Thankful Sunday

This week has definitly been full of lessons, and gifts :)  Here are just a few I am thankful for....

• friends
• open conversation with friends
• "special" project planning
• scrapbooking...  one of my LOVES!
• NEW prescriptions
• contacts
• new glasses..... finally
• coffee
• collaborating with friends
• Celebrations of milestone Anniversaries!
• the dollar store
• words of appreciation
• weekend getaways
• weddings
• old friends, new friends
• Sisco puppy :)
• watching people be humbled by a story we should all learn from
• opening myself once again for other people's "stories" and learning from them
• impromptu taco dinners
• Jaime's Chris, and his handy-builder "skills"  ;)
• people's reactions to something worked on and given with love!  ;)
• ferry rides
• Vista's cinnamon rolls, I can't believe I'd never had one...  rest assured it will not be my last...  THANKS Debbie and Melissa for introducing me to one!  ;)
• rainy sundays!
• fluffy clouds
• Love poems, and sayings
• Catalina, and a fun weekend spent with friends
• chit chatting and catching up with old college friends!

Our Catalina Adventure.... Part 1

Bobby and Jessica had a 10 year Anniversary party in Catalina....  They were nice enough to invite all of us to come...  We all had a REALLY GREAT time....  and I think we decided that we should take "group" vacations more often....  ;)  Some people went out on Thursday, others on Friday, and most of us went out early Sunday morning....  It was GREAT to be able to travel with a BIG group of friends....  now without further ado...  I will bring you on our adventure!  ;)

The day started out sorta rainy, BUT I was blessed with a morning rainbow, so naturally everything was going to be ok....  or was it?  ;)

I picked up donuts for us.... 

met everyone at our "meeting" place and then we were on our way!!  ;)  We got to Newport with plenty of time, got our tickets and got in line....  I decided that we needed to take pictures....  and am I glad I did.....  ;)  Me and Momma Rachelle, ready to set sail....

The Mr. was ready too....  haha!

Jaikey Boy was not really a happy camper, he got woken up early to travel....  Not even a donut hole helped his mood....  poor Jaime!  ;)

Missy was ready too!

on our ferry...  awaiting the ride!

haha!!  everyone was still happy....  ;)

the kids thought it would be fun to check out the water.....

......and we were off!  I LOVED the sights of Newport as we were taking off!

Me and Kati.....  good thing I got one BEFORE dry picture of us! 

the we started being silly!

haha!

Look who we found!!  More party people!!  ;)  Mike and Kim came too!

.....and it begins....  it slowly started to get windy!  ;)  I had the big camera and was capturing our trip, from BEHIND the lens!  ;)  and YES Ryan had that smile on his face the WHOLE time....  he may of been the ONLY occupant of the ferry that was this happy the whole time!!  lol!

The water was a beautiful shade of blue....  I couldn't take enough of it in!

and ALL OF A SUDDEN it turned into this, scary gray water/sky....  ummmmm  time to go put the big camera away guys! 

....BUT not before I got a picture of the pod of dolphins that Mike was yellling at me about....  haha!!!  they were in the water, right behind us!...

How AWESOME is that??  I LOVE dolphins.... 

OOOOHHHHH   EEEEMMMMMM  GGGGEEEEEE!!! 

....one more picture and then I took the camera inside..... 

...But don't worry, I continued taking pictures with my phone!  ;)
haha!!  it started to "rain" on us!  ;)

haha!!!  ;)  It sorta felt like we were on a BAD scene of Titanic! 

Don't we look pretty??  ;)

The sky went back to being beautiful and the waters calmed down....  FINALLY, but not before a few people turned green right in front of our eyes!  :/

....and finally we had arrived...  Oh what a beautiful sight of the island!!

..... we didn't look so pretty, but we didn't care, we made it thru our adventure and we were ready to party!  ;)

There's that smile again!!  haha!!  in the meantime everyone around him is not feeling so well! 

Jaime just wanted to get to her hotel, and I kept taking pictures.....  ;)

;)

and there you have it...  we all looked like wet dogs, Rachelle was told her hair looked like a bad wig, and I grew a bird's nest on top of my head during our hour and 15 minute ferry ride....  Overall it was a great trip for me...  not sure I can say the ferry ride was everyone's favorite, I didn't mind it, I was just tired from the long week I had had before....  after we arrived we all went to our hotel rooms, showered, rested and got ready for the party!!  :D

...... and that will be part 2!  ;)

A wedding!

grrr...  The pictures loaded backwards...  BUT I think I'm too tired to change it!  ;)  A memorial weekend wedding....  :)  I met Phil in college, the dorms were seriously one of the best experiences I had in my late teens, early 20's....  I seriously never thought I'd see a ring on his finger...  BUT alas he tied the knot, and I couldn't be happier for him and his new wife Cristina!  :)

Old college friends....  :)

 The first dance.....

 Me and Marcela, I was so excited to see her, it had been way toooooo long!  ;) 

 ..... time to cut the cake!  ;)

 Dinner was AMAZING...  at least mine was...  I went with the beef, I know, surprise, surprise!  ;)  let me tell you how much it DIDN'T dissappoint.....  ;)

 The salad was also AMAZING, it was a strawberry salad, served in tostadas, with the most amazing strawberry vinagrette I had seriously EVER tasted! 

 The cake!

Mr. and Mrs. Reinartz

 

Here's to BEAUTFUL Memorial Day weekend weddings!  and here's to an eternity of happiness for you two!  ;)

Busy, Busy, weekend!

Memorial Day weekend came and went, but it was full of celebrations and travel....  ;0  I worked friday and saturday...  ran to the OC to attend a friends' wedding, and came home, and got ready for my treck into catalina to help Bobby and Jessica celebrate their 10 year Anniversary!  ;)  Overall it was a fun-filled super busy weekend, but I made it...  :)  more pictures to come, as soon as I can gather more energy to catch up on the good ol' blog....  starting with the wedding!  ;)

I can see, I can see, I can see.... :)

...... and obviously it doesn't take much to make it all giddy inside, haha!! 

Good bye scary nighttime driving,

and blurry EVERYTHING,

and small/blurry computer screen,

and squinting so I could focus....  feels weird not to have to do this anymore!  ;)

and halos around lights,

and HELLO

billboards I never could actually read before... and YES that was with my old contacts in....  ;) haha

hello super clear EVERYTHING,

and hello bright colors,

and hello words written everywhere!  ;)

and hi there clear computer screen writing...  I do believe I will spend more time on you now!  ;)

and hello street signs...

YIIPPEEE new glasses and contacts!  ;)  It really is the little things!  ;)

weird how our bodies, eyes, and ears work huh?? 

AND

isn't it amazing what we take forgranted on a daily basis??  I am OBVIOUSLY not one of the one's with perfect vision...  haha!! 

Happy Bright and clear weekend everyone!  ;)

Thank You Tuesday!!! :)

Tuesday, tuesday is my new favorite day off....  I seem to get so much accomplished on tuesdays!!  ;)  and it's also a day that starts with "T" so why not include it as a "thank you" day??  there are so many things that I need so say thank for....  EVERYDAY!!!  But it always seems more appropriate on a day that starts with "T" so here we go!!  ;)

• getting "giddy" over crafting, scrapbooking, candy making, knitting once again....  I feel like I've been in a slump....  But it appears that I'm back....  ;)
• friends
• kids
• Birthday BBQ's
• Pictures
• lists...
• again, heart to heart conversations with my little brother!  ;)
• understanding
• compassion....
• future "vacations", and get-aways
• party planning, even if they're not my own!  ;)
• shopping with the BFF's and the kids
• Pineapple/coconut yogurt....  YUMMM!!
• BRC's.....  :) 
• Boston Baked Beans
• Sixlets
• quality time with the kiddos
• V's summer plans!  haha
• Today especially I have to say THANK-YOU for answered prayers!  :)
• Movies on-demand
• The pool being up and running again!!  and the fact that it's almost summer time!
• FB, even though I could do without some of the drama that comes out of it!  ;)
• walking for a "cause"
• fundraising for the same cause
• meeting people who have been affected by cancer, and seeing how it has affected their lives....  mostly for the good....  It's always amazing to me how people who have had something traumatic happen to them, ALWAYS appear happier than the rest of us, I think it's because they have learned how not to take life for-granted, something I too learned years ago....  
• anniversaries, and feeling  100% better, 98% of the time!
• COFFEE!!!!  :D

I think that's it for this week....  I hope everyone has a GREAT week......  :D

Oh No!!!

.....The World's gonna end TOMORROW!!!  ;)   (dang I really need to keep up with the blog of mine)

May 21st to be exact!  ;)  we all know how much I enjoy a good meal, so naturally I couldn't let the last day of the world go without celebration...  and a celebration is what we had....  complete with a cajun rib eye, and strawberry lemonade!  ;)  My sister went to the gym....  my parents and I went to lonestar steak house...  :)

My meal started with a salad!  ;)  and a yummy lemonade!

me and mom!  ;)

haha!  my dad witing for his meal...  and surprising enough, the napkin wasn't big enough....  ;)

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE food??  ;D

My dad had a WHOLE rack of ribs....  Gosh I can't even begin to describe how thankful I still am EVERYDAY, that he's all fixed up and better! 

....and there it is, our "end of the world" meal!  and a fun time hanging out with the parents!  ;)  Oh and if you haven't been to Lonestar and tried the cajun rib eye....  you TOTALLY should!  ;)

"Un-GRACEful" Thursday.....

ahhhhhh!!!!  Thursday...  Thursday started off GREAT!!  I got up early, put some final touches on one of the "special" projects I'm working on....  I watched the news, ate a cream filled empanada, MY FAVORITE!!  had a cup of coffee.... and preceded to get ready for work...  SO FAR IT WAS A GOOD DAY!!!  haha!!

I used to LOVE thursdays, today not so much....  Today I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone all day!! hahai!  It wasn't a BAD day!  not at all, but it was definitely an "ungraceful" day!  you know the type of days when nothing goes really wrong...  but nothing goes right either??  Half an hour into my shift today I wanted to cry...  haha!!  Guess I should of gone with my first instinct, and NOT broken sown the milk load...... Hindsight REALLY is 20/20, The milk load and I got in a fight, and the stack won....  well sort of, a few gallons of milk suffered in the fight, BUT I did get our of the way...  in case anyone was wondering...  after I managed to make the mess, I decided it would be in my best interest to trade with the dairy guy who came in an hour later for a checking shift...  ;)  in the checkstand I managed to ask people i they were familiar with the pots and pans promotion THAT'S BEEN OVER FOR OVER 3 MONTHS....  haha!  don't worry a half hour before I was off I managed to get the promotion right...  GAS REWARDS!!  haha!!  

WHAT A MESS!!!  Yikes!

THANKFULLY the day go better....  :)  I came to hang out with Miss Ella, Mr Luke, and Mr Owen...  and we had a fun time enjoying the afternoon!  

Ella suggested we "follow" this snail to see where he went..  

....BUT he was moving too slow for her liking so she helped him up....  and preceded to find the rest of his family!!  haha!!

counting the "family members"

haha!!  THANK God she didn't make me touch them....  I'm not a snail fan...  shhh.....  don't tell Ella or Brody!

posing for Mommy!

Then we decided to play with the finger paints!  ;)

....and we came up with these guys...  she wanted our pictures to look the same!  ;)  ummmm...  we tried!  ;)

....and for dinner we put together a picnic!  ;)  egg sandwiches, a plate of cut up pineapple, apples and grapes for us....  and Mac and Cheese for Owen...  Lukey ended up going with Jessica and Bobby!!  :)

....and after the kids went to be I ended the night with this...  a cup of cafe mocha, with whipped cream...  YUMMM!!!

so there it is...  my ungraceful thursday in a nutshell!!  ;)  It really is true that kids make it all better though...  Thanks Jessica and Bobby for letting me have quality time with the kids, even after I shared "ungraceful" thursday events with you!!  ;)  it really is true that kids can turn a day around....  I think I'm ready to take on tomorrow....  There's no milk load in my schedule, so it's a better day already!!  ;)