Happy Valentine's Day

I've always enjoyed Valentine's Day, but for the past seven years it has had a special meaning for me. On Valentine's Day seven years ago, Mark asked me to marry him! It's fun to celebrate the anniversary of our engagement. This evening, following a day at work, Mark and I celebrated with dinner at Faustina. The food was simply superb - crab legs, ribeye steak and molten chocolate cake. And a bit of champagne, of course. The company was what made the evening special, though. I hope everyone was able to spend the day with someone special!

Blog Revival

So, I've been thinking about this whole blog thing lately...and I kind of miss it! I like the semi-creative outlet it provides and really, how much time would it take to make a post just once a week? I mean, it's not like school takes up that much of my time! Oh, wait. Yes. Yes it does. Maybe I'll just sacrifice a few minutes of sleep. Check back soon, because next time, there might just be a real post here!

2009...So far, so good!

Mark and have had a great start to our 2009. We just returned from a week in beautiful Jamaica! It was the perfect way to start the new year...sun, water, sand and relaxation! A perfect combination. We spent our days sunning on the beach, reading, eating great food, drinking great beverages (Rum Runner, anyone?), playing pool, tennis, Scrabble and Quiddler, and listening to some fabulous reggae music. It was just what we needed to get ready for more work and more school.

Speaking of school, which has turned me into the world's worst blogger, I'm finding it much easier to give updates on my life over at facebook.com. So come on over, sign up, and add me as a friend! But beware, Facebook is a bit addicting and possibly a bit annoying at times (remember: you can always use the "ignore" feature - you'll see what I mean).

Happy 2009!

My Poor, Ignored Blog

Well helloooooooooo.

It's fall break! I have a minute to say hi! Hi!

Yeah, so, where does the time go? Last I checked it was August and I was frantically trying to get organized and ready to go back to school. It's now mid-October, and I'm already half-way through my first semester of graduate school. It's great! Super busy, but great. I pretty much work part-time, go to school and study. Mark works, makes dinner, does the dishes, the laundry and the grocery shopping. Hmmmm. I should have gone back to school a long time ago!



In spite of being very busy, I am enjoying my classes and learning a lot. Mark has been a huge help - I couldn't have asked for a more supportive, wonderful husband! Mark has been spending his free time keeping a wary eye on the stock market and watching some baseball playoff games. I spend my free time going to the gym and going to an occasional lunch with family or friends.

In other news:


In August, our friends Larissa and Shawn adopted a darling little boy! Five-month-old Christopher has already got those two (and everyone else) wrapped around his little finger! Check out those beautiful eyes!

On September 20th, Katie, Mark and I went on a hike up Mt. Olympus. It was so fun, but that was one hard hike! Well worth it, though. It only took us 3 hours to get to the top!

Last week, I had a the opportunity to go to the Body Worlds exhibit. It was amazing. I highly recommend it.

Fall break has been wonderful - I've been reading novels (Breaking Dawn, for one) and have been able to catch up on some homework. Mark and I took a trip to Wendover, NV last night. While Mark played Texas Hold 'Em, I worked on a scrapbook project. It was fun and relaxing. I know that these next several weeks will go by so quickly, with school and the holidays fast approaching. I will certainly try to check in at least a couple of times between now and winter break, but I'm making no promises! If not, Happy Halloween and Happy Thanksgiving! Ha!

By the way, the journal from my last post - I found it at Barnes & Nobel. It is currently sitting on the shelf collecting dust.

Another exercise in creative freedom

Have you heard about this book?


Wreck This Journal, by Keri Smith. According to the author, "It is about absurdity. A creation. Evidence that you exist. Using materials. Destruction. It is about FUN. Doing the opposite. Breaking the rules. It is about ideas. Getting dirty. Making mistakes. I'm going to ask you to make a mark and it's going to be messy. Don't worry about that. That's the point."

Basically, it's an art journal - a journal that's a combination of writing, scrapbooking, art, and photojournaling. This one, however, has a different twist. Instead of a staring at a blank page in your journal and wondering what to do/write/draw on the page, this book comes with instructions for each page. And most of the instructions have to do with "wrecking" the journal. For example, one page directs you to poke holes in it using a pencil (see below). Another instructs you to tear the page out, crumple it in a ball, and kick it around. It's all about being silly, playing, having fun, and not worrying whether or not you're going to do something wrong and "wreck" your beautiful art journal.

So here's my first page, filled with holes made with colored pencils. Really, it was quite fun poking all those holes. Mark even helped. I'll post more pages as I work through the book. Should be a fun ride!

Have a great week! L

A mini album, a layout, and a semi-funny story

I'm taking an online scrapbooking class at Big Picture Scrapbooking, and I wanted to share two of the projects I'm working on. The first is a mini album dedicated to my Grandma Gonzales. It's just a simple book sharing a few of the things that stand out in my mind when I think of her. Here are a few pages:

This next layout was an assignment to complete a layout in 30 minutes or less. This was pretty tough, considering the time frame included selecting the photos and supplies. (One of the objectives of this class is to let go of perfection and have more FUN scrapbooking.)

The photos are of Mark, on our wedding day, where he is posing as if he were climbing/hanging from some palm trees. It's kind of a funny story. And here it is: a few days before our wedding, we had seen some cliff divers diving from cliffs (of course) but then also climbing the trees on the cliff and jumping from even crazier heights. So Mark thought he would simulate the cliff diver's feats, from a safer height, on our wedding day. He almost convinced the photographer that he had actually made the jump from the cliff.

Okay, so it's probably funnier if you were actually there. And drinking rum-based drinks.

L

Happy 4th of July and Congrats

Just a quick post to say hello and happy 4th! Enjoy the hot day, the fireworks and family gatherings. I will be at work, in the operating room, taking care of patients who hurt themselves on the aforementioned fireworks!




Also, congratulations to Ashley, who is expecting baby #3 very soon - her first boy! Brooke hosted a shower for Ashley yesterday and it was so nice to see the family.

Have a fun weekend!

L