Today

2009 02 24 photo
Originally uploaded by eekachinski35

...was pretty uneventful. I almost forgot to take a photo, so thought I would snap a quick self-portrait in our living room light.

Tomorrow is probably going to be a busy day at work so I am off to bed soon!

yey Slumdog!

I am so happy it won best picture last night. Totally deserved it. As did Sean Penn. Since we stayed up WAY past our bedtime to watch the whole show we did not wake up in time to run (good thing too because it was COLD this morning!). I have to say I was not impressed by anyone's dress this year. Maybe because of the recession they are keeping it more subdued? But subdued doesn't have to equal ugly! Oh well.

And NOT in the mood to go to work this morning...

What I did today

2009 02 21 photo
Originally uploaded by eekachinski35

I could talk about getting up early to do some surfing before work. Or I could talk about being freezing all day at work.

I could talk about going to the grocery store with Joe. Or I could talk about still being a bit hungry right now.

But what I will talk about is this series. The Twilight books. I finished all four. And while I thought the Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse were only okay, I really enjoyed Breaking Dawn. It's plot was a bit more sophisticated than Bella loves both Edward and Jacob and feels guilty about something or the other. So my recommendation if you were to ever want to read these is to skip the 1st 3 and read the last one. It won't be hard to follow.

Birthday dinner

2009 02 20 photo
Originally uploaded by eekachinski35

Last night we went to the new Benjy's on Washington to celebrate our friend Laura (the cute blonde, 4th from the left) belated bday. I haven't seen my gfriends in a long time so it was good to get together. We ate a lot of good food and drank a lot of good wine so you practically had to roll me out of there but all in all good times to be had!

Beautiful day

2009 02 19 photo
Originally uploaded by eekachinski35

Today was such gorgeous day. Not a cloud in the sky, no humidity in the air, just the right amount of coolness. Too bad I spent most of it inside!

I did get to escape to visit Miss Ruby at lunch and got this cool shot.

In other random news: Lost is getting better and better. Love it!

exciting evening

2009 02 18 photo
Originally uploaded by eekachinski35

This is how I will be spending my Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the next few months! I figured I needed a little bit of eye candy on the old blog so I will be posting my photo-of-the-day!

Uneventful day

Today was a good work day - less stressful than last week, less chaotic. I am now winding down and watching people blow their one big chance away on American Idol. So far I have only really like 1 girl. Hopefully the last few will be better!

Still sleepy

It is currently 8 am and I just woke up about 45 minutes ago. Sleeping in is a novel concept for me! I was most tired from yesterday so I know I needed it, but I find it hard to work out once I've missed my early morning run. I will go to yoga but I am having a bit of a difficult time waking up!

Great weekend!

I'm so glad I had Valentine's weekend off. We had such a fabulous time!

Saturday I did go into work for 1 hour. After work, I went to yoga practice. Yoga has been going well the last few weeks, now that I haven't been running as much and I have even started the 1st move in the 2nd series!

I came home for a quick lunch and then went to get a much needed haircut. I love David, my hairdresser, but he just opened his own salon, which is past the Galleria and the traffic was a nightmare. Note to self: next time try to get the earliest possible appointment.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing a little shopping (at DSW - but nothing good to be found), surfing the internet and experimenting with some self-portraits.Joe made reservations for dinner at Da Marco, one of Houston's best restaurants. It was delicious, although I was a bit disappointed with my main course. For starters I had the scallops and Joe had the octopus salad. Yummy! My second course was a sweet corn ravioli with lobster, which had a cream sauce that was to die for! Joe's second course was a ravioli with rabbit, which was a bit weird but still good. Joe's main dish was lamb chops, which I actually liked and mine was Mediterranean sea bass, which was ok, but didn't blow me away. We finished with dessert of chocolate merangue and chocolate mousse. Of course by the time we were done you could have rolled me out of the restaurant!

This morning was our usual Sunday routine: am run followed by yoga. I ran my 7 miles pretty hard after eating all that food, so I was pretty tired for yoga.

And we got to have craft Sunday afternoon over at Tinger's! I only stayed until about 3:30 pm as I was actually quite tired, but I love spending qt with my sis!

At 5:30 we met the boys at 1308 Cantina for dinner and a few drinks before going to see Joel McHale from The Soup do stand up at Verizon. He was hilarious! I laughed so hard I was nearly crying during some bits!

But the best part of all...we met and took a photo with him! Joe is a huge huge fan of The Soup and saw that at previous shows Joel met with fans prior to the show. He found out that today Joel would be meeting fans after the show so our plan was to wait in line for a picture. Well it turns out that Joel wanted people to buy shirts that he would sign and all the security guards were being Nazis about having only people with shirts in line to meet Joel. By the time we got the the shirt stand he was sold out so we were milling around trying to take a quick photo. The security people were really trying to push us out so we yelled to Joel that we loved his show and that we wanted to meet him but didn't have any merchandise.

Joel told security to let us wait in line so Greg, Joe and I got in. The line was pretty long and Greg was afraid that Joel would have to leave before we got to meet him. So we decided to not waste our time. On our way out we yelled goodbye to Joel again and he was like, "What, you're not waiting in line?" and Greg quickly answered, "Security is kicking us out because we don't have a shirt!" Joel apologized for running out of shirts and then CALLED US BACK to take a photo, stopped the line and let us shoot the photo!That made our whole night. I even got a hug and a kiss on the cheek! But I am really happy because I know Joe would have been so disappointed if we hadn't been able to meet him. So it was a great way to end the weekend!

It must be PMS

I have just been in the most blah mood this week. Work is stressful, no sugar (!!) is stressful...at least working out helps relieve some of the stress. We are going to see Chorus, an opera, tonight. Looking forward to it. And also looking forward to having the weekend off...finally!

It's the little things

...that make me happy. Like knowing the days are getting longer (and warmer).

And wishing the most wonderful woman in the world a happy birthday!We love you!

Possibilities

I think what I love the most about American Idol is the idea of the possibility of having your dream fulfilled. I love seeing people being so passionate about singing and it's such a cool opportunity for them to change their lives and live their dream! Love love love it!

Hump day

I am glad it's Wednesday because that means Friday is around the corner and I actually have the weekend off!

Yesterday I stopped by Target to pick up a present for my collegue whose wife just had a baby. They had some super cute teesbut as there were not on sale I did not buy.

The aforementioned collegue was surprised by our mini-shower. I think this is the first time I have been to a baby shower where the man was the guest of honor and it's funny to see a guy pretend to be excited about baby stuff(Sorry about the blurry photos - I just hate using the flash!)

I have been doing my best not to shop too much this year, but I did get a cute spring cardi and scarf after some inspiration from various fashion blogs:(cardi from Express, about $17, scarf from Old Navy $13).

another busy week

yoga has been kicking my butt lately - yannis is slowly teaching me how to drop back into a backbend as well as stand back up. it's hard! and I finally started 2nd series - just the 1st pose but it's fun to do something new.

today i am going to pick up my new orthotics as well as buy some baby gifts for Sid - his wife had twins a couple weeks ago and we're having a surprise baby shower at for him at lunch today.

otherwise it's just the same ole same ole. maybe i've been a bit quiet because we just started our puerta vallarta diet last week and i haven't had any sugar!

Where did the weekend go?

Unfortunately we had to miss craft Sunday because of Tingaling's busy schedule...maybe next week! So this afternoon, after a morning of running, work and yoga we had brunch at little Berry Hill with Marc, Danny, Kyle (in town from LA), Greg and Joe W. Joe and I are planning on seeing Gran Torino this afternoon.

Yesterday after work we went to dinner with Julie, James, Lori and Val. Julie was stressed out in Albany so used one of James' free tickets to visit. She looks great - has lost about 60 pounds since we saw her last April!

Since we got done with dinner early, Joe and I rented The Visitor. Richard Perkins is up for an Academy Award for best actor for the movie. It was great, a bit melancholy, but I enjoyed it.

I have been feeling rather uninspired as far as blogging and photo taking has gone this week. Hopefully I will get my mojo back next week!

I forgot

...what it's like to be uber busy at work...not fun and no time to play! Tomorrow will be the 2nd full Sat in a row I will be at the office...trying not to think about it too much!

Julie is coming to visit over the weekend so will be doing some family stuff. And I am looking forward to craft Sunday afternoon - a fun Valentine's project will be on the agenda.

Otherwise I have nothing exciting to report. Hopefully my blogging will be more inspired next week!

Some photos to add

Our living room yesterdayMy outfit last night (had to convert to b&w because the color was off)CutieEnjoying our box seats for the last act!

Boo!

I missed a day of blogging yesterday! Oh well, it was a busy day. Work is still just crazy - ugh. Why is it that all the crazies come in when it's just me?

I did see A Midsummer's Night Dream with my sis last night. I really liked it although it was bit long and I still really didn't understand the point of the Mechanics. I thought the 3rd act was a little superfluous, but what do I know? Next week we are going to see Chorus, but I don't think we'll be able to sit in the box seats like we did last night!

Busy day

One of the docs with whom I work had his babies today! (well, technically his WIFE had the babies). Two baby girls: Olivia and Mia. And while I am so happy for him, it puts a cramp in our schedule so I was running aroung like a chicken with her head cut off this afternoon. Why is it that the days you are short staffed are the days when EVERYONE shows up?

Fortunately I did have time to get away from lunch and visit my favorite little pup:Tomorrow I am going to the Opera! I read the synopsis of A Midsummer's Night Dream and it sounds rather complex, but I am looking forward to it!

Happy February

Mondays off from work are always a good thing. Mondays with cookies are even better!

Movie marathon

I feel like I am living at the Angelika these days, but I do love Oscar time. So far I have really enjoyed every movie we have seen this season!

Benjamin Button was really sweet. And I had forgotten how totally hot Brad Pitt is.And The Reader was great as well.Next on our list is Gran Torino and Frost/Nixon (although I won't be devastated if we miss the latter).

My other latest obsession:(yes, a bit late on the band wagon and a bit melodramatic reading, but entertaining nonetheless!)

Twilight

I promised myself that I wouldn't read those books but one of the ladies suggested it for our next book club. So I am halfway through and although it is fairly ridiculous it is also entertaining. A bit cheesy and I would probably eat it up even more if I were 20 years younger, but I will admit I am hooked.

Joe and I are going to see Benjamin Button tonight - looking forward to it. Otherwise just a blah working weekend! I can't believe it's already February tomorrow!

Best show EVER

I have said this every season. I love LOST!

Book club tonight

I think this is the first book club where I have actually finished the book. (Well, the first one I went to I finished, but no one else did, so it doesn't really count. That book wasn't that great either). Otherwise today is just the same ole same ole.

Yeah!

My babes is back from his ski trip! Time to go snuggle!

Cute outfit

I love this outfit - simple yet put together. In fact, I think I may go snag that cardigan today (from Express). {photo from thebudgetbabe.com}

I also love this GG dress, but alas would probably never have an event to wear it to! (If cost were not an issue!)

Eye candy

Just a quick layout I did using lots of OLD products and the NEW slice! I love that I can create large titles now and not worry about running out of letters! Now I just have to use up the mountains of scrap crap I seem to be drowning in!

P.S. This layout is dedicated to my bff ;)

Xin Nian Kuale!

Happy New Year! Today is the lunar new year, or Chinese new year. My parents were always non-traditional Chinese peeps so we didn't celebrate this holiday like many Asians do. I always want to have a party here with our H-town friends but it always creeps up on me. I guess it's too soon after our American holidays!

The other expression commonly used to wish Happy New Year in Chinese is Gongxi Facai (Gong hei fat choi {Cantonese}) but that actually translates into Congratulations and be prosperous. At any rate, I hope this proves to be a fabulous year!

Motivated

I am really having a hard time getting up to work out in the morning. I wake up early enough, but just don't have the motivation to go out and DO it! Maybe it's the cold weather or maybe it's the blah crampiness I have. At least yoga counts for something!

Saturdays are good

Let's see, today I did not get up to work out, but I did spend the day scrapping with my best girl (and sister to boot!) Tingaling and spent the evening with my good friend Peg. She cooked some yummy turkey chili which was delish, especially with the cold weather today. We also watched a movie called Brick Lane about a Bangladeshi woman living in London. I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars. Now the only thing that could make today better is if my cutie were in bed to snuggle with but alas, he is in Steamboat, Colorado, hitting the slopes tomorrow! Good night!

I almost forgot...

I was at Border's a couple days ago buying a planner for this year (lost the one I was going to use, long story. luckily I scored one for only 4 bucks - yay sales!) when I stumbled on this book:Really? I mean I was a total Sanjaya fan just because he was SO bad but I don't even think he is barely 20. How can you write a memoir when you barely have any memories to begin with?!?

Amazing

I just finished Three Cups of Tea, a biography of Greg Mortenson who has built 78school for girls in the most impoverished parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mom, if you are reading this post you need to read this bood because it reminds me of what you saw in China. Children with no school to attend, no books to read. We are blessed to have been born in the United States where we take everything we have for granted. I also believe education is not only the answer to poverty but to world peace as well and this man is doing amazing work. READ THIS BOOK!

Getting LOST again

The new season has started and I think it's going to be excellent!

Fierce

Maybe more realistic:But still riduculous! I love them tho! Too bad they cost more than $1000!!! I think I would rather take a trip :)

It's time

Too much of this (yes I have a weakness for cupcakes and cookies and all things sweet!)has caused me to lose this(my nice flat belly!). So starting today, I am eating healthier and just less in general. I want to take it one day at a time!

Today

Obama is going to be our 44th president. What an amazing day.

Now I am a bit sore

...from all the running. Yesterday we had a fun afternoon at Berry Hill, where my friend JB asked why we liked to run. I couldn't give him a really good answer except that although I don't like the pain during the process I like how I feel afterwards. And yes, I guess I do get a bit of a runner's high early on, but usually towards the end of a race I ask myself "Why?" Because I am a runner, that's why!

PR!

I ran the houston half-marathon this morning in 1:59:59. I wanted to run it in under 2 hours, so made it by the hair on my chinney-chin-chin! I think this calls for a celebratory margarita...care to join?

How cute is this?

Orla Kiely housewares. Run, don't walk, to Tar-jay, early February!

It's that time of year again...

Idol time! This week marks the start of the auditions...I only watch them because I love when someone belts out an amazing song. I cannot STAND the annoying bad ones. We watched Tues and yesterdays episodes back to back. One person who stood out for me was this guy who was essentially born blind. He plays the piano and sang Billy Joel's "And So it Goes." His voice was so pure and beautiful...I hope he does well in Hollywood!

movie run

Every year Joe and I try to watch as many Oscar nominated movies as we can. Joe is actually very picky about the movies he sees - he likes the gritty real ones, not the Hollywood-predictable plot blockbusters. We have already seen Slumdog and we saw Doubt yesterday. We are going to see Revolutionary Road tonight, so I'll let you know how it is!

Happiness is

...a good night's sleep
...Mondays off from work
...cinnamon and bananas with oatmeal
...early morning surfing and scrapping
...kisses from my sweetie
...reconnecting with friends on Facebook
...a clean(ish) closet (still need to find something for my shelve!)
...the best movie of 2008 winning the Golden Globe!

Productive weekend

Most of Saturday was spent cleaning and organizing our closets. Not the most exciting thing to do in the world, but necessary nonetheless. We did take a break in the evening to celebrate our friend Matt's 40th birthday (photos later...not in the mood to upload them just yet).

Today we woke up early and ran 10 miles in the 40 degree weather...brrr!! After our run we met Vanessa, a running buddy of Joe's, for coffee. She had a baby 8 months ago and we haven't seen her in forever, but her baby is supercute and she seems to be doing well!

After coffee we came home, drank a protein-powder enriched orange/grapefruit smoothie, picked up Mark B. and went to yoga. I was afraid that I would be too tired after the run to have a good practice, but actually got a better stretch in than I thought. Unfortunately I could not attend Craft Sunday afternoon with Tinger because of we wanted to finish aforementioned closets.

We got some closet stuff at the Container Store (which Joe is currently installing. He may be having a bit of difficulty because I am still hearing some expletives every now and then!). For my closet I need to get some sweater and shirt shelves, but it wasn't on sale there so I may check out Tar-jay before buying them at CS. We also strolled into Barnes&Noble but didn't make any purchases.

For our late lunch we ventured OTL to Udipi, a vegetarian Indian restaurant we went to with the fam this past summer. The dosais were yummy!

So nothing too exciting to report...I guess I should post some photos to make this a bit more interesting...

I NEED (!!) these shoes!

Louis Vuitton pomegranate Wedge sandal. They scream me!! I love them. Sigh. If only they weren't $980!!!

Aaahhh...

Two weekends off in a row is a rare treat for me. I think we are going to spend most of the weekend taking care of boring house stuff, but anything is better than working! Oh, and we will be attending the 40th birthday of one of our friends tomorrow night - good grief, I am starting to know more and more people in their 40s vs 30s....why do we have to get older???

I bought a set of brushes to use for my 2009 photo-of-the-day project but they weren't all included in the digital file, so as soon as I get that worked out I will start posting photos. But I did take one yesterday that I would like to share:As you can see, Ruby has her eyes on the prize (the best way to take her photo is to tempt her with a treat - trouble is she only stays still for so long, so you have to take it quick!)

Still obsessed

One thing Joe and I have in common is that when we find something we like we tend to obsess over it. Now that I have been learning some new stuff in photoshop, it's all I can think about! I have a lot of digital stuff on my computer that I downloaded for free, but haven't really understood how to use them. Now that I am teaching myself some new stuff, it's so fun and easy! I can understand why people like digital scrapping...it takes just as much time but it doesn't have quite the mess. I don't think I'll ever go totally digital because I love the feel of photos in my hands too much, but I definitely want to use some more digital elements, especially to spice up my photos.

I have been playing around with brushes on photoshop this morning. Found a free one with Ali Edwards' handwriting (Ali is a CK scrapping "celebrity"):I just love the handwriting on the photo. And I have also learned to make my own brushes - that just takes a bit more work. So back to Photoshop I go!

New(ish) addiction

My parents gave me Photoshop CS2 for my birthday last year and I have loved it. I currently use it to edit and organize my photos, but there is so much to do on it! The photo-a-day project seems to have taken the scrapping world by storm this year. Luckily I haven't totally JUST jumped on the bandwagon as I started February last year, but I really want to continue.

So as I have been surfing the web for photo inspiration, I have also found different things you can do to photos such as put them on a pre-made template or add digital elements, so I have been obsessively learning this over the last hour. Too much stuff to learn, too little time to do it!

I haven't yet decided how I want to present my photos this year. I am working on my mini-albums from last year and I may do the same thing this year, just to use up my stash...but still not sure...decisions decisions!

Just not feeling it

The running that is. I had a great yoga practice last night but I am definitely not motivated to run in the morning. Doesn't help that Joe is feeling sick so still in bed and it's wet and cold outside. I keep telling myself, just 30 minutes, is all you need to do! So maybe when it gets lighter outside I will run from the house.

I am also annoyed that I cannot find my planner/binder. It's definitely not inside to house so it may be in the trunk of my car or at my sister's place (have you seen it - small green binder with 2008 calendar inside). Please let me know!

Sigh

Just getting ready for my first Monday back at work in a very long time. Hopefully it won't be too busy.

The weather turned cold cold cold last night, so of course I stayed in my warm bed (with my warm hubby) instead of getting up and running. I can't believe the half-marathon is less than 2 weeks away now...not sure if I will be running it under 2 hours!

Boo!

Unfortunately the good schedule is over and I am back to working some Mondays again. Not too happy about that, but I guess it means to business may be picking up which means more $$ which is always a good thing!

The first weekend of the year was fairly lowkey -on Sat I run in the morning and then the first Costco run of the year with Ting and then we spent the afternoon hanging out with Marc and company. Today we went to yoga and I spent the afternoon scrapping away with Tinger. We have much to do and never enough time to do it!

I have only 1 resolution this year: WRITE IT DOWN. Things I want to do, projects I want to make, photos I want to take, work outs I want to do, people I want to call, etc. etc. One day at a time!

My first photo project for this year is to continue with the photo a day. I started last February and with the exception of a few days here and there, have been fairly successful with it this year. I like the snapshot you get of your life with the everyday photos. I may even try to post them...

Whew!

Work today was not as busy or painful as I thought it would be. In fact, it ran rather smoothly, considering 2 people called in sick!

Joe and I have been chilling this evening...catching up on blogs and Facebook, editing photos and we watched a documentary called "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" about the use of anabolic steroids in US culture. It was actually very interesting and told both sides of the story.

Some of my favorite photos from NYE as well as NYday:My cutie and meme with some random girl from london (AQ's bosses' gf) - I just like the photo because I am laughing and look skinny!Some of us at the beginning of the nightus with melissa and jeff, who came down from Big Dtrouble!the shot I wanted to take with our friendsthe actual shot that was taken by the restaurant worker (didn't he understand the 2009 was the whole point of the picture?? oh well, whatcha gonna do!)

I am looking forward to a weekend of a little sister time and a little relaxation time!

Welcome 2009

Somehow last night came and went and today came and went in the blink of an eye! We started the new year off with a bang but I am tired and going to bed early tonight. Will post photos soon.

Goodbye 2008

It was a great year!Pictured from top: Skiing in Beaver Creek, Austin Marathon, Easter, IMAZ, my birthday, blind tigers!, Maine, white wine dinner, Ibiza, Wang family reunion/baby shower, NYC marathon and Christmas!

I can't wait to see what 2009 brings!

Lazy day

I have not run since Christmas morning! Just hard to get back in the swing of things, I guess. I've been more inspired to organize and photoshop photos, do a little scrappin' and surfin' on the computer than drag my butt out into the cold to run. I must get at least 1 run in tomorrow before the new year!

Relaxing Monday

Today has been the first day I have had in over a week with no obligations. Just time to chill and relax at home. I have been trying to pick up the clutter that seems to multiply every day but otherwise, just taking it easy. Enjoying the last Monday of 2008.