Lakes, Buffalos, Sumo Suits and More.

Last month we had our Benincosa family reunion.  Unfortunately, due to miscommunication, my immediate family (sans VJ and his family) ended up making it a week later than the rest of the families. We tried to abide by what was originally planned and even got to meet up with a lot of family!  It was so great visiting Utah and seeing everyone!

The visiting quarters on Hill Air Force Base.

Pop and I went for a quick Safeway run for salads for the potluck we enjoyed with Seanie's family.

Nixie meets Great Gramma Bruderer's puppy.

Tiffer suited up and got ready to Sumo fight!  Nixie and Kate did NOT like the fighting and cried every time it started.

Nixie keeping cool with some ice.

Utah really is a beautiful place.

We found out about the new addition coming to Ash and Adam's family March 2013!

Jady put a lot of thought into what her next drawing would be as the rest of us took a family quiz at Gramma's about the Aunties and Uncles.

Devon and Adam bonded via facial hair.

Ash and I sandwiching that sweet, sweet gramma of ours.

I'm tempted to chop my hair off like Bobbi's!  It is so cute!

We discovered a rad water park on base that was perfect for our hot days!  Jady is professional model here, haha!

Poor white girl trying to get some color at the water park.

The two 1 year olds, Nixie and Kate, battled it out for their favorite auntie's attention!

Jady and I enjoying the sun at the water park whilst modeling.

Antelope Island.  My dad grew up and lived here for years and years and never got to visit.  We made it mandatory and it was gorgeous!  It reminded me of New Zealand, actually!

At the ranch on Antelope Island where cousins Zane and Jady became instant besties.

Bestie cousins Phaidra and Traci (and brand new baby Millie).

Buffalo!  Ok, actually it's a Bison unless you want to be super technical, it's an American Buffalo.

Pine Valley Lake.  The perfect day for a "beach" day!  Mom, Pop and Kate with protective shading.

My view of the lake.

I love reuniting with my stylist because I can get my hair cut!

Reunion with Bobbi and Brandon (from Hawaii) and their kids.

Ash met a new friend in Park City!  Not sure what this intense conversation was about.

We saw a baby moose!  This was my first ever live moose siting!  

Kate loves doing "camera face".

The Salt Lake Temple at Temple Square.  

Dance Party

Today has been a really good day.

In a nutshell, life has thrown a lot of curveballs my way.  I became the main "lead" of my team at work as we gained a new supervisor.  It's been a little stressful, but I am coping well.  I am always busy, which is nice because it makes the days go by quicker.  I am very stressed, but I try to stay positive and get my more than day's load of work completed in a day.

My Masters Program is going well.  I am taking two courses, which is considered a full load.  I basically have no social life.  This is fine because through texts, emails, phone calls and social media, I stay in touch and in the know.  this program is an accelerated one and so I will finish in one year.  I can sacrifice one year of life towards education.  No problem.

Due to these stressors, I am now going to physical therapy for worker's comp due to some issues I'm having.  No worries, I'll just do more ballet barre classes, yoga and running.  Your body acts up once you hit 30, that's for sure!

There's some family stuff going, but because we are so tight knit and full of love, I know everything will be ok.  I have been very blessed with an amazing family and I wouldn't trade them for the world.

So why has it been such a good day??

I went to court to contest my traffic violation, which meant I had to get even more work done this morning before I left so I won't be totally behind tomorrow.  After being so nervous but having my argument prepared, the case was dismissed due to the officer not recalling the incident.  Sometimes it pays not to argue (or even say one word, for that matter) to the office who pulls you over for "following too closely" on a Friday night at 5:00pm on the 57 South...  I win!

Afterward, I got to visit one of my bestie's and get some good news in her life.  I am always so happy when my friends and family are blessed with fabulous things!  I just want to celebrate with them!

And then I got home to catch up on some things.  That's when I found out about some karma.  Let's just say happiness is the best revenge, but karma helps makes things better. :)  I wish I could explain, but trust me, you would be very happy with me.

And so, I'm having my own personal dance party, due to the happiness that was sent my way:

Health Update -- Good News!

I thought I'd give everyone an update on my tummy issues.

As you read earlier, or maybe you didn't, I went to see a Naturopathic doctor in Irvine.  He told me to stop my Prilosec (my GI doctor had me on 4 capsules a day, 2 in the morning and 2 in the pm) and my Bentyl (which helps with my abdominal cramping).  He sent me home with 3 new supplements to take instead, just once before bed.

They are working wonderfully!  I never thought about taking supplements instead of prescribed meds, but you know what?  I feel like perhaps God made all of these natural remedies for us to use in these types of cases.  Why not use them and put natural things in my body instead of these man made, processed drugs?  I figure the older I get, the more my body is going to feel used.  I like to think that if I use more natural products, perhaps they'll help my body stay in a better stay and age slower?  Who knows, but I like my thought process!

In addition to fantastic natural tummy meds, I also started taking Nettle.  I went into Mother's Market one day because I was sick of spending money on Allegra and not being able to breathe.  I asked the helpful lady what is good for allergies and she immediately came back with Nettle.  Apparently, it is good for more than just allergies!  Who knew?  I bought the $7 bottle and within 10-20 minutes of taking my first capsule, I could breathe perfectly!  I was sneezing less, my nose was less inflamed, it was incredible!

As far as food allergy results, I finally got those returned to me.  The highest levels kind of floored me!  They include cranberries, whey (which makes sense, since milk products make me so sick), coffee and crab!  Weird.  But even though those were the highest levels, the were still low/within range.  This doesn't mean I don't have an intolerance though.  We know for sure I have an intolerance to milk, that's for sure!

The next step is my Adrenal testing.  The doctor is thinking that perhaps my Adrenal Glands are working too hard (possibly due to stress) and producing too much Cortisone.  This causes a number of side effects, including exhaustion.  So, I will do this test tomorrow and see what the results say.

Tomorrow I go in for a much needed deep tissue massage and then I get my hair done.  We'll see how stressed I am after that! :)  I was told several times by multiple massage therapists that I need to get a mssage at least once a week.  How often do I go?  Well, maybe once every 6 months?  I need to change that...

A Day In L.A.

(The Vanity Fair after party for the Oscars across the street from Saddle Ranch.  Who knew?)

You know, thinking about where I live, you'd think I'd be in L.A. WAY more than I am.  I used to go pretty often in my late teens an early 20's.  There is so much to see and do, I'm not really sure what stops me from going more.

(Random picture of a guy falling off a building.)

Oh, that's right.  I live in Southern California where a simple 35 minute drive turns into 2 hours and 47 minutes.  Got it.

(So crazy to see this band with a billboard and hear them on the radio!  Good for them, sad for me.  Now I have to pay more to go to their shows.)

Well, I am here to tell you that I did venture past my Orange Curtain with my friend Jenn for a day of fun in L.A.  The goal was to see some stars' houses, eat at Saddle Ranch Chop House, and grab some delicious gluten free treats from Babycakes NYC.

What an interesting day it turned out to be, haha!

We start the day in the late morning and decided it be best to go to Shannen Doherty's house.  It wasn't until on our way there we realized it was not only Oscar weekend, but the day OF the Oscars.  Sweet.  Traffic was surprisingly better than expected, so, yay!

As we came upon Ms. Doherty's address, there was nothing but a wall.  We drove up and down the street several times before we decided that she's very private, and that is why we didn't actually see her house.  And how fun that she lives in the 90210!

Our next stop was Courteny Cox's house.  Well, we never found it but we DID find the Wonderland Murders house.  Yikes.  Jenn had to fill me in on what actually took place on this street.  I had no idea, yet here were were, on Wonderland.  It's always a crazy feeling you're in the presence of this type of place.  Where people were actually brutally murdered.  It's just an odd feeling because it's so hard to believe it happened in real life and not just on television...  Weird.

(Saddle Ranch Chop House, Sunset.)

By now, I know this is awful after what we just talked about, we were starving.  We decided it was time to hit up Saddle Ranch Chop House for lunch.  What a great place!  Jenn told me about this place as we were watching Bret Michaels' "Rock of Love".  The food there is delicious!  It was very entertaining watching people ride the mechanical bull in the middle of the room.  The staff was awesome and very friendly.  Seems like they really enjoy their jobs!  I ordered The Hollywood Burger and it was DELICIOUS!!!  I have been craving it recently and even tried making it myself...  Not even close, haha!  I must go back soon.

(The menu.)

(The Hollywood Burger.  YUM!!!)

(This guy was a putz and acting like an idiot and so they let him ride the bull to make him happy.  To the tune of Enrique Iglesias' "I Can Be Your Hero".  HAHA!)

(And then he got smacked in the behind by the bull on the way down.)

After Saddle Ranch, it was time for something sweet, so we were on our way to Babycakes NYC!  I probably spent $30 on pastries and even bought a mug.  What do I need a mug for?  Well, hot chocolate, I guess!  Haha!  My favorite is the blueberry donut and the brownie cupcake with mint frosting.  YUM!  This is another place i'd like to frequent more often.

(Babycakes NYC.)

Our last stop was Donnie Wahlberg's house.  Yes, you read that right: Donnie Wahlberg, not his hot younger brother, Marky Mark, but Donnie from NKOTB.  Now I was never a NKOTB fan and neither was Jenn.  At least not until she saw them in concert a couple of years ago, haha!  We parked on the street and decided to get out of the car since we'd been sitting all day.  Nice place, from what we saw!  And someone was watching TV in the back room, too!  Creepers, haha!

(Jenn, the creeper.)

And so it was time to go home.  We were both exhausted but decided we'd like to do this again sometime.  I'm hoping for sooner rather than later, mostly for the food reason...  YUM!

Rainbow!

It's about time.  Time to blog about my very first trip to a little place called Maui in Hawaii.  After living there for two years and visiting many, many times before and after, I finally made it to Maui.

In a Facebook post from a friend we met in Australia, Marisa and I discovered that Pippy would visiting Hawaii and wanted to reunite.  Of course, as soon as I saw this post I immediately interrupted and said I was coming to this reunion as well.  After all, it had been November of 2008 that we'd seen her!  Thank heavens for Facebook and the ability to keep in touch with fantastic friends!

After many emails and several Skype dates, we made up our itinerary and got our dates set!  I flew in a week after Pippy had been there since I was taking unpaid time off from work and was there a total of a little over a week.  

The flight over to Honolulu was just incredible.  I couldn't have asked for a better seat, even though I traded to be in the middle one instead of my aisle.  I sat next to an older gentleman who, come to find out, was a kid on Ford Island during the attack of Pearl Harbor.  I also sat next a Samoan gentleman, who was the one I traded seats with so he could stretch his feet out.  The Pearl Harbor survivor told me many stories on the flight over the Pacific.  He told me how he could remember the sound and vibrations from the first strike.  He was outside playing with his brother.  His father ran outside and grabbed them, securing them in the far back bedroom with their mom.  His father threw a mattress over all of them while they waited for the bombings to stop.  After an hour, he finally came out. I wish I had taken a picture with this man.  Hearing his stories just brought tears to my eyes.

The reunion began when Marisa and Pippy picked me up from the airport.  With a full heart from the stories of the Pearl Harbor survivor, and a full belly form the sandwich the Samoan man shared with me, I hugged my friends and told them about my flight.  We dropped Pippy off at the hotel and I went back to Marisa's house to sleep and prep for our first day day back together.

We ate, we played, we gabbed.  It was so much fun!  One of my favorite days was when we went horseback riding on the beach on North Shore!  This is where I met Marisa's friends, Lindsey and Paulette, two very cool girls.  We still keep in touch, thanks again to Facebook, haha!  We rode horsies on the beach and even got to run them!  I'm not talking trotting, I'm talking full on running.  It was incredible!  So much fun!  We went back to the ranch and got to play with the baby ponies and even feed them carrots.  Afterward, we hit up my all time favorite Thai food place, Haleiwa Eats.  Lindsey and Paulette were very thankful for the introduction. :)

(Beginning of the ride, heading toward the beach.)

(Keo and I.)

(Pippy, Marisa, me and Paulette.)

(Best way to ride a horse!)

(Sweet monk seal being shy.)

 Early, early in the morning, Marisa, Pippy and I got dropped off at the airport to begin our Maui adventure.  As soon as we landed on Maui, we picked up our rental car and drove to our first dive site with Maui Divers.  On our way out, we were presented with marvelous sighting of Humpback Whales, two adults and a baby!  Not a bad way to start my first visit to Maui!  We idled for a bit so everyone could enjoy the splashes of the whales and then we were off to our first dive site, St. Anthony's wreck.  It was freezing!  Our next dive we did was Molokini Crater, which had some gorgeous shallow reefs that reminded me of Australia.  What a blast!  After our dives, Pippy relaxed at the bar while Marisa and I visited Maui Ocean Center.  Just incredible and so much fun!

(Whale!)

(Pippy and Marisa penetrating the wreck.)

(Not sure what I was laughing at.)

(St. Anthony's.)

(Marisa teasing the fish.)

(Triggerfish are of the devil.)

(Not a bad way to ride.)

(Baby Tiger Shark at Maui Ocean Center.)

(Me and the Sandbar Shark.)

(Marisa and I decided to go whale watching while Pippy dove. We didn't see one whale!)

(Gorgeous sunset on our way to meet up with friends for dinner in Kihei.)

Marisa had to fly out of Maui early to make a job interview and so Pippy and I drove around, shopping and eating.  We then went to a tattoo parlor of a man several locals had recommended so Pippy could get her tattoo.  What an amazing experience!  They bonded over their cultures and ancestors and language, it was incredible hearing it all.

(Pippy and I in front of our hotel, The Marriot.)

(Pippy sucking it up during her tattoo.)

(Every piece of the tattoo has meaning.)

(LOVE this picture. Lots of love.)

We got back to Oahu and did more eating, shopping and gabbing.  I took Pippy to Aloha Stadium so we could get our souvenirs and also took her to the Dole Plantation for some Dole Whip!  YUM!  I also took her to Pearl Harbor so she could get some American history.  We did the audio tour and when we got to the USS Arizona memorial, I decided to talk to one of the guides.  I approached him and as I began to ask him the following, I got choked up and began to cry.  I asked him if there was some one I could find out who the man was that took my grandfather's place the day Pearl Harbor was bombed.  My grandfather hadn't been feeling well and stayed home sick while another man took his place.  I want to find out the name of this man and learn about him.  I will figure it out and I will post my thanks and appreciation to him.  My heart is heavy even now as I write this.

(Audio tour, Pearl Harbor.)

(We met up at Honolulu Zoo for Marisa's twilight tour!  So much fun seeing the animals at night!)

I got to meet up with our friend, Kat, who went to Costa Rica with.  She and I immediately bonded when I met her and I just think she is one of the raddest girls I've ever met.  She now works at a yummy cafe in Kailua, so we went to dinner and met up with her there.  All I have to say is the cheese platter was AMAZING!  Haha!

(After eating at Duke's.)

(At Kat's cafe in Kailua.  Yay reunion!)

(Pippy, Lindsey, Marisa, me and Kat.)

My last night there, Pippy decided to get another hotel and party her Pippy way.  She really is great at meeting people and enjoying herself.  Sometimes I wish I had that talent. :)  Instead, Marisa and I chose a reunion of Fat Kids' night.  We went to Foodland and grabbed anything we felt like eating (including 4 Portugese sausages for me to take home, haha!) and went back to her house to watch a couple of our favorite TV shows together -- just like old times.  It was definitely the BEST way to end not only the evening, but my trip back to my second home.

(Like old times!  Fat Kids Club!)

(Hahaha, the spread.  I think we barely put a dent in it.)