The Calm Before the Storm

John and I are laying out on the vast dirt lot of our backyard enjoying the quiet day and warm sun. It is 3pm and 68 degrees this afternoon. When I lived in Vegas I would have thought it would be too cold to be in a bikini but here I am, beads of sweat forming on my skin. This strawberry piña colada is refreshing and the occasional breeze feels really good!

In a few hours my parents will be here visiting from Washington state. Then my sister from Florida arrives tomorrow afternoon. Wednesday my other sister from California will drive in and so we will have a full house since everyone is staying with us. For my parents and Floridian sister, this will be their first visit to Reno and Sparks so I am looking forward to showing them around town. There will be lots of cooking going on of authentic Laotian food. I am so blessed to have great cooks on both sides of the family and I can't wait to enjoy every dish!

Cheers to a wonderful Sunday!

Self Portrait Thursday

I went to the DMV today to update my driver's license with my new address and add the Class M (motorcycle) endorsement. I had the opportunity to take a new photo but I declined. I don't like to pose for the camera, especially with a bunch of strangers around. Besides, no one really cares what the photo of me looks like on my license.

Later I thought I would've liked to see a snapshot of my face and the joy I felt knowing I had accomplished something I was intimidated to do or thought I could never do (to ride a motorcycle). And since it has been years since I posted for Self Portrait Thursday, there was no better time than the very moment I took this photo.

I also want to remember the pearl earrings John gave me for our 7th anniversary. I love pearls but they don't share the same feelings as I do and they like to get lost so I hope these stick around for a just a little while longer than the last few lol...

Please forgive the bags under my eyes. I have been battling severe allergies all week!

Motorcycle Safety

All weekend I am taking a motorcycle class so that I can get the Class M endorsement on my driver's license which will allow me to ride any two-wheeled powered vehicle that is more than 50cc. Just in case I get a 150cc Vespa! So far I have learned a lot. I can ride a Suzuki 50cc now. I think it helps that I rode a bike and rode a scooter prior. The skills I learned there with turning is serving me well.

David Walley's Hot Springs Resort

Near South Lake Tahoe is a resort called David Walley's Hot Springs Resort where John and I went for dinner to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary.  The restaurant overlooks beautiful meadows and the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains which we enjoyed over a quiet dinner.

 

Our menu was Prix Fixe and we had a choice of items from the starter, entree and dessert.  John had the traditional french onion soup and I had the spinach salad with strawberries, avocado, goat cheese and toasted almonds with balsamic vinaigrette. Since we don't eat red meat often, we both went for the NY strip steak with garlic mashed potatoes "Dianne" style with demi.  For dessert John ordered the chocolate mousse with dark rum and I opted for the dessert of the day which was chocolate panna cotta (Italian cooked cream with gelatin) with real strawberry compote and whipped cream.

 

After dinner we went next door to the spa and soaked in one of the many natural hot springs under the clear, cool evening sky.  We had a nice evening.

 

Settling In

It has been almost four weeks since we moved to the new house and we are settling in little by little.  From our windows we can see downtown Reno.  The skyline reminds me of Vegas :-) so I like to look out there often.

 

Havi enjoys running up and down the stairs. She is often seen perching in various places looking down at us.

 

Elgy is also adjusting. She likes to be wherever we are so she is just happy to tag along.

 

John had a bike race a weekend or two ago in Chico, CA.  Getting to it was much easier in our new Subaru than the Dodge RAM pickup truck which we traded in.  We still needed a four-wheel drive vehicle but this one sips gas compared to the truck.  That's a big plus with all the driving we do -- especially since it is our only vehicle.

Here is John in 2007 (on the left) when he started to ride bicycles again ... and on the right after the Chico Road Race having fun.  Four miles of the course was on a gravel road so that is why his legs and kit are all dusty, LOL.  I am proud of him and how far he has come. He was overweight and lost a difference of 70 pounds to racing competitively.

Phooey, I can't remember where we were when I took this photo.  Oh yes, Gastro Pub at the mall.  It wouldn't be a post without photos of food, right?

 

The blinds for the house were installed last Friday.  Throughout downstairs (I will have to post pics soon), we chose honeycomb shades for several reasons. They provide insulation and you can open them from the top down or the bottom up.  This particular shade on the door of our master bedroom which leads out to the patio, the shade is cordless.  I lower the top of the shade so that I can see outside and open the shade from the bottom so that our cats can also see outside, yet there is still privacy in the middle area so no one strolling or jogging by will see me walking around in my birthday suit.

 

Our home came with stainless steel GE Profile appliances but were tired of the stainless steel look so we purchased the WhirlPool White Ice kitchen appliance set instead.  We plan to either get the cabinets refaced or painted white so our kitchen will be a work in progress.  For now you can follow this link to see the image of what we have in mind.

Since we sold our appliances we were left without a range to cook with or a dishwasher for some time.  The large appliances were installed by the delivery guys but we had to the above-the-range microwave ourselves.  For the most part it was easy ... and then there was cutting a larger hole in the cabinet than was made for the GE appliances and THAT was a nightmare, LOL.

 

BUT we did it and realized that the older we get, the less we want to do things ourselves...like moving.  We were spoiled when we moved to Reno because my company paid for our expenses (boxes, moving truck, gas, movers, etc.) so all we had to do was pack, drive to our destination and unpack.  Moving ourselves this last time was such a pain, LOL.  It took us five days and left us with very sore backs...lol...but I will always remember our adventure.  Next time we are hiring help!

So can you blame us for what we did after we installed the microwave?  We headed over to Anchor's Bar & Grill at the Sparks Marina for a stiff drink!!  It was a gorgeous evening and you can see the snow capped mountains surrounding Reno.  Next time we will sit on the patio and enjoy the sun set.

 

We love where we live and each day when we turn off our street I am in awe of the view.  John drives me to work and he will do so until I can find a safe route on which to ride my scooter or bicycle.

 

Now that we are all moved in and packing, the biggest task we have left...is the backyard--and it is our biggest backyard yet!  The front of our house is landscaped but the backyard is a big blank canvas of DIRT.

 

Landscaping or not, it was not going to stop me from laying out and enjoying the warm sun shining over our backyard.  We often let our cats onto the patio from the master bedroom so that they too can enjoy some fresh air and sunshine.  But there are coyotes and hawks that will snatch them so they will not be wandering the backyard ever.

 

John laid out a moving blanket for me so that I could put down a beach towel, chair, and umbrella and read some books.

 

 

Pretty soon we'll get back in the swing of things...and it will be life as usual. :-)