Wedding Shower Bliss

The wedding is about 5 weeks away, and on Saturday, Vanessa threw me the most amazing shower. It was thoughtful and all about me, and she is the most amazing friend. My mom was able to come down from Eureka, my Grandma came out from Chico, and Jen came up from Marina, in addition to all my local friends who were there. I am truly thankful for all the thoughtful wishes and gifts that came my way, and for the help that Katy and Lisa gave to Vanessa for the day. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed spending time with some of the lovely ladies in my life. My camera is currently MIA, so pictures will be posted as soon as I find it. You guys are awesome, and I cannot thank you enough for such a wonderful celebration.

A special shout-out for Vanessa, though, who went above and beyond and is simply amazing. You are the best friend, ever, and I am touched by your generosity and thoughtfulness. Thanks, V!

Love

Last night I was working on some homework. It was supposed to be simple and easy; download a program, watch a tutorial video, find some other stuff, and write a few paragraphs. No problem. Except I started working on it at 4 pm and didn't finish until after 2 am. Why? Because the stupid thing wouldn't install correctly. Kevin tried working on it when he came home and tried to get it to work from 6 pm until 12 am, when things finally came together and I could begin the assignment, which of course is due today.

But this post isn't about how dysfunctional ArcGIS Explorer is, or how stupid I am finding Macbooks right now. No, it is about the amazing awesomeness that is my fiance. He comes home around 5:45, sees I am having issues, and gets to trying to solve the problem. He tried to figure different things out to make it work, and was finally able to ninja something and had me going by midnight. And then, even though he has work today, he stayed up with me and kept me going until I finished. So he just sat with me. Gave me encouragement, and helped me figure stuff out when I blanked. That, my friends, is love.

So thank you, my genius of a man. I am falling asleep and blanking out at various points today, but I do so with the full knowledge that Kevin is too. And that he didn't have to be. But he is because he is with me, every step of the way.

So hard to say good-bye

So this has really been a hard post for me to write, but it is one I've been working towards for a while now. I found out a few weeks ago that the Beach House has been sold. Escrow is apparently supposed to close at the end of the month. Just to give you a little background...

My great-grandfather built that house about 60 or 70 years ago. My grandmother grew up there, and my mom grew up going there during the summer and other family vacations. I grew up going there at least once, sometimes twice, a year. We had family reunions there every year, sometimes with 30 or 40 people crammed into that house, but we made it work. We would go to the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz every year to ride the Giant Dipper and the merry-go-round, and maybe eat some funnel cake. As the cousins got older, we would spend a day there, riding all the rides and wandering around. We would boogy-board and go for night swims, walk to the cement ship together, and explore the museum. A major school-clothes shopping trip happened at the Gilroy Outlets every year. But mostly our family would gather together and just hang out. We bonded, and listened to stories from my mom and her sibling about their growing up years, and what my grandparents were like. I never met them, so being at the Beach House was a bit of a connection for us.

I was fortunate enough to have had several trips to the Beach House with my friends over the years. Kevin was able to experience a Beach House weekend with the family this past summer, so he has an idea of what I mean whenever I talk about the Beach House.

I'll be honest, it breaks my heart that the Beach House is gone. I grew up going there, and was looking forward to taking my own children there, someday. But now it will only be a memory and a good story to share with them. For those of you who know me well, I don't cry. But I bawled like a baby when I heard the news that the house had been sold. It has been something of a grieving process for me. I feel like I've lost a member of the family. I know every nook and cranny of that house, and feel like I grew up there. It is such a part of my life, that I don't know what I will do without it. I'm grateful for the time I did have it, and for all that it has represented to our family. It's just really hard to say good-bye.

Feeling the love

Maybe I'm a little sentimental today because it is Valentine's Day, but I have been going through the RSVP's for the wedding, and am feeling the love. All of my family and the vast majority of my really close friends are from out of town, about 5-7 hours in any direction (via plane, train, or car), and pretty much all of them are coming here for the wedding. I feel so loved by them all, and am touched by their excitement and willingness to travel long distances, spend money for food and lodging, and be here for me on the big day. I love you guys! Thanks for being fabulous!

My new motto

Women are angels; when someone breaks our wings we continue to fly... On a broom stick because we're flexible like that.