09.26.09 Audrey's 1st Birthday

Here is the card I made for Audrey's 1st birthday. I used the Close to My Heart Nursery Bash stamp set.

09.07.09 Jakob, a Leaf and the Pool

Vanessa brought Jakob over to swim in our pool. He had a ball playing in the big pool, but it was the ledge in the baby pool that drew him over and over. He constantly climbed on to the ledge over and over. When we took him to the big pool, he just wanted to climb the steps. The first time he was up and off crawling across the concrete straight to Juan's chair, where he pulled himself up to get to the camera. Then he was perfectly content to play with a leaf that he found. It was wet so it kept sticking to him. He was a very happy boy!

08.29.09 Audrey's 1 Year Birthday Party Invitation

Janet asked me to help her make birthday party invitations for Audrey's 1st birthday. She was planning to have the party at the Arboretum, so she was looking for a garden theme. We did four different color schemes and a cute stamp inside. I think they turned out adorable! We made about twenty invitations.

05.30.09 Vanessa's Birthday Card

This is a birthday card that I made for my sister's birthday. Yes, I used stickles!

08.23.09 Pink Cricut Expressions

Juan, Mom and I were all waiting at different Michael's when they opened this morning to get a new Pink Cricut Expressions. It is a limited model only available at Michael's and on sale for $299. I was told they only shipped one to each store, so I was afraid I would not get one. Amazingly enough, all three of us got one....we didn't all buy one though. Good thing God made cell phones! Here is my new awesome toy, it does amazing things and I LOVE the pink cartridge that came with it. I'm sure I will get a lot of use out of it.

08.22.09 Abacus

Juan, Mom and I went to Abacus for our last dinner for restaurant week. I have been wanting to try it for years. All three of us decided to add the wine pairings with our dinner. We started with edamame and then I chose Ginger-beef potstickers for my appetizer and pork with herb butter and mixed vegetables for my entree. Mom had the caesar salad and pork entree and Juan had the Texas roasted corn soup and tri-steak with goat cheese polenta. We all had different wines with each course, but the best of the night was the dessert. They brought us two plates each containing a sampling of every dessert they have. It was awesome to get to taste them all. It was a lovely dinner and we will definitely be returning.

08.19.09 Nobu

Juan, Miriam and I went to Nobu for restaurant week. We started with peach bellini martinis and then began our seven course meal. I had: seaweed and cucumber salad, sesame salad, miso soup, edemame, california roll, shrimp/vegetable tempura, and dessert. It was fabulous!

08.17.09 Dragonfly

Juan and I started off restaurant week at the Dragonfly. It was fabulous although I am about to explode. We got there early and enjoyed happy hour martinis called "fountain of youth" made with honeydew essence. Juan had a ribeye steak and I had pheasant. It was very yummy.

08.11.09 Jakob and his Soccer Ball

I hadn't seen my nephew Jakob for a few weeks, so I went over to Vanessa's to visit. Jakob is growing so fast. He has two little teeth and is a regular little jumping jack. He is almost crawling, but jumping constantly. He is such a happy baby. He has a stuffed soccer ball that he can actually roll back to you, I think it is more accidental but he enjoys it. Vanessa gave him his first haircut and that was adorable. She didn't cut much, because he doesn't have much to cut; but it was getting a little long on top. Jakob thoroughly enjoyed the comb. He is ADORABLE!

08.10.09 Sarah's Bday Jewelry Party

Sarah hosted a jewelry party for her birthday this year. Brett brought over her Premier Designs jewelry collection so we could all ooohhh and ahhhh over the new items. She decked Sarah out in all the hottest bling imaginable. We had a great time and I bought a few goodies for myself. I also got to see the house expansion, Sarah's new "cruiser" bike and had fun playing with Audrey!

08.09.09 Dinner Party at Miriam's

Miriam hosted a dinner party for Will, Craig, Juan and I. Her cooking is always fabulous so we were super excited to attend. Dinner lived up to our expectations. She made a salad, stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon, and mashed potatoes mixed with all sorts of goodness. For dessert she made berry parfaits with strawberries and blueberries covered in homemade lemon chelo and ice cream. Delicious! Then we all played mad gab and laughed hysterically at Miriam's annunciation of the phrases. It sounded like she was purposely speaking with an accent. She is way too good at that game and pretty much beat us all. It was a good night.

08.09.09 Ft Worth Zoo

Juan and I braved the heat today and headed out to the Ft. Worth Zoo. We got there around noon, so it was already nice and hot. Most of the animals were napping in the shade, but the chimpanzee's were going at it..... and I mean GOING at it!!!! It was hilarious. A little boy asked his dad what they were doing and the dad replied that he was holding his friend because she was tired. Juan really just wanted to go to take pictures at Parrott Paradise, so we only lasted a couple of hours.

Wedding Thank You Cards

These are the thank-you cards I made after our wedding this year. They are a three fold design. Simple, but I liked them.

02.03.09 Danna's Baby Shower

Today the office girls hosted a baby shower for Danna at ccrd. We had a great turn out and there were more guys in attendance than girls. We all pitched in to get her the jogging stroller off her registry along with some other gifts. We had a couple of games, food, and of course cake. It was a nice event.

02.02.09 Al's Formal Wear

Juan and I went to Al's Formal Wear tonight with the intent of selecting suite/tuxedo options for the wedding. Instead we learned that they do not rent suites, as they told us they did; and they don't have any colors that match the Alfred Angelo colors, as they told us they did. It was very frustrating and we left with nothing accomplished.

02.01.09 James and the Giant Peach

Juan and a couple of his co-workers entered a design competition at the Dallas Arboretum for Children's Stories. They used Juan's idea of James and the Giant Peach. They were one of the teams selected to build their design. Juan and his team spent all of last weekend and this weekend building their design. They have to have it complete by next weekend. It is turning out awesome!

01.31.09 Jakob and Scrapbooking

Vanessa called and was desperate to scrapbook and I totally agreed. Jakob has been much easier to handle lately, so she thought she may be able to squeeze in a few hours of our beloved hobby. They came over and Jakob did very well. We managed to scrapbook about 5-6 hours. Vanessa finished three 2-page spreads, while I only completed one 2-page spread. I think I spent too much time holding my nephew!

01.30.09 Hibachi Night

I was surprised to learn that Juan has never been to a hibachi restaurant where they cook your food at your table. We decided to try a new place on Greenville called Tokoyono. It was very delicious!

01.29.09 Survey Work

Today we are surveying the existing shell space at Las Palmas. We are going to finish out the space with ICU and Neuro OR's and are confirming what was actually installed in the last project. This is a typical day on site for me.

01.28.09 Headwall at Las Palmas

I am at Design Development meetings today at Las Palmas Medical Center in El Paso. This photo is of their existing ICU headwall that I designed about 5 years ago. We are surveying for their new ICU expansion and discussing what they liked and didn't like. I was in meetings from 8am until 6pm today at the facility.

01.27.09 Dashboard

Ok, I am headed out of town once again for work. This time to El Paso. The view of my dashboard is a daily view and often quite dusty. My car is a 2003 Honda Civic and is almost paid off!

01.26.09 Bedroom

After a long weekend and an even longer plane ride, it was heaven to see my bed. My bed and entire bedroom is one of my most favorite spots in our home. The bed is tall with a fabulous pillow top queen mattress. Vanessa handmade the comforter, and both she and Mom made all of the pillows. Our bed is often unmade, but it still feels just as good to come home to.

01.25.09 Roulette

Today Angie wasn't feeling well, so Miriam, Shannon, and I headed out to visit some other hotels. We ended up in Paris where we found wonderful fruity frozen drinks, reasonably priced. We then parked ourselves at a Roulette table where we all proceeded to have a grand time. We were all winning for a while, but of course our luck ran out. Shannon and I managed to quit when we broke even, but Miriam lost a bit. It was still a fun afternoon.

01.24.09 Girls in Vegas

Amazingly enough, we only managed to get a couple of photographs with all four of us together. We were together quite a bit, but somehow forgot to pose for pictures. This is us in front of our hotel, Harrah's, on the strip.

01.23.09 Arrival in Vegas

Miriam and I met Angie and Shannon in Vegas. We arrived ahead of the girls, so Miriam and I quickly found a slot machine in the airport to keep us busy. The slot machine was a Wheel of Fortune. I remembered from past Vegas trips that this particular slot machine had a bonus round where the wheel spins and you win a lot of quarters. I played this machine over and over for the next three days and never once hit that bonus round! Hmmmph!