MsItoMosquito Musings

mother's day bonanza

2010-04-06T16:43:00.000-07:00

Mother’s Day is May 9^th, which is a little over a month away.

Want to avoid the last minute scramble? You know your Mom deserves the best, so don’t spend the evening of May 8^th at the mall or the florist.

For the next two weeks I will be preparing Mother’s Day baskets of AMAZING spa products. These can be totally customized based on your budget and needs.

I know we would all love to send our Moms to the Spa, but let’s face it, she probably doesn’t have the time and you might not have the money. Let’s bring the spa to her!! I will also be offering gift certificates for an in home spa party for your Mom and some of her most stressed out friends.

The best part . . . this will be totally FREE to you!

But if you’d like to purchase some spa bucks for your Mom we can arrange that too. If you reply to this offer before APRIL 17^th and purchase $25 credit for your Mom, I’ll match it. She will have $50 credit to purchase some of her favorite treatments from the spa, and it will only cost YOU $25!!!

Obviously if you aren’t local I probably can’t bring a gift wrapped basket to you, but don’t feel left out. Let me know if you are still interested in some spa products for your Mom and I’ll send you a link where you can get them shipped right to your door.

Please email me if you are interested. alisonito@gmail.com Thanks for your support!!

no words rhyme with purple.

2010-02-23T22:19:00.000-08:00

who fat?

2010-02-07T22:34:00.001-08:00

feb. 7, 2010

anyone else notice that my pictures are mainly of food? is anyone actually surprised? ya, I didn't think so. here is just some of our superbowl food, minus the delicious queso dip. we didn't even make it to the main course. and to top it off i was sent home with an amazing lasagna. yum.

one question, who fat? this girl. woot.

cheesy

2010-02-05T23:49:00.001-08:00

feb. 5, 2010

this cheeseball fitting into his lmu sweat pants that amanda bought him when he was a baby. we all laughed at how big they were. this is probably the last time he will fit in them.

feb. 5, 2010

john wayne. eat at joe's. nom nom nom. enough leftovers for breakfast too! woot.

tres

2010-02-03T22:20:00.000-08:00

feb. 3, 2010 hot night roll. yum.

feb. 3, 21010 this picture of the sunset from work does not do it justice. gorg!

feb. 2, 2010 tacos from hudson house. heavenly!

the view from behind the gates..

2010-02-01T22:10:00.001-08:00

bubblegum pink

2010-01-30T23:50:00.000-08:00

got manis with stef this morning. so happy she invited. I def needed one and I could always use some more time with my significant other. especially time outside of the studio. my nails were a disaster, they been breaking on everything lately. she trimmed a couple of my nails to be as short as some of my other ones and I swear I can't even
scratch myself.

my valentine's wish list

2010-01-29T21:54:00.001-08:00

jan. 29 2010

this and an apartment to put it in. thanks hun.

a wonderful day full of antiquing. more pictures to come tomorrow.

hopefully i'll figure out my new amazing nikon lens that i got for $5. woot.

just one of those days...

2010-01-27T21:14:00.001-08:00

jan. 27, 2010

is usually made better with crafts. glad i was convinced to attend art zone after hours. made this necklace of fabric covered beads. though i thought i hated it the whole time, i loved the end results. crafts make everything better, crafts with good friends are even better.

funky buttlovin...

2010-01-26T23:03:00.001-08:00

jan. 26, 2010

crocheted this bad boy while watching "rookie of the year." a classic. it's about halfway done, so expect the finished product later in the week.

in

2010-01-25T23:15:00.001-08:00

make-up

2010-01-24T21:57:00.001-08:00

i realize i missed a picture on friday. so here are a few pictures to make-up for that.

this is my hand next to tyra, the polar bear's, head

this is my hand next to donovan's head

these are the yummy cupcakes i got from cupcake couture in mb.

this is the end of my post.

Big Dog.

2010-01-23T22:12:00.000-08:00

this is tyra. warning if you walk a dog like tyra, people will stop you on the street to talk about her. you know nothing about her. the way you pronounce the breed she is kinda sounds like you are calling her a "great penis." people will think you are walking a polar bear. women will come out of curves to talk about her. tyra will drool on this person without them knowing. when you first met tyra, you called her tyler. ooops. say a lil prayer for tyra she's getting a lil cosmetic surgery tomorrow to snip a "goiter" off her face. such a sweet polar bear.

Undercover dog

2010-01-21T22:14:00.001-08:00

heart felt garland

2010-01-20T22:05:00.000-08:00

jan. 21, 2010

felt heart garland i made at artzone after hours...at catalina coffee company. check out julie's adorable blog for craft night... http://artzoneafterhours.blogspot.com

i didn't take a picture...

2010-01-19T22:17:00.001-08:00

jan. 19, 2010

that's what i realized at 10 pm. i forgot to take a picture today. so i ran around the house looking for anything to take a picture of. and i found this beauty. this thing helps me out of bed each morning. one day i will venture back into the world of coffee. so many choices but i'll stick to my organic green tea...for now.

this post is lame. i will try to remember to take a picture tomorrow. ugh.

these paws were made for walking..

2010-01-18T20:54:00.000-08:00

jan. 18, 2010

took the pups out for a leisurely stroll when i got home from work today. the rain had stopped and i felt like they deserved the opportunity to be the first to pee on everything. and they did. they lifted their legs for every tree, bush, and rock. synchronized peeing, dueling peeing, sequential peeing, they did it all. the highlight of the walk was when donovan either didn't see the sidewalk ending or thought he was going to fly, but either way he like fell off the curb or jumped, i don't know quite how it happened but he ended up landing like 3 feet from the curb to a sliding stop. poor guy hobbled on three legs for like 3 houses. didn't skip a beat either, would have kept walking without a whimper if i didn't stop him to make sure he was ok. it cracks me up how he is such a different dog on walks. the alpha male. peeing on trees first and then running to the front of the pack. we are a pack of three now. the other highlight, or notable story rather, was when banning's $1 collar broke. who would have thought that that would happened. was talking to my mom about donovan's crash and burn when banning is suddenly off leash and i'm sitting there walking his identification tags instead. at least he didn't sprint off like donovan would have.

skype-r

2010-01-17T14:28:00.001-08:00

jan. 17, 2010

i love getting a lil video chat in with my sissssssssster in italy. miss you sissy!

taking my blog to the next level...

2010-01-16T22:56:00.000-08:00

jan. 16, 2010

well i thought i was at least. figured out a way to post that picture from my phone last night. i always forget to post until i'm super cozy in bed, so i would love to master blogging in bed. don't know why the picture is so large. but anyways that is my gorgeous new samsonite train case that i got at an estate sale. i'm keeping this one and it will be my craft kit. the mirror was broken so joe and i ripped it out and i like it better with the back exposed. i also got a ton of new buttons and an absurd amount of plaid fabric. can't wait to get to crafting.

for your viewing pleasure..

2010-01-15T22:39:00.000-08:00

donovan was clearly enjoying law and order: svu. and i agree, it was a humdinger.

no words needed..

2010-01-14T22:47:00.001-08:00

jan. 14, 2010

warning: egg and CORN ahead

2010-01-13T20:58:00.000-08:00

jan. 13, 2010

on a salad no less. reunited and it feels so good. din din with the cuz at souplantation.

heaven indeed.

feliz cumpleanos..

2010-01-12T22:48:00.000-08:00

jan. 12, 2010

took this lovely lady out for her birthday tonight. happy birthday sie-dawg. i'm happy to hear you still wear to bed what you need to wear early the next morning, whether it be your storm uniform many moons ago, to your workout clothes in present times. happy to introduce you to some fantabulous tacos at hudson house. it's the gift that keeps on giving.

godiva remix

2010-01-11T22:50:00.000-08:00

jan. 11, 2010

getting in on the repurposing/mod podge action. why yes, these are covered godiva chocolate covered pretzel containers. i ate them all in the name of mod podge. i think i'll use one of them for my fabric scraps, and the other..any suggestions?

thank you..and thank you..and thank you

2010-01-10T22:50:00.001-08:00

jan. 10, 2010

thank you cards locked and loaded and ready to be delivered. mom made me write them when i was a wee little one. until my fingers bled. ok that may be an exaggeration, but back them I acted like it was torture. for a couple years, i lagged, and didn't write them or if i did they were super late. i've been re inspired, you could say, by the sweet and oh so punctual thank you cards from my dear friend stef, otherwise known and my significant other. so thank you mom for instilling this in me, and thank you stef for "re-instilling" it in me.

dinner...

2010-01-09T23:03:00.001-08:00

jan. 9, 2010

plaid is rad...

2010-01-08T22:18:00.001-08:00

jan. 8, 2010

bought this material today at joann's. i think i have decided that this beauty will christen my new sewing machine. it's gorg and it was super duper on sale and i got the last of it. woot. woot.

what i'm looking forward to the most this summer...

2010-01-07T22:26:00.000-08:00

jan. 7, 2010

well...maybe right after my best friend toby's wedding. hmmm..maybe. seriously though, so excited. i'm going to request days off now cause there is no way i'm missing any of our games.

dear lifesize bottle of knock-off nyquil...

2010-01-06T22:15:00.000-08:00

jan. 6, 2010

when i bought you december 26, 2009 when I was nursing my poor joe back to health, i thought you were going to last a lifetime. well at least to get us through a few colds. but here I am how many weeks after, still fighting the same cold that has morphed his way into different forms. you've been so good to me, i usually sleep until the morning when i wake up with the sorest of sore throats from sleeping with my mouth wide open the whole night. probably snoring, more that usual. but now i see you are running low, all 16 fl oz. of you. you'll get me through tonight and maybe one or two more. then we shall part my loving knock off nyquil. on sale with my cvs card. you made it to the new year. but i doubt you'll see the weekend. perhaps i'll go to the dr. tomorrow to finally kick this funky thing. but working at the germ incubator that i do i'll probably be buying some more of you real soon, perhaps costco carries a larger size.

sweet dreams.

without further adieu...

2010-01-05T21:22:00.000-08:00

jan. 5, 2010

my new baby. my very own sewing machine, finally out of the box, finally enough room to take her out of the box. the craft area needed and still needs more cleaning. more cleaning and purging. as does my room, my bathroom, our storage area. purge, purge, purge. :)

i love that my machine says simple on it, here's hoping she isn't a liar and is indeed simple. cause sometimes i get so frustrated that i want to scream about how NOT simple sewing is sometimes.

starting the year off bright..

2010-01-04T21:43:00.000-08:00

jan. 04, 2010

with neon purple nail polish

funny story, my grandma asked me when my mom was pregnant with amanda, what i wanted to name the new baby..my response, "baby purple." so in honor of the baby purple heading off to Italy, purple nails. could you imagine, baby purple. maybe it will be god's younger sister. :)

Bling blaooo

2010-01-03T20:23:00.000-08:00

jan. 3, 2010

sipping on some green tea from our new coffee/tea maker. with my new bling on.

here's a pic sans finger...

365 Project

2010-01-03T12:16:00.000-08:00

trying to get this blog going once again. my new blog goal is to do a pic a day. that should be easy enough. i won't be in all of them. basically i just want to post a pic a day. probably will be from my iphone cause its just easier and they have an easier chance of making it.

so here are my pics for the first of the year...haven't taken one today yet...i havent left the bed much, i think i pulled another muscle in my chest. worse this time. hurts when i move, breathe and cough. im falling apart, it's just one thing after another.

without further adieu....

jan. 1, 2010

the feast on new years day. our group was smaller than usual but the food was a plenty. mostly asian food, and all delicious. asking the aunties to start teaching amanda and i to make all this goodness so we can carry on the tradition. i dont ever want to stop eating like this on new years.

jan. 2, 2010

im actually in this pic, but you may not notice with with the giant toddler using me as a jungle gym. i love this little boy, riley, and his ever growing personality. what a loving little boy who goes non-stop. hope joe and i were able to give grandma and papa some breathing time while watching the ufc fights. sweetest thing was when he was sitting next to me and just says softly, "i love joe." i do too kid, i do too.

While I wait for the heater to turn on...

2009-12-08T17:57:00.000-08:00

Seriously I don't get it, we have a heater but apparently it only turns on once the house gets "cold enough." Well guess what heating system. I can't feel my fingers!!!! I think it's time!

And with that out of the way, here are a couple pictures to get you into the holiday spirit.

Donovan's attempt to stay warm in these frigid conditions.

Patty, Joe's Mom, kept an eye on me the entire time we were down there this weekend to make sure I didn't steal any of Joe's old Christmas ornaments, a picture was the best I could do.

How freakin cute is he?!?!?

10 Things I love...right now

2009-11-07T20:19:00.000-08:00

This blog, and it's inspiration for this post and a dozen other things.

This boy.

My new Old Navy Jacket, and the fact that it was 50% off.

Nail Polish, though I can't quite figure out how to get it to actually stay on my nails..

My new necklace from stephiemc.etsy.com. Can't wait for it to get here.

All thing Pyrex and the fact that my love for it runs in my blood.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and my PS significant other.

Figuring out how to finally use a sewing machine and that my sister has been so patient teaching me how to use it. Thanks sissy!

Hudson House and their delicious $1 chicken tacos on Tuesdays. And I love Julie for introducing them to me and our impromptu dinner date.

And of course, this handsome fella.

New Stuffffffff

2009-05-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

So MsItoMosquito has a taken a turn for the time being. I needed to do something new just to shake things up a bit. My friend Julie carves her own stamps for her Etsy shop, www.mailday.etsy.com. and I talked to her about carving my own. The first time I did it I absolutely hated it. Hated. IT. Then while watching her make stamps at the craft fair (remember we had some down time...) I realized that I was doing it all wrong. Figures. So I decided to give it another shot...and I love it.

The only problem is I can't think of things to carve. I'm wanting simple, quirky things to stamp in the lower right corner of cards. Simple, just one stamp and that's it. I'm only going to sell them as sets and because they take a lot less time making them (once the stamp is carve) I'm going to sell them for a lot less than my other cards. Just trying to shake things up since while sales on Etsy have stopped completely.

So shoot me some ideas for stamps, something that you would want on a card, or just an idea you have. If I make a stamp with yours suggestion I'll give you a free card. Deal? I'm expecting ideas to start pouring in now...

Here is one of my first run of cards...

2009-05-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry to all my blog readers, all 6 of you. I have kept you waiting on the edge of your seat for my next installment of msitomosquito musings. But wait no more..

As many or all of you know I was preparing for my first craft show. Well that show has come and gone and only two of you showed up. Rude. Ha. And don't try to tell me that you came and I just must have not seen you, because believe me I know everyone that was there, all 15 of them.

So ya it was a slow day..but not a total lost. At least in my eyes. Mom would stop giggling at the whole situation and cracking jokes which at least she thought were funny. Kidding mom.

I'd been stockpiling all my cards and gift tags to make sure I had enough of an inventory for the big day. I did, with an extra 100 left over. I was asking my twitter friends for advice and got some great advice and encouragement from a talented, sweetheart that I talk to from somewhere in Canada, PEI I think, I'll have to google. Her main advice was to be organized. And I think I was, especially for my first event.

We set up the table in the house hallway the night before. Dad was my only customer and he almost fell over when I told him my prices, but then again he's probably never bought a card in his life.

I made an adorable banner that I found on a website at 11 the night before. We packed up the table and tried to sleep. I knew I had an early morning, for me at least, but couldn't fall asleep with jitters and ideas for the next day.

Amanda went with me to set up which I definitely appreciate, she was the best helper/salesperson I could have asked for. Except when she gave a 90 yr old woman my business card and encouraged her to shop on my online etsy shop. Mom joked that she'd be trying to find it on her TV that night.

We set up shop with tons of time to spare...especially since there wasn't a customer in sight until two hours after the fair opened.

The customers trickled in throughout the day, most everyone belonged to someone vending at the fair. I'm guessing most everyone's sales came from someone else selling at the show. But the vendors could not be any nicer! It was so nice to meet so many talented local crafters. I sat across from my good friend and coworker Julie and we had a lot of fun talking back and forth while crafting with our spare time.

I sold a whopping $21.00 worth of cards. And paid the library my measly 20% of my sales. Thankfully the table was free or I wouldn't be so cheery about the situation. It was a learning experience and am still happy I did it. It was nice to see people appreciate my cards and nice to get most of the kinks out my table set-up etc.

Special thanks to my Mom for all her hard work the night before and for bringing me food. To Amanda for ALL her help, couldn't have done it without you thanks for not burning my cards. To Joe, if you read this for coming to my crap fair and for working your clean up shift. To Tarynne and Doreen for coming to the last 10 minutes of the fair when everyone was cleaning up. I'm glad you got to shop on NSD when I didn't. Thanks for buying my infamous Tricycle card, and for the adorable eraser/soap.

I'm sure there are more stories I could tell about this event but I can't think of anymore and I've been hassled about getting a blog post up.

Here are a few pics of my table and Julie's, the lighting was kinda crappy.

Inside all of us...

2009-03-25T20:13:00.001-07:00

is a WILD THING.

Can't wait for this movie to come out. It will be one of the few that will actually get me in the theater...too bad it'll be in October. It looks amazing and I'm really interested to see how they make a whole movie our of the short story with limited words. Can't WAIT. And I hope it's not as perverted as my Children's Literature professor made it out to be, really I think he was the pervert.

Here's a trailer... (edit: apparently the embedded link only worked for me...you lazy people could have just googled it!)

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/where-the-wild-things-are/trailer

Encore

2009-03-13T12:55:00.001-07:00

Straight out of the camera. No photo editing, whatsoever. Pinkie Promise!

These flowers were absolutely gorgeous.

When I grow up...

2009-03-07T14:06:00.000-08:00

t.m.i

2009-03-06T00:09:00.000-08:00

A couple AZ stories from today...

Here's a convo I had with two of my girls in my Thurs. art class.

A: "Teacher Ali, how old are you?"

Me: "How old do you think I am?"

A: "I don't know...."

R: "73!!!!!"

Me: 73!?!?!? A is that how hold you think I am?

A: Uhhh......dramatic pause while studying my face.....ya!!! Flashing big toothless smile.

Love them.

A somewhat loud conversation between two girls during my "Hello Meeting"

A: "H, were you sick last week."

H: "Nope I had diarrhea." (All matter of factly)

Uhh TMI H, TMI.

Mole Update:

H in his daily studying of my BEAUTY MARK, referred to it as Mole-e. Because I didn't already think of the Austin Powers scene every time we talked about it.

It's a MOLE!

2009-02-27T14:52:00.000-08:00

Kids at the ArtZone are very observant. Any time I wear my hair a different way or wear different shoes they say something to me. Like when I wore my hair down, half the kids didn't know who I was..ok so maybe they aren't that observant. This was the same day that one of the kids said I smelled like a dog. Maybe looked like one, but I DID NOT smell like one.

Anyways there is one kid, "H" who is basically obsessed with my mole. It never fails ,everytime he comes in on Monday he says something about it. Most of the time it is the first thing he says to me. While pointing at my face,"It's a MOLE." He knows what it is because I've had to explain it to him many times, like no H you cannot pick it off my face, it's a mole and it's there all the time. He still pokes at it from time to time, which totally grosses Stef out. :)

Well I tend to refer to it as a beauty mark, because that's what it is and it sounds a lot better than a mole. I figured explaining it as a mole would be easier to kids. Though H did make a comment about it being like an animal. So I think he thinks the thing on my face is the same thing as the animal digging holes in the ground.

Anyways, "O" noticed it recently, enough at least to ask about it. It's usually when I pick them up and they are right in my face that the notice the "chocolate chip." Anyways I tell her it's a beauty mark. And she looks at it and goes, in the sweetest, most angelic voice (that a girl with snot coming out of her nose can have) "IT'S BEAUTIFUL!! I nearly cried. It was so cute.

Just another reason I love my job.

Woooooot!

2009-02-26T21:14:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited. So I'm kind of obsessed with blogs and I stumbled across a fabulous blog and such a talented designer. Well turns out she does custom projects, and I've "commisioned her," "hired" or whatever to create a real life logo and Etsy banner. I'm am soooo super excited and just wanted to tell everyone, well all 4 of you about it!

Woot.

Gift Tags Galore!

2009-02-26T14:11:00.001-08:00

I needed some variety in my Etsy Shop and decided to make some gift tag sets. I made some at x-mas time for a very special customer and figured why not make them again.

Here are a few pics of them. They can be found for sale at http://msitomosquito.etsy.com

I'm selling them for $3.50 for a set of 6. And free shipping. Does that seem like a good price to you guys?

Carnival/Tattoo Celebration

2009-02-22T14:59:00.000-08:00

So as I'm sitting on the couch nursing my sugar hangover I decided I'd blog about our super fun Saturday night. One of our good friends, Jordan, turned 30 this week and Stefanie (his wifey) planned an amazing suprise party for him. I honestly don't know how she did it, we had a hard enough time planning a surprise party for my parents while they were gone, but she did it while Jordan was there! Bravo Stef, Bravo!

And what a party it was! I'm going to let the pictures do the talking..

(ugh I always forget to do them backwards...)

Out by the Keg!

J & S

Stef and her Sis!

The birthday boy! Stef made him wait at Starbucks.

Fuzzy Balls.

Roasted Peanuts. Found on etsy.

Delicious

Hanging flower pots, and cute picket fence.

The ellusive Pretzles.

Cupcakes!

Popcorn in adorable little pc boxes.

Drinking Fountains

One of my fav pics.

Adorable Metal Signs

Side Door and Lights

Loved this little guy. Took many pics of him.

Tattoo Table

Front door

Tattoo Sign

Jordan's Ink Fund and Raffle Prizes

One of these are in my fridge...his hours are numbered

What a spread!

Some inside decos

Outside pics, old pictures of J!

Ps. The headache is gone!

Exciting Saturday Night...

2009-02-07T20:43:00.000-08:00

So I haven't blogged in a while and I'm not really in the mood to put up pictures. I've been doing a lot of crafting lately and finally have a decent amount of cards on Etsy. I've sold 4 cards so far. 2 to people I know and 2 to random strangers. Though all sales are exciting the random strangers are even more so! Randomly they were two differnt girls in Florida. I've been spending time on the etsy forums trying to figure out how sellers get customers to look at their store.

I'm on a mission to make this somewhat successful. Though I'd like to become a millionaire from it, just a little extra money is nice. Any suggestions? A lot of people say that blogging works, but I'm pretty sure I have like 2 loyal readers. Hello loyal readers!

Etsy-ing

2009-01-16T12:36:00.000-08:00

I officially have an etsy account. Unfortunately I just took 5 of my new cards into Stars so I only have 4 cards in the Etsy store. So I need to get busy making more cards. :) But I have an etsy shop!! Woot. Woot. And people are looking at my cards! Granted no one has bought any but I still think it's cool that people have looked. It's a start right?

So check out my etsy shop at www.msitomosquito.etsy.com

Another small update, I started playing indoor soccer again. It's a pretty comical league. It's really indoor this time because we play on a basketball court. What's annoying is I now realize that my indoor shoes don't really work on this court and I was slipping all over the place. I seriously felt like circus music should have playing during the game it was so funny. But on the bright side it I'd rather run around after a soccer ball than just going for a run.

Spoiled.

2009-01-13T13:28:00.000-08:00

It's hard to imagine that some people are dealing bitter cold weather across the country when we are being blessed with gorgeous weather in So Cal. Joe and I just got back from a beautiful 2 mile walk by the beach. IN JANUARY!! Unfortunately no pictures but sometime this week I want to just take the Nikon down there. I have the day off tomorrow and we are thinking about going on a hike. First I have to find a trail...time to google.

Decos repost.

2009-01-13T13:21:00.000-08:00

Don't remember what the last picture was. Sorry I finally got the little red x's today, I thought you all were crazy because the pics were showing up on mine. Well I still think you guys are crazy. :)

Dance Room and Alice

2009-01-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

Decos Cont

2009-01-06T18:17:00.000-08:00

Fire Pit

Backyard, shot luge is blocked by drunks.

Hookah Lounge

NYE Decorations

2009-01-06T18:12:00.000-08:00

Tea Party Room

Flower Mural

Craaaazy Flowers

In the rabbit hole

NYE Costume Cont.

2009-01-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

"Bend me over, bend me over."

I love the random chesire cat in the background.

Amanda's umbrella bird parents

Danielle's feathers

NYE Alice in Wonderland Costumes

2009-01-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

Chesire Cat and the Mad Hatter

Umbrella Bird Sissy

The German Carpentar and Mad Hatter. BFF

He was soooo happy about the pizza!

Riding the 50's and other numbered bike..

2009-01-01T21:23:00.000-08:00

Pictures of Joe and his bros riding their 50s (small motorbike things). We most of the pictures of are Marky, Joe's youngest brother, he can do cool jumps and stuff. And he's not on a 50, he's on a bigger numbered bike like a 100 something or other. I was super stoked to use my new camera lense. It's prettttty sweet.

Last of the xmas pics...I think

2009-01-01T21:19:00.000-08:00

It kinda looks real right??

I love this pic!! I didn't actually hit her. Well this time at least!

A nice little shine off the forehead. Ha.

Baking Bettys!!

More Xmas.

2009-01-01T21:17:00.000-08:00

Adult Table.

Kid's Table. Fun Xmas facts in the background.

Wishes...do come true.

Gangsta "Tyrone"

Skelly Xmas!

2009-01-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

Party Hats!

Ma and Pa

Wonder what that is dad?!?

My cousin crushes full cans of tomatoes with her knee. Don't mess with her!

Feliz Navidad!

2009-01-01T12:51:00.002-08:00

Daddy and Sissy

Sissy and Me

Playing C,R, L

Amanda is smiling because she won the first two rounds. Jerk.

More pics later. Blogger is being SO SLOW.

Christmas Throwbacks

2008-12-21T16:30:00.000-08:00

Random Act of Penis

2008-12-21T16:04:00.000-08:00

Moving on up!

2008-12-07T23:38:00.000-08:00

Due to increased demands...hehe...In additions to having my cards at Stars Antique Market I am now carrying them at Skinner's Pharmacy. Now all of you that have been complaining about the drive down the hill can purchase

But seriously my Aunt asked if I wanted to have her carry them in their pharmacy's gift shop and I jumped at the opportunity. I think it will be a better market for them and really hope they do well up there. So we had the discussion yesterday afternoon and I delivered a dozen hand made cards today...talk about a great turnaround. I just got in a groove.

Without further adieu...(<---that looks right... not really)

Big D

2008-12-05T23:49:00.000-08:00

Shamu got his time to shine on the blog and I didn't want to leave out Big D. He was less accomodating during his photo shoot. I think it's because Joe is in SD and Donovan has just not been himself since he left. They are best buds now. Seriously though, it's pretty cute.

Gazing off into the distance.
I prefer to think he looks like little red riding hood, and not part of the Taliban.

<3 a.m.i holiday cards

2008-12-05T23:42:00.001-08:00

I picked a good topic to blog about..

2008-12-05T23:40:00.000-08:00

For his Mommy..

2008-12-03T21:44:00.000-08:00

After taking pics of the kitchenware I had an impromptu photo shoot with Banning. As if there is another kinda of photo shoot with a DOG.

P.S. He never sits still. I don't know what kind of power my Nikon has...but I like it.

a.n.d. cakes

2008-12-03T21:36:00.000-08:00

My sister and Danielle are absolutely AMAZING cake designers. This is their first commisioned cake that wasn't for a family member or friend. I honestly see a future for these two girls, seeing as this is their 5th or so cake and they have no formal experience/teaching, and are already blowing the socks off people. Hopefully they can make the money that they should be making for creating these beautiful works of art.

This was for a luncheon and was asked to be made to look like a certain China print and it totally does. I wish I knew the name or had a link but the girls got it down. Even with the touches of color within the white blocks. Congrats girls you are um..AMAZING!

<3 a.m.i

2008-12-03T21:34:00.000-08:00

O Christmas Tree!

2008-12-03T21:25:00.000-08:00

My newest craft! Antique jewelry framed Christmas Tree..also can be found at Stars Antique.

Our ghetto fab Heiniken sponsored Living Xmas Tree.

Kitchen Stowaways!

2008-12-03T21:16:00.000-08:00

Here are the fab kitchen things I bought at the antique store that will not be named because I am not endorsing it whatsoever. Especially since my cards are carried only at Stars Antique Market!

FireKing!

Sugar Shaker

Refridgerator pitcher

Warning: May cause vommitting.

2008-11-28T01:11:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when Joe falls asleep. I make corny collages of us on Picasa. It's really amazing we are able to spend so much time together with him being such a morning person, and I'm such a night owl. It's our "me" time I guess..which I hope will keep us both sane living in the dungeon. :) Seriously though, he has a few hours to himself every morning while I'm snoring away, and I have a few hours every night with him over there breathing like a dragon. That boy breathes LOUD.

*Full turkey report to follow...like tomorrow. The turkey is beginning to hit and I'm getting very sleeeeeeeeepy.

Updated <3 a.m.i Cards.

2008-11-26T18:51:00.000-08:00

* Some have already been sold. :)

My Favs!

2008-11-26T18:27:00.000-08:00

You MUST click on this collage to make it bigger.

I love this kid.

The one in the left top corner was the first one I took.

He was running, saw the camera, stopped, posed and smiled!

Too cute!

11 Months!

2008-11-26T17:49:00.000-08:00

<3 a.m.i

2008-11-25T00:35:00.000-08:00

I sold 5 cards today!!! Before anyone gets too excited. Clara, a Stars employee, purchased them today when working with my mom. But she bought them! And she loves them, so much that I have a custom order from her too.

Basically I need to get busy because she wiped out like half of my inventory. hehe.

It's a start!!

AZ

2008-11-20T22:53:00.001-08:00

So another great thing about moving home is being to work at the Artzone again!! Honestly it has been so great being back there. I love all the girls who work there, and we have a blast working together, well at least I know I do.

I honestly love going to work. It is just such a fun environment to be in and I really don't think you can have a bad day being around kids. Even if it is tiring and trying at times, someone will say something that will just make you giggle.

Laura, the owner, said the other day that we needed a book to start writing down funny things that happen at the Artzone. I'm going to start jotting them down here, just to share the giggles. Names will be changed of course to protect the wee ones.

I have been working mornings which are our pre-school classes. I honestly don't think I worked these hours before because I don't remember having kids that weren't potty trained. Anyways, I asked one of the boys who was squirming if they had to go potty. He said no..then paused and said, "I'm just holding my penis." And he totally was, just like making sure it was still there or something. He offered me a cheeto the next time I was working and I most certainly did not eat it, because there was more "penis holding" that day too.

Another tid bit about potty training. For those (boys) that are using the potty, there are two methods. Standing or sitting. When helping them at the toliet I always ask if they sit or stand and I always get the same look, like well Ali, OF COURSE I SIT/STAND. Like how dare I ask a silly question.

Last potty story of the day. Not really a story, just that I don't say bathroom or restroom anymore. I say I'm going to the potty, which is sometimes met with strange reactions.

So today I worked at the Artzone and it was the first time I was in charge. Like during open studio I was the only teacher there, and I taught the art class later in the day, with the help of a new employee at the AZ. Stefanie did stop by during the transition period which REALLY helped and calmed my nerves a bit. Thanks Stef!! It really meant a lot! Anyways, I thought class went realllllly well. I was really happy with the art lesson and the kids seemed to really like it. I told me mom how I was the lead teacher there and she was like so you were like a "teacher" then. And Joe, the funny guy that he is, made a comment to my Dad about finally his money wasn't going to waste. Since I do have a BA in Liberal Studies, essentially Elementary Teaching, and until returning to the AZ I was using it to organize jiu-jitsu tournaments.

As much as I liked organizing tournaments, and yes, I did enjoy it. MOM. I like being able to leave work at work, and not worry about it from the morning I wake up until I finally fall asleep. I have enough crap I have to deal with and would much rather spend my time not at work with my family and Joe. Oh and working on A.M.I Enterprise..my card company. Ok not really an enterprise, I just sign the back with a heart and a.m.i. I am currently up to 11 cards I am proud enough to put my name on and sell. I'm thinking I will put them in Stars on Saturday when my mom is working.

Ok seriously rambling. Goodnight!!

Reagan John Anthony Thedford

2008-11-18T22:48:00.000-08:00

I finally got to see Jamie and her beautiful baby boy!!

The no baby club.
Testing the self timer on Jessie's camera.

Black and White, literally. Him not me! Seriously.

I could totally pass him off as mine!!

Look at that little tongue!

And those beautiful baby blues!

Peaceful as can be...for now.

Little fingers, little toes.

Too cute!

I'm SUCH a runner now.

2008-11-18T13:42:00.000-08:00

So I just got back from my jog. Yes, for those of you counting that is two runs in two weeks. It might be a record. I am happy to announce it was MUCH easier this time. So hopefully if I'm not incredibly sore like last time I will be able to run again this week. My mom pointed out that the West High Alumni Soccer Game is a week from today and let's just say I don't want to be a total embarassment.

So it was a different run today and I think I like it much better than the last, even though there are some things that annoy me. #1 running on Prospect, there isn't like a flat sidewalk and then a driveway the driveway just cuts into the sidewalk. Does that make any sense? It just is annoying because there are some many driveways and it hurts my knees and ankle running on the angle. My ankles are terrible after soccer, and have a distinct bend when I try to stand straight. #2 is, there is just no way to make a run without hills around my house. I've been running up them and walking. Obviously I prefer walking and we did that on this run. Yes WE. Another reason this run was easier was because JOE came with me!! Just having someone there made it a whole lot easier, and he def. pushed me at the end, we sprinted the end before stretching and walking up the hill.

Since I am such a runner now I've found a website to map my runs. I may have found this looking at someone else's blog, or maybe in a mag, probably another blog though. so the website is called you guessed it Map My Run (www.mapmyrun.com) and I love it! It tells you how far you run, so you can map the run ahead of time, say you want to run 3 miles, you can figure out how far you need to run to do that. I've just used it after the fact to figure out how far it was.

Here it is in all it's glory,

Prospect Run
Find more Runs in Torrance, California

So we RAN 2 miles and walked up the hills which equaled a little less than half a mile. My last run was less than two miles and I walked A LOT more so it's def. an improvement!! Woot. Woot.

My new hobby! That will make me a MILLIONAIRE!

2008-11-17T21:57:00.000-08:00

So the week before I moved back to T-Town my friend Lisa and I went to Souplantation (yum!) then went to look into this store next door. Little did we know we'd spend the next hour in this tiny, adorable scrapbooking/stamping store. That's where it all began. I got some lessons from my ever so artsy fartsy sister as well as some of her tools and off I went!! I have my own little crafting area right outside our bedroom, that I'm trying oh so hard to keep neat. Anyways here are some of my cards. I'm going to try to sell some at Stars Antique Market and see where to go from there. I'm thinking pricing them at like $3 a piece. What do my faithful readers think about that?? I figure it they are going to spend "buttloads" on antiques, why not add a little card at the cash register. I'll have to talk to the gals about upselling them. :) Mom, that means you!!

Got these little stamps from Scrampers in Old Torrance.

I love this paper! Lots of little baked goods!

Similar to one I posted earlier. (if not the same one!)

My OG stamp. Aka the first one I bought!

Purple power.

I'm so happy the lady talked me into buying these little gems! Thanks Lady!

Thank you Amanda for this stamp!

I made this card for my friend Jamie who gave birth to a BEAUTIFUL baby boy.

Fam bam.

2008-11-16T22:28:00.000-08:00

The Ito family went out for a nice family dinner at Dad's fave China Buffet in da hood. They basically know him there by name. We always have a fun time together!

Edgemere Connection!

The boys.

The girls! Oh and Dad!

Sissy poo and Dad. Poor thing still thinks he loves her more.

The fam, Joe the token Mexican, Mom the token White lady. Sorry about this pic Mom. :)

A little bit of this..a little bit of that.

2008-11-16T21:55:00.000-08:00

Auntie Dot rocking the shades!

Goof.

Mom and Dad.

Sugar Coma.

Eclair.

Cutie!

Dorean's graceful decent.

Like a kid!

Jumper.

An avid reader.

Peek-a-boo!

Look at those tiny curls!

"Are YOU talking to ME?"

"Mom, something is wrong here. I just can't put my finger on it."

Mommy and Klayre

Not a fan.

Zoning.

I love that little smirk.

Sock Monkeys!

Klayre read all of her cards, and shook them for money. Taught her well.

Amanda and Danielle's amazing ladybug cake!

Some things don't change..

2008-11-11T22:58:00.000-08:00

So I finally broke in the super cute running shoes this morning. Still not a fan. I'm gonna keep trying though. I think I'll let Joe come along next time. I can just chase him.

The shoes are super cute though, so it would be a shame for me to move too fast that people couldn't even see them right?

I didn't do it.

2008-11-08T20:10:00.000-08:00

Lots more to come. Lots.

Last but not least..

2008-11-08T00:05:00.000-08:00

Can you find CL?

Lurking in the shadows..

2008-11-08T00:02:00.000-08:00

We tried.
Muah.

Just Joe.

2008-11-07T23:52:00.000-08:00

Silly Chick.
He looks like a Giant! Well more than usual obviously.

One of the unique things I love about him. No not that he can't take a picture without his tongue hanging out. The thing in his eyeball...I call it his Warrior Wear Logo. *Fight Brand.

Again with the dots. The one under his hat is the size. He's obviously ghetto like that.

*I've been told by the man himself that it isn't the size, it says it's Official. Officially Ghetto.

Apparently not Malaga Cove..

2008-11-07T23:39:00.000-08:00

I don't know what these dots are from..well except that huge one in the top left corner...I think it may be the sun, correct me if I'm wrong.
It kind of looks like someone pulled the drain and the water is being sucked into the shore.

So I took like 100 pictures in the 15 mins or so we were up there. They may all look the same.

The water was trippy looking.

Until I get really fancy and get photoshop or something I'll stick to playing around in Windows Picture Gallery.

Malaga Cove...I think?

2008-11-07T18:23:00.000-08:00

This probably won't look cool unless you click on it.

This is just a tease.

More to come.

Things happen for a reason...

2008-11-06T20:11:00.001-08:00

With everything that's been happening lately, I've taken reasurrance from the little things that show me that everything happens for a reason. Some little and some big. I mean there will never be anything that will really explain it all. I'm not expecting a ephiany that will explain why this terrible disease has affected my family. But for some reason its the little things that make me understand things better. An example of this was the fact that I didn't go to school this year. I would have been months into my credential program and just given my Student Teacher assignment when my dad was diagnosed. I was in what I like to call a "transitional" point in my life. AKA not doing much. Because of it it really didn't take much to just pick up my life and move it back to Torrance to be with my family.

Another example, not really having anything to do with that at all was an inncident that happened tonight. Amanda and I went to get the family dinner at Subway. First, she decided that we would go pick something up for her friend's house. Thank goodness we did. When we arrived at Subway, it was cop central and there wasn't a donut in sight. Amanda wondered if the place had been robbed. Seeing as the cops weren't in crouched position, guns in hand, I decided that we should take a look. Not sooner than we had taken our first step one of them ask if we were planning on going to Subway. I guess not sir. He informed us it was closed., even though it looked open. Obviously Amanda was correct and something had gone "down." Amanda felt it was her civil duty however to inform the cop that they should turn their OPEN sign off then, to not confuse anyone else. Which he said, "Ya, well they just got ROBBED, so they didn't know."

So basically thank you Amanda for running an errand first before going to Subway, because I don't even want to think what would have happened if we were at Subway. And thank you Danielle's grandma for stalling and trying to give Amanda vegetable oil that had expired in 2005.

So moral of the story is..be happy for the little things and everything happens for a reason.

Kind of just raMbling, but I haven't taken pictures lately, and I know my faithful readers would be worried if I didn't post something.

Riley's not a baby anymore..

2008-11-02T21:06:00.000-08:00

Spent an hour or so with Riley this morning.

When did this little guy get so BIG?!?!

A little angry with Ali the paparazi.

Riding his motocy. Ok I used to call it that. He says it much better.

Thinking about the crispy chicken.

Looking at those wispy curls! What a doll!

Sweet cheeks!

Another reason I'm happy to be home. I get to see this little (BIG) guy more often!

Belle of the Ball

2008-11-01T14:44:00.001-07:00

Purdy girl.

Costume courtesy of Ma.

Oh No she's naked!

How beautiful is she?!?!?!

My fav. Emo Belle.

Punnkins.

2008-11-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

My Witch!

What a witch!

This little light of mine..

All the punnnkins.

Side profile.

Bella-saurus

2008-10-30T00:05:00.001-07:00

She hates me.
She's racist.

She's a diva.

But how can you not love that face...that beard.

Goodbye my little beach bungalow..

2008-10-29T23:49:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with Joe in this apartment.

Never could keep anything alive in that garden. But the shovel.

CL and the mail slot.

CL in my fav. part of the apt. the kitchen sink.

I'm going to miss my little beach bungalow.
1258 Thomas Ave. <3

Holy. Poop.

2008-10-29T23:44:00.000-07:00

Good thing I'm moving. I am not walking under the tree where this beast came from again.

Donovan and Shamu

2008-10-29T23:39:00.000-07:00

Thank you Donovan for sharing your bed with Joe and me.

I wish I could take credit for this picture. I wish I could take credit for him being this calm. I wish I could have seen him this calm. But he only behaves for his Mommy. And she took this AMAZING pic, even if it is of Shamu. I kid, I kid.

A couple moving day pics..

2008-10-29T23:33:00.000-07:00

I needed this to be on a different setting...so instead of them mid-air, I got the awkward squat.

Dennis' "Glamor Shot"

Welcome.

Welcome to 5615 1/2!! Thanks Amanda!

Chicken Little and Friends

2008-10-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

So Mom says I need to give a little background information about Chicken Little, and not just post pictures from his photo shoot. We moved our bed from our PB apartment into Joe's mom's house. The window sill had a bunch of little toys on it, and I thought Chicken Little was just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. So I set up a little photo shoot for him and his friends. Basically I was testing out the different settings of my camera.

Then I stole him. It's not ok to steal things kids, but how could I resist? He is adorable! He travels in my camera bag and is going to be popping into pictures here and there. I just need to get comfortable taking out Chicken Little and taking pics of him in random places. Ignoring the funny looks. So that's the background of CL and here are his adventures...

The many faces of Joe.

2008-10-24T20:59:00.001-07:00

On the way to the Player's Club, a Sports Bar not a Strip Club. Though I had my doubts. His work going away party.
Stoked on happy hour.

He did not like his "paparazzi"

End of the night, poor lil guy.

I love this guy.

Another new beginning....

2008-10-24T14:35:00.000-07:00

Let's see how long this last...