My Scrapbooking Endeavors

I absolutely love to scrapbook!! I recently started selling scrapbooking and photo-preservation supplies and materials through a company called Creative Memories®. This has sparked even more of my desire to pursue my creative hobby. I wanted to share with you some of my most recent pages. These are from an album of all of the events leading up to my wedding, starting with the day that Tim proposed! It's so amazing what this does for me, seeing these photos again and again as I figure out the layouts for my pages. It reminds me of how incredable our love story is and how grateful I am to be married to my best friend. He has made so many of my life-long dreams come true and scrapbooking is my material way of cherishing those precious memories!

Printed note reads: "SSSHHH!!! It's a Surprise!!! Come and celebrate the Engagement of Tim and Jessica on Saturday April 3rd, 2004. 8pm at Ciocolat: Extraordinary Desserts (address and parking info follows). Davis has a ton of great restaurants! Have a date in town, then meet us to celebrate! (Tim's contact info follows) REMEMBER: NOT A WORD TO JESSICA!!!"

Handwritten note reads: "What a fun date! By some kind of miracle, I caught Jenny's bouquet! And if that wasn't exciting enough, the guys helped Tim get the garter! I wonder what's next . . . "

THE PROPOSAL

Written note reads: "For our evening date, Tim told me that he had made dinner reservations for us at a resteraunt called Illa Baggio's. But before going there he wanted to take me on a prayer-walk around the U.C. Davis Arboretum to thank God for our relationship. As we finished we came upon a lovely gazebo with a table set for two. Rose petals had been sprinkled all around and candles provided light. As we sat, our friends Mike and Jackie appeared to welcome us to Illa Baggio's!"

Writting along the side of the rose reads: "After a short dance, Tim sang a song he wrote to me, then got down on one knee . . . "

Scripture reads: "I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me . . ." Hosea 2:19-20 (NLT)

Written note reads: "Without hesitation, I said YES!! After catching my breath, we began to pack up so we could make our dessert reservations . . . which turned out to be our ENGAGEMENT PARTY! I was so suprised and excited to see so many friends and my PARENTS! Everyone had known about all of this because of the little flier Tim secretly passed around. The desserts at this place, Ciocolat, were so delicious! WOW! So many of my dreams coming true!"

Written note reads: "It was so amazing to see our families and friends all together here to celebrate with us! It was fun! We all talked and laughed as we retold the story of the proposal until everyone had heard. On a small table people were signing a paper with our pictures on it and the lyrics of the song Tim wrote and sang to me. What a great way to preserve the memories that our friends and family could share with us! Now, let the WEDDING PLANNING begin!!"

Sticker reads: "Two families unite when love joins two hearts."

DRESS HUNTING

Written note reads: "Only a few short weeks after the proposal, the dress-hunt was on. The first stop was DAVID'S BRIDAL in Hercules. As a central meeting place, a few of the soon-to-be bridesmaids came along to help out and try on a few dresses as well! I wanted them to be able to pick out their own styles while having the same material."

BRIDE-TO-BE

Written note reads: "I felt like a princess in a fairy tale while I was trying on all of those beautiful dresses! With my cousin, my best friend, and my soon-to-be sister-in-law by my side, I tried on over a dozen dresses! This one here, to the right was my favorite! But since this was only my first stop, I didn't want to rush into this decision of chosing my wedding dress. I am still in awe of how my dreams are coming true!"

I really had fun creating and recreating these pages. I think I am learning more and more with every page that I do! Tomorrow I get to go to an all-day scrapbooking event where I am sure to get more pages completed! I'm so excited! So I hope that you've enjoyed this preview of my art!

My Funny Little Friend

Monster

This cat has been such a great entertainer! Everyone that comes over to visit falls in love with Monster, even the people who are alergic to cats or those who prefer dogs over cats. Why do we all love him? Because he's no ordinary cat! He's not at all like Garfield, the lazy cat. He's not mean like my older cats back at my parents' house. He's so different from any cat I've ever known. By now, Monster is probably about 2 years old. Though not a kitten, he is so cute in all of the ways that he does still act like a kitten! For example, he plays, pouncing, swatting, and chasing, seemingly unaware of his large, adult cat body. In the pictures above, I wasn't intending on taking pictures of him. I was trying to take a picture of something else without realizing that the cord of my camera was dangling beneath me. Monster leaped up onto the desk and started batting and biting at the cord. I was getting such a kick out of this that I decided to take pictures of my funny cat instead! Monster is easy to play with. He also loves to find my hair-rubberbands and play with them like they're alive! It's so silly! He's got this small, catnip-filled soft mouse toy that is one of his favorite toys. Just like a dog, he bites it and shakes his head back and forth really fast like he's trying to bite it open. While biting it, he holds it with his two front paws and rakes it with his two back paws. It's so funny to watch! But the most funny thing to watch is when Monster plays with the shoping bags that we bring home. Sometimes he doesn't even care if there is something inside of the bag - he will jump in anyway! It's when there isn't anything in the bag that we get a good laugh! He crawls inside and kinda makes himself comfortable and then sticks his head out of one of the handles of the bag! Then he walks around proudly, like he's wearing a cape! Recently he did this, but instead of just keeping the bag wrapped around his neck, he kept most of his body in the bag! He walked around proudly again, looking like he was wearing a tent with the way his tail made the bag stand up above his back! Oh, that was too funny!!

Alright, so Monster can have his lazy moments, as any cat would. But Monster is still keeping us entertained by the ways he is able to fall asleep. How could anything fall asleep in that position?! Trust me, he wasn't just cat-napping, he was fast asleep here! I know this because he usually stirs when I aproach him while he looks asleep, but this time he didn't move at all! Isn't he soooo cute?!

Another funny thing about Monster is that he likes to crawl into tight places. Here he is on our entertainment center, on the topmost shelf, like where a DVD or VHS player would fit. It was a tight squeeze for this big cat, but he loved it! I had so much fun taking these pictures of him! These make me want to write a poem or something to describe it.

I love my kitty! He is so much a part of this family. Anyone who owns a pet could understand that! I just had to share a few of these great pictures because I am so proud of this cat! And if you haven't yet met Monster, we look forward to having you over so that you can be properly introduced to our funny little friend!!

Happy Easter! So what is Easter these days?

Hello my faithfull blog-readers! Happy Easter!

THE UPDATE: Well, things have started to get back to normal around here. We're settled into this new apartment and we love it! It is starting to feel like home. Already we've enjoyed the company of many of our beloved friends and family who have come to visit and dine with us in this wonderful place! It's been fun!

THE POST: I guess what I was really wanting to write about, what I've really been thinking about is this Easter holiday. Not in an excited or festive kind of thinking, but more of a curiosity. I was wondering when Easter, this holiday supposedly dedicated to the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, became some kind of bunny and colored-egg holiday instead? I mean, what is Easter? Is it really a celebration of a Christian victory or is it the celebration of cute bunnies, chocolate candies in baskets, and beautifully colored eggs? This wonderment goes beyond Easter for me. I'm wondering about Christmas, too. Like, isn't Christmas supposed to be about the birth of Jesus Christ rather than cut-down trees that have been brightly decorated and have many wrapped presents underneath supposedly put there by a great jolly fella named Santa?? When did these Christian holidays become retail fantasies? When did they become about showering kids with candy and spoiling them with gifts? Is this what we celebrate now? Is this what the holidays are now?

There's a lot to be said for traditions. I think that somewhere along the way these good-intentioned, faith-driven holidays turned into traditions of bright things and sweets that spread like wildfires across the globe. I'm not saying, by any means, that there is anything wrong with traditions! In fact, I treasure these holidays that I get days off from work to spend time celebrating just being together and eating together with my family and friends. But to me, that is what these holidays are about. They are about the warmth of family, the comfort of dear friends, and the good food we all love to share. That is what I look forward to celebrating. I love just being together.

So do these things take away from the original meaning from the holidays? Well, you tell me. Personally, I do. And I say that honestly because when I am getting together with family to celebrate these holidays I've known to be for the family, I am not thinking of Jesus and his birth or resurrection. Honestly, I'm thinking about and enjoying my family. And somehow I have a feeling that is the case for so many families that celebrate these holidays. I think that only because if the case were any different, people wouldn't be so caught up in the gift-giving, basket-making, candy-swapping, tree-decorating, and dinner-planning that we all seem to be so captivated by. If we were really celebrating just the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ then that would be our focus. That would be our motivation, our dedication, our reason. When faith became scorned, the holidays became the merriment of the retail industry. It seems to me that we place more of our faith in the things that we see, that we know, that we are comfortable with, and that we are used to. If things were any different, these holidays would be about faith. Just faith. Maybe still family, but definately not the Easter baskets, the Easter bunny, Santa Claus, etc.

I could see how this might be a controversial topic. Please understand that I am in no way condemning either celebration. I am interested in how people come up with their own traditions and ways to celebrate. I don't think there is any wrong way to celebrate. In fact, all I am doing here is making an observation. This is how I observe the goings on of Easter and Christmas. What is important to me on these holidays is totally irrelevant. But I am trying to put this out there, in my blog of those thoughts and curiosities that spring up at random and not-so-random times. I will say that I am looking forward to Easter tomorrow. I am looking forward to being with family and I will celebrate the love that we share when we're all together! So, I wish you a happy Easter, in hopes that however you celebrate will be all that you want it to be! Enjoy!

After Decor . . . and a little bit more . . .

Welcome to our virtual apartment! I've tried to get pictures of the whole place as it is to give you the best virtual-tour possible. We've still got some fine-tuning to do, but for now I am satisfied. I absolutely love it here. Finally, it feels like we've really got a home of our own! So sit back and scroll on to see what we've put together. . .

First thing you see when you come inside . . . welcome to the LIVING ROOM! Come in and be entertained! This is the 'main hang-out.' I can't get over how huge this room is! Monster really loves it, too! He's made the new foot-rest his bed! He's so cute that I couldn't take him out of the pictures! Awww!!

This is our lovely KITCHEN! Love the pictures on the fridge, but we didn't put up all of them from the other place yet. Maybe we'll put some new pictures up? I like how it looks right now. Notice all of the cupboards - finally the storage we've needed for all of those wonderful wedding gifts that we haven't had room for before! And we'll make dinners and have everyone over (as arranged ahead of time) and then be able to throw all of the dishes in our large new dishwasher - so easy!! When would you like to come over so that we can serve you dinner? We love company!

This is our classy (but not totally organized yet) OFFICE! This is where I sit to create these posts, send e-mails, and work online! Tim too, of course! -side note: we're looking forward to getting a new desktop computer soon!! I can hardly wait!!- I really want this room to be versitile, flexible, and comfortable. I was so excited to hang a piece of my art on the wall - it fits so perfectly here! Whoo-hoo!!

My absolute favorite room - our BEDROOM! This is where I will find peace, a small escape from the busy world outside, a place of rest and SLEEP!! The bed fit perfectly in that corner. It just worked out! As I've said before, Tim and I are thrilled to have our own closets - or at least our own sides of the closet! But the best part, the corner outlet of all of the creativity bottled up inside, my STUDIO!! (That is the little "nook" I've been mentioning.) I just finished setting it all up so now I can finally get started again on making stuff! I had fun decorating my little corner, my art, my space, my hidden, obscured mess! LoL!

Last, BUTT definately not least (LoL!) - el baño - our BATHROOM!! I suppose this is more of a 'place of rest and relaxation!' Heeheehee! Since the bathroom was almost identical to the one we had before, it's pretty much the same decor. Some stuff was just shuffled around, that's all. I don't know if I'm totally satisfied with this finished product, but I'm sure I've got tons of time to figure it out, huh?! I thought that I'd end here with the bathroom because it's the last place you pass on your way out. Also, it probably would've been kinda silly if I put it at the top because if you think about it, that it's on your way out, then you'll understand that it's on your way in, too, since we've only got one front door!! But you probably wouldn't have felt compelled to view any more! LoL! At least I don't think I would. So here it is on your way out!

And now, in seeing you off, I thank you for coming to visit, to view our little (huge to me!) space in this world, our work in progress, so to speak. Really, this is our progress! Well, I hope that you do come visit again soon - maybe outside of the virtual world and back into the real world (where you could really enjoy the food we'd offer you! LoL!)!

P.S. What'd you think? Did you enjoy this virtual tour? Did you feel like you were seeing the whole picture - literally? Let me know. I kinda like posting a lot of pictures! It's fun to show all that I am thinking, working on, loving, etc . . .

But for real - I can't wait to show you this place! Whoo-hoo!!