It's coming!

So one week until I start a new decade of my life....LITERALLY! And as I approach this oh so (not) wonderful time in my life, I have had MANY emotions. From the "OH MY GOD I AM REALLY TURNING THIRTY" to the wow, cool mood...my mind just keeps spinning about the possiblities of the future and what my past could have been. What is great is that my last week as a 20-year old will be mainly spent in Omaha, Nebraska, with a lot of my friends. Should be interesting!

On to my next subject....my nieces and nephew! So much fun with them yesterday! Gotta love MAC's! Here are some adorable and CRAZY pics from the fun yesterday....

It's that time of the season again!!!

Yea for December! From the Christmas tree on Signal Hill, to the Naples house lights, to Belmont Shore Boat Parade, & my personal favorite, the Disneyland Holidays! Disneyland is always fun, but add the giagantic Christmas Tree, the fireworks spectacular, to the snow shower on main street, and then there are the Lights! The lights in New Orleans square, the lights in Toon Town, the lights on Small World, the lights on Main Street, the lights on the GG Bridge in DCA, the lights in the trees behind Thunder Mountain, and so on...it is absolutely beautiful!!!

Luckily yesterday I was able to leave work and meet up with my family at Dland. And can we say...it was so empty! Which is ALWAYS a good thing! And once again my darling sis captured some great photos...and hopefully soon I will get photos from Carla too!

You really can't go wrong at Dland/DCA...my other home!

Some of my fave pictures from my past...

My suprise "Pre" Birthday!!

So this past weekend, my sister Cheri arranged a bday dinner/show for me with my mom, stepmom, & sisters (minus Lori). And as much grief as I gave my sister, I still was suprised!!! All I was told was to dress up...hahaha...so I did that! The evening started off in Boyle Heights (just east of downtown LA in East LA) at La Serenata de Garibaldi for some amazingly authentic mexican food. Great selection of food (good job Cheri). Cheri, Kara, Sarah, Rosa, my mom, and me enjoyed some awesome Cal-Mex cusine.

From there we ventured down the rode into Downtown LA to the Ahmundson Theater
(which I had never been too until Sat night). "The Light in the Piazza" was the Broadway show that my sister got tickets for us to see! And the cool thing was my older sis (and I might add completely HOT sister) got to ditch her kids and come enjoy with us at the theater!

The show is a love story based on a trip to Italia...I think everyone has those summer vacation fantasies so you could relate to this show! And the acting was amazing. So much fun!

And one finally point...I was blessed this weekend (thank you Sarah) with a home for my precious terrier, Sandy. Talk about an answer to prayer. I will forever miss my "Sandra D", but I had to do...so all I can do is pray that she will be forever happy.

Here are some of the photos:

A Turkey of a day!

So my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, came and went, like it does every year, but this year had some amazing beginnings! First of all, my mother hosted our family's meal at the house, which is never done. And I think it went fabulously! And because my mom hosted I was able to cook some dishes and give my advise on the turkey (Sage butter is FABULOUS)! From the yams balls, cranberry sauce, sweet potato balls, yams, & the gravy (it was a little bt twisted the way I had to cook that...I had so much fun! Then there was the game Apples to Apples...which I had never played before. SO MUCH FUN! My stepdad's ex-wife (my older brother and sister's mom) brought the game. It was awesome! And I WON!! hahaha!

Then it was off to the next house...my dad's best friend from College....Kelly & Akimi! They have traditional Corn Beef & Cabbage for the meal. YUMMY!

Like I said, another Turkey day has come and gone...the family, the friends, the FOOD...and the thankfulness of everyone involved in my life...

Oh...and can we say....let the countdown begin to my 30th....SCARY! Hahaha!

C-Town style

Well, as much as I like to stay home and veg this days...I am glad that I went with Cheri and Silke to the Anniversary party at the Grand Star in Chinatown (Downtown LA). Talk about a "Real" party! It had an amzing vibe. With the 3 floors (upstairs had hiphop, downstairs had a jazz/techno, & the street party with a mix of house & hiphop...and tons of street dancing), you could never really get bored. And then the people watching...I mean the "real" people watching that makes our great area so awesome. And let's not mention Jessie Bradford (Bring it on, Swimfan) was there (and had an interesting interaction with my model looking sister). It just plain rocked!

Faithless Heart

Driving this morning I heard one of my favorite songs by Amy Grant...Faithless Heart...and just started thinking about how we all can relate to them...SO MUCH!

At times the woman deep inside me
Wanders far from home,
And in my mind I live a life
That chills me to the bone.
A heart, running for arms out of reach,
But who is the stranger my longing seeks?
I dont know.
But it scares me through and through,
cause Ive a man at home
Who needs me to be true.

Oh, faithless heart,
Be far away from me.
Playing games inside my head
That no one else can see.
Oh, faithless heart,
You tempt me to the core,
But you cant have a hold on me,
So dont come around anymore.

(the feelings here, god, the feelings here.)

God, you know my feelings here
Could wipe my world away,
Ravaging the promises
A stronger heart once made,
So hold me, Im falling so fast,
And tell me that the fighting inside will pass
As I walk away,
And find the strength to choose
The man who waits for me
With a heart thats true.

Oh, faithless heart, (faithless heart....)
Be far away from me.
Playing games inside my head
That only I can see.
Oh, faithless heart, (faithless heart....)
You tempt me to the core,
But you cant have a hold on me,
So dont come around anymore.

Faithless heart!

Oh, faithless heart, (faithless heart....)
Be far away from me.
Playing games inside my head
That nobody else can see.
Oh, faithless heart, (faithless heart....)
You tempt me to the core,
But you cant have a hold on me,
So dont come around anymore.

Well, you cant have a hold on me.
So dont come around.


Oh I so love Amy Grant....

The Wine Country of Santa Ynez...

Well, one of the things I have always wanted to do is go wine tasting in Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez...and now I have done that! YEA! We had our AVP retreat in Santa Barbara this past monday and boy was it a needed break away! First of all, the AVP put us up in the Fess Parker Double Tree hotel...and if you have never been or stayed there, can I just say...AMAZING! It also helped that it was a great weather day too! :)!

We did our work retreat in the morning and then it was off to Santa Ynez Valley to a couple of winerys. The first winery we went to was Bridlewood, in Los Olivos. We had lunch there waiting for us, next to a lake, in the middle of a beautiful pasture. And then they served us the food...the BEST deli meat/roasted veggies lunch I have EVER had. It just plain rocked!

After Bridlewood, we headed over to the Southern Winery, Rideaux. It was awesome...from there we headed into the little town of Los Olivos, which had tons of little wine tasting rooms. We ventured around the city and over to the resturant, Matthies, for dinner. After dinner we had a nice..err...hilarious ride home in our shuttle....good times!

So my first AVP Retreat is over...and can I say...can I go again please?!!!