Random/Unnecessary thoughts and updates

I'm bored at work so here are things that have been on my mind lately. Sorry if any of these are a repeat (to the three? people who read this). This is primarily because I am bored at work and am sick of staring at the nothingness that is Facebook to fill my time.

1) I hate people who drive in Southern California. Or I just hate driving in Southern California. Well, sometimes its amazing because the scenery is SICK, or because you get to see things I thought people only saw in movies (crazy crackheads or cross-dressing prostitutes dancing on the streets), or even because you see places you've seen in movies. But the traffic here makes you go insane. I was already insane because of traffic. Then I got here and it was worse. My 5 mile ride to work takes 45 minutes, almost all the time. Occasionally it'll be a little shorter, occasionally it can be much longer. Technically that's not bad.. because I don't even have to go on a highway! Just an average road. Too many cars in SoCal.

2) I'm sure some people are going to think Zach and I are crazzzzyyyyy for coming home. We aren't. Yes, you're right, LA is incredibly awesome and so much fun. Yes, we've had a great time here and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. But there is a reason for our madness. I'll skip over the obvious things like how grossly expensive it is to rent here, or the traffic previously mentioned, or how much I miss my family and friends. But Zach's going to be in a boot camp for 2 months and then intense schooling for over a year and a half. That's two years where hes pretty stuck in a location away from home. Two years where he can't take a vacation or go visit his family. I don't blame him for wanting to go home as early as possible before he enlists so he can be as ready as possible for this. Because I certainly couldn't live across the country from my family and then go 2 years with hardly being able to see them, and I know he can't either. Hopefully this explanation makes our plan and reasons for coming home clear - Zach got into (or so it seems so far..) this great and advanced program in the Navy that's a huge opportunity for him, so we're coming home until he starts the program and then we'll move again, that time to Charleston.
(I put this in caps because, like I said, I'm sure people whom I care very little about will have negative opinions).

3) I have changed so much out here. I don't know if it will be obvious to everyone/anyone, and I don't even know if all of it is obvious to me. But living here has made a huge difference in my life and who I am, and I think the same goes for Zach. This, too, is for more than just the obvious reasons. For example, seeing Keira and Kyla every day and being around their friends so much makes us very different people. When children are in your life you realize what is really important. Being cool and going to the clubs and seeking drama are so incredibly boring when you have people you love so much in your life. That I kind of knew already, of course, but its a little different now.

4) I already forget what winter feels like at home. I can't begin to imagine being in cold weather. Zach and I were talking about making stops on the way home, then we realized we would have the cats in the car (thatll be fun!) and that if we leave them in there they will freeze immediately because we're cross essentially Antarctica. Every year I'm shocked by how long and cold winter is in DC though, so this isn't that abnormal for me.

5) Back to the coming home thing, I get more excited the more I think about it. You forget what it feels like to be somewhere that feels so comfortable and just right. LA does currently feel like home. It will be weird not living here and having everything we could ever want at our fingertips. However, when we got home for Thanksgiving it just felt so different. It felt like we had gone back to what was normal and what we were supposed to be doing. When I see pictures of my parent's house and hear what they're doing, its very strange not being there. The idea of seeing certain people again is enough to make me want to leave tomorrow because I'm just so excited. The idea of seeing certain other people makes me a little bit crazy and ponder whats wrong with the world.. but we wont go there. But I do know that we will miss living here a ton, especially being able to see my family. The idea that we'll only get to see them maybe twice a year (Hawaii this summer!!) is so odd. Now it's more common for me to see them twice in one day. They need to move east.

6) Tonight Zach and I are going to go to the diamond district. I'm PUMPED. I'm getting more and more excited at the idea of a wedding. Zach's put a lot more effort into the relationship lately, and I've realized I tend to take my stress (which comes in mass quantities) out on him and that he somehow manages to put up with me. So we're doing pretty well. Also, I like to plan, so whenever I have something to plan, I'm happy. Anyways, we've found some great places to look at for the diamonds, and I now know exactly what I want. It all came to me on the ride to work today. I'd seen a bunch of similar stuff but now I know exactly what I want and how I can get it. Muahahahaha.

7) More on said wedding. You can tell I'm really searching for things to entertain myself with here. Before Zach and I were sure we'd do the wedding out here. My mom even liked the idea because it could be just family and close friends, and we'd all get a nice vacation out of it. Now its seeming less likely. I've found this amazing place in Charleston, SC that I think will work, but I'm still looking. No matter what we do I don't think it'll be within an hour of Nova, so people will still have to take a little vacation for it. But hey, the people I really care about will make it, so that's all I care about. This, by the way, is another reason I'm pumped to get home.. I'll have people to plan this with, which makes it so much more fun. Also a reason to be excited for the ring, because I'm not doing any wedding preparations in public without a ring on my finger. Yessss it's all coming together for you now. Oh, and let me note now that Zach plans on doing some romantic proposal, but I'm crossing my fingers he doesn't. Not my style.

Ok I'm gonna stop now. Gotta make some mac n cheese before Zach picks me up for the jewelry shopping (sharing the car today to cut down on commute ;) )