Lovingly handmade

Lately I've been super into making cards. I still love to scrapbook, but I've been trying lots of new ideas and techniques for cards and am addicted to it. Here are some of my most recent works of art...

T + 3 days

Well, it's June 16 and Ashley is STILL pregnant. She and Justin went to the doctor this morning to ask about getting induced. The doc did some "stuff" down there as a last hope that Maddie would come naturally, but if Ash doesn't go into labor today they have an appointment at the hospital at 7am tomorrow morning. She will get induced shortly after arriving, and the doctor said noon is a good time to have family come to wait for the arrival! So (God-willing), by tomorrow we will have a new addition to our family...FINALLY! Look how HUGE she is!!

Here are some pics from Father's Day with my family at the Beach House in Cardiff...

Daddy's boy

Oslo loves his daddy. Don't get me wrong...he loves his mommy, too, but he's definitely a Daddy's boy. Daddy is the one who usually takes him to the park or running at Fiesta Island. Whenever Chris is gone Oslo still follows me around the house wherever I go, but he knows that I'm probably not going to be taking him somewhere super fun. So usually he sleeps and relaxes when it's just me. Then when he hears the garage door open he darts to the garage door and waits for Daddy to come up. Then he's excited and hyper for a while, because he knows Daddy will take him to the park to play or rough-house with him or something. (I do take him to the park when Chris can't, and I take him on walks...so I'm not a horrible mom...just not as active as Daddy.) :)

Good Luck, Julia!

I met Julia in 4th grade, when she was new to my elementary school. We went to different high schools, but we've stayed in touch over the past 17 years, and she's still a very dear friend to me. Ever since she was little she said she wanted to be a Marine Biologist...she wanted to save the whales and dolphins! After graduating from UCLA she volunteered for the Surfrider Foundation, and for the last couple years she worked for a law office that did the legal documents for Surfrider.

Well, a couple months ago she got one of the normal update emails from Surfrider which lists current job openings. There was a General Manager position that intrigued her...in Australia! She applied just for fun, and didn't hear anything for a very long time. Then she found out she was in the top 4 candidates. Then the top 3...after four phone/web interviews, she was offered the job! She decided to accept the position, and she'll be moving to the Gold Coast of Australia for a minimum of 2 years on June 22. These pictures were at her going away party on June 8. Best of luck, mate!!!

Ashley's Baby Shower

It seems like forever ago, but Ashley's Baby Shower was on April 26. We had a wonderful time at the Penthouse suite at the Hyatt Mission Bay. Here are some pictures...compliments to my favorite photographer, Lauren Bullock (www.bullockproductions.com).

Madison's special blanky from Grandma

Justin's Aunt Sandi from PA sent this cute clothesline wrapped in a laundry basket


These were the pregnant women at the party:
Desiree, Denise, Ashley, and Christina

Dad's ready to be a grandpa

Too cute!

Mom, Ash, and me

The anxious and excited Mom- and Dad-to-be!

Precious

Madison, get your little tushy out here!

Today is Friday the 13th. Today is the day the doctors set as Ashley's due date. But Madison still isn't here. We thought she'd be coming a couple days early...Ashley was getting contractions every 3-5 minutes on Wednesday and went to the hospital. But they weren't strong enough, and eventually they started getting farther apart. She's still been getting contractions, but sometimes they're every 5 minutes, and sometimes they're every 2 hours. On a scale of 1-10 for pain, Ash is still in the middle. The doctor said to go to the hospital when she's at a 10.

Madison Grace, stop taking your sweet time...we're SO ready to meet you!!!!

Seattle

I ventured to the beautiful Northwest with my parents from May 22-27. Chris met us up there for the weekend. My cousin FINALLY got married! She met Edi a couple years ago in Greece. She was on vacation and he lived there (but he's Albanian, not Greek). He hardly spoke any English, but somehow they communicated, and now they're married! (He speaks English very well now).

It was a long road, but after nearly 2 years he was able to get a visa to visit. They knew they wanted to get married, but since his visa was only good for 3 months, they had to get married fast! They tied the knot on May 25, 2008 on the patio of a quaint restaurant on a lake in Seattle. There were about 30 people at the wedding, and it was just lovely.

Chris, Lexie, & Edi

Chris and me all dressed up :)

The proud parents...my Uncle Mark & Aunt Dona

My mom was the florist...and did a FABULOUS job, especially coming from out of town!

Aunt Dona and me (she's had a little wine here)

Mom and me on the ferry to Bainbridge (which I LOVED!)

We hiked through a beautiful forest in Bainbridge. Everywhere you looked was a Kodak moment!

I got to have dinner/coffee with Robobin

I had to take an artsy shot of the Space Needle!

She's done it again!

Erika has done it again. She's finished another cup of coffee. This deserves an award.

Super Mario Bros 3 in less than 11 minutes!

This is amazing. Only a brilliant Asian could do this!

Congratulations to Erika!

Today is May 9, 2008. This day goes down in the history books. Why? Because my friend and co-worker, Erika (AKA Caffeinated Pirate, see link to left below), has FINALLY for the first time in her life finished a cup of coffee!

You may be thinking to yourself, "Self, how does that make sense? Her name is Caffeinated Pirate. Her blog says she loves anything caffeinated." I'm here to tell you that this is true. But, she loves coffee and tea so much that before her mug is empty, she refills it. Or the last gulp is old and crusty and she dumps it out. But today she finished her coffee...right down to the last sip.

Congratulations, my friend. Congratulations!