Showing posts with label Vacations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vacations. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Hawaii

I've finally caught up at work and have a free moment to post some pictures. We spent 8 days on the Big Island and we had a great time. Hubby qualified for this trip through his work. The work trip was only 4 days, so we went 4 days early with some of his co-workers. The only reason I wanted to come home was to see my dogs :)

Getting a snack at the airport Hubby's flying survival kit Best shaved ice ever...

Black Sand Beach
Akaka Falls
Here is where the free trip began...

Welcome dinner-all you can eat and drink. Please ignore my husband's hideous shirt, he's so "that guy" that loves to wear things for shock value.
Boooooring dinner where all booze and food was withheld during any presentations.

Spending a day out by ourselves

Cracking a macadamia nut

Lamest shaved ice ever

Botanical Gardens w/ Hubby's co-worker and his wife



BJ Penn's gym in Hilo. I've never seen 2 boys so excited about a gym.


Yummy room service


Waiting for our shuttle to the airport.

Overall, a great vacation and much needed break. Now back to life living at the In-laws. Five months to go!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Memorial Day Weekend

The busyness continued as we headed for a car show in Santa Maria on Friday. Hubby has been going to this car show for years but it has always been held in Paso Robles. Apparently some drama went down with the city council so they moved it to Santa Maria this year. We weren't sure how good it would be but were hopeful it would still be as fun.

We left the house around 10:30am and it was raining off and on. I can't believe last weekend it was a billion degrees and here it was raining. Usually hubby drives an old car up there but since we sold his hot rod a few months ago we just took the "Malibentley" (his nickname for his Chevy Malibu). I was so thankful since last year his car broke down both ways and had to be towed.
On the way, Hubby's mom called a few times to let us know the dogs hadn't been acting like their normal selves. Bailey had thrown up a few times and Gunner had gotten stuck under the bed. I think it was because their schedule has been so wacky going back and for to the in-laws. I was worried about my babies but knew they were in good hands. We made it up there in about 3 1/2 hours which was much quicker than the drive to Paso Robles. We arrived at our hotel, The Santa Maria Inn and it was madness.
There were cars everywhere. This was the host hotel for the car show so it also became the hangout. We checked in and grabbed some lunch. Then we headed to our room to drop off our stuff. Hubby had gotten a bunch of his friends to book rooms there so they upgraded our room.
That evening was nice and relaxing. We had some yummy Mexican food with one of Hubby's car friends and his wife and then met some other friends in the bar for a drink.
There were still a bunch of people outside so Hubby decided to go look around and talk to some of people he hadn't seen in awhile. I opted for a hot bath and some TV.
The next morning I woke up bright and early at 6:45. I NEVER wake up that early, even for work. I guess it was sleeping in a different bed or something but I decided to embrace it and get ready. We headed over to a Perko's Cafe across the street. I tried my hardest to convince myself to eat something healthy but the Chicken Fried Steak was calling my name. Luckily that is what Hubby wanted too so we split it and it was yummy.
The car show ended up being pretty cool. There were a lot more vendors than when it was in Paso Robles. Hubby kept grumbling about how it wasn't the same but that's to be expected when something you've gone to for so long is uprooted and redone. After a few drinks he was content and decide we needed some pictures. Here is me snacking on kettle corn.
His attempt at taking our photo.
That night we decided to go to a restaurant called Jocko's.
It supposedly has the best steak around. We arrived around 6:30 and the place was packed. As we were standing outside I spotted one of my crushes. His name is Deke Dickerson and of all the bands and musicians Hubby likes to see, he is the one I love. For some reason, maybe it's the whole musician thing, I think he is hot. We have talked to him a few times at his shows so he recognized us and we chatted with him for a few minutes. I was too shy to ask for a picture but Hubby had no problem.
(The guy on the right is the drummer)
They were leaving so we headed in to put our name down. I almost died when the hostess told us 2-2 1/2 hours. We decided to wait it out and went to the bar. Luckily, we found a table. We ended up sharing the table with an adorable older couple. We chatted with them until they were called. I swear it was like meeting John and I in 50 years. After an hour and a half, they were seated. We figured it couldn't be much longer for our table. Finally after another hour, Hubby decided to go see what was the deal. They kept telling us just a few more minutes and after another half an hour, so 3 hours total, we were seated. Thank goodness we had an appetizer at the bar or I would have passed out by then. I ordered the smallest steak I could find and medium rare so it would come as soon as possible. This is what I got.
I can't imagine how big the larger one was. We dug in and it was sooo good. I don't know if it was worth the 3 hours but at that point it was great.
Neither of us finished ours but we still decided we were champions.
After our dinner we went to the local bowling alley where Deke was playing. I didn't know he was going to be there so I was excited. He played until 1am and we went back to the hotel and crashed.
The next morning we slept in a little, packed up our stuff and grabbed some breakfast before we went back to the car show to do one final round before driving home. I made sure to get some cotton candy for the drive and we picked up purses for 2 upcoming birthdays.
We hit the road and stopped in Solvang to do some exploring. We picked up some a cute magnet, a few pastries and some treats for the dogs.
3 hours later we were home but only to change and then we drove to the in-laws to pick up the kids. I was excited to pick them up. We had dinner there, showed them our pictures and then we went home. We were all pooped.
Memorial Day was pretty uneventful. Other than a small BBQ at our friends' house we were able to spend it relaxing. Even though I had eaten like total crap the whole weekend I knew I could get back on track but I'd have to start that morning. My evil side tried to convince my good side to round out the weekend and just blow it one more day but I knew if I did I'd be done for a long time. I did fine and made sure to get Golden Spoon that evening. As strange as it sounds, it helps me get back on track. After the last exhausting week and weekend, I was actually pretty glad to be going back to work and getting in a routine again. I'm sure that will last until the end of the day :)

Monday, April 14, 2008

A birthday in Vegas

This weekend I celebrated my 26th birthday with my Hubs in Vegas. It was a wonderful distraction from the fact that I'm now on the downhill to 30.

We got there Friday afternoon and checked into the Monte Carlo. After a few snafus with our room, we were checked in and decided to hit the Strip.
After losing some money, we hit the buffet. Although I ate like total crap, I did notice my way of thinking has really changed. My first thought was load up on th veggies, look for meats that are grilled, etc. I was proud of myself for having those thoughts even though I didn't follow through. I have come to the conclusion that I just love eating and food.
After a long drive and pigging out, we were pooped so we were off to bed. The next morning, which was my actual birthday, I woke up bright and early. I hit the pool while John went off to a car show for a little while. It was so nice to sit and relax with some of my favorite things.
John joined me after a few hours and we lounged around.
I have worn a 2 piece in public maybe twice in my life. I have had this bathing suit for 2 years and finally felt somewhat confident to wear it. At first, I was really self conscious. I still see myself as the fat girl and felt like everyone was staring at me. After a little while, I realized I'm not who I used to be and even if I don't have the perfect body (who really does?) , who cares? I've worked hard and I should be proud of it and show it off.
That night we were on our way to dinner and decided to play some slots before left our hotel. We sat down at some quarter slots and they wouldn't take our money. So we moved to another machine and put in $10. John has taught me to always max bet so we hit the button and the machine stops on 3 Monte Carlo symbols in a row. While I was trying to figure out what that meant, John realized it means you've hit the jackpot. We looked up and it said $391.06! So the lights and bells are going off and I'm freaking out because I don't know what to do. You can't just cash out for that amount, so I started yelling at him to go find someone before it dissapears. Finally someone came over and I got my winnings. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday gift!
I was in shock for the rest of the night. After stashing my winnings in the room, we went to the Palms. We had a yummy dinner and I tried sake for the first time.
The next morning, I woke up and my stomach was not happy with me. I think the weekend of eating like crap and drinking caught up with me. My wonderful husband packed up our stuff and got us ready to go since I barely had the energy to even take a shower. We headed home and thankfully I was feeling ok when we passed state line and so I decided to spend some of my winnings at the Coach outlet.
It's so funny, even though it's money I hadn't planned on having, I had such anxiety about making such a big purchase. I ended up with a purse and a matching wallet. We got home in about 6 hours, after a handful of stops. It was a wonderful weekend and I've almost forgotten the fact that I'm no longer 25.

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