"The most important thing she had learned over the years, was that there was no way to be a perfect mother - and a million ways to be a great one".
Jill Churchill
Happy last day of November... and only 25 days until Christmas Eve. Good grief, I'm not ready yet... I've barely started my shopping.
Just a couple quick things to share today after a fun weekend in Myrtle Beach...
First time there for both of us.
A little too chilly for swimsuits, but we did get to see the ocean and spend time outdoors. I'm sure it would be a fun place to visit during the summer though! Kinda reminded us of Branson.
Anyone else ever been there?
Received a message from a friend today saying she heard a Todrick Hall song and it reminded her of me. Love me some Todrick Hall!
If you've attended my Cardio Dance classes over the years, you may have noticed that I've used several of his songs.
And if you're as old as I am, you probably loved Miss Mary Mack as a youngster too. You'll get the gist of that in the song below. LOL
But since we're on the subject, I thought I'd share one of the videos we shot recently that is coincidentally a Todrick Hall song.
Oh how I miss dancing with all my friends!!!
Also saw this list recently and wanted to share.
Definitely some solid advice here...
Compliment three people every day.
Watch the sunrise at least once a year.
Be the first to say, "hello."
Live beneath your means.
Treat everyone like you want to be treated.
Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen.
Forget the Joneses.
Never deprive someone of hope. It may be all he has.
Pray not for things, but for wisdom and courage.
Be tough-minded but tenderhearted.
Be kinder than necessary.
Don't forget, a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
Keep your promises.
Learn to show cheerfulness, even when you don't feel like it.
Remember that overnight success usually takes about 15 years.
Leave everything better than you found it.
Remember that winners do what losers don't want to do.
When you arrive at your job in the morning, let the first thing you say brighten everyone's day.
Don't rain on other people's parades.
Never waste an opportunity to tell someone that you love them.
2 days in a row of blogging, which is unheard of lately, but I'm inspired to ask...
Is anyone besides me trying to age gracefully, but finding an uninterrupted full night's sleep elusive?
Don't get me wrong. I do have most nights where I can get about 8 hours, even if it is broken up by 1 or 2 trips to the bathroom.
And my problem isn't usually falling asleep at night... I can do that just fine. It's the falling BACK asleep after each trip to the bathroom that's usually the issue.
Regulating my hormones with estrogen & progesterone has helped at least with not having night sweats wake me up. Melatonin also usually helps, as does Advil PM... although that leaves me pretty hazy in the morning.
And well... if I'm teaching... that's not a great combo. Cue the acting skills.
Another habit I picked up while I was married, was to wear an earplug to drown out the snoring. And yes, I said earplug. Just one... because I mostly sleep on my stomach, which means one side of my face buried in the pillow, leaving only 1 ear exposed. I don't do that anymore... lost the snoring husband and the ear plug habit... but I do keep one in my travel supplement organizer just in case.
I've also been known to buy an eye mask during a trip when it's a very BRIGHT room at like 6:00am.
See photo above.
I would've been fine with a basic eye mask, but those were too good to pass up.
Anyhoo... to make a long story even longer... my family & I just had a trip to Anna Maria Island, Florida in January. It was our 2nd time there. Made me laugh that everyone recalled a funny story from that first trip in 2018, so since we're on the subject of sleep, or the lack thereof... I'll share.
My sister I were sharing a room and bed. This is usually fine because neither one of us move around a lot, so sleeping isn't usually an issue. Unless of course there's a hurricane in the area & you're both too stubborn to get up & open the window with the loud screeching winds outside... but I digress.
Hurricane Alberto was a looong time ago and we shouldn't live in the past.
But she was closer to the window & should've opened it or we could've died, I'm just sayin. Although in the moment, we both looked death straight in the face & went back to sleep... loud winds and all.
Back to 2018 though.
In the middle of the night her snoring, although it wasn't really snoring, it was more like loud breathing, woke me up. So I casually reached over to my nightstand & quietly opened the lid to my supplement organizer remembering right where I had left my handy dandy ear plug.
No need to turn on the light or get out of bed, I'm a pro at figuring out ways to go back to sleep, so I got this.
Pulled my ear plug right out of the case, put it in my ear & slept for the rest of the night. It worked like a charm.
When I went to pull the ear plug out in the morning though, I gotta admit, it felt a little different than it did earlier. Also, there was a weird residue in my ear.
So yeah... same size, similar texture & while it did drown out the snoring, I wouldn't exactly recommend putting fish oil in your ear.
Although I'm sometimes desperate enough to try anything.
Follow me for more pro tips.
Although if you have any of your own tips for getting a good night's sleep, I'm all ears... LOL
Happy 2019!!! Hope your year is off to a healthy start!
Mine began with a quick 3 night all-inclusive trip with Bryn to Cancun on New Year's Eve. We left our house at 4am that morning & were at the resort before 2:00 that afternoon. It was the most fun NYE I can remember having in my life. Honestly... between raising a child & frankly not wanting to do anything too crazy on NYE that would result in having to be out driving with the other crazies, we just never really did anything other than maybe go out to dinner. Even in my 20's... I just don't recall doing anything that made me excited to ring in a new year? So many laughs though & it was a memorable time for both of us!
It was a quick trip, but it was blast and also very relaxing.
A much needed change of scenery for both of us...
I made a little video of some of it... using a very old Zumba song of course... because I mean, duh, what other kind of music would work for a Mexico trip? LOL
It's always good to be home though, even if we might be getting a lot of snow this weekend.
Thankfully I don't do bread OR milk. Strictly chips & guac for this girl. LOL
I will say though, I'm glad to be back to a normal work week too. With Christmas Day & New Year's Day falling on a Tuesday, I've REALLY missed that night's classes.
Have I mentioned how much I love the month of January for classes too? The challenge is to figure out how to keep people coming back all year long, without resorting to kidnapping those who may have fallen off the wagon.
Speaking of classes though... LOTS of fun stuff ahead at Bloom Fitness Studio this year, including a new blog The Daily Bloom.Someone you know might be at the wheel. (ahem) Go check it out here! The website itself will be changing a bit soon too, as all the instructors had quite a photo session recently with head-shots & group pics & videos & lots of mayhem. This is just a snip from a video, but you get the idea of the size of our cool crew...
We're really excited about the new year & personally I have this feeling of excitement that I had when the studio first opened almost 3 years ago! Lots of momentum going into 2019 & hopefully others are feeling that along with us!
Our focus for January is NUTRITION.
Starting with SMALL changes in your diet & with your lifestyle is the key for big results.
One small way you can make a change is by removing soda or sugared drinks from your daily routine and adding MORE WATER!
If it's the caffeine &/or the sweetness you crave, I have an alternative for you. Spark has caffeine, but also added vitamins, minerals & nutrients. And although it tastes sweet, there's NO SUGAR!!
It's available in about 10 different flavors & comes in individual stick packs that you pour right into an 8-ounce bottle of water. OR it's also available in a canister size if you want more for your money.
It's helped many people kick the soda habit. It's even helped people replace their coffee addiction.
There's no nutrients in soda or coffee either, just sayin!
I usually have samples on me if you're local & ever want to try it for FREE!
Okie dokie... that's all for now. Probably ought to run to the grocery store just in case we really DO get this weather. Secretly crossing fingers that we get snowed in though.
Goodness. So much to say. So much to get caught up on.
And while I don't need to go into detail on everything... I can hit some bullet points of life around here lately...
I had an amazing trip recently with Bryn. Our first trip ever with just the 2 of us... aside from 1 volleyball tournament earlier this year to Nashville that was more of a road trip. This trip involved flying to another country... Mexico... and when we do it, we do it right.
All-inclusive. And we enjoyed every single second of it. Even the part where we had a cancelled connecting flight on the way home and also both ended up with some stupid stomach parasite... mine escalating to a fever & a 10-day antibiotic prescription. Two antibiotics to be exact, but who's counting. Insert big sigh. No regrets though. We had a blast & I'd do it again in a freakin heartbeat. I mean, the trip was full of guacamole til we busted, Zumba at the pool & IN the pool... it couldn't have been better. We're already talking about doing another trip next summer as her graduation gift. Maybe not to Cancun again & hopefully without the parasite as well!
And yes.... she's a senior. Her first last day of high school was on Wednesday. Insert another big sigh. School is off to a good start. She's on the varsity volleyball team again... middle hitter... and also has a job working as a server at a local retirement/nursing home. I'm very proud of her, as I'm sure you all know. She's not perfect, who is?, and we get along sometimes like sisters, but she keeps me sane & laughing, which is really all that matters!
Additionally, Bob & I are now divorced. The actual settlement day that happened this past week was emotional to say the least, and coincidentally also happened on Bryn's last first day of high school.
Nothing between us happened overnight. Not our decision to separate. Not the actual filing which happened literally a year ago this month. And not the actual signing of papers. It was a journey, to say the least. But it does bring a sense of closure with it.
What I do know to be true is that I've known him for half my life so I don't take any of this lightly & I don't think he does either. He'll always be a part of my life. We will always be co-parenting & I'm very glad we are still on amicable terms with each other. It matters for all 3 of us.
In today's day & age of social media you wonder... am I supposed to update my status as divorced now? Or single? Or do I really have to have a title? I think we all feel like we have some kind of title or branding of who we are & quite honestly... does it really describe us or is it society's description of who we are?
I'm happy to say though that in the midst of everything... something made me decide to attend another group fitness training over the weekend & I left it being on a "high" I haven't felt in awhile. So it was the perfect ending to an emotional week.
I had started this blog post a couple weeks ago in anticipation of the training and had started writing about the whole story of how I ended up teaching Zumba 7 years ago in the first place, because trust me... it was NOT a goal at all to teach... I liked being a student & that was it! But I deleted it all & will save it for another day.
Since then though... I've added on the following certifications/licenses. All of the trainings have had their crazy stories, some of which I've shared on this blog:
Zumba Toning
Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) Group Fitness Instructor
Les Mills Body Pump
The CRT Method
Can I just say though that THIS training on Saturday was by far, the most unpredictably FUN training I've ever attended! I mean... it spoke to my soul in ways that I just can't describe. But I'll sum it up as saying it was almost 9 hours of dancing &/or learning to dance better with a format that is near & dear to my heart.
The MIX by Piloxing is a commercial dance format. Essentially that means, any kind of dance EXCEPT Latin since basically Zumba has got that covered already. And quite honestly, all the stuff we do in Zumba besides the Latin is what speaks to my soul the loudest, so this is a good fit for me.
Learning all the new choreography (which is repetitive just like Zumba), not to mention the verbal cueing that needs to happen while on a mic will be a whole different beast, but I'm practicing & memorizing as much as I can. We'll see where this leads, but I'm a happy camper to say the least!
Quite honestly, there's no way it couldn't be fun. Our instructor is a very dear friend who is also my boss & one badass on the dance floor. In fact, she's so good she's a Master Trainer & in their promotional video. Check it out...
And with that, it's Monday, which means I'm headed off to take her class tonight & commit some more of all this to my ever-fading memory!
Well, I'm back from a fun week in Scottsdale. It was a trip that was planned for Bryn's 16th birthday & she got to take her best friend, Ali who I call my 2nd daughter, along with us.
We've been going to Scottsdale for about 13 years as we own time shares with the Westin there. It's more of a home-away-from home & we do a lot of the same things every time we go.
It's actually been a few years since I've been there & probably the last time I was there, we took Bryn's cousin, Sydney, with us & decided to try an ATV tour. It was our first time on ATV's. Bryn could at least say she'd driven the riding lawn mower many times prior to that, but at the ripe old age of my mid 40's... sadly (or happily rather) I couldn't even say I'd ever driven that. I'm not the most outdoorsy girl around. So we were all novices to say the least... me especially. In hindsight, I'm glad it's where we started because it was apparently an easier course.
Not knowing otherwise though, Bryn asked if we could do another one on this trip so Bob booked this tour at another place a little closer to where we were staying.
We all suited up with helmets, ski masks for the intense dirt/dust we'd soon create, goggles and gloves.
There was a family of 4 who was also on the tour with us, but had booked 2 small jeeps to use.
The guide lead us through 2 practice courses to give us an idea of what we could expect on this 2-hour trail. He asked how we all were doing. I told him I was nervous after the first one & then after the 2nd practice run, when he kept reiterating that this course wasn't for beginners & was more of an intermediate trail... we ultimately decided it made more sense for me to be in a jeep, so Bob got off his ATV & drove that with me. He would soon say he was glad he did that because even in that jeep... the course was still a bit stressful. I only got a couple photos during the flatter parts of the course because it was rough terrain to say the least.
At about half-way through the 2-hour tour, we stopped for a break to drink some water and take off helmets for a few minutes. Our guide also walked over into the brush & cut a piece of cactus that he said we could try. Looks painful, but ummm ok.
If you've never tried cactus out in the wild & why would you (unless of course you know that it's high in water content so it helps with dehydration)... the trick is to burn off the needles first.
Looks like a pickle... texture of a melon... doesn't have much taste to it. Nothing to write home about. Even though technically, I guess I am. LOL
We got started back up again... guide in front, then Bryn, then Ali, then us & the 2 jeeps with the family behind us. A short time later going up a steep incline, Ali fell over to the side with the ATV on top of her (apparently hit the embankment & a rock got under the tire or something). We stopped.... I yelled "oh shit!!!! Ali!!!!" Thankfully she popped right back up and yelled "I'm ok!" & pushed her ATV back upright, but it was still stuck on the embankment. So we waited until the guide must've noticed no one was following him & Bryn anymore & circled back to help get it unstuck. SO thankful she was ok. She has since complained her ankle feels like it's sprained & I don't know how it couldn't be with being twisted over like that, but so thankful nothing worse than that happened.
We got going again & all took another brief stop to rest for a few minutes & also to let the guide look at Ali's ATV & make sure everything was ok to continue driving. I wish I had better pictures of what we experienced & how much dirt & dust was kicked up while driving. At some points you could barely see in front of you, there was so much dirt in the air!
For whatever reason though, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling to pray. And I kid you not... about a minute later Bryn's ATV flipped upside down & I couldn't see her anymore. I screamed so loud. We abruptly stopped & I didn't even open the jeep door... just literally leaped over the side of it & started running, not knowing what I'd find. My legs were shaking so bad I thought they'd buckle underneath me.
But as I got closer, Bryn pulled herself up from the embankment. But for the grace of God, she somehow rolled out from under it when it flipped & was hanging down the embankment. I don't know how she managed to walk away with just both knees of her jeans ripped, banged up knees & an arm... but it was God's protection of her without a doubt.
She thinks her tire got too close to the edge of the embankment & it flipped. It all happened so fast, she didn't realize what happened, which is probably good because she likely let go right away.
She could've lost her life. She could've snapped her neck. Not even a broken bone.
Suffice it to say there's no pictures of this one & the guide had her drive his ATV the rest of the way back since her handle bars were bent.
I didn't get a lot of sleep that night. And I guess I'm writing about the whole thing to try to purge it from being replayed over & over like a bad dream in my head.
Watching it happen right in front of us & not being able to do anything about it.
Realizing I could've left Arizona without her, if even one thing gone differently than it had.
Realizing how something can happen literally in an instant & your life can be forever changed.
I managed to keep it all together that day, because going into the ugly cry in a helmet, goggles & ski mask would've been disastrous, but I have cried so much about this since then.
In fact, we both stood in the bathroom just the 2 of us the next morning crying & hugging each other. It really was scary for her too.
I've thanked God so many times for His protection of her.
She's the love of my life. She's part of me, as I am her.
She turns 16 on Friday. We will be heading to take her drivers test that day, just as soon as I leave class, I'm sure. I know I'm no different than any other parent in worrying, but this experience makes you realize how quickly things can happen. And she'll be out on her own more & more with this upcoming chapter of independence.
And the most you can do as a parent is pray.
Anyway... on a happier note... Bryn got a new Go Pro Action Camera right before we left for our trip. She made a cute video of some of her week with her BFF. A memorable week for both of them, I know...
Not sure what happened to the quality of the video when I transferred it to youtube, but you get the idea!
Great week in Scottsdale hanging with my family & a long-time bestie who lives in Phoenix. As usual I packed my great quality Canon camera with me to use it for one lone timer shot on Thanksgiving.
I mean... why take good photos when you can take crappy ones with your cell phone & then just try to edit the hell out of them instead?
So these photos, many of which were posted on Instagram, pretty much sum up the week.
The first of many selfies, taken on the airplane...
My sister flew in from Denver the same time we arrived so we caught her for a quick drink after we checked in, before she took off for the airport again to pick up her boyfriend. My parents arrived the next day...
Thank goodness for sun, a pool & a hilarious book. Read it several years ago & it made me laugh so hard, I decided I needed something to make me laugh again...
Thank goodness for a friend that makes me laugh too. Apparently stripes are in this fall & apparently I'm the only one who thinks 68 degrees is warm enough to wear a swimsuit. She thought it was freezing...
Did I mention we've been friends since 2nd grade? And if you must do the math, that's almost 40 years. Crazy.
Ok so I don't usually post food pictures, but this was amazing. I gave up pasta about 5 years ago, which I loved but decided it was just going to end up on my ass, so buh bye. Been wanting to make spaghetti squash in lieu of spaghetti & tried it one night, only to butcher it. Don't think I cooked it long enough. Found this on the menu though... spaghetti squash with other veggies in it & an olive oil with chunky tomato sauce. Yes. I'll eat that again. YUMMO.
Drove to Sedona to spend the day there with everyone. Stopped at a rest stop on the way & let's just say the bathroom stall doors were a little short. Bryn was laughing so hard she could barely take a picture of us...
Food is always first so we stopped at a Mexican place for lunch. Endless chips & salsa... ok then!
After a little Christmas shopping & a reading with a psychic, we made it to the Chapel of the Holy Cross right before they closed. We've been there before, but wanted to take my parents...
Lit a candle for my sister...
Ok.... so another photo of food. Green Vegetarian is a place we frequent when in Scottsdale because it's a vegan restaurant & they have a soy-based ice cream that Bryn can eat since she's allergic to cows milk ice cream. It's really good & I don't usually like soy ice cream. I posted it though because we were almost in a serious accident leaving there. Bob wrongly turned into oncoming traffic & I had a speeding car coming straight toward me in the passenger seat. I screamed, Bob stopped & thank God the car swerved at the last second. Had that driver been texting or not looking at the road for whatever reason, I would've been dead. My sister was watching over me on that one. No doubt. Took most of my dessert home & put it in the freezer. Was so sick to my stomach after that I couldn't eat...
Snow cones at the pool while others were doing snow back at home...
My friend was determined to take us to a country bar & this one had a great patio for dinner, with a fun band playing inside. Mess with the bull, get the horns. Two Taurus the bull, not to be messed with...
Sally only got to wear her own cowboy hat for a very short time that night, as my sister was bound & determined to wear it all night & steal it from her. She offered her a pretty penny for it too. Buy your own, Marci...
The morning of Thanksgiving we got up & attended the Fountain Hills annual Thanksgiving parade, as suggested by a friend of my sister's who lives there...
Sherriff Joe, who's pretty well known nationwide, was in the parade. My mom clapped & cheered for everyone who went by, but especially for him. She is a nut.
I reminded Bryn & others a couple times not to get too close to this cactus during the parade & then somehow backed my arm into it. Let's just say it felt like someone stabbed me with 5 nails all at once...
We ordered the turkey & everything already prepared from Whole Foods. My friend & her daughter joined us. Played games after a late lunch & hung out like we would've done had we all been at home this year. It was fun...
She's only slightly taller than me here because I was wearing heels...
Marci went shopping at a store called Divalicious with her local friend who used to work there & spent tons of money earlier in the week & said we HAD to go back with her on Black Friday for their sale. So... the 4 of us ventured out, but not until 9am. We aren't that crazy. We found a few fun things to bring home, of course...
Last day there for sun & we took it. Bryn & I, that is. The rest of the family went to a bar to watch the Mizzou football game on tv. Ummmm.... no.
Speaking of which... Bryn wore a couple new things she bought with her own money at Divalicious & her grandma said, "Oh! Olivia Newton John!" Ummmm... no, Grandma, that's not a sweat band...
Back to life... back to reality.
Thank goodness for Zumba therapy & the double dose I got yesterday...
Back to life... back to reality. I do love my Mondays though!
Our date week came to an end. And all I can say is... the whole week was a blast. Especially Vegas. It went too quick... we weren't ready to go home. Wasn't our first trip to Vegas. Been there many, many times. Stayed at the Venetian alone, at least a half dozen times by now. But this may have been our most fun trip together. Maybe it's because we had such a fun few days at home before we even left that made the trip so great. Who knows. But we needed it...
I love Las Vegas so much. In addition to all the trips I've taken there with Bob, I've also had many crazy girls trips & a fun couples trip with friends, as well. My first time there was around 23 yrs old & I've lost count how many times I've been back since. Most of my crazy girls trips have been with my crazy family. And most of them... my 2 aunts, my grandma & my sister... are no longer living. Left us way too young.
Many many good memories there. That city holds a special place in my heart. Total craziness...
Ok then... time to put on my dancing shoes. Happy Monday!
Spring Break came & went. It was one solid week of fun in the sun.
We used our Westin time-share in the Bahamas, which is located right next to the Atlantis resort giving us full access to everything there.
And full access meant we could use their pools & waterpark.... even though we had our own amazing pool. And Bryn informed me before the trip that I had to go on ALL of the waterslides.
Have I mentioned I'm afraid of heights? Like the minute I'm standing at the top of a 60-ft vertical drop looking down, my knees will be knocking & I will almost pee my pants or throw up. Or cry. Or all of the above.
I considered I might need Depends instead of my swimsuit bottoms. If nothing else they'd stay on better anyway, as a wardrobe malfunction at the end of a waterslide is inevitable.
But somehow I managed to get away with only doing one waterslide.... The Surge. She told me it wasn't scary after she went on it with Bob. Why I trusted her, I'm not sure. But I reluctantly went along with her & we grabbed an inner tube for 2 people. The sign said the biggest person should sit in back. So I told her I guess that meant I was in front. Shawty in front. LOL It was like a short roller coaster on an inner tube. And part of it was in the dark. I didn't pee my pants though, nor did I lose them at the end. So, I'm glad I did it. I guess.
Bob & Bryn also did the Leap of Faith & The Abyss without me. Hey I had a DJ to sit next to. He needed company.
Not only is my daughter not afraid of heights, she's not afraid of snakes either.
What the hell happened here?
I blame her dad.
The week was great though. Bryn & I did a little coordinating on our outfits. She took the majority of pictures with her camera (my old Canon) & I took some with my camera & my phone. She even got to spend some time with dolphins!
Bryn was always snapping pictures. Even caught this one of Bob & I doing a stupid selfie. Gotta love his kissy face... LMAO
Lots more photos from the week, but those are the highlights. It was beautiful there. And expensive.
Like a bag of Tostitos that you'd pay $3.50 for here... $10. Ummmm... ok.
I'll just have a Bahama Mama please. BOOM.
We want to go back. In fact, we may be going back again this summer. We still need to take our cruise that we didn't get to take last summer. So we may re-do it to include the Bahamas... rather than to try to do a Meditteranean cruise.
I'm just not even going to count how many days it's been anymore since I've last blogged.
This is getting pitiful.
Since we've last chatted, my sister has been in town for 10 days, Bob & I were in Vegas for 2 fun nights, many other random fun/funny things happened & I seem to have contracted some kind of head cold/congestion/cough. Somehow, I've still managed to teach a 90-minute Zumba class on Saturday & another class this morning while feeling like poo.
Sleep can wait I suppose... the show must always go on! LOL
I'm keeping the faith that sweating helped today though & tomorrow I'll feel great!
Anyway... we had lots of fun in the very short time we were in Vegas (Wednesday night through Friday morning). Stayed at the Venetian again, won about $300 on the penny slots per my friend's recommendation (thank you!), went Tao (a fantastic sushi bar/nightclub) and to Rock of Ages nightclub again (that place NEVER gets old!).... oh & then my suitcase didn't make it on our flight home so I had to wait until the next afternoon to find that sitting on my front porch.
The joys of travel.
Sadly it was too cold to go to the pool when we were there, which was a good thing since I forgot to bring flip flops. I love my high heels & all, but I'm just not the stilettos-in-a-bikini type of girl...
Once again.... only iPhone photos. Probably need to start hauling around my Canon again one of these days!
And then I came home to this in the mail...
WHEW!!!! It took forever to find out, but I passed the test. Lord knows I could NOT have started studying for that all over again. I ain't got time for dat.
I may now resume life as usual.
If only that would sometimes include scrapbooking... all would be well. LOL
Ok... so it's been awhile. Like 11 days, but who's counting?
We spent a week in Scottsdale (our home away from home for like the last 10 years) & just got home on Saturday night. And then I taught Zumba on Sunday night & again Monday morning. Which was totally awesome, since that's probably the biggest thing I miss when we're out of town.
Anyway, the week went by fast. And we had a great time. Like, if it weren't for Zumba, I could've stayed longer. I wasn't ready for it to end. And I can't always say that on trips. So it was good to get away. Really good.
I kinda kept a little photo journal of the week on Instagram... or should I say... what I don't mind 12 year olds seeing since that's the majority of who's following me on there. LOL
And since I can't remember sh!t these days... here's a running list of some highlights so I can refer back to it when/if I ever get around to documenting all my photos...
About 75 insect bites on my feet, legs & hips that I brought from home. Cortisone please.
Seasons 52 & Chelsea's Kitchen with Sally & Molly. Love those girls.
Time at the pool every day. Plus the "Flowrider" for Bob & Bryn.
Green Vegetarian for T'Soynami "ice creams."
Shopping on the day it rained. Monsoon season!
2 days worth of convos regarding another Zumba gig at another facility.
Hilarious feet photo texts with Marci, Mom & Dad... and the "Duke" photo on Facebook that had us all in tears we were laughing so hard.
Jumping on the bed. She made me.
Chatty Cathy at the pool who told me her age 3 times, her height & her weight in a matter of 15 minutes of sitting next to her. Ummm... cray cray.
Twinning with Bryn.
Whole Foods lunches almost every day.
"Studying" for my AFAA Group Exercise Certification at the pool. With frozen vodka lemonades. What can I say... it's vacation & the test isn't until next month.
Bryn's requested photo shoot where Bob had to take like 100 photos of her. Not kidding. I've taught her well. LOL
Great weather. Well HOT weather. But hey... at least I came home with a tan.
School starts Wednesday. Not ready for the summer to end. REALLY going to miss hanging out with Bryn every day. Even if she does get on my nerves sometimes.
Oh well. Lord knows I'll find ways to fill up my days. I always do! And then it's like... It's 3:15 already?! Where did the day go?!!
Ugh. 7th grade. Missing her already. Why can't she stay young forever...
Back soon with some projects I finished before we left.
Well... we packed our suitcases & then unpacked them the very next day... but not in our cruise ship cabin in Europe. We unpacked them at home since we never left!
As you know, Bob is a State Farm agent. He qualified for this incentive trip... a Meditteranean cruise to Spain, France & Italy. Most agents don't qualify for these trips, as it involves a lot of selling. In fact, only about 30% of the agents all over the US qualify for these trips. He qualifies every year though & I appreciate how hard he works every day for us. Not only does it allow me to play around & not work...or uhh teach Zumba as I please... but it gives us the opportunity to take AMAZING trips around the world.
Every year, there are 4-5 weeks in a row of travel for the State Farm agents that qualify... to travel to the destination along with their region. Our region is made up of agents & management from Missouri & a couple other states. The charter flight was to be filled with only State Farm people going to Barcelona, where we'd board a Holland American cruise ship... which would also be only State Farm people on the ship.
Is anyone even following my random thoughts here?? I'm not even sure I am.
So Tuesday evening, we left for the airport. We parked our car, took a shuttle to the terminal & right as we were walking into the airport another agent stopped us & told us to go home. We laughed & thought he was kidding. But no... he wasn't. Said our chartered plane had a cracked windshield and they told everyone to leave & come back the next day. They were going to fly us all out at 3:45 to Nice, France where we'd meet up with the ship... when they were making their first stop after starting in Barcelona with the rest of our region.
So, we took the shuttle back to our car & the nice lady at the window said she'd waive our fee to park there (for all of about 20 minutes) since our flight was cancelled.
No big deal... things happen. So glad they found the cracked windshield BEFORE we left & not in the middle of a 9-hour flight above nothing but ocean. And besides, we were at home... not in some other city. So it could've been worse. Some people who don't live in or close to St Louis & drove here from other cities had to spend the night at the airport hotel. We got to spend the night in our own house, in our own beds. And I even got to get up & take my early spin class that I would've missed had I not been here.
Positive right? Glass half empty or half full? Wine glass, that is. LOL
However... as we were driving to the airport yesterday, Bob got a call from his agency manager, who was already at the airport, and he told him that our entire week just got cancelled. Evidently France wasn't going to let our chartered flight land at this new time & the cruise ship wasn't going to wait for us to get there either.
Nice, but at least we hadn't driven all the way to the airport this time.
So... part of our region is currently sailing the Meditteranean. The Missouri people, however, are sitting at home waiting to hear from State Farm where/when they're going to send us to make up for all this.
Craziness, I know. But... it is what it is. The joys of traveling!
And if you're sitting at home... may as well go do Zumba.
If you're friends with me on Facebook, you've already seen photos from our weekend in Denver. We left on Good Friday (the first day of Bryn's "spring break") and came home last night. It was a family vacation involving us & my parents visiting my sister, who's lived there for almost a year now. Downtown Denver, where she lives, pretty much ROCKS. I can now understand what she loves about living there. It kind of reminds me of New York, in that you can walk everywhere. Our whole point in going was because March 31 (Easter Sunday) marked 11 years since my other sister passed away suddenly from menengitis. And this was the first year Easter was on March 31 again, as it was the day she passed away. It was an AWESOME weekend. So much fun together, so many laughs, a few tears & the most incredible sunrise service I've ever seen at Red Rocks Amphitheater. It was a blessing to be able to spend the weekend with them. I'm so thankful.
And my welcome back home was a last minute request to sub the 5:30am Zumba class this morning after our flight landed last night at 8pm. It was FUN though & I'm glad I did it. No rest for the wicked!
Another thing you may have seen already on Facebook is this letter I found on our printer one morning... a letter Bryn wrote to Harry Styles (you know... One Direction... and the guy I guess everyone is in love with... including my daughter apparently.)
Well I mean, not EVERYONE is in love with him. Personally I think he's kind of a dork.
Anyway... I wanted to save the letter. And rather than just throw it in a box with all her other school stuff I'm saving from this year, I thought I'd add it to the scrapbook. The photo was taken while we were shopping one day... before the letter was written... but it worked perfectly with the content of the letter...
The fun chevron background paper is Simple Stories Vintage Bliss. I bought a few pieces of patterned paper from that collection recently. I'm not usually drawn to anything "vintage" in scrapbooking, but this collection has some fun colors & patterns. I also added some random extras on the page that matched...
Well, we're back from a quick weekend in Vegas. It's our 3rd time there in less than a year (my 4th... as I also did a girl's trip there last summer)... and once again we stayed at the Venetian. Love that place. Central to everything on the Strip, huge rooms, good restaurants & bars, & this time was the location of the show we attended... Tim McGraw & Faith Hill.
Great show. Not as great as the Garth Brooks show I saw last year, but still good. And then... the next morning we were in the work-out room. I was just finishing up running on the treadmill when Bob came over and said, "Guess who's in here working out? Tim McGraw." I said, "Did you get a picture?!" He said, "No, but I talked to him for a few minutes."
Are you freakin' kidding me?!!!!
Anyhoooo... I didn't want to bug him again, but he's a HOTTIE. Was wearing his typical dew rag & totally had a spray tan thing going on. Here's what he would've looked like had I been able to take a photo...only he did unfortunately have a t-shirt on...
Got in a cab and had the cab driver ask me my name so he could serenade me. Swear to God... I kept looking around for a camera. Thought for sure I was going to end up on some reality show, like Cash Cab, & they were waiting for my reaction. So... I recorded it. Most of the video is of Bob's hand because I didn't want him to know I was recording, but you can see him at the end. And notice that he was sure to include my name a few times during the song. Very, very odd man. LOL
And shopping, eating, drinking, gambling... it's Sin City, duh.
Gotta love the Fendi, Louis Vuitton & Dior signs in the background.
And our last night there, we went back to the Rock of Ages nightclub again. LOVE that place. The "Stacee Jax" guy running "the show" is hilarious and always nicknames people... for instance Danny Devito & David Hasselhoff were there. Not really, but when you look at them you laugh because they TOTALLY look like who he's named them. And then he looked at me and said, "And Jennifer Aniston is in the house tonight!" Which totally made me laugh because my sister gets told she looks like her all the time, and I've had a couple people say that to me before too. I don't see it, but still... so funny.
Oh...
And Bob gave me a brand new diamond encrusted wedding band for Valentine's Day right before we left.
All in all... a great weekend.
Happy Monday... my favorite day of the week! ZUMBA DAY!
My Valentine's Day started with Zumba and is ending with a flight to Vegas. Doesn't get much better than that. And I'm pretty sure it's going to be a sinful weekend in Sin City!
I'm back from a memorable couples trip to Vegas. 3 nights went by fast! I'm SO glad my friend took photos while we were there, since I just had a handful of photos from my iPhone. Sometimes it's just less of a hassle to carry my phone than my big honkin' camera. I sent all the photos to Target to be developed, so hopefully I can get them on paper soon while all the memories are still fresh in my head!
Oh and while I'm at it, I might want to do something with my Bermuda & New York photos too. No pressure.
There's something about traveling that gives me the inspiration to create when I return. Or maybe it's just that I miss my craftroom when I'm gone? Whatever it is, I finished a new page yesterday, so I'll post that tomorrow!
In the meantime, it's Monday... & you know what that means...time to teach ZUMBA!! And... I'm subbing a class on Wednesday so that means extra Zumba for me this week! Love when that happens!
Ok, I've had a couple requests for details about New York, so here goes. I have over 100 photos from the weekend so I won't bore you with ALL the details & ALL the photos... we'll just keep it short & sweet.
There was Times Square...
Some shopping in China Town...
Made it out alive & had lunch in SoHo...
Found Parsons School for Design (any Project Runway fans out there besides me??)...
Managed to find a Starbucks every day...
Ran into strange men in bikinis...
Took many dangerous cab rides...
And attended a fashion show at the Waldolf-Astoria Hotel...
There were 5 designers in the show. Typical runway show... each designer sends their models down the catwalk one at a time & then all the models come out at the end with the designer.
The show was kicked off with evening wear by Sushma Patel...
Then Robert Flores with mens wear...
And wait a minute.
What?
They're all coming out at the end in their underwear. Yes please!
And then Diani Mota, Joan Couture & Marisu Miranda.
I know. Who cares.
You just went back to look at the boys again, didn't you?
My friend's daughter that came on the trip with us had quite a few photos taken with models after the show. Then the 2 of us were posing for a photo when next thing I know, 2 of the models got in the picture with us. Not sure how that happened? I didn't ask them to come over?? But I can say I appeciate their obvious love for eye liner since they were wearing even more than I was...
Ok so it's been a few days. Or actually it's more like 6 days, but I've been a bit busy.
Let's see...
Since I last blogged on Wednesday... I got food poisoning that night from some local carry-out. Fabulous way to get absolutely no sleep AND lose 5 lbs overnight. Fabulous! Or not...
Got up Thursday morning & texted another instructor to beg her to teach the Zumba class for me that I had already committed to sub as I really thought the ER might be a better spot for me than the Y. She was also out of town though. Yay for me! So I got out of bed & prayed that I could make it through class without running into the bathroom. Somehow I did. I am a professional, you know. LOL Went back home & layed down again before I had to get ready to leave by 2:30 for the aiport.
Bad timing for food poisoning.
Lived on mostly Sprite that day trying to settle my stomach. My mom & I made it to Vegas that night to meet up with my sister, who had already arrived before us. We headed straight up to our hotel room to drop off our luggage & my mom proceeded to promptly kick over my sister's $16 champagne drink she had just brought up from the pool & set on the floor.
The first of many "party fouls" from the weekend.
Aside from the first night when I was a party pooper (literally... LOL) & headed up to bed after dinner while they stayed out to party & gamble for a couple more hours, the weekend was a freakin BLAST! We had SO much fun and so many laughs. It was the absolute BEST. I'm going to have to hurry up & do something with all my photos so I don't forget all the funny stories from the weekend that I want to remember.
It was a weekend that came full circle... starting off with electrolytes & Tums after the food poisoning and then ending up with more electrolytes & Tums before boarding a way-too-early flight on Sunday morning after only 4 hours of sleep.
It is the city that never sleeps, you know!
I demand a re-do! I wasn't ready for the weekend to end! But it was back to work on Monday... my favorite day... teaching Zumba! Love it!!!
Bermuda was awesome. Phenomenal weather... mid 70's every day. We did have 2 days of rain, one being on Father's Day, but we made the best of it. And rain must be expected often, as our room at the resort had a big umbrella in the closet. Which was good, because I don't do the drowned rat look if I can help it.
I did become a bit obsessed with the stupid black smudge in most of our photos, but they're going in the scrapbook! It was part of the trip... like it or not! And since by the end of the week we just started taking photos off-center to accomodate for it... it helped a bit.
And at least my iPhone takes good photos too. Photos without a black smudge even... bonus!
We tried & tried, but just could not get our jumps in the air at the same time. And that was only 4 of the shots taken so trust me... people were beginning to stare. Not that I mind looking like an idiot, because I really don't. LOL
Sadly, the black smudge thing didn't end up on this guys butt crack hanging out in my photo. Noooo... it had to be right next to the butt crack...
We had a little snack from room service on Father's Day before we went out to dinner. That was also the day it rained, so we took a bus to the Dockyard. It was so chilly & rainy that Bryn & I had to buy a sweatshirt & hoodie to wear. Just what I need... a hoodie that says Bermuda. Desperation...
It was a company trip, for which Bob qualified. His 3rd time there, my 2nd time & Bryn's first. We all loved it.
It was a great trip that I would highly recommend. Also love that it's only about a 3 1/2 hour flight from here too.
Not sure if we need to buy a new lens or a new camera or what, but this black smudge thingy is really annoying me. Last time I checked, a big black smear on the nose is NOT a good look.
And every Bermuda photo we've taken so far, has a black smudge in it somewhere.
It's like "where's Waldo" every time we take a photo.
And Bryn had TWO food allergy reactions in the same day today. Not good.
But aside from all that, this trip has been AWESOME so far!
We had a quick weekend in Chicago to celebrate our 12-year anniversary, returned home yesterday (gotta love a 45-minute flight) & now it's back to teaching Zumba on Monday!
On Saturday we met up with my good friend, Stephanie who was in Chicago with her daughters & niece for the One Direction concert, and her friend, Nicki who I've known for quite a few years, that lives in Chicago. It wasn't a planned get-together, but so much fun to hang out with them! The subject of my blog & my crafting/design life came up when Stephanie was telling Nicki about it because Stephanie thinks I make going to Target & the grocery store sound more interesting than it is in her life...which it's really NOT. In fact, it bores me to tears & I wish I had an assistant...LOL. I explained to Nicki that when I started blogging over 4 years ago, no one I knew personally was reading my blog. It was only people in the crafting world. So I put it all out there (most of it), because I figured what I wrote was an extension of our scrapbooks & a more detailed account of our daily life than I could ever get documented in our books.
In the past couple years though, with more people I know in "real life" reading my blog I feel like I can't stop talking about our family life now (along with all the crafty stuff on here), as I've been told it's what keeps people coming back. As my friends in "real life" can attest to though, my life is really NOT that interesting or exciting. But like I told Steph, there's probably random funny things that happen to her & everyone else at Target & the grocery store too... I just happen to be writing about it.
And quite frankly at this point, if I DON'T blog about it... I'll never remember anything for the scrapbooks because Lord knows I've become quite behind in keeping up-to-date with things. So... bear with me friends near & far, as I once again bore you with some more details of our life!
We arrived in Chicago on Thursday night & stayed at the Westin on Dearborn. It's the 2nd time we've stayed at this location & love it. It's close to lots of great restaurants & shopping... all walking distance. Although we did hail a few cabs during our stay too. Friday was pretty chilly & windy (they don't call it the Windy City for nothing!) and it even rained a bit that morning. We had lunch at Harry Caray's (yummo!) & went shopping afterward. I bought some clothes... yay!
The sun finally came out & it warmed up a bit later that afternoon. We had a great dinner at Coco Pazzo. Never wear high heels when Bob tells you it's only a few blocks. It was more like 10 blocks & we had to keep asking random people on the street where it was.
The weather on Saturday was warmer & sunny and we made plans to meet Stephanie & girls and Nicki & her family at Ed Debevic's for lunch. I was there during a girls trip the year after college & thought it would be a fun place for Bryn to experiece. If you've never been there, the waiters & waitresses are totally rude... on purpose. It's funny.
After lunch we all headed to Navy Pier. Girls got to ride the Ferris Wheel & swings and do an indoor maze, while the adults sat outside on the patio of a bar & had a drink.
We had dinner reservations at Nick's Fish Market, but ended up going back to Harry Caray's since it was right across the street & we all loved it for lunch the day prior. Bob wasn't in the mood for another cab ride & we were all happy with just walking across the street instead. Great food there, can't say enough!
Sat in the hotel lobby for awhile after dinner & then headed upstairs to pack & get ready for our early flight the next morning. And we were home for lunch!
Such a memorable weekend. Can't wait to go back. Love that city! ♥
Happy Monday... aka ZUMBA day! Love it! Had a great class with quite a few girls today + an impromptu lunch afterward with my 2 oh-so-fabulous friends...at our favorite place with lots of laughs. Now I'm anxiously awaiting the plumber's arrival so I can finally get a shower after my workout. Yay me.
Girls Weekend in Phoenix was a blast. I got back home last night. We accomplished a LOT in a short time in helping my friend get boxed up, moved & ready to close on her house. It wasn't just all work & no play though. We had time for a fun night out together too! I have known these 2 forever. They are like family to me. The 3 of us don't have a chance to get together very often, but when we do... there's always much to talk about & many laughs...
... and Justin Bieber showed up to help us with the move. Wasn't that so nice of him? LOL
Since I'm coming back to AZ in a couple weeks for a rescheduled girls weekend, I'm not so sad about leaving our home-away-from-home today.
Our home-away-from-home means... Yard House for happy hour, Green for vegan ice cream, Whole Foods for lunch, PF Changs for carry-out, lots of time at the pool, Gordon Biersch, lots of running on the treadmill, a little shopping, fun times with my friend Sally, who lives in Phoenix & just sold her house in 24 HOURS, and much, much more! We packed in a LOT in just a matter of a few short days...
Really SAD that Picnik, the free photo editing site, is coming to an end soon, but did find the Diptic app, so at least I can still create photo collages using my iPhone with a bit of funky editing. But I am still pouting about Picnik... POO! Guess I better keep using my phone instead of my camera? If nothing else, it is a LOT lighter to carry.
And why did I even bring my camera on this trip when all I ended up using was my phone???
As much as I LOVE to travel though, there's no place I'd rather be than HOME...
... but texting your friend about it while you're there, is perfectly ok.
Had a fun, fun weekend in Vegas! Came back home to computer issues on my laptop. But they were resolved this morning via remote access. Thank you Geek Squad! I'm the geek using Geek Squad.
AND... while they were getting started on my laptop, I snagged Madonna tickets on my iPad. Woot woot! I'm nothing, if not a great multi-tasker! ;-)
Anyway... back to Vegas. It was a combination of a lazy & crazy weekend. Our day usually revolves around where we're eating next. Seriously... it's amusing. It's also a good thing we work-out while we're gone... because I can barely hold my gutt in right now & I ran the 2 days we were there! Good thing the weather was too chilly to put on a swimsuit. Or actually... maybe I wouldn't have ate as much if I did have to put it on? Nah... probably not.
We stayed at the Venetian. The place is HUGE. They have 7,000 suites. We had the smallest size suite & it was big... 650sqft. Even had a sunken living room. The biggest suites must look like a house. I'll never know, unless Garth wants to take me there some day. More on him in a bit.
One of their restaurants is owned by the Cheesecake Factory. Ummm... hello. We may have gone there more than once. Again, I say. Amusing.
This next photo was the 3rd attempt at Bob taking a picture of me with this Italian accordian player. And he really did have an accent. But I could NOT stop laughing, so my eyes were either closed or half-open or in this picture I was ready to burst out laughing again. Bob kept dropping stuff when he was trying to take a picture of us, so finally he says to me (in broken English), "Your papa needs to concentrate." I about LOST IT! Yes, Bob's obviously old enough to be my papa & yes, he's clumsy sometimes... oh my gosh... I am losing it all over again! So, so funny!
So much for all my sleeveless clothes. Jackets all day!
I accidentally put $20 in a penny slot machine. Let's just say, I didn't exactly win big on it either...
Since Celine Dion cancelled her show we were supposed to see, we were on the hunt for something else to do. Found out that Garth Brooks was in town last weekend (he's only there about 1 weekend a month), so we went online to buy tickets. No luck. I figured all 4 shows must be sold-out, but asked Bob to call the box office & check. He called & we were in luck... 2 mezzanine tickets were available. They told us it was a small venue though, and all seats were good seats so we wouldn't have a problem seeing the stage.
We picked up our tickets from will-call & went to a bar for a glass of wine before the show. I don't know how or why it happened, but while sitting there we noticed they gave us 5th row tickets! All ticket prices were the same... $250/each... but still mezzanine or 5th row? Ummm... thank you!!! No photos during the show, but here's how close we were...
Had no idea what to expect. Well, actually, what I expected was a big rock concert. And that's not AT ALL what it was. One of the most AMAZING SHOWS I have EVER seen though. Just him & his guitar. No band. He told story after story about his life & songs that inspired him from the time he was 5 years old until he hit it big in the early 90's. Then he would play each of those songs. Songs from the 60's, 70's, 80's... country, pop, rock. Finally ending the show with his own big hits. Trisha even came out toward the end to sing 3 songs. Not only is he an amazingly talented singer, he's an awesome story-teller & freakin' hilarious!! I didn't want the show to end. It was so intimate. Like you were sitting in his living room, just captivated by him. Bob saw him in the 90's, but loved this show even more. I would fly out there again, just to see his show again, & fly home. Incredible. And I was never a huge Garth fan either. But now I think I'll be the president of his fan club! Haha
Every night we ate dinner around 10:00. Probably why I had a migraine most of the weekend. Did it stop me from having fun? NOPE. It did stop us from going clubbing at night though. So... I suppose we'll have to go back soon. Heehee.
Back home again! So happy to see Bryn again, too. I MISSED HER!!!
And YAY for my Monday Zumba class! Makes me a happy girl.
... starts with what's in the suitcase, of course! Here's just some of what will be packed in my bags soon. Some old, some new... and lots of BLING!
Bling in Vegas... hello... it's a MUST!
And my swimsuit Valentine's gift didn't fit, so I had to order a new one...
Advil is getting packed first, just sayin'. Might be necessary, especially if I make Bob stay out late dancing with me! Well... not IF I make him... he WILL be! Also... in looking at the forecast, I'm not even sure if we'll be able to sit at the pool, but we'll probably need warm jackets at night... thus the coat. Gotta love the desert!
And did I mention we have tickets to see Celine Dion at Caesars Palace? I drove all night...to get to you. Is that alright?
It's going to be a FUN trip! Our first trip of 2012... and I can't wait!
Ok...ok. Still have a couple Zumba classes to teach and attend before I leave... ;-)
Just having a quick little fun-in-the-sun trip while Bryn has a couple days off school for conferences. So far, our trip has mostly involved where we're going to be able to eat dinner AND watch the World Series. Game #1 was a success... great dinner AND the game was on TV there. But then last night we sat on a patio for a great dinner, and they actually had a freakin' football game on TV?! Our waitress told us she attempted to change the channel, but there were 2 men sitting at the bar watching that game so we'd have to wait until they left. Losers. So, we had to keep up with the game on Bob's iPhone instead.
My shoulder hurts. Clearly... hitting about 36 balls for the first time in about 15 years, without stretching, was not my best idea ever. In my mind I tend to think I can do anything. Just jump in feet first. My shoulder started hurting while we were still there though, so hopefully I just pulled a muscle. And why aren't Bob & Bryn sore at all? It's not fair. LOL
Even in spite of my pain the @#$... or shoulder... injury, it still kinda made me want to play softball again. May need to look into that...
I had some comments about this dress after posting on Facebook, so I thought I'd share. The dress is from Express...they have several solid colors in addition to the one I purchased with stripes. I removed the sash belt that came with it and wore my own flower belt given to me as a gift from my sister. The shoes were from Charming Charlies. Not a place I would normally buy shoes, but Bryn & I were at the mall one day & my feet were freaking killing me from the pair that I was wearing. So I needed to either go barefoot or buy a new pair to wear. Believe it or not... this pair was comfortable. And at $30... CHEAP! Win... win!
We got home on Sunday night from a quick weekend in Sonoma, CA. We took the trip with Bob's aunt + uncle and his sister + her husband. We stayed in Healdsburg at the same bed & breakfast (The Grape Leaf Inn) where we stayed on our wedding trip. Upon arrival on Thursday night, we picked up our van for the weekend. Aunt Nancy & I got to ride in the back all weekend... as we were the 2 shortest people. I'm pretty sure we both got some extra quad work in, as we were constantly squatting to throw ourselves in & out of the van. I also think I flashed everyone at least a couple times throughout the weekend since I was usually wearing dressses. Sorry family! Forgot to take a photo of our red van, so I snagged a photo from the internet. We had dinner at Cacti in Novato, CA on the way to Healdsburg. I was starving. I'm thinking everyone was. It was like eating dinner at 9:30pm our time & after 2 flights to get to California, it was a long time to wait to eat again. By the time we got to our B&B, it was pretty much time to unpack & go to bed. We were on a 2-hour time difference, so it was past Midnight for us. We had a plate of chocolate covered strawberries on our bed with a note from the owners that said, "Welcome back, Bob & Deana" and a big plate of fruit & wine from Bob's uncle + aunt to thank us for bringing them. So sweet...
Day #1 was for wine tasting. Bob & I had a handful of wineries picked out to visit. Trentadue was our first stop... a favorite. Bob likes their Zinfandels (RED... not white. Puh lease.) I like their Chocolate Amore... a chocolate-infused port wine. The guy giving our tastes told me I should make a dessert with it. Start with a wine glass & add the crumbled cookie part of an Oreo (not the cream) on the bottom of the glass. Next a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Then top with blueberries & a drizzle of the Chocolate Amore. YUMMO. Yes please.
Next was Ferrari-Carano... another fav. We go there because their winery is BEAUTIFUL. Their reserve tasting in the basement is the best wine... especially for chardonnays, but we didn't end up doing any tastings here. Some of us bought some things in their little store area, but then we moved on...
Next was Francis Ford Coppola (formerly known as Chateau Souverain Winery... where we got married. Also the same place Bob proposed to me 8 months earlier, so that's why we decided to go back there to get married). WOW. It's changed a lot since they bought it. Not for the better if you ask us. I think a swimming pool at a winery is strange. I also think women standing at a wine tasting bar in their swimsuits is strange too... even if you do have a good body, which these women did not. Just sayin'. We ate lunch there. Even the restaurant has changed quite a bit. Just kinda sad for Bob & me. I'm sure there are many, many other people who love all the changes...
After lunch was Hop Kiln. New to us, but suggested by Bob's friend/client/optomotrist, who has $150,000 worth of wine in his own wine cellar. I think he knows good wine. We liked one of their chardonnays, so we bought a bottle to take to dinner with us that night. In most restaurants, even here at home, you can bring your own bottle of wine & they just charge you a cork fee to open it.
We planned to also go to Rochioli but by the time we made it there, they had just closed. Had a nice dinner at Zin that night... a place we'd been to before and really liked.
Day #2 started with another morning run for Bob & me. The weather was beautiful every day. And both mornings were chilly enough that I was glad I had packed a long-sleeved running top. After everyone's breakfast, we did a little shopping on the square... I bought a cute dress & some hand-made jewelry... and then we picked up lunch to-go and headed for Bodega Bay to see the ocean. Luckily we brought jackets because otherwise our picnic lunch would've been pretty chilly...
As suggested by someone at our B&B, we stopped for some salt-water taffy at cute little pink + white striped store called Patrick's. We all bought different kinds of taffy... in fact I picked out a multi-packed bag for Bryn... but Bob left it in Sonoma. Oh well! Had a yummy dinner that night at Bistro Ralph. The owner of our B&B said to order the "1000 Fries" so Bob ordered some as an appetizer (I went with calamari, myself) and sure enough... there were at LEAST 1000 fries. Eveyone but me ate them, so there was plenty to share & a LOT left over...
Got up early on Sunday to drive back to Oakland in time for our flight back. I didn't take a lot of photos on this trip. Not sure why. Maybe because we've been out there so many times, it felt redundant to take photos of things we've already done before.
But... the photos sum of the trip pretty well anyway... quick & busy!
Having lots of fun this week, minus the major food allergy reaction Bryn had on Tuesday. Not only did she throw up about a 1/2 hour after eating... which was good, she broke out in MAJOR hives like I haven't seen since she was a baby... not good. Scary. I so wish she didn't have to deal with that.
Aside from that, the weather has been hot & sunny, the food has been good, we've been running outside, we've been able to see my friend, Sally, & even got to meet Toni for the first time on this trip after knowing each other from "blog land" for a couple years. Met her & Julie for lunch on Wednesday... so fun!
We're putting on our green today and heading out to celebrate! I hope you have a HAPPY St Patrick's Day, too!
Yesterday I posted all the layouts I made using the October HIP 2B SQUARE kit. You can see them here if you missed it. Today it's a few more things I created with kit!
Here's a couple more little treat boxes I made using Carole's tutorial. Will definitely be making lots of these! I just gave one of the Halloween treat boxes I made a couple weeks ago, to Bryn's teacher. It was filled with candy corn + a Starbucks gift card. If you missed those, you can find them here, along with a link to Carole's tutorial.
... and a couple cards...
Did a little more machine-stitched paper pleating on this one...
I made a couple more cards with this month's kit for other assignments. Will be posting those soon! Go here for more information on this month's kit or to find out how to join the HIP 2B SQUARE kit club!
Just returned from a quick weekend in Scottsdale. Bryn had a 1/2 day of school on Thursday + no school on Friday, so we flew out right after school on Wednesday. Just did a few of our favorite things while there & we were also able to see my friends, Sally & family and Julie & family...
We had a GREAT time! It could've been a longer trip, but there's always next time...
What a great week in Vienna! It was a major TREK to get there AND to get home, but we're finally back. We got home Wednesday night at 11:30pm after 3 flights, a 7-hour time difference & being awake for 20 hours. I think Bryn was sleep-walking off the plane... she doesn't remember any of our 3rd flight from Chicago back home. I took almost 200 photos in the past week. I probably could've taken a lot more... but they're scrap-worthy anyway.
And just as I'd hoped... I returned to 3 packages on the front porch! Inspite of my bleary eyes & draggin' butt... I managed to finish 3 pages yesterday... one of them a 2-pager. Off to the Y for my interval class & then back to the craft room. Everything has to be boxed up & mailed off on Monday for CHA... so I have a LOT to accomplish! Send inspiring vibes please... ;-)
