Goodbyes à gogo

Living in Southern California has its perks: laid back life-style (at least compared to the East Coast where we are originally from), beautiful sunny weather many days of the year, beach living, proximity to many interesting places to where one can take day trips, etc. However one downside is that many transplants come here to live for a few years taking advantage of all this place has to offer but then end up leaving.  Some reasons include the expensive housing/cost of living which deter people from ultimately settling down here, others who came here for graduate school and after they finish their studies they have go wherever career opportunities take them. Also there are those who want to move back to hometowns where their families are especially once they have children, etc. 

Dean and I plan on staying here for as long as we possibly can (though we always joke about moving to Texas where we can actually afford to buy a house). We love it here and pretty much prefer to rent here than buy anywhere else. We are willing to pay the "sunshine tax" (high cost of living) in order to raise our family here.  But it still doesn't make it easy for us to have to say goodbye to so many of our friends/acquaintances who have come and gone. For example, just this year I have had one good friend move to Oregon, Dean's good friend moved to Michigan, a couple that we are both friends with moved to Washington State, and another couple that we are friendly with is moving to Northern California.

Since becoming a mom I have made a concerted effort to make new (mom) friends. I am always asking, "So do you plan on staying in the area or are you most likely leaving at some point?" It turns out that many of my mom friends are on 2 year, 5 year etc. plans here, meaning they also want to leave at some point as well.  It is a little disheartening to know so many people want to move away but I totally understand, especially if they want to expand their family.  Being in another location closer to family where the cost of living is less, definitely makes having a bigger family a lot easier.
Before I used to feel more down about the situation but the lesson I am learning is to just really enjoy the friendships with people while they are still here and to just trust that if/when people move on I will be able to meet/make new friends when needed. Essentially I am just going to concentrate on the present and not dwell on what could (or might not even) possibly happen in the future.

Magic Mint

Post partum weight loss has not been the easiest for me.  Although, for the past month or so, I have really been making a concerted effort to eat smaller portions of carbohydrates, to increase my salad intake, to minimize snacking on baked goods and to walk ~3-4 times a week for about ~35 minutes. Gradually and steadily the pounds are melting off one by one. Last week I ate especially healthy, so this past Saturday evening when it came time to decide what to eat, I told Dean that I wanted to continue the trend by eating a salad at home. However, we ended eating In n Out burgers, which was a terrible idea (albeit it was my own- Dean wanted to give me a break from preparing dinner at home and suggested we eat out. I suggested In n Out since I know how much he likes it, plus it is very well priced.  I also figured since I had been eating healthily, I could splurge a little on the weekend.).

Later that night, I was awoken out of my slumber by an intense feeling of nausea. I am not the type who throws up but I really felt like the only way that I would feel better, would be to do so.  I got out of bed and moaned to Dean how nauseous I felt and tried several times to throw up (except when I was in labor-that is a story for another time). It was not working and all I wanted was that horrible feeling to abate. Dean suggested I try brushing my teeth since toothpaste contains mint which usually helps diminish feelings of nausea. At my request he ended up washing some mint leaves from my herb planter box. I chewed on a few pieces and it really helped. I no longer felt sick and was able to go back to bed.

Lessons learned- Don't eat a hamburger and fries after a week of eating really really healthy! Mint really does help to reduce nausea. I must try it for morning sickness the next time I am pregnant.

Doggie Dilemna

What to do to celebrate five years of marriage when you have a six month old and a dog?
Take a day trip to San Diego.

My husband and I originally wanted to spend a weekend there. After doing some research about places (Cabrillo State Monument and the Torrey Pines Nature Reserve) that we wanted to visit, we eventually realized (too late) that it just wouldn't have been feasible since our dog would have had to stay in the car. Though it was already the end of September, it still would have been too hot and we could not have left her at the hotel since the check in time was later on in the day. So we left the dog at home and cancelled our hotel reservation. After a late start to the morning, we drove down and hit our main stop: Cabrillo National Monument. The monument was built to commemorate Juan Cabrillo, the first (recorded) European to land on the West Coast of the present-day United States.

It was a gorgeous day as you can see in the photos below.
Mama and Bébé:  
Views from outside the visitor Center: 

A shot of the Cabrillo monument which overlooks the Pacific, with Papa and Bébé.

  

 













There is also a lighthouse that visitors can check out:
 

A family photo over looking the tide pools that are part of the state park:

We also drove down to see the tide pools:

Lesson learned from planning this trip: Find a dog sitter when dogs are not allowed!