10 on 10: Santa Cruz Mother's Day Edition

Saturday morning. 

Americano, & scrambled eggs with avocado.

Snug as a bug in a rug.

I see you. 

Waiting to go.

Returning a block of cheese and 2 avocados. And some mother's day booty.

Dropping off some goodies to grandma. 

Finally made it to Santa Cruz. Hanging at (under) the wharf.

The Boardwalk, so photogenic.

And so classic.

Back in town. Tzatziki & gyros, mediterranean food is my love language.

Ending this gorgeous day with a smile on my face and pink shoulders, by linking up with Rebekah!

Another Birthday in the Books

So. I turned 32 on Wednesday.
My family celebrated me on Sunday afternoon.

Mylie isn't so good at sharing the spotlight. She likes to be right in the middle of all gift opening.
(It's blurry, but she's so cute!)

Like. RIGHT. IN. THE. MIDDLE.
She puts her ball in every single gift bag or on every present.
She wants to make sure that you know she's there.
We know Smiles, we know.

This is how I feel about sitting in the spotlight. Under a Dollar Tree balloon bouquet.
Also, blingy silver necklace is a Grandma gift. Came with an accompanying blingy bracelet.

 

American Idol the Untold Story, kitchen towels, a hand mirror, and a mustard yellow sweatshirt were also my Grandma Gifts.

I know it's blingy, but please don't mug me.

Also, mom made me come back and pick up my balloon bouqet.
Stay back there, fools.

 

And then my sweet friend Wendy & her two kiddos, who I have a standing weekly lunch date with,  made me a yummy cake. Both kids notified me of said cake upon my arrival. Surprises are not their strong suit. But being excited for birthdays definitely is!

And then on my real birthday, these ladies accompanied me to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

The second happiest place on earth.

Cindy gave me the coolest birthday card, it came with a "pocket hot dog" (yes.), which was a bit of a talker.

He got to come along too. 

After spending about 30 minutes taking the above jumping picture (there isn't much spring left in this chicken), we decided to head to the arcade to kill some time before the rides opened. We hit up the DDR, skeeball, and fun house mirrors.

And of course the photobooth. My favorite thing of life.

And then it was lunch time.
Corndogs. Underneath the Hurricane roller coaster.
Mandatory.
All other corndogs are imposters.

Followed by the carousel.

And then two times around on the Giant Dipper. Cue the whiplash. Cue the ibuprofen.

And the Sea Swings. Terrifying. Yet, the best photo op possible. Worth the defying of death just for this shot.

And no trip to Santa Cruz is complete with out a scoop (or two) of Marianne's.
I skipped my traditional 10-20 flavor and went for Burgundy Cherry. Which is more like purple-people-eater-cherry, but still delish.

And wrapped up the day celebrating with a few of my favorite little people, who made me the cutest cake (alongside their Mama), I'm pretty sure they were more excited about my birthday than I was. As they should be.

And one last outing with the pocket hot dog to my favorite local haunt, where I blew out one of those ding-dang-darn candles on purpose, for once.

Alright 32, let's do this thing.

Life on the 'Gram

I think a lot of bloggers are doing life over on Instagram these days.
Or the 'gram as I like to refer to it.

A lot of "sorry I haven't posted in so long" posts around these parts.
It's cool though.
I heart the 'gram.
But, for those of you who aren't on there.
Or those of you who just want more CuppaGrams, here is what life has been looking like these days...

Last week I had my teeth cleaned.
By my sister.
Ashley did too!
Afterwards, Laura treated us to lunch.
That is full service dental hygiene!

The weekend was kicked off with some goodies from THIS lovely bloggy friend.
Thank you JenniLynn...these notecards are like the most amazingly perfect thing in the whole world.
LOVE THEM.
THANK YOU. <3

Saturday, my sister and I hiked the Dish again.
It's almost a 5 mile adventure when it's done.
A 3 mile loop, but 1 mile each way to and from the car.
Boom.
Lunch at Chevy's.
Shopping at the outlets.
And a little Sonic Happy Hour for the drive home.
Except, my sister, while trying to read the bottom of her cup (note, there is nothing on it)
hit the straw on the ceiling of the car, which then punctured the bottom of her cup, and we had diet cherry limeade streaming out the bottom of her route 44.
Faster and faster.
I rolled down the window, did three u-turns, and tried not to crash the car while I was laughing so hard tears were rolling down my cheeks, and hyperventilating.
Do not divide by.
We couldn't even breathe by the time we got back to the drive thru.
Thankfully, she had managed to save her  bev in a plastic bag, and they happily replaced it.
That was $1.90 saved.
CLOSE ONE.

Sunday my mom requested that we take her to Santa Cruz.
Not a problem.
We had lunch on the wharf.
Checked out the cute seals (my fav) - there was even a CUTE baby jumping around in the water when we walked up. She climbed up on the dock, and then onto what I assume is her mama, and then all the other seals gathered around and barked at the annoying ones who tried to come close.
It was adorable.

We walked the Boardwalk for a bit.
I bought my mom cotton candy AND taffy.
They are two of her major food groups.
And on our way home, we stopped at Marianne's.
REQUIRED.

For the record, my brother in law got the two weirdest flavors they have.
Cantaloupe, and Black Licorice.
You may gag now.
VOMIT.

Laura got Pineapple Coconut, and I got my fav 10-20. Excellent life choices.

Betsy came to town for Mother's day, and a few extras, so we headed out to the Yard.
I printed the tickets.
But I was kinda low on toner.
I got in no problem, and turned around to find out they were stuck behind the gates.
Theirs wouldn't scan.
Please note their annoyance.
Whoops.

Betsy and Laura had a fun little Crossfit bonding time.
I stopped by after the gym.
And ended up working out with them too.
I also ran that morning.
I believe that is the definition of beast mode.

I get to see my favorite Miss Abi every Wednesday. And sometimes other days too.
Here are two of my Weekly Abs shots.
I've been trying to secure favorite status.
I think I'm doing pretty well.

Happy, happy weekend friends!
Lots of adventures await!
Go enjoy some sunshine!

The Happiest Place on Earth: NorCal Edition

First off, today I am doing a little retail therapy. 

For a cause.

Head on over here to find out how you can help those affected by the Tornado in Joplin.

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Last Monday was Memorial Day.

Which means, NO WORK FOR ME!

Hurrah!

Which also means, I call my parents and ask them to take me on an adventure!

AKA, they drive.

They pay.

It works out well.

Anyway, my favorite "I don't have to work today" adventure is heading to Santa Cruz.

Spring, Fall, Summer or Winter.

It is a happy place.

Unless you go in summer, the whole Boardwalk will be shut down.

No rides.

No food.

No sunshine.

But come summer, the Boardwalk is bustling!

Anyway, my parents have a way of doing things. They are weird like that. But I roll with it. After all, they are buying me lunch, ice cream, churros, and a few rounds of Ski Ball!

They park a gagillion miles away. Up a mountain.

And apparently, I just learned this time, my dad doesn't like corndogs. TRAVESTY.

Sidenote: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has THE BEST corndogs in the world.

But only if you get them right under the Hurricane roller coaster. Trust me.

So, instead, they always eat on the Wharf.

Mom requires a window table.

Getting a table with my mother, is quite the process. I won't go into it here.

But we get one. And love watching the sea lions float by. And sometimes an otter too.

Usually there are some surfers in the distance. And a few boats.

It really is gorgeous.

Anyway, we had a nice lunch on the wharf. And after that visited the noisy Sea Lions floating on the docks. I seriously love these guys.

After that, we headed to the Boardwalk.

The place just SMELLS yummy.

We walked through the arcade and my mom REALLLY wanted to play air hockey.

But it was a holiday. And the arcade was seriously louder than being front row at a concert. I could not handle it. So we kept walking.

My mom wanted to pop into all our favorite stores. Which I gladly complied.

And then she wanted to play Ski Ball.

You may not know this, but I'm pretty good at SkiBall.

I am not Words With Friends good. But I am decent.

On one dollar of tokens, I got 25 tickets. Woot! Which meant I got three jelly bracelets, and a clacker toy.

Yeah, I know. Be impressed.

After that we just hung out on a bench, and did a lot of people watching. While inhaling the deliciousness that wafted by.

My mom kept offering to take me on a ride, but I was really just enjoying sitting in the sunshine.

Mom and Dad got chocolate dipped cones (I was holding out for Marianne's on our way home - another Santa Cruz MUST DO).

 But I did indulge in a churro. And got this epic picture of a churro.

I mean, if there was some kind of contest for the artsiest churro pic, I think this one would win. By far. Don't you agree? Blue Ribbon Certified.

Anyway, after enjoying the sunshine. And, some chilly wind. We started making our way back to the car.

But not without first picking up SIX corndogs to go.

Um. Yeah.

And some salt water taffy.

And of course the stop for ice cream at Marianne's on the way out of town.

In case you were wondering, I got Burgundy Cherry.

And it was SO GOOD.

I guess as a kid Santa Cruz is all about the rides. And the beach.

And as a grown up. It's about the food.

Either way, it is FUN FOR ALL! :)

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