3 more months!

I've been M.I.A...Seems like I have zero free time these days. Wedding planning (& work) are consuming my life. I'm loving the wedding planning & hating the job. 3 months more until our wedding day! I can't wait. Time is flying! I have tons of little things to do before now & then. The above picture is of my DIY wedding supplies. I've been DIYing my invites, aisle decorations, reception decor and more. As you can see I have a hard time answering people's question when they ask me what my wedding colors are. Who can commit to 2 or 3 colors? Not me!

The most important thing that has happened since I last wrote is that my nephew was born. He is so sweet & handsome. When I saw him a few minutes after his birth I couldn't believe my eyes. I was in awe of him. No other newborn has affected me in that way. He's amazing. I only wish that I could see him more. I've only seen him 3 times and he turned one month old on Friday. I really need to make a trip to Pasadena this week.

Anyway, I will try my best to keep up on this blog if at the very least once a week. Hopefully I will be able to fill you in on these last 3 months of craziness before we say "I DO!"

xoxo

P.S. Check out my wedding BIO that I use on TheKnot. It needs updating but it's kind of a wedding preview. Let me know what you think!

I have gone Pro!

Flickr Pro! On Friday, Stephen surprised me with something better than flowers! A new 12.0 Mega Pixels camera! I love it! I’m still learning how to use it so bear with me & my slightly out of focus photos. I took some shots at The Day of the Dead festival on Friday & tons of the pets over the weekend. I just can’t get enough photos of their furry cuteness! Every time they snuggle up together I run to grab the camera. I’m having so much fun with them & they keep me company when Stephen is at school.

I am going to get a booth at an upcoming craft sale. I’m splitting the booth with my friend Dolores (EonsMomma on Swap-bot). This will save us some money on booth fees. The space is going to be limited but I probably won’t have a ton to sell anyway since I haven’t started making anything yet! The sale is only 3 weeks away!!! I better get going. I think I’m going to make pins, ornaments & some shadowboxes. Stephen is going camping with his cousins this weekend so I have a craft filled weekend planned. I'll post some photos of my creations.

Tuesday! Bleh! My least favorite day of the week...at least it's nearly over.

Time has come today!

Note: Whole Foods Butternut Squash Enchiladas = Not good AT ALL!

I got "gypped" by 3 swappers! What is up with that!? I am working on a self portrait for a current swap. I already received a cool self portrait from the UK, which I'll post on MyFlickr later today. I better get a move on! Luckily my portrait doesn't have far to travel - just a few miles away. I opened an etsy account and I'm going to try & actually make some money from my creations. Another goal is to add some stuff to my collection of large shadowboxes & paintings so I can have a show. I'm so inspired by all the artist's I've met via Swap-bot & MySpace. Hopefully I'm inspired enough to finally do something with my passion! I had so much time off while I was job hunting & I wasn't productive at all! I'm so disappointed in myself! I was really depressed and uninspired. I rarely worked on my art or got off my ass and went to the gym. Now that I'm inspired again I am lacking the time & energy. I'm trying to figure out a schedule that includes work, the gym, time for art, my loved ones & my house. I want to make all of those things a priority. Is that possible? Advice needed! I hate doing a million things at once, dodging traffic & running around like a crazy woman. I like peace. I'm hoping this little upcoming vacation brings me a little of that before it's back to the rat race again. I can't wait!

A bunch of nothing

The Weekend
Busy Busy Busy...Went to a show at The Galaxy on Friday with Stephen, his bros & his cousin. I forgot how much I hate General Admission. We got there early and I got a pretty good place by the stage. I eventually lost my spot up front due to a fight between a drunk 40-something and a Biker 4 Jesus. It was hot, stuffy and stinky. I made it through a one man band, a Christian rock band with a singer sporting a mamel toe (a man camel toe) and a sexy 50 year old dude playing guitar with his shirt off. Dude, I think 50 year old guys are hot! I am getting ooooold! LOL! The band we were there to see didn't go on until midnight and after their third song I couldn't handle it any longer. I retreated to a cozy table by the bar. Why didn't I think of that earlier? A show isn't as cool from afar. There's nothing better then getting up close and personal with the band. Unfortunately, four hours on my feet stuck between a bunch of sweaty dudes just wasn't cool. I had fun. I'm always up for an adventure.

Saturday was another Grad party and on Sunday I visited my old manager Rose who is suffering with pancreatic cancer. Rose is so amazing and inspiring and I am blown away by her strength. We went to lunch and had a huge bottle of champagne to celebrate my new job and of course to celebrate life. After two glasses I was seeing double and had to cut myself off. We gossiped about our old co-workers and chatted for hours about every thing under the sun. It was great. I'm going to try and plan a happy hour with the other girls soon. It's just so hard to get everyone together these days.

Swaps
I joined a few more swaps. I couldn't help myself. They're all pretty easy & don't require much money so it shouldn't be too much of a burden. I'll post pictures of what I'm sending soon. I've been so bad about taking pictures of swaps I receive and I promise to try and be better. One of my swaps is called CALLING ALL CRAFTING COMADRES,CHOLAS,FIRME HYNAS,RUCAS. I thought it was a fun idea and I think I have an idea of what I'm going to send...but I'll keep it a secret until I snap a photo. Some of the others are a Paper Art Doll Swap & A Bottle Cap Shrine swap. I can't wait to get to work on these. It's so much fun, but I seriously think someone needs to call a swap intervention!

Stephen's B-day!
This Saturday is Stephen's 28th birthday! We're having a little gathering over at his gramps on Saturday and I'm going to take him out on Friday. I love his birthday more then my own and hopefully I can make it extra special for him.

A Day in the Life
I posted some pictures I took today on my Flickr account. My camera is busted and I'm using Stephen's work camera which isn't so great. Check them out anyway and see some of the things I saw today. Check this out http://www.shakespeareinthecemetery.com/. I drive by here everyday & it's a pretty interesting spot. I love old Hollywood. I snapped some photos this morning and saw the banner. I want to go! Sounds strange & very cool.

2nd Annual Easter Egg Coloring Party

This year we celebrated at Greg and Jenn's new pad. We BBQed delsih hamburgers provided by moi, but cooked to perfection by The Gregmeister. I brought yummy Easter Bunny cupcakes (I, along with all the hipsters have a serious cupcake addiction...except I loved them before they were cool!). Jenn provided the eggs and the dye. I bought this really cool Easter egg bug kit at last year's after Easter sale at Target (note to self: GO TO TARGET TOMORROW - early!!!). The bug eggs were adorable. I actually got Stephen to create one before he snuck off with Greg to have a "jam session". His was the best! I think our eggs really fit our personalities! Greg also made his 2nd annual cartoon egg. He's getting good at this! It was Stewie from Family Guy. Check out last year's post to see our creations. I can't believe it's already been a year! Today was a lazy Easter day spent with my lovie. We slept in, ate a greasy Mexican brunch at Taco Shack, made an attempt at the movies but ended up vegging out in front of the tube. I watched a whole season of last season's America's Top Model while Stephen surfed the net. The Easter Bunny spoiled Stephen! He got a tiny basket stuffed with goodies, a kite (the kite was really for me!) and a very special surprise from the Easter Carrie. He really deserved something nice - he's been so patient and wonderful. The Bunny brought me Dippin Dots and a basket full of love and hope. Just what I needed.

Still not a winner

I didn't win the MEGA Millions - I didn't match a single number! However, I did land a really promising interview with a huge corporation run by a mouse who wears red shorts. I probably wouldn't have got the interview but a previous employer has a connection to the recruiter and that got her attention. Lucky break, I guess. Now if only I can land the job. I have a couple of other interviews on the horizon and I'm determined to get hired somewhere soon.

I finished my fairy doll for the Fairy Bower Doll & Matchbox Swap. She's no dainty fairy! She's a short, husky, flamboyant sprite & she's got a head or fiery hair. I had so much fun making her. I used polymer clay, paint, fabric, buttons, and yarn. The other part of the swap is to decorate a little matchbox and fill it with fairy items. I filled hers with flowers, lady bugs, butterflies, shells, stars, animals & other cute little embellishments. This has been one of my favorite swaps! I'm mailing her tomorrow and I'll be sad to see her go...but she's going to a good home.

Check my photo album - I've added some random pictures and one of my empty garden. I created a small fenced in garden in our little side yard. I planted seeds last week and I'll be taking photos of the progress. Hopefully something other then clovers and dandelions will grow on that side of the house.

Venting, Bunnies, Coins & Swaps

I'm feeling better today then yesterday. The job hunt in really draining...I know people want to be helpful but I wish people would stop saying "keep trying" or "apply here" and "you need to do this", etc. Then there's the other group of people who say "you're so lucky to be off work", "the job you didn't get was meant to be" & "enjoy your vacation". I know people are just trying be helpful...but it doesn't help...it only makes things harder. People don't realize how hard I'm trying and how horrible I feel. I got turned down for a four week temp job! How humiliating is that?!?! The only reason I went to the damn temp agency is because of someone told me that it's sooooo easy to get a job through them. I called three temp agencies on Friday & none of them were of any help. I've never felt so desperate. Anyway, today I'm feeling more hopeful but it's up & down.

Yesterday I received a lovely package from my Swap Angel Melissa. It was a nice surprise! I never received my Valentine's Day Swap & she was so sweet to fill in for my flaky partner. I ate the chocolate before I had a chance to snap a photo. I really needed some chocolate yesterday! =) I finished my Latin Matchbox Shrines during the week. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. The swap deadline is a few weeks away but I had the urge to be crafty. I hope my partners like them. My camera battery was dying so the pictures don't due them justice. I can't wait to send them. I also snapped the pictures above of some of my Easter decorations. Again, the picture doesn't due them justice. I'm loving Easter now that I've rediscovered the cuteness of Easter decorations. I'm even appreciating pastels! I have an small egg collection that I still have to display. I'm tempted to join the Bunny Swap on Swap-bot but I think I may be overextending myself already. I also took a photo of some Geocoins I discovered this morning. I made a quick travel bug drop at a local cache & I picked these up. I'm loving coins these days! If you don't know about Geocaching, Geocoins or Travel Bugs yet...do some research & click these links. It's a great hobby...well if you like the outdoors and treasure hunts. =)

Happy Valentine's Day

I am really looking forward to dinner with Stephen tonight. I have everything prepared to begin my Valentine's cooking adventure...hopefully it's not a disaster! I made a healthy dessert but I couldn't resist buying a fruit tart from Churrolandia Bakery and Funnel Cake Factory. At least it's trans-fat free. Who cares about counting calories today anyway! It's Valentine's!!! I am going to eat my meat, potatoes & double desserts (mostly) guilt free. Anyway, check out the pictures of the table-scape I created on zero budget. I guess it's not that bad considering I used things I already had. It will look even better in candlelight. Very romantic! I hope Stephen likes the surprise.