i am my own genius bar.

i could be a mac genius. no really. i could work in the apple store.

ha. yea right. i wish! i am just saying that i was having major problems with my MBP (thats macbook pro for you... which i learned on the tons of troubleshooting sites i visited this evening). i really was getting frustrated. i used mo's laptop, went to the site for the apple store on w14th, and scheduled an appt for saturday. at 8pm. which is their next available appt. geeze. busy much huh? so after booking my appt i searched for help via the world wide web. i learned how to start my laptop in safe mode... and then made sure EVERYTHING on my laptop was backed up to my hard drive... then proceeded to fiddle around.

then. VIOLA! i did it! i don't know how. well i know what i did, but i dont know technically how it worked.... but guess what. i am up and running! i can cancel my appt and not worry about it. look at me being all self-sufficient and stuff.

p.s. as for the weather today in nyc.... i sure do miss the 210 & the f-dub on days like this... you SO KNOW that they would have called a snow day and cancelled class. sigh.

achooooouesday.

long day. great dinner - my roommate is wonderful and cooks for me. good wine. more work to get done. its never ending and all just beginning. but i wouldnt want it any other way.

did i mention at all yet that i have been doing the 'project 365' challenge? several months ago mo told me that her friend holli started a challenge where she takes a photo a day. I have heard of this before, but have never committed to doing it. some days its difficult. some days its super easy and i have more than one photo i want to choose from. i thought about writing this bc i realllly like the photo i took for today and want to put it up like stat.

anyhow. i am working on getting those up. not sure yet if i want to devote a blog to it? or if i want to host them on flickr? hmmm.

right here. right now.

today was the first day of my internship. and to sum it up - i did a lot of LEARNING. it was great doing something that was completely new to me. i am basically learning the nuts and bolts of building a website. there were challenges, easy parts, and things that i had to take my time to understand... but it was all great in its own way. all in all i am looking forward to this experience and all that i will be able to take away from it. not to mention, i LOVE working with jena. she is awesome. she is a strong woman, has an outgoing personality and is absolutely honest. she makes me laugh and i look forward to working with her and learning all i can from her. {{here is the link to the companys site!}}

i re-arranged my room. its such a small space, how would i do that? oh. i did. i dont know if im happy with it. but it is what it is for now. i still have crap everywhere. and am lacking in the decorating and organizing department. but whatev. im doin what i can with what i have.

i opened up my 'stickies' application on my comp - its been forever since i have... and i stumbled across this quote that i wanted to share ---

"I'm not sitting somewhere dwelling on the past or obsessing about the future... I don't want to be anywhere other than where I am right now."

-Jennifer Aniston

i think it's perfect. i think its a beautiful way to look at life. it sums up how i feel and where i stand right now. im tired of people worrying about how things will be in their future -- relationships, jobs, life in general. i also think its silly to keep hanging onto the past. you can't change the past. you can only learn from it, and grow from it. and as for the future -- just live your life now!! work hard, love fully, laugh loudly and make the best of what you have now.

im happy. and blessed. and know that i'm right where i need to be.

i think i once found this quote on miss jenna cox's facebook (hey, at least im honest)... so she totally gets credit for it :D

say it loud.

[[ for the record... we lost this game. BIG FAT BUMMER.]]

GO SPURS GO!
[[beat the lakers]]

omg friday at last

oh it's friday!

it is true!

i've made it through the first week back! well with exception to my packaging class that is in two hours. im excited for today. after class i am going to meet with a lady to discuss an internship this semester. she seems really cool and i am excited to meet her [[more on the internship later when it is finalized]] after that i will jet on over to meet tuten, alex, sean and his wife jenny (friends from pratt) and maybe brandon? maybe odge? (and whoever else joins in) for drinks. a way to kick off the weekend and celebrate completing the first week.

later tonight i am going to artbattles which i am really excited about. it is an art show, but not your average art show. at art battles, the artists compete against eachother. they have a set amount of time to complete a piece and then the winner (i think?) is auctioned off. something like that. anyhow. i think it is totally cool and will be a blast. it's something like i've never been to before! hopefully we can take pics there - bc if so i will definitely have to, and then will post them.

happy friday to all -- hope everyone has survived through the week, and has a spectacular weekend! oh and its 35 in nyc... with a high of 48 for the day! whooooohoooo! that is enough to slap a big smile on my face.

BAD ROBOT

Hooray! LOST has returned! I've never had a show that has left me so anxious to figure out what the heck is actually going on.  My hopes are high for this season - with the writers promising that the show was meant to be five seasons, and five seasons only - we will finally (hopefully...right?) get the answers we've been searching for.  Jon and I have watched every episode of every season together... and this is my first time watching it without him.  I am here in NYC and he is home in the 210.  sigh. same goes with my sister though.  LOST speculations have been a great part of conversations between lindsey and my sister in law gina and i.  i can't wait for when i'm home and we can re-cap what all is happening and have our OH MY GOSH! moments and help each other try to find some clarity in all the madness. So CHEERS to the final season of LOST... and the hope that this season we wont be entirely 'lost' about what is going on. hmm now that i think about it - maybe that should be my theory... that there really is no rhyme or reason or logic to it all -- the idea is spelled out in the title itself. LOST. we are meant to be lost and go crazy trying to understand... but its actually just a big twisted mess to drive us mad. eh. nahhhhh. theres gotta be something more. right? 

p.s. i hope someone out there gets my title and how it relates.....

snowflakes that fall on my nose and eyelashes...

im back in the city. as my plane arrived at la guardia yesterday evening, i turned on my phone and saw a text from my mom... 'don't forget your coat' -- i had been lugging it as a carry on since san antonio, bc i knew it would be cold when i arrived. i glanced out the window to the snow that was covering the ground, and assured my mom that there was no way i would forget my coat and she had nothing to worry about.

i caught a cab and headed to the apt. i lugged my two bags (each almost 50 pounds), plus my computer bag and purse out of the cab [while impatient cars waiting behind us honked and honked and honked...] through the snow on the sidewalk and steps, and with the help of a guy from my building got them inside. he let me know that one of the wheels broke off of one of my suitcases... but DONT WORRY... he retrieved it for me. thanks mister.

getting my luggage up to the 4th floor in my walk up was the fun part. and by fun part, i mean that i stopped for several breaks rest breaks, there was cursing and i almost fell backwards like twice. i finally made it upstairs. i kicked off my boots and plopped down on my bed... where i fell asleep. i woke up when mo called me -- they were all just getting out of church (its a block away from the apt) and were goign to get something eat. i got up, put my boots and layers back on and went to meet everyone.

we went to this diner on the corner and all crammed into several tables pushed together... wish i had a pic of that. but here is me and the TGC girls as we were leaving venus diner --note should be made that annie fell almost twice in just the taking of this photograph :D also, please note how cute everyone looks, while i have a side ponytail and am airport greasy. haha.

[[kathleen, hilary, chinae, megan, annie, me, vanessa, mo and rachel]]

so yes, its nice being back. the snow looks lovely as its falling outside right now. i had wanted to go to the park and take pictures today. hmm. but instead i have showered and have attempted to clean/organize/unpack... which hasn't been entirely successful.

miss you already texas -- you and all your warmth. im gonna post some of my fave pics from being home here in the near future.

twenty-nine days.

i have been home, in texas, for twenty-nine days. as long as that may sound, it has flown by. it has been such a wonderful time home... its hard for me to say that im not excited or ready to be back in new york. don't get me wrong. i love new york (how cliche does that sound?) and i love my friends there. and the experience and opportunity i have there. i love everything about it except for one thing... its not san antonio, and its not home. i am so incredibly blessed to have such an amazing family and home here in texas. i never want to leave it. its never easy. and i dont think it ever will be easy to leave. even when i was at tcu - i cried every time i drove out of my driveway and headed to fort worth. of course, the second i exited 'berry st' and made my way towards campus, my spirits lifted and i was then excited to be back. same goes for now. its so hard to leave home for me. i know i'll be excited once i get back in the swing of things. but right now its just hard.

i know that i will be back in texas one day. and i knwo it will be sooner rather than later. and that even though i am having a blast in new york... i know that i am there for myself and my career and to help me get a kick-start on the rest of my life. i am so lucky to have this opportunity and i want to make the best of it. but i know that my heart belongs in texas. and i dont care what anyone else thinks. i know that some of my friends in ny are set.... and see themselves being there forever. and i think thats awesome for them. but its not for me.

well i am finishing up packing. i need to get some sleep. i just wanted to say that this has been a really great time. and it hurts my heart to have to leave. but i know its for the best, and its for the best for me and for everything i want to do in my future. alright. im out.

some quotes for the day.

"you won't do anyone any good by pretending to be less than what you are."
-sally field in brothers and sisters

and something said by my funny little bunny of a mother....
"if i had more money, i would drink champagne instead of wine"

HAHA. my maja makes me smile. don't worry, we just shared another bottle of champagne. we saved the better bottle for last. so now all the new years eve champagne is gone.... but we are smiling and feeling warm and toasty.

it's been a lovely weekend full of volleyball and family and fun. i will catch up on that later. just wanted to add some quotes of the day :D

did i mention that WE BRING THE OT?!

haha. we do we do we dooo! jon and i have been wanting to go to a san antonio rampage game for some time now. after getting an entertainment book from jons dad, and finding a 50% off coupon for tickets...we looked further into game days. tonight was fan appreciation night (a.k.a dollar beer night) and we decided that it would be the perfect night to go see a hockey game. i mean, why not? while we were waiting on jon's brother, bruce, to get to the house so we could leave for the game, i remembered that my friend works at spurs and rampage games. i called him to find out if its easy to just get tickets to games when you get there and whatever. when he called me back he said he could get us some tickets and to call hiim when we got there. so when we got there i called him to say we were there, and he met us out front with tickets -- which was amazing and allowed us to avoid the RIDICULOUSLY long liens. MIKE SWENSON YOU ARE AWESOME!!!

we found out that the seats were really great! we were in the section closest to the ice and on the 13th row. we were up close for all the body slamming against the glass. it was great. the rampage played the milwaukee admirals -- and have lost to them the past THREE times. we were hoping with our recent good luck with close and exciting games we would bring something special to the game. haha. WELL!

admirals scored early... and then with 4 min to go in the 3rd period, the rampage scored! as the time finished out it was declared that the game would go into OVER TIME!!! thats right. the THIRD over time game we have gone to in the past two weeks. once going into over time/sudden death (first team to score wins), the rampage scored in the first 16 seconds!! it was so exciting!!

my first hockey game was a success...and was sprinkled with little fights here and there and those were so cool to watch. haha. i lvoed how the refs just patted them on the back and let them have at it. they tore off their gloves, and their masks and just went AT IT. punching and shoving and beating each other up. what a great night.

whoooo look at us! we sure do know how to do it when it comes to athletic events! what a great friday night. going to bed soon bc its up early tomorrow to head to houston where i am coaching our 17s at a tournament. lets hope this 'irish luck' continues on.

[[these were taken with my cell, and shows how close we were!]]

[[a fight was goin on. but i couldnt get my phone out quick enough to capture the good stuff]]

p.s. i brought in my good camera - the rebel -but had to check it into customer services when i got there :( booooo! i could have gotten some GOOD ones. its okay though.

quote of the day.

"I want something to drink
-- and not water..."

-Loretta Heffron

and that is why we are drinking champagne right now. and catching up on greys and private practice. im glad me and my mom can be on the same page when it comes to quenching our thirst.

regulator christmas 08 - BFF

janice just posted photos on fb from the regulator christmas party. this is our 7th christmas party to throw [[the first 4 were always just us girls, but the past 3 years have been kind of like a reunion for anyone and everyone to come]]. wanted to post a few of my faves from the night. I LOVE THESE GIRLS SO VERY MUCH. it is always so amazing to get together during the holidays and pick up right where we left off.

CHEERS TO THE CLASS OF 2003.
[[i would post the 'motto' we came up with back in the day, but it is entirely inappropriate. haha]]

[[jaci, jordan, andrea & me]]


[[me and aubbs. bffff]]


[[nothing says 'we've grown up' like playing drinking games]]


[[cheeeers in the vogl kitchen]]


[[hooray. i love us]]


[[mo and i celebrating with a 'strike em rattlers' while hughes and gomez are reciting the winston churchill alma matter in the background. represent.]]


[[regulators, mount up.]]


[[this one is typical us. and no, they're not really making out back there. um. at least i think they arent!! haha. jk]]


[[“The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.” Elisabeth Foley]]


[[jenna, jaci, janice and me]]


[[jazon gomez, janice, and jason hughes]]


[[mama ana fixing jacis dress]]


[[CHRIS ANNINOS CAME HOME TO US!!]]


[[throwback hammers shirt. of course]]


[[two of my faves right here. manship and anninos]]


[[timmy, sean, anninos and steven]]


[[the soon to be mr & mrs andre!!]]


[[moving the party to sherlocks]]



[[jordan, aubbs and me]]


[[schavies, me and janny]]


[[jdizzle and chase streitz with janny]]


[[tommy tom and jaci ann]]


[[aubrey is pissed bc they kicked her out. HAHHAAAA. she was sitting down, texting and they came and said she had to much and had to leave. so she had to sit outside in this chair until her bro picked her up.... while i got pissed and asked to speak to the management bc it was ridiculous. but we all laughed a lot after. okay maybe aubrey didnt. maybe she did.]]

horned frogs and thai chili

LOOK @ me! well dont look too closely at me -- not the best looking photo of me, BUT pretty cool that i got to meet Kurt Thomas! He is also a fellow HORNED FROG and TCU alum. my mom and i were eating lunch at thai chili [the owner, chai, used to be married to one of my moms cousins], and KT came in to pick up some food to-go. my mom introduced herself and let him know that she and my dad are on the board for the TCU san antonio alumni. she told him that when he first came to san antonio, she went online and bought up all his rookie cards to use at our auction and fundraisers. and she asked if he would be interested in coming out and helping with fundraisers and events. he said he would, and just to get in touch with him and gave us his email address. it was pretty cool seeing him and getting to meet him. especially after the spurs had such a great win against miami the night before!

alright. well that was my news for yesterday - but i just got around to it today.

pacific moon. errands & bravo.

i started the day by going to lunch with muhlynnuh (you have to pronounce it that way. the slower, and more obnoxious, the better...) at pacific moon - one of our favs. as i dashed out the door to meet mo in my driveway, i shouted to my dad that we were going to lunch bc i dont see her near enough. i LOLd. but i dont htink he got the joke [um we're roommates]. anyhow. while i am an obvious fan of the tex-mex styled salsa and tortilla chips....pacific moons version of chips and salsa is arguably one of my favorites on the planet. after much giggling and gossiping, er i mean storytelling(?) and both enjoying the SAME dish... we paid our bills and were on our way.

liddy and i ran errands to barnes and noble. bed bath and beyond. and then met the maja and the grantie and headed to la cantera. we got some stuff here and there and walked around for a couple hours then had dinner (and two bottles of chilean cab...) at BRAVO. our girls day at la cantera is always one of our fav things to do.

now me and the maja are hanging out at the hopa. im kinda bored. but too tired to go out and do anything. oh wait and i dont have a car right now. so that is neat too. i think hangin out with the nephews tomorrow - so that should be fun.

alright. im outie.

RING it in.

happy new year to everyone!

we bring the OT

my awesome bro has season tickets to the spurs, and gave us his tickets for the games against memphis! so saturday night, me lindsey (my sis), mark (her bf) and jon went to dinner at pei wei in lincoln heights and then went downtown to at&t center for the game. we had SO much fun. and the game was so exciting. it went into two over times, with the spurs coming out on top 106-103. hootie hooo. i think it was one of the most exciting games we've been to.

sunday i hung out at jons then went to the river city vb practices at alamo heights junior school. the 14s only had four girls, so the practice ended an hour early. then me, kim and edie (my friends who play at UIW and coach our 14s) went and scrimmaged against the 17s. it was fun getting to play, even though i felt like my body is like 50 years old. okay more like my knees. but i did alright. i blocked one girl and got really excited. ha. its been wayy too long since ive played for real - i mean i ve played at camps and stuff but its not like when i used to play. anyhow.

yesterday i had a drs appt then came and hungout at the house. my parents dropped me to meet jon on their way to my nephews bball game. my cousin dana works for valero, who was hosting the alamobowl, had two extra tickets! so me and jon went down to the alamodome, ate at bill millers - which was before we realized the game started at 7, and not 8, and that the tickets my cousin was getting for us got us into the vip lounge where they had free food and drinks. bummer. anyway. we took advantage of the free drinks...and that was pretty awesome. the game was mizzou vs northwestern - and it ended up going into overtime and mizzou ended up winning 30-23. we had awesome seats, right on the 50 yd line. i tried to take a photo with my phone, but it doesnt really do it justice. two exciting OT games in three days. good times.

today there was vb practice again. split my time there between the 14s and the 17s. i love both teams but they practice at the same time. i am going to get to coach the 17s in houston in two weekends, so its good getting to know those girls. but i also love the 14s since i know several of them and have so much fun with kim and edie. my mom made dinner, so me and jon came over here after practice. she made bacon wrapped cream cheese jalapeno peppers for apps even though it didnt match with the meal (ha) since lindsey, jon or my mom didnt get any at lindseys grad party. before dinner, my dad, jon and mark were shooting hoops in the driveway. i attempted several. but then me and lindsey just peppered with the vball instead. sticking to what we know. we decided it was time to wash up and go in for dinner when one of the bballs deflected off the rim and hit me, breaking my glasses. if anyone is reading this right now, i hope you're laughing. bc i think its funny. the frame got cracked. haha. anyway. mom made shrimp paesano and tilapia with pasta and stuffed tomatoes for dinner. delish.

after dinner i rushed over to my cousin danas to watch her boys while she went to the spurs game. so now im home. catching up on this thing. and gonna get ready for bed soon. don't know what we're doing tomorrow night for new years yet. me and jon are gonna eat dinner at my parents then who knows what.

alright. im out.
peace.

merry christmas to all

hope everyone is having a wonderful christmas, full of family time, good food, and holiday cheer. i am loving being home in san antonio. i sure do love this place. haven't really gotten to write since i've been home - things have been crazy!!

i will have to do a brief recap (i'll try to keep it brief)

saturday, dec 20 - left LGA at the butt crack of dawn. flight is delayed. land in chicago. RUN from terminal to terminal trying to catch my connecting flight (i had 10 minutes). get to the gate just in time to see 'flight closed' and see the plane still sitting there. burst into tears. call the mom. miraculously catch a standby flight at noon (the flight was overbooked and i was at the bottom of the standby list, some random girl (or angel) told me the flight switched gates...we run to the other terminal, and make it JUST in time to catch the flight. about 1/3 of the people didnt make it. pretty awesome for me, huh?) jon picks me up from the airport. its hot. and i have to change out of my boots. go to marthas for mexican and margs. hang out at the tophill house. then come home to see teh family, slaving away preparing for lindseys grad party. love love, kiss kiss, hug hug. then do what i can to help out.

sunday. LINDSEYS grad party! wow. my sister graduated!! and i am so sad i had ot miss it. but the party was so much fun. had a great time with my family and friends and all that came to celebrate with us. ended the evening by seeing 'yes man' at the theatre with my cousins bradley and nolan. cousins spend the night. snuggle in my bed watching tv with the boys then head to lindseys room before i pass out from such a long day.

monday. eye appointment. i got some contacts! and my dr said i can wear them SPARINGLY. which means my eyes are getting better. which is awesome. and i got a new glasses rx - so i can replace these scratched ones i have. neat. go to my nephews bball game at reagan (weird that its been so long since we went there). brandon comes with. reminisce about his glory days (LOL) playing reagan bball. hang out at brans. ashley picks me up. meet jaci, dru and vogl at copa wine bar. realize my mom and our waiter are like bff because she comes there all the time. intersting. me, dru and vogl head to sherlocks. see b-wester who is bartending. hang out with kyle, steven and sean. go to jims. fall asleep in the booth. dru drops me at home.

tuesday. work a hanukkah party with brandon at this cool, contemporary house. make a $100 tip [[which was all spent on christmas gifts and an outfit for christmas eve...]]. the owner of the house makes me a killer dirty martini that i enjoy while finishing up the dishes and packing the leftovers. stop by jons to see him. watch the end of the tcu vs boise state - poinsetta bowl - cheer for the frogs who won. jon falls asleep bc he is exhausted from starting work. i leave. eat food. meet brandon, watch jeopardy. go pick mo up at the airport. come home, pass out.

wednesday. [[christmas eve day]] run last minute errands with the lindsey. come home. get ready for church. get to church early. save seats for osborns. photoshoot after mass with the osborns. go to auntie lindas. dinner with the fam. hang out.check out the bro's new hummer. go into maternal mode and scold the little cousins for misbehaving. lecture on respecting eachother and respecting the space. have them to do a 're-do' bc they started the night off with bad behavior [slip in the fact that santa is still watching]. mo and brandon come by. drink wine and firefly that brandon got me and mo. open presents. got some more lolita from uncle ed! help clean up. go home. go to bed.

thursday. sleep in. open presents with the fam [[new citizens. tiffanys charm. boots. cross. comm arts subscription. cute hat from urban. funky gloves. peace sign scarf (for the 50th reunion, lol. i like it) sweet henri bendel candle from b&bw. girls just wanna have fun on dvd & a gift certificate for a spa pedicure from the sister]]. eat breakfast. shower. drink margs. watch 'august rush' with the mom and the sister. hang out.

waiting for the osborns to come by. waiting for jon to get back in town from blanco! bc things have been crazy busy and we we havent hung out nearly enough since i've been home. tomorrow is the regulator christmas party! i am stoked. it will be great to see people and catch up. alright. so that is the run down of what i've been doing.

other than that - been enjoying the warm weather in sa. the fact that i didnt have to wear a jacket on christmas eve. the fact that our front door and back door are open righ tnow and i am loving the breeze. moving onto wine. still lounging around. ahhh. life is good.

xo

fotografias

[FRIDAY EVENING]

{{susie, al & me before the party started & all the girls on the terrace}}

{{me and my nae & my little ladies in fur}}

{{just a little bday toast to me @ midnight! & susie makes a great bridget jones}}


{{roomies and besties & us with our new friend, megan}}

[SATURDAY MORNING]

{{opening gifts from mom & dad}}

[BEGINNING OF SATURDAY EVENING]

{{24 roses for twenty-four years. the greatest surprise from jonathan}}

**great weekend. great fun. i will retrieve (and sift through) photos from going out at night for the bday and then post them... we will see how many are suitable for posting. probably not cool to voluntarily embarass your ownself...**

a whirlwind.

why am i awake at such an hour? waking up early to see the sunrise? yea right. im still up from finishing up my FINAL TWO projects of the semester. oh how sweet that sounds. i thought i could possibly get a few hours of sleep in, but i would probably just end up being more tired. weird how that works. the forecast tomorrow (today?) is ridiculous...



yikes. well i have not had a chance to write this week - things have been absolutely crazy. and even though i had a WONDERFUL birthday weekend... i think i had a little too much fun which disabled me from doing anything productive. so i spent the whole week like a crazy chicken trying to get it all worked out.

i can't believe this semester is coming to a close. holy cow where did the time go? one semester left before i graduate and try to decide what direction i want to go in -- or maybe who will be so gracious as to give me a job opportunity and lead me in a new direction...hmm. i suppose that is more like it. we will see. during the break i hope to post some of my work from the semester. it's been a busy one. done a whole lot in such a quick amount of time. my portfolio website needs MAJOR revamping. okay i need to update ALL of my design work that i have on there. bc looking at this semester compared to last, i am embarassed to have that stuff up there. geeze. i guess you can say though thats a good thing - at least im improving.

this post is way to boring and serious. i just realized that all i have talked about is the weather.... and school work. gross.

bye already.

keming

THURSDAY = DONE = RELIEF.

i made it through the day folks. don't know how (okay maybe redbull and coffee helped some). Got out of Publication design early - which is awesome bc now i have time to work on my packaging that is due TOMORROW. neato. it's almost the weekend :D

p.s. elizabeth (my old roomie from tcu) is coming in from d.c. tomorrow! i am so super excited to see her and finally meet this boyfriend of hers. lol.