Throwback Thursday: Whale Watching

Two days before I was destined to fly home from my holiday travels, we "planned" an impromptu trip to the California coast.  Believe-you-me, we were flying by the seats of our pants--and it was fantastic!  (Sigh of reminiscence)

We decided to spend our day whale watching and ended up going on a tour with Newport Landing Whale Watching.  After the better part of the morning on the boat, we had seen sea lions, dolphins, and whales--oh my!

Setting out...

Coming up on sea lions 

Sea lines basking on the buoy 

I spy whale tail

You can see the whale's back coming out of the water

The dolphins loved playing around the boat

I love dolphins

Heading Back 

I came away reminded of just how beautiful and utterly fascinating the world we live in truly is, and it made the part of me that wants to grow-up-to-be-a-mermaid really happy. :)

Bang for my Buck

Today I spent $85.

While that may not be an obscene amount of money, it's a bit cringe-worthy to me because it's almost half of my last paycheck.  (Holiday travels + rescheduled and delayed flights + jet lag = rather shortened pay periods.)

With that money, though, I was able to buy:

• 3 Business Suit Jackets--1 which was made by Express
• 2 Blouses
• A pair of (reversible) jeans
• 2  pairs of flats
• 2 pairs of heels--one of which looks like they are straight up out of a 70s disco 
• A pair of running shoes
• A pair of leather shoes from Bolivia
• Socks
• And a container of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter

...So all in all, that wasn't too bad, was it?!

Gotta love the local Goodwill and a Target that's going out of business (or moving locations)!

Throwback Thursday: January 1, 2014

In honor of the ever so popular and entertaining Throwback Thursday trend, I'd like to take you back to where 2014 all began.

I was winding down a holiday trip in Las Vegas with Mi Amor (who is now living there for work) when we ushered in 2014.  Unlike most recent years past, though, I decided to make a slight change:  For once, I wanted to start the New Year utterly refreshed, and therefore, decided to forego the usual New Year's Eve shenanigans.  (And in hindsight, it was one of the best decisions I could have made to start out 2014!)  Instead of going to the Las Vegas Boulevard strip, we opted to get dressed up, enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal in the apartment, sip champagne, watch the midnight fireworks from the rooftop, and celebrate with our own 3 ft sparklers!

Can you see the backwards 2014?

Or how bout his "Juan"?

Aside from enjoying the chill evening and showcasing our sparkler creativity, I had one other main stipulation for the New Year:  I wanted to see the first sunrise of 2014.

...As you can imagine and calculate, that left very little room for sleep in between, but nonetheless, Mi Amor obliged and we set our alarm for 4:45.

Groggy and barely awake after maybe 2 hours of sleep, we set out on the Harley into the cool desert morning and headed to Red Rock in the dark of the night.  (And FYI: The Kings of Leon song is true: It is cold in the desert!  If the coffee didn't wake us up, the bike ride surely did!)

The Strip was dead when we set out.

After a bit of Google-ing, we decided the best viewpoint was from the top of the Red Rocks Casino parking garage.  When we set up shop there, you could just start the see the horizon beyond downtown Vegas start to lighten up.

As we took it all in from all directions over the next hour, we saw the colors of the sky and landscape transform before our eyes.

As you can see, maximum sunrise-age was achieved!  And we may be been as frozen as icicles from our heads to our toes by the time we got home, but it was all so worth it!  There's no other way I'd rather have started the year!

Hope yours got off to just as fantastic of a start!

Is there anything cuter...

....than this face vying for your attention at the end of a long day?

Neto: 1.  Homework: 0.

Just Another Manic Monday

Well, hello!  Fancy seeing you here again!  It's been what?  ...since 2011 since we last met like this?!  Wow!  Can you believe how time flies!

Nonetheless, I am back--for good!  Turns out there are just simply too many great things going on in my life that I need to share with the world!  So alas, let's get to it once again:

Today, like most other days in life, was a busy one.  The highlight, though, was squeezing in a post-work, pre-homework sunset run.  While it may not have been exactly mileage packed, it was the first of many to come.  Hey, you gotta start somewhere!

When I started my run at Sterchi Hills Park, the sky looked like this:

2.6 miles later, the sun had completely set:

While it was an incredibly beautiful day to run, the best part was knowing that I was running for a great cause.  You see, with just my 2.6 miles, I raised enough money to sponsor over an hour of education for a girl in a developing country.  Simply by using the Charity Miles app in support of She's the First, I not only bettered myself, but a girl in need as well!  And what feels better than being healthy and giving back?!  It's a Win/Win if you ask me!

By using Charity Miles, you, too, can make a difference with your workout!  It's simple, quick, and free! With your smartphone, just download the app and earn 25¢ for each mile walked/ran or 10¢ for each mile biked.  There are many great charitable organizations you can support, though I must (shamelessly) suggest you walk/run/bike for She's the First!

Just imagine...  If 2.6 miles is all it takes to sponsor an hour of education, there's no telling how many hours I'll accrue by the time I'm ready for my half-marathon!  ...And yes, for those of you who know me and are scratching your head, you did read that right: half marathon!  ...But that's a blog post for another day! ;)

Little Moments of Happiness

Today I played thumb wrestling with Joel.  I was Suicidal and he was John Cena.
Suicidal won.

These are the moments with the boys I savor...

Himilayian Wildlife

This afternoon, the family took advantage of the warm, sunny day by going on a hike in the nearby town of Lava.  Throughout the day, not only did we see beautiful views of the snow-capped Himalayas in the distance, but we also saw the local wildlife first hand: a pheasant, a barking deer, and some other exotic bird. 

By the time we hit the road to make our way back home, the sun had set and the darkness had taken its place.  We thought we'd seen all that we could for the day.  Yet, low and behold, a couple miles out of Lava, we got yet another surprise.  Barreling around a curve, we nearly ran into a snow leopard crossing the road.

Can you believe it?!  A leopard!  And everyone in the car saw it!  ...And by everyone, I mean everyone but me seeing as how my view was obstructed by Joel's head, who was sitting in my lap.

But still...  I was within feet of a wild, not-caged-in-at-a-zoo leopard!  Thankfully in a car!  ...I can't help but wander how brave the villagers walking on foot are!  Can you imagine running into that thing then?!