Time flies when you're

having fun. I just realized it's about time to update the ol' bloggy again! I've been in Business Objects Web Intelligence training at work this week. That has seriously cut into my surfing time, lol! I've been doing well with working out consistently. My body aches in different places, but it's a good hurt. Took the day off today because I was just so tired when I got home, but I'm gonna keep on truckin' so I can lose 5 lbs! Last weekend was, well, too short. I had pizza at Bongiorno's for lunch on BOTH Saturday and Sunday. Can you say "addicted"?? I'll be back later this week with another update. I'm so tired!

Razzle Dazzle

I want to share my all-time favorite Sweet Shoppe Designs product: Razzle Dazzle by Zoe Pearn! It's so versatile because I can use these sheets as is, or "cut" shapes out of them with clipping masks. I can make titles out of them by clipping them to fonts, like I did in my blog header. I love these and have used these over and over again!

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Dang it was hot in San Diego this weekend! Yesterday was around 90 degrees and today around 95! This is quite unusual in April... well, even in the summer it's quite unusual! Yesterday we went running at the coast early, around 9:45 AM, because we knew it was going to be hot. But even at that time it was already in the mid-80's! That is so weird cuz usually in San Diego there is a "marine layer" in the morning that keeps the coast cool. Well, not yesterday! Sunny & hot first thing in the morning! After we ran, we had an early lunch at Bongiorno's! Yes, the NY style pizza again! We just love it, what can I say... Even the owner recognizes us now. He said he missed us last Saturday and that he knows it's Sat. when we come in! LOL! After the pizza lunch, we went home and took showers. Then I scrapped a little bit. Then we met up with Sally around 5:30 PM to go to Heaven Sent Desserts in North Park for their Afternoon Delight Happy Hour. Yes, we had desserts before dinner! Sal and I had the White Russian Cake, which was real whipped cream topping and cake soaked in Kahlua! So yummy! Todd had some kind of apple cake. We had so much fun with the desserts and chatting! After that we walked across the street to Ranchos Mexican for some organic/veggie Mexican. That was pretty yummy too! Then we walked around the art galleries at Ray At Night, a monthly gallery hop in North Park. After that we came home and finished watching "40 Year Old Virgin" on DVD. I expected it to be stupid, but it was actually a very touching movie with heart! That was a pleasant surprise! Today we went to lunch at a new Chinese restaurant in Mira Mesa called "Silver Ark". When we walked in, it was full of Chinese people (a good sign). Then I sat down and realized they serve dim sum! This is only the second dim sum restaurant in north county SD, so I was pretty excited to try it out. It was good, but since Todd was with me, I didn't try out any of my favorite shrimp dim sum dishes, so I'll have to do that another time. Then, we also found that a new "Yogurt World" was right next door to Silver Ark! That was quite exciting too because we loved the Yogurt World in Kearny Mesa but it's a longer drive. We didn't go this time though. Instead Todd opted to get a Blueberry Pomegranate ice blended at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. It's one of his faves and it's so yummy! Then we stopped by Seafood City to buy some Asian sauces. I had never been in there before. Most of the stuff seems to be Filipino. Then we went to Target and didn't buy much (gasp!) I looked at the clothes and I just don't like the styles out right now. They all looked ugly to me. Big huge blouses, high-waisted stuff. No thanks. We stopped by Albertson's to get produce for a couple of dinners, then came home. Tonight I co-hosted an online crop at Pixel Gypsy Designs to promote the Everyday Joy Collection to benefit the Helping Hand Program at National Autism Association. It was very fun and we had games and prizes! Lastly, some layouts from this week... Shall We Dance? Huntington Beach Tulum Taste Test Self Portrait Tiki Kauai

Blog for a Cause!

Todd and I just got back from a two day getaway to Huntington Beach. It was nice to just get away for a couple of days from our normal routines, and enjoy each other's company. Plus we had never been to Huntington Beach before. We had a great time there! :) For those of you close to me, you may know that autism is something that is very close to my heart. My nephew Xander is autistic. He's almost six years old and is almost non-verbal. My sister spends a lot of time trying to improve his speech and other abilities. She has him in special classes at school, ABA therapy everyday for two hours, biomedical treatments, and he also takes supplements. This is all in the hopes of making him better so that he can live a more normal life. I pray for him a lot and hope that his autism will improve. Did you know that most therapy and all biomedical treatments are not covered by insurance? Yes, it's true. Autism can take a huge financial toll on families. Coincidentally, I am on the Sherrie Piegdon's (Pixel Gypsy Designs) creative team for digital scrapbooking. Her son has very similar autism symptoms as Xander. He's also six years old and virtually non-verbal. The reason I'm bringing this up is because April is Autism Awareness Month. The team at Pixel Gypsy Designs is trying to raise $1500 for the Helping Hand program through the National Autism Association. Helping Hand provides grants to needy families who have autistic children so that they can get the therapy and biomedical treatments that they desperately need. Sherrie Piegdon has created the amazing Everyday Joy Collection as a gift to anyone who donates to the Helping Hand program through Pixel Gypsy Designs.

Help us spread the word about the Everyday Joy collection and Pixel Gypsy Designs' donation drive for the Helping Hand program! Getting the word out equals more donations for this awesome grant assistance program for autism families, and we need your help!

Anyone who blogs about Everday Joy and our fundraising drive between now and April 11th, providing the Everday Joy details and a link to THIS page and leaving us a link to your post in the comments at the PGD blog, will be entered in a drawing for a $25 Pixel Gypsy Designs gift certificate!

If you wish to donate yourself, please go to this page and check out the details on how you can help out, while at the same time get free Everyday Joy goodies from Pixel Gypsy Designs! Oh, and please be assured that you will be donating directly at the NAA website and every penny will go to the Helping Hand program.

What kind of thinker are you?

Your Thinking is Concrete and Sequential

You are precise, orderly, and realistic. You tend to get to the point and get things done. Difficult, detailed work is easy for you. You take things step by step. Time limits aren't a problem for you either. You work well with deadlines. What does drive you crazy is any sort of task that isn't precisely laid out. You don't like anything to be ambiguous. You prefer to deal with the facts at hand.

What Kind of Thinker Are You?

New experience for me

of the not-so-good kind. Yesterday while driving to work, I got pulled over by a cop for the first time in my life, ever! I've always bragged about how I've never been stopped by a cop before in all my years of driving, and now I can't anymore. :cry: Boo! I got caught by a motorcycle cop at a speed trap! On my way to work, I drive up this hill, and then down. When you come down the short hill, there's limited visibility. Well, cop was hiding on the side of the road right at the school zone sign. I got a speeding ticket and now I'll have to go to traffic school too. I was so bummed and my self-image so shattered. Boo! I feel like I was targeted because other people were going just as fast. So, Todd and I placated me with a good dinner at Dumpling Inn. We had shrimp & chive dumpling, potstickers, beef with scallions, and chinese greens. All so delicious. Had to wait 40 minutes to get in though, cuz the place is so darn small.