California Adventures

Since it looks like it will be awhile before they open up security here at the lovely Santa Maria airport (yes that's right, security is closed right now since I am the only passenger currently in the entire airport) I figured I should blog a little about my weekend. I also barely have any cell phone service, so the texts I have been sending out are taking like 5 minutes to get to people. But hey, they have free wireless, so I shouldn't be complaining. This weekend has been pretty fab, so let me break it down day by day.

Friday

Started pretty sucky. My flight was delayed out of SLC. We finally get on the plane after it is over an hour late and there is a mechanical error. Gotta love hearing that while sitting on the runway. But at least I ended up sitting next to this really cool guy and talked to him the entire flight. He is originally from Brazil, is currently a student at BYU applying to the PR program and got home from his mission to Boston about 3 months ago. He was super excited to pick my brain in regards to the BYU PR program and I was happy to give him some insider tips. So we finally land and I have literaly 5 minutes before my connecting flight is suppoed to take off. It takes forver to get off the plane, of course, and I run up the ramp into the airport and try to find a monitor to figure out what gate I am supposed to go to. Then I hear "Last call for passenger Leonard, please report to gate 88."ut of course she pronounces it Leo (like the Lion) Nard. I knew it had to me so I start running toward gate 88. Of course they hear me coming because I am in heels and they tend to clunk. The girl seems really agitated that I was late (seriously, United? Like it was my fault!) and points to a door for me to enter. I run down another long ramp with my laptop and carpetbag in tow and manage to make it onto the tiny propeller plane. Of course my assigned seat is already taken so I get to sit in an aisle seat at the very back. the flight attendant bumped into me about a million times and kept opening the overhead compartment above me through out the flight. Lucky it wasn't a very long one. Needless to say, after waiting over 30 minutes for them to unload 5 suitcases from the plane, I made it to California and safely in my parent's care.

Saturday

I woke up kind of early and my dad made me my favorite breakfast: Eggs Benedict. Yum!! Then we drove down to Santa Barbara and do some serious shopping at this fabulous outdoor shopping area. They had a Sephora, so I did a little bit of damage there. Then I found the Coach store!! And of course they were having an amazing sale that I couldn't pass up. My mom bought me two really cute silk scarves and I bought a leather bag. It smells really pretty. I'm pretty happy about it. After shopping we stopped at In and Out Burger. Yum! Apparently we barely missed an appearance by Andrew Firestone. So Sad! He is really attractive and apparently lives in that area. Then we headed to the beach. It was chilly, but still beautiful. We headed home afterward and just hung out, played games and had an amazing steak dinner.

Sunday

Went to church with the fam. Got to go to Young Women's with my little sister and learn about Agency. I also learned that having sex before marriage is a bad choice and has serious consequences. So glad I was there for that. I got to cruise around in the BMW with the sun roof open while everyone else stayed for meetings, which was fabulous. The weather was perfect the entire weekend. The rest of the day we just hung out. I took a nap, made a cake and ate pot roast and mashed potatoes, my favorite meal.

Monday

Lazed around the house most of the morning. Then walked around Solvang with my parents. We ate lunch at this cute little Danish bakery and deli. So good! Then we headed up to Santa Maria and saw Eagle Eye. Totally intense and I really liked it. It does have quite bit of language, so beware. Now I am sitting in the airport. At least a handful of people have joined me now. My connection between flights is 25 minutes, so let's pray my flight is on time and I make it home tonight!

Breaking Down and Breaking Away

I promise that I have not fallen off the face of the earth. Life has been a little crazy this week, but good over all. I had a bit of a break down the other night and I decided to purchase a plane ticket home this weekend. I need a little mommy time. I am taking Monday off so I can get in almost three days. A little time away from the Bubble will be good for me.

Blah

Today was a humbling day. And when I say humbling I mean crappy. But I guess there must be opposition in all things. Thank goodness for good friends . . . and chocolate.

And here is a little Ellen for you . . .

Rock My Soul

And the blessings keep on coming! I must be starting to do something right with my life. I got some really good news today. Unfortunately I can't really share what it is here, but if you really want to know, email me and I may tell you.

I had a pretty long and stressful day at work today, so I decided to skip FHE and go to yoga. Very good decision. I am excited to gain better balance. I pretty much suck at that part. But I am really good at the lying on my back, closing my eyes and breathing part.

One more thing . . . some friends shared this song with me this weekend and it makes me happy.

The Zipper and Big Red

I went to the Utah State Fair on Friday night with some friends. I love fairs! I didn't eat all day in anticipation for the thousands of calories and gobs of grease I would consume. I really wanted to ride one of the carnival rides before the fried feast, so we rode the ZIPPER! It was pretty much amazing. Basically you ride in these cages that are attached to an arm similar to a Ferris Wheel. But the cages also flip randomly, which was the best part. I screamed a lot and got really queasy, but it was fantastic. I love being scared out of my mind.

Afterward we found the barns with the pleasantly smelling animals. Great choice after riding the Zipper. As we were walking through, I just kept thinking, I can't believe people are around these big smelling things all day long and enjoy it. I am quite the country girl as you can probably tell. There were some interesting things to see, like Big Red.


He was very well-behaved considering how much fun the little children were having pulling on his horns and trying to climb on his back. I was too scared to touch him, but I think Josh made a new friend.

After seeing the goats, sheep and pigs we went in search of some deep-fried goodness. Josh bought this french fry brick covered in cheese, which was amazing. Then came the funnel cakes. I had Bavarian Cream and chocolate on mine. Heaven! I think we all felt a little sick afterward. Kyle's face says it all.


We ended the night walking through the photography exhibit, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Lots of amazing pictures, though I think some of mine were a lot better. Maybe I will enter something next year.

Blessings

I think it is amazing how when you just start to put forth a little more effort, the Lord is so willing to bless you abundantly. He really does want us to be happy and is just waiting for us to realize that and show him that we are willing to accept it. He knows we are not perfect and we will stumble often, but he loves us anyway.

"Our perfect Father does not expect us to be perfect children yet. He had only one such Child. Meanwhile, therefore, sometimes with smudges on our cheeks, dirt on our hands, and shoes untied, stammeringly but smilingly we present God with a dandelion-as if it were an orchid or a rose! If for now the dandelion is the best we have to offer, He receives it, knowing what we may later place on the altar. It is good to remember how young we are spiritually."

-Elder Neal A. Maxwell (That Ye May Believe, p. 100.)

I don't want a streamer . . . I want toilet paper!

I think Ellen is hilarious. I was watching one of her stand up DVDs with some friends tonight and I was crying I was laughing so hard. Here is a clip from it, but you should watch the whole DVD, it is great. If you fast forward to about 1:30 that is the beginning of my favorite part. What can I say, I really like bathroom humor.