My 40th!!

I turned 40 on November 1st. It was a fabulous birthday and I am now embracing my 40ness. My wonderful friends, with the help of my equally wonderful husband, surprised me with a trip to a spa. They picked me up in the morning and took me via a limo. We, Leslie, Christi, Jen, Amy and I, drank some champagne and celebrated. When we got to the spa we had our make-up done, our nails, toes, and hair. We even had fake eye lashes put on! It was so pampering. I am so fortunate to have such wonderful friends in my life. Girlfriends are important to have and I don't mind saying that I have some of the best!

That night Christi and Jim hosted a big party for me. Plenty of gag gifts and Sangria later I celebrated my birthday. There was even poker tables set up to play Texas Hold'em. Christi and Jim put on a great party. Of course, my husband did a lot too. Thank you all. This year has been such a great memory. Hopefully I won't start loosing my memory too soon:)

I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. We are all healthy and happy. That is what counts the most. I am going to try and start living my life the most positive way I can... you are only young once so make the most of it. If it means jumping on a plane and going to Dublin for two days, than do it. Why?? Why not?? That is my motto now. Embrace life you only get one.

Dublin or Bust!

Yes, Christi and I went to Dublin, Ireland on Thanksgiving weekend. My very good friend Leslie is a flight attendant for Delta. She is always talking about how much she loves flying to Dublin. Well, since it was my 40th year, she invited me along. She asked me to see if Christi could come so I wouldn't be lonely while Les was working. It took Christi 1 second to agree to go... thank goodness she had her passport ready to go!

We had to fly stand-by.. that was the catch.

Christi and I headed out for Sky Harbor early Sat. morning. We got separated on the first flight.. Christi got on and I didn't. While she was on her way to Atlanta I sat for three hours in Phoenix reading my book. Thankfully Les was in Atlanta already so she met Christi. I made it on the next flight and met my friends in Atlanta. Well, we didn't have much time so we were off to the Dublin flight. Stand-by again. Well, it was worth it... we got to fly First Class to Dublin!!! We were like kids in candy store!!! And the best part was that Les got to be our flight attendant!! She stuffed us with food and wine. So much food that we couldn't even attempt to eat breakfast on the plane.. I don't think we ate until that night. Thanks Les!! Much to my husbands dismay, I am convinced that First Class is the only way to fly over seas!!!

What can I say... Dublin was amazing. We had the best time. It is now my favorite city!! The people were so friendly and the Guinness was so yummy! We didn't get much sleep but we saw a lot of Dublin. Did you know that the doors are all different colors?? It is so that the men can find there doors after a night at the pub. Isn't that funny?! It was so interesting meeting so many different people from all over the world. I have forgotten how much I really do enjoy traveling. Thankfully my wonderful husband is going to let me tag along on more trips with Les.

I recommend the Bangers and Mash and a pint when you go to Ireland. However you can't go wrong with Chunky Cod either.

Good Day Govnor!!

Ellen's 12 Days of Christmas

Ok, Ok, so I am the world's worst blogger! Has it really been since the end of September? Well, so much has happened since then, mainly I turned 40!! You would think that I would be a bit sad about that... well, this has turned out to be one of the best years ever. I will work backwards...

On Dec. 15th Christi and I went to Burbank to be on the Ellen Show. It was during her 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways. We got buddy passes from her dear sister, Jenny, and flew in the rain to get to the show. Getting there early we decided to go and have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe in Universal Studios. (still raining) We enjoyed a yummy Peppermintini with a peppermint stick and all, and of course a salad. While we were sitting there my phone rang and it was the Ellen Show... oh, no, was the show cancelled?? Reluctantly I picked up the phone.... I was then informed that I had also won a $100 AMEX Gift Card from a previous show. I had signed up for it on line!!! What a wonderful surprise.

Once we got in line for the show we really started getting excited. Finally, after 2 hours we were let into the studio... we got put in the front row!! Fun times and lots of dancing later the show started. Kate Winslet was there... she is so down to earth and petite! After Ellen got done interviewing her, it was the Giveaway! We ended up with a flat screen tv, a blue ray dvd player, a blue ray dvd of Mama Mia, and a $300 gift card to IKEA!! There was also a Brit Spear perfume and a CD of the singer that was there. We had a blast. On Tuesday when the show aired they had Christi and I on 4 times!! You could see us jumping up and down like crazy people when she brought the gifts out. It was so fun. It has only taken me 4 years to get on the 12 days of Giveaways show, so it was surreal.



The truly funny part was when we had rented a PT Cruiser at the Burbank airport...well, they actually give you all of the prizes right there and then. We had that car loaded and looked at each other like.."What the heck are we going to do now?" We couldn't fly with all of these things...yikes. Well, we finally decided to just rent the car to Phoenix Airport. Yes, we drove home all night! We opened Dunkin Donuts in Gilbert at 4am!!! It was so worth it.

Everyone keeps asking me how I got the tickets... well there is no trick, I just got lucky and happened to request tickets at the right time. My advice.. just keep trying.

Thanks Ellen!!!