I'M REALLY MAD RIGHT NOW!

My mom always taught me to acknowledge my feelings... and right now I'm really mad!!  I'm really mad that I have to leave Orange County!  I should be packing, but instead I'm sulking.  Totally dragging my feet.  That'll be me kicking and screaming as I leave Orange County this week.  We are moving to a nice place... but it's not Orange County.  Call me a brat, whatever, but this has been my home for 20 years and so it's my parents fault for bringing me here!  So, this is what I'm going to miss (in no particular order): 

• The beautiful beaches, particularly Newport.  Best beach ever!
• Fashion Island.  Not that I ever bought anything there, but it was a fun place to walk around. 
• Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach.  Didn't get a chance to make it this year, but it's definitely a highlight of the summers here. 
• The OC Fair.  Best Fair ever!  Deep fried Oreo's, cow poop, carnival workers and the ocean breeze... makes a great activity! 
• The Swap Meet.  All the things you don't need, but buy anyway.  And a great place to get a sunburn.  Oh, but the chocolate covered bananas with almonds make it worth the 2 bucks to get in. 
• The Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade. 
• The Duffy boats at Newport Bay. 
• The Spectrum.  Home of OC's outside ice skating rink... huh?
• Wild Rivers. 
• The Metrolink to San Juan Capistrano to pet the bunnies at Zoomars. 
• Disneyland.  The best park ever! 
• The Angels games.... for hot dogs and a coke, of course. 
• Irvine Regional Park and that cute little train ride. 
• The Marketplace.  Tustin or Irvine, take your pick, equally resourceful. 
• The Strawberry and Watermelon tours at Tanaka Farms. 
• The variety of Pumpkin Patches.  One for everyday of the month in October. 
• Target... right down the street from my house!  How spoiled was I?
• My friends: Becky S, Carrie L, Debbie W, Heather C, Stephanie W. (Acutally , quite a few have already moved, now that I think of it! That sucks.)
• My ward!  Best ward we've been in!
• The manicured streets.  Something I won't take for granted anymore!
• Woodranch in RSM.  Quite a drive, but well worth it. 
• Yogurtland!  I'm going there today, anyone want to join me?
• My hairstylist.  Cutest thing ever only cut my hair twice, but it was always so cute... now what am I going to do?
• My OB.  I know it sounds strange, but the nurses at St Joe's told me he was the best... and they were right! 
• South Coast Plaza. 
• Sprinkles cupcakes.  That's right, overpriced cupcakes but so good!
• That little hole in the wall Thai place that Sarah would take me to. 
• Kids eat free on Tuesday nights at Chick Fil A. 
• The biggest Christmas tree ever at Fashion Island. 
• The drive through Santiago Canyon. 
• Vinita's Threading studio.  I guess my eyebrows will just have to go bushy now. Oh well. 
• Sherry Varley.  She said I was her only friend at church.  She's such a liar!
• Discovery Science museum.  Totally overpriced, but fun once your in. 
• Santa Ana Zoo.  I'm giving OC credit for at least having it, even if there's never any animals there. 
• Driving down the 5 freeway and catching the Disneyland fireworks at the same precise moment. 
• Hearing the Disneyland fireworks... in my living room... everynight at 9:38pm. 
• Balboa Island.  We loved walking around there by foot (or bike) to pick out the house we would make an offer on someday after Cory makes his 100 million dollar movie.  
• Glen Ivy Hot Springs Day Spa.  The mud bath is heaven on earth!

Sniff. Sniff.  Did I miss anything?  Probably.  Okay, well I've spent enough time pouting.  I gotta get back to packing!

The Girls... and Yogurtland!

The day of our departure from the much loved O.C. is rapidly approaching! Sooner than I'd like to admit. We stuck it out for as long as we could, hoping that a miracle would occur, (like all the traffic from O.C. to L.A. would go away), but the harsh reality is that it will not get any better. Pretty much Cory telling me that somedays he nods off at the wheel during that LONG and BORING morning commute to work was the last straw. That's it, we're out!!

So, one of the great things I love about here is my friends! I got one last night out with the girls! It was so much fun!
Sarah in the blue just moved to Boston this week. Whitney, on the other side of me, has been in Boston for the past year and just happened to be in town visiting family. Stephanie and Carrie are on the other side of the table. We missed Alison who was supposed to be in town but had to cancel her trip at the last minute. These girls are awesome! I'll miss them so much!

So, after dinner, Carrie and Stephanie introduced me to Yogurtland! Whoa! This is no Golden Spoon, people! This is the real stuff! You know how real, quality yogurt (not the fully loaded with sugar kind) has a certain tartness to it? This stuff actually taste like real yogurt that's been frozen and it is SO GOOD! There are only a few locations right now, but it looks like they are really starting to expand so hopefully there will be a Yogurtland near you! In the meantime, if you happen to pass a Yogurtland, you really ought to stop and give it a try!

Lesson learned...hopefully!

Today, I was in the mood for Taco Bell.  So after we were done with our errands, I made a run for the border.  When I turned into the parking lot, there was a lot of traffic congestion ahead of me and I noticed I was holding up a lot of people behind me, too.  So, I took a different route to get to the Taco Bell drive-thru.  When I rolled down my window to place my order, the girl behind me (oh, about 23 and trashy) starts yelling at me, "HEY BITCH!  WAY TO CUT IN FRONT OF THE 3 PEOPLE AHEAD OF YOU!  HAVE SOME RESPECT!..."  Oh and she went on and on to the point that I could hardly place my order because she was SO LOUD!  And then to top it off, she gave me a lovely hand gesture, I believe they refer to it as "the bird".  You get the picture.  So, I roll up my window and sink into my seat and several thoughts ran through my head as I waited my turn to pay.  First of all, why are so many people in this country so angry?  Everyone yells at each other at the drop of a hat, especially when they feel something is not fair.  I guess that's why I don't yell at other people cause my tribe of people taught me that life is not fair, and the sooner I accept that the happier I will be.  Second of all, I am NOT a "bitch"!  This one really got to me.  I didn't see any one way signs pointing the direction to Taco Bell.  I wasn't looking to get ahead of people in line.  So, I really wanted to get back at her but more than anything I wanted to PROVE that I am not a bitch.  So, what did I do?  Oh, the thought immediately jumped into my head... I paid for her lunch.  Yep!  All $12.83 of it!  Now who's the bitch? 

Swim Lessons

And much needed!  Last summer, Maggie only played AROUND the pool.  This year, I decided she needed to learn to be in the pool.  I'm so proud of her because she exceeded my only goal of her being more comfortable in the water.  The first lesson was pretty rough.  I don't think I've ever seen Maggie react to stress before so it was an interesting experience to watch her trying to talk her coach out of doing things.  She told coach Lana that she couldn't put her face in the water cause it was "dirty" with bugs and leaves.  Well, she did have a point, but the real reason was that she was just too scared!  So after 12 lessons, she's really come a long way!  Yah Maggie! 

Coach Lana

Teaching Maggie how to stroke her arms

Getting the coordination of arms, legs 

and face in water has been tough!

Keep your legs straight, Maggie!

Blowing bubbles in the water

It'll be your turn next year, bud!

Although, I'm not as worried about this guy...

he's a fish!

For Grandma Deb

Now 

here's 

a girl 

after 

her 

grandma's 

heart... 

Cherries!

It

doesn't 

get

more 

Grandma

Deb 

than 

that!

God Bless America!

I really do love the 4th of July holiday!  I probably say that whatever holiday we are celebrating at the current moment is my favorite, but there is something special about Independence Day.  I love the day off, the BBQ's, the family, the friends, the patriotism, the options of activities, 4th of July spirit apparel and especially THE FIREWORKS!  I really love the fireworks!  And I know that it's a pain in the butt to get there early enough to save a good spot and battle the crowds and sit in traffic afterwards, but to me it is SO WORTH it!  Cory couldn't disagree more and thinks that the kids get bored after 2 minutes anyway.  I think it's more than just sitting quietly enjoying the show, it's the whole experience that my kids will treasure.  The excitement, being with the family, even if the fireworks are just in the distance, you gotta create the beloved 4th of July memories that will contribute to my kids remembering that they had a good childhood!  Right?  

So, this year we headed to Cory's hometown where they put on a fireworks show on the 3rd of July.  It was, of course, crowded so we parked in my uncle's driveway and told him to walk over to a nearby park with us since his family was out of town.  The fireworks were great and the kids did enjoy them, even if they weren't paying attention 100% of the time.  

The actual day of the 4th was pretty low key.  I always associate Kentucky Fried Chicken with this day, probably because that's what we got most of the time in my family growing up.  By the way, I always thought that the busiest day for KFC was the 4th of July, but it isn't!  (Can you guess which holiday supersedes the 4th of July?  I'll tell you at the end of this post, you'll be surprised!)  So anyway, we picked up some KFC and took it to a nearby park for a picnic, let the kids run around, got ice cream and scouted a location to watch some more fireworks (against Cory's will, of course, but for the most part he was a good sport!) 

Overall, I'm just grateful for the opportunity to reflect on the great blessing of this country, of the privilege it is to be an American and all the things that have gone into making this such a wonderful country.  I love that we have a whole day set aside to celebrate that!