Travel Snobbery

Let it be known that The TravelDiva is a travel snob. Plain and simple. I don't care. Lap of luxury or damn near close to it is the standard as far as I'm concerned. After a couple of years in the military where luxury sleeping was considered a tent or well built foxhole, I consider a hotel with the doors exposed to the outside equivalent to those accommodations. Humph! I didn't take on the alias of TravelDiva for no reason. I have traveled...maybe not as much a some, but more than the average ('cept maybe Honest - she is a traveling monster) and I have stayed in some wonderful places. I knows the difference. Trust.

So, earlier this year, Ron and I attended some event where you could enter your name into a raffle for a free trip. I didn't really think much about it, just filled out the form. I usually don't win stuff, but this year seems to be my year for winning contests (Wii, gift cards, trip). Might not have a job, but I got goodies. Earlier this month, we get a call saying that we won a trip to Williamsburg, VA. Yippie. I like free stuff and we could always use a getaway. Williamsburg is very pretty when decorated for Christmas and the shopping is good.

One catch. (There is always a catch - ain't nothing free) We have to take a tour of a new resort while here. Ron and I laughed. Did you do a background check before you offered us this trip? You would have seen that one of us is self-employed, the other unemployed and not about to buy a damn thing ...especially not a resort in Williamsburg, VA. Are you kidding me? Whatever, if you're going to pay my hotel stay & give me $150 in spending money, I've got nothing better to do. Why the heck not.

We pack Cara up (Jordan & the rest of the crew have social lives better than ours) and head down to Wiliamsburg. Guess what? We are not staying at the resort we have to go on a tour at. We are staying in some kind of guest suites down the street that is just one step up from the Su.per.8. At least the doors are on the inside. Yep...Snobbery. Smarty pants, the FireMarshall, says what did you expect for free? I hate him sometimes. He is laying across the bed, coloring with Cara, laughing at me while my nose is all up in the damn air blogging my disdain.

Actually, the place is not horrific, but when you are expecting a resort and you get Mo.tel.6, you tend to cop an attitude. I did plan us a nice day at Historic Williamsburg for us tomorrow (after our "tour"). We are taking Cara to "A Kids Holiday Memories" Event and then we are doing a walking tour of the Christmas Decorations in Historic City. I hope to get some new Christmas Decorating ideas. Serious Business.

Are you a travel snob?

Christmas Decorating - Serious Business

Here at True Blessings Estate, we take the holiday season very seriously - especially Christmas...and when it comes to decorating for Christmas, we mean serious business. It is a process, that starts with staging the boxes in their appropriate place, set up, a power plan, automatic timing of the on and off of the lights - and ends with a carefully selected color theme. We pretty much stick with one underlying color theme (Red & Gold) and add or subtract colors and items from there.

We always start putting up the decorations the day after Thanksgiving and everything MUST be in place and ready to go by the 1st Saturday in December - the day of the Army-Navy Game and (if I say so myself) THE BEST football party EVER - which we throw every year that we do not go to the game. The invitation to that party went out on Monday. If you want to come to the best time ever and you didn't ge tyour invite, you need to drop me a line.

I have an entire storage area dedicated to Christmas Decorations as well as a lot of other spaces. Dedicated to my craft - Absolutely. How about 2 large storage bins of power cords & timers. Like I said, Serious Business.

This year is the first year for the outdoor tree. A church friend gave my mother a 10 ft tree which we decided would be great for the front area of the house. With this outdoor tree, we will have a total of 5 trees in the house. Putting that sucker up, staking it down (safety first, the FireMarshall said), and decorating took a lot longer than expected. We managed to get it done and started working on the inside - have to work on the rest of the outside later, it was getting cold.

My mother started setting up the Fontanini Display - you won't believe how much room that thing takes up, but it is going to be awesome. At 8pm, we finally gave up the ghost and decided to call it a night. Between our feet and backs hurting, I'm just simply exhausted. I'll have to finish the rest later.

So, how serious are you about your Christmas decorating?

Eat Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

It is enough that I get this post together of some pictures from dinner since I'm about to slip into a coma from all of the food and adult beverage. Lawd Hab Murcy. I feel like a stuffed turkey myself. We are off to put our PJ's and watch a movie in the home theater.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Rejoice & Be Glad - Happy Thanksgiving

May you and yours have a

Blessed Thanksgiving Day

The Day Before Thanksgiving...

...and all through the house, everybody was stirring and mixing and rushing about.

Terri and I ran away from the hustle and bustle of pre-Thanksgiving Prep (after a great session of Yoga) and left for Tyson's Corner for Tea at the Ritz Carlton. As you can see, we had a great time. We did a little shopping in the mall afterwards to let the rush hour traffic die down and made it back home in short order for dinner of a fabulous roast & potatoe soup my mother made. Joe made crabcake appetizers. Heaven on earth today!

The Blessing of Good Friends...

I love my friends....
http://homeatlastfarm.blogspot.com/2008/11/blessing-of-good-friends.html

Terri is treating us to Tea at the Ritz today. I LOVE GOING TO TEA. It is just so, so...Grown up & Fancy!

Right now, we are off to Bikram Yoga. Yes, my friends let me torture them. Isn't it great!

Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

Happy Thanksgiving !, originally uploaded by Ming chai.

We started prepping and cooking last night in preparation for Thanksgiving Day. I started working on the table, put out the centerpieces and made Pama Margaritas for my company. We barely left the kitchen as we cooked, talked and enjoyed each others company. I love Thanksgiving...I love my friends...I love my family. We are blessed.

Here is the menu for our big feast:

Turkey (GMa Sandy)
Honey Baked Ham
Andoulle Sausage Stuffing
Sweet Potatoe Casserole w/Apples & Marshmallows
Cajun Corn Maque Choux
Sauteed Spinach (GMa Sandy)
Green Beans w/Cranberries, Blue Cheese & Walnuts
Macaroni & Cheese (Shawn)
Rolls (Shawn)
Cranberry Sauce w/Pinot Noir
Pumpkin Cheesecake w/Ginger Snap - Pecan Crust
Unknown Dessert (Shawn)

SIMPLY THE BEST

The Tina Turner Concert last night was SIMPLY THE BEST...better than all the rest. Tina is a true performer in every and all respects. This was a class act & performance. We had a blast.

My new goal is that when I am 68 years old, that I have legs & a body like Tina's and can dance for 2 hours in stillettos without missing a beat. SIMPLY THE BEST.

NSN Fall Connection Experience

This past Saturday, The National Sales Network DC/Baltimore Chapter held our last event for the year - The Fall "Connection Experience" Networking Social. It was a huge hit. Thank you to all the member (and future members) that not only made this event but the entire year a success. See you in 2009.

Too Cool

Pink Bunny Rabbit Top

I really have no words for this top. Not the best of pictures, but you get the point - JUST SAY NO! She needs new friends.

TINA TURNER LIVE!

I love me some Tina Turner! We are off to see her in concert tonight. I can't wait.

SIMPLY THE BEST!

HAPPY 64th BIRTHDAY MOMMIE!

It's my Mommie's Birthday today! We are going to dinner and to see Tina Turner in Concert.
Happy Birthday!!!!

Me & Mommie - Graduation Day, 1987

Me & Mommie - Florence, Italy - 2005

THE ART OF WAR - Usual Suspects Style

I met up with some of the Usual Suspects last night at a place called Co Co Salsa. Good thing the company was great cause this place, while cute 'n all, was way too froo froo for even me. Come on now...They put 3oz of wine in a 14oz glass and charge $12; they serve up "Co Co Bites" (see picture below) as appetizers, charge $8 and it is something my husband could pop in his mouth with one bite; specialty drinks - $13 and not so special.

Despite the disappointing drinks and cuisine, the company was no where close. It is always a freakin' scream when I get together with the gang. I got to meet Shelly & OneBlackMan and it was like a lightening bolt hit me when it finaly dawned on me that they were the two parties in one of the most infamous blog wars in history. What a treat.

Some of the funny moments:

• The Art of Re-Stalking
• How to keep the love/hate affair -blogwars - fire burning
• Making sure you hang out with friends crazier than you are so you have someone else to blame & you can live to tell the story.
• We need to add diversity to the group...We will be handing out applications to other cultures seeking people who would like to officially have a black friend.
  

One thing I know for sure...I love hanging with these women (and occassional guys). They are all funny, real, interesting women that are just a pure pleasure to be around. Like Monnie said last night...It is great to have some wonderful women friends at this point in our live. Yes, Lawd. I love it.

Video Slide Show: 31 Day Yoga Challenge

TravelDivaStories.com

I feel like a grown up blogger now with my own domain name!

www.traveldivastories.com

Update your links, but don't worry if you don't. You will still end up here using the old blogger link....salesdiva.blogspot.com

A Perfect Day in Paradise

I love my life & I love my husband - my personal Fire Marshall - who spoils me ROTTEN!!!!! Let's just say that today, our last day on St. Lucia, and I felt like a fairy princess. There have been a lot of down days recently, but it was if my Fire Marshall knew what I needed (rest, relaxation, pampering, love) and then he topped it off with strawberries & champagne.

Today started with a lazy day by the pool, where I promptly fell asleep with Ron giving me the appropriate tap to remind me to roll over so I wouldn't burn to a crisp. I was then sent off to the spa for an exfoiliating scrub and massage.

That evening we had a Candlelight Dinner on the beach and we were the only couple out that night (all the other nights, the beach was lined with tables & couples). It was so romantic. The evening was just perfect. The food was a little, ummm, not so great, but edible. The lobster bisque was really tomato soup with some sherry & lobster trown in. The salmon was dry. The dessert; however, was awesome! The food issues didn't really matter, we had each other and clowned on the beach we had to ourselves.

I was kinda kidding about the Fire Marshall running down to the jewelry store for an early Christmas present. Well, he went ahead and did it and said I could wear it now. I'm am estatic and the most blessed wife in the world.

Tomorrow..."Back to Life, Back to Reality"... but I think I can make it through.

Each day ends in a blaze of color to applaud the finish of another perfect day in paradise.

No Words

I don't even know what to say about any of it...especially the underware/diaper.

Soufries Day Tour - St Lucia

The Fire Marshall and I spent a beautiful day taking a catamaran sailing tour to Soufries. We got to see the Piton's (which were named a U.NES.CO World Heritage site in 2004), visit the center of a volcano that has active sulfur springs, visit the Botanical Gardens, have lunch at a wonderful restaurant with a great view of the Piton's, snorkle & swim off shore and just relax and enjoy the beauty of the island.

There were so many young, newly married couples on the day trip. We were like the "old married couple" to all these young kids. It was just cute to watch them all. There were guys who would come by on a kayak with "merchandise" to sell while we were anchored for swimming. Drive by selling. Just funny as hell.

There was a dance & drinking contest on the way back to the resort. I was robbed on the dance contest. You simply can't tell me that cheeeka out shook me. Humph! I took her on the beer (we only had to do one). That sucker was gone in a flash. Don't mess with a professional drinker. Step off. I won a bottle of rum.

Saw a rainbow today. Just another reminder and how beautiful the world is...it made me feel like God was smiling.

ManJellies

I simply don't have any words for what my eyes beheld below. Just no words.