Category: Travel

Categories
Life in general Parenting Travel

A Glimpse

As Kia so lovingly pointed out, I said posting would be light, not non-existent.  I do apologize; it’s much harder to be a part-time blogger than I thought.  It’s a way of life: either you’re in, or you’re out!  At least, that’s the way it is for me – if I’m going to write, I want to read and comment as well!

Last Friday, I celebrated my 31st birthday.  Jeremy was already out of town, so the girls and I were on our own.  We baked some delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (egg and corn free, of course).

Blythe enjoyed her very first cookie, ever.  She liked it, but didn’t ask for more.

After dinner, we put a candle in a cookie so Alison could sing “Happy Birthday” to me.  Then we went to bed. 



Quite the celebration, huh?  Much, much different than my 21st birthday, one whole decade ago, when Jeremy took me to a bar and I got drunk on tequila shots until 2 am.

The next morning I took the plunge and left the kids for two whole days while I went down to San Bernardino to meet up with Jeremy, Rick and Natasha at the X Arm Premier Event. 



(Sorry it’s blurry – those lights made my camera take fuzzy pictures for some reason.  Also?  Natasha gave me posing lessons!  But I forgot to suck in my tummy.  You can’t win them all.)

I’m working on my X Arm post, but it’s taking me a little while because there are eleventy-billion links, and apparently Quick Blogcast doesn’t like those, so it keeps freezing up on me.  Gah!

After a weekend away with nothing but adult company and an adult agenda, I’m feeling a little nostalgic for my pre-kid days. 

Much needed time with husband?  Check.


Time with one of my very best friends?  Check.




Laughter, food and booze? Check, check and check.



A kick ass time?  Check.



Any questions?

Categories
Blogging Business Travel

Going, Going… GONE!

I made it to BlogHer!  I’m sitting here at the Opening Key Note, learning about hybrid media with the sound of fingers tap-tap-tapping away on keyboards around me.  I’ve never seen so many laptops in one place!

You know what else I’ve never seen so much of in one place?  FREE stuff.  I’m carrying around at least a 10 pound bag of freebies.  I lost my awesome Sigg water bottle within the first 10 minutes, but what did I find waiting for me at breakfast?  A FREE Sigg bottle.  These BlogHer people sure know their audience.

So far everyone has been incredibly nice and super, super friendly.  I’ve heard that the content of the sessions leaves something to be desired, but I’m looking forward to finding out for myself.  If I’m not impressed, well, the wine starts flowing early in these parts!

For those of you who aren’t at BlogHer but WISH you were, go on over to Mommypie for BlogHerNot 08.   

Categories
Life in general Travel

Procrastination, Anyone?

I decided to be on top of things and pack for BlogHer today, even though I don’t leave until pre-dawn on Saturday.  I couldn’t find my small suitcase anywhere.  Finally, I gave up in frustration, and went about my day.

But then, I noticed something.



Whose idea was it to leave a whole bunch of clutter right in front of my sewing desk?  And also?  I think I set a procrastination record for myself. 

Because, yeah, that suitcase is full of clothes that we brought back from our trip to Arizona.  In May.  They were clean, but now they obviously need to be washed. 

You want to know the absolute worst part about the whole thing?  Rather than unpack the suitcase and clean off the fur, I took a picture and got out a different overnight bag.  No sense disturbing the cat!

Categories
Travel

Arizona

We’re off to visit some of my favorite people in the whole world (who just happen to be related to me) for five whole days.  I’m so excited I can hardly stand it!

Unfortunately, my cousin Jo just moved into her new house.  Not only is there no wi-fi, there’s no internet access at all.  The horrors!  But don’t worry, invisible friends, you won’t have to miss me as much as I’ll be missing you.  I’ve devised a simple yet cunning plan.  For each of the five whole days I’ll be gone, a post will appear as if from nowhere. 

I figured it was high time you all met our food livestock.  Over the next week, you’ll meet The Pigs, The Goats, The Chickens, and The Cows.  On Friday you’ll meet our Other Domesticated Animals.  I hope you enjoy getting a glimpse of what goes on outside our door.  Feel free to make comments or ask questions, and I’ll answer them as soon as I return.  I know you can hardly contain your excitement, but try to keep your pants on.  I’ll be back in no time!

Categories
Entertainment Kids Travel

Serenity Now

This past weekend was so jam-packed that you could have played a tune on my back, that’s how high strung I was, leading up to it.  But there’s something about seeing this:



that makes a girl’s shoulders relax.  I mean, who can look at Lake Tahoe in all its splendor and still be uptight?  Not me.  Especially after ordering a bottle of wine with dinner, and hardly having to share.  

Before the arm wrestling tournament started, my mom and dad went with me and the girls to check out the lake.  The water is freezing year round, because, hello, those are snow-capped mountains in the background.  Luckily my dad was willing to risk losing his pinkie toes in order to allow the girls a chance to splash around, while my mom and I watched from the warm sand.


I figured we would just roll up our pant legs to play, regardless of how warm it was outside.  But my girls took “splashing around” to a whole new level, and pretty soon I had to change them into their swim suits. 


Yes, they played in that frigid water without complaint – but the adults had to drag them out every few minutes so that everyone’s feet could thaw. 



I was so caught up in capturing Blythe’s first trip to the beach, I didn’t realize until later that it was also Alison’s first.



What kind of parent am I that my 4 1/2 year old has lived her whole life in California, yet has never been to a beach of any kind?  A parent with a swimming pool, that’s what.  Since leaving, Alison has added about 50 things to her list of things to bring to the beach next time.  On my list?  Warmer water.  And maybe a fruity drink with an umbrella in it.