The Big Day is Almost Here

Just 32 1/2 hours to go...very happy, very tired, very in need of about a week's worth of sleep!

The Wedding Blog is Up

It's amazing how fast time has flown since Billy proposed...the wedding is now less than 3 weeks away.  There is still soooo much to do!  But, the wedding blog is up and running.  You can catch it here: http://j-bworththewait.blogspot.com/.

Engagement Photos

In between billing over 200 hours and working about 250 hours during September, the wedding planning has rolled forward.  Thankfully, Billy took the lead on the engagement photos (which will also be used to create our guestbook); and, we have 3 friends here in LA who are amateur photographers (two of whom work in the entertainment world...both behind the camera and editing) who have graciously volunteered to take engagement photos of us in various locations around LA.  Yesterday was our first photo shoot.  Here's a preview (unedited and un-retouched) of what we got yesterday.  We are VERY happy with the results and can't wait to see what else is to come.

Planning a Wedding

is a lot of work!  No matter how many things I get checked off of my list, there are about a hundred more that get added on daily...or so it seems!

I promise to upload photos and more soon!

Engaged!

Yes, it's true...details to come.

Just the Two of Us

For those of you who aren't on FB...a few photos of Billy and me.

These first two are, obviously, from the stay in the hospital...as you can see, he had a hard time taking a serious picture during the hospital stay...(of course, that can be a problem at any time we are trying to take pictures...)

This photo is from my office's summer party which was the BB King concert at the Hollywood Bowl.   

And, this one is thanks to Billy's friend Johanna.  It was taken at the Nora Jones Concert last night at the Greek.

Yes...we do have a lot of fun together!

Update...

The hospital stay lasted until about 5 p.m. Saturday night.  I was soooooo ready for us to be out of there by the time they let Billy check out!  He has a clean bill of health (with the addition of a baby aspirin and Lipitor every day) and no restrictions.  He's going back in this week for one more out-patient test, but otherwise, everything looks good.  And, he feels great!

Thanks to everyone for your care and concern!

UCLA Medical Center

I'm typing this post from UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center.  No, I'm not the one who has been admitted--that would be the boyfriend!  I've been to the Emergency Room twice in my life and both times have been with him--the first for kidney stones Memorial Day weekend and the 2nd yesterday because the right side of his body went numb (yah...not a good thing).  Turns out he had a small stroke (a TIA) in the sensory portion of his brain.  After 9-9 1/2 hours in the ER, they admitted him to the hospital for further testing.  We hope he will be released tonight, but we'll see what the doctor says about the test results.  He's been poked, prodded, ultrasouned, etc. all night and day.  It's been an interesting process to watch, but not one that I care to repeat.  And, quite frankly, if I never see the inside of another ER in my life, it will be too soon!

4th of July

On Saturday, July 3, Billy surprised me with box seats to the Vince Gill/Los Angeles Philharmonic 4th of July Concert at the Hollywood Bowl.  Our seats were awesome; and, we had a great time!  It was one of those "perfect" evenings together!

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We started the evening with a picnic at a small table in the box.  (Because he was studying for the Bar, and without knowing where we were going, I made the picnic dinner...fried chicken, German potato salad, tomato mozzarella salad, and chocolate-dipped strawberries and marshmallows.  YUM!)

Prior to the start of the concert, Bowl staff come and take the table down so that you can sit next to each other through the concert.

You can see that the lights in the Bowl changed as the evening progressed to match the music of the evening.

There was a military band that played with the Phil that night as well.

The Vince Gill part of the evening was a real sacrifice for Billy because he is NOT a country music fan!

The fireworks were fantastic!

T-34 Hours

Big prayers are in order because in just 34 hours, Billy will begin the California Bar Exam.  It's been a very long 4 months of studying while we've been dating!  I'll be very grateful when the exam is finished!  But, I'm also sooooo grateful that it's not me taking it this time around.  Watching Billy study has brought back so many repressed memories of my own experience, fears, and anxieties related to the Bar.  I feel so blessed to have passed the first time around!

Friendship has its Benefits...

So, my friend Barbara is the director/administrator/grand pooh-bah in charge of the Burbank Temporary Aid Center--a non-profit that helps homeless people.  I've spent quite a bit of time supporting the agency and attending events related to it with Barbara.  One of the best events, though, is the occasional movie screening on the Warner Brothers' Lot.  Tonight, one day before the nation-wide release, we are seeing Inception.  I hope it lives up to its hype.  I'm fearful, though, that the storyline may be a little to play-with-your-head, Matrix-like for me.  Regardless, it's always fun to be on the Lot!

Eclipse

I've now seen it 3 times!  I know that's crazy, but it is the best of the Twilight movies...and, I had lots of people to see it with...Emily and then Billy and then my mom, aunt and 3 sisters-in-law.

The Twilight Saga Continues...

So, I saw Eclipse last night.  It was BY FAR the best of the 3 Twilight movies!  The characters were developed better; the connections between the characters were better; and, the effects were WAY better!  That last part may also have had something to do with the fact that I saw it in IMAX!  It was a great way to see this particular movie!  I'm sure I'll see it at least twice more while it's in the theatres because I'll see it with my mom and sisters-in-law next week and Billy and I will probably see it after he takes the Bar.  I'm not sure it's really worth paying to see 3 times in the theatre, but it'll be fun nonetheless.

As a side note, while I'm definitely an Edward fan in the books; I'm a Jacob fan all the way in the movies.  Taylor is a WAY better actor and so much better looking than Rob.

My friend Emily is a total Twilight geek.  I went to see the movie with her last night, which was fun.  And, she shared this with me today...thought I'd pass it along.  For those of you who've read the books and/or seen the movies, I'm sure you will get a chuckle out of this.

Today is a MUCH better day...

I got to go on a brisk walk last night and, between the walk and our time afterwards, spend 3 hours talking with a certain boy last night who took time off from his Bar studies for me.  I also got the decision today from from my due process hearing in May...and, we won!!!!!  YEAH!!!!! 

(And, the best part is that I did not cry and I did not eat any Ben and Jerry's in this process!)

Life

My friend Jessica wrote a post on Monday that started like this..."You know when you have those days and you just want to cry? Or eat ice cream? Or cry and then eat ice cream?  Yep, today is that day."  That's totally how I feel today...and, how I felt yesterday, too.

I'm simply overwhelmed by everything...life, work (June 30 is the end of our billable year and I'm behind on hours AND work is flowing in at rate faster than anyone can handle right now AND my friend Rachel announced her departure from the firm AND my friend Vivian is not coming back from maternity leave), life, my lack of desire to diet and/or exercise, life, Young Women's, life, etc. 

It's been a really long time since I have felt like I just want to go home and curl up with a pint of Ben and Jerry's and cry.  But, today is definitely one of those days.

Sigh...better get back to work!

Seriously Funny Article

There's this great sarcastic newspaper called The Onion.  Today, they ran an article that made me laugh out loud, so I just had to share.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/well-it-looks-like-my-work-here-has-been-successfu,17492/

Well...that's one way to earn blog comments...

The Cliffs' Note Version of My Life in 2010...Bringing You All up to Date

So, I know my blog entries have been scarce for the past few months.  Part of the problem is that it takes so darned long to upload photos to my blog and it's so much easier to post them on Facebook.  So, that's usually where I post them these days.

I've decided that "normal" for me is living life at a frenetic pace where there's barely time to keep my head above water and that things like blogging, scrapbooking, and quilting will likely always take a backseat to everything else.  So, I've quit expecting myself to get it all done...I'll get there eventually...just not today.  That change in attitude has been a great change!

I have had little time to travel this year...I haven't been home to Modesto since Christmas.  And, with Eric & Sheree now living in Modesto, my semi-annual trip to D.C. this Spring did not happen.  But, as my previous blog posts have indicated, my friend Tracy came to visit me in January and my friend Janell came to visit in February.  This weekend my friend Collette is visiting and Eric, Sheree, and Tyler are coming next weekend.  This summer, I will head home for the week after the 4th of July...I also hope to head to NYC for a long weekend with a few of my LA girlfriends and to take a strip to SLC to see the many friends who live in Utah.  I also expect visits from Tracy and Janell this summer and hope to see Jared, Cindy, Jack, and Kate visit as well.  I'm looking forward to a fun and full summer.

I am still the Young Women's President for the 3 wards in my building at church.  After 2 years in this calling, I am finally feeling sort of comfortable in my own skin in the calling. I truly LOVE my girls and am so grateful for the opportunities this calling has given me. I work with an amazing group of women who span an amazing age range and who are of multiple cultures. I have learned so much from all of them. And, the girls are amazing, too. I have learned so much from theml. It's almost tough to imagine having any other calling.  It is a calling, though, that takes up ALOT of my time.  Except for the 1st week, I spent every Tuesday evening, all day Saturday, and much of Sunday in April with these girls.  We had great fun with a rummage sale and with a day in Disneyland (as a result of our Give-a-Day-Get-a-Day service project in January).

I've also gotten involved with the Stake mid-singles (age 28-45) group at church, which has provided me the opportunity to meet some great people and to start (after 3 1/2 years) to feel comfortable living here in LA. I am a teacher for the mid-singles Sunday School class once month, which I am also really enjoying. And, it gives me a good "excuse" to read and study my scriptures.

I continue to be very busy at work, but Young Women's and MSA activities have forced some balance into my life that is really good and healthy. It's good to have an excuse to get out of the office. The problem is that this balance has lead to a place where I am behind on my hours.  For the first time EVER in my career as an attorney, I have hours to make up between now and June 30 when our year ends.  So, while it was brutal to work over 130 hours in the first 2 weeks of May because of a due process hearing, I needed to do it to make up for other activities in months prior.  I've got a ways to go still, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I should be able to hit 1800 for the year by June 30.
 
And, just when I didn't think I could fit one more thing in, I started dating a friend of mine here in LA.  We are in the same Stake at church, but not in the same ward--we actually go to church in separate buildings (me, close to downtown; he, on the West side by the temple).  He's actually someone I went to law school with; so, we've known each other for 9 1/2 years.  His name is Billy Gonzalez.  (No, Billy is not actually his legal name...but, that's a long story for an entirely different post.)  He's been a really good friend here in LA.  And, has been diligently trying to get me to date him since last September.  I wasn't interested then; perhaps, you could say the timing just wasn't right.  But, sometime in March, I started to wonder if I was making a mistake...we were such good friends and maybe I should give him a chance...what did I have to lose...if it worked out, I would only have something to gain!  So, I took the leap and we have been dating for the past 2 months. It's such a new and unusual experience to date someone that I'm friends with, whom I trust, am completely comfortable with, and with whom I can communicate openly and freely.  It's a very welcome change--one that makes life so much happier and one that puts all of this other crazy, busy-ness into a much better perspective.  This has been the main reason behind my prior statements and postings like "Life is what happens when you are making other plans."  It's also taught me that the saying is really true...when you least expect it...
 
So, life is good; 2010 and being 38 are shaping into VERY different things than I expected.  I'm excited to see what the remainder of the year holds!
 
For inquiring minds who want to know, here's a photo of the two of us with our friend Rozanna from last summer at the Hollywood Bowl.  
 

  Rozanna, Billy, Me

She Passed!!!!!

I'm am so excited that I'm beyond words...my friend Janell passed the Bar.  She so deserves this.  Now, we can plan a trip for her to come to visit me in LA this summer just for fun...no more attempts at passing the California Bar.  Congrats Janell and welcome to the world of lawyering!

Life is What Happens When You are Making Other Plans

This really should be the motto of my life...I'm considering where/how I could display it in large print in a place that I will see it regularly because if I could remember this little motto/life's lesson more often, I'm sure I would be less frustrated about some things in life.