My niece, Sydney

I just love the expression on her face. Oh yeah, and that little round belly!

Super (under) dog

Its not much, but Keith and I made a Halloween costume for Dash. Its really not a costume, but just a cape. We really had a fun time making it. Unfortunently we didn't have time to parade him that night to show off his new costume. Maybe next year, or the next time it rains. ;-)

Wiggle Waggle Walk

Our family (minus our pet bird, Mango) participated in Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA's 8th Annual Wiggle Waggle Walk for the Animals on Oct 11th. More than 2,000 walkers and their beloved pooches took part, helping raise more than $237,000 for the animals at the Pasadena Humane Society. Thank you to those who supported us with your generous donations to help find new and loving homes for the thousands of animals Pasadena Humane Society takes in each year.

Halloween 2006

What will I be this year? Keith and I got into the spirit of Halloween and even made Dash a costume. Its not much, but it was fun making it together. There isn't much that makes me happier these days than to spend quality time with Keith and Dash. ;-)

Dash and Friends!

We have been making an effort to get Dash more socialized with other dogs and different people over the last few months. And boy, has he been busy. He's been to several different dog parks, has had numerous play dates with dogs 3x his size, had his first encounter with a cat (and no one got scratched!), been swung around by adults who adore him and had his first photo ops with a little one. Caden, my cousin, gravitated to Dash immediately, and the feeling was mutual from our little pup! We were pleased that Dash didn't react negatively to Caden's pinches and pulling of his ears. We're so proud of his calm temperment. Of course, having Caden hold a dog biscuit didn't hurt either. Stay tuned for more photos of him and his new friends.

Sydney's facination with ketchup

Sydney and Evelyn stayed with us for a few days last week. They were our first overnight guests in a while!

Sydney's Birthday Fiesta

When was the last time you could fit on top of a box this size?

Its official!

...he's officially ours! We are no longer "foster parents" to Dash, but we are legally his owners. We applied for a dog license 2 months ago and the license came in the mail over the weekend. I suppose its a reason for a mini-celebration because since he was a lost dog, we couldn't legally call him our own. By registering him with LA County as our dog, he now legally belongs to us.

We will never stop missing you, Joe.

Thanks for visiting our blog and being a part of our wedding. We feel truly blessed for having you with us for so many years. Thank you for loving us. We love you pops.

New Kitchen!

Now for the unveiling of our new kitchen! I have no complaints...seeing these photos of our new kitchen makes remodeling worth the headache. Although I don't think I will wilingly live through this again for a while. Once is definetly enough for me. Our new kitchen is so much more better-looking and functional than our old kitchen. I love these photos- I will probubly never see it this clean again.

Little Rascal

Our little super-active guy just loves to play fetch! At times, we make a game of it and toss him around (literally). Just another excuse to torment our pup. ;-)
We think he would love a doggie agility course.

Inspirational photo

Here's my photo of the day. My friend, Paul Lee is an avid photographer and he took this AMAZING shot of The Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It brings me back memories when I went to Paris about 2 years ago and this was by far the most amazing structure I saw in Paris. Bar None. To believe Napoleon had the desire and guts to build a triumphal arch standing at the top of the Champs Elysées avenue in Paris. His victorious troops would march on through the arch cheered by the population of Paris.
I love the angle and clouds in the background and how it adds definition to the overall architecture. (sigh) Only in Paris.

Look what's sprouting!

Here are some photos of my niece, Sydney. All she ever wanted for Christmas was her two front teeth and now she got it. ;-) Isn't she adorable? Don't know what her mom is doing to make her laugh so hard, but its working!

Strange day

Well, I'm having major bout of insomnia today... and for good reason. I got laid off this morning. Everything still seems like a blur to me.. first I'm in denial and then it sinks in. I can't explain it. I'm excited to see what opportunities God will unfold for me next, yet scared of the unknown and uncertainty. Gracefully, my husband is so supportive and it makes me so appreciative of him. He's not worried about a thing. Its me that I have to convince. Isn't that just so ironic?

July 4th at Donner Lake

Keith and I escaped LA for a weekend at Donner lake. We both had a relaxing, fun time hanging out with extended family and eat all the homecooked meals my heart desired! Keith got a chance to get rugged playing paintball and off-roading on an ATV bike! He did get hit several times. Now he thinks we need to get a paint ball gun so he can "practice" for his match next year. ;-)

Just about done!

Here's a photo of our kitchen about 95% complete, its just missing our stove. We're so excited to have a functional kitchen back! Our stomachs are yearning for homecooked meals. We plan to take a little break from all the remodeling until the summer ends, then we will work on replacing our windows.

Old out-dated kitchen

A new kitchen in the making

Here is a glimpse of our new kitchen in the making...

College Buds

Caroline, Jenifer and I used to hang out in college... I would crash at their apartment when I didn't feel like driving home. I was considered their 'honored' houseguest who didn't pay rent... ah, those college years.
Years later, we're all married, Caroline has 1 baby boy and Jenifer just welcomed her third boy! Its true as they say, life goes faster than you think.

Back from Vacation

Keith and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary (June 10th) with a Mediterranean cruise that included visits to Spain, Italy, Turkey, Greece, and France. We also added an additional 2 days to the trip with a visit to Venice, Italy. We're experiencing major jet-lag as well as coming home to a house going through a major renovation. Here is two of (just about)900 photos we took from our trip.

The calm before the storm

I think this photo should say it all of how our lives have been. ;-) Amazing how much we've accumulated just living in this house - and we're only a family of two. Just think of the mess if we were to expand! We're anticipating our kitchen to be demolished on Thursday- so we've been packing for our trip AND packing away our kitchen.

Lessons Learned

Lessons Keith and I've learned throughout this remodel process.. (and I'm sure there will be more to come)
1) Don't fall in love with a product so much that you're willing to disregard the price.
2) Make sure you negociate everything you want before you sign the contract. You'll always find things in the midst of remodeling that you've "wish I included that in the price". Once you sign it, the contractor has the bargaining power, you don't.
3) Don't sweat the small stuff.
4) You actually get what you pay for. Really.
5) Your contractor and his workers aren't doing you any favors. You're paying them. You're the client.
6) The squeaky wheel gets the oil.
7) A remodel ALWAYS will take longer than expected.
8) Stop obsessing about "adding on" more projects. (this one I'm still working on- hehe)
9) Everything adds up.
10) You'll most likely go over what you budgeted for.
11) Avoid special order products/materials as ALL costs. This one is an expensive lesson we've learned. (sign)

New Windows!

Can you spot the safety hazard in this photo?

Don't tell animal control...

Approaching 1 year

Keith and I are approaching our one year anniversary. Whew! We made it! We managed to survive a messy house, adopting a dog, a remodel, differences in finances, schedules, eating habits, cultures, tastes... and the list goes on. Our first year together has been amazing. God has taught us so much about patience and understanding. Our official anniversary will be on June 10th. What can I say? I'm tickled to celebrate our first year together as husband and wife.

Master bath remodel

Here is a glimpse of our master bath before. When the contractors demo'd the bathroom, they found mold behind our sink! We found out that there was a leak in our plumbing under the sink and water was seeping into our walls, thus attracting a million spiders to our bathroom. (or at least it seemed like it) Good thing we caught it before it could get any worse.

Goofy Dash

This little guy makes Keith and I smile every day.

My photogenic puppy

Turning 30

Kids, so I turn 30 tomorrow. Overall, Its been a great ride. Those of you that know me well are aware of the struggles I went through in my 20's of self-doubt, character transformation, self-confidence, and other typical '20's' crisis. I'm really grateful for where God has taken me and the journey he has given me to take. What a decade it has been! 10 years ago I was living at home, driving a Chevy Corsica (yeah baby!), worked at Sav-ons (now CVS pharmacy) and in college worried if anyone would hire me. 10 years later, I've moved several times, changed jobs 5 different times, made many life-long friends, made investments, traveled overseas, married a wonderful man, adopted a dog and a bird, and now remodeling a house! Talk about life changes. I can't wait to see what God has in store for me for the next 10 years.
Friends and Family: Thank you for being a part of my journey.

A homemade beanie for "Beans"

Since I haven't crocheted in ages, I was pretty proud of the hat I made for little Bean. Her mama even added a sweet butterfly clip so people wouldn't mistaken her for a boy. I miss little Beans.

Old Closet In Our Bedroom

New Closet!

We decided to compress our closet space to allow for a bigger master bath. People I thought I was crazy to do this. Sacrific closet space?! Although this did make me nervous, the end result allowed for more storage space in our master bath AND closet. Although I get a smaller closet, it actually provides more space because we added compartments for specific items. (dresses, suits, jackets, pants, etc)

Our guest bathroom before...