I had a birthday!

As you all know by now, I had a pretty big birthday in August. I turned 30! It was great. I had a roaring 20's themed party and held it on the last night of my 20's.Here are a few of the pictures.

 

This is my friend Farrah. I swear we didn't coordinate our outfits

I held the party at my moms house

 My friends the Nickels

 Jan, another friend and RN

My BFF Britt

Me and the hubby...He hated that I made him dress up.

There was gambling (no real money of course!)

Some of the decor.

This chandelier was a Pintrest idea that was successful. A hula hoop wrapped in lace and Christmas lights, then hung.

 

I needed a cake for every decade...in case you were wondering

I found this food vendor that makes ice-cream in really amazing flavors. She packages them in push up pops and pedals them out of her bicycle. Her business is called Popcycle. This one here is goat cheese and cherry.



 

 Some of the girls...there were guys there too. I just didn't take very many pictures of them. I decorated with the help of my family, and I catered the whole dinner,( I didn't photograph the food) I figured I wanted to enjoy the party. My little brother provided the Jazz play list for the music. Overall it was a blast.

My sister in law made her dress for the party. She made the suspenders and bow ties for her two boys , my brother and my cousin.That's my mom there of course. She was a great host and worked very hard to get the yard into shape for the party.

 

I had fake eyelashes on. I think I should dress like this all the time!

 



 

Family Promise

This week I had the opportunity to meet this AMAZING family! I want to tell you something about them.

They have been homeless for the last three months. Dad called shelters all over looking for a place for his family. Most shelters do not take whole families. Most places want you to be running from a bad situation...or a mental health disease...

Dad found an organization called Family Promise of Sacramento. Their mission statement reads " Family Promise of Sacramento helps homeless families achieve self sufficiency and regain a home for themselves and their children through an interfaith hospitality network of diverse faith communities. A family consists of at least one child and one adult held together by bonds of love and commitment where the adult(s) have the responsibility for the care and nurturing of the children."

Every week they have been hosted by one church or another as they have worked towards finding a place to live.

They are moving into their new home next week. Dad has a steady job and Mom is starting a new job too.

I want to say to this family that I think you are amazingly brave. That I can see the love you have for each other. I can see how much you love your daughter. I can tell how much you want to be together. I know that because you guys have made it through this tough time that you can make it through anything!

And yes... They are expecting a new little one into their family.

I wish you all the joy of a happy family and a bright future

xoxo

Kindergarten!

Well... my baby started Kindergarten this morning. I can't believe it. I didn't even have time to be sad.

 She has been sooo excited!

 She picked out her Hello Kitty outfit, shoes, and backpack. We were head to toe Hell0 Kitty today!

 Grandma came to see her off

 She hung up her backpack

 She played on the playground

Then it was time to line up

There she goes! ( Here is where I felt sad. I miss her already.) Good luck Lily!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

We celebrated by having 2 parties. The first one was a big family BBQ and the second was a party at Bounce-U. Both were fun! Here are a few of the pics... :)

A Walk in the Park

I want you to meet a few of the nicest people I know. Ginni and Dante. I know Ginni through work.  She is one of the most kind, sweetest and lovely people I know. I was honored when she asked me to do portriats of her and her charming husband Dante.

It was a beautiful evening on the American River, the animals thought so too. We saw a family of skunks, a flock of turkeys, a herd of dear, fuzzy caterpillars, and.... a rather large rattlesnake. Oh My!

 Ginni says she never takes a good photo. Well I don't believe it!

Dante, Ginni always says the most wonderful things about you. :)

You guys are perfect together. Enjoy all the time you have together. I will see you soon! And I'm looking forward to seeing you guys at my big 3-0 birthday!

Chicago

In May, I went to Chicago with the nurses union. It was a pretty awesome trip as far as union trips are concerned. We stayed in a hotel downtown on the riverfront. It turned out to be the same Hotel President Obama was going to be staying at. No I didn't see him. But a few of the other nurses did. From my window I could see Navy Pier and Lake Michigan.

Union trips are always political and its not usually my favorite thing to participate in. This time they were there during the G8 summit and the NATO conference...it was on purpose. The whole city was gearing up for massive riots. You may ask "what in the world were the nurses doing there?"

They are advocating for a Financial Transaction Tax on all wall street transactions over $100. I don't believe in it. So I was a little bit upset to learn we were doing a march and a rally in Daly Plaza.

On the upside, I learned that Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine would be playing at the rally. So I definitely had to go.

The line of secret service vehicles lining the street our hotel was on

Yes... I was wearing one of those hats. No I didn't wear the mask. I turned my red shirt inside out so I didn't have the liberal statements on my back. The streets were covered with cops. Regular cops, the national guard. Cops in riot gear. It was awesome. Also three helicopters and snipers were on the buildings surrounding Daly Plaza. That's where the rally was.

I thought this protester made a good picture

So I also saw myself on some of the local news images. i was in the front of the rally, right in the front of the stage so I could get up close to Tom Morello. Punk Rock Star! He is also a political activist.

As a surprise he invited his fellow Chicago native Tim MCllrath of the band Rise Against. Adrian was so jealous!

Then to top it off, they invited people on stage. I pushed, shoved, and finagled my way onto stage...

                                                                  and then...

got my picture taken with the guys from Rise Against!!!!

It was by far the highlight of my trip.

Now a few pictures of the gorgeous city of Chicago

And One last picture and story. The secret Service were everywhere and the whole two or three blocks surrounding our hotel were blocked off while the President was in house. I really want ed this picture and we hurried out there, set it up, took it, and then got reprimanded by the secret service for being where we weren't supposed to be. It was awesome!