Dec 17 2013
Another great mini vacation….
Well, I’m back to “reality” after a great mini vacation. I took a week off of work to spend it with some of my favorite people…. doing some of my favorite things…. (unfortunately Jordan and the rest of the New Kids were busy, so they were not able to join in the fun. LOL!)
My vacation started Friday, December 6 after I got off of work. My mom surprised me with concert tickets to see one of my favorite acapella groups… Committed. I was a HUGE fan of them when they were on the Sing Off during the second season. Our family was so happy they won. These guys are so talented, so humble, and so much fun to watch. it was also fun to spend the evening with my mom…. just me and her… no sister, no father… just good mom and daughter time. #blessed
The weekend itself wasn’t much of a “vacation”…. It was the usual… running around with my nephews and niece. Ballet practice, baby sitting, sleepovers… but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I cherish my family time and my siblings know I would do anything for them and their kids. 🙂
Then Monday…. the fun begins again. I was able to get ticket so see a Live taping of The Voice. So, my mom took the day off and joined my cousin and I as we headed out to LA to watch the taping. My mom was so cute… so excited…. she had never been to any tapings before. We met with Dindi for Brunch at a cute little cafe with amazing food.
At first, my mom was nervous… no cell phones allowed… so she asked what we would do from 1-7? I told her that we have to actually “socialize” with each other… no interruptions. 🙂 She couldn’t believe how fast the time flew by. We were entertained waiting to get trammed into the studio by the guys that work for 1iota. Then, when we got escorted to our seats, we were happy that we were SITTING vs standing in the pit. And not only that, but we were sitting on Adam’s side…. aka #sexiestmanalive 🙂 At first, we got super excited because we were by the sky box… but then we realized that they only use it on the Tuesday Results show. Much to our surprise, they used it once… and when they did use it, it was to promote the singoff, so we got to see Nick Lachey and Shawn Stockman… When we saw them filming, we were like “oh, I guess you won’t see us… the camera angle was pretty tight”. Well, to our surprise, as we were watching the voice that (k)night, mama started jumping up and down cause we saw ourselves on TV. LOL…. oh the little things that make us happy.
I had to get to bed early… since I still had to pack and be out the door by 3:30 am to hit the road with my dear friend Chelle…. We were heading out to our winter wonderland…. Road trips with her are so much fun… good snacks, good music, good conversation.
As soon as we got there, we were taken out for some lunch and a little bit of shopping for booth props and inspiration. I loooooved being in the nice winter wonderland with the snow…. I had my boots on and long coat… but apparently, I didn’t get the memo of the tennis shoes. lol
For the next few days, Chelle and I helped Tim and MJ get ready for CHA. Whether it was getting kits done or working on samples, we had fun just being there. Does it really count as “work” when you are doing something you love with people you have a blast with? 🙂
I even got some web work done while I was there. I totally enjoyed doing my geek thing with company rather than all by my lonesome. 🙂 (Thanks MJ, Chelle and tim for these pix)
But, one of my FAVORITE things about going to Prescott is MJ’s amazing cooking… and we ate GOOOOOOOOD this trip. Chelle made this collage of the wonderful things we got to eat…. I don’t know which ones of these is my favorite. Everything was so yummmmmy… even his coffee… I think he puts crack in it. LOL!
As much as I loved staying in Arizona, I had to get back home… before my sister’s birthday… so Chelle and I hit the road once more….
My baby sister turned 35 on Friday the 13th…. so I threw her a Maroon 35 themed party! 🙂 My sister is already a rockstar, so this was like 2nd nature to her. lol. We made VIP badges for everyone (2nd pic) and handed out lanyards and swag bags as they walked in. My cousin Pop, our “tour manger”, checked in the VIP guests. Look at her all cute doing her job in pic #3. Then, on our VIP lanyards, we got a photogroup letter… just like at a real concert. I loved that everyone played to the rock n roll theme…. I even added some streaks to my hair. (well, I clipped them on anyway…lol)
After eating yummy food from the taco man, we got in our photogroups to take our photos… Pop escorted my sister into the photo area where we had set up a backdrop that looked like a concert stage. When she walked in, we all cheered and screamed like as if she really was a rockstar in the band.
Pop got us all lined up in order of our photogroup letters. Below are a few pix of our photo session. We had such a blast with the rockstar props from their swag bags. and I loved watching my sister enjoy her evening. 🙂 I wish I could have captured a few moments like my grandmother doing duck lips with the rock n roll hand gesture. I wanted to put her temporary tattoo on her neck. that would have been classic. lol
I ended my vacation organizing my craft room a bit… I loved looking at my new dies and getting them in their proper containers. 🙂 And I also got inky getting some samples done for CHA. 🙂
It was a perfect mini vacation…. I need more of those. 🙂
xo!
~joy
36 responses so far
Thank you for sharing always a “Joy” to travel with you and your friends especially since some of your friends are my favorite people !! 🙂
Gosh, I wish I would have had that initfmaoron earlier!
We definitely need more smart people like you around.
Holy shiznit, this is so cool thank you.
I reckon you are quite dead on with that.
I love reading these articles because they’re short but informative.
Cheers pal. I do appreciate the writing.
Free knowledge like this doesn’t just help, it promote democracy. Thank you.
Action requires knowledge, and now I can act!
Ya learn something new everyday. It’s true I guess!
Wow, that’s a really clever way of thinking about it!
That insight would have saved us a lot of effort early on.
I appreciate you taking to time to contribute That’s very helpful.
Thanks for introducing a little rationality into this debate.
What a great mini vacation, Joy! Love that your sister got to party like a “rock star.” Yes it is still work, just not the kind that takes years, but the kind that adds years! Oh and the food looks amazing and I am sure tasted better! Welcome back and now it is almost time for Christmas!
Joy you certainly earned that mini vacation and many more.
Miss the Italy gang.
What a fun post full of happy peeps ~~~ really looking forward to meeting you next month, Joy!
Smaa-kdcb what I was looking for-ty!
Thanks for introducing a little rationality into this debate.
Learning a ton from these neat articles.
I actually found this more entertaining than James Joyce.
Oh yeah, fabulous stuff there you!
I feel so much happier now I understand all this. Thanks!
The paragon of understanding these issues is right here!
I’d venture that this article has saved me more time than any other.
What a joy to find someone else who thinks this way.
Always the best content from these prodigious writers.
I’m so glad that the internet allows free info like this!
great moments from a great visit from amazing friends. thanks for always being the genuine person i was lucky enough to meet and now call my friend. you are truly a special person in my life. until next time… tim
Awesome to hear about your time here with us thru your eyes….I loved reading every minute of it!!
Thanks for the help but most important Thanks for coming to see us..and Thanks for the amazing friendship we all have.
#lucky
#rememberthenow
XOXOXOXOXOXO
MJ
WOW!!! How exciting to see all those stars! Lucky you! Love the road trip recap as well as your time in the mountains! 😉 that food looks yummy! I just knew the boots were Paula’s!!! And, what a cool theme for your sisters party!!!! Love that!
Aww! What a great post. I love reading about your adventures, even though it makes me wish I could hang out with you a lot more often. 🙂
xoxo
you know how to throw a party!! that looks like so much fun! love seeing all the pictures! hopefully we get to meet/hangout some day! =)
What an adventure!! You look sooooo gorgeous and that smile is so happy!! We are sending you big smooches from across the pond!! Love you millions!!
Kaz n moo xxx
After I originally commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a
comment is added I recieve four emails with the exact same comment.
There has to be a means you are able to remove me
from that service? Appreciate it!
Very rapidly this web page will be famous amid all blog visitors, due to it’s pleasant posts