Down at the Boardwalk

Mona and I enjoying a cocktail!

Santa Cruz, CA

Sights around Capitola

The party girls!

Had a super fun weekend celebrating Franci's 50th birthday in Santa Cruz. They rented a beach house in Santa Cruz (2 miles from Capitola) one block from the ocean.

We ventured off to the beach (too windy), took a stroll thru Capitola (simply adorable), visited a wine bar off the pier (fun belly dancing), ate too much food (great cooks), giggled until our sides hurt (thanks Mona/Peanut), and enjoyed the birthday festivites (thanks Franci for getting older).

It was a great time to recap with old friends and create new ones.

So happy we were invited and could embrace this milestone with Franci.

Cheers,
V

More fun

We had a chance to see the movie "Switch" this weekend; it was super funny and a great flic! Go see it!

Greg and I are back into playing racquetball! YEAH! We are so happy. We are going to make it a nightly event! My game is sure to improve - Greg is a great player and he's super competitive. Bring it on!

Sat. we did some domestic chores around the house - YEAH to me for cleaning my closet - feels so good. I am totally in a de-clutter mode right now. We enjoyed dinner/dancing with Franci and Marc on Saturday night. Tried out the new Grazie's restaurant. We love it!

Sunday was a full day of wine tasting, food and friends in Livermore. We hit up McGrail Vineyards and Red Feather Winery. The little mascot at Red Feather is Seth (the bird) - he's got a great personality and a heck of a voice.

We even had time to hit up a local pub in downtown Livermore - the team said they had great ales (lots of variety). We had dinner at Terra Mia - an Italian favorite in Livermore. The champagne and vino was flowing! A great time had by all - thanks to Bill for treating us to dinner and thanks to Peanut for the vino.

Mona/Peanut walked away from the weekend with two new kitties that were given to them at Red Feather Winery (I nicknamed them Louie and Leon). That totals 5 cats for them.

Life is so wonderful when shared with great friends!
Cheers
V

Success

Enjoying the buffet at the Bellagio (my favorite)!

Had to see this new Cirque Show

New York, New York

Another successful trip to Vegas was had by all!

We had a great weekend trip enjoying some new firsts in Sin City:
- Dinner at Brio (highly recommended; super yummy Italian cuisine)
- Dinner at Diablo's (fun cantina on the strip; they play fun music and the food was good)
- Elvis Cirque du Soleil (didn't find this show all that great; there was hardly any acrobatics; lots of singing and dancing - I would not recommend this show; save your money and go see a classic Cirque show such as "O")
- Jersey Boys (exceptional! fantastic! enjoyed all the songs (brought back tons of memories), sets, actors, singers, and talent)
- First time traveling with our friends Franci and Marc; we had tons of laughs, some sunburns, great conversation, and lots of memories)

We will be headed back to Vegas in March 2011 for Celine's new show - can't wait to see what she has in store.

(Photos to follow.)

Viva Las Vegas,
V

Neon

Heading to Sin City today for a weekend getaway with friends.
So excited and much needed.
It's only going to be 111 degrees there so pool time is definitely in order.

We are going to a comedy show and the new Elvis Cirque de Soleil show - can't wait!

Also, can't wait to see Eat, Pray, Love - should be a great movie.

Wish us luck!

V

Messy

Can you say "messy"? I sure can! My house is a complete mess!

We recently had a copper pipe break unexpectedly in our kitchen which equals:
- New carpeting
- New hardwood flooring
- New counter in the kitchen
- New paint
- Lots of stress
- Lots of nights in a hotel
- Living out of a suitcase
- Shorter commute (while in a hotel)
- Mold
- Dealing with the insurance company (forever)
- Eating out every night
- Contractors
- Dust
- Chaos

Needless to say I'm not a happy camper right now - I know in the end it will all be advantageous to the well being of our home, but right now it's a major pain. The only bright side: I do look forward to a new kitchen counter - something I have been hoping for for a very long time.

Say prayers for my sanity! I have OCD with cleanliness and this is just putting me over the edge. : )

Hope your week is a bit brighter and cleaner than mine.
V

Today I Am...

Listening to: Smooth Jazz on the radio

Reading: Eat, Love, Pray

Obsessed with: getting caught up with uploading all my photos.

Thinking about: how very grateful I am to have two wonderful daughters.

Planning to: paint my bathroom during the balance of this month.

Dreaming of: having a girls only trip sometime in 2011.

Enjoying: the fact that it's Friday and it's the end of a very busy work week.

Vowing to: lose weight and get myself back on track.

Working on: getting my pictures organized and catching up on my Photo of the Day project.

Excited about: seeing Mandy this weekend!

Encouragement

Encouragement may come very easily to you.

If so, embrace it, honor it, and be oh so thankful it does.

Fun L.A. Style

Redondo Beach
Surfer's ride

A girls paradise

XGames 16 - BMX competition

X Games 16 2010 - Los Angeles

We had a great weekend in Los Angeles while attending XGames 16. Those athletes are incredible. We had tickets for the rally car races, motor-cross, BMX bikes and skateboarding - it was all outrageous!

During our visit we took a few side trips to:

• Redondo Beach
• Venice Beach
• Manhattan Beach
• Rodeo Drive
• Sunset Drive
• Hollywood
• International Surfing Competition

I love this part of the world --- seeing how the other side lives. All facets of that culture is over the top! I would love to be a maid in Beverly Hills - we even drove to Hugh Hefner's house (mansion I should say - such a beautiful property).

We spotted quite a few luxurious cars: Porche's, Ferrari's, Rolls Royce.

It was a great weekend trip -- can't wait to do it again soon.
V