Day 209: Who Is That Woman Driving?

I'm sorry but I've never seen a more gorgeous and adorable Indy Race Car Driver! Oh my gosh could she be any cuter? I don't think so!

It's Heather Carter, Brian's fearless right hand person at Corner Construction Co., Inc. Last weekend she went to Las Vegas to the Mario Andretti driving academy and drove laps just like the real race car drivers. Crazy!

This was one of her "bucket list" items and so now she can check it off the list! She tells me she also wants to do NASCAR driving and trapeze... lots of chutzpa for such a small cookie!

Heather tells me she was the only woman driving the course that day! You Go Girl!

How wonderful to go for your dreams, as wild or crazy as they may be.... Miss Heather has just gone for it! I love her spirit. I know people thought I was crazy when I ran for public office. And maybe I was. But I did it and am still standing to talk about it, loss and all. And others think I'm crazy for attempting to run a marathon - all 26.2 miles.

But these are the things that make our lives challenging. When we step out of our comfort zone and fulfill our "bucket list" items, we feel alive. You can't always play it safe, adventure gets the blood pumpin' in your soul and it's so important.

Taking risks, attempting difficult challenges, going for your goals, trying new experiences, this is what living is!

Kudos to Heather for being such an inspiration and fulfilling one of her many "bucket list " items. I'm not sure if I want to drive a race car, but my marathon running is plenty fast for me!

If you have an adventure you are working towards or have already accomplished and you want to share, please send me photos as we all need a little inspiration daily!

Girl Power Rocks! Keep making us proud Heather!

Day 107: Back To Reality

Ahh, returning from vacation... always a drag, isn't it !?! All you want to be doing is going back to the fun and relaxation you experienced while you escaped your busy life, but reality kicks in and you've got to do what's got to be done! Bummer I say!

Oh well, we are back into the swing of things already! Both Brian and I worked out hard this morning -- I mean really, we had to after all the food we consumed during our Las Vegas get-away... did you read my posts with all the restaurants we visited? I'm stuffed just reading my entries!

Then it was off to the grocery store because your cupboards are always bare when you leave town; then off to take Spencer for his Acupuncture treatment; then loads of laundry; then endless errands including a stop at the Santa Monica Seafood Market to buy fresh fish for dinner! Feeling like we need to eat lite after all that was consumed the past few days!

While I was tending to our home & children, Brian was laboring away at the office and then is hosting an ACN meeting tonight so his first day back will be long and brutal. I'm catching up on all the mail, emails, voice messages, paying household bills, and running kids here and there while also updating my Blog!

One thing I always love about going away, is not driving! Not to get in the car and fight traffic is such a delight for me! Not sure how you feel about it, but never having to worry about driving is a pleasure for me. We walked everywhere in Las Vegas and that was such a treat! Today I was all over the City fighting stupid drivers and traffic and wishing really I was anywhere but behind the damn wheel of a car!

So back to reality ... you have to live through this in order to have the vacations... so here we go again ...

Day 103: 1st Day in Las Vegas

Well we arrived safely in Las Vegas yesterday afternoon ... drove up in the new car with complete comfort! The three teenagers in the backseat all plugged into their technology -- Apple computers watching a movie! Brian and I had a chance to breathe and catch-up and just sit together! Life is always crazy for us and we needed some time to just "be" together in the same space!

Pictured above are Harrison, Olivia, and Spencer under the GORGEOUS floral garden at the Wynn Hotel. A must stay hotel for our next visit to Vegas!

Remember Harrison & Spencer have never been to Las Vegas before so you can imagine their surprise when we rolled into town and the chaos began! We stayed at The Venetian Hotel-- two suites and the kids were drooling! So were the Mom & Dad!

Pictured here to the right is Spencer checking out the "Venice Canal" at the Venetian Hotel!

After we dropped our luggage and oohed over the rooms we headed out to give the kids a quick tour of the property. Wow! Las Vegas is a food heaven for us foodies, endless choices of fine dining and casual eating!

The first night we had a beautiful dinner at CUT, Wolfgang Puck's steak house which you can imagine with growing teenage sons and the niece who loves beef too, this was the bomb of a way to kick start our trip! We dined, laughed and toasted that we finally got these kids on a road trip to the wild desert!

It was a sweet way to begin our mini getaway!

Day 102: Vegas Baby

We are loading the car up and heading to the Big Lights today! We are taking a road trip to Las Vegas with Harrison, Spencer and beautiful 17 year old niece Olivia. The boys have never been to sin city, I mean they just turned 15, why should they have been there before!

Given that we are such a foodie family, we will be checking out the great restaurants and hope they live up to the boys standards, especially budding chef Harrison! We have a list going of all the favorites we want to dine out... And I have always wanted to see the LOVE Show, the Beatles musical so we will be seeing this show. The teenagers should know who the Beatles are and be exposed to their music!

We've been told there's a roller coaster and Amusement Park at Hotel New York, New York so that's on the list as well. Spencer loves rollercoasters, me I can't stand them!

Then there's the M & M Candy Factory, a must!

We are staying at the Venetian Hotel for free! We used our American Express points and scored two adjoining suites! Look, we are spending the money anyway to pay for groceries and life so it feels good to get a little something back for our many purchases!

Brian and I love the sun and lounging by the pool so we are hoping to sneak some time to do this as we both need some downtime and relaxation, although I'm not sure how relaxing Las Vegas is! But just being with my family together on a road trip in the sun showing them a place they've never seen before will be a pleasure! And having the niece along is a sweet treat!

I'm sure we'll have plenty of fun stories to share! I only wish Spencer was 21 so he could play poker and win us some money! Ahh, soon enough!

Vegas here we come!