No Pain No Gain

My shoulders hurt... my arms hurt... i feel like i sprained my neck. The things we do to entertain ourselves. My hubby and i woke up Saturday morning and we were craving for some fun. It was a beautiful day so we decided to go kayaking at the lake. One thing i have not tried at Lake Travis.



It's 1pm in the afternoon and we are set to go. There were a lot of people spending the day at the lake. From kids wrapping up their summer rowing lessons... to families trying to entertain their kids... to individuals just out for some workout... to couples canoing giving their pet a chance to swim and enjoy the last days of summer.




We spent an hour at the lake and my arms were definitely put to good use! It was starting to get blazing hot so we decided to dock. I got out of the kayak wet from my waist down... half sun-burned... starving and parched... but despite all that, it sure was loads of fun! And i still manage a smile.


We headed downtown to get something to eat. Jo's, a local diner, seemed like an interesting place. After all the exercise, we tried to eat as healthy as possible. Fresh melon juice, a greek salad and no meat BBQ sandwich was perfect to satisfy our hunger.



Right across from Jo's are several shops. A stroll was about to take place when i saw this Italian ice cream shop as soon as we crossed the street. My hubby could not lure me away. And so i ordered this strawberry cookies and milk ice cream. We sit on one of the small tables out on the side walk, i raise up my leg, i start to feel my sore arms... i munch on my ice cream... Aaahhh what a great way to relax on a sunny Saturday afternoon.




Then off we go to continue our stroll before i head home to take a nice nap. The upper half of my body is sore! Is it possible that i may have gained an inkling of a muscle?? :)

Spot

I never thought of myself as a pet person. I grew up with several dogs but no more than 1 at a time... i had a cat when i was in high school and i remember how i would wake up in the morning and she would be on my stomach with her face just inches from mine... cute? yes... but i also remember how she ruined the sides of my bed. My dad had to find another home for her after almost all our furniture was ruined.

In college, my dad gave me a white puppy. I spent part of my daily allowance on that dog. His doggie food... his milk... in the end we had to give him up too. The town house where we lived did not allow pets and he was too noisy to hide.

This cat, named Spot, has touched my heart. She is the sweetest little thing ever. She purrs so softly and loves it when you rub her belly. She drags her feather across the house making cute little kitty noises - a sign that she wants to play. As you make your way to the guest bathroom, she runs off way ahead of you and sits patiently on the sink waiting for you to open the faucet so she can drink directly from it. And she makes the best warmer too.

Unfortunately, even cats age just like anybody else. She will always be the best cat ever!

In this picture, she enjoys a nice sunny day out in the backyard.


Then suddenly gets distracted as she sees a bird land on the tree just above her.

A Six Flags 4th of July

After 3 weeks, i finally upload pictures of my fun, fun weekend in San Antonio. My hubby and I decided to go out of town during the 4th of July. Six Flags was a great choice! Rewinding back to being a kid made us realize that age really is just a number! :)

A day in the Market Place of San Antonio was how we spent 4th of July. It reminded me of the marketplace in Manila where souvenirs of all sorts were sold. From hats to blankets to jewelry to art work... it was exactly the same except for the price difference of 45 pesos to a dollar. I avoid calculating the huge difference because i end up buying nothing!



Performers were singing and dancing on a small stage in the middle of the market place. Entertaining indeed but i will have to say that it definitely contributed to this pouring rain! Haha! We were stuck on this very spot for about 20 minutes waiting for the rain to calm down - gladly so did the performers!



Saturday, July5th - we head on over to Six Flags, an amusement park with a wide variety of roller coasters and a water park within the compound. We decided to ride all the dry coasters before hitting the water park. Too bad i couldn't take pictures of the gigantic slides. I've never screamed loud enough that no sound came out since the 185ft free fall ride in Ocean Park, Hong Kong waaaay back in 2004.

Here i am at it with my camera as soon as we enter the park! Lol! Well we just finished breakfast and i didn't want solid things flying around during the ride!


The SuperMan ride - i don't even remember how many loops and turns this coaster had! I sure felt like i flew the whole minute and a half!



Okay so i spun - THE WHOLE TIME! Which explains why i look like this right after! Haha! Tony Hawk is a skateboarding legend, the car (if that is what you call it??) spun around non-stop while it goes in loops and turns and up and down. But i made it!




And more jaw-dropping rides!







There was another ride called the Rattler. I was not able to get a pic of it but my gosh that ride GAVE ME A HEADACHE! It was a very rough ride and the wooden foundation did not help at all! It was so scary i thought the whole thing was going to collapse. The slopes were steep, the curves were so close to the ground you can almost reach out and touch it... what more can you ask for??

I was going to give one of the games a shot, but was worried that if i won - HOW IN THE WORLD WILL I LUG THIS GIGANTIC PRIZE AROUND THE PARK?? Haha! These are so huge it will take up the whole back seat of my car!


And yes even Scooby Doo was there!



The water park was so much fun! But because it was indeed a place to get wet from head to toe, there was no place for a camera! :(

By 9pm my legs were starting to get numb! After almost 12 hours in the park, the age starts to kick in! The day was topped of with a spectacular fireworks display. It lasted about 20 minutes or so with songs to add life to the amazing colors bursting up in the night sky. It was one perfect weekend!

07.15.2008

A friend of mine is celebrating her birthday tomorrow. Someone is about to age another year hehe. But who cares? She doesn't look the number she is about to become! ;)

I made her a personalized hybrid card - the first card i ever made from scratch! Took one shot to print on the right side of the paper! lol! I'm glad she liked it - not to mention the matching color gift card that went with it! :)

Digi brushes: Datestamp - Katie Pertiet, Japanese Foliage - internet
Chipboard Letters: Making Memories Chelsea's Place
Glitter stickers: K&Company
Gemstones: the Paper Studio

July 2

My sister finally received the card i made for her... so glad she loved it! I saw a couple of Jolees stickers on sale and used them on this card.




I also bought her a gift card that came in this outrageously enormous bag. How can i throw away a bag that was only used 10 minutes??

Reese

Finished another digital layout tonight. I actually finished a couple of birthday cards yesterday but since i haven't sent them yet, i will upload them later. :)

Below is a picture of one of my cats - Reese. I took this when he was hiding behind the curtain and the moment was just perfect as he was staring right at me. He has the softest hair and he doesn't shed either. One thing about him though is that he is really scared of humans even to us. My husband rescued him when he was born and just didn't grow to be sociable. The only time we can pet him is when we feed him wet food. Sometimes he eats from our hands but very rare.

The layout below is a scraplift from Jessica Sprague. The digital kit is also by her (Echoes of Asia kit). Journaling reads:

Reese - the scaredy cat... he is the sweetest little thing but he is just too afraid of people. Here he hides behind the curtain, waiting for the right time to run off to another hiding place... forever scared today & always...

A bowling ball and a Honda

What is the connection? Nothing at all... Things are getting back to normal now that my husband is back from all the business trips. One thing is for sure though, I MISS SCRAPBOOKING! lol! I can't squeeze it in during the week coz i'm just too lazy to do anything after work. On the weekends, my hubby and i try to do things outside the house. Someday soon i have to lock myself in my home office and produce one layout!

We went bowling one weekend and i took a pic of these colorful bowling balls. Of course i lost the game, i was concentrating on taking pics (suuuure - as my hubby would say hehe).


I also finally got my car (yay!)... I immediately got attracted to the sporty look of the 2008 model. It was the last one on the lot and we were lucky to drive off with it that same day we saw it. Love the Nav, love the satellite radio, love that smell of leather, love everything about it! :)