I Love Traveling...LOVE it!

At this very moment it is Sunday, April 30, 2006 at about 11:30 in the morning, (Although I probably won't post this until tomorrow or the next day) and I am on an airplane from Phoenix to Dallas (I started my day in LA). Yes, Yes, I know I should be at church but alas here I am. Though I don't love airplanes or airports (as much as Preston anyway), I do love the fun and anticipation that comes along with traveling and the sheer joy I feel knowing that I'm "really going somewhere." Obviously Chase isn't with me or I wouldn't have the free hands to be typing this. The laptop would probably actually be playing Baby Einstein if he were. I'm not as excited right now as I was 4 days ago when I was flying toward the West Coast but I am still happy to be going to see my little boy who I haven't seen since Wednesday. Preston had a training class for work in LA on Thursday and Friday so he left on Wednesday to go there and I left that same day to take Chase to my parent's house near Dallas. I flew out on Thursday to meet my hubby so we could have a long weekend getaway to celebrate our 4-year anniversary. FOUR YEARS! Wow! Are you kidding me? It has seriously flown by...and it's been great! We had a great time. It was so nice to have a baby-free weekend where we could just pay attention to each other and go do fun things that we don't usually get to do...like walk on the beach! The weather was a little chilly so there wasn't any lying out in the sand but we did get to go for a long walk and enjoy the beachy atmosphere. We went to Santa Monica to hang out and people watch. (Honey I don't think we're in Oklahoma anymore!) We also spent some time at Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, at the Getty's Center Museum (very cool by the way), in Hollywood, and driving around looking at big houses in the hills. We also got to have dinner with my friend Stacy that lives there and that was really fun. We ate sushi with her and then walked along Manhattan Beach gawking at all the beach front houses being jealous and wondering what all those people do for a living to afford houses like that. Preston and I even went to a movie which we don't get to do that much anymore so that was really fun. I'll tell you about the movie we saw at the end of this post if you're interested. It was Friends with Money with Jennifer Aniston. The more I think about it, the more I liked it. Anyway, it was such a great trip. I thought about Chase often and found myself wondering what he was doing with his Grammy, Granddaddy, and two aunts every now and then but I never worried even once. I only called 3 times in the time I was gone...pretty good huh? I think every mom needs a time away like this...whether you go to LA or somewhere close. It was so good for Preston and my relationship too. Though the time I spent with Preston was by far the most fun, I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the time he was at his classes too because I got to have some me-time. I spent most of those times at the hotel taking naps, reading (I actually finished my book!), working out at the gym, having a long breakfast and coffee in the lobby, and even doing a little work on my laptop. I also did some shopping at a mall though I didn't buy anything. I was saving my money until we found out where an H&M was but come to find out there is not one in LA. Kind of weird I thought. I was hoping to make Courtney jealous! Anyway, I came to a conclusion while I was at the mall...it doesn't matter where you live, if you're a mom that doesn't work during the day, you take your kids and your strollers to the mall. So even if I moved somewhere crazy like LA...I would still be doing the same things day to day. (Right Jen, Mel, Lori, etc.?) But all good things come to an end and here I am flying home...well, to my parent's home. Preston is probably on his way to OKC by now. That punk...he booked me a 6:00 a.m. flight while he got an 11:00 a.m. flight! Now I'm all refreshed and ready to go be mom again...actually I'm kind of excited about it.

The movie: Friends with Money. While I would never actually recommend it to anyone because of a few crude scenes and some harsh language (there, I covered myself) I did think it was a good movie. It's one of those that you're not sure if you really liked it or not when it's over...(I heard someone in the bathroom afterward say that they hated it) and I actually thought when the credits started rolling, "What? It's over? What was the story line? Was there really any plot?" To be honest, I still don't know the answers to those questions but here's what I came away with and the reason I liked it: 1) Money does not make you happy. 2) (This one is my favorite) The people who were the most happy and had the best marriage were the ones who thought about themselves the least and gave away the most money to worthy causes. Everyone in the movie except this couple was always focused on themselves and their own happiness...but these two wanted their friends and each other to be happy. Pretty good life lesson...don't you think?