Gifts from afar

The brother-in-law just got back from Kryzkstan (not sure if I spelled that right, but I don't feel like taking the time to look it up.....deal with it).  We met him for lunch on Friday in midtown Houston. 

He always brings me back the most wonderful souvenirs. 

This time I received a felt letter holder and organizer that is made locally.  Love it.....it's awesome.  Had a hard time deciding where to put it and then it hit me......the wall of my office.  (I was going to take a picture of it hanging there......but there is too much junk on the shelves and I didn't want to embarrass myself.)

Here's a lovely photo of it hanging on the wall in the hallway:

 

And then Larry didn't realize that he brought me another gift as well.  I got to have a good laugh and take a picture of Paul wearing Larry's hat he received as a gift while in was in Krzykstan.

 

This is a treasured pic we'll want to keep:

 

 

I love this crazy guy

We finally made it to Lauderdale!

Early morning flight to Fort Lauderdale with a layover in Charlotte.  Plane leaves from Bush airport on time (of course this was after I had to throw my "bitch mode" around a little and get them to give us seats together without charging us extra for them.  Seriously......they're the ones that cancelled our flight and threw us on this one).

But of course.......with a trip that has already been fraught with turmoil......of course, it was going to have another bump or two.  Our layover in Charlotte which was supposed to only be an hour turned into 2.5 hours.  Not only that.......they changed the gate on us three times and we just kept moving all over the airport.

But hallelujah........we made it to Fort Lauderdale!

Our first stop after locating our hotel........was to eat.  We hadn't really had any food since we left Houston and we were definitely a little hungry (and a little cranky).

Found a place right down the street from the Hotel called Hollywood Ale House. 

Excellent choice.  Paul and Osso Buco and I had shrimp, scallop and crab mac & cheese.  We had never had Osso Buco before....it was a roasted pork shank and all of our food was incredibly delicious!

After a little nap we knew what our plans for the night were going to be.  The main reason that we had picked coming to this area....Jai Alai!  We had made plans that we would get to see it at least 3 times during this trip....but stupid US Airways made it possible for us to only get to see it once (boo!)

 

Paul was one happy camper!

 



Can't say I wasn't a happy camper because I knew that after the Jai Alai, we were going to get to get some exercise over in the casino part of the building.  Ha ha!

 

Actually, my whole family really enjoys the Jai Alai.  Paul introduced it to our family back in 1997.  The last time we had been to the Dania Jai Alai was back 10 years ago when Paul, Aaron, and I had come here for a visit and then flew up to Orlando to see his mom.  Wow.....this place had changed!

 

Here are some pics of the place if you've never seen the game.  We had really awesome front row seats.  The last time we had been here they had about 50 rows of seats.....since their update and remodel......they only have 3 rows of seats, but you get a real "up close and real" feel.

 

 

 The Jai Alai finished up around 11 and we stayed and gave our money to some slot machines for the next couple of hours.  Our dinner this evening was convenience store pretzels and beer.  We had such a late lunch, we didn't want to eat anything big before bedtime.  It was late.......we were tired.......and we were excited to get up and enjoy the rest of our remaining days in Florida!

New menus

It's that time of the year again........time to get new menus printed.

It's a tedious task, but you feel so good when it's done and you have brand new shiny menus.

We've been reviewing some examples that were sent to us:

Then there is the editing your old menu to add new items, raise the prices of items, and try to make it appealing for the customers:

Then comes placing the order, getting the pictures together, editing, editing, and more editing.  We still have more work to do.  Here's the one that I'm leaning towards......just need to get a vote from the boss man.

Signs, Signs, everywhere a sign

What have I been doing the last couple of days?

Making signs.  I'm so proud of them......I think they are my best work yet.

So now as an extra special treat for you today......you get a sneak peek at my signs:

 

I'll bet looking at these just made your day........didn't it?

Don't feel like working???? Take a day off!

We decided last night that we weren't going to work yesterday.

Well actually, we did do a few things at the store yesterday morning and we did a couple of things that night......but for the most part we didn't do anything except just waste some time.  It's nice to have that luxury every now and then.

The boss man is still a little sick so we didn't want to overdo it.

We decided to do something crazy and go start looking at these:

I know.....I know we're crazy aren't we.  Found some nice new reasonably priced ones......but we also want to look at something used and not have to pay as much.   Can't wait.  It's going to open up a whole lot of new adventures for us.

We've also been looking at getting a couple of these used (not the girls.....just the wave runner).  I really think that maybe we need to figure out why all of a sudden we are into water vessels and camping stuff.  What happened to us?

P.S.  I'm trying out the format of making my pictures bigger on this blog.  Let me know what you think......I personally think it's nicer to have my exciting adventures big and huge blasting you in the face.  But of course, as a reader of this fabulous blog, you can also voice your opinion (well not really....you can't).

Secret photos from 7/4/14

One thing I forgot to mention from our mini "staycation" in Houston DUE TO US AIRWAYS cancelling our flight and not letting us get to Miami..........is that my husband spent a good amount of time sitting at the window trying to get pictures of the HUGE GINORMOUS planes that were taking off.  We had an awesome view of the runway and could see them just as they lifted.

Here's a couple shots of his talent:

The first picture is an actual shot he got of a plane just as it took off and was almost over our hotel.

This shot is a little premature and if you look ******** right here where those *** are at.....you can just barely see the start of the plane taking off.

Glad he found something to amuse himself :-)  As a side note:  he sat there a really long time.  I can't believe these are the only two shots he took.  Wonder what happened to the other ones????

4th of July....and we're not in Miami

It's not very often that we get a Friday off......well like NEVER!  This 4th of July happened to fall on a Friday so we decided on Tuesday that we were going to take off somewhere.  Any where.

After much searching the specials and deals (and changing our minds 3 or 4 times), we decided on Miami/Fort Lauderdale.  There is a multitude of reasons why we chose this destination and it's been on our bucket list for awhile.

The reservations were made and we were to fly out of Houston at 8:10.  We get up bright and early (5am) and check our flight and find out it was cancelled.  What?!?!?!?!  We spent 2 hours on the phone and internet trying to get another flight.....no such luck.  US Airways made the decision that we were not going to leave until 7:10am the next morning.  Bad decision US Airways.

Well since we were already packed for vacation and since we were really ticked off that we were still stuck in Houston until the next day......we were going to go out and make lemonade with the lemons we were dealt with.

We loaded up the car and headed to our first stop.......lunch at The Counter Burger. 

Loved the burgers and loved the way we could order it exactly the way we wanted it.  It was a delicious way to start the day.......although we would have preferred it if we were in Miami like we were supposed to!

Next stop was to check into our hotel.  We used one of our free nights and got a hotel next to the airport. 

We got lucky and found the pool empty except for another couple and we spent the afternoon lying in the sun, reading, splashing, and watching the huge planes taking off from the airport.  Yeah.....the ones that looked like they weren't going to get high enough to make it over the hotel.

I think my husband looks adorable in my hat......don't you?

Dinner was trying out a pizza place about 15 minutes from the hotel.  So we got dressed and headed over to get some Pink's pizza!

The decision was made to get to bed early since we had to get up early again and fly out early (or hopefully fly out).  The hotel was nice and quiet and we didn't have to listen to fireworks shooting off at all hours of the night like we would have from our house.

Hopefully......we would catch a plane to Miami tomorrow!

Just chilling

I love summertime. 

I love the summer foods, the summer fruits, the summer colors, the summer clothes, the summer activities.......just EVERYTHING about summer (except the intense heat and humidity).

We've outgrown the cucumber, mint, and lemon or lime water.

We're trying this today instead.

Just chilling in our refrigerator is:

Jar #1:  Cutie slices, Strawberry slices, and Blueberries.

Jar #2:  Strawberry slices, Blueberries, and Cherry slices.

We'll see how it tastes.

I am such a lucky girl

I have come so far.

I think about that young little girl living by herself, trying to raise two little kids, and working at a job that was really great......it just didn't pay enough.

I remember crying at night and wondering how I was going to do it.  How I was going to take care of my boys.  And of course, you all know how much help I had from my ex.

Thankfully, my parents stepped in and helped where they could and my in-laws did what they could.

Now I am this older person and things are so much better.  I am so incredibly blessed to have married the perfect person for me.  To have kids that are off and building their own successful lives.  To have family in Tucson who are there for us no matter what.  And to have a successful business (even though it causes a whole lot of extra stress in our lives).

I sure have come a long way from that sad, scared and lonely little girl just trying to survive and be a good mother.

Sometimes it's nice to just sit and remember those days that molded you into the person you are today.

The debut of Memory Lane Monday

I was just scrolling through some of my posts, remembering things that we've done, and getting a smile on my face from the memory.

Then I came across this little beauty and it cracked me up.

Had to share it again.......it's a classic!

 I'll try and post a new picture every Monday that comes from my "vault".  I have so many darn picture and it's fun to go back and look at them here.  Someday I might actually get to putting them all in my scrapbooks again.  Ho hum........

Thank you Baby!

Not everyone is so lucky to marry the perfect person.  I didn't get it right the first time, but I sure did a good job the second time.

This man works his butt off.  He's at work right now covering for two employees who were stupid and got tossed in jail.  We both worked late last night covering for these same clowns.

Now he's so busy making pizzas he doesn't have time to answer the phone.  He transferred the calls to me and I'm taking orders.  Of course I'll help this guy out.

He loves me.  He loves me even though I'm not perfect.  He loves me and even puts up with my children.  He loves me and takes me on fun vacations.  He loves me and takes good care of me.

I just want him to know that I love him back.......and I love him even more when he's patient enough to let me take goofy photos of him.

This man is the best husband ever! 

Here's a sneak peek

Lots of pictures to share and of course the story of our journey to Miami.

Need to get it all posted here before I forget it.  Here's a few pictures to get you excited.....we took LOTS of pictures this trip.  Bet you're excited about that!

Enjoy!

Oh how I love being on vacation.  Although, I really need to work on not looking so much like an obvious tourist. 

We're kind of excited

We are t-minus 36 hours away from our trip.  Just got off the phone with my "better half" and we both declared that we are really kind of excited for this trip.

Now don't get us wrong.......we love going and visiting the family, but when we're off traveling by ourselves -- it's just a whole different thing.

Our last trip was to Tucson.  We loved being with our family, but there just wasn't enough time and sometimes the pressure of trying to fit in everyone, and trying not to hurt someone's feelings, and trying to be everywhere at once.....it gets stressful sometimes more than restful.

The trip before that was to Santa Fe.  Going and visiting Aaron is always fun.  I love watching how thoughtful he is about making sure that we have lots of fun things planned.  He knows that we're not the kind of people that like to visit and just sit around.......we like to be doing things and exploring new places.  He has always done a great job of entertaining us when we go and visit.

But the trips that I take with my husband alone are always packed with fun, excitement, surprise, and spending quality time with my best friend in the whole world.  It's easy for just the two of us to be out doing things.  It's comfortable.  There is not any stressed involved......we just "go with the flow" and do whatever looks like fun for that day. 

My husband has surprised me on many occasions by suggesting doing something that I had not thought of.  That's what makes our spontaneous vacations the most fun.

And this trip that we are planning on taking in the next few days, will be no exception.

Can't wait to share it with you.

My secret life as a travel agent

There really isn't much time to get work done when I have to be doing my other "full-time" job as the family travel agent.

We just got back from Tucson.....well umm....like 2 weeks ago and we've already got our new travel plans booked, bought, and paid for this weekend.

Original plans were for a road trip to Gainesville, Florida to look at ovens and then to Clearwater, Florida to see the GoGo's.  That fell apart last night when the guy we wanted to meet with was going to be out of town.

So the search began for the ultimate Gainor trip.  Lots to celebrate:  a FRIDAY OFF!  (that never happens unless it's a holiday and we have the day off) and WE SOLD OUR STORE!  Yay us.....we need a celebration and a trip!

We've looked at place, after place, after place searching for just that right spot that will be fun and exciting.

So is it a road trip?  Is it a cruise?  Is it flying?

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Okay.....it's a plane trip to Fort Lauderdale/Miami.  So we are still going to Florida......just a little different place.  We plan on partaking on seeing as much Jai Alai as we can, maybe driving down a little way through the Keys, and you know that concert we were going to see in Clearwater?  Well it just so happened it will be in Hollywood, Florida (which is right in between Miami and Fort Lauderdale) on Sunday night at a CASINO!  Oh yeah.......we just booked the most awesomest trip ever. 

But I've only got 2 more days to get everything done so I can get trip stuff packed.

Last trip for awhile though......I really need to stay home and get some work done :-)  ha ha ha!

P.S.  Not quite done with my travel agent job for today though, Aaron is calling me back later this afternoon so that I can help him find his tickets to Houston next week.  Life is busy.