Entry 8

YAY!  I am so very proud of my husband and he did in fact win the Cresset Sales award with his company which means in 8 weeks we are heading to Rome!!  We submit our itinerary for our excursions this Friday and I am certain it will be a trip of a lifetime.  I am still very apprehensive about leaving my little girls for so long, we plan to extend a day or two so the longest we will be gone is 9 days.  They will be more than well taken care of with my Dad and his wife, however I have never been away longer than a weekend and my fear of flying intensifies it all, but I have to find a way to put my anxieties to rest because I know it is going to be amazing. 

Our itinerary as it stands now is as follows -

The first few days of travel we are going to do something on our own...we are still up in the air on whether that will be Venice or Naples, but then we arrive in Rome July 29th.  Day 1 in Rome consists of a walking tour near the hotel (The Westin Excelsior right in the heart of the city) and a welcome dinner.  Day 2 will be a half day tour of Imperial Rome which includes the Colosseum, Spanish Steps and Catacombs.  Day 3 is a day trip to Florence which is one of the things I am very excited about as it looks very beautiful from the research I have done.  I am probably even more excited for Day 4 which begins with a Day trip to Pompeii and ends with a private tour that night of the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel (how amazing will that be!!), Day 5 will be a half day visit to the Villa Borghese, an art museum that I believe has quite a bit of Caravaggio's work on display.  The rest of the day is ours to do some lesuirely site seeing and then a final dinner party that night.  We leave back for home the next day!  Absolutely everything is paid for from all our transportation, entertainment, food and lodging which has to be one of the best parts about it :) I am looking forward to being completely immersed in the history, culture and beauty of Italy that is for sure.

Entry 7

If I could give up one vice of mine it would be procrastination.  I try and be coy and say "I work best under pressure", but that is only an excuse. I am fully aware that if I just got the things done early that I don't necessarily want to do it would lift a huge weight off my chest, but even though I am aware of that I still procrastinate.  Whether it be with this set of work out videos I need to start doing or a paper I have due very soon.  I would love to understand how its so easy to" put off for tomorrow what I should be doing today"?!   This past weekend was a prime example, this was the first weekend in a long time we had absolutely nothing on the agenda and it would have been a great time to catch up on a few things I have been putting off, did I do that though..no! Why is it so easy to realize the problem and so hard to solve it? 

On an entirely different note, my husband and I had a date night this past Sunday.  We went to this little brick nightclub called Dragonfly in Hollywood and saw our favorite 80's cover band the Spazmatics.  We saw them years ago and they are hilarious.  Apparently they were such a hit that the band has now been franchised so it may not have even been the same guys we saw years back, but they were still so fun to watch.  They dress up like the actors in the 80's cult classic Revenge of the Nerds and sing all of the recognizable 80's hits.  They are very over the top and silly and it was just a fun night with friends.

Well, off to pick up my little ones from school now and then its really time to get some work done on my research paper! Can't but it off any longer :)

Entry 6

I am so excited to find out next week if we are going to Rome!  This will be my first time out of the country, besides Canada and Mexico and I will be over the moon happy.  Travis is in the running with his company to win a sales award and the prize up for grabs is an all expenses paid 6 day, 5 night trip to Rome end of July.  The biggest downfall is I am absolutely afraid to fly!! It all began around 2003 and it happened during a flight to Michigan for my grandmothers funeral, so maybe there is some connection, but ever since then I am a bundles of nerves months before...during take off...and again at landing.   Another big thing about the Rome flight, besides how long it is, this will be my first time on a plane without the kids and for me that is very unnerving as well.  I am beyond looking forward to the trip and don't plan to let my anxieties get in my way, but if I knew a way to get over this fear I would so be on board for it!  

Entry 5

This post is coming a day late, thanks to good ole' AT&T UVERSE...we have had more trouble with our cable and internet that I always question why we haven't switched providers.  I know part of it is an NFL RedZone channel my husband is only able to get through them, but having uninterrupted, fully-working service for more than a few months is a gift.

Well, besides my AT&T rant, this have been really great.  I had a wonderful weekend, especially celebrating my youngest daughter's 5th birthday.  We had her first birthday party with her friends at her gymnastics studio.  The kids had so much fun and it was great to chat with their parents.  I am often surprised at how much I love Santa Clarita and how it is very much centered around kids and families.  Prior to living here, my daughters were born in Connecticut and then we lived in NYC for a year and for me Santa Clarita has just been the perfect fit.  It is clean, safe, and full of wonderful places and people.  I truly couldn't be happier.  That being said, if Travis, my husband, gets the promotion he is looking to get we could be packing our bags and moving to Chicago for a few years, eek!  I am a go with the flow type of woman and can live anywhere, but I am still slightly apprehensive only because I am so happy that we have made Valencia our home the last three years! 

On a different note, had an MRI today to figure out what has been causing this nagging upper back/chest pain I have had off and on..but mostly on for the last year.  The tech who administered the test said to me when he was done, "Your doctor may want to order an MRI of your neck because I think I see something up there".  This was all he said and I walked out of the building a ball of anxiety wondering what the heck he saw, so I decided to go back in and just ask, to my relief it was just the possibilty of a protruding disc in my neck.  Not that this would be a good thing, but for one it is much better than my worst fears and it is also something that would at least give me an answer to this chronic pain I have been having.  If nothing else my anxiety was just put to rest and that made me happy!

Entry 4

Sometimes I long for the days when we weren't always "connected".   I wonder if all the technology is truely a gift or sometimes if its not a curse.  I guess with the good comes the bad, but even myself I am always logged in, accessible, etc and sometimes I wish I could go back to the days where someone couldn't reach you at any second of the day.  I gave into text messaging about two and a half years ago, before I thought it was silly and never would but I had friends that this was the only way they would communicate with you.  My biggest concern is that face to face conversation is being replaced more and more by talking through text, email, social networking and I think its a deteriment more than a convienience.  I am a believer in everything in moderation and I think the same should be true of technology, but even as I say that I can't say I follow my own advice about it.

Entry 3

This weekend I was reminded to cherish each day because life can be so short.  I logged into my facebook account early Friday and I saw a post from my friend about a member of the Beastie Boys passing away, he was only 47 and a husband and a father - only 47 years old.  I responded to his update by saying "I hate cancer."  Then I found myself sitting in class later that night and all of a sudden I get a phone call and it was letting me know that one of my daughter's classmates mother had passed away from cancer that day.  It was devestating news to hear, she was only in her 40's and have two small girls. Her daughter Ally has been in my daughter Emma's class the last three years.  I felt a connection to this even more because Ally's mom Linda had been a rather private person, however over year ago she mistakenly cc'ed me on an email to her Aunt and in the email it was her diagnosis.  I wrote her back telling her how sorry I was to hear the news and if she needed anything to let me know.  She explained that the only symptoms she had was a pain in her hip when she walked and it turned up with a dignosis of stage four lung cancer, and she had never even smoked a cigarette a day in her life or been around smokers.  That aspect of it haunted me, especially when last year I had this very random pain in my shoulder/chest and it turned me into a bit of a hypochondriac because the doctors couldnt find out why and I would think of Linda.  I checked in to see how she was doing periodically and the most hopeful news came last year when she was responding to treatment.  I did not realize that she had taken a turn for the worse and she spent the last three weeks in hospice.  I am heartbroken for her little girls and it all feels so unfair.  If nothing else it has opened my eyes to not worry about the trivial things in life and focus on what is important.

A Day At Magic Mountain - Photo story

A day at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Santa Clarita, California.   

Friday, April 27th, 2012

 

Santa Clarita is home to one of the largest theme parks in Southern California.  Six Flags Magic Mountain has been open since 1971 and holds the world record for the most roller coasters in a single park.

Iconic cartoon characters, the Looney Tunes, are used as the theme for the attractions geared towards Six Flags younger visitors.

Junior thrill-seekers take to the sky in Tweety and Sylvester ride inside Six Flags Magic Mountain.

Emma age 7 and Sophia age 4 , residents of Valencia, Ca, get ready to ride the newest ride in Bugs Bunny World the Canyon Coaster.

The girls give the Canyon Coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain four thumbs up!

Emma and Sophia were very excited to pose with Bugs Bunny at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

The Swashbuckler is a ride with topsy-turvy, spinning swings,  located in Santa Clarita, CA at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

Emma and Sophia compete to win a prize Friday afternoon at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

The visit to Six Flags Magic Mountain is complete with a final stop at Suzette's Bakery to have one of their famous Funnel Cake Sundaes.