Getting my mid-singleness on....

This past weekend I went to the HB midsingles conference. I have my bestie Hillary to thank for the experience. She heard about it and convinced our friend Rebekah and I to come along. I'm so glad she did!

We enjoyed a weekend full of workshops (including one on how to flirt/show your interest better, I learned some killer tips), beach time (totally looking browner already), and dance our hearts out with some other mid-singles from all over the USA. We met some new peps, got our flirt on, and had a great time bonding.

Here I am at the Saturday night dance/activity with my iron chef group. We made some killer salsa. The activity was hunger games themed and for each ingredient there was a challenge and a tribute had to compete from each team. I totally rocked the macerana competition. Church on Sunday was amazing and  really made me want to be a better person.On our way out last night we got to observe the lunar eclipse through the cloud layer. Such an awesome weekend.

Mother's day weekend

It seems like I've recently heard many stories about how hard mother's day is for single women. Although I mean in no way to belittle the sorrows of some, I feel no connection to these stories. I feel mother's day is a great day to honor not only my own mother but all the women who have made such a difference in my life. This year I went home for Mother's day weekend. Since my Bestie Hillary recently got a job we were able to drive home together Friday night. Since we had to leave after church on Sunday we decided to celebrate Mother's day on Saturday.

We started out our day with a trip to the nail salon where we were pampered by pedicures including hot stone massage. So soothing. It was so relaxing and I loved catching up with my sis while we were pampered.

The Finished product was stunning.

After pedicures we too Mom out to her current favorite lunch, Jamba juice.

After naps and family time Brianna and I started the process of making dinner for the Tharaldsen side of the family. Two things I learned from this experience. 1. Food takes longer to prepare than you think...well at least longer than I think...I thought it would take about an hour...it took almost 2. and 2. I learned preparing food for 20ish people is alot of work. Thank heavens our cousin Katie pitched in and helped cook and Matthew helped with clean up. Whew.

Thankfully the food was delicious and we had one happy Mama when we were finished.

After dinner and clean up we took a family walk down barns. Such a beautiful evening with the fam.

And enjoyed the evening with the family. Me with my beautiful cousin Katie.
                                   

For dessert we had pie and ice cream. My  nephews were in hog heaven.











The next day on real mother's day my Mom and I dipped strawberries. So yummy and they looked beautiful. Love this great lady I get to call Mom. So glad I got to make her weekend special.

An oh so LA...Dodger game

Let's be honest we all know I'm not sporty. However when I found out my ward  was going to a baseball game at dodgers stadium for FHE a couple of weeks ago and that I could attend for just $12, I decided to make it happen. I was able to get off on time and I rode over to the park with these fine pep's from my ward. 

We were really excited about the game. I was especially excited that the game was against the Giants. My home boys.
                              
The Game got off to a bit of a slow start...not a whole lot of actions and short innings. However we did get to participated is a really great "wave" which circled the entire stadium 3 times before it faded out. It was amazing.  I also got to make friends with some awesome peps from my ward.

They were really excited we came and they even welcomed our branch!

I sat in front of my friend Christ. He's a true dodger fan and was instrumental in my understanding what was going on during the game. I told him if we both ended up in this pic it would a miracle...consider this miracle worked.

At the end of the game these song lyrics appeared on the score board. It's true, I do love LA. I love it.

And the Dodgers won. They really deserved this one sorry Dad. What a great night, a brilliant addition to my LA experience.

Beach day!

A couple of weekends ago I went to the beach with friends. It had been beautiful weather all week and I was looking forward to sunshine and getting my tan on.  We had a sleep over at Amy's house on Friday night so we could be up early and headed for the beach to celebrate our friend Amy's last weekend in the states for a few months (she went to south America to help in orphanages for the summer,yep only the coolest people are my friends). On the way we enjoyed some dumdums and posed for the camera...surprisingly Annemarie is more camera crazy than I am and she took all the photos of the weekend so thanks to her for the photos.

When we got to the beach we found the weather was less than ideal for swimming. The sail boats were having an amazing day though and they were beautiful to watch. 

We decided to brave the water anyway, in true California style and got in in spite of the grey day.  We were totally blown away when we were joined by these folks. An organization which helps paraplegics learn to surf. It was really cool to watch them as the had the opportunity to do something they otherwise couldn't have done. 

I feel like this picture doesn't due the awfulness of this view justice. Thankfully Annemarie got this shot to add to my hideous beach pictures shots. This woman should never have bought that bikini. 

After a swim and some time on the sand we were all so cold we were ready to head out and grab some hot chocolate. My lips may have been blue but it was all worth it in the name of a  good day with good friends.