If you would like to join a special fundraising event at the AAA Diamond Resort FivePine Lodge, you should try the annual Cinco De Mayo event.  Guests who stay at Lodge, locals, and others passing through are all welcome to participate, but keep in mind that they tend to sell out.  It offers fresh authentic food and a silent auction that raises money for the Spanish Coalition and Sisters Park and Recreation District. This event occurs each May and is loaded with fun and entertainment.  This year, the event will be held on Thursday, May 2^nd at the FivePine Lodge Conference Center from 6-9pm.  Tickets may be purchased at Sisters Park and Recreation and are $20 per adult, $10 per child under 12.

The fifth day of May (Cinco De Mayo) is part of the Mexican history as they struggled to gain their independence.  This was actually the day Napoleon III was defeated by the Mexican army in 1861 at the State of Puebla, known as The Day of the Battle of Puebla (El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla).  This success kept the French from taking over the Mexican government and prevented them from gaining a larger advantage over the United States during the Civil War.  Over the years and as Mexican and American cultures grow together, this day has turned into a celebration of large proportions.  It used to be mainly the focus of Mexican-American communities, but both societies fully recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

The event at FivePine begins months before with the planning, but decorations and cooking begin 24 to 12 hours before.  Volunteers and employees start decorating with the colors of the Mexican flag (red, white, green) on the tables and ceilings to make it quite festive.  All the Hispanic community comes for this event and everyone that cooks with me enjoys spending their time for such a good cause.  Everything we cook is authentic, fresh Mexican food that takes hours to prepare, but is well worth the wait.  Starting as early as 10 am, we make everything from tamales, enchiladas, green chilis, sopes, oaxaca mole, and hard rolled taquitos to “famous” spicy salsa you can enjoy with chips.  There is always enough to feed 150-200 people, but don’t expect leftovers.  It is too good of a chance to pass up.

While waiting for the excellent meal, you can browse the silent auction donated by many local companies and find the perfect item to take home with you.  There tends to be a good selection that makes it fun to bid and compete.  Be sure to save room, because great desserts are provided after dinner; past selections have included 3 milk cake and flan.  Some of these events also offer great entertainment of baile Folklorico Dancing, where dancers perform this special authentic Mexican dance to celebrate the wonderful occasion and history. 

Bend’s Smaller Sibling Offers Plenty To Do for Outdoors lovers

By Mandana Marsh

The first time I saw the life-size statue of a rearing horse at the gateway of Sisters, Oregon, I knew this was a place for me.Sisters celebrates its roots as a cowboy town with a rodeo attracting professional competitors and big crowds every June. (73rd Sisters Rodeo, June 7-9, 2013).

But Sisters is more than a summer attraction. During the winter months, visitors can downhill ski, snowboard or slide on a tube at Hoodoo Ski Area as well as cross country ski there or on the many nearby trails.

AAA 4 Diamond Property

We are extremely excited to announce that for the second year in a row we have been awarded the 4 Diamond award by AAA.  This is a wonderful honor as 13 properties in Oregon were nominated and only three are in Central Oregon.

About AAA/CAA Diamond Ratings:

AAA rates more properties than any other rating entity. It is the only rating system that covers the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean and the only rating system that conducts professional, on-site evaluations using published guidelines weighted by member priorities.

“AAA/CAA Four and Five Diamond establishments represent the upper echelon of the hospitality industry,” says Doreen Loofburrow, Vice President of Travel and Marketing at AAA Oregon/Idaho.  “Four and Five Diamond hotels and restaurants are committed to providing every guest with a personalized experience and attentive service in comfortable, high quality surroundings and consistently exceed the expectations of the most discriminating traveler – the AAA inspector.”

AAA’s professionally trained inspectors use published guidelines to conduct unannounced hotel and restaurant evaluations, assigning Approved establishments a rating of One to Five AAA Diamonds. Collectively visiting some 1,200 hotels and restaurants every week, AAA inspectors are in a unique position to identify emerging trends in the hospitality industry. Inspectors have observed hotels and restaurants using increasingly personalized approaches to enhance guest comfort and satisfaction.

¨      For 2013, 163 establishments (101 hotels and 62 restaurants) were newly added to the AAA/CAA Four Diamond Award^® list. This includes the Inn at the 5^th Hotel in Eugene and Noisette Restaurant in Portland.

¨      A total of 2,289 establishments (1,535 hotels and 754 restaurants) throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean received the Four Diamond Rating in the past 12 months, qualifying them for the 2013 Four Diamond Award^® list.

¨      The net addition of 44 Four Diamond establishments (all hotels) represents a 2 percent increase over the total 2,245 last year.

¨      Collectively, Four Diamond establishments represent just 3.9 percent of the current 59,000 AAA/CAA Approved and Diamond Rated establishments.

¨      Four Diamond hotels account for 5.1 percent of the total 30,000 AAA/CAA Approved and Diamond Rated hotels; Four Diamond restaurants account for 2.6 percent of the total 29,000 AAA/CAA Approved and Diamond Rated restaurants.

¨      One hundred and ten hotels, including the Heathman Hotel and RiverPlace Hotel in Portland, have maintained the Four Diamond Rating for 25 or more consecutive years.

AAA Approved and Diamond Rated hotel and restaurant listings can be found in the downloadable eTourBook^® guides and AAA Mobile^® app for tablets and smartphones, the TripTik^® Travel Planner and Travel Guides on AAA.com, and AAA TourBook^® guides available at AAA and CAA offices. Travelers can access information about AAA inspections and Diamond Ratings at AAA.com/Diamonds.

For more information about Diamond Ratings and the complete Five Diamond hotel and restaurant lists, visit NewsRoom.AAA.com.

 For more info go to www.AAA.com.  AAA Oregon/Idaho provides more than 745,000 members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services, and is an affiliate of AAA National, serving more than 53 million motorists in North America.

Wow!  What a great place to find inspiration for almost anything.  If you haven’t yet heard of this new craze, pinterest.com is definitely the best thing that has ever been created for social networking.

Pinterest is essentially a virtual pin board.  It’s like the old school ways of cutting out pictures from magazines to inspire a future project, goal or dream, but allows you to pin anything you can find online.    It is great for finding inspiration from fashion and craft projects to recipes and beautiful travel spots.  It is especially great for brides planning a wedding.  I honestly don’t know how someone planned their wedding before Pinterest existed.  I myself am planning my wedding and I utilize Pinterest for everything.  I have been pinning possible venues, caterers, photography ideas, hair styles, dresses and DIY projects.  This allows me to conveniently go back at any point and get a hold of almost every thought or idea I have had for my wedding and we all know it can be a little overwhelming if you don’t have a place to organize these thoughts.   Here is an example of just some of the inspiration you will find for weddings on pinterest.com.

You can browse through other pins and boards, pin a picture from different websites, or upload your own pictures.  Each pin is automatically linked to its original site.  So, when you see the tutorial you like for how to DIY your favorite center pieces, you can pin it, then easily go back to where you found it when you are ready to start the project.  Because of this, I have been exposed to a ton of great websites, resources, and blogs to further assist me in my wedding plans.  Some of my favorites so far include greenweddingshoes.com, stylemepretty.com, and wed4lessnw.com.

As if all of this wasn’t great enough, when you find a fellow Pinterester (not sure if that is the appropriate name) whose style you like you can choose to follow all of their pins, or just one of their mood boards.  This way, you can get up to date feeds as to what they are finding out there in the cyber world.  It’s like having your own personal planning committee.  You’ll have hundreds of great ideas and plans in half the time.

To sign up just go to pinterest.com and click the “request an invite button.”  You’ll have to enter a few things in and within a couple of days you’ll receive an invite in your email to set up your account.  Then just start pinning!  Just don’t forget to pin FivePine as your favorite Wedding Venue!

While you’re there check out all of our favorite inspirations that we have been pinning at FivePine and start following us.

• Initial meeting and discussion on Thursday, January 19th from 6:30 – 8:00pm
• Fast Track Detox Diet Book
• Mid-week follow up on Wednesday, January 25th from 6:30 – 8:00pm
• Fasting day on Sunday, January 29th at Shibui Spa from 9:00am – 6:00pm with fun activities that are insightful along with a 60-minute luxurious massage or facial

For more information about the program, contact Shibui Spa at (541) 549-6164.

True North Parenting Magazine: Full Article

Thank you Unique Inns for the wonderful write up on Shibui Spa’s new service!

“Put down the mascara and eyelash curler and prepare to be amazed. Eye

lash tinting and perming are innovative services provided by Shibui Spa that curl and dye lashes to perfection.  At Shibui, each therapist goes through a unique training process so that they are able to provide flawless services to their clients. And, for the ultimate spa experience, Shibui invites all clients to check in at least 30 minutes before their appointment, allowing time for relaxation in the hot thermal soaking tub, Swedish sauna and cold-splash refresher.”

For complete post visit: http://www.uniqueinns.com/blog/2011/10/be-beautiful-naturally-at-shibui-spa

Written By Elda Teresa Willitts

Thanksgiving 2003

What I am about to read comes from my “positive thoughts” collection and how I dovetail them into my every day living.

Our journey is between life and death – no one escapes the adventure. We only work at it differently.

My journey has been a long one – 94 ½ years and still going and whether I live another hour, day, week, month or year, I’ve promised myself to live it with love, joy, forgiveness, appreciation and gratitude. When you focus on these feelings, you avoid the negative stuff automatically.

When I look back I never dwell on what happened during the 94 ½ years – I give thanks for all the miracles that had to happen to get me where I am today.

Everything that has happened in my life has helped shape me in what I am today and I have no regrets because I love what I am and where I am.

I keep reminding myself that I have nothing to deal with but my thoughts which I try to keep to the present moment – that the right time is right now – and the right place is right here.

I was educated more by life than by books and sometimes that comes back to haunt me, but I always try to remember that I created my limited self by thinking and I can destroy it at any moment by thinking a new pattern.

I have found that the only disability in life is a bad attitude, which you can change with positive thoughts. It helps to know that there is no happy life – there are only happy days. And it helps to know that God’s will is that we be happy – so all you ask for is that God’s will be done.

I don’t look at life & notice what I didn’t have; I look at my life with joyful thanks giving. I am so very grateful for what I have and the divine source of it all.

My final positive thoughts

Life is pleasant

Death is peaceful

It’s the transition that is troublesome

I am going through the transition now, but I’m looking forward to the peace that will come.

Blessings to all,

Elda Teresa Willitts

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2011/05/18/oregon-wedding-by-jos-photographers/