My Visit With Grandma and Grandpa

My family is huge. On both sides. They are a loud, opinionated. passionate, loving, and a little crazy bunch, but I love them all dearly. I have family spread out all over the west coast, from Southern California all the way up to Washington, where my parents live. I don't get to see the family that lives far away that often.Usually only when babies are born, graduations, weddings, and the occasional reunion or vacation. But when we do get to see each other it is a great time.

Tonight I got a surprise call from my Grandparents from Santa Rosa, CA. They were down in LA for the night and wanted to know if I could go see them. It was such a great surprise at the end of the day to get and to have the opportunity to spend some time with them before they headed back north. I drove down there after work and met up with them at their hotel. We went to dinner and talked the night away and were able to catch up on our lives.

I think the best part about seeing them, for me, is realizing how the relationships change with adults as you become one. Sometimes I forget that I am not a little girl anymore. That my parents, friends, grandparents people in general see me as an adult. Well, maybe not people in general, or people who just met me. I know I look really young, and act even younger so I am sure people think I am an immature high schooler sometimes, but aside from that, people do see me as an adult. That honestly brings a bit of responsibility and scariness that I am not ready for.

I can't wait around to get into something that I really want to do. Or wait to pursue my dream until I'm older and wiser, because I get the feeling that there is no magic age where you feel grown up or where you decide that you know enough. I feel like these grown ups that I have been looking at my whole lives for answers are just guessing too. They know what they did and what worked for them and try to give you the best advice they can. I guess that that is how everyone is, just guessing, making the best decisions they can with the information that they have. Thats normal I feel.

But how can you be an adult if you don't feel like that? I mean it is easy to feel like "Well, I am paying off my school loans then my life will start!" Or "After my long distance boyfriend and I get married, my real life will begin." Or even, "I'll be responsible and start living my life and accomplishing things when I am a grown up" I guess it just reinforces that you need to seize the day, live your life, and start working towards the things that you want to accomplish, because you are a grown up. I am a grown up.

I am a grown up.

Yikes.

Family Night

I have the best roomies ever! We have a lot of fun together. I have lived with a lot of people, a lot of girls, and even a another married couple. But there is something about Lesley and Rob that make living with them so special.

I think one of the great things about living with them is how similar they are to me. We have a lot of fun together, I mean even right now we are having a family night sitting in front the tv watching Alcatraz and then after watching smash! We have weekly family nights :) we usually have family dinners where we make nachos, we make our favorite dip, or sometimes are lame and just have pizza.

The best part of living with them is how close to Lesley I have become. We are very similar. And she isn't afraid to tell me when I am out of line, or when I am being too silly. She is seriously like the big sister I have never had and always wanted. I am so glad that she has opened up her home to me, letting me live with her and Rob. And that I have had the opportunity to get to know her better!

Love you les!

My Favorite Little Boogers!

When I moved to Southern California I left behind my whole family, and a ton of my friends. It was going to be a crazy adventure and I did have my family down here to keep me safe and happy. Growing up they were always "The California Cousins" I saw them once or twice a year and we had a great time, but I didn't know much about them. When I moved down here, I got to watch them get pregnant (twice each), give birth (twice each), and then watch all those children grow up.

These are obviously not ALL cousins

It has been such a fun part of my life to watch these children grow up and learn new things. I have loved babysitting them and seeing them discover the world. It is amazing to see them have their own personalities and talk and their own sense of humors. They are each the most special and most perfect little angels.

Obviously I love all my cousins kids, and miss the ones in Wa that I don't get to see as much, but it has been a great time here and I love all the Babies =)

St. Patricks Day

My whole family is Irish. Now I know that it isn't the straight out of Ireland fresh off the boat Ireland, but we have always been extremely proud of our heritage. Two years ago I had the opportunity to study abroad in Ireland and meet some of the most fantastic people ever. It was a great experience I was able to explore the countryside and meet some amazing people, Irish and American. So St. Patricks day tends to bring back a wave of nostalgia. I don't know what it is, maybe the Irish car bombs, Irish Pubs or just drunk texts from my friends.

I have been so blessed that I can keep in contact with all of these people and that we can watch each other grown in our lives. Its great to see them graduating school, falling in love, getting big time jobs, and making a difference in the world. It is great to see at the end of an experience that as we have fallen back into our lives and  gone back to the routine of life, we are all able to keep in contact and we are able to be supportive of each other. There is something that happens when you study abroad, a bond that comes. There are things about me that only they can relate to and understand. They are the only ones felt that way at the same time.

I miss them all dearly and loved that I was able to spend such a fun, adventurous and exciting time in my life with them. They are so wonderful and I love all of them so much! 

The actual 3.16.12

Last night posted the wrong date. Haha smooth Mal, maybe writing drunk isn't such a good idea for you. Anyways, I have a wonderful job. Even though I don't like actually doing work, they take such good care of us and I'm so blessed to have a job, let alone an amazing one.

They are nothing but wonderful to their employees and to their residents. They are always going above and beyond to make us feel great and do something extra for us. Today they are treating us to a day in San Diego and awarding those that are exceptional through out the company.

So many people from our district have been nominated for awards and it makes me so proud to work for my company Lincoln Military Housing.

A blog a day for a year

So I always start blogging, and then later I stop, usually a blog post or two later. So this is my commitment. That I will do a Blog Post a day for a year. I am not promising brilliance, nor long posts. But i will try to write everyday. So today I'm going to start with something about me that many people don't know about me.

I love writing and would love to one day publish a book. I currently have 5 novels going. I switch between them when I get inspired and have been working on one of them since high school. It's a long time I know. I have a lot written. Most of it is garbage but I just am so in love with the characters and the plot and the world I created that I can't even think for one second to let them go! The worst part about writing though is sharing your work. What you think is ground breaking, eloquent and well thought out tends to be, at least in my case, half thoughts that don't make any sense. One of my favorite quotes is by Hemingway when he says "write drunk. Edit sober" This phrase really rings true to me. Not because I like getting drunk, my love affair with a good cab non withstanding, but because when you're drunk your inhibitions are cleared your mind is free and my imagination soars! I find that I can completely explore the life I have created for the character. But then obviously when you're sober and you see the grammar and the misspelled words you also see the idea the beauty and the brilliance behind the idea.

I would have to say that there is nothing more satisfying in all the world to look at what you have written and to be happy with it. To hear what you created read aloud and it sounds like a real novel. Of course I fall prey to the feelings every writer has the third fourth and fifth time they hear their work and begin to scrutinize it and see every error and where a whole new idea could have been born. It's absolutely satisfying and heart breaking all at the same time.

It is also hard when you dont have another writer in your life because sometimes it is hard for other people to understand why you feel the need to be antisocial one day because you had a moment of inspiration. Or to nervously chew your fingers as you give someone a passage to read that you have labored at (for years in my case) and wait to hear their verdict, but not wanting to hear at the same time. It's a terribly wonderful feeling....or did I mean wonderfully terrible?? Might actually just be terrible.

Anyways, any site you go to tells you that writing everyday is the key to getting better, and as much as I want to believe I was born with an amazing god given great talent. But we can all clearly see that isn't true. So I truly hope that over the course of this year that my writing will grow as much as possible!  

My visit home!

This weekend I got to celebrate the marriage of one of my dearest and oldest friends, and also, my cousin. She has been so dear in my life for so long, and it was so amazing to celebrate this special day with her. With my job and such, I needed to leave the morning of. At 4:15 I was wide awake (who am I kidding? Barely awake), Three hours later, with the largest coffee I could find, I was boarding the airplane ready to head to WA.

I love seeing my friends and my family. I love going to them and catching up and seeing the incredible things that these girls are doing. Of the 9 of us that have remained friends, (now) are married. We are all in so many different places in our lives, but it is so wonderful that we can maintain our friendship and support each other in our lives.

My favorite part of the weekend was spending the last few hours I was home for talking with my mom. She is such an amazing woman and I love exchanging ideas with her. We have so many similar interest and our careers are taking us down a very similar path. So it is amazing to have her in my life. And to have her as a stable person in my life. She has so much talent and so much passion for what she does.

It is so easy to take things for granted, especially the good things that you have had all your life. My parents are so selfless and so giving to their family, always doing things for us and keeping us in their best interest all the time. They have been so constant and so supportive and I know that I would not be half of the women that I am today without them.

I love my life!