AD #13 - West Hollywood

Today our adventure day was in West Hollywood.  I have been in this area many, many times before but didn't know about all the hidden gems this city has!  We bought a book a long time ago called Walking in LA.  We bought another book a few months ago when we started this whole adventure day thing that lists all the best things to see in Los Angeles.  We have been using these books to help plan our days.  Today was the first time we used one of the routes in the Walking in LA book.  There are 40 different routes in the book and they take you around different areas.  It gives you highlights and things to look at.  This route today started at the Schindler House and took us through West Hollywood.  I had the book with me and would read as we went.  It was really fun, though I looked like a total tourist!

The Schindler House was built in 1922 by Rudolph M. Schindler.  He was a well known modern architect from Austria.  This home is one of his most important works.  Two couples lived in the home and he had it divided into sections.  Each person had their own section, with a communal kitchen and bathrooms.  He also had it set up to where they didn't sleep in their "area", but there were two outside lofts where they would sleep.  Eventually, he realized this was no plausible with the rain and cold weather, so they ended up sleeping in their area.  Schindler wanted to be one with nature and made his home as open as possible.  We took a tour of the house and it was really fascinating.  He only used four materials when building his home: concrete, glass, canvas, and redwood.

 Historic Sign

 Every room had sliding doors made of canvas

 Each living space had it's own outside area

 The home is surrounded by bamboo 

 A view from the garden

 You can see the loft towards the back of the house

 The loft where they would sleep

 Another view from the loft

 The only source of heat where the fireplaces inside and outside the house

 Outdoor area

His home did not have a lot of furniture and all the floors were concrete.  This is one of the original furniture items still in the home today.  This is the desk he made out of redwood.

After we took a tour of the house, we did the route from our book.  Here are a few of the major stops and things we saw along the way.  The total walk was about two miles and took us in a circle.

 Pacific Design Center

Pacific Design Center

 West Hollywood

 Walking along Santa Monica Blvd

 The original Pinkberry

 This location was originally The Doors' workshop!

 Walking through a lovely neighborhood in West Hollywood

A beautiful little park in the middle of the city

...Happiness Is...

Though I have had some down moments the past few weeks, I still find happiness in so many different things.  I'm going to start a list and continue adding to it.  I want to remind myself of the things that make me so happy, no matter how small they may be.

...chai lattes from my Keurig machine
...walking my dogs
...bike riding along the beach
...having great talks with my husband when we're in bed
...having a student hug me
...having a student get excited about learning
...having a student tell me they love me
...knowing that I'm a good person
...my dogs
...my home, my little pueblo
...smelling the ocean whenever I'm outside
...eating delicious food
...dancing and singing
...having a manicure and pedicure
...a long, hot shower
...being with my nephews
...my family
...knowing that my siblings are happy and succeeding in life
...a family that is healthy
...my husband
...the parent who tells you how much they appreciate you
...a hug from someone when you need it more than anything
...traveling
...adventures, near and far
...blogging
...the message board I post on, they are so incredible

To Be Continued...

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

It has been three months since I said goodbye to the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me.  I've been struggling at work due to all the new babies that have been born and a recent pregnancy announcement (that I got to hear about every detail for the entire week).  It has really emotionally drained me.  On top of that, I know that I should be almost 6 months pregnant.  Sometimes the pain is so unbearable, I feel like I can't breathe.  Being constantly reminded of what I have lost is something I can't even describe.  I am doing so well, but wish people would respect me enough to keep those details to share with someone who didn't lose her baby.  It's just been a really hard week for me.  I just really want my baby back.

Today was the first day since my m/c that I looked at the ultrasound pictures.  I have a memory box my sister gave me last year and I keep special things in there.  I put the ultrasound pictures and some other mementos in a ziploc and keep them in this box too.  I could close my eyes and see the ultrasound image from the last appointment I saw my baby alive.  I just had to see it today.  I kissed it, cried, and put it away.  I will never throw that away and pretend she never existed.  I can't and I won't.  I don't cry very often, so I know these moments are important in my healing.  When I came out of my room, one of my dogs was sitting there, wagging her tail.  It's incredible how dogs know when you're sad.  There is a new song out that I love and one of the lines says "I've loved and I've lost".  It just reminds me that I didn't just lose something, but I got to love something too.

AD #12 - Journey to Naples

We live in an adorable little community in Long Beach.  Right over a small bridge is another cute city called Naples.  Most of the homes are along little canals.  We walk the dogs over there sometimes, but never go far enough to get to the canals.  We decided to walk the dogs to the canals and walk through all the different pathways.  We also stopped at a small park in the middle of the community and had a picnic.  It was really nice spending this time together as a "family".  I honestly could not imagine my life without my husband and wonderful dogs.  They are the reason I'm standing on two feet today.

 Canals

 My amazing pups

 Beautiful view

 A single, beautiful rose we saw on our walk

Loved the name of this street!

AD #11 - Palm Desert

I'm lucky to have three of my grandparents still alive.  My grammy and grandpa live in Palm Desert and we  go at least once a year to stay with them for a weekend.  I absolutely love it down there.  They live in a beautiful retirement community.  It is so calm and peaceful there.  Here are the pictures from my trip!  I did a lot of relaxing, some adventuring, and finished a book!  I always feel refreshed when I get back from their house.

 Sunset on our drive down

 One of the first things I see when I get to their house.  Beautiful pink roses!

 View from their backyard

 That's me!

 Their lovely backyard

 Took a little adventure to the Coachella Valley Preserve

 Oasis

 Alex carved our initials in one of the trees

Walking through the oasis

Sock Exchange!

I'm a part of an amazing message board with ladies who understand me better than my friends and family.  If you want to know what a group of incredible and strong women look like, you should spend a day at this board.  They have been my rock since the miscarriage happened and I really cannot imagine going through it without them.  Someone put together a lucky sock exchange and I wanted to include the socks I got.  The girl who got me sent me a beautiful note and two very special pairs of socks.  One of them has roses on them, for my little rose.  I was so touched the day I got the package.  It's amazing how complete strangers can make you feel so much better, honestly, better than most people that I know.

AD #10 - Dinners & Hermosa Beach

So, these are more like adventure evenings.  Friday night I had dinner with my book club.  This sounds normal to most people.  I don't really do the dinner with a bunch of girls thing.  It's totally out of my comfort zone, which is so good for me!  I joined this book club in August and only knew two of the girls in it.  I have made it to most of the meetings (we meet once a month) and have really enjoyed it.  I've been really trying to do different things in my life that I normally wouldn't do.  I have enjoyed meeting new people because of this.

Saturday night was more of an adventure.  There is a nurse who works with my dad and I have loved her since I was a kid.  My dad would take us to work and she would always play with us.  I always thought she was the funniest lady ever.  Well, she's been wanting to take Alex and I out to dinner, so Saturday night we finally did.  We took our parents with us and we met at her cute little house in Hermosa.  We spent some time there and got a tour.  Then we walked to the pier (about 15 minutes), most of which was on the boardwalk.  We had dinner at a little Brazilian Steakhouse.  The food was delicious.  We ate outside, so towards the end it got a little cold.  But not many people can eat outside in January and smell the ocean too.  I use to hang out in Hermosa all the time when I was in my early 20's and it had been years since we had been there.  There were so many new restaurants and stores, it felt like being in a new city.  We had an interesting walk home through a dirt path which she called "The Oregon Trail".  She's a really funny and unique lady.  It's always a good time when you hang out with her.  It was a really nice evening.  I'm glad I got to have two really nice dinners this weekend!  It was too dark to take pictures, so I just stole some pictures off the internet. :]

AD #9 - Washington DC Trip

This wasn't really an adventure day, more like an adventure week.  I spent a week visiting my sister and two nephews.  I went on this trip with my mom.  We had a lovely time and it was so nice to spend so much time with my nephews.  I hadn't seen them in four months!  I spent a week away from my husband (haven't spent that much time away from him in nine years).  I missed him and my pups very much!

Here is a collection of pictures from our many adventures on this trip.  I got to have six very fun adventure days with my family.  I love that we went out and did something every day. :]

 We took a couple stops at the local yogurt place.  Yum!

 Walking along Sligo Creek by my sister's house in Maryland

Sligo Creek

Driving to Virginia to go to Mt. Vernon

George Washington's House at Mt. Vernon

 Lunch at the Inn at Mt. Vernon

 George & Martha Washington's Tomb

Beautiful view at Mt. Vernon

 Visiting the train exhibit at Union Station

 Washington Monument

 Capital Building

 Botanical Gardens in DC

 State Capital replica

 My delicious brie sandwich in Takoma Park

 Downtown Takoma Park (where my sister lives)

 I saw this every time we walked to the metro.  Boo is my husband's nickname and Bean is our LO's nickname. <3

 Woodley Park Zoo 

Beautiful homes in downtown DC