Back to School???

But it's Summer Vacation time, not school time!



Recently I was discussing with a friend how much I wish we could have Summer Vacations from work, like students get from school. Could you imagine? Two-three months of sleeping in, goofing off and just enjoying each day? Wow...how nice that would be (of course I would expect to get paid for that time period, as well...I mean, you have to have money to live on, after all!!!). Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way for most of us, so we have to trudge ourselves into work each day, watching the summer vacationers set off in their bermuda shorts to enjoy the waves as we set off in our work gear to suffer through the day...but hey, someone has to do it! ;-) Now comes to the completely Ironic bit, in a twisted sort of way. Not only do I not get Summer Vacation, but now I find out I have to go to school...in the middle of summer and there's even tests and homework--AAACK! OH, and the days are 10 hours long....WAAAAAAAAHHHHH! Actually it is to further my career and knowledge, but still...school in the summer...ICK! My boss told me yesterday that I will be the first in our group to take the PC and Windows training courses. Fun fun fun! I had a choice though (oooh, how thoughtful...choices). I could take the one that was scheduled for the last week in June, but is located in San Francisco (downtown SF--Market Street---ugh!) OR I could take the one scheduled for the first week of July in Fremont (much close, less traffic, much more familiar for me), but as you read, the first week of JULY? Yup, folks, I have to go to school on a National holiday...sigh! Worst part is, that was my choice. Although, anyone from this area (or familiar with it) would understand giving up a day off to not have to drive to SF each day for a week to make a 9am class. Basically I'd have to leave by 7...no way! So, while everyone else in the Nation (yes major generalization there, but it is my pity party after all) is out of work, enjoying BBQ's, I will be cramming my brain with information that I will then have to spit out in correct form onto a test...then I will be Certified!!! oooooh! Of course there are those who will say that I am certified allready...NUTS, that is!

Memorial Day Weekend

What a weekend!!!

This past weekend was another really nice weekend! Even better, it was a 3-Day weekend! Right on!
On Saturday evening, My hunny and I went out to dinner at the new Chili's by our house...Mmmm! The best part, though, was time with my Love! I'm such a lucky lady!
My hunny headed over the hill to the Valley to see his Dad on Sunday, so I hung out with BlueRose for the morning. We had a good lunch at "Cluck U", then stopped at Costco to pick up the main attraction for Monday's dinner (rib eye steaks...yum-o). After that we took our giant color pads outside and spent a couple hours coloring Bambi pictures. After she left to go see her hunny, I headed back out for another round with the color pad.
Monday was a bunch of the same. I colored one more page in the book, and read some more of the "Strange Candy" book by Laurell K. Hamilton. It's a compilation of a bunch of her short stories. Love it! After my hunny got home Dad fired up the grill, and we soon ate an amazing dinner of steaks, homemade macaroni salad, fruit salad and fresh green beans...outstanding!
The weekend went by quickly as they always seem to do, but it was definitely an enjoyable one! Good weather, good food, great family! Gotta love it!!!

Weekend Adventure - Part 3

Ahh, the final addition to my Weekend Adventure Series (from this past weekend, anyway).

On Sunday my Hunny and I decided to take the camaro out for a run. The weather was gorgeous and she's only had in-town miles on her for the past couple months, so she was in desperate need of some highway miles. We took the T-Tops out, then headed off without a plan of where we were headed.

I started off by having my hunny navigate (Left, Right, Straight, etc). After meandering for a while we ended up heading North on Hwy 101. My hunny then had the idea of going over the Dumbarton bridge, into Fremont, something different, at least. The Bay was gorgeous, the sky clear, and the temperature cozy. After we reached the other side of the bridge, we saw a sign for the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge, and decided to see what that was all about.

We ended up in a beautiful, peaceful area I never knew existed. Neither of us had proper shoes for hiking, so we didn't get to explore the refuge too much, but the walk that we did take was amazing. We parked and had the option to go around the hill and up to the Visitor's Center, or take the stairs straight ahead of us. we opted for the stairs. Just a few steps up I noticed a lizard and stopped to point it out to my Hunny. We then took a couple more and heard another lizard dart into the dried leaves. We looked for a couple seconds, but didn't see anything, so we began to step up to the next step, when my hunny suddenly stopped and told me to do the same. I was startled at first, but then saw what he had seen...a snake! Now I am a total city girl, never been camping, not been out in nature a whole lot (even though I love it), and this was my first encounter with a wild snake. I wasn't too frightened, as I'm fairly certain it wasn't poisonous or dangerous, and it wasn't very big (maybe 2 ft long or so). I didn't get the camera out in time to get a picture, but it was really pretty, in hindsight. It was solid green. It's belly was a lighter-whitish-green, but all in all, pretty. It quickly found a hole in the step and disappeared, and we continued up the next few flights of stairs, suddenly a little more aware of what was around us.

When we got to the top of the hill, the view nearly took my breath away. I forget too often that the Bay Area has such beauty. I tend to focus on the concrete and cement, but moments like that remind me that there is beauty everywhere. I will post some pictures that really just don't capture the beauty and peacefulness that my hunny and I found up there.

We stayed for an hour or so, just enjoying the beauty, and next time we will go better prepared to explore the trails.

So, that is the end of last weekend's adventures, but Summer is just beginning, and I'm certain that there are more adventures to come!

Happy Summer, All!

Weekend Adventure - Part 2

Today's blog is all about Jocko's. =-) What is Jocko's? Where is Jocko's? Why is Jocko's worth a 6 hour round trip? Your questions are all about to be answered, my friend!!!

Jocko's is a steakhouse in the little town of Nipomo, which is just a few miles North of Santa Monica, CA on Hwy 101. I would never have known it existed if my hunny hadn't shared it with us a few years ago.
Mom, Dad, My Hunny and I were all on our way down to SoCal for our first NASCAR race when we decided to take the scenic route. There are two major options for getting to SoCal from the Bay Area: I-5 which is a 5-6 hour drive or Hwy 101 which is about a 7-8 hour drive. Typically we take I5 which is a pretty boring drive, but much quicker. Since we were in no hurry, we opted for more coastal route of 101. An hour or so into the ride, my Hunny says that if we are interested in stopping for a nice dinner, he had a suggestion for us. We were all game, so he said he'd lead us to the best steakhouse ever! The next couple of hours were filled with the background of how he knew about Jockos. He and his family used to go there when he was young. His Dad's company would rent out half of the restaurant during their convention and they would spend hours enjoying the food and atmosphere. He has very fond memories of this place, and I was feeling pretty honored to get to share something with him that meant so much to him.

We got to Jocko's around 4:30, which happened to be the time they opened up for lunch. It also turned out to be a good thing we weren't any later, becuase after 5pm, if you don't have a reservation, you have at least an hour wait!!! We sat down at the table and our adventure began. Jocko's serves salsa and crackers as well as "reslish trays" while you read the menu and make your choices. Next comes a delicious salad, followed by the main course, BBQ beans and toast, polished off with a bowl of ice cream at the end. My hunny wasn't kidding. Jocko's steaks are the best, bar none, of any I have ever had. The only thing that comes close is my Dad's BBQ'd steaks. The portions are huge, and there are always leftovers!

We have sense returned several times. Each trip we've made together sense then has been specifically to go there for dinner. We usually stop at Pizmo Beach, a half hour or so before Jocko's and enjoy the breath-taking views of the Pacific Ocean, then continue on. After dinner we talk around the table for a while, then load back in the car or truck for the 3 hr ride home. All who have gone agree that it is well worth the ride!

This past weekend was no different. We had an excellent dinner and adventure and are already looking forward to the next trip!

Weekend Adventure - Part 1

This weekend was quite an adventure filled one, and yet relaxing at the same time!

Our family made one of our "Infamous" trips to Jocko's Steakhouse on Saturday. It's a 3 hour drive, but the food is WELL worth it. It is by far, the best steak I've ever had at a restaurant. I will post later about the Jocko's portion of the trip, but this one is dedicated to our stop at Pizmo Beach on the way down.

My hunny got out of work early on Saturday so we could get a earlier start. We had reservations for 8 (a must have), so we knew we'd have lots of time to stop for some sight-seeing. All 5 of us loaded into Mom and Dad's car, and off we went. The drive was gorgeous. We stopped once, about half way down for some Starbucks Iced Teas and Frappaccinos, and got to Pizmo Beach around 6:15. As luck would have it, we stumbled upon a beautiful park, and spent quite a bit of time there just enjoying the scenery, fresh air and each other's company. Oh, and of course a photo-shoot was sure to insue! Here are just a few pictures of our fun at Pizmo Beach!

Next Post...All about Jockos!!!!

Quick Update

Hi, Everyone!

I am feeling much better today, and am well on the road to recovery. I had a wonderful weekend, and will be blogging about it later this week. Unfortunately I have a lot of work to catch up on after missing more than 3 days last week, so I have to focus on that for now.

I will be sharing soon, though! Until then, Have a lovely Week!

Wow! I can't believe it has been over a week since I last had an entry in here! Sorry for the lack of communication on my part.

In true family-style, my family has been practicing the lovely act of "Sharing", which normally is a wonderful trait to have...NORMALLY. When it comes to a nasty cold bug, though,...not so wonderful! Poor Dad started coming down with it last Wednesday, and missed the first day of work I have ever known him to miss (Mom can't recall him missing any work in 33 years of marriage, either) on Friday. Well, Saturday rolled around, and my Hunny and I had plans to go to Walnut Creek to put some flowers on his mother's grave. We invited Mom and Dad along, as Dad was feeling a little better and was happy for the diversion. It was on the way that I realized my throat was really quite sore, and my hunny started sniffling a bit. Well, by Sunday I was down with the same bug Dad had, and ended up missing three full days of work (so much for those vacation days I had saved up). I returned to work yesterday, but only lasted about 6 hours, and today I am feeling that I wont be making it a full day, either, but thankfully I am feeling much MUCH better! Now it's mostly just "wearing out" quickly. As I told my boss yesterday, My batteries just ran out! She told me to go home, then added, "I think you're using the wrong batteries, Kat...you might try Energizer next time." I responded with "Darn those dollar store buys!"

So, this weekend has a lot of rest in store, I'm certain, but I'm also grateful that my health is coming back...the doctor told me some people have this thing for more than two weeks...EEK!

Dad is feeling mostly better and my hunny has this lovely bug, too, but he has proven to be "toughest" (most stubborn) of us all by forcing himself to go to work every day. Hopefully he will be able to get some much needed rest this weekend, as well.

So, my wish for everyone this weekend is a HEALTHFUL, enjoyable weekend! OH, and don't worry, I washed my hands before I blogged, so this shouldn't be contageous!!!! (I hope)...AAACHOOOOO!