Early weekend!!

Playing hooky today!! It's a beautiful spring day and Husband and I are headed for some Delta fun! Still have to pack. Better get moving. If I write nothing until Monday, that means I'm having too much fun. :)

Spring is Springing & Free Starbucks!!

Check out Thursday!

This was my weather app this morning.  Love the crisp morning temperatures and going out in the afternoon is nice.  Right now at 2:20 pm, it is 70 degrees.  Perfect!  Thursday is starting to get a little hot for me.  Ha ha ha!  Hot.  I'll be wishing for 84 degrees mid-July when it's a blistering 100+.  The joys of living in the Central Valley of California.  Yeah, not what people think when they think of California.  Yes, we have lots of palm trees here.  And on the first of the month, if you go to Walmart, you can see the latest in beach wear.  Even in December!  Egh!!!!  

Now to celebrate the nice weather, I found a coupon for a free tall Starbucks Caramel or Hazlenut Macchiato!  Yummo!!  Here's the link:  http://www.retailmenot.com/

Enjoy!!

Wonderful Weekend

The weekend was wonderful!!!!!!  So wonderful, in fact, that we are doing parts of it again this coming weekend!

Saturday, we got up at the promised 4:30 am...for some reason, it wasn't nearly as awful as I thought it was going to be.  We got loaded up and started off on our journey to the Delta.  Three stops, much coffee, and a lot of good chatter later, we arrived at Orwood Resort, where we launched the boat.  This was our view as we pulled into the channel at 8 am.

Certainly a view I never tire of.

The fishing was slow, the wind was blowing, and we nearly got the boat stuck on some under (barely) water structure.  The tide was the lowest I have ever seen.  After that complication got resolved, we decided to fish the docks around Discovery Bay to stay out of the wind.  Fishing ended up being more like casting practice.  Other than a couple of bites that Husband had, and the two head butting my bait instances I had, we got nothing.  Still, not a bad way to spend your Saturday morning.  Out boating with Husband.  I could get used to that as a lifestyle.  

After fishing, we stored the boat at our friend's house and took a look at a house for sale in the Bay.  Then we headed to the place in Orinda where Husband was to play rugby.  After crawling traffic, several looky-loo type situations on the side of the road, and battling GPSs, we finally made it.  Really nice sports complex there in the works.  They had a couple of fields in use already and the boys took the field.  It wasn't a pretty game (they lost), but it sure was entertaining!  Let's see.......Husband got punched, which he politely returned the favor.  Some people yelled foolish things, to which I had a snappy retort.  More people got very violent, but no blood shed or death occurred.  I guess that's good.

That's Husband there in the back!

After the game was over, we skipped the pizza social held in the dug out behind the turf and headed off to meet our new niece.  Ordered pizza on the way and had that while oooooh-ing and aaaahhhhh-ing over little Keelin.  Man, she is probably the cutest little thing I have ever seen (other than my own children, of course).  She was asleep, as she had just pounded down some nutrients for about an hour, so all we got to do was look.  That was plenty for me.  She is, after all, only a week old.  Luckily we got to get a round two visit in the next day.  Auntie Seren got to hold her.  I forget how small they start out.  My boy was the same size when he was born and now he's 6'4".  Guess birth size has nothing to do with how big you end up.  

Baby Keelin & her amazing aunt & uncle!

So, after our little visit, we stayed at the Bed & Breakfast also known as the in-laws house.  My mother-in-law wanted to take me to a barrell tasting at my favorite winery up there.  I could not say no to Bella!!  Off we went.  The boys (Tactical & Husband) weren't going to stay, but then decided it was too beautiful a day to be in the car, so they stayed.  

Roughing it on a Sunday morning!

Cardio and I went on the tasting and I was not disappointed.  The wine was delicious as usual and I, of course, had to buy a couple of bottles.  Oh, and I stole a glass.  Not the first time THAT has happened.  The winery is really cool, definitely my favorite one.  They have a cave where you taste all the delicious red wines.  It was decorated with a western theme for barrel tasting.  The lights were all mason jars with votive candles inside.  That's me in the cave!!

Love this part of the cave @ Bella!

After exiting the cave, we stayed a bit longer and soaked up some sunshine and took some pictures.  This one is my favorite:

After our little visit with Keelin, we finally headed home.  By way of Bass Pro Shops of course!  Great weekend!!  Looking forward to the next one!  

Humongous! And Why is the Weekend Taking So Long to Get Here??!!

And what is "humongous" you ask??  You would know if you had read my blog a couple of days ago.  Of course, it is the fish I am going to catch with my new reel and rod Husband bought me this week!  It is so pretty!  I tried to take a photo, but unfortunately the lighting in the house wasn't conducive to capturing the super cool colors.  I will make sure to take a picture out on the Delta tomorrow.  Hopefully with a hog of a fish attached!  I'm pretty sure the fat momma fish out there will be attracted to it and will wait in line for a chance to be caught.  Too dramatic and unrealistic?  Probably, but I'm hoping.

We are getting up really early tomorrow (sounds like a good idea right now...bet at 4:30 AM, it will seem dumb) and driving up to the Delta.  We're gonna fish for a little while tomorrow and then head to someplace called Orinda to watch Husband play rugby.  The boy is going to meet us there, so I'm pretty excited about that.  He is too, since momma bought him a bunch of Girl Scout cookies.  Yum!!!!  After that, we head to Santa Rosa to go see the new baby! Then Sunday, we might go an d fish a little, and then home, by way of Bass Pro...duh.  

I really should stay home and work on our yard, which has been completely overrun with weeds.  But really, given the choice of fishing or pulling weeds, the weeds are going to have to wait.  I did find a bright spot in my yard though.  

This little guy makes me smile!  

An update on the thrifty things I bought the other day.  I washed all the items and was able to get the stain out of the navy and white striped shirt!  Boom!  The cute gray ruffle tank is going to take a little more effort, I'm afraid.  I thought the stains might be deodorant stains, but they look more like some sort of greasy schmutz.  Currently, the tank is sitting on top of my washer with my magical stain potion working.  

I mentioned the other day that I had gotten Husband to go to a thrift shop.  He even went with $20 in his pocket.  Ha!!  So, he found me a great fishing jacket and I bought some clogs. Bonus?  50% off at the register!  BOOM!! I like my new shoes.   I got to wear them yesterday and they are stupid comfy!  I know because I wore them all day...even to volleyball practice because this girl forgot her tennis shoes!  Ha ha!!  

So fashionable!

Hoping that my next post will include pictures of the humongous fish.  I will also update you on the latest in Chick-world.  Happy Friday!!

If only...

If only I could follow my own advice...ha ha ha. I have a friend who is trying to lose weight and is getting frustrated with her lack of success. So I gave her all sorts of advice, tips, and generally good ideas. I told her to resist the urge to eat mindlessly and to keep herself accountable for what she puts in her mouth. Huh.

Guess what I've been doing tonight? Eating mindlessly. Ugh. I have no idea why... I've been really good all week, but for some reason, everything bad for me sounds delicious. I should probably stop writing about it because this is making me think of food...lots of food. Ugh!!!

Okay, I have returned with a large glass of delicious water. Hmmmm... It's not working. I'm going to go to bed. I'll probably dream about cakes, cheese, bacon, and other deliciousness. Hopefully I won't sleepwalk and sleepeat! I'll update tomorrow. Good night!

Finding My Inner Cheapskate!

I have a confession.  I am obsessed with shopping for nice stuff at a cheap price.  Yes, I love Walmart and Target.  I love getting things on sale, but I like to take it a step further.  Thrift stores, Salvation Army, Goodwill, consignment shops, estate sales, and yard sales!  Love, love, love them!!  I have spent the better part of a day roaming through these types of places looking for the right piece to go in my closet.  Sometimes I come away with lots and sometimes, nothing.  I definitely have to be in the mood for that though.  I've been in the mood lately!  

My latest find is the Hinds Hospice Thrift Store here in Clovis.  I went there the other day and found a few really nice things for not very much.  The old ladies that work in there are awesome too.  I wandered in and was pleasantly surprised to find that all red tag items were 50% off.  Yippee!!  Here is what I got:

Now, I have to clarify that the red pants are going to be redesigned.  While they are uber fashionable (cough cough), I would not wear them the way they are.  The striped shirt and the red pants were both red tag items.  Woo hoo!!  The white sweater was not, but still reasonably priced at $4.50.  

Love that total!!

So, being the deal seeker that I have unashamedly become, I ventured the next day to the Salvation Army store close by.  I found tons of cute designer clothes there.  Unfortunately most were made for petite skinny folks.  I did manage to find 2 tops that met with my size requirement.  The one tank has a stain of sorts on it, but I am a master at stain removal and think it is something that will come out.  

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You can see the stain, but hopefully it will come out.  It sort of looks like a deodorant stain.  Hopefully I can work my magic.  Neither of these items were further discounted, but here is my receipt:

Look where my finger is...

So, either I look super old, or they were giving the discount to everyone.  I got the "senior" discount!  Woo hoo!!  So, 5 items for under $20.  Not too shabby...

"I'm gonna pop some tags...I got $20 in my pocket..."  Yeah, I not only love that song, but I live it too!  Stay tuned for updates on my fabulous finds!

Oh and the best part?  Husband is going to go to the thrift store today for the very first time to find a windbreaker to wear on the boat.  Have I created a convert?  Hope so.  Always more fun to go with someone..well, someone that isn't the same size as you or has the same taste as you!  We'll see how he fares.

Speaking of the boat.  We are going fishing this weekend!  I'm planning on catching the "humongous" bass that I know is lurking out there in the murky Delta water.  We are also going to Husband's rugby game and going to see our new little niece!  Looking forward to a great (busy) weekend!

Lazy!

I have been so lazy!!  About Blogging, that is.  I have actually been eating healthy and doing some exercise.  I have this new thing I tried last week and it sucks, but at the same time forces me to be more responsible about running.  I have been having the Fish drop me off 2 miles from home.  Forces me to get there on my own power.  Okay, so truth be told, I only did this once.  I was supposed to do it yesterday, but Husband and I had some things to do after school.  I think Thursday will be a run home sort of day.

I read on one of my favorite blogs, Mama Laughlin, that I should include pictures with every post to make it more interesting.  Dear fan, you will have to wait until my next post for that.  I will have photos of some cool stuff I'm doing.  Edge of your seat, right?  Ha ha ha.  Okay, until then...