At Last

Roy and I decided that for our wedding anniversaries, we would take trips to celebrate instead of buying each other gifts. Last year we went to Minneapolis. This year we went for a short day trip (for obvious reasons) out to Orange County.

Mandy came over to stay with Charlie for the day. It was our first time leaving him with a babysitter. We posed for a family photo before heading out.



We made it out of the house okay, but by the time we got to our destination (the Bowers Museum), I felt like someone had ripped my heart out. I missed Charlie so much. I couldn't stop talking about him. (There's a shock.)

We ate lunch at the museum cafe. I had crab cakes, and Roy had something weird.




We stopped at the museum gift shop. As far as museum gift shops go, this one was amazing. I found so many things I wanted, but we only ended up getting this (for Charlie):



The main hallway of the museum had some striking pictures (not sure of the medium) of Chinese warriors.





There was also a whole exhibit of really awesome photos from Africa.





We made a new friend.



We didn't get to stay as long as I wanted. But we made up for it by stopping by this great deli (strictly for the bakery) and grabbing some goodies. I hadn't been there in years.





Still as good as ever.

We crept home in the typical Orange County traffic, listening to our wedding playlist on the way. We managed to stop off at home for a few minutes so I could get my Charlie fix (I was jonesing big time and almost in tears at several points throughout the day). Then we headed out to our local movie theatre to see Away We Go. The theatre looked like this:



We really loved the movie. Go watch it!

Afterwards we went to Border's and stayed long enough to see this:



It was kind of a WTF moment for me because I couldn't help but wonder if someone wrote this and then just waited around for Michael Jackson to die.

We picked up dinner and headed home. Mandy and Paul were nice enough to stay and take Charlie for the night, thereby giving us a wonderful opportunity to sleep in our bed together and without interruption. I'd like to say that we got freaky but I hadn't been taken off pelvic rest yet. It's not like I'd tell you anyway, you perverts.

So that was our second wedding anniversary. And it was a great one. It was no trip to Minneapolis, but considering during our anniversary trip last year, it felt like we would never get pregnant, I'd take this one any time.

It's amazing how much can change in a year.

"The world needs to hear your voice."

Melinda and I went to a Postsecret event at University of Redlands tonight. I went through the entire range of human emotions as Frank talked about secrets he's received and people stood up at the microphone to reveal their own secrets. I left with a renewed sense of hope for the human race.

Postsecret is an incredible movement doing wonderful things for the world. Attending this event reminded me that we all have some deep, dark, dirty secret inside, and while we may never share our secret with the world, the very fact that the secrets exist is enough to bind us together. I have never sent in a postcard - what is amazing is that someone else has always told my secret on their own postcard, allowing me to feel not so alone in the darkness of what's left unsaid.

I've been "collecting" secrets from the site for several years now; here are some of my favorites:

things that make me happy

I'm in real need of counting my blessings. Without going into a ton of detail, things have been quite hard for quite awhile now. I had a really nice weekend, though, and here are the things that are making me happy right now.

1) a baby shower for a very special Spaniard - My friend and co-worker is pregnant with her first child (due in September). We had a shower for her on Friday during lunch, and it was a really good time for all of us. My favorite part was when she teared up when she saw that we had all pitched in and gotten her the stroller she wanted.



















2) my hot pink toenails



3) revisiting the coffee shop where Roy and I used to meet when we first began dating



4) finding new places to eat that are pretty





4) visiting a new, unexplored museum









5) noticing things that normally go unnoticed





6) cookies



7) a new pretty thing to hang on our wall



8) seeing The Pierces live at Hotel Cafe - This video is not from the performance we saw, but they did open with this song. They are really wonderful performers with a strong stage presence and extremely powerful voices.



9) taking engagement pictures for Jenn and Dave - Watch for the "official" teaser coming tomorrow!