I've Been Awarded!

I've recently been awarded the Sugar Doll Blogger Award by 3 different fabulous ladies.  Shelly at The Family BLT,  Jenn  at Becoming Mrs. Lindauer & Lacey from Live, Laugh, Read.  I'm totally honored that they'd think of me!  Lil' ol' me! :)

Anyhoo... this is how it works (I almost said this is how we do it, but then the Montell Jordan song came roaring through my head, and I thought I'd spare my readers! Whoops, guess I didn't spare y'all after all!)

• Thank and link to the person that gave you the award
• Share 10 things about yourself
• Pass the award along to 10 other bloggers who you think are something special
• Contact the bloggers you picked to let them know about the Award

Easy Peasy, right?

Okay, so 10 things about myself...

1.   I come from a large family. My mom had 6 brothers & sisters.  They all had kids.  Growing up I LOVED going to Eastern WA to visit my grandparents, and all my cousins. 

2.   I am fairly shy, and (as other bloggers have said as well) I fear I may come off as rude or indifferent when meeting people for the first time. I've gotten better, but I suck at initiating conversation.  You come up to me?  I'll talk, no problem.

3.   I think of, and miss my 2 adorable nephews every.single.day.  They were most definitely the hardest part of leaving WA. 

4.   I am a great listener.  I am a horrible talker.  By that, I mean if my friends have problems, I'm there  100%.  They know that they can call any day, any time and I will gladly listen, commiserate, laugh, be angry, whatever they need... I'm there.  But if roles are reversed?  I'm hesitant to call my peeps.  Not because they're not "there" for me, but because I don't want to bother them.  Dumb, huh?  Good thing I've got Sam! :)

5.   I have excellent penmanship.  I am also a little OCD about it.  Teachers in school loved me for this.  If it was my personal notes?  No big deal, I would scrawl quickly and it didn't matter what it looked like. If it was a paper to be turned in, even a math assignment?  It would be done very neatly.  If I messed up, I would oftentimes re do the entire thing.  Thank goodness for computers now!  Gotta love the backspace key.

6.   One of my closest friends is a guy that I met on an online dating website.  We initially started talking, and decided we were best suited as friends.  We've never met in person, but we were each invited to the others weddings.

7.   Speaking of online dating... I met my husband on a dating website. 

8.   I have several friends, but there's really only one (not counting Sam) that I am truly myself with, and tell her absolutely everything. 

9.   I have a crazy insane fear of insects.  Any kind of insects.  Ladybugs?  Yuck.  Butterflies?  I can admire from afar, but they better keep their six legs offa me!  Though, I love reptiles.  Am fascinated with them.

10.  I once went on a road trip from Eastern WA to Las Vegas with these two ladies.  It was the most fun in a car ever.  We all laughed so hard that some may have peed their pants.  They are the best!  My Mama & my "sousin" Sister/cousin.  No, we're not inbred.  We're just more like sisters than cousins, and we dubbed ourselves sousins.  Yes, we are quite silly.  It's a pre-requisite to be in our family!

Phew!  That was more difficult than I thought it would be!  There ya have it... 10 random things about me! 
I'm not going to pass it along, as I'm pretty sure there's been many nominations floating around!

Happy Birthday America!!

Happy Happy birthday to the United States! 

We had such a relaxing, wonderful weekend.  I just wish it didn't have to come to an end!!

Yesterday, we went to our friends, Tami & David's house, and BBQ'd with them.  They have a 11 year daughter, twin 9 year old girls, and a 20 month old little guy.  The girls provide us with endless entertainment.  They are so stinking funny!  After we ate, and cleaned up, we headed to Central Christian Church where we watched a great fireworks display. 

My handsome hubs

The requisite self portrait

It was a nice time, and exactly what we needed!

Things that make me happy

Here are just a few things that make me happy.  Sometimes I feel as though I need to be reminded of all the things in life that I am truly blessed to be a part of, or to have.  I guess it goes along with my vow to take note of the small things in life!

My handsome husband

Parents

Brothers

Nephews

Girlfriends

Fur babies

Blue skies

My favorite place back "home" in WA - Deception Pass

And because I'm a total girl...

Shoes!

Makeup

What are some things that make you happy?

Girls Night at Firesky

I got a call last week from someone from Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, inviting me to a Women In Touch event at the Firesky Resort. When I booked the room for Sam's birthday weekend I signed up for their rewards program (Kimpton In Touch). I've loved Kimpton Hotels since the first time I stayed at the Hotel Monaco in Chicago.  I'm a sucker for rewards programs, so I figured why not.  Plus, it allowed us free Internet access for our stay.  And we know how cheap I am much I like a good deal!

Anyway, back to the phone call... she invited me & a girlfriend to a special VIP dinner as a thank you for being a past guest & Kimpton In Touch member.  I wasn't really sure what to think but I heard the word free and I was sold!

I asked a co-worker/friend of mine if she wanted to come with, and of course, she was all for it.  So we headed up to Scottsdale this last Wednesday after work.  Upon arrival, we were greeted with a nice glass of champagne.  We sat down, and waited for everyone to arrive.  They passed around appetizers, and refilled our champagne as needed.  The appetizers were so delicious!  The had bruschetta, spanakopita and coconut prawns.  Seriously amazing stuff!

Once everyone arrived, each table (there were 4) formed a team, and we set out to make the best margarita.  The winning team would be treated to a free night at the hotel.  We came up with a yummy margarita, but ultimately lost, because it was a little too sweet.  Bummer.  After all the hard work making the margaritas, we were treated to shots of Patron.

We then sat down for dinner.  Which was amazing.  It was a 3 course meal, each course served with a complimentary wine. 

Mixed Arizona Greens with Jicama, goat cheese, candied pecans, roasted red peppers, cherry tomatoes and prickly pear vinaigrette.

Duet of Filet dauphinoise potatoes and an asparagus bundle (please excuse my crappy iPhone photos I should have grabbed my camera!)

Vanilla Bean creme brulee with fresh berries

They were all so so SO amazing!  Seriously, some of the best food I've had in a very long time!  I know, that may not be saying all that much, since if any of you have met Sam, you know that he is pretty much the pickiest eater EVER, and I don't often get food that's full of flavor (unless we're at a restaurant, but even then his pickiness dictates where we eat)


Throughout dinner, we chatted with a couple of the Kimpton executives.  I had such a great time talking with Natalie White, their VP of Customer Marketing and Relationships.  By the end of the night I had a total girl crush on her and wished we could be bff's.  She was so much fun!


It was a really fun evening, and definitely made me even more of a loyal customer.  The Kimpton Hotels are such a class act.  I can't say enough good things about them!

30 Things

As the tempuratures continue to rise, the days get increasingly longer, and weekends somehow seem even shorter, summer officially begins tomorrow!  I saw this on Mama Kat's blog as one of the Writer's Workshop prompts.  I definitely missed the Thursday due date, but I thought I'd do it anyway.

30 Things I vow to do this Summer:

1. Go to the pool on average once a week
2. Try at least 3 new recipes
3. Blog on average twice a week
4. Take more random photos to document our summer
5. Take at least one photo of Sam & I together every week
6. Send birthday gifts out on time (Gavin, Justin, Phaedra & my Mom)
7. Go through bathroom linen closet, and my closet.  Organize said closets
8. Read 6 books.  And don't feel bad if they're mostly "chick lit"
9. Read 2 non-fiction books
10. Find & volunteer for Disney's Give a Day Get a Day. 
11. Bake cookies or cupcakes for my husband once a month
12. Dust our ceiling fans.  It's pretty embarrassing how long it's been since this has been done.
13. Call at least one member of my family once a week to say hi, see how things are going
14. Have weekly date nights with my husband
15. Visit Phoenix Art Museum again
16. Begin the process of redecorating our bedroom
17. Tell my husband I love him every single day
18. Explore a different area of Phoenix at least once a month
19. Convince my bff that she must move down here.
20. Save up for & plan our October Disneyland trip
21. Keep my pedicure looking cute. 
22. Turn the computer off more often
23. Play wii with my husband more often
24. Cook more often
25. Try a new resataurant...or 3
26. Get together with other couples 3 times
27. Laugh a lot
28. Take notice of, and enjoy the small things
29. Frame & hang more photos
30. Get my hair done.  And not feel guilty for spending the money!

So there we have it... my 30 things for the summer.  I've officially got 94 days, as Fall doesn't begin until September 23rd.  I think it's doable! 

What are some things you vow to do this summer?

Vegas Recap

As promised... back to back posting by yours truly. Ha!

I just got back from my Vegas trip with Rachael. It was SO much fun! It was exactly what I've been needing. I got in Wednesday morning. Mom picked me up from the airport. We went to breakfast, and she took me to the store so I could get some booze to drink in our room (trying to keep the costs down yo!) Then we went to her apartment, and hung out there. Her friend, Missy, came over, and the 3 of us headed to the pool. We spent most of the afternoon by the pool, then Mom took me to check into the MGM. She hung out with me for awhile in the hotel room, and we talked a bit. It's a really difficult time for my family. My parents are going through a lot, and for the first time in 29 years, we're not sure if they'll be able to pull through this marriage in tact. I see both sides, and I see faults in both. It's hard.

Rachael got in Wednesday night at 11pm. She got to the hotel, and we just hung out there, enjoying our cheap cocktails while catching up.  We did venture out of our room to grab a bite to eat prior to passing out for the night. Or should I say morning?

Thursday, we hung out at the pool all day, then got cleaned up & headed down to Diego to partake in their happy hour. We enjoyed a delicious pitcher of sangria between the two of us, and had some yummy appetizers. We got the bright idea to go to the Wynn, as Rach hadn't seen it yet. We hopped on the monorail, but were pretty discouraged, when we were dropped off at Harrah's, the "closest" stop to the Wynn, which was definitely not close. So we walked to the Venetian, and had a cocktail there. One of Sam's friends that he used to work with was also in Vegas for the weekend, as well as a friend of a friend of Rachael's. So we decided to meet up with them, at their hotel. The freaking Stratosphere. Which is at what seems like the other end of the world. So we hop on the monorail again, only to be dropped off at Sahara. After grabbing another cocktail for the road (do you see a pattern here?) we trekked across the street to Stratosphere, plopped our butts in comfy lounge chairs for the next several hours, and had a fabulous time, filled with tons of laughter with Denise, Kim & Rach.

Friday, we headed to the pool once again. We didn't stay quite as long, as it got really crowded, and turned into a "meet market" type scene. Not quite our deal. So we headed back up to our room, and had our own happy hour before getting ready to go to Beatles Love. Which was ah-maze-ing. Seriously. SO awesome. I highly recommend it! We were pretty pooped after the sun, booze & Beatles, so we headed back to our room & crashed relatively early

Saturday, we were both pretty much done & ready to go home.  We checked out of the hotel, and went and grabbed some breakfast.  My Mom met up with us, and we enjoyed our breakfast together.  We wandered around for a little while, and decided to head to the airport early, as we had our sensory overload fill. 

So, that was our trip in a nutshell.  Like I said, it was SO much fun.  The perfect mixture of relaxation, drunkeness, laughs & most importantly much needed girl time.

Remember Me? It's been awhile...

Oops.  I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted on here.  Ay yi yi!  I don't really know where to start, so I'll just recap a couple of the bigger things that have happened in the last 5 weeks.  Since this has gotten incredibly long, I am going to break it into two posts.  Impressed?  You'll get back to back posts from me!  Woo hoo!  Might wanna mark it on the calendar.  It'll be less than 3 weeks between posts.  THAT doesn't happen often.


So first things first...


The in-laws were here visiting back in May.  If I ever feel the need to take an extended amount of time off while they're in town visiting, PLEASE direct me to this post.  It was exhausting. I do MUCH better with small little spurts of visiting.  I love them, I really do.  They are wonderful people, so very good to us.  They have treated me as if I were their own daughter from day one.  I really am blessed in that they love me (& of course their son) so very much.  I feel I need to preface what I'm going to say, because it's not the nicest. 

• They are so incredibly judgemental, I can't stand it.  No one is immune from the judgement.  Gays?  Without a doubt.  Mormons?  Oh yeah.  Emo dressed?  You betcha.  They compared everything to WA.  Everything. 
• According to them, WA is a horrible place. It's pretty much a crap place to live, there's nothing there, is ugly, there's really no redeeming quality.  I grew up in WA.  I still love it there.  It is not a horrible place.  It's far from ugly, it has a lot to offer people... So that kind of irked me.  Silly?  Yes.  But, it is what it is. 
• They have to be right.  At all times. And if they're not?  They'll find a way to be right.  This is mostly my MIL.  We went shopping together one day.  Sam & his Dad went to Guitar Center, so his mom & I headed to the mall.  We were wandering around Dillards shoe department, when she mentions to me that her friend was looking for a pair of basic black heels that only have a 2 inch heel.  I point out a pair to her, and she says that's a MUCH higher heel than 2 inches.  I said I didn't think so, I thought it was maybe 2 or 2 1/2 inches.  She goes up to the sales associate, and asks for a freaking TAPE MEASURE so that she could prove me wrong.  Seriously?! Who does that?! Oh, my MIL.  That's who.  I conveniently wandered off when I saw her approach the sales associate.  There was no way I could be near her and not lose my ish.  When I did find her again (giving ample time for the measuring of the freaking heel) She informed me that the heel on that shoe was actually 4 inches, and it just goes to show that they're higher than you think.  I replied telling her that I guess I must mostly wear 10 inch heels because majority of my shoes are all much higher than that.
• They are better than everyone. Or so they think.  Ugh.  Seriously, could you be any more condescending?  So irritating.

So, I decided to go by the "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" motto.  For the most part, it worked.  There were a few times that I just couldn't keep my mouth shut.  But overall, it worked. I have to admit that I was a little relieved to hear that they drove Sam nuts as well.  He's an only child, and tends to be somewhat of a Mama's Boy.  So it was nice to know I wasn't alone in my frustrations.


So yeah.  That was the visit with my in-laws in a nutshell.  Please tell me I'm not the only one with in-laws that drive them batty.