Sunday Funday!

Hello Everyone! I know its been quite a while since my last post. Actually since last year, literally! So Christmas was great here in Cali, but in the same breath I missed my Mom and Dad very much. The only good thing was that I was able to surprise everyone by flying into McAllen on January 2! I was there for four short days, but so Happy to see everyone!

So this past Sunday is the REASON why I moved to California! I could not have asked for a more beautiful adventurous day as the day we had on Sunday! We started the day about 9am and headed towards Monterrey. Our first stop was Mt Madonna Park...this was the one of the many breathtaking views of the day...

I'll let this picture speak for itself...but can you say HUGE TREES!!

Mt Madonna has ruins from The Miller Estate...it was so cool to see what remained after so many years...I was sitting on the steps of what was once the entry way to the mansion

trees, trees and more trees...

This had to have been a window from the basement...

Halfway into our Miller Estate hike I found the perfect walking stick...

I was obviously very excited about the stick! We then headed to Wastonville where we went to the Rizdich Apple Farm. There was a quaint Antique shop on the premises and a Pie shop...

Seriously look at this, its a raspberry apple pie...fresh out the oven!

From there we were on to "17 Mile Drive" which takes you to Pebble Beach and goes through the Del Monte Forest.

It was breathtaking...beautiful...unbelievable!!

I keep saying this, but those were the bluest blues Ive ever seen!

After driving through halfway of the 17 mile drive we found the perfect spot for our picnic.

Nadia put together a great luch that was perfect for the beach...Edgar surprised us with the bottle of wine....

After enjoying lunch we took a walk and enjoyed the scenery... by the way, did I mention that the weather we had was record breaking for this time of the year High 60's!!

Do you see something in the distance...?

Nadia and I took the treacherous hike up the sharp slippery rocks for a Kodak moment...

It was fun! I know if my Mom would have been there she totally wouldn't have wanted me to climb those rocks!! We loaded back into the car and drove the rest of the stretch. Our final stop was The Lodge at Pebble Beach. Breathtaking views...

This is a picture of the final holes of the Pebble Beach Golf Links...

Needless to say, this was an absolutely picture perfect day! We all had a great time! I think Miss Anaya had too much of a good time...

Hopefully I can post another great day like this soon, until then I love and miss everyone. I wish you could have been here to experience this with me too!

XOXO,

Vanessa

30 Something!!!

I celebrated my 31st birthday yesterday! I was in a way dreading it cause I had been homesick for the past week and I really didn't want to do much. But I made up my mind that I was going to have a positive outlook on the day and It turned out to be a GREAT DAY!!


My day started with finding these Happy Birthday signs all throughout the house... my cousin Nadia printed, colored and posted these before heading out to work...

I couldn't help but Smile everytime I ran into one somewhere in the house!! After coming back home from a day of Christmas shopping I got a delivery from my MOM and DAD...

It was perfect timing, 5 mins after i got home the flowers arrived! I LUV the arrangement! Around 7pm was when my family arrived to head out to dinner, before we left my Aunt presented me with this...

It's a Chocolate Mocha Cake! And yes it tastes as good as it sounds. The sides of the cake are dusted with chocolate powder and pieces of chocolate too!!! My cousin Nadia made me the most adorable Cupcake Cake...

I LUV cupcakes and this one is too cute for words! After enjoying a relaxing Italian dinner at Firoellies we came home and enjoyed Cake...

My family here in California definitely made my day very special. I want to thank them for making the drive to San Jose to enjoy a great dinner together!!

Before we left the restaurant we made sure to take a group picture...

From left to right its Sonia holding Clarissa, Adrian holding Esteban, Me and Isabel, my Uncle Louie and Tia Minga, Nadia holding Anaya and Edgar!! This is the California bunch!!

It was a great day, it would have been that much better if my family from Texas could have shared it with me too, but there are many more birthdays to be had.

Thanks to everyone who sent me Birthday Wishes. Gina DeLallo wins the prize for being the first one to reach me, I recieved her text at 4:13am which as we all know is 6:13am Tx time!!

Merry Christmas to everyone in case I don't post before then,

Vanessa

Before I go here is a little video of Nicholas singing Happy Birthday! He melts my HEART!!

My First Get-A-Way!

Hello Everyone!
It's been about two weeks now that I've been living in California. Time has flown by!! I've had multiple people ask me when I was going to post something...I finally found the time on my day off to go do some sight seeing! Work has been keeping me REALLY BUSY. I know once I get through this holiday season I will definitely be going on plenty of adventures.
So i was on the hunt for a Cupcakery in nearby Los Gatos, only about 6miles away from San Jose. I popped in the address in my GPS and I off I went.
This is a picture of Downtown Los Gatos, really cute and quaint.
On my walk I ran into Poeh Bagel...

Seeing as how I hadnt eaten yet, I stopped in for a Lox and Cream Cheese on a Gourmet Pesto Bagel, yum...

After that I found Icing on the Cake just a couple of doors down the way

OMG, sooo cute and the smell when you walk in is incredible!!!

They had so many different flavors to choose from not to mention their merchandise for sell.

From cakes to cookies, they have it all!!

After I finally chose what I was to buy( red velvet cupcake, sugar cookie w/pink icing and a slice of bannana walnut chocolate chip loaf) I know what your thinking...Not to worry its not all for me, I'm sharing with my cousins! After that I took a walk to the nearby park...

Can you believe these trees...

I loved the water fountain in the distance... it was such a beautiful day out today, the weather was on my side. That's quickly changing with rain headed our way this weekend. I'm glad I got away before the change.

The following picture is where I live. The area is gorgeous!! This is the street I live on.

And this is my cousins house. The area we live in takes part in decorating a tree with lights and placing it in your front yard, only $15 for decent size tree. It looks so cute at night with everyone's tree on in the yard. I have to tell you, our tree stands out the MOST cause we're the only one's with a Star!

So that's it for this instalment of Vanessa getting away for a bit!! Back to work tomorrow!! But I do have A Birthday coming up very soon...so ya'll will hear from me sooner than later!!

Love you and Miss you All,

Vanessa

OMG!!!

Well everyone, I finally made it! My DAD and I drove 3 days and 2 nights, but we made it! I can't believe I drove the WHOLE way through while my DAD navigated along with Samantha (my GPS).
It wasn't as bad as I was anticipating. I can tell you that I am so happy my DAD came along for the ride. I had been contemplating doing the drive on my own (for whatever reason that was) but in the end my MOM'S plan worked out!
Here are a couple of our roadtrip pics...I didn't take as many as I was hoping.

The four things that got me through this trip were #1 My Car
#2 Rand McNally Road Atlas #3 Garmin nuvi GPS

Last but not least #4... my dear old DAD! He was my co-pilot...

Dad making sure we're heading in the right direction (he didnt fully trust SAMANTHA)

I'm not sure exactly where we were at the time... I believe somewhere in California.

And here is exit for Highway 152. Only 1 HOUR AWAY!!! I was so happy to see this sign.

Needless to say this has been a very emotional experience. Leaving my family and friends, driving 1,973 miles and starting a new chapter in my life...I'm very excited to see what's to come!


Till next time,

Vanny

The Big Move!

Where do I begin? Let's see, well I officially have 1day before I start my adventure of a lifetime! I will be heading out to San Jose, California on Thanksgiving afternoon.

My starting point will be from McAllen, Texas in hopes to arrive by Saturday late afternoon. I call this an adventure cause that's exactly what it is. I'm leaving the comforts of my life in San Antonio and family in McAllen to experience life in California.

I've moved all my belongings into a 10x10 storage and am traveling with my clothes and some few essential items. Even though I say "few items" my trunk is PACKED to the max and some items are spilling over into my backseat!

I will be traveling with my DAD and probably doing a majority of the driving (he tends to adhere to the speed limit way TOO Much!)

I hope to chronicle my travels to have my family and friends keep up with my journey.

Speaking of Friends, here are some of my friends at a farwell lunch and a couple of dinners...
these are my Co-workers that I'm going to miss SOO much...
The Girls that will soon be expanding with two more editions to the group...

and finally Diana and Corina...they were my first co-workers when I joined the CO. who are now dear friends!

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!


Till next time,
Vanessa