Bum Days and Football

Alright, I guess it's my turn to jump in here…

Bekah and I had another “bum day” yesterday. We love bum days because they consist of lying around. We still accomplish a few things around the house, but for the most part, we just sit on the couch watching TV, snacking, and playing on our laptops. We slept in, went to church, and bummed it. I got to watch all my baseball games on the computer, and Bekah got to blog, read others’ blogs, search eBay for knick-knacks, and play Yahoo games. So, we were both very content. With the occasional, “You doin alright?”, and a nod of approval, we both enjoy this “quality time” with each other. We may be weird like that, but hey, it works for us both.


I think Bekah has an idea, but I don’t think she really knows…

How crazy my friends and I are about football season. Maybe it’s just me. Nope! It’s all my other football buddies, too (I don't even feel bad for their wives/girlfriends). We ALL love to gather over at my friend Steve’s house to watch football every Sunday. I’ve even got Bekah into watching football! Okay, maybe not. However, she’ll be the first to tell you that she enjoys going. The truth is she loves going for the food, not the football, but it also allows her to rest and relax (she loves snuggling up next to me while I watch the games). She also gets to see a bunch of dumb guys doing dumb guy things like watching football ALL day, eating way too much, Steve yelling at the referees that can’t hear him, etc. But she also gets to experience some of the best food Southern California has to offer…again, ALL day. I just might have the best wife in the world. Maybe one day I’ll get her into fantasy football…

One Year Older

I turned 27 last week. Look Ma, I admitted it. I’m not sure why, but I really struggled with this birthday. I am in my late twenties. I can hear the sarcasm from my mother now, “Yes, Dear, you are SOOO old.” But the fact that I can clearly remember twenty years ago sort of freaks me out. I am, however, enjoying more and more that people ask me who is older, my sister or I. Sorry, Rach.

This past April I received my 5 year pin at CBU and I was excited for the additional vacation time I was about to accrue. Yet when I sat and thought that this meant I have been out of college for 5 years, I became a little uncomfortable. To think that there are no longer any undergraduates at CBU that attended the same time I did. Except that one soccer player that keeps starting and stopping – graduate already! In fact, one of the counselors in my office and I were talking about how much school cost when we first started. In 1999, I paid half of what CBU students are paying today.

Next summer will be my 10 year high-school reunion! Not that I will go, I merely reiterating that I am old. Kids I used to babysit have now gone to college. I remember going to summer camp in high school and thinking the college student counselors were so old and mature. I don’t want to go back in time. I don’t think you could pay me to go back to high school. College was fun, but was still stressful trying to figure out who I was and who I wanted to be. I merely want to freeze time and be 25 (not 27) for just a few more years.

In all honesty, I had a wonderful birthday. I took the day off work and Kevin and I just did random things. Kevin’s boss is moving to Virginia so I went with him to the luncheon after sleeping in. We went by Costco. Took a nap. Went to the movies. Then finished the evening over a pepperoni and pineapple pizza at CPK. Kevin gave me a beautiful card. Let me preface by saying last year’s birthday card had a bobble head of George W. Bush on the front. I don’t even remember what is said. But this year’s card said “If I had my life to live over again, next time I’d find you sooner so I could love you longer.” Now I know I have become a sap since meeting Kevin, but that made me tear up a little; especially since he had accomplished the point of a card. A card should say what you mean. We have had many conversations on how to pick out a card. He gets mad at me when I simply sign my name to a card. I let him know I take hours finding a card to say it for me. Why would I pay $3.95 to write my own card. To prove his point I received a general thank you card for our anniversary; inside it he wrote, “Thanks for being my wife.” So this card is even more special to me!

It was a wonderful 27th birthday.

Childhood Memories

Growing up on the coast, I hated it. I didn’t like the cold, I hated the wind, and the fog was annoying. But I went back this weekend, and had a wonderful time. On our drive up the 101 we rolled down the windows and enjoyed the salty air. I was in jeans and a sweatshirt, hood up, while Kevin sat comfortable in his shorts and t-shirt. I think he was designed to live on the coast. My vanity has faded slightly as I don’t really care what the fog and damp air do to my hair. It was so nice to get out of the triple digits.

Kevin and Me at the pier

We saw my parents in Solvang, and drove up to Pismo to walk the beach and pier. Growing up we spent every other Thanksgiving camping just south of the pier. Still really nothing to do but walk around. Shops are empty. Old bungalows abandoned. We watched the surfers try to catch the baby wave as the sea otters and sea lions played at the end of the pier. We watched the pelicans dive for a while before turning back to get out of the wind. We finished our day at the beach on the swings.

Dad and Jon

Jon and Me on the swings

On Saturday we went to the wedding of my dear friend Anitra Estrada to Antonio Cruz. Anitra and I became friends in the third grade. I don’t remember our first meeting, but we must have become instant friends. I remember spending many Saturday afternoons with Anitra. At the beginning of middle school the Estrada family moved to Europe and began out pen pal phase. We wrote quite often those next 5 years. My parents recently brought me boxes of childhood keepsakes and I found every letter I had received from Anitra: I saved them all. Her family came back twice to visit, and the summer before my senior year, I got to visit her family. The Estrada’s graciously took me on their family vacation. So the seven of us (David, Roxy, Granny, Grandpa, Jacquie, Anitra, and myself) crammed into a minivan and toured Great Britain. It was an experience for which I am truly grateful, and will never forget.

Me, Jacquie, and Anitra

All that to say, I wouldn’t have missed her wedding for the world. The ceremony was in beautiful Morro Bay and was nothing less than gorgeous. Anitra smiled all day. The whole day was a reflection of her love for her husband, her family, and her friends. A wonderfully classy event.

Anitra and Tony

Kevin and Me with Morro Rock in the background

Stress

What do you do when your body is trying to tell you something, but you don’t understand what she is trying to tell you? For two weeks now my husband has thought I have been completely crazy. I am more tired than I have been in a long time. For the past two days I have come home after work and taken a nap. Who takes a nap at 6:00 at night? I DO! I got home around 5:30 and took and hour nap. My face has broken out; not those tiny ones either. I developed a fever blister on my lower lip on Saturday, and it hasn’t been pleasant. I have a sore on my inside cheek. I’m dizzy and have a major crick in my neck. Today, I realized my body is stressed out. Why didn’t you just say so? Not that I know what I would do differently. I don’t even know what I am stressed about! I just need some time off and some sleep.

Brownie Points

Friday was date night and my husband earned MAJOR brownie points. I made a pasta salad, we grabbed the chairs and headed to the Redlands Bowl for Madama Butterfly. It was free and outside, but was fun nonetheless. I was worried about how Kevin would do with the opera. I first explained it was like a play and he seemed okay. When I told him the whole thing was sung, he was slower to nod his head. When I told him it was all in Italian, he just stared at me blankly. This was my first opera as well, and was a little nervous as to how well this would go over. We were given the libretto to read the translation from Italian to English. At times it was hard to follow as they sung over each other. I always seem to get a bobber in front of me. You know that guy who leans to the right, so you lean to the left to see around him and two minutes later he leans to the left. All in all, we had a good time. The weather was nice, the food was enjoyable (he bought me some kettle corn), and the company was great. Not bad for a cheap date night.