Happy Turkey Day!!

Most of my Thanksgivings are spent cooking all day long, eating and drinking, then lounging around in Turkey comma for the rest of the day. This year was a little different. Our family decided instead of doing the whole cooking thing, we would attend a family friends party and join in their fun. We did bring along some cornbread stuffing, which proved to be a huge challenge for my Mom and me. I think our head was just out of the cooking game and our focus was not anywhere near putting anything together. We had some good laughs though, trying to revamp the stuffing we had nearly ruined. The Agee's, the Latham's (yep, Sarah and Zach came to town) and the Lyle (Me) all headed over to the Sewell's home and enjoyed a fantastic time. All of the people at the party were old family friends that I had not seen in years. Instead of having a kids and an adult table like there used to be, it was now the adult and the senior table. None of the "seniors" were really that, it was just the running joke with the "adult" table. I have to say the seniors were quite the partiers.They were the first ones to take over the dance floor. It was so much fun catching up.

Afterwards, I met up with Nik and his family at the Grand Sierra Resort to have a good ole' game of bowling. I wasn't expecting to have any sort of game, but I proved to hold my own. I managed to win every game but one. The one I didn't win, Nik's Mom managed to get a Turkey (3 Xs in a row) on the last round. It was quite the site to see. Then, Nik's Dad managed to beat his mom by only a couple points. It was so much fun having friendly competition with a family I had not seen in years.

On Saturday, the Latham's, Nik and I headed over to my Dad and Sherri's for a salmon Thanksgiving dinner. The food Sherri made was absolutely delicious and we had a great time catching up and hanging out.

Thanksgiving is always a long weekend of eating, drinking and family. Even though this year was pretty unconventional, I truly enjoyed every moment.

The things I am thankful for are: family, friends, love, health, happiness, creativity and Wanda.

Back to the Bay

Last week was a week of catching up with friends and of course family. I decided to take a trip down to the  Bay Area to meet up with some people I had not seen for a while.

First Stop was to visit Nana (my Grandmother). I try to make a visit out to her house a couple times a year to catch up and just spend some quality time with her. Of course, like always it was a fantastic visit. We went to a delicious italian dinner and went home to reminisce about old times. She told me the story of how She and Ken (my Grandfather) met. I hope I tell this right, but she and Ken were at a cocktail party with other dates. Some how she and Ken started chatting and completely ignored the people they had come with. When the party was over, Nana and Ken went their separate ways with their dates, but each of them ended up taking the dates home early. It was obvious that these couples weren't going to work out. That night at about 2 in the morning Nana receives a phone call. It is Ken and he tells her, he has spent the last few hours on the phone with the operator trying to figure out the last name of the lady he had met that night named Virginia (Nana) at a party he was at. It is all history from there, because they spent the next 40 plus years together. Thank you Nana for sharing this story. I love to hear about a true love that lasted like yours did. Also, as always it is great to see you. I love you and miss you already!

Next Visit was Pantea (Panties as I call her). She was my college roommate and great friend. I had not seen her for at least 2 years, so we spent a lot of the time catching up. She was so sweet to let me stay at her flat. Which by the way, is a great set up. We talked about old times, what we have been up to since we had seen each other last and of course laughed the entire time. We each have contagious laughs so when one of us starts laughing, the other is bound to follow in laughter.

Next stop was to meet up with Nik. Nik and I reconnected about a month and a half ago and pretty much have been inseparable ever since. We knew each other when we were very little, but had not seen each other for about 15 years. We decided to head up the coast to Fort Bragg for a Brewery tour. Our day consisted of stopping at, I think, 5 breweries trying samples as we went (being careful not to drink to much along the way). We had a blast enjoying each others company and sampling the brews. The next day was Nik's birthday. He didn't want his birthday to be a big deal, so he offered for his birthday to become my birthday. Of course, I took him up on his offer. It was fun pretending the day was my big day. That night we met up with some of his friends and family and we all went to The House of Prime Rib. The food was spectacular and I think he really enjoyed himself for HIS/MY birthday.

I had the best weekend, enjoying old and new relationships. I truly had the time of my life. I am very fortunate to have such great people in my life. I look forward to my future, but am very happy in the NOW.

Special Latham Thanks

Sarah and Zach,
I wanted to thank you both for putting me up in your home for the last few weeks. I have had a wonderful time. You guys are the best hosts and I am very thankful to be so close to each of you. I'm sure it was not easy not only having me, but my dogs and Cayla for a couple days. It was a packed house, but you both were always so gracious and caring. I only hope that I can return the favor some time.
Love you both very much!!

Idaho Adventure with my great friend Cayla

Well, to bad the weather had to turn right when Cayla came to town, but we still made sure to have a good time. The first day we met Sarah for lunch and took one of the official Latham tours. Sarah and Zach are notorious for giving great tours and Sarah did not hold back for Cayla. She took us to Sun Valley Resort and gave us the Grand tour of the hotel, the inn, the pavilion, etc. Afterward Cayla and I managed to go for a hike with the dogs, grab some coffee and then later go to dinner with S & Z and their friends at Wise Guys Pizza. Their friends own the place, so it is always a very friendly atmosphere walking in.

The next day I was going to take Cayla to see the spectacular Sawtooth Mountains, but we got rained out. It was a huge bummer, because this area is so amazing and something one should not miss while visiting. At the least we drove up to Galena Lodge, where S & Z got married. There was already about 4 inches of snow on the ground. We decided to head back to Ketchum to meet up with Sarah. She took us to lunch at a very prestigious restaurant called Cristina's and then hit the town for some shopping. Luckily Cay and I are pretty frugal, so we did not spend to much. For the evening we decided to go to the must see places in Ketchum. We went to the Pio (Pioneer Saloon) for dinner. A great restaurant with an old style hunting theme and then on to Grumpy's, famous for its Schooners (large beers). We had a blast catching up, laughing and enjoying each others times. Grumpy's has a lot of character. All types of beers line the walls for decoration.

Cayla, it was so great traveling with you, you are an amazing friend.  And thanks so much to the Latham's for holding not only me and my dogs up, but my very good friend as well. You guys are awesome. Love Ya!!

Halloween 09

Coming back to Reno is always fun. This week was filled with Halloween Hoopla. I met up with some friends on Friday and we did the Zombie Crawl. This is an event that you go from bar to bar downtown Reno and each bar has a different special. Everyone was dressed as a zombie or in their Halloween costumes. To bad it was so damn packed that it was impossible to order a drink. We made sure to have a great time anyways!

The next night, I dressed as a baseball bat (play on words) and went out with some old friends. It was so much fun dancing the night away. My friend Nik was Rod Stewart. We had the best time picking out his costume at Junkie, a local thrift store. He was hilarious acting out the part. Rod was the hit of the night.  The night was filled with a lot of dancing, singing and having the time of our lives. I loved every minute of it.

Thanks everyone for the great memories and the fantastic laughs! I had the best weekend!