Rail Passes & More!!

So, we have all our of our hotels, and we even bout our rail passes this last week. We don't need to buy anything else for our trip! We already have a list of some general thing we want to do in each place. When we wake up in the morning, we'll ask our selves what we want to do that day. If I haven't mentioned it yet, we're very excited!! I bet you can't tell.

Jason only has 4 days of Spanish class left! He will be done with Spanish forever!! He's pretty stressed out right now. He's writing all these papers for all his other classes and still has to study for Espanol. I'm so very proud of him for everything that he's doing. What a great guy! We leave 3 days after he finishes this semester. So, my count down is a little stressing for him. But, he still giggles at me.

I've been thinking about starting to study to become a personal trainer (after we get back from Europe, of course). You have to study about the body, then become CPR certified, and then pass the ACE exam. I love working out and I think I could motivated people to do it. I was thinking about starting my own business (after I establish my clients at a gym) for women trying to lose baby weight. I need to tone a little more (so I look like a trainer). I have a name and all, but my business is still about 4 years down the road. I still will have my wedding invitation business, and personal training will be around that. I love being busy. The busier I am, the happier I am. Working out and graphic design are 2 of my hobbies, why not get paid while making your own hours, and doing what you love to do?

When we get back from Europe I'm going to advertise the hell out of my design business, while studying for the other things. So much to do, so little time. There's a lot of research I have to do first, and It'll take me a while. Life is life and I love it!

Hotels we're staying at in Europe

So, we're arriving in Amsterdam and staying at st. Christopher's Winston Hotel: http://www.st-christophers.co.uk/amsterdam-hostels/amsterdam-photos. Each room has their own theme. They are brightly colored and designed. There's also a club that stays open until 4am. We stay here for 3 nights. The, we head down to Brussels and are staying at the Scandinavian Hotel: http://brussels.scandinavia-hotel-brussels.tobook.com/Belgium/Hotels/Scandinavia-Hotel-Brussels/Photos?arrivaldate=04/21/09&citypname=Brussels&depdate=04/24/09. We stay here for 2 nights. We'll be visiting Bruges (yes, just like the movie) on a day trip. From here, we're off to Paris. Our hotel is descent (we're celebrating our fourth anniversary here): http://www.hotel-paris-lademeure.com/anglais/rooms.htm. We're here for 4 nights. We then make our way to Nimes for 1 night. We stay at http://www.new-hotel-baume-nimes.federal-hotel.com/page_en_1.html. We're going to explore a castle that is near by. After Nimes, we're off to Andorra for 2 nights. Our days will be filled with light hiking trails in the Great Pyrenees. Our hotel is http://www.hotelhusaimperial.com/en/fotografias.php. It seems like the hotel is in the middle of nowhere, the little, tiny city is in walking distance. Our final stop is Barcelona for 2 nights. Our home for those days will be : http://www.hostalgoya.com/index.php?l=en or http://www.hotelprincipal.es/#photos. I'm waiting for the hotel Goya to get back to me.

Everything is booked except for the Barcelona hotel, and the Brussels hotel, and the rail passes. We'll be booking everything else this week. We were planning on staying in hostels on this trip. Things have changed because hotel prices and hostel prices are just about the same. And now, we don't have the carry our sleeping bags. That's a lot more room in our bags to bring more stuff home!! I'll update everyone once e have our last hotels. We're definitely looking forward to our trip. I'm on a count down. Only 35 days until we're off!! We're so excited. This is my first time to Europe, but Jason's second. He hasn't been everywhere we're going, but some places. This is how we're celebrating him graduating (in December). Until next time.

6 weeks and counting

Exactly 6 weeks from today, we will be boarding the plane to Europe. That's only 3 days after Jason gets out of school. He's going to be a little stressed, but we have all weekend to get things in order. That weekend we're going to try to get use to the time difference at home. I don't want to be tired and cranky for the first few days because I'm not use to the time difference. I'm not sure how it'll work for us, but we're going to try.
We take out of Sacramento and land in Amsterdam. We do have a layover on the east coast. We spend an exciting 2 weeks over there, and take out of Barcelona. We're gone from May 25-June 9.
This weekend, we went to the Folsom outlets and bought some little things that we need for our trip. And, I finally got my new swim suit, and Jason a pair of sunglasses. Sunday was a very kick back day. we both got a lot done. Jason did a lot of homework, and I cleaned a lot and got caught up on all my shows. It was a very productive weekend for the both of us.

Stumpy Meadow Lake

This morning we were able to sleep in (no animals waking us up). Once we got up, I started making our picnic lunch. I made us each a croissant panini, home-made bake potato chips, deviled eggs, and chocolate chip cookies. We headed towards George town. We were trying to find Stumpy Meadows Lake (near the University Falls trip). Just outside of George Town, we encountered some heavy snow (which was only 2 feet deep). We were glad we took Jason's 4 wheel drive truck, instead of my Honda. There were some people having to turn around because they didn't have 4WD. Even some motorcyclists were attempting to go up the hill. Once we made it past the snow, we found the lake. It was so beautiful , and cold. We ate our delicious picnic, then walked around. There wasn't much to look at. All the area was pretty much not ready for hikers. On our way back to George town, we saw this crazy sign for a diner. I HATE jesters and clowns (they give me nightmares). I will never forget this sign. I NEVER want to eat at this place.

We then finished our drive into George Town. We picked up some lattes. I think they've never made lattes before. Jason explained to the lady how to make them. They were pretty tasty, she did a good job. The town isn't very big, so we only walked around for about 10 minutes.

Roseville, we wanted to stop by REI to pick up something with our dividend. We ended up buying some socks for Jason, and some books on wild animals. I know, we're just so exciting in our free time!!

I finally met Harlan Coben

I've never been much of a reader. One day, Jason and I were at Costco and decided to both get the same book. We'd read it together and talk about it. Of course, he finished the book before i did. I loved the book. It was Gone for Good by Harlan Coben. It was such a great book, I wanted to try another by Coben. Ever since then, I've been hooked!! I can't put down his books. They are such books. They are so easy and quick to read. I'm up to 2 books a month. If you know me, that's amazing!
Ever since I got hooked on Coben's books, I've been waiting for him to come to Sac for a signing. He's never came close enough for me to go (I think San Diego was the closest last year). Tonight, he FINALLY cam to sac. There was a book signing and Q&A at Borders in Sacramento. He was going to do a reading from his new book " Long Lost", but he felt it would be too boring. He was so entertaining to watch and listen. We were laughing the entire time. I thought I'd have fun, but not that much. My sweet husband, surprised me with his new book. So, I was able to have Coben sign 5 of my books. I didn't want to seem too eager to have him sign ALL my books. Jason was so sweet dealing with all (about 200) people. Everyone was so close together. There was only standing room only. Every seat was filled. They had a drawing for a new copy of the book, and 1st place in line for the book signing. I didn't win.
While we were standing in line for the signing, we over-heard a lot of conversations. This little 87 year old lady was talking to these guys that were in front of her. They were "sharing" books, and she was very surprised to see guys sharing books at their age. It was so funny, we had to turn our heads and laugh quietly.
When we finally got to meet Coben, he stuck out his hand and said"Hi, I'm Harlan". It was like we didn't know who he was, and I wasn't holding a stack of his books. He was surprised to see his 2nd book (that he wrote about 20 years ago). I had him personalize the subscription. I don't ever plan on selling his books. It was just so great to be able to talk to him (which I didn't do much of), and take a picture with him. It was a great night!! Thanks Jason for coming with me!!