wear your heart on your sleeve

I'm not good at this^.
Maybe I need to practice.
I never have been too great at it.
I do think it's important.
I'm too comfortable with being the listener.
I'm trying.

Try.

I hate that word.

Okay. I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve, as of June 23, 2010.

favorite things

trampoline sleepovers

the smell of cottonwood trees in the summer

cream soda

august thunderstorms

soft serve vanilla ice cream cones

These are the little things that make me smile.

arleta

This is home.

It's the only picture I could find. When I was a little girl, we moved from apartment to apartment and so on. I didn't have that special house I was born in and lived in for a decade.

But I did have this house.

Whenever we didn't have a place to go, we went to my nana's house in Arleta, Los Angeles. Every Easter, Christmas and Palm Sunday, we went to mass and met up after with our extended family. I remember going there after the '94 earthquake when our house wasn't livable. Arleta isn't the safest or nicest neighborhood, but it's home. It's where my family is. It's where my nana is cooking constantly and scolds us for going out on the street. It's where we hear the ice cream truck a mile a way and my grandpa buys us the best soft serve in the world as it comes by. There is always mariachi music playing, relatives visiting, and a novela on the TV. This is my safe haven, my favorite place in the world.

a mountain adventure

Riley promised to take us shooting. We went to the usual spot, about fifteen minutes west. We got there, unloaded, and Ri realized he forgot ALL the bullets. So, we went back to his house, and he decided to take us to a different spot up in Alpine. When he said it would be up the mountain, I figured a little far off a dirt road. No. We ventured for almost an hour through insane terrain (that rhymed) and really steep scary hills. Jennifer and I thought we were going to die. Ri was pretty confident. I'm really happy he almost killed us. It was an adventure to remember. I have to say, I'm getting pretty good with the rifle. I'm still working on my pistol skills. It was fulfilling to help Jennifer check one off the old bucket list.

buyology

I recently took a trip to the library. I used to go regularly, then stopped. Now I have a library buddy to go with! I'm really happy about it. It's probably one of my favorite places. I started out with one book. Then two... then three. And as I scanned the shelves, I kept picking up book after book. I ended up with seven. Will I finish all of these before July tenth? Probably not. I can always renew them I guess. One of the books I picked up was Buyology, one that I've been waiting to see back on the shelf. I snatched it right when I saw its yellow binding. I'm really enjoying it so far. It's insightful and funny, interesting and really makes me feel greedy. I definitely recommend it.

fifteen

Something from my "real" job:

They asked for shirts that they already had ideas for, but I feel like they were the same as any other shirts we've made. These are a little more contemporary. I don't think we've made shirts like this before. Hopefully they're not too different. It's a good thing I have so much
power in this position!

the old days

Ah, the good old days.
I feel like I had the best childhood a girl could ask for. I got so lucky, having a best friend my same age who could always play with me. We were called a mini-Brady Bunch. Sunflower seed fights, floating leaf boats down the gutters, beach trips in the summer, teasing each other constantly, endless road trips. There was never a dull moment. I am, and was, so lucky to be surrounded by so many lifelong friends. I miss having my friends in the same house. Now we're off at college, interning across the country, and devoting our time to the military. Who would have guessed? The best thing about being a child: living in the moment. Never having to worry about tomorrow.

It's fun to reminisce.