first blogger post ever :)

hey there :)



so i've been wanting to do this for awhile, to start a new blog.



there's another blog i've had since '04, but that one has been much more for my personal thoughts rather than for sharing.  this blog i would like to share :) that way, all my friends and family far away can still be close with me, even though we're not close at all.



i've been down in southern california for almost 3 months now!  weird, huh.  time has gone by so fast.  it's strange because 3 months in sacramento could bring about so many different changes, from one extreme to the next.  here, not much has changed at all.  i've changed.  my heart is growing.  but my life...not so much.  and i think, for right now, that's a good thing.



life in southern california is much different than in northern california, and of course, there are the pros and cons.  the cons?  more freeways and more traffic.  the seasons (so far) have been mild.  but in all honesty, what i like least about being down here and what i miss most about sacramento [besides my family, of course :)] is the trees.  trees, everywhere.  and just nature in general.  from fair oaks, you can drive 5 minutes to the river, another 15 minutes to the lake, 20 minutes up to the hills.  i miss that.  and so far, i miss the seasons.  summer wasn't hot, but i'm hoping the winter will be cold.  as much as i hate sweating and freezing, there's something about it that makes you experience the season for all it's worth.



however, one of the pros of being down here, is the people.  everyone is so much nicer down here than in sacramento.  surprising?  i thought so, too.  i've made so many random friends in random places, that i couldn't even begin to tell you.  for example, one afternoon i was walking from our upstairs office building to our downstairs.  i was wearing red heels and some random lady coming out of a different office, who was also wearing red heels, points at my shoes and smiles.  "look, we're wearing our matching shoes today!" and comes over and puts her foot next to mine to compare.  And anyone that knows me, knows i'll talk to most anyone, so i said "yeah, look at us!" and she said "we're twins!" and smiled at me, then walked out of the building.  i had another lady at the nail salon come over and show me her newly painted nails and toes.  weird!  but not in a bad way.  that's just how people are down here.  they don't care.  it seems that most everyone down here is very happy.  i think just to be alive.



so besides missing the trees and the seasons, i do like it down here.  it's definitely not home, but it's different.  and different is something i've needed for a very long time.



the best part about being down here is my job.  i absolutely LOVE it.  i love what i'm doing.  i love that i'm learning new things every day.  and i love the people.  they like me.  i get invited to lunch all the time.  people come over to sit by my desk and just talk to me.  and we all laugh a lot.  coming to work everyday is not coming to work at all.  how many people can say that?  i feel truly blessed.



other than that, life has remained rather simple.  despite not having a car for 2 months and more recently, getting a car that barely runs, i've been able to do and see quite a bit.  hollywood and the griffith observatory a couple times, downtown disney, garden walk, city walk (the downtown disney version of universal studios), laguna beach, newport beach, and of course, huntington beach [many, many, many times :)].  in all honesty, i've been pretty spoiled!  like last sunday for example, ethan came down to see me.  it was a perfect warm, end of summer evening, so we went down to huntington beach and sat on the pier and watched the sunset over the ocean.  how many people can just do that?  once again, i know i am blessed.



i have also been working on my life list, which is coming along rather fabulously.  some of the things i've been able to begin to cross off are:



learn how to skimboard: i tried it a few weekends ago.  it was A LOT of fun and i think i will take up more seriously next summer.



learn how to knit: i've been working on my knitting and am almost completely done with my first ever scarf!



learn a foreign language: i bought an at-home italian study course, so i can try and learn italian.  i haven't started it yet, but i will soon. :)



learn and understand the major religions of the world: i have a world religions book and i began studying judaism and taking notes on that.  i can't wait to get deeper in.



read the whole Bible: i began this "read the Bible in a year" study about a month ago.  i've been slacking off, but i am going to get back into it again.



so that's about all i'm going to share right now :)  there's always more to write, but i figure i have to find a place to take a break somewhere, so i'll choose this to be it :)



more news in another post.



i love you all very much.