A Few Days Colored in Amber. Part 2

Gah! It's certainly NOT tomorrow, it's more like a week...and speaking of week, this past week the weather is changing in Palm Springs...and when the weather changes, people get sick. I am one of those people! Needless to say, I had NO motivation to type a blog post. And for some strange reason...I've had a four day weekend (not because I was sick, but because I needed it) and now at 9:30pm on Sunday, I'm finding the motivation to type my Part 2 of a Few Days Colored in Amber. 

Now that you know the gist of what I do, I can show you some fun details! It all starts with a couple Top 10 client lists and an email blast. In order to get the Meeting Planners excited, I put together this Save the Date (with the help of my Graphics Director of course!).  

Pretty neat, huh? Once clients confirmed, we booked their flights (There is a lot more to it, but that's the boring, mundane stuff)....and about 3 weeks before the FAM, I sent them "Palm Springs Fun Facts of the Week". This was a new idea I came up with, to keep in touch with the clients while planning the FAM...it ended up being a hit with the clients and got them super excited to join us in Palm Springs! 

In between all this emailing and such...I'm planned like a mad woman. 3 months to be exact. Planning and putting together the FAM Itinerary that covered our major Convention Hotels and Attractions. Before I knew it, the clients arrived and the FAM Festivities began!

Monday, October 25, 2010 - Day 1

All the FAM attendees arrived into Palm Springs International Airport and checked-in to the beautiful JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert. We started off with a Champagne toast and made our way via bus to the Palm Springs Convention Center for the Welcome Reception. We kicked things off with a tour of  Renaissance Palm Springs and back to the Convention Center for the Sites & Services mini tradeshow. Where CVA Member Hotels and Attractions have a booth and the clients go around to each booth to learn more about them. This particular tradeshow was a Halloween theme, to make things interesting and spook-tacular. 

After the tradeshow, we moved right along to the Welcome Reception. There was delicious food and bubbling drinks galore! To bring the "WOW" factor to the reception, we had a few fun things in store for our guests. The ladies had a fully equipped Saks 5th Ave Lash Bar. Where make-up artists applied all sorts of luscious lashes! Only to get ready for their close-ups for the Flip Book Photo Booth. We can't forget about Sean the Candyman, who makes various figurines out of candy. He was very entertaining and best part, he's made candy for celeb's like Paris Hilton and Dr. Dre, just to name a few. ;) I can't forget to mention the food! Have you ever been served mac-n-cheese in a martini glasses with a bar of toppings to add to the already yummy mac-n-cheese!? I added bacon to mine...my mouth is watering just typing about it! Seriously, the food stations were amazing, so much so, I can't share the rest with you, cuz it might make your taste buds jealous. 

I told him he could put this picture in his book of celeb's ;) 

This event ended around 8:00pm and we made our way back to the JW Marriott for the evening. As if the delicious food, lash bar, bubbly drinks, photo booth and Candyman weren't perks of the job...I booked myself a room at the JW Marriott, because the planner of the FAM has to be close to all the clients in case anything goes wrong, right!? ;)

A Few Days Colored in Amber. Part 1

Busy isn't a word to describe my current work-life. It's more like, overly, CRAZY, busy. So, with everything else I have to do, can you imagine that I still constantly think about what I should do my next blog post on!? I know, I have issues. ;) But, it hit me when I was driving home from a late night of work, that I should do a series of posts of what I've been so busy with! Here it is folks, the beginning of a few days in my work-life! Let me start by saying that I work for the Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Convention and Visitors Authority...a mouthful, right!? For my fingers sake, and your's, I will just refer to it as the CVA. Did you know that most cities/towns have a CVA or CVB? It's an organization that serves as a destination marketing organization. It has a few departments that make it work. First, a Membership Department, in which they get local businesses to be a member so we can market them to tourists and meeting planners. There is a Travel Industry Sales Department, their purpose is to drive leisure guests to our destination. They also work with International and Local travel agencies to bring visitors to Palm Springs. We also have a Marketing Department that puts together all of our Marketing Campaigns. Then, there is my department, Convention Sales & Services. We help promote the destination to meeting planners, in hopes they book a meeting in the Palm Springs area.

Our destination is very unique because we have to sell 8 different cities! It makes it very difficult at times, especially when politics play a role but, for the most part it's nice to have a variety of things to offer our clients. We brand ourselves as Palm Springs, because it's the most known city to visitors, though all 8 cities make up what we call the Coachella Valley. Now that you have a little back ground of what a CVA is about...I can get into my responsibilities. I'm the Convention Sales Coordinator. In a nutshell, I coordinate our client site inspections and trips to the destination. Along with a lot of other things that I don't want to bore you with. ;) It's my job to wine and dine the client, take them around from hotel to hotel, attraction to off-site venues to find the perfect fit for their meeting. We have two major events a year where we bring out approximately 20-25 meeting planners from all over the nation to come and experience the destination for a couple of fun packed days! We call these events Familiarization Tours or a FAM. This is what I am going to share with you...the past couple of months I have been putting together and planning our Fall FAM. I put together the full three day itinerary for these meeting planners and tomorrow you'll read all about the first day festivities! 

Here's a challenge when planning your next trip! Google your trip destination's CVB and you may find something fun and unique to do while vacationing! 

To The Sea

Two weeks ago, Marc and I drove down to San Diego to see Jack Johnson in concert! I believe a week or so after our wedding we were hanging out on a Saturday morning listening to Jack Johnson Pandora Station and there was a banner ad for Jack Johnson tickets going on sale in 4:00mins...if it wasn't for this ad we may have not known when his tour started or end up getting the seats we did! We ended up buying three tickets (one for sissylala) for his show at the Cricket Amphitheater, which at the time we thought was 2nd row from the stage, fantastic right!? As we were standing in line to get our tickets, we were saying how cool would it be if we were in the PIT, I mean obviously 2nd row wasn't good enough. ;) Once we got our tickets, guess what line we were in!? I believe the picture says it all! This has happened to Sissylala and I a time or two...we get tickets as soon as they go on sale, we get really excited that we got really close seats, and surprise ourselves we're at the concert and find that we have PIT tickets! This time it was a treat, because I got to share this moment with my hubby and he was pretty stoked considering, Jack Johnson is his all time favorite music artist. Of course, I forgot my camera (I have a habit of doing that) but thank goodness we were so close my iPhone was there to take some fantastic pictures and video!

The concert was absolutely AHHMAZING!! We had a great time, the view from the pit was perfect, the music was flowin' and we left as happy campers wanting more. 

The videos are much better on my phone, however the uploading process makes them look a little crappy...One of these days I'll figure out how to upload them in HD mode. ;p
This is one of my favorite JJ songs...

Save the TaTas!!

I thought that I would get to this post a couple weeks ago, but clearly that didn't happen. Well, I guess I can say at least it's still October and this post is pretty fitting for this month, considering it's Breast Cancer Awareness month! The first weekend of October I joined a group of friends for the Orange County Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5k. I have to thank my good friend Jenn for thinking of me, because it was the most touching event I've been involved in thus far. Marc and I have participated in many cancer fundraising events, and this one by far was the most emotional. I am not sure if it's because you see the survivors walking along side you, or if it's the fact that you see how many people are effected by this cancer alone. The Orange County event raised over 3 million dollars, and at our 9:45am heat there was 15,000 people there!! I guarantee that the 6:45am race had just as many people. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Each person was given a sign to pin on their back that said, "In celebration of..." or "In memory of"...it was incredible to see a women wearing them that said, "In celebration of ME!" and there along side her was her husband and children, with their signs reading, "In celebration of MY MOM...MY WIFE" it brought tears to my eyes. It was amazing to witness all the families and friends coming together to support and celebrate loved ones. About a week ago we found out about a close family friend who has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer, we only hope for the best and pray her battle doesn't have to last long and one day she'll get to walk with the many other survivors. 

The day of the walk our team, Lady TaTas, walked for Tashana's sis-in-law, Jenn's Aunt and the ladies who love their TaTa's and are fighting to save them! :) 

Lady TaTas: Tashana, Shawna, Wendy, Me, Jenn, and Jodi

Our first mile completed!

Thanks girls for letting me join the team, I can't wait to do it again next year! <3

A weekend in Arizona

I've stared at a computer all day, but I'm anxious to post this entry about our weekend, so here it is! Marc and I try to make it down to visit his sister and her family before he returns to work and that's just what we did this past weekend. They live in Peoria, AZ, a suburb northwest of Phoenix. It's actually kind of neat going from our desert to their desert, they are so different... Any-who, we left on Friday night to arrive with these cute little notes on our bed! 

Aren't they so cute? Baylee and Ryder always know how to put smiles on our faces. Plus, I never get tired of seeing my name as, Amber Brown. :) On Saturday, we woke up to laughing kiddos and a yummy breakfast! After pondering what we should all do that day, we decided to take an adventure to Scottsdale. Marc and I have never been so, it seemed fitting since it was a short car ride and we had nothing better to do. Of course, My Brother-in-Law always has yummy food on his brain, so naturally we ate lunch at this delicious burger joint called, Five Guys. There was no way around gaining  a couple pounds...the burgers we so freakin' good and huge! It was only wise to walk off our lunch  by doing what people do best in Scottsdale...shop! Unfortunately, our bank accounts didn't really support the type of stores in Scottsdale, but it was still neat to experience and we did take advantage of a couple stores. 

Now, on to the fun part. I love playing with kids or maybe I just like acting like a kid...either way they both involve fun! Ryder has this tricycle type thing...actually it just occurred to me that I don't even know what the thing is called, but you sit on it and you move the steering wheel back and forth to make you move. Haha! Their house was perfect for the tricycle and the kids and I enjoyed pushing each other around as fast as we could, it was very addicting! So, we decided to take some videos to document the fun we were having. 

I just can't get enough of laughing children, it warms my heart because it's pure joy. :) 

Awwww, now I can't post this entry without sharing my favorite video of the whole weekend (it's coming Jeff)! We decided to play a family game before we all went to bed. The only rule of this game was to make everyone laugh and the first to laugh had to get up in front of the family and try to make us laugh again. My Brother-in-Law is a very funny man and this is what he ended up doing, needless to say we all laughed! Check out that hair!!?? LOL, I can't stop laughing!!

We ended our trip with a relaxing Sunday, lots of lounging around and spending time together, especially since my eye decided to be dumb and annoying. Darn, allergy season! Before we left I managed to get this awesome picture of Uncle Marc and Ryder. Such studs.

We had such a great time, and I'm so lucky to have added another Sister to my family and to boot, an awesome Brother-in-law and a niece and nephew! We love you guys!!

Boys and their Toys

I'm not sure how your better half is...but my hubs loves his toys, especially when A. it's a NEW toy and, B. the new toy has anything to do with a board.
Last week Marc went with me to a work event, and as I rushed home to pick him up, I ran inside and noticed this big long box, but didn't have a clue why Marc's name was on the package?? In a frenzy to get out the door, Jeff says "Did you see Marc's stick!?"...Umm...What??!! (not what I excepted my Father-in-Law to ask...ummm...ever. haha!) In total confusion I shook my head and as I ran out the door he tried to explain but I'll i got was, "He'll show you with his board." As I got into the truck, I immediately asked Marc about his "stick". Thus the mystery of this stick was solved. My lovely husband has been on this health kick, not only by eating better but he's also been working on his fitness AND apparently he's been researching this new toy called the Kahuna Big Stick. He says it's totally for working out, but I think he got it for more of a fun factor. ;) I mean, who am I to judge when I get just as excited for a new purse and say, "I really needed it" when I really mean it was cute and I wanted it. Anywho, this Kahuna Stick is made for long-board skateboards, so it's like paddle boarding, but on land! Funny thing is, Marc's riding my long board I got for my 21st Birthday (I'm glad someone is using it!). So, ever since Marc got his new toy, he's been asking me to take some video of him so he can share it with the Kahuna Big Stick facebook page....tonight I finally got home before the sun went down to take some video of him in action. It's actually really neat to watch and Marc claims it's a great workout! Enjoy the videos...Oh! and Ride Hard and Carry a Big Stick! ;p

His feet are switched on this one (that's why he's going slow), but I just love his smile at the end of the video so I had to post it. ;)

Celeb spotting!! Looks like Matthew McConaughey has a Kahuna Big Stick too!!

Fishy Business

This past Sunday I had a hair up my butt to just "DO WORK"...and one of things I ventured into was cooking my very first fish dish! It was my mother-in-law's last night in the U.S. (she goes to Sweden for a couple weeks every year). So, I made delicious Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi. The whole fam was very impressed with my cooking skills and left nothing on their plate. Tackling being a cook is no easy task, however I enjoy pushing and proving to myself I can actually be successful!

To see how I made it and the recipe click here.

Imma gLeek!

That's right folks...I'm a gLeek! I'm obessed with the show Glee and I am super stoked for it's Season 2 Premiere tonight!! If I had tivo, I think I would watch Glee over and over again. Seriously. I am sure Marc doesn't want me sharing this, but he doesn't mind the show either. ;) Are you a gLeek too? If so, who is your favorite gleek? Are you Team Shuester or Team Sylvester? If you've never seen the show, do yourself a favor and watch it tonight - I promise you won't regret it! It's on FOX at 8pm.

six.

Today, we celebrate 6 months of being Mr. and Mrs. Brown. Today, we get to celebrate how completely in love we are with each other and how many more months, hours, days, seconds, years we get to spend together as husband and wife. We are so excited for the next 6 months and all it has to offer!

"I have found the one whom my soul loves" Song of Solomon 3:4

" A marriage is a gift. It should be opened up and enjoyed." - Greg Evans

You learn something NEW everyday!

If I had a refrigerator, you know what would be on there? My husband's report card. Yup! I am one proud wifey and I'm gonna brag a bit about my hubby. I have never seen someone study as much as he does, he has received straight A's every semester he's been back at school. He just recently finished his first semester at U of LaVerne, and got an A and a B+!  Seriously, he is so dedicated he took a test on our wedding day, no joke. Although, the computer gets more face time than I do lately, I know it's worth it and he is doing something that he wants to do and that makes me very proud of him. :) 

This summer he took a technology class...eerrr, uhh...well something about computer operating systems and a bunch of other stuff he told me about that is way over my head. BUT, I did listen to one thing he informed me about! While I've been trying to face-lift the blog, I noticed blogs I read have this symbol and it sometimes reads RSS. I never really understood what it was until my incredibly smart hubby told me what it meant; Really Simple Syndication, in simpler terms it means, web feed. It's a way for publishers of blogs, news, etc.  syndicate content automatically. It's a benefit for readers who want to subscribe to timely updates from favored websites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place. It's great for a blog because if you aren't an avid blog reader (like me), you can subscribe to a blog by simply clicking on the RSS icon and you'll receive an email every time there's a new post. Pretty neat huh!? I learned my something new that day and added the RSS icon to our blog, see it on the right hand side? ;) I feel like a techy now! Make sure you subscribe if you don't visit our blog all the time! Oh, and if you do stop by, make sure you become a "follower" and leave a comment, anyone can comment even if you don't have a blogger account. I hope you like the new face-lift!

All Ironed Out.

I've been away for a while, but only because the season is kicking in out here in Palm Springs...and that means I am super busy at work...which is actually nice! So, the last thing I want to do after a long day of work is do more time on the computer! ;) But, tonight I had an itch to share my steal of a deal. About a month ago, while cleaning like a mad woman and dusting our room, I realized that we desperately needed a new ironing board cover. Our ironing board is constantly out for display. When Marc is working he irons his clothes everyday and, I iron almost every weekend after laundry duty, so it's just not worth it to keep putting it back every day. Since, our ironing board has become a delightful piece of furniture in our room...I thought it needed to be pretty like everything else! I had been searching Etsy for a really cute, chic, ironing board cover...found some GREAT ones, but it just seemed a little ridiculous to pay  $25.00 plus shipping for a pretty cover. Awww but my good friend, Jenn reminded me that TJ Maxx had covers!! Don't you just love that store!!?? I went in there with a mission to find me a cover and found THEE perfect, pretty ironing board cover for only $10.00! Was I successful or what!? Now when I look at the ironing board, I no longer have to worry about it sticking out like an ugly piece of furniture, but a piece that flows with the colors of the room and brings a sweet feminine touch to the room! I know this blog is about our life...but honestly cleaning, organizing and, designing are a few of my favorite things to do in life. It makes me happy when I find something nice for the home, especially at a good price! Oh! and you know the saying "Happy Wife, Happy Life." (Marc's favorite quote) ;)

John Mayer!? Yes, Please.

If you really knew me, you'd know that there is one thing I absolutely LOVE! Ok, ok I love a lot of things...I'm just a loving kinda gal...However! I love, love, LOVE music!! Instead of watching the news like most do in the morning, I watch music videos (well listen to them while I'm rushing to get ready). I also have music streaming 24-7 at work, can’t really work without it. ;)

Have you seen the movie “The Heartbreak Kid” with Ben Stiller?? Here is a link to watch a trailer of it The Heartbreak Kid Trailer …but there is a part in the movie where Eddie (Ben) and his new wife road trip to their Honeymoon in Mexico and the whole trip every song that came on she knew and sang…she even played the musical instruments with her hands! Anyways, the point of why I am sharing this with you is because when Marc and I watched that movie, he looked at me during that part and said, “That is soooo you!” My mom even thinks so, but she's always on Team Marc. I hate admitting it, but it’s totally me! Haha! Yet, I can’t say I’m in this club alone…my sister is my partner in crime when it comes to singing out loud to every song on the radio. One thing we LOVE to do together is going to concerts and tonight we are doing just that! Who are you seeing, you ask?? The one and only, John Mayer! I couldn’t be more excited…my sis has seen him already and she reported it’s going to be a good one. I’ll be sure to do a post of how awesome it was!

My favorite John Mayer song to date: Slow Dancing in a Burning Room – It’s a total breakup song, but so DANG GOOD!

Blessed with Besties

Mostly everyone is blessed with a best friend. Sometimes, your best friend changes with the different chapters of life...however in my life, there are 4 consistent, beautiful women who I've been extremely blessed to call my best friends - Desie, Kel, Jess and Sissylala. We may not be able to talk every day or hang out every week...but no matter what, they mean the world to me! The other day we finally had the opportunity to have a lunch date together (minus the Sissylala...she's being a career woman in SD!), and it inspired me to do this post...to let them know how important they are to me and how I would do anything for them (Brooke and Cousin Wousin Bear, you are in there too!). They are all different and I think that's what I love most about them. Each one teaches me how to be a better person and I hope I do the same for them. :) Marc has told me as I grow older I might loose some of my close friends...which in the past years, I have, but I look it as weeding out the bad ones to keep the roses! I pray that my "roses" and I always have our friendship, I mean we've made it through high school drama, college fun, marriage and babies, 10+ years of a whole lotta stuff... I am pretty sure we can stick together through everything else life hands us in years to come!

One more thing I learned while reflecting on the blessing of having the bestest besties EVER, is that my husband is right up there with them. He is an incredible man, and I really can't imagine my life without him by my side. He seriously completes me and I am so thankful God has blessed me ten-fold with such an amazing life partner and best friend.

I AM ONE BLESSED LITTLE LADY!! :)

In Today's News...

Most of you know that I work at the Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Convention and Visitors Authority...I know, a mouthfull, right!? Around here we call it the CVA...in most other cities or  towns...they call them CVB's. All in all, it's a Bureau that supports one of the world's largest industries; Tourism. Well, our oganization has been going through a lot of changes these past couple of months and quite frankly "we're the talk of the town." Today we were regonized in the local newspaper as we posed by our new CVA Sign, one of the changes we've recently did to gain more exposure locally. Someday I'll do a post of what my role is at the CVA, but in the meantime take a peak at the article to learn more about what the Palm Springs CVA is up to!  Sign of the Times - The Desert Sun

Cheese Ballers!

Ok - If you know one thing about Marc and I, it's that we love to watch funny shows! One show we love is Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory (yes, on MTV). Well, a couple weeks ago his episode happened to be all about Grilled Cheese Sandwiches...it was Rob's goal to create THEE best GCS! He was so into it, he got his crew to enter in The Grilled Cheese Invitational, as the "Cheese Ballers." The Invitational was held this past April. Unfortuntely, they didn't win anything, but it was one HALARIOUS episode to watch! Since, I did a post about National GCS Day, I had to share this too! Who knows...you might see Marc and I at the Invitational next year! ;p

You can watch the full episode by clicking the link below...BELIEVE ME IT'S WORTH IT! Or I am sure it will rerun and you can catch it then!

Cheese Ballers! Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory - Season 3

You can also learn more about Rob Dyrdek on his website at dyrdek.com!

Newport Beach or Bust!

I know it seems as if Marc and I go on vacations a lot, but the truth is, since Marc is off during the summer it's our only time to get out of town together and "vacation". We both work in industries that are seasonal...October through May are months where we work long hours and Marc, being in the grueling golf business, barely gets two days off during the season, hence why we do our "traveling" in the summer. :) Our latest vacation you ask? Was a long weekend in Newport Beach with our good friends, Jenn and Tyler. We stayed at the Best Western right off of PCH in Newport, which was absolutely perfect. We all brought our beach cruisers, as that was the main inspiration for the vacation...well, it was two things...beach and crusin' our bikes on the beach. Marc and I had an amazing time, and it was so nice to share the memories with Jenn and Ty (Thanks Guys!!). Here's a day by day breakdown of all the fun things we did.

Day One - Thursday, July 29th
8:00am - Road Trip to Newport Beach...I have to say we didn't leave until about 9:00, we were waiting for Tyler to get pretty. ;P

11:00am - Arrive in NB and met up with Marc...headed to Mutt Lynch's for some fresh cold beers and some grub!

1:00pm - Beach Time!!

6:00pm - BBQ at Zac and Chad's new house....we also got to meet Dodger, he was one big doggie and slobbered a lot!

Day Two - Friday, July 30th
8:00am - Drove to Zac's and Chad's to pick up the bikes, which is in Corona Del Mar and rode them to PCH to meet Jenn at Starbucks for bagels and coffee...the bike ride totally kicked my butt! haha

10:00-4:00pm- Beach cruised to Huntington Beach....had a sneak peak of the US Open headquarters...shopped....ate lunch and had more beers, people watched and beach cruised back to the hotel.

6:00pm- Dinner Date Night at The Crow Bar in Corona Del Mar...We didn't have the best experience at The Crow Bar...it had a menu that was hard to understand and Ty ended up ordering a $20 burger that hardly looked like it should even be a burger. Let's just say the atmosphere of the restaurant was nice, but the food, not so much. Good thing we had good company!

10:00pm - Nightcap at La Cave....Newport being Tyler, Jenn and Marc's old stomping grounds they wanted to take me to La Cave, a restaurant that is literally in the basement and feels like you're in a pirate cave. We saw a lot of different people there, pirate looking people...it was good times for sure.

Day Three - Saturday, July 31st
10:00am - Breakfast at Starbucks again...Marc took some down time to study and write the rest of his term paper. Can you tell he is very dedicated (I don't know how he does it)?

1:00-4:30pm - BEACH BUMS! We took a bike ride to NB Penninsula to meet up with Chad and Zac, yes, you guessed it for more beers! We actually didn't find them, but we did find Rockin' Baja and grubbed on some delicious food and micheladas (Tyler ordered a burger again, it was a sucessful, beefy burger!) I think we all rolled out of there and tried to work off the food by bike riding back to the hotel.

6:00-10:00pm - OC Fair for the Sumblime Concert!! Sublime is back on tour, with their new lead singer, Rome, who did an awesome job! We got the $25 lawn tickets and took in the music and atmosphere. If you know me, I LOVE concerts of any kind....it was a great venue and great show!

10:00pm-Closing Time - Chad took all of us to Villa Nova Restaurant, where the cougars were out and on the prawl! We hung out at the piano bar and I slowly went down hill, but my trusty counterparts kept the night alive...we even counted down to the new month!

Day Four - Sunday, August 1st
10:00am - Breakfast at Cappy Cafe...just walking distance from the hotel, we scored an outside table and had a yummy breakfast!

12:00-4:30pm - BRONZED BEACH BUMS! We took in every ounce of beachiness we could...ordered these amazing sandwiches from Big Belly Deli and vegged out in the sand...we honestly didn't want to leave!

We can't wait for our next adventure with the Murdoch's!!

Friends & Foodies Forever

About a year ago, my friends Stephanie and Jessica started a food blog for our close girlfriends to post our favorite reciepes on...well, not being the best cook, I don't really post a lot, but Jess and Steph do! They have some really yummy dishes and easy receipes any "non-cook" can follow. Marc and I just got back from a 4-day vacation in Newport Beach (that post to come soon) and came back to a "room-mate" free house. I'm not really sure why we cook more when they are away, but we do and one night I ended up making a favorite dish of mine - Chicken Salad Wraps. I thought this would be a good post for our Foodie Blog and a perfect opportunity to introduce it to you! Here it is folks - friendsfoodiesforever.blogspot.com go check it out, you never know you might find something you'll want to try!

Bon appetit!

Fun for a good Cause!

Marc and I always jump at the opportunity to join a good cause, especially when the cause hits close to home. A couple years ago, we joined our friends The Jordan's & The Martinez's for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. This is a 24-hour event, where you walk or run around a track for 24 hours, at your own pace and your team raises money to go to the AMC and cancer research you support the most. Our team happened to be supporting Pancreatic Cancer, which our friend Emily lost her best friend, Bridget to. My family has also lost someone very close to this very common cancer. I believe Marc and I walked 19 miles combined...it was a very rewarding 24 hours. Since then we have tried to be involved with as much as we can with the PanCan fundraisers, and as most things there isn't always enough time to participate in all of them. However, we finally had a weekend we could! A couple weekends ago we came together with friends and went to an Angel's Game we had an absolute blast! It inspired me to write this post and take the time to make others aware that are are many things you can do to help raise money for the American Cancer Society and the research to find a cure for cancer. For Pancreatic Cancer alone, over 42,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year. There is so much information to post, so if you are interested in learning more and getting involved, here are a couple websites to get you started, http://www.cancer.org/ or http://www.relayforlife.org/. Our friends got us involved and we wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't spread the word! :) I know we've all met someone who has lost someone to this horrible disease, for Marc and I the grandfathers and close family members we lost to Cancer is our motivation to continue to be engaged in fun events for a good cause!

Here are some pictures from our day at the Angel's Game...we all wore purple to support PANCAN.

They gray ribbon represents - Brain Cancer, we wore them in honor of our Grandpas

Always loved and never forgotten

Grandpa Burt Ritter

Grandpa Glenn Brown

Cousin Lou Pollak

Mr. David Carmel

National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day!

That's right folks, you read it right! Today is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day! I heard this on the radio this morning and thought I should share this yummy day with everyone. :) I must say, I make a mean grilled cheese sandwich...Marc and I love dipping our GCS in ketchup and having it with a bowl of Tomato Basil soup! Ok, now my mouth is watering!

Since this is a National Day, I thought it would only be proper to share the history of the Grilled Cheese Sandwich with you.

Cooked bread and cheese is an ancient food, according to food historians, popular across the world in many cultures; evidence indicates that in the U.S., the modern version of the grilled cheese sandwich originated in the 1920s when inexpensive sliced bread and American cheese became easily available. The cheese dream, became popular during the Great Depression.

It was originally made as an open sandwich, but the top slice of bread became common by the 1960s. U.S. government cookbooks describe Navy cooks broiling "American cheese filling sandwiches" during World War II. Many versions of the grilled cheese sandwich can now be found on many restaurant menus across the United States.

What is your favoite way to have a Grilled Cheese Sandwich??  

Q & A's

Now that the wedding is over, we, scratch that, I, no longer get asked about wedding planning and I don't get to go into full explanation mode of the wedding details on what I'm doing, and what the colors are...basically all the fun questions a Bride loves to answer! To be honest, I miss it but at the same time it's quite refreshing to know that it's done and that day was the most incredible day ever!

However, since we are now married we get "married life" questions like, "When are you having kids?", "When are you buying a house."...I guess those are questions that get passed from generation to generation...it's just what we do or in this case ask. :) These are great questions, but sometimes I think asking questions like James Lipton does on Inside the Actors Studio, would be funner (Marc's word) to answer! It's like those sections in a gossip magazine, where they show pictures of celebs doing "normal" everyday things like us...they too get the same repetitive questions interview after interview, and on Inside the Actors Studio they get asked questions like, "What is your least favorite word?" or "What sound or noise do you love?" - wouldn't those be more entertaining to answer!? Sorry, I am rambling...but these questions sparked a blog post idea...and I thought I should do a post answering the questions we get asked so often now that we are a married couple and the next person who asks those questions, I will smile and say, "You should read our blog!" ;) Onward with the Q's & A's!!

Now that your married, when do you think you're having kids??
We are definitely looking forward to having kids, just not anytime soon. Although we have been together for 4 years and the majority of our friends have kids, we still have a couple things to check off our goal list, like buying a house and Marc getting into Law School and just being married...but to be completely honest if it happens tomorrow, it happens tomorrow...we're not putting a time limit on it as you can't always be completely prepared for what life hands you. It's God's will and whatever path he has for us we are open for it...

When are you buying a house?
I am sure most know that Marc and I sold my place after we got engaged. Marc's Mom and Step Dad, suggested that we sell our place and move in with them to pay off our debt and save money to buy a house. We actually sold our place waaaay sooner than we thought - made profit, moved into my best friends house with her husband and two kids and a couple months later moved in with the 'rents. Our current set up is truly a blessing, and we are very thankful his parents are helping us out! Since we moved in, we have paid down our debt tremendously and are almost done...with the wedding in the works it slowed our savings process a lot. We are now getting back into gear and saving for our house! When the actual move out date will be is another question...but like mentioned above it will happen when the time is right. Marc is finishing his B.S. in Public Administration at the University of La Verne and we are content with what we are doing.

How is it living with your In-Laws (insert funny face)?
It's actually not bad at all. Do we have our moments? Yes, of course, but all in all it's been fun! I absolutely love my In-Laws...I've learned a lot from them and I treasure the time we get to spend together, because once we actually do have kids and better careers we may not always get to hang out. It's also works because we all work and we all have different days off, so when you want your alone time on your day off, you get it. Overall it's not too shabby and again I appreciate the opportunity they are giving Marc and I. :)

What is Marc going to school for??
Marc is currently in the golf business and unfortunately, it's not a career in which you can have a nice retirement with...yeah, sure if you are the Director of Golf or Tiger Woods. Anyways, Marc decided two years ago to go back to school to finish his B.S. in Public Administration. He has received straight A's every semester he's been back and plans to apply for Law School next summer (and yes we know how long it will take...is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!). I don't mean to brag about my husband, but I will...school is what Marc is extremely good at and I believe he will suceed at it and it will take him places, he already is amazing, but he has so much potential and I support him in this journey 110%, no matter how long it will take (hopefully not too long).

Last, but not least...
What sound or noise do you love?
Amber: The first thing that popped into my mind was the sound of a piano...it's soothing and simply beautiful, when played right of course!
Marc: The waves crashing against the rocks at night...he said he used to listen to them when he lived in Hawaii and couldn't sleep.

Independance Daze

Well, another 4th of July has gone and passed and I was thinking on our drive to San Diego this weekend, that we've had some pretty fun memories of the 4th. Our very first holiday spent together was 4th of July...which was just days after we met...I think I am safe to say that was probably the weekend we began to fall in love - kinda mushy, I know, but very true. :) I am not sure if I love this holiday because it happens to be in my favorite month and 4 days away from my birthday (it's like a pre-birthday celebration) or if it's just a fun day to play in the sun, drink some cold beers and just have a good 'ole time!? I guess I will choose, all of the above and leave you with a little Independance Daze....

This was our first 4th of July together in San Diego - Circa '06

Haha! 4th of July spent with the Wood's & Priest's - we got to watch the fireworks from the roof!

U.S.A. Rocks!! '08 was spent with the Murdoch's, Nugen's and Walke's. It was nice celebrating America with our closest friends!!

2009 we were feelin' fine at the Nugen's house...and that is the only year I don't have a picture of us...however I remember it being a good time and we had our own little firework show in thier culdesac! Here's a picture from '08 it's of Bengy and Marc (oh Tyler is in there too!) and I couldn't resist!

This year we took it back to San Diego, where we spent it with my Cousin Kelly, my little Cousin Sienna, and our friend Noelle...we found a nice place on the Mission Bay and watched all the different firework shows. Suprisingly, it was a very cold weekend, and the sun didn't come out to play. Major bummer. However, we still had a fun time and it's always nice to get out of town for a while to visit friends and family! Here are some of my favs from this year's Independace Day.

Sienna loves her "Uncle Marc", she even said to me "No this is my Marc!" lol!

Sienna enjoying all the fireworks. :)

I hope you all had a wonderful and safe 4th of July!!