Yesterday was my birthday. It was a pretty low-key day but it was so nice to receive birthday wishes from so many friends and family.
The best part of the day may have been when my aunt thought I was only turning 28. That's right, she's my new favorite person! I love you Deb.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Shady Hotel??
As we're looking forward to our trip to Europe this summer, we are trying to decide where to stay.
I've stayed in some shady hotels before- the Best Western in a shady neighborhood in L.A., the Motel without locking doors that led directly to our ground level parking lot room in Newark, NJ, etc.
But now we're trying to decide what is a acceptable as far as European rooms. I'm not expecting American standards but I do expect some things (Listen I'm not a barbarian, I don't want to share a bathroom with a whole floor of strangers!)
So, I need some opinions. Is it acceptable to book a 1 star hotel that is in a great location, has a private bathroom, and has raving reviews on tripadvisor, for about $100 less than anything else in Florence? The drawback: no air-conditioning in the middle of June and did I mention it's only a 1 star???
HELP!
I've stayed in some shady hotels before- the Best Western in a shady neighborhood in L.A., the Motel without locking doors that led directly to our ground level parking lot room in Newark, NJ, etc.
But now we're trying to decide what is a acceptable as far as European rooms. I'm not expecting American standards but I do expect some things (Listen I'm not a barbarian, I don't want to share a bathroom with a whole floor of strangers!)
So, I need some opinions. Is it acceptable to book a 1 star hotel that is in a great location, has a private bathroom, and has raving reviews on tripadvisor, for about $100 less than anything else in Florence? The drawback: no air-conditioning in the middle of June and did I mention it's only a 1 star???
HELP!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Europe 2011
Last summer on our road trip to Vegas, we decided to save up our cash and celebrate our friend Carlee's 30th birthday in Europe.
Fast forward almost a year and now it's official!! We bought our plane tickets a few weeks ago and we will be spending two and a half weeks in England, France, and Italy this June.
I'm dusting off my passport in preparation to see places like: The Tower of London, the Arc de Triumph, Big Ben, and enjoying a stunning gondola ride.
I knew 5 years ago when I tossed my coin in the Trevi Fountain, I would be back to the Eternal City!
And one of the things I am MOST excited about is this...THE EFFEL TOWER!!!
So now the countdown begins...13 weeks from yesterday. I guess I should brush up on my French and Italian (or at least learn how to say "Where's the bathroom?")
Saturday, October 2, 2010
June 2010
I decided to just take it a month at a time to try and get caught up with these pictures. I had such a great summer and with weather in the 90's this past week it has almost felt like it's still summer (minus the fact that I've been at work and in the real summer I can just kick it by the pool!)
We started the summer by attending the first of our country summer concerts at USANA. We went to the Mega Country Jam the second weekend in June. You can see that we are all wearing winter coats and carrying bundles of blankets. IT WAS FREEZING!!!!
We thought the concert would just be two or three performers and then we'd go home. We got to USANA in the middle of a rainstorm around 1:00 and found out that there were MULTIPLE groups to perform and it lasted until 11:00 that night. Once you entered the grounds you could not get back in, so we waited out the afternoon in our blue burrito (luckily we had brought a tarp to sit on and it was large enough to cover us so we didn't have to get rained on!) It was an adventure to say the least, but we had a good time and got to listen to some really fun bands. 
The next day we left for a week at Lake Powell. The weather was gorgeous and the houseboat was just as nice as we remembered from last summer.
We started the summer by attending the first of our country summer concerts at USANA. We went to the Mega Country Jam the second weekend in June. You can see that we are all wearing winter coats and carrying bundles of blankets. IT WAS FREEZING!!!!
We thought the concert would just be two or three performers and then we'd go home. We got to USANA in the middle of a rainstorm around 1:00 and found out that there were MULTIPLE groups to perform and it lasted until 11:00 that night. Once you entered the grounds you could not get back in, so we waited out the afternoon in our blue burrito (luckily we had brought a tarp to sit on and it was large enough to cover us so we didn't have to get rained on!) It was an adventure to say the least, but we had a good time and got to listen to some really fun bands. 
The next day we left for a week at Lake Powell. The weather was gorgeous and the houseboat was just as nice as we remembered from last summer.We enjoyed our time playing games and watching movies, and especially lounging with a good book while soaking up the rays in these awesome zero-gravity chairs!
We had a black and white day while we were there since we realized we had each brought a black/white combo swimsuit.
We had some wild and crazy tube rides, Kelly and Audrey were the dare devils- no hands...
Jenny and I still had a great ride, we just held on tight! I didn't get any pictures of the water weenie, but we had some wicked rides and no one got hurt!! That's right, when have you ever ridden a water weenie and NOT knocked heads or taken a knee to the eye, or something worse! I'd like to think it was our expert ability to fall gracefully but I'm not too sure about that.
We became expert wake-boarders, see me up out of the water and everything!
And our favorite part of all were the 2 brand new wave runners with turbo power and the ability to brake. Kelly and I loved to head over to this slot canyon close to our home for the week and dare each other to get off the wave runner in to open water and wait there by ourselves as long as we could. Kelly was daring, I waited a few minutes then swam over to the ledge to wait. I was creeping myself out thinking about the 300 lb. catfish swimming just below me!
We had a black and white day while we were there since we realized we had each brought a black/white combo swimsuit.
We had some wild and crazy tube rides, Kelly and Audrey were the dare devils- no hands...
Jenny and I still had a great ride, we just held on tight! I didn't get any pictures of the water weenie, but we had some wicked rides and no one got hurt!! That's right, when have you ever ridden a water weenie and NOT knocked heads or taken a knee to the eye, or something worse! I'd like to think it was our expert ability to fall gracefully but I'm not too sure about that.
We became expert wake-boarders, see me up out of the water and everything!
And our favorite part of all were the 2 brand new wave runners with turbo power and the ability to brake. Kelly and I loved to head over to this slot canyon close to our home for the week and dare each other to get off the wave runner in to open water and wait there by ourselves as long as we could. Kelly was daring, I waited a few minutes then swam over to the ledge to wait. I was creeping myself out thinking about the 300 lb. catfish swimming just below me! I love Lake Powell, how could you not look at that red rock and emerald green water! I'm so lucky to have great friends that keep inviting me year after year, Thanks Jenny!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Spring 2010 (I know it's already fall!)
I have had such a fun and busy summer that I am just now starting to post some pictures from the Spring!
We had a black and white dinner party that was tons of fun. I loved the lights behind Kell and Al in this picture.
You can tell it was in the cutural hall at the church because of the carpeted walls! I was the only one who opted for a print instead of solid black.
Kelly:
Me:
Al:
For Aly's annual Oscar party we indulged in some home-made cotton candy. Pink sugar was everywhere, but it was delicious!
Al makes ballots each year and we vote before-hand on who we think will win each category. Carlee was the winner this year, she sure knows her movies!
Over Memorial Day weekend we went to Las Vegas. We stopped for a delicious breakfast at one of my favorites: the Bear Paw in St. George. Car came in this sweet ride.
The crew outside the Bear Paw, stuffed french toast: YUMMMY!
We stayed at the Tahitian Village and the pool area is amazing!
We also stopped in at the Town Square Mall to hit up the Sephora and H & M, and enjoy one of my favorites, Yogurtland.
We also went to the Lion King at Mandalay Bay. It was amazing. The costumes alone were awesome, but it's great to go to a show where you already know most of the songs!
Of course, what is a road trip without snacks? Kell offered to pose with a small portion of the treats we snarfed down on the way home!
It was an excellent Spring, that led in to an awesome summer!
We had a black and white dinner party that was tons of fun. I loved the lights behind Kell and Al in this picture.
You can tell it was in the cutural hall at the church because of the carpeted walls! I was the only one who opted for a print instead of solid black.
Kelly:
Me:
Al:
For Aly's annual Oscar party we indulged in some home-made cotton candy. Pink sugar was everywhere, but it was delicious!
Al makes ballots each year and we vote before-hand on who we think will win each category. Carlee was the winner this year, she sure knows her movies!
Over Memorial Day weekend we went to Las Vegas. We stopped for a delicious breakfast at one of my favorites: the Bear Paw in St. George. Car came in this sweet ride.
The crew outside the Bear Paw, stuffed french toast: YUMMMY!
We stayed at the Tahitian Village and the pool area is amazing!
We also stopped in at the Town Square Mall to hit up the Sephora and H & M, and enjoy one of my favorites, Yogurtland.
We also went to the Lion King at Mandalay Bay. It was amazing. The costumes alone were awesome, but it's great to go to a show where you already know most of the songs!
Of course, what is a road trip without snacks? Kell offered to pose with a small portion of the treats we snarfed down on the way home!
It was an excellent Spring, that led in to an awesome summer!Monday, April 26, 2010
Southern Carribean Cruise
I'm way behind on blogging so I'm going to skip some things and blog about them later!
For my big 30th birthday, 10 of my friends and I went on a cruise to the Southern Carribean. Here we are arriving in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 11 girls with 10 days worth of luggage, YIKES!
Our first day on the ship we ate and headed to the pool to catch some rays!
Our first port was St. Thomas. After a recommendation from a crew member we took a water taxi to this secluded beach on Water Island. It was beautiful and we practically had the place to ourselves.
The water taxi waiting place was also an outdoor library/post office!
Our second port was Dominica (pronounced DOM-in-ee-ka). We split up a little at this port and my group hiked to two different waterfalls Trafalgar falls:
And Emerald Pools:
The rainforrest here was beautiful and we liked it even better when our guide told us there were no poisionous snakes or spiders on the island.
Our 3rd port was Barbados. It was beautiful and we loved our excursion. These pics were a little out of order, since this picture of my leg was taken back on the ship that night. Notice the bruise that takes up my whole inner calf.
I received this bruise from stupidity. I decided to do a back flip off of the catamaran, ended up breaking blood vessels (showed up immediately) in both of my calves! OUCH! I hear I made a great slapping sound when I hit the water with my calves and shins!
For my big 30th birthday, 10 of my friends and I went on a cruise to the Southern Carribean. Here we are arriving in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 11 girls with 10 days worth of luggage, YIKES!
Our first day on the ship we ate and headed to the pool to catch some rays!
Our first port was St. Thomas. After a recommendation from a crew member we took a water taxi to this secluded beach on Water Island. It was beautiful and we practically had the place to ourselves.
The water taxi waiting place was also an outdoor library/post office!
Our second port was Dominica (pronounced DOM-in-ee-ka). We split up a little at this port and my group hiked to two different waterfalls Trafalgar falls:
And Emerald Pools:
The rainforrest here was beautiful and we liked it even better when our guide told us there were no poisionous snakes or spiders on the island.Our 3rd port was Barbados. It was beautiful and we loved our excursion. These pics were a little out of order, since this picture of my leg was taken back on the ship that night. Notice the bruise that takes up my whole inner calf.
I received this bruise from stupidity. I decided to do a back flip off of the catamaran, ended up breaking blood vessels (showed up immediately) in both of my calves! OUCH! I hear I made a great slapping sound when I hit the water with my calves and shins!We got to snorkel over a shipwreck and with TONS of fish, then they took us to snorkel with 3 Sea turtles! It was amazing.
Here we are on the catamaran, it was a very relaxing day (minus the bruising!)
Our 4th port was St. Lucia where we did a zipline through the rain forrest. It was awesome and we had a really great guide.
This is us BEFORE we put the harness, hair nets, and helmets on!
Our 5th port was my FAVORITE! St. Kitts is one of the most beautiful islands and has gorgeous beaches. This is shipwreck beach!
There was a great bar that cooked a delicious burger and yummy pina coladas. You can see my sun damaged skin pretty well in this pic, but I can't help it. I love the sun!
Our last port was St. Maarten, which also had a pretty nice beach. We took another water taxi to the beach and spent the afternoon shopping and relaxing sipping more pina colada's beach side!
We got back to San Juan and spent the day touring the Fort and Old Town. It is a beautiful city and I would love to go back. We got to spend the evening in the hot tub and the next day poolside since our flight didn't leave until 3:30 p.m.
We had a couple hour lay-over in Hot-Lanta and by this point we were pretty tired after spending 10 days on the go (mostly laying in the sun by some type of water!)
We had a great trip and I'm already trying to decide where to go next!
Here we are on the catamaran, it was a very relaxing day (minus the bruising!)
Our 4th port was St. Lucia where we did a zipline through the rain forrest. It was awesome and we had a really great guide.
This is us BEFORE we put the harness, hair nets, and helmets on!
Our 5th port was my FAVORITE! St. Kitts is one of the most beautiful islands and has gorgeous beaches. This is shipwreck beach!
There was a great bar that cooked a delicious burger and yummy pina coladas. You can see my sun damaged skin pretty well in this pic, but I can't help it. I love the sun!
Our last port was St. Maarten, which also had a pretty nice beach. We took another water taxi to the beach and spent the afternoon shopping and relaxing sipping more pina colada's beach side!
We got back to San Juan and spent the day touring the Fort and Old Town. It is a beautiful city and I would love to go back. We got to spend the evening in the hot tub and the next day poolside since our flight didn't leave until 3:30 p.m.
We had a couple hour lay-over in Hot-Lanta and by this point we were pretty tired after spending 10 days on the go (mostly laying in the sun by some type of water!)Luckily there were plenty of gossip magazines to catch up on!
We had a great trip and I'm already trying to decide where to go next!Tuesday, March 16, 2010
3 things
There were 3 things that made me happy today:
1. I was working with a kindergartener today giving him this ESL test and he stopped in the middle of the test and pointed to his head and told me, "I have a lot of pretend stuff in here." Then he went on to pretend to build a pair of "machine" gloves for me and for him. The gloves were a lot like a transformer from what I could tell from the sounds and actions he was making. He was right, he did have a lot of "pretend" stuff in there!
2. As I was taking out the trash, I noticed 2 buds popping up in our flower garden. One purple and one white. This was yet another sign that spring is on its way! The first sign was that I got to drive home from work with my sunroof open and the rays shining directly on me!
3. I checked carnival's site and realized we leave on our cruise in 18 days!!!!!!
Southern Caribbean here we come!
1. I was working with a kindergartener today giving him this ESL test and he stopped in the middle of the test and pointed to his head and told me, "I have a lot of pretend stuff in here." Then he went on to pretend to build a pair of "machine" gloves for me and for him. The gloves were a lot like a transformer from what I could tell from the sounds and actions he was making. He was right, he did have a lot of "pretend" stuff in there!
2. As I was taking out the trash, I noticed 2 buds popping up in our flower garden. One purple and one white. This was yet another sign that spring is on its way! The first sign was that I got to drive home from work with my sunroof open and the rays shining directly on me!
3. I checked carnival's site and realized we leave on our cruise in 18 days!!!!!!
Southern Caribbean here we come!
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