Ouch

I decided I need to get into shape. I'm flabby and blah. My friend D is a fitness freak and really motivates me, so I couldn't just stand around and watch her be active while I do nothing. I whipped out my bike on Saturday and we went down to Newport Beach/Huntington Beach for a ride along the coast. Coming from MN, this was a new experience for me. It was so nice out and the scenery was so beautiful! (D has pics...if she ever uploads them). We rode 6 miles while our friend Sara ran about 4. Go Sara! It was such a nice, easy ride that I thought I could step it up on Sunday when J and I went out.

Sunday was a whole new world. We rode out 5 miles from the house on the bike trails. About halfway out, I realized...wow...this is all downhill and so easy. That means the way back is going to suck big time. 5 miles of uphill riding. No, not just a little uphill, a little flat. It's ALL uphill. I was dying. I couldn't breath, and my legs didn't want to work any more. I had to get off the bike twice and walk it for a minute or two, and J had to push me along 2 or 3 times. I did it though! I was so proud of myself for making that ride and not giving up! I plan to do this same ride every Sunday, and hopefully it'll be a cake walk.

Anyway, on to the ouch part. I was already sore and stiff when I woke up today, but needed to start the 30 day shred (a workout dvd by Jillian from The Biggest Loser). Wowsa. I can feel my abdominals like never before. My legs are killing me as well. It sucks that I'm so sore, but I'm so glad I can feel it. It means it's working!! I better have 6 pack abs and buns of steel soon.

Vegas Part 3

So now to the final trip to Vegas in the past 30 or so days. J was offered a trip to Vegas to represent his company and to hang out at the Rockstar US Open in Vegas on Friday and Saturday night. We left Friday afternoon and arrived in time to grab a snack, gamble a little (and lose) and get ready for the event. For those of you not in the motorcycle industry, the US Open kicks off the motocross season for the coming year.


We were there to cheer on our newest member to the team James Stewart.


He is the fastest guy out there right now, and won every race he was in both days by a landslide. The main race on Saturday was awesome because James and Chad Reed were battling it out almost the entire race but Chad choked (haha) and crashed out. We ended up heading to a fast food restaurant in the MGM Grand (where the event was held, and where we stayed.) Jason was sweet and got us a room in the wing we stayed at when we got married there. We gambled and lost some more after that and headed up to the room for the night. We knew Saturday night would be the big night.

On Saturday we walked the Vegas strip and did some shopping. We decided to go out to a decent dinner before the event rather than after and we picked the Grand Wok at the MGM Grand. Once seated, J decided to take it upon himself to order a bottle of unfiltered sake. I almost had a heart attack when the waiter left. I told him he better pray they don't open that bottle before they bring it back to the table. J, I guess, was uneducated in sake. Luckily, the guy brought it back to the table before opening and I asked him to show me which bottle it was from the menu and sure enough, it was the most expensive unfiltered bottle they had at $165.00. I told him we didn't need that much and picked out a less expensive bottle at $35.00. Since it was a company event, we were trying to keep it under $100.00. Here is our less expensive ghetto bottle of sake:


After dinner we changed into our lovely motocross-ish clothes (I didn't want to go overboard like some people there do) and donned our VIP passes bitches! Yes, we got to hang with all the celebrities that were there. This is the only outfit of J's I can show you that doesn't shout where he works in Nascar fashion.



We were hanging out in the VIP section talking and about to get ready to leave to go to our seats in the arena and I turn around and who is standing 2 feet away from me...none other than Cary Hart. Swoon. For those that don't know him, he is a former motocross rider, co-owns Hart and Huntington in Vegas, and is Pink's ex husband. This picture is not from that night because it was like catch 22. He was standing right there and I had my camera, but I felt like I would lose my cool factor (yeah, like I have one of those anyways) if I whipped out my camera and got all giddy and asked him for a picture. This picture I believe is from the motocross in Anaheim at the beginning of this year.

J's best friend from the Marines and his wife met us there to hang out. After the event, we went to this cozy awesome little bar in the MGM Grand called the West Wing Bar. If you are ever looking for a chic, quiet, place to have drinks and hang out and talk, this is the place. They have couches all over the place in little sections and it doesn't have that club feel at all. It's way in the back of the hotel by the West Wing (where we stayed) so not many people know about it and it doesn't get overly crowded.


So that was my last trip to Vegas for a while. I'm sort of over it. Our next big trip will be to Japan in April!! So excited. Until then, I'll have to find some boring details of my life to write about!

Vegas Part 2

Ok, I said I lost my winning mojo, yet on the last post, I won lots of money. Well, that's because I lost my mojo on the last TWO trips. Trip one paid off in that my trip was paid for in cash for the most part besides what I gambled away. I know stupid. No new shoes, bag, anything? Nope. Nothing to show for it, other than I didn't pay for the trip. I'm a slight bit stupid sometimes. I only last money on the last 2 trips, so I won't even discuss it. Because it makes me sad.

So on to trip 2 to Vegas. This was the last weekend of September for Jess' 30th birthday. There were 4 of us in our car, and we left Saturday morning. We stopped at Crapdonald's for breakfast on the way out. I ordered a sausage mcmuffin without the sausage. So that would include egg, cheese, and said muffin. Here is what was in mine when I opened the wrapper:


Not a good start to my trip. Bastards. We arrived about 1pm, just in time for most of the girls to go down to the pool. (Although we ate the buffet as referenced below....but I can't remember if it was pool or buffet first.) Mrs. FGD and I were tired, so we took a nap instead of heading to the pool to hang out with the cool kids. I was on meds at that time that made me really sleepy.

The cool girls at the pool.

The plan was to go to dinner and then to Prive at Planet Hollywood. Some where along the way, our plans got a little mixed up. We ate the buffet late enough in the afternoon, that come dinner time, none of us were hungry. We decided to meet the birthday girl at the club once they arrived and party the night away. Well, we drank a lot. A lot. The birthday girl and the others decided waiting in line to get into the club was not a fun option, so they hung out at this really cool low key bar in the hotel and we didn't get to meet up with them. I was so sad when I ran into the birthday girl later in the night after being there for her and not hanging with her! I hope she understood that our plans got all messed up, and I'm pretty sure she had a blast regardless!! She looked amazing for her big 3-0 (welcome to the club!) The purple girls and Marianne in her black and red ;) were rocking Vegas with their hotness...oh...and some men were there too. (If you wonder why D and I are in jeans...well, we were drunk by this point and had changed out of our clothes from the club):



FDG, D, Kim and I all spent a few hours at Prive dancing and drinking after waiting in line to get in for well over an hour. We had a lot of fun...some of us...too much. (ahem...not me). I was the good one. ;) I spent a few hours making sure D didn't get into any fights with the hotel staff, etc. We had one close call.
The McCain children. Please note FGD's yellow purse that I covet. If it goes missing....I didn't do it.


Here is what a self portrait looks like after many cocktails. Either that or FDG and I discriminate against Asians?

Sunday was not so pretty. Some were more hung over than others, but I think fun was had by all regardless of how they felt the next day. We had a long drive home, or what felt like a long drive anyway. Overall, it was a really fun trip. I hadn't been out to a club in ages. I felt like once I hit 25...clubbing was all over for me. But not in Vegas...anything goes there. Thanks for the fun time ladies!

Happy Anniversary (a day late!)

To my amazing friend Jen. I met Jen while working in San Francisco. We've since both moved away and I miss her something fierce!! She lives in India with her husband now but will be here next month to visit and stay with me for a few days!

Two years ago, J and I were in Hawaii at the Turtle Bay Resort for Jen's wedding by the ocean. So beautiful. It was an amazing wedding and so much fun. Luckily she got married on the 14th, because the 15th (2 years ago today) brought us a rather large earthquake that shut down power to all of the islands. It also rained the entire day, so we had no power in our hotel, and we couldn't explore outside!! It was a bit of a pain at the time, but now I look back and love it because we have a story to tell about your adventure to Hawaii to see Jen and A.

I miss you Jen and can't wait until you visit. Did someone say Target??

Vegas Part 1

I seem to have a love hate relationship with Vegas. I have been there 3 times in the past month. Hell, I even got married in Vegas. I absolutely love to go there. So where does the hate come in you ask? Losing money, dry air, losing money, etc. Ask most people who've been there with me and they will tell you that I'm lucky when it comes to gambling there. I always win. Well, that was until recently. You can thank the recession....or Bush, or whoever, but Vegas is no longer paying out. My last 2 visits were big fat losers in the gambling department, but thank God they were much higher up on the fun scale, so this made up for it.

Trip #1 to Vegas.

J was out there for a business meeting for a week, so I met him out there for the weekend since it's only a 3.5 hour drive. I found out we were staying at The Mirage. I was a bit disappointed because I thought it was an older run down hotel, but man, was I wrong. Here is a pic of our relatively cool, modern, yet messy room:


This trip was not high up on the fun scale because I was by myself most of the time, but it was high up on the winning scale. Here is what I turned $20.00 into:


Too bad most of it went back to the casino. I did have 2 days by myself with lots of time on my hands as my excuse. I also passed the time with self portraits, room service and walking around exploring. Like I said...not high on the excitement scale.

Oh, and before I wrap it up, FGD...this photo is for you:

Part 2 and 3 to come tomorrow....It took me a frackin hour to figure out my photos on this mac and get them posted here. I promise you....chapters 2 and 3 are much more exciting.

Wow...is all I can say...

And not in a good way. I have to say, I'm very scared for what is in store for us as Americans. People are now killing themselves and their families because of financial troubles. What? Life isn't all about money. As long as you have other people around you, you will get through this. Trust me, I know it sucks, personally. I just don't understand what this world is coming to. It's very scary. Here's another example: We had tickets on Sun Country airlines to fly to MN in August. We didn't go so we got a credit. Well guess what....they filed for bankruptcy today. They are still flying while they reorganize, so I checked for flights to MN for Christmas. A ticket that used to be about $400.00 for both of us, is now $1400.00. WHAT!!! A thousand dollar increase in a year. That is beyond crazy. I just can't fathom how bad things are going to get. I need to stop watching the news. Being someone who has been affected by this economy in more than one way, I know how frustrating it can be and how it stresses you out. Everyone stick together and things will work out in one way or another. No more drastic measures people. It doesn't solve anything! Ok, my random vent is over for the day!

The VP Debate Drinking Game

From the lovely ladies on the nest...

From here


Here are the Rules - You have to take a drink every time Palin:

• references how you can see Russia from Alaska and calls it "experience"
• winks or gives a thumbs up to the audience
• says a world leader's name, two drinks if it's pronounced correctly.
• says any of these words/phrases:

1. Alaska
2. Bridge to Nowhere
3. job creation
4. Washington elite/establishment
5. media elite
6. corporate greed
7. pitbull
8. lipstick
9. maverick

• leaves off a trailing "g" - takin', leavin', changin', etc.

• Any time Palin answers a question, and someone at your party blurts out "WTF is she talking about?"

• When Palin claims that Washington's problems can be solved by small town know how and common sense: Drink a Labatt Blue as you read up on how to become a Canadian citizen.

• When Palin claims she said "Thanks but no thanks" to the Bridge to Nowhere: Demand a new drink from your hosts, say "thanks but no thanks," and then when no one's looking, take it anyway, then claim you never wanted it.

• When Palin recounts putting the governor's jet on eBay: Auction off a beer to your friends

• When Palin insists that governing a small town in Alaska is in fact experience: Give your friend a shot glass of beer when he/she asks for a pint and insist it's the same thing.

• When Palin talks about being the most popular governor in the country: Go to a room by yourself, realize you're the most popular person in the room, then finish your drink.