Music and friendship

As the one year anniversary of Deane's death approaches I can't help but remember this time last year and how I felt my life had forever changed. I no longer had my friend to talk and laugh with. Instead all I have are my memories.

I remember him teasing me about boyfriends or my taste in movies. We would always have discussions about the "good ole days" and how we would wish that we could rewind time to when our only responsibility was high school. Back then we would both pray and pray that we would pass Algebra and not have to take summer school. I remember when he took me to my Jr. Prom and we spent half the night sneaking into the background of everyone's pictures. We had a blast! I miss him terribly.

I have heard that smell is one of the strongest senses connected to memory and although that may be true, I have found that certain bands or music remind me of certain experiences or people. I have realized a lot of the memories I have of Deane are directly related to certain songs. Here are just a few:

Blink 182-Dammit
112- Anywhere
Sisqo- The thong song
Marvin Gaye-Lets get it on
Ludakris- What's your fantasy
Pearl Jam- Oh where oh where can my baby be
Outkast-B.O.B

Each one of these songs will always have a special place in my heart and I know that every time I hear them I will remember my dear friend.

I miss you deane...I will love and remember you always.

The Love Boat

A few weeks ago one of Kevin's friends got married and he asked Kevin to be a groomsman. I have been to quite a few weddings in the last few years and it is always interesting to see how everyone makes the ceremony match their personal style. For James and Evelyn it was having their wedding on a yacht. Personally, I think that is a super clever way to make sure people don't leave early :). It was a nice evening sailing around the Newport harbor. Kevin and I had some fun bustin our moves out on the dance floor. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of the happy couple together, but I did capture this classic shot of James and Kevin. Congratulations guys! Thanks for having us be part of your special day.

Weekend tour guide part 3

The next day we were all pretty tired so we didn't push ourselves too much. Kevin took us all to the big belly deli. It has a fun surfer shack feel. There were pictures up all over the walls of people scuba diving, hiking, vacationing in other countries, and even a whole wedding party holding of signs that say "I would rather be at the big belly deli". I can see why...the sandwiches are great!

After the deli we walked around downtown Disney for a while and then just came back to my house to watch Iron Man.

Mark and Enoch left that night to go stay at one of Enoch's friends houses. I hope that had a fun time and felt like they made a good choice in coming to California instead of Las Vegas. It was good to have you guys. Y'all come back now, Ya hear.

Weekend Tour guide Part 2

The next day I took them to eat at Ruby's on the pier in Seal Beach. Then later that night I took them to do something I have been wanting to do for a while. Kevin and I live near a horse race track and I was excited when I mentioned it to the guys and they were totally down with going. None of us had any idea what we were doing so we asked a really nice attendant and she helped us out. Before you bet you can go over to the holding area to look at all the horses and get a feel for which one you think will win. They also have programs with stats of how they have placed in previous races. When you place a bet you can bet as little as 1 dollar and you can guess whether you think the horse will win, place (1st or 2nd), or show (1st,2nd or 3rd). For the first race I put $3 on Cruisin the Loop and $3 on Queen Stella both to show. They both did and I think I got $4 dollars on top of my bet. All of us picked well and won something. The second race Mark came out on top. He bet that his horse would come in first and it did. I think he won $29. We all had a blast.

After the race track we headed over to the Queen Mary. They have turned parts of the ship into haunted mazes. The first one we went into was scary, but after that they were kind of weak. The Scariest park was looking at all of the innards of the ship. The boiler room and a drained pool. Overall it was fun but when it was over I had a terrifying thought. Am I too old for this? NAH!

Weekend Tour guide Part 1

A few weeks ago I was talking to my friend Mark on the phone. When I told him southwest was having really good rates for flights from Salt Lake to L.A. he and his friend Enoch decided they would rather come out here instead of going to Vegas for their fall break.

Enoch had never been here so he wanted to go down to Hollywood. Usually I have Kevin here to navigate around Los Angeles, but this time I was solo. I tried my best to be a good tour guide. Here are some of the places I took them:

• Rodeo drive
• LA temple
• Hollywood walk of fame
• Grauman's chinese theatre
• Pink's hot dogs
• Griffith observatory
• The La Brea tar pits
• Capitol records building

Per Enoch's request we went to Roscoe's chicken and waffles. He read about it online. I'm not exactly sure what the quote was but some rapper said something about flossin the hos at Roscoe's. When I asked Kevin about it he said they are supposed to have crazy good friend chicken.


To finish off the night I took them to eat at BJ's. We had to let Enoch experience the Pizookie!