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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

You Challenge!!

Four Books:
(I have just read or want to read...)
  1. A Stolen Life, Jaycee Dugard...  Seriously one of the better books I have read in a long while..  EVERYONE should read it...  then again I LOVE "true stories" so if you don't it may not be a "must read"  ;)
  2. Heaven is for Real....  I think this one will be the next one I read...   I actually just bought it, and I can't wait!
  3. The Help....  I've heard is wonderful...  :)
  4. Single....  A book I picked up at the book store to see if I was "broken"...  ;)  it was a VERY good read...  and thankfully it told me I am perfectly "normal"!!  ;)

Monday, September 26, 2011

Thankful Monday! ;)

We should ALL be THANKFUL, for those people who rekindle the INNER spirit!!!
Albert Schweitzer

This week I am TRULY THANKFUL for the people in my life....  I ran across this quote and it "fit" exactly how I felt this past week.... 
There is ALWAYS something to be thankful for, at least in my eyes....  :)
This week I feel like I have finally gone back to that "normalcy," that I'm used too...
I feel like everything has finally calmed down and gone back to normal!!  PHEW!!  It was a LONG road...  But it was one that needed to be "traveled," one that taught me a whole lot about myself, and a whole lot more about the people I surround myself with!!  ;)  My spirit has been "rekindled"  :)
It was a week full of old "favorites,"  dinner with friends at the pond...  Oh how I had missed the "family" feel of these dinners!  ;)
...and quality time with the kids,
...and quality time with friends,
...and there was some blogging, and a little crafting, and some picture taking, and A LOT of baking...  YEP!  Everything's is back to normal here!!!  ;)
I have to mention how much I enjoyed my evening with the kids this week too...  nothing like having/or trying to have an adult conversation with a 3 year old at 11:30PM!!!  haha!! 
...and I "shopped" around for a new lens, I can't wait for it to arrive...  Thanks Jessica for letting "test" yours....  and Lukey for being a very cooperative picture subject...  haha!
....and wine
...and dancing,
...old friends
....and hotel rooms to crash into!  ;)
...girls night's
....anything "pumpkin" have I mentioned this yet?  ;) 
.....blue skies,
.....a 90210, gilmore girl's, and one tree hill marathon day!!
There you have it...  another week's worth of "things to be thankful for"....    What were you thankful for this week??  anything fun and exciting??  ;)
Here's to hoping that everyone has a WONDERFUL week!!  :)

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Happy Birthday Carlie!

For Carlie's Birthday we went to Rosa's for dinner and a little celebration!!  ;)
The Birthday girl!!
 
me and Carlie!!!  :)
I went ahead and whipped us up some goodies...  ;)
mmmm....  Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownies
They were delicious, really sweet and rich...  You definitely should have a glass of milk close by!!  ;)
You can find the recipe here
I have been following recipegirl for a while now...  and she has a lot of yummy recipes on her blog...  there are others of hers that I have tried...  they're still on draft mode though!  ;)  They have all been REALLY good, and super easy to follow and make...   Go check her out...  I promise you won't be dissappointed!!  ;)
Happy Birthday again Carlie!  I hope your birthday dinner was fun!!  :)

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Happy Birthday Sister Friend!!

Rosie, one of my oldest, bestest friends had a birthday, every year she plans this trip to fullerton uncorked, at the Arboretum at Cal State Fullerton, AND every year I hadn't been able to go...  I finally got to go this year and I was sad that I've missed out on this event for so long!!  :0  Let's just say that it was the best money I have EVER spent on a ticket, for 3 1/2 hours of wine and food!!  :)  I can't wait until next year!!!  :)
Here's to the beginning of our evening...  I'm white wine and she's red...  VERY fitting for both!!  ;)
It had always been a girls only event until now...  Sam got to join us too!!  ;)  sooooo it was a first for both of us...  and I think we were both pleased!  :)
"sister friends"!!  :)
We had our tickets...  and we were ready!!  ;)
....and cousin Lisa decided to come join us....  finally!!  ;)
We saw this on our way in....  "it's only 5:15 and we were already a case in"!  ;)  NOT really, but it sounded good!!  ;)

The fullerton arboretum has some of the coolest looking waterfalls, and plants ever...  Sam was siupposed to get the waterfall in the background...  Oh well, at least he got a good pic!!  ;)
CHEERS!!!
So the event consisted of A LOT of FOOD and EVEN MORE WINE!!!  these ribs were seriously AMAZING!!!  and that's saying a lot...  I'm not usually a fan!!!  BUT I went back for seconds of these!!  ;)
Naturally Sam found the cigar table...  judging by the smile on his face, I would say he was rather pleased!!  ;)
mmmmmmmmmmmm.....  RIBS!!!  Now this is a girl after my own heart...  We seriously ate everything our little hearts desired, and a lot of it...    This was just a small sampler!  ;)
....and a little more samplers!!! 
the boys and their cigars...  yuck!
....and this is where the Phone picture, food/wine tour begins!!!  ;) 





This was seriously the BEST tomato Bisque I had EVER had...  :)
clam chowder wasn't bad either!!  ;)
haha!!
Cupake chard, was NOT a favorite...  I think I dumped half of it...  :(
A little beer for the boys!
.....and it looks like we're still eating...  and wine-ing!!  ;)

Yep.... still there!!  ;)
Sampler anyone?
Then we got to stomp some grapes...  YAY!!  this is something I've ALWAYS wanted to do...  
It was just as gooey as I thought it would be...  One more thing to cross off that bucket list!  ;)

red wine anyone????  ;)
a solo??  might as well....  ;)
a little sampler of a lot of my favorites!  :)
I saw this at the store the other day...  and it DIDN'T look appealing AT ALL...  But I am here to tell you, that it was AMAZING!!!  :)
....and this one here was taken BEFORE our dancing adventure!!  haha!!  ;)
....and we found the gelato booth...  :D
.....and the mini cupcakes!
Gelato, wine, and red velvet cupcake...  PERFECT!
~SMILE~
Here's to a fun-filled night....  :)  after this was over we ended up taking a taxi to downtown Fullerton, and hung out there for a while...  Man I had forgotten how much fun downtown is....  :)
I can't wait until next year!!  Happy Birthday Rosie.... 
We ended up staying the night out there, at a hotel on-campus...  (good thing), how convenient!!  ;)  I woke up early sunday morning, got ready, and went home, BUT first a quick stop at the ol' Starbucks off campus for a pumpkin spice latte, (I know this is no surprise)  and a pumpkin scone!!  can't really say I was at all impressed with the scone, and I've still yet to figure out why people loose their marbles for it??  :/

Friday, September 23, 2011

Catching up!

YIKEES!!!!
I can't believe how MANY blogs I have on "draft" mode...  I got to catch up on a few today, and I will try my hardest to catch up on the rest!  I'm soooo far behind...  ahhhhhh!!!  I just realized I haven't even finished Catalina...  or done NY!  OH MY!  alright, for those of you who follow by "visiting" the site...  you'll have to scroll down for find the new one's...  so sorry!!  ;)  just ask I will tell you which one's I updated!!  :) 
I hope everyone's having a good week....  I can't believe there's only a few more days until the start of a new one!!!  ;)

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

You Challenge!!

Five Foods:
  1. Italian
  2. From the sea
  3. Mexican
  4. My mom's food
  5. Who am I REALLY kidding??  ALL food!!!  ;)

Sunday, September 18, 2011

This week.....

.....  was probably one of the roughest one's I've had in I can't even remember when...  haha!  that's a good thing, but it doesn't make the "rough" week feeling go away...  It started out weird..  not sure why...  maybe it was because I spent it trying to find a dress for a wedding...  i wasn't having any luck...  ugh...  just reminded me why I hate shopping... 
Then there was the day I got pulled over on the way to work...  really officer it's nearly impossible to go as fast as you say I was going...  just one more thing I have to add to the "things I must now take care of," paperwork pile...  ;)
... and the fact that that Australia trip I attempted to take years ago keeps coming and biting me in the behind...  ugh...
and then the Union gave their 72 hour notice, which did absolutely nothing for my "keep my stomach free of worries" routine....  It's too much "deja vu," from last time...  this weekend was nearly ALMOST the same, as the weekend before the strike in 2003, down to the wedding...  last time I was at a wedding before the strike happened, and yesterday I was at a wedding again...  I contemplated not going....  It was THAT much the same for comfort...
Oh and for the strike, well there's nothing as of yet, and my mom's candle of hope and wisdom is still currently burning in the hallway... LOVE her sense of Faith... her and my dad insisted that it burn until we know what will happen next... :/  and I think I agree with them..  It gives me a sense of hope...  :)
...and there was the coconut creamer in my pumpkin spice coffee day...  just kinda went to show how the week was going... 
the week just started rough, and I kept getting things thrown at me that undoubtedly threw my week off....  I tried my hardest to continue with the "cup is half full" thoughts...  some days it was harder than others...  but well it just means I'm human.. right??
There were many things to be GRATEFUL for this week too though.....
This BEAUTIFUL sunset was definitely one...
At my cousin's wedding celebration I happened to catch the sun going down... I took a million pictures of it... I just can't seem to know when to stop, wouldn't want to miss the "perfect" shot!! ;) I will spare everyone the time to look at them all and only share these 2!! :) I was seriously amazed, and grateful to have been surrounded by lots of family and friends, while we were all celebrating, and enjoying the company, and the beautiful sights!! :)
...And I'm pretty sure that after worrying about the future, for days, this was my "sign" that all is well in the world, and that eventually everything will work itself out.... 
There was a lot of family time this weekend, I LOVED it...  We got some family time with the cousins, aunts, uncles
Many pictures were taken, I will post those soon, and hopefully NOT because I have extra time on my hands!  ;)
There were some fun crafts created, and others in the works...
Minnie Mouse invitations were created
I FINALLY got my Silhoutte up and running thanks Gaby and Bea...  it's been a long time coming!!  ;)
...and how about a Halloween time at Disneyland trip, marking the beginning of fall, and the holidays...  seriously my favorite time of the year!  :)
...and the baileys irish creme shake from haagen daz which has a way of making everything better...
...and ALL things pumpkin!  :)
...and I can't forget the delivery of Torani syrups for my coffee...  Thanks Niks, I can't wait to try them ALL!!  ;)
People's "checking in on me" txts and calls came tonight, and I appreciated them...  I didn't expect them at all but it was nice to know people are out there thinking of me!!  :D 
and then there was this video, not sure WHY...  BUT it made me laugh, I seriously laughed for a long time after I saw it, and I don't even like spongebob...  enjoy!  ;)
Here's to hoping you all have a wonderful week, and that the Union and the companies can come up with some sort of agreement, so we can all stop worrying!!!  ;)