Reasons to Join Boca Pointe

Hey there.  The wife and I are in need of a vacation.  When we want to get away, we usually head out over to Las Vegas for a few days and enjoy ourselves there.  But this time around, we want to try someplace different.  Someplace new.  I've heard many good things about Florida and Boca Raton may be a good spot to check out.  Especially after reading up about the Club at Boca Pointe.  No, this isn't some night life type club, this is a country club in Boca Raton that offers what we're looking for: amazing scenery, sports, arts, fitness, and best of all, worry free vacationing.

Get to Las Vegas in Style with Southwest Airlines Vacations

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Southwest Airlines Vacations for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there.  I recently mentioned that a Las Vegas trip was in the works.  It's one of those deals where the wife and I just need to get away from the kids and have ourselves some alone time.  That trip is still in the works but man and I glad I haven't booked it just yet.  While browsing around, looking for deals, I came cross even BETTER Las Vegas Vacations from Southwest Airlines Vacations!

Southwest Airlines Vacations Deals, Here We Come

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Southwest Airlines Vacations for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there.  It's time for us to get away.  Time for us to get away from work, time for us to get away from the errands, and time for us to get away from the kids.  lol  Don't get me wrong, being a parent is awesome and all, but the wife and I rarely have time to ourselves.  We usually get that time during our marriage anniversary and we usually go to Las Vegas to have a few drinks, visit a few dance floors, catch a few shows, and just get away from it all.  It's also a great way to rekindle our romance.  It's a week's vacation that we look forward to every year.  We usually drive to Las Vegas, but I think this year, it's going to be different.  I think we're going to fly there and I'm looking to score on an awesome deal from Southwest Vacations!  But not just any deal, it's a Southwest Las Vegas Vacations deals!

A Trip to Aruba Would Be Perfect for Our HoneyMoon

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Aruba Tourism Authority for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love the scenic views that Aruba has to offer!

Hey there.  I owe my wife a honeymoon getaway.  When we got married, we both worked but we didn't make to much money.  I couldn't afford to get her the wedding ring that she deserved, I couldn't get her the lavish wedding ceremony that she deserved, and I couldn't get her the honeymoon getaway that she deserved.  Next year, it will be our 10 year anniversary and I plan on making up for some of those things.  We're better off financialy, now, than we were before and we are we plan to renew our vows and have a wedding ceremony with friends and family.  I also want to plan that honeymoon trip that we didn't get to enjoy the first time around.  We orignally had our heart set on a Hawaiian honeymoon but a trip to Aruba sounds pretty tempting right now!

Central New Jersey as a Vacation Destination

Hey there.  Earlier this month, the wife and I enjoyed a vacation during our anniversary.  When we do get some free time to ourselves, we end up going somewhere local.  Somewhere close to Southern California where we can easily drive to and from.  Where did go this time around?  We went to Las Vegas.  Don't get me wrong, it was fun and we had a great time, but you know what... we've done Vegas before.  We've done San Diego.  We've done Laughlin.  We need to head out to the East Coast.  We need so check out what the  Eastern shore has to offer.  While there are some more glamorous spots out East like New York, I've heard that Central New Jersey may be the place to see.

Booking That Las Vegas Hotel & Casino Getaway for Under $100

Las Vegas!!!  Here I come!!!

Hey there.  It's set.  Vacation time has been approved and it's time to book that Las Vegas getaway for a few days.  The wife and I sorely need it and just when we were talking about getting away for a few days, I get an Email from Groupon with an awesome deal for a 2 night stay at the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino for under $80.  The cool thing about Vegas is that it really doesn't matter where you stay since you want to visit all the casinos and attractions so you're really only looking for a place to sleep, but this deal included all you can drink alcoholic drinks from 4-8 pm, 2 free breakfasts, and 2 free entries to the day spa (and gym).  FREE DRINKS!!!!  That alone makes this deal worth it.  That's a pretty damn awesome deal, if you ask me.

If you're looking to score this deal, get to it.  Quantities are limited so you need to act fast before the deal is over.  The last possible day to score the deal is June 8th but they could be long gone by then.  So let's hear it, what are some of your favorite summer vacation spots?  Later!

Spending a Day at the San Gabriel River

Hey there friends.  You know what the tough part of having a birthday on a holiday is?  It has to be better than just a regular birthday.  My daughter's birthday is July 4th, the same as America's birthday, and every year we try to make it just a little more interesting for her.  This year, we decided to take her and the kids to the San Gabriel River.  Just a short drive away from downtown Los Angeles, the San Gabriel River runs though the Los Angeles Forest.  The wife and I both went there as kids and thought that it would be great to go and take the kids to a spot that we visited back in the day.

Family Trip to SeaWorld

Hey there.  I haven't had a chance to catch up with you guys over what went down this Memorial Day weekend.  I decided long ago that we were not going to stay home this weekend and we were going to have ourselves a good time.  I toyed with the idea of taking the family to Las Vegas, Disneyland, and LegoLand, among many other places but due to high entry prices and/or road trip time, I crossed many of those places out.  In the end, I managed to grab a great deal (buy 1 get 1 free) on SeaWorld admission.  BAM!  We were soooo there.

I Need a Vacation!

Hey there.  I need to get out of the office for a few days.  Recently, I've felt like a slave to the desk.  Files upon files are beginning to pile up and I swear that if I wanted to, I could build a fort with them.  lol  I'll only need to gut it out for a week or so more since I'll be getting my vacation (or time off) starting on April 18th!!!  Don't think I'll be heading anywhere, but it sure will be nice to not worry about the office politics and what not.  I've already told myself that come next vacation time, I'll be taking 2 weeks and we'll be heading off to some foreign country.  Maybe someplace in Europe, like Germany and feast my eyes on the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

I've never traveled to a place where I don't know the language so I've been advised that it would be wise to get some important documents, like your passport and birth certificate, translated to the countries language.  This way, if you're in a bind, you'll have documents that local officials and offices can easily read.  There are many translation services online and on mobile devices, but they won't provide you with a printed translation.  It's almost a necessity to have all your document translation in tow before heading out to new lands. 

I think I'm ready to venture to a foreign land and explore it's culture and beauty.  I've even gone on and tried to learn some German.  It's not as easy as I would have hoped but as long as I know some of the basics, I should be alright.  Guten Tag!  Guten Morgen! Übersetzungsdienst! (That's translation services in German  lol!!!)  You gotta be well prepared my friends.  Later!

I need a Vacation

Hey there.  I didn't come in to work yesterday.  And no, friends, it wasn't a kick back, I'm not going to do anything, kind of day.  lol  Both of my daughters were going to perform in their school's annual Christmas Program and I wanted to be there.  And... the school was going to honor both of my daughters for making honor roll.  Yay for my girls!  So the schedule looked something like this... 

7:00   Take girls to school
8:30   Have breakfast
10:30 Christmas Performance
12:30 After school party
2:30   Get son from JR High
4:00   Honor Roll Assembly
5:30   Honor Roll Assembly
6:00   Go home

As you can see, school related activities were nothing but planned that day and you know how well things turn out when you plan out your day.  Here's what really went down.

7:00   Take girls to school
8:30   Have breakfast
10:00 Go to Target to get MiniDV recording tape
10:35 Run to school auditorium
10:40 Realize that stupid camcorder is not working
10:50 Said screw it and took video with my phone
12:30 Made it to after school party
2:15   Take my youngest to get her hair cut
3:05   Speed off to get my son from JR High
3:35   Experience LA traffic jam
4:10   Run to school auditrium
4:30   Get text invitation to my cuz's b day thing for that night
5:00   Have small "lunch"
5:30   Honor Roll Assembly
6:15   Go to my aunt's for b day thing
10:00 Go home

Yeah...  that' didn't go as originally planned.  lmao  Needless to say, I need a vacation...  But like a real one.  Where the day is not used for home projects, shopping expeditions, or school related activities.  But like, a real vacation.  Yeah... that would be nice.  lol 

I came into work and for being out for a single day, it seems as if hell on Earth rained down on me.  More than 250 Emails sitting in my inbox, more than 10 voice mails waiting to be answered, boss saying there were complaints because I wasn't there...  It's like... man, can't have a day to myself without my work world going down in chaos???  *sigh*

A Vacation in Kissimmee Florida

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Kissimmee Tourism. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends. The more I read about Kissimmee, Florida, the more I am compelled to take a trip there. When you think about it, who doesn't want to take a trip to an American paradise? It has awesome weather, sandy beaches, and with those of us with kids (or at least a kid at heart), Disneyworld is just a short drive away.  This is definitely an ideal travel destination for those of us looking for a get away from the daily grind of our work lives.

For those of us looking for a little bit of nature, there is a heritage trail, hiking, boating,  kayaking, fishing, and they just recently added a zip line to their great outdoors so you can zoom through the sky and take in the beautiful scenery from above!  For the kid in us, we have the theme parks that usually garner all the attention of central Florida, and with good reason.  With Disneywold being minutes away, who wouldn't want to spend an afternoon with the beloved Disney charaters?  And for those of us just wanting a relaxing time.  Bird watching, beaches, , lakes, parks and golf courses are in abundance and should provide you with the "me time" that we all desperately need from time to time.

I wouldn't mind taking a trip there to check out the outdoors.  Maybe book a room at the Super 8 Kissimmee Suites.  I'll have to admit that price would determine where we stay since we're pretty much just use the place to sleep.  lol  So much to do that we wouldn't be spending much time in the room.  I would definitely want to do the zip line and maybe a little kayaking. I think there's enough shopping here in Los Angeles so I wouldn't want to spend my vacation time in stores, but there is a nightlife there that my wife and I would like to check out.  The Saturday Nite Cruise®, featuring over 300 classic cars sounds like an awesome way to spend an evening!

I don't see why anyone would NOT want to spend a weekend (or a week) in Kissimmee, Florida.  I'm from the west coast of the US and I wouldn't mind checking out the south east coast for a change!  With all that it has to offer, you have to consider Kissimmee, Florida as a top choice vacation spot.  Later!

Win a Free Weekend Stay at any Hampton Hotel

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hampton Hotels. All opinions are 100% mine. 

Hey there friends.  I recently had the pleasure of taking a week off from work.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the resources to take off on a leisure vacation with the family and see something outside the norm.  I'm pretty sure that with this slowly recovering economy, any accommodations that we can get for free will be a blessing.  Our good friends at the Hampton Hotels know this and are giving away free weekend stays!   

The Hampton Chain of Friends Sweepstakes is definitely one to take part in.  It's not simply a hotel room for you and your friends or family.  No, the Hampton Hotel is offering 100 rooms for 2 nights for the grand prize winner.  Let that sink in!!!  100 rooms!  That's practically the whole hotel for you and your guests.  You can finally spend some time with those friends of yours that you haven't seen in years or invite your distant family members for free weekend stay to catch up and relax.  With 100 rooms at your disposal, I'm not even sure that you will fill them all!  They are also offering 100 First Prizes with is a free hotel stay for the winner and three of his or her friends.  That's still a great time waiting to happen.  To enter, you fill out a simple form with your contact information.  That's it!  Make sure you enter for you chance to win.  The contest ends on 9/4/10 so there's only a week or so left to enter.

It's important to get away from the stresses of work and if you can get that weekend stay for free, why not enter for that free hotel room?  It's great to bond with friends and family.  It builds for a better relationship and it stronger bonds that last a lifetime.  I already told myself that the next chance I get, we'll be taking a vacation as family.  I already have my eye on the Hampton Inn south of the Disneyland Hotel in Orlando Florida.  Yeah, we have a Disneyland in California, but this is Disneyworld that we're talking about here.  I'm sure that friends and family would have a grand time hanging out at Disneyland and hanging out in Florida.  Hopefully, I'll get that call or Email stating that I'm a winner.  Hmmm...  if I do get to be a winner...  should I give out a stay to one of my readers???  I'll have to think about that one for a minute.  lol  Until then, later!

Back to Work

Hey there.  So I'm back at work after a week off.  It was good to stay home and not get up at the 7 o'clock hour and even though it was my vacation, I did end up doing some house work which has me feeling a little beat up.  Not too much though, since I wanted to take it easy, but I did end up doing some painting, some plastering, installed some light fixtures and did some yard work.  All in all, a good time to relax and spend with the family and they seemed to enjoy spending the time with me as well. 

I'll try to post a little later on about some of the stuffs we did and what I've been doing this past week.  Some of those highlights include Despicable Me, Monopoly Deal, and Leopard Sharks.  lol  Until then, later!

Motivational Monday - Responsibility

Hey there.  Today is my first day of work vacation.  It's nice to be able to sleep in and not worry about the stress and responsibility from work. So I am taking it easy and just relaxing.  That's why I thought the below was soooo fitting.  That is exactly what I am NOT doing!  lol  Later!

I'm Taking Some Time Off From Work

Hey there.  I need a vacation.  I've been working my ass off at work and I'm beginning to feel a little burned out by it all.  So next week, I'm taking the week off.  I'm not going anywhere, I'm just gonna stay home and hang out with my family.  Sleep in when I can and re-energize my batteries.  I go through long stretches of work without vacation.  It's been almost a year since I took some time off and that was because my son was born.  I need to start planning some vacation time to where I actually go somewhere with the family.  That's not going to happen this time around, but maybe next time it will.  Until then, later!

A Day in Branson, Missouri

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hiltons of Branson. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends. I recently wrote that I need a vacation.  Too much pressure in the work place and it doesn't help that I live in Los Angeles, CA.  A very dense and over populated city.  Don't get me wrong, I love my home town and my job, but sometimes you just want to step away and take a breather from the city and work life.  How fitting that I stumble across an awesome vacation package to visit the heartland of America, Branson, Missouri.

Going through some of the vacation packages at both the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel and the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing, I'm loving the Bed & Breakfast deal.  And it's summed up perfectly, "Leave the stress of the work week behind and relax and revive with a Hilton Bed & Breakfast weekend."  Yup, that's definitely something that I am in desperate need of.  Though I am sure that the wife would want me to seriously consider the "Shopping Package", but I'm looking for some off time and leisure activities.  Maybe I'd take advantage and have a nice round of golf or two.  We'd definitely go and and "Ride the Ducks".  From what I hear, it's a must if you're in Branson and check out some of the fine dining by stopping by at Cantina Laredo or check out the wonderful atmosphere at Buckingham's Restaurant & Oasis.

Ans then to take it all back and relax at the Hilton Promenade would be the icing on the cake.  A little fishing or a nice dip in the pool would be the perfect way to end the day.  Yup.  I definitely need a vacation and staying at the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel is definitely up for consideration.  Check it out friends and take a minute to consider joining me in the heartland of America.  Later!

My Problem with Summer

Hey there.  When I was a kid, summer was awesome.  No school, no homework, nothing to worry about but play video games, wrestle with friends, and general childhood mischief.  Sounds like a pretty bad ass time to me.  As an adult...  summer is not so great.  I know that it can get hotter in other places, but summer in LA sucks.  The commute to and from work here is so bad, that you spend a lot of time stuck on the freeway and with a scorching sun beaming down on you, you're going to get sweaty.  Even though the AC is on blast, the fact that you're in a heated metal box for a long while will slowly negate that AC of yours.  Then there's the prob with people in offices across LA.  People... it's hot outside!  Let's be merciful to those that just came in from that blazing sun and turn on the AC!!!  If you start complaining (ahem ahem... you know who you are) then you should be shot!  lol  I would rather be in a cold office than a hot one.  If you're cold, it's easy to slip into a sweater or jacket.  If we keep the office hot... there's nothing you can do to remedy that.  No amount of water or drinks, no fan, no anything will dispel the heat from your body.  I can be walking around naked in the office and still feel hot.  (It's not a pretty sight, friends.  Don't make me go there) lol

Now, I'm not saying all of summer is bad...  Out of the 3 months or so of uncomfortableness, they'll be a few days where we'll go out to the beach and take in some of that sun and splash around in the Pacific Ocean.  The big difference between beach day and work day???  Beach day = fun where as work day = work.  lol  And working while all sweaty sucks.  I'm just saying... 

I think I'm going to write a strongly worded letter to the Mayor.  See if I can convince him of giving us Los Angeles workers some mandatory, PAID, time off to go to the beach during the week.  It's that... or we will all take a page out of Al Bundy's book and grab some lawn chairs and hang out in the frozen food section of the local market.  Either way... I'm down.  lol  Later!

A Week Off from Work

Hey there.   I have the whole week off from work!  It's kinda a double edged sword though.  I don't have to work, but it's not a paid week off, so the company is going to take 40 hours of my vacation time to offset that week so that I can get paid.  It kind of sucks.  It's more like a forced vacation than a week off from work.  Either way, I have more than 40 hours vacation time accrued so I'm going to enjoy the time off with my family.  So far, we've been lounging it.  We have to recharge our batteries after all the holiday madness that went on the week before, you need the time off to just relax.  Now, with the New Year just around the corner, we need all the rest we can get now so that we're ready to be alive when the New Year's Eve rolls around.  Take it easy friends and rest up cause 2009 is almost over.  Later.

10 Days Til Christmas

Hey there. Today, I took a day off from work. Mainly because my wife had a doctor's appointment and I wanted to take her, since it's in Downtown Los Angeles and it can be hell to drive there. We also decided that it would be wise to start tackling some of our Christmas shopping, since we have done absolutely none of it. Our tree is not even up! Yeah, it's kinda sad, but we've just haven't had any time to do ANYTHING. Something always seems to come up and we've been getting home later and later. We really don't want to set up any Christmas stuff without the kids and we send them off to bed at 9 PM. It's already close to 9 and they are rushing to take their showers, all the while my wife and I are sorting the gifts (while I sneak in a sentence or two) so that we can tackle the wrapping. I think we'll end up setting up the tree without the kids this year. We're going to have all sorts of wrapped gifts and no tree to place them under if we continue to wait.

So our day started off with some breakfast at Dennys and after spending a good hour and half chatting and eating, we went on to our shopping. We went off to the mall and I was expecting some holiday hell, even though it was a weekday, and we experienced none. We ventured int Victoria Secret, but came out with nothing. We then figured that we need to get the kids in our family first and foremost so we ventured into The Disney Store. We ended up with a bunch of gifts, a bill close to $150, and about half the kids knocked off the list. Whoo hoo!

After killing a few hours at my mother in law's, we took off to my wife's doctor's appointment. The camera crew for Deliver Me was there and we saw them shooting an interview with one of the doctor's patients. That, coupled with the fact that Dr. Bohn was just getting back from a delivery, she was backed up 4 patients so we had to wait longer than usual. All checked out well and off we went to get our kids.

Then... off to Target for more holiday shopping. Since I worked at a Target many, many moons ago, I know how the holidays look and I was expecting some holiday hell. Especially since it was close to 7, I was expecting it to be bad. None of that. I was surprised. We gathered another 9 or so gifts and another $130+ bill. Score!!!

Not bad, my friends. We tackled 19 or so kids out of 30. Not too bad. All in one day too. And the best part? None of it came out of pocket. I recently received my business debit card from Paypal (I'm still trying to grasp my head around that Metallman's Reverie is a business) so all the gifts purchased was paid by online income. SCORE! SCORE! SCORE! I was hoping to save it up for a family vacation, but hey... this is just as good, right? I know that many family members are tightening their belts this Christmas so I know that not many gifts will be given out. If our family is able to provide gifts for the kids, why not? I'm sure that they will be more than appreciated this year.

Well, it's time to start wrapping these up. 10 more days, friends. We're almost there! Later!

Accor Hotels 3 Day Super Sale

Hey there friends. It's the season to start planning a holiday trip! While most people are limited in ideas as to where they can go, the Accor Hotels 3-Day Super Sale Asia Pacific offers the whole Asia Pacific as a choice for prime vacation spots. With over 1 million hotels available across 15 locations you are sure to find your ideal vacation spot. As of today, 10.28.09, here are the locations and the lowest price that you can get a hotel for.
That's not bad at all! A night in Laos for only $48 USD, a night in Fiji for only $51 USD, and a night in Japan for $112 USD is a pretty good deal as well! I've always wanted to go to Japan. I think that some of their culture and customs are intriguing. It would be great to visit the Land of the Rising Sun and save some money while doing it. But as the title suggests, it's only a 3 day sale so the above deals are only available if booked between Oct. 27th and Oct. 29th. All booked deals are for travel planned during December 09 to April 10, so you can book your stay now and travel at a later date.

I'm running out of time! I know that my wife wanted to travel next year so I need to let her know if these locations intrigue her. I'm pushing for Japan, but we all know that it's all about what my babe wants! Later!