couldn't go back to sleep, now i'm sleepy

sheez...what's up with the insomnia?
i woke up about 3:45 a.m.
studied up on some excel skills.
now i'm blog surfing and uploading photos.
but now i'm getting sleepy.
it's 5:52 a.m. now.

just thought i do some photo-a-day sharing:

1.18 shadow...
after our morning walk...

1.19 delicious...
dinner at black angus with da hubby & selene...

1.20 something you saw...
i saw this in santa monica...
we went there for the day.
was suppose to run, but ended up walking the whole time...

1.21 what you do...
i've been scrapping at least once a week...
or doing lil scrappy things during the week...
a partial peek of what i did last saturday a.m....

i'll post 1.22 & 1.23 and so on, another time.
(i think i may have deleted my 1.22 photo tho!

since i let you peek into one of the scrap layouts i did last weekend...
here's another one i did for the wedding album...

i'll be sharing the whole sha-bang either tomorrow or sometime this weekend.
dang it...
my 6:00 alarm went off...
it's time to really start the day despite my sleepiness.

maybe i'll try to take a nap with selene during her naptime.
we'll see.

have a good "T" day!

my 1st mini vacay..."me time"

i did it!
i checked into the embassy suites last night in palmdale for some much needed "me time" vacation.
felt guilty at 1st and was a bit nervous leaving my fam and not being with them.
but...
i got thru it and i'm so happy i did it.
the room was really nice, actually a 2-room with a king size bed.

the 1st room, living/dining...

the kitchenette & dining/scrap room...heehee

the bedroom...hmmm doesn't really look king size...oh well!

the bathroom was a really nice one...love the crabtree & evelyn products!

cool view of lobby from my floor...

surfing the net after a run on the treadmill & a complimentary breakfast...

i brought along some of my scrap stuff.
i created one card and 2 layouts...
here's a sneaky peeky...

1st a bday card...

2nd, the 1st layout...

3rd, the 2nd layout...

scrapped a lil over 6 hours w/ tiny breaks while watching movies on showtime.
also got some uploading of a bunch of photos to snapfish at the same time.
got some starbucks and darn it the dang thang kept me awake til 2 a.m.!
oh well!
went for a treadmill run, a short one of 1.60 miles in the hotel's fitness center.
then had their complimentary breakfast.
showered up, make-up...
chilled in the room, while uploading more photos, editing photos, surfing blogs while watching the SATC marathon...
lunch at panera bread (had the mediterranean veggies sandwich & black bean soup).
maybe walk around the mall (big maybe!)..
head over to starbucks, maybe.
then drive to burbank to pick up maiya from the airport.
she comes home tonight!!!!
yey-yah!
more fun in the summer with her!
weeeehhhh!!!!

i see another "me time" vacay in the future.
in the wayyyyy future....
because i really miss my family.

thank you hubby for letting me do this.
i love you.

life is therapy with a bonus

...it's an ongoing thing ya know.
i'm glad that i've been keeping up doing this photo-a-day thing.
i do really good with a guide as opposed to doing it on my own like i tried last year.

so here's day 1 thru today...

"self-portrait"
i haven't done one in awhile.
i think it's because i've been wanting to lose weight and just felt icky trying to take one until this day.
i've been running 3-4x/wk, doing zumba 2x/wk, abs and other weight training stuff to tone up.
i don't know how much i've lost but i can tell the difference.
i can now wear a bikini.
bought one the day before 4th of july.
and got to wear it...good!

"busy"
we were busy sightseeing at the santa monica pier...
before we had lunch at bubba gump's...
before we went to the beach.
that was a fun day w/ family (my hubby's sis and her fam)....

"best part of my day"
date night with my hubby...
we had dinner at the yardhouse.
appetizers of buffalo wings and boy those were good and spice hot!
i had the peppered gorgonzola burger..
and he had the swordfish soft tacos
i drank a mango mojito
while hubby had the house pale ale brew.
everything was yumm-o!
then we headed of all places...
to verizon to check on new phones.
i got an iPhone and he the Razor.
then we pretty much played with our phones while we chilled and drank wine & beer at black angus.
sheez.
but at least we got to spend some time alone together.
no kiddos!

"fun"
hubby showing our niece kristin his skateboarding skillz...

"floor"
2 pairs of cutsies feetsies in the kitchen hallway...

"chair"
a beach chair at drytown waterpark in palmdale.
that was so much fun.
i went on one of the slides with our daughter ashley.
but i have to admit, my fave was the lazy pool.
i just like the current slowly carrying you thru and ya don't have to do too much work!
after the waterpark, we were all hungry for some souplantation.
that was definitely the right move.
yumm-o!

"garden"
i don't garden, i don't water plants...
i don't have a green thumb, plants die in this household.
but luckily i've got some lil gardners who water this money tree.
lol..

lovely lil gardeners, arent they doin a great job?
lol.

hoping to get some scrapping done or at least organizing photos this weekend.
we'll see.

oh i do have something scrappy to share...
just a sneak for now..
post it in whole laterz....
for someone special to us....

used the june cocoa daisy kit for this one.

gulp gulp gulp

day 24 photo-a-day share, "an animal"
we use to have 2 animals in this home.
but unfortunately it didn't quite work out with the dog =(
so now we only have our 2 oscar fish....
(the other one is hiding behind this one, i guess he's kinda shy)...

sorry for the reflection from the aquarium.
oh well.

today is a full day of clean the house a bit and homework.
laundry too, w/c is my FAVE thang to do...NOT!

one more day til our ashley comes home.
she's flying in tomorrow a.m.!!!!
yey-yah!

oh yeah...
my week in my life album is complete...finally!
not sure if i ever shared a sneak...
did i?
well here's one...

i'll share more as soon as i take some pix of it, k?

and a video to start the day, chosen by my one and only lil boo, maiya...



happy saturday.

1 more day til....

...it's a very special day.
you'll find out tomorrow what it is.

and for it, i made a special card...
here's a sneaky peeky...

today, gonna create a special gift to go with it.
will share some lovin' laterz.

oh yeah, i forgot to share this card i made for v-day for my hubby...

backside w/ my siggy...

inside w/ the use of scraps, punched negatives...

handwritten title...awwww....

heat embossed stamped heart, cut out of cardstock...

of course, had to add my doodling...

here's a close-up of the punched negative scrap...

tone-on-tone punched hearts & strips...

and finally THE CARD (sorry for the blurry'z).

used american crafts cardstock & embossing powder, lily bee patterned papers, sharpie marker, ek success, martha stewart & fiskars punches.

have a good one...

p.s. will share my photo-a-day laterz, today's prompt:  clouds. there's a few out, so gotta go!

eat, paint, sneak, icon

this past weekend was a relaxing and fun one...

ate:

tofu-arugula salad w/ caramelized onions and sauteed bell peppers & brown rice...

yes, there are times i just wanna be a vegan...
and it was good!

paint, paint, paint @ paint-a-dream w/ maiya...
i love spending time with her.
it was our time alone together.
i had so much fun and so did she...

we pick up our finished pottery this coming friday.
can hardly wait to see them!

i am almost finish with my week in my life album
i just have to do a cover page and it'll be done.
but here's a sneaky peeky of one of the pages...

just got done watching the special on whitney houston's last interview, remember whitney:  the oprah interview.
parts made me sad, angry, and made me feel strong.
she will always be remembered...
a tribute-medley of her beautiful voice & songs....



xoxo

whew...my nerves are at ease now

well all day yesterday i was pretty anxious.
happily anxious that is.
as you know my layout made it to the 1st round on Practical Scrappers.
although i did not make the second round, i'm glad i made it to the 1st.
oh well.
moving on.

for us 1st rounders they had us prepare a 2nd layout just in case we make it to the 2nd.
i'm gonna just give you a quick sneaky peeky of mine for now.
i'll share it next week.
so...
you have to come back.
lol.

here's a peeky:

today is saturday.
my to-do list for today:

• mop the floors
• do the furminator on Sierra
• walk Sierra
• maybe do some dusting (one of my not-so fave chorez)
• spend time with the girlz
• talk or skype/google cam with my hubby
• plan out the menu for next week
• grocery shopping
• order more pix on snapfish (they've got a deal til 1/25, 99 prints for 99 cents)
• check my finances online
• we'll see what else, since i may get distracted

have a great saturday!

xoxo to all who voted for me!

life as i know it

last monday was the 1st day of school for my lil boo, maiya.
this whole week was crazy for her too...already.
lots of paperwork for me to read and sign.
she had to gather more supplies.
she had to gather art supplies for a personal board she did this past friday.
but all in all, she had a great school week.
i was just tired and pooped out.
but i did manage to get a couple of great shots of maiya on her 1st day.

these are definitely going down as some of my fave photos of her.
i love how the sun is shining on her beautiful face in the 1st one.
in the 2nd, i love how the sun shines on the side.
too cute.

selene started touching her toes mid-august, 8/19/2011, to be exact.

she also rolled from her back to her tummy this past week, on 8/25/2011, a thursday, to be exact.
she also started sucking her toes this past week, 8/26/2011, to be exact.
whoa!
she's done a lot too this past week and month!
she is growing too fast!
but that's a good thing too.
because i can't wait til she can start sitting, then crawling, then walking!
i'm sooooo excited!

hmmmm....
look who got a hold of my camera while i got my haircut?

my hubz...
the GOOF-BALL.
heehee.
one of the many reasons why i love him so much.

as for myself..
i've got a goal to lose the baby fats of 20 lbs by the end of January 2012.
5 lbs per month.
i finally started working out again this past week.
did a walk/jog on the treadmill twice.
a workout to an old episode of gilad.
strength workout with the medicine ball.
and definitely some simple but effective pilates abs.
that's my goal and i'm sticking to it!

and on scrappy note...
here's a sneaky peeky of what's coming up on 9.1.2011 on Sassy Lil' Sketches:

loved how it turned out!
and you will too.
stay tuned!

finale's can be happy & sad

well, i am sad to say that this will be my last month on being on the ScrapTiffany DT.
i was planning to not participate on the DT or any DT for awhile.
i wanted to do freestylin' for now.
but i just got word that ScrapTiffany will no longer be having a design team after this month.
it's sad but life does take a different turn and you just gotta follow it.
but at the same time i'm happy, because it leads to a new chapter in my life.
it was so fun being on the DT.
one of my scrap dreams come true!
it was such an honor to be on the ScrapTiffany DT.
but like i said, i'm taking a break from being on a DT.
just want to do my own thang for now.
i'll still be scrapping, but on my own terms.
i'll prob do some sketch challenges since i haven't had the chance to.
who knows.
but one of these days, i'll go for another DT.
just don't know when.

well, i actually finished my last layout for ScrapTiffany.
here's a sneaky peeky of it:

the final reveal will be on june 15th.
so don't forget to come back and check it out.

tiffany, thank you so much for this past creative year!

xoxo

so far so good... i think

i say i think because i'm pretty delirious right now.
i'm very sleep deprived.
my oldest daughter has been saying i look very tired.
and..
i sure am.
having a baby to care of is hard work.
but it's well worth it.
especially when she starts smiling more often and even lets out a little giggle or 2.
aaaahhhh....
i just say to myself:
once she gets older she'll sleep longer at night.
i'm sooooooooo grateful that my 9 yr old loves to help out with our lil 7 week old.
she changes her diaper,
she cuddles with her,
she tries to calm her down,
she feeds & burps her,
she comforts her.
but most of all,
she loves her.
and i think selene is so happy about that.
i know i am.
my hubby is a wonderful daddy too.
he takes over when he sees me stressing out,
he takes care of her,
he does all the baby stuff that she needs, just like my 9 yr old,
and more.
yes, there are times he gets stressed out too,
but hey, doesn't every parent of a cutey baby?
and of course the best of all,
he loves her unconditionally.
i love my hubby and my girls so much.
sometimes it's hard to explain.
i'm so grateful for what life has given to me so far and will keep giving me.
*sigh*

i'm definitely grateful school is out and it's a 4-day weekend holiday for my hubby.
altho' he's still in "work mode" during this time.
but we have managed to do stuff together since friday.
we got to go to a jethawks baseball game.
selene's 1st time at a b-ball game.
maiya's 2nd time (1st at a mariner's game in WA).
that was so much fun!
selene slept pretty much the whole time, all snuggled up in her sweater, blanket, and maiya's blanket.
it was cold and windy, but despite that, i enjoyed myself.

this will definitely be one of my fave photos:

 another going down as a fave photo and scrap-worthy:

 is this scrap-worthy or what...lol:

yesterday to celebrate maiya getting a science award from school,
we went to the science center in LA:

great job maiya!
it was nice to get away on nice road trip with the family.

today was mostly a chill-chore-day.
laundry, bathroom cleaning, laundry, lunch, taking care of the family especially selene, chillin'.
hubby is gonna cook some beer can chicken tonight, yumm-o!
then watch a rental.
tonight is camp night with maiya.
i get to sleep the whole night too while hubby takes care of selene.
gotta catch up on my zzzzzz'z and spend some time with maiya alone.
i love my hubby for doing that for us.

tomorrow..not sure what we're doing...
but i think we plan on getting away from home again.
we'll see!

oh before i go, here's a sneaky peeky on an upcoming ScrapTiffany challenge:

i can hardly wait to til it's revealed and when i get to post it on here!
stay tuned til june 1st!

have fun on the rest of this holiday weekend and be safe!
peace!