Beach Send-Off and Lists.

Yesterday I said farewell for now to California with friends and family at Laguna Beach. My uncle got to the beach at 6:00 am to secure us a fire pit for later at night and ended up snagging the last available pit! First thing in the morning, they were already taken for the day! So crazy!

Throughout the day, people cycled in and out, relaxing with us and soaking up the sunshine. It was really nice to have a distraction since most of my free time this week has been spent totally caught up in worry and nervousness, despite how genuinely excited and thankful I am for this opportunity - especially with some close calls this week where it looked like I may not make it to Atlanta after all.

I feel so lucky to have the people in my life that I do... and without getting too sappy or sentimental at an already really emotional time, I'll just leave it at that. But before I go, here are a few pictures from our day at the beach and a couple lists I've written up today while packing.

Things I am Taking to Atlanta With Me

1. This awesome candle to help our hotel feel a little more like home.

2. My mom and Weston because I kind of love them and I'm pretty sure I couldn't do this without them.

3. All of the sweet cards I've been given, to be hung as beautiful art in my hotel/hospital room.

4. My soft prayer blanket and even a teddy bear because seriously, a week of recovery without Toby cuddles seems impossible!

5. My "Happy Heart" because my students insist that I practice what I preach, even when I feel nervous or doubtful.

6. The comfiest pajamas I own and a lot of stretchy pants.


Things I Want to Do in Atlanta

1. Eat every peach cobbler I can find prior to surgery because soon, my endo-diet will come back into play.

2. Say goodbye to Endometriosbitch forever.

3. Find out that my body isn't completely destroyed and can still possibly house a human at some point.

4. Convince my mom to watch LOST with me for several hours each day. She would love it if she'd try it, right?!

5. Hug DeeDee, the CEC's head nurse, because after talking to her on the phone she is already one of my favorite people on earth and I can't wait to meet her and soak up all that sweet, southern hospitality.

6. ___________________?  (suggestions of things I should see/do please!)


Things I Want to Do When I'm Pain-Free!

1. Reunite with my yoga studio! I feel teary-eyed just imagining my first sun salutation, post surgery. It's been almost a year since I've felt well enough for a class!

2. Cook fun, delicious, healthy meals and find ways to convince Weston to like the same vegetables as me, because currently I like all the good ones and he likes all the yucky ones... ;)

3. Go to one of those trampoline places where all the floors and walls are bouncy and learn to do a backflip.

4. Work an entire month without calling-in sick.

5. Get married to the love of my life and dance at my wedding reception without having to sit down after every song. The band has a two hour set and I'm in it for the long haul, people!

6. Paint the walls of our future home before we move into it. Not hire somebody... I want so badly to be part of the renovation process!


Things You Can Pray For While I'm Gone

1. Traveling mercies. I am not the best at flying but usually I can soothe myself with thoughts of the awesome destination I'm headed to…. This time is kind of an exception because the destination involves me getting cut open. So I'm afraid I may go all colonial-woman-on-the-wing-churning-butter if I don't get some pre-flight prayers in.

2. For there to be some awesome thunderstorms to witness from my window whilst recovering! I'm a sucker for a good summer storm and California's are nothin' compared to what I've heard goes down in the south. I'd love to get a little taste of that.

3. For Dr. S and his staff to be as wonderful as I've heard they are. For them to find everything in my body that they need to repair, for no symptom to go untreated and for me to wake up from surgery with a better understanding of my body's condition and a much better chance at a pain-free future.

4. Please pray for my mom and Weston, my extraordinary caretakers to-be.

5. I really would love to have a pain free body. One without endo or any other surprises for a few years at least. I can't wait to start living without this condition continuously halting my life anymore. I'm counting on it. I'm hoping for it. Please join me in praying for it!

6. Lastly, for my brother and dad who will be staying home, although I know they wish they could be with us through this journey. I pray for us to be able to give them as much information as possible and keep them up to date so they will be as comforted as they can from across the country.

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I will update here when I can, but to follow along with things a little more quickly you can find me on instagram : @kelleoh.

Leaving for the airport early in the morning!
I love you guys. Can't wait to share some (hopefully) good news soon.

Huntington Run/Ride.

The other day my brother and I were browsing Instagram. Particularly, lurking around the profile of our cousin, Rachel, who is currently making her way through Italy. "Look at this!" Nolan said, regarding a gorgeous photo of one of the canals, "Can you imagine how amazing it would be to live there?" I sighed longingly at the picture. "I bet the locals take it for granted," I replied. I didn't mean it in a skeptical way, but I think many people stop acknowledging beautiful things in life once they've experienced them frequently enough.

Example? Nolan and I had this conversation on a gorgeous, 70 degree, sunny day in January.

We are clearly not immune to a lack of appreciation for our home. 

Now, don't get me wrong. California is no Italy… But it has it's moments. 

And sometimes, it hits me how much I love it here and I try to take advantage of what my home has to offer.

A couple weekends ago, Weston and I went down to the beach for one of our favorite pastimes - he runs, I ride my bike to keep up, and we rack up a few miles together. The sun set as we rode on the nearly empty trail - a path with sand on either side. The sound of the ocean and salty air in our faces.

Carlsbad.

My parents had been looking online for beach house rentals for weeks at the beginning of summer. To get close to the beach, we were going to be spending a pretty penny and it looked like we'd only be able to afford about one or two nights away from home.

That's when one of our sweet family-friends happened to mention his parent's beach house in Carlsbad to us.
And then offer it to us for a week. For free.

I can't tell you what a blessing this situation was. There was room for everybody to have their own bed, we enjoyed all of our meals on our rooftop which overlooked the ocean, we were able to bring Toby along for his first vacation, and we were only a few steps away from the sand on a semi-private beach! We felt (and continue to feel) incredibly lucky to have such generous friends in our lives.

We were fortunate to have beautiful weather while at the beach house, too. Up until our last day it was nothing but sunshine, blue skies, and gorgeous sunsets. We all took part in some sunset swims, getting in to watch the sun disappear behind the ocean. I also almost drowned during one such swim because the waves were really rough and the tide was super strong… A little excitement for our otherwise relaxing trip haha, but that's a different story.

And after our long days of swimming and enjoying the sunshine, we'd all walk back to the house, get comfy and watch movies or play games together. It was so nice having us all there to enjoy each others company - with schedules these days it's not super often that we are all relaxed and in the same place. I think it was probably my favorite family trip we've ever been on. :)

One Week Off.

Last Friday, the Pre-K littles graduated which is always the most bittersweet part of the year.
The only bitter part being that I will really miss them. The sweet being everything else.

Although I'll be working through most of the summer, I took this week off. And I am turning it into a mini summer break, with several adventures condensed into the next few days. Yesterday, the kick-off took place in Laguna Beach. Jessica and I relaxed on the sand, explored the tide pools, befriended some little crabs, wandered through rock tunnels and ended our day at The Rooftop Lounge for happy hour.

I brought along my 50mm lens for our day since it's the smallest and most convenient thing to carry…

But in return, you get our giant faces haha. Yikes.

Laguna is just the most beautiful beach. The bluest water and the softest sand.

Thanks for sharing a fabulous day with me, Jess!

PS. Lately, I've been getting the "how are you feeling?" question a lot, so I thought I would answer that here, too. 

These days, my endo pain is less severe, but more constant than it has been in the past. It's inevitable that several times a day, these sharp spasms occur, lasting anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours. They happen so quickly, come out of nowhere, and after they pass, my body often feels like it got run over. I don't know if it's from my muscles tensing up during the pain or what, but it wipes me out! In comparison to bi-monthly hospitalizations and constant pain meds, these weird, daily flare ups are definitely the lesser of two evils. They're much easier to cope with and they hinder my life much less than the flare ups that used to happen every few weeks, confining me to bed for days at a time. In other words, Endo is still throwing punches, but lately, I've been coming out of most rounds on top. ;)

Thank you to everyone who continues to check in and send words of encouragement and prayers! Means the world to me!

Birthday Boating.

My brother turned 19 this past week!

I will spare you the paragraphs I could write about how proud I am of him and how much I love him and just say this : he's the most humble, considerate, and hard working kid I know and he deserves all possible happiness this year and always. 

For his birthday celebration, he wanted our family to rent a boat and ride around Balboa (stealing the idea from the me and the girls!) with some dinner and music. So with my dad as our boat's captain, we made our way through the water, enjoying a delicious dinner that my mom prepared for us, listening to The Beatles and just relaxing with bits of silliness in between. 

Oh, and house hunting - those huge beachfront properties sure are fun to dream about!

If you're wondering, that's a homemade dark chocolate and almond butter cup in my hand right there! Seriously, I know I say it all the time, but my mom is amazing when it comes to making sure I never feel left out during meals with all my restrictions. You're the best, mama - thank you!

After our little cruise, we strolled along the boardwalk, watched the sun set, and headed home. 

Did you do anything fun this weekend?

Have a happy Sunday and a great upcoming week!

In Lieu of Gifts, We'll Take the Pacific.

To make a long story short :

Instead of giving each other Christmas gifts this year, Weston and I decided to use that money on a trip. Due to endo complications, that didn't end up working out. So now, instead of being in San Francisco this weekend, we are at my house watching Netflix. All part of the journey I guess. I am constantly learning to roll with the punches.

After spending Friday, cooped up in the living room with pill bottles and blankets, I insisted that if I felt well enough to get in the car today, we should find somewhere prettier to sit for the afternoon.

And I did! So we did.

And at some point during our little walk down to the water, Weston pointed out that we were looking at the same ocean that touches San Francisco. And he put his arm around my shoulders, gave me a squeeze, smiled, and said "Pretty close!"

So for now, I'm okay with being right here.

It's all about the company. And the Pacific is pretty nice no matter where you see it from.

I'll take it. :)

Just For Now.

My friend Sami is one of those rare people that turns all the things she wants to do, into things she's actually doing. 

She's been one of my closest friends since high school and as of two days ago, she's officially moved to San Francisco. :( Wahh.

On Tuesday afternoon, a group of us went to Newport to celebrate our dream-chasing friend with a little cruise around the harbor.

Sami, Talia, Me, and Jess.

After our joyride, we parked ourselves around a firepit in Huntington and for about 5 minutes, enjoyed a teensy tiny bonfire... 

until it went out and we couldn't revive it for our lives. 

But we made the most of the tiny sparks and sat together sharing memories that we have with Sami

as well as some of the ridiculous things that we remember doing all together.

Sad as I am to have my friend leaving us, I know this isn't the end of our time together.

We're saying goodbye, but it's just for now. :) 

Best of luck at grad school, you little smartypants, Sami. 

Can't wait to hear all your stories.

Beach Bonding.

I know, I know.
"We get it. Beaches. Enough of that."

What can I say? It's summer!

Yesterday, Nolan and I spent the day in Laguna at Thousand Steps beach. And as you may have already assumed, getting there required lots of stairs. Not exactly a thousand.. but somewhere above 200. I lost count along the way.

Still, for the bluer than blue water, foamy waves, soft sand, and lack of crowds, my legs and I would gladly make the trip again.

This beach trip was different than the others of summer because the sun was finally shining! Usually, once we get to the coast, there are gloomy, gray clouds that linger all day, but yesterday was 85 and sunny in Laguna! 

And if you hadn't guessed it... the two-hundred-however-many stairs definitely felt more like 

a thousand when we were making our way back up them. Haha

Love my "little" brother. We have so much fun together.

Swimming Lessons for Toby

Toby is not the biggest fan of water, but yesterday at the dog beach, he ran into the waves the second we arrived. If that isn't a testament to how hot it's been lately, then I don't know what is.

That picture where Toby is sticking his tongue out had me cracking up for hours. In fact, I still can't look at it without laughing. It looks like he's taunting us from the water or something!

In case you didn't get your Toby fix from the pictures, here are a few videos that we took of his "swimming lessons". He was less annoyed about them than he usually is. Maybe he will learn to love water one day...? Haha I'm not gonna hold my breath on that one though.

I was telling my family at dinner last night, I really think one of the best feelings in the world is coming home after a day at the beach or after swimming. You were working hard, in the heat, and getting dirty all day.. and then you come home, have a shower, put on your stretchy pants, and lay on the couch. And just going from being hot to cool, active to lazy, and dirty to clean makes it one of the most comfortable things in the world, right? I don't know, maybe it's just me... but I've thought so ever since I was a kid and I'm stickin' with it.

Also, I convinced my brother to watch LOST with me last night! It'll be his first time watching the series and my second time. I just watched it last summer and have been dying to watch it all over again. One of the best shows I've ever seen! I hope Nolan likes it as much as I did!