Year in Review

Can't complain. This year has not been bad at all. I managed to stay out of the hospital another year. Yay for me. We were also spared the wrath of any hurricanes. We visited 3 places from my "Things to do before I die" list. California, New York & Niagara Falls. Loved them all and hope to return soon.

Kat received her Senior Class Ring and got accepted to FIU. She's had her Learner's Permit for almost a year, next step her License! EEK! She has her Bell's Palsy to deal with but is slowly getting better. Aside from that, we have all been very lucky in the health department this year.

Kari has been very busy with her FEA & FCCLA activities. Working hard to get those scholarships!

Danny has been working a 40 hour week at headquarters but is dying to get back on the field. It was a nice little break but enough already.

I turned 40. OMGee! Sounds soooo old! But hey, I still have 20/20 vision! Eye doctor told me so!

So aside from our insurance rates & electric bills sky rocketing, we really can't complain.

Looking forward to 2007. May it bring everyone health & happiness!

2007 Right Around The Corner!

I keep forgetting to update his thing I figured that I should do it before 2007. Nothing much going on around here. Christmas Eve & Christmas Day were both quiet & spent with family. I made a nice ham on Christmas day and everyone came over here. Danny & I don't really exchange gifts since according to him, everyday is Christmas for me. I graciously told him that he did not have to get me any gifts and just apply it to our Hawaii trip. I know, I know, I am a very considerate wife.

On Thursday, the girls and I spent a record 11 hours at the mall. They have gift cards and money burning a hole in their pockets. The mall wasn't as bad as I expected. Tons of sales! I should do my Christmas shopping after Christmas! We did take a 2 1/2 hour break and saw "In Pursuit of Happyness". Good movie. Very inspirational. A tad long though. Will Smith did a fantastic job on this film. We wanted to see Charlotte's Web but neither of us can sit in a movie theater full of kids anymore. Especially since one of us always gets a seat kicker behind us. I don't really blame the kids though, they don't know any better. My kids learned early on what I expected from them when we went anywhere, especially a place where other people have paid money to be able to enjoy themselves. So, we will watch Charlotte's Web when it comes out on DVD. Same goes for Night at the Museum.

We are going to a friend's house tomorrow for a quiet NYE. We might even make it till midnight.

I wish everyone a very Happy & Healthy New Year!

Allergies

I am only allergic to one thing , REALLY gets me! I went to drop off some baked goods at a friend's house & I forgot that she has CATS! Holy macaroni! Looks like I've gone a few rounds with Rocky Balboa!

The baked goods that I was delivering were part of the stuff that I spent the ENTIRE day yesterday baking! I decided to become a professional baker. I was up to my eyeballs in baked goods & I didn't have one bite

Well, the Benadryl is kicking in, I better get to bed. I'll have to post pics later, blogger is being a pain! I knew that I shouldn't have switched.


Nightie, Night!

Elfin Magic

This is hilarious!

Elfin Magic starring Danny. At least for me. I can be easily amused!

Grinchalicious!

I still have not shaken off this grinch mood that I am in this year. I usually am Mrs. Christmas from hell. Decorating, shopping, party planning baking and everything else that goes along with it was just a given. Gift giving this year is driving me nuts. My brothers kids are getting older and they are into more high tech stuff. Plus they have practically everything they want anyways. They don't need anything. My nieces are younger & are right at the age when Christmas is so magical. They live in AZ so I have taken to sending GC or cash since shipping has gotten so expensive. My sister's kids here in Miami need what money can't buy and unfortunately there is nothing I can do about that.

Last week, I packed up what I had purchased for the boys & took it to the Fire Dept. after their truck full of toys for cancer patients was ripped off. So now, I will probably just give them a gift card or cash so they don't see the green in me.

I will be baking, and I have to start on Tuesday. The thing with baking though, is that I have to try everything to make sure it's acceptable for gift giving. Jenny Craig here I come!

My donations are always a given. The grinch does not see his way into that. The one place that I ALWAYS give to is St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. I thank God every day for the health of my children and I need to give to help those that are not.

I also like Rosie's 4 All Kids Foundation. You can purchase items with all profits going to the foundation. Or make a $$ donation for 100% going directly to them. On Friday actually, Danny & I went on a one day cruise to benefit the foundation. We had a nice time & it was for a great cause. I support them for basically the same reason , my kids do not want for anything, although they think they do at times. They really don't. They are healthy, they have a home, they have both parents, they get their education etc. I still push for scholarships & grants though, because college costs are so prohibitive. But, they will go no matter what. Speaking of college, Kat just got accepted into FIU. We are very happy for her!!!! Yahooo!

If you will be making any charitable donations this year, please consider one or both if you don't have one that you prefer. There are many notable charities, but I am only able to help these 2 at this time. Maybe when I win the lotto???

Acupuncture?

We are considering acupuncture for Kat. It comes highly recommended by more than one person. She is the one that brought it up, so she is all for it. If it works, I may consider it for weight loss. I'll probably look like a human pin cushion if it's based n the amount of weight that I need to lose! I'm waiting for a call back from the doctor to find out what th cost will be.

I just got home from Target. I walk into Target and there are absolutely no shopping carts. Not a good sign! The store was packed! This was at 10AM! Holy Moly! I shall try to avoid the stores till January. Yeah Right!!!

Anyhoo, here is the pic of the back of our house which I said I would post.

Switched

I just switched to the Beta Blogger. I've been afraid to do it. Mainly because I was afraid to lose my stuff. But now it's done. I still have my stuff but I can't figure out what's new or different. Except that I have to sign in every single time! I switched because I was somewhat forced. I'm sure the blogger people do it on purpose. When the old blogger is ridiculously slow in loading and the link that reads "Switch Now" is staring you in the face, they know that you will be frustrated enough to click it!

My time is precious

I'm in a ranting mood. My Kat is still dealing with her facial paralysis. It breaks my heart to see her go through this. Her spirits are a bit up since the last time I wrote, which is a good thing. She had to go back to the neurologist yesterday. I took the 1st appointment of the day so that she could get back to school at a reasonable time. We got there at 8:30 after driving in rush hour traffic for a liitle over an hour. We signed in. Then waited, and wated & waited. At exactly 10:09 they call us in. They sit us in an exam room where we waited for another 15 minutes before the doctor came in. We finally left at 10:40!!! Why do they make appointments in the first place??? UGH! God forbid if we were 15 minutes late though. They would cancel the appointment out of "courtesy" to the other patients. It says so on a sin on their door!


Kat has an appointment for her MRI on Moday @ 7:00 AM. Prayers are reatly appreciated. She's my baby ya know.

Happy 40th Birthday Danny!!!!

He has caught up with me in age. But he will forever keep telling people that he married an older woman. He just does't mention that I am only a month and a half older!!!!

Today was a very hectic day. Started off with getting his birthday dinner ready, then I had to take Kat to the doctor @ 1:30. Made me remember why I HATE going there. First of all, parking is impossible. Then we actually waited for 2 1/2 hours! We didn't leave till a little past 4PM. Why do they make appointments???? But God help us if we are a tad bit late! My mom & dad came over for dinner & cake. They just left and I'm about to hit the hay! Good Night.

Another Bump in the Road

This morning Kat woke up complaining of a slight tingling on the left side of her face. When she went to brush her teeth and gargle, the water just dribbled out of her mouth. Right away I knew it was Bell's Palsy. It happened to me when I was 22. Went to her pediatrician who in turn sent me to th neurologist. He prescribed some meds then sent her for an MRI, then to an ENT & also to see her opthamologist.

This is something that supposedly is not very common. According to the doctor, it's like 1 in 5000 or 40,000 per year. So what are the chances of this happening to both of us????

It has gotten a bit worse since this morning. The left side of her face is void of any movement but thankfully it is not sagging. I hope we don't wake up to something worse in the morning. She is having a really hard time with this. I don't blame her and it hurts my heart to have her go through this. It's a combination of the discomfort, the physical part and the fact that she will be missing quite a bit of school for the next several days. This is her senior year, she can't really afford to miss.

So for the next few days, we will be sitting in doctor's offices, waiting with anxiety, hoping for good news. The tears have flown today for both of us. I hope tomorrow brings good things.

Well, at least the inside is done!

We finally finished decorating the inside of our house! Now Santa Claus can come!Since I'm feeling like such a Grinch this year, I'm not quite sure if we will do the outside or not. Here are a few pictures of what I did accomplish. I'm not a very good photographer, so it doesn't look quite right.

Monkey Business

Chimps! I love chimps! One of my favorite animals on my somewhat short list of favorite animals. It's Dolphins, Chimps, Pandas & Sea Otters in that order. These pictures were taken in 1988. The year we got married. Actually, this was part of our honeymoon. We were young & not very well off financially, so we stayed in Florida and went the theme park route. His name was Coco & he lived at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. The similarities between chimps & humans was proven on this day. Coco & his mate were playing around their enclosure, as seen in the picture it was a huge pit. Apparently, my sexy self caught his attention. Chimps are attracted to me, pretty sad huh? I started waving at him & calling out to him. I guess he took it as a sign of mutual interest and decided to go for it. He went and grabbed a stick to climb up to me. Mind you, all this was done in front of his girl chimp. She was not very happy about this at all. She came charging, grabbed the stick from under him which caused him to fall. He looked at her and probably saw the rage in her eyes and decided to RUN!!! She, in turn, chased him with the stick! It was the funniest thing ever! But the drama did not end there. After a few rounds around the pit, she got fed up and climbed a tree and sat there with her arms crossed and pouting. Coco paced around and eventually climbed up and sat next to her, put his arm around her and made kissy face!!! Now tell me, is that not like a typical man???? I wish we would have gotten it on video. Since we do not have it on tape, here is a funny chimp video for you.

It's beginning to look a tiny bit like Christmas

We still haven't finished putting up our decorations. At the rate we're going, this could possibly take us till Christmas! On Friday, we brought all the stuff down and planted it all in my living room. Saturday, I decorated the staircase. Sunday, we put up the tree.... only the tree. Today, we put up the lights on the tree. Maybe tomorrow I will actually finish decorating the tree. Then we will tackle the outside. That should take us another 3 days or more! Normal people finish in one day, we are not very normal!

Brilliant!

This man is a genius! He was on the Ellen Show today. He has been with his wife for 29 years. When asked what the secret to a succesful relationship is, he replied : " I do what she says" Exactly! Brilliant, simply brilliant!

I went to Target today, to sneak in some shopping before the rush. Got all the little kids out of the way. Now I just have to worry about my girls & a couple of other teenage kids. Then I will be done! Finito! Until that is, I remember someone that I "just have to get something for!"

Right now, I should be baking for tomorrow. But I am sitting here typing this and watching Cash Cab! The later I start, the fresher it will be tomorrow right????

So I looked old at 17!

My dear sweet daughter has just informed me that I looked old in my high school Senior pictures. I guess it's payback. I said the same exact thing to my mom when I was about the same age. Just a right of passage, I just warned her not to be surprised when her kids say the same thing to her. Although, I still say that the kids in class of 1964 did not look 17 or 18. Let me not get into the 1950's class. Now that I have offended people in 2 decades, I would like to know why every one was always looking away from the camera???? I don't know why I'm posting my picture since I hate it. But here it is for all to see. I don't know what that red lipstick was all about, but whatever. My lips looke huge (no botox)!

It is supposed to go down into the freaking 30's tonight! My body does not enjoy the cold. I am especially opposed to the cold since I do not have any winter clothes. For now, I guess I will be layering clothes. Hopefully, what they say is true, "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down!"

Not much to say......

I haven't written anything in a while. Mainly because I have nohing to say. :) It's been a very slow week. Just paying bills and trying to get Danny to finish the stuff on the "Honey do" list. Looks like my house won't be ready before the holidays because of all the procrastination. But what can I do??
Property taxes are due in a few weeks. Conveniently, they love to suck our money away from us during the holidays. Maybe that is why I still have not gotten into the Christmas "spirit".

Tomorrow I have to go see my gyno. Another ultrasound & hope for good news. Recommendation has been surgery. I wonder if it will change???

Jail Time???

Am I going to need my "Get Out of Jail Free" card? For some reason Florida has a ton of dumb laws and I seem to be guilty of breaking a few. So for a person whos has never seen the inside of a police station much less a jail, it looks like I am quite the criminal. Another reason to move to Hawaii, they only have 2 of these laws.

You can check out your state at http://www.dumblaws.com

* It is illegal to sell your children.

* Women may be fined for falling asleep under a hair dryer, as can the salon owner.

* A special law prohibits unmarried women from parachuting on Sunday or she shall risk arrest, fine, and/or jailing.

* If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle.

* It is illegal to sing in a public place while attired in a swimsuit.

* Men may not be seen publicly in any kind of strapless gown.

* Having sexual relations with a porcupine is illegal.

* It is illegal to skateboard without a license.

* When having sex, only the missionary position is legal.

* You may not fart in a public place after 6 P.

* It is considered an offense to shower naked.

* You are not allowed to break more than three dishes per day, or chip the edges of more than four cups and/or saucers.

* Oral sex is illegal.

* You may not kiss your wife's breasts.

* Penalty for horse theft is death by hanging

Lost Opportunity

Spirit had another killer "Red Light Sale". I was soooo close to booking, it's not even funny. Danny stood there, cheering me on. Book it! Book it! I had to be the voice of reason though, because he sure was no help. There is no way we can leave for another week. The girls would kill us. It hurt to miss out on it though. Total cost for the 2 of us round trip: $69. OMG!!!! I console myself with the fact that I would have frozen my butt off and been totally miserable. That's my story & I'm sticking to it.

In other breakng news, yesterday, I went on my (almost) daily trek to Target. All Halloween stuff was 90%. Got a bunch of candy that we don't need plus a few other knick knacks. Everything rang up between .20 & .50 each. So, whether we need it or not, I bought it. The picture shows what about $7 of candy looks like. Don't worry, it's not all for me. Really. I only like Kit Kats, Twiz, & Take 5 so I am pretty safe. Some for Danny & the rest for all the upcoming parties. I'll be in charg of goody bags for sure!

Orange for Fall

First Class all the way!

No more Coach for me! From now on this will be my preferred method of airplane travel. Aside from the comfort level, look at all the gadgets that Danny can play with!

I swear, I was supposed to be born rich. You can place 3 similar items in front of me, and I will automatically lean towards the most expensive one!

Halloween was a total bust. Danny & I sat outside with our huge bowl of candy & hidden treats for the little ones. We must have gotten 5 groups of trick or treaters, a total of about 20 kids. Seven of which were cute little kiddies. The rest were teens without costume & facial hair! The little ones got Pez dispensers plus candy while the older ones got just candy. If they were polite, they would get more candy.

Today I need to get my rear in gear early. I have a bunch of errands to run. I also have to make a Target run & see what's on sale. I should start Xmas shopping, but I am not in the mood. We would love to just pack up & leave on a cruise or something this Xmas. I feel like a big Scrooge. I love decorating my house, having parties, being with friends & family. I also usually enjoy buying gifts but this year that gift giving feeling has not kicked in. My girls really don't need anything & my nephews have everything so what do I get??? I just really do not want to stress over it. I will probably do what I don't really like to do & hand out gift cards!

Bah Humbug!

Happy Trick or Treat

So it begins. Sweets, sweets & more sweets. From now until the end of the year we will indulge in massive food fests. Weight Watchers? Yeah, right!

Our girls are too old for trick or treating, but my nephew, David, will be coming over to t&t around here. I will probably stay behind to hand out candies to the little ones and not so little ones. I honestly can't stand the big kids that come by. When I say big kids, I mean BIG kids! About 15, 16 & 17. They come with no costume and carrying a pillowcase. Very obnoxious most of the time. But I give them candy anyway. Simply because I am afraid of them! :) But when they ring my bell at 11PM, that's when I get mad and send Danny out there to deal with them.

I will have to restrain myself from the one for you, one for me phenomenom. It shouldn't be too hard since I purposely did not buy any Kit Kats or Twix or my new favorite Take 5!

As I type I have already opened up 2 little boxes of Dots and I have them stuck to my molars. Gotta go up and Water Pik!

Have a safe & relatively sugar free Halloween!

Advanced Warning To All Men.........

With the holidays approaching, I am just posting this public service announcement to all men. This is done in an attempt to assist them in not buying the Wrong Holiday Gift.

Fantabulous

Today is an incredibly fantabulous, beautifully perfect day. Days like today remind me of the only reason that I enjoy living in Miami. There are so many reasons not to want to live here anymore though. Starting with, but not limited to, the $2000 increase for our home insurance.

So here are our requirements.

* No hurricanes, Earthquakes, Tornadoes...... heck, no natural disasters of any type!
* Affordable cost of living.
* A beach house would be nice.
* Friendly neighbors.
* Pleasant weather. I hate the cold.

I'm sure that there are a bunch more, but I can't think of them right now.

Suggestions?

Anyhoo, I need to learn how to work this Blogger thing. I finally figured out (actually by accident) how to put my profile on the sidebar. Now, I need to find out how to put my photo slides on the sides. Not on the side bar but on the brown sides. Any ideas?

EDIT: Ok, now I got the sliders on but it's still not how I want it. Hopefully I will get it right eventually. By mistake of course. LOL!

Ghost

It doesn't matter that I have seen this movie a gazillion times and that I practically know it by heart. I still cry like a baby whenever I see it. This is one of my all time favorite movies, so I will probably watch it a gazillion times more.

Spent the entire day today alternating between Lifetime & WE Network. Lazy Sunday to say the least. Although the day was absolutely gorgeous today, we all stayed home and vegged.

I was trying to log on to the Hawaii webcam for most of day and then I find out they they had a big earthquake. How scary is that? They say that the buildings were literally swaying. Praying for all those affected.

I'm still going to continue planning our trip. I decided a while back to stop being afraid of absolutely everything. I have so much to do & see, that if I let it get to me, I won't do anything at all. I am not saying that I'm going to get on that helicopter tour over the volcano, but I haven't completely ruled it out!

I am attempting to start another diet tomorrow. I was considering Nutrisystem but they charge almost $400 a month for food! So I have dusted off my WW books & I need to find my points calculator. I might consider going to a meeting or two. Not to sure about that part, I'm not the "meetings" type. I will hide in my room while my family eats & I won't let them sabotage my efforts. Wish me luck.

Tag, I'm it!

Well, I was tagged by Melissa. So here goes. This is a hard one for me because (1) I have no weirdness in me! :) or (2) it can be that I just can't narrow them down to five. One or the other. I tend to choose option 1.

Anyhoo,

The rules are : List 5 weird things about yourself or your pets. Tag 5 friends and list them. Then, those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, and state the rules, and tag 5 more people. Don’t forget to let the people you tag know by posting a comment on their blog!

Here are mine:

1- I don’t like tomatoes, but I like ketchup, spaghetti sauce & even bruschetta.

2- Different foods can’t be touching each other on my plate.

3- I go to Target almost every day. You never know what you’ll find!

4- I have a closet full of clothes that don’t fit, but I refuse to get rid of them.

5- I don’t bite my nails, but I bite the skin around them.

I now tag:

Mari, Grace, Lisa, Patty, & Betty.

Four OH-My God!

So this is Karilyn's idea of funny. You can't tell by the picture, but these balloons are HUGE! They barely fit in the car!

Well, although I am thankful to have had another year of life, I am kinda peeved about the actual number. So I guess that from now until forever I will claim to be 39.

I am watching Grey's. My goodness! This show is chock full of hunks! McDreamy, McSteamy & McVet! None of my doctors ever looked like that!

Showering

Well I have nothing to write about so here's a funny. It's soooo true!

How To Shower Like a Woman:
Take off clothing and place it in sectioned laundry hamper according to lights and darks.

Walk to bathroom wearing long dressing gown.If you see husband along the way, cover up any exposed areas.

Look at your womanly physique in the mirror - make mental note to do more sit-ups/leg-lifts, etc.

Get in the shower.

Use face cloth, arm cloth, leg cloth, long loofah, wide loofah and pumice stone.

Wash your hair once with cucumber and sage shampoo with 43 added vitamins.

Wash your hair again to make sure it's clean.

Condition your hair with grapefruit mint conditioner enhanced with real passionfruit.

Wash your face with crushed apricot facial scrub for 10 minutes until red.

Wash entire rest of body with ginger nut and jaffa cake body wash.

Rinse conditioner off hair.

Shave armpits and legs.

Turn off shower.

Squeegee off all wet surfaces in shower.

Spray mold spots with Tilex.

Get out of shower and stand on bathmat.

Dry with towel the size of a small country.

Wrap hair in super absorbent towel.

Return to bedroom wearing long dressing gown and towel on head.

If you see husband along the way, cover up any exposed areas.

How To Shower Like a Man:

Take off clothes while sitting on the edge of the bed and leave them in a pile.

Walk naked to the bathroom.

If you see wife along the way, shake wiener at her making the 'woo-woo' sound.

Look at your manly physique in the mirror.

Admire the size of your wiener and scratch your butt.

Get in the shower.

Wash your face.

Wash your armpits.

Blow your nose in your hands and let the water rinse them off.

Fart and laugh at how loud it sounds in the shower.

Spend majority of time washing privates and surrounding area.

Wash your butt, leaving those coarse butt hairs stuck on the soap.

Wash your hair.

Make a Shampoo Mohawk.

Pee.

Rinse off and get out of shower.

Avoid bathmat.

Dry off forearms and butt only.

Fail to notice water on floor because curtain was hanging out of tub the whole time.

Admire wiener size in mirror again.

Shake it to watch water fly off.

Leave shower curtain open, wet mat on floor, light and fan on.

Return to bedroom with towel around waist.

If you pass wife, pull off towel, shake wiener at her and make the 'woo-woo' sound again.

Throw wet towel on bed.

Slimy, Evil, Wicked, Mean & Nasty!

I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but I hate Frogs! It doesn't help that we have to share our home with these vile creatures. They are everywhere! Just waiting to jump out at me! I wouldn't mind so much I guess, if they would do what they are supposed to do, and eat the skeeters. And stay out of my way. But they don't. They just mate and make more babies. Then they sit there and look at me with those ugly, beady frog eyes! PLUS they poop all over the place! YUCK! Is there such thin as a frog repellent???????

Empty Folder

Well, my travel folder is empty once again. That's not good. So, I told Danny that I need to start planning our next trip. He just nods and goes along with my lunacy. That's why I love him.
Anyhoo, I decided that we should go to Hawaii. I have been taking virtual tours on line and this is one trip that I definitely cannot plan in 2 weeks. I hope we can go next October. Hopefully we can pull it off. The girls will not be happy but heck, they do stuff without us all the time. Plus, we will probably do a family trip for Spring Break. Financially though, it's a whole different story. But we can make it a 20th anniversary trip, 5 months early but whatever, rates are cheaper in October. It will be around my birthday too, so we can kill 2 birds with one stone. Plus Danny's birthday is 2 months after that so we can kill 3 birds. Actually, Valentines day is 4 months later so it's really 4 birds. Then there is Mother's day 5 months before and 7 months after and don't forget Christmas! Look how many poor birds have to die for my trip!

So let the research (and dreaming) begin!

Wicked!

Since we absolutely LOVED Wicked plus I don't have anything better to do, I did this:

We're home. We had a great time but my entire body is killing me. We started off in Niagara Falls (both Canadian & American) and ended up in NYC! I have walked more than I think I ever have! We thought we would have lost some weight, since we really did not eat alot but we walked almost EVERYWHERE! Not one ounce lost. We both actually gained some weight. Go figure!



We had a great time though. We got to see Wicked! We entered the lottery and yours truly, who has never won a drawing in her entire life actually WON! It was a fantastic show. We did all the touristy things and a bit of shopping, not much though. We do need to go back for some serious shopping.

Anyhoo, today is my recovery day and I am definitely trying to recover. Every single bone & muscle in my body is hurting. And today is MUST SEE TV!!!! Grey's & ER, can't get any better than that!

Always Remember......

Memorize this....

So my new Amex won't be here till Tuesday. Probably not till 6:00PM or so because that is about the time that my UPS driver sneaks up to my front porch, tosses the package, then runs away without rining my bell. He better not mess with my Amex though. That is my lifeline. I don't uses cash for anything! Now I will be getting a "slightly" different number, according to the customer service guy. I had my number completely memorized. I never had to go looking for my card to buy anything online. Now I have to memorize a new number aside from all the new passwords I had to come up with last night. I'm getting too old for all this memorizing!

What a day!

I had a very long and tiring day! Kat had her Senior Portraits taken today, so my day saterted at 9AM. Hair, Nails, Makeup. All the good stuff. Then her appointment for the pics. After that we go to Flanigans for a late lunch early dinner. I pay for it with my AMEX and inadverdently left my credit card in the check folder. I realize my stupidity about 5 minutes later and immediately call the restaurant. No one has seen it. So I call Amex to cancel. OK, done. Now I'm without my CC till Tuesday.

I get home and I have email from ebay confirming my listing of a 100% genuine Chanel handbag for $55. Ok, I did not list this. Open up my ebay account and there are 62 such listings under my account. Holy Cow! I'v e been hacked! Contact ebay, change all my passwords (and make them all different), try to figure out how I can remember all those password, and 3 hours later and I am finally done! Thieves are everywhere! That is sooooo sad!

Anyhoo, consoled myself with this:



This is heaven I tell ya! And my thighs can vouch for that!

I'm going to be stylin'!

I wonder if I could get this delivered before we leave on Wednesday?? This is from Fashion Week for the Spring/Summer Collection. Isn't it just fab? I might just get it in a different color because I would hate for it to blend in with my hair. This is strictly for night time though. I'm thinking thata I may need to find one with, oh say, a Nike or something for regular day time wear.

Geeezzzz!!!

Rain, Rain & More Rain

So we haven't had a single day without rain in over a week! Our pool is literally over-flowing and the lawn is drenched & muddy. I really haven't been out much in the past week. I hate driving in the rain. All the idiots drive 1000X worse in the rain. Danny is on shift today and he says that it has been non-stop accident calls.

Another quick rant. What is up with all these delivery people lately??? For chrissake, would it kill them to ring the freaking doorbell to let me know that they have left a package out on my front porch in full view for everyone to see???? Or so that I can bring it in so it doesn't get drenched??? Or maybe even so that it won't sit there for days since we never use the front door??? It went from leaving notices on the door, to ring & run, to no ring, drop & run. Recently, they left a large tube with over $800 in artwork standing up on my front step. They don't even bother to try hiding it behind the huge potted plant which I have right by my door. It's just not one company either! UPS, DHL, FedEx....they're all the same.

My blingy counter thingie says 7 days and about 21 hours. Just in time for Florence! Geez! Hopefully it weakens out and dissipates before ever making landfall. I have everything booked finally and I am quite proud of myself at havin done it on such short notice. The only thing that I have not been able to get is theater tickets. Planning on trying something for Wicked but if it doesn't work out, I hope to get discounted tkts for either Spamalot or Fame Becomes Me. I've already come to realize that we will probably not have enough time to do & see everything that we would like to.

Cryin' in the fitting room

Sounds like a title to a bad country song. But that is exactly what I was doing today. I decided I needed to buy at least a few articles of clothing although I had vowed not to, until I lost the weight. But it's ither that, or walk around naked. I went into the fitting room with my arms loaded but I ended up not buyin a single thing. Everything looked horrendous! I did end up buying 2 bras though, because my boobs have gotten huge! I'm even gaining weight there! Ugh! I think I will finally commit to WW when I get back from NY. But then what happens? Along comes Thanksgiving & Christmas, which around here is a major food fest! It's a conspiracy I tell ya!

Spared

We were lucky this time. Although Ernesto was not predicted to be a major hurricane, I still was not looking foward to dealing with not only the scary noise but the aftermath. Danny removed a few shutters so that I could get some precious light. I would still like some more taken off.
All my outdoor furniture is in my terrace. It will probably stay there until we get back from NY. I would hate for another storm to threaten and have my mom have to deal with it.

12 more days. All these airplane "situations" have me really freaked out. Remember that I just got on a plane fr the first time EVER, less than a year ago. So I am still a rookie. And a chicken one at that. I'm going to have to take something mighty strong to get me through these flights. Especially those little commuter planes to & from Niagara Falls.

My diet is going well. NOT! Danny decided to take me to Texas de Brazil yesterday. Just because. Fortunately I did not have many carbs, that's the bright side. The meats were all fabulous & their salad bar is awesome. After that we walked it off a bit at the mall and then added some more with a mango and strawberry gelato. It's a vicious cycle!

Darkness & Uncertainty

I hate living in darkness. That is why we bought this house, because of the gazillion windows. I like light. I hate living in a cave. Those gazillion windows turn into a major pain in Danny's ass around this time of year. He just shuttered them all up yesterday. And I tell you, it's not an easy task.

He finished 98% by himself, but fortunately his friend came by after work to help with the last, and hardest one on the second floor.

So now I am living in a cave. Darkness depresses me and makes me sleepy all the time. Even after the storm, we will be in semi-darkness till November. We only take off some of the 1st floor shutters until the season is over.

I still have not been able to fuel up my car. The lines have been outrageous plus many stations ran out of gas. I still have to bring in our furniture from outside. And to add to my pain, Danny is officially on duty. So the girls and I will be riding it out alone. Not a very happy camper to say the least.

Well, I better go watch the next advisory.

And so it begins.......

Another reason for my wanting to leave S. Florida!

The price we pay to live n paradise is getting higher & higher every year. I don't think that I want to live in "paradise" anymore.

We leave to NYC in 17 days according to the counter. Although this storm is predicted for Wed. or Thurs of this week, there better not be another one when we leave. Or while we are gone for that matter. I wouldn't be able to deal with the stress of the girls being here with my mom.

This stupid laptop keeps skipping 'G's' and I have to go back and add them when I am done. If some thing just doesn't sound right, I may have missed one. So just add a "G" somewhere and it should make sense. :) OK, otta o et some breakfast! ;)

Early to rise & late to bed makes Lissy not healthy,cranky & dead!

It seems like my boobs are in a race with the bags under my eyes to see which one reaches my knees first! I have not gotten a good night's sleep in 2 weeks. I am exhausted! I was up at 5AM today. Lack of sleep plus trying to put this trip together is killing me! Too bad we are not going to a nice relaxing place. Like Hawaii maybe. :) Our trip is turning out to be 7 days of non-stop action. I think that I may be trying to cram too much into one week. Plus now Danny wants to take a day to visit family.

I am trying to find tickets to Wicked. I refuse to pay $300 plus for a ticket though. So we'll see if my plan works out. Sorry, can't tell you, or I might just jinx myself. Almost everything else is set though. I have all my reservations less one day. That day we may just be sleeping in the streets since I can't find anything for that night. I also have ordered my NY Pass, and I hope to be able to do enough to get my $$ worth. Niagara Falls is completetly done too. Hotel & show tickets. Just need the Falls tickets when we get there. The Canadian $$ exchange was confusing me a bit but hopefully I've got it. Too bad the US$ isn't as strong as i was a few yrs ago, we are practically 1 to 1 almost.

Have I mentioned how much I hate FPL? And while I'm at it the insurance companies too. Our electric bill was $480 this month! We used slightly less kws than last yr. at this time and we are paying about $140 more. The insurance company not only raised our premium by $1700 but they are covering less! Highway robbery! Between that and the cost of gas, soon we will be living by candlelight in a tent and get around on scooters. There will be a major rise in bankruptcies soon, I guarantee it. I really can't wait to get out of here! We need to find a place where there are nice people, no hurricanes and preferably with a nice ocean view! :)

Fashion Week

So after some research, it seems like one of the reasons why the hotels are so expensive is because it's Fashion Week. You would think if that were the reason that since this event is planned way in advance, that there would be little or no availability. In actuallity, everything seems wide open. Maybe, just maybe, they are trying to keep us riff raff away from the fashion people! This last minute planning is giving me a headache. As of right now, until I change my mind again, it seems like we will be flying into Laguardia then immediately going to JFK to fly to Buffalo. From Buffalo we rent a car and drive to Ontario where we will stay for 3 nights to visit Niagara Falls. Then we fly back to JFK for 4 nts in NYC. HAve to figure out the logistics first.

Holy High Prices Batman!

I have been looking around for a place to stay in NYC. I was so proud of myself for finding that airfare so darn cheap. Danny was a happy camper as well. Now I have hit my first road bump. Hotels are big $$$$$ for the week that we are going. I'm finding rates of $450 plus per night! I expected high but not this high! To sleep, because that is all we need the room for, it's not like we stay in there all day an veg!
Even my all time favorite Priceline is not cooperating for that week. There is no way that we can pay upwards of 3K to sleep for 7 days. We just got back from our California trip and my Amex is still recovering!

I will keep looking. Heck, I have all the time in the world right?????

Spontaneity

OMG! I got an email from Spirit Airline last night about their 16th Anniversary sale. I played around and found a roundtrip flight to NYC for Danny & me for a total of $105!!!!! Before I realized what I was doing I hit "purchase now". Soooooooo, we are going to NYC on Sept.13th for 7 days! I just realized the dates that I booked. Sept. 13th, just 2 days after the 5th anniversary of 9-11. What was I thinkin?? Actually, I wasn't. It was a spur of the moment thing. I have always wanted to visit NYC. But with my fear of flying thing, I had never been able to. But with the airlines on high alert and the anniversary being that week, I know my nerves will be a wreck. So, let the anxiety attacks begin!!!!!

I have less than a month to plan this trip. I like to have lots & lots of time to reasearch so lets see how this turns out. I have my reservations about Spirit Air. I don't know anyone who has flown with them so I haven't gotten any reviews. But it's only $105!!!

Well, I'm off to research! Any hints, tips & ideas are more than welcomed!!!

I am weak!

I had a Diet Coke today :( I have absolutely no willpower! Good thing is, I only had one and I did drink a ton of water. I spent most of the day peeing too, so that proves it! I did ok on the food too, like I said that part doesn't bother me much. Now for my sweets. I went and bought the 100 calorie packs of Chips Ahoy, not bad... not bad at all. It definitely calms the cravings. I also bought some WW mini lemon cake thingies (which I'll try tomorrow) & some honey graham sticks. I also have sugar free jello.

Danny will be home tomorrow and he is the #1 deterrent of any diet I try. He also needs to lose weight but won't even try. We should both go on that show The Biggest Loser or maybe make it easy on both of us and go on Extreme Makeover. It's going to take me forever to lose what I gained in such a shoort time. Anyhoo, I also have been on my treadmill and have been doing that Windsor Pilates tape. 20 minute workout, now that's my kind of workout! My abs hurt like crazy. I hope that's a good thing. Although it actually hurts quite a bit around the incision from my hysterectomy.

Better get my jiggly butt to bed, early morning again tomorrow.

I want cake!

Today was the first day of my supposed diet. I did quite well too. I had my 8+ glasses of water plus not even one Diet Coke. I am seriously addicted. I wonder if there is rehab for Diet Coke Junkies? Lets see how long this lasts. I can live without food but I definately cannot live without cake (or any kind of sweets). I'm going to buy those 100 calorie packs of cookies and see how I do with those.
My head hurts and I'm sure that it's from Diet Coke withdrawls!

School started today! Hooray!! Problem is that it is my turn to take them to school tomorrow. Danny says that it was a nightmare this morning. Ugh! Not only do I have to wake up early but I also have to deal with traffic. It's not only the traffic though. I'm sure that it would not be so bad if not for the rude parents who feel that they are above everyone else so they don't make the line. Instead they either stop in the middle of a four lane road and let their kids off right there or they pull up to the front of the line & cut in. That is one of my pet peeves. And unfortunately it's not only a school problem.

I must get to bed early today, have to be up by 6:20.

Lack of sleep makes me very, very cranky!

The neighbors were having a party last night. We have parties all the time too. Difference is, that we tend to be a bit more considerate. We lower or turn off the music at midnight. The music stopped at around 1AM so I went to sleep. Half hour later they blasted it again and didn't stop till a little after 4 freaking 30 in the morning!!! Then to add insult to injury their stupid dogs start barking hysterically (as ALWAYS!) at 6AM. Soooo, I get up with the worst migraine in history and I'm bitchy as hell.

Tomorrow is the 1st day of school, so the girls will probably be up super early in the morning. I'm glad that school is starting but I am dreading the early mornings!

For my family's sake, I hope to get rid of this headache (and this mood) soon. If not, they may just see my head spinning in circles a la excorcist!

Air Travel

As many of you know, I just recently got up the nerve to get on a plane. Actually, my first ever flight was almost exactly10 months ago. Now we have something else to worry about. Me being the chicken shit that I am, who knows when I will fly again. Although, when I first got on that 1st plane, I had decided that I was not going to let fear rule my life. I (and no one really) don't know how long I've got. I could drop dead tomorrow. Maybe I should just concentrate on planning our next trip and not even think about any of those damn terrorists!

Now for my views on the new airline restrictions. It amazes me how many people are complaining about the restrictions that are put in place to help protect us. These are the same people that will probably be complaining if something were to happen. Scratch that. They probably won't be around to complain. Sure, it may take us more time to get to and from our destination. But the point is that we get there. Alive & in one piece. Hearing what the actual plan was, is pretty scary. Simultaneously blowing up 10 planes. I will take the extra time it takes to try to avoid this anytime!

No liquids, No gels, No lotions.....No Problem! Safe flight & safe landing = Happy Me!

More Money

I totally HATE being the one to pay the bills! I rather not know what is going out of our bank account and at what rate! Geez, our electric bill came in at $435 this month!!! FPL increased rates by 60% and they still want to increase it more. Soon we will be living by candlelight and campfire! UGH!!! This year will be an expensive one too. Between this being Kat's senior year and everything that goes with it, Kari gets her class ring, plus we have to figure out the cost of college. Before you know it we may have to turn our home into a B&B to earn some money!

Anyone want to share some winning lottery numbers???

Not much of an update....

I keep forgetting to update my blog. Maybe it's because I have absolutely nothing to write about. School finally starts next week and hopefully everything will go back to normal. Starting with my sleep pattern. I've been falling asleep at about 2AM then I don't wake up till about 11. I haven't woken up at that time since college! I also want to get back to my regular excercise routine. I have totally slacked off this summer, and it shows.

Here is my purple mosaic with the disclosure that I didn't take a single one of these fabulous pictures!

Feeling Hot, Hot Hot

Time goes by so quickly. I cannot believe that tomorrow is the 1st day of August already!! Before we kow it the holidays are upon us again. I am trying to convince the girls to give up gifts this year and we will go on a holiday cruise instead! Sounds like a fabulous plan to me, but they are not quite convinced yet. I don't see why not though, they get practically everything they need anyways.

The heat is insane! I can't stand being outside. Fortunately though, we have not hit the triple digits yet. It just feels like it. Hot & Sticky that's what we are! A/C running 24/7 and FPL charging 60% more because they feel like it= close to $500 per month. We'll be bankrupt soon!

Today was supposed to be the first day of a new diet, but I still have cupcakes left over from yesterday. Too much temptation! Especially since I made them and my nephew has officially declared me "The Cake Queen". So maybe I will start tomorrow! You would think that the weight would just melt off in this heat!

Cleaning Frenzy!

My OCD kicked into high gear today! I woke up around 10AM and went downstairs to get some juice. I looked outside at the back yard and it looked so messy! I couldn't stand it, I went out and started cleaning. Never mind that it was about 100 degrees in the shade! First I spray painted the chair that I had just bought new cushions for. They look brand new by the way. Danny just does not realize how much money I save him!! Then I literally scrubbed the terrace and the deck. I washed all the patio tables & chairs. And I rearranged all the furniture as well.

Then, I came inside. I cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed, and did 3 loads of laundry. Now I am totally exhausted. My body is killing me! I took a long shower then slathered on tons of lavendar lotion. Hopefully, this will help me fall asleep early today. As it is, it's almost 11PM and I am wide awake!

By the way, I like my shopping frenzies way better than my cleaning frenzies!!!!

Shopping Frenzy!

I have been on a major shopping frenzy these past few days. It started on Thursday. We just happened to stumble into Target when the patio stuff went to 75% off! We bought the fire pit table which I have had my eye on for about a year. We also bought like a gazillion gallons of tiki fuel. You can never have too much of that! I found one chaise cushion in a nice burnt orange color. Since there was only one, we had to go on a hunt for at least 2 more! So off to the other Targets. We hit 3 more before we went back home but unfortunately we did not find the cushions. I did pick up 4 chair cushions, an outdoor lamp for the gazebo and a hammock.

The next day I had an appointment to get my nails done, so that cut into my shopping mission. When I was done, Danny, Kari & I went to 2 more Targets in Broward. No cushions there either and the pickins were extremely slim! I did find a rug for the gazebo & more tiki fuel! Hurray!

When we finished and drove back toward home in rush hour traffic, it was aready about 7 PM. We were all starving and I had to pee. We decided to go get something to eat. On the way, Kari wanted to stop at Old Navy for a minute since I had told her that they were having a sale. Well! Let me tell you. It was an amazing sale! Everything was 1/2 off already reduced clearance items. Our cart was over flowing and the total was only $100! We were there till 9PM and I totally forgot about being hungry and having to pee!

First thing Saturday morning, I was at Old Navy again! This time with Kat. Again our cart was over flowing! Then I decided to get the CC since I could get an additional 20% off. I did not realize that it was only what I could stuff in this tiny bag. Well, by gosh, I actually squashed all but 3 items into the bag and I only tore one bit! Grand total with no tax (tax free week) $80!

Needless to say, I am a very happy camper!

She's Home!

Yay!! Kari's home! Now I can sleep at night! She had a really good time and took alot of pictures. She's happy, my little jet setter. Now it's back to being bored.

No plans for today. We need to save $$ & recover from our vacation. That way come October, maybe Danny will take me back to California for my birthday! Or maybe a cruise, I haven't decided.

I'm still waking up between 10 & 11. I'm practically sleeping my day away! I'm also missing my early morning Target runs.

Anyone know how I can lose 10 lbs in 11 days? I have to go to the Dr. on the 26th and she is going to call me fat again! Ugh!

The Devil Wears Prada

Went to see this movie today. It was ok. I could have waited to see it on DVD though. Really awesome outfits worn by Anne Hathaway though. Meryll Streep did a great job as always. Funny how they call a size 6 FAT! I really wish that we had movie theaters like the one we went to in Hollywood. Ushers? What's that??? Kids running up & down the aisles? No problem! Baby crying for almost the entire movie without the parent getting up and walking out with the child? No Problem! It took another patron to actually have to get up, miss a portion of the movie, and go complain to someone. I know it's not totally the theater's responsibility, parents should control their kids if they are going to bring them, but someone should be around to keep the situation under control. It hurts to pay the $7-9 to watch a movie in the 1st place, add a nuisance and it's like adding insult to injury. Remember, I'm a mom. I never took my babies to the movies, and they NEVER acted up when they were older either. If they had, it would not have been tolerated by me nor at the expense of the other folks who paid good money to enjoy a movie. OK, that is my rant for today.


Kari comes home tomorrow. We have really missed her! She's had fun and has learned alot for next year. She was also hypnotized at one of the shows. Can't wait to see the video!

My baby left me!

I didn't go to sleep at all last night. By 2AM I realized that it wasn't worth it to o to sleep when I had to wake up at 4 anyways. Today I had to drive my baby Kari to the airport and put her on a plane to Nashville where she will be for 6 days!! She is at an FCCLA confrence and competion. First time she's been away from home for more than a day. I was (and am) totally freakin out. So if you happened to be at Miami Int'l Airport at around 7AM and saw a vertically challenged woman crying and practically chasing the plane from window to window like Gigot, please don't point and laugh. Just know that my heart is on a plane without me.

Santa Monica, Queen Mary & Manhattan Beach

All good things must come to an end and we are nearing the end of our fabulous vacation. We wanted to get an early start on our day. We had an early breakfast and hauled all our stuff down the stairs to the parking garage. Going down is soooo much easier. We checked out at 10:30 and made our way to Santa Monica. Along the way, we saw many more interesting sights in Hollywood. Including this one shirtless guy in a Panama Hat and a flower lei trying to sell an old lamp and typewriter in the middle of the street. Although we did not care for Hollywood much we can’t deny that it gave us a few laughs! We stopped at Target to buy another suitcase to distribute the weight in the other bags, it was cheaper to buy a case than to pay another overweight fee.

We parked at Santa Monica Place. It’s a 3 story mall and I LOVED it! We walked around a bit then made our way to the pier. We spent about ½ hour or so here. Watched this guy make a clay sculpture of this other guys face which looked exactly like him! Then we walked to the 3rd Street Promenade just to look around and grab a quick lunch.

At about 3PM we headed to Long Beach & the Queen Mary. We arrived at around 4PM and the attractions close at 6. I had a coupon for a combo ticket for $12 each. This included the self guided tour & the Ghosts & Legends attraction.
I hate to say that we were extremely disappointed, not only by the condition of the ship, but also the very few areas we were able to visit. I expected to see the ballrooms & the dining rooms. It just didn’t feel like a First Class ship of any era. I was very interested in the history of the ship and the most I got from the tour was a 10 minute video tape that they played which included footage of what’s been shown on the History Channel several times. The Ghosts & Legends tour was slightly more interesting. It was more or less a narrated haunted house but it did give information about how certain people had perished on board. It did take you down to the boiler room and 1st Class indoor pool. I would have been even more disappointed if we had paid the regular price of $23 each. And then to add to my pain we paid $10 to park for 2 hours!

It took us less than ½ hour to get to Manhattan Beach. We stayed at the Hawthorne Suites Manhattan Beach because of its proximity to the airport. It also happened to be about a mile from the pier. We checked in and were told that we were in time for their “social” hour. The girl checking us in was really nice and recommended an Italian restaurant by the pier. We went to the room to freshen up while Danny went down to get some beer at the “social” hour. He came back up a few minutes late and reported that he had a jolly old time socializing by himself! LOL! All he wanted was ber anyways and at least he got some. We had a 1 bedroom king room with a full kitchen which we didn’t really need. The room was immaculate and updated. Free WiFi and printing service which allowed me to print my boarding passes the next day. Fortunately the bed was very comfy. Maybe I’ll get some sleep tonight.

We drove out to the pier and were lucky enough to find parking quite quickly. There were a lot of people out trying to surf but there were no waves. We hung around the pier to watch the sunset. It was a beautiful evening & the weather was starting to get cooler. I absolutely loved Manhattan Beach. I want to return for a longer stay. Or Danny can buy a house for us right on the beach. Any of them will do nicely.

After the sun set we went to the restaurant recommended by the girl at the motel. It’s called Mama D’s and it’s a tiny family run restaurant which was packed. We were told there was about a ½ hour wait but we waited a bit more than that. While we waited they brought out several appetizers including fried calamari, meatballs and their fresh baked focaccia bread. Our meal was excellent! Served by a very friendly and efficient staff. I can’t wait to return. There is a really cute ice cream parlor across the street but we were too full for dessert. It was already 10PM and everything was closed except the restaurants so we decided to head on back to the motel.


Our window faced the street but for some reason during the day we couldn’t hear any traffic, at night it was non-stop and loud. Needless to say, I did not get much sleep. We went down to the free breakfast and were pleasantly surprised! They had a hot buffet set up with eggs, bacon, sausage & hashbrowns. There was also a make your own waffles station. Yogurts, fruit, breads, bagels, cereals and all types of beverages including different teas. We would stay here again but we would request a room that does not face the street. We checked out at 11, dropped off the car, and took the shuttle to the airport. I had wanted my last In-n-Out burger but we had just had breakfast a little over 2 hours earlier so no one was hungry. Check in & security were a breeze! I don’t know why people fear LAX. It is much easier here than in Miami. At around 12:30 the girls decide that they want Burger King to take on the plane. We arrive in Miami at almost 10PM and they are afraid that they will starve. The BK at this terminal is outrageously expensive! They charge about $9 for Value Meals! And about $6 for kids meals! The one is MIA is just slightly above regular BKs.

When we board I take my Dramamine & an ativan and before I know it I’m in la la land. I wake up 3 hours later. One more hour and we land! And so this ends our Great California Adventure! I’m still on a weird sleep schedule and I so need a vacation to recover from this vacation. Now it’s time to start planning our next trip!!

L.A. WB Tour, Rodeo Dr., Getty & Magic Castle

We have tickets for the 10:30 tour at the Warner Brothers Studios. I was up at around 8. The bed here is really hard. I’m not used to it. I have a nice comfy SAM adjustable bed at home. So I am not saying that everyone will find it hard but I did. There is a nice goose down duvet on the bed so I requested a top sheet for it so that I could lay on it tonight and maybe that would help.
We went down to get some breakfast before leaving. They set up in the small lobby but it wasn’t bad. They get their pastries daily from a local bakery and they are quite good. The also have cereals, breads & fresh fruit. Milk, coffee & three different kinds of juice.



We were off to Burbank at around 9:30. We didn’t get much traffic and arrived at 10. They asked if we wanted to take the 10 o’clock tour and we agreed. The tour was interesting. We saw the town used for the Gilmore Girls. We visited the set for E.R. And the recreated set of Friends. There was a lot of worker but no filming. I’m sure if we went during off summer months we would probably see more stuff going on. All in all it was a good tour.

The tour lasted 2 ¼ hours. When we were done we went to have lunch at Black Angus. We don’t have one here and I wish we did. The service was great, the food was really good, and the price was awesome. I had a meal that includes my entrée (Filet), 2 sides, soup or salad, your drink and a large brownie for dessert. They also serve a nice loaf of warm bread. My meal was only $14.99. Awesome deal!








From there we drove to Beverly Hills. First stop, Rodeo Drive. It was really hot today, so a quick look around and we were ready to leave. We drove around for a bit, looking at all the mansions. We went up hills & down hills until the girls asked if we could go to the movies. They really wanted to see Click. Yes, we were going to see a movie while on vacation. I think they asked because there really isn’t much to do at night. At least, nothing that all of us can do together. And as I mentioned before, hey did not want to walk around Hollywood at night.

So we got on Sunset Blvd. And went to the Arclight Cinema which is on 63rd & W. Sunset Blvd. You park in their parking garage and it’s $2 for 4 hours w/validation. I Loved this theater. The seats are extra wide and fit a cup of any size. Assigned seating you reserve when you buy, so... No Lines!!! Theres not a bad seat in the theater, even the front row is awesome. I think the first row is about 30 ft. from the screen. You can buy online or at the kiosk ahead of time with no service charge. The price is kind of high, we paid $11 each no student price, but then again we pay $9 & the girls pay $7 here. The popcorn was very good too. We all loved the movie. It’s a comedy with a message. We enjoyed it. Afterwards we walked around inside the little mall area, then stepped out onto Sunset Blvd. Whole different world. We went back & into the parking garage.
Danny decided to go back on Hollywood Blvd. The girls enjoyed the “sights” from the safety of our car! My girls are very sheltered!



The next day, we decided to take a drive to Malibu. We drove through the area for a while then drove through Santa Monica, we will be stopping here tomorrow. It was VERY hot today! I wanted to go see the Getty Center, so we went. All along listening to the whining in the back seat. I actually enjoyed what I did see. The grounds are beautiful & the views are great. I was able to see 2 wings of the museum before we left. The museum is free and parking is $7. You park and are taken by train up to the Getty Center. I would like to return someday to see the rest.

From there we went to the Farmer’s Market on 3rd & Fairfax and the Grove Mall. We loved this whole area. The Farmer’s Market is just that. They had lovely fresh produce along with many other things. The Grove Mall is an outdoor mall. There is a double decker trolley that takes you from the beginning of the mall to the Farmers market and has another stop ½ in between. There are restaurants & a movie theater as well.

We had to get back because it was nearing 4:30 and Danny & I had reservations for dinner at the Magic Castle Club. After we were showered and ready we walked to the club. We greatly enjoyed our visit. The shows were amazing. I love magic & illusions so I was really entertained. The dinner was a bit pricey for what was basically cruise ship food. We were sitting in a room with a magician, while waiting for a show to start. When the show was about ready to start, we walk out and I nearly bump into Criss Angel! I love his show! He said hello but we didn’t have a camera since we couldn’t take pictures inside the castle. I didn’t ask for an autograph either since he was not performing or anything, he was just there with his girlfriend & I hate to intrude! Anyhoo, we had a really nice evening. The girls were happy to stay in the room, watch movies & get online. That is, until they found out that Criss Angel was there!

Tomorrow is our last full day in California. We are going to Santa Monica, to the Queen Mary in Long Beach, then staying in Manhattan Beach for our last night.

Los Angeles (Hollywood)

Day 13-15

We had no need to wake up early today, but I was awake at 8. I ran down, actually I had to make 2 trips, to get the troops some breakfast. They stop offering breakfast at 9AM, which is kind of early. Everyone was up by 10 and by the time we actually checked out it was 11.
We were on our way to Hollywood. What should have taken us about 40 mins. according to Mapquest or an hour realistically. BUT, Danny decided to take a “scenic” route or non-scenic if you were to ask the girls and me. He grew up (until the age of 12) in Torrance. He wanted to give the girls a tour of where he lived, went to school, played, etc. It made him happy, so we complied. The best thing for me was finding the King’s Hawaiian Bakery. I LOVE King’s Hawaiian Bread. We bought some more stuff that we don’t need to munch on. I got some bread of course and their cakes & cookies are really good too. Danny got onion rings with macadamia nuts in the batter. They were ok.
We finally arrived at the Magic Castle Hotel at 3PM. We checked in and the girl checking us in was super friendly & helpful. We were given room 215. WARNING!: If any of you want to stay here and they give you a room in the 200’s RUN AWAY! Not really, but sort of. This is an old apartment building (a la Melrose Place) turned motel. There is no elevator. Remember how many bags we have. From the under ground parking garage to our room we climbed about 40 steps. One of the staff members helped with the bags. Poor man, had just gotten in to work. He was nice & clean. He made 2 trips with our bags. By the time he was done, he was drenched in sweat. Plus Danny was about to have a heart attack!

Aside from the stairs we were quite happy with our room. We had a 1 bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and TONS of storage space. The room was somewhat renovated but the carpet was a bit soiled, this did not in anyway deter from our stay. Free wireless was included though our connections tended to be slow. They have a laundry room as well, which I used, for .75 per machine and the motel supplies the detergent.Continental breakfast was served in the morning till 10. Plus we were able to visit the Magic Castle Club next door. The hotel is about a block away from the Hollywood & Highland Center, Grauman’s & the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

We unpacked our stuff and walked to Hollywood Blvd. We went to see the prints at Grauman’s and I found my Tommy’s. I don’t care what anyone says, I have loved Tom Cruise for over 20 years & I still do. We watched all the people walking around dressed like characters. I so wanted the girls to take a picture with the freaky Chucky, but they refused. We also walked around Hollywood Blvd. for a bit then went to Hollywood & Highland mall.

By now it was 8PM and we were all getting a bit hungry, so we got In-n-Out and went back to the room. The girls weren’t too keen on walking around at night, so, since we were in the Pirates mood we went back to the room to watch Pirates of the Caribbean and I did a load of laundry as well. Not a very exciting or productive day. We’ll see how the next 2 days go. The girls are not very thrilled with Hollywood. Tomorrow we go on the WB Tour in Burbank, go to Rodeo Dr. (so Danny can buy a present for me) and maybe drive to Malibu.