Television Audience

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love TV. It's a little on the ridiculous side how much time I actually spend watching it. My personal favorite? Big Brother. I've been watching it every year, for 13 years now. I wait for it all year because it only airs in summer. Truthfully, I'd love to audition to be on it but my husband and mother have advised against it-both afraid I'd embarrass them. (Who me? Embarrass them? Nonsense!) But, if I can't be on the show as a contestant, the next best thing would be to get in as part of the studio audience. So when we moved here a year ago, Henry put me on the waiting list for tickets. Yes, that's right, there's a waiting list because so many people want to be in the audience. Well, I got an email on Wednesday letting me know that I had tickets for that Thursday if I would claim them right away. So duh, of course I did! Only one little problem, I work on Thursdays. And because I haven't worked at my job for a full year yet, I don't have any vacation days built up yet. And I hate, hate, hate asking off work for stuff. I hate it. Not because I'm afraid they'll say no but just because it makes me feel like I'm being a slacker. And I hate it even more when it's super short notice like this was. But, Henry insisted I ask anyway. So I did, fully not expecting it to happen. But guess what? I work in an office where they feel like you should live life and have fun whenever possible and they insisted I go! Especially when they found out that I'd been waiting 11 months for tickets! So, I took a half day off work and Henry and I made the trek into LA. Thank goodness for Henry because I loathe driving, especially in LA traffic. We had the pleasure of standing in line, outside, in the blaring sun, from about 3 until 530 when they finally lead us into the studio. I didn't care though. This was Big Brother after all! Well, okay, I cared a little. I didn't want to be a hot, sweaty, melting mess on tv! But, once we were in the studio and seated I cooled off pretty quickly in the air conditioning. We lucked out and got seats right down front, behind the host, Julie Chen! Being in the audience was surreal, so much fun, the most "California" thing I've done yet! My family back home was seeing it live as we were there so it was pretty cool knowing they were watching. Here on the West coast, it doesn't air live so I was able to watch it (course I had the tivo set too) when I got home. Such a fun experience and definitely worth having waited so long for it!

(Sadly, they don't allow for cameras anywhere on the CBS Studios property so I have no pictures what-so-ever!)

River Regatta

The second weekend of August Henry and I made the drive to Laughlin, NV for the 2012 River Regatta. Being new out here, I'd never heard of such a thing until my friend Jen at work told me about it. Every year, they have an 8 mile stretch of the Colorado River where you launch a float and spend the day floating down the river. It's closed off that day to boating, etc. so that it's safe for all the floaters. This year's float had over 40,000 participants! Now that's a lot of people! Having never floated the river I wasn't sure what to expect but it was awesome and I hope to get to do it again next year! Going into it I'd pictured the river being murky and dark, kind of like how the Mississippi River is back home in Memphis. Boy was I wrong! The water was super clear and I had no problem being able to see my feet in the water. That's a big thing for me-I hate swimming in water where I can't see my feet. I'm a great swimmer and all but there's just something about not being able to see my feet that freaks me out a little. We had a minor issue with one of our floats (we had two giant ones) and it deflated, sinking after a little while. No worries though, we had a blast and just piled on to the other giant float for the rest of the time. It was more funny than anything really. None of us even really cared because we were having so much fun! Later that night, when I was laying in bed, I swear I could still feel like I was floating down the river. So, River Regatta-crossing it off my list and hoping to do it again next year!

Group shot as we prepared to relaunch after stopping to try and re-inflate our failing floatie. Note the hat, shirt and cup I have in this picture. None of which made it home with me. 

Lake Tahoe

My husband Henry and I just got back from an amazing weekend in Lake Tahoe where we were celebrating our 12th Wedding Anniversary. (Yes, we were married as infants.) We flew out of San Diego bright and early Friday morning and were eating lunch in Tahoe just a few hours later. Before going here, we'd been told that Lake Tahoe was one of the most beautiful places in the United States. So, did we agree? Well, not 100%. It was stunning and magnificent but having seen the paradise that is north shore Oahu a few years ago, we can't say it's the most beautiful. I mean, let's face it, not a whole lot can compete with Hawaii. BUT, we did think it was way up there on the beautiful list. The water is as clear as the water that fills a swimming pool. I walked clear out to my knees and could still clearly see my feet and everything around them. The water was icy cold but it was hot enough outside that it felt more refreshing than freezing. We did a private tour, went to an art gallery, had a fancy dinner, did some hiking and watched an amazing sunset on the beach. And relaxing.We would have loved to have been able to spend a few more days exploring but work and real life are always calling so we had to head back home. We plan to make another trip up there and do some of the things we didn't get a chance to do though I'm not sure when we'll get around to it. I'd love to take a boat out on the lake or maybe do some parasailing. I'd love it even more if I could take my nieces out here!

On our way back to the airport on Sunday afternoon we took a slight detour to an old west town called Virginia City. It was the cutest little town and gave us just a glance into the days of the gold rush. We even got to take a ride in a real Stage Coach, going at a full speed run! I must say, that would not have been fun to travel across the country in. Loud and bumpy and more cramped than you'd expect it to be. There were so many things in Virginia City that we wished we'd been able to see and do so we also plan to take another trip here too.

Here are a few pictures from our weekend! (And Happy Anniversary Henry-I love you so much!)

My favorite photo of the whole trip!

If only I hadn't been photo bombed by the dumb guy on the left.

Standing in a waterfall.

I found a snake on our hike!

Look how clear that water is!

Henry and I at the top of Heavenly

Wishing I had on a swimsuit instead of having to roll up my pants to enjoy the water.