april showered us with so much good stuff

back at our new year’s eve party, my friends and i had sat around the table and chatted about things we wanted to do in the new year.  that’s when i found out that i was supposed to be taking things like calcium supplements to preserve my old bones, and that i needed to step it up in the weight training to stay as strong as possible to avoid breaking a hip or something.  and then we all made a pact to get our shingles vaccines done because we were all overdue for it (it’s recommended to get it when you turn 50 and i’m well past that, oops).

the thing about the shingles vax is that you end up down for the count for a good two days after getting it (and it’s done in two doses, six weeks apart).  so after putting it off a few more times, my friend and i finally decided to suck it up and do it over easter weekend.  that’s also when the bean took off for their week-long trip to the east coast to visit colleges with a group from school, so i knew my calendar was clear for hanging at home and riding out the potential symptoms.

and wouldn’t you know it - that’s also when we found out that my new car was ready for pickup.  it was cold and rainy and i was in sweats and not cute, so i didn’t get to take any fun pictures but we said goodbye to jarvis:

and welcomed alfred into the fold. he’s a model X and as much as i despise elon, i really love this car.  it’s so much fun to drive and i’d missed being up higher off the ground.

a couple of days later, we celebrated the hub’s birthday.

and then i talked lilcee into going with me to see a play at the pasadena playhouse.

although the big draw for me was the fact that lana parrilla, aka “the evil queen” from once upon a time (you know how much i love that show) was the female lead, the play was super entertaining and we really enjoyed it.  afterwards, we went out to the courtyard to wait for the actors to come out for meet & greets.  

most of the cast came out pretty quickly:

and then someone came out to put up a rope and create a barrier for lana to come out and greet the fans who lined up to meet her (of course, us included).

there were fans in front of us who had already seen the play several times, some who brought OUAT memorabilia for her to sign, some who had gifts for her.  and she was really friendly and super sweet and seemed genuinely happy to chat with everyone who waited to spend a few minutes with her.

in much bigger and better news, this happened:

the bean earning their driver’s license has been absolutely life-changing.  i remember when the old lady got hers and that was pretty amazing too, but because she was only with us every other week the impact was a little different.  in the bean’s case, all of a sudden i wasn’t spending most of my days waiting for the “can you pick me up pls” text anymore.  and i was able to make plans without worrying that i wouldn’t get back in time for that pick-up call.  it was awesome and weird and sad and amazing all at the same time.

to close out spring break, we decided to spend the weekend down at the beach and chose a familiar spot - the hotel we stayed at a few years ago when our a/c went out at home during a particularly hot summer weekend.

you know i love a good photo re-creation and i’m so glad the bean is usually willing to indulge me.

we walked across the street to have dinner at duke’s and pretend we were in hawaii.

and then a couple of days later, we scooped up the bean’s bestie and headed out to hollywood for a super fun loki-themed paleyfest panel.  we were so excited to be under the same roof as tom hiddleston, although the bean was way more stoked for owen wilson.  their favorite movie is “cars 2,” and of course owen is the voice of lightning mcqueen.

this year’s hello kitty night at dodger stadium featured a pretty fantastic giveaway - a super cute sherpa belt bag.  after polling my friends, i hopped online the moment tickets went on sale and snagged some of the cheap seats so that we could go, grab our prize, have a hot dog and then head out for dinner somewhere nearby.

the hub and i attended a wedding for his good friend’s daughter, and it was lovely and we got to dress up and look pretty for an evening.

i took my fresh-off-the-sewing-machine bag to a solo morning at disneyland.

tried a recipe i’d been eyeing for a hostess cupcake-style sheet cake (SO GOOD).  i cut the recipe in half because i didn’t need an entire cake within reach with only me to eat it.  i mean…well, i guess i did “need” it because i made it, but i sure didn’t NEED a full cake. know what i mean?

look how cute these dog toys are!  teddy and cocoa love them all.

and lastly, i worked with a group of fellow sophomore parents at the bean’s school to throw a pre-prom reception for the juniors and seniors.  the theme was “great gatsby,” and i know i’m biased but i think we did a pretty fantastic job.  we had sparkling cider and fruit cups and chicken nuggets and mini desserts, plus a table of necessities like safety pins, bobby pins, breath mints, wipes.  we knew the kids were going to have a full dinner, but likely hadn’t eaten much during the day as they got ready for the evening and with the prom down by the beach would still have a few hours before they got any real food.  this was really just to get them some protein and snacks to tide them over.

it’s crazy to think that the bean will be going to prom next spring.  even crazier to realize that they’re going to be 17 in just a few months, and that we’re starting to look more seriously at all of the options for college.

ugh, too fast.  make it stop.  or at least, slow down a little.  i’m not ready.