On Road Trips and Holiday Chaos

Whoa, it's been a while. Let's summarize where I've been for the last month.

First, I was the MOH of a lovely wedding for my high school bff Sheri. We had an adventure of a sleepover the night, which resulted in both of us getting... oh, maybe 3 hours of sleep. I threw her bachelorette party two nights before; we had a private class for burlesque dancing. Even though pole-dancing isn't normally part of burlesque, the studio left it in the room and the teacher showed us a little bit on it. The class was hilariously fun, partly because it was so awkward for all of us to be dancing sexy toward a mirror. One of the other bridesmaids (thanks, Kelli!) picked up an amusing penis cake, dressed up in a tuxedo and with the words "Much Hap-Penis to You, Sheri" on it.

I picked up the little crowns, beads, and sash at Party America, where there was a convenient little "Bachelorette Party Kit." You can't see them in this picture, but it also came with noise-makers, which were arguably the best part.

Congratulations again, "Shyle"!

Then I took off on a road trip with Clement and his family to the Bay Area, where my poor little so-cal butt was freezing. Our itinerary included Google, Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Park, and Japantown. Clement picked up an amusing mug that was shaped in a semi-circle with the words "San Francisco was so expensive, I could only afford half a cup" printed on it. It was a blast playing with Clement's adorable nieces as usual. I got an ice cream maker for Christmas and look forward to using it in the upcoming months as it warms up. (Although, CA is pretty warm right now.) Clement got a Wii! Any ice cream recipes or Wii games to recommend?

Almost immediately upon arrival in San Jose, after a 6.5-hour drive, I received a phone call from a high school friend; She has an interview in SF next week and a couple of us gals were going to take a road trip to go with her, did I want to come along?

Mind you, this was no more than 5 minutes after our car had stopped. I told her I'd get back in touch with her after Christmas and let her know for sure. Mostly, I was concerned that I would be exhausted. But then I realized that we were reaching that age... everyone is running off in different career directions and then the next thing you know, everyone is settling down - getting married and popping out kids - and we'll be hard-pressed to ever find an opportunity for all of us to just up and drive somewhere. So I said yes.

One week later, I was on the road again to San Francisco again. We helped Diana prep for her interview during the long drive and reassured her after she came back to the hotel the following morning moaning that she had blown it. We adventured through rainy San Francisco: I nearly lost my favorite necklace charm (a Tiffany-inspired heart, Clement's Christmas gift to me last year) due to my scarf (also from Clement); replacing a flat tire with a little donut spare and then searching for a tire place to buy a full size (thank goodness for GPS); spending ages trying to find Chinatown; listening to the girls freak out about the insane hills in SF; and being stuck in traffic for hours extra than expected on the way back.

Two of the girls had made plans with their boyfriends for the night we got back, since we had expected to return about 4 hours before we actually returned. We were all exhausted from the trip and on edge from being stuck in so much traffic. But they were surprised to hear that I hadn't made plans to see Clement that night. "Nah," I told them, "You gotta give guys a chance to miss you." Besides, I was going to go home and sleep. Were they crazy? Make plans?

Two days later was New Year's Eve. Clement and I went to downtown Fullerton with a couple of friends to check out their festivities and take in the fireworks show at midnight. Afterward, I suggested Denny's and we found it to be PACKED when we arrived. Clement and I called it a night at about 3 am and headed home. I later found out that the others, who had planned a short nap before heading to the Rose Parade, had a flat busted tire and also needed AAA to come and jump-start their car battery. They eventually went straight to the Rose Parade on no sleep, while Clement and I had a quiet day at home.

I'm really looking forward to a new year. My family and I had really crappy luck/fortune last year and I'm sure it will turn around this year. This is the year!