The GREATEST Gift of All!

What an EVENTFUL weekend, I tell you! HECK! It's been eventful since I moved here! I just recently joined Facebook, right? Well, just a couple of days ago, (or was it yesterday), I get an email from my BFF in the WHOLE world! Would you believe it? I think it's been 15 years! If not pretty close since we've spoken or had contact with one another! WOW! 13? 14? Something like that! She moved here about 10 years ago and since then, had another child! Her daughter saw my photo and told her mom that I lived here and that she needed to contact me! Well, she did! Well, yesterday we met for , chatted about EVERYTHING and ANYTHING! Our conversation and for each other were like there was not a minute between us. I have missed her for soooo long! I have always felt like a big part of my life was missing! I'm sooo happy that we found each other once again! Just last week I dreamt about her and told Louie! Well, she said she saw a commercial and the girl reminded her a lot of me! It was all in the same week! I told her I have dreamt about her several times throughout the years! I can't tell you how HAPPY I am right now! I'm up early cause my lower back is KILLING me from the fall! Grrrrrrr... So I couldn't stay in bed any longer..

Let's see what other miracles God has for us in 2009. Here's to Crystal , her daughter...She's a BEAUUUUTIFUL SOUL! Without her this would have NEVER happened!

Beautiful Christmas Card!

My friend Sandi from EskieShots received this BEAUUUUIFUL Christmas Card! I loved it sooo much I had to share it with my friend and family! Thanks Sandi for letting me! If you want to get your Dog Beautiful fix check out Sandi's Eskies at http://cherubeskies.tripod.com/

This is Gigi's 1st Snow!

This is Gigi's very first snow! We have never lived anywhere near it! Only hoped to one day see it again! I have ALWAYS wanted to photograph her in it! I've seen sooo many of the other beautiful Eskie's on EskieShots and I'm so happy to finally get my turn! At 1st she had NO IDEA what this was... I threw a treat out there and wala! She went for it... actually got comfortable in it...

More Snow!?

So I get home and these are the pics that Louie took of our front, back yard.... The news reported that the last time it snowed like this in Las Vegas was 1979!! That was almost 30 years ago! My word! So glad we got to see history once again! But Brrrrrrrrrrrr, it's COLD! Cuddle time! If ONLY it would have waited one more week, we could have had a WHITE CHRISTMAS! Yo Adrianne! We have a White Christmas! Shout out to my Sister in Law in El Paso! :)

It's Snowing!!

Check out the snowmobile!! I can't wait until I get home... it's snowing like crazy in Henderson!

Yes Virginia...

...there is snow in Las Vegas.... and BOY is it cold right now! Some parts of Las Vegas got hit with snow... could you believe that? Who thought the strip could be soooo cold! Brrrrrr.. and the dead of winter hasn't even hit us yet!

Happy Birthday John!

Happy Birthday to my Brother, John!! What can I say? Except that I miss you TERRIBLY! Hope to see you real soon as in sometime next year!! :) Hope you had a WONDERFUL Birthday! When we're growing up it's unfortunate that we don't realize it at the time that we'd be living in another state. We take for granted that we're together and then one day we all grow up and live in different locations. Love you!

My Cousin Maria's Album

Well, could you believe it? I'm finally ALMOST done doubling Maria's album! Who knows if I'll EVER be REALLY done! Nevertheless, I have really changed in the way I scrap. This album gave me sooo many challenges. One in particular, is I had originally planned on staying with one color scheme. That all changed when I got stuck .... I'm sure glad I got stuck.. I don't think I would have been as happy with the results. I'm very pleased with my progress!! Check it out below in the order that I sent it to her! :)

Holiday Photo Shoot

Here is a photo shoot I did of my cousin's 5 kids (Qiana, 2 sons and Sarah, 2 daughters and 1 son). I had sooo much fun. I took them to several model homes for different props and background! Sooo after 500 shots here are my favorites!! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for sooo many things.. but most of all my family--they have always been there for me even through the worse of times! I wasn't feeling too good this morning so I decided to stay in Las Vegas while Louie went to see his parents back in California. I missed him but at least I know he'll be back home tomorrow!! :)

Where did this year go?

It seems that once Halloween comes, it's the beginning of the Holiday Season! Came by much too quick, if you ask me!

A bunch of us made it to Edith's Halloween Party! Thanks Sal (her bro) and his doll of a girlfriend for being such great hosts! Fun!! Hope you had a Happy and safe one!

I also got to join Qiana, Sarah and Gary in taking the kiddies out to Green Valley District for trick or treat fun! Enjoy the slideshow below this post!

Hello..... Is there anybody out there!

ok... So thanks to Michele, I NOW have to update my blog! Geez, where do I begin? It's been months since my last confession... oops.. hahahaha.... I meant, my last blog! May as well be a confession!

Since then, we've moved out of the State of California to Las Vegas Nevada. I work for a wonderful Chiropractor as an Office Manager, and I am finally doing something again that I absolutely LOVE! I assist with patients, do billing, and all the other paperwork as well, just to say the least! I am involved in a lot of networking and have met tons of people! What more can I say? But most of all, I'm close to my family who I've been apart from for so long and get to see my Goddaughters and my nephews here in Henderson!

We weathered the Summer (no pun intended) and Gigi also has her little paws settled right into the sand here! We live in a great house.. thanks to George & Bonnie (hugs)... and love it!

Louie is working as a Welder again and he loves his job. They are very good to him, very structured, just like him and his hours are PERFECT for the morning person that he is!

Now that I've given you somewhat of an overview, I will share some photos of me, Louie, family and some of my new friends!!

See you all very soon!

Love & Embrace

Here are the 2 new layouts I did for Maria's Wedding Album. I did the stitching with my new templates that Bethy sent me for my Princess gifts last month of Bazzill In Stitch'z! They are the COOLEST!

My New Scrap Pal!

I met a new Scrap Pal, Amy! She just happens to live here in Agoura Hills and is a Nurse at Los Robles Hospital here in Thousand Oaks. Louie left out of town Friday night to Las Vegas, and we scrapped til' 1:30 a.m. It was so NICE to sit and chat and scrap for hours! Rebecca even scrapped with us. She's such a GOOD little scrapper! :) Here are a few photos of Amy, Becca and I.

55 Days

I have decided to take a 55 day Leave of Absence from school. With a huge list of things to do including my job, I must take this time to find a job, house hunt, pack up, get rid of some stuff we don't need, and spend some time with family while I still can. I will still graduate next Fall (2009), so it doesn't jeopardize anything including my GPA. School is a lot tougher than I ever thought it would be. You really have to give 100%--well at least I do.

One of the things I plan to do is get back on an exercise routine that I have been neglecting to start. Watch another 15 - 20 lbs. disappear! Yahooo!

Hubby was OK with my decision and thought it would be great for me to take a well-deserved break!

The Weekend is Here!

The weekend is here, well almost! I've been burning the midnight hour getting homework done before I leave for 4 days. We are going to Lake Tahoe tomorrow morning with Louie's parents and we'll return on Monday night! I'm so ready for some relaxation time! KWIM? Can't wait to take about a million pictures. That is my therapy this weekend! I'm seriously thinking of taking my card box and getting some Christmas cards done! I KNOW it's early, but hey, it's not as if I will NOT be busy right?

Yesterday I applied on 2 jobs, hopefully I will hear from them soon for an interview. I'm so bored and overwhelmed at the same time. I am so ready to "get out of dodge" as they say. :)

Magic Moments

I'm so excited! I just ordered my Limited Edition Magic Moments paper pack by Close To My Heart! I can't wait to get my hands on this pack! I also ordered my alphabet chipboard. It comes in so many different alphabet shapes per pack! For example you have one whole sheet of "A"'s and about 10 or more different variations of the alphabet "A". I just LOVE this and for only $3.25 each alphabet page! Stay tuned--coming May 1st! Click here http://crazy4stamps.myctmh.com/ to order yours!!

I Love Dogs Soooo Much!

Here's a double page layout I did of Adam (Gary and Sarah's son--Savannah & Gigi's Baby Brother) of him following my dog (Gigi) around JUST to touch her! LOL. I get a kick out of it EVERY time! I think it's just SOO CUTE and Gigi just loves kids so much; you can tell he's feeling the power standing over her! LOL...

Baby Im a Star

I sooo love this paper. I got it at Michael's with my 50% off coupon. :) I had to do a layout of my Goddaughter, Savannah with her cute little pose. She's such a SuperStar to me. I placed this next to Gigi's layout (her Sis), Sophisticated Beauty.

Sophisticated Beauty

Here is the layout I did of the photo I took of my Goddaughter, Gigi at Universal Studios. This was her Special Birthday Outfit! She is ALWAYS ready to model for me at the sight of the camera! Isn't she adorable?

I created this layout from the Spring Fling Swap gifts I got from my dear Friend, Jessica from SNS. I cut the flowers out to give them a 3-D look from a 2nd pattern paper. The blue was a very pale blue, but I really liked the paper and the way the pink pops out!

THANK YOU!

to the wonderful guys at Toyota of Santa Monica, Jim and Hutch! They delivered--literally on their promise and truck is in MINT beautiful dent/scratch free condition! Thank you SO MUCH for a WONDERFUL deal and for delivering Louie's new Toy to us! We couldn't be HAPPIER with our purchase and for treating us like Family! :) Contact Hutch at seanhutchinson@lacarguy.com!

...and thank you to Claire, the Finance Manager for giving us a lower interest rate than our original quote! That was the icing on the cake to name a few things such as the extended warranty and GAP insurance--the beauty of it was, getting those 2 items actually LOWERED our payments! You are brilliant! ;)

Scrapping Tonight!

I am SOOO SCRAPPING Tonight! I'm tired of NOT scrapping, I've been sooo busy. I'm going to be scrapping with my Spring Fling goodies I got from Jessica!

Done with Finals!

Who would have thought that school could be so HARD sometimes? Whew! I was sooo HAPPY to get my FINALS done for my Critical Thinking and Effective Essay Writing Courses. I had to write a 1,750 word essay on my chosen Topic for my Effective Essay course and Critical Thinking--well that's a WHOLE other thing! I had to identify: Principal Issues, Bias's, Ambiguity, Credibility, Rhetorics....well, you get the idea!

For my Effective Essay Course, I found that the writing process is much more detailed and structured than one might think. I have definitely become a better writer. Maybe it will help me with my Scrapbooking Journalling. Yes, I always have my mind in the Scrappy Gutter! LOL.

Today I begin my courses that will actual contribute to my Major! I'm SOO EXCITED! You have no idea! I have been in school now for 5 months and have completed 4 courses with a total of 12 college credits towards my Associate's. Just think, in another 5 months I'll have 24 under my belt! I need a total of 60 to complete my program.

Relo Update!

We just got back from Arizona and have decided on Plan B. We are heading out to Henderson, Nevada. I've applied on 4 positions at the hospital in Kingman, AZ; and we had no such luck there. So, we've decided to take our time and relocate to Henderson, NV; we'll start job searching in a couple of months. There is not much rush at this point. We will leave when it's "time". I'm happy about the fact that I have family in Henderson; huge plus! :) So look for more updates later!

In addition, Gigi is fully healed on the "back-end", thankfully! I am so relieved as I am sure that she is too. I no longer give her the cream and she's still on antibiotics, just to be safe, of course. I have removed that ring and she's much happier.

What a DRAG!

My poor Little Gigi got attacked by the Mean Ol' Anal Glands Monster! Every dogs worse nightmare--for sure! Sunday I took her in and had her expressed. Well, She dragged herself for a couple of days and by Tuesday, she did so much damage to the exterior of her bottom from licking and dragging, that I had to take her into the vets! Poor thing was in so much pain! I felt horrible for not taking her in on Monday! Honestly, I didn't think it was that bad until I saw it Tuesday morning and I was HORRIFIED! I called at 8am got her in at 9:30 and ointment and antibiotics and 1 day later, it's a HUGE improvement, but still has a lot to go!

She hated the "lampshade" collar so much and I was so afraid she'd choke herself that I got her the "donut" looking collar. It works FANTASTIC! I recommend it and for only $21 at PetSmart WELL worth it! Hopefully, by the time we take our trip to Arizona this week, she'll be much better! What I love about this new collar is that you loop the "everyday collar" through it and it's velcro and comes off easily but not too easy where she can remove it--it secured with the "everyday collar". I especially love that she can eat and drink her water w/out having to remove it!

Check out her new collar... don't you love the pretty Spring Flowers?

Frames for Savannah and Gigi

I ordered these decorative canvas frames from my friend Penney last year from Creative Memories! This is what I made for my 2 Goddaughter's for Christmas for their bedrooms!

Universal Studios

My Cousin Sarah, her hubby, Gary and their 3 beautiful children and I all went to Universal Studios. I had soo much fun with her and all her precious kiddos! They are so cute! Their visits are always welcomed!

7 Months since my last blog-session...

Yes I am a BLOG Sinner! rofl.... I haven't blogged in so long I may have forgotten how to. Let's see..since I last blogged I passed the Holidays, New Years, Valentine's and even Easter! So much has happened since my last Blog-session that I don't even know where to begin!

We are moving to Arizona -- our actual lease starts on May 1st. I can't wait and I am so excited! This weekend we are going to sign our new lease and leave our deposit! Beautiful!

We are going to take our dog, Gigi! We stay in a great Dog-Friendly place! Can't wait to introduce her to our new digs and our Landlord, I know will love her!

Check out our new digs!

Sea World with Elijah & Kobe

I had sooo much fun with Joe, Esther, Qiana and her 2 boys, Elijah and Kobe! What a SHOW by Shamu and the Seals! Wonderful! Loved it! :) The next day was Esther's birthday, so I feel like I got to celebrate it with her somewhat. I drove down to San Diego to meet them and came back home that evening. Not too bad a drive; just a lot for 1 day, but it was well worth it to see the boys!