Just as cool in person

Happy Tuesday yall! I mentioned in a post last week that I was going to meet a blogger Laura at
 We Really Got This in person.  It was so much fun!! We met last Thursday at Houlihan's at 6 pm and yall, we didn't leave until 9:00.  She lives about 5 towns over from me so we met somewhat halfway between us both.  I had an idea of what Laura looked like from some pictures on her blog.  When I walked in I saw her and I smiled but then she was talking to the lady next to her so I thought maybe she's with her.  I was talking to the hostess but I kept staring at Laura and she said Are you Holli?  That's how friendly she is just chatting up the person next to her. So something I would do. I get asked by my friends often why I talk to strangers. hahaha!
I can tell you that it was just so easy to talk to her and I didn't feel awkward in the very least.  I was a little nervous because I always have a little fear of " what of she thinks I'm a big goober and we don't have anything to talk about".  It was seamless!  We have so much in common from our age, neither one of us have kids but our dogs,  to our taste in music, down to the exact favorite Mexican restaurant that is not the most popular around Dallas.  Fun! Fun !
I'm glad we put it out there and really set a time and date and had our meeting. I have had excellent luck in meeting my blogger friends around my community. In fact, Julie from A Beautiful Day is a very close family friend of ours now. She helped with my wedding and I don't know what I would have done without her then.  We used to live closer so I miss doing as much as we used to together but we always stay in touch.  Thank goodness for social media too!
If you end up realizing you have some close by bloggers- I encourage you to meet them! Yall are a blessing and we already have the whole blogger thang as a connection.  When I met Deb from Just Keepin It Real Folks in person a few months ago while I was visiting North Carolina- it was the highlight of my week! It made traveling and working away from home so much easier and she was a doll.
I understand that some of yall may be shy and prefer the safety of being behind your computer. That's OK too. I am very social and not a shy bone in me.  For those of you who don't know, I'm a corporate trainer so I have to get up and speak in front of large crowds or via the web almost daily.  So I get very excited to meet people.

Pardon the blurry but my camera was dirty I think.  Anywho you get the jest...

Did I mention that I'm going out of town this week? Todd and I are going to Ohio for the weekend. He has several friends and family there and went to high school for a while somewhere close to Toledo.  Todd is a drummer which I've mentioned a few times and he's playing in a reunion band get together at the Bunker Bar in Holland, Ohio this Saturday.  If you're close by, come meet me and rock out with the band.  We come home Sunday which happens to be my birthday.  Very busy weekend coming up for sure!


Have a great day!

O for oceans and on the road again

Last night was my last night to stay in California.  After work, I drove to Venice Beach where I was meeting my friend Julie.  As I was on my way I saw a nice Harley shop so of course I had to pull in. I grabbed a shirt for my hubs and myself and was out in 15 minutes. I met Julie at a hotel that has a rooftop bar that faces the ocean so you can see the sunsets.  It was so fun! It was packed and we never did get seated but that was ok. Julie invited 2 of her friends to join us and they were so cool.  They were so sweet and acted as if they knew me forever. 

We stayed at hotel bar for a few hours and I was starving. Julie wanted to show me another one of her favorite places to eat and it was so good! It was called Scopas.  I had one of the best pasta dishes ever.  I only had one drink yesterday and it was at the rooftop. A delicious mojito. 

Julie took Uber to the hotel so that she could ride back with me to her house in Pacific Palisades. I stayed the night and got to see her husband Tony and 2 of her kids Henry and Gracie. I love them so much! 

If I was thinking clearly while booking my flights, I should have stayed over the weekend so I could have played more and gone to the beach. I didn't want to leave but I do miss Todd and my sweet dogs.  The only bad part of California is the flight home.  It's a 3 .5 hour flight and then I lose 2 hours with time difference.  I'm basically traveling the whole day. 

I'm actually typing this post from my phone so it's not posting until late today. 

And now for some pics: 

Have a great Friday yall!! 

N is for No dieting while traveling

So as you know I'm working in California this week in business. I've been training large classes to our sales reps here on an  application.  I have many dear friends here that I love to hang out with and have dinner after work.  When we travel, we do have a specific allowance allotted for each meal. It's enough to eat well but also reigned in enough from going too crazy.  I've had dinner every night with friends and having great meals. I posted a little yesterday's post.

Last night I ate the cheapest and it was totally junk food. I had dinner with friend Rosa and we always eat at one of our favorite places The Hat.  It's soooo good and it's been around for 60 years.  They have burgers and fries but they also have  roast beef and pastrami.  We actually get chili cheese fries with pastrami on top.  Good grief it's so yummy!! I also very seldom drink sodas. I usually drink sweet tea or water. When you're eating at The Hat- you have to have a cherry coke. 

I've been eating later in the evenings too so I am going to bed on a very full stomach.  It's so hard to eat healthy and have a diet of any kind when you travel. At least it is for me!! 

I am having dinner tonight at Venice Beach but not sure where. Julie always knows the fun places so I'm excited!! 

I love not being stuck in a hotel by myself while out of town and enjoying my friends! 

Have a great day yall. 

M - making memories and music

Hey yall - happy Wednesday! I'm working this week in Southern California south of LA. I absolutely love being here! California is one my most favorite happy places.  I used to live in Cali when I was in junior high.  To think I could have been a surfer girl..... 

I have a good number of friends that I love to hang out with and visit when I come here.  I actually feel bad that I'm not able to spend more time with a few of my friends this week.  My college roommate and best friend Julie lives here specifically in Pacific Palisades that's a little more than an hour to get to from where I'm at.  We had dinner tonight and I'm spending the night with her Thursday night.  I'm so excited to see the kids and hang out like old times.  

I had dinner with great friends last night with Brandon and Ben.  They are so much fun and we go to the coolest restaurants.  We ate last night at a place called Phlights.  It was a tapas place and it was amazing!! We shared meatballs, bacon wrapped dates , a pork taco with bean sauce , a cheeseburger and I had sangria.  SOOOO delicious! 

Tomorrow night  visiting my friend Rosa and I can't wait for that.   Truth is, I was very close to moving in with Rosa and being roommates with her. I had broken up with my ex- boyfriend and really wanted to move to Cali. Todd came along and changed those plans. Lol!  I don't regret my decision for a minute but I do miss California.  I love my job and I love seeing my good friends that I don't get to see too often. To me, that's making memories while also working hard.  

I was going to post some songs too but my laptop is being fussy.  I was going to post a song by Matchbox 20 which I love! 

The lead singer is Rob Thomas and I just saw him in concert last month with my friend Theresa.  Made memories that night as well. 

Have a wonderful day yall!