The Earlier Years....

Now that I have entered the blog world, it's clear I have some work to do.  But, I'm just a beginner, right?  This morning I asked Rylee if she read my blog and what she thought.  She said..."Um...it was kinda boring."  She preceded to tell me that I needed color.  To change the font.  To make it cute.  I need to add pictures.  Geez...all things I already knew and thought about last night, but the fact of the matter is...I haven't figured out how to do all that, yet.  Actually, I don't have the patience to figure it out.  I think I have developed a little bit of ADD as I have gotten older.  I need someone to tell me or show me.  Just like Pinterest.  I love the idea of Pinterest...but I have no patience to sift through everyone's boards and to create my own.  And just like iTunes...I still don't know how to download a song and sync it to my phone (or whatever it is you do with it).  My kids do it for me.  Anyway, I am SURE that my good blogging friend will be happy to help me spice up my little blog here...you know who you are.  :)

I am so happy that I took the first step in creating this blog.  As my friend, Nina, said, "Think of all the people you could inspire....".  It's not that I have this fascinating, wow-type story, but I do think she is right...it's just not really something that I considered as my purpose in writing this.   It is mainly for therapeutic reasons and for chronicling what's to come.

So, how did I get here?  

A little tiny bit of my past.  And I start with this because right now I am taking a Developmental Psychology class and we had the exercise of writing down how we felt or perceived ourselves at various periods of our lives...from early childhood until now.  It's purpose was to show how we have evolved.  It was pretty eye opening.  Very briefly...I was born and raised in El Paso, Texas.  I have two beautiful, talented, successful sisters.  I am the middle child (which probably explains a lot..only kidding).  I was a gymnast from the time I was 6 and continued through high school and was a varsity cheerleader my senior year of high school.  But, I don't have super fond memories of a lot of my childhood.  I was teased a lot for my size (small) and for my last name (Berger).  Kids are so flippin' mean.  There were girls I desperately wanted to be friends with who constantly left me out.  Talk about major insecurities.  Junior high and my sophomore year are years I never in a million years would want to repeat.   It was finally my junior and senior years of high school that I finally felt accepted and happy.  I am so grateful that my kids are making it through these years for the most part, unscathed.

After high school, went to Texas Tech and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Clothing and Textiles.  I loved college.  Dorm life, parties, boys, football games...oh yeah, studying...After I graduated I wasn't sure what I was going to do.  I came out to the Palm Springs area where my aunt was living and interviewed for a couple of jobs...the company she worked for (Landmark Land) had just expanded the La Quinta Hotel and there were lots of job opportunities.  At the same time, American Airlines had called me for a job interview.  I struggled a bit with my decision, but I ended up moving west.  Leaving my boyfriend, friends and family.  I knew no one out here except for my aunt.  

My first job:  Tennis Hostess at La Quinta Hotel Tennis Club (as it was known then).  I was making a whopping $15,000 a year.  But, I got to wear super cute tennis clothes everyday to work.  My job was to arrange tennis matches for the hotel guests and members.  Totally fun job in a totally beautiful place.  I was completely enamored with this area.  I mean....perfectly manicured, palm tree lined medians, golf courses on almost every corner, 85 degree temperatures in January, green grass all year long and lots of celebrities.  Oh my...I used to say I could write a book....and now..here's sort of my chance.  

When I first moved here, I lived right down the street from the Annenberg Estate and from Gerald Ford.  In fact, the guy I rented a room from was a Secret Serviceman for Gerald Ford.  I just thought that was about the coolest thing ever.  While I worked at La Quinta,  I met lots of celebs, but there were a few standouts for me...Ahmad Rashad (totally cool), Donna Mills (super sweet and tiny and I loved helping her buy new tennis clothes) and Marcus Allen.  Marcus came in one day needing some tennis clothes.  I helped him pick out some stuff...he tried stuff on and I had to bring him other things while he just happened to be half dressed, and oh my goodness...the man has the hottest body, ever....just saying...

One of the crazier things was starting to get to know a guy by the name of A.C.Cowlings.  A.C. was a good friend of my boss and would often come out with a group, sometimes with Marcus Allen.  I knew he was friends with O.J.Simpson.   I couldn't believe my eyes, when at my 10 year high school reunion, the TV was on showing the infamous car chase with A.C. driving O.J.  CRAZY!!

And one last little funny tidbit was the night I met John Elway.  I was at a bar with a girlfriend and John Elway walks in with a couple of other Denver Bronco players and with who would later become my brother-in-law.  They leave and then we leave.  We end up at a dance club and who shows up, but the same group of guys.  We end up all talking, I end up dancing with one of them and John holds my purse for me while I am dancing.  Later, as my girlfriend and I drive home and pull into where we are living at the time (PGA West), a car pulls up beside us with Colorado plates...I look and yep...it's John Elway.  He rolls down his window and says, "What?  Are you following us?"  I say, "Uh, no, we live here."  He says, "Yeah, right."  Jerk.  Whatever.  :)

I've had other silly escapades.  Like the one time that I helped my girlfriend Nina stalk, I mean, track down Matthew McConaughey.  And we found him.  In a VIP area at a club, that was roped off, guarded by bouncers.  I can't remember what I did, but we slyly or not so slyly made our way in.  We made our way to his table, I tried to flash him a "hook 'em horns" sign.  He gets up and Nina's night is made when she gets to talk to him.  

And the other time when a friend called to tell me Tony Romo was playing golf down the street.  The kids and I waited for 2 hours for him to come off the golf course in the cold and rain.  He was as nice and gracious as could be and signed footballs, cards, t-shirts and jerseys for us.  We were some happy campers that day.

I could go on.  Paula Abdul.  George Brett.  Bill Walsh.  Gene Wilder.  Dwight Clark.  But, boy, this is getting lengthy, isn't it? 

And don't get me wrong.  These famous people are just people, I know that.  But, for a Texas girl, fresh out of college moving out here...it was hard to not be so fascinated with it all.  I'm not going to lie...it's fun to spot and meet some of these people sometimes!

Good times...and more later.