Monday, September 12, 2011

Live, Laugh, Love & Lipgloss??


So the craziness of packing has begun. I laid everything out over the weekend that I wanted to pack and it took up my entire front bedroom. One may ask if I really need all of the stuff I have laid out? Short answer, yes! :)
The cruise is 7 days and we are getting to Florida 4 days before we get on the boat and staying an additional 2 after we get off. That means a lot of shoes, even more dresses and enough makeup to make me look presentable for an extended period of time.
Now when Michael realized that I was bringing my travel makeup case…

…he nearly flipped. Maybe it is a little much, but I am a makeup artist and this is my wedding people! Everything beauty will be in this bag…ie shampoo, bobby pins, etc. Southwest is going to think I am a crazy bat when I walk in with my wedding dress AND my makeup case for my two carry-ons. :) In my defense half of the make-up I took to Jamaica last year broke because the airlines trash the checked bags. Once I reminded Michael about how much it cost to replace it he was totally okay with me packing my travel case!
Anyway, so aside from the obnoxious amount of beauty products that I plan on lugging across country, I am bringing enough clothes for 3 weeks. Anyone that has ever traveled with me knows I like my options and I am prepared for everything from 110 degree weather to a snowstorm.  The reason for this is my dad always gave my mom such grief when I was little for not packing enough sweatshirts, etc. It was literally engrained into my head to pack for all seasons.  Michael, unfortunately, has yet to grasp this concept so it is always funny to see him watch me pack.
However, this time is different. I think Michael actually has as much crap to bring, minus the makeup, as I do! *pauses as the heavens open up and angels sing* It is great! Now if only he started having to tote around a makeup bag. :)

Friday, September 9, 2011

Thank God it’s Friday!

So this week has officially been a nightmare! It’s a total bummer since it started off great too. Monday was a holiday so we came home from camping at a leisurely pace, unpacked and got things ready for the week. Tuesday I was swamped at work because I am training someone to do my job for the 2 weeks I am going to be gone. I didn’t have time to eat let alone run the errands that I planned on doing that day.


Then there was Wednesday. Normally I like Wednesday because it is my mid-way point in the week. I know crunch time is about to start, but I still have enough time where I am not stressing yet. Unfortunately this last Wednesday I spent most of it in the ER at Sutter Memorial. I keep saying that I’ve spent WAY too much time in the hospital lately due to everyone getting sick or hurt around me. So what do I do…? I land myself a bed there myself. Seriously? Well after sufficiently scaring the snot out of Michael I am released, and very much alive thanks to the 6 doses of pain meds that my very kind doctor gave me. Now anyone that knows me knows I am very much against medications. I take my vitamins, but don’t take any kind of meds. Not even Advil.  I guess at some point, after being given the “cocktail” I told my boss, who kept me company all day, to shut up. What I wouldn’t have given to see myself all doped up!


With my Wednesday being so horrible you would think that my Thursday had to be better, right? Wrong. I felt horrible and didn’t want to get out of bed, but I got up and went into work anyway. Aren’t I a good employee? *pats self on the back*


So now it’s Friday and it’s our unofficial “Send-off” dinner with some of our nearest and dearest. Less than a week from now we will be boarding a SWA plane and heading down to warmer weather. Need I remind you that I live in California so that is not an easy task when it is in the 90’s outside. My goal, however, is to lay on a Florida beach before I board the cruise ship in 8 days. I don’t foresee that to be too difficult since we are getting to Miami days before the cruise even begins!


Now, back to the matters of this evening. Michael and I found this fabulous little restaurant in downtown called Kupros Bistro about a year ago. It Is in an old house and it has some of the best food I’ve ever had. A group of us are meeting there tonight for some laughs, a few drinks and of course some killer food. After that we may hit up a bar or night club depending on how the evening goes. After the week I’ve had I think I am justified in “letting my hair down a little”…don’t you think?

Friday, September 2, 2011

Labor of Love

Don’t get me wrong, I love camping. In fact, Michael had never even camped before meeting me. All of our camping gear was either mine or we have purchased it together. Part of why I love it so much is I love nature. I love the smell and feeling I get when I am sitting around a campfire with a drink in my hand. I love that I can bring my dogs and they enjoy exploring as much as I do. What I love the most is being able to blow up our raft and just float on the water for a few hours and do nothing but relax. All of that, to me, is better than 5 star accommodations any day of the week.
A friend of mine once asked me why Americans, he’s from Puerto Rico, like to pretend they are homeless when they spend most of their lives trying to obtain “The American Dream”? I brushed it off at the time, but he did have a point. My only answer, logical or not, is that it’s a labor of love. You spend days before packing and getting everything ready for your trip. You drive out to the middle of nowhere, and usually pay for an absurdly small spot to call your own. Then you spend at least an hour setting everything up to turn around and take it down a few days later. Really, there is no logical reason for why I love to camp…I just know I love it.
Even crazier is that we know that the campgrounds will be ridiculously full this weekend because it’s Labor Day weekend. Every adventurous person, like us, will be out enjoying nature. We’ve decided that in order to alleviate some of the annoyance of not being able to be alone with nature, we are going to go wine tasting on Saturday! Cool, right? Why not head out to the wineries one of the days and come home, to our tent, for our afternoon nap that will feel oh-so-good after a few “tastings”.
I personally think that this is one of the better ideas that my group of friends has come up with, but that’s just me. Everyone that knows me knows I am a Wino.
So here’s to my upcoming trip. I will make sure to toast you all as I sip on my wine and relax in front of the campfire. J

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Here's to the new

My sister always wants to start new projects/goals and somehow ropes me into it. It’s funny because they are always her idea and yet a few days into it she bails and leaves me with the bag. The night before Lent was supposed to start she calls me and says that we need to fast together and what do I want to give up? Not thinking it through and figuring if I am going to do it I might as well go big, offer to give up coffee and energy drinks.

Now if any of you know me you know I live at Starbucks. There are 2 Starbucks, 1 near my work and 1 near my house, that know my drink choice without me having to open my mouth. I also drink Go Girls like they are going out of style. My sister said she would give up some sort of junk food. I don’t even remember what it was exactly because she changed it so many times. She finally picked what she would fast and we agreed to stick to it.

I go into work the next morning, after not having my morning Go Girl and realized I forgot my computer. Really? The one thing I have to have in order to work? I tell my boss my goof, he laughs, and I drive home to get it. I would be lying if I said it got any better. What should have been 40 days of sacrifice ended up being 48. I lasted all 48 and my sister lasted maybe 4…

Now I bring up this story, knowing she may kill me for repeating it, because I got a text today saying that she wanted to start blogging and wanted me to also. At first I said no because I don’t have the time. I mean I am about to get married, we return and then I have the reception a month later. That is not even taking into consideration that we are on the heels of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and then the New Year.

Knowing I am crazy for starting yet another thing in my life, I can’t help but sit here and start to think about how much my life is truly changing. My uncle just passed away, I am getting married in 3 weeks and for once I don’t have an obnoxious amount of drama in my life.

My New Year’s resolutions back in January were to cut the drama out and to get into shape. Well, I was able to conquer ½ of my resolutions thus far, so I think I am going to revise them. My new New Years resolutions, as of September 1st, is to cut the drama out of my life and to start blogging.

To quote my cousin…Here's to the new!