Kitchen Bulletin Board

When we moved into our house here in TX, we knew we would need to buy a new fridge. We opted for a stainless steel front because we're trendy like that. Only problem was that once it was in our kitchen, we realized it isn't magnetic! Bummer! We like to put pictures of our friends and family on our fridge.

Hmmm. What to do? We decided to hang a bulletin board in our kitchen, but I thought a plain bulletin board would be a little boring, so my sister came up with the idea of covering it with fabric. We found this really pretty fabric at Hobby Lobby ON SALE (!!!)

Saucy, I totally though of you and your love for Marie Antoinette when I chose the fabric! Here it is from a wider shot.

Only problem is...now I don't want to cover it up with photos! :)

Thirty-Five!

I turned 35 last week!  I had a wonderful birthday, too.  On my actual birthday day, my mom came over and we spent the day together. She took me out for lunch at an Indian restaurant, and she told me the story of the day I was born. My favorite part is always hearing her tell me that my Dad was so excited he ran up and down the hall at the hospital telling everyone that he had a baby girl!  I love that!

We also talked about what a blessing it is to have a good mother-daughter relationship. I'm so thankful for that and for her.  I love you, Mom!

On Saturday evening, Brian cooked a delicious lasagna dinner for my family and a few friends. I felt very loved and very celebrated!  When Sam came over to my house for the party he was wearing a t-shirt my sister made that said, "I love Tia".  How's that for an awesome nephew!

After dinner, we went outside for a little while to play bocce ball. It was a lot of fun--even Sam thought so!

Finally, we had Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake, and I blew out all my candles!  I feel very blessed with my first 35 years, and I hope this year will be a good one, too--I hope it is the year I'll become a mother.  Every day is a gift from God, and I'm thankful for the gift of life!

Another eHarmony Success Story!

No, not us, silly! .... I'm talking about our friends, Clive and Amy!

Isn't her wedding dress gorgeous?!  Clive and Amy got married in this quaint Spanish-style courtyard:

I couldn't get enough of the "California" painted on the side of the building.  Perfect for an outdoor So Cal wedding!  The most memorable part of the wedding for me was when the bride and groom sang a duet together of Stevie Wonder's "A Ribbon in the Sky for our Love". It was beautiful and moving and such beautiful, poetic lyrics!

Clive and Amy, we wish you a lifetime of happiness!  May God bless your marriage and your life together!

Seeing Friends in California

Of course, one of the real treats of our So Cal vacation was getting to reconnect with some dear friends. Two of my closest friends that I made while living in LA were these two ladies, both named Jennifer.  :)  Jenn (on the left) is an awesome friend who just collected a masters degree in counseling on her way to completing a doctorate!  I'm very proud of her dedication to achieving her goals. Jen Disney (on the right) is my amazing and talented photographer friend. We are a couple of goofy gals when we get together. It's like our inner children come out to play. I think we connect because we both have artistic spirits. Check out her amazing wedding photography website here.

We were also able to meet up with our adorable friends Dave and Liz. Tell me they aren't precious:

We met in a small group through our church, and just hit it off from the get go!  Liz is also an actress, and it has been fun supporting each other as we share a similar life path.

I am always amazed by friendships that are able to pick up right where they left off. That is what I have in my friendship with Liz. It was so great to sit across the table from them and have really great fellowship over a two hour lunch after not having seen each other for the past five months.

We had a few other meet-ups with friends while we were in town, but these are the only ones for which I have photos. It was really great to see everyone! 

"...a sweet friendship refreshes the soul." ~Proverbs 27:9

Reunited and it Feels so Goo-ood!

I didn't really intend to be posting so sparsely in recent days. My only real excuse is that life got in the way, and to be honest, that's a good thing. I worry a little bit about myself sometimes that I spend so time on the internet that I might be missing out on "real life".

Well, lately, there has been so much real life going on!  In late July, Brian and I took a trip out to California for a friend's wedding. We thought that as long as we were going to be back in LA, we might as well make it a vacation!  It was so nice being back in a temperate climate.

As soon as we pulled away from the airport in our rental car, we drove straight to the beach!  We splashed and body surfed at Laguna Beach, and the next day we rented boogie boards and played in the water at Sunset Beach (I love that beach!).

Normally, I would be judging myself for looking a little heavier than I'd like to be in the above photo, but not tonight!  Brian and I just got home from seeing the wonderful movie Julie and Julia. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. Meryl Streep is flawless as Julia Child. The food in the movie was awesome and it looked so delicious that my mouth is watering just thinking about it!  What I loved about the portrayal of Julia Child in the film is that she was a statuesque woman who absolutely loved food!  While I am no culinary genius, I do appreciate good food.  I have also found that as lovely as a slender figure looks on a woman, I find a full-figured, statuesque woman to be a lovelier physical ideal.  So to heck with self-loathing!  Today, I am embracing my build and loving myself as I am.

In the spirit of the love of delicious food, we made a stop at the Crystal Cove Shake Shack, an Orange County roadside institution, known for its incredible milkshakes. I ordered a shake locals call the "monkey flip": a vanilla shake with chocolate, peanut butter, dates and banana. All I can say is, "Yum."

The beach bum in the car with me ain't too shabby either!

More on our vacation to come soon!

Evil Knievel

My sister just sent me these pictures of Sir Samsalot performing stunts on the back of his ATV, and I couldn't resist sharing them here.

I love how he's pointing at the "crowd" in the last shot as if to say, "Oh yeah, people! You know I'm awesome!"

Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh...Hangin' Tough!

Oh, yea, ladies!  Yours truly was there Saturday night for the live New Kids on the Block concert experience...and what an experience it was!

Important things you should know about the NKOTB concert:

Women LOVE the NKOTB...and they will prove it with their homemade t-shirts! This was only one of several groups who expressed their undying love through adorable arts and crafts:

Lest any of you doubt that the NKOTB are still adored by a HUGE following, let the 20,000 women who flooded into Houston's concert Saturday night be the living proof. I was privileged to attend the concert with the two biggest NKOTB fans ever!  

Here's Erin, still showing Jordan the love after all these years:
I still remember her sister Catherine's devotion to Joey in high school when she wore oversized buttons like this one:Catherine's devotion to Joey runs deep.  Exhibit 1:Exhibit 2:

Joey is still HOTT:

Jordan is still HOTTER:

I confess that I never really got into NKOTB back in the day. While they have grown into handsome men, I too have grown up to be a sensible woman.  I may have rocked a side ponytail to support the band, but OH MY STARS, turn the volume down!

Lincee from I Hate Green Beans was sitting right next to me!

My sister was sitting on the other side of me, which came in very hand at a concert where the music was so loud, we couldn't communicate with words. All we have to do is give each other one look and we just get it, ya dig? We have fun together: 

In case you forgot the hand motions to "Hangin' Tough" no worries!  Just wave your hands in the air, and wave 'em like you just don't care:

NKOTB can still rock it old school, but they look good in their grown up suits!

NKOTB + Confetti = Total Estrogen Frenzy

Texas was very serious about thanking the NKOTB:

...Very serious...

no, seriously serious!

Thanks NKOTB!  It was an awesome concert!

My Fairy Godmother

Meribeth and her beautiful family in 2007 at my wedding reception.

Question from The Book of Myself:  My godparent or a special adult in my life growing up was...

I was blessed with a wonderful godmother, who also happens to be my cousin. Her name is Meribeth. I call her my Fairy Godmother, and she calls me her Fairy Goddaughter. The best part about Meribeth (how can I pick a best part, really?) is that she is 14 years older than I am, so she is between my mother's age and my own.  That makes her the perfect confidant. Young enough to confide in like a big sister, but wise enough to give me sage advice!

I'll never forget a very special letter I received from her. I was about 14 years old and she came to visit me during the summer. That stage of adolescence is so difficult, no matter how well-adjusted a girl might be. She came to spend a week or two with my sister and me while my parents were out of town. 

After she left town, my sister and I were having some sort of sibling rivalry and I was feeling like a generally angsty teenager. I guess my mom sensed that I needed someone (besides a mother) to talk to about my feelings, so she suggested that I write Meribeth a letter. I decided to do just that.

If I recall, the root of my angst boiled down to the fact that I really wanted to become an actress and I had no idea how to make that happen, living in suburban Houston at 14 years old.

Meribeth wrote me back the kindest and most understanding letter. She suggested that I enroll in acting classes and was just generally encouraging. What I remember most from her letter was that she believed in me. She heard what was in my heart, and she believed in me and the importance of my dreams. Even writing about it now, I have tears streaming down my cheeks.

It is not lost on me that my decision to major in Theatre Arts in college was probably made a little bit more easily because my wise Fairy Godmother once told me in a letter that taking acting classes could really help me to fulfill my dreams. And it is not lost on me now that the woman who believed in my dreams when I was 14 years old still believes in them 20 years later.  She has traveled many miles over the past year to see me perform in two plays in Los Angeles!

Meribeth, thank you for being the best Fairy Godmother I could hope for!

Blogging Inspiration!

Image found on Amazon.com

In the checkout line today at HomeGoods, I spotted The Book of Myself by Carl and David Marshall.  It is a "Do-it Yourself Autobiography in 201 Questions". Fascinated, I flipped through the pages and decided right then and there to buy it!

For our first anniversary, my mother gave us The Book of Us: A Journal of your Love Story in 150 Questions by David and Kate Marshall. It has since sat collecting dust on my bookshelf.

However, both books are now on my desk next to my laptop, and I've decided to begin chronicling my life in these books.  At the same time, I think the questions posed in the books will make wonderful prompts for blogging! Considering that I've been lacking in blog fodder lately, it seems like good timing!

Summertime!

These little cuties are the kids of some of our new friends here in TX. I couldn't resist the blueberry cobbler smeared all over their son's face!

Nothing says summertime like swinging in the late evening...

...fresh cut grass...

...and blueberry cobbler!

Focused Passion

I can't seem to escape thinking about mortality lately.

Between my own father's passing a year ago, the slew of celebrity deaths that have happened over the past two weeks, and news Brian received last night that an old work acquaintance passed away, it's practically impossible to escape thoughts of death and life.

Life is just so short--life here on earth, that is.  I believe in Heaven and that I will live there eternally after I die.

With all that in mind, my finite brain has some questions churning around in it:

~If life on earth is a gift that endures for a finite amount of time, how should I live it?

~If life on earth is preparation for eternity, how should I live it?

~If life on earth is a gift from God, how does He want me to live it?

In other words, I don't believe this life is all there is.  However, I do believe this life has great purpose that impacts both the here and now, as well as eternity. The big question I'm left with is:  With all this in mind, how shall I live?

One of the answers I keep coming back to is:  with passion!

I realize these are huge questions that can't be summed up articulately in a short blog post.  I can say, though, that if life here on earth has a divine purpose, I want to embrace it and to live fully!

I want to take seriously the things that matter to God. I want to enjoy this earthly life to the full because it is a great gift!  Today is God's gift to me--an opportunity to get to know Him better, to love Him with my life, to love others, to appreciate the beauty in His Creation, to give thanks for my home, for my daily bread, for my dear family and friends. 

Amazingly, I think I take so much of it all for granted.  Days slip away lived passionlessly.  

To live a life of focused passion and love for God and others--I think that is my purpose.

Note:  My husband, Brian, wrote a beautiful post today reflecting on this theme.

Celebrating TWO!

Thanks to all of you who left such sweet comments for us on our anniversary. I had to put a couple photos of the lovely roses I was greeted with when I walked into our kitchen on Tuesday morning!

We are planning to spend the weekend up in my hometown where we got married.  Of course, I love an excuse to "drag out" celebrating anything (birthdays, anniversaries etc.)!  We're going to stay at the hotel where we had our wedding reception, and we're also going to take a cooking class.  The class is called "Date Night in Rio de Janeiro", and all the recipes we'll be making are Brazilian!  Then we get to sit down and eat the delicious meal we cook!

Happy 4th of July weekend to all!

House Guests = Captive Photo Subjects!

About a year ago, some friends of ours from our church in California moved to Texas.  Nine months later, we did too!  So it was fun to be able to have a reunion with Lonna and her son Jamin.  They made a pretty long drive just to spend about 24 hours with us!  Thanks, guys!

I'm still taking baby steps toward setting up a photography business, so neither my Canon nor I could resist this adorable face!

Isn't he handsome?!

Tuesday morning, I wanted to do a mother/son photo shoot, but Jamin was in no mood to have a camera in his face!  I had discovered this waterfall in our community a month or so ago, and I'd been wanting to take some photos there. I can't wait to go back and shoot there again!  I love this photo because it just goes to show that capturing a silly moment is just as framable as two perfectly smiling faces making eye contact with the camera:

After our shoot, we went to Chick-fil-A for lunch, and Jamin loved his ice cream cone!

If you're in the Houston area and you want me to photograph your family or your children, let me know!  I'm trying to build my portfolio, so I'll do it for C-H-E-A-P!