my girls...

It's quite an odd thing to be sad and excited at the same time. I am at such a crossroads here. Any time spent with friends takes me to a place of sadness and depression knowing that I will never find friends like this anywhere. And yes, I know, they will always be my best friends. But it's quite different to be a part of the daily happenings in each others lives.



I will miss...

shopping at Goodwill with Tawny...

drinking too much wine and then trying to sew with the "domesticated" girls...

many breakfasts at Gypsy Den...

double-dates with Crystal and Sam...

laying poolside at Martinique...

all the journaling and tea drinking...

bounce house at Dawson street...

random road trips to Joshua tree...

cooking ethnic foods together...

bike rides...

dancing with my girls...

praying for each other...

late night talks from our hearts...

reminiscing...

Positano, Italy and bathing in the Mediterranean...

laughing...

painting, scrap booking, writing and trying to study...



I love you girls! You are my best friends and my sisters!

Blessings...

Ask anyone, I'm not a raging optimist. An Idealist, yes. But I definitely feel the ups and downs of life and I don't like to sugarcoat anything. But lately I just can't help but smile at all of the beautiful blessings around me. How about a list:

So it's official...

Mark and I are packing up our things (what little we have left after selling most of our furniture) and we're headed up north to Oregon.

I'm sure that there will be many questions as to why the sudden change (and yes, it is VERY sudden)...but I'm still not really sure why. I love it here! Granted, I don't love Orange County. But I love my job. I love my community. I love my friends and all the quality time. and the beach and wonderful weather...that should be enough reason to stay, huh? We'll tell that to the Big Man (GOD). Over the last couple of weeks Mark and I have had this feeling that we're to move on. I'm not sure why, or even how long, maybe just for the summer. We just know that it's time for change.

More to come...

A day at the Beach

Dog Park

So I really don't want to be that weird pet owner that refers to their dog as their "son" or "daughter." But I will admit that the dog love is in full affect. Last Saturday Mark and I took Nola and Mark's dog Bubba to the park. We had a great time....see for yourself...

twentythree

I would love to say that I am one of those people that humbly thinks nothing of their birthday and desires nothing for it. The reality is: I couldn't be further from that ideal. I try not to have such high expectations, I know that I'm spoiled rotten, but it's something that I just cannot help. Here is the birthday DL (down low):

Birthday dinner with the Fam:
Tea Party in Long Beach with my girls:Lot's of flowers:Dinner at La Craperia with friends:

Think about it...

-35% of the world's grain and 70% of the United States' grain are fed to livestock
-Some developing nations grow and export grains to feed livestock in Western nations while their own citizens are starving
-Every steak has the same global warming effect as a 25-mile drive in a typical American car
-Livestock production is the largest polluter of water in the United States, topping all other industries that produce toxic wastes
-Cattle ranching has destroyed more rain forest than any other activity in Central America
-Most Americans eat 4 to 6 times the amount of protein required for good health. This extra protein is wasted and can cause disease.

"When cattle ranchers clear rain forests to raise beef to sell to fast-food chains that make hamburgers to sell to Americans who have the highest rate of heart disease in the world...we can say easily that business is no longer developing the world. We have become its predator." - Paul Hawken
Author of The Ecology of Commerce