A Get Away Can Do Wonders For a Marriage

Lately, my wife and I have been so busy with work, school, and life in general. We dont get much time for US to just be together and kick it. On top of that, my wife has been stressing over things that are going on in her life at the moment, so I knew I had to do something. We both had Wednesday and Thursday of this week so without my wife knowing, I booked a hotel room in Lake Tahoe for us. I ended up getting called into work but I only had to stay until 11am. So here is what I did... I set my wifes alarm for 10am... On that note I said, "Hey baby, I wanted to show you just how much I love you, so I want you to get up and go into the living room... I have a surprise for you out there." In the living room, I had a suitcase with some clothes, personal items and some pictures of Lake Tahoe. I put another note in the suitcase that said, "We need to just get away for a day, so I am taking you to Lake Tahoe for the night... So get in the shower because we are leaving as soon as I get home at 11am." The look on my wifes face when I walked through the door made it all worth it. I booked a room at the Howard Johnson Hotel which is right on the lake and we arrived there at about 2pm. Once we got settled into our room we took a walk around the lake, through the snow and just took in the whole experience. It was so much fun. Then, for dinner we just went to a local Taco Bell, ordered some 89 cent Double Cheesy Beef Burritos, and took it back to the room to kick it and watch American Idol. Then when we woke up and got checked out, we just went for a drive because we didnt want to go home. We ended up in Carson City Nevada which was an amazing experience in itself. My wife had never been to Nevada and the look on her face when we arrived was amazing. I cant explain it, but its just a really cool feeling when you are in a different state and you see license plates that dont look familiar to you. We ended up in Reno before we decided to make our way back home. We made one last stop at Donner Lake to just kick it and take in the scenery. We eneded up getting home at around 8pm, and the trip was amazing. I want the whole world to know that I am so in love with Maricela Carvalho and I hope that she truly knows that now too. Heres to many more surprise trips in future. And if anyone else wants to get away but thinks that they cant afford it, check this out... We did this whole trip on a budget... Gas to get from Sacramento to Nevada= $20, Hotel room=$40, Taco Bell dinner = $12, In n' Out burger lunch = $12, and thats it... We did the trip for $84. Im just sad that we had to come back home to reality.

Sacramento Kings set to retire Chris Webber's and Vlade Divac's Jerseys

The 2008-2009 NBA season has been an embarrassment to the city of Sacramento. Our team is currently 8-29 and headed towards recieving the #1 pick in the 2009 NBA draft. The Kings dont have a supertar on the roster and for the 4th straight year will not have an all-star on the team either. We have the worst point guard in the NBA with Beno Udrih and players such as Sheldon Williams and Kenny Thomas are just sitting on the bench while making millions of dollars and eating up our teams salary cap. With that said, The Kings have decided to add a little bit of excitement to this miserable season. On February 6th, the Kings will be retiring Chris Webbers jersey and raising #4 to the rafters to join the likes of former Kings great Mitch Richmond. Its kind of ironic that the Kings traded Mitch Richmond to get Chris Webber back in 1999. The Kings will then be retiring Vlade Divac's #21 jersey on March 31st when the team plays the New Orleans Hornets. I think that this is great because those 2 meant so much to this organization and to the city of Sacramento as a whole. Vlade Divac has opened a club in Old Sacramento called "Tunel 21" and Chris Webber has opened a restaurant in Natomas called "Center Court with C-Webb." Even in their absence, they are allowing the city of Sacramento to generate money. As a huge Kings fan, I am truly excited that the Kings have chosen to honor these 2 superstars. They will all ways have a special place in my heart and the city of Sacramento. I just wish that we had a team as good as we did when they were with us in Sacramento. I truly hope that Geoff Petrie, the general manager of the Sacramento Kings, wakes up from this slump of horrible decisions and allows the Kings to be competitive again next season.

My Favorite Place in the World and Why

Anyone who truly knows me knows that Disneyland is my favorite place in the world. There is something about the place that makes me feel like a kid again. As soon as I step through the gates of this place I dont have a worry in the world. My wife and I have been saving up for a long time in hopes of taking her family to Disneyland for their very first time. Growing up I was spoiled and I was able to go to Disneyland just about every summer of my life. My wife has a much larger family and they have never been to this magical place. Well, its official... we are taking her family to Disneyland for their very first time on June 14th, 2009. The hotel is booked, a 15-passenger van has been reserved for me, and we bought all of the Disneyland tickets today. I truly hope that her family loves it as much me and my family do. I dont get to spend much time with my wifes family so I am truly looking forward to taking them on this trip. They will finally get to know the real me and I will finally get to be with them and get to know them on a much more personal level. Disneyland has a special place in my heart and a special place on my skin... yes, I have a tattoo of Goofy thinking about the Disneyland Castle on my leg. But thats not the point... The food, the rides, the characters, the shops, and the smell of Disneyland just make me wish that I was there all of the time. Some people may say that I am crazy, but if I could go anywhere in the world, it would be Disneyland. Places like Hawaii or Mexico or France are beautiful and I would love to visit these places, but none of these places can create the memories that I have thanks to the place that is known as "The Happiest Place on Earth." My wifes family doesnt know me as well as I wish they did. I feel as though I am a great guy but they dont get to see that. This trip to my favorite place is my gift to them and I cannot wait to go. If you have never been to Disneyland, put away a few bucks here and there and check it out for a few days. My tickets are non-refundable so the trip is official. There is no turning back now.

Oakland A's Sign Jason Giambi

Today the Oakland A's signed first baseman/Designated hitter Jason Giambi. Jason Giambi spent the first 7 years of his career with the A's before getting greedy and joing the rival New York Yankees where he has played for the last 7 years. In my last blog I shared my thoughts on how I hate athletes that are only playing for the money. Jason Giambi upset me 7 years ago when he turned down the Oakland A's $90 million offer and took the Yankees offer of $120 million. Jason Giambi has regained my respect by signing a 1 year deal worth $3.5 million. Now, that is still a crazy amount of money, but its a HUGE pay cut from what he used to make and in his press conference he stated that he is glad to be back home. Jason Giambi also gained my respect when he was the only player in all of baseball to admit that he used steroids. He has been clean and free from sterioids for a few years now and he has become one of the best players in the Major Leagues once again. I am a huge Oakland A's fan and I expect my team to be a contender again this year with this signing. The A's have picked up slugger Matt Holliday and now with the addition of Jason Giambi, our offense has been greatly upgraded. I cant wait for baseball season to begin. WELCOME BACK JASON GIAMBI.

Why Do Pro Athletes Think That They Deserve So Much Money

The economy sucks right now... so I want to know why pro athletes think that they deserve so much money. Dont get me wrong... I am the biggest sports fan that you will ever meet. I am very passionate about my Oakland A's and when they lose, I actually feel as though I lost as well. With that said, I think that it is rediculous that pro athletes are cashing in on these multi-million dollar deals. This offseason I have lost some respect for the game of baseball and mainly for the New York Yankees. The Yankees gave first baseman Mark Texiera $180 million, CC Sabathia $161 million, and AJ Burnett $82.5 million. In an economoy that is seeing milions of people losing their jobs, how can the Yankees and other MLB teams think that it is ok to spend over $400 million on 3 baseball players? I work at Raleys grocery store and I bust my butt every day for $11 an hour. I work 8 hour days under stressful circumstances, and just because these guys can hit a ball 350 feet, they are going to make more in one 3-hour baseball game than I will ever make in my life. I just dont think that it is fair that I am in fear of getting laid off because Raleys cant afford to have me put milk on the shelf any more, and these guys get to live the high life playing a game that I would play for FREE!!! But of all the free agents that signed this off season, CC Sabathia is the one that pissed me off the most. CC is a great pitcher who was born and raised in the Bay Area of California. His hometown San Francisco Giants offered him $130 million. That is a CRAZY amount of money. He turned that down because the Yankees offered him $161 million. Come on CC! REALLY? ARE YOU SERIOUS? You could have played on the team that you grew up cheering for, and you turned it down for a stupid amount of money. I dont get it. I truly hope that you choke and become the next Barry Zito. Remember him? Yea, Barry Zito was a great pitcher for the Oakland A's and as soon as he left the A's for the money HE WAS TERRIBLE. I mean I could pitch better than Barry Zito. I love baseball and all sports in general. I will continue to watch sports and go to as many Oakland A's games as I can afford. I am just very dissapointed with some people that I look up to and have called my heroes. Give me some of that money. I am tired of working hard and living paycheck to paycheck.