More of me

I don't believe i mentioned yet that i'm an active member of the Christian Motorcycle Association. My local chapter is called The Passion Riders. I have been a member of the CMA for 10 years. I even had my own Harley for a while. I sold it a few years ago when i was traveling  way more than i am now. I almost bought another one this summer but then Dallas become Africa hot and i changed my mind for now.  I love my CMA chapters!  CMA is a non-demonination group of all religions that love Jesus and motorcycles. This past weekend there was a bike rally in our chapters area. It was held at a restuarant called Redneck Heaven. Not my kind of place really but what do ya do?! The MC club BACA (bikers against child abuse) was hosting the event. It was sooo brutally hot on Saturday. People dont want to be out on their bikes in a hot parking lot. We were there to pass out water, cookies, and do  a mass Bike blessing to all there. Since there was not a large crowd, we pushed the hours back to do the blessings and i ended up leaving. I was starting to get a headache again and needed to be in some air conditioning. I was there to support my group for a few hours so it was all good!

CMA booth (thats Chuck-a member)

Tonight , i had dinner at a new place with 2 coworker friends of mine Marie and Lisa. It was a cute old BBQ place that started in 1949 called Chris and Pitts. The menu had pictures of the dishes ( Dont see many of those.) I enjoy trying out new places to eat all the time. The meal was good but honestly tonight was bring your screaming children out to eat Tuesday. I know that sounds grumpy but at one point there was 3 different children in close proximity all crying at same time and it was a little difficult to have our own conversation. We left as soon as we were done and made things all better by driving to the beach. These girls are such good sports by letting me go out of the way. We walked down to the water and it was a perfect night!!

Picture menu-classic!

Marie,myself, Lisa

Our feet in sand. Lisa's tat is the pink ribbon w/wings in memory of her mom.

Working in our office is so fun when there's a birthday. These Cali girls can cook! Today everyone brought a potluck lunch for taco salads and everything was homemade. So awesome! There was refried beans, spanish rice, 2 types of chicken (spicy, medium, and plain) ,delicious shredded beef, and all of the fixins to go in salad. One of the girls bought the taco shell bowls from a local Mexican fast food place. What a great idea! I was so appreciative that they let me participate. I left for a few minutes and picked up some ice creams tubs from my most fave food store Trader Joe's for dessert. I buy my tasty snacks from them every chance i can when i travel. Dallas is supposed to be getting a Trader Joe's in the near future. I am so excited for that.
Let's see what tomorrow has in store.

Taco shells from Pollo Loco. They were perfect.

Homemade chicken and shredded beef

Oh the Joys of Traveling

I have so much to talk/write about this past weekend but i have to start with today. Holy Cow was this the epitome of crappy Monday! I was  up very early this morning to catch my flight at 8:45am. I check my bag in when I come to Cali so i have to be there an hour before to get it checked in on plane. My shuttle at the airport is very unpredictable for pick up and it gets full very fast so i leave extra early to get parking every week. I was just getting into my truck this morning when i received 2 messages from  AA (american airlines). First message was that my flight had been cancelled-Second message was that they rolled me over to a 8:45 PM flight tonight. I called them and said that was not going to work for me and i needed there earlier. The agent put me on the 7:40 am flight which meant i needed to be checked in at airport by 6:40. I had 35 minutes to drive there, get parked and on shuttle, and checked in. I got there in plenty of time but the shuttle is whole other story! I was getting sooo aggravated waiting by my truck and no shuttle was my way. I literally had to stop a shuttle on the other lane and the driver came and got myself and 2 others on my row. I was worried about the time but i can assure you i was not rude in any way to the lady driver. I was not talking at all when she did NOT assist with my luggage or while she was writing my parking space stub for me. When I sat down, she announced loudly in front of everyone "someone has an attitude"! I was in shock. I said "well SOMEONE made us wait a long time"! I seriously cant believe she called me out this morning on top of my stress of the flight.  To make things worse is that she kept mouthing off to me. I totally ignored her or i would explode. I was so much in a hurry that i had zero time to get her name and bus number. 
Once i was inside the airport i checked in (with barely a minute to spare) and found out i was on the very last seat in the very last row 31F on the plane. The first agent said i had to check with the agent at my gate to move seats. I got through security  that took forever. I had 10 minutes to get by security before my plane began boarding and was 50 people deep. If you truly knew how much my internal guts were doing flips every time i turned around with these long crazy delays! When i got to the gate there was only 2 agents and with all the chaos of cancellations it was packed. One lady was taking up an agents time crying and throwing a fit so the other agent was having to scan all the tickets. Which means no one was able to check for another seat for me. UGH! The irony is that on my Friday flight home, I was upgraded to First class and now the very next flight has me on the worst seat a person could have.  On the positive side of this, my luggage was waiting for me by the time i finally walked off the plane and downstairs to baggage claim. I'm back in California for my last week and I'm so sad. I appreciate every extra minute here.
I had dinner tonight at such a yummy place that i fell in love with originally in Chicago. It's a fast food place but a nice one called Portillo's Hot Dogs. It opened up a few years ago in Buena Park and it was so exciting. Their menu is the exact same and taste just as good. I have no specific plans for tomorrow yet. I'll fill in later about the rest of weekend.

Portillos-a Chicagoland tradition

Great week so far in Cali with friends and my fave restuarants

I just have to say that my heart sings and dances while in California. I seriously Heart it with all I got! I used to live in Cali during my junior high years in both San Jose for a while and San Diego (Imperial Beach) for a while. Long drama story that I wont get into right now but I think my abrupt move back to Texas didnt give me proper "closure" from California. That's my deep philosphy for my yearning need to be back to Cali.

Me and Julie

I'm so lucky to have 2 business locations in Southern Cal that requires my training at least once a year. I was in Commerce the last 2 weeks and now i'm in La Palma until next week.
 As mentioned in an earlier post, my bestie from college lives here and we try to make time for each other on my visits. Tuesday night we met half way from where we are at Houston's in Manhattan Beach.  It's one of my favorite restuarants for a chain. I literally crave their spinach artichoke dip. It's because of that dip almost 15 years ago that I started eating spinach. I had so much fun just talking with Julie for hours and remembering the old times we've had.

Seal beach

Pom-Fig martinis

 Last night I had dinner with one of my closest work friends Genelle. We drove to Seal beach at our regular spot we frequent called Walt's Wharf. They have the best pomegrante -fig martinis there. I'm normally not a big fan of martinins but this is my exception. Oh my goodness i had 2 and i could have another if i didnt have to drive to my hotel 20 miles away. I try to make a point to see the water and sandy beach at least once a week that I'm in Cali.  Last night I had to park at the beach but I didnt go in the sand this time.
Tonight i went with another close work friend Rosa to a famous place called The Hat. It's been around for several several years since 1951 and it's known for their pastrami sandwiches. We always split an order of their Chili Cheese fries topped with mounds of Pastrami. Sounds weird but its Delish!

I'm at the hotel now packing to go home tomorrow. It's going to be a busy weekend for sure.

Busy but Uneventful Day

Got up this morning fairly early as usual and had a few quiet moments outside with Tracey and her puppy Maggie. Maggie is growing so fast and shes going to be so big the next time i see her. Today was my last day in Amarillo and I really had nice visit. Tracey and I went to Donut Stop which Amarillo is very proud of. Honestly, these donuts ROCKED!! I'm not a big fan of cake donuts but their blueberry cake donut was awesome. We all got ready for church this morning and it was a real nice service. The pastor told us that we're all beautiful and God's children (he said much more but you got the hint). How great is that to start your day?! The church was huge and Tracey is the social director in her classes. So proud of her!
Originally my flight out today was supposed to leave at 5:30 but I checked the available seats and there were 5 for the 12:30 flight. Doti and Cassidy were booked on that flight for sure. Tracey's mom took us to airport after church . I ended up getting assigned seat without going standby for the 12:30-YAY! I really wanted to get home earlier so that I could squeeze in a quick visit with Daddy and get packed.
Dad seemed really good in spirits but he was pretty sore from this week. His leg /thigh area where they drew the bone marrow was sensitive and he said he hurt so bad during the process. Both Dad and Deb were not happy at all with American Airlines with this trip. Both flights were delayed for hours on each leg and they lost their luggage the day of arrival. I told him they would have to deal with AA again for when they have to go back to Miami . Because i travel with my job (primarily on AA), I have been blessed to have opportunity to acquire some miles. I volunteered all the miles I have to Dad to ease some of the expense. I gave Dad his Harley shirt I bought him yesterday and he loved it. I hoped it would.
I'm home now and am packed to head back to California in the morning. It's nice to be in my own bed for a few hours among my mess. Not enough time to really clean or straighten up but that's ok. I didnt want to mention something as menial as a headache but y'all- I've had one now for 4 days. I'm bummed because I dont want to feel bad again when I land in LA. Ok, I dont want to feel bad no matter where I'm at.
Can't wait to see this week has in store for me. Nite y'all.

Hot day in Amarillo

Well, the cool weather was nice to wake up to but the sun came out today to stay. Very hot but the best news is that DFW area got rain this morning and it was so exciting. My facebook was one post after another about the rain in Dallas.  We all got a late start this morning and it was nice. No where we have to be at a given time. First on list of things to do was go to the infamous Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo. It's pretty cool actually to go. You can bring spray paint and paint on the cars all you want. We grabbed some at WalMart on the way. Cadillac Ranch is pretty iconic for the state so was happy to see it. It's a row of 10 Cadillac cars half buried in the sand-completely gutted.I didnt get a group shot of all of us with my camera so I have to wait for Tracey to send me. I got a few around the cars of myself and also with Doti.
After the Cadillac ranch,we stopped at Tripps Harley Davidson shop so i could get Dad a new t-shirt. Maybe that will cheer him up from such a hard work in Santa Domingo. I got me a shirt too. yay.

Another trip to Historic 6th street was what followed the Harley store and it was fun to go to a few of the many Antique stores and boutiques. I bought an old vintage cowboy boot that was turned into a fence mending holder. I wont be mending any fences in the near future so i thought it would be great in my place with the red and black cowboy boots.
Now for the rest of the day, I'm back at the house to relax, sit by pool and Mexican food is for dinner tonight! Woohoo!!

Amarillo by morning,afternoon, and night

Really enjoying my day's off so far. My friend Tracey has the CUTEST house and is decorated so nicely. We've met her new boyfriend Johnathan (and we approve) and her new puppy Maggie is so precious.
Wendy and Steve were on my same flight yesterday, Doti and her niece Cassidy flew in from Chicago, and Tracey's niece Bailey is here to keep Cassidy company. Yesterday we had so much fun doing nothing. We made no plans and winged the day. Lunch was at Taco Villa and we stopped at Dairy Queen for the a blizzard. It just so happens that all blizzards bought yesterday, proceeds went to a childrens charity. Groceries were bought for a few meals, picked up some movies (child friendly) and baked some pizzas from Papa Murphy's. Now the end of my evening was watching the Justin Beiber movie with the girls that did not thrill me. What was entertaining was watching the girls watch the movie! They squealed and sung along to every song. So cute!!
Today my friend Melanie(lives in Lubbock) drove down and we had such a nice visit. We talked and talked and finally went to lunch at a great little local place called Cowboy Gelato on 6th street which is also on Route 66. I had a frito pie with pulled pork instead of the traditional chili. Yummy! And some mac and cheese(i shared) with green chili's. Melanie had to leave after lunch and the rest of us went to the pool with water slide. The pool is conveniently across the street where Tracey's mom lives and where I'm staying the night each night. I am soooo hot natured people and to top things off i am experiencing hot flashes. I needed a room with air conditioning and ceiling fan and those rooms are taken with those conditions here at Tracey's. Tonight we're hooking up a projector to the laptop outside and watching a movie outdoors. Good family fun! I miss my niece so much this weekend though. Both Tracey and Doti have their nieces with them and they're both around same age as Maci.  Which speaking of-Maci started school yesterday in Oklahoma and my little Brynna started kindergarten. I heart them with everything i got !! You will see and hear of them much.
Not sure what's on the agenda for tomorrow but I'm looking forward to being lazy and resting more.
I'm posting pics of Melanie and i at lunch and me splashing in the water from the slide.

Note: National Quarter Horse Association is here in Amarillo so there are painted horses all around the city.
I am going to take some pics when i can but only saw one so far close enough to take while driving.

I need to talk about Daddy

I have so much on my mind and heart right now and I wont be able to get it all covered in this post but I'll cover the bases. My dad got diagnosed with a VERY RARE lung disease back in March. Dad had trouble breathing but not bad for a while and then it just continued to get worse which triggered his Dr appointment.
He was told he had Idiopathic Pulmonary Fybrosis. The Dr's told him that there is no cure except for a double lung transplant. He began a very crazy schedule of tests after tests including one whole week straight at the hospital for tests, etc and more. A few months later, he received the call  from the hospital where the tests and Dr's were(that he was working with) and they told him he was denied to be on the donor list. Now friends, I dont have to tell you how hard that call must have been to receive! It knocked the wind out of his sails and I was livid! You see my Dad is very young at 61 (62  in November) and is a very active man with lots of life to live. My stepmom is so fricking amazing and that same day immediately called another hospital and said we want a do'over-second opinion. Then hospital #2 agreed to look at Dad and also discuss further treatments and options. Dad met with their Dr's etc, and of course they wanted to run more tests. In the meantime, a friend of my family mentioned to Deb (stepmom) that they knew of someone that had also been diagnosed with a lung disease and had turned to a Dr who performed Adult Stem Cell RestorativeTherapy.  Deb reached out to this Dr who offices out of Miami and does the procedures in Santa Domingo-Dominican Republic.   Fast forward a few weeks and they're a done deal! My parents left last Sunday and arrived that evening. His procedures and treatments were Tuesday, Wednesday, and not sure about today but they coming home today. He has to go to Miami in a few weeks  for them to take more bone marrow (ouch) and then back again to the DR in maybe 6 to 8 weeks.
Because of Dad going this direction with treatment, he is no longer eligible to ever be put on the donor list in the States. It's scary to know that all our eggs are in this one basket so to speak but at same time- there was never a guarantee that hospital #2 would have approved him for list, and if he was on list that someone would be a perfect match. Unfortunately y'all , people die every day while on the list waiting for an organ.
This has to work and it WILL! It just has too. Wanna hear something funny? When flying home last night I read the AA (american airlines) magazine that they publish every 2 weeks and Yep! you guessed it- The front cover was Dominican Republic with story inside. How Cool and ironic is that?!
I needed to fill you in because this a huge part of my life right now and I will have more updates to follow. I didnt give you many details at all so this is very short version but I will later.
I'm in Amarillo now on vacation and so incredibly thrilled! What's thrilling in Amarillo you say? It's been raining cats and dogs since I landed. It's awesome. I'm from Dallas where we're running on 42 days straight of triple digit weather. Insane!!