West Coast Winter

Frank & I spent the first 6 days of December in SoCal visiting our family and a few close friends. It was, as usual, a great trip. Frank spent the first few days staying at his parents house & spending some much needed quality time with them. I, in the meantime, got to have drinks with some old friends, see a friend I met 7 years ago on an airplane & her beautiful daughter, take my BFF out to lunch on her birthday, have breakfast w/ another awesome friend, shop with my Grammy and watch my nephew's football practice w/ my aunt. Frank & I both had some holiday time w/ his family, a fancy & delicious holiday dinner w/ all of my closest family (including my mom, who just happened to be in CA for the day!); we also attended both my nephew's football "superbowl" and my BFF's daughter's 3rd bday party. Whew! (Those sentances are why this blog is titled Rambling Alethea!)

Here are just a very few pictures of my trip.

Katie & I after her birthday lunch. Great food & even better conversation. Hot damn do I miss that girl! I'm so glad that we were able to squeeze in some one on one time & celebrate her birthday together.

My good friend Hiromi drove to my Grammy's house to take me out for breakfast one morning, which also rocked. We spent a few hours eating, laughing and just delving in to conversation, the way old friends are able to do.

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the good time I'm having, I forget to take pictures. That happened a lot in SoCal. This means I have no visual proof of what a great time I had w/ my friend Jen, her daughter Lexi & their incredibly welcoming family one afternoon in Pasadena. While it was a bummer that Jen & I didn't get any one on one time, it was awesome to feel so incredibly welcomed into a stranger's house. Plus, I got to tickle, hug and giggle with Lexi! And oh my, has she grown since I last saw her in June!!

I stopped by my nephew's football practice one evening & joined his mom in watching for awhile. It was kind of cold and a little boring though, so we skipped the last 1/2 and went out for a couple beers while we waited for practice to be over. :-) Again, nice to have some quality one on one time with someone I love. She & I may not always agree on social or political views, but we certainly have some great conversation and generally a lot of fun to boot. Plus, we went for beers at a place where a good friend from H.S. bartends! In fact, I met both my aunt & uncle (and old friend the bartender) for beers at the same place the next day!

Don't fret, I did manage to spend some time w/ my inlaws while I was in town. I had dinner w/ them & F's grandpa one night, then stopped by their house for snacks and drinks a few nights later. All in all, they are so much more laid back than they used to be, which leads me to like them more and more.

Grammy & I got to spend a little time relaxing, eating, shopping and lounging around together. My time w/ Grammy is pretty much always my favorite part about being home. Even when we are on each other's nerves and too much alike to not aggravate one another, we still have a very special bond.

On Friday night, we had our big fancy family dinner at my house. It's always me, Frank, my Grammy, her husband, my aunt & uncle and Blake. This year, I got a special treat. My mom, who drives an 18 wheeler, just happened to be stopped over for the night in a city about 15 min. from Grammy's house. So, I invited her to dinner! Now, Grammy is my Dad's mom, not my Mom's mom. Plus, Grammy and most of my Dad's side of the family, have not always been to keen on my mom. For like, you know, 30 years or so. :-) So, they weren't thrilled, but they played nice, were polite, friendly and social. Besides, it was my freaking holiday and I would invite my mom if I wanted. So there! I'm pleased to say, that dinner was a success and everyone had a really nice time. Plus, it was extra special for me to be able to have my mom there.

So, everyone got along great, the table was beautiful and the dinner was delicious!!!

Oh, and before dinner, Frank & I took Blake to Dave & Buster's to play this silly horse racing game that we love.

The day before we left was jam packed. First of all, it was Delilah's (and Katie's!) birthday party. It's hard to believe that my BFF's daughter is already 3! She's such a brilliant, fun little girl. I wish I lived closer so I could be a bigger part of her life...you know, like as the coolest aunt ever or something. ;->

After the party my whole family sat in the *literally* freezing cold to watch Blake's (pop warner type) football team play in their "superbowl". Sadly, they lost w/ a pathetic 28-0, but I'm glad they made it that far & we were there to support him. Gotta try to stay positive, right? :-)

I'm sure there's more that I'm missing. There always is. Oh, how I love to go home. I miss my family and I miss my friends. I miss the food, the diversity, the ocean, the feeling that anything is possible & can happen on any given day. I miss being surrounded by people who know me and love me. And, no matter where I go, I will always be a Californian, for better or for worse.