Travel and Family

We love eating out and, like most people, we visit a lot of chain restau rants like Red Robin, Red Lobster (some study must have shown that using the word “red” in a name is a good t hing), Lucille’s, Buca di Beppo, Lone Star, CPK, Panera and, my favorites, PF Chang (& Pei Wei). And that’s not even going into the fast food chains we frequent, Taco Bell, El Pol lo Loco, Wendy’s and McDonalds (for ice cream cones). One thing I can think of about these places is they’re goo d but not r eall y great or outstanding. But you know what to expect—the food and service is predictable. But, our family likes to be adventure eaters – and for us, that means many things like buying pretty much anything from street vendors and food trucks -- Mexican fruit ice bars, tacos, barbeque as well as having food and drink challenges at family get togethers (the more disgusting, the better). Part of our adventures in dining means trying as many locally owned places/joints as we can. With that, we’ve come ...

Saturday, January 15 th was a gorgeous day here in Southern California. It was one of those days, when, even if you wanted to stay in, you’d feel gu ilty about it. Sometimes, if you’re in the mood to just stay in the house and clean or watch sports, bad we a ther is a gift because it gives you a perfect excuse to just hermit up. But, when a warm sunny day comes along in January, whether you wa nt to or not, you’re obligated to get outside and e njoy it! So, luckily, I have this commitment to do something new each wee k – thanks to this blog. And, that means get ting out to visit just some of those spots that I always say, “you know, someday, I’d like to go there.” One of those spots is the California Citrus State Hi s to ric al Park in Riverside. Y ep, we live in Riverside and we’ve lived in Southern California for 25 years and its just one of those places I’ve driven by for yea rs and have never taken t he time to visit . My son, Da nny and his three ki...

If your family is like ours , the lines of relationship aren't always perfectly drawn. But all of that doesn't really matter -- we welcome all into our large clan a nd our motto is "the more the merrier". And, I'm grateful for others that welcome us through crooked and dotted lines as well. Last Sunday, January 9th, John and I, along with Danny and his kids, drove down to Oceanside so that Danny and John could help our nephew, Ben Lake, bless (christen) his little baby boy Lennox. I was happy to me et several new members of the family. One of my new friends and family members, is Ben's girlfriend, Ingrid Rutan. Ben and Ingrid, who live and work in Bangor, Maine, were in Southern California visiting Ben's Dad, Frank Lake. Frank was married to John's late sister Debbie for many years before they divorced back in the mid-90's. Frank has been remarried about 11 years and I finally got to meet his wife Cheryl. Even thou gh we're the family of her...

On Monday, January 3rd of 2011, I began my new position as Marketing Director with North American Medical Management (NAMM/PrimeCare) in Ontario. This is a great way to start this "year of something new" off with a huge bang! This week in my new and very bare office in Ontario -- looking south at the 10 Freeway just west of Mathis Brothers Furniture Store. I've been working since I graduated from college in 1991. (And, yes, if you're doing the math, I was a slightly older than usual college graduate.) I followed an "old school" path and got married very young -- in my case, age 18. I had four children by the time I was 28; and, to keep my sanity when the kids were young, I attended college part time in the evenings for over 10 years to earn my bachelor of science in health care administration from Cal State San Bernardino. I started college in 1981 as the mother of two children and finished in 1991 with four kids. At that time, my youngest, Hayley, ...