So I took My Kid to See Katy Perry

Last summer Katy Perry tickets went on sale - I was lucky enough to grab three in the first 5 minutes.. Man - they went fast... I bought them for me and my two girls.. After I purchased them - my oldest informed me that she had no interest in going... Not her style... So I took my youngest and her friend... I was amazed how versatile the audience was.. I think everyone that came to the concert left feeling satisfied... The concert was at the Staples Center in Los Angeles two days before Thanksgiving...


My kid singing to I Kissed A Girl and I liked it... ha

Where Did My Sweet Daughter Go???

From birth until my youngest turned 13 she was so sweet... so lovey.. So easy to parent... Now not so much...

She went from this......





To This...



I have been told this time shall pass... and I pray that it goes by fast....

Am I Being Unreasonable - Seeking Wise Mom Thoughts

I have two teenage girls who are 20 months apart in age.. My oldest is 15 and a sophomore in high school and my youngest is 13 and in the 8th grade.... Because they are close in age - they have shared many of the same activities growing up... But I believe that because my oldest is older she should be allowed certain privileges that the younger one does not have yet....

This weekend my oldest was invited to go to an amusement park for their Halloween "scary-fun"... I am allowing her to go because 1) she is 15 - 2) she is in high school and 3) I personally know the girls that are going and they are sweet kids...

The dilemma is this...

My youngest has been invited to go as well - (she was invited after my oldest had made plans) . When my oldest was this age - I would not allow her to go to night amusement parks without a parent.. I have told my 13 year old "no".. My reason is this: 1) she is 13 and I do not believe she is old enough to go someplace like this without an adult present.. 2) I know her and she will terrorize her older sister.. 3) I believe my oldest should have some "high school" fun without her kid sister hanging around.... My youngest assures me that she would not be with her sister but the fact that that her friends are mingled with my oldest daughter's friends - I find that assurance highly unlikely.....

My question is this... Am I being unreasonable????

How To Freak Out Your Mother In Law..

Yesterday my daughters and I went to a carnival in our neighborhood... We had a great time... The girls hung out with their friends and I took pictures... I like to do that... Both girls won a hermit crab and goldfish... Original goldfish tally was five (5) and as of this morning... there is one (1)...

One of the booths featured at the carnival was a tattoo booth... There were people actually getting inked right there... My oldest thought they were "really cool"... I asked her if she wanted to get her picture taken with one of the tattoo artists... She of course said "yes" and he was happy to pose..... Now how did I freak out my very conservative mother in law?

I sent her this picture with an email saying this.. Hi Lois - Thought you would like to meet your oldest granddaughter's new first boyfriend... His name is Eugene and he is a sweet young man... Dusty and I just adore him and we honestly think Nikki is in love... Can't wait for you to meet him too..... See you soon. Kelly

Thankfully - my mom in law has a good sense of humor... She was happy it wasn't the other guy with the floppy ears and horns sticking out of his head.

In My Daughters' Eyes

So thankful to God above for blessing me with my two beautiful, healthy and precious daughters....

My Daughters and I - Are Going Historical Part III

I have shared that I am going on a dream historical vacation with my two (2) favorite people in the world... my teen daughters... I told you about flying into DC and visiting Williamsburg and all the top "must sees" in DC... You can read about it here... Part I. I also shared that we will be jumping on a train to go to New York City and the exciting things we have planned... You might say - I am completely Insane in the details but I believe to have a great vacation - You MUST be greatly prepared... You can read about the 2nd leg of our journey her... Part 2...

The last leg of our journey will be in Boston! I am really looking forward to riding the train from NYC to Boston - I'm guessing the scenery will be much different than riding along the Southern California coast... I have my Ipad loaded with books to read and games to play... My girls have their Ipods loaded up as well...

My sister lives outside of Boston and she and her daughter will join us on our adventure here... This is the plan... We arrive in Boston in the late afternoon - this will be a great time to relax by the pool or see a movie..... or sleep... As you can imagine - we most likely will be exhausted from our non-stop activities in The Big Apple... The first full day - we will walk the Freedom Trail... My husband and I did this walk about 15 years ago and we really enjoyed it... I'm hoping the girls will too.. On the Freedom Trail - we will walk by the Old North Church... you know the church where Paul Revere saw two lamps in the high tower warning him that the British were coming.. Also along this walk - we will see Paul's home, Mother Goose's grave, The Famous Swan boats, different historical markers from The Revolutionary War, and The USS Constitution also known as Old Iron Sides.... There are many other things too - such as Faneuil Hall Marketplace.. Can anyone say Lobster Roll????

Our last full day in Boston - we will venture to Salem... My oldest is fired up about this one... I have booked three (3) tours... One tour we will go into the 2nd oldest cemetery in the US.. Tour two - we will go on a walk about and learn about what led to the hysteria of the Salem Witch trials - the key players and the innocent victims and our last tour will be a night.. It's called Haunted Footsteps - it's a tour of known areas with paranormal activity.... boooooo..

After Boston we will head over to my sister's home.. I have not seen her new home yet and look forward to relaxing... eating... sight-seeing....... Now the big question is this....

Do I take the train back to DC (my free airline tickets require this) Or do I fly out of Boston...

Train - 8 hours - Cost $140 for 3 tickets - Hotel room $175. Total: $315
Boston Flight - 3 one way tickets $526....

What Would You Do????

My Daughters and I - Are Going Historical! Part II

This is post 2 to our "Historical Adventure" if you missed post 1 - you can read it here. I have to tell you - I am having such a blast setting this trip up... So far I've told you about our plans to visit Williamsburg/Jamestown (a side note - a very dear friend was asked to be a "character actor" in the Williamsburg Colonial area -that is how this side trip came about) and a little about the DC Smithsonian museums... In my research I discovered that there are several ways of getting around DC.. I personally will use Old Town Trolleys for two of our days (I purchased tickets on line and received a buy one day get the 2nd day free) - this is a service that has several on/off stops throughout the DC area.. I also know that the hotel we will be staying at is very close to the subway - I have been told that navigating the DC subways is very easy... That's a good thing...

To squeeze in as much sight seeing in DC as possible - I have mapped out a route to all the places "I Must See" and I have allotted "x" amount of time at each... This may sound very tight and or regimented.. But I truly believe that if you want to soak in the most you can in a trip and still enjoy it - you gotta do this... I think too many people will go on a vacation not really knowing what to expect or what to see and then when they get home from that trip - learn that they missed out on some really cool stuff... I don't want that to happen to me... again..

After our week in the DC area - we will jump on the Amtrak train - (you can get discount tickets if purchased 14 days in advance) to Manhattan... I was lucky enough to find a hotel near Times Square - I originally had booked a hotel near the Metropolitan Art Museum but soon realized that the hotel really wasn't close to any of the attractions we wanted to enjoy... Because cost is a concern (we are far from wealthy) I did a lot of comparison shopping.. As I am sure you are aware hotels are very expensive in the Big Apple.. So we will only spend 3 days/2 nights.. But you will be amazed what we are fitting into this time frame!

The first day in New York City - we will meet another "tour on/off" double decker bus... (buy 2 days get the 3rd free! the tour includes several choice tours - we can choose to take advantage of all of them or a few - it's up to us and all of it is included in the $88 price tag). We will be exploring the Downtown Area AND we will go to the Top of The Rock - 70 stories up to view the city - we thought about doing the Empire State Building but we changed our mind based on 2 reasons - the ride up to the top is a glass elevator and we will have a spectacular view of the Empire State Building AND everything else.... On our 2nd day - we will take the subway to Battery Park and jump on the Ferry to The Statute of Liberty and Ellis Island - next we are taking a "riding tour" of Brooklyn - once we are done with this we will go back to our hotel - spruce up and go see Phantom of the Opera.... On the last day in New York - we are going into indulge in some window shopping.. We will catch our train bound for Boston at noon..

Part 3 of this incredible adventure will be on my next/last post....

Things I've Been Doing While NOT Blogging...

STUDYING.....


I also studied at the hospital while my mom was having a double mastectomy.. She's doing great by the way!!!


Went to the pet store and took a look around - I came out feeling so sad...

Had my boobs smashed - two times.. I guess the first look see wasn't enough - now I'm considered high risk for breast cancer and I am advised to come every 6 months.. Ultrasound and MRI...

Took My Beautiful Girls To The Park and Did A "Photo shoot" - My youngest was gung-ho - my oldest not so much... Was lucky enough if she looked at the camera - this black and white below was taken from over 50 yards away while I was sitting in my car - She did not know I took this picture... The bizarre picture below this one is both the girls giving "attitude" when I asked if I could hang out with them.. ha ha ha














Celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter.... the husband also hid about 200 eggs for the girls to find.. I'm pretty sure he has more fun hiding them as they do finding them... lol - They humored us him...