Yes, food. Although living in LA has its advantages, I personally dont think restaurants are one of them, from a poor on-a-budget married couple standpoint. I hate that a majority of restaurants are $10-$20 a plate, you have to pay for parking, you have to travel 20+ minutes in traffic to get there, they're crowded scary beyond all reason and I just dont find all of that worth it for going out. That's why we frequent the taco shops. Way more of a killer deal. So yes, I am excited to go to Fresno for the dining. I'm soo excited for John's Incredible Pizza. They have the most CREAMY macaroni n cheese, which is something I have been craving like crazy. Jared must be getting tired of me counting down the days for my macaroni and cheese. I also informed my father that he will be cooking his rubbed ribs with grilled corn and my mother make her ice cream jelly roll. And I guess Judy's donuts was on my mind when I went to bed last night. Mmm.. A maple glazed bar followed by a delicious bite out of a strawberry sprinkle frosted donut. I dreamed that Jared let me go to a donut shop and I could pick out not just one, but 2 donuts. Seriously, I have never had a dream so vivid and taste-buddy [?]. I woke up thinking I just ate a donut. Like, I could taste it in my mouth and I woke up satisfied and thought yes, that was all I needed. But that dream has since worn off and I think I will be visiting Judy's next weekend. Ok, enough about my food confessions, I just get really excited about food, and FRESNO food at that.

We've kinda had a lazy past couple of weekends, but still enjoyable. June gloom has set in, which has interrupted my Saturday tanning sessions [ggrrr!] Last Friday night we went with our friends Steffany, Joe and their cute baby Maggie to the Dodger vs Angels game. I hope my baby is as well behaved as Maggie, she didnt make a peep once! The final score was a sore sight. I think Dodgers lost 1 to 10. Regardless, it was fun to be out with friends and eat a Dodger dog.

[disclaimer: My face isn't really that white. Flash?]

So Happy Together.

Jared and I are very fortunate to be together. We have a bucket-load of fun. I believe it was Saturday morning when Jared and I were snuggling before rolling out of bed, and I asked him if he had any good dreams. Yes, he dreamed that we were in London. That put a smile on my face. That same morning Jared scheduled me for a 1 hr massage at the EXHALE spa, which was heavenly. I'm always surprised by the things that I like, and I guess having a stranger rub oil on my naked back is one of them. Afterward, I met Jared on his lunch break, where we tried to chase down a taco truck, but failed. Regardless, it made me happy that I could see him for those brief 20 min.

That afternoon we made a trip to the dollar store and guess what we picked up? 1 pack of fresh strawberries and 2 packages of refrigerated nestle tollhouse mini-chocolate chip cookies! All for $3! Talk about luck. That made me very very happy! That evening we went to Flemings, where Jared and I entertained ourselves the whole evening with our frugality. [Check prior post for the whole experience] We like to laugh at ourselves.

Sunday is always a happy day. We got to sleep in, eat Raisin Bran and attend church. Our little primary class makes us INTENSELY happy. Those 4 year-olds say the darnedest things! The lesson was about prayer. We were talking about times when we might get scared and we can pray to heavenly father, like maybe we had a bad dream. Wow, did that open up a topic. Everyone shared their most scary dreams from a dark shadow to an alligator eating a cat and then biting off her arm. It's times like those that Jared and I feel so lucky to teach these youngins and witness the wonder of a child's brain.

Speaking of children that we love, Jared and I adore our friends' 2 little girls who we would love to steal away! Shauna and Josh having incredible daughters. We went out to dinner with them the other week and Josh I guess mentioned to Jared that they could try to get a sitter. No sir, bring those girls with you - we need some little girl lovin! Both Shauna and Josh served their missions in Korea, so we were up for an asian adventure and went with them to a Korean BBQ in Korea Town. I have never had Korean food before. The only slight taste I had was when we were at their house playing a game and I lost, so my consequence was to take a bite of kimchi, which I almost gagged on. So going to this restaurant with that being the only Korean experience I had backing me up, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. By golly, was I introduced to the most glorious food! I ate and ate and ate!

Today’s topic : friendship.

I love friends. They make everything a gigabillion times more fun.Good thing I married my most ultimate pal. Being with Jared has made my life exponentially more merry. Not only do I have someone to watch old Roger and Hammerstein’s with, but I always have a person to trim my hair when the ends are split. And I’m confident that he appreciates all the times I meticulously rub his face when he’s got 5 o’clock shadow and remember to buy him Old Spice when he runs out. It’s a win/win all-around! But before MR JO wound himself up in my eternity, I had many a friend. My greatest of all, Ms Emiley Morgan! Em and I met freshman year at BYU in the DT dorms. The first Sunday as I was getting ready, she marched into my room asked if I had a boyfriend. I said yes, I did. She said she did too and that we needed to be friends. So I went along with it. Good thing I did because she is a keeper! We pretty much thought we were untouchable in college, which was verified when we both went to the UK our senior year - she to Scotland and I to London. She was one of my 3 bridesmaids. She is my ultimate BFF.

She came to LA to visit a couple of weekends ago! Reunited. Of course, I took her to Sprinkles. We decided to walk Rodeo in what I thought would be a leisurely walk by Tiffany Co. But no. Emiley had a load of gift money there and bought a necklace. That will be my first and most definite last time ever witnessing someone I know buy something from Tiffany’s. We then explored the racks of Forever 21 on 3^rd St. And I even made her peruse the Goodwill. Actually, she wanted to. You want to know why? Because when I picked her up, I was wearing a remarkable dress. And when she saw me wearing that remarkable dress, I blurted out the truth - that I bought it for $4.99 at the Thrift Store. Yes, folks, I am an expert thrifter. We finished the evening with a ferris wheel ride on the Pier. We debated getting ice cream with rainbow sprinkles, but for the sake of our bodies, we didn't.

Friends are great.
I think I'm going to start doing a friend spotlight.
I have so many great friends out there that I just adore.