Moving Day!

Most of you are probably saying "where was Glenn all month while Tina was hanging with friends"!? Well, he was in Hawaii! Yes, when I returned home from HI in June, he had to stay and finish up his last RIMPAC. So, with him gone, it allowed me to spend some true quality time with friends!

Glenn returned home on Monday the 19th, and on Tuesday...the packers arrived! I was a bit stressed due to me just returning from Chicago, and he from Hawaii...nothing had been done. But with a little "Rescue Remedy" in the system and magical minnie ears on my head...the stress melted away. Our packers were amazing and truly took their time handling our things. The next day the movers arrived to load the truck. This was the point for me where I lost it. Sure, there are strange people in my house, packing my things, but the moment I saw the moving truck, the tears started. All emotions came to head right then and there! The realization we were leaving a home we loved, but also that we are moving across the world to Italy! Not only that, but we also were on a time schedule! We had to get the movers a'movin because the house cleaners were coming in 2 hrs and our new tenants in 4 hrs!

Everything came together...doesn't it always? So, our stuff is in transit to Italy and hopefully we will see it in less than the 3 months they tell us it might take!

Chicago Weekend

Immediately following the return home from Disney, I had to hop on a plane and travel to Chicago for work (oh and a little play as well). The trip to Chicago was to be my last "working trip in the office" and to also leave Trinity with my in-laws. All month I had been quite stressed about the trip, as I was nervous about flying with Trinity. When we moved here, we flew her cargo. For this trip, I wanted to fly with her in the cabin. I bought an American Airlines specific carrier, and it was a breeze. We flew thru security with no problem and she did great in flight! She only cried while going up, and then when we hit turbulance coming down. But I was so proud of her!

Work was good for the week...I always enjoy a trip in to see my fellow coworkers and get the office feel. Working from home is wonderful, but I do miss my office buds. Lots of lunches and laughs.

On Friday, my good friend Beth flew in for us to spend the weekend together. I had not seen her since she moved from San Diego, so I was thrilled to have some girl time with her. Friday night we enjoyed Palermo's pizza (the best in Chicago) and wine with my in-laws. They are a hoot, so we laughed hard all night.

Saturday morning we got on the train and headed downtown. We checked into our hotel and then enjoyed some shopping on Michigan Ave. It was neat because they were filming Transformers 3 and lots of props up around the city. I sooo love Chicago! We headed to Navy Pier for the beer garden and then for the evening we enjoyed dressing up for a nice dinner. After dinner, and being in the city, we decided we must paint the town a color of Beth and Tina :) We ended up at Howl at The Moon. A great dueling piano bar and had some cocktails and lots of dancing and laughing. What a blast.

Sunday morning we both headed to the port to head home. Saying goodbye was hard, but I look forward to Beth coming to Italy VERY SOON for a visit! She's a great gal and i'm blessed to have her in my life. Funny how sometimes life places you on a doorstep of someone that later becomes a very close and dear friend. We've shared some similiar life experiences and i'm happy that I went thru them first to be there for her.

PS...check out the top of the bridge in the pictures. The bridge on Michigan was lifted for the filming and there is a "car" hanging over the top! Totally awesome!

Girls Weekend with Wine and Mickey!

So, the first weekend in July was family time, the second weekend was friend time! Woo hoo!! Earlier in the year, Gina and I decided we wanted to have a girls weekend away. We threw the word out there, and my old college roomie Krista (aka Zoo Wu) and her sister Rosanna decided to join us! They flew in on the big jet plane from St. Louis on Wednesday and it was non stop from there!

I had to work part of the day, but I did take the afternoon off to show the girls around San Diego. We have had an very cool summer here in SD, and the sun didn't shine all day. But we did go to La Jolla and see the seals and then headed over to the Hotel Del on Coronado.

To start the weekend off right, we joined Mary and Dave at the O'Club on base. We knew there was a band playing, so we said "hey, why not get cheap drinks and free food"...so that is what we did. It was a blast, as we each had a 44D shot (thanks to Mary) and called it a night!

After getting some sleep on Friday night, we then hit the road to travel to Southern California Wine Country...Temecula! We had booked an open air jeep tour and a hotel room! In addition to Rosanna, Zoo, Gina, and myself...my good friend Heather and our old college roomie LeAnne also joined us. We started in Temecula with an Italian lunch (and a bottle of Wilson Creek champaign). Then we all piled into the jeep to start the tour of 3 wineries. The weather was gorgeous...sun was shining and the laughter was contageous. The girl driving our jeep was first day on the job. I"m sure she was thinking "what did I get myself into". We had a great day with tons of wine, laughter, hugs, and ended with a trip to In & Out Burger! Nothing like some grease to soak up the alcohol!

After a good night sleep, we then headed to Disneyland! Nothing like having the adult fun the night before, and then transforming into a big kid the next day! We all felt great at Disney and the lines for the rides were short and crowd manageable. We had a great day in truly the "happiest place on earth"!

Big Bear Trip

Sorry that I have not updated this lovely blog during July, but July has been a very busy month here in San Diego! I wouldn't change a minute of it though! I had something going on every weekend and it was great to catch up and spend time with friends.

So, the July adventure starts with a 4th of July weekend trip to the mountain to Big Bear! My good friend Gina's mom (aka mama G) and sister lives in Big Bear, so I wanted to take a trip up to see them (and say goodbye) and see Big Bear. Big Bear is the location that most people from San Diego go to for skiing. I have no desire for the skiing, nor snow, so we decided July would be the best time. Plus mama G was making us homemade tamalies and salsa. Oh holy smokes...it was all so good!

Gina and I left on Friday night after work and arrived a few hours later. The weekend was very fun with her mom and sister and Big Bear is quite lovely! We ended the weekend with a BBQ and wine. Attached are some pics of the fun we had.