if the shoe fits

you know what they say...if the shoe fits, buy it.

I feel like this winter may not be particularly wet or filled with tons of snow, but it's definitely colder than I remember some of these winters being. actually, for sure it is. I used to wear flip-flips until I absolutely could not wear them anymore, and that day came in October last year.

because of this small fact, I've had to buy even more boots. my feet are always cold, never not cold. thanks to the Nordstrom shoe expertise of Miss Richelle McGuire, I brought home my very own Corso Comos on Tuesday.

I think I may have FINALLY found a place in Salt Lake City. it is this very darling house, with these very darling girls, and one of them just so happens to be mine and Andre's friend Heather. right near capitol hill, the house was renovated, and then taken over my anthropologie. my bedroom is ginormous, two sinks in my very own bathroom, and a walk-in closet. we celebrated by eating noodles at Charlie Chow's with Fishkins, Heather, Andre', Richelle, Todd, Adam, aaaand Adam's friend. sorry, I can't remember your name.

Andre' and Fish are so cute together, don't you think? twins. besties. Andre' is jealous I'm moving to Salt Lake.

Sidenote: I realized last night at dinner that when I move to Salt Lake, I will live the furthest I ever have from Andre' in my life, all 24 years of it. (minus his Argentine mission, which re-surfaced yesterday on Facebook. don't think I missed much...)

my iPhone is ordered, and will be here in 6 days. NEXT THURSDAY! which is just fine with me, because the Blackberry that I thought was done acting up keeps freezing. if you can't get a hold of me, I'm not ignoring you, I just can't answer. unless I am ignoring you.

speaking of things happening next week, my new job starts Monday. am I nervous? excited? I don't know. I don't really feel ready for a grown up job, and I just keep thinking to myself, I hope I know what they're doing.

iNeed this

I don't have a really good track record with phones, but I'm not ready to take full responsibility. maybe when I'm 25.

my phones have had a history of dying some pretty tragic deaths, may they rest in peace. more recently, I have gone through two blackberries in the past four months, and to the same thing: it just decides to stop working.

yesterday, I picked up the phone to text an ex, and the phone broke in my hands. I'm going to go ahead and take that as a sign.


the screen is frozen, I'm due for an upgrade, and Verizon isn't letting me have the iPhone until February 10. that is 4 days, 12 hours, and 45 minutes from now.

that's a long time to go without a phone.

salt lake city slickers

so with a new job starting in salt lake, I have been looking non-stop for housing up in that area. I just had no idea what an event that would become. first I realized this, I wasn't in provo anymore.

thursday morning I drove up to meet Sandra, owner of a home off of 800 east near the U.


Sandra had to have been in her mid 40's. at least. a part-time snowboard instructor and full-time interior designer, Sandra was nice enough. but so old. and so wrinkly. and even had to get a new kidney last week, bless her heart. she was falling apart, as was the house. charming enough on the outside, but the house was built in 1908. you can put cute, eclectic pieces all you want but it does not a new house make. I didn't really feel like it would be a good fit. thanks anyways. and come to think of it, she kind of reminded me of Yzma.


next, I went to go see a cute and quaint one bedroom, one bathroom near s. temple. I'm not going all emo and I'm not about to get a cat, I just like to have my space. and it looks cute, right? definitely thought it had potential.



I met Andy at these cute remodeled apartments downtown, and was immediately afraid for my life. nestled right in between an organic cafe and a very large construction site with very large machines, was my potential new home. as we were walking into the building the very large crane started working and the whole building began to vibrate. p.s. I have edited the following for our younger readers.

Andy: what the f is that? are you f'ing kidding me? the whole f'ing building is shaking! this is tripping me out, for sure.
Rox: ......
Andy: are you sure you wanna live here?! I'm not even sure I would move in. is this an f'ing joke? but this place is wicked awesome, like the tenants are so cool. you know the head chef of this restaurant lives here...I even have people say that they come home like at 3am and there's a guy drinking a beer in his underwear. but they weren't complaining, they were just like, this is awesome.
Rox: ......

at this point I was really less than thrilled, not to mention the apartment smelled like a smoked out port a potty.

last hope: a townhome in daybreak with a 34 year old girl named shiloh. and her diaper-weraing lhasa apso named jake. I don't really have anything else to say.

puppy police

so while out on a sunday night drive, richelle and I were driving on 800 S in orem, sipping diet cokes, minding our own business and having a sunday night chat about all the normal things,

richelle: I feel like we're really fun, smart, outgoing girls, why can't we just hang out with ourselves?

roxanne: we're gonna make awesome wives.

richelle: I know, I just can't seem to convince anyone else how awesome we are.

roxanne: I'm gonna find myself.

next thing we know, we almost hit a golden retriever. richelle flipped a u-turn, put the hazards on and pulled the car over. I hopped out of the car and chased the dog down the street. before you know it, we had a 100 pound dog in the backseat of the subaru.

we fed him canned chicken, gave him water, named him comet and tucked him in the for the night. turns out it was the first taste of motherhood for richelle, who woke up hourly because of the pup's whining.

we woke up and took him to the animal shelter: saddest thing you've ever seen.

if you're wondering, he's wearing a scarf. we didn't have any other way to walk him.

we cried after dropping him off at the puppy prison.

most. traumatic. experience. ever.

for all of us.

my body hates me

I'm not really sure how else to tell you this, so I'll give it to you in chronological order.

P.S. TMI? I don't care.

Saturday night: nausea, vomiting, sharp stomach pains.

Sunday: more nausea, and sharp stomach pains result in a trip to urgent care and the ER.

after being accompanied by megan, benita, richelle, andre', chelsea, lola,

ryan rodriguez and ryan spencer (I really just think they wanted out of church), and

five rounds of fanta tasting barium, an IV and an MRI

we ruled out appendicitis, but sent home and on painkillers. lovely.

Monday: nausea, no more stomach pains, and a temperature of 103.

Tuesday: diagnosis, kidney stones. that was the good news. bad news was a lovely chest

cough that I have developed on the side.

Seriously? WTF.

I'm not a sickly person, so the only logical explanation is that

my body refuses to turn 24 next week. it just won't have it.

also, WebMD is really not giving me anything here, so if you have

any ideas, feel free to leave me some love. you could save my life.

but if you plan on attending my funeral instead, I prefer calla lilies.

alabama, arkansas...

home is wherever I'm with you...

stress

if there is one phrase that I possibly overuse, it is this:

I. am. stressed.

Or any other sort of variation. That stresses me out. I'm stressin. Mostly I'm kidding, but enjoy making things semi-awkward and uncomfortable.

This week, midterms stressed me out. But not as much as they normally do because I am beginning to not care. I just need a job.

Two nights ago, I could not stop watching the show Hoarders: Buried Alive. These people are crazy, and watching them live in these types of conditions stressed me out. I spent the entire day cleaning.

Midterms ended, I stopped staying up late to watch stressful television, and woke up and started watching TLC's A Baby Story, and I Didn't Know I was Pregnant.

What the freak?

Like I wasn't terrified enough already of growing a person inside myself, people go on national television to share their awful, stressful experiences. These people are crazy.

All of this stress has caused me to become sick. Which is how I'm going to spend the rest of my fall break from school. Awesome.

At least my room is clean, I'm not pregnant, and I dominated my midterms.

breakthrough

sometimes, I surprise even myself.

between me, Meggers, Bertolli and Richelle, the last thing we need is an excuse not to date somebody. Seinfeld said it best:

She had man hands.

He's a regifter.

She's a two-face.

She's got the jimmy legs.

She's a virgin.

She just took credit for my salad.

She's one of these low-talkers.

He's a high talker.

He's a bit of a close talker.

She's bald.

She went out with Newman?

She's too tan.

She's too good.

She wasn't my type.

and we can definitely add our own to the list.

he wears gloves. he's not funny. he has weird friends. he made me eat vegetables. he made a double comeback. his heart just isn't in it. he likes bad music. he had a booger in his nose. He won't chew gum. He wears gargoyle shirts. He has baby hands. He has a weird laugh. He only wears free t-shirts.

But recently, I've grown.

Me: I hate his jeans.

Richelle: Jeans are fixable.

Me: You're right.

Richelle: How bad are they?

Me: Awful.

Richelle: Yikes.

Me: I've met plenty of guys with good jeans and bad attitudes.

Maybe there's hope for me after all.

you learn a lot about yourself from roadkill

I'm serious. I think it says a lot about a person when it comes to animals and death.

Recently, my friend ran over a squirrel on the freeway. It wasn't his fault- but he apologized to the little squirrel whose resting place is now the I-80.

When I was 15, my friend Elizabeth and I were at Bucks Lake, CA for girls camp. Girls camp...is a different experience. It probably even deserves a post all by itself. I even had a bear encounter once. But that year was different. We were infested with squirrels. They were everywhere. They were eating our trail mix, nibbling our toes, causing havoc in the camps. You get the idea. These things are nothing short of really obnoxious.

Elizabeth and I woke up one day, and we decided we had had enough. While laying on our bags for sleeping one morning and listening to N'Sync, a little dusty grey squirrel perched himself up on a tree stump, eating some kind of stolen goodness and stared at us. I was protecting my candy bars with my life, and Elizabeth decided to take a different approach. She grabbed a handful of small-to-medium sized rocks, and started chucking them at the squirrel. With her very first rock, she hit the little sucker square in the temple, knocking him to the ground. He never got up.

Now what I mean in learning a lot about yourself is this: we both laughed. Hysterically. The poor little squirrel never even saw it coming, and we took some sort of sick pleasure in ridding ourselves of one squirrel- even though there were thousands of the things left.

But this summer was different. While I was living in San Diego, I lived at my friend Brittany's house, which is across from a park. Every morning on my way to work, I saw bunnies. Not the ugly jack rabbit kind- but the cute little Peter cottontail bunnies with white fluffy tails. One morning, I didn't see the bunny in time. I killed him. Flat on the road.

"NOOOOOOO! What are you doing little bunny? Why? Why did you throw yourself in front of my car?"

But the bunny didn't answer. I felt so bad I had to tell someone, so I called my friend Nick, looking for some sort of comfort. He just told me it was probably somebody's pet. Clearly, these types of incidents cannot be avoided. But why me? Why my tires? All that was left of the little guy was a tuft of fur on Auburn Ridge Way. The only thing I learned from this experience is that at least I know that I'm a better person than I was at 15. I wonder if Elizabeth is too.

Sorry everyone, Easter is cancelled.

shark week

SHARK WEEK.

this is my favorite week. I would tivo all of the shows if I didn't already know all of the shows are virtually the same and about sharks. and if I had tivo.

don't be fooled--just because my summer has been unbelievably boring and filled with work, this is not why I love shark week.

I LOVED IT BEFORE I BECAME A GROWNUP WORKAHOLIC.

I proudly own this one guys.

so what? I watch reality TV

Truth is, I like watching reality television. I try really hard not to do it unless I'm with my friends, who appreciate my meaningless comments, and on DVR, where we can rewind the most ridiculous parts to watch them over and over again.

This is my favorite time of year as far as television is concerned, airing my two favorites:

So You Think You Can Dance (or SYTYCD for all you followers out there)

and, the lovely Bachelorette.

I realize, without you having to say anything at all, that the second show is just absurd, and each season reaches a new level of ridiculousness. But that's besides the point. It is FUNNY. It is full of crazy people, cheesy comments, love, hate, evil stepmothers. Really, what more could you ask for?

Unfortunately, I've been watching my shows by myself this summer. But I do have some things to say.

The Bachelorette:

I was really sad the "world-tour" was over, because I loved just looking at all of the places they were able to go. Lisbon was absolutely beautiful. I will go there.

Ali goes to Robert's hometown first. He won the hometown dates for sure--he had it all. Even the baseball uni, which if you are unsure how I feel about those, go here. Playing in the park, the amazingly awesome hispanic family (I'm a little bit biased), and best of all, he appears to be one hundred percent normal. Not to mention, one of the best looking. I don't think he'd really propose though in the end. He's way too smart.

Next Ali goes to the Cape to visit Chris M. He is the second most normal, and the second-best looking. But let's be real, Ali why are you wearing those leather boots to the beach? Darling, but not your best judgment. And I thought her hair was bad before. YOU ARE ON NATIONAL TELEVISION. Where is your hairbrush?



Other than that, another normal trip. I was pretty sad about that part. His sisters seemed normal, and his dad could not have been more cute. And I have his sister-in-law's boots. Ali doesn't seem as interested in him as the others though, I can tell this because she is not constantly interrupting what he's saying with her tongue in his mouth.

Kirk's house is where it starts to get good. So so glad that Kirk is gone. His blonde eyebrows were always throwing me off, and the taxodermy Dad? That would have sealed the deal for me too. At this point I think that Chris and Kirk probably have the most genuine feelings towards Ali, but I don't see her picking Chris in the end either.

Finally, I have never ever liked Frank. Not even at the Hollywood sign on their first date. The glasses, the bad cardigans, his snaggletooth and insecurities, it's just not my thing. Plus he always seems a gust of wind away from a panic attack. Seriously. Calm down Frank. Plus I heard that you have a girlfriend too and break the news in Tahiti. That should be good.

Sidenote: Remember Kiptyn from last year? I do. He is by far the best-looking contestant they have ever had on the show. Too bad Ali didn't have nearly the pool of applicants as Jill did. I heard he's recently off the market and with a Jake cast-off from last season...but seriously.
Kiptyn, if it doesn't work out, I'm 100% available and in San Diego until further notice.




I realize this just very quickly became a Kiptyn shrine, but I don't care.

rebuild, breathe

I've been having a pretty rough time this year, magnified by the ample amount of time I've had to spend by myself this summer.

I'm getting ready to finish school this fall, and begin looking for jobs.
(Hopefully doing something I actually like to do.)
My bestest graduated and moved away from me back to Austin, TX, I didn't get to live with my friends last year and dating ups and downs (mostly downs). Training for the marathon earlier this year, I also fractured my tibia, which has really discouraged me in my running, and trying to regain where I was before.

I know my trials this year have been for a reason, and I'm still hopeful to find out the why's.

I went for a run though this past week, and decided to do it without my iPod.
(this is almost a for-sure adrenalin killer)
But this time, it worked out even better than I could have hoped.

I ended up running 7 miles, which is twice what I have normally been doing during the week, and I felt amazing. I had the chance to just be left alone with my thoughts, and a silent prayer that lasted the entire run.

Turns out, I had a lot to say. And even more to listen to. The two words/phrases that kept coming to my mind over and over, were

rebuild. just breathe.

I know how simple it sounds, but it was exactly what I needed to hear. I may have been battling the injury since March, but it has given me the opportunity to rebuild the foundation I had, and to do it better than I had done it before. If I rebuilt better, I can be faster, stronger, and healthier than I was the first time. And not only as it relates to running, but to my everyday life as well. I tend to get caught up in the things that don't matter, and I start to immediately doubt. I doubt things I know for sure, and things I said I would never doubt again. I doubt everything except what I can do myself. But I can rebuild. I can start over, and I can do it better than I did the first time.

And of course, just breathe. Any runner will know what this phrase can do for you, but all of us have had similar experiences where we just need to tell ourselves that everything will be okay, and we need to regain perspective on what's currently happening.

What an incredible opportunity all of us have been presented with, to start over. At any age. At any time of day, no matter our circumstance.

I'm going to continue this summer, with a renewed enthusiasm for my jobs, for the people I've met and have not met yet, and rebuild,so that I can be stronger, and a better friend for my friends, and for the people that need friends. A better sister, and a better daughter.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a talk in May of 2009, about losing our way, and losing sight of what matters most.

Nehemiah from the Old Testament set to rebuild the city Jerusalem, no small task. As the walls of Jerusalem were being built stronger, his opposition began to intensify, but it never distracted him. Nehemiah's response:

"I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down."

When faced with trial and suffering, we respond, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down.”

When faced with ridicule and reproach, we proclaim, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down.”

"Our Heavenly Father seeks those who refuse to allow the trivial to hinder them in their pursuit of the eternal. He seeks those who will not allow the attraction of ease or the traps of the adversary to distract them from the work He has given them to perform. He seeks those whose actions conform to their words—those who say with conviction, 'I am doing a great work and cannot come down.'

We have a great work to do. We stand overlooking the horizon of our age. It is my fervent prayer that in spite of temptations, we will never lower our standards; that in spite of distractions, wherever they may come from, we will not lose focus on what matters most; that we will stand resolute and together, shoulder to shoulder, as we valiantly bear the banner of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I pray that we may [keep ourselves worthy] and, to a man, lift our heads and with unwavering voice proclaim to the world, “We are doing a great work, and we will not come down.”

Yup. this is definitely what I needed to hear today.

elder brown

served his mission in Guayaquil, Ecuador. My grandma did too. Turns out, they both served there, together. At the same time. In the same office. She doesn't remember him.

We discovered this little nugget of information that we bonded over last week. We even called Grandma Eva to confirm it was the same "Nurse Hutchens". Not that it needed confirmation. Little tiny mexican nurse was about enough to cover it. And then, on JKB's birthday, he gifted me these.

[I give him sourpatch kids, he gives me at least three good laughs out of these. oh well.]

and the real reason Jeff was sad to see Nurse Hutchens go:

here was her replacement. bless her heart.

beckham who?

I'm really disappointed that the World Cup is over for me. For a number of reasons. Mostly because I'm so patriotic. Duh.

I knew that soccer players were muscular...athletic...good looking. But I've always thought that the soccer hotties were euro-centric. Or that no one would ever trump Becks.

Boy was I wrong. While watching the FIFA World Cup, something miraculous happened. My eyes were open to an entire new generation of deliciousness. Miss Shavs Lewis, we think alike.

I know I'm a sucker for a baseball uni, but let's be serious for a minute. Does it get any better than Carlos Bocanegra and Benny Feilhaber?



I ain't no fortune teller, but move on over Becks. We've got new boys in town, and I bet they look really really good in Armani underwear.

I'm an outlaw

anyone who knows me, knows that I am NOT a troublemaker.
I don't like to be in trouble, I don't like to be around trouble, and I especially make a particular effort never to be causing trouble.

at least that's what I thought.

since moving to San Diego, I have had three encounters with the law.
that is approximately three more than I have EVER had before, minus the ONE speeding ticket I received in Reno the week BEFORE moving to California.

It was probably an omen of things to come. I should have listened.

incident #1. jack in the box.

three weeks ago yesterday, Tawni and I were in Huntington Beach for a birthday party. following the party, everyone decided to go out dancing, except for us, and Richard Miller and Jeff K Brown. We decided to get something to eat, and it just so happens that nothing is open at 11:00pm, and JIB has made a recent comeback in my life.
(High school was also a huge hit. #5 Sourdough Jack with a Dr. Pepper please.)
They've got these amazing grilled cheese sandwiches, and fresh non-fat smoothies. I just wanted to treat myself to something nice.
This particular drive-thru has no place to sit down and eat inside. It is a drive-thru only, with ONE handicap parking spot.

THE SCENE OF THE CRIME
photo credit: jeffrey keith brown

Jeff and Richard meet Tawn and I at JIB on their motorcycles, and get into my car so that we can all order together. After driving through and placing our order, I drive back around to drop the boys off. In an effort to NOT block the drive-thru, I pull foward into the handicapped spot, the only place to park in the lot. I never left my car. I never turned off the car. I never turned off my lights. We were there a few minutes when an officer dillweed knocks on my window.

DW: can I see your handicap pass?
me: I don't have one?
DW: driver's license and registration please.

I was thoroughly confused at this point, and pretty certain that I'd be able to leave in a few minutes as I wasn't doing anything "wrong".

DW: whose car is this?
me: mine. well, my parents.
DW: why does it have Nevada plates?
me: because I'm from Nevada.
DW: why is your driver's license from Utah?
me: I go to school there.
DW: why are you here?
me: I'm here doing an internship for the summer.
DW: where.
me: in San Diego.
DW: then why are you in Huntington Beach?

Really? REALLY?

me: I'm visiting friends.
DW: here's your ticket. it's a pretty big fine, I recommend you get out of here before you get towed.

you can't be towed if you're sitting in your car buddy. even the biggest puka shell wearing, overall sporting towing toolbag in Provo knows that.

me: Sir, really? I'm leaving right now. I was only here dropping my friends off.

who were parked underneath a "no parking zone" sign. Good one guys.

DW: sorry, sorry! there's nothing I can do. I've already issued the citation.

[all while putting his hands up in the air like a middle easterner getting robbed at a convenient store.]

upon receiving my citation and officer dillweed leaving, I looked at my ticket, and realized I had given him the wrong registration. I handed him my expired registration, which he failed to point out to me while he was dealing with such rowdy troublemakers.

I COULD HAVE GIVEN HIM THE RIGHT ONE, IF HE HAD TOLD ME.

Parking in a Handicapped Stall Fine: $374.00
Expired Registration: $79.00
Total: $453.00


I wish this post was over.


incident #2.

my car got sideswiped last week. the paint is missing down to the frame, and apparently, also knocked my brake light loose. or something? not really sure what happened here.

I got pulled over for a non-working break light, and then since we were there, he also mentioned the Nevada plates. AGAIN. Apparently, you only have 30 days in the state of California to have them switched. I DO NOT LIVE HERE.

he gave me a warning. I really hope I don't see him again before I leave in August.

warning: $0.00
subtotal: $453.00

incident #3. driving while on speakerphone.

I have been meaning for some time now to get a car GPS system. I have no idea where I'm going. I know how to get to work, and I know how to get home. Anytime I want to get something to eat, or gas up, or get a Diet Coke, I have no idea where I am. Unless I can see it from the freeway.

I KNOW I'm not allowed to talk while driving, and I make a very conscious effort not to do it. and then I got pulled over for talking on my phone.
The unfortunate part about all of this is that I was literally ON MY WAY to Costco to pick up a car GPS system. I GOT LOST. I could not find Costco. I did not know where I was, so heaven forbid I call someone to tell me how to find it.

driver's license and registration please? sure. they're sitting right here on top.
WHERE I LEFT THEM FROM LAST WEEK.

driving while on the phone: $175.00
subtotal: $628.00

I need these

ASAP.


aren't they so darling? I would wear them with everything.

addicted

I used to think I was a pretty well-rounded person.

Until I realized that I have addictions. It's not okay.

I am addicted to having a routine, addicted to Diet Cokes, a bebis bit addicted to shopping...

(the first step in breaking an addiction is admitting you have a problem. I take back what I said about the Diet Cokes.)

But the worst one of them all is that I am addicted to staying up late, for no good reason at all.

I will literally be struggling to keep my eyes open by 9pm, and instead of getting ready for bed I have a Diet Coke. Or frozen yogurt. Or both.

Every night, I brush my teeth first. And then I will check Facebook. Nothing good. Then I will put on my pajama top. And then I will be so tired I will sit back down and look at blogs. And then next is the pj pants. And then I lay across the bed and start watching Hulu. Parenthood..Modern Family...And then I'll get the stupid commercial about cat food, and then I get up and floss. Twitter...email...design projects. The possibilities really are endless.

This process literally takes me no less than two hours.

TWO HOURS.

My eyes will be burning, and I will finally go to sleep around 2am.
I am always exhausted the next morning, never not exhausted.
And then I will do it again tomorrow.

ever since I moved to San Diego

last week, I have changed.

I think it's the humidity. I try to flat iron my hair, and by 2pm I look like Hermione Granger in the first Harry Potters.

100% natural frizz. I really am trying people. It's not that I don't care. I just don't know what else to do for myself.

Also, I woke up and it's like I'm in Benjamin Button. My face is breaking out in baby acne. It's awesome.

I would post pictures, but I'm too embarrassed. Obviously.

I also can't stop eating burritos. These Mexican stands are everywhere. So good.

magical L.A. weekend

this weekend was FANTASTIC.

I was making fun of Shauna for her verbage this weekend--but it really was nothing short of magical.
I loved the whole thing. Hard to do when I'm missing my besties this much.

Friday, I went to the Padres game at Petco Park with my friend Nick. For those of you who don't know me that well,

(A. I'm not sure why you're reading this, but glad to have you 2. I just want to get to D, and D. please tell me who you are, I don't hate comments.)

I LOVE BASEBALL.

something verrrrrry all-American about this sport. I may be a jersey chaser. But maybe I'm a jersey chaser because that's how much I love the sport. We will never ever know. I am very supportive. Somebody can be very attractive, but put them in a uniform and it's really quite pathetic. My heart melts.

EXHIBIT A:

Chase happens to be a very attractive 2nd baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Here he is in his uniform.



Here he is without it.
(still attractive, but not nearly as appealing. no offense Chase. I would still take you.)

It's not science people.

So Nick and I went to the game, and it was amazing. I loved it. We did everything you're supposed to do at a baseball game.

We ate peanuts. We drank cokes. We ordered hot dogs. We yelled "BEAT LA" to all of the drunks sitting around us. We provoked Dodger fans. We stood up and sang in the seventh inning stretch. So so fun. And in case you didn't realize from my last post how close I work, I will show you again.


this will not be my last baseball game.

Saturday I was a little unsure about how my weekend would unfold, so I talked to my very good friend Shauna, who is hilarious, living in L.A., and who you should be friends with here.

She convinced me the 122 mile trek was not too far to see her
(even after driving 600 miles LAST Sunday, and commuting everyday to work), and that I would not be sorry. I must really love this kitty.


So I drove to L.A. Saturday afternoon to find kitty in her sweatpants moving all of her stuff from her apartment. She failed to tell me she was using me for my car and my Mexican arms that have been lifting 20 lb weights with my very own personal trainer.
(read her good stuff here)

I wasn't even mad though. I love this little lady dearly and would do it again in a heartbeat.
Plus she called me a tender mercy.


We moved all of her stuff into a very difficult to reach storage unit (it really was like PacMan), only to find that we had to Tetris-ize her stuff to make it fit in the 4 x nothing unit that costs more than some Provo rent.
It's Los Angeles.

Ate some Chipotle, as every hard-working Mexican should, and then went and met up with Shauna's and my now friend (I Facebook confirmed) Peter.

We had the most amazing dinner at this place called "Gjelina"--a Mediterranean style restaurant on Abbott Kinney Blvd., a super trendy area of Venice Beach. We ordered some kind of pasta (mini), a margherita pizza, and fries.

Thank goodness our very odd waiter who refused to speak reminded us that they're called "Frites".
Peter: And an order of french fries.
Waiter: oh you mean frites.
Sure.



Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart even ate here together in December. Tender.


We put our names in around 9 p.m., and didn't even get seated until around 10:30 p.m, which was okay because we got to see the BEST PART OF LA. The Venice Beach canals. It was so cute all lit up at night, which made it difficult to take good pictures. And it made it into the movie Valentines Day, and Because I Said So (according to Shauna, I've never seen either.)

We went back to Peter's house, watched SNL, and laughed really REALLY hard at this SNL short--




REALLY late Saturday night I was able to visit with my friend Justin Morgan from high school. He's living down in L.A., and just finished up his second year of law school at USC. Love him. He is darling.

Sunday, Shauna and I went to church, and then sipped Diet Cokes while driving around the bendy roads of Beverly Hills and sang to old country songs. Like "I Want A Man That Stands Beside Me" by Jo Dee Messina, and "That Summer" by Garth Brooks. Man, those are good.

Favorite part:

Shauna: Kitty, I am so so glad you are here.
Me: I was part of your past life, but now I am here!
Shauna: I know! Now you're in my present life too! That makes you relevant.

Finally, we went to get dinner at the Coral Tree Cafe, where it just so happens The Hills cast thought would be the perfect place to eat in the premiere. NBD.



And then I drove home.

It was MAGICAL.