Meet Me in St. Louie...

Okay, so I totally fail at updating this blog - sorry! So a few weeks ago I made the 2,000 mile trek back to St. Louis. Via air this time, thank goodness. As fun as that cross-country drive was, it's certainly not something I'd want to do frequently.

I had a wonderful time back in St. Louis. It had been 5 months since I made the move out west, which is still hard to believe! I was thinking about it, and even with my time at school at DePauw, and when I lived in Indy I think the longest I had ever gone without going home was about 3 months. Kind of crazy when I think about it that way.

Loved spending time with my parents, family and friends. Also had the chance to go back to the Emmis St. Louis office and say hello to everyone. It's funny how even though I've been gone for 5 months, once I got off the plane and stepped back into "The Lou," it was like nothing changed. It's still the same. It'll always be home.

Kathy and I hit up the Bottleneck Blues Bar to see That 80's Band, which was tons of fun. Turns out, we were there the last night Home Night Club was open. We should have gone! We thought about it too. Oh well.

I didn't really take many pictures in StL...I guess because it didn't really feel like a vacation? But I did have to take pics of my favorite little guy. Here's one of the best pics below.

James Rich and I at G Shirley's

Celebrated my mom's birthday, which was fun. Good to get all of the family together. I had taken a picture of Frank Sinatra's signature at Mann's Chinese Theatre and framed it for her Frank Shrine. My mom has the Frank shrine, I have the Beatles shrine. At least we're easy to shop for!

My dad got my mom all of the seasons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show on DVD. So we watched a couple of the episodes from the first season and I found myself connecting to it. Mary is a 30 year old, single gal, moving to the big city and living on her own. Sound familiar? So I've discovered that seasons 1-3 are available on Hulu, and I'm watching episodes that way. It's really a great show, I dig it. And I envy the clothes. I am such a flower child, haha!

Thing back in LA are good, keeping busy. A book club I joined had a book signing get together last week where we got to meet Kyra Davis. She write fun chick novels, we read her latest called Vows, Vendettas and a Little Black Dress. Kyra was very cool, and she actually lives in Burbank so in my hood! We took photos, but the book club organizer hasn't posted them yet.

Had a nice Labor Day weekend, got a lot of sun time in! Also finished another book. Love reading out by my pool. Today I meet up with friend Kristyn in Venice Beach and we biked from Venice to Santa Monica and back. Was really, really nice. I love biking along the beach, and the weather was perfect for it, not hot at all.

I must get a bike now. Am looking at craigslist listings for a cheap one, something I can easily transport so I can go biking at the beach more often.

Me at Venice Pier!

I promise to try and update this a little more often. For now, it's back to work. At least it's a short week!

Back to the 314

Long time, no post, I know. This California girl has been keeping busy, that's for sure!

Tomorrow I will head back to StL for my first trip back since moving out here. In many ways it feels so surreal. I can't believe I've been out here for almost 5 months - wow.

A couple of weeks ago I made a trip out to Hemet to see my relatives. I sang a solo at Sunday services at my aunt and uncle's church, which was very nice. I sang Panis Angelicus, and it was wonderful to have the chance to perform live for my aunt, uncle and grandma. Grandma Bennie was thrilled, and that makes me feel really good.

We also celebrated my cousin-in-law Troy's birthday. I can't say just how much it means to me to be able to spend more time with my So Cal family. I am very blessed.

I had dinner with my Grandma in the dining hall at her retirement facility and the dining room was decorated for a luau that they're having this month. Sunwest, where my Grandma lives, is really nice. It's like college dorm living for seniors. You have a dining hall, on-site activities, parties, groups you can join and your own little apartment. It's great.

Anyway, this was one of the table arrangements on our dinner table. I just had to take a picture because it amused me greatly.

Love the swimsuit hanging off the sign. Nice touch.

I am looking forward to my first trip back home, even though I know it's going to be hot and humid. I have been very fortunate out in LA this summer. We haven't had much extreme heat. In fact, I've only turned my A/C on once, for a total of 2 days since moving out here.

It really cools off here at night. Even if it gets up to 90+, once the sun sets things tend to cool off pretty quickly. I'm lucky in that my apartment doesn't get much direct sunlight. And the way my building is set-up, it just stays cool. You can feel the temperature drop when you come in the front door (and there's no A/C, my apartment complex is open on the inside, so it's outdoor air).

But I'm not going home for the nice weather, I'm going to see people. I can't wait to see my parents, family, friends...it's going to be a great trip.

Will post some pics and updates from the trip!