L F I F

It's the Last Friday in February! Can you believe it?!?! I sure can't - 2 months down, 10 to go!

TIME CHANGES EVERYTHING EXCEPT SOMETHING WITHIN US WHICH IS ALWAYS SURPRISED BY CHANGE.
I'm looking foward to a fun weekend with friends and family:

-- A going-away party for a friend moving to Mexico City
-- A 30th birthday party
-- Two fun wine events with friends
-- Celebrating my daughter's 22nd birthday (another indicator that time is passing way too quickly)

No matter where you are, enjoy the present time!

Enjoy this day,
V

Good Day Mate!

A big, far away hello is being sent to my friend Carla! She recently moved to Australia to be with her honey and explore this new world. I hope she's:

- Adventurous

- Brave

- Energetic

- Bold

- Happy

- Productive

- Photographing

- Exercising

- Refreshed

- Inspired

- Calm

I miss you -- your laughs, giggles, jokes and simply you!

Hope all is well. Please start a blog so I can keep track of you!

Miss you tons,
V

Drop Dodging

"And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow."

A Day in the City

Howdy,

February 21 we spent the tourist day in San Francisco with my in-laws. It was a very calm, overcast day; no wind, no rain, no crowds.

We started off at the Buena Vista for an Irish Coffee. I hear that they are very strong but so very yummy. Greg had two! We ventured off down by the water and observed the bay (Golden Gate Bridge, the many boats out to sea, the many "different" individuals taking strolls, the Cable Car traffic, and all the street vendors).

At my father-in-laws request, we headed to Coit Tower. They have a beautiful, picturesque staircase (all of 400+ steps) that leads you to the Tower. We did our exercise duty by climbing the steps to the top -- we done this hike before and it's not really that bad. You get an excellent view of the Bay Bridge and this path takes you amongst many of the homes embedded into the side of the mountain. There are a lot of beautiful gardens and picture windows along the way. Once at the top, you are at the face of the Tower. The views from the parking lot are spectacular (those of Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge, the rolling houses of the city).

After our climb down, we headed for Golden Gate Park. Here we did some trail walking and ended up at the Conservatory of Flowers. I really enjoyed all the beautiful flowers and landscaping they have on these grounds. Many people were enjoying a restful day. One of these days I would like to stroll as many trails as I can in the park -- it's very peaceful and therapeutic.

After all our exercise, we enjoyed a super yummy dinner at the Cheesecake Factory; always a favorite!

It was a full day of fun, beauty and exercise! We love San Francisco and always find new adventures during our visits.

Hope everyone had a good, rainy weekend!

V

Sunshine

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy

Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry

Sunshine on the water looks so lovely

Sunshine almost always makes me high

Today I am so grateful for the sun. I know the flowers, trees, and atmosphere are happy when it rains but sunshine makes me happy! Every year I look forward to summer and what it has to offer:

- swimming

- tans

- ice cream

- BBQ's

- driving with the top down

- long warm nights

- sun dresses

- sandals

- energy

- flowers

- heat

- smiles

Sunshine makes me happy!

E is for:

ERIN! A shout out to my friend Erin. I hope your bunny is well.

I appreciate that she reads my blog and takes interest in my doings. It's nice to know that people are tuning in. I do love blogging. It's a great way to capture your days/months/years (and it's quite easy).

Keep reading and I hope you have a great day!

V

Chocolate with Vino

Sunday we had a great day out at McGrail Vineyards. They had a chocolate/wine pairing event. They had displayed a chocolate fountain with strawberries, rice crispy treats, Madelines, cream puffs, and brownies. It was to die for! I was at that station for quite some time. The chocolate was free flowing and the smell was captivating. Everyone else enjoyed some vino with their treats.

We ended up bringing our own picnic supplies and had a great BBQ with garlic bread and some fixings. Everyone was quite envious! Although it was raining cat and dogs, we were troopers and still stuck to our BBQ plan. We were glad we did -- it turned out great! We gained quite a few friends and have been invited back for future BBQ events.

We topped off our fantastic day by having appetizers at Vic Stewart's -- never a dull moment! It was a long day of food, fun, laughs, and stories. Can't wait to do it again soon!

We also enjoyed two movies this weekend: Taken and He's Just Not that Into You. With all the raindrops, we found a nice, warm comfy seat in the theatre.

V

13 things on Friday the 13th

1. I'm glad I won my racquetball game this morning (4 to 1)
2. Both my girls received their Valentine's Day box of goodies -- I love them A LOT!
3. So happy to have purchased Cher tickets
4. I will dodge the rain drops as I leave work today
5. Can't wait to spend some extra special time with my sweetie this 3-day weekend
6. Looking forward to creating in my scrapbooking room
7. Can't wait to do 60 mins of spin tomorrow
8. I hope my daughter has a safe, fun trip to Lake Tahoe this weekend
9. I love black licorice
10. Looking forward to the Jason Aldean concert in March
11. I can't stand tardiness
12. Carrie Underwood rocks
13. A special shout out to my favorite 13 friends: Renee, Monica, Amy, Sarita, Erin, Alex, Ashley, Lori, Jean, Kelly, Jen, Jennifer, Greg

BELIEVE

So very excited today!

I just booked tickets to see Cher in Las Vegas in March. I love her! When I first starting dating Greg, her album "Believe" had just been released. As I packed for our first trip to Vegas together, the songs on this album were burned in my memory. They were playing over and over as I packed for an unforgettable trip. (All my close friends know that I love Vegas -- not only was Vegas my first vacation shared with Greg but we got married in Las Vegas at the Bellagio).

I have seen her already about 5 times about 2 years ago. She's a great performer, in great shape for 60+, and has some classic hits! I grew up watching the Sonny and Cher show so her songs are not foreign to me. I know it will be an electrifying show -- she always has a flair for great sets (fake elephants and the whole nine yards). I'll give everyone an update after the show.

Enjoy this Friday and stay dry! It's been super wet out there -- YEAH! The flowers will be happy this spring!

V

P.S. I threw in a photo of Greg and I during our rock climbing day in Las Vegas in June, 2008. We did some real life cliff hanging during that trip! (Plus it was 112 degrees -- you know me -- I love it HOT)!

Sweet Tooth = lbs.

Howdy do,

Aren't you glad tomorrow is Friday? I sure am.

I've been in a funk this week and can't wait to have some fun this weekend. Of course it will be Valentine's Day weekend and all so that will mean lots of sweet treats. I've been craving food in general this week which isn't a good thing -- I'm sure the scale will reflect that. My motto is: don't step on the scale if you think you've gained weight. I try really hard to judge my weight by the way I wear my clothes. If they are snug, an extra 30 mins. on the treadmill.

Lately I have been burned out with my work-out routine so I need to mix it up and re-energize. I need Jillian (the trainer on the Biggest Loser) by my side yelling at me to do better and do more. Sometimes I get stuck in a rut -- anyone else have that problem?

Anyways, no real reason for this post. Just wanted to shout out to my friends that read my silly words here on this blog.

HELLO TO: Lorraine, Erin, Ashley, Carla, Monica, Renee, Kelly, Amy, Sarita, Steve, Jen, Jennifer and all those little aliens in blogland.

Enjoy this day and I hope some sweet treats will come your way this weekend.
V

Vintage

Hi all,
Just popping by to say hello and welcome Monday! Monday's aren't my favorite days as I usually barely make it thru -- those early alarms are a killer at the beginning of the week.

This weekend was one of fun. We went to investigate a new store in San Francisco called "Timeless Treasures". It's a small boutique that sells vintage items; they sold a lot of old letters - the type that you can hang on walls. They were quite pricey. It was interesting to see some of the older items (books and jewelry).

We enjoyed a good dinner at PF Changs and then had drinks with friends at Vic Stewart's.

We had a usual Sunday with our family dinner: lamb stew, veggie medley, homemade sourdough bread, lemon cookies and a special dessert from my dad. All was super yummy!

Cheers to a new week ahead.
V

Lungs

Hi all,

Last night I was lucky enough to attend the LeAnn Rimes concert at the Turlock Community Theatre. This is a very small, quanit venue of 1,000 seats. Very intimate setting. The opening band was Gloriana (they now on 53 on the charts with their single). They are a good group!

LeAnn's entrance: black jeans, white tank top, pony tail, no make-up and bare footed -- she did the whole concert casual. It's good to see she's not out to impress; it's her voice that captivates you -- not her wardrobe.

LeAnn, of course, was amazing! She has the most crystal, clear voice. I guess since singing from the age of 3, she has had plenty of time to practice and perfect her voice. I would say it's pretty close to perfect. She has had a lot of hits over the years and of course her signature song "Blue" is quite remarkable.

So glad I had the chance to see such a talented performer.

Ready to tackle the weekend with fun and relaxation (I think).

TGIF,

V

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew.

Today I am struggling with "patiencee". I have a short fuse and the above quote made me take a step back and re-evaluate. Sometimes when fatigue sets in, I don't have the tolerance for certain things (i.e., slow drivers, inconsiderate people, rain, or orders).

Bear with me -- it will go away (hopefully soon).

On the bright side, I get to go see LeAnn Rimes tonight -- so jazzed!

Enjoy this day (even if you don't have patience).

V

Memories

I wish I was in Tuscany!