So Long 2016

Whew. 2016. Amirite? I'm embarrassed that I haven't updated this blog since February. 2016 brought about some dark times for me. It wasn't the easiest year to live. Not that anything bad happened to me directly but not much great happened either. Even though I searched out greatness at every corner. It's a frustrating cycle to say the least.

I have compiled highlights for the year. Mostly photos that I successfully downloaded. So enjoy the shenanigans!

Three of the greatest people came to soak up the California sun. Technically 4 people...

This girl. She gets me.

My oldest niece, Madison is 18! How is that possible?

We took her to Harry Potter World and showed her a magical time. As someone who has been to the Harry Potter Studios in London, I gotta say, Universal Studios fell a little short when it came to my expectations. I still enjoyed the day.

Celebrated Mother's Day with this pretty lady.

All three of these smarty pants graduated this year. Madison from high school, Lily from junior high and Eric from elementary. It called for ice cream at Farrell's!

20 years after I graduated high school, Madison accomplished the same feat! It was a warm (read: blazing hot) night in Corona and high school graduations are little more over the top since I walked. Did you know they sell stuff? Like graduation mugs, bears, shirts and food! I don't remember any food at my graduation.

A visit from my Salt Lake City niece!

Father's Day was also successful!

I celebrated this pretty lady's birthday. We have been friends for 15+ years now and I still feel very lucky to have her in my life. Kaylene challenges me in ways no else does. She makes me view things in a light I might not have. I appreciate that about her.

I had the wonderful opportunity to travel! Oh, man I do miss my traveling life. For Fourth of July weekend I flew to South Carolina to visit my very first roommate, Bryson. We met in 2004 at the LDS Bussiness College in Salt Lake City. I had such a great time hanging out with her and her sweet family. 

Preface: I have airport anxiety. Yes, it's a thing. I stress about all things travel. It starts with, did I remember to pack everything? Are my liquids too large? What if I get stopped in security? What if I can't get through? What if I miss my flight? What if they lose my luggage? etc, etc.

This trip was no different. However, I try to control my anxiety. I only allow myself to worry about what is directly in front of me. For example, the drive to the airport is spent worrying about if I will make it there on time. Once I'm there I allow myself to worry about parking, then once I've parked I allow myself to worry about security. This goes on until I have safely landed in my destination city.

Do you know how many people travel on a holiday weekend? Lots. After sitting in too much traffic and coming uncomfortably close to boarding time, my plans for parking in Parking Lot C came to a halt when I discovered it was FULL. I drove around corners aimlessly trying to find a lot to leave my car in for the weekend. Needless to say, I may have cried a little (read: a lot). Anxiety in full force I found an unmarked building with a respectable looking man holding a clipboard standing outside.

That was good enough for me. He said he would park my car and drive me to the airport but not in that order. Half way there I realized, I don't know who this guy is. I don't know the name of the company or how I'm going to get my car back in four days time. I was about to leave my car, containing my GPS that could easily take anyone back to my home, not to mention my whole Taylor Swift library with this man whose only credentials I took into consideration was the fact that he was holding a clipboard.

Before handing over my car and potential my safe home and favorite music collection, he handed me a receipt with the company name and address on it which I promptly Googled after forewarning my mother that she may need to set the house alarm and change the locks. It was legit. Not only did they keep my car (and music) safe, they delivered it to me curbside after I landed.

On to my trip!

This is the Angel Tree. It is between 400 and 1000 years old! It is GINORMOUS! 

Something hard not to notice about the south in July is the humidity. Every time I went outside, I felt like I walked into a wall. The air was so thick and wet. Also, it is so loud at night! I sat on Bryson's porch one night rocking in her rocking chair and cooling off with some ice water and the sound of crickets was deafening. I mentioned this to Bryson and her reply was, "I don't hear anything."

We spent a lot of time sight-seeing and I loved every minute!

We visited Fort Sumter. I did a little research and took home pamphlets about the area, but that was like, five months ago and if there is more info you want to know, check Wikipedia.

Small child was placed there for measurement purposes.

How cute and southern is this home located in Bryson's neighborhood. I want a home like this one.

This is Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

It is the church that Dylann Roof opened fired in, killing nine people.

We drove around the posh homes of Charleston.

Side note: I love brick buildings. 

We walked down Rainbow Row where you guessed it, the buildings are painted different colors of the rainbow.

Cobble stone. I love cobble stone just as much as brick buildings.

The Pineapple Fountain.

The architecture is so impressive in the south.

Charles Dickens would love this door adornment.

The beach! It was my first time in the Atlantic Ocean.

It reminded me of every Nicholas Sparks novel I have ever read.

Proof that I was in the Atlantic which by the way is very warm and brown.

The Fourth of July with my sweet friend Bryson.

Susan "Out With The Old, In With The New" B.

My Dream Marriage Proposal

I imagine a lot of girls dream about how they'll be proposed to (and maybe some guys will think of how they'll pop the question.) In quiet times I like to imagine how I'll be proposed to. Here is my dream proposal scenario:

On our first date, he'll take me to the beach for a bonfire. We'll make tin foil dinners (my favorite!) and I'll bring the s'mores for dessert. Our conversation will be light and easy; mostly we'll laugh. We'll find humor in our everyday lives and be completely enamored with each other's mundane daily activities. Conversation will flow and we'll welcome silence when it interrupts. There will be no pressure. The first thing the two of us fall in love with is the way the other laughs. This is just the beginning.

On the night he proposes, we'll be at the same beach having a bonfire with a few of our close friends. The guys will be in charge of the tin foil dinners and, of course, there will be s'mores for dessert. I'll have absolutely no idea of his intentions, but everyone else will be in on the secret. When the dinners are done cooking, my man will bring me one on a paper plate and set it in front of me. The crowd will get quiet and I won't notice one of our friends recording us.

He'll say something like, "It's a little hot, let me open it for you." and kneel down to open the foil. When he does, there will be a jewelery box instead of a steaming steak and potato dinner. He'll open it and tell me sweet things about how he wants to spend eternity with me. Finally he'll say, "Will you marry me?" I won't be able to speak right at first because of the joy caught in my throat. So, I'll swallow hard, look him in the eyes, and exclaim, "HELL YES!"

He'll slide the ring on my finger and in that moment-the moment I think is the most important-I'll realize that he could slide a twist tie on my finger and I would still be overcome with happiness. This is just the beginning.

Susan "A Girl Can Dream" B.

Taking The Bull By The Horns

Sometimes, you have to take the bull by the horns. I have. I have asked a guy out four times but, sadly, have been rejected three times.

The first, I met in SLC while I was studying to earn my Associates degree. He was in my institute class,  which if you don't know is like Bible study but we earned college credit since we attended and LDS school. He was tall with curly brown hair that hung down his head like a mop and had a wide smile below a pair of sparkling brown eyes.

I tried my hardest to find and empty seat next to him when we class together. On the days I did, my heart would pound in my chest and my palms would sweat profusely, but I was usually able to make small talk with him. I learned that he loved basketball. He talked about it a lot.

At work one day, the accounting team I was a part of was given tickets to the Utah Jazz basketball game. Not just any tickets-tickets for the company suite. It seemed like the planets were aligning and, after some coaxing from my roommates, I decided to invite Josh to the game. In the back seat of my roommate's car on the way to a Chinese dinner, I called him.

I got straight to the point and asked him if he would like to go to the Jazz game with me. He said no; he was leaving for a trip to Europe within the week and didn't think he would have time. Strike one.

I licked my wounds for a year or two before I asked another guy out. This time I was living in California and there was a suitable young man in my ward at church. Coincidentally, he also liked basketball and was a coach at a nearby high school. I crushed on this guy for a while before I asked him out, but finally called him while sitting in my car in the church parking lot. I asked if he wanted to have dinner sometime. His answer was, "No, I'm really busy with basketball season right now." Strike two. I licked my wounds even longer after that one.

Just over a year ago, every time I checked my Facebook I would notice that section titled PEOPLE YOU MIGHT KNOW. There was always a profile of one guy who caught my eye and every time I would look to see who our mutual friends were and try to figure out if we had ever met in person. I discovered that our mutual friends were people with whom I went to junior high and he went to high school with.

One day I decided to send a friend request to him just to see what would happen. He accepted! That ended up feeling lame…now we were friends on Facebook and nothing else. I discussed the situation with my best friend and her boyfriend at the time, who told me I should send him a message and ask if he want to meet. I was still apprehensive; I needed word for word instruction. My friend's boyfriend told me, "Give him a compliment and then see if he wants to meet up sometime. Don't beat around the bush. Get in and get out." Good advice.

So, standing in my best friends kitchen, I wrote a message. I apologized for being so forward, told him I thought he was handsome, then asked him if he was single and if he wanted to hang out. In and out.

He was such a sweetheart in his next message. He complimented me and told me he was flattered, but that he had just started dating someone and wanted to see where it went. Curse him for being so nice! He sent such a sweet reply that I had a hard time getting mad at him for rejecting me. I told him she was a lucky girl and went on my way. Strike three.

Just recently I reconnected with someone that I used to hang out with at church. I put myself out there and invited him to go hiking. He said yes (very enthusiastically, I might add). We had a great time visiting on a good two-hour hike but, sadly nothing ever came of it. I don't think he was interested the same way I was. Foul ball.

My impatience and frustration to find love continues to grow and corrupt me. Is there something wrong with me? Am I doing it wrong? I often feel like I'm banging my head against a wall. I have a constant ache in my heart.

I have accepted the challenge. I will not give up on love. I'm going to soldier on and hope there is someone looking for me just as diligently as I look for him. No stone will be left unturned.

Susan "You Mess With The Bull, You Get The Horns" B.

And The Award For Best Date Goes To...

It's almost Valentine's Day and it's award season. Not that I care about either but since I'm on the subject of love and mushy stuff, I have decided to give out a few awards to past dates that I've gone on.

Best Date

I was living in Salt Lake City, Utah at the time and my cousin, Matt set me up on a blind date. I can't remember the guy's name or even what he looked liked, but boy did we have a good time. It was the kind of date where I didn't have to explain my life story. I wasn't expected to have my life figured out.

The date was very simple, but super fun! It was a double date, thankfully. Matt, his date, me and my date started off the evening at Smith's Marketplace, a chain grocery and drugstore, where we purchased kites. If I'm honest, I wasn't too keen on my kite; it was a little boy's kite and the graphics on it were kind of lame, but it was the best they had. We stopped at Subway and picked up some fresh sandwiches before heading up to Big Cottonwood Canyon. We stopped at a picnic area at the bottom of the mountain, ate our subs and chatted. We weren't too concerned with anyone's life decisions or career choices or living situation. We were just four twenty-somethings having a picnic.

After we ate, we hiked a little ways up the mountain; not too far, just enough to get out of the trees. There was a nice clearing and we spent some time learning to fly kites, avoiding crashes with each other's kite, and basking in the peace and calm you feel when your kite is sailing in the sky. We were up there for a couple of hours before we hiked back down and went home.

I didn't fall in love. I didn't even develope a crush on my date (who was a great guy, just not the one for me). But I had a good time flying kites and not feeling pressured to explain my life's decisions to him. It's not always the most expensive dates you have the most fun on. It wasn't even the most creative; it was just a new activity with a new guy and no pressure. I remember it fondly.

Worst Date

Of course for every best date, there is a worst date. I started dating this guy when I was in my early twenties-we'll call him John*. One day, John calls me and says, "Let's go to the movies with Tim and Cindy. Meet us a Tim's house." I lived very close to John but I didn't mind meeting him at Tim's house, even though Tim lived on the opposite side of town.

When I got to Tim's house, no one was home. I go to the neighbor's house (I knew the guy) and use his phone because this was before cell phones were common. I call John who is still at home and tells me to meet him there instead. So, a little irritated, I drive all the way back across town to John's. When I walk in, John, Tim, and Cindy are going through the couch cushions to find change to pay for their movie tickets. As if the money situation wasn't enough of a joke already, we leave John's house to find a One Star machine to change coins into cash.

When we get to the theater, John steps up to the window and asks for a single ticket. I realize that I need to purchase my own ticket (which is not my idea of a date), adding kindling to the irriatated fire. I pay for my own ticket and decide that if I'm going to make through the rest of this "date" feigning happiness and love, I'm going to need a soda. I go to the snack counter and of course, purchase my own drink.

In the theater, John sits on my left and put my soda in the drink holder to the right. As we wait for the trailers to start, I see John turn and look at me out of the corner of my eye. He then SMACKS his lips and tongue, making an audible and disgusting noise. I know what he wants but there is no way I'm playing his game.

I turn to him and coolly ask, "What?"

Still not using his words like a big boy, he motions for my drink. MY drink! The one I paid for after paying for my movie ticket. After driving half way across town and back to go on a movie date he asked me to go on. The nerve! The audacity!

I begrudingly let him have a drink of my soda. When he was finished he set it in the cup holder between us. I picked it up, took a good swig from it, and set it back in the cup holder to the right of me.

I'd like to say that was the only time he made that awful mouth-lip-smack noise to alert me of his thirst, but it wasn't. He only did it a couple more times, but it irritated me every time.

John and I didn't have a long relationship.

Date Worth Mentioning

One Valentine's Day, a boy I had a crush on asked me to go to Disneyland with him on a double date. So fun! He didn't pick me up empty handed; he brought me chocolates in a velvet candy box. The four of us went on rides, goofed around the park and had a good time.

The boys had a reservation at The Blue Bayou for dinner. With my entree came a dinner salad with cherry tomatoes on top. I wasn't a fan of tomatoes at the time, but my dates friend said he would eat them. I took my fork and attempted to stab a tomato…which flew off my plate and out into the dark restaurant.

Remember that scene in Pretty Woman when Julia Roberts is trying to eat escargot but it slips off her utensil and the waiter smoothly catches it? Julia was able to smile and say, "Slippery little suckers." I was not as cute, but we all laughed about it and continued to have a good time.

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the worst date loser winner and his friends.

Susan "Let's Go Fly A Kite, Up To The Highest Height" B.