Happy Birthday

My nephew, Sione turns SIX today.

I called around 8pm today.  He answered the phone. I sang "Happy Birthday" really loud & obnoxious.  When I was done, it was NOT Sione's voice on the other end...it was his lil brother Filipe, saying "hello?  helllloooooo".  

What happened, you ask?  Not quite sure.

Was it my horrible voice?  Was it my loudness?  Or was Birthday Boy not-so-happy?

*shrug*

Oh well...Happy Birthday, anyway!

Some of my favorite pics:

not-so-fun-SATURDAY

Are we having FUN yet?

uhmmmm....not hardly....

MAJOR Update

Spring Break:  WONDERFUL time in Chicago.  Pics to come soon (hopefully)

HOUSE:  Our bid was finally accepted today (after going back 'n forth all weekend)!!!  It is not the house pictured below, so pics are soon to come of that as well.  We are nervous, but excited at the same time!  

Happy Easter!

HUGE decision

The time has finally come for Steven & I to consider buying a home.

We've been renting the entire time we've been married.

The perks...The things we're looking forward to:

1. A garage

It will be SO NICE not to have to scrape our windows all the time. It will be nice not to have to go outside in the skivies to start my car 5 minutes before leaving for work, just to warm up the car. It will be nice not to worry about people breaking into your vehicle overnight, and not having a way to get to work the next morning. It will be ESPECIALLY nice not to be angry when I come home & find that someone has stolen my parking space!

2. Rent will be the same every month.

As renters, you never know whether rent will increase from year to year.

3. We will have a place of our OWN.

A place not to hear neighbors going up and down the stairs. A place where when the neighbors turn on the water, it doesn't affect MY water temperature when I'm in the shower.

4. $8.000 first-time home buyer credit.

SWEET!

There are several other reasons why owning would be nice. But, then again...there are also the duties one has to take on when you own a home.

1. MOWING

'Nuff said. UGH!

2. If something breaks, you have to fix it, or call someone to fix it.

3. Upkeep of the house.

Painting, replacing things. And being extra careful to take care of things, so you can resell it a bit easier in the end.

4. LARGE monthly payments.

So...that's what Steven & I have been up to lately. If you want to see the house we are considering currently, click HERE.

What do you think?

A Day for ME...

So...What did I do for my 

30th Birthday?

Shopped 'til I dropped:

You know...you'd think that all of that stuff is for me.  But NO...about 1/2 is for my dear husband.  I can't help it...when you find a good deal, it's a good deal.  The perfect fit.  The perfect price (when you're lucky). The perfect opportunity.  

The day was BEAUTIFUL.  It was 55 degrees.  The sun was shining, and the outlet was not very crowded.  Indeed, it was the PERFECT day to go shopping! (all except for Steven's bum ankle...oh well, we still had fun, even if we were slowed down a bit).

Here's a few of the things we purchased:

a total of 8 shirts for me.  7 are for summer, and 1 is long-sleeved.  Which ones are my favorite?  Just wait and see....

These 2 are definitely among my top 2!  The picture is crappy, but the one on the left is my favorite shirt of the day...I got it at Nautica.  It was on sale, but it still wasn't the best bargain of the day.  Oh well...it was my birthday.  I'm allowed to get ONE thing that's not on the clearance rack!  ;)

Here's the pile that is mostly Steven's:

He racked up @ Nautica as well.  (Don't ask how much we spent there...it's really embarrassing!)  The long-sleeved shirt on the bottom left is really great!  It was $10, and even though he probably won't wear it until next year...it's a perfect fit, and the color is fabulous on him!  The t-shirt that is light blue on the top, and the shorts on the bottom are right up there as well...the shorts are from Nautica as well, while the t-shirt is from Aeropostle.

The dress to the right, is obviously (hopefully) mine.

The picture doesn't do it justice AT ALL.  Oh well...that way, when you see me in it, it'll look even better, right?  I had to get a matching accessory.... :)

The shoes on the top left (the strange orange ones), are my "find" of the entire shopping spree:

So they are a bit hideous, I know.  They were $5. FIVE BUCKS!  They are a bit "plastic-y", but they are oooohhhhhh so cozy!  I just had to make them mine.

And then there's the shoes we got for Steven:

He doesn't take very good care of his shoes.  We have purchased "semi-nice" ones before, but after several years of throwing them around, they look horrid!  We found these Steve Madden ones on sale...and they are perfect!  But of course, he had to have some more casual ones to wear daily to work...hence, the ones above them.  A cheaper, more casual and comfy shoe--for daily wear.  Who cares if they get beat up? (OK. I still care. But not as much as if they were the Steve Madden's).

All in all...a successful day!  I haven't gone to check my bank statement yet, though.  Will I still consider it a success after I find out the total of all these wonderful items I just needed to have?  We'll see.  However, this doesn't happen very often.  In fact...I'm more known for picking up things off the clearance rack, and not even taking a second glance at the "new" things you pass while going to the back of the store.  I usually end up buying things here & there.  I consider myself a BARGAIN shopper.  However, this year, for my B-day, I wanted to shop.  So I did. 

My Second Home- CHILE

CHILE

My HOME away from home, if you will.

The news is devastating.

My heart is full of sorrow, pain, and yet there is a LOT of love.

Love for the people I knew.

The people that took care of me for so long, that taught me the Chilean way...

How to dance La Cueca, How to properly eat Cazuela, How to be yourself, and how to Love unconditionally...even when you have just met.

The earthquake.

The tsunami.

The tremors that still occur.

The buildings that fell to the ground.

The people who lost their lives.

Out of more than 30 people I still keep in contact with, I have only heard from maybe 10.

Do they not have power? NO.

Are they even alive still? I don't know.

It's killing me not to know.

I wish there was something I could do.

For now...just sit, pray, and check Facebook updates often.

*sigh*

CHILE--I love you.

Weigh-In....NOT!!

Okay, so like a lot of you, I've been trying to lose weight recently.

Okay, so I really haven't done anything too drastic...I'm just trying to cut back on portion sizes, eat out less, and buy healthier foods in general.

So...this has been since the start of the school year.  

August 2009.

Now, it's February 2010.  You're probably thinking--WOW!  That's 7 months.  10 pounds a month is about average....so 70 pounds.  

YA RIGHT.....5 pounds/month is more like it.  So....that means minus 35 pounds.

YA RIGHT.....

So, here's my predicament:

Do I look skinnier?  NO.

Do I feel skinnier?  YES.

How much weight does the scale say I've lost?  TOTAL: 12 pounds.

TWELVE POUNDS in 7 months.  

That sucks!

I want to do better.  But how?

Do I have TIME to get to the gym everyday?  NO.

Some days, I am only home for 1 hour in between school, work, music lessons, meetings, more meetings, and what-not.  For the past month, I've had to go to physical therapy for my back twice a week.  It's been snowing or raining...and it's dang cold.  Have I felt like going to the gym?  NO.  Do I remind Steven every week that this week is going to be different...that I'm going to make time to go to the gym?  YES.

So here I am.  I still feel LARGE. My clothes fit better, though.  I'm able to wear some pants and skirts I haven't worn in a while.  So...that's good.  Does the scale prove anything, anyway?  Well...I'd like it to say that I've lost weight, too.  I'd like others to notice that I look thinner...that's ALWAYS motivating and encouraging.  But so far--nada.

For now, I guess I'll have to settle with ME being the only one who can see the difference.  Is it just ME, or does this happen to anyone else?