I love...

Cabo San Lucas! From the moment we arrived it was all about relaxation and fun...

Here's the view from where I'm sitting:

Our room is so fabulous, David says "bang, bang!". You'd be giddy too, if you had the view from our room:

Can you tell we spent our second day by the pool? The group all went out to dinner at a restaurant in town called the Trailer Park. Don't let the name fool you, the food was great, and they made a veggie platter especially for me that was really tasty.

Isn't it a little distracting to play golf with a view like this? And it's a Jack Nicklaus designed course, good times!

More pics to come...

Congratulations David!!!

My baby is a stud! He made his sales goals for 2007 and as a reward, his company takes everyone who makes their goal plus a guest on a trip each February, whoo hoo! We're going to Cabo San Lucas and I am so excited! :) I'm so proud of my man, he worked his booty off to make it and he deserves the reward. Wheeeeee!!

And David is...

THE SNOW SWORD
Your Superhero Name is The Snow Sword
Your Superpower is Seduction
Your Weakness is Glitter
Your Weapon is Your Flame Bombs
Your Mode of Transportation is Snowboard

All of this is spot on for David, and here's a bit of TMI that he's probably very proud of... he has some serious weapons of mass destruction with his Flame Bombs. Yes, it's what you think it is.

Seduction :) check. And now I know his weakness. Either this means I need some glitter body lotion, or his weakness is a stripper named Glitter. Hmmmm, I'm going to get my body lotion either way.

Happy Birthday Heidi!!

Last weekend we celebrated Heidi's 30th birthday by taking a girls trip to go wine tasting in Temecula. We visited five different wineries and took the Grapeline Shuttle so we didn't have to worry about driving. I got some really nice wines & champagne and we even signed up for the wine club at Mt. Palomar winery. Guess we'll be going back ;) We stayed at the Temecula Creek Inn and I got to take my daily walk on the back nine holes of the golf course before anyone was playing on it that morning, it was nice and peaceful and the area is beautiful! David has actually played here before, but I think we'll have to visit for a weekend sometime soon. Here's some info on the local wineries of Temecula.

Update: Miracles can happen

update: it's creole seasoning y'all :)

OK, y'all, it was a miracle waiting to happen..... I'm learning to cook!! I always get really inspired whenever I visit either my mom or my sister-in-law. They are great cooks and love to take care of people when they are with them. My mom will always make sure to cook our favorite meals when we are home and Monica always likes to make you feel right at home in her house and in her kitchen. I've gotten quite old-fashioned in my old age, and now that I've met someone that I really want to take care of, I thought it was time to learn to cook for him. My problem is finding tasty AND healthy, low fat recipes that are good for beginners. I've started with the basics, well actually I started with just tasty and high fat :) As soon as I got back from DC, inspired by being around my mom and my sister at the same time, I made David a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich! Hehe not exactly heart healthy :) but it was yummy... and it was a milestone that I actually made bacon! I must love that man. It wasn't just any grilled cheese though, it was my brother's special concoction, made with 6-grain bread from the Amish market in DC and gruyere cheese. My brother puts mustard on it and Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning, I made one for myself and just left the bacon off, of course. So yesterday, I baked chicken for the first time in my life (yes, don't make fun of me!) and made mashed potatoes. The chicken turned out a little lemony with the flavors that I put on it, so I'm going to make a pasta & broccoli dish and add it to that and see how it turns out with that. David is very loving and helpful through my learning process. I had to make peace with the fact that nothing is probably going to turn out right on the first try, so I'm just looking at everything like an experiment and he is helping me by tasting and giving me some tips to improve the dishes. I'll keep you posted with new recipes, because if I can make it and it turns out good, then anybody can make it!

In Memory ~ Erik Thomas Garoutte

Oct. 9, 1985 - Oct. 19, 2007

Erik was David's nephew and yesterday we attended his funeral. I had never met Erik, he was already in the Marines when David and I started dating, but I knew his name. You could tell his family was proud of him, proud that he was serving his country. To me, he was just a name, someone I had never met, but yesterday I wished I had gotten that chance. I have been so affected by seeing his family and friends grieve for him, he had only just turned 22 and I thought these kids shouldn't have to be burying their friend at this age. It didn't make me feel old to call them kids, it made me feel heartbroken for them. There were five of his friends that spoke at his funeral, sharing memories that made everyone laugh. Apparently Erik had been quite the prankster, so there was actually lots of laughter at his funeral, remembering the good times. Isn't that a testament to the person he was, that people were laughing at their memories, sharing that common denominator that he was the funniest person they knew... he could always make you laugh. They went on to talk about his music, he played guitar and wrote and played contemporary christian music. He was a good listener and you could talk to him about anything.

I never met Erik, but I know that seeing David and his brothers, his dad and stepmom, all of his family, grieving their loss, I was grieving with them. It made me grateful that I have not had to grieve this type of loss in my life, but now acutely aware that it will happen in one way or another. We are not promised another day, it is a reminder to love every day and live each moment with passion, whether it's laughter or tears.

I spent the weekend in DC with Robby, Monica and my mom... I was more grateful for the weekend after yesterday, grateful that we make the time to do things like this. I'll share pictures and stories of the weekend in another post, but this is heavy on my heart today. I wish for Erik's friends and family comfort and peace while they grieve, keeping his laughter and wonderful memories close to their heart.

Obituaries

Zion Christian Fellowship

Los Angeles Times

Fondue

I finally had my first fondue experience when I went up to see Heidi a couple of weeks ago. We went to The Melting Pot and it was all yummy and fun. Probably better as a couples date night, but we decided to go anyway :) But of course, now I'll be taking David next time as a fun date night. Heidi had the seasoned chicken and I had the vegetarian dinner, but of course it was the cheese course and the dessert course that was the absolute best. Cheese, bread and veggies, how can you go wrong with that?! and then we had milk chocolate melted with caramel and pecans to dip our bananas, cheesecake, biscotti & strawberries, totally decadent!!

Heidi had driven to the restaurant, but when we got there we decided to have some wine and by the time dinner was over we decided it was best not to drive anywhere. About that time, Heidi's mom called her to check in, because she knew we might be out having some drinks and wanted to see if we needed a ride home! So we took her up on that offer, who needs a cab when mom's on the way. And Heidi's dad came with her to drive her car home so we wouldn't have to drive out and pick it up the next day. Are we spoiled or what?! The funniest part about this was when we were leaving the restaurant, her mom turned in the wrong direction to get on the freeway. As she pulled up to a light to make a U-turn, we noticed what looked like a DUI checkpoint ahead at the next intersection, so Heidi and I were very happy about our designated driver. However, after her mom made the U-turn, we immediately noticed lights start flashing on the cop car that had been waiting at the corner of the intersection. Of course, he was waiting for people making that U-turn who were trying to avoid the checkpoint. So I think he was a little surprised to see two tipsy women in their 30's being driven home by Mom! So after assessing the situation and chatting it up with Heidi's mom (Heidi and I were just keeping our mouth shut!), the officer decided no ticket was necessary.

Heidi's mom: Officer, I always told them that if they or their friends ever needed a ride to call me no questions asked... I never wanted them drinking and driving. So anyone could call at any time and we'd make sure they got home safe.

Officer: Will you give me your number so I can call you next time I need a ride home?

Heidi's mom: Of course, young man!

So the universe definitely was on the lookout for us that night, we could have probably talked ourselves into driving home, we hadn't had that much to drink... but we knew better. We had planned to call a cab until Heidi's mom called us up. So we've got a funny story to tell instead of a DUI... life es bueno :)

David meets the Clampetts

OK, that's an inside joke... we're rednecks, not hillbillies :) We had sooooo much fun on our trip to Mississippi, the weather cooperated miraculously, so our expectations were exceeded. Of course, we had expected the worst as far as the weather :) Here are some highlights from the trip:

• My mom's Fried Shrimp Po'boy = YUUMMMMMY!! I talk about these po'boys all the time, so David was really looking forward to trying it, and my mom did not disappoint :) They rocked and I wish I could have them every single day.... Yum Yum!
• The new Hard Rock Hotel & Casino = the coast is on the mend.... this hotel was set to open the weekend after Hurricane Katrina hit. It's taken them two years to reopen, so it was great to stay there. We hung out by the pool on Sunday with Johnnie & Morgan and had a blast. I think these casinos do something sublimal with the lighting to keep you awake and gambling... David and I stayed up until 2:45 a.m. one night and 5 a.m. (!) another night just hanging out, gambling a little but staying wide awake!
• Video poker = so much fun!! who knew?! Deuces wild :)
• Miss Morgan's new hair style = Maybe I can get a pic to post so y'all can see the new sophisticated first grader.
• Golf = David got to golf with the "Pig Pen" on Saturday and Sunday. This is the weekend version of the "Bull Pen" I guess, a group of guys that meet at the same time on the weekends to golf together. David had a great time and was very impressed with my dad's skills, he's "Automatic" Moss.

Here's some pics from David's camera, I'll post the ones from my mom when I get them.

David meets the Mosses :)

So David met part of my family while they were in San Diego, and now a lot makes sense him :) He thinks I have a fabulous family and I agree with him! The first night everyone was here we went to a yummy dinner at a place called Osetra downtown. I'm still eating strict vegetarian, so I didn't try the fish, but the salad was delicious and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their selections. David will meet the rest of the crazy clan when we go to Mississippi at the end of July (tell me again why we're going to MS in July?!), but I think he'll be ok, they're fabulous too!

Where Have I Been?!

Busy, busy, busy it seems! I hope everyone is having as much fun as I've been having starting out their summer :) My mom, brother and sister-in-law were here a couple of weeks ago and that completely threw me out of my routine, so I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. Here's some of what my SIL had to say about their trip out here and why she loves San Diego. You'll notice the picture on her site of the huge and yummy piece of chocolate cake... one reason I haven't been blogging is because I've been working out extra just to burn that off :) Some people I call "portion controllers".... they can be around food like this and just have a bite. Not me! I would have enjoyed eating the entire thing... but I would have had to fight off Robby and David, so at least I got about a third of it :)

The Boys in Puerto Vallarta

What could be better than golfing on a beautiful course in Mexico?! They look like they are enjoying themselves, huh? David's the one without a hat... ya, he's hot :)

Things I'm grateful for today...

1. Deep talks with David
2. Funny talks with David
3. LMAO with David ("you have barking spiders at your house?!")
4. Two Buck Chuck
5. Kate's Peanut Butter Balls

Not necessarily in that order, those peanut butter balls are damn good. =)