I have experienced lots of fun, new things over the past couple of months. I'll try to do a quick recap of everything!
First off, everything is going well! I love the family I live with and the family I nanny for. Both families are cool to hang out with and I can totally talk to them about anything. So the move to Laguna was indeed a great decision.
In July, I ventured to the US Open of Surfing. It was pretty neat! It takes place in Huntington Beach each year. Afterwards, I decided to have an early dinner at BJ's Brewery. Apparently, it is unheard of for someone to eat at a sit down restaurant by themselves. I asked the hostess how long the wait would be for one. Her reply, "The bar is open seating. It's happy hour now too." I said, "Oh no, I would like a table." When my pager went off, a different hostess said, "Will it just be one?" Then my waiter said, "Is it just one today?" I mean, is it seriously that taboo to eat dinner out by yourself?
The next day I went to the OC Fair!! The KY State Fair is wayyy better, by the way. I mean, they didn't even have elephant ears! No one even knew what in the world they were. So disappointing, but I did get peanut butter fudge and a frozen banana. I saw the pig races and a pie eating contest too. After the fair, I broke out in a rash. It itched so bad. It lasted for a couple days before I went to the doctor to get a steroid. He said I had contact dermatitis, which just means my skin came into contact with something I was allergic to. After going over and over what I had used that was new or what I had changed, I came to the conclusion that my sunscreen had caused it. It's called photo contact dermatitis actually. It only causes a reaction when in the sun for a long period of time (The US Open of Surfing and the OC Fair).
The day after the fair was my first surf lesson in Newport Beach! It was so much fun! Well, once they got me on the right board. They started me off on a board that was not for beginners. Then they switched me to a board without the leash. So I had to chase it every time because I would fall off when trying to stand up and the board would shoot out. Not fun. Finally, they got me a beginner board with the leash. I stood up on the second time with this board. It was awesome! I also took a surf lesson about two weeks later in San Clemente. It was a surf camp, so I was surrounded by little kids. They all thought they were better than me because they'd been at camp all week and I showed up on a Thursday. But once I told them I was 22, they thought I was cool.
In August I took my Aerial Arts class. It actually was a really neat class. The instructor taught us how to climb up on the static trapeze, the hoop, and the silk. I wasn't a fan of the hoop because it spins. But the trapeze and the silk were legit! I was able to climb the silk pretty fast, but it burns your foot on the way down. The static trapeze was difficult to get on at first because you're basically supposed to do a pull up. Yeah, right. That wasn't going to be happening. So I would just jump up and climb on. I was surprised that I was able to do everything he taught.
My friend, Amy, from college came to visit at the end of August! It was so nice getting to see her. We had such a jam packed few days, but it was a blast! She arrived on a Friday evening. We went to In N Out of course, then to South Coast Plaza and the Irvine Spectrum. The next morning we went to Laguna Beach, Top of the World, Crystal Cove, Fashion Island and Huntington Beach. The weather turned out to be pretty nice too. Sunday we went to LA. We went to Hollywood Blvd., drove up the hills to the Hollywood sign, went to Rodeo Dr., and Robertson Blvd., ate a cupcake from Sprinkles Cupcakes, took a picture with the Beverly Hills sign, went to Melrose Ave., went to the new DASH store-Amy bought $7 chapstick, drove to Malibu for the Malibu Country Mart (a few days later the Kardashians were there!), drove to Santa Monica, went to the pier, rode the ferris wheel and walked to the end of the pier. It was a longggg, but fun day! Monday we rode the ferry to Catalina Island! We sat by a couple from Washington. They were really sweet. She gave me career advice. They also had gone to the KY Derby this past year, so they knew exactly where we were from! We saw dolphins on the way too! It was so amazing. In Catalina, we rented bicycles to ride around and check out the island. Worst. Idea. Ever. We discovered the island is just a big hill. It sucked. We couldn't go very far in any direction because a steep hill would be in the way. Next time, I'm going to rent the golf cart, for sure. After that miserable hour of our life was over, we got some ice cream. Then it was time to go snorkeling-my first time! At first I thought I was going to hyperventilate. I could not get the hang of breathing through the snorkel. I was afraid water was going to go through the top whenever a wave came or someone swam by me. Finally, I calmed myself down and was able to do it. We saw a sea lion and a bat ray, along with many other fish. The guide thought it would be funny to throw the fish food at Amy and I. Wasn't funny at all!! The fish were basically attacking us. Jumping all around us. Not okay. Then trying to get out of the water was a ridiculous task! The people were laughing at us. First, we couldn't get out of the water. We had to sit down and scoot backwards towards the shore. Then once we were out, there were rocks you had to walk on, which hurt so bad. After what seemed like foreverrr, we made it to our shoes and walked across the street to the lockers. I changed out of that wetsuit so fast. I was so over it. Once we got back to Newport Beach, we went to Balboa Island. It is the cutest place! It is really small. There is a main street with little shops and restaurants. They had this amazing candy store. It was kind of like a Cracker Barrel because they had all the old school candy and soda in glass bottles. After Balboa we went to Downtown Disney! We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant and walked around a bit. The next day, I sadly dropped Amy off at the airport.
Then came September, my birthday month! My birthday weekend was a lot of fun! First, the mom I nanny for took me out for early birthday drinks and dessert...while I was working! Then Saturday morning I woke up and the family I live with had bought me my favorite donut for breakfast. My mom had contacted Melinda (the mom I live with) about ordering a birthday cake. So that morning, the dad went out to the bakery to pick it up. They lit the candles and sang Happy Birthday to me! Afterwards, I went shopping for new clothes. Then my friend, Sam, and I went to San Diego to meet up with some people. We all went to the Padres game and then out in Pacific Beach. It was pretty cool to walk outside the bar and be at the ocean. It turned out to be a really great birthday! :) (By the way, MY mom/dad means I'm talking about my legit parents. THE mom/dad means I'm talking about the parents I live with).
Last week I had my first photography class. She went over some things I already knew from the photography class I took this past spring. The class is basically a group of retired moms...then there's me. It's a six week course, with two homework projects and two in class projects. I'm really looking forward to learning about photography and gaining new skills. This could turn into a potential career.
I also joined the gym last week. I joined LA Fitness because they have a lot of group classes to choose from that fit into my schedule well. So far I have tried the spin class twice and a boot camp. I really enjoyed both and am excited to start working out again! This past Monday night I had a complimentary personal training session. Worst thing ever. After filling out the questionnaire, he asked if I had a boyfriend. I said, "No." He then said, "Once you start seeing some results from the training sessions, you'll get noticed a lot more by guys." Is this kid serious!? Who says that to someone? And actually dude, I don't need any help getting noticed by guys. Thank you though! Oh and even after telling him that my degree is in Exercise Science, he still continued to lecture me on everything that I already know. He even said that I didn't have an education in this field, which is why I needed to sign up for the sessions so I could get back into shape. I'm not sure what he thinks Exercise Science is... The guy was a total douche bag.
Last Tuesday was my first Bikram Yoga class. The room was supposedly heated to 105 degrees with humidifiers all around the room. At first, it was okay. I mean, besides having beads of sweat rolling down my body before class even started. About thirty minutes into the class, I felt as though I couldn't breathe. There was no cool air circulation, so obviously I was having issues. I hate not having air circulation. After contemplating for 15 minutes if I was going to stay or not, I got up the courage to leave. I didn't feel well and just wanted some fresh air. I rolled up my mat super quick and went to the cubby to get my stuff. Well, that's when the instructor caught me! She asked if I was alright and that I should really stay and finish the class. I stood there frozen for a second trying to decide what to do. She told me I could just sit down and to focus on my breathing. She assured me that I would feel better. So, I walked back over to my spot, unrolled my mat and laid down. After she announced that you could lie or sit down when not feeling well, people all across the room started dropping. Apparently I wasn't the only one having issues. I pretty much stayed in that position the rest of the class. I attempted a few more poses, but was much more content lying on the mat.
This Monday at 9 o'clock will be my first kickball game! I signed up with a WAKA league in Irvine. I am very excited to get to know some new people and attempt to play some kickball. It should be a good time!
I can't believe I've been in California nine months already! It's crazy how fast time is going by. I'm not sure when I will be home next, but I'll keep everyone posted! Love and miss you all!!
