a birthday card and since last thursday....

well it's monday!  wow!  the weekend went by quick!  it started out a little rocky...but then turned around for the better.  wink!

this morning i was able to do a quick card after some peeps looked at our house.  this one is for my stepdaughta, ashley...her b-day is not until next month, but we are throwing her a lil bash with da fam this coming sunday. 

here's the card...

it's getting closer to our move to cali and i'm starting to get anxious now.... i'm looking forward to it, because of the nice change in lifestyle, weather...but part of me is gonna really miss everyone and washington.  i've lived here since 1991...and have never moved out of this state since. i've gone on vacation elsewhere but never really lived anywhere else but here.  now it's time for change...new state, new friends and old ones too, and hopefully a new job...we'll see how it goes.  i'm really gonna miss my family the most...they have been there for me and my daughter thru everything and now they are also here for my dh.  it's gonna be real different w/o them around but we always find a way to somehow adjust.  this saturday my family is throwing us a going-away party!  yey-yah!  looking forward to seeing some faces i have not seen in awhile!  and food too!  heehee...

here's a few snapshots since thursday....we went to anthony's for a dinner event in the pt defiance area.  i had this huge mojito and i was buzzing a bit.

this past saturday we decided to do a trail walk at the pt defiance trails and did the five mile.  but before that we headed over to sushi revolution for some yumm-o lunch...definitely will be going back there for some sushi.  there was some cool artwork there too.

and now here's our walk... we even stopped by owen beach and took a few shots of the beautiful views and the gig harbor bridge (not exactly sure if that's the name???).

today, did some more laundry (why does it seem it's never ending???!?) and spent an hour on my everyday album project.  i still need to take some more photos and i'll post it sometime this week hopefully.

uh-oh...gotta go!  gotta cook some dinna!

craftiness....food...and a dress

i got my crafty groove on this morning....made a bright and cheery birthday card for a very special dude, holt (my hubby's nephew...well mine too, wink!).  i was just gonna give a sneaky peeky of the card but then i thought i would just go all out and show it off today.  it will be sent very soon as his b-day is on the 23rd. he loves the color orange and bananas...so this is exclusively made with love for him and only him .

here it is...

the front and back details too...

and the inside looks like this...

i think this is my first time to ever use lots of orange in a card.  turned out pretty good huh?
(supplies used:  American Crafts, Scenic Route, Sassafras, EK Success, Fiskars, Stickles)

yesterday did a walmart grocery run and bought a whole lotta food!  yikes.  i use to only spend not more than $80 on groceries, now it's over $140.  well it just use to be for 2, now it's for 3.   i have an extra kid, i mean wonderful hubby to feed too.  i made some gourmet herb sliders for dinner courtesy of my bestie's recipe, rachel ray...lol!  this is my second time to make this and it's always a hit with my baby boo and my handsome dh.  will have to make this sometime for a party.

yesteday while driving home from walmart, i kept thinking about our second wedding and how much fun it was...and realized.... there were never pictures taken of just my dress by Maggie Sottero.  i think it was because things were running a little late plus it wasn't even on my mind to do it which is unusual for me b/c i love details.  so i took quite a few photos of my dress one day.  i didn't put it on b/c it was one of those corset-style and that would be awkward me trying to tighten it up by myself.  i think i would have been cracking up at the same time too.  lol!  here's a few snapshots...

i loved everything about this dress, the halter and corset-style, the beading, and the beautiful detail on the back.  thank you mom & dad for buying me such a beautiful dress and for being there.

so grateful to have such a loving family.

it was a nice long weekend...fave photos & a layout

this past 4- day weekend was a nice long one... even though my daughter was gone all that time (she came home last night!  yey-yah!)...it was fun and relaxing.

friday night dinner was fun with my gf's, anh & leslie.  we hadn't seen each other the past 2 weeks!  it was like we have never been apart.  we talked and laughed so much.  we ate at pho saigon 8, the food was alright, i had the pork fresh salad bowl (chopsticks still has the best kind).

saturday...  i was able to do an LO.  i did a b&w collage thru snapfish for this one.  i plan on buying a shadow box for this one and displaying it in our new home in cali:

 
i had dinner with my sis and our gf, tiph at thai garden. i am so happy we had dinner and talked about stuff...hopefully things will come together smoothly.  walked around the mall and hit charlotte russe to shop (i didn't buy anything, but the girlies did). me and my sis were acting crazy with the sunglasses display, i think tiph was so embarassed to be around us.  heehee.  then we headed to get in line to get a good seat for sex & the city 2.  my sis and gf decided to be like robotic fanatics...can you say weir-dos!  lol!  anyway...i loved that movie!  it was so funny and had so many life lessons in it.  i just love samantha with her bold and blunt attitude!  she's a riot!  we watched a late one and it ended about 11:45ish and we didn't get home til almost 12:30 a.m., which wow so late for the three of us.  my bedtime is usually 9 p.m. and think tiph's is earlier????  needless to say.. i slept in a bit which is unusual for me even on weekends.

sunday... learned how to play racquetball for the first time.  my hubz said i actually did pretty good.  then we headed for lunch at red bike for a pulled pork bbq and club sandwiches...yumm-o!

we also had a family dinner too at my parents' place... so much food and oh so yumm-o!  i made some rum raisin rice pudding too.  here's the bbq man, josh "brooks."  had to take a pic of my niece, yanni, with her cool tee.

monday... we pretty much did house stuff...my hubz repainted a bathroom and i did loads of laundry....just homeboy and homegirl that day. it's nice to be home too.

today...did a jog around the neighborhood and abs and stretched.  nice workout.  then bought some more paint at the request of my dh and stopped by at one my fave places for one of my favez, decaf tall nonfat latte and a toasted chongo bagel with a thin spread of cream cheese...yumm-o...

then i started on my "everyday project album."  i'll try my best to post some of it laterz.  picked up my daughter, vacuumed, and painted a little bit.  whew...

well gotta cut this now...this was a long post huh?  gotta cook dinner now... white tilapia with a lemon vinaigerette with cannelini beans and chinese cabbage.  it's been awhile since i've made it.  we'll see how it goes.  sige na!