The Happiest Place On Earth

Ted met his sister, brother-in-law, and their two sons in Anaheim last night and joined them for a Disney character breakfast at Disneyland this morning. Ted brought me these to little guys as souvenirs since I was not able to join them.

It's Really Happening... Gulp

My race packet for the P.F. Chang's 1/2 marathon arrived via email today. Hard to believe it's less than three weeks away.

DMB

Ted surprised me with the new DMB CD last night. He forgot he bought it for me for Christmas so it was a nice post holiday surprise.

Vegas Reminder

I bought this snow globe for Ted as a reminder of our trip to Vegas. He's not a big knick knack guy but I'm hoping he will put it in his office.

Happy Birthday Carol

Today is Carol's birthday. Carol and Adam left Las Vegas yesterday so we celebrated Carol's birthday at breakfast yesterday.

*These pictures were taken on 12/26/2009

Vegas Baby

Today was another fun day in Las Vegas. Carol, Adam, and Heather all left today so Ted and I headed to the Wynn and Palazzo casinos to check them out. After that we met Ed and Stacy for lunch at P.F. Chang's in the Planet Hollywood casino and from there we headed to the Monte Carlo casino where I once again found a comfy spot in the sports room while everyone else played poker and blackjack.
Pictures #1-2: The lobby of the Wynn casino. These pictures do not do the casino justice the interior is beautiful.
Picture #3: Polar bears made out of poinsettias in the lobby of the Palazzo casino.
Picture #4: Stacey and Ed in front of a sculpture at the Aria casino.
Picture #5: I won 300 quarters at this slot machine at the Monte Carlo. I know that's only $75 but for me that is a huge win.
Picture 6: No trip to Las Vegas is complete without at least one sighting of Elvis.

*Due to the slow Internet connection in our room at the Luxor I did not get a chance to post this entry until 12/27/2009.

Merry Christmas

I know it's Christmas but it doesn't feel like it. We started the day with breakfast at the Pyramid Cafe in the Luxor casino. After breakfast we checked out the new casino Aria and then we ended up at the Monte Carlo casino where Ted, Carol, Adam, and Heather played poker. I took a well deserved nap in the sports room amid all the people placing bets on the basketball games.
Picture #1: Heather, Adam, Carol, and Ted.
Picture #2: Adam, Carol, Beth, and Ted.
Picture #3: A view of the New York New York casino.
Picture #4: Carol and Adam in front of a sculpture at the Aria casino.
Picture #5: Ted and Beth in front of a sculpture at the Aria casino.

*Due to the slow Internet connection in our room at the Luxor I did not get a chance to post this entry until 12/27/2009.

Tastes From Childhood

My sister sent Ted and me these cookies and hot chocolate from North Carolina. I grew up eating these Moravian sugar cookies so it was a very pleasant surprise to receive these tastes from my childhood.

Gifts Galore

Lots of thoughtful gifts from very thoughtful people.

Volunteering At The Santa Barbara Food Bank

This afternoon I went with a few coworkers to volunteer at the Santa Barbara Food Bank. We helped pack boxes with canned and dried goods. It was a productive way to spend a few hours.
Picture #1: Sharon, Debi, Beth, Toni, Allison, and Dominic.
Picture #2: Sharon presenting the donation from our company to the Food Bank.
Picture #3: Everyone hard at work packing boxes.
Picture #4: Full bin.
Picture #5: Empty bin.
Picture #6: We packaged over 100 boxes of food.

Harry & David

My coworker Peggy gave me this tower of treats from Harry & David. The Moose Munch is my favorite. So tasty.

Dining Dishes For Callie

I bought these new dining dishes for Callie today. I know they have dog paw prints on them but I didn't see bowls with kitty paw prints on them and these were too cute to pass up.

Observe And Report

Ted and I watched Observe and Report this evening. It's not the greatest movie but it was the perfect type of movie to watch after a long week (e.g. didn't take much concentration).

Fun Friday

We visited Carolyn, Vince, and Ilaria this evening and we couldn't believe how much Ilaria has grown. She's crawling and standing- amazing.
Picture #1: Ilaria happy to be standing by the table.
Picture #2: Ilaria tumbling with mom.
Picture #3: Vince, Ilaria, and Carolyn.

External Disk Drive

It's a good thing external disk drives existing considering our laptops don't have a disk drive. This will come in handy with all of the work I have to do this weekend.

2010 Calendar

I treated myself to a 2010 calendar. Hard to believe 2010 is two weeks away.

Korean Holiday Card

Ted's sent us this beautiful holiday card from Korea. The only thing I could read on the inside of the card is our names as the rest is written in Korean. Fortunately Ted is able to translate.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year... To Eat

As much as I love this time of year I also fear it because there are so many delicious things to eat. I know that I don't have to try everything but who can say no to this yummy cupcake? Not me that's who.

Final Final

This is it. My final final for the Human Resources Development certification program. I was supposed to work on it this weekend but I didn't even read through the questions. It is due a week from tomorrow so here's hoping that some motivation kicks in to complete it.

Food Bank Donation

This is my contribution to my company's food drive for the Santa Barbara Food Bank.

Snoopy

My company's MetLife rep gave me this snoopy. He joins his baseball brothers on the file cabinet in my office.

It's Over

Tonight was my final class in the Human Resources Development certification program through UCSB Extension. After two years of classes I have completed the program. Pictured here is the parking pass I purchased this evening; the last one I will purchase related to the certification program. Yahoo!

Company Recognition Ceremony

My company's 2009 recognition ceremony was held at the Santa Barbara Carriage Museum this evening. It was a nice event (read: short and sweet).
Picture #1: Clay receiving his 15 years of service pin.
Pictures #2-3: One of the carriages in the museum.

More And More And More

It seems like every day more holiday decorations pop up around my office. I snapped pictures of a small portion of the decorations.

P.F. Chang's

I am participating in the P.F. Chang's 1/2 marathon in Phoenix, AZ on 1/17/2010. In the mail today I received a discount card for 15% off when I eat at P.F. Chang's. The closest one to where I live is about 80 miles away so I doubt I will make that trip anytime soon but it was a nice gesture by P.F. Chang's.

Stuff The Bus Toy Drive

One of my company's 2009 holiday projects is a toy drive. I am donating several of the toys and games I liked to play with as a child. Who doesn't like Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders?