Simple Pleasures

I left work early today to go to the Dr. for a routine check-up. Lucky me that my doctor's office is out in Newport Beach! So after my apt., instead of sitting in traffic, I headed over to the beach and spent some time enjoying the simple pleasures in life....the waves crashing, kids playing, couples holding hands, watching the sunset, taking photos, fishermen catching dinner, birds eating sand crabs, and the list can go on forever. I had a great night just walking down the pier and enjoying all the sites and smells the beach has to offer. It was so enjoyable.
my favorite part of the day...
it feels like home!catch of the dayhis last wave of the day (a mini one) :)little birdie on the hunt for sandcrabsoh, to be a kid againsunset swim?
palm tree paradise

I'm melting!!!!

Oh my gosh! Our office is SOOOOO HOT!!!!! Our AC just decided it didn't want to work today and its 95 DEGREES in here! How are we supposed to stay focused and work in this heat? I've had so much ice water I'm about to explode, and I just can't cool down. I need a popsicle and a swimming pool to jump into!

Calgon, Take Me Away!
(haha, remember that commercial?)

SURPRISE!!!

My cousin Christy turns 40!!!
Last night we had a surprise birthday party for her. She was very surprised! Christy had been looking forward to having dinner that night at Bucca de Beppo with her friends, but instead of dinner at the restaurant...they had the food come to her! All of her friends were there and her family, and she was able to catch up with people she hadn't seen in awhile. She had a good time! :) As did I! I had a great time chatting with everyone, and it was great to catch up with my cousins. My cousin Ricky and his girlfriend Karen were there, and it was really good to talk with them, as I don't get to see them very often. Anyway, the night was a success and Christy was surprised :) I'm glad that her big birthday was made special for her :)
Happy Birthday Christy!
I hope you had a very special and enjoyable 40th!!!
I LOVE YOU! :)
All the party girls! :)
All the party boys with the birthday girl :)My Cousins!!!
Me and Cousin Ricky :)
(sorry, those are the only pics I have...my camera battery died early)

PS...Thank you Stacey again for Annie's little dress - doesn't she look so cute in it? :) This was on our drive this afternoon to go pick up lunch. Annie loves dressing up for her car rides...she even has little black bows in her hair :)

Birthday Burger

Today a couple of my coworkers and I went to Red Robin for lunch because I was sent a FREE Red Robin Birthday Burger coupon in my email! :)
So my birthday continues....(I love it!)Olya and I with our Freckled Lemonade - YUMMY!
I made sure to find all the strawberries :)

My Shelly and Me

Tonight I met up with my old and dear friend Shelly. I finally got to meet her boyfriend too! We met up at the Marriot for dinner and spent the evening catching up, chatting with the workers (as Shelly and her bf know them because they used to work together), and we ate ALOT of good food! The cook came out and talked with us a few times (also one of their friends) and asked what we wanted for dessert.
Jody: Hmmm, well what do you have?
Chef: What do you want?
Jody: What do you have?
Chef: What do you want?
Jody: Well, what do you have?
The dialogue continued and we were all laughing. Well, I gave in and said "chocolate covered strawberries" and he immediately went in the back...and 15 minutes later, VWALAH!-chocolate covered strawberries appeared before us! He was awesome, and they were soooooo good!!! :)The Chef
Our strawberries
Even though we were pretty stuffed from eating all the other food, we managed to eat almost all of the strawberries. Actually, at one point Shelly got me laughing so hard that I couldn't keep the chocolate in my mouth and it started seeping out...it was gross, but funny! Anyway, it was a good time hanging out with Shelly again. I love that girl! She is so sweet! Love you Shelly-Belly! :) Don't be a stranger!

Paige's Birthday

My cousin Cathy's daughter Paige is having a birthday!! :)
Last Thursday night I went shopping with Cathy and Paige at the Ontario Mills mall and Paigey got to pick out her new Build-A-Bear stuffed animal. That store is SOO cute! You pick out an animal you want, you watch them fill it with stuffing, you pick out a heart and they put it in the animal, and they close it up. Then you pick out the cutest little outfits! After all that, you name it, put all the information into the computer and out comes a birth certificate of your new little Purrcey! That is what this little kitty was named (well, I'm not sure if that's how they spelled it). How fun!Tonight for Paige's birthday dinner we went out to the Elephant Bar. Paige and her little friend Cloey were having so much fun with each other, giggling, putting on lipstick, and all those other little things that girls do when they get together :) They were so cute! Happy 8th Birthday Paigey!!! I love you :)

My 30th Birthday FUN!

Hi Friends and Family, Here's the summary of my very special 30th birthday yesterday!

The day started off with breakfast at Mimi's with Tom, Judi, Kristy, Luke and Tad. It was so nice spending a couple hours visiting with them, opening presents, taking pictures, and eating yummy food. Tom got me a great gift(and was very proud of it, and very excited to give it to me)...my very own box of Cherrios (my favorite cereal)! :) Very sweet! I love to keep a box of Cheerios at my desk at work, and snack on it throughout the day. He knows me well.Judi gave me the cutest Vera Bradley bag that I will be using as my carryon for my flight to Europe. Inside some more goodies, to use for travel, and some spending money as well. Very sweet and thoughtful! Thank you Judi and Tom!! :)

After my wonderful birthday breakfast, I headed over to my friend Carissa's house where we played a little Miss Pacman and Asteroids (I think that's what its called) while awaiting Kristy's arrival. I'm so bad at video games, but it was fun :) Once Kristy got there, we piled into the car and headed out towards Temecula to do some antique shopping. We had fun walking through the stores, and eating yummy gelato...and of course taking pictures (they are good sports). We also had a very tasty lunch at a little Italian restaurant/deli. I had a great time hanging with my girlies!! Thank you Carissa and Kristy for spening the afternoon with me, and making my day special! And thank you for my presents :)

Later that night was dinner with my cousins (Christy & John, Cathy & Don, and their friend Stacy) at the King's Fish House at Victoria Gardens. My cousin Christy's birthday is today, and so we had a dinner last night to celebrate her 40th bday! They were sweet and celebrated my birthday too :) We exchanged some gifts:
Thank you Christy and John for my bangles and necklace! I love them...and they are SOOOO ME!! :) And thank you Christy for the Coach purse! I LOVE IT!!!! :)Thank you Cathy for my scarf/wrap/sarong (you know I'll get creative with it) :) You made me laugh when you were trying to make it a top, that was so great!...I will research online how to make it work like that :) Its beautiful, thank you! :)

We also had really good food (NO I didn't have any fish...are you crazy!!!), walked around Victoria Gardnes and went into a few stores, hung out at the Yard House for a bit, and then headed home. Cathy and Don hung out at my house for awhile chatting, which was great!, and then they headed home.

I had such a great birthday! Thanks again to everyone who made it so special!

I also received more birthday mail...
Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Hyde for my card and money! It will be spent wisely in Paris! :)
Thank you mom and Ray for my flowers, card, and photo magazine subscription (I'm so excited to get it!).
Thank you Stacy for the cutest little dress for my dog, Annie! She loves it and it looks so cute on her! :) It was great hanging out with you again!
Thanks to all my friends who posted birthday wishes on my myspace and facebook...and sent me text messages - that is so nice!

Wow, so far 30 is great! I'm really looking forward to this next year...and decade! :) I hope its true what everyone has been telling me...that my 30's will be the best years of my life! I can't wait! :)

Thirty, Flirty, and FABULOUS!!! :)

Wow, I never thought this day would come....

I'M 30!!!!!

Well, as much as it saddens me that I'm growing old(er)...
I think that my thirties are going to be great!

I'm
Thirty, Flirty, and FABULOUS!!!
I've definitely been making some decisions lately about how I want my thirties to be.

1. I will no longer sit around on the weekends wishing and wondering "what if", I will get out there and make my wishes come true!
(well, as much as possible)

2. I will travel the world and see new places that some only dream of!
(Paris, here I come...only two more weeks and I'll get a stamp in my passport!)

3. I will spend more time with my family and get to know those who I should know the best! (immediate and extended family)

4. I will continue to exercise and eat right, and work towards having a healthy lifestyle
(my doctor just told me that I'm on the right track...I've already lowered my cholesterol by 100!!! and have dropped just about two dress sizes!!! - praise God!)

5. I will live for the future, and stop holding on to the past! (bye bye twenties, hello thirties!)

6. I will learn to appreciate all that God has blessed me with and be content with what I have!!!!

Well, that's a start! :)

Oh wait, the most important of all...

I WILL FIND A MAN!!! - heehee :)
that's where the "flirty" part comes in!

In all seriousness, I am trying to be content being a single woman, having a career, supporting myself, and being independent....but its hard when the desire of my heart is to be married and have a family. So if you think about it, you can pray for me for that...being content and appreciating the life I have right now. I really do want to appreciate the time God has given me to grow as an independent woman, and I hope that I will use this time wisely and for His glory! :) All the love and support I've received over the last week has been amazing and has really started to change my perspective...as I was feeling a little depressed. I went out to dinner with my cousin Cathy on Thursday night and she was really encouraging about all this. Thank you Cathy! :) Anyway, I know that God has something great in-store for my life, I just need to be patient and wait on His timing!! :)

So the day has come that I enter into the world of thirties...and its been one of the best birthdays I've ever had! Thank you to everyone who made me feel so special this last week by celebrating with me! I love you all!!!

Now, off I go to celebrate my day with my girlfriends....but first things first, I'm having breakfast with my stand-in parents, Tom and Judi!

More birthday blogging to come...probably late tonight! :)