A trip to New York

Last Thursday, My best friends from HS, went on a girls trip to NY. Our other HS friend, Karin lives in Long Island, so Kim, Cathy and I flew out to see her and then the four of us went into the city until Sunday. I can't even describe the incredible time we had. We jammed as much as we could in four days, and despite the fact that we stayed up laughing until 2:30 in the morning each day, we managed to keep going strong on very little sleep. These pictures are in no particular order.

Karin and I at Tao Restaurant. It was so good and what a hot spot. It was fun to just people watch.
This was our first day in the city in front of Rockafellar Center
Carriage ride through Central Park
Cathy and Karin
Ground zero on Sunday.
Soho on Sunday
the view of Time Square from our hotel window
in front of one of the many cute shops in Soho
Right after we got off the train at Penn station
Just finished with our carriage ride through Central Park
My brother Tim lives in Rye, NY. he, Nico, his wife and my nephew Charlie took the train in and met me at the hotel. It was great to visit him if only for a very short time. I'm so glad we get to see each other again at Thanksgiving.
The view from the Empire State Building
Our Saturday night out on the town
Lunch at Blue Fin in Time Square on Friday
Karin's house on Long island. it was built around 1860 and is absolutely adorable.

We also went to see Mary Poppins on Friday night on Broadway and it was awesome. I was blown away by the talent. We went shopping on fifth avenue, saw most of the famous buildings like trump towers, park plaza. We could see the Chrysler building and the statue of liberty from the top of the empire state building. We had crisp fall weather on Friday, and it rain on Saturday and was muggy. Sunday was sunny and cold. Our flights were great and the girls held my hands on take offs and landings. I had such a wonderful time and could of used at least one more day. I feel very blessed to have these great women in my life.

What have I been up to

Celebrating my 50th Birthday with lots of family, friends, and of course my beautiful daughter

these girls, front and center are joining me in a trip to NY next week. We are meeting our other high school friend that lives there. We are so excited.
getting together for an evening of great music and great food at Chef Ricks
celebrating my birthday and my 20 year anniversary with my company. Some of my co-workers. Great Fun.
I spent some time with this little sweetie pie. He's getting so big and changing so much. I'm still not sure who he looks like ?
This little smiley face can bring joy to anyone. Oh, how she fills my heart with happiness
I adopted this little sweetheart on my Birthday. She's 4 1/2 pounds of unconditional love. What a great addition she has been to our family. she tolerates toddlers, doesn't bark unless you tell her to speak, loves to cuddle and has won over everyone in the family. I'm so happy my husband and I could finally come together on this whole dog issue. Oh, and he is one of those that adores her.
here's my baby girl

okay, I'm a blog slacker

As you can see from the date of my previous blog, I'm not exactly great at updating my blogs. Fortunately, I don't have a following, so no big deal. If my daughter, on the other hand, doesn't update her blog regularly,(every few days) I'm on her to do so. I so look forward to hers and all her friends stories of their kids, families and whatever else is going on in their life. Yes, I am a blog stalker and I have been known to worm my way through to many a blog. Just a couple of weeks ago, I went with Erin to her church so I could help her with the kids. I saw a young couple in the foyer and thought, hey I know them, they are so and so, and they are both full time students and they love to go to the beach. Of course, they don't know me from Adam, so I kept my mouth shut so I didn't look like a total freak. It's kind of funny and creepy at the same time.

Anyway, I think the reason I don't update, is I really don't have much to say (my daughter might disagree) I enjoy my life and I spend a lot of time with family and friends. I guess I just like talking about it in person and I don't think you'd find it all that interesting.Unless of course, it comes to my kids or grandkids, which leads me to this past weekend when I had my very busy, very cute, and very funny granddaughter here.

It was a fun filled, action packed weekend that left me exhausted but happy. Friday, I picked her up in Camarillo and we came home and played and then she went to her grandpa Hogan's house. He ran her around and then I picked her up in time for a bath and bedtime. We slept in the same bed which meant, I didn't sleep. The next day, I took her to Nipomo to ride a pony my friend has. It was priceless to watch and the girl has no fear. Then we came home, ate pizza for lunch, she washed sticks in our fountain, then she went swimming for a while. I then took her to Grandpa Hogan's house for a few hours. When she came home, she went swimming again for about an hour. She would run from 20 ft away, and cannon ball into the little pool. After a hearty dinner, I knew she was pooped. Girlfriend went to bed at 6:45 and didn't move until 7:45 the next morning.

When she woke up, she was full of energy and kept telling me that she was going to see her mommy tomorrow. When I told her no, she was going to see her mommy today (Sunday) She was not happy. She was having way to much fun with all the one on one attention she was getting. Spoil them and send em home. Not really fair to the parents, but way to hard to resist.

Needless to say, I loved having her here and we'll be doing it more often. My back can only handle it for a couple of days at a time cause she still likes me to hold her ( so cute).

I'm glad Erin got some down time and also some special alone time with Noah.

she not only helped fill the pool, she wanted to help pump it up.

giving "Bud" which she called "Butt" a hug
Feeding him carrots

She didn't want me to walk beside her. " I can do it myself, mimi."
Building castles very early Saturday morning
Awwww. Sound asleep. I was ready :)

Life is Good!

The past month has been a whirlwind. We've traveled to Anaheim to see Erin and Family, went to Mark's friend's 50th in San Diego, Visited his favorite Aunt and my niece in Sacramento, and hosted Natalie's 3rd Birthday Party this past weekend. Of course, all the things we've done have been a blast, but my favorite has been having a party for my grandbaby. She is obsessed with horses so, naturally that was the party theme. I found a petting zoo out of Arroyo Grande, and the owner, Amber, the sweetest girl, brought a minature horse, a goat, chickens, baby chicks and bunnies. I knew Natalie would just be estatic and I was right. There were about seven little kids here and each one enjoyed those animals so much. It was such a joy to watch and it filled my heart with such happiness just watching it all.

Here's my cute Mr. Noah. We got to spend some alone time playing and it was so much fun. What a sweet boy he is

Naty feeding Tonko the minature horse
opening presents. She was very gracious with each one, but once she got a horse for a gift she was beside herself with delight.
feeding the goat, which she did over and over again.

she had a hard time not "squeezing" the baby chicks.
One happy little girl!!!
With her Gigi, wearing her party hat.

I know, it's been a while

This past weekend, I went to see my babies. Now that, I feel, is worth a post. I went down Thursday and came home Saturday and woke up Sunday with a Cold. Natalie and Noah both had coughs and Noah had a huge snotty nose. It never even entered my mind that all the hugs and snotty kisses would get me sick. I wouldn't of stopped any of the lovin even if I knew I was catching the flu by it.

here's some pictures

here we are at Mickey Mouse's house ( as Natty calls it) Luckily we saw Mickey and Minnie, at the beginning of Main Street. We trimmed Noah's hair and put some wax in it to make it a faux hawk. Could he be any cuter
OMG... now, that's a cute profile...
we made snakes out of play doh. We made a mommy, daddy, noaee and Mimi. Oh, and I think there's a couple of her friends, Ava and someone else from Preschool in there.
We went to Chik-a fil. It's a chicken fast food place chain. It reminds me of In and out burger but only chicken. Super clean, friendly and has a playground for toddlers. Naty discovered they had ice cream and was begging for some. She was very cooperative in posing with her ice cream cone!! so cute

as always when I come back from a visit, I'm exhausted, but sad cause being around my grandchildren leaves me with such a full heart and at the same time, longing for the next time I get to enjoy their innocent humor,honesty,etc... who needs movies or TV when you have them around. such a simple pleasure...

Aging Gracefully... Yea, right!!

So, I've exercised pretty consistently for about four years now. First with a personal Trainer, which was expensive but fun. The only thing is I became friends with her and I wanted to visit more than work out. Then I started spinning at the gym. Of course, I loved it and started going at least four times per week. I was in the mind frame that this was all I needed to do since i was burning off probably 500 calories each session. But I was wrong. I definitely thinned out around my midsection, but since I am a small person, I began to resemble the Michelin Tire Man. My butt lifted and stuck out further, and my thighs were bigger. Not the result I was aiming for.
Around the time Noah was born, I caught a walking pneumonia and stopped spinning, and immediately lost five pounds. Yea, I know the whole spiel about muscle weighing more than fat, blah, blah, blah. Personally, this train of thought doesn't work for me, just ask my husband.

Anyhoo, around the holidays, I went through a rough spell. I lost about eight pounds but only cause I was very stressed out, menopausal, and a bit depressed. Now if you didn't know me, you'd think I was a little fatty. I'm not, but since I'm short, 5'1", 5'2" if I wear my hair a little ratted :), every pound shows. I got the bad spell under control, and decided to get back to exercising more for my mental well being than anything else. So, here is what I'm doing now, and I have to say, it's WORKING!!! yeah!!!



I was doing pilates three times per week, I love it and once you get the hang of the whole breathing, it feels great. I have a gym set up in my garage room, and do this to DVDS on a mat. This works your smaller muscles and is super good for your core/abs

I am still spinning for my cardio, but only two times per week. My niece suggested I only use minimum resistance on the bike and just pedal faster, this seems to be working for me and I still work just as hard but not bulking up. Plus, I get to see my friend Shawn.

This is an absolutely AWESOME workout, and I highly recommend it to everyone. i promise you will see result in a very short period of time.This has taken place of my pilates, which I now do on weekends only. I tried to get these DVDs months ago, and they were nearly impossible to find. But, these are a new addition, 2008 and they are like intense isometric moves that elongate and sculpt your large muscles. WARNING.. It hurts like Hell. but, it works and it's only 51 minutes. You may have trouble squatting to pee the first couple of days, but hey, it hurts less than a root canal, childbirth, smashing your finger in the door, cramps, umm.... are you sold yet?? Plus, it helps your posture which is so important for anyone my daughter's age and us oldies. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

I got my Naty and Noah fix

Thursday, my mom and I drove down to see Erin and family. It's the most wonderful feeling to have your granddaughter run towards you with hers arms out yelling your name and jumping into my arms for a big hug. What a sweetheart my Naty lu is. I can't believe the difference in her talking since Christmas. She is so funny and so full of energy. She wakes up in the morning and just hits the ground running. I absolutely love her personality. She is just a happy little girl.

Noah was teething and is such a cute smiling baby, but he screamed a lot of the first night we were there. I felt so bad for Erin and Jed cause I know they got little sleep on Thursday night. Friday, we got a sitter and had dinner at TGIF. It was good, but the place is way too loud for my taste. Erin and I went to the Block afterwards, and did a little shopping and then headed home.


My mom and I left Saturday around 10:00 and I had some friends over for dinner last night. I'm pooped today and I've been just been reading my book and visiting with my husband.


Last week, I hired a housekeeper, so I came home to a spotless house and it is absolutely the best investment I've made.






Noah sucking on a frozen banana in some mesh thing
getting ready to go to preschool. She looks so much older here.

Giving GiGi some kisses

I love this face