Writing on the Wall

Saturday night after our flight got in we headed to the hotel and waited for the final couple to get in.  We entered our room and found that it was breathtaking.  Three bedroom, three bathroom on the second to the top level.  The balcony alone was worth it.  The ocean views were amazing and we overlooked downtown Puerto Vallarta. 

After everyone got into town, the girls sent the boys to the local Wal-Mart to get necessities for the week (ie.: beer, milk, cereal, tequila) while the girls got into the Jacuzzi and had some margaritas from the happy hour 2 for 1.  Once the guys got back we had this:

The poor bell hop looked like he was going to die pushing that cart.  But I was happy to have a Sol to watch him unload. 

Sunday we got up late, went to the gym to try and stay at least a little bit above the curve (don't worry, I never saw the inside of the gym again during the week) and headed down to the beach.  Matt and I ordered some guacamole and quesadillas and proceeded to scarf it down after the workout.  Then it was out to the ocean to boogie board for a while.  I am awesome by the way.  After I was fully entertained we headed to the pool to partake in the slides.  It was awesome going down!  Apparently they are meant for the kids, but we adults had quite a good time.  The boys had competitions with beer.  Who can get down the slide and not lose a drop of beer?  Can you do it head first?  Can you do it with your eyes closed?  After the fun we sent them on to jet ski while the girls napped by the pool.

Tomorrow: our drive into the city for dinner and the restaurant that never was.

Hello from Phoenix!  I hate being here!  We had such a great time in Puerto Vallarta.  I can't believe that it is over.  We just did about everything and had a fantastic time doing off the wall activities. 

 We showed up to an unbelievable sky line.  It set us up for quite the week.

I am sure you will see plenty more stories here about our amazing adventure, but for now I thought I would check in and let you know we are alive and well!

I was shamed into posting. . . . but really Matt and I haven't been around much these last few months.  We have been out of town every third week for a while.  San Diego, Las Vegas and now Vail!  Here are some pictures from our Vail trip.

Matt and I headed to Vail for a friend's wedding.  Monique and John were married on top of the mountain at Vail.  We celebrated with family and friends and fully enjoyed the sights.  No skiing, but plenty of things to do.  Matt went mountain biking while I shopped.  We partied every night and found some great Colorado microbrews. 

  .

Here is a look at the Lebertinis that were served at the reception. They were made specifically for the bride and groom as his name is "Leber".  With vodka, triplesec, and pineapple.

At the reception they gave us a beautiful wine bottle enscribed with their names and commemorating the day.  

Which Matt's drunk ass subsequently broke. Don't worry, we got another one later and it made the trip home just fine.

We had a great time and really enjoyed the city.  We can't wait to go back and see it in the winter time.  We hope to ski Vail soon.  That means we need Kelli's help with her brother's house.  Hook a friend up! ;) 

Next trip - Puerto Vallarta!  We leave in just over a week for an 8 day trip.  After that - Rocky Point!  And then we are home for a little bit.  But then comes Thanksgiving and Christmas, and hopefully Ski season!

I joined my girlfriend’s crafting swap this last month.  Last week I sent a package to my partner in New Zealand.  One thing I have learned – after hours of work on the sewing machine I am no where as good as my partner.  But I sent off the following to my wonderfully crafty partner and hope she enjoys!

The first I did was a green bag.  Melissa told me that she likes green, so I chose the fabric to match her wants.  Also – the color and the bands of design made me like of the armed saguaro cactus taking over the Arizona desert.  I love it.

Secondly I made a little funky bag from browns and pinks.  I thought it was a nice change and enjoying current fashion, so I went with it.  To add up the glam factor I added a little bauble on the back.

I am super super nervous and hope she likes!

Matt and I went with some friends to Vegas this past weekend.  We were going with a big group of people to enjoy sin city and celebrate me being done with school.  Because we had such a great time, this week will be spent with fun stories from our travels. 

Supposedly the brunch at the Aladdin has been voted the best brunch of Las Vegas.  It is quite apparent why it is so loved. Foods from every genre, plenty of choices for even the pickiest of eaters (including myself) and plenty of alcohol if you so chose.  The regular brunch is $29 but if you add champagne it goes to $34.  We decided why would ever do it without the champagne?  So we indulged. 

Over excess was top on the menu.  On the top of Matt’s list: dozens of crab legs, a couple of oysters on the half shell, smoked salmon, fruit, and yogurt cups. Mine started with the following: 1 slice of pizza, fruit, and small thing of fettuccini alfredo.  I then came to the realization that eating bread was the wrong way to go.  I would never make my money back if I kept with the carbs.  What we needed was MEAT. LOTS AND LOTS of MEAT.  Two pieces of prime rib later and I was starting to feel pretty good.  I tried the asparagus – not so good.  Time to move for the deserts – chocolate croissants to die for, spice cake, crème puffs, and tarts.  It was then, after being fully stuffed I recognized that I had never seen another part of the room.  Middle eastern, salads, Mexican and other choices went untouched.  I was slightly disappointed in myself, but I decided that I got enough to declare me a gluttonous waste of a person and successfully happy.

The Food Part 1

The Food Part 2

But wait?  What about the champagne? 

That is a whole other story in itself.  We had expected to receive mimosas at the table, but were instead brought straight champagne.  For some reason this seemed terribly wrong.  Quickly we asked for a change (after two glasses of straight champagne) and figured out the trick: an attentive waiter.  At one point I lost track of how many glasses were filled.  I thought it was somewhere around four but apparently it was closer to six.  And that wasn’t the end.  We sat down at another group’s table (there were so many of us they spilt us up) and continued to drink a few more glasses.  By the time I was ready to leave I was full and happy.  What a way to start your day in Vegas. 

Final assessment:  The buffet is worth it on day one of your trip.  You have to fully enjoy the alcohol consumption and food, and the only way to ensure adequate amounts is to guarantee you will walk at least 7 miles after you have finished eating.  That and you should make sure you have enough time to play the tables to make your money back.  But that is a story for another time.

Double Down on Eleven,

RLDW

I DID IT. I GRADUATED.

I took the last year off from running.  I kept saying that it was because of school taking up so much of my time and not having enough energy after late night classes to work it into my schedule.  That was a lie.  Really I was tired and unmotivated to continue.  After 7 marathons, countless half-marathons, and 1 60-mile walk; I couldn’t continue.  I wanted to know what it was like to not watch the sun rise from the road on a Saturday morning.  I wanted sleep.  And sleep I got.  I also got something I didn’t expect – a roll around my belly, and yearning for the road.

A couple of weeks ago I picked up my shoes again and started some 5-milers in the evening with my sister and husband.  Then I went out for a run on my own.  And then I made the ultimate commitment: I BOUGHT NEW SHOES. 

Yeap the credit card came out, the purchase is made, and the shoes are on their way.  We are thinking that this year we will do the inaugural run in Disneyland, followed by the marathon in Phoenix in January.  I’ve gotten the itch and it feels oh-so-good.

San Juan watch out, here I come.

Holy Crap.  I just won my NCAA pool.  The sky has fallen, the world is coming to an end.  The girl with no idea about sports just totally kicked the asses of 23 other people.  I have so many points at the final four that no one can catch me.  I SO ROCK! And now I have some cash . . . mmmm Vegas here I come.

Road rash was experienced in several ways through our household this last week. 

1.  I had traffic school.  I found out the hard way that running a red light can be bad, especially when they have the photo cameras there.  It actually wasn’t too bad, but I am looking forward to not doing that again.  The picture is a classic in which you can obviously tell that I was yelling an expletive as the camera took my picture.  What makes the moment better than having a permanent reminder of what you were yelling at the time? 

2. Matt found that the road hurts when you hit it falling off of your bike.  He hit some sand, couldn’t turn, and took a dive.  He has scrapes from the top of his right shoulder to his calves.  For a few nights he actually only took up his portion of the bed because he couldn’t move his body from the pain.  Best night sleep I have gotten in a while.  I took pictures of his bruises on his thighs and will post on flickr once I get that figured out on this new handy dandy computer. (UPDATE - figured it out all on my own!  Here are some cool pictures of the bruises)

3.  And to continue road thoughts – where do old people who drive fast come from?  Isn’t that completely off the curve?  I was driving into work on side streets minding my own business.  Phoenix is a nightmare in the mornings on the road so I just take the back roads into work.  It probably takes me like 5 minutes less and I have no stress with traffic.  I love it.  However part of this drive has me dodge through a Indian reservation to get into work.  Typically anyone is told not to speed in the Indian Reservations because they have their own systems.  So I try to watch the speed.  But I pull up to this light and this really old woman is revving her engine next to me.  And I think this can’t be right because she just doesn’t fit the type.  So of course I chose to try and beat her off the line, because what other option do I have?  I have to show her that she doesn’t own the road.  But what do you know, the woman in the Buick Lesabre totally beats me!  She gunned it and totally took off, I couldn’t keep up!  So lady with the lead foot, my perspective has changed, and I definitely won’t be trying to beat you again.

Have a good weekend!

RLDW