Trent

Remember when I said I love living in Los Angeles because it means we get to see pretty much everyone we've ever known when they come to visit? Dig this. Last weekend I got a text from my first friend. Ever. Trent and I were next door neighbors when we were babies, though next door is a relative term. He was my closest neighbor, but was a good half mile away. I loved playing with Trent. We would ride horses together, gather eggs from his chicken coop, catch snakes in the canal, pretend we were gazelles on his trampoline and whatever else our tiny bodies could think up for fun. This is one reason why I've always enjoyed having males as close friends. They are sometimes better at fun than girls.

Trent's pink brick house always smelled like hot, fresh bread because his angel mother was always baking just that. And serving it with butter and jam. Heaven. I thought Trent's dad was a giant, but that's just because I was so short. He scared me, but that's just because I was so timid. There was a giant moose head in their living room, which really scared and confused me. I checked the other side of the wall a hundred times and every time there was no moose body, but still, I was always nervous that it would charge us while we were playing cars on his living room floor. I was always intrigued by their bathroom because they had one of those squishy, foamy toilet seats. They seem like a good idea until they start to crack. Then they're just painful.

Trent and I wound our way through different "groups" and I moved away from his pink house. We always stayed friends, though, and we even went to a dance together in high school. He picked me up in a U-Haul. We, along with dozens of other couples, rode in the back of the truck to the dance. Talk about arriving in style.

This is us at our pre-dance festivities. We went to another friend's barn and played games. When you grow up in Rexburg you have to either get drunk or get creative to have fun. This group of friends was very creative. 

High school graduation.

ANYWAY, we don't talk all that much anymore, but when we do it's always joyous. I was excited to hear he was going to be in town. I expected that he was going to show up with his boyfriend, Todd. I know, confusing, huh. Both Trent and I love a boy named Todd. Turns out his Todd couldn't get work off, but he came with his good friend, Heather. Heather happens to also be the name of my Todd's ex-wife. Don't think about this name madness too hard, it will give you a headache.

We had yummy Thai food and let our yappers run for a while. Then we snapped these quick shots before we said goodbye.

If you know Trent, I urge you to close your eyes, concentrate for a moment, and with your imagination listen to his laugh. Wasn't that fun?!

The friendliest

Our very good friends/downstairs neighbors/matchmakers deluxe came to town last week. (Have I mentioned that I love living here? EVERYONE visits L.A. at one point or another.)

When I take some time to think about the miraculousness of our living arrangements in Utah, I'm astounded by it. I remember when I was house hunting. Initially I hated the apartment (I detested the kitchen cabinets and that was almost a deal breaker for me), but then got a strong hunch that it just might be the right place. Turns out I was right. The downstairs neighbors (it was a duplex) had girls the same age as my girls. We soon started referring to the house as the compound. There was a non-stop flux of children going in and out all doors. They were best friends. When we were packing up to move away last summer there was a collective sadness. I told the downstairs neighbors that they had their father to blame for our departure since he had introduced me to Tod and Tod was taking a new job in California. Anyway, for thousands of reasons (besides the matchmaking one) it was a perfect living arrangement for us. I have a very tender heart for these fine neighbors. I know we'll always call them some of our best friends. Tod has a history with them that goes back many years before I even met them. 

It was great to see them again. The girls had a sleepover at our house. I let my girls skip school the next day. I mean academics are very important, but so is living. There's a time and place for skipping school. This was definitely one. We cruised around Manhattan Beach for a while.

And swam in the ocean. It was cold and foggy, but they didn't care a bit. They were swimming in big waves while their classmates were in math.

And we went to the science center downtown. It's such a great museum and it's free. The kids were swinging on these ropes and lifting a full size truck off the ground.

Laura & Drew standing outside the science center.

All the kids rode the high wire bike.

Then we picked up Tod from work and ate at our favorite downtown eatery, Bottega Louie. It's like our show off restaurant. We take all visitors there. I wasn't as confident as I usually am with this choice because Drew is a phenomenal chef and a total food snob. He was completely sold, though. Phew.

After dinner we had to part ways. It will likely be a very, very long time until we see them again. It was tough to rip the kids apart. Here are my girls trying to escape with them.

What would we do without the love and happiness of good friends? I'm so grateful to know so many marvelous people!

Random footnote. Tod got me these flowers one day. I already had flowers in the kitchen, so I put them in my bathroom. We have FANTASTIC light in my bathroom (Tod ALWAYS notices the way light hits things, he's an artists after all. It's so endearing to me.) and we were both dying over how lovely the flowers were in the light. We would sometimes sit on the bathtub together and admire them. Dorky, I know!

 

Okaybye.

Dance Class Birthday Celebration

There are three ladies in my dance class with birthdays in October, so I hosted a party to celebrate the lives of all of them. We had a pot luck and everyone brought the most delectable and healthy food. Quinoa salad, roasted veggies, collard greens, hummus, etc.

After dinner we danced. Well duh! We are a dance class. Latin dance. Mmm hmm. I still haven't taken down the decorations from Lily's party a couple months ago. I can't bring myself to get rid of them. They're so festive.

This is Olivia, our instructor. She's in her mid-50's and she has created an entire life around her passion for dance. As she says it, she didn't choose dance, dance chose her. She is an incredible dancer. Every week when she's demonstrating what we are supposed to be doing my mind wants to explode at seeing how her body can do what it does.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer a few months ago. It has been quite a struggle for her. I made her the necklace she's wearing. It has a big red bead because red is both of our favorite color (we are soul sisters and our mutual adoration of red is just one manifestation of that) and a little heart shaped box locket. I put lots of love and prayers in it before I gave it to her and I carefully sized the chain so that it would hang right by her chi chis (as she calls them) to help them heal.

My culinary contributions to the party were the flower cupcakes and the fruit pizza. Traditional fruit pizzas are basically sugar cookies with frosting and fruit. I used a recipe from the Healthy Junkfood cookbook. The crust was gluten and sugar free (spelt flour, sweetened with agave), the frosting was organic cream cheese, agave & lemon and then the fruit. It was delicious and not overly sweet.

The lovely birthday gals. Patti, Chau, Ranjani.

The non-birthday gals. Emily, Olivia, moi.

This picture was the cause of a lot of you-had-to-be-there type laughter. I had just spent several minutes setting up a self timer to get a picture of everyone as the gals blew out their candles. Right before the camera went off, Olivia, ignorant of my self-timer intentions, ran up to compose her own shot of the same scene. Just then the flash went off and she shouted "was that a picture of my ass?!!"

This is the laughter that ensued. It lasted quite some time. Maybe you had to be there, but it was really hilarious.

I really love my dance class. I started going to it 7 years ago when I lived in L.A. previously because I was looking for a good workout. It has become so much more than that to me. I do get a great workout for two hours twice a week. But beyond that, I'm learning so much about rhythm, global music, culture, history, self expression, and much more. One of the most rewarding things about it, though, is the wonderful friendships I've developed. I adore these women. They are unlikely friends. I wouldn't otherwise have an opportunity to know such beautiful and diverse women with fascinating stories. I love it. I love living here and gaining so much exposure to so much radness. Dance magic dance!!

My firstborn is another year older

 We celebrated the commencement of Ana's teenage years by taking a few of her closest friends and staying at a downtown hotel so they could swim, pig out, make messes and so I wouldn't have to clean a thing. :)

The hotel has a rooftop pool right in the thick of downtown. The view is incredible. It's magical to be up there, especially at night.

We got cupcakes from a nearby bakery (Bottega Louie....yum!). This is a mock blowing-out-candles picture. If you look closely you will see that there is no candle and no flame.

There was more than one couple up there hoping for a romantic evening, only to have their dreams smashed by middle aged obnoxiousness.

After swimming they had a glow stick party in the room, a pillow fight, and they threw oranges at each other.

The next morning they swam again.

And.....threw things at people on the sidewalk 5 stories below. Eye roll. Teenagers....

Her actual birthday was spent mostly quietly at home. She spent a lot of time manipulating pictures with her latest craze...Photoshop. Then we all met her dad for dinner at one of her favorite eateries...C&O's.

My camera battery was dying, so it was really slow to snap this shot. Somehow it left that weird artifact on her head, but I'm calling it her birthday crown.

I have to say that she is a remarkable girl. Insanely wise and mature. Pure as gold inside and out. She's a keeper and I'm so glad she emerged into my life 13 years ago (even if the epidural was horribly painful).

Xoxo my little Ana Razzberry Cupcake Pie.