February 20, 2014

Barcelona Bound…Notes from the Sky

Greetings from somewhere over New Mexico. The day has arrived and I have just begun my trip to Barcelona. Earbuds in, Pandora on. Somehow my channel got switched to Oldies. I am TOTALLY digging it!

I have been thinking about the blog a lot. There is SO MUCH going on I think I haven’t known where to start. Every time I start to put something together I am sidetracked by a hundred other things. Ever feel that way? I think this is the first time I actually have some time to myself to just sit and write. No interruptions. No emails to answer (well, sort of), no event stuff I have to accomplish at all hours of the morning, noon or night…Isn’t it funny how the most relaxation we sometimes get is on a plane? Well that’s me. I dozed for about an hour and now I’m wide awake. Sometimes flying is so cathartic, no?

Life is good. My husband and I have had a beautiful start to the year. He is amazing and I give thanks for him each and every day (and hour, minute, second…). That’s a whole other entry.

I started off the year with eight days in Vegas soon followed by eleven days in Scottsdale (drove to both places and back). Vegas was busy, but good. I saw Michael Jackson One and that was awesome. HIGHLY recommend it, just don’t expect the same acrobatics as you would from other Cirque de Soleil productions. Co-workers and I were also invited to private party where Imagine Dragons played, but we were so tired and skipped it. Was kind of funny how we all made fun ourselves. I work with such good, good people.

A very blurry cell phone picture at Michael Jackson One

The hubs joined me for a couple of days in Scottsdale and it was so very needed and welcomed. The temperature also dropped in Scottsdale (OF COURSE) and our ride was cut short due to cold weather and rain, but we still had a good time and made the best of those couple of days.

Out and about in Scottsdale/Phoenix with the hubs – and one shot on my way home in Yuma, AZ (a biker took it for me)

I had no idea there is a Miami, Arizona! OF COURSE I had to get a photo. If I look cold, I was! It was FREEZING!

Scottsdale was a challenging trip for me. Being gone for eleven days was hard. I was met with some professional challenges all beyond my own control -difficult for a control freak- and about half-way through the trip while everyone was out I stayed in my room to decompress and re-center. A co-worker called me and asked if I was okay. My voice cracked when I said ‘yes’. Liar. I was NOT okay in that moment. Yeah, it was one of those trips. A series of events kept throwing curve balls at us/me behind the scenes. Still, I got through it -well the team got through it – and everything was a raging success. It was definitely a growing experience professionally and personally. Even after fifteen years of doing this, there are always lessons to take away.

In between we did make it to the Los Angeles area to celebrate the anniversary of the day the hubs proposed – read all about the proposal here. We stayed at a B&B in Topanga Canyon, Topanga Canyon Inn, and made it to Malibu, did the entire Sunset Strip on the bike, strolled Santa Monica and had a way too expensive for the quality and amount of food dinner at Sugarfish. Also, I learned a lesson: Hubs is not a B&B kind of guy LOL. It was cute seeing him discover this type of travel for the first time. We’ll be sticking to hotels and resorts for now. Here we are in Venice Beach:

Oh!Oh! Oh! AND I got my coveted Harley Christmas Tree topper! We stopped at a Harley dealership we just happened to pass on the way home (not planned) and the hubs spotted it in a curio in the window. I had seen one on eBay for $150 and thought I didn’t want to spend that much. Price-tag was facing down, so he tilted his head took a look and said it was either $27 or $57. I couldn’t believe it when we went inside and it was $27! Plus the military discount…after we got our pins and poker chip we left spending only around $30. I was SO happy. AWESOME anniversary find! I seriously wanted to put the tree back up after we got this LOL!

Okay, moving on…There has been so much planning going into Barcelona free time has been a precious commodity. I am looking forward to seeing all of our hard work coming to fruition. I am also really, really hoping when we arrive everything looks as amazing as it was planned.

Barcelona is such a great, beautiful city. The history and the politics is complex, but if you get beyond that there is so much to discover. Here is a collage of some of my favorite memories. It’s not necessarily the photos themselves, but the memories they stir for me of my first trip there…

I also took this shot and want to find the couple in it. I hope they are just as in Love as the day I took this photo. It was candid and not posed. And, frankly, it was accidental. I wasn’t even trying to shoot them. I was checking my focus and snapped and got this. I have kept it all these years. If you’d spread the word, I’d appreciate it!

As for my upcoming surgery, I haven’t thought much about it. I think it will hit me once I get back. I can’t believe it less than a month away. There won’t be any prep until week of, and night before.

1950’s Hot Housewife has been hit or miss. It sometimes makes me feel it is impossible to have it all. The hubs has told me not to expect so much of myself. I think it’s just who I am. After the surgery having to take it easy won’t come naturally for me. We’ll see how that goes. 😉

And now, because my bladder is about to burst (TMI sorry!) I am about to piss off, no pun intended, the guy in the aisle seat because I have GOT to get up and he is sleeping!

Oh – if you have any hidden gems in Barcelona I’d love to know what they are. I’ve been all over, but would love to find somewhere new!

Until next time…