home sweet home....for a few days

Well folks...here I am, back in sunny Santa Clara, California.

...time to unpack the boots, scarves and coats...and fill my suitcase with my shades, swimsuits and flip flops!

It feels nice to be home after my 16 day trip, but I am definitely missing England a lot! My eyes are not used to this lack of GREEN. Adjusting back to the time difference is difficult as well... I am up most nights and tired during the days. But finally, (5 days later) I think I have adjusted! I shouldn't speak too soon though, because on Monday I am off to Hawaii to visit my cousin David...and that is a three hour time difference! Not too big of an adjustment though.

It sounds weird to say, but I am kind of excited to start working again. It's been a few months of freedom and adventure...but getting a job will be nice to save up a little to achieve my goals of moving :) Before that can happen I am SO excited for my final adventure of 2010...Hawaii trip #2!

It has been so nice to catch up with all of my friends! Carli and I are back in the swing of things, with wine nights, stories from the past two weeks & chocolate fondue! Tonight we are headed to a San Jose Sharks pre-season game. yey. I even got a chance to take some night pictures of the golden gate bridge last night with an old friend...well, not old litteraly...old like I havent seen him in a long time hahah.

Hawaii here I come :) 5 hour plane flight is nothin! ..compared to my 10 hour one to England!
thanks to everyone who followed my journey to England through my blog posts! I have loved reading all of your comments and messages. love you guys.

xoxo,
Elise Diane

....never forget that with true dedication, motivation, perseverance, & love...you hold the key to every closed door.

CHEERIO ENGLAND.....

:(

The departure day is almost here...we leave on a 11:30am flight tomorrow morning, headed back to the US of A. We arrive back in California at about 1:30 in the afternoon....which is about 9:30pm in England!! It will be a long day of traveling.

This trip has been a once in a lifetime adventure...well, not ONCE in a lifetime, I hope to go back to England of course!! The last 16 days were ones that I will never forget. There is something about going back to the country where my grandparents were born, grew up and met, that is truly indescribable. Also meeting family, and people, who I never knew, now I can put a face to the names of people who are part of my extended family, just placed on another side of the world. Me & Nessy had such a wonderful adventure, traveling all over the south of England. We saw a variety of scenery, from ponies and sheep to the underground tube and chaos of the big city.

What I have learned as I am about to head home is that, (England is "bloody" expensive!) & you never know where life is going to take you....always be open to new opportunities...and never lose your sense of adventure!!! Another thing that has become pretty apparent to me, is that I love the country more than the city. Hard to believe since I am such a girly girl with a shopping addiction. I have to say, the best parts of my trip was seeing for myself the beauty of the English countryside, the little shops with candle makers and antique stores with wonderful friendly owners...lovely rolling green hills, with sheep scattering them...houses with thatched roofs...afternoon tea, charming little pubs, white wine spritzers.......& most of all, quality time with my Auntie, family and friends.....and wishing I brought my good Nikon camera to capture it all in detail! grrr...my point and shoot will have to do the trick :)

I can't even begin to describe the close relationships I made here in England. I miss everyone already!!! Hopefully my pictures & videos will give a better glimpse into the past 16 days.

Bye England, and thank you for opening my eyes to new experiences, new adventures, new memories, a better sense of what the hell I want to do with my life! ...and even conquering some fears... (driving on the wrong side of the road, AHH!!!... & figuring out the "tube" system!) I think I got the accent down...and some awesome new words to use :)

Here comes a 9 hour flight! See everyone at home soon. x.

cheerio!
Elise Diane

THE MORNING SHOW

Ello!

I totally feel like I'm wayyy over blogging, but I finally got a cord so I can upload pics and videos so bare with me...

Updating you today from London, England, we welcome you to the morning show with Elise & Nessy.

Today we had quite the experience going on the "tube" for the first time. It's like an underground subway. We asked about 57 people how to get there and what tube lines to take...but with my sense or direction and Nessy preparing us with Starbucks this morning, we were really to begin our journey! Before getting on the tube, we walked to Buckingham palace from our hotel to see the Changing of the guards (only about a 5 minute walk, the Queen is practically our neighbor!) It kind of reminded me of a Disneyland parade, but way more meaningful. We learned that the guards change shifts every 2 days (48 hours) and they each work 2 hour shifts, then get 4 hours breaks, then back on for 2 hours and so forth and so on. After that excitement, we had more coffee at a local pub kind of place and watched the Pope on the TV there. He was at Westminster Abbey today, which is not too far from where we are staying!

Then we went to the tubes.....everyone there is ON A MISSION, speed walking as fast as they can. Thank God Nessy & I were wearing our matching shirts of we might have gotten lost ;) ...total losers....we know. We went on two different tube lines, got off at our stop....and then I saw it...HARRODS. Pretty much heaven on Earth for people who like to shop. Maybe if I win the lottery I can actually go shopping there one day. For now I just got a cool little Harrods bag :) I must say the absolute HIGHLIGHT of the day was where we ate lunch.... let me just say, the name of the place started with "Chocolate" and ended with "Bar".....yep, a chocolate bar! Are you kidding me?! This place was amazing-ly-yummy.

Tomorrow is our last day in England....hard to believe. I don't even want to talk about it haha.

Here are some pictures from the past week!

(Hike from our B&B to Watersmeet)

(New job! ...as a guard at Buckingham palace)

(Twin day! Watching the Changing of the Guards)

(Chris & I at the train station)

Ok mates, we are off to go see Dirty Dancing!! Sooo excited.

x,

Elise Diane

LONDON BITS & BOBS

Alright Mates!

This is a mini update coming to you from London, England! I'll do a more current one soon hopefully when I have more time.

This morning I realized there was a USA outlet in our hotel room, which means I can charge my laptop, yeah!! .....that's the good news....bad news is, I lost my cable for my digital camera somewhere along the way, (think I left it in Lynmouth) so I have no way to upload pics and videos :( oh well

London is madness... kind of reminds me of San Francisco, but everyone has accents and drives completely insane. I do love it, but I have to admit I miss the countryside. The shopping is absolutely awesome, but it does make me realize that I don't think I could ever live around all of the "hustle and bustle" of a big city. I do notice that everyone dresses up more here than at home! A lot of men are wearing suits, and women wearing interesting styles that I will probably try to copy and bring back to the States... ;)

Today we went to Blenheim Palace, we walked through the room where Winston Churchill was born. along with seeing the palace where he grew up. Amazing! It was huge, we took tons of pics and pretended that we lived there. We then went to the Cotswolds, where we shopped around in the cute little towns there and had lunch & wine spritzers...duh.

We ate at a nice little restaurant, conveniently located in our hotel :) Tomorrow we are headed to HARRODS! I can not wait.

It's so weird to think I only have a couple short days left in England! We have been here over two weeks now, and I can't imagine going home...I am basically a local now...and going to miss it SO much.

Going to go check out London! Here are some pics that I put on my laptop earlier in the trip before it died....not the latest, but thought you might like them. Hopefully tomorrow I will get something so I can upload pics. We have some good videos haha.

"shouldnt there be a steering wheel here?!"

(Christchurch)

(inside St. Andrew's Church, where Grandma & Boppa were married)

(me holding my BIRTH announcement that Auntie Vera still had at her house. Baby Elise was eight pounds 9 ounes, and 21 and a half inches long on Nov, 25th 1988! lol)

"X" (it means kiss!)

Elise Diane

LONDON BOUND!

hello pea-pool (people)

This is an update coming to you from Bournemouth, England again!

We successfully returned the car!!! yeah!! We have had such an amazing last day in Bournemouth. Yesterday Chris picked us up from the car rental place and we finally were "home" back at Chris and Terri's. We always walk in the door and say "WE'RE HOME!!!" knowing that Terri is cringing...and thinking "oh no, they might never leave!"

We then went to their "local" (local pub) for a great meal before picking up uncle Tom and preparing for our last supper with everyone. It was a full table: Me, Nessy, Chris, Terri, Andrew, Ally, Nick, Ella, Lauren, Uncle Tom, Heidi and Sam. We has a fabulous night telling them about our driving adventures and places we have seen in the last 5 days. We said our sad goodbyes and made them promise to come visit us in the States VERY soon :)

This morning we are packing up all of our stuff and getting ready to leave for the train station. On our way to LONDON TOWN!!!! Watch out London, here we come :)

Hugs & kisses
Elise Diane

YMCA...

Hey loves!

This time Nessy & I are updating you from Bath, England!

We arrived safely yesterday in Bath....we only hit 1 curb so we are pretty happy with ourselves! It is a huge difference here from the little town of Lynmouth we are used to. We kind of miss our little B&B....

We are totally tough cookies and are having the adventure of a lifetime. We survived our first night here.. but probably should have listened to the few warnings we had before arriving here. A few days ago I told Andrew we were staying at the YMCA in Bath, and he responded "haha no you're not" ..that was clue number 1....Clue number 2 was when we were trying to find the YMCA and asked a man if he knew where it was... He responded "Its that horrible building with the grey roof behind you..." hmmm...

Let me just give you a little info on where we are staying.
First the positives:
-We are in the heart <3 of Bath
-There is a Starbucks a block away from us
-We have a computer, blow dryer and towels, and a sink in our cell....I mean room.

Now on the the not so positives....:
-We are staying in the YMCA (aka a dormitory style place)
-We have COMMUNAL showers...yep...communal.
-Walls are paper thin and the bed is like a cement floor.

After Haiti, I'm am 100% sure I can survive anything on this planet, so, with our Starbucks in hand, we are ready to start our day! Today we are off to explore Bath!! We are going to see the Royal Bath's, do a little shopping and then go see the Princess Diana dresses event!!! We are soooo excited to see her amazing dresses. YEAH!!!

I am not able to upload pics here. We have a funny video to post when I can. Kisses & Hugs!!! Love you guys.

Smashing darling,
Elise Diane

LYNMOUTH ADVENTURES

Alright Darlings! (alright means whats up in England)

Soooo.... we are really liking Denise now (our B&B landlord.) She is so sweet to us. We made the mistake of looking at another room at the B&B and we both went green with envy...we moped all the back to our small box of a room. Yesterday morning Denise asked us if we would like to stay in the bigger room overlooking the river for the last night of our stay here. We both were SOOO excited and gladly accepted. It has a bathtub and cute decor.

Yesterday we went on the cliff railway up to Lynton (a small town close to where we are staying.) We came across this AMAZING little coffee shop where we had our morning mochas and an excellent view of the coast. We continued on our way to some shops including, a antique shop (totally my thing!), a candle maker named John who loved us (He said he was in Heaven when we took a picture with him) and a few other little shops with unique gifts.

We walked along the coast path through the Exmoor Forest and saw some wildlife along the way. Did I mention....WILD PONIES!!??!! yeah, we were hangin with the Ponies (aka PONES.) We also saw some geese and locals playing cricket.

For dinner we enjoyed some fish & chips, of course, and our last dessert of the trip. We made a pact that we will eat NO MORE fish & chips and NO MORE desserts....for fear of us being over the weight limit on the plane like our luggage.... Our waitress said Nessy's fish was VERY happy to see her....can you see why in the pic??

Don't know when our next post will be since we are off to Bath tomorrow!! Miss you guys tons.

Also.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOB!!!!!! I love you soooo much and wish I could talk to you today. I am so excited for your and Jon's trip to Vegas. You are going to have a blast. I cant believe you are only 30 ;) love you!!! xoxox

Cherrio!

Elise & Nessy

"WE SURVIVED"

Hellooooo darlings!!

Me & Nessy here, updating you this time from Lynmouth, England! You will understand the meaning of the title of this post when you watch the video on my facebook. It was about a three hour drive here, with about....60 roundabouts....ahhhh

Lynmouth is so beautiful. Our B&B....hmm.. lets just say...small. As in, our room in about 10 feet by 10 feet (midget feet) lucky I like my Aunt Nessy or one of us might end up dead by the end of this trip. We have gotten to know a lot about each other, like that I am a cover hog. That's ok because Nessy lived up to her nick name (Winey.) She was so happy that she got us here safely that she celebrated a a little to much with two LARGE glasses of wine...followed by 4 Advil that night. She is slowly recovering with much coffee :)

I come to the conclusion that I packed a little too much. My first hint was at the airport when my luggage was 14 pounds over the limit....it all got figured out and me, Nessy and my wardrobe made it safely. My second hint was yesterday when our English couple that run our B&B helped us with our luggage. We insisted we could do it ourselves...but Denise had other plans and made her husband drag up Nessy's bag, followed by my 64 pound hot pink bag.... Then I overheard Denise ask her husband if our bags were heavy, he responded with this "The first bag was light....this one (mine) is RIDICULOUS!!!" ....oops... and when he made it up the stairs, sweating probably, I kindly said thank you...and got no response.. We had a nice English breakfast this morning, cooked by Denise and her husband, we will find out soon if he poisoned me.

Today we are doing a little shopping and will find a place for lunch. Tomorrow we are headed to Clovelly, a little town my grandparents went to when they were in their twenties.

Thank god we made it safe. Keep you posted on our next adventure to Bath.

Cheers!

Elise & Nessy

LET THE ADVENTURES BEGIN!

Helloooo!!!

This is the third installment of the Nessy & Elise England extravaganza updates.

This morning we are packing up our stuff and are getting ready to leave Bournemouth, England. We are sad to be leaving Chris, Terri and Andrew, but excited for the adventure that lies ahead. We are renting a car today and driving to Lynmouth, which is about a 3 hour drive northwest of Bournemouth. We are staying at a nice little B&B for three nights. After that we are taking another drive to Bath which is more toward the middle of southern England. We are staying there for 2 nights I believe. Then, next Wednesday we are headed back to Bournemouth to stay a night with Chris, Terri and Andrew again before heading to London! Lots ahead of us, and today kicks off that road trip through England.

We have had a great few days, yesterday we drive to Salisbury and had a nice afternoon drinking coffee and looking at the shops. We then went to see the Salisbury cathedral, I have never seen a more amazing church in my life. It was just breathtaking. The amount of detail in the 400 foot tall cathedral was unbelievable. Pictures don't even do it Justice. I can't imagine what an accomplishment it was for people to build that with such little tools and technology. It was built in the 1200's. We even saw an actual copy of the Magna Carta which was on display at the church. We had a nice lunch at at restaurant called the Lemon Tree and then continued on our way. Next stop was Stonehenge! We had a great time learning the history of the rocks and why they might have been placed there. I had no idea how big the actual rocks were!!! Amazing!!

Last night we then went to a local pub with Chris and Terri called the Curlew. It was a perfect meal after a long day of driving through the England countryside. We had some wine, amazing pub food and dessert! Yum!

Last night when we got home, Andrew and I went to a pub so I could see some of the Bournemouth nightlife! He took me to a place called 60 Million Postcards. A cool little bar not too far form their house. We had a fun time grabbing a drink and chatting. Great music and atmosphere too!

Alrighty well we are off on our little adventure! Here are some more pictures from the past few days!

Cheers!

Elise Diane

TEA TIME WITH ELISE & NESSY

Hey Americans!

It's time for another England update coming to you from Bournemouth, England! The last few days have been non stop adventure and fun! Yesterday we had a visit with Auntie Vera (my great grandpa's brothers wife, aka my great great great grandmother), and also Auntie Valerie (my grandpa's sister, aka my great aunt.) It was so nice to meet family who I have never met in my life. Also we got to hear about Nessy's cousins who she has never met. I understand this is hard to follow along with..... to help us, we have written down a family tree with names to all of our family members.

Last night we also got to meet Chris's son, Nick and his wife and daughter. Ella is their daughter, the most adorable 4 year old with a British accent!!! It does not get much cuter than her. I was playing hide and go seek with her all over the house. We ordered Chinese "take away" also known as take out, and had a wonderful meal around the table.

Today we went ALL over the place. An 11 hour journey.... with Nessy, Chris, Terri, Uncle Tom and I. We went all over the south of England. We first stopped in Milton Abbas, which is the most unique little town. All of the houses have thatched roofs. Then we were off to Dorchester, traveling through the back country roads. This was my favorite part, just seeing the open countryside, with the brightest green hills I have ever seen. There were many properties with horses and sheep grazing. Our nest stop was at The Cerne Giant.. if you have seen this before, you will know why Nessy and I couldn't stop laughing. Its basically an outline of a naked guy on the side of a mountain! Private parts and all! haha. After we finished making jokes and took some pictures, we were off to eat lunch at a local pub. Where I of course had a glass of white wine and some fish and chips. After that, we stopped at Lulworth Cove, one of Uncle Tom's favorite places he said. He walked all the way down to the beach with us. Where he bought Nessy and I each a painted rock. If you know our family, we are very big on painted rocks, it is just kind of a thing that we have done as a hobby for a long time. After we picked out the rocks we liked, the local artist painted on the back the date and "to: Elise Love: Uncle Tom" on the back. It was so sweet and special. I will have that rock for the rest of my life. Our final stop was at Colfe Castle (I don't know if I have the spelling right) but we had afternoon tea here before heading back to Bournemouth. A long day, but SO many memories and amazing sights.

We have just gotten back to Chris and Terri's house and are having a glass of wine before go out to a local pub. I have noticed that the British have this great sense of humor. Everywhere we go people are cracking jokes, and laughing constantly. It really shows me part of who I am, and my roots. Our family is so funny/sarcastic/joking that I feel like I understand it a lot better coming here! Nessy and I have nick names for each other now...she is "Winey" because we tease her about drinking wine (not like she drinks any more than I do) or sometimes I call her "Windy" because the chair she always sits in makes a farting noise. She calls me "Porky Pie" because last night Andrew said I was telling a "Porky Pie" which means lie, but since I love the little pie pastries they have here, Nessy has stuck with the nick name Porky Pie now....yey thanks Andrew!

Here are some pictures from the last few days! ....enjoy!!

(Nessy, Me, Auntie Valerie and here husband Dave)

(Nessy, Auntie Vera, and me! She gave me my birth announcement that she had from 21 years ago)

(me & Nessy at 22 Kinson Park Road)

(me and Uncle Tom at the Church Grandma & Boppa were married)

Cheers!

Elise Diane

WE'RE IN ENGLAND!

Hello!!

This is my first post coming to you from Bournemouth, England!

Nessy and I made it safely to England. The flight went smoothly, we just talked and laughed the whole way here. We even figured out the seat-to-seat messaging on the plane and had some fun with that too. We are having a great time traveling together and really getting to know each other.

Once we arrived we had no problem finding Chris and Terri. They spotted us right away and we we're so happy to finally be here with them after all of these months anticipating the trip. It was about an hour and a half car ride to their home in Bournemouth, and we ALL had so much fun laughing about our difference in accents. Nessy and I have learned some new words, the ones we have learned so far are: "Chippy" which means, Carpenter (Jon you would be a Chippy) "Sparky" is an electrician, "Bricky" is a brick layer.....I wondered if "Roofie" would be a roofer...but the answer was no ;) haha. We had a wonderful dinner last night with Chris, Terri and Terri's son Andrew, who is an amazing guy! He even plays guitar...so we are going to try and get him to play for us. After a few glasses of wine we went off to bed.

Nessy and I woke up this morning and we're recovered from our jet lag and ready to start the day! We went to 22 Kinson Place Road and saw where Boppa used to live. I absolutely love England, and feel that coming here is so necessary in really understanding the culture. I have seen pictures at home and heard stories about Grandma & Boppa's childhood and how they met, but being here I feel so much more connected to that time in their lives and find it so special.

We then picked up Uncle Tom, what a SWEET man.. I instantly connected with him and we just chatted about all kinds of things. He thinks I look like Ethel, Grandma's mom when she was younger (when she was about 18 he says) and he also says every time he looks into my eyes it brings him back to a different time. We then went to Saint Andrew's Church in Kinson, where Grandpa & Boppa got married. There was a woman outside gardening who actually let us into the church! Once I walked in I could just imagine Grandma walking down the isle toward Boppa waiting in his tux and glasses. After just recently seeing the pictures from their wedding it was not hard to imagine. Nessy and I did a little reenactment and pretended we were getting married! Uncle Tom gave me and Nessy a few words of advice, 1) You only find one true love in the life and you will know who that is when you are older... 2) Directed at me, marry a rich guy! haha. He is very funny. We are just finishing up lunch about going to a show tonight with Uncle Tom.

I will update again soon! Grandma & Boppa, I thank you so much for sending me on this trip. I have barely been here a day and I already feel like I know so much about our family. It is so amazing and beautiful here, the horses, green countryside and brick buildings are just gorgeous. Love you guys!!

Elise Diane

Wide open spaces

"Who doesn't know what I'm talking about? Who's never left home, who's never struck out, to find a dream and a life of their own, a place in the clouds, a foundation of stone." -Dixie Chicks

Hey sweet blog readers :)

Only 6 DAYS until I leave for England with my hot aunt Nessy. YEAH! I could not be more excited. My grandparents grew up in England and this will be the first time I will visit their home land. This is something I have dreamed about my entire life...and it is finally becoming a reality.

Every time I write a blog, it's always some new crazy idea...but that's just me :) a little spontaneous....just like my mom was at this age....

I am not sure how to explain this next part... haha, but I will do my best. The past few weeks since returning from Hawaii I have spent a lot of time thinking about my life. I have done a lot of soul searching. I am kind of at a crossroads in my life...newly unemployed (by choice), having my best friend move 3,000 miles away, and being newly single....some things in the life of Elise have gotten a bit turned upside down....but in a good way. I have had a LOT to think about. To be honest, I am so happy with this new sense of freedom, adventure and independence. Sometimes I feel like, is this really my life? I've always been the "Santa Clara faithful" chick. Never having moved away to explore different cities, friends, jobs... I am finally ready to spread my wings. Things I would have been nervous about in the past, I am eager for now. Things that would have scared me in the past, I am ready to take them on! Thinking about leaving is not longer a fear, but a NEED.

Where I am at right now is...what do I want to do? Where do I want to go? What places do I want to see? It really came after the whole Hawaii moving thing didn't work out, my best friend asked me "If you could move anywhere, where would you move?" I honestly couldn't give her an answer....where would I move? Where would I fit in? ...moving to Hawaii is Liz's dream, a beautiful place that I know she will thrive. It brings out the best in her. This whole experience, thinking I was moving to Hawaii, then not moving...really was the best thing that could have happened to me. I need to discover myself...and follow MY dreams... I am a country girl at heart, even growing up in California I have always had the dream of moving to some country town, USA. In high school I dreamed of moving to Texas....For me, moving to the country, to a country music town, is EXACTLY where I need to be. This is my dream, my roots. My parents both lived in San Antonio, Texas for a few years and absolutely fell in love with country music and those perfect sunsets. Not to mention the awesome night life, country bars, and genuine people.

"She's gone country, back to her roots, she's gone country, look at them boots"

I thought about moving to Hawaii, because it's easy, my cousin lives there, my best friend is there..and it is amazingly beautiful. (hot guys too!) I have realized that it's time to follow my goals. With that said...I have 5 cities in mind. Two of them are the top contenders for where I am potentially going to move.
1) Nashville, TN....the country music capital of the world. aka the LA of country music.
2) Austin, TX....the live music capital of the world.

First, I have these non-refundable tickets that need to be used to go to Hawaii. Since I did not move I have a free round trip that needs to be used within a year. So I am going to Hawaii on September 27th to stay with my cousin David for awhile. Maybe a month...my Dad is going in late October so since I have no job. Might as well go hang out, enjoy the island, and all of what Hawaii has to offer. Relax and enjoy being 21, and soak in this time of transition. It will give me some time to plan out, and figure out, where my next step or destination might be.. I can't wait to hike, go to beautiful beaches, and meet some new faces. After that I will come back to California, save up a bit of money, pack up my jetta, and move to a new state, a new city and a brand new beginning :)

I have already started looking in Nashville & Austin, HOLY COW rent is cheap haha I am living in the most expensive place in the US. jeeeez!! All of the people I have met so far through contacting jobs, and places to live, are SO nice. I couldn't believe it. I have already made some friends haha.

I know one thing for sure, England is going to be AMAZING!! I have just started packing. There are so many things to remember to pack. Who knew I would need a "foreign electricity converter kit" ?!?

As my friend Ashley put it...."One GIRL...5 cities. A former- brunette- now- dazzling blond on a mission...to EAT PRAY LOVE."

On another note, I got to spend some time with my blondie cousin Christy!! I love her so much and we are always traveling, and all over the place that we rarely get to hang out. The other day we got a chance to spend a day together in santa cruz! It was so great to catch up with my newly 21 year old cuzzy. She had some great tips for me about to embark on this trip to England. She just got back from London not too long ago. So we had PLENTY to talk about. Love you cuz!


Thanks to everyone who is a supporter, encourager and motivator in my life :) I love you guys.

Elise Diane

the best year ever!

Aloha friends :)

I am updating because I just got home from Hawaii a few days ago! My second trip of the year so far, and it was completely amazing. I finally got a chance to see my best friend Liz who I hadn't seen since June. The last time we saw each other, she was dropping me off at the airport to go on my cruise. The five hour flight had me on the edge of my seat just waiting to re-connect with my best friend in the whole world. We had a blast the 6 short days I was there...and made the most of it! I knew instantly we would get back to our joking, laughing, and dumping out ALL of our clothes for the other to see.

My Dad was with me on this little trip to the island. He stayed in downtown Waikiki (at a really nice hotel I might add) while I stayed with Liz in her beautiful apartment. Most days Liz would go to work and I would cab it down to meet my Dad and do a little shopping/drinking ;) Then when Liz would get off work, I'd meet back up with her. One of the days when she had the day off, we went to the north shore to Sunset beach. The four of us went snorkeling in crystal clear water. Then lounged on the beach until we decided to move to our next stop, SHAVE ICE at Motsumotos. Yum. What a perfect day.

Another day I went with Liz on a drive. It was a little rainy that day so we decided to look for the "Black Pearl" ship that was used in filming of the newest pirates of the Caribbean movie! We ended up finding it with a little help from our IPhones. Even though there was no Johnny Depp in sight. It was still awesome to this this cool pirate ship docked so close.

I also got to visit with my cousin David! He came out to dinner with us on the first night, but that was the only night we got to hang out. I will be seeing a lot more of him on my next trip out there...

I had a wonderful time. I loved seeing my best friend who I miss dearly. I fell in love with Hawaii

all over again, and finally got to see other parts of the Island that weren't so touristy. Of course regret my decision not to move there when I had the opportunity. but things can change though right? .................;)

Soon I will be off the ENGLAND!! A little less than 3 weeks and Aunt Nessy and I will be on our way. My very third trip of the summer, but very first time to Europe! Finally I get to see where my family originated. I am in LOVE with 2010, and feel like I am growing and learning so much about myself every day. I can honestly say that I have discovered more about myself this summer than I have in my entire life. It has been a roller coaster of fun, adventures, lessons, and even hard decisions...but overall I am so happy to be exactly where I am. Not knowing what the future holds.

My cards are still in production...just trying to find time for it all! More updates soon.

Loves!

Elise Diane

this & that

hello friendsies

I have my logo!!! The card business that I am starting is slowly falling into place. So far everything is going very smoothly. Right now I am taking the steps to get my business license. I had my business name filed at the santa clara clerks office last week, and had it published in the newspaper. Next step - getting my sellers permit! My lovely cousin Andrea is an AMAZING graphic designer, and created the most perfect logo I could ever ask for. I can't wait to get some things done now that I have that...

There is so much to do, I keep thinking what my friend Ally told me a few weeks ago. "One thing a day" It really works! When I get all of these ideas, and plans in my mind, sometimes I just need to remember to take it slow and enjoy this process of getting my business started.

Today and tomorrow I am working at my friend Ashley's photography studio/bridal boutique. It is the cutest little store, such a change from working at the office. Everyone who comes in here is so happy and excited for a wedding. Whether it is their daughters, friends, or their own wedding. I love hearing every tiny detail of how the planning is going. It is such a happy time in people lives and it's so awesome to be a tiny part of it. I can see how Ash must completely LOVE what she does. (if you don't know Ashley, she is one of the most talented people I have ever met, she did some pictures of me and Liz awhile back)

WOW how could I forget... BIG BROTHER 12 HAS STARTED!! so lame that this is my highlight of the week. But it is so much fun watching with Daniel's family. We get really really into it. Making guesses on who will be evicted from the house next, or who is a "showmance" (romance on a show) ...I guess big brother would be my guilty pleasure. I'm openly addicted.

On wednesday I will be going to Tahoe to visit my Mom, Step-Dad Jon, and sisters Hannah and Bella. I CANT WAIT!!! My mom is throwing Hannah a birthday party for her 3rd birthday next saturday. It will be so fun spending that quality time with my family. and duhhh I LOVE birthdays. :)

Not too much time until I go visit Liz in Hawaii!! Can not wait to see my BFF. I miss her!!!

I am so hungry. Time to go!

Love,

Elise Diane

2010 summer fun &...entrepeneurship?

Hello friends!!

Holy cow...a MOT NH and no new posts. I've been out and about, here, there and everywhere, leaving no time left for me lonely blog. I guess that is what summer is all about, right?! I have been packing so much into this summer already, I can't even believe It's only July. The last month has just flown by since we came home from our trip to the Caribbean.

A few weeks ago, I went to a Country throw down concert at Shoreline pavilion with three of my friends. We bought lawn tickets for cheap and found a seat waiting for the good bands to come on stage. We were not expecting what happened next....a worker was hanging out tickets to the lower seat section, we grabbed 4 and headed down to our seats about 15 rows up from the stage. Not too bad for a free upgrade. It only got better from there! My friend Amanda and I decided to go grab some food, and on our way there we were stopped by another worker, he asked us how many were in our group, I replied four. He then told me to go grab the other two girls in our party because we were being upgraded to FRONT ROW!!!! It made the concert one of the best I have ever seen.

You may wonder...what the heck am I doing with my life now that I am not moving to Hawaii? For awhile I didn't even know the answer to that question...but now I feel like I have a much better idea. First of all, I am excited for my upcoming trips! Hawaii in August and England in September. Traveling is a passion of mine and I just can not wait to travel to Europe for the first time. Only a two more months until my Aunt Nessy and I leave!

Another project I am working on right now is putting my business degree to good use, by starting my own card making company! Right now I am just in the first stages, deciding on a name, having a graphic designer (my lovely cousin Andrea!) design a logo for me, get a DBA, and work work working on card designs. As well as many other steps. All of my cards are made by hand, which makes it very time consuming, but also very rewarding. I can not wait to have the finished product all ready to sell and to share my cards with the world.

Tomorrow I am off to lunch with my friend Amanda. Thanks for checking in on my blog! I will try not to leave it scarce for months again :)

Love,

Elise Diane

Sailing home to a big change of plans

Hello friends!

The parade of Wagner's, Gire's, Nolans and Freitas' sailed home yesterday from our Caribbean cruise!!! WOW, was it an amazing time. I couldn't have even expected it to be that much fun! Besides the four beautiful stops at Cozumel-Mexico, Isla Roatan-Honduras, Belize City-Belize, and Costa Maya-Mexico...we did run into a few problems, mostly with health scares with some people in our party.





About two weeks before the trip began, Daniel's Aunt Teresa broke her foot, causing her to need a wheelchair. On top of that, Daniel's mom Julie had her lovely super nice friend Charlene join us on the cruise as well, unfortunately, 2 days before we sailed away, she slipped and broke her foot too! Making it two wheelchair girls. Because Teresa was in a wheelchair, Daniel's aunt Amy was invited along to take care of her. On the last day at sea on the cruise, Amy was rushed to the Emergency nurse on the ship due to throwing up and pain. Her condition was so bad that they immediately sent a HELICOPTER to come pick her up off the ship and fly her to the closest Miami hospital, where she is being treated for gallstones. Wshhooo. What a trip huh? Please keep Amy in your prayers. She will need surgery and won't be out of the hospital for about 4-5 more days.

Even though we had a few setbacks, this was one of the best vacations I have ever been on! Sandy hot beaches, Pina Coladas in hand, Bright blue oceans and all the fun and activities you could imagine on the boat. Daniel's sister Tina got engaged to her boyfriend of 5 years, Mike, who we all love! Congratulations to them! Tina also asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding next year! I almost cried. It felt like a whole week of celebrations, including Daniel's birthday on June 5th! He turned 23. Poor Daniel got a little jipped because his Birthday was on the day we came home. We celebrated the last night on the cruise with a cake and singing for him! Happy Birthday Daniel my lovey!


CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEWLY ENGAGED MIKE & TINA!

There was dancing on bars, karaoke singing, Marti gras beads to catch, water slides to go down, and even a chocolate buffet! This trip was one of a lifetime. I love traveling, it is my ultimate favorite thing, and now I get to check two more countries off of my list to visit. (since I have already been to Mexico a number of times)

On another note...I have some kind of disappointing news about Hawaii. As I was on the cruise, Liz was searching for apartments for us the whole time. Unfortunately I couldn't be in touch with her since I was in the middle of the ocean with no cell service. ($6.50 per MINUTE!) When I finally got back to Florida we were able to talk and she let me know that the apartment search was not going very well. We had agreed on some criteria that we both wanted/needed in an apartment. One was a six month lease. This was very difficult to find in Hawaii. She did find one place in Waikiki for $1,700 with a one year lease and unfurnished. I can not commit to a one year lease since I don't have a job there yet and risk not finding one right away. Six month was perfect for me, knowing that I need to test it out and see how things go...I guess that is what being young is all about, new experiences and testing out different things. This leaves Liz and I in a tough position since she starts work on Wednesday and has limited time to continue looking for places that better fit our criteria. She has decided to look for a one bedroom apartment alone, and I think this is for the best. Since I do not want to hold her back from what she needs before she starts her job. I am defiantly going to go there and visit her...At this point I don't think it is the smartest choice for me to jump into something I was not fully prepared for. I really wish we could have looked longer for a place that worked for both of us...but I have no hard feelings. I am excited for my best friend to go live her dream in Hawaii.

I can't force something if it's not meant to be. Now that I am back from the cruise and ready to start a new life and job here, I feel very free to go experience new things here. Even if I am not moving to Hawaii, I am glad this situation has pushed me to try new things and reminded me always be open minded. I can not wait to do things like go visit my mom for a week in Tahoe, and my friend Holly that lives there, go run the Los Gatos creek trail with Tina during the day, and help her plan her wedding next year, look for jobs that I have never done before, and what I am most excited about- traveling to England with my Aunt Nessy in September!

There is so much to look forward to in this life. The way I see it, if you are embracing every day with happiness, enjoying every unique day to it's fullest, appreciating your surroundings and loving the people around you unconditionally, there is nothing to ever regret in this life...I can move forward knowing that I am not missing out on anything.

Live and learn.
Elise Diane