What Happens in Vegas …

 

Today’s Guest blogger is one of my all-time favorites, and another one of my daily reads. Raven blogs over at A Momma's Desires and Pacifiers, and keeps me entertained with the tails of her cute babes, rattle snake killing and other adventures in life. If you don’t know her, you are seriously missing out. 

Hey all you fab readers of Eat, Shop and be Married! I don't know about you, but those three things are some of favorites to do! Well, at least two of them are. I'll leave it at that. (wink wink)

I write a lot about being a mom on my personal blog, A Momma's Desires and Pacifiers, so I thought it would be very refreshing for myself to not even MENTION my little bambinos over here and just write all about mwah. Even though I love those little angels to death and they are my life, sometimes we all just need a little adult time, no? And what better place to go when you need a little vaca than the ultimate big person's playground, Las Vegas!

 

I've been to Vegas a few times, including that one time when I moved there for 10 days. Packed up everything I owned and hightailed it to the Land of Sin. One week and three days later, I rented a uhaul, packed up my shiz once again, and drove 18 hours straight home. Stopped five times for gas and that was it. But that is a whole nother story in itself. (Which I do plan to tell really soon).

 

But today I'll talk about my most recent trip to Las Vegas. My husband and I went with our friends and oh my, was it amusing.

 

The crew...

 

We had a limo pick us up at the airport (because we're big ballers like that. Not really. Did you know that is costs just about the same to take a limo as it does to take a cab? My secret is spilled.)

 

We also had the limo driver stop at the liquor store. Obviously.

We ain't newbies at this shit.

 

 

What would a trip to Vegas be without toasting with mini bottles of jager? Not a trip at all, of course.

 

 

You know what else I love about Vegas? You can drink to your hearts desire since you can just go to your hotel room and pass out and not have to worry about taking care of little humans.

I also love that my husband takes the best pictures when he's a little...tipsy.

 

(Yes, that may be a cheesy smile, but it's better than anything he gives while sober!)

 

My friend and I are so hot that we always attract the best looking guys. Naturally.

 

(See? Told ya)

 

And finally, when you are in Vegas, you are sure to see some crazy, crazy people.

I think our expressions in the pic below concrete that fact.

(It really was the weirdest thing I have ever seen)

 

So there ya have it! A little bit of my adventures in Sin City. If anyone wants to pay for me to join them, I promise to show ya'll a good time. ;)

 

I would also like to add that I am not a boozin' momma. As fun as that sounds, I take my responsibilities at home very seriously and my family always comes first. But hey, we were in Vegas, and as cliche as the saying is, it's true.

 

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Raven, thank you so much for being over here today! I cannot wait to hear about the move to Vegas. That has got to be an awesome story. OH, and you are more then welcome to come along with us whenever we decided to get our butts down there.

So now that you’ve met her, head on over and read some more of her stories. I guarantee they will make you laugh enough to fall out of your chair and get some killer abs. 

Tuesday Travels: Road Trip to Texas

 

Husband and I will be heading down to Lubbock, Texas in November for a wedding on 11.11.11. What a cool date to be getting married on huh?! My brother and sister in law were married on 7.7.7 … so we’re going to have at least one couple on each of our side of the family who married on a cool date.

Now, we’re sort of excited that the wedding is in Lubbock… as uneventful as Lubbock is… because it is a days drive away from us. Literally, only about 9 hours away. AND since the wedding is on a Friday, we’re going to make a vacation out of our little trip and head over to Dallas.

 

Here is the Google Map of what our one way trip will look like. We’d obviously be going back the same way, stopping in Amarillo overnight before making the rest of the trip back. Originally, I wanted to stop by Santa Fe, NM on our way down to Lubbock but we figured there isn’t much to do in NOVEMBER in NM…

   

These are the two photos I have of the last time we drove through Lubbock. We stopped on Avenue Q to have lunch at Whataburger. This is pretty much all the town has to offer, from what I know. Maybe we’ll discover something else on our trip there in November.

From our front door to the wedding location, is about 9.5 hours, and 537 miles. On our last road trip to Texas, we left Denver around 8 am and were in Lubbock by 4 or 5 in the afternoon, and drove another 2 hours to Big Spring before we stopped for the night.

Since the wedding is in the evening on Friday, we’ll be able to leave Thursday afternoon, and make it into Lubbock before midnight on Thursday, which will give us all day Friday to relax and get ready.

I’m thinking the next morning we’ll get up and spend some time with family, before we head out for the almost 6 hour drive to Dallas.

We’ve never been to Dallas, and since we’re looking to moving out there in the near future, we really want to get a feel for what it’s like and whether Dallas or Austin is the right city for us. We’ll probably do some sight seeing, and maybe check out a few of the builders in the areas right outside of Dallas.

 

I can’t wait to explore this city! And we are so overdue for a vacation, so this will be perfect.

We are still deciding as to where we’re going to be staying, and how we’ll drive down. Since it’ll be November, we’re worried about Snow on the road in Colorado, and our car hates snow. Remember this:

There wasn’t even that much snow when it initially got stuck in the middle of the street. BAH.

So we might just rent a car… or we might take up my in-laws on their offer to drive down together, and then explore Dallas together. Or we might take our project car down… but adding so many miles to it will break my heart.

So, have you been to Dallas? What shall we do?! Are you in Dallas (Linds) and want to make time for us?!

Keeping Fit at 79

 

After this post, about my grandfather. I thought it would be nice for you all to hear from him and how he keeps fit. So I asked him to write a bit about what he does. Here it is:

I like to keep my fitness routines interesting and varied.

From Spring to late Fall I ride my bicycle an average of 2000 miles, splitting the miles between my race bike and my all-purpose road bike.  I am an urban rider and can get in a 60 to 80 mile within an area between Parker and Boulder.   I tend to ride 25 to 30 miles before a stop, and continue that routine throughout my trip.  At the speeds I ride, I burn about 620 calories per hour.   Cycling is great for legs and lungs.

During the Winter I lift weights to maintain muscle tone and bone density.  Cyclists and Runners should do weight training, because those sports do not favor muscle tone and bone density.   Weight training burns an enormous amount of calories, not during the exercise, but afterward when the body repairs the muscles.  Weight training is also good for the heart, lungs, and balance.

These two fitness programs have been my routine for years and kept me fit enough for my cancer operation.  The trick is to keep your fitness routine fun.   If it's not fun, you're not going to want to do it.

A thought about mind and body:  The power of mind and body working together toward good health and fitness can't be ignored.  From my bicycle racing days I learned that the mind is more than half the race.  If the mind-set is to win, then winning becomes not only possible, but inevitable.

A very successful friend had buttons made up saying "Ya Gotta Wanna".  He gave me one in 1966 and I've kept it for forty-five years.  It's the heart of any endeavor.

As my grandfather says: If you don’t wanna, you ain’t gonna.

My grandfather is an avid reader of my blog, so if you have any questions or comments for him go ahead and leave them at the bottom! He’ll be more than happy to answer them all.

Thank you so much for writing this Grandpa! Love you!

Make-up Tutorial: Smoky Eyes

I would like you all to meet another one of my blog friends, Veronica Grace from Knitful Dezigns. She is a very talented and beautiful gal, and has some mad skills when it comes to make-up. So here she is with her first every tutorial!

Hello Everyone! If you don't already know me my name is Veronica grace, I've been given the awesome privilege to guest blog today. I've made you all a short video of a basic smoky eye look, perfect for any occasion. I've used four colors to achieve this and I'll be posting everything I've used in the order I used it below. ***this is my first ever makeup tutorial, so I was a tad bit nervous jeje*** ENJOY

• Painterly Paintpot by MAC (as a primer)
• Pixie epoxy (shimmer primer)
• Bride sparkly shadow by My pretty zombie
• Ravenwood Manor eyeshadow by My pretty zombie
• Coffin Critters eyeshadow by My pretty zombie
• and White Lines eyeshadow by My pretty zombie (as a highlight and for blending)
• also I used ravenwood manor underneath my eye with a normal eyeshadow brush
• Black eyeliner
• Falsies (using ardell glue)
• and a light pink lipstick by Maybelline * unfortunatley the name rubbed off *
• The blush I used at the end is Warm soul mineral blush by MAC

I hope you all enjoyed the small tutorial :) And thank you Zara for the awesome chance to guest blog!!!

Veronica Grace <3

Thank You Veronica for the awesome tutorial! Head on over to Veronica Grace’s and check out all the cool things on her bloggy!

Hope you all have an amazing Weekend, and use this tutorial!

A Resolution to a Healthy Lifestyle

 

I have been wanting to start another challenge to promote healthy living in our society and community. And I know there are a ton of people like me who know that they need to be healthy but don’t have the time, the motivation or don’t know where to start. So I will try and help as much as I can through documenting my own journey.

Today, I am linking up with Suzzie from SVSmiles for her blog challenge of making a healthy resolution.

I’d like to start off by telling you guys a little story about my grandfather and why I believe living healthy is important.

My grandfather in 2007 at my high school graduation party.

I think many of you saw my posts in March about my grandfather’s surgery and fight with cancer, I mentioned it shortly here and in a few other posts. Today, I want to tell you his story.

My grandfather is currently 79 years old. He has served in the Navy, and is a vet for Viet Nam and Korea. He has been a successful employee and a world traveler. He is still a small business owner and an avid bike rider. The man does anywhere from 30 to 80 mile bike rides, several times a week (if weather permits).

In May of 2010 he was hit by a car while out on his bike. He practically walked away with a few bruises and some broken ribs. Through his checkups the doctors noticed a “bruise” on his lung. They biopsied it and it came back clean. A few months later during another checkup, they noticed that what they thought was a bruised lung had actually grown. They did another biopsy and in January 2011 diagnosed my then 88 year old grandfather with lung cancer.

At my birthday lunch in February before the operation

The doctors said that he would have to go through chemo because they could not operate. If they operated they would have to remove half of his left lung, and they did not think that my grandfather could survive on only on one and a half lungs. The news was shocking to all of us, and at one point my grandfather stated that if he had to be on supplemental oxygen then he wouldn’t do anything at all. In that case he would have about a year to live.

However, we all thought he would be just fine on one and a half lungs, since he was still riding his bike for miles without breaking a sweat and being out of breath. The surgeon said that he would operate if the test results for Oxygen levels came back where he wanted them to. Well, low and behold, they put my grandfather on a bicycle test, which he passed with flying colors. EVEN with the cancer taking up half of his lung he was able to preform at such levels that the doctors were amazed. Surgery was scheduled for March.

The surgery took about three hours, and through the whole process we were getting updates from the operating room. At one point, when the nurse called to update us, my grandfather’s daughter asked how he was doing, the nurse replayed “he’s doing good… no wait… he is doing GREAT.”

When the surgery was over and the doctor came out, he told us that the cancer was much bigger then they had been anticipating, and it was actually pushing on his pulmonary artery, meaning he was getting even less oxygen into his system. He also told us that my grandfather should be feeling even better after the surgery and he did not think that he would need any supplemental oxygen when going home.

True to the surgeon’s words, my grandfather walked out of the hospital about a week later, with no oxygen and feeling great. His blood oxygen levels were actually higher then his pre-op, and he was feeling significantly better.

And he was there for my college graduation a few weeks after his surgery!

The doctors said that if it wasn’t for his biking and his outstanding physical health, he would not have been considered for surgery and God knows how affective Chemo would be.

Just this past weekend my grandfather did the annual Kaiser Permanente Moonlight Classic ride, around downtown Denver. He was also asked to speak to lung patients at the hospital and given an award at the Moonlight ride.

Here he is post op and at the Moonlight Classic.

 

Moral of the story. Get healthy and stay healthy. It will save your life.         

So what are you health/fitness resolutions?

Friday Confessional

 

I’m linking up with Mamarazzi!

Forgive me blog world, for I have sinned.

I confess that this week flew by and I put off doing several things that were planned for this week. OOPS. I am being a slacker and just not wanting to actually get things done.

I confess that I cannot believe that summer is almost over. Really? Is it really almost August? Really?! Where did my summer go? I’m still as pasty white as I was during the winter.

I confess that I am dreading winter and the snow, because our car is awful in it. I am also dreading bringing out the VR4 and putting more miles on it. Maybe, I’ll just stay cooped up for the winter and work from home?! I could see myself staying home the entire winter and never setting a toe out, but then who would go snowboarding.

I confess that I am getting really anxious about moving, and a house and such things. As I stated in this post, I am having major issues with the “NOW” monster, and need my wants satisfied right away. Learning how to wait is not happening for me, and it is hard.

I confess, that I am contemplating rewarding myself with a shopping trip to New York if I am able to go a whole year without spending extra money on clothing I do not need but simply want. The rough idea is that I only wear the things I have and make do with what I have, unless I rip my jeans and need a pair of jeans or a new pair of running shoes or what not. And then once a year… or maybe once every six months or so, I take a mini vacation with my girls to go shopping. Thoughts?!

I also confess that the above idea scares me half to death. The thought of not shopping for an extended period of time is almost as scary as the thought of never becoming a mother. UGHH!

I confess, that I missed my husband more than anything else in the world this past week and wish he was here with me right now. He gets back tomorrow evening! Time for flight anxiety to kick in again.

I confess, that instead of thinking about how we will use the new income to pay off debt, I’ve been contemplating all kinds of trips, new laptops, car tires and such that we can spend the money on. This is bad, since debt needs to go away. I need to get down to making lists before we blow all the money on another vacation… I’m not even going to be making that much!

Finally, I confess that not only have I not been to the gym in weeks, but I also took a nap in my car instead of going to class this morning …. OOOPS… And then went to an interview just because, and then spent the evening talking about the upside of fake boobs, trips to Florida and New York, and farting in front of your significant other with my two favorite girls. OHH and I confess that no matter where we are in the world these girls will always be there.

Hope you all are having a fantastic Friday!

I know I will be once I pick up my sweetheart from the airport.

Instant Gratification Problem

 

I have several huge problems but the current one is instant gratification, I have no patients for waiting around, when I want something I MUST have it then and there.

I realize that the problem is childish, and that as a grown adult I need to realize and accept that I cannot have everything at once, but need to wait, budget and earn the things I want. However, I am very much like a little child and tend to throw fits, even if it is just in my own presence with no one watching. I’ve even cried about certain things when I realized that I couldn’t have them right then and there.

You are probably thinking, what an idiot, of course you have to wait, budget and earn the things you want in life… and I agree… but I need to point out that this is my problem.

For example, I want to re-decorating our room, and what started out as a painting project has now turned into a whole overhaul. I just got the IKEA catalogue and now want to get not just a new mattress but also a new bed, and a dresser and some night stands that match. I also want to redo the whole closet and maybe/hopefully create some more room. HOWEVER, all of this is going to cost a ton of money… and money is what we don’t have right now. I got a job so that we could pay off our debt not add more to it. BUT my little “NOW” monster is kicking in and wanting everything now.

Another example is our newest car. We were in the market for a new car simply because we needed another daily driver that wasn’t our project car. So we went to look for a truck, because I wanted one. Not because we needed one, I simply wanted a big truck. No rhyme or reason to it. Then, we got our senses together and decided that we should look at smaller coups since they would be more affordable and practical, with gas prices and such… OH and more in our budget. BUT then we ended up walking off the lot with a top of the line Camaro…fail! Oh and I’d like to add, just because you can afford something doesn’t mean you should get it… why is it that I cannot take my own advice?

While I love our car, and have loved our vacations, and love all the clothes and dresses and crap we have, I realize that we also have a huge problem. The debt we have is not just from these things. I have school loans and such, but a good portion of it is our car. And reckless spending. So another issue comes into play. I want the debt gone. RIGHT NOW. I wish I had the money to pay it off. This is another one of my “NOW” moments.

I guess the point to this pointless post is, how do you handle these urges to have the things you want then and there? How do you deal with the “NOW” monster?

Let’s Meet Sam

 

I have another guest post for you guys today. Sam from A Place I Call My Own. Sam is an amazing woman and I am so glad I met her through blogging. She is an amazing artist, a complete sweetheart and an overall awesome individual.

Hello friends and followers (and new readers) of Zara’s blog! I’m Sam from A Place I Call My Own. 

Zara has become a good friend over the past few months so I am extremely flattered that she asked me to guest post on her blog. This is also my very first ever guest post, so go easy on me.

When asked to post, she told me I could write about anything I wanted. Where does one begin?! But after thinking and writing several blog drafts I’ve decided to write about different ways I like to zone out and escape.

Well for starters, I blog! My blog is my own little public diary. I write what I feel and what is on my mind. I’ve had this blog since 2007 as a place to showcase my art and classwork I was doing. It’s evolved into so much more than that. I love getting involved in meme’s. My favorite meme being Wee Bit Wednesday, hosted by Leigh Ashley.

Another way I like to zone out is to paint. My boyfriend recently purchased a new computer and a Cintiq. I took fine arts through high school and college, and painting had always been a favorite. When painting with acrylics I always seemed to get paint all over myself so this is an easy way to create something beautiful, without the mess.

 

 

A few years back I saw this beautiful dress on Victoria’s Secret website. The skirt was crocheted and while I was unemployed I couldn’t buy it. I decided to take up the task of crocheting. I found a pattern to a skirt and made it. Never finished the dress because I have no way of attaching the skirt to the tank top sadly.

 

Then this past winter I discovered grannie squares. I began my first blanket. I’ve even made cupcakes! Did you know you could also crochet jewelry?

I absolutely love how fast the hours go by when I get involved in these little projects.

Thank you so much Zara for having me over! You are an amazing gal and I’m so thankful to have met you in the blogging world.

Thank YOU Sam for being here today! Aren’t her paintings amazing?! Head over to A Place I Call My Own and get to know Sam a little better.

Guest Posting

 

Hi all! Today I’m guest posting over at Knitful Dezigns, about my little DIY project. So head on over to Miss Veronica Grace’s pretty little blog and check it out! Also, spend some time and get to know her a bit, she’s beautiful on the outside and in.

What I’m Loving Wednesdays

 

It’s Wednesday, and that means that I’m link up with beautiful Jamie over at This Kind of Love.

I am loving that it is hump day, which means the weekend is almost here and that my husband will be home in two days time. I’m still not loving being apart from him though. It seems that no matter how long we’ve known each other being apart is not really an option even if it is just for a few days.

I am loving the new look of my blog. I still want to make a few minor changes here and there, but in general I like the clean look, and the colors make me happy.

Absolutely loving that I will be starting my new job with Chimpsy Photo Field Trips on Monday. So, so excited for a new opportunity in a field that I love with people who are laid back and generally awesome. Not only that, but my new bosses are some of the coolest people I know, and have no problem with me working from home (part time) and also traveling with Husband when he goes to cool places … such as Boston.

LOVING that I am finally getting to cleaning out my closet, and dresser and such. NOT LOVING that my bedroom is a mess with clothing absolutely everywhere! It’s a little hectic in our household right now. BUT I will be picking out the paint for the bedroom today… I think.

I am loving yoga. Seriously, I went to my first class two Wednesdays ago and it was one of the best and most relaxing experiences of my life. So thankful for my beautiful friend Leslie who took me along and introduced me to my first class. I am actually heading out today to buy a thicker Yoga mat!

I am loving that I made a dress yesterday. YUP! I’ll be posting about that later today or this coming week.

Oh and I am absolutely loving the fact that tomorrow is Thursday which means I get to have Girls Night with my favorite girls!

Hope you all are having a fantastic Wednesday!

What are you loving?!

Tuesday Travels – Beantown

 

As you all know from this post Husband left Sunday morning for one of my all time favorite cities, leaving me behind. BOO. So I thought I’d take a little trip down memory lane of our first trip to Boston in October of 2009.

Husband had gone to Boston for a 5 week long training/conference trip, and we had initially decided that I wouldn’t go since I had school and we were in the middle of planning our wedding. Within the first 48 hours the Mister called me and told me that I had to book my ticket and fly out. So the last week of October, in the midst of a snowstorm in CO I flew out to Boston.

Boston is beautiful, especially in its fall colors. I spent a total of five days in the beautiful city and we got a great deal done.

 

We stayed in the Residence Inn right on the harbor on the North End. You can see Bunker Hill in the background. The movie Day and Knight was shooting in Boston at the time, and there was a yacht in the harbor with some of the crew staying on it.

 

We fallowed the Freedom trail (the red line) all across the city of Boston, and visited many of the historical sites around town. I love history, and I love visiting the sites where things had happened. We were lucky to meet our friends Peter and Olena on this trip. Peter is USAF retired and a major history buff, so everywhere we went we had a personal guide to tell us all about what had taken place at the site.

 

We got to eat at the Union Oyster House: 

The Union Oyster House is the oldest restaurant in Boston and the oldest restaurant in continuous service in the U.S. — the doors have always been open to diners since 1826

We visited the Old State House

We visited the Charlestown Navy Yard, the home of the USS Constitution

The USS Constitution

Old Ironside is the world’s oldest floating commissioned naval vessel and was lunched in 1797. She is most famous for her actions during the War of 1812, when she captured numerous British merchant ships and defeated five British warships.

We were so close to the Navy Yard that we could see the Constitution from our window.

We took a trip to the Boston Commons.

 

And had a wonderful lunch at a small sushi den

We visited Bunker Hill, the Old North Church and Paul Revere’s House.

We also got a chance to see the Boston Market on a weekday

The highlight of our trip, however, was the fact that we got to spend October 31st in Salem, MA.

It was an adventure of its own, and calls for it’s own post, so keep your eyes out as the next Tuesday Travels. Possibly sooner.

Boston is a walking city, so make sure you have your walking shoes with you.

It is one of our most favorite cities in the world. It’s absolutely beautiful and so full of history, great food and wonders.

I wish I was there now.

What is your favorite city? Have you been to Boston? What do you think?