The perfect evening...

Comfy pjs (pink no less!), reading a book, and cuddling with Beauty!  (And don't ask me why my husband was taking pictures of my feet!).  

P.S.  I know, I need a pedicure!!

Back to School

I start back to school today. I am a bit nervous. Management 521 here I come!

Scanmyphotos.com

Like many people we lots of old pre-everyone-has-a-digital-camera-days photos sitting around. We have had "scan in photos" on our "to do list" for a very long time (it is even on my 101 list!). So when I heard about a company that does it for you and is reasonably priced, I was all over it! In August there was an article in the NY Times about scanmyphotos.com, so I decided to check it out. You have to arrange your photos by size, which took some time, but in the end it was well worth it. Last Thursday I mailed out 11 pounds worth of old photographs. Today when I arrived at my office my photos were returned along with a DVD with all 1368 photos on it. The quality is pretty good and the turn around was so fast. The total cost--about $140 (which included shipping both ways). Well worth it IMHO. So, now you will get to see lots and lots of old photos--including never-before-posted wedding photos from my 1999 wedding...I bet you are on the edge of your seat!! Anywho...I am excited about being able to post all of these old photos. And also to play around with editting them in photoshop! To start it off right...here are a couple of wedding photos--January 2, 1999!

Happy Birthday Beauty!!

My baby turns 8 years old today! Here are a couple of pictures of her--one recent and one baby picture :)

Web Fun

Gosh, I think that I need to amend my thankful post to say that I am thanks for web creative people like the folks at Dumpr. There web actions to mod photos just made my day!!

I always knew my tat was art:

Here's a pencil sketch:

And geez...I just can't get away from those darn paparazzi.  Here, someone caught me at my local coffeeshop:

And here, someone whipped out her cell to snap my pic in court!

So Fun!!

Thankful Thursday

Today is the perfect day that I need a reminder of the things that I am thankful for. I don't know what it is, but I am just in a BAD mood! So...I am thankful that I am not usually in a bad mood :)

Let the games begin!!

Avalanche Hockey preseason opens today with a game against the Los Angeles Kings. Man do I love hockey!! We had some goaltending changes in the off-season, so hopefully we will have some success in net and be a force to be recokened with this season. I can't wait for the regular season to start!! Go Avs!!

Random Facts About Me--Survey

Found this survey over on I'm Not Really a Diva.

A. attached or single? attached

B. best friend? yes

C. cake or pie? how can I choose???

D. day of choice? saturday, sleeping in, no work, another day of weekend left, can't beat it!

E. essential item? Internet connection :)

F. favorite color? depends on the day--but let's say pink (or blue)

G. gummy bears or worms? worms

H. hometown? Yakima, WA, but Seattle is definitely my home

I. favorite indulgence? pedicures

J. january or july? July

K. kids? nope

L. life isn’t complete without? joy

M. marriage date? 1.2.99

N. number of brothers and sisters? 1 sis, 3 brothers (plus a bunch of 1/2 siblings!)

O. oranges or apples? apples

P. phobias? birds

Q. quotes? Do something each day that scares you--E. Roosevelt

R. reasons to smile? my silly husband, my cute doggie, little babies

S. season of choice? fall

T. tag 5 people: Okay--all my readers (if there are even 5 of you!)

U. unknown fact about me? I love to play basketball. In fact, as soon as my back heals, I think that I am going to join a team again!

V. vegetable? green beans...or beets...

W. worst habit? spend too much time surfing the 'net!

X. x-ray or ultrasound? x-ray...ultrasounds use the gross goop

Y. your favorite food? Spaghetti

Z. zodiac sign? Virgo...as if you couldn't tell!

Attention Greenpeace

Yes, I care about the environment.

Yes, I would like to change the world.

But do I want you to ambush me while I am walking to the post office...NO! I am SO tired of people with their little notebooks, standing on the corners of downtown trying to guilt people into make donations. Perhaps I need to wear a "No Soliciting" sign around my neck!

Okay, end of rant :)

Update on Beauty

Some people have asked how Beauty is doing and I am happy to report that she is doing just fine! We still are amazed at how she doesn't appear to have cancer at all! She has a bunch of energy and runs around like a puppy--even though she will turn 8 later this week. She is still doing the chemo and doesn't seem to have any side effects from it. We just give it to her by mouth at home. (And for those of you wondering, no she hasn't lost any hair).

We have an ultrasound scheduled for next month to see if there are any new visible tumors, so I will update when we hear about that.

Thanks for all of the good thoughts about her! She is our baby :) Here are a couple pics of her :)

Waiting for me to come home :)

So cute :)

Happy Friday!

Isn't she the cutest?

Book Review: The Mistress's Daughter

First a confession: I picked this book because I really liked the cover. The eyes of the girl on the cover spoke to me. So I grabbed it at Target and took it home to read. The Mistress's Daughter: A memoir by A.M. Homes. I didn't get pulled into the book quickly, but I did find it thought provoking and made me think about about my life. In the book Homes tells her account of when she found out that her birth mother was trying to contact her. This leads to rather interesting and unsettling knowledge about her birth parents and causes Homes to search out more information about her family--both her biological and her adoptive families. As I was reading this I couldn't help but thing about my family situation. Though not adopted, I do not feel like I am a part of my biological family--I am so different and no one seems to know what to do with me . So this has led to lots of long nights thinking about the nature of my family and where I fit into it--or probably more importantly, if there is even such a place that exists. So, the book really got me thinking, which means it was good for me in this context.

Thankful Thursday

Image from MediaBistro.

In thinking about having another birthday, etc., I was reminded about how many great things happened this year (and how many challenges) and how much growth I have made. I am changing, it is a slow, someone frustrating process. But the change is good. I am working on embracing the change and looking forward to lots more change this year. I am thankful for this perspective and for the change that has happened and that which is yet to come.

Beautiful dinner

For Lisa Day Gessner took me to one of our favorite restaurants in Seattle, Palisade.  It was warm enough for a bit to sit out on the patio where we enjoyed the following amazing views.  The sunset was interesting because smoke from a fire in Oregon made it hazy.  I LOVE Seattle!!

BE

I want to: 

BE beautiful

BE confident

BE brave

BE creative

BE happy

BE inventive

BE strong

BE myself

BE fearless

I found a seller on Etsy and bought this bracelet (Thanks Mindy!)

Happy Lisa Day!!

Hello 31! 30 seemed to go by so fast! I am not loving the term "birthday" right now, so I declared that today is simply Lisa Day--and since it is my day, I can call it whatever I want :)

Back to the gym!

Today was the first day I was allowed to go back to the gym! I almost skipped it because I got up late and am afraid that I am going to really start hurting again, but I made myself and it went well. Nothing exciting, but not really any pain either. I am feeling a bit stiff right now, but that is not uncommon after a day of sitting in front of this darn computer. I have PT again tomorrow, and am continuing to do the exercises that the physical therapist gives me each day at home. I am hopeful that soon this stupid injury will just be a memory and I will be back to doing all sorts of things :)

Checked off the list: Read The Secret

Why is this on my list?: My sister-in-law was reading the book and said it was "interesting" so I decided to give it a try. I bought it awhile ago and it has just sat on my shelf, so I put it on the list to make sure it got read.

How did I do it?: Opened it up and read :)

How did it feel?: I actually really did not like the book at all and I think that it is just a bunch of nonsense (the basic premise is that if you want something you will get it as long as you want it enough and believe that you will get it). I just can't mess that with the horrors that happen to people in this world. Not wanting my time to be entirely wasted though, I took a couple of parts from the book as good reminders. One is to be thankful (thus my Thankful Thursday postings) and the other is to just try to be more positive.

Count: 4/101

Checked of the list: Wear Red Nailpolish

Why did I put this on the list?: It is bold, something that I want to be more of...

How did I do it?: Went to the salon and chose the right color (The color was OPI's Mrs O'Leary's BBQ)

How did it feel?: The nails looked great--I felt a little stylish. Must do again!

Count: 3/102

Checked off the list: Design a logo

Why did I put this on the list?: During my monogram obsession (see previous posts ), I became obsessed with the idea of learning how to do this, so it went on the list!

How did I do it?: Gotta love the Internet. I found a blog with tutorials on making monograms with photoshop and spent a lot of time playing around with it.

How did it feel?: I really love to create--so it was very satisfying to learn to create something in a digital form. I have made several logos/monograms since :) Here are a couple:




Count: 2/101

Checked off the list: Make a blog header

Why did I put this on my list? I kept saying that I needed to make a blog header--said it many times. So, I put it on the list, and did it!

How did I do it? I found a tutorial online and used Photoshop. I did it late at night while I was watching the men's speed-walking event at the Olympics.

How did it feel? I LOVE the header--it looks so cool!! Very happy I did it. :)

Count: 1/101

Trip to the Seattle Art Museum

The Seattle Art Museum is featuring an exhibit called "Inspiring Impressionism" that showcases works of famous impressionists such as Monet, Renoir, and Manet (to name a few) and the classic paintings that they drew inspiration from. I have been wanting to see it for awhile, and it is set to end on Sept. 21st, so we decided to go this weekend. We actually bought a membership to the museum for the year, so hopefully I will be making many more trips there. The facility is really amazing.

I really enjoyed the exhibit. Monet is definitely one of my favorites, so it was neat to see some of his beautiful work in person. Surprisingly my favorite painting was actually a nude by Renoir. I think that it is the bold colors in the background along with the confident look of the model.

Nude on a Couch 1915 Femme nue sur un canapé

Gess's favorite was also a Renoir (called The Wave 1882)

I also loved this Monet:

Zuiderkerk in Amsterdam

Also, visiting an art museum was on my list, so I get to cross something off! Yay! :)

So for the "Checked Off the List" post:

Why did I put this on my list?: I love looking at art, but have only been to the Seattle Art Museum once since we have lived here.

How did I do it?: I really wanted to see this particular exhibit, so I waiting until nearly the last weekend and then made sure we went :)

How did it feel?: Great--I really enjoyed it!

Count: 5/101

Happy Friday!

It's been a LONG week!!

I am ready for a vacation!

I know, we went to Belize in July....but I am ready for a vacation!  Here are a couple of pictures from a previous vacation:

This one is in at Dunn Falls in Montego Bay Jamaica (December 2006)

And this one is in Grand Cayman (same trip--we were out kayaking)

I hear crickets...

Literally!  Gess brought some home yesterday to feed to one of his "pets" (which he keeps in "his" room so that I don't have to see them).  They are driving me nuts!!!  We are going to have to have a talk about this!

TGIF!

Man, it has been one crazy week!  I am SO glad that the weekend is here--though it might be a bit stressful, so keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Time for more old photos!!

These pictures were taken in November 1999 in Orlando.  I can't believe I owned those pants!!

Thankful Thursday

I am so thankful for my friends! You know who you are!! Without friends life would be so boring. I think that a lot of people that have been married for a long time think that they need to get "everything" from their spouses and neglect friendships. But there is no possible way that you can get everything that you need from just one person...you need different people in your life to give you different things. So thank you friends--you are awesome!

Lumbar Radiculopathy aka sidelined

So a few weeks ago I started having really bad back pain--it is not terribly uncommon for me as I am super active and also seem to carry stress in the lower back/stomach area...so I have a lot of "fixes" for it--stretching, massage, accupuncture, mineral soaks, etc. I tried all of these to no avail. The pain started to radiate, and eventually moved into causing the entire length of my left leg to be numb. Numb is never a good sign, so I took a few days off of the gym and hoped that rest would fix it. Nope. So I scheduled an appointment with my doctor and went to see him today. He says it is lumbar radiculopathy--or nerve irritation around the disc. It is sort of a fuzzy diagnosis, as is the treatment. I, of course, want to be proactive, so he is sending me to see a physical therapist. I see him/her on Monday. I also have an accupunture appointment tomorrow and massage on Friday. So, I am going to get this worked out! I am taking it easy activity wise for now. If it isn't resolve in a month (it better be!), then I go back and we will do an MRI, etc. But I really don't want to go there. So, please let this other stuff work! I hate to be sidelined!!

Confession

I am obsessed about the thought of getting boudoir portraits taken. Now, don't get me wrong, the idea scares the crap out of me! But there is just something about them--the confidence of the women that shines through. I want to be confident with myself and my own body--flaws and all. So one of these days...nothing trashy or anything...but fun and showing confidence. It is on my list, so I have to do it!!

Here is a photographer that gives me hope that I will be able to do it and look fabulous: True Blue Photography

Directions Please!

When I made the "Mosaic of Me" (see post below) the other day one of the "questions" is "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  I had to come up with an answer in order to complete the tasks, but in truth, I have NO idea.  A friend of mine also asked me the same thing this weekend and my goals was a topic at lunch with some other friend today, so obviously this is something that I need to be thinking about right now.

So, I am an attorney. I have been for about 5 years, and for the most part I like it.  Of course there are days when I don't, but all in all, it is a good job and I think that it is a pretty good fit.  I am good at what I do (and I don't mean that in a bragging sort of way).  I don't particularly like litigation, but I don't have to do much of that.  The job is a good place for me now.  

But...the question is what do I want to "do"?  I have put a lot of money and effort into becoming an attorney.  Maybe I want to be a partner at a firm someday or go in-house somewhere, but maybe not.  The one thing that I am sure of is that I don't want to hang up my own shingle and be a solo practioner--I really prefer the team approach.

I have the opportunity to go back to school to get a Master's degree and I can't pass it up, so I will be getting an MBA. But part of me asks myself "why"?  I really don't know the answer to that, except that I really enjoy school and I just couldn't pass the opportunity up.  But is that a "good enough" answer?  I guess it will have to be for now...

I love to create...I love to make things and look at pretty things.  I have enjoyed helping a friend with ideas for his business and researching things about that...but is there a career there?  A "Creative Consultant"?  

I have also had a few people suggest that public office would be a way to go for me...but right now I can't even get my mind around that...

Right now I feel like I am floundering a bit.  I don't want to be a person that dabbles in a bunch of things, but is not really good at any of them.  I want to be awesome at what I do, I just need to figure out what I want...

Just for fun...

I AM... feeling blue
I WANT... to buy a bunch of new clothes
I HAVE ...new eyes (had LASIK on Friday!)
I KEEP... checking my email--I am obsessed!
I WISH I COULD... take a couple months off
I HATE ...goodbyes
I FEAR ...being called out as a failure
I HEAR... Wii musak
I DON'T THINK... I am prepared
I REGRET... spending so many years with deep depression
I LOVE... my hubby, Beauty, my friends, and cute shoes :)
I AM NOT... a sissy
I DANCE around the house
I SING ...loudly in the car and shower
I NEVER.. want weekends to end
I REALLY...need to clean
I CRY WHEN I WATCH ...babies
I AM NOT ALWAYS...strong enough
I HATE THAT...I don't know what I want to do with my life
I AM CONFUSED ABOUT...what I want to do with my life :)
I NEED...a kick in the butt
I SHOULD...let myself be happy!

Found this cute idea on the Good-ness blog.

The Dress?

Gess and I want to get new "wedding" photos taken for our 10th anniversary, but there are a few snags...most importantly that there is no way that I would be able to fit in my wedding dress by our anniversary. Also, I not crazy about the dress--it is pretty, but has a long train and stuff, which is just not necessarily "me" right now and would probably be a pain to deal with during the pictures. So, Gess and I were talking and his idea was to just get all dressed up fancy and have the portraits done and not necessarily be in my wedding dress. I think that I would still prefer a wedding dress...but if I can't then a pretty other dress would be good. So how about this one from J.Crew?