SoCal Meaghan

No seriously... this ALL happened!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 00:45:00 +0000

I'm almost at a lack of words to share with you what all happened today but I'm going to give it my best shot. If I didn't have witnesses to it I would think you'd call me a liar...

The day started out like any normal Saturday - Zoey woke up with an upset stomach and barfed (sorry for the queasy readers) in her kennel. So I let her out, gave her breakfast and went back to bed.

Fast forward two hours later and I roll out of the house to go to a meeting with one of my beautiful clients and one of my besties, and fellow vendors * shameless plug* Jen of Branches Floral Studio. As I anticipated, the meeting went Splendid-ly (sorry... I couldn't help myself!). From here on out, though, it went totally sideways.

I used the restroom at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (Del Mar location) and, much to my horror, left my iPad on the shelf in the restroom. Unfortunately I didn't realize I had done this until I arrived at my next destination, Rancho Bernardo Courtyard, where I was playing an extra in a hilarious video for the 48 Hour Film Project. More on that later.

Once the preliminary moment of panic subsided I decided to locate my iPad with the Find my iPad app which (thankfully) I had thought to turn on when I purchased the iPad. If anyone has any thoughts as to NOT use this feature, think again! The app took about 20 minutes to return a result as the iPad was out of Wi-Fi range but lo and behold it came back with a location just 2 miles from where I was. What are the odds of that? Del Mar to Rancho Bernardo? Apparently the universe wanted me to have my iPad back. So I plucked up the courage, and took Jen for support, and headed out in search of my iPad which I surmised was a the Starbucks using the free Wi-Fi.

Jen and I checked indoors when we arrived at the Starbucks and there was only one patron with an iPad and it definitely wasn't mine (had the camera - I have a lowly iPad 1). We then stepped out the doors and saw it almost immediately, sitting on a table with a couple. When I say this guy was a "thug" I mean it in every sense of the word. He was HUGE! Like offensive tackle huge. He had a creepy goatee and greasy hair and was talking on his phone. His girlfriend was the same size (almost). So, knees shaking, I walked up to the table, grabbed the iPad and said "Uh, yeah, that's my iPad". I still get wobbly-kneed thinking about what could have happened but I was so angry I wasn't afraid (in that moment, of course). You know what this guy says to me? "Oh, really? Ok". Like... no battle. No defense. He totally knew he'd been busted. He then tells me that the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf refused to take it from them when they tried to turn it in. Yeah frickin' right! I called the CBTL to see if anyone had turned it in and the lovely girl on the phone was so upset for me. She said she'd keep an eye out and promised to call me if anyone tried to turn it in. So... gansta thug who thinks you're bad ass - if you're stupid enough to steal an iPad from someone, at least do your homework to know that is has tracking on it. Let's just say Karma's a bitch and she's a comin' for ya!

I'd like to take a moment here to thank John and Jessica Gillon who so generously helped me find the Starbucks I was looking for and gave me the courage to go find it. You two rock!

Ok, so I finally get back to the RB Courtyard, triumphantly with iPad in hand, and am about to have folks start signing the waiver release form for the movie when I see a face I recognize, but I don't know why I recognize it. He hears me tell this whole story about the iPad and is quite impressed - wants me to share the story on Facebook. Then Jessica says "This is DSC Dave". My jaw almost hit the floor. (sidebar: for those of you who don't know who Dave Rikards is because you don't listen to the DSC - change your radio station. They ROCK!)

Ok, back on track: I've been trying to connect with Dave for a while to promote Wish Upon a Wedding. My day, if already not unbelievable enough, has just taken a wonderful turn for the better. Sadly, before I have a chance to talk to him (like he needs another annoying fan asking things from him) he walks away. But! I've made the initial contact which is super cool. THEN - my luck turns again! Since I'm the one in charge of the waivers I have to meet with him again to get him to sign it. So just before he leaves set for the day I corner him (super nice-like, of course!) and have him sign the waiver. While he's doing this I have his ear and chat with him about WUW. He says he's totally interested and I should call his producer, Emily, to talk about it. I'm floored - he says to mention the conversation and get her to schedule something. Then he says "Oh, and email me too so I remember today". I'm in heaven at the opportunity to promote this amazing organization. And then it happens. He says "Like, do you want to come on to the show to talk about it with me?". I'm all like "Yeah, that would be great" (trying to be cool, right?). And then he's like "Ok, awesome. That would be best". O.M.G. Best. Day. Ever!

Thank you, AGAIN, to Jessica and John for making the introduction to Dave. I couldn't have done it without you.

Ok, and then if you think the day can't get any crazier it does. Because now we get to film the "Riot Scene" in the short film, which was the impetus of excitement for this afternoon in the first place. Jen and I get to jump into a fountain and beat each other to a pulp. Not for real, of course, but c'mon, how often do you get to participate in a film AND jump into a fountain?! It totally rocked. I don't want to give away any more of the film since you should just see it yourself (it's going to be hilarious) but stay tuned for when it's posted online. I'll definitely have it posted here.

It's been a wild day and I'm excited about a relaxing night. My pizza has just arrived and the bottle of wine is about to be opened. I hope you enjoyed the re-cap of today's journey. And seriously... this ALL happened! Here's a few photos as proof!

Apparently I was feeling a bit "OG" after showing a thug what I'm made of. I don't know what that hand sign means but it felt right in the moment.

Uh, mascara police... Albeit not too shabby for two women who just rolled out of a fountain!

Ryan sportin' a sexy purple fringe number!

Scotland Honeymoon: May 14, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 20:49:00 +0000

It's hard to believe that we're already at the halfway point of our trip. Yet reliving each of the blog posts reminds me how much we actually did and saw each day. I think it also justifies my reticence to talk about the trip with people - I'd completely forgotten so many parts of our days that it was hard to tell the stories. I'm so glad I took notes!

So here we are, on Saturday morning, in Inverness - a fairly major city in Scotland and a huge port city during the Jacobite uprisings of the mid-1700's. Unfortunately our plan for the morning didn't include anything to do with history - we needed to find somewhere to do laundry! We found a launderette (and thanks to the wonder of Google you can see the proprietor having a smoke out front), as they're called in the UK, at 9am and did two loads of laundry. I pulled up the old iPad and took notes from the past two days and enjoyed listening to the proprietor talk about all kinds of nonsense, but primarily recall her angst of folding socks. Alan took off in search of coffee and thus missed the sock tirade. The owner not only allows others to do laundry but also allows folks to drop off their laundry to her and she washes, folds and returns to them via pick up. Sounds as if socks are the bane of her existence.

After the laundry was done and we trudged the mile back to the B&B, we took a trip into Inverness on foot and found it to be a very busy city. It felt a bit run down and far less friendly than other cities we'd encountered so we decided not to stick around any longer than we had to. We took a few photos on the way up to High Street to appease our friends and family who begged for images but I'm afraid nothing terribly note-worthy.

The foot bridge we crossed to get from the B&B to High Street

A look down-river. The bridge in the distance is the major traffic connection between the two halves of Inverness.

Inverness Castle - sounds silly but I was so disgruntled at Inverness that I didn't even care to see it.

We walked up to High Street and wandered some of the shops. Namely I was looking for a knitting shop to see if I could find some fancy yarns that I couldn't in the states but only found a lovely knitting book - so not a total loss. Hubband also found a chocolate shop where I found a chocolate Nessie and he found other delightful chocolate nibbles.

We stopped and had lunch at The Filling Station which appears to be a chain in the major cities in Scotland and then got out of dodge. The food was pretty awful and it was dreadfully crowded so we decided to find something local, but outside of town, to do since we were locked into the B&B in Inverness for one more night.

I'm amazed, even now, at the strong negative reaction we had to Inverness. I'm sure its a lovely city but compared to what we'd seen so far it was quite unremarkable. But truly, one bad day out of 14 ain't bad, right?

We headed out to Moniack Castle and Winery which ended up being primarily a tasting room with an active (lived in) castle on-site (home to the Clan Fraser). To say that the staff was a bit lackadaisical about her job would be an understatement. The sole staff member greeted us by asking if we'd been before, told us to taste the wines, and left. It was hilarious! So we did. And they were ok but certainly a bit outside our standard palette of wines. Most of them tend to be overly sweet as they make wines with everything under the sun except grapes. And I apologize - I took no pictures... I know... I'm the suck.

Deciding that this trip to a caste was a fairly silly trip since we weren't able to see inside the castle and the "wines" weren't to our liking, we headed out to see the Corrimony Cairn which, according to the brochures we found, is a 4,000 year old burial tomb, now not in use, of course. The origins appear to be pagan with a strong sense of worship of the sun. It was very cool!

From the ground level - you could walk (or crawl, really) right in.

The "standing stones" around the cairn - various sizes thought to mean different things - split over time as you can see the three pieces to the left of the image have done.

Another beautiful rainbow - we were lucky to see so many throughout the trip. I guess that's one blessing of rain.

We decided to stop in Drumnadrochit to pick up some toothpaste and for a spot of tea (or more likely, coffee) but got caught up in a gift shop and ended up missing the close of the cafe. So we headed back up the road towards Inverness in search if the Clansman Harbor Inn for a cup of coffee and to determine our next course of action. We had a very strong cup of white coffee (which we've determined is actually a lot like a latte - so lots of caffeine). We watched the Loch Ness boats go by and just wiled away an hour or so in the attempts to avoid Inverness.

By this time our stomachs were grumbling but we were determined not to go back to Inverness for the night until we had to go to bed so we put our trust in the GPS and headed out to find dinner elsewhere since the serving waitress at the Clansman Harbor Inn was a bit of a twit. The closest thing we could find was in Muir of Ord, a small town to the west of Inverness. But rather than taking us south a bit and then west from Loch Ness, the GPS took us all the way north, past Inverness, across the Loch/river that runs through Inverness, and then west. As luck would have it, the few places the GPS listed didn't exist so we headed on to the next town, Beauly, where we found our luck a little better. We did find a pub but it was somewhat less than inviting as there were only 3 other women in the place and a football (aka: soccer) game in the TV.

We saw an Indian restaurant across the street called "Beauly Tandoori" and struck gold. It was delicious! This restaurant "let" us order the king prawn vindaloo (which we weren't allowed to order in Fort William because it was "too hot") and found it delicious. It was definitely hot but delicious! And the service was great since we were the only patrons for the first 40 minutes or so.

After dinner we finally braved up and went back to Inverness for the night. Check out was (thankfully) the next day! Unfortunately we weren't quite through with the disappointment that was Inverness...

Scotland Honeymoon: May 13, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 20:11:00 +0000

It's official - it's going to be pretty hard for any B&B in Scotland, or anywhere else we visit in the future, to rival Treetops. The room is glorious, the breakfasts are divine and the bed? Almost better than what I sleep on at home. We slept like the dead all three nights we spent at Treetops and were sad to have to depart save for the adventures that were surely on the horizon for us.

We were on the road by 9am again, this time bound and determined to see the INSIDE of Eilean Donan Castle, despite it being an hour and a half out of our way. I was so upset not to see it the night before. We, Team Schmaltz, that is, decided that from here on out we'd scrap the color-coded itinerary I'd put so many hours into before the trip, thus leaving ourselves free to do whatever we wanted to do. And Mama wanted to see Eilean Donan. It was SO worth it! It's called Scotland's most romantic castle and boy is it ever! How we were talked into Dunvegan Castle over this one, I'll never know, though I suppose its better to see more, than less, since who knows when we'll ever get back there.

The original Eilean Donan had been blown to bits during the time of Robert the Bruce (early 1300's I'm pretty sure, though there are a lot of details about a lot of castles swimming around in my brain right now) but was rebuilt in 1913 by Clan Chief MacRae and it's stunning. We were able to take pictures in the inner courtyard and it was so awesome. What do you think?

The castle sits on a small island accessible only by a bridge or water. Given the terrain it was more often than not accessed (and attacked) from the water-side.

The front door from the bridge-side.

What you see when you look through the front door! It's magical...

View of the Loch from the main courtyard of the castle... pity it's not a nice view... *wink*

This outcropping is in the middle of the castle - the largest rock to the left of the picture was put there on purpose!

Yes, I wore that bright green jacket every day... it rained. A lot.

Looking up towards the main living quarters from the central courtyard.

Looking down towards the front door from the top of the outcropping of rocks.

A little hidey hole - excellent for a romantic tryst if the fancy strikes you!

Top of the wall that leads to the castles water source - it was so pretty!

One last look before we departed.

It was just after 12:30 when we were back on the road after touring Eilean Donan. But this time, rather than returning to Fort William, we were headed to our next leg of the journey: Inverness. On the way, we stopped at Glenshiel, a valley where a brief battle during the war of Independence (1715) took place. The Jacobites took on the English and were quickly snuffed out. The next big battle wouldn't be for 31 years and we're going to see that field on Sunday. Know what it is?

I'm not one for battles, but I think I'd rather have the high ground on this one... a bit dicey from the bottom, no?

So freakin' green!

As we got closer to Inverness we found ourselves driving north along Loch Ness. We decided to take a boat tour of Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle at 3pm so stopped at Clansman Harbor at 2pm for a bite of lunch before getting on the boat. I had a delicious cream of broccoli soup to warm the body and a melty brie and cranberry sandwich. OMG! My life is forever changed. I can't wait to try to remake this sandwich. I haven't yet because there's little in that's good for me but someday, when I'm ready to fully indugle... Hubband had a cheesy macaroni with chorizo crusts (basically small bits of mild chorizo sausage). Fortified by more starch we headed out into the hail for our boat ride. Yes, you read that right. Hail! But we mustered on and had a great time chatting about Nessie and becoming mesmerized by the waves.

When we reached Urquhart Castle we had a moment to look at the trebuchet before it started to absolutely pour!!! I took a brief moments refuge in the gate house though had no room for Hubband. Hee hee...

Most of us on the tour took shelter in the main gates of the Castle for about 5 minutes to wait out the rain but then the sun came out and the world felt new again. It made me think of a saying from my time in Kananaskis: Don't like the weather? Wait 5 minutes. But we'd have to amend it a bit here: Don't like the weather? Wait 5 minutes. Then another 5 and it'll rain again!

This was the Guard Room. I'd hazard a guess that it wasn't quite so comfortably furnished way back when...

This is where they put the bad guys.

The brand new stained boardwalk into the castle still cracks me up...

And no, I haven't altered the colors - the sky was THAT COLOR!

Rainbow #1!

Rainbow #2

I finally agreed to take a picture with Hubband. I felt a mess but this turned out ok in the end!

A huge watershed just outside the castle.

Back on the boat towards dry land. It was freezing. But we were on Loch Ness so who cares!

The water-side of Urquhart Castle.

I'm pretty sure they put bad people in this hole... but it might have been for something else. I don't remember!

Rainbow #3 - a rainbow over Loch Ness.

Back at the docks with NESSIE!

When were done with our soggy boat tour by 5:00pm, we drove the last 15 minutes in to Inverness to our next B&B: Bannerman. It's a tiny little place amongst a myriad of other B&B's along Glenurquhart Road just outside the heart of Inverness on the south side of town. We were in our room by 5:30 and crashed soon thereafter. We did find time for some hot chocolate and reading before bed that's about it. We. Were. Pooped.

Scotland Honeymoon: May 12, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:16:00 +0000

As is tradition (get it, Sean?) at B&B's, we had breakfast at Treetops again though thankfully a smaller portion than the day before. I declined the sausage and ate only half a piece of toast. At this point, Hubband and I had decided that Treetops had likely spoiled us for B&B's for the remainder of the trip. It really was the best place we stayed. Well, except maybe Sunday night's lodging but you have to wait to find out what that is...

Because Team Schmaltz is nothing if not determined to succeed, we went back to the Ben Nevis Distillery after being turned away the afternoon before due to previously scheduled bus tours (which we're told always get priority) only to find that there was a full day of buses ahead of us. We surmised we were lied to by the gal manning the distillery the night before as we were told that the next day was "wide open". When we inquired whether there might be space the next day, we were told again that we could come back at 10am the next morning again for a tour. As you might guess, we were somewhat skeptical so we stayed briefly in the lobby to read various description boards about the distillation process and overheard that, in fact, the whole NEXT day was also full of bus tours that the gentleman didn't think to tell us when we were told to come back the next morning! I'm starting to think that he just didn't like giving tours and so lied about bus tours coming all the time.

In the long run, though, we won. Why, you ask? Because we got these hilarious photos, and because I ended up buying a beautiful, 25 year old whisky from a shop that was from the Ben Nevis Distillery. Oh... wait... is that another win for the distillery? They didn't have to give me a tour or a free sample and I still bought their product? Dang...

Heilan' Coo's (Highland Cows!)

This one actually scared me a bit when he moo'd.

Almost as big as a Highlander, I am. But, I ask you, is he a "true" highlander? *wink*

So, rather than visiting the distillery we decided to drive to Mallaig and take the ferry over to the Isle of Skye. BUT! On the way up we found this beautiful old church in the middle of nowhere. I screamed "STOP" and Hubband, after almost having a heart attack, pulled over so we could take a look. It was open to the public so we enjoyed a tour around the outside and inside. We found some gems, to be sure!

Where's Meaghan and Hubband?

Shout out to all my Canadian peeps, yo!

I did a total double-take. I'm somewhat obsessed with BPC and the whole Culloden battle.

After this unexpected stop, and once Hubband's heart rate returned to normal, we arrived just in time to be ushered to the front of the ferry line in Mallaig. We had about 45 minutes to wait for the ferry so decided to hit up the local Mallaig coffee shop for... you guessed it... coffee. Mallaig is freakin' cold!

Hubband had a coffee, and a strawberry tart ('cuz he can't say no to sweeties). After he ordered this, a patron (or potentially the owner of the coffee shop) took all of the rest of the strawberry tarts and hid them. He looked pretty mischievous and very pleased with himself.

By the time we landed on Skye it was about 12:45 so we drove briefly up the coast and found a town called Broadford and had a bite of lunch at a pub/restaurant called The Claymore. It did, in fact, have a large Claymore on the wall above the bar (which if you look closely you can see below but I was "creative" and cut most of the sword out of the picture - well done me!). I had haddock and chips (again) and a glass of ginger beer. Hubband had squat lobster swimming in butter (no exaggeration) and a side of veggies which seem fairly hard to come by in Scotland. Plenty of meats and starches to be had. And two new food categories: beer and whisky. Both excellent but hard on the waistline.

This is Banoffee Pie - banana's and toffee with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle. Hubband was in Heaven!

Post-lunch (and another belt-notch looser) we planned to drive from Broadford to Ardelve/Kyle to visit Eilean Donan castle. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the jury is still out, we met with a couple from Nova Scotia at the Claymore restaurant who talked up Dunvegan Castle so much that we decided to head there before back down the road to Eilean Donan. Turns out, "down the road" was an hour and a half in each direction.

Just as we were leaving The Claymore, however, I noticed that our back tire was a bit low. We found a gas station just down the road and filled the tire (or "tyre" as the sign would say). We also filled with petrol (unleaded gas to us 'Mericans) and found that the gas price was about £5.60 per gallon - at the current exchange rate, that's $9.62 cents per gallon. Talk about highway robbery! The only saving grace is that the car gets about 50 miles to the gallon and the country isn't all that big!

We made it to Dunvegan Castle (home of the MacLeod clan) by 4:15pm and had a great time wandering through the castle. While I was, by no means, "castle-d" out by this point, Dunvegan Castle didn't strike me as anything all that extraordinary. Alas, as with most castles, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside so you'll just have to look it up if you want to see what it was like inside.

Outside, however, I've got you covered:

One of four major gardens...

Duh duh da duh! Dunvegan Castle!

Overlooking the Loch

Front door - this is as far as they'd let me go with the camera

Front gates... from the inside...

At this point you've likely noticed that we're on the road a lot. Which means we have to stop to use the restrooms in some random places. We managed to take in a wide array of different types of restrooms but this one, in particular, at Dunvegan Castle, was picture-worthy. I don't think we had a bathroom this fancy anywhere else on the trip. Random.

It was just after 6pm by the time we worked our way down to Eilean Donan Castle only to find out that it had closed moments before. We were able to walk around the castle on the outside but weren't able to get inside, which is where the real magic is. We were told to come back the next day and thought we wouldn't be able to. So we drove our sorry selves back to the Treetops B&B and were back in our room by 9ish. We decided to just grab snacks at the local grocery store and have a cuddly night on our room.

A few of the sad photos from Eilean Donan Castle - the most romantic castle in Scotland:

Looking back across the bridge from the base of the castle

Looking at the castle from the parking lot

The Clan MacRae roll - World War 1

All said and done, the schedule I set up before going here has gone completely to pot and we're just winging each day depending on the weather - which is mostly rain!

Scotland Honeymoon: May 11, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 18:06:00 +0000

Our first full day in Fort William greeted us with sunshine (something we'd found hard to come by up until now) and another hearty Scottish breakfast full of eggs, toast, French press coffee, sausage, bacon and beans. Even recounting this story to you I'm salivating. This was probably one of my favorite breakfasts of the whole trip. The owners of Treetops Fort William were so sweet, and wonderful cooks.

**side note: I'd forgotten this, but wanted to share it with the previous post - look at the address for this place. Could you find it? "Treetops, Badabrie, Banavie, Fort William, Scotland, PH33 7LX". Seriously, this is the address. No street numbers, nothing.**

We planned to hike Ben Nevis - at least that's what I'd planned in our color-coded Excel spreadsheet (oh no, I'm not kidding...) but given the weather (still kinda rainy) and the low lying clouds that obscured the view of the top of Ben Nevis the entire time we were in Fort William we decided to head into town to see what we could find rather than over-exerting ourselves with a hike. Let's face it, I'm a creature of comfort - which usually means sitting down.

Nope... still can't see Ben Nevis's top!

Our first stop was the Old Inverlochy castle which was home to the Comyn's for 28 years and subsequently a stronghold for Robert the Bruce in 1308. It's now little more than a shell and because of it's un-manned status it appears to have fallen prey to local teenagers who have left piles of empty and/or broken bottles of alcohol all over the place. Quite sad, really, in my opinion, but I suppose when one lives here, one castle is the same as the next. We had the place to ourselves to explore for a while so that was kind of fun.

We found the "Treasures of the Earth" museum next, as it started to rain. The Museum hosts geology finds from around the world, specifically focusing on precious metals and gems. They had a small upper floor which boasted fossils and a map of the various ages (Triassic, Jurassic, etc.). It was an entertaining way to spend an hour but felt like something we might find in no-where's-ville, USA. I did, however, document it from the outside just in case you're curious:

We debated taking the train to Maillag but decided against it since we'd have to sit and wait at the train station for an hour. So instead we went back into Fort William (the museum was in Corpach) to find Hubband a new book as he's finished the one he brought with him, have lunch, and just idly spend the day.

We had lunch at a pub called the Grog and Gruel. We shared a steak and ale pie with curly fries (because everything comes with fries here) and we each had a beer. I'm sorry to say that I don't recall exactly what we had but I think mine was a floral beer, perhaps a lavender... I think it was called the White Lady. And I've got no clue what Hubband drank but he loved it. And as a side note, for you dog-lovers who care to visit Fort William, the Grog and Gruel is dog-friendly! Dogs right in the pub with you! Seriously!

We strolled up and down high street - I was on a mission to find a silver Thistle ring and I was actually successful - I was so successful in fact that I took a picture of the shop, just for you!

And just for your education:

The story Behind the Scottish Thistle

the national emblem of Scotland

'A Prickly Tale'

By John A. Duncan of Sketraw, KCN, FSA Scot.

The Scots Thistle

The prickly purple thistle was adopted as the Emblem of Scotland during the rein of Alexander III (1249 -1286). Legend has it that an Army of King Haakon of Norway, intent on conquering the Scots landed at the Coast of Largs at night to surprise the sleeping Scottish Clansmen. In order to move more stealthily under the cover of darkness the Norsemen removed their footwear.
As they drew near to the Scots it wasn't the only thing hiding under the cover of darkness. For one of Haakon's men unfortunately stood on one of these spiny little defenders and shrieked out in pain, alerting the Clansmen of the advancing Norsemen. Needless to say the Scots who won the day.

And there you go. Lesson over. After we left High Street we decided to try to find the Ben Nevis distillery and instead ended up on quite an adventure. I was going from memory and thought that said distillery resided at the base of Ben Nevis. As it turns out, it does not, but we did find ourselves on a very narrow two-lane, and subsequently a one lane, road that snaked it's way through the hills to the "back" side of Ben Nevis. If you take a moment to Google "Ben Nevis" in Google maps and then "Ben Nevis Distillery" I think you'll find yourself adequately amused.

Needless to say, we saw some beautiful sites (sights?) on the way but had some harrowing moments when passing (or being passed by) other vehicles when all we had to one side of our vehicle was a steep drop into a river or gorge.

We did persevere and I'm pleased to have survived to recount this story to you. We went back into town to the Tourists Info center and were given a map to the distillery which, in a cruel twist of fate, is very near the B&B. We drove ourselves over there only to find, in an even crueler twist of fate, that they were closed to public tours for the remainder of the afternoon as they had some tour busses about to arrive.

After our failed visit to the distillery and various other nail-biting moments on the roads we decided to head back to the B&B for some R'n'R and Whisky. For dinner we had Indian at the Indian Garden Restaurant (and we DIDN'T drive down high street this time!). We had vegetable pakoras, chicken tikka masala, shrimp buhla and garlic nan with a cobra beer (a light lager). We were told, under no circumstances, would we be served the Beef Vindaloo because it's "too hot for you". We were on a mission to prove them wrong... we just had to find another Indian restaurant. And we did.

That night as I took notes about the day and sipped my night-cap, I could hear the sheep "baa-ing" on the hill next to us. At the time nothing seemed more surreal than rain pattering down on the window sill and sheep saying their goodnight's...

Scotland Honeymoon: May 10, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:25:00 +0000

I'm in a blogging kind of mood today. I'm blaming it on yesterday which turned out to be a not so great day. I felt undervalued by a client (unintentionally, I believe) and am now slightly less than motivated to work for her today. SO, to repair my self esteem I'm going to relive my honeymoon a bit. I realize that today is officially 2 months since my last full day in Scotland. Wow... I've been dragging my heels just a bit, eh? What can I say... things've been busy!

Back to the story at hand...

May 10th was morning number two at Craigpark Guest House in Glasgow; we scheduled breakfast a bit earlier than the day before so we didn't have to wait for coffee. Sadly, I set my alarm for 6:15am so I could shower before the 7:00am breakfast we ordered. Big mistake. We didn't go to bed until midnight the night before so when the alarm went off we were both a little bit more than peeved. However, post-shower and a cup of coffee we were right as rain (pun intended) and ready to face the new day. Today's adventure? Driving on the wrong side of the road!!!

We were stuffed into the back of the taxi by 8:30am and on our way to the Hertz lot. I gotta say, these rental car companies put an awful lot of trust in people. The agent just handed us the keys, smiled and walked away. No instructions. No "remember you're on the wrong side of the road, mate". Nothing. So, we fired up the Vauxhall Corsa and decided that we'd just go for it.

I should take a moment and make a bold statement here, and I may have in the past, also, but just to be clear: in my world, I'm the best driver there is. Yes, I realize this is a blanket statement and there are far more qualified drivers out there, many of them who share the road with me each day, but I don't KNOW these people. So, in my little sphere of influence, and in my somewhat-biased opinion, I'm the best driver. Even better than Hubband. But here's the caveat: I'm the best driver I know... in America. Hubband, however, has risen up the ranks in my estimation after successfully navigating us through Scotland in a manual, on the wrong side of the road. He. Was. A. Champion! We picked up the car in a deluge of rain and had to find a highway all while learning how the car worked. We had one little bump to a curb when a car came towards us on "the wrong side" but otherwise, I have no complaints. This car could MOVE! We got something ridiculous like 50 miles to the gallon. No, seriously, you read that right. 50 miles to the gallon. It was awesome.

Our destination on this rainy Tuesday was Fort William, a smaller city about 110 miles north of Glasgow. However! After the harrowing trips up the narrow highways and the recommendation from our tour guide the day before to "pull over if a truck is coming because the highway is too narrow and he'll hit you if you both try to pass" made up our minds that we should try to stay on a wider highway. We decided, at the recommendation of a friend, to take a detour to the sea port town of Oban. I'm SO glad we did. The town was beautiful!

BUT! On our way to Oban we decided to go back to Inverary where we stopped the day before for lunch to take some more images of the town and have a coffee. By the time we arrived we definitely needed the stop. Albeit Alan was doing a great job navigating the windy roads to wend our way through this beautiful countryside, the roads are narrow and he was up-shifting and downshifting like a mo-fo. He was ready for a break and, as navigator extraordinaire, I was too. Mama needed some caffeine if she was going to stay awake the rest of the way north.

Yay for more white coffee! Check the neckwarmer and wristlets. I made them!

This is the tiny little town coffee shop - it's across the street from the George Hotel where we had lunch the day before.

This is main street. All of it. At the top of the street to your right is the Whisky shop and across the street from is is the George Hotel. Pretty simple. No one gets lost in Inverary.

This would be the frontage street. These buildings face the water. Behind us was a small 7-11 type store and the access to the port... seen below. And that's about it for the town.

Ok, so side trip over. Now it's really time to head to Oban. We stopped and had lunch at a great little Fish'n'Chips shop called Norie's and then strolled through town for an hour or two, with an obligatory stop at the Oban Distillery. Sadly, they didn't offer us a tasting or a tour so it was a brief stop.

The Columbia Hotel was one of the most prominent buildings on the water that we could see. It felt very "Jack Sparrow". I dunno... I liked it.

And this just cracked me up... The Pokey Hat? Presumably they are referring to the cone but last time I checked the cone was on the bottom of the ice cream - not very hat-like at all!

For the record, we saw no seals. But lots of boats. And water.

Main street Oban - bad picture of a great little town.

So, with belly's full and the smell of peat in the air it was time to make the last leg of the journey north to Fort William. It continued to rain much of the way up there but we were warm and dry in the car so it didn't faze us much. When we finally arrived in Fort William the sun broke through the clouds and the timing couldn't have been better. We arrived at our next B&B, Treetops of Fort William, where we were staying for 3 nights, and we were able to capture this amazing view from our room. If you go to the website, just for your reference, we stayed in the top room.

It was THAT green. Truly amazing!

And a sneak peak at the room: the chair become my place of refuge each night with my iPad to take notes and my book to relax with.

Hubband was posing for the shot... ok, not really, but he looks good, right?

Hubband reading? What? With BARE FEET? This man MUST be on vacation...

The last leg of our journey that night was our excursion to find dinner. We've discovered the one flaw with B&B's: they're not B&B&D's (Bed & Breakfast & Dinner)... so we had to venture out to find a restaurant. Unfortunately, High Street in Fort William is a very busy place, even on a Tuesday night, and parking is a bit hard to come by if you don't know where you're going. So, after a few failed attempts to find parking, and one drive down a street that we thought was a street but in actual fact was a pedestrian only zone, we headed back towards the B&B somewhat defeated until we found:

What we failed to recognize as we ran into this place one minute before it closed was that it said "Frozen Food Specialists". There aren't microwaves at B&B's. Nor are their ovens at our disposal. So we bought a box of Oreo's and a bag of "cheesy flavored chips" that the check out gal assured me were "just like Doritos". Allow me to reassure you - they were nothing like Doritos. We went to bed feeling pretty awful that night for all the bad food we ingested but were mollified by the fact that we had more adventures on the horizon...

Scotland Honeymoon: May 9, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 May 2011 16:34:00 +0000

After a long day on Sunday, we slept for 12 hours! I typically get five or six hours of sleep a night and that keeps me running. Twelve hours is a bit much for this body to take. I woke at 4:30 but didn't want to wake Hubband so I played on the iPad a bit but was restless again by 4:45 or so. At 5:45 Hubband woke up and we decided to start our day since we were both done with sleeping and a bit sore from being in bed for so long.

By 6:15 am we were touring the area around the B&B looking for coffee. As it turns out, Glaswegians don't start their work days until 9 am (must be nice) and as a result, most coffee shops don't open until 8am. We did manage to find an Italian cafe (Coia's) that opened at 7am but "opened" is a loose term. They sat as at 7:05 (we must've looked caffeine-deprived enough) and tossed menu's at us by 7:15. They finally took our order by 7:20 and within just a few minutes we had our coffees. I ordered a "white coffee" which appears to be a standard coffee with whipped milk added so it's much lighter in color than a black coffee. It. Was. Delicious! You want good coffee? Come to Scotland!

We downed our coffees fairly quickly as we had to be back at the Manor at 8 am for breakfast. Maybe you can answer this question for me as I've never stayed in B&B's before: is it customary for them to serve
hot breakfasts to order at specific times? At each place we're staying there appears to be a window of time where they will serve breakfast each morning and it's included in the cost to rent the room. They appear to be between the hours of 7am and 8:30 am though it does differ by about half an hour at each place.

The Scottish breakfasts seem to include to same items at each B&B: eggs (poached, scrambled or fried), sausage, bacon, potato scones, bakes beans and more toast that you know what to do with. Not a lick of fruit or veggies to be seen. So if I'm a couple of sizes larger than the last time you saw me when we meet again, blame it on the Scots!

At 9am Andy Cameron, our tour guide, arrived to pick us up for our day at Loch Fyne to learn about my family clan: the McLachlans! Our first stop outside Glasgow was half way up Loch Lommond, just north of the border of the Highlands. There isn't really a line drawn anywhere but it appears to be at about the halfway point (north to south) of Loch Lommond. It was a brief stop as this Loch didn't hold much interest for me. It is, however, Clan McFarlane territory and a colleague of mine, Rev. Tuttle, is of the McFarlane clan. He asked us to stop to skip stones at Loch Lommond or Loch Long so we indulged his request. We don't really know the significance of skipping the stones but it was fun anyway!

Hubband skipping stones - he was far more successful than me!

Our next stop was on the way to Inveraray at the Argyll Forest Park also known as "Rest and be Thankful". Its the first real stopping point after coming down through the Highlands according to Andy. It was a beautiful valley but so very windy! I think Scotland suits us...

Our next stop, and the main reason for hiring Andy, was to visit Loch Fyne and Old Castle Lachlan of the MacLachlan clan. I knew it was in disrepair so I didn't expect to get to see it but boy, did we see it! I stood where our ancestors stood! It was so cool. When we first arrived we could see the new Castle Lachlan and the ruins appeared to be across a bog which, as it turns out, is actually underwater when the tide comes in. Did you know that Loch Fyne is one of the largest, if not THE largest sea water fed Lochs? Me neither, but now I do!

In any case, when we got over to the old castle ruins which you can see WAAAAAY in the distance in the above picture... covered in vines... we climbed our way up into one lower room of the castle. We could see other rooms but there didn't appear to be any way to get to them internally. It turns out, if you're clever, a little brave, and have a wonderful tour guide, you can get up and down in the castle from three of the four sides. We stood in the great hall, and in the courtyard where visitors would have been announced. We stood on the kitchen and various battle rooms. I could go on and on. It was just amazing.

This would've been the Great Hall for hearing the public and feasts!

This would've been the front entrance. Do you see the white stone just this side of the door? It's a huge piece of white quartz. We don't know the significance of it but think there ought to be one. I rubbed it for luck.... Just in case!

And as a gift to us for our honeymoon, Andy brought us a bottle of whisky and we toasted to our good health (Slange Var in Gaelic) on the bench at the foot of Old Lachlan Castle.

And THIS was the view...

Our fourth stop was the town of Inveraray. We had lunch at The George Hotel which (and I'm still a bit confused about this) was established in 1720 and built in 1778. Maybe you understand the distinction? I had smoked salmon with chive cream cheese and baguettes and a salad while Alan had haggis, tatties and neeps (mashed potatoes and mashed turnips). I have to say, haggis is actually pretty good.

After lunch we stopped at the Sweeties shop (Andy calls it this, you and I would call it a candy store) and the the Loch Fyne Whiskies shop. At the Sweeties shop Hubband bought fudge (as he always does) and I got sour apple balls (I think I destroyed my sour sensors on my tongue with just one...) and horehound candies. I didn't know what horehound candies were but traditionally in Europe they were used to treat upset stomachs or sore throats. They seem to be a combination of anise seed, sarsaparilla and black licorice.

At the Whisky shop we bought two bottles that we're having shipped to us next week. The first, more for me than Hubband as he's not as big a fan as I am, is a single malt, straight out of the barrel, 25 year old Speyside whisky. On top of that, it's one of only 556 bottles to be made from that stock. Its not available in the US at all. Pretty special! The second is Islay whisky (pronounced eye-la) which is known for it's smokiness because the water is heated over peat fires.

Stop five on our tour of the Clan MacLachlan lands was a brief tour of the clan graveyard. According to Andy, as a descendant of a MacLachlan, I have the right to be buried there. I can only imagine the stories that would develop seeing a "Schmaltz" buried in a Scottish graveyard.

Our sixth and final stop was Inveraray Castle which is still an active castle. The 13th Duke of Inveraray lives there. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside but you can learn more about it at http://www.inveraray-castle.com/. It's a Campbell clan castle and they were enemies of the MacLachlan clan at Culloden. Despite it being "enemy territory" it's so perfect - it looks like a castle straight out of a Walt Disney film.

After a long day of searching and discovery we headed back to the Manor. We were in our room by 6:30 and asleep by 6:45. We snoozed until 8:30 or so at which point we decided to go find dinner. Much like the coffee shops not opening early, many pubs don't stay open late. We ended up finding a deli that was still open so we took an order of fish and chips with us back to the Manor.

We stayed up until midnight or so uploading pictures and blogging the first leg of the trip, which by now you've probably seen. However, we did it with a dram in hand...

Scotland Honeymoon: May 8, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 May 2011 15:51:00 +0000

It's about time I get to day two of this honeymoon blogging since it's also acting as our journal for the trip. I'm sitting here in a cushy white chair in Fort William at the Treetops B&B overlooking Ben Nevis. It's hard being me today!

So, back to Sunday. If it wasn't quite explained in the previous post, our take off from San Diego was on a Saturday, but we landed in Glasgow on a Sunday. Bright and early, Sunday morning mind you. Though not quite as early as we'd planned. While sitting sipping our complimentary mimosa's in first class in real glassware on the tarmac at the Philadelphia airport we were told that a piece of equipment used in bad weather was on the fritz and we were waiting to have it repaired. As luck would have it, the weather throughout the flight was good since the crew and maintenance gang were unable to repair it. What did I care? I was drinking mimosa's with traces of Dramamine in my system. So rather than landing at 7am Glaswegian time (that'd be 11pm San Diego time) we landed at 8am. No big deal.

Oh good, I've just been handed a glass of whisky. I can now continue the story in complete comfort! Hee hee...

By 8:30 we were through security, bags in hand and all, and were let loose on the world. We weren't going to be able to check in or drop our bags off at the first B&B until 10am (and my bag was HEAVY!) so we decided to head upstairs, still at the airport, for a cup of coffee and to determine our plan of attack. The coffee was delightful if not more reminiscent of a cappuccino than the average American coffee. It was thick and so dark, even with a heavy dose of cream (or milk, being as it wasn't labelled). But we sat up in this little deli area for an hour or so and checked email, our maps, and then eventually called Craigpark Manor to confirm we could still arrive at 10am.

I don't know why but this wall cracks me up!

Aww... Isn't Hubband adorable?

After we checked in at Craigpark Manor (that little orange blob is me) we walked the mile or so it is into downtown. We walked down Duke Street which runs straight into the downtown core of Glasgow. Once nearer to downtown it becomes George Street and leads straight into George's Square which is pretty much the hub for all activity in Glasgow. Its huge! Our pictures won't do it justice. You definitely need to look this up to see it.

We found an information stop and were able to get directions to some shops where I might find a raincoat as I don't own one in San Diego. We ended up finding one for £30 at a store called TK Maxx. It's identical to TJ Maxx. Alan asked whether TJ Maxx came first because J comes before K in the alphabet. Aww Hubband... so quick with wit!

While at TK Maxx it started to pour despite our drive from the airport to the Manor and the walk into town thus far having been dry. It was quite lucky I found a coat at that point or I'd have been soaked. We found ourselves a bit unsteady on our feet which we attributed to a shortness of sleep so we stopped at Prince's Square, which is a little collection of shops and bistro's reminiscent of New York. Alan had another very rich coffee and I did the "proper" thing and had tea. It was heaven given how damp and tired we were. we also ordered some soup: I had Cock-a-leekie soup and Hubband had Cullen Skink. He's a brave soul! As a side note, there were no prunes in my Cock-a-leekie soup... I wasn't even offered them - something I'm given to believe my mother had in her Cock-a-leekie soup as a child though I cant say I'm disappointed. I'd likely have skipped the prunes anyway. I tried the Cullen Skink and it was quite good despite the description that is found online. It reminded me very much of a clam chowder in both taste and appearance. We did know it was a haddock dish (a fish neither of us are familiar with) and I can tell you with confidence that the menu made no mention of skin or hough.

By the time we finished lunch it was only just 1pm. We decided to take a city bus tour since we have set aside the least amount of time in Glasgow while here. On the way, though, we saw this advertisement. It cracked Hubband up so we had to take a picture. Then we found the public toilets and they cracked ME up so i felt obliged to share that with you too!

Alright, enough potty humor... Onwards and upwards!

The tour bus tour made twenty four "stops" which pretty much meant they drove PAST twenty four points of interest, rather than actually stopping. We were able to take a few pictures as we flew by all these monuments but many of the pictures won't do justice to what we saw. We did, however, make a special side trip on our way back to the Manor at the Glasgow Cathedral which is a Protestant church which survived mostly in tact from the early 1500's and before. It was gorgeous! I'm not sure if you'll be able to find it on a map but if I recall correctly if you find the intersection of John Knox Street and Duke/George Street and go west you should find it. It's immediately adjacent to the St. Mungo museum.

This is where St. Mungo is buried...

These images aren't even close to representing the beauty of the space but I find myself somewhat hampered by the app I'm using to upload the images to the blog. I've got plenty to share on Facebook when I land back in San Diego.

By the time we got back to the Manor I believe it was around 4pm local time but it may have been a bit earlier. We each took a much-needed shower and hopped into bed for some shut-eye. We slept until 4:30 the next morning at which point our adventures began anew...

Scotland Honeymoon: May 7, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:33:00 +0000

So it's actually 10:43pm local time (that'd be Glaswegian time) on Monday, May 9th, and I'm finally uploading the 176 images taken over the past three days. Yes, 176. For a photographer that's nothing but for a gal who really doesn't take many photos on any given day that's a lot of pictures.

However, I'm going to start at the beginning of the trip which was Saturday, May 7th: the shortest day of my life. It was only 16 hours.

At 3:30am the alarm went off. I didn't hear it though because I was already in the shower. I guess I was excited. We'd gone to bed at about 9pm the night before but likely didn't actually get to sleep until 10pm for all of our nervous energy. I expected to be far more tired than I was when I woke but apparently I was running on adrenaline. I showered, packed the rest of my personal items and was pacing by the froth door by 4:15am.

Our car showed up at 4:20am (10 minutes early, as expected) and we blasted off to the airport in style with Pops of Elite Image Limousines. He let us share all of our excitement with him on the drive over. He was a gem.

We were through security in about 5 minutes and sitting in the waiting area an hour before we were scheduled to take off to Philadelphia, our first and only stop before Glasgow. I had, fortunately or unfortunately, I can't decide, taken two Dramamine to settle my uneasy stomach before leaving the house. As it turns out, "marked drowsiness" doesn't adequately describe a side effect of Dramamine. "Just try to keep your ass awake" is a better way to market it, in my opinion. Usually one to be nervous and edgy before and during flights (which my husband loves... not...) I not only fell asleep waiting to board the plane but barely got through take off before I was asleep again. I. Love. Dramamine.

The flight to Philadelphia was relatively uneventful and the only thing to note is that, as warned by Sean, I'm spoiled for coach flights. Flying first class is awesome. They provide their guests with drinks before the plane even takes off (read: as the coach guests are walking past you to their cramped seats) and the drinks are served in glassware. Not plastic. Glass. It's awesome! Ok... I'm kind of gloating but it's my first time...

Likewise, the layover in Philadelphia was fairly non-noteworthy. As first class flyers we were able to sit in the US Airways Envoy lounge at the airport which afforded us plush leather seats, assorted free food and drinks (alcoholic and non-) and a front row seat to the runway. I was antsy after about 45 minutes so we headed down to our gate and read for a couple of hours.

Now! First class on an international flight is something to write home about! The seats recline to an almost-horizontal position, mimosa's and champagne are served (again in real glassware) as soon as you're in your seat and you're given a menu. A menu!!! We were served warm nuts and a cocktail just after take off followed by a delightful little appetizer salad/chicken dish, then our entree (I had mahi mahi and Hubband had steak) and then, if you please, dessert and another cocktail. Un-freakin' believable! And did I mention the legroom? I know at 5' 3" I'm not so tall as many people but I had another 6" or 8" past the end of my toes before I'd even touch the back of the seat in front of me!

By this time it was about 1am Scotland time so I decided to have a dram of Glenlivet and get some shuteye before we landed. So I laid the seat back, put on the provided eye mask and snoozed for four hours...

Alrighty, time to get some shut eye before tomorrow's adventures start. I'll likely blog a few days tomorrow with way more pictures! It's now 11:30pm local time (3:30 San Diego time). G'night!

Test Before Scotland #2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 06:27:00 +0000

Ok, so I was hoping to find some inexpensive apps to blog while on our belated honeymoon in Scotland but that didn't quite happen. However, in the grand scheme of things, $6 for two apps plus a $29 SD card adapter isn't too shabby. Plus, I'll be able to blog from the iPad all the time. Nifty.

Ok... To test a photo!

Well, that was easy peasy. What about formatting text?
BOLD!
Italic...
~~Strike-thru...~~

I'm sure there's plenty more to test but I'm kinda sold on this app already!

And how 'bout a link? Perhaps a shameless plug for Weddings Made Splendid? www.weddingsmadesplendid.com.

So, if you see this and find any glaring errors I'd love to hear from you. And if it's all good, a friendly "hey-o" never goes amiss. Thanks for stopping by!

Test before Scotland

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 05:52:00 +0000

In two weeks minus three days Hubband and I are taking a belated honeymoon. I want to blog while we're there but need a good app to do it. So here's test #1. Feel free to leave your thoughts!

First day back to work: Hubband-Style

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 17:16:00 +0000

So, as I type this I realize I'm in a rather unusual humor this morning. I've had "this isn't right; it's not even fair, really..." running through my head since I took this photo but it's just not making any difference. I have to post it.

I'm an early riser. Clearly, Hubband is not.

Just to further the proof that my sense of humor is slightly skewed this morning, I challenge you to find the one thing in this photo that makes me laugh even harder than Hubband hiding his head under a pillow to avoid hearing his cell phone alarm which goes off every 10 minutes. I've heard it go off at least 8 times already.

No? You don't see it? It's the rather large bottle of hand lotion appropriately sitting next to the box of Kleenex. For those of you who don't get the humor in this... I'm sorry. I'm not going to explain it to you. For those of you who do get it, let it be said: "My Hubband is a satisfied man. It's simply a case of sophomoric humor causing me to note something so mundane on a man's bedside table".

I should go try to be a grown up now. I have a job to do after all...

Birthday Toast: Katy and Sean

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Make whatever inference you want: saving the best for last? Or last place posted, first in my heart? Whatever you like, today is dedicated to the couple whom I call "My Gravity".

Katy and Sean - How fast can I make Katy cry?

You two have become my family. It's just been a year and a half that we've known each other, and just less than I year since I've been inducted into your inner sanctum, but to me, you two feel like home. Whenever I'm with you I relax and I swear that my world feels that much more put together for having you in it. Whether you're helping me grow my business or laughing the night away with me (even via ridiculously late-night emails with Sean) you heal my soul.

Our stories up until this point are similar whether it's the relationships that we've had or the ones we now maintain, and I hope that our lives stay on the same path. I fear I can't go on here... my readers will click away for all the mushiness and I'm losing the ability to see the screen for all the (happy) tears. You know what you are to me (and to Hubband) and I can say, with certainty, that you two make my life whole.

Katy: "You... complete me!"

Sean: "You had me at hello."

Oh, and Merry Christmas, too!

XOXOXO

Birthday Toast: Bethel and Jason

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 18:00:00 +0000

To my newest friend of those who came to the party! Bethel and Jason - I raise a glass to you two and your love (does anyone else see a trend in these toasts... hmmm... love... anyone?). From the first day I met you, Bethel, you have talked about your relationship with Jason. Not only are you ridiculously happy in the partner this life has chosen for you, but you allow him to be an integral part of your day to day life. I adore that you still think of him as a trophy. I wish for all couples to find the same love for their partner.

And Jason... shy, sweet Jason... you've become as much a friend to me as Bethel. I can't thank you enough for your continued support of me and my business through Bethel, but of the support you give to Bethel on a daily basis. She glows and it's all because of you.

How did I get no pictures of Jason???

Birthday Toast: Jeff and Betsy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 18:00:00 +0000

How appropriate: not only is today the toast for some of my favorite photogs, but it's a birthday for one of them too!

A toast to Jeff and Betsy - Just thinking about you two makes me smile. I love how in love with one another you are. And I adore how silly you are with me, with each other and with your clients. It's a rare person who is so comfortable in their own skin and I admire you both for it. You two have been a constant buoy in my career and I can't thank you enough for your unwavering support (and guidance when I'm, ahem, about to pull a bonehead move).

Beyond your friendship, your talent continues to inspire me. Buried deep down inside me (very... very deep) is a photographer who wants nothing more than to learn how to do what you do. Alas, I'm a Planner at heart and that's why I do what I do. I wish you two nothing but wild success for years and years (and years) to come and hope that our friendships, and our businesses, will grow together and be better each and every year.

Slainte! Proste! Whatever the toast may be, may there always be beer!

And Bets - a very hearty "Happy Birthday" to you my dear! Celebrate in style!

Birthday Toast: Gemma and Josh

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Next in line for the toasts is...

Gemma and Josh: You two started it all for me. You were the first client to say yes to me to work your Wedding. On top of that, because of your Wedding, I was introduced to the BEST colleague a girl could ask for - your sister Starr.

Gemma, you never fail to amaze me with your crocheting, your love of books, your unfailing loyalty in your friendships (we should all be as kind) and your ability to decide to do something and follow through with it. You wrote a book, girl. A real book! And it's amazing.

Josh, you just crack me up. To this day I'm not sure I've got you figured out 100%. But like Gemma, you pick a goal and work towards mastering it. Your mad biking skills are cool, and your determination to conquer the world of pool is awesome.

Together you two and an amazing duo and I feel so lucky to be able to call you friends.

Someday I hope Josh will take a picture where he's NOT making a funny face.

Gemma - you are stunning, as always.

Birthday Toast: Chuck and Gaby

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 22:09:00 +0000

At my recent birthday bash I had planned to give a small toast to each of my friends who were in attendance because each and every one of them has made an impact on my life. Since it was crazy-loud at the Shout House I've decided to post them here so they still get to see them. Time for some blog-love... ahhh....

Chuck and Gaby - I've known you for almost 7 years now. I know, right? You two were some of the first friends I made when I visited Hubband all those long years ago and I'm so grateful for you two. You're positive, and supportive and generous beyond all comprehension. You're passionate about one another, about your children, and about your passions in general. You stay true to your beliefs; you never pretend to be someone or something you're not and I admire that so much about you both.

You've taught me more lessons that I can recount but these few stick out in my mind:

If wine isn't good, make Sangria out of it.
Never leave home without mascara and lip gloss.
Love wins - every time.
Kids don't ruin your life... they make it better.

Thank you to you both for being my longest-running friends in San Diego. A toast to you both - you're absolutely lovely.

Oh, and something else I just learned: Chuck has a very flat head.

Gaby always looks amazing!

And she makes Hubband ridiculously happy!

My 30th Birthday Party

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:44:00 +0000

I know I just posted about my Christmas tree but it's Monday morning and it's still before 9am so I'm slightly unfocused on work. I'm still recovering from my 30th birthday week which was all wrapped up in a crazy little bow on Friday night.

I would love to tell you that it was a very civilized affair with wine sipping and not a lite beer in sight but that would be a lie. It was WAY BETTER THAN THAT! Yes, Hubband and I are still both paying for it but it was definitely worth it. I may have mentioned before that Hubband loves to surprise me. This birthday was no exception. All he told me was "Downtown Fashionable". So I went shopping with a little mad-money that my Godmother sent me for my birthday and bought a totally adorable ruffle-sweater which you will see below. It's festive and yet (in my mind) fashionable. If you're the Fashion Police and feel that I ought to be locked up for that sweater my address is 1800 Go Jump Off a Cliff Lane...

Hubband took me to Shout House. Being the box-dwelling individual that I am, having never been downtown in San Diego for it's nightlife, I didn't know what the Shout House was. Turns out, it's a rockin' establishment full of bawdy music, Miller High-Life beer, and dueling pianos. It. Was. Awesome. I won't bore you with too many details as there are plenty of photos to show that we had a good time. Suffice it to say that I felt that everyone should wear my crown, including an older lady, Mary Kay (my new BFF, LOL!) whom I eventually gave it to. I also thought that the rose that Mr. McCue gave me was a source of utmost hilarity and should be put into as many photos as possible. Turns out I found it funnier than most people. Seems to me that a couple glasses of champagne and a few three or four (yes, you read that right) Miller High Life's might skew one's perception of humor.

All in all I had a great night. And why am I still recovering? Because Hubband has been sick for two weeks and I was pretty under the weather all last week which any of my clients can attest to. I couldn't, however, put off my birthday for another week since I missed celebrating it on the actual date due to a wonderful Wedding I worked. So we're getting our voices back and we seem to be coming out of the fog of the cold. I still have my trusty Afrin beside me to keep the sniffles at bay, but thankfully we're on the mend just in time for Christmas.

And one last thing - much like my countdown to my birthday, I'm going to blog some consecutive posts about the friends who attended my birthday. Before the big day I had planned out some speeches I wanted to give to each couple who showed up. Since it was SO LOUD at Shout House I've decided to post them here so they will know how much I love them. Stay tuned for the first one this afternoon.

HERE'S THE PROOF OF FUN!

It all started with a pink crown and glass of Jack and Coke...

Uh, no, those are Hubbands' beers, not mine!

And then the crown became a source of amusement for me:

Followed shortly by a new found laugh-fest induced by shoving roses in people's faces:

It was a great night had by all. I can't say enough about all of my friends and how much they made this night. Stay tuned this week for my toasts to my friends. The first one is coming this afternoon!

It's a Schmaltzy Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 15:57:00 +0000

I used to be a Fisher. I was PROUD to be a Fisher. I did things the Fisher way - very proper, on time, never disheveled, and sometimes, juuuust sometimes, I was accused of being a snob. I would like to take a moment here to point out that "anal retentive" doesn't mean "snob". It simply means we like to do things a certain way. That is still true for many things in my life. I run my business my way and no one else will do it as well. That's not to say that other businesses aren't wildly successful, they absolutely are, but rather that no one would run my business as well as I do. Hmm... am I rambling? Yes. Yes I am. But, just let it be said for the record: I was, and always will be, proud to have been a Fisher. I love the way my parents brought me up and hope to be only so good to my nieces and nephews.

When it comes to the general operation of my home life, however, I have to compromise with Hubband. I can't do everything the Fisher way - I must make room in my rather Fisher-ized brain for the Schmaltz way of doing things. The most recent occurrence of this is in relation to our FIRST EVER Team Schmaltz Christmas tree. I had a very particular idea in my head of what I wanted. I could visualize it, and had all the necessary accoutrement at my disposal at the store: Gold! Yes... gold! Gold ornaments, gold tinsel, a gold tree-topper. It would be glorious. Then I crashed back down to earth and noticed the adorable man Christmas tree and ornament shopping with me. Oh, right, he's a Schmaltz. He's perhaps got another way of decorating. We actually had this conversation in Target:

Me: "Uh, babe, so, um, are we going to do this tree, like... Fishers?"

Him: *slightly confused look*

Me: "Or we could do it like your family. There's nothing wrong with that. I mean, the Fisher's way is really pretty, and organized, but I'm sure your way is nice too..."

Him: *giggling* "Well what do YOU want?"

Me: *mental damnation... face crumbling into a stupid grin* "Ok, we'll give it the Schmaltz-touch. But can all the ornaments at least match?"

So you're asking yourself, how did he win that battle? Because he gives me this look like "Really? Are you even asking this question? Why don't we do it OUR way". He's so "on" about making it our traditions, not our parents. It's awesome. The man may not have a firm grip on the use of ten-dollar words but when it comes to matters of the heart he's got it goin' on!

So, for the very first time, allow me to reveal a very Schmaltzy Christmas tree. This is our first-ever real-size Christmas tree that we've bought and/or decorated on our own. To confirm the conviction of surprise from my mother, here's what she said to me:

"Did YOU buy it or did someone else buy it for you?".

Yeah, Mum, your little girl is all growed up. We bought it ourselves.

Oh, and for those of you who may not be familiar with the term "Schmaltzy", allow me to dispel any misconceptions right now: There are two definitions. Well, maybe three. The first is "chicken fat" or "lard" which very clearly isn't true of either of us. The second is "bathetic, drippy, hokey, maudlin, mawkish" (I don't know two of those words...). The third, and more common definition that I like to ascribe to is from my Jewish friends in San Diego: Schmaltz (or to be Schmaltzy) is "the good stuff, the flavor". I like to think Hubband and I are definitely the good stuff. At least for each other.

Okay, okay, enjoy the few pictures. Another post is on it's way very very soon....

My Birthday Week

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:54:00 +0000

The countdown is done, and it seemed like everyone enjoyed it. For those of you who followed it, "thanks"! It was fun to be able to share all the good things in my life. And now that I'm actually 30, and far wiser than I was last week at the tender age of 29, I have to say thank you again to everyone for making my birthday week.

"Week?" you say.

"Yes", I say, "I've had a birthday WEEK! And it's not over yet".

On Friday I had to host a Wedding Rehearsal which is work for me. Yes, I know, I do have an amazing job. Thank you for noticing. But to make my birthday day feel more like a birthday and less like any other day I have to work, my bestie Kate took me out for lunch. She was super sneaky and told her boss that she had "personal errands" to run. Looks like I'm a personal errand. I hope I'm not one of those errands that is dreaded, though, like picking up a prescription or making dental appointments. Just kidding, Katy, I know I'm not. Love you! She brought me a delightful "New Hands" kit from Bath and Body Works that I not only adore but desperately needed.

I also received many excellent birthday wishes through Facebook and one especially touching phone call from my pals over at La Vida Creations. I only wish I could record sound on here (wait... I know there's one smarty-pants out there waiting to tell me that I can) so you could hear the message. It was a great pick-me-up after a rather frustrating rehearsal where the officiant who refused to call me back before the Wedding announced that he would need a podium tomorrow at the Wedding. Awesome timing, dude. :-P

Unfortunately Hubband was really sick (he had the flu last week) so we didn't go out for dinner. However, he did go to the grocery store and get me the makings of my favorite snack that my girl Gaby taught me (french bread, dipped in oil an vinegar, then layered with fresh slices of mozzarella cheese, tomato and basil). He wasn't, unfortunately, allowed to make me the food since I was trying to stay healthy for the Wedding but it's easy to put together. He also got me a delicious Red Velvet birthday cake. It really should have been submitted to Cake Wrecks but it was delicious and we didn't want to take the time to take photos before we dug into it's sugary goodness. He also surprised me with the Susan Collins "Hunger Games" trilogy and the "Twilight: Eclipse" movie which he suffered through with me that night. Now that's love!

On Saturday I worked the Wedding but had lots of birthday hugs and wishes from all the vendors. It was very sweet of them. On Sunday we lazed around and I was able to have my birthday phone calls from my parents and my in-laws - something I didn't have time for on my actual birthday due to work.

Monday was another birthday day. We had dinner out with our family friends (Shogun Kobe goodness!) where they delivered not only our Christmas presents from our family back home in Canadia (yes, I meant to type it that way) but my birthday prezzie from my parents. It's GORGEOUS! It's a purple, black and green plaid cape from Etcetera out of New York. Once I get a good picture of me in it, I'll post it but so far the pictures have been poor quality cell phone pictures. Diane and Dave (our Canadian friends) also brought me my two favorite treats: Smarties and Gummy Marshmallow Frogs. No, not American Smarties, the good kind, from Canadia. Never had them? Well, consider your life less-lived than mine!

On Tuesday my Hubband took me out for lunch. I'll call it a belated birthday lunch since we hadn't gone out to celebrate yet. And what did I get? Another birthday present from a friend. Two fabulous new books from author's I've never read before. I'm psyched to get to them over the holidays.

Today I'm giving myself a birthday present: a day at home to do all the things I've been meaning to do since June - clean the office, archive files, set up a better file structure for my clients, etc. Yes, I know it sounds like work, and I suppose it is work related, but I'm feeling so much lighter for having it done.

I'm not sure what tomorrow will hold, perhaps nothing, but I know that Friday is my birthday party with a few of my closest friends. I don't know where I'm going or what I'm doing (Hubband does love to surprise me) but I do know that some of my favorite people will be there to help me ring in a great new year. So here's to 30! May it be the best yet!

30 MINUS 1 DAY!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Holy frick! Do you know what tomorrow is??? It's my 30th birthday. The 30th birthday isn't just any old birthday, it's THE birthday. It means I'm an adult now. Or at least I'll try to tell myself that. It means I'm past my crazy 20's and the disasters of the teens is all but forgotten (almost... *wicked grin*).

But, as you've all been on my countdown with me (at least I hope I haven't gone this alone... you've been there, right?) I'll bet you're anxious to find out the #1 reason I think I'm made in the shade on my 30th birthday! Hmmm... let's see... what shall that reason be? Hmmm... right, like I have to guess. Without further ado...

Reason #1

HUBBAND!

Duh, right? Gosh, I don't even know where to start without tearing up. Long story short, we were made for each other. We met in high school and while it maybe wasn't love at first sight (he was shorter than me... c'mon, give a girl a break) it was meant to be. We just... fit.

I know he reads this blog (he spends his life with me but he still reads my silly rants anyway) so he's going to get an eye-full of what he means to me - and now you all do too. Well, both of you who read this, anyway.

To me, his is perfect. He's the yin to my yang. He's calm when I'm a hot mess; he's smart when I'm, for lack of a better expression "too pretty to know". He's kind when I want to be mean, he's supportive when I think it's time to give up. He's been there through hell and back (both caused by me, and by things we couldn't control) and through it all he managed to love me. I may not look like Nicole Kidman (his other dream girl - can you blame him?) but he chose me. Short, plump, goofy, crazy me. He does seem to think I'm funny, and he laughs when I cry at Biggest Loser. He thinks I'm cute in pigtails and he laughs so hard his nose crunches up when I eat something that I don't like (usually because he makes me try it). He loves to surprise me with gifts or parties which suits me just fine because I do love a good surprise. He cooks for me since I gave up trying to be a good cook years ago, and he takes care of me, all without holding it over my head.

Oh lawd... here we go... the waterworks are starting... *sniff*

He smells better than any man I've ever met and I love going to bed next to him and waking up beside him the next day. He's always warm and while he sometimes screws up his face when I put a cold hand on his warm back, he never makes me take my hand away. He'll get me that box of cookies at 9:30 at night (from the grocery store) without telling me I shouldn't eat them 'cuz I'll gain weight. And then he takes the box to work the next day so I won't eat any more of them because he knows I'll hate myself if I do.

He let's my crack on his terrible taste in music (ick... country) and let's me think that I'm the better driver. He bought me a house with a pink front door because I fell in love with it and he lets me decorate the house however I want, even if that means he's not allowed to hang his speakers from the ceiling. That's not a joke - he would, in the office, if I'd let him. He's taking me to Scotland for our belated honeymoon because it's where I want to go. It's not his first choice but he's excited because I'm excited.

But for you men out there reading this - don't read this wrong. He's not "whipped" or "trained". He's just who he is. He's the man of the house. He takes care of me, he provides for me, and he does it all without me feeling pathetic. He supports me in starting a business that's not making any money yet, but doesn't make me feel bad for wanting a fabulous new purse, or a to-die-for pair of shoes.

He is, without a doubt, my best friend. He is my reason to celebrate and the reason my life is as amazing as it is as I reach this milestone. Thank you, my dear Hubband. I love you today, tomorrow, and forever. So much.

And P.S. Happy 56th birthday to my Daddy-o today. I love you, Dad.

*Photo courtesy of Resolusean Photography

30 minus 2 days!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Oh. Em. Gee!!! I'm getting so friggin' excited that my birthday is almost here. I think this is the tri-fecta of birthdays. I'm going to be 30, which I'm super stoked about, I love my life, AND! My birthday is on a Friday! Pretty sweet, right? But let's chat about the second last reason out of 8 that I think my life is made, and why I want to celebrate big this year for my 30th birthday!

Reason #2

I have started my own family. No, no, not babies, for those of you who are getting so excited, but a family, just the same.

I have Hubband, of course, the sexiest man alive - also the funniest, smartest, sweetest, kindest, yada yada yada, but I don't want you to get sick all over your keyboard. But more than Hubband I have my crazy little pooch, Peaches. She's our baby. For years and years I wanted a dog of my own but logic prevailed and I didn't get a dog. It's a good thing, too, since I moved so much. But now, I have a dog. And she's perfect. Well, she's perfect for me and Hubband. She's funny, and smart and totally crazy and makes us laugh on a daily basis. Even if it's out of frustration. She loves her mini tennis balls something fierce and goes bonkers if you say the word "Treat". And best of all, she's a total cuddle-bug.

My day dreams of owning a dog were of me, sitting on a couch, reading my book or watching a movie, with my little dog curled up in my lap. And you know what? I got THAT dog. From the day we brought her home in 2008 she hasn't let a day go by without cuddling in my lap, on my shoulder, or at my feet. My day dream is not only fulfilled, it's surpassed. Despite the frustrations when she's not listening as well as she should, or when she loses her damn mind when the doorbell rings, she has truly made my life better.

I'm sure, by now, you can guess what Reason #1 is. Just in case you can't, though, I guess you'll have to come back tomorrow!

*Photo courtesy of Resolusean Photography

30 minus 3 days!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 18:00:00 +0000

So yesterday's post started my love-fest. And today it continues. With? Duh-da-da-da!

Reason #3

I - finally - get along with my family. I couldn't have made that statement ten years ago. Heck, not even 5 years ago, probably.

My Dad is my pal (and really, he always has been) and he talks to me about business like an equal. That's pretty freakin' cool since he's been "the man" for a huge oil and gas company. He, too, owns his own business and talks to me about how to market better, and asks me for help with project drafting. I love that I'm a resource to my Dad!

My sister and I talk like friends now. Sure, we have the common denominator of having the same parents, but we talk about other stuff too. She tells me about her work (I was the FIRST person she called when she delivered her first baby a couple of years ago - I'll never forget; I was walking out of the Bellagio in Las Vegas) and she teaches me stuff. She's amazing. She's a nurse, a labor and delivery nurse to be specific, and she knows stuff. Like stuff, stuff. She knows when a fetus is officially viable (I'm pretty sure its 20 weeks), and she knows what NICU stands for (Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit, I'm pretty sure). She's not grossed out by... gulp... vagina's (ew... I even hate typing that word) and she knows how to give people needles. Do you know what that means? That means she can actually find a vein, a tiny freakin' vein, and put a needle in it. That's INSANE! Suffice it to say, that despite all the ups and downs of sisterhood, my sister absolutely amazes me.

And my Mum. Oh, Mum. We finally figured it out. It took about 28 years for us to get it right, but I think we did. Quick... where's some wood... *knock knock* Growing up we used to fight something awful. Dad said it was because we're so much alike. And you know what? We are! And damned if I'm not proud as punch to be like my Mum. Hubband calls me Katie when he sees me act like my Mum (which is appropriate since her name is Katie - I'd be concerned if he called me Sharon). And I think I'm finally making my Mum proud. It's not something that parents tell their kids often (or perhaps as often as we feel we need to hear it) but every so often, I know she's really proud of me. And that makes me proud.

Sigh... how's that for something to celebrate? Sure, we're a small family, but we're getting it right. I love that we all need one another, even though I'm a grown up.

Are you sick of all this happiness yet? Ready for Reason #2?

30 minus 4 days!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Okay, so here we are, at the halfway point in the list of reasons why, at the age of 30, I believe my life is made. The previous posts (#8, #7, #6 and #5) were all fun. Now it's time to get serious. Seriously mushy! Keep reading if you're up for some lovin'!

Reason #4

I have amazing friends. The kind of friends that make you proud to know them. Not the friends who you only introduce to certain people. The kinds of friends who you feel lucky to have because you think they're way cooler than you are!

I have a girlfriend who works for the City of Calgary - I think that's super cool. I have a girlfriend who was a former client who, when not working full time this past year, wrote a book. A book, people. Who does that? My friend does that, that's who. I have friends who know famous people, and I have friends who want to see me make it big in life. I have friends I can cry with when I need to, and friends who come to me when they need help. I have friends who worked on Wall Street (literally) and friend who dream of doing nothing more than making a wonderful life for their family. So what makes all of this something to celebrate? Because they picked little old me to be their friend. I'm constantly blown away at how much love there is in the world - I see it every day in the emails, the phone calls, the text messages, the cards, the Facebook status updates... it's AMAZING!

My friends make my life a success.

Reason #3 is filled with more love... can you handle it?

30 minus 5 days!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Reason #5

I moved to California. Damn skippy that means my life is made!

Well, sure, most of you that read this blog know that I'm a Californian but I didn't start out here. I was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and moved to Calgary, Alberta when I was 5 1/2. I grew up accepting that I would always have winter birthdays and long for a summer birthday. But here, in sunny SoCal I finally get my summer birthdays. I mean, seriously, how cool is that? Well, it's not cool at all - it's HOT!

In California I can wear adorable shoes year 'round without fear of snow-damage and I never have to plug my car in... unless I get a new electric car, that is. It's never the wrong time of year for margarita's and I can go watch Monster Jam in an open-air stadium. My guests who visit from Canada can sit out on my back patio at 8am with a cup of coffee or at 8pm with a glass of wine and the only thing they need for warmth is good conversation and a light sweater.

And best of all... I live in California. No... please read that again. I live. In California. HOLY CRAP, right? Any given day I can drive less than 10 miles and be at the ocean; I can watch the sea lions every day of the week and have my lunch meetings a stone's throw from the beach. Heck, I can walk on the beach every day if I want to. I mean, isn't that what we all work for throughout most of our lives? To live somewhere warm and have access to all we want in life? Well... I do. I win!

Reason #4 starts to get sappier. I hope you're ready for a couple days of BIG LOVE!