I just love my Daniel!

Have you noticed?? I don't mean to brag, but, I've got a wonderful guy! He is so supportive and sentimental. This weekend I was able to fly out to spend a few days with him. He surprised me Sunday morning with a tender card and beautiful necklace that he knew I had admired. It was my early Mother's Day present since we wouldn't be together for Mother's Day. His card told me how he thinks I'm a great mother to Celia and how he knows I will be to our children and grandchildren. Yep, I melted!
Daniel also took me to my first Dodger's game. Don't laugh! I had a blast! Anyone who knows me also knows I detest sports. That and I just don't get them. Baseball, I get. Being there in that enormous stadium sharing the moment with the man I love was definitely a night to remember. I ate my first Dodger dog, yummy garlic fries and even got a Dodger's shirt. Fun, fun!! (check out my Facebook, I have a few funny pictures on there)
One of my favorite memories from this last weekend was learning to cook rice with Dan and Nana his grandmother. When I think rice, I think boil the white rice in water and done. Nana's way is so much yummier! Brown the rice with garlic, onions and tomatoes then boil it. So good! Then Dan grilled carne asada, made homemade guacamole and pico de gallo. Yum!! It was so good in fact that I had the leftovers for breakfast. So yeah, not only is my Daniel a sweet, sentimental guy, he is one heck of a great cook!
Some new favorite places...
Portos. It's this Cuban bakery and can I say Yummy! It was packed, and Dan said it wasn't even that busy compared to normal. Check it out at http://www.portosbakery.com/. I had a croissant with guacamole and egg with fresh squeezed orange juice for brunch. You should have seen the pastries and desserts! I was in bakery heaven!
Lush. I'm a sucker for good, earthy body products. This place, wow. I could have spent so much money! Their products are 100% natural and smell fantastic. Check it out at http://www.lush.com/. And you can order online! I wish I didn't know that! I escaped the store only buying some bath goodies for my mom's mother's day present. Now that I know you can order online. Uh oh!
Tutti Frutti. Actually this isn't a new favorite place. I've been before. Dan hadn't, so we went yesterday. It's a frozen yogurt place and the flavors are to die for. You serve yourself then choose from a whole bar full of toppings. So simple and so delicious. I got coconut yogurt with chocolate chips and almond slivers. Dan got, well, I think he got just about every flavor. It was something like blueberry, peach, original, chocolate, cheesecake with fruity pebbles, nuts and cookie crisp. Ha! He's just like a little kid! I keep thinking Dan and I need to open one here it Utah. Don't steel my idea. That's how we're going to make our millions.
Now, I'm back at work. Missing Daniel and counting the days until he begins his move to Utah. 9 days and counting. It's almost really. Almost but not quite!

My sadly neglected blog...

We've been busy lately! Good busy and some not so good busy. Let me catch up a little bit.
Cecelia and I flew to California to spend the long Valentines/President's Day weekend with Dan. She had never met his family and was just dying to go to California. We had so much fun!! She, of course, was the center of attention the whole weekend. Every member of Dan's family just doted on her and gave her gifts and prepared special meals for her. Needless to say, she never wanted to leave!
It mad me so happy that they accepted her with such open arms. But, then again. I shouldn't have been surprised. They have all been nothing but welcoming and kind to me. They've all made her promise to come back and visit very soon.
Dan and I took Celia to the Aquarium of the Pacific. She loved it! There was a ray petting pool that I thought she would love. She was terrified! It didn't help that one of them flapped up on the side right in front of her. Then we found the shark petting pool. And she was all over it. She was in the water up to her armpits and soaking wet. She found a little spot with about 30 sharks all nestled together. I had to drag her away from the exhibit after about 20+ minutes. I know, I know. Mean mom. But, I was pretty tired of holding on to her so that she didn't end up in the shark tank. Not that she would have minded all that much!

For weeks before our trip, Celia had been talking about picking oranges from Dan's tree in his backyard. It just amazes her that oranges grow just like all the other plants we have in our yard. So, as soon as she could get outside, she picked a few. So cute!

It was a great weekend. We just love being together as a family. Me, Celia and Dan. It was hard to leave. Hard to say goodbye to the family that loves us and to the sunshine and most of all to leave Dan there. We're getting closer to having him her. But, just a little. And it's definitely not soon enough for us.
Last weekend, Dan was (finally!) able to visit. I've been a lot stressed and needed to get away. So, we switched Dan's hotel reservations to a suite in Salt Lake and spent the weekend there. The suite was so nice. 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and plenty of hide and go seek space for Celia.
We relaxed, played funny games with Celia, snuggled and watched cartoons, ate fun food and went to the planetarium. If you've never been. They planetarium at the Gateway is super fun. We saw 'Under the Sea' 3-D as Celia had never seen a 3-D movie before. She was pretty excited at first and then decided after the aggressive fish that she would much rather watch it in 2-D. That is until the sea lions came on. She was hilarious! She 'pet' them and pocked the starfish with her straw. It was all Dan could do just to hold her on his lap. And she was giggling so loudly! It's like the whole world just disappeared around her! And then she spent a ton of time 'on the moon' and 'on the mars'! I laughed so hard and she danced her way around the exhibits.

I'm so grateful for Dan!! I'm so grateful for the time her spends with us. And for getting Celia and I out of the house last weekend. We really needed it!

My California Travel Log

Is it possible to fall more in love with the man that I'm already completely, madly in love with? I think so! We had the best weekend together! In all the years we've known each other, I've never been to LA to visit his family and be a part of his life. So for my Christmas present he bought me a flight out so we could spend his birthday together. I love that boy!!
I flew to LA on Friday, but my plane was delayed so I was over and hour late. After Dan picked me up from the airport, we went to this kind of scary looking Korean barbeque place. Honestly, I was a little hesitant. But, I trust Dan completely. It really was so yummy and fun. There were little spits in the table and you grill your food right there. Yum! I'm not quite sure what some of the stuff was that I ate, but it was delicious. Dan prepared my food for me and guided me through the meal, telling me what he knew I would like. And he didn't make me eat with chopsticks! That would have been absolutely disastrous. Have I mentioned that I love that boy??
After dinner Dan took me back to his house. I finally got to meet Nana, his grandmother. I've been wanting to meet her for a long time. She is darling! She's this cute little Mexican grandma that just adores Dan. She was so gracious to let me stay at her house. And she's just dying to meet her new little great granddaughter-to-be, Cecelia. She asked all about her.
Saturday was Dan's birthday. So we slept in a bit, got ready for the day and then went ring shopping. Because that's what every boy wants to do on his birthday, buy a girl more sparkly things! I had a ring picked that I loved online that was waiting for me there. I did look at a few others, but then when I saw the one I had picked out, I just loved it. It's absolutely gorgeous! And unique. I've never seen another one like it. It's very vintage and glamorous. They're going to ship it to me in a few days. Yay! And thank you Daniel! Just when I think I couldn't possible be spoiled enough... And he took me to In-N-Out! My absolute favorite. And we spent forever in this ginormous Barnes and Noble. Books and In-N-Out and my Daniel. I was a very happy girl!!

Saturday evening we got all fancied up and Dan took me downtown to dinner and the opera. We went to Roy's and honestly it was the nicest place I've ever been. The food was unbelievable! I asked Dan to order for me. I love that! He has excellent taste and knows exactly what I love! We got these crab cakes that were to die for. And I really don't like crab. I had this yummy shrimp, avocado seafood salad. And Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi with Cognac Lobster Butter Sauce. Delicious doesn't begin to describe it! I even had to choose what kind of water I wanted with my meal. Can you believe that? I had water choices?! The food was amazing, and the company, even better. We had this cozy little table. And we just talked. I love being with Dan. I love talking to him. I love when he share these amazing experiences with me.

After dinner we went to the Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. It gorgeous! It's where the Oscars used to be held. The floors and walls are marble and there is this huge staircase with fountains and sculptures. Wow! It's an event just to walk around. We say The Magic Flute. I had only ever seen snip its of Opera in my theatre classes. I had an idea what to expect, but this was very different. The orchestra, talent and score are breathtaking. The production was a little weird. It was like Mozart meets Dr Seuss. I wish I could have taken a picture!! But, what an experience. There are two arias in particular that are absolutely breathtaking! You wouldn't have to know anything about opera to be amazed. And I had the most handsome date there! I love sitting there with Dan's arms around me. It feels so perfect. So, just like we're supposed to be together.
Sunday, we spent the day with Dan's family. Most of them I had met years ago. But, there were a few I hadn't. His mom and aunt planned a lunch and engagement party just for us. The food was so delicious. And they had a beautiful cake and gifts. I was so touched and surprised! Dan kinda hates to be the center of attention. I didn't mind so much. Everyone was so very, very nice. They all pased around pictures of Celia and I probably was asked a hundred times when she'd come out to visit. We're plannign on taking her to California over President's Day weekend. We'll spend a good potion of the weekend with Dan's family. I can't wait. And I can't wait for them to meet Celia. Dan's Aunt Linda even suggested they want to throw a little party for Celia. Oh she will love that! They all welcomed me to the family in so many touching ways. It was so hard to leave. Hard to leave such loving family, and hard to leave my Daniel. But, my darling little girl was waiting up for me. That bright thought kept me from being too much of a mess.
I cried at the airport. I'm such a baby! I just can't wait until Dan and I can be together every day. No more plane trips and all too short weekends...
So, four days and counting... I get Dan out here next weekend before he heads out for Kansas City!

And many, many thanks to Bill, who got stuck with my Celia the entire weekend! He is one brave, and awesome Grandpa!!

It's not like I'm counting or anything...

Two days, three and a half hours until I'm with my Daniel again! I can't wait! I get to spend the weekend in California with him for his birthday. We're going to the opera, dinner, and I'll be able to meet a ton of his family that I haven't met before. I can hardly stand it I'm so excited! If I don't come back on Monday, don't worry. Just send Celia on the next flight out.

California!

It is so hard to be back at work!! I just spent the last weekend at Auntie Anna's beach house. I so needed to get away! And I love California! It was so nice to not have a schedule. And I read a whole book. I can't remember the last time I was able to just disappear in a book! I sat by the pool, wandered to the beach and walked the whole island. And I had Tutti Frutti for the first time. I'm in love! Hopefully we'll get them here. It's this great yummy frozen yogurt. I'm totally craving it now.
It was really cool to see some people that I used to know when I lived there 10 years ago. Wow! 10 years. I'm old! And I spent some time with my cousins. They've changed so much!
I really missed my Celia though! She had a great time camping with Mom and Bill at Mirror Lake. And she caught her first fish! I promised her the next time I went to the beach, she could come with me. I can't wait to take her. She will love it! Maybe we should just move to Newport.... I wish!
Have I mentioned that I have awesome parents?? I owe them a huge thank you for giving me the opportunity to go on this fun vacation! And they watched Celia while I was there! They have been so good to me. Thank you so much Bill and Mom!!! I love you!