Thinking out loud about L.A.

I moved to Pittsburgh for grad school and I've always felt that I stayed several years too long. After I got out of grad school I got my first job and then met Danielle and so I stayed here but always longed to move. Danielle and I discussed moving for a long time. Initially it was to a bigger city but then I decided that I wanted to move somewhere warm and sunny. I'm aware that my mood is greatly affected by the weather. And while I love skiing, I have no qualms about taking a special ski trip rather than living in a state where I can drive to ski. I love the idea of Christmas with snow but we can always fly to my brother Jason's home in Ohio to get that experience. So we kind of narrowed it down to Florida or Los Angeles. After our recent trip, Danielle fell in love and is ready for a change. I found LA to be more fast paced than Pittsburgh but not as fast paced as NYC. We love the idea of being close to the beach and being surrounded by the sun. With that said we still need to sit down and iron out some things but it sounds like we've made the decision to move. Sometimes thinking about moving makes me incredibly overwhelmed. It was one thing when it was just Danielle and I moving, but now we have a little baby to think about as well. So here are some questions and things we need to do/consider:

• Does it make more sense to move before or after I give birth? (I'm thinking during my maternity leave may be better).
• When should we put our house on the market?
• I have to sit for my license exam in California. They make you take two. Yikes!
• We both need to find a job
• We need to find somewhere to live. It's going to be a huge adjustment going from our 4 level spacious home to a townhouse or apt.
• Getting our cars there
• Deciding what to keep and what to sell
• Dealing with the guilt being dished to us about leaving.
• Terminating with my clients in private practice and handling their reactions.

Ahhhh, there's so much to think about.

L.A.

My trip to LA was A.W.E.S.O.M.E. We had so much fun that we are considering moving out there (a separate post to follow on that topic). My BFF was the best host ever and it's always fun being around friends. Her dog Cooper, who despite his size, is the biggest loveable baby ever. We just fell in love with him and want him to be Gracie's boyfriend. He has the longest tounge and loves to lick you and cuddle. On my long list of must sees and we got to everything. Some highlights included the beach, driving around different neighborhoods, the hike at Ruyon although it kicked my ass, and riding bikes along the beach. We went to Malibu, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Bel Air, on UCLA's campus, Santa Monica (my favorite) and Pasadena. I'm sure I'm missing some places. Our celebrity sighting was the guy from Curb Your Enthusiasm on our drive back from Malibu.

Los Angeles- day 1

I'm loving LA. Today we went to Pinks Hotdogs and afterwards we went to The Grove (a shopping area) and The Farmers Market. It was difficult adjusting to the time change and the 92 degree weather but a nice nap helped out.

Pics to come.

Florida, here I come

I'm leaving for Florida on Thursday right after my day 3 u/s. Oh I cannot wait to lay in the sun with a good book. It's a perfect way to end my leave of absence as I will be returning to work on the 27th. It's also nice to be pampered by one's parents for an entire week. My goal is to pack light (i.e. carry on) but I'm worried about them giving me a hard time about my Gonal F syringes.

With sun on my mind for the past few weeks, we picked our summer vacation spot... Los Angeles in August. We are going to visit my BFF Erica who has been nice enough to offer us her home and SUV for the week so we can sight see on our own while she is at work. I've already done some googling and will get a book from the library but for anyone who lives in LA or has vacationed there what are your suggestions for sights, must do's, restaurants, beaches, clubs, etc? We will have our Gigi (our GPS) so the possibilities are endless.