Massive Monday Phone Dump

This is from July 4th...... All of those people? My coworkers and their families. I think it's hysterical that even on our day off, we all end up together, lol.

     

My brother and my Uncle Bobby were talking on Skype. It was his birthday, so he wanted a picture together......

Uncle Bobby decided to play poker with them, lol.

Confession.... I have started an "Outfit of the Day" album on my phone. Here is one. Mainly, I just want to make sure that I don't wear the same thing too often (I get into a habit of wearing the same favorites over and over). Especially now that I have a lot of cute new work clothes.

*Sigh*... I love this little guy. My friend M has had some HORRIBLE complications after delivering. She hasn't been able to walk without a walker since his birth.... among other things. Anyway, one day she needed a bunch of tests, so my mom and I went with her. While we were waiting, he fell asleep on me (turns out that she had abscesses/Staph in her SI joints... she's still on antibiotics and pain meds).

I mean, really...... How could you not just die over this face?

Speaking of faces to die over..... My mom started watching Lydia's 2nd cousin, Irelynn. That family makes adorable babies.

A ballerina fishing.........

My core lunch group at work started a tradition of Birthday dinners, last year. My birthday starts off the round in August, there are two in Sept, and then one in Nov. It's a fun little celebration! They took me to this yummy local steak place and this was my "birthday cake."

In the middle of the first week of school for our county, I stopped in at Wal-Mart. This is what I saw..... It made me happy.........

Yes, these are actual shoes. Yes, someone was actually wearing them.

On my birthday, my family and my cousin's family went to Disney World. They hadn't been since they were here visiting 18 months ago and this time they live here (and were getting their Annual Passes!). 

Anthony was "my" 20th birthday present. This was the first year that we've been able to celebrate our birthday together :)

For dinner, we ended up meeting Trevor and his girlfriend Lauren at Outback (after which we headed back to Disney - Hollywood Studios that round). We constantly make jokes to the fact that Lydia and "Sadboy" should end up married. "Do you Lydia take Sadboy to be your lawful wedded husband..... in good times and in Sad...."

Anyway, this happened at the other end of the table. It was adorable and proved our point.

Our local symphony does a fundraiser event at the beginning of their season. It involves food and martinis. We decided that the Watermelon Martini was our favorite.....

Last Friday (August 31st) was our annual Grand Opening of Disney On Ice. We have made it a tradition to have a "Girls' Night" and this year, Bella and Heidi got to join us! It was a wonderful show.... loved the addition of Merida :)

Emma and Lydia were inseparable.......

Abby and Bella were partners-in-crime, lol.......

Have I mentioned How.Much.Fun. it is to have Heidi and her family living here? We all get together at least twice a week for a meal and fun. Saturday, we had a Gator party. I made Buffalo Chicken Dip....... OMG, amazing. I'm not kidding when I say that the dish looked like this before the dip could even cool.

Insanity - Week 1

I started the Insanity program this week. Basically, I just know that I need something extreme for this last 25ish lbs. Plus, I need to firm up in the trouble areas and from what I've heard, this program will do just that.

Here are my thoughts.........

- After the first day.... as in, just the Fit Test..... I could barely move the next day. It hurt so bad.

- I ended up having to take a day off in the middle of the week. While my muscles were hurting less, I could tell that they were reaching a point of unhealthy exhaustion. Thanks to my cheerleading days, I'm pretty aware of the difference between "good tired and sore" and "dangerous tired and sore."

- This program is aptly named. It is INSANE.

- Some stuff I just can't do, at this point. Push-ups, mainly. I have a lot of shoulder strength (again, cheerleading... I was a base), but not a lot of pectoral strength. Right now, I'm modifying the push-up moves to try to build my strength there before going all Insane.

- One thing I do like is that just as you are getting tired of a set of intervals, he changes it up.

- It is both encouraging and discouraging that the people in the video can't keep up with Shaun T. Encouraging because then I don't feel so bad when I have to take a breath. Discouraging because if professional fitness buffs can't keep up, how in the world am I going to be able to keep up, lol?

- If Week One is any indication, I may end up extending the first phase. It is supposed to be be four weeks, a week of recovery, and then move into four weeks of more intensity. I think I may go 5 or 6 weeks before moving on.

Dun-Duh-Dun-Dun-Duh... Go Gators!

Now that College Football is here, this crew (plus a couple others missing from the picture) can be counted on to be decked out in Orange and Blue!

Go Gators! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Lady A (5/11/12)

I make no bones about the fact that I *love* Lady Antebellum. EVERY time they are in concert, I want to see them.

This May, they came to the Amp. J and I made a Girls' Night out of it!

Lady A and I... My favorite picture of "us."

Darius Rucker and I

I love watching Darius Rucker in concert. He is a great entertainer that does a perfect combination of his Country stuff and his Hootie & the Blowfish stuff. Plus, he always ends his set with a great rendition of "Purple Rain." 

J and I waiting on Lady A! When we were backstage with them, we made sure to ask if they were singing our favorite song "Love This Pain".... they assured us that they were.

I seriously adore this group. They put on a great show. It's funny... I know every song off of all their albums. So, when they sing stuff that never made it to radio, I am on my feet, belting at the top of my lungs. So is J. Imagine our amusement during a "deep cut" when we realized that we were the only ones in our. entire. section. standing and singing, lol.

My stepsister Megan and her husband Bryan came into town to go on an anniversary cruise. They got in that night. My mom and Jeff picked them up at the airport.... then, they dropped Mom and Megan off at the Amp to see the show!

Sisters........

J and I.... We thought we were so cute and summery that it needed to be documented, lol....

Wine Country and Bridges (Memorial Day Wknd 2012)

I have a group of travel buddies that tries to get together at least once a year. We used to be a lot more than that, but we've found that Memorial Day Weekend is our best bet. Last year, three of us made it on a cruise and this year, the plan was San Francisco and Napa.

Originally, there were to be five of us. Then, it got down to four. Then, about a week and a half before the trip, it dwindled down to Amy and I. We both said to each other, "Look, I've already bought my ticket. So, if you drop out, I will be sorry, but I will have a delightful time in San Fran by myself."

Friday the 25th, we flew across the country to Sunny California. Just to note.... a 5 hour flight with a plane half-full of foreigners that do not believe in bathing.... no bueno.

Amy and I basically got there at the same time and headed to the hotel.... Hyatt at Fisherman's Wharf. It was a nice hotel in a great location, if you are ever thinking of staying in that city. We walked around a bit, got something to eat, and then chilled in the room. Between the early morning flight (my flight was at 6am) and the three hour time difference, we were asleep at like 7pm, lol.

The next day, we hopped on a tour bus to Wine Country. The tour we went on included three different wineries.... 

The first winery was what you typically imagine.... rolling hills, endless rows of vines, sprawling house.... Very pretty.....

The next one was an organic winery. The grounds seemed smaller, but we got to go in the Barrel Room....

We stopped in Yountville for lunch. It was a charming little town. After lunch, we drove to our final stop....

Sutter Homes.....

I was actually pretty excited about this one. As a household name, it was just neat to see where their wine was made. Plus, I got great amusement when I found out that the wine one of my wine-snob coworkers raves about (while claiming that Sutter Homes is trash) is actually made by Sutter Homes. Ha!

We also passed Al Pacino's ranch and saw his house from the road. Pretty cool!

That evening, we explored, ate dinner, and chilled.

Sunday, we did some more exploring. The Wharf, Ghiradelli Square, the Pier, and more. Little did we know when we first decided on this trip that it was the 100th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge. There were festivities just about everywhere! We walked.... and walked.... and walked uphill some more.

Golden Gate Bridge

Alcatrez

I am a Lefty, so I thought this store was great, lol!

For dinner, we ate at The Stinking Rose. It's a restaurant known for its use of garlic. Delicious, but very "stinky."

That night was the official celebration of the Anniversary. They had fireworks off of the bridge. It was really fun, actually!

Sadly, Monday was the day to go home :(

It was a really jam-packed, quick trip, but it was so fun. I always miss my sweet friends and love getting together with them.... especially in a place that has nice, cool weather like San Fran, lol.