Generations

One day, I picked up my 9 year old cousin to take her to my house. We were at a stoplight near a gas station...a gas station that I think is one of the few that still has an actual pay phone. She said to me "hey, isn't that one of those phones they have on the freeway?"

Audio Books Update

So, I finished Water for Elephants in a couple of weeks or so and I thought it was excellent. When you're listening to a book, it's like you really get to know the characters. It was a really great book. Then I listened to The Help which I just finished last week.This book was amazing! I was completely hooked. I actually didn't want it to end. I can't wait to check out the movie.

Next up: Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe. I'm interested to see how this one goes since it's actually narrated by him.

Confession...

My three-year-old thinks it's completely normal to go looking for your clothes in a pile on the floor because we are so bad at putting the kids' clothes away. He says "can you help me dig?" Sad, I know, very sad...

Audible.com

I'm always wishing I had more time to read books. Usually by the time I pick up a book at night before bed, I'm ready to crash out, so it just doesn't happen. I've also been spending a lot of time in my car since my commute is much longer now--it gets old listening to the same music on the radio all the time and the news channels can be interesting, but only for so long.

So, I decided to try audio books. Audible.com is part of Amazon and it allows you to pay a monthly subscription where you receive credits and you can download books with those credits. They have a free trial, so I thought I would give it a try. I have to listen on my phone, and not through the radio, but that's no big deal for me since the speaker on my phone is fine.

It was tough to decide which book I should listen to first. I looked through some of the best sellers and I just wasn't sure. I went back to my friend's trusty blog (thanks, Melissa!) and looked at some of her book reviews. Based on her review and some of the others I read online, I went with this one:

So far it's been good. It's nice to have something to look forward to during my drive. I'll keep you posted on how I liked the whole book--but I'm almost half way through and I'm enjoying it!

O...M...G!

So I'm getting the kids ready go bed and watching the Bachelorette and this was my conversation with Lexxa:

Lexxa: Mom, is she going to give out roses tonight?
Me: Yes.
Lexxa: So, whoever doesn't get the last rose has to go home?
Me: Yes.
Me: Ok, time for bed.
Lexxa: Tell me if there is anyone that I might like.
Me: What do you mean? Someone you think who should have gotten a rose.
Lexxa: No, like if they are cute or something.

Really? She is not even 6 yet! I guess I need to censor the TV shows that she sees me watching!

Perks

Last week, I went to a conference in Sonoma for work. The company hosting has an annual client conference. We are not clients yet, but were invited to attend to see what they were all about. The beauty of client conferences is that they make sure to add in lots of fun activities along with the regular conference agenda. Since it was held is Sonoma, there was a lot of good wine and food! And, the hotel was fantastic too.

A shot of my room at The Lodge - a Renaissance Hotel where the bathtub area opens up so you can see the TV. I sat and watched the Bachelorette from there!

 The view of the grounds from my room.

 First winery: B.R. Cohn

The weather was beautiful, so it was great sitting outside with a nice glass of wine. It's so peaceful there.

Jacuzzi Winery. This place was beautiful. And yes, this is the same Jacuzzi family that invented the Jacuzzi. We also had a lovely dinner reception there.

 Another shot at Jacuzzi.

On the last day, we also got to learn about some wine and cheese pairings at the hotel with their sommelier (I learned what a sommelier was that day too). We tasted different wines from Sonoma along with local cheeses. It was excellent. I didn't take any pics...I was too busy eating and drinking! All of the food there was so fresh and delicious--even the hotel food at lunch.

And last, but not least, Ravenswood. We did a team building exercise where we made our own blend of wine, had to name it and market it. It was a lot of fun and we got to take home a small bottle of our very own blend.

It was an excellent trip and believe it or not, I actually got a lot of good information that was work-related. I could get used to this. :-)

Wishing for some energy

I feel like I need another day off after the busy weekend. It was fun stuff, but still a lot. Here is the quick rundown.


Friday evening after work. Back and forth three times to Brad's cousin's to pick up kids and drop off stuff for Lexxa to spend the night. Good news = she lives in town so no big deal. Thanks for having Lexxa over!


Saturday. Morning, pick up Lexxa, go to the grocery store. Head to afternoon BBQ at Brad's dad's. Pool, food, sun. Go home, kids napped, got ready and went to my friends Stella & Dot launch party.


Sunday. Slept in a little, got ready to go to BBQ #2 at my brother's girlfriend's house. Pool, food, sun. Headed home and got ready for July 3rd street dance. Waited for Brad to get home from work and then headed out to street dance. P.S. It didn't even cool down much that night.


Monday. Morning, parade. Afternoon, BBQ #3 at my cousin's house. Food, friends, playing in the back yard. Head home. Get ready for fireworks. Head to fireworks. Get home at 10:45 and have to think about work the next morning.

Ugh! My alarm going off at 5:30 this morning was not cool!

All in all, it was an great weekend, but I am so exhausted! Getting ready for another busy week and weekend coming up...