faux roommates.

A couple of months ago I was venting to my friend Rudy about not having enough close girlfriends here in LA. Granted this was just more recently after moving back, but I still felt like I was lacking a good group of close girl BFFs.

His response was “I can see you becoming good friends with Mindy”

“Ya me too. I like her. I want to become better friends with her.”

Mindy is from Sandy. Moved her just a few weeks before me to be a nanny for a lady in the stake.

She is bomb.

Super funny. Super cute. Amazing dancer. Always up for a party. Loves talking about boys. Gives awesome advice.

We started hanging out more. Dodger games. Sleepover at my house. Robyn concert. Girls Night Out. Temple trip. Dances.

The more we hung out the more I loved this girl.

Two weeks ago she called me in a panic. See the lady she works for is an absolute wench. Problems happened and as a result Mindy and this family were parting. She packed her bags and that night she moved in with me.  Unfortunately I had to work most of the days she was living with me. But when night time came and we were all hanging out with friends I absolutely loved turning to Mindy and saying “ready to go home?” like we were legit roommates.

On Monday I didn’t have to work and the forecast was about 80 degrees. With that, we headed to the beach. In December. Need I say more? We had the most amazing time. I think Mindy and I repeatedly said, “This is the BEST day ever” We could not have had more fun.

We walked the pier.

Rode bikes along the strand.

Walked on the sand. Felt the water.

And took a ridiculous amount of photos.

It was the perfect day. So much fun. Lots of laughs. Good chats. Good shopping. And a great way to go out of California with a bang.

The horrible part of all of this is that after living together for a week we became even better friends and I loved her even more! And then she had to leave and move back to Utah.

I miss you Mindy!

Come back to LA.

And lets be roomies again. But for reals this time. Not in my parent’s house.

i aint no student, im a teacher.

I love being nostalgic. I love looking back, reminiscing and remember what I was doing at a certain time on a certain date. And today is just one of those days. 

Today makes one year since my very last school day as a student teacher at Wilson High. 

There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of that school. Those students. My students. My classroom.

When I signed up to go to DC two years I had no idea how profound of an impact that experience would have on my life. 

Yes it was hard. 

There were many times I cried. 

I had to make a list of things I love about teaching to get me through those stressful and difficult days.

I contemplated dropping out of student teaching and just hoped they would still let me graduate without finishing.

I started counting down the days and lessons I had to plan. 

I had to pray real hard every morning and night for strength. 

But if I could go and relive my school days, my very last dance party with my students, I would do it in a second. 

Of course all of those stressful moments are overlooked when you remember a group of students telling you that World History is their favorite class. 

When a student says that you are a great teacher and they learn so much everyday. 

When one student, who is always late and never does his work, comes up to you after the lesson and asks: "Ms. Robins, what are we going to be learning about tomorrow?"

When they get captivated by World War I. 

Well mostly trench foot.

When they come into my classroom during prep, just to say hi and chat. 

When I teach them about Teddy Roosevelt and they get excited about the Rough Riders and DMX.

When on my very last day of class every single one of my students gives me a hug goodbye. 

I miss all of that. 

I miss the dance parties, sharing horoscopes and our today in history moments. 

I miss the excitement of seeing them learn, because I taught them.

 I miss being called Ms. Robins. 

we dance to the beat.

For some reason I have experienced a lot of heartbreak recently.
Apparently I think its fun or something. Ok, really its not. But it happens and it sucks.
Luckily this time around, thanks to Taylor, I have been able to spin songs from Robyn non-stop to get me through it. Not only can I dance like woah to every single one of her jams but I feel like I can relate to every single song. 

in an effort to not be super dramatic i will not share said lyrics, but know there are SO many good lines and i love singing and dancing to these songs and they make me feel so better. 

With all of this being said, going to a Robyn concert could not have come at a better time!!

Taylor told me about the show about a month ago, and to honor him I knew I had to go.
Coincidentally I also just cashed in all of my coins from my piggy bank and I pretty much had the saved the amount of the ticket price, so I felt like I was going for free! 

I was able to talk one of my favorite people from my ward, Mindy Scott, who loved Robyn back in the day to accompany me to the concert. 

The concert was so great, and we experienced some great moments.

We head out to the concert and I knew it was at LA Live in downtown, but I wasnt sure of the exact location. When Mindy and I were looking for the venue we passed a large group of men hanging out outside. After we passed them Mindy said "I think the show is going to be back there, I saw a guy with an 'I heart Robyn' sticker on." I thought to myself, thats strange, why would all of these guys be outside the Robyn concert? Well lets just say that none of them were straight....
Not expecting that at all. 

We walked into the show and we were definitely outnumbered!! There were way more men there than women. Mindy predicted 80% guys to 20% girls.  I thought it was going to be filled with pop loving teeny boppers like myself. Nope. gay men that love getting down to Robyn's beats. The outlandish things that Mindy and I saw, we were just dying! It made the show that much better.
Point proven here. this guy just loved dancing by himself and taking that shirt off.

My favorite moment during the show was when after witnessing two guys kissing in front of me, one turned and stared at me and said "You are so beautiful." and repeated that about three times while waving his arms around my face. He was gay and drunk, but I will still accept that as a great compliment. 

do you notice litttttle robyn in the background? i swear we were close to the stage.

I was a little disappointed in the show only because she played a lot of songs I didnt know--and I consider myself quite the fan. 

However, we scored an awesome upclose view of the stage.

And I just cant stay still during those beats! I danced and sang my little heart out!

the music. the lyrics. Robyn's awesome dance moves. the outlandish crowd and a night out with Mindy was just what I needed. A great night and an amazing concert.
I love me some Robyn.

 Just a little taste of the concert:
although not nearly as good as being there in person.

Dancing On My Own:

Hang With Me:

cash money baby.

A few years ago on Thanksgiving Laura and Matt went with the Andersons to celebrate. With it just being my parents and me, my Mom vetoed the idea of making Thanksgiving dinner for the three of us. 

So what do you do on a day that everything, seriously everything, is closed and everyone is at home eating a yummy meal? Well, you go to the horse races. 

My parents dragged me out of bed and made the drive to the horse races. Can you imagine the group of people gambling, on horses, in Inglewood, on Thanksgiving day?? It was weird. A weird crowd, but believe me, very entertaining.

When this same problem, of just me and the parents, came up again this year you know what we decided to do. 

Horse races at Hollywood Park. on Thanksgiving. 

Super classy. Super fun.

and im not even joking.

ok, maybe about the classy part.

There were 8 races, every half hour. At first I thought this was going to make for dragged out day, but I couldn't have been more wrong. My dad and I got super into it and read about each horse, checked their odds, went and looked at the horse before the race and then would make our picks.  

 This place was obviously loaded with Dodger fans. Add that to the reason why I loved this place. 

I dont know what I enjoyed more. Watching the races, or watching the PEOPLE that are watching the races. I am telling you, the most interesting crowd I have ever seen. I tried to snap as many photos as I could of all of the unique people there. My favorite part was that most people there werent even watching the live races, they were too busy gambling inside and watching the TV's of all the different events to gamble on. pathetic yet hilarious. 

By the third race my dad and I decided to actually bet on some horses. Sinning, I know, but you can hardly resist putting down $2 on a horse. 

Right before our race started. with my betting ticket.

 $2 on Mobilized. 

He started out in the pack and along the last curve he got in the lead. I was so excited. I jumped. I screamed. I cheered and was SO excited when my horse crossed the finish line in first place. It was such an exciting moment!

 I won $5! 

After that race we decided to quit while we were ahead. 

 Since we weren't really celebrating Thanksgiving, being the All-American girl that I am, I wanted our Thanksgiving to still be as All-American as it could get. Horse racing kinda fits into that category. So the perfect meal on our All-American non-traditional Thanksgiving day celebration--Hot Dogs. 

Could this day have gotten any better? 

I think not. 

We loved all eight races. 

I got super excited about each one, although this is not a surprising statement. 

Mom loved it even though she didnt want to go. 

We spent the rest of our Thanksgiving going to the movies (Unstoppable, amazing!!) and eating waffles for dinner. 

I think this is the best way to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Hopefully the start of a new tradition? 

I think so. 

count your blessings.

name them one by one.

count your blessings. see what God hath done. 

We sang this song in church last week, which obviously had prime timing. It made me start to think about all of the amazing blessings I have in my life that I need to be thankful for. I love lists, and so with that, here is my Thanksgiving day list:

Thanksgiving, 2008.

1. Family. I am so incredibly grateful for my family. Parents that love me, stalwart members of the church, fun and support me during my mid mid life crisis. My amazing sisters, who are beautiful, funny and my closest friends. My awesome brothers in law. I am grateful for their amazing example and becoming as much as a real brother and friend. and probably the best part of my family, my nieces of nephews and the love they show to me and for each other. 

2. Friends. I have been mocked by many that I have too many "best" friends and that I should only have one. I think this is false. Having about 13 best friends is an amazing blessing. I am blessed with so many amazing people in my life, that I care so much about and who also love and care about me. I am grateful for my lanai crew, my roommates, the gh kids, my northridge crew. 

3. the gospel. the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ. their love. the atonement. prayer. the restoration. the scriptures. General Conference. the Prophet. family history and temple work.
4. Los Angeles. 

5. BYU. my college experiences. my college degree. cougar sports. 

6. a family that loves baseball. Dodgers. a family that takes trips to Spring Training and baseball stadiums. 

7. trials that teach me and help me learn and grow. 

8. my chapstick key chain. 

9. my health and strength. 

10. my car lulu. 

11. California weather. I can wear flip flops all year long. No need for jackets and coats, just cardigans to get me through the winter. 

12. not having to worry about slipping on ice anymore while I walk outside. 

13. my wooden keychain. I can knock on wood and be jinx free wherever I go. 

14. my legit SLR camera so I can snap away as many photos as I can. 

15. my ipod and music. dancing. no standing, only dancing.  

16. America. 

17. George Washington. 

18. Washington DC. my love for that place, the opportunity to live, learn and teach.

19. moments of laughter.
20. Sundays.
21. my family all active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. all happily married, temple marriages.
22. Mexican Train.
23. A Thanksgiving day celebration with my parents that did not include one traditional thanksgiving activity and I loved every moment of it.
24. books. a plethora of books to read.
25. an amazing and happy life. 

I could go on and on. Ive got lots to be thankful for in my life. 

And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.
D&C 78:14

happy birthday laura!!

today is my sister Laura's birthday!!

and so with that I am just going to say DITTO to kelly's birthday post. 

haha. kidding. 

following tradition I have to do a dedicatory post to my sister, especially since today's birthday is an important one.  the big 3-0. although she can pass for 23 (as we have been mistaken for twins a time or two). 

Just as I have throughly enjoyed living next to Kelly when I live in Utah, I have always loved that the past few years Laura has lived close to my parents. So every time I came home for summer or breaks I was able to spend lots of time with Laura and her family and have loved it. 

I think our favorite summer was the year Chase was born and Laura and Matt were living in Sherman Oaks. I was only working part time and Laura was adjusting to parenthood. So obviously I would drive down to her house almost everyday--she would parallel park my car, I would hold Chase--and then we would spend the rest of the afternoon watching Desperate Housewives while Chase slept. We got through like the first 4 seasons that summer. And even now it is not uncommon for me to go to Laura's house in the morning, hang out all day and then invite myself to stay for dinner. 

Growing up I had the same feelings with Laura as I expressed about Kelly. 

I looked up to her so much (and still do) and wanted so badly to be her friend and do everything that she did. For example, pretty much the only reason why I started to play soccer was because Laura played. 

When we were little we shared the same room and Im pretty sure almost every night I would wake her up and ask her if I could sleep in her bed with her. After she took off her neck gear for her braces, she obliged.

Laura is also the self proclaimed "funny one" in the family, and stresses that she took all of the funny genes in the family, leaving none for the rest of us. She is pretty funny, although I dont like to admit that--hopefully by the previous statement, you know why. Due to my lack of funniness (according to her) she created my "funny book" a book where we would write down all of the funny things that I said since it was such a rare occurrence. I only have two things in my funny book--one that I said when I was like 10 and the other we cant remember. 

But if you have hung out with her, or have read her blog, you know she is pretty witty. 

I am so grateful that what I have always wanted has finally happened--that Laura (and Kelly) is my best friend. I loved being in Utah and probably talking to her 3 times a week. And now living here and being able to talk, hang and cry. 

Laura is also an amazing wife, mother, sister and now that she is older, daughter. 

I look up to her so much and admire so many different aspects. 

I was in love with Laura's prom dress. I so thought when I was a senior I would wear this dress. Then 2005 came and I changed my mind. 

 the famous photo: "im just gonna close my eyes and no one will be able to tell cause im wearing these glasses"

Happy Birthday Lolo!!

I am so grateful for you in my life. You are an amazing sister and friend. 

love you. 

calling doctor jones.

remember these girls?

 and how they both went on missions. around the exact same time. 

Annie to Korea. 

and Christina to New York.

and i wrote this about them.

because after living with them for like a week they became my best friends. 

well. 18 months later. they are both home!

and I couldnt be more excited about it.

I talked to Annie briefly this week and hopefully I can call Christina in the next few days too. The only thing that makes me want to move back to Utah would be to live with these two again. 

We could have sleepovers in the same bed, watch Price is Right, be the middleman when Annabell and X-Tina start fighting, sing Mama Mia at the gym together and drive around Provo like crazy. 

I am so excited to have them back in my life!

I need a trip to Florida and Sandy. Stat.