11 months before the big 3-0!

All of my friends have been recently turning the big 3-0, aka dirty thirty, flirty thirty, etc. But it all seriousness, where the H has the time gone? Wasn't I just graduating from high school? Oh wait- no, that's right- I graduated from college almost 8 YEARS AGO! 

I look at turning thirty with excitement, as another chapter in my life opens up for me. Even though when I was younger I pictured my life at 30 completely different, I could not have chosen a better path for myself.

I have been through so many life changing experiences in the last 10 years that have taught me the importance of it all. These experiences have turned me into the person I am today...and I love that person! I think that's a part of what makes turning 30 so easy. I am completely comfortable with me. I am happy with my life and wouldn't have changed it for anything. 

So, here's a flashback of what I thought 30 would be...when I was 10:

(1991) When I'm 30, I'll be married with 3 kids, hopefully all girls (and I've always wanted twins). We'll live in a mansion and have everything we want. I'll be the cool mom that all the kids want to hang out with. I'll be wearing "mom clothes" and talking about politics and things I know nothing about now, or have any interest in. One lesson learned- don't yell back at your mom, you'll get soap in your mouth!

When I was 20:

(2001) In 10 years, I see myself deep into my aquatic biology career. I'll work for Sea World as a dolphin trainer. I'll go on exciting and beautiful excursions to further discover the marine life. I see my boyfriend and I married by then, maybe with a kid or two. I see myself still being friends with most of my high school and college best friends. One lesson learned- don't take a second of this life for granted, it can be gone in the blink of an eye.

Today:

(2011) No husband, No kids- definitely no twins, No career in marine biology, No mansion, No talk with other moms about politics/etc...BUT the things that I do have and have accomplished in the last 10 years have redefined the way I view life. I believe one does a lot of soul searching and growing in your twenties. Sometimes, you learn something the hard way- other times you teach someone something the hard way. One lesson learned- Life is about how you choose to react to the situations you are put in. You learn different things from different relationships until you get to a point where you know exactly what you want, and more importantly- what you don't want. I may not be settled down with a husband and kids, but I do have everything I want and need- amazing boyfriend, amazing friends and family, and experiences that I will never forget.

And so...I am stealing an idea from some other friends and am making a list of 29 things to accomplish this year before I turn 30 (which will be in my next post once completed). I think writing goals down is the easiest way to accomplish them. Plus, I thoroughly enjoy checking things off lists..weird, I know!

Let the list making begin!

My Collection!

I never thought I'd be one who has a collection of something..but somehow, over the years, I have accumulated quite a few SHOTGLASSES! I love checking out my collection every now and then and remembering where each of them came from! Looking over my shotglass collection usually brings back good memories of trips I've been on, or trips others have been on that brought back an addition to my collection as a souvenier for me.
I've never actually written down all the places I've collected shotglasses from so I thought what better place to document it other than my blog? Here it goes:

USA:
Big Bear, CA- 2009 Valentine's trip with Clay
Weed, CA- A friend purchased this as she passed through the uniquely named town
Laughlin, NV
Treasure Island, Las Vegas, NV- My 21st Birthday- 2002
Palms Place, Las Vegas, NV
Missoula, MT- A friend purchased a "Moose Drool" Shotglass
Seattle, WA
Maryland- 2007 Clay's trip with his brother
Greenbrier, WV- Clay's mom went to the opening of the golf course/clubhouse 2010
San Francisco, CA- 2008 Conor/Serene's wedding
New York, NY- Gabby and Nathan's wedding 2008
Buffalo, NY- 2003 Trip with Mom, Grandma, Sister and Great Aunt
Kauai, HA- 2001 Trip with Stegmaier's
Kauai, HA- 2010 Trip with Family
Kauai, HA "Okele Maluna" which means ottoms up in Hawaiian, 2010
Hawaii, HA x2

OTHER COUNTRIES:
Frankfurt, Germany- from a friend's trip 2005
Heidelburg, Germany- Clay's trip 2009 Boot shotglass
Berlin, Germany- Clay's trip 2009
Sydney, Australia- Clay's brother's trip 2009
Santorini, Greece- Clay's brother's trip 2010
Canada- 2003 trip to Buffalo, we visited Niagra falls and crossed over to the Canada side
Mexico x3
Mazatlan, Mexico x2- Trip with sister and parents 2005, Cruise Stop 2007
Manzanillo, Mexico- Cruise Stop 2007
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico- Cruise Stop 2007
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico- Mom and Sister's trip
London, England- Work Trip 2009
Prague, Czech Republic- Clay's trip 2009
Turkey- Clay's brother's trip 2010
Costa Rica

NOVELTY:
Kitain Wedding (11/10/07- Clay's first wedding) x4
Okole Maluna
Candy Cane Shotglass
Jagermeister x2
Easter Egg
Mini Martini
Plain x6
134th Kentucky Derby Mint Julep Glass 2008
135th Kentucky Derby Mint Julep Glass 2009
136th Kentucky Derby Mint Julep Glass 2010


There you have it- My documented shotglass collection! So many interesting places and what a great way to remember all the trips I or others have taken!

Eat. Pray. Love

Read the book before you think about seeing the movie that is coming out soon starring Julia Roberts. The book is amazing...and easy to read! Pretty funny at parts and very well written!
That's all.

Rihanna Concert Recap

I came across this article on MTV.com written about the Rihanna concert at the Staples Center, which I went to with three other girlfriends- Tawni, Larissa, and Lindsay. It pretty much summed up the entire concert with such detail that I thought I'd add it to my blog so I can always remember this amazing night!
~~~~~
LOS ANGELES — Rihanna's Last Girl on Earth tour may have been plagued by poor ticket sales during a bad summer for concerts, but fans were out in force at the tour's Los Angeles stop on Wednesday night. With sexy moves, a hint of violence and pyrotechnics, the singer delivered a nearly two-hour set (following opening sets from Travie McCoy and Ke$ha) that was capped by a surprise appearance by none other than Eminem.
The show began shortly after 7:30 p.m. as Gym Class Heroes frontman Travie McCoy hit the stage in support of his debut solo album, Lazarus. Tattooed from head to toe, wearing jeans, a T-shirt, suspender straps and a paperboy hat, he performed a quick 20-minute set as fans continued to trickle in and fill the arena. With a drummer, a DJ and a backdrop featuring his dog Stitch, McCoy strutted back and forth across the stage performing tracks including "The Manual," "Dr. Feel Good" and the summer hit "Billionaire" — sans Bruno Mars — before closing out by showing his softer (yet possibly still bitter) side with the breakup song "Need You."

Following McCoy was a wild, playful, foul-mouthed and at times sloppy Ke$ha, who emerged between two large lighting props shortly after 8 p.m. While echoes of "Right Round" filled the venue (the Flo Rida hit on which she's featured), the singer ordered everyone in the crowd to "Stand up right now!" Decked out in a black sequined short jumpsuit, a leopard bandana, sunglasses, fishnet hose, body glitter and a star painted on her left eye, the singer kicked off her performance, which as promised, provided nothing short of a full-fledged party vibe.

"I can't believe I am playing a show at the motherf---in' Staples Center!" the Animal singer exclaimed as she broke into "Blah, Blah, Blah." Accompanied by a full band and two quirky dancers, who at times where seen dancing in only American flag-designed Speedos, Ke$ha's set was a visual assault that included a gun-shaped guitar, exotic animal hats, cartwheels, drum smashing, and psychedelic cartoons that played on the stage behind her. She tore through six more songs from her debut album, including "Party at a Rich Dude's House," "Dinosaur," "Stephen," "Your Love Is My Drug," and finishing, of course, with the song that rocketed her to fame, "Tik-Tok."

After an hour-long intermission, the energy in the arena soared when Rihanna finally took the stage. Wasting no time, the singer opened up with her pop-rock ballad "Russian Roulette," wearing a floor-length black dress with flashing red lights while images of burning naked mannequins were displayed on screens behind her.

While stage lights flashed, six of her dancers emerged with glow-in-the-dark rifles. Rihanna reappeared shortly after, revealing a pink sequined bodysuit with her signature shoulder pads, which were a common theme throughout several of her outfit changes. Performing "Hard," the singer straddled a giant pink army tank with a Mickey Mouse army hat on while images of her video "Hard" flashed behind her.

Rihanna went on to perform a set filled with 23 hits, including "Disturbia," "Rehab," playful dance hits like "Pon de Replay," "Please Don't Stop the Music," and "S.O.S," and more intimate songs such as "Take a Bow" and "Hate That I Love You," and five different outfits, all of which had the similar leotard skin-tight looks that show off her figure. All the while, messages flashed across the screens, displaying statements that reflect Rihanna's dreamlike world: "One image. One voice. Welcome to Rihanna's world. The last girl on Earth."
Toward the end of the night, the crowd received the biggest treat of the show. As Rihanna began to sing the hook for "Love the Way You Lie," Eminem emerged from beneath the stage to join her. Allowing Eminem to take center stage, Rihanna gracefully stood nearby while the crowd screamed louder then ever. Dressed all in black, Eminem took control of the show and for an instant it almost appeared as if the crowd forgot they were attending a Rihanna show. But just as quickly as the song began, it was over, as the two disappeared beneath the stage together, leaving the audience chanting for more during the encore.
Closing out the night, Rihanna returned to play a medley of songs. As if to tease the audience into thinking another artist would make a guest appearance, she sang the hooks from "Live Your Life" and "Run This Town." The show ended with Rihanna's biggest hit song to date, "Umbrella," with red confetti released into the air, as she was elevated above the crowd on a platform. Once she was brought back onto the stage, she did a cute curtsy, thanking fans for making her dreams come true, before exiting the stage. As the lights came on, the dreamlike messages continued to flash up on the screen — "The dream is over. The dream is real" — while "What a Wonderful World" played throughout the arena.
Such an amazing concert! I would have never guessed she'd put on such a great show! When Eminem came out, the entire place went absolutely CRAZY! He was so on point with his song, popped up out of the floor, sang it and left with such professionalism! Of course I've downloaded each of their albums and have been rocking out to them ever since I left the concert! That's the great thing about live music- it makes you realize how much talent people actually really have!

OSCAR CHALLENGE- PRECIOUS

I finally saw Precious! Once the boyfriend was off to school for the night, I poured myself a glass of wine and popped the movie in. I was warned by my sister to be careful because this movie wants to make you punch someone in the face. I can agree with that. The movie did make me angry and was just plain sad to watch. It was a little slow for me, but I remained focused. I didn't really like all the violence and language- I'm more of a comedy type movie watcher. So...all in all, this movie was a little heavy for me- no pun intended. But I loved Mariah Carey's character...she was very inspirational!
The awards the movie won were well deserved. However, I don't think I could handle watching it again.

G'Bye June...Hello July Gloom!

If you thought July was supposed to be sunny and summery in Orange County, you thought wrong this year. It has been cloudy and gloomy everyday until maybe (if we're lucky) the sun pops out around 3:00 for a few hours! I'm ready for the summertime sunshine so hopefully it'll get here quick!

Here are a few pics from my whirlwind of a month of June:

Vegas Babyyyyyy! June 1st-4th, Palms Place Hotel

Waterfalls, Beautiful Sunsets, Sun, Family and Fun!

Kauai, HA June 9th-16th

Breakfast with Dani, Visiting from Alabama!Congrats to Carrie, Pregnant again- it's a boy, Due in January! We are soooo excited for her!

Happy 28th Birthday Gabby!

Trip to Atlanta- June 22nd- 26th

Got to see my College roomie, Lana- who just got married about 4 weeks before this picture!!! I was unable to make it to the wedding but so glad I got to hang with her for a girls night out! We had so much fun catching up on EVERYTHING! This house is my Mom's Cousins House in Sandy Springs. The houses in Georgia are gorgeous and sooo spacious and GREEN! Christine is my Second Cousin(?), my mom's cousin's Daughter. And Grace (almost 1 year) is Christine's little girl. She was such a joy to be around- what a cutie! I've known Christine since we were about 8-10 yrs old and it is so amazing to see her grow and become a MOM! :)

They were having a fabulous (ha, just my luck) heat wave in Atlanta when we arrived, so it was quite sticky! But we enjoyed seeing the family- mostly my mom's mom's sisters. (I know the family tree gets complicated when we head to the south!)

4th of July at the BeachHouse!

The usual festivities- decorations, margaritas, tattoos (fake ones of course), family, food! Only thing missing was the sun! Glendora Country Club Swim Team Reunion- 20 years later!

Let's hope for some sun the rest of the summer! I didn't kill myself at the gym to wear sweaters all year! I'm sure it will get warm soon, and then I'll be praying for the gloom to come back!

Next week is Clay's birthday- I'm planning a bonfire for him! We're heading to Target to look for some fun beach toys for the birthday celebration! He hates birthdays, but I keep telling him he'll only turn 24 once! So enjoy it while it lasts!

Ohhhh June....

The end of May is approaching and I am getting a little anxious, yet extremely excited, for next month.
Clay and I will be kicking off the month with a trip to Vegas. We're staying at the Palms Place and spending the days by the pool in a complimentary cabana! YES! After 4 days of bliss with the best boyfriend in the world in the greatest city in the world, I'll be gearing up to head to Kauai with the family- well, a few of them!
My mom and Rob, Chelsea and Jeremy, and Adam and myself will be spending about a week in paradise. After we return from Hawaii, I'm assuming there will be a little bundle of joy to visit up in Fresno. My nephew is due to arrive mid June! Duncan and Tracy are VERY excited about becoming parents to little Hudson! We all can't wait to meet him! There may be a trip to Atlanta after I meet my nephew, to catch up with a few family members there. I haven't been to Atlanta in years and am glad I have the time and opportunity to get there to spend time with family. We used to visit there about every other year when I was younger. Of course as time goes on, schedules get hectic and it gets harder to arrange time for family. But, and I've said this before, family is so so important. After all is said and done, your family members are the only people who will always be there. After the month of June whizzes by me, there will be more family celebrations as we get together for our most favorite family holiday- 4TH OF JULY! I can't wait for the fun to begin!
Life goes by so fast. Make the most of it!