Sunny and Warm!

It is Monday, and I have been in Los Angeles since Saturday night. It has been such a wonderful time so far, I never want this trip to end. My plane got in about 8:30 to LAX, and my wonderful friend from college picked me up from the airport. It was so great to see her, it had been over a year since we had last seen each other, and I realized how much I had missed her once I saw her dear face again. It's so nice having the sort of friendship where each time you see each other, you pick up again as if no time has been spent apart whatsoever. I think that is the mark of a true friendship. Well, that night she took me to this really cool nightclub that plays kind of punk/rock music, but we were only able to stay there until about 12:30 because I was feeling so tired (my body's clock was two hours later than that because of the time change.) The next day we slept in, did a little exercising in the morning, and then spent a liesurely day out, going to the farmer's market and getting some fruit, veggies, and hummus, and going to the grocery store to stock up on some stuff, and going by her old coffee house, and watching some movies at her apartment. We had lunch at this Mexican restaurant where I had fish tacos, the best I have ever had. Mmmm. They have good food in L.A.

Today, she is currently working at Starbucks, so I am sitting at her apartment kind of bored and waiting for her to come home and bring me a frappuccino light. : ) I think we're going to see the Tar Pits today, I wanted to check them out, and we might see a movie or something tonight. The weather has been decent. It's been pretty sunny and high 60's, but it feels nicer than that. We've been walking around in capri's and tank tops, and it has been good. She gets off work at 2:30, so I just have a little longer to amuse myself. All of her roommates are out, so I'm by myself and definitely ready to get out there and see the city!

Old Friends, New Friends

I had a nice and social weekend. I saw some friends whom I haven't seen in awhile, and I saw some people who I have just started getting to know at Barnes and Noble. It was nice, overall. On Friday (St. Patty's day!) I went to this Irish Pub with my friend Janet for lunch. It was packed, and everyone was eating corn beef and cabbage. Then we went over to the mall and I got my ears pierced. I got to meet her new man, as well, and he seemed really nice, but not at all what I was expecting. I think that's usually the case when you meet someone's new boyfriend/girlfriend. He seemed really nice, however, so I think I approve. On Saturday I watched the disappointing Illinois game (there's always next year!) and went to Buffalo Wild Wings for the first time for dinner with my girls from B & N. That was fun, because all of the basketball games were playing, so I got to see how Indiana was doing (the last of the big 10 teams to last in the tournament--now I'm not sure who to root for, I think Boston College maybe.) On Sunday, I saw one of my oldest friends from junior high, Jenny, which was strange since we haven't seen each other in awhile, not since September. We went shopping to the outlet mall, and both bought this really cute little Coach wristlet that probably cost way more than it should have, but I love it. It actually was a better time than I had been expecting, since there is a history of drama between us. Now I'm just waiting for this week to be over so I can go to California!

Saturday

Saturday was kind of the official celebration for my birthday with my family, and it was a wonderful day. It started off kind of rocky in that the train schedule changed on me of which I was unaware until we tried to catch the 9:21 train in to Chicago, and there was no 9:21 train. There was an 8:54 and a 10:54, and so I was upset about this to say the least because it changed all my plans for lunch and shopping. However, I was able to rebound okay, and my family ended up taking the 10:54 train in. We shopped first, going down to State Street. It was really crowded in Chicago because they were dying the river green and having a big parade for Saint Patrick's day, so there were tons of people going down for that. Everyone was wearing green except for my family, so we kind of stuck out. We shopped on State Street and then went over to the Water Tower before heading over to the Grand Lux cafe for an early dinner at 3:30 (we were tired of shopping by that point, so we wanted to sit down.) The Grand Lux Cafe was amazing. I loved the food and the atmosphere and everything about it. We didn't get a dessert because my sister had made me this chocolate cheesecake, but when I go back I want to try one because they are homemade and take a half an hour to make, so you pretty much have to order one when you order your meal so it is done in time. After that we took the train home and got home around 6:30, had some cheesecake (super yummy) and then watched Pride and Prejudice which I had gotten from one of my sisters. It was such a fun day, and the weather was awesome, in the 60's and sunny. I am so ready for summer weather. I want to lay out and get a tan and feel warm for a change. Hopefully that will be the case when I go and visit L.A. in a couple of weeks for Spring Break!

Quarter Century

Well, folks, I had my big birthday on Monday. It was a good weekend. On Saturday, I went shopping with my father at Gap and Express, and he spent a bunch of money on me. Then, we had lunch at this sushi restaurant in Wheaton that was very good. I even put some wasabi in my soy sauce to spice things up a bit, and we had this green tea ice cream for dessert. It was so good. I rushed home after this to go to Rockford to see my wonderful friend, and I opened up a present from her and another friend of Dance, Dance, Revolution! My new favorite game. I have been playing it all weekend long. I made my mother and sister take a stab at it on my birthday, too. We went to the Opera on Saturday night and saw Der Rosenkavalier, which was good but long. It was over 4 hours. Next time, I think I want to see Carmen or the Magic Flute, something I might know some songs from.

Sunday was pretty laid back, I slept in, cooked with Sarah, played DDR, and watched the Oscars. I think the highlight of that for me was Reese Witherspoon winning best actress. She is so cute. I drove home on Monday, having taken the day off of work (something I think I will do from now on, it was so great not having anything to do that day.) It was the progressive drive home, I stopped at Barnes and Noble for breakfast before leaving, then I stopped at Target on route 59, and then I stopped at Old Navy and T.J. Maxx on Army Trail Road before getting home around 1:00. I went to dinner at Macaroni Grill that night with my mother, and they gave me the best chocolate cake for dessert. Lots of good food over the weekend.

Now, I am back to work and my birthday is over. Most of my friends called me to wish me happy birthday, so that was nice. I still have a bit of celebrating to do this weekend when my sister and her husband come up, and we will go into Chicago on Saturday to shop and eat at the Grand Luxe Cafe, so that will be really fun. In all, it was a pretty good birthday.