I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!

WHEW!

OK, here I am, still trying to adjust from my vacation, which was a week ago. I'm barely getting back into my routine.....which means I had my lemon drop last night......have to start the weekend out right!


Let's see if I can take a fast trip through the last two weeks. Below is a small birthday group at work. As you can see, we have a very short staff on Fridays. But, hey, we still know how to party. The cake, made by Little Carol (bet you can guess which one she is by the nickname) was delicious!!! It had so many things in and on it, it must have taken her hours to make! This started my vacation off with just the right kick!
Saturday we were on our way to Lawrence Welk Resort. Arrived about three o'clock, had a little happy hour, and then went to a wonderful dinner at Pechanga Resort and Casino! Shrimp Scampi for me! Gained a couple of pounds, lost a couple of bucks , and headed back to the condo. Sunday, a small group came over to help me celebrate my "real" birthday. Yep, Sunday was the real day (sorry for the confusion Bobby and Megan, who, by the way, don't seem to be privy to that info. Small suggestion.......mark your calendars!!!) We took this great self-timer group shot. Boo Hoo......no Trav, Traci, Zach, Bobby, Rachel, Caleb, or Desiree! JR made us a delicious spaghetti dinner, with a succulent (hey, I'm running out of adjectives) antipasto salad. Can a salad be succulent??? Probaby not.


We finished off that superb spaghetti dinner with a decadent chocolate cake, compliments of the Bradys, and some low-calorie, mid-calorie, and major calorie cupcakes made by my beautiful granddaughter Taylor. She explained that they were frosted accordingly.......low-cal, no frosting; mid-cal, outer edge frosting; and major cal, completely frosted. Well, it's not hard to guess which I opted for......hey, it's my birthday, it's my birthday.....I know, you're all pretty sick of that little diddy!

Don't I look happy??? I couldn't have asked for a better birthday!

We continued our week at Lawrence Welk with a trip to the wineries. We decided it would be more fun if we liked wine, but hey as you can see from the pics below, we made the best of it!
Donna and Taylor thought they would orchestrate a shot.......but, hey, let's face it......they had a darn good potographer!
Taylor found the cheery little wine maker, and, as you see below, Donna and I found the bar!!

Cindy, from work, told me about this fabulous winery (Wilson Winery) where they put your taste of champagne in dark chocolate EDIBLE cups. Naturally, this was a must for Donna and I, who happen to be chocoholics. Believe me, it did not disappoint. And, for Taylor, they filled her cup with sparkling cider! Not so good for the diet, since we indulged in two of these tastes!

Wednesday, it was off to the races. OK, didn't make much money there, but had a great time! Thursday, Donna and I visited the mall and did a little power shopping. Friday to the movies to see Bourne Ultimatum, and then over to the the Indian Casino (Pala) where I actually made a few bucks for a change!

Saturday we left for home, and would have gotten there at a decent hour if we hadn't decided to meet our friends, Janet and Jerry, at Happy Hour (yes, it should be capitalized, it's important!). Then from Happy Hour, where, by the way, I got turned onto a new drink......they call it a Cherry Martini, but what it is, is cherry flavored rum with a splash of grenadine. I will be on a new quest for these ingredients soon, it was off to dinner, a little gambling, and home at ten!!!

Now, this Friday, my three good friends from work and I had our annual birthday party celebration. Cindy and Carol prepare a special feast for Barb and I. As you can see below we had a great time. We have done this for about four years now, and it is a good time with great friends and luscious food. Cindy made us a wonderful chicken enchilada casserole, and taco salads. Carol topped it off with my favorite dessert............brownies, ice cream and hot fudge. A good time was had by all!

Cindy had set this gorgeous table for us!



The girls were having a fit while I was trying to get this picture...........THEY WERE HUNGRY...ESPECIALLY LITTLE CAROL!


Is this to die for, or what??? What a creation, and we each get to create our own!!!

So, as you can see, life is grand. This weekend is R&R, and catching up!!! Hey, good for me! I FINALLY GOT A LIFE, AND IT'S FUN!! Until later...

Ciao, Baby!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!! AUGUST 12, 19??

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY-----------JUST IN CASE YOU ALL FORGOT!!! TEE HEE

I'VE BEEN CELEBRATING ALL WEEK AT WORK!! THE PEOPLE I WORK WITH ARE SO NICE AND THOUGHTFUL................THEY'RE THE GREATEST!

Until next time,

Ciao Baby!

HELP PICK MY GRANDDAUGHTER'S NAME

Trav put a poll on his blog site to help them choose a name for the baby. Please go cast your vote at:

ttzearly.blogspot.com or click on their link from this site.

Unfortunately, we can't add our own suggestions. If you have one, though, you can place it on my blog. But, please cast a vote on theirs, using the names they have chosen. I'm not sure our opinions will mean diddly squat.......but who knows, if your name wins, you'll think it's because of you!

Thanks for the help,

Until later,

Ciao Baby!

IT'S SUPPOSE TO BE ALL ABOUT ME, BUT....

Just a little useful info first (it goes with the pic) [I've never made one before, but have drank a few]:

Lemon Drop Martini

2 ounces vodka

1 ounce Triple Sec

2 ounces Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix

1 teaspoon superfine sugar

2 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Ice cubes

Superfine sugar for dipping

Twisted peel of lemon

Place the sugar and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker. Swirl the shaker around so that both ingredients are mixed thoroughly. Add ice cubes. Add the vodka, triple sec and margarita mix, and shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass. Pour strained liquor into sugar-rimmed martini glass and garnish with a twisted peel of lemon.

NOTE: To create a sugar-rimmed glass, take a lemon wedge and rub the drinking surface of the glass so it is barely moist. Dip the edge of the glass into sugar. (This is the best part, make sure and do it)
Makes 1 serving.

HEY, I WANT TO MAKE SURE MY BLOG IS INFORMATIVE, AS WELL AS ENTERTAINING!

OK, I've just about had it. JR is beginning to steal my thunder, and I don't like it one little bit. Yes, he has turned into the big winner in the family! It seems that lately, everytime we go gambling, he wins, and I don't. Now most of you who know me, know that I have always been pretty darn lucky and win most of the time. Well, it seems the tides have shifted, and something appears to be screwed up in this cosmic universe......John's winning and I'm not! You know, I was actually happy for him the first couple of times, but now it is really starting to get on my nerves, and the more he wins, the more he wants to keep gambling. Hello..................did you notice I'm not winning............you are starting to cost me money............worse yet, he doesn't seem to care. Well, I shall keep contemplating this lastest delimma, and try to figure out what "fun" thing I can do while he continues to gamble. My wife-in-law suggested drinking more lemon drop martinis, and it's starting to sound like a pretty good idea! So, this about covers my Friday night, except that we did have a very nice time meeting our friends for drinks at the Gourmet Room. I decided to start celebrating my birthday a little early, thus the reason for even drinking the lemon drops, as well as the cranberry martini, and the sea breeze. Hey, when you're sitting right in front of the bartender watching him make the drinks, you figure you might as well try a few. And the appetizer of mussels..........out of this world...........all in a wonderful garlic butter sauce. Boy, all of a sudden it just hit me.......how many pounds do you think this put on?

Oh, here's an interesting fact..........you can't get a battery for a Passat in this entire area. Yes, my battery went out and I purchased one at Sam's Club which was listed to fit a Passat. Well, the Passat manual says to make sure the dimensions are exactly the same as the original battery. When we got home, they weren't. We called several places, no one carries batteries for a Passat. So we called the dealer in Henderson and they said "$121!" I said, "John, it is time for your Mexican ingenuity to kick in (he's good at that). He said he could get it to fit, but he hated to start jacking up my car that way. I told him as along as there is no permanent damage, go for it. Well, he has the battery in, it works just fine, and eveyone is happy (at least, until the smaller battery comes flying out of the car!)

Now, most of you who know me, know that I roller skate (quads) and had an unfortunate accident when I first got my new skates about 1-1/2 years ago. Flew up in the air and come down hard on concrete. The wheels move when you are tyring to stand still......what's up with that? Well, I have been trying to figure out a way to slow them down ever since then, and have gotten really serious since my back and hip have been hurting. I decided the reason my hip hurts so bad is because I'm scared to death I'm going to fall again! Well after emailing a couple of skating places, about changing out the bearings, etc., one of them suggested I tighten the wheels. Who in the heck knew you could do that, for crying out loud!!! Well, guess what? Problem solved, it was an absolutely genuis idea!!! They are much slower now, which works for me, hey, what's the use of using them to exercise if you barely have to push with your legs......this will be better all the way around.

Did you all know that Traci (daughter-in-law) had her ultrasound and the baby is definitely a girl, which it well should be for the price!!! They want to take the baby on the day after Thanksgiving, but so far Traci is having none of that. I'm not sure why, but we shall see. Our older son said to remind his brother that there are a lot of football games on that day, but I surely don't think that would be Traci's reason. I have now probably given her incentive to let them go ahead and take the baby the day after Thanksgiving!!

Tomorrow we go out to lunch with Trav, Traci, and Zach. Then, guess what, JR wants to gamble! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Zach is starting school on Monday, so he is excited about that!! I'm anxious to see how he likes it, as he will be going five days a week, 9 to 2. Long day for a little kid.

We leave on Saturday for the condo at Lawrence Welk. I am so looking forward to it. I just have to make it through 32 hours more of work, and then I am out of here for some rest and relaxation!!! I can hardly wait. The only bummer this year is that Trav, Traci, Zach, Bobby, Rachel, and Caleb will not be joining us. We will miss them......we may be a bit dysfunctional, but we all love each other. Oh well, we will have Megan, Tim, and Ryan, so there is still enough people to get on each other's nerves. We will be touring some of the wineries in Temecula and hitting the Del Mar Races. Other than that, no plans, just whatever the heck we want to to. Taylor will be coming up to spend a few days, so we are excited about that.

Wow, I better go start packing!

Until later,

Ciao Baby!