every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end

a thought just occurred to me. a single thought that turned into many thoughts which is now turning into this blog. i have had many endings and beginnings in my life. i'm sure you all have too. it's kind of a natural occurrence as a person grows and moves through their life. i was thinking of a particular ending when i was 15 years old and how i did not realize the significance of that event nor its ending back then. it wasn't until now that i thought about how that ending set the stage for many endings to come. it certainly wasn't the first ending in my life and not even close to most significant, but it got me thinking of how much a person must adapt to changes. things ending while others begin. it happens all the time. even without our awareness or wanting.

on this particular day, shortly after my 15th birthday, i had just boarded a greyhound bus in jamestown, nd. i was going home after a summer away. away from most things i had known. my parents, my siblings, my friends and my home. i had been staying with my aunt and uncle, working in the hotel that they were managing at the time. it was a wonderful experience and i am grateful that my parents trusted me enough to allow me to go. i learned a lot that summer but didn't realize it or even think about it until now. that summer was one of the best summers i had growing up.

anyways, as the bus drove away i started to cry. why, i wasn't sure at the time. i was excited to go home. my family was moving into a new house and i was starting high school in a few weeks. ok, so i was nervous too about all the changes that had taken place while i was gone but also very glad to be getting back to normal. but i had formed these great relationships and i didn't want to leave them behind knowing they would not stay the same. that summer i had so much freedom, with my parents being over 1,000 miles away it was difficult to keep them in the loop. i had met so many interesting people that have definitely influenced me throughout the years in different ways. i guess it was the mix of emotions that finally got to me as the bus pulled away. it was the ending of a very important event in my life and the beginning of a new adventure at home.

i hated that bus ride. the people were so weird and scary! i was terrified. i even considered getting off the bus somewhere in montana and calling my parents to come pick me up. i didn't think i could handle one more second of it. but, in the end i sucked it up and got back on the bus knowing the inconvenience it would have been for them. i was lucky to not have to sit next to someone most of the way. until we reached ogden and the bus filled up. an old, stinky, dirty, dingy guy asked if he could sit by me. he even called me "sweetie" which freaked me out even more. i remember staring out of the window the whole time trying not to smell him, see him, hear him, or touch him. i couldn't have been more happy to get to the depot in salt lake. ugh, was i glad to be back. i haven't ridden the bus since! alas, i digress.

so, here i am in the midst of a new beginning. graduation marked the ending of my life as a student. now, i've got my license and have started seeing clients helping them through their life's transitions. i truly love the work i do, although it does have its moments, it is something i have dreamt about for a long time. i just can't help but think about the summer i spent as a housekeeper in teeny, tiny jamestown.

i'm grossed out

so, today i was enjoying the morning by laying in bed, surfing the net, and waiting to get lady gaga tix when the pre-sales starts. that is until i had dr. oz on the tv (which is weird cuz i hate watching that show and i don't like him so much and always change the channel!) and he showed both a uterus and penis from a cadaver for illustrative purposes. wtf! nice start to the day.

pre-grad celebration and visit to the sunshine state

the cohort got together for a pre-graduation get together at an amazing italian pizza restaurant. here are "the girls" (minus Beta who now lives in FL and is featured later in this blog:) with sweet baby Camilla. we love being surrogate aunties!

the next day i traveled to florida to visit Beta and her lil fam. her little guy, felipe is sooo adorable and full of energy. here they are at the beach. i'm shocked felipe doesn't have sand dripping out of his mouth. he insisted on eating it. he would try to find hiding places where he could eat the sand. it was super cute. felipe and i spent the weekend learning from each other. he taught me portuguese, while i taught him english. and you know the saying "that's my name, don't wear it out"? well, i'm pretty sure he wore my name out that weekend. i can't even count how many times he said my name. check out that grin:)

i'm thinking this is a dead jelly fish. i've never seen one in the wild, dead or alive. it was kinda cool. i'm glad it was dead.

we drove to st. augustine which is like the oldest city in the US or something. the spanish conquistadors discovered it (ponce de leon to be exact) and preceeded to fight with england and portugal for dibs. i think anyways...and i'm too lazy to wikipedia it so i'm going to go with it. now, it's a wonderful tourist trap and very loverly. they even have ghost tours and hearse rides. of course they also have horse-drawn carriages if riding in a hearse creeps you out like it does me!

this old building is a modern day college. i can't believe people actually go to school at such a beautiful and historic place.

the rotunda inside the college.

beautiful stained glass. such intricate details.

the old governor's mansion.

an old catholic church. i couldn't get in because they were having mass but i'm sure it's beautiful inside.

old mill. many of the buildings are very old but it's great to see such history. america is a relatively young country, especially the west so you it's not every day that you see stuff like this.

castillo de san marcos. the spanish fort to fight the enemies off.

such an interesting place.

st. augustine houses the fountain of youth. i was super disappointed that they were closed by the time we got there. i would have liked to have had some of that water! i remember learning about ponce de leon and the fountain of youth when i was in elementary school. so amazing for me to be in the places that i once learned about as a kid. makes me want to travel more to see the places that make up history. i loved it! the rest of my trip went wonderfully and it was so nice to see my friend and catch up. although i did miss my husband. and i think he missed me.

random happenings as of late

so, i've been really lazy about blogging and this isn't really a blog but i wanted to share some pics. i love this pic of our lil mamma. it's very telling of her average daily activities! good thing she's so cute...

while mamma's been napping, brandon's been working on his newest toy: a 3-wheeler or as he refers to it-a bad ass wheelie machine. whatever. as long as he's happy and safe.

more to come...hopefully soon!

ramblings

so, i'm up early on a sunday and have a strong urge to blog...although i don't have anything particular in mind to blog about. this should be fun and hopefully not boring for you all.

lots of good and exciting things are going on in our little world. i'll be graduating in less than 2 weeks! lots of celebrations to commemorate the occasion. woohoo! the same day that i graduate my lil sis, krista, will turn 21. finally!! "p-a-r-t-why?...because i gotta!" name that movie???

i'm taking a pre-graduation celebratory trip to visit a DDF in Florida next weekend. i haven't seen her in over a year or her lil guy who is now about a year and a half old. can't wait for some fun in the sun and girlie chatting/catching up. never been to jacksonville before. i'm sure it's beautiful...guess i'll find out:)

in early june my BFF is getting married and i am the matron of honor. i have many duties and lots to do, but she is super happy and i'm really excited for her and her man. i went to a shower for her last night and tied my first quilt. i loved it. i'm inspired to make one of my own...if i can find someone to sew it for me! i hate sewing. but i just love the tied quilts. it's funny cuz my fam in nd actually think tying quilts a sub-standard form of quilting. well, mostly my g-ma b. but i think they are so cute. after the shower we had a "stuffing" party and stuffed all her announcements. signed, sealed, and not yet delivered. i love wedding stuff. i had a blast planning my own wedding and i love seeing hers come together.

the 4-wheeling season is kinda off to a slow start. but, we are getting there. we've been to the dunes twice together (brandon's gone a couple of other times) and we are going out tomorrow for some trail riding. this time last year we had been to the dunes like 10 times or something.

so, this has successfully turned into a bragging post. sorry. if it helps, just know our cat is supa fat and we have weeds instead of grass in our front yard.

finally...our san diego trip

the reason this post took foreva is cuz i was not looking forward to going through hundreds of pics to find the ones i wanted to share. and i still chose too many. i guess i'm about to overshare with ya'll but that's coo cuz you're probably going to look through them all anyway:) enjoy!!

first pic of brandon and he was already irritated with the camera. but we had a great sunset the first night we were there and i had to try to capture it.

some kayakers in the bay.

a little known fact about brandon: he can't ever just take a walk; he has to find something to occupy his hands. it's a special treat when we walk on the beach because then he finds kelp to play with. yuck!

the san diego mission's bell tower. it was california's first of many and so beautiful. it was built in like the 1500's and had beautiful grounds. i wanted to take pics inside BUT a funeral was about to go down and i just didn't think it appropriate.

view of lighthouse from whale watching cruise.

us on whale watching cruise. it was a lot of waiting and just hanging out to see a few whale tails and "flukeprints." marine biology lesson: flukeprints are when a whale's fluke (the very end fins) crest the water and leave a glass-like imprint in the water for a while. this really excited lady kept yelling "oooh's" and "awww's" and "wow, those flukeprints are beautiful!" it was pretty hilarious. but, whales are freaking huge! we saw a few including a humpback.

a passing aircraft carrier. the pic just doesn't do justice to it's size. amazing.

skyline of downtown san diego.

there were soooo many ducks at the hotel. and they were pretty aggressive when we were feeding them. oh well, brandon showed them what happens when they get too close to him--he picked one up and held it for a bit. a little kid nearby was like "mom! he picked one up!! how'd you do that?!" he was in awe. i loved his excitement.

the hotel grounds were so serene and lush. i took lots of pics but i'll spare you the boring details. but, something really excited happened there--we saw a celebrity at the pool! john michael higgins (whose been in so many movies but always a supporting role) walked by us and smiled and we looked at each other and brandon said, "i know that guy" and i said "ya! he's in movies!!" i was so stoked, but didn't want to interrupt his family vacay for an autograph or pic. it was fun seeing a celeb though. you know me, i like the celebrities!!

us at ocean beach.

a weird tree that was half tree half cactus. very strange.

at the san diego zoo. there's a baby panda in the back...awwww, how tender!

it was rainy the morning we went to the zoo. so, instead of purchasing a $30 umbrella we got $4 ponchos. we still got pretty wet but probably not as wet as we would have been if we had to share an umbrella.

the lil ape was sooo cute. he kept jumping on the big ones and throwing dirt up at them to get them to play. then he went and sat by this big one and started "showing" him the landscape. too cute! and so humanlike!

they hippos were angry at each other and were snorting it out!

us on the pacific beach pier.

that's all folks!

a few ways you know you're getting older when...

• you find yourself enjoying the oldies station on the radio a lot more often
• it feels wrong to crush on leading actors because they're that much younger than you
• you are not the youngest person at work anymore
• the newest technology takes awhile to figure out
• clothing that was popular when you were a child is popular again
• you can't help but think how much cheaper things used to be
• people get your attention by calling you ma'am

it's a little sad and i know it's only going to get worse! maybe i should focus on the good things about getting older...