Showing posts with label the mall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the mall. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

One last visit before we roll rubber

The majority of the day was pretty much us, just hanging out. We prepped the van, had some cafe....ahhh cafe'. (Since we were sick for so long, we didn't have any cafe' for just about 2 weeks!) We ran some errands, worked on some computer stuff then headed over to Chandler Village...the mall. It was such a gorgeous day out, I wish I had brought my camera with me. After doing a 50 minute walk-around, we wanted to get a lot of 'steps' in today since we feel better,  we sat outside of the food court at a table and chairs and soaked up the sun and great energy in the awesome fresh air! It was just awesome! We strolled back through the mall and back to the van...we had a little bit of driving ahead of us! Today we would be visiting a longtime girlfriend of mine, Krystle. We met back in 2000 where we worked side by side in a cubicle at AAA...I was about 20 and she only a couple of years younger. Our friendship sparked almost immediately bonding over just about everything...good times. We both parted ways out of the company, moving to different states but have kept in touch this entire time. The last time I saw her was when her little baby boy was only 3 months old...he's now 11 years old! Time flies. She is now married with a 5 year old little girl...I think now is the perfect time to go for a visit, wouldn't ya say!


We drove towards her house, which is in the North Phoenix area and I'm glad we started driving when we did...not used to the whole rush-hour traffic starting at 3:30!! We don't live in that world anymore. It was a beautiful drive up I-1o, getting off the highway only to drive through mountains and nice neighborhoods. We piddled around by her neighborhood until it was time to meet, by 5:30 we were pulling up to her house with everyone waiting outside! Now how's that for a welcome!! She is so cute, she was jumping up and down, so excited, then there I was jumping out of the van into her arms...hugs, hugs, hugs!!! I love hugs, especially from my peeps! Her hubby, Nick, is just thee nicest guy and her two kids are beautiful and handsome...and growing like weeds...craziness. We showed them around the van as they were very curious as to how we live, as many people are, with a couple and dog living in an Astro van! We finally made it inside where we got the tour and then sat outside by their fantastic pool with a gentle fresh breeze. We talked for quite some time before dinner time. They just started a 7 day Vegan cleanse, so dinner would be a bit different but I thought it was totally awesome and could actually make it for us some time. Dinner was Taco Salad but the meat would consist of Quinoa, crushed walnuts and crushed almonds (they also made some ground beef for us and the kids, how nice!), pretty much everything else was the same: green peppers, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese (for us) and a zinger of a homemade salsa Krystle whipped together.




[caption id="attachment_4009" align="aligncenter" width="350"]Nick, this one's for you! Nick, this one's for you![/caption]

It was awesome and I actually had to get myself a second helping of their "meat", it was super delish. She's funny, she said, "I know it doesn't matter what we have, Kalani will eat whatever I put in front of her." True story. Even after all of this time apart, she still knows me pretty good! haha Oh, they even have those rad little tortilla dishes you see on the tele...and they work amazingly. I swear if we had an oven, we'd have some of those in our cookware inventory. I was actually really excited about them...yes I took pics! haha




[caption id="attachment_4004" align="aligncenter" width="350"]Tortillas in a snap! Tortillas in a snap![/caption]

I don't think one breath was had during dinner or any conversation. It's so nice to be able to be around good people, especially when those peeps are your friends. It makes me miss her so much more now that we've embraced and were able to look at each other while having a conversation. We had such a great time, it was hard to leave...but we're friends and we'll always stay that way so it's just a, "See ya later"...never a good-bye.




[caption id="attachment_4006" align="aligncenter" width="350"]Our 'cheerleader' pose! ha Our 'cheerleader' pose! ha[/caption]

Life is pretty perfect. Stop and take it all in once in a while. You might be surprised at what you find...or who.


Have you stopped to smell the roses today? Don't have roses...some weeds smell pretty good this time of year...just sayin!


PEACE

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Boots, 'bella, & B.L.M. baby

I'll spare you all of the exciting details of our day yesterday, but we did get the van washed, laundry done...8 full loads whoa, which only cost exactly $16.00 and I was able to get me a pair of GAP Jeans...only $65.00 less! I'm a sucker for the thrift stores! Oh and for those of you wondering how it was sleeping in extreme hot temperatures... Oh. My. Gosh...the first night in Fresno was pretty bad but last night I actually thought I was having a slight heart attack. My chest hurt, my insides hurt, my organs felt like they were contracting and cramping. I had never felt pain like that, I could barely breathe. It was really scary that I was actually crying but I got up and put the driver side window down and hung my head out, I didn't care where I was or who was walking by. I was just glad when I could finally calm down enough to lay down again. Crazy what the heat can do to the body!! And guess what we did? We repacked the van! haha I know you're not surprised. Really all we did was take clothes out of our big bags and put them into smaller backpacks to create more room in the cabin of the van...so far it's working out perfectly!




[caption id="attachment_1191" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Less IS more[/caption]

We tied up some more loose ends in Fresno; closed our postal box, stopped in the thrift store again to check out some things for J' (I had thee best laugh of my life this morning as he was trying stuff on for me!) and we stopped by JC Penny to look at their boot selection, due to us having a gift card we've been saving for just the right thing. Guess what happened??? I finally got me a pair of boots, (thanks mom) if you're a little late in reading some of my posts I have been looking for boots (and wanting boots) since we left because I'm such a genius and left mine at 'home' in storage! Hooray for me...and J', so he doesn't have to hear about it anymore! Now I can't wait to wear them!




[caption id="attachment_1192" align="aligncenter" width="300"] BOOTS!!![/caption]

 After shopping, we sat in the mall parking lot and scoped out some places to drive to today due to the extreme heat...don't think we can take one more night! We were told a great place by J & J and thought we would check it out so we started driving.




[caption id="attachment_1194" align="aligncenter" width="300"] On the road again[/caption]

 And we drove and drove. It wasn't a bad drive, it was a nice relaxing drive actually...until we got up into the mountains. My whole life I've done fine with not being car sick or having motion sickness but just within the past year, when we get on these curvy mountain roads, if I'm not 'following' the road, the rest of my day is shot, having nausea and a headache. Weird. I was hoping and praying when we got to our destination that we would not have to come back on this road, it was way worse than the road going into Shaver Lake....but it sure was beautiful!





[caption id="attachment_1201" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Wow.[/caption]


We drove through hills, rocks, trees, and even a small community. We arrived at our destination about two and a half - three hours later. Destination: Lake Isabella


As we were driving over one set of mountain roads down to the sea level we started seeing glimpses of Lake Isabella.



Looks pretty beautiful and it's always fun to see new scenery!





[caption id="attachment_1199" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Are we in Hawaii?![/caption]

We stopped at a turn-off and took in what we could before the sun fully set. A beautiful site, it almost felt like we were in a different country. We drove through a small town called Kernville and kept driving to find a spot to camp for the night. We drove down the main road up into the mountains and there was a creek/river running alongside it...can't wait to see it in the morning. As we drove, we noticed there were campgrounds that were closed and then "public land" (I think it's called) or B.L.M. land spotted in between. We kept driving a little ways down until we finally pulled off to read the posts on these signs. I didn't read anything on fees so we figured this was where we were driving to...B.L.M land!! Woo Hoo!! It's very beautiful out here, yet we will have the morning to discover more and see if we want to stay here or move somewhere else. We are testing the antennae to see if we get anything out here, it's only about 7:30 p.m. so it would be nice just to veg out before bed. Hope you have a great night ya'll!




[caption id="attachment_1200" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Finding our sleep spot[/caption]

PEACE