Where Does Time Go?

How has it been nearly 3 weeks since my last post? Life has a funny way of happening and I seem to get busier and busier (which is a good thing for an energetic person like me). I have also been very distracted when I am on the Internet with Facebook and Twitter. Who knew updating people on your life could be so addicting. Does anyone really care what I just did 5 seconds ago (probably not!). I also must be getting older or my bed is just too darn comfortable, because lately when I had the choice to write a post or take a nap, the nap clearly won. I realized that if I don't stop to reflect and enjoy life it will quickly pass me by. Plus, I enjoy writing (as you can probably tell from my marathon length posts).

A lot has happened in the last 3 weeks, so I'll do my best to write an abbreviated version. Work has been challenging, exciting and demanding. I successfully survived the busiest time in my career. When you are in the middle of coordinating training classes, coaching, managing meetings and completing daily tasks it seems so overwhelming. Now that I look back on all that I did over the last few weeks, I feel like I really accomplished a ton. I managed to learn a lot about my role and about myself (I need to work on stress management! I don't handle unforeseen circumstances very well when I am under a lot of pressure and deadline. There were many days when I felt like my head would roll off my shoulders if it wasn't attached. I was not my usual bubbly self and I was wound up tighter than a spool of thread.) I have no idea what changed, maybe it was Joe telling me he was sick of me talking about work, or I just woke up one morning with a new attitude and fresh approach. Even though I still have tons going on, I feel much more relaxed and in control. Now that I think about it, maybe I am finally getting the hang of things. I am happy to report that I am enjoying work!

Wedding planning is moving along. I still have a few more save the dates to mail out...opps! (Come on, give me a break. I need Joe to get me most of the addresses.) We picked out our photographer and I am so excited. We are working with a friend of mine from St. Louis who is extremely talented and creative. She designs her own antique jewelry, has great taste in fashion and has one of the best decorated places I have seen. The best part...she said she would boss me around on wedding day. (I want someone to tell me how to pose and where to be for pictures. I don't want to try to be creative with the pictures, especially since the bus will be stocked with champagne.)

Speaking of champagne, it is my new drink of choice. I have been ordering the bubbly like crazy when we have been going out, and we have been going out a lot. I think my liver might disown me after the month of July. Some of our great friends and wedding party members, Max and Anna came to LA for the 4th of July. We crammed so much into a weekend and every bit of it was amazing. You know those people that you love to be around? That is Max and Anna for me. I think I burned off all of my drinking calories by laughing all weekend long. On Thursday night we did the usual downtown night out. Dinner at Bottega Louie, a trendy restaurant that is always packed and serves delicious food, followed by drinks at The Standard. We had to wait in line forever to get into The Standard. Finally, the doorman came up to us. I told him patience is a virtue because I was so excited that I waited in line without complaining loudly (patience is not one of my strong virtues). Who blurts our philosophical terms in line at a bar? Yours truly! On Friday night we went to the legendary Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills. I see why people rave about this place. Best Asian food I have ever had! I convinced our friends to sign up for the Redondo Beach 5k, so I started my 4th of July off running one of my best 5k runs. It helped that the course was on the Pacific Coast Highway, so we ran next to the ocean. Anna and I spent the day relaxing on our rooftop patio. We moved the chairs close to the water fountain and if you closed your eyes you could picture yourself at some exquisite spa. Saturday night was one of the greatest nights of my life. We watched the fireworks at USC and the show was an hour long. I kind of got bored, and I felt bad for getting bored since you don't get to see fireworks everyday. After the fireworks we headed to Hollywood to celebrate Independence Day at My House (one of the best clubs I have ever been to). The DJ was incredible, the drinks were strong and the dancing was fierce. Anna and I met Roy from the office and wished Rob from Rob & Big a happy b-day. No night out in Hollywood would be complete without stumbling around looking at the stars. I got a picture next to Kiefer Sutherland's star and Hugh Hefner's star (those pics did not make the Facebook cut). We also found Michael Jackson's star. There were flowers and signs and people mourning the pop star. Leave it to me to knock over one of the cardboard signs as I bent down to take a picture (the people mourning were not happy! I swear I was not trying to be rude, I just had no sense of balance). Needless to say, we got a slow start to Sunday given that our cab dropped us off around 3am (how did I go out hard core night after night in college? I really must be getting old). We still managed to venture down to Laguna Beach and had dinner in Newport Beach to end the weekend.

Joe and I had the chance to have fun with friends all over again last weekend. Our high school friends Rory and Rhonda flew out for a little vacay in LA. We did the usual Thursday night out in downtown LA. I missed all of the fun in Malibu and Santa Monica on Friday, but caught back up with the group for an amazing dinner at Kincaid's on the Redondo Beach Pier. It was no surprise that Friday was an early night after devouring our meals. We made up for being lame on Friday with a fantastic night out at Elevate in downtown on Saturday. My dancing shoes were strapped tightly to my feet! Joe and I truly enjoy hosting guests, so please come visit.

The most exciting thing of all is that Joe and I are about to become parents. Pug parents that is! We are adopting two black pug puppies (I know I must be crazy!) from a rescue here in Southern California. The puppies are brothers, so they can't be separated. Joe and I figured that it would be better to have two dogs since we both work full-time. I am already trying to condition myself to an even earlier alarm, and I am failing miserably. Today, I turned off my alarm and continued to lay in bed. 30 minutes later I miraculously woke up. I need to break this habit stat before I don't wake up in time for work. I am looking forward to having two little buddies around when Joe is traveling. I also need someone to walk with when I go to the beach. Now I will have a leash in each hand. If I fall of the face of blogger again for the next few weeks, you'll know why. It is hard to believe that I have been in LA almost 6 months. Our wedding is less than 5 months away. It is utterly amazing how fast time flies.