Journey to Middle Earth.

It all started at 5:50 am last Saturday morning when I woke up with a start.  Oh my gosh!  I'm supposed to leave for LA in 10 minutes!  Why didn't I hear my alarm? I hardly ever oversleep.  I hurriedly got out of bed, brushed my teeth and threw the rest of my things into my bag. 

This weekend I went on a roadtrip to LA with some of my dearest friends in the world--Denise, Wilma, Steph, and Lucinda (Janet, we missed you!).  These are all gals who have known me through my awkward stages (but who's to say the awkwardness hasn't disappeared?).  I love hanging out with people that I share real history with--people with whom I can be my true whacked-out self.  My 'longest' friend of the bunch is Denise, who's known me for 22 years and running.  Wilma's known me for 21 years, Lucinda for something like 17 years and Steph for 13 years. 

You can't hide with friends who've known you for a long time.  They know your quirks, as well as the bad and ugly.  Yet there's something downright healing hanging with people who have stuck with you despite all of that.   They remember things about you that you forgot, too--though we were all resigned to admit that the 'ol memory banks aren't what they used to be :)

We went down to celebrate our good friend Charissa's graduation from UCI Med School. I can hardly believe that she's fully medical degreed, with all the rights and privileges of initials preceding her name!  I couldn't be happier for this sister.  I've always admired her love for the Lord and I just know that God's going to use her incredibly for His glory as an M.D.

When I was younger I always wanted to fast forward time.  I remember being a first grader and wishing that I was in third grade so that I could sit on the shady side during lunch.  The grass isn't always greener the older you get, but I can tell ya--the view gets even better.

Denise and I as we trekked through Middle Earth...we've come a long way from the Shire...

The gang: Steph, Wilma, Dr. Charissa, ME, Denise, Lucinda