Bakersfield Sleepover

Well, as this is my first winter working in Bakersfield, I'm learning I need to be a bit more prepared. Last night, I didn't leave work in time and ended up being stuck sleeping over here in Bakersfield at a motel. With all the snow and black ice from Palmdale to the Grapevine, they closed the 58 East to Tehachapi (actually it was closed all the way to the 395). So, alas, I didn't get to sleep in my own bed or see my husband :( Thankfully, he was at home and the dogs didn't have to spend the night in the snow. But, I also didn't have any extra clothes, a toothbrush or pajamas - so note to myself: pack a small overnight bag and keep it in the trunk during this season.

Speaking of my husband, Derek is now on day 4 of school closure in Tehachapi because of the weather and is getting an extended sick leave/early winter break. I'm glad he gets to rest up plenty, but man, I'm jealous!

So, the weather is pretty exciting in our neck of the woods -- should clear up a little today and I am planning on leaving work before it gets dark. There may be some more storms in the near future so that will make holiday traveling interesting as well. Will keep everyone posted!

Got Snow?

Aubrey turns 5

Where, oh where does the time go? My beautiful niece turns 5 -- she is such a blessing!!!!

Christmas Tea

This year I hostess-ed my own table at our church's Christmas Tea.
It was a fun time to bring out china and make yummy scones.

Angela, Mom, and Nicole all made the trek to Tehachapi -- thank you!
It was wonderful to spend that time with you!

Cruise Pics 5 - Cruisin' Comes to an End

Here are some misc pics:
Here we are with our table-mates, Kevin & Sherry. They were a lot of fun and it was great to get to know them.

Here's our room...cabin 8133...a great room!!!

Our waiters, Alex and Nyoman. They were great fun and didn't razz me too bad for ordering the Chocolate Meling Cake EVERY night! I got the recipe so I'll have to try it at home :)

Glass elevators in the atrium lobby

Song and dance shows were also a lot of fun in the evenings. Here, some of the guests got to imitate singing stars in the finale of "Carnival Legends"

We had a fantastic time on this cruise and are looking forward to going on another some time in the future. Who wants to go with us???? :)

Cruise Pics 4 - Cabo San Lucas

Here we are in Cabo...in order to get to the dock, we had to "tender" in which meant the ship 'parked' a ways off and we took little shuttle boat to the into the marina. We really liked Cabo - it was a beautiful day and we just wandered around.

Derek REALLLLLLLY wanted to make a stop at Cabo Wabo - Sammy Hagar's famous bar and restaurant. It was a lot of fun and had great ambiance.

A Cabo critter

Making our way back to the ship.
I can't get over how gorgeous the water was!

Cruise Pics 3 - Mazatlan

After our hike the day before, Derek still wanted to go on his Mazatlan cross-country bike ride...I on the other hand didn't think there was any chance I could pull that off. Instead, I went to Los Moras Hacienda and Ranch for some relaxation and horseback riding.

Here is the little chapel on the hacienda grounds.

First glimpse of the hacienda

All sorts of creatures on the hacienda!

My horse was "Maria" and she had a baby colt about a couple of months old. He didn't have a name yet, but he followed us all the way on the trail. Very cute little guy!

Maria loved to snack along the way and hung on to this twig all the way back to the ranch.

Back at the ranch for lunch.

Cruise Pics 2 - Puerto Vallarta

A picture of our first port, Puerto Vallarta, from our balcony.

We decided to take a hiking tour and here we are on a short bus ride.

And we're off....beautiful and lush greenery all around us as we climbed up the foothills -- it was a VERY steep climb!

If you zoom in, there's a beautiful butterfly...in fact there were tons of different kinds of butterflies flitting about us -- it felt kind of like a fairy land (just really humid weather!)

This is an example of one of the trees that has many nasty thorns! It didn't take us long to learn to stay away from those!

Michelyn is waving in the distance

A hot mineral spring -- but we were so warm from the hike we just looked and waited for the cold small river coming up...

These turkeys don't know how lucky they are....their poor cousins north of the border are going to have a tough Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Michelyn kept her eyes open for unique birds...here's an egret in the river.