and that's why i like saturdays...

hanging out with mo and amanda in williamsburg-brooklyn for the afternoon - we went to ugly luggage, beacon's closet, and el beit for and iced soy latte afterwards. the weather was great for walking around and enjoying the city.

we took the L back and stopped at Union Square to go to DSW and Whole Foods to get stuff for dinner. At DSW I found a great pair of Steve Madden shoes that were %50 off! I got excited and purchased them. They're kind of tall, but I love them.



The farmer's market in Union Square is so awesome. You can get all kinds of produce, meats, cheeses, fresh flowers, granola, art, maple syrups, even wine (it was necessary for us to purchase a Peach Apple wine after sampling it).












On our walk home we stopped by Anthropologie to check out their sale stuff and be inspired by their interior decorating. They make the absolute coolest stuff out of newspapers, books, etc. This chandelier is made of old books and wiring to hold them together! Mo and I are determined to create our own version.... we'll see if we can actually do it - but we will at least try!


Mo, Amanda and I are having dumplings, eggrolls, edamame and rice for dinner - along with our new bottle of sweet, delicious wine. I think I'm going to have to stay in tonight. Relaxing sounds nice after such a long last night and a long day today.

More later of my adventures in the city.

LOW

i'm leavin on a jetplane

well i'm up late - packing the last of my things - hoping to get a little bit of sleep before i have to wake up for my 5:40 am flight. sigh. looks like i'll be getting more of a catnap if anything - which i'm alright with since i will most likely fall asleep on the plane before we even take off. well. two large suitcases. a small rolling carry on. and one personal item - my bag that will hold my laptop, purse, etc. i just might need a photo of myself lugging this all away. i went to say bye to jon tonight. it sucks every time. no matter how much i tell myself not to cry or make a big deal, i absolutely lose it by the time i'm driving away (thats why i go there to say bye, i need that 15 minute drive home to get it alllll out). i know this semester will be busy, and he'll be up to visit in no time. so. i can really only be positive about it. otherwise. i will make myself go crazy. i figured since i had made a list of things i was looking forward to in nyc, it would be appropriate to make a list of all that i will miss in san antonio.....

coloring on the sidewalk with brenna & korbin.
drinking wine and hanging out with jim, gina, auntie, linds on the porch.
listening to the radio while i drive.
just being able to DRIVE.
cooking & grilling with jon.
good mexican food and margaritas.
sushi zushi.
patches. and mia.
going on walks with jon.
watching 'our shows' with my sister.
family dinners and get togethers.
double ad wednesdays at sun harvest.
working out with my sister. laughing through hip hop abs.
hanging out with my cousins. cousin days.
my nephews who make me laugh a whole lot.
bean and cheese tacos.
going on adventures with jon. and everything about him.
oooooh the list goes on..

i'm sure i'll add on more later. as i begin to realize more and more things i am missing. well it's always a sad goodbye, but i am looking forward to this semester. i'll be back to texas the beginning of november - i will probably begin constructing my magazine paper countdown chain in october. so i'll have to write about that.

goodnight. and i love you sa town.

boot scoot n boogie.

my last saturday of the summer in san antonio - ended up being one of my most favorite saturdays of the summer :)
some of my family met up at midnight rodeo to celebrate my uncle berk and olga's new marriage. we all got together and danced and danced and danced. we also had to initiate olga with a shot (or two or three) of tequila... i guess thats become a tradition over the years. haha. then we followed up at las palapas (one of my favs) for late night fooding. i love these people!

double dog dare.

i got a new phone! whoo. hooo. it's verizon's LG Dare. I love it a whole lot! It is touch screen and I got a pink case to set it in - yea i would have gone with something in the blue/green family, but bright pink was all they had. i'm okay with that though!

One cool feature that we added is the VZ Navigator - and I CAN'T WAIT to get to try it out in nyc this fall. You open the app, and you can get maps, check traffic, get the weather -- all from your exact gps location! I can even click 'where am i?' and it will show my exact positioning on a map. I can even get it to work like a tom-tom, put it in walk mode, and it can tell me how to get from point a to point b. so neat.

my old phone was so worn out and done that i couldn't transfer my numbers! how depressing. so i am in a current state of madness trying to collect all my old numbers - or at least the ones of those that count, right? ;) happy saturday everyone.

here and there and everywhere

This photo absolutely cracks me up. It may be hard to tell what this photo is capturing - i blame that on a) my phone that is barely hanging on...nay, it is now dunzo b) me trying to be sneaking and snapping this from around the corner and c) the uncertainty in determining what the heck is in that cart!

welll... jon and i were at sun harvest yesterday, he went towards the butcher's block to see what was on sale, check out the chicken, while i was looking at the cheese (??!? i know. weird) and he told me i had to go check this out! the man in the above photo has an entire grocery cart full of meat. yes. those packages are all meat! the guy behind the counter told us that this man does this every wednesday, and each time orders about $600 worth. holy moly! i was laughing so hard.


the next photo i want to comment on, is this one of kerri walsh and misty may-treanor!! the girls are showing kissing their 2nd consecutive gold medal for women's beach volleyball. absolutely amazing. they are the first ones in the history of beach volleyball to accomplish this. ((as i am writing this, i am watching the men's finals - brazil vs usa - and they are interviewing the girls in the stand... i wish i could have a photo of that so you could see how wonderful it is to see misty in a chinese, decorated, rice-man hat. I LOVE IT)) these two girls are a joy to watch. they play so well together and are true example of teamwork. their success is contributed not only to their amazing talent, but to the intelligence and anticipation they play with when on the court! it is so inspiring to watch these two dominate. i thought it was awesome that after their win, they made a shout out to president george bush - they thanked him for all he does and told them that they loved him. wow. i thought it was pretty bold and an awesome move for them to make such a statement without being provoked! so whether or not people criticized W for bein over there for the olympics, it obviously meant a lot to at least these two girls! GO USA. i love americaaaaaaa.

now, at last i want to talk about my my first bikram yoga experience!! lindsey and i went and tried it out this morning...and whoo it kicked my butt. 90 minutes in a 103 degree room, sweating, twisting, stretching, squatting, reaching, getting absolutely dripping wet and burning 900 calories in it all. oh wow. i have to say that it really was tough and a definite challenge. you go through a series of 26 poses, each gently urging you to push yourself above and beyond your limits. what an experience. the hardest part is controlling your breathing and adjusting to the heat. i swear there were moments i was seeing spots and just wasnt sure i would make it through the whole thing. but, here i am! alive and well! and we're goin back tomorrow morning! so wish me luck that i can make it through another class :)

**funny side note, the yoga instructor today told us that she heard that the olympic people want to get skimpier outfits for the table tennis teams, so they can draw more attention!! haha. now that could get interesting....**

two glasses of wine.

This was passed onto me in an email from one of my dear friends, my dum dum, sara bear. I thought it was perfect and is a great philosophy when looking at life! Thanks bear for such an awesome lesson for today. LOVE YOU!

Hope yall enjoy!

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 glasses of wine...

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two glasses of wine from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things; your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions; things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full."

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else; the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you."

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. Do one more run down the ski slope. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first; the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the wine represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of glasses of wine with a friend."

t.g.i.f

hooray for friday

it's a beautiful friday afternoon in san antonio, despite the fact that we are sitting at a toasty 103 degrees. jon is preparing the grill - we're making ribs! and they are going to take about 2 hours so we're gettin an early start on dinner. we're having it with baked potatoes, roasted corn and black bean salad, and broccoli. in the freezer i have three ice cube trays of lemony-sugary-icy goodness... that will be pulsed in the blender and will have raspberries and mint (from the backyard!) in it. delish. how delightful does that sound?

jon's roommate, michael, is having a party tomorrow evening here at the house. a bunch of their old friends are coming in town and a bunch of michael's friends from the valley are coming in as well. so all the roommates (and caroline ((jons brother's girlfriend)) and i of course) are prepping for the festivities. whoo!

my mom has booked my flight to head back to the big apple for the fall... i will be departing the lonestar state at 6am on thursday, august 28th. sigh. it's always so bittersweet. it's been an awesome summer. i'm looking forward to this semester of school (and for jon to visit in october!!) and all that is to come. i'm getting closer and closer to the real world and the anxiety is slowly creeping in.

for now, i have a list of a few things i'm looking forward to this fall in nyc:

* living in chelsea! and learning a new part of the city* pinkberry
* street fairs* hells kitchen flea market* lela rose collection@fashion week* a (supposed) early fall
* brunches with unlimited mimosas
* my pratt kids!* my b.f.fs who i have missed ridiculous amounts* getting southern soup at spice/sea* wine & cheese party* st marks square* walking everywhere* ray's pizza

if i think of more, then the list will be added to.
happy friday!

fotografias - la playa.

1) me & missy

2)lindsey looking at dolly's aftermath

1) joz, natalie, stacey, esther & neasy
2) linds & i taught the cousins something new

islanders represent. hahaaa. so funny. i claim responsibility for this.

1)linds, val, hailey & neasy
2) cita burrito & me

me and the bro. #1 at skee-golf.

I will add more later!

GO U.S.A!!!!
i <3 the Olympics!

attitude of gratitude

the title of my blog today sounds like an inspirational poster you would see in an elementary classroom. i could imagine it. a big 3d square type font in distractingly bright colors. wish i could say i made that line up, but i actually heard delilah say it on the radio as i was driving to the house im housesitting at this evening. it made me think of my mom, and how i feel right now.

today i want to give major props to my mom. the most amazing woman i know. it's her birthday today and since we went to dinner as a family on sunday, she really didn't expect much from us today. my sister and i decided (last minute of course) that we thought it would be pretty fabulous to throw her a mini-surprise party. the family and close friends were invited, and it was planned to just be cake and ice cream. i mentioned to my family that gifts were not necessary.... but yellow roses were my moms favorite, and i thought it would be cool if everyone got her one and wrote her or card, or c0uld just be there to celebrate with her on this day.

now, when i say family -- most people think a mom, dad, couple siblings, maybe a few aunts and uncles, and a couple cousins.... well when i talk about my family, i need to explain just how big it is to get my point across when i say it's big... my mom is the 9th of 10 children (the youngest girl). she has 6 brothers and 2 sisters, which only one is with us today (we love you and miss you aunt esther). and when i talk about my cousins, i mean my first, and second cousins. with my mom being one of the youngest, her oldest nieces and nephews are a few years younger than her; combined my oldest cousin is maybe 40 and my youngest cousin (2nd cousin) is only a couple months old! when i claim that i am blessed, i truly am so thankful to have such a huge network of family to love and support me. the point i was getting at is that the 'simple party' turned into a great celebration... lindsey and i were rushing and stressing to get things done before my mom arrived - and as my family arrived, they each took on different duties to help us quickly get things in order. big sigh of relief on my part.


my mom and aunt linda, the two girls in the family, have taken on a lot of the duties that my grandma once filled. they play the role of keeping the family close together, and are generally the hosts of all our family functions and gatherings (its funny how for us a simple sunday dinner can turn out more guests than some people's thanksgivings! ha. and thats usually with them not being invited, its like word gets out and they just show up. i love it.). lately my mom has been working so hard and has been so busy. she works harder than anyone i know, but she still finds time for her family and friends. she can be tough on you, but she speaks honestly and truthfully. she can be your biggest fan, yet your greatest critic. and even though my mom and i can bash heads (okay so maybe we're a little too alike) i dont know what i would do without her. with confidence i can say that i wouldn't be who i am today if it weren't for my mom --- the faith she has instilled in me, the drive and motivation to work hard, to believe in yourself, to be passionate about the things and people you love, to always remember that no matter what, your family will always be there for you, and to stand up for what you believe in.

today in celebrating my mom's birthday, my main goal was for her to see how grateful so many people are to have her in their lives, and how much we all truly love her.

i really just wanted today to be something simple. just to show my mom how much we care, to celebrate with her, and for once to do something for her without her having to bend over backwards for the rest of us. im so thankful for my mom, and my family who could be there to make today so special. im so thankful for you all who (even with my short notice) could be there to celebrate with us today.

its amazing to think about my mom, dad, and all my family -- and just know how truly blessed i am. i am so grateful for having them all in my life.

i am a very lucky girl. happy birthday mom. i love you more than you know.

no wonder our perception of beauty is distorted

this is such a classic clip. i love watching it and could do so over and over again...

i'm housesitting right now.. and will be here till next week. kinda bored right now. meh. so dont really have much else to say rather than ---
happy friday.

the ant & the grasshopper

**This one is a little different...Two Different Versions! Two Different
Morals!**

OLD VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long,
building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the
summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!



MODERN VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house
and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the
summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper r calls a press conference and demands
to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others
are cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures20of the shivering
grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table
filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is
allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries
when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'

Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the
news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Jesse then has
the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the
ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an
immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act
retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs
and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is
confiscated by the government.

Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation
suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of federal judges
that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single-parent welfare recipients.

The ant loses the case.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the
ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the
ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now
abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once
peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2008

dia de los primos

the cousins finally put our heads together to execute a successful 'cousins day'. we've all been so busy with our individual gigs, but found some time to hang today. aunt linda dropped the deej (d.j.) off at our house this afternoon, and we met up with our cousins b-rad, cannoli, and masonite (bradley, nolan and mason) at bill miller's - one of our family's fav places to meet, eat and chat it up. after dinner we hit up h.e.b. to get snacks for the movie - brad and i got cherry bombs and dark peanut m&ms to share. we saw the 7:20 showing off hancock at northwoods. at the theatre i saw four volleyball girls that i know from club, camps and clinics this summer...haha. typical friday night at the movies for all the 15 and younger crowd, a.k.a those who can't drive yet. the movie was better than i anticipated it to be. it was fun hanging out with the boys. we havent all gotten to get together in quite sometime - so it was fun to catch up, poke fun at each other, and laugh about really dumb stuff. uncle ed and aunt laura came to pick the boys up at the house after (just nolan and mason - brad left the movies with some friends). they just now left. uncle ed got us laughing so hard. its funny to hear him tell a story. he loves doing the exact voices and tries to make it sound as authentic as possible.

tomorrow mom, lindsey and i are heading to denton for our friend b.j.'s wedding. we're leaving early in the am and pammy is going to ride up with us - we're droppin her in fort worth. im excited to hopefully see miss jenna ellen on sunday when we stop back through dallas on the way home. and maybe i'll get to see sara bear and chelseas marie too. i really would like to visit fort worth - but we have to get back to sa - i think im having a vb lesson with alisha (ran into her at the movies. ha). i'll post pics from the wedding when we return! oh. also, i still need to put up beach pics!

peace and hair grease
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