Epidemic

We are more than 4 months away from summer
here . . . but already we are seeing an outbreak of the mustache! The theme for this summer (Excusez-Mwa!?) has a Three Muskateers type feel . . . and the theme for Spirit Day is staches and taberds (not sure if I spelled those right), but everyone's starting to get into it . . . including this guy!

I think all our guys here would look creepy outside of camp . . . but here, it's just the new fashion trend.

Click here to check out the summer teaser video.

Discovery of the Week

Suzanne and I have been going on lots of fun coffee and tea adventures while we've been traveling around California this past month (some adventures are more successful than others). And in San Luis Obispo last week we went to Uptown Espresso.

It's a really fun environment and they serve Black Horse coffee. I opted to try the tea though. I had a vanilla almond black tea with a little steamed soy and foam . . . it was heavenly. So if you're ever in SLO, check out this little fun place.

Fail

I came across this last week - Wine tasting next to the Rehab center. That's a winner. Way to go Fresno.

Chicken Pie Shop

Last week we checked out out this old diner in the Tower District of Fresno. It's called Chicken Pie Shop. It specializes in chicken pot pies and apparently lime green plastic booths, chairs and counters.

I had a tuna melt . . . but only got through half of it before I was weired out by the American cheese on it. I still can't believe I didn't notice it right away. American cheese . . . . ewww gross!

Boo Boo Bunny

Ever heard of a Boo Boo Bunny? I grew up with those things. They are wash clothes in the shapes of bunnies. There's a space where you put an ice cube. Then you use them to put on, well . . . boo boos.

I haven't thought about them in years, but was just telling Nathan about them the other day . . . and lo and behold I find some in SLO!

Sorry the picture's not clearer.

Catching Up - Valentines Day

I've been so crazy busy these last few weeks traveling with our Vision Dinner tour . . . that I haven't had a chance to post pictures and updates from some things!

So going back . . . here's some pictures from Valentines Day! My family's tradition is to have a candle light pizza dinner on Valentines Day, so Nathan and I have enjoyed doing that the last 2 years. Check out our pizza cookie too :-)

And Nathan surprised me with 2 new orchids (Nathan has always kept me with a supply of orchids since we've been dating) . . . and ta da! Hooks on my wall! You have no idea how excited I am to have hooks there!

The Apple Farm

Tonight I am in San Luis Obispo and you gotta check out this place where me and my team are staying. It's called the Apple Farm. It's like an old lady boutique meets a hotel. My room is completely pink (and all the rooms are different). It's all comically hideous. And I really think I'm the only person under 45 here . . . and if you don't count the rest of my team . . . I think we are the only ones under 60. This hotel has definitely got a certain demographic.

The Life of an Event Planner

With today's dinner I gave a guarantee of 70 dinners. There were 64 people registered . . . and with the 6 of us staff . . . it had the potential to be perfect! (I have to give these numbers to the venues before I'm even done getting registrations, so it's quite a lot of guesswork).

But we made an all time record tonight with 19 no shows!! That's pretty ridiculous. Those are all pricy dinners that we end up paying for. It's normal to end up with a few no shows, but not anything like this. And I can't have fewer dinners prepred than the number of people who are registered, so it's a bummer when people don't show up since I have to plan for them.

Generally, we've been really good on numbers the whole tour. But I guess not tonight. Oh the life of an event planner. I guess you win some, you lose some.

Jocelyn Marie

Hey that's my name!

Yesterday at our Lodi Vision Dinner there was someone with the name Jocelyn there. And as if that wasnt uncommon already . . . her middle name is Marie too!

Crazy!

Reagan Library

Yesterday me and my fellow team members got a private tour of the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. From on the hill where the library is, you can see the ocean and also the snow covered mountains. It's really quite spectacular. I had no idea Simi Valley was so pretty. I'd much rather learn my history there than out of a textbook.

Here is a picture of a piece of the Berlin Wall (and yes, that is Bob Phillips), and also Air Force 1. I got to walk on the airplane. Pretty cool!

Moving In?

Right now I am sitting in a random Starbucks (in Mission Valley I think). I am here . . . working and waiting to start my new week of travel. I'm waiting for my boss to come pick me up actually. I have my suitcase, purse, laptop bag, travel case, and my pea coat (I should probably invest in a garment bag). I feel like I've come to live at Starbucks or something.

We hosted 4 dinners this past week and have 4 more dinners this week (Granada Hills, Thousand Oaks, Ventura and Visalia). I will go home really late Thursday night. I will have been gone for almost 2 weeks by then. It's been fun so far though. I love traveling for work.

This past week my fellow team members and I were all spread out and doing our own things and staying at different places (since most of us have friends and family in the Southern California area). But as we begin to head north, we will all be traveling together now. I'm looking forward to it.

One Year Anniversary!

Today is our 1 year anniversary! Yay for us! The day consisted of church, a trip to Home Depot, the grocery store, lunch at home . . . but then sunset and dinner on the beach. We enjoyed some of our favorite things: ginger beer, fresh french bread with tomatoes and mozerella cheese, a little dark chocolate, and then some coffee and tea and dancing on the Seal Beah Pier. These are all things that we've done together and enjoyed at some other point in the last year. So it was fun to put them together. I've got such a great boyfriend and friend in Nathan :-) It's been a great year together.

The Apple Pan and The Third Man

Yesterday we got together with friends, ate a great meal in Burbank . . . then headed to Santa Monica to see The Third Man. We ended our night at The Apple Pan with some yummy pie!

Deja Vu

Today was totally Deja Vu for me. It's hard to believe it's already been a year since our last Vision Dinner tour. For those of you that don't know . . . this is our fundraising tour, and something that is a huge part of my job. I get to coordinate all the event details. Fun stuff.

Well today started around 6:00 am for me. It included many hours of driving, the usual stop at the Tulare Starbucks . . . our normal lunch at In-N-Out, a stop at the hotel we're staying in, which is of course the same as last year . . . and then an evening at the Doubletree Hotel in San Diego for our event. So much of today felt like Deja Vu (even down to recalling the slipry-ness of the floor at the Doubletree). It's a good thing I wore something different than I wore last year (and yes, I do remember what I wore then).

It's been a long day, but it's been good. I feel so much of today has been run on adreneline, and has been slightly stressful for me. Maybe that's just the life of an event coordinator. I dunno.

But it's now midnight, I'm ready to call it a day, and I'm looking forward to finally getting caught up on my work tomorrow and hanging out with some Pearseys while I'm here in Escondido.

Goodnight.