J'adore vie

I signed up for a tumblr account awhile back! You can find me on it. It's call http://jadorevie.tumblr.com
Of course, I post on there sporadically as well.

Update

Ya, I know. My last blog post was sometime in 2010. As of right now though, my blog will continue to be on a hiatus, since I don't want to commit to blogging everyday (most likely I will blog sporadically).
Anyway, some of my photos will show up as unavailable. There is a good reason for this. I decided to reorganize my flickr account - hence most of my photos on this blog disappeared. And quite honestly, I was to darn lazy to go through every single post to link to the correct photo.

Ebates

In this economy every free bit of money helps. Anyway ebates is great way to earn some free cash  by shopping. Sign up via my referral link and I get a $5 bonus awarded to my account =)

Here's my referral link to ebates. 

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=MLyNDBJ5jgvUXfQ0bBdHUg%3D%3D

Happy Shopping! 

That Day

It's August 13th! Next to our wedding anniversary this particular date holds a special place in our hearts as well. It was this day, we realized we wanted to be more than friends. I received my first kiss from J. Well, I actually I kissed him. He might disagree with me on that one, but I know I made the first move. =) One day, when I have more time on my hands, I will write our "story". It is long.  But for now, I'll just post the video montage I made for J., while we were dating.

Rock Climbing

Last weekend some friends went up to Holcomb Valley, Big Bear, Ca., for some outdoor fun such as camping and rock climbing. Unfortunately, I had to miss out on the fun, because I had so many errands to run that day. I was completely pooped by the time I was finished, that I didn't want to make the 1.5h drive out there. Not to mention, it was J. weekend to work. No fun, sleeping in a tent by myself.  Here is the link to some of the climbing routes in the area. From what people tell me the Valley is a beautiful spot to climb. Personally, I have never been up there. Haven't climbed this year at all. Well, technically I'm still a novice when it comes to rock climbing or boldering. Therefore I only go with my good friends Minnie and her husband Ben. It was Minnie's husband that introduced us to climbing, when they first dated. To be honest, I was quite surprised how much I liked it. Of course J, the mountain man himself has rock climbed before too. But he's more into mountain biking than anything else.
Since J. and I missed out on last weekend's activities, I decided that we're going to head out to the Palm Springs Areal Tram this weekend to do some hiking. It will be great, since J. has never been. Not to mention, it has about 54 miles of hiking trails within the 14,000 acre wilderness.Link to the website.

Palm Spring Areal Tram is part of the Mt. San Jacinto State Park

One of the reasons California is awesome! Plethora of activities to do: plenty of city life and nature just at your front door.

The Long Gray Line

For some reason, I'm having troubles composing a post about the Academy. Guess, it's a case of writer''s block.. Perhaps some word play will help. Hmm, words that come to mind, when I think of the United States Military Academy West Point (USMA West Point): Duty, Honor, Country, Tradition, Impressive, Beautiful...etc.
Go visit! Check it out! It's such a beautiful place. J. and I both come from military families, so we definitely appreciated the history and the tradition West Point has to offer. Naturally, we are also proud of the fact that my sister and brother in law were able to get stationed at West Point. They are both Cpt's in the Army. And typically, most military personnel who get stationed at the Academy are West Point graduates - members of  "The Long Grey Line".

*All photos taken by me, unless otherwise noted.

The Cadet Chapel

 Image from historic-travels.com

Image from fineartamerica.com

Random Facts: 
West Point has several different houses  of worships, for their corps of cadets. While The Cadet Chapel is not the oldest church in use on West Point, some say it's the prettiest. The oldest chapel belongs to the Catholic faith - the Chapel of the Most Holy Trinity. The Cadet Chapel is a non-denomination Protestant Church.
Also, as a cadet at West Point you are not allowed to be married. Therefore, most cadets reserve their wedding date four years in advance. How crazy is that. Apparently all the dates at all the chapel are booked years in advance, and if you don't reserve your date you might not be able to get married in any of the chapels on West Point.

Image from flickr

Battle Monument 

Tibit: This monument was erected in memory of all the union officers and soldiers of the civil war. The canons are inscribed with major Civil War battles.

In addition, this monument serves West Point as a reminder to never fight in another war with one another. When you attend West Point, you forge a special bond with all your class mates and instructors. 

Therefore during the war it was especially hard for all West Point graduates, since they were fighting each other. Brother vs. Brother, Brother vs Father, Comrades vs Comrades. 

The Hudson River. 

Random Tibit: Do you see where the river narrows? That is where West Point constructed the chain to prevent the British vessels from proceeding further up the Hudson. Wasn't that plan genius?!

Below you'll find an image of the remnants of the Hudson River Chain. 

 

Hudson River Chain ~ Image from wikipedia.

Barracks & the Cadet Chapel in the background. 

Isn't the architecture beautiful?! West Point has some great building and many more monuments. However, I could write forever, therefore I will leave you with another random fact of West Point. 

Did you know that West Point, received its name because it is situated at the most western point on the Hudson? So, if you're interested in American & Military history definitely add West Point to list of places to visit.  

Oops, almost forgot to post the most important picture

"Sink Navy" West Point's biggest rival. To be fair, the other side of the roof says: "Beat Air Force"
*Side note" All home football games are mandatory for the cadets.

Vacation

Recap of West Point & NYC coming to a blog near you. Soon I promise.

Duty, Honor, Country