Sunday, October 18, 2009

Wednesday at Kona Village

I was downloading pictures and saw that my last blog from Hawaii did not get posted, so here it is…

 

Did I mention how we have no keys here at Kona Village?  No keys at all.  That's right we don't lock our doors here.  They told us you could get a key if you really wanted one, but what the heck.  It has been a pleasure to live without keys.  Oh and did I mention no TV.  I have to admit that I was a little nervous about this.  Brad and I are TV watching idiots. Don't miss it.  Don't miss it at all!

 

Last night we walked over to a different restaurant at the Four Seasons.  Once again we were right on the beach.  Oh I could get used to this!!

 

Today we got up, had our breakfast and then headed over to the Marriott at Waikoloa for Brad's second and last day of class.  These have not been hard to take 8:00 to ll:00.  Today a lot of wives were there even though the ADA nerd said that wives weren't allowed.  I can see why Brad has liked this class.  I thought what I learned about photography was great and makes me want to learn more!! 

 

About halfway through the class we left the classroom and went outside to practice taking pictures.  The hour flew by.  Then it was back to class for a little more instruction and then the course was over!!  Brad was smart and at the end asked to use Dr. Snow's light meter to get some readings for his camera for the office.

We left the Marriott and headed over to the Hilton Waikoloa.  I had remembered that they had a sandal shop there and I thought Brad might be able to find the sandals that he has been looking for.  He found them and then decided he wanted a different pair altogether.  Whatever.  At least he found what we wanted.  

 

We left the Hilton and went over to the Kings Court Shopping Center and had a nice lunch.  But it was hot and humid!!  We were dripping by the time we left to go back to Kona Village.  On our way to the Village we saw a couple of goats that we just had to take pictures of.  

 

As soon as we got back to our hale we got our suits on and headed for the beach.  Then around 4:15 we headed back to get ready for  the cocktail party.  Yay! Free drinks and pupus.  We took advantage of the opportunity, played some Hawaiian checkers and then the hour was over.

 

Before heading back to our hale we walked over to the tennis courts and fitness room. Nothing like checking out tennis courts and fitness equipment after 2 mai tais.  Hahaha.

 

On our way back we also checked out the luau.  We decided to not go to this one, but we are planning on going to the one on Friday. 

 

The pupus filled us up so we are back at the hale getting ready for a great day of golf!

Until later.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Another Beautiful Morning

 

Brad was up really early this morning getting ready to go to his dental photography course. Today it is all about taking dental photos.  Tomorrow is about taking recreational photos.  I think I am going to try and tag along for that one.  The course is up the road a ways at the Marriott at Waikaloa.  So I am on my own this morning.

 

My plans are to take a walk over to the Four Seasons to make reservations for an full day of golf on Thursday.  Then I will head over for breakfast.  I think I’ll take the laptop over and upload these blogs.  Then I may take another walk or I may just go lay by the ocean.  What to do, what to do. 

 

Until Later…

Hapuna Golf

We got up this morning and got dressed to play golf before heading over for breakfast.  Since we can’t park any where near our Hale we had to carry our clubs to the car first.  Then is was over to Hale Muana for breakfast. 

 

We got another great seat for breakfast and this time we were seated at the table next to Ricky Lee Jones.  She wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone.  We weren’t going to say anything to her, god forbid.  I just think that is a crummy way to live.  I can’t imagine there are many people here who would recognize her and even fewer who might say anything to her.  And I only know that one song.  Oh well.

 

After breakfast we headed out to Hapuna golf course up by Moana Kea.  We got there a little after 8:00 even though our tee time was for 10:30.  We figured they just might get us out early if we were there early.  We were right.  We had just enough time to his a small bucket of balls and practice a little putting before they told us that we were up.  We even got to play as a twosome.  Yay

 

The golf course is built on the side of a mountain and the first 5 or 6 holes are all uphill.  Oh my god.  And it was hot and humid without a breeze to be found.  I played terribly, but had fun doing it.  Once we got to the top the holes coming down were much nicer to play.  The course was in great shape and we had fun playing there.  Once we were done we went in pro shop and bought a new golf shirt for Brad and a windbreaker type jacket for me.  Oh it was hard trying on that windbreaker when I was so hot and sweaty but I knew that was what I wanted as a souvenir from Hapuna.

 

After our game at Hapuna we decided to go check out the Moana Kea  hotel.  We had fond memories of the hotel from the times we stayed at the Moana Kea Villas when the girls were really young.  The hotel looks pretty much the same except for the pool area which is much better than it was.  We decided to have lunch at the beachside restaurant.  It was delicious.  After lunch we drove around the villas and tried to remember which ones we had rented.  They don’t look like they have aged.

 

Then it was back to our hale.  By the time we got back we couldn’t wait to put on our swimsuits.  OMG.  I was so hot and sweaty.  Today has been a day without a breeze.  As soon and we got our suits on we headed out to the beach and into the ocean.  Then we relaxed for a while and read.  But the bugs were out and we decided to go and sit on our porch.

 

We were reading when all of a sudden Brad said, “sunset” and we jumped up and ran to the beach just in time to see the last half of the sun go down.  It was beautiful, but no green flash. 

 

We have been sitting around our hale after that and are now getting ready to walk over to the Four Seasons for a bite to eat.

 

Until Later…

Sunday

Today when we got up we decided it was time to take a walk to the Four Seasons and see what was in that direction.  So we put on our walking clothes and headed out.  The Four Seasons is right next to Kona Village and it is beautiful.  Walking around the grounds there I felt that I had found my substitue for Kapalua!  We walked all around the grounds and checked out the very empty and very expensive golf course.  We learned that you either had to be a guest of the Four Seasons, Kona Village or own a home in the resort to be able to play.  And you can not bring a guest.  And for the privilege you pay $250 per person.  Only this month they are having a special because they have just aerated the greens.  Now it is only $200.  Yikes.

 

We decided to think about it and go back and check out golf Hawaii.

 

While we were in the concierge room at Kona Village checking out golf times online Ricky Lee Jones came in to make an appointment for a massage and to arrange an excursion to Mauna Kea.  Ricky Lee Jones of Chuck Es in Love.  And Cindy Crawford is here. Ok we haven’t seen her, but we heard she is here…

 

Once we figured out where we wanted to golf and when (tomorrow, Hapuna) it was time to go to the pool.  We had a very relaxing time under a cabana.  When we were just about ready to go I knew that I first had to get in the ocean.  To Brad's delight I decided it was time to swim out to the raft.  And so we did.  I was very nervous for some reason but I was glad I got out to the raft and didn't just think about it.  Next time, however, I am going to use some fins.

 

After our swim we decided it was time to go down to Kailua Kona.

 

We headed down the coast to find a place to watch the sunset and have some fish. 

After driving around a bit we decided The Kona Inn would be the best choice.  We were able to get a seat closest the the ocean which turned out to be a perfect spot to watch the sun set.  And a great place for dinner.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Saturday in Hawaii

Saturday was our first full day here on the Big Island and we were determined to start it out right.  Once we were able to get up.  It was funny, we woke up early then went back to sleep, then woke up, then went back to sleep, then woke up...  it was as though we didn't know what time zone to follow.  Finally we decided to get up and quickly made some Kona coffee before heading out to breakfast. 


Our stay includes breakfast every morning and I figured it would be a simple continental type breakfast.  Wong!!  I had eggs benedict, for crying out loud.  Brad had steak and eggs and an order of pancakes.  And this was all after an interesting plate of fruit.  And all outside near the water.  What a beautiful way to start the day!!  When we left we were full and knew we wouldn’t need anything until dinner, which we were going to have here at the resort.

 

After breakfast we took a walk to explore a part of the resort.  Although there are only 150 hales here there are 80 acres to explore.  After exploring we decided it was time to put on our swimsuits and go to the beach. 

 

We spent the day at the beach under a palm tree.  It was wonderful.  When we were ready to leave we headed out thinking we were going to walk down and check out the 4 Seasons when we noticed that the shipwreck bar was open.  Well, Nancy and Mike had told us we had to check that out so we stopped and sat at the bar.  Now Ben had sent me a text telling us to have a mai tai for him so we figured we needed to honor that request.  So honor it we did.  In fact, we stayed there until it was time to get ready for our dinner reservation…  Yeah, Chad is a good bartender.

 

At the appointed hour we went to the Hale Moana for dinner.  As we left our hale it started to rain, but Brad just ran back to the room and got an umbrella.  We got a table close to the beach and we kept our fingers crossed that it wouldn’t rain anymore.  It must have worked because we stayed dry.

 

Dinner was very nice and we are glad we tried it out but we will be heading off property tomorrow for dinner.

 

And then it was back to the room to relax and go to sleep.  A perfect first full day of vacation.  :)

Kona Morning

Our flight over the ocean on the way to Kona was very smooth – until the last 10 minutes or so.  Then it got quite bumpy.  I guess the winds were fighting with the pilot.  There were a couple of times that the plane seemed to drop and people on the plane would go “whoa”.  Although my hands were wet with sweat and I was gripping Brad’s hand I knew this was just fairly normal for flying into Hawaii. This was the first time that I can remember ever having a female captain.  The next day I was thinking how odd it was that she hadn’t made any announcements and then I realized that she had and I had assumed it was the flight attendant.  Gloria Steinham would be so disappointed in me.

 

Getting out baggage took a very long time.  Two flights had arrived at about the same time and that just seemed to be too much to handle for the luggage crew.  They have to unload little bits at a time, drive it over to the luggage area, unload it, go back and get more.  After having only picked up of golf clubs we decided it would be good for Brad to take the clubs and hop on the shuttle to get our car.  Not long after he left our two bags showed up and I carted them out to the street, put on my ipod, got out a magazine and waited for Brad.

 

Brad showed up in a nice little Chevy Malibu that we loaded up and off we went.

 

As Nancy had predicted we missed the turn-off for the resort but it didn’t take long for us to realize our mistake and soon we were back on track.  The resort is only about 9 miles from the airport so we didn’t have a long way to go.  We arrived at the reception area and they were ready to check us in with a glass of rum punch.  Just the ticket!!  As we were checking in Tad took our luggage to our hale.  When we were ready Tad drove us in a golf cart to our home for the next 8 days. 

 

I have heard these described as grass shacks. Sure they have grass roofs but they certainly aren’t shacks.  Ours is very roomy with one wall being almost all sliding glass door looking out through the palm trees to the ocean.  A very perfect place.

 

As it was just about time for the sun to go down we hurried out to the deserted beach and watched as beautiful sunset.  Then we went back to our room, unpacked, and got ready to go and forage for some food. 

We decided to head off property and go to Ceviche Dave’s.  Only problem was we didn’t know exactly where it was and we weren’t able to find it.  We did, however, find a nice little sushi place where sushi dishes went past your table on a conveyer belt.  We had a lot of fun and a lot of sushi for a great price.  Then it was back home to get to sleep.

 

We slept like babies. 

 

Until later…

Vacation Day One

After staying up late last night and then getting up at 6:00 this morning we were ready to leave before the time than we had planned.  Okay, maybe it was only 10 minutes earlier but at least we weren’t late.  We were able to drop the excited Zoey off and stop at Target before we left the AV with time to spare.  Traffic wasn’t bad and when it started backing up we were able to get in the HOV lane and sail passed everyone.  That was great. 

 

Brad had arranged for parking at the Airport Marriott and we were able to unload our luggage and hit the restroom before boarding the shuttle that took us to our gate.  As we were loading our luggage on the shuttle the stupid handle on the brand new hard shell golf bag broke.  We couldn’t believe it.  Oh well, we will deal with that when we get home. 

 

Once at the airport we waited in a long, but fast, line to check in our baggage.  We already had our boarding passes so it was just a quick hand over of the luggage that Brad had already prepaid.  That was easy.  Then it was out to the security line. 

 

Holy cow!!  I’ve never been in a line that long at the airport.  Good thing we had a lot of time before boarding.  Finally we got to the scanning equipment and Brad put his shoes on top of his luggage.  Oh no!!  Stop everything and call for a security check. 

 

Once they figured out they were just shoes and it was just a laptop they released them to Brad and let us proceed.  We found a nice spot to sit that had a plug for the laptop so we were able to charge it up and I was able to start this blog of our trip.  Now we are just waiting to hear our boarding call and then it is on to Kona.  Yay!!!

 

Until later…

Thursday, October 1, 2009

T minus 14 hours until take-off!!

We leave the house tomorrow at 9:00 to head for LAX where we will board a Delta plane to Kona, Hawaii!!!  We are so excited.  I have heard so many wonderful things about Kona Village and I am anxious to experience it for myself.

 

We packed last weekend and now I just have to get my toiletries together and figure out what I am going to take in my carryon.  But I am tired and I think I’ll just get up early and figure that out.

 

Aloha!!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Postponed!!

 

Ah, it’s Friday and we were just thinking about when we were going to head down to Indio today to go to the Fantasy Casino where we were going to see Crosby, Stills, and Nash.  Then Scott called and said that a friend of his read in the paper that David Crosby was sick and the concert postponed.  Oh no!!  So I got online and sure enough the concert is postponed :(

 

I guess the good thing is we learned about it before we left for Indio.  We were able to cancel our hotel reservation and the concert is to be rescheduled.  Hopefully for a time we can attend. 

 

We are disappointed because we were looking forward to this concert.  Now we hope Crosby gets well. 

 

So I guess it will be golf and sushi instead.  That doesn’t sound too shabby. 

 

Until later…

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

That’s a lot of fat to lose…

I just finished watching The Biggest Loser, week 2 where the 15 remaining contestants were challenged to lose 150 pounds to keep everyone on The Ranch for the next week.  Even though they earned credits so that by the time of the weigh in they “only” had to lose 115 pounds, they lost over 153 pounds.  Wow!!  Good for them!

 

Until later…

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Yum!

I woke up this morning to Brad watching cooking shows.  We always enjoy these shows and I quickly learned that The Neely’s had cooked something that really peaked Brad’s interest. They grilled sweet and sour shrimp.  I wasn’t thrilled about the idea and then I read the ingredients in the marinade.  Really, any recipe that starts with red pepper flakes has my attention.

 

But before we went to the store to gather the ingredients that we needed Lindsay and I went out to get pedicures and our eyebrows (and lips for me) waxed.  This time I got a really nice pink called Strawberry Fields.  I like it!

 

Brad was starving when I got home so we went to this new place in town, Brooklyn Deli where we had great sandwiches.  We went there last Friday and I accidentally had rye bread.  Now, I hate rye bread.  I hate the smell and the taste.  But I didn’t want to take it back because it was my fault that I hadn’t checked the menu.  I thought I would just eat the meat, but I took a little taste of the bread,  Surprisingly it tasted good.  And the crust was crunchy and delicious.  But I don’t like rye bread so today I ordered my delicious roast beef on sourdough.  It was very bland and I wished I had the rye.  Go figure…

 

Then it was off to Costco and Albertsons.

 

We picked up these great big shrimp at Costco and were please when we got them home and found out that they were already deveined.  After a quick trip to Kohls where we met up with Lindsay and Ben so we could use their 30% off coupon, we started getting things ready for our meal. 

 

On the menu:  Sweet and Sour grilled shrimp, pasta and tomato and asparagus salad, and mixed berry shortcake.  And I decided to throw in a batch of lemon cupcakes from the Flat Belly Diet cookbook. 

 

We were very busy in the kitchen, but we had fun putting it all together.  Then it was finally time to try our dishes.  OMG  the shrimps were so good.  That was the best shrimp dish I have ever had.  All you heard were a lot of moans and groans.  Oh my they were so good.  MMMMMMM.  The pasta salad was excellent.  The blanched asparagus, the tomatoes and feta cheese were a nice combination with the rotini.  And then it was time for desert.  Once again OMG.  I had made some Bisquick  shortcakes to go with the berries and whipped cream.  This was so good.  It blew a regular strawberry shortcake out of the water.  This one had strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries that had been mixed with a little honey and liquer.  So good.  But now I am too full!!

 

I haven’t had a chance to taste the cupcakes but I know the batter was deliciosa and the icing with light and citrusey. 

 

That makes 7 days in a row of mouth watering delicious dinners. Wow!

 

Until later…

Friday, September 18, 2009

A Nice Friday Morning

All week long we weren’t sure what we were going to do today.  Brad was toying with the idea of going to an endo course in Agoura.  Yesterday he decided that he wasn’t going to go since the weather was supposed to be great, making it a good day for golf.  Sounded good to me.  So this morning we got ourselves over to the golf course to show it what we could do.  Ha!

 

I started out having a poor game and never really improved.  I don’t know what was going on but I know I wasn’t comfortable.  At one point all I could notice was my little finger on my right hand and the way it was positioned with my left.  I hadn’t changed anything with my grip so I don’t have a clue why I was so obsessed with that. 

 

On a couple holes we had a good laugh at the big break they were giving the ladies today.  It was so pathetic that I had to take a picture. IMG_3863

I’ve played at enough courses where you actually had to drive up to the ladies’ tee  to know this was a joke.

 

As my game got worse my old nemeses took over.  First it was my shadow.  I thought I had been able to work through the shadow thing and just ignore it.  Not today!IMG_3867

When I see this all I can see is my big shadow.  Why do I look so huge??  Oh yeah, there is the ball.

 

Then we got to the 10th hole.  Oh yeah, this hole has had my number for a couple of months now.  It doesn’t seem to matter what I do I am bound and determined to hit my ball into the water.  It has quite a few blue Crystal balls in there now.

IMG_3873

Then we get to the 14th hole and it isn’t any better.  This hole has that same little lake that likes to eat my golf balls.  So I lost another one there today.IMG_3887

I played terribly, but I was glad to be out on the course.  I gave up keeping score after about the 6th hole and it was a lot more fun.  I think I might have broken one of my clubs if I had kept scoring.

 

We came home and immediately put on our swim suits and went out by the pool – which was 89 – 90 degrees!  Perfect when there is a breeze around.  And in Lancaster when is there ever not a breeze around?

lounging 2

Until later…

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Fun Food Thursday

So I was on the office’s Facebook page today, sending quick messages to patients letting them know that we have a facebook page and encouraging them to become fans of the page when up popped a message from Facebook saying that I was sending out too many messages to quickly and the account was going to be suspended if I didn’t stop.  Say what??  I think I sent a total of 6 messages before the warning came up.  Give me a break!

 

I have discovered on Facebook that I like the hide feature.  Now when people annoy me too many times I just hide them.  End of problem.  I like that!

 

Tonight was fun food Thursday.  For a couple of days I had been thinking that we would make carne asada, although I wasn’t very excited about the idea.  I figured if I couldn’t come up with something more fun I’d just fix that.  By the time we were done at the office I hadn’t thought of anything else so off to the Vallarta’s Market we went.

 

We came home and after Lindsay and Ben and Riley came over we made it – or I should say the guys made the guacamole and grilled the carne while I whipped up the coleslaw dressing and heated up the fresh tortillas.  I like how easy this dinner is.  Funny, how sometimes when you aren’t really excited about something it turns out to be just what you wanted.  Tonight the carne asada was perfect!  Yum!

 

Well, time to turn in.  I’ve got a golf date tomorrow :)

 

Until later…

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Humpity Dump Day

 

All day long I have been thinking that today was Tuesday.  But, hallelujah, today is WEDNESDAY!!  That means we only have one more day of work this week.  Oh I love 4 day work weeks.  It’s the only way to go :)

 

I keep thinking about season premier of The Biggest Loser last night.  I really wasn’t all that excited about seeing the show this season, but when I heard it was starting up again last night I figured I would have to take a look.  And, oh my, I am glad I did.  These poor people have a lot of work cut out for them.  Some of them have such a very long way to go to get healthy.  How many people on that show are over 400 pounds.  I lost track.  Two people even went to the hospital after the first challenge, although I don’t really know what to think about that one gal who was crawling before she “collapsed”.  Somehow “Drama Queen” keeps popping into my head.  She was doing too well in the first part of the mile race for her to have collapsed the way she did at the end.  Hmmm.  Maybe I’m just too cynical.

 

But who doesn’t love Abby.  Oh my.  The tragedy that she has had to live through.  I want her to win and find out what it is that she is meant to do.  I’m sure she will figure it out and honor her family in a big way – even if she doesn’t win!  I can’t imagine anyone being able to vote her off after hearing the story how her husband, daughter and tiny baby were killed in a car crash where the other driver was going 100 mph!  It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. And it was good to see Jillian so emotional.  It really took me by surprised when Jillian said that she had always figured that if people she loved were killed she would kill herself.  I know people say that (and I know I have thought that) but to hear it on television was a little shocking.  And then when she said that after seeing what Abby has been through and seeing how she picks herself up everyday and chooses to live her life she realized that she would have to be stronger if something tragic happened.   I was crying like a baby.

 

I will be rooting for Abby!

 

I still have to watch last week’s So You Think You Can Dance.  I am not a big fan of auditions, but these are the best ones of the reality shows.  I’m looking forward to when the top twenty are dancing.  Each season they seem more talented than the last.

 

I’m not sure what the plans are for the weekend.  Brad keeps toying with going to a class in Agoura.  I was hoping I could go with him and then go to Santa Barbara and spend a little time with Laura but “polish week” is taking all her time at Kappa.  She can’t come home the following weekend because of Bid Night on Saturday and we will be gone the 2 weekends after that.  So we just might have to go up on Sunday to see our girl. 

 

This morning on the way in to the office I was thinking about things coming up that we have planned.  I was thinking about going to see U2 and wondering what date it was.  All of a sudden I decided it was on the same day as the California Governor’s Women’s Conference.  Oh crap!  These are two things I really want to do and spent a pretty penny on!!  As soon as I got to the office I raced to my computer to see when the U2 concert was.  Boy, did I breathe a sigh of relief when I saw that the concert was on Sunday, October 25, and the Conference is on Tuesday, October 27!  Whew!!

 

Well, it is a quarter to 4 in the afternoon and and I’ve only had 32 oz of water.  I still need to drink 32 oz more at least.  I’d better get busy now or I’ll be up all night… :)

 

Time to get a little work done. Until later…

Friday, September 11, 2009

Yay, Friday!!

Why is it that a short week doesn’t seem that short?? We started the work week with only three weeks to go but it felt like a long week. And then to top that off I didn’t feel like I ever got into the rhythm of the week. Oh well, at least it is Friday :)

Today I went to get a flu shot at Walgreens and while I was signing up at the counter the young girl asked if this would be on Medicare!! Medicare!!! How old do I look??? I thought I was doing an good job keeping old age at bay, but this just knocked the wind out of my sails. I’ve got a ways to go before I qualify for Medicare. Stupid girl.

I was driving home today at the same time that Lancaster High School was over for the day. Stopped at a light I couldn’t believe some of the things I saw girls wearing (sort of) to school. When did it become okay to wear short short shorts to school? With flip flops and a cami top they looked ready to go to the beach not to school. One girls’ short were so short that her top covered them completely. What happened to dress codes?? What are they going to do when they get out in the real world?

Actually, I’ve seen what a lot of them do. They go to job interviews inappropriately dressed. I know that as an employer I wouldn’t hire a person who didn’t know how to dress for an interview.

Maybe I am old…

Sunday, September 6, 2009

2 years

I woke up with a start at 3:10 am exactly 2 years to the minute from when Dad died. Just like I did 2 years ago. Very weird. I miss him a lot but know that I was really lucky to have him as my dad!

This morning Brad and I went out golfing. I am reading a new book and I thought I would try to apply some of what I am learning. You wouldn't know from my score that I think the information in the book is helping. For the first time I really focused on what I was doing. Who knew focusing was important -- lol. Tomorrow I am going to see if I can post a better score. I should have had a better score today, but I landed in the sand twice and had one heck of a time getting out. Oh well, one thing at a time. I've got to get ready for Hawaii :)

Last night we went sat under the stars at the Palmdale Amphitheater and saw the Greg Rolie band. Although he was a founding member and singer for both Santana and Journey they did Santana music exclusively. It was good, but I would have like to have heard some Journey. It was a very nice evening to be sitting outside and we are glad we went.

I am so glad tomorrow is a holiday!!! Yay!! One more day off. I like these 4 day weekends. Then we only have a 3 day week !! Lovely!

Well, I think I'll go and figure out what to have for dinner.

Until later...

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Aren't shoes wonderful??

I'm jumping back on the horse and trying this blog again. I think I am too boring in my eating to make it a food blog so I am just going to make it a life blog! And I can credit my daughter, Laura, for getting me back in the blogosphere. So, thank you Laura.

Well, I have been spending way too much time on Farmville over the summer. But today I finally got to level 20 where I can at long last buy the greenhouse and the gazebo!! Oh, I know that sounds ridiculous, but that stupid game has been fun to play. Hey, it's better than watching TV because I actually talk to people out on their farms.

Brad and I played golf yesteday after a several month hiatus. And when you play like I play a hiatus does not do wonders for your game. At least we had a great time. We may even go back out this afternoon -- that is if we aren't lying around the pool. We've got to get ready for Hawaii in 4 weeks! Oh thank you American Dental Association for having your annual convention in Hawaii this year just when we wanted to take a week off! Yay tax write-off!
Tonight we are going to an outdoor concert to see the Greg Rolie Band under the stars. I read that there are several members from Santana in this band. I expect to hear Santana music, I wonder if we will hear the songs he played as a member of Journey.

This afternoon we went to Dillards and as I was waiting for Brad to return from putting his bags in the car I headed over to the shoe department. I love Dillards' shoe department. The sales rack immediately called my name and a pair of Coach sandal/heels spoke to me. I didn't want to be rude so I tried them on. And they were a dream. I just had to have them. Lucky for me they were 75% off!! Yessss!



Now they are resting comfortably in my closet! Ah yes! They make me very happy!!

And speaking of that, I picked up more Clinique Happy! I've been out of my favorite shower gel for 3 days now! I am glad to have it back.

Well, it is time to get off the computer and do something!

Until later...

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Does the Wind Ever Stop Blowing?

Another windy summer day here in Lancaster.  I’m getting a little bored with this.  I can accept that it usually gets windy by 4:00 pm but when it is windy at 7:30 am every day, well that is just too much.  But what’s a girl to do??

We got up this morning and decided to have our coffee out on the patio.  I stepped outside and was surprised by how warm it already was.  Looking out the window and seeing the trees blowing in the wind I thought it would be cooler. 

Brad and I like to sit outside on a weekend morning and drink our coffee and work on crossword puzzles.  All the while I sat out there FarmTown on Face Book was calling my name.  But I was determined not to heed the siren’s call this morning.  At least not until it was time to plant some grapes…

For breakfast I decided to scramble some eggs and eat them with the leftover pico de gallo that we had with carne asada on Thursday.IMG_3533

I’m still using my 4th of July paper plates. 

We spent the whole morning outside reading, doing puzzles, playing with the dogs – in all a great morning.

For lunch I snooped around the refrigerator and pantry and decided it would be grilled cheese sandwiches for us.  And we had a few chips leftover from the carne asada meal.IMG_3536 

After we ate we decided to whip up some falafel mix to use for dinner.  I used garbanzo and cannellini beans, but I think the cannellini beans were too wet.  I like to use those beans in hummus but I think I’ll stick with garbanzo beans for falafels from now on.  I put the mix in the refrigerator, hoping it would be drier by dinner.  I also put together a nice tahini sauce to go with the falafels. 

I finally broke down and took the laptop outside so I could plant some grape crops and check on my sister’s farm while she is out of town.

Lindsay and Ben came by from their trip to Paso Robles.  It sounds like they had a great anniversary trip with mucho wine tasting.  They didn’t seem too much the worse for wear.  And they brought us back a great looking wine.They did seem happy to see their little Riley.  After we told them what a good dog he had been he decided to poop and pee in the house.  Oh well.  Good thing he is a cute little chiaweenie!!

Before dinner we had a glass of the nice little wine that we opened yesteday and did a little more farming.  I was excited to see that Lindsay was now a farmer and would be my neighbor.  I don’t know why that game is so much fun, but it is.

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When dinner rolled around the falafel mix was thicker, but I still had to add some flour to it to get it to a better consistency.  We made a lot so we’ll be having them again tomorrow. 

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And now it is time to go have a popsicle and watch a little tv with Brad.  Laura is home from Santa Monica but she just left to watch some show with her friend, Christina.

Until tomorrow…

Monday, July 6, 2009

Another Monday…

 

I wasn’t able to find my pedometer yesterday and I was very frustrated by that.  I did find a little throw away pedometer that actually worked so I’ll be using that until I find or get a new one. 

Before going to bed last night I told myself I had to get up around 5:30 so that I could walk, wash my hair and get ready for work.  Well, my eyes popped on at 5:25.  Did I jump out of bed??  No, of course not.  But I didn’t go back to sleep either.  I listened to a book I have on tape but all the while I kept an eye on the clock.  I realized I wasn’t paying any attention to the book so I got up, got dressed and made up the bed while Brad went out and turned on the coffee maker.  He was surprised when he got back to the room because he thought he was going back to bed. 

Zoey saw me putting on my shoes and she was excited.  We headed out the door about 6:00 for a good walk.  For some reason this morning I decided to gently run.  It felt good!  I didn’t run the whole time, but I did put in a good mile.  By the time we got home I had logged 5600 steps – well on my way to 10,000 for the day!

I was trying to figure out how to take a picture of my breakfast today to make it interesting.  I decided to take the picture even before the oatmeal was ready…

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We got to the office and before anyone even said hello the staff was complaining that the A/C wasn’t working.  That wasn’t the best way to start the work day.  I called the A/C guys and while in our morning meeting we tried to think of what we could do to get it working ASAP.  Brad and Ben thought they had played with all of the circuit breakers, but after the meeting they tried a couple more places and lo and behold it worked!!  Since it is going to be at least in the 90s today we are thankful.  And I was able to cancel the repair people!! 

Well, time to get working…

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Aftermath…

It’s been a couple days since I’ve blogged so I figured I ought to sit down and put something to paper, so to speak.  We had a wonderful 4th yesterday.  For the last 5 years we have had a small bbq here with our family and Ben’s family.  Yesterday we continued the tradition.

We were hoping for a beautiful summer day, but we got winds, winds, and more winds.  After getting very frustrated with the wind I decided to pretend it wasn’t there and just enjoy the day.  That was a better plan of action.  The weather was warm so we were able to swim.  We had a couple of new rafts and they turned out to be perfect.  Lindsay and I lied on those rafts and drifted around the pool for quite a while.  Lindsay has a great account of the day on her blog www.teachingmyselfthin.blogspot.com.

Yesterday I had some rhinestone flag “tatoos” that we put on for a little patriotic fun – we even put them on Riley (the chiaweenie) and Zoey (the lab).  To my surprise they left them on all day!  As we sat around the backyard watching the (illegal) fireworks displays around the valley I noticed the near full moon reflecting on the pool.  Very beautiful!

I was feeling a bit frustrated with this blogging the other day.  Loading pictures was so slow and the spacing of the lines was so erratic.  Then Lindsay called this morning and told me about Live Writer!  Yay!!  So much easier!

Yesterday I came across a book that I had been reading about a year and a half ago.  In the book there was a place to write down a list of 101 goals.  I had started it and then, apparently, forgot about it.  I started reading it and felt a little disappointed in myself, but then I decided that was useless and I should just renew my drive to achieve these goals.  So that is what I am doing, starting now.  Not tomorrow, now.

One thing on the list is to walk at least 10,000 every day.  Since that is something I can definitely start today I got up to get my pedometer.  But I can’t find it.  I have found a couple of throw away pedometers but I have not found a single one with a good battery!  RRRRR.   I really want to find that great pedometer that you can just stick in your pocket, but Brad and I have looked everywhere!.  Hmmmm.  Well, I am not going to let that stop me – I just may not be able to get an accurate count of my steps today.

Well, it is time to get outside and enjoy the day.  Oh yes, the wind is still here – with a vengeance.

See ya…

Thursday, July 2, 2009

TGI Thursday!!

Oh how nice it is to be sitting home on Thursday evening with dinner done, a movie (MILK) playing, and a weekend ahead to be enjoyed. We are lucky and have a 3 day weekend every week, but that doesn't make Thursday sweet, just the same!

Today started out with a nice 2 mile walk with Brad and Zoey. Then it was back to the house to enjoy a cup of coffee before really starting the day. Thursdays are always interesting days. We wake up knowing that the day will be very busy, but that it will be worth it because as soon as the last patient leaves our weekend begins.


Before heading off to the office we prepared the pork and put it in the slow cooker for pulled pork sandwiches for Fun Food Thursday!

We expected to have a lot of people canceling their appointments today since it is so close the the 4th of July weekend. But no one canceled. In fact, a number of people called with toothaches and a dire need to be seen immediately. We were continually trying to figure out where to put patients in the schedule. The way the morning was going we thought we were going to have to work through lunch, but, surprisingling we were all done only 10 minutes into lunch. And since Thursdays are the days that we have an extra 1/2 hour for lunch no one was complaining.

Lindsay and I set out not knowing where we wanted to eat. After driving a little aimlessly we decided to get a sushi. We went to a place called Big Tuna that is popular for it's all-you-can-eat sushi bar. We weren't interesting in eating all we could so we took a table and ordered salmon sushi, a 911 roll, a Hawaiian roll, and some edamame.




As we were eating we realized we had ordered too much. Next time we'll only order the salmon and one roll. We ended up leaving with a nice doggy bag --that would never be seen by the dog. BerryStar, a nice little PinkBerry imitation was a couple of doors down from Big Tuna and we wanted a little taste of frozen non-fat yogurt. Lindsay got chocolate and I got the original tart flavor with a smidge of fresh strawberries and just a couple of tiny gummi bears. It was so refreshing and good!

Back at the office the afternoon seemed to be as crazy as the morning but this time we managed to be done on time! Who would have figured? Laura had taken her car into the VW shop today to have her car serviced. After work we were going to meet her over there but decided it would make more sense (and leave less of a carbon footprint) for only us to drive over and then Brad would drive her car back to the house while I drove ours. On the way over Brad saw the doggy bag and finished it off.

We got home and the pork was wonderully tender. Lindsay and Ben came over a little later and we got out the Orowheat skinny buns and made a nice coleslaw. Okay, I didn't cut the cabbage or carrots, but I did make the dressing. We all enjoyed our pulled pork sandwiches. I like my sandwhich with the coleslaw inside and more on the side.
As I sit hear we are watching MILK. I'm getting better about watching movies. When I actually sit down and watch I enjoy them. Go figure!
I think I need a popsicle...

Until later...






Wednesday, July 1, 2009

A Hitch in My Get-Along

Today we got up late, I guess I was sleeping so hard that I didn't hear the alarm. Oh, wait, we never set an alarm we just let the light wake us up. I never thought I would be able to do that! So we just enjoyed our coffee in bed and then I fixed our oatmeal with strawberries.










As I was getting ready to go to the office this morning I realized I was running out of foundation. Now yesterday when I looked at my self portrait I realized I need to be generous with the foundation --- I can't run out. So I picked up the bottle to determine what the color is. I had my glasses on and I couldn't even find where the color was on the bottle. Finally I saw a spot, but I could not make out the teeeny tiny writing. Brad took a look and just laughed, then he decided it was a job for his loupes. With great magnification he was able to read it. Pure beige medium 2. As you can see from this highly magnified picture it is not easy to read. I think I'll send one of the girls in to get it for me so I don't have to take a magnifying glass to be sure I'm buying the correct color... If find this so ironic. When I was younger and didn't need glasses I really didn't need much in the way of foundation. Now that I am older and can benefit from good use of foundation I can't read the bottle...














One of the first things I did at the office this morning was send an e-mail to my Aunt Donna. It read simply "Today I think I have a hitch in my get-along :)" Her response was :) :) That put a smile on my face. You see, today was my paternal grandmother's birthday - Aunt Donna's mother's birthday. I called her Foney when I was learning to talk and the name stuck. One thing I remember about her was that if she had a pain in her hip she would say that she had a hitch in her get-along. It always made me laugh...



I received another wonderful Starbucks passion iced tea this morning. I'm addicted.




I'm still trying to get FB to reinstate my page. I'm about ready to shine that on and just start a new page. If I don't hear back from them today that's what I think I'll do. It was easy for a scammer to take possession of my FB page, but it is really hard to get it back. Too bad they weren't as diligent when an unauthorized person changed my e-mail login. What crappy support they have!!




I told Laura last night that there was no reason for her to be sitting home bored during the day when I had plenty for her to do at the office. After going to Target today and picking up my foundation she came to the office where I put her to work. At lunch the 5 of us headed off to Camielle's where, once again, I had the walnut apple tuna sandwhich. I really have to start changing up what I eat.



(Thanks for ghe great picture, Lindsay)


This evening I had a nail appointment so I was glad that Laura was in the office to be able to take me to my appointment since Brad was not going to be able to get out by 5:00. Brad and I ride in together so I couldn't just take our car and leave him stranded. Ok, he wouldn't be stranded, Ben could take him home, but since Laura was at the office it made the most sense for her to give me a ride.




I've been going to the same nail technician for a long time and consider her friend. This year has been a hard year for her and it doesn't appear to be getting better. She lost her mom a little over 2 months ago and now her father is rapidly declining. I feel so bad for her. All I could do was give her a hug and tell her that I was araound if she needed anything. :(



While I was waiting for Laura to come pick me up and take me home I went into the grocery store to get food for Fun Food Thursday. We decided on pulled pork done in the slow cooker. Brad and I will get it ready in the morning and then let it cook all day.



I got home and saw that Brad had prepared the pineapple for dinner and it was up to me to get something ready as a main course. We had some chicken that I had taken out so I decided to make a chicken pasta. I added garlic, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, tomato paste, grape tomatoes, and chicken broth and it was so delicious. We cooked a Barilla Omega 3 penne pasta to go under the sauce and topped it all off with parmesan cheese. We had the pasta dish with a pineapple and cottage cheese salad.





Well, not it is time to watch So You Think You Can Dance.


Until tomorrow...

Never eat more than you can lift -- Miss Piggy

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Feelin Alright...

I intended to blog last night, but I got a little frustrated after I made a beautiful dinner and then forgot to take a picture. Somehow I remembered to take a picture of the oatmeal that I have every weekday morning...





and the lunch of 1/2 garden burger and 1 scoop tuna that I have every Monday,






but when it came to a new meal I just dropped the ball. And it was so pretty. I cooked salmon the way I have been doing for a month or so now. I got the recipe from Prevention magazine. They called it a no fail recipe and so far it has been no fail. I also made a beautiful spinach salad with oranges and onions and homemade balsamic vinegarette. And I made a side dish of Barilla Omega 3 pasta with grape tomatoes, a litle blue cheese and a fresh balsamic dressing. It was beautiful and it tasted better than it looked. But I forgot to take a picture :(



This morning I woke up ready to take a walk before work. Yesterday we walked 2+ miles but today we got a later start and weren't able to do one of our laps. Oh well, it was better than nothing.



We got back and fixed coffee and took it outside once again.





It was a beautiful morning!!





Zoey loves this routine of walking and this having our coffee outside...



Today we were out of blueberries so we put the delicious strawberries on our oatmeal. It was a nice change of pace...












Then it was time to get ready and get to the office. Lindsay showed up to the office a little later this morning with a welcomed Starbucks passion iced tea!!






It was a very busy morning and I was glad for the break when lunch rolled around. Once again we went for some Thai food and, as usual, I ordered the Chicken Jubilation with soup. Although it was very good I think I need to get out of this rut...














Once back at the office Lindsay tried to figure out how to get Facebook to let me back into my account. I have been trying to get access since Sunday morning when my account was hacked. We did a little googling and found a couple e-mail addresses that we hadn't known about and so wrote to them about the problem. I did get a response back but it looks like it is going to take a little more time to get FB to totally understand what is going on...



In the meantime Lindsay decided to give me a much needed lesson on how to take a self portrait.




Then it was my turn...



I'll get the hang of it one of these days. In the meantime, I can see that I need a heavier hand with the foundation...



At the end of the day my dear husband really irritated me and so as soon as I got home I was looking for something to eat -- and, naturally, I went for something that I should have left alone. Mixed nuts. I think I just wanted the salt.




Now, mind you, I had raw almonds in a jar right next to the bad mixed nuts but my hand went for the oily, salty nuts instead... When will I learn?






We got home a little late this evening and on the way home we decided that we would have veggie burgers and salad. I still had some pasta left over from last night so I brought that out as well. We used Morningstar veggie burgers and Trader Joe's Masala flavored veggie burgers. Laura and I had the Morningstar burgers and Brad had the Masala burgers. I tasted his and did not care for the texture of it.






It's time to get another glass of water.
Be back soon...

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Feeling a Bit Out of Sorts

After spending too much time on the computer trying to gain access to my FB account I decided it was time to cook something for my family. After reading how Lindsay has made poached eggs three days in a row I decided I wanted a poached egg or two. I went to the refrigerator and was disappointed to see that we only had 4 eggs left. Oh well, Laura and I would be happy with one and I'd make two for Brad. We had some delicious sourdough bread that Ben brought back from Bishop so I decided it would be poached egg on sourdough toast. Three of the eggs turned out beautifully, but as I was placing my egg on the toast it broke. Oh well, it still tasted good.










I keep checking my e-mail, but still no word from FB about a new password. I think maybe they don't work on Sunday.



I finally gave up on gaining control of my FB account today and went outside to enjoy the day. Today was not quie as nice as it was yesterday because the wind raised its ugly head. It was very hot, but also very windy.



Sitting outside I read part of Scarecrow by Michael Connelly. I am a fan of his work and I am really enjoying this book. Ironically a large part of the story has to do with computer hacking. Hmmmm.



We had planned on getting up very early and being at the golf course at 6:00 am ready to play, but we didn't wake up in time. The country club had a tournament going on at 8:00 and so we realized that if we were going to play today it would have to be later in the afternoon . Around 3:00 Brad decided he wanted to play and I decided I didn't want to play in the 100 plus heat and 30 mph winds.



After Brad left I sat down and planned the meals for the next week and made a grocery list. Then I decided that before going to the store I wanted to take a quick trip to the mall. Laura wasn't doing anything so she decided she would accompany me. I'm glad she did because she found a couple of cute tops at NY & co that I would have passed by. And she kept me from buying a top I am sure I would have regretted having in my closet. Some colors just aren't right for some people and yellow-green is not good on me.



After the mall Laura and I attacked the grocery store. I was pleased when I unloaded my cart to see that most of it was produce. We picked up some strawberries that are deliciously sweet! We also saw that the artichokes were on a good sale and I had to pick up enough for two meals. And they are gigantic!



When we got home Brad was already back from playing 9 holes. He claims that it was great. After we unloaded and put away the groceries Brad went out in the front yard and after being out for a few minutes he came back in and told us to go outside to see some baby quail. Laura and I stepped out the door and in a minute we saw the tiniest little birds following their mom. It was so cute. I wish I had been able to get a picture but I was afraid to get too close.


Since none of us had lunch today we were ready to get dinner ready. Tonight Brad grilled NY steaks and I cooked artichokes and got the watermelon ready. And we had fresh sourdough rolls.



Now it is time to do a little preparing to start the week up. I hear the clothes dryer calling my name. Maybe tomorrow I'll hear something from FB...


A New Twist

So yesterday I had a potential scam blog and today my Facebook is hacked. Geez! I'm just trying to be a modern woman and utilize all of the technology out there for communication! See where that gets me...

This morning my mom called around 7:30 to tell me that my cousin's daughter had called her because I had supposedly asked her to send 900 pounds to me as I was stranded in London after being mugged. She thought it was suspicious and called my mom who told it it was absolutely a scam.

I have been trying since that time to gain access to my account. So far no luck, but it looks like the person may have been blocked out of the account. But not before changing my password, defriending Brad, eliminating posts that dispute the claim for $$. I'm still waiting for FB to send me my new password. I am getting very impatient.

An Easy Saturday

Yesterday I was feeling bad because my blog had been identified as a potential scam blog. After making a brief post I left it alone for the day. I figured I would let google do their thing and it would get resolved.


We had a great day at home. The weather was beautiful -- calm and hot. We spent the day outside by the pool. For lunch I made tuna sandwiches with watermelon and homemade macaroni salad. We took our lunch outside and I was pleasantly surprised when, after 1/2 sandwich, I was full. Maybe it had to do with having a swim suit on while eating...




We lounged around and just enjoyed the day in our backyard.




At one point in the afternoon Brad said that he wanted Mexican food for dinner. On the weekend that means we go to our local Mexican restaurant. Nothing fancy, just good food. Last night I decided to get the all chicken burrito. It was the first time I had ordered it and it was good but it could have been more flavorful. I don't think I'll order it again.


After dinner we decided to watch The Dark Knight. Well, what can I say about that movie other than now I have seen it. I'm not a big one for movies that just seem to be there to blow things up. Oh well.