Vacation: All I Ever Wanted

You know the words, "Vacation, had to get away." The Go-Go's definitely knew what they were singing about back in the '80s. Jon and I just got back from a relaxing six day vacation to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We truly needed the rest and relaxation. It was so nice to enjoy each other's company and not worry about work the next day. Our main priorities were sleeping in, getting plenty of sun and downing several alcoholic beverages. Mission accomplished. Now if we could just schedule a regular vacation every three months or so, we'd be set! Check out some of our photos from the trip:

Beaches

Hanging out under my palapa

View from our room at Villa del Palmar

We had dinner here. Food was delicious!

Square in downtown

Night photo of us at the beach

Los Arcos

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church

 Enjoying the sun and pool

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Blessings

November is generally the time when we think about giving thanks, and this past year I have thought of many things to be thankful for throughout the year. This Thanksgiving and all year, be sure to let others know what you're thankful for. Here are is some of what I'm thankful for:

• My handsome and amazing boyfriend, which I don't know what I do without (he is currently taking care of me while on bed rest for getting my wisdom teeth pulled). When he had his surfing accident earlier this year I was absolutely terrified that I would lose him. I'm so thankful for him everyday.

• My wonderful and amazing friends, who may be spread across the country, but are always there for me no matter what. I love you all!

 

•  I'm thankful for my very large and loving family. Many of them have helped shape who I am today and for that I'm forever grateful. I'm looking forward to visiting them at the beginning of December (these are just a few photos I could find).

•  Lastly I'm thankful for the talents I have been blessed with:  

Writing

Making others laugh

Being a great friend

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Four years

Wow, I've been busy. Halloween came and went and now everywhere I look it's Christmas! Crazy how fast time flies.

On Wednesday my boyfriend and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary. I can't believe it's been that long already. It seems like yesterday we were going on our first date and now we are living happily together and planning for our future. We are taking off tomorrow morning for Santa Barbara to celebrate our love. I'm so excited to get away, relax and just enjoy each other for a little while, away from a our everyday life. I look forward to many years to come with Jon. I truly believe I have met the one person on this Earth that I was meant to be with forever.

Whatever you're doing this weekend, have fun and enjoy!

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Memories

'83 came on during a John Mayer iPhone shuffle sesh yesterday in my car and it immediately brought back memories of sophomore year in college. I remember listening to Room for Squares on repeat on my multi-disc CD player and never getting tired of it. I felt like I could relate to so many of those songs and I loved how it felt like the music was speaking to me. I've always loved John Mayer's music (regardless of all the tabloid BS written about him). Sure, he might not be an American Idol as a person, but his music is written from the heart.

I brought up this song because there is a verse that talks about him missing his brother, Ben who is 18 months younger than him. Coincidentally my boyfriend's name is Jon and is younger brother is Ben. I chalk it up to fate - I'm sure my boyfriend thinks I'm crazy, but I think it means something special. I always knew there was a reason I loved this song.

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Pumpkins Galore

Fall is my favorite season by far, and I would say October is my favorite month. I'm not sure if it's the seasons changing or the transitioning into the holiday months, but I love everything about fall. Living in San Diego it's hard to see the leaves change or even the temperature, but on occasion when the night air gets crisp and I have to pull on a sweatshirt, we get a little taste of fall.

This year I've been getting especially into the fall season. My house is now decked out in different pumpkin spice candles and other fall foliage. My boyfriend and I were just talking about how the pumpkin smell makes us crave pumpkin cheesecake, so I spent my day off on Monday making one. I'm proud to say it turned out great! You can check out the recipe for Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake here. I have almost a full can of pumpkin pie filling leftover, so I'm going to try another recipe from Libby's for
Pumpkin Cranberry Bread. The recipe looks super delicious and easy to make.

Another favorite fall activity is going to Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center. I've always loved visiting the pumpkin farm each year in my hometown when I was younger, so when I moved to San Diego four years ago, I was happy to have discovered Bates. My boyfriend and I have made it a tradition to go each year since we met (which was coincidentally on Halloween), so this Saturday will be our yearly visit. I can't wait to pick out our pumpkins and carve them. And the best part is toasted pumpkin seeds when we're finished!

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Christian



Photos by Samantha Prather

This is my adorable nephew, Christian Joseph, who is now 17 months old. My best friend, Samantha took this photo at the end of summer at my hometown fair. To my great surprise she forwarded this photo to me this morning and it seriously made my day! Just looking at his precious face fills my heart with joy. It amazes me how much he grows everytime I see him, and it also saddens me that I don't get to see him as often as I would like, as my family lives 9 hours away. I'm hoping my sister will get down here for a visit soon, so I can take him to the beach and the zoo and just spoil him rotten. I suppose that's my duty as an auntie anyway.

It's photos like these that make me so grateful to have my wonderful family and friends in my life. Now, when I start to get down about petty things in my life, I hope to look back on photos such as this one to remind me that there are amazing things still waiting to be accomplished and plenty of love to help me along the way.

Check out more of Samantha's amazing photos on her blog: http://samanthaprather.com/blog/

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Blogosphere

OK blog world, here I am! 

I've been so impressed by several of my friends' blogs and finally decided it was time to commit to my own. I love reading everyone's great ideas, exciting adventures and stories, and this has pushed me into wanting my own space on the web. Some people have blogs specifically aimed at one topic or hobby. For me there is just too much to write about, so this space will be dedicated to my thoughts, ideas, favorite things and anything else I can put in print.

I've always loved writing and found it to be a great escape for me. When I was younger I would tell my dad I wanted to be a professional reader when I grew up. I later found out there was not much money to be made (if any at all) in reading professionally, so I decided writing was the next best thing. I always kept journals as a little girl and have now found it rather amusing to read my thoughts as a 6th grader. Let me tell you about the problems an 11-year-old girl has...OK, not many really, but at the time who I had a crush on was the most important thing. I took my love of writing into college and earned a bachelor's degree in Journalism. I really felt at "home" among all the other aspiring writers and wanted to jump into a career doing what I loved best. While this hasn't panned out so far, I'm still optimistic that a perfect job opportunity will come along and I can spend the rest of my life writing and sharing with the world.

That's all for this post. I'll leave you with one of my favorite photos of me and my adorable little nephew, Christian. He is one of the great joys in my life!

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