Memorial Day

We had a cookout with the neighbors for the holiday.  I made a berry trifle - YUM!!

 

angel food cake soaked with a sugar glaze.

blueberries.

whip cream/cream cheese mix.

strawberries.

repeat!

Flora

For Mother's Day this year, I decided to give my "other mother" from across the street a special gift.  Amber's mom, Pat, is always joking how I paint all kinds of things for Amber - well now she has a lovely "one of a kind Di" for her home :)

This was in honor of her mother who recently passed and told everyone, "nobody loves you like I love you."

School Days.

If you didn't know, Brandon is going to school at UTI (Universal Technical Institute) in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.  It's a bit of a hike - 35 miles vs. 17 miles I drive to work but he's always against traffic and I'm always IN traffic.  The school isn't on semesters or quarters, instead each class is three weeks long then on to the next!

Here's the school:

Brandon has taken 12 classes and has made SOC (student of the class = best in the class) for 9 classes!!!  So PROUD!  Go B!!!  And keeping a steady 4.0 GPA too :)

When you get SOC, you get a pin to add to your badge.  Brandon is running out of room!!

 

Just needed some bragging time :)

Vegas Anniversary

Brandon and I took a day off from work/school and headed to Vegas to celebrate our 4 year anniversary!  That's right - it's the most wonderful time of the year (almost) - Memorial Day and Fleet Week in NYC!!!
We'll get back to the city to celebrate soon (we hope!) but until then....New York, New York in Las Vegas will do the trick!

We had a GREAT time!  Stayed at New York, New York; had Carnegie Deli cheesecake at The Mirage; then celebrated with a wonderful 4 hour brunch at The Wynn resort!  Fabulous! And FUN!!!

 

Let the celebration begin!

View from our room:

 

the rollercoaster

 

and rooftops - authentic!  like the city :)

And our room decor:

 

B's ready for the weekend!!!

Our first night:

 

Hey, I HAD to! But Star Wars was not nice to me :(

 

Found the big Harley store and restaurant - now that's a bike!

 

And Brandon learned how to get $0.50 Coronas!

I modeled :)

Then dinner at The Venetian:

 

I thought the waiter in the back was really weird because he never moved.....

Turns out it was a cardboard cutout!  Geez Louise.

Day two:

 

Excalibur across the street

 

"NY NY it's a wonderful town!"

 

Treasure Island Siren motorcyle - really great!

 

And my machine!!!

Found it with Mom and Dad back in 2006!

She LOVES me and her location will remain SECRET!

 

Classy.

 

Classier.

 

Store front at the new Cosmopolitan hotel.

Can you tell what those are???

 

ANTIQUE SEWING MACHINES!!!!!!!!!!!

Brilliance!  I LOVED this!!!!!!!!!!

 

Time to celebrate with cheesecake!!!

 

This still makes my mouth water :)

 

Devoured.

Day Three:

Began with a 4 hour champagne brunch celebration at The Wynn.

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Buffet lobby!

We sat behind the left tower - there were flowers, fruits and veggies in all of the arrangments.

Lovely :)

 

One mimosa.

 

Two mimosa.

 

Three mimosa, four.

 

Five mimosa, six mimosa, seven mimosa, more!!!

Then on the bus to Freemont street:

 

B LOVED the machines that gave actually coins - though we didn't really get any.....

 

This was a cool machine - the bars would move to adjust the winnings on the pay line.

For future reference....

And back to:

 

My trusty ol' red white & blue!

I just love her :)  And can sit for hours!

B doesn't mind as long as he gets the $.0.50 Coronas ;)

Then headed over to the country bar at Hooters.  

The country bar had closed for good :(

But this was outside the bathroom!

 

HUGE!

That's an 8 foot wall.

Then our last night :(

 

New York streets in the hotel :)

We got pizza too!

Then decided to check out the views from the top floors!

 

And B found a close friend in Lady Liberty...

 

A very happy 4 years and future beyond!

Love you B!!!

Orlando Trip

On my business trip to Florida, I stayed in a cabin at the Fort Wilderness campgrounds.  If you ever go to Walt Disney World and will be staying there for a length of time and want to not deal with big lobbies and lots of people and even cook/grill your own food - for fun and to save some money - this is the place for you!

After l - o - n - g days at work, this was a GREAT place!  And I was across the street from two of my team member, Susan and Kathy!  You get your own porch, kitchen, living area, bedroom, bath and tiny driveway - it's great!

Take a look for yourself:

 

My cabin and rental car :)

 

Living Room.

Murphy's bed in center.

 

Dining area.

 

Kitchen.

 

Great themed lighting :)

I want one of these!

 

Bath.

 

Bambi art :)

 

Bedroom.

 

Bedroom.

Bunk beds next to main bed.

 

Lighting in bedroom.

 

Concept sketches of the resort for artwork.

 

The closet.

I CANNOT sleep when there is a crack in the closet door. 

Since this wouldn't really shut, this is how I fixed it:

 

:)

Then I got to go to GROCERY MECCA!!!!

 

Bought the Publix diet sweet tea that I love and drank it out of a mason jar.

Best work trip ever!