A Sappy Love Song
I'd like to dedicate this love song to California.
I could stay awake,
just to eeeeeeeeeeat your tacos.
Watch the ocean while you are sleeping,
bask in your sun while I am dreaming.
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender,
I could cycle on your roads forever,
Even mariachi music is a sound that I treasure.

Reason #1 that I love CA: my wonderful friends.
This was a surprise engagement party for Chris, one of my best friends in high school.
It has been four years since we last saw each other.
It was also great to see Heather and Chris M., two more of my closest teenage friends.

Okay, so I guess you could say that I am enjoying my spring break here in California. I have a bit of a love affair with this place, especially around Malibu where Rob and I lived for three years while he attended Pepperdine. I think that every single day I walked out my front door, looked over the beautiful green hill and out over the blue coast, I quite conscientiously cherished the moment - knowing that other great adventures would lie ahead in life for Rob and I, but that we would be hard pressed to find another place as beautiful to live them out. DC is a great place and we are very happy in our new home out east, but there is nothing like coming home. I've gone to bed with a tension headache every night since I've arrived, from smiling so much throughout the day.
Things I miss the most about CA:
Taco shops and roach coaches all over the place
The beach
In and Out
Chocolate Malted Crunch Ice Cream (this has been my favorite treat since I was about 5 yrs old. Little did I know then that it is only sold in CA)
Rides with "On Your Left"
Canyon roads
Pacific Coast Hwy
KROQ
Mariachi music
Palm trees
Warm weather year round
Wearing flip flops everywhere (yes, even work and church on occasion)
The Santa Monica Mountains

Random side note: I am a very unaware person. Everyone who knows me knows this. I could easily write several essays filled with funny/dumb/scary/insulting/you-name-it things that have happened as a result.
I forgot my shampoo, so I grabbed what was sitting on the bathtub to use. I noticed it said "Antibacterial Deodorizing Shampoo" and thought that was kind of funny and wondered why Dena would choose that style over, say, anything that didn't imply you smelled like a dog. But my conscience mind didn't pick up that I was, in fact, looking straight at a very large picture of a dog right there on the bottle. My hair wasn't so nice and silky afterwards, but I'm happy to report that my scalp is bacteria-free!
I think Buddy smelled his shampoo on me, because he decided to retaliate later that day. Or maybe he just sniffed out the bagel hiding inside my backpack. Too bad he doesn't know how to just work a zipper.