beverly hills

i spent half of last week in l.a. for work. the daily variety magazine hosted an event called "power of women" to honor seven women in entertainment who have engaged in philanthropic activity. one of the honorees was actress maria bello (coyote ugly, history of violence, the cool), who highlighted her work with the organization i work for.

this was a great opportunity for our organization. lots of exposure and networking. and we got to go to beverly hills. when i got the call about it, i couldn't help but feel that Jarronn had had something to do with it. like it was him working in cohoots with God and trying to make me smile. in the weeks leading up to the trip, it served to be a great thing to look forward to.

but then as it got closer, my excitement faded. i didn't want to go. i felt nervous about being away from home. i realized how hard it was to be excited about things. to experience new things and know that i wouldn't be able to call Jarronn and tell him about them. i wouldn't be able to reenact situations from the trip once i got home. it's crazy how just having someone to share things with can make life so much richer.

though i didn't want to go, the trip was really good. "four seasons good" -- as i came to say. the parts of the trip for work were a success. and being away turned out to be a really good thing for me. to get the sunshine. to have some great conversations with my co-workers. to eat lots of pinkberry (pomegranate flavor!). to walk up rodeo drive and know that i understand what's most important in life.

below are photos of the staff with maria bello and anne hathaway...