ONE MAN'S TRASH....IS ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE!

since I'm home for 3 weeks mom said i need to clean out the closet with all my crap in it that they have held as my storage (if i didn't take it with me when i moved to Las Vegas nearly 6 years ago -pretty sure it's trash or junk! lol) so going through tons of clothes and other 'valuables' i came across, it was pretty amusing! i came across lots of pictures I'm taking home to scan in to my computer and lots of things that made me question how weird i really am/was...seriously?
the closet exploded...

my dad had this made for my car when i was 16...i never did put it on my car...

my mom saved this shirt from when i was a baby!

found a huge box of cassette tapes! and cassette singles! loved my variety of musical taste!

the prize of the day..dying hysterical at these..and i thought these were soo cool..and wore these nearly every day...REALLY!!??? i even taught a dance audition in these..LOL

EYE CAN SEE NOW...

the whole reason i came home was my mom had finally decided to have a surgery she has wanted for a long time...to get her eye lids done..(she also decided to have a brow lift as well...well, since you're in there might well fix that...)her eye lids have bothered her for years and they were really bad, she had majorly hooded eyes, so bad that it affected her vision..i am so happy that she finally decided to go through with the surgery! and not wait until she was too old to actually enjoy her new youthful look! we are both really excited with the results so far, while there is still swelling and some bruising it is looking better and better each day...she goes back to get her stitches and STAPLES (out of her head) on Thursday this week...the staples really freak her out, but that's understandable!
here's a pic (probably the only one she'd allow me to post on here! so far!)of how we saw her when we walked into the recovery room!

PERFECT TIMING!

a few days before i got home my best friend from high school had a baby! great timing!! so i got to visit and see the gorgeous little girl!! EMMA! she's perfect and soo sweet!! Congrats Sarah and Robb!!

Summer Fun

i got lucky while visiting, the St. Chris Fair was going on! i grew up going to this fair as a kid and as a teenager..hanging with friends, riding rides and looking for cute boys...feeling a bit nostalgic...who doesn't love a good fair. i got excited seeing the 'elephant ear' signs...(yes, food subject AGAIN) these delicious cinnamon sugar fattening fried dough the size of a plate goodness apparently are a Midwest thing..my husband gary has no clue what an elephant ear is...i associate these things with theme parks and fairs...-seriously how can you have never had one!? i must admit i was extremely disappointed when i went to Disneyland looking for my elephant ear stand! they DONT do elephant ears-they do churros!? -REALLY??? sorry but churros don't even compare to an elephant ear! i was not impressed...anyways, on that note! the kids rode some rides and I stalked the elephant ear stand! we hadn't eaten dinner yet so i didn't want to eat one, they smelled and looked delicious though...for dinner since everything nearly closes at 10 we went for some good ol' White Castles...(a good way to get the good old digestive system working! lol) that's the only way to eat them and the only time they really taste GOOD- 1. late at night 2. when you're really hungry 3. when you're hungover or drunk (which wasn't the case)
here's some pics from the fair ..

A Must When in Indiana...

my first stop for dinner was Steak n' Shake..(unfortunately every time i visit home it's all about eating- eating at places i don't get to eat in California)..it's so yum...i really wish we had one of these in California, it's so much better than Johnny Rockets or any other janky diner we have out there...it's all about the Frisco Melt, (i also got a strawberry shake) it was soo good.Gary is not with me on this trip home so he was extremely jealous that i got to go eat at steak n' shake!

Adventures in Babysitting

my first week back home i babysat my niece and nephew kyrsten and jacob they are 6 and 5... they are wild but soo much fun! my mom was watching them because my brother and sister in law were on a mission trip, so since i was coming in town and my mom was gonna be working,i thought i would watch the kids instead of sending the kids to their babysitter ..my mom kept warning me that i might not be able to handle them ALL week and we could take them to the sitter...by Thursday i understood her warning...whew they wore me out...they are a lot of fun but wow they have a lot of energy - they want to do a million things within minutes of starting one thing! i can understand how moms never get to eat or shower...i didn't have a minute to do anything...we had a lot of fun though...:)
on hot days they played in their little pool and kyrsten wanted to sunbathe like her aunt (she's my mini me!!)

Homeward Bound

well, it's been a while since i last updated. hmm..well where did i leave off. i didn't even blog about my excitement on going home. i am home visiting for 3 weeks, I've already been here 2 weeks and only have another week left. my time here has gone fast, isn't that how it always goes? the best part about going somewhere is the anticipation. then whatever you're looking forward to just flys by! i wanted to update as things happened but, it looks as though I'll be updating in a huge clump!

MY BREAK UP WITH T-MOBILE

can you hear me now? what about now? so, i ended my probably near decade relationship with t mobile. i was sad, but wanted to move on to bigger and better things...like at&t and the new iphone. (i wouldn't call it bigger and better)i never had problems with t mobile i liked them. they just didn't offer the iphone, which i wanted. it was hard deciding to finally make the switch with phone companies and phones...blackberry vs. iphone. so a week after the iphone came out in the apple store they were launched in the at&t stores..the store opened at 7am. so i decided like a crazy lady that i was gonna go stand in line and try and get one. i got there a little before 8am and there were probably 40 people ahead of me...i didn't really know what to expect, i normally don't do these crazy obsessive things (ok, i do but it's normally an online impulse buy!) not waiting in line for hours for some new phone! by the time i got there they were sold out of the 16g and 32g phones, but they were handing out 'golden tickets' or reservations for phones for the people still in line- they were getting in a shipment later in the afternoon so they would call me when it arrived. i was bummed but was excited that i would be getting a phone that day! sure enough they called around noon and i ran down to the store to pick it up!
well it was quite the adjustment coming from a blackberry..i was ready to have a breakdown and throw the damn thing out the window until i called at&t and had to get help, come to find out it was not set up right.. once they made some adjustments on their end, it stated working just fine....it was hard learning to navigate around the phone and typing on the dang thing is still a challenge..but I'm learning and starting to love my new iphone..ok, I'm lying. I LOVE IT! this thing rarely leaves my hands during the day, the battery is dead every night..this never happened on my blackberry. one feature i haven't used yet is facetime..the video call feature. both people have to have the phone to use the feature, and i don't know anyone who has the phone yet. well, i do but not to the point that I'd want to facetime. (no offense) my mom is getting the phone in February so i guess i will be waiting until then to use that feature. it also takes awesome HD video and amazing photos -from a person obsessed with taking self portraits! :P


standing in line for the phone i could finally see the door!

ANOTHER BLOGGER IN THE FAMILY

so this post is to pass the word on Gary's blog. his blog has a little more substance than mine-hee hee..his is informational/entertainment/business/politics etc...basically his opinions and rants and raves on current events. it's a pretty good read and he's got some good points. Agree or Disagree with him you should check out his blog..he's even doing fun 'vlogs' (video blog)..

www.visionsandventures.com

June 28 2008

Happy Anniversary to my husband Gary..2 years ago today we stood on a beach in Maui and said I Do...
now a days you call me annoying, and i call you a pain in my butt..but i wouldn't have it any other way! you keep me laughing :)
Happy Anniversary Gary- I LOVE YOU!

I'D RATHER BE IN HAWAII but....

for an early anniversary dinner (1 day early) Gary and i celebrated at Flemings Steakhouse. if you've never been it's AMAZING! it's an upscale steakhouse, that always seems to be busy (no recession there!) on a side note..you better like eating in the dark Gary and i both noticed that it was freakin dark in this joint! comparable to dungeon-dark! maybe something to do with fancy shmancy 'ambiance'? i don't know..but the food is awesome! the wedge salad with bleu cheese is too die for!!! it's sooo good...and of course Gary and i both got the filet and baked potato (there side items are al la carte), i was opting to try something different but with steak its hard not to do the good old baked potato! it was yum...and the steak was so tender...for dessert i got the creme brulee and it was really good as well...of course afterwards i was completely miserable, seriously it was disgusting i felt the way i did. i vowed to never eat again..but of course you know how that goes. it was a great dinner..of course i would have rather been in Hawaii but my husband knows another way to make me happy and thats with food! Thanks for taking me to an awesome dinner and another year Gary! I Love you!


this photo is a little awkward, don't ask what my prom/weird hand is doing.
looks as though I'm making sure Gary's heart is still beating. weird!

JUST FOR FUN!

after watching tons of fun youtube videos and reading her blog kandeethemakeupartist.blogspot.com - CHECK HER OUT! HER VIDEOS ARE ON THERE TOO!

seriously she's the cutest funnest girl EVER!!! she has TONS of great makeup tutorials and how to get the looks...she's awesome! anyways in one of her videos on you tube she does zebra print nails (she also has another video on how to do leopard print nails...SOOO CUTE!) so i got inspired and did my nails zebra print...it's fun :)


zebra nails
(i made the stripes with black nail polish and a tooth pick)

HELP ME HELP A FREIND :)

CATOU AND I SOMETIME BACK IN 1998 OR 1999 (our first ship contract!)


help me help a very dear friend of mine for over a decade-Catou! i have joined her team to walk in the Southern California Brain Tumor walk in October. i want to help her raise money to help kick brain tumor's butt and find a CURE!! to help donate copy and paste the link below...(i couldnt figure out how to make it a link on here!-it wouldnt work!)


http://www.braintumorcommunity.org/site/TR/Events/BTW-HB?px=2365593&pg=personal&fr_id=1590

1 LESS MOLE

I am covered in moles...lets just say i have 1 less mole now.
this mole on my face has given me problems for years, i finally had it 'shaved' off. it literally took 10 seconds for the dermatologist to do and should leave no scar so for 2 weeks i have to wear a band aid over the mole remnants/hole and lots of neosporin :)

GARDEN A LA HERNANDEZ

so our garden is showing some signs of growth..we've got a lot of little flowers blossoming up on the plants but not much that would look like anything edible! our strawberries are growing nicely and getting nice and red although not very big. we had to put a cage up around the garden because we had a strawberry thief! a few weeks ago we had our first strawberry growing i would check it everyday until i went out to find it gone :( all that was left was the stem and green top of the strawberry. we have possum problems in our back yard so i think he is the culprit! maybe not though as i have found a half eaten strawberry since putting the cage up! so maybe its a lizard..(yeah we have a ton of those creepy little things running around our backyard) anyhoo...earlier this week i noticed we have a new arrival! a baby tomato has grown!

My visit down to Catou's

Memorial Day weekend i went down to have a sleep over with Catou. She had planned a surprise for me and sent me instructions to meet her at a location and come wearing now makeup and bring a swim suit! Long story short i was shocked to see when i arrived we were at a swanky spa, Catou had treated me to a day at the spa and an 80 minute massage. this place was a little intimidating, i felt so out of place! it was so fancy! i just got my first massage a couple of months ago and it was not at a spa! we spent our time in the jacuzzi and sauna before getting our treatments. seriously this massage was ahhhhhmazing!! and those 80 minutes went by soo fast! it was an awesome experience! and couldn't believe Catou had treated me to such a an awesome day! she said it was for my birthday and doing so well in school (she's so proud of me! :) ) once we got to her house we were starving we got ready for dinner and walked down a BBQ restaurant (she lives one street over from the beach) so where we walked is nothing but shops and cute little restaurants! on our walk home we stopped and got a HUGE cupcake to share. we love food :) the next morning we went for breakfast, a nice morning walk to breakfast and then we walked along the beach on the way home. it was so nice. we admired all the gorgeous homes on the beach and there was even one for sale, I'm sure for at least 7 million...a girl can dream right!;) we had an awesome weekend!! soo glad i got to see her. this girls schedule is ALWAYS full!! so finding a time when she is free is always a task!! :)


Catou and I on our walk on the beach


Catou performing her balance beam routine -just kidding

Our Garden

So, we decided to jump on the organic bandwagon... we already buy a handful of organic items at the grocery, but decided it would be fun to plant our own organic garden. we built plant/garden bed and then planted our veggies and fruit. we planted strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes, and green beans. it's been 2 weeks since we planted our garden and we already have some buds/flower sprouts! this was kind of an experiment and after the fact i read the preferred spacing that the for example watermelon should be planted like a foot apart.yeah, we didn't do that! so we'll see what happens...this is our first time trying, so we'll be excited if we get anything to grow!


Building the garden bed.


Adding the soil


Planting


The final product our garden!

LOST!

so, i'm a little late, but after hearing soo much buzz on the season finale and final episode of the tv show Lost (which i haven't seen yet), it sparked my interest. i had not watched a single episode the entire 6 years it was on. so i started at season 1. luckily i am able to watch seasons 1-5 instantly via the wii through netflix. it's awesome and a good thing i can watch them all continuously since i'm ADDICTED!!! i blew through season 1 in like 2 days! then i got gary and jayden watching it and they became addicted! gary even went back and watched all of season 1, since i got him addicted during the middle of season 2! now, hes nearly caught up to me in the middle of season 3 now! it's soo addicting and you can literally watch for hours...causing one to be nonproductive and lazy!...ugh! once i get through season 5, i dont know how i'm gonna wait for season 6 to come to dvd....hopefully i can watch or find the episodes on the internet!
i kind of like that i'm late watching this show..1. i can watch every episode right after one another or multiple episodes in the week. i can find out right away what happens with these cliff hanger endings! 2. no commercials !!

SUMMER IS HERE....

so, now that it has warmed up outside I have been trying to get a tan, but i have to compete for my towel or chair with a furry little rodent...my dog!Troy LOVES to lay in the sun. i decided i wasn't gonna compete anymore for towel space or having tan lines from my dog-he will lay ON ME when i'm laying out even if i'm all oily-i guess he doesn't mind but i sure do! yuck!dog hair and oil...eekk! anyhoo...i brought a towel out for troy (his very own!) and put in a chair so he could sunbathe too! he LOVED it!...he's so spoiled!;)

WoMEN aren't the only ones who are DRAMA!

on Friday (my cleaning day) i decided it was past over due to change our bed sheets, not only had they been on too long, but i thought it would also be a good time to take off the flannel sheets and switch them with the usual regular cotton sheets. so the bed was made, later that night around 11 Gary and i go to get in bed and he asks what happened to the sheets? i told him that i had changed them, he claimed there was no way he was gonna be able to sleep on the cotton sheets and that he needed his soft flannel ones (really?)i was like whatever dude! so he goes and snuggles down in bed and continues to complain and freak out saying that the cotton sheets feel like sleeping on a chalk board or something of that level?? (come on!) i thought his freak out would pass,at this point i am not remaking the bed..i did it once that day and i hate making the bed-like the changing sheets kind of making the bed. Gary jumps out of bed asking where the flannel sheets are and has to remake the bed...(REALLY?!) yeah, Mr. Mariah Carey cant sleep on cotton sheets anymore and is demanding his flannel sheets! luckily i had washed them and they were clean to put back on the bed. and men say women are drama...seriously?!