Sweet Cupcake Cards

I have a couple of card shares today.

This card was for my SIL's birthday. The cupcake stamps I used are from EK Success (I got them at Michael's). I love that the set comes with cupcake-ready sayings. The cute little girl stamp is from Hero Arts.

I was really styling with cupcakes this week. My brother's card is made with cupcake stamps from Unity Stamp Company. The sentiment stamp from Angel Company is the perfect size for one of the squares. You can't tell from the pictures but the sentiment is set on foam squares, so that it pops out. I've learned that adding dimension makes a more interesting card.

We had a nice dinner at Buca di Beppo... family-style with all the family there! When the lady came around to take our picture. I should have asked her to take one with my camera too. As it turns out the only picture I ended up taking is Cheryl... she's styling the Buca di Beppo tablecloth, lol!

Kitchen Remodel - day 1

After months of planning and waiting, the kitchen remodel has started today. Here is a BEFORE picture of our kitchen.

After much pounding, crashing, and barking (Jena didn't like the kitchen destruction at all!) Here is what it looks like... Good-bye OLD kitchen!

Have you ever wondered what the side of your free standing stove/oven looks like? UH, YUCK!!! That was the first thing I cleaned today!

Do you want to see our NEW kitchen?


Hahaha... as you have already guessed, it's not our new kitchen, but our interim kitchen. Jim setup one gas burner and a microwave. Cheryl and I are making orange chicken, egg rolls, chicken lo mien, and rice... it's so nice having the day off...

Here is what our kitchen looks like at the end of the day...

It looks so much BIGGER and BRIGHTER without the cabinets.

Well, here it is only Day 1 and we have a problem... several actually...

Problem number 1: We were going to have the soffit removed from over the sink. You can see the problem in the picture below:

We can't remove the soffit because the ceiling would run into the eaves.

Problem number 2: If we have to leave the soffit in, the cabinet that we got to fit in the spot, is too tall to fit in there. We will have to buy a new cabinet, and it would not be done for 4 weeks!

Problem number 3: We were going to have the over sink light replaced with a fluorescent can light. They just called and they can't find a can shallow enough to fit over the sink. (I have no idea how they were going to get a can light up there if we take the soffit out.)

So that is our remodel day #1... Stay tuned for more adventures in kitchen remodeling...

Surf City Half Marathon

The results are in!

Here is Chris:
He did Amazing!
Overall: 208 out of 13297
Men: 182 out of 4913
M 01-17: 12 out of 127
3 Mi: 19:56 Pace: 6:39
8.2 Mi: 56:12 Pace: 6:52
Finish: 1:31:47 Pace: 7:01

And me... there are no running pictures of me, but I'm in this picture somewhere:
Overall: 2960 out of 13297
Women: 1124 out of 8384
F 50-54: 44 out of 672
3 Mi: 26:10 Pace: 8:44
8.2 Mi: 1:10:57 Pace: 8:40
Finish: 1:57:23 Pace: 8:58

My pace dropped way off when the calf cramps started at about mile 10. But, I'm still pleased with my time.

Our next race is May 1... Cinco de Mayo Half-Marathon in Irvine!

Joy Captured - Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! I love Jim every day, so why celebrate it on February 14th? The reason... two words... chocolate and flowers! I love the flowers that Jim got for me. They are perfect since the stupid squirrel ate all my tulip bulbs in the backyard. I just love tulips. Aren't they beautiful? ... And the chocolate is overflowing at our house today. Gotta LOVE chocolate.

I hope you all had a wonderful day of love!

Happy Birthday Jena!

No more puppy, today is Jena's birthday! We picked Jena out from the Orange County Animal Shelter on Sept. 13, 2010. They estimated that she was 7 months old at the time. So today, Feb. 13, 2011... OUR JENA-GIRL IS 1 YEAR OLD! She celebrated with a 5.5 mile run at the beach with Cheryl and me.

Do you love that birthday card she got from the vet? She LOVES it! LOL!

She is such a sweet girl. We love you Jena! Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!!!

It was a busy weekend. I spent Saturday at work, and Sunday was my niece's birthday... 9 years old already! Don't you just LOVE that smile? She had a fun party with Super Bowl viewing and a Bananagram championship. Put that together with great food, lots of family and Uncle Dom's super bowl pool, it was a great way to spend the afternoon.

We spent our Sunday morning at the Surf City half-marathon with a group of 16,000 fellow runners (4,000 more people ran the marathon). Jim drove us. I sure appreciate how much he supports us!!! He really knows his way around. Even with 20,000 runners and multiple road closures, Jim was able to navigate us to the downtown parking structure (right across PCH from the starting line)! It stayed foggy all the way through the race, so it was nice and cool; perfect for running. Chris and I both PR'd... I took 1 minute off my PR, finishing in 1:57. Chris took 2 minutes off his PR, finishing in 1:31. I'll post more stats when they become available...

UGH! Sunday's over already! It's back to work and school tomorrow... Have a GREAT week everyone!

Happy Birthday - PTI

This week is PTI's anniversary! In celebration, I'm posting my favorite PTI card from last year. When I voted on my favorite stamp set, I chose the Around and About Sentiments. But when I look back at my favorite cards, they all use the Cupcake Collection. I think I voted for the wrong set. Oh well, I LOVE them all!

Welcome to the Year of the Rabbit!

So, now I have to remember to write RABBIT on my checks instead of TIGER, lol! Okay, bad joke...

Jim was born in the year of the Rabbit. He thinks he's a Dragon because he was born in 1952, but he was born in January before the Chinese New Year changed. So, sorry honey, you're a Rabbit: Timid and attractive, the Rabbits of the Chinese Zodiac tend to act more like bunnies, whether they like it or not! Sorry, Rabbits aren't macho...

Cheryl on the other hand is a Snake! Snakes are diplomatic and popular, the Snake has the sensual art of seduction down. This Sign is an interesting mix of gregariousness paired with introversion, intuitive reasoning paired with savvy business skills. Does that sounds like Cheryl? Sensual art of seduction?!!!

Here's Chris. The Rooster is the strutting peacock of the Chinese Zodiac! These quick thinkers are practical and resourceful, preferring to stick to what is tried and true rather than taking messy, unnecessary risks. That sounds like Chris... he's rock solid!

And there's me... the stupid Pig... The Pig of Chinese Astrology may be the most generous and honorable Sign of the Zodiac. Pigs are nice to a fault and possess impeccable manners and taste. They have so much of the perfectionist in them that others may be inclined to perceive them as snobs. Hey, it doesn't sound too bad being a pig, when it's put that way, lol!

If you want to find out what sign you are, go HERE:

http://www.astrology.com/chinese-astrology

They into account of the fact that Chinese New Year doesn't fall on January 1st. Great if you are a January or early February baby.

Good-bye year of the Tiger... welcome Rabbit!

Joy Captured - Happy Birthday, Jim!

Why is Jim's birthday one of my joys? Well, birthdays mark the passing of time... much like anniversaries. Another year has gone by, with it's all it's joys. {plus, it's Jim getting another year older... not me, hehehe!} He's 59 years old with retirement in sight. I still have years of work left... years and years...

I LOVE you, Jim!

Feel Better Soon, Grandma!!!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

New shoes...

I LOVE the Nike Pegasus Trail and have been running in them for years... but this year, the new model just didn't do it for me. I'd end my run with achy feet and sore toes. This time I'm making the switch... NEW SHOES! There's nothing as exciting as getting new shoes. I started with these.

I loved them, but they didn't LOVE me. I ended up with sore hips and blisters. So thanks to Road Runner Sports 90-day satisfaction guaranteed policy, I traded them in for the Puma Complete Nightfox Trail.

... Very flashy, but I really don't care what they look like as long as they are comfortable. I'm looking forward to trying these out tomorrow!!!

Ring Bling

The first semester of school is almost over... finals are next week! Chris has been making some WONDERFUL rings in his jewelry class. He was filmed during jewelry for the school's 360 video. You can see it here: Capo 360. Also, watch for him in the opening scene. The cross country team was recruited to stand in line.

Here are some of the projects he was working on in jewelry. The ring on the left is rolled with a scarf, the next one is hammered, and the last one (my favorite) is double layered with cut-outs. Here's a close-up:

This one is very cool with a wavy edge. Chris's rings are all size 9.5 made out of nickle and brass. His final project is in sterling silver. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

A card share...

Here it is... my first scrappy project of the year! Circle punches and the Around and About stamp set from PTI, made these super fast and easy! I made up a whole set of these simple little cards for Cheryl to send out birthday thank-yous. Did she send them out? Uh, no...

Joy Captured - Flowers from my girl

My JOY this week was coming home Friday night after a 48 hour work week and finding a BIG bouquet of yellow roses. Cheryl cut them from the backyard; arranged them in a vase tied with a pretty ribbon; and left them in the spot where I would see them immediately after I walked in the door.

Big {{{HUGS}}} and KISSES to my sweet girl!!!

My boy, Chris...

It's been a while since I've blogged Chris. He made the track team by finishing the mile in 5 min 17 sec (3 seconds under the cut-off time). He's really enjoying his jewelry class; the drawing & painting class?... not so much. He has to finish his color picture for homework, and did not want his photo taken (that's why it's so blurry), but a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do! And taking photos of her kids is very much in the mom job description.

I did sneak a photo of his picture. {Proud mama here...} It looks really nice if I do say so myself :)

Weekend is almost here! I hope you all have a lot of fun planned. The rain that was in the forecast earlier is GONE! It's going to be a GREAT weekend!

Joy Captured

Here's another new project for 2011. I've joined the challenge on Jill's blog to capture my word for the year on film. I've put a lot of thought into it and decided that my word for this year will be "JOY." Here is my first week's attempt at capturing JOY!

There is nothing like watching Jena play ball. If only everyone could be so happy chasing a ball across a field!

Birthday time again - part 2

I had to share one more photo... my baby girl Cheryl at 4yrs old. Even then she still had that wonderful smile!

Also, want to know how much money was in the soccer dude? There were no quarters in that bank... only pennies, nickles and dimes. Well, I was the closest guessing $35. The total? $183.05! No wonder I never win those "How many in the jar" guessing games...

Look out! Cheryl is going on a shopping spree!!!!

Birthday time again!!!

My baby girl is 21yrs!!! I know I asked this last year, but where does the time go?!!! We had a nice family gathering at my mom and dad's house. Last night, for her birthday, I made her favorite Italian Chicken. She made her own cake... red velvet with cream cheese frosting! Before all that, she had to work. Her little girls had a little party for her after practice with cupcakes and cans of whipped cream. You think the whipped cream is for the cupcakes? NO! The whipped cream is for shooting, and Cheryl was the target, HAHAHA! I wish I could have seen that. I saw the aftermath... she came home covered with dried whipped cream!

We had presents last night too, just a couple. I ordered a couple of things online, which didn't arrive yet. I won't tell you what they are since she may be reading this, shhhh.... Anyway, last night we gave her a package of Flaming Hot Cheetos and the soccer dude.

The soccer dude is stuffed full from his toes to the top of his hat with change. We have no idea how much money is in there. Any guesses? Jim is going to take her to the credit union to cash it out today. Everything in there is hers.

Happy Birthday, Baby! As Grandma and Papa said... the next big milestone is college graduation!

Puzzle Swap...

So, What's a puzzle swap, you ask?... Take a 12-piece puzzle, break it up and separate the pieces between 12 ladies. We each decorate the puzzle piece to match each lady's theme and color scheme. Here are the ones that I did:

* Christmas Theme - Red/Green/White/Gold/Silver
* Angel Theme - Red/Green/White
* No Theme - Orange/Brown
* Sultry Theme - Brown/Cream/Green/Pink
* Fall Theme - Orange/Brown/Yellow
* Snowman Theme - White/Blue
* Patriotic Theme - Muted Red/White/Blue
* Think Pink - Pink
* Vintage Theme - Tan/Brown/Pink/Green
* Love Bird Theme - Brown/Teal/Beige
* Romantic Theme - Green/Brown
My theme was "Tropical Island" in colors Blue/Green/Orange/Red. I have a couple of pieces that I have to do in my own theme, but I'm going to wait until I see how the other pieces go together.

I can't wait to see all the pieces for my puzzle. This was a super FUN swap!

Healthy New Year!

I never make New Year's Resolutions, but this year I'm going to do it! My resolution is to eat healthier this year and to make sure my family eats healthier too. I've never been worried about what I eat... after-all One of the main benefits of running is to eat whatever I want! The problem is that not everyone in my family runs...

Cheryl got me this GREAT cookbook Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World by Lisa Lillien.I'm going to try and make at least one recipe a week from this book and share with you all here. I can't post the recipes, but I'll post the page number for those with the book who want to follow along.

The first recipe we tried is something familiar: Southwestern Suprise on page 65.

This is very similar to the tortilla soup that I posted HERE, but with only 168 calories per serving. There is even enough left over for Cheryl to have for lunch for most of the week!

Sadly the Hungery Girl cookbook is very lacking in photos, so here is a photo of what ours looks like. My family gives this recipe 4.5 STARS! We would definitely make this again!

On another subject here is my niece and Jena again. Jena LOVES cuddling with my niece. Aren't they cute together?

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year to all! We had a nice New Year celebration with family. Toasting the New Year with sparkling apple cider and sparkling grape juice.

We have an overnight guest! Here is Cheryl and her cousin checking out the Red Box. They rented a couple movies from the Red Box and are now on their third movie. It's looking like a movie marathon night...

... and a night of making new friends...

Ring in 2011!!!

I ran 11 miles this morning to celebrate 1-1-11...
What are you doing today to celebrate?

Happy New Year to ALL!!!