The first day of February started off my month in such a peaceful and joyful way. It was funny how it came along but however it did, it was lovely.
The premise was that Ang had loose plans to hang out with Natalie but no actual determination of where to go. We were at dinner and she mentioned that she wanted to go to this Buddhist temple that she heard about and read a book.
That sounded amazing to me.
Natalie ended up not quite liking our plans because a few days later we realized it was Lunar New Year and the peaceful and quiet temple was not going to be so peaceful and quiet.
But we decided to go anyway because it would be nice to hang out together and we had the BEST time.
I wore red because… naturally.
I love this picture showing all the decorations and a level below.
We walked all through the entire temple and they had a beautiful museum that had some awesome photos, jewelry, history, and then these textiles and fabric art. This one spoke to me a bit.
We were hanging out waiting for the “event” which was HILARIOUS huge dragons with little watchers helping them dance around. But we had seen people tossing up wishing tree… wishes? Anyway, that sounded awesome. We skimmed a list of 20+ wishes and there were so many interesting ones to choose from but Ang said Wholeness and Freeness sounded amazing. I was thinking about Joy and Harmony, Ocean of Wisdom, and then there was some Health versions…
But Wholeness and Freeness also spoke to me because being whole inside and feeling free to be who you want to be, or who you are, would cause Joy and Harmony and probably help along with the Health side of things too.
So we did that. And I paused and gave a little wish and threw mine up and it landed, so I was happy.
I had been really wanting to visit this shop that had crocheted flowers which was 10m away so we continued our day with a little shopping.
I was tempted to buy this necklace because 4 is my favorite number and I love angel numbers. I liked how it said be present in the moment and the universe is on my side. I did not end up buying it but it was tempting. 444 also represents stability, control, and clarity and wishing for angels to help guide me.
I just wanted to remember it so I snapped a photo!
There was also this amazing gift shop that was filled with plants and had some fun signs.
This is always a good reminder.
I may have bought my first Christmas present… Feb 1st! A new record!
The next day was parent preview for MTCA. G was a little distracted but did awesome. The volume is always low at these things because there are no mics. The group numbers were amazing though! Looked like all winners!
Got a fun photo with my Mama and baby.
Unfortunately, that afternoon G was going through some tough times with a breakup that I referenced. The first one is always hard and he stayed home from school the next day and we got a lovely walk in.
I love my walks and was happy to get one in with him. We had a nice talk during it. I did manage to NOT ask (much) about what was happening though.
I do know better.
Sometimes.
In the next 10 years I want to be in a house that has a sunset view. I really miss it. This was taken at my Mom’s house and it’s so peaceful to go out every night and check out the sunset.
When I see sunsets, I always think peace!
We were having dinner with Brett and Olivia who were in town with sweet Baby Navy James. She was 4 months old here and absolutely adorable.
It was nice being able to hang out with them and chat more. They are going through life and it’s fun to connect and be present with them.
The second Bunco of the year was at Eileen’s house! I sometimes feel bad because the ladies will carpool over and while I love them, I also cherish being alone in my car and either blasting music or listening to a podcast. I think I was doing the podcast thing and I enjoyed it.
I also enjoyed bunco and did not win anything again, alas. But several of those ladies are such fun to be around. I had a good time talking to Grace this month as she is going through some similar issues to me at work and we were talking about managing people which was fun.
The next weekend was the official MTCA – Musical Theater Competition of America! They killed it! They brought in 1st place for all three of their group number and many of the kids brought awards home too.
G was very happy with his solo and duet with Matthew.
I was happy that he was distracted and having fun with friends.
Another bright spot was knowing that FRONEN is officially being sold at Sprouts now! I had to support them! Dairy free, 4 ingredients and I don’t have to make anything or do dishes?
So good.
I also got sick during MTCA weekend (I’ve never actually gone and participated so that part didn’t matter) but I missed seeing Sam at my Mom’s super bowl party so that made me sad!
I wasn’t horribly sick but my nose was out of control and this pic of my necessities for my bed made me laugh.
At the same time, I had parents sending me photos and it brings me such joy to see G taking silly photos.
He has the best friend group in theater. There is drama but it’s never that bad (knock on wood, I guess) and seeing him be silly when I know he’s sad was making me happy.
Later that week, we checked out The Drake down in Laguna and it was so nice! The guy playing the sax looked so talented. Great quartet. The food was good. They had branzino and I’m addicted to it lately!
To chime in with silly photos, Sam has been sending me some. She’s living the life with her friends, even with the health problems, and wearing dresses and having fun.
Valentine’s Day showed up and I had made plans to go see a show with Griffin.
I was recently challenged to become an anthropologist in terms of my family communications. Our communication is generally not fantastic. I tend to let things go because it doesn’t feel worth it. I’m noticing too that I assume some communication is happening when it really isn’t.
Either way, I was laughing to myself about it and what happened is that I ended up also getting dinner with him before our play! I had to snap this photo because it was just a lovely dinner with my talkative and interesting son.
I was really impressed that Woody’s was basically empty on Valentine’s evening when we walked in but there was getting to be a line when we left around 7:15. It always surprises me when people eat so late!
We went over to La Mirada to see The Play that Goes Wrong. I think it was called that. It was REALLY funny and we laughed the whole time.
Had to take a snap of my 3 year achievement in Duolingo. I will be able to speak French to someone, someday!
We had a little heath scare with Sam so we were at the ER for a few hours on a Sunday. Everything was fine in the end but I definitely had “feelings” going on. Rough few days.
She ended up staying the night and I had to laugh because here we all are, reading our books at the dinner table.
Continued to get my walks in with friends during the month! This lakebed is such a nice walk.
The next weekend I was jetting off to say Happy Birthday to my Dad for his 70th up in Portland! I found out later that this was Mt Shasta but it looked incredibly cool.
What was even cooler was this rope cloud that I saw and I was too slow to get my camera out because I was trying to figure out what it was. There are some really cool things up in the sky.
Look at all that snow.
I have a spirit sister up in Portland, I think I can call her my sister-in-law? Honestly, I don’t know. But what we had was an intimate deep dive into our lives for two hours and was so lovely. The food was yum and we got some tastes of wine in a flight, which was a fun experiment.
There are some people who you just connect with and can talk about anything, and this was a really good evening.
I followed it up with an amazing birthday dinner for my Dad at this steakhouse!
Do I remember the name right now? No.
That’s okay. They had amazing onion rings that I decided to sneak a bite of. YUM. And the steak was perfect.
I ended up convincing Ryan to get a colonoscopy and I don’t really feel bad about doing it! The fun dinner conversations we have…
I did have a lot of fun on their Peloton treadmill. I’m not a huge runner but this screen was huge, the dials on the side were so handy, and I will run to someone skipping, singing, and dancing anyday! It was so entertaining.
I am happier on my elliptical where I can multi-task but this was still an adventure and I got a great workout.
I arrived at the airport and went straight to Chuck E Cheese for Danny’s 4th birthday!
That place is a little crazy. That’s okay. I had my Mama there and that was entertaining.
This guy was in heaven and LOVED following his friends around. I snagged him for a quick water break. He’s completely addicted to ice cream. He was dropping his dipping dots on the ground and eating them.
Yep. Four year olds.
He was also sick three days later. A coincidence? Probably not.
I was actually REALLY proud of myself for this one. I saw this angel fund investor group and they were having a founder meeting in LA. I thought about it. Kept it in the back of my mind and the night before I forced myself to sign up.
I had nothing going on. Completely empty night.
Why wouldn’t I drive down to LA and explore?
I mean, lots of reasons but anyway, I did it. I talked to people. I walked up to groups and smiled. I felt a little silly but everyone had a different reason for being there and I had 4 or 5 really nice conversations. I will probably do it again.
But maybe not for a few months.
You can’t beat the weather or the night though. Rooftop setting, LA buildings, perfect weather.
Such a fun place to live.
I have to end the month with a sunset.
I need more sunsets in my life.
