New Year... New Last Name!

It's 2015!

So much has happened this year! Now, I'm not the type that subscribes to the idea that a new year has to mean "new beginnings" or a "new you". I think new beginnings can happen whenever you want them to! But... it is still nice to reflect on all that has happened over the lat 365 days.

The year started with my fiancé (now husband) moving in the first of the year. He joined me and my roommate Stefana for a very "Three's Company"-esque living situation. It was a good way for all of us to save a little money (splitting bill three ways is a lot better than splitting them two ways). And it was a good way to make sure Sam and I could stand living with each other. Haha.

Also in January I noticed my dog acting funny. He had been putting on a lot of weight quickly and just seemed lethargic. I took him to the vet and they didn't seem to be too concerned. Then, one morning a couple weeks later I went to give him his usual "bye bye treat" that I give to him when I go to work and it was like he couldn't see the treat right in front of his face, he just sniffed around for it. Something was definitely wrong. I took him back into the vet and they confirmed what I had suspected. He was blind. Not just a little blind, completely blind. Basically overnight. The research that I did all pointed to SARDS (Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration). Beamer fell right into most of the categories of the classic SARDS cases. We took him to a specialist and they told me there was really nothing I can do. The truth is that I took him going blind a lot harder than he did. He's a resilient little guy and it really didn't' seem to affect him too much. After noticing a few other changes in his behavior we decided to also get him tested for Cushing's Disease which shares a lot of the same characteristics of SARDS. Turns out, he also has Cushing's Disease which is an increase in cortisone due to a benign tumor in the pituitary gland and has to be on lifelong medication to combat it. Along with the medication, he has to have constant testing and monitoring of his levels to make sure he is being properly medicated so, that has been a struggle but it has become our "normal".

I turned another (undisclosed) year old and had a little shin-dig to celebrate, complete with a DIY photobooth of course. 

 I also spent the weekend at the Riot LA comedy festival with some girl friends for my birthday. 

In February my mom and I had our first ever girls trip and we went up to Seattle for a cousins wedding. It was such a fun weekend. 

In March Sam and I relived our youth and saw The Used along with Taking Back Sunday at the Palladium. 

 I also found my wedding dress :)

In April we celebrated Sams birthday by spending a weekend in a cabin in Idyllwild (where we also took our engagement photos). 

We also spent another year at Stagecoach (and his mom and her best friend joined us!)

I attended the wedding of one of my oldest friends, Andy. 

 Watched my little cousin graduate high school and helped her move into her college dorm!

My mom and I had another mother daughter trip, this time to Denver for my aunts wedding!

Had a wonderful bachelorette party. 

Attended yet another wedding (thats four if you're keeping track) for our friends Ashley and Andrew. 

My wonderful Mother in Law threw me the most perfect bridal shower. 

Followed by an equally perfect shower thrown by my best friend and maid of honor Danica. 

And in the midst of wedding planning, Danica and I also planned our 10 year high school reunion. I know what you're thinking, we aren't nearly old enough to have graduated high school ten years ago, and you would be right ;) (Or so I'd like to think.)

And then... the event of the year (at least for me)... I got married!

And then I finished the year by celebrating the holidays with the ones I care about most. 

All in all it was a wonderful year, full of crazy highs and some lows but I feel that it's the lows that really make you appreciate the highs. Looking forward to a new year with a new last name and a husband! :)

Twenty Twelve!

January is already half way over and I haven't even posted! I thought I would be better about this in 2012 and I'm already off to a bad start. Well... Lets get the ball rolling and hope that this leads to more posts!


Unfotunatly the beau had to work on New Years Eve and got off around 10pm. We made the most of it tho and we took off and headed for my parents vacation home in the desert after he got off work. We did our own coutdown in the car on the ride and got to the house a little after midnight. It was so beautiful out there. We spent a couple days with my parents, my brother and his girlfriend. It was a nice relaxing weekend with perfect weather.

After new years I went into panic mode. Usually I have my birthday (which is the 13th) all planned out by New Years but I just had so much going on, I hadn't planned anything! Luckily one of my very best girlfriends helped me put a night out in a duffy together.

Thanks girl!

So I got a group of ten girls together and took the duffy to a wonderful dinner at my usual birthday spot (Tantalum in Long Beach).

(excuse my akward stance, I didn't know whether to stand or kneel. haha.)

Drinks and wonderful people, a perfect birthday.

My best girls <3

The infamous "Sister Wife" Haha.

It was such a wonderful night. I have such great friends and I'm glad they all could make it. I am quite a lucky girl :)

Friday morning the beau and I took off for the happiest place on earth, Disneyland :)

 He was my favorite part of my birthday :) 

We had a great time (as always) I even ran into some old co-workers and my cousin while we were there! It's fun wearing the birthday pin and having everyone tell you "Happy Birthday" :)

We headed home and got ready for dinner.

We had ANOTHER dinner at Tantalum (I told you it was my favorite birthday spot haha) with my parents, my brother, his girlfriend, Danica, Stefana and my sweetie of course :)

 And lastly, we ended up at my go-to Tracy's Bar & Grill where the beau and I took this ever-so-romantic pic. Haha.

It was a great way to spend my birthday festivities. I got to spend time with all of my favorite people BUT... the weekend wasn't over!

On Sunday Danica's episode of "My Fair Wedding" with David Tutera aired!

Here are a couple of sneak peeks if you missed them.

http://www.wetv.com/my-fair-wedding/videos/my-fair-wedding-danica-bryan

http://www.wetv.com/my-fair-wedding/videos/my-fair-wedding-surprising-the-bride

We all watched at Danica and Bryan's house. It was a lot of fun. Such a fun group. It really is SO bizarre to see yourself on TV. We have been waiting for the episode since her wedding in JULY!

An experience that I will truly never forget.

(Dont forget to check out her blog here to see all of her personal experience.)

THERE! Now we're all caught up on 2012! Haha. Hopefully I don't let as much time go by between posts :)

Happy (belated) New Year! :)

xoxo,

shea

With Christmas time quickly approaching it has gotten me thinking about a lot of things. The most obvious of them being Christmas! I can't BELIEVE it's almost Christmastime again! I remember when I was growing up it felt like YEARS between each Christmas and yet my parents would always say "I can't believe it's Christmas time AGAIN already!". Now, I'm the one saying it.

Another thing that I've been thinking about is how this is going to be my first Christmas not living at home. Although last year I had an apartment I was actually moved back into my parents house by mid-December. My roommate and I picked out the perfect place for a Christmas tree the day that we moved into our apartment way back in January of this year so, needless to say, we are looking forward to getting a tree.

Another thing that I've been thinking about though is how tight money is this holiday season. One of my favorite things ever is giving gifts, especially gifts that you know someone is going to love. Unfortunately this holiday season, I'm not sure I'm really going to be able to do that. I've even joked to some of my friends that this Christmas I can't even afford to MAKE gifts. Haha. We'll see... hopefully I come up with something special (and easy on my wallet).

Lastly, the other thing that has been on my mind is how 2009 is coming to a close. It was this time last year that I was finishing my last and final semester at CSUF and getting ready to face the "real world". Sadly, not much has really changed since then. I had these grandiose ideas for my future and what I was going to do, none of which have really happened (yet). Don't get me wrong, I'm SO happy with SO many things right now. I have GREAT friends that I don't know WHAT I would do without, I have a loving and supportive family, I LOVE where I live (but when you're a block from the beach, how could you NOT??) and I have more fun that I should most of the time. Truth be told though, I'm working a meaningless job even though I have a bachelors degree and am more than qualified for dozens of other jobs, this economy has really taken a dump on the job search for me. I have gotten to the point where it has really started to get under my skin to have to answer the age old question "What are you doing with your life now?". And that is why, I am making it my quest to claim 2010 as MY year. I am a firm believer that you make your own destiny. If there is something that you want you have to go out and get it. I am so happy in so many aspects of my life there is no reason that I shouldn't be in ALL aspects. So, with that said, I hope that 2010 is ready to get rocked by me because honestly, I don't think it stands a chance ;)

Shea