Tag Archives: Santa Barbara

Another Quick Santa Barbara Day (or Celebrating My Niece)

I don’t go to Santa Barbara too often, even though it’s not that long of a drive. But I do go up at least a few times a year to see my family. I go up for my niece’s and nephew’s birthdays, and I’ll continue to do that as long as their birthday parties are family parties. I don’t know how many years that will go on so I have to take advantage of them when I can.

Since it’s an easy drive, I only go up for the day so I don’t need to pack an overnight bag. I really can’t remember the last time I stayed overnight in Santa Barbara since I’d rather not have to bring all that stuff and like to sleep in my bed. I still end up feeling like I bring a lot of stuff with me, but it’s usually because I’m bringing stuff to give to my parents so I don’t have to ship things to them. And my parents usually have a bag of things to give to me as well. Typically, my dad is bringing me some tools or things that I mentioned would be helpful to have. This last time, I mentioned not having clamps to hold things down when I glue them, so he got me a set of clamps.

I went up recently for my niece’s birthday party and I really didn’t have much to bring with me this time. I did have her birthday present, but that was all I had to remember to put in my car. But I did get a new-to-me camera recently (it was a trade with a friend), so I brought that too so I could practice taking some photos with it since it had been a while since I had used anything other than my phone to take photos. I got the camera mainly to do self-tape auditions, but learning how to do more on it is a good idea in case I want to use it for photos and other things.

The drive up was pretty easy, and I felt lucky about that. The day of the party was supposed to be a very stormy day, but I didn’t have much rain on my drive. I lucked out with the storm because it only rained a little bit going up so I didn’t have to worry about extra traffic caused by people who aren’t good drivers in the rain.

Most of the birthday parties that my niece and nephew have had before only had a few friends there. This time, there were a few more friends than at their past parties (I’m guessing my nephew will have a lot of friends at his birthday in about a month). It made things a bit more hectic, but I ended up talking to my parents most of the time. The kids were doing different crafts like decorating cookie boxes (which had glitter so I was trying to stay away from that) and playing with all the toys they have. Once my niece opened her presents, they started to play with those things too. I got her a dress-up set, but she got a lot of dress-up stuff so she had a lot of new things to open up and try on.

The party only lasted a few hours before all my niece’s friends started to head home. I stuck around a little longer to talk with my parents about a few random things, but once it looked like the rain was about to start, I knew I needed to leave too so I could try to avoid driving in a crazy rainstorm. I don’t love to drive in the rain anyway, but to drive 90 minutes or more in the rain sounded awful. Just like with my drive up, my drive back down home only had a few minutes of rain and then it was easy for me the rest of the way. I’ve done the drive up and back enough to have experienced a lot of random situations that make the drive harder or longer, but this ended up being one of the easier drives I’ve had.

Hopefully, when I go back up in a little over a month for my nephew’s party, it will be just as easy of a drive. And I hope it won’t have the threat of rain so the party can take advantage of the bounce house they have been using for other parties since that is always a big hit with everyone!

Another Fake Thanksgiving (or A Busy Day Without Many Pictures)

My family did our Fake Thanksgiving 2 weeks ago. I think we will continue the tradition of doing our Thanksgiving early each year since that’s a cheaper time for everyone to travel. It makes it a little harder for some of our schedules, but that’s probably a smaller problem than the crazy cost of traveling during the actual holiday. It can be a bit tough with my work schedule to spend too much time on whatever Fake Thanksgiving we have, but I do my best to make it work. We have been doing it over Veteran’s Day so that at least gives me time off from my one of my jobs. And I just have to take time off from one job on that day.

This year, we had Fake Thanksgiving in Santa Barbara, so it was just a drive for me. I was looking at possibly spending more than just the day there, but with schedules and other things, it was just going to be easier for me to drive up that morning and drive back home that evening after dinner.

There wasn’t much scheduled for the day that I would be up there. I drove up that morning and spent some time with my parents and the dog before my dad and I went to our Orangetheory class. I was hoping we would have a larger group for the workout, but it was just my dad and aunt joining me. I know my brother wanted to join but he couldn’t at the last minute, and my cousin wanted to come but she was recovering from an injury. But it was still a good workout and I’m so happy that tradition continued!

After the workout, I went back to the rental house my parents were staying at so I could shower and get changed for dinner. But as I was getting ready, there was a press conference announced regarding the end of the SAG-AFTRA Strike. I was able to watch while I got ready for dinner, but that also meant I wasn’t really being social with my parents. I think they understood why I wanted to pay attention to that, so hopefully they didn’t mind too much.

Fake Thanksgiving dinner was held at the country club that my brother and sister-in-law belong to, which is where we had it a few years ago. And most of my family was able to be there. We were missing 2 of my cousins and one cousin’s husband, but everyone else was at dinner. It was a little overwhelming since dinner was the only time that I was going to see most of the family, so I didn’t really get to catch up with everyone as much as I would have liked to.

But I was excited to give my niece and nephew their early Hanukkah presents. I got them both really cute toddler digital cameras. I thought it could be fun to see what types of pictures they might take during dinner. I haven’t seen all of those photos yet, but we got to see some of the photos on the screen as they took them. The ones I did see were mostly selfies and crazy close-ups of random things. But I think they will have fun as they learn how to use them.

I wish I had taken more photos with my family while I was there, but I only got one photo during dinner of my place setting. Nothing fancy or anything, but it was all I got when I looked back at what I took that evening.

But a lack of photos also shows that I focused on being with my family and in the moment. I was sitting next to my cousin and she and I spent most of dinner talking and catching up on random things. And she was telling me about a road trip that her family will be doing hopefully next summer which would bring her to LA. I would love for her to see my place and get to see her more than just once a year!

And as dinner was finishing up, I started to talk to some of my family about where Fake Thanksgiving would be held next year. And after talking a bit and thinking about some logistics, it looks like I might be hosting it for the first time ever! I never could have all my family at my place when I lived in my tiny rental. And even though I don’t have a huge place now, I have the space to get a rental table and make it work. My parents came to LA a few days after Fake Thanksgiving and we were talking about me hosting it, I think we all agree it’s totally feasible and that’s what we will be doing in a year! My dad is already sending me articles with Thanksgiving ideas so I’ll be prepared for next year.

For tomorrow on actual Thanksgiving, I’m not sure if I’ll have company over. I was talking to a friend about if they wanted to come for dinner, but we both have agreed that we’ll see how we feel. But I am cooking some of my favorite Thanksgiving things and I’ll be trying a dry brine on a turkey breast that I might use for next year.

And if it’s a low-key Thanksgiving Day, that’s fine with me since I already feel like I got my Thanksgiving celebration during Fake Thanksgiving!

One Of My Favorite Workout Weeks Of The Year (or Another Family Workout)

This past week of workouts, I had 3 of my regular workouts at my normal studio. I usually go Monday-Thursday, but this week I was there Monday-Wednesday. Those workouts were pretty good for the most part. I struggled a bit more than normal on Monday because I was still dealing with pain and nausea, but it was a lot less than what I had dealt with the week before. And I was feeling almost back to normal by Tuesday, so my workouts weren’t affected that much after the first day.

Even though I love those challenges, it was nice to be done with Hell Week. I don’t feel like I can push myself as much during Hell Week by using heavier weights or doing new things on the bike or rower because I’m just trying to get through those workouts. They do challenge me, but because I have had goals to see improvements in my workouts, my goals and how I push myself are different. That meant I was able to get back to trying to improve in normal workouts. I’m still testing out if I can increase the bike resistance level and I think I might start trying to change one of the levels I use instead of trying to change them all at once. And I have noticed my rowing continues to get stronger and faster, so that’s awesome. I still have some issues on the rower because of my foot, but I’ve been adapting more to what I need to do and I’m glad that’s not setting me back too much. I still have a lot of work to do on my rowing endurance, but it’s baby steps towards what I want to do.

But the best workout of this past week was the one workout not at my normal studio. My family had our Fake Thanksgiving this past week, so I did a workout on Friday at the studio in Santa Barbara since that’s where our Fake Thanksgiving was held this year! This was the second time we worked out at that studio, so it was fun to have another repeat studio for our tradition. And this was the 10th time our family had a workout before Thanksgiving or Fake Thanksgiving! Our first family workout was in 2014! And now we’ve gone to 4 different Orangetheory studios and had 1 year with each of us doing a workout at home. I love that this tradition has continued for 10 years now and that my family still joins in for a workout. Sometimes it’s a bigger group and sometimes it’s a small group, but it always happens!

This time, my dad and aunt joined me for the workout. It was a 2 group class, which is something I don’t usually get to take. And it was also a run/row, which is even more rare for me since those only happen in some 2 group classes. I do like that the run/row workouts almost feel like a 3 group class to me a bit since there is a lot of rowing, so I was happy that was the workout we happened to go to.

My dad and aunt kicked butt in class. I know it’s not easy for them since they don’t normally go to Orangetheory so they aren’t used to the pattern and rhythm of class. But the coach was really good about helping to guide them to the right things and I also checked in with them to make sure they knew what to do next. Sometimes in these workouts, my dad and I challenge each other a bit, but this time we were both just focused on getting in a good workout. And I thought it was a really good class with a nice mix of upper and lower body work. I also was able to challenge myself by using heavier weights for chest flys. I felt sore after doing that, but it was a good sore feeling.

And of course, after class, we had to take a family photo with the coach so I could add it to our collage!

There have been a lot of things that I have celebrated about working out at Orangetheory, but this is one of the things I celebrate that involves others. My family doesn’t have to join me for these workouts and I would go on my own if nobody else wanted to go. But for 10 years (technically 9 since one year we all worked out at home on our own), at least some of my family has decided to keep up this tradition and that’s something I’m so happy about and proud of!

Now I just have to figure out how to be the host of my family’s Thanksgiving (or Fake Thanksgiving) so that we can do our family workout at the Culver City studio and my family can see how awesome my coaches at my home studio are!

Another Santa Barbara Birthday (or A Quick Trip To See Family)

When I went to Santa Barbara for my niece’s birthday, I wasn’t sure if I’d be making it back up there for my nephew’s birthday a few weeks later. His birthday was going to be on a weekday and I knew my brother and his family were going to be out of town right before his birthday. So I thought his party might be on a weekday, which would mean I would have to miss it. But after I was in Santa Barbara in February, I found out the party would be the Sunday before his birthday so I would be able to go!

So this past Sunday, I made the drive up to Santa Barbara for the day as I have done so many times before. It’s not a horribly long drive, but with some traffic and road construction it was about 2 hours for me to get there. Fortunately, I knew ahead of time that I’d be driving up so I had a bunch of podcasts saved so I could be entertained on my drive.

I knew the party would be pretty low-key since my nephew was turning 3 and he doesn’t have a ton of friends yet. And I appreciated that it wouldn’t be a huge party full of people I didn’t know. It ended up being my family, my sister-in-law’s family, and 2 of my nephew’s friends from preschool. And they set up the bounce house I got my niece and nephew again for the party, so it was fun seeing all the kids having fun on it (and knowing that it was a good gift since not all of the gifts I’ve gotten them have been hits).

Since my nephew was busy playing with his friends, I spent most of my time at the party with my family and my sister-in-law’s parents. Even though I had seen them all a few weeks earlier at my niece’s party, there was plenty to catch up on. And I didn’t realize my sister-in-law’s mom hadn’t seen all the photos from my condo remodel, so I was showing her those and sharing what we did for the renovation and how it’s been since I moved in almost a year ago.

Everything about the party was casual and chill. They had a taco bar for lunch and I was eating outside with my parents (which was much quieter than being inside). And instead of a cake, they had cupcakes. My nephew loves garbage trucks so the cupcakes were decorated with little trucks.

And both my niece and nephew loved them, but I think my niece had a bit more fun making a mess out of the frosting and seeing how crazy she could get.

After cupcakes, the party was winding down. My parents had the dog with them, but he wasn’t able to be inside for the party so I was hanging out with my parents in the driveway so I could also spend a little time with Tucker. We mainly were just sitting in the front of the house for that, but it was still nice to see the dog since I don’t get to see him too often. And after my niece and nephew went down for their naps, my brother and sister-in-law hung out with us for a little bit before we all said goodbye.

I know I could have stayed a little longer if I wanted to and continued to hang out with my parents at their rental house, but I wanted to get home before it was too late. I know that going back on Sunday evenings can be crazy, and I wanted to avoid as much traffic as possible. Even though I didn’t leave that late, it still took me almost twice as long as normal to get home. But that’s ok since it was worth it to get to have some time with my family. I know that isn’t as easy for everyone to do as it is for me, so I like to take advantage of it whenever I can.

I’m not sure when my next trip to Santa Barbara will be, but I’m sure that there will be another day up there at some point soon. I usually plan them around when my parents are there, so I’ll just have to wait until they plan their next trip. And even with this trip up there being short, I’m glad it was still full of family time and it was on a day that I could make it.

A Very Fast Trip To Santa Barbara (or Getting To Celebrate My Nephew’s Birthday A Little)

This past weekend, my nephew Rory turned 2! I was excited his birthday fell on a day I had off so I could go to the little party my brother and sister-in-law were going to have for him. It was just going to be a party with family, so it wasn’t going to be a big gathering. But it was still a nice day I could spend with family.

And I was so excited to give Rory his gift. I had let my brother and sister-in-law know about the gift in advance, but I got him a balance bike! I wanted to make sure he wouldn’t get it from someone else and that they would have a helmet ready for him, so I couldn’t make it a total surprise. But at least it was going to be a surprise for Rory.

Since I couldn’t wrap the gift, I knew I had to get a really good bow for it. I found a bow that is supposed to be the type you put on a car if you give someone a car as a gift, but I figured a ridiculously big bow was the right choice. And when I put the bow on it, it was almost bigger than the bike!

The plan for me was to drive up to Santa Barbara that morning, spend the late morning and afternoon with my family, and drive back to LA in the late afternoon or early evening. It’s pretty much what I do every time I go up there since I just go for the day and not spend the night. And that morning, I was preparing to get into my car and make the drive when plans changed quite a bit.

Unfortunately, some of my family was exposed to Covid and things weren’t going to be able to happen the way we had planned. Because I wasn’t with my family while they were likely most contagious, I wanted to try to stay as safe and healthy as possible. But I wanted to still give my nephew his bike and try to celebrate him a bit. So I talked to my family about it and we decided that I would drive up to give Rory his gift, but I would stay at the end of the driveway so we would be outside and I would be at a distance. It’s not what I wanted to do, but it was what needed to be done so I could see everyone that day and also not put myself at extra risk.

The drive up to Santa Barbara isn’t that bad, and I’m glad there wasn’t really any traffic so it was a very simple drive. And I was able to bring the bike to their front porch before walking back so I could keep a bit of distance from my family. But I was able to stay there for a little bit so I could see Rory getting his bike and I think he liked it!

He didn’t like the helmet he needs to wear while riding it, but he was checking out the bike and I think that he’ll get more excited about it the more he gets to play with it. And I know he loves seeing kids at the park on scooters and bikes, so now he can join in too!

I didn’t get to see Presley because she was napping while I was there, but I knew since I was only going to be there for a few minutes that could be a possibility. I wish the timing worked out better, but it is what it is. I was glad that Rory seemed to be warming up to me more. I know I don’t see him that often so he can be a bit shy. But this time he was much more smiley and happy while I was around. He did still seem a bit more excited to wave goodbye to me, but that might have been because they were going into the house to play with his other new toys and he was just more excited about that.

I wish I could have spent more time with my family and gotten to celebrate Rory’s birthday more, but I also know we are still dealing with a pandemic and there was no need for me to be exposed. And staying safe and healthy now makes sure that I can celebrate more birthdays in the future so missing one isn’t the worst thing. And fortunately, Rory is young enough that he probably won’t remember that I had to miss this birthday with him.

And I am grateful that it seems like my family is going to be ok. This is the first time my family has been this affected by the pandemic and I know that we are very lucky that we have gone so long without having to worry this much. And we are very fortunate that even with this situation we are not as affected as so many others. This might not be the way we all wanted to celebrate my nephew’s 2nd birthday, but at least we did get to celebrate together (at a distance) in a way.

Celebrating My Niece’s Birthday (or Another Santa Barbara Day)

During the pandemic, I’ve gone up to Santa Barbara for day trips quite a few times. It’s usually because of a celebration (like to meet my nephew and niece) or a holiday. And this past week, my niece turned one! So of course, I knew I’d be headed up there for the day again.

My niece’s actual birthday was on a Friday, and because I couldn’t take off work I couldn’t be there for the little family party they had (it was just immediate family so it was small). But I was able to take time off on Saturday so I could go up for the day then and still get to celebrate a bit!

And since I was going up for a birthday, I had to find a present! Getting gifts for babies can be tough, but I asked a few of my friends with little kids and a couple of them mentioned that at their kid’s preschool they had stacking dolls. It’s good for motor skills plus they can be fun. And I thought that sounded like a great idea. My niece’s room has a llama theme, and I found a set of stacking dolls that had different animals on them but the biggest one had a llama! So that seemed perfect!

Since my brother and sister-in-law had my niece’s party the day before, when I went up it was just a casual hangout. We went to the country club that they belong to so my nephew and niece could splash in the kiddie pool and we could hang out and have lunch. My sister-in-law’s parents were also there, so it was awesome to get to see them too.

My parents hadn’t seen the work done to the condo yet in person, but they had seen photos and been on FaceTime with me so talking about the renovation was a big topic. The last time I had seen most of this part of my family was at Thanksgiving which was right after we bought it and we hadn’t started to plan the renovation yet. Fortunately, I take a ton of photos so I had a lot on my phone I could show everyone.

And of course, it was awesome to see my nephew and niece. They haven’t seen me a ton, so I’m still a bit of a stranger to them. But they have both warmed up a bit. My nephew was trying to give me half-eaten bits of hot dog, which is one of the best compliments a toddler could give you. My niece smiled at me a bunch and was giving me high fives.

The only downside to this day trip was that I didn’t really take any photos. I wasn’t focused on doing that, which is good. But I wish I had some. I did get some photos from the day before that my mom took, so that makes it a bit better.

Once it was nap time, I went back to the rental house my parents were staying in to go over some condo things. My parents were going to come to LA the next day, so we didn’t have to do a lot. But we planned out what we needed to accomplish and also went through some catalogs to get ideas for what things I want to look for in stores when I’m getting more things together for my move.

I didn’t stay too late since I knew I’d see my parents again the next morning. Normally when I drive back to LA, it’s already dark. But this time, I got a pretty nice view as I was headed home!

But I’ll be back in Santa Barbara soon because in a little over a month my nephew is turning 2 and I’m very excited about the gift I’m giving him!

Not Quite Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Time (or A Full Family Day)

As I mentioned in my workout recap, this past Saturday my family celebrated Thanksgiving early. Thanksgiving is the main holiday my family celebrates, and last year was the first time we weren’t celebrating together. But since we are all vaccinated, we wanted to get together this year to celebrate. And it was decided that since it is significantly less expensive to celebrate on a weekend other than Thanksgiving weekend, it was decided that this past weekend would be when we would get together.

Things were in Santa Barbara this year, so it was going to be easy for me to get there. But because of how my schedule was, I knew my time with everyone was going to be limited. I had things to do pretty late on Friday, so I was going to drive up on Saturday morning. And the original plan was for me to stay the night and go home on Sunday, but I would be leaving early on Sunday morning so I said I might just drive home Saturday night. But when I got all my stuff together, I did it with the plan that I might spend the night.

I drove up pretty early, but it didn’t feel too early to me since I’m up early anyway most days. And since it was early, there was no traffic and I had a very easy drive up. I got there with a bit of time before we were going to go to our workout, so I hung out with my parents before my dad and I left for Orangetheory (my brother was going to meet us there).

After the workout, I went back to the rental house my parents got and showered and changed before we headed to the club that my brother and sister-in-law belong to. They were there with my niece and nephew (and my cousin was there with her kids) because it was a very hot day and everyone wanted to swim. I just hung out in the shade at a table because I was still dealing with some of the side effects from my vaccine. But that was fine with me because I got to spend a lot of time catching up with my sister-in-law and cousin. Plus I got to hang out with my niece (my nephew is still a bit wary of me, but hopefully he starts to remember me).

It was nice just being outside and enjoying time with family, even if I wasn’t feeling completely ok. And since I hadn’t seen my cousin or her kids in almost 2 years, it was crazy to see how much her kids have grown! Her oldest son is almost taller than me now!

And after swim time, everyone went back to where they were staying and we got ready to celebrate our not really Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner. This was also held at the club my brother and sister-in-law belong to, and we had a private dining area so it didn’t feel like we were in a restaurant or around a lot of people. It wasn’t exactly our traditional Thanksgiving celebration, but we were celebrating together as a family and that’s what is most important to us and how we celebrate.

Dinner was a few hours (which I guess is a bit more traditional for us) and then everyone started to say goodbye. Even if I was going to stay the night there, I wouldn’t see my family the next day so I had to say goodbye to everyone. And there is a good chance I won’t see most of them until next Thanksgiving. I’m used to spending a few days with family for Thanksgiving, so only having one day didn’t feel like I got my full fix of family time. But it’s so much better than last year when we had to celebrate over Zoom.

I did end up driving back home that night after dinner since it’s just easier for me to sleep in my own bed. And I forgot a few things I would have needed if I did spend the night in the rental house. But I’m about to have more family time with my parents soon, so missing one overnight isn’t too bad.

Normally, I feel like I have a ton of pictures after Thanksgiving. I’m not sure if it was because I didn’t have as many days with my family or if I was enjoying my family time and not focused on taking photos, but I don’t have a lot of photos from my day with my family. But I did get a cute photo of my nephew, a nice one with my niece (I couldn’t get her to smile), and a silly one of my parents’ dog.

Next year, hopefully we will be together for Thanksgiving (or fake Thanksgiving) again as a family. I missed this tradition so much last year and I’m so grateful we had it back again this year!

An Unexpected Family Visit (or Making Plans, Canceling Them, And Making Plans Again)

Like I said yesterday, the end of my 3 day weekend ended up being a bit unexpected. But that’s actually not the full story. It was something I had planned for, then had to cancel, and then was able to do again.

A month or two ago, my parents mentioned to me that they would be coming down to Santa Barbara to be with my brother and his family and they wanted to see if I could come up to visit. And I thought at first that it would work out perfectly because I had Monday off of work. If I didn’t have that day off, it would have been difficult to go because I would have left after work and would be driving in rush hour traffic. So I said I’d see them on my day off and thought that was that. But it turned out, I misunderstood some information and my parents were not going to be in Santa Barbara until later that day and I didn’t want to have to drive home in traffic after the holiday weekend. So I had to tell them that I didn’t think I would make it. But I knew I’d be seeing them in September so I was ok.

Then on Monday morning, I called my dad after my workout to tell him something random and my parents mentioned they were already driving down and about halfway to Santa Barbara! I wasn’t expecting them to leave until later, so I mentioned to them that if they were going to have the afternoon free, I could come up and see everyone for a bit. I knew it wouldn’t be that long of a visit because I would still want to leave before the traffic got really bad, but seeing my family for a few hours would be better than not seeing them at all. So my parents confirmed with my brother and sister-in-law that they would be hanging around their house in the afternoon and I quickly went home to shower and change after my workout. I was able to start my drive only about an hour after I talked to my parents and fortunately the traffic wasn’t too bad. I made it to Santa Barbara in just over 2 hours instead of the 90 minutes it usually takes me.

I didn’t take any photos while I was there since we were more focused on just being together as a family for the few hours I was able to be there. It had been 3 months since I had seen my niece and nephew and they both grew so much! Rory wasn’t walking when I was there last time and now he’s walking all over the place and almost running! And Presley was a newborn when I was there and she spent almost the entire time asleep. Now she looks much more like a baby, has a ton of hair, and was awake and alert. It’s crazy to see how much they both grew when it seems like I was just there.

It was also nice to just get to relax and talk with my family. Even though we are connected all the time either via text or on the phone, it’s always better to be together in person. Just like with my niece and nephew, it had been 3 months since I had seen my parents in person. I had a few things for them that I was going to save until September, but I was able to bring them with me (my parents have stuff for me too, but since they were already driving when we figured out I’d see them, that stuff will have to wait a few more months). Nothing was urgent to get to them, but it’s always nice to be able to give them things I was holding onto.

I was only in Santa Barbara for a little over 2 hours before I headed home. Traffic was not horrible and I knew it was going to get worse, plus my niece and nephew were about to take naps. So it seemed like a natural time for me to say goodbye and start my drive home.

It’s crazy how it all worked out this week. Even though I would have been ok not seeing my family, it made my weekend that much better that I got to be with them. And I am just so grateful that it all worked out perfectly and I had the time to drive up and back without too much stress.

A Santa Barbara Friend Hangout (or Meeting Another Baby)

The main reason I went up to Santa Barbara this past Saturday was for family stuff. And that’s usually the reason I go up there. Over the past year, I’ve gotten used to driving up to Santa Barbara for the day and heading back home the same day. It’s not too long of a drive, and it’s shorter than the times I drove to San Diego just for the day. It’s pretty easy for me to do and I usually have a lot of podcasts saved up for my drive. But this Saturday, I had something else to do before I drove home.

My friend Rayshell has had a lot of changes over the past year. She and her husband bought their first place and they had a baby! And because of the pandemic, I haven’t had the chance to see her for a long time. Her new place is on the way to or from Santa Barbara, so we made plans that I would see her either that morning or evening. But then, Rayshell realized that she would be at her parents’ house in Santa Barbara the same day and asked if I wanted to come to hang out in the backyard with her. Of course I said yes!

Her parents’ house was only about a mile away from the rental house my parents were staying at, so it was really easy to get there after I was done with family time. And even though I was pretty much considered fully vaccinated, we still took precautions while hanging out. We stayed outdoors the entire time and I was sitting a little further away (it was easily more than 6 feet away). Even though we’ve been doing all this for a year, it is still weird not being able to hug a friend and have to sit further from them than I’m used to. But at the same time, I’m so grateful I have the opportunity at all to see friends! And especially getting to see Rayshell and her baby (and her husband and parents who were hanging out with us too)!

And it was such a great time! Of course, we had a lot of our usual catchup chat like we always did at our happy hour hangouts. But we both had so much to update each other on. I loved hearing all about her baby, and he was so smiley and adorable the entire time I was there. He was not shy even though he had never met me before. He was a little social butterfly and one of the happiest babies I’ve ever met. I wasn’t able to hold him, but just getting to see him always smiling at me made me so happy. And it was amazing seeing Rayshell as a mom. I knew she’d be an awesome mom, and seeing her with her son proved me right. She looked like a natural!

And Rayshell also updated me about her new place. They haven’t really been able to have anyone over since they bought it right before the pandemic hit, but I hope that I’ll get a chance to see it soon. It sounds like an awesome place for them, even if they moved a little further from me and I wish that she lived closer.

And Rayshell asked me about what’s been happening in my life. I filled her in about what’s going on with work and what has been happening with my family. And she wanted to hear if I had any crazy dating stories, and I did! I have written on here how I haven’t dated that much over the past year, but I have a little bit and I had plenty of stories even about guys that I never ended up meeting. And at least, for the most part, the stories are so ridiculous so even I have to laugh while telling them.

I was able to hang out with Rayshell for almost 2 hours before she needed to start doing her evening routine with her son. And I knew I needed to start heading back home too. I wish we could have hung out longer, but considering that we hadn’t seen each other in over a year, any time I could get was amazing. I’ve said this a lot before, but this past year has made me so grateful for any time I get to spend with the people I care about. And it has shown me how strong some of my friendships are when we can just pick things back up even if it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.

Hopefully, I will be able to see Rayshell and her baby again soon. I know that it seems like things are getting better, so I’m optimistic about it. I’m still being very careful with what things I take chances on, but being outdoors with social distancing seems pretty safe. And I’m glad that it is finally safe enough for these things to start happening again without anyone having to worry too much about getting sick. And as long as we all continue to be safe and not take too many chances, it won’t be long before we don’t have to worry about any of this.

A Big Family Day! (or A Birthday Party and Meeting Presley)

This past weekend was my nephew Rory’s first birthday! It’s so crazy to think that it’s already been a year since he was born, but then again it was one of the craziest years of almost anyone’s life with the pandemic. But even with the pandemic, I knew that there would be a small party for Rory to celebrate his birthday. Plus, we had to celebrate my niece Presley being born!

The birthday party was just going to be family. My parents and my sister-in-law’s parents have all been vaccinated. The day of the party was going to be 1 day before I was considered fully vaccinated (which is pretty close to being there). And my brother was vaccinated at the end of last year. So even though we all still have to be careful and cautious, this was a pretty safe gathering since everyone except my sister-in-law and the babies would be vaccinated.

I got to Santa Barbara as Rory was opening his gifts. He got a lot of really adorable things. I got him a set of fabric tents and tunnels that can be used by themselves or combined to make a bunch of different things. He seemed curious about them, but I’m sure the gift will be a bigger hit with him when he’s a little older. I think his favorite gift was the kid cleaning kit that my sister-in-law found for him!

I hadn’t seen Rory in a while, so I had no clue if he’d remember me or not. And he takes some time to warm up to people, so I knew that he might not want me to be super near him. And my guess was correct. He wasn’t upset by me being there, but he didn’t want me to hold him or help him with toys. But that was ok because I had my new niece to hold!

Presley is about 6 weeks old and she’s very tiny! And she stayed asleep almost the entire time I was there, so she was calm and quiet. I think she looks a little like Rory did when he was born. She’s got the same long fingers as Rory, so I wonder if they will both be piano players one day. And I thought she was super cute and adorable. Hopefully, the next time I’m in Santa Barbara she will be a bit more awake and alert. And I can’t wait to see what her little personality will be like.

The birthday party was a very low-key day. After Rory was done opening presents, my brother cooked burgers on the grill and we all ate lunch outside. It was fun getting to hang out with my family and I hadn’t seen my sister-in-law’s parents in a while. I was supposed to see them this past November, but I missed that trip to see everyone since that’s when I got vertigo. I haven’t had a lot of social time with people lately, so any meals I get to have with someone is great. And having it be with family makes it that much better!

And of course, Rory had to have a birthday cake. I joked that he was going to act like their cat and push the cake over the edge of his highchair tray. And that’s exactly what he tried to do! I don’t know if he was trying to get more frosting or what, but it was really silly. And of course, we all took a ton of photos of him with frosting all over his face. The cake wasn’t Cookie Monster themed, but I joked that the photos looked like he ate Cookie Monster.

And of course, I had to get a photo of Rory with my brother and sister-in-law.

After he was done smashing his cake and eating some of it, Rory was having a bit of a sugar crash and it was time for him to take a nap. Since he was going to be sleeping and Presley was still asleep, that pretty much was the end of the party. So I went with my parents over to the rental house they were staying at so I could see Tucker since he was at the house during the party.

Tucker was as silly and goofy as always. He is finally recovered from his knee surgeries, so it was great to see him running and bouncing around without him being in pain. But he also looked a lot older this time because he now has a ton of white fur on his face. It’s like he became an old man overnight! But he still has so much energy and he was so happy to see me there.

I spent some time hanging out with my parents and the dog outside before I headed out. I actually had something else to do that afternoon in Santa Barbara (more about that tomorrow).

I only spent a few hours with my family that day, but it was one of the best days I’ve had in a while. I don’t know how much more often I would be seeing everyone if we didn’t have a pandemic, but this past year has made me appreciate any family time I get at all. And I appreciate having anything to celebrate right now as well. So having 2 things to celebrate with my family really made the day that much better!