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San Jose: Day 4

12 Aug

This post is especially for the car lovers who happen to read this blog. When you visit eBay Motors, you should expect to see some cars. And see some cars, I sure did! Pulling up Thursday morning to eBay headquarters, these little rides just happened to be sitting outside. Which one would you drive?

After exploring these cars, I headed to dinner at Chin Chin in Los Gatos, a suburb of San Jose. The hills were amazing on the drive to dinner, so I took a few photos.

And that’s life in a nutshell … take a moment to enjoy the beautiful views or amazing cars waiting for you to notice them.

MommaNut

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San Jose: Day 3 Though 5

11 Aug

So, I’ve been working like a crazy woman, so I haven’t been able to post much. This is going to be short and sweet with a bunch of photos for you to enjoy! I’ve included photos of the basketball court and original SKYPE house that I wrote about on Day 2. You’ll also find a photo of Yankee Pier, the restaurant I ate at on Tuesday evening on Santana Row.

Santana Row is a wonderful shopping district, and the restaurant served fresh seafood. I got fish tacos, and they were so yummy.

On Thursday afternoon, I headed to the Winchester Mansion. This woman in the 1800’s built the most amazing mansion with 160 rooms including 40 bedrooms. She lived a very sad live … thinking ghosts were haunting her since her husband created the Winchester gun. So, this woman built a confusion home that made no sense at all (a door that leads to nothing, a cabinet that is four room longs, a room put together with glue) to confuse the ghosts. It was pretty amazing to see.

eBay Basketball Court

Original SKYPE House

Yankee Pier on Santana Row

 

Winchester Mansion

And that’s life in a nutshell … sometimes the craziness of life just doesn’t allow for creativity!

MommaNut

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San Jose: Day 2

9 Aug

I’m actually writing this blog on Day 3 of my trip, but I’m here to talk about Day 2. I made it to the eBay offices! Yes, eBay really does have a real-life building that it calls home. In fact, it is more than a building. It is a series of buildings that are constructed like a college campus.

You’ll find a gym and a cafeteria, too. There are signs along the way pointing you to the correct building, which are each named after a shopping category. For Day 2, I was in the Hoops building. And it is called that because there is a HUGE basketball court right outside.

Right next to the basketball court is the SKYPE house, where SKYPE was founded. Now, it is an eBay property, but very cool!

I also headed to the eBay shop. eBay has a store dedicated to eBay. You can find eBay fans, eBay books, eBay coffee mugs and even eBay wrapping paper among other finds. I picked up a few things, which I’ll bring back with me to Tampa.

And that’s life in a nutshell … explore the eBay campus is a little like exploring a college campus for the first time … with a lot more colors!

MommaNut

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San Jose: Day 1

7 Aug

This morning, way before the sun was up, PoppaNut drove me to the airport so I could head out to San Jose, CA for work. I’ll be out here for a week, and I’ll be sending you updates as much as I can.

It was very hard saying goodbye to PoppaNut. We haven’t spent more than three days apart since we first started dating. So a full week is going to be hard. I hid notes for PoppaNut to find while I’m gone. He got the first one this morning. I hid it in the tin-foil drawer, because I usually make chicken for PoppaNut’s lunch on Sundays, and I wrap the chicken in tin foil. So, I placed a note there so he would know I was thinking about it and missed him terribly.

And PoppaNut surprised me in return, with flowers sent to my hotel room. It was so sweet that I started crying! I have the best hubby in the whole world.

Once I got settled into my room, I ran outside and took a few photos. San Jose does have amazing weather. It is nice to walk outside and not start instantly sweating, something that happens in Florida all the time! And everyone seems to be enjoying the outdoors … walking around and biking and just hanging out. I hope you enjoy them!

Fairmont’s Gym
Fairmont’s Pool

 

 

Now, I’m going to relax and get unpacked. I’ve got a big week ahead of me, and I need all the rest I can get after eight hours of plane travel.

And that’s life in a nutshell … absence really does make the heart grow fonder with a week of travel, but I already knew I would be missing my Tampa life and my wonderful hubby before I even stepped on the plane. I love you, PoppaNut!

MommaNut

 

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Be a Tourist

25 Jul

Living in the Spring-Break capital of the world, Clearwater Beach has no shortage in tourist activities. But when you are a resident, you rarely have the time to enjoy those activities. The laundry and the grocery shopping and the endless list of chores always seem to take up most of the weekend. And that was true of this weekend, too.

On Saturday morning, PoppaNut headed to the gym and I started my Saturday ritual: laundry with a few girl shows I have recorded peppered in along the way. I went to the grocery store, wrapped a baby-shower gift and what not. PoppaNut detailed our two cars (out in the blazing heat!), and came upstairs to relax around 2:30 p.m.

As soon as we got our second wind, PoppaNut suggested we do something different. We thought about going to the Tarpon Springs’ sponge docks, to a movie or the beach. We decided on the beach, hopped in the car and we were off.

Tourist Activity No. 1: Eat a Crabby Bill’s. This place is a landmark on Clearwater Beach. It’s filled to the brim with tourists from every walk of life. PoppaNut had a bigger-than-his-mouth burger, while I had a shrimp grilled-cheese sandwich, which was a special that day. And it was special to me, too … I nearly devoured the whole thing, while I made a mental note to run the next day.

Tourist Activity No. 2: Take a dolphin tour. We headed to the yellow Screamer, and found our seats quickly. A storm was rolling in, so we crossed our fingers and hoping the rain would stay at bay. We passed the legendary Pirate Ship on our way out to the gulf. Then, we saw several star homes, like that of Hulk Hogan. Finally, we headed out to the gulf for the most amazing dolphin show I have ever seen. These dolphins were literally jumping right behind the boat like they were in an acrobatic show! There were probably six or seven of them, just following behind the boat and jumping in the waves. It was amazing.

So, that’s life in a nutshell … take a Saturday and become a tourist in your own area. Your community probably offers a million things you want to do, but have never taken the time to do it. Make the time, because it is so worth it!

MommaNut

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CT: July 4th Weekend

6 Jul

PoppaNut and I love surprises, so when my sister-in-law’s birthday came up, we knew we had a chance to surprise the heck out of her. PoppaNut and I boarded a plane in Tampa and arrived late Thursday night in Connecticut. Stacy, my sister-in-law, had NO IDEA we were there. Her hubby Chris picked us up and snuck us into the house, where PoppaNut jumped on Stacy’s bed for the big surprise. The video of the surprise is classic!

The next few days were super fun and we stayed busy for most of it. Let’s see if I can remember all the great things we did. Friday led us to a country-breakfast diner, where we ate everything in sight! I had a cheese omelet and PoppaNut had the Tower of Power (cinnamon french toast) and an omelet too. After that, we headed to Six Flags. Kayla and Karissa went on every death-defying rollercoaster with us! In fact, they had to talk me on most of them. I don’t remember these rides being so scary!

That evening, I straightened the girls’ hair as they prepared for a boy/girl party. We ate AMAZING pizza, had a few drinks and hung out together. Casey and John came by as well, and it was great catching up with them. Saturday was a cookout day, so Stacy and I headed to the store to pick up some food. As Christopher yelled “Habba Babba” to everyone he saw, Stacy taught me how to pick out corn and we shared our favorite recipes. I drove the jumbo, car-designed cart and almost ran into every person I passed. 🙂 It was fun!

Chris made homemade salsa, and I swear I ate a pound of it! I don’t have the recipe, but maybe Chris will share it with me some day. We cooked out that night, and watched PoppaNut and Chris almost burn down the pool with out-of-control fireworks.

The next morning, we headed to Collins, a farm that serves homemade ice cream. You can watch the cows graze by the nearby corn fields as you scarf down your S’Mores ice-cream cone! Now, that’s living.

We had such a great time that it was very hard to leave. See the photos for yourself!

Kayla and Karissa

 

My Breakfast

 

Kayla at Six Flags

 

PoppaNut and Stacy

The Habba Babba King

 
 

And that’s life in a nutshell … spending time with your family is the best way to spend a holiday.

MommaNut

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Shawshee Is Coming to Town

24 May

As you can see from the title of this post, Shawshee is coming to town. No, that is not some new word I made up to mean Santa Clause. It’s the nickname of my cousin Shawn. Mr. Hoosier-Basketball-Is-My-Religion, No-Drama, Laid-Back Shawn Gear is heading down to good ole Port Charlotte for a week of family time and relaxation.

Shawn, Josh, Stephanie

I’m so excited to see Shawn! He happens to be hysterical all the time, and has such a laid-back personality that you instantly want to relax when he is around. I’ve always loved hanging out with Shawn. When I was a little girl, I used to crawl up this leg when he would come to Grandma’s house (all us cousins used to stay the night at Grandma’s house on the weekends).

I’m sure it was probably pretty annoying to have your little cousin crawl up your leg and never leave your side every time you saw her … but Shawn never said a word. He never complained and always just gave me a hug.

Now that we are all grown up, I don’t crawl up Shawn’s leg anymore, but I’m still just as excited to see him. It reminds me how lucky I am to have a family that is so close. Often cousins go their own ways, but the cousins in my family are very close. We have inside jokes and nicknames for each other (I will not mention the bedtime joke but all you in the family are screaming it at your computer screens as you read this!). It’s GREAT!

MommaNut, Shawn

So, as PoppaNut and I prepare to head down to Port Charlotte, I’m remembering all the get-togethers we have had in the past and how lucky we are to be so close even though we live very far apart.

And that’s life in a nutshell … call up your cousins and schedule a party! You’ll be thankful for the closeness in the end.

MommaNut

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