capture the moments

i couldn't be more excited/nervous/anxious/overwhelmed about my christmas present from evan. he got me a Canon Rebel T2i.  i've been wanting to get into photography for a long time now, and i could never cough up the courage to buy a fancy new camera.  so... now that i have one... what do i do with it??

evan talked to a girl in boulder that has this awesome food blog and also has this camera.  she gave us some pretty great links to get started. 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/category/basic-photography/
http://www.kenrockwell.com/index.htm

i can't wait to start exploring my creative side with this new toy!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Merry Christmas to all! I hope everyone got to spend time with their loved ones, eat delicious food and get a few presents. Here are a few of my favorite things...

The best and the most memorable parts of Christmas for me are playing games with my family and watching those classic holiday movies.

Happy holidays to you and yours!

success...

success tastes like a skinny vanilla latte, made by your own two hands. 

for my birthday, my wonderful, incredibly thoughtful boyfriend, bought me an espresso machine.  to go along with the new toy, he reserved a private barista lesson with the local coffee shop.  the terrific barista taught us both how to make lattes, cappicinos, mochas, and how to maintain the machines. i was overly thrilled! i couldn't wait to get home to try it out for myself. 

it took a few tries to get it just right, but finally, there was success!!

what a wonderful birthday gift.

Hafa Adai!

hafa adai! aka hello! or greetings in the chamarro language.

there are always pros and cons when it comes to jobs.  mine has a little bit of both as well.  traveling for work can always be a little exhausting.  it usually depends on where i get stuck. po-dunk, middle of nowhere, pennsylvania - or ah-mazing, san diego, california.  it can be a crap-shoot.  lately, i've been extremely lucky with my clients.  most recently, i received the opportunity to go to Guam.  yes, Guam.  as in, middle of the pacific, 15 hours ahead of CST, Guam.  never in my life would i ever just take a trip over there.  this was such a great opportunity to explore a place that i would normally never see.  the people were very nice and friendly.  their native language is chamarro - a blend of japanese and spanish culture, much like other pacific islanders.  here's a few pics from the two week trip.



lounging by the pool.




Tumon Bay




Chamarro Village





Some of their pets.



procrastination

everyone has those thoughts, fantastic ideas, promises of greatness, that they want to do or overcome.  why do we always wait until monday? why is it always 'i'll start it tomorrow?' no more. do it. you're never going to get things done if you're always waiting until tomorrow.



if there's something that you've been wanting to do - go do it! tomorrow might have rain. tomorrow might be the busiest day of your life. tomorrow might be ugly. go do it today.

wonderful friends

it's crazy to stop and think how long you've known a person.  well, i've had the honor to have known these lovely ladies since i was a wee little girl.  5th grade to be exact.  andrea was my best of best buddies. we did everything together.  even our chores!  then came lindsey, then came abbey.  and to this day, we can always pick up where we left off.  i'm grateful to have these wonderful women in my life. 

over the past year or so, we've gotten better about getting together and spending some good ole fashion girl time.  last night, ms. drea, whipped us up some delicious food!  she really out did herself.  lasagna rolls (yes, two words), salad, and some tasty little chocolate and pb truffles!

check out the sweet recipes - lasagna rolls and pb chocolate truffles!
and yes, ladies, weight watcher recipes!!

note to you all out there, be mindful and gracious about your friendships.  they can last a lifetime.  :)

happy labor day!

i cannot wait for this weekend to begin.  evan and i are off to the great mile high city.  i bought these tickets for evan's birthday in july, and the anticipation has almost eaten me alive.  we'll be seeing some great friends, catching the Phish concert, and maybe being a little "rado" (as my bbf - ashley colean likes to say).  it's sure to be a great weekend!

have a good one!

rock 'n roll

with summer, comes music festivals. this year was the first year for the kanrocksas music festival. i was a little hesitant to see how it would play out, but i was pleasantly surprised. the festival was two days - friday and saturday. evan and i took off a half day on friday to see the lineup and start our musical weekend.

friday schedule:

fitz and the tantrums

artic monkeys

primus

THE flaming lips

eninem

 saturday schedule:

GRACE POTTER and the nocturnals

cage the elephant

flogging molly

a perfect circle

THE black keys

MUSE

  

not a single artist disappointed us. they were all amazing. i was very impressed with fitz and the tantrums. i'd never seen primus, and they were super entertaining. the lips, per usual, put on a fantastic show. i was stoked for saturday. if you haven't already, you NEED to go see grace potter and the nocturnals. no excuses. the boys from the black keys put on a nasty, gritty, sexy show. so much sound for two boys from ohio. and muse...man oh man can matt rip on that guitar. all in all, i thought it was a fantastic lineup and festival. i hope it comes back next year, with killer bands and even more local food vendors.

little green monsters

there has been an invasion.

being a home owner, i took it upon myself to plant a little vegetable garden with some herbs. i've taken great pride in it over the last few weeks. the summer weather has been a struggle, but i've gotten to make a delicious salad with my tomato plant, yellow peppers and basil. i also planted cilantro and jalapenos, in hopes of making some delicious salsa!



first red one!

 a couple days ago, i walked outside to water my luscious plant, to find that it had been destroyed! as a first time gardener, i was baffled. i looked closer at the plant, trying to determine why all the leaves had disappeared. there they were...little green monsters! they were fat and full of my wonderful tomatoes. THIEVES! tomato horned worms. 11 of them.

the after



demon



 

these little buggers thrive in the extreme hot environments of the summer. to help with the circle of life, we made sure to put them out into the yard so the birdies could eat them.

moral of the story, use protection.

always an upside!

traveling for work can be a downer. i love being home and doing everyday things - going to my gym, making my own dinners, SLEEPING IN MY BED. however, there are quiet a few perks to traveling for your job. i get an extra penny or two, bonus. i also get to travel to really fun places that i would never think to go. here's a few pics from my most recent travels.

chicago.

well, if you haven't ever been, you're totally missing out. it's the big city feel without being completely overwhelming. the museums are amazing. we stayed in the heart of downtown - the loop. we also had the amazing experience of seeing a game at wrigley field.  

another place i've never been, but thoroughly enjoyed, was sedona, arizona. the pictures really don't do it justice. it's remarkable how gorgeous these mountains can be, and you find yourself in awe.

but with this beauty, comes disaster. the above picture was taken from the plane. this is an overhead view of the wild fires stretching over miles over arizona.

last but not least, the nation's capital...of canada.

ottawa, ontario is the capital of canada. the city is unbelievably gorgeous. the people are very diverse and have a crazy perspective on weather. rain, shine, ice or -40 below, they are outside doing something. gotta love it!

there will be more to come! my next trip is in sunny san diego!

gumption.

i did it! about six months ago, i decided to start training for a half marathon. i've been inspired by numerous friends and i finally got the ammunition to sign up for a race. boy, did i sign up for a race. i registered for the hospital hill half marathon. the course definitely lives up to the name. the training was the best and the worst part of the weeks leading up to the race. come race day, i was ready. i stayed with my pace group and i finished with a good time, true to my goal.

i couldn't have done it without the support of my amazing boyfriend. he pushed me every step of the way...and the popsicle and beer i got at the finish line.

Summer agenda

despite the insanely hot and humid climate of the midwest summers, there are numerous finds and fun activites to help keep cool and forget about the weather. the farmers market tops my list of saturday morning activities - the fresh produce, spices, homemade food, and flowers are all really great treats! it's also a great way to save some money. buying your produce at the farmers market not only helps the local farmers, but saves a few bucks from purchasing at the store.

and so it begins...

at some points in your life, you have an 'ah ha!' moment. other times, there are just those moments that fly by and you don't give them a second thought. throughout the last few years of my life, i've learned so much about myself, my friends, and life in general, with those 'ah ha' moments. i've been inspired and hurt, but i have grown from all of them. this blog is dedicated to all of those moments - inspirational and fly-bys.