15 Years Ago...

...my husband and I went on our first date. It was a Sunday and he took me to the White Horse Inn in the San Fernando Valley. I believe it was at the corner of White Oak and Roscoe but have heard that it has since closed down. We moved in together exactly 6 months later and married three years after that. It's gone by so fast and - here we are - 12 years of marriage and 2 kids later...

Happy birthday, Debbie!

Have a great one, my friend!

29, right?

On This Day...

1889 - Adolf Hitler was born

1941 - Ryan O'Neal was born

1948 - My Mommy was born (Happy birthday, Mom!)

1949 - Jessica Lange was born

1971 - the United States Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools

1972 - Carmen Electra was born

1999 - 2 students went on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, killing 12 students and one teacher before taking their own lives

Oklahoma City National Memorial

It's hard to believe it's been 12 years...

Trip Planning #1

I love going on vacation. I love planning for vacations almost just as much. Maybe I'll look into becoming a Travel Agent in my next life...

Anyway - those of you who have visited me here for a while know that I like "detailed" trip reports and I'm sure I'll write one once we return in July. I thought it'd be fun to post here some of the pre-trip goings on as well and, today, I booked the hotel that we'll stay at the night before our early morning flight out of LAX.

A few years ago, we discovered the Renaissance Montura - a Marriott property very close to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and perfect for the night before those early morning flights out of town. We get a Park & Fly rate there (with our AAA discount) of less than $200. (I booked our room for July at $169 and will continue to check their site for the rate as, if they lower it, they'll adjust my reservation accordingly.) The Park & Fly rate includes a fabulous room (with amazing views of the airport runways but literally no airplane noise!) on the Club Level which allows us access to the concierge lounge that has beverages, cocktails, snack foods, hors d'ouevres, desserts and breakfast as well as 7 days of free valet parking while we are away! The parking alone is $21/day so the rate is incredibly reasonable! Also included in the rate is a limo (towncar) ride to the airport the morning of the flight. Can't beat that!

Mickey Mouse Here We Come!

It's official - we are taking the kids to Orlando this Summer for a week! We are all so excited. Our children have never been to Disneyworld and my husband and I have only been there once for a short period of time and, while we did spend an evening at Pleasure Island at Downtown Disney and enjoyed a nice dinner atop Disney's Contemporary Resort at The California Grill, we did not have any time to really explore the city or any of the Disney Parks. I am all about "memory-making" for my kids and I know this trip will be fantastic!

We are going to stay at the airport in L.A. pre-flight as we usually do when we fly out early. We'll then enjoy 2-day park-hopper tickets early in the week before catching a shuttle from our hotel (The Disney Yacht Club) to Port Canaveral where we will board the MS Disney Wonder for a 3-Day Bahamian Cruise. More details to come...

Spring

I love Spring... I have many azaleas and other plants that are so pretty this time of year. I thought it'd be fun to share some pictures from around the "casa de OnlineMom"!

In Memory of Dana Fisher (August 21, 1953 - March 23, 2007)

When my husband and I purchased our very first personal computer, it was October of 1992. We were so excited to finally have access to the "world wide web". We subscribed to Prodigy (Classic) when it became available and I immediately became hooked on their message boards. Dana was the first person I met online - my very first "online friend".

He was a chemist and computer-know-it-all who helped me with everything from e-mail to HTML and beyond. We made the switch from Prodigy Classic to Prodigy Internet together and stayed in touch even after they were long gone (bought out by SBC Yahoo in 2001).

We exchanged e-mails, instant messages, photographs of our families, online jokes and websites and even Christmas cards through the mail for over 10 years. We loved to chat about our families, NASCAR, technology, bowling, his job and their beloved puppies.

In early 2006, he was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrigs Disease) - news that stunned and deeply saddened me. He suffered tremendously and had to give up all activity very quickly once he lost use/mobility of his hands and arms. He passsed away on March 23, 2007 at home in West Virginia with his wife and family at his side.

On This Day...

1889 - Eiffel Tower Opens

1945 - Don Sutton (L.A. Dodgers) was born

1992 - John Gotti found guilty in death of Paul Castallanos

2005 - Pope John Paul II dies

Video From The Masters

They have live cameras set up Monday-Wednesday at the driving range and tournament coverage starts on Thursday.

I love Masters week!

212 Yards

That was how far I hit my drive on #2 today - my longest drive ever!

The weather here has been wonderful and I've been taking full advantage of it (hence my absence from the blog!). I've been golfing three times/week and absolutely loving it. It's so great to be at it again!