Goodbye says it all.

There are two things I am really bad at: confrontation and goodbyes.  Unfortunately for me, one usually precedes the other and creates the perfect storm of awfulness.  However, I've had to say 2 goodbyes in as many weeks, and oddly, there was no confrontation at all.  Hell, there wasn't even a conversation.

Don't worry, nobody died.  There was enough of that last year to last a lifetime.  But saying goodbye to someone always represents the death of something.  Something that made you smile.  Someone who got you to trust again just by being themselves.  Someone who held your hand as you trudged through the ugliest of divorces.  Someone who always said the silliest of things that could make you laugh even when all you wanted to do was cry.  Someone who strolled into your life in the most unexpected way, at the most random time and place, and showed you it was entirely possible to begin again.

The truth is, it doesn't matter what their role was in your life; even the briefest presence can leave a hole you have to figure how to sew up and move on.  And I'll admit it, the sewing up part is difficult for me.  I tend to run, both literally and figuratively, when I get scared or uncomfortable.  And the finality of situations always makes me strap on my running shoes.

It's been months and months since I threw on my sneakers and followed the same path I ran almost every single day for 2 years.  I don't know what exactly draws me to the same spot, but I know I used to end up there a lot.  Today was no different.  I ran 5.54 miles in 41 minutes (Why doesn't this crap ever happen right before a race?), and halfway through, found myself standing here:

So, I'm sure I'll be running like crazy for awhile and that's fine.  I've been kind of slack lately anyway.  And like the sign I saw while running today says: 

There will be more bumps in the road in the future.  And apparently, some chickens at play.

Trouble with the curve.

Life has thrown several curve balls at some of my friends lately.  It's been hard watching them suffer from both near and afar, and I always find it difficult to blog when things like this happen.  I often use the blog as a way to vent.  It's definitely a form of therapy for me.  But it's not always appropriate to discuss what's going on when it's not really my story to tell.  So instead, I tend to avoid the blog and any form of writing altogether.  I turn to taking pictures and plan to let them tell the story.  I also end up with a full camera roll.

But last night as I laid wide awake in bed well past midnight, I realized I was writing blog after blog in my head.  I have a stockpile of stories and multiple events I want to share.  So I started prioritizing the topics and decided to simply jump back in.

I will pre-apologize for the days of "blog vomit" that is likely to occur, but my brain is full and it's time to move forward. 

So, let's start with all the great food I devoured in California.

As we all know, I have a slight problem/obsession with sweets.  It all started as a kid when I had an extraordinary cakemaker for an Aunt, who happened to make the best frosting on the planet.  She always had fresh bowls in her fridge and I always had my fingers in it.  I didn't really care much for the cake part until later.  But now, I would do just about anything for a cupcake any and every day of the week.

But I digress.

A few years ago when I was in LA, I tried all of the Beverly Hills cupcake shops.  It was a tour de sweets, and I have to say, I thought it fell short.  So this time, we searched out Vanilla Bake Shop in Santa Monica to see if the LA cupcake scene could redeem itself.

Vanilla definitely didn't disappoint.  And I actually ventured beyond the cupcakes to some other less Whitney-typical options.

 

 

 

 

 

And their adorable cakes couldn't be ignored.

 

 





Next, we sought out the sweet shop at Downtown Disney in Disneyland.  I also have a soft spot for caramel/candy apples, so I was in heaven when we found this place.

 

 

Considering how much our family loves all things Frozen, we waited in line forever to get one of these awesome Olaf apples.  Unfortunately, they sold out two people ahead of us.  Though they were making them like crazy, we were told they had to sit for 2 hours before being sold. 

I begged.  I pleaded.  I asked if I could just hold one for a picture, but the very un-Disney-like lady refused.  I'm just going to put it out there that this would never happen in Disneyworld.  The employees in Orlando always go out of their way to make you happy.  We found this to be generally untrue of almost everyone at Disneyland throughout our stay.

So we walked a feet over and had ginormous shakes instead.

The next morning, we enjoyed "real" Mickey Mouse pancakes, according to Crews.

 

 

But they could not compare to Dole Whip.  You know what I'm saying, Heidi!   ;)

 

When we arrived in San Diego, my first order of business was making a reservation at Nobu.  I have dreams about their Miso Black Cod and was so excited about it that I made a 5 o'clock reservation.  I think we arrived at 4:50 because I could smell the deliciousness wafting through the Hard Rock Hotel and it pulled me through their doors.

 

 

The kids were totally underwhelmed by Nobu.  I didn't mind.  I almost forgot they were there when my food came.  And yes, the cod is so deliciously sweet, I almost consider it a dessert.

The next morning we hit up Mary Jane's.  They have off-the-chain cinnamon rolls, and according to Crews, "Fake Mickey pancakes."  I thought for a fake pancake, it was pretty damned good.

 

And then...then we took Crews to Extraordinary Desserts to celebrate his 5th birthday.

 

If you were reading the blog last June, you already know all about this place.  It is hands-down my favorite dessert place on the planet.  When you walk in, they hand you a numbered, lined sheet of paper.  You then walk around and list the desserts you might want.  Because each dessert goes quickly, they only make one of each at a time, and there is always a line, they encourage you to make several selections.  Your first choice may be gone by the time you are seated.  However, I view this piece of paper much differently.  For me, it's a chance to list every single cake, pie, brownie, tart, cupcake, parfait, cookie, etc. I can possibly shove in my mouth in one sitting.  Oh, and then my mom, Teague and Crews got to order theirs too.



 

Crews was very excited that they had candles.

 

 

 

 I was happy that no one touched my coconut cloud.

 

 And we even took some to go.

 



It was a great trip. 

PS I love food.