Day 89

Last night I started to feel bad- neck ached, throat hurts. For me, that's the beginning of the end. It's where it all starts for me. So, mom (although sick for the past 3 weeks) went right into mom-mode. She gave me some medicine and today, I slept for several hours in the middle of the day. It's helped, and I'm hoping I will feel better, not worse over the next couple of days. 

Day 88

That's me. A UCF Alumni. Woo-hoo!

Day 87

One of my roommates and table mates from the crop weekend made these die cut dolls for all the women from her 365 group and I. Ginni was very creative as she didn't have a "50's" doll, but instead, found each item from different books of die cuts to make the finished product below.

Day 86

Saturday, people dressed in 50's outfits. I truly love that era. I love the fashion, the music, the dancing. And of course, I had everything I needed for a 50's inspired outfit already in my closet. 

Day 85

Today was Day 1 of the 50's Sock Hop crop in Bonita Springs. It was hosted by Gerri-anne. Her mother, Barb, created bags of treats popular during the 50's for all the croppers. Here's what we got.

Day 84

I love Bertolli meals. I especially love them because they are super easy. I need easy, as I've been known to ruin the simplest of meals. I nearly burned down my apartment in college trying to make stir fry (who knew it was bad to add olive oil to a pan on high heat?). I can make a handful of things, one of them being grilled cheese which I still, occasionally burn. With Bertolli, it's done in under 12 minutes, and tastes great.

Day 83

Meet McDougal, (aka "Dougie"). This is my friend, Rachel's grandmother's dog. Today he had a biopsy of his paws. With stitches on two of his paws, he has to wear one of these plastic cones. Rachels' mom visited him today and told me how sad and pathetic he was trying to maneuver around the room. He kept running into walls and the legs of furniture. And eating- that was another challenge. Poor thing. But he sure is cute! 

Day 82

I've never been a huge Arby's fan. I can count the number of times I've been on one hand, BUT I do love their curly fries!  Yum-o!

Day 81

A picture I took on campus at UCF. The UCF Arena is located across the street from the Psychology building. 

Day 80

A picture of my keys. My sister gave me the Brighton keychain as a gift. The bit of red is a whistle I received from UCF at a Victim Services training. I used to have a metal 'A' keychain, but it recently fell off, unbeknownst to me at the time. There was a time when I could say that my keychains said a lot about me. Back in high school, I loaded my keys with all kinds of silly things, like a pooping pig and a New York keychain with the tragedy masks. Now, my keys aren't as much of a representation of "me." Instead, I keep it simple- no need for them to take up half my purse, as big as my purses may be.

Day 79

I went to White House, Black Market today. I love that store. Bought a wonderfully classic ivory sweater- very Chanel. 

Day 78

A look at a class I will be teaching at Whim So Doodle in May. It's an 11x14 canvas, "Boys will be Boys." I used one of my favorite manufacturers, October Afternoon. A lot of cool distressing techniques with paint in this class. I had a lot of fun creating it. Pictures are of my brother-in-law's best friend's son, Jake. 

Day 77

A picture of Rachel and I on our way to the Dallas Bull. It's our Thursday night ritual. Thursday nights are Ladies Night, and we have a blast. Just us girls (although, the eye candy is definitely a plus!).

Day 76

My dad was in the Army and when I was 6, we moved to Florida for him to retire. At the age of 3, I lived in Germany where we remained for 3 years. During that time, we traveled to Holland, Italy, and France. I loved living in Europe and wish I could live there permanently. The culture, food, weather, and everything about it is amazing. I have fond memories from my years overseas. I can't wait to return and visit places I've never been like, Ireland, London, and Norway. I love German food, especially Spaetzle (which according to my friend Aaron, I pronounce wrong). :)

Day 75

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Day 74

Taken at the front entrance of the Psychology Clinic at UCF- where I spend my Mondays.

Day 73

A picture of Rachel and I at the Parade last night. Love you girl!

Day 72

I went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Ybor with some friends tonight. It was a lot of fun. And yes, those are all MY beads. Almost 5 pounds worth (and yes, I weighed them when I got home that night, along with Rachel and Justin). Rach's brother and boyfriend had twice as many beads as the girls. They stood in the back with their hand raised and didn't make a sound. Rach, Lisa, and I, on the other hand, screamed and flailed our arms around for two hours straight. It was exhausting, but well worth the beads in the end. I caught a few strands I'm particularly proud of (one being a skull and crossbones necklace). 

P.S. I still have red marks around my entire neck from those necklaces. That was two nights ago!

 

Day 71

Arrggggg Matey! This was taken at Whim So Doodle. I went to Whims for their Friday night crop and was able to visit with some scrap-friends. We had a great time, although, I got absolutely nothing done.  Usually I am pretty productive at crops, but this was an exception. A group of us went to a wonderful Tapas restaurant next door. It was Happy Hour- two for one, so everyone, except me, got Margaritas. I'm not one for Margaritas, so I got a Cosmo. The food was de-lish, with a noticeable kick. My mouth was on fire, but the flavors were wonderful. 

* Added an antique finish to the picture. 

Day 70

I spent the afternoon with Miami Dawn (just back from a cruise) and Jackie. We went to Ruban Rouge in Palm Harbor as Jackie was Treasure Hunting and Miami Dawn was...spending money! Picture of me sans much makeup. Eeeck.

Day 69

Isn't he precious? Ash and John, correction, Ash, wanted to take him home. I'm surprised they didn't create some elaborate plan to steal him. Cute, cute, cute!

P.S. I want a puppy. 

Day 68

Another picture I took at Webster. I love Christmas!

Day 67

Today was a great day. I woke up at 5:30 am (not my idea of a good start to the day) and headed to my sister's house. John, Ash, and I left their house in the am and headed over to Webster. LOVE that place. I had only been once before and this time it was even better. They had some great things-- I'll have to post pictures some time soon. Found some cool and unique treasures. Old ones. Which are the best. Here's one of the pictures I took during our afternoon out.

Day 66

My baby! Laying outside while dad did yard work. Yawnnnnnn.

Day 65

My sister is obsessed with Cosi (although, she has a problem bringing home Cosi for her husband, and instead, just hides hers from him to avoid any feelings of guilt-haha). Ashley was thrilled when we *finally* got one nearby, in Wesley Chapel. I, on the other hand, was luke warm about its arrival. I'm a Panera girl at heart. Cosi is about 100 steps away from Pottery Barn so it's a favorite choice for lunch on days I have a break during my shift. I get the same thing each time- their Margherita Flatbread pizza. It is de-lish. I'm beginning to warm up to this Cosi place. ;)

Day 64

I worked on this table setting at PB today. Of course, for most things in the store, we utilize a visual book given to us by corporate for reference and inspiration. I enjoyed putting this table together and even better, my managers gave me kudos for my work. 

Cheep-cheep!

Day 63

What a wonderful surprise! I was met with this when I left the break room today at work. On the back of the door was our poster (as it always is) for Employee of the Month. Pottery Barn calls it their, "Catch the Spirit" winner. I was the Employee of the Month for February! I was so honored. I'm one of about 20 employees and the store has only been open 4 months. My assistant manager, Julie (who I love), wrote some really wonderful things about me. She says I'm a rockstar. Ha. 

Day 62

This picture was taken in Mount Dora (and not on this day). I love the town. I has great shops, food, and an overall atmosphere. It's much like a place I could see myself living someday, despite my loving the city much more. I couldn't pass up this photo-op. I was born in Kansas. Love it.

Day 61

A layout I created for the Pretty Committee's blog, Challenge 2. I was their Guest Designer for the month of March. 

Day 60

Picture coming soon!~

Day 59

My friend Ashley, or as I call her "Smash," moved to Boca when her husband, Todd, was accepted into medical school. She applied to a social work program and is attending the same school, working towards her Masters Degree (you go, girl!). I miss her so much now that she lives several hours away, instead of 45 minutes. She was in Tampa for the weekend, visiting her mom. The three of us met for dinner and Slumdog Millionaire in Channelside. The movie was great, and the company even better. P.S. Don't worry Smash, I'll send you the pics! 

Day 58

A glimpse of a page I created for a challenge for the Pretty Committee's blog. I was their Guest Designer for the month of March. The layout was made up of all things I love- Basic Grey, pastels, bling, and flowers.

Day 57

Dad got his soft cast taken off today and replaced it with this. The bruising is almost gone- it's moved all the way down to his toes. 

Day 56

One of my sister's friends, Kristie, told me about this wonderful store. It recently moved to a new location on Bay to Bay Blvd.  It's a fantastic antique store with great finds- unique and full of character. 

Day 55

I love Greek food. Spanakopita. Tzatziki. Greek salad. All yums. I haven't been to Louis Pappas in years and was crazy to stay away so long. 

Day 54

A picture of a sweater I love. Christina's. Love the beading. 

Day 53

About once a month, I get together with my good friend, Christina when I'm in Orlando on Mondays. Our get-togethers usually consist of cupcakes and/or Starbucks and lots of chatting. We have such a great time together. We talk for hours, and never seem to have enough time to cover everything.

Day 51

I spent this evening in the Brandon Hospital ER. Dad was standing on a 10 foot ladder in the street, sawing off branches from a tree in our front yard. The ladder wasn't on solid, even ground and it fell and with it went my dad. He was standing on the second rung from the top, so fell with the ladder from pretty high. He sprained his right ankle and he's bruised up a bit, but we're just glad he didn't break anything. 

 

  

Day 50

A down-sized version of a bouquet of flowers my dad brought home mom a week ago.

Day 49

A new love of mine...mom introduced me to Chai. 3 tablespoons of Chai, half milk, half water, microwave for 2 minutes and wa-la! Makes the wonderfully sweet, Chai Latte. I love it. Of course, I'm not sure why it took me so long to discover it, mom says she's been trying to get me to test it out for years.  Naturally.

Day 48

Inspired by my friend Dee's Project 365, I decided to take a picture of my desktop.  This is what I see every morning and usually it's the last thing I see every night. Glorious, isn't it? Unless you're a Twilight fan, you can't appreciate my desktop. It's the beautiful Edward. And it's some of my favorite shots of him from the movie. I'm not sure when I plan to change my desktop, likely not until the next movie, New Moon comes out. ;)

Day 47

Years ago, when I still had braces and long, blonde hair, my sister introduced me to her hair stylist, John (a guy who loves his hair in mohawks and drives a green Honda Element, or as I call it, his "wind-up toy."). My sister had been going to him for some time, loved him, and spoke very highly of him. I was still pretty young and never really had anyone who cut my hair, apart from my mother, so decided to go to him. Since then, he has become my "hair guy." He's fantastic and gives me some of the best hair cuts. They're edgy, unique, and totally me. I can give him a picture, or not, when I go in- either way, I always love the end result. I can't think of a time I've ever been disappointed. And I'm certainly never one to cry over my hair, as I've had my fair share of drastic hair cuts. Sophomore year, I went from shoulder length to ear length. I'll be very sad the day I'm no longer in Brandon (or within driving distance) of my favorite hair stylist. 

Day 46

A card I gave dad for V-Day. Also, celebrating all his hard work over the past year. He's at the gym everyday now. I'm so proud of him.

Day 45

The fam and I went and saw, "He's Just Not That Into You" the evening of Valentine's Day. It was such a great movie. I had read the book prior to seeing the movie, and I think I'm going to read it again. It's a book, I think, every girl and woman should read.

Day 44

Dad came home today with this decadent, ganache cake from Alessi Bakery. Of course, I had to point out, that the "To My Valentine" at the bottom of the cake should have read, "To My ValentineS." ;)  The cake was delicious, of course. Very rich. 

Day 43

Mom and I went and visited my aunt today. She's at Magnolia Health and Rehab in Sarasota until Monday. Then, she will be going back home. She's doing very well.