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.