Oh Monday....

Can I just say how much I am LOVING this new jewelry holder!? Seriously, I love just looking at it!!

I just love seeing all my jewelry in one place! I was using two jewelry boxes and a burlap covered frame to hang my earrings. It looked something like this:

It was nice but I couldn't hang my bracelets & necklaces. I seriously love just looking at it. It's not really small, so I guess when I look at it, I think of Levi being so patient and holding it while he followed me all around Hobby Lobby. He didn't complain at all and didn't give in when I offered to hold it. Sometimes, I just don't understand how he can be SO patient. Man, I'm lucky!

Well I love love love my early birthday gift.  I like my pictures of Jesus up top.

These are some of my most favorite pictures of him. I think it's because how I hope the Savior will embrace me someday. The pics give me hope to know that I'm never alone and that I have a Friend that always knows how I feel. Maybe someday I'll look for these pictures in a large format and get them framed. 

August, in a nutshell.

I have no idea how quickly this month just flew by?!?  To kick start the month, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary on the 3rd...well actually, the weekend before, all through the week and that following weekend.  It was just so wonderful being able to spend so much time with Levi, especially after his summer semester.  I can't believe our first year of marriage flew by!  One whole year!  Wow.  It's been a wonderful year of learning, loving and growing together.  I couldn't be any more grateful to have such a loving, patient, funny partner.  

We didn't do a big exchange of gifts, since we enjoyed some pretty fantastic meals out.  On our actual anniversary we had lunch at Rei do Gado, a Brazilian steak house.  So super good!! It reminded us of eating at Pampas in Las Vegas for our wedding weekend.  The only gift I really wanted was a Peace Lily for my desk at work, in that pretty teal pot.  I didn't realize til now that it matched the burlap banner I bought for us on our anniversary.  I happened to see it when we went by Deseret Bookstore before going to the movies.  It's the truth...life is so much better when he & I are together. I love it. I LOVE him!  

Levi's Dad came in to town and it was nice meeting up with him [middle] and Levi's uncle.  It's nice seeing his Dad.  He's always been so nice to me, ever since I met him.  I remember meeting him, the evening Peej got married. We went by Levi's Dad's house and he was working in the garage on some wood pieces.  He took the time to explain all his toy pieces and the differences in wood.  I'm really quite lucky to have such a nice Father-in-Law.  

This is a recipe I came across that I truly love.  Seriously, it's so good!! I've recommended it to several people.  I thought I'd post it for safe keeping.  

In my last post, I mentioned going to FHE [family home evening] with my friend Odin. Oh man, it was a hilarious evening of lip syncing! I think the guys below were singing...excuse me, I mean, lip syncing to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.  Such a hilarious night!!

OH. MY. GOSH.!!! My friend NeNe sent me this and I was blown away--TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY! I never knew this!  CRAZY!

Speakin' of Nene, she invited me to a Padres game against the Braves!  We took a paid half day off, rode the trolley downtown and enjoyed a lovely Summer day watching some good ol' baseball! We were lucky to score seats in the shade and at one point, it got a lil cold.  But boy oh boy, we enjoyed some Hodad's burgers!! So delish!!

Mamacita [middle] moved to the good  ol' southwest.  I'm surely going to miss her.  It's been such a blessing being able to work with her again, this past year.  I wish her the very best in her next chapter of life.

On Levi's first day of one of his new classes, he forgot his phone at home.  I tried to catch him before he left but I only saw the gate close behind him.  I thought I could catch him before he got to school, but I didn't...so there I was looking for visitor parking at his school.  I had just missed him by 5 minutes by the time I actually found his classroom.  Oh man, it was quite hilarious.  There I was driving around his campus, praying that I would see him walking to class.  I found an info desk, luckily remembered what the name of his class was, obtained a campus map and waited outside his classroom door.  I was so nervous! I felt like some sort of deranged ex-girlfriend stalking him down.  Since it was his first day in this new class, I didn't want him to not have his phone in case he needed something off his email or the internet.  Fortunately, I caught a girl walking towards the classroom door and kindly asked her if she could give him his phone.  When he arrived home that night, he was so amazed I could find him!! I was somewhat embarrassed that I would do such a thing and hunt him down like that.  So odd, yet so, so funny!!

Last weekend, we went to Pt. Loma Seafood Company. Oh man, some of the best seafood you can find in San Diego!! It was so scrumptious!! I loved the Shrimp & Cod!  Plus it was so nice down on the harbor. I surely love living in San Diego!! 

I had an old friend in town, this past week. She served her LDS mission here in San Diego, when I was about 18/19 years old....back around 1999. It was so great seeing her [middle] again, since it's been 10 years since I last saw her. Catching up with her was just so easy and lovely.  Plus, it was cool that she invited me back to their hotel to go swimming. I will NEVER turn down an opportunity to sit in a jacuzzi! She & her friend wanted to eat Mexican, so I took them to one of the best Mexican restaurants in San Diego; Old Town Mexican Cafe! Oh man, I love the food & mariachi music there!! It was such a wonderful evening!

To round out the month, Levi & I went to Hobby Lobby since we're blessed to live so close to the only one in San Diego county!  Originally, we went by to find supplies to make a jewelry hanger. We found this lovely gem!! Oh man, I LOVE it!! This was better than I could have ever expected to find!! PLUS, it was on SALE!! 50% OFF!!! WHAAAAAAA??!  Yeah, half off and way more efficient than I could have ever thought up!! Thank you Levi for my terrific early birthday present!! So wonderful! I can't wait to fill it up! ;)

I still can't believe this month flew by so quickly! I can't believe September is on the horizon...and you know what September means?!?! BIRTHDAY MONTH!! I can't wait! :)

About blogging & friendships...

I really dislike the fact that I don't blog as often as I'd like to. I like blogging because I always feel like a good way to keep in touch with long distant loved ones. I know the biggest turn off I have with blogging is that estranged relatives continue to read my blog. I don't get it but maybe it gives them stuff to later badger me with... Lame.

Anyways, I have so much to blog about but at the same time, I'm trying to journal more. I guess you could say that I'm trying to find a nice balance. 

In the mean while.... Let's see what I've got.

Yesterday, after a very touching funeral, I went out to lunch with Hermanita. I love anytime I get to be friends with her in real life. I wish I could see all my dear close friends in person, all the time. I miss human interaction. I think social media is such a fake crutch for friendships. I love hearing and seeing friends, whenever possible. Lunch out with her was just a so great! I love girl talk! It's always so fun to hear what's going on in their lives. 

Plus, when there's delicious food and especially tasty cheesecake, it makes it even better! What a fun afternoon!

I can't believe it's already Sunday night. I'm not a big fan of Sunday night, a.k.a. Monday eve. Although, I'll be hanging out with my friend Odin and going to FHE tomorrow at my old ward. 

I think the thing that makes me a lil nervous about tomorrow is that I'm taking Odin to my old singles ward. There's a couple people that I'd like to steer clear of because they gossip. Here's the thing...I've known Odin since we were like 7 years old. We've always JUST been friends, NOTHING more. He's a cool guy and in this day and age, how often are people still friends with their childhood friends and can actually see them in real life? I'm lucky I can count on both hands the amount of childhood friends I still have in my life and city. Blessed, I tell ya! Well, I've also been extremely fortunate to have a very loving and trusting husband that knows I would never do anything to jeopardize his trust and our marriage. I'm glad he loves me so much to understand that friends mean a lot to me, no matter what the gender. Besides, when it comes down to male friends, I've made sure to introduce Levi to all of them that I ever plan on hanging out with. I would never want him to feel uncomfortable, at all. 

I know a couple friends have thought it to be weird if I ever hang out with male friends. I can understand their hesitancy due to some LDS standards. What it comes down to is trust and honesty. 

I hate having to explain myself. I would think that if people REALLY know me, there'd be no discussion at all. End of story. 

Well it's late and I need to get some sleep. Plus this Bruddah Iz iHeart radio station is starting to work its magic, I'm relaxed and definitely ready for bed.