We're Back...

WE HAD A SUPER-SPECTACULAR time!!! Even after living out of a suitcase for 16-days, I wasn't ready to come home yet!

I have over 1000 photos from Chris's, Cheryl's and my cameras. Don't worry, I won't share them all here, lol! I still need to sort through them all and pick out the best ones... it's tough when I'm at work during the day, and can't stay awake past 7pm! Yeah, jet lag is making my week difficult. I've also caught a cold...

The rumor is that someone started the trip with a cold, and as our host said... "when someone gets a cold on the bus, in 5 days EVERYONE will have a cold." Well, it wasn't 5-days, but it did spread to almost everybody. Cheryl was one of the first to succumb... she got the cold in Florence. After Cheryl got sick, Jim, Chris and I ran straight to the nearest Italian Farmacia and got some cold medicine for Cheryl and Zinc for the rest of us (BTW, "zinc" is still "zinc" in Italian). Chris got sick after that, but since he was taking zinc, he didn't get anywhere near as bad as Cheryl did. But, a cold wasn't enough to keep Cheryl down... she stayed on the road touring with the rest of us.

By the time we got to Greece, our host, Fabrizio, made an observation... He said, "By now most people would be comparing souvenir purchases and passing biscuits and crackers to each other across the aisle of the bus. This group is comparing what they bought from the pharmacy and passing cough drops." Oh, and BTW, Fabrizio got the cold too (but not until we got to Greece). He was supposed to go on vacation right when he finished our tour. I'm sure he's thanking us for that... NOT!

I'll start posting pictures of our trip soon. I just need to make it through this week. They saved all my work for me (nice of them isn't it?). Now I have two releases to do that were due last week. UGH! I want to be home in bed... at least I didn't come down with the cold until I got home. Jim is the only one that didn't get sick. After all of his years working with the public, he's pretty much immune to everything.

I ran out of pages in my journal, and had to journal my last day on a separate piece of paper. I need to add more pages and rewrite my last day. I also have some pictures that I want to add.

Stay tuned for photos and commentary!

I'll leave you with a piece of wisdom from Chris on How to Pack:
"Put on your two cleanest things and throw everything else in the suitcase."

What's for dinner?

Cheryl had to work tonight so Chris made dinner. Tonight we had: Stuffed Red Peppers with Chicken and Orzo; 4 ingredients, prep time 5 minutes, cook time 5 minutes. So 10 minutes to the table and just a little longer into our tummies! YUM!

My Travel Journal

I made myself a journal for our trip to Italy and Greece. This is one trip that I don't want to forget!

Is this the last family vacation? Maybe... maybe not... This page is about that and how we decided where to go.

These pages aren't finished yet and won't be until we go. The left page is about what we are taking. The right page is going to be a running schedule of the day, in TWEET format, hahaha!

Last Saturday, we were at the LA Colosseum watching Galaxy lose badly to Real Madrid. It was fun thinking that in just a week we would be at the Colosseum in ROME!

Now we are busy busy busy getting ready for the trip!
FOUR MORE DAYS until we leave!!!

Another celebrity look alike?

We have another celebrity look alike in the family... or so some people say... lol! What do you think?

It's a doggie beach day!

It's a June Gloom morning, but that didn't stop the crew from heading out to Doggie Beach.

This is Jena's first trip to the beach... there are so many new smells...

... holes to dig...

... and waves to chase...

Jena loves doggie beach!

Don't you Jena?

What's for Dinner?

Cheryl had help tonight with dinner! Yep, invite the cousin over to spend the night and put her to work, hehehe...

Tonight, the girls made... Greek Pasta Salad with prosciutto, artichokes and feta cheese. YUM!

... AND for the main course... Olive, Red Pepper, and Arugula Pizza on whole wheat pizza crust. This was delicious!!!

Now the kiddos have settled down for a Red Box movie marathon. They got Green Hornet, Beastly and Unstoppable. That should keep them busy for a while {grin}...

Is this ART?

Cheryl and I took an Art Journal class last week at the Carson Stamp show. It's kind of new, kind of different, and a lot of FUN! This first one is Cheryl's creation:

I'll have to admit that I didn't think that I would like it that much. Do the pictures give you the creeps? BUT, after working with them, they have a charm and a mood... which leads to a message (hence the journal part).

The whole process was rewarding. And even though you won't find my girl hanging on the wall at my house, she still has a place in my heart (and on the first page of my art journal).

Celebrity Look-alike?

My friend from work brought her 14yr daughter to the 4th of July race. She thinks that Chris is so CUTE!... and that he looks like T.L. (I'm not going to type his name because I'm afraid my blog will get found by the crazies).

Chris thinks that she's delusional. But, what do you think? Maybe a little around the nose? lol!

Summer Card Camp - week 2

It's week 2 of summer card making class! And here is the color combo for the week:

It's hard to see the glaze in the flat light, but it's there... I love the extra shine it adds to the card.

What's for Dinner?

Since Jim is working late on Tuesday and Thursday, Cheryl has been making dinner for Chris, herself, and me. I give her $20 a week to spend at the market, plus she can use anything we have at home. For dinner tonight she made Mediterranean Chicken with Feta Cheese and Sun Dried Tomatoes:

Add an arugula and spinach salad with Champagne Pear Vinaigrette dressing... YUM!!!

Thank-you for the GREAT dinner, Cheryl!

Lake Forest Firecracker 5K

Chris, I and a few people from my lunch time running group ran the Lake Forest 5K on the 4th of July. It was downhill out and uphill back... UGH!

Poor Chris hasn't run for 4-5 weeks and had a tough race. There were a lot of boys running in his age group!

Chris
men 15-19: 36/77
time: 23:24.5
pace: 7:33
men : 108/505
overall: 144/1096

...and me! I came in 1st place in my age group. We really should remember to wait for the award ceremony to find out if we won a medal.

Me
Women 50-54: 1/41
time: 24:29.0
pace: 7:54
women: 53/591
overall: 181/1096