California

Since we've been in California I have completely lost track of my days. That's one nice thing about being on vacation! I feel like I'm in a different world and that I'm out of touch with my "normal" life. For some reason my world in DC feels really far from my world here. On one hand this is nice because I feel like I have gotten away - I'm taking a break from everything crazy in my life back home. But on the other hand it makes me sad to realize that California isn't my home anymore. I definitely feel like a visitor. I guess that's part of life and living away for so long.

Anyways, it's been wonderful to be here. We really lucked out with the timing of our flight. We left at 6pm on Friday and the big snowstorm started aroud 9pm that night. Part of me was a little sad to miss the big blizzard in DC! But I am so grateful that it didn't effect our flight. If we had scheduled our flight for Saturday, who knows when we would have left town. We definitely would have missed a couple of days here, so I'm grateful that didn't happen!

I'm really curious what our house looks like. We called a neighbor to have them shovel our sidewalk, driveway and porch. I heard that our street got 20 inches - that is so crazy! The DC area doesn't usually get this much snow, especially during December. I think I heard that this storm broke all the records for snow in December. I just hope that my hubby can find our car at the airport! He's coming back a couple of days before me, so he will have to find it and clear it off by himself.

We have had a great time here relaxing and spending time with family and friends. On Saturday we had lunch with my brother and his wife - at In-n-Out, of course! We had to get our fix of these great burgers. :) That night we went to my high school's Madrigal Feast. I was in the choir in high school, so I was involved with this event back then. It just so happens that my best friend's husband is now the choir director at my old school. Such a small world! So it was fun to see what the choir is like now and remember my choir days back in high school. The kids were SO YOUNG! It definitely made me feel very old.

Sunday we just relaxed and had dinner with friends. It's been so great to sleep in and just enjoy the nice weather. Every day my hubby and I have been taking a walk. It's been nice to get some fresh air and exercise - especially since the weather is so warm! It's been in the 70s every day. Although I think today is supposed to be a bit cooler. We've been eating out a lot, so I'm glad to get a least a little exercise for that reason too.

Yesterday I had breakfast with a group of girlfriends and I happened to run into another high school friend while I was out. It's always wonderful to see my friends from all different parts of my life. But again, it always brings with it some mixed emotions. Thankfully the longer I'm gone, the more this becomes my reality. At this point I am used to seeing friends and family only a couple of times a year. We make the most of our time together and stay in touch other ways.

Last night my hubby and I went to visit a fancy old hotel with my parents, aunt, uncle and cousins. They hang Christmas lights all over the property, so it was fun to walk around and explore. We had a fancy dinner afterwards and just strolled around the shops.

Today we are heading up to Big Bear to spend a couple of days in my parents cabin. My brother and his wife are coming too, so it will be nice for us to have some quality time together. It takes about 2 hours to get from my parents house to the cabin up the mountain. They actually got a little snow overnight, so it will be fun to spend a couple of days up there. One of the wonderful things about California is the beauty and diversity. In just a couple of hours we will go from the warm, dry, desert-like weather to the cold, snowy, forest. The pine trees are so beautiful and I can't wait to breath in the fresh, mountain air!