on the road again.

Greetings from the Casinos!  Last week, Jams and I had a little weekend get-away in Laughlin, Nevada to celebrate Chris and Lizzy's birthdays -fun!  We stayed at the Aquarius Resort and Casino... yes, this is where I won $1,000 on the Wizard of Oz Penny Slot last year (This year, not so lucky) there year we left with a measly 45 cents...!

We spent the entire weekend gambling, eating, playing caveman keno, drinking, more slot machines and of course, partying!  Yay!  My only gripe - it smells like rotten smoke - everywhere!  It's been a little under a year since I quit smoking and I swear, the scent of smoke just gets stronger and stronger.  When I was a smoker, I actually would get super excited when I could smoke in public!  Especially in casinos... I could sit at a table for hours, and regardless of how much anxiety I got from that way-too-big-of-a-bet rush, it was totally "acceptable" to light up and keep throwing my money across the table.  Now, I am the girl with my scarf over my nose, disgusted with that older person sitting next to me at the penny slots with a barely there cigarette hanging out of their mouth and another two packs of smokes stacked up next to the machine to keep the chain going.  Yikes, I might just turn into an old grump if I don't watch it...

With all this travelling we have been doing, I have had to get quite creative with my food choices.  It's not easy to eat healthy.  Fact.  It's even harder to eat healthy when you are not home.  Fact.  Aside from my brown rice cakes and seaweed strips that were packed in the back seat for the trip, I have been left with slim pickins when it comes to "dining" on-the-go.  When the salad bar looks questionable, I'm left with hash browns, toast and pasta.  I can feel the starch expanding my body, ew so gross.  This leaves me with my "detox" plan.  Water only.  Green tea if I'm feeling sleepy in the morning.  Granola for breakfast, salad for lunch and I'm only eating dinner if I am completely famished.  OK, yes, I'm joking!  But seriously, it's time to get super strict for a little bit on what goes into this body... at least until I don't feel like I need to "suck in" while buttoning my pants...

Anyway, we had a great time!  Sunday was a beautiful day to drive for four hours with the top down.  Despite my sunscreen attempt, my forehead is still pealing and my nose looks like Rudolph.  Oh, the gripes of driving a convertible.  I should really stop complaining, I know :)

remember when...

Every once in awhile I question life, what I am doing and the choices I make.  I think this pushes me to be stronger and helps keep me stimulated.  Some choices are easy, others take lots of thought.  Sometimes we have to weigh out the options before we make a final decision because every action we take will eventually have a reaction.   I am always a thinker and analyze many outcomes in my head... pretty much about everything.  Sometimes I wish I were not this way because I often over analyze a lot of things.

Whether we make the "right" choice or not, every experience plays a part in our journey and can be learned from.  I will sporadically think about what my life would be like if I had done things a little different.   As Jams would say to me, "Would of, should of and could of are the three worst things you can think about.  It doesn't matter what you could, should or would have done, it's what you did.  Keep looking forwards, not backwards."  Geez, so true!

Well, I think that sometimes we don't realize the importance of experience until afterwards.  It's kind of like when you were growing up and your parents would tell you, "Someday, you'll thank me for this.  I'm teaching you a lesson!"  Ugh, really.   Sad but true, they were right... (did you hear that Mom!)

People are awesome too.  We meet people all the time.  Interacting, chatting, doing business - we are constantly communicating.  Many people we encounter throughout our lives come and go.  But there are certain people who inspire us to be better and push ourselves.  People who believe in us in that moment that we don't believe in ourselves.   It's because of those feel-good people and feel-good experiences that we look back.  Memories are made and sometimes never forgotten.  This is why we take lots of pictures and meet up with old friends to reminisce about the good old times.  And I know it's not just me; we all have those moments where we wish we could go back and relive something again.

We can't though.  Each memory and experience builds on itself and if you think about it, without all of those things, we would not be the strong and amazing creatures we are today.  Each memory does serve a purpose.  That purpose is so we can reflect back and remember why we choose the path we are on :)

doggies and diego.

Wow, what a fun weekend!  Jams and I got up obnoxiously early on Saturday and took the pugs to Huntington Beach Dog Beach.  They luved it...

It was maybe a bit too early though... the tide was still in forcing us to walk through some rough waters.  Poor little Peanut almost drown!  Good thing she was wearing her harness so I could grab her and save her!

We worked up quite an appetite and decided before we gave the dogs a bath we would need some food.  Yum!  Breakfast Sandwiches!

Yummy Breakfast Sandwiches

by Madame Calcagno

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

6018623

Ingredients (serves 2)

• Hashbrowns
• Pieces of Vegan Sausage
• Lettuce
• Tomato, Sliced
• Portobello Mushrooms, Sliced
• Veganaise
• Avocado

Instructions

Cook hashbrowns and sausage according to package. I use Trader Joe's frozen hashbrowns and they usually cook in about 10 minutes.

I then sauteed the portobello mushrooms with a little bit of oil.

If you are an egg lover, cook the eggs up to your liking.

I made my sandwhich on cracked wheat sourdough, but you can use whatever bread you like. Jams used a bagel for his creation.

Layer the final ingredients on your choice of bread and BAM! Breakfast is served!

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After breakfast, it was off to the showers.  The dogs were filthy!  After their grease bath the other night under the barbecue and now the sand is everywhere; a shower was not even an option!

Before we knew it, it was afternoon... we had to get moving!  Our friends were already having fun celebrating Kristin's Birthday and we were missing margaritas!  

Thankfully it was a short drive... Hello San Diego!  We were staying at the Hilton in Gaslamp and checked in quickly so we could continue our adventure.  We headed out to roam the streets with self made fun beverages in our sippy cups... we had some catching up to do.

We went to a little Mexican restaurant and ate a little food before heading back to the hotel to meet up with our friends.  As soon as we got back, everyone was there!  Yay!  Happy Birthday Kristin♥

Jams made me an amazing Tree Dress for the party.  Took him like three days!  Thanks baby :) 

 Time to go dancing!  We went to Onyx Room and saw our friend Renato Dinis spin... awesome!

What a great weekend having fun with friends :) We had so much fun we thought it might be best to come home and have a nice little Sunday Funday with the pugs... AKA nap day!

family dinner.

Oh man, Happy Friday everyone!  There is something about a Friday that makes it hard to focus... maybe it's the thought of weekend bliss :)

Or maybe it's because I'm reminded of how sweet wine tastes on my lips after a long work day.  Last night, I gotta say, I indulged!

"Family Dinner" as we call it, is when we have our dear friends, Chris and Lizzy, over for dinner.  This used to be a weekly ritual but over time it kind of fell off.  So, last night, we decided it had been long enough!  Time for Family Dinner!

We made some bean burgers (YUM!) and some seasoned fries... so amazing.

The pugs indulged as well... they walked into the kitchen looking all wet.  We were all asking each other who spilled something on them.  Come to find out, they found their way to the grease pan under the barbecue and had a little field day.  Little rascals!

Look at Potato!  He is licking the grease off of Peanut's head... gross and cute all at the same time.

Thankfully it is Friday, I just finished the dishes from last night and am now ready to enjoy my evening.  TGIF!

yes to yoga.

Wow, my whole body is in pain!  Since we have been back from Florida, we have been getting up extra early to do a nice yoga work out. 

I luv yoga.  If you've never tired it, you should!  It is great for your entire body and will really work your core.  I always find that when I am actively doing yoga, my balance and posture are better and my energy is higher.

I would luv to tell you that this picture is me.  It's not :)  This is Shaina... an amazing soul *Muah!

Here's the problem... I am not a morning person.  Trust me, when that alarm is going off the absolute last thing I am excited about is jumping out of bed to exercise.  I am always the one to snuggle under the blankets with the pugs and beg for 10 more minutes...  I will be planking in my slumber, thank you very much! 

 Side note: umm could the pugs take up any more of the bed?!  Must be nice...

Once I get up, I am instantly happy that I did.  Yoga is a great way to start the day.  It gets the blood flowing and I as a result feel like I have so much more energy through out the day! 

I luv that Jams and I are doing it together.  It gives me that added motivation!  Jams likes it too because I am so much happier in the morning... I have been making him breakfast every day! :)

a deeper connection.

After spending a week with my grandparents, Nonny and Poppy, I realized that I need to make a better effort in communicating with my luved ones.  Yes, I am the queen of Facebooking and can text all day but I have really started to lack in verbal communication.  It is seldom that I pick up the phone and call a friend just to chat anymore!

Last week, while Nonny and Poppy were busy reading the newspaper and calling their friends to say hi and see how they're doing, I was checking Facebook to see what my 'friends' were up to and was updating my status so anyone who cared can read it, like it and comment on it.  Can you say, disconnected?!

I got to share Nonny's 79th birthday with her last week.  This was very special for me.  On this day, I was getting ready and could hear her in the other room reading something.  Curious (like always) I walked out and noticed she was reading a birthday card she had received.  I sat down and listened; it was a really nice card from one of her friends.  After she finished reading it, she picked up another card, opened it and began reading out loud.  I looked over and she had about a five inch stack of cards that she had received for her birthday.  All telling her to have a great day and that they luved her and appreciated her as their friend.  I was blown away.  I have never seen that many cards sent to one person in one day.  Talk about inspiration.

I was asking her who sent her all these cards and basically you name it, they sent a card.  Her kids, nieces, life long friends, new friends, neighbors - oh! and her neighbors were bringing her flowers and small little gifts - it was so sweet.  It was like a world wide memo went out that it was her birthday and she was soaking it all in. 

I was blown away by all of this.  I started thinking about how detached I was from most of my friends and family.  I have been totally absorbed in my own world and instantly wanted to reach out.  I have made it a personal goal of mine to talk with my family more and pick up the phone to chat with my friends (yes, I will be calling you!), so be ready.  I am going to be reconnecting with the outside world! 

...is your phone ringing yet? :)

hello florida!

Long time no talk!  I know, I know... I let vacation get the best of me!  But, don't you worry - I'm back!  And all I can say is vacation was awesome!  We just got back from the Sunshine State... Florida; sunburns and all!

I moved to California five years ago (remember!) and when I left, one of my reassurances to my family was that I would be back for the holidays, no matter what.  Obviously, now I am in a relationship; so Jams and I had "the talk" about holidays and we both found it important to be together.  Since his work didn't allow him to take any time off around Christmas, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place to make the decision of maintaining that tradition or creating my own.  It was a personal struggle of mine to make that decision.  I came up with a solution that I thought would work for everyone.  I would go home before Christmas for a few days so I could see my family and then spend the holiday with Jams!  A win-win!  Well, part of my solution was to also go visit my grandparents (let's call them Nonny & Poppy) in Florida sometime in the Spring.  So... here we are!

All Jams keep talking about before the trip was how he couldn't wait to have a mojito.  I swear as long as I have known him, I have never seen him drink one but he swears now that they are his favorite... he's so cute :)

It's always different when you spend time with family when they are in their element.  We really got to capture the moments and see how they live day to day.  I mean, come on!  Look at my grandparents!  Pushin' 80 and they are more active than we are.  Riding bikes everyday, doing water aerobics in the pool... we realized that we definitely need to step it up!  

When I would go visit as a kid, we would always go to the big Flea Market in Daytona Beach.  Look at this place!  It's HUGE!!!  They have food vendors everywhere, and lots of little knickknacks that you impulsively need.  They also have an amazing produce section with all the local fruits and veggies... YUM!!!

It's a good thing we only had one suitcase and hardly any room to bring home souvenirs because these were super cute... I would have bought way too many!!!

I was very spoiled growing up (yes, I said it) and we went to Florida at least twice a year.  I take for granted the small stuff and probably don't appreciate things the same as someone who hasn't been as fortunate.  This being said, Jams has never been to Disney World.  Eeeek!!!  We had to go.

 And just to add... I definitely won on Buzz Lightyear!  I never usually win so I was stoked!  Look at that concentration!

I absolutely luv It's A Small World.  I probably took 100+ pictures in there (I will spare you).  We got lots of cool and unique arts and crafts ideas!  



I thoroughly enjoyed Tom Sawyer's Island and the bridges I had to go across.  Yes, I was acting like a five year old.

LOOK AT ALL THESE STROLLERS.  Sorry to yell, but seriously?! No wonder Disney always seems so crowded... half the walk ways are taken up with them!

And finally, per my sister's request :) we got a caricature!  It actually came out pretty cute!

Family, Disney and Valentine's Day all in one week!  Woah!  This was our first Valentine's Day together!  *Aw* I made Jams a special breakfast with all his favorite things... onions, eggs, mushrooms and peppers.  Can you dig the tomato heart?! 

Nonny and Poppy took us to dinner at The Garlic which was a very cool and yummy Italian restaurant near their condo.  We had many drinks and many laughs.  It was awesome to spend Jams and my first Valentine's Day together with my grandparents who were spending their 64th together.  Let this be a reminder to all of us that true luv is real. 

It just so happened to work out perfectly that my Mom was in Florida too!  Her and my step-dad Will have a condo down on Singer Island which happens to be just a few hours south of us.  Road trip!

Jams made Will a "Work1n" tie to promote his new song Work1n... keep your eyes peeled for these, you might be seeing lots of them in an upcoming music video (foreshadowing...?)!

Anyway, the water was beautiful.  It reminded me of Hawaii, you could see clear down to your feet!  And it wasn't that cold either!

The last night we were there, we went to a restaurant called Seasons 52.  It is an organic restaurant and the cool thing is that their menu changes weekly to highlight the freshest ingredients - brilliant!  It was simply delish!  

Sad to leave the beaches and family, but ready to come home and see the puppies, we left our eight day haven. 

Now that we are home, I am busy planning our next adventure!  San Diego, here we come!!! :)