We had a frisbee...and we got wet!

I guess I should have known it would happen...I was a Kansas girl at the beach in California. You would have been disappointed in me if I hadn't gotten soaked, right? I thought so...

One of Jacob's first Saturdays in California was a company day at the beach. He had really wanted to take a Frisbee, but as we were packing at 11 o'clock the night before he left for Cali, it must have slipped our minds. Such shame! Everyone must have thought he was a lame-o who didn't know to bring a Frisbee to the beach! As I was packing for my trip, I found two Frisbees & packed them both.

We were so busy with everything else while I was in California that Jacob & I saved our day at the beach for my last day. And like every other day I was there, I was cold. And special for the day, it was overcast. But we're Kansas kids. We didn't let a little chill & cloud spoil our fun!

We wandered the beach for a while. Saw a lot of kelp, big waves, a few surfers, & a dead seal! A dead seal! Do they really just leave a dead seal on the beach?!

We found an open space & tried to throw the Frisbee around. I say 'tried' because I am not known for my skills with a Frisbee. Jacob tossed me the Frisbee; I kicked it. I tossed him the Frisbee; he ran after it. He was so patient with me though. Occasionally I had a decent toss & made a catch. There were several close calls, but neither of us was hit by the waves during our little game.

After a while, one of us got the genius idea in her head to play a game of chicken with the waves. The rules: whoever got closer to the waves before turning back screaming would be the winner. Like I said, you would be disappointed if I hadn't had this genius idea. Well, Jacob won, but we both got soaked. The proof...

Long Walks on the Beach

I meant to post more about my trip to California earlier than this, but I was too busy last week working on a wedding shower gift for Bear (to be blogged about later). But now I have some time so I thought I would show you some more pictures.

The Saturday night of my trip, Jacob & I went on a guided kayak trip. Exciting! I would love to kayak more often, but that requires storage for the kayak when it isn't in the water & a way to get it to the water. Oh, & money to buy it! Right now I don't have any of that, so I'll take any kayak time I can get it!

Our tour had three other couples in it & I felt a little odd that we were the only couple in separate kayaks. Guess we aren't so coupley. But we were the only ones who got to brag about how we did the whole 2 hour trip by ourselves. We saw some amazing homes on our tour & enjoyed reading the names of boats we passed. The tour guide took pictures while we were on the water, but I don't know if he's sent them yet, or maybe they're lost out in the internet somewhere. When/If I get those pictures, I'll remember to post them.

After kayaking, Jacob & I decided to take a little walk on the beach. Our first! Here are some pictures from that evening. (This first picture really makes me want this fabric-sandpiper from Cloud 9...if you have my name for Christmas, take note!)

Back in the saddle again

Sure, in the past month & a half, I’ve missed Jacob. And yes, I was so excited to see him at the airport, hug him, talk to him on the drive back to his apartment. But as we pulled into his spot in the parking garage, I saw her…The Mistress. And oh, how I have missed her!

We took The Mistress (a.k.a. his motorcycle) out several times during my visit. I asked him to be kind to my behind & take me on a few shorter rides so my butt could get used to riding the bike again. Nope. Saturday we took a 5 hour drive through the mountains.

I have never ridden a motorcycle on anything other than flat Kansas & Nebraska roads & highways. The mountains in California were something else! Gorgeous views, yes, but I didn’t allow myself more than a few seconds peeking at a time. There are no guardrails, people! I had never been so nervous riding on a motorcycle…white knuckles. But did I mention the views?!

Then Sunday, we decided to ride up Pacific Coast Highway. After getting through the holiday traffic around Hermosa Beach (which truly is hermosa), we looked at about 27 miles of garage doors (a.k.a. Malibu). The entire time, I couldn’t help but chant Ma-li-bu a’la Spanglish style. I digress. The view up PCH was great & the waves did not disappoint. Then we got to the mountains again.

And the white knuckles again. Jacob was a very careful driver.* Honestly. And we both shook our head at the crotch rockets that sped past us on one of our photo op breaks.

But I will let the photos speak for themselves.

*Had to add that in for the women in my family who may be reading.

Real flowers!

I flew into John Wayne Airport last Thursday & that cute guy I talk about a lot was waiting to pick me up. And he was holding these...


Real flowers! They were gorgeous & it was great to have them on the dining table throughout my time in California.

I had a great visit & was sad to leave. But I had to get back to work & to the babies. Jackson had an emergency trip to the vet the night before I left so I was anxious to check on him myself. He's fine, I made it through my first day back to work, & I'm already unpacked. So now back to counting down the days...

He sent me flowers!

My boyfriend left me. For California. In an attempt to buy my love back, he sent me flowers.

When I got home from work the other night, there was a box sitting at my front door. Inside was a special present from purlsoho.com.

Pretty pretty Liberty of London (that isn't in the form of boxers). Okay, I forgive you for now, Jacob. How could I not?!

I think someone else forgive you, too. She loved the tissue paper you sent especially for her!

Unpacking

Boxes are starting to clear out of here!

The kitchen is unpacked. I can see the counter tops. And I have made my first batch of mac & cheese!

Living room furniture is where I want it to be. There are just a few boxes tucked into the corner. I'll ignore them for a while longer.
Bedroom 1 is still pretty messy. Thank goodness for a huge closet so I can stuff everything in there & close the doors for a while until I'm ready to tackle it.

Bedroom 2 belongs to the cats right now. Jacob's furniture is still at his place & will stay there until I have a truck & the muscles to move it.

Bathroom is small. Not much I can do to put anything away in there! I'm thinking about getting one of those bathroom shelving units, but so far I have done a great job of not buying things specifically for the apartment. I want to wait until things are all put away. Then I can think about it...
As a reward for all my hard work, I bought myself some flowers last night!

The cats haven't even messed with them yet! They are calming down a bit. But I think Jackson is trying to take dominance of the household from Seaton. There have been quite a few skirmishes between the two & Jackson seems to be coming out on top!

Where have I been?

Oh, life is fun. It has been so ridiculous the past several weeks. Birthdays. Jacob coming & going & coming & going again & trying to sneak some quality time in with him here & there.


Finally visiting the Konza barn & bison herds with Jacob & visiting family.

Packing boxes & moving boxes & unpacking boxes. Not sleeping. Working.

Not only have I not been able to sew lately, I don't even know where most of my sewing projects are! Eventually I will get back to all that fabric I bought for my birthday. I have some great projects planned!

Luckily, I had some great help from some great family & friends. Whether visiting, helping me move, or letting me stay for the weekend, you all have been great!