Eric and I had been planning for our families to come visit the week of Labor Day, we had the week off of work and thought it would be a good idea for them to meet for the first time. We decided to have them fly out on Tuesday, the day after Labor Day so we could have the long weekend to relax and get ready for visitors. On the Friday before the weekend, Eric asked me what our plans were and I said not much since we agreed we were not doing anything. I told him I just had some errands to run on Saturday. He asked it I could be done by 11am, I said of course.
The next day I left early in the morning to get stuff done, sneaking in a manicure (just in case). I got home right around 11am and Eric told me to pack a bag for the weekend, he was taking me away on a surprise trip. I definitely was surprised! He wouldn't tell me anything....
An hour later we got in the car and headed to the surprise destination. The only hint I got was that it was some place I had never been. He also said he had made dinner reservations for 8:30 so I knew it was less than 8 hours away. 6 hours later we were in Morro Bay, California. It was beautiful! Eric booked us a room in a small Inn over looking the water. We got settled in and went for a walk on the beach to watch the sunset. We moved around a few times because it was a bit cloudy there but finally found a spot on the rocks. Eric pulled a small box out of his backpack and proposed!
It was perfect, the ring, the words (even though neither of us remember exactly what was said) and the setting. After all that and a couple quick phone calls we had to hurry back to make our dinner reservation which was also at the Inn we were staying at. We went to the restaurant where I noticed the owner looking at my hand, he congratulated us and sat us at their best table and gave us our menus. Inside the menu under appetizers was "The fture Mr. and Mrs. Forand - Priceless", yes you read that right "fture". Eric did not plan that part, it was a nice surprise from the hotel. As I have said before, my life is like a Seinfeld episode and that about summed it up.
That coupled with the bottle of Dom Perignon Eric had chilling in our room was the best night of my life so far! And what I think is the best proposal in history!
Friday, October 21, 2011
The next big adventure
It has been a while since I posted anything, mainly because we have only traveled back to our home states to visit. Not that Michigan and Connecticut are not exciting but we have all heard about those places.
I decided to turn this into a blog about the newest adventure in my life getting married! We probably won't be traveling much this year since we are saving for a wedding and I would like to keep it going. We have been engaged for 7 weeks now and have 358 days until the wedding, well at least the first one.... Which is why I decided this could be somewhat interesting. Stay tuned for the engagement story.
I decided to turn this into a blog about the newest adventure in my life getting married! We probably won't be traveling much this year since we are saving for a wedding and I would like to keep it going. We have been engaged for 7 weeks now and have 358 days until the wedding, well at least the first one.... Which is why I decided this could be somewhat interesting. Stay tuned for the engagement story.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Weekend trip to Michigan & so much more......
Hello blog followers... It has been a while but that is what happens when you go back to work. Although my writer friends would say that is not an excuse.
This weekend I went back to Michigan (my hometown) I flew out on the redeye flight from LAX and landed in Michigan at 6:30am EST. I won't even get into my experience with Spirit Airlines (whom I will never fly with again) but let's just say it was very unpleasant. I got very little sleep on the plane, thank god for the very large glass of $14 wine from the sports bar at LAX or I would have gotten much less.... It started with my uncle (my godfather) picking me up at the god awful hour I arrived with coffee and McDonalds breakfast. I had been so used to waiting at the airport for someone to pick me up at a more reasonable time that I forgot how nice it was for someone to be there waiting when I landed. Thanks Uncle Rick! Then it was off to mom's, it had been 9 months since my last visit so I was really looking forward to this trip. Had more coffee and gave mom her gifts from my S.E. Asia trip and her mother's day present and just caught up a bit.
We headed to the store around 10am to get things ready for the grand opening gala of her new store TaraMaria Fashion Boutique. This was the main reason for my trip, mother's day was just a bonus. It was a success! From 12-6pm it was non-stop, packed with family, friends and strangers checking it out. I got to see people I have not seen in a long time, some even years! I also got to see my friends and some new additions to the family. I was so happy and so proud of my mom for finally fulfilling her dream! It's a ton of work and she is still working her regular full-time job but after this weekend we could see the potential the store has.
After the opening I headed to a friend's house for her son's 2nd birthday (actually this was the after party) and a few other friend's were there. One thing I have learned over the years is that no matter how much time goes by, no matter what ups and downs you may have and how far away you may be the friends you had way before life took over are the friends you will always have and love. I also realized how lucky I am! I have my 2 best friends who have been with me through the years and I also have my good friends who we maybe grew apart during a time when peoples lives were going in different directions but as I sat at the table talking and laughing with them it was as if we never missed a beat. I am lucky because I have the best of both worlds, I have great new friends out here in California, some who have become like family and some actual family but I have the real true friends back in Michigan (and Ohio). The ones that loved you back then, when you had a perm, braces, obsessed with 90210, loved the Beastie Boys and totally disregarded anyone's advice when it came to dating. We may now have better hair, straighter teeth, not so into the new 90210 (because let's be honest no one can replace Dylan McKay) but we still love the Beastie Boys and well for the most part evolved from the dating debacles but will be there for each other if bad decisions are made. It all comes down to people who have shared most of the memories you have with. To quote OAR "When in the end we can all call a friend, well that's something I know is true. And then a thousand years and a thousand tears I'll come back to my original crew"
I heard my friend who was also celebrating her 10 year anniversary and my mom both say that in that weekend they saw all their bridesmaids. I can only hope that in ten and twenty-six years I can say the same thing.
This weekend I went back to Michigan (my hometown) I flew out on the redeye flight from LAX and landed in Michigan at 6:30am EST. I won't even get into my experience with Spirit Airlines (whom I will never fly with again) but let's just say it was very unpleasant. I got very little sleep on the plane, thank god for the very large glass of $14 wine from the sports bar at LAX or I would have gotten much less.... It started with my uncle (my godfather) picking me up at the god awful hour I arrived with coffee and McDonalds breakfast. I had been so used to waiting at the airport for someone to pick me up at a more reasonable time that I forgot how nice it was for someone to be there waiting when I landed. Thanks Uncle Rick! Then it was off to mom's, it had been 9 months since my last visit so I was really looking forward to this trip. Had more coffee and gave mom her gifts from my S.E. Asia trip and her mother's day present and just caught up a bit.
We headed to the store around 10am to get things ready for the grand opening gala of her new store TaraMaria Fashion Boutique. This was the main reason for my trip, mother's day was just a bonus. It was a success! From 12-6pm it was non-stop, packed with family, friends and strangers checking it out. I got to see people I have not seen in a long time, some even years! I also got to see my friends and some new additions to the family. I was so happy and so proud of my mom for finally fulfilling her dream! It's a ton of work and she is still working her regular full-time job but after this weekend we could see the potential the store has.
After the opening I headed to a friend's house for her son's 2nd birthday (actually this was the after party) and a few other friend's were there. One thing I have learned over the years is that no matter how much time goes by, no matter what ups and downs you may have and how far away you may be the friends you had way before life took over are the friends you will always have and love. I also realized how lucky I am! I have my 2 best friends who have been with me through the years and I also have my good friends who we maybe grew apart during a time when peoples lives were going in different directions but as I sat at the table talking and laughing with them it was as if we never missed a beat. I am lucky because I have the best of both worlds, I have great new friends out here in California, some who have become like family and some actual family but I have the real true friends back in Michigan (and Ohio). The ones that loved you back then, when you had a perm, braces, obsessed with 90210, loved the Beastie Boys and totally disregarded anyone's advice when it came to dating. We may now have better hair, straighter teeth, not so into the new 90210 (because let's be honest no one can replace Dylan McKay) but we still love the Beastie Boys and well for the most part evolved from the dating debacles but will be there for each other if bad decisions are made. It all comes down to people who have shared most of the memories you have with. To quote OAR "When in the end we can all call a friend, well that's something I know is true. And then a thousand years and a thousand tears I'll come back to my original crew"
I heard my friend who was also celebrating her 10 year anniversary and my mom both say that in that weekend they saw all their bridesmaids. I can only hope that in ten and twenty-six years I can say the same thing.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
When in doubt.... Fried Rice
One thing I really looked forward to on this trip was the food. Although I tend to be what some may call a "picky eater" as I have reached my 30's I have broadened my horizons a bit in the food department. For exmple I hated onions my entire life but after traveling in Central America where they put them in everything, even when you ask them not to, I love them! Which is good since they are in everything here too.
In some more traditional places in S.E. Asia, they don't have menus. Some places have pictures and while you are not exactly sure what ingredients it contains you do know if you are ordering chickens feet or not. A universal understanding everyone seems to have is fried rice. Each country has its own spin on it and it even varies from region to region, it's basically a safe bet where ever you go.
It is interesting to go into some restaurants and find the "Western Food" section on the menu. It usually has a burger of some kind, pizza, which I had a handful of times when I just couldn't take any more rice or noodles and the famous club sandwich. While these menus were about 12 pages long, it bascially contained different combinations of fried noodles, steamed or fried rice with chicken, beef, pork or seafood and soup. They did have a large vegetarian selection due to the large Buddist population. Don't get me wrong, the food was great! I actually lost weight on the trip (quite a bit) Asian people have cornered the maket on that no doubt. But what's that saying about too much of a good thing?
In the end I have enjoyed my experience with the food, pad thai, beef luk lak (I think) and of course Pho.I just have one final thought for S.E. Asia in regards to food, club sandwichs do not have chicken or egg just for future reference.
In some more traditional places in S.E. Asia, they don't have menus. Some places have pictures and while you are not exactly sure what ingredients it contains you do know if you are ordering chickens feet or not. A universal understanding everyone seems to have is fried rice. Each country has its own spin on it and it even varies from region to region, it's basically a safe bet where ever you go.
It is interesting to go into some restaurants and find the "Western Food" section on the menu. It usually has a burger of some kind, pizza, which I had a handful of times when I just couldn't take any more rice or noodles and the famous club sandwich. While these menus were about 12 pages long, it bascially contained different combinations of fried noodles, steamed or fried rice with chicken, beef, pork or seafood and soup. They did have a large vegetarian selection due to the large Buddist population. Don't get me wrong, the food was great! I actually lost weight on the trip (quite a bit) Asian people have cornered the maket on that no doubt. But what's that saying about too much of a good thing?
In the end I have enjoyed my experience with the food, pad thai, beef luk lak (I think) and of course Pho.I just have one final thought for S.E. Asia in regards to food, club sandwichs do not have chicken or egg just for future reference.
Water Puppetry
It is exactly what it sounds like. This ancient practice started when the rice patties would flood, the Vietnamese people would do these shows to pass the time. You walk into a rather small theather and I just don't mean the size, the seats are meant for people about 5 feet tall. Instead of a stage in front of you there is a pond with a live band set just above it on the left. When it starts the lights dim and the puppets appear from the water. At the end the puppeteers come out from behind the backdrop and walk through the waist deep water. The puppets (we later learned) are on long poles and controlled from behind the curtain, the puppeteers are in the water the entire time. There were about 6-8 puppeteers total and the show lasted abut 45 minutes. It was pretty cool!
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