Family, Friends, shopping and cocktails

I spent the day yesterday with my friends  Pat, Debi, Joanne and Mel...  As always, we had a really great time eating, power shopping and getting caught up on all our lives...  We only see each other about once or twice a year, but when we do, the fun is ON...  I love that we can come together, appreciate seeing one another and catch up, and then go on with our lives, picking up where we leave off the next time we see each other.  They are incredibly sweet and talented ladies with the greatest sense of humor...  I LOVE being around them... 

Then I spent a few days of quality time with my mom, stepdad and nieces....  and a day with my wonderful daughter Megan... Nothing beats hanging out with two of your favorite females on the planet. Megan, Mom and I went and saw Inception... what a GREAT movie... You can't really describe it, you have to just experience it...  Megan was on the edge of her seat in the theatre...  Mom and I got a kick out of her.

After the trip up north this time...  I realized that I am missing a sense of belonging somewhere.  I don't really belong here yet... and with constantly taking a trip up there every 2 weeks, I am not really here or there....  I am in limbo, still living out of boxes, struggling to unpack things between various doctor appointments and making sure not to overdo it with the arm...  Taking the time to take care of myself has been one of my hardest life lessons... and I think I am still not learning it very well...  But I am also getting clear that part of settling in and getting comfortable with a place comes with time... I just need to learn to flow with the timeframes a little better.  Patience.... I need it... and I need it NOW!

I haven't had much opportunity to make friends here in the OC. I did meet one sweet lady named Danette from the Kelly Rae Roberts flying lessons class that lives about 40 minutes from me... She was really lovely, and we chatted for a couple hours at Barnes and Noble about art, and our dreams of where we want to take our art... We are planning on creating some art dates to get together and actually DO art here soon. I have been trying to create some community for myself down here... I went to Katherine England's studio, which is in Fullerton, and met some gals in her Monday Nite Class that were a hoot... She is an incredible artist. I knew it was her house before the GPS told me... It is Periwinkle blue with chartreuse green trim with the cutest whimsical fence... I went to check out the studio and see if it was a class I would be interested in taking. I felt really honored, because she told me initially that I couldn't be in that class because it was full, but several of them talked to her and voted me in... I was stoked about that... They were so welcoming and fun... Eating dessert and drinking wine... My kind of gals! I am looking forward to getting to know them better. I also posted a note on the Artfest website about looking for OC artists that wanted to get together regularly for art play dates... I had a few people respond, and I am collecting names so I can start a group. I even met a scrapbooker at the Wal Mart in the magazine aisle who I plan to call and contact about getting together to scrapbook... So it is all coming together slowly...  I think things will pick up once the kids get here at the end of the month....