RECUERDOS Y ENCUENTROS...

We got back from a FAB-U-LOUS week in PUERTO VALLARTA last night and while the trip may be over, the memories will last forever...

Here are a few "THINGS WE LEARNED IN MEXICO"...

#1 - You can get very inexpensive (and sexy) haircuts downtown... #2 - Every great night starts out with a little black dress... #3 - All the good clubs have ceilings lined with egg cartons......and HUUUUGE Margaritas...
#4 - It's all about 'who you know' and 'where you go' when you're looking for a good time...
#5 - It's OK to ride your burro on to the dancefloor...
#6 - There are many cute puppies in YELAPA...

(these are photos of 'Paloma'...who I wanted to steal...)

#7 - Mules and Zebras DO mate...
#8 - White mini-skirts and horseback riding are NEVER a good combination...

#9 - Rum punch flows freely on the cruise to Yelapa...

#10 - Behind every good woman stands a great man...with 45 SPF ...
#11 - Iguanas LOVE being photographed...
#12 - If you want to find the good bars, you have to look UP... (this is the view from 'de Santo'...an open air club on the 3rd story).
#13 - Jorge es muy SEXY SEXY...
#14 - All the best bars have beds instead of chairs...
#15 - Baby TIGERS are adorable....
...and scratch when you try to turn them around for the camera....

That's all for now...need to finish unpacking.

xoxo, amy

TIME TO MAKE THE EGGS...

On Sunday, George and I colored eggs with Mom and Wayne...here are some of our creations...

Is that SWEENEY TODD? on an egg?

xoxo, me

JUST A GIRL AND HER GRANDPA...

This post is for my grandpa Rudy who is recovering at Banner Health Hospital in Glendale, AZ right now. He, my mother, and my stepfather came out for a quick weekend visit last Saturday and he ended up in the emergency room that night with a blood sugar level over 500...very scary. After CAT scans, X-rays, and other various examinations, he underwent emergency surgery and is expected to be in the hospital for another week or so. He was finally moved from Intensive Care to a regular room on Wednesday night...and is on the road to recovery.

I know Grandpa misses his kitties (especially Charlie)...and that the kitties (who are at home in California) are anxious for Grandpa, Mom, and Wayne to return. Fortunately they have some good neighbors that are taking care of things in their absence.

I printed off an 8x10 photo of 'Charlie' for Grandpa's hospital room and also a copy of the above picture (of Grandpa and I when I was about 3). He made the headdress I'm wearing in the photo...he's very talented.

Wishing you a speedy recovery Grandpa...

xoxo, amy

NEW DIGI-ART

A page just for TWITCH because she's OH SO CUTE...

And a digital brush I created using a photo of our palm trees...

BIGFOOT SIGHTED...

Use caution when traveling through Peoria...there's been another BIGFOOT sighting.

xoxo,

me

DIGI-STUFF

Playing with a new digital 'die-cut'...

REMINDER ON **ART DETOUR**

Hi all...just a reminder that ART DETOUR 2008 takes place this Saturday and Sunday. You can read more about ART DETOUR by clicking **LINK**. The MAP for ART DETOUR is linked **HERE** for your viewing pleasure.

I'll be at Janet's studio/gallery (stop #20 on the detour/map) all day Saturday. Hope to see you there!

xoxo, amy

WHAT'S HAPPENED LATELY?

Wow! I can't believe it's already March...where is this year going? I thought I'd take a few minutes to upload some pictures from my camera and share some of my more memorable experiences since the beginning of the year...

On January 25th, I helped a certain friend (who shall remain nameless) BEGIN to reorganize her 'Keeping Room' (aka 'studio', aka 'art space'). If you can't guess, this is one of the BEFORE pictures...

Then, on February 2nd, George and I joined Joanie & Jerry and Janet & Mike for a birthday celebration at Macaroni Grill. Joanie's birthday was January 31st and Mike's was February 2nd. A fun time was had by all, although some trouble makers were sighted throwing rolls of toilet paper in the ladies' room...(I'm using the word 'ladies' very loosely here...and you know who you are).

Yummy, yummy, chocolatey, birthday cake....
In February, I made this delightful little gift box for Scott to give to Kristin for Valentines Day...The box held an invitation for a much anticipated SPA DAY! Can't wait....

On Valentine's Day, George and I went on a double-date with Scott and Kristin to Buca di Beppo. Our bottle of Reisling and Peach Bellini hit the spot...

Also, in February, George got his new DRY SUIT...isn't he just darling?

Then, on February 26th, I was stalked by this mysterious bird while dining on the patio at BBG (Blue Burrito Grille). He lurked in the shadows until the moment was juuuuuust right...

then made a break for the tortilla chip that had fallen from our table...

With his hunger satiated, he posed for a quick photo near some lovely pink flowers...

On February 29th, I had my FIRST EVER Chuck E. Cheese experience in celebration of Addy and Avery's birthdays. George and I joined the birthday girls, Scott, Kristin, Karl, Jen, and Curt for the excitement. Addy proved that you don't even have to be tall enough to SEE the game in order to win loads of tickets...you only need to be tall enough to stick the coins in, reach up, and press something.

After pizza, games, rides, and a flurry of tokens, out came the birthday cake and shimmery candles (nice touch, mom).

Addy attempted to blow out the candles with her mouth closed (yes, through her nose...)

Several times....very cute.

All in all, it's been a good year so far. Am looking forward to the next adventures that lie ahead (First Friday, Art Detour, Puerto Vallarta, Cozumel, and anything else I've forgotten to mention).

xoxo, amy

TAKE A DETOUR...

This post is for my sweet friend JANETTA

and serves as an informal invite for everyone I know to attend FIRST FRIDAY on March 7th and/or

ART DETOUR 2008 on March 8th/9th.

It's very important that you do because our

'Saint Janetta' will be participating in both this year.

NOTE - the assemblage featured in this photo is Janet's...it's utterly fab-u-lous and just so happens to be my FAVORITE piece of hers...

If you've never been to ART DETOUR, it's something you simply have to do. It's an awesome experience...for art's sake. You can read more about it and FIRST FRIDAY **HERE**.

Anywhoo, big kisses and happy wishes to Janetta...

xoxo, amy

(aka 'duck wiener')

DIGI-WHAT?

I'm so glad to see that my friend CHRIS is experimenting with digital scrapbooking. We're both kind of new to it, so we're learning together. I found a great tutorial (on VEERLE'S BLOG) on creating your own brush files (.abr files). I only had a few minutes to PLAY when I got home tonight...but created the 'typed text' brush used in this photo as a test. The instructions worked like a charm! Chris, this might be something you'd be interested in...

xoxo,

amy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AVERY!

Just wanted to wish Avery a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I can't believe you're a whole DECADE old...before you know it, you'll be as old as I am. And I also can't believe that we're FINALLY going to start painting your room tomorrow. I think the colors you picked out are going to be FAB-ulous! I put together a quick digi-scrapbook page so you can see how cool they look together!

See you soon!

xoxo,

me

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABY!

xoxo, me

SO IN LOVE...

I can't believe it, but our SIXTH anniversary is just around the corner. Seems like just yesterday we were planning for the wedding...but it also feels like we've loved each other for a lifetime. I love him more every day...

Thought I'd post a few of my favorite pics of us together (apparently we only take pictures when we're out to dinner)... :o)

At FOGO E BRASA in September 2007...

At MACARONI GRILL in Februrary 2008...

At MARGARITAVILLE in January 2008...

And one picture of my imaginary boyfriend and I (before my husband showed up at Margaritaville in January 2008...)

SWEET BIRD OF PEACE

Finally, there is PEACE on West Willow... For months now (maybe longer) our sweet baby, Twitch, has been terrorized by a feline intruder. The stranger would enter through her cat door, eat her food, 'nest' in her bed, pick fights in the early morning hours and recently started to 'mark' her territory....NOT cool. George built a 'friendly' trap and we finally captured the bad kitty this past weekend. Our home is 'ours' again...and Twitch is at peace. I snapped this photo of a little dove at our back door the other day...our little harbinger of peace.

xoxo, me

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Find balance between the things you NEED to do and the things you WANT to do. PRIORITIZE, but never forget to PLAY. Make time to do things instead of assuming that there will be time later. Do one thing that you WANT to do in exchange for every thing you did because you NEEDED to. Always make time for those you LOVE because they won't always be there. Make your time count...don't count your time. Don't regret the things you didn't accomplish today...just re-work your plan for tomorrow. Don't worry if things don't always go perfect, as it just means there's an opportunity to do it better next time. Tell HIM you love him every time you see him. Hold his hand and kiss his cheek whenever the opportunity presents itself.

xoxo,

me

A COLD AND BLUSTERY DAY...

We had to make a stop on the way home from work (and it had been SUCH a horrible day). I spied these birds perched high up in some twiggy trees and thought they looked rather photo-graphique! The stark contrast of the branches and the birds against the chilly grey sky captured the mood of this 'cold and blustery day'. Perhaps tomorrow will bring sunshine.

xoxo,

me

X-MAS, WE BID YOU FAREWELL...

Well, the time finally came to take down the x-mas tree. No one was sadder to see it go than Twitch (as you can see from the photo below). She held her ground right down the last row of branches...

And then sat there looking extremely pitiful in the space 'her' tree once occupied...

POOR THING...

A FUN DAY IN GLENDALE

Just a quick shout out to Kristin, Avery, and Jen for a fun day in Glendale last Saturday. We did a little ANTIQUING...

Found some FUNNY HATS (what a surprise)....

Came across some beautiful PINK roses on our afternoon stroll to the CREATIVE QUEST! I used this opportunity to try out the 'color filter' feature on my new camera (which I LOVE!).

And had a lovely lunch at THE SPICERY...

Where they have BIG BUNS!

And french dips BIGGER THAN YOUR FREAKIN' HEAD!

ciao!

xoxo, me

PEORIA'S STRANGEST HOME VIDEO

For those of you that haven't yet had the great fortune to see it, I'm posting a video of Twitch 'doing her thing'...which appears to be MASSAGING George's lap for hours on end. What a tramp... She will literally do this for hours if you don't stop her. Her eyes roll back in her head, she drools, and her whiskers point straight down...she is very STRANGE.