The Peterson's

I was sooo excited to have my best buddy come and visit. And, not only was Shelly coming, but Justin (her husband) and Jaimeson (her adorable baby) were coming to visit as well! Shelly was supposed to come earlier this year but a last minute emergency caused for cancellation! I was definitely overdue for some bonding time with my friend. The trip did not disappoint, we had a great time!

They arrived super late on Friday night so we just headed home and went to bed. On Saturday we got up early to head into Beverly Hills for the boys (Jeff and Justin) to play in a flag football tournament. It was pretty commical. Jeff and Justin both played football at Willamette University and let's just say - boy, we are all getting old. Jeff is still complaining about his bad back and knee. While the boys were getting warmed up at the field Shelly, Jaimeson and I headed over to The Grove for a little shopping and to pick up some lunch. We were definitely on celebrity watch but no luck! Following the football festivities (our boys were champs by the way) we headed back to our place to relax and cook up some burgers on the BBQ. After dinner, Jaimeson went to bed and we started up a "friendly" game of poker. I thought it was all fun and games but after Shelly bullied me into going all in on a hand that I NEVER should have, resulting in me to lose half my stack, I decided it was time to get serious. About an hour later I proceeded to finish off everyone at the poker table - "I never lose!"

Sunday was our beach day. We headed over to Zuma, our favorite beach and got all settled in. This is a picture of Jaimeson and I on the beach. He didn't know what to think of that sand at first but after a few minutes he was all about it, loved it. He even picked up a couple girls while there! Jaimeson was in CA for two days and made more friends than I have in two years - ha! It was adorble. We finished off the weekend with Sushi at one of our favorite places and then introduced the Peterson's to Rock Band. OMG - Justin was addicted! I wouldn't be surprised if the Peterson's went home and bought it. I love introducing people to that game and I love it even more when they love it as much as I do! On the way to the airport I swung the Peterson's by our new house which we were supposed to close on that week and then we made a stop at Smooch (the Kardashians baby store) and were very disappointed. Nothing cute and anything that was cute was SOOO expensive. I was really sad that they all had to leave, but it was so nice to have my best friend and her family share a weekend with my little family during my Life As A Wife.

So Much Has Happened

I might as well be fired as a blogger. I suck!

Honestly, life has been a little crazy.

I am so excited to share all that has been happening recently during my Life As A Wife.

Giveaways

So one of the things that my expert blogger friend has introduced me to is the world of blog giveaways. If you visit her blog, The Stationary Place, and simply comment on her blog you are entered to win a free gift! They are really cute journals!

As usual, I am behind on my blogging - so more to come from me regarding my Life As A Wife.

I Bought A House

Well almost...still in escrow, but HOW EXCITING!!!!

Jeff and I had been talking about buying a house since before we moved to Southern California. The plan was to get me down here, get a job and then buy a house that we would move into once we got married. Well, we thank the Lord everyday that "our plan" did not go as planned. At the time, interest rates were at about 6.8% and that was a good rate, and home prices were at an all-time high. Now, just over a year later, interest rates have dropped to an all-time low as have housing prices. If we would have bought two years ago we would be upside down in a home that we were paying an arm and a leg for. Needless to say, for some reason, Jeff and I decided two years ago that we were not quite ready to buy and we stopped looking.

When we filed our taxes this year we were told by numerous individuals (accountants, friends, family, etc.) that we really needed to purchase a home in order to have a tax write off. We started to listen. On top of that, the federal government announced an offer for a $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers and the state of California announced and offer for a $10,000 tax credit for a purchase of a brand new home. We started to realize it was a horrible idea NOT to buy a house. When Jeff's parents were visiting in May we thought it would be fun to drive around the area and pop into a few open houses. Never did we think we would stumble across a home that we would actually buy!!! But, we did! The stars aligned and we found the perfect home. After thinking about it for over a month we finally decided that it was time to put in an offer - that day happened to be June 22nd. For anyone that knows me, you know that my two alltime favorite numbers are 6 and 22. It couldn't be mere coincidence that I was writing up an offer on a home for the first time in my life on 06.22. Anyway, after about a month of back and forth with the seller we finally heard word this week that they accepted our offer! We entered into escrow on 07.22 (22 again, what are the chances??) and if all goes as planned we will have keys in hand on August 21!

Here are some pictures of our brand new home!!!

The outside...

The kitchen...

The fireplace in the living room...

The dining room...

The guest bathroom...

The master bathroom...

The master bedroom...

The view...

Keep us in your prayers that all goes well. I can't wait to become a home owner during my Life As A Wife.

Whidbey Island

Following our 4th of July in Warrenton, Jeff and I took the train up to Mukilteo, Washington to catch a ferry boat over to Whidbey Island. Jeff's mom's family has had a cabin on the island since the 60's and Jeff and I were so excited to get up there to spend time with his family, relax on the island and have a little fun on the Puget Sound. It turned out to be just what we needed - an escape from the "real" world filled with evenings sitting around the campfire, time on the boat, walking along the beach searching for the perfect shell, laying out in the extremely rare Washington sunshine, crabbing, fishing, berry picking, adventures on ferry boats over to the San Juan Islands (and yes, we took every opportunity available to sing "I'm on a boat!"), and more importantly time with our family and each other without life's normal distractions.

It is such a nostalgic place to be as so many generations in Jeff's family have enjoyed the Whidbey Island cabin. Jan (Jeff's Mom)'s grandparents were the original owners, they used to vacation there with their children and eventually passed the cabin along to Jan's mom. Jan's mom and dad are both still alive and they, along with their four children, now own the cabin. For Jan to have experienced this cabin as a child and now to be here with her own children, their wives, and her own grandchildren it must be such a special place for her. It is special to me and I don't have even a unth of the history that she has with it. Who knows, maybe someday that same cabin will continue to experience more and more generations to come.

Following the week at the cabin we headed into Seattle for Jeff's cousin's wedding. It was the perfect end to a relaxing week vacation. The ceremony was beautiful and as it should, reminded me of not too long ago when Jeff and I were the ones standing up there reciting our vows. The reception was then held at the EMP - Experience Music Project - and it was really cool! There reception was set up right next to a small tribute that was set up for the late Michael Jackson - this is his infamous glove! I just had to take a picture. All together, our trip to Warrenton followed by Whidbey Island was just what the doctor ordered for Jeff and I to spend a little time together, slow down the pace of life a little and take a break to stop and smell the roses. I absolutely cherish these moments and the memories made like this during my Life As A Wife.

Clam Digging On An Americana 4th of July

I grew up on the Oregon Coast. While growing up I never realized that there are things you can do there that you don't get to do really anywhere else. I just assumed the rest of the world was similar to the small little bubble I lived in. Over the years since I have left Warrenton, I have really enjoyed getting to bring friends, espeically Jeff, to town and let them experience a little bit of what my life was like growing up. So, I was really excited when it worked out for Jeff and I to spend the 4th of July in Warrenton this year, he never had actually been in Warrenton for the 4th.

We started out the day by waking up at 4:45 am to go clam digging. It was an absolutely beautiful morning on the coast, relatively warm and barely a breeze, extremely rare! We had a blast. My mom, her husband, my dad, Jeff and I arrived to the beach and set out to dig us some razor clams. We had a blast and had 5 full limits within 30 minutes of arriving. After that, we headed back to my moms and had ourselves a big clam bake - mmm, so good. You just can't get good razor clams at a restaurant, my mom makes them better than anyone! After that we walked down to the fire department/city hall for free burgers! Free burgers!!! and then prepared to watch the big Warrenton 4th of July parade. This is a BIG event in Warrenton. Every year, all of the county fire trucks line up, the Astoria clowns (which includes many distinguished individuals from throughout the county), a few local organizations, local dignitaries and some random locals who decide to put together floats and parade through Main Street of downtown Warrenton (if there really is such a thing). It is a blast and one of the few parades that still lets you throw candy - lots of candy. I have been in that parade myself more times that I can count and it was so much fun to fly in from my very different life in Los Angeles to see the hokey little Warrenton parade - experiencing true community and everything the 4th of July should represent. It was Americana at its best. The above picture is my niece Riley and some of her friends riding their dirt bikes/ATVs in the parade and to the right is my mom's husband with his awesome Chevy in the parade.

After that, we spent the evening at my Uncle Bubbas, played some yard games, ate some amazing food and watched his extremely illegal fireworks show. What better than family, traditions, community, good food and fireworks on the 4th of July - oh, and Smokey the Bear. And more than anything, I loved sharing the experience with Jeff during my Life As A Wife.

Hoopfest 2009

Every year since he was in 2nd grade, Jeff has partaken in Spokane, Washington's annual Hoopfest. The first summer we were dating, I was in Alaska during the tournament and I assumed it was just a little 3-on-3 basketball tournament - similar to the ones in the church parking lot growing up. Little did I know, Hoopfest was beyond big! Jeff and his buddies have played together for years. There passion for the event has grown from being 8 years old trying to have enough strength to get the ball high enough to have a chance at going in, to progressing to junior high/high school where the competition was tough and losing was not an option, to now - 26 years old, hoping you are sober enough to play and trying to have the funniest costume in hopes that the local TV station and/or newspaper might swing by their court and they can get their 15 seconds of fame.

In all seriousness though, this tournament is absolutely amazing! They completely shut down the streets throughout the entire downtown area of Spokane and set up over 400 half courts. There are over 27,000 participants ranging in ages from 7 to well, let's just say old. And, supposedly it brings in over $42 million in revenue to the local area. It's pretty phenomenal and Jeff was so lucky to have grown up experiencing something like this. Actually, the feeling I get being there is similar to the feeling that I get when I watch a marathon - seeing people devote so much to a sport and seeing people come together from all walks of life, income levels, stages in life, etc. for something as enjoyable as this. It is such a testament of community. It's pretty inspiring (as you can see from this picture, Jeff and Jeremy were inspired to take a nap).

Anyway, Jeff and I headed up to Spokane for the festivities again this year and it did not disappoint. We had a blast catching up with all of Jeff's high school friends. And, the boys decided it would be a good idea to wear sleeping bags in the 90 degree weather as their uniforms - seriously, they wore this! It was hillarious! For the first time, this year I started thinking about the possibility of some day watching my own children play in the annual Spokane Hoopfest. Maybe we would even have a family team, ha! I love getting to make these memories that will last a lifetime and think about the possibilities of the future during my Life As A Wife.

Ten Years...Really?

My ten year reunion took place about a month ago. On the day I graduated high school I started thinking about my ten year reunion. Romy & Michele's High School Reunion had come out just a couple years before that and how could one not fantasize about what it would one day be like. Would I be the one that had to show up and make up lies about what I had done the past ten years? "I invented Post-Its." - HA! Would I be married? Would I have children? Where would I live? Graduating from high school was an exciting time in a teenagers life and your ten year reunion seemed to offer some sort of future gauging mechanism for what would be in the years to come.

A few other girls from my class and I took it upon ourselves to start the planning. At first, I was just as gung-ho about the whole thing as I had been on graduation day. But, as the planning went on, and the majority of our class showed such apathy toward the whole thing, it got me thinking, "maybe this wasn't going to be as cool as I had always thought it would be. And, why didn't anyone care? Should I even go?"

The planning progressed and it wasn't until about two weeks out from the festivities that I finally said, "ok, we are going. I don't want to ever look back and think I wished I would have went to my reunion." Overall it ended up being a great time. It was absolutely wonderful to see some people I hadn't seen in years. The strange thing was that for the most part, everyone seemed to still be the same person - looked the same, acted the same, still got made fun of for the same old things, etc. - but for some reason, those "same people" that had been inseparable ten years prior, were now nearly complete strangers. How did that happen?

I am from a small town, so the majority of my graduating class was with me on my first day of kindergarten (a few even with me for preschool). We were all friends over the years. But were we all just friends because we had been since we were 5 - we didn't know anything else or more specifically, anyONE else? It isn't until you are separated from them and go your different ways that you start to realize that although you love those people and they will always be a part of your life, you will come across other individuals throughout life's path that you will find a connection with unlike anything you had ever experienced previously. You become friends with these new people because you "choose" them to be your friend, not merely because you had known them since you were 5. I have extremely fond memories of growing up in Warrenton, Oregon and I absolutely adore each and every one of the special people that helped me to become the person that I am today. I miss many of those people and there are even parts of me that sometimes wish I would have done things a little differently in order to keep those people in my life more over the years. And, there are certain friends that I have been fortunate enough to reconnect with in the past few years - thanks to the wonders of the world wide web I have a great means to communicate and stay in touch even though we are thousands of miles apart.

All in all, I have to say that I am really glad that I attended my reunion and more importantly, I am extremely proud of Warrenton High School's class of 1999. Each and every person that I was able to catch up with at my reunion seems happy and whatever it is they are all doing, they are trying to be the best at it. Be it a stay at home mom, a nurse (Sammy that is your shout out), a teacher, a mechanic or still trying to find there way, I am sincerely proud to know each and every one of those people and so thankful for all of the memories we made together and shared over the years. I also have to admit that the hubs - who's high school was bigger than our college - got a complete kick out of my little small town reunion. I love being able to share exciting milestones such as this with my husband during my Life As A Wife.

Slacker...

I am such a slacker. I am over a month behind on blogs now. I can't even believe it. Lots of things to catch you all up on...stories coming soon :)

June And Fourf

June 4th, or for those that knew me when I was 3 - June and fourf, was my birthday. Jeff had been asking me what I wanted for a while and (in the spirit of wanting to experience all that Southern California has to offer) I told him I either wanted to go to the San Diego Zoo or Sea World. On the night of my birthday the hubs cooked me a great dinner - halibut, my favorite. And, bought me cupcakes from this cute little Cupcakery in Thousand Oaks. We had a great night celebrating together and when I opened my present from him it was a print out of pictures of the San Diego Zoo, a Hilton hotel and the Padres Stadium - we were heading to San Diego for a weekend-o-fun!

We drove straight from TO to the Zoo on the Saturday morning after my birthday. I hadn't been to a zoo in years - actually I can't remember the last time I went - and the San Diego one is world famous so I was extremely excited! My favorite was the monkeys, they are just so cute. As much fun as the zoo was, I have determined that the zoo is one of the best forms of birth control one could ever imagine. That place was full of screaming children, impatient and mean parents (treating their children like dogs - "sit," "stay" and walking them around on leashes), and strollers everywhere that kept running into us! Definitely no children for us anytime soon! Here are some pictures from the zoo... (notice the Bearcat - go Bearcats! - and the aragatang up against the window, he loved the little kids!)

We left the zoo to check into our hotel, the brand new Hilton on the waterfront in San Diego. When we were checking in I noticed the girl as the front desk looked extremely familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it how I knew her. When we walked up to her I noticed that her name tag said her name was Katie and that she was from Seattle, WA. That gave me a frame of reference and it suddenly hit me, she was the little sister of one of my friends from college. I had only met her once - over 6 years ago at my friends wedding - but she remembered me as well. Lucky for us, she hooked us up with an upgrade to a corner suite, paid for our parking and gave us VIP vouchers for breakfast at Starbucks. Nice! That night we hit up the Gaslamp area of San Diego for dinner and then headed to the Padres game. It was a great weekend, a wonderful celebration of my birthday and a happy little staycation with the hubby during my Life As A Wife.

A Visit From The In-Laws

For some, the thought of this would be harrowing. But for me, I love my in-laws and was super excited when they decided to come visit us. The trip turned into a 4x celebration of Happy Mother's Day to Jan, Happy Birthday to Jeff, Happy Birthday to JoLee and Happy Father's Day to Mike - all of which were happening within a few weeks of when they came to visit. They also instructed us not to try to pack too much in - last time they were down we didn't sit still for even a second. So, we tried to keep this weekend a little lower key.

On Saturday, we had decided on evening plans to dine at Nobu for our 4X celebration. For anyone that reads Us Weekly or any of those other trashy magazines you will know that Nobu is quite the hot spot for celebrities. And, being that the location is actually in Malibu, just heading to that city you are sure to spot some famous people. They also have amazing sushi!!! Yah to Jan for trying sushimi and sake for the first time. Anyway, when we first arrived there were paparazzi strolling around the area as if they were waiting for someone - someone had to be coming! We even asked one of the professional photographers to snap this photo of the four of us in front of Nobu (not many people can say they have had their picture taken by a paparazzi - suffice it to say it was with our camera, but oh well, still cool if you ask me!). When we sat down Mike noticed someone of recognition at the table next to us - Rob Reiner. He isn't anyone I would have recognized but once I looked him up online I realized I had seen a ton of his work.

Now for the best part!!! On the way out of the restaurant we walked out the door and noticed a car mysteriously parked right in front of the restaurant in the middle of the parking lot (not in a spot). There was a TMZ camera man filming it and talking about what it was - that TMZ link is a link to the actual video that guy was shooting while we were standing there!!!! At the very beginning of the video you can see Jan and I standing in the background and then at about 30 seconds into the video you can see Jeff and Mike standing in the background. Hilarious!!!! While we were standing there trying to figure out what was going on I could overhear the cameraman say, "...here we have Cloris Leachman's car, she thought Nobu had valet so she just stopped her car, left the keys and headed into the restaurant." How random? Jan and I were immediately excited and decided we needed to see her! We went back into Nobu, telling the hostess that we needed to use the restroom again and made a loop. We were on our way back out when we suddenly spotted her sitting with a family. We obviously didn't want to bother her so we just had our personal moment and left. When we came back out to her car a man was getting in and the camera man was drilling him about who he was (he is the bald guy walking out with her at the end of the video). They asked if he was her personal valet and he said, "no, I am just dating her daughter so I am lucky enough to park her car too." It was hilarious.

Anyway, on Sunday we headed to church, ate a huge lunch and then decided it would be fun to drive around and look at houses for sale in the neighborhood. We came across this one brand new house that we all fell in love with...isn't it cute! We are not sure if we are quite ready for a home purchase but seeing this place made us realize that there are definitely homes out there that are within our price range and worth a little more investigation. A huge thank you to Jan and Mike for coming to see us, taking us to dinner to see celebrities and urging us to look at homes in our area. Who knows, I might just become a home owner during my Life As A Wife.

Happy Happy Birthday To Jeffrey

Jeff's birthday was May 19th (that gives you a better idea of just how far behind I am on these blogs). He didn't want to do anything too exciting for his birthday so we decided on a low key evening the actual night of his special day, and then a little weekend staycation to further celebrate. I had planned out a great feast to cook for Jeff on his birthday, making him his all-time favorite food - lobster. I purchased everything and was ready to go. That morning I got a call from my friend - she had tickets to the American Idol finale and wanted me to go with her...that night. I was thrilled for her but I was completely torn - it was my husband's birthday, could I really ditch him on his birthday so that I could go and do something totally amazing? I opted to turn down the tickets and cook Jeff that amazing meal instead. He appreciated it, and looking back (although I still kick myself) I am really glad I made the choice to spend his special day with him.

That weekend we decided to head out to Pismo Beach and explore the area including San Lois Obispo. Neither of us had really spent time there and thought it would be a great little weekend get away. We had a blast. We stayed at a complete dive of a hotel - the Quality Inn - and spent our time shopping, eating, winetasting and riding ATVs. It was amazing, an absolute blast. Kind of funny too, on our way out to the dunes to rent our ATVs I talked to my dad and he asked if Jeff and I had ever rode ATVs together and asked who was a better rider. My dad also said, that I better kick Jeff's butt! Needless to say, Jeff was impressed with my skills and during the one and only race we had that day I passed the finish line at least a football field in length before him! There are not many thigns I can beat him at so I have to brag about this one for a while!

On our last night there we decided to eat at the Cracked Crab. It was amazing and definitely worth the two hour wait! We ordered the Big Bucket For Two in which they cook everything all together and then come and dump it directly onto your table. It was fun and the food was great - growing up with a father as a commercial fisherman I am pretty picky when it comes to seafood, this was good stuff! Jeff and I ate way more than we should of but we didn't care, we were on vacation. The fun times and sacrifices I make to celebrate my hubby's birthday during my Life As A Wife.

I Am Sew LA

My husband has always thought that the greatest benefit of having a Mormon friend was that you always had a built in designated driver (we love Skipper for that, he has been clutch on multiple occasions). For me, I love having a Mormon friend for she has brought out the inner-craftiness in me. I always had it in me (I mean I enjoy it and I am decent at craft projects), but I just needed a reason to bring it out. Recently, my coworkers (which includes my crafty Mormon friend) talked me into taking a sewing class, the name of the place - Sew LA (cute, right?). Growing up my grandma was an extremely talented seamstress and she made all of my Halloween costumes - Rainbow Bright, Space Girl, Belly Dancer and more. She taught my mom and I think my mom would have also been an amazing seamstress had it been more hip to sew. About the time my mom was coming into her own with the sewing world, I think the craft was starting to diminish. You could by things cheaper at the store and I was reaching an age where wearing things that your mom made you was pretty much not cool.

On top of me being too young when my grandma was sewing and my mom not picking up the art during my prime, about the time I was in Junior High is when they eliminated home economics from the schedule as an unnecessary course. So needless to say, I didn't really have anyone to teach me to sew. Fascinated with the activity, I became addicted to the sewing TV shows (especially the quilting ones) that were popping up on the DIY Network and HGTV. So, between my obsession to watch other people sew, my recently found Mormon-friend-inspired-inner-craftiness and a desire to want to spend more time with my girl friends, I signed up for the Machine Intro sewing class. During the course learned how to operate a sewing machine, all the necessary tools one would need to begin sewing and we practiced how to do a straight line. After we had down all of the basics we then proceeded to actually make our own little bags!

Mine turned out decent and I was extremely proud of my little bag - it could have been a little better (we all know how big of a perfectionist I am) but it was a valient first effort. I was so excited I told my mom about it and she actually ended up giving me money for my birthday to purchase my very own sewing machine. I haven't purchased it yet, but friends and family of my life, be prepared to start recieving handmade gifts during my Life As A Wife.

It's Been A While

I know, I know...I am a slacker. All 5 of the people that actually read my blog have been on me for the past month about needing to update my blog. I owe you guys all a few blogs...here they come :)

Around The House

We moved into Green Lea (that's the street we live on) over a year ago. Actually, we moved in the weekend we returned from our honeymoon. When we first moved in I was extremely motivated to decorate and make this place our home. By the time everything was moved in and the necessities were in place I was worn out. The last thing I wanted to do was make more work for myself. Over the past year I have slowly started to decorate and really make Green Lea feel like it's ours. Being typical newlyweds, most of the decor around this place includes our wedding pictures. Jeff actually said the other day, "JoLee, let's not put up any more pictures of us, ok." But, I feel like we paid a lot of money for that photographer, we just need to get our money's worth and actually use the pictures.

Anyway, in an effort to try and decorate with something other than pictures of ourselves I have worked on a few other decorating projects around the house. Since we are on the topic of the wedding, the first item is actually my bouquet. I saved my bouquet but by the time it dried out and made the flight down to Southern California it was pretty pitiful looking. I decided to shadow box it - see picture above. I took an actual picture of the bouquet from my wedding day and then took some of the flowers that were left and hot glued them around. The ribbon behind is actually the ribbon that wrapped the stems. Who knows, maybe some day I will have a daughter and she can wrap her wedding bouquet with that same ribbon. The other thing I decided I needed to do was get some funky throw pillows for our couches. Our couches are hand me downs from my mom. I love these couches. They are quite possibly the most comfortable couches ever (at least they were in their prime) but unfortunately they are purple. Who has purple couches? I do! After about two hours in Pier 1 I finally settled on these. Please note that these were picked out exactly one week from returning from South Africa - which probably helps you better understand my inspiration. They actually match our throw rug perfectly too.

Finally, back to the shelf hanging incident in which I left four gaping holes in the wall. Well, the hubs returned and like a pro hung that shelf and made my little African animal frame collage come to life. Didn't turn out exactly how I envisioned it but I should just be thankful that it has now been up on the wall for about a month and has not fallen down. I am really starting to enjoy decorating my house to make it a home. Many more projects to come during my Life As A Wife.

Dirty Dancing

I love to dance. It is quite possibly the one thing that has a 100% success rate of taking me from a bad to an exceptional mood. Just something about making my body move to the music has the power to always put a smile on my face. Naturally, as a girl who loves to dance, Dirty Dancing was one of my all-time favorite movies - it's like Dancing with the Stars for the average person, with a love story attached (what could be better, right?). The other night a commercial came on TV that Dirty Dancing, the Broadway musical was coming to Hollywood. I thought to myself, "I have to see that," but I figured I could never talk Jeff into going with me so it was probably unlikely that I would get to. Not but a week later my boss sent out an email that she had two tickets to see Dirty Dancing and unfortunately, due to a last minute work event, was unable to attend. I immediately threw the idea Jeff's way and to my surprise he said yes! I knew he really did not want to go, but was sacrificing for me. What a guy!

I was sure to let Jeff plan out the rest of the day. We hit up Pinks Hot Dog stand in Hollywood before the show. As you know, I am still on my vegetarian kick so I ended up standing in line for over an hour for a side of french fries. But that hour was totally worth it for Jeff - he claims it was the best hot dog he has ever had. After that we barely made it to the show on time. Our seats were great and I was so excited to be there. From the opening number to the closing bows I was enamored the entire time. I used to love being on stage and performing. Watching other people do it gives me that same thrill, excitement and those butterflies in my tummy. The show was just like the movie with a few extra songs - it didn't disappoint.

After the show we had a nice dinner at the Geisha House. It has a really cool atmosphere and the sushi was great (despite being a vegetarian, I do have a little fish when at sushi restaurants - guess that makes me a pescatarian). I have been telling my friends and family recently that I feel like I need to take advantage of Los Angeles and all that it has to offer a bit more. My Dirty Dancing, Pinks Hot Dog, Geisha House day definitely helped me take in some of the sights around. And, it definitely motivated me to do more things like this during my Life As A Wife.

I'm Married To A Thirteen Year Old

I grew up in a household full of boys - more specifically, boys that loved toys. Between the three of them they were into everything and had all the cool toys. Remote control cars, dirt bikes, motorcycles, ATVs, go-karts, skateboards, boats, jet skis, trucks, snowboards...you name it, they had it. And, to this day, they still love their toys. My oldest brother (at 37) still hits up the skate park, rides a dirt bike and more, and my youngest brother is still picking up new hobbies like kite boarding. I am used to boys and their toys.

When my husband starting talking about wanting to get a skateboard a few months ago I kind of chuckled but I understood. The chuckle came from the sheer irony of my husband purchasing a skate board. He works as a business consultant in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, he wears a collared shirt and a tie to work, and he typically is telling high level executives in their mid-50's how to run their businesses. The thought of him going from professional by day to skateboarder by night just made me giggle a bit. Finally, last weekend we went to make the big purchase. It was an early birthday present and let me tell you, he was thrilled! It was so cute to see my big burly man revert to the little boy that he once was. To see him so excited over a skateboard - picking out the board, the trucks, the wheels...so cute!

That night we hit up the parking lot across the street from our house. I had seen Jeff on a board before but only briefly. Watching him "shred" (ha, did I really just say that) and do some tricks was adorable. He was so proud of himself and I was so proud of him as well - I felt like a groupy! I think a part of me even reverted a little back to my teenage years - not a care in the world watching my guy show off for me. It is so nice to have a man in your life, a man that is not afraid to be a boy every once in a while. Jeff's skateboard, and his inner thirteen year old, brought out the kid in me during my Life As A Wife.

Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Look ma, I learned me some big words! Ha, just kidding. No, I am not just throwing big words out there for the fun of it. Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, more commonly referred to as ITP, is actually a disease. A disease that I have recently been diagnosed with. Now, don't you worry, I am ok and I am going to be okay, it's just something I have to monitor and live with for the rest of my life, but honestly, I am okay. Here's the scoop.

About a year ago I went in for an annual check up with a new doctor, due to the move to California. As my new primary physician, my doc decided to check out everything. The results of my blood work showed that I had a low platelet count. In short, platelets are responsible for helping blood to clot. The fact that I have a low platelet count means that my blood, should I begin to bleed, would not clot and therefore it would be difficult to stop the bleeding and/or I could be bleeding internally and not know it. When my results came back, my doctor was somewhat confused. Typically if a person has a low platelet count they also have another irregular number, i.e., a low white blood cell count combined with a low platelet count is typical of leukemia. I didn't have any other irregularities so my doctor referred me to a hematologist - a blood specialist. Just so you know, a normal person has a platelet count somewhere between 150,000 and 450,000 (pretty big range if you ask me), and my platelet count seems to be hovering somewhere between 40,000 to 60,000.

I have now been working with a hematologist for about 6 months. I have been checking my blood count regularly, weekly, and have absolutely ruled out anything and everything that this disease could be - so the good news is that I don't have cancer, leukemia, hepatitis nor a slew of other horrible diseases. So, yah for that! ITP is my diagnosis. As a treatment, I was put on prednisone, which is a form of a corticosteroid. Typically, while on that medication, a person's blood count shoots up quite a bit. Mine did nothing - but I did suffer the side effects of being on that medication: weight gain, puffy face, not being able to sleep, headaches, sore joints...and the list goes on.

For those of you that do not know, the I in ITP - idiopathic - means "of no known cause." In other words, they, meaning the "medical world," know what is going on (I have a low number of platelets) but they do not know why. They can only try to figure out what is making my platelet count low, but they will never know why. To do so, they to try and determine if A) my body is not making enough platelets, or if B) my body is making enough platelets but something in my body is attacking them - typically antibodies (are you starting to feel like you are in a science class again?). In order to determine if either A or B is the case for me it is recommended that I get a bone marrow examination - which I hear is quite painful and yucky all around. I will keep you posted on those results.

I apologize for all of the fancy words and the overall long story. This is something I have been meaning to share for quite some time, but was kind of hoping it would all just go away. There truly is not a cure for ITP, all one can do is monitor their platelet count numbers - which involves going to the lab on a weekly basis to get blood drawn - and try to find a medication that will increase your count should it fall to a life threatening level, under 20,000. It is frustrating and definitely a change for me - I have been healthy as a horse since the day I was born. But, I know that I am beyond thankful to have my husband by my side each and every step of the way through these new changes during my Life As A Wife.

I Can Keep Up With The Kardashians

Not really, but I tried too last weekend. Jeff and I wanted to have a low-key weekend. We had both been in Reno the weekend before and we were expecting visitors this weekend, so we thought it would be nice to just lay low and not spend a lot of money. On Friday evening we were discussing options for the night and we threw out either renting a movie or going to a movie. Then out of nowhere I said, "how about we try not to spend any money all weekend" (obviously this part of the story has nothing to do with the Kardashians, them not spend money for a whole weekend, ha ya right!). Jeff thought that the plan was a great idea though and he accepted the challenge.

Saturday morning we woke up and sat around being lazy and wouldn't you know it - we found a "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" marathon running on the E! Channel. About 3 episodes into that Jeff had enough. But, the marathon inspired us to go for a drive into Calabasas and try to find the house of the Kardashians - as well as other random celebs that live in Calabasas (Britney, Denise Richards, etc.). While we were driving in the fabulous city of celebs we, I mean I, decided to check out Dash - the little boutique that the Kardashian sisters own. This is a picture of me outside of the boutique. Honestly, not that impressed. The store actually was a little bit dumpy. Nothing in there was all that fabulous. And, the girl working there looked like it was "the morning after, walk of shame" if you know what I mean - bed head, strange tossed together outfit, the whole nine yards! When I first walked in I thought she was a homeless person who had stumbled in and I was waiting for someone to kick her out - ok, not really...I made that part up, but she was pretty bad and I definitely thought she looked extremely out of place.

Obviously I didn't buy anything A) because it was our weekend of not spending money, and B) because the only cute thing in that store was a dress and it was $1,500!!!!! Are you kidding me? It will take a little time before I can truly keep up with the Kardashians during my Life As A Wife.

Adventures In Thousand Oaks

I meant to tell this story quite some time ago, but Reno happened and the entire idea got away from me - that was until right now! Here goes...

Jeff and I finally filed our taxes on April 12th. We actually did our taxes before we went to South Africa, back in January. But, in doing our taxes we came to realize we owed the government money! Who wants to file your taxes early when you owe money? The only reason to file early is to get that big fat return. Anyway, onto our adventures in Thousand Oaks. In celebration of filing our taxes we decided to have a little date night and go watch I Love You, Man. The movie wasn't until late so we started our date night at home by playing domino's and having a couple drinks. Our couple drinks turned into making an entire bottle of wine and a forty disappear before our eyes. When it came time to head to the movies neither one of us could drive. So I suggested we walk! The theater is just across the highway from us! Jeff Google mapped it and turns out it was 1.8 miles - we could totally walk that! We headed off. Along the way, Jeff said "if you weren't with me I could totally shave off some time by jumping over this fence instead of walking around this building." As you know, I am quite competitive so I said, "what? I can totally jump over that fence." After three failed attempts, lots of laughs and finally a push by my hubby I finally made it over that fence (see picture below - guess I put on a few pounds since the last time I tried to jump a fence)! Too funny. Anyway, we made it to the movie and it was hilarious!

Oh, but the adventure doesn't stop there. We decided we weren't ready to head home for the night after the movie so we made a little pit stop at a local bar. I promise you, Jeff and I were the only people in that bar wearing hooded sweatshirts and I was definitely the only person in the bar wearing Uggs. We actually almost thought they weren't going to let us in because we looked so sloppy - but really, we were in Thousand Oaks, anything goes. We had a drink and did a little dancing - all the girls in their cute little dresses and tank tops were looking at me on the dance floor like I was crazy! It was a total blast.

Again, you might think that our night stopped there, but no. After that we decided we were hungry and wouldn't you know it, there is a Denny's on our way home. We popped into Denny's thinking that the place would be filled with other people just like us - leaving the bar at 1:00 am and looking for a little filler before they headed home, but no. Not this night! Denny's at 1:00 am in Thousand Oaks was filled with families. Yes, families - grandmas, grandpas, parents and children. At first we were a little baffled but then we realized that the next day was Easter! They were all there coming back from Midnight Mass. Overall it was quite possibly one of the most impromptu and one of the funnest nights of my Life As A Wife.