on turning twenty-eight

It seems my blogging patterns are as follows: New Year's, anniversary, birthday; repeat cycle. I suppose that's okay, although I wish it were more. I'm glad to have captured these three important, more reflective times, at the very least...

Last Thursday I turned twenty-eight years old. I think this was the first year I didn't dread turning older, even in the slightest. I've come to a place in life where I have accepted the fact that aging is a good thing. After all, if I wasn't aging, I wouldn't be alive. There's a perspective shift if I've ever seen one! I told some friends of mine recently that twenty-eight is an age I've been looking forward to since I was younger. Twenty-eight has always stood out to me, I think because it's the age my mom had me, so I've had some sort of connection to it. I always thought, "when I'm twenty-eight, I'm going to be a mature, responsible adult, who has everything together and in order!" Wow, younger self, way to put some hefty expectations on me! 

Now that I've reached this milestone of an age, I don't know that I can necessarily claim to have met all of my expectations, but I can confidently say that I am happy, and I have joy in my life. I recently read a blog post that inspired me to reflect on the areas in my life where I find genuine happiness and wholeness. I love that so much. The older I get, the more I realize how important it is to be happy. It's such a simple concept, but we live in a world that is full of negativity and it can be so easy to just slip into that. Sometimes we just have to fight to be happy, and I fully support that. 

I reflected on the last few "birthday posts" I've done, and a common trend in my writing I noticed was having expectations for what the next year of my life should look like. I think I am going to give myself a break this time. No expectations - just be happy, be whole, be you. I believe if I can cling to this simple, yet impacting truth, I think I'll be just fine.

Simply put: I'm grateful for aging; I'm grateful to be alive.

>>>>>

& what's a birthday post without some birthday celebratory photos? 

I'm indebted to these lovely souls for making my life so full.

[poor quality photo, but such an amazing evening with my husband!
He surprised me by taking me to a speakeasy in LA called The Edison]

:The Edison

girlfriends are so important. love these ladies! :PerchLA

he loves me so well.:PerchLA 

long-time friends & current neighbors :Angel City Brewery

never stop exploring

Never Stop Exploring: The PNW Escapades

We recently returned from spending a week in the Pacific Northwest (two nights in Portland, OR, 5 nights in Seattle, WA) celebrating our 2nd anniversary. I can't even believe that it has been (almost) two years since we've been married. We have been so excited for this trip, for many reasons. The first half of 2015 has been a roller coaster; a good ride, but nonetheless, a crazy one. We moved from Fullerton to Long Beach which has brought upon many great changes, but has forced us to learn how to transition to a new city, new commute and a new atmosphere. It has been all for the better, but it took a lot more energy than I anticipated. Another great transition that 2015 has brought upon for us is that Jamey was promoted to Supervisor last month! This came at the best time, and it is really a blessing. But again, transitions often cause exhaustion. As you can imagine, we were really looking forward to this vacation because, let's face it, we need it!!

I've never spent significant time in the PNW (I've gone for work, but that doesn't really count). Jamey has always been drawn to this area, because he spent many times traveling through it when he was on tour with his band. We were both really excited to visit for vacation, and especially experience it together!

We didn't plan much for Portland, since we were only there two nights. We had a great time roaming the city on our own, hopping on the bus, and seeing what we could find! Portland sure is different, and I definitely understand why their city motto is "keep Portland weird", because... it is very weird. But, I still enjoyed it! I was able to catch up with family members that I hadn't seen in 10+ years, see an old friend I knew from LiNK, and experience using AirBnB for the first time (definitely recommend it!). 

Then, we took the Bolt Bus (also highly recommend it!) to Seattle where we spent 5 nights. Can I just say how grateful I am for friends who suggest things? Seriously if it weren't for them, we would have probably missed out on some of the neatest spots in the city! When Jamey and I travel, we tend to want to spend most of our time "living like the locals"; you really get to see a neat perspective on places when you do that! Of course, you have to make time for the touristy stuff, too. 

For the sake of not making my first blog post in 6 months drag on for too long, I'll wrap it up by saying: Seattle is awesome. I have a new appreciation for seeing things on foot rather than vehicle. I wish I could drink a latte in a mug at a beautiful coffee shop more often. Seattle has so much history. Vacations and traveling are incredibly vital.

XO

Brenda