Books Books Books

I love love love to read and I cant remember I time that I didn’t. I pretty much have to read something (magazine, paper, book) every night before I go to bed. I don’t have a specific type of book that I stick to either. I like horrors, mystery, romance, comedy, everything. I was a lucky girl in that my mom and my grandma’s always read to me when I was younger. I was such a nerd in middle school that when I was old enough to start babysitting, I asked for books instead of money. The one lady I babysat for would take me with her to book store and I could pick out 2 books every time. I was in Heaven! I read all the Chronicles of Narnia (7 books) in 11 days during the summer after 6^th grade. I would read and read then scramble like a crazy girl to get my chores done before my mom got home from work.  I am of the age that Judy Blume was in her prime and I devoured her books one after another. I loved Are you there God, it’s me Margaret?, Deenie, Blubber, and who can forget sneaking Forever from my teachers and Mom. I felt so grown up and could relate to Judy’s books the whole time.

I get most of my reading done when I’m traveling. I get to start reading while waiting to board, then I read during the flight, and I read once I get checked into the hotel. I can usually read about 2 books in a week. I love having the good ol’fashion book with paper pages for the most part but I am starting to warm up to reading them off my iPad too. I just have so many books on my shelves that I need to read. One of my personal goals is to read my “real” books first to start clearing out the shelves then start reading more on my iPad.  I’ll admit it’s so handy to just buy a book from wherever I am on the iPad when I’m traveling so I don’t have to hunt down a bookstore.

I just completed the Hunger Games last month and I am a big fan. They were so entertaining and I couldn’t put the books down. I haven’t seen the movie yet but I will. I am usually so disappointed in the movies because the books are so much more detailed. I still like to see the movies to make the comparisons.  I finished a book last night that was a final book of a series.  So now I have completed the whole Wicked series by Gregory Maguire. They start in this order - Wicked, Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of OZ: the final volume of the Wicked years. The book Wicked is the one that the musical was based from.  The musical is my all-time most favorite musical and I’ve seen it 3 times (Chicago, Columbus, and Dallas). The funny thing is that the book is totally for adults and I cringe when I think about all the Moms buying their daughters the book after the see the show. Like there are serious language and sex in the book that I wouldn’t want my nieces reading at their age. The author makes up so many words in these books that I think is so creative and funny that he does that. I can see where some people though could get stuck on this and think” what in the h*#l is this?!

I’m excited to start my next book tonight because its by a very funny author who is a famous blogger. Have you heard of The Bloggess? She’s on a book tour now and I really want to make a point to see her in Dallas. Oh my , is she hilarious! Her book is called “Let’s pretend this never happened ( a mostly true memoir)”.  I preordered in on Amazon so I can read from my Kindle app on iPad. Can’t wait!

Women's Retreats

I just  went to my first CHURCH women’s retreat last weekend and I’m glad I did to see what it was like.  I was not sure what to expect because I had only been to my first women’s retreat of any sort last year with my CMA group. Now I know that the CMA retreat was my favorite. I liked that the CMA had many different speakers and they each had their own style of presenting. We were given some time each day to pray and BE STILL but nothing more than an hour. Last weekend , the Church retreat gave us a 4 hour personal time and in my opinion that was too much.  Spending 120$ is a lot of money for you to not have something planned for 4 hours of that time. Don’t get me wrong, we made good use of that time. A handful of us got in the car and drove to the closest mall and went shopping. It was nice to get to know some of the ladies I go to church with better but I can shop on my own time. I want to know that the weekend was planned for me to reflect and pray more, and read my bible more along with the fellowship activities that are planned.  I can say that I don’t think I’ll probably attend another one with my church again but I’m glad that I gave it a try this time. I have been going to my church for a year and I only really knew 2 people that go there. Now I know  several more of the ladies and it makes me more at home with the church.  The scenery and the location of the retreat was nice. Texas Bluebonnets are out and were all over the retreat center. The location was about an hour south of Dallas and it was really pretty. My CMA chapter women’s retreat is in a few months (July) and I am going again. It’s going to be in a different location out in East Texas in one of my fave little towns that has good shopping on the square. How funny is it that now I could definitely appreciate a 4 hour break to shop on this retreat!?

Horizons women-i'm 5th from rt,2nd row

Bluebonnets south of Dallas (borrowed pic)

I am not traveling this week and so far I don’t have any tickets booked for anytime soon. I am loving it! I love love love my job and I don’t mind the traveling. But it is SO great to have these breaks in between where I am not packing every Sunday night. I have been meeting a few of my friends for dinner and visiting my Dad when I can. I happen to have a date night with Dad tonight. I’m taking him some BBQ after work and we’ll just chill at the house for a while. Poor Dad, he’s still on a gluten free, sugar free diet to prepare for the stem cell treatment coming up soon.  My conversation on the phone was funny earlier today while trying to decide what to bring for dinner.

Me: how about beef and broccoli from a Chinese place?

DAD: sounds good but I can’t have the sugary sauce they cover it in.

Me: hmm, ok how about tacos?

Dad: tacos are good but I cant eat the shells

Me: dang! Lets see- Italian is out of the question because of the pasta.

Dad: I can eat meat and vegetables so bring us some BBQ!

Me: perfect! No sides like friend okra and macaroni cheese but maybe they’ll have some green beans. 

I respect my step mom so much because she’s had to be creative every day in preparing his meals. She’s traveling with her job this week so I’m glad to be in town so I can take care of Dad.

Update: we should hear pretty soon from the Dr for notice that the stem cells are ready to go and then they’re off to Santa Domingo. Cross your Fingers!

Storms and Easter -Oh My

If you watch the news at all you’re probably aware of the horrible tornadoes that hit Dallas and surrounding areas last week. Ironically, I normal travel every Monday and my truck would be parked in covered at the airport but I wasn’t scheduled to leave until Wednesday.  It was so scary and destructive. The huge blessings is that there was  not one fatality. Of course there was injuries but nothing critical. There is footage where there are tractor trailers being tossed in the air like matchsticks. So crazy!!  We got hail the size of golf balls in my area and my boyfriend had baseball size where he was. I was cringing because my poor truck was not covered at our office. In less than half mile away the cars had hail that actually broke out their back windshields. Can you imagine?  

I was scheduled to leave the following morning to travel to Atlanta but over 400 flights were cancelled by AA.  I got up super early knowing that the airport was going to be a zoo and I assumed the flights would be closer to being on track. I called the AA automated checkin and it said that my flight was on time so I waited to speak to agent and she said “oh yeah- that flights been cancelled and no other flights going out until next day”. I asked them to put me on a Delta flight and they were able to get me on one leaving that same night only at 8 pm arriving in Atlanta at 11pm. I was just happy to get there because I had classes to train on Thursday that took lots of preparation and others were flying in for the class from other states as well.

  It was such a whirlwind trip in Atlanta. I got to my hotel by midnight and got up early to find a Starbucks and be at office  ready to roll by 8am.  After work I met my cousin Lauren at a fun restaurant called The Vortex. Its kinda biker bar burger joint and its been on Food Network from having a crazy burger with eggs and on it. Yuck. I didn’t order that of course. After we had dinner we went to a Starbucks a few doors down so that she could help me work on my blog. Lauren has had a blog for a long time and she is the one who gave me the courage to start mine. We got kicked out of Starbucks at 9 and we sat in my rental car for another hour just talking and getting caught up. I love my cousin so much and wished she would move to Texas right now! She’s working on it.  Just  a matter of her husband finding a job in his field first.  I didn’t get to my hotel room until almost 11 because I had to stop and fill my rental car up with gas and I didn’t want to do next morning on way to airport.  My cousin and a coworker told me that I should leave really early to avoid Atlanta rush hour downtown and with it being Good Friday the airports might be busy.  SO, I got up at 5 and was out the door by 5:45 am. There was no traffic at all and I was able to get on an earlier flight on standby arriving almost 2 hours earlier than my original flight.YAY!  I just wished I was a plane sleeper but I just can’t sleep at all so I read while I’m traveling.

How was your Easter? Mine was great- busy but great. Went to our church service that was really nice. We had a wooden cross with chicken wire wrapped around it and buckets of flowers beneath it. Each family was to put a flower through the wire and between both services it would be completely covered. The flowers also represented a prayer requests for our family. I thought that was really cool.

After church we went to my boyfriends parent house and took them some Bar-B-Que so they didn’t have to cook.  We visited for a while and then we had to head off to my aunts house about 45 minutes east of Dallas (Rockwall). We were so full from lunch we couldn’t eat again but I did have some yummy desserts. I saw so many desserts from pinterest. I think its so great when people are actually making things they pin. I still haven’t but I plan on it!

I am not traveling this week or in the next couple of weeks and I feel like I’m on some sort of vacation. I am spending some evenings after work with some of my girlfriends and catching up. YAY!

Talk to ya later.

No more baby showers- yes i love kids!

Last weekend I made an exception for a sweet sweet friend and attended her baby shower.  Recently, I made it a rule in my very own rulebook that I am not to go to any baby shower at all- ever.  Please understand that it’s what I had to do for my own feelings. I was never able to have children. I don’t mention that fact often (or never on this blog until now).  I had many bad plumbing issues to start with then I had sealed the deal a few years ago when I had the procedure :endometrial ablation.  Did I want children of my own? Of course I did.  It was also very difficult to meet a man in my younger child-bearing days to explain that I could never have his child. At many times, those men would walk away and I didn’t blame them.  I was fortunate in my last relationship that he was ok with or without kids and it was nice for me to not have that pressure. 

When I go to a baby shower I feel like a fish out of water among all the women there. Always!!  I have no special tips, cravings, favorite diapers, breast feeding skills, etc that I can share like the rest. I have no desire to play all the games on guessing “what’s in the paper bag?” because they are baby stuff of which I’m not familiar with buying  (yep we played that last week and it was a baby on board sign and I guessed a coaster). The only thing good out of shower is the first 5 minutes to see all the cute decorations and the punch. Seriously, why don’t we drink punch more except at showers (baby and wedding)?  I am going start making punch more starting this weekend.

I have no problem at all buying the gifts that the mother-to –be has registered for. I still love shopping all the same even if its baby stuff. I just seem to be getting more sensitive the older I get.  I feel like I’m allowed to have a pity party a couple of times a year when I remind myself that I have no children to take care of me or put me in an old folks home.  I went through one period of my life where I decided I would adopt a child from Mexico, Asia, wherever.  I was really excited about it but GOD had other plans.  I was still not in a relationship at that time and my income was steady but not much to provide all the adoption costs. It was soon in that time frame that I got my new position in my company that requires me to travel A LOT!

When I was just out of high school one of my BFF’s got pregnant that summer. My mom and I both got to be in the delivery room with her when the baby girl  was born. My friend and her baby lived us for a while after they left the hospital.   It was now that baby girl who is now pregnant with a baby girl of her own so I broke my rule and went to her shower.  It was decorated precious and a ton of ideas were taken off Pinterest.  I didn’t take any pictures, sorry.

I will tell you that being a step-parent has been the next part of my dreams of ever being included in a family. I am so blessed to have 2 of the most AMAZING, TERRIFIC step parents a girl could group with!  Both of my parents have both been divorced a couple of times each so I had my share of total step-monsters to deal with. That is why I can say I know within the very depths of my being a woman, I can love someone else’s children like my very own. I know the fine balance between not trying to be their real mom but being the bonus mom to support them at all times. I love my step dad so much and I considers me one of his own. My step mom is the same way. I have a step brother and step sister that I love with all my heart. Who can really define a perfect family? Does it really have to be by blood? I don’t think so.  In my next relationship, I can only pray that this dream of bonus kids will come true.  And I am going back to my rule book and not going to another baby shower again.  Its not personal to you my friends or mothers to be, let’s meet the next day and I will shower you with gifts while at our fave Starbucks.  It may seem selfish but I just don’t want to go into a party and leave sad like I do.  I should really get a dog again. Maybe that would help.

Travels to Calgary

I am in Calgary this week and I really enjoyed it. I did NOT enjoy the flights to get here though. It literally takes all day to get there.  First of all, being from Dallas and all I typically only fly on American Airlines. They’re based out of Dallas and I can rack up the air miles with them. AA wanted way way too much money for the flights to Calgary and back. My company wouldn’t approve it so I am traveling Delta this week.  I have zero status with them and I am one of the last to board the plane and stuck in the back too.  I know I sound like a travel snob but come on, I live in these airplanes and airports, I’ve earned my right to be a little snobbish in my head at least.  I had a layover in Salt Lake City ,Utah and I will say that the view was nice while staring out the windows during my long layover (my flight was delayed another hour once I got there).  I’m leaving to home today and my layover is in Minneapolis which has a nice airport too. I hate connection flights though, I still get nervous that I wont have time to make plane. I’m not landing until 10:30 pm tonight. It will be late by the time I get luggage, and car to get home. Geesh.

Touchscreen elevator ,y'all! At the Calgary airport. So cool.

Have you ever heard of Banff? Well, it’s one of Canada’s oldest national parks. It’s a very nice ski resort town this is in the heart of the Rockies. GORGEOUS! Well,  Banff is just short of 2 hours to get there one way from Calgary. I went to Banff 2 years ago with 3 other ladies to have dinner and back so I thought what the heck- I can do this again!  I decided to drive up there after work this past Tuesday night.  I am so glad I did because it really beats sitting in the hotel room all night. I pulled over and took what pictures I could with my blackberry camera.

There was elk everywhere on way to Banff

Canada Rockies

Banff Springs Hotel ( i didnt stay there)

Downtown Banff

Pond facing the mountain

My mom lives in Montana and is supposedly only 6 hours away from Calgary. I really wanted to fit in a visit before or after my stay here but it just didn’t work out.  Being this close to Mom made me miss her especially more though. Maybe next time I come to Calgary my plans will work out in her favor.  The next  time I come though I definitely want to stay one night in the Banff Springs Hotel. I am mesmerized by the architecture of this hotel. I still did not make the time to go inside and actually look at it. I wished I would have walked through it like a customer but it was starting to get dark so I wanted to head back.

Alberta is also apparently known as a great beef (steak) location. Everyone kept saying “ oh you got to have a steak here”. I would say “but I’m from Texas and we know our steaks”!  Anyway, I went to a place last night to have a steak and it was good. It didn’t knock my socks off though but it was nice for them to want me to be in the Calgary spirit.

I just wanted to make a quick post so talk to ya soon.

So great to be at home

Last week was a nice week for the most part in Vancouver. The weather was crappy except one night (last Tuesday). The funny thing is that it actually snowed that day too but it didnt stick so i went out to explore. I asked a coworker to join me and we took the train downtown to the waterfront. It was cold and cloudy but it wasnt raining or snowing. I really enjoyed walking around and seeing what i could. My main goal was to see where the Olympic torch stood. I just really like being around the water too. There was a gorgeous science center on the water, and the stadiums where the sporting events and concerts take place. Lots to do but of course it was late after work so just pictures of the outside will have to do.  The following night i went to dinner with the same coworker (her name is Rani) and went to the coolest little beach town near the US border called White Rock. It had a nice pier, and tons of places to eat,e tc. The downside that evening was that it was raining buckets constantly almost the whole time. I got a few pics between breaks in the rain but its really dark and MAN was it freezing! The winds near the ocean were fierce. I would really love to go back another time and i want to drive an hour or so to Whistler. I 've always heard that it's a beautiful place to visit at any time of year but the rain was just too much for me last week. The traffic there too was crazy. I went to a Harley shop one night after work to get a tshirt for my boyfriend and myself. It was supposed to only take around 45 minutes but was almost 2 hours. I was confused for a minute and thought i was in LA for a second with the traffic.

At science bldg near stadium- Vancouver

The 2010 Olympic Torch

I thought it looked like Legos but its called Digital Orca. My friend Rani with me

White Rock, BC. The Canada flag behind me on the beach

That was my first visit to Vancouver so i had no idea what to expect. I will say that my hotel was not far from the airport but i was in a strange area for sure. All the signs were in a different language on all the places around me (like in Chinese or something Asian). The signs werent all that was Asian. All the staff and most patrons were also Asian. I dont have any clue of the differences between Korean, Japanese, Chinese, etc. The food at the breakfast buffet was very strange. They had oriental noodles , a hot pot of some kind of soup with things to add to the bowl, and mystery foods i would never expect to see for breakfast.  It was very different but it didnt bother me in any way. Just a new part of our world to experience. AND I found a Starbucks very close so i was happy girl!

Yum, noodles for breakfast. Chopsticks anyone?

This and that to add to my breakfast soup. I have no idea what are in these bowls.

I normally travel on Friday's but this week wasnt filled with many participants which allowed me to go home last Thursday evening. This worked out perfectly because i needed to drive to Oklahoma at some point Friday. I had tickets along with my brother Jeremy and his wife Sarah to go to a rock concert by Chevelle. It was soooo awesome! There was a few tense moments that made me uneasy when the mosh pits and the crazy pushing each other in waves got out of hand. Almost every song had a moment that a fight would break out and i had enough. Sarah and I both were not enjoying that and we left the front of stage to go much much farther to the back. It was still just fine and we could see the stage with no problems. The place was a dive country bar with no seats whatsoever but when you think about it,a perfect place for a good hard core rock concert. There's nothing you can break or mess up really. It was so flippin hot in there though. Goodness! i had sweat coming from every single pore and it was not pretty. If i go back there again, to hell with looking somewhat cute for a concert! I will wear a t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers for sure. I would say flip-flops but some jackass may step on my toes in their excitement and i dont want to chance it.

Sarah, Jeremy, myself about to leave for concert

Chevelle!!!

That was pretty much my week and weekend and i couldnt be happier NOT to pack this week and be traveling. I love catching up with my family and some friends this week.
Be cool!!

I do give a Hoot!

I'm on my lunch break so thought i would take time to make a quick post. One thing i realized is that i like to mention my dining experiences when i travel but i dont always mention the places i try out in my own home town. Last week when i was in Dallas for my team meetings, we went to a really cool resturant called Whiskey Cake and it was Delish!! The menu is short and to the point but had very different approach on their entrees. One of the appetizers was Deviled eggs. You dont see that often. I had one of the best crab cakes that i've ever tasted in Dallas. The burgers are actually beef brisket smushed in a patty and OMG was it good. Another place i went to was a Japanese place called Jinbeh. It's a pretty small place hidden in a shopping strip near our office but it does great business. This is where they have the chef at the hibachi grill being entertaining and chopping the stuff up. I do enjoy their act and they're pretty talented with those knives!
I love their ginger dressing on the salads and i had leftovers from the chicken and shrimp dish i chose. Yummy! So there's a few shout outs to places in my hood.
I am currently in Vancouver, Canada this week. I arrived yesterday after a very long 4+ hour flight. I was not having a good day yesterday. I got totally turned around looking for the rental car place and walked in complete circle until i found it (all while schlepping my suitcase and laptop bag with me). Then i had printouts from google maps on how to get to my office. I had borrowed a GPS from a coworker that has Canada on it (cuz mine does not) but it would not turn on until much later. I followed exact instructions on map but then the directions did not match at all what i was supposed to do next. I drove soooo far out of the way. I ended up in a residential neighborhood where i pulled over, and then thats when GPS decided it was warmed up to help me. My night was uneventful once i left the office. I went straight to hotel and ordered room service (yucky chicken sandwich on wheat). It's cold and rainy and i just didnt feel like exploring.
I got to thinking how blessed i am while hanging out in my hotel room.
*although cold and rainy- i got to travel to Vancouver and i've never been here before
*the Vancouver airport is one of the most prettiest airports i've ever seen (signs are confusing hence me walking in circles for rental cars)
* i love love love meeting new people and training them as part of my job
*my company pays for my Starbucks in the morning and that makes me so happy
* i earn miles for the airline that i'm booked on
*i am skilled at packing a suitcase
*i have my super ipad that i got for Christmas and i can Facetime with my friends ( awesome)
*i'm wearing my boots in the cold weather locations and we all know how much i love my boots
There are many other reasons why i'm blessed but i have a short lunch period today.
I may go exploring tonight even if its cold and rainy, so stay tuned.