My Adventures Began Yesterday

D invited all of us to San Francisco to celebrate her upcoming marriage (11 more days!). There were 9 of us and we had a blast. Playing tourist downtown, wine tour, visiting Muir Woods, and just enjoying each other in laughter and fun times. I’ll take you through our events: Do you like sea lions? Ever been to Pier 39? You should! The sea lions were so much fun to watch. It’s like they were fighting for king of the mountain, or in this case, king of the floating dock. Two would fight, one in the water, one on the dock, then the one in the water would swim around, and jump onto the dock from a different direction, and knock off the original one. Then a third one would join in on the fun. Sometimes, a sleeping sea lion would be stepped on and would wake up growling. I assume that’s where the lion part of their name originated? The best part were the three that were sunning themselves, lifting their faces and chests to the sky. It looked exactly like Cobra pose in yoga. Oblivio...

Look out, World, I'm visiting soon! After years of talking and writing about it (view here and especially here ), I'm finally doing it! I turned in my notice at work and am hitting the road after D’s wedding and the boys’ baptism. I’ll explore all the wonders the USA has to show me: national parks, lively cities, new friends just waiting for me to say "hello". Ahh, I’m so excited! My heart is soaring. There are no regrets in my mind or soul. This is what I am meant to do and I'm finally following that little voice within. Finally. So, tell me your favorite places, the ones that changed your life or left a lasting impression. Share your joys with me (and maybe the name and contact info of your cousin's nephew by marriage who has an extra room and happens to live in ____!). I'm heading to San Francisco today! Bliss for an immediate grand adventure, even if it was a preplanned trip (D's bachelorette party). We're exploring Muir Woods,...

Oh my, re-reading that last post, the foreshadowing, the irony, I couldn’t have planned it better if I tried. So, today is day 95 since my Oct 10th post where I shared my love of soccer and fear of a torn MCL, and stated I would do whatever it took to return to the field. Well, I was correct regarding the MCL, but I also decided to take it a step further and truly test my love of the game. Let me first state that I did play that Friday after my Sunday injury. I made it through the first half. My knee was a little stiff but all felt good. Then about 10 minutes into the second half, I turned my body to start jogging back towards our goal and my knee just…seized up? I froze, whimpered a few times, then attempted to walk towards the bench, only I couldn’t put any weight on my right leg. Zero. Zip. None. A few more whimpers as I stood there staring at the distance I needed to trek before a guy from the other team asked if I was okay. I told him no and that I needed his help. He pu...

Cursed (or blessed?) with a short attention span, I find it surprising that my love for soccer has remained strong for 25 years. I’ve tried Zumba, volleyball, kickboxing, yoga, softball, jazzercise, golf, kickball, and many more, and without fail, after about 3 weeks, I’m bored with the activity (rarely the people). Ready for something new, a different type of excitement. But soccer? Oh, I love soccer. I love indoor. I especially love playing outdoor. It’s amazing. Running for miles up and down the field. Making that perfect pass. Stealing the ball from an opponent. During and after these games, my mind and soul are at peace and filled with such delight. Over the years, it’s become a bit “unlucky” that soccer does not love me. Knotted calves that won’t go away for weeks. Planters fasciitis. Reconstructed ACL. Sprained ankles. Achilles tendinitis. Torn meniscus. Ankles that click when I walk. And now a possible torn MCL. Oh soccer, why do you do this to me? I tell mys...

Booking a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park at the end of March could result in beautiful weather or end in a blizzard. Luckily for us, we arrived 10 days after the blizzard struck, and had beautiful, sunny weather, with lots of snow on the mountains. We stayed in a gorgeous home on the north side of Estes Park and experienced spectacular views. The first full day, we breakfasted at Claire's On the Park, which is in downtown Estes. Then we drove out to Rocky Mountain National Park where I bought the Annual Park Pass as part of my commitment to the Parks. We had a general idea of where we wanted to go so started driving in that direction (essentially, up). The trail/parking lot we were hoping to stop at was completely full, so we kept driving up until we reached Bear Lake. Here, we parked, noticed everyone wearing skis or snow shoes, and questioned the wisdom in attempting a snow hike in hiking books/snow boots (the ladies), and two of us in tennis shoes and jeans ...

Step 1 - Create Printed Invitations to Personally Hand Out to All Your Friends and Family Step 2 – Set the Dress Code 80's Of Course! Step 3 - Create a Fun Photo Booth with Props and a Themed Polaroid Frame Step 4 - Provide a Candy Bar Use Candy Created in the 80’s and Records Cake Stands Airheads, Runts, Bubble Tape Original Flavor, Gummi Worms, Nerds, Skittles, Skor, Twix Peanut Butter, Cow Tales, Chupa Cups Cremosa Step 5 – Provide a Flashback of Games Created in the 80’s Nintendo Entertainment System, Big Piano, Jenga, Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary, Taboo, Game Boy, Sega Genesis Step 6 - Karaoke Because it's Karaoke Step 7 – Guess the Number of Nerds Win a Prize! Prizes: 80’s Movies in DVD Format - Top Gun, Goonies, ET, Ghostbusters Step 8 - Provide Beer and Food duh Biggest hit were the pizza rolls, but also offered spinach dip, 7 layer dip, sloppy joes, and cool ranch Doritos Step 9 - En...

Took a quick 3-day weekend trip to Los Angeles and filled it with tons of touristy happiness. E and I arrived early Friday morning and drove up to Malibu. Attempted to eat at the Malibu Café but we arrived 45 minutes before opening and didn’t feel like waiting. So, we drove back through the hills towards the coast and chose a cute Italian Restaurant. Yeah, I know, poor choice, considering we’re on the coast and fresh seafood is abundant. I did order the Lobster Bisque. It was quite delicious. And the owner and waitress were extremely kind and welcoming. We walked to the beach and admired the Pacific coast for a bit. Took some fun pictures, then stopped at a liquor store to grab E some vodka and sprite. After all, the reason for the LA trip was his birthday. En route to pick up A from the airport, we stopped at Santa Monica Boardwalk and explored. I was saddened by the overcast weather and wearing jeans and a sweatshirt at the beach (even if it was January), but the company w...