Adventures in KandiLand: Oprah…I had my WOW moment.

So this weekend I was spoiled; flat out 100% spoiled. Obviously, last weekend was pretty amazing because I was proposed to and I didn’t think it could get any better than that. The whole week was like I was living in a dream. The week after my engagement it was filled with cards, flowers, and sweet messages from friends congratulating Matt and I. It really touched me to see so much love from everyone about mine and Matt’s commitment to one another. Friday rolled around and Matt and I went to dinner with my parents. We got to discuss wedding plans and eat a pazookie from BJ’s. For my birthday gift my parents gave me money to get my hair done and they bought us a fan. I know a fan might not seem like a big deal to some but it has been 700 degrees (yes, I am exaggerating) in our little home and a fan is a god send. On Saturday I woke up and went to the gym and got my hair done at a friend’s salon. Megan, my co-worker/friend drove to the salon so that we could all have champagne and talk girl talk while I got my hair done. That evening we headed to the birthday gig Amira had been planning for weeks at the Shout House downtown. Shout house is a dueling piano bar that I have wanted to go to ever since I moved to San Diego.

When Matt and I got out of the cab and walked in I was overly excited. There were 5 tables right up front with champagne, buckets of beer, party hats, party glasses, gifts, and my friends smiling faces. The night was filled with so much laughter, presents, drinks, and just pure happiness. They called me up on stage to celebrate my 30^th and you better believe I danced to ‘Get Low’. Seeing all of my friends laughing hysterically and having such a wonderful time really made the night unforgettable; I had the time of my life. The gifts I got were beautiful. Amira made a book that has made me cry every time I’ve opened it; it is filled with pictures and sweet notes from all of my closest friends. Amira even put a page in there coming from Avery! It was the most touching thing to see and read everyone’s notes and it brings tears to my eyes thinking about it. It was so nice to have all my friends from different groups come together – it was like an explosion of love and happiness with all of the best people I know. The next morning Matt and I woke up because we were meeting Amira, Brandon, and Avery for breakfast in Encinitas. Just before we got our drinks at the table I heard my brother and sister in laws voices saying “happy birthday!!!!” I turned around and there they were holding huge balloons and presents. I was speechless for 45 seconds- just staring at them. I seriously thought I was dreaming. They live in Humboldt which is a 14 hour drive and I don’t get to see them nearly as much as I would like to. They drove 5 hours and flew 2 hours into San Diego; I was speechless. We all had breakfast while I opened my many gifts and it could not have been a better morning. Matt and I said our farewells and headed off to the coast where Matt had booked a surprise stay at a hotel. It couldn’t have been a better day driving up the coast thinking about all my family and friends who had come together for my big day. We got into Newport Beach and started driving up this beautiful hill which was the driveway to the resort we would be staying at. It brought us to the Villas at the Marriott. I felt like Cinderella. This place was beautiful and it overlooked the ocean. When we walked into the lobby there was a beautiful deck where you could overlook the resorts 3 pools and the ocean back behind it. The breeze was blowing and it was perfectly warm; I was in heaven. When we walked in to our room I screamed and ran into each room screaming even more. I jumped on the bed throwing myself down on my stomach and telling Matt I was in paradise. The next thing I did was text Amira and call my brother to see if they could come. This place had two master suites and baths attached. It had a full kitchen, living room, and balcony that over looked the ocean. We got into our swimwear and walked the resort ending up at the pool with six bridal magazines. Matt got me a pina colada and we ordered a veggi wrap for a snack. I was sitting there at the pool in absolute heaven thinking of how I was going to blog about my birthday. I was trying to figure out words and descriptions I could use that would really express the happiness I had felt over the weekend. I couldn’t think of anything I could say that would really describe what I was feeling. It then dawned on me that whenever I watch Oprah she always talks about the WOW moment. I get what she is saying and sometimes find her a little cheesy but at that moment I knew this was my moment. I knew that everything I had done in my life, all of my experiences both good and bad had lead me to this very moment. I realized that nothing really matters in life without the ones you love. The first thing I wanted to do when I walked into that villa was have my brother and ‘sister’ come join me because what is anything if you can’t share it with someone? What would the shout house have been if I couldn’t look over at all my friends laughing? What would this ring on my finger be if it weren’t from Matt? It’s never really the things in life but it’s the people you are surrounded by. When I read the notes in my book that Amira made me, my friends say the greatest things about me and I think, “Who am I to have you think this of me- you are the greatest person I know and you think this of me? How did I get this lucky?” It's an overwhelming sense of gratitude to have these people in my life. My friend Allison told me in her note that we are all on this road of life and you can look back in the rearview mirror and reflect on what you have had experienced and who you have touched along the way….my journey to 30 has been filled with many anxieties, tears, fears, worries, and disappointments but it’s also been really amazing too. I have traveled a lot, laughed a lot, eaten really good food, hugged a bunch of cute babies, had wonderful pets, learned many lessons, had a lot of fun crushes, toilet papered a hundred houses, danced a million times, stretched my imagination, and I could go on and on and on. All of these experiences have lead me to this moment when I turned 30 and realized I am surrounded and supported by so much love that it could just explode and last an infinity of a lifetime. I would never need anything more in this life than what I have at this very moment; I am fulfilled.

Matt and I cancelled our dinner reservations for that night and we ordered pizza hut, drank champagne, and read bridal magazines. I also took a bath at 6 pm when it was daylight out and drank a mimosa- as Matt would say, “I was really livin high on the hog.”

The next morning we woke up and went to Disneyland. Can I just say something? If you want to know when the least busy day at Disneyland is- it’s the second week after all the schools start back. The longest we waited was 15 minutes. It was a dream!!! We went on rides, ate frozen bananas, and people watched. It was a successful day at the park. Matt had been spoiling me rotten so I decided to take him to the ESPN zone to watch football and drink beer…so he could be a man again. He really treated me like a princess this whole week and I couldn’t be more thankful for such a wonderful, caring, and giving person to be engaged to.

I am back to reality now and it’s just as great (okay maybe not 100% as great)! This week was really emotional and important to me because I have really reflected on what I have and what it means in my life. I feel like I am too lucky- how can anyone have this many wonderful people in their life? How do you tell someone how much it means to you that they want to be your friend? I can’t think of words. I have always known what I have but to see it all in front of you at once is indescribable. This is what I have accomplished and it was more than I could have ever hoped for; my life is so incredibly rich, beyond my wildest dreams.

This wasn’t meant to be a brag blog because I hate those. I just wanted to write about all the nice things that were done for me but more importantly point out what really matters in life. What are we all really looking for in this crazy world? I have been on this planet for 3 decades and in this very moment my life may not be totally ‘perfect’ in someone else’s eyes…but in mine, it really is that…perfect. And I think that’s all that ever really matters...seeing your life through your own eyes and seeing your happiness and taking it in completely. Don’t ever forget to take it in.

My Beautiful Best Friend.