Category Archives: Friends

Not My Average Day at the Beach

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My day started off with uncertainty.  I knew my girlfriend and I were getting together and what time we were meeting.  We just didn’t have the day planned.  It was something we said we would figure out when we got together.

So when the decision was made to visit Coronado Island, it sounded like the perfect ticket for a fun-filled day.

Little did we know these sandcastles were in the making.

Soon we became bystanders taking in the detail from the steps leading into the castle to the trees surrounding this amazing fortress.

A castle next to a castle aka the Hotel Del.

It was fun to watch him work magic with his hands and tools.

It was also nice to have the soft sand between my toes.

Soon we made our way to this spot for lunch.  This pic was taken after lunch.  As you can see, the clouds rolled in.

Then we had the most amazing afternoon stroll on the island with Starbucks coffee in hand.  I had my first skinny latte ever, it was amazing.

I loved the feel and style of the homes on the island.  But this one struck me as if it leaped off the pages of Hansel and Gretel.

Oh the charm of this bike, I’m truly in love.

Friendship over coffee blended with a stroll made for a picture perfect afternoon.

I’m so thankful and blessed to have days like this.  It makes me look forward to our next visit.  Who knows what our next visit will look like, but it’s sure to be filled with love, laughter and more bonding.

Blessings – Debbie

The Little Things

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The little things in life are well-known for bringing a great amount of pleasure.  Sometimes we need to pause and take a moment to reflect on these things.

Since our move, I longed for my good hiking shoes.  They were “packed/lost” in one of the boxes in the garage and I had no clue where to begin looking.  Leave it to hubby to have a good sense to know precisely the box to check first.

My feet were jumping for joy during and after my hike this morning.  It’s the little things that mean so much.

It was a nice 5.27 mile hike with an elevation gain of 2,219′.

I met a brand new neighbor while on my journey.  Her name is Rhonda.  We stopped and visited in front of her home.  When she learned that I hike each day, she said, “we should hike together sometime.”

I learned that she takes hiking serious.  As a matter of fact, she will be hiking in Europe soon!  We exchanged information and plan to make a hike date.

She also said “We have drinks on the patio every night, you’re welcome to join us anytime.”

If you were to ask me, It’s all about the little things that make a day great.

Now on to a few more little things around the house this afternoon.

Blessings – Debbie

An Evening To Remember

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What a treat to meet hubby’s friend (Christy from HS) and family.  It’s been over 30 years since they’ve seen each other and what a joy to have them vacationing in our neck of the woods.  Thanks to FB, hubby learned they were in town and the rest is history.

There was a lot of catching up on the balcony…

…while enjoying these amazing views.  The ambience at their resort was over the top amazing!

It was a fun evening, a night we will never forget.

Later in the evening, we headed downstairs to sit in the rocking chairs that circled around the open fire pit.  Terrible pic but the best one I have of the best rocking chair experience.

The view from our rocking chairs.

Sweet daughter Lara – LOVED her!  And she let me take tons of pix.  How fun!  While evening photography is not my forte, we had a blast!

Posing in front of the open fire pit, too cute!

If only I had been on time but I still like this one, so I’m posting it too.

Lara already knows where she wants to get married.  Yup, this is the spot and her dad is in the know.

C.U.T.E

I rescued a shot of Lara.  I think I like this one best in B and W.  Boo that I’m having such a difficult time with my camera.  Further evidence that I need to hop on another class to learn about night photography!

Lara and the waiter seemed to hit it off.

I may or may not have asked her to sit on (this perfect stranger’s) “JP’s” lap for this shot.  *Big Grin*

And Lara may or may not have given JP her phone number.

What a fun evening to remember…

Blessings – Debbie

February Came and Went

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This year seems to be moving along at record speeds.  I blinked and February was G.O.N.E.

But we did in fact move into our new home sweet home!  We got the keys on the 15th and the movers arrived and delivered all of our things on 17th.  And we got to spend our very first night here at the new place on Friday the 17th.

That weekend went by so fast and before I knew it, hubby was off on a business trip the following week.

While hubby was gone, I took the time to chill with my girlfriend in Seaport Village, Downtown San Diego.  We enjoyed the best coffee and breakfast.  And we strolled the streets and visited along the harbor.

We even had the trill of watching a couple of ships come in.

That week I came to the realization (after unpacking all of the kitchen boxes) that I was missing the box with the coffee pot.  I made the most of it one morning with a Diet Coke and lime pool side.

Hubby insisted I get my fill of Starbucks each day and also insisted I just go out and replace my old pot.  I did indeed take him up on replacing my pot.  And enjoyed my cup of coffee under this amazing wisteria vine as it sprawls all over the top of the pergola.

While hubby was away, I also went to work on unpacking more boxes and fluffing our new nest.

It’s good to find and be home sweet home!

Blessings – Debbie

Family, Friends and Christmas

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Is it really March?  And am I really trying to catch-up on the blog?  Yes and YES!  Lets get started, shall we?

Is there anything better than spending time with family and friends at Christmas?  I feel one of the greatest gifts we can give to family is spending time together.

This Christmas we flew to FL to spend time with my parents and my “Little Brother” and his family.  Good meaningful times were had.  And lots of good memories were made.

My family, minus my big brother and family.

I had the privilege of taking a few pictures of my Brother and his family…

…My pop with his best friend…

…Nieces and nephew being silly at Christmas…

…Nieces and nephew – sibling shot…

…and again…

One evening (while in town) on a whim, my little bro called to see if we would like to join them for dinner.  It turned out to be such a great event.  After dinner, we enjoyed a nice little stroll and visit on the boardwalk.

Hubby got to see his old buddy – We enjoyed an amazing little outdoor lunch.

I had the privilege of taking pictures of my beautiful twin nieces with their best friend of so many years.

And my nephew with the snake he’s raised.

But most of all, I will cherish the love we share, the precious time we carve out for each other and all the special memories we made.

Blessings – Debbie

From the Kitchen Sink

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Last week revolved around the kitchen sink while preparations went into organizing a party in our home Saturday evening.

White elephant gifts were purchased and wrapped for the party.

And candy canes were sprinkled around the tree.

By the time Friday rolled around, the kitchen was in full swing.

On Saturday the kitchen was in complete shock with loads of dirty dishes and mixing bowls piling up.

Hubby in true hubby fashion swooped in and kept the kitchen clean All. Day. Long.  And  just like magic he had everything organized and the hors d’oeuvres and dinner items had name cards in front of each dish.  I love it that our day was completely enjoyable and totally stress free.

Soon the guests began to arrive.

Folks mingled, played pool, the wii and xbox 360.  Hors d’oeuvres were served at 5, dinner at 6 and around 7ish the white elephant  gift exchange commenced and lots of fun was had by all.

But the sad part about the entire evening is this “I have no pictures to show for it”.  The special moments visiting and playing games defined the night.  I was so wrapped up in fun that I was afraid to start taking pix as the moment would have been lost.

Guests stayed and played with us ’til the wee hours of the morning as Texas Holdem’ Poker was the last game played amongst friends.

Hubby and I chilled in the family room ’til around 1am when we both decided it was time for some much needed sleep.  I put blinders on to the huge mess in the kitchen and decided the next day would be the perfect time to handle it.

Sleep soon came, but much too early hubby slipped out of bed Sunday morning.  That’s when I tugged on the covers and with a kiss on my cheek from hubby, I was out like a light ’til 11am.

And just like that when I entered our little world, the house was completely clean and all put back into place.  The dishes and mess in the kitchen was just a memory as hubby totally whirled his magic wand and made the mess disappear.

As I repeatedly thanked him for all of his help, he was thankful for me getting lots of rest and not waking until he had it all cleaned up.  He rocks my world even if he had left it all for me as I try to tell him “It’s my job”.  But I do love his eagerness to surprise me and his desire to make all the days of my life happy.

Blessings – Debbie

Fred's and Friendship Go Hand In Hand

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What yesterday afternoon and evening was filled with.  It truly was filled with friendship, laughter (lots of laughter), yummy dining and a nice visit into the evening hours.

I was invited up to my friend’s place (Beth) in downtown San Diego.  It was a nice low-key afternoon in her condo.  I also got to see her son AJ as he’s in town visiting for the summer.  I met AJ’s friend (Ethan) who is also staying with Beth as he’s working on an internship for the Navy this summer.

And I got to see sweet Mitzy again.  She could very well be the most well-behaved, loveable  pup on the face of the earth.  I totally wish I had taken another shot of her with the lighting in front of her.  But she’s too cute not to make the blog.

I love this shot of Beth and Mitzy with my phone and the fun app used to create the drawing.

Beth took this shot of me and used the drawing app.  Can you tell we were having fun?

Here we are in Old Town visiting Fred’s for Taco Tuesday.  AJ’s in the red shirt on the left, Beth is at the hostess station and Ethan is in the beige shirt on the right.

Yay for Fred’s good food!

Beth, AJ and Ethan

We enjoyed the outdoor seating.

AJ and Ethan – “Is you mean with wid it”

Two cool dudes – these two kept us laughing all night.  We laughed so hard our tummies hurt.

These two did not sign up for having their pictures taken together.  However, I had plans to at least take a stab at it.  I didn’t position them, just kindly asked them for a picture up there on the stairs.  Thank you AJ and Ethan!

My photographer brain was screaming “no gaps”.  I wanted to see if I could get them a bit closer.  This is the reaction I got.  Ethan giving the, are you serious look with a grin and AJ cracked up at the notion.  I like this raw emotion shot.

And one last shot of AJ (Ethan was already outta there) – The idea of “no gaps” didn’t go so well but I truly enjoyed the expressions so much more.  How fun.

Ethan did express an interest in getting a fun shot holding the sun at sunset.  He had it all planned out, all the way down to his expression and holding his chin with his other hand while looking at the sun in deep thought.  Or something like that, great idea Ethan.  As you can see, it was not working out as planned.

What do?  Ah, bring him into the picture as a silhouette, now that will work.

Ok Ethan, now bring your hand in towards you a little more while dropping it a couple of inches and kiss the sun.  That’s it…

Depending on the focus point, I had a crisp background and blurred subject like below.

Or a nice crisp subject with a blurred background as seen in this picture below.

This is the part I asked Ethan to pucker up and kiss the sun.  At that point the entire room broke in laughter, including him.  Cool pic tho, very cool.

He laughed so hard that he could no longer hold the sun or kiss it.

But we managed to stop laughing for just a bit to snap some more…

There are no words to express the amount of fun we all had.  I can still hear Beth in the background saying “I wish we were recording this”

And one last shot with the focus on the sun/background and the subject (Ethan) blurred.

The boys carried on with video games after this fun photo shoot and Beth and I dried our eyes from laughter and carried on with a nice little visit into the evening hours.

I hope I get to see these guys before they leave this summer.  If not, I enjoyed and will always remember the fun we had last evening.

Blessings – Debbie

A Cool Wet Chill and Plans

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A cool wet chill is in the air and coffee seemed the thing to have first thing this morning.  Then again, when is coffee not one of the first things to welcome first thing in the morning?

The garden is soaking up this weather, for sure.

And the wildflowers I planted several weeks ago are certain to enjoy the day too + they are finally happy!

I had to move the pot after they popped up the first time around as the birds or something got them.  I think these guys are going to thrive as they’re well on their way, I sure hope so.

On this rainy day – I slept in ’til 8am, caught up on google reader, showered, enjoyed some coffee, caught up with a dear friend, lounged/still lounging in pj’s, took a few pix, made afternoon and dinner plans…It should be a fun afternoon/evening!  More on that later…For now, it’s time to get out of the pj’s and hit the road…

Blessings – Debbie

Weekend Blessings

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We had a blast from hubby’s past Friday evening.  Hubby’s friend (Terri) from high school was in town and we couldn’t think of anything better than to make dinner reservations ocean side.  Actually, we walked to this restaurant from her ocean front hotel.

For whatever reason I didn’t have my camera so we made do with our smart phones.  I enjoyed playing with one of my apps in the pic below.

The view from our seat was pretty cool.  How fun watching the bride and groom pose for pictures…

And the sunset (almost).  We didn’t stay for the full sunset as we moved on to another joint to fill our sweet tooth.

The weekend was restful, very restful as planned.  We enjoyed a couple of dinner dates – spent a little time at the mall, getting a few things for hubby – I gave hubby a haircut – and we planned a big trip including airfare, hotel and rental car.

The picture below was taken (in the backyard) Sunday afternoon.  I fell in love with the little hopper on the rose petal.

This morning (Monday) came early…And I found myself in downtown San Diego without my camera.  Oh well, I took a few pix with my phone.

Daybreak – It truly is a beautiful day…

I was back home sometime around 7am and this is the lovely setting that awaited.

I love our peaceful little neighborhood and thoroughly enjoy my random trips to the city.  I have the best of both worlds.

P.S.  I was so happy Rob won Survivor (after 10 years of trying) last evening.

I’m still sorry I’m off on posting.  I’ll have to work a bit on the blog rhythm soon.

Blessings – Debbie

Yesterday's Blessings

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What happens when friends get together?  Well I’ll tell you.  I met Vicki in her lovely home in San Diego and from there we commenced to paint the town.

We started off with a quick stop (in and out) at the local Starbucks and from there we went to the local pottery supply store.  Loved shopping with my buddy who equally enjoyed the whole experience.

Glazes, oh the glazes.  And there was enough glaze purchased to paint the town.  Not to mention all the tools we we walked away with as well.

Time was on our side as we didn’t have a set time to be home.  All I know is from 9 am ’til noon we covered Starbucks and the pottery supply store.

From there we hit Olive Garden for an amazing 3 hour lunch/visit.

I arrived back to the home front to these cheerful flowers.  Of course I had to play in lightroom, it’s becoming an addiction incase you can’t already tell.  🙂

I love spontaneous days,  we look forward to many more just like this.

Now the wheels are turning and I look forward to slinging mud around with all my new toys.

Blessings – Debbie

Play Date

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Hello x 2!

Crazy thing happened, as you can see.  Before my play date (yesterday), I was trying out the timer on the camera as I haven’t used it in a while.  I had no idea of the reflection ’til I downloaded the pix at the end of the day.  I like to think of it as a happy mistake.

My tripod was already packed – I had plans to set it up and take some pix of Beth and me.  Long story short, we had so much fun and ended up not getting pix of ourselves.  One day…

But we did have fun and enjoyed an amazing lunch date.

And a trip to wine country!  Just a short 30 min from my house.

There are no words…Other than the fact that snow-covered mountains are so beautiful while we enjoyed our nearly 80 degree afternoon in the sun.

Our afternoon was spent visiting right here.

Our visit was so refreshing and good for the soul.

You know me AND Lightroom by now, so I leave you with this.

Blessings – Debbie

Old Friends Continued

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We picked up again last evening with Brian and family (hubby’s old friend from high school and college).  We met over at the hotel where they were staying and enjoyed a nice stroll to dinner.  We had a yummy meal and then walked from there down to the boardwalk along the beach.

A nice little family picture

I was determined to get at least one good shot of each of the kids.  But it turns out I could not pick a favorite so I made them each a little page of their own.

Their cute 8 year old gymnast.  Sure wish I could have taken pictures of all her amazing stunts.

Their lively outgoing 3 year old (twin)…too cute!

What a cute bright eyed little man (twin) filled with such zest for life.

Hubby had his hands full juggling the twins.  The one down below didn’t want to let go of her turn.

This pic makes me smile.

Happy Sisters

Shops

The beach/boardwalk just before dark.

We went up to their room for a little visit and enjoyed the pretty view from their balcony.

We also watched the luau down below

Enjoyed the music and dance

Then said goodbye to our friends.

What a lovely evening and we look forward to visiting them and look forward to their return to see us next year.

Blessings ~ Debbie

Old Friends

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Hubby and Brian have been friends since High School.  They worked together, played together, went to college together and applied for the same jobs together.

Here they are after all these years still friends.  It’s a shame we can’t see each other more often.  Our last visit with them was 5 years ago.  We’re hoping now that we live in the same state that we can have visits more often.

What a fun family.  They flew in yesterday from San Francisco.  The twins will be 4 soon and the sweet big sister is 8.  We get to spend Friday evening with them and we’re all looking forward to another round of fun.

 There’s just something about watching my hubby with children. He’s amazing, patient and so calm with them. Alexandra was determined to get it right and her expression over a great shot was priceless.

I wish we had thought to get the camera out earlier but I’m thankful for the shots we did get.  They will help us remember the fun times we had.

Blessings ~ Debbie

Coming Home

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Our return home has produced quite a range of emotions. The night we arrived, we had no internet or cable TV (those things were scheduled for the next day). We had each other, the home we built and everything that we’ve collected over the last 13 years.  It’s hard to put into words the feelings we experienced that evening.

This trip was planned all winter. We waited for the snow up here to subside. We waited so that we could just come up here and take a chill pill. After all that, we got an offer on our home the week before we flew in. We have buyers. We have a signed contract. We have a closing date. We are excited.  We have bitter sweet emotions. More so than we could have ever expected.

So the first night as we walked through the house, a huge lump developed in my throat. It hit us like a ton of bricks that we were in the midst of enjoying home and saying good bye all at once. But the best feeling that night – As we looked into each others eyes, we didn’t have to say a word. We knew exactly what the other was feeling.

We enjoyed a visit with friends over the weekend. Hubby put steaks on the grill and dinner was a snap.

The boys and Little Chic went fishing out back while the cleanup crew took care of things.

Then an evening of Texas Holdem Poker topped off the night. I’ll never forget what a fun night we had. At this point, I have no idea if that will be the last time we see them. No matter what, they will never be forgotten.

Hubby is off on a business trip the next couple days (we planned our trip around his business trip out east) and as he left, the pretty blue skies vanished.  This was taken the day he left.

From the inside looking out. The weather matched my loneliness.

And even though the house is all lit up, it’s just not the same without him.

There’s a dense blanket of fog hovering yet this afternoon. That’s reason enough to keep the coffee pot busy all day.

I’m really looking forward to these guys ripening up a bit more so that I can make some Brown Sugar Cinnamon Banana Bread in the next day or so. The thought of warm bread and a cup of coffee makes me smile.

We have a little more time to enjoy home sweet home. Then we’ll be back in the very near future to pack and move.

Exciting days are ahead and when the time comes, we’ll be ready for the next chapter.

One Last Hurrah

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I had a last little hurrah here in CA before packing up for our upcoming trip to NY.

I met with Karen yesterday for a walk along the beach

Karen is on vacation and I felt like I was on vacation.

We enjoyed the boardwalk to the right of the beach.  Can you spy the 9 ATV’s to the left riding along the beach?

Anyway, we noticed guns on their right hips. It caused us to raise our eyebrows, but just for a moment as we kept right on walking. I still have no idea who they were or what they were doing.  Hubby thought they could be border patrol since Mexico is a stones throw from here.  Who knows?

Rescue was out in force

We stopped for lunch at Joe’s Crab Shack. This is the view from our seats on the second floor.

After lunch we walked to the end of a (very long) pier. It was so windy that we could actually feel the pier rock. Twas a bit unsettling, but I had faith that all would be fine.

I love the metallic paint job around his neck. He sparkled so pretty in the sunlight.

We watched a number of kite surfing enthusiasts

And surfers lined the coast

Riding out their waves

All the way to the end

Towards the end of our nearly 4 mile walk, we stopped at a little restaurant and sat by the beach with a cool drink and lots of fun conversation.

It was a full day at the beach, but we decided we had one more stop to make before going home. That stop had Starbucks written all over it. My large Chai Latte hit the spot and with that it was nearing 6 PM. At that time, we looked at each other and asked, where did the day go?

That was yesterday.  But right now, I think it’s time to break out the suitcase and start packing.  I’m one of those last min packers.  The suitcase should be out before midnight and packing should be a snap as usual.  That’s just the way I roll, no biggie.

We’re looking forward to this time together to just chill for a little while.  I’ll be back (on the blog) soon.