Thursday
I got up at o'dark thirty and put on "club attire", put on some funky makeup and done did my hair to meet up with some girls at 5:45am (AM) so that we could drive to L.A. Why did we drive to L.A.?? My goofy friend/co-worker Fallon got four free tickets to a taping of So You Think You Can Dance. I had never seen the show before, but I'm all about doing something memorable. We had to be there at 8:30. Because of the famous L.A. traffic, we got there at ten to nine. They still let us in. They made us walk through metal detectors, checked our purses and didn't close any zippers back up after they'd rifled through them and we entered like livestock. MooooooOOO. We waited and waited and waited. The studio is super duper small, but then the camera adds ten feet, right? Two of the four of us, and when I say "us" I do not mean me, are ever so petite height wise and couldn't really see from where we were standing. We noticed stadium seating behind us with a few people occupying the space and decided to join them. Then more people joined us. Then the official looking lady with her headset on told us that we needed to come back down. There was no bouncer at the bottom of the stairs. You should tell people this before they get all comfy in their plastic folding seat! Finally some British guy came over and asked us to move up to the front...like right on the edge of the stage. Did I happen to mention that I did not want to be on camera? Guess it's like Disneyland where the signs read that you will get wet, for this is a water ride. Don't like it? Go ride Dumbo. I was standing on THE white line, the line that separates the audience from the dancers as the leap, roll, or are shot onto the stage. We spent an hour and a half watching these guys do ONE dance. Different ways, different camera angles, different this and that. I thought we'd at least see a wardrobe change. We saw how amazingly perfect they looked up close and personal. They are extremely outgoing, something I am not. One of the girls complimented my ring. Did I mention how perfect they looked? Without airbrushing? Man, they suck. We saw the show that night and I saw the side of me for a split second during the opening song. 90 minutes for three minutes of the show. Hooray for Hollywood!

Since all we'd had that day was Starbucks (who happens to open at 5:30, thank you Seattle) we were slightly famished. I took them back to my old stomping grounds....er...near my college and we hit South Coast Plaza for lunch. This has always been the hoitiest toitiest mall on the planet. Well, maybe Barney's in NY is moreso but you usually have to dress up to go to South Coast. It's mentioned on all those dumb teeny bopper "OC" things but come on, it's a MALL. You can either buy your kids some clothes at Christian Dior...or Sears. The first time I visited this strange place, my mom and I were followed by a sales associate in Saks 5th Ave. Because, you know, we looked like the total shoplifting kind my mom and I. We just laughed and pointed out the irony of a lace and underwire bra that was tagged at $150. Oh, good times.

Friday
Back to work...and the mysterious-thing-that-really-isn't-that-big-of-a-deal-but-I-don't-know-who-reads-this-so-I-cannot-comment-until-I-know-day. My awesome babysitter held onto Leah a bit longer so I could do my thang. The plan was for me to meet her at her friend's house to get my girl. When I called she invited Trey and I over to swim at the girlfriend's house. Unfortunately I don't carry swim attire with me wherever I go. However, she just happened to have an extra set of swimtrunks for Trey. We got there and this wild haired, greased up, brown baby came running up to me and then I realized it was my daughter. My fearless wonder in the water. She went under at least five times but that didn't deter her from thinking she could keep up with the big kids. Strap a floatation device on her and she's good to go.

Saturday
My mom took the boy to see Cars. Once his snack was gone, he was ready to leave which didn't make Grandma happy. What's wrong with this kid?? I told her I'd go to the movies with her next time. After that, Bill and I headed out for our first date since we've been home. Lunch...free thanks to a Christmas gift card then to the beach. Every time I go to the beach, I tell myself I need to go more. We just acted like tourists and took our shoes off to stand in the water. I didn't have my camera (then I'd really look like a tourist) but snagged this off the internet. This is a city and a half down from where we were:
















Sunday
Church/work normal stuff

Today
Gotta get the house cleaned. We're having three couples and all their kids over for a BBQ/Farewell Bill (although we still don't have his exact flight date). Gotta get the yard picked up. Gotta turn on the AC. The utility co is going to lurve me. Hopefully the air conditioning will deter any major meltdowns by my perfect little angels...and us.

Good times, good times.

Happy Fourth!