bff...no really....forever

        

  

yesterday my first friend turned 30.  we first met in pre-school at calvary baptist in gardena when we were both in the eager beaver classroom. we have SO many memories and pictures but they are all at my mom's house :( without them it's hard to do our history justice.  we went through every life stage together...first crush (mine was on roy skibiski....i think cori liked someone named jimmy?!), first boyfriends (we both liked ben....ben liked cori), first everything really.  we went to nature camp, cheer camp, and band camp together.  we graduated from preschool, kinder, 8th grade, and high school together.  she's seen my BAD side probably more than any other friend.  she's been the victim of my jealousy and my selfishness....i can't believe she put up with it.  we've passed countless notes and mailed dozens of letters to each other.  I have one with me at my condo in a notebook i like to save little mementos in.  it's from 1993 and she was planning her 11th birthday party and making sure the date worked for me.

we celebrated her 30th at disneyland!   her fam stayed at the grand california and mine at the paradise pier.  we ate at the new carthay circle restaurant in cali adventure friday night....SO good! bacon wrapped shrimp on a bed of grilled corn.....yum.  with our dinner we got premium seating for world of color too. it was my first time....and it was glorious. saturday we spent the day park hopping.  i can definitely admit that i am getting OLD.  i could not hang the whole day....whew. i was pooped.  i left at 7...pretty sure she stayed the whole day.  i hope our 40th bday celebrations include massages (i'm pretty sure tanya would agree!)

things i love about her:
1.  we can bust into a show tune at any moment
2.  i can be unfiltered with her and know she's not judging me
3.  i can go a year without seeing her and know that our friendship is the same
4.  she's a dreamer
5.  she's my biggest supporter (and that goes both ways)

the color run.

 

 

30 in lists.

Since I was unsuccessful at making a 30 before 30 list....I'm making a 30 WHILE 30 list!

1.              go to the Getty

2.              see a diva in concert

3.              ride a motorcycle

4.              go to Nashville

5.              get the tattoo I’ve been too scared to get for the last 5 years

6.              go watch the ellen show

7.              visit all the  California Missions

8.              get my masters degree

9.              learn sign language (enough to hold a simple conversation with students)

10.           host a dinner party and prepare all the food

11.           go on a helicopter ride

12.           remember friends’ birthdays and send them a card

13.           maintain an exercise habit

14.           feed the homeless once a month

15.           get my etsy store back up

16.           blog once a week

17.           watch every Sean Penn movie

18.           clips, lakers, dodgers, angels, kings, galaxy, chivas…attend one game of each

19.           cook a new recipe each week

20.           cover a wall in my house with reclaimed wood

21.           go whale watching

22.           make pasta from scratch

23.           get good at using my slr: take it out once a week and shoot around

24.           sign up for monthly produce or some sort of healthy cooking club

25.           stand up paddle board

26.           take Richard Simmons’ exercise class

27.           watch a movie at the Hollywood Cemetery

28.           take a trip to wine country

29.           run a 5k without stopping (this might require some major knee taping)

30.           fill in the blank... (something you will do with me!)

30 greatest accomplishments in my 30 years:

1.         visited 20 countries

2.         visited 17 states (drove to 8 of them!)

3.         graduated from college

4.         earned 3 teaching credentials and one subject matter authorization

5.         achieved national board certification

6.         canyoning down a waterfalls, ziplining and surfing in costa rica (oh and student teaching too)

7.         bought a condo

8.         became an auntie 2 times

9.         completed 7 years as a teacher: surviving numerous layoff scares due to CA budget cuts

10.      was a bridesmaid 15 times: biggest honor ever….

11.      first job at the Pantages in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

12.      completed two triathlons (this is a miracle)

13.      rode a gondola in Venice with Cass and the Toews

14.      3 trips to Disneyworld, countless to Disneyland, and 1 to Tokyo Disney Sea

15.      took grandma to her hometown; Fukui, Japan

16.      white water rafting 3 times: once with mom, once with dad, and once with friends!

17.      learned to sew and crochet

18.      Europe semester with some of my closest friends

19.      maintaining awesome friendships.....I met stac and krisi as babies, cori at age 2, jackie and sarah at 9, kelly at 14, andy at 15....and that's just the childhood girlfriends.....

20.      raised tawnie bonnie

21.      saw a musical on Broadway….only one so far but dozens at the Pantages

22.      danced on pointe…..one of my more painful experiences in my 30 years

23.      played the flute in the high school marching band

24.      got a 4.0…..in grad school. not so much in the other grades…

25.      traveled around Spain with Daisy without any preplanning (not my smartest moment)

26.      learned how to dance Mexican Folklorico….which is SO much harder than it looks

27.      survived teaching kindergarten….for a year….my hardest job yet

28.      countless concerts at the best venues in LA with my bests

29.      took a trip to the cayman islands with my college girlfriends after we graduated from Westmont

30.      built a home and medical building in mexico with potters clay and some of my lifelong friends