Hike at Abalone Cove

Hey Guys!

Thanks for coming back to read my blog! I hope that you’re enjoying all my posts! 🙂

This post is about the hike my sister and I took with Becki and her friends.

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Becki & I

We had planned to meet early Friday morning in the Palos Verdes area of California. However, Becki’s friends and my sister and I woke up late so we ended up meeting at around noon for the hike.

We met at Abalone Cove Park right by the beach.

Becki had dropped a pin to show where they were. So when my sister and I got to the park we made our way over to them.

I definitely had not worn the proper shoes for the hike since I wasn’t aware that we were going to do it before getting to California. So I was trying really hard to be careful while walking on the rocky areas.

In the process of getting to her I slipped and fell on the way to the actual trail. It hurt so much since I put all the pressure of the fall on my wrist, but I worked through it to be able to continue with the hike.

Listen, I’m not an outdoorsy type person but since I wanted to see my friend I agreed to it.  Don’t get me wrong, I like camping but the type of camping that’s only for 1 night and I know that the following day I can shower and sleep in the comfort of my own home. I know that might make me sound a bit boujee but hey, that’s me. haha

When I finally saw Becki I was so happy to see her! This is the 3rd place we have seen each other. The first was Orlando in April and then England about month or so ago.

We walked along the trail and made our way to the beach. The view from above the cove was beautiful. The sky was clear and the water looked so blue!

When we reached the beach we were the only ones there.

It was beautiful.

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It was somewhat relaxing too because the only sound you could hear was the water gliding on the sand.

The hike was definitely worth it. I’m glad we took it because I had never been to a beach like that in California before.

It was also really nice to hangout with my friend Becki. I can’t wait to see her again.

Maybe this time it will be in Cyprus?

I guess we will see.

Until next time!xx

-Ang

International Day of Charity!

Hi Everyone!

Today is International Day of Charity!

So make sure you go volunteer at a local charity, donate to your favorite charity or reach out to someone you haven’t talked to in awhile to let them know you are there for them.

Today, I chose to donate to one of my friends charities, Operation Brush.

They distribute biodegradable toothbrushes to underprivileged children all over the world to reduce and combat chronic disease.

This is such an awesome charity that every chance I get I donate a little to it because I know that it goes to a great cause.

If you want to learn more about them click the link to their website OperationBrush.org !

Now go out there and spread some love today!xx

-Ang

Pixar Adventure!

Hi Everyone!

Two weeks ago my sister and I took an impromptu trip to California!

My friend Becki, (she’s the same amazing Becki I have mentioned in my previous posts) was going to be in the LA area for a conference so I didn’t waste the opportunity to go visit her!

I asked my sister if she would go with me and she agreed. So off we went.

We hadn’t taken a girls road trip in a LONG time. I think the last road trip we took was about 5 or 6 years ago when we went to go watch “Allstar Weekend,” when they were still a band (Only the true fans know who I’m talking about lol).

We were going to meet with Becki on Friday, so we decided that we should go to Disney

California Adventures on Thursday to check out the new Pixar Pier.img_4604

We drove to California the night before. Let me tell you I have never driven to California so late at night. It was low key scary because the road is barely lit up and around 10pm is when they decide to plant construction cones on the road that are barely visible until you come up to them. I’m just glad that my sister was there with me or else I don’t know if I’d be able to make it.

In Anaheim, we stayed at the Majestic Garden Hotel. My husband and I had stayed there before on one of our previous Disney trips. Its conveniently right next to the parks and the freeway. They also provide a complimentary shuttle to and from the Disney parks.

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Thursday morning we woke up extra early to be able to make it to the park as soon as it opened. We had purchased the Max Pass option for my phone to be able to get Fast Passes for the rides without having to go to the kiosks. It helped us get on all the rides we wanted throughout the day. I strongly recommend purchasing it on your own Disney trip to skip the regular line.

We were super excited to get on the new Incredicoaster (previously Screamin’) and the Guardians of the Galaxy ride (previously Tower of Terror). We were able to get on the Incredicoaster 3 times and the Guardians ride twice. They were both SO MUCH FUN! Definitely better then the rides that they use to be.

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Don’t get me wrong, the rides were fun before but the upgrades have made them even better!

The Incredicoaster is based on the Incredible’s Movie with Jack Jack as the star. You follow the Incredible’s and Edna Mode as they try to find him along the ride. It does seems a bit slower than Screamin’ but it is still one fast coaster. I have lash extensions and the whole time my lashes felt like they were going to flutter off of my face while on the ride. If you love roller coaster and love the Incredibles this is definitely a ride for you!img_4598

The Guardians of the Galaxy-Breakout ride is set in The Collectors fortress where he is keeping the Guardians as prisoners. In the ride you help Rocket help the rest of them escape. The ride has continuous drops that make it that much more fun than the Twilight Zone ride. When you think the ride is over it goes up and down yet again making you feel like you’re free falling.

At one point my sister held hands with the girl right next to her because of how scared it made her feel.

This ride definitely makes you feel like you have butterflies in your tummy! lol

We got on all the other rides that we love at California Adventures like Toy Story Mania, Silly Symphony Swings, Grizzly River Run, and Goofy’s Sky School just to name a few.

While we were there we had a turkey leg, corn on the cob and corn dogs (I know super healthy lol). We also had our first Disney Michelada which was DELICIOUS! The girl who prepared them put just sooo much tajin and lime in it that is was PERFCET! Ugh, my mouth is watering just writing about it now.

After purchasing our micheladas we came across a janitor that was making what looked like a Mickey Mouse face on the concrete with his broom and some water. My sister and I stopped to watch as people just kept walking over it (I don’t think they realized that they were stepping on his masterpiece).

When he saw that we were actually paying attention to his work he asked us if he could draw us another character. We said yes and he drew Donald Duck. It was so cool to see how he was able to make artwork with so little.

He told us that the Creative Custodians started when one custodian in the Tokyo park started doing it just for fun. It started catching on that now they have a whole training for it for all the parks.

Next time you’re at one of the parks keep a look out for one of them!

Click Here for the video of him making Donald Duck!

We stayed until about an hour before the park closed because I started feeling sick so we only watched a few minutes of the Electric Parade.

Regardless, we had amazing time and we can’t wait to go back! I want to take my husband because I know he will love the Guardians ride!

xx

-Ang

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Dutchess

Hello! 😀

I had a request to share a picture of my Doxie babies by my cousin.

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Dutchess, Duke & Zeke 

But instead of just sharing just 1 photo I thought I should tell you how I came to fall in love with such a rambunctious and loving breed.

It all started when I met my husband.

The first time I went over to his house I was a bit nervous (As all young women are when they visit their significant others living quarters. You don’t know if they are going to be clean, messy or in-between).

Little did I know that my main concern was to win the heart of a quick-witted dachshund.

As I was walking up to the house for the very first time I remember ringing the door bell and following the ring I heard a loud barking coming from a distance. Slowly coming closer and closer to the door.

Now, I didn’t know if it was a little dog or a big dog until my husband (then boyfriend) opened the door.

And there she was.

Dutchess.

A short haired, black and tan, mini/standard dachshund.

She was perched up on the top of the couch growling and barking at me.

I tried to say hi to her but she kept growling at me.

I’m going to be honest with you.

I was scared. Yes, she is small but she was feisty (she still is)!

All I could think was,

 

“I need to win her trust because if I don’t, Isaac will kick me out of the picture!”

 

I figured she felt territorial about her dad. I mean what dog wouldn’t? Especially if she’s spent her ENTIRE life with him.

I would go over to Isaac’s very regularly and soon she started to warm up to me. When she would let me pet her without her growling or barking at me was the day I was the happiest.

A few months passed and I moved in with Isaac and his then roommate, Burd (that is his last name but we called him Burd, because Isaac has multiple friends with the same first name – Jeremy).

Anyways, when I moved in Dutchess would sit next to me on the couch and snuggle in bed with me at night. She was my second source of warmth when it got cold and my blanket couldn’t do the job.

Our time together made our bond stronger. She would let me hug her, kiss her and spoon her (she’s the little spoon of course) when we would be falling asleep. She would let me give her belly rubs and nudge me when I would stop so that I could KEEP RUBBING HER BELLY!

Isaac taught me that she could shake, sit, roll over, but the one thing she HATED was when you would pretend to resuscitate her.

What I mean by “resuscitate her” not because she was actually dead or anything  but it was a game the Isaac would play with her. Dutchess would be laying on her back with her belly up. Isaac would make his hands into fists and rub them together as if he was using a defibrillator.

As soon as she saw his fists start rubbing together she would go CRAZY!! She would bark and try to nibble at his fists (she would never actually bite him).

You could tell that even though this would make her mad she secretly loved it.

I also learned that you can not leave any type of food out or a trash can around that she has easy access to. She will grab food if its within her reach, knock over a trash can and eat the entire food contents of it regardless of what it is.

She also has the worst, most deadliest farts a little dog could possibly create! They smell worse than rotten eggs and are so nasty that sometimes you feel like they sink right into your soul.

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There has been 2 times that she has gotten on the counter (no idea how she managed that) and eaten entire loaves of white bread.

Isaac even said that he had fallen asleep one time when she was a puppy with a burger on a coffee table. She grabbed that wrapped burger and ate the entire thing without ripping the wrapper or spilling any of it on the floor. How did she do that?

No one knows!

She is one strong cookie too! There are 3 times where Dutchess has come across health obstacles in her life.

The first time (before Isaac and I started to date) was when she got bitten by a black widow (so we think) and her chest skin started to rot and fall off.

Yes. Crazy!

Isaac rushed her to the hospital and they were able to fix her right up!

Now she has a bad ass scar to show that nothing, not even a bug bite can stop her!

The second was when we think she fell of the bed (before Duke and Zeke came into the picture) and hurt her back. She would let out the most horrible screech I had ever heard. Every time she would start hurting and yelp made me want to cry.

I think that is the hardest thing with dogs. When they are hurt they can cry and moan but they can’t speak so unless whatever they have is visible you really have no clue how to help.

We took her to the vet. Let me tell you this vet made me SO SO ANGRY! He told us that we would have to put her down before running any specific tests. He prescribed painkillers and sent us home.

Isaac did not like the fact that the vet had said that either. So he made it his mission to make Dutchess feel and get better.

We gave her the pain killers but they only made her EXTREMELY loopy and she still would cry.  Seeing her high off of the pain meds was horrible.

Isaac decide to try out wrapping her torso with a medical wrap and put Icy Hot on her back. Yes, you read that correctly, Icy hot.

And guess what? The very next day she was like new!

The third obstacle that she has encountered is blindness.

A few years ago her eyes started to get cloudy but that hasn’t stopped her from showing the other dogs that she is Alpha Dog in the house. She still puts Duke in his place when he gets out of line.

Dutchess is one of the smartest, most loving and toughest dogs I have ever met.

She is the reason why we added two more to our clan.

Duke and then Zeke.

I will tell you about how we came to have the other two little guys in my next posts!

So stay tuned!xx

-Ang

 

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An Epic Retirement Party

Hi Again! 🙂

Thanks for reading my blog! If this is the first post you’re reading then, WELCOME!

If you’ve read a few already then, WELCOME BACK! And thank you, THANK YOU, for wanting to continue to read my posts. You have no idea how happy it makes me to have you here!

Alright! Now for the post!

So for those of you who don’t know my husband and I went to England specifically to celebrate our friend Tim’s retirement from the British Royal Air Force (RAF).

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My Handsome Husband & Tim

To celebrate we attended the RAF Ball in Lincoln, England.

The RAF Ball is an event where the military officers get to drink, eat, dance, and hang out with friends and family at the military base. It’s a huge party where they get to let loose and have as much fun as they want. To my understanding they have one in multiple cities in England for the RAF officials.

I was super stoked to go to my first official Ball! As soon as I found out we were going I told my husband that we had to look as glamorous as Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively at the MET Gala. He of coursed laughed at me, but I could tell that he was pretty excited too. 😉

I purchased my dress for the Ball at Topshop. I had looked online for the perfect dress but I couldn’t find it. I finally found THE ONE at the mall.  It was a beautiful long black mesh dress. When I laid eyes on it I knew it was perfect for such an elegant event!

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Dress: Top Shop

Another things I was super excited about was that my husband was going to wear his very first Tuxedo! I know it’s a silly thing to be excited for but who doesn’t like a man in a suit?! Am I right?!

Let me tell you, he was as handsome as I imagined him to be in it (I mean, he’s handsome regardless of if he’s dressed up or not lol) and  together we looked like a MILLION BUCKS!

On my post on Instagram I said that we looked like we could be in a James Bond movie but someone commented that we looked more like “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” which I can totally agree on. We were both wearing black outfits so I mean, we could pass as spies.

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We weren’t the only ones that looked amazing that night. Tim, his girlfriend Becki, our friend Darrell, and the rest of Tim’s military buddies looked fabulous as well!

We took a BUNCH of photos before leaving Tim’s house and popped a bottle of champagne. It definitely felt like we were off to prom but ya know, a “classier” version of it. 😀

When we arrived to the party there was a 1950s type trio singing in front of the event hall were there was also a cocktail hour going on. There was a canopy where a bar was set up as well as the silent disco for later.

I didn’t mention this before but this ball is AYCE and AYCD. So open bar and unlimited food through out the night. So you can only imagine the shenanigans that would occur throughout the night!

Also in the front area of the event hall there were carnival style bumper cars. Yes, you read that right. BUMPER CARS!!!

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Now, you’re probably asking yourself, “why would there be bumper cars at such a sophisticated event?”

Well, let me tell you that there should ALWAYS be carnival rides at any type of party! They are a great ice beaker and DUH! They are fun!

Surprisingly, there hadn’t been a single person on them when we got there. But like the great party starter my husband is, he decided that he would start off the bumper cars.

Let me remind you that this is an AYCD event. I don’t condone drinking and driving in the least! But the RAF did have this ride for the event where they were fully aware of people being intoxicated.

Dude. This bumper car ride got wild.

But in the safest possible way of course.

I rode it by myself the first time and it was super fun. The second time I made the terrible decision to ride shotgun with my husband. I say terrible because my husband and our friend Darrell had the FABULOUS idea of hitting people in their cars head on. Which caused me to get a bruise on my knee and a random one on the back of my thigh that didn’t show up until 2 days later.

Looking back at it now, it was pretty fun the second time too.

The rest of the night consisted in drinking from the AYCD bars and mini fridges consistently stocked with as variety of beer. Of course, I drank gin and tonics followed by a Baileys and coffee to keep me awake.

There were rooms in the event hall that had different themes.

One of them had a penguin ice luge that Darrell had me take shots from. The vodka was a flavored one that tasted AWFUL. I think we ended up taking about 3 or 4 shots that night together. It was nasty.

There was also a room that was transformed into a Hofbrauhaus with a live band. There were a few performances throughout the night where people were served food and got to sing and dance. Unfortunately, I never was able to get a seat in the room because every time I’d go check it out there was already a performance going on. It looked like a lot of fun from the outside. I’m not too disappointed because we have our own Hofbrauhaus here in Las Vegas that I have been  to before but I can tell you that it wasn’t as much fun as it looked like in this room.

Another room had a Las Vegas theme with poker tables, a dance floor with a DJ and a bar. It was definitely not like the Vegas I have here at home but they did try to make it “Vegas” like.

img_2740The dance floor was full throughout the night while the drinks kept flowing.

The next room had a buffet where there was a dessert bar and Chinese food at the end of the night. That Chinese food was actually really good!  They served it in a Chinese takeout box and gave you chop sticks to eat it with.

In the back patio there was a Moroccan theme with a hookah area. There was an attendant making sure that the hookah was always enjoyable for the guests. I was there for most of the night enjoying the beautiful night and the hookah.

Later that night, my husband, our friend Darrell, and I went back out front to check out the silent disco. There was an EDM station on the headsets as well as 90s pop station. We had it tuned into the 90s station. We danced and danced with everyone around us. They played all the “hits” like “Mambo No. 5” and “Hot in Here.” They played “Gasolina” and that’s when the ghetto, ratchet Mexican that I secretly am came out. I was literally the only person there who knew the words to the entire song and knew what the heck Daddy Yankee was saying.

Don’t judge me. If you’re Hispanic you know there are songs that you HAVE to dance to when they come on.

The first being Elvis Crespos, “Suavemente,” and then in the mix “Gasolina,” is there too.

We later made it inside where my husband and Darrell enjoyed the silent disco music in the Las Vegas themed room. While the other attendees were dancing to the music being played by the Dj (which wasn’t all that great to be honest) they both put on their headsets and busted out their own dance moves for the song playing in their ears.

Some people noticed and thought they were hilarious because an EDM song would be playing in the room while they were dancing to one of Pitbull’s many hits. I can’t remember which one it was but I do remember my husband kept yelling Pitbull’s  signature line, “DALE!”

Tim joined in while holding a giant martini glass.

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Needless to say we all had a great time!

Before the ball, Tim had told us that this event had a “Survivors Breakfast,” that usually takes place at 5 AM or  6 AM. The people who “survive” would take a picture to celebrate.

BUT it didn’t happen because people started to clear out of the event at around 2 AM.

They just couldn’t hang.

So they served breakfast then but there was definitely no photo. Looking back, we should’ve taken our own photo since the majority of our group were the ones that closed the event.

We had a taxi pick us up to take us home at the end of the night.

Hangovers started to set in and the sun began to rise on the way home.

This was definitely an epic way to celebrate Tim’s retirement for the British Royal Air Force.

Thanks again Tim for letting us be part of it!

Love ya! 😉

-Ang

For more pictures of the event click the link