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Brr, it's cold out there

January 23rd, 2008 Posted in Stef Ann Holm Blog by Stef Ann

I don’t know what part of the country you live in, but Boise is experiencing very cold weather.  This morning’s temp was only eight degrees.  There are icicles everywhere, even on the fenders of cars.  Speaking of cars, it’s hard to keep a car clean in the winter.  Road conditions throw mud and slush onto your vehicle.  My car is silver so that somewhat disguises road grime, but it seems as if I’m always pulling into the carwash.  I’m pretty anal about how clean I keep my car. 

I think what I miss most right now is the smell of flowers and freshly cut grass.  I love the way summer smells on a hot day.  I miss my swimming pool, a good book and the anticipation of a BBQ’d steak with corn on the cob from the fruit stand my husband likes to frequent.

I don’t like the winter.  Never have.  I sure hope that Ground Hog predicts summer is around the corner . . . At this point, I’d even take a sliver of spring.  My sweetheart brought home some tulips for me the other day.  I got optimistically hopeful this stinky winter will almost be gone.

Is it cold or warm where you live?

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Hot Dawg and Happy New Year!

January 7th, 2008 Posted in Photos, Stef Ann Holm Blog by Stef Ann

Anyone who’s been a long time subscriber of my e-mail newsletter knows that I lament the long, toasty days of summer. I am not, nor will I ever be, a winter person. I don’t like the cold and grabbing for a coat just to get the mail from the mailbox. Give me sun and surf, a glistening pool and a good book and I’m singing hot-diggity dawg!

Knowing this, my dear sweetie of a husband planned a winter getaway to Mexico for our family to celebrate the New Year. We left two days after Christmas, and surprisingly, no problems in the airports. We were the last flight out of Denver that morning with less than a half mile visiblity and buckets of snow sifting down like sugar. When we landed in Puerto Vallarta, it seemed silly to be schlepping a coat.

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We started our jaunt at a small coastal town called Rincon de Guayabitos. This is the view from a horseback ride we took. 

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My big hair is ridiculous. Bringing a flatener to a humid area is a waste of electricity. On the beach, many locals would ask if you wanted your hair braided like Bo Derek in the movie 10. I told my step-daughters I was going to let my hair fluff to a really puffy air-dry and then tell the lady to braid my hair. She’d probably have run screaming.

After two days, we changed hotels to Puerto Vallarta and I really enjoyed the resort feel of this Marriott. We had the top end of the eighth floor with an ocean view. I’m so glad I speak Spanish enough to be understood and I can understand enough of it to get along. All those years of growing up in la ciudad de Los Angeles paid off!

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And the pool was just great. This is the view from our balcony.

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A poolside sunrise.

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New Year’s Eve with the sunset behind me and the beach. We went to the hotel restaurant for dinner and they supplied hats and horns. A boy about nine thought he was in charge of all the horn blowing, but he hadn’t reckoned with my step-daughters who gave him what for with horn blowing back at him across the restaurant. He finally stood up and tried to take control, but our table won the battle.  Go us! Later that night, my husband and I enjoyed some of the best fireworks we’ve ever seen, stretching all the way up and down the coast of Mexico. Thank you, Gregorio, for a wonderful trip! X O

Happy New Year to everyone! Now I’m back in snowy Boise. Ah to be on that sunny beach once more!