hehe....do you all remember when you were a little kid and one of the first things your teachers would ask when you came back to school in the fall was about your summer vacation? aww the memories. Well I am here to tell you about my small summer vacation in California...well, the summer isnt over yet, but I am back to work, and in July I start working on my thesis, so I had a little fun and a nice break before the craziness starts all over again...I was in California for two weeks and had an amazing time, I think this was my favorite trip to California so far. I flew in on June 1st and Blake (of course) pick me up at the airport. Funny story: for weeks Blake had been planning a special picnic for me at the beach, he picked out the food, the location, the drinks, and had a special surprise for me too! But he was suppose to pick up the food at 11:30am, my plane was suppose to land at 11:27, so perfect right? He picks up the food, and heads to the airport just as I am getting off the plane and picking up my baggage. Ha! my plane was 40 minutes early!! I think he was still cleaning his room when I called him from my plane. hehe. My poor darling, he was bummed that the surprise was ruined. Instead of all the pieces of the picnic waiting in his trunk to surprise me, we had to make a stop to pick up the food before heading out to the beach. Even so, I had a great time guessing the food all the way to the restaurant (and I guessed correctly btw!) The food was my favorite meal from Roma D'Italia, the penne arabiatta with warm rolls and champagne. We went to the Wedge in Newport Beach for our picnic (which is where we had one of our first dates, and where we took our favorite pic of us, oh! and it was also this night that Blake lost his new cell phone cause we were making out in the sand, oops!). After Blake set everything up, the blanket, food, champagne, next was his surprise for me! And as most of you now know, it was an engagement ring. He pulled out the ring box, and immediately I began to shake, he was shaking too while he held it out to me and proposed. Honestly I cannot remember what he said, or what I said - and I think it took 3 times of him telling me the story of the ring before I remembered it, I was so nervous, and so was he. Of course I said yes, as I cannot imagine being with anyone else for the rest of my life. We kissed, hugged, and cried a little. I scarfed down my food, I was starving!! But Blake barely touched his food (I think it was the nerves from proposing, I mean its not everyday that someone proposes) and then off we were back to his house to decompress, shower, and unpack. We then had dinner with my grandma, Mother, Shannon & Andrew, and his parents, at the Cheesecake Factory (which btw gives you free ice cream when you get engaged). What a glorious first day in California.
The next few days were a blur....Blake had to do 3 overnighters at Borders so I was busy attempting to see those that I loved. Tuesday I hung out with Lauren in LA, which was awesome!! We talked for about 2 hours, dranks some beers, caught up with each other and discussed wedding plans. Wednesday I hung out with my family a little bit, then off to drink beers till dawn with Shane and Dina, awww....so much fun!! Thursday Dina and I (after our slow beginning - and hangover) went to Veggie Panda Wok in Upland for some tasty treats!! holy crap this place is great, although it has a different name now, so if you want to go there, I can give directions not a name. Dina's bday was Friday, so it was aw4esome to be able to hang out with her for most of the day on Thursday so that she could spend all day on Friday with her hubby, James. Friday, Blake and I went out for drinks and celebration with his friends on Friday, which again was awesome! And lemme tell you, we went to Silky's in Fontana, and they have AMAZING cheese fries, in case you were wondering!! Saturday, was Dan's bday party in Rialto - which was fun, although I only knew a few people there, the food was tasty, and I was with my family, and almost made my mom cry (after she read the card from me and Blake she teared up :D) Sunday, we relaxed, phew, it was a busy week! Monday Blake and I met up with Nick and Iesha (friends from Borders, and amazing people) for lunch at a bar and they are getting married in September, so I think I will be back in September for a weekend, fyi...After the bar Blake had to go to work :( but I went to happy hour with Nick and Iesha and had such a great time with them!! Those two are awesome, and so much fun!! After happy hour, they dropped me off at Blakes, but since I wanted to hang out still, I invited Blakes twin, Brad to the bar which we stayed at until midnight, when Blake had to pick me up, cause we were both drunk. :) When Blake got there I was lecturing two a-holes who thought they were smooth enough to pick up any girl they wanted, gross, they were wrong, and I thought I should tell them that. (eh, you know how I get at bars....)
Wednesday through Friday Blake and I were at my moms in Rialto relaxing and having fun. We went to the dog park, made home-made pizza, went out to lunches, watched movies, made pancakes, and a whole bunch of other yummy foods. Thursday night Shane and his new friend Amanda came over for a BBQ, and we ate, and played Apples to Apples all night - talk about the laughs!! That was a great night! Friday, we went down to Temecula to have lunch with Angela and Steve, then wine tasting all afternoon. The plan was only to hit up 1-2 wineries, but after 1 we were hooked (it was the first time for all of us). We ended up going to 3 different wineries. The first was the most fun, we bonded with the wine tender (?), the second place we tasted wine with cheese! awesome! And the third place we tasted 9 different wines and had a complimentary olive oil tasting. Oh My Goodness! I loved every minute! I even got chastised for eating all of my bread and oil as we were sampling the olive oil. :D it was so good! Needless to say, Blake and I spent too much money on wine and olive oil.
My last weekend there was nice, albeit sad. We had dinner with Shannon and Andrew on Friday night and say the best movie afterwards, Away We Go, which made me think of my relationship with Blake the whole time (and he did too!), and by the end I was almost sobbing (I didnt want to go back to NY). Saturday, we vegged out all day, recouping from all our adventures. That night we had adult ice cream (yes, the ice cream had alcohol in it! we got carded and everything!), and went back to his house to have a quiet night cuddling, crying and eventually making a trip to Del Taco so I could get an egg and cheese burrito (my fav!). Sunday, we had breakfast with my grandma then back to his house to finish packing, cuddling, and crying.
He dropped me off at the airport at 1pm and after a tearful goodbye, I got in line to check my bag. The airline attendant asked me, "well miss, are you travelling alone today?" really!? I almost broke down right there!! after I replied a meek, "yes" she took my bag and I was off to the security check line. In that line, they had to search my bag and they threw away my yogurt because it was too big! eww, it was food damnit! Then when I finally boarded my plane as I was walking up the ramp, I stepped on my sandal wrong and it broke! As I was walking up the ramp! GRRRR....
Well now back in NY I miss Blake terribly, its heart-breaking and since I've been back, I had to ask my roommate to move out, my car battery died, its been raining non-stop, I screwed up royally at work, I think my plant is dying, Buster is really sick, and its really hard to sleep at night...The first week back is always the hardest, and I hope that it gets better. On the bright side, Lauren is going to be here next week, and I've been spending a lot of time with Kristin which is good, and NYC Pride 2009 is next weekend, and the greatest: Blake will be here in August! Those are the things that make me happy at this moment.
Well, I think I have written enough at this moment, so I will leave you with this
I miss California, and I know now that that is my home, and is where I belong.
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